Chapitre 405: Trapped & Isolated
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The link is also in the synopsis.
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Dumbledore opened his eyes to darkness.
He laid still for a split second; for that brief moment, his mind was at peace and quiet— but as the next beat clicked in, a dam broke loose. He felt an ocean of magic flood his 'sixth' magical sense, sending his mind buzzing with thoughts. The amount of magic was something he hadn't felt in ages. . . not since he had dueled against Grindelwald. His heart thumped in his chest as he knew that there could be only one who could cause so magic that his own magic tingled, sounding its discomfort, demanding for this threatening presence to be stopped.
Dumbledore got up from his bed and walked to the window and the curtains parted to show him the source of the terrible magic he was feeling. In the sky, a giant silver translucent cover of magic spilled outwards, forming a dorm that arched over Hogsmeade. . . and Hogwarts itself. Pulsating steaks of silver magic rose up to the sky leaving behind a soft ghost-ish trail that began at the Hogsmeade.
Dumbledore's eyes sharpened. He raised his hand; his outer robe fluttered to him, and his wand flew in his arm. He turned and yelled, "Gibby!" A Hogwarts house-elf appeared in the room; she lay on the floor and slowly got up, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "Wake up the professors— all of them. Tell Minerva to raise Hogwarts defenses. It's an emergency; tell them to have their wands ready."
Dumbledore's stern, out-of-place tone zapped Gibby's sleep in an instant. She could barely utter an acknowledgment before Dumbledore vanished away from his room— no one could Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts, but being Dumbledore had its exceptions.
The moment Dumbledore appeared outside on the Hogwarts ground, he briskly made his way to the gate that opened to Hogsmeade, and the moment he appeared next to the bricks, the grip on his wand tightened. Voldemort stood a few paces away, holding his wand up, shooting magic into the sky, building the dome that was growing at an alarming rate. Dumbledore saw Augustus Rookwood looking towards Hogsmeade, where he saw the flashes of magic lighting up the houses and streets mixed in with the occasional shout and scout that were extinguished before they could even get their anguish out.
When Dumbledore looked away, his shocked eyes away from Hogsmeade to Voldemort, the Dark Lord's eyes also moved to Dumbledore. The two opposites met eyes, and for a moment, the time seemed to slow down as the two juggernauts took in the presence and attention of the other.
"Dumbledore," Voldemort started. Rookwood turned at the sound and trained his wand at Dumbledore. "I expected you to arrive much earlier. Is the corrosion of time finally catching up with you? Needed the old man's sleep? I think I can see new wrinkles by your eyes."
"What are you doing, Tom?" Dumbledore raised his wand.
He got a smirk in return. Voldemort bent his elbow as if pulling on something taut before thrusting his wand arm up with force. Magic saturated the environment as Voldemort's wand tip matched the brilliance of a star; the repeating bursts of magic going up in the sky akin to skyshot fireworks were replaced by a thick tractor beam forming a pillar to the sky. The growth in the sky raced, making the previous speed look like a snail's crawl. The silverish canopy that formed over shed a silverish light on the ground, replacing the moonlight on a new moon night.
Voldemort kept his eyes on Dumbledore and pointed his wand at the old Headmaster. "This is the start of the end, Dumbledore," he said and cast a yellow spell that gleamed of death. Dumbledore's body tensed as he casted his shield and aimed it outside the Hogwarts boundary. Voldemort's dark curse was stopped from entering Hogwarts. Dumbledore narrowed his eyes as he watched the dark magic eat away at his shield, turning his magic into an ugly sludge dripping down and sizzling on the ground.
Dumbledore stepped closer to the threshold and touched his wand to a brick in the boundary wall. The space between the bricks glowed blue and magic shot up from the wall, and magical glowing blue ethereal bricks began forming a cover over Hogwarts with Voldemort's dome hanging a height over it.
"The boy's time has come to an end, Dumbledore," said Voldemort, "might as well hand him over— and while at it, I think it will be best for everyone that you surrender your life to me after I'm done with him." He raised his wand again, and a bright red pulse burst out. The red light struck the silver dome, and a ring of red travelled out on the dome's silver. "No one is leaving until I get what I want, and all of this over and buried into the ground."
As if coordinated, multiple bursts of pulsating magic rocketed towards the sky from areas around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. They met Voldemort's dome and became a part of it. The silver glowed brighter than ever, and the dome's growth and construction hastened as it bled downwards faster.
"No one is leaving. . . and neither is anyone coming in now," Voldemort gave Dumbledore an eerie smile that made his already menacing face more threatening.
"Tom, you. . ." Dumbledore's words hitched in his throat. His eyes switched between the magic in the sky, Voldemort and Hogsmeade.
"Dumbledore!" called a squeaky voice. Flitwick came running on his little feet, and the rest of the faculty staff followed behind at a distance back. Flitwick's feet came to a skidding stop before he intended to stop; he gasped when he looked at the sight outside Hogwarts. The rest of the professor's reactions were identical. "Dumbledore. . . the Dark Lord, the magic in the sky, the Death Eaters. . . what is happening?!" the half-goblin asked in a stunned tone.
". . . Has Minerva begun priming the defenses?" asked Dumbledore.
"S-She has."
Dumbledore turned to his peers and employees and announced, "Voldemort and the Death Eaters have surrounded the castle. . . we are now trapped inside," he sighed at the gaps. "But they won't be able to come inside as long as the Hogwarts defense stands."
"That won't be for long," everyone looked at Voldemort. The Dark Lord stepped forward and walked to just in front of Dumbledore and the Hogwarts faculty— they were separated by the magic dome, but despite that, they could see the other party very clearly. Voldemort stared at Dumbledore as he spoke, "How are you doing today, Lily Potter?"
Lily standing among the faculty group dressed in her night clothes, stared at Voldemort with a fearful expression.
"How's your son?" he continued. "He must have grown since the last time I saw him. Seventh year. . . a wizard of age— from a boy to a young man. . . I have been late, haven't I? Let him stay alive for too long. But now that I'm here, I shall remedy that."
"You-You stay away from my children."
Voldemort finally looked at her, and the red eyes shone menacingly. Dumbledore stepped in between both of them, breaking the eye contact between the two.
"You can't keep defending them, Dumbledore. There will be a time when you and your magic slips. . . and on that day, I'll be waiting. . . waiting for you to make a mistake and open the door to the school to me so that I could teach the children important life lesson. . . to kneel in the presence of greatness such as myself."
The silver dome flashed in a brilliant, burning magnesium white light before dimming to the point where it was no longer available. "That does it; it's just the both of us now," said Voldemort.
Dumbledore pursed his lips as again, for the umpteenth time, before turning away from and facing his faculty. He looked to the Bill Weasley and said, "Can you keep an eye on them, William? You do not have to worry; the shield will keep you safe as long as you stay behind them."
"Yes, sir," said the youngest of the Hogwarts professors.
"Thank you," smiled Dumbledore reassuringly. "Pomona, please keep Willian company." The Herbology Head of Hufflepuff readily agreed and stationed herself near the blue shield ward with her wand ready.
The rest of the Hogwarts group left and moved to the castle. There were no words exchanged on the way— even though all had questions, the moment Dumbledore had turned, his smile had disappeared, making them hold their tongues. When they entered, they were greeted by a startled McGonagall.
"Albus, what is happening?! Why—"
"Voldemort and the Death Eaters are at our doors, Minerva," said Dumbledore. "They have taken over Hogsmeade, taken the people hostage. Voldemort has cast barrier magic around the castle and the village— and from his words, it has created isolation— no one's going to come in or go out. We can consider Ministry help out of the question for the moment— not until they or we figure out how to get rid of it." Dumbledore stopped in the middle of the Entrance Hall and remained silent with his eyes closed. He asked, "How much food do we have?"
"For a week or so. . . we can stretch it to ten days," said McGonagall.
Dumbledore opened his eyes. "I do not like that number. We need more food. . . But before that, we need to alert the Aurors."
"The Floo is down."
"Of course they are," he sighed. "I doubt owls will work either. House-elves?" he asked.
"Gibby can't go out; we are truly trapped," she said. "What about Fawkes?"
"We can try, though I doubt it will work. He's not going to be happy being cooped in the castle."
Lily entered the conversation and suggested, "How about we use MagiFax? I know of an emergency line for family members in the Aurors Office. They'll respond immediately."
"Please do so," said Dumbledore, and Lily ran away.
"What should we do about the children?" asked Flitwick.
Dumbledore followed Lily with his eyes until she was out of sight. "Lock the doors and windows. Not a single child should venture out of the castle walls until we let them know about the situation. We will need help. The older students will have to take care of the younger ones. I will need a talk with the Prefects; the Head of House will talk to everyone fifth-year above. . . And I repeat, no one goes out."
"The Dark Lord," asked Slughorn, still wearing his sleeping cap on his head, "what does he want?"
"For me to be dead. . . along with Harry Potter," Dumbledore narrowed his eyes at the Slytherin Head of House. "Don't even think about it, Horace. Giving Potter won't solve any of this."
"I wasn't thinking about it," said Slughorn, his eyes shifting to the professors. "Then what should we do?"
"Voldemort will try to breach our defenses. I do not know long it would hold him back," at their level, there was no telling, "so we either need to break their enclosure, or we need to prepare to defend against them in case they break through."
"D-Defend, how many Death Eaters are there?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "I do not know, I only saw Augustus Rookwood, but I'm sure he has brought all of his lieutenants along with him," some terrible names passed through his and everyone's minds. "Along with those people, there are many more, many-many more— we will be severely outnumbered." He looked his worried employees in the eye, "But do not despair just yet. They might have the higher number, but we this castle. A stronghold to help us defend and protect." Dumbledore's eyes steeled in resolve. He had children to protect, and he would do anything to accomplish that goal.
In the shadow of the night, Hogwarts had turned into a battlefield. However, the following morning that had a lot to offer of its own.
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Voldemort - Dark Lord - Children make great bargaining chips.
Albus Dumbledore - Headmaster - I was having a pleasant dream. . . only to wake up to a nightmare.
FictionOnlyReader - Author - How was this one?
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Chapitre 406: Sounding The Sirens
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The link is also in the synopsis.
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Somewhere in the Auror Office, a Junior Auror fiddled with the dry quill in his hand.
Nights at the Auror Office were usually hectic with drunk idiots going around shooting magic in front of Muggles. But not for Andreson. He was appointed his shift in the back offices, alone in a cabin behind a desk, surrounded by shelves and cabinets full of paperwork. He heaved a long sigh of boredom, blankly staring at his table with nothing to do.
His duty was to man an emergency line open only to family members of Aurors, Hit Wizards, Obliviators, and other at-risk professions inside the DMLE. It was an essential job as being a part of DMLE came with an added risk of making enemies who would sometimes target family members, and thus the department as a whole needed to be on-point, ready to jump to their help and resolve the threat as soon as possible before it could do any damage. However, manning the emergency line was the most boring part of the process— he didn't get to go out on the field and was stuck behind a desk where the only choice of excitement was when an emergency message would be called and he would get to issue a red alert— alas, those moments were far in between.
It being a night shift didn't help. The temptation to set his head down on the table and close his eyes to take a small nap was strong— but something punishable by the internal rules of the office.
*Ting!*
Andreson's body froze as though hit by a body bind. He removed his eyes from the quill in his hand and looked up to the MagiFax sitting in the corner of the room. The machine was used for making copies of documents rather than for its primary purpose, so when he heard it make a sound, Andreson couldn't believe his ears. He stared at it, waiting for proof that it wasn't his imagination birthed by boredom but what he thought it was.
*Ting!*
There it was. Andreson's eyes widened as he stood up from his chair, sending it falling to the ground. He didn't care. The Junior Auror of the night shift ran to the machine and all but ripped the paper out of the tray. His eyes bulged out as he read the words and straightened up. He took backward steps towards the door— and bolted out of the room, leaving the door swinging.
"Ma'am!" he yelled and barged into his manager's office.
Stephanie Izard, Senior Auror, looked up and glared at him. "Do I need to teach you discipline, Anderson? I would gladly send you back to the academy to be graded. If you score anything less than an A-grade, don't even think of coming back."
Anderson ignored the severe words that promised permission and continued spouting, "Ma'am, something just came from the family emergency line!"
Izard sat straighter. She asked, "Who is it?"
"Lily Potter!"
"Potter? Isn't she at—"
"Death Eaters have taken the entire village of Hogsmeade hostage! They have cast a ward over both Hogsmeade and Hogwarts and are planning to break into the Hogwarts!"
"What?!" Izard stood up from her chair.
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is there, ma'am. Sh-She, the rest of the Hogwarts professors, and Dumbledore saw him with their own eyes!"
"WHAT?!"
"And they have disabled the Floo system as well! Ma'am, it's an entire mess, and-and—" he thrust the letter into Izard's hand "— please read it on your own."
Izard blankly stared at the paper in her hand. The moment the page left his hand, Andreson paced around the room.
"Call everyone," said Izard.
"Everyone. . . who?"
"Call Robards, all the Captains, the Seniors— call the Hit Wizards— call Scrimgeour, call Bones— call. . . everyone." she looked at Andreson. "This needs all hands on board."
"Yes, ma'am," Andreson turned to leave the office and follow the commands, but when he opened the door, he was met with a figure standing in front of the door. He gasped, "Senior Auror Potter!"
James entered the office and spoke straight to Izard, "Have you called everyone?"
Izard raised the page in her hand. "Got your wife's alert just now; Andreson was about to go— don't stare at Andreson go— I presume she contacted you first?" she asked James.
James nodded.
"Who did you call?" she asked.
"No one. I knew you would be doing it," James sighed and pulled a seat in front of the table to sit down, but the moment his behind touched the cushion, he stood up and began pacing the room.
"How're you feeling?" asked Izard, studying James.
"How do you think I'm feeling?" snapped James. "My wife and children are trapped inside with a monster who wants nothing more than to kill them. How do you think that makes me feel, huh?"
"They're safe," she assured, not minding the harsh words, "they have Dumbledore with them, and the Hogwarts defenses stand strong between You-Know-Who and everyone inside." James' face remained sour; the words didn't help. "What we need to think right now is how to help the people trapped in Hogsmeade— because they neither have the Hogwarts defenses separating them from You-Know-Who."
James groaned. He stopped, and his face contorted as he clenched his fists. There was a few seconds of struggle on his face before all of it was released with a deep breath. "You are right," he said calmly, albeit with a frown. "Hogsmeade needs are help. There's no telling what that evil maniac will do with those poor people. What should be our first plan of action?"
"Scouting," said Izard as both of them sat down. "We need to get eyes on the situation. Send a reconnaissance to get the lay of the land from the outside while we establish contact with Hogwarts to get a view from the inside."
"Lily and I use a charmed pair of mirrors which can show one mirror what the other mirrorface is seeing. I'm sure someone can hop on a broom with the mirror, and we can get a birds-eye look of the situation. Even just simple communication can be more fluid using them."
"Excellent, that's great. What's next. . . they jammed the Floos; we need to find who did it and get them working again."
"Randolph Westen," James spoke after a beat, "the Head of the Floor Authority. Let's call him in— we will need his help to figure out this situation. And we need to gather the people who are in there right now."
Izard immediately got up and walked out to return after a couple of minutes. "I have sent a team; they'll keep anyone from leaving. . . . Let's talk about the ward— You-Know-Who's ward— as long as that's up, we can't do anything. If we can get the Floos running, we can get inside without breaking the ward."
"If— is the word. I doubt the Dark Lord didn't think of the literal dozens of Floo in the village."
"Doesn't mean we can't try. We will dig through the ground by hand if that's what it takes to get inside."
"I'm the last person you need to tell that," James said with a sharp glint in his eyes. "I will do anything to get to my family. . . anything."
"Yeah. . . that doesn't raise any alarms in my mind," Izard commented. James gave her a look, but she raised a brow in response, telling him that she meant every word she said.
The door opened up, and Andreson peaked inside the office. "Head Auror has arrived with some of the Captains. He's asking for both of you to join him."
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"We have lost an entire village— Hogsmeade, the only all-wizard village— to Death Eaters," Robards spoke to the people in front of his entire team of Captain, Senior Aurors, and Hit Wizard upper hierarchy. They were sitting in the biggest Auditorium in the DMLE with Robards up on the stage. "They have taken an entire village of people hostage," he repeated. "Do you know what that means? They can do whatever the heck they want."
There was not a single positive face in the entire Auditorium. Everyone understood what the term hostage meant and what an entire village full of them represented.
"We are royally fucked here," he spat. He rubbed his face and pointed up, "Scrimgeour and Bones are up in her office, thinking of how to handle this from a media reputation standpoint— and believe me, if we don't do something about this, whatever they do will be for nothing. The people will come out on the streets, sparking rallies and riots, demanding answers for why we haven't made this problem go away. This thing can go derail the entire country. We have hundreds of children trapped inside that castle— people will have our heads on fucking spikes if something happens to them. SHIT! Those inbred ingrates, I want to wring their necks."
It was a shock to everyone. They had never heard Robards swear in public or even in private conversations, much less this kind of outburst. To see him spouting swear in every other sentence was surreal and so out of character that it deepened the severity of the situation in their minds.
"Where are we right now?" he asked.
Izard rose up from her chair. She explained how the Floo was disabled in Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. "I have detained the Floo Network Authority employees for the time being and have sent a team to the Head's house. . . . We have contact inside Hogwarts; we need a setup a reconnaissance team and send them to the ground zero. I propose the team be combatively advanced with Hit Wizards involved, so in case we find Death Eaters outside, we can successfully capture them for information."
"Kingsley," called Robards to the black Captain Auror, "prepare a team with Hit Wizards," he looked to the Head of Hit Wizards, who nodded and appointed someone from his own ranks. "Izard, get involved in this— great work on the Floo Network Authority."
"Yes, sir!" Izard returned resolutely before leaving the room along with Kingsley and two Hit Wizards.
"Sir, I would like to volunteer," James got up and announced in front of the entire crowd.
"Sit down," Robards gestured to James.
"But, sir—"
"I won't say it again, Potter; sit down," the way he spoke and looked at James made it clear that it was an order from Head Auror to a Senior Auror.
James dumped into his chair; his face wasn't a pretty sight to behold. Sirius sitting beside him patted his shoulder.
Robards continued, "I want the locations of every person on our Death Eater and affiliate list," which was an internal DMLE list of known Death Eaters, possible Death Eaters, suspected Death Eaters, and people associated with Death Eaters. "If you can't find them or have any solid information about their whereabouts, I'll get you a warrant in their names. You have my authorization to bump their status to confirmed Death Eaters and treat them as so— any sign of resistance, you know what to do."
"I need people working on the ward," continued Robards. "Carrott— I need you to make three teams for it— get any expert you can get your hands on; if they refuse to participate, drag them here. I want to know everything there's to know about that damned ward."
"Should I involve Unspeakables?" asked Captain Auror Carrott. The Department of Mysteries was the premier research organization in the country, working on things beyond bleeding edge and state-of-the-art.
Robards thought for a second before saying, "I will talk with Scrimgeour and Bones." He gave Carrott a look, "Get results," which meant that he didn't want the Unspeakables involved.
"Understood," Carrott gathered a couple of Senior Aurors as he left.
"Potter," called Robards, and James shot up from his chair, "I want you to be in charge of the communication—"
The Auditorium door swung open, causing everyone's eyes to go to it.
"Junoir Auror Andreson," Robards identified the sudden and abrupt intruder. "This isn't a place you're permitted to enter. This sort of behavior can get you suspended."
"Yes, sir, I know, sir," Andreson gulped, "but we have a problem you and everyone here need to know about."
"What problem?" Robards' forehead creased.
"I-It's the Invisible Vigilante."
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Robards Gawain - Head Auror - If only I could. . . I could've rained the village with Killing Curses.
James Potter - Senior Auror - All his chain of thoughts, no matter what, only lead to one place.
Stephanie Izard - Senior Auror - Part of the first team to go down to ground zero.
Andreson - Junior Auror - I like the boring office with paperwork better.
FictionOnlyReader - Author - Oooh, yeah! Let's get the final arc rolling.
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If you have any ideas regarding the magic you want to see in this fiction or want to offer some ideas regarding the progression. Move onto the DISCORD Server and blast those ideas.
The link is in the synopsis!
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS
FictionOnlyReader
FictionOnlyReader
Just like always,
Review, comment, add to the library, and share this fic.
Thx
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