Wishing all of you a cheery, delightful and pleasant 2024! ❤️
I'm back with Chapter 105, enjoy! See you at the end!
He was distraught, his head was spinning and he couldn't think straight. There was absolute chaos and mayhem around him, he hadn't thought this day would arrive, but it had and in dramatic fashion too. His first instinct was to escape out of there, it was his best course of action. The man who protected him, the man whom he trusted the most, the man without whom he felt directionless, was dead.
It took a bit of convincing the guards, but Severus Snape exited Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. The moment he was far enough from the school and its protections, Snape held out his arm and touched the dark mark with purpose. And immediately after, he apparated away.
Snape arrived to speak with the Dark Lord. Hastily, he walked briskly to his room.
"My Lord," bowed down Snape the moment he entered.
"Severus? I was not expecting you today," remarked Voldemort, intrigued.
"I had to come here... Your path is clear, My Lord," announced Snape. "Dumbledore is dead, Jane killed him and escaped," he said.
"What?" gasped a few of the death eaters in the room. Murmurs began echoing off the walls.
"Are you absolutely certain, Severus? Albus Dumbledore is dead?" asked Voldemort, a grin appearing on his face.
Snape nodded in response.
"Gather everyone, Severus... I have an announcement to make," ordered Voldemort happily.
Mayhem ensued inside Hogwarts.
Lengthy, whispery discussions transpired within a small group of senior Professors which included McGonagall, Slughorn, Flitwick and Sprout, while loud and desperate commands were broadcast to Aurors by Benjamin White. Ron and Hermione who were now joined by Draco were standing still at the end of the corridor, their eyes glistening while their bodies felt numb.
"Nobody gets in... nobody gets out..." screamed White and the Aurors nodded in response.
"All the exits are sealed... The secret passages are shut... The floo networks are locked..." said Filch breathlessly as he came running towards White.
"Thanks, Argus," replied White. With that, the Aurors left the meeting.
However, there remained one Auror. "Sir," he began.
"Yes?" retorted White, impatiently.
"Professor Snape left Hogwarts a few minutes back, Sir," reported the Auror.
"What?" exclaimed White, shocked. "You let him leave?" he added.
"Sorry Sir, he insisted that he had to go somewhere important," replied the Auror.
"Now onwards, you are not letting anyone leave unless explicitly instructed by Headmistress McGonagall, understood?" remarked White, strongly.
"Yes, Sir," nodded the Auror and left.
"Headmistress?" came McGonagall's croaky voice as she walked over to White.
"You will have to step into his shoes, Minerva," remarked White, sombrely. "I will take care of finding Harry," he added, confidently. "Miss Smith cannot hide in the castle for long," he finished.
"I cannot believe she has done this," sighed McGonagall, sadly, in a rare moment of weakness.
"Everybody is capable of everything, Minerva, you know that as well as anyone," said White as he patted her back, and with that, he walked away.
…
It had been close to 15 minutes since John's watch had started buzzing. While the buzzing had stopped once Ron checked Harry's status, he kept the watch clutched in his hands, tightly. Every once in a few seconds, he would stare at the watch and find the needle belonging to Harry pointing at "Mortal Danger".
"Mr Weasley... Miss Granger," came White's thundering voice making Ron glance up. "Might I have a word with you about Harry," he remarked.
Ron and Hermione barely nodded their heads in response, while Draco stood beside them, wide-eyed.
"The heads of every house are coordinating with the Head Boy, Head Girl and all the Prefects," began White.
Hermione straightened a little. "Professor... I'll join them in just a moment," she replied apologetically, interjecting White.
"Miss Granger, I'm not here asking why you are not with every other Prefect," retorted White, sternly. "I need both of your help to search for Harry, using whatever means you might deem necessary," he announced. "And I need assurances that you will not try to protect Miss Smith," he added and stared at the pair.
"I'll help as well," volunteered Draco and received a glare from White in return.
"Whatever you need us to do," replied Ron, instantly and strongly. "The only thing we want to do is to find Jane and rescue Harry... How could she possibly do this?" he added, angrily.
Hermione glanced at Ron, teary-eyed. She had no words to describe anything happening around her.
"Miss Granger?" asked White and Hermione nodded slightly.
"Harry had the invisibility cloak with him," informed Ron. "Jane could be hiding anywhere," he added.
"I'm well aware, Mr Weasley... She now possesses two of the three Hallows," retorted White.
"Hallows?" asked Ron, baffled.
"No," gasped Hermione, shocked. "She's the one who's after the Hallows?" she asked, shell-shocked. And just as she uttered those words, shivers went down her spine and she sat down on the floor.
"What? No, You-know-who was after the Hallows," corrected Ron, but the reality dawned on him slowly.
After a moment, White spoke up. "What does the watch say?" he asked.
"Harry's in terrible danger," replied Ron, gloomily.
"And Jane?" asked White.
For the first time that day, Ron's eyes fell on the other needles. "She's safe," he replied, confused and alarmed.
…
An hour or so passed and it was getting late in the night. Large groups of students and professors were scouring every corner of the castle, even more Aurors had arrived and were actively searching, but there was no sign whatsoever of Jane and Harry.
Every other student who wasn't with any of the professors looking for Jane and Harry had now gathered at the Great Hall, for Professor McGonagall was about to announce the death of their Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.
Meanwhile, Ron, Hermione, Draco and White reconvened just a little away from the crowd, in the great hall.
"Miss Smith is nowhere to be found," announced White, frustrated. "She cannot have escaped the castle, there's absolutely no way," he remarked.
"How can you be so sure? She's not inside the castle, is she? None of us can find her," retorted Ron, annoyed.
"The castle was put under a complete and unbreachable lockdown, just moments after Jane escaped the Headmaster's office... Nobody could possibly enter or exit the castle without my knowledge," replied White, confidently.
"Jane could have easily escaped when all of you were having your little meeting," suggested Ron, with very little hope.
"None of the exits have been left unmanned all day, Mr Weasley," replied White. "Every single secret passage is blocked, even the ones that students aren't aware of," he continued. "Nobody has travelled in or out via the Floo network today... and every single one of them is locked now," he added. "Even if she does use the Floo network, it is being closely monitored. We'll know the instant she uses any fireplace," he remarked.
"No one can apparate in or out of Hogwarts, it's not allowed," added Hermione.
"We have searched every single common room," chimed in Draco. "We have searched every floor, every corner of the castle, but Harry's not to be found," he added.
"Where's she?" thundered White's voice and all three of them went quiet. "She could not have just disappeared like a puff of smoke," he remarked, angrily.
"She has the invisibility cloak," suggested Draco.
"She has Harry with him, they can't both hide in a single cloak," replied Hermione. Ron shook his head in disagreement.
"Hiding Harry wouldn't be that difficult, Miss Granger. She wouldn't need the cloak to do that," replied White, a little calmer.
"We even looked inside the Room of Requirement," remarked Ron, hopelessly. "The room opened to us," he said.
"Which means, she is not inside the room," added Hermione.
"Is it possible to escape out of the castle, from inside the room?" wondered Draco, out loud.
"No," replied Ron and Hermione together.
However, White wasn't convinced. "Minerva doesn't agree with you," he replied. "There are... ways... to escape... but none that can be done with very little preparation time," he added, wearily.
"So, where is she?" asked Ron. "Where is Harry?" he added and there was a collective silence.
…
A little more than a couple of hours had now passed since Harry's disappearance. It was well past the regular bedtime for the students, but none of them were there in their respective common rooms. Most of them were still collected in the Great Hall, while the remaining were retracing their paths, searching every single stone in the castle looking for Jane and Harry.
Ron and Hermione completed a few rounds around the castle looking for Harry but to no avail.
"Harry's needle is still pointing to Mortal Danger," announced Ron, unhappily.
Hermione, however, did not react. She was lost in her thoughts. "Could Harry have willingly left with Jane?" she wondered.
"But, why would he do that? He would never side with anyone who killed Dumbledore or one of us," she thought to herself.
However, there was a small part of her that wondered how Dumbledore died. "Why didn't Dumbledore fight against Jane? Why did he just give up? Was it all part of a plan?"
And then a thought struck her. "Did Harry know about this, and is this why he helped Jane escape?"
"I'm giving up," sighed Ron. "Jane has taken Harry and escaped out of Hogwarts," he remarked.
"Ron," called out Hermione.
"Hmm?" responded Ron, sulking.
"Do you think Jane could have used the Chamber of Secrets to hide?" asked Hermione. The moment the words left Hermione's mouth, Ron's eyes lit up.
"Oh No," he gasped, shocked. "How could I have been so stupid?" he cursed himself.
Ron and Hermione dashed away towards Professor White.
"Professor," called Ron breathlessly as he came to a halt.
"We think... Jane could be hiding inside the Chamber of Secrets," remarked Hermione, gasping for air.
"She would have put Harry under the Imperius curse," sighed White, thinking. "We've wasted 2 hours," he cursed, angrily.
The three of them dashed away and came to a halt only when they reached the bathroom which had the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.
"Myrtle," called out Hermione. But she got no response.
"Where's she off to?" remarked Ron, annoyed.
"All the ghosts were rounded up earlier, to help with the search," replied White. "Looks like Harry fought with Jane here," he sighed after a moment. There were fresh cracks on the walls, a few broken pipes, and blood splatters to go with.
"Now what do we do?" asked Ron, aggressively. "None of us know Parseltongue, do we?" he remarked, annoyed.
Right at that moment, they heard a strange hissing sound and at once the tap, the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, glowed with a brilliant white light and began to spin.
"What?" gasped Ron and Hermione, turning around. "You speak Parseltongue?" asked Ron, shocked, staring at White.
All the students ended up spending the night at the Great Hall with makeshift sleeping bags fashioned for all of them. The Head boy, Head girl and the Prefects along with Ron were left in charge of the Great Hall and were instructed to alert the Professors and Aurors of any danger.
Meanwhile, a search party went inside the Chamber to bring Harry back safe and sound. But to their dismay, neither Jane nor Harry were anywhere to be seen. They searched the Chamber as far as the eye reached, but there was nothing in there except for a foul smell and the skeletal remains of a dead Basilisk.
As the morning rolled in, White came searching for Hermione and Ron, this time accompanied by Headmistress McGonagall.
"What happened, Professor?" asked Hermione, eagerly, hoping for some positive news.
"Looks like Jane escaped Hogwarts," replied White, sombrely. "I just received information from Mr Newt Scamander, Harry's Mystara was delivered to his doorsteps earlier today," he announced.
"What?" gasped Hermione, shocked.
"Jane has Harry," sighed White, unhappily. "Tonight, I'll examine the Chamber, on my own, to find out how she did it... She had to have escaped from the Chamber somehow," he remarked.
"What's a Mystara?" asked Ron, confused. "Who is Newt Scamander?" he added.
Hermione went stiff, she had just realised that Ron was unaware of the Mystara.
However, White didn't seem all that bothered by Ron's question. "Harry had a Class XXXXX creature with him, given to him by Newt Scamander, one of the most influential Magi-zoologists in the world," he replied, coolly.
"What?" retorted Ron, confused still. He glanced at Hermione briefly, and to his surprise, she seemed to have already known about it. "Of course, Harry told you about it," he declared, unamused.
"Headmistress," exclaimed White. "I've let my contacts know of what has happened, they will be on the lookout for any sign of Jane," he said. "But we've another problem to worry about," he added.
"What is it, Professor White?" asked McGonagall.
"The Dark Lord," replied White. "News would have reached him," he remarked.
"I've asked Alastor to meet me here, we should discuss it with him," replied McGonagall and with that, the pair walked away, leaving Ron and Hermione to themselves.
"What is a Mystara? Why did Harry have it with him? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" asked Ron, instantly, glancing towards Hermione.
"Don't ask me these many questions, Ron," replied Hermione, tired. "It was Harry's secret to tell, not mine... And he didn't want to let anyone know about it," she lashed out. However, almost immediately, her expression turned apologetic, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." she said.
"Not even me?" asked Ron, a little hurt.
…
The evening approached quicker than most days for everyone at the castle. Unsurprisingly, the castle was brimming with Aurors, Ministry officials, Witches and Wizards of all kinds throughout the day. The funeral preparations for Albus Dumbledore were also in full flow. Amidst all this, hardly any student in the castle, especially from the 5th or 7th years, were in any state to prepare for their important exams.
And then suddenly, out of nowhere, chaos returned to Hogwarts.
"Professor McGonagall, Professor McGonagall," called out Tonks hastily as she came running towards her. At the same time, Benjamin White got pulled into a hurried discussion with a foreign Wizard who had come to visit him.
"Yes, Tonks, what happened?" asked McGonagall, worried.
"It was my father... He is at the Ministry... The Ministry is under attack, Professor," exclaimed Tonks.
"What?" gasped McGonagall, shocked. "Find Alastor right away," she commanded.
As Tonks dashed away, White approached McGonagall.
"Headmistress... I've just got word that the Dark Lord is going after the Ministry of Magic," he said, hurriedly. "We need to alert everyone," he added.
Soon, the word spread throughout the castle.
"Ron," came a loud voice.
"Ron," and then it came again. Ron glanced around and found Fred and George running towards him. "You-know-who is in front of the Ministry headquarters, launching an attack," they announced, together.
"What?" gasped Ron, shocked. "Is Dad there? What about Percy?" he asked.
"Both of them are inside, Mum just sent us an owl," replied Fred.
"We need to go there," remarked Ron and got up swiftly, followed by Hermione.
Soon, the four of them dashed away and after a quick search, found Professor White.
"Professor," called Ron.
"I was just looking for you," retorted White, instantly.
"We're coming with you," said Ron, confidently.
"Yes, you are," replied White. "Gather everyone who is willing to fight," he said.
"Wait, really?" retorted Ron, surprised with a hint of a smile on his face.
Quickly, all four of them scattered away to assemble a mini army. As it turned out, bringing students together for a fight against You-know-who wasn't as hard as it might have initially seemed. Most of the senior students instantly agreed to join the fight, either to protect someone close to them, working at the Ministry, or simply because they wanted to be a part of the fight. All of the Phoenix Juniors except for Harry were there, and so were Seamus, Dean, Colin, Luna and many others.
The majority of the Order were already there at the castle and had heard the news immediately. And the rest assembled at the castle in no time. The Aurors, the officers of Magical Law Enforcement and the other Ministry officials were already out of the castle to join the fight.
…
Soon, a small army had gathered itself outside the Ministry of Magic, waiting for further instructions. Apart from Headmistress McGonagall and a handful of Professors, every other Professor was there, ready to fight. They had grouped with the Order and other senior wizards. Benjamin White led the final talk to every group of wizards, giving them instructions on strategies. He finally came to the group of students.
"The ghost of Albus Dumbledore would be furious with me," he began. "But all of you are here because you are good enough, remember that," thundered White's voice.
"Exercise caution," whispered White, carefully and glanced at everyone in the crowd. "But make sure you give them hell," he finished with an exclaim. There was a loud cheer from the students.
"Make yourself useful... There are others here who are capable of taking on the death eaters," said White. "Instead, be there for those who need your assistance, help the injured out and don't give in to intimidation," he commanded as the students nodded at him fervently.
White gave out a few more final instructions. The group of students would be led by Tonks and a couple of other younger Aurors.
…
The Ministry was falling apart. Voldemort and his death eaters launched an unforeseen attack and the Ministry was incapable of taking care of itself, especially just a day after Albus Dumbledore's demise. A lot of them were feverishly looking for Harry and Jane, while others were just going about their lives when the attacks commenced.
Voldemort and his death eaters breached the Ministry defences swiftly. Like clockwork, a few of them directly went to the small prison cells of the Ministry of Magic which currently housed 2 notable death eaters, Bellatrix Lestrange and Eldon Redwood.
"Is it happening today?" exclaimed Redwood, confused.
"Don't you two know?" remarked the death eater. "Dumbledore's dead," he exclaimed, laughing.
"What?" gasped Redwood, shocked. "How?" he asked.
"Enough of this chit-chat... I want to smell blood," exclaimed Bellatrix and with that, the pair joined the death eaters.
Hundreds of duels commenced and blood was shed.
As the Ministry defences started to shatter, everyone heard a roar of war-cry and backup arrived in the form of the Order of the Phoenix, Phoenix Juniors, Hogwarts and every other wizard who had joined wands with them.
Soon, hundreds more of duels commenced. And more blood began to be shed.
Within minutes, groups of duels started to emerge.
Some of the Aurors and Hogwarts Professors led by Professor Filius Flitwick managed to isolate a group of death eaters and were duelling them.
Benjamin White and his small group of foreign wizards managed to penetrate to the heart of battle and were taking on dark wizards, giants and werewolves at once.
The core group of the Order which included Remus, Sirius and Alastor Moody joined in on the fight and got themselves closer to Arthur and Percy Weasley, both of whom already sustained some injuries.
"Lucius," exclaimed Sirius as he swiftly defended a fellow wizard from his attack. "Did you know that your son is here?" he asked as he sent a stunner towards him.
Lucius seemed to lose his bearings the moment Draco was mentioned. "Draco's here?" he asked, shielding himself. Sirius a few other wizards sent stunners after Lucius and he collapsed to the ground.
A small group of Hogwarts students which included Ron, Draco, Neville, Seamus, Dean and Colin deviated from their task of helping the injured out and instead merged themselves into the middle of the battle.
Meanwhile, most of the rest of the students stuck to the plan and managed to defend themselves while helping the injured away from the heat.
"Where's Colin?" asked Daphne as along with Luna, she managed to create a barrier of protection charm to shield themselves from the attacks. "I told both of you to stay with me," she remarked, exasperated and worried.
"He's with the boys," replied Luna, calmly.
"Tonks, they are coming your way," exclaimed Daphne and instantly, Tonks glanced towards the werewolves approaching her and the other wizards. And they were in time with their curses.
Hermione, Cedric and a few of his friends had wound up in the middle of a "giant" attack when they saw the Aurors were getting outmatched. Quickly, the tides turned as the skilled students restrained the giants while the Aurors incapacitated them. Swiftly, Cedric and his friends took the injured Aurors out of the scene helped by the defensive shields produced by Hermione and the rest of the Aurors. Right then, a powerful curse approached them, breaching the shields and hitting an auror on the chest. As the Auror cried in pain, Hermione turned around and found Bellatrix Lestrange on their tail. Bellatrix fired another curse at the group, one that burst into flames right in front of them before they could react to it. Bellatrix was accompanied by a small group of death eaters. Soon, the death eaters wound up squaring off against the Aurors while Hermione found herself fighting, alone against Bellatrix.
"You filthy mudblood," sniggered Bellatrix as she fired a curse at her.
Hermione quickly had her wand up and managed to defend herself. Bellatrix was fired up and sent a barrage of curses and hexes at Hermione, each of which she managed to tackle. However, her resistance was shortlived as in a cunning manoeuvre Bellatrix managed to distract her and have her restrained.
Bellatrix sent another curse at a restrained Hermione, but to her shock, Hermione was shielded. As she glanced across, her eyes fell on Tonks, Daphne and Luna coming to Hermione's rescue.
"You are a blood traitor," mouthed off Bellatrix and fired a curse at the four of them, which Tonks blocked easily. Daphne and Luna helped Hermione out of her restraints and the four of them squared off against Bellatrix.
A fierce and fiery mini-battle ensued where all of them traded blows. Daphne and Hermione held their own while keeping an eye on Luna while Tonks aggressively went after Bellatrix, and together, the four of them managed to engage Bellatrix and keep her quiet.
After a few minutes, the duels happening nearby started to interfere. Spells and curses were flying everywhere.
"The three of you, get out of here..." commanded Tonks. "You've done enough," she added, briefly smiling.
While Hermione, Daphne and Luna slowly dissipated out of there, Bellatrix moved on as well, only for her to come face to face with Draco.
Bellatrix amalgamated herself into the middle of another fiery duel between the death eaters and the Aurors. However, to her surprise, a vicious hex hit her from the side, one she barely managed to dodge at the last moment.
"He's grown up, Itty-bitty-baby," smirked Bellatrix as her eyes fell on Draco.
"Aunt Lestrange," exclaimed Draco, disgusted.
But to his shock, Bellatrix instantly sent a curse aimed at him, which he managed to defend at the last moment.
"Leave the blood traitors, darling... and join us, this is your chance," exclaimed Bellatrix, laughing.
"You cursed me," retorted Draco, shocked.
"And I'll do it again," chuckled Bellatrix and sent another curse aimed at him.
As Draco defended himself again, a small group of students joined him in his fight against Bellatrix. Ron stood right beside Draco while Neville stood on his other side, Daphne and Hermione stood right behind the three of them.
"You are Bellatrix Lestrange," exclaimed Neville, looking pale as he clutched his wands tightly.
"Longbottom," exclaimed Bellatrix. "How are your parents, darling?" she asked, laughing.
Instantly, Neville and Draco charged her, sending stunners at her. Hermione and Daphne swiftly followed as the pair defended everyone from Bellatrix's curses. Ron stayed behind the group momentarily before launching an attack of his own against Bellatrix. The Phoenix Juniors matched Bellatrix hit for a hit and soon managed to outpace her. Neville and Draco's fury, Daphne and Hermione's composure and Ron's brute magical power proved too much for Bellatrix as she found herself thrown back multiple times. Ron landed the final blow on her as he managed to rip through her defences and lacerate her to the bone. As Bellatrix fell, injured, the death eaters surrounded her, followed by the Aurors that surrounded the kids.
…
Benjamin White found himself moving in and out of the mini-battles. As he watched, the battle for the Ministry was slipping away. Loads and loads of witches and wizards were injured, the students helping the injured away were getting outmatched and there was no sign of respite. As he stood there, helpless, he wished to go back a few decades, where he boasted a huge army, unlike ever seen before. If only he had a little more time to prepare for this battle, he could have done more. And then his eyes fell on Voldemort entering the 9th level of the Ministry, the Department of Mysteries.
The moment Voldemort entered, he sent a barrage of curses aimlessly at the crowd in front, most of which hit hapless Aurors and Ministry officials. And just then, appeared out of nowhere in front of him, Benjamin White.
"You," sniggered Voldemort.
White stared at him, his face red with anger.
"Who are you? And where did you come from?" he smirked as he sent a curse at him.
White dodged easily and sent a curse in return which collided with Voldemort's shield, sending vibrations across the hall.
"You are a necromancer, aren't you?" chuckled Voldemort, remembering their previous encounter at Nurmengard. "I wonder how Dumbledore, a man of principles, chose you to be his side," he remarked and a jet of green light escaped his wand.
White disappeared from Voldemort's sight and reappeared a moment later, having dodged the killing curse.
"You can't apparate inside these walls," remarked Voldemort, surprised.
"There are many other ways to disappear, Tom," sighed White. And right that instant, he flicked his wand and sent a killing curse aimed at him.
Voldemort disappeared into a cloud of dark smoke and reappeared a few feet away, looking annoyed. "Two can do this trick," he sniggered.
"Clearly," remarked White, arrogantly as he slashed his wand at Voldemort. But before the curse could leave his wand, Voldemort disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
Almost a moment later, a loud voice rang inside everyone's head. "The battle is over, admit your defeat," came Voldemort's piercing voice, followed by a strong headache. "Or watch your loved ones crumble as life leaves their body," he threatened.
Swiftly, White disappeared from the Department of Mysteries and started searching for Voldemort on every level.
Soon, as White watched helplessly, a few of the Witches and Wizards, Aurors and Ministry Officials started falling to the ground randomly. It was like a projectile, a tiny, dark-coloured mist-like object that seemed to travel a great distance quickly, and hit anyone standing in its path, piercing through them, unaffected, while the victims fell to the ground, writhing in the pain caused by the intense burning sensation, and dropping dead within seconds.
White scampered through the levels, disappearing and reappearing, only to find dropping bodies.
…
Ron looked around and each and every duel seemed to go against them. He was now mixed in with a group of wizards from the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. And they were falling like flies against the likes of Dolohov, Rowle and others.
Exasperated, he fought off death eaters in front of him, incapacitating them in the process. Right then, his eyes fell on his father, his brothers Fred, George and Percy fighting at the far end against what looked like some kind of strange dark creatures. Frightened, he dashed away from the scene towards his family. Ron sped away at full tilt towards his family, but he seemed to trip and fell face forward a few feet ahead, with a loud thud.
Ron got up weakly and once more he fell forward. This time, he got up and looked behind to find someone he hated from the moment he first laid eyes on him, at Flourish and Blotts, a few years ago, Eldon Redwood.
"You," growled Ron, angrily as he turned to face him. "Coward," he spit angrily.
"Finally," exclaimed Redwood, licking his lips. "I've been itching to get you, Weasley," he snarled.
Ron swung his wand at Redwood and strong force emanated out of his wand and pushed Redwood back a few steps.
Annoyed, Redwood sent a stream of red sparks at Ron, who slashed his wand at them making them die out instantly.
Angered by the thwarted attack, Redwood hastily sent a series of curses at Ron. Ron, who had expected this, stepped behind a few steps and flicked his wand at another death eater fighting a few feet diagonal to him. The death eater flew in between Ron and Redwood and faced the brunt of the curses.
The shock of hurting his own made Redwood's thoughts go blank for just a second, but the pause was enough for Ron to gain the upper hand.
Ron waved his wand and jerked his wrist creating a strong gush of wind that pushed back Redwood and everyone behind him by a few feet. Ron charged Redwood, sending a series of stunners, all of which he blocked. But the intensity of Ron's attack was such that Redwood felt a little out of breath.
Ron continued charging Redwood, and he was only a couple of feet away. In such close proximity, Ron slashed his wand and a curse flew out of his wand, leaving Redwood no time to react, managing to lacerate his abdomen.
As Redwood crumpled to the ground, Ron stepped even closer, now standing right above him and flicked his wand. Redwood's wand flew out of his hand and fell to the floor.
Ron wasn't particularly sure what had come over him. But instantly, he found himself kicking Redwood right over his lacerations, making him cry in anguish. Ron swung his leg out a couple of more times, striking Redwood in his abdomen each time as blood gushed out of him.
Right then, Ron felt a strong headache and a piercing voice inside his head, "The battle is over, admit your defeat, or watch your loved ones crumble as life leaves their body."
As Ron stood over Redwood, he glanced around. There was a pin-drop silence all over. His eyes darted towards his family, and they seemed to have handled the dark creatures fine, but after a couple of seconds, one by one, Ron saw wizards and witches around him, fall to the ground. In the hush that had fallen, the screams of pain followed by their silence of death filled the entire expanse.
"Your... death... is in... my hands... Weasley," came Redwood's feeble, yet confident voice, followed by a dirty grin that distracted Ron to glance at him.
Right that second, Ron heard a familiar voice scream in pain. As he glanced up at his family, he watched Fred catch his father, who seemed to have dived a moment earlier, while George dove at Percy who seemed to be crumpling to the floor, his body pierced through front and back by the dark, misty projectile. Only a few there seemed to have seen a projectile taking the lives of everyone close to them.
As Ron's heart crushed, he heard a smirk and glanced down to watch Redwood grinning.
Ron took a step behind and cried, "Avada Kedavra"
The grin on Redwood's face disappeared and a lifeless body lay instead.
The projectile zoomed away and took yet another life, in the form of Cornelius Fudge.
Ron stared at the projectile and almost instantly, it took a turn and made its way towards him.
…
White arrived just in time to watch the Minister of Magic fall to the floor. To his horror, the projectile took a turn and zoomed away. As White's eyes darted, it fell on Ron who was standing steadfast with his wand in front of him.
"Mr Weasley," exclaimed White loudly and took out his wand. He instantly disappeared and reappeared an instant later, a few feet beside Ron.
But before he could react, the projectile had made its way to Ron.
It felt like a slow-motion replay to White even though he was watching the event live.
The projectile was a few feet away and fast approaching Ron.
In return, Ron slashed his wand at the projectile right then.
A bright white light appeared out of Ron's wand and turned into a circular shield.
The projectile struck the shield and burst, the smoke it brought with it, dispersed into the air. The projectile striking into Ron's shield produced an enormous gong that reverberated throughout the Ministry, bringing everyone to a standstill.
The shield disappeared and White grabbed Ron's arms instinctively.
"Mr Weasley... you... are... you are alright?" he asked, shocked for words. "How did you..." he continued, but was too shocked to speak.
"I'm alright," shrugged Ron and fell to his knees at the sight of Fred and George. Arthur had collapsed, but the projectile seemed to have only brushed over him, but Percy was well and truly dead.
A moment later, White placed his wand near his throat.
"This is Benjamin White," began White, his voice booming to each and every corner of the Ministry. "Everyone... back away from this fight... We give up," he announced.
{ … A day earlier … }
Jane threw the invisibility cloak over herself hastily as her wand remained pointed at a floating Harry. He was rendered mute and motionless by Jane quite swiftly and was now floating in the air.
Jane heard Benjamin White and the injured Aurors getting up and start rambling. And very soon, those ramblings turned into yells of command. It looked like everyone had realised what had just happened and were coming after her. It had barely been a minute since she had killed Dumbledore in haste, blasted open the Headmaster's office and duelled Harry.
Invisible to the rest of the world, Jane took off from the ensuing chaos and carefully made her way out of the staircase, onto the corridor and rushed towards the other end. Every once in a few seconds, Jane's hand would flick her wand and a stunning charm kept Harry motionless.
Jane swiftly made it to the 2nd floor girl's bathroom and kicked the door open. Fortunately for her, the bathroom was empty, even Moaning Myrtle seemed to be loitering elsewhere. She kicked the door close and let Harry down cautiously, he was still tied up and lacked access to his wand, one of which was with Jane, and his other, his mother's wand was in his pockets. Jane waved her wand at the door and around the room once to make sure they were locked in and incognito.
Jane heaved a sigh and turned towards Harry as tears started pouring down her cheeks. She flicked her wand at him and Harry suddenly found himself able to move. However, her wand was still pointed at him, unwaveringly.
"Harry," she exclaimed.
Harry, however, swiftly pulled out his other wand, only for it to be expelled from his hands instantly.
"Harry... don't even bother fighting, please," remarked Jane, a little weakly, but her tone sounded nothing like a request.
"Jane... have you gone completely mad?" yelled Harry, angrily.
"Something like that," replied Jane, calmly. "I don't have a lot of time, Harry... Open the Chamber, now, please," she ordered, continuing to point her wand at him.
"No, I will not," retorted Harry, strongly. "Jane is here... She's here," screamed Harry at the top of his voice, hoping to attract attention towards themselves.
"They can't hear you, Harry..." remarked Jane. After a moment, she continued, "The past few days have taken a huge toll on me, Harry... please don't test my resolve," she sighed, weakly. "Now," she began and strengthened the grip on her wand, "Don't make me use the Imperius curse on you, please," she remarked.
Harry stared back at her angrily. "Go on... do your worst," he stood his ground.
Jane heaved a sigh. She glared at Harry and a moment later, waved her wand, flicked it, muttering, "Imperio".
Harry felt all the worries in the world wiped out of his mind.
"… Open the Chamber, dear …" said the voice repeatedly.
"… Open the Chamber, dear …"
"… Open the Chamber, dear …"
It was Jane's voice in his head, she sounded warm and caring, and it had a soothing tone to it.
Harry's immediate reaction was to accept the request made to him. Just then, he began feeling something else as well, an eerie feeling.
"Don't do it, you idiot..."
"Why are you opening the chamber?"
At the same time, Jane's soothing voice kept telling him, "Harry, dear... open the Chamber for me, please..."
And then something entirely different happened. He heard another voice, a second one inside his head. "Harry," it called out in an ethereal voice. "Do you wish to open the Chamber?" it asked him.
Harry was confused, Jane was asking him to open the Chamber, but he wasn't sure he wanted to do it.
Outside his head, Jane slowly handed him his wands, both of them, in an attempt to win him over. Surprising to her, Harry seemed to be stuck and unable to be influenced by what she wanted him to do.
Harry took his wands, kept his mother's wand in his pocket and turned around to face the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.
Harry stood motionless, staring at the pipe. Jane had her wand pointed at him but was struggling to keep her control.
A few seconds went by, and suddenly, Harry turned around swiftly, his wand pointed at Jane.
"Stupefy," he yelled and dodged away from her grasp.
Jane was quick on the shield and stared at him, shocked. Another duel got underway between Jane and Harry. The pair traded blows and with every second, Jane got frustrated.
After a minute or so, Jane sent a barrage of hexes aimed at him and while he fended for himself, she pulled out the Elder wand and aimed at him, muttering, "Procidat Incipio"
Once again, Harry remained unaffected and managed to block her attack.
"How are you able to resist my illusion?" wondered Jane, out loud, curiously.
Harry was surprised as well, the first time he had managed to block Jane's illusion. But this time around, he knew how he had survived, or at least he ventured a guess, his Mystara.
The duel between the pair continued for another minute. Harry tried, very hard, to get the bathroom door open, but Jane kept him engaged and had the bathroom under a seal. Eventually, Harry's resistance gave way and he fell down, clutching his abdomen. Jane swiftly tied him up once again.
Once she was sure Harry couldn't move, she knelt in front of him and placed her wand very close to his head.
"Why are you doing this, Jane?" pleaded Harry.
Jane, however, did not respond. She glided her wand down Harry's body like she was scanning for something. The moment she came near the pocket of his robes, she halted.
"What do we have here?" she exclaimed, curiously, and pulled out his Mystara.
"Jane... No, please... No," exclaimed Harry, worried.
Instantly, Jane took the mysterious creature into her palm while with the other hand, she pointed her wand at it. Almost immediately, a wooden box appeared out of thin air, trapping the Mystara inside.
"Jane... what are you doing?" exclaimed Harry, afraid she'd kill the Mystara. Fortunately, Jane placed the box down and instead pointed her wand back at him.
"Imperio," muttered Jane.
Harry once again seemed to resist the Imperius curse, but this time, only after a few seconds, Harry was once again in front of the pipe, the opening to the Chamber of Secrets. A gentle hiss escaped his mouth and the Chamber opened itself. Quickly, Jane levitated Harry, gathered everything and jumped into the Chamber.
Once they were on their foot, Jane waved her wand at Harry and pulled him out of the Imperius curse.
Harry came out of the trance, gasping for breath. "No," he exclaimed, disappointed with himself.
"Harry... Please don't make me put you under an illusion for the rest of your time with me," remarked Jane.
"They will find me..." retorted Harry, angrily. "You are deluded if you think you can hide out here," he remarked.
"Hide here?" retorted Jane, chuckling. "Oh, dear, didn't you ever explore the Chamber beyond the reaches of the eye?" she asked.
Harry glared at Jane and the expression on her face alarmed him.
"There is a way to escape Hogwarts from here?" asked Harry, shocked.
So, here we are... I hope you enjoyed the ride, but this is not the end!
The past 45 chapters have been something, eh? When I started out after Chapter 60, I set out on a mission to flesh out our characters, to take it slow and savour every word. As I sit writing this, I can safely say that this has been one heck of an experience to write. There have been ups and downs, like any journey, but it has been worth it. And in this moment, I cannot thank all of you who wrote me something through the reviews, or PMs enough. Believe me when I say that you made this journey just as enjoyable as writing it did. ❤️❤️❤️
Long back, right after I completed Chapter 35, I termed it the end of "The Pledge". I suppose Chapters 36 to 105 form "The Turn". So, what about "The Prestige"?
I'm going to enjoy a little break as I steady my life and my head. And then, I'll set out to complete this jewel. You can expect the next chapters of this story in a few weeks.
PS - I don't usually do this, but I suppose it never hurts to do it once in a while. I'd like to request all my wonderful readers to share this story with all of your friends and family. If you are here, then I can safely assume that you like some parts of this story. I would love to see more engagement for this story and I leave it in your capable hands.
Well, that's all for now... Have a wonderful 2024 and beyond... Ciao! ❤️💋