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See Previous Chapters Here
Title: Harry Potter and the Seven Soldiers, chapters 8 & 9 of 17
Author: kanedax
Fandom: Harry Potterverse
Rating: R for violence
Spoilers: Harry Potter 1-6; Previous Chapters (see above)
Summary: The assault on Hogwarts begins
Notes: Let's see if I can get these all punched out this afternoon. As usual, I don't own Potter, Rowling, or any of them folks. And if you know of any decent Potter Fanfic sites, I'd love to share this story.
Chapter 8
The Seventh School
“Okay,” Charlie Weasley said, whistling. “This should be interesting.”
Viktor Krum turned to Harry. “There are a few more obstacles than we anticipated.”
The group stood in the trees on the outskirts of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The three hovered on their broomsticks, just above the tree line, taking stock of the force that Voldemort had brought together. Along with what appeared to be a couple hundred Death Eaters, numerous trolls patrolled the space between the front gate and the castle. Sliding between them were four-legged, hairy creatures.
Harry looked up into the sky and sighed. “It had to be a full moon tonight, didn’t it?”
“Bloody werewolves,” Charlie cursed.
“Be prepared for anything,” Harry said. “That’s only what we can see. Lord knows what else he has hiding in waiting.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the Chocolate Frogs that Dobby had given him a week ago. He flung it over the wall, watching it land on the other side.
“That’s what I thought,” he said. “They’re expecting us. Voldemort wants this fight, so he didn’t replace any of the barriers that disappeared after McGonagall died.”
“Just left the door wide open,” Viktor nodded.
Harry looked left; saw Angelina Johnson and Oliver Wood floating about one hundred yards away. To his right, at about the same distance, Katie Bell and Cho Chang. He silently raised his hands to both groups.
“Remember,” he said, “When we get through, I want you guys to launch a few spells behind us. Make sure not to hit us, you just want to make sure that if a barrier goes up behind us you don’t slam into it.”
Charlie gave a thumbs up, and Viktor stuck his hand out to shake Harry’s.
“It has been a pleasure knowing you, Harry Potter.”
“You, too, Viktor,” Harry replied, and then sank to the ground below, where the remaining Seven Soldiers waited patiently, along with Kingsley Shacklebolt and his squad of ground troops.
“I just gave the flyers the signal, they’re waiting for us. Is everyone ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Neville said nervously, climbing on behind Harry.
Ron and Hermione moved to Harry’s left, Ginny to his right. Tonks moved to outside of Ginny, and after Bill gave his good lucks to his brother and sister, did the same, making a V-formation.
Harry lifted off, and the others followed suit.
“Move fast, wands out. Expect anything.”
“On three. One…”
He crouched low on his broom.
“Two…”
He felt Neville’s arms tighten around his waist.
“Three!”
The wind blasted against his face as he and his friends flew full speed towards Hogwarts Castle. As he thought, there were none of the barriers and safeguards that had prevented intruders into the school in the past, and he and the others breezed past the surprised Death Eaters rather easily.
As he neared the front door, however, he realized another issue.
“Alohamora!” he yelled, pointing his wand at the door.
The huge swung open slowly, but too slowly.
“Spells, quick!” he yelled to the others.
As one, they all launched various jinxes at the door, blowing it wide open and off its hinges. As they passed through the entryway, Harry felt a surge flow through him, like static.
He turned around to look for Viktor and Charlie, only to find them hovering just outside the door.
Damn it. “That was the barrier!” he yelled. “We’re all alone now!”
“Let’s try to get to the Great Hall!” Hermione said, her voice carrying back through the wind as the group flew through the wide hallways of the school. Harry gave a thumbs-up, and then turned towards a hallway to the right, towards the Hall.
However, he wasn’t able to turn. As soon as he attempted it, he felt his broom come up against some sort of resistance, then again point back the way they were going. He tried again at the next hall, to no avail.
“We’re being blocked off!” Tonks yelled. “Like we’re being led somewhere!”
They attempted again to steer their brooms anywhere but the chosen path, to no avail.
The brooms lurched on their own volition, launching them up a flight of stairs.
“We’re being taken to one of the towers, I think!” Hermione said. “That must be where…”
But she cut off as multiple jinxes flew towards the group from down below. Most of them missed, but one hit Tonks’ broom, and another hit Bill’s, shattering them both. They hit the ground hard, the other four being dragged past.
Harry felt a lightening of his broomstick. Then he tilted heavily to the right. He looked down to find Neville hanging on by the hilt of Gryffindor’s Sword.
“Get back up here, Neville!” Harry yelled, reaching across his body to try to grab Neville’s hand. Neville shook him off.
“This is my stop, I think,” he said. I’m gonna go make sure Bill and Tonks are alright.”
Harry thought hard, hating to abandon his friend. “Take the sword,” Harry said firmly. “Good luck.”
“You too, Harry,” Neville said, reaching up with his free hand to unfasten the sword from Harry’s belt. He dropped to the floor, and the three remaining brooms continued their journey onward.
A journey that didn’t last too much longer. About four minutes later, they reached a common area of the school. Five doors lined the walls. The brooms slowed to a halt.
“I don’t like this,” Harry said quietly. “Voldemort’s playing with us, making us bend to his will.”
“Which door do we take?” Ginny asked.
“I think that door there leads to the North Tower,” Hermione said, pointing to the largest of the five.
Three of the doors flew open, and two brooms suddenly hit the floor. Ron, Ginny, and Hermione all appeared to be grabbed by some invisible force, and thrown through each of the open doors.
“No!” Harry yelled. He flew towards the door that Ginny had entered, but before he could make it through it slammed in his face, along with the others.
“Please!” Harry cried. “Not again! Don’t take them from me again!” He banged on the door, cast jinx after jinx, but to no avail.
The large door opened, bidding him to move on and face his nemesis.
Harry got off his broom and sat on the floor.
“Not yet, Voldemort!” he yelled, anger coursing through him. “Not without my friends!”
And Voldemort, being a merciful lord, obliged.
Chapter 9
The Strange, The Son, And The Savage
After landing hard on the floor below, Neville sprinted back down the hall, carrying his wand in one hand and the Sword of Gryffindor in the other. He turned the corner to find Tonks and Bill both uninjured, brushing fragments of broomstick from their clothing.
“Where’s Harry?” Bill asked.
Neville shook his head. “I got hit with one of the jinxes, but not him. I said I’d drop and check on you two, so Harry gave me the sword and the went on.”
“Not like You-Know-Who’s giving us any say in the matter,” Tonks said, pulling out her wand and surveying the area.
“Come on,” Neville said. “I have some idea of where they were headed, but we’ll have to hurry.”
“What’s the rush?” said a snarling voice from further down the hallway. The three turned to find three cloaked figures slowly moving towards them.
“We didn’t destroy your brooms,” said the second figure, a female, “just to let you run away, did we?”
Neville squinted to try to make out the faces behind the hoods, and looked to Bill and Tonks to see if they recognized any of them. By the looks of anger and hatred on their faces, he quickly came to the conclusion that they did.
“Lestrange,” Tonks growled.
“Hello, cousin,” Bellatrix Lestrange snickered, pulling her hood back. “Or is that second cousin? I can never keep the family tree straight, especially when it comes to blood traitors like you and Sirius. Or the Weasley scum you have next to you.”
“Better watch what you say,” said the first figure, “That’s my son you’re talking about.”
“Just because you bit me doesn’t make me your son, Greyback,” Bill yelled. “I’m the son of Molly and Arthur Weasley, and no one else.”
Lestrange laughed. “Oh, yes, the dead ones. Well, you’ll be joining them soon enough, I’m sure.”
She tilted her head, her eyes focused on Neville. “You look familiar,” she said.
Neville recognized Lestrange from the Ministry. He also recognized the name from his grandmother.
“My name is Neville Longbottom,” he said firmly. “I believe you know my parents.”
“Oh, yes,” she said, “the little Longbottom. Well, I do remember your parents, but I also remember I wasn’t the one that had the fun with them.” She turned to the third figure, who to this point had remained silent.
“Now, Barty here,” she said as Barty Crouch Jr. revealed his face. “That was all his doing.”
Barty smiled darkly, his eyes blazing red. Black vapor issued from between his teeth, and pooled around his feet.
“Isn’t it incredible,” Lestrange said, her voice full of love, “What the Dark Lord can do for his most devoted servants? What he can put into someone to fill the void of a lost soul?”
As Neville stared into the face of his parents’ persecutor, he was filled with a rage he had never felt before. His hand tightened on the Sword of Gryffindor.
“Hey, Bella,” Fenrir taunted, “The boy here looks like he wants to fight.”
“He does, doesn’t he?” Bella said, but they were both looking at Bill. Neville turned to see Bill, but not quite Bill. Bill’s face had begun narrowing, his nose extending halfway into a snout. His fingers lengthened, claws appearing from the tips.
“Well,” Fenrir said as he pulled out a small bottle, “Now we know what happens when someone’s bitten by a human werewolf, eh? Rage brings on the transformation, good to know.” He emptied the bottle into his mouth, swallowed, and threw it away.
“That should clear Snape’s antidote out of my system,” he said, instantly beginning the transformation to werewolf. Before his vocal cords changed completely, he finished, “Now, let’s have some fun.”
Bill and Fenrir met first, leaping and colliding in mid-air, tearing at each other with tooth and claw. Bellatrix and Tonks hurled jinx after jinx in a flurry that became so bright that they were soon engulfed in multi-colored lights.
Neville just stood there, staring down Barty Crouch.
“You were the one who pretended to be Mad-Eye, and pretended to be my friend?”
Barty smiled and nodded.
“And you were the one who drove my parents insane?”
His smile widened, and his eyes blazed.
“Good,” Neville said simply. “I’ve always wanted to meet you. Expelliarmus!”
Barty deflected the spell silently, and the hex flew past him and slammed into the wall.
So he’s using nonverbals, just like Ron. Good times.
Barty hurled an unknown curse at Neville. Without thinking, he raised the Sword for protection. The spell bounced off like it was a shield charm, and continued past.
Neville launched another Expelliarmus spell, which this time met Barty’s in mid-air.
I’m not ready for this, Neville thought. All of that training, and I’m still not prepared for this fight. I’m still not in their league.
You have a long pointy, another part of his brain responded angrily. Use the damn thing!
He charged at Barty, hurling spell after spell, trying to throw Barty off-balance. Barty responded, deflecting each of them.
But he also gave an opening.
Take it!
Neville dropped his wand and grabbed the sword with both hands. He swung, and connected.
As Barty dropped to the floor in two pieces, a ghost floated out of the wall.
“Oh, Neville,” Nick said. “If people keep getting decapitated, I’ll never be able to join the Headless Hunt!”
Neville stood up, anger shivering through his body. He looked at the sword, but found that it was clean. Whatever Voldemort had used to bring Barty back from the brink, it had also caused him to become bloodless.
He turned to see how the rest of the battle was faring. The glow from Tonks and Lestrange had not abated. Bill and Fenrir were nowhere to be seen, but he could hear their savage cries around a corner.
Before he could take three steps, the light ceased. He ducked as a body flew past him and into the wall. He turned to see Tonks crumple to the ground, blood covering her body.
“Hello, boy,” Lestrange gloated, crouched and bloody. As he charged her, she swung her wand. “Sectumsempra!”
Neville felt a pain he had never felt before in his life, but his mind forced him to keep moving. He swung his sword, severing Bellatrix’s wand hand, then pulled the sword back, thrusting it into her chest. His vision started to become a tinted red as he saw the life leave her eyes.
He started running back to check on Tonks, but his body would only allow him to lurch. He felt his shoes squelch with moisture. Must have just done a lot of running, he thought as blood flowed down his legs, they’re pretty sweaty.
“Wotcher, Neville,” Tonks said, coughing. Blood poured from her mouth.
“Tonks,” he whispered, dropping his knees next to her. She looked up at him, tears running from her eyes.
“I did my part,” she said, smiling. “Now I get to see him again.”
“No, Tonks,” Neville moaned, “You’ll be okay, we have to go help the others.”
She didn’t respond. Her eyes closed and her breath stopped.
No, Neville thought sadly. Don’t die. No one’s supposed to die.
He heard the howling and tearing coming from Weasley and Greyback.
I have to help Bill, he thought, standing, but finding he couldn’t get up off of his knees. He started crawling back to Bellatrix. Get the sword, and help Bill.
He collapsed, his hands slipping on the pool of blood.
I just need… a rest…
Neville Longbottom closed his eyes, and never awoke.
Chapters 10 & 11