Everyone was beyond tense over the next few days.
The DA was in and out of the ballroom at all hours of the day and night. All of them looked anxious or dour in ways that had their relatives asking questions. Though they weren't told anything, the tight-lipped replies and visible worry had tension rising in the entire castle.
The article release had gone as planned and had been well-received. The DMLE had gained quite a bit of good press, as planned.
It was so good, in fact, that the Minister demanded a tour of the department the very next day. He arrived with a photographer in tow so his pet reporter would have pictures to go with the article about how well Madam Bones was handling the situation under the direction of Minister Fudge.
This worked in their favor, however.
The amount of personnel and aurors she had on hand didn't seem suspicious at all with the Minister around and insisting on large photo opportunities. The DA was sure that it would put the dark side on the defensive a little more but if they expected a quick reaction time, they wouldn't suspect a spy of informing them ahead of time.
Plus, all the pictures in the paper told a different story to the glowing words in the article itself. All of the aurors caught in the shots with the illustrious Minister looked irritated or unenthused and some of them even tried to inch out of frame so as not to be seen with Fudge. One of them tripped in an effort to get away which made Harry laugh because he was pretty sure it was Tonks (though she denied it).
Still, this was not the most conducive environment to celebrating New Year's. This year, the celebration felt a little lackluster.
Sure, the house-elves made an impressive early dinner feast and the Weasley twins put on another spectacular fireworks display over the beach. There was a midnight BBQ on the lawn too (since dinner was intentionally early to account for most people staying up to midnight) but it was sparsely attended by the DA. Those that did attend participated in the countdown half-heartedly and retreated to the ballroom just half an hour after midnight.
"I don't understand," Gareth frowned. "It's New Year's day now."
"Barely," a dour-faced Seamus grumbled. "Bastard ruined New Year's Eve. Me mum's tossed off her trolley and I'm proper as a priest. It's not right, that."
"I would have expected an attack to come by now," the tactician said with a frown. "We've been on alert for days but there's been nothing."
"I expected it at the stroke of midnight, honestly," Harry agreed. "He's normally pretty dramatic that way."
"Did you just call the Dark Lord dramatic?" Susan asked.
"Yeah," Harry shrugged. "What else do you call staging attacks on Halloween, the spookiest night of the year, or waiting until the end of the year to strike for the most effect, or his ridiculous made up name and shite tattoo?"
Millicent made a choking noise in the back of her throat while a few others cracked half-smiles.
"He's got a point," Blaise admitted.
"He does have a flair for the dramatic," Hermione had to agree.
"Maybe he didn't want to work on his birthday," Luna suggested in an airy tone.
That made everyone in the room pause and stare at her oddly.
"What?" Hannah asked in a confused tone.
"Tom Riddle was born on December 31," Luna said.
"…it was his birthday?" Harry asked blankly.
For some reason, that was an uncomfortable thought. It humanized him in a way that contradicted his monstrous actions.
"Weird," Gareth muttered.
"I wouldn't want to work on my birthday," Luna said with a light shrug.
"It's disturbing to think he might consider raining terror down on an entire country as work," Susan said.
"Definitely," Hannah agreed.
"It's late," Harry said as he checked his watch. "Everyone know their shifts?"
"Yes," Neville answered. "My squad will keep an eye out here for the next two hours."
"Mine will take over after that," Susan said.
"And mine after that," Zara said. Even she looked tired instead of coldly aloof like usual.
"If anything happens, send out the signal," Harry said with a gesture towards their necklaces. "Sally-Anne, you're staying with the first watch, right?"
"Yes," she confirmed. "And half of the second watch."
"I'll take over after that," Sally Smith said before he could ask.
"Alright, thank you both," he said.
With Ron at the Burrow and Gareth having been in the ballroom from sunup to now, Harry needed their other two tacticians ready to jump onto any potential problems that might arise in the late/early hours of the night/morning.
"I'd say goodnight but it's morning now," Neville said. "We'll stay alert down here. Get some rest."
"Send Dobby to wake me if we hear anything, please."
"I will," Neville promised.
Harry and Hermione left the ballroom together after that.
"That was quite the New Year's," she said.
"I feel bad for all the people that live here that aren't in the DA," Harry admitted. "They have no idea why everything was so tense."
"I'm sure some of them have suspicions," Hermione said. "At least the twins put on a good show."
"The younger kids seemed to enjoy the games on the lawn," he said.
"Yeah," she agreed. "My dad said he's coming to like having a house-elf as a barbecue helper."
"They do seem to love wearing the aprons."
Hermione made a light sound of amusement. Their walk through the halls of Firewall Castle continued in comfortable silence. Since Harry's suite was on a different floor, they came to a stop at the base of the stairs on her floor.
"Try to get some shut eye," Harry said with a grim set to his face. "It's New Year's Day now so if something's coming, it'll be today."
"I know, that's why I'm not sure I'll be able to get any rest," Hermione told him fretfully.
"I asked Lanuaria for a weak sleeping potion," he admitted.
"Really?"
"She pulled me aside when we got back and said it was obvious I wasn't sleeping enough," he told her. "She asked if my scar was giving me any trouble like it did around fourth year but with Occlumency, I haven't had a problem. It's just my racing mind."
"I can understand that. Why didn't you say something?"
"I'm not the only one with trouble sleeping nowadays," Harry reminded her. "I might not even be the worst off."
Hermione winced slightly at that. He wasn't wrong; she had seen Lavender have more than a few nightmares after her injury at Bulstrode Manor. Susan had similar issues and often confided in Hannah. Cho still had sessions with Dr. Tolipan.
"It's good that she can help," she finally said.
"You could always ask her as well," he said lightly.
"I might," Hermione said. "For now I think I'll just ask one of the elves for a cup of tea."
"That doesn't sound half bad."
"I'll see you in the morning, Harry."
"Yeah," he said. "Goodnight 'Mione."
"Sleep well."
…
"Damn," Harry cursed.
It was almost five hours after he'd gone to sleep and he'd just been awoken by the heat and frantic vibrations emitting from his pendant. He supposed he should be grateful he'd managed to get as much rest as he had. Many other DA members only got short naps in-between the shifts they took in the ballroom.
He rolled out of bed within seconds, wand already snapping through the movements required to shift his pajamas into his DA armor. By the time he reached the bottom of the first set of stairs, he'd finished his breath-freshening and wakefulness charms. They worked quicker than a cup of tea or coffee ever could.
"Hermione," he called from the top of the stairs as he saw his brunette friend hurrying down the corridor.
"Harry," she returned as she stopped at the base of the stairs.
By the time he reached the bottom, he'd finished his breath-freshening and wakefulness charms. They worked quicker than a cup of tea or coffee ever could.
"Any idea what's going on?"
"No," she answered, worry giving her voice a sharp edge. "You?"
"No, let's find out," he said as he tapped his earpiece. "What's happening?"
"St. Mungo's," Sally Smith reported tersely within a second. "They're hitting St. Mungo's."
He and Hermione shared a concerned look before quickening their paces significantly.
"Numbers?" Harry asked in the same tone.
"Unclear," Sally answered with frustration. "Seven Death Eaters on the map but we have to assume there's an unknown number of mercenaries with them."
"Okay, we're on our way."
"They're targeting the hospital?" Hermione asked with an upset look. Attacking the sick and injured was low even for Voldemort.
"Neville!" Harry called as he saw the edge of his friends purple cloak snap around the corner. Reluctantly, Neville paused in his steps and let the two of them catch up.
"You heard?" Harry asked needlessly though Neville nodded his head jerkily in response.
"Harry, my parents-"
"I know," Harry cut him off. "We won't let anything happen to them."
"They're attacking the wards," Sally said through the earpiece.
"Brace yourselves," Harry said as he saw the fear and worry on Neville's face. "I'm going to apparate us."
"Can you take us both at once?"
"Just hold on tight," Harry said before clasping forearms with both of his friends. "Let's go."
With a loud pop that momentarily woke up the Desford family (whose suite they were closest to), the three friends disappeared from the upper corridors of the castle and reappeared right outside the ballroom.
Neville was pushing the doors open before Hermione even got her bearings, hurrying into the room to check on the situation. Inside was already a swarm of activity. More DA members were streaming in through the doors in ones and twos.
"How long will the wards hold?" Neville asked as he strode over to the tactics corner.
"We'll be lucky if we get six more minutes," Gareth answered quickly. "They're meant to protect the hospital from muggles and internal threats, not external attacks."
"Aurors mobilizing now," Amelia said over the comms. "Hospital initiating lockdown procedures."
"That's the only advantage we have," Sally explained. "Each floor and unit has semi-independent lockdown wards in case of a dangerous patient or pathogen."
"They started the attack right at shift-change," Gareth continued. "Which is admittedly the best time to attack the hospital. This time of day has the least amount of staff and oversight. They'll have to work their way up floor by floor and there's only two stairwells on either side of the building."
"Do the aurors have an arrival point within the building?" Seamus asked. He was on squad three and was in the ballroom before the alerts went off.
"Only the lobby," Gareth answered grimly.
"Better than nothing," he said optimistically.
"They have to arrive before the wards fall otherwise the lobby won't be safe to portkey or apparate into."
"Harry, can I call Dobby?" they heard Ron ask in a serious tone over the earpiece.
The odd question and timing caught Harry off guard but he answered quickly anyway. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you call on him."
"I'll be there soon," Ron said before cutting out.
"It doesn't help that the hospital's bang square in the middle of Knightsbridge," Seamus continued, a serious expression replacing his usual light-hearted one.
"That's a heavily populated commercial center," Hermione agreed with a focused set to her brow. "If they're not inside the wards yet, does that mean they're out on the street in full view of muggles?"
"Amelia," Harry said immediately into his earpiece. "Are the Death Eaters just out on a muggle street attacking the wards right now?"
"Confirm," she answered a long moment later in a low growl.
"We're going to need to contact the muggles and have an obliviation squad there as soon as the building is breached and the fight moves inside," Harry said with a grim face.
"The squads are normally sent after the battle," Susan told him in a sleep-roughened voice as she strode into the ballroom.
"That's not going to work here," Hermione said with a shake of her head. "This isn't a sleepy neighborhood, it's a massive shopping district."
"It's so early though," Susan said with a furrow of her brow. "Surely not that many people are out on the street?"
"It's peak hours for muggles," Harry disagreed. "That street is going to be covered with people; all the shops may not be open but employees are in some of those shops already and lots of drivers are passing by on the way to work."
"Susan said you normally send obliviators after, Amelia," Hermione said urgently as she tapped her earpiece. "But we're talking hundreds of potential witnesses here; London is already awake and bustling unlike Diagon Alley."
They heard the light sound of Amelia trying to smother a curse before her connection cut out.
"She'll handle it," Susan said confidently.
"The last thing we need is a breach of the statute."
"The wards have fallen," Neville said loudly, pulling their attention back towards the map of St. Mungo's.
"Aurors deployed," Amelia said tersely right on cue.
The doors to the ballroom banged open and Ron strode in, face stormy and eyes already trying to take in the details of the map he could barely see.
"Form up," Zara Valli barked at her squad; since they had been on watch, they were the only squad fully present and geared up.
"Are we going in?" Seamus asked as he and the other eight members of his squad formed up in front of Zara.
"Not sure," Alice Curry muttered back.
"Hold steady," Ron told them firmly as he walked by.
Zara nodded her agreement but still hurried over to an armoire pushed against one of the walls. Inside were rows of standard issue auror cloaks. With a wave of her wand, she sent one over to each member of her squad while swinging another over her own shoulders.
Seeing Neville Longbottom watching her with unusually piercing hazel eyes, she waved her wand one more time and sent one over to him. He gave her a nod of thanks.
"Report," Ron said, sparing only a nod for Hermione and Harry who returned it tensely.
"Unknown numbers on the ground," Sally began. "External wards are fucked; a lockdown's been triggered."
Gareth pointed out the seven Death Eaters that they could see on the larger, enchanted map of the UK and estimated their positions on the regular map of the hospital that they possessed.
"Third squad of aurors deployed," Amelia said.
"That's what, two dozen aurors?" someone asked quietly.
"Thereabouts," Brando told them.
"Initial reports estimate more than two dozen hostiles," Amelia told them in a dark mutter.
Someone's earpiece activated and they could suddenly hear the sounds of heavy breaths, grunting, curses, spell fire, and shattering glass.
"I'm here," a gruff, Australian-accented voice growled out.
"Brock," Neville said immediately. "How many are with you?"
"Like thirty," he grunted, keeping it short.
"So probably all of his new shock troops," Ron said. "And some of his Death Eaters to keep them in line."
"The aurors are going to be pinned down," Sally told Gareth in a concerned tone. "This is where they land, right?"
"Right," he confirmed with a frown.
"They're going to need more numbers," she said as she shook her head. "It's a shit position to defend and they're outnumbered."
"Maybe if we could get someone to come in right here…" Gareth said as he traced out an area on the St. Mungo's map.
"Try to blend in," Harry told Brock grimly. "Are you under a silencing charm?"
"Charmed hood," he answered. "One stairwell is unguarded; half of our forces going up while the other half deals with the aurors."
"Which half are you in?"
"Whichever, they're not that organized."
"Go up, please," Neville said immediately. "My parents are on the fourth floor."
"That's our primary target."
Neville's face darkened at hearing that and Brock's earpiece cut off.
"They're targeting my parents," he said darkly.
"Possibly," Harry agreed with concern drawn across his face. "The long term ward has a lot of victims from the previous war too and a number of aurors who were injured in active duty."
"Wards around Diagon Alley are triggering," Gareth called out, switching his focus to the map of the shopping center.
"Confirm," Amelia repeated, already seeing the Ministry sensors going off. "Deploying fourth squad to Diagon Alley."
"Ten Death Eaters on the map," Gareth told Ron. "They're coming out of Knockturn 'round Borgin and Burkes."
"It's a distraction," Ron said immediately. "They're forcing the aurors to split their attention."
"Looks like they're stationary in the mouth of Knockturn Alley."
"We have a visual on them," Fred Weasley said over the earpiece.
"Do not engage," Harry said immediately.
"We'll stay within our wards," George said. "We're on the top floor of our shop now; there's no one in the street."
"Most of the buildings are probably empty with everyone home celebrating the New Year," Fred added.
"They look to be shooting off some bludgeoning hexes," George said.
"And there's the flame spells."
"Lots of flame spells."
"Aurors are on site," the twins continued to narrate. "They're closer to the Leaky though."
"The Death Eaters are retreating back into Knockturn Alley," Gareth said.
"This was just a smash and burn," Ron said with a quick shake of his head. "Amelia, can you send in another squad? The aurors arrived in front of the north stairwell but there's already hostiles making their way up the other one."
There was a long moment of silence that seemed to drag on for ages.
"Negative," she finally answered in a frustrated tone. "Next team is eight to ten minutes out."
"That's too long," Neville said immediately.
Harry held up a hand and thought for a long moment. Then, he turned to Ron. "You got this?"
"Neville," Ron said immediately, grabbing a silvery portkey from a shelf. "This'll put you at the street entrance of the hospital; throw up a muggle repelling ward on arrival. Go now."
Neville nodded, not questioning anything else.
"Squad Three, ready?"
"Ready," Zara answered with a nod.
"Everybody grab on then," Ron said as he handed Zara a length of green rope. "Harry?"
"I'm going," he said immediately, summoning an auror cloak.
"Be safe," Hermione said.
"Ward is up," Neville said over their comms briskly.
"Squad Three, go," Ron directed before tapping his earpiece. "Squad Six, form up."
Lucas Masson, who was already in the room, shared a look with Marcus Theron.
"You ready to get back in the field?"
"Always," the former British auror said.
It was a good choice to send the squad comprised entirely of former hit-wizards and aurors. They had the broader builds and statures to more easily pass as aurors at first glance.
"Squad Three, follow Neville towards the fourth floor," Ron directed. "South stairwell."
"Confirm," Zara said tersely. Gone was the teenage heiress; in her place was a battle-ready woman with a mission and a plan.
"Make sure your hoods are secured," Hermione reminded. "And stick to auror-standard spells."
Considering how wide that range of spells was, no one would have any trouble with that.
"Harry, you're my eyes mate," Ron said.
"Got it," he agreed.
"Amelia, Squad Six is ready to move out on your go," Ron told her.
Though he didn't hear an answer, he knew that she could hear him. She was surrounded by DMLE personnel however as they tried to keep up with reports coming in from the aurors in the field.
"Craven, can you manage a ward around the southern stairwell?" Hermione asked hurriedly as she approached the now red-cloaked squad.
"Da," he answered. "What kind?"
"Can you block access to it with arbitrary parameters?"
He thought about it for a moment before nodding jerkily. "Da."
"Since not everyone has the Dark Mark, we can't ward against it," she explained. "Instead, make it so only people wearing red cloaks can walk through or anyone wearing dark cloaks can't or something like that."
"Easy to crack," he warned. "But in battle no one will have time so this will work. Smart girl."
"Thanks," she said a touch dryly before spinning on her heel and retaking her spot at Ron's side.
"Aurors have the Diagon situation under control," Fred reported.
"Nothing more than property damage," George finished.
"Alright," Gareth said, confirming that he'd heard them.
Meanwhile, Amelia had a short internal battle with herself.
She'd known the DA wouldn't be ale to sit back if one of their own (the Longbottoms) were threatened just like they knew she wouldn't give them the go ahead.
Now that they had already gone in, however, she couldn't deny that her aurors could use the help. She had one squad tied up with the fires in Diagon Alley. Half of the first two squads had already returned via emergency portkey for medical treatment; there were already two confirmed casualties. The third squad and what remained of the response teams were trying to hold the situation together.
Put simply, her aurors needed backup.
"Send them in," she muttered to the DA.
"What was that, Madam Bones?" her assistant asked.
"I said," Amelia lied. "Read them in. Rufus and his assistant just got here."
"I'll bring him up to speed immediately, ma'am."
Amelia breathed a sigh of relief before spinning on her heel to get the latest report from the first conscious auror she saw in the infirmary.
"Squad Six, you're a go," Ron said.
"St. Mungo's," Marcus said, activating the portkey they were all grasping.
With a pop, they disappeared from the ballroom and reappeared outside of the entrance to the hospital. The huge glass window was busted out and it was easy to see a battle raging around the expanded space within.
"Gareth, take point on Squad Six," Ron said as he turned to face Gareth and Sally who were whispering over the map of St. Mungo's ground floor.
"Got it," Gareth said before adjusting his earpiece. "Squad Six, you read me?"
Ten voices echoed back their agreement and Gareth nodded shortly.
"Their forces are going to be pinned between you and the aurors by the north stairwell. Cover Craven while he wards the southern one and then put them down, hard."
"No holds barred?" Marcus clarified.
"Auror standards; non-lethal until they go lethal," Gareth answered. "Brock's upstairs so don't feel like you need to hold back…"
Ron focused back on Harry who was feeding him updates on their progress through the first floor.
The situation there wasn't good. Alice Curry would later describe it as horrifying; the skeletons of patients burned alive in their beds would haunt her for many years to come.
Right now, however, they didn't have time to focus on that.
"We need to move on," Neville said as he swallowed back a little bile and used Occlumency to push back his emotions.
"No signs of life on the first floor," Harry said grimly. "Looks like dark fire."
"This was the Magical Bugs ward," Neville said as he looked around angrily.
Apparently they had taken the 'purge it with fire' approach to the magical diseases and ailments floor.
"The containment wards kept the fire from spreading up a floor or into the stairwell," Zara noted. "We need to catch up to them before they do this to every floor."
Neville didn't need to be told that; he was already moving faster than the rest of them. Harry was hard pressed to keep up.
In the end, it turned out to be a good thing that Harry was a couple of feet behind Neville as they approached the second floor landing. He was able to see a flash of spell fire reflected in the small panes of glass in one of the doors.
"Watch out!" Harry shouted.
Grabbing the back of Neville's cloak, Harry yanked him back behind the cover of the stairwell wall. Neville stared at the acidic, bubbling hole in the stone wall the spell had hit instead of him.
"Merlin," Gillian cursed. "Careful; I can't heal your organs if they're boiled."
"Right," Neville said before his face took on a predatory look. "We only respond with lethal spells if they go there first, correct?"
"Yep," Harry agreed.
"That looked pretty lethal to me, wouldn't you say?"
"Certainly," Harry agreed again with a matching expression.
"Well then…"
…
Zara Valli had to admit to being surprised by Neville Longbottom that day.
"He might be a lion, but he fights like a bear," Padma muttered to her twin as they maintained their position on the stairwell.
"I'll say…"
"To be fair, he did try to be restrained at first," Zara pointed out.
That was true. Then one of the Death Eaters had begun taunting him and saying they'd interrupted his fun. Once Neville had seen what they had done to a frail old woman (who'd only been there to be treated for doxy poisoning), the restraint had flown out of the window.
With Harry behind him throwing up magical and physical shields as needed, Neville rolled over the Death Eaters like a tank. He was sure his friend had his back and didn't hesitate to charge in.
"Three Death Eaters down," Zara said to Ron over the comms.
"No injuries?"
"Longbottom's got some blood on him but I don't think any of it's his," she answered somewhat dryly.
"There's no Death Eaters downstairs, only mercenaries," Ron reported. "That means there's at least four more in the upper floors."
"Understood," Zara said as her cobalt blue eyes narrowed.
Their wands snapped up when they saw movement at the end of the hall only to lower when they saw a little girl sporting hundreds of tiny bug bites.
She gasped and disappeared back into her room but it served to remind them of what they needed to do.
"Everyone have the emergency portkeys from Amelia?" Harry asked.
There were a few nods.
"Let's evacuate this floor then; enter rooms in teams of two and remember that we haven't completely cleared it yet. There's still four Death Eaters unaccounted for."
"We know they're probably on the third or fourth floor," Zara said. "Maybe we should split up and force them into the middle of the third floor."
"Ron?" Harry asked. "You get that?"
"Evacuate the second floor and hold for further instructions," the redhead answered.
"Department of Magical Law Enforcement!" Neville barked with a confidence that surprised his friends. "We're evacuating this floor."
Room by room they swept across the ward, pressing buttons into the hands of confused, sleepy, scared, or still unconscious patients without offering explanations. Anyone who tried to protest found a button banished towards them, portkeying them away to the auror's emergency medical facility.
"Patients clear."
"Harry, Neville, Alice, Wayne, Seamus, and Ella," Ron called out. "North stairwell."
"Zara, Gillian, Parvati, Padma, Oliver, and Stephen," Sally-Anne said. "South stairwell; I'm your new point person."
"Got it," Zara said, easily adapting to the split in her squad.
"Let's go people," Neville said as he spun around and headed towards the north stairwell.
"Hold at the top of the stairs," Ron and Sally-Anne directed in unison.
"Holding," Zara said shortly.
"Prepare a flash-bang," Sally-Anne advised.
"Holding," Neville said a minute later once they were in position. "I can see movement."
"I can hear someone in the stairwell above us," Ella hissed quietly even though their hoods were enchanted to keep their conversation between themselves.
"Me," Brock said on an exhale, his voice a little hard to hear. "Healers are mounting a defense of the top floor."
Though they didn't know it, all of the patients on the fourth floor had been moved into the day-room at the center of the ward. The healers felt like it was the easiest way to keep them all safely together. There were only six of them, with three guarding the doors from within and the other three securing the stairwell currently under attack.
"We have to clear the third floor first," Ron said firmly. "Or we risk you or Squad Six being attacked from behind."
"Understood," Neville said shortly.
"Get a flash-bang ready, throw them on our count," Ron said as he and Sally-Anne coordinated.
"On three, two, one," they said in unison. "Go."
There were almost twin explosions of light on opposite sides of the floor, confusing and stunning the enemies in the attached corridors. With surprising coordination, the two teams moved into the corridors with their wands alight. The element of surprise was working to their advantage as they used their greater numbers to push the invading forces towards the center of the third floor.
Neville's wand was a blur as his anger and fear pushed his spell work to new heights. He and Harry moved down the corridor shoulder-to-shoulder, working in tandem to deflect and shield curses and banished debris.
"Look out!" Wayne warned. One of the fallen mercenaries wasn't fully incapacitated and shot off a powerful blasting curse at ground level.
"Ah!" Alice Curry cried out, unable to move away in time.
By the time Alice hit the ground, rolling into a defensive ball, Ella had violently knocked out the man who'd cursed her.
"Is she okay?" Wayne asked, glancing over his shoulder with a concerned expression as he went about securing their surroundings.
"Blasting curse to the ankle," Ella answered tersely. "Are you okay?" she asked Alice.
"I can splint it," the girl said through gritted teeth.
"Don't," the older Slytherin said immediately.
"Portkey out, Alice," Ron ordered.
"I can splint it," she repeated again stubbornly.
"You're bleeding," Ella said with a shake of her head.
"I'm a healer," Alice defended, already assessing the damage. She'd probably need to cast that new coagulation spell though and maybe doing that while she was feeling a little shock setting in wasn't her best idea…
"That spell tore through the dragon hide boot," Ella said as she finished binding their downed opponents. "Go, Alice."
Alice grit her teeth but nodded, activating her portkey.
"Alice inbound, shattered ankle."
"Received," Lanuaria said.
On the opposite side, Zara took point as they swept down the corridor. The Patil twins moved with impressive synchronicity, unlatching various WWW products from their belts.
"We have them pinned," Neville reported.
"Confirm," Zara agreed.
The remaining mercenaries had fallen back to the centermost nurses station. It was the meeting point of various corridors and the DA were poised to enter it from opposing sides.
"Mind your friendly fire," Harry reminded.
"Anyone over there have a tar carpet?" Padma asked.
"I do," Seamus and Wayne said at the same time.
"Throw them in on our count," Parvati said after sharing a look with her twin.
The four tar carpets detonated after bouncing into the center of the nurses station. Judging by the flashes of light and cursing they could hear, the Patil twins deemed the measure a success.
"Sending in stun bombs," Seamus said shortly.
"I've got some rope robes," Zara contributed.
By the time the two teams met in the center, the opposition was bound, unconscious, or both. They really loved the twins products; they were hard to defend against and lowered the risk level in a lot of situations.
"Make sure they're out for the count," Ron said. "Then move on."
"They're on it."
Neville and Harry were already halfway through another round of stunners as Ron said that, quickly followed up by solid chains to bind them all together. The actual aurors would get to them later.
"The south stairwell is probably clear," Zara said.
"Do we go up behind them?" Harry asked. "Or split and approach from either end?"
"Patients are holed up in the center," Brock said tersely and quietly. "Three healers left."
"Stay together," Ron said immediately after. "South stairwell, go."
From there, it was a blur. Neville moved like a man possessed and each member of the DA hurried to keep up with him. Harry blasted doors open silently, following the sounds of spell fire they could hear coming from the center of the ward.
"Putesco," Neville snarled.
The flesh-rotter hit the extended wand-hand of one of the mercenaries and announced their presence quite nicely.
"Too late," one of the Death Eaters taunted.
With a flick of his wand, the double doors that guarded the last bastion of the healers and patients flew open. A number of shrieks from within greeted them along with a few bursts of off-center spell fire.
"Deal with the aurors," another Death Eater told the mercenaries in a slick tone.
"We have some…unfinished business to attend to."
Only the first two Death Eaters had spoken but Harry noticed that they sounded oddly…similar. One glance at the white-knuckled grip Neville had on his wand only confirmed it. The LeStrange brothers, who were also responsible for the condition of the elder Longbottoms, had come back to finish the job more than a decade later.
As Harry watched the four Death Eaters step through the smoking doorway, it felt like the moment dragged on forever. In reality, it took less than a second for spells to begin flying once again.
"Bollocks," Stephen Cornfoot hissed as an acidic spell ate into the ground at his feet and sent him slipping forward.
"Watch out!" Zara shouted.
The blonde girl's warning came too late. Stephen couldn't get his foot out of the hole in the floor fast enough and took an unknown spell to the neck and chin.
"EMP activated," Gillian said immediately, activating Stephen's emergency medical portkey with a tap of her wand. "Stephen inbound, unknown grayish yellow spell to the face."
"Received," Lanuaria said in a tense tone.
There was a moment's silence where they tried to recoup their focus. At least they knew he was in good hands. The spells were still flying and there was no time to waste.
"You're going to have to incapacitate Brock," Ron said in their ears.
"Carefully," the man in question managed to hiss before deflecting away a chunk of the ceiling a stray blasting curse sent raining down on him.
"No promises," Neville said through gritted teeth.
"I'm on it," Harry countered with a worried glance at his friend.
He couldn't focus on Neville now though. Instead, he stepped forward and began moving through a spell chain. There were half a dozen mercenaries between them and the patients who were already in danger. Judging by the spell fire, some of the healers were still standing but the DA knew that time was of the essence.
"Watch out, Brock," Gillian warned over the comms as she saw Harry's wand tip emit silver sparks.
"Cascadia," Harry cast furtively.
He jabbed his wand towards the center of the mercenaries and swept it the right, shooting out half a dozen dark blue clouds. They moved swiftly, if slower than most spells, and many of the mercenaries were able to avoid or dispel them. An unlucky few, however, were hit by the spell and enveloped in crackling silver lightning.
"Confringo," Neville growled, voicing his spell in his anger.
The point-blank blasting spell slammed into two of the momentarily paralyzed mercenaries. They power behind it send them crashing into the wall on the other side of the corridor — neither of them looked like they'd be getting up any time soon.
Brock focused on Harry, watching his wand carefully. He had the benefit of having taught the DA more than a few spell-chains and he recognized this one.
"Genu scelus," Harry verbalized, knowing his hood would prevent anyone not wearing an earpiece from hearing him.
Brock easily stepped out of the path of the knee-reversing hex, swaying out of the path of the flesh-rotter that followed. He braced himself, knowing that he was now in the path of a conjunctivitis, and allowed himself to be hit.
"Fuck," he cursed aloud despite being prepared for it.
His eyes felt like they were on fire as they swelled shut and a hastily raised shield fended off the next few spells that strayed towards him.
"You hit?" one of his so-called comrades asked, the American mercenary sparing him a glance before shooting off an Unforgivable.
"Can't fucking see," Brock answered, cursing again.
"Counter curse?"
"Counter potion," the Australian answered in a pained tone he didn't have to fake.
"Dammit."
Brock wasn't the only person struggling, however. Two powerful spells back-to-back had knocked down the shield Seamus was holding, covering Ella and the Patil twins. An angry looking dark red spell slammed into his chest, knocking him off of his feet and into a wall.
"Seamus!" Ella cried out. "Gillian!"
"On it," the healer answered immediately.
"Blast it all to hell," the Irishman wheezed.
Gillian assessed him quickly, her eyes flicking between Seamus and the various pieces of debris she was levitating to banish into the path of oncoming curses.
"Trouble breathing," he panted out shortly.
"Activate your EMP," Gillian said immediately.
Seamus nodded, hand already moving towards his portkey.
"Seamus inbound," Gillian said to Lanuaria over the comms. "Dark compression curse, red spell."
"Received," Lanuaria answered shortly.
On the other side, Brock was trying not to be hit with any spells despite his blindness. The conjunctivitis was the perfect spell to be hit by despite his current difficulties. It was incapacitating but easily treatable by off-site healing which gave him an excuse to leave.
"Fuck's sake," the American said, grunting as he was hit with a partially deflected curse. "Cast a shield."
Brock nodded, playing his part well and raising a powerful defense.
"Percutio," Harry cast.
Brock's protection held against the overpowered piercing hex but he wasn't prepared for the silent one that followed it up. It burst through his shield, breaking it, and punched a large hole through the shoulder of his wand arm. His wand fell to the ground near his feet.
"Fuck," he hissed.
Harry hit the ground in front of them with a weak blasting curse that sent Brock to his knees. In the melee, no one noticed a weak wandless banisher pushing Brock's wand closer to him. It was the least Harry could do after destroying his shoulder.
"Shit," the man next to him cursed.
Brock hurriedly pat the ground, kicking himself for not working harder on learning a wandless summoning charm. Through his swollen eyes, he could see continuous flashes of spell fire.
"Fucking lobster back bastards," the American growled.
Brock huffed out a laugh at that.
He heard more grunts, cursing, and then felt something suspiciously akin to a spray of blood against his face. He heard the man cast a weak shield before collapsing to his knees, leaning heavily on Brock who did his best not to topple over.
"I'm getting us out of here," the man said through gritted teeth. "They better have a good healer, we're gonna need it."
Brock's bloody fingers closed around his wand just as the emergency portkey activated and swept the two wounded men away.
"Brock's offsite," Harry reported immediately.
"He took a piercing hex through the shoulder though," Gillian winced.
"Sorry about that," Harry said genuinely. He had been aiming to graze the man but also couldn't pull any punches.
"Did it look treatable?" Ron asked tersely.
"Yes," the healer answered. Everyone listening through the comms sighed in relief. "He's just gonna need a night or two with some Skele-Gro."
"Brock's cover is safe," Lucas Masson said with a relieved countenance from where he stood in the Firewall ballroom.
"And the remaining mercenaries should now be severely outnumbered," Sally-Anne pointed out as she glanced at the older Frenchman.
"They are," Neville said in a dark tone, pushing forward down the hallway. "Three to one."
"Fall back!" one ordered. "Fall back!"
"Cowards," they heard one of the LeStrange brothers spit from within.
"We could have just portkeyed out," one of the mercenaries hissed.
"You're lucky the three of us stuck around," another agreed.
"Rosier, Mulciber, show these fools how proper Englishmen handle law enforcement," one of the LeStrange brothers said dismissively.
Two younger Death Eaters stepped forward. Their unembellished masks told Harry they were likely cousins of the inner circle members with the same surname.
"The aurors want to play, eh Rosy?" Mulciber asked.
Neville certainly didn't feel much like playing. He could see into the familiar room where he so-often visited his parents and organized his mother's bubble-gum wrappers. Two healers in lime-green robes were dead and they could make out the bloodied forms of two patients. The rest must be hiding in the bathroom.
"I think they do," Rosier sneered, raising his wand.
"Let's play then," one of the mercenaries said. They clearly felt more confident as a group of five, despite the 'aurors' still outnumbering them by four wands.
"Form up," Zara directed, unheard by their opposition.
With practiced ease, the DA fell into practiced positions and two people raised shields. Gillian continued levitating pieces of debris ready to be launched into the path of any spells that couldn't be blocked by shields.
"That's Madam Zenith Xeep," Zara said as she noticed one of the dead patients. "And a lady with a furry face."
"Agnes," Neville said shortly, internally relieved neither of them were the bodies of his parents.
The LeStrange brothers were trying to force their way into the bathroom. There was likely only one healer and their remaining patients inside. Neville hoped dearly that his parents were safe inside.
"Let's make this quick," Harry said, fingering his wand.
"Agreed," Wayne said shortly.
Thankfully, the two younger Death Eaters were clearly far less experienced than their elder counterparts. Harry and Neville had fought Mulciber Sr. (who now resided in Azkaban) during the Department of Mysteries trap. He had been far more dangerous than these two.
"There's too many of them," one of the mercenaries panicked.
"I'm out," another agreed, activating a personal portkey.
"Worthless layabouts," Rosier spat. "The Dark Lord will hear of your cowardice."
There was no more time for hollow threats, however, as Harry and Neville began moving further into the room. They were quite synchronized as an array of spells left their wands. The third mercenary, the only one who had remained, portkeyed out after a well placed curse pulverized his hip.
In retaliation, Rosier sent the same spell back towards them that shot straight through Wayne's weakened shield.
"Shit!" Oliver cursed as he saw Wayne get hit.
His wand hand and wrist were mangled though thankfully not bloody, the shield having weakened it.
"Wayne-" Gillian began.
"I'm fine," Wayne grit his teeth as he wandlessly summoned back his wand. "Focus on the fight. EMP activated."
"Wayne inbound, shattered hand," Gillian reported before hurriedly banishing a door fragment into the path of a killing curse. "Depulso!"
"Received," Lanuaria said. Though they couldn't see her, there was a furrow worn semi-permanently into her brow.
Rosier and Mulciber couldn't withstand their onslaught after that. The full powered blasting curse Neville sent towards Mulciber was barely tempered by a hasty shield. The younger Death Eater would later wake up in a cell near the head of his family. Rosier, who Harry banished towards the fireplace, hit his head a little too hard. He wouldn't get up again.
"Useless," Rodolphus hissed.
"We'll just have to deal with them ourselves, brother," Rabastan said.
His brother glanced at the smoking, cracked, and warped bathroom door that was just about to give way to them before sighing.
"Very well."
And then they began to fight.
Despite the fact that there were eight of the DA and only two of them, fighting them was a whole different game than the mercenaries. It was imminently clear why they were two of Voldemort's best.
"Lower floors are secured," Amelia reported over the comms. "Aurors are beginning to move upwards."
"Squad Six, blend in," Gareth directed. "Begin disappearing from empty rooms and corridors as they clear upper floors."
"Confirm," Marcus Theron agreed quietly.
The actual aurors would likely not notice their disappearance at that point, assuming their force grew smaller as men remained behind to secure the other floors.
"Bloody hell," Ella panted as she fell back into a shielding position. "These two are something else."
"No kidding," Gillian said, panting with exertion as she banished some debris into the path of yet another killing curse. Her pile was dwindling but the numerous destructive spells were constantly creating more.
"They're throwing Unforgivables like fucking candy."
If the dark side had an equivalent of the Weasley twins, these two must be it. They clearly had decades of practice working together because they moved like they were the same person. Clearly, they had recovered from their more than a decade long stay in Azkaban.
"Look out!" Oliver shouted.
"Merlin," Ella cursed.
Harry and Neville were focused on the other brother while a few of their number focused on shielding (both magically and physically) or deflecting curses.
"Duck!" Oliver ordered.
Ella immediately obeyed, casting a weak repulsion curse as she did so to blowback the shards of glass that had been banished towards them. She was pretty worn out, however, and a few of the shards made it past her hood and cut her cheek. Sensing weakness, one of the LeStrange brothers seemed to hone in on Ella. She was forced to drop her shield and spin out of the reach of a number of area-of-effect curses.
"A little help!" she barked.
"Trying!"
She could barely bring her wand up fast enough. Just when she thought she was catching up, he'd jerk his wand into a silent spell chain that was half aimed at her and half aimed at Oliver.
His cry of pain stole her focus and a fiery whip wrapped around her off-hand, around her arm, and up to her shoulder. Her armor protected her in most places even as he jerked the whip with his wand and dislocated her shoulder. Unarmored, she would probably have lost the limb. Now she would likely only face some severe burns.
"Fuck off," she practically spat as she jerked her wand up. Though the LeStrange brother couldn't hear her, he clearly recognized the color and intent behind the incoming spell.
His eyes widened and he released his hold over the whip. It faded from existence and Ella watched her spell fly towards him with a dark, pained smirk. The Wilkins family were more dark than grey and that showed in her skilled application of the percussion curse known to make ears bleed. The Patil twins stepped in front of her as he worked to dispel the curse, already raining down a hail of new spells on him.
"Is Oliver okay?" Ella asked even as she clenched her jaw. Her squad member was still groaning in pain, incapable of speech.
Gillian activated his emergency portkey by way of answer.
"Oliver inbound," she said. "His leg was wounded by some sort of combination of a cauterizing cutter and bone breaker."
Everyone hearing that winced and Ron scrubbed a hand over his face.
"Received," Lanuaria answered.
"You need to go as well," Gillian said, assessing her briefly. "There's no time for field treatment and you're already going into shock."
Though she wanted to argue, she (like Alice) realized this wasn't the time or place. She activated her portkey and left gracefully, content in knowing that at least the LeStrange twins seemed to be on the back foot.
"Ella inbound, burn wounds."
"Received," Lanuaria replied.
"I believe we've lost our advantage brother."
"Yes," Rodolphus said between furious casting. "I think we have."
Neville alone was making that clear to them as he pressed them further and further against the back wall. Harry stood shoulder to shoulder with him as they advanced into the room.
"Aurors are moving towards your position," they heard over the headset.
As if sensing that they had well and truly lost their chance to wreak further habit, the two Death Eater brothers shared a long look.
"Time to go, brother."
"Retreat!"
"I don't think so!" Neville spat.
He jerked his wand through a well-practiced spell chain. The two LeStrange's evaded each blasting, piercing, and slashing spell. The red-robed Gryffindor grew more and more incensed and his spells grew deadlier and deadlier.
"Now, Rab!" Rodolphus ordered
Rabastan aimed his wand straight up, blasting a hole through clear to the outside.
"Morsmordre!" he intoned.
The Dark Mark blasted out of the tip of his wand just as his brother activated their emergency portkey. Before the ugly mark was even finished staining the dawn sky, the Death Eaters were gone.
"Damn it!" Neville cursed. "Damn it all to hell!"
"Looks like they triggered a master portkey," Sally-Anne reported. "Any Death Eaters who weren't stripped of theirs were taken out at the same time, even the dead ones."
"Still a lot of mercenary bodies on the ground," Parvati said without a hint of the distaste and nausea she was currently feeling.
"My parents!" Neville said, turning towards the bathroom door.
It was being generous to say it was barely holding on. Harry admired the shield spell that was truly protecting the destroyed wood.
"Allow me," Zara said as she stepped up beside Neville.
He watched as she cast a silent charm. The blackened and smoking door turned transparent enough for them to see through.
"How did you do that?" Neville gasped before focusing on the sight in front of him. "My parents, they're okay," he said with audible relief.
"It's not an offensive spell so the shield lets it through," she explained. "But it only works on our side. They can't see us."
A healer in green robes was holding up his wand, maintaining the shield. Behind him, four patients were sat on the ground. Harry recognized the older Longbottoms and one of the other figures.
"Oh look, Lockhart is in there too," Harry said without much enthusiasm.
"It's for the best they can't see us," Zara said. "We need to get out of here."
"But my parents-" Neville protested.
"The sooner we get back to the castle, the sooner we can retrieve your parents from auror custody," Harry said. "Which is somewhere that we don't want to end up."
"Plus we don't have time to get the healer to drop his shield," Gillian said pragmatically.
"You guys need to get out of there," Ron urged over the earpieces.
"Copy," Harry confirmed.
"Department of Magical Law Enforcement!" Zara called through the battered bathroom door. "We're going to clear this floor and return for you. Remain put."
"Good idea," Harry complimented.
"Let's go already," she snapped.
Neville gave one last reluctant look to the outline of his parents before Zara cancelled her transparency charm.
"Alright,"
"Pull back, everyone," Harry ordered. "Return to base."
…
"What's their prognoses?" Harry asked as he strode through the doors of the Firewall infirmary.
"Better than you'd expect, worse than you'd want," Lanuaria answered tersely from where she was leant over Stephen Cornfoot. "Stand there and be quiet."
Harry did as instructed, eyes focused on the sandy blonde Ravenclaw laying prone on the hospital bed. He wanted to ask what was going on but he knew better than to interrupt.
Alice gave him a half-hearted wave when he looked towards her bed. Her shattered ankle was bandaged and floating a few inches above a special pillow. A familiar bottle of Skelegro sat on the table between her and Wayne. The Hufflepuff had one hand bandaged up to the elbow that was also floating above its own special pillow.
Seamus, who had been hit by a compression curse, had an odd looking crystal glowing above his chest. He appeared to be sleeping fitfully.
Two beds were curtained off, those containing Ella and Oliver.
"Harry," Audrey greeted with a serious mien as she came out of the storage room. She began to bustle over to Stephen's bedside as she spoke. "It's better than it looks."
"I hope so," he said flatly.
Lanuaria finally lowered her wand and stepped away from the Ravenclaw as her apprentice began to administer various potions.
"He was hit by a sapping curse," she said with a nod towards Stephen. "We had a hard time figuring out which one. He'll be fine."
"Oliver and Ella?"
"They are yet to be treated but I have kept both of them in stasis as the nature of their burns allows it. I'll begin treating Ms. Wilkin's first; there should be minimal scarring."
Harry nodded, taking in everything she was saying.
"You got lucky today," she said with a furrowed brow. "That no one died."
"No one in the DA," he corrected grimly. "The aurors weren't so lucky."
"Count your blessings," she said seriously. "And come back in two hours if you want an update."
"Yes, ma'am," Harry said, wisely not asking anything else.
"Audrey, administer sleeping potions to our Skelegro patients. They won't want to be awake for their bones regrowing."
"Yes, ma'am," the younger blonde responded, echoing Harry.
"Get better soon, guys," Harry said with a nod towards Alice and Wayne.
"We will," Wayne said.
"Don't feel too bad on our account either, Harry," Alice said, already seeing the shadow of guilt there. "None of this was your fault and we'd do it all again."
"What she said," Wayne agreed eloquently.
"Potions!" Lanuaria snapped.
Wisely, Harry headed out and went towards the DA's ballroom.
…
"What's the word?" Ron asked as soon as he saw Harry slipping through the ballroom doors.
"Lanuaria and Audrey are worth every galleon," Harry said simply, scrubbing a hand over his face.
"Everyone's pulling through alright?"
"She'd just gotten Stephen stable when I left," he answered. "She's working on Ella and Oliver now."
"I'll make my time turner available to them," Lucas Masson said from his place near the end of the table. "Should they need to remain in the medical wing up to or even after the beginning of the new Hogwarts term."
"Thank you, Lucas," Harry said tiredly. "Let's hope that won't be necessary. Someone report."
"St. Mungo's is screwed," Colin spoke up immediately. "I'm hearing that the existing ward stone is a complete loss. The muggle side is buzzing and it's already too late to raise wards under their nose again. Early reports indicate the Ministry is considering full deconstruction."
"Meaning what?" someone asked.
"They'll fake a gas leak or similar destruction for the muggles."
"You don't think they'll rebuild St. Mungo's?" Jimmy asked.
"They can't," Mr. Dunbar answered. He and his wife looked a little rumpled in their dressing gowns but they were there despite the early hour. "St. Mungo's has been a logistical nightmare for many years. The muggles are too close and too inquisitive."
"The muggle repelling wards have to be reapplied too often, honestly," Hannah Abbott said.
"We're counting on them abandoning it anyway," Leanne Kimmi pointed out. "They'll jump on leasing the Diggory War Relief Fund's facility."
"What will they do with the property?" Jimmy asked curiously.
"Clean it up post-demolition then sell it back to the muggles, probably. It's worth a good chunk of change with London real estate prices," Mr. Dunbar answered.
"The proceeds will probably cover the cost of all the damage the Death Eaters did to the surrounding buildings and street."
"It won't make up for the lives lost," Neville spoke up darkly from where he was leaned against the wall.
"No," Harry agreed after a concerned look at his friend. "It won't. But we still need to do what we can to get the Diggory Fund involved. The elves chosen to staff the new hospital need to be informed as well."
"I'll start contacting our Gringotts liaisons," Leanne volunteered.
"I'll get with the house-elves," Hannah said as she stood up.
"I want to know the Order's response," Harry said. "Ron, can you see what you can find out when you go back to the Burrow?"
"I'll see what I can do," the redhead agreed. "But I don't expect much from their response."
"It'll be something lackluster, I'm sure," Zara muttered.
"No doubt," Ron snorted.
"Colin, I trust you have a head start on the press?" Harry asked as he turned to look at the blonde. "We want to put the right spin on this for Amelia's people."
"We're on it," he said confidently with a nod towards his group.
"Where'd Leanne go?" Harry asked. "It might be quicker if we go to Gringotts in person rather than send a letter."
"She's not sending a letter," Sally-Anne answered. "She's on the floo in the other room."
"Like a floo call?" Harry asked.
"Mhm," Sally-Anne answered distractedly, shuffling through some papers with her.
"I didn't realize goblins really took floo calls."
"They don't," Zara told him. "Not usually, at least. Stonefist and Stoneclaw, our liaisons for the Diggory Fund, made themselves available to us if there's an urgent need."
"That seems significant," Harry said thoughtfully.
"This'll be the first time we really use it," the Valli heiress said. "We'll see how it pans out."
They didn't have to wait long before Leanne was through with her floo call.
"What did they say?" Sally-Anne asked as the ballroom doors shut behind the other Hufflepuff.
"They can see us immediately," she answered. "We can get the ball rolling and hopefully have the new hospital operational by this time tomorrow."
"I'll go," Zara said immediately.
"I will as well," Harry said.
"They're expecting us within twenty minutes," Leanne said.
"Let's go then," Harry sighed as he stood up and tried to look something other than drawn and tired.
"I'll stay here and coordinate," Hermione said.
"Same," Sally-Anne added.
"Wayne would want to go," Hannah sighed. "He loves working with the goblins."
"Should Healer Silva be giving Wayne's head a check over while he's there?" Justin Finch-Fletchley muttered.
"Maybe," someone muttered back.
"I'm headed back to the Burrow," Ron said before casting a sidelong glance at Neville who was glaring a hole into the wall. "Nev, you sticking around here mate?"
"For now," he answered gruffly with a deep furrow in his brow.
"Where's your Gran?"
"Getting dressed and practicing her surprised face, I guess," he said as he finally glanced towards Ron. "She's retrieving my parents from the Ministry in an hour. That's long enough for her to have heard the news by word of mouth."
"You should join her," Harry said. "I'm sure Amelia has the Ministry locked down well enough but…"
"She does," the Longbottom heir said. "She's got a trusted pair of aurors standing guard on my parents."
That was probably the only reason Neville and Augusta weren't panicking and storming off to retrieve his parents. A number of people had heard about the attack by now and concerned relatives were overwhelming the Ministry already.
"That's good."
"I can't believe those bastards got away," he said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"As much as I hate to say it, I doubt this was the last time that we see them. Voldemort's number of competent old Death Eaters is dwindling. He's certain to use the ones he still has. There'll be another chance to bring them to justice."
"Yeah, sure," Neville said. He looked like he had ideas in mind other than justice.
"We'll keep your parents safe in the meantime," he tried to assure his friend.
"Yeah," the broader teen agreed with a sigh before looking down at himself. He was still wearing his dirty and damaged battle robes. "I should go get changed."
"Send for Dobby to repair your battle robes as soon as possible, Nev," Harry suggested. "He can do it pretty quick."
"Will do, thanks."
"I'm off too, mate," Ron said tiredly.
"How did you manage to sneak out anyway?"
"Dobby-decoy," he answered. "An illusion and a voice-changing charm Ginny is maintaining."
"Clever."
"She said Mum's already been in three times because I'm apparently a flight risk," he said with an eye roll. "Ginny's fooled a few monitoring charms with a light fever and Dobby only says 'I just wanna sleep, let me sleep.'"
"Sounds like you."
"I thought it seemed pretty convincing for something thought up and executed within five minutes," the redhead agreed. "But I don't want to push it so call me if you need me."
"Will do."
"I'll see you soon, mate."
Harry nodded before turning to make his way towards the floo. He cast a sidelong glance towards the stairs that led up to his bedroom. Internally, he sighed.
Sleep would be a long ways away.