Severus glanced around the woods as he appeared within their boundaries. From this vantage point he could see the Death Eaters gathering to make their approach into town. He was late, but not unpardonably so. The lack of proper garb was a more pressing problem, and not one he could easily solve. Unless.. Severus waited just inside the tree line, watching as some of the younger Death Eaters, those still on the fringes of the group, wandered by his hiding place. He waited until he saw a lone figure approaching, lured him inside with a whispered "Come here," and then knocked him out with a curse. Quickly stripping the body of its cloak and mask, he put them on, muttered a spell to alter the fit of both, and strode out of the trees.
"Ahhh, Severus, I was wondering what had happened to you." Lucius Malfoy's malevolent voice came from the side as Severus walked through the field toward the center of the crowd. Severus' hands fisted as he turned to face Malfoy.
"As you see, I am here."
"But late, Severus, I'm sure the Master will want to know why his ..favorite..potion maker chose to be late on this most important occasion." Malfoy's voice insinuated knowledge of something. Most likely an unpalatable something.
"I had to get rid of that idiot Lupin, Dumbledore had sent him down to my rooms on an errand, and he wouldn't leave. I couldn't exactly pull out my mask and cape and say 'Excuse me old boy, must toddle off to a meeting,' now could I?" Severus raised an eyebrow, sarcasm falling readily from his lips.
"No, I suppose not. Come, the Master awaits us." Malfoy turned his back on Severus and led the way to the center of the field, where Voldemort stood gazing at Upper Hesrod.
"You are late." Voldemort didn't deign to look at Severus.
"My humble apologies, Master, as I told Lucius, I had to get rid of Lupin." Severus made his tone obsequious as he bowed to Voldemort.
"Permanently one hopes."
"No, Master, it seemed prudent to leave him alive awhile longer. I feared his death in my quarters would bring suspicion upon me." Severus thought he heard a faint growling as he said those words. Surely he imagined it.
"I see. Lucius, assemble them. Severus, you will stay with me this night. You did bring the items I requested, did you not?" Voldemort began to swell, his body looming over those around him.
"Yes Master." Snape touched the bottles in his pants and vest pockets, thanking Merlin that he'd had the foresight to tuck the majority of his special potions in them instead of his cloak.
Voldemort surveyed those arrayed before him, all properly cloaked and masked, raised his wand to his throat, and said "Sonorus".
"Today is a most auspicious day for us. Today is the day that we formally begin our liberation of the wizarding world. That we make our first target Upper Hesrod is fitting. Many of you know that this village offered succor to many of my enemies during the previous war. You are to leave no building untouched, no field unburned, no person alive. You have your orders, be vigilant, be vicious, be victorious!" Voldemort slowly shrank back to his normal size, pointed his wand at his throat, and said "Quietus."
From the back of the Death Eaters Severus could hear Goyle yelling "Move out you lot! You heard what the Master said, not a building untouched, no field unburned, no person alive."
"Severus, make sure that the commanders have their potions, and then meet us at the fork in the road to the east of the village.
Severus bowed low to Voldemort, said "Yes, my Lord," and went in search of the various commanders. Who would be most surprised when they tried to use the 'potions' he'd brought them. All of which were guaranteed to do nothing close to what was expected. The confusion fog would become instead an enhancement fog, giving those fighting the Death Eaters an extra edge of intelligence and skill. The camouflage mist would instead provide a visible outline of the person it anointed. There were several other little surprises in store for the Death Eaters. Severus realized that it was unlikely he would live out the night, but at least he'd have the satisfaction of having contributed to the downfall of some of Voldemort's forces.
Unnoticed by any of the Death Eaters, a dark shadow slunk along the trees, keeping to the shadows. The large black dog had listened in anger as the Death Eaters near it callously discussed the coming 'entertainment', with no regard to the lives they would be ripping apart. The worst moment had come when he'd heard Severus talk of Remus, and how he'd had to get him out of the way. He could only imagine what the sadistic git had done to Remus. Logically, he knew that Severus was on their side, but sometimes it was difficult to separate the words from the deeds. Sirius slid into some bushes next to the first house, hoping that he would remain unseen, and that their carefully placed forces were ready.
Severus rejoined Voldemort, Malfoy, and several others. They walked boldly toward the center of town, stopping when they reached a large house. It was decorated for Christmas, and from the sounds coming from inside, a party was being held. Thin streams of bright green sparks came from all quadrants of the town signifying that the Death Eaters were in position. Voldemort raised his wand, sent a large stream of silver sparks into the sky, and nodded at the large, beefy Death Eater to his left.
Voldemort watched dispassionately as the Death Eater blew the door into small splinters with a quick wave of his wand, and disappeared inside the building, searching for inhabitants. Several other Death Eaters followed him in, howling in triumph as they burst through the door.
Severus closed his eyes behind his mask, trying not to think of the lives that would be lost that night. He knew that the Order of the Phoenix had done their best to convince all the townsfolk to leave, but that many had decided to stay and face Voldemort. At least all the children should be safely away by now. This victory, if victory it should prove to be for Voldemort, would not come cheaply or easily.
"Come Lucius, Severus." Voldemort turned away from the building and toward the other side of town where shrieks of torment could be heard rising above the howls of the Death Eaters. Already several homes were on fire, and death marks could be seen looming ominously above them.
None of them noticed the black dog slinking after them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry and the others looked around curiously as the portkey dumped them on the floor of the forest. They could hear the sounds of fighting and the screams of despair from the village as they brushed the dead leaves from their cloaks.
Ron paused in his brushing to look at Harry. "You didn't happen to bring the invisibility cloak with you, did you?"
Harry smacked his forehead with his hand. "No, I've forgot it! It would have been dead useful too!"
"Well we can't go back for it now," Hermione pointed out.
"What do we do now?" Ginny was leaning out from between two trees, looking toward town. "Oh, I can see the death mark."
"They've started." Harry felt disheartened. "We might be too late."
"You didn't think they'd wait for us to arrive, did you mate?" George looked inquisitively at Harry. "You brought us here, what's your plan?"
Harry thought for a minute. He'd been so focused on getting to the battle; he hadn't spared a thought for what they'd do when they arrived. "We need to see what's going on before we can make up a plan."
"That makes sense," Hermione said approvingly.
"Hang on to this, will you Ron?" Fred handed Ron his broom and climbed the nearest tree. They could hear faint rubbing sounds, as if twigs were pressing against each other, as he ascended the tree, and then all sound stopped. Several minutes later they could hear Fred returning with the same sounds.
"I'm too far away to tell for sure, but there seems to be an alley that has no activity in it right now. I think if we head for it, we may have a chance to see what's going on without being seen. And the best part is that the trees run along this side of the village for quite a way, we should be able to get to the alley without going across open ground." Fred wiped the sap from his hands onto his pants and retrieved his broomstick from Ron.
"I don't suppose either of you have learned to become a dog animagus?" Ron looked enquiringly at his older brothers.
George stared incredulously at Ron. "Not hardly, why?"
"To warn us of people coming of course! Too bad Sirius isn't here; he'd be useful to have around too."
"Unfortunately we have neither. I suggest we stay in the tree line until we get close to the alley, and then some of us go see what's in it." Hermione stared at each person, waiting for a response. When she got none, she turned and started toward the town.
"Wait up Hermione." Harry ran up next to her and started a whispered conversation as they walked.
"How will we know when we've reached the alley?" Ginny was trudging along beside her older brothers, wondering if this had been such a good idea.
"There's a large tree that's half fallen over just at the edge of the forest right before the alley. When we see that, we need to stop and see how far we are from it." Fred was peering toward the edge of the trees, obviously keeping an eye out for his landmark.
"Like that one?" Ginny pointed toward a tree that was so stooped it looked almost bent in half.
"That's it! Hold up there!" Fred ran ahead to Harry and Hermione. "Indeed to see how far we are from the alley. I'll be right back." He was gone before anyone could say a word, black cloak blending perfectly with the surrounding trees. He reappeared, face creased in thought.
"Well?" George leaned toward his twin, as did the others, anxious to hear his report.
"No one there, doesn't look like anyone's been there all evening. There's a bunch of old dust bins right at the other end, where it opens onto the main street. I think we can hide behind them and get an idea what's happening, but we'll have really limited visibility. I wish there was someplace higher where we could have a really good view." Fred sighed in frustration.
"First things first. When we get to the end of the alley, Ginny and I will look for a better lookout place." Hermione was good at delegating, and in this instance, it was a needed skill.
"Ron and I will look for Father." Harry's mind was set on one thing and one thing only.
"George and I will keep an eye out for Death Eaters heading our way. Be very careful that you don't make any noise as you hide behind the bins." Fred led the way to the edge of the forest, and then across the 3 yards to the alley. The others followed quickly and quietly, trying not to dwell on the sounds of battle around them. Harry found himself walking next to Ginny. He jumped a little when he felt her small hand slide into his, but held on to it as they walked. The sounds around them probably reminded her of her time as a first year with Tom Riddle.
Fred raised his hand, signally them to stop as they reached the other end of the alley. The spread out and crouched behind the dustbins, all eyes searching on their appointed tasks. They could see dark forms running across the open village green, some firing off curses as they ran, others trying vainly to escape and being cut down as they moved.
"Hsssst!" Harry looked toward the noise and saw Fred motioning them back to the other end of the alley.
"What did you see?" Hermione had managed to find a piece of parchment in her pocket, and had a quill ready to write with.
"I saw nothing." Ron looked a bit dejected that he hadn't found Snape. Possibly the first time he'd ever tried to find him!
"Neither did I." Harry stared hopefully at the rest of them.
The twins looked at each other. They hadn't had to find anything specifically, just make sure no one snuck up on them. They shook their heads together.
"Ginny?" Hermione looked hopefully at the red headed girl.
"No. I saw a little hill on the other side of the village, but there was already fighting going on over there. I think we'd be so busy dodging people we wouldn't be able to see anything."
Hermione nodded thoughtfully as she scribbled on her parchment. "Well, I was hoping someone else would find something better. The only thing I saw that we could use was the clock tower in the center of the town. There's not much fighting going on around it at the moment, but no matter which way we approach it, we'll have to cover open space."
The others stood silently, thinking over the information that they'd just gathered.
"That's it then," Harry said, looking around at his friends. "There's no reason for you to come with me. I'll climb the tower and find Dad. Ginny's got the portkey; just make sure you're hidden when you use it." He turned to go, unwilling to risk the safety of these friends.
Ron reached out and snagged the edge of his cloak as Harry walked by. "You don't think I'm going off to Hogwarts and leaving you to get all the glory alone, do you?"
Harry met his eyes, seeing the seriousness lurking in them. "Ron.there's no reason.."
Hermione stepped up to the two of them. "Harry, we've been through this whole thing together so far, how can you think we won't see it through to the end with you?"
"I just.I can't." Harry stopped, at a loss for words.
"And us mate. Can you really see the proprietors of Weasley's Wonderful Wheezes running off from an adventure like this?" George had his broomstick slung cockily over his shoulder, and was leaning nonchalantly against a convenient tree.
"Besides, Mum would kill us if we let anything happen to Ron." Fred reached over and rumpled Ron's hair. Ron ducked and swatted at his brother, more out of habit than genuine irritation.
"You can't possibly think I'm going home." Ginny frowned at the others. "We're either going home together or not at all."
Harry looked at each person in turn, humbled at their friendship and loyalty. "You're all mental," was all he could think of to say, but apparently they understood the meaning behind the words, for they all grinned a bit self-consciously at each other.
"Right then." Hermione looked down at her paper. "The best path to the tower is actually on the other side of the village. The trees run around the whole village, so except for when we're actually crossing lanes, we should be hidden. There's a very narrow alleyway next to a large house on the other side. It's already got the death mark above it, so it should be safe enough to go by."
"What happens after we go through the alley?" Ginny had an intent look on her face, as though she was carefully memorizing each word Hermione said.
"After that, there's an open space of about 15 yards. Hopefully there's a door into the clock on that side, but even if there isn't, there are some bushes, on the sides that I could see at least, that we'll be able to hide behind."
Ron had listened in amazement as Hermione listed the particulars of the clock tower. "You picked all that up in the time we were looking?"
Hermione flushed slightly. "Well, I eliminated everything else pretty quickly, so I was able to concentrate pretty heavily on the tower."
The students flinched as a particularly large explosion followed by piercing screams were heard.
"We'd better not waste any more time," Harry muttered.
Once again Fred led the way. They passed silently through the trees, stopping only when they reached a lane. The quietly ran across when they saw no movement on it. The next two lanes and one animal track were dealt with in similar fashion, and they were closing in on where the alley should be when their luck ran out.
George had silently ghosted across yet another lane, and was waving the others onward when they heard a voice saying "Hang on, what have we here!"
Unnoticed by any of them, a Death Eater had turned a corner in the path and was approaching them, wand at the ready.
Ron stepped forward, standing in front of Hermione while Harry stepped in front of Ginny. Ron caught a glimpse of movement from behind the death eater just as Fred, stepping to the right of all of them, said "Excuse me, but we seem to be lost, could you dir.." He never finished the sentence. George had crept up behind the lone death eater and cracked him across the back of the head with his broomstick, laying him flat out on the ground.
"Help me pull him back into the woods," George said as he grabbed the wizard's feet and prepared to haul him away. Ron and Harry each took an arm and helped cart him off to the side.
"Wait." Hermione followed them, looked down at the death eater dispassionately for a moment, and then raised her wand. "Petrificus Totalis."
The boys stared at her in amazement.
"What?" Hermione stared back, seemingly unfazed at their stares.
"But Hermione, what if no one finds him?" Ron seemed particularly disturbed by Hermione's actions.
"Then there's one less death eater to worry about. Come along!" They followed as she swept back to where Fred and Ginny stood waiting, just inside the trees.
Ginny looked at her returning friends. Something had happened, she could tell by looking at Ron's face. "Is something wrong?"
"Hermione just put a body bind curse on that death eater." Ron was obviously still shocked.
Ginny considered that for a moment, nodded her head, and said "That makes sense."
The boys stared at Ginny and Hermione in silence for a moment, before shaking their heads slightly and continuing on. It was obviously another one of those things about girls they'd never understand. Hermione and Ginny shared a little smile before they followed.
"Is this it, Hermione?" Fred had paused at yet another alleyway, the third such they'd passed since knocking out the death eater.
Hermione looked around. "I think so, but I can't be sure. It looks narrower than the last two.
"This is it." Ginny sounded absolutely certain.
"How can you tell, Gin?" George eyed his sister, not sure whether to trust her sense of direction.
"If you look to the right you can see the shadow of a large house at the end of the alley. I happened to look at this section of town very carefully; I was hoping to find a tall house with a good attic to stand in. The alley Hermione described was next to the largest house I saw, and I noticed there was a school house next to it." Ginny pointed to a sign the others hadn't noticed before. It was hanging above a door tucked into the back of the building across the alley from the house, and read "Trade Entrance, Upper Hesrod Day School".
"Ginny, you're amazing!" Ron grabbed his sister in an impromptu hug.
They quickly found that the alley was so narrow that they could only go single file. Fred went first, followed by Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and George. They reached the end of it without incident, and waited while Fred carefully leaned out and searched the immediate area for battle. The rest waited impatiently for what seemed hours until Fred turned around and whispered his report.
"The worst fighting seems to be going on toward that side of the park." Fred pointed toward the left. "I'm not seeing much movement; this is probably as good a time as any to move. Are you ready?"
The others nodded and braced themselves to follow Fred across what seemed like a vast open space. As they hurried toward the bushes at the base of the clock tower, Harry could hear faint clinking noises. ~The jars!~ He quickly put his hand on them to keep them from clinking together and making noise, or even worse, breaking!
When they were safely hidden among the bushes, Harry leaned over and whispered breathlessly to Ron "The jars, I forgot I had them, they were clinking together while we ran!" Ron stared at him with wide, apprehensive eyes.
"Hsst!" One of the twins had managed to get the door open, and they quickly streamed in to the tower and up the stairs to the windows on the top floor.
"Now what," Ginny asked.
"Look out the windows and figure out a plan," Harry said, with as much conviction as he could muster.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Severus winced as yet another innocent was callously picked off. Things had not been going well for Lord Voldemort's forces. They were still slaughtering large numbers of villagers, but they were also losing death eaters. Voldemort had not counted on the amount of resistance they had met here, and he was growing steadily more enraged at the inability of his followers to reduce this insignificant little village to a complete, smoking, ruin. At least he'd managed to get himself sent to another quadrant of town, away from Voldemort. That had allowed him to surreptitiously send several injured villagers and fellow order members to safety without compromising his cover.
"Severus!" Only one person could pronounce his name in quite that barbaric a way. Turning slightly to look at the irate death eater addressing him, he could see that it was indeed Goyle.
"Yes?"
"What do you mean by these potions?" Goyle had come close enough for Severus to see the red of his eyes and smell his vile breath.
"Is there something wrong with them?" Snape backed up a step, hoping to put some distance between them.
Goyle closed the distance between them again. "Wrong with them? You know what's wrong with them! They don't work! I'm thinking you did it on purpose!" With that, Goyle lunged toward Severus, who quickly leapt out of the way, turned around, whipped out his wand, and sent Goyle flying through a nearby brick wall. Snape waited a few seconds, wand at the ready, just in case Goyle came charging back out of the rubble. He carefully approached the wall, gazing inside the gloomy building he'd just damaged, and spied Goyle sprawled on a little pile of broken bricks, out cold. He turned and walked quickly toward the center of town. If Goyle had made the connection between the difficulties the death eaters were having, it was certain Voldemort had too. Severus stopped and winced as the sting of the death mark on his arm alerted him to a summons from Voldemort. What to do. Did he really have anything to lose? Only Harry, he decided, and Harry had never really been his anyway. He felt a sharp pang of regret, realizing he was not likely to see his son again, but pushed it away as he has so many feelings in the last 15 years, closed his eyes, and apparated to Voldemort.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sirius had stuck close to Voldemort, unobserved and unmolested, as Voldemort stalked through the town, Lucius Malfoy at his side. Snape had been there for awhile also, but had been sent off to do some task for his master. Sirius' lips lifted in a silent growl as he thought of Snape.
It had been very difficult for him to remain in his animagus form when every bone in his body yearned to join in the fight. Even though he knew Dumbledore was right, that someone needed to take over for Severus. That Snape's usefulness as a spy was at an end had become abundantly obvious as the evening progressed. What had the man been thinking of, tampering with the potions that way? It had taken Malfoy very little time to figure out what was happening, and when he did, he'd gone straight to Voldemort. Voldemort had smiled a particularly unpleasant, malevolent, smile, and replied that the matter would be "taken care of." Sirius could only imagine what that meant. Something excruciating, no doubt. Hopefully Severus had had the sense to get away by now.
Voldemort had paused at the edge of the park in the center of the village. Sirius slipped quietly into the shadows of a tree nearby, watching and listening carefully.
"Lucius." Voldemort stared impassively at what remained of the town.
"My Lord?" Lucius bowed obsequiously.
"We have done enough here. In a moment, I will call my troops back. If Severus is so unwise as to come, I want you to watch him carefully. Do not hurt him, that is for me, but watch him carefully."
"Yes My Lord. And if he tries to escape?"
"Hold him, immobilize him, but do not kill him!" Voldemort hissed the last words in a curiously sibilant manner, reminiscent of a snake.
Sirius watched as death eaters began popping into the field. Just as he began to think that Severus had chosen the path of intelligence and left, he popped into view and strode up to Voldemort as if nothing had happened. Sirius fought the urge to howl at the moon in frustration. Now what?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny was the first to notice the forms popping into existence in the field below.
"Who's that?" She pointed toward several forms that were trying to escape notice by standing in the shadows of some trees at the edge of the field. They didn't seem to realize that the shadows made the odd light surrounding them brighter.
"I don't know," George muttered, "but I bet it would sell well."
"Look!" Fred called them to his side of the tower. A dark form, one that fairly radiated malevolence, strode commandingly across the park, flanked by two other forms. Harry watched in silence for a moment. This was exactly like his dream.
"No. We can't be too late," he muttered under his breath.
"Harry?" Ron had come up next to Harry, and was looking at him in concern.
"This is just like my dream. We have to do something, and quickly." Harry turned to pace the small tower, trying to think of a plan.
"Harry. Sit down and think this out." Hermione had settled herself in a corner.
"How can you be so calm?" Ron said in exasperation.
"SHHHHHH!!!!" The others glared at him.
"Sorry." Ron quietly sat down next to Hermione.
"I don't even know where to start," Harry said helplessly.
"When in doubt, start with what you've got on you mate." George was a master at planning devious deeds with only the supplies in his pockets.
"Good idea. Everyone, empty your pockets." Hermione turned out her pockets first, finding nothing but her wand, the bit of parchment and small quill she'd had earlier, and an old stick of chewing gum.
The rest had slightly better luck. By the time they'd all plundered their pockets, the pile in the center of the floor held the two apothecary jars of goo, several smooth stones, the death eater cloak and mask, two stink bombs, one large red wizard firecracker, and the rubber frog.
"It's hopeless," Harry muttered, eyeing the odds and ends.
Fred sat quietly, his brow furrowed in thought. "Don't give up so fast, Harry. I might have an idea or two, but I need you to tell me the end of your dream again."
Once again Harry braced himself to relive his awful nightmare, closed his eyes, and thought back. "Well, Voldemort walked from the side of the field toward the middle. Father and Malfoy were behind him on the right, and Wormtail on the left. He got to about the middle of the field, stopped, and talked to the death eaters, who were standing in front of him. He said they'd all done a good job, had killed everyone in the town, and then said the victory would be celebrated. Then he called Dad forward and exposed him as a spy." Harry paused to take a breath.
"That's enough." Fred thought for a moment more, leaned over to pick up one of the bottles of goo, and said "how much of this do you think it would take to blow up all the death eaters gathered down there?"
"More than we've got." George ducked his head as a black form soundlessly floated in through the window near him and settled on the floor in front of Harry.
"Praesidis!" Harry was astonished the owl had followed him there. Why hadn't it gone to his father though? It was fortunate that no one seeing him fly in to the tower would think anything of an owl being out and about at night. Flying. Why hadn't the thought of it before!
"I have an idea, but we'll have to hurry!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Severus watched as more and more death eaters appeared in the field before them. There was a certain amount of satisfaction to be had in seeing the number of them that were limping and nursing other injuries. A small form appeared beside him, walked cringingly up to Voldemort, and whispered to him. Voldemort allowed a cruel smile to cross his lips, nodded at the figure, and returned to staring out across the field. Severus was surprised when the figure turned around, to see that it was Peter Pettigrew. He'd not even noticed the man was missing from the evening thus far.
Another figure approached, bowed low before Voldemort, and made a whispered report. Severus could dimly hear what sounded like growling from behind them, but when he turned to look toward the sound, nothing appeared to be there.
"Very well, assemble them." Voldemort waited, staring into the distance as the death eaters assembled before him. Several sections had large holes where Death Eaters had once been. These were the forces that had faced unexpected resistance, and come off the worse. When they were in a semblance of order, he and his closest counselors walked toward them.
"Well done, my faithful servants. The first large battle has been struck with resounding success. The battle of Upper Hesrod will be written of in the history books as the first blow in the death of the mudblood lovers! This victory will be celebrated. Severus Snape, stand forth."
Severus felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as he stepped forward to Voldemort's side. This was it. He could see Malfoy's malicious grin and wary eye as he stepped away from where he'd been standing.
"Severus Snape, for years you have been a faithful follower, providing us with the best in potions. All the while, you have been playing the spy! For this I condemn you to death." Voldemort raised his wand and shouted "Expeliarmus" neatly disarming Severus. A loud shrieking followed by an impressive explosion captured everyone's attention. Voldemort turned slightly from Severus, eyes seeking out the culprit for the distraction, and finding only a large black owl. As he turned back toward Snape, a sudden wetness on his head caught his attention. The wetness quickly expanded to his face, and a violet, sparkling mist settled over his eyes.
Snape had been as distracted by the noise as everyone else, but he had known exactly what had made that shrieking noise. His eyes searched the sky in the direction the sound had come from, but couldn't pick out Praesidis. By the time he turned back to Voldemort, it was to see a sticky, oozing mess of purple glittery goo settling over Voldemort's head. He blinked in astonishment for a moment, and then looked back toward the sky, seeing one of the Weasley twins heading in on a broomstick with a familiar apothecary jar in hand. He watched in surprise as his student paused in the air 10 feet above Voldemort and upended the jar on Voldemort's shoulders and back. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one who had seen the attacker.
Lucius Malfoy whipped his wand up and directed it at Fred, who was hovering in the air carefully covering Voldemort with as much goo as he could. Praesedis swooped in, talons at the ready, and attacked Malfoy, leaving a nasty gash on his face before he could aim a spell.
By this time, Voldemort had managed to claw his eyes clear of the goo. Faint sounds of a disturbance were coming from the back ranks of death eaters, suggesting that the victory was not as secure as Voldemort would have liked to believe.
Severus backed silently away from his master, turned, and hurried off, intent on getting away and finding Harry. Undoubtedly he was here somewhere. He had managed to put 20 yards and several death eaters between them when Voldemort's eyes picked him out of the crowd.
"Snape!" Voldemort raised his wand once again, intent on immobilizing him so he could deal with him properly when he had more leisure.
Snape rushed on, eyes surveying the Death Eaters who were now milling around in confused and semi-panicked disorder. He was oblivious to Voldemort following him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry and the others quickly formulated their plan. There was no time to waste. Harry shook out the Death Eater's cloak, eliciting a wince of distaste from the Weasleys. He held it up to himself, but it was too long. It would take too much time to alter it with the spells they knew, so it was obvious the person who best fit would have to put it on. The boys took turns holding it up against themselves, but Ron was the only one who looked like it would remotely fit.
Fred and George were in charge of diversions and getting the purple goo to Voldemort. Since they didn't have enough to cover everyone, they had agreed that Voldemort was the best subject. George would set off the firecracker and some stink bombs to create a diversion, and Fred would deliver the goo. Having their broomsticks made both much simpler to accomplish.
Hermione and Ginny would take up positions in top trees at the edge of the field, several rocks in hand. Fred and George would deliver them there, making it simple to get the height needed. They would loft stones at Voldemort after Fred covered him in goo.
Harry handed Ron the rest of the smooth stones.
"Harry, what are you going to use? You've given me the rest of the stones." Ron had already put the cape on and tucked his wand into one of the pockets.
Harry pointed toward a corner of the tower. "I stumbled over some rocks piled in the corner. They aren't as smooth as those you have, but they should do. In fact, it wouldn't hurt for the rest of you to pick some up as well."
They loaded their pockets with as many rocks as could fit, thinking to give themselves as many opportunities to hit Voldemort as they could, then headed down the stairs, closing the door at the top behind them.
"Ron, be careful! Keep your hood up, your hair will give you away," Hermione whispered as they approached the door.
"Hermione, the Weasley's aren't the only red-headed wizard family in England, you know!"
"Well of course I know."
"Hssst!" Ron and Hermione looked up to see George frowning at them. Fred had the door at the base of the tower open and was looking out of it to see if the coast was clear.
"Squwaaaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkkk" The noise came from behind them, and was raucous and loud as only Praesidis could be.
"Praesidis! I forgot!" Harry turned and ran back up the stairs, coming back down in a minute with a rumpled Praesidis on his arm. "What am I going to do with you?" He regarded the owl for a minute, then looked at Fred and George, who already had their brooms in position to fly off. "George, come here a minute."
George stared at Harry for a minute, obviously not sure what he was getting himself into, then shuffled back toward Harry and the owl.
Harry gently turned the owl's face so that he was looking at George. "Praesidis, this is George. He needs your help. I want you to go with him and protect him. If he asks you to do something you do it. And don't bite him!" Harry let Praesidis' face go, and the owl turned to regard him inscrutably for a moment. Harry waited to see if the owl would cooperate, and was beginning to think it wasn't going to work when Praesidis shook his feathers, made a soft "meeping" noise, and flew to George's shoulder.
George slowly and carefully turned his head to regard the owl staring back at him. "You don't bite, do you?" Praesidis clicked his beak as if to say "You want to bet, human?" and settled himself more securely on George's shoulder.
George carefully turned back toward Harry. "Harry. I don't need protection."
"I realize that George, but Praesidis would make the rest of us too obvious. He may be able to help you with your diversions."
"Come on!" Fred swung the door open and quietly dashed outside, kicking off from the ground just outside of the doorway and leaning down to pick up Ginny. George followed him out, hovered about a foot off the ground and helped Hermione onto his broomstick.
Hermione leaned down to whisper "Good luck" as they left the ground and flew stealthily toward the trees. George paused in front of a likely looking tree with large branches, carefully glided close to one particularly sturdy branch, and helped Hermione onto it. She had a clear view of Voldemort, and could see him walking toward the assembled Death Eaters. He was accompanied by three other Death Eaters, one of which must be Professor Snape. She watched as they walked no more than 15 feet in front of her. This might work. She could see one of the twins on the other side of the field, but the other one was lost to her sight. Where was Ginny? She must have found a very good place to hide, Hermione thought, looking at the tree that Ginny was supposed to have been placed in. Maybe they'd found a more secure one.
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Ginny allowed Fred to soar off toward her side of the field before saying "Let me off here."
"What? What do you mean let you off here!" Fred slowed the broomstick and turned to look at Ginny in astonishment.
"I'm not going to the tree. One stone thrower in a tree is all that's needed, and someone has to watch Harry's back. You all have jobs, I don't. Well I do, but we already covered that." Ginny stared at her elder brother's face determinedly. She couldn't know it, but her mouth had the same mulish set to it their mother's got when she was absolutely determined to have her way on a matter. None of her son's had successfully gotten around that expression yet, and Fred, recognizing it immediately, chose not to delay the inevitable.
Fred sighed in defeat. "I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I."
"No."
Fred turned the broomstick around and headed back toward the tower. "Just you remember this, if you get yourself killed, I'm the one that has to deal with Mum. So be careful."
Ginny grinned at him and hopped off the broomstick as Fred held it a couple feet above the ground. Fred watched her as she carefully glided to the edge of the tower, peered around the corner, and then was gone.
Ginny could barely see Harry as he kept to the trees. A slight movement, a shadow a shade darker than the trees themselves, was all the hint she needed to send her off toward him. As she sped noiselessly along, she wondered how Ron was getting along in his borrowed cloak.
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Ron nervously adjusted the mask over his face, and checked to be sure the hood remained over his head. Hermione was right, the last thing he needed was for his hair to be seen. He carefully joined a group of Death Eaters, casually moving to the front of the group, being careful not to bump anyone hard enough to have to apologize. Then he wondered if Death Eaters actually apologized to each other. Maybe their mum's hadn't made them do that the way his mum had? Ron cut that train of thought off and made himself pay attention to what was going on around him.
The Death Eaters seemed to be shuffling around, settling into rough lines and groups. The group that he had joined was gradually being absorbed into others as some of its members left to join other sections and others walked back to it. Seizing the opportunity to get closer to the front, where Voldemort was more likely to be, Ron walked with what he hoped was confidence. He managed to get within about 20 yards of the front before he got caught in a jam of people. One Death Eater, who seemed to be a commander of some sort, came along and muscled them all into two rough lines and told them to stay there.
~Great~ Ron thought ~I'm not nearly close enough to see Voldemort and see what's going on. ~What'll I do now?~
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Harry came to a stop at the edge of the forest, not far from where Voldemort was standing. As Ginny crept closer to Harry, she noticed other shadows creeping deeper in the forest. She was afraid to look too closely, thinking they might be animals. They didn't appear to be Death Eaters; at least they weren't wearing the right cloaks to be, so she dismissed them from her mind as she concentrated on getting close to Harry without alerting him to her presence.
Harry watched as his father stepped forward when commanded, looking desperately toward the sky and wondering where the twins were. The large explosion from the other side of the field took him by surprise, even though he was expecting it. He kept his eyes trained on Voldemort and his father and drew his wand out of his pocket. He'd managed to keep Voldemort occupied last year, if he had to do it again, he was determined to.
Fred swooped soundlessly in to deliver the first load of goop, unnoticed by any, but one of the Death Eaters raised his wand and took aim Fred. Harry raised his in turn hoping to be able to get off a shot without giving away his position. Praesidis swooped in, attacking the Death Eaters face and causing him to turn away from Fred.
Harry watched Fred soar away, toward the edge of the Death Eaters, and then turned back to the scene in front of him.
By this time the other Death Eaters were realizing something was wrong, and were starting to mill around in loose, disorganized groups. Harry looked toward Voldemort, but couldn't see his father. His eyes scanned the Death Eaters, looking for a familiar shape. It wasn't until he had scanned through several ranks of Death Eaters and was beginning to get desperate that he saw the familiar form stalking toward the rear. He heard Voldemort shout "Snape" and start to follow his father, wand raised. It didn't look as though his dad knew Voldemort was following him. Harry started out from the cover of the trees. There was no way he'd be able to get to him in time, and without the invisibility cloak or the Death Eater one, he'd never get close enough to shout to him. Shout. What was that spell Ludo Bagman had used last year when he needed to address the crowd at the Triwizard contest?
Hoping desperately that he was right, Harry raised his wand, pointed at his throat, and whispered "Sonorus".
Ginny watched carefully as Harry's attention remained fixed on the field. She saw Fred deliver the goo, and thanked Merlin when Praesidis took care of Fred. Then Harry started toward the field. She'd known he'd do something stupid like this. She could see a path opening in the center of the Death Eaters, allowing one to go through. Could that be Professor Snape? She couldn't tell from this distance. Voldemort was following him though, and she thought she heard him shout "Snape." Voldemort was closing in swiftly on the first figure, wand at the ready, when she heard Harry shout in an incredibly loud voice. She watched as Voldemort turned, saw Harry, turned back to the person on the ground, and smiled a peculiar smile, one tinged with a combination of surprise, malice and success. He diverted his wand from the Death Eater he was pursuing, and turned it toward Harry, sending a shower of green sparks his way. Ginny was moving before the first word left Voldemort's mouth.
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Hermione watched from her perch in the tree as Fred soared off. She'd been nearly deafened by George's diversion; it had been set off several trees down from hers. Praesidis seemed to be attacking someone, who it was she didn't know. She kept her eye on Voldemort, looking for a chance to hit him with one of her stones, but others kept getting in the way. She didn't want to give away her position too early.
A sudden movement across the field caught her attention. Was that Harry? What was he doing? She could hear his shout from her perch all the way across the field; he must have used the sonorus spell. She watched as Voldemort switched his wand and attention from the Death Eater he was apparently chasing, to Harry. A red blur burst from the trees just as Voldemort sent a spell winging toward Harry.
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Harry, hoping for the best, raised his hands to cup his mouth, took a deep breath, and shouted "Dad, get down!" He saw his father's head whip toward him as he instinctively fell to the ground, and pointed toward Voldemort, who was now staring at Harry with an expression of surprise on his face. Harry moved his wand to his throat, whispered quietus, and watched as Voldemort's head swiveled between he and his father. Voldemort seemed to come to a decision, and pointed his wand at Harry and shot off a burst of green sparks. Harry raised his own wand in defense. He watched as Voldemort turned his attention back to Snape. It looked as though he was saying something to his father, who was still lying on the ground, but Harry was too far to hear what was said.
The green sparks were heading swiftly toward him. Harry was braced to meet them, wand at the ready, when he felt something smack him in the side, knocking him off his feet and sending one shoe flying. He looked up in time to see Voldemort's spell hit the shoe in the air, causing it to fall to the ground in flames. He looked at the weight that was still settled on him, keeping him on the ground, and could see nothing but bright red hair.
"Ginny? What are you doing here?"
"You needed someone to watch your back." Ginny rose to her knees, giving Harry room to breath.
A deafening explosion shattered the night air. Harry and Ginny looked toward the field, just in time to see a black, oily shadow lit intermittently with purple sparkles, flee shrieking from the field. The section of field where Voldemort had once stood was an empty, blackened circle. The Death Eaters in the vicinity had been thrown yards in every direction, and the rest were running as fast as they could go away from the horrible destruction. As the swiftest of them reached the edge of the trees, a wave of wizards clad in dark cloaks swept out of it, waving wands and capturing or disabling any Death Eater unlucky enough to get in their way.
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Ron watched from his position in the middle of one of the ranks as Snape broke away from Voldemort. He'd had a bad minute when one of the other Death Eaters had taken aim at Fred; thankfully Ron hadn't had to give himself away. Snape was heading right toward him! Ron felt his hands getting sweaty. There was no reason to think that Professor Snape would recognize him dressed this way, so there was no reason to be nervous.
As Voldemort gave chase, Ron surreptitiously withdrew several stones from his pocket, ready to take aim. He winced when he heard Harry shout to his father, ~what was he thinking!~ but kept his eyes on Voldemort. He watched as Voldemort's head whipped around and stared toward where Harry must be, and then turned back to Severus lying on the ground in front of him. The look of confusion on Voldemort's face would have been comical if it hadn't been on so evil a visage. Ron knew the moment that Voldemort figured out the truth about Harry and Snape, the look of malicious glee he shot at Professor Snape made it obvious. Voldemort swung his wand away from Severus Snape, pointed it toward where Harry must be, shouted a spell, and then turned back to watch Professor Snape as a stream of eerie green light shot toward the side of the field.
Ron carefully maneuvered his way around the Death Eaters in front of him trying to get a him a clear shot at Voldemort. As he moved he clearly heard Voldemort saying "Tell your brat goodbye Severus, but don't worry, you're next." Ron didn't hesitate when he saw a momentary hole in the Death Eaters nearest Voldemort. His arm came up, he took aim, and threw a stone in one swift instant. Then he threw himself on the ground, not caring if he drew attention to himself. He knew his stone had hit its mark when the ground heaved and the sound of the explosion reached him. He felt the wave of heat pass over him, and heard the shrieks of the Death Eaters around him that were caught in it and thrown far and wide.
As soon as the ground settled a bit, Ron sat up and looked toward the side of the forest where Harry had been standing, hoping that he'd managed to dodge the spell shot at him.
He looked around himself. The only people near him were Death Eaters knocked out by the blast. There didn't seem to be much reason to leave the cloak and mask on.
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Hermione held her stone in her hand. She'd watched Harry and Ginny long enough to be see Ginny tackle Harry before the spell reached him, and then looked back at Voldemort. Aha! She let the stone go spinning out of her hand toward Voldemort's suddenly unobstructed body. She grabbed another stone out of her pocket, took aim, and sent a second one off in case the first one failed. She had to grab on to the tree when Voldemort exploded, the blast caused her tree to sway as if caught in a heavy wind.
From her vantage point, Hermione could see the shocked Death Eaters heading toward the trees. She was just as surprised as they were when figures moved out of the trees to meet them, knocking them out and capturing them. She could feel the weight of the stones in her pockets. ~Why not?~
Hermione pulled the stones out her pockets and started sending them into the crowd of Death Eaters trying to struggle their way to the safety of the forest. She watched in satisfaction as several figures fell as a result of her stones. When they were all gone, she had some nasty spells that might be just as effective on the ones coming toward her!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fred and George had watched in satisfaction as Voldemort exploded in a shower of purple glitter sparkles. It was disappointing that some essence of him had managed to survive, but at least he'd not be harming anyone for a good long while. They had been as shocked as anyone to see the figures moving out of the trees, and had been tempted to stay and help 'mop up', but they had people to retrieve. George winged off after Hermione, while Fred headed toward the field to find Ron. Hopefully he'd had the sense to take off his hood at least, or finding him might be a bit of a problem.
Hermione had used the last of her rocks, and was sitting in her tree, calmly turning Death Eaters into silver and bright pink daisies when George swooped up to her tree.
"Ready?" George held the broom steady as Hermione slipped on to it.
"Have you seen Ron?" Hermione was somewhat concerned that she hadn't seen him. There were quite a few figures lying ominously still around where Voldemort had been.
"No, but Fred's gone after him. We'll meet over by Harry and Ginny." George carefully flew across the field, dodging misaimed spells and hoping not to be noticed. They made it over to where Harry and Ginny were sitting on the ground. Harry was holding a singed shoe in his hands, staring at it in shock, while Ginny appeared to be watching him and trying not to laugh.
Hermione gave Harry a hug and sat next to Ginny on the ground.
George took the shoe from Harry's hand and examined it closely. "What happened to your shoe?"
"Did you know your sister should be on a rugby team?" Harry retrieved his shoe from George and cradled it protectively in his hands.
"What's rugby?"
Hermione opened her mouth, intending to explain the rudiments of the game to the Weasleys, hesitated, and then closed it again. Where could Ron be?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ron looked at the Death Eaters lying prone around him. He stood up, shook the cloak off his shoulders, dropped the mask he was holding in his hands, and looked toward the sky. Fred was supposed to be picking him up. A sudden thought crossed his mind, and he turned his eyes back toward the Death Eaters. Picking his way among them, he made his way toward where Voldemort had been standing. Professor Snape had been awfully close to the center of the blast. He'd been lying on the ground, as had Ron, and that had probably protected him from the worst of the blast, but it was still possible he'd been injured and needed help. Several men were lying face down near where he thought he remembered Snape being. He turned two of them around, grimacing as he saw their wounds. Those would take some time to heal. The third figure he came to was Snape, and he didn't seem to have any visible wounds, just some bleeding from his ears.
"There your are! I was beginning to wonder if you'd gotten confused and not taken your cloak off. What are you doing over here?" Ron looked up at Fred's voice to see him hovering at eye level.
"Looking for Professor Snape, he was a lot closer to the blast than I was. Did you see my throw?" Ron finished excitedly. "That was my stone that took him out!"
"Great Ron!" Fred reached over and clapped Ron on the back. "So I see you found him.doesn't look like he's too injured. See if we can lever him on to the broom stick and I'll fly him off the field."
Snape was a dead weight, and it took them some time to maneuver the tall, lanky professor on to Fred's broom. He flew along slowly enough for Ron to brace the professor on one side, keeping him from falling off. They made it most of the way across the field when Snape started to slide off the broomstick away from Ron. He tried his best to keep him from falling, looking ahead toward the rest of the students, who were huddled in a small knot, eyes examining the sky.
"OY! A hand here!" Fred shouted loudly at the group. Their eyes immediately swept down and focused on the trio as they stood near the edge of the field, Snape half on half off the broomstick.
"Dad!" Harry threw the shoe down and ran as swiftly as he could with only one shoe on toward his father. "What happened? He's not dead is he?"
"No.he was too close to the blast and got knocked out. Could you slide him back up?" Fred's arms were tiring, and the struggle to keep Snape on the broom was getting harder. Harry shoved his father back toward Ron, and between the three of them they managed to get him to the cover of the trees.
"Ginny, do you have the portkey?" Hermione felt that the sooner they were gone from this area, the less likely it was that they'd be caught by a professor or someone else. Besides, they needed to get Professor Snape back to Madame Pomphrey.
"Right here Hermione." Ginny withdrew the comb from her pocket replacing it with the burned shoe. "Hang on everyone." George reached out and grabbed her free hand while Hermione held on to Ron's shoulder and George's hand. Ginny put her foot on top of Harry's, since he had none free to hold on with, and Fred held onto the Professor. Ginny took one last look to make sure they were connected in an unbroken line, and then grabbed the comb tightly, saying "Gryffindor Tower is home."
The world whirled about them as they were snatched back to Hogwarts by the portkey. Harry felt Ginny's shod foot dig into his bare one as the world steadied and they were set back down on the Quidditch field. "Ow.Gin, get off my foot!"
"Oh, sorry," she mumbled, looking a bit dazed from the ride.
"Come on, we need to get Professor Snape to the hospital." Hermione turned to lead the slow procession back to the school. They reached the door without incident, opened the doors, and made their way to the main staircase. Just as they thought they were safe from further interference, Peeves oozed through a wall and into view.
"Ahhhh.what have we here? Ickle students and a stupid professommmmfffff" Peeves was sprawled against the wall, body and mouth bound with a sticky, sweet smelling substance. His eyes glared at the students as he pulled and yanked at his bonds.
"Good shot, George. Still can't figure out a name for the stuff though. Well, shall we keep going?" Fred looked intently at Peeves, assessing the effectiveness of their new substance.
"What is that stuff?" Harry looked back at Peeves, still stuck to the wall, as they slowly traveled up the staircase.
"Just a little project we've been working on." George's brow was furrowed as he thought about the marketing possibilities of their product. "I wonder, Fred, should we offer a range of colors? That way our clients can match the colors of their walls."
"Do you guys ever think of anything else?" Hermione was torn between amusement and disgust at their blatant entrepreneurialism.
"No.why should we?" Fred brought his broomstick to a stop before the medical wing and waited for George to open the door. He flew through the doorway, Snape still carefully braced on either side by Ron and Harry.
"Merciful heavens! What happened!" Madame Pomphrey stood in the doorway of the storeroom, assorted bottles and healing devices in her hands.
"Uhm, well, you see.." Harry started, not sure exactly what to tell her.
"Never mind." The school nurse set her load down on a nearby table and hurried over to them, wand in hand. She floated him off of Fred's broomstick and into the nearest bed. She set a screen around the bed and fixed her eyes on the students still clustered near the doorway.
"You can go now."
Harry looked at her in disbelief. "But, that's my..."
"Yes dear, I know, and I'll let you know when you can come back and see him. Now scoot!"
Somehow they found themselves on the other side of the door, not really sure how they'd allowed themselves to be swept before Madame Pomphrey. They started to relax, tense muscles unknotting, as they settled into chairs set in the hallway outside the infirmary door. It was George that finally gave voice to what they were all feeling.
"Well, we did it!" A broad grin settled on his face, disappearing in an instant when a familiar voice came from further down the hallway.
"Indeed, it appears you did. And I believe you owe us all an explanation!"
The students felt dread settle in their stomachs as they turned to see a rumpled, dirty collection of adults headed by Albus Dumbledore standing staring at them. He was flanked by Professor's Lupin and McGonagall. Fred sighed in defeat, having caught his father staring at him, a look of unusual sternness in his eyes. They were in trouble this time. Just how much trouble they didn't realize until he heard Ron whimper and say "Mum" under his breath. And there was their mother, glaring around Professor McGonagall's back at them, as rumpled and dirty as the rest of the adults.
"Oh my," Ginny sighed, all thoughts of bath and bed receding.
Suddenly the door to the infirmary banged open and Severus charged out. His eyes fixed on Harry, and he opened his mouth to give him the scolding he so richly deserved when Poppy Pomphrey bustled out behind him.
"Get back in there Severus. I'm not done with you!"
Severus wheeled to face her. "There's nothing wrong with me a good stiff brandy couldn't fix!"
Dumbledore hastened forward. "Severus, why don't we all go into the infirmary? I know that several of us have injuries that should be attended to. And we can discuss what happened tonight." He fixed an unusually admonishing eye on the students. They followed the adults into the infirmary. This was not going to be fun.