Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the plot and anything you don't recognise.
The Light at the End of the Tunnel.
Chapter seventeen: Training the Guardians.
They continued to walk in silence. Harry's heart was heavy and sounded unnaturally loud in his ears. Or perhaps that was his feet on the stone floor. He didn't know. He just continued walking, trying to ignore everything that had just happened. He knew one thing for certain: Hogwarts was falling apart. The war was ripping apart the thousand year old school. Harry shook his head trying to clear the thoughts running through his mind.
"This is going to be all round school in no time." Ron said gloomily. Harry nodded curtly, not trusting his own voice.
"If Hogwarts is torn apart, then Voldemort has won." Hermione said. Harry tried hard not to roll his eyes.
"Obviously." He said shortly. He decided that sounded too sharp and gave an explanation to soften it. "Voldemort's weapon is terror. The more he spreads that the more people panic and the more they fight amongst themselves, making it easier for Voldemort."
"What do we do then?" Asked Ron. Harry shrugged and almost laughed at the strangeness of the situation. Ron, the tactician, without a clue at his next move.
"Ideally I would like to retreat to the safety of my own men. Only concentrate on my men, back away for a bit. Unfortunately I'm not strong enough to do that. I think we'll just have to ride it out. We're not strong enough to break away and distance ourselves from it." Ron looked up, almost hopefully.
"So you aren't going to go freelance." Harry shrugged.
"I never said that. The probability is that I won't, but it's not certain." Hermione, not being one for being without a clear plan, interrupted.
"We still need a definite plan of action. What's it to be?" Harry remained silent for a minute. He knew he needed to get things straight in his mind, and now was the perfect opportunity. When he spoke out loud it was almost to himself.
"Hogwarts is falling apart and there is nothing we can do to stop it. The presence of the Guardians will no longer be a deterrent. Snape will want revenge for what just happened, so he will incite the Slytherins into violence against me, with Malfoy that won't be too hard. I'm not strong enough to back away with just my men so I need to stay put. I'll fight alongside the Order for now. For my sake not theirs." Harry felt happier after getting that clear in his mind. Hermione looked relieved and so did Ron. The mood was less tense and less businesslike as they carried on walking.
They turned a corner and Harry nodded at two Guardians standing there. The sight of them made him remember the training exercises. He stopped and turned to Ron and Hermione.
"We need to organise some training for the Guardians." Ron looked puzzled.
"Harry, they've been trained as Aurors, why do they need more training?"
"Because they have been trained as individualists, I need to retrain them to fight as a unit." Hermione looked worried.
"Do we have enough time?" Harry shrugged.
"I reckon we can do it in a week. They have the discipline, they have the trust of each other and they have the skill with their wands. We just need to teach them the technique." Hermione nodded, not totally convinced.
"It will be hard work."
"I know. But we can do it." They fell silent again. Harry shook his head. "Let's forget about all this war business, we'll be reminded enough when the incident just now gets round school." The other two nodded. None of them spoke for a minute, each searching for a suitable topic of conversation. Suddenly Ron brightened.
"Hey, tomorrow's Saturday!" Both Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes simultaneously.
"Well done."
"Good spot, genius." Ron hit Harry on the arm.
"Shut it. What are we going to do?"
"Let me see, Snape's essay, McGonagall's essay, Sprout's questions, Flitwick's charm and Hagrid's drawing and questions." Harry answered. Ron's face fell.
"Yeah, but we can do that on Sunday. What are we going to do tomorrow?"
"I was going to spend some time with Cho."
"Fair enough. You haven't seen her in ages." Ron commented. Harry shrugged. It was true and he felt guilty but he had been so caught up in the war.
"I know. It's the war; it's taking up all my time." Ron and Hermione nodded sympathetically.
"It'll all be over soon, mate." Harry closed his eyes and did not respond. He preferred not to think about what was coming. Ron realised what he had said and tried to backtrack.
"Harry, mate, you'll be fine. You will beat him." Harry nodded, not looking convinced. They walked in silence the rest of the way to the Gryffindor tower. Harry kept his head down, unaware of the worried glances being sent his way by the Hermione and Ron. The reached Gryffindor tower and entered it. They crossed the room and Harry turned to them at the bottom of the boys' staircase.
"Listen, don't worry about me. I know I can do it, with you guys behind me how can I not? But there will always be doubts and you will need to live with them, almost as much as I do. But right now, if I am going to be training the Guardians tomorrow, then I will need my sleep."
"We understand, Harry, sleep well." Hermione said. Harry nodded and walked up in to the dormitory. He began undressing and put on his pyjamas. He crawled into bed and lay on his back trying to clear his mind of all the events of tonight. Hogwarts was messed up. He knew what needed to be done and rolled over onto his side to try and shake the feeling of alarm. He needed to end it. Soon. Before it got any worse.
…………
The next day Harry woke early. A lot needed to be done and there wasn't as much time as he would have liked to do it in. he dressed quickly and walked down into the common room. He grabbed a spare piece of parchment and swiftly penned a note to the Guardian lieutenants, telling them to have the Guardians formed and ready straight after breakfast. He walked to the Owlery and gave Hedwig the letter. Next he hurried down to the Great Hall to catch the early risers of the DA.
He had decided that the easiest way to turn the Guardians into a unit was to have them fight a unit as individualists. To do that he needed a unit. So he needed the DA.
He positioned himself in front of the double doors and caught the DA members as they went into the Great Hall. Half an hour later and having ticked everyone off in the mental checklist in his head, he was satisfied and so followed a group of Ravenclaws into the Great Hall to grab a quick breakfast. He sat down opposite Ron and Hermione.
"You came up quite late last night." Harry mentioned to Ron absently as he took a bite of toast. Ron and Hermione went bright red. Harry grinned inwardly and, like a true, caring friend, did not miss an opportunity to take the mickey. He didn't say anything for a minute, as if he hadn't noticed Ron and Hermione blushing. Just as their blushes began to subside and they began to breathe a little easier, Harry spoke again.
"Any reason why?" Ron went redder than last time and, inevitably, panicked.
"We were…cleaning!" Harry looked thoughtful and waved his piece of toast towards Ron.
"Cleaning, huh? You know they have dentists for that sort of thing?" Ron looked like he was going to explode. He was burning up. It took all Harry's self control not to burst out laughing. Ron looked around wildly.
"I uh, I-I don't know what you mean." Ron tried to feign ignorance. Badly. Harry grinned inwardly again, although he was slightly disappointed in him. Ron sucked all the fun out of things. He was making this entirely too easy. Hermione put her head in her hands knowing that Ron had just doomed them to an hour of constant embarrassment.
"You are not one of my favourite males at the moment, Potter." Harry turned to her kindly.
"That's all right, Hermione, you're still one of my favourite females." He turned back to Ron. "Anyway, Ron, as I was saying-"
"Don't you dare say another word, Potter." Someone said warningly. Harry recognised the voice and turned around.
"And here are my two other favourite females." He said. Cho and Ginny were standing there. Cho was looking, or trying to look, stern and Ginny was having trouble stifling her giggles. Harry gave Cho a charming smile and stood up.
"Cho-"
"Oh no, Potter, you can wipe that smile off your face. I meant what I said!" Cho said taking a step back. "How would you like it if someone started teasing you after every time we kissed? Now apologise." Harry's face fell. It was the best opportunity he'd had to take the piss in a long time. There were so many things he could say! Cho couldn't take that from him! Not when he was so close to mortifying Ron for eternity.
"But-" Harry protested.
"Apologise." Cho said warningly. Harry's shoulder slumped and he began turning back to Ron and Hermione. Ron gave a loud, fake cough which sounded oddly like 'whipped!' Harry glared at him.
"Sorry." Harry said shortly. Ron gave a gracious nod of his head.
"That's all right, Harry." He said kindly. Harry glared at him and turned back to Cho, now in a bad mood. That quickly disappeared when she pressed her lips on his and kissed him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled back.
"Anyway, what we came here to say, is that aren't we supposed to be out with the Guardians?"
'Oh shit, yeah." He bent down and grabbed a piece of toast and stuffed it in his mouth. The three girls rolled their eyes but followed him out of the Great Hall with Ron.
The five of them walked out into the Entrance Hall where the rest of the DA had assembled. Seamus looked up.
"Took your time, skip." He called to Harry. Harry rolled his eyes.
"Do not call me that, Finnegan, or I will personally lock you in a room with Ron when he hasn't kissed Hermione for a week." There was a burst of laughter at that and an indignant cry of "Hey!" from Ron.
Harry led the DA out into the grounds. They were all talking excitedly about fighting Aurors. Harry, on the other hand, was not as excited, quite the opposite, with every step he took he became more and more nervous.
He led the DA towards the Quidditch pitch where, in the distance, he could see the Guardians formed up and waiting.
As he approached he motioned Cho over. She walked up to him.
"Take the DA over there. I need to talk to the Guardians." He said, pointing at a spot fifty yards opposite the Guardians. She nodded.
"No problem. You'll be fine." She added reassuringly. Harry was surprised. He thought he had kept his voice calm and even. Obviously not.
"You know me too well." She laughed and nodded.
"True." With Ron and Hermione behind him Harry walked over to the five Guardian lieutenants. They saluted him and he returned it.
"Morning, sir." Greeted Danny.
"Morning." Harry decided to get straight to the point. "The reason I have decided to get you all out here is I feel that I need to retrain the Guardians. Not completely, just in one area." The Guardian lieutenants looked mildly surprised.
"Which area is that, sir?" asked Athena.
"You, having been trained as Aurors, fight as individuals or in small groups. If we are going to be in a full, large scale battle then you will need to fight as a unit. So, I will retrain you to fight as a unit." Harry expected them to look sceptical at the notion of him retraining them but instead they had complete trust in him.
"How are you going to do that?" Samia asked, Harry waved behind him.
"With the DA. As they are such a small group and often outnumbered in battles they are experts at fighting as a single unit to overcome their numerically superior enemies. So what I intend to do is have twenty of the best Guardians fight the DA. I can tell you now that the DA will win." Samia flashed a teasing grin.
"Are you sure, sir?" Harry smiled.
"Positive. So now, Samia, pick twenty of the best Guardians and have them face the DA in any formation they like. The rest of the Guardians shall stand back. After the fight I will explain the proper techniques, give a few demonstrations and then we will practice it again. Go."
Orders were given and the chosen twenty Guardians stepped forwards. The rest stepped back. The Guardian lieutenants joined Harry, Hermione and Ron after the two sides were in position.
"Assume formations!" Harry yelled. He watched with pride as the DA easily slipped into the formation they automatically assumed in this situation. It was done fluently and easily. The DA members who were quick with their wands and produced strong shield charms moved to the front. Those who produced strong offensive spells stood behind them in the centre and the marksmen, especially Parvati, were on the wings. They were packed close and tight so the shield charms would cover them all. The Guardians on the other hand, spread out in a skirmish formation.
Harry smiled at the Guardian lieutenants.
"You see, the DA are packed close together, so they can work as one unit." The Guardian lieutenants nodded. When both sides were ready and waiting, Harry yelled out "Begin."
It became obvious what Harry was talking about almost immediately. Two Guardians went down to stunners from Parvati's wand. The rest retaliated, firing spells back at her. Another Guardian fell to a stunner from her wand. Another only just managed to block one. Anthony Goldstein was in front of her, taking all the spells fired at on his shield charms, this meant that Parvati never had to worry about getting hit and she could continue taking the enemy out.
Only a minute after the fight had began and the Guardians were on the defensive, they produced no offensive spells, instead they had to concentrate on shield charms. With one half of the DA firing offensive spells and not having to worry about defending themselves there was a constant barrage of offensive spells, giving the Guardians no time to attack.
"Bloody hell!" exclaimed Titus as he watched two more Guardians go down. "I see what you mean, sir! We are getting our arses kicked by a bunch of children!" Harry grinned at him.
"Be careful what you say. We may be a bunch of children, but we are a bunch of children who are kicking the hell out of a group of ex-Aurors." Titus looked embarrassed.
"Sorry, sir. I didn't mean it like that." Harry waved off the apology.
"No matter. I know what you mean." Harry watched the DA at work. The Guardians kept trying to engage the DA in individual duels, but the DA would not be drawn into them, instead they worked as a team and quickly overcame the stronger force.
When the final Guardian fell with not one casualty on the DA's side, the Guardian lieutenants were left standing open mouthed in surprise.
"Bloody hell!"
"Christ, how'd they do that?" Harry grinned and laughed.
"Now you see what I mean. Now listen to me. This is what I want you to do. Split the Guardians into groups of nineteen, one of you to each group. Put the people who are best with shield charms at the front. Behind them put those who are best at offensive spells and on the flanks put the marksmen. It won't fail. Then get them to fight each other in the groups. Just keep doing that until the people behind learn to trust the people in front wholeheartedly. If they don't trust them, they will never work as a team. The technique is simple. Just keep practicing it. Understand?" The five of them nodded. "Good." The five Guardian lieutenants walked off and Harry waked over to the DA.
"Well done. I am very proud of you all. They were Aurors and you kicked the shit out of them. Excellent. Thank you very much for your help in this. I'll see you all later." The DA walked off laughing and joking. Harry turned to Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Cho who stayed behind.
"Excellent. That went ten times as well as I'd hoped."
"It was good, wasn't it!" Said Hermione enthusiastically. The five of them walked over to the lake. Ron turned to Harry.
"I cannot believe we beat them! They're Aurors for god's sake!" Harry laughed.
"I know. You did well. Damn well." Harry walked over to Cho, stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He nuzzled into her neck.
"Love you." He murmured. Cho smiled and tilted her head back slightly.
"Hmm, I know." He nuzzled her a bit more then nipped her skin slightly. She gasped, although it hurt a little it inflamed her and she fought back a slight moan as he did it again, but softer.
"Harry!" She exclaimed.
"That was for not telling me you loved me." He said in a childlike manner.
"Aww, but you know I love you." Harry grinned and kissed her neck. Cho could not help but give a small moan as he got the sensitive skin beneath her jaw. Ron rolled his eyes.
"Come on. I think they want to be left alone." He said grinning. The three of them turned and left for the castle. Harry and Cho didn't notice them go.
Cho turned and tilted her head back so she could kiss him. Harry pulled back slightly so the kiss was only a feather touch. She tried to deepen the kiss but Harry kept teasing her and keeping it light. She moved her mouth slightly and kissed the corner of his mouth. Harry moved his head around and deepened the kiss. He ran his tongue along her lips and she opened her mouth willingly.
After a few minutes the parted, breathless and panting. Harry looked at her.
"I swear you get better at that every time we do it." Cho smiled.
"You're not so bad yourself." They lay down on the grass. Harry lay on his side and looked at her.
"You're so beautiful." He whispered, reaching over and tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. Cho felt a familiar warmth rush through her and for a moment couldn't speak. Then she flashed a mischievous grin.
"Don't go all emotional on me. I'm not used to it coming from you." Harry laughed and leaned over to kiss her. This time he didn't even bother to start of light. He deepened the kiss immediately. Cho was slightly surprised at how forceful it was, but she did not regret it. It was almost as if he needed to feel her more. Which, she supposed, he did. So she kissed him back just as hard. She felt his hand moving up her top and she arched her back for easier access and so she could feel him more. His hand moved over the sensitive skin and she gave a small moan. She bit his lip slightly and he kissed her harder. She moaned again at the sensations running through her as he moved his hand over her breasts. She ran her hand through his hair and tilted her head back and he kissed the sensitive skin of her neck. She gave a small cry and moved to kiss him again.
They pulled apart breathlessly and she looked into his eyes. She saw the burning passion and lust in them and knew that it was reflected in her own eyes. She wanted him more than anything, needed him more than anything. She knew they should stop but she couldn't bring herself to stop it. Not when it felt so good.
"Harry." She whispered before kissing him again. This kiss was every bit as intense and powerful as the first. He sucked on her lip and she ran her hands along his back. She arched her back again as he moved his hand along her stomach. She felt him move his hand down to her skirt. Vaguely she knew she should stop, before it went too far, but she didn't want to. Screw it, she thought, He's my boyfriend and I love him. He began to undo her skirt, all the while kissing her. She kissed him back in between the small cries his hands and mouth were making her give. She kissed the corner of his mouth before pulling off her top. She then reached over and took off his shirt. She ran her hands down his back lovingly, feeling the smooth skin. He arched his back at her touch and kissed her more intensely.
She felt him undo her skirt and begin to pull it off. She wriggled a bit to help him. She felt it slide off. His hand was sliding up the inside off her thigh and the feeling was inflaming her. She knew that this was it and she welcomed it. So she kissed him harder before taking his hand and moving it further up her thigh.
And then reality struck her. She stopped. She realised what they were doing and knew that it wasn't right. Harry pulled away and looked at her concerned.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"We can't do this. Not yet." Harry looked down at the ground ashamed. She pulled her skirt and top back on before hugging him.
"I'm sorry." He said, "I shouldn't have-"
"It's not your fault, Harry; you didn't make me do anything. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to, I really, really wanted to, but now is just not the right time." He nodded. She kissed him again.
"Soon, Harry, really soon. It just needs to be the right place and the right time." Harry nodded again and smiled at her.
"I understand. You're right. That wasn't the right time." He held out his hand to her. "Come on. Let's go raid the kitchens." Cho took his hand and couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright then."
A/N VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ.
Ok. First of all, I am really sorry but once again I am flying back to Malaysia for the school holidays and unfortunately I will not be able to update while I am there. Sorry. Once again I will stress that this is not just an excuse for me to "forget" about this fic. There will be an update when I get back. I promise. The next update will be April the 21st. I am really sorry but I can promise that this fic will be continued.
Next, as I said at the end of the last chapter, this is the beginning of the end for The "Dark" Trilogy. This chapter finalises that. The training of the Guardians is the last plot line I will open and signals the beginning of the preparations for the final battle and thus the end of the trilogy. From now on I will be closing plot lines and opening no new ones. However, you will be pleased to hear that there are at least five or six chapters to come yet. Possibly more.
Another good point is that as I am closing plot lines Cho will play a much larger part. She will now be a constant companion for Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, and especially Harry as she helps him prepare for the inevitable confrontation with Voldemort and get him through the troubles Hogwarts is throwing upon him. We will be seeing a lot more of Cho from now on. We have just had a major H/C point and there will be more of those to come plus a lot more besides.
Thank you very much for your patience and I promise that there will be another update on April the 21st. I will not give up this fic until it is done. Thank you and I apologise.
Thanks to all those who reviewed.
Isha – Thanks for the review. Cho will be playing a much larger role in Harry's life from now on, but she is a difficult character to weave into close friendship of Harry, Ron and Hermione. As for me I am a very strong Harry/Ginny shipper. It will be them in the end.
J or the Blind - Thanks for the review. This is meant to be a Harry/Cho fic but it is not solely that, there is much more to it. You should have read the first two fics if you want to see more of Cho, she appears loads in the first one. However, Cho will be a constant companion for the trio from now on.
The Enchantresses - Thanks for the review. Harry and Dumbledore fighting is inevitable, but it will be alright in the end.
Dragons Sword - Thanks for the review. I'll take that as a compliment! Making someone scared using words only is very difficult, so my writing must be quite good if I have managed to scare you. Harry will not use parseltongue nor will he use muggle methods, for two simple reasons, he is a wizard and using muggle methods would require a whole new plot line and it is frankly too late and too out of canon.
Colm - Thanks for the review. It will get better, don't worry.
Aizan19 - Thanks for the review. It was bound to happen, but it will get better!
BlurryFuture - Thanks for the review.
Dark Phoenix Mortal - Thanks for the review. I don't study much either so I'm even more terrified!
Dragon Sword Master - Thanks for the review.
Goddess Usagi - Thanks for the review. It's a shame it's coming to the end isn't it? Oh well, still a few more chapters to come.
Dragonic - Thanks for the review. Much more Cho coming.
FSI - Thanks for the review. Dumbledore is not bad, him and Harry just have a different perspective on things. It will be alright in the end, though.
Hockeyman - Thanks for the review. It will be a sad day, but there are still more chapters to come fortunately.
Miliardo Peacecraft - Thanks for the review. I was wondering where you had gone! This Harry is much cooler, but sometimes borders on being OOC, that's the only problem.
Keep reading and reviewing 'cos I'll keep writing.
Fireboy.