A/N: As a point of reference, I'm using the Department of Mysteries map created by Christopher Culley and available on The Harry Potter Lexicon.
A/N 2: Some readers were confused after reading the last chapter, thinking that perhaps Sirius died instead of Dumbledore. This was my fault because after introducing Dumbledore and the others into the scene, I only drew attention to Sirius, making it easy to forget about Dumbledore. I've rewritten that portion, and hopefully it's clearer now.
Thanks to all those who have reviewed, followed, and favorited this story. I'm glad that people have been enjoying it. And a special thanks to Bonnie and Mainsail for beta reading this and thus improving on the original. Bonnie in particular has spent a lot of time over the last week editing this, so if you enjoy it be sure to let her know!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling does.
Recommendation: This chapter's recommended fic is "Back to the World" by MuggleBeene. It's been seven years since he killed Voldemort, and Harry's spent much of that time wandering the world, uncertain about what to do with this life. Eventually he finds himself saving a young woman from drowning, someone he happens to know, and she in turn saves him. One shot, Harry/Gabrielle.
Final Countdown: 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1!
Chapter 50 - For Whom the Bell Tolls
Hogwarts. Thursday, June 1, 1996, Night. 11:00 PM.
Filius Flitwick stood in the open front doors and watched his colleague fly towards Hogsmeade for as long as he was able to see her, and then for a little bit longer for good measure. As he turned back into the castle, he heard a distant howl that made him stop. When an answering howl came, this time from much closer, his blood froze. "Werewolves!" he cried.
"Don' close the doors yet!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Let me get my things!" He ran out of the castle towards his hut.
"I heard werewolves out there," Flitwick said at Aurora Sinistra's questioning look. "It seems likely that some sort of attack is planned after all, but with werewolves out on the grounds and the floos blocked, we can't evacuate the students."
"So we're trapped," she concluded with a worried frown. "The question is, why do they want us trapped in here? Wouldn't getting us out of here make taking over the castle easier?"
"Not if they want more than just the castle itself," Flitwick said darkly. "Capturing all of these students would be a great victory if someone wanted to use them as hostages."
"Which makes stopping them all the more important."
"Maybe I shouldn't have encouraged Minerva to leave..." he muttered as he watched Hagrid come running back in, now with his crossbow in his hands and a large axe strapped to his back.
"Ah'm ready," he announced, and Flitwick waved his wand at the large wooden doors, causing them to slam shut. The clanking thud as the locks slid home echoed throughout the entrance hall.
Just then, Neville came out of the Great Hall and closed the doors behind him. "Everyone in the first four years, everyone who'd rather not fight, most of the Slytherins, and all of the Inquisitorial Squad are inside," he reported. "Both Professor Babbling and Professor Burbage are in there to watch over them. The Squad members and anybody else we can't trust have also been disarmed and locked in the annex room off the Great Hall."
"Good," Flitwick said in satisfaction as he pulled his wand and began casting spells on the doors that Neville had just closed, sealing them tightly just as he knew the other two professors must be doing from the other side.
"No one I talked to knew where the missing Slytherins went — Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle," Blaise said.
"Hopefully everyone else came when we were all summoned," Ron added. "We don't have time to go hunting anyone down."
Flitwick nodded. "We'll have to keep an eye out for those boys, but if they start casting at you, treat them as hostiles." The howls of multiple werewolves could now be heard through even the castle's massive front doors. They sounded much closer.
"Professor..." Ron said slowly, obviously working something out in his head, "if anyone gets inside the castle, we can't let them get to the Great Hall. So we need to meet them somewhere else. Anywhere else."
"Agreed, Mr. Weasley, but what do you propose?" Sinistra asked. "We can't ambush them if we don't know where they intend to come in."
"Right, but we can guess where they might be heading," he said. "I'll take one group to the seventh floor, near Gryffindor — it's a likely target. So's the entrance to the Headmaster's office. If you send another group to the third floor, putting them between here and Gryffindor, then both can move to intercept any attackers who get inside, regardless of where or how they enter. Hopefully we can keep them busy long enough for help to arrive."
Flitwick looked around at the students who had volunteered to defend the castle. They were too few and far too young, but it was all they had standing between the youngest students and whatever enemy had been set against them. He blew out a breath. "I don't like spreading our defense so thin, Mr. Weasley, but that may be our best option. To make it work, though, we'll need some way to communicate. Otherwise, neither group will know where the incursion occurs."
"Oh, Dobby will do!" the house elf piped up, but Winky smacked him on the back of the head.
"Dobby is being in charge of Missy Jazzy's map," she scolded him. "Dobby be needed here." She hesitated, a fearful look in her eyes, but then she straightened and addressed Flitwick directly. "Winky be taking messages, Littlest Professor sir."
"Thank you, Winky," Flitwick said gravely. "That will do nicely. Mr. Weasley, please take a group to the seventh floor."
"I'll go with you," Luna said, moving to stand resolutely next to Ron. He seemed surprised but happy to have her help.
"I'll take a group to the third," Neville volunteered.
"Not without me," declared Ginny as she stepped up next to him. She gazed defiantly at her brother, daring him to object. For a moment it looked as though Ron might reflexively do just that, but then he looked down at Luna, a thoughtful expression on his face. In the end he simply nodded once at Ginny. Luna smiled approvingly.
"Fine," Flitwick responded. "Mr. Zabini, you can help coordinate the students here." Blaise nodded stoically.
"I'll go to the seventh floor as well," Sinistra said. "Better to have at least one staff member with them. I can also send out some owls while I'm there, though I don't know if they'll reach help in time."
"I'll accompany the group on the third floor," Sprout said.
"And I'll get the hospital wing ready," Poppy announced. "We're sure to need it before the night is over."
"Does anyone know where Severus is?" Flitwick asked with a frown.
"I haven't seen him all day," Madam Hooch answered as she followed Poppy to prepare for the injured.
Flitwick shook his head resignedly. "Hagrid, I want you to stand by the doors to the Great Hall. You'll be the last line of defense there."
"Righ'," the half-giant said as he set his axe against the doors and a large barrel of crossbow bolts next to him. He planted himself with his back to the doors, loaded crossbow in hand.
Flitwick then turned to the four house ghosts and instructed them to patrol in different areas, with additional orders to report back if they saw or heard anything of importance.
Ron and Luna led their group of students up to the seventh floor while Neville and Ginny's group set off for the third. On the way, they divided themselves up into three-person teams to coordinate their spellwork.
The third floor didn't have any vital targets except the hospital wing, but Neville's group took up positions near the statue of a humpbacked witch that he knew to be a secret passage into the castle. On the seventh floor, Ron's group placed themselves in the hall outside the Gryffindor common room; there was nothing there to defend, but if they could delay and harass any invaders, they would buy time.
"What's going on?" the Fat Lady asked with concern.
"We think Hogwarts is going to be attacked," Luna explained. "We're not sure, but since Gryffindor is a likely target, we're setting up here to make things difficult for them."
The portrait stood up a bit straighter. "Well, they won't get through me!" she said staunchly.
"A battle, you say?" came a voice from the other side of the corridor, and Ron saw that Sir Cadogan had decided to take a stroll through the area. "Splendid! I haven't fought in a good battle in centuries! Fear not, for I shall lead the cavalry charge that will break the back of our enemy's forces!"
"Um... right, thanks," Ron said dubiously, then went back to positioning his teams in the darkened alcoves along the corridor. He had no sooner gotten that done when Winky appeared next to him with a loud pop.
"Mister Wheezy!" she cried. "Bad wizards be coming out of Come and Go Room! Some be heading for Headmaster's office, some be heading here!" Then she was gone.
Ron let everyone know what direction the Death Eaters were coming from and moved students out of alcoves that were too close.
"Come and Go room?" Sinistra asked.
"It's a magical room that the elves use for supplies," Ron replied a bit evasively as he watched his brothers and Lee Jordan run to the intersection which the invaders would be coming through shortly. "We've used it for training. I have no idea how the Death Eaters could use it to get into the castle, though. It only ever has one door."
When the twins returned, he grabbed one by the arm. "Oi! What are you doing?"
"Just a little welcoming present," his brother answered smugly.
"Disillusioned trip wires when they come down this corridor," the second twin explained.
"Plus a timed delay on one of our newest prototypes, placed about 5 meters further back around the corner," the first continued.
"I just wish we'd had more time to work on getting the alligators right," the second lamented.
Ron wanted to ask what they meant by that, but the noise of boots hitting stone told him they were out of time, so they took up their positions. Peeking out, Ron witnessed about a dozen Death Eaters round the corner and trip over something invisible, sending them all sprawling to the ground.
"Now!" Ron shouted, and a barrage of brightly colored curses assailed the fallen and stumbling invaders. Before Ron could assess the situation, he heard splashes and screaming from around the corner and looked at his brothers questioningly.
"Portable swamp," the first twin said with a grin.
"Sounds like the alligators are working properly after all," the second said with an even bigger grin.
"Unfortunately, that was our only one."
"Take that, you knave!" Sir Cadogan shouted from around the corner as someone screamed.
Ron gulped, wondering if perhaps he should feel sorry for the Death Eaters now.
"Oh, I say, good show, Mr. Weasley!" Flitwick exclaimed as he watched the map over Dobby's shoulder. "Good show indeed." He had no idea what they'd done, but he could tell by the movement of the names that it had clearly been effective, taking out several Death Eaters and stopping their advance cold, at least briefly.
Shifting his gaze, he watched the second group of invaders gather around the entrance to the Headmaster's office, presumably attacking the guardian gargoyle in an attempt to gain entrance. Good luck with that, he thought with a mirthless chuckle. The defenses there are among the strongest in the entire castle. Even better, the more time you waste there, the less of a threat you are to the students.
"Professor!" came the voice of a soppy-looking witch in one of the entrance hall portraits. "Several of the students on the seventh floor have been hurt!"
Flitwick looked back at the area around Gryffindor and found that the Death Eaters had gotten past whatever had initially impeded them and were now making their way slowly down the corridor outside the Gryffindor common room. Beyond the active defenders and around a corner were the names of several students, all unmoving.
He looked around for the female house elf and saw that she had returned from delivering her earlier messages. "Winky, can you and any of the castle's elves who are willing take those injured students to the hospital wing?"
She examined the map carefully, then looked up at the diminutive professor and nodded before disappearing. Merlin, I hope she gets to them in time, he fretted.
Flitwick was growing alarmed at how many Death Eaters had apparently gotten into the castle — and how many were still coming in — but he was distracted from that problem when the howling, thumping, and scratching outside the castle's outer doors increased significantly. He'd seen at least three dozen names gathered around the outside of the door, including one he recognized all too well: Fenrir Greyback.
Flitwick scrambled to reinforce his earlier defensive spells while Professor Vector transfigured nearby items to create protective cover for them. Looking closely, he could see the doors shake under the werewolves' attacks. I don't know how long the doors will hold, but Greyback and his pack simply cannot be allowed into the castle.
Winky almost howled in grief when she and five other volunteers popped in front of a dozen crying and injured students. She had never thought of herself as brave, but she screwed up her courage and tried to reassure their charges as the elves each picked one student to transport back to the hospital wing before returning to get the rest.
Once all the injured had been moved, she returned to the seventh floor, despite how scared she was from the noise and spells, because she knew her help would be needed again.
And she knew she had to be brave for her Missy Hermy.
Hogwarts. Thursday, June 1, 1996, Night. 11:30 PM.
Ron looked around and finally ordered all the remaining teams to start retreating down the stairs while he, Luna, and Sinistra provided cover. Reinforcements sent by Neville had helped for a bit, but the Fat Lady had run off shortly after the battle started, and the increasing use of Unforgivables by the Death Eaters was overtaxing Professor Sinistra's ability to conjure solid shields to protect the students.
When Sinistra accompanied the last defenders down the stairway to the sixth floor, Ron and Luna were left on either side of the doorway on the seventh floor landing. Ron's primary cover was a statue of Lachlan the Lanky, though it was being gradually demolished by Death Eater spellfire. Every time a spell hit the statue but didn't do anything, Ron was grateful for not being pelted with chunks of stone; yet he knew from Jasmine's training that these must be spells intended to harm people rather than things — spells like organ-rotting and blood-boiling curses.
It wasn't a comforting thought.
Another large chunk of Lachlan the Lanky exploded behind him, and when Ron opened his eyes again, he saw the staircase start to move away. If he remembered correctly, it was going to shift from the seventh floor down to the fourth, leaving them caught between Death Eaters and a long drop all the way down to the Entrance Hall.
"Luna!" he called out across the doorway, pointing to the stairway that was slowly grinding out of reach. "Jump!"
She looked at the moving stairs then back at Ron. "You first!" she shouted, firing off another spell to cover his retreat.
Ron rolled his eyes in exasperation but didn't object, only taking time to stow his wand. As a volley of spells impacted around him, he bolted and leapt almost two meters towards the top of the moving stairs. When he landed he crashed into the battered railing and caused some of it to break away, spinning off into space. A quick glance beyond the edge he'd nearly tumbled over told him that Sinistra had gotten the teams to the fourth floor already and they were moving fast.
Ron spun on his knees. "Luna, now!" he yelled.
With a final round of hexes sent off, she sprinted for the ever-widening gap. Yet just as she started to leap, a blast of spellfire shattered the stone beneath her feet and fouled her jump. Ron could tell immediately that she wouldn't make it and dove to grasp her outstretched hand. She cried out as he arrested her fall, then reached up with her other hand and held on tight as she swung precariously with nothing between her and the ground floor.
Before he could haul her up, spells sizzled in the air around him. Looking up, he saw Draco Malfoy standing on the landing they'd just left, wand clasped in a silver hand and a maniacal grin on his face. "Say goodbye to your looney girlfriend, Weasel!" he taunted. Pointing his wand squarely at Ron, he cried, "Avada Ked—"
"Bombarda!" came a shout from below, and the landing under Malfoy's feet exploded, sending him spiraling into the empty air. His screams echoed off the walls the entire way to the stone floor beneath them, as did the dull thud of his body when it finally hit.
Ron looked to where the spell had come from and saw Ginny and Neville standing on the third-floor landing, right beneath the fourth-floor landing that was their destination. Ginny's wand was dancing madly, firing off spells at the doorway they'd left while Neville had his hand out, ready to receive Luna. Ron heaved and managed to swing her into Neville's arms, then he slid off the stairs to drop next to them while Ginny continued to give them cover.
"Thanks, Gin," he said with a wan smile as he wiped the blood from his face. Pulling out his wand once more, he cast repeatedly at the figures near the ruined doorway above, giving Luna and Neville cover to continue the descent.
"I'm just sorry it wasn't his father," Ginny said darkly before moving out herself.
The four Gryffindors leapfrogged in this manner down to the entrance hall, and while they managed to avoid serious injury, the superior numbers of the Death Eaters kept them on the defensive the entire way. They probably would have been overtaken if Peeves hadn't been zooming around, throwing handfuls of dungbombs at the Death Eaters to distract them.
With the invaders just two flights away by the time the last students got back, Flitwick had been forced to send the house elves back into the classroom hallway for their own safety. Fortunately Dobby had been willing to lend him the map. Most of the students were in the hall as well, though a few Gryffindors and Mr. Zabini had joined the other professors at the hall entrance, firing a barrage of hexes at the stairs.
Hagrid was trying his best to take some out with his crossbow, but there were so many that he spent most of his time behind the cover that Septima Vector had created and was struggling to maintain. Flitwick himself was being pressed hard — he could move quickly, but with so many spells raining down around him, there were few safe places to roll or jump to.
Soon Death Eaters were in the Entrance Hall itself, and while a few headed for Flitwick and Hagrid, most began assaulting the main doors to the castle with spellfire, trying to crack them open.
"Don't let them open the doors!" Flitwick shouted above the din of the fighting. "If they do, they'll let in the werewolves!"
Ministry of Magic. Friday, June 1, 1996, Night. 11:30 PM.
Gabrielle didn't know what Bellatrix was trying to accomplish by running back in the direction she had come from earlier, but she didn't much care. All that mattered was that she was one of the most evil and dangerous of Voldemort's followers. She had just hurt Professor McGonagall, someone Jasmine and Hermione looked up to as a mentor, and as long as she lived she would be a continuing danger to everyone.
The two witches traded spellfire as they moved from office to office in the time room, blowing up desks, chairs, and file cabinets while tearing gouges and holes through the walls. Gabrielle was far less experienced than Bellatrix, but she was also smaller and quicker, allowing her to dodge the older witch's spells while casting more of her own. The combination of Amazi armor and basilisk-hide tunic also protected her from the few spells that got through.
"You do have some skills," Bellatrix conceded with a delighted cackle as she cast an organ-rotting curse followed by a bone-shattering curse, "but no mere creature will ever truly be a match for a pureblood. Magic has granted us power so we can purify the world of abominations like you."
"Azkaban has driven you insane!" Gabrielle retorted, unable to believe that any sensible person could think such things, yet taken aback by the fervor with which she expressed her beliefs. Rolling to the side, she threw her sword and followed up with several blasting curses.
"You don't want to admit the truth," Bellatrix said, neatly evading the attacks and pressing the advantage when Gabrielle faltered. "Pureblood families have been blessed by Magic, and in return we preserve respect for Magic through magical traditions, culture, and society. Everybody knows this. Where else do you think we purebloods come from?"
"From inbreeding," Gabrielle growled, stung by Bellatrix's words and suddenly feeling a need to justify her own beliefs. "I know for a fact zat Jasmine and Hermione have been chosen by Magic to fulfill a prophecy. Zey were chosen by Magic, not you!" She levitated the debris of a smashed desk and banished it all at the other witch.
"Impossible!" Bellatrix cried, now faltering herself and having trouble dodging the lethal pieces of wood, most of which became embedded in the wall behind her. "Only purebloods have the blessings of Magic! Mudbloods, half-bloods, and creatures like you are nothing more than vermin to be exterminated! You know nothing of Magic. Nothing! I have witnessed the power wielded by the Dark Lord, power he possesses by the will of Magic itself. I have faith that he is fulfilling the will of Magic for the future of the magical community!"
She's insane, Gabrielle reminded herself. Insane and twisted. She's just using these words to justify hurting others — to justify hurting Jasmine!
She threw her sword again, this time slightly to Bellatrix's left; when the Death Eater slid right, she was hit by the silent banishing charm Gabrielle had cast a half second later.
I was chosen to be the right hand of Hekate incarnate! Gabrielle exulted. I was chosen to eliminate those who would threaten her! She watched in satisfaction as the older witch hit the wall hard and was impaled by several pieces of wood still protruding there from her earlier attack.
Bellatrix looked down in disbelief as her wand slipped from her numb fingers. "No," she croaked, blood starting to drip from her mouth. "It can't be. I was chosen to be the right hand of the Dark Lord!... I was chosen to eliminate the... the vermin who defile... our world..." Shock was still in her eyes as the breath sighed out of her and her head slumped forward in death.
Gabrielle had collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily, but her gaze jerked upwards at the witch's dying words.
"Are you alright, lass?" Moody asked as he stumped up from behind. He eyed the Death Eater impaled on the wall and grunted in approval. "I thought you would need help, but it looks like I underestimated you as much as she did." His brow furrowed at her lack of response, and he tried again, enunciating carefully: "Are... you... injured?"
"No," Gabrielle said softly as she accepted Moody's hand to help her stand. "I... I don't understand."
"Understand what?"
"Understand... her, I guess," she mumbled, still breathing a little heavily from the fight and aching in several places where Bellatrix had scored a hit.
"She was a monster," Moody said flatly as he led her away. "She might have been insane, too — not that that would have excused her actions."
"Was she?" Gabrielle asked, starting to doubt herself in a way she'd never done before. "She had faith in her cause. She believed her cause was so righteous zat hurting others who stood in its way was just."
"So?" Moody said. "Believing something doesn't make it right."
Gabrielle looked up at the grizzled old auror, suddenly feeling as young and uncertain as she knew she appeared. I have faith in my cause, too, she wanted to say. I was chosen by the goddesses! I have so much faith that it sometimes feels like it will consume me. Instead, she said carefully, "I am... committed to helping Jasmine and Hermione fight for what's right, but I've never been afraid of what I might have to do. Not... not until I saw her."
"Afraid of becoming like her, are you?" Moody frowned. "Well, I won't lie to you: anyone can become dark and twisted, given the right push. Though I doubt Lestrange ever needed much of an excuse," he added with a scoff. "She hurt others because she enjoyed it, not because it was a necessity. Doing unpleasant but necessary things won't turn you dark; enjoying them, looking forward to them, will."
Gabrielle's expression turned thoughtful as they entered the spinning circular room.
"That sister of yours — you look up to her, don't you?" he asked abruptly. When she nodded, he went on, "What would she think of what you did here, in this fight?"
Gabrielle didn't hesitate in her answer. "She'd be proud of how well I did against an older, more experienced opponent. She'd be happy zat such a dangerous enemy was eliminated."
Moody nodded in agreement. "I'd think the same thing if I had a younger sister like you. Focus on that, if you start doubting your actions. If, at the end of the day, you can look your sister in the eye without shame over what you've done, then you shouldn't have any trouble looking at yourself in the mirror in the morning."
Gabrielle's smile was genuine as she took the old auror's arm, which had him completely flustered as they entered the hallway to the lifts. They could see Sirius and the coven at the far end. "You're a wise man, Mr. Moody. I'd love to—" Suddenly she bent over double, hissing in pain.
"What is it, lass?" Moody asked, concerned now.
"Jasmine!" she gasped. "I must get to her!"
The pain in her skull slowly faded, allowing Minerva to open her eyes again. Blinking rapidly, she saw that there was light streaming out from the archway at the center of the room. Upon looking around, she noted that she was still the only one left aside from the stunned Death Eaters and unconscious Order members.
Suddenly, there was a figure in white standing in front of the arch, the tattered cloth billowing around them. I could have sworn that there wasn't anyone there a moment ago, she thought sluggishly.
Slowly the figure in white walked up the stone steps to where she was sitting against the wall. As it drew close she thought she recognized the red-headed woman, even though she was certain she had to be wrong.
"B-bonnie?"
"Aye, Min, it's me. Were you expecting someone else?"
"But... how?" Minerva asked. "How can you be here? Aren't you...?"
"Aye, that I am."
"But if you're... then does that mean I'm...?"
"Aye," Bonnie said with a sigh. "I'm afraid so. We Gryffindors do have a habit of running into danger, don't we?"
"But how?" Minerva asked again, confused. "I was wearing my tunic. I feel fine!"
Bonnie crouched down so that she was at eye level with Minerva. "Aye, but you had a bit of a headache, I'll wager. You burst a blood vessel in your head when you hit that wall, and you've been bleeding into your brain ever since. I don't know more than that — I often had trouble understanding some of what went on in that head of yours," she added with a rueful grin.
Minerva was silent for a long moment as she processed this, then said, "I can't, Bonnie. What about the girls? They need me!"
"They'll manage," Bonnie assured her. "It will be hard for them at first, but they're strong. And they're stronger now because of you, by the way."
"I... I tried to give them some of the opportunities that my own foolishness denied the two of us."
Bonnie smiled encouragingly. "You did good, Min. You redeemed yourself by nurturing another soul bond."
"Another?" Minerva asked, her expression one of sadness but little surprise. "So it's true, then? You and I?"
"Aye. Our destiny was to take young Jasmine away from the manipulations of that old goat and raise her right. To prepare her for her own soul bond and the marvelous destiny ahead of her and Hermione."
"Oh, no!" Minerva gasped. "So it's all my fault that she—"
"Don't blame yourself," Bonnie interrupted, putting her hand on the other witch's shoulder. "You couldn't have known, and you made up for it anyway. It was a near thing, though — if you'd waited much longer to get off your duff, matters might have turned out quite differently." She smiled, taking the sting from her words, and her fingers moved from Minerva's shoulder to brush her cheek lightly. Minerva leaned into the caress, and Bonnie's face suffused with happiness, as if she'd been waiting a long time to do that.
"Now come on," she said brightly. "Up you get. It's time." She stood and reached down to help the other woman to her feet.
Finally free of the pain, Minerva took her hand and didn't look back at the slumped, still body as she walked together with her soulmate through the Veil.
Hogwarts. Friday, June 1, 1996, Night. 11:45 PM.
Flitwick dove behind a statue, wondering if any of them would make it out of this alive, when suddenly he felt control of the Hogwarts wards slam into him. In an instant he realized that he was now truly in charge of the castle, which could only mean that both Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall were dead. He didn't take time to mourn, however; instead, he immediately raised his wand and cried, "Piertotum Locomotor!"
Minerva always wanted to use that spell, Flitwick thought sadly as he watched the statue he had ducked behind shift side to side as it came to life. "Invaders in the castle!" he called out. "Protect the students! Do your duty!"
All of the statues and suits of armor charged on the Death Eaters in the Entrance Hall. Black-cloaked wizards and witches were stabbed, hacked, chewed, and clawed to death, turning the Entrance Hall into an abattoir. Those students who had the best accuracy pushed down their rising bile so they could support the castle's defenses by casting piercing hexes into the melee.
One Death Eater who stood head and shoulders above the rest suddenly lost his mask, and Flitwick heard a shout of "Lestrange!" A quick glance revealed that the voice belonged to Neville Longbottom, who had charged out from the classroom hallway, casting a flurry of violent spells at the older wizard. Flitwick wouldn't have expected the young man to be much of a match against the experienced and vicious Rodolphus Lestrange, but the castle's armor wasn't giving him much opportunity to focus on the new challenge.
A couple of reductor curses were deflected by his shield, but then Neville cast "Perforo," piercing not only the shield but also the Death Eater's neck. As he reached up instinctively to stem the blood, several suits of armor took advantage of his distraction and finished off what Neville's curse had started.
A cry of "Confringo!" caused Neville to jump in surprise, and he whirled to find Rabastan Lestrange pointing his wand at him... and staring in disbelief at the smoking hole where the man's chest had been.
"C'mon!" Ginny shouted as she grabbed the young wizard by the arm and started dragging him back to safety. "You should know better than to run out into the middle of a fight like that."
Soon the armor and statues were pushing the remaining Death Eaters back up the stairs. This time having the high ground didn't give them much of an advantage because more armor and statues were coming from the upper floors, surrounding the invaders and rending them into tiny pieces. Flitwick didn't need to look at the map to know that the same scene was being repeated elsewhere in the castle.
He was about to recheck the protections on the front doors when he noticed that there was no longer any howling or banging outside them. Then he did check the map and saw that there was no one outside the front doors, though there was an unusually large number of centaurs moving off the edge of the map and into the forest.
Ministry of Magic. Friday, June 1, 1996, Night. 11:45 PM.
"Remember the plan," Jasmine said to Hermione as the lift rose up through the Ministry of Magic. When the doors opened up on the atrium, Jasmine ran out, looking for Snape. He was easily visible running past the floos, but before she could do anything, several of the floos activated and a flood of Death Eaters came rushing out, followed by Voldemort himself.
With a wave of his wand, heavy metal grates came down in front of all the floos — though not before Snape could dive into one, disappearing in a flash of light and smoke. Not seeming to notice, Voldemort sent an almost negligent blasting curse at the lifts, destroying the last functioning car and sending it crashing back down to the ninth floor.
"There," he said imperiously. "Now we won't be disturbed."
Jasmine crouched and circled around the massive Magical Brethren statue and fountain in the middle of the atrium, trying to keep it between her and Voldemort.
"I see you are alone," Voldemort said with a chuckle, moving himself to put the statue behind him. "Again. You're always alone, aren't you? All your little friends keep dying... or have they finally gotten smart and abandoned you? It's of no importance, I suppose. They'll die sooner or later for having the temerity to ever follow you at all. But not before I take the time to break them and enjoy their screams — that I promise you."
Jasmine narrowed her eyes as she sent a quick blasting hex at a Death Eater who had made the mistake of standing still too long, exploding his torso in a shower of blood. This inspired the others to quickly move farther away, creating more space around her and Voldemort.
He simply laughed. "Ah, you've gotten more spirited than the last time we met, Potter. Good, good — that will make this, our last encounter, all the more enjoyable. For Us, at least. But first, you have something We desire." He held out one bony white hand and commanded, "Give Us the prophecy, girl."
"You mean this?" Jasmine asked as she reached into her robes and held out a prophecy sphere. She hefted it a few times in her hand before hurtling it towards Voldemort's right. As he lunged to catch it with his left hand, she cast "Confringo!" at his head, forcing him to duck and take the spell on the shoulder while the prophecy sphere sailed past him, shattering against the floor.
She gaped in shock when she saw that her spell did little more than burn away some of his robes and scorch his pale skin. "Did you think We wouldn't have ensured that Our new body was stronger and more durable than Our original?" he growled in fury.
She barely saw him move when he whipped up his wand and cast "Crucio!" Fortunately hers was already out, giving her just enough time to respond with "Confringo!"
The two spells met, creating a ribbon of energy connecting the two wands. As had happened in the graveyard, additional threads of energy broke away from the main one, creating a golden cage around them as phoenix song echoed throughout the atrium. This time Jasmine let the cage form completely instead of forcing her wand to break away.
"Again?! What sort of magic is this?" Voldemort raged as he found himself trapped.
"That'll teach you to not do your homework," Jasmine taunted him. "With the cage fully formed this time, there's no getting in or out. Our wands have forced us into a battle of wills. None of your experience, knowledge, or power will do you any good now!"
Voldemort's red eyes brightened, and he grinned maniacally as he worked to push away the beads of light that had appeared along the ribbon of energy between their wands.
Sirius cursed up a storm as he looked at the ruined lift and tried to peer up the shaft. "Bloody spinning room! We lost so much time trying to get out of there, and now the lifts are destroyed! Merlin knows how we're going to get up there now!"
"Uh, Black?" he heard Moody say, and noticed some odd hissing in the background.
"What?" he asked, not paying attention as he glared at the mess before him.
"Back away from the lift. Now."
"What?" Sirius asked again as he turned back to the others. That was when he realized that Fleur and Gabrielle were transforming. Cruel beaks were extending from their faces, sharp talons were growing out from their fingers, and feathers were appearing all over their bodies.
Sirius took Moody's advice and hastily got out of the way, coming to stand next to the old auror and his goddaughter's coven. From this safer vantage point, he noticed that the gold wings on the back of the veela armor, which he'd assumed were mere decoration, had joined with the veelas' wings, making them shimmer in the torch light.
The transformation was now complete, and they were magnificent. They were radiant.
They were scary as hell.
In short order both veela were in the lift shaft, digging their talons into the magically hardened stone and climbing up to the atrium, hissing in fury the entire time.
"And that's why I never married," Moody muttered.
When Amelia Bones came running up to the phone booth that served as the muggle entrance to the Ministry of Magic, she was surprised to find Cornelius Fudge already there with several aurors. She silently cursed the disruptions to the floo network which had cost her so much time in collecting the appropriate aurors (some of whom had to be sent to Hogwarts), then getting to the Ministry.
"Minister, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"I'm here to arrest Jasmine Potter for breaking and entering into the Hall of Prophecy," he declared, though she noticed that he looked a bit nervous. "She's also obviously done something to the floo network, forcing me, the Minister, to use the visitor's entrance! Why are you here, Amelia?"
She scowled at the aurors with Fudge, letting them know that she'd be having words with them later about taking orders outside the chain of command. "I'm here to save Jasmine Potter from Voldemort and an unknown number of Death Eaters," she declared. The aurors who'd accompanied her had known in advance what they'd be facing and had, in fact, been training for it. The aurors who'd accompanied Fudge had clearly expected an easy task in taking down an underaged witch, judging by how scared they looked now.
"Impossible!" Fudge retorted. "I can't believe you've bought into those lies! I'll tell you right now, Amelia, if I find out that you're conspiring against me and the Ministry, I'll not only fire you, but have you brought up on charges!"
Bones eyed the phone booth, trying to judge how many of them could fit, when she felt a charmed galleon burning in her pocket. It had been given to her by Sirius Black to alert her if and when his goddaughter was attacked by Voldemort. Potter's signal! she thought. There's no more time — she's facing Voldemort now!
"I'm going down there with Shacklebolt because I trust his combat training," she announced, her tone brooking no more argument. "If you're so bloody confident about what we'll find, you're more than welcome to join us. The rest can follow afterwards."
Fudge seemed to falter for a moment, but then he stiffened his spine and nodded once before entering the phone booth first, forcing the other two to squeeze in after him. He picked up the handset, dialed the number, and they all heard the well-known voice say, "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and the nature of your visit."
"Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic," he replied, "and I'm here to stop Jasmine Potter."
"Amelia Bones and Kingsley Shacklebolt," she added, "and we're here to stop Voldemort."
Three badges dropped out of the coin return slot, each with their names and the same message: "Fool's Errand."
Slowly the lift began to move, and as it descended the three occupants became witnesses to a vision out of hell. Fires burned everywhere as two bird-like creatures in radiant armor and carrying spears were flying overhead, flinging fireballs at three Death Eaters who kept casting poorly-aimed spells back at their attackers. All around on the floor were over a dozen more Death Eaters, their bodies broken and burning. On one wall the giant banner of Fudge's face — which he had intended to be reassuring but which Bones felt was simply creepy — had been clawed to shreds and was burning as well.
As Bones watched, she saw one of the creatures suddenly dive and hurl its spear, skewering one of the Death Eaters who had taken refuge behind a stone pillar. His cry was choked off when the spear wrenched itself free, leaving him to crumple to the ground. With a scream of triumph, the creature plucked its returning spear out of the air and began circling again.
In the middle of it all were Jasmine Potter and Voldemort, apparently locked together by a stream of energy connecting their wands and surrounded by a golden cage.
Fudge seemed unable to do anything but babble incoherently as he took in the horrific scene. "Protect the Minister," she ordered Shacklebolt as she ducked down and entered the fray.
It wasn't long before she had dispatched the remaining Death Eaters. Already wounded and distracted by the creatures in the air, they never even knew that a new threat had arrived. She tensed when the two bird-like creatures landed near her, not sure if the clearly dangerous beings were a threat to her, but in short order they started transforming into strikingly beautiful young women. "Veela?" she asked.
Both nodded, the older one introducing herself as Fleur Delacour, the current Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. "My sister Gabrielle and I came here with several other witches to support Jasmine." Bones experienced a moment of panic at the thought that Susan might have been in that group, but calmed when she remembered that her niece was much too sensible to do anything as insane as that.
The younger veela had already rushed over to the golden cage and was looking on anxiously; the other two witches now hurried after her. As they approached, Bones raised her wand, her mind racing through her options.
"Don't," Fleur said, catching her wrist before she could cast. "It is of no use. Zey are cut off."
Inside the cage, Bones could now see that there were several beads of energy moving along the thread that connected the wands — and all of them were gradually moving towards Potter. Jasmine flicked her gaze towards the three watchers and clearly knew they were there, though even that brief moment of inattention cost her as the beads surged closer.
"You're just a little girl, and no match for me!" Voldemort was shouting. "A no-account, talentless, helpless little witch who will soon learn her place!"
"Not... helpless..." Jasmine gritted out, struggling to maintain control of her wand with both hands as it shook violently. "I'm not... the one who's... alone..."
The air next to Jasmine shimmered and Hermione Granger appeared, pulling off an invisibility cloak. "Never!" she said as she put her free hand over Jasmine's on the wand. Both girls' eyes flashed with a brilliant white light, and a moment later all the beads of energy abruptly changed direction. They rocketed towards a shocked Voldemort and into his wand, causing a massive explosion. Once Bones could see again, she saw that the cage had fallen and Voldemort was staggering backwards, looking down where his wand arm had been blown completely off. Jasmine was still in one piece, but she, too, had staggered backwards and nearly collapsed from the exertion of the lengthy battle she had just fought.
Hermione, however, was standing tall as she gathered herself and raised her wand, her eyes still glowing a fierce white. "CORACE CORRUO!" she cried in a ringing voice, and the sound reverberated in the air around them.
An immense battering ram of raw power slammed into Voldemort and hurled him against the Magical Brethren with a sound like a massive gong. Both wizard and statue kept moving under the force of the spell as the fountain exploded under them and they smashed into the far wall. The statue was embedded deep in the wall, while Voldemort's ruined body fell to the ground in a heap, crushed almost beyond recognition.
Now Hermione, too, was bent double and breathing hard. The head of the DMLE watched as the girl looked to her friend and panted, "One prophecy down... one to go." Jasmine just nodded wearily.
Bones didn't quite know what that meant, but she wasn't surprised to see that such a powerful spell had taken a lot out of the young witch. What did surprise her was the sight of Jasmine's and Hermione's skin bubbling as their features melted. A moment later they had switched places, revealing that it had been Jasmine who cast the final spell while Hermione had been locked in the battle with Voldemort.
"Polyjuice?" Bones asked, wondering what the hell was going on.
"A necessary deception," Fleur said apologetically, "to make it easier for Jasmine to strike ze killing blow. We knew Voldemort would focus on Hermione polyjuiced as Jasmine, allowing ze real Jasmine to be at full strength to cast ze siege engine spell. Zere was zis prophecy, you see, zat only Jasmine would be able to vanquish him."
With the girls leaning on the veela for support, all five made their way slowly across the atrium to the pile of rubble that had been the Magical Brethren.
"So could somebody please enlighten me as to what just happened?" Amelia asked, at something of a loss and not liking the feeling one bit. "What was that cage thing you were in?"
"Priori Incantatem," Hermione explained. "Ollivander told us about it. Jasmine's wand and Voldemort's had the same magical core, and if set against one another, they would force the users to engage in a battle of wills."
"But if you were in there with them," Bones said to Jasmine, "why did you wait so long to cast the siege engine spell?"
"We knew the cage would cut off the wand holders from outside interference, but we didn't know what would happen if a third person tried to cast something inside. It wasn't meant for that, and it could have been... rather messy," Jasmine finished with a grimace. "So we needed the cage to fall first. We also needed to give our friends time to take out the remaining Death Eaters since we'd both be vulnerable by the time we were done."
"Right," Hermione went on. "Based on what Ollivander said, we figured we'd delay Voldemort as long as we could, trigger the representation of the last spells he had cast as a distraction — that's something else Priori Incantatem does, by the way — then break the cage and cast the siege engine. We weren't expecting that explosion, though — the cage must have fallen by itself when his wand blew up." She looked at Jasmine. "I guess we, uh, put a little too much power into it," she added sheepishly.
"Oh, that reminds me," Jasmine said, "can I have my wand back, Hermione?" The two witches made the exchange while Bones gaped, wondering how in Merlin's name they had done all that with the wrong wands. But before she could ask, they reached the spot where Voldemort lay. Incredibly, his eyes were open — or at least the one that was still intact was — and he glared balefully up at the five witches arrayed around him.
"You can't kill Us," he rasped. His body was impossibly flattened, and it was inconceivable to Bones how it could still produce speech. "We have plumbed the depths of dark magic... to a far greater degree than... anyone before." He paused to wheeze, then continued with obvious effort, "We are... immortal! This construct... We use for a body... has failed... but soon... We will return... and you will all know... Our... wrath. We... shall—"
"Lacero!" Bones growled, severing the head from the rest of the body. A dark, smoky form rose up from the remains, but it quickly dissipated into nothing. "Not on my watch, you won't."
The others gasped. "But ze prophecy..." Fleur protested.
"Oh, you vanquished him alright," Bones said, gesturing to encompass the wreckage all around them and the mess on the floor. "I simply shut him up. Though I'm not sure why someone like Albus couldn't have done all this just as easily."
The two girls exchanged a look she couldn't quite decipher.
A thought struck her then. "That stuff about him coming back... again... that was all just his usual villainous bluster, right? There's no chance of him actually doing it?"
"No, he's gone," Jasmine said firmly. "He did have a way of coming back, but we were working on it with Professor Dumbledore..." A shadow crossed her face for a moment, but then she seemed to shake it off. "Anyway, it's all taken care of now. That was part of the whole 'vanquishing' thing, too."
Just then Fudge bumbled over, accompanied by Shacklebolt and the other aurors who had been left outside. "I can't believe it," he said, "I just can't believe it. You-Know-Who really was back, and he was here... here in the Ministry! I have to call the press. I have to get a photographer. I have to—"
"Shack, place the Minister under arrest," Bones ordered tiredly.
"What?!" Fudge cried out in shock.
"You've been denying the return of... this," she responded, using her toe to nudge the shattered body at her feet, "for a year now, all the while attempting to defame and punish the young witch who just killed our greatest enemy. For the second time, might I add. If you weren't in league with him, then you were criminally negligent." She gestured sharply with her head, and Shacklebolt grabbed the sputtering minister, hauling him away. I don't know if I can make those charges stick, she thought, but at least he's out from underfoot before he can turn this into a media circus. I'm sure I'll be able to find something on him.
With a wave of her wand she opened the floos and began ordering aurors to call in emergency teams to put out the fires around the atrium and tend to the injured.
"And you four," she finally said as she turned to the young witches. "I know it's late, but I think we need to have a talk in my office."
"If you don't mind, we'd like to check on Professor McGonagall first," Hermione said. "She was hurt down in the Department of Mysteries, though Sirius told me he'd look after her."
"I'll send someone to take care of her right away," Bones assured them.
"Maybe we should wait for the others to get up here, too," Jasmine suggested.
Bones raised one worried eyebrow. "Others? Who else is here?"