Sunrise Over Britain
Chapter 30 - Sunrise Over Britain
By Bobmin
Standard Disclaimer:
"So it's time again?" asked Alyx.
"Yep... Time for another disclaimer," replied Bob.
"Well? What are your plans this time?" she asked.
"Well I thought I'd start with a whole Patton Motif, you know, I'd step up to the center of the stage, wearing a uniform and there'd be this huge American flag behind me. Then I thought, no, that wouldn't do since this is mostly a British run show. Next I considered using the fish slap dance from Monty Python, but that's too old hat."
Bob leaned back and thought about it. "Your suggestion to use the explosive castration hex on Voldemort has merit, but considering what we do to him in this chapter, we really should have thought of doing that to him earlier.
"I mean, think about it, we could have him come out, and explain that we don't own the Potterverse, and all this is the property of JKR. He could be dressed in one of those butt flossing thongs, you know, the ball sack kind? And then in the midst of his speech we would let loose a horde of starving lemmings after we hit him with the curse! Think of it! Blood, gore and castration all rolled into one disclaimer!"
Alyx smiled dreamily at the vision.
"And then I could squish what's left under a tank!" Bob proclaimed happily.
Alyx's eyes opened and she turned to look at Bob. "You just ruined it!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
Harry turned to Hermione. "Shall we get on with the chapter? I think the authors have regressed into childhood again."
"Yes please," Hermione said, pulling up his zipper and conjuring some popcorn.
Sunrise Over Britain
Chapter 30
Padfoot Manor (April 4th)...
Susan waddled into the dining room. There was no other word for it, really. Terry limped in behind her and helped her sit down.
Harry smiled at his friend when she sighed with relief and she grinned sheepishly at him.
"I can't even imagine what you're going through, Susan," Harry said softly.
"I can," Emma said with a grin, then she beamed at the young woman. "I know it's tough now, but it will be over soon enough. I remember when I carried Hermione. It seemed to take forever! Then, when she was born, it seemed like only yesterday the doctor was telling me I was pregnant."
Dan laughed. "Yeah, but when Hermione was born, all the power to the hospital failed. We didn't realize it at the time, but it was probably her first burst of accidental magic."
Hermione looked up from her dinner and eyed her parents suspiciously. "Am I going to have to sit through another episode of 'Let's embarrass our daughter'?"
"Hermione, don't be like that," Remus said seriously. "They aren't trying to embarrass you just because they recall past events with fondness. Now, if they trot out the photos of you naked on the bed, then they're trying to embarrass you."
Tonks laugh and Hermione's face colored. She turned to face her parents full on. "You promised you'd never show those pictures to anyone!"
Dan smiled at his daughter. "I don't know what you're talking about. I never showed any photos to Remus."
Dan's eyes flicked towards Emma.
Hermione turned to her mother. "Mum!"
Emma shrugged. "I'm sorry, dear. Remus and I just got to reminiscing one day and I remembered the photos. Next thing I knew, I was showing them to him."
Hermione buried her face in her hands. "My own mother turns against me," she murmured.
She paused for a moment, trying to define the emotions she was feeling from Harry. He was grinning, but the emotions coming from him via their bond were a lot more complex than simple amusement. She felt that too, of course, but there was also a bit of wistful longing.
It suddenly struck her that he had no one who could tease him about his childhood. No parents to trot out photos of him playing naked in the sink or making a mess of his first birthday cake.
She reached over and caressed the back of his hand lightly. He looked at her puzzled, then he understood. He smiled slightly and gripped her hand tightly. Together, they would build a lifetime of happy memories. Both were sure of that, despite the coming uncertainty of battle.
Harry rapped his knuckles on the table to get everyone's attention. As he did, Eocho drifted in through a wall and came to rest behind Susan. The pair had been spending a lot of time together, although Susan hadn't told anyone what they'd been talking about.
"In the coming days, the Brigade will be living in camp. I'm going to make allowance for us to return to the manor each night, but in exchange for that privilege, we'll be getting up earlier than the rest of the camp so we can return before wake up call.
"I want us eating and training with the brigade. Hermione, you'll be with me from here on. Now, on to unpleasant business. Has each of you filed your will?"
He looked around at the frowning faces and knew he'd damped the mood. "I'm sorry, but it's necessary. If you haven't, please let Remus know and he'll arrange for our solicitor to help you."
Ginny shivered and looked down. "I hate this," she hissed angrily. "We're all dancing around it, trying to pretend that nothing is happening and then bang, it's in your face."
"Do you want to talk about it, Ginny?" Harry asked.
"Would it help at all?"
Harry leaned back in his chair, his expression pensive. "I think it might. You all know I'm not really good when it comes to talking about my feelings. But I can tell you, things would have been much different if I hadn't had Hermione, her parents, Remus and Tonks with me last summer." He shuddered and his gaze became unfocused. "Sometimes... sometimes I have nightmares about what could have happened. Talking helped me."
Emma reached across the table and patted Harry's hand. "I'm just glad we were able to help. In a way, that summer saved all of us."
He smiled at Emma. "It did indeed," he replied, before he turned back to Ginny. "I'm not looking forward to this fight. I'm looking forward to what comes after it."
"What comes after it? All I can see is this huge fight," she said.
"You can't think that way," Harry told her seriously. "If you do, you'll do something stupid and it could end up being your last fight. Think about what you'll have when this is over. Consider it a test, of sorts. Pass the test and you win, failure is not acceptable."
"What do you see, Harry?" she asked intently.
"I see a lot of hard work, but I also see life with my family. No Voldemort or Death Eaters. I see Susan having her baby and, one by one, each of us starting a family. I see taking time off and just living life. I want to see the world."
As he spoke, Hermione's eyes glistened with unshed tears and she leaned against him.
"Voldemort has always been an obstacle in my life," Harry said, continuing. "It wasn't until the summer before last that I even started to think of the possibility of surviving him. I wasn't sure I even wanted to survive him."
Ginny looked around. "I don't know," she said doubtfully. "This frightens me. Sometimes I don't think I was meant to be a Gryffindor."
"We're all frightened, Ginny, even Harry," Remus said.
Harry nodded in agreement.
"The key is stepping up and doing what we must, despite our fear. You've trained long and hard to become a field medic. I can't see you letting that go to waste. I think, when all is said and done, you'll look back on this time and be proud of yourself," Remus finished.
"I know I'm scared senseless," Neville said.
Ginny looked at him in astonishment. "But, I thought..."
"Just because I don't say it, doesn't mean I'm not scared, Ginny," Neville said quietly. "Having you in my life helps me focus and face the fear."
She looked around, noting how everyone was agreeing with Neville.
"Mastering one's fear is the greatest battle," Eocho said proudly. "You have seen battle before and have come through. This time is no different. Remember your training and rely on one another." He smiled down at Ginny. "There is no shame in admitting your fear, and no shame in seeking comfort in the arms of your husband, my daughter."
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence around the table.
Luna suddenly smiled. "When this is over, Fuzz is going to show me where we can find a colony of ancient Snorkacks. She says we'll be able to talk to the Grand Dame of the clan," she told them all brightly.
Hermione sagged in her chair and eyed the Snorkack on her shoulder. "That sounds like fun, Luna."
Harry turned to stare at Hermione.
"What? It's not like I can deny it! She has one of the beasts on her shoulder, for Merlin's sake!" she sent him.
Her eyes narrowed when she felt his amusement bubbling across the bond.
Hogwarts Castle...
"My lord, Lucius Malfoy has just arrived with a large force of Wizards and muggles." Mulciber said softly. Voldemort was naturally paranoid. It wouldn't take much to make him think that Malfoy was out to take his spot. It was something he'd need to consider for the future, he mused to himself.
"Muggles?" Voldemort said, narrowing his eyes. "Send him in."
Lucius walked into the room proudly and Mulciber smirked. There was a great deal about Lucius that irritated people, and his haughty attitude was one of them. The funniest thing was, he didn't even know he was doing it! Mulciber was certain that the day would come when Malfoy's attitude caused their master to kill him.
"Lucius! What is this about you bringing Muggles into my domain?" Voldemort asked. The one of his voice informed Malfoy of the peril he was in.
Lucius paused and glanced at Mulciber, who smirked at him. Focusing on Voldemort, he bowed low. "My lord, I brought a small force of controlled muggles and their weapons. It was my thought that they may be able to distract Potter and his rabble. Potter goes out of his way to protect muggles. Imagine his surprise when he is attacked by them."
Voldemort leaned back on his chair and stroked Nagini for a moment, his eyes distant. "Yes, it would be a shock to Potter. And with his attitude, he wouldn't want to fight them."
Lucius bowed. "I am pleased you approve, my lord."
Voldemort nodded for a moment. "Yes. However, Mulciber is in charge of the defense of my domain. How is it that you failed to notify him of your movements?"
"My lord, Mulciber is a fine wizard, but he has little experience with muggles, or the effects their weapons have on other wizards. Besides, he needed me to bring in the wizards under my command to bolster his defenses. I merely brought some additional help," he replied with a quick smirk at Mulciber.
Mulciber was steaming and trying not to grind his teeth.
Voldemort waved his hand, dismissing the topic as unimportant. "What have you done about London, Lucius? Is my city protected?"
"Your city is well protected. I left a small group of one hundred wizards protecting our interests around Diagon Alley, and a larger muggle force protecting the rest of the city. I'm also pleased to report that the expansions to the Alley have been started. It's so much easier to build when you have a large workforce like we do. The fact that we don't have to hide from the muggles any longer certainly helps."
Voldemort cackled with laughter. "Especially when we don't bother feeding them!"
Lucius smiled grimly and moved closer when Voldemort waved him to approach. "Come, Lucius, come and see the plans we have in place for Potter. He will scream for days before we finally snuff the life from his pathetic body."
Office of the British Minister for Magic (1500 hours, April 9th)...
"I just wanted to wish you and your people the best, Amelia," Brogan Mallory said, his head floating in her fireplace.
"Thank you, Minister. We never could have come this far without your help and the help of your great nation. Merlin willing, we'll be able to look back on this and consider it one of the finest moments in our history," Amelia replied from her desk.
"I hope so too, Amelia, Merlin's luck to you and our brave soldiers. I'll see you tomorrow," Mallory said, then he vanished from the fireplace.
Amelia nodded mostly to herself, then she looked up when the door to her office opened and Arthur stuck his head in.
"Amelia, do you need me anymore for the next few hours?" he asked.
"No, I don't think so. Will you be with Melinda?"
"Probably. For now, though I'm heading over to Harry's place. They'll be leaving soon and I want to be there for that."
Amelia nodded. "I'll be heading over there myself, later. Tell Susan I'll join them for dinner."
Arthur nodded and waved, then closed the door behind him.
Amelia sighed and looked down at her desk. She had two parchments in front of her, each a press release. The first one announced the invasion of Britain by allied wizarding forces. The second one, the one she prayed she'd never see used, announced an unsuccessful attack.
She scratched a word out on one of the announcements and wrote something new. Tossing down her quill, she tossed both pieces of parchment into her briefcase and closed it. The briefcase had been a Christmas gift from Susan, who had gotten it for her in New York.
The door to her office opened again and one of her aides bustled in, carrying a stack of papers. "Messages wishing us luck for tomorrow, ma'am" said the young man.
"Put them on the coffee table, David. I'll look them over tomorrow. Has there been any word from Department M Dublin?"
"Yes, ma'am. It's on top of the stack."
She held out a hand. "I'll see that one now."
David pulled the sheet off the top and handed it to her. Amelia quickly read the note and blinked back tears. She handed the note back to her aide.
"See that a copy of that is sent to the camp right away. Lord Potter will want to see that."
"I'll take care of it," David replied softly.
When he left the office, Amelia stood and walked to the window. The waiting was gnawing at her belly like a monster.
Haven Operations Center, Office of the Deputy Minister of Defense (1500 hours, April 9th)...
"Terry, go home. We'll be back at this sooner than we want to be," Caleb said tiredly.
Terry frowned and stared at the exhausted man. "I'll go home after you do... Sir."
Caleb sighed and nodded slowly. "Maybe I should. I'm beat."
"I'm sure your wife will be happy to see you, even if you're just sleeping," Terry offered.
Caleb peered up at him from his desk. "Are you going to go home also?"
Terry nodded. "I will, I just need to finish cutting these orders and I'll be out of here. I'm expected back at the manor in a little bit. Besides, I don't like leaving Susan alone too much. You know she's due any day now."
"Better you than me," Caleb muttered, remembering when his two girls were born. Neither of them had been easy births and his wife had been rather upset with him at the time.
"What time will you be back here?" asked Caleb.
"I'll probably be manning the war room starting around oh two hundred. There are a lot of details to cover. I don't expect you'll show up until at least oh three hundred," Terry replied, then he made some notations on a clipboard.
Caleb smiled. When Harry offered him the services of Terry, he had reluctantly accepted. Terry had slowly become very competent in the minutia that fueled a war. If he needed to know how many tons of beans they had on hand, Terry knew, and most times didn't even need to look it up. He had relieved Caleb of many of the nitty gritty details that made Miles Pickerton ill.
"Very well, Terry. I'll see you in the war room after I meet with the field commanders," Caleb said. Standing, he stretched tiredly, then trudged out of the office.
Terry shook his head. "Finally!" he muttered to himself. "I thought I'd have to stun him and float him home. Now I can get out of here, too."
He killed the lights and left the room.
Padfoot Manor (1600 hours, April 9th)...
Harry checked his watch and waited anxiously for everyone to appear. He wore his Brotherhood cloak with the hood down. Under it, he wore the regular battledress uniform, modified to Brigade specifications.
On the right arm, under the Union Flag patch, was the newly designed Brotherhood Brigade patch. The design, crossed wands and a Celtic cross over the Royal coat of arms, was a gift from the King. It was also an indication that the 24th Regiment of the SAS was a royally sanctioned unit.
Another new addition to the uniform, and one which he felt would give everyone an added edge, was a sidearm. After much debate, Harry had talked Caleb into allowing them to equip the Brotherhood Brigade and the Raiders with Sig-Sauer P228s. Harry pointed out that the Americans and Canadians all carried muggle sidearms as an added back up, and that the Death Eaters would be greatly surprised to discover wizards armed with guns. When he added that the number of shields able to stop a bullet were few and not generally well known, Caleb had relented.
Harry, Hermione and Tonks had little trouble adapting to the new weapon during the few days of training they had received. Tonks already had some training with them, and both Harry and Hermione knew generally what to expect with the guns. The others, however, were a different story. It took quite a bit of work for them to grow accustomed to the noise and recoil from the weapon. Some, like Luna, showed an active distaste for them. It was one of the few times Harry had become angry enough to exercise his rights as Maglios and order her to carry the weapon. He couldn't force her to use it, but she would carry it.
Shaking off the memories, he watched as Hermione walked toward him. She carried an extra sack containing maps, portable floo devices and a backup command post building. One of her staff had the actual CP they would use, but she carried a spare in case it was needed.
"All set?" she asked.
"Just waiting on everyone else," he replied quietly.
Dan and Emma stepped out of the sitting room, looking worried. One by one, members of the Brotherhood and their families arrived in the main foyer of the manor. Narcissa and Arthur moved to stand with Dan and Emma. Bertrand was trying to hand Luna a miniature camera so she could take photos for him. Andromeda stood, holding Narcissa's hand, while Ted Tonks stood behind them.
Hermione walked over to to her mother and hugged her. The three huddled together for a few moments, while Harry silently watched the others arrive. He happily noted everyone had brought their full gear, including the hated sidearm.
Eocho drifted through a wall, coming to rest not far from Harry.
"When we arrive at camp, you will find a small potion vial next to your bed. Use it. Everyone is taking one to give them at least eight hours of good sleep before we leave. I've taken the liberty of putting us all in one of the unused barrack buildings, so if you want to push your beds together, or expand one to fit two, I'm not going to complain about it. Just remember, I want everyone to get at least eight hours sleep," Harry said, staring at Luna. Of those in the Brotherhood, she was the one most likely to something she shouldn't, like stay awake.
"Luna isn't the one you should be worrying about, my heart," Hermione sent him with a smile on her face.
Harry halted for a moment and Ginny laughed. "Anyone want to bet that Hermione just sent him a dirty thought?"
"No bet," Draco said dryly. "She likes teasing him."
Neville snickered at the two of them and Harry blushed, revealing the truth of Ginny's comment.
"Can we get back to business here?" Harry asked plaintively.
"I suppose, but I'd really like to hear what Hermione has in mind," Luna told him as she stroked Fuzz. "It could be something new, knowing Hermione."
Harry sighed, shook his head for a moment, then looked up towards the ceiling. "Give me strength. I'm surrounded by perverts," he mumbled.
When the laughter quieted, he looked at them. "I just wanted to say that I'm proud to have you all with me. The past two years have been difficult and we've all had to grow in ways we didn't expect. I'm glad we did it together," Harry said somberly.
The mood among them became grave and Eocho drifted forward. "Each of you has trained hard and well. Each of you is a warrior, a true member of the Brotherhood. I have been honored to be your guide and mentor. Now comes your moment to shine. It is time to proclaim your affiliation. Display your medallions with pride and let all people know who you are: Celtic Knights, upholders of justice!"
Harry looked at Eocho for a moment, then he removed his medallion from under his clothes, pulling it out so it hung visible to all.
Eocho moved until he floated a few steps up the stairs and he turned to face them. He made a gesture with both hands.
"Math Mathonwy, Teutates, Cailleach Beara and Danu! I call on thee, Gods of old! Bless our Brotherhood on this eve of war," he cried, lifting his arms.
Eocho's hands began to glow and an intense field of golden light bathed the Brotherhood.
Harry sucked in a breath. He felt energized and more powerful. It was almost as if some greater presence had looked at him and was pleased with what it found.
Profoundly moved, Harry bowed to Eocho. "You honor us, Múinteoir. May we be worthy of your blessing."
Behind him, Harry's friends also bowed, following his example.
"It is I who has been blessed, Maglios. For I believe I have been witness to the greatest incarnation of the Brotherhood the world has ever seen. Now go. Your army awaits. Those of us who cannot join you will wait for news," he replied, moving to stand near Susan and Terry.
Harry nodded, then he pulled out of his pocket a golden cord he was going to use as a portkey. Before he could enchant it, however, he was enveloped in a hug. "Be safe, my son," Emma whispered through her tears. "Come home safe and bring my daughter back to me."
Harry wrapped his arms around her and nodded against her shoulder. "I will, Mum."
Dan stepped up to the pair and Harry released Emma, stepping away. Dan stuck out his hand. "Come back to us, Harry. Godspeed."
Numb, Harry could only nod. Hermione looped an arm through his, squeezing him gently. He looked around and decided to hold off on the portkey for a few more minutes. Arthur was speaking with Ginny. Draco and Luna were hugging a tearful Narcissa and Tonks embraced her mother.
Harry waited a few minutes, then he held up the cord. "Portus," he murmured. The cord glowed blue for a moment.
"Ready?" he asked loud enough to be heard by everyone. Hermione took his hand before grasping onto the cord. Each couple followed her example. A moment later, they were gone.
There was a moment of silence in the foyer, then Dan let out a heavy sigh. "Nothing left to do but wait now."
"If anyone wants, I can offer a light sleeping potion. It will make it easier to sleep tonight," Narcissa offered.
Emma looked at Dan, who stared back at her for a moment before shrugging. "I think we'll take you up on that offer, Cissy. I don't know if we'll actually use it, but it would be nice to have it available if we need it."
Narcissa nodded. "I'll get doses for everyone and meet you all in the dining room."
Haven Hospital, Office of the Director (1600 hours, April 9th)...
"Healer O'Donnell is here to speak with you, Sylvia," said Maggie, her secretary.
"Good, send her in, Maggie. Oh, and bring us some tea, would you?"
The door to the office opened and Catherine O'Donnell stepped in. "Sylvia, you're looking well," said the middle aged woman.
Sylvia stood and motioned for the other healer to take a seat. "I'm glad to see you, Catherine. How are things at St. Luke's?"
Catherine waved a hand airily. "You know what teaching hospitals are like; too many eager students, not enough trained healers and too many patients. When Margot called from St. Patrick's, I couldn't turn down the opportunity."
Sylvia nodded, then waited as Maggie brought them both a cup of tea. "You know what your people will be doing, don't you?"
"Yes. My first through third year students will be working under your medi-witches. My forth years will be under your healers as assistants, as well as working in your triage center. Do you have any idea how many patients we'll be seeing?"
Sylvia frowned. "No, and that's what worries me. We have room here for thirty critical cases, and we'll have three operating theaters running. All of the Irish hospitals have been warned that we may be sending people their way. We can also portkey any critical patients to a facility in the United States, but that means we'll have to stabilize them here before sending them on.
"We have a total of nearly six hundred beds, thanks to our industrious elves. Add to that forty fully qualified healers, and twenty five nearly qualified trainees, plus your people," Sylvia said, then she paused and raised an eyebrow at Catherine.
"We are bringing fifteen fully qualified healers, including six professors. Twenty nine forth years and fifty seven from the other years."
Sylvia nodded. Those were the numbers she had been expecting. The Irish were still scrambling to find healers, but many of the hospitals were withholding their own personnel in anticipation of Haven sending them critical cases.
Catherine checked her watch. "In fact, my people should be arriving right about now."
"Eager to jump in, are they?" Sylvia asked, grinning.
Catherine laughed. "Come on, Sylvia. Don't you remember when we were students and meeting our first patients?"
"Yes, I do," replied Sylvia. "And I remember when you were training under me and you accidentally switched that man's feet with his hands when trying to fix a simple splinching."
Catherine winced at her. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"
Sylvia laughed and stood. "Come on, let me show you around. It's no St. Mungo's, but we're pretty proud of Haven Hospital."
Haven (2000 hours, April 9th)...
An uneasy silence settled over the small community. Few believed the story issued by the town government concerning the Dragon Lung outbreak. It was hard to miss the large number of people arriving and immediately being whisked away to an unknown location.
The Operations Center was under a Fidelius charm and few knew of it's existence. Camp Outhouse was also under a Fidelius charm, but it didn't take a genius to realize that a large number of people were arriving, only to vanish just as quickly.
The fact that the impending military action was supposed to be a secret resulted in everyone in the town knowing about it. The spouses of the soldiers were the first to suspect as both of the principle British units increased their training. That meant something was coming. Then the merchants in town started getting orders for large quantities of supplies, more than was usually used by either of the units. Finally, there was the story about an outbreak of Dragon Lung, but no one knew of anyone being sick.
There were other signs, as well. An increased nervousness among the healers and trainees, the hospital only admitting cases requiring full time health care and the maternity ward being converted in to a regular ward had the people in town buzzing. After all, had it truly been a case of Dragon Lung, the school would have been closed for the duration of the outbreak. It was a simple oversight made by the town government, but the people weren't stupid.
In the end, very few were fooled by the ruse. As a result, the mood in town could best be called nervously optimistic.
Haven Operations Center, (0230 hours, April 10th)...
Draco looked over at Caleb and nodded. "That's the last of them."
Caleb ran a hand through his thinning hair and smiled grimly. "Time for you to get to the camp, Draco. See if you can get another hour of sleep."
"Yes, sir, I know. What about you?"
Caleb checked his watch. "I would go to the camp myself, but things are going to get hectic real quick around here. I suppose I'll wander down to the war room and make sure there's plenty of coffee ready."
Draco smiled and started to turn, but Caleb stopped him. "Tell Harry I said good luck and good hunting. Merlin protect you all,"
The blond shook Caleb's hand. "We'll see you later," he said with a grin.
As Draco walked out of the Operations Center, the Haven elf saboteurs were out in force.
In London, the docks exploded violently, waking the city.
The Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal, less than twenty five miles from the city, went up in a fountain of flames, breaking windows for miles in every direction.
Nervous Londoners peered from their windows and prayed that whatever was happening wouldn't reach them.
Castle Hogwarts, (0215 hours, April 10th)...
The monitoring system was fairly simple - a large map with a pendulum suspended over it. When a witch or wizard used magic, the pendulum stopped, pointing to the location the spell or spells were being cast, and an alarm would sound.
It wasn't as sophisticated as some of the tools developed by the twins of Q Branch, but it was surprisingly sophisticated for something originally developed by the Ministry to monitor underage magic.
Unfortunately, the detector was doing something all too familiar to those who now used it. The pendulum swung wildly, barely pausing as it detected magic being used all over Britain. The system was being overloaded, and they had no way of refining the data they were receiving.
Several men stood nearby, clustered around another who had his head stuck in a fireplace. After a moment, he pulled his head out and was looking decidedly unhappy.
"Well? What did he say?" demanded one man.
"I told him about the detector going crazy and he's ordered all Death Eaters to be put on alert." He then sighed and slumped his shoulders. "He also said he doesn't care that we're researchers. We're to find our robes and masks and join the other Death Eaters."
"B-b-but my research is critical! Lord Voldemort is going to be angry if it's delayed!" protested another man.
The first man straightened up and looked at the group angrily. "I don't care!" he snarled. "My research is just as important, but Lord Mulciber doesn't care. We all knew this moment would come when we joined Lord Voldemort and his holy crusade. Now find your cloaks and masks."
Grumbling, the men left the room, the last one out slamming the door in a fit of anger. They weren't common Death Eaters! They were valuable!
Behind them, a series of local detectors began to ping, demanding attention in the now empty room.
Camp Outhouse, Able Company, Brotherhood Brigade, (0230 hours, April 10th)...
Harry lifted his head and looked towards the door. "Yes?" he called.
"It's Oh two thirty, sir. This is your requested wake up call." called a voice.
"Thank you."
"Very good, sir."
He carefully rolled away from Hermione, slipping out from under the covers.
"What time is it?" came a sleepy thought.
"It's still early. You can get another thirty minutes of sleep if you want," he replied.
"No, I'll get up with you."
"Alright," he told her quietly. Standing, he stretched, then walked over to the chair he'd placed his uniform on the night before.
Hermione propped her head up on her elbow, watching him as he wrapped a heat pack tightly around his leg. He dressed in silence for the most part, but she could tell from their bond that his mind was running over the plan again and again. He was looking for flaws and running 'what if' scenarios, trying to find ways of giving them all an extra edge.
He stopped suddenly and looked at her. He was nearly dressed and she still hadn't moved. "Are you planning on sleeping in?" he asked with a bit of grin.
"You know I'm not. I'm just watching you."
"Oh?"
She nodded and gave him a look that sent shivers down his spine. "You turned out to be a very handsome man, Harry Potter. Considering the shy, lost, little boy I met on the train, you turned out really well. It makes me glad I caught you before someone else did."
He arched an eyebrow. "You didn't turn out too bad yourself, Mrs. Potter. Quite different from that girl looking for a toad on that same train," he said with a grin.
She felt his mood shift and darken over the bond. "Hermione, if anything should happen to me..."
"No!" she snapped as she angrily wiped away the tears that threatened to run down her cheeks. "We're not going to do this, Harry. You and I are coming home when this is over. Remember what you told Ginny? The same goes doubly for you. I want to be able to crawl into bed and hold my husband tonight."
He sighed and shook his head. There was so much he wanted to say.
"I know, my heart. But we'll either come out of this together, or not at all. I cannot and refuse to consider a life without you." she sent him.
He nodded. "Then let's go to work, love," he murmured, fastening his belt.
He checked the equipment on the belt - potion box, sidearm, four sun bangers and two muggle made anti-personnel grenades — and then glanced over at Hermione, who was finally up and dressing.
"I'll wait for you outside," he said.
She nodded and he slipped from the room, into a much larger barrack area. Around him were the men and women who worked Hermione's command post. They were a special unit, officially attached to Able company, and nearly as big as Able itself.
Spotting Twister, Harry walked over to him. "Fine morning, isn't it?" he asked.
Twister grinned fiercely.
"Report. What's the situation?"
"The Brigade hasn't turned out yet, sir. I figured I'd let them have another hour before waking them. According to Ops Center, the weather in our zone is only fair, with light rain and overcast, but they expect it to clear late today."
Harry nodded and thought for a moment. "Wake the company commanders at oh three fifteen if they aren't already awake and have them meet me in the Brigade Headquarters building for a final meeting at oh three thirty."
Twister nodded. "Yes, sir," he said, saluting before he turned away.
Haven Operations Center, War Room (0300 hours, April 10th)...
Caleb walked into the war room and was surprised by the level of activity he saw around him. The room had been expanded and there were multiple large tables, each one containing a map of where they expected a fight to take place. Against one wall were stacks of other enlarged maps in case they needed to switch off.
A white board hung from another wall, listing each unit, it's known status, number of wounded and killed. Another board, clearly marked 'Haven Hospital', listed the number of wounded and dead, this time broken down by species; human, goblin and elf.
In a corner a bank of muggle radios occasionally broke through the quiet murmur of voices. Group Captain Anderson stood nearby, monitoring the Navy frequencies. The muggle air forces would be available to support the troops, but the troops in the field couldn't directly call for air support. That was Anderson's job.
Terry walked over and handed Caleb a steaming mug of coffee.
"It looks like you got some sleep," Terry said.
"Yeah. Carolyne slipped me a light sleeping potion," he admitted with a sheepish look on his face. He glanced over at the women who was still setting up the flags on the table. "So, what's the situation?" he asked, not knowing he was echoing Harry's question.
"The elves are busy wreaking havoc and they seem to be enjoying themselves. However, it seems like there's no response to their magic. No capture teams have been sent out at all that we can tell. Our pathfinders were delayed in getting to the insertion point, but we've heard from them and they're setting up the portals as we speak.
"Haven Hospital reports being fully staffed and ready to receive wounded. Fort Ord in the States also reports being ready. Group Captain Anderson informs me that we have twenty four attack squadrons of muggle aircraft ready to assist where needed.
"All units are currently inactive, although I expect that to change within the next thirty minutes," Terry concluded.
Caleb nodded and looked around again. The upper observation deck was still empty. He cleared his throat. "Can I have everyone's attention please?" he called in a loud voice.
The room fell silent and everyone turned to look at him. "Today may be the most important day of our lives. We all know people who will be fighting, people we love and care for. I know each and every one of you are worried about them. But the best thing you can do for them now is to concentrate on doing your job to the best of your ability. If they were here now they would thank you, but since they can't, I will. For myself and for our people, know that your hard work and dedication is appreciated and that you have our thanks. Now, let's focus on our work. It's almost show time."
Several of the women manning the map smiled at him before returning to their duties.
Camp Outhouse, Able Company, 2nd Battalion, 806th Animagi Division, (0330 hours, April 10th)...
Amos Madison was just a private, a newbie who had only recently graduated from the West Coast Academy of Magics and enlisted in the army. He never thought that he'd be going into combat so soon after basic training, but here he was, along with the rest of the division, and he was scared shitless.
Sergeant James walked the barracks, watching the company check their gear and do a little last minute packing. Off to one corner of the barracks, Corporal Walters was leading some of the men in prayer. In another corner, Jacobs was leading another prayer group, only this time in Hebrew. James didn't say anything. Everyone had their own beliefs and if they found comfort in them he wasn't going to complain. As long as they did their job, that is all he cared about.
The 806th had gone to war before, many times. They were officially listed as part of the Pentagon's black ops group, unless called upon by the Department of Magic. Under Pentagon command, they were used for illegal and covert operations. They had seen combat in places like El Salvador, Kuwait, Cuba, Canada and South Central Los Angeles.
This operation was different. This time they were under control of their Department of Magic and they were going in publicly. It was almost enough to make James smile with pride. If you listened to his men, he never smiled. There was a standing bet of one thousand galleons to the first man to get him to do so. It was rumored that he'd rather die first.
James paused by Madison's bunk. "Alright there, Madison?"
Amos nearly jumped out of his skin and whirled around. "Y-y-yes, sergeant," he stammered.
James moved a little closer. Madison had the makings of a decent soldier, once he learned what he was all about, that was. "Look around you, Madison. Everyone is nervous and a little scared. What you feel isn't unnatural or anything to be ashamed of. Just remember your training and you should do fine."
Madison swallowed nervously, his Adams apple bobbing up and down, and he nodded.
James clapped him on the shoulder. "Good. Now button up your pack. We're moving out."
He turned to the rest of them. "Able company! Listen up kiddies. We're moving out. You have three minutes," he shouted, while swinging his own pack onto his shoulder.
British Forces Headquarters Building, Camp Outhouse (0300 hours, April 10th)...
The door opened and people piled in. Most immediately walked over to the table with a large pot of coffee and helped themselves. Harry entered from another door and looked around with satisfaction. These were the commanders of the British Forces.
Felicia Walsh had taken over from Chuck Stanton when he was rotated back to the States and put in charge of the American forces. She was in charge of the Raiders, but technically under Harry in terms of command. She was only slightly younger than Twister, and only marginally nicer. Behind her back they called her Colonel Grandma because of her soft spoken manner, but she was a tough fighter with many years of Auror experience under her belt.
Harry stepped to the front of the room and waited a moment for it quiet down.
"I'm going to be very brief here. We all have duties we need to be taking care of, but Minister Bones has sent a letter over that I feel I should read to everyone. A copy of this letter will be made available to each of you, in case you want to read it to your people."
Harry lifted the letter while Hermione handed out copies to everyone.
"To the Allied Forces,
"On this, the eve of battle, our thoughts and prayers go with you, one and all. Our people have suffered terribly and we know that your skill and bravery will free our nation. We are proud of each and every one of you.
"We know that by God's grace, we shall prevail and our people will be freed. Our hopes and prayers go with you all.
"Godspeed, good luck and God bless you all."
"It's signed by King Charles III," Harry finished softly.
Hermione stood in the back of the room and shook her head. She had thought that passing the note along was a waste of time, but the effect on everyone was obvious. She admitted to herself, rather ruefully, that in this area, Harry was a master and she'd never come close to his abilities. He seemed to know instinctively what people needed in order for him to lead them. Each of the commanders sat a little taller and looked a little more determined after hearing the contents of the letter.
Harry, she thought. He's a real leader, whether he sees it in himself or not.
Harry dismissed the company commanders and looked over at Hermione curiously. He had felt her introspective thoughts via their bond.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm fine. You handled them very well."
He shrugged. "I'm just making this up as I go along, love. No one handed me a book on how to lead people into battle."
"I know, but you're doing a good job of it. I'm amazed," she sent back playfully.
"Hey!" he said, sounding offended. With a shake of his head, he smiled at her. "Come on. The company will be assembling soon."
Haven Operations Center, Assembly area (0350 hours, April 10th)...
Major Howard waited along with the rest of his regiment. The 2nd Northwest Shamans weren't the only Canadian unit, but they were the only full unit deployed. Under his command were three hundred Canadians and another two hundred of mixed nationality. The remaining three hundred members of his unit would be using the portals to go to Gringotts in support of the Goblin assault on Diagon Alley.
Amelia and Ragnok had met and managed to hammer out an agreement between the British Ministry and the Goblin Nation. In return for the normalization of relations and the British Ministry recognizing the goblins as a sovereign nation, they would use their forces to assault the wizards remaining in Diagon Alley. Once that assault was complete, the goblins would interdict the Alley.
Interdiction was basically a set of lethal goblin wards that were nearly impossible to break. Interdicting the Alley would have the added advantage of protecting the main office of Gringotts.
The British didn't walk away from those negotiations empty handed, though. Amelia received a promise that the goblins would accept an ambassador and Gringotts would accept joint responsibility for security in and around Diagon Alley. The Alley, in effect, was to become a border crossing point between the British and Goblin nations.
All this high level diplomacy made no difference to Major Howard. He was told by his government to come here and fight, and that was exactly what he intended to do. He wasn't happy with the fact that his unit had been broken in half, but he had faith in his executive officer, Captain Wilmer, to see that they supported the goblins to the best of their abilities.
Unlike the other units, his group were assembling at the Haven Operations Center.
The Northwest Shamans were the only unit that would be using portkeys to go to their destination today.
"Sergeant Major!"
"Sir!"
"Get the lads assembled. Five minutes to jump," Howard said tensely.
Sergeant Major Nichols turned and started shouting at the assembled unit. "At right lads, last equipment check. We jump in five!" he yelled.
Around Howard, dozens of men and women double checked their gear, then knelt down to pick up a long silver cord that had been enchanted as a portkey.
Up on one wall, a large clock flashed and a bell rang. The clock face turned red as it went into it's last three minutes.
"SHAMANS! LIFT!" shouted Sergeant Major Nichols.
Howard gripped his section of the cord tightly and glanced over at the group of strangely clad elves. They would follow Howard's Shamans, jumping to their location two minutes after the Shamans arrived.
Another bell rang and Howard looked up at the clock. Ten seconds.
Five seconds.
Three seconds.
The room shook with a loud whooshing sound. A second later, the room was empty except for the waiting elves. The clock reset and all the elves watched anxiously and a bit nervously. Their turn was coming.
Haven Operations Center, War Room (0355 hours, April 10th)...
Caleb sat down and waited. Above, the lights came on and the observation deck lit up. He watched Amelia and Arthur file in, along with representatives of the other allied nations. He wasn't surprised to see Miles Pickerton sitting behind Amelia. Miles waved and shot Caleb a thumbs up.
Caleb nodded and offered a smile to his former mentor and friend. Then he turned his attention back to what was happening in the room.
The face of a clock on the wall changed colors from white to red and a bell rang through the room.
"The 2nd Shamans are successfully away," announced one of the women manning a floo.
Another woman placed a marker on the white board next to the unit, indicating that they had portkeyed to their destination.
A radio barked something in the corner of the room and Anderson spoke into a microphone for a moment before turning to speak to one of the women. She placed several markers onto the large map representing groups of aircraft.
"Nimitz and Kitty Hawk are launching ground support flights," Anderson reported.
Terry walked over to Caleb. "Camp Outhouse reports all units standing by portals waiting for permission to proceed."
Caleb nodded, then glanced up at the board showing unit locations and conditions. "Have we heard anything from the elf scouts concerning movement away from the castle?"
"No, sir," replied Terry.
Caleb frowned. He had hoped they would be able to draw out the Death Eaters first. "Very well. Send to all commands. Hold position until the Shamans have engaged," he said.
Terry nodded and turned to speak to one of the women manning a floo. The mood in the room was tense and people tended to speak softly or in whispers.
Caleb gnawed nervously on one finger. He had made a minor change to the plans, delaying the send off of the other troops until the Shamans were engaged. Everyone knew this was a possibility. In fact, they had trained for this scenario many times.
"We have contact with Major Howard. The Shamans are on the ground. No contact with the enemy as yet." said one woman.
Another woman placed marker on the map, this time near the old Hogwarts Express rail station in Hogsmeade.
Pins on a map, Caleb thought sourly. Five hundred souls reduced down to a fancy tack with a little colored paper flag. I need to find a new line of work.
Hogsmeade Rail Station (0420 hours, April 10th)...
"We're almost ready, sir," reported Sergeant Major Nichols.
"All of the illusion generators?"
Nichols frowned. "Nearly, sir. We're having a slight problem on unit two, but Captain Bledsoe says he'll have it available in five minutes. And we've made contact with the elves."
Howard scowled. Each of the five illusion generators had a limited range. They would locate and make five copies of every person within their field of reach. They weren't perfect, but they didn't need to be. They only needed to confuse the enemy into thinking there were more wizards attacking than Howard actually had.
The elves would be popping all over the place. They had learned an interesting fact about elf psychology. An elf would kill to protect someone and that was it. They wouldn't kill another person or elf. While that fact sounded limiting, there was a strange kink in their reasoning. They saw nothing wrong with using delayed action explosives. As far as an elf was concerned, the explosion might kill someone, but that wasn't the elf's fault. After all, they just placed the explosive charges. They did nothing to make sure there were humans around to be killed by them.
Howard pulled a pair of binoculars from his kit and surveyed the town before him. Many of the buildings had been destroyed when Voldemort took over. New buildings took their place and they were downright ugly in his opinion. They were all alike with no sense of character. The only thing they said about the people living in them was that they were a dull, unimaginative lot.
The town seemed asleep. There were few lights on and no one on the streets that he could see.
Howard put down the binoculars and turned to Nichols. "Very well. Tell Bledsoe he has his five minutes. Alert command about the delay. In the meantime, tell the elves to start laying their charges."
Nichols nodded and moved away at a crouch. Hogsmeade was just over the rise, and it was full of Death Eaters.
Gringotts, Diagon Alley (0430, April 10th)...
Torngut ran a stone over his axe and waited, watching the Canadian in charge of the humans.
Captain Wilmer spoke softly over a special floo. When he was done, he closed it and handed it back to an aide. He turned and nodded to Torngut.
Torngut grinned and hefted his axe. "Karlôk Gnish nag Luko" he shouted.
The head of his axe glowed briefly. The shimmering bubble encasing the building wavered and started to pulsate.
Wilmer looked at the goblins hefting their axes and clustering around the doors. "Make ready!" he shouted to his men.
The bubble exploded outwards violently, sending lethal crystalline fragments sheeting in every direction.
"Nag M'blow!" Torngut yelled and the goblins surged forward, pushing through the doors and out into the alley.
A split second later, Wilmer and his people followed, yelling tribal battle calls, quotes from bad American movies, and just about anything they could think of that made them sound mean and nasty. Later, one female corporal would be teased greatly about her cry of not being bad, just being drawn that way.
Wilmer paused and turned to his top sergeant. "Inform command we've begun our attack!"
The man nodded and pulled a portable floo from his pocket, flicking it open.
Wilmer pulled his wand and his sidearm, crouching low he aimed at some Death Eaters up the alley way.
"Filiolus pango frendo!" he shouted.
The three Death Eaters flew backwards as the concussion from the blast at their feet slammed into them. They smashed through a window of a shop, the shards of glass adding to their injuries. Someone else hurled a small potion bottle through the broken window. The bottle crashed against a wall and the potion splattered everywhere.
Within seconds, Weasley Wizarding Wheezes had exploded in flame, catching the building adjoining it on fire.
The small number of Death Eaters were overwhelmed by the larger force, but they rallied well, proving their training had helped.
Caught off guard, the Death Eaters fell back to the Leaky Cauldron and holed up inside the building, using the windows to fire from. There was a stalemate for a short time, with the Death Eaters holding back the goblins and Canadians, but that didn't last long. One of the goblins broke ranks and ran towards the Leaky Cauldron, swinging a large jug attached to a rope over his head.
"Covering fire!" shouted Wilmer. He didn't know what the goblin was up to, but it was part of his job to support his allies.
The Shamans lit off, firing spell after spell into the open windows and doors, daring any Death Eater to show his head.
Twenty paces from the Leaky Cauldron, the goblin stopped , let go of his rope, and watched as the jug sailed into a third floor window. Once it disappeared, the goblin turned and ran as if the very hordes of hell were on his heels.
Wilmer took one look at the other goblins and he paled. "DOWN!" he shouted, diving for the ground himself. "Find cover!"
Every goblin was hiding, making themselves as small as they possibly could.
The Leaky Cauldron seemed to shrink in upon itself for a second, then the building literally flew apart.
There was a whumping sound that Wilmer felt more than heard and he bounced back a few feet. He shuddered, having never seen anything like it before. He had asked about the jugs when he met Torngut and all he had been told was they contained Greek Fire. From what he knew, Greek Fire was a weapon lost to antiquity. Apparently, the goblins had retained the secret well after the Greeks had lost it.
He peered over the pile of rubble he had been hiding behind. The Leaky Cauldron was gone. Completely and totally gone. There was nothing to indicate it ever existed, except a crater nearly two hundred feet wide and thirty deep.
The alley fell into silent shock. Those few Death Eaters who hadn't been able to make it to the Leaky Cauldron and were still alive wisely opted to escape while they could.
In one small part of England, the battle for the liberation of Britain had begun with a small, but very important victory.
Haven Operations Center, War Room (0435 hours, April 10th)...
The woman looked up from her floo and spoke softly to the woman manning the map, then she turned to Caleb. "Gringotts detachment of the Shamans reports engaging Death Eaters in Diagon Alley. They report no casualties and only moderate resistance."
"The Shamans advancing on Hogsmeade are under heavy fire," announced another woman.
"The US Navy is suppressing an armored column they've detected moving in London," called Group Captain Anderson.
"The Shamans in Hogsmeade requests air support. There's a large concentration of Death Eaters in a building, grid reference A6," called another woman.
Anderson turned and spoke tensely into his microphone for a moment.
"Contact Major Howard and ask if there's any sign of the castle force yet," Caleb told Terry.
Terry turned and picked up a portable floo.
Caleb sipped his coffee and tried to appear calm, but he could easily understand why Miles had developed an ulcer.
"Terry?"
Terry turned to look at Caleb. "Sir?"
"Send several scout elves to look at the approach road to Hogwarts. I want some warning, other than Major Howard, if possible."
Terry nodded. "I'll take care of it."
The door to the war room opened and Fred and George Weasley slipped in. Fred held the door open so that Inga and Helga could join them. They'd been in the room for the last major operation and had behaved themselves. Caleb nodded to the four, indicating they could stay, and pointed to some empty chairs.
Both sets of twins smiled gratefully at him and took seats.
Hogwarts Castle (0445 hours, April 10th)...
"Dammit! I'm coming!" Mulciber grumbled. The banging at the door continued, getting more frantic.
Mulciber had gone back to sleep after ordering the Death Eaters on alert. He didn't think anything would come from the warning they had received. They had dozens of false alerts in the last week and he was exhausted.
Wand in hand, he threw open the door. "WHAT?" he bellowed at the Death Eater.
There was a distant rumble and the castle shook slightly. Mulciber blinked and stared at the floor. That had never happened before. He glanced up at the Death Eater. "Well?"
"My lord, Diagon Alley reported they were under attack by a force of wizards and goblins. We've lost contact with our people there and haven't been able to restore it. And Hogsmeade says they are under attack by thousands of wizards."
Mulciber stared at the man for a moment, his brows knitting in concentration. He lifted his wand and pointed it at the Death Eater. "Imperio," he said.
The Death Eater's expression went slack and his eyes glazed over. "You have done well, but you want to do better. You will take it upon yourself to awaken the Master and give him this news. If he asks, tell him I am awaiting his orders with his loyal servants."
The Death Eater nodded and turned away, while Mulciber hurriedly dressed and headed out of the castle.
Hogsmeade Rail Station (0450 hours, April 10th)...
Major Howard ducked and put both hands over his head. Above, two A10 Warthogs and several UK Tornados streaked over, dropping a load of cluster munitions on one heavily defended building.
Howard watched in awe as a bright blue bubble appeared around the building, shielding it from much of the damage.
When the smoke cleared, he peeked over the edge of the crater he was using. The building still stood! It was heavily damaged, but it was still standing. What was worse was the trail of the Stinger missile that arched up from the building to one of the overhead Tornados.
The Tornado banked heavily to the right, popping flares and chaff. The Stinger lost lock and plowed into the ground, killing several of his men and some elves.
"Nichols!" shouted Howard.
A few moments later, Sergeant Major Nichols landed in Major Howard's crater. "Sir?"
Howard nodded to the man, then pointed up the street. "Take two squads and flank that low red building. When we start hitting it with suppressing fire, I want your men to start unraveling the wards on it.
"Comm Comm!" he shouted after Nichols sprinted away. Someone passed him a portable Floo. He quickly dialed in the command circuit to Haven.
"Shaman Six Actual to Haven, we have muggle military in Hogsmeade. Repeat, muggle military in Hogsmeade. No estimate on force size, but they are armed with anti-air weapons," he said, bending over, trying to minimize the noise. Around him men were shouting curses, or calling for a medic.
Hearing an acknowledge, he snapped the floo closed and turned to face the red building again. "Suppressing fire!" he shouted.
Haven Operations Center, War Room (0455 hours, April 10th)...
"The Shamans report the presence of muggle military in Hogsmeade. Size unknown, but they are armed with anti-air weapons," said one of the women manning a floo.
"Haven Hospital reports incoming wounded and two fatalities," said another.
"I've passed the warning on to the naval air group. They're launching air defense suppression units now," added Group Captain Anderson.
"Is there any word from the elf scouts yet?" Caleb asked anxiously. If Voldemort didn't move out of the castle, the whole attack would fail!
"No word yet. The elves report the road is clear. We do have a report that the forces at the castle are mobilizing, but they haven't moved," Terry replied.
"I'm getting queries from the unit commanders asking what the hold up is, sir," said another woman.
"Send to all commanders who have not yet deployed. 'Enemy forces still occupying castle. We are holding until the bulk of the forces move'," replied Caleb. He glanced up to the observation deck. Amelia nodded in agreement. If they didn't move, they could recall the Shamans and abort the attack, conserving the bulk of their strength.
"Sir, the Diagon Alley forces says they have retaken the area. The goblins are implementing an interdict now. They have light casualties."
"Inform Captain Wilmer that he is to reform his unit and return to Haven as soon as the interdict is in place," Caleb replied.
Damn you, Voldemort, thought Caleb. Move your scaly ass already.
Hogwarts Castle (0530 hours, April 10th)...
Voldemort stepped over the still smoking corpse of the Death Eater who'd awoken him. He had put on his finest robes today, thinking it a day of celebration. He was dressed in fine, black silk robes that were adorned with protective runes drawn in a deep red, almost the color of blood. He cradled his scepter in his arms like a child.
He walked out of the castle, approaching the large group of Death Eaters who were clustered around Malfoy and Mulciber. Death Eaters, spotting Voldemort, sunk to one knee in homage.
Approaching Mulciber, he said a single word. "Report."
"L-l-lord, Hogsmeade is under attack! So is Diagon Alley. London reported an attack of goblins and Wizards, then we lost contact with them," Mulciber stammered. "Your army is ready. Command us, lord!"
Voldemort shot Lucius an angry look. He was not pleased that London was no longer responding, but he would deal with that later.
Malfoy took a step back in fear, he knew the Master would blame him for London.
"Very well. Unleash my forces. Crush the invaders, but leave Potter to me! He is mine!" Voldemort said with a snarl. His anger finally getting the better of him, his aura became visible as his magic struck out. A dozen nearby Death Eaters screamed and crumpled to the ground as their flesh rotted from their bones.
Mulciber paled and nodded eagerly before he turned to the crowd. "To Hogsmeade and victory!" he shouted.
The crowd roared and surged toward the approach road. Voldemort walked behind as if he were on a Sunday stroll in the park.
Lucius shook his head and followed. Mulciber, in his eagerness to please, had reduced his carefully trained army into a mob.
Padfoot Manor (0600 hours, April 10th)...
It was early, very early, but sleep was impossible when so many loved ones were going into danger. By unspoken agreement, they met in the library. The manor house was quiet and felt empty. They sat at a large, mahogany table, their individual projects spread out before them, hoping to distract themselves with work. Their loved ones had left Haven to begin what everyone hoped would be the final battle against Voldemort and his forces.
Emma Granger was reading a textbook on transfiguration, while Dan studied the recent reports he'd received from their company, Granger Publications. The company was doing surprisingly well and the manager they'd hired to oversee the company was doing excellent work.
Susan Boot was going through her aunt's mail, separating the personal letters from those addressed to the Minister. It was something she did several times a week, and she figured it would take her mind off of the worry she felt for her friends. She felt restless and out of sorts, and was disappointed that she was unable to fight beside the other Brotherhood members. In her current condition, she felt bigger than the broad side of any barn, and knew a Death Eater would have to be blind to miss her, should he target her.
A small popping noise had all three raising their heads to look around. A house elf smiled at them and put a tray on the table near Dan. The tray held a pot of tea and a pitcher of juice, as well as cups and glasses and a small pile of biscuits.
"Thank you, Addy," Emma said, smiling at the creature. "It was kind of you to think of us."
"Yes, it was. I could do with a cup of tea," Dan added, reaching for the pot.
"Call if yous need anythings else," Addy told them before disappearing.
"Emma? Susan?" Dan asked, holding up the tea pot.
"I'll have a cup," Emma said, closing her book and stretching.
Susan shook her head. "None for me, thank you." The thought of tea made her stomach cramp rather alarmingly.
Dan stood and walked around the table. Placing the cup on the table in front of Emma, he leaned down and kissed the top of her head.
"Addy brought juice. Would you like glass? It's orange, I think," Emma asked the younger witch as she picked up her cup.
Susan grimaced and leaned forward slightly, shifting on her chair. "No, really. I'm fine."
Emma frowned as she watched the blond.
"Are you uncomfortable?" Dan asked sympathetically as he rubbed his wife's shoulders.
"All the time now," Susan replied, shifting once more and rubbing her stomach. "Even sleeping is becoming a problem. I can't get comfortable."
He nodded knowingly. "Emma had the same problem. And for some reason, her feet were always cold. I can't tell you how many times I woke up with her cold feet plastered against me." He grinned down at his wife, who ignored him.
"I've been keeping Terry awake, I think. He says it's no bother, but I feel bad."
"Don't. We husbands feel rather helpless when our wives are pregnant. There's not much we can do to help. A few sleepless nights give us the illusion of sharing the discomfort."
Susan shifted again and pressed a hand to her stomach. "He said something like that, too." She grimaced and leaned forward again. "And he takes naps when he can, but..."
"How long have you been having pains?" Emma suddenly asked.
Dan frowned down at his wife, but Susan's eyes widened slightly.
"It's not pain, really," she protested.
"More like cramping? Moving from back to front?" Emma asked.
Susan nodded jerkily.
Dan looked between the two women, but remained silent.
"When did they first start?"
"Last night, after dinner. I had an upset stomach and didn't eat very much."
"How far apart are the cramps?"
"I...I don't know. I've been trying to ignore them," Susan replied, looking down at the table.
Emma stood up, brushed by her husband and went to Susan. Kneeling down, she smiled gently at the younger woman. "That won't make them go away. You're due any day, my dear. Why don't we call Narcissa and have her run a quick scan, hmm?"
"But everyone's so busy today! This can't happen now," she protested.
Dan grinned. "Babies run on their own time, Susan."
"Let's get you out of this chair and over to the couch," Emma told her as she stood up. "Dan, give me a hand."
Between them, they managed to get Susan on her feet. The blond had only taken a few steps toward the couch when she stopped and sucked in a breath and bent over slightly.
"Ouch," she said, although it sounded more like a question.
The Grangers exchanged a looked, then Dan went to her side. "I'll help you," he murmured softly.
"Addy?" Emma called.
With a small pop, the elf appeared. "Yous call Addy?"
"Yes. Please go to the hospital and get Narcissa for us. Tell her Susan may be in labor, Addy," Emma told her.
The elf's eyes widened and she bobbed her head before disappearing.
"Oh, dear. Emma?" Dan called.
Turning toward her husband, Emma managed to swallow her gasp. "Well, as your water appears to have just broken, I think we can say you're definitely in labor," she said with a touch of humor as she joined them both near the couch.
Susan's face crumpled and she held her arms away from her body in disgust. "Maybe it's just..." She trailed off and looked at the older woman helplessly.
Emma took Susan's hands and smiled. "This is natural and you'll have plenty of help. Birth is messy, hectic and scary. But it's also beautiful and joyful."
"And just think. You'll soon be able to see your feet again!" Dan quipped.
Emma rolled her eyes, but said nothing. After all, he was right.
Susan laughed, then gasped and bent forward again. "Okay, that one hurt!" She fumbled with her robes, trying to grasp her Brotherhood medallion for comfort.
"Ah, I think that would be a bad idea," Dan told her, pulling her hand away. "I don't think your sisters would enjoy feeling the pain of labor while on the battlefield."
She gaped at him for a moment, then scowled. "Take it," she said. "I'll forget and grab hold of it."
"Do you think you can make it upstairs?" Dan asked as he removed the amulet and put it on the table.
When Susan snorted, he shrugged. "Em, you're better at transfiguration than I am. Wanna change the couch into a bed?"
With a nod, Emma drew her wand. A few minutes later, they had Susan dry and as comfortable as they could make her in the transfigured bed.
When Narcissa walked into the library, she raised an eyebrow at the sight of the bed. "So, has the day arrived?" she asked.
"It would appear so," Susan said nervously.
"Her water broke a few minutes ago and she didn't think she could make it up the stairs," Dan explained.
"How far apart are the contractions?" Narcissa asked as she drew her wand.
Haven Operations Center, War Room (0600 hours, April 10th)...
"Elf scouts reporting a large body of Death Eaters leaving Hogwarts," Terry reported.
The door opened and one of Caleb's aides entered. He handed Caleb a handwritten note that read, "Blak Robes iz gone. Bring skool bak."
He folded the note and placed it in his pocket. He had seen similar notes in the past and knew they were sent through the portal from Peeves, the Hogwarts poltergeist.
"Order General Stanton and Colonel Potter to begin Operation Downfall. May Merlin's luck be with them," he said quietly.
Several of the women started speaking into their portable floos. The noise in the room went up a notch as people scurried around making adjustments to the maps and unit boards.
"Get me Major Howard of the Shamans," he ordered.
One of the women started speaking into her floo, while another reached up to the white board and changed the number of wounded and fatalities to twenty two and eight.
Hogsmeade (0610 hours, April 10th)...
Major Howard snapped the floo closed. "Orders Group!" he shouted.
"Orders Group!" Nichols echoed.
Three minutes later he had his company commanders in his crater. "We're shifting the axis of attack. They're coming from the castle. We need to set up a defensive line across the road along the edge of town. Nichols, use the air support to keep the Death Eaters off our backs. Command is asking that we hold for at least an hour, but I'm not sure we can."
Sergeant Nichols scowled in agreement. "That might not be possible, sir. We're down to eighty percent at the moment, but we could easily be overwhelmed."
"Then we'll have to slow them down. Lay down a line of fire ahead of their advance," Howard replied. "We need that time."
Nichols nodded. "We'll give it to you, sir," he said, then he turned and ran off.
Howard looked at his commanders. "You have your orders. Move!"
The men ran from the crater, while Howard pulled out his floo again. It was time to call in more air support. It was a dangerous move to make. Laying down that much fire would exhaust some of his men just when he needed them the most. He would have to pray that the energy restorer potions would help revive them enough to be effective.
Hogwarts Castle (0615 hours, April 10th)...
"LIGHTS!" Harry yelled in parseltongue. Hermione stood behind him, waiting for orders. The room torches flared to life. They both blinked in surprise to see all of the ghosts assembled. "Begin expanding the room," he ordered. "And tell Haven we're in."
Hermione gave a quick order, then pulled out her floo from a pocket and spoke into it. Around them, several members of the Brotherhood Brigade began carefully casting expansion charms to allow them to bring in all of the Brigade and the Raiders.
Harry walked over to the Bloody Baron. Members of the Brotherhood Brigade continued to step out of the portal against the wall.
"My lord Baron," Harry said with a slight bow.
"My lord," the Baron replied, eying Harry's uniform with interest, then he glanced over to the crowd of people and smiled. "I see the Lion's Pride has increased in numbers."
"It has, indeed, my lord," Harry replied with a grin, then he signaled to Hermione to join him.
"My lady, we are at your service," the Baron said with a bow.
Twister ran up to the pair. "All of the infiltration teams have arrived, sir."
Harry turned to Twister. "Good, the Baron will assign each team a guide. They will lead them to any people still in the castle. Remember, Twister, if they have the mark, take them down. If they don't, slap a portkey on them and let Haven figure out what to do with them."
"Very good, sir," Twister said, then he turned and trotted over to a large group dressed in dark grey combat fatigues.
Harry nodded to the Baron, then walked over to the outer chamber door. "Open," he hissed in parseltongue. The door locks snapped back and slowly the door swung open.
"So far, so good," he murmured.
Hermione nodded and they both turned to watch as more people continued to exit the portals.
Harry frowned and checked his watch. "I think we've just discovered the flaw in using portals to move troops."
Hermione turned to him. "What's that?"
"They take too long, Hermione. Had we used a portkey, we would have been here already."
"True and there wouldn't be room enough for us to breath when we all arrived at once. We knew this was going to happen, Harry. Be patient. They're expanding the room according to schedule. In fact, I think we're a little ahead, at this point."
Harry growled under his breath. How could he worry when his wife was busy shooting down his reasons for worrying?
Padfoot Manor (0615 hours, April 10th)...
"Any pain?" Narcissa asked.
"No, just pressure," Susan replied. "Whatever was in that potion you gave me sure did the trick!"
Narcissa laughed. "It was invented by a witch about thirty years ago. Normal pain relieving potions don't work that well for labor. The creator of Labor-Ease was a mother of five children and felt that not enough was being done to manage the pain of giving birth."
"Merlin bless her," Susan said, sighing.
"You're almost fully dilated, so rest while you can," Narcissa warned her. "I'm going to cast a few more monitoring charms on both you and the baby, then speak to Terry's father. The charms will be visible, so you'll be able to watch them, if you like. Emma and Jenny will stay with you. I'll be nearby, so don't worry."
Susan smiled softly and gripped her Mother-in-law's hand tighter.
A few minutes later, Narcissa left the library-turned-delivery-room and walked toward the dining room. She'd sent messages to Amelia, Terry and his parents, letting them all know that Susan had gone into labor. The Boots had appeared in the foyer of the manor, out of breath and excited, not long after they'd received the news. Terry and Amelia had replied with similar answers. Both were at the Operations Center and unable to leave.
On hearing the news, Susan had been disappointed, but understanding. She knew her aunt and her husband had been looking forward to being at the birth.
Hogwarts (0620 hours, April 10th)...
Tanzi Lakish was a young woman. In fact, she had gone to Hogwarts with Nymphadora Tonks, but the brown haired Ravenclaw didn't remember the Hufflepuff with the strange ability. She had been training to be a potions mistress when the end came. She had managed to hide successfully for many months, but one day she used her magic. It was a minor thing, really. She'd wanted to open a can of food.
For Tanzi, her descent into hell came when the capture teams grabbed her in mid December. Unable to send her to the camps set up to hold wizards, and being fairly pretty, she was sent directly to Hogwarts Castle to be one of the pleasure girls. That began a roller coast of rape and abuse that drove her sanity to the very breaking point.
Now she was locked up in what used to be the charms classroom along with ten other women, play toys for the Death Eaters who lived and worked in the castle. It was a marginally better life than what those in the pens experienced.
The castle shook several times and the women around Tanzi whimpered in fear. None knew what devilry Voldemort was up to, but it couldn't be good.
"I told you," hissed one woman to the rest of them. "They're bringing in dragons and they'll feed us to them!"
"Shut yer hole," said another, a muggle. They were a mixed group, but mostly witches. "You haven't any idea what's going on. Besides, they all went off somewhere. Even you could see that from the window, you skanky cow."
"Who are you..."
The woman fell silent and all of them clustered towards a corner of the room. The door began to glow and hum. As the glow increased, so did the sound, and the door began to crumble into sawdust.
"We're going to die," moaned one woman. Several others began to weep.
"I'm not going down without a fight," said the muggle as she picked up a chair and held it high over her head.
The hum increased, then stopped suddenly. The door crumbled away and the locks and knob made a clunking sound when they struck the floor.
Several strangely clad people stepped into the room. The muggle gasped and lowered her chair. "Oh, my God! They're British Army!" she cried. She sat heavily on her chair and started to weep.
The other women, not understanding, cowered back in fear.
Tonks stepped forward, examining those in the room carefully. This was the second group of people she'd encountered this morning, but they were vastly different than the first. The first group, three Death Eaters, had been trying to escape the castle. This group appeared to be prisoners, or worse.
"Please don't hurt us," whimpered one woman.
Tonks shook her head. "We're British Commandos. We're going to get you out of here and send you someplace safe."
Tanzi stood and stepped away from her group. "Safe?" she whispered.
Tonks frowned. The woman in front of her was heavily bruised and nearly naked, but she seemed vaguely familiar. "Yes, safe. We're here to fight Voldemort and you people are getting out of here."
She signaled to the men with her. The women flinched back and some screamed in fear. Tonks held up a hand. "Wait. Give me your portkeys. I'll hand them out," she said.
She collected the portkeys from her people and walked around, handing them one at a time out to the women. As she tapped each portkey, the woman holding it disappeared.
The muggle woman cringed back in fear. "No, no, no... Please don't hurt me."
Tonks knelt by her side. "Hey...Shhh... It's going to be alright. This won't hurt you. What it does is move you. If you let me active it, in less than a minute you'll be in Ireland and a healer will be looking over you."
The muggle opened her eyes and stared at Tonks. "It won't hurt me?" she asked in a timid voice.
"No, sweetheart, it won't. All it will do is take you someplace safe," Tonks replied, trying to sound reassuring.
Slowly the muggle reached out and took the little chain. Tonks smiled at her.
"Your nightmare is coming to an end, ducky. Tonight you'll sleep in a nice bed and have a good, hot meal," she said, then she reached up and tapped the portkey with her wand.
The woman vanished, then Tonks stood and turned to one of the men in her squad. "Alert command that the sixth floor has been swept clean. We rescued ten prisoners and killed three Death Eaters."
She left the room feeling very unsettled. Any one of those women could have been her.
Haven Operations Center, War Room (0620 hours, April 10th)...
"Colonel Potter reports Brotherhood Brigade is in Hogwarts. Infiltration units are clearing the castle now," said one woman.
"Haven Receiving Center reports receiving eighteen women and four boys from Hogwarts. They are being processed and will be sent on to Haven Hospital."
"The Shamans reports being heavily engaged and are taking heavy casualties. They are requesting an earlier evacuation time."
Caleb turned, hearing that. "Get a status on the movement into Hogwarts. Are all personnel moved yet?" he asked.
A woman spoke into the floo for a moment, then she looked up at him. "Colonel Walsh says that the Raiders need another ten minutes."
Terry walked over to Caleb. "If they jump too soon..."
"I know, but they're being decimated. We need to get them out of there," Caleb replied.
"General Stanton reports 806th Animagi has fully transferred and they are moving away from the portal point. The 102nd Broomsticks and 5th Sorcerors are still deploying. He expects he will need another fifteen minutes to complete the transfer."
"Talk to me, Terry," ordered Caleb.
Terry blinked, then he nodded. He and Caleb played a lot of 'what if' games like this. "Alright, the Shamans pull out. Voldemort mills around for a half hour, perhaps more, looking for the rest of our forces. He'll be confused."
Caleb nodded thoughtfully. "So if we're lucky, it could take him an hour before he orders his forces back to Hogwarts," he mused.
Terry frowned. "I think we should order Harry to start his warding teams right now, sir. I know it's a risk, but we need to get our own wards in place and his down."
Hogwarts Castle (0630 hours, April 10th)...
"Haven Six Actual, say again. I repeat, say again," Harry said into his portable floo.
"You heard me, Brotherhood Six. I'm ordering you to take down the wards now. The Shamans are taking a beating and we need to secure the castle," said the tinny voice of Caleb.
"Haven Six Actual, Brotherhood Six. Acknowledged. Initiating lockdown. Brotherhood Six out," Harry said, then he snapped the floo closed. He turned to Hermione, who was looking at him worriedly and shrugged.
"Twister! Baron!"
Two heads turned, one solid, the other incorporeal. A few moments later, the Baron and Twister had joined Harry at a small table he'd set up. Upon it was a map of the castle.
"We have a change of plans. We're not going to have time to take down the wards all nice and neat. I'm going to have to do it using brute force. Baron, can you show me a route to the top of the Astronomy tower?"
The Baron nodded. "I will take you there myself, my lord."
Harry nodded and turned to Twister. "Initiate lock down, Twister. Coordinate with Hermione. I want those instant walls Q Branch made for us in place in ten minutes. As soon as they go up, start putting people on the walls. Continue sweeping the castle with the infiltrator teams. I don't want to find any surprises left behind."
"Vickers!" shouted Twister. A man looked over at him. "Take a squad and provide security for the Colonel. He's going to go pull down the wards."
Harry turned to Hermione. "As soon as it's safe, make your way to the Great Hall and set up the CP. I'll meet you there once the wards are down."
She nodded and motioned for her staff to gather around her.
Harry expanded his staff to full size and nodded to the Baron, who led him out of the room at a trot. A few seconds later, another ten wizards followed him.
The Baron led Harry and his men on a wild path that was more maze than anything else. When the castle had been abandoned, many of the staircases froze in place, which sometimes meant traveling up two floors, then back down one floor, just to get to an area that would take you higher.
After five minutes of going up and down they finally emerged atop the Astronomy tower.
Harry looked around and was pleased to see the walls were going up quicker than he thought they would. A product of Q Branch, the portable walls were twenty meters thick at the base, twelve meters wide at the top and ten meters high, with a battlement and crenelated walls. Each wall section melded with an adjoining wall section whenever possible.
The walls were attached to a rolled cord. To deploy the walls, the cord was unrolled and tapped with a wand. The walls expanded and connected automatically, providing a defensive ring around the castle.
Seeing that the walls were being taken care of, he looked up, extending his senses. The wards were complex around the castle, but they had been cast when Voldemort took over the place. They were stronger than a typical set of wards, but no match for Harry's power.
The Baron and the security team watched silently. Harry's body burst in a coruscating halo of light and he raised his staff.
"Ego to order illa moenia occumbo!" Harry shouted.
A pale blue spiderweb of light appeared over the castle. The center pulsed a sickly greenish yellow color for a moment, then faded. There was a faint rumble and the castle trembled underneath their feet as the wards fell.
Harry swayed for a moment. Taking down the wards had taken a lot of his power. He needed a moment to catch his breath. Leaning against the parapet, he waited for his heart to stop hammering in his chest. Finally, he opened his eyes and straightened up again, ready for the next task.
Given his experience at Leeds, he had come prepared for this contingency. He reached into a pouch and pulled out four discs engraved with runes. One by one, he lifted the disc and murmured an incantation. Each disc rose in the air, then flew towards one corner of the castle grounds. When all four discs were in place, he lifted his staff and activated them. For a brief moment, four large overlapping golden domes covered the castle before fading away.
"Inform Haven that the wards are down and an allied Anti-Apparation ward is in place. We have not yet engaged with the enemy and have no casualties to report," he sent Hermione. "I'll be in the Great Hall in about five minutes or so. Get the rest of the warding team moving, I want our wards in place. I'll send the Baron down directly, so he can lead them up to the Astronomy tower."
"Twister says the castle is secure. We cleaned about thirty Death Eaters and found nearly forty prisoners and/or slaves, who we sent on to Haven," she replied. "The command post is set up. Able, Charlie, Delta, and Echo Companies are starting to man their stations on the walls. The Raiders just completed their transfer and are joining them. As we discussed, Baker company is being held in reserve."
"Excellent. I'm on my way to you now," he replied, then he turned and started down the stairs again.
"Come on. Ladies and gentlemen. Let's give old lizard lips a surprise he won't soon forget," he said to his security detail.
Haven Operations Center, War Room (0650 hours, April 10th)...
"Sir, Colonel Potter is reporting Hogwarts is secured and under allied wards. They have not as yet engaged the enemy."
Caleb nodded in satisfaction. "Signal Major Howard to disengage and return to base."
His satisfaction slipped when he saw one of the women updating the numbers from Haven Hospital. The board now read fifty eight wounded and twenty four dead.
He turned and listened to Group Captain Anderson, who was ordering another strike, this time on the approach road.
"Buffalo flight, Haven Command. Have large body of troops in the open. Grid A4," Anderson said tensely.
"Haven Command, acknowledged. Buffalo six to outriders, let's send them a message," cackled the radio.
Anderson flipped a switch and looked up to see Caleb looking at him inquisitively.
"Just a little parting shot for Voldemort. And who knows? We may get lucky and nail the bastard," Anderson said.
Caleb nodded. He wasn't going to take the time to explain that only Harry could kill Voldemort. Besides, Anderson's idea was sound. It would kill a lot of Death Eaters and that was a good thing.
Just north of Hogsmeade on the Hogwarts approach road (0700 hours, April 10th)...
Voldemort's brow knitted in confusion when the sound of battle started to slack off. He turned to Mulciber, who seemed to be staying particularly close to him. "Well? What's happening? Why is my army no longer fighting?"
Mulciber looked equally confused until another Death Eater ran up to him. The man blanched, seeing Voldemort so close.
"Report!" snarled Mulciber.
"T-t-the enemy, my lord! They're running away!"
Voldemort took a step back and stared at the Death Eater incredulously. "We won? Where is Potter? FIND POTTER!" he roared.
"You heard the Master. Find Potter," Mulciber repeated.
The terrified man took off at a run, shouting, "Find Potter" at the top of his lungs. It should have been heard by everyone, considering the way he was screaming, but at that moment, Buffalo flight, four F18/A Hornets, screamed in low, dropping cluster bombs.
Voldemort stood dumbfounded. He had never seen muggle aircraft like these before. Once he left the muggle orphanage, he had dropped out of muggle life. To him, airplanes were still propeller driven crates that carried a few inaccurate bombs. Buffalo flight was over the target for less than two seconds, long enough to drop their munitions, kick the engines to military power and then speed away.
Lucius, taking his life in his hands, tackled Voldemort to the ground and covered him with his own body.
The ground shook and the air filled with smoke and dust. The noise was terrific!
Voldemort began to rise, pushing Lucius off him. Mulciber lay on the ground, bleeding from several places. Lucius staggered to his feet, one arm dangling uselessly by his side. Voldemort was about to curse him when he realized that Lucius had saved him from getting injured.
"Lucius," Voldemort said.
"My lord?" gasped the injured man.
"I am pleased. Now, go see the healer and have your arm tended to. Return to me once it's done," the Dark Lord ordered. He then turned to Mulciber and scowled. "Find me Potter. You said he would attack here. Alive or dead, I want him found and brought to me!"
All around the pair Death Eaters moaned or cried out for healers. Group Captain Anderson's parting shot had injured dozens and killed more than a hundred others.
Haven Operations Center, War Room (0730 hours, April 10th)...
"Sir, the Diagon Alley contingent of the Shamans has returned to Haven. Here is the final tally of wounded and killed for the Hogsmeade assault force," an aid said as she handed Caleb a piece of parchment.
He glanced down at the numbers.
Wizards
Wounded in Action, 72
Killed in Action, 35
Elves
Wounded in Action, 29
Killed in Action, 12
Caleb glanced up from the parchment. "Send to Major Howard, 'If capable, assume control of Diagon Alley contingent and reinforce Hogwarts immediately.'" He then turned to Terry. "Redeploy some scouts on the Hogwarts approach road. I want some warning when he turns back."
Group Captain Anderson joined Caleb. "All aircraft are returning to base, sir, but we have one plane missing. We've picked up the pilot's beacon, but it's too far to reach by helicopter. Is there anything we can do?"
Caleb blinked in surprise. "A pilot is on the ground?" he asked, not familiar with the technology enough to understand completely.
"Yes, sir. He bailed out of his damaged aircraft," replied Anderson.
"And they want us to try to find him, right?"
Anderson nodded.
"Terry," Caleb called. He waited for Terry to approach. "One of the pilots that was helping us has
left his plane and is on the ground somewhere. Get some Haven portkeys and give them to some elves. Group Captain Anderson knows where the pilot is... right?" he asked, turning to Anderson.
Anderson nodded eagerly. He hadn't thought they would be of any help.
"Have them find that pilot and get him to Haven," Caleb concluded.
Caleb walked away, ignoring the stunned stares from the two men. Finally, Terry turned to Anderson. "Sir? Do know where your pilot is? Roughly?"
Anderson shook himself and reached for a map eagerly. "Yes, yes! I didn't think we'd be able to do anything, but yes, I know where he is."
Terry chuckled. "That's alright, sir. To be honest, I didn't expect that we'd be running rescue missions in the middle of a battle, either."
Both men grinned at each other, then Terry pulled out his portable floo and spoke into it, giving the necessary information for the rescue mission.
The Forbidden Forest, 806th Animagi Division (0730 hours, April 10th)...
It had been a long and nerve wracking trip through the forest for the 806th Animagi Division. First the pathfinders were met by several of Sleeg's advisors, who could speak. They led them to a large clearing, where they met with the Centaur tribe that roamed the forest.
The Pathfinders set up the portals under the watchful eyes of the Acromantulas and Centaurs, then the 806th started to cross over from Haven.
Amos Madison was not a happy person. As the junior most member of Able company, second battalion, he was tasked with taking the point position and following one of the acromantulas to their assigned position.
Word had quickly spread among the ranks that the Acromantulas and Centaurs were to be treated as friendlies, but their chittering and clicking was nerve wracking to Madison. It was hard to be friendly with an eight legged bug the size of St. Bernard.
After a slow forty minute walk, they finally reached the edge of the forest. Here they would wait until they received orders to come out.
Madison shrugged off his pack and pulled out the small shovel. Cursing under his breath, he began to dig, the hard way. They needed to be well concealed before Voldemort's forces returned.
"I want that at least a foot deeper, Madison," said Sergeant James.
"Yes, Sergeant," Madison replied. He struck down at the ground hard with his shovel, pretending it was the stupid officer who'd decided they couldn't use magic to dig their foxholes.
James crouched down and looked at Madison. "Look around you, squirt. The castle is less than a klick away and it's full of our people. But down that road," he said, pointing, "are several thousand wizards who might be able to detect magic from digging these holes. But they can't detect your sweating to make one."
Madison tossed down the shovel and looked up at his Sergeant. "I'm sorry, Sarge. It's just that the spiders are giving me the willies."
James looked at the tree tops, which were filling up with thousands of spiders, and scowled. "Yeah, I can't argue that. I'm just glad they didn't tell us about this ahead of time."
Madison picked up the shovel and started to dig again. He paused a moment later. "Is it always like this?"
James stood and looked down at him. "What do you mean?"
"The tightness in your gut, like a jittery feeling gnawing at you?" Madison asked.
"Every damn time. Remember what I said. At least a foot deeper, then pile some brush up in front of your hole and hunker down. Wait for orders."
Madison nodded and James walked over to the next man in the line to talk to him. Madison watched him slowly work his way up the line then he turned and started digging again. If Sergeant James wanted a foot, he'd give him two.
Hogwarts, Great Hall (0750 hours, April 10th)...
Harry found himself delayed getting to the Great Hall because he kept stopping to talk to one of his Brigade members, answering questions or offering encouragement. When he finally jogged into the room, he skidded to a halt and stared in shock at the changes he saw.
The house tables were gone, but he had expected that. The head table had been replaced with a single carved throne that gave him the creeps just looking at it. The skylight charm had faded, of course, but he never expected the large pit in the center of the room, which had obviously been used to entertain Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
The floor and walls of the pit were splashed with dried blood, and an inward bending row of metal spikes lined the top of the pit. Gobs of...stuff...still stuck to the spikes. All in all, it made Harry want to vomit.
The pit now held Nagini. Someone had levitated the huge snake into the pit, penning it up.
Harry walked over to the edge of it and looked in.
"Foolish humans. My master will kill you all when he returns," Nagini hissed in parseltongue.
"Your master will return to discover I now own his castle, and my armies stand ready to crush his," Harry hissed back. "So hold your tongue, foul serpent. You day of judgment has arrived."
Nagini reared up and coiled, as if preparing to strike. "A speaker! Could it be Potter? My master will be much pleased when you writhe under his torments."
"Yes, I have returned, and tricked your master out of his own home so I could take it over."
"He will kill you."
"He can only try. Whatever he does, you will not live out this day."
"Fool, you cannot hurt me. My master will protect..."
The hissing was suddenly cut off as a beam from Harry's staff neatly sliced the snake in two, lengthwise.
"That was a dumb conversation. Merlin, I hate snakes," he muttered to himself.
He turned when he heard giggling. Luna was laughing softly to herself. Next to her stood Draco and Hermione.
Hermione glanced into the pit and shuddered. She waved her wand, causing the pit to fill with sand and stones.
Luna walked up to Harry and looked at where the pit once stood for a moment, then she shrugged. "It was right to kill that snake. It had been twisted and made evil by Voldemort."
"You know, I can talk to snakes, but if the truth be known, I don't like them," he replied softly, then he looked up at Draco, arching an eyebrow in question.
"Shouldn't you be with your company?"
"I'm heading out there now. My floo stopped working and I need to come back in here to refill the container with powder. I also wanted to let you know that we have some elves situated on the road. They should give us some warning."
Harry nodded. "I'll be leaving to join Able company in a bit. I have a floo with me and Hermione can always reach me."
He looked at Hermione. She clearly wanted to go with him, but she knew she had to stay here with the command post.
Weasley Residence, Haven (0800 hours, April 10th)...
Charlie stumbled into the small kitchen and sat down. Dilly, who had started taking care of both Melinda and the Weasley family, appeared and placed a plate of food in front of him.
"Thank you, Dilly," he said absently as he began to push the food around on his plate.
Bill joined him a few minutes later, and Dilly put a plate of food in front of him. He smiled at her. His experience working for Gringotts had made him much more accepting of the little elf.
"Thank you, Dilly," he said with a smile.
Dilly bobbed her head and vanished. She really liked the Weasley family. They laughed a lot and enjoyed a good joke. They even had quite a laugh when she served the twins spaghetti that had been heavily laced with Tabasco sauce.
"Has there been any word yet?" Bill asked Charlie.
Charlie stared at his food for a moment longer. "No, nothing. Dad, Fred and George are closer to the news than we are."
Bill pushed his food away and stood. "This isn't fair! Our baby sister shouldn't be doing this," he growled.
Charlie leaned back and looked at him carefully. "I'll remind you that it was you and the others that made it abundantly plain that our little sister is no longer a baby."
Bill gave him a sour look. "You know what I mean."
"I do, but I also know she and Neville both are doing what they were born to do, Charlie. We talk about Harry and the prophecy, but all of them have a role they were destined to play. My sister... Our sister has become a powerful witch with a strong sense of responsibility. She is doing what she feels she must. I didn't want to accept that, but it's the truth. Even I can see it now," Charlie said.
"It should be us out there fighting, Charlie, not her," Bill replied softly.
"No, it should be us by her side. We missed an opportunity, I'm afraid. We should have trained with her and insisted on being there."
Bill looked ashamed of himself. "I know," he whispered. "I will never forgive myself if anything happens to her. Any of them, really. They're fighting for us."
Charlie stood and put an arm around his brother's shoulders. "Let's just hope that Merlin is looking out for them, then."
"Do you think that Dilly might bring a note to Dad, asking what's going on?" Bill asked suddenly.
Charlie smiled. "That's a capital idea. Let's finish breakfast, then we'll ask her."
Reassured, the two men sat back down. The doubt and fear was still there, but they'd face it like they should, as a family.
Just north of Hogsmeade on the Hogwarts approach road (0830 hours, April 10th)...
Mulciber stood with Voldemort at what remained of the Hogsmeade rail station. They were waiting for word on Harry Potter.
"My lord, perhaps he became frightened and ran away," Mulciber finally offered after nearly an hour of fruitless searching.
"It's possible. He would be fearful of confronting me."
Voldemort paced back and forth. He shot dark looks at Mulciber from time to time, making it known who he felt was to blame for the failure to capture Potter.
"You there!" snapped Mulciber, gaining the attention of a nearby Death Eater. "Return to the castle and bring back a chair for Lord Voldemort!"
The Death Eater nodded, closed his eyes and tried to apparate. He seemed to flinch, then he turned to Mulciber. "My lord, I cannot apparate. There must be a ward in place," he whispered.
Mulciber stared at him in surprise. "Go! Run to the castle and find out what is happening. Report to me as soon as you return."
Mulciber looked at Voldemort nervously. Fortunately, he was too preoccupied with the search for Potter to pay attention to what the Death Eater had just said. Hopefully, the man would return to tell him it was all a mistake, or a ward left over by the retreating British forces.
Haven Operations Center, War Room (0840 hours, April 10th)...
"Sir, 102nd Broomsticks and 5th Sorcerer are in position and dug in," one of the women manning the Floo announced.
"What is the status of Hogwarts?" he asked.
Another woman turned to her floo and spoke softly for several minutes, then she turned to look at Caleb. "All wards are in place, the Brotherhood Brigade and Raiders are in position. Major Howard and the Shamans completed their transfer thirty minutes ago. Colonel Potter reports they're ready."
Caleb stood from his chair and walked over to the map. Terry joined him, staring down at it as if it held all the answers they needed.
"Elf scouts report movement on the approach road," announced one woman.
"In which direction?" snapped Caleb.
The woman looked at him alarmed and then spoke into her floo.
Everyone waited tensely. The door to the war room opened, allowing Helga and Inga to slip back in. Both women carried trays of food from the commissary. Caleb shot them a grateful look. No one had thought to bring food to the room and they had been there for hours already.
"They're toward the castle. No... Wait one...," the woman said, then she nodded. "Elf scouts say the walls around the castle have been spotted by a lone Death Eater. He turned around and headed back to Hogsmeade at a run."
"Send an alert to all commanders. The secret is out. Expect enemy attack," Caleb replied. He turned to Terry. "What's the status of the hospital?" he asked softly.
"Healer August says they're good. The Operating Rooms are clear again and they're ready for incoming wounded."
Group Captain Anderson took off his headset and wiped his face tiredly before walking over to join them.
"Well, that's about all we can do. Once they get in close to the castle, we can't use and air support. We just don't have the right gear on the ground to paint targets. Besides, NATO and the Americans want to conserve their strength for their operation."
Caleb nodded. If all went well, then tomorrow would initiate the second part of Operation Downfall. "You've done more than we hoped for and you have our thanks, Captain Anderson."
"I do have one piece of good news," Terry offered, then he passed Anderson a slip of parchment.
Pilot found and retrieved. Condition fair.
Current location: Haven Hospital.
Anderson read the note, then closed his eyes in silent prayer. Finally, he looked at Terry. "Thank you. I'll alert his commander that he's been located and is safe."
Anderson handed the note to Caleb, who glanced down at it and grinned. "Good news! Well done, Terry."
"Thank you, sir."
Hogwarts Approach Road, just outside of Hogsmeade (0845 hours April 10th)...
Mulciber turned when he heard the yelling, but he was too far away to make it out. Down the road, he could see a Death Eater running as fast as he could toward them.
"What is this?" asked Voldemort, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Enemy in the castle!" shouted the distant Death Eater, still running.
Mulciber's eyes widened and his face drained of color. The enemy couldn't be in the castle! They had routed them and sent them scurrying away in fear.
"We've been tricked!" Voldemort roared, turning on Mulciber. "This is your fault! You didn't leave enough men to guard my castle!"
Mulciber cringed back. "M-m-my lord," he stammered.
"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort screamed.
Mulciber bent over, hands over his head, moaning in fear. The thick green beam arced from Voldemort's scepter and impaled Mulciber. He straightened, his eyes filled with terror. His body glowed brightly in the gray daylight. Wordlessly he collapsed, his body reducing down to ashes.
"Lucius," Voldemort called.
Malfoy, who had been standing nearby after returning from the healer, joined the Dark Lord. He knew he was an inch from dying. "Command me, my lord."
"Mulciber has failed me for the last time, Lucius. He has allowed the enemy to gain control of Hogwarts. You will lead my army to victory," Voldemort said, then he toed the empty robe that once held Mulciber. "Do not forget the price of failure."
Lucius nodded nervously. He was not used to leading so many men in a coordinated manner. He quickly called together all of the commanders and set them marching back to Hogwarts.
Hogwarts, Outer Wall, Sector Able (0845 hours, April 10th)...
Harry stood on top of the wall and shook his head. The twins had outdone themselves with these walls. In less than ten minutes they had erected walls that completely encircled the castle.
He stood next to Allan Humbert, commander of Able company. Looking out toward the area where the Quidditch pitch used to stand, he spotted something strange. "Allan, what is that structure?" he asked, pointing at the walled-in enclosure.
"Slave pens, sir. We sent a team to investigate over an hour ago. Since then, elves have been shuttling boxes of portkeys in, getting everyone out," Humbert replied.
Harry blinked at him. "Really? Where are we sending them?"
"Fort Ord. From what I understand, a number of the people we rescued last time are standing by to help cases like these."
Harry shook his head in dismay. We should have thought of this, he thought angrily to himself.
"They know we're here, Colonel. Haven says elf scouts report Death Eaters spotting the castle walls and returning to Hogsmeade," Hermione sent to him. He smiled, underlying her message was a strong emotional message of pride and a little amusement.
"Thanks, I'll pass the word. I'm sure Chuck Stanton knows, but confirm he does and that his units are in place."
"Yes, sir," she said teasingly.
"Wench," he replied with a mental smile.
He turned to Allan. "Pass the word. They know we're here. Everyone is to hunker down and follow the plan."
The Brotherhood Brigade took their positions along the wall facing the approach road, the Raiders took the other clear wall that faced east. The other two walls crashed their way through the forest. No one thought the enemy would be able to approach from those directions because of the creatures there.
The Forbidden Forest, 806th Animagi Division (0855 hours, April 10th)...
"Pass the word. Keep your head down and wait for orders. Enemy coming into sight." said the voice from the next foxhole.
Amos Madison gulped nervously and stuck his head just above the rim of his foxhole. "Pass the word. Stay down and wait for orders. Enemy coming into sight," he said in a whisper that carried to the next foxhole.
He sunk down in his foxhole and wished he'd dug it a bit deeper. As it was, his was one of the deepest foxholes around. He piled brush up in front of the foxhole, then carefully arranged it so that he had several holes in the brush that he could peer out of and fire through.
From his position he could see a small rise, which the road dipped behind in one direction, and the castle walls only a few hundred yards away in the other.
Madison paused and tilted his head. It was a mannerism that came from his animal form. He'd worked hard to become an animagus and was proud to be a North American Lynx. His ears twitched. From up the line he heard, "Here they come! Hold your fire."
Amos tightened the grip on his wand and fingered the pistol on his belt. He felt the ground tremble slightly, then he saw them! They came over the small hill like a mass of black locusts.
His expression hardened. This wasn't an army. This was a mob of killers.
Hogwarts, Outer Wall, Sector Able (0855 hours, April 10th)...
"Fire," Harry said softly, standing next to his Able company Commander.
"FIRE!" shouted Humbert.
The ground in front of the oncoming mass of humanity exploded with hexes. On the wall behind Harry, teams using mortar tubes were launching specialty weapons, strangler nets, jelly bombs and even the occasional explosive round.
Voldemort, in passing control to Lucius, had made a mistake. Malfoy was not use to commanding large groups. His response to being given command had been to order all of the Death Eaters back to Hogwarts as quickly as they could run. The result was a mess as they arrived in clusters, attacking in detail.
Harry didn't care. He had just over fifteen hundred troops under his command in Hogwarts and if the enemy was going to arrive in groups of three to four hundred wizards at a time, that was just fine by him. They would chew them up and spit out their husks.
"Inform Haven that we are only partially engaged! Do not let General Stanton move in yet," he sent urgently to Hermione.
He received a startled emotional reply, then silence. He wasn't worried. She knew her job and would carry it out.
Padfoot Manor (0900 hours, April 10th)...
When Narcissa entered the dining room, she smiled knowingly. John Boot paced the room nervously, while Dan Granger sat at the table, calmly drinking a cup of tea. She'd been in several hours before, but felt the men would appreciate being updated on Susan's condition. She'd also sent off messages to Terry and Amelia, letting them know that the baby would be delivered soon.
Spotting her, John rushed toward her. "How's Susan?"
"She's fine," she replied. "She's comfortable, but it shouldn't be long now."
"Are Terry and Amelia with her yet?" Dan asked her.
"No, unfortunately. They're both still stuck at the Operations Center, but I've kept them updated on her condition."
John ran a hand through his hair. "Poor Susan. I know she wanted them both with her during this."
"She understands," she told him gently. "And she's very glad Jenny stayed with her."
An urgent pinging sound echoed through the room.
"What is that?" John asked worriedly.
Narcissa's face was expressionless. "One of the monitoring charms I cast. I must go."
"But what does it..." He threw up his hands when she rushed from the room.
"Don't worry, John. Susan is in good hands," Dan told him. "I'm sure the charm was just to let her know that your granddaughter is about to make her entrance into the world."
Back in the library, Jenny was holding Susan's hand, trying to calm her, while Emma rushed to the door to call for Narcissa. Before she could reach it, it was thrown open and the blond rushed in, her wand already drawn.
Reaching Susan, Narcissa checked her monitoring spells quickly, and blanched. "Abby!" she called.
"Yous call, Mistress?" The elf asked a moment later.
"Abby, go to the hospital and find Healer McNeil," Narcissa said quietly. "Tell her Susan is ready to deliver her baby, but that the cord has prolapsed. This is an emergency, Abby, so you must hurry! When she's ready, I want you to bring her here. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mistress. Finds Healer McNeil, tells about baby. When ready, brings healer to library!" the elf repeated.
"Excellent. Now, go!"
"Cissy, what is it?" Emma asked quietly as the elf popped away.
"The umbilical cord is being compressed," she said, silencing the alarm, but leaving the display visible. "It's not a common thing, and I'm not trained in relieving the pressure on the cord. That's why I sent for Danni."
"What's going on?" Susan asked, her eyes glued to the monitoring charm. She was beginning to panic.
While Narcissa explained what was happening, Emma watched the other charms. The baby was still getting oxygen. Her heartbeat was slowing, though not rapidly.
"Come on, Danni. Hurry!" Emma murmured, watching the numbers drop slowly.
Haven Operations Center, War Room (0900 hours, April 10th)...
"Colonel Potter reports they are engaged with the enemy, but the enemy has not yet committed the bulk of his forces. He wants General Stanton to hold position until the enemy commits his forces," said one of the women manning a floo.
Another woman placed a flag next to the Hogwarts marker on the map.
Caleb looked up when the door opened. An older woman walked over to Terry and handed him a message. He paled as he read it. He said something to the woman, who nodded and left the room.
Terry looked up to the observation deck. Amelia nodded grimly.
"Terry?" asked Caleb.
Terry walked over to Caleb. "Sorry, sir. Susan... she went into labor a few hours ago. I've just been informed that she's very close to delivering."
"Will you be able to carry on?"
Terry straightened. "Yes, sir. I asked to be kept informed. Susan knew this could happen. If anything goes wrong, I'll leave."
Caleb eyed him for a moment, then nodded. "Good man. As soon as you can break away from here, go. Don't stick around, just go."
"Thank you, sir."
"Caleb," Group Captain Anderson called. "One of our observation aircraft did a fly over. Almost all of the Death Eaters are on the move. They estimate another ten minutes before the enemy will be fully engaged."
"Pass that information along to General Stanton and Colonel Potter," Caleb ordered.
Hogwarts Approach Road (0900 hours, April 10th)...
There was a ring around the Dark Lord as he walked. No one dared approach him, resulting in a ring of empty ground between him and his nearest servants.
Not far away Malfoy shouted, trying to get everyone to move faster.
Lucius was afraid. Mulciber had been outsmarted and lost Hogwarts. If he couldn't recover the castle for the Dark Lord, his life would likely be forfeited, as well. To make matters worse, the muggle force that he had hoped to use in battle had drawn attention to themselves when they fired back at the airplanes attacking Hogsmeade. They had been literally wiped out to the last man.
He topped the last small rise and the castle was now in full view. He shook his head in wonder and waited for Voldemort to arrive. He was amazed to see that somehow the castle had gained huge walls!
Voldemort came up beside him and stared at the castle in shock. "How is this possible?" he asked.
From their vantage point, they could see the masses of dead and dying, and the Death Eaters throwing themselves against the walls again and again.
"My lord," Lucius said suddenly, turning to his master. "We must stop this. We cannot allow the attack to proceed this way or your army will waste itself against the walls."
Voldemort stared at the man for a moment, but Lucius turned away and signaled for everyone to stop.
"What are you doing, Lucius?" asked Voldemort dangerously.
Malfoy turned back to him. "My lord, if we are to take back Hogwarts, we must plan and attack properly. This way is useless and we will lose."
Voldemort looked at the men on top of the battlements, killing his servants Not one servant had made it to the base of that damned wall alive.
"Very well, Lucius. We will try it your way," he said smoothly.
Minister of Magic, Haven (0858 hours, April 10th)...
Bertrand Lovegood slipped into the room looking extraordinarily pleased with himself. He had gotten permission from the Minister to begin broadcasting at precisely nine o'clock. He stood behind the glass and watched as several people cast the final spells, linking the Irish and French Wizarding Wireless Networks to the broadcast booth. In just a minute or two, the other networks would switch off for twenty four hours, allowing the British Wizarding Wireless network to restart operations, using their channels, as well as its own. And they were starting with a bang!
When they were ready, one of the technicians placed an old fashioned microphone in front of a man sitting at a desk. That the microphone had no cable and was, in fact, just a hollow shell, didn't bother anyone.
The man looked at Bertrand, who nodded and gave him a thumbs up. With a nod, the man turned to watch the clock as it counted down the seconds to nine o'clock. At exactly nine, he waved his wand and the sounds of Rule Britannia began to play.
"Wizards and Witches of the United Kingdom! This is the official British Wireless Network, returning to the air with joyous news. Even as we speak, forces of the United Kingdom and more than thirty allied nations are engaged in battle with Lord Voldemort and his army of Death Eaters.
"The British Ministry of Magic in Exile, with approval of His Majesty, King Charles, has formed alliances with nations throughout the world. The attack began early this morning and is still continuing. We will bring you updates throughout the day, so stay tuned.
"Here are some personal messages. All replies may come to us, the British Wireless Network, Haven, Ireland. And now for our messages. Mike and Susan want Uncle Elmo to know they are safe. Repeating, Mike and Susan want Uncle Elmo to know they are safe.
"William wishes to know if anyone knows the whereabouts of the Wilkins family. Repeating, William wishes to know if anyone knows the whereabouts of the Wilkins family..."
Bertrand bounced a little on his feet. This was almost as much fun as publishing a paper! Interspersed among the real messages being sent out to people were coded messages, to small resistance groups scattered about the country.
Around Britain, acts of sabotage against the occupying military forces increased tenfold.
Hogwarts, Outer Wall, Sector Echo (0905 hours, April 10th)...
Draco looked worriedly over the wall. The ranks of Death Eaters attacking seemed to be thinning out.
Luna stepped up to him. He had made her his aide in order to keep her close. They had talked about it several times before Luna got him to admit that he was afraid for her. He felt having her close would at least give him the illusion that he could protect her. He remembered that final conversation very well.
"You still haven't told me the real reason, Dray," Luna said calmly. She sat on the edge of their bed, watching Draco pace back and forth in the room.
"Well, as my aide, you'll be able to run messages and carry things like my maps and portable floo," Draco replied. Why was she insisting on having this conversation again?
"Dray, you had a perfectly good aide for that. And I know you had to get Harry's approval for this change, so I want to know why."
Draco turned and faced her. "Because I'm terrified I'm going to lose you," he nearly shouted.
Luna stood and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him. "Was that so hard to say? I know you love me, but I don't understand why you find it so hard to say so."
He buried his face in her hair and shuddered slightly in her embrace. "I'm just afraid I'm going to lose you."
She kissed the side of his head and pulled away a little so she could look into his eyes. "I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. But if it makes you feel better, I'll be your aide."
He tightened his grip on her and she smiled to herself. She had chosen very well for a protector, and he was really quite good in bed, too.
"I don't get it. First they were charging us, now they are just sitting there," said one of the men standing against battlement.
Draco pulled out a pair of muggle binoculars and looked the distant Death Eaters over. "Luna, contact the CP. Tell them that it looks like they are having some sort of conference out there. They're just outside the range for the magical mortars."
Luna nodded happily and snapped open her portable floo. "Hello? Is Hermione there?"
Draco winced. His wife would never learn to use proper communications procedures. She sounded like she was making a social call, planning to inviting Hermione over for tea!
"Oh, hello Hermione. Dray says the Death Eaters are staying out of range and not attacking anymore. It's too early for tea, so they must be doing something sneaky," she said, then she paused for a moment. "I really don't trust Death Eaters," she finished, confiding in Hermione.
Several of the men around Draco and Luna exchanged amused grins. Luna was a lethal adversary and everyone respected her, but she was decidedly odd, in their book.
"Alright, I'll tell him, Hermione. Bye," Luna said, then she snapped closed the floo.
"Draco, Harry says he thinks they're preparing for a more planned attack, instead of this mob tactic they were using." She paused and her expression changed. Turning away from him, she looked up at the castle, laughed, and then waved.
Draco walked over to her. "Luna, sweetie, focus. We have a situation here."
She tried to protest when Draco turned her to face the enemy again. "I need you to check in with each squad leader. Find out if we picked up any casualties and report back to me. Also, find out if anyone needs to be resupplied."
Luna nodded and smiled brightly at him. He wasn't interested in her news, but he'd find out about it soon enough.
Memorial Lake, Haven, (0905 hours, April 10th)...
In a wooded glen near the memorial lake, an incorporeal being appeared, hovering in the rising mist.
Checking the position of the sun, Eocho cast a circle and spread his arms wide, the palms of his hands facing the sky. "I call upon the beings of Air and Fire, Earth and Water. Hear me! Your children are in need of your strength, oh Gods of old. To you, I offer myself as sacrifice."
A soft breeze began to blow through the clearing and the sound of voices could be heard.
"Oh Gods, most of your children have gone to war. Bless them and raise them up. Give to them your wisdom and strength, your courage and protection."
As the breeze blew around him, the voices grew louder, though still indistinct.
"Not far from this spot, one of your daughters struggles to bring forth life. Both she and her child are at risk. Ease their pain, oh Gods. Bless them both with life and strength. Watch over and protect them as the next generation of the holy order is born into this world."
He bowed is head then and waited.
The breeze became a strong wind and it tore away the rising mist. The surface of the lake rippled in the distance, making the everlasting candles floating on the water dance.
"Be at ease, Eocho mac Tairdelbaig, son of Aonghas and Ceana. Your prayer has been heard," a female voice sighed on the wind.
"Thank you, Lady. Blessed be, the Gods of old," Eocho murmured as he bowed deeply.
Padfoot Manor (0905 hours, April 10th)...
"That's it, Cissy," Danni said as she gently eased the child's head out. "Keep the levitation charm on her until she's fully delivered."
Nodding, Narcissa glanced at the monitoring charm once more. The child's heart rate had returned to normal once the compression on the cord had been eased.
Danni looked at Susan and smiled. "I need you to stop pushing now. I know it's hard, and the urge to push is great, but it won't be for long."
"Is she okay?" Susan asked.
"Everything looks fine," Narcissa told her as she looked at the monitors.
Having cleared the baby's airway, Danni looked up and smiled. "Alright, Susan, push!"
Several moments later, a cry rang through the manor.
In the dining room, John Boot let out a whoop. Yanking Dan to his feet, he hugged him and began to dance around the room. "I'm a grandfather!" he exclaimed.
"Congratulations, John! I can't tell you how happy I am for you. Now, why don't you stop dancing with me and let me get the champagne?"
Terry's father laughed heartily. Pounding Dan on the back a few times, he then released him and did a little jig. "I wonder how long it will be before I can see them both?"
"They'll have to get her cleaned up a bit. And I'm sure Susan will want to be presentable. It shouldn't be too long. Do you want to send a message to Terry?"
Shaking his head, John grinned. "No, I'll leave that pleasure to Susan!"
Haven Operations Center, War Room (0910 hours, April 10th)...
"Colonel Potter reports that the Death Eaters are regrouping and staying just out of range. They have no casualties to report," said a woman manning the floo.
Caleb nodded thoughtfully and moved to look at a special map they were now using. It was a topographical representation of the area around Hogwarts. Several black flags flashed ominously not far from the castle.
"What are you doing?" he muttered to himself.
He turned to Terry. "He's waiting for something, but what?"
Terry stared at the map for a long moment, then he turned to Caleb. "Perhaps he's bringing reinforcements?"
Caleb shook his head. "No. Most of his wizards are already in the field."
"What about non-human help?" Terry said uneasily.
Caleb glanced back to the map. "Yes, that could be it. He's holding back to coordinate and plan the attack. We caught him off guard and he hasn't fully recovered from that yet. He could be planning his attack though, rather than bringing in help."
"Possible, but I think we should warn Harry anyway," Terry countered.
Caleb frowned. They had nothing more than a hunch to go on. It wasn't enough!
"No, we need more information before we give that sort of warning. How about if we send a small scouting force east and west of the Death Eater position? Let the elves check the forest for any of his non-human allies."
Hogwarts Approach Road (0910 hours, April 10th)...
After a hurried conference with the leaders of Voldemort's forces, Lucius turned back to the Dark Lord.
"I think we are ready, my lord. We have a good plan," he said.
"Then send my servants into battle, Lucius," Voldemort ordered. He amused himself by taking pot shots at the walls, but was unable to cause much damage from such a distance.
"My lord, we need you to summon your other servants. Our plan is to attack behind the dementors. The dementors will roll over them, causing a panic, and we'll be right on their heels."
Voldemort scowled. His dementor force had been hit rather badly. He had less than a hundred of the creatures still alive and they were becoming increasingly difficult to control.
He looked skyward for a moment, judging the cloud cover, then he held out his hand. The cloud cover dimmed the light to such a degree that there was no visible shadow. He might not be able to command hundreds of dementors anymore, but the sunlight was weak enough to allow his vampire allies to attack.
He held up his scepter. "Ego voco succurro!" he shouted.
A thick black beam lanced upwards, striking the clouds and darkening them further.
Hundreds of vampires appeared, using their own form of apparation, summoned directly to Voldemort. From the direction of Hogsmeade, a small dark cloud appeared on the horizon, moving steadily closer. The dementors were approaching.
"Dark Lord, command us!" cried the leader of the vampire clan.
"Await my bidding. Soon we go into battle," Voldemort replied. He turned to watch the approach of the dementors, they were still many minutes off.
"Lord, what about the trolls or the banshees?" asked Lucius.
"Both are too far away for us to easily bring them here, Lucius," he replied. "Summoning them would delay the attack by several hours."
Lucius bowed his head in acknowledgment. "We will await your command, my lord."
Voldemort nodded absently, while he watched the dementors slowly approach.
Padfoot Manor (0915 hours, April 10th)...
While Emma and Jenny congratulated Susan, Narcissa and Danni cleaned and examined the baby.
Seeing the blond woman's frown, Danni chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Cissy. A prolapsed cord is nothing to mess with. Even a midwife would call a healer at that point. You're not far enough into your training to deal with the problems that can arise from such a situation."
"It was such a simple charm, I don't know why I didn't think of it myself," Narcissa told her.
"It wouldn't have mattered. In that situation, it takes two people. You can't be expected to maintain the charm and deliver the child. Besides, too much can go wrong. If you run into the situation again once you've finished your training, always call in another, be it a medi-witch, midwife or healer."
"I'm glad you were here," Narcissa said.
Squeezing the woman's shoulder, Danni nodded. "Don't forget to record the baby's weight and length. I'm going to check on Susan."
"She's beautiful," Jenny murmured, smiling down at the tired new mother.
"Thanks, Nana," Susan teased.
"You did wonderfully," Emma said.
"You were right," Susan said. "Beautiful and joyful."
"And tiring," Jenny said with a laugh, watching as her daughter-in-law yawned.
Danni joined them and smiled at Susan. "As you can hear, you have a healthy daughter with a great pair of lungs!"
While the other women laughed, Danni cast a few more spells, checking the new mother's health. Noting that Susan was bleeding a bit heavily, she cast a charm to monitor it and turned to her medical kit.
Digging through her kit, she pulled out a potion. Returning to her patient, she nodded at Emma, who moved aside.
"Susan, you're bleeding more heavily than I'd like. Your uterus isn't contracting as it should. This potion will help stimulate those contractions," Danni told her. "It doesn't taste very good, but I need you to drink it all."
Grimacing, Susan reached for the bottle. "One of these days someone will invent a potion that tastes good." Uncorking the small bottle, she brought it to her mouth, tipped it up and drank quickly.
With a twist of her lips and a shudder, she dropped the empty bottle into the healer's waiting hand.
Hogwarts, Outer Wall, Sector Charlie (0920 hours, April 10th)...
Remus scowled and pulled out his floo. "Command, Charlie six actual. I think he's about to attack with dementors and vampires."
"Charlie six, acknowledged. We see them. Pass the word to all hands, prepare to use your Sun Bangers," said a tinny voice from the floo.
"Charlie company!" shouted Remus. He still wasn't sure why Harry had placed him in charge of the company, but he wasn't going to argue about it now. "Vamprep!"
The command was echoed up and down the line. He could hear others yelling the same thing from the adjoining wall sections. Each man put on a pair of sunglasses to protect them from the extremely bright light of the Sun Bangers. As long as they didn't set them off at their feet, they would be reasonably far enough away to avoid a case of sun poisoning.
Everyone crouched down behind the wall and waited. A few, mostly officers and noncommissioned officers, walked the wall, offering encouragement where needed.
Remus eyed the mass of milling Death Eaters. The dementors had finally reached the front of their ranks. With a roar, the vampires and dementors rushed forward. There were fewer dementors than expected, but a lot more vampires.
"Make ready!" Remus shouted.
Tonks knelt at his feet. She already had a Sun Banger in her hand, waiting to throw it. She glanced up at him and grinned. He grinned back and put a hand on one of the Sun Bangers on his belt, pulling it off. It came free with an audible snap.
The vampires were running at full speed. They were barely visible, but they were coming from nearly a thousand yards out.
Remus waited, watching them pass the distance markers that they had laid out. Five hundred yards, three hundred, two hundred.
"NOW!" shouted Remus as the creatures hit the one hundred yard mark.
One hundred and forty Sun Bangers arced out from the wall in front of Charlie company, landing in front of the oncoming vampires. Daylight dawned in front of them and they recoiled back in agony. The leading elements of vampires flashed into fire and crumpled to the ground, a smoking ruin. Those in the back fell a little more slowly as their flesh charred and peeled away. They fell to the ground and writhed in agony.
The dementors flinched slightly under the light, but it had no real impact on them. While many others continued to hurl the light grenades, others started casting the Patronus charm to drive them back.
"Expecto Patronum!" shouted Remus. A silvery wolf leapt from his wand and charged into the massed dementors.
A second later, Tonks followed with her own patronus, causing a chameleon to leap from her wand.
The vampires faltered and their charge lost momentum. Not far away, Remus heard Harry shout "SOLARIS!"
The area in front of the castle burst into a blinding white light and the remaining vampires fell to the ground, screaming in their death throes. The Death Eaters that were closing the gap between themselves and the vampires flinched in the blinding light. Harry's spell had blinded many of those in the front ranks.
When Harry canceled the spell, Remus was surprised to find that the light didn't fade away. He glanced around in confusion, losing control of his patronus in the process. The sounds of battle died off as the confusion spread along the wall.
Remus glanced up towards the castle. There, along the parapets of the towers, perched the Angels of Haven. He smiled, hearing Luna's laugh ring out. It was a pure, bright sound, like the ringing of a crystalline bell.
The Angels unfurled their wings and their uplifting effects were felt by everyone. One by one, the Angels fell from towers in a dizzying plunge, then they pulled up to attack the dementors.
Voldemort's army of Death Eaters flinched and started to pull back, earning the ire of their master.
The Angels made very short work of the remaining dementors. It was possible to hear Voldemort's screams of rage, even from a distance. They had thrown back Voldemort's first serious attack on the castle, using only those defenders inside the castle.
Padfoot Manor (0920 hours, April 10th)...
Messages had been sent to Terry and Amelia, announcing the birth of Siomha Amelia Jennifer Boot.
John had been allowed into the room and, after hugging Susan, he got his first look at his first granddaughter. Once he'd taken her into his arms, he'd told those in the room that he had a new love in his life. Laughing, Jenny had taken the baby from him, rolled her eyes at his pout, and returned little Siomha to Susan.
As Emma and Dan watched the happy family, they both recalled Hermione's birth and smiled gently at each other.
Danni watched the monitoring charms with some concern. Susan's bleeding hadn't stopped. When her blood pressure reading began to drop, she grabbed her medical kit. Finding what she needed, she turned back to the bed, glanced at the monitor readings and narrowed her eyes. Susan's pulse was rapid now, and her blood pressure was still falling.
She approached the bed with two bottles in her hand, one quite large. "John, Dan, leave. I need to examine Susan."
Emma's eyes flicked to the monitoring charms and she stiffened.
Feeling his wife tense, Dan looked at her, then at the monitors.
Squeezing Emma's hand in understanding, he walked to John and threw an arm over his shoulders. "Alright, Granddad! Let's go see what the elves have to eat in the kitchen, then we'll toast the newest member of your family."
"Isn't she lovely?" John asked. The door to the library closed, cutting off Dan's reply.
"Danni?" Jenny asked, not fooled by the healer's excuse. "What is it?"
"The bleeding hasn't stopped," Danni told her. "Susan, we're going to try another potion. You may just need a higher dose to get the contractions started."
Taking the potion, Susan drank it as quickly. Dropping the empty bottle into Danni's hand, she shuddered. "I still say there has to be some way of making it taste better!"
"Now take this one. It's a blood replenisher. You've lost quite a bit," Danni told her seriously, "and we want to keep on top of that."
"How much do I drink?" Susan asked as she uncorked the new bottle.
"All of it," Danni replied.
Susan's eyes widened, but she nodded her head and did as the healer instructed.
Casting a charm over Susan's abdomen to monitor any contractions, Danni frowned. The potion, if was going to work, would act quickly. As the minutes passed with no contractions, she grew concerned. Canceling the charm, she looked at the monitors for Susan's blood pressure and pulse and swore silently.
Stepping away from the bed, she motioned for Emma and Narcissa to join her.
"She's hemorrhaging," Danni told them quietly. "I can cast a suspensor spell if I have to, but it will drain me and I'll be useless. Narcissa, you may have to do it, if it comes to that. Right now, I need another healer as quickly as possible."
"Dilly!" Emma called.
When the two women looked at her strangely, she held up a hand and waited.
With a small popping sound, Dilly appeared and flinched slightly. She'd never been called to the manor before and wasn't comfortable there. "You do be calling Dilly?" she asked nervously.
"Yes, Dilly. I need you to find Melinda and bring her here immediately."
"Melinda do be at hospital helping Pappy Healer," the elf told Emma.
"I know, Dilly. But we have an emergency and need her here, now. Tell her we have a patient with postpartum hemorrhaging. She'll know what to bring. If she can't come, tell her to send another, but don't take no for an answer!" Danni said urgently.
"Dilly will be doing as Mistress says!" With a pop, she was gone.
"Alright. Emma, explain to Jenny and Susan what's happening, but do your best to keep Susan calm. Narcissa, let me explain the suspensor spell. We may not need it, but let's be prepared."
Hogwarts, Outer Wall, Sector Able (0930 hours, April 10th)...
Harry leaned against the wall and breathed heavily. Reaching into his potion box, he pulled out an energy restorer. The light spell hadn't been easy.
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, just a little tired. Inform Caleb that we've repelled an attack composed of nearly one thousand vampires and some dementors. I don't think any vampires got away. The enemy has pulled back and seems to be regrouping again."
He waited for a minute. "What is the status of the other units?"
"Most of the units used up their supply of Sun Bangers. If more vampires attack, we're back to using the Solaris spell, which, when cast by most people, will only drive them off . Not all of us are capable of killing with it," she replied.
"Yeah, yeah. Here's to hoping we don't face any more of them, then."
Hr paused and peered over the battlements, looking at the army in the distance. They had to be at least four thousand strong still.
"Hermione, message all company commanders. The Death Eaters are conjuring ladders. I think this next attack will be where he commits his forces. Also, contact Major Howard of the Shamans. Have his unit move into the Entrance Hall. I want them ready to plug any holes that might develop. And let Haven know, so they can pass the word to Chuck."
"We should have arranged to have at least one portable floo that could contact everyone," she replied rather grumpily.
He spotted something fly out from the walls controlled by Echo company. Frowning, he watched the object sail high overhead before exploding in a silent puff of black smoke. Glittery objects rained down on the ground in front of the walls.
Curious, he decided to walk over and see what they were doing.
"I agree, but we always forget something and I hope this is the last time we do this. I have far more important things to do with my life than kicking Voldemort's scaly arse," he shot back at her.
"Your messages are passed, m'lord," she said playfully. Talking mentally like this, neither of them needed to resort to official Brigade speech. "So, what's more important than beating Voldemort?"
"Lot's of things. Friends, family, peace, you stretched out on the bed, tied down, naked, and me with a feather, maybe some of those edible body paints," he replied with a grin.
There was a moment of silence across their bond, as if his words had shocked her completely, then he noticed the wave of arousal she was trying hard to hold back and he nearly laughed out loud.
"Gotcha," he sent softly, smiling to himself.
Harry walked calmly along the walls, heading towards Echo company. He nodded to people as he passed them. Most seemed to be in excellent spirits, but he knew part of that came from the Angels perched around the castle roof.
"I'm going to hold you to that," she finally replied.
"I'm happy to serve, my lady. I'm with Echo company. I need to speak to Draco, so I'll get back to you in a bit."
"Alright. Be careful, love."
Harry walked up to Draco, who was watching Luna. She was supervising several men who were loading a strange looking contraption.
"Can I ask what you're doing?" he said softly.
Draco jumped and whirled on him. "Merlin! Harry, don't do that," he exclaimed. Shaking his head, he tried not to glare. "The twins asked us to test something for them. They didn't have time to get these into production and the mortar teams would have been too busy to play with them. So Luna volunteered to put a small team together for them."
One of the men placed a quaffle sized ball in a basket attached to the machine. He fiddled with the ball for a moment, then nodded to Luna.
"Pull!" she commanded.
The man then yanked hard on a lanyard and the basket flung upright, hurling the ball out over the battlement.
Harry watched for a moment, then turned back to Draco. "Wouldn't it be better to wait until the Enemy is attacking?"
Draco chuckled. "No, she's seeding the ground with poisoned caltrop portkeys. The caltrop is little more than several pieces of sharpened metal that form an X. No matter how you throw them, one pointy side always faces up. The poison is fast acting, causing paralysis in under a minute. But just to make sure they do the job, the caltrop is also a portkey, its destination set to the North Atlantic ocean, somewhere off Greenland."
Harry shuddered at the thought. Paralyzed and sent to drown? He made a mental note never to offend the Weasley twins.
"Of course, most will probably hit your ward and bounce back to explode on the field, but if there are any unmarked wizards, they'll go swimming," Draco said in conclusion.
Harry shivered again at the ruthlessness of it.
"Pull!" Luna commanded cheerfully.
Padfoot Manor (0930 hours, April 10th)...
"There!" Melinda said with some relief. "Do you see them, Danni?"
Suspended above Susan's unconscious form was an image of her uterus. It had taken several charms, layered over each other in a very precise order, to create the image, but it had worked. The procedure normally called for three healers, but no one else could be spared from the hospital and they'd had to teach Narcissa on the fly.
Emma was monitoring Susan's blood pressure and pulse, while Jenny watched over Siomha.
Danni shook her head. "I thought that might be the problem, but without an image to work from, there was just too much background clutter from the birth for a reliable reading," she said, scowling.
Visible on the image, once it it had been enhanced and enlarged, were several tears in the lining of the uterus.
"At least it's easily fixed, now that we know what the problem is," Melinda told her gently.
Stepping back from the image, Danni nodded. "Right. Let's get it done."
Ten minutes later, the damage had been repaired and the bleeding stopped. As Susan was unconscious, they used a syringe to inject the blood replenisher into her system. While Danni and Melinda canceled the imaging charms, Narcissa explained to Jenny what had happened and what steps had been taken to correct the problem.
"She'll be alright?" Jenny asked, watching the two healers closely. She hadn't been as close to Susan as she would have liked. Both her and John felt their marriage had been forced on them, and they took it out on Susan. In retrospect, Jenny realized that they had been wrong, and Susan had born the brunt of their ire far better than most would have. It shamed her deeply and she promised herself she'd make it up to the young woman who had just given her a granddaughter.
"She should be fine," Danni called as she recast the monitoring charms. "We'll watch her for a bit, but I don't want to wake her up until we're sure."
Nodding, Jenny held her granddaughter closely, her face creased with worry.
Walking to the table, Danni sat down on a chair and rubbed her face tiredly. "You didn't bring anything to restore energy, did you, Melinda?"
Medical kit in hand, Melinda joined her at the table and opened it. "I did, actually." Retrieving the potion, she passed it to her colleague.
"How many do you have with you?" Danni asked as she opened the bottle. Drinking the entire bottle, she blanched and silently agreed with Susan; potions should taste better!
"Four. I brought mostly blood replenishing potions and a few others that might be needed for a patient with postpartum hemorrhaging."
"Good. Drink one yourself, and give the other to Narcissa." At Melinda's questioning look, Danni sighed. "We have to get back the hospital. They need as many of us as possible. I know you don't feel it now, but you'll need all the energy you can get before the fighting is finished."
Melinda closed her eyes, opened another bottle and drank the contents. Shuddering, she opened her eyes and smiled wanly at Danni. "I'll give Narcissa a dose and check the monitoring charms."
Haven Operations Center, War Room (0935 hours, April 10th)...
"The Brotherhood Brigade reports repelling an attack of a thousand vampires," one of the women manning a floo.
The room fell silent and everyone repressed a shudder at the thought.
"Haven Hospital reports all Operating Rooms are clear and most of the critical care cases have been stabilized. They haven't had to send any patients off to any of the backup facilities."
Terry walked over to Caleb looking rather pleased with himself. "Sir, we had nearly two hundred elves pop to various locations in and around Hogsmeade. We have been unable to locate any significant forces of non-humans. No trolls, no dementors, nothing."
"Then Harry must have just done away with Voldemort's non-human forces already. We might have caught a break," Caleb murmured.
"Sir," called one of the floo operators, "Colonel Potter says the enemy is conjuring ladders to scale the walls. He believes the enemy will commit his forces fully in the next attack."
Terry looked at him. "It makes sense. Voldemort has got to be nearly insane with rage by now."
"Relay that message to General Stanton," Caleb ordered.
Terry turned, hearing a small pop behind him. The elf handed him a note, then popped away.
He unfolded the note and read.
Terry,
Congratulations Daddy. Siomha Amelia Jennifer Boot born 9:07 this morning. Seven pounds, four ounces, twenty inches on the nose. Mother and Daughter doing well. Susan will likely send you a note
herself later.
Love
Mum & Dad.
Terry closed his eyes and whispered a prayer of thanks, then he looked up to the observation deck. Amelia beamed a huge smile down at him. Arthur handed her a tissue so she could wipe the tears from her eyes.
"Congratulations, Dad," Caleb said softly, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "I wish I could let you go, but I need you here."
Terry nodded. He couldn't wipe the smile from his face however. "I understand, sir."
Both Weasley boys shot him a thumbs up.
Hogwarts Approach Road (0945 hours, April 10th)...
Voldemort paced angrily. Around him lay the corpses of several Death Eaters he had killed when his army pulled back from the castle without orders.
Finally he stopped and turned to Lucius. Damn fool can't do anything right! I'll have to do it myself, he thought. "Lucius, summon my Chosen to me," he snapped.
Lucius paled and nodded, then he turned and sent Death Eaters scurrying to find and bring the Chosen in.
The Chosen had served two purposes in Voldemort's ranks. They were usually commanders, in charge of large bodies of Death Eaters, and occasionally he'd use them as sources of magic. They were ritual enhanced wizards, some of them as powerful as five wizards. They were his special weapon, only Lucius wielded more power than any of his Chosen, but Lucius had never experienced the ritual. The power that Malfoy wielded came from his proximity to Voldemort.
Voldemort waited until his twelve Chosen were assembled before him. Their uniform was slightly different, it was the only way to tell Chosen from regular Death Eaters. They wore a slightly better grade of robe with a wide red belt around their waists.
"You Chosen and I, will lead our army to victory. We shall approach under cover," he pronounced.
Lucius looked worried. "My lord? There is no cover," he said hesitantly.
Voldemort looked at him as though he was an imbecile, and Malfoy cringed back. He pushed his way forward through the Chosen, then he lifted his scepter.
"Ignotus nostrum progressio," he said in a loud voice. Then he turned to the Chosen, who raised their wands and cast the same spell.
A thick mist rose around them, quickly rising above their heads. Visibility suddenly dropped down to mere yards.
"Have my army follow me. You can manage that much, can't you, Lucius?" Voldemort asked in a scathing tone.
"Y-y-yes my lord," Malfoy stammered back.
"Good. We move silently."
Voldemort moved off at a slow, steady pace, knowing that he had to maintain the slow pace to keep under the mist. His Chosen followed right on his heels.
Haven Operations Center, War Room (0947 hours, April 10th)...
"Sir, General Stanton reports the enemy is advancing within a thick cloud bank. He is unable to gauge their progress," said one of the floo operators.
"Get me Colonel Potter," Caleb said quickly.
A moment later someone handed him a portable floo.
"Brotherhood Six actual, Haven Six actual, what's your situation?"
"The Death Eaters are advancing under a dense mist, reducing visibility to nearly zero. We're shooting blind, and we're trying to come up with a counter for the mist," said the tinny voice of Harry Potter.
"Can you hold?"
"Yes, I believe we can, but I need to go. We're kind of busy here, Haven Six Actual," replied Harry.
Caleb blinked in surprise. "Acknowledged. Haven Six Actual out," he replied, then handed the floo sheepishly back to the woman. He hadn't expected Harry to be so blunt, but in retrospect, he had been keeping him from doing his job.
Hogwarts, Outer Wall, Sector Echo (0950 hours, April 10th)...
Harry handed the floo back to Luna, then turned to look at the slowly moving cloud bank. "We need to slow them down. What about some area effect spells? A wall of fire, perhaps?"
"That's going to take a lot of power to do. It's a lot of area to cover," Draco countered. "It won't do any good to slow them down if you exhaust everyone before they actually get here."
Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Hermione?" he asked. He hated rushing her almost as much as she hated him rushing her, but he needed a solution and he needed it ten minutes ago!
"Patience is a virtue," she replied.
He winced and glared at the cloud bank for a moment longer. He could use the same spell he used at Azkaban, but if he did, he'd use a lot of power and end up going into his fight with Voldemort tired. He waited, knowing full well that Hermione was scrambling through her book bag of requirement, trying to find a counter.
He turned back to Draco. "Alright, area effect spells then. Hammers, flame, freezing, that sort of thing. Pass the word and give the word to fire at will. I know firing blind is a terrible way of doing it, but it will slow them down."
"Hermione, pass the word to all company commanders. Use any spell that has an area effect. Fire at will. We need to slow them down until we can clear off that cloud," he sent.
"FIRE!" shouted Draco.
The wall erupted with flashes of spellfire. It seemed that Harry had given people an opening to use their favorite spells. He saw people flaming the leading edge of the cloud, others casting explosive hexes, and still others casting charms sheeting the cloud with bunches of flechettes. One industrious person even used a spell to uproot a small tree and was currently directing it like a club.
Screams sprang from the cloud and it visibly halted under the onslaught. Harry nodded with some satisfaction, but he knew that they were not doing as much damage as they could.
"I'm on the wall with Able Sector," Hermione sent him.
Harry frowned. "You're not supposed to leave the command post," he chided.
"Oh, and you're going to learn this spell and cast it right the first time?" she asked archly.
He flinched from her angry mental tone. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'll be there in a moment."
"I'm heading back to Able company. Keep firing," he said to Draco, then turned and trotted along the battlements in the direction of Able.
Hogwarts, Outer Wall, Sector Able (0955 hours, April 10th)...
Hermione knelt on the top of the wall, and using her wand, engraved the runes needed for power concentrating. It didn't take her long to have the small circle set up, then she rummaged through her backpack until she found her shrunk down staff. She enlarged the staff, then stepped into the circle.
The incantation she needed was long, and unfortunately for her, it was in Swedish of all languages!
She began by invoking the power concentrating runes and asking for a blessing from the Celtic Gods. Inwardly, she hoped they wouldn't be too upset if she didn't cast a Celtic spell.
The runes in her circle began to flicker and glow. The air seemed to come alive with magic that snapped. Sparks flared all around the edge of the circle. Her work even distracted the soldiers along the walls. Few had ever witnessed ritual based magic on this level before.
She was working her magic to a frenzy, which would result in a single massive burst of magic, far more than she was normally capable of.
The runes at her feet were pulsating wildly and a buzzing sound tore through the air. She raised her staff over her head with both hands. The staff glowed and the metal end cap pulsated in time with the runes at her feet.
"Vända den här dimma till rök!" she screamed, then she whirled her staff so that the end cap faced the cloud. A bright blue beam of light arced out and for a brief moment, the entire cloud fluoresced, then the light faded, and with it, the cloud bank changed. It became darker, almost oily in appearance.
Shouts of alarm came from within the cloud, then heavy coughing. She had changed the mist into smoke.
Hermione slumped to her knees and leaned heavily against her staff. Harry, arriving late, jumped to her aid.
"That was different," she mumbled groggily.
"You gorgeous idiot," Harry said softly. "Why didn't you wait for me? I could have loaned you some power. What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking about keeping my handsome but moronic husband alive by leaving him with all his magic, thank you very much. You need your power for when you face him. I'll be fine, just give me a moment," she replied, panting heavily.
Harry fumbled with his potion box and pulled out a single dose energy restorer. He popped the cap and placed it to her lips. She weakly batted at his hands and glared at him, then accepted the inevitable, and drank the potion. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, then a waft of steam rose from her head and she climbed to her feet.
Harry turned to look at the spectacle out in front of the walls. The cloud bank was thinning rapidly under the shouts from Voldemort and others. Harry smirked. The Death Eaters were doing what he had thought about doing, they were creating a wind and, in the process, exhausting dozens.
Over in front of Echo company, large groups of Death Eaters rushed forward, then vanished, only to return a second later and explode in a gory shower of Death Eater bits. The Caltrop portkeys were a success!
Voldemort stood with his Chosen and Lucius, while the Death Eaters, shaking off the effects of the smoke, screamed in defiance and charged the castle walls.
"FIRE!" shouted Harry, then he cast a wide field stunner, taking forty Death Eaters out of the fight permanently.
Harry turned to Hermione and quickly assessed her condition. "Go, get back to your post," he ordered.
Turning back to the fight, he could see that some of the Death Eaters had gotten smart. They were shielding their fellows from attack while they held back. More Death Eaters saw that the tactic was working and copied their behavior.
The Death Eaters, now being covered by their fellows, rushed the walls. Voldemort and his Chosen started concentrating fire on just one wall.
"Hermione, Delta Company, the wall closest to the Raiders, is under attack by Voldemort and a group of his servants. I can see from here that they're starting to undermine the wall. Tell Neville he needs to clear that section of the wall, then alert Major Howard that he is to hold the courtyard at all costs, in-case they break through. Finally, contact Haven. Tell them that now would be a really good time for General Stanton to do something. Next..."
Harry paused and started firing reductors at Death Eaters climbing a nearby ladder. They were starting to get a little too close for comfort.
"Harry? Harry?" Hermione called nervously.
"I'm alright," he replied. "We've got Death Eaters scaling the walls. We need Chuck to move in."
Suddenly Harry fell to the ground, a heavy body laying on top of him. He looked up just in time to see a killing curse fly past.
"You want to be more watchful, sir," said the private laying on top of him. She grinned down at him. "Can't wait to tell the girls I got to lay on the famous Harry Potter. Er...Oops. Sorry, sir," she said, her brown eyes dancing with humor then her expression changed. Grunting, she slid off of him and collapsed to the ground.
Harry rolled in the opposite direction and climbed to his knees.
He saw a swatch of black robes still struggling to climb over the battlements. Harry raised his staff and banished the man. The Death Eater flew back and upwards, screaming as he went. Several nearby Brigade members paused to admired the Death Eater who continued upwards at a great speed and continuing to accelerate. He was out of sight when his body caught fire due to friction when he passed the sound barrier.
Harry stood and saw that things were getting really tight. He started pointing his staff and exploding Death Eaters as they crested the battlements. His body was glowing brightly in the gloomy morning light. With a shake of his head, he walked over and grabbed hold of one ladder, vaporizing it, and the Death Eaters climbing on it.
Several of his other men rushed up to support him. He turned to see a medic working on the young private. She had been hit with a cutting hex that sliced her from her shoulder to her hip.
Harry turned away, aiming his staff and picking off Death Eaters milling around not far from the base of the wall.
"Send me two squads to reinforce my position," he ordered Hermione. He barely registered her acknowledgment.
The Forbidden Forest, 806th Animagi Division (1000 hours, April 10th)...
Sergeant James stared at the seething mass of Death Eaters assaulting the walls. This was going to be interesting, he thought grimly. He pulled his wand in his right hand and his pistol in the left.
"ANIMAGI DIVISION! LET THEM HEAR YOU ROAR!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Word had come down from command; they were needed. As one, the men hidden in the forbidden forest came out of hiding and fired upon the milling group of Death Eaters.
Amos gripped his pistol and wand tightly, then he sprang from his foxhole yelling and firing curses just like everyone else in his unit. His company moved to just inside the tree line, while another company moved into the holes made by him and his mates. The 806th poured both spell and gunfire into the massed Death Eaters.
On the other side of the castle, the 102nd Broomsticks pulled an identical maneuver, enclosing the Death Eaters into a cul de sac.
The 5th Sorcerer Infantry braved the open ground, moving rapidly into position to cut off the Death Eaters from the road to Hogsmeade. The Death Eaters were now surrounded on three sides and pinned against the castle walls.
Between American positions, Acromantulas streamed out of the forest by the hundreds. The Death Eaters flinched back and pulled into a tight group. This wasn't a set battle, it was becoming a slaughter.
Haven Operations Center, War Room (1005 hours, April 10th)...
The mood in the war room became increasingly tense. The order for the Americans to move in had been given nearly five minutes ago. Since then, no word had come from any of their forces as to what was happening.
Caleb glanced worriedly towards the Observation deck. Amelia, down from the euphoria of the birth of her grandniece, was chewing worriedly on a fingernail. Arthur Weasley sat next to her, leaning forward in his chair.
Caleb turned to Group Captain Anderson, wondering if maybe they could get aerial reconnaissance of the area.
One of the floos flared to life and the woman manning it huddled over it, speaking rapidly. Caleb watched her intently.
"General Stanton says the 806th, 5th and 102nd have cut off the Death Eaters. They're trapped against the castle walls!" she said.
"Haven Hospital is reporting large numbers of wounded arriving. They're activating their Irish support plan," said another.
"Minister, the US Navy Task force in the channel is receiving reports of fighting in London. We may be looking at a civilian led revolt against the army. According to my sources, they're trying to confirm that. If it turns out to be true, we may see their timetable moving up significantly."
Caleb eased himself into a chair, then looked up. "What is the status of the 2nd Shamans that remained in Camp Outhouse?" he asked.
Terry looked up after consulting his notes. "They're finished resupplying, but are only at sixty percent strength."
Caleb stared at the map for a moment, then turned to Terry. "Order them through the portal. Let them link up with Major Howard as an extra reserve."
Terry nodded and picked up a portable floo to issue the necessary orders.
Hogwarts, Outer Wall, Sector Delta (1010 hours, April 10th)...
Harry suddenly turned and stared. Voldemort, along with the group of strangely dressed Death Eaters, had managed to bring down one of the wall segments that Delta company was watching. Harry realized that the Death Eaters had just been given a way into the castle. Even as he watched, they were scrambling over the debris and entering the court yard as quickly as they could.
"We have a wall breach! Alert Haven, then tell Colonel Walsh to release any company on the wall that is not engaged. We need to plug that gap. I'm heading to Delta sector right now," he shouted to Allan Humbert, commander of Able company.
Harry ran to a stairway and quickly made his way down into a clear area of the court yard.
In Delta sector, Neville Longbottom was trying to stem his panic. His wife, Ginny, was one of the people that had still been on the wall when it came down. In less than a second, one third of his command had vanished in a pile of rock and debris.
Neville saw the look of surprise on Ginny's face as the wall collapsed. Once the dust cleared, he could see arms and legs sticking out from places under the rocks, but he couldn't see Ginny. And worse, Death Eaters were scrambling into the breach.
"Delta company! To me!" Neville roared, then he scrambled down the steep incline on the broken wall. A Death Eater wearing a wide red belt paused, spotting Neville sliding down. He aimed his wand at him.
"Avada Kedav..."
Neville continued his slide down the slope. He had seen the wizard pause and aim at him. Unable to get to his wand, he pulled his pistol and fired one shot, hoping to startle the wizard.
It startled the man for about one tenth of a second, then the bullet crashed through his brain and out the back of his skull. The man fell to the floor, twitching. The Chosen might have more magic, but bullets still killed them.
Behind Neville came the rest of Delta company, sliding their way down into the gap, trying to stem the tide of Death Eaters. Emboldened by Neville's example, many of the brigade pulled their sidearms and started using both, but the damage had already been done. Several hundred Death Eaters, Voldemort and his Chosen, would make it past the wall before Delta Company could plug the breach.
Colonel Walsh, seeing Delta company on her flank thinning out as they left the wall, immediately sent her own Delta company down the opposite side of the wall, helping plug the gap and take some of the pressure off Neville and his company.
Voldemort turned and spotted the two companies now blocking the breach in the walls and he roared in anger. He threw out his scepter, hurling killing curses at a blindly fast rate. The Chosen copied their lord. They surrounded him, acting as both a shield and an attacking force. They would protect their lord with their lives.
Several more of the Chosen fell to bullets. Like Harry had predicted, there were few wizards who knew of shields capable of stopping a bullet. Unfortunately, Voldemort was one of those wizards.
Hogwarts, Outer Wall, Sector Echo (1010 hours, April 10th)...
Draco cursed and headed for the stairs. When the wall went down, most of the remaining Death Eaters shifted towards the breach, leaving him with an empty sector. He ordered forty of his people to join him, leaving two thirds of Echo company still on the wall.
The interior courtyard had become a major battle zone. The Shamans were protecting the entrance to the castle, but the Death Eaters were well situated in the courtyard. They had transfigured a large number of rocks and boulders so they had many places to hide.
In one protected corner, two of the Chosen began to chant. When they were finished, they collapsed dead, their magic spent, but it was well spent as the inner courtyard plunged into darkness. The forces within the courtyard had just lost the support of those on the walls.
Draco skidded to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. The darkness wasn't complete. He could see, just not well. A hand touched his shoulder and he turned enough to see Luna pointing along the wall. He nodded. Following the wall would make sense, and it would limit the directions from which they could be attacked. In a crouch, he led his force towards the breach, flinching at the many flashes of spell fire arcing across the courtyard.
Hogwarts, Outer Wall, Sector Charlie (1010 hours, April 10th)...
Like Echo company, the number of Death Eaters in front of their area of responsibility lessened dramatically. Remus noted the breach and he split his forces, half firing down into the courtyard, and half guarding the outer wall.
He reached for a portable floo. "Charlie Six Actual to Brigade Command Two. The wall along Delta sector has been breached. We have a large body of Death Eaters inside the inner courtyard!"
"Charlie Six Actual, Command Two, acknowledged. Have lost contact with Echo Six Actual and Delta Six Actual. Can you see them from your position?"
"Negative, Command Two. The interior of the courtyard is covered in some form of magical darkness. It comes up to about ten feet below the top of the walls."
"Standby, Charlie Six."
Remus glanced to the darkness that roiled and bubbled like water within the confines of the courtyard. Ever so often, he'd see a curse break from the surface of that darkness or hear people cursing.
"Charlie Six Actual, relaying orders from Brigade Six. Hold your position. Repeat, hold your position. Raider reinforcements will be passing through your section shortly to bolster Delta and Echo positions."
Remus frowned. "Charlie Six Actual, acknowledged. Out," he said, then snapped the floo closed. He looked over to Tonks, who stared back at him worriedly. She was frightened. Things were spiraling out of control.
Padfoot Manor (1010 hours, April 10th)...
They had moved Susan to her bedroom and she was now resting comfortably, little Siomha in a bassinet next to her bed. Jenny had placed her there before sitting down to leaf through a book. John sat with Dan and Emma, talking quietly in a nearby sitting room.
It had been a roller coaster of a day for everyone, so far. Susan problems in childbirth would not have been so bad under normal circumstances. But with every available healer in the country busy with the war effort, things had been touch and go for awhile.
The stress of the morning was beginning to wear off when the peaceful atmosphere was shattered by the portkey alarm.
Dan sprang to his feet and pulled his wand. "Incoming portkey?" he asked as he rushed from the room, Emma hot on his heels. Except for the elves and the Boots, they were alone in the manor. Narcissa had already returned to the hospital.
They were almost to the portkey room in the basement when the alarm switched over to indicate a medical emergency.
Dan hit the door at a full run, nearly knocking it from it's hinges.
"Sweet Jesus!" he exclaimed, then jumped to help Ginny. She lay on the floor, bleeding profusely. One of her legs seemed to be mangled, the other was missing entirely, halfway below her kneecap. She was conscious, but only barely.
Emma gasped and ran to help Dan. She felt for a pulse and her eyes widened. "Dan, use your belt! Stop the bleeding from her leg, then help me. I can't get a pulse!"
Dan ripped his pants pulling the belt off, then wrapped it tightly around the young woman's leg, stemming the source of most of her blood loss. Emma stood and ran to a first aid kit they kept in the room and pulled out a large blood replenishing potion.
Dan reached for her neck. "I've got a pulse," he said, taking it from her carotid artery. "It's really faint though."
"Prop her up so I can give her this potion, then we have to get her to the hospital," Emma commanded.
Together they managed to give Ginny some of the potion. Once done, Emma applied a field dressing to Ginny's leg.
Dan lifted the petite girl in his arms. "There's a portkey on the wall over there," he said, nodding to the large brass ring hanging from the wall.
Emma handed her husband the ring. "I'll be back as soon as I can, but it may be a while."
"Don't talk, just go," she said tensely. They were both annoyed with themselves. They had forgotten about the Brotherhood medallions and what they would do if the owner was badly injured.
Dan vanished only to appear a moment later in Haven's receiving room, which was, to his surprise, empty.
He staggered for a moment before righting himself. He didn't know that the hospital had set up a triage center between the main hospital and the out buildings. Looking around, he opted for moving toward the sound of people shouting.
"Melinda McKinney! Danni McNeil!" he called as he ran. Finally, he passed a window and, spotting hundreds of people waiting out on the lawn, he ran for the nearest exit.
Approaching the people, he aimed for one woman in healer green. "HELP!" he shouted.
The middle aged woman blinked at him for a moment, then shook herself alert. She had been taking a break from surgery when a strange man ran up to her holding one of the soldiers. The girl's legs were badly injured and one leg looked to be missing the bottom third.
"Get me a stretcher!" she shouted.
One of the nurse's aides came running up with a levitated stretcher following behind her like an obedient puppy.
Dan gently placed Ginny on the stretcher. Healer O'Donnell quickly examined the girl, then turned to the aide. "Get her to OR 2, right now," she ordered.
"But there are others ahead of her," protested the aide.
"NOW!" roared the healer. "If we don't help her now, she'll be dead in five minutes!"
The aide nodded and ran to the main building and the operating rooms, the stretcher following behind her.
The healer took one look at Dan, noting all the blood on him. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"I'm fine, the blood is hers. Please, help her," he replied.
"We'll do our best," O'Donnell replied, then she turned and trotted off in the direction the aide ran.
Dan slumped against the wall and slid to the ground, emotionally drained. He felt exhausted.
"Mr. Granger? Are you alright?" asked a familiar voice.
He looked up at a very concerned Melinda McKinney. "I'm fine, Melinda. We just screwed up. We forgot that the Brotherhood medallions would portkey them to the manor if they were injured."
Melinda's eyes widened in alarm, figuring Dan wouldn't be here unless Hermione was involved. "Is Hermione hurt?"
Dan shook his head. "No, it was Ginny. So much blood. She's lost part of her leg and the other looked like it had been crushed flat."
"Ginny?" Melinda breathed. "Oh, Merlin. Where is she?"
"A healer named O'Donnell took her straight to OR 2."
Melinda looked relieved. "Well, Healer O'Donnell is one of the world's finest vascular healers. If she can't help Ginny, no one can."
She looked at him, quickly assessing his condition. "Wait here. I am going to find Narcissa and have her take you home. Since there is a chance of wounded arriving at the manor, I think we need to keep her there, just in case."
Dan nodded wearily and closed his eyes for a moment.
Melinda took a few steps away from him and took a deep breath. "Dilly," she called.
Dilly appeared with a pop, looking up at Melinda happily.
"Dilly, I need you to find Arthur. Tell him Ginny has been badly injured," she told the elf.
Dilly's ears drooped and she nodded, then vanished again. With that task done, Melinda went to find Narcissa.
Draco and Luna (1030 hours, April 10th)...
He never knew what caused him to turn, grab Luna and throw her to the floor, but something made him do it. A second later, the curse hit him square in the back. He groaned and pitched to his knees, then fell face down.
The world tilted crazily for him. He was looking at things sideways. Luna was slowly climbing to her feet, looking upset and angry. He looked behind her and could see the silhouette of one of his people coming closer, so he wasn't worried. He was in a lot of pain, but hadn't lost consciousness. He figured he wasn't hurt too bad.
Luna turned to say something to Draco and she spotted him laying on the ground. She blinked as if she didn't understand what had happened, then reached for Fuzz, but she had disappeared when Draco threw Luna to the ground.
She took a step and the shape behind her lunged out and grabbed her around the neck, pressing a wand to her temple.
"Well, I never expected to be so lucky," hissed a familiar voice.
Draco's eyes widened. He knew that voice intimately.
Struggling, he climbed to his feet, trying to ignore the waves of pain radiating from his lower back.
"Drop the wand, boy," hissed Lucius Malfoy. "You two are going to be my ticket out of here alive. Once we're out, I'll kill you like I should have years ago."
Draco swayed and let his wand slip through numb fingers.
"Ah, so this bitch means something to you, does she?" Lucius said, then he roughly groped one of Luna's breasts.
Luna made a whimpering sound, then stiffened. Her eyes flashed with power. A strong wind kicked up, blowing dirt and dust in Lucius' eyes. Like so many times in the past, creatures of all shapes and sizes started popping into existence all around them.
Lucius howled in pain and released Luna as a venomous, eight toed monkey lizard bit into his ankle. Luna fell to one side, clearing Lucius of any cover.
That was all Draco needed. Wandless, he instead drew his pistol and shot Lucius four times in the stomach.
Lucius fell backwards. Hitting the wall, he slid down it to the ground. He peered up at his son. "I knew you had it in you to be a killer," he whispered with a smile. "Now take the bitch, you won her," he said with a cough. A tickle of blood slid down his face from the corner of his mouth and he groaned in pain.
Draco staggered up to his father. "You are a sick son of a bitch. And if you live through this and touch my wife again, I will rip you to shreds."
Malfoy's eyes widened at his statement.
Draco turned and bent down to scoop up Lucius' wand and his own. Luna stood nearby, her body glowing, surrounded by all manner of odd looking creatures. Draco swayed as he walked towards her. She stopped him with a hand.
She looked around at the creatures for a moment. "Go, feast on those dressed in black," she said, then giggled. Next to her, a little green man with a horn in the center of his forehead gestured rudely in Malfoy's direction.
Lucius seemed to be in a state of shock. He watched his estranged son reach for his wife, a woman of incredible power, who commanded nature herself. What a son I have, he thought. It was the last thought he ever had.
The wind Luna had created whipped around inside the walls, slowly increasing in speed and power. The creatures dispersed into the darkness, hunting.
Draco pulled Luna over to the wall and pushed her down for the second time in less than four minutes. This time, however, he was trying to protect her from the wind. It howled and whipped around inside the walls, tearing great rents in the darkness.
Puffs of blackness rose above the walls, where they vanished, having left the field of magic created by the Chosen. Luna's wind was clearing the inner courtyard!
Luna nestled uneasily against Draco's chest. The noise created by the howling wind was terrific, but she could feel the tremors vibrating through Draco's frame, and through their bond she could feel his increasing disorientation. She wrapped her arms around him, then pulled one away when she put it into something wet. She pulled her hand back and stared. It was blood, her mate's blood!
Luna's aura flared again and a large creature that looked like a cross between an hippo and a crocodile lumbered into view. The creature backed up against the wall and laid down, immediately creating a wind break for the pair. With the wind blocked, the strain on Draco lessened and he slumped into her arms. A second later, his medallion activated, pulling both of them out of Hogwarts and out of the battle.
Neville Longbottom (1030 hours, April 10th)...
Neville fought like a madman, convinced that Ginny was gone. He fought like a man with nothing to left to lose. He had taken several injuries already but kept going. So far, he had managed to put down six of the Chosen, and twenty Death Eaters.
A vicious wind had begun to blow. He knew it wasn't natural, but it was making everyone's life in the courtyard difficult. The wind was tearing away the darkness, but it carried a bite of it's own with all the dust and small debris it carried.
Neville crouched down behind a large rock. He was down to only three rounds in his pistol, and his wand, of course.
He was hunting. He had seen one of the Chosen heading in this direction and he was following the man, planning on putting him down like he had the others.
He peered around the large rock looking for the man.
"Reducto!" shouted a voice behind him.
Neville rolled, but it was too late. The curse missed him, but the explosion caught him, stunning him and throwing him nearly ten feet. When he landed, he felt an odd snap in his wrist that he had felt once before.
He had broken his wand hand.
Groggily, he reached for his pistol, only to find the holster empty. The gun had been blown out of the holster when he was thrown.
A shadow fell across him and he looked up into the face of his killer. The man he had been stalking, one of the Chosen. Around them the wind began to fade as quickly as it had started. The silence created in its aftermath was deafening.
"So, you're Longbottom, one of Potter's inner circle," commented the man. "I want to thank you before I kill you."
Neville looked at the man incredulously.
"Yeah, I know it's strange. But you killed off my competition. Most of my so called 'brothers' are dead now, thanks to your efforts. That puts me in the prime position to become my Master's right hand man. So you see, I do have reason to thank you."
"You're welcome," Neville said sarcastically.
The man raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, don't be bitter, boy. As a way of thanking you, I am going to make it quick and painless. Well, maybe not painless. No one I know of has lived long enough to tell me whether a killing curse is painless or not."
The man lifted his wand, pointing it right at Neville's chest. Neville closed his eyes, accepting his fate. I'm coming, my Ginny, he thought.
A buzzing sound distracted them both. The ground about twenty feet away fountained upwards and the Chosen turned to face the oncoming threat. His brow creased with puzzlement when he saw nothing to explain the torn earth.
"WHIRRRRRRRR," roared Fuzz.
Suddenly, the fountain of dirt closed on the Chosen at incredible speed. The man screamed once, then went down in a shower of blood and flesh, ripped apart by an angry Snorkack who had become separated from her mistress.
Neville laid his head back on the ground, wondering if he should be relieved or disappointed. He closed his eyes against the pain that throbbed through him. His arm hurt and his back felt like it was on fire. Now that the adrenalin was flushing from his system, his body was checking in with waves of pain, letting him know he was not alright. He didn't care anymore, he was tired and wanted only to be with Ginny.
He felt a small weight climb onto his chest, so he opened one eye.
"Meep Whirr?" asked Fuzz softly.
"I don't know, girl," he whispered, then his eyes closed and his body relaxed into unconsciousness. His medallion activated, sending him back to Haven.
Brigade Command Post (1030 hours, April 10th)...
"Brigade Command Two to Delta Six Actual. Come in Delta Six actual," said a short man, hovering over the floo.
Nearby, Hermione stood and watched with a worried expression. She had lost contact with Neville, then Draco. She still had contact with their seconds, and contact with Harry and Remus, but she had no clue what had happened to the others.
"I still can't reach either of them, Harry. All I know is that they were last seen in the courtyard," she sent worriedly.
"Alright, I'll see if I can find them. What have you heard from General Stanton?" he replied.
"He says they're starting to mop up out there. He estimates that only a few hundred Death Eaters might be alive. His units are tightening the ring around them. In the meantime, Felicia says the Raiders and what's left of Delta company have plugged the hole. Nothing is getting in or out."
"Well, that's something, at least. Inform Haven that, except for the Death Eaters in the courtyard, we may be coming down to the end here."
"What about Voldemort?"
She waited for a reply. She could feel him considering the question.
"He's got to be in here somewhere. I'm looking for him, too," he replied coldly.
She shivered. She knew he wasn't mad at her, but he was directing his anger and concern for his friends into his fight for their lives. She hadn't wanted to say anything, but since they arrived early this morning, the power behind his mental voice had been steadily increasing. Everything was coming together and it filled her with a little bit of awe and a whole lot of fear. She carefully hid her fears behind her occlumency shields, but every time she had a free minute, a single thought ran through her mind over and over again: "And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives"
It terrified her right down to her soul. She swore to herself that, if they survived this day, she was going to take her husband into their bedroom and do everything in her power to make this day seem like a bad dream for both of them.
"Be careful, my love," she whispered aloud, while her mind echoed it to Harry.
Harry replied by opening their bond wider and sending his feelings for her back down the link, then he turned and looked around him. He still had work to do.
Haven Operations Center, War Room Observation deck (1030 hours, April 10th)...
Dilly appeared with a small pop next to Arthur Weasley.
Arthur looked at the little elf in surprise. "Dilly? You shouldn't be here. What's wrong?"
"Mister Minister man, Melinda says you do be coming now to the hospital. Little Red do be hurts real bad. Melinda says you should not be dawdling, it be too important," Dilly said.
"Little Red?" asked Amelia in a worried tone.
"My daughter, Ginny," Arthur said in a strangled voice. He stood and looked around wildly, torn between his desire to help here and his need to be with his Ginny. He turned to Amelia, ready, if necessary, to resign on the spot.
Amelia frowned for a moment, then made her decision. "Go, Arthur. Don't wait here. We can get along without you. When you can, come back or send word, alright?"
Arthur looked at her gratefully. "Thank you, Amelia," he said, before turning to Dilly. "Tell Melinda I'm swinging by my house to pick up my sons. We'll meet her in the lobby of the hospital."
Dilly nodded, then vanished from the room.
Arthur hurried over to the door that led to a set of stairs down to the war room itself. He took the stairs and ignored the looks people were giving him. He stepped over Fred and George who had sat quietly since early morning, along with their fiancées.
The boys looked up at their approaching father and noted his grim, almost haggard look. All thoughts of jokes and pranks disappeared.
"Boys," Arthur said quietly, "your sister has been badly injured. She's at the hospital right now. I'm going home to pick up Bill and Charlie, then I'm going to meet with Melinda in the hospital lobby. Do you want to come with me?"
Fred and George paled and stood. "We'll come with you Dad," said Fred. George nodded in agreement.
"Fred, give me your house keys," Inga said softly.
Fred looked at her curiously and she sighed. "Look, none of you are going to be interested in coming home and cooking tonight. Helga and I will get Mama. We'll make sure there's a nice hot meal waiting when you get home."
Fred nodded, handing over the keys and Arthur gave the girls a grateful look.
The two girls kissed their respective future husbands and watched for a moment as they rushed out of the room, heading to the Operations Center apparation point.
"Go home and get Mama, Helga. I'll go to the boy's place," Inga said softly. Both girls were terribly worried. They loved Ginny like a sister and knew just exactly how much the twins loved her. Ginny was the baby of the family, the only girl, and the glue that pulled them all together, holding them together as a family. Without Ginny, it was doubtful that the Weasleys would have survived as a family when Britain fell, and they all knew that.
Padfoot Manor (1030 hours, April 10th)...
Narcissa conjured a couch for herself, Dan and Emma. They sat anxiously, just outside the portkey receiving room in the manor. Earlier, Emma had explained the problem to Susan, Jenny and John Boot. Susan immediately offered to get out of bed, but Emma convinced her to stay. The three of them would take care of things, with help from the elves.
Narcissa had brought Emily Watkins home. She was a third year student at St. Luke's School of Healing Arts. Although Narcissa was not a fully qualified healer as yet, she had mastered several aspects of the arts and was very close to receiving her mastery in healing. As a result, she was allowed to bring along Emily as a helper, should the need arise.
They hadn't been seated more than a few minutes when the alarm sounded. Narcissa bounced out of her chair, her bag of healing potions gripped tightly in her hand.
The four clustered around the doorway, waiting for the incoming person to arrive. Suddenly there was a whooshing sound of the incoming portkey.
Luna and Draco appeared on the floor. Luna was kneeling and Draco was leaning up against her, unconscious and bleeding heavily from several holes in his back.
"Dray," Luna said through her tears. She looked up at Narcissa, pleading with the older woman. "Help him, please, Mum. I can't feel him anymore."
Narcissa rushed forward, kneeling next to the pair. In the background, the medical alarm wailed in the manor.
Narcissa pulled her wand and used it to cut away his shirt. "Emily, pull out two blood replenisher potions from my kit, and get me several self sealing bandages."
Dan watched for a moment, then he pulled out his wand and conjured a camp cot. He stepped back, inordinately pleased with himself for such a difficult conjuration. Emma smiled at her husband's efforts, then she walked around Narcissa and her helper. She gently pulled Luna away from them, standing her up and walking her to the door. Luna tried to stay; she didn't want to leave her husband.
"He saved me, twice. He pulled me down and took a spell that would have hit me, then he killed his father when he threatened me," Luna said in a trembling voice.
Narcissa paused for a moment, hearing that Lucius was dead, then she went back to treating Draco. She was relieved to see that Draco's wounds, while serious, had not damaged any internal organs. She was able to close up the wounds and set him up with an IV drip for his the blood replenisher. Normally, the potion worked best when ingested, but an IV could be used if the patient was unable to drink.
Narcissa and the student levitated Draco to the cot, then they moved the cot into the corridor, in case another portkey emergency arrived.
"Luna, sweetie," Narcissa said, enfolding the younger witch in a hug. "Draco is unconscious, but he's going to be alright. He lost a lot of blood and the next few days are going to be very painful for him, but he's no longer in any danger."
Luna looked at her mother-in-law, the gratitude written all over her face. She was about to say something when the incoming portkey alarm rang again. Dan, Emma and Narcissa grimaced and turned to face the room, wondering what injuries they would have to deal with this time.
Tom and Harry (1040 hours, April 10th)...
Voldemort had become separated from his Chosen and the other Death Eaters when the darkness descended in the courtyard. He could see in the darkness, but his followers couldn't, and the attacks from all sides slowly reduced those following him until he was alone.
He was heading towards the back of the castle. There were fewer British troops manning the walls and less spell fire to worry about back there. He also knew that there was an unblocked passageway that would allow him to enter the castle.
His plan fell apart when a strange wind blew most of the darkness away. He now found himself pinned down behind a pile of rocks, held there by a near constant barrage of spellfire from the people on the walls.
Suddenly, a voice rang out. "CEASE FIRE! CHECK FIRE! CHECK FIRE!"
The noise of the spells being cast or hitting the castle walls behind him slowly stopped and a sullen silence descended into the courtyard.
"You know, Tom, I expected to find you, but I thought you would have gotten over your cowering phase," said a hated voice.
"Potter," Voldemort snarled, as he stood up to face his enemy.
"Look around you, Tom. Appropriate, don't you think?"
Voldemort looked around, realizing he stood in the castle graveyard.
"You came back to life in a graveyard, now you'll lose it in one," Harry said quietly. He stood poised and ready. He had cast his leg strengthening spell just before he called off the troops. Voldemort was trapped, only he didn't know it.
The ghosts had given them a detailed map of the castle. The passageway Voldemort had been heading for had been collapsed earlier. He couldn't apparate and there was no other way out.
"This is where you will meet your end, boy," Voldemort said with a sneer. He was surprised to see Harry holding only a wand. Maybe Potter isn't as powerful as I am, he thought to himself gleefully. He leveled his scepter. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" he shouted.
A thick pulse of sickly green light shot out from the end of the scepter and arced across the graveyard, striking Harry squarely in the chest. A scream of dismay came from the ever growing crowd atop the defensive walls, as people hurried to watch.
Harry flinched and patted quickly at his shirt, which was smoking. "Damn, that stings," he said in a voice loud enough to be heard by the onlookers.
The troops atop the wall were in awe at what they had just witnessed. The legend of Harry Potter, in that very instant, assumed epic proportions.
Voldemort stared at him in shock and more than a little fear.
Harry looked up from his shirt and smirked at his enemy's confusion. "Basics of Wand Making 101, Tom. Why can't a blood wand be used by a wizard to commit suicide using the killing curse?"
Voldemort stepped back for a moment, thinking. Then his eyes widened. "Because the wand recognizes the blood as coming from the wizard and reduces the power below a killing point," he replied. "But that means..."
"My blood was mixed with yours during your resurrection. Therefore, you have my blood in that scepter of yours. But let me show you what my staff can do," Harry replied. His 'wand' immediately expanded to full size.
Voldemort's eyes widened seeing Harry's staff with the brightly glowing emerald at one end.
"Cruor vas praemium," Harry said softly.
A blue-yellow beam arced from the emerald of his staff and Voldemort dived out of the way. He recognized the spell as one that would crush blood vessels, ceasing all blood flow in a body. The spell, which should have had no effect on anything non-living, hit a headstone. It exploded, spraying Voldemort with marble chips.
The Dark Lord rolled and came up behind another headstone. He knew he couldn't rely on the killing curse, but that was fine in his book. He'd take Potter apart one piece at a time.
He popped up and aimed his scepter at Harry. "Exuro per liquidus incendia!"
A stream of boiling white liquid flew from his scepter, Harry ducked, while Voldemort tried to direct the stream, following Harry. Wherever the liquid touched, the area began to smoke and sizzle.
Harry ran. As he did, he pointed his staff and shouted, "Solacium ut calx"
The spell clipped Voldemort in the hip. He screamed and quickly cast a counter curse to halt the progression of the spell that was turning his bones to stone. He limped to another headstone.
Given a brief respite, Harry popped up from behind a headstone. "Reducto!"
Voldemort cast a shield, but Harry's spell crashed into it and obliterated it. Unfortunately, the spell lost most of its energy to Voldemort's shield. What remained to hit the dark wizard was barely enough to open a gash in his shoulder.
Blood ran down Voldemort's robe, infuriating him.
Voldemort looked at Harry in shock and anger. First blood had gone to Potter, and the brat dared to smirked at him!
"CAECUS POENA!" shouted Voldemort. It was an older version of the modern Cruciatus curse, and not nearly as powerful. He wanted to torment the boy before slaying him. Given his current power levels, the old curse was every bit as painful as the Cruciatus curse was.
The movement and casting had been so sudden and so unexpected, that Harry didn't have time to dodge. He fell to the ground, screaming, muscles and bones straining to the breaking point.
Pain exploded up his bond to Hermione and she cried out before crumpling to the floor of the Great Hall. Several people rushed to help her.
She threw up all of her occlumency shields. "Harry," she whimpered across the bond. She realized she was only receiving a faint echo of the real spell and her heart broke, knowing what kind of pain he must be in."You must fight it!"
Voldemort stood and walked toward Harry, a victorious grin on his face.
Slowly Harry pushed back the pain. Standing, his power flared and his body was surrounded by a bright glow. "NO!" he roared. The pain curse exploded back up to Voldemort and the Dark Lord flew backwards, stunned by the power. Harry's magic had not only thrown off the curse, but had amplified it many times before returning it back onto its caster in a single, blinding blast of energy.
Harry threw his staff to one side and leaped upon the stunned Dark Lord.
Grabbing Voldemort's head with both hands, Harry attacked with his legilimency. He knew what he needed to do, having planned this with Eocho many times. Being stunned, the Dark Lord was unable to block Harry's assault on his shields.
Voldemort began to struggled beneath him, but Harry was delving down past the conscious mind in a searing attack that burned a wide swath of destruction in Voldemort's mind. Down he plunged, into the region controlled by the beast, the autonomic areas. Deeper and deeper Harry went, tearing and clawing his way down, looking for Voldemort's core. In the process, he tore through areas of Voldemort's mind, causing irreparable damage.
Harry could have stopped then and there, but he was beyond reason. His enemy was finally within his grasp after a lifetime of suffering at his hand. He was not only going to kill Voldemort, he was going to emasculate him, cutting him off from his magic.
Voldemort had ceased breathing. The area of his brain that controlled respiration had been destroyed. But still, Harry dug deeper and his victim's struggles grew more frantic as he tried to throw Harry off and drag air into his burning lungs.
Harry's hands shifted as Voldemort could no longer move in a coordinated manner. Somehow, Harry knew he'd destroyed that portion of his enemy's mind and his hands moved to grip his neck.
Pushing through the last barrier, Harry found Voldemort's core.
The core, the place where all beings, even muggles, centered their magic, differed only slightly. A wizard had connections from his mind to the core; a muggle did not.
Harry ripped through these connections savagely and Voldemort stiffened beneath him. It was Voldemort's magic that was sustaining his resurrected body and Harry was cutting off the sustaining magic at the source.
Voldemort gave a choking gasp and his body went rigid. The light of hatred burned in his eyes and he glared at the enemy he so despised. Then, with a gurgling sigh, the light in his eyes began to fade quickly and he went limp.
Harry slowly eased up on the pressure, coming to the realization that he was throttling a corpse. He released his hands around Voldemort's throat and crawled off the body.
He climbed to his feet and swayed, then he felt a massive rush of energy hit him through his scar. His occlumency shields crumbled under the onslaught and he pitched to his knees, moaning in pain, the heel of his palm pressed firmly to his forehead. He dimly felt Hermione panicking and desperately trying to call him, but he couldn't reply. The pain and power continued to increase. Then, as suddenly as it started, it was over.
Harry fell to his hands and knees and crawled over to a nearby headstone. He turned and sat, leaning against it, his head pounding and his limbs shaking as if he were cold. It took him a moment to realize what had happened.
With Voldemort's death, his magical core emptied, it had used the only link it still had to the outside world - the curse scar. Harry's core had expanded to absorb as much of the energy as it could before it bled the rest away in a bright aura and near blinding pain. He shuddered when he realized that he was stronger than he'd ever been, a lot stronger. It was almost enough to make him laugh. The last thing he needed was more power!
Those on the wall were stunned silent. They had watched the vicious duel in silence, not understanding what had transpired. The power flowing off Harry at the end was enough to cause people to stagger back.
When it finally began to dawn on people exactly what they had witnessed, they turned to the neighbors and smiled or slapped each other on the back. Then, from the crowd, a cry when out.
"Voldemort is dead!"
The cheer spread around the wall like a brush fire under a stiff wind.
Their master's death resulted in a stunning blow for most of the surviving Death Eaters. A pulse of magic erupted from their dark marks, causing most to drop to their knees in pain. The Brigade and the Raiders took advantage of the opportunity and moved among them, disarming and binding them all.
Outside the wall, the Americans turned a blind eye to the fact that the Acromantulas were darting out of the forest and grabbing the stunned Death Eaters, only to pull them back into the forest and their deaths.
"Inform Haven Command that it's done. Voldemort is dead." he sent to Hermione in an exhausted mental voice.
"Are you alright? You don't sound too good," Hermione said in a meek tone.
"I'm tired, but I think I'm fine. Right now, I think I'd like nothing better than to crawl into your arms and let you hold me while I slept."
"Tonight, beloved, I promise. I'll pass the news along to Caleb. I'll see you soon," she said. The bond then narrowed as she went about her job.
Harry slumped against a headstone not far from where Voldemort lay, breathing heavily and not quite understanding what he had accomplished. He placed his arms around his knees and rested his head atop them.
Haven Operations Center, War Room (1050 hours, April 10th)...
"Stand by one," said the woman, then she turned to Caleb.
"Sir, Brigade Command Two is requesting to speak to you," she said.
Caleb frowned. The news for the past hour had been mixed, at best. Several commanders were missing, and a large number of Death Eaters had managed to get in to the castle grounds. On the plus side, the bulk of the force had been surrounded and annihilated. Voldemort's army no longer existed.
Caleb stood and reached for the floo. He glanced worriedly at Amelia in the observation deck. She leaned forward, anxious to hear what Hermione had to say.
"Brigade Command Two, Haven Six Actual. Go ahead."
"Haven Six Actual, Brigade Command Two. Brigade Six has killed Voldemort. Repeat, the Dark Lord is dead. The remaining Death Eaters are milling around in confusion." said Hermione in the tinny voice the portable floos gave everyone.
Caleb swayed. He grabbed hold of the edge of the table and looked around wildly. The room had descended into shocked silence, with everyone staring at him.
"Haven Six Actual, do you copy?" said the floo again.
With a shaking hand, he lifted the small boxed flame. "Brigade Command Two, Haven Six actual, acknowledged. Voldemort is dead. Say your status."
"Haven Six, we're mopping up the inner courtyard now. Request you send the medical teams through. We have a large number of wounded that cannot survive a portkey."
Caleb looked up. "Get that medical unit moving now!" he barked, then he turned to Group Captain Anderson. "You might want to tell your people, Group Captain, that they can initiate Downfall anytime they want."
Anderson grinned wolfishly and turned to his radios.
Everyone in the war room was grinning as though Christmas had come early. Caleb frowned. There was still a lot of work to do.
"Listen up, people. We've come a long way and we've done a good job, but we have a lot of hurt people to help now. So, focus on your jobs and let's get things going."
Caleb glanced up at the board.
Wounded 1021
Killed 292
Missing 47
He sighed. Those numbers didn't include those killed in action and not sent back via portkey yet. He turned and went for another cup of coffee. The day wasn't over.
Hogwarts Castle (1100 hours, April 10th)...
"Harry?" Hermione sent in a worried tone. She could feel him via their bond, and what she felt scared her. His emotions flitted quickly from one to another, as if he didn't know what to feel.
"Yeah?"
She winced. Even his mental voice trembled from the aftereffects of the pain curse. "Don't move. I've contacted Haven and passed the word on, and I've talked to General Stanton. It's beginning to look like we're going to have very few prisoners to deal with. We have about a hundred who were inside the walls. But according to General Stanton, the acromantulas got most of those outside the walls.
"I've had to report Draco, Luna, Neville and Ginny as missing. No one has seen them since the darkness descended in the courtyard. Now that the fighting is over, I'm letting my second take over here for a little bit. I'm coming to you."
"But..."
"No! I'm already half way there, so for once, don't argue with me," she replied firmly. "I'm not coming alone, so you don't have to worry about me stumbling on a stray Death Eater."
Harry nodded a little to himself, not really able to work up the energy to reply to her. She could feel him via the bond, so he didn't really have to reply.
He looked over at the body of his lifelong enemy. Voldemort lay, eyes staring upwards with an expression of outrage on his face, almost as if he couldn't understand what had happened. Harry could sympathize. He wasn't really sure what happened either. One moment he was dueling with the man, the next he had his hands around his neck and was attacking him via legilimency.
It had been a method that he and Eocho had discussed many times. He still wasn't sure that Eocho was right about Voldemort's body being powered by his magic. Eocho was sure that the body, being an artificial construct, had to have a direct connection to Voldemort's magical core.
It doesn't really matter, does it? he asked himself. I killed him finally. I avenged Mum, Dad, Cedric, Sirius and all those countless others whose names I'll never know. Merlin, I'm tired. Voldemort has been a part of my life since I was fifteen months old. I know what I told the others, but do I really believe it? Peace, family, friends? Is that enough? Is there more? Why am I asking myself these questions when I'm too tired to care?
He sighed and fought the urge to sleep.
"Harry?" said a familiar voice softly.
He lifted his head and peered into Hermione eyes.
She was a little alarmed by his appearance. Kneeling on his other side was Sam, the American healer attached to one of their medical units.
"Hi there," he said tiredly.
Sam ran a wand over him, assessing his condition, then he reached for his bag. "We're going to fix you right up, Colonel," he said with a smile. "You just need to take a few potions I have for you and you should start feeling better. You're exhibiting all the effects of a Cruciatus curse, although I've been told it wasn't what was used on you. Let's try an anti-Cruciatus potion first and see how well that works."
Harry nodded and let Sam administer the potion, grimacing at the foul taste.
"I killed him, Hermione. Why does it feel different than any other person I've killed?" he asked plaintively.
"And now an energy restorer, Colonel," Sam said soothingly.
"I don't know, Harry," Hermione replied softly. "But we'll figure it out."
Harry nodded, a little stronger than before.
"Finally, Colonel, a little of this calming draught. Your nerves are all keyed up. Tonight, I am going to want you to take a dreamless sleep potion. But for now, this will help you get through the day."
Harry took a couple sips from the offered bottle, then he leaned his head back against the headstone. Sam stood and looked at the pair. "You'll be fine, Colonel. You'll ache for a few days because of the pain curse, but that's about it."
Harry peered up at Sam and smiled. He absently noted the weather was clearing and the sun was coming out. "Thank you, Sam. Please see to our other wounded."
Sam nodded and hustled off, looking for others to help.
Hermione sat next to him, looking at the body of Voldemort.
"So, what now?" she asked finally.
Harry looked at her for a moment. "Now comes the hard part. Now we have to learn how to live and to rebuild what we've lost."
Hermione grimaced. "Do we have to do that today?" she asked with a hint of a grin.
He placed his arm around her shoulders. "No, I think we can wait until tomorrow for that."
She leaned her head against his shoulder and chuckled softly. Around them, members of the Raiders and the Brigade relaxed where they could, while medical teams sent by Haven dealt with those needing help.
Hogwarts, Outer Wall, Sector Charlie (1100 hours, April 10th)...
Remus leaned against the battlement and closed his eyes for a moment. It had been a long, hard fight, especially once the Death Eaters had made it to the courtyard, then they were facing a threat from inside and outside.
Tonks sat down next to him and nudged him with a shoulder. "Hey, no being grumpy," she grumped at him. She pulled her pack and placed it between her legs, rummaging through it.
"What's the word? And I'll have you know I'm not being grumpy. This is my tired face. I left my grumpy face back at the manor," he replied.
Tonks pulled a small box out of her pack and looked at it happily. "AH HA! I knew I packed it!" she exclaimed, then she looked at him. "Major Howard has the Shamans cleaning up the courtyard and locking up any live Death Eaters. So far, they've taken nearly a hundred prisoner. The Broomsticks have been tasked with cleaning up in front of the walls. They're looking to find all the traps that we laid down and any unexploded ordinance.
"Hermione is with Harry, who, despite the best efforts of a now dead Dark Lord, is very much alive and mostly whole. He was on the receiving end of one very nasty curse similar to the Cruciatus. Outside of exhaustion, which I think most of us are suffering from, he's fine and Voldemort is doing a marvelous job of playing the corpse," she said with a grin.
She paused for a moment and her grin faded. "Draco, Luna, Neville and Ginny are among the missing. No one's heard from them since the breach. I've detailed several squads to check the courtyard. They are looking through the rubble by the wall and checking bodies. I don't want to guess at the number of wounded and dead we have. If Charlie company is an example, then the number is going to be painfully high.
"That's the bad news. The good news is, we won," she concluded as she expanded the box until it became a small crate. She banished the lid and reached in, pulling out a bottle of champagne. Handing it to Remus, she pulled out another bottle for herself.
Remus grinned as he worked the cork out and took a drink from the bottle before passing it to the man next to him, who accepted it gratefully. Tonks took a drink from her bottle, then she passed it the other way.
"Good news for the most part. I'm just sorry we can't get back to Haven to see how the others are doing," he said softly.
"So, what do we do now?" she asked, reaching for another bottle.
Remus smiled broadly.
She looked at him and nudged his shoulder with her own again. "What?"
"I know what I'm going to do now that this is over," he said softly.
"What?" she asked again, starting to get annoyed.
"I'm going to cancel all those contraceptive charms we've been using 'just in case'. And then I'm going to do my best to see if the healers were wrong about werewolves being sterile," he said with a smile.
Tonks' mouth dropped open and she stared at him. "Do you really mean that?" she asked in a squeaky voice.
He turned to look at her. "If you want to, then yes, I do."
She cuddled into his arm, sharing her bottle with him. "I'd like that. I'd like that very much," she said softly.
Authors Notes:
(Takes a deep breath and smiles at the readers) Well, wasn't that fun? Maybe not for Voldemort and his little munchkins, but that's not really the point.
As always, on with the AN!
igotbannedfroma2k: As so many of our readers informed us, the video clip was called Boundin' and it's on The Incredibles DVD.
FiskyPixie: Yes, Harry did heal himself of a relatively minor wound. His knowledge of the healing arts, however, does not extend to muscle and nerve regeneration or vascular structures and repair. We
know your question was probably just idle curiosity, but both Bob and I have been rather surprised by how many people just can't accept a hero with a physical limitation. As everyone has now seen,
Harry's leg did not slow him down when it came to the final battle, so all those worry warts can now settle down and take a deep breath. And no, we still won't fix his leg! (Evil cackle)
We were surprised by the number of people who liked the conversation between Alim and Harry about God. We're glad you all liked it. And for those who asked, sure, you can repeat it if you want. It's
been used in many things and certainly doesn't belong to us.
Fenris Ulf: You're scary. You realize that, don't you? (Grin)
heart_bloodline: Phone conversations? Have you been tapping my phone line? Oh, and the "normal" disclaimers are all Bob's fault. We're hoping you'll be able to catch this chapter before
you head out. If you do, and you're reading this, good luck and stay safe!
Dr.T: We were telling o.T. to check his meds, not you. Sorry for any confusion.
DizzyG: We thought that was obvious by now. Fawkes left Dumbledore because the man was clearly crackers. While not "evil" in the typical sense, he was too dark for any self respecting
phoenix to want to stick around. The whole thing took place just before we started Sunset...sort of an off-camera thing that was mentioned in passing to give those around the old nut job a wake-up
call.
Meg: Ask and you shall receive (sometimes!). Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
shadowtrey: No worries, your ladies didn't die. Oh, and thanks for reviewing. When readers stay silent, we don't have a chance to get to know them.
Princess Fictoria: Bob ate the flowers, scratched and sniffed at the milk, and shared the cookies with the cats. I think I need to talk to the doctor about his meds again. (Grin)
mike: There are several things "wrong" with us, and you should be thankful (assuming you enjoy the story, anyway). If we weren't twisted, this story and the others we've written never
would have happened. (Manic giggle)
Tracey: Actually, that line, or one very similar, has been used in many things. The Stand and Fiddler on the Roof are two that come to mind off hand. As for the coming chapters, we're hoping to tie
up plot points and maybe show a bit of the future. We'll see how it all works out.
That's it for now, folks. A short AN for a long chapter. For those who asked, Bob's doing much better. The doctor is talking about putting him on the oral meds if his numbers continue as they have
been. Thanks for all your good wishes. We really appreciate them!
The story is winding down now and we're planning on two more chapters to wrap up, though it might go to three, depending on length. We hope you enjoyed the chapter!
~Alyx and Bob~