Chapter Forty-Four: Rain of a Thousand Flames

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The underlined portions are taken directly from the novel; I do not own those parts. They belong to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: This fanfiction is going to be different from my other stories. This picks up where "The Heart of Everything" and "The Heart of Everything: Shallow Bay" left off. The time in the books also changes. So, pay attention the time, so you don't get confused. Some of the chapters are other Marcus Flint/Katie Bell stories, just with more changes and deleted scenes added.

Time: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Genre: Romance, Drama, and Friendship

Rating: PG-13

Marcus darted up the Astronomy Tower behind Professor Flitwick. Behind them, were a number of Ravenclaws, a few Order members, and former Hogwarts students, including Wood and Angelina Johnson. Marcus figured that it would be just his luck that he got stuck in the same group as Wood.

Professor Flitwick stopped at the top of the stairs. "Flint, you take Boot, Miss. Patil, Goldstein, Corner, and Miss. Chang to the west side of the tower." He nodded up a steep staircase to their right.

Marcus nodded. "Okay."

"If you get in trouble, send someone down and we'll try to send you more help." The Charms professor turned to the rest of the group. "Remember, we duel for the kill. Do not hesitant." He turned and lead the rest of the group up the other stairs.

Marcus looked at his group. He really didn't know any of these people. He recognised Cho Change from Quidditch, but everyone else was a new face to him. Judging by the looks they were giving him, they really didn't know who he was either.

"Er, right. Let's go and keep your wands out." Marcus lit the end of his and lead the group up a narrow, dark flight of stairs. He really didn't know where he was going because this part of the tower was used for N.E.W.T level Astronomy, a level that he did not take.

Behind him, the Ravenclaws were talking quietly amongst themselves, which was making him nervous. If they didn't feel at ease talking around him, then there was no way that they were going to win this thing.

Once they reached the top of the power, they were rewarded with a clear view of the grounds. Marcus could see the group crews racing across the grassy surface, while others were putting up more enchantments. Marcus wondered if they were supposed to be doing the same thing. He looked at the other towers and saw nothing. He could hear the others in the tower, but could not see them. At least they were close to each other if something were to go wrong.

He looked over the castle walls. There was no sign of the Death Eaters yet, but he knew they were out there. Knowing them, they were watching what was going on just out of sight. It made him nervous, but, then again, a lot of things were making him nervous today.

"Should we put up some protective charms?" a black Ravenclaw asked.

"I don't see how it would hurt," Marcus answered. He and the others pointed their wands up at the sky. "Protego Horribilis ."

Next to him, the Ravenclaws were rushing to perform the same spells or similar one. He was jsut grateful that he had a group who could actually perform spells without having to be told. Sometimes having Ravenclaws by your side was a big help.

Marcus put a few more shields up before something caught his. Moving through the Forbidden Forest was a group of something dressed in dark robes. They were moving quickly. He looked closer. Giants! There were giants mixed in with the humans. He and the Ravenclaw standing next to him exchanged looks.

"I think we should spread out," the Patil girl said, her voice shaking. "We don't want to miss any of them."
None of the Ravenclaws moved.

"You heard her! Move!" Marcus snapped.

One of the boy Ravenclaws eyed him as he moved. "I finally figured out who you are. You can change your looks but you can't change your voice."
Marcus rolled his eyes. "We can have this talk after the battle."

"I guess that implies that we are all going to live."

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't plan on dying tonight."
Cho Chang looked back at them from her position and actually smiled. "Well, let's get started then."

The Dark Army was getting closer. By now the ground crews had spotted them and were spending defensive spells at them. Marcus scanned the grounds for Katie's blond hair, but didn't see her. He did see a rather odd sight though: Professor McGonagall commanding the large stone knights that lined the castle halls. Huh, he didn't know that they could do that.

Marcus pointed his wand down at the Dark Army, which had now reached the edges of the grounds. They were slowly breaking their way through the protective charms. Everyone had been right, the charms would not hold, but it would slow them down. He sent a few wand sparks down, which didn't quiet reach the Dark Army, but it did clue him that a little bit more powerful magic would.

The only good thing about the Dark Army coming was that they were moving so slow, which them for an easy target. He only hoped that the Ravenclaws were able to see this.

Marcus pointed his wand at a large, centralized group of Death Eaters. "Deprimo!" The blast knocked several of them off their feet; some quickly got back up, but remained still.

"Oh, I don't those two should have mixed," Patil said. "I always wanted to see what happened when two different spells crossed."
Once a Ravenclaw, always a Ravenclaw.

The group sent down another round of spells. Many of them using the same ones over and over. Between them and the others, they were making a dent, but it wasn't stopping the advancing Dark Army.

The giants swung large axes at the ground crews, sending many of them running for their lives. How had something so large reached the grounds before the Death Eaters. Marcus winced as the giants started stepping on people. Many of them did not get back up. His eyes scanned the grounds. Where was Katie? She had to alive, she had to be, he just knew it.

"Look! In the air!" Patil screamed.

Marcus followed her pointing finger. What was that? A mass of black was flying through the air toward them. He gulped as the mass came closer. "Ravens! Get down!"
Everyone in the group hit the floor as the ravens soared in through the openings, their cries sending chills down their spines. Marcus winced as one of the ravens dug its claws into his back. He knew that it didn't do any real damage, but still. Suddenly, the ravens were gone.

"Is everyone okay?" Cho asked as they slowly made their way to their feet.

"Yeah, I think so," Marcus said as he looked at the other Ravenclaws, who didn't show any signs of damage.

"What was that all about?" a Ravenclaw, who Marcus thought was called Goldstein, asked. "I mean ravens."

Marcus stared down at the action unfolding on the grounds. More Death Eaters had since pushed through the barriers. "It was to give them a chance."

Goldstein looked confused. "Give who a chance?"

Marcus turned away from the action. "To give the Death Eaters a chance to break through without us hexing them."

"And it worked," Patil muttered.

Cho gripped the sides of the Tower. "Well, let's not let them get another chance." She started raining spells down on the Death Eaters.

Marcus sent some down as well, afraid to use any more blasting ones, he kept it simple. People were running away below them, making it very difficult to pick out who was on what side. Wand sparks covered his clear view as he attempted to look once again for the familiar blond locks.

"They're coming!" the black Ravenclaw yelled. "I can hear them on the steps!"
Marcus turned and stared down the dark steps. Sure, enough he could hear footsteps running. How did they get this far already? Unless, they really did make that good use of their time during the ravens. "Get ready!"

The Ravenclaws pointed their wands down into the darkness. Marcus listened as the breathing grew heavier and the footsteps louder. He wanted to hex whoever was coming, but there was still that small chance that they could be friend instead of foe.

Time stopped. Footsteps got louder. The group exchanged looks. This was it.

Silence...Goldstein stared down at steps for a few minutes before turning to look hopefully at them.

"Avada Kedavra!" A green light shot up from the stairs sending everyone in the group to the floor. The curse balanced off a few walls of the tower before racing out one of the windows, leaving everyone untouched.

Marcus's brown eyes quickly darted around. He didn't see anything in the darkness. "Confringo!"

The blast sent debris and other things flying through the air. Marcus knew that the steps out of the tower were gone, but he didn't care. It was far better than dying. Once the debris had cleared, Cho peered down the into the darkness, with her wand lit. The others followed her. There was nothing, nothing at all. They couldn't even hear what was going on in the other parts of the tower.

Cho looked back at Marcus. "Now what?"

"Now, I guess, we go back to what we were doing," Marcus said as he walked back to the tower openings. "I'm not even sure how we're supposed to send any spells down without hitting any of our people."

Cho walked over next to Marcus and stared down at the scene. Everyone was so mixed in together. From up here, they couldn't even tell who was who just based on wand sparks.

Cho looked back him with wide eyes. "We don't. We just do what we are supposed to do. People get hurt in friendly fire all the time."

Marcus eyed her. He really couldn't believe what she was saying. Friendly fire? Was he missing something or was she for real? He looked over and saw the determined look on her face. Yeah, she was for real. They were really going to do this.

Hesitating, he pointed his wand out the window and stared at the masses below them. There really was no way to pick out who was friend and who was foe. He could barely make out the people below through the smoke and debris. People were going to die or get hurt. However, there really was no other option. If they didn't act, the loss of life could reach an ultimate high.

Sometimes doing the right thing wasn't the easiest thing to do...

This was the right thing to do.

"Okay, let's do it," Marcus said as he shot a jinx down on the masses below. "And don't miss."

A rain of a thousand flames erupted from the tower and landed on the crowds below. Marcus did his best to indentify who he was aiming at before firing, but wasn't always sure. Any sign of blond hair caused him to jerk his wand away from the area.

Where was Katie?
"Look!" Goldstein yelled, pointing out above the tower.

A black mass was making its way toward them, yet again. Only this time it wasn't ravens.

"Death Eaters," Patil said, taking a small step back. "They're flying."
Marcus and Cho exchanged looks as the Death Eaters approached.

"Well, let's not just stand here! Do something!" the black Ravenclaw yelled. "Have you guys forgotten that they're coming to kill you?"

Marcus pointed his wand at the black mass. "Confringo!" he and Cho said together.

Some of the Death Eaters fell to the ground, but it did not stop nearly all of them.

Cho looked at Marcus. "There's too many."

Marcus stared out at the sky. She was right: there were too many of them.