Areas of Expertise

--This, and chapter 42 are dedicated to JKR, whose wonderful work inspires so many of us to torment her characters. It's also for her as some of the lines in these chapters are from HBP.

--The story is finished, I shall post the remaining chapters today, and go away and cry. SP



Chapter Forty-One



“News of battle! News of battle!

Hark. ‘Tis ringing down the street

And the archways and the pavement

Bear the clang of hurrying feet.

News of battle. Who has brought it?” William Edmonstoune Aytoun



***



Below, some floors below, the Death Eaters had crept out of the vanishing cabinet (which Draco had moved from the Room of Requirement once he had found it) and had crashed, almost at once, into Hagrid.



“What d’yeh think yeh doin’ here?!” He growled, pink umbrella held up menacingly.



“Out of my way, Half-Breed,” a Death Eater snapped, and raised his wand to stupefy Hagrid. The spell smacked full force into the half-giant, knocking him back against the stone wall. Struggling to remain upright, Hagrid tugged on the arm of a statue, pulling it off. Off balance, he, and the statue, crashed onto the floor.



“Hurry up!” That was Draco. He pointed his wand at Hagrid and said, voice shaking, “Avada Kedav-“



“NOOO!” It was McGonagall. Her wand was up, she pointed it at the intruders and sent them flying along the passage to whack into the tapestry covered wall at the far end. The force of their landing made the stone work crack, and the floor below them trembled. Slowly, it cracked and chunks of the stone work began to fall free.



Horrified, the Death Eaters clung to one another, avoiding the suddenly appearing voids. One, still with his wits about him, yelled at Draco, “Go! Complete your task!” then he took aim and began hexing the witch.



The duel between the two was brutal and relentless. Around them, the stone work crumbled, the tapestries burnt, and the windows shattered as spell after spell rebounded and crashed into inanimate objects.



McGonagall was weakening. Her age began to tell, as, unable to block one spell quickly enough, she was knocked to the ground. Her wand flew far out of her reach. The witch passed out.



The Death Eaters began laughing, and picked their way among the fallen boulders to pass her. Contemptuously, the victor spat on her, his saliva smacking against one cheek and dribbling onto the rubble covered rugs.



“Old bitch!” he hissed, his wand aimed at her.



“Later!” another urged, pulling the wand arm down. “The noise will have been heard. The mission is most important. Have your fun with her later, when the castle is ours.”



Grudgingly, the man agreed. He kicked the still form before striding off.



***



“Noooooooooooooooooo,” Albus Dumbledore, in the cave, the bowl before him, was drinking the potion. “Make it stop, make it stop, I want to die.”



Frightened, a little house elf stood at his side. Dobby had been asked to assist the great Dumbledore and had agreed at once. He did not understand all that the man had said to him, but he had understood that it was his job to help the other, and, if it were too late, to return to the castle and tell Professor McGonagall what had happened.



“Master, sir, what can Dobby do? Tell me, master, and Dobby will do it!”



The headmaster shuddered, the final mouthful of potion having been drunk, and collapsed. “Water,” he gasped out.



“At once, Master, sir,” Dobby squeaked, and tried to summon some, but he couldn’t. Never before had he been unable to follow such a simple request, and it scared him. He went to the black lake, turning back for the goblet, and dipped it into the water, hating the creatures that floated there. As the metal touched the liquid, the Inferi burst out of it and began clambering blindly onto the island.



“Master, sir!” Dobby yelped as he was surrounded, “Master! Sir! Help Dobby!”



Still, silent, Albus Dumbledore didn’t move as the things clung onto the slippery rocks and dragged themselves over the boulders. They crawled onto the tiny island and began clutching at Dobby, pulling him towards the water.



“Sir!” Dobby was utterly hysterical, “Dobby needs help! Sir, Dobby needs help!”



The Inferi were dragging him close now – the island was only small – huge silver tears spilled out of his eyes as he struggled uselessly against the dead grips.



“MASTER DUMBLEDORE SIR!” Dobby yelled, throat going hoarse as he screamed as loudly as his small frame could, desperate to wake the other from his stupor. The Inferi had ignored the wizard, focusing instead on the squirming figure whom had been so reckless as to stand at the water’s edge.



Abruptly, fire bloomed. Crimson and gold fire. The Inferi, scared and disorientated, bumped into one another in their eagerness to regain the safety of their watery prison. Dobby was dropped as they attempted to shield their faces from the relentless heat. The flames swept harmlessly over Dobby and surrounded him, before they began pressing outwards, forcing Voldemort’s victims back into the cold black lake.



***



Whilst Dumbledore recovered and made his way back to Hogsmeade, the battle for Hogwarts raged. Dumbledore’s Army, warned by Hermione that something was probably going on with Draco, were ready when the first alarming noises were heard. Swift as the wind, they dressed and reached for wands and protective amulets.



Now they were patrolling the corridors, assisting the teachers and other students, fighting back the Death Eaters who just seemed to keep coming.



Neville, with Luna at his side, her Dirigible Plum necklace swaying as she raced alongside him, fought their way to the vanishing cabinet. Dodging curses and hexes from every direction they took shelter by the fallen statue, which groaned softly.



“What do you reckon?” Neville whispered, a patch of hair at the back of his head missing from a close call.



“Reducto.” Luna said in her lilting voice.



They took hands and aimed at the cabinet together.



“REDUCTO!”



The cupboard splintered into a thousand pieces.



Grinning at each other, they got up and stumbled over the rubble, heading back to the main battle.



***



In the Room of Requirement, the two men lay still, eyes still closed, as the purple faded from around them. Severus’ eyes were flickering behind their lids, but Harry was still perfectly at rest.



Madam Pomfrey, once she had settled Hermione, had rushed back to the room to check on its occupants. Now she was fretting. The noise of the battle was quieter up here, but she knew she would be needed. People were getting hurt below, and she had to do something about it. She took one or two abortive steps towards the door, then stopped, and returned to the bed. Dumbledore had been quite clear in the instructions he had given her –



“Protect Harry and Severus. They will be most in danger if they do not complete the Ceremony.”



She fretted nervously. Where was Dumbledore?



An abrupt pop made her jump. Dobby had approached the bed, swaying in exhaustion, and was shaking Snape.



“Master Snape, sir, master Snape. Master Dumbledore sir is needing you.”



The last of the spells’ barrier vanished.



Severus sat up, wide eyed, alert. His black gaze fixed upon the House Elf.



Urgently, Dobby relayed his message again. Snape nodded and stood up, pulling his hand free of Harry’s without a glance at the other.



“Where is he?” he asked, checking he had his wand available.



He and the elf raced out of the room, leaving an open mouthed Pomfrey to care for the unconscious Gryffindor.