Harry Potter and the Guild of the Night

Katling

Story Summary:
Harry suffers a terrible injury at the Dursleys that leaves his ability to face Voldemort in doubt. But with the help of Remus Lupin and a mysterious new teacher he has a chance to become more than he was before. Features a grudgingly neutral Snape and a Ginny who knows what she wants or rather who she wants.

Chapter 32

Chapter Summary:
Harry and Snape take another dip into Voldemort's mind and find out something rather startling. Preparations are made and people get ready.
Posted:
08/28/2004
Hits:
5,986


Chapter 32

The next day Harry had let his friends in on what was happening regarding the attack on Hogwarts. They reacted well in his opinion; after the first startled yelps and blustering comments, they became grim and since then they had thrown their full efforts into studying and training. Their sessions with Master Nhean became more and more strenuous; even to the point where they began to resemble small wars. They were now facing multiple opponents both magical and non-magical. The DA had also been informed about what was on the horizon and their sessions were now conducted with extreme seriousness and with a large concentration on the spells and hexes that would be most useful to them in the coming battle.

Nearly two months had passed since that day and Harry was standing in front of the gargoyle at the entrance to the Headmaster's office. Professor Dumbledore wanted he and Professor Snape to try and infiltrate Voldemort's mind again to attempt to discover if there were any concrete plans. He was very nervous about the idea; he was very nervous about a lot of things these days. They had a month until the attack was due. There had been Order members and Aurors in and out of Hogwarts on a regular basis that last couple of months, strengthening the wards and erecting new ones. The new Minister of Magic, Madam Bones, had been extremely concerned when the Headmaster had informed her of the upcoming battle and had extended every bit of help the Ministry could offer. She had also taken Percy Weasley onto her staff, much to his delight.

Harry sighed. "Cockroach clusters," he said and the gargoyle sprang aside, allowing him to go up to Dumbledore's office.

He walked in to find Remus, Sirius, Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore all waiting for him. None of them looked like they had been sleeping that well, though Professor Snape looked the worst. The Slytherins in the DA had let them know that Voldemort was subtly torturing Snape by sending pain through his Dark Mark almost constantly. Harry had scowled when he had heard that; he and Snape had been getting along rather well since they had meshed their minds. Snape still had his moments when he snapped and snarled but Harry no longer got so offended at what was said. He now knew that his Professor was a man who had suffered many disappointments in his life and his demeanour came naturally. He was also finding that he rather enjoyed Snape's acidic sense of humour now that it didn't tend to be directed at him or his father or Sirius. Snape's biting observations were usually very, very accurate and very, very funny.

"Welcome, Harry," Dumbledore said kindly, indicating for Harry to sit down on one of the two comfortable lounge chairs in the room.

Harry nodded, not trusting his voice to speak normally, and sat down.

"Are you ready?" Snape asked.

Harry nodded again and closed his eyes. Shortly afterwards he felt Snape's mind outside his shields and let him in and they meshed. Like last time they found themselves quickly joined by Orinda.

*Travel again, do you?* the Runespoor hissed. *Shall I anchor you again?*

*Yes, please* Harry/Severus said and felt the assent and pleasure from the Orinda presence in his mind.

This time there was no need for hesitation and they flew down the link until the got once again to Voldemort's shields. They were forced to pause here; the shields seemed much denser than before.

*The Dark Lord must suspect something.* Severus/Harry said.

*Or he's just getting paranoid because the time's getting closer.* Harry/Severus suggested.

*Perhaps.* Severus/Harry replied. *Shall we try over there?*

*Okay.* said Harry/Severus and they worked their way around the shields until they found an area they could work on. It took much longer this time but eventually they opened up a hole on the shields and slipped inside.

Once again Harry settled them into a position where they could see out of Voldemort's eyes and they looked. They were in a study, probably Lucius' again, and spread out on the desk was a detailed map of Hogwarts with scribbled plans all over it. Both Harry and Severus read as much as they could through Voldemort's eyes but were distracted when Lucius walked into the room.

"Master, your Death Eaters are ready," he said as he bowed.

"Excellent, Lucius," Voldemort hissed. "All is in readiness for tomorrow then?"

"Yes, Master," Lucius said.

The Harry/Severus entity gasped and Snape began to draw them out of Voldemort's mind.

*Wait!* Harry/Severus cried. *Let's stay here. We might be able to find out something more.*

Snape paused for a moment and then Harry felt his assent. They settled back in to listen to the conversation.

"Has Draco been successful?" Voldemort was asking.

"Yes, Master," Lucius replied. "He succeeded yesterday and has been practicing ever since."

"Excellent," Voldemort hissed. "I wish for him to concentrate solely on Severus. My disloyal Potions Master must pay for his treachery and your son will be my weapon."

"Yes, Master. I will inform him of his task," Lucius said, a nasty glint in his eye. "May I know the time of the attack on Hogwarts tomorrow, Master?"

Voldemort stared at the elder Malfoy for a long moment. "Yes, yes, I suppose you must let them know. Midday, Lucius, we attack at midday, when the children are all heading to the Great Hall for lunch. It will be chaos when we attack."

"Most ingenious of you, Master," Lucius said servilely.

While this conversation was taking place both Harry and Severus were taking in as much detail as they could of the battle plans written on the map.

*Come, Harry.* Severus/Harry said urgently. *We must leave. The Headmaster will need all the time he can to prepare for this.*

He began to draw them out of Voldemort's mind and when they were past the shields Harry once again reached for the presence of Orinda to draw them back into his mind. Once there they quickly unmeshed and opened their eyes.

"It's tomorrow, Albus!" Severus said urgently as he sat up.

"What is?" Dumbledore asked, momentarily confused. Harry and Severus were back far earlier than he had thought.

"The attack!" Severus snapped. "It's tomorrow! Voldemort has fooled us once again. He plans to attack tomorrow at noon."

Sirius and Remus swore and Dumbledore's face became stern. "Are you sure, Severus?" he asked.

"Yes, damn it!" Snape snarled. "Noon tomorrow."

"And Draco has been practicing something that he's going to use to attack Professor Snape," Harry added dryly, noticing that Snape had once again totally ignored the threat to himself. "That's Draco's sole job tomorrow; to kill Professor Snape."

Severus flicked an irritated glare at the young Gryffindor. "That is not important. I am sure I can deal with one idiotic former student."

"Yes, I'm sure you can, Severus," Dumbledore said with concern. "But nevertheless, I would like you to be careful. Do not underestimate him."

Severus nodded reluctantly and Dumbledore looked over at Remus and Sirius.

"Remus, could I ask you to go and gather the teachers and bring them to my office," Dumbledore said firmly. "Sirius, I would like you to go to Grimmauld Place and gather as many of the Order members as possible. Harry, if you would collect your Battle Guard and return here."

Harry, Remus and Sirius nodded and as Harry quickly left the room he saw Remus and Sirius heading towards the fireplace while Dumbledore drew Severus over to the large map of Hogwarts that was lying on a side table. As soon as he got past the gargoyle, Harry broke out into a run. He burst into the Gryffindor common room, startling the occupants. Looking around he found his friends sitting around a table on the far side of the room and gestured for them to join him. As soon as they got out of the room, he turned to them.

"Hermione," he snapped. "Go and get Luna and join us in Dumbledore's office."

Hermione, recognising Harry's 'command voice', did not hesitate and ran down the corridor. Harry led the others back to the Headmaster's office. When they walked in they found the teachers of Hogwarts standing around the office whispering nervously to each other. They settled themselves against one wall, waving Hermione and Luna over when they walked in. Harry refused to answer any of his friends' questions and the other five finally settled back against the wall, their faces full of worry.

Finally the fire flared green and Sirius stumbled through, followed by a number of members of the Order. As soon as they were in Sirius turned around and sealed the floo and Dumbledore stood and called for silence.

"Thank you all for coming," Dumbledore said sombrely. "Tonight I asked Professor Snape and Harry Potter to again utilise the link that Harry has with Voldemort to scout out Voldemort's plans for his attack on Hogwarts." The crowd in the office shifted and murmured, with a few glancing at Harry. "They successfully did this but what they found out is most unfortunate for us. It seems that Voldemort has accelerated his plans. The attack will come tomorrow at noon."

The room exploded in exclamations and curses and the Headmaster held up his hands for silence. As soon as he got it, he continued.

"Thankfully the extra warding has been completed and Harry and Severus were able to get look at some of Voldemort's plans."

He was interrupted at this point by Professor Sprout.

"Headmaster, is there no way of getting the students out before the attack?" she said worriedly.

"I can think of no way of doing that without alerting Voldemort," Dumbledore said gently. "As such tomorrow at eleven, all students except for those who choose to fight will be sealed within their House dormitories." The Headmaster turned to look at Harry. "Am I correct in assuming that your DA members will wish to participate in this?"

Harry nodded firmly. "Yes, sir. And they'll do well," he said confidently. "And I think you should make the offer to the other students, sir."

"Yes, I intend to, though I will restrict it to sixth and seventh year students only," Dumbledore replied before turning to Kingsley. "How much assistance can we expect from the Ministry?"

"I'll get you as many people as I can, Albus," Kingsley said with a frown. "Though many of the Aurors and Department of Mysteries staff are tied up with the aftermath of a Dementor attack in Yorkshire. I'll pull as many out as I can though."

Albus nodded a thanks and unsealed the floo. Kingsley gestured for Tonks to join him and they quickly flooed out. Dumbledore was about to seal the floo again when Fred and George stepped forwards.

"Wait, sir," Fred said.

"We need to duck back to Diagon Alley," George continued.

"We need to get some things from the shop," Fred finished. Both twins were as serious as Harry had ever seen.

"Going to try out some of those booby traps?" Moody growled.

"Why not?" George said.

"No time like it," Fred continued. "Some of them still need testing and who better to test them on than the Death Eaters."

The twins grinned in such a manner that many of the teachers flinched. That grin was usually the precursor to trouble. The twins flooed out and everyone turned back to the Headmaster.

"Alright, after all of the students are in their dorms I would like everyone to assemble in the Entrance Hall. I would prefer to keep this fight out of the school itself so if we can force it to occur on the grounds that would be preferable. I would like you all to concentrate on neutralising the Death Eaters; leave Voldemort to Harry and myself. Remus, Sirius, Severus, I would like you three to join Harry, his Battle Guard and myself in the centre. The rest of you arrange yourselves on our flanks." He sighed. "I had always hoped that it would not come to this. Be careful all of you. Try to stay together for protection. Now, off you go. Try and get some rest. Minerva will show you to the guest quarters if you wish to stay here tonight. Could the Heads of Houses please inform their students as to what will happen tomorrow though if you wish to delay that for now, Severus, I will understand."

Everyone nodded and a small group quickly flooed out while the others accompanied Professor McGonagall. Harry turned to his friends.

"Go and get everyone from the DA. Meet me in the Room of Requirement."

His friends nodded and ran out of the room. Harry turned to where the Headmaster stood.

"Will he use this crystal magic he's discovered?" he asked calmly.

Dumbledore sighed. "I don't know, Harry, but I suspect he will. This is a bold move from him and I believe he will throw everything he can at us."

Harry nodded slowly. "I'm scared."

"So am I, dear boy, so am I," the Headmaster said with a gentle smile.

********************************************

When Harry arrived in the Room of Requirement he found the entire DA as well as Master Nhean, Sirius and Remus waiting for him. Before he could say anything, Millicent Bulstrode stood.

"We've told them," she said bluntly. "About the attack tomorrow. We found out about it this afternoon. For most of us, our parents contacted us and told us not to fight or to help Voldemort. What's the plan?"

"We fight," Harry said equally bluntly. "All of the students will be locked inside their dormitories except for those wanting to help. If you don't want to fight, that's where you should go."

"Of course we're fighting," Zachariah Smith said firmly. "You don't think we went to all this effort just to back out when the chips are down?"

Everyone nodded grimly and made soft noises of agreement.

Harry smiled grimly. "Good and thank you. When the students are moved into the dormitories, you need to make your way down to the Entrance Hall."

Master Nhean stepped forwards at this point. "You are all well-trained," he said calmly. "And you are all very skilled. The battle will be loud, frightening and confusing...they always are. Just remember to stick together. Try not to get separated from each other. And remember your training. You can do this."

Heads rose with pride and determination around the room and the nods that came were firm.

"Now get some rest," Harry ordered. "Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

Everyone nodded and made their way out of the room. Harry turned to his friends, his teacher, his godfather and his guardian.

"I guess we should get some rest as well," he said with a nervous half-smile.

Sirius made a sound somewhere between a groan and a bark. He strode over and gathered Harry into a tight hug.

"Be careful," he said brokenly. "Let your friends protect you. Let me protect you. Let Remus protect you."

Harry hugged him back hard, not trusting himself to speak. They finally separated and Harry threw himself at Remus.

"Thank you. Thank you for everything," he whispered and Remus' arms tightened around him.

Remus let him go and the two remaining Marauders left the room. Harry turned to his teacher and bowed deeply.

"Master, I will honour your teaching tomorrow," he said solemnly.

Nhean bowed back and then also drew Harry into a hug. He let Harry go and held him at arms length. "I know you will, Harry. You have been my finest student. It has been my honour to teach you."

Master Nhean bowed again and then he too left the room.

Ron stepped forwards. "Mate, we'll be there with you tomorrow like we've always been." He gave a sideways grin. "Hey, if we could defeat him in First Year, Second Year, Fourth Year and Fifth Year, surely this'll be a breeze."

Harry gave a strangled laugh and took the hand that Ron was offering him. Ron held it for a moment and then dragged Harry into a hug. He let Harry go and nodded before walking over to the door and waiting.

Hermione walked forwards, a proud but grim expression on her face. She looked at Harry for a moment and then threw herself into his arms.

"Oh, Harry, you're a great wizard, you know," she said around the lump in her throat. Harry gave her a genuine smile, remembering the last time she had said that to him. Hermione let him go and she walked slowly over to where Ron was standing by the door. Ron hugged her tightly and the two of them left the room.

Harry watched them go then turned to find Neville standing in front of him.

"You and me, huh, Harry," Neville said a little cryptically. "Guess he gets to face both of us."

Harry nodded and a slow smile spread across his face. "Guess he does," he replied and the two boys from the prophecy embraced. Neville clapped Harry on the shoulder and walked out of the room.

Luna then walked up to him, her eyes slightly unfocused. Harry waited and when her gaze cleared he raised an eyebrow at her.

"There are too many possibilities," she said sadly. "I can't tell what will happen."

"Well, that's a good sign," Harry said with a small smile, surprising Luna. She cocked her head to one side as she considered that statement and then broke out with her normal wafting smile.

"You know, you're right," she said and hugged him. Then she too left the room leaving Harry and Ginny alone.

Harry held one hand out to his girlfriend and when she took it, pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her hair. They stood like that for a few minutes before Harry pulled back slightly and kissed her. The kiss quickly deepened and when they finally broke apart, they were both breathless. Harry gently rested his forehead against Ginny's and closed his eyes; happy to just stand there with his arms wrapped around her, breathing in her scent.

"We're going to make it, you know," he said softly.

Ginny was silent for a time. "Yes," she said finally. "Yes, we are. You are going to defeat him and we are going to win."

Harry gently ran the tips of his fingers over Ginny's face and she shivered slightly. He lowered his head and kissed her again. When they pulled apart again, he gently twined his fingers into hers.

"We'd better get some sleep," he said reluctantly. "We're going to need it."

Ginny nodded reluctantly and they left the room, fingers still entwined.

****************************************

The next morning passed in a blur until eleven o'clock when Professor McGonagall's magically amplified voice ordered all students back to their House dormitories. Harry gathered his friends together and they made their way down to the Entrance Hall, detouring briefly to allow Harry's Battle Guard to gather their weapons. When they reached the Entrance Hall they found the members of the DA waiting for them. They were quickly joined by almost all of the sixth and seventh year students from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. The only one's missing were the Slytherins and oddly enough this included the Slytherins in the DA. Harry looked around but still couldn't see them. He shrugged; he couldn't afford to distract himself with that now. He looked around at the students gathering around him; behind them he could see the teachers collecting. Members of the Order, including the Weasleys, and members of the Ministry joined them. Harry turned his attention back to the students! .

"You all know what you have to do," he said seriously. "Remember to stay in groups. Don't let yourselves get separated." The students nodded and, with a little bit of jostling, they settled themselves in small groups. "Good luck everyone," Harry concluded as Dumbledore walked over to him.

"It's time, Harry," the Headmaster said kindly. Harry nodded and they walked out of the front doors. Harry stood just below the steps, his Battle Guard gathering around him. Dumbledore and Severus stood to one side of them with Sirius, Remus and Master Nhean standing on the other. The Order members and Ministry officials ranged themselves on either side and the students took positions behind the adults. Everyone pulled out their wands and, in the case of Harry and his Battle Guard, their swords.

And they waited silently for the battle to come.


Author notes: Thanks again for all of your reviews. This is the last lot of chapters to be posted.

I thought I'd just let you all know why I chose the animals I did for the various animagi - just in case you're interested.

Harry - I wanted a canine because of Remus and Sirius. I felt a stag wouldn't be right - Harry's far closer to Remus and Sirius than he was to his father and thought that would be an influence. My initial thought was a wolf but then I wanted something that might make people think a little harder, hence the Dire Wolf. I'm a fantasy nut and they feature in many fantasy stories but I was rather startled to find that there actually were Dire Wolves - they existed back in the Ice Age along with sabre-tooth cats.

Ron - I like Ron's loyalty - I know he argues and gets jealous occasionally but when it comes down to it, he always stands at Harry's side. So a dog - epitome of loyalty. Why an Irish Setter? I wanted a fairly big dog but one that is friendly and a bit goofy - I have a friend who used to have a Red Setter - a big friendly doofus of a dog.......until someone threatened his territory. Very Ron in my eyes.

Hermione - I've always seen something very raptorish in Hermione. When she's wants to know something she goes after it like a hawk stooping on its prey. I know in canon she's nervous about flying but I decided that why an eagle. She also loves a challenge - what better challenge than having to face one of her minor fears and overcome it and find that it's nothing to fear.

Neville - This one was a little more difficult. Neville's an odd character as written in canon. He seems more of a Hufflepuff than a Gryffindor except for a few places and then finally he started to come into his own in OOTP. I continued that on in Guild but I wanted to keep a bit of those insecurities. I chose a horse - in particular a work horse - because of that but I made it a Clydesdale in response to the new Neville. Clydesdales can weigh up to a tonne and even though they tend to be placid think of the damage they could do if riled.

Hogwartsstollaway - Thanks for your great review. I love reading yours - they seem to be such a flow of conciousness of your reaction to the story. It's great to read.

Suisan - Sorry about your lack of sleep there..........oh hang on, no I'm not! *LOL* Glad you enjoyed the story so far and I hope you enjoy the remaining chapters. I suppose I did change Harry a little but I wanted to make him grow up a bit and learn to make his difficulties into strengths. (Incidentally, I work for the Fire Brigade here in Melbourne - I'm not a fire fighter but I do work closely with them.) We get to see some more of dear old Draco in the next chapter and he will be a major player in the sequel. You've gotta love evil!Draco, he's sooo much fun!

atlantis - Hmmm, not sure if I should really tell you this - you might kill me - but I won't be revealing everything about the crystal magic until the sequel. *ducks the objects that have just been flung at her*

Kwistel - Hmm, the end isn't too bumpy. The sequel about Harry's seventh year will be the bumpy one. I've got some interesting ideas!