Year Five, Part Four
"I'm sorry, Draco," Pansy said. "I meant to get you that bottle of gin, I just forgot. Don't be mad, please."
Draco sighed wearily, wishing he could just reach out and shake some sense into the stupid girl.
She, along with the rest of the students who'd left the castle for the Christmas break, had arrived back the previous night.
And the one thing he'd asked her to bring him, she'd forgotten.
In truth, it wasn't just Pansy leaving his gin behind that had him so frustrated and angry. Even with the new security measures, smuggling something as innocuous as alcohol into the castle wouldn't be difficult at all.
It was slightly annoying, of course, but not nearly enough to put him into such a state.
No, he was far more upset by everything that had been going on with his work in the Chamber of Secrets.
Just two days before, he'd finally managed to remove the enchantment that would have warned Dumbledore and the teachers the instant the Anti-Apparition Charm was removed.
And he'd done it without being caught in the trap Dumbledore had laid for anyone attempting it.
And what did he get for it? More scorn, more comments that he should have been finished much quicker, more thinly-veiled threats.
Well, not so thinly-veiled threats. More like absolutely explicit promises of what Ginny and his aunt would do to him if he didn't carry out their plans.
Even that hadn't bothered him so much. Of course, it would have been nice to receive some of his well-deserved praise, it would have been nice for Ginny to deign to have a friendly conversation with him and not respond to his every effort at making small talk with scorn and insults, but he'd gotten used to all that.
Now, however, that the infiltration of Hogwarts was drawing closer every day, Draco had another thing to worry about.
He'd been ordered to kill Dumbledore, and the closer he came to the time when he would have to carry out that order, the more certain he became that he wouldn't be able to actually do it.
He'd practised his Killing Curse, of course, down in the privacy of the Chamber of Secrets. His aunt and Ginny had made certain that he could do it months previously, and he was still more than capable.
But, Draco knew, it was very different casting the curse on a rodent when he was alone to how it would be with Dumbledore.
Even with the stupid rats he sometimes had to try it more than once, and he certainly didn't feel bad about ending their miserable, meaningless lives.
Draco was quite sure that no matter how many times he tried, he wouldn't be able to cast the curse successfully on a person, even if he managed to get the words out in the first place.
He wasn't even sure why he struggled so much with it. The only thing he could think of was that maybe, just maybe, maybe he didn't actually want to murder someone that badly, maybe his hatred wasn't strong enough.
From some of the things Ginny had said, it seemed like she wasn't even really expecting him to be able to kill Dumbledore.
Frankly, her comments didn't help his courage.
But if he didn't manage to kill Dumbledore, what awaited him was something worse, perhaps, than death. There was always the possibility that Ginny and his aunt wouldn't be quite as harsh on him as they had on the Higgs', especially since he'd have been the one to gain them entry into Hogwarts.
It was a slight chance, but at this point, Draco grasped at it like a drowning man reaching for a raft.
Unless he somehow managed to utterly destroy his weakness and kill Dumbledore, it was his only real chance.
"I'm sorry, Draco," Pansy said, sounding near tears. "I meant to bring it. I just forgot."
"What's so funny, Nott?" Draco demanded, spinning around at the sound of laughter.
"Nothing," Nott said, smoothing his face hurriedly. "Just that this is a perfect example of why you should choose brains over beauty."
Draco bristled, his irritation flaring up and making him want nothing more than to curse Nott into oblivion.
Not that he disagreed with Nott, per se, it was just another uncomfortable reminder of his situation.
Once upon a time, none of his year mates, particularly those with Death Eater parents, would have dared insult him or even make a joke at his expense.
Of course, his father's incarceration and ensuing loss of face had changed many things.
"Ironic," he spat, "considering that you possess neither."
Nott just continued to smirk, something that only increased Draco's simmering anger.
With a muttered curse, he left the common room, ignoring Pansy's attempt to say something.
Maybe, he hoped as he walked toward the Great Hall, he'd feel a bit better after eating something. What he really needed was some sleep that was uninterrupted by nightmares and strange dreams, but he was unlikely to get that.
'Unless...I could try telling Pomfrey that I've been having nightmares. It's possible that she'll give me some Dreamless Sleep."
Considering the idea, Draco neared the entrance to the Great Hall.
As he did, someone walked out the door. Not looking where they were walking, they collided with Draco, all but knocking him over.
"Watch where you're going," he snapped, before recognizing who it was and sneering.
"Oh, Longbottom. I forgot that if you were any more gormless they'd have to give you a bed next to your parents!"
Longbottom's face went white as snow, shocked fury flickering across his face for the instant before he lunged forward with his hands opening and closing.
Finnegan and Thomas, however, were there, saving Draco the necessity of cursing Longbottom.
The pulled the now red-faced idiot away from him, muttering furiously to him all the while.
Slightly cheered up by the chance to vent some of his spleen, Draco began walking again.
"Funny, Malfoy," an infuriatingly recognizable voice called out, "That you mock Neville's parents. Does that make you feel better about the fact your dad's such a loser his boss left him to rot in Azkaban?"
Some instinct managed to keep him from drawing his wand as he turned to face Weasley, for the rage that bubbled up in him eradicated all thought.
Weasley was standing there, just behind a quickly dispersing group of Hufflepuffs, a look of cold hatred on his stupid face.
Unthinking, Draco opened his mouth, spiteful bile rising to the surface.
"And how do you feel, Weasley," he spat, "Knowing that your sister's murdered half your family and that she probably talks to my aunt about it after sex?"
The instant the words had left his mouth, Draco realized how utterly stupid he had been.
For months now, since the school year had begun, he'd been making an enormous effort to not engage in any serious provocation of Potter and his pals, to not do anything that would draw their attention to him.
And now, now that he was at the cusp of completing his nigh-impossible mission, he'd ruined all of his efforts with one rashly spoken sentence.
For a moment, Weasley stood with no sign that he'd heard.
Then he shot into motion, so quick that only the training Ginny and Bellatrix had put him through allowed Draco to react.
Weasley was only raising his wand when Draco slashed his through the air with a shout of "BOMBARDA!"
It seemed, however, that whatever else Weasley had been doing, he'd certainly been working on his spell work.
He responded faster than Draco would have expected, whipping his wand and silently casting a Shield Charm which sent Draco's Exploding Hex careening off into the wall.
Before Draco could do anything else, Weasley had jabbed his wand forward.
Something burning hot shot right beside Draco's face, grazing his forehead with its passage.
Draco lurched to the side, his lips peeling back into a snarl.
'Kill him kill him kill him kill him!'
Forgetting that there was a small crowd watching, forgetting about everything but the rage and hatred that bubbled in him, the seething pit of acid that had been building up for months, Draco slashed his wand through the air, moving it through the motion his aunt had ensured that he learnt.
His mouth opened, the incantation for the Killing Curse on the tip of his tongue.
And he faltered, Weasley's stupid face swimming out at him through his frustrated, furious tears.
'I can't do it,' he realized, 'I can't even kill Weasley.'
And then Weasley's next spell hit him.
He was thrown back, his head crashing roughly against the stone wall.
'Ginny is going to be furious," he thought, as darkness began to creep over his vision and unconsciousness claimed him.
"How could you have been so fucking dumb?" Ginny wrote, the tip of her quill tearing into the parchment. "You could have ruined everything! What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"I'm sorry," Draco replied, "I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have done it."
"Fucking right you shouldn't have! Merlin, Draco, you're...I can't even describe how fucking stupid you are. You're lucky I'm not there, I swear…"
Ginny dropped her quill and stood up, pacing in front of her bed and rubbing her palm over her face.
It was actually absurd, the latest piece of news Draco had brought her. She'd heard about it the previous day from Theo, but it still enraged her afresh to hear it from Draco.
She hadn't told Draco that she knew about it, preferring instead to see if he'd be brave enough to tell her.
He had been, to an extent. Of course, he hadn't told her exactly what it was he'd said to Ron to so anger him.
No, she'd heard about that from Theo.
The fact that Draco had been stupid enough to taunt Ron was one thing.
The fact that he dared to use her to do so?
Well, that was another thing entirely.
'Even if he does somehow manage to kill Dumbledore,' she thought furiously as she dropped back into the bed, 'I'm going to fuck him up for that.'
In her momentary absence, Draco had continued to write.
"I'm getting out of the Hospital Wing this evening. I'll carry on working on the enchantments tonight. This won't hold us back, I promise."
"You've been promising shit since the day you went back to Hogwarts. If you don't deliver this time…You said it'll be done next week, and we started planning for that. So I'm going to hold you to it. Next Monday, we're coming in. If you haven't done it by then, for every extra day you take I'm going to take a finger and toe. Don't fuck with me, Draco. I'm angry enough as it is."
"It'll be done by then. It will, I promise. I'm sorry, Ginny. I shouldn't-"
"Fuck off already. Just do what you're supposed to!"
Grumbling under her breath, she crumpled the parchment into a ball and threw it across the room, only getting more annoyed when she immediately realized that she would still need it and so couldn't throw it out.
Bellatrix walked into the room as Ginny was summoning the parchment back to her.
Raising an eyebrow, she walked over and sat at the foot of the bed.
"So?"
"He told me about it," she said, still seething, "But not what he said. He's getting out of the Hospital Wing today, he says he'll still have the Chamber ready by next week."
"Don't tell me you really expected him to actually tell you what he said," Bellatrix laughed. "I know you can be stupid sometimes, but that would be a new achievement in foolishness, even for you."
Ginny shook her head, ignoring the little spot of annoyance Bellatrix's words brought up.
"I didn't," she said, "but it doesn't matter. When we're done, I'm going to punish him for that. I just...I just want Dumbledore to be dead already. Then we can actually take over this shitty country.
"Don't go expecting it to happen overnight," Bellatrix warned. "But it will be much closer. And the journey will be all the more fun."
"Do you ever think about what you'll do after?"
"After?" Bellatrix asked.
"After we win, I mean. I used to think-I used to think I'd play Quidditch or something like that. Now I think it'd bore me."
"I think it's best to just live in the moment, love," Bellatrix sighed as she lay back and reached out to twine a few strands of Ginny's hair around her fingers. "But I think it'll be much the same as now. Except we won't need to hide if we want to go out."
"That doesn't sound too bad," Ginny said wistfully. "That'll be quite nice, actually."
"First, let's kill Dumbledore. Then we can worry about what comes next."
'First, let's have Draco actually fucking do something.'
"As I have mentioned," Dumbledore said, leaning forward with his chin resting on the tips of his steepled fingers, "Since poor Severus' passing, discovering in-depth information about Voldemort's plans has been a herculean task."
"Could just ask Malfoy," Ron grunted, "he seems to know more than his share about what's going on with them."
Dumbledore simply looked at Ron. After a few moments of silence, Ron began to look quite uncomfortable.
Not that Harry could blame him. Having been on the receiving end of Dumbledore's unimpressed gaze in the past, he knew all too well how piercing those blue eyes could be.
"Well, he does! The way he was talking about her, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd seen them!"
"It is certainly possible," Dumbledore said. "I would not be surprised were Draco to be discovered giving Voldemort information on every event that occurs in this castle. I would, however, be exceptionally surprised if Draco were to have been told Voldemort's plans. Voldemort is not in the habit of sharing information, particularly with those who have not yet proven their unwavering loyalty."
'Like Ginny has,' Harry thought with a pang.
"Unfortunately," Dumbledore continued smoothly, "We are lacking a spy, and it is very difficult to capture Death Eaters who would know Voldemort's plan, let alone to induce them to talk."
"The Veritaserum bill would have helped with that," Moody grumbled, "but of course, they stopped that from passing."
"So what," Harry said, "We're just going to wait for him to do something? You must have something!"
Dumbledore nodded gravely, idly tapping one of his hands on his desk.
"There are many individuals," he said, "who are associated with the Death Eaters but not truly amongst them. Fenrir Greyback and his followers, for example, or many of the unsavoury fellows who spend their days in Knockturn Alley. If we prove capable of receiving information from those individuals, we at least have something, as you put it, Harry."
"And you think any of them would be willing to work with us?"
Moody gave an approving nod at Ron's words.
"They will," Dumbledore said calmly, "provided that we can give them a better offer than Voldemort can. Even without their help, we will manage, eventually. It is simply a matter of arranging the correct circumstances."
"So for now…" Hermione started, trailing off when it was clear she wasn't sure how to continue.
"For now, we continue as we have. Planning for the future, fighting the battles as they come, and ensuring that everyone who wishes to learn how to fight has that chance."
Dumbledore looked at each of the three of them in turn, his small smile at odds with the serious expression he wore.
"And when the time comes," he said, "We ensure that Voldemort falls."
"It's done."
Ginny just stared down at the parchment, almost too excited to think.
Finally, after all this time, after all their planning, finally they'd be able to actually do it.
"Excellent," she wrote, "And just in time, too. Well done, Draco."
"Thank you. You said the plan is to come in tomorrow night?"
"Yes. But we'll let you know exactly what we want from you closer to then. You'll have to do some preparations for us before then. We'll speak tomorrow."
Anticipatory adrenaline thrumming through her, Ginny folded up the parchment and put it away, an enormous grin splitting her face.
Finally, the time to actually attack was at hand.
Slowly, the small crowd in front of her fell silent, their excited twittering dying down as she walked up, taking her position at the front of the room.
Long flames burnt on tapers set into the walls, casting their flickering shadows.
At the front of them all, Bellatrix stood with a wide smile. When she met Ginny's eyes, she gave an encouraging nod.
It was funny, how Bellatrix was so willing to give Ginny the honour of being the one to go over the plan with their assembled companions. In truth, it had been mostly Bellatrix, Dolohov, and Rookwood who had worked it out, even if she had helped.
Well, she wasn't complaining. For once, she was finally receiving the respect and honour she so deserved.
"You all know the plan," she said, shivering slightly under the weight of all the expectant eyes. "We're going into Hogwarts through the Chamber of Secrets. From there, we'll come out in the second-floor girl's bathroom. Theo and Draco have been preparing for us, and by the time we actually arrive they should have a fair amount of students under the Imperius. Still, the more the better, so we're going to be splitting up then. You've all already been told which groups you're a part of, but some of us will be heading right up towards Dumbledore's office, placing whichever students we come across under the Imperius as we go. The rest of you will be going towards the staff members' offices."
She paused for a moment, and when no-one had any questions to ask carried on.
"The plan is that when Dumbledore finds out we've infiltrated, we attack him right as he exits his office. We've got to have the entrance to his office totally surrounded, and to make sure that the students are at the front lines. Theo and Draco should already have the students waiting in that hallway, but we want to get up there before anyone raises the alarm. So for the first fifteen minutes or so, we need to be as quiet as possible."
"The Aurors at Hogwarts," Dolohov asked slowly, "they're going to be on patrol, aren't they?"
Nodding solemnly, Ginny continued.
"Yeah. We've got a pretty high chance of running across them. Remember, we are counting on them raising the alarm at some point, we just want to be ready when they do it. They'll probably bring in reinforcements, plus we can expect the Order of the Phoenix to pitch up. And some of the students will probably fight back too."
Greyback laughed, an ominous chuckle that made everyone turn to him.
"I'm looking forward to that," he said, baring his disgusting yellow teeth.
"You heard the Dark Lord," Ginny snapped, "we aren't to kill those kids unnecessarily. Unless you want to give their mummies and daddies a reason to fight against us?"
'Come on, wolf. Give me one fucking reason to show them all where you stand in relation to me.'
Greyback glowered but remained silent.
"Once we're in position," she continued, "We need to have the other entrances to that corridor blocked off. The more kids we can get under the Imperius, the better. We make it so that anyone who wants to get into us will be too outnumbered and scared to do anything major."
"What about Potter?"
"If possible, we are to capture Potter and bring him back here, alive. Anyone who kills him, they'll have to answer to the Dark Lord. And I promise, they won't enjoy that."
'If killing him is even possible.'
Well, regardless of what had happened that day in Knockturn, the Dark Lord seemed to think it was possible for Potter to die.
"Of course, this is not our main goal. Even if we don't manage that tonight, once Dumbledore is dead, it'll be a lot easier to get Potter. Just...if we can, we're going to bring Potter here tonight."
She chuckled softly, shaking her head.
"If I know Potter, he'll come right to us the moment he knows that there's a fight going on. If we can, we're to get him. Just remember, by the time we kill Dumbledore, chances are they'll have lots of reinforcements coming in. No matter how many kids we're controlling, if we get boxed in at Hogwarts, we're done for. The second that Dumbledore's dead, we're getting out of there. Understood?"
A susurrus of soft agreement met her as they all nodded and gave their assent.
'I need to rile them up, get them really ready to go.'
"Tonight," she said pitching her voice so that it echoed throughout the large study, "We're going to kill our greatest enemy, and after that...well, without Dumbledore, it won't be long until the Ministry falls to us. Tonight, we're making history. Let's do it."
Stupid though her words sounded in her head, they seemed to work. The crowd of Death Eaters before her broke into a loud, ragged cheer.
And at the head of them all Bellatrix stood, looking prouder than Ginny had ever seen her.
The sound of a softly dripping tap was all Ginny heard as she emerged from the tunnel, walking out into the bathroom where the Chamber's entrance was hidden.
The sight of it was like a bucket of ice water to her.
Nothing had changed.
She reached out, gently running her fingers along one of the sinks and glanced at herself in the mirror, helpless to prevent the memories from arising.
The last time she'd seen Tom, Tom as he'd been in the diary, it had been in here.
She'd seen the Dark Lord plenty since then, of course, had dozens of conversations with him, learned spells from him and made plans with him.
But it wasn't the same as it had been with Tom.
It was incredible, and the next best thing possible, but it wasn't the same.
'I wonder what he would say if he could see me now,' she wondered, staring at the mirror and remembering how it had fogged up and revealed his face, back when Tom had been her constant companion.
'He'd be proud, I think,' she realized. 'I've come so far. Here I am, leading a group of his followers to attack Dumbledore.'
As she thought of them, the rest of the Death Eaters began to make their way out of the tunnel. Bellatrix came out first, of course, with Dolohov, Mulciber, and Rookwood hot on her heels.
Then came Rowle, Gibbon, and Runcorn, followed by Alecto Carrow, Travers, Pyrites, Avery, Thaddeus Nott, Selwyn, Greyback and five members of his pack whose names Ginny honestly hadn't cared enough to learn, with Draco bringing up the rear.
All in all, they had a good-sized group, even for something as intense as taking on Dumbledore would surely prove to be.
Adrenaline beginning to thrum through her, she pulled the parchment that was linked to Theo's out of her pocket and scrawled a quick message to him.
"We're in," she wrote, "Starting to head up to you now. Be ready."
Almost the instant she'd finished writing, Theo's response appeared.
"All in position. I've got twenty-one, and Draco got fourteen. I think we're going to be ok."
"Good. Keep them there."
"Ok," she whispered, "Let's get going. Remember, do what you need to and get up to Dumbledore's office."
Splitting up into their separate groups, they left the bathroom.
It was nearly three minutes after they left the bathroom that they came across anyone.
The halls were dimly lit, most of the tapers having been extinguished as curfew approached. The remaining flames cast their strange shadows on the floor, the paintings and suits of armour looking menacing in the near-gloom.
Ginny was walking with Bellatrix, Dolohov, Pyrites, and two of the werewolves, the others having gone their assigned routes.
Rounding a corner on the third floor, they came across a gaggle of Hufflepuffs; there were four of them, and they looked to be no older than thirteen.
"Imperio!" Ginny hissed, her wand flicking instinctively up at the sight, the other Death Eaters mirroring her action.
Immediately, she felt the awareness blossoming in the back of her mind; the little ball of thoughts that was the mind of the student she had cursed.
"Let's move on," she said, giving a flick of her wand and commanding the Hufflepuff to follow.
It was almost eerie, walking through the mostly deserted corridors and making their way up through the castle. They were doing their best to keep silent and limit conversation, and the only sounds to be heard were their soft footfalls and muted conversation from elsewhere in the castle.
Twice, they heard distant shouts, both of which were cut off before any words could be made out.
They continued on, quickening up the pace and placing the Imperius on every student they came across.
By the time they reached the sixth floor, they'd happened upon another seven, the last of whom, ironically enough, had been Colin Creevey.
Honestly, she was beyond glad that she'd practised, along with Theo, casting the Imperius on more than one person at a time. It still felt confusing, of course, and she still couldn't give individual commands, but she was capable of controlling the three she'd cursed at the same time. They wouldn't be much use in a fight, given that she could only give them general orders and that they were still trying to break free of her control, but their presence was the main thing.
It happened just when they were arriving at the staircase that led up to the seventh floor. A high-pitched shriek suddenly sounded from the floor below them, only cutting out when a strong, bestial voice roared out an incantation.
And a moment later, a bare patch of the wall slid open a little way down the corridor, revealing a hidden passageway from where a harried-looking McGonagall appeared.
For the barest fraction of an instant, everyone froze, McGonagall's eyes widening as she took their presence in.
Then the corridor exploded into action, everyone around Ginny waving and slashing their wands and shouting as one.
As quick as they were to cast a barrage of spells, McGonagall was quicker.
Before any of the curses had reached her, she'd transformed into her Animagus form, seamlessly and instantly shifting into a small tabby cat which bounded into a tiny alcove in the bottom of the wall.
"THERE!" Cried Ginny, as the cat leapt out, "KILL IT, KILL HER!"
Their spells all missed, the cat managing to get back into the secret passageway.
"Pyrites," Ginny snapped, spinning around, "You, and you two," she gestured at the werewolves, "go after her. Bella, Dolohov, send your students with them."
"But-"
"DO AS I SAY!" She shrieked, sparks flying from the tip of her wand. "NOW! GO!"
They ran.
"Come on," Bellatrix hissed, grabbing Ginny's arm, "We need to get up to Dumbledore!"
Dolohov had already started running. Grimacing, Ginny snapped her wand forward, forcing the students she was controlling to follow her and Bellatrix as they broke into a sprint.
'As long as we get Dumbledore and get out,' she reminded herself, 'That's all that matters.'
By the time she reached the seventh floor, she was clutching at a painful stitch in her side.
Their frantic dash didn't end at the top of the staircase, however. They kept running, the muscles in her legs crying out in agony, her lungs beginning to burn.
Finally, they turned into the corridor which contained the gargoyled entrance to Dumbledore's office and skidded to a stop, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that Dumbledore still hadn't come down.
Almost everyone was there already. Selwyn, Avery, and Runcorn weren't, and neither were Pyrites and the werewolves who'd gone with him, but the rest of them all were.
And they had what looked like a small army of students under the Imperius there too.
There had to have been at least fifty of them, all wearing the same, empty expression. Theo stood just a few feet from the gargoyle that led to Dumbledore's office, a self-satisfied smirk brightening up his face as his father leaned over and said something.
For a moment, Ginny just gaped.
'At least something's gone according to plan. Fucking hell, this is better than I ever expected.'
"You made it," Dolohov gasped, leaning against a wall and looking like he was struggling to catch his own breath. "Good. We won't have much time."
She shook her head, growling softly as she waved to Mulciber.
"Tell Rookwood and Rowle to take this side of the corridor," she said, "and all the kids they've got with them. Tell the Notts to take Greyback and the rest of his pack, let them get the other two entrances to here."
Mulciber nodded, striding off to pass on the message.
"It's going to be wonderful," Bellatrix whispered, "We're almost done. This will work very well."
Nodding, Ginny took a deep breath and began to walk forward, making her way toward Dumbledore's office.
A soft sound of stone scraping on stone was suddenly heard, seeming to cut through all the other noise in the corridor.
Ginny froze, her heart pounding like crazy.
'This is it, this is it, Merlin, this is it!'
Slowly, the gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office was turning and starting to open.
"The underground is positively teeming with rumours," Dumbledore said, "Hopefully, Alastor's investigation will bear fruit and we will have more information, but regardless, Mundungus' connections with the, ahem, seedier part of the wizarding world have already proven their value."
"Rumours about Voldemort's plans?" Harry asked, making a face. Somehow, he just couldn't imagine Voldemort sitting in a pub and chatting about his plots.
Dumbledore seemed to understand Harry's surprise. With a wry smile, he continued.
"The Death Eaters are human, Harry. Many of them like to brag, even if just to impress those whom they consider to be beneath them. Certainly, we cannot rely purely on rumour, even if all the rumours were to match up. Nevertheless, it is clear that Voldemort has large plans afoot."
"What type of plans?"
Dumbledore shook his head, his brow furrowing as he glanced out of the window for a moment.
"Oh, they were very unclear on the details. A large Muggle killing, the unleashing of a giant on Muggle London, an assault on the Ministry of Magic. What is certain, however, is that Voldemort is planning an important action. In fact, his quiet over recent weeks speaks to this as well."
"What do you think it could be, professor?" Asked Hermione.
"Were I to hazard a guess, I would assume it will be an attempt to capture the prophecy from within the Department of Mysteries. Voldemort has still not learned its contents, and I am entirely certain that the prophecy is weighing heavily on his mind, particularly after what occurred in Knockturn Alley."
'When I died,' Harry thought, 'He still hasn't figured out that I was one of his horcruxes.'
"Of course, I have stationed members of the Order of the Phoenix there once more. However, we cannot know for certain what Voldemort's plans truly are. I believe the prophecy to be his most likely goal, but-"
A startlingly bright spot of silver light shot into the room, interrupting Dumbledore and making Harry, Ron, and Hermione all jump.
It hovered above Dumbledore's desk for a moment before shaking and dropping, coalescing into the misty form of a cat.
'It's Patronus,' Harry realized, 'But what-'
"Death Eaters in the castle," the Patronus said, speaking in an extremely stressed version of McGonagall's voice. "A group of them on the sixth floor, with the Weasley girl. Some are chasing me."
Dumbledore rose in an instant, his wand flashing and expelling a large, silver mist which resolved into a Patronus in the shape of a phoenix.
Harry just sat there, utterly stunned, his brain seeming too sluggish to comprehend what he had just heard.
As if they had planned and synchronized it, Ron and Hermione jumped to their feet, one of them growling softly.
"Wait," Harry began, "Ron, Hermione, don't-"
But they were running before he could finish the sentence, running towards the exit, both of them with wands drawn and grim, harsh expressions.
Before Harry could even move, Dumbledore was beside him, staring intently into his face.
"They are likely after you," the old wizard quickly said. "Harry, you need to-"
Again, Dumbledore was interrupted, this time by an enormous explosion.
Even though the blast dulled out the sound, Harry could make out two voices raised in cries of shock and agony.
Cursing, he pulled his arm from Dumbledore's grip and ran toward the exit.
He leapt straight through the door, taking the stairs three at a time, Dumbledore hot on his heels.
The gargoyle lay broken on its side, and in the corridor just past it, he could see Ron and Hermione. They were both on the floor, still and unmoving, a large smoking crater in the stone floor surrounding them.
He jumped into the corridor, and something seized him, holding him in mid-air before he could land.
A reddish-blue haze of light appeared around him, conforming perfectly to the shape of his body.
For an instant that stretched into eternity, he hung there, his jaw hanging open and confused terror coursing through his every cell.
He didn't even notice the same light that was surrounding him appearing around Ron and Hermione, he was simply too shocked by what was facing him.
There were dozens of people there, surrounding the Headmaster's tower with wands drawn.
The vast majority of them were students, Colin Creevey and Zacharias Smith and Romilda Vane and Daphne Greengrass and tens, dozens of others, dozens of Harry's classmates and friends and acquaintances.
Behind them, standing in a semicircle, was a dozen Death Eaters, Ginny's furious scowl captivating his attention.
He noticed all this in the second that he hovered there, a second where no-one did anything.
Then, as one, everyone in the corridor raised their wands to face him.
And then Dumbledore appeared.
He swept out of the tower, his wand flashing faster than Harry could make out.
The Death Eaters changed targets, shouting out incantations as they attacked Dumbledore.
An enormous, invisible hand seized Harry, pushing him roughly through the air to fly back through the broken gargoyle. At the same time, Ron and Hermione flew backwards as well, that irresistible force moving them straight up the spiralling staircase and depositing them back in Dumbledore's office.
Only then did it release them, dropping them roughly to the carpeted floor.
'No, no, this can't be happening, this can't be!'
The whole castle gave an enormous lurch, the ground shaking so much that a portrait fell off the wall, to much shouting from the others.
He could hear the fight down below, could hear the screams and cries and sounds of spells.
'This can't be happening, this can't be happening!'
'Get a fucking hold of yourself! THIS IS HAPPENING!'
Without giving himself a chance to think, he raised his hand, slapping himself sharply across the face.
The world swam back into focus, the sounds from below becoming instantly clearer.
"RON!" He cried, lurching over to where his friends lay, "HERMIONE!"
'Don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead!'
He dropped back onto the floor, reaching out fearfully and placing two fingers to Ron's neck.
Ginny shrieked mindlessly, rage overthrowing all reason as Potter, Ron, and the mudblood were cast back into the office.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The broken gargoyle shot out from its resting place, exploding into hundreds of small pieces when the Killing Curse hit it. The pieces remained in the air, spinning and forming a whirlwind around Dumbledore.
"ATTACK!" She screeched, "KILL HIM, KILL HIM!"
'ATTACK HIM!' She shouted in her mind, forcing the students she controlled to obey.
Something appeared in the doorway where the gargoyle had stood, a sort of fine, grey mist. It solidified almost instantly, a thick wall appearing where the entrance had been.
"KILL HIM! KILL HIM!"
Spell after spell was launched at Dumbledore, but the maelstrom of stone before him deflected them, at least for the moment.
'It won't be much longer,' a calm part of her mind noted, 'Look, half of the pieces are already gone.'
The broken pieces exploded outward, a deadly storm flying in a circle away from Dumbledore.
Somehow, none of the pieces hit any of the Imperiused students.
Crying out, she dropped to her knees, hastily casting a shield charm.
Beside her, Mulciber fell with a strange coughing noise, blood pouring from a dozen holes in his chest.
As soon as the stones had stopped flying, Ginny rose, her wand already beginning the motions of a Killing Curse.
But Dumbledore was faster.
Even with the blood pouring from a deep gash in his side, he stood looking almost relaxed, his true feelings only exposed by the icy lines of his face.
And almost too quickly for Ginny to see, he jerked his wand in a strange see-sawing gesture.
The whole castle lurched, the floor shaking so badly she was knocked from her freshly-regained balance.
"You use my students against me?" Dumbledore asked, his voice trembling with terrible rage, "You raise arms against a school?"
The floor continued to shake, so badly that Ginny could barely raise her wand and take aim.
Clearly, she wasn't the only one having trouble; spells were flying all around, bright multi-coloured jets of light splashing against the walls and the roof.
Something hit Dumbledore, throwing him against the wall.
And the floor stopped shaking.
His eyes widened, wand flashing.
Ginny jumped to her feet, screaming in her mind to the students of whom she'd taken control.
'KILL HIM!' She mentally ordered, 'TEAR HIM APART!'
Electric green light tore from her wand as she shrieked in fury, a blistering salvo of killing curses and explosive hexes careening headlong towards Dumbledore
A large piece of the wall tore itself free with a thunderous crash, flying in front of Dumbledore and instantly dissolving in a flurry of bright spellfire.
A loud, high-pitched screeching noise sounded. Dumbledore's phoenix appeared in mid-air just above him and dived forward, its talons outstretched as it raked at Gibbon's face.
He fell to the floor, clutching at his bleeding eyes and wailing.
Dozens of spots of blueish-white light appeared in the air around Dumbledore, spinning and swooping around him like comets in orbit. As soon as they appeared, they shot outwards, striking the Death Eaters and Imperiused students with equal measure. Everyone who was hit by one of them fell, clearly stunned.
A curse from behind whizzed past her, blisters appearing on her cheek from the heat of its passage.
An enormous, opaque, cocoon-like thing appeared around Dumbledore, covering his entire body and blocking it off from view.
Ginny's next Killing Curse splayed up against the thing, lines of glistening emerald light spreading out from the point of impact.
'What the fuck?!'
Whatever it was, it should have been destroyed, should have been torn to shreds by her curse.
Her arm dropped to her side as another Killing Curse struck it, thready fear making her heart skip a beat.
Suddenly, her earlier confidence of being able to simply overwhelm Dumbledore seemed absurd. There he was, massively outnumbered, many of his opponents people who he was clearly trying not to hurt, and he was pulling off magical feats that Ginny hadn't even known were possible.
She'd thought, on that day in Knockturn Alley, that she'd learned what Dumbledore's capabilities were.
She'd been terribly mistaken.
For the first time, she could understand why people claimed the Dark Lord feared this man.
Through the shield, she could dimly make out Dumbledore's form as he spun with his arm waving.
'It's becoming more transparent! We can take it down, we just need to hit it enough!'
The realization shocked her out of her stupor, a sense of urgency filling her as she raised her wand once more.
More of those revolving spheres of flickering light appeared around Dumbledore's bizarre shield, attacking the Death Eaters and students even as the floor began to shake again.
Dumbledore's shield was clearly weakening; it now looked like it was made of some shapeless liquid.
'It's almost broken!'
One of the enormous stained glass windows shattered inwards, hundreds of glistening shards flying forward like a diamond storm.
The glass shot towards the Death Eaters, half of the pieces spinning out and changing into a stone-like substance before flying at the Imperiused students.
The glass tore right through Ginny's shield charm, a pained yelp tearing itself out of her as she shielded her face with her hand and was immediately peppered with the glittering shards.
With a gurgling cry, Travers fell, blood spurting through the fingers splayed up against his ruined throat.
One of the werewolves launched himself over Ginny's shoulder, hands outstretched as he went for Dumbledore.
His fingertips touched the edge of Dumbledore's shield and he melted, his body dissolving as surely as if he'd been dipped in acid.
Ginny's wand snapped forward, three Imperiused students following her unspoken command and running straight at Dumbledore's shield.
Her gambit paid off; giving an enraged bellow, Dumbledore flicked his wand, the shield vanishing as a powerful wind swept through the corridor, throwing the students back and knocking Dolohov against the wall.
It was all Ginny could manage to keep standing; her hair streamed away from her face, her robes flying back as that incredibly strong wind swept over her.
Amycus screeched, knocking Ginny aside as she ran forward and made a swiping gesture.
One of the tapers set into the wall jerked, flying out and lurching towards Dumbledore.
It stopped in mid-air, Dumbledore waving his wand and transforming it into an enormous bearlike, foggy creature. With a roar, it dropped to all fours and charged directly into the Death Eater ranks, a huge claw reaching out and swiping across Amycus' stomach.
It was utter bedlam, more chaotic than anything Ginny had experienced before.
She was screaming, casting whatever she could with no more thought than was utterly necessary, feeling it as one by one, the students under her control fell unconscious until there was only one left.
Dumbledore moved forward, nimbly dodging a Killing Curse Bellatrix had shot at him. He twisted to face her, his wand moving through a complicated motion.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Ginny roared, the curse flying straight at Dumbledore's back.
His phoenix swooped down, intercepting the curse and dropping to the floor as a tiny, hairless chick.
Bellatrix flew upward as if thrown, Dumbledore's spell smashing her against the ceiling.
And a spell shot directly over her shoulder, so close that it breezed through her hair, hit Dumbledore in the right leg.
He wobbled, barely managing to keep his balance.
Another spell grazed the side of his face, a torrent of blood spurting out.
"EXPULSO!" Ginny screamed, aiming at the floor just to Dumbledore's left, already beginning her next Explosive Curse when the first left her wand.
He jumped away from the first explosion, almost falling when he landed on his wounded leg.
And the second hit, smashing him up against the wall where he fell in a crumpled heal, his wand dropping from a broken hand.
Everything fell silent.
Dumbledore was groaning, trying to pull himself up as Ginny approached.
Taking deep, gasping breaths, she looked around, trying to force her nerves to settle.
Merlin, but she'd underestimated Dumbledore.
Dozens of bodies littered the floor, most of them merely injured, but some, like Mulciber and Travers, were clearly dead. Rookwood was crouched on the floor, grimacing as he tapped his wand against his leg and muttered to himself. Not too far from him, Amycus lay in a puddle of blood, whimpering pitifully as she tried to shove her unspooling intestines back into the ruins of her belly.
A short distance away, Draco lay unconscious, blood seeping into his pale hair.
Huge patches of the wall had been torn away, revealing the large drop to the Hogwarts grounds. Patches of stone had melted all along the corridor, and small fires still blazed among the dead and injured.
Pools of dark blood were collecting in indentations in the floor, a heavy stench of gore and viscera filling the air.
"Do it," Bellatrix said, walking up to Ginny. She had a nasty gash on her forehead and was gingerly holding a hand against her side, but otherwise seemed perfectly fine.
"Do it," she repeated. "We need to get out of here now. They've got people coming, we need to go. Kill him, love."
Ginny turned around, ignoring the agonies that were now demanding her attention from around her body.
Trails of dried blood snaked down her arm from where several shards of glass had embedded themselves into her, her ears were ringing, and she was quite certain that she'd broken a few ribs.
In fact, her entire body felt bruised and battered, like she'd fallen from an incredible height.
But she'd managed. After all the time, all the planning, she'd managed.
Dumbledore had pushed himself into a half-sitting position and was blinking up at her, his shattered half-moon spectacles still resting on the bridge of his crooked nose.
His beard was matted with blood, as was most of his face.
"I failed you greatly," he said with a cough. "This should never have been your lot."
Smiling, Ginny raised her wand.
"I chose my own lot. Avada Kedavra!"
The Killing Curse took him right in the chest, bathing his body in its eldritch green glow before it vanished, taking the light in his eyes with it.
Exultant beyond words, Ginny turned.
They were all watching her, awed expressions on most of their faces.
'Now they know. Now they all know why I am his favoured.'
From somewhere in the distance, she could hear screams and shouts, all drawing nearer.
'Aurors,' she thought, 'And probably Order of the Phoenix too. We need to go.'
She gave a last, regretful look at the wall Dumbledore had erected to protect Potter. It would take them far too long to break through there, especially with incoming enemy forces.
'We killed Dumbledore, and that was always the main goal. That's enough for now.'
"Let's get the fuck out here," she said. "Take as many of our injured as you can. But let's go before their reinforcements get here. Now!"
With that, they filed out, levitating those who were too injured to move and breaking into a run, leaving the corpse of Albus Dumbledore among the wreckage like a discarded, broken toy.