Hermione's Plan
The War Comes to Hogwarts
By Chem Prof
Author Notes:
The following two chapters will depart from the ‘Hermione POV’ format. I don’t think it’s possible or desirable to describe a major battle from only one point of view.
Chapter 30, The War Comes to Hogwarts
June 27, 1998
A plain brown owl streaked through the treetops of the forbidden forest, hurrying for the distant castle. In her animagus form Hermione had flown out to investigate a report that had come from the centaurs, that a large evil presence had appeared deep in the forest. It had turned out to be all too true.
The anxious days of waiting were at an end. At each event as the school year came to a close, they had wondered if that would be the day the dark lord finally attacked. But the quidditch final had come and gone, with a resounding victory for the undefeated Gryffindor team, without a disturbance.
Likewise the final task of the Hogwarts Challenge. Based on the results of the gauntlet challenge, the team of Ginny and Luna had been the favorite going into the maze. But the maze was about more than just combat, and the two sixth year girls no longer had the advantage of familiarity with the pranks and traps of the twins. The maze tested their magical knowledge on many levels, and especially their logical problem solving ability. Justin and Padma, with their greater experience and more varied backgrounds (the muggleborn Justin had no difficulty with the riddles of the Sphinx, for example) had come out with the best time and earned the championship trophy.
The tournament had accomplished its goals, however, and the students had all learned much about teamwork and the importance of inter-house cooperation. Their skills had been honed in a variety of areas and they were as ready as they were going to be.
Final exams had also proceeded without disruption. The OWL and NEWT examiners had finished up their work the day before and left the castle. Hermione had been satisfied with her efforts on the NEWTs, and though she was hoping for all O’s, it was no longer the dominant concern in her life. It never had been for Harry, and he was also satisfied with his performance. The last major event of the term was the end of year dance scheduled for that evening. As Hermione had suspected, it would probably not be taking place now.
As the castle came into view, the brown owl soared to the top of the tallest section, where several people were awaiting her news. A command post had been secretly constructed up here amongst the parapets of the ancient structure and the finishing touches were even now being added. A large table had several mirrors arranged in a column along the left side, with a map of the grounds dominating the center, and a strange looking box on the right along with a set of runes. Another table off to the side held the silver detection instruments that had once resided in Dumbledore’s office.
Padma had been Harry’s first choice for the important position of battle coordinator, but she had declined, wishing to fight alongside her fellow Ravenclaws. Tracey and Daphne thereupon agreed to take over the post, and they would be up here with omnioculars, relaying messages and moving the defending students and professors to where they were most needed. Moody had spent some time with the two discussing battle tactics and had finished by pronouncing the pair of Slytherins ‘suitably devious’. Hermione’s enchanted mirrors would allow them to keep in touch with people inside the castle, especially McGonagall, who would be stationed in the Great Hall or the Entrance Hall, and Madame Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing, which had been magically expanded in anticipation of the forthcoming casualties, as well as Chief Auror Robards at the Ministry of Magic.
Right now McGonagall, Tracey, Daphne, and Harry gathered together as the owl alighted before the main table and transformed back into Hermione.
“They’re here,” she gasped, trying to catch her breath. “More trolls and inferi than I could count. Not as many Death Eaters as we expected, though.” The others nodded and she continued. “They’re pretty deep in the forest, so it looks like it will be at least an hour before they get here. More if they get distracted along the way.”
The others nodded again, more grimly this time. The Acromantula colony, now on somewhat better terms with Hagrid due to the way he had honored Aragog’s death, had agreed to stay neutral in the battle. For them, neutral meant attacking anyone who wandered into their territory. The centaurs would also be harassing the flanks of the advancing army with hit and run attacks. Finally, Hagrid had vowed to stay in the forest with Grawp and fight the enemy there, insisting that he was more familiar with it than anyone else around, and that the pair of them would be of little use out in the open when the spells started flying.
They were not sure if any other dark creatures would be joining in the attack, but at least they wouldn’t have to worry about any Dementors showing up. The word had come from Croaker two months ago that after a few demonstrations by Harry and Hermione of the destructive power of their pair of Patroni, the remaining Dementors had fled back to the now deserted island of Azkaban and vowed to stay there.
-ooOoo-
An hour later the battle groups were ready and waiting out on the grounds. The number of students in the most advanced group of the PDA was now up to ninety, but only seventy would be participating in the battle. McGonagall had insisted, and Harry and Hermione had readily agreed, that only those students who were of age, and any others who had written permission from their parents, would be permitted outside the castle. Even with the staff and members of the Order of the Phoenix included, there would be fewer than one hundred defenders.
There were plenty of other ways that the students could help out the defensive effort, including firing spells from the windows of the castle if the enemy got close enough, tending to the injured, and relaying messages. The younger students were confined to their common rooms in the charge of the fifth year prefects. Over the previous four months Harry had created hundreds of portkeys, which would be used as a last resort to evacuate everyone remaining in the castle to safety at the grounds of Potter Manor or one of his other properties. However, if it came to that, it would mean that the battle had been lost and no place would be truly safe from the forces of the dark lord.
A large contingent from Ravenclaw was arrayed in front of the castle protecting the main entrance, led by Flitwick, Padma, and Luna. A force consisting mainly of Hufflepuffs and Slytherins was stationed out near the greenhouses under Moody’s and Sprout’s direction, concealing themselves in a variety of vegetation that had been carefully nurtured in that area for the occasion. A smaller detachment of primarily Gryffindors, but also including members from all four houses, occupied a forward position at the quidditch stadium with Remus, Tonks, Bill, and Fleur. There was also a flying corps, led by Ron, Charlie, and Viktor, consisting of the best broomstick handlers in the upper years. This would be the primary attack arm of the fighters, and also the ones in the greatest danger.
Finally there were the snipers with their Barrett .50 caliber rifles, in four strategic locations high in the castle towers with overlapping fields of fire. Dean and Seamus were stationed in Gryffindor Tower, on the eastern side of the castle, while Justin and Ernie occupied the owlry at the top of the West Tower. Ginny and Neville were ensconced up in the Astronomy Tower near the castle entrance, which was the highest and therefore most exposed position. Unknown to the others, Dan and Emma were at that very moment ascending the ladder to the Divination classroom in the North Tower. There they found that Trelawny had locked herself in her quarters and drunk herself into a stupor. Satisfied that she wouldn’t be bothering them, with her tiresome predictions of Harry’s death, they set up in the very window from which a beetle animagus had spied upon Harry three years earlier.
Dan had one thought in mind for this battle – keep Harry and Hermione alive at all costs. He and Emma would focus solely on the pair, and he intended to ruthlessly take out anything that threatened them. In addition to his sniper rifle, he had sent Dobby to retrieve his shotgun from where it had been stored at the gun club, and had even obtained a pair of semi-automatic handguns that both he and Emma could wield in case anything got too close.
-ooOoo-
An hour later the students and staff were in position, all of them having donned dragonhide armor and the twins’ latest model of shield hats. The main group in front of the castle under Flitwick’s direction had conjured a series of boulders and a few walls to use as cover, extending out about a hundred yards. The group under Moody’s charge in a flanking position over by the greenhouses had concealed themselves amongst the vegetation. Out at the quidditch stadium Harry and Hermione gathered both the ground-based defenders and the flyers together for final instructions.
While they were waiting, Fleur leaned against Bill, who wrapped an arm around her shoulder, as she thought about how she had come to this point. Four years ago she had been going into her last year at Beauxbatons, the queen of the school. She had been a spoiled rich girl who had everything her own way, the top student in her class as well as the most beautiful. Then the French school had accepted the invitation to participate in the Tri-Wizard Tournament and her life had been changed forever.
As she had expected, she had been chosen to represent her school – and had gone on to finish last in every event. That had been an eye-opener. But even more so had been her three opponents. Cedric, good looking, magically gifted, and the nicest, most noble guy she had ever met. And who had been brutally murdered on the final day of the tournament. Viktor Krum, the world famous quidditch star, but a brooding loner who shunned his adoring fangirls. And who somehow saw the beauty inside a young bookworm that other guys didn’t give a second thought to.
And last but not least, a small, shy, unassuming boy who happened to be the most famous student on the planet. Whom she had initially haughtily dismissed as not being worth her time. But who showed more courage and loyalty than anyone she had ever met. Who occupied a world so different than hers, one where a dark lord was constantly trying to kill him, and who was alternately praised and scorned by a fickle wizarding public. Who proceeded to turn her nice, comfortable world upside down. After the events of the final task she knew she could never go back to that safe, carefree, but woefully ignorant existence.
Now, four years later, she found herself preparing to fight by his side, against the greatest evil of her lifetime. And she wouldn’t change her choice for anything. She was making a difference in the world and putting her life on the line for what was right. And besides, she had found something else that had been missing from her life as the pampered princess to whom guys were attracted like moths to a flame. She now had love, and was willing to fight and die for it.
By contrast Tonks, who was similarly wrapped around Remus, had been involved in this struggle her whole life, going back even before she was born when her mother had estranged herself from two sisters who had chosen to follow a dark lord. Becoming an Auror was a choice that would allow her to contribute her unique talents to the battle against evil, but she had quickly become disgusted with the Ministry when Fudge refused to acknowledge the return of that same dark lord. She had jumped at the offer to join the Order of the Phoenix and become more actively involved in the fight. From there her story was more similar to that of the beautiful French witch. She had met Harry Potter, she had realized that he was the key to their ultimate victory, and last but not least she too had found love. And she too was willing to fight and die for it.
Ron was battling a case of nerves more serious than any he had faced before a quidditch match. It was even worse than standing up at his best friend’s wedding. He furtively glanced around at the other key participants in the battle, settling on Viktor and Charlie, his fellow squad leaders. Viktor had adopted his usual ‘game face’, the famous scowl that thousands of quidditch fans knew all too well, but Charlie grinned at him and flashed him a quick thumbs-up.
Good old happy-go-lucky Charlie. Charlie the fun-loving older brother who had turned down a lucrative quidditch career to cavort with dragons. Charlie, who would be dead right now if not for Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, another in the long list of Weasleys who owed their life or livelihood to The Boy Who Lived. Ginny, Arthur, and Charlie had all been saved by his selfless actions. Fred and George would still be immature pranksters instead of successful businessmen without Harry’s belief in their ability to make the world a better place. Bill was now the most highly respected human employee by the goblins at Gringotts, due in large part to his association with Harry Potter.
And finally there was Ron himself, who would probably have always been the overlooked younger brother feeling sorry for himself at his lot in life if Harry had not befriended him that day on the Hogwarts Express. Now he would forever be known as the best mate of the Chosen One, a key participant in the defeat of the powerful evil wizard that most of the world feared so much as to be unable to say his name aloud – Lord Voldemort. But more importantly, he would be laying his life on the line for the two best friends a guy could ever have.
They were all brought back from their pre-battle musings when Harry began to speak. “Keep in mind that Voldemort probably won’t show up until near the end,” he reminded them. They knew that his practice was to let others do the initial dirty work for him, plus he would need to rest and recover his magic after the task of moving so many forces into position. “I’m sure he’ll make his presence known, so don’t worry about looking for him. But keep an eye out for a giant snake,” he continued. “If you spot it let one of us know right away.” He gestured to himself and Hermione, and then to Bill and Fleur.
“Also, be sure to focus on the Death Eaters initially,” Hermione added. “They’re the only ones who can hit the flyers, so we need to take them out first.” The others all nodded and moved to their positions, checking their wristbands. High atop the castle at the command post, Daphne and Tracey were doing communications checks. The box on the right side of their table was the controller for the wrist communicators that Hermione had created and enchanted, and by touching the runes next to it with her wand Tracey could contact the various team leaders.
“Are you sure you want to do it this way?” Harry asked once more as he mounted his broom and Hermione climbed on behind him. Hermione nodded.
“This way I’ve got your back, and it’s the only way I can keep up with you on a broom,” she responded. “Plus, I’ve got a backup.” She then showed him her own shrunken down broom which she then slid into a pocket on her sleeve. A large crashing noise at the edge of the forest signaled the approach of their foe, and the flying troops (which Colin and Dennis had nicknamed the PAF as a takeoff on the RAF) took to the skies while the others arranged themselves in the best vantage points atop the quidditch stands.
As the pair took to the air a private message came in from Tracey. “I’ve just received word from Robards,” she reported grimly. “We’re on our own up here. The Ministry’s being overrun with inferi and they’re just barely holding on. They can’t spare any reinforcements.” Harry and Hermione shared a determined look. It was going to be all up to them, but they had trained all along with that thought in mind and prepared their fellow students as best as they could. It would have to be enough.
The defenders watched in momentary shock as the waves of trolls and inferi emerged from the forest, but gathered themselves resolutely and prepared to do what they had trained so long for. The flyers streaked towards the advancing horde but everyone else held their fire until the enemy was in range.
Harry’s first pass over the attackers was at top speed and they were past in a blur, drawing a few hexes that flew up in their wake. Four pairs of omnioculurs in the castle towers immediately began scanning for targets.
“Harry, you’re going so fast I can’t hit anything,” Hermione complained from behind him on the broom. Each of them had managed to launch only a couple of explosion hexes on the first run.
“If I go this fast nothing’s likely to hit us either,” Harry pointed out. Hermione thought for a moment and made a slight motion with her wand while clamping her thighs around his hips.
“There, I’ve just linked us with a sticking charm,” she explained. “Now I can keep both hands free and not worry about holding on.”
“Sounds kinky,” he remarked with a grin as he brought the broom around for another pass. “We’ll have to try that out in bed sometime.”
Hermione grinned back and slapped him on the shoulder as she peered over it. “Sure, except instead of sticking my crotch to your bum we should probably do it the other way around.”
Their banter was brought up short by the sound of a cough from their wristbands. “Do you think you two lovebirds can keep that stuff to yourselves while talking over an open radio?” Dan commented wryly. Both of the teens turned bright red as they heard Ginny giggle and Dean and Justin chuckle in response.
“Daddy, what are you doing here?” Hermione managed, needing to change the subject fast.
“Covering your back, sweetheart,” came the reply. This was followed by two loud cracks from his rifle as he finally located a target.
“OK, people, we’ve still got a battle to fight here,” Tracey’s voice sounded. Harry dove over the mass of trolls and inferi once more, this time dropping a huge fireball on a group of inferi while Hermione launched several large magical spears that impaled at least two of the trolls. This time a much larger volley of hexes greeted them, and two of the flyers were hit and went tumbling out of control. Bringing up the rear, though, Viktor and Charlie each snared one of the injured students with a levitation charm, and a banishment charm sent them sailing toward the quidditch pitch where a medical team had set up to receive casualties.
“Colin’s down,” came Ron’s voice over the communicator. “There’s five or six of them hiding behind the hedge by Hagrid’s hut.”
“I’m on it big brother,” Ginny responded. From the astronomy tower she had a clear view of Hagrid’s hut and squeezed off several rounds. Her .50 caliber bullets tore through the unprotected wizards and in seconds most of them were down while the remainder fled back to the protection of the forest.
Meanwhile down on the ground, a house elf popped up next to the downed flyer, and a few seconds later activated a portkey and disappeared along with the injured Gryffindor. Emma and Dobby had worked together to train a corps of willing house elves to rescue injured combatants, and equipped them with portkeys that would transport the wounded either to the Hospital Wing or the field hospital in the quidditch stadium. They also handled the less pleasant task of recovering the bodies of fighters who had been killed.
By this time the main body of trolls and inferi had moved several hundred yards out from the forest and past the lake, the castle clearly in their sights, but still not in range of the main group of defenders. The forward fighters in the quidditch stands were now beginning to engage, and explosive hexes lanced out into the front ranks of the enemy. Up in the towers of the castles, the snipers continued to cut down the trolls with their armor piercing bullets whenever they ran out of Death Eater targets.
“All flyers pull back now!” Tracey’s voice sounded. As soon as everyone was clear she nodded to Daphne who touched her wand to several buttons on her map. Instantly a massive wave of explosions lit up the grounds as one of the twins’ deadlier inventions came into play, blowing huge holes in the enemy formations. As soon as the smoke began to clear the flyers bore in again, their own explosive hexes adding to the carnage as they continued to seek out any Death Eaters still standing in the open.
Suddenly an eerie wailing noise issued from the edge of the forest, and the flyers closest to the source wavered and began to drop.
“Silencing charms everyone!” shouted Tracey desperately. “Those are banshees!” It was a dangerous tactic, but temporarily necessary. A banshee’s wail could be incapacitating, or even fatal. Quickly a bubble of silence surrounded each of the defenders. They could still hear her instructions over their wristbands, but nothing else. Harry flew as near to the plummeting flyers as he dared, and Hermione summoned them with one hand while still maintaining a shield with the other. Meanwhile the spotters were anxiously scanning for the source of the deadly sound.
“Got them!” Daphne shouted. “Over by that outcropping of forest near the lake.”
“Can you take them out with one of your explosives?” Tracey inquired urgently.
Daphne shook her head while she touched her wand to another part of the command table, and then to the position on the map where she had located the banshees. “Nope, already used up the ones in that area,” she replied, “but I can do this.” A flaming pinwheel erupted from a hidden cache and flew over to hover over the enemy’s location.
“Snipers, are you still with me?” Tracey called out. The four snipers and their spotters were all wearing headgear to protect their ears from the loud report of their powerful rifles, and thus were also protected from the banshees’ wails as well. These elaborate earmuffs had been charmed by Hermione to be linked to the communications network and now Tracey received affirmatives from all four teams. “Your priority targets are marked by the flaming pinwheel. They will appear as women with long black hair.”
Within seconds a hail of bullets ended the threat, and up in Gryffindor Tower Seamus breathed a sigh of relief and willed himself to stop trembling. Dean looked up and smiled sympathetically, recalling that Seamus’s boggart had been a banshee. “OK, find me some more Death Eaters to shoot while I take out a few more trolls,” he instructed his friend.
Having deposited their rescued students at the field infirmary in the quidditch stadium, Harry and Hermione flew back over the location of the latest threat, but found that it had been eliminated. Harry dropped another fireball on their crumbled bodies for good measure and the pair soared back into the battle.
During that distraction the main body of trolls and inferi had continued to advance, and were beginning to surround the quidditch pitch. Now Daphne triggered another trap. Several dozen of Fred and George’s portable swamps activated and the ground beneath the enemy turned into a soggy morass. The new enhanced version of the swamps had an additional feature that now came into play – swamp gas. In short order this highly flammable gas had enveloped the dark creatures struggling to escape their mucky prison and at another command from Tracey the defenders on the quidditch stands launched a series of Incendio hexes. The results were spectacular, and the quidditch stadium was temporarily hidden from view of the castle by a wall of flame. Instantly hundreds of inferi were incinerated while some of the trolls, with thicker hides, finally managed to crawl out of the inferno, severely burned. But there was no time for celebration as another threat descended from the skies.
“Incoming harpies!” called out Tracey as she focused her omnioculurs in on the swarm of creatures flooding out of the edge of the forest. “Heads up fliers, you’ve got company!”
“Pair up!” Viktor shouted to his charges, and Ron and Charlie relayed the message to their squads as well. “Watch each other’s backs.” Before they could react further hundreds of harpies were upon them, slashing with their sharp claws. It was now close combat, and the snipers had to turn their fire elsewhere for fear of hitting their comrades.
After Hermione sent half a dozen harpies crashing to the ground in pieces, the rest of the attackers learned to avoid the broomstick with the tailgunner and focused their efforts on the unprotected ones. It was turning into a general melee, each flier twisting and turning, trying desperately to keep the savage creatures off their backs. “Everyone move into the quidditch pitch!” Harry ordered while he was temporarily unoccupied. There they would have some ground support from the high stands. The flyers obeyed and twenty brooms streaked for the relative safety of the stadium.
All the way there, Harry darted his broom in and out of the swarm, destruction flashing from the wands of its two riders. Once at the stadium, the odds evened somewhat, but more than half of the riders were injured and barely hanging on.
“Watch it Dennis, you’ve got three of them right behind you!” shouted Ron.
“Copy that Red Leader, I’ve got him covered,” Hermione replied cooly as she blasted two of the harpies pursuing Dennis, then impaled the other with a flight of magical arrows. “OK, Red One, you’re all clear now,” she continued. “Let’s blow this thing and get out of here.”
Ron gave her an odd look but Dennis understood the Star Wars reference and grinned back at her, shooting her a thumbs up. In front of her she heard a groan from Harry, but could feel his amusement through their bond as he shook his head. It really did feel like they were in a dogfight with X-wings and TIE fighters.
Up in the divination classroom, Dan noticed that three harpies had peeled away from the main attack and were heading for the Astronomy Tower, intent on eliminating the threat that had been causing so much trouble for the attackers. He managed to hit one of them that was coming straight in, but his sniper rifle was unsuitable for flying targets, so he laid it aside and reached for his shotgun. This was just like shooting pheasant or grouse. He took aim and led his targets just the right amount.
Boom! Boom! The twelve gauge shot was not quite lethal to such a large creature, but did plenty of damage, and they fell toward the outlying tower out of control. Neville quickly raised his wand and dispatched the wounded pair just as they arrived, and Ginny turned and gave Dan a wave of thanks before returning her attention to the battle.
Dan returned to his sniper rifle, replacing the magazine with a full one and carefully setting the bipod on the window ledge, then focussed in on two more trolls. Two shots later the massive creatures were down with fatal chest wounds. Seeing them up close through the scope, he was amazed at just how large and ugly they were.
“I can’t believe Harry jumped on the back of one of those creatures when he was just eleven,” Emma murmured next to him, apparently thinking the same thing, while continuing to scan with her omnioculurs.
“Good thing he did, too,” Dan pointed out. Emma shuddered, thinking about her beautiful daughter and what might have been and how her fortunes had changed that night. Instead of dying on the floor of the bathroom, her body crushed and broken, she had survived to grow up and marry the boy who had rescued her. Now they just had to make it through this battle.
Still scanning, she spotted some familiar figures in black robes crouched low, picking their way between two of the still smoldering swamps. “Death Eaters sneaking into the stadium!” she called out.
Dan swung his rifle around. “I’ve got the north end covered.” He squeezed off several more rounds and three of the white masked, black robed figures dropped.
“I’ve got the south end,” came Dean’s voice over the headsets as more shots rang out.
“Looks like some might have got through,” Daphne’s calm voice sounded in their ears. “Watch out Tonks, it appears that you have Death Eaters below.”
Even as the aerial battle continued above her, Tonks pulled Lavender and Parvati aside and quickly explained the situation. Although not the most powerful witches around, they were particularly proficient with silencing spells and disillusioned movement. And powerful blasting hexes would not be advisable down beneath the quidditch stands where a stray spell could take out a support structure. The three of them quietly descended the stairs and began stalking their foes. A minute later three stunners flashed out of nowhere and the surprised Death Eaters fell to the ground, and were quickly bound with Incarcerous hexes.
“You two stay down here and watch for any more,” Tonks instructed. The two Gryffindors nodded and moved off into the shadows. The medical team out on the field treating the downed fliers was particularly vulnerable, but they would keep them covered.
By this time the flyers and their ground support fighters had dispatched the last of the harpies. But the delay had been costly. Without the flyers and the forward-based defenders to harass them, the enemy force had surged forward, and was now engaging the main body of defenders. The group holding the quidditch stadium was about to be cut off, and Tracey was moments from ordering their retreat. If necessary, they would all portkey back to the Entrance Hall, where they could move back out and join the other defenders at the front of the castle. But first, it was time to fully commit the remainder of her forces.
Concealed in the vegetation by the greenhouses, disillusioned along with the rest of her housemates, Susan waited for the signal to attack. The inferi gave her the creeps, and the trolls were terrifying. Come on Suse, pull yourself together, she admonished herself. Ron knocked one of those out when he was a first year. Surely you can fight one as a seventh year.
She had watched with her heart in her throat as Ron had dived again and again to attack the advancing horde, shuddering at the thought of what the trolls and inferi would do to him if he were shot down. She wished that she was a better flyer so that she could be up there with him. She wished that she had taken her training more seriously instead of devoting so much of her effort to flirting with him. If she had, she might have at least been selected to be one of the elite fighters who had joined the Gryffindors at the quidditch pitch, in the thick of the battle.
Next to her, Hannah found her disillusioned hand and gave it a squeeze. “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “We’ll have our chance soon enough. We just have to be ready to do our part.” Just then a large group of inferi and a dozen trolls began moving past their position, directed by a handful of Death Eaters, trying to flank the defenders in front of the castle. Her wristband began to vibrate with the attack signal from Tracey.
“Incendio!” Susan and Hannah’s spells flashed from their wands and joined into an array of colorful streaks of light that crashed into the unsuspecting enemy in front of them. As the inferi began to shrink from the flames, the trolls turned toward them. “Reducto!” The two Hufflepuffs instinctively targeted the same troll, and the power of their combined explosive spells ripped an arm from his body and knocked him back several feet.
As they and their fellow students around them continued to pour spellfire into the confused creatures, their Death Eater masters attempted to fire back, albeit ineffectively. Their hastily cast spells either missed the well-concealed defenders or were mostly deflected by their dragonhide armor. Within a few seconds the Death Eaters were all down, either dead or unconscious, and their dark allies fell back slowly, then more rapidly as panic began to set in.
Now that both of the defending forces at the castle were fully engaged, the attacking creatures were caught in a crossfire and compelled to retreat. High above the battle in the command post, however, Tracey could see that the valiant defenders were still badly outnumbered and the reversal was only temporary.
“All defenders activate eye shields in ten seconds!” she shouted into the communicator as Daphne opened all of the channels. “Harry, Hermione, Ron, Viktor, Charlie – Solarus spells on my mark – 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 … NOW!”
At this command all of the defending students and staff touched their wands to their shield hats, switching temporarily to the protective goggle setting that the twins had installed in their most recent version of the multi-purpose headgear. The magical equivalent of very darkly tinted glass dropped down, severely restricting their vision. Meanwhile four flyers had spread out over the enemy forces that still remained on the field to maximize the impact of the desperation tactic. Up in the Divination classroom, Dan and Emma hurried to strap on their welding goggles.
The Hogwarts grounds lit up with the blinding light of three suns and a supernova, as Harry and Hermione’s spells merged into one. For twenty seconds that seemed an eternity, the students and staff could see through their darkened goggles as though it were high noon in a white sand desert, and immediately unleashed a torrent of spells on their incapacitated foes. When the sunburst spells finally faded and the defenders switched off their eye shields, all of the remaining Death Eaters that were still alive and conscious were writhing on the ground in agony, their optic nerves temporarily fried. The trolls were wandering around in a blind daze, and the inferi were huddled together cowering from the hated light. Now the light side forces pressed their advantage, pushing the depleted mass of attackers back toward the forest with a hail of incendiary and explosive hexes.
As Harry soared up on his Firebolt high above the field of battle to give himself and Hermione a temporary break before the final mop up operations she took advantage of the respite to wrap her arms around him and lean in close.
“Good news and bad news,” she commented in a low voice. Harry nodded grimly.
“If he’s not here, that means this wasn’t the primary attack. And if this was a diversion I’m afraid of what we’ll hear about the Ministry,” he responded, confirming her unspoken fear.
Their break came to an abrupt end when Tracey’s voice came over their communicators. “Look out guys, there’s something big inbound.”
They both turned in unison to peer out over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest. A dark ominous shape in the sky was steadily growing larger as it approached. All too soon it resolved itself into a gigantic creature that still haunted some of Harry’s nightmares.
“Oh crap, they’ve got a dragon.”
Hermione found little to add to Harry’s simple sentiment as he pushed the broom into a dive to return them to the fray. “Charlie,” he called out, “we need some advice here.”
Charlie had flown up to take a look as soon as he got the word from Tracey. “It’s a big one all right,” he announced. “It will take about twenty simultaneous stunners to the head to knock it out. Or ten of Harry’s I guess, but since we’ve only got one of him we’ll have to make do with the rest of us.” He flew back to the castle calling out instructions to the other broomstick squad leaders. “Form up on me. We’ll set up an ambush around on the other side of the castle. Harry, you’ll have to lure it over to our position once we’re ready, like you did in the tournament. Can you handle that?”
“Got it,” Harry replied as he landed on the castle rooftop. “Get off Hermione.”
“Not on your life, Harry Potter!” she snapped. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I can’t maneuver as well with you riding along,” he argued. “With that thing I’m going to need all the maneuverability I can get.” Hermione frowned briefly, then brightened as she quickly cast a spell.
“Feather-light charm,” she explained. “I’m now ten percent of my normal mass. You’ll hardly know I’m here.” Harry did some mental math and decided he could handle the extra eleven or twelve pounds, but was smart enough to know not to mention any numbers with respect to a lady’s weight. “Plus I’ve got your back. You’ll need my shielding more than ever now.”
“You think you can stop dragon fire?” he challenged.
“You better believe it,” she retorted confidently. Convinced that she wasn’t going anywhere, Harry kicked off again and could immediately feel the increased responsiveness in his Firebolt as he streaked out toward the incoming dragon. Down below his comrades were taking cover, temporarily ignoring the remaining groups of inferi that were starting to stir again, and the few scattered trolls.
Now that the dragon was fully in view they could tell that it was a Chinese Fireball. It seemed to be focussed exclusively on the castle, and Hermione concluded that Voldemort had expected all external resistance to have been eliminated by now, and that he might be sending in a dragon at this stage of the attack in an attempt to breach the castle walls. She wondered how he had managed to control it and get it to obey his commands, since dragons were notoriously independent minded and unpredictable beasts.
As the dragon made its approach shots rang out from the Astronomy Tower. “Ginny, hold your fire,” Tracey immediately commanded.
“No, it’s coming right at me and I’ve got a straight shot,” came the reply from the determined redhead.
“Ginny! It’s going to roast you alive!” Hermione shouted back as Harry rushed to intercept. “You have to take cover now before …”
“Ginny stop shooting!” Harry interrupted. “I’m about to fly right in front of you and you might hit us!” That got her attention and they could see her lower her rifle and duck down as they flashed by, while Neville tried to shield her.
Just as the dragon was about to incinerate the top of the tower Hermione fired a point blank blasting hex right at its head. While it wasn’t enough to cause life-threatening damage to the heavily armored beast it certainly got its attention. It immediately lost interest in the pair atop the tower, and altered course to pursue its new tormentors. But in doing so, a final sweep of its tail as it changed direction crumbled the roof of the structure and sent it crashing down on the sniper team.
“Ginny! Neville!” Hermione screamed. But there was no time to agonize over the fate of her longtime friends as the dragon unleashed the fiery blast that it had held back a moment earlier at the duo on the broomstick. She immediately put everything she had into a fire deflection shield while Harry quickly cast a flame-freezing charm on themselves and the broom.
But dragon breath was far hotter than any normal flame. As the fiery blast washed over them her shield glowed bright orange, then yellow, then white hot, and the pair disappeared completely from the view of the horrified onlookers in the castle. Finally, when she had nearly exhausted her energy holding the shield, the eruption of dragon fire ended and the broom and riders burst out of the conflagration and shot into a steep climb, the dragon still in pursuit.
Taking stock of themselves, the pair noticed smoke rising from their dragonhide armor and the scorched broom, while Hermione could feel that the ends of her hair, which had been tied into a ponytail at the back of her shield cap, had been singed into a frizzy mass. But the loss of a few inches of hair was a small price to pay for escaping that inferno, she thought gratefully.
“Wow, that was toasty,” Harry commented wryly.
Hermione found herself a bit lightheaded at the enormous drain on her magic, and knew she would need time to recover, but managed a bit of humor despite the situation. “I dinna think the shields can take another hit like that one, cap’n,” she quipped with a thick Scottish accent. This elicited another groan from Harry.
“Let me guess, you were a Trekkie when you were little, right?” Hermione reached her hand around into his field of vision, and made an odd gesture, forming a V with her two middle fingers.
“Live long and prosper.”
The relieved voice of her father sputtered from their wristbands. “Look, Captain Kirk can get the girl after the battle is over. Are you two all right?”
“We’re all fine here,” Harry reported back. “Almost ready there Charlie?”
“Just a few more minutes, Harry,” came the reply.
Harry glanced over his shoulder at the pursuing dragon and slowed his climb. Hermione realized that he needed to maintain enough separation to keep them out of range of another blast of fire, but not so much that the dragon lost interest. She had never taken her eyes off of it herself, and began making some mental calculations.
Harry was apparently having the same thoughts. “Can you tell how close we can let it get before it tries to blast us again?”
Hermione nodded. “I think so.”
“OK. Hang on, I’m going to try something.” Without any further warning Harry pushed the Firebolt over into a steep dive. Despite the sticking charm keeping her firmly attached to his backside, Hermione wrapped her free arm around his waist and gripped tightly, but still kept close watch on the angry creature that plunged right after them. In a dive, the massive bulk of the dragon worked to its advantage rather than against it, and the winged creature began gaining on them.
“Only a few more seconds like this and it’ll be in range again,” she shouted. Harry accordingly sped up slightly to maintain their current separation. Hermione could sense that the ground was rushing up at them at an alarming pace, but dared not look down to confirm it. Suddenly Harry slowed once more.
“It’s closing again,” she responded immediately. “I can see it’s preparing another blast.” She wasn’t sure exactly what he was trying to accomplish but trusted that he knew what he was doing. Just in case, she readied another shield charm. “Any second now … 3 … 2 … 1…”
Harry pulled hard on the handle of the broomstick and their dive suddenly turned into a climb again, causing Hermione to nearly black out, not to mention almost losing her lunch. In the back of her mind she recognized the quidditch move he had just pulled off as a Wronski Feint and promptly decided that she had no interest in ever experiencing one of those again.
Behind them she could now see the results of Harry’s maneuver as the dragon’s gigantic fireball incinerated the final group of inferi that had gathered themselves together again and were advancing once more on the castle while the defenders were distracted with the aerial combat above them. Heedless of the destruction it had just caused to its nominal allies, the dragon also pulled up and continued the chase.
“OK, quidditch star, we’re ready for you now,” Charlie’s amused voice sounded from their wristbands. “Unless you want to try to plough that dragon again that is.”
“No thanks, you can take it from here,” Harry shot back. “It doesn’t play fair.”
“Well, bring it around the north side of the castle then,” the stocky dragon handler replied. We’ve got a welcoming committee all prepared.”
From their vantage point in the North Tower Dan and Emma got a close up view of their two children leading the unsuspecting dragon past them into the carefully laid trap. Emma shuddered as the sixty foot long beast strained to catch its tormentors and fry them to a crisp, and Dan moved to put an arm around her. “So this is basically the same thing Harry did in that tournament three years ago?” she asked in astonishment laced with anger. “How could any sane person possibly subject a fourteen year old boy to such a thing?”
Charlie’s ambush worked to perfection. Just as they rounded the final corner twenty stunners flashed out and impacted the dragon’s head. Hermione added one of her own for good measure and the unconscious dragon plummeted from the sky, crashing on the rocks below where the rear of the castle met the lake. Harry continued on and climbed up over the top of the castle where Daphne and Tracey waved from their command post before he descended to land on the front lawn, now blackened and torn to bits from all the fighting and explosions.
Harry’s final stunt had reminded the defenders on this side of the castle that they had some unfinished business, and they had quickly dispatched the rest of the inferi. One or two remaining Death Eaters and a handful of trolls had attempted to escape into the forest, but were met by a hail of arrows from the centaurs and eliminated in short order.
Hermione cancelled her sticking charm and as the two weary head students dismounted from the battered Firebolt they were swarmed by cheering students. Against all odds they had defeated a force that was easily ten times the size of their own. But Harry and Hermione could not bring themselves to join in the celebration, knowing that the battle wasn’t over yet. How many students had been lost? What had become of Ginny and Neville, or for that matter, how had Hagrid and Grawp fared in the forest? And most disturbingly, where was Voldemort?
The last question was abruptly answered in a most unpleasant way when a magically amplified voice suddenly sounded, the message carrying to every corner of the grounds. The voice was a grating, raspy snake-like hiss that Harry recognized all too well.
“HARRY POTTER.”
-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-
Author Notes:
I’m sure a lot of you want to kill me for the cliffhanger, but you have to agree that this is a perfect place for a chapter break. Don’t fret too much, because the conclusion of this battle will be posted tomorrow.