Harry Potter and the Angel of Justice

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Two Fronts of the War

Link to the chapter illustration (copy and paste):

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Tuesday morning after breakfast, Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Ron walked out of the castle and onto the front lawn. It was a beautiful June morning that was quickly growing warm. Birds sang and flew from tree to tree. Their songs relaxed Harry as he strolled across the lawn. His sharp eyes picked out two objects flying toward Hogwarts over the Forbidden Forest; they were rapidly getting closer, and they were most certainly not birds.

"Are those people on broomsticks?" Harry pointed into the air.

"Yeah, and I'd swear that one on the left is Charlie," responded Ron.

"And the other one looks like either Steele or Fleur," said Ginny.

The two broom riders landed near Hagrid's hut and dismounted. Hagrid and Mars walked out from behind the hut to greet them.

"They look agitated. Something must be happening," said Hermione.

Harry did not want to be left out of the loop. He started running towards the hut, motioning the others to follow. When Harry came within hearing range, Steele was speaking.

"... many hundreds of trolls, around three score giants, thirty or so Donnies, and about three times that many thralls."

"What's a thrall?" Harry asked Steele as he skidded up to her, panting.

"A victim of the Imperius Curse," answered Steele, who didn't seem in the least bothered by the sudden arrival of the four students.

"And the dragons?" Mars asked Steele.

"Dragons?" Hermione and Ron whispered to each other anxiously.

"All ten are miles away, still chasing the thestrals we doused in pheromones," replied Charlie with satisfaction.

"His plan worked beautifully, Angel," added Steele, flashing Charlie a smile.

"Any sign of Riddle?" asked Mars. Steele and Charlie shook their heads.

"Do we know what part of the forest they'll enter first?" asked Mars.

"Not yet, but we should within twenty minutes," said Charlie.

"You've done well; we - hold on a minute." Mars' eyes took on the faraway look Harry had seen in them before. "Yes--yes, they are gathering. The cease fire expires in two hours, and as we expected, the Committee is marshaling its forces around the Ministry. It will be a large and open battle. I simply have no idea how we're going to hide all this from the muggles. Henri and his troops are at the front lines with the remaining aurors, and Bill and Fleur are with the Minister," said Mars.

"Is Fudge holding up?" asked Charlie.

"Bill seems to think so," Mars replied. His eyes focused again as he turned to face Hagrid. "I think you should start, my old friend." Mars' voice had an odd tone that Harry could not pin down. He stared at Mars' face, hoping one of his weird recent insights would occur, but nothing extraordinary was visible. He did note that Mars looked even worse than he had on Friday.

"Yeah, it's finally begun," said Hagrid. "Never reckon'd I'd be at the center of the biggest battle o' the century." He shook Mars' outstretched hand, said goodbye, and strode into the forest, with Fang following behind.

"Biggest battle of the century? The war, total war, it's starting today?" Hermione shivered.

"Yes, Hermione, it starts--and hopefully ends--today," pronounced Mars. "It will probably be the bloodiest day in a thousand years." For a moment his look of confidence faded again as he clenched his muscles painfully and trembled. Steele and Charlie glanced anxiously at each other and then at Mars.

"How could a war of this magnitude be won in a day?" asked Harry.

"Both sides have deployed all of their forces for the two battles," Steele explained. "There are no reserves. Each victory today will be decisive, Harry."

"That's the plan, anyway," Mars smiled weakly.

"They're reporting," said Steele, grabbing one of the talismans on her front. "The scouts say the army will enter at the middle of the forest's edge."

"Very well, tell the scouts to inform Hagrid and Magorian, and then they are all to leave for the Ministry immediately," said Mars.

"That is not what we agreed upon," objected Steele. "That leaves you only your honor guard, plus Charlie and I."

"I am well aware of which forces will be at Hogwarts. The battle plan is not something that is agreed upon, Commander; it is what I decide. Now, carry out your order," directed Mars.

Steele slapped her feet together, stood perfectly straight, nodded her head sharply, and snapped, "As you demand!" She relayed his orders to the scouts.

Mars turned to Charlie. "Charlie, round up the honor guard and have them wait at the front doors." Charlie nodded and took off on his broom.

"Sonarus!" said Mars, holding his wand to his throat. His voice was broadcast across the school grounds. "Attention students and staff, this is an emergency. All students report to the Great Hall immediately. Once there, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors are to locate Professor Flitwick and follow his instructions. Slytherins and Hufflepuffs will do the same with Professor Sprout. Remaining staff members will report to the staffroom. There can be no exceptions to this order." Mars lowered his wand.

"Supreme Commander," said Steele stiffly. "Shall I wait with the honor guard at the front doors for you?" Her face was flushed with anger.

"Yes, Sally," replied Mars in a friendlier tone. Steele, however, was not mollified; she turned sharply and marched coldly toward the front doors.

Harry looked around at his friends. Their faces reflected his own feelings. He had no idea what to do or expect. He felt powerless and completely swept up in the situation. Total war was about to break out all around him - what part would he play?

Now facing the castle, Mars waved his wand around and jabbed it at the school. A loud humming noise came from everywhere and nowhere. A moment later, an enormous symbol of the Gryffindor lion appeared in the air above the school - it was half as wide as the castle itself. Harry and the others gaped at it as it spun several times. It was then replaced by an equally large rotating Ravenclaw eagle symbol. The Slytherin symbol then appeared, followed by the Hufflepuff symbol. When the last symbol vanished, there was a loud series of grinding noises, followed by the sounds of locks being locked, gates being closed, latches being latched, and great gears being turned, as if a enormous war machine was being fired up after centuries of non-use. There was one last very loud click, and then silence.

Mars swayed a bit as he lowered his wand. Apparently the spell had taken a lot out of him. "C'mon," he said, and inhaled deeply. "We need to go inside and speak with the staff."

"What kind of spell was that?" asked Harry.

"I merely cast an activation spell, Harry. The real work for the enchantment was done by the Hogwarts Four when they founded the school. All of Hogwarts' defenses are now locked and loaded. The castle will now defend itself against any invaders," answered Mars.

"Defenses?" thought Harry. "Why didn't Dumbledore activate them when everyone thought Sirius was trying to kill me?" He shook his head and followed Mars toward the castle.

Normally Harry had to jog to keep up with Mars' long strides, but he found himself actually having to slow his gait to match Mars' unsteady steps. Harry saw Steele alone at the top of the steps near the front doors; she did not look at them as they approached. Ginny broke away from Harry as they neared Steele, ran ahead to the Defender and threw her arms around the tall woman's mid-section. Steele returned the embrace and kissed Ginny gently on the forehead. They whispered a few words to each other as Harry's group passed, but Steele steadfastly avoided Mars' eyes. Ginny ran to rejoin them at the center of the Entrance Hall.

Mars sighed and stopped. "I should have known," he said.

"Known what?" asked Harry.

"That there are three first years in this school that think they are clever enough to avoid my detection, even though I just activated hundreds of sensor charms."

"Let me guess," said Hermione. "It's Heather, Mary, and Mark, isn't it?"

Mars nodded. "Ron and Ginny," he turned to them, "please go get them, chew them out good, and drag them by the ears to Ravenclaw Tower. Don't touch the entrance; just call through it to Professor Flitwick. I'll let him know you're coming. Afterwards, wait outside the staffroom."

"Where are they?" Ginny asked.

"Second Floor girls' bathroom. I guess they went there because it's always out of order because of -" answered Mars.

"Moaning Myrtle," finished Harry, Ron and Hermione together.

Mars smiled at them. "Well, get going then," he told the Weasleys.

"But I don't know the path to Ravenclaw Tower," said Ron.

"I do. C'mon then," said Ginny, grabbing her brother's hand and dragging him toward the nearest staircase.

Harry, Hermione and Mars continued to the staffroom. Mars bid them to wait outside for Ron and Ginny; he went in alone. The Weasleys showed up after a few minutes, looking irritated.

"Hermione, I agree with you now about those three little snot-rags," said Ron hotly.

"You mean they resisted you?" asked Hermione disbelievingly.

"I had to pull my wand on the girls, and Evans forced Ron to stun him," answered Ginny with equal annoyance.

"Just what do you teach them in that class of yours, Harry?" demanded Ron.

Harry shrugged and said, "They're some of my better students; in fact, Mary is the best. None of them cause me any trouble."

The three prefects were glaring at Harry when the staff room door swung quickly open and Snape stormed out, followed by McGonagall and the Astronomy teacher, Sinistra.

Snape saw the four students by the door and sneered at them viciously. "Oh, yes, I can see just how safe that mercenary is keeping the students," he barked as he hurried past. McGonagall eyed each of them carefully as she passed silently, but Professor Sinistra was in hysterics.

"Why would he do this to me?" she wailed. "He was one of my favorite students!" Sinistra put her hand on Harry's shoulder. "Haven't I always been a good and fair teacher, dear?"

Nervously, Harry nodded. "'Course you have."

"Then ask him why he hates me so!" she demanded, pointing at the staffroom. She walked away, sobbing into a handkerchief.

Harry and his friends looked at each other in confusion and waited impatiently for Mars. A few minutes later, the rest of the professors spilled out of the room, led by Professor Vectra, who was hurrying the others along to Dumbledore's office. Finally, Mars opened the door and started out, but a familiar voice rang out from the room behind him.

"Mars! Are you there? Mars, I need to speak with you urgently."

Mars raised his eyebrows as he turned and answered, "Yes, Minister, what's wrong?" The door closed behind him as he returned to the staffroom.

"Is Fudge in there?" Ron asked the others.

"I doubt it. He's probably speaking through the fireplace," answered Hermione.

"He sounded very desperate," added Harry.

Two minutes later, Mars reemerged and bid them to follow him quickly to the front doors. Mars forced a quick pace and was soon breathing heavily.

Ginny asked Mars, deeply concerned, "What did Minister Fudge want?"

"More troops," he panted.

"But - but you only have your honor guard, plus Charlie and Steele," said Harry.

"I know," said Mars. He inhaled deeply. "That's what I told him."

By the time they reached the front doors, Mars had to bend over and lean on the handles to catch his breath. They had not walked very fast or gone far at all; Harry was really worried. After a moment, Mars pulled a potion Harry didn't recognize from his pouch and drank it in one gulp. Hermione must have recognized it; she opened her mouth and pointed at it, but stopped herself.

Mars looked better immediately. He stood up straight, and handed the empty bottle to Hermione. "Please vanish that for me, quickly."

Hermione took out her wand and vanished the bottle. Mars opened one of the large front doors and stepped outside. Harry started to follow, but Hermione grabbed his arm.

"That was a stim potion," she hissed. "It will keep him on his feet for about half an hour."

Harry nodded.

"That's not all," Hermione continued. "Stim potions are very dangerous; they can cause internal damage, and they're illegal."

"Keep up, you four!" They jumped, and followed Mars onto the landing at the top of the steps. On the landing were eight very intimidating Spirit Defenders, lined up in two rows of four, as well as Charlie and Steele. The Defenders gave the students lethal looking stares from either side. Harry felt quite uncomfortable; he was relieved when he and his friends had passed that gauntlet and reached Mars' far side, so that the red wizard was between them and the Defenders. Charlie walked up to Mars, but Steele stayed where she was, still determinedly avoiding Mars' eyes.

"Why are they still with you, Mars?" asked Charlie, pointing at Harry and his friends.

"I'm changing your deployment," Mars answered.

This got Steele's attention. She uncrossed her arms and joined Charlie and Mars.

"The Ministry has just suffered many defections and needs reinforcements. You ten," said Mars, with a sweeping gesture that included the two lines of defenders, Charlie, and Steele, "are to proceed there immediately and ask Bill where you're needed most. Sally will assume command over all Defenders from Henri once she arrives."

Ginny and Hermione exchanged frightened looks. Charlie and the Defenders looked bewildered by the order; Steele stepped away from Mars and stared at him in disbelief.

"Have you idiots gone deaf? Get moving before I cut you all up for fire crab bait!" Mars shouted.

The honor guard all jumped, shouted "As you demand!" and ran down the steps toward the front gates.

"Mars, you can't be serious about sending us all away?" asked Charlie.

"As a heart attack, old friend. Bill and Fleur need your help more than I do."

"You are afflicted!" shrieked Steele. She moved in front of Mars and stared straight into his sullen eyes. "You are so weak you can only walk by taking stim potions! And now your mind seems as broken as your body; yet you still refuse to tell me what's wrong with you." Her fists shook with rage.

"Are you defying my command?" asked Mars sternly.

Steele looked momentarily stunned at Mars' callousness; then her face reddened with anger. "As a Defender, no; as your half-sister, yes! If you try to pull rank on me again, I will resign in a heartbeat. You'll have to kill me before I'll leave your side again, Angel. You are in no condition to fight, much less on your own."

Steele's face softened and Harry saw great worry shining through her eyes. She seemed convinced that her cousin was going to meet his death. Harry was certain that Mars could read her thoughts and emotions exactly as Harry did.

"Sally, are you actually concerned about my welfare?" asked Mars softly. There was no sarcasm in his voice, just genuine surprise.

Steele's right arm lashed out with lightning speed; her open hand caught Mars across the face. He staggered from the blow, and would have fallen if Harry and Ron had not caught him.

"How can you say such a thing?" demanded Steele, uncharacteristic tears running down her face. "I have loved you since we were old enough to recognize each other. How can you not know?"

"Sally, you misunderstand me," answered Mars, rubbing his face. "I didn't question your caring, but your worry. Never before have you doubted my ability. I ask you, dear cousin, when have I ever lost a fight?"

Steele stared into his eyes for a few seconds and seemed to gather strength from them. She put her arms gently around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.

"I don't know why you put so many resources into saving a Ministry that has tried to murder you, Angel, but on your order I will defend it."

Steele let go of him and asked Charlie if he was ready. Charlie hugged Mars, Ginny, and Ron, and then left with Steele for the front gates.

Mars reached into his pouch, withdrew another stim potion, and started to drink it.

"Mars, you can't keep using those! They'll kill you," said Hermione frantically.

Mars finished the draught and handed the bottle to Ron to vanish. He said, "Don't fret, Hermione, it's just for a little while longer. Quickly, we must get to the north tower."

Mars could move much more quickly under the effects of the stim potion; soon they approached a door in the North Tower with many markings covering it from top to bottom. It hummed with magical energy.

"That's just like the Ravenclaw entrance," exclaimed Ron.

"Well, it's similar, Ron. Make sure that you never touch a door like this unless you know you're allowed to enter it, like my office, or if it's one you can decipher. They are very dangerous," explained Mars. He moved his hand through a few deliberate motions in front of the door before placing a finger on a mark near the center. The door swung silently inward and Mars led them inside. The room's furnishings were sparse: six chairs, a table, and an oddly placed sink. The most prominent feature of the room was a large window on the eastern wall that commanded a fantastic view of the Forbidden Forest.

When they were inside, Mars spoke. "Do not open this door for anyone. Only Sally, Bill and I can read the entry sequence, and other than Tom Riddle himself, only Professor Dumbledore has the power to force it open. No one else has any business coming to get you."

"Dumbledore? Does that mean he's escaped?" asked Hermione.

"He will soon, Hermione; I doubt his captors can hold him much longer. This very day, he will return to Hogwarts, and you all shall celebrate the victory together," answered Mars.

"Have you seen this? Are you sure?" asked Harry.

"Positive, Harry."

This raised Harry's spirits; with Dumbledore back, he was confident Hogwarts could be defended against anything.

Mars looked at Harry. "I'm leaving now to join Hagrid in the forest." Harry nodded at him. "Harry, I don't know how long you'll be stuck up here, but you'll know when your time has arrived." He then looked at the other three teenagers. "I expect all of you to perform admirably today; you're my apprentices, after all. Don't embarrass me now," Mars smiled.

"We won't," Harry, Ron, and Ginny replied, choking.

*CRACK*

Mars was gone; and the wait began.

Hermione sat down in one of the chairs and stared at the walls, lost in thought. Ron alternated between sitting next to her and pacing in a square around the room. Harry and Ginny leaned on the windowsill, staring out onto the Forbidden Forest, straining their eyes for some sign of the battle they knew was brewing there.

At intervals, a loud noise came from the forest--often an explosion, sometimes a yell or a roar. Each noise brought Ron running to the window to join Harry and Ginny in scanning the trees for its source. A few times, Harry saw something black skimming the treetops. He couldn't be sure, but he thought it was either a thestral or a dementor.

"Harry," said Ginny, during a particularly extended silent period. "Do you think we'll get out of this all right? At first I felt very confident and brave; I was ready to fulfill my part in this; but all this waiting is letting doubt creep in. Was there a mistake? Am I the wrong person to be with you now, on the day Voldemort comes for you?"

"What do you mean, wrong person?" asked Harry.

"When Mars started training us, Harry, he told us that the time would come when he couldn't be there for you. That we were being taught to help and protect you through your coming ordeal. There were times that he made it sound like you were going to be the one who defeated Voldemort, and not he or Dumbledore. I didn't really know what to think about that, but it didn't matter. I put everything into those lessons, Harry; my marks in Herbology and History of Magic suffered, but I had to make sure I was ready. I wanted to be able to protect you, and--and make you proud of me," said Ginny. She turned her head from Harry and looked back into the forest.

Harry was taken aback. He stammered, "Ginny, I'm already -"

"But now," Ginny interrupted, "I realize that I jumped at the opportunity because of emotional reasons and not logical ones. I worry that it should be Fleur or Steele here with you. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a battle-tested witch at your side rather than a fifteen-year-old girl?"

Before Harry could think of an answer, a terrible crashing--the loudest noise yet--rang out of the forest. Harry and Ginny looked out the window and saw two giants emerging from the trees, knocking some of the smaller trees aside as they hurried into the clear. The shorter giant was bald and had a head shaped like a lumpy boulder. The other giant was considerably taller--it towered over the other by at least seven feet--and had matted, shoulder-length black hair. It appeared to be female.

The giants covered ground very quickly as they ran north along the edge of the forest. As they passed closest to the window from which Harry was watching, Hermione said, "That's Grawp, isn't it?" She and Ron were now standing beside him at the window.

"Yeah," Harry replied. "I wonder who the female is; she's enormous."

"I'd say," choked out Ron. "I've never seen a giant before. Blimey, she's taller than Mars standing on Hagrid's shoulders."

Twelve trolls, a witch, and a wizard came out of the forest to the north of the giants. Apparently they heard the thundering footsteps of the approaching giants, because they immediately turned to face them. The female giant let out a ferocious roar and leaped into the trolls, scattering them like bowling pins. One of the flying trolls knocked down the wizard, but the witch managed to get a spell off at Grawp. "Avada Kedavra!" she cried, and a green flash hit Grawp in the shoulder.

Grawp's shoulder flinched as though hit by a large club; he roared in anger, but did not drop as Harry had expected. He took another step, snatched the terrified-looking witch off the ground, and threw her against a nearby oak tree. Meanwhile, the giantess stepped on the wizard as he tried to rise, crushing him to the ground, and then easily chased down the remaining three trolls. After finishing off the trolls, the giantess returned to Grawp, who was favoring his shoulder where the curse had hit him. The female giant looked at Grawp's shoulder for a while, poking it a few times with apparent concern. Grawp moved his arm around a bit; when it seemed that he had full movement, the two ran back into the forest.

"Look at the trees!" yelled Ron, pointing deeper into the forest. Looking where Ron was pointing, Harry saw scores of trees thrashing their limbs violently about. Red and green flashes of light could be seen through the foliage in that area. They heard cries, roars and explosions. Several extremely bright flashes of light were followed by loud cracking noises; gray smoke drifted up into the sky.

Most of the activity they could see seemed to be centered in that part of the deep forest, but more than once a few trolls, wizards, or giants would slip out of the edge of the forest. Each time, they were cut off by either Grawp and the giantess, or by a group of ten draft-horse-sized spiders. These were undoubtedly Acromantulas from the colony in the forest. They were the spawn of Aragog, an elephant-sized specimen whom Hagrid had hatched while he was a student at Hogwarts; the spider colony had remained on friendly terms with the gentle giant.

After several hours, the noises and movement in the center of the forest died down quite a bit. The four teenagers could then hear shouting and crashing noises from behind them, inside the castle, in the floors below.

"Does that mean they've made it to the castle?" asked Hermione nervously.

"Not from this way they haven't," said Harry. "None of the lot has lasted thirty feet once they set foot outside the forest."

"Maybe they came from the front entrance?" suggested Ron.

"But if everyone's locked away in the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff common rooms or Dumbledore's office, then who's fighting the Death Eaters downstairs?" asked Ginny.

"The castle itself," said Hermione. "All of its defenses have been activated, remember?"

"But what does that mean? That the Bloody Baron and Moaning Myrtle are trying to scare the Death Eaters into running away from Hogwarts?" asked Ron.

"Well, I can't know for sure, but I would think that if you were an invader, the doors would resist opening, the staircases would try to lead you in circles, the carpet would try to trip you, and maybe even the suits of armor would attack you," answered Hermione.

"Look, it's Hagrid!" exclaimed Ginny, pointing at the ground. Harry, Ron and Hermione quickly followed her pointing finger. Hagrid and five centaurs were prowling in the clearing near the tree line. Hagrid had his crossbow out and loaded; each centaur carried a composite bow. As with the giants, they seemed to anticipate that a group of enemies was about to burst from the forest; they all raised their weapons and aimed ahead. Seconds later, a group of thirty or more trolls ran out of the forest, straight into the fire of arrows.

The trolls wheeled around and charged Hagrid's group. The centaurs loosed another volley of arrows, dropping more trolls. By the time the trolls reached the archers, only five were still alive. Hagrid smote the first troll stupid enough to get within range, sending the beast flying off to the side. The centaurs all had short spears readied and attacked the trolls hand to hand. Hagrid made short work of the remaining trolls, who were unable to simultaneously avoid his enormous fists and the spears of the centaurs.

Harry stared more closely at Hagrid. "That looks like blood on his shoulder; do you think Hagrid's hurt?" he asked.

"He seems to be moving okay, I hope it's nothing serious - oh my," said Hermione, as Mars apparated in front of one of the centaurs.

"That's Magorian he's talking to, I think," said Ron. Harry agreed.

Mars spoke with the group and walked around, pointing and gesturing. He was moving better than he had in weeks. "I wonder how many stim potions he took to be able to move that well?" asked Hermione, very concerned.

Suddenly, all of the centaurs except Magorian took flight into the forest at top speed. "Why did they take off like that?" asked Ginny.

Magorian was now pointing up into the sky. Harry craned his head upward to see what the centaur had spotted, when he heard a terrifying roar--so horrible that it made the snarling of the barghest seem no worse than the mew of one of Mrs Figg's cats. A roar so loud and penetrating that his internal organs shook and pushed a great lump up his throat. He forced his eyes to continue upward until he saw something flying in the air.

Fear struck Harry's brain like a bat hits a bludger. A cold numbness crept down Harry's front and into his legs, rooting him to the spot. His hands gripped the stone window sill so tightly he thought his fingertips had burrowed an inch into it. He was positive that this was his last minute on Earth - he knew he was about to die.

An enormous monster was flying at him from over the Forbidden Forest. It had the head and body of a lion, giant feathered wings, and a very long serpent for a tail. It roared again, and fire belched from its mouth, shooting out for many feet as it flew closer.

Ginny and Hermione shrieked in utter terror and ran away from the window. Harry felt Ron bump into him and then slide down in a dead faint. Harry couldn't move anything but his gaze, which he flashed down to Hagrid and Mars.

Hagrid and Magorian were standing in front of Mars. Mars had one hand up, palm out, and the other jabbed at the forest. They protested and then went grudgingly into the trees. Mars drew his wand and walked toward the middle of the clearing.

The chimera roared again. Harry could just barely see it making an awkward turn near the Astronomy Tower. The girls whimpered from somewhere behind him, and Ron still lay immobile at his feet. Just as the chimera was at the apex of its turn, Mars shouted, "Displacio!"

Millions of tiny red orbs shot of his wand. They were tightly packed together into a thick cord that lashed out and struck the chimera in the breast. Professor McGonagall had told Harry that the Displacement Charm of a powerful wizard like Dumbledore or Mars could rip a muggle building the size of Hogwarts Castle out of the ground and throw it into the lake. Mars' charm, however, barely knocked the chimera off course.

The course change, however, was enough to send the clumsy flying beast crashing into the battlements of the Astronomy Tower. Harry watched it skid through the area where he made his celestial observations and disappear out of sight. Several seconds later Harry heard a loud thud - the chimera had evidently fallen off the highest tower at Hogwarts.

With the chimera out of sight, Harry found that he could move again. He gingerly released his white-knuckled grip on the window sill and turned to look for Hermione and Ginny. They were huddled together in a corner, gripping each other tightly, shaking in terror. He staggered over to them as quickly as he could force his numb legs to move.

Harry reached down, put one hand on Ginny's shoulder, and raised her head with the other until she was looking into his eyes.

"Ginny," he said. "It's dead. There's no reason to fear."

He then felt her fear - felt the impending sense of doom that dominated her thoughts. Harry could see there was no hope left in her, only sadness. She feared that she had failed, failed to protect. Protect whom? Himself - protect Harry Potter!

Her fears swirled around in his mind. He was scared at first, but then he thought, "The chimera's dead, it dropped three hundred feet." The fear melted away. Harry snapped out of his trance and shook his head. He felt guilty for his unexpected invasion of Ginny's inner thoughts.

"Harry, I feel much better now. What did you do?" said Ginny, pulling herself up with Harry's help.

"I'm not sure," he answered truthfully, and then reached down to Hermione.

He tried to reach Hermione the same way as he had Ginny, but it seemed now that he was consciously trying, he couldn't do it. Luckily, Hermione seemed to be snapping out of her fear on her own. Soon she was up, and the three of them went over to Ron.

"Enervate!" said Ginny as she pointed her wand at Ron.

"Chimeras are horrible monsters. No one's ever faced one and lived," said Hermione, still looking unnerved.

"No one?" asked a woozy Ron, standing up.

"Well, an ancient Greek wizard did kill one once, but he fell off his flying horse and died right afterward. They're virtually immune to magic," explained Hermione.

At a tremendous roar from outside, the four jumped as if the floor had been electrified.

"I thought you said it was dead, Harry!" shrieked Hermione.

Harry stepped up to the window, with the others behind him. They looked down and saw the chimera prowling the north side of the lawn near the forest's edge. Both its wings were broken and folded out at odd angles. The monster also bled from several cuts, but it still moved vigorously as it hunted furiously for its prey.

"Where's Mars?" asked Ron. Harry spotted Mars far south of the chimera and quickly pointed him out.

The red wizard jabbed his wand at the monster and cried "Stupefy!" An enormous red stunner shot across the lawn and struck the chimera on the head. Harry expected the massive stunner to knock out the chimera or at least disorient it, but all it accomplished was to let the monster know Mars' location. Mars looked undisturbed by this turn of events, however, as the chimera wheeled in his direction.

It roared again and belched out a thirty-foot column of fire that wilted the grass in front of it. Snarling, it bounded toward Mars with huge leaps of its powerful lion legs. It had covered half the distance when Mars waved his wand in a clear S-curve, jabbed it at the ground in front of the oncoming monster, and shouted, "Diffindo!"

Harry was startled at Mars' use of a mundane spell normally used to tear cords off bound packages. Then the spell hit the ground in front of the chimera and tore an enormous fissure in the earth that would easily have swallowed three buses. Small tremors shook the castle; Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Ron grabbed the sill and each other as the floor quivered beneath them.

The chimera, in mid-bound, was unable to change course and plummeted helplessly into the hole, roaring in fury. Harry looked into the rift, but could not make out the monster in its depths. Seconds later, however, fire shot up from the hole and a head emerged from the blackness.

"It's climbing out!" he yelled.

The chimera's great claws dug into the sides of fissure as it slowly pulled itself up. Mars flicked his wand at the crack in the earth and bellowed, "Condenseo!" The castle shook again and the earth groaned as the fissure began to close. Awful cries of anguish bellowed from the fissure. Huge chunks of the lawn had fallen into the depths of the chasm when it opened, so the edges of the fissure now failed to meet completely, leaving a gap where the chimera clung. Powerful claws dug away at the dirt and rocks, freeing the beast from the earth's grip.

"How can that thing still be alive?" demanded Ron.

Hermione held both hands over her mouth, digging her fingernails into her face; Ginny leaned on Harry for support. Harry wished he had some way to help Mars, but he had no idea how to kill something that was so tough and immune to magic spells.

Mars was now moving his arms rhythmically as he hopped, stepped and jumped in a rough circle near the edge of the forest.

"What's he doing?" asked Ginny.

"He did something like that before he summoned that rainbow at Bill and Fleur's wedding," said Harry.

"He conjured that rainbow?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"Yeah," answered Ron. "He told us not to tell anyone about it, though."

The sky dimmed as dark storm clouds began rolling into the area. Raindrops splatted on the window and thunder rumbled in the distance. Lightning flashed in the sky and the rain began to pour down in earnest as Mars continued his dance. By the time the chimera's head was fully above-ground, the clouds and the torrential downpour had made it so dark that Harry could barely see the monster. When Mars' dance was finished, great forks of lightning ripped at the sky, followed by deafening thunderclaps, and even the largest trees bent under the fierce wind.

From the ground, a great roar and a flash of flame revealed that the chimera had freed itself and was now on the surface. A lightning flash revealed the extent of its injuries: both of the monster's wings had been torn off, its back was twisted out of shape, and one hind leg was mangled.

A red stunner flashed from the forest and hit the chimera. Once again, the spell accomplished nothing but to get its attention; the beast lumbered toward the trees the charm had come from. Mars and the chimera were now out of sight in the forest. Any movements they made were obscured by the thrashing of the trees in the wind, the darkness of the storm, and the pounding rain. Harry had no idea where they were.

Large bolts of lightning struck repeatedly in one area of the forest. Several trees near there were now burning. After half a dozen strikes, Ginny asked, "Do you think Mars is controlling those bolts?"

Hermione opened her mouth to answer when they heard shouting from outside the door.

"Potter, Weasley. Are you in there?" It was Professor McGonagall's voice; she sounded frightened.

They looked at each other in confusion. Did they dare let anyone know that Harry was here?

"You must let me in!" McGonagall shrieked. "My colloportus charm won't hold them back for long!"

"What should we do?" asked Ron.

"We can't just leave her to the Death Eaters," Hermione cried.

"No! We mustn't open the door," said Ginny. "Mars said no one had any business getting in who couldn't open it themselves."

"No, Ginny, he said no one else had any business coming to get us. She didn't come to get us, she came for help!" said Hermione.

"But why isn't she with the other teachers in Dumbledore's office?" asked Harry.

"Because Mars didn't let her, Snape or Professor Sinistra go with them. She's no place to hide, Harry!" said Hermione desperately.

"Potter, please!" screeched McGonagall pitifully. Ginny looked up at Harry and shook her head.

"Sorry, Ginny; we can't abandon her to them," said Harry. He went over to the door; Hermione came with him. "Professor, I'm gonna open the door. Get in quickly so I can close it."

"Hurry Potter!" she yelled.

Harry put his hand on the door handle and turned it. The door instantly stopped humming. He pulled the door open slightly and tried to peer out into the hall, but suddenly the door slammed backward, striking his head, and knocking both Harry and Hermione to the floor. Snape stood just inside the doorway, his hand still on the knob.

Ginny and Ron raised their wands, but Professor McGonagall, next to Snape, disarmed them with a spell that ripped the wands out of their hands and sent them flying into hers.

"Accio wands!" said Snape, and Hermione and Harry's wands flew to him from the floor.

From the floor, Harry shouted at Snape, "What are you doing?"

"Securing a very large reward for myself, Potter," said Snape coldly.

Hermione sat up in confusion. She looked at McGonagall and asked, "Professor, I-I don't understand. Why are you holding your wand on us?"

"Be quiet, girl!" McGonagall snapped. "Get up and move over to the Weasleys there. You too, Potter."

Harry glared at the two of them as he stood up. He helped Hermione to her feet and led her over to Ron and Ginny.

"Secure them," ordered Snape. He walked over to the table and placed Harry and Hermione's wands upon it.

McGonagall pointed her wand at the corner of the room behind Harry and said "Elicio!" A small barred cell appeared. "Get in," she snapped.

The four teenagers entered the cell reluctantly and McGonagall closed and locked it with a flick of her wand. She joined Snape at the table.

Hermione held onto the bars of the cell with both hands. "McGonagall...I can't believe it," she whispered to herself.

"Harry," whispered Ron. "What are we gonna do?"

"Wait until we get a chance to grab a wand. Till then, keep them talking if they try to hurt or kill us," hissed Harry.

He looked around the room for anything that could give them some advantage, but the only promising thing he saw was the four of their wands now laying on the table. Snape stared silently out the window; McGonagall stood with her wand aimed at the door. The thunder and lightning outside had stopped, and the clouds seemed to be clearing.

After some time had passed, Harry heard the sound of struggling in the hall outside. "Let go of me, you infernal rug!" a voice screamed. "Diffindo, Diffindo!" A moment later, five Death Eaters walked into the room, wearing long robes and evil-looking masks.

"Two hours!" Harry recognized Lucius Malfoy's voice. "It's taken us two hours to get up to this tower. How is it that you and she can still move about freely, while we get attacked?" The door slammed itself into the face of the last Death Eater, breaking his nose. Malfoy swore and flicked his wand at the open door; it vanished. Two of the other Death Eaters bent to patch up their injured comrade.

"Well?" asked Malfoy, turning to face Snape.

"The castle doesn't see us as its enemies yet. But we don't know how long that will last," said Snape.

Malfoy's mask nodded. "I see that you have Potter locked up already, very good. We've had no luck in getting through the warded door of the Hufflepuff House, but that scarcely matters, now that we have the boy." Malfoy then looked over at Professor McGonagall with suspicion.

"You're quite sure you can control her?" he asked Snape.

"She was very vulnerable once Dumbledore disappeared. She has put up no resistance - without hope, why should she?" said Snape darkly.

Malfoy laughed.

Harry felt a small measure of relief as he realized that Professor McGonagall must be a victim of Snape's Imperious Curse, and not an actual traitor; but the outlook remained bleak. He could only hope now that Mars would return from the forest before Voldemort came to kill him, or that Mars' prediction of Dumbledore's return would prove true and imminent. Harry knew he should be thinking of a contingency plan, but he was furious with himself for having been so stupid as to open the door for McGonagall in the first place.

A familiar drawling voice snapped Harry out of his train of thoughts.

"Is my father up here with you lot?" the voice demanded imperiously.

"Back here, Draco," Mr. Malfoy answered.

"If I could get my hands on him," whispered Ron murderously.

A small masked wizard approached Lucius Malfoy, followed by two larger masked wizards. Harry guessed that these two must be Draco's sycophants, Crabbe and Goyle.

"You've had a note from the Ministry front. It came over an hour ago, but it took us that long to get up here. The blasted castle fought us every step," said Draco, holding a scroll out in front of him.

Lucius Malfoy removed his mask and took the scroll from his son. He unrolled and read it, and a broad smile came to his face.

"Are things going well there, then?" asked Draco.

"No, not at all," replied Lucius gleefully.

"Then why are you pleased?" asked Draco.

"You have so much to learn," said Lucius patronizingly. "The Department of Law Enforcement Wizards are holding up much better than we had expected. It was thought most would run as soon as the fighting started. They have also been reinforced by a new set of Demon Fighters, and .... Did I read that right?"

"Read what?"

"Quiet!" demanded Lucius. He perused the scroll again for a few seconds and then spoke again. "Oh, we are fortunate today, my son! Not only was Dolohov humiliated by not taking the Ministry quickly, he's been killed in battle," Lucius gloated.

"You're joking!"

"It seems he got into a duel with a tall, blond American witch, and didn't fare so well," said Lucius Malfoy in mock sorrow.

"Steele," Ginny whispered to Harry, who nodded, but kept his attention on the Malfoys.

"With the heavy initial losses, they retreated and are regrouping. That won't sit well with the Dark Lord, will it?" Mr. Malfoy asked.

"Git outta me way, ya stupid Poms!" a wild-sounding voice called loudly from the doorway.

Harry looked up at the door and saw the Death Eaters parting for a tall wizard with long, scraggly brown hair. The wizard held his head at an odd angle, and each of his eyes were a different color; he looked quite insane. His robes were in tatters, and his face sported several bruises and cuts.

"Ah, Lucius! G'day, mate! I got a bit o' news for ya from the forest," said the odd wizard.

"Yes, Reynolds, what do you have to report?" asked Malfoy stiffly.

"Well, I think it'll cheer up even your nasty disposition, Lucius. Our forces are wiped out, 'cept for yours truly, of course," said Reynolds, poking a thumb at his chest.

"WHAT??!?!?"

"Calm down. Don't get all weepy on me, that's not the good news."

Malfoy looked furious. "How can there be good news after that, you fool?"

"'Cause, mate, the red wizard is no more. R.I.P. if ya know what I mean?" Reynolds chuckled.

"Mars is dead? Are you sure?" asked Malfoy.

"Dead certain," he cackled gleefully. "Killed 'im myself, I did!"

"You lie!" yelled Harry.

"Do I, Potter? " asked Reynolds, slowly walking over to the cell.

"You're nothing compared to him!" exclaimed Ron, glaring at Reynolds.

"Well, I'll admit I had plenty of help. The Yank was right shagged out after killin' that chimera. He was barely managin' to stand when Anderson and I came up behind 'im," said Reynolds, turning back to Lucius Malfoy.

Malfoy nodded for him to continue.

"We pulled our wands out to curse 'im, but somehow he knew we wuz there. He spun round right quick and blasted old Anderson, but I nailed 'im. Bits of 'im everywhere," said the wild wizard. He cackled insanely for a long time. "Everywhere, mate!"

Draco sneered. "We're supposed to buy that a crazy old codger like you killed Mars? You've never even proved you slew Dumbledore, why should anyone believe you?"

"I thought Mars said he was trapped," whispered Hermione.

Reynolds spun woozily around to face Draco. "So, ya little whelp, callin' me a liar, are ya? Seen Dumbledore since I did 'im in, have ya?"

"No, but that doesn't mean-"

"Oh, ya want solid evidence eh? Somethin' ya can put yer hands on?" Reynolds lashed out and grabbed Draco Malfoy's left wrist. He forced Malfoy's hand open and dropped something round and gold into Draco's palm. "Recognize that, do ya? Ya little twonk!" said Reynolds.

Malfoy held the object between his thumb and forefinger and lifted it up to his face. Harry saw a golden circlet with the letters S.P.E.W. inside of it, each letter twinkling in turn.

"NO!" shrieked Hermione. "Oh Mars, no," she moaned. She put her head in her hands and slipped to the floor in tears.

"That's the SPEW badge he made at our house!" Ron cried.

Harry had recognized the trinket instantly. He remembered vividly how much Mars' joining S.P.E.W. had meant to Hermione. Mars would never have voluntarily parted with it.

"Well, the sheila there certainly knows it," said Reynolds. He faced Hermione. "Did he mean a lot to you? If he did, you're out of luck, I'm afraid, cause there ain't a lot left of 'im!" Reynolds again cackled loudly; most of the Death Eaters joined him in laughing at Hermione's agony.

Harry felt ill. This was too painful to imagine, much less endure. Why couldn't they just kill him and get it over with?

"Well, Lucius, ya convinced yet?" asked the Australian.

"Yes, Geoff. You were brilliant today, as you were with Dumbledore's defeat. The Master will be very pleased," answered Malfoy with forced politeness.

Reynolds smiled and said, "Teach your brat some manners and we'll share the glory that's coming today. I'm not greedy."

"Who are you calling a brat? You pathetic nutter -"

Reynolds interrupted Draco with a hard slug in the stomach. Draco doubled up and keeled over onto the floor, moaning.

"Well, I'll leave the rest o' the lesson to you, Lucius," Reynolds said. "Go ahead and give the signal to the Dark Lord that it's safe to enter Hogwarts now. I'll take these blokes down to the entrance to greet 'im. Could take us a while with the bloody carpets attackin' us constantly."

"Yes, that's a good idea, Geoff. I'll send the message and then catch you up in a bit," Malfoy replied.

In response to his signal, the other Death Eaters left the room, leaving the two Malfoys, Crabbe and Goyle. Mr. Malfoy walked over to the large window and opened it. He pointed his wand at the sky and a fireball shot out of it. The ball rose high into the sky and then exploded into a brilliant fiery plume that lit up the twilight. Draco, who had finally gotten back to his feet, approached his father as he turned away from the window.

Lucius glared at his son and struck him hard in the jaw. Draco fell back to the floor, then staggered to his feet again, taking off his mask.

"You fool!" spat Mr. Malfoy. "If you didn't look just like me, Draco, I'd bet my wand that you were the son of some traveling floo powder salesman instead my own. Do you have any idea how high Reynold's standing will be with the Dark Lord once he hears that Reynolds killed Mars in addition to Dumbledore?"

"But Father, there's no proof that Dumbledore's -"

"Shut up, you idiot! You will listen. Reynolds is off his rocker, but you do not insult someone who has just defeated our two greatest enemies. We can get rid of him later when he appears weak, but when he is strong we support him! Do you hear me?" shouted Lucius at his son.

Draco nodded silently.

"Good. Now you three stay here and guard the prisoners. The Dark Lord will want to deal with Potter and the Weasley children himself, but if you serve him well today, he may leave the mudblood to you. Do you understand me?" asked Lucius.

"Yes, father," said Draco, smiling in spite of the pain of a fat bleeding lip. He leered at the captives.

The three guards milled about the room for a while after Lucius left. They chatted for a bit, staring out into the Forbidden Forest through the large window, but quickly grew bored. Harry knew this was a bad sign.

"You know, I almost forgot my promise, Potter," said Draco, approaching the cell - though he wisely stopped well out of reach.

Harry was sitting on the floor, with his head leaning on the bars of the door. He didn't bother to look up at Malfoy as he replied, "What are you talking about?"

"Last we met, I told you that the next time I saw you, you'd be begging me for death. Prepare to be on your knees, Harry Potter," said Malfoy with a laugh. His two sycophants guffawed along with him.

"Do what you like to me, Malfoy. I won't give you the satisfaction."

"Oh, I don't doubt that, Potter."

Malfoy pointed his wand at Harry and Harry braced himself for pain. He was determined to hold out until Voldemort arrived; he knew that the Dark Lord had ordered that he not be touched by anyone except Voldemort himself. Harry looked forward to seeing Malfoy punished by his own master.

"Crucio!" came Malfoy's malevolent cry.

Harry felt nothing; he sat for a second in confusion but bolted to his feet at Hermione's cries of anguish. He and Ron lunged frantically at the door to get at Malfoy. Hermione's screams drove Harry wild with fury. He wedged himself between two bars in a hopeless attempt to slip through them; Ron threw himself violently against the door over and over in a complete rage. Ron's screams were almost as terrible to hear as Hermione's.

A simple, but contemptible smile played on Malfoy's face as he watched Harry. He waved his wand slightly, continuing the torture. For almost a minute--though it seemed like hours--Harry's screams mingled with Hermione's and Ron's to form an awful song of unimaginable pain. Harry's vision was tinted red with anger and blood; his only emotion was pure hatred. He barely felt Ginny bump him as she flung herself at the bars.

"Malfoy, stop it! Leave her alone - I'm begging you," she shrieked as she sank to her knees, sobbing.

Malfoy lifted his wand and stopped the curse. Ginny spun around and cradled Hermione in her arms.

"Well, that's one of you, at least," said Malfoy. "Potter, Weasley. Stop struggling and listen me! If you don't, I'll start the curse again."

Ron and Harry both forced themselves into stillness and glared murderously at Malfoy.

"On your knees, Potter! Do it, you know the penalty otherwise."

Harry dropped to his knees, his eyes never leaving Malfoy's. He tried to make some kind of mental connection with Malfoy, like Mars had done before, but it wouldn't work. He could only read Malfoy's mood, and it didn't take a seer to recognize the perverted happiness gleaming in Draco's eyes.

"You too, Weasley! Good, good. Now then, I want you both to say 'Kill me Draco, please'," demanded Malfoy, smiling. Crabbe and Goyle slapped hands and laughed stupidly.

"Say it!" screamed Malfoy.

After a long moment of silence from Harry and Ron, Malfoy spoke again. "Very well; you can imagine how much it pains me to torture a mudblood."

Malfoy raised his wand. Harry and Ron both jumped in front of Hermione; Ginny screamed. Draco's incantation never came; instead, Harry heard a female voice casting a spell.

"Stupefy!" said the voice, and a red stunner flashed from near the door knocking Malfoy unconscious.

Crabbe and Goyle drew their wands and turned to the door, but nothing was there. Harry thought he could see a blur moving about the room, but neither flunky seemed to notice it. The blur stopped at the window and from there he again heard, "Stupefy!" Another red flash shot out and hit Crabbe full in the face; he fell over in a lump like Draco.

Goyle leaped into the air and fired a curse at the window, but the blur had moved again. Another female voice rang out, from the door again, and a much larger stunner streaked into the room and flattened Goyle. Harry saw Padma Patil standing at the door in her Ravenclaw robes.

"Padma!" yelled Hermione, sitting up with Ginny's help.

"Are there anymore about?" asked an airy female voice in front of the cell door.

"No, they all left. Who is this?" said Harry.

"Amitto!" said the girl's voice.

Strands of dirty blond hair appeared in front of Ron. Luna's face then became visible, and immediately afterward her body followed suit. She was staring up into Ron's eyes.

"Luna?" said Ron in surprise.

"I told you I'd be there for you, Ronald."

"Huh?"

"Alohomora," she said and the cell door swung open.