Most Ministry employees were already at work when the mass of cloaked figures appeared in the Atrium.
People didn't realize at first, just what was happening, but it became clear as soon as spells started flying.
Kingsley had been heading up to the DMLE, when he suddenly found himself faced with at least five opponents. Grimly, he dove for cover, sending a Patronus up to level one, before he jumped into the fray.
XXX
Amelia was catching up on paperwork when a sudden increase in noise drew her attention. She looked up to see her Senior Undersecretary, Madeline Woodward, burst in. "Minister, there's an attack!" she panted.
Amelia stood up quickly. "Where?" she demanded.
Madeline straightened up, pulling out her wand. "Here."
Amelia was shocked. Death Eaters attacking the Ministry? She took out her wand as well and pushed past her assistant, intent on helping out.
Madeline followed her, trying to get her to stop. "Minister, we need to get you out of here. You cannot stay."
Amelia shook her head. "I will defend this building. It is my duty."
Most of the office was overturned, people panicking as Kingsley's message had reached them, informing them of the attack. People were trying to use the protected Floos on this level, but it wasn't working. Clearly, the Death Eaters had planned well. To get out, they would need to go through the Atrium.
Amelia pitched her voice to reach all corners. "Stand ready to fight. We will defend ourselves. Let's show these terrorists who they're dealing with."
She grimly clutched her wand as the elevator dinged, and prepared to fire.
XXX
Fred and George were pulled from their lab as an explosion rocked the room. They quickly hurried up the flight of stairs into the main shop. Peering out the window, they swallowed harshly at seeing the mass of cloaked figures marching down the Alley, firing spells at anyone who was visible.
The twins looked at each other, and nodded. "Let's give 'em hell," Fred said grimly.
George agreed, and together, they burst out the door and jumped into the fray.
XXX
It was only thanks to an abundance of practice that the Death Eaters didn't catch them completely unawares, Harry thought, as at least thirty figures popped into existence around them.
Most of the DA was ready as soon as the explosion had happened, back on their feet in an instant, wands out and firing before the Death Eaters could tell what was what. The rest of the students weren't far behind.
Harry ducked and dodged all colors of spells, throwing up shields when he could, but not trusting a simple Protego to block everything. He was grateful that they had worked on dodging so much in their defense lessons over the last few summers, and when Sirius had taught in his fifth year. He could see that the training was helping his fellow students as well.
Ginny was still at his side, but he could see the others getting pushed away. He tried to keep them in his sights, but he had to concentrate on the battle first and foremost.
The younger students were trying to get to cover behind the train, while the older ones were fighting, but it was an uphill battle.
They were losing. Harry could see that clearly. Where were the professors? Where was the Order? Where were the Aurors?
They needed help.
XXX
Amelia was relieved to see Ministry employees exit the lift, rather than Death Eaters. Percy was the first one out, and his expression clearly told everyone that the situation was serious.
"It was Martin Chase," he said without preamble, referring to his immediate supervisor, a man just one step down from the Head of the Department of Magical Transportation. "He approved several Death Eaters to Floo into our office, and then closed down all Floo access in the building. We just barely got out. I sent everyone down to try and find an exit, and came up here. Minister, we need to get you out of the building."
Behind Percy, the two Aurors nodded, gripping their wands tightly. The man in front stepped forward. "Scrimgeour sent us up to protect you, ma'am."
Amelia pursed her lips. She wanted to stay and fight, but she also knew that she needed to get herself out. She could only combat Voldemort if she stayed alive.
"Where's Rufus?" she asked. "What's the situation at the DMLE?"
The Auror, Dawlish, glanced at his partner. "Deteriorating rapidly when we left. Rufus sent the entire corps out to fight. He was getting reports of an attack at Diagon Alley as well, but couldn't send any aid, with the situation here. Shacklebolt was most likely in the Atrium when the Death Eaters arrived."
Amelia nodded. "Kingsley sent us a Patronus message." She sighed. "Very well, let's get out." She turned to the rest of her staff. "Use the stairs, try and get to the visitor's entrance. Be careful. Everyone knows where the safe house is, correct?"
They all nodded. One of the things Amelia had done in the last year was work with all the senior staff to set up a safe location where they could run the government underground, if the need arose. It was a muggle house located in the south of England, that she and Sirius had renovated. It could house all the senior staff, if it had to.
"Make your way there, but be certain that no one can trace you. Take your time, but be there by tomorrow morning."
They nodded again, and Amelia turned back to Percy and the Aurors. "Let's go."
They gave the rest of the staff a few minutes head start, before they headed to the stairs.
The sounds of fighting filled their ears, audible on every floor. The Death Eaters had infiltrated fully and completely; even with Amelia's cleaning house, there were still supporters and sympathizers in many departments, and they had used that to mount this attack.
Percy kept his wand raised, looking around him warily, ready to act at a moment's notice. He may have been the most book-inclined Weasley, but that didn't mean he was a slouch in Defense.
A door opened as they passed the third floor, and before the masked Death Eater was even through it, Percy had laid him down with a stunner.
They quickened their pace.
XXX
Harry only felt a moment's relief when the silvery beard of Albus Dumbledore made itself known in the crowd. The headmaster struck down several Death Eaters with ease, before turning to face the foe that had shown up just as he had.
Voldemort.
Harry knew now wasn't the time for him to fight the megalomaniac himself, as he wasn't ready and they still had to destroy the horcruxes, so he focused on the Death Eaters and left their leader to Dumbledore.
"Harry!"
Harry turned quickly, dodging a jet of red light, and felt a knot in his chest loosen at seeing Minerva battle her way to him.
"Please tell me help's coming," he said as she reached him.
Minerva shook her head grimly. "Diagon Alley was attacked this morning, most of the Order is there."
"What about Aurors?" Harry asked, firing a blasting hex at a nearby Death Eater.
Minerva grit her teeth, transfiguring an opponent's robes to iron, and then stunning him as he fell under the weight. "Tonks sent Albus a Patronus right before we came out to assist. Death Eaters infiltrated the Ministry as well. It's chaos over there."
Harry felt his heart thud painfully. "Amelia?"
Minerva shook her head. "No news. Harry, you need to find your friends and get yourselves out. Go somewhere safe."
Harry nodded, not liking it, but knowing that they needed to protect themselves. He and his friends had a task to complete, and they had to protect the knowledge that they held. "What about the students staying at Hogwarts over break?"
"Already evacuated to Hogsmeade," Minerva assured him. "There were only a dozen of them, and we sent them through the passageway to Honeydukes, with instructions to Floo home from the Three Broomsticks. We thought it best to take care of that immediately." She blasted a Death Eater backwards. "The wards are falling. There has to be another group somewhere working on bringing them down."
Harry's stomach dropped to his feet. He nodded again, but didn't have time to respond as the swell of the battle separated him from his guardian. He grimly fired off a Reducto, and then a Stupefy, before dodging a Killing Curse.
Ginny, where are you? he asked worriedly.
He felt Ginny's own panic at not seeing him. Near the train, she replied.
Harry turned towards the now burning train, and searched for his wife. Try and find the others, he said. We need to leave.
Ginny agreed, and they both turned to the battle, hoping to find their friends so that they could get themselves out.
XXX
Amelia could confidently say that she was sick of war. She made her way across the floor with her three escorts, heading for the set of stairs on the opposite side of the building, and everywhere she looked, she could see destruction.
The battle around them raged, and there were bodies lying on the ground, robed and masked figures mixed in with Ministry employees. Some were groaning, while others were scarily silent.
All four of them had their wands ready, and used them often to clear a path. The worst part was when a Death Eater recognized Amelia, and alerted his fellow terrorists.
Amelia found herself pushed through the entrance to the stairs by one of the Aurors, who then locked the door behind them. Dawlish and Percy looked at each other briefly, before dragging Amelia forward, continuing on their journey.
There was a small, out of the way exit that could be accessed from one specific place in the Ministry. It didn't use magical transportation, and so, couldn't be closed. The only downside was that for some reason, it was as far away from Amelia's office as was possible to get.
What most people didn't know was that there were three sets of stairs in the building: there was one that accessed the upper floors, and one for the lower floors. The downside to that system was that you had to cross an entire floor in order to get from one to the other. Of course, most people didn't really care, since the majority of Ministry employees just used the lifts.
The third set of stairs only went to one place: a secret exit that could only be accessed from the Atrium. So in order to reach the exit, they had to get down to the Atrium, cross it, and then go back up the third flight of stairs, which would lead them to a door that led into an alley that was invisible to muggles. On the off chance that a muggle stumbled in, the door was warded to look like a solid wall.
Percy took a deep breath before opening the door that led to the Atrium. "Stay with us, Minister," he implored. "The situation is unknown, and no matter what, the most important thing is to get you out."
Amelia nodded shakily. "Understood."
Percy pushed open the door, and with him in the lead and Dawlish in the rear, they escorted Amelia through the destroyed Atrium.
XXX
Sirius gritted his teeth and fired a Reducto at the side of a building, causing the brick wall to collapse on three Death Eaters.
"Damn it, where are they all coming from?" Remus asked, back-to-back with his best friend.
Sirius shook his head. "I dunno, but something tells me this was a very well thought out plan. Look around you, it's only the Order here. Where's Dumbledore? Where are the Aurors?"
Remus' eyes widened and he nodded. "They must be caught up somewhere else. But what do the Death Eaters want?"
Sirius could only shrug as he threw himself into the battle once more.
The group of Death Eaters really didn't seem to have any goal other than causing mayhem. Several of them appeared to be testing the wards on Gringotts, but the white stone building was as indomitable as ever. More were throwing balls of fire at the various stores in the Alley, while others were keeping the shopkeepers and all those who had ventured to the Alley this morning busy.
It was a bad day to pick to do your Christmas shopping, Sirius mused as he dodged an entrails-expelling curse.
XXX
Harry found Hermione in the crowd, but couldn't see any sign of the others.
"Hermione!" he shouted.
The witch turned quickly, and then sighed in relief. "Harry! Are you all right?"
Harry nodded grimly, and kept his friend next to him as he continued to work through the crowd. "We need to find the others," he said. "We have to get out of here."
Hermione frowned. "I lost Ron," she reported worriedly.
I've got him, Ginny chimed in, and Harry nodded mentally.
"Ginny found him," he told his bushy-haired friend. "Just stay with me and keep firing."
Hermione nodded, and the two pushed their way through the crowd.
Susan was losing a fight with Dolohov when Ginny and Ron found her. She had been thrown to the ground, with the sneering man looming over her.
Without hesitation, the two Weasleys raised their wands as one and blasted their uncles' murderer back twenty feet, where he slammed into the train and fell to the ground.
He flopped over onto his side and moaned loudly, but didn't get up.
Ginny looked relieved as she helped Susan to her feet. "Are you all right?" she asked.
Susan nodded shakily. "Yeah. Thanks."
Ginny smiled slightly. "It was a real pleasure. Where's Neville?"
Susan looked around, scared. "I don't know," she admitted. I lost him in the crowd a while back. Where is help?"
Ginny bit her lip. "McGonagall told Harry that Diagon Alley and the Ministry were attacked this morning as well. We've got the professors here, but no more help will be coming."
Susan gasped. "Aunt Amelia..."
Ginny shook her head. "We don't know anything. The important thing for us is to get out. We have to find Neville and Harry." Ron opened his mouth, and Ginny glanced over at him. "Hermione's with Harry. Can you see Blaise, Daphne, or Luna?"
They looked around, but none of their other friends were visible.
Ginny took Susan's hand, and pulled her with them, searching through the crowd. She tried not to think about the bodies lying on the ground, determined to find their friends and get to safety.
XXX
Amelia didn't allow herself to be startled when a body fell in front of her. The battle around them was raging, and the Atrium was a mess. Death Eaters were everywhere, but so were people fighting back. There had to be at least fifty Death Eaters in the Ministry, between the Atrium and those she had seen on the other floors.
Grimly, she threw a curse at a Death Eater that had felled an Auror she recognized as Wilhelmena Robbins. She didn't know if Robbins was all right, but didn't have time to check, as Percy and Dawlish dragged her forward.
Suddenly, Percy stopped short, and peering around him, Amelia knew why.
Delores Umbridge, former Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, was standing in front of them, wearing the black robes of the Death Eaters, and a sickly sweet smile on her face. "Amelia," she gloated, her piggy eyes narrowing.
Amelia gritted her teeth, but didn't let herself rise to the bait. They couldn't let themselves get distracted.
Percy jerked his head slightly, and understanding, Amelia and Dawlish followed as he surged forward. They were nearly at the hidden entrance, and already, Percy was working on correctly taking down the wards that hid it from view.
Amelia turned and shielded Percy, seeing Umbridge barreling towards them. Without mercy, she cast a cutting curse, and then a blasting hex, followed by a Reducto. Umbridge shielded herself from the first two, but couldn't hold up against the Reducto. She flew backwards and hit a pillar with a sick crunch, before sliding to the ground.
Percy turned around, and gestured for Amelia to go through the door. She did so, as Dawlish took on Bellatrix, who had suddenly appeared out of the crowd.
The Auror led the crazy woman away from the hidden staircase, knowing that he was out of his league, but also knowing that he would give his life for the Minister.
Amelia hesitated, as Percy looked at her. "Go," he assured her. "Get out and get safe."
Amelia took a deep breath, wanting to demand that he come with her, when a flash of green out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned quickly, but didn't have time to react as Percy gave a shout and leapt forward, pushing her further through the door and up the first few steps.
Amelia stumbled, and then swallowed, staring at the still and lifeless form of the third oldest Weasley child.
XXX
The fight between Dumbledore and Voldemort had dragged on for a while, and it was clear that the old man was tiring.
Harry tried not to watch, since he had his own issues to deal with. He and Hermione were still looking for the others, but had been cut off by the irritating form of Draco Malfoy.
The Malfoy heir looked at them smugly. "Scarhead. Mudblood."
Harry growled and clutched his wand tighter. "Death Eater scum. Get lost, Malfoy. Before I decide to give into my instincts and blast you where you stand."
Malfoy sneered. "I'd like to see you try." He then fired off a cutting curse that Harry easily dodged.
As Harry engaged Malfoy, Hermione's attention was drawn by Pansy Parkinson, who had clearly picked her side, as she fired a blasting hex at the muggleborn.
The two Gryffindors battled Malfoy and Parkinson for a few minutes, but it was clear that Harry and Hermione were the more advanced pair, and within three minutes, Pansy was stuck in the ground - literally. Hermione had turned the ground beneath her to quicksand, let her fellow seventh year sink to waist height, and then hardened the ground once more, before disarming the Slytherin.
Pansy shrieked threats and profanities, but it was of no use.
Malfoy was slightly better than his former Housemate, but he still couldn't match up to Harry. In no time at all, the Potter Lord had disarmed Malfoy and then bound him with heavy chains and secured him to the ground using a similar spell as Hermione.
The two shared a smile, before moving forward, continuing in their search.
XXX
Amelia wanted to grieve for those she knew had been lost, but she couldn't let herself get distracted. She closed the door behind her, and then, using reserves she hadn't known she had, she sprinted up the stairs. At the top, right next to the door to the outside world, there was a large button. Without hesitating, Amelia pushed it, causing a loud horn to go off, before all the lights in the stairway turned red.
Nodding her head sharply, Amelia pushed the door open and exited the building.
XXX
Frank and Alice were a good team. They had worked hard to pass the Auror training when they had joined up, and had been rewarded for their efforts by making it through near the top of their respective classes. They hadn't been partners, of course, having been a couple, but they still made a good team.
After taking some time to recuperate after being healed this past summer, the Longbottoms had gone to Rufus and Kingsley, and worked to re-qualify so that they could continue to serve as Aurors. It was a job they loved, and they wanted to continue. They didn't want to give it up just because they had had sixteen years of their lives taken from them.
They had been successful, and had been working as full time Aurors once more since the middle of October.
When the Death Eaters attacked, the two had been working on some paperwork in the DMLE office. Sent to assist in the Atrium by Rufus, they had put all their skills into defending against the onslaught of Death Eaters.
They had been fighting for a while, with no sign of any progress, when the lights around them switched to red.
Frank looked at Alice, eyes wide. "Evacuation signal," he said in a hushed voice.
Alice nodded soberly. A full evacuation like this would only be signaled if the building was lost.
"Let's go," Frank said shortly, grabbing his wife's hand and hurrying towards the various entrance and exit stations.
Around them, people were rushing in all directions, trying to find some way to leave. The evacuation signal was something that they all learned about when starting at the Ministry, but this was the first time in memory that it had been used. Not even during the last war with Voldemort had anyone had to push one of the three buttons that would send off the signal. Frank knew that there was one hidden in the Minister's office, one in the DMLE Head's office, and one in a location unknown. Only the Minister and the Head of the DMLE knew where the third button was located.
The Floos were all blocked off, but the apparation platform was still there, and potentially usable, if they could get past the crowd of Death Eaters defending it.
Frank tugged Alice's arm towards the visitor's entrance. "It's our best bet," he assured her.
Indeed, no one was blocking that exit, so together, the two piled themselves into the small lift, stopping only briefly to tug a shaken Madeline Woodward, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, in with them, as she had been hit with a jinx right as she had reached the lift.
The woman was moaning and shaking, but seemed all right, to the Longbottoms' relief.
Frank quickly pressed the correct buttons, and all were relieved as the lift shuddered and began to rise.
XXX
Harry! Ginny shouted, relief sweeping over her as she spotted her husband in the crowd.
Harry looked up, and felt a knot in his chest loosen as he barreled his way forward, pulling Hermione with him.
"Thank Merlin," Ron muttered, hugging Hermione.
Harry smiled slightly at his friends, before giving a shout and pushing them out of the way of a bright orange curse that hurtled their way.
The couple got to their feet shakily a moment later. "Thanks," Ron said, swallowing hard.
Harry just nodded, but any reply was cut off by Ginny's scream.
He looked over quickly, but was confused to see that she looked perfectly fine. Her gaze was transfixed on something over his shoulder.
Slowly, Harry turned.
Dumbledore was lying on the ground, in a spread-eagle position. His glasses were crooked on his face, and there was a trickle of blood running from his mouth and nose. He didn't appear to be breathing, and his eyes were wide open and glassy, staring sightlessly up at the overcast sky.
Hermione turned as well, and pressed her hands to her mouth, horrified.
Over the headmaster's dead body, Voldemort was standing, a leer of pride on his twisted mouth. He bent over and picked up Dumbledore's wand, holding it in front of him. "Lord Voldemort always wins," he crowed.
Students, professors, and Death Eaters alike stopped to watch the Dark Lord, some with horror on their faces, others with eagerness.
Voldemort turned slightly, and his red eyes focused on Harry. He smirked.
Harry gulped. He couldn't take on this fight right now. They weren't ready.
A force slammed into Susan, who bumped into Ron, who stumbled into Harry. They all took a few steps, and looked over at the disturbance, relieved to see that it was Neville.
Around them, the battle picked up once more, students and professors determined to neutralize the threat. Harry could see Minerva several meters away, battling a man he was pretty sure was called Rowle. She glanced at him briefly, and he was startled to see tears in her eyes. She nodded, just once, and Harry knew that their time was up.
Voldemort was slowly making his way towards Harry.
Harry looked at his friends. "We have to leave," he said urgently. "There's no more time to find the others. Everyone grab onto me."
They all did so, confused, and a moment later, disappeared from the station at Hogsmeade.