Chapter XXXIII - It Begins
The next morning, Harry sat in the Great Hall enjoying his breakfast happily even though his mind was on how prepared the army was. His thoughts vanished when Hedwig flew in with the Daily Prophet and a note. Harry read the note first, his heart stopping his chest when all it said was:
It's time; the paper says it all.
Meet me in McGonagall's office at noon.
Remus
Harry gulped and showed the note to Ginny, Ron, and Hermione, then he had opened the newspaper with a sense of dread and began to read:
RUFUS SCRIMGEOUR MISSING:
Written By: Dawson Donaldson
The whole magical community is in an uproar because the Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour has gone missing. The day before, Scrimgeour is reported to have stated that a threat to the Ministry of Magic came from He Who Must Not Be Named himself in the form of both a letter and some Death Eaters. Scrimgeour apparently told his secretary, Miss Anna Colton this before going home for the evening, saying that the problem would be dealt with immediately the following morning. However, Scrimgeour never made it home last night.
Anna Colton says that the letter referred to the ministry itself and that You-Know-Who is looking for ways to control the government for his own purposes. Colton says that the letter also told of a threat against the minister, which Scrimgeour refused to take seriously, saying that it was nothing that couldn't be dealt with the next day. It has begun. We must protect what is ours and try to keep the community calm and …
"This is bullshit!" Harry exclaimed, as he stopped reading and looked up at his friends. "If the ministry really expects people to be calm after they blab to the world that the minister himself has been kidnapped by Voldemort, then they have more problems then we thought."
Ginny nodded. "I agree. I guess that means it's started. The final showdown. Its here."
"Yeah," Harry muttered as he stared down at the paper, his appetite no longer so eager. He pushed his plate back and looked over at his friends and his fiancée. "It has begun."
Harry went up to McGonagall's office for noon and found not only Lupin there, but Snape as well. He closed the door behind him and turned towards him. "Well, it's started."
Lupin nodded. "It has. The Order is ready and from what you've told me so is the D.A. We're going down to get the minister and to end this, Harry … tonight."
Harry nodded, his heart plummeting into his chest. "Alright, I'll be ready."
Snape looked at Harry, and Harry thought that he might have seen a quick flash of concern in his eyes, but before he would dwell on what he saw it was gone and Snape was speaking to him. "Potter, listen Scrimgeour is being held in an old run-down ancient castle on the outskirts of London. It is surrounded by an open field, plenty of room to fight and manoeuvre without being worried about people seeing or innocent bystanders getting in the way. The Dark Lord knows I'm here today, in fact he told me to come myself, and tell you exactly where he can be found and he has every intention of waiting for you … and Ginny. He plans to brew the potion tonight and he plans to become immortal. He is looking forward to it. The potion has been started and now he just waits for you. He's been planning this day for a long time, Potter."
"I'll be ready for him, and I won't let him complete his potion or lay a hand on Ginny." Harry replied as Snape nodded.
"Good, as long as you know ahead of time, you will be better prepared. I have to go, he's waiting for me to return, and if I take too long, he'll think I told you too much. Tonight, good luck, Potter." Then before Harry could respond he stepped into the fire, disappearing from the office.
Harry turned to Lupin then. "Do we have a plan?"
Lupin nodded. "I think so, but we could use your input." Lupin placed a map on McGonagall's desk and ushered for Harry to come closer to take a look at it. "This is the castle; it's not much of anything. From what Severus told me, there are only two rooms that don't have a broken wall and crumbling floors. This one here is in the dungeons and this is where Voldemort is planning his potion. He should be waiting there for you. The Death Eaters are lined up all along the castle; Snape was kind enough to mention that there are over two hundred Death Eaters, most of them are under the Imperius Curse. Now while they stand guard around the castle, minus a few down in the dungeon helping Voldemort and a few watching guard over the minister, there are other obstacles to cross. First there are the werewolves who will be hiding in these three areas. There are only ten, and one of them is Greyback. However, all of them have the same disgusting drive for blood that Greyback does. Tonight is not the full moon, Harry."
Harry nodded. "So basically, they're more dangerous because they like the taste of human flesh. And like Greyback, they won't be afraid to tear into anyone."
Lupin nodded. "Exactly. Now, surrounding the perimeter of the entire area are the Dementors, they will be waiting patiently for us to come in. We must make sure that we start off good in that area otherwise our entire army will be too weak to fight. If that's not bad enough, before we get to the Dementors we face twenty trolls who also surround the perimeter and before them we have the giants. Now only a few giants agreed to help in this battle. Most of them are on his side but refuse to fight so Severus said that we only need to get past ten of them. We need to pass all of this before we can even get to the Death Eaters and Voldemort. We've already talked to the goblins and they agreed to come charging in from this side here, running into about four giants, five trolls, a pack of Dementors, three werewolves, and then of course Death Eaters. It will be pretty much the same no matter what side we come from. The goal is to get to the castle."
"Is one group coming from every side?"
"Yes. The Order has grown large enough to split into two, so the plan is for one group to come from this side of the goblins, the other from the other side of the goblins and for the you and the D.A. to come from the front."
Harry nodded. "That makes sense." His stomach continued to tingle in nerves but he noticed that his fear was gone. "So we all meet up at the castle in the middle, I need to head down into the dungeons with Voldemort, so where is everyone else going?"
"You're not going into that dungeon alone. You may have to fight Voldemort alone, but you are not going into that dungeon alone. No one will prevent you from fighting him; we can take care of anyone or anything else in that room." Lupin explained. "The ones who are going for Scrimgeour know who they are. Harry, you pick the people that you trust the most to head into the dungeon with you as in Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Seamus, Lavender … all of your friends, ones you can count on, and ones you know who can defend themselves. They should be with you when you destroy him, Harry, everyone else will be fighting the battle in the other room."
"How do you take down a giant? If we have to get past at least three, what do we do?" Harry asked as he stared down at the map, ignoring Lupin's little speech on Voldemort. Harry already knew that there was no point in arguing with him. He also knew that he needed their help.
Lupin sighed. "That might be difficult. My best advice is to do whatever you think will work and to just try to get past them. We need you to make it down into the dungeons; everyone else can handle the battle. Do you understand?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah, I understand. It's begun."
Lupin nodded. "Yeah, it has. Head down to the castle at sundown and lead your troops." Lupin reached over and pulled Harry into a tight hard hug. "I'll see you in the castle, good luck."
"Good luck to you too." Harry replied as he watched Lupin head into the fire.
It was time.
The first thing that Harry did when he left the office was to use the coins to request an urgent meeting with the D.A. in the Great Hall. He had gotten permission from McGonagall to use it. All other students were to be in their classes. He stood at the front of the hall and watched as D.A. members trickled in, looking nervous. Once everyone had arrived, Harry began.
"I'm sure that you're wondering why you're all here when you should be in class. Well, for those of you that saw the Daily Prophet this morning then you know that the trouble has escalated. The Minister of Magic has been kidnapped by Voldemort and his followers and he is being held prisoner in an ancient run-down castle just outside of London. Voldemort is waiting for us to go to him; but we've got someone on the inside." He listened to the murmurs of the crowd at his last phrase before continuing. "Severus Snape. He is on our side and he has been double-crossing Voldemort for over a decade and he has given us the information that we need to get in there, and to end this war once and for all. It won't be easy, it's going to be hard, and I hate to say it … but not all of you can be guaranteed survival. We go tonight and tonight we fight. Are you still with me, or are you too afraid to fight in the final battle?"
Neville stood up bravely, holding Luna's hand tightly in his own. "We're with you, Harry; just tell us what to do."
Seamus nodded. "We're ready, mate, lead us into battle."
Lavender nodded, clinging tight to Seamus. "We all want to end it."
Soon everyone was nodding and cheering and Harry grinned. "Good, now here's the plan. We go at sunset. Every group takes a separate side, surrounding the castle. We have been given the front. Be prepared, we're facing more than just Death Eaters and it all starts with giants. Use whatever you can think of to hit them with things, but the best bet for us is to just try to escape and make it to the next obstacle."
Everyone looked up at Harry in fear but determination and Harry felt his heart swell. They were ready and they would fight well.
"Everyone will be following me at all times. When we get to the castle, some of you will follow me down to the dungeon where Voldemort is waiting, and the rest of you will go into the other room to get the minister. Understood?" The crowd nodded at him so he continued. "None of you need to go back to class. Just get prepared however you know how, whatever you want to do. We will all meet back here tonight at seven thirty in the front entrance hall. Now I want to inform you just what you will be facing when we arrive so that everyone is prepared. Before we can get to the castle we first must get past the giants, followed by the trolls, the Dementors and the werewolves. For those of you who fought here at Hogwarts last year, then you know that the werewolves are the ones to worry about the most. Tonight is not a full moon, but these particular ones have a taste for human flesh that they need to satisfy even when they are human. Watch out for them. Once you get past the werewolves, we've got Death Eaters, then of course Voldemort himself. You don't need to worry about Voldemort, he's mine."
No one spoke after that declaration and Harry was glad to be met with silence.
"Now before you go, I'd like the following people to come up here. Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Seamus Finnegan, Lavender Brown, Dean Thomas, Parvati Patil, Colin Creevey, Denis Creevey, Demelza Robins, and Padma Patil." Once they were all standing up next to him, he turned back to the crowd. "These are the two groups. When we get to the castle, following me will be these people. They will follow me into the dungeons to meet Voldemort and we will meet up with the Order and the goblins. The rest of you will head off to find the minister, meeting up with the other half of the Order and the goblins. Does everyone understand?" When the crowd nodded he managed a small smile. "You can go. I'll see you tonight." He looked over at the friends that he had called around him.
"We're here for you." Ginny said softly.
Harry nodded. "I know. It is all of you that I trust above all. And it is all of you that I want backing me up in the final battle. Will you be there?" All of them nodded vigorously and Dean spoke.
"You're the Chosen One, Harry, and no matter what's happened this year, we're all here for you and we've all got your back."
Harry grinned. "Thank you. See you guys tonight."
Everyone nodded and scattered off, counting down to the final minutes of the day. Harry watched as Seamus slipped his arm around Lavender and they headed off into an empty classroom; he watched Dean and Parvati and Neville and Luna do the same. He saw Ron grab Hermione's hand as they left the hall as Ginny slipped her hand in his.
"What do you think everyone's going to do?"
Ginny smiled. "I think that they're all going to enjoy their last few hours together; lose themselves in mind blowing pleasure with the ones that they want."
Harry looked down at her. "Really?"
She nodded. "Harry, if you knew that the battle you were going in might make you not come out alive, who would be the last person that you'd want to spend your time with?"
"Who else, Gin?"
She smiled and slipped her arms around his neck. "Show me how much you love me, Harry; show me now before the battle. Let me show you how much I love you."
Harry nodded and scooped her up into his arms, settling her in an abandoned guest room on the far side of the castle, hidden in a secret passage way that they had discovered the night before on their way back to the common room. He laid her on the bed and brought his mouth to hers; taking pleasure in the one person that he cherished most, both of them wondering if it would be the last time.
Hermione slipped her hand into Ron's and pulled him into his room. The common room was quiet and empty and the fear that she felt at the final battle tonight was very much alive in her chest. What if something went wrong? What if she lost Ron? Or Harry? Or Ginny? Or anyone? What was she going to do? She looked over at Ron, love for him burning in her system. She knew one thing; she was going to have her moment with him, even if it was her last.
She pushed him down on the bed, kissing him softly, tugging at his clothes in her haste. "Ronald, make love to me. I need you, I need you now."
Ron seemed to understand exactly where she was coming from, because soon she was lying on the bed and Ron was covering her with his mouth, whispering sweet words in her ear as he undressed her. And soon, all thoughts vanished from her mind as they lost themselves in one another for what they both subconsciously hoped was not the last time.