Merry Christmas! And a Happy New year to all!
Well, this is it for me for the year, you know that family thing sure limits the time a person has to write. Anyway hope you all have a great New Year and see you here the second Saturday of the New Year!
Edited by the mighty pazed!
Once again I own nothing! Just playing with someone else's toys!
READ! ENJOY! REVIEW! As it is the only form of payment any writer here expects!
Chapter 13
It didn't take long for the Star Spangled Avenger and the two teens to make their way up the stairs to the quarters of the Gryffindor head of house.
Harry glanced at his best friend as they began to approach the door. She was chewing on her bottom lip and her eyes told very plainly how nervous she was. "Hermione," he said softly taking her hand in his. "It will be ok, I promise. No one that matters will care."
She looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "I- I just…" She smiled weakly. "I'm just being silly..."
He smiled back at her, in a way he hoped was reassuring. "Trust me I know what you mean… Out of everyone though, I think the professors here will be fine with our changes… I mean they were fine with Remus, and he was a werewolf! Hagrid is a half giant… and Professor Flitwick is half goblin… Being half Hulk shouldn't even bother them. Besides you're still Hermione, just a new and improved version."
Steve stopped just before the door to the professor's quarters. "Hermione," he said as he turned to address the agitated girl. "We don't need to tell them who you are; with the changes you've been through the chances are minimal that they would even recognize you at the moment, especially if you limit how much you speak with them."
She stared at the older man for a long moment, before looking at Harry, who smiled softly at her and nodded. She chewed on her lip a moment longer before she spoke. "No… I won't leave Harry to deal with them alone. If they have issues with the way I am now that's their problem."
Harry's smile grew wider, as did Steve's. "Harry, you and Hermione know the professor best," Cap said gesturing at the door.
"Incoming!" Tony yelled over his suit's radio, as lights began to flash on his display. "Jarvis counts eight, no nine, intermittent contacts coming this way, eight due east the last one looks to be moving to join them… on the ground and moving fast… get those people out of here! I'm moving to intercept! Legolas! You back me up! Nat keep them loading!"
The roar of Tony's jets filled the night as he blasted away. "Jarvis, let me see them!" he said to his suit's AI.
"Magnifying," replied a refined English voice, as the screen in front to Tony blurred momentarily and several figure's outlines appeared on the screen moving quickly across the moor. "Sir? We seem to be having trouble with our vision and IR sensors. While I am better capable of tracking them with motion sensors, sonar, and radar, I cannot seem to lock on fully to them with any of the scanners, it will take me two minutes to recalibrate the inputs into visual representation, and redirect targeting systems."
Tony growled. "DAMN IT!" he yelled as he cleared a small stand of trees, almost on top of his targets.
A voice cut him off. "Vampires! Tony, they've got to be vampires!" said the disembodied voice of Nick Fury.
"Vampires?" Tony cried, just as one of the speeding creatures launched himself skyward and collided with him, sending them both careening toward the ground trailing a pillar of flame.
"I have no idea what form of sorcery this is, metal man, but I can smell your sweet blood! I will have it! Even if I must peel this armor off to get to it! You will not deny us he pray promised to us this night!" hissed a voice over the rush of the air outside.
Tony fought for control, spinning over onto his back at the last moment to place his attacker between himself and the ground and fired all of his thrusters, scraping the unseen thing across the ground until he felt the pressure of its grip release.
"Shit!" he said, launching himself skyward again. "I'm flying blind here! Legolas? Where are you?"
"Too far away to be any use!" Clint yelled back, as he ran.
"Great! Guess I'll go with the shotgun approach. Jarvis, deploy mini missiles. Wide pattern dispersal," Tony said facing in the direction of several of the muddled contacts.
"How many do you wish to use sir?" the AI asked.
"How man- All of them!" he said back. "Fire when ready!"
"Firing!" Jarvis said, as several small panels opened and tiny finger sized missiles leapt into motion in a half circle pattern around the Armored Avenger.
The air came alive with shrieks of pain as two of the missiles found targets within the impact zone, setting the creatures ablaze. "Got ya!" Tony yelled as he brought his repulsors to bear and fired them with a whining thump, tossing bodies into the distance.
"Forty seconds sir!" said the AI, as a body impacted Tony and pulled him to the ground.
"I shall destroy you mortal!" it screamed.
Finding what he believed was the creature with his open palm Tony fired again, the thing screamed. "Not if I get you first, bloodsucker!"
A blur of gold shot past his visor as he pushed the unseen weight off himself, and something that sounded wet landed at his feet.
"Ten seconds, sir," the AI said. "Tracking a new signal…"
Screams came from behind Tony as the targeting systems came on line.
He spun around, palms forward to find a woman dressed in form fitting gold with red boots, mask, and gloves, sword in hand standing over a charnel house of gore, as her hair shone like gold in the moonlight.
She held one of the vampire's heads in her hand, studying its face intently, before tipping her hand and letting it fall into the mass of bodies at her feet with a grotesque 'splut'.
"I don't know who you are lady… but drop the sword," Tony said, keeping his repulsors trained on her.
She turned her head towards him, "I have just saved your life, and have taken no action against you. I would think that that would, at the very least, gain me enough leeway that you would merely keep your weapons trained on me… but under the circumstances it is understandable." She took the sword and jammed the tip into the ground allowing it to stand next to her and lifted her hands away from the handle.
"Just who are you?" Tony asked.
"You may call me Spitfire…" she said smiling, "And please tell Nicolas I say hello."
Harry stood in front of the door for a moment longer than strictly necessary as he glanced at Hermione again. When she nodded he brought his hand down on the door with a solid 'rap'.
Moments later the door swung open. Beyond it stood a severe looking woman, her hair up in a tight bun and small wire rimmed glasses perched on the tip of her nose. "What do want n-" she began, before her eyes widened at the sight in front of her. "Harr…" She schooled her features quickly, as her wand appeared in her hand. "Where was the headquarters of the Order?" she asked.
He smiled a sad smile. "At my Godfather's, Sirius Black's family home…"
The woman's hand, holding the wand, dropped to her side as her other hand raised to her mouth. "W- We didn't know what happened to you after the wedding… The Burrow was destroyed, so not even Molly's clock could tell us…" she said stepping forward, noticing for the first time his new height. "You've grown…" Her face finally cracked, as tears began to roll down her face, and she gathered him into a hug.
After a moment she broke the contact, and backed away from him, and studied the pair of people with him. "Harry? Who are these people?"
Harry chuckled, as he turned toward them, gesturing for the green female goliath to answer for herself.
"I-it's me Professor…. Hermione Granger," the girl said stepping into the more direct light in the center of the hallway.
"M-Ms. Granger?" she said as her eyes became the size of dinner plates, taking in the new appearance of one of the smartest students it had ever been her pleasure to teach. "What happened to you? We need to get you to Madam Pomfrey! She may be able to undo whatever potion or curse did this to you!" she said, worry evident on her face.
Hermione startled at that idea. She hadn't thought about what the talented medi-witch here at Hogwarts may have been able to do about her condition.
Steve noticed the look and stepped in before anything else could be said. "Ma'am, that will need to wait. At the moment we are in a race against time, we need to alert any of the other Professors you, Harry and Hermione feel are trustworthy and meet with them as quickly as possible," he said, as she gave him an apprising eye ending with a raised eyebrow at his state of dress.
McGonagall looked angrily between them for a moment, before Harry spoke. "The Captain is right Professor. We have things we need to get done as quickly as possible, before we are discovered by Tom or his people."
She glowered at him for a moment, her lips pursed into a tight line. "Then we will need to deal with the Carrows before we attempt to do anything else."
Harry shook his head. "They've been taken care of, as have Dolohov and Snape… we left them in one of the broom closets downstairs… I don't think they will be an issue for quite some time."
Her eyes widened. "Then I will need to enter the Headmaster's office and take over the wards…"
Harry nodded. "Cap? Can you go with her? We'll go and begin gathering the others and meet you there."
The man nodded. "Alright Harry. You keep your eyes open just in case, and watch each other's backs."
"We will," Hermione said, as the teens headed down the hallway.
The older pair turned in the opposite direction. "I am afraid I still do not know your name, sir. Only that Harry and Hermione seem to trust you," McGonagall said as they made their way down the hall at a brisk pace.
He smiled. "They're good kids… You can call me Steve, Steve Rodgers."