Chapter 67: Warning Signs
"Hey…" Nikki greeted her friend during breakfast the following morning.
Ianthé just nodded at her.
"What's wrong?"
"Just tired…"
Nikki smiled, "If I know better…." She then raised her left eyebrow.
Ianthé slapped her lightly in the arm, "Shut up, Nikki…"
"Come on, both of you are stressed out… You guys deserve some…. Oh, never mind… Razilia's here…"
"Something's wrong…" Ianthé said in a whisper.
The eagle owl flew in bearing a black package. Razilia landed with a thud near Ianthé and hooted weakly.
"He's hurt!" Nikki said, "Look at his wings!"
Razilia's left wing looked like it was burned. It was bleeding profusely.
The entire Great Hall was silent. Only the weak hooting of Ianthé's owl was heard.
Hagrid's thunderous footsteps went near them.
"Professor Hagrid, Ianthé's owl is hurt!"
Ianthé looked at the black box and untied it from Razilia before Hagrid took the owl away.
Viktor and Fred Weasley ran to her.
Ianthé opened the box and a green vapor escaped.
Ianthé looked inside the box to find a finger with a ring carved with the Herze family crest.
"Your family's days are numbered!" a booming cold voice from the vapor said before transforming into a Dark Mark.
The students panicked and started to run out of the Great Hall.
Ianthé fainted but Viktor managed to catch her before her head hit the stone floor.
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"Probably out of shock and stress…" a female voice said.
"Good thing Tarquinus managed to escape before they cut out all of his fingers…" another male voice said.
"Most of the children are already sent to France, Bulgaria and Denmark…"
Ianthé began to open her eyes.
"I still have classes…" she murmured as she tried to get up.
"Théa, classes are cancelled."
Ianthé looked around to find her father, her mother and her cousin Edmond standing next to her bed.
"You need rest, dear. Poppy said you were working hard to teach basic Healing to other students…"
"Whose finger….?"
Her father answered her question, "Tarquinus was captured. Fortunately, he managed to escape together with the rest of the fingers of his hands intact. The message was supposed to rattle us in some way…"
Ianthé gave out a breath of relief.
"Thank Merlin Professor Krum was there…" Edmond said in a wink.
Ianthé managed to throw him a pillow.
Madam Pomfrey walked briskly near the bed.
"Poppy, is she going to be okay?" Ianthé's mother asked the nurse.
"She is fine, Margeaux. She just took quite a nasty shock. I told the Head Boy to take your duties for the rest of the day…"
Ianthé nodded.
That night, Viktor decided to go to Ianthé as she was about to be discharged.
"Professor Krum, please do remind this lady that she will need all the rest she could get…."
Ianthé rolled her eyes, "Come on, Madam Pomfrey. I'm fine."
"I will, Madam Pomfrey," Viktor smiled at her.
He led Ianthé out of hospital wing.
"No need to hold me too tightly, Professor Krum. I might break…" Ianthé teased him.
A little cough startled them and promptly had Viktor drop Ianthé to the ground.
"Good thing I'm the only one here…" a familiar voice said.
The person stepped out of the shadows.
"Fred! You git!" Ianthé ranted as she got up.
"Is that how you treat your wife? By dropping her at the sight of other people?" Fred wagged his left index finger.
"How's George by the way?" Ianthé asked.
"He'll live… He wanted some action and he got it… Mum's not going to let him out of her sight though…"
"What about your shop?"
"We closed it…" Fred sighed.
"…and for good reason, too. I mean, with the present situation, even the mail order system's not doing good. It's better to just close rather than have it closed down."
Ianthé patted his arm, "It's better to lose some Galleons than have your head on a silver platter served to the Dark Lord…. You guys are pretty notorious…"
Fred just shrugged his shoulders, "Well, that's our job…"
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"Are you alright?" Ernie asked Ianthé the next morning.
"A bit… I just hate waiting for them to attack though…. It's as if we're counting off the days of doom…."
"Our doom?" Ernie nervously asked.
"Nope…. Theirs," Ianthé got up and walked towards the Head Girl's quarters.
"Hey, I thought classes were already cancelled…" Viktor asked her as he checked some of the essays he assigned to his students.
"Yep. I need your help on something, though…"
"Sure," Viktor put his quill down.
"Do you remember the Black Fire?"
"I am guessing you are planning to make it…"
"Yes… I thought it could be useful…"
"We can't. It's Dark Arts… and people might suspect you…"
"We cannot possibly sit around and wait for them to attack! I say, fight fire with fire!" Ianthé slumped down on the couch.
"We have a fair advantage over the werewolves because they cannot use magic when fully transformed. The problem lies if and when the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord comes…"
There was heavy knocking on the door.
Ianthé motioned Viktor to hide in her bedroom. She opened the portrait door.
"The map! Someone's trying to get past the Whomping Willow!" Ernie exclaimed.
"Get the DA! I'll get Professors Krum and Weasley!"
Ernie nodded and ran.
"Viktor! Somebody's trying to get into Hogwarts!"
Viktor ran and got his wand and wore his cloak.
"I'll get Fred, you go ahead together with the DA!"
Viktor gave a nod before leaving.
Ianthé walked fast towards the Professors Wing and knocked on the door.
The door opened.
"George! You're here!"
The red-haired professor smiled, "Yep, never want to miss any of the action! Oi, Fred, hurry up!"
Fred Weasley ran while grabbing his wand on the table.
The three arrived near the large tree with large whipping trunks.
"What exactly are we doing here?" George asked his sister who was watching a man trying to escape the willow.
"Target practice… We shoot spells if only that dungbrain of a Death Eater comes near the knot… Honestly…" Ginny shot another spell at the man, "I had the other DA members check the other entrances from Hogsmeade and the Forbidden Forest."
"How did he ever get here?"
George said, "Ron once said that the tunnel leading to Hogsmeade ends in…."
"…the Shrieking Shack! Merlin! The Death Eaters maybe here already!" Ginny exclaimed.
"I'll go…" Ianthé said quickly.
She ran to the school gates and transformed into a Siberian husky. She ran towards the direction of Hogsmeade.
Once there, she looked around only to find the village empty. She quickly ran to the Shrieking Shack.
"We must get inside!" a stocky man said to a number of masked men, "It's easier to attack tomorrow if we get inside the castle!"
Ianthé quickly ran to a safe place and shifted back from her Animagus form. She Disapparated without making a sound.
She landed somewhere in the Forbidden Forest.
"Why are you here again, human?" a centaur asked her.
"I have come to warn you. They're coming."
"Yes…" the centaur was approached by a unicorn.
"What about them?" Ianthé asked, mentioning the magical creature before her.
"They are very well protected by our kind. The entire forest is protected."
"Very well…. Erm… Good luck!"
"Before you go…" the centaur put his hand on Ianthé's shoulder, "I have watched the stars for many years and I have foreseen this. Have faith."
Ianthé gave a nod before Disapparating.
She landed just a few meters away from the school.
She ran towards the Whomping Willow.
"There are a number of Death Eaters in Hogsmeade, no villagers, I expect they evacuated beforehand. I have also gone to the Forbidden Forest to warn the centaurs."
Viktor nodded.
"We managed to capture the geezer and seal the entrance from the Whomping Willow," Fred stated.
"Mad-eye's here. He'll take care of that dung for brains…"
Professor McGonagall ran towards them.
"I have just received a Floo from London. The Ministry's under attack by Death Eaters…."
"This is not good, Headmistress…" Viktor commented.
"Precisely. Now, I want the entire school divided into their respective groups and retire for the night together. Miss Herze, Mister McMillan, gather the entire student body."
Ianthé and Ernie nodded and sprinted towards the Great Hall.
Ernie pointed his wand to his throat, "Sonorus. I want everyone to group themselves according to their respective Houses."
Ianthé approached Professor Flitwick, "Erm… Professor, do you think it wise to enlarge each common room and let the students stay there until further announcement? The students cannot possibly go back to their homes as the Ministry is being attacked as of this moment…"
"Great idea, dear!" the tiny professor squeaked.
"Ernie, tell the prefects to lead the students to the common room when we get back. Flitwick will just enlarge it for the night…"
Ernie nodded and announced what Ianthé had said.
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"Professor, I'll just head to the kitchens for a while…" Ianthé said after they had enlarged the common rooms of the four Houses.
Ianthé opened the door to the kitchens.
"Alright, everyone, gather around…"
The house elves listened attentively.
"You will be divided into two groups. The first group is the one responsible for the meals for tonight. The second group will arrange the sleeping bags in each common room. The students will stay in the common room tonight."
The house elves quickly went to work after Ianthé's announcement.
"Ianthé! What happened?" Nikki ran towards her friend.
"The Ministry's being attacked by Death Eaters. This is so planned… There are also Death Eaters in Hogsmeade…"
"Oh Merlin! I must get to Charlie!" Nikki exclaimed, "He might not be able to handle the two dragons and fight Death Eaters at the same time…."
"I forgot about that…. Go and pack your things, sleeping bags and all. I'll get you some potions and food."
Nikki nodded before going to the Ravenclaw tower.
Ianthé went back to the kitchens to get Nikki and Charlie some food. After that, she went to her room to get her personal stock of Blood Replenishing Potion, and Pepper-Up potion.
"Ready?" Ianthé asked her friend.
Nikki nodded.
Both of them walked fast towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
"Oi! Where are the two of you going?" Hagrid bellowed as he walked towards them.
"To the dragons. There are Death Eaters in Hogsmeade."
Nikki and Ianthé Disapparated in front of Hagrid.
They landed near the cave and Nikki gripped on a rock tightly.
"There goes the three Ds…" she muttered under her breath.
"Charlie!" Nikki shouted.
"What are the two of doing here?"
"Nikki will spend the entire night here. The Ministry's being attacked as of this moment… There are Death Eaters in Hogsmeade, so stay out of sight…"
Charlie nodded.
Ianthé went out of the cave and transformed once again into a dog and went down the mountain.
She returned to her human form but noticed the sudden change in weather.
On the road to Hogsmeade were several dementors gliding towards the village.
"Oh hell…." She cursed before Disapparating.
Ianthé landed with a thud near Hagrid's cabin.
She got up and ran fast towards the Great Hall.
"Professor McGonagall!" she ran towards the headmistress.
"What is it?"
"I…. saw….dementors…. going…to….Hogsmeade," she said as she tried to breathe slowly.
"Professors, meeting in my office, including the Head Boy and Girl, now."
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"He's coming here…. I can just feel it…" Professor Slughorn said as his trembling fingers got a crystallized pineapple and nibbled it nervously.
"We cannot obviously relax but we have prepared for this…" Professor McGonagall said.
"What we need is someone good in Defense…" Viktor said, "And we have got capable people here, in this room. An amount of help in Healing in the hospital wing, we have that…."
"But we need someone who is good in tactics…" Mad-eye Moody growled as he went inside the Headmistress's office.
"Sir, I think I may just have the right people for that…" Ernie smiled, "I'll just go and get them…"
After Ernie left the office, Ianthé raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Herze?"
"This morning I was so desperate for ideas that Black Fire popped into my head. I just thought of some sort of medieval warfare… The castle got turrets, why not use them to our advantage…"
"But Miss Herze, that substance is illegal and very very Dark…"
"I know, professor, that's why I suddenly thought of something else… but I also don't know how to obtain it…"
"What is it?"
"I have learned in Muggle Studies that petrol or what the Muggles use to power their cars is combustible, and so is a lot of other stuff… The problem is where are we going to get petrol…"
"Yes, that's a pretty good idea, lass… burn those vile creatures…" Mad-eye Moody once again commented.
"There are also a lot of other alternatives like alcohol…"
"You are leading to what exactly?" Fred asked.
"I know what she's thinking! Let's empty Professor Slughorn's stock of liquor, put some cloth on the open bottle, light it and throw it from the turrets…" George exclaimed.
"As last resort…" Ianthé finished as she gave Professor Slughorn an apologetic look.
Ernie got back to the office with some students who shyly greeted the professors.
"The Wizard Chess club… What an interesting idea…"
"We lack one more person in that…" Fred mentioned. He stood up and got to the fireplace, "May I, professor?"
Professor McGonagall nodded.
Fred threw some Floo powder into the fire, "12 Grimmauld Place!"
The fire began to turn into emerald. Fred stuck his head into the fire.
"Wonwon! We need your butt here!" he bellowed.
A tall red-haired boy stepped out of the fire, "What do you want, Fred?" not noticing the people around him.
"We called in the Wizard Chess club for some advice, and then you, dear brother, popped into our heads…"
Ron Weasley looked defeated, "The Ministry's in shambles. Many Aurors are still fighting the Death Eaters… Many Ministry officials are dead, though…It's a good thing to have reinforcements…"
"What reinforcements?"
"The Order… I didn't know it had tons of new members, most of them foreigners of some sort…"
"I see you have met my family, Ron Weasley…"
Ron was surprised to see Viktor Krum in front of him, "Those huge people are your relatives??"
Viktor nodded.
"Blimey!"
"Where's Hermione? And Harry?" Ianthé asked.
"They're with the Order. Hermione and Mum are patching some people up…. Harry is with some Order members… Top secret stuff…" Ron said pointedly to those who knew.
"Mister McMillan called on those who are very proficient in wizard chess because he knew all of you are very good in strategy and tactics. Now, we need your help to plan the escape of students tomorrow. The Floo Network in my office is open so we could make contacts. We need to evacuate as many students as possible tomorrow."
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Ianthé got to the hospital wing where the Healing group congregated.
"What are you doing?" she asked Eloise Midgen.
"We're making these basic Healing kits so that we could walk around and heal them on sight."
"Nice idea, Eloise."
Eloise Midgen smiled, "Thanks by the way for that pimple-removing cream you gave me. I never got round to thank you for it…"
"Oh, that's fine… Anything to help… So are you guys spending the night here?"
"Yes, they are, Miss Herze," Madam Pomfrey said as she walked out of her office. There were several piles of stretchers floating behind and following her.
"What are those for?" Ianthé asked.
"Your duty is to find the injured and transport them here…"
Ianthé nodded.
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Ianthé woke up to a loud thunderous quake.
"Théa, wake up. Something's wrong…" Viktor already got dressed.
Ianthé quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth. She changed into pants and a loose shirt and grabbed the belt bag that contained the Healing kit. She also grabbed a thick cloak and ran after Viktor.
"What happened?" Ianthé asked as they stopped near a window.
"Giants…"
"Oh no… not what we expected…"
A/N: I am trying what other fanfic authors do…. This is what I call fanfic excitement blackmail… I will not post the last 3 chapters if you guys do not give ma an idea what "deathly hallows" means!!!!
Anyways, clues for the end of my fanfic:
yes, Charlie likes Nikki and vice versa… erm, I call it "For the Love of Dragons" (good fanfic material though…)
draco will redeem himself (I could just hear the moans on the background) and will have a few bits of surprises for us…
viktor will play Quidditch once again (yey!)
Weasleys Wizard Wheezes will take over Zonko's… (sorry, kids…)
Harry??? I still have no idea…
Ron and Hermione… duh, do we need to spell it all out? Anvil-sized clues, according to Miss Rowling…
Percy…. Still a git
Bill and Fleur…… erm….. surprise!
To those who have listened and read my crazy rantings on how the real final battle might happen, they might have an idea on what will happen in chapter 68
Voldemort? Gee…. What do I care?? Nah, a book will be written about him…