Esprit de Corps

Chapter 13

Harry glared at Bellatrix Lestrange. She laughed. The other four Death Eaters flanked her sides, clearly waiting for her orders.

"We have you cornered, Potter - you are grossly outnumbered, and this time, you don't have my idiot of a cousin to show up to save your pathetic neck!" she laughed.

Harry was shaking with rage.

"Don't you dare insult Sirius!" he barked. Bellatrix laughed harder.

"Expelliarmus!" cried a Death Eater to her left. Harry blocked it reflexively, and it rebounded on its originator, with an increased intensity. The man collapsed. Harry smiled grimly.

"I thought Voldemort would have taught his minions better," he said, smirking. Bellatrix looked livid.

"Crucio!" she screamed. As if on cue, the three remaining Death Eaters around her started firing a volley of curses at Harry.

"Reflectus protego!" cried Harry, putting every ounce of his strength in the spell. The shield that came up in front of him was almost blinding. The Death Eaters fell back, and Harry lowered his shield, only to see the green light of Avada Kedavra about to hit Ron.

"Stupefy!" yelled Hermione. A Death Eater fell, but the one next to him enervated him immediately, and both of them shot a double curse at her simultaneously. Hermione created a firewall just in time, but she staggered back a bit - the curses had been really powerful. However, it was not for nothing that Hermione was universally acclaimed as the cleverest witch at Hogwarts. She swished her wand in a complicated motion and muttered, "Draconis!"

A dragon made of light burst forth from her wand and solidified in a matter of seconds. The flabbergasted Death Eaters tried to escape from the jets of fire it was shooting forth. Hermione took advantage of that situation and started casting curses rapidly. Unfortunately, though, a Death Eater figured out that her dragon was just an illusion and relayed the information to his fellows by shouting.

They were, however, distracted by a blinding flash of light at Harry's end. The Death Eaters covered their eyes; Hermione gazed at the shield, fascinated. As the shield lowered, she saw Harry turn sharply in Ron's direction. Hermione followed his gaze and her breath caught in her throat. Ron was directly in the path of the deadly green light...she returned her gaze to Harry, blasting off her own Death Eaters almost absently. A momentary something flickered in Harry's eyes, the blossom on her wrist flashed, and he was gone.

Ron was facing a difficult situation. He didn't have Hermione's extensive knowledge, but he was a Quidditch player and a Weasley, with a natural aptitude for magic and fast reflexes. And a supremely strategic brain that helped him to pick out the weak points of his adversaries accurately.

"Reducto!" he shouted, aiming his wand at Nott, who blasted away quite a distance and lay in a heap there. The other four Death Eaters immediately launched multiple curses at him, and Ron's shield nearly crumbled. He fell to his knees, barely managing to hold it up. Before he could stand, however, he heard a Death Eater yell, "Avada Kedavra!" Ron didn't have the time to dodge or move. He closed his eyes and waited for death.

Which didn't come. Something else happened though. The blossom on his wrist flashed.

Ron opened his eyes to see Harry standing in front of him, about to fall. Ron moved forward just in time to catch his friend in his arms.