Harry Potter and the Desideratum Crusade [Harmione]

49. The Beginning of the End

"Get movin' yeh good fer nothin'" Hagrid said. "My bed is waitin' an' yer an hour late."

"Most humblest of apologies, sir," the little man simpered. "Perhaps this would make up for your inconvenience?"

He held up a bottle of firewhiskey to the towering giant. Hagrid glanced around quickly before grabbing the bottle and hiding it under his coat.

"Mind yeh don' let it happen again," he grumbled.

The little man bowed.

"How many crates tonight?" Hagrid asked.

"Forty-two," was the reply.

"Forty-two? That seems to be more than th' usual order," Hagrid said as he peered at the crates.

"I am but a simple delivery man," the little man replied. "I know nothing of the ordering of the food for the school. Perhaps a special function?"

"Maybe," Hagrid said as he gave one of the crates a thump with his fist, making it rock back and forth. "McGonagall doesn' confide in me like..." he trailed off, a pained look on his face.

"Never mind. Lets get these crates to th' castle. It's been a long day. Ruddy Blast-End Skewts burned me favrit' coat. Nuttin but a big hole in th' back."

He turned and led the first cart up the hill, missing the smug look that the little man gave him.

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Snape brushed his coat and straightened his sleeves. He had been mortified when a gleeful Bellatrix had explained how they would get into the castle. At first he had resisted being packaged in with boxes of cereal, but it was better than becoming a tossed salad like the elder Crabbe. Snape could see he was still brushing bits of lettuce from his hair.

The plan had been simple, yet effective. Bellatrix had kept babbling on about some Trojan horse and gifts.

'The time in Azkaban had really taken its toll on her,' Snape thought.

Snape watched as she modified the memories of the last of the house elves that had been unfortunate enough to witness their arrival. She had wanted to kill them outright, "just for fun," but Snape had refused to allow her to do that.

"They would be missed," he had said. "And the Dark Lord doesn't want our presence known just yet. You know how angry he gets when someone fails or disobeys him."

That stopped her.

Since Snape knew the castle so well, he was given the lead. He knew of several places that the students probably didn't know about. He longed to make a detour to his quarters, but refrained from doing so.

'Later' he thought, 'when this is all over,'

He had been racking his brain, trying to figure out a way to get some kind of warning to Minerva. Unfortunately, Bellatrix had latched on to him and hadn't let him out of her sight. It had become quite unnerving and irritating.

He led the group; the Dirty Dozen as he thought of them, down towards the lesser used dungeon area. There were several rooms that were away from prying eyes, both alive and dead, where they could wait.

Snape sat in one of the comfortable chairs, intent on getting a few hours of sleep. There was no use getting worn down, and he knew Bellatrix was a very light sleeper. Azkaban did that to you.

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Harry woke up to another grey morning. He frowned as he looked out the window, sighing. He couldn't wait until spring. He dressed quickly, and went out into the common room to find Hermione. She was sitting at the table, as usual, which was covered in books.