They had no time to spare.
Once they had found a way onto Hogwarts grounds, it was game over for Dumbledore and the Order.
The vanishing cabinets connecting the school and Borgin and Burkes allowed access to every competent Deatheater. The overtake of the school was imminent, yet it had to be carefully planned. The students within the walls needed to be kept safe, far away from any battle that could occur.
The Deatheaters were split into groups, the first group being the team that would be in charge of quietly imposing and discarding any of the Order on watch. Thanks to Iris' cognizance, they had a good idea as to what to expect and who to expect. With firsthand knowledge, Iris led that team with Lucius Malfoy on Voldemort's order.
The second group was the team meant to recover the students and protect them to the best of their ability. Narcissa Malfoy led this team along with Xenophilius, both accomplished in healing and defensive magic.
The third group was the one going in for the attack.
The front liners, the men-at-arms, the ones who would finish this.
It was led by Bellatrix, Voldemort's second-in-command and the best strategist other than the Dark Lord himself. No one else had the honor, and Voldemort was happy to hand this to her. It was one less thing for him to do, one less thing for him to worry about in his absence.
He would be too busy killing Dumbledore.
Hogwarts was quiet, the magic in the air was dead.
As the Deatheaters one-by-one left the Room of Hidden Things, this is what they noticed.
The usual buzzing of Hogwarts' very own magic had dulled, no one knew if it was from the lack of magic being performed, or if perhaps the school itself was lacking. Either way, it made the castle feel cold. Almost empty. Sad. It was like life had been sucked out of the school, even the paintings were still.
They carried on.
The muffled footsteps of the groups and the flicker of their shadows were the only indications of their infiltration. A pack of several wizards hurriedly canvassed the area. It was long before the takeover began.
If one was listening hard enough, one could hear the sound of spells and the soft thumps of bodies.
Alive.
They were to take the Order members alive, with no unnecessary bloodshed. Incapacitate first, kill only if necessary. Those were the Dark Lord's orders, and no one was stupid enough to go against them.
All it took was one spell before the Great Hall erupted into pure chaos.
Bellatrix had cast a single 'Incarcerous', aimed straight at the man who she called family once. Sirius Black had yelped quite loudly when the spell landed directly on the square of his back, and he could do nothing as the rope conjured and trapped him.
Every order member had their wands out, and streams of light began flying in every direction. They caught them lacking, now they had the advantage of surprise.
The Deatheater's advanced, putting up shield after shield, throwing out spells to trap, incapacitate, or slightly wound. Bellatrix's 'Expelliarmus' was a nasty one, and sent sparks of pain along the arms of Molly Weasley and her current dueling partner. Both wands made their way to Bellatrix's open palm.
The fight was going in the Deatheater's favor… until Severus Snape showed up.
He had no qualms about throwing deadly spells, which he did in rapid succession. With hate in his eyes, the Potions Professor fought back the Deatheater's as if he had nothing else in his life that he was meant to do.
The battle quickly became bloody.
Snape's unforgivables slammed into bodies, and Bellatrix had to force all her attention on the Dark Lord's previous right-hand man. Her own repertoire of spells got deadlier and more personal. This was no longer child's play.
Although trained by the Dark Lord personally, Bellatrix was in no way going to win against Severus, she needed to play extremely dirty.
Bellatrix changed the direction of her spell last minute, and a red streak of light soared through the crowd and landed on her target. The wailing sound of Minerva McGonagall's cry rang out. Snape's concentration faltered as the witch six feet from him keeled forward, clutching at the open wound. Her wand arm had been severed from her body.
The scream of utter anguish was what gave Bellatrix her only opening, and the words flew out of her mouth without hesitation. She wouldn't get another chance.
"Avada Kedavra!" Her hoarse voice screeched. His black eyes flickered, and his wand arm flinched, but it was too late.
A shocking blast of green was the last thing Severus Snape saw.
His body hit the ground, and the Deatheaters took advantage of the light wizard's momentary disbelief for their final push.
The last of the remaining Order members stood no chance without their two best duelers, but it didn't stop them from trying. They were backed into a corner. The remaining wizards standing were reduced to shielding, shouting with all the hope they could muster. With the assault, Bellatrix had blinded herself to anything else. She had her prey where she needed them. Snape's death would be justified, she was sure.
The Deatheaters were ambushed from behind.
In her premature triumph, Bellatrix had left her back open. The Dark Lord would be disappointed.
George and Fred Weasley came in with rapid-fire, twin embers shooting spells. The two took turns, and the curses flew in succession, leaving no break between the magic.
Alongside them were the other students, clearly on Dumbledore's side. The children of blood traitors.
Leaving the remaining Order members to the others, Bellatrix faced the group of teens. She wasn't sure she could trust herself with keeping it friendly.
She blocked the incoming curses, shielding briefly, and had to physically sidestep away when one of the twins attempted the killing curse. She would have laughed if she wasn't so very proud. With the look of fury in Fred's eyes, it would've been a successful kill. The curses flew, and Bellatrix disarmed a twin, she was quickly able to stun the other. She continued to advance on the rest of the students.
The witch's eyes locked onto a student and she opened her mouth to cast. Before she could so much as breathe, a loud anguished shout startled her from behind.
Voldemort's protege spun on her heel, only to watch as the killing curse left Sirius Black's wand and beelined straight into her chest. Bellatrix's unready body was engulfed in green as it was propelled back from the momentum and dropped heavily. Her wand clattered on the floor.
A small victory.
One with lasting consequences.
The second group of Deatheaters made their way to the battleground. They had been late as they had been responsible for securing the remainder of the castle.
The opposing wizards were easily apprehended. Sirius Black had been the only one worth putting up a fight, but he lacked any true motivation. It was clear that they were on the losing side, and Lucius Malfoy easily disarmed him.
The carnage after the battle was messy. Minerva was bleeding out quickly, and their best healer had been hit with a curse that left her immobile. Poppy Pomfrey was crying out in desperation.
"Please-" She was on the ground, covered in dirt and conjured ropes. "Please let me heal her, she'll die!" The Matron choked, nearly in hysterics. Lucius grimaced at the thought of releasing her, as she would need a wand to do her task. Iris noticed the hesitation.
She had been told that they were meant to lessen the casualties to the bare minimum, they couldn't allow the woman to die when they could do something about it.
The mother-of-two strode over to the older woman and muttered the spell to release her.
She ignored Lucius' warning glare and helped the medi-witch towards the injured Professor. Poppy ushered out hushed 'thank-you's grasping onto Iris' hands while she was led. The nurse was limping badly, favoring her right leg.
They got to Minerva's side, and the other witch was completely out. She was breathing shallow, and the look of her complexion would make one assume she had already died. There was a makeshift tourniquet along the woman's upper arm, stifling only some of the bleeding.
"Her arm!" Pomfrey shouted, looking around frantically. "I can still reattach it-"
"Here." A quiet voice offered. A young man was pointing to the ground fifteen feet away, he clearly looked disgusted. His fingers were pointing to the severed limb that laid still, looking almost unreal.
"Well bring it over!" The Matron demanded. Her face left no room to argue, and so the man picked up the offending appendage as one would something dirty. He was trying his best to hold it away from himself using the remaining cloth along the arm. He dropped it into Poppy's open hands, and she shook her head while muttering. Iris held out her wand.
"Use this," When Poppy shot her a surprised look, Iris explained. "We don't have time to sort through all the wands." The older witch merely looked at Iris as though she had grown a second head before reaching out to take the offered wand.
"Thank you." The nurse whispered, and Iris nodded in response. The medi-witch didn't waste any more time and began waving the wand. She cast spell after spell, and Iris had to keep her eyes on what was happening. She had never seen a limb be reattached. She knew it was possible, due to the splinching accidents that could occur. However, this wasn't something people usually got to see firsthand up so close. Unless it was your arm that was severed.
It was interesting, watching the skin knit itself back together, forming as if it had never been torn off at all. Veins popped back into place, and the bones made a sickening sound as they looked to be grinding back into place. After the last of the wound was closed, her wand was offered back to her. Iris took it and shot Lucius a cocky look over her shoulder.
"Can I stay with her?" Poppy whispered, not taking her eyes off her injured colleague. Iris bit her lip, hesitating.
The medi-witch shuffled closer to Minerva's pale but steady body. She held her hand and was running her fingers sweetly over Minerva's knuckles.
"Yes... Yes, stay with her. We need you to monitor her condition." She stated, loud enough for others to hear. Then she leaned in and placed her hand on Poppy's shoulder. "Please don't do anything you'll regret," She whispered carefully. "Just keep your head down and don't say a word unless spoken to. Do you understand?"
Her response was a weak nod. Iris squeezed the woman's shoulder gently before instructing a low-level Deatheater to find Snape's potions. Specifically Blood Replenishers.
She looked around the Great Hall at the bodies and thought to herself that this could have all been avoided.
Dumbledore felt dread along every fiber of his being as he watched the shield around the school crack. A long deep line split the half-sphere, and it splintered. The line grew and it resembled a lightning strike, mimicking Harry's scar, as it reached towards the bottom of the protective magic. When it finally met the ground it spider-webbed, the cracks began to stretch horizontally and finally connected to the rest of the broken lines.
There was a moment of silence before a loud snap indicated the final breaking.
Magic exploded.
Shocks of blue lit up the sky, and the magic barrier crumbled as the air whipped to and fro.
Albus Dumbledore watched as the last line of defense shattered.
Lord Voldemort Watched the hope drain from his adversaries face.
"Hogwarts has fallen," Tom shouted, holding his wand up. Crimson eyes shone brighter than they ever had, and Albus couldn't see even an ounce of human left in the boy he once tried to save. Sharp teeth mocked him, and Albus held his wand up. Lord Voldemort sneered in return.
"And now it's your turn." The Dark Lord hissed.
Harry wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep.
One moment he was laying in bed, his hair still damp from his shower, and the next he was dreaming of flying cars, and talking shadows, and for a brief moment, he could have sworn he saw Dumbledore.
He couldn't be sure, however, because the man was only there for a brief flash. Harry didn't see him again. It was strange, even more so, because Dumbledore was in all white. Harry had never seen the Headmaster with so little color. He blinked, and the scene changed again.
After finding himself in what looked like the Forbidden Forest, Harry felt the need to search for something. He had no idea as to what he was looking for, he just knew he needed to find it. His fingers were tingling as if electricity had flowed through them and his stomach was doing flips. He walked through the brush and swept past tree after tree. The scene didn't change, but Harry could feel he was getting close.
The tingling in his fingers had spread to his hands and now encompassed both arms.
After a few more yards, Harry came across a clearing. The ground was flat, and trees circled the area making it seem important. They seemed to lean forward, billowing in a way that made Harry uneasy. They were watching. Waiting for Harry to do something.
The teen continued forward.
He walked towards the center of the clearing steadily, his arms were now completely numb. Harry frowned and paused. He tried to lift his arms but they didn't move. He glanced down and felt sick.
The skin that was visible along his arms and hands was all a deep shade of purple, bordering on black. The flesh looked dead, withered to the point of mummification. His fingernails had fallen off, and he was sure he could see the bone poking through.
Harry could taste bile in the back of his throat.
"You'll feel better once you drink." Came a quiet voice not too far from Harry. The teen quickly fixed his gaze back on the middle of the clearing, his mouth dropped open. In front of him stood a very small, very blinding Luna Lovegood.
"Luna?" Harry asked he couldn't help the hopefulness that bled into his voice. Harry quickly walked towards the other Hogwarts student. The blonde girl smiled wistfully, her hands fiddled with a cork hanging around her neck.
"I'm here to help, Harry." She whispered before motioning with her small hand. Furrowing his eyebrows, Harry glanced to his left.
Standing suspiciously to his immediate left was a stone basin. The basin gave off an eerily green glow, visible even with them in bright daylight. Harry shivered and took a hasty step away from the fluorescent liquid.
The basin hadn't been there before, Harry was sure. But neither had Luna Lovegood.
"What is this?" He asked finally. "Why are you here?" He looked back to the younger witch. Luna leaned forward and placed her hand on her mouth, indicating that what she was about to say was a secret. Something to keep quiet about.
"It's how you'll get out, Harry." She whispered again, her big eyes reflecting Harry's face. The decay had started up his shoulders and peeked out from behind his shirt's collar.
"Out?" He questioned, not really understanding what she meant by it. Out of where? Of this dream, or perhaps out of Voldemort's clutches?
"Yes, out." That was all he got. The Ravenclaw swung her arms and held them behind her back before she airily walked towards the basin. She rounded it, bouncing in her step slightly as she gazed towards the emerald liquid. She looked as if in a trance.
Harry hesitantly took a step forward, then another. He stood directly across from Luna, and looked down into the green waters, mirroring her. It looked quite menacing, and Harry was at a loss.
"How do I- What am I supposed to do?" His gaze fixed itself back onto Luna.
"You have to drink it, of course." She replied, looking at Harry expectantly.
"Drink it?" He asked, feeling queasy at the thought. The potion looked like it should taste like sour apple, but Harry seriously doubted that it was going to be pleasant. Luna nodded once, a slight smile gracing her lips. "How am I supposed to drink it? I can't use my arms, Luna." He looked back down to his arms pathetically, hoping Luna wasn't about to tell him he had to lap it up like a dog.
"I'll help you of course," Luna stated, "we can even use your cup." She offered. Harry tilted his head, puzzled by Luna's words.
"My cup?"
"Yes, this one!" Luna cheerfully shouted and unlatched her hands from behind her back, only to bring around a golden cup. Harry stared stupidly at the small cup.
The golden design and intricate detailing reminded Harry of a very specific room, one that he dreamed about. One that he was trying really hard to not think about.
"Isn't that-"
"Well I suppose it's Helga Hufflepuff's cup, but I think she wouldn't mind you borrowing it."
"I'm not drinking out of that." He stated, feeling his face flush. If his suspicions were correct, then the Hufflepuff cup was the container for the soul piece he had met in his dream. Drinking out of it was too weird. He'd rather lap the green death water before drinking Tom Riddle.
Luna's face shifted slightly, and for a quick moment, she didn't look quite right. It was unsettling. She was back to her normal, glowy self, smiling at Harry with a look of sympathy in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Harry, this is the only cup I could find."
"Can't I just- You know…"
"No," Luna said loudly, her features shifting once again. This time Harry knew it was actually happening. Luna would never be this aggressive, and not once had she started talking about Nurgle's or Wrackspurt's. Harry backed away from Luna and the basin. Something was terribly wrong.
"Who are you?" He questioned, his throat gone dry.
"What do you mean? You know who I am." Imposter-Luna cooed, their eyes going large again.
"I don't know who the fuck you are, but you sure as hell are not Luna Lovegood." He spat, glaring at the person hiding behind Luna's face.
Their expression twisted into a nasty sneer. The big eyes shrunk considerably, and blonde hair began turning dark. The figure circled the basin, and Harry responded by moving back again. Luna's small body shifted, beginning to grow upward at an unsettling pace. The face bubbled, not unlike when using the Polyjuice, and her youthful features turned sharp, from one recognizable face to another.
Tom Riddle once again stood in front of him, disdain written all over his body. His jarring red eyes pierced through Harry, he felt much more threatening now that he no longer resembled Luna.
"Stay back!" Harry shouted, "I know who you are, you aren't going to trick me." He stumbled back, realizing that his legs were tingling painfully, now affected by the strange rot taking over his flesh.
"And I know you, Harry Potter." Tom scowled. Harry could feel his eyes widen, but something told him to try to stay straight-faced. This Horcrux seemed to be a little more unruly, unhinged. "I've had a very interesting conversation with an acquaintance of ours recently," Tom's expression changed once more and he held up Hufflepuff's Cup.
"He told me some very interesting things, showed me some very interesting things." Harry chose to ignore the unsettling pit growing in his stomach. How much had one Tom said to the other?
"How interesting can it be?" The teen grumbled under his breath. His eyes shot towards the man's other hand as it moved, he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out his missing button. The one that the other Tom popped off his jeans when they-
"Oh no," Harry whispered in horror, his eyes following Tom's hand as the other Horcrux waved it back and forth with a sinister smile.
"Oh yes. I've heard all about your little tryst," Riddle tilted his head, placing the button back into his pocket.
"How the fuck did you even get that?!" The teen yelped. This wasn't supposed to happen. The Horcrux in the cup was able to take a physical object, and give it to another? It shouldn't be possible.
"As interesting as this is, it's not what I wished to talk to you about, Harry." Tom's velvety voice purred out. It would have sent a shiver down the 16-year-olds spine if he could feel it. Harry felt like he was about to collapse at any moment, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. "You see, I have a little favor to ask."
"I don't know what it is yet, but the answer is fuck you." Harry spat, trying his best to glare. Instead of retaliating as he would have thought, the Horcrux tipped his head back and laughed loudly. It wasn't the nice type of laugh either. The man reached up to his chin and rubbed at it.
"Oh, Harry," He tsked, shaking his head in a way a professor might when catching the student breaking the rules. The man began walking towards Harry again, the teen in response could do nothing but stand there. "I fear that you don't have a choice in the matter." Tom approached him and held out his hand delicately, and with two fingers he pushed lightly against the teen's chest. The small push was all that was needed for Harry's body to lose all balance and tip over.
The teen felt panic rise in his throat as his body began to fall backward. His arms were useless, he couldn't move them to brace himself or protect his head. Harry always hated the feeling of falling, ever since Dudley and his goons made him climb up to the roof of a shed and threatened him until he jumped off. He sprained both an ankle and a wrist, then had to walk home.
As his body toppled over, everything seemed to pass in slow motion. From Tom's sickly sweet smile to the tops of the billowing trees, and finally the sky with its dark twisty clouds. The impact of him hitting the ground wasn't painful, his body was far too numb. He lay there silently for a moment, stunned.
Red eyes peered down as Tom leaned over him. Harry hated that the man's hair fell perfectly into place even in this awkward position.
"You see," The Horcrux began, crouching down so that he was closer to Harry's immobilized form. He reached out a well-kept hand, caressing Harry's face, down his cheek, and tapping his chin. He then reached up to take a piece of his hair and twirl it around a finger. He studied it with interest. "You either help me or stay stuck like this."
"Until… I wake… up." Harry forced, finding it hard to push the words out.
"Sweet Harry, I'll decide when you wake up," Tom murmured before a sinister smile crossed his face at Harry's horrified expression. "Yes, that's right. Here I have total control. Your physical body is merely a shell, and no one would be able to figure out why Harry Potter won't wake. Quite a sad ending."
Harry badly wanted to bite back to say something along the lines of 'Not really in total control when you need a teenager's help'. Instead, he chose to allow his eyebrows to furrow to display his displeasure. Tom ignored him in favor of standing up straight to walk back toward the basin.
"All you need to do is drink this for me," He stated, just out of reach from Harry's vision. He listened carefully for every footstep and when they stopped there was a strange scraping sound. The other Horcrux came back into view after a few more seconds holding the golden cup, now filled with the mysterious green liquid. "You don't have to drink it all, just enough."
Harry tried to grunt in response before using all his strength to clasp his lips shut. Like hell, he was drinking that. It seemed like Mr. Perfect Hair could figure out what he was thinking because he walked over and once again crouched. His hand this time, however, went straight for his nose, clamping it shut with his thumb and pointer finger.
Breathing had already been difficult, but now it was impossible. The Gryffindor couldn't detest, turn his head, or even lick the intruding hand in an attempt to get some oxygen.
"You're going to drink it, so why don't you make this easier on yourself and open that pretty mouth for me, hmm?" Harry wanted to scream, but all he could do was flutter his eyelashes. His vision started to blur quickly, and what was left of his lungs started to protest. The teen fought against every instinct in his body to breathe, but he couldn't hold out.
Closing his eyes tightly, Harry opened his mouth and choked down as much air as he could. Riddle at least had the decency to allow him to finish inhaling before pouring the liquid into his mouth. With no other option, Harry began swallowing. He knew that once it was over he could take in another gulp of air.
"What a good boy," Tom praised, moving the cup away to indicate that Harry was done with his task. "Now Harry, that wasn't so hard was it?" He questioned moving away from the boy. Harry rolled his eyes and found that his facial movement was no longer stiff. He could feel the tingling coming back in his fingers and toes and began to wiggle them.
He continued to move his numerous limbs, feeling extremely elated when they started finally listening to his brain. Tom had walked away towards the basin, Harry craned his neck to figure out what he was doing. The other Horcrux was studying the cup, running his fingers along the gold details, paying no mind to Harry.
Listening to his inner lion, Harry started to sit up, intent on attacking Tom while he was distracted. Things never went according to plans for Harry.
"Unless you're planning on praising and thanking me for helping you restore your body, I'd suggest you sit there, be quiet, and look pretty." Harry scoffed, sitting up fully. His organs felt like they were trembling, he tried to ignore them.
"You are just so fucking conceited. Do you ever not talk about yourself?" He questioned, rubbing his thighs with his hands, trying to get rid of the lingering pins and needles. Tom simply glanced his way with a raised eyebrow.
"And yet, you still like me."
"Woah, admiring how someone looks, and appreciating physical beauty doesn't have anything to do with actually liking the person. You've got a shitty personality and an even worse temper." Harry explained, shaking his head. Tom's only reaction was that cute smile he did with the dimples. Those dimples that Harry loved. Damn it. "Ignoring all that, what in Godric's name did you make me drink?"
Tom turned back to the basin, the cup was suddenly nowhere to be seen.
"This was my prison for a while before I was moved. Stolen." The older man provided. Harry almost called him out for not really answering his question but was intrigued about the Horcruxes story.
"You were put in a birdbath filled with the gross green stuff?" Tom leaned against the basin with both hands, looking into the green liquid. The color reflected onto his pale skin, making him look even more unsettling.
"I was protected, I made sure it was perfect." He whispered, now sounding morose. "He stopped visiting, then I was seized by an unknown enemy and carted off to a dark place. I've rested there ever since, with no communication, no energy. Alone," Tom turned then, half his face still illuminated by the cast of the waters. The way he stared into Harry's eyes unnerved him greatly, especially when it was paired with a malicious grin.
"Until now."