A/N – I made a horrible mistake and published the wrong file. I apologise for those of you who have read the next chapter before this one. Sorry!
Harry felt himself lifted from the ground like a leaf in a hurricane as the magic caught up with him. He left the ground and flew through the air, getting tossed and turned as the surge pushed its way out of the stairwell and into the chamber with the doorway leading back out into the night.
For a panicked moment, Harry thought he was going to crash against the ceiling, but a sudden drop in pressure lowered him slightly, aiming him out of the door and straight into the arms of Ron.
The painful collision was quickly forgotten as the two boys rolled out of the path of magical battering ram and landed in a bush to the side.
Ron pushed Harry off him and rolled to his knees, wand already in his hand.
Talking was pointless this close to the noisy magic, but the two nodded to each other to signal they were relatively unhurt, and then stood to watch the magic race by.
Hermione stood on the other side of the torrent of magic flowing out of the formerly secret burial mound. She waited with her wand in her hand, obviously scared, but not hurt. A nervous and yet relieved smile curled her lips as she saw Harry looking at her, and she waved briefly.
The roar of the magic echoed through the night as the magic twisted and ran up the path towards Hogwarts like a huge snake slithering its way to the school.
Suddenly it started to taper off, the volume of the sound fading away and the thickness of the river lessening steadily until it disappeared completely. Behind it, the once hidden doorway to the founder's tomb was clearly visible in the moonlight as a black square against the moonlight covered mound.
"Well that was unexpected," said Hermione.
-
Harry insisted on going back down into the room to find the cup and locket. He had to be certain they were no longer Horcruxes – just assuming they had been cleansed was completely unacceptable.
Neither of his friends would let him go alone, and Hermione couldn't stop talking about what they had just seen.
"Can you imagine how much magic must have been in there for it to be released like that?" she asked, not for the first time.
"We don't have to imagine, Hermione," said Ron. "We saw it, saw it, felt it, and were nearly made into pancakes by it."
"Well yes, I didn't expect there to be that volume of magic. I mean, honestly, who could possible have imagined there was that sort of power inside of the Hallows?"
"Voldemort," said Harry, shocking Hermione to silence. "He guessed, or found out somehow, but he had his own use for it I bet."
"What do you reckon it is going to do when it reaches the school?" asked Ron.
"I suspect it will just become part of the castle," answered Hermione. "That was what was indicated by the runes on the staff, although I think the magic has somehow been growing over the years it has waited, otherwise the Founders would have made a better conduit for it."
They warily passed the ruined doors and entered the Great Hall. It looked precisely as it had before the release of magical energy. Nothing was damaged or even moved, although every surface shone as if a hundred house-elves had spent hours polishing them. Even the walls practically gleamed.
Harry cautiously made his way to the coffin of Slytherin and cast the soul detecting spell on the locket still imbedded in its place at the base of Salazar's neck.
It didn't glow red.
Releasing his held breath in an enormous sigh, Harry tested the cup and found the same negative result. Hermione and Ron both tried as well, just to be sure.
"Looks like you were right again, Hermione," Harry said. "Brining them back was the right thing to do, although I could have done without the 'up close and personal' display of just how powerful the Founders really were."
Ron laughed. "Sure you could have mate, especially when they decided to teach you how to fly without a broom – a lesson you tried to pass on us just moments before receiving it yourself, if I remember rightly."
Harry grinned.
"Let's get out of here," he said.
"What about them?" asked Ron, seeing Hermione looking at the coffins with their Hallows. "We just going to leave them here?"
Harry shrugged. "It's where they belong. What do you think, Hermione?"
She sighed and turned away from the coffins. "We should leave them here, and hide the door, now that the magic that has hidden it for a thousand years no longer seems to be working. But once this is all over, we have to tell Professor McGonagall. This is just too priceless to keep secret forever."
Harry nodded and led the way to the doors that hung loosely on their bent hinges.
It didn't take long for them to fix the doors and to hide the entrance in the mound by magically transplanting a tree in front of it. Getting ready to leave, voices coming towards them from the path leading towards Hogsmeade rang out into the night.
"I just don't understand. Why do we always have to do the stupid jobs?" asked a vaguely familiar voice.
Hiding behind an outcrop of dense bushes, Harry couldn't see who was talking.
"Crabbe!" whispered Ron quietly. All three clutched their wands.
"I already told you, I don't know," said another familiar voice; Vincent Goyle.
What were the two Slytherin students doing wandering around at night halfway between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts? Harry did not for a second believe it was a coincidence that they showed up so close to where he was, although the raging magic may have attracted their attention.
"Ask him, I bet he knows," said Goyle.
"Oi, Draco," called Crabbe. "Tell us - Why do we always get the stupid jobs?"
"Because nobody thinks you are capable of doing something worthwhile, so you get the jobs nobody else wants to do," came the third most hated voice in Harry's life.
Ron and Harry nearly leapt to their feet at the voice of their enemy, but Hermione's hands reached out and grabbed them, making them stop.
WAIT, she mouthed.
Harry felt his blood start to boil and he saw a vein in Ron's temple start to beat dangerously fast, but he did as she suggested and stopped.
"What was that, you filthy Ferret?" asked Goyle. "Did you just say we aren't worth anything? Come here and I'll show you what I am worth."
Motioning with her hands, Hermione signalled that the two boys should put the invisibility cloaks on and move to flank the people on the path.
Harry listened in stunned silence as, instead of hearing immediate retaliation from Draco for the insult and challenge, he heard a passive, obedient response more suited to a beaten house-elf than a Malfoy.
"Yes, Master," said Draco.
As second later he heard the meaty slap of a fist connecting with a face, and the dull thump as a body crashed to the ground. Harry had moved far enough away from where he had been crouching and to be able to see the three boys on the path. All were wearing the garb of Death Eaters, black robes and skull face masks. Draco was lying on the ground where he had fallen after the blow from his former classmate and henchman.
Goyle and Crabbe both laughed like the brainless oafs they were.
"Make him hurt himself again, Greg," said Crabbe, through howls of laughter. "That was funny."
"Nah. We had better do what we were told, or we might end up like the ferret here."
Harry saw Hermione rise from her hiding place and hit one of the black robed figures with a stunner. He had already targeted Draco and struck without hesitation at Hermione's signal, before turning his wand to cover the others, making sure Ron had struck his target too. He had, and within seconds they had levitated the three unconscious and bound boys off the path and into a small clearing were their masks were torn off.
Harry and Ron made a quick scouting trip in both directions to make sure there was nobody else around, while Hermione searched the captives for wands and anything that might have been a Portkey. In the distance they could hear sounds from the village of Hogsmeade, but nothing else seemed to be stirring in the night.
"Pity we don't have any Veritaserum," said Ron. "We could find out what they were doing here, and if they are alone."
"We could take them in to the Auror office," said Hermione. "There is even a reward out for Draco."
Harry's thoughts were considerable darker.
"Wake them up," he said.
"Harry, you're not going to go do something I'll have to explain to mum and dad, are you?" asked Ron. "Something like cutting their heads off, maybe? Not I would object too much, but you know just how well that would go down with mum."
Hermione looked equally as worried. "Really, Harry, I think we should just hand them over to the Aurors and let the Ministry take care of it."
Harry angrily grabbed the sleave of Goyle's robes and tore it off. By the light of his wand, they could all see the Dark Mark, almost pulsating.
"You can hand over whatever is left to the Aurors," he said. "But I want to know what they were doing here, and I want to know it now."
He raised his wand to cast the spell, but Hermione stopped him.
"Wait," she said. "I have an idea."
Waving her wand she conjured three black hoods and fastened them over the heads of their captors, and then she cast a spell to change her voice to a deep baritone.
"Wake them up one at time, Goyle first," she said.
"Why him first?" asked Ron. "Just get Draco."
"Because Draco wasn't in charge, Ron. Now please wake him up," she answered.
Harry obliged, standing behind the boy holding onto one shoulder while Ron held the other. Both had their wands ready.
Goyle stirred and tried to stand up.
"What's going on?" he asked. "Where am I?"
"Quiet," snapped Hermione, sounding threatening in her deep masculine voice. "You have been captured while harbouring a fugitive and face at the very least a life sentence in Azkaban for casting the Imperius Curse on Draco Malfoy, if not the kiss-"
"It wasn't me!" protested Goyle. "It was one of the others."
"How can you prove that?" asked Hermione.
Goyle stumbled, searching with his meagre intellect for an answer to his the problem.
"He can tell you himself!" he said. "Draco, tell them it wasn't me!"
"That's not good enough," said Hermione. "If he is under the curse, he will tell us anything you want him to."
"He has to do what I say, that was part of his orders, I can order him to tell you everything," said Goyle.
Hermione paused for a second, a smile of satisfaction on her face.
"Very well, Mr Goyle. I will awaken Mr Malfoy and you will instruct him to tell us everything we want to know accurately and truthfully. Be sure to say exactly that or the value of Mr Malfoy's answers will be in doubt and the consequences will be dire."
Hermione revived Draco and Goyle almost screamed his instructions.
"Draco, tell them everything and don't lie, just tell them the truth," yelled Goyle.
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Hermione stunned him again and turned to Draco.
"Why have you been put under the Imperius Curse?" she asked.
"As punishment for my failure," Draco answered in a deadpan, emotionless voice. "And to stop me from running away or hurting myself."
"Who put you under the curse?" Hermione asked.
"Severus Snape," Draco answered, again as if he had no emotions.
"You were all caught on the path leading to Hogwarts. What were you doing? Why are you here?"
"They were ordered to keep a watch on the school and make sure nobody came out. I have been assigned to Goyle to be his slave until I can learn to follow orders."
"Who ordered them to keep watch?" Hermione asked.
"Severus Snape. Snape ordered them to take me and keep a watch on the path. We were meant to go to where we could see the school, and watch. If we saw anything we were to fire sparks into the air and then go back."
"Go back where?" she asked.
"Hogsmeade. We were to go back to Hogsmeade," Draco answered lifelessly.
"Snape's in Hogsmeade?" asked Harry, ignoring Hermione's frown, possibly because he had not disguised his voice.
Draco nodded, then seemed to realise they might not be able to see the gesture due to the hood. "Yes, they all are."
"All? Who?" asked Harry.
"Snape, Aunty Bellatrix, the Dark Lord – everybody."
Harry felt a vice-like fear clutch his heart as Hermione gasped and Ron swore under his breath.
"Why is Voldemort in Hogsmeade?" he asked, dreading the answer.
"To take it over and then destroy it. He is using it as a trap to wipe out the Ministry Aurors who will undoubtedly come to save the town."
Harry felt like he couldn't breathe.
"We need to see what is going on," he said to the other two, momentarily ignoring Draco. "We need to get help-"
A muffled explosion sounded and the night sky briefly lit up above Hogsmeade.
"You are too late," said Draco, now sounding slightly less dead.
Ron swore again and stunned Draco. Harry scrambled for ideas.
"You two go get help," he said. "I'll go down and see if I can do anything."
"No, Harry!" said Hermione. "He is there. He will kill you. We need to go, we need to get help."
"We can't run away, Hermione," snapped Harry, thrusting his invisibility cloak at her. "Take this and go find Hagrid. He should be able to call Lupin-"
"It's a full moon, Harry," said Ron shaking his head. "Lupin will be out of it."
"McGonagall then, or Tonks, it doesn't matter. Hagrid can contact the Order," he turned to Ron. "You get the D.A. Tell them what is going on and get them to try and save the people in the town."
"No," said Ron, drawing himself up to his full height. "I am not letting you go down there alone."
Harry opened his mouth to argue, but saw the determined look in his friend's eye and knew it was pointless. At least he wasn't tyring to stop him.
"Go, Hermione," he said instead. "Get help. We'll sneak up and try to help whoever is there escape. Tell them to get the castle ready for refugees."
Hermione looked torn, as Ron stepped up to her and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Go on, love," he said. "I'll keep Harry safe, and you've got the best chance of getting help anyway. Everybody listens to you, and you'll know exactly what to do."
Another explosion rocked the night, chasing away the stars.
Ron leaned in and kissed Hermione deeply. She threw her arms around his neck and returned the kiss with fervour.
"Hurry back," he said, breaking away.
She turned to look at Harry, opening her mouth to say something.
"There's no time, Hermione – just go," he said, holding out the cloak.
"You need it more," she said, shaking her head. "Be safe, both of you."
Then she turned and disappeared with a loud pop.
Ron gave one final look at the spot his girlfriend had just been standing and turned to look at Harry.
"So how are we going to do this?" he asked.
"Don't worry," said Harry, looking at the three unconscious figures. "I have an idea."
Ron's groan was audible above the distant rumblings coming from Hogsmeade.
-
The pale haired heir to the Malfoy fortune walked confidently to the edge of town. The swagger in his step that had been missing on his trip out was back, in spades.
Smoke from distant fires swept over him, briefly obscuring everything further away than a few yards, but he walked on regardless, as if nothing could touch him.
"Malfoy!" called a harsh voice, as he walked passed the first of the outlying buildings. "What are you doing back here? You are meant to be keeping a watch out for anybody coming from the school with those other two."
The boy stopped still, facing the black cloaked figure emerging from the shadow of the building. For a brief second, he seemed to be struggling with himself. The man who had addressed him sensed something amiss and began to raise his wand, but it was too late.
"Stupefy!" shouted Draco, hitting the man in the chest before he had managed to get his wand up.
"Good one, Ferret," said a voice out of thin air. "Now Imperius him and give him his orders."
Draco bound and blindfolded the stunned man before reviving him. Instantly the man started struggling.
"Imperio!" Draco said, pointing his wand at the man.
Harry saw the man's struggles suddenly cease as knew the spell had worked.
"Can you cast the Imperius Curse?" Draco asked.
The bound man nodded.
"You are to find another Death Eater secretly place the Imperius curse on him, and then give him these same orders," he said. "If you can't cast the curse, you are to secretly pick off as many Death Eaters as you can without getting caught. You must protect and free prisoners at any cost, even your own life, and you are not to fight back against any Aurors or their allies. If your target resists the curse, you are to incapacitate him in any way possible. You are to act as normal as possible while following these orders. If you see Harry Potter, you are to instantly attack any Death Eaters nearby that you do not know are already under the curse. Do you understand?"
The man nodded.
Draco removed the bindings with a flick of his wand. "Go," he said.
Once he was out of sight, Ron released a pent up breath and Harry realised he had also been holding his.
"Do you think this is going to work?" Harry asked the empty air where he thought Ron was standing.
"Don't know," said Ron, from several feet away from where Harry had been looking. "But it sure beats your plan."
"Come on, Ferret," Ron said. "Get a move on. Lot's more of your buddies to bring over to the light side."
Draco struggled briefly with himself again, but then obeyed the disembodied voice and began walking down the street in his normal swagger.
"I could get to like this," said Ron.
Harry smiled, knowing Ron wouldn't see him. "Better not let Hermione hear that, or you will be in a world of trouble."
"Let's go, and remember, stay on your side and about this far back," said Harry. "Don't get him directly between you and any Death Eaters in case they miss and hit you instead."
"Hey, I thought up the strategy, you don't need to tell me about it," protested Ron, his voice moving off as he followed Draco.
Harry hung back, waiting to make sure Ron was at least a few metres in front of him before moving off to the other side of the street. They intended on shadowing Draco as he waged his Guerrilla tactics against his allies, providing cover fire and protection without putting themselves in the firing line. It was a good plan, definitely better than the one Harry had come up with.
He had intended on making Goyle order Draco to follow their orders without question, but he had planned on pretending to have been captured so as to get closer to the Death Eaters before attacking, with an invisible Ron covering him.
"You really need to leave the strategy to somebody else," Ron had told him. "That is possibly the worst plan I have heard since some imbecile said 'hey let's take Polyjuice and pretend to be vampire servants delivering new captives'!"
Ron's variation was infinitely more acceptable, though neither of them had any illusions about how dangerous a situation they were getting themselves into.
For a moment Harry had considered the legality and morality of the situation. Was causing somebody to cast the Imperius curse on another person paramount to casting it yourself?
"They're only bleeding Death Eaters," said Ron angrily, smacking Harry back down to earth. "And right now they are probably killing and torturing people I know in Hogsmeade, so if you got any moral problems with this, turn your back while I take care of it!"
Harry had been shamed by Ron's words, although he was far from convinced that it was the right thing to do. It was however, the best chance they had to slow down or disrupt the attack until Hermione returned with help.
They questioned Draco briefly, and found out less than a fifth of Voldemort's forces were actively capturing the town. The rest were waiting for the Aurors to commit all of their forces to the fight before swooping in to crush them. Dementors waited some distance from the far side of the village, ready to attack the Aurors from behind, while various other non-human allies including giants and Vampires were to be port keyed in once the signal was given.
Voldemort was aiming to destroy the strongest of his opponents in one night.
Ron had been surprised that Draco knew so much, but the truth was Crabbe and Goyle could not help boasting about the plan, after their fathers had told them they would be allowed to join in and explained it all to them.
Harry didn't know the reason for the sudden change in tactics by the Dark Lord, but it signalled a deadly new development, and if it succeeded, stood to turn the tide of the war once and for all into Voldemort's favour.
They had to do everything they could to disrupt it.
Ahead of him, Harry made out the figures of three Death Eaters standing around a group of people huddling on the ground. A building all around them were ablaze, the smoke and fumes sweeping down the street in great clouds, and the bright light of the fire making Harry squint to try and make out the figures.
A single figure was separated from the others. It lay unmoving on the ground, and Harry knew whoever it was, they were dead.
He raised his wand as Draco approached the laughing gang, worried by the casual way the boy was walking towards the men.
Suddenly Draco raised his wand and shot the nearest Death Eater with a stunner. He managed to fire off a second shot that missed before one of the other two returned fire and hit the boy easily.
Harry swore under his breath and fired his wand from under the hem of his cloak at the one closest to him. The man hadn't moved yet and dropped to the ground just as a matching beam come from nowhere and knocked the other one out.
"Damn it, Malfoy," growled Ron loud enough for Harry to hear him. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"I think he was trying to get caught," said Harry moving cautiously towards the prisoners. "We need to be more specific with our orders."
The captives had not moved and lay whimpering in a huddle. As he got closer, Harry could se it was a woman and two children, a boy and a girl. Their faces looked grey and were almost frozen in expressions of fear, but they seemed oddly un-responsive to the events around them.
"It's okay, you are free," he said in a calm voice, trying to reassure the obviously frightened victims. "You are safe now."
They ignored him, although the woman looked around, as if looking for the source of the voice.
"Are you hurt?" Harry asked, but they ignored him. Realising he was getting nowhere, Harry took off his cloak and knelt down besides them. Ron hissed in disapproval.
"Harry, don't be an idiot. Anybody could see you."
Harry reached out his hand to the woman who was looking at him in fear.
"It's all right, I won't hurt you," he said.
The second his hand touched her she almost screamed and shrank away from him as if he had burnt her.
"What's wrong with them?" asked Ron from behind Harry.
"I think they might just be scared out of their wits," answered Harry.
"Well we can't stay here," said Ron. "Oh you lot, if you want to live, get up!"
"Ron!" said Harry, shocked by his friend's tone. "What are you doing?"
"It's something mum once said," he answered. "If someone is in shock they need a commanding presence, or something – I wasn't really listening."
To Harry's amazement, the group stood up, still whimpering in terror.
"Right," said Ron sounding pleased. "Now go down the path to the school. Wait outside the main doors until somebody comes and gets you."
The group started walking towards the school, still clinging to each other.
"Move it," snapped Ron. "Run."
The group broke in an ambling trot that touched a memory in Harry, although he couldn't quite place the familiar way they were moving. He had a sudden urge to stop them and question them more.
"That was strange," he said, changing his mind. He had more important things to look into than a family already on their way to safety.
"I'll say, now put you ruddy cloak back on," snapped Ron.
Harry obliged, just as another group of prisoners came trotting around the corner following a Death Eater.
Harry nearly stunned the man before he realised it had to be one of their captured 'allies' leading more people to safety. He quickly revived Draco and whispered a new order into his ear.
"Hurry up," called Draco. "All of you go to the school, except you," he said pointing to the Death Eater. "You go back and keep on with your new task."
The man nodded and turned around as the motley group of half a dozen prisoners trotted passed silently, apart from some crying and whimpering.
Draco revived and Imperioed the three Death Eaters, giving them the same orders he had given the first one, and then moved on, heading for the centre of the town.
So far they had only stumbled across a smattering of Death Eaters, but Harry expected the number to increase dramatically as they neared the centre of the town. There had to be some sort of rear guard making sure nobody snuck down from the castle, which was the most obvious place for reinforcements to be coming from.
In the distance he could hear the sounds of spells being cast and the odd explosion. Many more buildings must have been on fire further in, considering the amount of smoke and heat drifting though the night air.
If Voldemort had set up a trap, it didn't sound like it had been sprung yet, although there was little doubt he now commanded the majority of the town – there just wasn't enough fighting going on.
There had to be a small group, possibly of Aurors, putting up some resistance. Voldemort's forces would be toying with them, probably letting one or two escape to bring the others. With luck, Hermione would be able to get a message to them and they would be prepared to counter attack rather than rush into their death. If Harry and Ron could disrupt Voldemort's plans in even a small way, they might be able to save many lives, like those of the people already heading back to Hogwarts.
He stopped at the path that led to the shrieking shack.
A chill run down Harry's back as he thought about how close to victory Voldemort was. If he managed to lure the main force of the Aurors into the trap, he would almost have free rein over the country. There would be very little to stop him from walking into the Ministry of magic itself and taking Scrimgeour's office for his throne.
A world ruled by Voldemort was not one Harry would be willing to live in. It was possibly the worst thing he could imagine. Thoughts of Voldemort killing and rampaging through the land welled up in Harry's imagination, and he found he had to shake his head to force himself to stop daydreaming.
Harry shivered, suddenly very cold, and looked around for Draco, having temporarily lost sight of the blonde boy after dropping further and further behind due to his musings.
A deathly rasping breath sounded close behind him.
Harry felt his heart almost stop in terror. The cold seeping into his bones was not a natural reaction to fear, it was the icy touch of a Dementor's presence.
And it was standing right behind him.