Short Fuse

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its corresponding ideas and themes. If I did, well, never mind; that\'s a big if.

Summary: This takes place in Harry\'s 7th year. Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape... are they really what they seem? Some things in Harry\'s life aren\'t as simple as they seem, and with his powers growing, he begins to learn this in a difficult way.

Notes: Yes, I am one crazy mother... Welcome to the Insanity.

\"Stutter step through another trap set by deception
Mention rejection
Always lies in your eyes
Settles in your action
Jeopardize everything that I want
And I won\'t compromise anything anymore
In any way victimize myself any more
Liberty (YEAH)
Manipulations on my mind
Expectations well defined
Frustrate me
Liberate me
Cause everything\'s falling apart
You can\'t control me, You can\'t control me
Everything\'s falling apart\"- \"Falling Apart\" by Zebrahead

Chapter 19. Getting There

The entire DA stood in all it\'s glory as the dozen dark creatures descended onto them. A credit to Harry\'s leading ability, only few of them screamed when the coldness pressed onto them. Harry was temporarily stunned as well as screams began playing in his head, and his fear causing him to shake to the core of his being. As the others attempted to use the Patronus Charm, many merely produced wisps of a silver mist that did little good in defending against the dark Dementors. Draco pushed against the others, fighting to return to Harry\'s side, and hopefully bring him back to his senses, when something barreled over him, clearing the path and allowing the blonde to return to his mate\'s side. Harry snapped out as Draco hand grasped his arm, and he watched as something resembling a wolf-man tore through a silent Dementor. He shook his head, before aiming his wand into the sky, taking in one of his happiest moments, and yelling his spell.

\"EXPECTO PATRONUM!\" Harry\'s voice rang out loudly.

A flash of light pulsed into the air, a silver wisp like the others dancing around the hooded-creatures before converging at one spot, finally taking on the form of a silver stag. Each Dementor let out a howl, turning to face this light which they loathed over all, and as waves of silver light knocked into them, started to dissolve by the sheer force of the Patronus. The student of the DA stood in awe as the waves pulsed from a galloping stag, its light illuminating the dark and misty town of Hogsmeade. Harry set his arm to his side, watching as the guardian took it a few more gallops around before returning to him, stopping by his side and glancing oddly at the blonde.

\"My dad\'s Animagus form was a stag.\" Harry said, petting the magic as it nuzzled his hand. It looked over to Draco expectantly. Draco hand shook a little as he cautiously reached out, gaining more confidence as the stag nuzzled his own hand.

\"We have to go Harry, though it was nice to say hello to your Patronus.\" Draco said, pulling his hand away and watching the being turn and fade away into the mist.

\"Everyone? Zonko\'s joke shop is where the tunnel is. It is very unstable, so no loud noises or spells, and we should be fine. Let\'s go!\"

The group moved slowly into the abandoned shop, and they stopped inside to make sure they were all there. Harry heard a scream from Padma and Parvati as they dove to the side, the creature he had seen tearing Dementors apart entering the shop crawling on all fours, through the door, over the wall, and onto the ceiling. Harry held up a hand, pointing his wand at the being, before it dropped down before him and melted away, the golden-eyed youth staring back around at a perplexed DA. Io grinned slightly, tilting his head sheepishly to a ticking Harry.

\"No worries, this is an old friend. He is here to help us with fighting them inside the castle. His name is Io, and don\'t worry, he\'s on our side for sure.\"

Io, Draco, Colin, Harry, and the rest of the DA started their way through the tunnel, making their way to the insides of the castle, and unimaginable opposition.
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\"Severus!\" hissed Lucius, turning around violently as a stray bolt barely missed his shoulder.

\"Nice to see you again, Malfoy.\" Snape said through gritted teeth, sending a reductor curse towards a Veela that had been keeping him pinned down for the past few minutes.

\"Are we nearly through?\" came Sirius, dodging swiftly and firing hexes of his own.

\"Just a little bit farther. Where is Lupin and his wolves?\" said Snape, suddenly becoming aware of growling behind him.

The three men were startled as silver, black, and brown creatures bounded from the forest, their eyes shining brightly in the moonlit night, their fur giving off a wonderful sheen, and their teeth bared in ferociousness. Several ran swiftly passed them, jumping up soundly and tackling the Veela to the ground, beginning to bite and tear in attack. A howl made the men stop again, as six more came charging through, a silver grey one in the lead. They stopped close to the men, and Lupin\'s voice cut through the battle.

\"The Aurors have run into heavy resistance from the Dementors. Most were able to cast Patronus spells, but there have already been casualties, so I am pulling a little of our forces to give them a hand. Most of the pack will be here with you, but these five and me are going. Good luck.\"

Sirius whimpered a bit, watching his mate and the rest leave, before turning back to the other two men. With a nod, they took off, running not 25 feet before they were plunged back into the battle as a struggling Hagrid and a very stern McGonagall were being forced away. The battle was just starting to look grim again, every wizard or witch struggling with the bolts of Veela, a werewolf fighting tooth and nail against talons, or Hagrid and his Giants using a combination of fists and sheer magical fury to knock down the wards of the castle. It was when things looked their worse when a sudden hail of spells fell around the remaining Veela, either stunning or killing them instantly. Snape turned around as he suddenly saw a small group of people running towards them. They looked like students...
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Harry and Draco were in the lead, followed closely by the rest. They could feel the earth shudder as above them the battle raged on. The Golden Boy and the Slytherin Prince reached the end, pushing through the light and gazing wondrously at the different halls of their once proud school. Just as student started to extract themselves from the passage, something hit the school furiously, and a loud crash was heard. The group that was outside looked in as rubble filled the hole that was once the witch\'s hump passage. Draco looked around, noticing just how many people had made it through. Harry, Draco, Io, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Colin, and Luna had all made it through.

\"Harry?! Is everybody safe on your side?\" someone yelled, startling the small group.

\"Yeah! Is everyone alright over there, Oliver?\"

\"Everybody seems fine. Should we clear this and continue on?\"

\"Not enough time, and if we move anymore, we could cause another cave in. Get everybody out and then follow the Order\'s path to the castle. You\'ll meet us inside!\"

\"Alright, good luck, Harry!\"
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Tearing through the barrier had been the easy part, now they had to get through to the inside. Behind them lay the fallen of their comrades, and ahead lay the awaiting power of their nemesis. The only thing the three forces agreed upon was that this menace to the wizarding and muggle world alike had to be stopped, and as they moved, separately but equally as devastating, they tore through Voldemort\'s defenses. Dementors sailed passed them in flames and screams of anguish could be heard from Veela, Vampire, and Death Eater alike. Aurors, less than before but still the bulk of the force, charged forward, sending Patronus charms and a complicated hexes as more creatures streamed from all sides. The forces were pushed into a circle, defending off their dark attackers and at the same time watching each other\'s backs. Wolves scaled the walls and Centaurs, having kept their bargain, left the battle to the humans. Order members and the other half of the DA stepped into the castle, immediately having to take cover as Vampire and Veela alike threw their own magic in force.

Even with the massive battle going on for the castle it seemed quiet to the 9 students who wandered the halls, an eerie sense of dread filling the air around them. Having walked through the third floor, the small group of wizards and witches descended slowly down the steps. It was just as they reached the second floor that Harry looked down, a noise capturing his attention. Looking over the side of the railing, Harry watched as three masked and robed figure ran soundlessly up the stairs, looking directly up at them with their wands pointed out. A spell shot out, grazing the railing and making Ginny screech in surprise. The others ducked low and fired a curses back, hoping to strike one of the three.

\"Give up! Maybe the Dark Lord will go easy on you!\" one yelled as he sent a pain hex up towards the ducking children.

Harry didn\'t see Colin bound up the stairs until it was too late to stop him. Without a word the mousy boy grabbed the rail and hopped over it, dropping down. He smirked as he passed the Death Eaters, his wand aimed out.

\"Sectumsempra!\" he yelled as he went by, his aim dead-on as one cloaked figure was struck and thrown back, bleeding profusely from the large gash in his chest.

The two remaining Death Eaters sent hexes flying after him, each missing their target. The mousy Gryffindor landed on his feet, and he crouched low to absorb some of the impact. Luna and Ginny ran passed the boys, taking their chance while the two robed-men were busy to strike. They just turned back just in time to see disarming charms thrown in their faces, and were thrown back. Ginny and Luna handed Harry their wands as they caught up. Harry looked to them and then the wands, then snapped them and threw their remains to the side.

The smallest of them, Io, made it down the quickest, barely in time to catch the moudy boy as he collapsed. The rest of the group made it down and stopped to watch the damage. Colin grunted in pain as Io felt his leg.

\"Looks like you sprained your ankle and leg. You\'re lucky that is all that happened, from the distance you jumped.\" Io ran his hand over the leg. \"I don\'t think I can heal this. Healing myself is tricky enough, but healing someone else is near impossible for my brand of magic.\"

\"We can\'t leave him here.\" the Golden Boy said.

\"Yes, we can. I\'ll stay with him.\" Ginny took a seat next to Colin.

\"That\'ll have to do. Watch your backs and ours, okay?\"

\"Year sure, no problem. Good Luck!\"

Harry nodded to Ginny and Colin before taking off down the corridor, almost running to get to the Great Hall, where Voldemort was waiting. He turned the corner as saw his target, the massive doors of the Dining Hall, and he sped down it, the others following quickly behind him. Just as he reached the doors, a bolt of magic flew passed his shoulder and burned into one of the large doors. Harry and the others dove for cover as spells and hexes were thrown at them from behind. Using Columns and corners for cover, the group starting firing their own spells in retaliation.

\"Harry, go with Malfoy and Io through the doors! We\'ll cover you and guard this place until the Order or Aurors arrive.\" yelled Ron as he flung a nasty stunning spell into the chest of the closest masked assailant. Harry looked unsure.

\"Can you guys hold out?\"

\"Harry, you have a chance to end this! Go!\"

Draco grabbed his boyfriend\'s arm and ran, Io close on their heals, through the doors of Voldemort\'s chambers. The trio launched themselves through the doors just as they closed. Instantly, Harry gazed up and saw the Dark Lord staring back at him. Their eyes met and nothing else seemed to matter now except the fight. Harry never heard the gasp from Io, but Draco did, and saw what had caused it in the form of two boys standing on either side of the Dark Lord. They grew slowly, taking on their true forms, smirking evilly down at the two blondes. Ethan and Tate readied themselves to fight, and Draco gulped nervously.
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THANKS TO REVIEWERS!

Narcissa Black~ I didn\'t listen. I got HBP on Sunday, and I finished it in 6 hours. ;_; I\'ll have more comments in a/n, but what I did like about it was that it gave me an idea for a new fic, and it should be a good one.

fragonknight01~ Sev will get a lot more in the sequel, trust me! Oh, and the attack plan I think was a good idea...

BitchOfDarkness~ Yes, maybe 2, but idk. We\'ll see after this one, and I might start another story that follows HBP before I start them. We\'ll see...
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One more to go! I am sorry for the lateness, but I had to get over Half-Blood Prince. (SPOILER)I know I already killed old Dumbly off in my story, but I only did it because mine is only a story, and I have no real control of what REALLY happens to the characters. JKR does, and she killed off the biggest supporter the light had! And Dumbledore likes socks! I wanna cry ;_; Anyone think R.A.B. is Regulus? Anyways, later!