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Chapter 16: Drums of War
Severus Snape was very, very glad he'd trusted Potter's information. True to Potter's letter, he'd been kept behind, watched carefully by the Dark Lord, as other Death Eaters went to see if the Order showed up where Snape was told an attack was taking place. Even though he knew that no Order members would be there, Snape still fought viciously to keep from shaking with fear in the Dark Lord's presence.
Then, thirty minutes after the Death Eaters went to check, they came back with news that there were no signs of Order members anywhere. Snape hid his sigh of relief, as Voldemort Crucio'd one of the Death Eaters. The Dark Lord wasn't happy that he'd been given false information on the spy within the Death Eater ranks, and Snape was saved. Although he still wasn't trusted completely, the Dark Lord gave Snape a short Crucio and sent him off. Compared to other meetings, a short Crucio was a blessing.
Upon return to his quarters at Hogwarts, Snape wrote out a letter, and sent it off immediately, before going to give his report to Dumbledore. Of course, the report would be severely altered, and Dumbledore would probably not be very happy with it, but Snape knew it had to be done. Besides, it was fun watching the Headmaster's face, as he got annoyed over not having access to Snape's mind.
Harry looked up absently at the sound of an owl winging its way toward him. From where they were practicing, the Marauders looked up too. Four pairs of eyes watched as Harry nodded to the owl, which bowed his head and flew off. As Harry read the short letter, a grin appeared on his face.
Dear Mr. Potter,
I will expect you in my NEWT Potions class come first-term. Whether you stay or not is up to your performance.
Tell anyone that I voluntarily allowed you in, and you will have two months of detention with me, and one hundred points will be taken.
Severus Snape
Potions Master, Hogwarts.
"What does it say, Harry?" Ginny asked, coming over. She was surprised when the teen just grinned at her, and destroyed the piece of paper with a tap of his wand.
"I'm sure you'll find out sooner or later, but I can't tell you right now. I'll just say that I got some good news." Harry answered. The letter that was so typically Snape told him three good things. Well, some weren't literally listed, and one could be debated… First, Snape trusted him enough to not tell Dumbledore about the false information. That led to the second piece of good news; Snape was alive, and was out of danger now. If Ron ever found out, he'd be disappointed, but Snape was a valuable spy, one that the Light side couldn't afford to lose. And last, he was in Potions class, which Harry needed in order to try and be an Auror.
Ginny looked at him oddly, as did the others. Harry had informed them that the Diagon Alley excursion had been pushed back a few days more, for reasons that Harry refused to name. They were confused at Harry's sudden vagueness.
"Harry, more owls are coming. They claim to be bringing replies to the letters you sent last night." Hedwig informed Harry. The teen nodded. "Tell them to come. I've been waiting on them."
In a few seconds, about two-dozen owls flew into the chamber, flying around Harry. A quick mental message, and all the letters were deposited on the dining table, and the owls on perches around the Chamber.
Ron looked at all the owls in disbelief. "Harry, what's going on? Why are all these owls here?"
Harry looked at his friends, all of who had questioning looks on their faces. He sighed. "Everyone, go to the Common Room and sit down. I'll be with you in just a few minutes. Then I'll explain." They looked at each other, and slowly made their way to the Common Room.
Harry, on the other hand, went to the dining table and began sifting through the letters. Using his wand, all of the envelopes opened, making it easy for him to take out the contents and read them quickly. He read them all, starting to smile.
True to his word, Harry joined his friends in the Common Room a few minutes later, plopping down on his favorite chair. "Before you start asking questions, you should look at something first. Then I'll answer your questions." Harry said, waving his wand. Two pieces of parchment flew onto the central table in the Common Room.
They all leaned in to look, as Harry sat back, waiting for the questions and comments to start.
Surprisingly, it was Ron that figured it out first. "Is this… What are these plans for? Is there going to be an attack on Diagon Alley?" The redhead looked up at Harry.
Harry nodded. "In two days' time, Ron. And those are our plans to defend the Alley."
Moony also looked up, frowning. "How do you know this? And how exactly are we going to defend Diagon Alley with only five people."
Harry smirked. "Actually, it's closer to thirty people, Moony.And ithelps to have a scar that conveniently lets you eavesdrop on Death Eater meetings."
"Where are we going to get thirty people?" Hermione asked.
"We already have them, Hermione." Harry replied. "Well, actually we have roughly twenty-six confirmed. I'm still waiting for four people to say that they're going to do it."
Ginny blinked at him. "Harry, cut the crap, and tell us already. You and what army have you got to do all this?"
Harry grinned. "Dumbledore's." He was enjoying the confused looks on their faces.
Hermione shook her head. "Dumbledore's…?" She trailed off questioningly.
"Army. You remember, also known as the DA?"
At that, the three other teens began to understand. Hermione clicked all the pieces together first. "The DA? You mean to tell me that you think a bunch of students are going to take on fully trained Death Eaters and win?"
"We've done it before, and with greater odds. Besides, every DA member that I owled said that they would help." Harry retorted.
As one, the Marauders and Moony looked at the stack of letters lying on the dining table. Harry smirked, watching understanding dawn.
"How long have you been planning this?" Moony asked in the silence that had fallen.
"Since yesterday morning. That was when I found out via dream."
Ginny brightened. "So that was why you were so tired yesterday!"
Harry nodded. "Yes. It was a few hours after midnight, and I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, so I started planning. I waited to tell you all until I got replies from the DA. So now the question is, will all of you help us?"
Silence fell again, as they considered Harry's words. And wondered if Harry was actually certifiably crazy. It certainly seemed like it. If the information that Harry had provided was correct, and it probably was, the Death Eaters greatly outnumbered the DA. The plan he had looked almost suicidal.
A deep sigh sounded, and Moony shook his head. "Well, you know what they say… Friends don't let friends get AK'd… I'm in."
Harry chuckled. "Thanks, Moony."
Ron smirked. "Count me in too, Shade."
"Don't forget me, Shade. I won't let you get killed all by yourself." Ginny looked resigned. Harry grinned at her.
As one, they looked at Hermione, who was looking at the plans with a bit of a frown on her face. She looked up, and raised an eyebrow. "What? Did you honestly think I wouldn't go? Someone needs to keep an eye on those two." She said, pointing at Harry and Ron.
The boys grinned at Hermione, and Ginny tackled Hermione in a hug. Moony let the corners of his mouth twitch upward.
Hedwig looked at the owls in front of her sternly. "All of you understand your mission?"
The owls traded amused glances within their ranks. As one, they all responded with "Yes ma'am!"
The Snowy Owl rolled her eyes. "I just want you to understand the seriousness of this. If we don't get the letters out, Harry could die, as would many others. You must get those letters into your person's hands!"
Heads lifted. Hedwig's words had hit them. Numa answered for all of them. "We understand perfectly, Hedwig. We won't let anything happen to Harry's letters. I think I can say that each and every owl here would die before being intercepted by any one else besides our person. Harry means a lot to us to."
Hedwig preened her ruffled chess feathers down. "I know, I know… just… be careful, will you?"
The owls hooted reassuringly. Hedwig looked at them with pride in her eyes. "Now, go! Fly high and far!"
A cacophony of hoots sounded in an owl cheer, as the owls rose into the air, winging their way to their destination. As soon as they got into the air, they were to pair up, one flying with the letter, the other on the watch for danger, a backup just in case.
Hedwig watched them go, and didn't turn her head when she heard the soft beat of wings.
Fawkes looked at the white owl curiously. "So, do you go Drill Instructor much?" He wasn't quite quick enough to dodge the white wing that cuffed him on the head.
"Be nice, you overcooked turkey!" Hedwig glared at him.
Fawkes decided to be amused. "And you're telling me to be nice? Oh well, that's to be expected of a snowy winged midget."
"Ancient Pyromaniac!"
"Young whippersnapper!"
"Bloody featherbrain!"
"Bleached-out winged rat!"
Hedwig quivered with anger. "Oh, now that went too far! You washed-out little songbird! You…" and then she proceeded to use some words that she didn't quite know what they meant, but knew they were bad. Harry had used them to describe Dumbledore once when he had gotten mad, and they didn't sound particularly nice.
Fawkes looked thunderstruck. "Where on earth did you learn all those?" He asked, with a faint tinge of admiration for her vocabulary.
It was a very good thing that owls couldn't blush, or else Hedwig would've been as red as Fawkes. "Er… Harry."
"I certainly never heard him use those words!"
Hedwig wished she could smirk. "Maybe your old ears aren't working like they used to?"
Fawkes opened his beak to retort, but stopped. He then started laughing. "You're good, Hedwig, very good. You win." He bowed his head in deference.
Hedwig ruffled her feathers in pride. "Naturally"
"Hedwig, One, Fawkes, Zilch!" The birds jumped. They hadn't realized Harry had been listening. They turned their heads, and glared at Harry, who just waved cheekily at them, and grinned.
Fawkes looked at Hedwig. "After you, my lady."
Hedwig inclined her head. "Thank you, kind sir"
Harry ran for it, as the birds swooped after him, much to his friends' amusement.
Neville Longbottom looked up at the two owls winging their way towards him, and frowned, puzzled. One of them carried a letter, and the other… nothing. Why would two owls come for one letter? It didn't make any sense.
Wiping his dirty hands off on his pants, Neville stood up from where he had been working in his garden, and accepted the letter.
The teen smiled, as he recalled receiving another letter yesterday. He had been surprised that anyone had written to him, but overjoyed. Once he read the letter, however, his joy disappeared, to be replaced by a bit of fright, pride, and seriousness. The letter had been from Harry, and told him frightening news: Death Eaters were planning to attack Diagon Alley in three days. But, Harry had assured with his loopy writing, he had a plan, one that would stop the attack. It only needed the DA members' cooperation, and support. It was their choice if they wanted to help or not, but whatever they decided, they had to not mention this to anybody. The whole plan was based on the element of surprise.
Neville had warred with his fright and pride. His frightened side wanted to say no, and avoid Diagon Alley like the plague. His pride berated him, reminding him of how he had survived the battle at the Department of Mysteries, and helped take out the Death Eaters. He was still undecided, when he noticed the postscript, written in scarlet ink. It simply read, "Hey Neville! I know you're probably a bit scared at this. Don't be ashamed, I'm kind of scared too. But I know that this will work, and that you'll do splendidly. We did kick arse at the DoM, remember? This will be just a bigger version of that, only we know exactly what we're getting into, and the DE's don't. And, like the DoM, I'll be fighting right alongside with you! Go Gryffindor!"
At that moment, Neville knew exactly why he had followed Harry two months ago, and why he would follow him now. Harry inspired loyalty, by simply placing himself no higher than and fighting right alongside his companions. That, and Neville was reminded that he was a Gryffindor.
Neville looked quickly over the plans Harry had sent him, and smiled. He almost pitied the Death Eaters.
It was lucky for the Weasley twins that explosions were commonplace wherever they were, or else they would have been discovered. And this last explosion was the biggest yet, so they were doubly lucky.
"Fred, did you see that?" A cheerful voice exclaimed, even as the hands that belonged to the voice waved away the purple smoke.
"No I didn't." An almost identical voice responded, although it was laced with sarcasm. "What do you think, George? If the explosion was any indication, this is our best creation yet!"
The smoke cleared enough so that the twins could see each other. At the sight of the aftereffects of the smoke, they burst out laughing. "It looks like we have a winner, Fred!"
Fred nodded, and waved his wand in a series of complicated gestures and words. Both now free of the smoke's effects, they started humming a tune that sounded suspiciously like something from a muggle movie about an ogre as they went back to work.
They stopped humming, as two owls swooped through the window just minutes after the explosion, one carrying a letter, and the other… nothing. The owl with the letter merely offered it out, and the twins could see familiar, loopy handwriting, addressing the envelope to both of them at once.
Fred thanked the owl as he took the letter, and started reading the contents, his twin peeking over his shoulder. When they finished, they were sporting identical grins of mischief and unholy terror.
The watching owls looked uneasy at that, and were eager to return back with the twins' reply. A bunch of snickering later, the redheads offered their reply to the pair of owls, who took it, and winged away as quick as they could.
Behind them, the twins decided that although their newest creation would be awesome to use in the battle, it wouldn't really help Harry out a lot. So, they started anew, on a project that would be very, very useful in the battle just a few days away.
Severus Snape looked thoughtfully at the white potion in front of him. He had held onto the potion that Harry had given him, neither using nor studying it. Many a time had he wished he could have had a true white Animagus Revealo Potion, but since the potions that he had made weren't a true white, and he held very strict standards as to what potions he drank, he had never had the chance to find out what his Animagus form was. Or if he even had one. Several times he wondered later why he'd thrown out all those imperfect Animagus potions, when he could have just swallowed it down, and at least find out what his form was. But it didn't matter now; he had a true white Animagus Potion.
The Potions Professor sighed, and picked up the vial, and uncorked it. A brief thought flashed through his mind: he was actually going to ingest a potion made by Harry Potter, the bane of his existence. He held the vial away from him, looking at it with suspicion and feeling a bit of horror with himself.
But, then other thoughts came to his mind. How Potter had given the potion to him with one request; consider letting him into NEWT Potions class. The boy hadn't demanded it, but rather asked for the Professor to think twice about it. It also occurred to Snape that Potter had saved his life, with that information about the false information. That in and of itself was a fact to be marveled at. After all the times that he had been cruel and a general bastard to the boy, Potter still saved his life.
Forcing all thoughts to the back of his mind, and before he could stop himself, Snape lifted the vial to his mouth and swallowed quickly. Remembering what he had read about the potion, he made it to his bed just in time, right before he passed out.
An hour later, his eyes snapped open, and he realized that his face felt… stretched. It was a few seconds later that he realized he was actually smiling. He stopped at once, although he felt a strange weight had been lifted off his shoulders. After all that worry that he would be a… a rat like Pettigrew, or a mutt like Black… but there was really no need to worry at all. It was something that he wouldn't lose his dignity by actually admitting that he could change into his form, or something big and bold that would be of no use to him. Snape shook his head in faint amusement, and went to start a new potion he had wanted to try and make.
Harry smiled as he sifted through the replies that the owls had brought back. Each letter brought a more personal note to Harry, and said that they would be in their stations when the attack was scheduled to take place.
Luna Lovegood's reply was by far the strangest. Her letter read,
"Dear Harry,
I will be glad to help out in your attack. Daddy and I were planning to go to Diagon Alley to check out reports of a new species, the Snofalofaling Wimbibler, anyway. After the battle, would you like to help us search for it?"
Harry couldn't help but laugh. If they survived, Harry promised himself he'd go look for the Snow-whatsits-thingy with Luna.
Please don't kill me!
That said, I apologize for not getting this chapter up sooner. I had planned on it, but school started back up (go seniors!), and I'm in a college level course in HS, I had boy troubles (what girl doesn't?), and then all this Hurricane crud... Oh, and my muse deserted me. But, I finally got this up, so don't kill me... besides if you do, you won't know how the rest of this story will turn out!
Hmm...two more things to say. First of all, unless something totally drastic happens, I will NOT abandon this story. I may become busy, thanks to school or other outside sources, and my updates will be rather spaced out, but I won't just up and decide I don't want to anymore. I hate it when other authors do that, and I don't want to be a hypocrite. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to y'all, and I know that some of you would probably track me down and find a way to AK me or something. ;-)
Second, I'm astonished at all the reviews I got. I'm really touched that that many people like my story, and take their time to review. Again, I just kinda got busy and my muse deserted me, so I didn't update (again, please forgive me), but I really loved all of the reviews I got. Please continue to review, give me ideas, and whatnot.
Okay folks, assuming that you're still not too pissed off at me for not updating for over two months, here's a few questions to get you thinking about Beast Lord!
1. What is Snape's Animagus form? (he he, I'd love to see what you come up with)
2. Taking in the fact that I used a lot of author's creative license in this story, what dateis the attack on Diagon Alley taking place on?
3. What will Gred and Forge's first prank do? (the one that the deemed unuseful for battle) What will they come up with to help in battle?
Well, 'til next update (which will be in less than two months)! Love ya!
Ceres K.