"Padfoot, once we're there, take care of yourself," Remus said, laying a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "The wolf will fight best alone but just... watch out, all right?"
Sirius struggled to swallow the lump in his throat. "S-sure," he choked.
"He'll stay by me," Minerva McGonagall said, coming up behind the men and placing a proprietary hand on Sirius' arm. "We shall go in as animagi, stay low, and use the element of surprise." She quirked an eyebrow at the expressions of shock on the two men's faces. "What?"
"You тАУ you know I'm an animagus?" Sirius gasped, his emotional turmoil momentarily forgotten by the stunning revelation. "Did Harry tell you? Or Snape?"
McGonagall rolled her eyes. "I was your Head of House, Mr Black, and not exactly senile. Did you and the others really imagine you were subtle in your quest to become animagi? Did it never occur to you that all those library books about the transformation are not normally so easy to find? Did you think I would allow you to engage in such potentially dangerous experiments unmonitored?"
"But тАУ but Dumbledore didn't know!" Sirius protested.
Minerva shrugged. "Do you think I tell him everything?"
Sirius let out a bark of laughter тАУ albeit a bit subdued тАУ and hugged his old instructor.
Bill and Charlie were busy checking each other over. "We'll fight together, Dad, and we'll keep Mum safe," Bill promised.
Molly overheard and stepped away from where she and Filius had been reviewing their fighting strategy. "Oh, no, you won't, William Weasley!" she said firmly. "I would rather die than have to bury one of you, so you are to leave me and Filius to ourselves and protect each other. And тАУ " her voice wobbled " тАУ if by some miracle, the instruments are all wrong and Harry is alive, then you are to rescue him as your first priority."
The young men glanced at their father, but seeing a resolve every bit as firm as Molly's, they nodded.
"All right, Shack," Madame Bones concluded her orders. "You get back to the Ministry and wait for my patronus. I'll send it as soon as we arrive so you can come with as many Aurors as you can assemble. In the meantime, Moody and I will go in and do our best to contain the Death Eaters until you can get there."
Moody grinned. "Ahhhh, I 'member taking you into your first battle when you was a wet-behind-the-ears newbie," he reminded the Minister.
"And I've learned a few new tricks since then, Mad Eye," she grinned back, putting away her monocle.
"Show me what you got, guv. You knock 'em down and I'll lay 'em out," he promised. "Just remember: CON-"
"-STANT VIGILANCE!" Amelia and Kingsley shouted with him.
Pomona had long since dried her eyes, and had rapidly gone over the lockdown plans for the castle with Dumbledore, as she would be left in charge. In the event that things went disastrously wrong, the Death Eaters might take advantage of Hogwarts' loss of its Headmaster and seek to attack the castle. "Don't worry, Albus," Pomona said, the glint of battle in her eye. "There are plenty of unpleasant plants strategically placed around the castle walls. I've kept them pruned back quite ruthlessly for these last ten years or so, but I'll use some Quik-Gro fertilizer and within an hour, no one will be able to get through without fiendfyre тАУ or a Herbology expert."
"I'm pleased to hear it, my dear, but there are a multitude of secret passages in this castle, and I'm quite certain that even I don't know all of them. As we learned from the Chamber of Secrets last term, there are surprises within the castle as well as outside it. Please confine the students to their towers and ward them tightly. With Hagrid and the other teachers, you should be able to patrol the corridors and ensure that the school and grounds remain safe."
Pomona nodded. "I'll include the older prefects as well тАУ I doubt I could keep them out even if I wanted to, and frankly we need the extra wands, though Kingsley promised to send over any Aurors he can spare."
The Headmaster twinkled briefly. "I rather fear for any Death Eater who encounters Miss Jones or Mr Weasley."
"Is yous ready?" Dobby asked, having returned with the Wolfsbane potion for Remus. The werewolf downed it with a shudder, gave Sirius one last hug, and squared his shoulders.
Dumbledore glanced around the room. Shacklebolt gave the group a thumbs up and left via floo for the Ministry. "We are, Dobby."
Dobby snapped his fingers once, and Kreacher and several Hogwarts elves materialized. One elf stood between each pair of wizards: Flitwick and Molly, Dumbledore and Lupin, Bill and Charlie, Sirius and Minerva, and Bones and Moody.
Dobby twisted his ears nervously. It wasn't a very large group to take on the more than three dozen Bad Wizards that he had counted, but the grim determination in the room was palpable. "We is going now!" he warned, and with a loud pop, the group vanished.
TBCтАж
*Chapter 62*: Chapter 62
Harry stretched and smiled drowsily, his eyes still closed. He was comfortable and warm and nestled in someone's arms. He felt safe and happy, as if it were the first day of summer holidays. He snuggled deeper and sniffed a few times, enjoying the sweet, citrusy smell that was all around him, then his eyes flew open in surprise. "Mummy?"
To his astonishment, it was indeed Lily who was holding him. Her face was just like in the pictures he had, though she was simultaneously laughing and crying at his astonished face. Over her shoulder, a grinning James watched him. "Hey, Pronglet! We were wondering when you'd wake up."
"Mum! Dad!" Harry threw himself at them, and for the first time in his memory, he knew what it was like to be engulfed in his parents' arms.
For a long time, the three could do little more than hug and cry and babble endearments at each other. "Mum, you smell just like your jumper!" Harry blurted, them blushed at the comment's silliness.
His mum just laughed тАУ a beautiful noise, like the sound of springtime тАУ and said, "You need to be sure to thank Molly for me. I had no idea she was keeping that for you."
There were lots more hugs and cuddles and declarations of love, but slowly Harry became aware of the sound of someone sobbing heartbrokenly in the distance. As happy as he was, Harry couldn't help but be distracted. He looked around, but saw nothing but a sunny meadow, stretching in all directions as far as the eye could see. He and his parents were sitting on a picnic blanket under a cloudless sky. "Mum? Dad? Who's that crying?"
Lily and James exchanged a look. "That's Severus, love. He's mourning for you," Lily explained gently.
Despite his happiness at being reunited with his parents, Harry felt a pang of distress. His poor da! "Isn't there something we can do for him?"
"Well, yes, Harry, there is," James said slowly, one arm around his son's shoulders. "You can go back to him if you want."
Harry blinked, confused. "I can? But I thought I was AK'd." His parents nodded soberly. "But I can still go back?"
Lily and James nodded again, and Harry felt a surge of overwhelming hurt. If he could go back, why hadn't his parents returned to him?
As if they could read his mind, his mum and dad quickly hugged him. "Oh, love, we didn't have a choice," Lily explained swiftly. "If your dad and I could have come back, we would never have left you."
"Harry, I promise. If there had been a way for us to return to you, even as ghosts, we would have been there so fast, your little head would have spun," James smiled, tweaking the nose that was a copy of his own and drawing a grin out of Harry. "But you're in a special situation, my lad."