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The Light at the End of the Tunnel.
Chapter seven: A Final Chance.
Lupin stabbed an Auror through the neck and felt the blood splatter his robes. He desperately scanned the melee for a sign of Harry but there was none. Another Auror shot a slashing spell at Lupin. It hit him in the leg and Lupin felt his leg buckle underneath him. He fell to one knee and fired slashing spells back.
An Auror punched Lupin in the face sending him flying back. Lupin leapt to his feet and shoved his sword into the Auror's throat with all the strength he could muster. There were less then half of the Aurors still fighting but one assassin had fallen, Lupin wasn't sure if he was dead or not so he had not incinerated him yet, and there was one assassin missing. Lupin realised that it was Harry. A wave of panic shot through him. He looked around desperately but could not catch sight of the boy.
An Auror stepped in front of Lupin, Lupin shot a banishing spell at the Auror and he flew backwards, he tried to get up again but a second spell caught him in the throat. Lupin looked around again but still couldn't see him. A stray spell hit Lupin in the shoulder but he ignored it. A feeling of dread was beginning to settle into him. It was more than likely that Harry was dead. In this melee not even someone as strong and skilled as Dumbledore would escape unscathed.
He began to fight his way over to where he had last seen Harry. He fired a slashing curse into the face of one Auror, smashed the hilt of his sword into the face of another, kneed the man in the stomach and then brought his sword down on the back of the man's neck.
An Auror, seeing the death of his colleague, kicked Lupin. All the blood made the floor slippery and Lupin lost his footing, fell over backwards and landed heavily. The wind was knocked out of him. The Auror fired an arrowhead curse into Lupin's chest and Lupin yelled out in pain. The Auror was just about to finish Lupin off when an assassin shoulder barged the Auror and killed him with a banishing charm that flung the Auror against the wall and broke his neck.
Lupin wanted to pause for a minute, to give himself a chance to catch his breath but there was no time. He had to throw himself right back into the fight or risk being killed. He muscles ached in protest as he got to his feet and hefted his sword again. He took a step forward and swung his sword in a stroke that severed an Auror's head. A fountain of blood shot up, spraying all over Lupin and the Aurors nearby. The sight of blood shooting three feet into the air and a severed head rolling around at their feet, the expression twisted in pain, weakened even the tough resolve of the battle-hardened Aurors and a few of them fled towards the lift.
Aurors were the soldiers of the Wizarding world and hours of training on the drill square had turned them into disciplined fighting men with an almost inhumane amount of courage. Aurors were trained to have courage beyond belief; they had to, to be able to face the dark arts. The things that most Aurors would see could drive a normal man insane. But Aurors were not trained for gutter fighting, massive melees where skill was less important then brute strength and the will to survive. Aurors saw their friends blown into pieces plenty of times but never when they were standing right next to them. To be able to see that and carry on fighting required a different type of courage. A courage that came from the will to survive and knowing that if you didn't keep fighting then you would die.
That's why some of the Aurors fled and Lupin and the assassins stayed and fought. They had no option. They had to fight. If they didn't then they would die. Sensing an advantage as the Aurors' resolve weakened, Lupin and the assassins pressed harder.
Lupin kicked a man in the gut and severed his head before ramming his sword into the face of another and firing several stunning and slashing spells at an Auror who was about to kill an assassin.
The stench of blood was strong in their nostrils as the assassins pushed their attack, forcing the Aurors onto the defensive. Men grunted as they were hit and the wounded screamed as they were trampled underfoot by the two sides.
Lupin stabbed an Auror in the thigh before leaping to the right to avoid a spell shot him, the spell grazed him leaving a painful flesh wound, and Lupin shot a stunning spell back at him and sliced the man's stomach open.
Lupin wasn't sure how long he would be able to keep this up. He had a vague notion that he was dying. He wasn't wrong. The world was going hazy and the sword thrusts that had once been strong and sure were now weak and most of the time failed to do much damage. The whole plan had been to keep the fight moving towards the lift so that they could make a final break and escape when they were there but somewhere along the lines the fight had lost its momentum and had ground to a bloody stalemate with people screaming and firing spells at each other, their fury fuelled more by fear then anything else.
Lupin hacked down another Auror, the sword biting deep into the man's neck, he turned to stab another but a spell slammed into his stomach leaving a deep gash there. Bleeding heavily Lupin fell to his knees. A boot came out of nowhere to smack into his face knocking him onto his back. Lupin was not conscious to feel the barrage of spells hit him.
Half an hour after the fight started, Remus Lupin, the last true Marauder, fell in battle.
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Dumbledore paced his office nervously. His fear was increasing by the second. He had sent a message to Lupin but had received no reply, although this was unlike Lupin Dumbledore accepted that in the midst of a fight Lupin could hardly stop and reply. No, the thing that worried him most was he couldn't actually detect Lupin's mind. This meant three things could be happening, Lupin was blocking Dumbledore out of his mind, which he would never do, especially not in a situation like this, Lupin was unconscious or worse, Lupin was dead.
There was on thing he could try. He didn't want to as he was afraid of what the results. He could break through any barrier Lupin had put up. He closed his eyes and concentrated.
There was no connection. Dumbledore frowned and pushed harder. Still no connection. Hoping, although he knew it was no use, he pushed as hard as he could. Still no connection. Which meant that Lupin was unconscious or dead. He took a pinch of floo powder from the pot above his fireplace and threw it into the fire. The flames turned green.
"Minerva," He called gravely, "I need you here." A second later she appeared.
"What is it?" She asked. His expression said everything. It was not going to be good news.
"I can no longer detect Remus' mind." Her face turned to horror. She knew what this meant.
"No!"
"Yes. Now I need you to summon Mr Weasley and Miss Granger here. Immediately. Thank you." McGonagall turned and fled from the room. Dumbledore walked and sat behind his desk. A minute later she returned with Ron and Hermione. Both of them looked terrified. Dumbledore looked up from his hands.
"Professor?" Hermione asked cautiously. Dumbledore heard her voice tremble.
"I need you to do something for me. Harry's Guardians. Get them together and prepare them for immanent departure for London."
"Why?" Hermione's voice teetered on the edge of hysteria; Ron merely stood there deathly white and looking shell-shocked. Dumbledore held up his hand.
"I cannot tell you. Prepare them to apparate to London at a split seconds notice." Hermione looked like she wanted to argue further but Ron grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room.
"We've got to do this," he said as soon as they were out there, his voice made hoarse with worry, "For Harry." Hermione nodded and allowed herself to be led away from Dumbledore's office.
Inside Dumbledore felt helpless. He knew there was nothing he could do but wait. Lupin was most probably dead, Harry must have fallen by now and even the assassins must have been wiped out. No. There was nothing he could do. He put his head in his hands again. He felt responsible for the whole thing and, feeling nothing but guilt and remorse, he wept.
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A deathly silence had settled over the school. No one knew what was going on but they knew that it had something to do with Harry and that something was nothing good. Ron's white face and Hermione's tear stained cheeks testified to that.
The Gryffindors were hit hardest. They had managed to get enough information out of Ron and Hermione to find out that he was off fighting somewhere and was in desperate trouble. They felt helpless. Every one of them liked Harry and wanted to help him but no one knew how. So they sat in the common room hoping and praying that Harry, like many times before, would get himself out of there alive. But enough information had been gotten out of Ron and Hermione to know that this was unlikely.
A morose silence had settled in the common room. No one spoke. Somewhere in the room a mouse scuttled, its claws could be heard clearly beneath the floorboards. The silence was depressing and helped no one, only left them with their fears. Those fears multiplied until one group of people could stand it no longer. They were the DA.
The members of the DA left the room to the stares of everyone else. They were going to rally behind their leader when he needed them most. When he needed them but couldn't call. They were going to find him, rally behind him, then fight like demons for him. If the DA had anything to do with it Harry would be alone no longer.
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There was a flicker of light there. Dim, but still there. The first thing noticeable was the intense pain. It cut through him like a knife; the blood was still flowing from his many wounds. A groaned escaped his lips and he felt blood dribble out at the same time. He vaguely heard anxious voices above him and had the idea that he had died and gone somewhere, heaven possibly, but then he realised that there was no pain in heaven.
He heard more voices above him and then a few muttered words. He felt his wounds closing up but for some reason that didn't do anything to alleviate the pain. He heard another word spoken, but was too groggy to recognise it and then felt himself being pulled back into consciousness. His eyes ached beneath the light and he closed them instantly to shield them.
More voices. Relieved this time. He felt someone shaking him and pain shot through him. He forced himself to open his eyes and saw Lupin smiling down at him.
"How're you feeling?" As if in answer Harry keeled over sideways and vomited blood all over the floor.
"Like I picked a fight with several hippogriffs." His voice hoarse. Lupin grinned and held out a hand to help him up. His clothes were covered with blood which had already soaked into the material. He looked at Lupin.
"You look rough. What the hell happened to you?" It was true. There were numerous cuts and gashes on Lupin and the entire front of his robes was caked with blood.
"Some Auror. Gave me a beating about twenty minutes ago." Harry suddenly realised that there were no Aurors around.
"Hey, where are the Aurors?" Although he couldn't see he was sure that the assassins were grinning broadly. One of them answered,
"They turned and ran about ten minutes ago. That's how long it took us to wake you. You were inches away from death. It's a bloody miracle you lived." Harry grinned, barely able to contain the joy bursting through him.
"We beat them?" Lupin nodded.
"I wasn't awake but apparently they just turned and ran. Couldn't take it anymore." He shrugged, "Aurors aren't trained for this type of thing." Harry nodded but stopped hurriedly as it hurt too much.
"What do you mean you weren't awake?" Lupin grinned at him.
"I was dying; the Auror who gave me a beating had cut an artery. I was bleeding to death when they got to me. Thirty more seconds and I would not be here now." Lupin's shoulders slumped, "We lost one man, though." Sure enough there was one person missing. There was silence for a moment. When you were in a group as small as this and fighting for your life then deaths hit you harder.
"C'mon. We'd best get going." Harry tried to take a step but fell to the floor in agony. The pain had not completely gone and not all his wounds had healed, including the gash down his right thigh. Lupin bent down concerned. Gritting his teeth and sweating with the exertion he forced himself to his feet and took a few stumbling steps.
"Bloody hell this hurts." Gritting his teeth more. He took another step. And nearly collapsed. Lupin ran forward and offered Harry his shoulder to lean on. Harry nodded his thanks.
"Sorry," Lupin said, "We've been mainly healed up." Harry took one look at the numerous cuts on Lupin and laughed.
"Sure." Lupin grinned.
"Slow healing spells. No pain." Harry rolled his eyes.
"Lucky sod." Lupin laughed. They reached the lift and pressed the button. They heard the whirring of the gears as the lift came towards them. Lupin took out his wand and performed a number of spells on Harry. Almost immediately the pain vanished and he felt the wounds closing up. He sighed in relief.
"Thanks. Much better." The whirring got louder as the lift came closer. Harry took one last look at the battle ground, there were dead Aurors lying there and the floor was covered in blood. Harry had to look away. It was a gruesome sight, there were worse to been seen there then blood. A few of the Aurors were still alive but they were going to die. Some of the Aurors had lost limbs to Harry and Lupin's sword work.
One sight in particular stood out. An Auror, no older than eighteen or nineteen, was lying in a pool of blood, he was alive but barely and as he died he was desperately trying to force his guts back into his stomach which had been torn open by a sword. Harry turned away and closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths to try and prevent himself from being sick.
The lift arrived but before he entered it Harry turned around and spat out a mouthful of blood. His legs felt weak and he was shaking violently. He was being forced to do and see things that no sixteen year old should ever be forced to do. He closed his eyes, leant against the wall and sank to the floor. Another wave of nausea emerged as the image of the eighteen year old Auror emerged; he was two years older than Harry for God's sake, only a year out of school. He fought to control the wave of nausea that was flooding through him. He gave two choking sobs and suddenly Lupin was crouched in front of him.
"Come on, Harry." He said, his voice lowered so that only Harry could hear him. "Not far now. Just keep going and we'll be alright." Harry nodded and stood up. The lift slowed and Lupin silently handed Harry his sword. He hefted it, reassured by its weight, and drew his wand. As the lift slowed one of the assassins spoke up,
"There will be Aurors out there so as soon as the doors open run like hell towards them." The rest nodded. The lift stopped and there was a second's pause before the doors opened. The moment they did the six of them sprinted out of them towards the Aurors amassed in front of them. There was a second in which nothing happened and then a barrage of spells flew towards them. One of the spells hit Harry, knocking him to the floor but he was on his feet again and firing spells back at them as fast as he could.
They were in another corridor, this one brightly lit by the windows, charmed to reflect the weather outside, and lit by numerous torches. At the end of the corridor was the portkey area Dumbledore had described, easily recognised by the sign saying 'portkey point' above it. They ran towards it. The Aurors stepped forward to meet them and Harry swung his blade to cut into the shoulder of one. Now that he was fighting again he had no qualms about killing, there was no fear, no regret only an exhilaration.
The wounded Auror fell to the floor screaming and a second Auror stepped forward to take his place. He fired a spell into Harry's stomach, doubling Harry over and punched him in the face. Although the wind was knocked out of Harry he kicked out at the Auror and rammed his sword into the man's shin. The sword sliced through the Aurors flesh and broke the bone. The man fell to the floor screaming horribly and clutching his leg. Harry didn't give him a second thought as he stepped over him to fire a slashing curse into the face of an Auror before beheading him.
He cut down another Auror with a slashing curse to the throat and rammed his sword into the side of another who was about to fire a curse at Lupin who was clutching a gash at his side, he sword and wand on the floor. The sword skewered the man and Harry kicked the dead body of off it before severing the hand of an Auror pointing his wand at him.
And then he was clear. There was no one in front of him. So he spun around and began attacking the Aurors from behind, cutting them down with great sweeps of his sword. The Aurors panicked at being attacked on both sides and many died in the confusion the rest broke and ran. Suddenly the assassins were clear. They sprinted towards the portkey point. To their immense surprise there was no one in front of them. They increased their speed and sprinted for it. Harry could have whooped with joy, they were going to make it! They were going to get out alive! He could barely contain the relief flooding through him.
Then disaster struck. Out from behind two tapestries on either side of the corridor stepped two groups of Aurors when the assassins were level with them. They each fired a volley at them and in the crossfire two of the assassins were killed. Harry incinerated one while Lupin incinerated the other. There was no time to feel horror at what he had just done. He was forced to fire spells back at the Aurors but being attacked from both sides meant that spells were constantly hitting him. His wounds began to open again and his body became one mass of pain. He looked desperately at the portkey point; if they just sprinted for it then they would make it. It was only about thirty yards away. Lupin and the other assassins obviously felt the same for at the same time they disengaged and sprinted for the portkey point. The Aurors were taken by surprise and didn't manage to stop them.
Lupin and the remaining two assassins made and Lupin took something from around his neck, the other two assassins took hold of it.
"Come on!" Lupin shouted to Harry. Harry put on a burst of speed, he was nearly there...
Suddenly he felt something hit the back of his leg and he was thrown to the floor.
"NO!" Yelled Lupin as the Aurors closed around Harry. He leapt to his feet and cut one down with his sword and fired a slashing curse at the throat of another. He knew he would never get away.
"Go!" he yelled at Lupin. Lupin shook his head.
"No, come on! You can make it!"
"I can't! GO!" Lupin knew he was right. Harry could never fight his way out of that. He looked straight into Harry's eyes.
"We'll get you out, I promise." Harry looked straight back.
"I know. Now go." Lupin closed his eyes and muttered a word. The last thing he saw before the portkey activated was Harry killing one final Auror before throwing down his sword and wand.
Harry had been captured.
A/N Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter out in about a week or so. I forgot to mention last time that the rating has gone up. Not because of sexual situations, but because of the amount of violence. I think this chapter demonstrates that nicely!
Thanks for the encouraging reviews I received. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter.
Kyki Rivera – Thanks for the review.
HoshiHikari - Thanks for the review. Oh they made it out alright. It's just that Harry didn't!
Aizan19 - Thanks for the review. You were right. Harry hasn't made it out of there.
Colm - Thanks for the review. Believe me. More cliffhangers like that to come.
Catsetcool – Thanks for the review. Prank Mr Carrington my physics teacher first! He's the one that has been giving me a load of coursework!
Dragon Sword Master - Thanks for the review. More romance to come. Thanks for reviewing. It lets me know what people feel about my fics. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Goddess Usaqi - Thanks for the review. Thanks, I'll do my best. It's encouraging to have reviews like that so thanks very much. It's good to know that you understand. More chapters will keep coming. Thanks a lot.
FSI - Thanks for the review. Sorry for not writing fast enough but school does get in the way!
The Phoenix King - Thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked the combat scene. It was one of those scenes which I enjoyed writing immensely. Thanks for your support in the deadline matter. It is really encouraging to know that people understand.
Keep reading and reviewing cos I'll keep writing.
Fireboy.