The Art of Peace

Chapter 24

Choices

The beginning of the end is more often than not merely the end of a beginning.

Despite the strength of the shields surrounding the camp, even they could not hold up long against a barrage of Unforgivables. As the last ward flickered and died the enemy moved into view. Their faces were covered with masks, and their dark robes gave them an appearance that would give children nightmares. The defenders, however, were not children. They were warriors, and the appearance of the enemy was what they had been waiting for. With a roar the first line rose and charged the enemy, flying curses and hexes from their comrades giving them the cover they needed.

Harry yelled his battle cry as he ran alongside the rest of his squad. To his right Claude kept pace, his bo raised in one hand, the other extended as he sent hexes into the trees. The tree line was a mass of Death Eater's, their wands raised as one to block the incoming magical assault. While they dealt with the curses the Tibetan line closed, and before the Death Eater could react, the battle was joined at close range. The slower of the Tibetan soldiers were the first to fall as the Unforgivables arced their way.

Harry ducked under one Unforgivable and blocked a minor hex as he reached the enemy. Swinging his staff in a wide, low arc, he swept out the legs from the Death Eater in front of him. As the Death Eater fell, Harry brought the staff up in the air above him and swung with all his might, cracking the man's skull. The force of the blow sent the mask flying off of his head, revealing a young Goyle to Harry's disbelieving gaze. With a shake of his head at the folly that had forced them to this point Harry moved off to join Claude to take down his opponent a few feet away.

The first that the castle's inhabitants knew about the battle outside was from a group of children who had been playing in one of the towers by a window. Their screams of terror as the killing curse sped at them only to fizzle to nothingness on the wards brought almost the entire castle population running. Windows were crowded as they viewed the mayhem below. Shrieks filled the air as the Death Eaters came into view, some falling to their deaths, but more taking the places of the fallen.

Tibetans fell as well before the horrified eyes of the watchers, finally spurring them into action. Ex-aurors and Order members sprinted to their posts, readying themselves to take the field. Maybe they did not know their allies, but they knew who their enemies were, and they needed to be out there.

Sirius ran through the halls towards the Headmaster's office, pulling on his battle cloak as he burst through the door.

"Professor! I am sounding the alarm to rally the troops for an immediate attack!"

"Are you certain that this is a wise decision, Sirius?" Dumbledore replied, his eyes hooded as he peered over his steepled fingers. "It may be a trap, or we may be hopelessly outnumbered. Who knows how many Death Eaters are in the Forest!"

"That doesn't matter! They need our help, and I for one will give it, no matter what."

"Very well."

With that Dumbledore reached off to the side and using a small hammer shattered a small glass sphere on the desk. A loud wailing filled the castle, sending children and other noncombatants to the dormitories while the defenders of Hogwarts assembled for battle. Sirius strode out in front of them, his amplified voice quieting the chatter in the ranks.

"Alright, listen up! We are going to be moving into the forest, so stick with your squad! We don't know how many Death Eaters there are, but there are enough to be keeping our allies busy, so that is obviously not a good thing. Only aim for the masks, everyone else is on your side. Questions? Good. Move out!"

The troops came out of the castle at a run heading for the fray at the Forest's edge. It was too confused to be able to tell who was winning, but the multitude of spells in the air showed that the battle was far from over.

Ron ran with his family, his heart beating wildly in his chest. While he had attended all of the extra Defense classes that had been offered as well as the training that Sirius had set up at Hogwarts for those who wanted to be able to defend themselves, this was his first real fight. His older brothers had fought before on missions for the Order, so he felt somewhat safer in their company, but the fear came back to the surface just the same. Drawing in a deep breath as he reached the Forest's edge, Ron sent out his first spell and joined the battle.

Hermione sat in the Hogwart's version of a Muggle Situation Room, wringing her hands anxiously as she watched her second family rush into battle. Unfortunately she could not just watch them; the entire battlefield was under her scope. Quickly her analytical mind took over as she examined the magically maintained miniature of the Castle and the surrounding area. Using her wand to selectively magnify and concentrate on particular areas of the rapidly closing battleground she began to relay her orders to the field commanders.

Claude's face opened into a feral grin as he scored his first kill. While he would never kill for the joy of it, his joy in the kill was nevertheless undeniable. Knowing he had ended the life of someone who had killed for the sheer pleasure of it and hopefully saved the child of a future victim the pain he himself had felt only enhanced the joy he felt. Quickly he schooled his features into an even mask as Harry joined him. Together they moved into the fray, their staffs an impenetrable physical barrier, and their magical abilities creating a whirlwind of force leveling the opposition. They were, in truth, the consummate warrior duo.

At first the onslaught of the new attackers beat back the Death Eater lines, but the Death Eater commanders soon summoned their own reinforcements in turn, leveling the battlefield once more. This is the way the battle remained for over an hour. Neither side could gain an overwhelming advantage over the other. Of course there would be an occasional breakthrough in one area or another, but these areas were always quickly reinforced by the losing side from another area that they were winning in, leaving the battle undecided once again.

On both sides the death toll grew at a somewhat even pace. The Death Eaters and, to a lesser extent, the Tibetans had no qualms about leaving a dead opponent behind, and Hogwarts' defenders soon lost their reservations as their friends and family members fell wounded or dead. A well placed 'Reducto' or 'Wingardium Leviosa' was just as fatal as 'Aveda Kedavra' after all.

Hermione watched in horror as one after another lights representing wizards' positions on both sides of the field winked out. Fully one in six had either disappeared or turned to a darker shade marking them as wounded. She had noncombatants moving through areas that the battle no longer occupied to collect the wounded there, but those still in the thick of the fighting had to make do until it was safe for help to come. Now all she could do was hope and pray that no one she knew had a dark or now nonexistent dot to represent them.

Harry had lost sight of Claude in a particularly tight spot a few minutes before and now was standing back to back with a particularly adept witch. As their combined efforts finally drove back their attackers long enough for a quick breather, Harry turned around to see who his savior was. His gratitude quickly became shock as he recognized the youngest member of the Weasley clan. His mouth must have been hanging open quite noticeably, because Ginny gave a quick little laugh as she reached and lightly pushed up on his jaw. Harry simply stared at her with open admiration as they stood there for a moment.

Unfortunately their moment of peace was not destined to last. The widening of Ginny's eyes in horror was Harry's only warning before she shoved him bodily away from the onrushing curse. Its evil light struck her squarely in the chest, sending her to the ground writhing and screaming in agony. Furor and hate filled Harry as he turned to his attacker. All of his years training with Sifu left him in that moment as he faced the person who had dared to strike Ginny down. All of his inner peace forced out of the very core of his being by the hate that swept him like a tidal wave. His eyes grew dark and his voice seemed to boom with an unnatural power as he extended his hand to the unwary wizard and spoke the two fateful words.

"Aveda Kedavra!"

He felt the power leave him, but it was quickly replaced by an almost euphoric high as the Death Eater crumpled bonelessly to the ground. Ginny's spastic thrashing stopped with her torturer's death like a puppet when its strings are cut and she lay there, deathly still and silent on the ground. Harry's heart stopped in his chest as he saw her, and he almost dove into the forest floor in an attempt to reach her. Kneeling on the forest floor he cradled her head in his hands, gathering her body to himself in a desperate attempt to see what was wrong.

Suddenly Harry's mind hearkened back to one of his earlier lessons with Sifu. He had been explaining chi.

"Focus your mind," Sifu had said. "Let your internal energy, your chi, flow through your body and into a balloon you are holding in your hands. It is a fire..."

It was at this point that, predictably, Harry's entire body had erupted in fire as his energy flew uncontrollably around him, something that thrilled Sifu to no end. After all these years of practice it was highly controlled of course, but it was a potent force nonetheless that Harry had used many times to revitalize himself when he was especially tired.

Remembering his lessons it was as if a light bulb had turned on in his head. Letting Ginny down onto the forest floor once more Harry moved into a sitting position, his eyes shut. Drawing his hands to his chest he slowly inhaled. Then he pushed the air out as his hands pushed out in front of him, removing the taint from his soul. Then he drew breath once more, visualizing his chi as a healing force in his hands. Then, with his eyes stilled closed he moved his hands to a position above Ginny, allowing the healing chi to move from his body to hers. Immediately he felt drained, almost exhausted even. Opening his eyes almost fearfully he watched Ginny take a ragged breath and slowly open her eyes as well. Sobbing he scooped her to his chest, reveling in the life he felt. Nearby the Death Eater lay where he had fallen, a silent reminder of the evil it had taken to save that precious life.