WE'VE BEEN WAITING
An eerie calm. Shops, shuttered at this hour, sit silently, shrouded in a thick fog. Only the Three Broomsticks evidences life, where yellow light and course laughter drift from greasy windows. Justbeyond lies Honeydukes. Suddenly, there is a disturbance in the mist and the trio apparate into Hogsmeade.
They glance about when a scream rents the air. Inhuman. Shrill. The laughter dies inside the three broomsticks, a mob of shadows fills the windows. Instantly, the trio pelt for Honeydukes. As the trio close in on Honeydukes, Death Eaters spill from the Broomsticks.
"There! Right there!" A death eater yells. The trio turn on their heels and vanish into the mist. Caleb leads the way, the trio running wicked fast throughthe twisting streets, glancing down alleyways for signsof pursuers, the mist both friend and foe. Suddenly, a dark figure appears on the roof above. He whistles.
Caleb, Noah and Millie race down a side street andstumble into an alcove, lungs burning. "They were ready for us." Millie whispers.
Suddenly beams of light fracture the mist.
We know you're here, Mclaughlin. There's no getting away. Caleb slips the mirror from his pocket and angles it. His own face slides briefly over the surface, then the end of the alley comes into their view.
A death eater standsthere, wand glowing in the mist. "Perhaps you need some convincing."
Noah grimaces and turns to face his friends concerned, "What's he mean by that?" Millie gasps, eyes looking upward. Noah and Caleb follow her gaze.
Just above the rooftops, barely distinguishable from the night, dementors drift like smoke. As Caleb draws his wand, Millie's hand covers his. She whispers, "No, you'll give us away."
The night grows darker, the streetlights dim. The trio's breath drifts visibly in the gathering chill. As the dementors descend, the trio grimace, beset by bleak thoughts.
A tear escapes Millie's eye, trails down her cheeks. Finally, Caleb can take it no more. "Expecto Patronum!" A silver stag bursts from his wand and charges down the street, scattering the Dementors before vanishing around the other side of the Hog's Head Inn.
The voice of a death eater booms loudly, "It's him! He's down there!" Footsteps clatter on the cobblestones. Caleb, Noah and Millie glance desperately about when suddenly, bolts grind, hinges squeal and a door opens.
A cat slithers out and a man appears in silhouette, the profile familiar, "In here.." Caleb, Noah and Millie slip quickly past the man and inside. He gestures toward a rickety wooden staircase, and brings a finger to his lips.
They enter a room with a thread bare carpet and a small fireplace, above which hangs a large oil painting of a blonde girl with a sweet, but vacant stare.
He steps to a grimy window and peers down to the street, where half a dozen death eaters glance about in confusion. Just then, Millie and Noah enter the room. "Did you get a look at him! For asecond I thought it was–!"
Mildly shaken by this, Millie nods, "I know."
Hearing this, Caleb slips the mirror from his pocket. Footsteps sound from below. "Hey! I can see you! In here!" Caleb turns, watches Millie take a jagged shard similar to his own from the mantel.
He glances down at the piece in his palm, sees Millie's eye looking out at him. Just then, the man's hulking form appears on the landing. "You bloody fools! What were you thinking coming here? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is..."
Caleb speaks up, "You're Aberforth." The room goes quiet. The man turns and eyes him, "Dumbledore's brother."
"Right then. Reckon you're hungry. Let's get you fed, then think of the best way to get you out of here." A tray of food is set down on the table.
Millie and Noah set to, they haven't eaten for days. Aberforth pours himself a glass of mead. "Do you hear much from the others?From the Order?"
"The Order is finished. You-Know-Who's won. Anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves." The trio exchange glances.
Caleb doesn't touch the food, just stares quietly at Aberforth, "We need to get into Hogwarts. Dumbledore gave us a job to do."
"Did he now? Nice job? Easy?" An awkward silence, the tension heavy.
Caleb purses his lips, "We've been hunting Horcruxes. We think the last one's in the school. But we'll need your help getting in. If we can find it and kill it, then we kill him, and then we can end this war once and for all. We need to get into Hogwarts tonight."
Aberforth stares at him for a moment, until the silence grows. "It's not a job my brother's given you, it's a suicide mission. Do yourself a favor boy. Go home. Live a little longer."
"Dumbledore trusted me, to see this through..."
"What makes you think you can trust him? What makes you think you can believe anything my brother told you! In all the time you knew him, did he ever mention my name? Did he ever mention hers?" Aberforth gestures to the painting of the girl.
Caleb shakes his head, "Why should he..."
"Keep secrets? You tell me." Aberforth sighs.
Caleb straightens his posture, "I only care about the Dumbledore I knew. I trusted him. I had no reason not to trust him."
"That's a boy's answer. A boy who goes chasing Horcruxes on the word of a man who won't even tell him where to start. You're lying. Not just to me, which doesn't matter, but to yourself as well. That's what a fool does. You don't strike me as a fool, Mr. Mclaughlin. So I'll ask you again. There must be a reason. Why do you trust anything my brother ever said to you? Why?"
Caleb stands mute, his face at war with itself. For a moment, it's unclear which competing emotion will win out, then finally, he speaks, his voice steady. "Because I need to. Because if I don't, I don't know who I am anymore. I've lost too many people to lie down now. I'm not interested in what happened between you and your brother, I don't even care that you've given up. I trust the man I knew. I'm going to see this through. I need to get into the castle tonight."
Noah and Millie exchange a glance as Aberforth regards Caleb darkly, but Caleb merely stands, waiting. After several seconds, Aberforth's gaze shifts to the painting. "You know what to do..." The girl smiles, turns, and walks away, growing slowly smaller in the painting with each step she takes.
Caleb's eyes widen, confused, "Where've you sent her?"
You'll see soon enough." He replies.
"That's Ariana, isn't it? Your sister. She's beautiful." Millie asks.
He nods, "She'll always be beautiful."
Noah and Caleb glance at each other, confused, before Millie continues. "She died very young, didn't she." Her words hang in the air for a moment before Aberforth speaks.
"My brother sacrificed many things in his journey to find power, including her. She was devoted to him, he gave her everything, but time." Aberforth looks to the empty frame.
Millie grins politely at him, "Mr. Dumbledore... thank you." Aberforth stares hard at the brunette, nods curtly and exits. As he disappears Noah looks to Millie to explain her "Thank you." She shrugs, "Did save our lives. That doesn't seem like someone who's given up, does it?"
Noah and Caleb exchange another glance, eye the empty doorway. Millie jumps up, "She's coming back! And she's got someone with her!" Just then, the painting blooms faintly and Ariana emerges from deep within the dark canvas.
As Ariana draws closer, the limping figure beside her comes clear, "I knew you'd come! I told them all! Caleb Mclaughlin would never abandon Hogwarts!"
Millie smiles softly and mumbles, "Gaten."
The gilded frame swings open, revealing in actuality, what the painting had replicated.
Caleb pelts forward into the passageway as Gaten comes into the light drifting from the sitting room. Long hair. Gashed face. Swollen eye. Clothes ripped and torn. "Gaten, you look like–!"
"Like hell?" He dryly chuckles, "I reckon. This is nothing. Seamus is worse. You'll see. Millie! Noah!" He embraces them, then turns to Aberforth. "Hey, Ab. There might be a couple more people on the way."
The trio turns, see Aberforth standing in the doorway, watching Ariana drift back into the canvas. Gaten turns to the three and smiles again. "Well? Ready?"
Gaten leads the others down the passage just as Noah speaks, "I don't remember this being on the Marauder's Map."
Gaten nods, "That's because it never existed till now. The seven secret passages were sealed off before the start of the year. This is the only way in or out now. The grounds are crawling with death eaters and dementors."
Millie grimaces, "How bad is it, Gaten? With Snape as Headmaster."
Gaten shrugs, "Hardly ever see him. It's the Carrows you have to watch out for. Brother and sister. They're in charge of discipline. Like punishment, the Carrows." Gaten points to a gash on his face.
Millie glares at the gash, "They did that to you? But why?"
"Today's Dark Arts lesson had us practicing the Cruciatus Curse. On First Years. I refused. Hogwarts has changed." Gaten states, looking forward.
The others look shocked, but Gaten simply grins. "Aw, c'mon. Don't be grim. We're all used to it by now. And the thing is, it helps when people stand up, gives everyone hope. I used to notice that when you did it, Caleb. C'mon, we're almost there."
The trio exchange glances and follow Gaten. He leads them up a short flight of stone steps to a door. He pauses and looks back at them, whispering, "Let's have a bit of fun, shall we?" Pushing open the door, "Hey! Listen up, you lot! I've brought you a surprise!"
Seamus rolls his eyes, "Not more of Aberforth's cooking, I hope. Be a surprise if we could digest it."
Gaten looks back, jerks his head toward the open door. Caleb, Noah and Millie step forward, duck through and emerge into a large room that looks like a sumptuous tree house. Faces turn. Blink. Utter silence. Then Seamus smiles, "Blimey."
Voices explode. Madness ensues as the trio is swallowed up in a scrum of backslaps and handshakes. Many familiar faces are present. Luna, Dean Thomas, Cho Chang. Lavender.
Gaten leans down, whispers to little Nigel, "Get the word out to Remus and the others that Caleb's back."
Nigel nods, scrambles over to a battered wizard wireless. As it crackles to life he leans close, "River, DA calling. Do you read? We have a new weather report: Lightning has struck. I repeat, lightning has struck..."
Gaten laughs, "Okay, okay! Stand down! Let's not kill them before You-Know-Who gets the chance!" As they settle, "Right then. What's the plan, Caleb?"
Caleb gazes out over the expectant faces in the room, noting the hollow eyes and broken bodies and the desperate, almost palpable desire for hope. For a moment he seems lost, awed by the sacrifice his friends have made, much of it for him. Finally, he's peaks, "Okay. There's something we need to find, something hidden here in the castle. It could help us defeat You-Know-Who."
Gaten crosses his arms and nods, "What is it?"
Caleb pauses, "We don't know."
Dean furrows his brows, "Where is it?"
Caleb purses his lips, "Don't know that either." A confused murmur fills the room. "I realize it's not much to go on."
Seamus shakes his head, "That's nothing to go on."
Caleb falters, then his gaze happens upon the Ravenclaw Banner hanging across the room, bearing the symbol of an eagle. He studies it, a notion forming. "I think it might have something to do with Ravenclaw. It would be small, easy to conceal, valuable. Any ideas?"
He looks up. For a moment, there's no response, then Luna moves forward, "Well, there's Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem." When nobody says anything, she frowns, "The lost diadem of Ravenclaw? Hasn't anyone ever heard of it? It's quite famous."
Cho nods but places a hand on Luna's shoulder, "Yes, but Luna, it's lost. For centuries now. There's not a person alive today who's seen it." Her fellow Ravenclaws nod.
Noah frowns, "Excuse me. But would someone tell me what's a bloody diadem?"
Cho sighs, "It's a kind of crown. You know, like a tiara." As she says this, Caleb frowns, trying to think if he's seen such a thing in the castle. "Ravenclaw's was rumored to have magical properties, to enhance the wisdom of the wearer.
Just then quick footsteps are heard and a girl appears atop the far staircase. She stops, staring at the boy who lived, "Caleb."
Caleb's smile returns to his face, "Hey there."
Noah smiles, about to speak, then notices Sadie's eyes have not left Caleb. He frowns and speaks to Millie, "Six months she hasn't seen me and it's like I'm Frankie First Year. I mean, I'm only her brother."
Seamus smirks, "Got loads of those, though, doesn't she? There's only one Caleb."
Noah shakes his head, "Shut up, Seamus."
Gaten purses his lips, "What is it, Sadie?"
Sadie tucks a piece of her ginger hair behind her ear, "Snape knows. He knows that Caleb was spotted in Hogsmeade."
A mist encircles the parapets of the castle itself, barely distinguishable from the dementors that drift like silent sentinels over the grounds, the lights glimmer in the castle.
A stream of Hufflepuff students move toward the Great Hall. They walk grimly, their faces blank, as if accustomed to such exercises. The Ravenclaws walk in lockstep as well.
Slytherin House walks in rigid synchronization, backs straight, in perfect rhythm. Blaise Zabini, Crabbe, and Goyle eye the determined students walking alongside them.
As the Gryffindor's walk, Caleb moves in their midst, effectively shielded. He slips past a few people, reaches out and enfolds Sadie's hand in his own. She doesn't look back, she knows it's him, she knows his touch.
Each House stands together as a group, the room buzzing. No one sits. Caleb is nowhere to be seen. At the Tall Table at the top of the Hall two death eaters, the Carrows, stand like sinister sentinels, their eyes raking the crowd.
Professor McGonagall, her face ashen, her bearing reduced, stands along the right wall, while Flitwick stands by the left wall. As Snape enters, the room goes slowly silent.
"Many of you are surely wondering why I have summoned you here at this hour. It has come to my attention that earlier this evening... Caleb Mclaughlin was sighted in Hogsmeade." His shrill voice says.
A murmured thrill fills the Hall. McGonagall's eyes glisten with curiosity. Snape raises his voice, briefly, to quell the noise in the Hall. "I mention this in the hopes that truth will not be supplanted by rumor."
"For myself and a few select members of the staff this comes as little surprise. We have, forsome time, considered Mr. Mclaughlin's return to Hogwarts to be not only possible but inevitable. Consequently, in the past several months and under my specific direction, exhaustive defensive strategies have been employed to defeat any attempt Mr. Mclaughlin might make to breach these walls."
Snape pauses for a moment, "But know this. Should anyone, student or staff, attempt to aid Mr. Mclaughlin, that person will be punished in a manner consistent with the severity of their transgression. Rest assured, so long as I am Headmaster at Hogwarts, Caleb Mclaughlin will never again step foot in this castle."
"Now then. If anyone here has knowledge of Mr. Mclaughlin's movements this evening... I invite them to step forward now." Snape's eyes rake the Hall. Dead silence. A nervous shift of glances. And then footsteps, a figure appears in the shadows at the back of the Hall. McGonagall's chin rises in disbelief. "I think I can help you out with that.."
Caleb appears, "It would seem that, despite your exhaustive defensive strategies, you have a bit of a security problem, Headmaster."
Snape stares in stunned disbelief, then his gaze shifts as one by one, others emerge from the Great Hall entrance doors. Noah. Millie. Lupin. Arthur. Molly. Charlie. Jonathan. Percy. Luna. Dean Thomas. Bill. Fleur. Kingsley Shacklebolt.
"And I'm afraid it's rather extensive."
The Carrows, who had been moving towards Caleb, falter and turn to Snape with uncertainty. Caleb's eyes narrow with malice as he stares at Snape. "How dare you stand where he stood."
Snape watches Caleb draw his wand, pointing it at him. "Tell them how it was that night. Tell then how you looked him in the eye, a man who trusted you... and killed him. Tell them!"
Snape's eyes find Caleb's, but his face remains a mask. McGonagall stands poised, no longer an ashen ghost. Flitwick's hand twitches over his wand. The air prickles with anticipation. Snape moves as if to retrieve his wand. McGonagall steps forward and sends a volcanic blast Snape's way.
Pivoting, he parries the spell, barely, and sends it ricocheting around the room. Chaos ensues. Flitwick and the rest of the staff, inspired by Caleb and McGonagall, leap forth, wands out. Snape, outnumbered, standing at the epicenter, parries spell after spell with astonishing skill deflecting two of the curses into Alecto and Amycus Carrow.
Snape takes the measure of the room and sweeps his wandover his head, reducing the torches that line the wall to smoke and pitching the Hall into total darkness.
As students scream, a great whooshing sound fills the Hall and some flying thing flickers past the windows, rattling the panes before blasting through one.
Instantly, the torches burst back to life and Caleb see's that it's McGonagall, wand raised aloft, who's done it. In the moonlight, Caleb can see a bat-like creature beating into the night. McGonagall peers bitterly into thedarkness, "Mr. Mclaughlin, do you mind telling me what you're doing here, which, I trust you realize, is an act of complete and utter lunacy?"
Caleb nods, "I'm a Gryffindor."
She smirks, "I thought it might have something to do with that." Turning to the room, she eyes her crazed students, "All right! Settle down! Settle down!l The room quiets. "It appears that your Headmaster, to use the common phrase, has done a bunk."
Cheers rise from all Houses, even Slytherin, where Pansy Parkinson glowers along with Crabbe and Goyle. Blaise's expression remains poised and unmoved, but he can't help but grin secretly. Even McGonagall can't help but smile.
Just then, Caleb winces slightly, pressing his fingers to his temple. A slow rumbling fills the Hall. Caleb, fingers trembling with pain, glances up, sees dark clouds coagulating in the Enchanted Ceiling. McGonagall follows his gaze, as do others, watching as the clouds shift eerily, like blots of blood.
Suddenly the flames in the torches along the walls tremble as a chill breeze consumes the room. The Hall slowly dims. All grows progressively silent when a girl screams, her voice rising and rising.
Caleb rushes through the throng, the students parting as he pelts forwards, pushing past them until he finds a Hufflepuff, cowering on the floor in the corner, hands over her ears, eyes clenched tight. She seems possessed. Everyone watches, chilled. Finally Caleb starts to move forward, when he himself winces, pressing his fingers to his temples.
Another person screams somewhere in the Hall, then another. Caleb glances about him, at the circle of faces in his vicinity. All are a mirror image of the girl now, grimacing in pain. He stares, confused, stricken with pain, when a voice booms in his head in a deathly whisper.
"I know that many of you will want to fight. Some of you may even think this wise. But this is folly."
Millie weaves through the room, taking in the faces, listening in mute misery as Voldemort speaks. "I wish you no harm. I have great respect for the students of Hogwarts. I was once one myself after all. I ask for but one thing and if granted no magical blood shall be spilt..."
For a moment they stand, hung in silence. "Give me Caleb Mclaughlin. Do this and none shall be harmed. Give me Caleb Mclaughlin and I shall leave Hogwarts untouched. Give me Caleb Mclaughlin and you will be rewarded."
With that, the whisper recedes and those in the Hall slowly surface back into the prickling ambience of the here and now.
Above them, the clouds evaporate in the Enchanted Ceiling. And then, like iron filings flaking to the surface of a magnet, every eye finds Caleb. For a moment, silence. Then, Pansy Parkinson jabs her finger at Caleb. "But he's there! Mclaughlin's there! Someone grab him!"
Instinctively, Sadie steps in front of her boyfriend, wand drawn. Then, as one, the Gryffindors assemble in a line and face towards the Slytherins, shielding Caleb. Moments later, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs do the same. Caleb's eyes glitter at the sight, moved. Sadie lowers her wand.
Just then, Filch bursts in the Hall. "Students out of bed! Students in the corridors!" Filch stops dead, as Mrs. Norris wends through his legs.
McGonagall rolls her eyes, "They're supposed to be out of bed, you blithering idiot!"
"Oh. Sorry." Filch begins to turn away.
"Wait! As it turns out, Mr. Filch, your arrival is most opportune. If you would, I'd like you to lead Miss Parkinson and the rest of Slytherin House from the Hall."
Filch nods, "Right away.... Er, exactly where is it I'd be leading em to, mum?"
"The dungeons should do." Cheers rise again and McGonagall's eyes turn on Caleb. She rises up to full height, her jaw firm. "I presume you have a reason for returning, Mclaughlin. What is it you need?"
"Time. As much as you can give me."
She nods, "Do what you have to do. I'll secure the castle. We teachers are rather good at magic. We've even been known to turn out a worthwhile witch or wizard on occasion. I think it's time I ask a few of them to take their magic beyond the classroom. What d'you think?"
Caleb follows McGonagall's gaze, sees Gaten and Sadie conferring with a sprinkling of DA members. "I think you're right."
McGonagall nods, still sizing up Gaten and the others. "By the way, Mclaughlin.. "as he looks back, "It's good to see you."
He smiles, "You, too, Professor."
Gaten and Sadie flank McGonagall as she sweeps out of the Great Hall and into the courtyard. Flitwick and other members of the DA, including Seamus, trail after. "Let me get this straight, Professor. You're giving us permission to do this?"
She turns to Gaten, "That is correct, Matarazzo."
Gaten gapes at her, "To blow it up. Boom."
She nods, "Boom."
"Wicked..." He frowns, "Um... exactly how do you propose we do this, Professor?"
She smirks and turns to face the crowd of kids, "Why don't you confer with Mr. Finnegan. As I recall, he has a particular proclivity for pyrotechnics."
Gaten and Sadie glance back at Seamus, "I can bring 'er down." Sadie, Gaten, Seamus and the DA peel off.
Flitwick leans over, "You realize, of course, that nothing we do will be able to keep out You-Know-Who indefinitely."
"That doesn't mean we can't hold him up." McGonagall's eyes glisten with determination, "And his name is Voldemort, Filius. You might as well use it. He's going to try to kill you either way." With that, McGonagall wheels, raises her wand and points it in the direction of the Great Hall. "Piertotum Locomotor!"
Instantly, all along the corridor statues and suits of armor come to life on their plinths. As McGonagall and the others watch, the statues parade into their view. "Hogwarts is threatened! Man the boundaries and protect us! Do your duty to our school!" As the statues thunder past, heading toward the viaduct,McGonagall watches with evident pleasure. "I've always wanted to use that spell."
Several yards off, Flitwick holds his wand aloft, his face grimly determined. Momentarily a "disturbance" troubles the atmosphere, this is powerful stuff, McGonagall and other Staff members step forward to assist, wands raised high. Together, they conjure, "Protego Maxima...Finato Duri...Repello Inimicum..."
A magical shield, which expands ever outward, blooming over the castle grounds, while far below the statues march the length of the viaduct and take their positions along the perimeter, still as sentinels.
Further on, small as ants from this vantage, Gaten, Sadie, Seamus and half a dozen DA members approach the wooden bridge.
Controlled chaos as scores of students and Staff sweep over the staircase, preparing for battle. Caleb moves quickly, followed by Noah and Millie. They speak with urgency. "Caleb, Millie and I have been thinking. It doesn't really matter if we find the Horcrux.." He stops and turns to Millie, "What're you saying?"
She rolls her eyes and continues for him, "Unless we can destroy it."
Noah nods, "So we were thinking.."
"You were thinking. It's Noah's idea. And it's brilliant." Millie finishes.
"You destroyed Tom Riddle's Diary with a Basilisk fang, right? Well, we know where we might find one, don't we?" Noah raises his brows.
Caleb looks at the two of them and ponders this. "Okay. But take this. That way you can find me when you get back." Caleb hands Millie the Marauders Map.
Millie narrows her eyes, "Where are you going?"
"Ravenclaw Common Room. Got to start somewhere." He says. Millie nods and slips the Map in her beaded bag and she and Noah head off. Just before they turn the corner, Noah looks back, holds Caleb's glance briefly and then is gone.
As Caleb continues on, Luna watches him vanish in the crowd. He dashes across the bridge. "Caleb! Wait! I need to talk to you!"
He glances back, slowing, but doesn't break stride. "I'm a bit preoccupied right now, Luna."
She groans, "But you won't find anything where you're going. You're wasting your time."
Caleb frowns, mildly annoyed, doesn't glance back. "We'll talk later, Luna."
Luna stops, watching him recede. Then suddenly, "CALEB MCLAUGHLIN! YOU LISTEN TO ME RIGHT NOW!"
Caleb stops, stunned and turns. Luna collects herself, "Don't you remember what Cho said about Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem? There's not a person alive who's seen it." Caleb stares dumbly back, shrugs, "It's obvious, isn't it? We have to talk to someone who's dead."
Caleb stares at her oddly when suddenly he becomes aware of the disturbance in the air around them. He looks up, toward the shield above, then at the tiny figure of Flitwick, wand aloft, standing with McGonagall and Sprout. "He's very impressive, isn't he?" Luna says.
Caleb starts to respond when he winces and clutches his scar.
Voldemort, regarding the castle pityingly as the Hogwarts faithful take their positions. "They never learn. Such a pity." Voldemort smiles, as if amused. His eyes gleam fiercely. "Begin."
Bellatrix raises her arm in signal and the sea of Death Eaters settle, poised and waiting. The air goes still. A death eater steps forward, "But, my Lord, shouldn't we wait.."
Voldemort's eyes shift, killing the remainder of his sentence before it can escape his throat. Bellatrix's eyes narrow in contempt. Chilled, the death eater looks away. Then, as if burying a knife deep in the heart of an enemy, Bellatrix drops her arm.
Gaten peers outward, marveling at the bombardment above. Seamus voice booms, "That's it. I want a charge on each and every joist." Gaten then peers below. Down amongst the pilings, Seamus directs Katie Bell, Cho Chang and Nigel in placing magical 'charges' spells on key pressure points.
Gaten sighs, "You do know what you're doing, don't you, Seamus?" Seamus winks, gives a thumbs-up, he seems to be enjoying himself, perhaps inordinately so. Gaten exhales, shakes his head. "Blimey."
Gaten looks off then, peering back along the bridges spine to where Sadie stands at the far end. Seeing him, she raises her hand to wave, then goes still, her hand suspended in the air, looking past Gaten as a howling rises on the air like a crude battle cry.
Hearing it,too, Gaten turns, revealing hundreds of baying snatchers rolling in an angry wave over the hill opposite. "Not good."
Luna leads Caleb up a shadowy staircase, out into a corridor, "If you're to find her, you'll find her down there."
Caleb furrows his brows, "Aren't you coming?"
Luna cocks her head, staring down toward the dark end. "No. I think it best if you two talk alone. She's very shy." Luna exits as Caleb eyes the shadows ahead.
Lupin and Shacklebolt stride out into the night as Dean tags after. Shacklebolt gives instructions to Dean, "Tell Professor McGonagall Remus and I will handle this side of the castle."
As Dean starts off, the grounds beyond and below come into their view, a sea of Death Eaters. Kingsley and Remus stop dead, narrow their eyes. "Dean! On second thought, tell Professor McGonagall we might need one or two more wands this side.
Dean nods, continues on, merely trading a glance with Arthur, Charlie and Jonathan as they appear, staring in stunned disbelief at the deadly throng across the landscape.
Lupin takes a deep breath, "It's the quality of one's conviction that determines success, not the number of one's followers." Lupin stares straight ahead, as does Shacklebolt.
"Who said that?" Shacklebolt responds.
Lupin smiles softly, "Me." For the first time, they look at each other, share a fatalistic smile. Just then Tonks appears. "Speaking of quality."
Tonks rushes past the Schnapps, lightly touching Arthur's arm as she leaps into Lupin's embrace. He hugs her deeply. "You shouldn't have. It's Teddy who needs you."
She winks, "He'll sleep 'til dawn and snore like his father. It's you who needs me tonight." He looks her in the eye, not denying it. Then a thunderous boom shatters the night and acrid plumes of smoke strafe the sky.
Shadows trailing across the walls of the corridor Caleb walks. Up ahead, a gauzy shadow plays eerily in the corner, undulating like the fins of a goldfish.
As he turns the corner, Caleb finds a beautiful ghost floating before a veined mirror, her reflected eyes distant and sad.
As her face comes into his view, he reacts, recognizing her from his visions. "It's you..."
The sea of Snatchers close on the bridge, their howls deafening. As Gaten looks on in terror, a fresh volley of rockets lace the night sky, his skin throbbing with a kaleidoscope of light, Blood red. Blue moon. Bright sun.
He glances up, watching as the bombs strike the shield and the sky shivers like water. Suddenly, his expression changes, faint hope displacing dread as teeth bared, the first Snatcher runs flat into Flitwick's shield and bounces back.
One after another, the Snatchers bounce back. A grinblooms on Gaten's face. Scabior stops short, eyeing the area ahead warily. Gaten begins to laugh, in faint disbelief at first, then harder, almost maniacally, consumed by a fear turned to ecstasy.
Hoarsely, he bellows at Scabior. "Yeah! You and whose army!" He grins, raises his wand and, with a triumphant whoop. But little did he know,
the battle was just beginning.
—
ya'll aren't ready for the next two chapters🤩
i would appreciate a shit ton of feedback for this chapter and the next ones, they've been written for months already and i finally get to post them
updates are gonna be more frequent now, i've finally gotten used to school so i can actually work on the chapters
i promise next chapter will have finn and fillie. i promise.