The Final Battle

Plans And Flights or: Of Narrow Escapes

Remus looked at Sirius in disbelief. Not that he doubted his friend's ability to come up with a plan even in the most hopeless situations; on the contrary he knew that most likely one of Sirius' schemes would provide the highest probability for all of them to get out of this relatively unharmed.

But what did scare the wits out of Remus right then was the grin on Sirius' face. Having Sirius cunning and planning was one thing, and mostly a good one at that, but as soon as he started grinning like that, shivers went down Remus' spine.

Sirius' schemes were mostly daring, some of them too daring to be still of reason, but those about which he grinned like that were the ones most other people called 'Mad' or 'Suicidal'. With capital M and S, for the emphasis.

With an exasperated sigh, Remus leaned against the castle wall, crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked straight into Sirius' face.

"What kind of plan, Sirius?"

While Sirius was meeting Remus' gaze, he never let Harry out of sight either. He didn't want to give his godson another opportunity to go astray on his own. But right now, Harry stared transfixed at the two adults, waiting for them to come up with an idea how to rescue his friends. So Sirius focussed his attention solely on Remus. A smug smile was still playing around the corners of his lips.

"Well, obviously the situation is the following: We need to free Ron and Hermione, but we don't know whether there are any more Death Eaters lurking around in the shadows of the Forest."

Remus nodded. So far, this was nothing new, he had already known that much.

"So", Sirius continued, "what we need is a way to get towards them without revealing ourselves to them. A way with which we don't raise suspicion immediately.

Remus, can you handle one of the Death Eaters on your own when he's distracted?"

Remus nodded confusedly.

"Why, of course, even is he's not distracted. But what..."

Before Remus could finish his line of thought, Sirius was gone and Padfoot was running across the grass into the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Hermione shot Ron another concerned glance. Ever since that Death Eater had kicked him, his face had gone pale and his breathing had become strained. And even though Ron had given her what he thought had been a reassuring smile, Hermione couldn't help but worry about him.

It didn't help their situation very much that lying unmoving on the frozen ground in an icy winter night made all body heat slowly leave them. Their breath was forming little dusty clouds in the cold air and both had long ago given up any attempt to stop from shivering openly.

The two Death Eaters that held them captive had started arguing about what to do with them some minutes ago. The smaller of the two, the one who had kicked Ron, seemed to be far more impatient than his partner and was voting to get rid of their charges while the other one, who seemed to be in charge, kept on referring to the plan of keeping them and waiting for Harry to show up.

Ron was trying to listen to the conversation that was going on behind his back, but ever since that kick into his ribs he found it hard enough to concentrate on breathing alone.

But Ron didn't need to hear what exactly was going on behind his back to understand that he and Hermione were in problems.

They had been trapped, and now either they would be used to lure Harry out of the castle or the Death Eaters would get rid of them anyway.

With a huge physical effort, Ron lifted his head just high enough to see what Hermione across from him was doing. But she didn't even acknowledge his effort, instead her eyes seemed to be glued to a spot somewhere behind him, somewhere behind the two Death Eaters even.

But what confused Ron possibly most was that a small smile was tugging on the corners of Hermione's lips.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Hermes, we need more reinforcements. If we don't find a way to drive back those Dementors, then our Aurors won't stand a chance."

Hermes Wielding, Minister of Magic, sat in an armchair in front of the fireplace of his office, and currently he was looking at the deeply concerned face of Alastor 'Mad Eye' Moody that had appeared in his fireplace some minutes ago.

He knew that the situation in Hogwarts was dire, and the fact that Moody was concerned just confirmed his assumption. Moody was not the type of guy who made mountains out of molehills, if he was worried than there usually was a real reason to worry.

"Alastor, as much as I regret it, but the reserve units that have arrived recently is the utmost amount of Aurors that can be spared. I can't send you more men, I don't have the capacities and you know it."

Moody nodded gravely.

"I know that Hermes. And under normal circumstances those men would be more than enough to handle the Death Eaters we are facing here. But against those Dementors and werewolves together, that's a totally different thing. Whatever they have done with them, they have done it effectively. The Dementors seem to be starved from human emotions and the werewolves are just as vicious when it comes to attacking."

Hermes sighed. He knew that Moody was right, that their numbers were not enough to deal with everything that they confronted, but he also knew that it was impossible for him to send more men at the moment. He had talked to the Irish and French Ministers of Magic, but before they could send help it would take another two or three hours. And until then, his own men would have to face whatever they were facing alone. All the anger and frustration of the last couple of hours was now boiling openly inside of Wielding. He had not been Minister of Magic for very long, and even though he knew that in accepting this job he was taking one of the most unthankful positions in Britain's entire wizarding world, he had vowed to himself to do a good job at it. And now it all seemed to run out of his hands, he felt as if he was trying to hold onto liquid at which he could not get a hold at all.

"Then you have to think of a way to get rid of the Dementors and the werewolves! For Merlin's sake, you're the one who's always preaching that there is always a way to be found if you look in the right places, aren't you?"

Realizing that this was neither the right time, nor was Moody the right person to release his anger on, Wielding was about to apologize for his sudden outburst. But when he turned back, Moody's expression had changed and he was even smiling at him.

"Alastor?"

"Hermes, you're a genius, did you know that? I've got to go, I have an idea."

With these words, Mad Eye Moody broke the connection form the fireplace, leaving a very confused Minister of Magic behind. After some moments of recollection, Wielding shook his head, got up from his chair and left his office. He stopped three doors down the hallway, knocked and walked into the office of Arthur Weasley.

Arthur, who had been filing a large stack of papers as if in search for something specific, looked up.

"Hermes, is something wrong?"

Wielding sighed.

"Everything is wrong tonight, Arthur, everything. But things are getting worse. Tell me Arthur, do you know where my substitutes are at the moment?"

Arthur shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, as it is common in times of crisis, they're spread across our facilities so that in case something happens to you, the Ministry remains working under one of them. But you know that, why do you ask?"

Wielding stepped in front of the fireplace and grabbed the pot with floo powder.

"I'm asking because I'm planning to leave for Hogwarts. And I can only leave if I know that somebody is here in case I won't come back."

Arthur nodded and got up.

"I'll make sure Martin replaces you until you come back. Wait here for me, I'm coming with you."

Hermes' forehead frowned.

"Don't you have work here to do?"

Arthur just shook his head.

"No, not really. All I've been doing for the last couple of days is searching for any kind of clue as to where Charlie can be. I'm going mad in here, and if the situation at Hogwarts is as bad as I guess it is, I'd like to have an eye on my youngest son."

Wielding nodded and Arthur quickly left the room.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Harry had never heard Remus curse loudly before, but now he did. And it didn't surprise him that it was Sirius who provoked this reaction from the usually so self-restrained and polite man.

To be bluntly honest, Harry agreed that Sirius' idiocy this time had earned far more than just this string of colourful curses.

But now it was too late to discuss whether Sirius' plan was wise or not, because his godfather had already begun to set it into action.

Harry crept closer to Remus who sat in a tense crouch behind the greenhouses and looked out whether Padfoot's appearance would lure more Death Eaters out of the forest. Without turning his eyes from what was going on at the edge of the forest, Remus whispered towards Harry.

"No matter what happens, you stay hidden. Is that understood? In case something happens to Sirius and me, stay close to the castle walls and try to get back into the Great Hall as soon as possible. No matter what happens, you won't go out there, do you understand me?"

Harry nodded, then, realizing that Remus didn't look at him, swallowed and whispered 'yes' into the direction of his teacher and friend. Remus nodded, again without turning his head.

"Good."

With that, he suddenly jumped out of his crouch and vanished in the direction of the forest before Harry even realized what was going on.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Before Ron had much time to wonder what Hermione was looking at, a muffled cry followed by a loud swear from behind him drew his attention away. It sounded as if one of the Death Eaters had been thrown to the floor, but by what, Ron could not tell.

He tried to turn around so that he was able to see what was going on behind his back, but soon had to realize that the Full Body Bind as well as the pain in his ribs were far more than enough to hinder him.

Suddenly, a voice came from somewhere behind him and Ron sighed in relief when he recognized it.

"Stupefy!"

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

After leaving the castle, Snape and McGonagall hurried along the wall and into the direction of where the map had shown the position of Ron and Hermione. Both ran in silence and wasted no breath with talking. Occasionally, Snape would slow down before they reached a corner or McGonagall would stay a little behind to see if somebody was following them. Both knew that in case they were discovered and outnumbered, most likely they would not return to the castle alive.

This knowledge, added tot the fact that he was out here, trying to save the lives of two Gryffindors, made Snape even more grumpy than he usually was. And he didn't try anything to hide it.

"Rest assured Minerva, that as soon as we've returned Weasley and Granger to the castle, I'll take each and every single point from Gryffindor for those two brats pulling this stunt!"

Not even looking side wards at Snape, McGonagall replied.

"No Severus, you won't. There won't be any points left for you to take away after I have finished with them, that much I can guarantee."

Snape nodded grimly and both teachers continued their way along the walls.

They had left the battle behind themselves some time ago now, the moment they rounded the corner towards the forest, to be precise. So the sounds of the Aurors and Death Eaters cursing each other as well as the howling of the wolves had long ago faded.

In fact it was really quiet now, too quiet Snape realized with a start.

"Get down!"

As McGonagall didn't immediately react, Snape grabbed her by the sleeve of her robe and pulled her towards the ground with himself, hiding both their bodies behind a bush.

The curse that had been aimed at them missed McGonagall's head by mere inches and shot a notch into the wall behind her. When the dust had settled, McGonagall looked at Snape.

"We've been discovered." she whispered. Snape only nodded.

"We need to get somewhere safe as soon as possible. Follow me!"

Not giving her any time to protest, Snape jumped to his feet, shot a series of Stupefies, Full Body Binds and Disarming spells into the direction from which the curse had come and started running off into the opposite direction. It brought them farther away from the castle, but at the moment they didn't have much of a choice in that matter. First they needed to get rid of their attackers, then they could worry about getting back into the castle.

McGonagall quickly overcame her initial paralysis and mimicked Snape's actions. Both teachers raced across the plain ground with nothing to hide behind, and their initial curses had distracted the Death Eaters only for so long. Soon curses were thrown at them from behind, some of them only narrowly missing them. Ducking down as far as possible without slowing down their speed, the two tried to reach a place where they could hide.

"Keep running, Minerva!" Snape shouted, then spun around and tried to see where their pursuers were hiding. He saw one figure jumping into a crouch and without thinking shot a stunning curse and a full body bind at it. He didn't dare to wait and see whether he had hit target or not, instead he turned again and ran.

When Snape and McGonagall reached the temporary safety of the Quidditch stadium, Snape guided them into the shelter of one of the stands. Leaning back against the staircase, McGonagall allowed herself to sigh as she tried to get her breath back to a normal level.

"How many did you count, Severus?"

Snape next to her thought for a moment, his eyes never leaving the direction from which they had come, scanning the area for any sign that might give away their attackers.

Finally, he answered.

"I counted three, but during raids no Death Eater goes out without a partner. I guess we have two teams, meaning four of them, following us, unless one of them has already gone off to call for reinforcements"

McGonagall nodded.

"What do you suggest, Severus?"

Still not looking at her, Snape answered.

"We can't stay here. We need to get away, and we need to do so as long as there are only four of them out there. So it's either going out there now or climbing up the stand and then searching for a way from there."

"Then let's get out here now. If we climb the stairs there's no telling how we'll get down again. If the broom sheds are locked and we can't summon a broom we'll be stuck up there."

Snape nodded.

"Alright. I'll distract them while you make a go for the bushes at the castle wall. When you're there you're going to cover my retreat. Okay?"

Again, McGonagall nodded. They needed to get back into the safety of the castle, then they could search for another way to bring Ron and Hermione back.

She just hoped that they would manage to get back safely, in their blind flight some minutes ago they had not considered that the Quidditch stands they were hiding in was ideal for an ambush. Their attackers could easily hide in their backs, and then only sheer luck would bring them back into the castle alive and in one piece.

Snape's coal black eyes came to rest on Minerva for a short moment, then they darted back outside.

"One of them hides behind the Ravenclaw stands, another behind that tree on the left. I guess the other two are hiding somewhere behind us. I can take care of the two that I can see, but about the others I can't do very much from here. Duck down as far as possible, run as fast as you can, but don't go in a straight line. That would make you an easy target. Rely on your instincts, and try to get cover as fast as you can. Go now!"

With another nod, McGonagall shot a glance around and ran into the open.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Sirius knew that he would only waste his breath and some precious time if he tried to explain to Remus what he intended to do next. And not only did they not have any time to waste, in the worst case Remus would hinder him to do what he planned completely. Then they would be back to where they had started and Sirius really saw no need for that.

So he quickly changed into Padfoot and without waiting for Remus' and Harry's reaction started bouncing off towards the edge of the forest, carefully not aiming at the Death Eaters and Hermione directly, in case they got suspicious of him.

For a moment he thought he heard Remus curse very colourful behind him, but he pushed that thought away quickly. Though he knew that Remus wasn't always as polite and restrained as people pictured him, and though he knew that cursing was something Remus Lupin was actually capable of, no way would his old friend use those words, would he?

Sirius soon realized that he needn't have worried about the two Death Eaters becoming suspicious about him, those two were far too engaged in a discussion to even realize him at all. In his canine form, Sirius wasn't really able to smile, but inwardly smiling he did about this. It made things a lot easier for him.

As he carefully approached the two hooded figures, he realized that Ron was struggling to move into a sitting position and that Hermione was looking straight at him. Praying that she would not alert her guards to his presence and hoping that Remus was watching his back, ready to take over the second Death Eater in time, Sirius jumped off the ground and knocked the smaller man down with the impact of sixty pounds of angry dog. (*)

A muffled cry was all that followed the impact, and before the Death Eater knew what hit him - literally - Sirius had changed back into his own self and pointed his wand at the man.

"Stupefy!"

Because Remus was a werewolf, he had not been allowed to enter the Auror training at the Ministry and so Sirius had never been fighting a real battle at his friends side. Right now he once more thought how wrong the Ministry was with their prejudiced attitude, because with Remus at his side he needn't worry about somebody covering his back. Just when he had stunned the first Death Eater and turned around to look for the second, he realized that Remus had by now left the cover behind the greenhouses and stunned the other man from behind. With a court nod he expressed his thanks, especially for the fact that Remus seemed to save the lecture about his 'little plan' for sometime later.

"Harry?"

Remus gestured over his shoulder.

"Still where we left him. Bind those two and then go and fetch him, I'll look after Ron and Hermione."

Sirius nodded and started the task at hand.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Hermes Wielding and Arthur Weasley fell out of the fireplace of the Great Hall's antechamber shortly after Arthur had informed Wielding's substitute Martin Stetson about the Minister's departure. Quickly, they straightened their robes and opened the door that led them into the Great Hall. Whatever both had expected to see there, it was not this.

Having been Hogwarts students themselves, both Wielding and Arthur Weasley knew the Great Hall from uncountable occasions. End of the Year feasts, Start of Term feasts, Graduation, Valentine's Ball, the usual everyday breakfast, lunch and dinner. The room that greeted them now could not have looked more different from the room they remembered from their past.

The tables had been moved to the sides, and every square metre seemed to be covered with either beds or medical supplies. Madam Pomfrey and a large amount of Ministry medi-wizards were moving around, taking care of the more seriously wounded first because the number of the wounded was far too huge for them to take care of everybody at once.

Wielding breathed in sharply while Arthur let his eyes wander across the room in search of his son. He grew far more tense with every second during which he did see no trace of Ron at all in this busy and slightly disorganized buzz of people.

Suddenly, a voice from their right side made them turn their heads.

"Hermes, Arthur. What made you come here?"

Turning around, they saw Dumbledore approaching them. Though his voice sounded warm, there was no smile on his face and his eyes seemed to be sadder than usual. Wielding greeted him with a handshake.

"Albus. I've been talking to Alastor, and what he told me made me feel quite uncomfortable. So I decided to come here and have a look at it myself. Where is Alastor, by the way?"

Dumbledore shrugged his shoulders.

"After he talked to you, he said something about having an idea, and then he vanished with some of the Aurors and Professor Flitwick. He said he would be back in a couple of minutes, he first wanted to go through his plan with them."

Wielding nodded.

"Very well. Let's just hope that Alastor finds a way to help us this time as well, like he has already done before. How about I update you on the latest events in the meantime?"

Wielding nodded and followed Dumbledore towards a table on the wall where he and two Ministry members had been discussing something when they had arrived. Arthur Weasley glanced around the Great Hall quite uneasily.

"Albus? Where is Ron?"

Dumbledore sighed.

"Maybe you should sit down Arthur. This might come as a bit of a shock."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

"Ron, are you alright?"

Ron couldn't help but smile when he heard Remus' concerned voice. He still didn't know what exactly had happened, but for now it was enough for him to know that the two Death Eaters had been knocked out and Hermione and he were in safety.

"Finite Incarnatem."

Ron felt the Full Body Bind being removed, but previous experience had taught him that maybe it was wise not to move around too much. Hermione immediately got to her knees and bent over him, as did Remus. Both looked at him concernedly.

Ron sighed.

"Professor Lupin, I'm fine, really. But you should maybe check on Hermione, that Death Eater has not been very kind and she's been yanked and pushed around a lot. Not to mention being thrown on the ground."

Hermione shook her head.

"I'm perfectly alright. You're the one who got kicked!"

Remus had to smile at their antics. It was good that some things didn't change, no matter what the situation was. Ron and Hermione's constant bickering seemed to be one of those things.

"Hermione, we saw quite clearly what happened here, so don't worry. I'll have a look at Ron right now.

Sirius, are you finished with those two?"

He called the last part over his shoulder without really looking back. Sirius had just finished binding the two stunned Death Eaters with a variety of binding charms that would have made Professor Flitwick squeal in delight.

"If somebody wants to get those two free, he'll have to spend at least half an hour with it. And I don't think that somebody considers them to be worth that trouble. I'm going to get Harry now."

Remus nodded and Sirius sped off towards the spot where they had left his godson, hoping that at least this time the boy had kept his wits and had stayed there just as they had told him.

Remus meanwhile turned his attention back to Ron.

"Does anything hurt, Ron?"

Ron quickly shook his head.

"I'm fine. Really, it's nothing."

Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yes? Nothing?"

He poked Ron into the side. He didn't poke very hard, but Ron nevertheless flinched immediately.

"I don't think so, Ron. Now tell me, where exactly does it hurt?"

Ron sighed.

"My left side, where that bloody idiot kicked me."

Remus nodded thoughtfully.

"Does it hurt when you're breathing?"

"Only when I breathe in too deeply. Or when I laugh", he added with a grim smile on his face.

Remus smiled genuinely, then turned Ron around so that he was lying flat on his back.

"This might hurt a little, tell me if it does."

Ron nodded and drew in a sharp intake of breath as soon as Remus' fingers came in contact with his wounded side.

"That did hurt."

Remus only nodded, then pressed a little lower at Ron's torso.

"Does that hurt too?"

Ron shook his head.
"Not as much as the time before."

Remus nodded, then pressed more towards the shoulder.

"That?"

Again, Ron shook his head. Remus sighed.

"Okay. As far as I can see this, you have one broken rib. I can't mend bones half as good as Madam Pomfrey can, and under normal circumstances I'd tell you to wait until we're back in the castle, but right now I think it's wisest to mend the rib right now. You might need your breath later on, we're not back inside yet."

Ron nodded, and Remus quickly pulled out his wand and spoke a couple of healing charms while waving it over Ron's broken rib. When he pressed onto Ron's chest again, Ron only felt a slight twinge. He nodded at Remus, who helped him into a sitting position.

"Thanks. That's a lot better. And what do we do now?"

Remus glanced around. It was dark around them, but he could see two figures moving towards them. So Sirius had found Harry.

Remus helped Ron to his feet, then urged him and Hermione to walk further towards the forest.

"First we try to get out of sight. And as soon as Sirius and Harry are here, we'll think of something."

Ron and Hermione nodded, and together the three made their way towards the cover of the trees.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Minerva McGonagall ran faster than she could remember to have run ever before in her life. Behind her, she could hear Snape shout deflecting, stunning and disarming spells into the direction of the hidden Death Eaters, but of course he could not cover her flight entirely. At first she had not really known what Snape meant when he told her to rely on her instincts, but soon she found out. Without really knowing why, she felt that something was coming at her and quickly jumped to the side. Looking up, she saw the trace of a curse shooting past her. Quickly she balanced herself again and continued running, not really wanting to think what kind of curse that might have been. Knowing the Death Eaters, it most probably would not have merely stunned her but done far worse damage. Now relying fully on her instincts and the faint sounds of incarnations that the chill night air carried towards her, McGonagall ran a dead race towards the safety of the castle walls and the bushes in front of it.

One of the Death Eaters must have been hiding himself behind the stand where Snape and McGonagall had taken refuge, and as soon as McGonagall had started running towards the castle, he had begun to shout curse after curse towards her. Snape couldn't help her with this Death Eater, he was in the back of the Potions master and attacking him would mean leaving the safety of his own cover.

The castle wall was close, McGonagall only had to cover a couple of metres until she could hide herself in its shadows. Then she heard it and everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

"Avada..."

"Minerva!"

"...Kedavra!"

Snape's warning came just in time and without really thinking about it McGonagall dived down and threw herself on the ground. She felt the curse shooting over her, meeting nothing but air where just seconds ago her head had been. Then the wall in front of her burst into a green explosion and McGonagall quickly raised her hands to cover her eyes from the debris that started to fall all around her.

Instinctively, she crawled towards the side, so that no curse aimed at her position would be able to hit her.

The curse had not been strong enough to really damage the castle wall, but it had hit a larger hole into it and fist-sized pieces of rock had rained down all around McGonagall's body. While she was still searching for an explanation as to how she had managed to get through this without being hit by any of the curses, she suddenly remembered Snape and that he was still hiding in the Quidditch stand.

Quickly, McGonagall rose to her feet and moved a couple of metres to the side.

"Severus, NOW!"

Knowing that she needed to cover Snape's retreat McGonagall suddenly realized that she had absolutely no idea where Snape was running along. If she accidentally hit him with one of the curses meant to help him...she didn't really want to think about it.

"Severus, I need to know where you are!"

Until she knew that, McGonagall couldn't do but shoot curses into the direction where she guessed the Death Eaters were without really aiming them. She was too afraid that she would hit Snape instead. Suddenly, she saw a small light moving towards her in zigzags. Snape had lit his wand!

With a relieved sigh, McGonagall now aimed closely at the remaining Death Eaters. Only two of them were still shooting curses at them, so either the other two had already been hit by one of their counter curses, or they had gone off in search for help. McGonagall didn't really want to think about it, if those two had really gone for help than their situation would soon become even worse.

"Stupefy!"

Just as she shouted this stunning spell into the distance, she heard and felt Snape jump next to her into safety. McGonagall gave him some moments to regain his breath before she addressed him.

"What do we do now?", she whispered.

Snape next to her was still panting, but after some moments he managed to reply.

"I think I stunned one, and you another. That means there are still two of them looking for us. I don't think that we'll be able to get anywhere until we've done something about them."

McGonagall nodded, then thought for a moment. They needed to get hold of the two remaining Death Eaters, and they needed to do that at a minimum personal risk. Suddenly, a thought struck her.

"Severus, could you lend me a hand? I think I have an idea."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Arthur sat back and buried his face in his hands. Dumbledore had just finished telling him that his youngest son was somewhere out of the safety and protection the castle provided, and he didn't like hearing this at all.

"Do you know where exactly Ron is?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"He and Hermione were at the greenhouses when we sent out the search parties. We have a map that shows the location of everybody on the castle grounds, but at the moment Alastor has it. As soon as he's back we'll check on them again, I'm sure either Sirius and Remus or Severus and Minerva have found them by now."

Arthur nodded and sat back in his chair, though what Dumbledore had told him didn't really calm him down at all. He'd be relieved only when all this was over with minimal losses and his son was back inside the castle where he belonged. And then he'd give Ron a little piece of his mind about running off alone, no doubt about that. And the boy should only wait until Molly would hear about this...Arthur sighed. He only hoped that his son would still be alive when all this was over, the possible loss of Charlie was already weighing heavily on their family, he really didn't need something else like that.

Arthur was pulled out of his thought when Alastor Moody crossed the temporary infirmary and walked straight towards Dumbledore and the others. If Moody was surprised by the presence of Hermes Wielding, he didn't really show it.

Dumbledore looked up expectantly and Moody gave him an encouraging smile.

"I think we have found a way to get rid of those Dementors."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"How?"

A smile began to play at the corners of Moody's lips.

"Well, actually it was Hermes who brought me on it when he reminded me that there is always a way to be found when you look at the most obvious places. Single Patroni aren't of any use here, we've realized that during the last hours. So I've had a little chat with Fillius here", he gestured at Professor Flitwick who was standing next to him, "and we've come up with a plan. In a couple of minutes, we'll get out there, re-organize our groups and cast the Patronus charm all at once. Fillius will add a little charm of his own and if it works - of which we are nearly convinced - then we'll have created a really large, really powerful wall of joint Patroni. That should drive those Dementors back for quite a while, if not for good."

Dumbledore looked up and some of the sparkle seemed to have returned to his blue eyes.

"It could work. No, now that I think of it, it should work. Do it just like you just said you would, I think we have a very good chance here. And then it might be easier to deal with those Death Eaters and the werewolves."

"Actually Albus, we also have an idea concerning the werewolves."

Dumbledore was clearly taken aback. Not that he had ever doubted Mad Eye Moody's ability to come up with plans that could save the day, but if he had also found a way to deal with the werewolves, then for the first time that night they would really stand a chance against Voldemort. That is, if they found Harry in time...

"What plan?"

"Well, the only problem is that Remus is still walking around out there, not knowing what we'll do. But I just hope that he'll realize in time if he encounters the Aurors later on. Albus, how much silver do you think could the house elfs organize in, let's say ten minutes?"

While the other men were putting all their effort into Moody's plans, Arthur took the piece of parchment from the old Auror's hand. He had guessed that this was the map Dumbledore had talked about, and when he spread it on the nearby table he found his suggestion confirmed.

At first all the moving dots and names confused Arthur without ends, but then he remembered Dumbledore talking about the greenhouses, and truly he discovered the name of his son moving towards the edge of the forest near them. He sighed in relief when he saw the names of those accompanying his son: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. So there might be some hope left after all.