Chapter Twenty-Eight

The Order just blinked in confusion at the headmaster's announcement. A few glanced at each other to see if anyone understood. When it became apparent no-one but the man himself knew what was going on, Amelia Logan took the initiative.

The headmaster smiled at the woman before lifting his hand to stroke Fawkes. Once he was sure everyone was starting to get annoyed, he decided it was time to put them out of their misery.

“ I just received a message from Harry. He and Ginny are in Grindelwald's headquarters in Czechoslovakia. He has given me the exact location, the layout of the building, and how many people are there.”

After this pronouncement, he looked at each of the baffled members, seeing shock and then realisation dawning in only four sets of eyes. Hermione, Ron, Gallatea and Peeves all seemed to know what was going on. His eyes resting on the ghost, the headmaster asked her to elaborate.

“ Well, you all know I am a telepath from when I found the location of `Mione and Ron. Well, it is a gift passed down in my family. My mother had it, I have it, and my son had it. Consequently, Harry has it also. He is my descendant.”

This revelation elicited shouts of surprise from most people at the table, the exceptions being those who already knew. After a few minutes, Dumbledore silenced them with a shower of sparks from his finger tips.

“ Can we please be calm, we have much more to discuss. As you have probably realised, Harry has managed to contact me through his telepathy. He has sent me a mental map of the complex, which I will draw up and hand to everyone. As this is Grindelwald's stronghold, I believe it would be prudent to strike. He doesn't know his position has been compromised, so security will not be too heavy. Harry tells me there are no more than thirty of his followers there at once. If we take him by surprise, we can cut out the heart of our problem, leaving us to pick off the leaderless followers one by one. Now, first we need a plan…”

The planning went on for two days straight. Once everything was finalised, everyone agreed that they were as prepared as they were going to be. They had the rescue planned for the next day, and everyone was starting to get worried. This would be the decisive battle in the war, for both the magic and Muggle worlds. If their invasion was a success, Grindelwald would no longer threaten the magical community, and all of Hitler's advantages would fail, leaving him vulnerable. However, if the Dark Lord prevailed, chaos would reign and eternal darkness would cover the world. It was a lot of responsibility for so few to shoulder, but they knew it was a case of now or never.

The next morning, the Order in its entirety gathered in the entrance hall of Domus Corvus Corax and prepared to depart. Before they left, Dumbledore stood by the main doors to say a few words.

“ Everyone, this is the day we have all been waiting for. The day we can take victory into our own hands. The day we will vanquish the darkness that has covered our land once and for all. Today, the tides will turn, and we will emerge victorious.”

Loud cheering filled the hall as the troops headed into the portkey room, splitting into groups which each grabbed a specially made portkey. Seconds later, a loud popping filled the air as the Order disappeared to face their destiny.

Harry could feel the instant the Order entered the area. He had been meditating since he woke up, preparing for the battle he knew was coming. As soon as the portkeys activated, he could feel the influx of new minds on the other side of the magical barrier. He sought out Dumbledore as the aurors in the group started attacking the dome, much as they had at Grossrosen. Swiftly scanning the building for Grindelwald and his followers, the Boy-Who-Lived quickly relayed what he knew to the headmaster, including how many opponents they would have to face, and their magical strength.

~Professor, Grindelwald is staying in his throne room. It's the only place he has heavily guarded. Ten of his followers are positioned in hidden alcoves around the room, and his right hand man is with him. Twenty more are heading your way. They are the weakest magically, but they know a lot of Dark Magic. I'm going to try and incapacitate some of them. See if you can get that dome down quickly so Ginny and I can help with the fighting~

Harry broke the connection with his professor and started to concentrate on the enemy heading for the Order. Choosing one at random, he concentrated hard and sent a sudden pulse of energy at him. The follower immediately dropped to the floor unconscious. By this time, the aurors had broken the dome, and Harry could feel his magic filling his veins. His mental gift also became suddenly stronger. Standing up, he headed to the door, lifting his hand and blasting it outwards so it smashed into the opposite wall of the corridor. Further down, he could hear Ginny doing the same. Heading in the direction of the noise, he soon spotted the girl and started sprinting towards her.

The pair wrapped their arms around each other in a quick hug before heading up the surface where the battle was taking place. When they reached the fighting they headed straight for their fighting friends. As soon as they spotted the pair, Hermione and Ron stopped what they were doing and ran over to embrace the new arrivals. After much hugging and assurances that everyone was safe, they realised that a battle was not the best place to have an emotional reunion. Standing in a line, they each started to fight in earnest, Hermione and Ron with the weapons they had retrieved from Grossrosen, Ginny with magic, and Harry with a mix of his animagus form, his mental abilities and Dark Magic. They made a formidable team and Grindelwald's forces were eliminated in minutes.

As soon as the fighting was almost over, Ginny suddenly let out a scream and fell to the floor, holding her head. Harry, realising she was having a vision, tapped into her mind to see if he could see what was happening in it. Images suddenly filled his head, and he watched enraptured. He could see Dumbledore in a large chamber, which he recognised as Grindelwald's throne room as soon as he spotted the mosaic ouroboros on the floor. The headmaster was about to face off with the Dark Lord, when his right hand man stepped out of the shadows behind the professor and shot a curse at his back. Dumbledore fell to the floor, his wand rolling away from him. The scene faded in to black as the vision ended. Opening their eyes, Ginny and Harry looked at each other in fear. The boy quickly scanned the room and noticed the headmaster to be missing.

As Harry arrived in the throne room, he turned himself invisible and watched from the shadows as Dumbledore was hit with the curse. Swearing to himself, he stepped forward, ready to take on whoever had hurt his mentor. When Grindelwald's apprentice stepped out of a dark archway and into the light to face the new arrival, Harry was horrified to recognise him.


	Luna the Moon Monster's Fanfiction Archive \| home Chapter One \| Chapter Two \| Chapter Three \| Chapter Four \| Chapter Five \| Chapter Six \| Chapter Seven \| Chapter Eight \| Chapter Nine \| Chapter Ten \| Chapter Eleven \| Chapter Twelve \| Chapter Thirteen \| Chapter Fourteen \| Chapter Fifteen \| Chapter Sixteen \| Chapter Seventeen \| Chapter Eighteen \| Chapter Nineteen \| Chapter Twenty \| Chapter Twenty-One \| Chapter Twenty-Two \| Chapter Twenty-Three \| Chapter Twenty-Four \| Chapter Twenty-Five \| Chapter Twenty-Six \| Chapter Twenty-Seven \| Chapter Twenty-Eight \| Chapter Twenty-Nine \| Chapter Thirty \| Chapter Thirty-One \| Chapter Thirty-Two \| Epilogue \| Timeline Chapter Twenty-Eight Don't Follow Him! The Order just blinked in confusion at the headmaster's announcement. A few glanced at each other to see if anyone understood. When it became apparent no-one but the man himself knew what was going on, Amelia Logan took the initiative. “ Albus, was that just a random comment or does it mean something?” The headmaster smiled at the woman before lifting his hand to stroke Fawkes. Once he was sure everyone was starting to get annoyed, he decided it was time to put them out of their misery. “ I just received a message from Harry. He and Ginny are in Grindelwald's headquarters in Czechoslovakia. He has given me the exact location, the layout of the building, and how many people are there.” After this pronouncement, he looked at each of the baffled members, seeing shock and then realisation dawning in only four sets of eyes. Hermione, Ron, Gallatea and Peeves all seemed to know what was going on. His eyes resting on the ghost, the headmaster asked her to elaborate. “ Lady Ravenclaw, Harry specifically told me to speak to you about this. I take it you can explain for everyone.” `Tea looked a little started at first, but quickly floated up to Dumbledore's side and addressed the assembled crowd. “ Well, you all know I am a telepath from when I found the location of `Mione and Ron. Well, it is a gift passed down in my family. My mother had it, I have it, and my son had it. Consequently, Harry has it also. He is my descendant.” This revelation elicited shouts of surprise from most people at the table, the exceptions being those who already knew. After a few minutes, Dumbledore silenced them with a shower of sparks from his finger tips. “ Can we please be calm, we have much more to discuss. As you have probably realised, Harry has managed to contact me through his telepathy. He has sent me a mental map of the complex, which I will draw up and hand to everyone. As this is Grindelwald's stronghold, I believe it would be prudent to strike. He doesn't know his position has been compromised, so security will not be too heavy. Harry tells me there are no more than thirty of his followers there at once. If we take him by surprise, we can cut out the heart of our problem, leaving us to pick off the leaderless followers one by one. Now, first we need a plan…” ~~* The planning went on for two days straight. Once everything was finalised, everyone agreed that they were as prepared as they were going to be. They had the rescue planned for the next day, and everyone was starting to get worried. This would be the decisive battle in the war, for both the magic and Muggle worlds. If their invasion was a success, Grindelwald would no longer threaten the magical community, and all of Hitler's advantages would fail, leaving him vulnerable. However, if the Dark Lord prevailed, chaos would reign and eternal darkness would cover the world. It was a lot of responsibility for so few to shoulder, but they knew it was a case of now or never. The next morning, the Order in its entirety gathered in the entrance hall of Domus Corvus Corax and prepared to depart. Before they left, Dumbledore stood by the main doors to say a few words. “ Everyone, this is the day we have all been waiting for. The day we can take victory into our own hands. The day we will vanquish the darkness that has covered our land once and for all. Today, the tides will turn, and we will emerge victorious.” Loud cheering filled the hall as the troops headed into the portkey room, splitting into groups which each grabbed a specially made portkey. Seconds later, a loud popping filled the air as the Order disappeared to face their destiny. ~~* Harry could feel the instant the Order entered the area. He had been meditating since he woke up, preparing for the battle he knew was coming. As soon as the portkeys activated, he could feel the influx of new minds on the other side of the magical barrier. He sought out Dumbledore as the aurors in the group started attacking the dome, much as they had at Grossrosen. Swiftly scanning the building for Grindelwald and his followers, the Boy-Who-Lived quickly relayed what he knew to the headmaster, including how many opponents they would have to face, and their magical strength. ~Professor, Grindelwald is staying in his throne room. It's the only place he has heavily guarded. Ten of his followers are positioned in hidden alcoves around the room, and his right hand man is with him. Twenty more are heading your way. They are the weakest magically, but they know a lot of Dark Magic. I'm going to try and incapacitate some of them. See if you can get that dome down quickly so Ginny and I can help with the fighting~ ~Thank you, Harry. We'll get it down soon~ Harry broke the connection with his professor and started to concentrate on the enemy heading for the Order. Choosing one at random, he concentrated hard and sent a sudden pulse of energy at him. The follower immediately dropped to the floor unconscious. By this time, the aurors had broken the dome, and Harry could feel his magic filling his veins. His mental gift also became suddenly stronger. Standing up, he headed to the door, lifting his hand and blasting it outwards so it smashed into the opposite wall of the corridor. Further down, he could hear Ginny doing the same. Heading in the direction of the noise, he soon spotted the girl and started sprinting towards her. “ Ginny! Are you alright?” “ Harry, I'm fine.” The pair wrapped their arms around each other in a quick hug before heading up the surface where the battle was taking place. When they reached the fighting they headed straight for their fighting friends. As soon as they spotted the pair, Hermione and Ron stopped what they were doing and ran over to embrace the new arrivals. After much hugging and assurances that everyone was safe, they realised that a battle was not the best place to have an emotional reunion. Standing in a line, they each started to fight in earnest, Hermione and Ron with the weapons they had retrieved from Grossrosen, Ginny with magic, and Harry with a mix of his animagus form, his mental abilities and Dark Magic. They made a formidable team and Grindelwald's forces were eliminated in minutes. As soon as the fighting was almost over, Ginny suddenly let out a scream and fell to the floor, holding her head. Harry, realising she was having a vision, tapped into her mind to see if he could see what was happening in it. Images suddenly filled his head, and he watched enraptured. He could see Dumbledore in a large chamber, which he recognised as Grindelwald's throne room as soon as he spotted the mosaic ouroboros on the floor. The headmaster was about to face off with the Dark Lord, when his right hand man stepped out of the shadows behind the professor and shot a curse at his back. Dumbledore fell to the floor, his wand rolling away from him. The scene faded in to black as the vision ended. Opening their eyes, Ginny and Harry looked at each other in fear. The boy quickly scanned the room and noticed the headmaster to be missing. ~Ginny, I need you to tell everyone what you saw. I have to go~ ~Harry, where are you going?~ ~To help Dumbledore~ ~Harry, don't follow him! He's the one who defeated Grindelwald. We know that from history. You can't interfere~ ~You don't get it Ginny. I'm supposed to interfere~ That said, he sprinted out of the room as top speed. ~~* As Harry arrived in the throne room, he turned himself invisible and watched from the shadows as Dumbledore was hit with the curse. Swearing to himself, he stepped forward, ready to take on whoever had hurt his mentor. When Grindelwald's apprentice stepped out of a dark archway and into the light to face the new arrival, Harry was horrified to recognise him. “ Tom Riddle.” Previous chapter Next chapter