money from it, so please Mrs. Rowling if you read this
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though.
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Chapter 19 Part One: Checkmate
Hermione and Ron wearily lifted their heads as Dumbledore, followed by Mad-Eye, came in the room. The circles under their eyes only just started to tell the story of how weak they really were. Remus and Tonks looked on; the concern evident on their faces.
Voldemort had been spending more and more time trying to break into Ginny’s mind. And when he wasn’t doing that, he was directing Snape to cast the Cruciatus Curse at her for hours on end; sure that eventually she would weaken enough that it would start to affect her.
Ginny was alternately directing the pain to either Ron or Hermione. And even though Snape was doing his best to fake it, that did not change the fact that it felt like they were being burnt at the stake. In order to lessen the strain on the two of them, Ginny had started fighting Voldemort herself every third time he tried to enter her mind.
“How is she?” Dumbledore asked.
“Fine, for the moment, he is only preventing her from transforming right now,” Hermione answered shakily. She had just been released from the Cruciatus Curse after more than two hours; minutes before Dumbledore entered the room. Dumbledore looked at the two of them trying to decide.
“She won’t come if we ask, sir,” Ron said quietly.
“Headmaster, it is time to bring her back,” Professor Tonks interjected.
“Tell me why you feel this way Nymphandora?” Dumbledore replied.
“Because she has not eaten in three weeks. She is too strong for that to be true. Voldemort will begin to suspect something if she stays more than another day or so,” Tonks answered. “You also have the fact that Ron and Hermione, while still more than a match for me, are getting weak. If Voldemort gets through, into one of their minds, the game is up. Everything that has been fought for and gained in the last three weeks is gone.
“I agree with her,” Remus said quietly from the corner.
“I do too,” Mad-Eye added. Dumbledore glanced around the room letting his eyes settle on each of them for a second.
“Everything is in place; you all know what to do?” They all nodded in reply. “Remus, you may go wake Harry and send him on his way.”
“Yes, Headmaster,” Remus replied and headed for the door.
“Wait!” Hermione shrieked. Remus stopped and turned around. Hermione hurried over to him, reaching behind her head and undoing the clasp of the necklace Harry had given her. Tears streaming down her face, she handed it to him.
“Give this to him. Tell him I expect him to come put it back on for me,” she said. “Tell him that both Ron and I love him and that I need him to come back to me.” Remus took the necklace from her and hugged her tight.
“He will come back, Hermione,” he said before he let her go. Then he was gone.
Dumbledore walked to the desk and picked up an empty ink well. He waved his wand over it creating a portkey which he set on the desk. He then pulled a mirror out of his pocket.
“Minister Bones,” he spoke into it. It was a few seconds before there was a reply.
“Yes, Albus?” the Minister’s voice came back through the mirror.
“It is time, Minister. Harry is on his way to the chamber; give the signal to your army.”
“Very well, Albus. I’ll see you in a few minutes,” she replied. Dumbledore tucked the mirror back into his pocket.
“I must go and make sure things are ready for the attack on the castle. As soon as Remus returns, you are to tell Ginny that Harry is waiting and every second of delay on her part weakens him. She is to leave the dungeon at her first opportunity. As soon as she returns, Remus is to tap the portkey and join me. You two may come or stay. You have done more than your share. I won’t even try to tell Ginny what she can or can’t do but even she will not be able to join Harry.”
“Yes, Headmaster,” they both replied.
“Nymphandora, Alastor,” Dumbledore said, holding out a broken quill in his hand to them. Professor Tonks stood, along with Mad-Eye and reached out to touch the quill.
“Good luck you two,” Tonks said and then Ron and Hermione were alone. Hermione and Ron sat down on the bed together and held each other tightly.
“He’ll come back, Mione,” Ron whispered.
“I love you, Ronald Weasley,” Hermione answered. “I’m not staying here while my friends fight, Ronald,” she added after a moment.
“I know, Mione. Neither am I.”
“Hold me, Ronald.”
“Always, Hermione.” They fell silent and sat holding each other until Remus Lupin returned.
“He’s ready,” he said quietly.
Voldemort sat with his eyes closed, contemplating the girl across from him. She confounded him. Her power was immense, and it puzzled him as to why she had not provoked a real fight in order to escape. If he was honest with himself, and he was, he knew it was doubtful he could have kept her here if she had. It seemed however that she was intent on proving her superiority over him in a much more subtle, yet resounding way.
When it first became apparent that neither he nor Snape would be able to punish or torture the girl in any manner that seemed to affect her, he had considered having one of his Death Eaters bring another hostage into the dungeon. He had been intent on seeing how long she would resist when he tortured a child in front of her. And against a weaker sorcerer he would have. But his own ego had stopped him.
Ginny had beaten him once when she was eleven. Thrown his diary away and escaped his clutches on her own. It wasn’t until she stole it back, trying to protect Harry that she had ultimately fallen to him. He knew she was convinced she could do it again. That she could escape whenever she chose too.
Once and for all, he would show her what real power was. He would play her game and slowly wear her down. He would take what he wanted from her broken mind. And once he had, Draco and Lucius could play with her all they wanted. She would be powerless to stop them. And her husband, weak fool that he was, would be broken when he found her mutilated body.
She was weak now, rarely did she attempt to transform, instead saving her strength to keep him out of her mind. The dark circles under her eyes made it look as if she had been beaten.
Ginny was only sixteen, and petite for her age. She had weighed barely ninety pounds when she had been captured. And now despite the potions she had taken that had sustained her during her captivity, she had wasted away to less than seventy. Her cloths hung on her skeletal like frame, making her appear even worse than she was.
Voldemrot opened his eyes to look at Ginny again. She was sitting there, her own eyes closed, as she leaned her head back against the wall. He knew better than to believe she was sleeping. The slightest movement from him and she would instantly be alert.
His lip curled into a thin evil smile; while he basked in the glow of eminent victory. Unaware, that the other side was about to make its second brilliant play in a row.
“Ginny, Dumbledore says it’s time. You’re to leave at your first chance,” Hermione said.
“I can fight longer, Hermione,” Ginny replied.
“Harry has already been woken and moved into place, Gin,” Ron said to her. “Every second you delay he grows weaker. It is time to leave. You have done everything you can.”
Ginny cursed silently before replying. She should have expected them to take the decision away from her. “I will leave the next time he enters my mind,” she finally answered.
And then, without a single hint that she was going to, Ginny tried to transform, Voldemort caught her again.
“You grow weak, Ginevra,” he taunted her. “No food for three weeks, nothing but toilet water to drink. Even a witch as powerful as you will fall sooner or later.” Ginny glared at him and slowly climbed to her feet, stumbling forward a step or two.
“And yet you still fail to enter my mind, Tom,” she snarled in reply.
“Doesn’t it bother you that your husband has not come for you yet?” he asked in a perfectly friendly tone.
“He will come soon,” Ginny answered easily.
“Your faith is misplaced, girl. I gave up on him long ago. Yet the prospect of the prophecy has kept me from killing you. Give me what I ask and your death will be painless. His death will be painless out of respect for someone who would dare to laugh in my face.”
Ginny laughed at him again. “I have not even started to fight yet, Tom,” she replied. Voldemort smiled. He hadn’t expected her to give in. In fact, he would have been disappointed if she had.
“Defiant to the end. A pity you picked the wrong side,” he said quietly. And then Ginny felt him trying to enter her mind. But instead of directing him to Ron or Hermione so she would be able to transform and leave, she fought him herself.
Voldemort waded into what was left of Ginny’s occulmency shield. A thin white cloud that teased him with the closeness of her memories and emotions, crack through what was left of it, grab just one of them and she would be finished. He searched, calmly, deliberately for something that would let him enter her mind so he could end this charade. Finally, under the relentless attacks of the last three weeks, there was a break. Voldemort felt it and reached with his mind to take it from her.
Ginny let a memory well from deep within her. She had been working for days to separate it. Make it as pure as she possibly could. Her mind spun with the image of an eleven year old girl writing in her diary. The transparency of the emotion she felt at that moment of her life flooded into her body. Love, for Tom Riddle, and then into Voldemort’s.
Voldemort screamed in agony dropping to his knees, clutching his head, and writhing in pain.
“I win, you bastard!” Ginny snarled just before she assumed her animagus.
Snape sprang forward sending spells at her trying to stop her from leaving. His spells either missed or were countered by Dobby, who hit him with a stunning spell, sending him sprawling against the wall.
“AVADA KADAVERA!” Voldemort thundered from his knees, as his hand flew at Ginny. As Ginny dissapeared in a flash of light. Peter Pettigrew transformed from a rat and jumped in-between Voldemort, and where Ginny was. That had not been expected. The Death Spell slammed into him, thereby saving Dobby who, in making sure Ginny had escaped safely, had stayed longer than he needed to. He took his second chance and left before Voldemort could attack him again.
“NO!” Voldemort screamed into the chamber. He sent a crushing spell at the dead body of Peter Pettigrew turning it into a bloody pulp; a second later he rounded on Snape who had managed to push himself to his knees after recovering from Dobby’s stunning spell, who had held nothing back in hitting him.
“You will breathe none of this. Wormtail attempted to hit me with a spell and that allowed her to escape,” he hissed at him.
“Yes, Master,” Snape replied.
“It is good to see you, Ginevra,” Remus said, catching her as she stumbled forward after transforming back to her human form. He handed her a potion, which she drank down in one long pull. A few moments later the connections between hers, Ron’s and Hermione’s minds were ended.
“You should have let me stay longer,” Ginny replied, and then she caught sight of Ron and Hermione as they hurried over to her. The three of them broke down in each other’s arms as the relief from the stress they had been dealing with washed over them.
“I’m sorry, Ginny,” Ron said quietly.
“Don’t be, Ronald,” Ginny replied, holding him tight to her. “I’m fine and he’s weakened. That’s what we hoped for.” Remus watched them for a few moments and then spoke up.
“Ron, Hermione, if you’re coming with me, we need to leave.” Ron and Hermione pulled away from Ginny and joined Remus, hands poised over the portkey.
“Are you coming, Gin?” Hermione asked. Ginny shook her head.
“No, I’m going to help Harry.”
“You will not be able to reach him, Ginevra,” Remus said quietly.
“He will know I’m there,” Ginny replied.
“Good luck, Gin,” Ron said quietly.
“Be careful, all of you,” Ginny answered and then she changed back to her animagus. A moment later she was gone in a flash of light. Ron, Hermione and Remus disappeared a second after her.
The Wizarding world carried many myths. More so than the non-magic world simply because of the nature of magic and its practitioners to be more secretive than their Muggle counter parts. One of those myths was that Slytherin Castle was in fact, not a myth at all.
It loomed on a rocky isle in the middle of the North Sea, half again as large as Hogwarts itself. On two sides of the castle, sheer cliff walls plunged straight from the massive stones of its foundation into the sea over three hundred feet below. The other two sides were surrounded by dense forest growth that made the Forbidden Forest back at Hogwarts seem cozy and inviting. The forest pressed to within 20 meters of the perimeter walls of the castle; kept from encroaching further by the spells and charms Slytherin himself had used to conceal his mighty fortress.
The soaring towers and turrets of the castle had stood empty and unused since the fall of Salazar Slytherin. The protective spells and concealment charms that had been in place at that time, had kept all but those who knew the location of the castle from finding it. And as those who knew passed into the next life, knowledge of the castle, and the island itself for that matter, had turned from truth to disregarded legend.
At the time of his first falling, Voldemort had counted the myth of the castle as just that, a myth. But as he had moved about the earth in his semi-spirt form, he had heard the whispers from beyond more clearly. The whispers had led Voldemort, the last heir of Slytherin, to what was his. And now, once again, Slytherin Castle was the seat of power for the greatest evil the magical world had ever seen.
Another more accepted myth was the existence of the group that called itself, The Order of the Phoenix. The existence of the group was considered fairly common knowledge. But its membership, that was another matter. The Order of the Phoenix was only slightly less old as an organization, than the school of Hogwarts itself. Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Huffelpuff had founded it when they had joined together to fight against Slytherin.
Since the death of Rowena Ravenclaw, the last of the founders of Hogwarts and the Order to pass on, only the current head of the Order had carried its two most closely guarded secrets. Those two secrets had resided with Albus Dumbledore until Ginny had been captured. The first secret, the one where the Order knew of the existence of Slytherin Castle and its location had been revealed to a select few at the time of her capture.
The second secret had been revealed less than fifteen minutes ago. That secret was the unplotable, magically concealed area just inside the woods that were less than forty meters from the front gates. That area now teamed with attacking sorcerers from the Order, Ministry and the DA; all of them safely hidden from the eyes and ears of the Death Eaters they could see patrolling the battlements of the castle.
Three of those attacking sorcerers paced impatiently at the designated portkey arrival area. Lost in their own world, they were unaware of the tensions that surround them. There was a flash and Ron, Hermione and Remus Lupin appeared out of thin air.
“It is done,” Remus said before Dumbledore, Molly or Arthur could ask the question. Molly Weasley rushed to envelope Ron and Hermione in her arms, but stopped suddenly.
“Where’s..” she asked looking desperately at them.
“She went to Harry, Mum,” Ron said before she could finish the question. Molly nearly collapsed on his shoulder with relief at the news that Ginny was safe. Her relief was short lived.
“Molly, you need to return to the hospital wing,” Arthur Weasley said. “Now,” he urged, pulling her away from Ron and Hermione. “Madam Pomfrey is going to need your help.”
Molly turned to her husband and allowed him to activate the portkey to send her back to Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione turned and followed Dumbledore to the front of the lines.
“What’s he doing here?” Ron snarled an instant later when he caught sight of Malfoy.
“He is here to help, Ronald,” Dumbledore replied calmly. Ron glared at him and Malfoy in turn. “There is no time to argue, Ronald. You will have to take him at his word. Now, since the two of you are here, you will come with me after the initial attack and assist to set the anti-apparation and portkey blocking spells. Ron glared at Malfoy again.
“Fine,” he growled.
“Betray us, and if Ginny doesn’t exact revenge on you, I will, Draco,” Hermione said to him.
“You better help the Headmaster, Hermione,” Draco replied. Hermione gave him a last look and turned to Dumbledore.
“I’ll do what I can,” she said.
Dumbledore nodded. Taking a large crystal from his pocket, he levitated it into the clearing in front of the assembled mass of attacking sorcerers. The crystal began to glow faintly and the signal was passed down the lines, all of them raised their wands and directed a Crushing Charm towards the softly glowing crystal. The stone began to glow brighter as the combined magical power of more than five hundred Aurors, Unspeakables, Order members, Ministry employees and DA members was channeled into it.
Dumbledore let the stone continue to absorb the incoming spells until it began to pulse red with the unreleased energy it was holding, and then when it seemed that the stone would surely explode, he threw his arm in the direction of the castle. An instant later the stored energy in the stone exploded in one massive spell slamming into the wall of the tower to the left of the castle gate. Hermione watched in stunned disbelief as the ten foot thick stone wall at the base of the tower was obliterated and the rest of the tower began to crumble, it seemed in slow motion, to the ground.
Voldemort’s head snapped up as a colossal explosion rocked the castle. The force of it was such that the mortar in-between the immense stone blocks of the dungeon started to rain down on him and Snape in the form of small pebbles and dust. Even as he began to move to the door of the dungeon, a second explosion rocked the castle.
Snape trailing in his wake, Voldemort moved into the hallway leading out of the dungeon. They were met by the terrified faces of several junior Death Eaters who, upon seeing their master, fell to their knees.
“Master,” one of them spoke. “We’re under attack.”
Voldemort raised his wand and killed him. “I know that you fool,” he snarled. “What are you doing on your knees you idiots!? Defend me!” he bellowed a second later. The Death Eaters scrambled to their feet and began rushing to the stairway out of the dungeons.
“Master,” Snape said urgently while reaching out to touch Voldemort. Voldemort stopped and looked at the hand on his arm. Snape dropped to his knees instantly.
“You forget yourself, Severus,” he hissed dangerously. “You are lucky I have need of you at the moment.”
“Forgive me, Master. I did not wish to offend. I needed you to listen for a moment,” Snape replied.
“What is so important that you would risk touching me, Severus,” Voldemort asked. Snape reached into his robe and pulled out a wand, which he held out to Voldemort.
“Master, you cannot fight him with your wand.” Voldemort looked at the wand in Snape’s hand. “I would be honored if you would use mine, Master,” Snape said quietly.
“And what will you use, Severus?” Voldemort asked.
“If you will allow it, Master, I would be honored to use yours. If not, I will simply place my body in front of any spell sent at you,” Snape replied, with as much anticipation as he could create. Voldemort’s wand dropped to the floor in front of Snape.
“You will be rewarded, Severus,” he answered, taking the wand from Snape.
With his head bowed in deference to his master, Snape didn’t see the look of surprise on Voldemort’s face at the tug of a portkey in his belly before he disappeared.
Severus Snape picked up Voldemort’s wand and slowly climbed to his feet. As he did, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of polyjuice potion.
“More likely, I will die a horrid death, Master,” he said before drinking the potion. He then apparated to the grounds outside the castle, appearing before Dumbledore as Mr. Granger. Most of the people fighting against the Death Eaters believed him a traitor, he couldn’t very well show up as himself and not expect to be dead a moment later.
“It is done,” he quickly said to Dumbledore before he ran off through the chaos to join the battle.
“Now!” Dumbledore said to Ron and Hermione. They nodded at him and the three of them apparated to the top of the highest tower in the castle. They then began channeling their anti-apparation and portkey blocking spells into the same crystal Dumbledore had used to channel the Crushing Charms moments ago. A spider web of light began to grow out of the crystal forming into a dome over the tower, spreading and growing to encompass the castle and grounds. The dome of crackling red and white light reached the ground and it became impossible for any of the Death Eaters to apparate or portkey away from the castle in an attempt to escape.
Ron and Hermione both collapsed to the roof of the tower, near exhaustion from the time spent helping Ginny to fight Voldemort and the enormous expenditure of energy that was required to set the spells they had just helped Dumbledore with.
“Here,” Dumbledore said, handing them each a bottle of Pepperupper potion. “The web will hold for an hour, maybe a few minutes less, I must go and do what I can to help Remus and the others with the giants. Stay together and good luck, to both of you.” And then in a whirling of his cape he was gone. Ron pulled Hermione up with him a moment later as the potion took effect.
“Looks like Mark and the rest of the DA have the dementors under control,” Hermione said. After spending the last three months preparing for it, all of the DA, who were still in school, minus Neville, stood on the top of the second highest tower with the Unspeakable; directing their spells to a second crystal. They had been charging the crystal for the past three months and now, what should have been fifteen patronuses, was ninety. Their silvery forms could be seen racing around the perimeter of the castle in an ever tightening circle, herding the dementors to a confinement web.
“Let’s start over there,” Ron said pointing to a courtyard.
Hermione nodded at him. “I love you, Ronald.”
“I love you, Mione,” he replied and with two pops they apparated away.
Harry leaned against the wall of the Death Chamber, hidden in the shadows as he waited. Remus had woken him less than ten minutes ago and while he knew Ginny was ok at that moment. He did not know if she had managed to escape Voldemort’s hands or not. Harry knew it had to be this way. He had to be in place before Voldemort arrived. That didn’t make it any easier. His fingers played with Hermione’s necklace around his neck, a small bit of comfort to cover his agony.
“Husband.”
Harry’s head snapped up and a smile came across his face. “You’re alright, Gin?” he asked nervously.
“I told you I would come to you,” Ginny replied.
“I love you, Ginevra Potter.”
“I’m waiting for you, Husband.”
Harry felt a prickling coming from his scar. “I think he’s coming, Gin.”
“I love you Harry James Potter. Fight with that knowledge in your heart.”
“I will return to you, Gin,” Harry replied.
“I know, Harry.” And then, though she left his mind, the power of her love swelled in his heart and all fear left his body.
Harry focused on closing his mind as tightly as he could. It was only a moment later that Voldemort arrived at the top of the stairs. His momentum from traveling by portkey carried him tumbling down the steps to the floor of the Death Chamber towards the crumbling stone arch. Harry couldn’t help smiling, as he watched the Dark Lord fall.
Nice touch, Harry’s first commented.
No wonder the twins were so eager to donate one of their fake wands, his second added.
I wonder who they found to test the arrival point of that thing? the third asked.
Voldemort slowly pushed himself to his knees, raising his head to take in his surroundings. His eyes stopped for a moment on the arch. Taking his time, he deliberately climbed to his feet and absently brushed at his robes as he searched the rest of the room. Harry stepped forward and briefly let a tiny crack open in the conduit that connected the two of them. Voldemort spun to face him.
“You,” he hissed.
“Who did you expect, Dumbledore?” Harry replied casually. Voldemort stared at him. “You are now the rat in my trap, Voldemort. Not a comfortable feeling is it?” Harry taunted him.
Voldemort’s hand shot towards Harry. The spell he tried to send from the wand Snape had tricked him into taking reversed and he was thrown against the wall of the chamber.
It wasn’t the spell, or the wand exploding in his hand, tearing it off, that caused him to scream in agony, it was his body coming into contact with the wall of the chamber. Voldemort rolled away from the wall, scrambling to his feet as he did.
“Already, you’re not thinking clearly to have attempted to use the wand that was used to bring you to me,” Harry remarked quietly. He had moved back into the shadows again, hidden by the invisibility spell and turning the proximity detection spell inward. His presence, to Voldemort, felt like that of a rat and the chamber was filled with them. Voldemort tried to track in on his voice.
“You must be getting weak from a loss of blood, Voldemort,” Harry commented from his left. “You’re near immortal, yet even you will collapse from the loss of it.” This time Harry’s voice came from Voldemort’s right. Harry watched in satisfaction as a silver hand formed over the stump that remained of Voldemort’s right hand.
“I’ll bet that took a lot out of you, didn’t it? You see, Voldemort, every spell we cast, every bit of magic we perform in this chamber comes entirely from within us. That hand, the material to make it came from somewhere else in your body. Conjure a sandwich, you’re eating your own flesh; water is your own blood.
“Have you figured it out yet?” Harry asked. A binding spell erupting from the wand Ginny had given him. Voldemort blocked the spell, sending ropes of hissing snakes back at the source, Harry waved his wand and the snakes disappeared in wisps of white smoke.
“SHOW YOURSELF!” Voldemort thundered.
“Why?” Every time Harry spoke, it was from a different location in the chamber. The stunning spell erupted from his wand slamming into Voldemort, who despite the shield he erected, was thrown to the ground.
“You have never fought fair, why should I?” Harry asked.
Voldemort had climbed to his feet again; and was starting to be able to separate out which of the rats he felt in the room, was Harry. He whirled and sent his own stunning spell at Harry. Harry’s wand waved in a circle and the spell reflected back at Voldemort, who was forced to deflect it with his own shield. The spell ricocheted to the wall and was absorbed without so much as scratching the stone. Voldemort stared at the wall in amazement. Harry dropped the two spells he was using to hide with. They took more energy to maintain than the one Voldemort had used to locate him. There was no sense in wasting energy
“Interesting, isn’t it?” he asked. He was actually curious himself about the nature of the prison he was in. Harry raised his wand at the wall and a moment later he bellowed, “Avada Kadavera!” The spell flew to the wall and spread along it, encompassing the room in an ethereal green glow before fading. “Curious, that I can touch it and you can’t,” Harry remarked reaching out and placing his hand on the wall when Voldemort’s focus returned to him. “Do you like my new wand by the way? My wife made it for me, from one of her tail feathers. I think it actually increases my power.”
“Your wife is dead,” Voldemort shrieked at him.
Harry snorted. “Hardly, as I just spoke with her seconds before you arrived here." Voldemort’s silence was returned by Harry’s knowing smile.
“You see, Voldemort, the next line in the prophecy says, ‘And the Dark Lord will mark him as equal,’ so, we tricked you into taking her.” Voldemort’s blood-red eyes darted around the chamber. Harry continued.
“You have spent the last three weeks fighting her, and two other, very powerful sorcerers, while I have been sleeping. You are weak, while I am strong. Dumbledore has spent years developing the spells for this prison, and months casting them, preparing this chamber. There is no way in or out for either of us. Eventually, you might figure something out, but it will take you months, by which time you will be too weak to actually perform the magic necessary to break his spells.”
“You really think I can’t leave here?” Voldemort asked condescendingly.
“Even my wife can’t get in or out of here,” Harry replied. “But by all means, go ahead and waste your energy trying, it will only make it easier for me to destroy you.”
“I cannot die,” Voldemort replied simply.
“We both know that’s not true."
Voldemort simply stared at Harry, a flicker of fear in his blood red eyes.
"Yes, I know," Harry said.
The fear in Voldemort's eyes changed from fear to anger and hatred in a instant. "We shall see, then, won't we Potter."
"Yes, we will," Harry answered, letting the conduit open between them.
Cho and Neville moved together along the stone wall searching out Death Eaters. Hearing noise behind them they stopped and waited for whoever it was to come into sight. Sounds of battles around the castle grounds echoed off of the walls of the courtyard they were in. The cries of agony from the injured fell on the deaf ears of two who had been in battle before and seen the devastation it caused. There was no time for the wounded right now, only for hunting and there were three in particular they were after.
Cho raised her wand as she felt the person moving around the corner of the wall and coming into sight. She relaxed and dropped her wand when she saw the blue glow emanating from whoever it was that came around the corner. Everyone involved in the attack had taken two potions; one, that caused the glow, another, that allowed you to see it, the creation of Hogwart’s Potions Master for just this occasion.
“Over here,” she whispered loudly to the figure. The person, on seeing them, quickly rushed in to join them in their hideout.
“Professor Chang, Mr. Longbottom,” the man remarked upon sitting down with his back against the wall, breathing heavily. Cho and Neville looked at him curiously.
“Do we know you?” Cho asked. Mr. Granger smiled at them.
“You do not recognize your former Potions Master?” Snape replied calmly.
“Professor Snape?” Neville asked incredulously.
“Considering only about fifteen people know I am not a traitor, I can hardly show up as myself, can I?”
Cho and Neville shook their heads and chuckled slightly.
“Any idea where the Lestranges or Pettigrew might be?” Cho asked.
“Listen for the most insane laughter,” Snape replied. “That will be Bella; her husband will be close by. As for Pettigrew, he is dead.” Cho’s mouth twitched into a half smile.
“I know you wanted him for yourself, Cho,” Snape remarked.
“He is dead, that is enough, Severus.” Snape nodded at her.
“I think I will join you on your hunt, if you don’t mind?” Snape asked. Neville opened his mouth to protest. “I will only step in if you have problems, Mr. Longbottom. They are too dangerous to let go, if you and Cho fail. They must be killed or captured tonight if at all possible.”
“Let him come, Neville,” Cho said quietly while reaching out to touch his face. “We were assigned them because we would be relentless, not so we could exact revenge.”
“Fine,” Neville said and he turned, leading the way around the wall to the next courtyard. As they reached the end of it, the insane laughter of Bellatrix Lestrange came to the ears of Professor Snape.
“Looks like you’ll get your chance, Longbottom,” he remarked, as he pulled Cho and Neville flat against the wall.
Ron and Hermione stood back to back in an open courtyard on the other side of the castle grounds. Spells flew around them as they tried to fend off the group of Death Eaters they had come across. The two of them had decided to start from the back of the grounds and try to work their way to the front of the castle.
The Chess Master, having played brilliantly to this point, had made a colossal error. They were surrounded by more than forty Death Eaters almost immediately upon entering the courtyard. And while it might have been a pitched battle against them at the height of their powers, they were in grave danger in their weakened state.
If they could have, they would have apparated out of the courtyard to somewhere else on the grounds, but the Death Eaters had trapped them in a smaller web similar to the one they had helped Dumbledore with at the start of the battle.
The only way out of the courtyard was to fight their way out.
“Use the Death Spell!” Ron bellowed at Hermione.
“Ronald!”
“Mione, this is war! The Minister auth….” Ron’s response was cut short; he had been hit by six spells at once. It was too much for his shield to take and he fell to the ground, unconscious, at Hermione’s feet.
Hermione didn’t pause in her fighting; only stepping over the body of her fallen husband so she could protect him from getting hit again. The Death Spell began to rain from her wand and the Death Eaters who had been closing in on them were forced back again. Hermione looked desperately for somewhere she could take cover. Seeing nothing she could get to, her eyes fell on the stone benches around the perimeter of the courtyard.
Hermione began summoning them to her; turning them on their side she formed them into a wall around her and Ron. It wasn’t much, but it allowed her some protection as she continued sending the Death Spell in random directions. It was enough to keep the Death Eaters at bay, for the moment. Pausing in her attempts to defend herself, Hermione took a second, to send a reviving spell at Ron and then turn back to the Death Eaters.
Ron groaned when Hermione’s spell hit him. He was awake but not really. Hermione tried kicking him with her foot to get him to wake up. Ron groaned again and his head rolled to the other side.
“RONALD! GET UP!” Hermione screamed in his mind.
Ron groaned, his head rolling from side to side. Something in his mind knew he had to wake up, but he couldn’t do it. His eyelids fluttered open and closed a number of times. If Hermione had had time to look down at him, all she would have seen were the whites of his eyes rolled back in his head. Hermione chanced the time for another reviving spell.
“WHA…” Ron moaned again. A Crushing Charm hit one of the benches sending stones and debris flying over the two of them. The bench split in two and Hermione was forced to repair it; placing it back in position. She sent the Death Spell in the direction the Crushing Charm had come from and was rewarded when a figure stuck its head around the corner right into the path of the spell. Hermione kicked Ron again.
“Wha…why kick me, Mio,” Ron mumbled.
“RONALD! GET UP!” Hermione screamed in his mind again
“Mione?...” Ron groaned his eyelids fluttering open again.
“GET UP! RONALD!” Hermione screamed at him. Ron slowly rolled over, moaning with pain as he did.
“RONALD! I NEED HELP!”
Hermione’s voice finally started to register in Ron’s mind. He managed to take in his surroundings and realized his wand was in his hand; the sounds of the battle going on around him flooded into his brain. He staggered to his feet knocking into the stacked benches around him and Hermione, nearly falling down again.
“JUST STAY DOWN!” Hermione yelled at him. “HOLD THE BENCHES TOGETHER FOR ME!” Ron sank to his knees again shaking his head desperately to clear it.
“RONALD!”
“I got it!” he managed to get out, taking over control of holding the benches in place, while Hermione continued to send the Death Spell at the Death Eaters surrounding them.
With the Phoenix Charm arrayed in a circle around the benches, it was enough to hold them at bay. They could not defend themselves from the Death Spell, and every time one of them ventured out, Hermione either killed them or just missed them with her spell.
Author's note:
I'm very sorry to do this. This was not supposed to be two chapters. But for whatever reason, whenever I try to submit the whole chapter, part of it gets cut off. I figured it would be better to post it in two parts, than not at all.