Tale of a Time Long Gone

A/N: Hello, everybody! I hope everyone who had celebrated had gotten over their hangovers and whatnot!

From this chapter on, this story was beta-d by the wonderful Naycit, who had risen to the challenge of completing the beta work. Thank you!

In this chapter: The moment (or one of them) you've all been waiting for! Ambrosius' attempt at getting rid of the Founding Four for once and for all! What will happen? Who will win? Well... That remains to be seen, no?

Enjoy!

Chapter 21 - Protect That Which You Hold Dear

"In the records of times past, there was never any mention of an attack taking place on Hogwarts grounds. This is, presumably, due to the immensely complex defences built around it from the day it was built, constantly being remodeled and improved throughout the ages.

"The question we, as modern scholars, must ask is: has there never been an attempt to breach those massive defences?

"Records of the time of the beginning of Hogwarts are very much muddled and unclear. The story of the Founders, as we know it, has been assembled after years of hard work, picking through what little material was left from the tenth century's records, and embroidering it into the more or less complete story of their lives. Therefore, we are not sure of whether or not there was an attempt of breaking into Hogwarts in their time. We know for a fact that the Chief Warlock, Ambrosius of York, had wanted the four wiped out, but did he actually manage even one attempt? That is yet to be revealed..."

- Hogwarts, A History; Author unknown

The four friends stood at the Entrance Hall, quietly conversing. Ryan was toddling on the floor at a safe distance from his parents, and Ceri was sitting right next to Rowena's feet, babbling happily to herself, waving a piece of cloth about. The front doors were flung wide open, and the entire young population of the Castle was happily enjoying the once-again fine weather, playing out on the grounds. This was the topic of their discussion. What should they do with the children when Ambrosius arrived? It was too late to send them back to their homes. The army on the way would jeopardize them, for Ambrosius might kill them to teach the four a twisted lesson of sorts. They did not want them to stay at the Castle, for if they lost, Ambrosius would surely slaughter the lot of them. The village, they surmised, was their only real choice.

"We should send them tonight," Helga said, her expression worried. The children were always her first priority in every discussion. "We cannot delay much longer. Ambrosius is almost here."

"Helga's right, of course," Salazar agreed, smiling at her reassuringly. "Two of us should accompany them to the village tonight and distribute them between the willing families. Someone should go ahead and call for a village meeting at the tavern so we can have it done efficiently and quickly. The Castle should be emptied tonight."

"I will go before the children," Godric volunteered. "I need to have a word with my mother, anyway, so it would take care of two issues at once."

"I will take them to the village, then," Salazar said immediately after him, only a fraction of a second before Rowena demanded to know what exactly he was going to discuss with his mother.

Godric did not meet his wife's eyes at first. He did not want to hurt her, but he knew that she still did not realize what must be done. While she would willingly part with the students in order to protect them, her first instinct was to keep her own children as near her as possible, to protect them herself. He himself felt the same desire, but he knew that there was no other choice. "I want her to take care of Ryan and Ceri for us, while we are fighting Ambrosius."

Rowena's lips pursed and he could see an argument coming. However, at that precise moment, they all saw a figure racing up the front steps and towards them. The man, who slid into a huffing halt in front of them, barely missing hitting them with full force after veering off-course to avoid stumbling over Ryan, was Ilar, who had been acting delivery boy between Castle and Village for the past few weeks.

"Ilar?" Rowena asked, seemingly forgetting her intended reply to Godric's idea. "What is it?"

"He's coming," he said, breathless with the effort of running all the way from the village. "Ambrosius is coming."

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Ignoring Rowena's renewed protests, which had started almost as soon as she had processed the news, Godric left for the village immediately after Ilar's dramatic entry, telling Salazar he would meet him back at Hogwarts at sundown, and asked that the children be ready to depart at that time. They all knew the cover of dark was the best for them if Ambrosius had sent scouts ahead. If the scouts noticed a large group of children meandering through the distance that separated Hogwarts from the Loch, it was quite possible that whatever plan of attack the Chief Warlock had schemed would be rescheduled and executed at that precise moment. They could not risk their students being harmed.

Taking his horse, who in recent years saw less and less action, old as he was, Godric arrived at the village quickly. As he dismounted, he gave Griffith a sympathetic rub, sadly knowing that it was probably time to find himself a new horse - not that he really needed one these days. Tethering the horse outside Sir Rhys' house, he went to find his mother.

It was not hard to guess where he would find her. As usual, Ceridwen Gryffindor was at the very centre of what was happening. The spacious kitchen of Sir Rhys' house was packed full of concerned villagers, pacing Knights and groups of messengers who had arrived from various potential allies, and at the very centre of the room, was his mother, talking loudly over the din, assuring everyone that the Hogwarts Four would soon enough send word.

Due to the noise and the mass of people, it was unsurprising that no one had noticed Godric come in. It was only when he surreptitiously tapped his mother's shoulder that his presence was noted.

"Godric!" she called in relief, causing the whole room to grow silent, everyone present breathlessly awaiting to hear whatever he had to say. "So good of you to come! Where are the others?"

"Not now, Mother," he said softly. "I need to speak with you alone before I address anyone else. Where can we speak in private?"

Frowning at his secrecy, Ceridwen led him out of the kitchen and to her own quarters. The rooms his mother lived in were so obviously hers that he almost laughed nostalgically. Nothing had changed in all the years that had passed since their very first home. They were still tidy to a fault, almost compulsively so. The furniture was placed exactly as it had been in all her previous dwellings, and all her personal artefacts were placed with such precision that he felt the impulse to move them just a bit to see if she would put it back at the same angle as before.

Motioning him to take one of the straight-backed chairs next to the small fireplace, she took the other and sat primly, waiting for whatever he had to say. Knowing his mother all-too-well, he cut straight to the point.

"We need you to continue the resistance in case we fail," he said shortly, not trying to hide anything. "That would require you to stay here and not join in the fighting."

"Not a chance," she said calmly.

"It's not negotiable, Mother. You are the only possible choice. You are the only one to whom everyone would listen. The Knights respect you for being Lady Gryffindor, the nobles respect you for being Lady Gryffindor, the rebel bands respect you for your subversive acts against Ambrosius and the Council throughout the years, and anyone else will take orders from you because all the aforementioned groups would. There is no one else who can shoulder the burden if you are gone at the same time as us. We don't know if we're going to survive this, and while we hope to end it quickly and cleanly with Ambrosius being the only one hurt, the likelihood of that happening is almost nonexistent. You have to be here so that our mission will not fail."

"I have to be out there with you. You need me, Godric. I am one of the most powerful witches of my generation. You cannot just discard me like this," she said calmly, though her eyes narrowed.

"I am not discarding you, Mother, and neither are the others. We are trying to preserve you. To leave one who is capable of leading on if we fall. We will not allow you to go with us. We will deal with Ambrosius on our own. This time you have to stay at the sidelines unless something catastrophic happens. Ambrosius will continue to the Loch from Hogwarts for sure."

"You don't know what you're saying, Godric! You put yourselves at too much risk. I have to be there!"

"I told you I'm not here to negotiate. You are staying at the back."

"I'm not going to sit in the village while Ambrosius attacks you!" she cried, her normally composed face a livid, contorted mask. She completely ignored his rational explanations, for she could not counter them, retreating into emotional responses.

"Mother, we need someone to continue the fight if we fail," he said again, his tone more pleading that he had intended, "and the village is currently the only safe place in miles. Also, we need you to protect Ryan and little Ceri."

"Let Dahlia do it!"

"She's not nearly powerful enough and you know it," he said coolly, unimpressed. "As I have said, aside of your impressive magical powers, you are an upstanding member of the community, respected by all. If Ambrosius tries attacking a woman such as you and two babes not yet two years old, it will be the end of his status in the wizarding community. He will be as good as dead. Either way, he is doomed. You must see it."

Her expression of anger crumbled, leaving a tired, sad woman behind. "I see it very well, Godric. You are going into the fray head-first, as you have done since childhood, and like in childhood, you don't want your doting old mother holding your hand. You are right, of course. I am not fit to go into battle anymore than you are fit to play in the political arena. I shall remain, as always, the one to unite everyone in case you fail."

He was now startled. He was not sure how to take his mother's suddenly submissive behaviour, and wondered if he had somehow gone too far. Then, however, a spark returned to her eyes, and she tilted her head sideways, looking at him sharply.

"However," she said slowly and clearly, "if I do stay behind, it means that I am left to my own volition. If I see that you are in trouble, do not expect me to remain here. I am my own woman, and I keep my own council. So do make sure to end it as cleanly as you plan to. Don't make me come out there again to separate you from the overgrown bullies you have chosen to go against. You know how much I hate doing that."

"You can't punish me like you did when I was a child," he said defensively.

"Do you want to test this presumption of yours?" she asked with a pleasant smile.

"Err... no," he mumbled, in his mind reduced to being a seven-year-old once more by the mere tone of her voice. "I suppose I don't. Fine, Mother. You have yourself a deal. Now, I'm going back to the Castle. Could you please circulate a request that all the people of the village assemble shortly after sundown at Calanthe's? We are bringing the students to the village and ask them to be housed with families from the village for the duration of the fighting. We will address them personally when they assemble, but I want it known that we need hosts for the children. Also, could you ask the Knights and all other members of our council and the messengers from the various allies to come to Hogwarts immediately? We had better start putting things into motion."

"Very well, my boy," she said, smiling now that she had won some ground back. "Now, run along and play."

Grimacing, he did as he was told, vowing that Rowena would never hear of that conversation. As though he needed to give her more blackmail material.

By the time he was back in the Castle, the other three had all the children assembled in the Entrance Hall, carefully bundled in their warm clothes and carrying tightly-packed bags with all necessities. The atmosphere in the hall was heavy. The children were pale, and several of the younger ones were reduced to tears. Everyone was worried. Though their teachers kept the reality of the upcoming fighting away from them as best they could, they could not help but hear rumours and whispers, whether from their village-dwelling peers who heard things from their parents, or from the occasional student who had managed eavesdropping on the councils taking place late at night in the Council Hall. There was not one child standing wide-eyed at the four that did not know what was going on.

Rowena was holding Ceri in her arms, and Salazar was keeping a tight hold over Ryan. Helga moved among the students, comforting where she could, whispering words of reassurance and encouragement.

"Children!" Rowena's voice rang over the din. "Please, be silent."

As usual, all children immediately silenced at her request. The only sound in the hall was the occasional sniff from a distressed child. All of them looked at their teachers, waiting to hear what was to happen then.

"Children," she continued in a clear voice, "you are going to be taking a short journey tonight, a short walk to the village. I know you are all aware of the fact that these are dangerous times, and I know you are all afraid. I will not say that there is nothing to be afraid of, for the world is full of dangers unknown. While you are out there, on your way to the village, you are to listen to everything Headmasters Gryffindor and Slytherin say. This is not a lesson, and in order to keep you all safe, you must all obey every order without question. I know we can trust you all to behave at your best.

"When our business here is done, you will all be returned to the school safely and lessons will commence as usual. In the meanwhile, you are to be guests of families in the village. Behave, or face the consequences. A student who will not behave and cause trouble to their hosting family will be sent home when this business is over, and their return to Hogwarts will not be promised. Are we clear?"

A low murmur of "Yes, Headmistress," rumbled in the hall.

"Good," she said, with a warm smile. "Salazar? Godric? All yours. Be careful, will you?"

Godric gave his wife a reassuring smile and then raised his voice. "All right, children! Let's get going, shall we? Follow me!"

And so, with Godric at the front and Salazar at the back, the students of Hogwarts left for the village under orders to be silent. They were all put into pairs and numbered; each student was told that if their partner disappeared from their sight their duty was to inform either one of their Heads.

The journey in the dark was not easy, because they did not dare light their wands, therefore having to count on their night vision and the wane light of the sickle moon. Though the children made no conscious sound, there were many low whimpers and still the occasional sniffle. He did not blame them. Many were still at the age children tended to be afraid of the dark. They never bargained for nightly trips when they arrived at the school.

It was a frigid night, and he felt his fingers stiffening over the hilt of his sword. He dared not lose alertness, for they did not know if Ambrosius had sent scouts this far. He thanked all forces involved that there was no wind that night. No wind meant that he could hear anyone coming near them, and that should give them all the warning they needed.

He could practically hear the collective sigh of relief as the lights of the village appeared on the horizon, the brightest one appearing to be the tavern, where the people of the village gathered. He found himself stifling a sigh of himself, releasing a breath he did not realize he was holding in the first place. He had not been so on edge in a very long time.

Stumbling over loose pebbles and overgrown vegetation in their hurry to enter the warm circle of light surrounding the tavern, the group arrived at the village. Pale, rosy-cheeked children finally allowed themselves to smile again; some of them even dared whispering excitedly to their friends about what a great adventure it had been. As far as the children were concerned, the danger was over.

Godric smiled wistfully as he watched Salazar counting the children before they entered the tavern. How much these children did not know. They were so lucky, not knowing that the worst was still ahead. For them, this was a passing fear, nothing to really worry about. Their elders would make it all better soon enough. He only wished it were true.

Satisfied that no child had been lost in the dark, Salazar nodded at Godric and the two led their students into the tavern, where most of the villagers had gathered, peering anxiously at the new arrivals.

"Friends," Salazar called to have their attention. "We thank you for coming here tonight. As all of you know, the forces of Lord Ambrosius are nearing Hogwarts, and are expected to reach us in the next week or so. We do not want to risk any of you. We do not ask you to join us in our fight. We have only one request. Take care of our children while we cannot.

"They are only a few, two dozen or so. We ask you to take care of them, take them into your homes for the duration of whatever will come to pass when Ambrosius arrives here. This is all we ask. Who of you will agree to do as we request?"

Slowly, one by one, men, prodded by their wives, raised their hands. It took a surprisingly short time to find lodgings for all the students. After all children were taken away to their temporary hosts, Godric and Salazar answered questions of anxious villagers. There were a lot of those.

People wanted to know when exactly he was coming, where he was expected to launch his attack. They asked if the four had all they needed to withstand siege if such a thing would happen, and if they had all the resources needed to battle with such a huge force as the coming army was rumoured to be. Some timidly asked if there was anything they could do to help, and others blatantly asked when and where they needed to be.

By the end of the gathering Godric felt drained and tired. He and Salazar trudged in the dark back to Hogwarts, accompanied by a few Knights that had waited for them. All other warriors were already in the Castle, ordered there earlier by Ceridwen. Both men wanted nothing better than to go to bed, but this was not to be.

There were sleeping arrangements to be made, now that all the warriors who had camped outside the Loch all this while, ever since they had sent word that Ambrosius had declared war on Hogwarts, were at the Castle. Those men had arrived swiftly after receiving the summons, and with each group that had arrived, Godric and his companions had felt slightly better.

Plans needed to be set in motion, finalized, agreed on. Checking the weapons and armours were all in order, making sure everyone was healthy and prepared to do battle. By the time Godric staggered into bed, it was almost dawn. He slept soundly that night.

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The moment he woke the next day, there were even more things to be done. Scouts were sent out to search for the forces promised by Gaius and Billius from which they had heard nothing ever since they had sent the summons. Others were ordered to keep an eye on Ambrosius' army, make sure to warn them if they appeared to be moving faster than expected.

Godric and Salazar, ordered by Rowena to keep an eye on Ryan and Ceri, spent the day discussing tactics with the leaders of the various groups congregated, leaning over maps and bits of parchment scribbled with arrows, dots and circles. As for Rowena and Helga, accompanied by several of the more powerful Knights, they spent that entire week fortifying the defences of Hogwarts, weaving newer, more powerful spells into the extended Apparition shield. They did not tell the men precisely what they had added, but from their shifty glances, they gathered the spells were on the nastier persuasion.

Those seven days preceding Ambrosius' arrival could not have been more intense, and surely could not have gone any swifter. Godric could practically feel time running out. And then, almost sooner than any of them felt it right, the scouts had returned. There was still no sign of Billius and Gaius, but there was no doubt about the other matter. Ambrosius was at the gates of Hogwarts.

The air around the Castle of Hogwarts had never been this sombre, this deadly and cold. No laughter of children was heard, no chanting of another charm learned, nor the sound of wooden swords clanging against one another. Complete silence encased the huge building and its grounds. The sloping lawns that reached down to the very shore of the lake were empty. No children graced its grasses, playing and enjoying the afternoon sun. They were empty of all, but four figures.

The four Founders of Hogwarts stood on the front steps of their home and watched the slowly setting sun, each wondering whether they would see it setting the next day.

Ambrosius was coming, and there was nothing they could do to stop him.

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The armies of the Council camped outside the Castle borders that night. Inside Hogwarts, men in armour and without walked in groups, sombrely discussing the upcoming battle. The Council Hall was filled with the people who had slowly continued to filter into the castle over the past week. Groups of those who called themselves rebels that managed to infiltrate the blocks set by the coming army of the Council, choice warrior bands from various lords and ladies who had decided to show their support, all Knights of the Phoenix who were still able-bodied and prepared to fight, and people of the village who would not leave the teachers of their children alone in their time of need. The Hogwarts Four walked among them, thanked the newcomers, greeted people they knew from before, exchanged words with random warriors. There was not much to be done. The defences were set, orders had been given. All they had to do now was to be ready for Ambrosius the next day.

At some point, Godric noted that Salazar and Helga had disappeared. He had no doubt where they went, and he wanted to do the same. This may be his last chance in a while to be alone with his wife, and he wanted to use that time to the fullest. Catching her eye, he nodded at the doors to the Entrance Hall. He watched her as she excused herself from the current group she was speaking with, and strode purposefully towards him.

No words were needed as he took her hand and led her away. She wanted to be alone with him as much as he wanted to be with her. Silently, they walked up flights of stairs until they reached their destination. The most secluded part of the Castle, where they could be sure no one will intrude.

"Where are the children?" he asked her softly as they leaned on the battlements atop the tallest tower, watching the winking lights of dozens of campfires being lit as night darkened and grew colder. It would have been a beautiful sight, had he not known its potential lethality. He knew very well where the children were supposed to be, but he did not know if Rowena had been true to her word and had taken them down to the village as she had promised. He had spent most of the afternoon discussing tactics with the more experienced members of their makeshift council, as did Salazar and Helga, but Rowena had excused herself early in order to spend a little more time with their children, only returning somewhat later and resuming her duties.

"Safe in the village with your mother and Dahlia as I have promised," she replied just as softly. There was a strange, choked note in her voice that caught his attention. A note that did not belong there. Turning to look at her, he noticed that in truth she was gazing far beyond the camps and into the distance, her eyes watery, but no tears escaping her tight control. It was then that he came face to face with the possibility that he might not see his children again. The odds were against them, and if the reinforcements promised by Gaius, Billius and several others did not arrive the next morning before Ambrosius had the chance to launch an attack... A sick feeling settled in his stomach.

But no. This had to be resolved, or young Ryan and little Ceri would live under the shadow of threat for the rest of their lives. If the price for a safe future for his two children would be his life, then he would gladly give it, no questions asked, no regrets.

Feeling somewhat reassured in his conviction, he wrapped his arm around Rowena. "The babies will be all right no matter what, 'Wena. You know that. Mother wouldn't let anything happen to them, and Ambrosius knows that attacking the only all-magic village in Britain is sheer folly. Whatever may happen to us, rest assured that Ryan and Ceridwen will grow up to be fine people."

He pretended not to hear the sniffing sound coming from her direction and just held her more firmly. He knew how hard it was to her, as he felt the same way, but they had to be strong and go through with it. He did not know how long they had stood there, just watching silently, each thinking their own private thoughts.

"Let's get to bed, Rowena," he said after a while. "We are going to have a long day tomorrow, and a few hours of sleep are what all of us need."

Without another word they left the tower, slowly making their way to their quarters, comforted by each other's presence, drawing courage from one another. There would be time to be afraid, they both knew, and time to face death and defeat, but for the time being, they allowed all thought of it go away and simply enjoyed the company of the other. Who knew if they would ever get the chance to do that again.

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Morning dawned cold and grey. The early morning mists hung from the hills of the countryside, surrounding the lake, obscuring Godric's vision as he stood at the doors of the Entrance Hall. They would move out soon enough, and the tension that had culminated since the day before would come into an abrupt outburst on the field.

He only half-listened to Helga's voice ringing in the silent hall behind him, too occupied at staring outside. He knew that Rowena and Salazar, standing by his side, were most likely not listening either.

"Remember," Helga repeated once more, talking to the sombre group filling the Entrance Hall. "Stun only. Offensive spells are only to be directed at members of the Council and members of the Chamber Guard. They are the real enemy - not the men that were drafted against their will by Ambrosius' drafting order. Take as many of those out as you can, just so that it is easier to handle those that really need handling. I repeat - stun only."

Helga, more than the rest of them, was most conscious about the fact that hurting the drafted men would serve no purpose, and realizing she was right, they allowed her to emphasize that idea to those who would be fighting on the hills outside Hogwarts territory, where they had intended it to be. Though, possibly, 'allow' was not the right word, Godric thought wryly. The normally diffident Helga would probably have fought nail and tooth were they to try and stop her.

There was an assenting murmur from the gathered men, which made Helga smile slightly before returning to where the other three were quietly standing. No words were needed between the four. It was time.

Helga and Rowena were the only women in this small, improvised force. Some of the Knights and quite a few members of the small resistance groups had commented on that, trying to convince the four that it was a bad idea to have a woman on the field, that they would end up having to save them, since they could not possibly defend themselves.

The two women had only exchanged frosty glances and coldly challenged anyone who would dare question their right to fight to a Wizard Duel. No one had answered their challenge.

Calling for the men's attention, they strode out of the front doors of the Castle and started the journey to the Pillars. It had long since been decided that they would not allow one enemy foot step within the borders of Hogwarts. They would be stopped before the winged boars, or not stopped at all.

No words were exchanged during the march. All sound was muted by the morning mists. To Godric, who happened to look back as they marched, it looked as though they had a legion of ghosts behind them. He could barely discern the creak of armour, or laboured breath. To all purposes, they were silent as death.

Almost as though no time had passed, he could see the massive pillars that marked the edge of their territory looming ahead in the early morning gloom. There was something eerie and uncanny about everything. He could not believe that they were really about to end it for once and for all. He could barely remember the time before Ambrosius had taken steps against them. They were always afraid that his denunciation would lead to an open confrontation, and here they were, at the culmination of it all, about to face him on a battlefield.

With as little speaking as they could possibly manage, the orders went through the ranks and soon the small force took position a short distance away from the Pillars, using the naturally hilly countryside as a barricade. For a while, at least, they would have the advantage of higher ground.

Then they had to wait. It did not take too long. It seemed as though the commanders of the Council forces wanted this to end quickly just as much as the Hogwarts Four had wanted. Out of the dissipating mist, the first figures appeared, taking their places atop the next rise in the terrain.

"I did not really believe that he would come himself," Salazar said as they watched the oncoming mass. At the very front, on a big stallion, was Ambrosius, a staff in his hand, shouting something indecipherable at his forces. "I thought he would rather stay safe back at Stonehenge and gleefully wait for news of our defeat."

"So pessimistic, Salazar," Helga chided, squeezing his hand. "Think of it as pointing at Ambrosius' uncertainness of who will win this fight."

In his own private thoughts, Godric found himself wondering why he had not thought of that himself. Ambrosius' appearance on the battlefield could very well mean that the Chief Warlock distrusted all of his underlings, and that their previous failing to stop Godric and his friends had given him something to think about. For all they knew, Ambrosius could be just as apprehensive of the upcoming battle as they were.

He could not blame him, watching the men gathered a short distance away. They were not warriors. They were farmers, artisans, simple men who had done nothing wrong apart of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Even from that distance he could see the fear in their eyes, or so he fashioned. While outnumbering the Hogwarts defenders greatly, they were still facing practiced warriors who knew what they were doing, men ready to die for the cause.

However, he could shake away the fact that the forces promised by Gaius and Billius had not yet arrived and that there was no sign of them from what their scouts had reported. While he did not think that the two would go back on their word, he certainly considered it entirely possible that they had encountered trouble on their way. Either way, by earlier reports, they were vastly outnumbered, and if the two lords would not arrive soon, they may be overridden.

It started almost before anyone could realize what was happening. A nervous young man standing at the very front of the Council army lost hold of his senses and, with a shrill cry, shot some sort of curse in the direction of the Hogwarts force. While it did not hit anyone, and he was cuffed violently by the Guard of the Chamber standing just behind him, it was enough to make the inexperienced warriors to think that they were meant to start the attack.

Not hearing the piercing shouts from their commanders, a wave of men started down the small rise, straight into the range of the Hogwarts curses.

"Remember!" Helga's voice by his side screamed. "STUN ONLY!"

And then chaos started. While they no doubt had the advantage of higher ground, the wave of Ambrosius' army was too large and soon engulfed them all.

Shouting curses and sending stunners all around him, Godric found himself separated from his friends. To one side he saw someone in a Knight's armour fall, but he could not recognize the insignia, nor had he time to check. Behind him, he could see someone running straight into the grounds' line of defence. With a blinding flash of light, the figure was incinerated. He did not want to know how his wife had keyed the curse to work, and at that point, did not have the time to ponder over it.

A fire jinx missed him by fractions of a distance, singeing the side of his face, sending him back, almost making a stray stun spell hit him.

He had no time for the poor men drafted to that army. He needed to find and eliminate the threat of the Chamber Guard. It had been decided that several of them would concentrate on those, and he was one of them. Unsheathing his sword, he whirled it around, daring anyone to get within reach of him. He would stun anyone in his way if he needed to, but his main aim was to avoid being targeted.

In the confusion around him, he suddenly spotted the dark green of the Chamber Guard's battle gear. Among the simple clothes of the drafted men, it was easily spotted. Holding his sword in one hand, and his wand in the other, he carved a path through the warring masses, going straight for the unfortunate Guard who was in the process of aiming at an oblivious Knight.

The Guard only barely noticed him in time. He whirled to face Godric, his own sword in his hand, quick as lightening. Upon recognizing the face in front of him, Godric found himself grinning wolfishly. He almost felt lucky.

"Why, Sir Randolf! Never thought I would see your ugly face again!" he taunted, relishing in the memory of what had happened last time he had met the former Knight. "All healed from your close acquaintance with the ground?"

"For quite some time, Gryffindor!" the Guard shouted over the noise of battle, attempting to hit Godric with a mighty swipe of his sword, which Godric parried easily. "I've been waiting for the day I would be able to wipe that smug look off your face! I was out of commission for months because of that fall!"

"Good!"

More blows were exchanged.

Around them people were still being hit by curses and stunners, people were screaming. Not too far off, though neither of the men knew that, Salazar quite calmly terminated the threat of Lord Severn, and several Knights had cornered Lord Llyr, all bent on making his last moments very unpleasant.

"Your side is losing, Gryffindor," Randolf now taunted back, seeing the men of the Hogwarts side dropping around them, outnumbered. "What will you do now?"

"Still have a few tricks left to play," Godric grunted with effort, the exchanging of blows becoming much more rapid, much more confusing. The two blades contacted, and the Guard put all his weight on the hilt, pushing at Godric.

"Oh, yes?" he laughed as he drove Godric to his feet with the sheer bulk of his weight. "Such as?" His laughter was cut short as he stared at a long, slim blade that his chest seemed to have sprouted all of a sudden, its tip bloody. He looked up at Godric, a confused expression on his face before a gush of blood came out of his mouth, spluttering all over Godric and his eyes glazed over.

Neatly sliding off the blade, Sir Randolf's body revealed the ginger-haired Billius grinning like a madman at the nonplussed Godric.

"Such as me?" the wiry Lord of the Council asked with a gleeful tone. "Been wanting to do that for ages," he confided conversationally in Godric as he pulled him back to his feet, almost as though they were not in the middle of a bloody battlefield with enemies all around them. The man looked none-too-clean, and he had a fresh bruise on his cheek, but other than that appeared to be in very high spirits.

"Watch out!" Godric cried, bypassing the man, cursing the Guard who was just about to send Billius into the arms of death. Standing back to back with the now fighting lord, he shouted over the din. "Where have you been? We've been waiting for you three days ago!"

"Gaius and I ran into a spot of trouble," Billius shouted back, hexing another poor man away. "Ambrosius had expected us to come to your aid, so he had set an ambush several days' march away from here. We needed to break through that before we could come. Lost a few men there, but nothing too substantial. We got here at a very forced march, I'll have you know. We were just on time, I think!"

"No question about that!"

After that there was no more time for words. The addition of the forces led by Billius and Gaius tipped the scales their way. While still outnumbered, they now had more trained warriors on their side, and in front of Godric's wondering eyes, quite a few of the drafted men turned on their commanders and unobtrusively started fighting on the Hogwarts side.

What felt like hours later, separated from Billius, he found himself at the very centre of the confrontation. From the corner of his eye, he could see Rowena's lithe form moving back and forth, viciously fighting against two Guards. He could only imagine what was driving her to this ferocity. She was most likely thinking of their children, he found himself thinking as he stunned someone out of his way to yet another Guard, and that in order to see them again she had to dispose of the danger.

Not far off, he could see Salazar and Helga fighting side by side, almost matched in their movements, defending each other of the surrounding attackers. From the corner of his eye he saw them separated as a wave of attackers forced them apart.

Somewhere in the direction of the Pillars a great fire had lit itself. Among the fighters on the field blobs of fire ran, screaming, and Godric realized in alarm that these were men. He could only assume that they had tried breaking the defences around the grounds.

And then, then he saw him. Still on his big horse, Ambrosius was at the very centre of the field, shooting curses every way. He did not seem aware of the proximity of all four to him. In fact, it seemed as though he was certain nothing could hurt him. Godric itched to prove him wrong. He aimed his wand carefully, distractedly thinking that he had better disable him and not kill him.

He did not see the other three doing the same. He was not aware of the fact that they all had the same pattern of thought.

All four hit Ambrosius at the same time. They had not practiced it, and had not meant it to happen. They all knew the threat of Ambrosius, who was a formidable duelist even at his age, had to be eliminated one way or another, and in the back of his mind, Godric knew that they would most likely have to kill him soon. They could not allow themselves to be compassionate in this matter. While Ambrosius' warriors were merely hit by the stunners or mild curses and hexes to disable them and remove them from the fight, the Chief Warlock and the Chamber Guard had to be disposed of for good, or they would come back to haunt them. The simple warriors were drafted by force, most of them wanting nothing better than to get as far as possible from Hogwarts, but the hard core of fighters was there for a purpose.

He recognized the amplified cutting hex Rowena had sent, and the blue beam of Helga's bone-breaking curse. He was almost certain that the dark orange beam from Salazar was a curse meant to cause internal damage and he knew that those three, in combination with his own curse intended to blast the man off his horse, would cause him substantial harm, if not immediate death.

The four beams hit the man from four different directions, the force of the impact throwing him neatly into the air and then, in an alarming speed, down to the ground. At the peak of his rise, the light surrounding him, created by the four, ill-matched spells, grew so bright as to draw the attention of all combatants on the field.

For a moment all movement on the hills in front of the Pillars of Hogwarts ceased, all fighting stopped. Everyone watched as the leader of the forces of the Council made his spectacular fall down to the soggy ground and hit it with a sickening crunching sound.

Ignoring everyone around him, Godric hurried to the side of the fallen Ambrosius, vaguely aware of the other three arriving almost at the same time. He kneeled down beside him and peered into his bloodied face. Rowena's hex had done its job, creating so many incisions in the man's flesh that it was difficult to see from where the blood issued. As he continued to survey the man, he could see his legs and arms were in unnatural positions, and from several places yellowy-pinkish bone protruded through flesh and robes. Helga's curse, in addition to the nasty fall, was not pleasant.

Ambrosius was still alive, though as he weakly coughed, blood stained his lips. No doubt Salazar's curse hit him as well. Godric knew the man had little time left and that they should, by all morals and ethics, just take him out of his misery, but as he watched the man who had haunted them every step of the way, sent assassins after them, tried to destroy their home and their families, was responsible to Godric's father's death and had threatened to kill them so many times in the decade or so they had opposed him, he felt no twitch of sympathy towards him. In fact, he felt that Ambrosius was now paying for all his sins against them.

"Amazing," he said dryly, his face very close to that of Ambrosius, "you are human after all."

The mortally wounded man attempted to spit on him, only succeeding in staining his own lips bloody again. "You shall pay for this," he whispered, choking.

"How exactly shall we pay? You are dead, Ambrosius, and your legacy shall go with you. You have no heir, no one to mourn you. You have no one to love you, to cry over your remains. In your years as Chief Warlock you have made nothing but enemies and cowering subordinates. You have nothing left, and Hogwarts has survived."

"No!" Ambrosius cried out, his voice hoarse. "This is not the end of it! I shall come back with greater powers and kill you all! I shall wipe your lineages! I shall kill your children! There will be nothing remaining of the four fools who had dared oppose the invincible Council of Warlocks! You-" His insane rant died out in a racking set of coughs that shook the broken body, causing the man to moan in pain.

"The Council has defeated itself, Ambrosius," Salazar's voice said somewhere to the left of Godric. "It has grown bloated and slow over the years and has destroyed itself. All that remains is a shell - which is more than will remain of you, for you are dying, and there is no one in this world that will want to cure you. You have lost."

Ambrosius struggled to open his eyes, a baleful expression in them as he looked at the four surrounding him. For a while he fought his dry throat to make a sound. When his voice finally came out, it came in short gasps, and as he spoke, the pauses between those gasps grew longer and longer, and Godric knew that soon enough he would be gone.

"You... will never... be able... to... defeat us," Ambrosius whispered. "Hogwarts... will... fall one... day. You can... not... stop it from... happening. It shall... feed on itself... crumbling from within. The end... is coming... for... you. You will become... rotten and... malicious... just like... what you... see in... the Council. Killing me... will not... stop it. You have wrought... your... own... destruction..." Ambrosius' voice died away, his wasted face twisting and trembling in his last moments of life. And in that last moment, on the exhale of his last breath, one word could barely be heard, though all four leaned very close to hear it.

"Rosalind..."

Now, tell me - who hadn't expected the outcome of the battle? ;) And on that note - who had expected Ambrosius' last word? :) Hope you liked the fighting sequence!

Thank you to all of you who read this story, and to those who reviewed:

Katalyst159: Heh, I was more or less aiming for that effect. More dramatic and all that :) Yes, something was wrong with Rowena, but she should be all right unless she takes it into her head to have another child despite everything... I rather like the idea of her having one boy and one girl - sort of complete, know what I mean? And you were right about Ambrosius, of course, hope that makes you happy :D Thank you very much!

Kitt: Why, thank you! *preens* :) Still several chapters to go, I promise - there's still much more that needs to happen before I can wrap this up! Hope you've enjoyed this one as well!

Magicalkairi: Isn't he? I hope that the end of this chapter gives some insight concerning the source of his madness... he's definitely a crazy dude - a crazy dude with vengeance at heart... Oh, yes, the cat scenario is very familiar, only mine does that when I'm trying to write over a piece of paper. She just likes standing in front of my computer monitor and blocking the view. Thank you very much and I hope that your resolution will come true!

And that is it for this time! Thank you all and wait until next week's update!