Battle Lines

Chapter 1: Baptism of Fire

13 March 2003: Beauxbatons.

1642h GMT

Squadron Leader Cho Chang circled on her broomstick five hundred feet above the Beauxbatons Academy. Voldemort's forces were closing in and all non-essential personnel, all those who couldn't Apparate, were being evacuated. Below her, in the grounds of the Academy, sat no less than six CH-53J "Pave Low III" transport helicopters of Muggle manufacture. The Pave Low was the largest production transport helo of all time. It could carry fifty-five fully armed troops, take them into hell and then fly them back out. However, today they were carrying evacuees.

Cho took her squadron, the elite Seeker Squadron, on another lap of the Academy, covering those on the ground. In the distance she could see the little black dots that were Chaser Squadron and Beater Squadron.

As she passed over the northern end of the grounds her comm crackled to life.

'This is Control.' came the crisp, clipped, and slightly French accented tones of Fleur Delacour. 'First transport is ready to lift. Be warned we have enemy formations incoming, bearing three-twelve. Seeker Squadron climb to angels two hundred and engage, Chaser and Beater Squadrons, stay close, give rest of the transports time to lift.'

Cho switched her comm to the squadron frequency. 'This is Lead, you heard the lady, climb to two thousand feet. Seeker Squadron, report in.'

Immediately reports began to flow in. 'This is Seeker Two, standing by.'

'Three, I'm green.'

'Four, nothing's gone wrong yet'

'This is Five, Two flight are ready to roll.'

'This is Nine, Three flight are locked, cocked and ready to rock.'

Cho looked down at her own systems readout. On the brooms she had flown as Seeker on the Quidditch pitch she wouldn't have needed to do this, but now it was different. This stick had about as much in common with normal racing brooms as a VW beetle had with a Ferrari...

When the war had first broken out broomsticks had been for recreational purposes. It hadn't taken long till some one had been flying and decided to take a few pot-shots with a wand. That had all culminated in what she now rode; The Nimbus AB-42c "Stick Insect", the latest piece of air superiority hardware to hit the wizarding world. Larger than a normal racing broom it could accelerate from zero to sixty knots in under two seconds. It had a VNE of around 650 knots and unparalleled manuverability. Titanium alloy clamps bound the bristles to the stick, the foot bars were made from high tensile carbon-fibre, the shaft was a balsa core with ash laminate. But what really made this broom different was what was on the front, a small module that carried a GPS, sensor readouts, comm controls and a large, single spell wand, locked into a forward firing position. Wizards had originally duct-taped their own wands on the front of the stick, but this was better, it was easier to aim and left you two hands to steer with. This was fortunate, because when flying the "Stick" you really needed both hands just to hold on and steered with your knees.

'There, bandits, 11 o'clock low!' Seeker Three's voice jolted Cho back to the present.

She recovered quickly. 'Roger that Three; okay people you know the drill, break and engage by pairs, I've got the leader.'

Without a further word she rolled her stick inverted and pulled into a long dive, the maneuver made famous by the Spitfire during WWII. This was good, twelve on twelve, even odds for once.

Cho flicked a switch on her console, a set of cross hairs appeared in the air before her. Gently she moved them just in front of the lead broomstick in the enemy formation but before she could fire a panicked yell broke through her headset.

'Lead! Break! Bandits six o'clock high!'

Everything went to hell.

Cho was already responding, pulling up and rolling. Her wingman wasn't fast enough. Two disappeared in a flash of light and heat.

'Two is gone, I repeat gone!'

Cho whipped around and what she saw made her heart stop, no less than two full squadrons of enemies, twenty-four broomsticks, were bearing down on her and her squadron.

Three to one odds.

We are so screwed.

'This is Lead, head for the deck. Control, we could really use some help out here!'

The reply came back. 'Sorry Seeker Lead, all available forces are now engaged. We are unable to spare anyone at the moment.'

Cho dived, no less than three enemy sticks following her down.

Frantic babbling flew through the airwaves;

'Will someone get this? ...Arrrrrg!'

'Twelve is down'

'...one of you flyboys give me a hand over here.'

'This is Twelve, where are you Eleven?'

'Twelve, if you're here, who was that?'

Cho levelled out barely ten feet from the ground. She drove hard through a handy valley.

'This is Control, the first transport is away; I repeat the first transport is away.'

Ragged cheering filled the comm.

Again across the radio came another voice. 'Lead, this is Nine, I've got about four bandits on my tail, head to head, I'll take yours if you take mine.'

'Roger that Nine.' Cho replied. 'Moving into position now.'

Ahead of her she saw Nine racing toward her, and opened fire, not at him, but at those following. Nine did the same. Kilojoules of raw magical energy flash past her, two shots connected with Nine's pursuers before she was past. Another two concussions hit her from behind.

'Yahoo! Splash two bandits!'

'Settle down Fred, there's more where those came from; I've got your wing.'

Cho and Fred Weasley, Seeker Nine, looped back up toward the fight. They drove in, firing as fast as they could find targets. Then as fast as they had entered they were back out the other side of the fight. They looped around and Cho saw a Death Eater broom bracketed in her crosshairs, she snapped off a shot on reflex, missing by miles, Fred didn't. It disappeared is a cloud of magic. But then they were back into the midst of the dogfight. Cho pulled around hard trying to bracket another enemy. A shot from her wand lanced out and vaporized his wingman, they were flying tight. Another volley of magical fire flew past her. She started to pull around, but it was to late, she closed her eyes and waited for the end...

BOOM

Cho opened her eyes again, oblivion, it appeared, had failed to arrive.

'Who did that?'

'Beater Lead to Seeker Lead, some party you've got going here Cho, mind if we crash it?'

Then they were there, firing as they came, Beater Squadron. And behind them, spells ricocheting off its armoured flanks came an AF-2 "Mercury" aerial fortress; its multiple weapons emplacements already alight, filling the air with fire.

The Death Eaters suddenly confronted with a new factor, started to retreat under the withering firepower. The action had taken less than five minutes.

'This is Seeker Lead; Control the area is clear, thanks for the rescue.'

'Our pleasure Seeker Lead...' that had to Lee Jordan CO of Beater Squadron, '...If you enjoyed this service please don't hesitate to try our others...'

'Stow it Beater Lead.' Fleur interrupted Lee in mid sentence. 'We need you back here to escort the transports out.'

Cho sighed, no rest for the wicked. She switched her comm on. 'Roger that Control, ok people, form up on me.'

Even as she said it broomsticks were pulling into position behind her. Seeker Nine pulled up beside her as a temporary wingman.

'Right, call 'em in, Three, go ahead, Two isn't here anymore.'

'Seeker Three, minor burns.'

'Seeker Four, tired of Three's whining.'

'Five, I'm on the ground and pretty cut up, have sent for pickup, only hope they get here before the Death Eaters do Ma'am.'

Damn thought Cho, that was George Weasley out of the fight.

'Six, broom keeps pulling left, broken arm due to midair earlier.'

'Seven, I'm good.'

'Eight, Ma'am, I'm on the ground with Five, had a control malfunction, figured I'd better get down before I fell down.'

'Nine, you know how I am, but Ange...' Fred caught himself, '...I mean Ten is out of the fight. Ma'am.'

Shit that was Angelina down and out as well.

'Eleven, broken arm and shrapnel wounds.'

'Twelve, severely singed, fractured arm and caught some shrapnel.'

Cho swore harder, seven of twelve pilots in no condition to fly. 'Alright Twelve, Eleven and Six. When we get back to Beauxbatons put down and get a ride out on one of the Pave Lows. Five and Eight, you already seem to have the situation under control. The rest of us will escort the transports out.'

'This is Beater Lead to Seeker Lead.' that was Lee again. 'I don't know about you but we're pretty shot up here, I'll leave those who can fly with you, the rest of us are going to have to pull out.'

'Roger that Beater Lead, who've I got?'

'This is Beater Seven; I've avoided being hit so far.'

'This is Beater Eight, like wise.'

'This is Beater Twelve, they've missed me up until now.'

'Ok Beaters, re-number for the time being, Thirteen through Fifteen.'

'Roger that Ma'am.'

Cho put her group into a shallow dive as they approached Beauxbatons. The odd flash and distant explosion signalled an action already in progress.

'Alright people,' said Cho, 'stay sharp, we're coming up on Beauxbatons now. Those going home break off now; you're on your own. The rest, form up on me. Let's do this.'

Cho and her pilots dropped, losing altitude until they were within inches of the top branches of the trees.

'All pilots accelerate to attack speed.'

Cho lay flat on her broomstick, minimising wind resistance and lowering her target profile. They were now right below the dogfight with the walls of Beauxbatons less than half a kilometre ahead.

'Break by wing pairs and engage.'

Cho suited actions to words by hauling back on her broom sending it into a steep vertical climb giving her a perfect shot at the bellies of two Death Eaters flying above her. Her first shot grazed the leader, setting his broom alight; he tumbled into the ground with all the grace of a grand piano. The second rolled out of the way pulling hard right with Cho and Fred in hot pursuit. Cho's next shot went wide, burning a mark in a nearby wall. The Death Eater jinxed his broom around then sideslipped and pulled into a climb. A blast of energy from Cho's right caught him square in the midriff, turning him into free hydrogen atoms.

'Nice shot Nine.'

More babble came through the comm waves.

'Shit! They're all over me.'

'Hang in there Fifteen, we're coming for you.'

'Whoohoo. Death Eater down.'

'Thanks Seven.'

'This is Chaser Ten, I've lost all control, bailing out.'

Cho brought her broom round just in time to see a figure detach itself from a burning broom and levitate downwards. To her right she saw two enemy brooms moving in for a kill on the defenceless pilot.

'Lead, you seeing what I'm seeing?'

'Roger that Nine, lets go get 'em.'

Cho pulled up losing three shots in rapid succession at the two Death Eaters, none struck home, but it forced them to break off their attack on the descending Chaser Ten. The two Death Eaters broke away in different directions.

'Ok Nine, you take the left, I'll take the right.'

Cho banked right passing over the head of her wingman as he went left. She drove hard around in pursuit of her quarry, who started jinxing making him all but impossible to hit. The two pairs of brooms circled around their respective arcs until they were almost together again, then, in a display of precision flying that would have put the Blue Angels to shame, the two Death Eater brooms crossed over. Unfortunately for them the airspace was already occupied, by magic blasts courtesy Cho and Fred. The two Seeker Squadron pilots emerged on the other side of the cloud, Fred tucked in behind Cho again.

'This is control.' the voice of Fleur came across the airwaves again. 'The third transport is away, I repeat, the third transport is away.'

Another voice cut through Cho's earpiece. 'Seeker Lead, this is Six, we're on a transport and have just picked up Five and Eight. We'll go get Chaser Ten then we're outta here, don't bother responding, you look like you're kind of busy.'

Cho turned her attention back to the dogfight. The numbers of dark wizards were dwindling thanks to the efforts of the remnants of the three squadrons. Cho looked left to see a Pave Low exiting the engagement zone with two broomsticks escorting it out. Below her the fourth Pave Low was beginning to lift when, out of nowhere five Death Eater brooms descended on it, pumping kilojoules of raw magical power into it. The effect was awesome. The big chopper exploded, sending shrapnel and spinning rotor blades everywhere. The massive hulk fell back toward the ground, secondary explosions ripped through it throwing more debris into the air while the wreckage crumpled onto the ground, burning and filling the air with dense black smoke. Fire crews and MP's rushed out extinguishing burning bits of wreckage before they could catch anything important.

Cho, Fred and the three Beater Squadron pilots descended on its attackers like the riders of the apocalypse. The first enemy caught a shot in the tail sending him on a ballistic course into a wall. The second obviously didn't realise his lead had been hit until too late and he ploughed into the wall as well. The third caught a shot from one of the Beater Squadron pilots. Death Eaters four and five turned hard and disappeared into a gap between two buildings, the Beaters followed them in. Cho and Fred also followed but above the buildings, looking for the two Death Eaters. Before they could spot them a billow of ionised gas burst out from between the buildings and rising from it, the three pilots from Beater Squadron.

'Yahoo, notch one up for Beater Eight, the instant ace!'

'Pull your head in Eight, or it might get shot off.'

Cho looked around; the sky seemed to be emptying.

'This is Control.' Fleur's voice cut through again. 'Death Eater forces are withdrawing. The final transport is ready to lift, all squadrons escort it out.'

Flying in lose formation the pilots formed up around the last Pave Low as it headed for the French coast.

It took another two hours flying till they could see the white cliffs of Dover. Half an hour after that the broomstick riders broke off from the helicopter and headed for a nearby airfield to refresh before the final leg to Hogwarts.

Cho touched down on the hardstand near the control tower. She removed her helmet and was greeted by a RAF sergeant in SD uniform. He threw her a quick salute, which she returned. Around her the rest of her squadron and the three from Beater Squadron were touching down, removing helmets and massaging out cramps from the long journey.

The sergeant spoke, 'Ma'am, the lot from Chaser Squadron left about five minutes ago. We were told that you would be arriving soon. If you and your squadron want to freshen up I'll show you up to the officer's mess.'

'Thanks, where do you want us to put these,' said Cho, motioning to the brooms.

'Oh, the cadets' flight hut is just over there. I'm sorry, but we don't have any other space. You can dump your gear in there.'

By the time they arrived at the officer's mess storm clouds were rolling in from the sea and a bitter wind was blowing across the tarmac. The officer's mess was little more than a glorified shed, but it was well furnished inside and warm. Cho and the rest of her pilots stripped off their flight jackets, leaving them at the door. Unlike Hogwarts the tables in the mess seated twelve with a buffet to one side. Cho looked up from her meal to see that outside the storm had come in and was blowing sheets of rain across the ground. The sound of rain hammering the tin roof could be heard above the chatter of voices.

As if echoing her thoughts Fred turned to her. 'Don't much fancy flying home in this.'

Cho merely nodded, her mouth full of potato. Most of the pilots seemed fairly silent.

One of the mess staff tapped her on the shoulder. 'Ma'am, I've been asked to inform you by the base commander that he's grounded you and your squadron until the storm passes, accommodation has been organised.'

Cho managed a wry smile. 'Tell the commander that he must be a mind reader, and thanks.'

With that the steward turned away.

She turned to Fred. 'Looks like we won't have to fly in this after all.'

'Thank god I'm not a Chaser.'