Chapter 58 : Oh, now you've done it!
Severus stood talking to the Heads of House after the evening meal on the day before the start of Spring Break. The Carrows were lingering at the rear of the Great Hall, visibly upset that they weren't privy to the conversation going on at the faculty table. Snape ignored them after sending one withering look in their direction.
"Harry, Ron and Hermione will accompany you three to your House Common Rooms tonight and talk to the students. They have made their presence abundantly clear in the last two weeks and I will have to bring this 'invasive' behavior to everyone's attention tomorrow during announcements after breakfast. I have talked to the other teachers and they are staying home, as there will be no classes tomorrow and those few who reside here permanently know what's to happen."
There were nods of understanding, as each knew the part they were to play in the next day's excitement.
"I will lower the 'Anti-Apparation Wards' before entering the Great Hall tomorrow morning, Severus. But do be careful, that window won't break easily." Filius Flitwick added, jerking his head toward the huge window in the wall behind them.
"I'll try to use a quick 'Shielding Charm', but I have to look fairly roughed up when I arrive, to be convincing. Perhaps it would be better to have an errant shot hit the window, thus giving the Carrows and myself a way out. Harry and I have already discussed how badly I should be wounded to be convincing . . . but we'll 'wing it', I believe the phrase is . . . improvise as necessary, " concluded Severus.
Glancing down the length of the room, he saw the Carrows starting to walk toward them.
"Here we go," he stage whispered. "That's all, you are dismissed!" he said, voice slightly raised for the Carrows benefit. Then he turned and swept from the Hall, the Carrows turning and falling in behind him.
"Right!" Minerva straightened her robes. "Here we go!"
Professors Flitwick, Sprout and McGonagall headed toward their Houses, determined looks on their faces.
X X X
"Is everyone here?" asked Professor Flitwick, as the Ravenclaw students settled down in their Common Room.
"Yes, Professor," Anthony Goldstein replied, after doing a quick headcount.
"Well, I've called you all here to make a rather important announcement: after our morning meal you all should be ready to board the 'Express', straightaway! Which means your packing must be completed tonight, except what you will be wearing tomorrow. Only take what you need for the holiday and make your way to the station as quickly as possible."
"I don't understand, Professor," one of the younger students piped up. "What's the big rush?"
"Perhaps I'd better explain the situation," said Ron Weasley, as he entered the Common Room, followed by Terry Boot and Luna Lovegood.
The next few minutes were spent in greeting their Housemates before Ron and Professor Flitwick could continue.
"Ronald, I believe you have some news to share?" Professor Flitwick said, bowing Ron forward.
"Right. Well, as you may have heard, Harry, Hermione and I have been seen around the castle, since Christmas holiday. What wasn't known was that we've been here since last August. Luna, Terry, and a few others joined us during the following months as they, and their families, became targets of the Snatchers. Their families are safe, in hiding, elsewhere, but as members of the D.A., they," Ron indicated the three Ravenclaws standing next to him, "decided to stay here, in case they were needed."
"And we've been training with the other members of the D.A. regularly," Luna added. "Not just those in hiding, but the members still here at school; Michael, Anthony, Padma, Lisa and Morag."
Those whose names were mentioned stood and walked to stand next to their fellow D.A.s.
"That's the good news," Ron smiled. "The bad news is . . ." He paused to take a breath. "Voldemort will be attacking the school, possibly as early as tomorrow night."
There were the expected gasps and exclamations of fright from the younger students and muttering from others.
"This is why we need you all ready to go as soon as possible after breakfast. We want you all safely away from Hogwarts before Voldemort and his people get here."
"But why would you deliberately lure him here?" asked Stewart Ackerly, a fourth year.
"It's time for Harry to end this, . . . "Ron started
"Stewart," Luna whispered to him.
"Stewart." Ron ran his fingers through his hair. "Voldemort has to be stopped and Harry is the only one who can do it, for reasons I don't have time to go into, but believe me when I say, Harry will win this war . . . and we want you all out of harm's way, so . . . " Ron turned to two of the Ravenclaw girls standing next to him. "Lisa and Morag are going to be guiding you to the train and guarding you, as you go to London. They are trained members of the D.A. and will protect you safely to King's Cross." He turned and winked at the girls. "No showing off your Patronuses until you get to the station, to let us know you all have arrived, okay?" They nodded, blushing. Looking at the Ravenclaws gathered before him, Ron saw that the younger ones looked a bit more at ease, knowing they'd have someone with them on the Express. "SO, hopefully, we'll see you all back here after the holiday."
"Right!" Professor Flitwick clapped his hands, leading the applause, then he shooed the students to their dorm rooms. Turning to Ron, he shook his hand and then scampered off to supervise the packing.
Ron turned to Michael and Anthony. "You can store your trunks here and we'll get your things tucked away safely after breakfast."
"Now that the battle is about to start, why didn't you tell them about Professor Snape being on our side?" Michael asked.
"For his protection; what if one of the Slytherins overheard a couple of first years chattering on about how the Headmaster was really on Harry's side," Ron answered.
"You're right, of course . . . that would be disastrous!" agreed Michael, nodding. "Okay, I'm off to pack. Coming Anthony?"
"Right . . . Merlin, I hate packing!" Anthony grumbled, as the two of them walked away.
"Lisa, Morag, you know what to do on the train tomorrow. Zackarias and Megan will be with the Hufflepuffs and Romilda and Lavender will be with the Gryffindors. The Slytherins will be in a car by themselves, so don't worry about them, the less they know about the extent of our preparations, the better."
"We'll be fine, Ron, don't you worry!" replied Lisa, as she gave him a hug. "Tell the others not to worry about us, too!"
"And we'll send our Patronuses back as soon as we pull into King's Cross," said Morag. "Please be careful, Ron, ALL of you," she added, as she hugged the tall redhead.
"We will be . . . now, go get packed!" Ron laughed, as the two girls started off toward their dorm room.
X X X
Hermione had shown up in the Hufflepuff Common Room with Professor Sprout, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Hannah Abbott, to give the same news to that House. Zackarias Smith and Megan Jones had been assigned to accompany the students on the train and Susan Bones and Ernie Macmillan had been acknowledged as the members of the D.A. who were staying to fight alongside Harry.
The Gryffindors were thrilled to see Harry again, along with Neville, Ginny, Seamus and Dean. Not too surprisingly, they took the news of the coming events with cheers instead of frightened outbursts.
"That's the Gryffindor spirit!" Neville laughed, turning to Seamus, who was grinning from ear to ear.
"Boom!" Seamus replied.
Romilda Vane and Lavender Brown were introduced as the D.A.s traveling on the train with the younger students and they blushed as Harry gave them each a big hug and thanked them in advance for helping guard their fellow Gryffindors, while Ginny looked at Parvati and rolled her eyes as Collin and Dennis giggled.
X X X
Late that night, all of the members of the D.A., the teachers and all of those who had come from their places of hiding to help, gathered in the Room of Requirement for one last planning meeting. As Harry looked around he saw, besides the D.A. members, old friends and new, which put a smile on his face; Oliver Wood, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Cho Chang, Lee Jordan, Kingsley Shacklebolt and all of the Weasleys; Arthur, Molly, Charlie, Bill and Fleur, Percy and last but not least, Fred and George. The Malfoys were sitting with Tonks and Remus, as Sirius chatted with Aberforth and Hagrid. A small group of the Hogwarts House Elves and Dobby were standing in a group, off to one side. Harry took a deep breath and turned to listen to what Severus had to say.
"I will make my announcement at the end of the breakfast, at which point you, Harry, will make your grand entrance."
"Right! All of the D.A.s still in school are prepared to get the students out of the way, while all of those with me will cover the Slytherins," Harry said, as the D.A.s nodded.
"Filius and I will, once again, take on the Carrows, while Pomona, Sybil, Irma and Horace will help protect the younger students," Minerva said, with Professor Flitwick nodding agreement, who then raised his hand.
"Severus, I've taken the extra warding off of the stained glass window, so it should break nicely, with a 'deflected' spell," he explained, grinning mischievously.
Sirius leaned over to Remus. "I'm telling you, we have to let Filius into the Marauders! He's too good at being devious not to!"
"We'll do that straightaway . . . after this is over, Sirius. Now pay attention!"
Albus stood and walked forward to face the group.
"First, let me say welcome to those of you who have come to join us, especially Charlie and Percy Weasley." The two brothers stood and acknowledged the applause that rang out in greeting. "By my count, we have fifty-two people, one poltergeist, one giant, one centaur, one hippogriff, and over one-hundred House Elves to help in the defense of Hogwarts. You have each been assigned a House Elf to be by your side, should you need to vacate your post if you are in extreme danger, especially from any kind of building collapse or threat of fire."
Fred winced at that last statement, but smiled and shook his head when George put his hand on Fred's shoulder.
"Also," Albus continued. "You each have your doses of 'Felix Felicis', one of which will be taken when the attack begins. Those of you traveling with the younger students on the Express will, of course, take a dose before you 'Apparate' back to Hogsmeade and the Hogs Head. It is my fervent hope that one dose will be sufficient to get us all through this battle, but if it becomes apparent that we will be fighting into the daylight hours , you can take your second dose, but no more than that." Albus looked around the room over his half-glasses, making sure all had heard him. There were nods of assent all around. "Good. Now, as soon as the students are on the Express, we will move all of our supplies and weapons into place, the swamps will be placed, and then we will take our positions."
"And wait," sighed Hermione.
"Indeed, Miss Granger . . . we will wait. I will stay out of sight for as long as possible, re-enforcing the wards and shoring up any breaches in the integrity of the castle, itself, should they still manage to break though. Use your House Elves to send me updates and/or calls for help from nearby defenders."
"I'll return as soon as I'm able," added Severus. "Hopefully, I can slip away in all of the ruckus following his reading my memory of the fight in the Great Hall. It has occurred to me that he might refrain from attacking until he has had Bella's vault and its contents checked, so you'll have a couple of hours, at the least. But he will send his forces to wait at the boundaries of the school, straightaway, perhaps with instructions to start bombarding our wards to weaken our defenses. You should be ready for that much, almost as soon as the Express leaves, Albus."
"Indeed. I agree about that and when he does find out about the fakes in Bella's vault, you had better be out of there, Severus," replied Dumbledore gravely.
"If not sooner, old man," grinned Sirius.
"Would Professor Snape like Dobby to come to Malfoy Manor and be ready to bring you back to Hogwarts? Dobby need not be seen and will be able to get though the wards here at the school, too. That would save the Professor the long walk through the tunnels from the village, sir." Dobby looked up, wide eyed at the Potions Master.
"Are you sure you wouldn't be noticed, Dobby?" asked Lucius. "He must know it was you who rescued Narcissa and me from the cellars."
"Oh, Dobby has been there several times and none of those bad Wizards knew he was in the Manor, Master Lucius; you is not to worry," Dobby reassured him.
"I think that might be an excellent idea, then Dobby," Albus smiled. "Why don't you and Severus chat about a signal you could use, if the need to leave was immediate."
"Yes, Headmaster, sir," replied Dobby, who took Severus' hand and pulled him toward a corner to talk.
"At what point did I lose control of my mission, Albus?" he shot back over his shoulder, but there was a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Years ago, dear boy, years ago!" laughed Albus, as the rest of the group snickered, even as Severus complacently followed the diminutive creature and sat down with Dobby on a bench, leaning over to converse in low tones.
"Dobby is on the list, too, Remus," gasped Sirius between giggles. "He'll make a great Marauder!"
Remus just rolled his eyes and shook his head.
X X X
Severus stood up from his seat at the staff table and the babble of student voices dropped immediately.
"It has been brought to my attention," he started, casting a glance at the Slytherin table, where several of the students; Pansy, Theo, Blaise and Daphne smiled. "That Harry Potter and his two fellow fugitives have been seen in the hallways of this school, apparently unconcerned that they are not only trespassing, but are putting any student . . . or staff member . . . with whom they come in contact, in jeopardy of being arrested. However, they cannot have entered this castle without help and I will know who has been giving them aid. That being said, while you all are on your holiday, every classroom, common room, dorm room and the staff quarters and offices will be thoroughly searched. Any evidence found that would link any inhabitant of this castle to these wanted individuals, will be held as evidence . . . for a trial before the Wizangamot for treason, aiding and abetting a fugitive and lying about knowledge of Harry Potter's whereabouts."
Just then, the doors of the Great Hall swung open and in marched Harry, with the Slytherin Locket hanging around his neck, clearly visible against his shirt. On his right was Hermione Granger, with the Ravenclaw Diadem firmly anchored in her hair. Ron sauntered over to stop at Harry's left side, Gryffindor Sword held in his hand, the blade resting on his shoulder.
"My whereabouts is confirmed, Snape. I'm back and I'm going to stay," Harry informed the Headmaster.
The students didn't know whether to cheer or duck under the tables. Silence hung over the room for a long moment.
"You have inherited your father's flare for the dramatic, Potter. And I seem to remember you pulling this stunt before," Severus snarled, as he came around the staff table. The Carrows followed but kept to either side of him, rather than behind, which, of course, left them with their backs to Minerva and Filius, who looked at each other, as Minerva mouthed, 'Idiots!'
"It's a wonder you remember any of that, seeing as these two knocked you out," laughed Harry, flipping his wand at the Carrows.
This seemed to remind Amycus and Alecto what their fate had been and they looked over their shoulders to see Filius Flitwick and Minerva McGonagall standing with their wands out and pointed at them. They spun and stood side by side behind Severus, in a fairly good defensive move. Filius shot Minerva a smirk and a shrug, while she raised one eyebrow in surprise.
"You don't have your little friends with you this time, Potter. Longbottom, Finnegan, Thomas and Miss Weasley have seen fit to disappear . . . " Severus began, only to stop as he gazed past Harry to the crowd entering through the door
"Don't worry, Severus, old man," Neville called cheerfully, as he and Ginny lead the other defenders into the Hall. "We wouldn't miss this for the world!"
The Slytherin table hadn't moved a muscle, but there was a collective gasp as Draco and his parents walked in and took their place with the others.
"Draco!" Pansy snarled, as she stood.
"Pansy," Draco returned cheerfully, with a smile.
Pansy started to draw her wand but Draco was faster, "Put it down," he growled at her. "Or I'll put you down, on your fat arse!"
Before she could answer, all hell broke loose between Harry and Severus, who had been communicating, using 'Legilimency', so, just as Draco finished putting Pansy in her place, Severus and Harry started to duel. Students were screaming, but they listened to their classmates who urged them to get under the tables. The student D.A.s stood, with wands out, focused on the Slytherin table so that they wouldn't interfere, with the returning D.A. members spreading out to help them. The other, adult 'friends of Hogwarts' stood at the ready in the rear of the Hall, blocking the door and watching as the spells flashed at the other end of the huge room. The Carrows were busy defending themselves from Filius and Minerva, while Sybil, Pomona, Horace and Irma made their way along the wall to watch over the students under the tables.
As Severus and Harry were using 'Nonverbal' spells, the duel looked impressive to most of the students but wasn't really taxing either of them. The Carrows, however were fighting hard, albeit ineffectively, getting more frustrated with their inability to get the upper hand. Flitwick and McGonagall worked their way to the end of the table to have more room to maneuver, and Severus stepped down off of the dais to be on the main floor facing Harry.
Amycus was livid that he couldn't seem to get any of his hexes through the 'Charms' teacher's defensive spells, so he grabbed a platter off of the staff table and hurled it like a giant silver Frisbee at the tiny Wizard, who instinctively ducked, giving Amycus the second he needed to throw a 'Blasting Spell". Filius was lifted off his feet and tossed toward the wall, but Horace Slughorn instantly provided a 'Cushioning Charm'; the effect was Flitwick sinking into the wall as if it were made of marshmallow and popping out again to land on his feet. He immediately sent a 'Stinging Spell' at Amycus that caused him to jump back, howling in pain, crashing into his sister's back, sending her sprawling. Alecto scrambled to her feet, and continued fighting Minerva, but screamed at her brother for knocking her down.
"You're not going to win this duel, Snape, so why not just quit . . . " Harry taunted Severus, who snarled and redoubled his efforts, sparks and spells ricocheting in every direction as the two Wizards kept at it!
"What are we going to do?" asked Amycus, now standing at Severus' shoulder.
"I suggest we vacate the school and report this take over," Snape hissed back.
"How?" Amycus gasped, as he deflected another hex."We're trapped in here!"
"Not necessarily!" replied Severus, as he deflected a 'Bombardo' Harry had aimed just a bit high, which was easily redirected over Severus' head and directly into the center of the immense stained glass window behind the teacher table. The glass, wood and lead caning shattered into thousands of pieces, exploding upward and then raining down, causing all at that end of the Hall to duck and put up 'Protective/ Deflection Spells'.
"I've dropped the 'Anti-Apparation Wards'," Severus hissed to Alecto, as she stumbled toward him bleeding. "Grab your brother and go! I'll hold them off!"
Alecto nodded and lurched over to her brother, who had been knocked down on his hands and knees. Jerking him, none too gently, to his feet, she 'Side-along Apparated' them through the opening. "Oh, no you don't!" shouted Harry. "Filius!"
Flitwick pointed his wand and yelled, "Reparo!" Immediately, the shards of glass, wood and lead caning started lifting up from the floor and reassembling themselves.
Severus turned toward Filius but Harry was quicker.
" Sectumsempra!"
Harry slashed the air with his wand, hitting Snape, first, down his back and then, as the Potions Master turned back to face him, slashed again and Snape's robe split and blood appeared on his arm, which he'd instinctively thrown up. There were screams from the Slytherin table and gasps from the rest. Severus staggered and then threw a fireball at Harry, who had to quickly conjure a spout of water to extinguish it, giving Severus just enough time to 'Apparate' through the partially re-constructed window, shattering it again in the process.
There was a stunned silence, except the noise of falling glass and debris, then cheers rang out, as Ron and Hermione, followed closely by Ginny, Neville, Luna, Seamus and Dean, crowding around Harry and clapping him on the back.
"Well, Mister Potter, that went rather well, as announcements go," said Minerva McGonagall, as she worked her way through the crowd. "But we have students to deal with at the moment."
"Right! Then let's get them moving, shall we?" Harry replied with a smile. Turning to look at the student tables, he could see that all of the younger ones had come out from under the tables and were chattering and looking around, wondering what was next. Harry walked over to the end of the Gryffindor table and stepped up on the bench and then the table.
"CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE?!" The babble quieted down and all turned to listen. "Thank you. Well, it seems this little bit of business has delayed you all from boarding the Express, so what say we get this show on the road . . . or track . . . so to speak! I believe your luggage has already gone to the station, so." Harry turned to his left. "Hufflepuff first, then Gryffindor, followed by Ravenclaw and last but certainly not least, Slytherin. You will be escorted by members of the D.A. and our other friends. Have a good holiday and I hope to see you all soon!"
"Three cheers for Harry Potter!" Justin Finch-Fletchley jumped up and shouted.
"Hip-Hip!" "Hoorah!" "Hip-Hip!" "Hoorah!" "HIP-HIP!" "HOORAH!"
The only ones not cheering were, understandably, the Slytherins, who sat, frowning and muttering to each other. Pansy's face was an ugly shade of purple, she was so mad, and if looks could kill, Draco would have been in real trouble. Fortunately, Pansy was not very good at wand work and absolute rubbish with 'non-verbal' spells.
As the Hall was emptying, Harry stood by the door, greeting those students he knew and speaking to the younger ones who worked up the courage to say hello to him.
Pansy turned and whispered to Blaise, who leaned over and spoke to Theo, who nodded and elbowed Daphne to get her attention and talked to her. Daphne's eyes flew open but then she nodded, looking toward Draco and smiling wickedly.
X X X
Severus 'Apparated' at the gates to Malfoy Manor, where Amycus and Alecto were waiting for him. Alecto gasped when she saw the blood, then turned and ran for the house, while Amycus put Severus' arm over his shoulder and half dragged him up the front walk. Rabastan Lestrange came running toward them and helped carry Severus inside, then he produced a stretcher and floated the now un-conscious Wizard upstairs.
The Dark Lord was listening to Alecto's disjointed account of what had happened at Hogwarts when Rabastan and Amycus came through the door, Severus suspended between them. Bella came running and started muttering spells to try and slow down the bleeding, even as Voldemort walked over and looked down at the pale face of his spy. He reached down and picked a shard of glass from Severus' robes before turning to Rabastan.
"Go to St. Mungo's' . . .bring Healer Treiber immediately . . .if she resists, tell her it is Professor Snape's life in the balance."
"Yes, Master," replied Rabastan, who turned and hurried out the door.
Voldemort waved Bella away. "That's enough for now, Bella. The bleeding has slowed, let the Healer take care of him."
"Yes, Master."