Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
"What are we going to do?" Ron asked, his voice shaking heavily.
Harry pulled back from the window, wincing at the dull, throbbing pain in his shoulder. He placed a hand on it to keep it still and said, "It looks like we'll have to fight." Neville didn't say anything, his eyes wide with fear but his face was stony, set into a determined mask. Ginny was much the same, and despite his shaky voice Ron nodded gravely, adding a quiet, "We're with you Harry."
Hermione on the other hand looked beside herself.
"No Harry, we should stay here. You're not in any shape to be fighting Death Eaters. Besides, there's a whole team of Aurors on the train with us, including Tonks and Moody. They're professionals, I'm sure they have the situation under control. If we go out there and try to help we'll probably only be in the way."
Harry was shaking his head before she even finished. "That's wishful thinking Hermione and you know it. I'm guessing that the Aurors were sitting up near the front car, right?" Her silence spoke volumes and he continued on unabated. "Sitting in the front, right where I saw Death Eaters climbing aboard. And if they managed to get in between Moody and us, then we're cut off. Who knows how long it might take Moody to fight his way to us then." Hermione still looked uncertain.
"But Harry –" she began before he cut her off.
"Hermione, we all know that they're here for me. Capture me, kill me, either way if we just sit back here and make them search for us compartment by compartment then students are going to get hurt. If we go out there and fight them then at least they might leave the other students alone. I'm not going to let anyone else get hurt because of me." Hermione looked back and forth between each of them, desperately searching for support. Finally she closed her eyes and bowed her head in defeat.
"Fine, I can see I'm going to be out voted here. Just please, let's be careful Harry."
Harry nodded his head in agreement and moved to the door, wand at the ready.
"Let's go."
Their small band moved swiftly down the hall through the first two cars with no signs of Death Eater activity, though Harry could already make out the sounds of the fight he had heard earlier growing louder as they worked their way towards the front of the train. As soon as he stepped into the third car though, he came to a grinding halt.
"Well, well, well it's little Potter," sneered the masked Death Eater standing at the end of the hallway, wand already pointed their way. "It must be my lucky day. Drop the wands and maybe I'll let your little friends live."
"Don't do it Harry," whispered Ginny from somewhere behind him, "we're with you."
"Come now Potter, you aren't thinking of resisting are you?" the man said with a laugh. The scowl Harry was shooting the man tightened as two more masked figures came through the doorway behind the first, taking up positions just behind him. "Think of your friends. Surely even you realize what a hopeless situation this is."
Harry did not have a chance to reply, as he heard someone shout "Diffindo" from behind him and felt a white bolt of magic hiss over his shoulder, smashing into the face of one of the trailing Death Eaters. The man's piercing cries of agony echoed through the cramped hallway and Harry turned to look over his shoulder where he saw Ginny, who had pushed her way ahead of the others, glaring darkly at the hooded figures.
"If you want him so badly," she snarled, "come and get him!"
The Death Eater who had been struck was still screaming; clutching at his face in a vain attempt to stem the flow of blood as his compatriot tried to get him to hold still long enough to be healed.
"My face!" he howled, "The bitch cut my face! Kill her!"
The distraught Death Eater pointed the wand he still held in a shaking hand at the group of teenagers, clearly intending to retaliate, but the group's leader turned and slapped his hand away.
"Shut up you idiot and let him heal you," he growled quietly.
"But," the man blubbered, "Rodolphus…"
"Be silent you fool!" the leader bellowed. Harry's eyes had widened in shock as he recognized the name. This was Rodolphus Lestrange, husband of Bellatrix and one of the Death Eaters that had tortured Neville Longbottom's parents into insanity. He swore he could almost hear Neville's teeth grinding somewhere behind him. He had no more time to ponder the matter however, as when Lestrange turned around Harry could tell from his voice that the unstable Death Eater was fast losing his patience.
"So what is it going to be Potter? Surrender now or I am going to have to start killing your friends."
Harry felt torn. He knew that even if he did surrender himself the Death Eaters would never keep any bargain they made. They would likely curse his friends the moment he was within their grasp just because they could. But from the way Lestrange had reacted to his companion's attempt to cast what was probably a lethal spell, as well as their repeated calls for his surrender, their mission seemed to be to capture him rather than kill him. Harry suddenly realized that this was eerily similar to the standoff that had occurred in the Department of Mysteries only a few short months ago. Voldemort must still want to know the prophecy, Harry realized with a jolt.
"You know, somehow I don't think you'll do that," Harry replied with a calculating look, "It sounds to me like your master wants to get his hands on me again, which means you aren't allowed to kill me. And if you start throwing lethal curses at us in this small a space that's exactly what's going to happen, so you can't risk it."
Lestrange swelled with rage at Harry's accurate assessment of the situation and shouted, "Take him alive!" All three quickly fired stunners. Harry was faster.
"Protego!" he shouted, grunting as he felt the impact of the spells against his shield. He could hear the others behind him, scrambling to find cover from the Death Eaters who were now slowly stalking towards them and firing at Harry's shield with increasing frustration. He grimaced as a wave of spells jolted into his shield, their force driving him to his knees. I'm not sure how much longer I can hold this, he thought to himself as he felt beads of sweat begin to drip down his face.
"Harry," he heard Ginny shout from his right. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her crouched in an open doorway to one of the compartments, beckoning to him, so he waited until the next wave of spells hit and then dropped his shield, rolling to the side. As he came through the doorway he slammed into Ginny, leaving them both tangled together on the floor of the compartment.
"Sorry," he whispered from his position atop her, staring into her deep brown eyes as she grinned up at him roguishly.
"Don't worry about it Potter. A scrawny bloke like you, I barely felt it." He was forced to swallow his indignant reply when a stunner slammed into the doorframe overhead, showering them with piercing shards of wood. Harry could feel several small sharp stings in his back and he knew that Madame Pomfrey would be pulling splinters from him well into the night. If we last that long, he thought darkly.
Harry stood, groaning as he felt the shards of wood embedded in his flesh moving with him. Somewhat unsteadily, he reached a hand down to Ginny and helped her to her feet before unceremoniously pushing her down onto the nearby bench.
"Hey," she protested, her face thunderous, "just what in the hell do you think-"
"Just stay back, there isn't room here for two," he replied as he edged forward and peeked around the corner at the oncoming Death Eaters – an action which earned him another wave of spells fired his way. He shouted into the hallway, praying that the others could hear him in their respective compartments over the cacophony of spell fire and exploding wood. "Everyone start shooting! We have to keep them back!" He suited action to words, edging his wand around the corner and blindly pointing in the general direction of the Death Eaters.
"Stupefy!" he shouted, and was pleased to hear several other voices echoing him and to see several jets of red light joining his own. He heard all three men swear loudly, but at least one of them managed a quick shield charm and Harry heard the tell tale sound of spell fire impacting a shield. "Keep shooting," he encouraged the others as he fired off a barrage of stunning spells and disarming charms. They were the most basic dueling spells he knew, but he was hoping to force their opponents back through sheer volume. And amazingly it was working.
As he peered out around the edge of the doorframe once again, he could see that all three Death Eaters had given up even attempting to fire any offensive spells, instead overlapping their shields to offer as much protection as possible. And even as he watched he could see the shield wall slowly crawling its way backwards towards the far door.
He pulled back, his smile wide as he turned to tell Ginny the good news…and stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the look on her face. She was angry…very angry. He had never seen her like this before. In fact he wasn't even sure how to describe the shade of red her face had actually become. She was standing directly in front of him, arms crossed in a very convincing imitation of her mother, and he was desperately trying to think of something to say when a voice spoke.
"H-Harry…Ginny?" it asked softly. Both of them turned and for the first time noticed the other occupants of the compartment they had commandeered. Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and three fourth year Gryffindors that Harry didn't recognize were all huddled in the corners, trying to squeeze themselves back as far as possible and looking at the two of them as if they were both completely mental. Harry waved at them awkwardly.
"Hello…erm, had a good summer?"
It was Dean who stepped forward, and Harry realized it must have been him who had spoken before.
"Harry…what the hell is going on?"
"Death Eaters." Dean and Seamus' eyes widened, and the younger boys all gasped in horror. One even began to cry.
"Death Eaters," Dean repeated, incredulous, "on the Hogwarts Express?"
"Yes Dean," Ginny said exasperatedly, "they're on the Hogwarts Express. Didn't you notice the giant crash earlier?"
"Well yeah," he stammered, put off by her aggressive attitude, "but we just figured the train broke down, no big deal."
"Yeah, well sorry to disappoint," Harry said as he turned and walked back to the doorway. He had just noticed that the amount of noise had been decreasing steadily for the last minute or so and had now completely stopped.
"Hey Ginny," Dean said, his voice a little firmer now as he obviously tried to get a grip on his emotions, "where have you been? I thought we were going to sit together."
"What?" Ginny replied, only half hearing the question as she had been edging closer to Harry in an attempt to hear what was going on out in the hallway.
"Didn't you get my letters," he asked, sounding hurt. "I mean I've been writing you all summer but I haven't heard back from you in a while. I sent you a one a few days ago asking you to meet me on the train so we could sit together, try and get to know each other more?"
"Yes, I got your letters Dean."
"But then how come-"
"Dean does this really seem like the time!"
Harry was vaguely aware of the drama occurring behind him, but he could not spare his attention to think about it. He was focused intently; staring at the trio of Death Eaters who had retreated to almost the end of the car, but had now stopped in their tracks and showed no intention of moving any further. He saw one of the three drop his shield and step back, moving to the nearest compartment door.
"Ok Potter," Lestrange shouted at him, "if you want to play rough that's fine with me. Dolohov, get us a hostage!" Harry watched helplessly as the figure he now knew to be Antonin Dolohov pushed open the compartment door and stepped inside, wand raised. He knew what would happen now; any moment the Death Eater would reappear clutching some helpless child and demand his surrender. And he would agree. He couldn't let an innocent die to save himself. What actually happened though was something he could not expect.
Almost as soon as he walked through the doorway, Harry heard an enormous impact and watched in shock and glee as Dolohov flew back out, impacting the far wall and slumping to the ground. He wasn't exactly unconscious, but from the slowness of his movements Harry doubted he'd be in fighting condition any time soon.
Lestrange, though shocked, reacted immediately, turning his own shield towards the open doorway to deflect any follow-up attacks and calling for his other companion to pull Dolohov with them as they retreated even further back towards the front of the car. Out of the compartment door Harry saw a mane of white blonde hair appear and he couldn't help but chuckle at the innocent and bemused look on Luna Lovegood's face.
"Oh my, look at that, he seems to be in quite a bit of pain. He really should be more careful when running into a room like that; there could be a nargle infestation." She then turned and waved at Harry and the others. "Hello everyone, so nice to see you."
"Luna, get back inside the compartment and lock the door."
"Ok." And with that she turned right around, closing the door behind her as if nothing had happened.
"Give it up," Ron shouted from his position in the compartment directly behind Harry, clearly feeling cocky at having seemingly outwitted seasoned Death Eaters. "There's no way you can get to us now. I suggest you run on home before the Aurors get here."
"I wouldn't expect help from them boy," Lestrange snarled, clearly enraged. "They're quite busy and in no position to help you. Surrender or I'll burn this train to the ground!"
"We both know you won't do that," Harry shouted back, "you're far too afraid of what your master will do to you if you kill me." Harry hoped that at least. Their behavior so far seemed to support that theory. They just had to hold out a bit longer until Moody could fight his way through to them.
Lastrange cackled madly "Oh Potter, I won't be killing you. I have no idea who I am going to kill, nor do I care." He raised his wand and pointed it at the compartment door directly to his left. "If you don't surrender in the next minute then I am going to destroy this entire room and whoever is in it. After that I will continue to destroy a compartment every ten seconds until either you surrender or I run out of children. Make your choice Potter."
Harry turned frantically, his mind racing as he ran his hand though his messy unkempt hair, and trying to avoid Ginny's terrified expression as he searched for an alternative to surrender. Then he froze in place, staring at the fog covered window. The plan was dangerous, it was desperate…and it was his only chance.
"Everyone away from the window," he said, speaking urgently but calmly. He quickly herded the three younger Gryffindors away from the outside wall and pressed them into the corner nearest the door before turning to the others. "I need the three of you to cast shield charms on my signal, can you do that?" All three nodded, though Dean and Seamus both seemed a bit dazed at the perilous situation they suddenly found themselves thrust into. "Right, I am going to blow out the window there. If I can get it open and get outside the Death Eaters will follow me and I can lead them away. Ginny, as soon as you see them follow me, get the others and keep moving forward, try to get to Moody."
He did not give her time to respond, moving to the open doorway and leaning out slightly to make sure his voice carried.
"Hey, Lestrange!"
"I was beginning to worry Potter…your time had almost run out. Come out now without your wand and no one need be hurt."
Harry turned his head very slightly and nodded at Ginny, Dean, and Seamus.
"I have a better idea Lestrange. Why don't you and your little friends come and get me!" And with that last shouted word Harry turned, pointed his wand over Ginny's conjured shield charm at the compartment window, and fired a blasting curse directly into the glass. Then the world exploded.
Fire roared loudly and a blast of heat nearly knocked all of them from their feet. A massive rain of debris and shards of glass flew in all directions with the force of a hurricane. Were it not for the shields that had been erected at his nod by his three friends, Harry knew without a doubt that everyone in their compartment would have been killed. As it was Dean had nearly been bowled over and Seamus was unsteady on his feet. Ginny had held up the best but the sheer force of the explosion had thrown her backwards into Harry's chest and he could feel her breathing heavily now as she finally lowered her shaking arm, coughing lightly as the heavy dust that now hung in the air entered her lungs.
"Bloody…hell," she managed in between labored breaths. Harry couldn't disagree with her assessment.
Instead of a destroyed window, there was a gaping hole in the side of the train more than a meter wide, its jagged edges still smoking slightly. Ginny turned her head to look at Harry over her shoulder, her face an unreadable mask.
"I have no idea," he replied to her unasked question. He moved her gently to one side as he walked towards the damage, waving his hand through the thick cloud of dust in the air in an attempt to find some clear breathing space. He leaned in to get a closer look and realized that the fog that had clutched so tightly to the train before had vanished, but straightened again abruptly as angry shouts finally began to filter through from the hallway.
"There's no time for this right now," he said desperately, his eyes locking with Ginny's. I have to lead them away from here. Remember what I told you."
"Harry you can't…" she began, but he was already gone, leaping through the hole he had made and falling out of sight to the ground below. "Damn it," she hissed. Immediately she turned and peered around the doorframe towards the Death Eaters just in time to the figure of Lestrange pass through the doorway that connected them to the next car and which also gave him access to the outside, swearing so loudly that she could still hear him even as he passed from view. Still remaining were the unknown man that she had cursed earlier and the still prone figure of Antonin Dolohov who looked to still be only semi-conscious.
She knew immediately that Harry's plan was out. While Lestrange was obviously pursuing Harry, and Merlin only knew how many other Death Eaters with him, Harry's assumption that every Death Eater would be hot on his tail was obviously wrong. Even with only one fully functioning Death Eater she doubted that she and the others would be able to fight their way through…at least not in time to get help for Harry. She turned and stared hard at the hole Harry had made, furrowing her brow and biting down on her upper lip before she finally reached a decision.
"Hermione," she called out, her voice steady and calm, "you, Ron, and Neville need to try to get past the last Death Eater and make your way forward. Find help."
"Oh yeah, brilliant plan Gin," Ron drawled sarcastically, "The three of us you say? What's going on in there, what happened?"
"The great prat's done something noble again," she replied. Then she ran, ignoring Ron and Hermione's shouted questions and Dean's desperate pleas for her to stop as she leapt through the breach, following Harry into the darkening afternoon sky.
Harry supposed, in hindsight, that it would have been smart to look down before he had jumped headlong through the side of a train. This thought had been of little comfort though as he fell through the open air and realized to his horror that the ground below was not flat, but rather the top of a rather large, steep hill. He had rolled, bounced, and slid his way down the embankment, trying desperately to protect his wand and swearing loudly at each rock that crossed his path before finally coming to a gentle stop, his momentum played out.
"Oww," he groaned aloud as stiff, unresponsive muscles slowly brought him to his feet. Immediately he inspected his wand for damage and was pleased to see that it had survived the trip intact, if not a little worse for wear. Sighing in relief, he turned away from the train to face the nearby forest and consider his next move when a loud "Shit!" rang out from behind him. He whirled around, wand at the ready, just in time to see a rolling blur slam into his shins and send him flying face first back into the grass. Ignoring the blazing pain in his legs, Harry instantly rolled onto his side bringing his wand to bear on his attacker.
"Ginny," he shouted incredulously, "what the hell are you doing?"
"Oh stuff it Potter," she groaned back at him as she staggered to her feet holding her right arm gingerly. "Whether you want the help or not, I'm not letting you do this alone." Blood was dripping slowly down her arm, and she hissed in pain as she poked gingerly at the wound. "Must have been a rock," she reasoned as she used her other hand to apply pressure to the cut. "It doesn't seem too bad though."
Harry glared at her, wishing that he had the time to tell her off for putting herself in danger and that he could send her right back to the others, but already he could hear shouting coming from the forward end of the train. Two masked figures already stood at the top of the hill by the next car forward from the one Harry and Ginny had just left, their wands drawn.
"Run!" Harry shouted.
Both of them took off towards the nearby trees mere seconds before the tell-tale red flash of stunning spells slammed into the grass where the pair had been standing, sending large plumes of dirt into the air behind them. The relative safety of the forest was only a few meters away from the bottom of the hill, so despite a heavy stream of spell fire all around them Harry reached it within seconds, untouched. Ginny was only a few steps behind, but stopped in her tracks as a spell zipped past her cheek, coming within millimeters of hitting her. She whirled about, her cheeks flushed in anger and pointed her wand shouting "Tarantallegra!" before ducking behind a large oak.
The spell flew towards one of the Death Eaters that were now slowly making their way down the hill, hitting him in his chest. Immediately the man's legs began dancing uncontrollably, which was a very dangerous thing to be doing given his precarious position. Before he could even begin to bring his wand to bear to cast the counter spell, he had lost his tenuous footing and fell, rolling and bouncing his way down the hill with legs still doing their best to continue their dance. Both teens winced when they heard the audible snap of a bone breaking and tried to ignore the man's horrified screams as the unnaturally twisted appendage continued to dance to and fro.
Harry couldn't help the stab of sympathy he felt, leaning out from hiding just long enough to stun the wounded Death Eater into unconsciousness. He ducked back behind the tree he was using as cover almost immediately though, his heart racing. While he had only seen the two Death Eaters initially, obviously word that he had escaped the train had spread quickly as no less than a dozen masked figures were now streaming down the hill from further up the train. Ginny saw them as well, shooting Harry a look that clearly said "Now what?"
The remaining Death Eater of the pair he had first seen had long since reached the bottom of the slope and slowly he pulled back the black hood on his robes, tossing aside his mask as his brethren fell into place around him and revealing the face of Rodolphus Lestrange, his face twisted in rage.
"You are persistent Potter," he snarled, spitting Harry's name as if it were a vile taste in his mouth, "it's no wonder the Dark Lord finds you so irritating. But your race is run boy; you have nowhere left to go and I am tired of playing games. Death Eaters…advance!" On his order, all twelve masked figures stalked forward, their wands raised. Harry was trying desperately to remain calm, to find a way out. He knew that with the Death Eaters having the advantage in numbers that shield spells and stunners were not going to be enough this time. It would only take one or two of them to counter any spell he or Ginny fired, which gave the rest all the time they needed to surround them. And it was when his thoughts turned to Ginny, and the injury she was still nursing, that an idea came to him.
He stepped out from behind the tree he was using as cover in plain view of the approaching Death Eaters. They hesitated, just for a moment, as they wondered if he might be surrendering himself. That illusion was dispelled moments later when he raised his wand and pointed it directly into the middle of their group.
"Accio Rocks!"
Now, Harry had never attempted to summon multiple objects before, and in fact he knew that doing so was NEWT level magic, but he felt safe in assuming that the basic theory was the same. Beyond that, he knew that if he didn't do something immediately both he and Ginny would be captured by Voldemort's followers and he simply couldn't let that happen so he cast the spell and crossed his fingers.
He needn't have worried though. Almost the moment he had shouted the spell the small stones that littered the side of the hill, some no larger than a marble and some the size of a quaffle, began tearing free of their earthy prison and flying towards the him. Being rocks, they were not even aware of the black robed mob that stood in their way, but the reverse was not true.
As soon as Harry had raised his wand, the front most Death Eaters had come together, raising shield charms in anticipation of his attack, and when none came they all seemed genuinely confused. That confusion turned to terror and pain moments later when the first wave of rocks slammed into their back ranks with the force of bludgers. Half of their number fell almost immediately, screaming in pain and clutching at shattered knees and cracked ribs. The shouts of their comrades though was enough warning that the front row, who had already raised shields towards Harry, were able to turn and deflect the incoming missiles away. This of course presented their backs to Harry, who had ducked back behind the tree, and Ginny who took full advantage of the situation, firing stunning spells towards the Death Eater's exposed rear. Three more fell before the last of the rocks were dealt with and they were able to turn their attentions back to the two teens.
Which left Lestrange, who had been standing to one side observing, with only two Death Eaters still standing, the others all in various states of pain or unconsciousness.
"Damn you Potter," he screamed in rage, "DAMN YOU!"
"Just evening the odds a little," Harry replied casually. "Why don't you just run on back to your master and beg for forgiveness. I'm sure he won't hurt you too terribly."
Lestrange had begun pacing back and forth, muttering darkly to himself and occasionally shaking his head violently. "Damn him…can't let him win…Dark Lord wants…have to do it…no other choice." Harry began to grow increasingly uncomfortable as he watched surreptitiously from behind his tree. He had known from the beginning that Lestrange was unstable; after all look at who he was married to. But this was the first time he had seen actual signs that the man was coming unhinged. The way he was muttering to himself and what he was saying, almost as if he were working himself up to do something. And Harry felt his gut clench as he realized why Lestrange's actions seemed so familiar. He was behaving very similarly to how Dolores Umbridge had only a few months previously…just before she had attempted to use the Cruciatus curse on him to try to get information. Suddenly Lestrange stopped pacing and whirled towards the forest.
"Fine Potter, have it your way," he shouted, his face redder than an embarrassed Weasley. "I will give you one last choice; surrender…or BURN!" His wand rose before Harry could even begin to react. "Incendio!"
Harry watched as flames leapt from the tip of the Death Eater's wand into the treetops some twenty meters to Harry's left, igniting the dry leaves instantly. Harry could feel the intense heat on his face even from this distance.
"Rodolphus what are you doing?" one of the other Death Eaters shouted as he stepped in front of Lestrange, shock evident in his voice. "The Dark Lord gave specific orders, we cannot endanger the boy's life!" Lestrange shoved him back, pointing his wand directly at his comrade's mask.
"You know nothing!" he screamed, spittle flying out with every syllable. "The Dark Lord entrusted me with this task, ME! No one else! I will not fail him. Potter will surrender himself or he will die…either way he can no longer harm our Lord." Without a further word he turned his wand and fired again, this time to the right, bracketing Harry's location with flame.
Harry coughed as smoke from the growing blaze began to fill his lungs and ducked down, hoping to find clearer air. He could see Ginny doing the same and he quickly moved over to her, carefully keeping an eye on the remaining Death Eaters in case he was seen.
"What do we do Harry?" Ginny coughed. Harry knew that she was hoping for a brilliant idea, something like the rocks he had used that would get them out of this predicament, the kind of impossible plan that seemed impossible but somehow managed to save the day. He looked deep into her eyes, holding her gaze for several moments before he replied.
"I don't know."
Moody was sweating buckets, his breathing was shallow, and he was having trouble staying steady on his bad leg. I'm getting too old for this shit, he thought to himself even as he leaned around the corner and blasted another hole in the wall he knew his opponent hid behind. He ducked back immediately but still barely missed the return fire they sent his way. He swore under his breath as he heard a loud cry of pain from one of the compartments behind him as he knew that one of the spells had found its mark and likely it meant that one more of his rapidly dwindling force of Aurors was out of commission.
He had managed to take out the next two groups of Death Eaters after the first two men through a combination of guile, fancy spell work, and a little bit of luck. But every time he managed to incapacitate one group, yet more had appeared to take their places. He had sent half their number back towards the train's engine at one point to try and make their way outside, hoping to make an end run around the Death Eater position. He even thought they had succeeded when he both felt and heard a terrific explosion echo from somewhere further down the train, but that hope was soon dashed as the men returned from the same direction they had left. Out of the six he had sent, only two made it back, carrying a third unconscious between them. Apparently the Death Eaters had set up similar positions in the engine car for just such an attempt. And with the two -now three- men that he had lost here, that left him dreadfully short on resources.
"Any more ideas," Tonks asked him from across the hall. He noticed that she was breathing nearly as hard as him, and she was more than thirty years younger, so he decided he shouldn't feel too bad about his own lack of stamina.
"Nothing," he replied casually as he ducked out to fire off another spell, "you?"
Tonks fired a spell of her own before lifting her gaze thoughtfully.
"I suppose I could always take off my shirt," she suggested, a cheeky grin on her face. "I don't know how it works on Death Eaters, but I've certainly never failed to shock a man into submission with that before." His good eye stared at her for a long, hard moment before he burst into laughter, which was quickly followed by loud coughing and wheezing.
"I like it, but let's call that plan D."
He felt a sudden shift in the air then. He couldn't quite describe it, but it reminded him of the feeling he got in his knee just before a big thunderstorm appears. His magical eye, which had never left their opponents who were cowering behind cover, suddenly saw them begin to withdraw, backing away slowly while firing spells in their general direction to prevent them from interfering. He saw the first man turn and run out of the back door just as he heard a loud crack and a scream. The man's partner, who was still firing spells towards Moody's group, turned to look over his shoulder before closing the door and ducking down behind the nearest cover.
"Sorry my friend," Moody chuckled softly, "but that's not going to save you."
He saw through his eye as the door to the car exploded outward, ripped from its hinges and spinning off into the rapidly thinning fog that covered the area. He saw the man trembling with fear, his wand pointed at the open doorway. Then he saw as the man flew up and slammed hard into the ceiling. Twice more he flew and on the third impact he dropped his wand, where it rolled under a nearby seat.
The Death Eater fell at that point, and as soon as he hit the ground he began to slide backwards towards the open door. They all heard the man's terrified screams as he grabbed a hold of the doorframe, hanging on for dear life. He held on for several agonizing seconds, fingertips grasping…and then he was gone, swept away into the fog, his screams echoing in the cramped train car. Moody smiled and stepped into the nearly destroyed hallway, walking casually towards the back of the car.
"Sir, what was that," Tonks said nervously.
"I know that you're young," he said with a smile, "so I'm sure you've never seen it before, but I have, and I can almost guarantee you that we'll have a straight path to the Potter boy."
"What is it I haven't seen sir?"
Moody's smile grew, "An angry Albus Dumbledore."
Harry smiled widely at Ginny, breathing deeply of the relatively clean air he had inside the effects of his bubble-head charm. She smiled right back through her own bubble, a cheeky grin on her face.
"Great idea Gin, this is much better."
"Thanks," she said, "glad to be of service. Won't do us much good if we burn to death though." She said it casually, but Harry knew that this was becoming a very real possibility. The fire had begun on either side of them and was quickly working its way deeper into the forest, but it was undeniably closing in on them as well. Both had already used the Aguamenti charm to great effect, soaking the nearby area and delaying the encroaching flames by several minutes, but they both knew that such a blaze could not be held off indefinitely. Harry ducked his head around the tree they both leaned against, squinting to try to make out the Death Eaters through the smoke. He still held out hope that help would come in time, but he also knew that unless it came soon that they would be forced to try and fight their way out and even with their numbers reduced he didn't fancy the odds on taking down three adult wizards who were just lying in wait for them. Then a miracle happened.
"It's Dumbledore," a voice screamed from the train. "The apparition wards are down, everyone get out now!" The two Death Eaters who had retained their masks glanced at one another before quickly abandoning their position at the edge of the forest to gather their injured comrades.
"What are you doing," Lestrange snarled, whirling to face his comrades, "get back here."
"Did you not hear man, Dumbledore is here. This is over, it's time to retreat."
"No I will not accept that," he roared, "the boy is almost ours." One of the Death Eaters had created a portkey out of the shoe of one of the unconscious men and arrayed the injured around it. They each touched a hand to the softly glowing boot and in an instant they had all vanished, leaving the last Death Eater alone with Lestrange.
"Think Rodolphus, the boy will do you no good if you are captured before you can escape with him, and you know that you are no match for Albus Dumbledore. Our Lord has already freed you from Azkaban twice already my brother, he will not do so a third time." Lestrange looked as if he wanted to argue, but something of what he was being told must have made sense to him, for he simply nodded.
"Good," his companion sighed, clearly relieved that he had gotten through, "I will see you at headquarters." And with a crack he was gone. Rodolphus Lestrange breathed deeply, trying desperately to control his impulse to march into those trees and rip the Potter boy's heart from his chest. His eyes froze on the image of the scarlet train sitting so peacefully above him and a feral grin grew on his face. Maybe he could rip the boy's heart out after all.
"Potter!" he roared happily, knowing full well that the boy was watching him even now, hanging on his every word. "Your savior has arrived! Once again, saved by the mighty Dumbledore. He can't protect you forever boy. Before this war is over, I will watch happily as my master kills, but only after I have personally tortured and killed everyone that you have ever loved in front of you. In fact…before I go I think that I'll start right now." And with that he leveled his wand at the car that held Harry's friends, easily distinguishable by the massive hole in the side.
Harry had felt his stomach sink as the insane Death Eater had shouted his little speech. He leapt to his feet just as Lestrange raised his wand, ready to kill dozens of people purely out of spite.
"Stupefy!" Harry roared, his blood pounding in his ears. Time almost seemed to slow down for him; he watched the spell leave his wand, followed it as it flew unerringly towards its target, and saw as it slammed into the back of Rodolphus Lestrange, interrupting him before his spell could be cast and pitching him forward to land face first in the soft grass, unmoving.
Harry and Ginny both walked forward, eager to get away from the flames, but they were still cautious as they approached Lestrange. Stunned or not, they weren't taking any chances. Harry had just reached out a foot to prod the still form when he heard his name shouted nearby. He and Ginny both spun, their shaking wands held at the ready, but relaxed as they realized that it was Tonks who had shouted. The young witch hurried over to them, several other Aurors in tow.
"You two ok?" she asked, taking in their bloody and soot covered appearance. "Bloody hell Harry, what are you two doing out here?"
"Death Eaters threatened to start blowing up compartments if I didn't go with them," Harry replied with a shrug. "The only thing that I could think to do was to get off the train as fast as I could and lead them away so that no one could get hurt." Tonks eyed him appraisingly for several long moments.
"Officially," she said finally, "I'm supposed to tell you off for putting yourself in danger like that." She leaned in close so that the other Aurors, who were busy checking for signs of any Death Eater stragglers in the vicinity, could not hear. "Unofficially, I think what you did was damn brave. I may not like that you put yourself in danger, but you probably saved a lot of lives today Harry." Harry nodded his thanks at her words and then took a moment to examine her as she had Ginny and himself.
"You don't exactly look like you were on a picnic either," he said as he saw the numerous tears and burns on her robes. "What happened with you?"
And so she gave him a brief recounting of what had happened to her and the other Aurors since the attack had commenced, including the part about Dumbledore coming to their rescue.
"So he really is here?" Harry asked.
"Oh yes," Tonks replied with a laugh. "He was…hard to miss."
"So where is he?" She shrugged, waving her hand vaguely in the direction of the train.
"Last I saw he was getting brought up to speed by Moody. We were supposed to keep looking for you and he said he was going to handle the fire." Harry snorted in disbelief at this. He couldn't imagine anyone "handling" this fire. What had started with a simple Incednio spell had now consumed everything green in sight, and he knew it would only continue to spread through the rest of the forest. "Ah there he is," Tonks said, up the hill towards the Hogwarts Express. And indeed as Harry turned to follow her gaze he saw the ancient wizard in his customary midnight blue robes.
He stood ramrod straight, but Harry watched as his arms raised and he began to sway. Harry could clearly see that he was saying some sort of incantation, but from this distance could not hear anything. From the fact that his lips continued to move however, Harry knew that it was a spell more complicated than any he had ever attempted. Then he felt it, a brief gust of wind that tousled his already messy hair playfully.
He had not noticed until just now how oppressively hot it was. The day had already been unusually warm for early September, but the massive inferno blazing nearby certainly did not help matters. Another breeze came, this one lasting longer than the first and Harry suddenly felt himself shivering involuntarily. It felt like ice cold water was being poured slowly down his back, invigorating him and soothing his aching muscles. Up above, Dumbledoe continued his spell casting, now moving even more vigorously than before as Harry felt the wind begin to pick up. Dark clouds began moving in rapidly from the west, passing overhead on their way to the still burning forest.
Harry finally realized what was about to happen moments before the clouds opened up and rain began pouring down upon them all. More rain than Harry had ever seen at one time fell in a massive torrential downpour, and already he could see the effect it was having as the nearest flames began to shrink, becoming smaller and smaller before finally flickering out. He turned to say something to Ginny, but stopped and smiled instead, staring at her. Her eyes were closed and her face was raised to the sky, her smile radiant as the heavy droplets dripped down her face one after another, carving flesh colored streaks through the soot and grime.
"Come on you two," Tonks said, shouting to be heard over the sound of the driving rain, "we need to get you inside. Dumbledore and Moody want us to get moving again as soon as possible so we can get everyone to Hogwarts. We'll be safe there." Harry nodded.
"Right. Oh, and don't forget about Lestrange here," he said with a nod towards the still unmoving figure at their feet. Tonks nodded and quickly used her wand to tie him up before kneeling down to search him for an emergency portkey or any other dangerous device.
"Hopefullly he stays in Azkaban this time," Harry said darkly as he and Ginny began to trudge their way up the steep, and now muddy, hill back towards the train.
"Harry," Tonks snapped, stopping him in his tracks, "you were the one that got him?" He turned and looked at her confused.
"Yeah. He was about to blow up one of the train cars because he was mad that he couldn't capture me, so I jumped out and stunned him. Why, what's wrong?" There was no mistaking the seriousness of her expression.
"He's dead."
A/N: Thanks everyone for reading. I didn't expect this to take so long as it was finished at the same time as the last chapter, but as it turns out this one needed an extensive rewrite. Please feel free to leave me a review. Will do my best to update soonest.
