Fair Game | Foul Play : Chapter VII, Part i

[qblackheart]

Jensen, to himself, as he randomly wondered if this was quite what the Dark Bastard had in mind when he decided to bring the war to Hogwarts. Sometimes Jensen scared himself with the inexplicable way his delirious mind worked in dire situations.



The first thing Jared did when Jensen and the others left was tap his Falcons badge with his wand; he’d make the call for help, for everyone to head to Hogsmeade, for it was the only way to get anywhere near the school. If the team chose to answer it, all the better. If not, he certainly wouldn’t begrudge them that choice.

Unlike the Aurors, he couldn’t use the Portkey at the Manor; it would only work for those who had sworn allegiance to the Order and even though that’s where Jared’s loyalties lay, he hadn’t taken any oath and was stuck travelling the old fashioned way, grabbing his broom and flying to the nearest public Portkey that would take him as close as possible to Hogsmeade.

He wasn’t too surprised to find pandemonium when he arrived there almost an hour later, witches and wizards Apparating into the village willy-nilly, some scurrying towards the Three Broomsticks while others headed in the direction of the Hog’s Head Inn. He decided to go to Madam Rosmerta’s himself; if anyone knew what was going on, it’d be her. And she was a lot less scary to deal with than Aberforth Dumbledore.

But Jared never even made it that far.

In the blink of an eye, there was a sudden swoosh of black smoke, the telltale trails of Death Eaters Apparating, and he and a few others who’d been on the road with him drew their wands, taking cover along the darkened walls of nearby shops as they stayed vigilant.

Then all hell broke loose.

Spells shot and crackled through the night air, wand beams flashing streaks of blue and green and red as hexes and jinxes and curses were cast haphazardly, raised voices rending the air as incantations and wards were shouted every which way.

Jared held his own, neatly deflecting a Stinging Hex sent his way but searing his hand when a Flagrante Curse hit the wall he’d held onto catch his balance. Casting a quick healing spell on his palm, he ducked into the open doorway of the store - Honeydukes - and, dumping his broom in a corner, made his way through to the other side, stealthily coming up behind three Snatchers shooting spells at a group of young wizards who looked about Neville’s age; he acted purely on impulse, calling to mind every trick Jensen’d taught him about active combat.

“Confringo!” he yelled, the Blasting Curse shooting out of his wand, explosive enough to startle the trio of Dark wizards as Jared hit them with a Full Body-Bind Curse, one after the other in rapid-fire succession.

“Cheers, mate!” one of the lads called out to him before they all headed back into the fray, wands at the ready.

Jared fought alongside them for a while, but ended up detouring around the Post Office, distracted by the sight of the old Post Master being bounced up and down in the air by his ankle; the Levicorpus Jinx in the hands of a Snatcher, it seemed. Jared made short work of him - his Stunning Spells were better than Jensen’s - and once he’d gotten the old wizard down, he decided to accompany him to the Hog’s Head, where he’d be safer; that’s when he felt it.

It was like being hit by a Cruciatus Curse he imagined, but apart from falling to his knees, much to the dismay of the Post Master, Jared knew he was fine.

The pain he was feeling was Jensen’s.

“Are you all right, lad?” the Post Master asked, his harried gaze shifting between Jared and the safe harbour of the Hog’s Head.

“I’m fine,” Jared assured him through gritted teeth. “You go on ahead. I need to go back.”

“Keep safe, lad,” the old man said, giving his arm a squeeze before he hobbled off.

Not knowing what else to do, Jared pointed his wand at the ground in front of him as he thought of Jensen and cast his Patronus; it was no longer a puppy. He blinked at the shaggy, full-grown Sheepdog Patronus in front of him, gasping in shock and reeling from another phantom bolt of pain. “Find Jensen for me,” he ordered it, gasping. “He’s in trouble.”

His Patronus barked once and then turned tail and ran, streaking down the village road like a sideways bolt of lightning. Jared summoned his broom and it came, zipping through the air, stalling right in front of him. He jumped on board and sped up into the night sky, tracking the path of his Patronus past the train station, dodging dark spells like he was flying through an obstacle course.

When his Patronus edged into the woods that led down towards the Black Lake, he flew lower, below the treetops, his heart pounding even though it felt like the blood flow through his veins went treacle-slow, as if he was living through his last few breaths. “Hurry!” he called down to his Sheepdog and it burst forward faster, just as Jared saw the glint of a fallen ADU shield on the ground ahead of him.

He dived, beating his Patronus to Jensen’s side, hurtling himself off his broom as he picked up Jensen’s limp body in his arms. “No, no, no! Jensen!”

But Jensen wasn’t moving; he was barely even breathing and, in that moment, Jared knew what true fear felt like. He had no idea what to do, but he did know one thing: Losing Jensen was not an option.

The matter was taken out of his hands when he felt rather than saw his Patronus out of the corner of his eye, still moving swiftly. In the very next second, it slammed into Jensen’s prone body, silver light and a sharp, crackling sound - like Electricity, Jared suddenly recalled from his Muggle Studies class - the force of impact so strong that Jared was sent reeling.

When he opened his eyes again, it was to find that he’d been thrown at least fifteen feet from Jensen’s side; he shook his head to clear it. When he refocused, it was to see Jensen sitting up in the dirt, coughing to clear his lungs. “Jensen!”

“Jared?” Jensen asked, clearly startled to see him there. “Accio wand!” His wand zoomed right into Jensen’s outstretched hand. “Lumos!” Jensen blinked as Jared got up off his arse and frantically crawled closer, supporting Jensen as they both stood. “What the bloody hell are you doing here?” Jensen sputtered angrily, shoving his lit wand tip in Jared’s face, as if just to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating Jared’s mere presence.

“Saving your life, you stupid prat!” Jared growled. “You promised me you wouldn’t get dead!”

“Merlin,” Jensen breathed, staggering slightly; Jared kept a firm grip on him. “Was I? Dead?”

“Close enough to scare me silly.” Jared cupped his face in his hands and leaned down, practically snarling his words. “Don’t do that again.”

“Okay. Okay,” Jensen soothed, patting Jared’s chest. Then he smirked. “My hero.”

“Did you hit your head when you went down?” Jared asked affectionately.

“No, but I’ve always wanted to say that to you. How’d you manage it?”

“My Patronus.”

“Your little Poodle?”

“My Sheepdog,” Jared huffed, his breath misting the night air. Both he and Jensen froze at the sight.

“They’re getting closer.” Jensen’s expression turned to one of steely determination. “Go back to the village. I’ll go down to the shores of the Lake - that’s where the others were headed when we were ambushed by Death Eaters. Hopefully the team fared better than I did.”

“I’m coming with you,” Jared insisted, clamping his hand over Jensen’s mouth when Jensen tried to speak. “No arguments. I’ve got your back. This place is teeming with Dark wizards.”

“This does not bode well for either of us, babe,” Jensen warned, albeit fondly. “I’m off to fight hundreds of Dementors, hopefully with a little help from my team, if they’re still alive, while you watch my back? By yourself? I’m not seeing us surviving the night, but right now?” Jensen grinned up at him, wild and positively gleeful. “I’m just grateful to fight standing by your side.”

Jared’s smile was equally feral. “You and I both, love.”

“Sorry to interrupt your romantic little interlude, lads,” a snide voice called out from behind Jared, “but how about we focus on more pressing matters for now?”

“Sheppard!” Jensen cried out before Jared could turn around. “Falcons!”

“You called,” Williams grinned maniacally when Jared’s eyes goggled, “we came!”

“How’d you find us?” Jared asked as they bridged the gap and greeted the rest of the team; everyone but Emily, Rob, Rachel and Mark had showed up - Jared was even glad to see Misha, that ruddy, lovable idiot - and they definitely had more players present than there’d been at Portee.

“You were the only one on a broom,” Beaver gruffly informed him. “We saw you streak out over the woods when we Portkeyed in and followed.”

“Thanks for coming. We can use all the back-up we can get right now,” Jensen told them as he started walking. “Let’s head down to the lake. The other Aurors should be there, but if not, I could use the help of those of you who can cast a Patronus. Stay vigilant, though; the agents of the Dark are everywhere.”

Jared picked up his broom as they followed Jensen, as stealthily as they could manage, because ahead of them, through the trees, the signature streaks of jinxes and curses could be seen shooting through the air. It was colder now, but the despair they’d felt in Portee hadn’t hit them yet, so maybe they could spare a few moments to plan a counter-attack before the Dementors reached the outer shores of the Black Lake; time was a luxury in the heat of battle, though; Jared knew they’d be winging most of it.

Jensen held up a hand when they got closer to the wand-fight on the pebbled beach of the lakeshore, where they could now see a group of Death Eaters circling the six Aurors of the ADU. He silently split the team into three groups and sent two of them off in opposite directions while he and Jared and a few of the others moved forwards until they all burst out of the cover of the trees as one, startling everyone around them and making quick work of the Dark wizards, felling them all and sustaining no injuries themselves.

“Jensen!” Alona called out. “Thank, Merlin! I thought we’d lost you.”

“I thought I lost me, too,” Jensen responded, smirking.

“Er…” Fuller looked at the witches and wizards surrounding them. “Isn’t that your old Quidditch team?”

“Well,” Williams replied, “you guys helped us out in Portee. We’re here to return the favour.”

“Right,” Sheppard acknowledged as the Aurors grinned at them. “So what’s the plan?”

“Fend off the Dementors for as long as we can,” Samantha told him, deadpan as usual, “and try and live to tell the tale.”

“Excellent plan,” Sheppard drawled caustically, visibly deflating; he wasn’t the only one. “I realize that you lot are the experts here, but if there’s one thing we know best, it’s Quidditch strategy. I think it’ll help us when our guests arrive.” He shuddered and nodded out over the lake; everyone turned to see a dark cloud of Dementors edging closer over the horizon.

“What’ve you got in mind?” Fuller asked.

“We split up,” Sheppard suggested hurriedly. “Those of us who can cast Patronuses will be on the front lines at the shores of the lake. Defense and Offense. Beaters and Chasers. Our Incorporeal Patronus Shield and your Corporeal Patronuses. The ones who can’t cast the spell will fend off any attack from the rear - our Keepers - and we’ll blast them out of the bloody woods if we have to - Seek them out and take them down.” Everyone stared at him in shock; Sheppard shrugged. “I’m not the manager of this team for nothing, you know?”

“And you’ll be alright with the Dementors so close?” Beaver asked, not pulling any punches. “Or will you be off somewhere cowering in a corner?”

Sheppard barked out a laugh; it made him look a tad unhinged. “If the manky bastards want to snog me so badly, they’re going to have to bloody well catch me first.”

“Right on!” Williams shouted, pumping his fist in the air. “Now, that’s what I’m talking about.”

“Well, it’s worth a shot,” Julian agreed. “Aurors! All in!”

“All In!” the seven members of the ADU shouted. Then Jensen grinned and waved them to silence.

“No - if we do this, we’re doing it right!” he exclaimed, holding his hand out. Jared smirked and slapped his hand on top of Jensen’s, the Falcons following suit and the Aurors joining in as well. “We’re in this war to win it!” Jensen shouted. “But if we cannot win it…”

The Falcons roared as one: “…let us break a few heads! Falcons, fly! Oi! Oi! Oi!”

The Aurors laughed as the team split up, Cindy and Misha leading the players who couldn’t cast the anti-Dementor charm away from the shores; as they flew off, everyone else ran down to the edge of the lake, taking a stand, those who could cast a Corporeal Patronus flanked on either side by their companions who would be casting the Patronus Shield, all of them watching as the Dementor cloud rolled in, past the point where the invisible dome of Hogwarts' protective shield had fallen, fast and furiously, almost halfway across the lake now; halfway to Hogwarts.

Jared hoped to high Heaven that they would never reach the school; if they did, the Aurors and the students within - like Neville, and, Merlin, even Harry, Hermione, Ron, and the rest of the Weasleys - wouldn’t be much use with their magical powers so severely diminished by the Dementors’ dominion in the air above the castle walls.

They had to stick together on this; teamwork was their only hope.

That’s when a sudden thought struck him; he reached out and grabbed Jensen’s arm.

“Jensen,” he breathed, his voice hushed with excitement, “back in Portee, when we cast the Patronus Shield, we did it together! As one!”

Jensen looked at him quizzically. “Yeah, well, we’ll be casting together now, too.”

“No! We cast it together, so much so that our wand beams intersected. I think that’s what made the Shield so strong, otherwise we’d’ve never held off seven Dementors until your Manticore came along to chase them away!”

“Intersecting wand beams?” Jensen looked at him in consideration. “That could have disastrous effects, Jared.”

“Or it could just about give us the boost of power we need, because Jensen - look!” He pointed right at the living black shroud moving ever closer. “There may be thousands of them!”

“What’s going on?” Julian asked; at Jensen’s nod, Jared filled him and the others in.

“What do you think?”

It was Lanette who responded first, and she sounded wickedly gleeful. “It’s insanity, obviously. But it just might work.”

“Or we could all die in an explosion the magnitude of which has thus far never been seen in wand warfare,” Qualls quipped, but he was grinning too.

“Let’s do it,” Julian declared, loud enough for everyone to hear. “On my count. On three. And no matter what happens around us - no matter who amongst us falls - those still standing must keep your focus steady and your resolve strong! They must not be allowed to cross the lake!”

Everyone nodded in terse agreement and they waited for his word. Julian continued to watch the Dementors’ progress with a trained eye, waiting for the right moment to launch their counter-attack, but just as he opened his mouth, Jared shouted.

“Wait!”

Julian gaped at him. “Now what?”

“I always, always regret moments like this, when I should’ve done something and didn’t,” he sputtered, with an apologetic look at Julian. Then he turned, grabbing Jensen, who squawked in surprise but said nothing as Jared drew him close, breathing against his soft mouth. “No regrets,” Jared whispered, taking a split second to gaze into Jensen’s eyes, for perhaps one last time, before inching closer and kissing him soundly before pulling back. “There. Now I’m ready.”

He heard Fuller groan, but Jensen snorted out a laugh. “Brat.”

It set everyone off, from chuckles to outright giggles and a couple of people down the line, Jared saw Kim grab Jim Beaver and kiss him, while Jake and Sebastian went at it with tongue, and Fuller threw up his arms in disgust, Samantha laughing and doubtless swatting him for his curmudgeonly ways; he appeared to come to a sudden decision, then, hauling her close and planting a passionate kiss on her surprised mouth.

“Waited ten bloody years to do that,” Fuller muttered as Samantha blushed, blinking up at him as if she’d never seen him before. “Now I can damn well die happy.”

“Merlin,” Julian groaned. “Can I start the count now?”

“By all means.” Jared grinned. At least their spirits couldn’t get any higher, he reckoned, exchanging one last happy look with Jensen; every little thing helped. Then the rest of them - Jensen, the five coaches, the six Aurors, Aldis, Kim, Jake, Seb, and Jared - braced themselves for Julian’s signal as he started counting, slow and steady as the Dementors made their final approach.

“One.” Two hundred feet. “Two.” One hundred feet. “Three!”

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!”

Seventeen flashes of bright silver light shot out over the Black Lake as the witches and wizards casting the spell intertwined their wand beams as one, causing a gigantic mercurial wave of power to explode forward, the shrill sound of it deafening and the backlash almost knocking them all off their feet.

The Dementor advance froze in its forward momentum, stayed by the surge of the Corporeal Patronus Shield - because that’s what it looked like - like a solid sheet of bright stars, or a swathe of diamonds, glittering over the dark waters of the lake as it moved infinitesimally forward, driving the Dementors back.

Jared was so focused on the Patronus that he almost dropped his wand when Richard fell out of the sky in front of him, Cindy zooming in and catching him just before he hit the ground, dropping him off on the shoreline before taking to the sky again, shooting spell after spell from her wand. Richard looked like he was frothing at the mouth with anger. “You broke my broom, you evil git!” he yelled at someone behind the front line, alerting Jared and the others to the enemy at their backs as he shot a jinx at a would-be attacker.

Their minds steeled and their wands still focused on the Patronus Shield, none of the ones on the front lines broke formation. Not when a Cracker Jinx went off in the vicinity of Lanette, Williams and Devine, sending them all to their knees, not when Fuller and Beaver were hit by Stinging Hexes, and not when Jensen, Julian, and Jared himself were swiped by a powerful Incendio, one that set all their robes afire.

“Aguamenti!” Richard shouted, and a jet of water shot out of his wand to dampen the fire before it could spread and burn them all.

Behind them, another blast sounded and Jared felt the heat of the explosion at their backs, but even as his mind focused on maintaining the Patronus, he couldn’t help but get distracted by the unbelievable sight in front of him; he wasn’t the only one; even Jensen and Julian gasped in shock, for rising out of the lake, right at Richard’s back, was the Giant Squid, its massive tentacles ascending, waving dangerously closer as water sluiced off them in rivulets, drenching Richard as he slowly turned.

He wasn’t quick enough.

The Squid grabbed him about the waist and lifted him high up into the air while it reached out with a number of its other tentacles, up and over the heads of the Aurors and Falcons as it did who-knew-what to the people behind them.

Jared knew not to worry when Richard laughed from his lofty advantage and, whooping fiendishly, kept up the attack. “Yeah! That’ll teach you to break my broom, you fucker! Take that! Get that blighter, Inky!”

The Squid moved away with Richard in tow, hurling a few Snatchers into the lake as it went, their bodies skipping across the water like pebbles. Jensen and Jared looked at each other in stunned disbelief before roaring with laughter, the others on the front line joining in, their Patronus Shield burgeoning with renewed vitality.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for that cephalopod,” Jensen yelled; Jared nodding and grinning as they watched Richard and the animal forge a friendly bond.

But, because life tends to be unfair in general, that’s when Death Eaters began Apparating on the shores of the Black Lake.

In front of them.

Terror gripped Jared; it must’ve been the same for everyone there because the Patronus Shield faltered for a second before everyone concentrated again, knowing they had to trust that their friends would defend them to the end.

“Shite!” Misha yelled, landing in front of Julian as Cindy and Genevieve flew down to flank him. “You lot keep at it, we’ll fend them off as best we can!”

The resulting skirmish was ugly. These dark wizards weren’t pulling their punches, and their weapon of choice appeared to be the Cruiciatus Curse. Soon Genevieve and Cindy were both writhing on the ground, convulsing in pain as Misha tried to protect them from further harm.

“Focus!” Julian yelled. “Don’t lose focus!”

Just then, the Giant Squid moved closer, intent, it seemed, on knocking the dark wizards down, but one of the Death Eaters turned on it, her wand pointed at the tentacle holding Richard as she shouted: “Avada Kedavra!”

“No!” Jared screamed, along with Jensen and the rest of the Falcons, as a blinding green bolt of light shot from the Death Eater’s wand, straight at Richard.

The Squid raised another one of its tentacles just in time to protect Richard, the animal shrieking in agony as the Killing Curse hit its flesh, the sound piercing the air and reverberating through the water, shooting ripples across the surface of the once-placid lake. It dropped Richard, the tentacle that’d been hit retracting as it died, desiccating to dust from the tip up as the Squid retreated back into its home.

From beside Jared, Jensen roared in anger, and before he could even process what Jensen was doing, he’d hurled his ADU shield - it was mighty but nowhere near as heavy as it looked - at the Squid, neatly severing the dying limb from its body and cutting off the deadly curse in its tracks. Everyone stared, stunned, as the Squid sunk below the lake’s surface, injured but still alive.

Jensen’s shield circled then, hurtling through the air - like a bloody boomerang or something - as it headed for the Death Eater who’d cast the Killing Curse, slicing the witch’s masked head off. Jared squeezed his eyes shut at the sight, gasping for breath and reeling in horror as the shield flew back into Jensen’s waiting hand, streaked with blood and ink.

In the next instant, there was an enraged clamour and Jensen was hit by a Cruciatus Curse, courtesy of one of the dead Death Eater’s mates, too quickly for Jensen to shield himself against it. He fell to his knees, screaming, but he didn’t give up on them, his wand hand frighteningly steady as he slowly stood back up, twitching and convulsing but staying strong. Jared ached with helplessness as he watched Jensen suffer; it was almost too much to take.

“Stand your ground!” Julian called out, as if he knew exactly what Jared was thinking. “Stay the course! We’re almost there!”

They were nowhere near there, Jared knew, but that didn’t matter. They had more pressing concerns, and luckily the others knew it.

Richard came to Misha’s aide and they were soon joined by Katie and Matt. It was a desperate last ditch attempt to buy the front line some time, to try and get their Patronus Shield to push out further and chase the Dementors back and keep them away. The air was fraught with palpable tension as the remaining Falcons - even Gen and Cindy had struggled to their feet - stood by them at the frontline, some with their wands pointed forwards and some facing behind them.

It seemed hopeless, but as Great Aunt Callie had always told him, every dark cloud had a shiny silver lining; Jared had never believed it more than he did in that very moment, when a hail of tridents flew out of the water, arcing elegantly through the air with lethal precision, one by one, finding their targets and sinking into the unsuspecting backs of the Death Eaters in front of them, every single one of them falling to the beach, dead.

“What the bloody hell?” Misha sputtered, taking the words right out of Jared’s mouth.

“Merpeople!” Julian cried, all but cackling with joy. “The Selkies of the Black Lake have joined the fight!” He glanced up and down the ranks of Aurors and Falcons standing by him. “Bash on! Bash on!”

They did, all of them, elation singing through their veins like a live force, zipping from bone to blood to skin to wand as power surged into the Shield, making it grow and flourish, as Merpeople rose from the depths of the lake, arrows and lances and tridents sailing through the air as they struck out against the Snatchers who were still attacking from behind, from the woods on the edge of Hogsmeade.

“Look!” Jensen yelled suddenly. “Look at the Shield! Look what it’s becoming!”

They all looked - all of them, from the Snatchers to the Merpeople - watching, mouths agape in horror and disbelief, as their Patronus Shield glittered brilliantly and morphed into something…unbelievable.

Jared was stunned. “It’s… It’s a…Dementor!”

Qualls sounded like he was choking on air. “Is that even possible? Julian! How the bloody hell is that possible?”

“I don’t bloody well know!” Julian shouted back, looking just as mystified as the rest of them. “But it’s driving them away! It’s working!”

Sure enough, the Dementor Patronus (Merlin, but that was the very definition of an oxymoron if anyone needed it; Jared would never get his mind wrapped around that thought, ever, not even if he survived this endless night and lived to be a hundred) rose high up into the sky, luminescent and so radiant that it blinded them even from afar, before it stilled completely.

Then, as everyone watched with bated breath, it rushed forward as swiftly as liquid lightning, streaking through the sky after its terrified prey - and how was that for turnabout being fair play? - sending the horde of Dementors fleeing back across the water, away from Hogwarts and back to where they came from.

The ones that were fast enough to escape, that is. Most of the retreating Dementors, though - the vast majority of them - were not as fleet of flight. They were shrouded by the Dementor Patronus, engulfed in the folds of its…cloak, their very essence banished from the outside in, killing them, plumes of slate grey smoke billowing from their gaping mouths and clouding up the air as the tatters of their robes fell like black rain, hitting the glassy surface of the lake and disappearing for good beneath its dark depths.

As the charcoal sky cleared, as the stars shone through again, as the glorious crescent moon came back into view once more, one by one, the wands of the ones casting the Patronus Charm lowered, all of them watching in awe as the Dementor Patronus raced out over the lake, as far as it could go, before slowly dissipating into the obsidian darkness beyond.

And just like that, it was done.

It was Jensen who broke the stunned silence.

“Fuck me,” he said. “I dunno about you lot, but that was bloody brilliant fun. Who wants to go again?”

Jared had barely swatted him across the back of his head when, suddenly, all of them - every single one of them - doubled over, shaking in pain as a voice spoke, cold and frightening, slithery as a serpent as it coiled around inside their heads, hissing its words.

It was the first time Jared allowed the name to enter his thoughts: Voldemort.

You have fought valiantly, but in vain.

I do not wish this.

Every drop of Magical blood spilled is a terrible waste.

I, therefore, command my forces to retreat.

In their absence, dispose of your dead with dignity.