The Progeny of the Pure-Blood

Chapter Twelve - Attack on Hogwarts

Turning to face the new professor, Harry wriggled his arm free and started to object.

But Arnaud Finnister was studying the lightning bolt scar upon Harry's forehead.

"I haven't seen you around here," began the young man. "Are you new?"

"No," said Harry.

Finnister squinted again at Harry's forehead, examining it closely.

"Could it really be... Harry Potter?"

Harry nodded hesitantly.

His face breaking into a wide smile, Finnister took Harry's hand and shook it enthusiastically.

"So nice to meet you!" he gushed.

"Er... you too," Harry replied. He jerked his hand away and wiped it on his trousers. The man's grip had been firm and clammy.

Finnister blinked, surprised by Harry's icy manner, but then recovered with, "Well, one of us must be getting to class, anyhow. I'm late again, I'm afraid."

The man turned on his heel and hastened back along the corridor, calling again behind him, "So nice to meet you, Harry Potter!"

"Curious bloke," muttered Harry, watching the professor as he hurried away.

"Didn't I tell ya?" Ron concurred.

Hermione ignored both of them and said instead, "I didn't even think to ask you how you'd gotten into the castle! What else haven't you told us, Harry?"

Harry glanced cagily at her, and then, without a word, walked away from the pair of them, back towards the Gryffindor common room.

Hermione was instantly at his side again, and he could hear Ron's footsteps following.

"Why d'ya think she was so easy on us?" asked Ron musingly. "McGonagall, that is," he added.

"You've never kept secrets from us before, Harry," said Hermione, disregarding Ron, and sounding very disappointed in Harry.

"You've never kept secrets from me either, but things change, apparently," he replied, refusing to look at her.

"Yes, but that was for your own good."

"Right." Harry picked up his pace.

"Do you really feel like you can trust Luci?" Hermione asked gently.

Harry stopped abruptly and Ron almost barreled into him. He glared at Hermione.

"I don't know, OK? But she's helped me and she's kept things to herself. And that's the end of it."

Then he started off again, and the three of them traveled the remaining distance in silence.

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After the morning's onerous events, Hermione had gone up to her dormitory in a terrible distress, muttering about resurrecting S.P.E.W. right away. The common room was empty and Harry and Ron were sitting quietly by the fire, neither looking at the other.

Eventually, Ron broke the silence. "The team has been good this year. Ginny's doing a great job as Seeker."

Harry nodded distractedly. His thoughts were bouncing back and forth between Luci and the tasks ahead of him and the image of Ron and Hermione kissing in a dark corner.

After a few more minutes, Ron began again, "Hagrid told us where your parents are buried."

This got Harry's attention. "I almost forgot! Where did he say?"

"Near your grandparents," Ron replied.

"Which set?"

"Oh, the Muggle ones."

"And where is that?" he asked Ron, who shrugged.

"Dunno. Forgot to ask that, actually. Figured you'd know."

"We should go down and see Hagrid anyway," said Harry, rising. "Let's find out."

Ron glanced at the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories as he, too, got to his feet.

"Let her rest," Harry suggested. "Come on."

They strolled leisurely down to Hagrid's hut. The grounds were empty, as most of the students were in class. The October air was chilly, but fresh and clean, and Harry breathed deeply as they walked. He had missed the scent of this grass, these trees, the aroma of home.

"So who made the first move?"

"Sorry?" asked Ron.

"With you and Hermione."

Ron blushed. "Who do you think? She did, of course. I'd never! She's out of my league."

Grinning, Harry asked, "When?"

"At the Burrow, before we came to Sirius's place. I'd been teasing her about spending her holiday studying for the N.E.W.T.s and she said, 'We're too old for this, Ronald,' and planted one on me. What could I do?"

Ron's imitation of Hermione had been spot on. Harry laughed.

Though he still felt somehow excluded, and this bothered him, Harry was happy for his best friends. It had been a long time coming.

Their knock on the hut's door was answered promptly. At the sight of Harry, Hagrid grinned broadly, his eyes shining beneath the dark, tangled masses of hair and beard.

"C'min, c'min," he said cheerily.

Harry and Ron entered and, at Hagrid's gesture, settled themselves into chairs around the table. Fang came over immediately and put his head into Harry's lap. Though he felt his jeans instantly soaking through with drool, he stroked the dog's head affectionately.

"Tea?" asked Hagrid, shoving a plate of cookies at them. But before they could answer, he'd continued, "Heard Finnister an' Todge talkin' abou' yer return, so knew yeh was here. They were a bit too excited, if yeh ask me."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Too excited? What do you mean?"

"Finnister could hardly contain 'imself, an' Todge, well, she's a quiet 'un, but she looked pleased."

Before Harry could raise any more questions about the new Hogwarts professors, Hagrid had gone on, "Anyway, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Harry doesn't know where his Muggle grandparents are buried," Ron chimed in.

"No?" asked Hagrid, giving Harry an astonished frown.

Harry shook his head.

"To tell yeh the truth, I was surprised yeh didn' know that yer parents were buried wit' 'em. It was in the letter 'at Dumbledore left fer yer aunt an' uncle. 'Course, those Muggles didn' tell yeh nothin'! Rotten of 'em! James an' Lily Potter, in a car crash! Rubbish!" Hagrid was growling angrily.

"What letter?" Harry inquired.

"The one 'at Professor Dumbledore left on the doorstep with yeh, tellin' yer aunt an' uncle what had happened, an' why they had to keep yeh, an' where yer parents had been buried."

"I never knew about any letter."

"No, 'course not," Hagrid said. "Told yeh abou' it the night I first met yeh, mind, but doubt yeh remember, eh?"

Harry shook his head. "What else do you think they didn't tell me?"

"I can' remember the whole thing, but I think 'at was the lot of it."

Harry knew, in that moment, that he had to get his hands on that letter.

"So my parents? They're in a Muggle graveyard?"

"Righ' there in Little Whingin', near yer mum's old house. Nice green grass, matter o' fact. Took 'em 'ere myself," he said, with a proud smile.

"Hagrid," said Ron slowly. "These cookies are actually good!"

Hagrid grinned. "Work o' Olympe, those are!"

"Where is she?" asked Harry.

"Has a school to run, but sends me packages now an' again," replied Hagrid, whose sparse visible skin had shone instantly red at the mention of Madam Maxime.

Harry and Ron smiled knowingly at one another. They were pretty sure that Hagrid and the French Headmistress had become an item.

The two boys spent a good deal of the early afternoon in Hagrid's hut, drinking tea and enjoying the suspiciously tasty cookies. Harry told Hagrid about his tiresome summer with the Dursleys and about visiting Godric's Hollow, and Hagrid had wept at the mention of Harry's parents.

When Harry and Ron returned to the common room, Hermione gave them both an earful about being sure to always tell her where they were going so that she didn't worry. Ron had humored her and, when she was quite finished, had kissed her softly and told her that she was very cute. Harry, uncomfortable, had turned away.

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That evening, Harry joined the rest of Hogwarts in the Great Hall for dinner, though there weren't many students remaining after the summer's events. Even still, it was good to be back, beneath the beautiful enchanted ceiling, surrounded by the various house colors. But looking up at the staff table, however full of familiar faces, Harry felt that there was an air of emptiness without Dumbledore.

A good deal of pointing and whispering had been taking place, but Harry tried to ignore it as he dove into his shepherd's pie. Ron told him that most of the students were forbidden to speak to him, due to their parents' fears that he would drag them into one of his notorious adventures. He laughed aloud at this and noticed Ginny glance up at him. She was positioned down the table, next to Neville, and they both decidedly avoided eye contact.

Suddenly, the casual chatter in the Hall was interrupted by a thunderous disturbance from the Hogwarts grounds. A small girl from the Slytherin table went to a window and, after assessing the situation, emitted a high-pierced scream. The whole room exploded in commotion. Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione, who each gave him a nonplussed expression.

Filch burst through the oak doors of the hall, shouting, "Death Eaters! Death Eaters on the grounds!"

"Everyone to their common rooms!" commanded Professor McGonagall, without missing a beat.

There was a mad rush for the door. Dishware shattered, sobs rose amongst the crowd, and people mowed over one another in their haste to reach safety. But Harry, Ron, and Hermione remained in their seats.

"The Death Eaters are in Azkaban!" Ron screamed over the noise.

"Certainly not all of them!" responded Hermione.

"What do they want?" yelled Harry.

"My guess is YOU!" Hermione answered.

"But how...?" Then Harry knew the answer to his own question. "Finnister and Todge! They know I'm here! Maybe one of them is a Death Eater?"

"McGonagall would never hire a Death Eater to teach us!"

"Dumbledore let one slip through, so she could make the same mistake!"

Hermione bit her lip.

Harry leaned into the two of them so that no one else could hear him, but he was still shouting. "If they want me, I can't let them come in here and attack innocent people!"

Ron and Hermione shared a worried look.

"We're going out to face them!" he continued. "Come on!"

He led them towards the back of the Great Hall, through the door that Hagrid had often entered to join the feasts. It took them directly out onto the grounds, where they could see many hooded Death Eaters advancing upon the castle. The Hogwarts staff was bursting through the oak front doors, throwing spell after spell at the intruders, who retaliated viciously.

"Out! Out!" Professor McGonagall was shouting at the lot of them.

Harry was keeping a close eye on Arnaud Finnister and a tall, yet plump, woman whom he didn't recognize, but whom he assumed was Clares Todge. He thought one or both of them might show signs of treason.

"Give us the boy!" someone shouted.

"What boy?" Professor Slughorn asked.

"Potter! We want Potter!"

"Well, you won't find him here, you idiots!" snarled Professor Sprout.

She was on her back before Harry could take another breath. Hermione made a choking noise.

"We know he's here!" said a familiar voice, and Harry's gut dropped out, because he knew that the voice belonged to Bellatrix Lestrange, the woman who had killed Sirius.

The rest of the professors instantly descended onto the hooded figures, who stood their ground, wands held high.

"We have to help them!" said Harry, gesturing for Ron and Hermione to follow him.

"Harry, we can't!" protested Hermione.

He continued forward and didn't look at her, but called over his shoulder, "Stay if you like."

"Wait!" commanded Ron.

Harry stopped and followed Ron's gaze, out towards the Forbidden Forest. In the distance, the three of them could see Grawp emerging from the foliage, led by Hagrid.

A squeal of delight popped from Hermione's mouth. "Everything will be fine now!"

Harry, who thought this was quite an overstatement, watched silently as Grawp joined the professors, flailing his massive arms into the cluster of Death Eaters. They released screams of protest as, one by one, they were flung into the air, sometimes landing yards away. One of them didn't get up again.

This went on for some time, with the Death Eaters and the Hogwarts professors swapping curses, and Grawp throwing his weight around. At one point, someone had lit Professor Trelawny's shawl on fire and she had hopped around in a circle, trying to extinguish the flames. Several people fell on each side, but the three onlookers had trouble seeing what exactly was happening. They could only observe helplessly.

"We can't just do nothing!" Harry finally said to Ron and Hermione. "Let's put on the Cloak and see if we can sneak into the middle of it."

His best friends agreed, though hesitantly, and Harry took the Invisibility Cloak from his pocket and stretched it over the three of them. They began a slow walk towards the battle, trying to keep their feet hidden and to remain silent.

Once they were on the outskirts, they began firing spells of their own. Befuddled Death Eaters looked around for the source of the attack, and Harry stunned one of them who had paused in confusion.

"They're just innocent children!" he heard Finnister shouting at someone.

The Death Eater responded, "Give us Potter and there's no need for anyone else to get hurt!"

"But Potter's not here, is he?" panted Professor Flitwick, who was dueling a hooded figure nearby.

At that moment, Harry knew what he had to do. He must protect all of those innocent children. He stepped out from beneath the Cloak, and Hermione hissed, "No, Harry!"

"You can have me, but you have to promise to leave the school," he began shakily.

The nearest Death Eater, the one who'd demanded his surrender, cackled victoriously and pointed his wand at Harry's chest.

"NO!" cried a gruff voice, and Hagrid threw himself in front of Harry.

Around them, everyone had ceased their battling, all eyes on the new situation.

"Not too bright, are you, baby Potter?" came Bellatrix's denigrating tone.

"Step away, half-breed," snarled the Death Eater standing before Hagrid. "We just want the boy."

"I will not!" Hagrid protested.

"Hagrid, please," begged Harry, from behind the gamekeeper. He tugged on the back of the massive tunic, but Hagrid didn't move.

"Very well," said the Death Eater, and he redirected his wand towards Hagrid and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"

Hagrid put up his hands in defense, and the curse seemed to ricochet, causing both men to fall to the ground. The Death Eater's mask flew off, and Harry saw a tubby man who looked remarkably like an older version of Gregory Goyle...

Ron's voice came, bathed with emotion, "Hermione!"

Harry saw disembodied legs fall against the moist grass.

Hagrid was lying on his back, and Harry dashed towards him. There was something in the gamekeeper's hand, something shiny, something that had caught the spell... the Professor's Pass! Harry reached for it, but a flash of yellow light flew past his ear and he withdrew, tumbling and losing his footing.

Suddenly, Trelawny gasped, "Look!" and pointed towards the Forbidden Forest.

A herd of centaurs, lead by Firenze, was materializing from the dense trees. Their bows were in hand, and they appeared fierce and reluctantly ready for battle.

At the sight of them, the Death Eaters who were still standing seemed to realize that their attack had failed. They scattered and began to dart away, towards the cast-iron gates of the castle.

One straggler lunged at Harry, but Harry, from his place on the ground, kicked the person in the face and backed away, crab-like, on his hands. The Death Eater recoiled and then hopped to their feet, following the others.

"After them!" shouted McGonagall.

"We need to get them to Madam Pomfrey," said Finnister, gesturing to the bodies strewn upon the ground.

Harry was trying to get a better look at Hagrid. The large chest wasn't rising and falling in its usual fashion. He felt his insides growing cold. Hagrid couldn't be dead... just couldn't... The spell had backfired... hadn't it?

"Get back inside, the three of you!" ordered McGonagall.

Harry didn't move, and neither did the still Cloak-covered Ron or Hermione, the latter of which seemed to have fainted.

"Well, go on, Potter, help him with the girl and get back inside! This instant!"

Harry nodded numbly and then assisted Ron with tugging Hermione to her feet, and they turned grudgingly back towards the castle.

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Harry, Ron, and Hermione had entered their common room without anyone noticing them, as the room was bursting with fretful voices. Harry had a nervous churning in his stomach, and he was anxious for news on Hagrid. He paced in a small corner of the room, and Hermione, who had come to, chewed her bottom lip, as the rest of the Gryffindors gossiped about the recent happenings. Ron sat cross-legged and unvoiced near Harry's feet.

McGonagall entered through the Fat Lady's portrait almost an hour later, her face pale as frost, her hands visibly shaking.

"The Death Eaters have been eradicated from the grounds," she said slowly, her voice quavering.

There was a cheer from the back of the room.

"But," the Headmistress began again, "at a great cost."

Murmuring began to spread throughout the room.

McGonagall cleared her throat and choked, "Professor Sprout..."

She stopped and wiped a handkerchief across her eyes, knocking her glasses askew. To Harry's left, he heard Hermione breath, "She's not even trying to seem composed."

"Professor Sprout and... and Professor H-Hagrid... have... fallen... in the fight."

"F-Fallen?" stammered Neville.

McGonagall took a deep breath. "They've... passed on, Longbottom."

With this, and a small sob, the Headmistress hurried back out through the portrait.