Summary: Enemy action! Attack of the Bees!
Warning! Chapters 11 & 12 were added at the same time! Make sure you don't miss chapter 12!
Chapter 12: Swarm
Harry was twitchy and on edge as he prepared for the upcoming quidditch match. Just a minute or two after they'd all entered the changing rooms, his wand had begun to thrum with a very low threat warning. Much weaker than at Halloween, he hadn't even truly noticed it at first, admittedly half-distracted by his half-dressed female teammates. It was only as the warning thrum subtly grew in power that he finally took full conscious notice and frowned. It still wasn't giving off the same level of threat warning that the troll had been, yet. Maybe only half that. But once he'd noticed it and brought it to Pandora's attention, they'd felt it continuing to gain in potency on a rough curve. As if, whatever threat it was warning him about was getting closer or more imminent.
A thought which, in and of itself, was a little concerning.
He didn't think the wand was supposed to be able to warn him of small dangers. It certainly hadn't tried to warn him about prank spells launched at his back, incoming bludgers, or that time the Weasley Twins had managed to spike the entire Great Hall's drinks with a Gurgle of Laughter potion. In fact, the only time it had warned him about danger so far had been the troll. A potentially lethal danger, and one that had been relatively nearby. So…just what sort of threat was sufficient to warn him from a distance as it closed in on him?
"Harry, you alright?"
Harry jumped as Katie's half-curious, half-worried voice came from right behind him, a hand lightly resting on his shoulder.
"Woah! Didn't mean to startle you, Har! But you've been sort of staring at your wand holster for a couple of minutes. Anxious? This is just Hufflepuff you know!"
Katie's voice was attempting to be light, but not quite pulling it off. Obviously, she suspected something more than mere anxiety. Starring at one's wand wasn't exactly good preparation for a quidditch match, after all. A quick glance showed him everyone else was nearly ready, so Harry forced himself into motion, getting the rest of the way into his gear as he considered what to say. All of them, not just Katie, were watching him after a minute or so, frowning.
"It's not the match. It's…well, this is going to sound strange, but…listen, yeah?"
Katie's forehead wrinkled at his serious, hesitant tone, but she nodded nonetheless. The rest of them did too, Fred and George in particular settling down from where it looked like they'd been about to say something to try lightening the mood.
"So…my wand is one of the very few Ollivander has ever made without one of his traditional cores. It's actually got a Thunderbird feather in it, not Dragon, Unicorn, or Phoenix bits."
The entire team stiffened. Wands weren't super personal, exactly. But you generally only talked about what yours was made of with friends or family. While it wasn't an exact science, you could often tell a bit about a person by knowing what combination their wand was composed of. Ash and unicorn hair, for example, virtually always belonged to someone who was extremely loyal. Loyal to who or what it wasn't possible to say, just knowing the wand materials. But it was still something you could tell about a person, or even about their magical specialties in some cases. Something that might be personal, or even something that could be used against them in a duel. Not that the majority of people knew more than the most common combinations and personality traits.
"Ollivander, when I he gave it to me, he told me that sometimes Thunderbird tailfeather cores can sense danger. That I shouldn't rely on it, but I should be aware of it. And it's…well, it's actually how I became aware of the Troll on Halloween. My wand is always in skin contact in my holster, and it sent a sort of jolt through my magic? That's not quite right, but I don't have the words to describe it…"
Harry trailed off, finishing with his equipment, and turned to face his team. Who were…looking a bit alarmed, actually. Which he supposed was better than dismissive.
"That's the only time, until today, that it did that. It doesn't like, warn me about Fred and George's antics or anything. I don't exactly have a lot of examples yet, but I think it only warns me of serious dangers, or maybe magical ones?" He frowned, but shook that off and continued, "Anyway, it started low key buzzing shortly after we came into the changing rooms. It's not as sharp as the troll, but it's been getting stronger this whole time. And I have no bloody clue what that means. I…just. Keep your wands close? I don't know if you usually even carry them into games. But…"
The entire team exchanged looks, though it was Oliver that spoke.
"I don't, normally. It's not a big deal in Hogwarts matches, but in Professional games you can't. They aren't allowed, as an anti-cheating measure, but…"
Oliver hesitated a moment, then opened his locker, removing his wand from the waist-holster he usually used. He flicked the wand to cut a towel in two, then transfigured a pair of leather straps out of the resulting strips of cloth. Giving them all a suggestive look, the oldest student present used the new straps to secure his wand inside the armguard he wore as a Keeper. Seeing their Quidditch nut Captain doing that had Fred, George and Katie scrambling to do something similar. Alicia and Angelina had apparently already had their wands about their person, but quickly set about helping Katie secure hers in a way that would keep it safe while playing Chaser. Harry sagged a bit in relief.
"Thanks, guys. I know it's strange, but…"
Fred and George, already having secured their wands, grinned and cut him off.
"No worries, Harry!"
"Yeah! Worst that can happen-"
"-is we have our wands on hand to throw out some victory pranks!"
Oliver scowled at the two.
"You bloody well better not! I don't want to give Hufflepuff a reason to demand a rematch for cheating! Better no one knows we all had them, if nothing happens."
Angelina, done with helping Katie, scoffed.
"Relax, Oliver. Like you said, it's not a big deal for Hogwarts games! And if we have like, a dozen trolls invade the field or something, I'd rather Harry not have to handle them all alone this time!"
The teasing wink she shot at Harry got a few laughs. But, soon enough, they were all back to focusing on the game. All of them except Harry, who was growing increasingly nervous as the feeling of warning from his wand only continued to grow stronger…
... ...
For the first ten minutes of the game, the rush of flight and the numerous distractions all around managed to make Harry's concerns vanish. Then, however, just after he'd thought he'd spotted the snitch, his wand pulsed with a deeper warning. So strong was it that Harry practically came to a stop in midair and started looking around frantically. Even so, it took nearly ten seconds to spot the problem, several more seconds to process what he was seeing and understand it, then several heartbeats of panic to figure out what to do about a Swarm of Giant Bees zooming out in waves from the Forbidden Forest.
'Harry! You need to alert the teachers! You can't handle that on your own!'
Pandora's urgent mental voice cut through Harry's panic and got him in motion. He flicked his wand into his hand, shot a huge burst of red spark out toward the forest, then pointed it at his own throat.
"Sonorous."
The sound amplification charm was one of several he'd studied and practiced for the theater project, and he was grateful for that fact now as he shouted over the confused noises of the crowd.
"The Forest! Attack from the Forest! A swarm of Giant Bees! Get everyone inside!"
People were screaming and the Professors were moving, but they would all be too late, the first of the Bees were seconds from the stands. Harry was already moving his broom as fast as he could make it go, and the rest of the Gryffindor team had now seen the same thing he had. In true Gryff fashion they were now racing into formation with him, sweeping toward the incoming wall of death.
"Fire Spells! Strong as you can make them! Clear the first wave away to buy time! Cast BEHIND you so you don't fly into it!"
With that last instruction, Harry cut the sound amplification spell. He'd reacted first, seen the danger first, and would reach the enemy first. Grimly, he focused on the group of Bees Pandora had highlighted for him, the group that was going to reach the other students first. Shifting his broom, he shifted his flight vector to cut across them at an angle. They were frighteningly close when he shouted out the only fire spell he really knew, grateful he at least knew a spell modifier for it as well.
"Incendio Maxima!"
Here, Harry's immense control and reserves for his age came into play. Most might have been stuck with the basic jet of flame that the spell produced, even if they'd had the power and intent needed to turn it into an attack in the first place. But Harry had power, control, and he almost never actually spoke spells. The extra boost to focus and intent that gave him, added to pouring on the power and using his remaining control to shape the flame, caused the spell to come out as something akin to a cone. That cone spread out as it moved away from him, turning into a two-meter-wide sheet of flames by the time it reached the Bees. He twisted both his wand and his flight path to drag that line of flame like an extremely broad flamethrower all along that first wave of enemies.
Just as he'd hoped, these Bees were extremely flammable. They went up like torches, spiraling to crash into the outside of the stands. He grimaced at that, realizing that if any of them made it into the inside of the stands, those crashing fireballs could be lethal in and of themselves. But for now, it was still the best option, and the rest of the Quidditch team had caught up, more flame spells, several that were more advanced than an overpowered incendio, lanced out into the approaching swarm, blunting their assault. But blunting it was all that they could do, even together. There weren't just hundreds of Bees, there were thousands, and each of them were easily the size of a large dog. The flying defense was forced to retreat towards the stands, even as three Hufflepuff players joined in and older students who'd elected to stay to play rearguard among the stands began throwing out wildly varied spells on their own.
Perhaps the only good thing about the situation was that the Bees had come at the Hufflepuff section first. Gryffs might have all stood to fight, at potentially horrible cost for the students. But the Puffs had prioritized getting their own younger students to safety. In a display of organization only that house could have managed on the fly, the fourth and fifth years had almost immediately begun to corral the younger years, even as the sixth and seventh had raced to the top of the stands and were now lobbing spellfire out at the onrushing swarm.
Harry's warning, the quidditch team's quick actions, and the Hufflepuff response had all bought time. Precious time for the Professors to react. Dumbledore wasn't in attendance, he rarely was for quidditch games. But Professor McGonagall had quickly proven why she was one of the most feared and powerful witches in Britian. She'd immediately transfigured herself an animated platform from the wood of the stand, sending it charging across the field, balanced atop it and conjuring the entire way. First dozens, then hundreds of birds of prey poured from her wand and crashed viciously into the second wave of the swarm. Smaller than the Bees, the metal talons of her conjured defenders nevertheless viciously savaged that wave, taking it out almost entirely.
Flitwick, even faster to respond but needing more time to cover the distance, had still done so with a series of mobility spells that let him practically bounce across the pitch. As he closed the range, one of the unarmed Hufflepuff players tossed him their broom and he went airborne with a face of angry determination. With this new elevation, a dozen far more advanced flame-charms flew from his wand. A positive wall of fire blanketed the third wave of Bees, with a fusillade of arrows that detonated like artillery shells taking chunks out of the fourth and fifth waves.
Seeing it all, Harry shouted out over the roar of flames, trying to gather the rest of the fliers.
"Pull back! Let them handle the bulk! Form up over the students and protect them from any that get through!"
At least a couple of the broom riders heard him, and must have passed on the order/suggestion to the rest, as all of them were soon zooming over the crowd that was surging toward the castle. The call quickly turned out to have been a good one. Many of the surviving Bees of the first waves had leaked around the edges of the stands. Professors Snape and Sprout were viciously defending the column of students, but that column stretched too far, and they were straining to defend such a wide area. Bombing runs by first lone fliers, then formations as Oliver shouted instructions that adapted Quidditch tactics to the situation, took the pressure off the two professors for critical minutes.
Then, with enough time having passed for him to become aware of the attack, Albus Dumbledore appeared in a flash of Pheonix Fire. His arrival was felt by everyone as this was not the kindly headmaster. This was the archmage in a towering fury at his charges being attacked, magic roiling off of him in a way that nearly caused a few of the retreating students to collapse from the sheer magical pressure.
Then his wand came out and a silent wave of fire that stretched down the entire column of retreating students burst to life. Moments later, a hundred copies of Fawkes charged out of those flames, hunting and scouring the attacking swarm, even as the real Fawkes abruptly proved why Phoenixes were a XXXX creature. He had charged off toward the Forest, where still more of the Giant Bees were continuing to stream from…and abruptly turned into a 30-meter-wide inferno as he shrieked a war cry and engulfed the entire next wave.
From that point on, the fliers didn't need to raise their wand again until the very last student, seventh year Puffs and Gryffs that had played rear-guard, were sealed safely inside the castle walls…
... ...
Two hours later, the entire Gryffindor quidditch team was present in the headmaster's office. Katie was half-asleep on Harry's shoulder, and all of them looked worn. The oldest of their team was Oliver Wood, who was himself only a fifth year. And not a single one of them was used to the sort of heavy, sustained magic use that they'd used in the short battle earlier. The Heads of House and Dumbledore looked sympathetic and had provided food to perk them up, but it was clear they needed to know as much about what had happened as possible. Dumbledore took the lead in the questioning, as soon as they all had something hot and sugary in their hands.
"None of you are in trouble. Indeed, you likely saved lives today and will all be getting a public thank you and hefty set of points. You performed admirably, with all the best traits of your house."
Several of them did perk up at that. Getting personal congratulations and public thanks from Albus Dumbledore was no small thing.
"However, all of the heads did notice that your entire team was armed with your wands today. And it was Harry that called out the danger. I have to ask…were you expecting something to happen?"
The team all looked a little uneasy at that, and Oliver made to answer, but Harry was close enough to reach over and up to put a hand on his shoulder.
"It was my doing sir. It…well, I'd prefer this not get out for obvious reasons, but my wand has a Thunderbird tailfeather as its core. One of the only ones with that core Ollivander every made, apparently."
There was an ever-so-slight widening of Dumbledore's eyes that said he knew where this was going, but Harry went on for those that might not be up on their wand lore.
"Ollivander told me when I got my wand that wands with that core are occasionally known to warn of danger. Particularly if the danger is magical in nature. So far, I've felt something like that only twice. First, which I apologize for not mentioning at the time, was on Halloween. A spike of…something hard to describe, flared from my wand when Quirrell first walked out of the edge of the Forest. I wouldn't have even noticed him, given I was lost in memory, if not for that."
Dumbledore nodded.
"And it warned you again? Why didn't you tell anyone?"
Dumbledore seemed to see a protest on several of his teammates' faces.
"…Aside from your teammates, that is?"
Harry grimaced but tried to explain himself as best he could.
"Because it wasn't as strong. It wasn't a brief burst like the Troll, and I barely noticed it at first. The fact that the feeling of warning was slowly growing stronger as the game got closer worried me enough to confess about it to the rest of the team. But I didn't even know what that meant. Was it warning me there was something wrong with my broom, and the closer I got to the match the more danger I was in? Or…well…you get the idea. It's not like it told me, 'a swarm of Giant Bees is about to attack.'"
Slowly, Dumbledore nodded.
"Understandable. It was only the second time you'd experienced it, and it was different from the first. You lacked a frame of reference for why that was. I trust, in the future, you will warn a Professor if the same thing happens again?"
Harry shrugged, but also nodded readily.
"Assuming I'm in a position to do so, sir? Absolutely."
"Good. Very good. Now, if each of you could give me a brief description of what happened from your perspectives. In particular, anything you might have noticed from where the first waves of Bees were concentrated, that will be all we need from you. You undoubtedly could all use a good night's sleep."
Katie gave a little cheer at that, even as she plopped her head back down on Harry's shoulder and chewed a sugar-loaded biscuit in an attempt to stay awake…
... ... ... ... ...
A/N: Alright! Those familiar with my works should already know this, but there are early access chapters of this story over on P-atreon. NONE of my fanfiction works are ever paywalled forever. The chapters there are early access only and will eventually make their way here. Currently, Chapters 13-17 of this story, roughly another 14,500 words in total, are available there. If you want to get access to more NOW, instead of waiting, you can find a link for my P-atreon in my profile. You can also simply add /user?u=93048562 after the dot com in the address of you-know-where. Alternatively, just search 'Novus's Fanfiction Works' on Google or Bing and it should get you there ;-). Of course, you also get access to my other Early Access chapters for additional stories. There is typically around 40,000-60,000 words of various works in early access at any one time. I always appreciate any support, since it helps me free up more writing time...but most of all I hope you just enjoy the stories!
