Heritage of the North: The Power of Ice and Betrayal

As the sun set, Harry took a good look at his watch with satisfaction. Seven o'clock. By now the Aurors were leaving Azkaban and his wardens and Ice soldiers were instituting control over the island. Upon hearing about Azkaban, Xerina had promised to send more soldiers to help Harry in the morning. For now, the squad that had been acting as Harry's bodyguards would run Azkaban with the wardens.

He was soon joined by Bellatrix who stood next to him and watched the sun set over the dark blue sea as it crashed against the rocks that made up the island Nair'icaix sat on. Watching the sunset was something the couple had taken up.

"Any trouble with Narcissa?" Harry inquired. The past few days had seen some misbehavior from her despite the fact that she somehow managed to get her assigned chores done. After her outburst the day before, Bellatrix had volunteered to deal with her privately. Whatever she had done must have worked.

"None whatsoever." Bellatrix answered with a grin.

Harry nodded idly. Now that Narcissa was concentrating on the task at hand, she might be able to learn something about 'servants' and Muggles. "That's good."

There was a long pause during which Bellatrix took Harry's hand as the sun dipped below the horizon. She was about to say something when they were interrupted by Tess who came running down the hall, panting heavily.

"My lord- Azkaban is under attack!"

"So, what are you going to teach us at the next Legion meeting?" Parvati asked Neville- cursing herself for the inability to carry on a vaguely interesting conversation. It was horridly embarrassing to be incapable of a decent conversation.

It was Hogsmeade weekend. In an effort to throw off any potential attacks, the Hogwarts staff had taken to changing the Hogsmeade hours periodically so as to confuse Voldemort. This one had been scheduled for the evening. Snape had informed Neville that the next one would likely be in the early morning.

"Well, Professor Lupin recommended some rather ingenious shield charms that I thought we should all give a try." Neville said vaguely as he sipped his Butterbeer. "For those who pick them up quickly, we can try some extremely advanced summoning charms so that one can block spells with other things."

Parvati nodded, feeling rather dumb for some reason. They were on a date and instead of being romantic, they were acting like they did in school. She sighed and looked around the Three Broomsticks. Ron and Hermione were here as well, and they weren't being shy.

Finally, she decided to get her own romance moving. "Neville? Do you… like me?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Neville was caught off guard. He looked at Parvati's reddening cheeks and reckoned that to be a sign that he had indeed heard what he had thought he heard. "Well, you've been really nice and supportive of everyone in PL. Sure, I like you."

"Well I like you too."

"Oh."

The two teens both blushed and looked away. They had managed to put themselves in a corner and neither had any idea on how to get out of it. Did romance have to be so awkward all the time?

Any thoughts of romance flew out of their head when a third-year girl burst into the pub and screamed at the top of her lungs, "Death Eaters!"

Section Break.

Harry grunted as Bess and Tess magically tightened the breastplate that had magically appeared as soon as Harry and Bellatrix decided that they needed to go and personally defend Azkaban with their forces.

Tess knocked on Harry's chest to see what kind of sound it would make. Instead of the loud bang one would expect from the black lacquered metal that had been magically made weightless, there was just a dull thud.

"Excuse me!" Harry said reproachfully.

"Sorry, mate." Tess said. "Couldn't resist."

Harry looked down at the breastplate and made a silent prayer that it would at least block some spells or prevent him from physical injury. The silver phoenix that had been engraved into the breastplate shimmered strangely. It made him feel protected.

He looked over at Bellatrix who had just gotten her own breastplate on and blushed. It seemed to emphasize her chest quite a bit. As long as it works, he thought silently as Bess came over and draped a dragon-hide cloak over his shoulders.

Bellatrix looked over at him and grinned. "This ought to be fun. Don't forget to check your wands."

"Okay." Harry said. He quickly checked to make sure that his wands were in their appropriate holsters as Bellatrix did likewise. He drew the Black Ash wand from his sleeve as Bellatrix drew one of her Cherry wands.

"Let's Apparate." Bellatrix said.

"What do we do?" Ron asked Hermione desperately as everyone in the Three Broomsticks began to panic. "We're the only Order members here I think."

Hermione shrugged. "I have no idea. Let's find out where the Death Eaters are attacking from I suppose. Then maybe we can send a message to the castle to send some defense.

Ron and Hermione promptly stood up and made their way over to where the girl had been. Much to their surprise they found Neville and Parvati interrogating her as to the Death Eater's whereabouts. It seemed that he had decided to take charge.

"We're here, we can take charge now." Ron announced loudly.

"About how many would you say?" Neville asked the girl, not even bothering to acknowledge Ron's presence.

"Thirty, maybe." the girl said, her voice quavering.

Neville nodded thoughtfully and spoke to Parvati. "It only a minor attack then. We can probably take them on." He then motioned toward a pair of fifth year girls who had rushed in the pub to find him. They were both members of Potter's Legion. "Where is everyone else?"

"Lavender Brown is having them form a line of defense. The Death Eaters are moving slowly toward the village from around the Shrieking Shack." explained one quickly.

"Good." Neville said. "I want you two to go to the castle as fast as you can and tell Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape, and any other teacher that you can find. Be careful on your way, their might be Death Eaters stationed to prevent people from arriving at the castle.

The two girls dashed out the doors and in the general directions of Hogwarts and Ron chose to interject. "I'm the head of the DA and a member of the Order! You can just take charge like that!"

Neville looked at Ron imperiously. "I just did." He motioned to Parvati, "We need to help Lavender." The two then left Ron and Hermione standing alone in the pub.

Section break.

Harry and Bellatrix Apparated and found themselves in the midst of Death Eaters running every which way. They were outside the fortress near the dock. Sparing a brief moment, Harry looked out to sea and saw a Ministry boat sailing to the mainland. They knew and they were doing nothing.

"Triplexio argentum lashio!" Harry cried, slashing his wand at the nearest group of Death Eaters. Three long and silver slicing whips flew from the tip of the black wand and flailed about ten dark cloaked wizards. They died instantly.

"We have to get into the fortress and help our people." Bellatrix told Harry over the blast of several explosions as she shot various hexes at random Death Eaters. "There's strength in numbers."

The ring abruptly revealed several things about the island to Harry. The Dementors were doing nothing, but if he commanded them directly, they would have no choice but to obey. It also revealed that if he could get to the top of the fortress, he could win the battle easily.

"Let's go then! Once we get in, we have to get to the roof." Harry yelled, firing a triple stunner at some Death Eaters headed their way. Bellatrix nodded and the two made use of a back to back fighting move to get to the front doors. They easily opened and they found themselves in a broad hallway filled with Dementors.

Bellatrix's long pony-tail whipped back and forth as she looked from the Dementors to the Death Eaters outside who were not willing to follow them into the castle. "Maybe we would be better off getting to the roof from the outside."

Harry shook his head negatively and then turned and faced the Dementors holding the hand with his signet ring out toward them in a fist. "Repel the attackers!" he yelled. "Don't let them enter the fortress."

Dementors began to reluctantly swarm around Harry and Bellatrix as some made their way out into the battle while other stationed themselves at the doors. The main hallway was left clear before them. "This way." Harry said as he began to sprint toward the other end of the hall.

"We're here!" Parvati gasped to Lavender as she and Neville came to an abrupt halt from their run. They had arrived at the end of Hogsmeade with the Shrieking Shack in record time. "What's happening and where do you have everyone?"

Lavender motioned out toward an empty space of flat land. "About thirty or forty Death Eaters are marching in from that direction. They're coming in abreast in two lines. We have about twenty Legion members here hiding in various places so we can pick them off at will. I told others to cover other parts of the village."

"Well done." Neville said to Lavender who blushed at the praise. "Either this is a trap or these Death Eaters are amateurs. It's impractical to attack this way."

Parvati had somehow gotten her hands on a pair of Omnioculars and was squinting through them as she attempted to make out the approaching figures in the dark. "They aren't acting as if they were bait." she observed.

"Can everyone hear me?" Neville asked Lavender.

She nodded. "Yes, they're all within earshot."

"Good." Neville said as he formulated his plan. "Hold your fire until they start shooting off spells or they're on top of you!" he called out. He then found a bush and ducked down behind it, the two girls doing likewise. It would ruin the plan if they were spotted.

"How many floors are in this bloody castle!" Bellatrix growled when she and Harry reached the top of yet another flight of stairs to find another broad corridor. Unfortunately, each time they gained a level, they had to go to the other end of the corridor to hit the next staircase.

"I just want to know where our people are." Harry said as he began to run down the corridor.

Bellatrix spotted several stunners coming for him. "Duck!" she yelled.

Harry hit the floor as two stunners flew over his head. He Scryed down the hall and found that a group of Death Eaters happened to be coming down the flight of stairs that he wanted to go up. Apparently Voldemort had been landing Death Eaters on the roof as well as trying to get in at the main entrance. That would make things difficult.

He and Bellatrix quickly shot several stunners down the hall. This proved to be ineffective because the Death Eaters quickly hid themselves farther up the spiral staircase. They would have to take them head on.

"Shields." Harry said, as he cast a strong reflector shield around his person. It was his favorite because he could control where the spell that hit it rebounded. His wife elected for a shield that grew in strength as it absorbed attacking spells.

They ran down the hallway as quickly as possible and charged up the staircase, taking down multiple Death Eaters both by magic and physical means. When they arrived at the top, they found a narrow hall that led only halfway across the fortress before going up.

"We're nearly there." Harry announced.

"Now!" Neville yelled as loudly as he could, letting off a powerful Reducto at the same time. The other present members of Potter's Legion quickly followed his lead with the same curse. The line of Death Eaters scattered and Neville began to shoot off stunners and hexes in the confusion and dust.

Harry and Bellatrix scrambled through the open hatchway and onto the roof of Azkaban and found about ten fiercely fighting Ice soldiers being slowly backed into a corner by twice that number of Death Eaters. More and more Death Eaters were landing on the roof via broomstick by the moment.

Apparently the Death Eaters coming down the staircase had been an advance scouting party. Those not fighting the Ice soldiers were forming into groups that were preparing to go down into the fortress and free the prisoners.

Wasting no time, Harry and Bellatrix began to shoot off spells to scatter those attacking the Ice people. As soon as they were out of the corner, Harry's soldiers began to fight ten times fiercely than before. His presence strengthened them. "Scatter those groups!" Harry yelled to Bellatrix who promptly took command of the soldiers.

Harry felt drawn to a part of the roof that everyone seemed to be avoiding. Three large and interconnected runes were carved into the stone. Drawing upon knowledge from his studies, Harry was able to recognize them. Dominion, Protection, and Strength.

The runes started to give off a silver light as soon as Harry stepped onto them. He brandished the Black Ash wand and muttered the activation spell that his ring had taught him. "Imperio activacio Polairicis."

A roar filled Harry's ears as power began to flow from him into the rune and vice-versa. This lasted several minutes. Despite the battle going on around him, Harry felt strangely at peace and detached from everything. Finally, his connection to the runes broke and they began to pulse with their own silver light. In a few minutes, the wards would activate and automatically expel the attackers from the island.

Harry triumphant smile fell when a new, but hauntingly familiar, voice addressed him. "I attack Azkaban and Lord Polairix sends you of all people to defend it. Why does he hide behind you, Potter?"

Lord Voldemort had arrived.

The dust cleared and Neville could make out three Death Eaters being held under guard by two boys from Ravenclaw. The Death Eaters that they had stunned during the battle had been Portkeyed away by their comrades during the retreat. They had these because they had gotten too close and Neville had Summoned their portkeys away from them.

"Anybody hurt?" Neville asked.

His friends looked around and checked with their friends until that it was established that Potter's Legion had come away unscathed by the battle. "Everyone accounted for." Parvati announced proudly.

"Good." Neville said.

He was about to give more instructions when Ron, Hermione, Snape, and Dumbledore arrived at the scene and found them. "Only two Death Eaters?" Ron exclaimed. "After that scare, I expected more than that. Don't worry Neville, we're here to take care of things."

Parvati, feeling quite insulted on Neville's behalf gasped. "I'll have you know that there were well over thirty Death Eaters here!"

"Appearances can be deceiving during a battle." Dumbledore said quietly as he examined the prisoners. "It doesn't matter though. You've managed to capture all of the attackers." This was followed up with a smirk by Ron.

Neville contented himself to glare at Ron and Dumbledore, but Parvati was about to make more noise. When Snape shook his head at her, she closed her mouth. They could wait for that later. They should at least say what Snape had to say.

"We'll just get back to the castle then." Neville said. "Is it all right if we check on our friends on our way back?"

"Go ahead." Snape said.

Harry turned around to face Voldemort as did everyone else. The battle with the Death Eaters had stalled to watch the confrontation. Bellatrix tried to give Harry an encouraging smile, but it was more of a grimace.

"Hello, Tom." Harry said as cooly as possibly. He knew that it would make Voldemort mad. If they could get into a discussion, then the wards would have enough time to activate.

"My name is Lord Voldemort." the Dark lord said menacingly. "You would do well to remember that. Now tell me, Potter. Why has the Lord of Polairix sent you?"

The realization that Voldemort didn't know that he was the Lord of Polairix made Harry want to laugh. He still had a wild card up his sleeve for future battles, assuming that he survived this one. Harry elected to make Voldemort angry. "Because everyone knows that you're afraid of me."

"You will pay for that!" Voldemort yelled. He raised his wand but was distracted when a silver dome began to flicker overhead.

Harry rejoiced. The wards were going into effect. Suddenly, light flared from the Runes behind him. He turned quickly to see what it was. They were now shining like the sun. Harry could feel that power coursing from them into the walls and wards of the castle. He could see the Dementors being bound to the powers.

He was drawn from his reverie when he heard his wife shriek his name. He cursed himself. Idiot! So much for constant vigilance. He would go down in history as the Boy-Who-Wasn't-Very-Vigilant. Maybe future generations would learn that all important lesson.

Time seemed to slow down as he instinctively turned and reached for the Ivory wand secured in his left boot. He drew it as he finished his turn and brought it to level. The green light of the Killing Curse was rushing toward him.

With his mind too numb to think rationally, Harry muttered the first spell he had ever learned, not forgetting the correct pronunciation as he looked at the green light intensely. "Wingardium Leviosa."

There was an explosion and Harry dropped the Ivory wand as it seemingly caught on fire and burned him. Phoenix song seemed to erupt around him as he heard a woman scream his name and sob at the same time. Was it his mom or Bellatrix? He didn't know and forgot the question as his senses were flooded with a flying sensation which lasted until blackness consumed his mind.