Chapter 143 – The Battle of Hogwarts
The noises of battle were at first distant, but still jarring. The trebuchets, still invisible under the disillusionment charms, made a wooshing sound when launched, followed seconds later by the crash of the boulders they had launched. The grunts and sounds made by the giants had been building up as they neared Hogwarts, leading the charge for Voldemort. From the squeals that followed the trebuchet launches, they seemed to be very bothered by the light and dark exploding around them, even those who had not been felled by the large boulders that brought the light and dark. It was several minutes later that the more intimate sounds of battle could be heard – the clash of swords, and the sounds made by the Winter Lands warriors as they engaged in combat.
Upstairs in the highest tower, a large group huddled in the open air, able to fit into the narrow tower top because of the castle's use of wizard space to expand a narrow platform into a large open area. Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy had been asked to direct any of the witches and wizards in the castle who could cast the Patronus charm up to that point, to send out their Patronuses to keep the dementors away from the field of battle. All students able to cast the charm were allowed to participate, without regard to their year, and more than a few eyebrows rose at the number of students who had mastered this difficult task a year or two before it was even part of the official curriculum.
The Minister of Magic had asked that anyone associated with the Ministry who could cast the charm assist in that way, and leave the battle on the field to the trained Aurors, hers and those from other countries. As a consequence, there were also some disgruntled people up in the tower who had hoped for more prestigious assignments.
Remus and Sirius had been contemplating using their animagus forms to assist, but they were very pointedly among those asked specifically to cast Patronus charms. Remus' animagus form was now well known, which might have rendered him less helpful than he hoped, but the way the Minister cast a stern look at Sirius suggested the message was at least as much for him.
Lucius Malfoy had arrived at Hogwarts clearly hoping to parlay his role as a member of the Board of Governors of Hogwarts, as well as a member of the Wizengamot, into something very significant in the efforts underway. It wasn't working out for him. He was seated at the Head Table, of course, but that seemed to be it. He was never informed of the meeting after lunch in Harry Potter's office, to his great annoyance, and when he tried to follow others out toward the front of the castle, he was redirected, with the same stern look from the Minister as had been directed toward Sirius Black, up into the tower. He was not terribly placated when he saw his son and Ron organizing matters in the tower, although when he saw a number of the foreign guests there as well, he was somewhat soothed.
Draco called the group to order for their instructions. "We have word that there is a cloud of dementors heading this way, and we want to neutralize them, before they can have any impact on the battles down on the ground. Everyone here has said that they can cast the Patronus charm, so we need you all to do that. We want to swarm the air over Hogwarts and the fields outside with Patronuses." That got nods all around.
Ron stepped up and added, "I asked the house elves to cast warming charms up here for us, but they also created an enclosed space on the floor just below this. If you need a break, to warm up, have a bite to eat or something to drink, just instruct your Patronus to follow another out there until you get back."
Lucius, with a look of distaste on his face, tried to position himself with other adults and away from the school children, and eventually joined in sending a silvery, misty snake, among the dogs, cats, rabbits, horses and assorted other images into the sky.
X
Harry and Severus stepped outside. Harry felt strongly that he needed to be a presence, even if those fighting had been instructed to look to Mrs. Longbottom for coordination and direction. Severus had no intention of letting Harry out of his sight, so he was going outside, too. He quickly cast warming charms, wandlessly, on them both as they stepped into the bitter cold of a winter afternoon.
The flashes from the boulders were most impressive. Severus was very pleased with the special pyrotechnics the Weasley twins had created for him. There was no fire involved, so spells to prevent fire would be useless, and some of the flashes were blindingly bright. It was even better that the twins had suggested that they provide some of their very high quality Instant Darkness Powder, as the contrast between the bright flashes and sudden, impenetrable darkness had to be very disconcerting for those out on the field of battle.
Mrs. Longbottom stood in front of the castle, under the banner given to Harry, flanked by Hermione and Neville, who were constantly consulting with each other, sharing information and observations. House elves appeared every few minutes, and either Hermione or Neville would crouch down to speak to them. A brief consultation among the three would follow, and often as not, the house elf would be sent off with some further instruction for one or another of the defenders.
Harry approached the threesome, more out of curiosity than anything. Hermione and Mrs. Longbottom were conferring, so Neville broke away to update Harry and Severus.
"The giants arrived first, a short while ago. There are Inferi taking the field now, and wizards among them, and a much bigger bunch of wizards behind. The trolls were trying to cut through the forest, but they can't, thanks to the centaurs, so they are slinking along just outside the forest. Too many people out there for them, really. There are also some slimy-looking things – we're not exactly sure what they are, but they seem to be susceptible to the spells we use. There's a nundu coming along, too, should be arriving any minute."
Severus was surprised at the detail Neville had. Giants, trolls and a nundu would be visible from a distance, given their size, but Inferi did not look that different from their former human selves at a good distance. "How do you have all this information?" he asked.
"Oh, several animagi volunteered to help us. We have a starling flying over the field who confers every few minutes with one of the house elves – Dobby was very good at organizing them. One of the elves apparates to a tree to get information from her, and then there's a hedgehog sitting just at the end of the forest, where the land dips down toward the castle, and the elf checks with her before coming back here. A few others, too. We have other house elves who then take the information and any suggestions from Gram to the leaders of the people in the field."
Harry couldn't help a quick glance at the skies. "Any dementors?" he wanted to know.
"Lots, but we got a huge group up in the towers who sent out Patronuses a while ago, and the dementors can't get through. One of the foreign people – a man from somewhere in South America – went up there with them, and he said he had a spell that his ancestors used ages ago to destroy some creatures that sound like they might have been dementors. He's up there trying to kill them, too. I haven't gotten any reports from the tower about how they're doing, but we don't have dementors getting anywhere close to the people on the ground," Neville reported.
"Do you need me to give any message to the Black Wyrms, before things get too busy?" Harry volunteered.
Mrs. Longbottom had joined her grandson at that point, and nodded. "Excellent suggestion, Mr. Potter. I think they would be most effective if they appeared for just a few minutes at a time, wreak some havoc, and then go back into the ground. I doubt if most of our opponents will know what they are, and from what Miss Granger tells me, they are incredibly frightening. The fact that they can appear and disappear quickly will make them even more unsettling. Could you suggest that to them?"
Harry nodded. Severus put his hand on Harry's shoulder, saying "I will be sure you are safe even while your attention is elsewhere."
With a smile of gratitude, Harry did put his attention elsewhere, his mind entering the ley lines and finding not just one or two, but at least a dozen Black Wyrms.
"Thank you, my friends and allies from the north!" Harry began. "I am so pleased that so many of you dragons have come to help me defeat the dark wizards in my world."
Harry might not have regarded himself as a politician, but he hit all the right notes with those words, as the Wyrms were all nodding enthusiastically.
"I have asked Mrs. Longbottom to coordinate the battle that is going on out on the fields around Hogwarts Castle. I will have to battle one particular wizard, the leader of the Dark forces, and I will have all my attention on that. Since she cannot communicate with you directly, she asked me to make a suggestion to you, so you can best contribute to this battle. Most of the people on the ground do not know of Black Wyrms. Give them enough time to understand how large and fearsome you are, but then disappear. Appear again a bit later, somewhere else. You'll make a big difference."
The leader of the Wyrms nodded his understanding. "Young King, will many from your nest be on the battlefield? We noticed that many of the land-dwellers from our homeland are together just at the edge, with some others who had been in your nest earlier. Will others be joining them?"
"I certainly want as few of my nest to go onto the field because there are protections for them if they stay inside, behind the wards. But it's likely there will be some who go outside to engage in battle. If you recognize anyone who had been inside the wards, please do not harm them."
The Wyrm nodded his approval. The Wyrms knew how easily they inflicted harm on land-dwellers, and he appreciated that the King wanted to protect his allies, even at the cost of possibly not eliminating more of his opponents. "We will be as careful as possible to leave your other allies untouched, then," he replied.
Harry was just about to bring his thoughts back to his earth-bound body when he noticed that the Wyrms had formed a half-circle around him, and as they did that day on the mountainside near the Well of Despair in the Winter Lands, the Wyrms bowed as one.
Harry gulped at this reminder of his kingship. "Thank you, Dragons," Harry replied. "I value your help."
Back in his body, Harry noticed that the pace of activity had increased in the few minutes he'd been away.
There were suddenly four Black Wyrms visible on the field outside the walls, impervious to any of the weapons and magic deployed by the wizards, unimpaired by anything the giants tried, and wreaking havoc on those attacking the castle. The giants actually seemed terrified by them, for once not assuming that anything could simply be pounded into submission. Harry was glad that he'd told his defenders about the Wyrms, because even from this distance, he could tell that their opponents were horrified by the large snake-like creatures, even more so when the huge Wyrms disappeared as quickly as they had arrived.
The nundu that was trailing behind the Dark army looked fearsome indeed. But it was spooked and disoriented when several boulders laced with Instant Darkness Powder landed nearby and encased it in darkness. Mrs. Longbottom may have prepared her students over the summer to deal with a nundu, but it became irrelevant when two Black Wyrms appeared and joined to dispatch it more directly.
Severus watched the maneuvers on the field outside the walls, and was impressed with the tactics deployed by the forces fighting for Harry. It was clear that they had solid intelligence about what the Dark forces were up to, and Mrs. Longbottom was doing a fine job of using it. Every move by the Dark Forces was anticipated and then met with an effective countermeasure. The brawn and bravery of the Winter Lands warriors was well augmented by the magic of those foreign guests who joined them fighting outside the wards, and the combination of the brute force of the weapons and the strength of the spells cast by the guests gave all attackers a real challenge.
Severus also noted that a fairly large contingent of wizards had gone out beyond the wards to battle in more traditional magical ways, presumably Aurors and likely their colleagues from the foreign countries that had sent help. He gulped, concerned about Harry's reaction to so many engaging on his behalf, especially if they fared poorly. He steeled his features and turned away from the field of battle. That was Mrs. Longbottom's concern. He would see to Harry.
Hermione seemed poised to brush a buzzing insect from her robe when she started and quickly ran into the castle. Down a quiet corridor, she released the beetle and Rita Skeeter stood before her, looking flushed and excited. Her hair was more disheveled than usual, and even the dark red lipstick that punctuated her insincere smile was smeared.
"I stowed away on He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named robes," she started out breathlessly, still quite proud of herself for the nerve – and maybe bravery – that she had shown. This was hardly the first time she'd assumed her animagus form to hide on an unsuspecting target's robes, but this was different. "He kept a small group hanging back from the big crowd that just went onto the field out there. I heard him tell someone that he had an inside ally who would meet them at the gate to the grounds, and walk them through one by one. There must have been 20 or 30 wizards who went off with him. I came back as soon as they broke away from the mob and started to walk along the wall."
Rita seemed to have just heard what she had said, and realized with a start what it might mean. "They really can get past the wards here?" she asked, now looking very nervous.
Hermione nodded with a serious look on her face. "I think it is possible for someone to get in. The wards are not going to fail, so it won't be an invasion or anything large-scale, but if they have a confederate who will open the gate and escort them in, that might do it for at least a few of them. Rita, this is very helpful; thank you. I won't forget to speak to Harry about what we discussed, but now I've got to go speak to Mrs. Longbottom."
Hermione rushed off, and Rita stood with a very pleased look on her face. This had been more exciting and fun than she had imagined, playing the hero. She'd never done that before. She pushed that exhilaration aside, already thinking of how she could parlay all this into some spectacular articles for the Daily Prophet, and ultimately a book, sure to be a best-seller, all without revealing how she learned all this. She also thought it might be a good idea to see what else was going to transpire today. Rita did not see anyone else walking around on this level of the castle, so blending into a crowd wasn't an option. To prevent anyone from shooing her off to wherever it was Dumbledore had sent everyone, she resumed her animagus form and flew off to a windowsill overlooking the front of the castle. She figured that watching wherever Potter was, was likely to be her most profitable option.
Mrs. Longbottom immediately dispatched a dozen members of the Order of the Phoenix as well as a contingent of British Aurors and their foreign guests to the gate to the castle ground as soon as Hermione reported what she had learned. They followed her strict instructions and kept off the main paths and stayed in the shadows of the trees as they worked their way around to the other side of the castle. Just as Hermione had reported, Dark forces had gotten inside the wards, brought in one by one by someone who had been inside the castle already. Twenty eight members of Voldemort's entourage (including the Dark Lord himself) were inside the gates and heading toward the castle.
The defenders challenged this invasion immediately. Duels erupted all over, with spells zinging through the air. The Dark forces might have been fighting inside the wards, but they were making slow progress toward the castle itself.
Except for one. Voldemort himself did not engage with the Order members and Aurors. He distanced himself from his comrades as soon as they were discovered and attacked. Alone, he slunk back further into the shadows and hurried along.
Back in front of the castle, Severus knew that Harry was minutes away from his confrontation with Voldemort. He could feel it. He squeezed the younger man's arm, and nodded. Harry took a deep breath and tried to quiet his mind the way Severus had taught him. He was ready. He could do this. He had no choice.
And then it was time.
The madman was standing before them in his ghostly white robes with his snake-like features, jeering at Harry and snarling at Severus, who stood calmly behind him.
"Our long awaited meeting, Harry," he spoke in his soft, breathy voice.
"Tom, it's time we ended this" Harry replied.
Voldemort fingered his wand as he looked Harry up and down. "Ah, I see you have your sword, so we will settle this in fine, old-time fashion. I did not realize the sword was still taught at Hogwarts. I was the best, you know, when I attended," he taunted.
With a dismissive shrug, Harry drew his blade from the hilt and held it in his left hand, his wand in his right hand. "It's not really taught here anymore, the way it was so long ago. I've had private lessons," Harry said.
"My traitorous friend, Severus, I imagine. But I was always the best. You have no chance," Voldemort sneered, as he conjured a sword for himself.
"Why don't we see about that," Harry challenged, with a confidence he was not sure he actually felt. With a small swallow, he assumed the position that Severus had taught him to begin a duel.
Voldemort did likewise, and the most important battle of the day began. This battle was not for Hogwarts, but for the world.
A duel like this begins, always, with some cautious moves on each side, as each combatant seeks to get a handle on the other's style, probing strengths and weaknesses. Severus had moved to a safe distance from which he could observe but not be in the way of the combatants or their spells. He wasn't sure how he was going to be able to help Harry here, but this was what he knew he had to do.
Severus imagined himself in the fight, and thought to himself that this was the time to put up a shield, and to cast a withering charm on his blade. Despite no words being exchanged, Harry did exactly that, as Severus thought it. Spells as Severus thought them were cast by Harry, and moves he envisioned with the sword followed. The air filled with loud clangs when their swords met, and the crackle of spells striking their shields or the ground.
After the preliminary moves to get better acquainted with a new opponent's style, the fight began in earnest.
Voldemort had always been excellent with a sword, no doubt Harry's better on technical skill alone. But Harry had youth and the strong, toned body of a star Quidditch player, to say nothing of the guile and confidence of someone who had no idea that he was outmatched. And, most importantly, he had Severus.
Severus focused intently on the battle, thinking of the best moves to counter whatever Voldemort sent his way. Harry was performing all the moves they'd worked on in their lessons, and at one point, Severus thought of a particularly advanced move he'd not yet had time to teach Harry, and realized seconds later that Harry had just executed it flawlessly. He then began to draw on duels he had seen over the years, moves he'd never tried himself (and suspected he'd never be able to execute anyway) and watched in amazement as Harry brought them to life.
Albus had hurried out to watch the duel as soon as it began. Under ordinary circumstances, Albus would expect to be the one to face off against Voldemort, one of the few in the wizarding world with the skill and experience to hold his own in a duel against him. In fact, he was quite prepared to find a way to insert himself into this duel. But he was stopped in his tracks, astounded at the skill with which Harry was dueling, equal at least to his own. Albus was also held back by the soft glow that illuminated this battle, realizing that it was not from the lights within the castle and the spells being cast. There was a soft yellow glow surrounding the battle, which on closer inspection, actually connected Harry and Severus, highlighting this battle to all in the area.
Albus had always assumed that Merlin's Favor had been shown to Harry to allow him to connect to Severus' power, but now he realized he was wrong. Harry was connecting to Severus' skill, and knowledge, of dueling.
Albus looked around quickly to find someone he trusted who could be sure Severus was not bothered as he focused completely on Harry. His eyes fell on Molly Weasley and Amelia Bones, standing not far from him, watching the duel taking place before them with a mix of fascination and terror. Despite Molly's insistence that she was the best duelist in her family, her husband and sons had conspired to keep her back from the fighting; the Minister had wanted to join in with her Aurors in their defense of the castle, but she had held back lest it appear she did not fully trust her Head Auror to lead the team.
"Molly, Amelia, please come here immediately!" Albus called out. They answered Albus' summons.
"Here, I need you two to watch over Severus. Do not distract him, and do not allow anyone else to distract or interfere with him. This is essential. He's helping Harry and we need to be sure he remains able to do so."
In Molly's eyes, that was an odd request, but it came from Dumbledore, known for his odd requests. She did not understand why the focus was on Severus when it was Harry doing all the work, but Albus had seemed vehement about this, so she complied. She was actually surprised to realize that Severus was working up quite a sweat for someone just standing there watching Harry fight, and she saw the total focus the older man had on the duel. She stood her ground, looking for any sign that Severus needed any help from her and to assure that no one bothered him.
Amelia was also puzzled by the request, but given the great sense of urgency in Albus' voice, she chose to act quickly and followed Molly in moving to positions slightly behind Severus, wand hands extended to repel anyone who thought to get to him. She also had noticed the golden glow now that she was standing closer and focused on the fight, and a surprised look came over her face. This was what Albus had described to her – the light that was supposed to accompany Merlin's Favor. She kept a vigilant watch over Severus to be sure no one interfered with what he was doing, but she could not help herself from stealing an occasional glance at the glow, marveling at what she thought it signaled.
Harry's sword was swooping and thrusting at Voldemort and his wand was holding a shield that Voldemort's spells seemed unable to penetrate, to his obvious frustration. Voldemort's own shield was dimming from the onslaught of the very strong and steady spells that Harry was raining onto Voldemort's shield, even as Harry maintained his own shield.
Voldemort was becoming angry that this duel was not going as he wanted it to go. He'd thought that he'd have a massive advantage in using the sword, which was why he'd suggested they use their swords, but somehow Potter was holding his own. If they'd done this just with wands, he was sure he would have won by now.
In his anger and frustration, Voldemort began to make errors. Harry didn't notice, but Severus certainly did.
Severus noticed that when Voldemort had to parry with his sword to lift Harry's sword up, his shield dipped as well as wavered slightly. There was opportunity there to get behind the shield. While Voldemort had been hurling deadly curses, including the Unforgivables, Severus knew Harry well enough to not expect his bondmate to retaliate in kind. Harry was going to prevail, of that he was certain, but given the kind of spells he expected Harry would use, this was going to be tricky.
Severus watched for the right time, and thought of the moves that Harry had to make to force his opponent to really work for that parry, and then immediately attack from just the right angle to get his blade in close to inflict a devastating injury. Severus wasn't sure exactly what injury would occur, but with the withering charm he assumed that Harry had put on his blade, even a minor cut would be a problem for Voldemort. That might not end the battle, but it would surely have a significant impact.
Harry moved exactly as Severus imagined, and as he brought his sword down behind Voldemort's sagging shield, his sword hit Voldemort's wrist and went right through it, severing Voldemort's hand as it held his wand, and starting the withering of his arm. Voldemort screamed as he realized the seriousness of the injury he'd suffered. His mind had not really grasped that his hand and wand were not connected to his body, and that his shield had collapsed. While Voldemort was certainly capable of wandless magic, somehow the loss of the hand holding his wand rendered him momentarily incapable of doing anything.
Ever one who refused to use the Unforgiveable Curses, Harry did not cast the Avada Kedavra, even though Voldemort was standing unsteadily before him with no shield in place. Instead, Harry muttered "Goodbye, Tom," pointed his wand, and, more loudly, intoned "Exsilius Regalis Numen!"
He was going to use the King's Banishment to rid the world of Voldemort forever.
Those standing nearby who had heard him banish the Elder Demon on the Quidditch Pitch held their breath as they watched. Most of the fighting within the castle grounds had halted so the participants could watch this battle, but now, aided by this odd glow that seemed to be coming from the combatants, even those at a greater distance, inside the castle or down by the field on which the other battle was raging, were able to see. A beetle lounging on a windowsill overlooking the lawn on which this was taking place was even motivated to leave her warm perch and head back out into the cold for a closer look.
The white light that burst from Harry's wand hit Voldemort right in the middle of his torso. Voldemort clearly wanted to fight back, but his mind was having a difficult time understanding that his wand was sitting in his hand, but not connected to his body. He eventually began making a wandless effort to repel Harry's spell, but it was a weak effort, no doubt weakened further by shock as the effect of the curse on the blade that had severed his hand worked its way up his arm and into his shoulder.
Severus had immediately cast his own shield to protect Harry, just as he did that day on the Quidditch pitch, while pondering in his mind exactly what sort of a curse Harry had put on his blade before the duel started. A typical withering charm could continue to damage a limb that had been cut until counterspells could be applied, but the speed with which Harry's spell was working its way through Voldemort's body was nothing he'd ever seen before. He wasn't sure that his shield was really needed but under the circumstances, had no intention of leaving Harry exposed to whatever Voldemort might try.
Harry felt the great exertion and drain on his magic as he focused intently on holding his spell. His breath became ragged, and it took as much energy and magic as he could muster to keep the magic pouring into Voldemort. His body actually shook from the effort of pouring all this magic into a spell.
Harry realized that this was very different from the last time he'd banished something. While this time there was no assault on his mind, this effort demanded significantly more magic. The Headmaster was right – banishing something that belonged to this world was a real challenge. Voldemort's fight seemed to be ebbing the longer Harry held his spell on him, a combination of the strength of the banishment as well as the acceleration of the withering charm through his body.
Slowly, the white light filled Voldemort's being. A look of abject fright and horror appeared on his face. He kept pushing back, and at times, a bit of the whiteness receded. After what felt like an eternity to Harry, but was really a matter of no more than a quarter of an hour, the whiteness had filled Voldemort completely, and he simply disappeared. Harry looked dispassionately for the hand and wand, and was relieved that they had accompanied their owner into nonexistence.
Harry sagged when he realized his job was done, and Albus was by his side immediately to support him. To their surprise, Molly and Amelia had to step forward and take Severus by the arms, as he had actually begun to collapse as well. Albus called, "Into the castle with these two, now!"
With their leader's disappearance, the Dark wizards who had been fighting with him within the wards immediately tried to apparate away, only to be thwarted by the anti-apparition wards. The individual fights began again, although the goal of the Dark wizards seemed now to be to enable them to escape from Hogwarts. With Harry and Severus safely off the field of battle, the Aurors and their foreign colleagues relieved the Order members and needed just a short while to end the fighting and magically bind their captives for transfer to the Ministry for trial.
The absolute quietness with which Voldemort had disappeared led to some initial confusion out on the field beyond the wards. Many of the Dark forces assumed that their leader continued in his fight against Potter and fought on themselves. It did not immediately register with them that the Inferi, who had been animated by a curse from Voldemort which ended on his death, had collapsed in heaps of now-inanimate corpses all over the battlefield, returning to their natural state.
Mrs. Longbottom dispatched house elves to report on developments to the leaders of the various fighting forces, informing the leaders that Voldemort had been defeated and Harry had banished him. In turn, many of them shouted the good news to their fighters. A few of the Dark forces thought it was a ruse, but others started to look at the heaps of corpses and began to wonder what had happened. They fought on, but were now looking for other clues as to how Voldemort's battle had really gone.
The witches and wizards who had followed Voldemort into this battle were already a disillusioned mob. This had not been the battle they had expected. Voldemort had told them there would be trebuchets on the field for them to use, and not a one could be found. Then there were those big black snakes that appeared at random on the field, and attacked them. Voldemort was a Parselmouth, for Merlin's sake, so why were snakes fighting against them? Those random appearances of the Black Wyrms had been as damaging as they were unsettling, resulting in significant losses and more than a few desertions. And while the Winter Land warriors seemed prepared to battle with traditional weapons rather than magic, and most were aware that they were not a magically strong group, there was an astounding amount of magic emanating from their ranks. The rocks they launched (no one could see what they were using to launch them, but most assumed that they were the ones who had found the trebuchets) did odd things, and the spells shooting from their midst was not magic familiar to most of the Dark forces.
The battles raged on for another hour. Slowly, Voldemort's forces started to suspect that the news shared by their opponents about their leader's demise might not have been the ruse that they first thought. The fighting went on but became more about enabling those on the losing side to be able to quit the field rather than be taken by the advancing teams of Aurors.
X
Harry and Severus had been half-dragged inside the castle, totally spent, as soon as Voldemort winked out of existence. They were both winded and exhausted, as they had used every bit of their magical and physical strength out on the lawn. Albus looked about for a private place for them to rest and recover. All the castle rooms near the door, including the Ministry Annex and the Great Hall, were deemed too vulnerable a space for students and others sheltering in the castle, so the castle's inhabitants were up in towers or behind the wards of the common rooms, looking out through charmed windows. But these were still public areas that would be filled with people in a short while, as the battles resolved themselves outside. A house elf stepped up and created a small drawing room out of an unused closet, into which Albus directed Harry and Molly and Amelia helped Severus. The two sat together on one of the couches, with Albus hovering nearby. He had a look of concern, but exaltation on his face, as he pressed bars of chocolate into their hands.
"Well done, my boys, well done indeed. Are you both unharmed? Or do you need medical attention beyond chocolate?" he asked.
While Severus attempted to wave off the question with a shake of his head, Madam Pomfrey, who had stepped down to the Great Hall when she saw Harry begin his duel with Voldemort, elbowed her way into the room with her brook-no-nonsense attitude.
"If you will all excuse us for a few minutes, I'll gladly make that assessment," she announced, as she shooed the Headmaster and the two women out into the corridor. "This will be quick, unless either of these gentlemen need more than a brief rest and a few potions."
Harry was quiet and calm, but Severus was still breathing hard and gasping for air, so he attracted the mediwitch's attention first, resulting in his being offered a calming draught and some Pepper-Up potion.
For his part, Harry had taken a bite of the chocolate and closed his eyes, turning his thoughts inward. He ached. He had never experienced a tiredness like this, even worse than some of his punishment yard work back at the Dursleys. But he could flex his legs and his ankles, and while his back twinged in protest, he seemed able to move about. His arms – there was a pain there, a tiredness from wielding the sword, no doubt, but also aches closer to his wrists. Had he lost control of his magic, or otherwise harmed his magical pathways? He and Severus had been following the Headmaster's exercise programme to strengthen those pathways, and he'd taken the potions Severus had brewed to build them up. He gently rubbed his arms and probed around his wrists, eventually concluding that they were just tired, not damaged. With a deep breath, he realized that he was exhausted, but not hurt, and already starting to recover a bit.
He opened his eyes just as Madam Pomfrey turned her attention to him. She'd just seen him rub his arms and wrists, and immediately began checking his magical pathways herself. "I was pleased to see you rely on the use of your wand this afternoon, Mr. Potter," she began. "Even a huge amount of magic can be safely directed from your body when it is properly channeled." She skipped a beat as she cast a few diagnostic spells. "And that's what apparently happened here – you are probably feeling the aftereffects of the physical exertion if your arms and wrists are sore. Your magical pathways are fine."
A quick scan established that he, too, needed just a calming draught and some Pepper-Up potion, although she added another few chocolate bars to the table, just in case.
Out in the hall, Albus had thanked Molly and Amelia for their help, and promised that there would be a full debrief for the Ministry and the Order later. He asked Molly to coordinate the return of Order members to the castle, and Amelia was happy to get back to her Aurors. Had Albus not promised a full debrief, however, she might not have been willing to leave. As it was, she did need to see to things outside.
As soon as Poppy left the room to return to those who needed her help, Albus slipped back in, in time to see Harry put his arm around Severus' shoulders, and squeeze him. "We did it, didn't we, Severus?" Harry whispered, a smile playing on his lips. His bondmate seemed to smile as he nodded in response, but he was still bent over with his forearms resting on his knees.
"But how did we do it?" Harry asked, this time more loudly as he expected the Headmaster had explanations they did not.
Albus patted them both on the shoulder, and then chuckled as he walked about the room, his robes swirling as he turned, the excitement of the moment rolling off of him. "I completely misread the situation," he began, shaking his head. "I am quite certain that we witnessed today a phenomenon not seen in at least a thousand years. A Wizard King was shown Merlin's Favor. Absolutely. I had assumed that this was about magical power, and that when the time came, you would be able to access Severus' power. Of course, you have more than enough power on your own. But you did not have great expertise in the tradition of wizard duels, whereas Severus does have some skill and very extensive knowledge of fighting with the sword. Merlin apparently knew that you would need that skill to accomplish your task as King, and showed you favor in helping you to access what you would need through your bondmate's expertise. Most extraordinary."
Severus and Harry shared a look, as understanding crept in. "But, Albus, I am not that proficient a swordsman," Severus protested.
"I suspect this is less about absolute skill, but knowledge," Albus explained. "You've always been a keen observer of things going on around you. Even if you might not be able to execute a particular move, you've watched others and saw what they did. I imagine if you could see a move in your mind, Harry was able to perform it, no?"
Severus nodded. "That is exactly what appeared to be happening."
"Your natural athleticism helped you actually do the things, Harry, but if I'm correct, you were drawing on what Severus thought, possibly not even knowing if he could do it or not."
Harry wrinkled his brow at that. "I didn't have any sense of drawing on anything, or thinking much at all. The moves I was to make, the spells to cast, came into my head and I just went with it. I probably remember the least of anyone what happened."
Severus smiled at his bondmate. "But you were the one who thought to use the King's Banishment. A nice touch, if I may say so."
Harry grinned back.
"I imagine we were quite on display out there," Severus began a new topic. "Your thoughts on what we will say about this?"
Albus nodded in thought. "A good point. I believe that almost all those fighting anywhere near you stopped to watch, especially when the glow actually illuminated the field. I'd be shocked if all the windows in the towers and common rooms weren't all charmed to look out over the front of the castle, and there were some people from the Daily Prophet in the castle today. So, yes, everyone saw. But I can't think of any reason for secrecy about Merlin's Favor at this point. We wanted to prevent Voldemort from learning about this before he fought Harry, but I don't think it matters now at all."
Severus had a concern, though. "Albus, you learned about Merlin's Favor from some very esoteric sources not available to the general population. Left to their own devices, who knows what the press and others will make of this. I suggest that we provide some information about this, to prevent potentially troublesome speculation."
"Good point, Severus," the older man agreed. "I will speak to the people in the castle tonight, maybe some comments at dinner. I had, after all, looked into our records on Wizard Kingship when Harry was identified in that role, and can mention that I found some interesting references buried in Ravenclaw's notes to the phenomenon of Merlin's Favor. I think that will suffice as to why I've heard of this, and get this matter focused appropriately."
"And one other thing, if you two agree. I'd like to augment the records at hand about wizard kingship and Merlin's Favor with information drawn from the current situation. To preserve as much as we can of the events of today, I'd like to collect memories from as many people willing to share them."
Severus saw the potential value in creating a record, especially while recollections would be fresh. "And how would you manage that?" he asked.
"I can set up my pensieve in a drawing room down here, stocked with cases of vials. I can use a charm to copy, not remove, memories: most pensieves are charmed to remove memories, but there are other ways to do this. Anyone who wishes to deposit their memories can step in to do so. Perhaps teachers would be willing to assist those who might want to contribute. That way, neither the Order nor the Ministry are connected, and this becomes part of the Headmaster's Library here at Hogwarts."
Harry was watching the discussion as he nibbled on the extra chocolate bar Madam Pomfrey had left. "I am willing to share what I remember, likely not very helpful. You can tell people I was the first to share my memories for the project." Harry's willingness to help earned very approving looks from both of the older men. But he still had other questions.
"How is news going to get out about what happened? Will it all be controlled by the Ministry?" he wanted to know.
Albus got a very thoughtful look on his face. "I am going to suggest, Harry, that it is time for you to stand apart from our Ministry. Make a brief announcement in your name. I'm sure the Ministry and all the others will have lots and lots to say, today and in the days to come, and there's nothing we can do about that. Is that alright?"
Harry nodded. But then he had another question. "What sort of losses did we incur today?" he had to ask.
Severus looked sour at that question, but Albus expected it.
"We don't know yet. I doubt if there were significant losses on our side. The aurors who engaged the Dark forces who got behind the wards were all very competent duelists, and once you banished Voldemort, I think most of those forces just wanted to get away. We will know when we meet with Augusta; I'm sure she and her team will have that information for you."
It was agreed then that Albus would go out and get preparations under way for accounting for all the people who fought for the Light, and processing those who took the field for Voldemort into the Ministry's jail cells for trial. Severus and Harry would work out the message that would be in all the newspapers the following morning.
X
The vestibule in front of the Great Hall had been the scene of some nervous waiting and relieved reunions as the afternoon became evening. Ron Weasley was visibly thrilled to see that Hermione was unharmed, and the Pharaoh who accompanied him downstairs was equally relieved when Neville Longbottom returned to the castle. Ron and Hermione, with Ginny and Percy, were joined by Draco Malfoy and others waiting for the Aurors and Order members to return to the castle.
Arthur Weasley returned unconscious, carried in the arms of his son Charlie. He had been hit by a spell that had destroyed one of his legs, and he was among the first sent up to the Infirmary. Charlie had been nearby when his father was hit, and better protected by his dragonhide clothing. He'd been able to step into the duel in his father's place and he was grimly satisfied that he'd not only protected the older man, but killed the one who had harmed him.
All the Weasleys, except Charlie, followed their distraught mother up to the Infirmary. Charlie had volunteered to replace his mother in her role of keeping track of returning Order members. He also noticed that there were two Weasleys missing – the twins. He'd assumed they were up in the tower when they weren't with the Order group on the grounds, and he imagined that Ron had assumed that his brothers were outside when they did not join the others in the tower. They'd been pulling this disappearing act since they were toddlers. It might have been a harmless prank to skive off de-gnoming the garden, but under the circumstances of this battle, Charlie was worried.
This had been a hard-fought battle all around, and while those fighting for Harry and the Light had fared well, Charlie knew that there were serious injuries, like his father's, and even some fatalities. The bodies of two aurors who had been killed in the duels were brought into the castle and promptly dispatched via port key to the morgue at the Ministry. He'd seen several aurors, both British and foreign, sent to the Hogwarts Infirmary with assorted injuries. The forces who had fought for Voldemort had sustained greater losses – fully a third of them were killed. Their bodies were being held for now in stasis in the Ministry offices for purposes of identification. The remainder of the forces that had fought for Voldemort inside the wards had been subdued and captured. They were being sent by port-key to the Ministry, where a mediwizard from St. Mungo's in London would determine if any had suffered injuries that required attention. They'd then be treated or simply incarcerated in the newly-strengthened prison wing at the Ministry. No one had asked the Headmaster or Madam Pomfrey, but the Minister had decided that she was not going to ask that people who were criminals, in her mind, be treated at Hogwarts.
As the battle outside the wards resolved, a stream of Winter Lands warriors and a number of witches and wizards from around the world began to trickle through the castle doors. A team of mediwizards had headed down to the castle walls as soon as they'd seen the attackers withdraw, and were providing triage as well as on-the-spot first aid.
The mood just outside the walls was ebullient. Thanks in particular to the foreign wizards who joined them to send spells at the advancing enemies, and to the Wyrms who'd shown up at just the right moment, the Winter Lands warriors had for once engaged in an epic battle and suffered no fatalities. There were quite a few severed limbs and bad gashes, and one particularly serious concussion, the result of a giant's swinging club at close range, but nothing the Infirmary staff couldn't fix. The biggest issue for the triaging mediwizards was the refusal of all but the unconscious warrior to be transported back into the castle; their code of honor demanded that they walk off the field of battle if able. One of the house elves stepped forward with an offer to help. The mediwizards had never seen one take initiative like this, but given that there were other injured out on the field beyond the walls who needed their attention, they just shrugged at the warriors and waved at them to follow the elf with the admonition "Take your arms, legs, whatever's missing, so the staff inside can fix you up." The elf led a procession of walking wounded, some supported by unharmed comrades, up to the castle. Surprisingly, thanks to elf magic, the castle was much closer than it first appeared, and a door happened to appear at the closest point to their approach, which had been charmed to open directly into the Infirmary.
There were many wounded wizards among those who had gone beyond the wards to fight for the Light, and they were being attended to by their comrades as the mediwizards arrived to provide care. For the most part, the Dark forces had quit the field and left their dead and injured behind. Those who were already dead were levitated back toward the castle for transport to the Ministry for processing. Clusters of mediwizards moved through the field, fixing those they could, and the Aurors followed behind assuring that the ones who had fought for Voldemort were magically bound and brought to the Ministry cells.
Charlie had accounted for all the other Order members who had taken up defense of the castle within the wards. He spoke to Ron about which Order members had gone to the tower to send off Patronuses, and then he waited with growing concern in the vestibule for his missing brothers to return. Sure enough, amid a cluster of particularly loud Vikings were two slender and shorter red-heads. The anger that had been building inside Charlie was quickly replaced by relief that the twins were unharmed. He ran over and held the two in a bone-crunching hug, to the looks of approval from the twins' new friends.
"Where the hell have you two been?" was all he could say.
X
Mrs. Longbottom gave a preliminary report to a hastily-convened meeting in Harry's offices. It was a smaller group this time, mainly consisting of those who had led the various teams and efforts that afternoon. Her report was delivered in her crisp, no-nonsense style, and she invited each leader to provide some details as to what his or her team had accomplished, and at what costs. As the meeting progressed, a clearer picture developed of the battle. Much bravery was shown, and prudent risks taken, of course. But as one heard the stories, it became clear that Mrs. Longbottom, aided by her team of her grandson and Hermione, had done a masterful job of coordinating all the various groups, passing information along with suggestions for appropriate responses.
Severus was surprised that the usually gruff woman, with a reputation for plain speaking, to put it kindly, had the political acumen to move everyone involved here as capably as she did. Her bluntness, combined with some of the outsized egos involved, ought to have produced fireworks to rival anything the Weasley twins manufactured. Severus was inclined to give Harry's role here some credit for keeping things on an even keel, but no one seemed to have any ill-will toward the old woman. Yet another surprising Gryffindor.
There were a few fatalities among those who took the field beyond the castle walls to fight for Harry, and Severus watched Harry with concern as he learned of the cost some had paid to be his allies. Harry was clearly moved by the sacrifices, but for once, pushed past his personal feelings and roused himself to celebrate with his allies the great victory those sacrifices had secured. His smile dimmed for just a moment, and probably only Severus had noticed that it had waivered at all.
It turned out that the last ones to leave their posts, as it were, were Sirius, Remus and the wizard from South America. Ron Weasley reported that Sirius could not get the gentleman's name straight and he finally settled on calling the man "Mr. Chock", which sounded like one syllable of the many that comprised his name. The spell that Mr. Chock thought might kill creatures like dementors actually worked, with just a bit of tweaking. Sirius was very anxious to master that spell, and sent his Patronus off to patrol with Luna Lovegood's rabbit while he worked on this new spell. Every once in a while, the big black dog would allow a dementor to get past it, and Sirius and Mr. Chock were right there to blast it to smithereens. It took the dementors quite a while to fathom that the wizards now had a spell that destroyed them and not just forced them back. As a consequence, there was a stream of the menacing things happy to take advantage of the chance to get close to a wizard and seek to collect his soul.
Harry learned later that Sirius found the process of blasting them absolutely cathartic, which was why Remus stayed up on the tower with him long after everyone else had returned to the warmth of the castle to join the celebration. It was only after the dementors finally caught on that these attacks were not working and retreated away from the battle that Sirius was persuaded by Remus to abandon the tower and join the others to celebrate.
Albus had been right about one aspect of Harry's duel: Every window in the castle had been charmed to provide a view of the front lawn when Harry confronted Voldemort. The Heads of the Houses had handed over responsibility for tending to those in the Houses so they could participate in the defense of the castle, but those standing in for them reported that there had been endless cheering among the students and guests who were in the Houses for the battle. They watched Harry's amazing performance in the duel, alternately cheering and groaning with worry. A raucous celebration followed Harry's inflicting the final wound, followed by a nervous quiet when he intoned the King's Banishment spell. That brought back the drama of the banishment of the Elder Demon, still a source of nightmares for many students. But when Voldemort glowed white, and then winked out of existence, a loud roar went up from everyone.
Albus concluded the meeting with what he styled as his "Headmaster's Report," an advance telling of his planned comments at dinner later. Draco offered that his father had several pensieves, and would no doubt be willing to loan them to Hogwarts to assist in the memory-gathering.
X
Eventually, the Great Hall began to fill. No one wanted to sit down for dinner that night, but staff was checking that students did actually have something to eat. Most quickly grabbed sandwiches so they could get up and mingle with everyone, sharing stories and enjoying the moment.
Harry was tired, but knew that he had to be there. Severus had suggested that they skip the gathering, but knew he had to relent when Harry insisted. Harry and Severus dutifully made their way through the crowd, acknowledging all contributions and offering their own praise and thanks, listening to the stories. Severus stood back, not really comfortable in gatherings like this with the students, and perhaps more out of habit than any need at this point, feeling the need to protect Harry from whatever dangers might still lurk in the crowd. Harry was having none of it. He continually reached out to physically bring his bondmate into conversations, and share whatever spotlight was directed his way.
The Winter Lands warriors commandeered a number of tables near a window, which they pried open for the fresh air, but for once, they were not alone. All of the foreign wizards who had joined them out beyond the castle walls, including the Weasley twins, were seated there as well, clearly now part of the raucous group. The Vikings very happily folded Harry and Severus into their midst when they reached their tables. They had fought hard and valiantly, and were abuzz at the difference the very strong magic of the foreign wizards had made to their safety.
Lucius Malfoy had entered the Great Hall with several foreign wizards he'd met up in the tower, who he surmised had been at the Calling. Lucius clearly expected to be seated at the head table, and his face registered his distaste when he realized that there was no head table set up. The idea of eating while mingling with the rabble did not appeal to him at all. He actually considered retiring to his room and ordering up a suitable meal for himself, until he remembered that he really did not have a room here. He then wondered if the floo in the Ministry office here was open, so he could floo back home from the Ministry offices in London, when the Minister Bones spotted him. She was in an effusive mood, and happily greeted him with a hug and praise for his contributions to this wonderful outcome. She was followed soon after by Draco and Charlie Weasley, also generous with their thanks. When Harry Potter and Severus Snape made their way over to him and offered their thanks as well, he was sufficiently mollified to take a small plate of food from one of the tables and join a group of like-minded wizards who had conjured up a small table and were dining like humans, sitting down.
After everyone had the chance to have something to eat and share the happiness of the moment with the others who had been in the castle, Albus decided it was appropriate to make a few remarks to shape the evening and bring it to an end at a reasonable time. He stood at the podium at the end of the hall and with a sonorus charm, interrupted the room.
"It is so wonderful to see you all here, safe and able to share in the celebration of a great victory today." Cheering punctuated the word 'victory'.
"Much will be said and written about what went on here today in the days, years, goodness, even decades, to come. Many people contributed to this outcome, and I am sure those contributions will be noted and recognized in the near future. Aside from my own statement of thanks to all, I will leave those expressions of appreciation to others, in the days to come," Albus went on, with another break for cheering at his offer of thanks, which slowly settled into curious silence.
"Something occurred here today that I believe was an incredibly rare and momentous event. Yes, we all saw Mr. Potter engage in one of the most skillful and daring duels likely ever seen at Hogwarts," Albus began, only to be interrupted again by a raucous acknowledgement of just how skillful and daring that duel had been. He waited patiently while Harry's achievement was celebrated before claiming the attention of his audience again.
"As I said, we saw history today. Not just Mr. Potter's duel, though. Did you notice a glow surrounding Mr. Potter as he fought that duel?" There was a murmur through the room now, as many had indeed noticed that glow and there had been a good bit of speculation in the common rooms as to what might have caused it.
"I believe we witnessed a phenomena not seen in at least one thousand years. When Harry was identified as the King of the Wizarding World, I looked in the Hogwarts' Headmasters' Library to see if there was any information in the ancient books there that provided some background. Those of you aware of the history of our school and its founders might be aware that Rowena Ravenclaw had been something of an authority in her day on this topic, so I looked to her writings, in particular. I saw mention there of a phenomena associated with Wizard kingship that was already the stuff of legend when she was writing of it all those years ago – Merlin's Favor. The legend held that when Merlin favored the work before a particular Wizard king, and felt that the king was worthy of his aid in undertaking that work, he would bestow his favor on that king. Merlin's Favor would provide the king with a specific skill, or strength, that he would need to accomplish his task. The actual skill or strength varied as needs dictated, but every story involving Merlin's Favor included a reference to it being accompanied by a glowing yellow light."
Albus paused there, allowing the renewed murmuring to run its course.
"I believe that Harry was shown Merlin's Favor. He had need of a very specific skill to accomplish his task; he needed the skill to defeat his enemy in a wizard's duel with swords. Dueling with swords is no longer a popular pastime, but some still pursue it as a sport or exercise. Fortunately for us all, Professor Snape, Harry's bondmate, is an accomplished dueler and a long-time student of the sport. I believe that Merlin's Favor allowed Harry to draw on Professor Snape's knowledge and skills to enable him to fight and win his duel today, evidenced by the yellow light that encircled both Harry and Professor Snape."
The murmuring now erupted into a full-on roar as everyone digested and reacted to that information.
"I was inspired by the reference materials assembled by Rowena Ravenclaw," Albus continued after a moment, "to undertake my own task of collecting as much information as I can about the events of today, the battle, Harry's duel, the possible show of Merlin's Favor. I have a wonderful magical artifact, a pensieve, that will allow all those willing to share, to make a copy of their memories of today. It's a painless process, and one of the professors will be available to assist you if you have never done this. We'll have it set up in a room off the vestibule. I'd like to mention that I have already obtained copies of two persons' memories of today, as Mr. Potter and Professor Snape were the first to volunteer, and have already contributed their recollections."
Albus continued to speak over the murmur that grew at the mention of Harry's and Severus' names. "Again, well done, well done all. Enjoy the evening."
Unfortunately for Severus, Albus' reference to his contribution to the events of the day created immediate interest in his dueling experiences. The Vikings had seen him in battle, but that was against grendlings, a very different kind of fight. They immediately began questioning Severus about the duel, not accepting his attempts to demur. Harry was proud to see the older man receiving the credit for work well-done, although he cringed inwardly as he recalled another time Severus was revealed as a hero to the student population, upon their return from the Winter Lands after Harry was brought there by Alrik Brand. Severus was going to be dealing with this for a while, and Harry hoped he would not be too aggravated by the experience.
Slowly, the crowd began to thin, as adrenaline ebbed and people began to realize just how tired they were. The younger students were herded off to their common rooms first, but others began to follow. Many of the visitors began queuing up to use the floo in the Ministry Annex to return to London or their homes.
Albus watched the room empty out with a wistful smile. This was a wonderful, private celebration held by those with direct connection to the Battle of Hogwarts. He knew that the word was already spreading wide and far, and by tomorrow, the entire magical world would be clamoring to be a part of it. When he saw that Severus had finally persuaded Harry to leave the gathering, he knew it would be just a short while before the stragglers finally left, too. Checking his wards to be sure that no one who did not belong was still in the castle, he was the last to leave the Great Hall, nodding to the house elves as he did, as they bustled about straightening things out and preparing it for breakfast the next morning.