Categories > Books > Harry Potter > What Now, Severus?
As the three Death Eaters approached the imposing gates of Hogwarts, Rubeus Hagrid strode briskly up to the gates and greeted them.
"Afternoon, ladies," he said with a genial smile. "I din' know yeh'd gone out today." He took out a massive set of keys and unlocked the gates. He swung them wide open, creating a loud shriek of rusty metal.
"Humph... Guess I should oil that," he said absently. "Well, I'll be seein' yeh later, at dinner." His eyes narrowed and followed the so-called staff members for a moment as they began to move briskly up the road toward the castle, then slid briefly to a place behind them where there seemed to be nothing to see.
"It is time, Hagrid," Snape's voice hissed faintly near his ear. "Two giants are coming. Leave the gate open and try to lure them into the grounds." He stepped to the side and waited.
Hagrid began slowly to close the gates, but his eyes widened suddenly as Golgomath and his follower plunged out of the trees and bulled their way through the gates. The Gurg swung a massive arm at his midsection, knocking Hagrid to the ground. He followed with a brutal kick to the side of the half-giant's head that laid him out flat.
As Golgomath attacked Hagrid, Nagini, slithered quickly in through the gates. She drove the unnamed giant before her, thudding up the road toward the castle. The giant looked fearfully at the immense snake, not needing words to see the intelligent determination of the beast. They hurried to catch up to the Polyjuiced Death Eaters.
Hagrid's head was throbbing and he could not focus his eyes. Blood was running out of his left ear. But his rage drove him to swing wildly as the savage giant was preparing to stomp on him. He missed by several inches, as he was trying to regain his balance and stand upright at the same time.
The Gurg, however, screamed as his body flew backward through the air and crashed to the ground. He shook his head groggily, and seconds passed before he realized that somehow, the puny creature had done this to him. He pulled a club from his belt and rose to his feet. Instructions forgotten, he would kill this misbegotten creature. When he realized his prey was up and staggering away toward the forest, he gave a howl of pure rage and followed, knowing he could easily catch the smaller one.
&&&&&&&&&
The Death Eaters were having some minor problems. Amycus had tripped on the high-heeled shoes he had chosen from the attic at Riddle House. He had no idea that the sensible Madam Pomfrey wore sensible shoes, and now his ankle had begun swelling. Peter Pettigrew kept getting tangled in the mess of shawls he was forced to wear and several had dropped as they trudged toward the castle, leaving a colorful trail behind them.
Alecto giggled the entire way, finding the sight of her fellow Death Eaters in skirts to be the funniest thing she'd ever seen. However, a pounding noise from behind them, growing louder every second, finally made her look back.
"Shit! Amycus, run!" she shouted, picking up her skirts and lumbering toward the doors of Hogwarts.
The other two looked back and saw a giant crashing up behind them, and driving it forward, looking extremely dangerous, was the snake, Nagini.
"Where's bloody Snape?" screamed Pettigrew. "Did he set the snake on us?"
"When this is over, I'll bloody kill that poncing arse!" shouted Amycus, beside himself with rage. "He's betrayed us!"
"Morons!" Snape's voice whispered from the air nearby. "Hurry! We are attacking Hogwarts, not attending a cotillion. Run!"
"The doors aren't open yet and that giant's going to trample us!" panted Pettigrew, trying to move faster in the scrawny body of the Seeress.
Snape wondered grimly whose face he would see when the doors opened. It should be any minute. He held his wand firmly and ran easily along next to the distressed Death Eaters, his eyes on the entrance to the castle. He wondered what the defenses would be, and thought that perhaps if he simply neglected to Conjure the Dark Mark, the Inferi would be unable to enter. He allowed himself a split-second to hope. Then the doors of Hogwarts Castle began slowly to open.
The giant was gaining on the three 'witches,' causing them to run faster. Nagini's mouth was open as she drove them on. If any of them looked back, they would see large, venomous fangs drawing ever closer, topped by inhuman, glowing eyes.
The doors to the castle were wide open and Nymphadora Tonks stepped outside. Her face was blank, her dark eyes wide open and her wand was in her outstretched hand.
Snape groaned. She had the appearance of one who was under the Imperius Curse. Suddenly she froze. He wondered if she was fighting against it. Moving to the side, he was preparing to stun her when he heard a familiar, despised voice.
"Do it now, girl!" Horace Slughorn's voice boomed from behind her.
Tonks pointed her wand in the air and slowly, reluctantly said, "/Morsmordre/."
The sight of the familiar, despised green sparks shooting into the sky over Hogwarts filled Snape briefly with despair. It would not be long now. He turned to the Death Eaters and hissed, "Inside. I'll deal with her."
The three ran past Tonks, who now stood immobile, looking unconscious, although she was still standing, and then past Horace Slughorn, who dodged to one side of the doorway.
The giant had stopped, confused that the Gurg was nowhere to be seen, but when Nagini rose up and hissed at him, he stormed into the entrance hall, completely terrified of her. She then stared a moment at Tonks, but turned and headed swiftly for the lawn.
Slughorn had watched the attackers rush past him with a mixture of fear and smugness on his fat features, but now he turned his wand toward Tonks with a cold glare.
"/Stupefy/!" snarled Snape.
The old wizard dropped on the spot. Snape ripped the wand from his hand, snapped it in two and hissed, "/Incarcerous/!"
Ropes wound themselves around Professor Slughorn, completely immobilizing him. Snape then Levitated the unconscious wizard to a corner and turned to Tonks and eased the wand from her hand.
"/Rennervate/," he whispered.
Nymphadora Tonks woke suddenly from an odd stupor to find herself standing in the doorway of the castle. The Dark Mark was shining faintly in the sky. She gasped and prepared to give the alarm.
"Nymphadora," hissed a voice nearby.
She gasped. She knew that voice. He was one of only a few who still called her by that ridiculous first name. "What do you want from me, murderer?" she snarled belligerently, fumbling for her wand. Her heart sank when she realized it was not there.
"I have it, Nymphadora," he said mockingly. "There is no time. You were Imperiused by Horace Slughorn. You Conjured the Dark Mark and now Inferi shall invade Hogwarts any minute. Look at the corner."
She saw Professor Slughorn lying bound and Stupefied there, and suddenly she wondered if Snape was telling the truth. Next she saw her wand, which looked as if it was floating in midair.
"Prior Incantato!" Snape hissed, causing a small, smoky Dark Mark to puff from the tip of her wand.
"Oh, Merlin," she groaned. Her sodden wits finally kicked into gear and she said, "What can I do?"
"Find McGonagall and Shacklebolt," he replied brusquely, his voice sounding farther away.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"To lead the attack on Hogwarts," was his ironic reply. Her wand flew through the air and she snatched it.
Silence surrounded her and suddenly she whirled and ran toward the stairs.
&&&&&&&&&
Minerva McGonagall watched it all unfold from the windows of the Headmistress' office. Molly Weasley was at her side. When the giants rushed the gates of Hogwarts and Hagrid went down, they both gasped in horror, but somehow Hagrid managed to repel the monster's attack and began to run off into the grounds.
"Why on earth?" asked Molly in disbelief.
"I don't know," replied Minerva. "I don't see Severus, do you?"
Their apprehension increased as they watched as the three fake staff members went their way toward the castle.
"Kingsley was right, they are hopeless at pretending," Minerva said with a faint smirk. "Even if we had not concealed our real staff members, no one with a brain could be deceived." She watched 'Sibyll' drop another gauzy shawl on the ground and march on without even realizing, and rolled her eyes.
"Minerva, maybe if this is all that there are, it won't be so terrible," Molly said softly. "Did you see... him?"
"We won't see Voldemort until it is too late, I fear," replied the Headmistress.
A green spark shot skyward. The Dark Mark blossomed out hideously. Both witches looked on in horror.
"It is only beginning," Minerva said dully. "We must go now, Molly." She led the way to the stairs. When they reached the entrance, she sealed the office against intruders, nodded once at the gargoyle and walked away.
&&&&&&&&&
Kingsley and Michael had watched it unfold from the top of the Astronomy Tower.
"They should be in soon," Kingsley said, after they had watched the Dark Mark appear. "I'll be leaving you now. Good luck, Michael. Keep the Portkeys close by."
Michael sat with his sniper rifle trained on the grounds of Hogwarts. His concentration was fully engaged and he merely said, "Good hunting, Kingsley. I'll see you later."
Kingsley sealed the door to the Tower after he had passed through it. The spell might not hold up to everything, but it was the best he could manage in his haste. He ran lightly down flight after flight of stairs, listening carefully for any sound of intruders. As he neared the ground floor he heard running feet and someone panting hard. He stepped aside and waited.
Nymphadora Tonks appeared, sobbing with frustration and exhaustion. Kingsley caught her and said, "Are you all right?"
"Kingsley!" she gasped in relief. "I was under the Imperius... he... Snape's here. We're under attack!"
"Tonks!" he snapped. "Listen to me. I know it. We've been preparing for weeks. We couldn't tell you because I discovered you'd been Imperiused." He shook her slightly, as if to wake her. "Was it Slughorn?"
"Yes. He's down by the doors, unconscious and bound." She looked shaken. "Snape did it. What's going on? He gave me back my wand and said he was going to lead the attack against Hogwarts!"
"Long story, Tonks, but he's still with us, under cover. If you come across him again today, help him any way you can. That's an order!" He studied her carefully. "You all right now?"
"Fine," she said smartly. "Does Remus know? About Snape, I mean?"
"We told him, Minerva and I, but he still seems doubtful. Moody flat out didn't believe us until we dragged him to talk to Dumbledore's portrait. Watch both of them, Tonks. We need Snape as much as we need Potter. If they attack him they could ruin everything."
Tonks knew her Remus. "Can I find them and talk to them?" she asked. "Snape probably saved my life just now.
"No time," he replied. "Any minute we're going to be attacked by Inferi, and at some point we're going to be visited by Voldemort himself. This is just the beginning. Can I count on you?" He stared into her eyes and saw that they were clearer and brighter than before. It seemed the Curse was broken.
"Of course," she replied. "So we have Death Eaters, giants, Inferi and Voldemort to contend with."
He nodded. "The snake too. She nearly killed Arthur, so be careful. I'm going after the ones in the castle. Come with me."
&&&&&&&&&
Snape cautiously followed Nagini out to the lawn, wondering why the snake would pass up the chance to access the castle. It was not long before he discovered the reason. He followed the creature down toward the lake, looking still and peaceful in the still of the late afternoon. But suddenly the surface of the lake became troubled. A large area near the shore began moving as though a storm was blowing up. Then heads began to appear. It was the Inferi. They walked out of the water, moving automatically, grey faced and hideous. Some looked almost as they had in life, except for the lack of color. Others were in various stages of decomposition. There were corpses of men and women, and most hideous of all, corpses of children, easily identified by their size. And there were far more than the twenty that had been promised by the Dark Lord. He tried to count as they emerged and soon realized that there were nearer two hundred than twenty.
The Inferi spread out over a wide path as they marched grimly toward the castle. Nagini moved easily between them and seemed able to urge them forward. Snape realized that if he did not move they would surround him, and that in fact he had no control of them whatsoever. They would kill any living thing they crossed paths with, and he realized that this was the Dark Lord's plan. He set his course for Hagrid's cottage, hoping all the while that those in the castle were prepared for the worst.
&&&&&&&&&
Minerva McGonagall stared out over the lawn in horror. It seemed that Voldemort had misinformed his lieutenant about the Inferi. "Filius, can we destroy so many? We did not plan for this."
Professor Flitwick was standing on a chair, staring out the window, a look of intense concentration on his wrinkled face. "Of course we can," he replied absently. "It may be a bit of a challenge, but if we can destroy twenty, we can destroy two hundred." He turned and smiled encouragingly at her. "We shall begin now."
He chose a spot close to the first Inferius, pointed his wand and a huge bonfire exploded up under them. Half a dozen Inferi disappeared in the explosion, but the rest merely veered off course to avoid the flames.
Other wands from other windows began firing Incendio spells down on the approaching Inferi, and as several more began to vanish in magical flames, the others began to huddle together and march faster. As the first Inferi reached the doors of the castle, Minerva left her colleague to rain spells down on the creatures on the lawn and headed for the ground floor.
&&&&&&&&&
Inside the Great Hall, the three Polyjuiced Death Eaters wandered in the eerie silence. There was no one defending the bloody castle, so as far as they could see they were alone.
"Where are they?" Pettigrew whined irritably. "What kind of bloody battle is this, if no one's here?" Madam Pince, who began to shrink before his eyes, distracted him.
"Hey! The Polyjuice is wearing off," Alecto offered stupidly. "We're ourselves again."
"Oy! I kinda liked being a lady," Amycus wheezed.
"Shut up," muttered Pettigrew. "Where's bloody Snape? When the Dark Lord arrives, he'll learn from me how this played out. Bloody traitor."
A sound from the entrance made them look up and see Inferi pouring in through the doors. The giant, who had been wandering around confusedly near the entrance, ran into the Great Hall, his eyes wide with horror. An Inferius was clinging to his arm, while another small one was wrenching at his leg.
"Bloody hell, Wormtail!" Amycus proclaimed. "Are they s'posed to be attackin' /him/?"
Pettigrew realized that the Inferi would not be controlled by any of them. "They'll attack us too! Run, you idiots!" He headed for a door at the far end of the room, wrenched it open and ran blindly through it. He had not forgotten the Dark Lord's recent demonstration of the power of an Inferius.
"Afternoon, ladies," he said with a genial smile. "I din' know yeh'd gone out today." He took out a massive set of keys and unlocked the gates. He swung them wide open, creating a loud shriek of rusty metal.
"Humph... Guess I should oil that," he said absently. "Well, I'll be seein' yeh later, at dinner." His eyes narrowed and followed the so-called staff members for a moment as they began to move briskly up the road toward the castle, then slid briefly to a place behind them where there seemed to be nothing to see.
"It is time, Hagrid," Snape's voice hissed faintly near his ear. "Two giants are coming. Leave the gate open and try to lure them into the grounds." He stepped to the side and waited.
Hagrid began slowly to close the gates, but his eyes widened suddenly as Golgomath and his follower plunged out of the trees and bulled their way through the gates. The Gurg swung a massive arm at his midsection, knocking Hagrid to the ground. He followed with a brutal kick to the side of the half-giant's head that laid him out flat.
As Golgomath attacked Hagrid, Nagini, slithered quickly in through the gates. She drove the unnamed giant before her, thudding up the road toward the castle. The giant looked fearfully at the immense snake, not needing words to see the intelligent determination of the beast. They hurried to catch up to the Polyjuiced Death Eaters.
Hagrid's head was throbbing and he could not focus his eyes. Blood was running out of his left ear. But his rage drove him to swing wildly as the savage giant was preparing to stomp on him. He missed by several inches, as he was trying to regain his balance and stand upright at the same time.
The Gurg, however, screamed as his body flew backward through the air and crashed to the ground. He shook his head groggily, and seconds passed before he realized that somehow, the puny creature had done this to him. He pulled a club from his belt and rose to his feet. Instructions forgotten, he would kill this misbegotten creature. When he realized his prey was up and staggering away toward the forest, he gave a howl of pure rage and followed, knowing he could easily catch the smaller one.
&&&&&&&&&
The Death Eaters were having some minor problems. Amycus had tripped on the high-heeled shoes he had chosen from the attic at Riddle House. He had no idea that the sensible Madam Pomfrey wore sensible shoes, and now his ankle had begun swelling. Peter Pettigrew kept getting tangled in the mess of shawls he was forced to wear and several had dropped as they trudged toward the castle, leaving a colorful trail behind them.
Alecto giggled the entire way, finding the sight of her fellow Death Eaters in skirts to be the funniest thing she'd ever seen. However, a pounding noise from behind them, growing louder every second, finally made her look back.
"Shit! Amycus, run!" she shouted, picking up her skirts and lumbering toward the doors of Hogwarts.
The other two looked back and saw a giant crashing up behind them, and driving it forward, looking extremely dangerous, was the snake, Nagini.
"Where's bloody Snape?" screamed Pettigrew. "Did he set the snake on us?"
"When this is over, I'll bloody kill that poncing arse!" shouted Amycus, beside himself with rage. "He's betrayed us!"
"Morons!" Snape's voice whispered from the air nearby. "Hurry! We are attacking Hogwarts, not attending a cotillion. Run!"
"The doors aren't open yet and that giant's going to trample us!" panted Pettigrew, trying to move faster in the scrawny body of the Seeress.
Snape wondered grimly whose face he would see when the doors opened. It should be any minute. He held his wand firmly and ran easily along next to the distressed Death Eaters, his eyes on the entrance to the castle. He wondered what the defenses would be, and thought that perhaps if he simply neglected to Conjure the Dark Mark, the Inferi would be unable to enter. He allowed himself a split-second to hope. Then the doors of Hogwarts Castle began slowly to open.
The giant was gaining on the three 'witches,' causing them to run faster. Nagini's mouth was open as she drove them on. If any of them looked back, they would see large, venomous fangs drawing ever closer, topped by inhuman, glowing eyes.
The doors to the castle were wide open and Nymphadora Tonks stepped outside. Her face was blank, her dark eyes wide open and her wand was in her outstretched hand.
Snape groaned. She had the appearance of one who was under the Imperius Curse. Suddenly she froze. He wondered if she was fighting against it. Moving to the side, he was preparing to stun her when he heard a familiar, despised voice.
"Do it now, girl!" Horace Slughorn's voice boomed from behind her.
Tonks pointed her wand in the air and slowly, reluctantly said, "/Morsmordre/."
The sight of the familiar, despised green sparks shooting into the sky over Hogwarts filled Snape briefly with despair. It would not be long now. He turned to the Death Eaters and hissed, "Inside. I'll deal with her."
The three ran past Tonks, who now stood immobile, looking unconscious, although she was still standing, and then past Horace Slughorn, who dodged to one side of the doorway.
The giant had stopped, confused that the Gurg was nowhere to be seen, but when Nagini rose up and hissed at him, he stormed into the entrance hall, completely terrified of her. She then stared a moment at Tonks, but turned and headed swiftly for the lawn.
Slughorn had watched the attackers rush past him with a mixture of fear and smugness on his fat features, but now he turned his wand toward Tonks with a cold glare.
"/Stupefy/!" snarled Snape.
The old wizard dropped on the spot. Snape ripped the wand from his hand, snapped it in two and hissed, "/Incarcerous/!"
Ropes wound themselves around Professor Slughorn, completely immobilizing him. Snape then Levitated the unconscious wizard to a corner and turned to Tonks and eased the wand from her hand.
"/Rennervate/," he whispered.
Nymphadora Tonks woke suddenly from an odd stupor to find herself standing in the doorway of the castle. The Dark Mark was shining faintly in the sky. She gasped and prepared to give the alarm.
"Nymphadora," hissed a voice nearby.
She gasped. She knew that voice. He was one of only a few who still called her by that ridiculous first name. "What do you want from me, murderer?" she snarled belligerently, fumbling for her wand. Her heart sank when she realized it was not there.
"I have it, Nymphadora," he said mockingly. "There is no time. You were Imperiused by Horace Slughorn. You Conjured the Dark Mark and now Inferi shall invade Hogwarts any minute. Look at the corner."
She saw Professor Slughorn lying bound and Stupefied there, and suddenly she wondered if Snape was telling the truth. Next she saw her wand, which looked as if it was floating in midair.
"Prior Incantato!" Snape hissed, causing a small, smoky Dark Mark to puff from the tip of her wand.
"Oh, Merlin," she groaned. Her sodden wits finally kicked into gear and she said, "What can I do?"
"Find McGonagall and Shacklebolt," he replied brusquely, his voice sounding farther away.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"To lead the attack on Hogwarts," was his ironic reply. Her wand flew through the air and she snatched it.
Silence surrounded her and suddenly she whirled and ran toward the stairs.
&&&&&&&&&
Minerva McGonagall watched it all unfold from the windows of the Headmistress' office. Molly Weasley was at her side. When the giants rushed the gates of Hogwarts and Hagrid went down, they both gasped in horror, but somehow Hagrid managed to repel the monster's attack and began to run off into the grounds.
"Why on earth?" asked Molly in disbelief.
"I don't know," replied Minerva. "I don't see Severus, do you?"
Their apprehension increased as they watched as the three fake staff members went their way toward the castle.
"Kingsley was right, they are hopeless at pretending," Minerva said with a faint smirk. "Even if we had not concealed our real staff members, no one with a brain could be deceived." She watched 'Sibyll' drop another gauzy shawl on the ground and march on without even realizing, and rolled her eyes.
"Minerva, maybe if this is all that there are, it won't be so terrible," Molly said softly. "Did you see... him?"
"We won't see Voldemort until it is too late, I fear," replied the Headmistress.
A green spark shot skyward. The Dark Mark blossomed out hideously. Both witches looked on in horror.
"It is only beginning," Minerva said dully. "We must go now, Molly." She led the way to the stairs. When they reached the entrance, she sealed the office against intruders, nodded once at the gargoyle and walked away.
&&&&&&&&&
Kingsley and Michael had watched it unfold from the top of the Astronomy Tower.
"They should be in soon," Kingsley said, after they had watched the Dark Mark appear. "I'll be leaving you now. Good luck, Michael. Keep the Portkeys close by."
Michael sat with his sniper rifle trained on the grounds of Hogwarts. His concentration was fully engaged and he merely said, "Good hunting, Kingsley. I'll see you later."
Kingsley sealed the door to the Tower after he had passed through it. The spell might not hold up to everything, but it was the best he could manage in his haste. He ran lightly down flight after flight of stairs, listening carefully for any sound of intruders. As he neared the ground floor he heard running feet and someone panting hard. He stepped aside and waited.
Nymphadora Tonks appeared, sobbing with frustration and exhaustion. Kingsley caught her and said, "Are you all right?"
"Kingsley!" she gasped in relief. "I was under the Imperius... he... Snape's here. We're under attack!"
"Tonks!" he snapped. "Listen to me. I know it. We've been preparing for weeks. We couldn't tell you because I discovered you'd been Imperiused." He shook her slightly, as if to wake her. "Was it Slughorn?"
"Yes. He's down by the doors, unconscious and bound." She looked shaken. "Snape did it. What's going on? He gave me back my wand and said he was going to lead the attack against Hogwarts!"
"Long story, Tonks, but he's still with us, under cover. If you come across him again today, help him any way you can. That's an order!" He studied her carefully. "You all right now?"
"Fine," she said smartly. "Does Remus know? About Snape, I mean?"
"We told him, Minerva and I, but he still seems doubtful. Moody flat out didn't believe us until we dragged him to talk to Dumbledore's portrait. Watch both of them, Tonks. We need Snape as much as we need Potter. If they attack him they could ruin everything."
Tonks knew her Remus. "Can I find them and talk to them?" she asked. "Snape probably saved my life just now.
"No time," he replied. "Any minute we're going to be attacked by Inferi, and at some point we're going to be visited by Voldemort himself. This is just the beginning. Can I count on you?" He stared into her eyes and saw that they were clearer and brighter than before. It seemed the Curse was broken.
"Of course," she replied. "So we have Death Eaters, giants, Inferi and Voldemort to contend with."
He nodded. "The snake too. She nearly killed Arthur, so be careful. I'm going after the ones in the castle. Come with me."
&&&&&&&&&
Snape cautiously followed Nagini out to the lawn, wondering why the snake would pass up the chance to access the castle. It was not long before he discovered the reason. He followed the creature down toward the lake, looking still and peaceful in the still of the late afternoon. But suddenly the surface of the lake became troubled. A large area near the shore began moving as though a storm was blowing up. Then heads began to appear. It was the Inferi. They walked out of the water, moving automatically, grey faced and hideous. Some looked almost as they had in life, except for the lack of color. Others were in various stages of decomposition. There were corpses of men and women, and most hideous of all, corpses of children, easily identified by their size. And there were far more than the twenty that had been promised by the Dark Lord. He tried to count as they emerged and soon realized that there were nearer two hundred than twenty.
The Inferi spread out over a wide path as they marched grimly toward the castle. Nagini moved easily between them and seemed able to urge them forward. Snape realized that if he did not move they would surround him, and that in fact he had no control of them whatsoever. They would kill any living thing they crossed paths with, and he realized that this was the Dark Lord's plan. He set his course for Hagrid's cottage, hoping all the while that those in the castle were prepared for the worst.
&&&&&&&&&
Minerva McGonagall stared out over the lawn in horror. It seemed that Voldemort had misinformed his lieutenant about the Inferi. "Filius, can we destroy so many? We did not plan for this."
Professor Flitwick was standing on a chair, staring out the window, a look of intense concentration on his wrinkled face. "Of course we can," he replied absently. "It may be a bit of a challenge, but if we can destroy twenty, we can destroy two hundred." He turned and smiled encouragingly at her. "We shall begin now."
He chose a spot close to the first Inferius, pointed his wand and a huge bonfire exploded up under them. Half a dozen Inferi disappeared in the explosion, but the rest merely veered off course to avoid the flames.
Other wands from other windows began firing Incendio spells down on the approaching Inferi, and as several more began to vanish in magical flames, the others began to huddle together and march faster. As the first Inferi reached the doors of the castle, Minerva left her colleague to rain spells down on the creatures on the lawn and headed for the ground floor.
&&&&&&&&&
Inside the Great Hall, the three Polyjuiced Death Eaters wandered in the eerie silence. There was no one defending the bloody castle, so as far as they could see they were alone.
"Where are they?" Pettigrew whined irritably. "What kind of bloody battle is this, if no one's here?" Madam Pince, who began to shrink before his eyes, distracted him.
"Hey! The Polyjuice is wearing off," Alecto offered stupidly. "We're ourselves again."
"Oy! I kinda liked being a lady," Amycus wheezed.
"Shut up," muttered Pettigrew. "Where's bloody Snape? When the Dark Lord arrives, he'll learn from me how this played out. Bloody traitor."
A sound from the entrance made them look up and see Inferi pouring in through the doors. The giant, who had been wandering around confusedly near the entrance, ran into the Great Hall, his eyes wide with horror. An Inferius was clinging to his arm, while another small one was wrenching at his leg.
"Bloody hell, Wormtail!" Amycus proclaimed. "Are they s'posed to be attackin' /him/?"
Pettigrew realized that the Inferi would not be controlled by any of them. "They'll attack us too! Run, you idiots!" He headed for a door at the far end of the room, wrenched it open and ran blindly through it. He had not forgotten the Dark Lord's recent demonstration of the power of an Inferius.
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