- Timeskip: One Week Later -
The week leading up to the battle passed by far too quickly for Harry or Fleur's liking. They had spent every waking minute practicing spells and sending letters to their friends and family about what was going to happen.
They had sent Cho and Marietta a letter telling them to have their and their family's belongings packed and ready in the event that Voldemort and his forces succeeded in taking over the Ministry.
Should Voldemort take over, they were to flee to France and transfer to Beauxbatons with Harry, hopefully escaping the danger before the Death Eaters could get to them.
The Delacours had already known through Jacques's contacts that Voldemort's forces were on the move, and had tried to encourage them both to leave Britain instead of fighting at Hogwarts, but had eventually given their love and pleaded with them both to stay safe.
Harry had sent Hedwig over to Apolline with an enchanted box containing the shed skin of the Basilisk that had been sitting in his silver and ebony trunk for years, and Apolline had worked overtime to turn it into combat robes for the two of them to wear.
Luckily, her return package containing the robes arrived the evening before they were to head to Hogwarts.
…
Pulling on the last of his robes, Harry looked over his appearance in the mirror.
Gone was the underfed boy who was far shorter than a child should have been at that age. Now stood a man who looked 17 years old, thanks to one of Death's gift, with a tall, muscular frame and a handsome face.
He was dressed in a set of dark green robes made of Basilisk scales that were tailored like a trench coat. With an undershirt, pants, boots, and fingerless gloves made of a similar material.
His raven-black hair was kept short and styled, with black horn-rimmed glasses framing his emerald-green eyes that stared back with a look of calm determination.
Glancing to his side, Harry took a moment to admire Fleur as she finished getting ready.
She was dressed much the same as he was, in dark green Basilisk robes that would help protect against most spells, with her white-gold hair in a tight braid that fell down her back. Her sapphire-blue eyes looking over herself to make sure everything was in place before she noticed him staring.
Turning her head, Fleur smirked teasingly with a wink, bending over slightly to make the pants stretch around her firm ass.
Chuckling as Harry subtly tried adjusting his pants, she gave her hips a little shake that his eyes followed hypnotically before straightening up and walking over to him. Pressing her front against his, Fleur brought a hand up to cup his cheek.
"Are you ready, my heart?" She whispered, staring into his emerald-green eyes with love and compassion.
Nodding wordlessly, Harry's eyes glanced down at her full pink lips before leaning in to kiss her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Fleur's arms came up to wrap around his neck as they gently kissed, rubbing her body against his as she playfully batted his tongue with hers.
Slowly, their kiss came to an end as their lips separated.
Out of breath, Harry panted as he tried to put all his love and devotion for her in his gaze. "I love you, Flower." He whispered softly, a gentle smile on his lips as he stared at the goddess in front of him.
"I love you too, 'Arry." She replied, moving her hand from around his neck to trace a finger over his faded scar. "Make sure you like through this and come back to me, okay? We still have a wonderful life ahead of us…" Her voice trailed off, ideas and fantasies playing over in her head as she pictured their life together.
"I will." Harry nodded. "And so will you, there's still so much we haven't done yet. And I can't do it without you by my side." He didn't know what he'd do if she died in the battle, she had become such an integral part of his life that the thought of her being gone tugged at his heart.
With a final kiss, they let go of each other before grabbing their wands and moving towards the kitchen. On the table sat a small hat Dumbledore had charmed into a Portkey to take them directly to the gates of Hogwarts.
They didn't want to risk taking the Floo and having someone spot them walking towards the Leaky Cauldron. If someone were to inform Voldemort on their movements, everything today could be ruined. Much of their success today depended upon the Death Eaters remaining unaware of their movements, otherwise they might cancel their attacks and draw this Civil Blood War out even longer.
Magical Britain was already hanging by a thread, if the war dragged on any longer there was a real possibility of the magical community collapsing.
Glancing at the clock, Harry and Fleur watched as the time finally reached 9:00 A.M. before grabbing onto the hat.
Feeling a hook on their navel, their surroundings quickly became a blur as they were transported across Britain and into the highlands of Scotland, coming to a stop as they landed in front of the gates of Hogwarts.
As the gates opened, Harry and Fleur spotted Minerva standing on the other side, a grim smile on her face.
"Hello Harry, Fleur. It's good to see you both are well…" She greeted warmly despite the situation, motioning them to follow her. "Come along, we haven't got much time."
Nodding silently, the two lovers followed her up the path towards the castle, spotting Flitwick standing outside of the Entrance Hall, activating the castle's wards as a massive bubble of magic covered the grounds.
As they reached him, without a word they all moved together inside towards the Great Hall.
- Great Hall -
The Great Hall had been was unlike anything Harry had seen before. While the House and Staff tables were still there, the complete emptiness of the room gave the atmosphere a completely different feeling. There were no sounds of children talking, no clattering of utensils on plates, or sounds of wood creaking as people shifted in their seats.
Once the twin doors were shut, Minerva pulled Harry and Fleur into a warm hug.
"Oh, you brave children." She muttered, squeezing them against her scarlet-red robes embroidered with the Gryffindor lion on the front. "I wish neither of you had to be involved in this. This war should never have been yours to fight…"
Smiling into the hug, Harry and Fleur hugged the older woman back before she let go to look them over. "Good…At least you're both ready for what's to come."
Reaching up to caress Harry's cheek, Minerva reminisced. "Oh Harry…you've grown into a wonderful young man. It seems like only yesterday I took you to Diagon Alley for the very first time." Sighing, she gazed forlornly into his eyes. "I wish you never had to live with the Dursleys…I wish I had done more to help you."
Covering the hand on his cheek with his own, Harry smiled back at her. "You did more than anyone else, Minerva…More than I could have ever asked for." Pulling her into a hug of his own, he whispered softly into her ear. "Thank you so much…"
Smiling into the hug, Minerva closed her eyes as she held him close. "I'm so proud of you, Harry…Never forget that."
Letting go, she turned to Fleur who was watching everything with a soft smile. "And thank you, Ms. Delacour. For being there for him all this time."
"Of course." Fleur laughed softly, her sapphire-blue eyes sparkling as she smiled at the woman before jerking a thumb at Harry. "Someone needs to keep an eye on him, otherwise 'Arry will get into all kinds of trouble." She teased, getting a chuckle from everyone.
Before they could continue, the glowing white form of a Patronus in the shape of a lynx floated into the room, drawing their attention.
Minerva moved over to the Patronus as the voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt spoke out from the lynx. "The Death Eaters are on their way to the Ministry. Be ready." Came the quick message before the Patronus faded.
At the message, everyone's faces turned grim as they glanced at each other. "Go, do what you need to." Minerva told Harry and Fleur, who nodded before rushing out of the Great Hall.
Watching the two teens rush off with a proud smile, she glanced at Flitwick who nodded back. Raising her wand, Minerva intoned, "Piertotum Locomotor!"
With a crash, every statue in the castle came to life, jumping down from their places against the walls and in alcoves around the halls. Placing her wand against her throat, Minerva cast Sonorus before commanding the statues.
"HOGWARTS IS THREATENED! MAN THE BOUNDRIES, PROTECTORS! DO YOUR DUTY TO OUR SCHOOL!"
- With Harry and Fleur -
As Minerva's voice rang out through the school, causing the statues to begin marching out onto the grounds, Harry and Fleur made their way up the stairs to the Second-floor.
Passing by a window, Fleur stopped as she spotted something in the distance. "'Arry! Look!" Confused, Harry moved over to the window and looked out to where she was pointing.
From all over, hundreds of shapes could be seen moving up towards the front gates that represented the boundary of the wards for protecting the castle. Everything from werewolves who couldn't transform until the full moon, to Trolls the size of two grown men wielding large clubs, to the massive Giants whose heads easily reached over the tallest trees.
A massive rustling could be heard from the Forbidden Forest as terrifying screeches signaled the arrival of a thousand-strong colony of Acromantula descending from the trees and swarming out into the open. At the head of them, an Acromantula the size of a house (who Harry realized must be Aragog) glared hatefully at the castle.
With some unknown signal given, the Giants and Trolls all lifted up their makeshift weapons in unison before swinging at the wards.
BOOM!
Their weapons impacted the bubble-like ward protecting the castle, causing it to flair brightly in the sky from the massive attack, the castle shaking from the sheer force behind their blows.
Wide-eyed, Harry and Fleur glanced at each other before racing down the hallway, reaching the girl's bathroom in moments as Harry opened the passage. "~Open.~"
Waiting impatiently for the stairs to open, they hurried down the steps and through the dark tunnel into the Chamber of Secrets. Crossing the stone path that lead up to the statue of Salazar Slytherin, Harry caught his breath for a second before calling out in Parseltongue. "~Ssspeak to me, Ssslytherin. Greatessst of the Hogwartsss Four.~"
As the mouth of the statue opened, Harry and Fleur made sure to keep their eyes on the ground as the Basilisk slithered out.
"~It isss time?~" It asked, a warning in its tone that boded ill for them if there wasn't an attack.
Luckily, Harry had nothing to worry about as he replied. "~It isss. The Betrayer'sss army attacksss from the foressst and at the gatesss. They have Acromantulasss and Giantsss with them." He cautioned, unsure if that would affect the Basilisk.
His words seemed to amuse the ancient beast as it gave the snake equivalent of a laugh. "~Asss if thossse weaklingsss could ssstop me! None ssshall harm thisss cassstle asss long asss I protect it!~"
Without another word, the Basilisk turned towards a tunnel off to the side that led out of the castle. In moments, its massive scaled body slithered out towards the grounds.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Harry and Fleur moved quickly back out of the Chamber. As they raced, they could hear overhead the castle walls shaking as the booms of the Giant's and Troll's attacks battered against the wards.
- Hogwart's Grounds -
The combined might of the attacks finally broke through the wards, shattering them like glass as a triumphant roar went up from the invading forces. As one, they all raced across the grounds towards the castle, spotting the army of stone statues waiting for them at several locations.
Before the Acromantula could reach the stone protectors, a massive roaring hiss was heard, causing them to pause in their charge. There was a moment of silence before the ground split apart, sending massive piles of dirt and rock into the air as the colossal form of a Basilisk raced out from hidden tunnel that had been covered in a layer of earth.
The Basilisk moved unbelievably fast for its size, slithering across the ground as its massive frame collided with a dozen Acromantula at once. Its golden eyes glaring ahead into their eight eyes, killing even more instantly with its terrifying gaze.
There was a reason that Acromantula were known to flee before a Basilisk. Their eight eyes made them easy targets for its Killing Stare, felling their numbers in droves as its massive tail swung side to side, crushing their smaller bodies and sending them flying back into the Forbidden Forest where they died on impact with the ground or the trees.
"NO! My Children!" Aragog yelled out, watching as dozens died instantly to terrible might of the Basilisk.
Aragog, terrified beyond belief of the Basilisk but afraid for the survival of his colony, jumped towards the beast, hoping to kill it before the rest of his children was killed. "You Will DIE!"
"~Come face your death!~" Roaring out a hiss in challenge, the Basilisk turned to face Aragog, coiling itself up before launching into the air at the massive leader of the Acromantula.
With a massive crash, their bodies collided in the air.
Aragog tried to pierce the Basilisk with his fangs and stinger, but it's scales proving to be too hard for him to pierce as the Basilisk wrapped its body around him, trapping his legs and rendering him unable to fight back.
"~Asss if you had a chance, weakling…~" Glaring down at the captive Acromantula, Sythia hissed as it tightened its scales, slowly crushing Aragog's body as he gave an ear-piercing scream. "NOOOO!"
CRUNCH!
With a final squeeze, the Basilisk crushed Aragog's body, killing Hagrid's former pet as the rest of the colony stared at the scene in horror.
Letting go of the broken body, Sythia turned to the rest of the Acromantula with a wicked glare, its tongue darting out as if to taste their fear before continuing its attack. "~Now you all ssshall die!~"
Moving too quickly for them to escape, there was nothing the Acromantula could do but try to flee back into the Forbidden Forrest as the thousand-strong colony as the Basilisk gave chase.
- With Harry and Fleur -
Harry grinned at the sounds of the Basilisk destroying the Acromantula, hearing its voice calling out for their deaths from beyond the trees as it slaughtered them in droves.
Reaching the Entrance Hall, Harry and Fleur watched as the stone protectors did everything they could to hold back the oncoming forces. Their spears making decent progress against the Trolls, but the Giants were simply too large and had skin too thick to penetrate.
Behind the rampaging Giants, the werewolves all pulled out blood-red potions before quickly downing them.
Horrified, Harry and Fleur watched as the werewolves started to transform despite the lack of a full moon. Their bodies twisting and stretching as fur covered their frames. Where once stood a large force of witches and wizards in tattered clothes, now stood an army of fully-transformed werewolves.
With a howl, the werewolves raced across the grounds towards the stone protectors, letting out howls as they crossed the grounds in seconds.
Before they could reach the front line, over a dozen stone lionesses jumped out from behind the statues and collided with them. Harry spotted Minerva near the back of the protectors, waving her wand over piles of rubble and Transfiguring them into more lionesses that she sent to face the werewolves.
Near the front of the protectors, Flitwick cast dozens of spells, putting his Dueling Champion skills to the test as he killed dozens more werewolves while dodging and weaving between the taller forms of the stone statues, using them for cover to protect his smaller frame.
Glancing at Fleur, Harry nodded as she raced off to help Flitwick while he moved over to help Minerva, Transfiguring his own lions and eagles to join the fight against werewolves.
The surprising increase in numbers shocked Minerva for a moment, before smiling with pride as she spotted Harry stepping up beside her. Together, the unofficial master and apprentice worked in unison to Transfigure all sorts of creatures to fight the werewolves as Fleur and Flitwick unleashed dozens of curses and charms from their positions near the front.
Voldemort's forces started dwindling under the combined assault, though Hogwarts was also quickly running out of stone protectors as the Giants crushed them easily.
…
"We need to do something about the Giants!" Harry called out, panting as he sent a few eagle Transfigurations to try and distract the Giants who were nearly past the protectors.
While his body was finally able to handle the magical cost of doing so many Transfigurations, he had never done this many at once, and in repeated numbers. Already, he could feel a slight strain on his body from the stress he was putting on it.
At his side, sweat dripped down Minerva's face as she panted alongside him. While her control over her magic was far greater than Harry's, she was also doing nearly twice the number of Transfigurations he was, causing her to tire out just as quickly.
"Do you have any ideas?" She asked, sending a few lionesses towards a small group of werewolves that were trying to group together and push through a weaker section of protectors.
Wracking his brain, Harry glanced up at the sky to see how long they had been at it when he got an idea. "Just one!"
Stepping away from Minerva, his body started to shift as feathers covered his skin. His arms stretched out into magnificent wings as his face shifted into that of an eagle. When the transformation had finished, Harry released a screech as he fully shifted into his Thunderbird Animagus form.
Spreading his six wings, Harry quickly took to the sky, using his form's ability to conjure a storm overhead as he raced into the clouds. Move through the clouds, he waited for them to fully gather until he felt lightning striking his form, channeling through his feathers in a pleasant tingling sensation.
Unlike with the Dragons, he couldn't bring the Giants up into the clouds to get struck by lightning. Instead, he had to bring the lightning down to them.
When Harry felt that enough lightning had gathered on his body, he dove straight down towards the battle. Dropping like an arrow towards the ground until he reached just above the trees before spreading out his wings and soaring across the sky, keeping himself level with the Giant's heads in the distance.
It took seconds for him to reach the first Giant, angling his body so that the largest pair of wings would brush its head.
As it did, the lightning transferred to over to the Giant, electrocuting its entire body with the raw power of a storm as the Giant roared in agony.
Continuing to soar over the battlefield, Harry noticed the first Giant falling to the ground with a massive THUD as smoke rose up from its body. Releasing a triumphant screech, he continued on to the next Giant, doing the same thing over and over against as he electrocuted them one by one.
- Timeskip: Half An Hour Later -
It had taken half an hour for Harry to finally get the last Giant. After electrocuting the first few, the lightning dissipated from his feathers and he had to go back up to the clouds to allow more lightning to gather on his form before coming back down and repeating the process.
Flying slowly back to where he was before, Harry quickly shifted to his human form before collapsing onto his hands and knees. Sweat dripping down his face and soaking through his Basilisk robes as he panted harshly, barely able to focus from how much magic he just used.
Before he could even try and stand up, he felt a spell strike his side, sending him skidding several feet along the ground as his Basilisk robes protected him from the effects of the spell.
Groaning, Harry looked blearily at who casted the spell as their voice shouted out.
"POTTER!"
Watching as the figure approached, Harry felt no small amount of confusion as he realized who had attacked him…
"Draco?" Harry muttered, his mind trying to figure out why the hell Draco Malfoy was attacking him as he slowly got to his feet. "Why are you here?"
Draco Malfoy, dressed in Death Eater robes and holding a silver mask in one hand while he kept his wand in the other, sneered at Harry with a look of utter hatred. "You couldn't just fucking die, could you?! After all this time, you're like a cockroach, surviving no matter what I do!" He ranted, glaring hatefully as the tip of his wand glowed red.
Blinking to try and clear his vision, Harry brought a hand up to wipe the sweat off his face. He had never felt as baffled as he did right now. "What are you talking about? The fuck did I ever do to you?"
His response seemed to infuriate Draco further as he glowered, "What did you do? How about stealing the Lordship of House Black for one!"
'Oh.' Harry thought…Now things were starting to make sense. Draco was pissed off that Sirius had chosen him to be the Heir, and wanted to get revenge.
Sirius had explained to Harry before his passing that, even though the Malfoys were part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, their family never had as much wealth as the others.
The Malfoys had apparently originated in France, but were forced to flee after the commonfolk rose up in rebellion, killing off the rich families and taking away their wealth. In desperation, the Malfoys had fled France with the few belongings they had on them, hoping to start a new life in Britain where they helped found the future Ministry in Britain.
Even with their standing in Magical Britain, the Malfoys were never able to fully recover their losses, and had been seeking to regain their fortune ever since….
…And Harry had kept them from getting access to the Black Family's fortune.
"You're pissed off that I gained access to the Black fortune, even though it was never yours in the first place?" Harry groaned out, his headache from spending too much magic amplified by having to deal with this new pain in the ass.
That set Draco off. "The Black fortune was mine! My mother said so! And then a Half-blood like you had to go and take what rightly belonged to a proper Pure-blood family!" He shouted, stomping his feet like a petulant child.
"I don't understand why my father refused to get rid of you, or why he turned his back on the Dark Lord." Draco continued, "But he'll realize his mistake when I kill you and take the Black fortune for myself."
"The Dark Lord has even granted me the right to take the Lordship of House Malfoy from my father in return for killing you." He gloated, smirking self-satisfactorily at the thought.
His smirk turned into a frown as he once again glared at Harry. "And all you have to do is die for me to take my rightful place at the Dark Lord's side. You may have stopped my attempts before, but you won't be getting away this time!"
Blinking, Harry's brow wrinkled as he tried to understand what Draco was saying. "What are you even talking about?" Seriously, was he just making shit up at this point?
Wracking his brain, Harry couldn't recall a time when he ever interacted with Draco long enough for the idiot to try and kill him. The longest interaction he had with Draco was probably in First-year, and maybe a single conversation or two in Herbology before he eventually moved up a year.
"I'm talking about Lockhart, you buffoon!" Draco scowled, the name causing Harry's eyes to light up in understanding. "I don't know how he failed to kill you, but that's what I get for sending an amateur to do the job. All I even had to do was give the imbecile a bit of gold and he never even hesitated to follow my instructions."
"Unlike that moron Umbridge! I had to promise her a place in the Dark Lord's future world just to get her to agree. You'd think the woman could at least do something as simple as getting rid of an escaped convict who spent over a decade in Azkaban…" He rambled on, at this point almost forgetting that Harry was even there.
"Even with your luck, I was certain that the necklace would have succeeded…" Draco clenched his fists tight enough to almost draw blood. "But then that filthy creature of yours had to get in the way!"
At the mention of Fleur, Harry glared back at him angrily. He hated when people referred to her in that way, and he would love to do nothing more than kill the bastard for what was said, but he was too weak to do anything at the moment.
His body and magic were slowly recovering, but it was nowhere near enough for him to get into a fight with Draco, who looked like he hadn't cast a single spell this whole time. 'Fucker probably hasn't, standing in the back and waiting for the army to take us out while he just gave orders.' Harry thought angrily.
Before he could even attempt to lift his wand and duel Draco, a familiar voice that he knew and loved spoke up. "You mean this creature?"
Harry and Draco both turned to the side, surprised to see the sweating and panting form Fleur standing there glaring at Draco. What drew their attention the most though, was the massive fireball in her taloned hand.
Before either of them could reach, Fleur gave a bird-like screech as she threw the fireball at Draco's head. Watching as he panicked to cast a Protego shield, only for it fail as the overpowered flames destroyed the flimsy charm and detonated on contact with his face.
A high-pitched scream filled the air as Draco thrashed about, futilely trying to put out the flames before his body eventually dropped to the ground as he died. The fire continuing to burn until there was nothing left of Draco Malfoy but ashes.
"Holy shit, Flower." Harry breathed out, staring in shock at where Draco's body used to be before turning to his smirking girlfriend. "That…was fucking hot!"
Fleur laughed at his awed look, brushing a loose strand of white-gold hair out of her face. "But of course, my heart. As if I would let that…cretin…try to hurt you." At the word 'cretin', she glared at the pile of ash before letting out a huff as she came over to check Harry for any wounds.
Despite her aloofness, Harry could see that she was just as tired as he felt, her breath coming out in small pants as sweat shined on her flawless skin. Despite the battle slowly winding down, Harry pulled her into a heated kiss, smashing his lips against hers as their tongues caressed each other.
When the need for air eventually pulled them apart, Harry kept his lips close enough that they ghosted against her own, feeling her warm breath panting against his face. "Thank you for coming to save me, Flower."
"Always…" Fleur replied, placing another kiss on his lips before helping him walk back over towards a tired Minerva and Flitwick, who had finally finished off the last of the werewolves.
Spotting the dirty, sweaty forms of Harry and Fleur slowly making their way over, Minerva asked worriedly. "Are you both okay?"
Nodding, Fleur spoke for them. "We're fine, Madam McGonagall…just tired." Glancing around at the destroyed statues and piles of dead bodies, she asked. "Iz that the last of them?"
"It is…" Minerva sighed in relief, her shoulders dropping as she tiredly looked around at the destruction. "That was the last of their forces." Motioning them to follow her and Flitwick, she led the way back into the castle. "Come along, there's potions in the Headmaster's Office."
- Headmaster's Office -
Harry, Fleur, Minerva, and Flitwick sat tiredly in their chairs as Madam Pomfrey passed around a tray of potions. "Here, take some Pepper-Up Potions. They should help combat the exhaustion." She ordered, waiting until they had all taken one before she began waving her wand over them, casting several diagnostic spells to see if they were injured.
After downing her potion and waiting for it to take effect, a newly refreshed Minerva asked aloud for the group. "Has there been any news from the Ministry?"
Pomfrey shook her head. "I'm afraid not, it seems that the fighting is still going on…"Everyone frowned worriedly at that, hoping that things were going better at the Ministry than they feared.
After several minutes of catching their breath and waiting for Pomfrey to give them all a clean bill of health, Minerva and Flitwick followed her out of the office, saying that they'll take care of the clean-up while Harry and Fleur should get some rest.
…
Waiting until the door to the Headmaster's Office shut, Harry turned to Fleur. "We need to help Dumbledore…if Voldemort's there, then he'll have Nagini with him."
Nodding in complete agreement, she added her own thoughts to his statement. "If the snake iz a Horcrux, we'll need to find some way of destroying on our own…" Fleur pondered out loud.
From the top of a bookshelf, Fawkes swooped down and dropped something on the desk in front of them. As the object started to move, Harry recognized it immediately…
"Perhaps I can be of assistance?" The Sorting Hat spoke up from the tear in the fabric that acted as its mouth. Sitting on the perch next to the desk, Fawkes sang a musical note that lit a fire in their spirits.