Well, it's Friday again, and that means it's time for another chapter! This time, toad bashing, snogging, and field promotions.

My thanks as always to those of you who have read, and even more thanks to those of you who have reviewed:

To the ever faithful Snood – Thanks, I always enjoy writing the Ravenclaw/Gryffindor Quidditch matches. It's so much fun to put Esdras and Katie against each other and see what happens. And yes, Ginny is very firm on her feet. Esdras has said enough times that she's the one you have to watch, and he's very good at reading people. I think Cho has forgiven Esdras; it would be more difficult for her to hold a grudge against him because they're housemates and all, plus they're on the team, so they're in almost constant contact. And yes, this is the start of the climax of the story, so I hope you enjoy it. I will be waiting to write Guardian-5 until after the release of Deathly Hallows, I want to try to keep things close to the story, after all. But that doesn't mean that I won't change the ending if I'm unhappy with it. hehe…

To those of you who haven't reviewed, you really should! There are only two more chapters after this! Review while you can. Besides, I like hearing what you think and your reviews make me a better writer. So go ahead, press the button.

And the usual notes apply. Text in italics is in Azkabaaner and I don't own HP.

Chapter 19 – Fighting the System

The days passed, bringing the OWLs upon the unfortunate fifth years and the NEWTs upon the unfortunate seventh years. But snug between these two groups, the sixth years relaxed. And Esdras and Katie were certainly relaxed now that the damage to the Dementor's back was finally healed. On a whim, Esdras had ordered takeaway from the Chinese restaurant in New Demnin and they were enjoying their meal in the Great Hall. Katie was relaying the news from the night before. "So Hermione was up on the Astronomy tower and had a perfect view of the whole thing. She tries to sack Hagrid but he ended up running into the forest. But it was McGonagall that they stunned in cold blood."

A piece of chicken dropped from Esdras' chopsticks as he stared at his lunch partner in shock. "Wait, how many people stunned her?"

Katie narrowed her eyes. "At least four."

The Dementor let out a low whistle. "That's not good. Umbridge has gone too far this time."

At this point, Ginny and Luna came running in. They immediately skidded to a halt in front of Esdras. Ginny started speaking breathlessly. "Esdras, Katie, I need your help. Harry needs me to make diversion for Umbridge and I can't do it without your help."

Esdras arched an eyebrow. "This sounds like fun. Why does he need a diversion, anyway?"

Ginny looked nervous and leaned in, speaking as quietly as she could. "He's worried that Voldemort has Sirius. He had a vision during his History of Magic exam. We just need to distract Umbridge so he can use the fireplace."

Katie looked confused. "Visions?"

The Dementor narrowed his eyes. "The Order has known for a while that Harry has been picking up on Voldemort's thoughts. No one knows why. That was how they were able to find Mr. Weasley when he was injured." He grabbed the last egg roll and stood up. "I'm in."

Katie rose and nodded. "What do we need to do?"

Standing in hall near the Defense professor's office, Esdras was struck with the fact that this was easily the stupidest plan he'd ever been a part of. And as a result, it was most likely guaranteed to work. His part was deceptively easy, even if it made him feel a little uncomfortable. Katie coming down the hallway would be his signal. Ginny, who was leaning against the wall beside him, looked downright nervous. "Are you sure you're alright with this, Esdras?"

The Dementor nodded. "As long as Katie's fine with it, I'm fine with it. Besides, it's too late to back out now."

Ginny nodded mutely. At that second, Katie turned the corner and began walking down the hallway. Esdras sighed. "Here we go."

Esdras leaned in and pulled Ginny into his arms, kissing her with a passion he normally reserved for Katie. The redhead tensed, but quickly relaxed into her role. Katie, though having agreed with the plan, now found that she didn't exactly like the enthusiasm with which Ginny was returning her boyfriend's affections. As planned, Katie screamed bloody murder. "You cheating, cloaked bastard! How dare you! And with that little tramp, too!"

The redhead pulled away from the kiss and started screaming once Umbridge had turned the corner, her Inquisitorial Squad trailing behind her. "Who are you calling a tramp?! I don't even know what he saw in you when he could have me." Ginny draped herself across Esdras, hooking a leg around his waist and holding the Dementor even closer and resting her head on his chest. "He's all mine now."

Katie fumed convincingly and pulled her wand, casting a hex towards Ginny and missing, striking the wall farther down the hall near Luna, earning an angry reply from the fourth member of the diversion. Ginny and Luna both returned fire, missing Katie by miles and aiming for Umbridge and her squad, which had scattered as soon as the first spells were fired. Esdras simply pressed himself against a nearby door. His duty would be to float to Umbridge's office and kick the door to warn Harry if anyone managed to break through the firefight. The plan was going perfectly until an unexpected element entered the playing field.

It was the silent observer to almost everything that had transpired who changed the course of the battle. Neville Longbottom, unaware of the ruse, fired a one in a million shot. The Patronus charged at the Dementor and slammed him against the doorjamb, causing him to strike his head against the unyielding stone. As Esdras collapsed, he could see the diversionary force pause and look at him. That was just the break that the Inquisitorial Squad needed. Within seconds, the diversionary force was overrun. He collapsed to the ground and looked up as Umbridge walked right up to him. He didn't even have the energy to glare at her before he passed out.

When Esdras woke up, he found himself on the ground with his wrists and ankles bound. He did his best to roll over and groaned, taking in his surroundings. Neville, who was stuck in a headlock from Gregory Goyle, backed away. The Dementor winced and spoke groggily. "Why'd you have to do that, Neville?"

The mortal stammered. "I…I thought Katie was angry with you. I was trying to help her."

Draco Malfoy pulled back and kicked the Dementor in the stomach. His voice was a triumphant drawl. "Shut up, both of you."

The blonde Slytherin pulled back for another kick and Esdras let it connect, rolling with the force of the impact. He took greater stock of his surroundings. He was obviously in the Defense professor's office, the ugly kitten plates on the wall gave it away immediately. Ron, Ginny, Luna, Katie, and Neville were with him, and all appeared to be under the guard of the Inquisitorial Squad. Esdras sighed as Malfoy pulled him up by the cloak. "I suppose you think you've got the upper hand here."

Malfoy nodded triumphantly. "That rope has been coated in your precious ichor. Umbridge said it's impossible for a Dementor to break it."

The Dementor sighed again. "Some people will believe anything they read." And, without further preamble, drew his head back and flung it forward, head butting the mortal and sending him sprawling to the ground. He floated into the air, hands and feet still bound and provided a target for the Inquisitorial Squad members to hit. The diversionary force, however, was quick on the uptake, and within seconds, the group of Slytherins was disarmed and unconscious. Esdras floated back down and quickly snapped the bindings. "There are reasons we allow some Ministry lies to proliferate."

Katie thumped Esdras on the shoulder, but smiled. "Took you long enough to wake up."

Esdras smirked. "You try healing a concussion in that amount of time. Now what did I miss."

Katie sighed. "To summarize, Umbridge was the one who authorized the Dementor attacks on Harry, she's a sadistic bitch and was prepared to use Veritaserum and the Cruciate Curse on Harry to get him to talk, and she took Harry and Hermione into the forest to look for a weapon which doesn't exist that Hermione made up on the fly."

The Dementor smirked. "The attack was a secret Ministry operation, after all. Gods, I hate being right all the time." His smirk fell, and Katie recognized the look of cool dispassion provided to him by his military experience. "I'm going into the forest after them. I want you all to stay here."

Ginny looked up from where she was casting binding charms on Malfoy. "No chance in hell. We're going with you. We're in this already."

A quick scan of the faces showed that no one was going to yield. The Dementor nodded quickly, taking command of the situation. "Fine. Finish binding the last of the Slytherins and let's go."

Esdras, Katie, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna quickly made their way down to the edge of the forest. Esdras was leading the pack with Ron and Katie at his sides. He raised his hood and took his Dementor form as they passed into the darkening woods. "Stay close. Most things in here won't attack a Dementor."

Ron looked a little pale. "What do you mean most things?"

Depending on species, the members of the group either walked or floated into the forest. They had only been walking for a few minutes when Esdras called everyone to a halt. "I can see the glow of two mortals ahead of us."

Katie nodded and they moved to intercept. The group was surprised to see Harry and Hermione, both of whom seemed to be covered in blood of some sort. Hermione called out as they approached. "You all managed to escape!"

Esdras recoiled in horror and covered his face with his cloak as the pair approached. He gagged loudly behind the fabric. "How the hell did you two get covered in giant's blood?"

Harry blinked in confusion at the Dementor's disgusted reaction while Hermione responded. "We ran into Hagrid's brother, Grawp. He saved us, actually."

Esdras' hood grew wide in shock. "You mean there actually is a giant out there in the forest? I thought Incaro and Torrent were joking with me when they said they saw a giant while on patrol…" He backed away from the blood soaked pair. "Well, stay back, that stuff smells absolutely wretched to me."

The pair, both of whom smelled nothing, backed away from the Dementor and the scarred mortal smiled happily at the group. "How did you get away?"

Ron handed the pair their wands and shrugged nonchalantly. "A few Stunners, a few Expelliarmus, Neville cast a great Impediment Jinx, but Esdras here took the cake. He head butted Malfoy, then Ginny…" He broke into laughter. "Bat Bogey Hex. It was amazing. Anyway, we saw you heading into the forest and followed you. Where's Umbridge?"

Harry pointed idly over his shoulder. "She got carried off by a herd of Centaurs."

Esdras, who had cast a quick Bubblehead charm to block the smell, arched his hood in surprise. "Well, good riddance to bad rubbish. Now did you manage to get through to Sirius, or did Ginny and I snog for nothing?"

Ron looked on as the Dementor, Katie, and his sister all shared a meaningful smirk. He narrowed his eyes. "You snogged Ginny?"

Harry quickly interrupted, saving Esdras from an uncomfortable situation. "Yes, I got through to him but he wasn't there. I have to get to the Ministry and rescue him."

The Dementor glared. "Like hell, we're going to get in contact with the Order and figure out where to go from here. Snape is our closest contact, and if he won't help us, we can use the fireplace in Umbridge's office again.

The mortal rounded on Esdras and shouted. "There's no time. Sirius is in trouble. We have to go now."

Esdras shook his hood. "Better wizards than you have been killed rushing into a situation that they know nothing about. Don't think that you're good enough to not make that list."

Harry glared murderously at the Dementor before drawing his wand. "You're not stopping me, Esdras. Expecto Patronum!" The powerful stag rushed forward, knocking Esdras into the air and causing him to quickly retreat.

Katie screamed at Harry. "What the hell are you doing? Are you insane? Esdras has experience in these things!" She glared. "If you're so hell bent on getting to the Ministry, tell me how you're going to get there."

Outside the range of the powerful stag, Esdras sighed and looked down to the forest, which was still glowing with the energy created by the Patronus charm. He muttered to himself. "Foolish mortal."

He waited overtop of the forest for the Patronus to disengage. At the moment that the silver glow stopped effusing the forest, he swooped down through the trees. However, he was met by an even faster force swooping up through the trees. The Dementor recognized them immediately as thestrals, each one carrying a mortal rider. Six passed by him as he quickly changed directions, proceeding up through the forest in an attempt to capture the mortals.

By the time he had cleared the upper branches of the trees, he could see the glowing forms on thestralback speeding off towards the south. Esdras merely sighed and sped back down to the forest. There was still one person unaccounted for. He came to the forest floor and sighed in relief. Katie was waiting patiently for him, leaning against a tree. "Took you long enough."

Esdras nodded and pulled her into a hug. "They're on their way to the Ministry?"

Katie sighed. "I tried to get them to listen to reason, but they went anyway. We have to go after them."

The Dementor lifted her up bridal style and took to the air. "They're on thestrals, and thestrals have a top speed faster than a Dementor. I wouldn't be able to catch them on my own. To make matters worse, the Vault Cloaks are in for servicing so we can't rely on those."

The mortal nodded. "You can Apparate after them."

Esdras shook his head slowly. "Inadvisable. There's no way of knowing exactly where they are at any given time and no way to tell what course they're taking. And even if we did find them, they're still going too fast for us to catch. Right now, we have to secure Hogwarts. Besides, if Harry is right and Voldemort is making his move, then it's the responsibility of my fleet to make sure that Hogwarts is safe." Before Katie could object, he cut her off. "I'll go after them once the school is secure. We'll be able to Apparate directly to London; we can get there instantly and cut them off."

The mortal nodded as they swept across the castle grounds to the front entrance. Once they were inside, Katie looked to the Dementor. "How long will it take to secure the castle?"

Esdras smirked and pointed his wand to the front door. "Hogwarts Security Protocol Demnin 27."

The door quickly closed and numerous locks locked and bolts shut. Around them, windows closed and shutters flew shut. Throughout every hallway, a klaxon sounded and a calm, prerecorded mortal voice filled the air. "This is a Level One Security Alert. By order of Rear Admiral Esdras Demnin of the Azkaban Guard, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is hereby placed under Azkaban Martial Law. This is not a drill. All students, report to your dormitories and await further instructions from your head of house. All faculty and staff, report immediately to the Headmaster's Office."

The Dementor wrapped his arms around Katie and lifted them up, speeding them towards the Headmaster's Office. The mortal, however, pointed something out. "Esdras, Dumbledore's office has been locked ever since he left. We're not going to be able to get in."

Esdras smiled brightly. "Oh ye of little faith." He reached the gargoyle that guarded the staircase to the office in question and spoke clearly to it. "Katherine Elizabeth." The gargoyle jumped aside and the pair stepped onto the moving staircase. "Dumbledore and I planned it all out when the fleet was first stationed here. In the event of an emergency or a situation in which he was incapacitated, I would be able to declare martial law and the password to his office would reset so that I would have access as well. He even let me set the password."

Katie blushed as they reached the door with the Griffin knocker on it. "You picked my name as the password?"

Moving to the fireplace, the Dementor smiled. "Of course. You never use Katherine, so it was the perfect choice." He tossed a handful of Floo powder into the grate, which, due to being in the magically locked and sealed office, had been unaffected by Umbridge's blanket ban. "New Demnin Regional Command Bunker, Fleet Operations Command."

A female hood appeared in the coals. "Thank you for calling New Demnin RCB, this is Lieutenant Stephanie Trieste. How may I direct your call?"

Esdras spoke fast, time was of the essence. "Stephanie, scramble the 13th and 91st Infantries to Hogwarts along with all the men the 8th Infantry can spare. Then activate the 212th and 1102nd in guard mode and scramble them as well. This is an emergency."

Stephanie saluted in reply. "Yes, Lord Admiral. The 13th, 91st, and 8th will be there in minutes."

The fireplace connection closed, but not before the sound of a general alert being issued could be heard. Esdras sighed and leaned against the corner of the headmaster's desk. The professors still had not arrived, and he had one last thing to take care of. "Once everything here is taken care of here, I'm going to go after Harry. That means I have to leave someone in charge of the Dementor forces here, someone who understands mortals."

Katie nodded. "I'm sure Aaron will do a wonderful job. He's around here so often that everyone is used to him by now. You don't have anything to worry about."

Esdras shook his head. "I'm taking Aaron and the Thirteenth Infantry with me. I want you to take command."

The mortal looked shocked. "No way, I'm going with you. Besides, I don't know anything about command."

The Dementor smirked. "The troops trust you; they'll follow your orders. And with a mortal in command, no one will think that the Dementors are trying to stage a takeover." His voice became desperate. "You're the only one able to do this. Micah Redoubt can help you with the major command decisions."

Katie sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Finally she nodded. "Okay, if you think it's for the best."

Esdras nodded. "Katherine Elizabeth Bell, I hereby grant you the provisional field commission of captain in the Azkaban Guard. You will take command of the remainder of the Fourth Fleet and protect Hogwarts in my absence." He drew his wand and tapped the shoulders of her cloak. Silver rank insignia of a vulture with wings spread appeared and the Dementor smiled. "Welcome to the Azkaban Guard."