First Blood

A/N: Disclaimer's in the first chapter. Poodoo, meet fan. Fair warning, canon character deaths ahead.

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October 31, 1995

Much as Dumbledore may not have liked it, over the next week, the rule crackdown and increased patrols and intervention by the professors (supported by the myriad of portraits around the castle, who had begun to report to the professors when they spotted something) bore remarkable fruit. Within days, the antagonistic Slytherins had ceased their bullying, mostly for lack of time and opportunity. The New Marauders learned from Blaise that whatever punishment got levied by the other professors was doubled by Snape, for 'getting caught' or some variation on that theme. The end result was that most of the troublesome Slytherins simply did not have time to run around bullying people, because every spare second they had was taken up with either homework or a myriad of punishments.

The neutral Slytherins were more than a bit surprised to find themselves cautiously welcomed by the other Houses. Oh, there was suspicion still, but most of the school seemed to have adopted a 'live and let live' policy where the neutral Slytherins were concerned, and they seemed to be content to spend a lot of time away from the Slytherin Common Room.

The only exception to the rule seemed to be Malfoy. True to his slimy, sneaky nature, he managed to avoid getting detentions or points lost once the crackdown started. He sneered at everyone and made it clear he thought they were all less than the dung he scraped off his boots, but he did it without actually saying anything, or actively bullying anyone. And he still disappeared into the Room of Requirement every chance he got. And today? The bastard seemed to be especially smug. And anticipatory. He kept giving everyone these ... looks ... that defied Harry's attempts to decipher, but whatever they were, they weren't good.

It really didn't help that the last few days, Harry's Voldie-visions had been full of impatient anticipation and planning as well. Frustratingly vague planning, much to Harry's annoyance. All he knew was that the Death Eaters were poised to strike somewhere, and Voldemort was waiting for some last piece to fall into place before he struck.

In the quiet after dinner, when everyone had settled down for a last bit of studying before retiring to their common rooms and eventually, bed, Harry found out exactly what Malfoy and Voldemort had been anticipating.

Bangs and terrified screaming announced the trouble. Harry and the rest of the New Marauders, sitting in the library, looked at each other and raced out to see what was going on.

Harry desperately wished they hadn't.

Death Eaters were pouring down the stairs, from the direction of the seventh floor. The students that were out and about were screaming and fleeing in terror, many of them falling to hexes and curses, though Harry saw no green bolts, at least not yet, so he had hope that they were still alive.

"DOBBY, WINKY!" He shrieked.

Both elves popped in, got one good look, and swung around to Harry, utterly horrified. "Mobilize the elves. Get the kids out of here. Guard them! Got get Sirius, Remus, and every Order member you can find, and tell Amelia Bones that the school's under attack!"

He didn't have to tell them twice. They both disappeared and seconds later, the place was up to its eyeballs in house-elves. Pissed-off house elves that were slamming the Death Eaters around like toys while trying to herd the frightened students to safety. Half a second after that, the professors poured into the corridors and onto the stairs, and things really lit up.

"We have got to get out of here. We're going to get killed in the crossfire." Harry called over the mayhem. "We'll head for the kitchen." Away from the Death Eaters pouring down the stairs.

The group closed ranks and began hustling that direction, keeping shields up as they tried to get away. Unfortunately for them, it wasn't going to be that easy. They'd barely gotten fifteen or twenty feet when their group was spotted, and they became the focus of a hail of spellfire.

The long summer of training as a group paid off. Neville, Ginny and Harry, the powerhouses, concentrated on returning fire while the others alternated between shooting off every prank jinx they knew to slow, surprise, and distract and shielding the heavy hitters so they didn't have to waste energy. It worked to a degree that surprised Harry. But then again, it was death eaters they were talking about, wasn't it?

McGonagall and Flitwick had been the first to respond to the alarm, as their classrooms were closest, and they made for a truly frightening pair. Even having seen them in action over the summer, Harry was stunned. Flitwick seemed to be everywhere at once, and McGonagall was animating everything not nailed down and siccing it on the Death Eaters with grim determination. Spells, the various animated things, and Death Eaters were all knocking holes in walls and ceilings as they got thrown about, causing a rain of rubble.

Dumbledore popped into play right in front of Harry's group, temporarily shielding them from the heavy fire they'd come under. The Death Eaters started to waver and hesitate a bit, unnerved by having to cross wands with the old man, but they kept coming, and it was becoming clear they weren't alone, because Harry could swear he saw a couple vampires.

"You need to get to safety, Harry." Dumbledore called over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I know. We're headed for the kitchen. Just got pinned down." Harry told him.

"Go. They're concentrating on me, now. You should be able to reach the corridor unmolested."

"Thanks. And good luck."

With Dumbledore's assistance, they did indeed manage to make it to the corridor, and far enough down and around the corner to be out of the line of fire. They hustled to reach the kitchens, and were greeted by quite a chunk of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, the eldest standing side by side with about a dozen elves, guarding the youngest.

"Harry! Thank goodness you're all right!" Dean and Seamus hurried up, looking relieved. "God, can you believe it? What can we do?"

"Stay put." Harry said, not much liking the idea. "They're playing for keeps out there. The professors don't need to be worried about students getting caught in the crossfire."

It was something that was easier said than done. The bangs, tremblors, screams of pain and shouting were impossible to ignore, and Harry in particular had to fight down the urge to run out and help. Everyone watched the kitchen door, wands leveled, as the sounds got closer.

Then, there was a multi-voiced wail, both outside the kitchen and from the house-elves within, followed by a split second of silence before Hagrid (his voice carried even through stone, and was readily recognizable) roared in rage. Instantly, the sounds of battle trebled, what seemed like the whole of the castle shaking with it. Harry, wide-eyed, wondered what in hell had caused it. Gradually, there was more and more shouting, less and less (audible, at any rate) spellfire, until finally there was a long, ominous silence.

A bloody and battered Dobby popped in. "It bes over, Master Harry sir. They be chased away, dead or caught now. Misters Padfoot and Moony is on their way. They wanted yous to know theys be ok."

Harry let out a shaky, relieved whoosh, and sagged against one of the tables in relief. A minute later, Sirius and Remus, both of them bloody and worn and, to Harry's concern, looking grief-stricken and seriously pissed, came through the kitchen door. The New Marauders all hurried over, crowding around. Harry hugged both men, carefully at first as he was leery of hurting them, but once he realized their injuries weren't as bad as all that, he hugged more firmly, relieved they'd both survived the fight.

"You lot will need to stay here for a while yet ... we're searching the castle to make sure no Death Eaters managed to hide themselves away." Sirius said.

Harry blinked. "I can get that done quick. Dobby!" Dobby hurried over. "You got enough energy to go get me the Map?"

Dobby nodded determinedly. "Dobby will get it, Harry Potter sir!" He popped out, then returned a few seconds later, and handed Harry the Map.

Harry tapped it, then spread it out on one of the tables. "Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and here, bunch of folks running around in the main part of the castle, nothing in any oddball corners. You guys know all the names involved?" He asked.

"Enough to spot trouble." Sirius confirmed as the two of them approached to check the Map. It took a few minutes, but they finally straightened up. "All gone, it seems. Head for the Great Hall, will you? They're going to be sending everyone there."

"No problem." Harry said. Once the two men left, Harry glanced at the New Marauders. "Something bad happened."

"You mean other than the Death Eaters managing to get into the castle?" Ron shot back.

"Well, yeah, besides that. I can't be the only one that recognized Hagrid bellowing."

The collection of shaking heads told him they'd all recognized Hagrid as well. Harry looked at Dobby. "And something made the elves in here react. But what?"

Dobby whimpered, and tugged at his ears a bit, shuffling from foot to foot, his eyes filling with tears. "Dobby's old masters are very, very, very bad, Harry Potter sir. They ... " Dobby cut himself off, visibly fighting the old compulsion to whack his head on something for speaking ill of the Malfoys. "Very bad. Headmaster Whiskers is ... he is being gone, Harry Potter sir. And it is being all bad little master's fault!" Again, he seemed to fight the compulsion to smack his head on something.

Harry blinked. Head ... Dumbledore? Gone? As in ... dead? And somehow Draco's doing? Well, clearly Draco somehow figured out a way to get the death eaters into the castle, so if Dumbledore was killed, it would be his fault. That must be what Dobby had meant. If Dumbledore was actually dead. Somehow, it didn't really seem possible. From the looks on the others' faces, they were finding it as impossible to consider Dumbledore dead as he was.

"We better get to the Great Hall." Harry dimly realized his voice sounded strange, but no one called him on it as the sober, thoughtful group headed out of the kitchens.

The central part of the castle was a mess. Two whole sections of staircase had been completely blown away, and the rest were moving stiffly as they tried to compensate for the loss. There was rubble everywhere, and most of the windows had been broken. Every adult Harry could see was showing signs of the pitched battle, and all of them looked more than a little haunted and lost. Hagrid was nowhere to be seen, but they could hear him, crying brokenly.

It was getting harder to believe that Dobby had been mistaken as to Dumbledore's fate. They made it into the Great Hall (which seemed to have escaped real damage, though there were a few pockmarks and smears from ricochets.

The other students arrived in a slow stream, talking in low, frightened voices and clumping together. The worry got stronger when a bare handful of teachers arrived. Sprout was the only Head of House in evidence, Vector, Babbling and Hooch just behind her, followed (to Harry's shock) by Binns.

"Please be seated." Sprout called out.

It took a few moments for everyone to obey. It wasn't until then, when everyone was seated, that Harry realized something. There were Slytherins missing. Over half a dozen of them. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle Parkinson, Bulstrode, and three seventh years he knew by face but not by name for sure. Maybe one or two others ... he wasn't familiar enough with the Slytherins from other years to know for sure. Not good. Very, very not good. There were also faces missing from the other three tables, well over a dozen all told. That was even worse.

"As you are all aware, the castle was just under attack by Death Eaters. We have, fortunately, been able to repel the attack, thanks to the assistance of the Aurors and quite a number of ... concerned citizens." Sprout said. "Unfortunately, we were not able to do so without losses. Four students were lost in the initial moments of the attack." She named them. Two were from Gryffindor, two from Ravenclaw, the two Houses whose Common Rooms were on the upper floors. Harry recognized both of the Gryffindors as first year students. "Two professors were also lost, Professor Burbage and Professor Sinistra." Sprout seemed to be girding her loins as she took a breath. She'd been remarkably calm thus far, despite being visibly upset, but now she looked as if she really, truly did not want to say what she had to say. "Headmaster Dumbledore was also killed."

There was instant mayhem as most of the students cried out in horror and loss. Harry clenched his jaw and stared mutely at the table, fighting inexplicable tears.

Sprout let the worst of the reaction run its course before calling them to order again. "Due to these heavy and deeply felt losses, and the fact that most of the remaining professors are badly wounded and will be unable to teach for some weeks, it has been decided that Hogwarts will close until the new year. The Express will be leaving at noon tomorrow, so please ensure you pack. Your parents are being informed of events as we speak."

She didn't dismiss them, leaving them to sit and talk and head out when they were ready. Harry almost immediately headed for the Slytherin table, grim-faced. "Blaise? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Blaise, looking more than a bit wary, nodded agreement, and the pulled away from the tables.

"Look, most of you guys stayed out of this mess, and I appreciate that. I need to know if any of you are going to be ... well, in danger, if you go home. You know what I mean."

Blaise grimaced, but nodded. "Some of us might be, but most of the ones with that problem ... well ... "

"Already left. Yeah, I get it." Harry said. "Spread the word for me, will you? Anyone that wants sanctuary will be accommodated. All I'll ask in return is a vow not to support him."

Blaise nodded. "I'll let everyone else know. And Potter? Thanks." He headed for his table, and Harry returned to the Gryffindor one.

"Guys, I'm heading for the infirmary. I need to check on Sirius and Remus, and the others. Maybe find out exactly what happened." Harry told the New Marauders.

"Sounds like a plan to me, mate. Let's go." Ron grumbled. "Besides, I bet Pomphrey is swamped and could use another few pairs of hands."

"No kidding." Hermione said quietly.

So the group, drawn and quiet, headed for the infirmary.

They were right. The place was utter chaos. The dead must have been put in the side room, as there had been no bodies lying about on the trip to the infirmary, and no sign of the dead in the main infirmary, either. Instead, every bed was filled, and there were Aurors everywhere, some of the least injured trying to help with triage until backup medical help arrived. The New Marauders very nearly got chased back out before Pomphrey spoke up and said they could stay, provided they helped.

It was awful. One of McGonagall's legs was badly mangled, and Flitwick's wand hand looked like raw hamburger. Snape looked like he'd been pulled through a particularly bloodthirsty rosebush backwards. Hagrid ... Harry very nearly started crying when he saw Hagrid. Hagrid had been all but torn apart. About the only way Harry could figure the man was still alive was because of his part-giant makeup, because he had great chunks of flesh missing everywhere, and he was the one that seemed to be taking every ounce of Pomphrey's ability to keep stable. There were at least another dozen people as bad off as McGonagall, Flitwickand Snape, and something like twice that many 'walking wounded', folks who were bruised, battered, and a little cut up, but not in critical condition.

Fortunately, about five minutes after the New Marauders arrived, what looked like half of St. Mungo's staff stormed the room and split up amongst the wounded. The New Marauders quickly retreated up against one of the walls, out of the way. Eventually, everyone was stabilized and Hagrid, two other badly injured Order members and all the Aurors were transfered to St. Mungo's. The surviving teachers and all but the worst-off of the Order were staying.

The survivors huddled around McGonagall's bed, as she was the only one currently unable to stand and walk thanks to her leg. Beds and chair both served as sitting places.

"What ... what happened?" Harry asked.

"Malfoy happened." Snape snarled. Harry blinked. The last time he'd heard that much venom in the man's voice had been when Sirius escaped at the end of third year. "He discovered a vanishing cabinet in the castle, and found its counterpart."

"Vanishing cabinet?"

"A quick way to escape from Death Eaters back in the first war, Harry." Arthur said from his spot by a shaken-looking Molly. "You jump in and close the door and you're somewhere else. There's no wards that can stop it, unlike with portkeys or apparation."

"So he dragged the thing into the Room of Requirement?"

"It was already there, broken, from the looks of it." Snape growled. "He had to have fixed it, as it looked rather worse for the wear."

"So they just hopped in the partner cabinet, wherever it was, and there you have it." Harry said, grimacing. "Damn."

It was Hermione who finally got up the courage to ask the question Harry wanted an answer to, but couldn't voice. "How ... what happened to the Headmaster?" She asked, her voice hesitant and raw.

"Malfoy again. Avada Kedavra to the back. Dumbledore was busy fending off half the Death Eaters and never realized he was there. Neither did we, until it was too late." It was McGonagall who answered, her voice shaking with emotion.

Harry eyed Snape. "Don't take this the wrong way, but ... won't you get in trouble for not going back with the others?"

Snape sneered at him, but to Harry's surprise answered honestly. "Perhaps. It will depend on just how happy he is about the Headmaster's demise and the success of the attack."

Clearly, Snape was willing to take the risk, so Harry let it be. They were going to need all the help they could get, now.