Sometimes a moment is all that is needed…a moment to cry, a moment to grieve. A moment is a funny thing, though, because you never really know how long it is going to last. Some moments last a second; others may be a minute or two. Then there are those moments that seem to last a lifetime. Never ending moments…those are the scariest moments of all. Some never ending moments are good, like when you fall in love and stay in love forever and ever…that’s a good moment. Those moments, however, are quite rare. The more common never ending moments are usually not so chipper. In a moment, one catastrophe after another can befall you until you think that you can take no more…and than another one hits. You’re left feeling dizzy and disoriented. Emotion escapes you. Words escape you. Life, in a myriad of images, flashes before your eyes. The ground you once stood firmly upon, crumbles from beneath you. Life can be cruel like that. A moment is all it takes.
It was Neville who smelled it first. Harry had just closed Dumbledore’s eyes when the unmistakable stench came. The others were deeply ensconced in their grief so Neville knew he had to act. He cleared his throat. No one paid him any attention, but he was used to that. This was one of those urgent moments and time would stand still for no man so Neville tried once again, this time he used words.
“Harry, I think there’s trouble,” Neville said tentatively.
“Quiet Neville, give him a moment,” Ron said sternly though his voice was filled with anguish.
“I believe we have a problem,” Neville insisted, knowing full well that he was being disrespectful to the newly departed and silently begging Dumbledore to forgive him.
It was not Harry that answered Neville, however, it was Ginny who looked back in a startled fashion and asked the most important question with only one word, “Fire?”
Alas, it was moments like this that made Neville certain that Ginny was some sort of mind reader, or had she simply smelled the stench as well? Irregardless, Neville quickly nodded to let her know that there was indeed some sort of fire blazing within the castle, and not to far away if the stench was any indication. Harry heard them, though he gave no sign. He continued to trace the lines of Dumbledore’s face with his eyes. He heard the explosion too, or at least what sounded like one. Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Neville ran to the windows just in time to see part of the east wing of the third floor explode and burst into flames.
“Isn’t that the Ravenclaw common room?” Neville asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.
“Where did the first explosion come from?” Ginny asked. Ignoring the fire now blazing in the Ravenclaw common room she quickly spotted the other fire quite a ways off at the north end of the castle.
“There,” Ron said, pointing to the spot where she was already looking.
“Two fires?” Hermione observed in a horrified whisper. “I somehow doubt that this is a coincidence,” she said as a tremor shot through her body.
“It’s the Hufflepuffs common room,” Neville informed them.
The third explosion came louder and closer than the other two.
“Not Gryffindor!” Neville shouted, but red embers shooting into the sky in the west signaled that his presumption was correct.
As the voices behind grew louder and more urgent Harry chose to block out the sound. He looked at Dumbledore’s peaceful face, so calm and blissfully unaware of the chaos breaking out in the school. How nice it would be to simply trade places with him. Perhaps he was so serene because this was his long overdue slumber. During his first year at Hogwarts, Dumbledore had mentioned that death was simply, the next great adventure. Harry turned abruptly from Dumbledore absolutely resolute about one thing: he wasn’t prepared to let the SSS disturb Dumbledore’s well-earned rest.
“We’re under attack,” Harry relayed as he strode from the headmaster’s office, fighting the urge to look back. He hurried down the winding staircase and heard the sound of many feet descending behind him. Once they had reached the hallway he faced his friends. “These are no ordinary fires; Snape’s Slytherin Soldiers are using a large amount of Pixie dust to cause the explosions…”
“That’s just not possible!” Hermione argued. “It’s illegal for any one person or organization to posses the amount of Pixie dust need to make a fire that intense!”
“That may be so,” Harry commented, “but SSS has been siphoning Pixie dust from all of their family members for months. They’ve been planning this for a very long time.”
“I’ll bet that’s why they’ve been keeping such a low profile!” Ron snarled. “They didn’t want to arouse any suspicion!”
“Oh dear,” Hermione whimpered, grabbing her chest as though her heart would burst.
“What is it now?” Ginny moaned.
“It’s just that…” Hermione began, but inevitably trailed off.
“…It’s just that what?” Ron shrieked at Hermione’s indecisiveness.
“Floo powder,” Hermione stuttered under the many watchful eyes.
“What about Floo powder?” Neville cut in so that Ron could not rant at Hermione in his helplessness.
“If you mix Floo powder with a large amount of Pixie dust…” Hermione prattled, the words to convey her meaning escaped her once more.
“Kaboom?” Ginny deduced, praying she was wrong, but sensing all along that she was not.
Hermione nodded. “Kaboom,” she confirmed in a frightened whimper.
Harry began to run to an undisclosed location and the rest of his dysfunctional entourage followed him in some confusion. Finally, it was Neville that voiced their thoughts.
“Harry, where are we going?”
Instead of answering, Harry had some quick questions of his own. “If there is a fire, where are students directed?”
“Great Hall,” Ron pronounced.
“Exactly,” Harry replied. “So if you wanted to corner the largest amount of unarmed students…”
“…You would create a diversion that would disable them from getting their wands, separate them from the staff who is undoubtedly trying to put out the fires and put them all in one location!” Hermione proclaimed.
“It’s about time you caught up,” Harry retorted.
Realizing the direction they were heading Ginny quickly spoke up, “Harry, if we go into the Great Hall now we’ll be walking into an ambush!”
Refusing to slow down Harry roared over his shoulder, “What choice do we have?”
Seeing no alternative the awkward group continued to pursue their leader. As the doors of the Great Hall came into view Ginny cast one thought into all of their minds, protect Harry.
As Harry threw the doors of the Great Hall open firm resolution lined the faces of those behind him, they were ready to go to war.
“Keep up your guard,” Harry warned in an undertone.
They entered the Hall tense and ready to do battle, but the sight that met them was morbidly calm. Older students were reassuring the crying younger students that their possessions and dorms would be just fine. The braver of the younger students were huddled together playing games such as exploding snap or trading sweets. Some people were laying on sleeping bags, trying to salvage a night of sleep in the mayhem.
Harry could feel his group losing their alertness to confusion so he ordered, “Keep up your guard,” once more.
“There’s not a single Slytherin here,” Ron reported with a swift, all-encompassing glance.
“Oh they’re here alright,” Harry persisted, “the question is where?”
The doors of the Great Hall swung open and Harry and his group turned to see who would enter. Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Lavender Brown, as well as Padma and Parvati Patil entered the Hall, all of them armed and anxious.
“There’s Harry!” Parvati exclaimed with a whoosh of relief.
“Harry, when Seamus told us that you were missing we were so worried!” Lavender cried.
“Well we’ve found him now,” Dean grunted, looking as though he were not entirely thrilled by the prospect.
Before Harry could respond to Dean’s lukewarm greeting the sound he had been waiting for reached his ears, hissing. Low, constant, hissing that did not break. Instead, it grew louder as more voices joined in. It was coming from the ceiling. The doors of the Great Hall slammed shut and a barrier of green fire burst into life in front of them. Balls of fire were shot at the windows and the same green flames engulfed them. There was no means of escape. Harry clenched his fists, he knew all along that they were walking into a trap and things were about to get ugly. He had a split moment to wonder how Snape’s Slytherin Soldiers managed to create such a convincing fake ceiling before the Soldiers came crashing threw their creation, armed and ready. They wore masks identical to the ones that the Death Eaters utilized.
No less than thirty Soldiers surrounded the Harry’s group. Screams broke out from the students outside the barricade that had formed around Harry as the full impact of what they were seeing hit them. The realization was quickly followed by spells being fired and returned by the students outside of the circle and the Soldiers that were not part of the blockade. It took Harry mere seconds to surmise that Dumbledore’s Army was at a distinct disadvantage, unarmed, caught off-guard, and separated from their leader they were quickly falling into a state of hysteria. The situation needed to be brought into control while there was still a chance to fight, and that could be done easily enough. Ginny was at Harry’s right hand side, and although he couldn’t use Volcency, he knew she could.
Tell Padma and Parvati to run through the break in the barricade, Harry informed Ginny.
What break? Ginny asked, clearly perplexed.
“That one!” Harry screamed, as he shot two of the Soldiers out of the way with a well placed disarming charm.
Harry was relieved to see Padma and Parvati run through the momentary hole and make it over to a group of first years who were being cornered by some burly Soldiers; however he did not have much time to revel in his success. With the first shot fired, spells were soon coming and going at a dizzying rate. Hermione and Ginny were foresighted enough to create a temporary shield that caused the Soldiers spells to rebound on them. Harry caught sight of Neville fighting off two Soldiers that were undoubtedly Crabbe and Goyle. As usual, they preferred to use their brawn over their brain during battle and Neville quickly got the upper hand with some of the more complex spells that Harry had laboriously taught him. Ron, Dean, Seamus and Lavender were casting hexes faster than any of the Soldiers could launch counter-hexes.
Harry grimaced as a particularly nasty hex nipped his earlobe causing it to grow at an alarming rate and then burst and spray him with pus. He fired a Jelly-Boggie Hex in retaliation and it hit the Soldier nearest him. The Soldier’s arms turned jelly-like and he lost grip of his wand, it crashed to the floor shooting harmless sparks at no one in particular. Harry was beginning to feel some of his old pride and confidence in Dumbledore’s Army and its members when a break in the circle surrounding him opened up a new line of vision. Just outside of the circle of fighting, thing were not going so well. Padma and Parvati had gathered as many first and second years as they could behind the Gryffindor table which was now lying on its side. Theirs were the only two wands among the group of fifty or so students.
Wisely, they had chosen not to fight the Soldiers, but rather to place a large magical blockade to rebound spells and protect the younger students. They were clearly having trouble maintaining the bubble that encased them, as it was a difficult spell and a large bubble. Harry knew that two people could hardly hold that spell for much longer, and though he hated to lose any more fighters he told Ginny to send Lavender and Seamus over to the struggling twins. The opportunity for them to go was provided by Ron and Dean who simultaneously shot the biggest Soldier that was menacingly bearing down on Hermione. Harry thought about splitting his group up so that the Soldiers would have to give them chase, but quickly cast the thought aside. The greatest number of Soldiers had their attention fixed firmly on his group; this gave the unarmed students a chance to take cover.
When Ginny sent a blast at two Soldiers attempting to curse Harry, he got an unobstructed view of several armed first years trying to hold off a single Soldier and doing a dismal job at that.
Ginny, have all the first, second and third years that are armed give their wands to the older members of Dumbledore’s Army. That will strengthen our numbers. Harry thought, desperately trying to level the playing field.
Moments later Susan Bones had successfully disarmed the Soldier attacking the first years using one of their wands. She was soon joined by Hannah Abbot and Justin Finch-Fletchy. The three, newly-armed Army members worked their way around the room rescuing the younger students and delivering them to the orb that Padma, Parvati and Lavender were somehow able to maintain. Seamus was fighting off the Soldiers that were shooting hexes and curses at the orb. They were successfully using an attack and defense strategy, Harry was happy to see. With his momentary lapse of attention Harry was struck in the shoulder with an engorging charm.
As his shoulder began to swell up dangerously and he was in risk of losing his wand a counter-charm hit him and a simultaneous Vexing hex was launched at his attacker. Both spells had come from outside of the circle, Harry was relieved to note. This meant that some members of the DA had managed to work their way to the main battle to offer assistance. Dean shot a Hurling hex from behind Harry and another Soldier fell. Ten down, twenty to go, Harry thought ominously. He wondered how long it would take the professors to realize what was going on, or if they had even managed to get the fires under control. No doubt Snape was hindering them as best he could.
Another Soldier encircling them was shot with a charm from behind and fell causing the remaining Slytherin Soldiers to scatter. Evidently they didn’t enjoy having their underhanded techniques used against them. As they broke ranks Harry’s momentary glee faded. Their movements and formation remained intact. Clearly this was a move that they had anticipated making. Another, even more chilling thought struck Harry, Where was Malfoy? Of the remaining fifteen or so Soldiers, several more had been taken out by those around him, none of them resembled Malfoy. Suddenly the hall went pitch black save for the fires blocking the exits. Panic reached a boiling point as the Soldiers continued casting spells without trouble.
It must be their masks, Ginny told him, I’m sure it helps them see in the dark.
Privately, Harry agreed, though voicing the matter could hardly help any. He cursed the sudden shift of power, the DA had just begun to make some headway and now that small victory was being stripped from them. Before he could ask Ginny for suggestions to help them see in the dark, Harry was handed a cold ball of orange flames by Hermione. He couldn’t hide his surprise, as the type of magic required to create those balls was well past NEWT level, but he was grateful nevertheless that Hermione took her studying so seriously. The ball illuminated ten feet or so around him, so he remained at a distinct disadvantage, but something was better than nothing.
After several more minutes of grueling fighting, ducking and shooting hexes, curses and charms, an unnatural silence fell upon the Soldiers. They seemed to retreat towards the flames blocking the exits. One of them screamed a command that Harry could not understand and they threw some sort of powder into the green flames while jumping back into the ceiling they had come from.
“Floo Powder!” Hermione screamed, realizing that they had been tricked.
“Duck!” Ginny commanded in response, grabbing Neville who was closest to her and forcing him down just in the nick of time.
Explosions, one after the other, resounded around the hall. Debris, candle-holders, lanterns, tables and chairs became flying weapons, hitting the students that were slow to duck. When the last of the explosions came Harry looked around, while the hall was still lit up by the bright green light and noticed that many bodies were now strewn across the ground. The hall was dark again with only the faint green glow and the few orange balls of flame Hermione had made to lend light to Dumbledore’s Army. In front of him, Harry spotted Colin and Dennis Creevey helping Luna Lovegood up from her position on the floor.
“Get down!” Harry shouted, as flames erupted with blinding flashes of light in front.
Colin, Dennis and Luna swiftly resumed their previous positions on the floor. Harry squinted at the fire blocking the Hall doors. It was flashing brightly, and then fading, then flashing once more and fading again. The pattern continued until the bright light faded and did not return; a total of five flashes. Perplexed by this strange behavior - even magical fires did not flare up without significant reason - Harry cautiously got up to investigate the cause. He had not taken five steps when he realized that a group of five people, four of them decked out in Death Eater finery and one young child, stood in front of the fire, scanning the room wickedly.
Blood flooded Harry’s brain flushing out the screams of those around him. The dim green light sufficed him as he approached the group of Death Eaters. As Harry reached the group, they made no sign of attack. Instead, three of the Death Eaters along with the young boy seemed to melt away so smooth was their dispersion. The remaining Death Eater held his ground firmly, arrogantly, fearlessly; there could be little doubt that this was the leader. Magic surged throughout Harry’s body so strongly that he felt as though the air around him was crackling from the tension. Every hair on the back of his neck and arms was standing as though a bolt of static had shocked him. Malfoy.
A smug Malfoy aimed his wand to the left of Harry. Though he was loath to take his eyes off his nemesis Harry turned his head and stopped the target of Malfoy’s wand, little Dennis Creevey. Turning back to Malfoy he was just in time to see the words forming on his mouth: Avada Kedavra. Harry screamed, though he would never recall that detail. It was the green flash from Malfoy’s wand that momentarily blinded him that would haunt him in the future. As the light died away Harry spotted the tiny body of Dennis hovering a few feet from him, before the contact wind broke and he dropped, his tiny bouncing head slamming against the hard floor causing blood to ooze from his skull. His eyes were open wide; open jaw surprise graced his face.
Aghast and feeling a rage he had never known before Harry pointed his wand at Malfoy, yelling out the two words that had taken so many of his beloved away from him. At least, he thought he had managed to yell the two words before the gripping pain latched a hold on his mind and body. Wreathing on the floor, he desperately hoped that death would come to relieve him of the mind-numbing pain that was ravishing him. Abruptly, the pain receded. From his position on the floor Harry gasped for air while groping around for his wand and glasses. Once the glasses were on his face and the wand firmly in hand, Harry jumped back up to his feet, swaying slightly as his body protested severely.
Thinking only of trying to hit Malfoy with the greatest of the Unforgivable Curses, Harry aimed for Malfoy’s heart. Again, Malfoy looked smug and aimed his wand at a shadow that was rapidly approaching him. Squinting, Harry recognized Colin just before the boy threw himself towards Malfoy in utter lunacy. Harry did not dare shot the spell due to Colin’s proximity to Malfoy. For his part, Malfoy looked cool as a cucumber, casually flicking his wrist when Colin was in ‘flicking’ range. He muttered the curse that caused the second burst of green light as though it were an after thought. Colin’s body was shot backwards at a high speed and dumped on his brother’s remains. The two wore identical looks of surprise.
Madness gripped the edge of Harry’s conscious. He screamed the words to end Malfoy’s life, sending the killing curse forth with a burst. A strong stream of the brightest green that he had yet to witness issued from his wand…and then rebounded. Harry felt his body hurdling to the ground seconds before the green light shot through the place where he had been standing. The spell did not stop at his old, unoccupied location, however. It continued until something that was very solid blocked its path, a Death Eater. Both hood and mask flew off of the face of Pansy Parkinson as astonishment set into her features. Malfoy screamed, forgetting his previous aloofness and running to his fallen comrade.
Harry took the opportunity to see who it was that continued to grip his knees, disabling him from rising at all. Luna, bruised, broken, and battered, gripped him all the more tightly when she met his eyes. Harry could sense the fear emanating from her, though she continued to use her body as a living shield for his protection. Struggling against her, Harry spotted Malfoy as he dragged Pansy’s body back to the fire in front of the Hall doors, and then they were gone.
They’ve got Ron! A panicked voice in his head screamed, pulling him from the daze that he had been under. Immediately he began scanning the faces of those closest to him.
Whose got Ron? Harry thought desperately to himself, quickly succumbing to the horror that had characterized the previous voice.
The Death Eaters! The voice cried out in hysteria.
It was then when Harry spotted the sight that terrified him beyond any thing that had happened thus far: Ginny’s limp body, blood dripping from a fresh wound on her head, her hair like some gruesome halo against her deathly white porcelain skin giving her the appearance of a slain angel. It was a grotesque image, almost identical to his mother after she had been attacked. With an almighty roar he ripped Luna away from him and ran to Ginny’s side. Crouching, he held her head in his hand and touched her blood with the other.
A call to retreat came from one of the Death Eaters, but it made no impression on him. Harry felt an undeniable swirl of memories flash before his eyes: Ginny laughing on the swing, walking down the wedding aisle, capturing the snitch from under his nose, kissing him…and then the blackness engulfed him. A moment was all it took.
In Adversity We Know Our Friends by Wise Owl
Chapter Notes: A gigantic sized chapter...a pivotal one. You knew this one was coming!