First they will be learning with toy guns that fire stunners. And trust me, I have some good stuff planned for the Malfoys. And some good ideas for security. Such as the large mauraders map thing. And more.Mr. Coffee wrote:Oh Christ... Ron Weasley with a loaded gun. Methinks Madame Pomphery is going to have a busy year. Please tell me Winters is going to snap and give that shitbag Draco Malfoy and his father and give them a wall-to-wall Parent Teach Conference.That'd be friggin' schweet!
My HP fic
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Agent Fisher
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Agent Fisher
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Crazedwraith
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Thanks. I got the idea for the cannon shells when someone told me about the arrows.Crazedwraith wrote:It's pretty good. Shows quite creative uses of magic. I espically like the bit with the guyu who could conjure cannon shells.
But don't worry many peolpe here (IE. me!!!!!!!!!) Get very few reviews.
Perhaps a bit harsh, your comandos make old Barty Crouch look like a moderate.
Still the mixing of Muggle weaponry & tactics is good, pulling a trigger is much faster than waving a wand and reciting poor Latin. Beyond point-blank range any conventional waepon will also be much more accurate and even if there are simple blocking spells to neutralize bullets there will be plenty of ways around those for a wizard.
Still the mixing of Muggle weaponry & tactics is good, pulling a trigger is much faster than waving a wand and reciting poor Latin. Beyond point-blank range any conventional waepon will also be much more accurate and even if there are simple blocking spells to neutralize bullets there will be plenty of ways around those for a wizard.
I thought Roman candles meant they were imported. - Kelly Bundy
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12 yards long, two lanes wide it's 65 tons of American pride, Canyonero! - Simpsons
Support the KKK environmental program - keep the Arctic white!
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Exactly. That is one thing I disliked about the Potterverse. Everyone in that universe assumes that magic folks are much better than muggles and if they cant do it magicly then why do it at all.CJvR wrote:Perhaps a bit harsh, your comandos make old Barty Crouch look like a moderate.[/qoute]
Nothing magic cant heal and there were no unforgivables used.
CJvR wrote: Still the mixing of Muggle weaponry & tactics is good, pulling a trigger is much faster than waving a wand and reciting poor Latin. Beyond point-blank range any conventional waepon will also be much more accurate and even if there are simple blocking spells to neutralize bullets there will be plenty of ways around those for a wizard.
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Prozac the Robert
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Also, thought of submitting it to Dalton?-
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One month later
Winters observed the people at the firing range. This range had been erected two months ago. The range's current users were Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley. This group was the core of the new group that had replaced the DA. It was now known as Potter's Platoon and it was shaping up to be a good fighting unit. Winters called out over the sound of pistol fire.
"Alright, cease fire!" When the fire died, Winters spoke again. "Ok, now that you know how to shoot, now you learn to shoot and spell. Now, hold you wand, tip down, in your wand hand. Now take the arm with the pistol and put it over your wand arm. Now point the wand and the pistol at the target. For now you will be using simple spells, nothing that requires fancy wand movements. So, stunners, reductors, and destructors are the best spells to use. Now, practice shooting the spells from this position." He heard three shouts of reducto, two of stupefy, and one of destructo. The six spells flew towards the targets and all but two missed by less than a foot. Winters spoke again, "All right. That was ok for beginners. Now, do it again."
*******
Winters looked over the assembled students. These were the members of Potter's Platoon and it was their first training session of the year. Personally, Winters loved the idea of a semi-militia group to be ready to defend the castle incase of an attack that drew off the Aurors. He walked up to the podium at the front of the room. To his right, stood the core of the group, Longbottom, Lovegood, Weasley, Weasley, Granger, and Potter. All with pistol holsters on their side and wands in holsters on their belts. "Welcome to what we have dubbed, Potter's Platoon. You will be trained so that in the event of an attack on Hogwarts or Hogsmeade, you will be ready to help defend the castle long enough for help to arrive. Right now we are going to divide you up. About a fourth of you will be trained mainly in offensive spells, the rest of you will be trained in either medical skills or to work together as a team to form shields walls which will be strong enough to repel all but the most powerful dark spells. Now, just walk up here and we will determine which group you belong in."
******
It was another meeting in the Room of Requirement. "All right. Now, most of you know how to cast a stunning spell. For the next few sessions we will be focusing on reductors and cutting spells. While an Avada is the most deadly curse, regardless of where it hits on a person, a well placed reductor or cutter is just as effective. Now, everyone line up and face the wall," the wall morphed into a long range with stacks of wood at the far end. "And on the count of three, cast a reductor with the incantation of reducto."
******
Winters stepped into the Hogwarts Command Center. He walked over to the map and looked over it, while dwarfs softly spoke into comm sets, telling patrols where to go. He saw two man teams moving about on the map. An Auror came up to him. "Sir, we have that report you requested on the Death Eater students' mail." He handed over a roll of parchment.
"Good." Winters unrolled the parchment and looked over it. A few letters from home, nothing indicating any instructions. These students were confirmed to have parents in the Death Eater ranks. So far, not one of them had set off dark mark detectors. But Voldie had to know he would lose his eyes and ears the second he branded them. Winters remembered a discussion he had with the Headmaster a few weeks ago.
******
"Sir, with all due respect, we should expel those students before they do something we will regret."
"No, just because their parents have fallen away from the light, does not mean they will."
"Sir, at least remove Malfoy and his croonies. While the others may not be bad, they have demonstrated a continued security risk. If we allow them to remain we will be asking for trouble."
"Mister Malfoy has not made a peep of trouble in the last three months. What makes you think he will start now?"
"The calm before the storm, sir."
Dumbledore shook his head.
"Captain Winters, while I respect your advice, I cannot follow this bit of it. I still believe that Malfoy and his friends may still return to the light."
"At least take away the suspect students' wands outside of class, that way they cant get anyone. However, if that is your final word, very well."
"It is. Now, was there anything else?"
"No, sir."
******
Winters glanced back at the map. Everything seemed quiet. No one was moving around except for the patrols. Wait, there was someone moving around. Winters leaned in and looked at the names. Potter, Weasley and Granger. Ah, the tenacious trio. Winters looked for the nearest patrol and was about to call it in, when he had an idea. He stood up and headed out of the command center, grabbing a set combat glasses, a comm set, and a very powerful confounding amulet. The amulet would confuse any attempt at mapping it, except the command center map. That map could break through any nearly any confounding charms. He turned to one of the dwarfs. "Keep me updated on their location."
******
"Ow, Ron, thats my foot."
"Quiet. We got this far, I don't want to get caught cause you two couldn't keep your mouth shut."
"Oh, dont worry, Mister Potter. We have better ways of catching you than listening for your rather loud voices."
Suddenly, the dark corridor was illuminated by four seperate lumos charms. To the naked eye the five CWs were aiming their wands at nothing but empty air, but to someone using combat glasses or a magical eyeball, there was the shape three teenagers huddled under a invisibility cloak.
"Oh, we are so in trouble." Said a male voice.
******
The three nighttime strollers, guided by Winters, headed to the Headmaster's office. Winters had sent a one of the two man teams ahead to alert Dumbledore, and when they arrived, the old man was sitting behind his desk.
"Now, Mister Potter, do you recall what I said at the beginning of the year?" Said Dumbledore.
"Yes, sir."
"I said that anyone caught outside of their dorms would face severe consequences. So, I think, a loss of twenty house points-"
"What?!" Said Weasley.
"Yes, Mister Weasley, twenty house points. And two weeks detention. One with Mister Flich, and the second with Captain Winters here. And I will also be writing home about this. These are dire times. It is not safe to be out and about at night."
Ron face paled at this. If past histroy was any guide, he would be recieving a howler.
"I know this punishemt seems harsh, but you must learn, these are not times to push the rules. You are lucky that it was Captain Winters that first noticed you and directed your 'capture'. If it had been one of the roving patrols that had spotted you, it would have been much worse. Keep in mind, their combat glasses can only tell the shape under the cloak, not who it is. And they would have no choice but to subdue you. And it would not have been pleasent. Now, it is late, and you should be in bed. Captain Winters, would you escort these three back to their dorm?"
"Yes sir. All right, you three, up and moving."
The four left the office and began the route to return to Gryffindor house. As they were walking, Harry spoke up.
"Sir, how did you sneak up on us so well? I mean, I was in the command center once, and I noticed the map. And well, I have a smaller version, and you didnt show up at all. In fact, none of your patrols showed up, thats why we thought it was clear."
A light went on in Winters head. "Really? A smaller version?"
"Yes, sir."
"Potter, let me borrow that map and I will tell you my tricks."
"All right." Potter handed over the map. "Just put your wand up to it and say, I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
"Really? Thanks." They reached the portrait of the fat lady. "Well, I will see you three and the others, in the morning, remember, PT is at seven."
******
Winters looked over the students. It was dinner on a friday night. He went back to eating his meal and was looking over the plans for next weeks Hogsmeade visit. The real pain so far had been entry and exit checkpoint, but his new plan, along with that map of Potters, should make it an easy task. Winters was in the process of raising his fork when he heard someone shouting. "REDUCTO." A bolt from the spell flew towards the teachers table and struck McGonagall in the shoulder. Suddenly the air was full of reductors and other destructive spells. After the first spell, Winters had flipped his chair back and kicked over the table for cover. He peeked over, and saw a student get hit in the neck with a severing spell. It cut the artery and blood sprayed over three other students. He looked for the source of the spells. It seemed to be coming from everywhere. He saw a student, wearing the colors of Hufflepuff, raise his wand, his eyes seemed to be frantic. Winters saw his arm shaking, almost as if it was being controlled. The student aimed and fired off a reductor at Potter. Potter saw it coming and rolled out of the way. Potter fired back a stunner and the kid went down. Potter turned and fired a stunner at a Slytherin. The stunner hit and the kid went down. One of the students that was firing spells into his classmates suddenly stopped and looked around, confused. Winters suddenly realized what was happening. He raised both of his wands and started firing stunners at the students who had parents that were Death Eaters. As he was firing he looked around, Longbottom had cast a shield to protect the students, Lovegood was patching up the students that were hurt. One of the DE students raised his wand and aimed at Luna. Neville shouted a warning and Luna spun around and fired a reductor out of reflex. It hit the student in the side of his head and blew a hole out of his skull. The student dropped. Winters ducked his head as spell hit his table. A large chunk of the table exploded and his face was peppered with peices of wood. Winters stuck his head up to see who shot at him. He saw Malfoy duck behind a table before he could get him. He saw a wand tip poke out from behind the table and aim at Potter's back. Winters knew he had no choice. If he was going to protect Potter, he had to take drastic measures. He raised his wand and roared, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" There was jet of green, and the entire hall went totally still. Winters stood and raised his wands and pointed them at the students.
"EVERYONE, DROP THE WANDS!" As he said this the doors burst open and dwarfs, Aurors, and CWs started pouring in.
******
Winters walked about the Great Hall. The tables were gone and there were strechters littered about the ground. There had been many hurt from misaimed spells or spells that hadn't missed. Madam Pompfrey moved from strechter to strechter, assisted by the Combat Wizard medics, and three healers from St. Mungos. Winters shook his head. He still had some pieces of the table in his face. He had waved off the healers and medics and told them to help the students. He could wait. It had only been about twenty minutes but it seemed like hours. Winters turned and left the Great Hall. As he was walking to te command center, he saw Dumbledore speaking with some of his staff. Winters angled his path and headed for him. He waited till the teachers left before approaching him. "Sir, I would like a word."
"Of course Captain, what is it?"
"Sir, I was wondering what you were going to tell the ministry. If you remember, I warned you about something like this happening. And you ignored me. Are you going to tell the ministry that you were aware of my concerns over the security of this castle? And still did nothing?"
"I will tell them what they need to know."
Winters just stared at the old man. "Very well. I will be filing a report about this attack. Good night sir."
Winters left and returned to the command center. Here there was a CW and a Auror standing guard at the door. Winters entered and went to the map.
"Status?" He called out.
Someone spoke out. "Sir, castle is totally locked down. We have military squibs outside guarding the perimeter. The CWs and Aurors are making sweeps of the castle for anyone using a supercharged confounding charm. The students are all locked down. We are secure."
"Good, what about numbers?"
"Twelve students dead, about forty wounded. Nine of the dead were the attacked and three of them were the ones attacking."
"Who got the three?"
"A kid named Michael Connor, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley got the three attackers."
"See to it that they get counseling and soon. The are going to realize what they have done and it is going to hit them hard. Same with the kids that were controlled. Who were the attackers?"
"Zabini, Malfoy, and Goyle are dead. There were two others, some kid from Ravenclaw and Crabbe. We are talking with Crabbe, but he seems hopeless."
"All right. So, how many wounded again?"
"About forty wounded. It could have been worse, apperently a group of students started casting shields as soon as the shit hit the fan. And about three students were saved by the medical actions of their classmates."
"That would be the P Platoon. All right, whats next?"
"Now you get some attention for your face and rack out. If something happens we will wake you."
"Fine, you win." Said Winters.
******
"All right people. Tomorrow is a Hogsmeade visit. We now have new tool for this job. We have been trying to recreate the Hogwarts map in a smaller form for use by patrols. We now have a single small version. This will be given to the guards at the checkpoint. We are also giving the students that are going out, a ID card. When they reach the checkpoint, they will present the ID card, which will have a picture of them on it, to the guard. He will check it against the map. If it matches up, that kid is clear to go through. Remember, no one is allowed through without an ID card. All right. First squad you have gate detail with one of the Auror patrols, don't have the info for which patrol, oh wait, it is Thomas' patrol. Second and fourth squad, you are on castle duty. Third, you are in Hogsmeade. Ok, listen up, intel tells us that Voldie is preparing for a major attack. Sources say that he had gathered about a third of his total strenght. Now, if this is going to be another round of random killings in one night, or not, we dont know. What we do know is that something big is going to happen. I had requested that this weekend be cancelled but the Headmaster felt that with the stress of last weeks attack, the students didn't need more stress and worry. All right, any questions?"
"Yes sir," Said one of the Combat Wizards. "What are the Aurors going to be doing, and what are our plans in case of an attack on Hogsmeade?"
"To your first question, most of the aurors are slowly being reassigned off the grounds to help counter Voldemorts attacks. And the old batch of Aurors arent faring too good, and the AATC isnt pumping out aurors fast enough. Policemen are no match for soldiers. All right, your second question, if the shit hits the fan and Hogsmeade is attacked, the squads in town will hold off the bad guys until the students can be evaced, then they will fall back and we lock down the castle. We will have one squad inside the castle, the rest will be in foxholes outside the main entrance. That is the only way in since we have plugged all the other entrances. Also, Potters Platoon will be inside helping secure the castle. In the event of an attack on the school, we evac the students, and then we get out. We have more evac portkeys here than we do students, so, everyone should get out. After the students are gone, then we leave. Your squad leaders will have your full assignments for you. Any questions? None? All right then. Lets get to it."
The troopers stood and filed out of the room. Winters followed and headed to the war room. He checked in with the dwarfs and CWs manning the listening equipment and watching the map. Not much was happening, the patrols were out, the teachers were in their rooms, the students asleep. Another quiet night.
******
"My lord, we are ready. We stand prepared. The ministry fools think we are only gathering a fraction of our total strength. They suspect that we are up to something, but nothing shows they know what."
"Good, and what of the Americans?"
"We have studied them, we are prepared. Our spy has told us that they have a map that can sense a person from their magical signature. We request that you prepare confunding amulets to cover our people."
"Of course. Now, present your mark."
The man held out his arm and a grey, bony looking arm, touched a mark on the mans arm.
Within a few moments there were the sounds of hundreds and hundreds of pops.
"Servants! Send word to the Vampires, tomorrow we strike with our full force!"
******
Winters walked down the street of Hogsmeade, watching the young childern scramble about and laugh with friends. He saw certain groups that he recognized as squads from the P Platoon, though the platoon was more than twice the size of a normal platoon. He passed Huneydukes, with a line of childern out the door. He soon reached the edge of town, and turned to go back, when he heard a voice shout, "MORSMORDRE!" and the Dark Mark shot into the sky over the center of the village. Suddenly, there were pops and Death Eaters and Vampires were appearing all over the village. He could tell the were vampires by their waxy complexion and the fact that they were carrying muggle weapons. Within seconds, the Death Eaters and vamps had opened fire, and the students were screaming and running back towards the castle. Winters raised his wand and pistol and started firing and casting reductors. He saw a pair of CWs firing their M-4s and hitting the Vamps. While the bullets wouldnt kill the vampires, it did cause them pain and they would react the same to bullets as humans, except for dying.
Back at the gate of the school, students were pushing in and trying to get through. The CWs on gate duty tried for about two seconds to use their map and make sure only students got in, not someone else, but seeing the push of people and hearing gunfire and explosions coming from the village, they stepped aside and let the students run through. Near the back of the crush of students, the Potter's Platoon wwas forming up in squads, with the shielders already casting to protect the rear.
******
As soon as the alarm went out, the pilots of the MACVs had run out and spun up their craft. When the last of the nextgen Aurors, that is, the Auror trained by the CWs, had jumped aboard, the MACVs lifted off and headed for Hogsmeade. They reached the edge of the town nearest Hogswarts where the CWs and Auror who had been in the town had gathered. Someone had thrown up an anti-appiration barrier, so the good guys were stuck holding the fort. The MACVs hovered and the crew chiefs, doubling as door gunners, kicked ropes out of the door, and the Aurors fast roped into hell. Now the numbers were equal on the ground. Ten CWs, and thirty three Aurors against an equal number of bad guys. Winters, crouched behind a conjured wall, poked his head out and raised his pistol and fired a few rounds in the direction of the enemy. Suddenly, there was only outgoing fire. Winters poked his head out, and all he saw was the wounded. And only the wounded from the lightside. Winters guessed that the bad guys hadd preset portkeys on them. He looked at his watch. What seemed like a half a hour, had been six minutes. He turned and started towards where one of the MACVs was landing. As he neared the vehicle, he heard the pops of the Aurors and Mediwizards arriving. He climbed aboard and the rest of the CWs boarded and they returned to the castle.
******
"Sir, we have a problem."
"What is it?"
"Well, Captain, we did a head count of the kids when they got here, and they were all present. We even did it twice, and sir, we just got word from the cleanup crew that they found twelve dead Hogswart students, dead by Avada. We talked with the kids and they said they saw the twelve come back to Hogswarts when the village was attacked."
"Shit. Get all the kids in the Great Hall, and get it locked down. Get Potter's Platoon to guard it. Get all the men, the dwarf officers and the Aurors together outside the Great Hall."
The sergeant nodded, saluted and took off running. Winters sat for a second before standing up, putting on his vest, loading his gear, and putting on his black watch cap. He left his room and when he reached the entry hall, packed with CWs and Aurors, the Great Hall was closed and there was a squad of dwarfs, with shotguns, guarding it. Winters stood on a set of stairs and shouted to the men.
"All right, listen up, there are currently, twelve or more Death Eaters in the castle. They maybe disguised as students. Split up into teams of six and search the castle. If you see them, try to take them alive." Winters turn to the Dwarfen officer, Commander BlockHammer. "Commander, have your dwarfs guard the evac portkeys, the WAR room, and the entrance of the school, and the Great Hall. No one gets in without a check by the WAR room map. Alright, get to it and catch these bastards."
Winters stepped down and looked at his team. Auror Fourth class King, Auror Fifth class Byrne, Auror Fifth class Gail, Auror Fifth class Boyd. He waved his hand for them to follow them and led them off to the dungeon.
******
Winters had his M-4 tucked against his shoulder, and he nodded at the Aurors. One of them was carrying a 12 gauge shotgun. The shotgun was placed against the lock of the door. Winters reached down and pulled off a flashbang from his vest. He pulled the pin, but held the spoon on the grenade down. The Auror fired the shotgun, Winters tossed in the flashbang, and as soon as he heard the bang, he was in the room. There were two Death Eaters minus masks in the room, with their hands at their face. Winters hit one in the face with the butt of his rifle as the Auror subdued the other. Winters reached down and picked up the Death Eaters dropped wand and snapped it in two. He had the Auror tie them up as he reported in.
-This is TEAM ONE NINER, two Delta Echoes captured.
-Roger ONE NINER, team three and thirteen have captured four others.
-Any reading on the map?
-Negative, we cant even see your captives. They must have something jamming our map.
-Roger, keep me updated.
A new voice appeared on the radio.
-ONE NINER, switch to command secure.
Winters switched and spoke again.
-Go ahead.
-The portkeys have been taken. There are only one hundred left. Just enough to get the kids and a few aurors out.
-Great. Get somebody down there and start making portkeys, nothing fancy, just enough to get outside the anti-apparition barrier.
Winters turned back to the Death Eaters.
"Ok, we dont have time for nothing fancy. What are you up to here?"
"You have no chance now. You, the muggle lover, and the mudbloods will die here."
"When are you going to attack?"
A voice over the radio interrupted.
-Sir, we got the last of Death Eaters, they were all holed up in a single room.
-Good. HQ, start getting the portkeys ready now.
-SIR! This is the WAR room. We have multiple contacts on the map.
-Where?
-The edge of the forest.
-How many?
-Sir, if we are reading the map right, we have around a thousand hostiles.
-ALL UNITS, THIS IS WINTERS, SCRAMBLE TO DEFENSIVE POSITION, NOW!
*******
Winters scrambled up to the Astronomy tower and looked down towards the forest. The sun was setting and the forest was being cast in shadows. So far, nothing had come from the forest. Winters lifted his binocular. Suddenly, there was a flash along the edge of the forest, and another and another. Soon there were over three hundred Dark Makrs hovering over the edge of the forest. Winters hurried down the trap door and headed for the Great Hall. As Winters reached the Great Hall, everyone of the students, except for Potter's Platoon was gone. Winters walked towards Potter who was giving assignments to his troops.
"Potter, get your people out of here."
"Sir, this is our home and we will defend it."
"All right. Get to your positions."
Winters turned and addressed all the troops, Aurors, and squibs in the hall. "All right. This is what you have trained for. From here on out, we are going up against live hostiles. So, if Merlin himself shows up with a bazooka and a bad attitude, I expect you to chin the bastard. And I expect nothing but gratuitous violence from all of you. Just because we are on the side of the light, doesn't mean we have to be nice about it."
Winters headed towards the barricade that had been set up at the entrance. He weaved his way through the sandbags and stone walls and moved out to his foxhole. So far, nothing had been fired out from the forest. Nor had anything yet to emerge. Winters turned to the west and watched the last rays of sunshine disappear behind the mountains. He snapped his head back to the forest when he heard hundreds of shrieks. He yelled out to the CWs and the squad of Squibs that were in the British military.
"This is it! I expect the enemy will be the second most vicious and mean sons of bitches on the face of this planet. I expect you to be first. FIRE!"
All across the line of foxholes and entrenchments fire erupted. Bullets raked the front of the forest and crys could be heard coming from within. After about half a minute, Winters called out again. "Hold your fire!" As the last gunshot echoed on the hills, there came a roar and hundreds of vampires began charging across the expanse between the castle and the forest. "RESUME FIRE!" Winters raised his M-4 and opened fire upon the blood suckers. As the vampires reached the halfway point, a line of claymores went off. The two front rows of vamps were down. But more kept coming. The leapt over their fallen comrades and continued. Another ten meters and again, claymores went off. Another ten meters after that more vamps dropped. Winters kept firing till the vamps were with fifty meters. No matter how many he shot or how many were taken out of the fight by claymores, they just kept coming. Winters raised his wand and cast "SOLARIOUS LUMOS!" A bright flare, as bright as the sun, shot from his wand up to the sky. The Vamps halted and started to wither. While not enough to kill the Vamps out right, it was enough to stall them.
"SQUADS FALL BACK BY THE NUMBERS! EVENS UP FIRST! MOVE!" Half the men scrambled from their holes and took off running to the castle. About halfway they turned and moved to cover the rest of the men. Winters scrambled out of his hole and headed for the castle. He and the rest of his men were nearly to the doors when the flare finally died. The vamps stood up and moved to charge again when a pair of M2 .50 Cal machine guns opened up on the fields. One of these guns was at the door, the other at the ramparts. The attack faltered and the vampires turned and made pickup on their friends and moved back to forest. As the last on reentered the dark forest, a cheer went up from the defenders. They had beaten back the forces of darkness. Winters nodded at some of the Aurors that were next to him at the barricade. He turned back towards the forest with a smile on his face.
******
A pair of glowing red eyes had watched the battle.
"Lestrange. Tell the covens that they can attack with their weapons. Now that the fools have tasted victory, they will taste bitter defeat."
"Yes, my lord."
******
Winters was still shaking hands, a half of a cigar in his mouth, when he heard a series of thumps followed by explosions. Winters quickly scrambled back to the barricade, just in time to see a wall of flame seemingly appear from the forest. It took a split second to realize that the fire was the exhaust from nearly two hundred RPGs being fired in a volley. He had just enough time to shout "DOWN!" and duck behind cover, before the rockets impacted. The M2 up on the walls had been hit and was now no use. Winters looked back up over the barricade, only to duck back down when machine gun fire lanced out from the forest. He managed to peek back out to see hundreds of vampires and wizards advancing under the base of fire. The vamps sent out runners to set off the remaining claymore mines. Winters still had a few suprises left. He grabbed his comm and spoke into it.
"MACVs you are clear for ground attack."
The two MACVs came screaming around the castle. The MACVs was now a totally different animal from what it had been earlier that week. The pilots had painted the nose with shark teeth. It now bristled with miniguns and rocket pods as well as the door guns. The MACVs lined up and tore into the advancing hostiles. Bodies went flying. By Winters guess, they had taken out, between small arms, the M2s and the MACVs' runs, about four hundred bad guys. But they just kept coming. There was another wall of flashes from the forest and nearly two hundred RPGs lanced up into the sky in an attempt to hit the MACVs. Winters saw one of the MACVs get hit in the belly. The craft kept flying though. The craft came around for another pass when fifty plus jets of green stabbed up at the MACV. The shields collapsed and another volley of RPGs were fired. This time a grenade managed to hit at the right angle and exploded in the rear section of the aircraft. There was a secondary explosion and the craft plummeted from the sky, in flames. Winters raised his rifle up over the barricade and fired blindly. Winters poked his head back out and saw that the vamps and wizards had just cleared the last of the foxholes.
"FALL BACK INSIDE! SEAL THE DOORS!"
Winters waited till his last man disengaged from fighting and had reached the doors, when he turned and scrambled back into the castle. He just made it inside as the doors slammed shut and at least twenty seperate locks snapped closed. Winters heard the enemy hit the wall and begin pounding on it.
"That should hold them for awhile," said Winters. He yelled out to one of his men. "Whats the word on those portkeys?"
"We have enough get Potter's Platoon out and half the Aurors. The rest of us arent going anywhere."
"All right. Get the kids, wounded and any one else out of here. Then have the rest start running around setting up booby traps and bombs. Then get on the horn and get the last MACV to ditch the rockets and get the jeeps up in the air. We're pulling a Saigon."
"Yes sir."
Winters observed the people at the firing range. This range had been erected two months ago. The range's current users were Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley. This group was the core of the new group that had replaced the DA. It was now known as Potter's Platoon and it was shaping up to be a good fighting unit. Winters called out over the sound of pistol fire.
"Alright, cease fire!" When the fire died, Winters spoke again. "Ok, now that you know how to shoot, now you learn to shoot and spell. Now, hold you wand, tip down, in your wand hand. Now take the arm with the pistol and put it over your wand arm. Now point the wand and the pistol at the target. For now you will be using simple spells, nothing that requires fancy wand movements. So, stunners, reductors, and destructors are the best spells to use. Now, practice shooting the spells from this position." He heard three shouts of reducto, two of stupefy, and one of destructo. The six spells flew towards the targets and all but two missed by less than a foot. Winters spoke again, "All right. That was ok for beginners. Now, do it again."
*******
Winters looked over the assembled students. These were the members of Potter's Platoon and it was their first training session of the year. Personally, Winters loved the idea of a semi-militia group to be ready to defend the castle incase of an attack that drew off the Aurors. He walked up to the podium at the front of the room. To his right, stood the core of the group, Longbottom, Lovegood, Weasley, Weasley, Granger, and Potter. All with pistol holsters on their side and wands in holsters on their belts. "Welcome to what we have dubbed, Potter's Platoon. You will be trained so that in the event of an attack on Hogwarts or Hogsmeade, you will be ready to help defend the castle long enough for help to arrive. Right now we are going to divide you up. About a fourth of you will be trained mainly in offensive spells, the rest of you will be trained in either medical skills or to work together as a team to form shields walls which will be strong enough to repel all but the most powerful dark spells. Now, just walk up here and we will determine which group you belong in."
******
It was another meeting in the Room of Requirement. "All right. Now, most of you know how to cast a stunning spell. For the next few sessions we will be focusing on reductors and cutting spells. While an Avada is the most deadly curse, regardless of where it hits on a person, a well placed reductor or cutter is just as effective. Now, everyone line up and face the wall," the wall morphed into a long range with stacks of wood at the far end. "And on the count of three, cast a reductor with the incantation of reducto."
******
Winters stepped into the Hogwarts Command Center. He walked over to the map and looked over it, while dwarfs softly spoke into comm sets, telling patrols where to go. He saw two man teams moving about on the map. An Auror came up to him. "Sir, we have that report you requested on the Death Eater students' mail." He handed over a roll of parchment.
"Good." Winters unrolled the parchment and looked over it. A few letters from home, nothing indicating any instructions. These students were confirmed to have parents in the Death Eater ranks. So far, not one of them had set off dark mark detectors. But Voldie had to know he would lose his eyes and ears the second he branded them. Winters remembered a discussion he had with the Headmaster a few weeks ago.
******
"Sir, with all due respect, we should expel those students before they do something we will regret."
"No, just because their parents have fallen away from the light, does not mean they will."
"Sir, at least remove Malfoy and his croonies. While the others may not be bad, they have demonstrated a continued security risk. If we allow them to remain we will be asking for trouble."
"Mister Malfoy has not made a peep of trouble in the last three months. What makes you think he will start now?"
"The calm before the storm, sir."
Dumbledore shook his head.
"Captain Winters, while I respect your advice, I cannot follow this bit of it. I still believe that Malfoy and his friends may still return to the light."
"At least take away the suspect students' wands outside of class, that way they cant get anyone. However, if that is your final word, very well."
"It is. Now, was there anything else?"
"No, sir."
******
Winters glanced back at the map. Everything seemed quiet. No one was moving around except for the patrols. Wait, there was someone moving around. Winters leaned in and looked at the names. Potter, Weasley and Granger. Ah, the tenacious trio. Winters looked for the nearest patrol and was about to call it in, when he had an idea. He stood up and headed out of the command center, grabbing a set combat glasses, a comm set, and a very powerful confounding amulet. The amulet would confuse any attempt at mapping it, except the command center map. That map could break through any nearly any confounding charms. He turned to one of the dwarfs. "Keep me updated on their location."
******
"Ow, Ron, thats my foot."
"Quiet. We got this far, I don't want to get caught cause you two couldn't keep your mouth shut."
"Oh, dont worry, Mister Potter. We have better ways of catching you than listening for your rather loud voices."
Suddenly, the dark corridor was illuminated by four seperate lumos charms. To the naked eye the five CWs were aiming their wands at nothing but empty air, but to someone using combat glasses or a magical eyeball, there was the shape three teenagers huddled under a invisibility cloak.
"Oh, we are so in trouble." Said a male voice.
******
The three nighttime strollers, guided by Winters, headed to the Headmaster's office. Winters had sent a one of the two man teams ahead to alert Dumbledore, and when they arrived, the old man was sitting behind his desk.
"Now, Mister Potter, do you recall what I said at the beginning of the year?" Said Dumbledore.
"Yes, sir."
"I said that anyone caught outside of their dorms would face severe consequences. So, I think, a loss of twenty house points-"
"What?!" Said Weasley.
"Yes, Mister Weasley, twenty house points. And two weeks detention. One with Mister Flich, and the second with Captain Winters here. And I will also be writing home about this. These are dire times. It is not safe to be out and about at night."
Ron face paled at this. If past histroy was any guide, he would be recieving a howler.
"I know this punishemt seems harsh, but you must learn, these are not times to push the rules. You are lucky that it was Captain Winters that first noticed you and directed your 'capture'. If it had been one of the roving patrols that had spotted you, it would have been much worse. Keep in mind, their combat glasses can only tell the shape under the cloak, not who it is. And they would have no choice but to subdue you. And it would not have been pleasent. Now, it is late, and you should be in bed. Captain Winters, would you escort these three back to their dorm?"
"Yes sir. All right, you three, up and moving."
The four left the office and began the route to return to Gryffindor house. As they were walking, Harry spoke up.
"Sir, how did you sneak up on us so well? I mean, I was in the command center once, and I noticed the map. And well, I have a smaller version, and you didnt show up at all. In fact, none of your patrols showed up, thats why we thought it was clear."
A light went on in Winters head. "Really? A smaller version?"
"Yes, sir."
"Potter, let me borrow that map and I will tell you my tricks."
"All right." Potter handed over the map. "Just put your wand up to it and say, I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
"Really? Thanks." They reached the portrait of the fat lady. "Well, I will see you three and the others, in the morning, remember, PT is at seven."
******
Winters looked over the students. It was dinner on a friday night. He went back to eating his meal and was looking over the plans for next weeks Hogsmeade visit. The real pain so far had been entry and exit checkpoint, but his new plan, along with that map of Potters, should make it an easy task. Winters was in the process of raising his fork when he heard someone shouting. "REDUCTO." A bolt from the spell flew towards the teachers table and struck McGonagall in the shoulder. Suddenly the air was full of reductors and other destructive spells. After the first spell, Winters had flipped his chair back and kicked over the table for cover. He peeked over, and saw a student get hit in the neck with a severing spell. It cut the artery and blood sprayed over three other students. He looked for the source of the spells. It seemed to be coming from everywhere. He saw a student, wearing the colors of Hufflepuff, raise his wand, his eyes seemed to be frantic. Winters saw his arm shaking, almost as if it was being controlled. The student aimed and fired off a reductor at Potter. Potter saw it coming and rolled out of the way. Potter fired back a stunner and the kid went down. Potter turned and fired a stunner at a Slytherin. The stunner hit and the kid went down. One of the students that was firing spells into his classmates suddenly stopped and looked around, confused. Winters suddenly realized what was happening. He raised both of his wands and started firing stunners at the students who had parents that were Death Eaters. As he was firing he looked around, Longbottom had cast a shield to protect the students, Lovegood was patching up the students that were hurt. One of the DE students raised his wand and aimed at Luna. Neville shouted a warning and Luna spun around and fired a reductor out of reflex. It hit the student in the side of his head and blew a hole out of his skull. The student dropped. Winters ducked his head as spell hit his table. A large chunk of the table exploded and his face was peppered with peices of wood. Winters stuck his head up to see who shot at him. He saw Malfoy duck behind a table before he could get him. He saw a wand tip poke out from behind the table and aim at Potter's back. Winters knew he had no choice. If he was going to protect Potter, he had to take drastic measures. He raised his wand and roared, "AVADA KEDAVRA!" There was jet of green, and the entire hall went totally still. Winters stood and raised his wands and pointed them at the students.
"EVERYONE, DROP THE WANDS!" As he said this the doors burst open and dwarfs, Aurors, and CWs started pouring in.
******
Winters walked about the Great Hall. The tables were gone and there were strechters littered about the ground. There had been many hurt from misaimed spells or spells that hadn't missed. Madam Pompfrey moved from strechter to strechter, assisted by the Combat Wizard medics, and three healers from St. Mungos. Winters shook his head. He still had some pieces of the table in his face. He had waved off the healers and medics and told them to help the students. He could wait. It had only been about twenty minutes but it seemed like hours. Winters turned and left the Great Hall. As he was walking to te command center, he saw Dumbledore speaking with some of his staff. Winters angled his path and headed for him. He waited till the teachers left before approaching him. "Sir, I would like a word."
"Of course Captain, what is it?"
"Sir, I was wondering what you were going to tell the ministry. If you remember, I warned you about something like this happening. And you ignored me. Are you going to tell the ministry that you were aware of my concerns over the security of this castle? And still did nothing?"
"I will tell them what they need to know."
Winters just stared at the old man. "Very well. I will be filing a report about this attack. Good night sir."
Winters left and returned to the command center. Here there was a CW and a Auror standing guard at the door. Winters entered and went to the map.
"Status?" He called out.
Someone spoke out. "Sir, castle is totally locked down. We have military squibs outside guarding the perimeter. The CWs and Aurors are making sweeps of the castle for anyone using a supercharged confounding charm. The students are all locked down. We are secure."
"Good, what about numbers?"
"Twelve students dead, about forty wounded. Nine of the dead were the attacked and three of them were the ones attacking."
"Who got the three?"
"A kid named Michael Connor, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley got the three attackers."
"See to it that they get counseling and soon. The are going to realize what they have done and it is going to hit them hard. Same with the kids that were controlled. Who were the attackers?"
"Zabini, Malfoy, and Goyle are dead. There were two others, some kid from Ravenclaw and Crabbe. We are talking with Crabbe, but he seems hopeless."
"All right. So, how many wounded again?"
"About forty wounded. It could have been worse, apperently a group of students started casting shields as soon as the shit hit the fan. And about three students were saved by the medical actions of their classmates."
"That would be the P Platoon. All right, whats next?"
"Now you get some attention for your face and rack out. If something happens we will wake you."
"Fine, you win." Said Winters.
******
"All right people. Tomorrow is a Hogsmeade visit. We now have new tool for this job. We have been trying to recreate the Hogwarts map in a smaller form for use by patrols. We now have a single small version. This will be given to the guards at the checkpoint. We are also giving the students that are going out, a ID card. When they reach the checkpoint, they will present the ID card, which will have a picture of them on it, to the guard. He will check it against the map. If it matches up, that kid is clear to go through. Remember, no one is allowed through without an ID card. All right. First squad you have gate detail with one of the Auror patrols, don't have the info for which patrol, oh wait, it is Thomas' patrol. Second and fourth squad, you are on castle duty. Third, you are in Hogsmeade. Ok, listen up, intel tells us that Voldie is preparing for a major attack. Sources say that he had gathered about a third of his total strenght. Now, if this is going to be another round of random killings in one night, or not, we dont know. What we do know is that something big is going to happen. I had requested that this weekend be cancelled but the Headmaster felt that with the stress of last weeks attack, the students didn't need more stress and worry. All right, any questions?"
"Yes sir," Said one of the Combat Wizards. "What are the Aurors going to be doing, and what are our plans in case of an attack on Hogsmeade?"
"To your first question, most of the aurors are slowly being reassigned off the grounds to help counter Voldemorts attacks. And the old batch of Aurors arent faring too good, and the AATC isnt pumping out aurors fast enough. Policemen are no match for soldiers. All right, your second question, if the shit hits the fan and Hogsmeade is attacked, the squads in town will hold off the bad guys until the students can be evaced, then they will fall back and we lock down the castle. We will have one squad inside the castle, the rest will be in foxholes outside the main entrance. That is the only way in since we have plugged all the other entrances. Also, Potters Platoon will be inside helping secure the castle. In the event of an attack on the school, we evac the students, and then we get out. We have more evac portkeys here than we do students, so, everyone should get out. After the students are gone, then we leave. Your squad leaders will have your full assignments for you. Any questions? None? All right then. Lets get to it."
The troopers stood and filed out of the room. Winters followed and headed to the war room. He checked in with the dwarfs and CWs manning the listening equipment and watching the map. Not much was happening, the patrols were out, the teachers were in their rooms, the students asleep. Another quiet night.
******
"My lord, we are ready. We stand prepared. The ministry fools think we are only gathering a fraction of our total strength. They suspect that we are up to something, but nothing shows they know what."
"Good, and what of the Americans?"
"We have studied them, we are prepared. Our spy has told us that they have a map that can sense a person from their magical signature. We request that you prepare confunding amulets to cover our people."
"Of course. Now, present your mark."
The man held out his arm and a grey, bony looking arm, touched a mark on the mans arm.
Within a few moments there were the sounds of hundreds and hundreds of pops.
"Servants! Send word to the Vampires, tomorrow we strike with our full force!"
******
Winters walked down the street of Hogsmeade, watching the young childern scramble about and laugh with friends. He saw certain groups that he recognized as squads from the P Platoon, though the platoon was more than twice the size of a normal platoon. He passed Huneydukes, with a line of childern out the door. He soon reached the edge of town, and turned to go back, when he heard a voice shout, "MORSMORDRE!" and the Dark Mark shot into the sky over the center of the village. Suddenly, there were pops and Death Eaters and Vampires were appearing all over the village. He could tell the were vampires by their waxy complexion and the fact that they were carrying muggle weapons. Within seconds, the Death Eaters and vamps had opened fire, and the students were screaming and running back towards the castle. Winters raised his wand and pistol and started firing and casting reductors. He saw a pair of CWs firing their M-4s and hitting the Vamps. While the bullets wouldnt kill the vampires, it did cause them pain and they would react the same to bullets as humans, except for dying.
Back at the gate of the school, students were pushing in and trying to get through. The CWs on gate duty tried for about two seconds to use their map and make sure only students got in, not someone else, but seeing the push of people and hearing gunfire and explosions coming from the village, they stepped aside and let the students run through. Near the back of the crush of students, the Potter's Platoon wwas forming up in squads, with the shielders already casting to protect the rear.
******
As soon as the alarm went out, the pilots of the MACVs had run out and spun up their craft. When the last of the nextgen Aurors, that is, the Auror trained by the CWs, had jumped aboard, the MACVs lifted off and headed for Hogsmeade. They reached the edge of the town nearest Hogswarts where the CWs and Auror who had been in the town had gathered. Someone had thrown up an anti-appiration barrier, so the good guys were stuck holding the fort. The MACVs hovered and the crew chiefs, doubling as door gunners, kicked ropes out of the door, and the Aurors fast roped into hell. Now the numbers were equal on the ground. Ten CWs, and thirty three Aurors against an equal number of bad guys. Winters, crouched behind a conjured wall, poked his head out and raised his pistol and fired a few rounds in the direction of the enemy. Suddenly, there was only outgoing fire. Winters poked his head out, and all he saw was the wounded. And only the wounded from the lightside. Winters guessed that the bad guys hadd preset portkeys on them. He looked at his watch. What seemed like a half a hour, had been six minutes. He turned and started towards where one of the MACVs was landing. As he neared the vehicle, he heard the pops of the Aurors and Mediwizards arriving. He climbed aboard and the rest of the CWs boarded and they returned to the castle.
******
"Sir, we have a problem."
"What is it?"
"Well, Captain, we did a head count of the kids when they got here, and they were all present. We even did it twice, and sir, we just got word from the cleanup crew that they found twelve dead Hogswart students, dead by Avada. We talked with the kids and they said they saw the twelve come back to Hogswarts when the village was attacked."
"Shit. Get all the kids in the Great Hall, and get it locked down. Get Potter's Platoon to guard it. Get all the men, the dwarf officers and the Aurors together outside the Great Hall."
The sergeant nodded, saluted and took off running. Winters sat for a second before standing up, putting on his vest, loading his gear, and putting on his black watch cap. He left his room and when he reached the entry hall, packed with CWs and Aurors, the Great Hall was closed and there was a squad of dwarfs, with shotguns, guarding it. Winters stood on a set of stairs and shouted to the men.
"All right, listen up, there are currently, twelve or more Death Eaters in the castle. They maybe disguised as students. Split up into teams of six and search the castle. If you see them, try to take them alive." Winters turn to the Dwarfen officer, Commander BlockHammer. "Commander, have your dwarfs guard the evac portkeys, the WAR room, and the entrance of the school, and the Great Hall. No one gets in without a check by the WAR room map. Alright, get to it and catch these bastards."
Winters stepped down and looked at his team. Auror Fourth class King, Auror Fifth class Byrne, Auror Fifth class Gail, Auror Fifth class Boyd. He waved his hand for them to follow them and led them off to the dungeon.
******
Winters had his M-4 tucked against his shoulder, and he nodded at the Aurors. One of them was carrying a 12 gauge shotgun. The shotgun was placed against the lock of the door. Winters reached down and pulled off a flashbang from his vest. He pulled the pin, but held the spoon on the grenade down. The Auror fired the shotgun, Winters tossed in the flashbang, and as soon as he heard the bang, he was in the room. There were two Death Eaters minus masks in the room, with their hands at their face. Winters hit one in the face with the butt of his rifle as the Auror subdued the other. Winters reached down and picked up the Death Eaters dropped wand and snapped it in two. He had the Auror tie them up as he reported in.
-This is TEAM ONE NINER, two Delta Echoes captured.
-Roger ONE NINER, team three and thirteen have captured four others.
-Any reading on the map?
-Negative, we cant even see your captives. They must have something jamming our map.
-Roger, keep me updated.
A new voice appeared on the radio.
-ONE NINER, switch to command secure.
Winters switched and spoke again.
-Go ahead.
-The portkeys have been taken. There are only one hundred left. Just enough to get the kids and a few aurors out.
-Great. Get somebody down there and start making portkeys, nothing fancy, just enough to get outside the anti-apparition barrier.
Winters turned back to the Death Eaters.
"Ok, we dont have time for nothing fancy. What are you up to here?"
"You have no chance now. You, the muggle lover, and the mudbloods will die here."
"When are you going to attack?"
A voice over the radio interrupted.
-Sir, we got the last of Death Eaters, they were all holed up in a single room.
-Good. HQ, start getting the portkeys ready now.
-SIR! This is the WAR room. We have multiple contacts on the map.
-Where?
-The edge of the forest.
-How many?
-Sir, if we are reading the map right, we have around a thousand hostiles.
-ALL UNITS, THIS IS WINTERS, SCRAMBLE TO DEFENSIVE POSITION, NOW!
*******
Winters scrambled up to the Astronomy tower and looked down towards the forest. The sun was setting and the forest was being cast in shadows. So far, nothing had come from the forest. Winters lifted his binocular. Suddenly, there was a flash along the edge of the forest, and another and another. Soon there were over three hundred Dark Makrs hovering over the edge of the forest. Winters hurried down the trap door and headed for the Great Hall. As Winters reached the Great Hall, everyone of the students, except for Potter's Platoon was gone. Winters walked towards Potter who was giving assignments to his troops.
"Potter, get your people out of here."
"Sir, this is our home and we will defend it."
"All right. Get to your positions."
Winters turned and addressed all the troops, Aurors, and squibs in the hall. "All right. This is what you have trained for. From here on out, we are going up against live hostiles. So, if Merlin himself shows up with a bazooka and a bad attitude, I expect you to chin the bastard. And I expect nothing but gratuitous violence from all of you. Just because we are on the side of the light, doesn't mean we have to be nice about it."
Winters headed towards the barricade that had been set up at the entrance. He weaved his way through the sandbags and stone walls and moved out to his foxhole. So far, nothing had been fired out from the forest. Nor had anything yet to emerge. Winters turned to the west and watched the last rays of sunshine disappear behind the mountains. He snapped his head back to the forest when he heard hundreds of shrieks. He yelled out to the CWs and the squad of Squibs that were in the British military.
"This is it! I expect the enemy will be the second most vicious and mean sons of bitches on the face of this planet. I expect you to be first. FIRE!"
All across the line of foxholes and entrenchments fire erupted. Bullets raked the front of the forest and crys could be heard coming from within. After about half a minute, Winters called out again. "Hold your fire!" As the last gunshot echoed on the hills, there came a roar and hundreds of vampires began charging across the expanse between the castle and the forest. "RESUME FIRE!" Winters raised his M-4 and opened fire upon the blood suckers. As the vampires reached the halfway point, a line of claymores went off. The two front rows of vamps were down. But more kept coming. The leapt over their fallen comrades and continued. Another ten meters and again, claymores went off. Another ten meters after that more vamps dropped. Winters kept firing till the vamps were with fifty meters. No matter how many he shot or how many were taken out of the fight by claymores, they just kept coming. Winters raised his wand and cast "SOLARIOUS LUMOS!" A bright flare, as bright as the sun, shot from his wand up to the sky. The Vamps halted and started to wither. While not enough to kill the Vamps out right, it was enough to stall them.
"SQUADS FALL BACK BY THE NUMBERS! EVENS UP FIRST! MOVE!" Half the men scrambled from their holes and took off running to the castle. About halfway they turned and moved to cover the rest of the men. Winters scrambled out of his hole and headed for the castle. He and the rest of his men were nearly to the doors when the flare finally died. The vamps stood up and moved to charge again when a pair of M2 .50 Cal machine guns opened up on the fields. One of these guns was at the door, the other at the ramparts. The attack faltered and the vampires turned and made pickup on their friends and moved back to forest. As the last on reentered the dark forest, a cheer went up from the defenders. They had beaten back the forces of darkness. Winters nodded at some of the Aurors that were next to him at the barricade. He turned back towards the forest with a smile on his face.
******
A pair of glowing red eyes had watched the battle.
"Lestrange. Tell the covens that they can attack with their weapons. Now that the fools have tasted victory, they will taste bitter defeat."
"Yes, my lord."
******
Winters was still shaking hands, a half of a cigar in his mouth, when he heard a series of thumps followed by explosions. Winters quickly scrambled back to the barricade, just in time to see a wall of flame seemingly appear from the forest. It took a split second to realize that the fire was the exhaust from nearly two hundred RPGs being fired in a volley. He had just enough time to shout "DOWN!" and duck behind cover, before the rockets impacted. The M2 up on the walls had been hit and was now no use. Winters looked back up over the barricade, only to duck back down when machine gun fire lanced out from the forest. He managed to peek back out to see hundreds of vampires and wizards advancing under the base of fire. The vamps sent out runners to set off the remaining claymore mines. Winters still had a few suprises left. He grabbed his comm and spoke into it.
"MACVs you are clear for ground attack."
The two MACVs came screaming around the castle. The MACVs was now a totally different animal from what it had been earlier that week. The pilots had painted the nose with shark teeth. It now bristled with miniguns and rocket pods as well as the door guns. The MACVs lined up and tore into the advancing hostiles. Bodies went flying. By Winters guess, they had taken out, between small arms, the M2s and the MACVs' runs, about four hundred bad guys. But they just kept coming. There was another wall of flashes from the forest and nearly two hundred RPGs lanced up into the sky in an attempt to hit the MACVs. Winters saw one of the MACVs get hit in the belly. The craft kept flying though. The craft came around for another pass when fifty plus jets of green stabbed up at the MACV. The shields collapsed and another volley of RPGs were fired. This time a grenade managed to hit at the right angle and exploded in the rear section of the aircraft. There was a secondary explosion and the craft plummeted from the sky, in flames. Winters raised his rifle up over the barricade and fired blindly. Winters poked his head back out and saw that the vamps and wizards had just cleared the last of the foxholes.
"FALL BACK INSIDE! SEAL THE DOORS!"
Winters waited till his last man disengaged from fighting and had reached the doors, when he turned and scrambled back into the castle. He just made it inside as the doors slammed shut and at least twenty seperate locks snapped closed. Winters heard the enemy hit the wall and begin pounding on it.
"That should hold them for awhile," said Winters. He yelled out to one of his men. "Whats the word on those portkeys?"
"We have enough get Potter's Platoon out and half the Aurors. The rest of us arent going anywhere."
"All right. Get the kids, wounded and any one else out of here. Then have the rest start running around setting up booby traps and bombs. Then get on the horn and get the last MACV to ditch the rockets and get the jeeps up in the air. We're pulling a Saigon."
"Yes sir."
-
Agent Fisher
- Rabid Monkey
- Posts: 3671
- Joined: 2003-04-29 11:56pm
- Location: Sac-Town, CA, USA, Earth, Sol, Milky Way, Universe
Two hours later the students were gone. The enemy could still be heard working on the door. Winters and his remaining men had set up improvised bunkers and clear lines of fire. The plan was to hold the entrance as long as possible, then a fighting retreat till they got to astronomy tower. The MACV and three jeeps were waiting for the signal to lift off and meet them there. From there, they would load up and get the hell out of dodge. Winters leaned his back against his cover and was eating some soup that the remaining house elves had made before they had cut and ran. Winters stopped with the spoon in his mouth when he heard something. Silence. The bad boys had fallen silent. Winters set down his soup and prepared his rifle. He set in against his shoulder and waited. Suddenly there was a roaring sound and the door finally burst open. Before the doors had open an inch, Winters was already firing. The vampires lead the charge, coming through the cloud of smoke. They were dropping but more were coming. This time they were moving with more care, meaning that there were most likely, a number of them that had been put out of the fight. Winters whistled and half the men broke from the fight and ducked into secret passages, hidden doors, or up the staircase. Winters took off a frag grenade and tossed it into a cluster of Death Eaters. Winters raised his rifle, pulled the trigger and nothing happened. His gun jammed, Winters tossed it. He pulled out a small action figure sized Thompson sub machine gun. Winters unshrunk it, pulled the charging handle, shouldered the weapon and began firing. Down the line from Winters, the man on the end, turned, patted the man next to him on the shoulder and peeled off. So on down the line till the man next to Winters peeled off. Winters fired one last burst before he peeled off and took off up the stairs. There were many routes to the tower, so, it was Winters, three CWs and a half dozen Aurors heading to the tower on this route. Winters was moving up the stairs when he heard a large bang.
******
Voldemort walked into the entrance hall. His loyal serveants had already cleared the first floor. A Death Eater walked up to the Dark Lord.
"My lord. The vampires have suffered heavy losses. We have lost at least five covens worth of them. We hae at most a coven left. We still have most of our Death Eaters and dark wizards. They are clearing the dungeon. The Vampires are beginning pursuit of the Mudblood lovers. The castle is large though and they could be anywhere. It will take hours to find all of them."
Another Death Eater came up while the first Death Eater was reporting.
"M' Lord. We have located what we believe to be a command center."
Suddenly, twenty pounds of C-4, a couple claymores, and a half dozen frag grenades, set to go off in one big explosion, detonated. The ground floor shook with the force of the bomb. Suddenly, nearly fifty dwarfs with shotguns and small machine pistols came seemingly out of nowhere. They tore into the ranks of the wizards. The dwarfs fought like demons, with no regard for their own lives they ripped apart the wizards. Voldemort raised his wand and began casting at the dwarfs, tearing into them with the equal amount of fury that they were pouring out on the wizards. When the dust finally settled and the last dwarf fell, Voldemort took stock of his forces. He had entered the battle with eight hundred vampires and two hundred and fifty wizards. Now he had a hundred vampires and a hundred and ten wizards left. The vampires would be easy to replace, he just had to wait for them to regenerate. This battle was costing him more than it seemed to be worth.
"My lord. Our men have reached the Slytherin common room. So far not one student has been found. It appears that they have been evacuated."
"BLAST! FIND ME THOSE BLOODTRAITORS!"
******
Winters kept moving as soon as he heard the explosion. He signaled his men to halt where they were. He waved for them to take cover where they could. Winters raised his Thompson and pointed it down the staircase. He heard feet pounding upwards. As soon as he was the enemys head he fired. His bullets struck in the chest and hit the vampire in the neck. A fountain of blood erupted and sprayed the portraits on the wall, who promptly moved off their portraits and went running. The other enemies ducked back behind the wall. One of the wizards stuck their wand out from behind the wall and cast a cutting curse. It hit Corporal Wells in the stomach. He went down screaming. Winters pulled off a grenade and tossed it down the stairs. He signaled for the Aurors to cover the stairs while he checked on Wells. His soldier was lying on the ground in a pool of blood, his intestines hanging out. He looked at Winters and tried to make a joke.
"Look, man, sausages."
Winters forced himself to chuckle as he reached out to Wells. He grabbed a handful of guts and started shoving them back into Wells' belly.
"AWW! SHIT, THEY AIN'T GONNA FIT, MAN!" Screamed Wells.
"Don't be stupid, of course they'll fit. The were inside you to begin with."
Winters finished shoving the guts back in, he drew his wand and cast a charm to close the wound. Winters reached into a pocket of his vest and pulled out a pain killing potion. He poured it down Wells mouth and montioned for two of the Aurors to carry Wells. Winters ejected the magazine on his Thompson and loaded in his last one. Once the Aurors got Wells on his feet, they took off again, moving up stairs. As he was headed up the stairs he heard the distant echoes of gunfire and felt the tremors from explosions. It seemed that some of the others had run into trouble as well.
******
When Winters group reached the tower, they were all tired. They had lost Wells when a stary spell hit him in the neck. They had also lost four of the half dozen Aurors that had orginally comprised their group. Winters took a minute to catch his breath. When his team had reached the tower, there were already twenty of the men waiting. Winters waited five minutes, but no other teams showed up. He reached for his comm set.
-EVAC FLIGHT, YOU ARE CLEAR FOR SAIGON, MAKE IT FAST.
-ROGER, CW ONE. ETA ONE MINUTE.
Winters shouted out to his men.
"All right, we are getting out of here. You have thirty seconds to get your shit together. Then up the ladder, and then we are out of here."
As the men scrambled to get ready, picking up their wounded, Winters pulled out a device. Dumbledore himself had set a large number of special containers. These containers could contain spells. They were very rare and even harder to make. The conntainers were currently filled with explosive and incendiary curses. The device Winters held was the remote for them. Winters set the timers for a minute and a half.
Winters made one last check of the men before they moved up to the tower. He could see the MACV coming in the distance. He didnt have to wait long before the MACV was alongside the tower. The men started scrambling on board. Winters took one last look at the grounds, the forest ablaze from the battle, the walls of the castle with craters. Winters boared the MACV and held on as it took off into the sky.
******
Voldemort had reached the gargoyle of the Headmasters office.
'Finally, that muggle loving fool is gone. I have unseated him from his precious castle. This will make an excellent seat of power for my rule.'
As Voldemort was preparing to blast his way in, there was loud series of explosions. Voldemort saw what could only be described as a wall of flame moving towards him. He had barely enough time to grab his portkey and escape the flames.
******
HOGSWARTS AND HOGSMEADE ATTACKED!!!
Yesterday, the village of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts were attacked. The attack on Hogsmeade appears to have been a diversion. Later, in the evening the forces of You-Know-Who attacked the school. The students were able to be evacuated in time, however the Aurors and the American Combat Wizards were not so lucky. Details are still sketchy but it appears that only eight Combat Wizards and fifteen Aurors survived the fighting at the school. The Defenders of Hogwarts held off for hours against incredible odds. There number was only eighty wizards and one hundred and forty dwarfs. Sadly, all dwarfs were lost at their posts, defending the school with their last breath. The Defenders were out numbered nearly ten to one, but they refused to back down. Minister Bones has announced that everyone of the Defenders shall recieve an Order of Merlin, First Class. After this battle, we can only hope that the War against You-Know-Who shall be shortended. This reporter believes it so, considering that some reports have a massive explosion inside the school, apperently killing all inside. For more on the story, turn to page two.
And I am done. It may not be the best, but it is what I put out.
******
Voldemort walked into the entrance hall. His loyal serveants had already cleared the first floor. A Death Eater walked up to the Dark Lord.
"My lord. The vampires have suffered heavy losses. We have lost at least five covens worth of them. We hae at most a coven left. We still have most of our Death Eaters and dark wizards. They are clearing the dungeon. The Vampires are beginning pursuit of the Mudblood lovers. The castle is large though and they could be anywhere. It will take hours to find all of them."
Another Death Eater came up while the first Death Eater was reporting.
"M' Lord. We have located what we believe to be a command center."
Suddenly, twenty pounds of C-4, a couple claymores, and a half dozen frag grenades, set to go off in one big explosion, detonated. The ground floor shook with the force of the bomb. Suddenly, nearly fifty dwarfs with shotguns and small machine pistols came seemingly out of nowhere. They tore into the ranks of the wizards. The dwarfs fought like demons, with no regard for their own lives they ripped apart the wizards. Voldemort raised his wand and began casting at the dwarfs, tearing into them with the equal amount of fury that they were pouring out on the wizards. When the dust finally settled and the last dwarf fell, Voldemort took stock of his forces. He had entered the battle with eight hundred vampires and two hundred and fifty wizards. Now he had a hundred vampires and a hundred and ten wizards left. The vampires would be easy to replace, he just had to wait for them to regenerate. This battle was costing him more than it seemed to be worth.
"My lord. Our men have reached the Slytherin common room. So far not one student has been found. It appears that they have been evacuated."
"BLAST! FIND ME THOSE BLOODTRAITORS!"
******
Winters kept moving as soon as he heard the explosion. He signaled his men to halt where they were. He waved for them to take cover where they could. Winters raised his Thompson and pointed it down the staircase. He heard feet pounding upwards. As soon as he was the enemys head he fired. His bullets struck in the chest and hit the vampire in the neck. A fountain of blood erupted and sprayed the portraits on the wall, who promptly moved off their portraits and went running. The other enemies ducked back behind the wall. One of the wizards stuck their wand out from behind the wall and cast a cutting curse. It hit Corporal Wells in the stomach. He went down screaming. Winters pulled off a grenade and tossed it down the stairs. He signaled for the Aurors to cover the stairs while he checked on Wells. His soldier was lying on the ground in a pool of blood, his intestines hanging out. He looked at Winters and tried to make a joke.
"Look, man, sausages."
Winters forced himself to chuckle as he reached out to Wells. He grabbed a handful of guts and started shoving them back into Wells' belly.
"AWW! SHIT, THEY AIN'T GONNA FIT, MAN!" Screamed Wells.
"Don't be stupid, of course they'll fit. The were inside you to begin with."
Winters finished shoving the guts back in, he drew his wand and cast a charm to close the wound. Winters reached into a pocket of his vest and pulled out a pain killing potion. He poured it down Wells mouth and montioned for two of the Aurors to carry Wells. Winters ejected the magazine on his Thompson and loaded in his last one. Once the Aurors got Wells on his feet, they took off again, moving up stairs. As he was headed up the stairs he heard the distant echoes of gunfire and felt the tremors from explosions. It seemed that some of the others had run into trouble as well.
******
When Winters group reached the tower, they were all tired. They had lost Wells when a stary spell hit him in the neck. They had also lost four of the half dozen Aurors that had orginally comprised their group. Winters took a minute to catch his breath. When his team had reached the tower, there were already twenty of the men waiting. Winters waited five minutes, but no other teams showed up. He reached for his comm set.
-EVAC FLIGHT, YOU ARE CLEAR FOR SAIGON, MAKE IT FAST.
-ROGER, CW ONE. ETA ONE MINUTE.
Winters shouted out to his men.
"All right, we are getting out of here. You have thirty seconds to get your shit together. Then up the ladder, and then we are out of here."
As the men scrambled to get ready, picking up their wounded, Winters pulled out a device. Dumbledore himself had set a large number of special containers. These containers could contain spells. They were very rare and even harder to make. The conntainers were currently filled with explosive and incendiary curses. The device Winters held was the remote for them. Winters set the timers for a minute and a half.
Winters made one last check of the men before they moved up to the tower. He could see the MACV coming in the distance. He didnt have to wait long before the MACV was alongside the tower. The men started scrambling on board. Winters took one last look at the grounds, the forest ablaze from the battle, the walls of the castle with craters. Winters boared the MACV and held on as it took off into the sky.
******
Voldemort had reached the gargoyle of the Headmasters office.
'Finally, that muggle loving fool is gone. I have unseated him from his precious castle. This will make an excellent seat of power for my rule.'
As Voldemort was preparing to blast his way in, there was loud series of explosions. Voldemort saw what could only be described as a wall of flame moving towards him. He had barely enough time to grab his portkey and escape the flames.
******
HOGSWARTS AND HOGSMEADE ATTACKED!!!
Yesterday, the village of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts were attacked. The attack on Hogsmeade appears to have been a diversion. Later, in the evening the forces of You-Know-Who attacked the school. The students were able to be evacuated in time, however the Aurors and the American Combat Wizards were not so lucky. Details are still sketchy but it appears that only eight Combat Wizards and fifteen Aurors survived the fighting at the school. The Defenders of Hogwarts held off for hours against incredible odds. There number was only eighty wizards and one hundred and forty dwarfs. Sadly, all dwarfs were lost at their posts, defending the school with their last breath. The Defenders were out numbered nearly ten to one, but they refused to back down. Minister Bones has announced that everyone of the Defenders shall recieve an Order of Merlin, First Class. After this battle, we can only hope that the War against You-Know-Who shall be shortended. This reporter believes it so, considering that some reports have a massive explosion inside the school, apperently killing all inside. For more on the story, turn to page two.
And I am done. It may not be the best, but it is what I put out.
-
Crazedwraith
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 11924
- Joined: 2003-04-10 03:45pm
- Location: Cheshire, England
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Agent Fisher
- Rabid Monkey
- Posts: 3671
- Joined: 2003-04-29 11:56pm
- Location: Sac-Town, CA, USA, Earth, Sol, Milky Way, Universe
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Black Admiral
- Jedi Council Member
- Posts: 1870
- Joined: 2003-03-30 05:41pm
- Location: Northwest England
Dog Soldiers, unless I'm mistaken.Agent Fisher wrote:Glad you liked it. I will give cookies for anyone who can catch the references in the chapter.
And as to the fic itself, me likey.
"I do not say the French cannot come. I only say they cannot come by sea." - Admiral Lord St. Vincent, Royal Navy, during the Napoleonic Wars
"Show me a general who has made no mistakes and you speak of a general who has seldom waged war." - Marshal Turenne, 1641
"Show me a general who has made no mistakes and you speak of a general who has seldom waged war." - Marshal Turenne, 1641
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Agent Fisher
- Rabid Monkey
- Posts: 3671
- Joined: 2003-04-29 11:56pm
- Location: Sac-Town, CA, USA, Earth, Sol, Milky Way, Universe
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Agent Fisher
- Rabid Monkey
- Posts: 3671
- Joined: 2003-04-29 11:56pm
- Location: Sac-Town, CA, USA, Earth, Sol, Milky Way, Universe
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Agent Fisher
- Rabid Monkey
- Posts: 3671
- Joined: 2003-04-29 11:56pm
- Location: Sac-Town, CA, USA, Earth, Sol, Milky Way, Universe
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consequences
- Homicidal Maniac
- Posts: 6964
- Joined: 2002-07-07 03:06pm
Matteus Sanicus, mercenary mage and unabashed minion of Voldemort during his rebuilding and gathering of new minions to replace his horrific losses if you please, and it fits with the story.
Let's face it, the poor lord of evil's going to need some reinforcements, and it would get cliched if the American combat mages stomped all over him all the time.
Let's face it, the poor lord of evil's going to need some reinforcements, and it would get cliched if the American combat mages stomped all over him all the time.
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Agent Fisher
- Rabid Monkey
- Posts: 3671
- Joined: 2003-04-29 11:56pm
- Location: Sac-Town, CA, USA, Earth, Sol, Milky Way, Universe
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consequences
- Homicidal Maniac
- Posts: 6964
- Joined: 2002-07-07 03:06pm
First, I must say, awesome fic. I can't believe I never saw it before. I've always wanted a scene in Harry Potter like this:
some death eater: "Avada Ke-"
*bang*
*dead death eater collapses to ground*
Anyways, here's my character(s) for you to add, if you want of course.
Grace Prycin, combat medic extraordinaire with a fixation for overpowered pistols. Member of the ACW, from Anchorage, AK. Anywhere she goes, the temperature is *never* cold enough for her to be comfortable. As such, draw your own comclusionsn
Jedi Master Obi-wan Kenobi, on loan to the ACW as part of the Multiverse Justice Exchange Program.
some death eater: "Avada Ke-"
*bang*
*dead death eater collapses to ground*
Anyways, here's my character(s) for you to add, if you want of course.
Grace Prycin, combat medic extraordinaire with a fixation for overpowered pistols. Member of the ACW, from Anchorage, AK. Anywhere she goes, the temperature is *never* cold enough for her to be comfortable. As such, draw your own comclusionsn
Jedi Master Obi-wan Kenobi, on loan to the ACW as part of the Multiverse Justice Exchange Program.