"How about some eggnog, then?" said Arthur Weasley. He had to shout to be heard over the noise coming from the Dawn Breakers' dig. "It'll be bland because I couldn't get any cinnamon, but where's the —"
"I'll pass on that, Arthur," said Hermione. "I have to join Dumbledore's Army and help with the defense."
"I'll go with you this time," Ginny said, standing up. Her eyes were full of determination, implying that no one could stop her. "I'm tired of hiding behind my friends while they fight for their lives."
"But Hermione, aren't there places for people who aren't fighting to hide?" Bill turned to the children, who were watching the adults with worried faces. "If the enemies come in, the chaos in the courtroom will be immense, and I don't want anyone to get caught in the blind shots like they did during the last Battle of Hogwarts . . . "
At these words, the faces of George, Ron and Percy Weasley turned pale. It reminded Albus of the story of Fred Weasley, George's twin brother, who had died in the aftermath of an explosion during the battle.
"I've looked into it, but there's nowhere else to put them, and I've already magically expanded this place to the limit to keep everyone in the courtroom, so I can't afford to build a shelter," said Hermione darkly. "But if we all stay in our own tents, at least —"
She was interrupted by the sound of someone bursting into the tent. It was Teddy Lupin, breathing heavily and running a hand through his sweaty, sandy hair. Victoire, who had been dating him for years, waved at him with a flush of color on her face, but Teddy, uncharacteristically, just gave her a quick nod and went straight to Hermione.
"Hermione, we're in trouble, I hear a drill outside."
George, who had been listening nervously to their conversation, burst out laughing. "What, were you asleep or something? I've been hearing it very well with only one ear —"
"Not the one coming from there, of course," Teddy said, pointing to the main entrance of the courtroom. He continued, pointing in the opposite direction, to the side where the members of the Wizengamot usually sat for the trial. "There's a new sound coming from that way. I don't think that part of the courtroom is being defended at all . . . "
Hermione stormed out of the tent, and with Ginny, Ron, George, Angelina leading the way, everyone else, adult and child alike, followed her outside. Scorpius opened a cupboard and pulled out the pot of Mandrake, and only then did he follow them with Albus. Stepping out of the retracted canopy, they were greeted by the sight of a vast courtyard of tents, surrounded by a dreary black stone wall. He shivered, though he wasn't cold, as he stepped out of the bright, warm tent and into a dim area lit only by scattered torches. Albus and Scorpius followed the others as they ran between the tents and toward the wooden chairs that rose to the highest point at the front of the room. There were already quite a few people there, milling about uneasily.
"I'm the Minister of Magic, please make way," Hermione shouted, and the crowd cleared a path for them to pass. This allowed Albus, who had been following the grown-ups, to get a closer look at the situation. Now he could clearly hear the drill in front of him. It was much smaller and weaker than the drilling sound from the other side, but it was getting closer. . . .
"Should I cast a defensive spell?" George said, pulling out his wand and pointing it at the seat.
"Wait, what if it's my dad?" said Lily urgently. A small cheer went up from those who heard the words.
"I hope so . . . But it's more likely that it isn't," Hermione said quietly. "We'll wait for now, but let's all get our wands out and get ready to fight."
With that, she and Ginny, Ron, George, Angelina and Arthur, followed by Molly, Bill and Percy Weasley, drew their wands and lined up, keeping their distance from each other and ready to dodge at a moment's notice. Right behind them was Oliver Wood, who had once been on the same Quidditch team as Albus's father, wearing his crimson Quidditch robes, perhaps to look brave.
"Those who are over age, help us! The rest of you stay back — we don't know what's coming!" shouted Hermione.
Albus joined Scorpius in drawing his wand and waited breathlessly for the wall in front of them to open. Rose joined them, limping on her injured leg. The sound of the new drill, now as loud and booming as the one at the front door, finally stopped for a moment. Then there was another powerful vibration, and a large, elongated object splintered through the wooden wall of the chair and burst out. Screams erupted from those standing back and watching. Attached to the front of the heavy equipment, which was the size of a small elephant, was the blade of a huge drill, still spinning slowly and covered in dirt.
Albus peered anxiously into the dark hole the drill had just made, but no one came out. Hermione, along with her colleagues, stared at the drill, and when it stopped working altogether, she stepped to the side where a red light flashed. Then she carefully swept the dirt away with her hand, revealing the words GRUNNINGS DRILL COMPANY etched into the smooth metal surface of the side.
"Grunnings?" Ron's eyes widened. "Why does that name ring a bell?"
Just then, a dull voice of someone who sounded vaguely familiar came from the equipment, startling them all. Upon closer inspection, Ablus could see that the side of the drill was pockmarked with tiny holes, like the kind of speakers Muggles use.
"Er — is anyone there? Looks like it's arrived at the destination according to the coordinates . . . "
"Yes, I'm Hermione Granger," said Hermione cautiously. "Who are you? And are you, by any chance, inside this drill?"
"Inside it? No, it's remote controlled! My name is Dudley Dursley. My cousin Harry gave our company a job: if we detect a large shockwave in this area, we're to drill a hole in this direction and send you out through it."
The members of Dumbledore's Army cheered at the realization of the situation.
"Harry was prepared for this!" exclaimed George excitedly.
"I can't believe he saw this coming!" added Lee Jordan.
"So where does this tunnel lead to?" asked Hermione, shining the light from the tip of her wand at the hole where the drill had come out.
"To an old underground aqueduct, and Harry said it was the only way out. He asked me to tell you to get out of there if you were in trouble."
Hermione thought for a moment. She alternated between the direction of the stairs just outside the main entrance to the courtroom, where the cacophony of the Dawn Breakers' drills and explosions was growing louder, and the small tunnel leading to an unknown location.
"I see no other way. Now, everyone, get all the wizards and witches out of here and we'll hold the Dawn Breakers off in the meantime," said Hermione finally. The D.A. members moved in unison and lined up the people who were streaming this way. "Teddy, you go ahead and lead the people out."
"Me? But I wanna fight —"
"Listen, I'm only doing this because I trust you," said Hermione seriously. "You've gotten the Hogwarts students out safely before, you're the right man for the job."
Teddy nodded solemnly, then walked to the front of the tunnel and stood with his wand lit. "Please maintain order! Students and seniors, please come forward first!"
At these words, the citizens of the Wizarding world lined up, giving way to the elderly and the children, incredibly calm in the midst of such turmoil, and followed Teddy, who led the way, into the tunnel. Even Zacharias Smith and his son, who didn't hesitate to cut in line at every opportunity, meekly took their turn. Albus, who had been off to one side with Scorpius, looked anxiously at the entrance to Courtroom Ten. It was hard to see, hidden by the many tents, but he could hear the D.A. members and Hogwarts professors shouting urgently to each other.
When all of the noncombatants were finally inside the tunnel, the drilling suddenly stopped. The sudden silence was deafening after the loud, sharp, teeth-rattling noise. But no sooner had that happened than the courtroom shook like an earthquake on all sides, and the entrance exploded. Professors and D.A. members were sent flying backwards by the sudden onslaught, and soon Kingsley and two or three surviving Aurors, who had been at the front of the line, rushed through the smoke into the courtroom. Their robes were covered in dust and their faces were smeared with blood.
"Stand down!" cried Kingsley. "Eisenbein is coming!"
But he didn't have to warn. . . . Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. There was the sound of metallic footsteps, the kind that could never be mistaken for anyone else's if you had ever seen him. And then Eisenbein came out. . . . He looked around at the wizards and witches frozen in fear, and with a great sweep of his wand, a huge storm of flames erupted, instantly engulfing the camp. The Aurors tried to resist, but were quickly struck by his Killing Curses and fell lifeless to the ground. . . .
"Get out of here! Hermione, I'll guard this place — you go first!" shouted Professor McGonagall.
As she cast the spell, the few tents that were still standing came to life, using their four poles as legs and lunging at the enemy like angry beasts. Eisenbein was unfazed, and with a swift gesture he tore them all to shreds, then strode nonchalantly forward. Black-clad soldiers in gas masks and helmets followed behind him, raining bullets down on the resisting wizards.
"Kingsley, take the Professor McGonagall with you!" shouted Hermione. "That's an order!"
Kingsley ran into the tunnel, almost dragging McGonagall with him as she tried to stay and fight.
"Albus, Scorpius, you come with us!" Kingsley shouted. Albus wanted to stay behind and help the adults, but Kingsley's deep voice was too much to resist, so he followed him into the tunnel.
The sound of Dumbledore's Army, the last to stay behind, firing curses and hexes in a desperate fight, echoed loudly in the tunnel, amplified by the crunching dirt above their heads. . . . The tunnel looked very unstable, having been drilled only moments before. But after passing through the section of dirt, the space around them suddenly opened up into a more spacious and stable brick tunnel. Albus shone his light down onto the slippery floor and saw a trickle of water running along a narrow, mossy channel.
"This must be an ancient water system," Scorpius muttered, still clutching the potted Mandrake.
They followed the dark figures of Professor McGonagall and Kingsley as they walked quickly through the darkness ahead of them, their steps slowed by the worry of Dumbledore's Army they had left behind. At some point, a very strange feeling enveloped Albus. . . . He felt dizzy and his vision blurred for a moment, as if the room around him had moved on its own while his body remained still. Kingsley and McGonagall seemed to feel it as well, pausing for a moment to look around in confusion. Albus looked around and made a startling discovery: the very old brick waterworks they'd been in just seconds before had disappeared without a trace, and they were now in a new, modern looking concrete tunnel.
"It must have been a Shrinking Charm on the space to compress a very long tunnel to make it seem short," Kingsley said to the two boys who had followed. "I've heard that the Ministry of Magic has a very old escape route in case of emergency, and I think this is it. . . . Maybe we traveled halfway across England in that split second before."
"What, you mean this isn't London?" said Albus, startled.
"Mr. Shacklebolt is right," Scorpius said, pulling out his phone with the hand that wasn't holding the pot. "According to the map, we're in the Midlands, in a field near a town called Cokeworth."
"Then where did everyone else go? Surely a lot of people were ahead of us," said Professor McGonagall worriedly. Fortunately, the reason was soon revealed. After walking along the winding concrete wall for a while, the room suddenly opened up and hundreds of wizards and witches were crowded together.
It was bright enough to make out the surroundings, despite the lack of candles or lamps; as Albus followed the narrow beam of light upward, he saw a hole in the ceiling, just large enough for a person to pass through. As it turned out, the people weren't standing randomly, but were forming a long, winding line under the supervision of Teddy, who was standing near the hole. Whenever each person whose turn it was to stand under the beam of light, they rose to the ceiling and disappeared. Albus spotted Rose among the students, her leg bandaged, and he and Scorpius walked over to her.
"Rose, where is that leading to?"
"Oh, it's you," Rose said, glad to see them both. Considering how cold she had been toward Scorpius before because he was in Slytherin House, it was amazing how close their ordeal had brought them. "Teddy went up and checked it out, and he said there's a big plain some distance from the village. It borders the forest, so I think we could hide there once we're all gathered."
"That's a good idea. The forest will be better for hiding and fighting than the cramped underground," said Albus brightly. "Now all we need is for my dad to come back, and we'll win."
Then, as if remembering something, Scorpius suddenly broke away from the line and walked to a corner of the cave, placing the potted Mandrake nearby and crouching down. Albus and Rose joined them, the latter sighing that it had been a waste to wait in line all this time.
"Come on, Malfoy, explain what it is or —"
"Sorry, Rose. I just had an idea," said Scorpius. "If we could set up a bug here and listen to the Dawn Breakers' radio, it might come in handy later when Mr. Potter gets back."
Even as he spoke, Scorpius was pulling a small device with an antenna out of his pocket and attaching it to the back of a jagged rock that rose inconspicuously from the ground with a series of short, colorful wires. Albus and Rose helped him with the Disillusionment Charm and soon Scorpius pulled out his phone to check the screen and nodded in satisfaction.
"Okay, now if someone is sending a radio signal, we should be able to intercept the frequency and listen to what's being transmitted."
"I'll never understand Muggle technology," Rose grumbled. "I honestly don't understand half of what you're saying."
"Then we'll just have to trust Scorpius. He's an expert on sound."
"But do you think Eisenbein will follow us here?" Rose said uneasily, glancing back over her shoulder. The tunnel they had just passed through was pitch black, but they could make out faint vibrations and noises in the distance if they concentrated.
"My parents and the others are probably still back there, fighting. . . . I hope they come back safely . . . "
"Of course they'll get back safely," said Scorpius assuringly. "But it's only a matter of time before Eisenbein comes after us, and I don't think anyone can stop him altogether, only delay him."
"That's right. I still can't believe he stopped Professor McGonagall's magic so easily . . . " Albus said, glancing over at their headmistress, who was talking to Kingsley off to one side. McGonagall had earned the respect of all Hogwarts students for her brilliant magical skills, and it terrified him to see Eisenbein subdue her with such ease. Meanwhile, most of the people who had filled the vast underground space had already made their way to the surface, and Teddy, looking around at those who remained, waved them over.
"Hey, kids! Stop fooling around and come on up."
"Kids?" Rose said indignantly, walking as fast as her injured leg would allow. But before she could protest, a commotion from the tunnel drew their attention. Pounding footsteps echoed, amplified in the narrow concrete space. Soon, hundreds of over age wizards and witches poured into the room with a rush of footsteps. They seemed to be the same ones who had stayed behind with Dumbledore's Army to stop Eisenbein, and every single one of them had fear and despair etched deep into their faces. Albus reflexively looked for the redheads among them and spotted George Weasley, who stood a head taller than the others.
"Uncle George, what's going on?"
"The courtroom's been taken over," said George breathlessly. His face, which had never lost its sense of humor no matter how dire the situation, was no longer smiling. "We all tried, but none of us could stop him. . . . Fortunately, everyone in the D.A. is okay, but several wizards died on the way. Ron and Hermione were the last to stay behind and collapse the tunnel."
The people who had stayed behind and fought valiantly just moments before were now scrambling to climb on top of each other, quickly disappearing through the hole in the ceiling that seemed to be their only hope. Just as Albus began to wonder what exactly they had seen in the courtroom, Ron and Hermione came running out of the tunnel. Ron's forehead was streaked with blood, as if the color had been drained from his red hair, and Hermione's bushy hair was smeared with ash.
"They're almost out of here. . . . That's a relief," muttered Hermione. "You'd better get up, he's about to —"
Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.
Metallic footsteps came from the other end of the tunnel, accompanied by the sound of boiling water and steam.
"We have to find a way to keep him here," said Scorpius. "Any ideas, ma'am?"
Hermione looked around at the wide space where everyone else had left, leaving only Albus, Scorpius, Rose, Ron and Teddy. She reached out and felt around the shaft of light coming from the hole and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good, there's a powerful protective charm cast by the Ministry here. . . . I could use my authority to restrict access."
"Rose, you go up first. Scorpius, help her," prompted Albus, taking Hope the Mandrake from Scorpius. Scorpius nodded stiffly, then picked up the reluctant Rose and stepped into the beam of light, their bodies floating upward until they disappeared outside the hole.
"There you go, Albus. Now you can . . . " said Teddy, then broke off.
Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.
They froze at the suddenly louder footsteps and turned toward the tunnel. A black figure in a cloak was coming straight at them. . . . Hermione flicked her wand, knocking Ron, Albus and Teddy back toward the beam of light. As Albus stood at the bottom of the hole, their feet suddenly left the ground and their bodies shot up, just like everyone else who had passed through here. . . . It felt as if they were falling into the sky. Albus hugged the Mandrake tightly, remembering the terrible things that would happen if it got out of the pot.
"Defodio!" shouted Hermione from below.
Albus, still holding the plant, flew through the air and watched as much of the tunnel and cavern collapsed under her Gouging Spell before finally emerging through the hole to the surface. Scorpius, who had been waiting, grabbed his flailing arms and helped him regain his balance, then picked up the pot again. In the field, thousands of people who had traveled here together from the underground cavern stood with anxious faces, Ron and Teddy standing beside them. Then Hermione popped up from below, her hair whipping around, and the hole disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place. She picked herself up, stomped her foot a few times on the ground where the hole had just been, and nodded in satisfaction.
"I should be able to keep him there for a while, these old Ministry spells are quite powerful."
"What if he Disapparates out?" said Ron worriedly.
"Don't forget, Ron, he's cast Anti-Disapparation Jinx all over England," said Teddy. "He's not going to break it and risk all of us Disapparating out."
The wizards and witches, who had been watching the situation with apprehension, erupted in cheers, first around them and then spreading to others who had heard the news. Scorpius grinned broadly as he carefully cradled the pot with Hope in it, and Albus grinned back, thinking that the immediate threat had passed.
Only then did he tiptoe over to check the view over the heads of the crowd. Like he had been told, they were standing in the middle of a green field. On one side was a dense forest, and on the other a shabby town full of dilapidated factory buildings with huge chimneys. It looked like a city named Cokeworth.
Now that the Muggle government was in league with the Dawn Breakers, it would be wise to head for the forest rather than the city.
A tap on his shoulder made Albus turn. It was Scorpius, his face pale, holding out one earpiece, the other already in his ear. It was clear that he was listening to the enemy's communications through the listening device. Albus accepted the earpiece with a sense of foreboding and placed it in his ear.
". . . . is my GPS location confirmed?" came Eisenbein's stiff voice.
"Yes, we've confirmed. It's a field near the town of Cokeworth." This time Roberts's voice came through.
"Right. . . . Then I'll deactivate the Anti-Disapparition Jinx for this field only," said Eisenbein. "I want you to contact the government and evacuate the city so the residents don't get hurt . . . and send in the mobile force, including the Weapon."
"We're being set up!" said Albus urgently. "We have to tell the adults!"
Scorpius nodded and turned to Hermione, who was busy discussing something with the D.A. members.
"Madam Granger, I need to talk to you about something."
"Later, Scorpius —" Hermione trailed off and turned away when she saw his stern expression. "Yes, what is it?"
"The Dawn Breakers are coming . . . they're going to break the Anti-Disapparition Jinx around this field."
"What, does that work that way?" Ron asked, his eyes wide.
"It's tricky, but it's theoretically possible to do a partial lifting . . . " said Hermione anxiously.
Then she jerked her head in the direction of the town as if she had heard something. Albus and Scorpius rushed out of the crowd after her, pushing through the people blocking their view. Before they had a clear view of the town of Cokeworth, they heard the rumble of engines. When they finally made it to a vantage point, they saw a number of black objects spewing smoke coming from the city. They were motorcycles with black sidecars carrying gray-uniformed Dawn Breakers, each armed with a large gun-like weapon and a wand. Panicked, shrill screams erupted from the wizards and witches when they realized their pursuers were closing in fast.
"Everyone, into the forest!" shouted Hermione. "Go there and Disapparate to somewhere far away! Hurry!"
The scattered witches and wizards broke up and ran toward the woods. Adding to the chaos were pursuers on motorcycles, threatening them with wands that made loud noises like gunshots.
"We have to protect the people, I'll stay behind." Ron, running beside Albus, said.
"Me too, you go first," said Teddy.
"It won't do any good!" Hermione exclaimed, out of breath. "There are too many of them. . . . It's more sensible to run away first and then rescue the captured people later."
Albus continued to run with Scorpius in pursuit of Hermione, Ron and Teddy. He turned his head at the screams behind him and saw that the motorcycles had already reached the horde of witches and wizards, who were running in disarray like a frightened flock of sheep. The soldiers in the rear aimed their cylindrical weapons and fired, and nets shot out, bundling people up and knocking them to the ground. Just then, Scorpius slowed his pace and reached Rose, who was limping beside the two of them. He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her to her feet, but she didn't make it more than a few steps before falling to the ground.
"Just go!" shouted Rose. "You heard my Mum, you can save me later!"
They left the fallen Rose alone and continued their desperate sprint toward the forest. They didn't even have time to look back. . . . The roar of the motorcycles and the acrid fumes they emitted assaulted Albus's ears and nose. But what made his mind even more dizzy were the screams of fear and pain as his friends and neighbors fell through the nets. . . .
The nets were now flying not only from behind, but from both sides as the motorcycles moved to flank the fugitives, encircling them all in a wide circle. Small children who couldn't run fast enough and parents who tried to protect them were trapped together. Albus saw Ginny and James fighting off the onslaught of enemies while trying to free Lily from the net, and he tried to run toward them, but Scorpius's firm grip kept him stumbling forward.
"Keep running! There's nothing we can do to help!"
Albus's heavy heart felt like it was dragging his whole body down, but he focused all his attention on moving his legs back and forth to clear his mind. Scorpius, who remained remarkably calm, outpaced him, even with his left arm clutching a potted Mandrake. McGonagall and Kingsley stayed behind, leading the Hogwarts professors in firing off the incoming curses and knocking down a few motorcycles to buy the others some time. But they were overwhelmed by the constant waves of Dawn Breakers coming out of the city, and were taken down one by one. . . .
"Stupefy!" shouted Teddy at the front, knocking down one of the bikers who was ramming the people from the left. They jumped over stunned and terrified people and dodged the nets until they were a hundred paces from the forest. By then, almost everyone had been subdued, and only Ron, Hermione and Teddy ran ahead of Albus and Scorpius.
They could no longer hear the motorcycles behind them. . . . If they could just get into the forest, they could get away from the Dawn Breakers for now. The faces of his mother, brother and sister he'd left behind flashed before his eyes and his heart ached, but if only his father would come back, everything would be all right. It had to be. . . .
The dense wall of trees was almost upon them. However, just as they were about to breathe a sigh of relief and step inside, a dozen black-robed figures burst out of the woods. Hermione quickly pointed her wand at them, but a flash of red light sent it flying away. Ron lunged in fury, only to be hit by a Full Body-Bind Curse and he fell with a thud, while Teddy, hit by another curse, flew off into the distance and rolled on the ground. Albus and Scorpius froze, wands drawn, but the Dark wizards walked on unperturbed. Scorpius was still clutching the potted plant, and the Dawn Breakers snickered at the sight.
Once again, the events of Professor Neville Longbottom's final moments were repeating themselves. . . . Once again, Albus would be unable to save his loved ones and would be forced to watch helplessly as they suffered. . . . The despair in his heart grew with the approach of the cloaked figures, and his hand on his wand trembled. The foremost of the Dawn Breakers grinned and pulled off his hood. Warren's pimply face and horn-rimmed glasses appeared, and he raised his wand in a leisurely motion, pointing it at Albus. . . . Just then, a voice shouted from the depths of the forest where the Dawn Breakers had just emerged.
"Expelliarmus!"
An intense beam of red light flashed out and struck Warren in the back, sending him staggering and his wand flying into the distance. Before the Dawn Breakers had time to react, more red beams flew out of the forest, knocking them down one by one. When the assault, which looked like a torrential rain of red light, was over, all the Dawn Breakers lay dazed on the ground. Albus, who had been watching the scene in disbelief, came to his senses and took a step toward the forest. Someone was walking out of the greenish gloom of the forest. . . .
The man who had saved them stepped out into the sunlight. Albus's eyes quickly took in the disheveled black hair with streaks of gray, the lightning scar on his forehead just below it, the round glasses over his green eyes, and the beaming smile. Everything about his face was so familiar, so welcoming, that it brought tears to Albus's eyes.
At last, Harry Potter had returned.