Nott how he thought it would go

Cantankerous Nott shivered as he saw the black-robed wizard approach the Vampire's lair. He wore the face of Crabbe, but there was something dead in his eyes. "You are needed back at the Ritual Chamber. Come immediately." He said to Nott, "An attack is being prepared for Hogwarts, all are needed." He didn't enter the lair, instead, he spoke to Crabbe from the courtyard. His voice seemed off as well, harsh and, if Nott had to use a word to describe it to someone else, he would have had to say 'hollow'.

"Why didn't the Dark Lord summon me directly?" Nott asked, trying to keep his voice level. "If it is so important he would use the Mark to summon me." He felt the presence of Elizabeth beside him and took comfort in it. Elizabeth had promised to protect him against her fellows, hopefully, it would hold the same against his.

Elizabeth tensed beside the mortal wizard she'd found a connection with. Something was off with this man. She'd never had dealings with the other Death Eaters except for when she'd met them all, seeing her mistress kill Lucius Malfoy. She could feel a rot inside him, like something dark and stinking hiding within him. She felt her fangs sliding down from their usual hiding place, her hands twitched and she felt her nails sharpening. The urge to protect Nott was stronger than her revulsion, a fact that surprised her greatly.

Crabbe didn't say anything at first, instead, it seemed as if he was waiting for something. "The Dark Lord has decided this attack will happen sooner than he had originally planned. I was sent to bring you back and then go to the werewolves led by Greyback. Come along!" The words sounded right, but the inflections seemed wrong, it seemed to Nott that someone was speaking for the burly wizard. Nott's wand hand twitched and in an instant, Crabbe had his own wand out and had Nott wrapped in chains conjured from his wand. "You will not come, so you will be taken before the Dark Lord," Crabbe told him as he began to drag the chain-bound wizard down the path.

Elizabeth acted before she was aware of what she'd done. Using her own wand she focused on the most powerful offensive spell she knew. It was almost comical, the reaction Crabbe had when he realized there was a silver spear through his chest. The wizard looked down at the point as if confused as to why he had stopped moving forward. He dropped the chains holding Nott and grasped the spear, pulling it all the way through his chest and throwing it to the ground. When he turned back to face them there was a strange sort of grin on his face, "Silver. If this had been a werewolf that would have caused worry. You have ruined this disguise, I will need a new one. Luckily this," He indicated the still bound Nott, "will do nicely."

"I knew you didn't smell human," Elizabeth said standing protectively in front of Nott's bound form.

The thing wearing Crabbe smiled nastily, "Congratulations. It is a pity that you will have to be destroyed." Crabbe's features seemed to melt slightly, the formerly hefty form turned gaunt and nearly skeletal. Stepping past Nott, he struck the vampire, knocking her down. "Abomination!" He hissed, stepping down onto her wrist, trapping her wand hand.

Nott fought against the chains, they were tight, but thankfully due to the concentration the thing inside Crabbe was losing due to his fight with Elizabeth, he was gaining some traction. Eventually, his hand touched his wand and he drew it carefully. He looked up from his small victory to see Elizabeth bleeding from her ears as Crabbe used a wandless curse. Rage filled Nott at that moment, more than he'd ever felt before. He felt the chains shudder around him and then burst. That took the attention of Crabbe from Elizabeth, he turned his head to face Nott, preparing to use the same curse on him.

Cantankerous Nott wasn't a good man by any means. He was a bastard, raised by bastards, and he never expected to be anything other than a bastard. Then he met a woman who kept him safe in a literal vampires den. Now that woman was laying on the ground bleeding and the person responsible for her bleeding was in front of him. Cantankerous didn't need the words for the blasting spell he hurled at Crabbe, all he wanted was the man-shaped thing in front of him to die.

The spell caught Crabbe in the chest, sending him flying back away from the door leading into the coven chamber and into the graveyard of the old church.

The last piece of sanctified ground.

The moment Crabbe's foot touched the soil of the graveyard he roared in pain. Smoke began to rise from his wounds, that foot crumbled into ash and caused the possessed man to collapse. Nott spared no time in watching the corpse of Crabbe continue to crumble into dust. Instead, he raced to Elizabeth's side, kneeling beside her. "Elizabeth!" Nott cried as he pulled her up to rest against him.

She smiled weakly, "N-not too bad for a Hufflepuff or a muggleborn, was it?" She coughed and a trickle of blood dripped from her mouth. She seemed to be looking past him, even though her eyes were locked on his. "You stopped him though. D-destroyed him."

He stroked her cheek with her free hand, "What can I do to help you?" He asked in a whisper, "The others will-"

"They will hear you tell about the thing that attacked us. Lady Alice will consider that act, a breaking of the pact between your Dark Lord and our Coven. They will attack you, and they will kill you. That's why you are going to run. G-get away and stay far away from this place 'Tank." She said quietly, "I can feel my organs bleeding."

Nott felt a cold fist in his heart, "You can't give up here! Please, tell me what I can do!" Nott begged her, "You saved me, I'm not ready to lose you now!"

She looked at him and then away, "The only thing you could do, I won't ask."

He knew what that meant. He pulled his arm up and thrust it at her, his wrist bared to her, "Do it." Elizabeth looked at his hand hungrily for a moment and then away. He pressed it to her lips, "Please." Nott said in a whisper, "If I get turned, so be it!"

She kissed his wrist and then bit into it. Nott hissed in pain as she drank from him. As she took the blood from his veins Elizabeth felt her strength returning. She forced herself to stop before it went too far. She looked up into his eyes and then kissed him, the coppery tang of his blood filling both of their noses.

"Do you trust me?" She asked quietly, panting softly as she felt herself healing from the damage done to her by the demon.

Nott nodded. She took his arm, the one bearing the Dark Mark and tapped her wand to it, casting a cutting charm that severed the forearm. Nott screamed and fell to his knees as the pain caused him to vomit. Elizabeth cast another spell, a healing spell that sealed off the damage done by the severing charm she'd used. "We have to go see Dumbledore at Hogwarts, if we warn him of what's coming and beg for sanctuary, maybe he'll let us stay there. In any case, death at his side's hands will definitely hurt less than your master ripping your soul out and letting a demon wear you like a suit of clothes." She sighed and checked his wound, "It's not bleeding anymore. I wish I had something to give you for the pain."

"It's- it's not so bad now," Nott said, lying through his teeth. "But how can you leave? You said you can only leave if you are allowed to by Lady Declan- or she dies." He looked down at his severed arm, the mark beginning to fade from it, "I'm afraid I won't be much use, that was my wand arm."

Elizabeth shook her head, "There's one other way: I can leave if there's nothing left to come back to. If the coven is destroyed then we have no home. They'll be destroyed when they lose their coffins, we can shrink mine and take it with us." She walked into the coven chamber, stopping at the doorway she turned to him, "I'll be right back. Pick your wand up with your good arm and then stand well back."

Nott did as she asked when she returned she was quickly walking out ahead of a roaring fire. "Quickly now 'tank, I don't know how to control fiendfyre." She grabbed his good arm and tugged him farther from the scorching flames. "We need to get down to the road, we can use the Knight Bus to get to Hogsmeade."

"You've wanted to do this for a while now haven't you?" Nott asked as they hurried away from the flames and down towards the road leading to the muggle village below the coven.

Her response was to nod, "Ever since I realized that I cared about you. If something hadn't happened, when you left, I'd have been ready to see my first sunrise." She looked back for a moment before they reached the turn. "I can't believe I really did it. I'm free." She took his good hand, "We are free."

"Until I get thrown into Azkaban." Nott said morosely, "I guess the good part about having a vampire as a girlfriend is that you'll still be beautiful when I get out." He laughed sadly, "If I get out."

She looked at him for a moment and then leaned in and kissed him, "I'll be there. Wherever you are." She promised him, "Now, let's call the Knight Bus and get out of here."

Scene Break

Andromeda and Apolline had finally gotten what they wanted. Harry was with them and his wives were nowhere in sight. Bellatrix and Narcissa were both at Hogwarts, they were at Pounds House with Harry. It was perfect.

Harry was in the kitchen working on their dinner, back before he'd arrived in this time cooking had been a way for him to relax. He'd proposed to Ginny over a meal, told Tonks he loved her while they were washing dishes. Cooking was his happy place, as much as melting the organs of her enemies was Bellatrix's.

"This is looking great." He said to himself as he inspected the duck roasting in the oven. Underneath the glistening bird sat sweet potatoes and parsnips softening in the fat from the duck. Dobby had taken care of the wine, letting it rest as dinner finished cooking.

Peter Prewitt stepped into the kitchen, "Mr. Fawkes?"

"Harry, please Peter." The dark-haired man said, not looking from the glass door of the oven, "What can I do for you?"

"I understand there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up." He drew in a breath, "Could I have that day off from my duties so I could go and see Alex?" The earnest look, reflected in the glass, made Harry smile.

He rose from his spot, turning to face the younger man, "You love her, don't you?" Harry asked him.

Peter nodded, "I- I always have. She's one of the very few people in my life who never saw my lack of magic as a disability. Alex always treated me as just Peter." He smiled fondly at that.

Harry returned the smile, "Of course you can have that day off. Just use the floo to the Three Broomsticks and I'll tell her to meet you there." Peter nodded and left for his room with a hurried 'thank you, sir'.

"That was very nice of you," Apolline said from her spot at the doorway. She stepped in and came over to his side. "She will enjoy seeing him." She sniffed the air in the kitchen, "This smells wonderful."

"Thank you, it'll be ready pretty soon. I just want the duck to get a little browner." Harry said as he opened the oven and began to spoon duck fat over the skin. "But I could have sworn that I forbid you and Andromeda from coming into the kitchen."

"We didn't listen," Andromeda said as she stepped inside, sitting down at the table. "I'm going with the excuse that I'm pregnant and grumpy, I'm not sure what hers is."

"I just didn't care." Apolline offered with a grin, "You can't have something this wonderful smelling and then and not expect a French woman to stay away." She took her own chair beside Andromeda and together they watched as Harry finished their meal and began to plate everything.

Harry sat down with his plate of duck breast and potatoes when suddenly a silvery phoenix appeared. "Professor Fawkes, you are urgently needed. We have advanced knowledge of an attack on Hogwarts by Voldemort." The voice of the Headmaster came through the patronus before it faded away.

Harry muttered an oath and put a potato in his mouth, chewing it slowly. "Damn it." He rose from his seat, "I'm sorry, but apparently Dark Lords have no respect for my free time." He looked sadly at his plate before turning from the table. "I swear to Merlin, when I get my hands on Riddle, I will turn him inside-out and use him for a dragon treat!"

Andromeda growled as she took a bite of the duck. It was delicious, but it didn't mask her annoyance. "Will you come back?" She asked him, "I'd accompany you, but I'm not really in the shape to possibly fight a Dark Lord." She motioned to her swollen stomach.

"I'll do my best," Harry promised coming back to the table and then kissed each woman's cheek. "If I'm not back in an hour it means there's a battle for the fate of the world." He left the kitchen then and went through the floo.

Scene Break

Harry was surprised to see a one-armed Cantankerous Nott in the Headmaster's office alongside a pale auburn-haired woman. Albus motioned for him to take a seat, "Professor Fawkes, you know our wayward Mr. Nott, let me introduce you to Elizabeth Russel, Hufflepuff and class of '32."

"What is this about sir?" Harry asked, keeping his tone polite. He had told the Headmaster that he was going to spend the evening at his home. Leaving had annoyed him greatly, but he trusted the Headmaster that this was as big an emergency as he had claimed.

"It may be better if we show you. Mr. Nott has kindly provided me with a memory of the events of the past few hours. Our mutual friend from the Ministry will be here shortly as well." Albus said as he handed Harry a small vial, "I believe you know where I keep the pensieve." Harry nodded and went to the stone bowl. He poured the memory into it and then plunged his head inside.

He pulled back after what felt like an eternity, "Demons? Riddle is daft enough to summon a fucking hellspawn? He wasn't this desperate-"

"He also had his entire soul," Albus said, cutting him off. "The Chief Unspeakable will be bringing some research on the matter."

Sure enough in a few moments, they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Cecil Croaker, garbed in his gray robes and carrying a thick tome, walked into the room. "Headmaster, Professor." He said, his voice garbled slightly due to the enchantments that kept his identity hidden. "Judging by what you described, I have a theory as to which demon was summoned. I want to check the memory to make sure that I am right."

They waited until, as with Harry, Croaker came back from inside the memory. "It's worse than I feared. Riddle has bound a greater demon and is using its slaves as his own." Croaker turned to Nott, "Do you have any idea how lucky you were?"

"I do." Nott replied, "Elizabeth saved me."

"She saved you from a demon who was toying with you two. If that thing had wanted you dead, you would have been. It needed you alive, at first so it could put one of its brothers inside you and later when its other form was damaged so that it could wear you." Croaker looked at Elizabeth, "You, on the other hand, took far too many chances regarding your coven. Fiendfyre is a good start, but it's traceable. Even without the 'native soil', if your mistress was born anywhere she can travel to before sunrise, she can find more."

Elizabeth squeezed Nott's remaining hand, "I had to do it. I needed a way to leave with him, to keep him safe until he got here." She said quietly, "He's the only friend I've had in nearly four decades."

"You will be safest here then." Albus said to her, "You will both stay here until we are certain that the danger has passed."

Croaker scoffed, "Albus, this is a demonic general and his army. Anyone who dies can be used to increase his army." He set the book on the Headmasters desk, "Hogsmeade will need to be evacuated until this is over. Bagnold will have a conniption, but I don't really care what she thinks. I'll send word back to the Ministry that this is a full-alert."

Harry nodded, "The fewer people between Riddle and the castle, the fewer people that will be hurt. We will need to move the younger students to somewhere safe."

"The Slytherin and Hufflepuff Common Rooms?" Albus asked, "They are the most defensible."

Croaker thought for a moment, "We need to put up more wards around the castle. Having the ground around the castle consecrated would help as well, they would have to find a willing mortal to profane them once more."

"You mean like Riddle?" Harry pointed out, "He'd be only too happy to do whatever it took to make sure his demons had an easy path to the castle and all the fresh souls he could want." That was the problem: making the place secure was only as good as the preparation they could devise.

The trio continued to discuss the preparation when Albus snapped his fingers, summoning a House Elf. "Please take Mr. Nott and Miss Russel to the Infirmary and have Madam Pomfrey inspect his arm. Afterward, please have the Slytherin Headboy's suite prepared for them."

The Elf led them out leaving Harry and Croaker with Albus. "We have an unknown number of demonic entities coming here at an unknown time." Albus said, "That is the job best suited to your department Cecil. We will need something large-scale to defend against Riddle. Here at the school, Filius and I can attend to the grounds proper, while the other professors work on strengthening the protections on the castle.

Albus stood, "Harry. I need you to confer with Salazar, see if there is anything he knows that will be of use." He stroked his beard, "You have the stone, and the wand, but we need the cloak if you are to truly be the Master of Death."

"The Potters have that, I inherited it from my father my first Christmas at Hogwarts." Harry said, "I don't really want him to know that his son has given him detentions." Harry didn't want to tell James Potter or Lily Evans about anything if he could help it. They were happy the way they were.

"We don't need to. Fleamont is the head of that part of the family, I can speak to him on your behalf." Albus told him, "You are taking the 'Master of Death' part rather calmly."

"You're Albus Dumbledore." Harry said dryly, "If I have learned anything, it's that you always have a plan of some form, even if it's nothing better than 'let teenagers fight against an army of Death Eaters'."

"Still, I believe that status, as Master of Death will be invaluable. We are dealing with a threat beyond most mortal reckoning." Albus sighed and stepped towards the fireplace, "Prepare to meet your grandfather."

Fleamont Potter was just as he had imagined him, an older version of the James Potter that Harry had seen in the Mirror of Erised. As Albus allowed the man through the flames and into the office Harry did his best to keep emotion from showing.

"Fleamont, I'd like to introduce you to my friend Harry Fawkes, also known as Harry Potter," Albus said, completely ignoring the shock on the man's face. "We have a lot to explain and not very much time to explain it in..."