Chapter 23 ? The Middle

I was going to post this tomorrow, but since its ready, I thought I might as well get it up here. There is quite a lot going on in this chapter and I hope you don't find it too difficult to follow.

All canon characters belong to JKR.

Thanks to June for getting this back to me so fast. She did a wonderful job, as this chapter was quite a pain in the butt.

Chapter 23 – The Middle

In the Headmaster's office, Hermione held the small "sparrow" to her lips and whispered the one word that would activate the spell. "Esaurisca."

The small bird was but a creation she and Severus had labored over these long weeks leading to the war. For weeks, Severus-as-Higgenbottom had made Voldemort doses and doses of a specially designed stamina potion. Today, this sparrow's delivery would be the final potion Voldemort would ever receive, only this time the potion would come to him by way of wings instead of from a vial, Hermione's spell had formed a dose of potion into a realistic looking sparrow. As the sparrow flew out of her hands and through a window, she watched it as it soared into the sky, found its target, and then swooped straight down on Voldemort like a missile. Then the potion-as-bird did what it was created for, to be absorbed into the Dark Lord's body and weaken him.

Albus watched from another window; this tower was not as tall as the Astronomy Tower, but he still had an excellent view of the battlefield. He saw Harry in the distance, surrounded by Draco, Ron and Neville, all making their way together into the battle. He knew that he needed to allow Harry to finish this fight on his own. The most important thing Albus needed to do was to make sure no one entered the castle, where there were too many places to hide; the Death Eaters had to be kept outside where they could be more easily seen.

Minerva and Molly were still keeping up the shield that protected the castle but they were tiring, and soon they would need to be relieved. Albus looked to Hermione and Ginny, who were supposed to take over when Minerva and Molly grew tired. Knowing that they would be worried about Severus and Lucius, he began silently warding the castle heavily. He feared that the two younger women might try to make their way to the battlefield; if they did so, he could not run after them. He needed to stay put.

On the battlefield, Lucius was surrounded by Death Eaters. He spotted Voldemort, who was now losing his grip on Neville's girlfriend, Lynnette, despite the magical chain around her neck. Lucius ran faster, knowing that if she were to run away now, she would most assuredly be killed. As a Muggle, she had no wand to protect her from spells, or any knowledge of what to do at this moment.

Charlie Weasley had led several handlers and dragons in Hogsmeade. After that situation was under control, Charlie and his colleagues made their way to Hogwarts. The dragon handlers were keeping most of the trolls at bay, while the giants were taking care of the rest.

Severus joined a small group of Aurors who were battling two trolls. In the end they managed to bind one of the trolls and knock out the other with his own club. Severus then ran towards the north, where he thought he'd seen Charlie in trouble. Severus had seen Charlie fall early on, and he feared this Weasley had been caught by a Death Eater in his vulnerable state. As he searched for Charlie, he caught sight of Lucius now making his way to Voldemort; Severus also saw the sparrow shooting towards its intended target.

Rodolphus arrived on the chaotic scene and began making his way towards a small group of Death Eaters, all of them classmates from their Hogwarts years. Goyle, Crabbe and Boot along with several others were protecting themselves, but not mounting much of an offensive.

"Where have you been?" asked Boot.

"Tying up loose ends," answered Rodolphus. He held his place amongst the small group and waited for the right opportunity to make his move.

Voldemort was alone with his Muggle prisoner. Many of the Death Eaters who should have stood with him had been captured by the Portkey net. He'd been forced to send the others to assist the teams who were now outnumbered. He had expected no opposition at Hogwarts, with the Aurors busy at Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. And where had those dragons come from?

He backed away from the shield; his wand was useless against it. He now took out a knife, the same knife he'd used to kill Narcissa. He knew that Albus was looking down upon him from the safety of the Headmaster's office above the battlefield, and he would now use his prisoner to get the old wizard to lower the shields. Voldemort believed Dumbledore would do anything to rescue a Muggle hostage. But before he could take Lynnette once again, he felt something hit him in the middle of his back. For a moment he lost his breath. He grabbed Lynnette and turned; there was nothing immediately behind him. He focused his eyes and saw Lucius coming towards him.

"Lucius, where have you been?" Voldemort asked angrily as he felt his body tingling.

Lucius smiled, he'd seen the sparrow hit Voldemort straight in the middle of his back. He knew Hermione and Severus' spell was now working its way through the Dark Lord's system, weakening his power.

"I have been here, waiting for this." Lucius lunged forward, took Lynnette by the waist, and pulled her towards him. He released the chain from her neck, never taking his eyes off his enemy.

Voldemort stumbled but quickly regained his balance. He held his wand tightly and pointed it at Lucius, who was now shielding Lynnette and had his own wand pointed at Voldemort.

"I should have known not to trust you, Lucius. Strange, I don't seem to have as many galleons in my account as I should. You did not transfer your assets to my account at Gringotts, as I instructed you to. What is it with your family as of late, Lucius, that you cannot follow simple instructions? Are you all fools?"

Lucius narrowed his eyes. "My son was almost killed during a botched raid, which you orchestrated. My wife was your whore for seven years, in the hopes of diverting your interest away from our son. You tortured my greatest friend in the world within an inch of his life, and after you were finished with him you ordered me to kill him at Hogwarts. You ordered my own wife to kill me when I didn't return quickly enough for you. In the end, you killed Narcissa anyway. You want me to pay you for all of that?" Lucius laughed. "Who's the real fool here?"

Voldemort twisted his face in disgust and screamed the first curse that came to his mind.

"Crucio!"

Lucius held Lynnette behind him, expecting the worst. He felt the curse hit him, and realized that Hermione's spell was now fully effective. The curse was nowhere near as powerful as what the Dark Lord had used in the past.

From her viewing place in the Headmaster's tower, Ginny saw Lucius fall to his knees on the battlefield, with Lynnette behind him.

"Lucius!" Ginny turned and ran out of the office.

Molly looked to her daughter and called out to her. "Ginny, no!"

"Molly, I'll go after her!" yelled Hermione. In truth, Hermione had no intention of retrieving Ginny; her husband was out there too.

Albus started to run after the two young women, but was stopped by Minerva.

"Albus, we need you here. I can't keep this shield up much longer, and Molly is exhausted."

Albus came back to the window and looked down. He held his wand out and overlapped the spell, allowing Minerva and Molly to pull away and rest.

Ginny and Hermione ran down the stairwell. Pulling out their wands, they knew that they would have to come out of the castle ready to defend themselves. The castle's main entrance had been warded, so they had to exit through the door behind the staff table in the Great Hall. Minerva and Molly's shield barrier was meant to keep people from coming into the castle; they would have no problem crossing it to go out of the castle and into the battlefield.

Once outside, Ginny spotted Lucius who was not defending himself, even though Voldemort was right there.

As Ginny and Hermione crossed the shield they became separated. A large group of Death Eaters and Aurors were fighting bare-fisted, and Hermione was shoved further into the grounds.

Ginny now lost sight of both her friend and Lucius. Ginny continued to walk deeper into the battlefield, not realizing that instead of going towards Lucius, she was moving away from him. She managed to block every curse sent her way while still trying to find Lucius.

Hermione looked frantically for Ginny, but couldn't find the redhead. As she turned towards the Forbidden Forest she caught sight of Severus being knocked back against a tree by a Death Eater's hex. She ran as fast as she could, hoping he hadn't been hurt badly. Hermione raised her wand before the Death Eater could do anything else to Severus. She hit him with a slicing hex, then a binding spell to fell him to the ground. She rushed towards Severus, and was now panicking because he was unconscious.

On the battlefield, Draco was the first to spot Ginny.

"Oh no, she's supposed to be inside!" Draco yelled.

"Ginny!" Ron was frantic as he saw his little sister now unknowingly rushing towards several groups of Death Eaters. Ron began to run towards her.

"Draco, you have to go with him," said Harry.

Draco looked at his boyfriend. "I can't leave you, Harry."

Harry shook his head. "You have to. Ron can't handle all of those Death Eaters alone, you have to protect Ginny, and besides I've got Neville with me." Draco hesitated. "Draco, remember what we talked about last night. Whatever happens today, it was meant to be. If I have to face him alone, then so be it."

"If you die on me, Harry Potter, I'll never forgive you!" Draco embraced Harry and kissed him.

Harry smiled. "I love you, Ferret Boy." Harry quickly turned and ran to where he last spotted Voldemort. Neville followed Harry, as Draco now went after Ron and Ginny.

Lucius managed to overcome the curse and knock Voldemort back against the shield. While the weakened Dark Lord fought to get up again, Lucius took this opportunity to turn and run with Lynnette.

When he recovered, Voldemort shook his head and looked out into the battle. He lost sight of Lucius but noticed the trolls were now being confined by the giants near the southern edge of the field. Several dragons were also surrounding groups of his Death Eaters. Spotting a red-haired young woman that he recognized as Ginny Weasley, he now set his sights on her and ran in her direction. As he ran, he felt himself tire. Something was wrong; his body should have felt strong and invincible, not weak and tired. His magic felt weaker. He shook his head, not having time to think on why he wasn't feeling up to par; he needed to get to Ginny.

Draco and Ron reached Ginny first and grabbed her from behind.

"It's all right, it's just Draco and me," said Ron as he calmed his struggling sister.

"Ginny, what the bloody hell are you doing here? You are supposed to be inside, helping with the shield," said Draco.

"I saw Lucius. He looked like he was hurt," answered Ginny.

"Ginny, you shouldn't be here!" said Ron as he shoved his sister to the ground after narrowly being hit by a hex.

As Ron and Draco talked to Ginny, Voldemort neared. His eyes widened as he saw Draco Malfoy. He smiled and took the knife from his robe, preparing to throw it into the young man's back. The knife that had killed Narcissa Malfoy would now kill her son.

Ron looked over Draco's shoulder and saw Voldemort. "Draco, watch out!"

Draco followed Ron's eyes and turned. He saw Voldemort throw a knife at him. Draco blocked Ginny and backed away slightly. Before he could raise his wand and before the knife made contact, it stopped in mid-air just inches from Draco's chest, and then fell to the ground.

A disembodied voice whispered into Draco's ear. "Run, my little snowflake, run."

Draco looked around frantically as tears formed in his eyes.

"What happened?" asked Ron in wonder as Voldemort screamed at the top of his lungs.

Draco shook his head. "I'll tell you later. We need to get out of here!" Draco took hold of Ginny and they all began to run.

Voldemort was frustrated beyond belief. He rushed to pick up the knife from where it had fallen, when suddenly it flew towards him and into his own shoulder.

"Ahhh!!" The Dark Lord fell on one knee and grasped the knife with one hand, struggling to pull it out.

Harry and Neville saw Voldemort from a distance. Neville also saw that Lucius had Lynnette, and was dragging her to safety.

"Harry, there's Lynnette!" Neville pointed towards his girlfriend and her rescuer.

Harry turned and saw them, then looked at Neville.

"You go to her, get her out of here, Neville. It's time for me to do this. Voldemort's weak enough." Harry shoved Neville in the direction of his girlfriend and Lucius, and ran towards Voldemort.

Along the way Harry fell and dislocated his own shoulder, and twisted his ankle while dodging hexes. He also stopped a few times to assist an Auror or Order member in dispatching a Death Eater. Slowly Harry made his way towards the kneeling and injured Voldemort.

Near the Forbidden Forest, Hermione checked Severus for injuries, then revived him and helped him to his feet.

"You broke your promise, you should not be here! I told you to stay in the castle!" he yelled.

"Albus, Molly, and Minerva are protecting the castle. Ginny ran outside to Lucius and I couldn't let her go by herself. We were separated, and then I saw you – I thought they'd killed you!"

"Ginny is out here as well?" He asked in disbelief. "Hermione, you need to get to Hagrid's hut. Please, I can't focus while knowing you are out here in danger."

As he spoke, he saw Draco, Ron and Ginny coming towards him.

"Severus, we need to get them out of here," said Draco, still holding Ginny's hand.

"Take them to Hagrids hut, ward it!" Severus ordered Draco and Ron. He then kissed Hermione and ran back onto the battlefield.

Hermione made to run after him but was held back by Ron.

"No, Hermione. Am I going to have to tie you two up? Severus will have my balls on a plate if he sees either of you out there again." Ron took hold of Hermione, and the group made their way to Hagrid's hut.

On the field Neville reached Lucius and Lynnette. He hugged his girlfriend.

"Thank you, sir. I owe you a wizard's debt for saving my love," Neville said.

Lucius shrugged it off. "Don't concern yourself with that, Neville. Take Lynnette to your home. It's too dangerous for her here."

Neville held on to Lynnette and Apparated with her to his home.

Lucius now made his way back into the battle. He saw Severus and began running to him.

Up in Albus' office, reports continued to come in from Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. The fighting in the two locations for the most part was over. There were small cells of Death Eaters that tried to escape, but were soon captured by Aurors, who'd traced their magical signatures. Mad-Eye Moody had been killed shortly after the battle in Hogsmeade began. Remus had been taken to St. Mungo's for an injured leg. Fred and George Weasley had also been taken to St. Mungo's; having been caught in a melting hex, they were now stuck together, literally. There were relatively few losses suffered by the Ministry and the Order. The fact that they were prepared for the onslaught had helped keep the number of injured and killed down.

Albus looked down on the scene, realizing that the fighting would soon be over here at Hogwarts. He'd seen Tom Riddle move away from the castle, after ending his efforts to take down the shield. The main focus would soon be Harry and Tom, not storming the castle. The shield was no longer needed, and he now felt he could join the fighting below.

"Minerva, Molly, I'm dropping the shield. The injured will be coming in soon, and Madam Pomfrey will need all the help she can get. Please go to the hospital wing to help her ready the ward and assist in the minor healing." The trio walked out of his office together, parting ways on the third floor when Minerva and Molly headed to their new assignment.

As he stepped outside, Albus surveyed the battlefield. The fight could still go either way. There seemed to be more Death Eaters than what he'd seen from above at the beginning. He guessed that these must have Apparated from the other two locations once they'd realized their fights there were lost. Fortunately, the Death Eaters were busy fighting for their lives; it would be best if Voldemort and Harry fought alone.

Unable to find Harry, Albus entered the battle and began placing binding hexes on every Death Eater who ran in his way. It would have been easy enough to kill them, but there would be little justice in that.

Rodolphus and his friends watched with keen interest as the two men approached each other. Rodolphus saw that Voldemort was hurt; his shoulder was bleeding and he seemed off his game. He guessed the spell Lucius had mentioned must have been placed on him near the beginning of the battle. The Dark Lord's hexes didn't seem to pack their usual punch, and he'd failed to bring down the castle's shield.

As for Harry Potter, the young man was inching his way closer and closer to the Dark Lord. He too seemed injured.

Rodolphus looked at the other Death Eaters in his group.

"We need to make our way down there," he said as he inclined his head slightly towards Voldemort and Harry. "Potter is almost to the Dark Lord."

"We need to finish this," said Goyle senior.

The group, including Rodolphus, began walking towards Voldemort.

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I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I have the next one all written. I just need to go through it a couple more times before I have it ready for June to look over.

Thanks for reading.

Esaurisca – Deplete. I took this from an online Italian translator. I liked the sound of the word deplete in Italian.