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The Light at the End of the Tunnel
Chapter six: No Escape from The Assassination: Fighting in the Aftermath.
Harry swore again and turned to Lupin. Their luck had seemed to be holding out too.
"We have to get out of here."
"I know." Lupin looked thoughtful but was frowning at the same time. This was not looking good. Harry looked around the room desperately, searching for a way out, floo powder, a portkey, anything. There was nothing.
"What about floo?" Harry asked Lupin.
"The fireplace isn't connected. To prevent Death Eaters simply flooing in."
"Portkey?"
"Anti-Portkey charms. For the same reason."
"Apparition?" Lupin looked at him critically.
"You can't."
"No. But you can." Lupin looked at him yet more critically.
"In the end who's more important? You or me?"
So Lupin knew about the damn prophecy as well.
Harry turned away in disgust and began pacing the room well aware of the eyes of the other assassins on him. He blamed Dumbledore for this. Dumbledore hadn't planned anything, just thrown them into the deep end with no escape plan. Here they were trapped in the Ministry of Magic, the whole place fucking crawling with Aurors all because Dumbledore didn't give a damn enough to plan an escape for them.
"How many Aurors are there in the building?" He snapped at Lupin. Lupin shrugged.
"About three hundred." Harry stood there stunned. The fear took a greater hold.
"Are you seriously telling me that Dumbledore sent us in to assassinate the Minister of Magic with no back up plan and three hundred fucking Aurors in the building?" Lupin shrugged.
"Looks like it." Fear significantly shortened Harry's temper.
"A little fucking help wouldn't go amiss." Harry snapped at Lupin. Lupin's head jerked up.
"What the hell do you think I'm trying to do?" Lupin snapped back. "Don't forget, I'm in this too." Harry turned away in disgust. He felt terrified. He wanted this all over, to be back at Hogwarts, to have this safely behind him, but he knew he couldn't, not without getting through this and the thought scared him.
Harry was about to turn back when there were raised voices from outside the door. After a few minutes the voices quietened down and one rose above the rest.
"Come out with your arms above your head." Harry looked at the other six. They all shook their heads. He laughed loudly.
"Piss off." He yelled back. The Aurors seemed to be debating on the next course of action. Harry's response had been so determined that it left no room for negotiation. Finally the babble of voices from the other side quietened down and the same voice rose again.
"You are trapped. There is no escape. Surrender now and you will be treated courteously. There are seventy of us out here and no more then ten of you in there. Resistance is futile." Harry's heart stopped. Seventy...There was no way they could fight against that number of professional Aurors. But they had no option, they had to fight.
"Sod off. We're resisting."
"This is your last chance." The voice yelled back. Harry shook his head. For a moment he was tempted to give in. To end it all. But that would create more problems. There was no options but one. Fight. Summoning up all the defiance he could muster he yelled back.
"Go to hell." There were angry, raised voices from outside the door and then silence. A few seconds later there was an almighty crash and the door shuddered on its hinges. Harry's heart leapt into his throat. They were going to break the door down. Lupin looked at Harry for a moment.
"I'll tell Dumbledore." He said resignedly before turning his back to Harry. Harry and the other five assassins settled themselves down around the room in preparation for a long and anxious wait.
A very long and anxious wait.
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Dinner was taking place in the Great Hall. Albus Dumbledore was just reaching to take the potatoes from Professor McGonagall when a silver mist appeared around Dumbledore. Almost immediately Lupin's voice echoed in his ear.
"Fudge is dead. They hit the alarm. We're trapped inside Fudge's office. Harry's safe." The silver dish of potatoes fell to the table with a crash and Dumbledore leapt to his feet horrified. The conversation around the Great Hall fell silent.
"What is it?" Hissed McGonagall. Without answering Dumbledore turned and positively fled from the room. Without a word to the students the professors followed.
Down at the Gryffindor table Ron turned to Hermione.
"This is about Harry."
"Looks like it." Their voices were tense and the slowly got to their feet and, unnoticed by the rest of the student body, left the room to find Dumbledore.
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"Do you care to tell us what is going on, Albus?" Snape's sleek voice cut through the raised voices of the teachers in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore looked up. The teachers felt their breath catch. Silver tears trickled down his face and into his beard.
"Harry Potter is trapped inside the Minister's office at the Ministry of Magic." There was a shocked outcry, the main question asked being 'What is he doing there?' Dumbledore held up his hand for silence.
"I shall explain." For the next few minutes the faces of the professors didn't change once. The sole expression was that of shocked surprise. Dumbledore finished and turned to Professor McGonagall.
"Minerva. Get the Order together and send them to London. We need to get them out of there." McGonagall nodded and left the room. Dumbledore turned to the remaining teachers.
"Return to your lessons. Don't tell anyone else about this." They nodded and left the room, too shocked to question Dumbledore.
The second the last teacher left Ron and Hermione came flying into the room.
"Professor, what's going on, this has got to do with Harry hasn't it?" Demanded Hermione. Dumbledore put his head in his hands again.
"Yes." He said finally. "This has got to do with Harry."
"Well?" demanded Ron.
"He's trapped in the Ministry. The Aurors managed to sound the alarm and as a result the Ministry has sealed itself. No one can get in or out." Ron paled considerably. Hermione cried out.
"Is there nothing we can do?" asked Ron. Dumbledore shook his head.
"The wards stopping people from entering or leaving the building can only be pulled down by people with the authority to. A large group of the Order have been dispatched to London to try and get in but they won't be successful even if they do break through they still have to fight through three hundred Aurors to get to them." Ron paled more and Hermione cried out again. Her body racked with sobs and Ron put an arm around her waist.
"Surely you can break through?" Ron asked desperately.
"Yes but that would take time we don't have." They all fell silent. None of them voiced it but they all knew that it was down to Harry and his fighting skills to get himself out of there. Hermione and Ron clung to each other. They were more worried than they ever had been in their entire lives.
"Won't they spare him, because of who he is?" Ron asked eventually.
"No. He has a cloak on and they won't be able to see his face."
"Is there no way they can leave the building?" Hermione asked. Dumbledore thought long and hard.
"One. But it is nearly impossible. There is a place in the main hall where people can portkey out of the building if it needs to be evacuated. But to get there they will need to fight their way through three hundred Aurors. They'll never make it." Ron shook his head.
"No. If there's a way, Harry will find it and Harry will make it. I know he will." Dumbledore nodded.
"I'll tell Lupin."
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Harry leant against the wall and tried to control the fear that was threatening to overcome him. They had been sat here nearly an hour and were no better off than at the start. None of them had come up with a plan. Harry flinched every time there was a crash and the door shuddered under the breaching spells the Aurors were using to try and get through the door. Lupin had told them that at this rate the door would hold out for around seventy two hours due to the immense number of strengthening charms put on it. This was little comfort seeing as they would have died of dehydration before then.
They sat in silence. Everybody lost in their own thoughts. Harry's regrets were that he would never see Ron and Hermione again. Never see Ginny again. Never see the DA again. And he would never see Cho again. He was tempted to break down into uncontrollable sobs but he fought back the tears.
Lupin suddenly sat bolt upright. He looked as if he was concentrating deeply but Harry was sure he was smiling. Lupin sat there for a minute, holding his hand up every time someone asked him a question. Eventually he turned to them.
"Dumbledore has just told me a way out. In the main hall there is a small area where we can portkey out. But we will need to fight our way there." Harry felt a small glimmer of hope that was no quelled by the prospect of fighting the Aurors. There was a way out and that was all that mattered.
One of the assassins stepped forward.
"Why wait? We might as well get this over and done with." Harry nodded in agreement.
"So what's the best way to do this?" Harry asked. One of the assassins spoke up.
"Use the door as cover and try and pick them off?" Lupin shook his head.
"No. It would take too long and plus they would be able to block the spells. Even if we did get one then they would be able to replace him in seconds.
"How about he set up a strong defensive position in here, open the door and let them come and kill them as they attack." Another assassin shook his head.
"No. They would overpower us in seconds through sheer weight of numbers." They paused and thought hard. Harry spoke up in the end.
"The only advantage we have is surprise. We need to make the best of that. Also they say that offence is the best defence. So what I reckon we should do is attack. Open the door and sprint out. Get into the middle of them where they can't block our spells. Turn it into a melee where blocking is impossible. We have one other advantage here. Two of us carry swords which are melee weapons. They don't carry swords. If we stay together and don't get separated then we might be able to make it to the lift." The assassins nodded slowly.
"The only problem is we might be overwhelmed by numbers alone. So we have to keep moving." Harry shrugged. "That's the best I can come up with." They nodded slowly.
"It might just work." Said Lupin thoughtfully. He turned to Harry. "If we go first then we might be able to cut some of them down and keep their attention away from the assassins without swords. That way no one can be dragged into a ranged battle. They nodded in agreement.
Another crash sounded and the door shook again.
"After the next one." Harry announced impulsively. They gathered by the door and waited, Harry and Lupin drew their swords and wands and the rest took out their wands. Waiting was the hardest part decided Harry. Horrible visions of his death played in his mind over and over again. He had to fight to keep himself from being sick. Lupin quickly cast a charm on all of them.
"Securing charm." He said. "To stop your hoods being pulled back." They waited. And then it came. There was an almighty crash and the door shook, Lupin wrenched open the door and charged out with Harry hot on his heels.
The Auror had not been lying. There were seventy of them out there, if not more. They were gathered in a large group in the centre of the corridor. Harry waited for the spells to fly but the Aurors were too stunned to react quickly and in a split second Harry and Lupin were among them slashing and hacking with their swords.
Harry and Lupin stood back to back cutting down the stunned Aurors. Harry hammered the hilt of his sword into the face of one before cutting his throat. The other five had caught up and the seven of them had formed a tight circle surrounded by a sea of Aurors.
The Aurors were beginning to fight back now and Harry felt a spell thud into his shoulder. He spun around and smashed his sword into the face of the Auror responsible.
Harry was ashamed to find that he was exalting in the fight, Auror after Auror stood in front of him and he cut them down without mercy. He fired an arrowhead curse in the face of one; the Auror was thrown backwards in a spray of blood. He turned to do the same to another but the Auror knocked Harry's wand arm away and raised his own wand, Harry rammed his sword into the Aurors gut and ripped upwards.
The Auror fell back dead and Harry felt another spell thump into him, throwing him backwards. He was momentarily disorientated and felt a fist slam into his stomach before a slashing charm smacked into his face. He got to his feet and cut down another two Aurors in a sweep of his sword. He heard Lupin yell out as a spell hit him in the arm leaving a deep cut.
Harry cut down another Auror in the way and continued trying to fight his way towards the lift. An Auror punched him in the side of the face and Harry staggered; white light in front of eyes. He swung his sword in the direction of the Auror and was rewarded by the feeling of resistance as the sword bit deep into the Auror's flesh.
The fight was brutal. Harry was covered head to toe in blood, not all of it his enemies', there was no time to block and as there were less of them, spells were hitting them all the time. Harry was no longer concentrating on what he was doing. Instinct had taken over. It was taking all of his willpower to stay conscious.
An Auror kicked out at Harry and Harry swung his sword downwards and severed the man's leg. The Auror fell screaming to the ground clutching at the bloody stump.
The fight had been going on for only a few minutes and the assassins were already being overrun. The problem was none of them had the strength to do anything to change that. Harry was fighting desperately; sure he was going to die here.
Fear and panic leant him momentary strength. He shoulder barged one Auror to the ground and hacked at two others. He saw a break in the Aurors' tight circle and sprinted for it but it was quickly blocked by two Aurors. One of them sent a barrage of spells at Harry that knocked him to the ground.
His whole body ached. He wanted to get up and fight but physically couldn't. The momentary strength faded and he felt himself slipping into unconscious. The deep cuts on his chest made breathing difficult. He took a few more breaths and tasted a frothy blood in his mouth. A few metres away he saw another assassin fall, finally overwhelmed by the barrage of spells. The world began to swim in front of his eyes and he felt himself slipping. A foot was placed on his chest and began to press downwards, crushing it and impending his breathing further. He began to cough and splutter as blood poured into his lungs but the foot wouldn't move. There was a red haze in front of his eyes when Harry saw a wand pointed at his face.
A bright beam of light shot out of the wand and hit Harry's face. Harry's body gave an involuntary spasm and then lay still for a second. Harry took another laboured breath and felt a second spell slam into his face. His eyes filled with blood.
Harry's hand closed around the hilt of his sword and he found the strength to ram it upwards up into his assailant's chest. His assailant fell backwards with a strangled cry.
One final spell smacked into Harry's side. His body gave another spasm and then went limp. He finally felt a wave of cool blackness wash over him and he slipped into unconsciousness.
And then there was nothingness.
A/N PLEASE READ Ok. New chapter for you. First of all thank you for your patience. I'm sorry for the long wait but half term meant that I couldn't upload.
Second. I know that this is two days late. To make it clear why I state an update date and then miss it perhaps I should explain a bit about me.
I am fifteen and go to Repton boarding school (Roald Dahl's and Jeremy Clarkson's old school) and at the end of this year I am sitting a set of very important exams, my GCSE's (Brits will know what I am on about, I don't know about Americans) and, as a result my teachers are setting me a lot of work in preparation for them. Just to give you an idea about the importance of GCSE's they are a major determining factor in job applications. More important than A levels at the moment. So what happens is I set a deadline, and then my teachers overload me with work and I have to do that instead, therefore missing the deadline. I apologise for that but please blame my teachers rather than me! I do try to get chapters out on time and I will not stop this until it is done. Thank you.
One last thing. This chapter was a filler so only view it as one. Thanks.
Aizan19 – Thanks for the review. Fair enough. Each to their own.
Dark Phoenix Mortal - Thanks for the review. Good. I intended him to be annoying!
Colm - Thanks for the review. Glad you enjoyed it. Here's what happens to them!
Deathdefeater - Thanks for the review. Sorry about it being vague but I did explain it in the A/N.
Goddess Usaqi - Thanks for the review. I'm glad you forgive me. Hope this is quick enough... Thanks for a very encouraging and pleasant review. I'm pleased you liked the tension.
HoshiHikari - Thanks for the review. What do you think?
LogicalRaven – Thanks for the review. No need to apologise, my friend. I know what it feels like! I'm glad you have enjoyed the past two chapters so much. Hope you like this one as much.
El Permenente - Thanks for the review.
Dragon Kaydon – No worries. Thanks for giving me claim. Which story are you using them in?
The Phoenix King - Thanks for the review. I won't say much about Voldemort. You are going to find out what he is doing soon.
MystikalMagic - Thanks for the review. I know he is OOC and I apologise but that's how I would like him to act. Sorry.
FSI - Thanks for the review.
Keep reading and reviewing 'cos I'll keep writing.
Fireboy