AN: Well, here's the next chapter! I really hope that everyone enjoys it because I had a fun time writing this. It's a little shorter and more rushed than the other ones, but I'm hoping the next chapter will be even better. I've been busy thanks to work and college, so updates will take longer now. Slowly but surely is all that I can say.
"Headmaster!" Fred and George were running up to the elder wizard, both red in the face and panicking. " They were both incredible actors, their wide-eyed hysteria immediately catching Dumbledore's concern, as well as Professor Snape's.
"What's the matter, boys?" Dumbledore calmly asked, glancing between the two redheads.
"It's Harry!" Fred began, nervously messing with his hands, producing a slight tremble.
"We were helping Luna get her belongings together at the entrance gate since she had permission to leave today, but were attacked by Death Eaters!" George exclaimed, causing Snape to pale horribly, his usual stoic nature long forgotten as his eyes widened in alarm.
"There was a storm of them, and Professor Moody is doing all he can to help fight them off with Harry."
"They're horribly outnumbered and instructed us to get your help. They managed to get Luna safe, but they're having a hard time. They wouldn't let us help!" George was a mess along with his brother, but Snape paid no mind as he rushed past the two, black wand in hand.
"Head back to your common rooms where it's safe, boys. We will deal with this situation and get Harry back safely." Dumbledore was soon following behind Snape, elder wand raised as they trod the familiar path to the entrance gate, the sounds of yelling getting louder. They could hear the shouting of spells coming from Harry and the groans of Alastor. Quickening their pace, they came face-to-face with three death eaters going against Moody and Harry.
Mad-eye Moody was missing his magic eye, a Death Eater holding it victoriously as they kept fighting. The first Death Eater to notice they had more company grinned behind his mask, knowing the real show was about to begin.
"Ah, more company!" A deep voice cackled. "Oh, how the Dark Lord will be thrilled when we dispose of one of the many thorns in his side." They were making a mockery of the battle now and the other masked follower laughed as well.
"Albus!" Moody was firing spell after spell, his scarred face grimacing in pain as one hand touched where his magic eye was supposed to be. "We were able to fight a few off but these three aren't letting up!" Alastor growled out as he and Harry fought side by side. Another Death Eater spoke up, mocking them more.
"He'll be so pleased with us when we deliver The-Boy-Who-Lived. He wants to personally deal with that one. He's is ever so gracious, though. Said we could have your deaths all to ourselves." They all laughed as Dumbledore came rushing over now, the blasted twinkle long gone from his eyes.
From behind his mask, Barty grinned and sent a timed spell at Harry that had the younger man knocked out within seconds. Snape cursed and started to run towards the fallen boy, ready to take the younger and escape with him.
"Oh no you don't, scum! You're not taking him to the Dark Lord on my watch!" Alastor sneered at the followers, his spells becoming more vicious as he tried to put himself in between Harry and the Death Eaters. "Albus, get Harry and go! They're trying to hand him to the Dark Lord, and we can't have that! He's the chosen one, our side needs him!" Alastor growled, blocking a spell from hitting. Instead of Dumbledore, it was Severus who responded as he cast a dark summoning spell, one that was more useful than accio. Catching the teen as he was flung into his arms, Severus sighed in relief at the even breathing, letting him know there were no internal complications from the spell that had been used.
Keeping him against his chest, he gently touched the younger wizard's forehead and moved some hair from his face as he cast strong protection charms around them. He failed to notice the dark glare behind one of the masks or the whitening of knuckles as the hand clung to the wand with a vice-like grip, practically trembling.
Truthfully, the potions master was baffled by what was going on. His Lord had sent him a personal message saying that the boy was no longer to be sought after and to be left alone. The Dark Lord was a genius, all his raids carried out with meticulous planning and were never reckless. He would have told all of his followers to leave Harry alone, but it was even more unlikely that they would deliberately disobey his orders. If there were a plan in action, why hadn't he been informed? Something wasn't adding up.
Snape was musing as Dumbledore called out.
"Severus, take Harry to the infirmary and have Poppy scan him. We don't know what spell they used," The old wizard was looking grave as he clutched his wand, a grim look on his face as he fired off his own spells, which were easily countered.
"These buggers are putting up a fight, but we got them. Constant Vigilance!" Moody cried out as he blasted spell after spell, managing to cause some of the Death Eaters to struggle. They held strong though and kept fighting. "Remember that spell from the first war? Let's use it." Alastor grunted.
Lips twitching in displeasure, Dumbledore and Moody began to chant a powerful spell in Latin, only to stop in horror when he heard a familiar curse.
"Protego Diabolica!" A circle of blue fire surrounded the death eaters, keeping them safe. They must have seen the ashen color on Dumbledore's face because they laughed.
"Did you honestly think we weren't well prepared to fight you?" The deep voice was ominous, sending unwanted shivers down both Order member's spines. "You two must be fools," The two Order members couldn't even apparate, knowing the unimaginable pain that would follow behind.
"And we thought you would offer a challenge," Barty was controlling the fire as he raised his wand, sending it to devour Moody at lightning speed. If the man had two legs, he might've been able to escape, but the blue fire hit him and he screamed in pain, his body turning to ash as the magical fire engulfed him.
Just as Dumbledore was about to start the counter-curse, the Death Eater stopped the fire as soon as it was in proximity to the older wizard.
"Let this be a message, Dumbledore. We are more than equipped to deal with your pitiful Order. The only reason you're alive is that our Lord wants to see you suffer before you die." With that, the death eaters apparated, the blue flames disappearing along with them.
The only remnant of the battle was Moody's magical eye, blood already drying along the edges.
"Do we tell the children, Albus?" Minerva asked as she tried to keep a cool exterior after being informed of the events that transpired. "Hogwarts is supposed to be a safe place for them- a Death Eater attack on the edge of school grounds is unheard of!"
"I agree with you, Minerva. I am still considering the best course of action for the students," Dumbledore stated, stroking his beard in thought. Losing Alastor would be a huge blow to the Order considering their numbers continuously dwindled, almost to nothingness. Sirius was being gracious by allowing them to use Grimmauld place, but he and Remus were both starting to show doubts in him. He noticed the way they tensed up when mentioning Harry's role in all of this and the unease in their eyes.
They couldn't afford to lose more members when another war was about to start.
"They also deserve to know what is happening, Minerva. Voldemort has resurfaced and the children have a right to know that," He sighed, feeling his age. "Another war will begin soon enough, and they must be prepared." She tilted her head and gave a court nod.
"If that's what you feel is the best for the students," There was more she wanted to say but was interrupted by Madam Pomfrey. "Hello, Poppy. I take it my Gryffindor has woken up?" McGonagall asked, sighing when she received a nod in response.
"It was a simple sleep spell, one that would have lasted for at most two hours." She informed the two, hands clasped together. "Nothing is wrong with him, thank Merlin. He's talking to Cedric Diggory right now."
"Good, good." Dumbledore was getting up, dusting off his robes. "Lemon drop, Madam?" Resisting the urge to make a face, Pomfrey shook her head and politely declined. "Right then. I shall give young Mister Potter a visit-"
"You'll do no such thing, Headmaster." The matron had her arms crossed and a stern look on her face. "The boy has just woken up from a traumatic experience. You will give him a few hours to regain his bearings and relax. Harry needs it after today," Her gaze held no argument as Dumbledore hummed.
"Very well, Poppy. I shall visit him later." Pacified by that, she huffed.
"Alright. I will be returning to the infirmary to look after my other students now." She bowed and made her way back to the infirmary, bumping into Snape along the way. "Severus?"
"I came to check on the boy," Severus sniffed, not looking at her. The matron held back a smirk as he looked ahead.
"I see. You must care for him then," Again, Severus sniffed and said nothing as they reached the infirmary. Harry was sitting up and chatting with Cedric, who looked a lot better. He was fine now, but the Matron insisted that he stay in the infirmary until tomorrow. The dark curse that had been used on the boy didn't react well to certain potions, but with Snape's help, they were able to heal the Hufflepuff.
"Some week, huh?" Cedric asked with a grin, causing Harry to laugh. "Thank Merlin the exams were before the final task, or I would have been screwed."
"Nah, I think they would have made special accommodations for the champion," Harry teased, making Cedric laugh this time.
"Champions," Cedric reminded. "I told you that I'm not taking the money. You earned that after everything you've been through. Besides, I know what you were planning on doing with it anyway and I'd rather have it go towards that. It'll make a lot of laughs in the future,"
"Dare I ask what this money is going to?" Jumping in surprise, the two looked over to where Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey were.
"Uh, the twins," Harry mumbled. "They want to open their own joke shop one day. I would invest the money in their shop,"
"I say he should do it!" Cedric smirked as the younger halfheartedly glared at him. "I never cared about the money anyway. I was more interested in showing that I had what it took to be a Triwizard champion, and I did." Cedric grinned at the younger, sending him a wink.
"No one doubted you for a minute, young man." Madam Pomfrey stated as she lightly scolded him, starting her hourly rounds of checking on her patients. It wasn't long after that when Cho showed up, immediately going to Cedric's side. Snape took advantage of the distraction to cast some subtle privacy charms as he made his way to the other wizard.
"Care to explain what happened, Potter?" Surprised at the question, Harry turned back to the potions professor.
"You saw it for yourself, sir. Death Eaters attacked us while we were helping Luna pack her carriage early." Severus narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, humming in response.
"I fail to see the logic behind any of this. Tell me, what truly happened here?" Harry swallowed and cleared his throat.
"Sir? I don't know what you mean-"
"Don't play coy with me, Potter. You expect me to believe that a group of Death Eaters would be able to perfectly time your exact location?" At the wide eyes, Snape continued. "Or how none of them were interested in Miss Lovegood and simply let her escape unharmed?"
"Uh-" Harry began, his brain running a mile a minute as it tried to come up with some sort of explanation.
"How about the fact that the Dark Lord has ordered his followers to leave you alone?" Severus' drawled out. "When he learns of the attack, he'll punish those who took part in it. He will kill-"
"No!" Harry snapped at that, the thought of Barty being hurt or even killed making him panic. "Voldemort wasn't in on the plan-" He snapped his mouth shut it an audible clack.
"As I thought." Snape hummed again. "That plan was entirely too reckless." Harry glared at him until something clicked.
"Wait. You aren't freaking out," The Gryffindor realized, causing Snape to raise an eyebrow.
"I have and always will be a follower of the Dark Lord, Potter. Your change in alliances has only made my life easier."
"I never had an alliance," Harry grumbled, shaking his head. "Dumbledore has been manipulating my whole life, even before I was born. Had he not kept the fact my mom was a descendant from Salazar Slytherin a secret, many things wouldn't have happened."
"Pardon?" Snape was genuinely surprised by that.
"I'm related to Tom," Harry shrugged. "My mom's parents were squibs and one of them was a descendant from Salazar Slytherin. Tom said he was fascinated by how I survived the killing curse and found a few explanations as to how my mom saved me. He then did a blood ritual that revealed me to be a distant cousin."
"I see," Snape was thinking of Dumbledore's plans and how wrong they were now. He would have to let the Dark Lord know od the Headmaster's ambitions later once summer was in progress. "I take it that you already have things planned for the summer,"
"Of course," Harry commented offhandedly. "Barty and I already figured it all out." Snape regarded him after that.
"Barty?" The older wizard questioned.
"Barty Crouch Jr?" Harry asked. "You know, the man who was impersonating Mad-Eye Moody until now? He was part of the 'attack'"
Severus sighed, soon realizing that many things this year had happened right under his nose.
(Did you spot a protective boy ;) )
Please R&R, comments keep me going.