Do Not Go Gentle

whydowe_fall

Story Summary:
Harry Potter's capture ends the war, but it doesn't end the battle; Muggle-borns are rounded up and used as slaves for the ruling Death Eater party, while the rest of the Wizarding World is left in shambles. Hermione Granger turns to some old enemies in order to cope.

Chapter 01

Posted:
01/30/2010
Hits:
271


Prologue

"War is simply a reversal of civilized life." George Orwell

1997

It ended with a bang of light.

There wasn't a sound; the heavy night filled their lungs and choked out their breath. All eyes were on the edge of the tower, trained on empty air. No one dared to inch forward, to peer over the edge and look down.

Another moment of silence, and they knew.

It was a strange feeling, knowing that suddenly the game had changed; even Fenrir Greyback's blood-smeared grin faded a fraction as the impact of what just took place hit them. Draco Malfoy's was sallow, hands clenched in quivering fists at his sides, and he visibly jumped when Severus Snape whispered, "Out of here, quickly."

Snape made a grab for Draco's robe collar, to pull at the boy rooted to the ground, but a new voice made him jerk back as if burned.

"You went through with it, then? Dumbledore's dead?" Bellatrix Lestrange was illuminated sharply by the green haze of the Dark Mark hanging in the sky, wand at her side and a grin spread across her face that was unmistakably filled with pleasure. "Not that I doubted you for a minute, Draco."

"Of course, Bellatrix," Snape said; the thinness of his voice couldn't mask the undertones of distaste, though she paid it no mind. "This is just a pleasant late night stroll on the Hogwarts towers, I take it?" No one dared laugh. "I killed him, and we're running out of ti-"

"Fine, fine." She pushed past Amycus Carrow and his sister Alecto to walk up to the tower's edge and look down through the darkness; nothing could hide her happiness at what she saw far below. "Look at him down there, like a little rag doll strewn out! Oh, our lord would love to see this!"

"He'd love nothing more than to see Dumbledore on the out, I'm sure." Snape smiled a small smile, now, and Fenrir threw his head back and laughed, the high tones sounding more like a howl than anything else; Draco edged away from the werewolf carefully. "Let's go now."

"This is no proper celebration, Severus! For the Dark Lord!" She raised her wand to the sky and shot a stream of emerald green light in the direction of the shadowy Forbidden Forest to the east; it took a life of its own as it spewed from the wand, turning into a shimmery snake similar to the Dark Mark already hanging in the air. It slithered in a lazy fashion, and curled up on itself, flickering verdant sparks. "For Voldemort!" The jet emitted now from the wand's tip was a deep, bloody red. It hurtled down towards Dumbledore's body in slashing motions, then swooped back up through the night sky only to plummet once more, slicing viciously at air. "Old man got what he deserved, anyway." Bellatrix spat over the edge, and the spells both suddenly shifted from their decorative dances to a frantic buzzing in the sky, vibrating violently. The Death Eaters looked on as the beams shot from their locations towards each other, entwining where they met, then hurtling back towards the tower; no one made a move except for Alecto, who ducked as the light exploded over the door to the tower, illuminating the entrance of another guest.

Harry Potter stood with his wand outstretched and fury burning in his eyes.

A startled cry escaped Amycus's mouth, and a flurry of motion erupted as everyone moved to pull his or her wands; Harry was poised and unflinching, never looking away from Snape. His knuckles were white as bone clasped around his wand. "Heartless bastard, he trusted you! He trusted you and you-"

"You foolish, foolish boy." Snape met Harry's eyes, and then looked away.

Harry never got the chance to curse Snape before Bellatrix shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!" His eyes widened, and all breath left his lungs as his body went rigid. Bellatrix clapped her hands together in amusement at the sight of him, frozen in place, his wand dropping with a clatter onto the stones at his feet.

"Little Harry Potter has come to join us," Fenrir snarled, licking his lips. "How delicious!"

Bellatrix shot him an impatient look from across the room, though her eyes glowed with devilish delight. "This night just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter."

"He just stood there! Little twit didn't do a damn thing to stop us," Amycus said with a wheezy laugh. His sister barked in laughter as well, but the rest of the group was stony silent, watching Harry's unmoving body warily, expecting a twitch of life that never came. "So much for their great hero, eh?"

"How'd he get up here so fast? There's no way he could have known to look for us here unless he'd been told about our little... party beforehand." Fenrir looked straight at Draco, who made a small noise in shock as he tried to back into the shadows and out of sight. "Who'd you tell, Malfoy?"

Snape shook his head and interjected, "He was probably with Dumbledore up here, hiding like a coward; I'm sure we'll find an invisibility cloak around here somewhere." Fenrir scoffed, but stopped watching Draco's nervous twitching.

A smile blossomed on Bellatrix's face. "Boy, what were you trying to accomplish here? Did you want to try to bring him back?" She stepped slowly, but deliberately, towards Harry. "Aren't you tired of everyone around you dying? Do you remember Sirius dying? How about that Diggory boy? And your parents! And now..." She giggled, a shrill laugh that sent a chill down the Death Eaters' spines, and then she was standing toe-to-toe with him. She put her lips to his ear and whispered, "Dumbledore. Dead. D-E-A-D."

Fenrir catcalled as Bellatrix bit Harry's earlobe, hard enough to draw blood, before pushing him backwards into Draco's arms. Malfoy staggered in surprise at the sudden weight, doing nothing as Harry slid from his arms to the floor, limbs still unmoving.

"Look at him, bowing on the floor for his new masters. He's getting ready for his life of kneeling for our lord." Bellatrix stooped down and picked up Harry's wand, twirling it between her fingers as she put a foot on the small of his back. "Too bad he's not more... lively. Let us bring him around, shall we? Bring him around and let him celebrate a new era in the Wizarding World." With a snap, Harry's body went limp again; every Death Eater's wand was trained on him. He weakly lifted his head to look up at Bellatrix, who said, "Welcome back, Harry Potter."

Bellatrix laughed, and it ended with a bang of light.