Chapter Nine – Battle Preparations
The following day Harry knocked on the door that Mr Ollivander was staying in. Madam Pomfrey had declared that there was no more she could do for the old man, it was up to the elderly wand-maker if he was to survive. Harry had hoped that he would be able to talk to the old man and get him to see he had a reason to live.
"Come in" came the weak reply from the room. Harry opened the door and quietly walked in the room. The curtains were only half open, casting the room into shadows. Mr Ollivander was lying in the bed with the covers pulled up to his chin, despite the warmth of the room. He looked much older than Harry remembered; his silver eyes cloudy with age.
"Ah, Mr Potter, 11 inch Holly with a Phoenix feather, lovely wand even if I do say so myself. How may I aid you?"
"Mr Ollivander, how are you sir?" Harry asked, shocked by the man's appearance.
"Not long for this world Mr Potter, the Fey are calling me back to the home lands. It is time for my replacement to come forth, but I am guessing that my health is not the reason for your visit Mr Potter."
Harry sadly smiled at the man and slowly pulled out the two parts of his wand and handed them to the dying man.
"Ahhh, I see. How did this happen if you don't mind me asking?"
"I was thrown on the wand by a demon, it snapped when I landed sir." Harry replied.
"I see, well it was a noble wand, it will be worth saving."
"You can save it? How, it's snapped in two?"
"Well young Mr Potter, that's why I am a master wand-maker and you aren't." The old man replied with a ghost of a smile on his face. "Now help me out of this bed please."
Harry helped Mr Ollivander out of the bed, startled by how thin the man was. Once on his feet he wavered a little and slowly walked over to the desk. He reached into his shirt and pulled out an odd looking pouch on a leather cord. He untied the cord and muttered something at the pouch in a language that Harry had never heard before. The pouch enlarged and reformed into a large leather bag. With a smile the wand-maker opened the bag and took out an strange looking metal tube that he placed the two parts of the wand into. He placed this on the table and continued to rummage in his bag. Eventually he took out a small glass vial that contained an odd silvery liquid which he carefully poured into the metal tube containing the two parts of the wand. He then sealed the end and once more laid it on the desk.
With a sad smile he turned back to Harry and with a slight nod "Harry my boy, this is the end for me, but don't worry. I am going back to my homelands and my replacement is on his way. My last act is to repair your wand, you will need to break open the tube to get your wand. Live well and have many children with that witch of yours. In the centuries that follow, remember me."
Harry was confused as well as surprised. "H-how did you know about me and Hermione sir?"
"Like Miss Lovegood, I can see your aura, and I know its significance. You have been blessed by the Gods of Time Harry, and that's a rare thing. Farewell Harry." And with that he placed his hands on the metal tube and concentrated. The wandmaker and the tube began to glow bright, the light getting brighter and brighter until Harry had to turn away. With a silent 'pop' the light suddenly flared and then died, and when Harry looked back, the wand-maker was gone. The metal tune was left on the table still glowing slightly. Harry looked around in wonder and sadness as he realised that Ollivander was gone forever. Tears pricked his eyes and he took hold of the tube, he gently opened the end of the tube and with a gasp withdrew his wand, whole once more. He held it for a few seconds before quietly muttering to himself "Lumos!" Unlike before when a gentle light would emerge from the wand tip, this time a light bright enough to light a large room burst forth. With a startled "Nox!" Harry cancelled the spell and looked at his wand in wonder. It seemed that Mr Ollivander had improved the power of his wand as well as repair it for him. Harry looked around the room for a long moment, before banishing most of the contents and cleaning the sheets on the bed. He looked at the small pouch that Mr Ollivander had used and decided that once the new wandmaker arrived he would make sure that he got the contents of the pouch. Silently he left the room and went in search of his wife.
He found her and the others sat in the kitchen having breakfast. As soon as Harry walked in the conversation died and they all were sat looking at him. After what seemed a long while, Hermione stood up and walked over to him.
"Harry are you okay?" she asked in a gentle voice.
Harry held up his repaired wand and looked deep into her chocolate eyes. "Mr Ollivander repaired my wand, but he has now gone..." he tailed off.
"Gone? Gone where Harry? He's in no fit state to leave the cottage." Molly asked from the table.
"He's gone...home, back to the Fey. He will not be returning, but apparently his replacement is on his way...It was so beautiful..." Harry paused. "I think I need a drink, any coffee?"
Hermione led him to the table and made him some coffee. As he waited, he was idly twirling his repaired wand, completely unaware of the sparks coming out of the wand. However everyone else was aware of this fact and looking at the wand with some fear. For sparks to appear when the wizard was not even concentrating on the wand was a sure sign of a very powerful magic user. When Hermione bent down to give him his coffee, she put her hands on her husband's hand and stopped his twirling.
"Harry, put the wand away love, your scaring everyone." She muttered.
"What? Oh sorry, just a bit distracted everyone." With a shake of his head he threw off his odd mood and proceeded to wandlessly and silently conjure up some breakfast and proceeded to eat, unaware that his actions had not managed to quell any of the others unease. The casualness with which he created his breakfast really startled everyone except Hermione and to peoples surprise Luna's who smiled in delight.
As Harry appeared not to notice soon everyone relaxed and breakfast continued as before.
"Harry we have to go to Gringotts today. Whilst you were upstairs we received a message saying that they are expecting the two of us at eleven. They sent a Gringotts port-key so we don't have to go through the alley again. We are to report to Ragnok as soon as we get there." Hermione told him.
"Ok, after that we need to go to get some armour for Luna, and then we need to get some training in." Harry mused. "Luna, you have spoken to your father about coming with us haven't you?"
"Yes, Harry. The Nargles spoke to him first anyway so he knew I needed to do this." She replied in a dreamy voice, causing Hermione to wince.
The conversation returned to more mundane matters as the meal continued.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
As soon as the bank opened, Bellatrix Lestrange accompanied by Yaxley and McNair burst through the doors and walked up to the nearest goblin.
"You! I need to retrieve something from my vault. Take me there at once!" she commanded in a bored tone. The Goblin nodded and asked her to wait whist he arranged the cart. As soon as he was out of sight he contacted Ragnok.
"Sir, the Lestrange woman is here and is asking to retrieve something from her vault. What do you wish me to do sir?"
"Damm, we haven't met with the Potter boy yet. As of this moment, we are still neutral in this conflict. Let her take the item, but as soon as she leaves her vault cast a Goblin tracking charm on the item and the witch. We will pass this information on to young Mr Potter when we see him, the Goblin nation is about to declare war and we will play our part. Go back to the witch and allow her and only her access to the vault Silverfang."
"Yes Sir!" Silverfang returned to the main area and quickly spoke to Bellatrix. She wasn't happy about the fact that Yaxley and McNair would not be allowed to her vault, but soon they were both in the cart travelling to the vault. As soon as they arrived, Bellatrix opened the vault and went in alone, forbidding Silverfang to go with her. She soon emerged and was in the process of putting a large golden cup into a bag when Silverfang cast a goblin tracking charm on both the cup and the witch. Unlike a wizard tracking charm that could be detected if the witch or wizard was skilled enough, this was a special charm developed for Gringotts, as was normally used to track items that the Goblins believed to be stolen. It could not be removed except by the original spell caster, nor could it be detected.
"Come on then Goblin, I don't have time to dally, get me back to the main bank and then I can leave this place." Bellatrix ordered. Silverfang smiled to himself, he would gladly aid Mr Potter in defeating this evil witch. He was so glad that the young man had rescued his father, and both he and the Goblin nation owed Mr Potter a life debt.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
'Ron' was hungry and bored. He was wandering the country looking for food and trying to think of a way of killing Potter and Granger. The creature was confused by the pair's apparent survival as his hand and it intrigued him. The creature wanted to kill all wizards and witches and in its madness – for the creature was totally mad – it was thinking of ways to achieve this and to increase its numbers. As it walked towards the village in front of it, he felt his stomach growl. He had only eaten last night, but the two muggles he had killed didn't sate his hunger for very long. It seemed that Muggles just didn't satisfy him the same was that magical people did. That said he did enjoy the terror from the young couple as he raped the women, killing her at his moment of climax and bathing in her blood and terror as he slashed her throat. The fear from the man as he was forced to watch also was delicious, and it wasn't long before the man ended up in pieces as he killed him as well. Maybe there was something to be said for these Muggles, they died with so much fear and there were so many of them. They would make wonderful cattle! Breed for feeding stock in his new world, his brave new world that consisted of his kind and kin at the top, and the Muggle breeding stock for food. Now if only he could stop that fucking Potter and his whore then this may be possible...oh and that sodding Voldemort as well.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
Lord Voldemort looked down on the screaming and writhing boy in front of him with a dispassionate glare. He idly wondered how long he could keep young Draco under the course before he soiled himself. As soon as he thought of this an unpleasant smell assaulted his senses and the answer to the question became a mute point. With a casual flick of his wand he cancelled the curse and looked down on the shit covered boy.
"Draco! Draco! As head of the house of Malfoy, you should keep a shorter leash on the women in your household. Letting your mother escape our hands was not a wise thing to do. I am displeased with you, but I will not kill you today. I have a task for you and you may escape your fate if you are successful."
Draco slowly raised his head and nodded at the Dark Lord seated before him, in his own house. The day had not been good for the young Malfoy, starting with the realisation that his mother had fled. The Dark Lord was not happy about that and this was the third time that he had been subjected to the Cruciatus curse this morning. He had already lost his left arm at the elbow, blasted off in another moment of anger from the master, and now he had lost the contents of his bowels and bladder.
"M-m-my Lord, what do you require of me?" he asked in a broken voice.
"Draco, all I ask is complete servitude and your soul. Also I need you to go back to Hogwarts. Something of importance to me is there and I need you to find it for me and bring it to me. Failure will not be tolerated. Your mother's life is already forfeit; let's try to keep the Malfoy name alive shall we?"
"Yes my Lord"
And Voldemort proceeded to the tell Draco what he needed him to do. Hopefully his Godfather would be able to help him as he ruled the school now with an iron fist.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
At ten to eleven Harry and Hermione port-keyed into Gringotts bank as requested. They arrived in a darkened area with just the one door leaving the room. As they approached the door, a voice could be heard asking them to place their hands on the two indicated panels for identification. The both placed their hands on the panels and both winced as they felt a sharp pain, removing their hands they both had a slight cut in the middle of their palms and blood was trickling down their hands, but both cuts almost immediately healed due to their immortality. The panels flared once and then the door slid open revealing a pair of heavily armed Goblin guards.
"Follow us please!" they ordered in polite but firm voices that brokered no room for disobedience. They were lead through a maze of corridors that gave the impression to Hermione that they were designed to confuse the visitor so they would not be able to find their way a second time. They hadn't realised that Hermione was brilliant and had an eidetic memory, so she was memorising the way just in case.
Soon they arrived at a pair of large ornate golden doors that had two extra guards stationed outside of. As they drew closer the guards opened the doors and ushered the pair of humans into the room beyond.
The room beyond was very ornate, there were fantastic paintings on the walls and in the centre of the marble floor stood a large polished table. There were two chairs on one side and a large delegation of Goblins on the other. Ragnok was sat in the centre with Griphook sat to his left, and a much younger Goblin sat next to Griphook. The rest of the Goblins all looked very old and impressive. Harry and Hermione walked across the room and stood in front of Ragnok. Harry bowed to the goblin, whilst Hermione curtsied. Harry took a deep breath.
"Sir, we present ourselves as requested. May the gold of your enemies soon become yours and the dust of their bones scatter in the winds."
The Goblins were astonished that a human would treat them with so much respect. Ragnok smiled to himself. He had been right about this couple; they did respect all sentient life. It would bring great honour to the Goblin nation to side with this pair. As he looked he used a little of his Goblin magic to really see the two humans genuflecting before him and he gasped out loud. Never had he seen such a strong aura, these two were beyond soul bonded and as far as he could tell, immortal. The ancient prophesies were right, the time of the immortal ones had come and it was on his 'watch'. He bared his teeth as the pair and slowly stood. He walked around the table and stood in front of them, and to the other goblins amazement, he bowed to them, and sunk to one knee.
"My Lord, Lady. The Goblin nation is honoured to meet with you, know that I have pronounced you both Goblin Friends and warriors. You are as brother and sister to me and we pledge our resources to your fight. Please sit and take drink with us." He motioned to the seats and only stood once they had sat. Never before in all of goblin history had the leader, the king shown such respect. The rest of the seated goblins did not know what to make of the events unfolding in front of them. As far as they were concerned they were here to speak to a couple of humans to thank them for saving one of their own.
The Young pair were presented with Goblin wine, a rare delicacy and hardly ever offered to humans. Both Harry and Hermione relished the taste of the slightly sweet drink, but both knew, due to their connection, the honour that was been bestowed on them.
Ragnok stood and walked back to take his place at the desk and then he looked long and hard at the two teens.
"Lord Potter, Lady Potter, we need to talk." He started. Harry held up his hand to signal he wished to speak. Ragnok nodded to him
"Er Sir, I think I can speak for both myself and Hermione, and we are a little confused. Why all the honour – not that we mind you understand but we are just not sure what we have done to deserve it, and why are you calling us Lord and Lady Potter?"
Ragnok laughed briefly at the young man's confusion before answering him. "Lord Potter, you saved the life of young Griphook, never before has any human saved the life of a goblin before, and this is one of the reasons why we honour you so. You and your wife – yes we are aware of your marriage, as well as your gift- you and your wife are unusual in that you treat all sentient life with respect unless they abuse that respect. You even give your enemies a chance, but only one chance. You risked a lot to save your friends and when you saw Griphook you rescued him without a second thought. For that I thank you from the Goblin nation. Also on a personal note, Griphook means a lot to me, after all what father doesn't love his son. The Deatheaters had kidnapped Griphook in order to try to force us to support Voldemort. This would never have happened and they would have eventually been forced to kill my son. For avoiding this alone I thank you."
"Your Son?" Harry gasped.
"Yes, Griphook is my eldest son and my heir, so that is one of the reason we honour you so. Now Lord Potter, we need to discuss your true inheritance. You see the goblin nation have a prophesy about you two. Not one of your human weak prophesies, but a true one. It states that in the time of need two immortals will appear. They will unite the world against the evil and save all life from eternal death. When I met you just now, I scanned your auras and I now know that you two are those beings. I had asked Griphook and his team to do some research into your heritage when we last met, and he found something remarkable. It appears that both of you are direct descendants of Merlin and the founders. Lady Potter, you are descended from Merlin and the lady Ravenclaw, whilst you Lord Potter are also descended from Merlin as well as Lord Griffindor and the Lady Hufflepuff. That makes you both of the nobility, hence the Lord and Lady Potter, or to give you both your full titles, Lord Harry James Hufflepuff-Griffindor-Emrys-Potter, and the Lady Hermione Jean Ravenclaw-Emrys-Potter."
Both teens looked at the goblin king in amazement before the goblin bared his teeth in a smile and continued.
"The contents of all three vaults have been transferred to yours and ...well let's just say, even with your immortality you would struggle to spend it all. I will have a portfolio and statement prepared for you but I think you can guess that your credit it good and the goblin nation stand by your cause. Unfortunately for all of us, we could only pledge our loyalty to you in person and that didn't stop Bellatrix Lestrange removing an item from her vault earlier today. I am aware of the items you seek and I believe that the cup she removed is one such item. I asked young Silverfang here to cast an unbreakable tracking charm on both her and the item, and now because of our pledge to you we will show you how to find both her and the item in question."
Hermione finally struggled to speak, "Thank you sir, that will be very useful. Do you know of the whereabouts of any of the other items?"
"I'm sorry Lady Potter but we are unsure of the location of the items beyond what you have already guessed. We believe that you have destroyed four of them, and can now track the fifth, the remaining two are a mystery but we stand ready to aid you if requested. Do you have any further requests of questions today?"
Harry responded. "Both my wife and I thank you for all you have done, and we would have saved any goblin from the Deatheaters. I am glad that Griphook is well and we would both be honoured if he continued to be the account manager for our finances. I have but one boon to ask of you. Please can you keep both our titles and our immortality a secret for the time been. We do not wish the attention of the titles and the immortality may give us an advantage over Voldemort. Also do you know where we can obtain some good Dragon skin armour? A young friend of ours has pledged to accompany us and we would value some protection for her"
"Off course Lord Potter, we understand and will keep your secrets. I'm sure that my son can issue you with some armour for your friend. Griphook will also give you the portfolio and the statements before you leave."
The entire table of Goblins stood and bowed before leaving; only Griphook and Silverfang were left stood before them
"Thank you Lord and Lady Potter for saving my life. I owe you a life debt and will be in your service until it has been paid. My son was the one to cast the tracking charm and I will leave you with him to explain its workings whilst I go to get the armour for you. Before I go have the information for you here. "He said holding out a large leather bound folder for them, which Hermione took. He left to get the armour and young Silverfang explained how to locate the two tracking charmed objects to them both. Soon Griphook returned with a large bag that contained a set of Dragon-hide armour. He explained that it was self sizing and would stop all but the most powerful of curses.
"We have temporally removed the apperation wards from this room so you may depart without leaving the bank. My father was very annoyed that the guards did not stop the fight outside the bank last time you visited here and the guards were punished. I am glad that Malfoy did not kill you Lady Potter."
"Thank you Griphook. If you are going to be with us for a long while then please call me Hermione and my husband Harry. We are not used to titles and our friends use our first names."
"You twice honour me Lady...Hermione, Harry. I bid you good day. May your enemies turn to dust whist your gold increases in value." And with a bow he and his son left. The couple starred at the door for a while before taking each other's hands and apparating away from the bank and back to the cottage.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
It was a slightly startled Harry and Hermione that arrived back at the cottage, Hermione limply holding the folder.
"Wow!" Harry whispered.
"Yeah, I know."
"How much?" Harry asked her in an awed voice
Hermione opened the folder and looked through until she came to the current total. She just starred at it for a while before staggering to the sofa. She handed the parchment to Harry and pointed to the very large number on the bottom of the sheet.
"NO! That's got to be a mistake...that's in the ..." he paused as he counted the number of digits. "That's in the multiple billions. That's gotta be wrong."
"I don't think so Harry, look it has our name on the top. But Harry it means nothing, well not to me anyway. As long as I'm with you that's fine by me."
"Me to love. Lets ignore the money for the moment. It's not as if we can go shopping can we? We need to prepare for going to Hogwarts and then we need to find that cup that Bellatrix moved, and then the last one, and then Voldemort and then Ron... Merlin! It's never ending."
Harry and Hermione spent the rest of the day training with Luna. She loved her new armour and immediately stripped to put it on, causing Harry to blush furiously and turn his back to the little blond. Soon they began to train and once Luna got past her dreamy stage, she turned out to be a rather fierce warrior, albeit a little lacking in power and skill. It was apparent that she would be more than a match for all but the most powerful of Deatheaters. Luna on the other hand was amazed by the sheer power of her two friends. Never before had she seen such raw power and it frightened her a little. Once more she utilised her ability to see auras and was pleased to see no evidence of anything dark in the pair, in fact they seemed even more 'light' than they had before, and the joining of their souls was even more amazing than she had ever seen. As she gazed at them in awe she was surprised when she looked down at herself and saw a thin ribbon of light connecting her to the couple. Unsure of its importance she filed the information away to review at a later date.
The next day was also spent training and both Harry and Hermione were pleased, both with their own progress as well as Luna's. The following day was the day they would return to Hogwarts.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
Headmaster Serverus Snape sat in his dark office and waited. The office looked a lot different to when the last occupant used it. Gone were all the odd instruments of the desk, as well as the odd clutter. Most of the portraits' were bound and gagged apart from the more obvious Slytherin ones. The room was dimly lit and Serverus sat at the desk with his eyes glued to the one portrait that hadn't yet spoke. The painted brightly clothed Albus Dumbledore slowly awoke and looked around the office in surprise.
"Serverus, my friend. What happened here?"
"Old man, so you finally speak. Welcome to the true world. I need to thank you for allowing me to finally kill you. You old fool..." he spat, "You really did believe that I served you didn't you?" He brandished his arm at the portrait, showing the ugly Dark Mark on it. "You don't get one of these just by been a bit mean you know. You have to kill, rape and maim innocents to get it. You really thought I had left my Master? Well welcome home Albus...Welcome to hell!" and he cast an unknown spell on the portrait that made the painted Albus Dumbledore feel the pain of the Cruciatus curse. The room echoed to the screams of the newly awoken ex-Headmaster and the mad laughter of the current incumbent.
Chapter Ten - Hogwarts
"Everyone stand for your Headmaster!" came the shout from Amycus Carrow, the hated professor of the Dark Arts. Silently every student in the hall stood and most bowed there head as the visage of Headmaster Snape swept into the Great Hall. The only table that held their heads high were the students of Slytherin. Hogwarts had changed, and not for the better. There were now five tables for students; as well as the four house tables there was a smaller table at the front of the hall for the punishment squad. This was a small number of elder Slytherins that were the appointed students that were allowed to carry out any punishment they saw fit. This would range from mild curses to the torture curse, as well as rape and regular beatings. These students were the most feared as they seemed to delight in hurting the others. They consisted of Pansy Parkinson, Theodore Nott, Gregory Goyle, Millicent Bulstrode and Vincent Crabbe. They were often helped by the caretaker Filch who took great delight in beating students. The state of the students on the three other tables was shocking. Quite a few had broken limbs and bruises that only the most basic healing spells had been allowed. Many of the girls were traumatised by the constant sexual harassment that was dished out by the punishment squad. The few that had been raped were often obliterated afterwards but they still seemed to have some residual memory. Many had tears in their eyes and a few shook with the after effects of too many torture curses.
It was into this room that the Headmaster walked into with an evil smile on his face. He loved his new job, and he relished in the power that he had over these youngsters. Today however he was not alone as he swept towards his golden throne. Following behind him was a dark robed young man. His hood was raised so no one could see his face. As Snape sat he looked around at both the students and the remaining teachers. The students all remained stood whilst the teachers looked down at their tables. Professor McGonagall was been held from the ceiling, bound and gagged as she dangled from the magical ropes holding her. Snape had found out somehow about her meeting with the order and was going to make an example of her today. She had already been beaten and tortured, the sick man had taken great delight in personally seeing to her rather than letting his pet killers loose. She knew that he was going to kill her today in front of the school. Her own personal fate was of little importance to her, she was more concerned about the effect on the few remaining voices of reason within the school.
Snape continued to look around and finally with a small nod towards the male Carrow, instructions were given for the student body to sit. With a generous wave of his hand, bread and gruel appeared on three on the tables, but the remaining house table and the punishment table were overflowing with the most sumptuous of food. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw all ate in silence, whereas the other two tables were chatting and laughing loudly. The only two exceptions on the Slytherin table were Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davies who were also bound and gagged as they had tried to stand up for a young first year Hufflepuff who was been beaten by Goyle. They were to be made an example off today along with the ex deputy headmistress, and they were not expected to survive the experience. Daphne was just pleased that she had managed to get her sister out of the school a few days ago, and that she would die with her honour and her virginity intact.
Snape had conjured a small wooden stool for his guest who was sat looking around the hall; his remaining arm holding his wand with a nervous shake.
"Draco, speak." Snape ordered.
"Sir, our Master asked me to retrieve an item of importance from the school. He is concerned about reports he has received about a worrying increase in Potter's power and the item in question is important to our Master's survival."
Snape was aware of the Horcrux's and assumed that the item Draco was referring to was once such item. He had also heard about the Potter boy increase in power but had dismissed it as rumour. Potter was a weak fool and the Dark Lord would kill him in seconds, or so Snape believed, he had however heard one interesting fact that he had to mention.
"Well it seems that he was more than a match for your father, or what was left of him after his Mudblood bitch finished with him." He said with an evil laugh.
Draco seethed but was too scared to rebuke his godfather. It seemed that the loss of Dumbledore had had a massive effect on Snape. No longer was his evil streak restrained but was evident for all to see.
"No sir, my Father was a fool and deserved all he got." Draco replied between gritted teeth.
Snape looked up at the younger man briefly and glared at the impertinence in the man before smirking.
"Eat, Draco, well as well as a one armed man can eat. We can talk after I dismiss this rabble."
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
Harry, Hermione and Luna apparated to the small village of Hogsmeade, and as soon as they appeared alarms sounded, alerting the small contingent of Death-Eaters stationed there of the arrival. They burst out of the house they were using to find the three teens stood casually in the centre of the main street looking totally unconcerned.
"Morning Scumbags, how may we help you?"
The Death Eaters were confused. They were used to people cowering in terror at their very presence. These 'children' seemed totally unafraid by them and this threw them into confusion.
"Get them!" came the predictable response and the air was thick with spells flying towards the three teens. With a casual wave of his hand, Harry threw up a golden shield that caused the spells to bounce of, one of them hitting one of the Deatheaters and sliced him in two. His eyes blinked rapidly and his mouth opened in a silent scream as his brain processed the information coming to it. His brain finally realised that he was dead and shut down and the two body parts slid away from another with a sickening slurp.
"Urgh!"Luna said, paling at the sight and then she turned around and vomited he breakfast, tea and every other meal she had eaten recently. Despite the fact they were still surrounded by angry, confused and a little afraid Deatheaters, Hermione bent down within their shield bubble to comfort the younger girl whist Harry almost silently and casually called upon the fire elements and the remaining Deatheaters instantly burst into an intense flame and within seconds they were nothing more than ash and dust. With a low 'pop' the shield bubble dispersed leaving the street silent once more.
"You alright Luna?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I will be fine, that was disgusting, but I suppose he brought it upon himself."
"Never forget that, we didn't start this, they did. Are you okay to move, I want to walk up to the castle and surprise the Bat at breakfast."
"Yes, I will be fine. Come on I feel that we have to get there soon, otherwise something terrible will happen."
Harry looked at Hermione at this announcement and she raised an eyebrow as she looked back at him. He knew she wasn't totally convinced by Luna's sight, but they believed enough to realise that hurrying wouldn't hurt.
"Come on then, let's get moving." They all moved towards the lane that ran towards the school in silence, all thoughts turned inwards, contemplating the task ahead of them.
As they got closer to the school grounds Harry suddenly looked up and motioned for them to stop.
"What's the matter Harry?" Luna asked.
"Something's wrong, Hermione check the path ahead for the wards will you?" they were on the edge of the grounds of the school, where the schools wards started. Hermione cast out her consciousness at the area in front of her and suddenly gasped and went very pale.
"Oh sweet Merlin, that's horrible!" she stated.
"What are you two on about?" Luna demanded.
"Snape has corrupted the schools wards. Luna, extend your aura sight and you may see what we mean."
Luna activated her aura sight and, like Hermione gasped in shock. The normal wards that prevented any one from apparating in and out, as well as been able to be activated to keep the school safe were now a black and dark red colour. They wavered in front of them in a sick sort of roll.
"What the hell has he done?" she asked
Harry walked slowly to the wards boundary and cautiously raised his arm to just before the wards. He screwed his face in concentration before dropping his hand and walking back to the others.
"The wards are set to kill anyone other than Deatheaters. They will not allow children in or out, nor any others. If we carry on, Hermione and I will survive although it will hurt us...a lot, but Luna will die instantly."
"What can we do?" Luna asked, shocked at his words.
"Well we will have to do this the hard way." Harry replied with a deep breath. "I want you both to stand back to back with me, wands drawn and holding hands with the free one."
This they both did, Hermione with a smile as she took Harry's hand.
"Hermione, I will need your power as well to do this."
Harry shut his eyes and concentrated on what he instinctively knew he needed to do. Slowly a myriad of rainbow colours of light surrounded the three, forming a multicoloured bubble around them. A magical wind had blown up as both Harry and Hermione called upon their new powers and with a gentle 'pop' they vanished.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
Breakfast was progressing was normal in the Great Hall, joviality and conversation at the Slytherin and silence punctured by the occasional sound of crying from the other three.
"Silence!" Snape shouted, as he stood and walked to the front of the raised area at the front of the hall. He gazed up at the slowly spinning form of Minerva McGonagall with an evil smirk.
"Lower the traitor and bring the two ex-Slytherin whores to me!" he instructed the Carrows. With an evil laugh Alecto roughly pulled the two girls up by the hair and pushed them towards Snape. Amycus had lowered the dangling teacher and also roughly pushed her to the stage. All three were now on their knees in front of Snape.
"These women have been found guilty of betraying me and as such there lives are forfeit. Greengrass and Davis tried to stop the good work of my punishment squad and your ex teacher has been found to be in league with the enemies of the Dark Lord. This behaviour cannot be tolerated, but before I give the final punishment we have another problem student in our midst's."
At these words everyone on the three tables shuddered. This was a common occurrence these days. If anyone tried to stand up to the punishment squad or indeed anyone in the Slytherin house they were reported and Snape would pull them up in front of the whole school to punish them. This was normally the Cruciatus curse, but occasionally it had involved taking the individual away and allowing the squad to have some fun. If it was a girl this was normally rape, and for a boy torture and disfigurement, although rape had also been used.
"Sarah Proctor! Stand!" Snape commanded.
"Oh no, please no. I didn't do anything, please no!" came the desperate pleas from a small second year old girl sat at the Ravenclaw table.
"STAND UP GIRL!" Amycus yelled at her.
Sobbing and shaking the small blonde girl stood, head down and terrified.
"Proctor, I heard from my squad that you were found with some sweets in your possession. You know that other the elite, no one are allowed sweets. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"My mother sent me them!"
"Speak up girl!" Snape shouted.
"My mother sent me them." Sarah repeated.
"Your mothers sent them to you? And you think that is acceptable do you? Come here girl, I will administer the punishment."
Sarah had fallen to her knees by this point in abject terror. Amycus was trying to pull her to her feet, and hitting her around the head as he did. He dragged her to stand in front the leering Headmaster who slowly drew his wand. He was just about the cast the curse when he was aware of people murmuring and moving away from the centre of the room. Looking up he saw a magical wind break out and suddenly there was a rainbow of colours and an odd chiming sound. Snape looked on in amazement as a sphere of light appeared and suddenly Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were stood there along with that odd Ravenclaw, Lovegood.
"Hello Sniverlus, surprise!" Harry shouted, wand pointing at Snape. Hermione had moved and was covering the Slytherins and Luna was pointing her wand in the general direction of the Carrows.
"POTTER! How did you get in here? Never mind that, you have made a foolish mistake in coming here. REDUCTO!"
The spell shot towards Harry who made no move to stop it. He just stood there as the spell raced at him, with a small smile on his face. Snape watched the boy and sneered. 'He's frozen in terror', he thought. It was all too easy, so much for the new improved 'Chosen One'. Then the boy did something that quite frankly scared Snape to his very core. Harry, without breaking eye contact, raised his hand and caught the spell. He just held onto the devastating spell and held it in his hand. The light played around his arm and hand before he made a fist and the spell popped out of existence.
"You are going to have to try harder than that...Sir!" he said in a snide voice.
The whole hall had stopped and was watching in fascination. Harry never took his eyes of Snape and was aware how much the man was capable of when pushed. Snape meanwhile was at a loss on how to proceed, he knew that things had now changed and that his power at the school was coming to an end. Finally he did something that he had never even considered. He quickly raised his wand to the ceiling and brought down a large section that crashed to the floor with an almighty bang. In the confusion he shouted "Carrow's, take them!" and then he lifted up his robes and fled like a small child. He had to get up to the astronomy tower in order to get away.
Harry was surprised by the turn of events. Off all the things he had expected Snape to do, turning and running wasn't one of them. The two Carrows had turned and advanced on the trio.
"Mione, can you handle these two? I'm going after Snape"
"Go love, be careful!" she replied as she turned to the two siblings.
Hermione and Luna had suddenly realised that behind the two Carrows, were the punishment squad and a number of the elder Slytherin students, all had wands pointing at the pair and all were smiling an evil smile.
"So, the great Potter, leaves two girls to fight for him, some hero!" Amycus called out. He grinned as he cast a couple of curses at the two harmless looking girls. This would be fun, he thought to himself.
Hermione barely blinked as she raised a shield that cased the two curses to bounce back to the wizard. However she had also added a multiplier to the shield and the spell that hit Amycus were ten times more powerful than the ones he had cast. The Deatheater's head dissolved into a fine mist of red spray. The body stood for a few seconds, wand hand still raised, before collapsing on the floor.
"Amycus! NO!...You BITCH!" Alecto shouted at Hermione as she ran towards her, wand raised. However it was Luna who stopped her with a well placed tripping jinx and a Stunner. The stunned witch slid along the floor, coming to rest next to the body of her brother, her tangled hair now becoming matted in the increasing pool of blood from her bothers corpse. The punishment squad bristled with anger as they prepared to attack. However they became aware of movement around them as every remaining student and teacher surrounded them, wands raised and a look of revenge playing across the faces of many. No one was sure later on who cast the first spell at the squad but within a very short space of time, they squad was totally and utterly defeated. Most had boils or tentacles growing out of them, and nearly all had broken limbs. Gregory Goyle had unfortunately tried to fight back and his decapitated corpse was now lying next to the Carrows, his blood mingling with the blood of Amycus. No one knew who had killed him, although it was suspected that Hermione had cast the killing blow. Daphne, Tracy and Professor McGonagall had been released and Minerva was currently hugging Hermione. Hermione however was trying to get away, all too aware that her husband was still somewhere in the castle looking for the bat. As she looked around, unseen by anyone, Draco left the hall to follow Harry with madness and revenge in his eyes.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
Harry raced through the castle, trying to catch up with the beleaguered Headmaster. As he ran he blurred and suddenly there was a large black panther running the halls of Hogwarts. The world around Harry had become more alive than before and he could smell the trail left by Snape. It was an odd mixture of sweat, potions, fear and blood, and normally would have turned Harry's stomach. However at the moment it was manna from the Gods because it meant that he could follow the evil man and confront him. As he ran he became aware that they were heading towards the tallest tower within the school. Now that he knew where Snape was heading he ran faster, his claws clicking on the stone floors and stairs. Bursting out onto the roof terrace he saw Snape trying to mount a broom in order to fly away and out of the wards. The Deatheater turned at the sound of the door flying open and gaped as he looked at one of the largest Panthers he had ever seen. The green eyes, practically glowed with power, and as the cat walked across the roof it blurred and turned back into Harry.
"Snape, our conversation was interrupted. You going somewhere?" he said conversationally as he waved his hand at the Headmaster. The broom that Snape was trying to mount suddenly snapped in two and burst into flames causing Snape to yelp and drop it. Fear was now playing across his face as he realised that Harry was as powerful as the rumours, and possible more so. Harry meanwhile was advancing towards Snape with a wry grin on his face. He'd been looking forward to this for years and he was going to savour the moment.
"Severus Snape, you are without doubt one of the most evil men I have ever met. At least Tom is honest about his feelings and desires. You however hid behind the facade of a redeemed man. You fooled the best Headmaster this school has had and you killed him. You have run this school like a torture camp but today is the day you pay."
Snape had been backing away from Harry all the while fumbling for his wand. As soon as he got the wand ready he pointed it at him, but before he could utter a spell, Harry silently and wandlessly disarmed him, his wand flying towards Harry who caught it without even looking. Snape looked around in terror trying to find something that could act as a weapon.
"Goodbye Snape!" Harry said as he raised his hand.
"STUPEFY – REDUCTO!" came a shout.
However it wasn't Harry who cast these spells. Unseen by both men, Draco had crept up the stairs behind Harry and had watched the altercation. He felt that this was his moment as he had seen that Harry was very close to the edge of the tower. The two spells hit Harry in the back, and he had not erected a shield as he was so absorbed by Snape. The first spell knocked him out and the second flung his body away from the tower edge in an arc. As soon as the power of the spell dimmed, his inert body fell like a stone. After what seemed like a long moment his body hit the ground with tremendous speed and creating a large crater. Every bone snapped and his skull cracked killing him instantly, his blood pooling around him like a shroud.
Snape looked at Malfoy with surprise and then leant over the edge to see the body far below him. His arrogant demeanour soon returned as he spat over the edge.
"So much for 'The Boy Who Loved', come Draco, let's take back the school."
"Sir, that won't be easy. The Carrows are dead and your squad is finished. The Light has the school and we need to get out of here fast."
Snape regarded the younger man and slowly nodded. Without the Carrows or his punishment squad, the remaining teachers and students would be more than enough to beat him.
"Very well, how do you propose we leave?" he asked.
Malfoy pulled out of a bag a small broom that he enlarged. With a smile he mounted it and motioned for Snape to climb up behind him.
As they flew away from the castle they could see small figures approaching the crater that contained the bloody remains of The Chosen One. Voldemort would be pleased that Potter was dead, even if he wasn't the one to remove him from the world.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
As the students tried to figure out what was happening there was an almighty crash from outside. Hermione suddenly screamed in pain and fell to her knees. Luna looked alarmed and activated her aura sight. She could see Hermione's amazing aura waver as she felt the death of her bond mate, before it stabilised.
"Harry!" Hermione whispered. "Come on Luna, this is going to be messy, so much for secrecy."
Hermione and Luna ran out of the hall, closely followed by most of the school. As they got to the main courtyard outside they were presented by a large crater. Inside was the broken body of Harry. His arms and legs were twisted into odd angles, his head cracked open, blood was everywhere. Luna gasped and vomited as she turned away from the sight. Hermione just stood and looked. She knew that this one would take longer that the others, so complete was the damage. She became aware of the presence of Professor McGonagall as she moved to stand next to her.
"Hermione, I'm so sorry. He was a good man and he loved you a great deal." She sobbed, the tears streaming down her face.
"Hush, Minerva. It will be fine, this is not the ideal place, but I'm guessing that getting rid of all these people will not work. Come help me move him to make it easier for him."
"Hermione, what are you talking about? Harry's dead, I'm not sure moving him is a good idea just yet."
Hermione just smiled at her former teacher and walked over to the corpse. She gently moved his legs and arms so they were straight, wincing at the cracking noise they made. She then gently moved his head and placed it on her knee, cradling him like a baby, completely un-phased by all the blood that now covered her as well as Harry.
"Come on Harry, I'm afraid you have an audience this time." She whispered. Professor McGonagall had called for Madam Pomfrey.
"She's lost it Poppy, she cannot handle his death. We are going to have to sedate her and send her to St Mungo's. They will need to assess her mental state, poor child."
Poppy looked at the young woman, with her husband's broken body in her lap and sadly agreed with her friend's assessment. She walked slowly to Hermione, passed Luna who was guarding her friend.
"No Madam Pomfrey, leave her and just watch." Luna ordered.
"Miss Lovegood, you must let me help her. She needs to accept what has happened."
"No, it will be fine, just wait."
As she spoke the rest of the school watched in silence, aware that they were watching the death of their savoir.
Hermione was still cradling Harry's head when she became aware of the imminent revival. The bones in his limbs snapped complete, and the head wound closed. All this was unseen by the crowd, but the next event wasn't. With as gasp and a cry Harry sat bolt upright, causing many in the crowd to scream and a few to faint. Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey gasped in astonishment.
"Sweet Merlin, How?" Professor McGonagall asked.
Hermione looked over at her from where she was comforting her husband, and just said "Magic!" but then followed it by, "we'll explain later"
Harry meanwhile was looking around in confusion. "FUCK ME that hurt!" he announced eliciting a small titter of laughter from the crowd. He slowly and cautiously stood and helped by Hermione walked over to the two teachers. After a while he looked at Minerva and spoke.
"Professor McGonagall...Headmistress, I give you back your school, look after it well. I'm sorry but the Ferret and the Bat got away this time, but not for long. Now Luna and I need to speak to the Grey Lady, but I think a drink first may not be a bad idea, your office?"
Ignoring the crowd, who parted in silence, the small group slowly made their way back to the school and up to the new Headmistress room. The crowd of pupils and teachers looked at Harry with something approaching awe, as they contemplated 'The boy who lived...again!'