Chapter 14: Outnumbered not Outgunned

February 14th, 1976

Harry left the Three Broomsticks and headed down the snow-covered cobblestone road to the Hogsmeade Owlery. He had a letter for Gringotts ready, however, the main reason for leaving the pub was a different one: Harry did not fully trust himself to not walk over to Lestrange and punch the git in the face for the way he was treating Marlene on a date. The poor girl definitely deserved better and seeing her suffer like that was only making him more aggressive the longer he watched.

The way Lestrange was leering at her while boasting around as if he had done anything significant to deserve her. Harry could only pray that the day might come soon, where Marlene was no longer bound to the inbred bastard by whatever infuriated courting agreement her father had signed for her. If only things had gone a bit better with Lord McKinnon, then Harry could have personally introduced himself after his trial.

Then again, so far, everyone simply assumed that Harry was a pureblood, due to his surname. Only the Potters knew that he was a halfblood since his mother was a muggleborn. He was uncertain about Marlene's reaction, but if she held his blood status against him, or started spitting bigoted nonsense, then she was not the right girl anyways.

Her father, however, was a different matter. Lord McKinnon would likely never accept him as a suitable courting partner for his daughter, simply due to his blood status. At the end of the day, Harry might have a big name and be magically powerful. Yet, he had no real political influence, was virtually broke, even if he started selling some scrap from the Room of Hidden Things, and his blood status would probably come out sooner or later...

His frustration at the situation only grew as he stomped through the snow up to the small hill the owlery stood on. As a student, sending a regular-sized envelope was for free, or covered by his tuition, so he simply took the next best owl and tied the letter to Gringotts on his leg. He reluctantly turned back towards the exit, only for the door to be thrown open. The Elder Wand was instantly in his palm, trained on the slightly red face of one of the few people he would have least expected to meet up here.

Said person yelped in surprise at seeing him right behind the door and almost stumbled in an attempt not to run face-first into his wand. Long, honey-blonde curls swirled through the cold air as she came to an abrupt halt, with her pink nose almost touching the tip of the thin, pale wood.

"Marlene?" Harry asked downright disturbed and lowering his wand after he recognized her: "What are you doing here?"

"Harry!" She gasped in relief while putting each hand on her hips and panting heavily. She must have either run a marathon or stomped up the hill through the snow in record time. Her cheeks and nose were pink from the cold weather and wind. The cute beret he had seen on her this morning was stuffed into her robe. Her thick scarf was tied loosely around her neck. Only her matching mittens had been put on. She must have left in quite a hurry...

"Take some time and breath, Marlene." Harry closed the remaining distance between them and patted her back affectionately: "Tell me what's going on as soon as you feel better, okay?"

She nodded and took a few more deep breaths: "I came to warn you, Harry. They're coming for you..."

"Who is coming for me, Marlene?" Harry was instantly on alert and his eyes narrowed. He placed both his hands on her shoulders while looking at her intently: "Who?"

"Lestrange and the other Slytherins!" She gasped: "They have been plotting all week and when they saw you leaving by yourself, they took it as a chance to attack you!"

"How much time do we have?" Harry asked as he thought about possible escape routes and tactics against the opponents who will outnumber him quite severely.

"Perhaps two minutes." Marlene responded with large eyes that spoke volumes on how nervous she was: "He was collecting a few more of his friends before going after you, so I had time to run ahead of them."

"They will see your footprints in the snow." Harry mused: "If they are smart enough, they will see that two footpaths lead up to the hill and none lead back down. They will know that there are two of us." He added as he stepped over to the small window and looked outside. Down at the bottom of the hill, he saw a group of almost a dozen students walking up towards them: "They are here, already."

"I will help you, Harry!" Marlene nodded firmly. She took off her mittens and pulled her wand from underneath her robes to underline her statement.

"Are you sure about it?" Harry stared into her ice-blue eyes, waiting for any signs of doubt or insecurity: "If you do this, your father will learn about it and there will be no turning back."

He saw the small wheels turning behind her big blue eyes, but the determination did not fade. Instead, she took another step forwards, stood on her tiptoes, and placed a soft kiss on Harry's cheek, which lasted perhaps a tad longer than her first one: "If you get us both out of here unharmed, you might even get a proper kiss, Peverell."

Harry fought down a foolish grin: "That is all the motivation I need to kick some ass." He took another peek out of the window: "Listen carefully! This is what I need you to do!"

"You will remain inside here!" Harry stated: "I will disillusion you so that you can avoid them, should they breach the owlery. Meanwhile, I will go outside and hunt them down one by one. Understood?"

She gave a short nod, so Harry tapped the top of her blonde head once with the Elder Wand and watched her disappear from view almost completely. Disillusioning someone else never worked as well as if you did it on your own body. It was simply easier to imagine the result and focus on the intent. Nevertheless, Marlene's slightly shivering form took cover behind the spiral staircase leading up to the owls, with only her wand pointing out.

Harry performed the very same charm on himself and vanished a window in the back of the owlery to step out of. His only problem was the large footprints he left behind in the snow, but there was pretty much nothing he could do about those. As he walked around the house, he heard their attacker's voices being carried over by the wind: "Remember, the goal is to rough him up so much that he can't fight. We don't want to kill him! I just sent a missive to Lucius so he can formally announce a date of the duel, probably in a few days' time."

So that was their plan? Harry grit his teeth as he felt the adrenaline building up inside him. He had not felt a similar blood lust ever since the battle of Hogwarts. Nothing would please the young wizard more than to just walk right out there and perform a couple of lethal curses. But that was not the smartest thing, was it? It was not worth getting expelled or even sent to Azkaban for.

Dumbledore was already concerned about him and most of these boys will undoubtedly have fathers or family on the Wizengamot. Besides, killing them would make him a prime target for Voldemort, something that was unwise at this moment in time. No! Instead, he would simply do exactly to them, what they intended to do to him. Injure them quite badly.

The first face peeked over the hill and Harry instantly acted. A bright banishing charm left the tip of the Elder Wand and surged at incredible speed towards his first opponent, who Harry briefly recognized as Robert Montague. Upon impact with his chest, the young man was leaped off of his feet and thrown a few meters backward, where the snow cushioned his fall. Nonetheless, he did not get back up.

"Shields!" Lestrange roared and shouts of 'Protego' roared through the air, all aiming in the direction the first spell came from. Harry decided to have some fun and flicked his wand in rapid succession. Snowballs started transforming all-round him and he froze them in a layer of ice, making them quite the dangerous weapon. He swirled his wand through the air again and over 20 of the spheroidal projectiles whizzed through the wind. The white missiles either slammed against the Slytherins' shields or connected with their bodies, leading to painful screams, heavy bruises, and even a few broken bones, by the sound of it.

"Where is he?" Thomas Avery yelled anxiously: "Does anyone see him?"

"Come out, you coward!" Lestrange yelled but his request was only met by Harry's cold laughter carried over to them by the wind: "You are a weakling, Peverell! Come out already, show yourself!"

Harry calmly stepped around them, keeping a distance that would make it difficult for them to spot his footprints in the snow. Now he was right behind them: "Levicorpus!" He cursed silently.

The charm that was most likely not invented yet in this timeline pulled Evan Rosier up by his ankles and made him dangle in the air above his friends. Slowly but surely, the Slytherins started panicking. A few of them tried their best to let a screaming Rosier back down, however, none of them knew the counter curse of that strange spell. Harry levitated him a bit higher and suddenly dropped him on two of his comrades.

By now, the group of Slytherins had turned their backs towards the owlery, which a certain blonde Ravenclaw must have reasoned just by hearing the voices. Suddenly a bright red stunner zipped through the air and connected with another Slytherin, who slumped down unconscious.

"Leave him!" Lestrange roared when one of his friends tried to revive their fallen comrade.

"There are two of them!" Avery recognized correctly: "We must take the owlery for cover!"

Harry cursed under his breath. Marlene might be exceptional for a fifth year, but she stood no chance against the seven remaining Slytherins. The attackers dropped their shields and sprinted up the hill towards the Owlery. Harry connected a bonebreaker with one of the older boy's legs, followed up by a simple stunner to take him out. Marlene stopped another one with a full body bind. However, now they had almost reached the door to the Owlery with Marlene inside it by herself and Harry almost 30 meters behind them.

Harry desperately thrilled his intent through the thin piece of wood in his palm and wished for something... anything that would stop them from reaching her.

A familiar surge of magic spiked through him as he slashed the Elder Wand horizontally. To his astonishment, the wand read his intention like a book and performed for him. A towering wall of blackish flames rose towards the sky like a fountain. It melted the snow around it instead with a dangerous sizzling sound. The Slytherins shrieked in apprehension and did not dare approach the wall of flames any closer than two meters.

Harry did not recognize the magic he cast, but now was not the time to worry about that. Two more opponents went down after Harry fired a spell chain of a tripping jinx, disarming charm, and a slightly overpowered knockback jinx, banging their skulls against each other with a satisfying CRUNCH.

Now there were only three opponents left to deal with. Harry rushed up the last few meters to the hill and canceled his disillusionment charm on his way. It was only right that Mulciber, Rowle, and especially Lestrange were granted the honor of seeing the face of the man who would put them down.

"Peverell!" Lestrange roared in fury at seeing his face appear out of thin air. Three cutting curses were sent Harry's way and he dodged them effortlessly. The bonebreakers and piercing hexes that followed were batted aside almost lazily. With a flick of Harry's wand, the puddle of molten snow next to his wall of flame formed into tiny, thin ice spikes, roughly the size of a needle. With another flick, a dozen spikes were propelled against the three remaining Slytherins.

Amplified by his emotions, the force behind the spell was so strong, that they effortlessly penetrated the thick clothing and made contact with raw skin, undoubtedly drawing blood. Lestrange was the only one that managed to produce a shield in time and protect himself from the attack. His two friends dropped to their knees in pain.

By now, the wall of blackish flame was no longer necessary. Harry did not exactly know the counter incantation for it, but somehow the wand in his palm let him know that a simple downwards flick would be enough. As soon as the barrier was gone, a certain blonde appeared in the doorway of the owlery. Lestrange's remaining friends, who were still wincing in pain on the ground, fell to the two stunners that left her wand in rapid succession.

Has she practiced? Harry was quite impressed. "Nice one, Marlene!"

Lestrange eyes almost bulged out of their sockets at hearing the name of the girl he was courting: "YOU! You will pay for your betrayal, you fucking whore!" He roared and swirled around, his wand raised. The Elder Wand flicked and the ground underneath the Slytherin rotated by 180 degrees, making him spin back and face Harry instead of the girl.

"CRUCIO!" Lestrange screamed. The curse that was intended for Marlene now surged towards Harry who acted purely on instinct.

He heard Marlene shout a warning, but he was more than ready for the Unforgivable. A single snowball scooted from the ground and intercepted the spell in mid-air. The next snowball froze over with a layer of ice and connected with the Slytherin's jaw, dislocating it upon impact. The bone breaker that followed, splintered the majority of bones in Lestrange's hand and made it impossible for him to cast any further spells.

"That's a nasty curse to cast, Strange Boy..." Harry shook his head. The Elder Wand burned with wrath and demanded to punish the boy, yet Harry tamed as best as he could. Just as Voldemort had done in the graveyard, Harry leveled his wand forward, relying purely on his intent. Lestrange stumbled over and dropped to his knees, still clutching his broken wand hand. Dark blood dripped from his lips, coloring the snow in front of him red.

"I would be well within my right to kill you. However, I was just acquitted of some previous charges and I would hate to find myself down in a courtroom again so soon." He fought down his irritation and summoned Lestrange's wand instead, only to throw it a few meters away.

"He cast an Unforgivable at you, Harry!" Marlene seethed as she stomped out of the entrance to the owlery over to him.

"And he will pay for it." Harry confidently walked the remaining distance to meet her halfway and take her in his arms: "Are you okay?" He asked with slight concern.

She simply nodded into his chest as he patted her back and allowed her to take a few deep breaths while she was leaning against him. "You were brilliant, Marlene. I cannot say how proud I am of you."

Of course, the wholesome moment was interrupted by cold laughter coming from Lestrange, who kneed on the floor panting heavily.

"You have no idea what you have just done, Peverell." He spat a clump of blood and continued talking as best as he could with a broken jaw: "You have angered someone who will snap you like a twig. Now, he is coming for you..."

Harry grimaced, knowing that Lestrange was right. With his actions, Voldemort would undoubtedly take an even greater interest in him.

"What is he talking about, Harry?" Marlene asked nervously as she entangled herself from Harry.

"Nothing to worry about yet." Harry replied dismissively: "Let's get out of here."

"My father..." Lestrange spit blood: "My father will learn about this, McKinnon, you blood traitor bitch! And you will fucking pay for it as soon as you are mine!"

Marlene's hand was under her robes within a second and a bright blue jinx burst from the tip of her wand. It connected with Lestrange's groin and even Harry twitched and grimaced at seeing the boy's painful reaction: "Was that a freezing hex?"

"Yes, and I'd say my aim was true. Even if I am certain that it must have been a very small target..." Marlene nodded proudly with a smirk. She looked around: "What are we going to do with all the others?"

Harry laughed: "Let Strange Boy over here revive them, if he works quick enough, they might not freeze to death."

"And he can hardly tell the teachers because he cast an Unforgivable himself." Marlene nodded grimly with an evil smirk on her lips: "I like it!"

"I told you I aim to please, remember?" Harry chuckled as he stepped next to her and offered her his arm: "Would you allow me to accompany you back to the village, my lady? Perhaps I can also escort you whilst we both get our errands done?"

"I would very much like that, Mr. Peverell." She linked their arms and allowed him to lead her down the hill.

"It's actually Heir Peverell now, my Lady." Harry smirked down at her and was met with the most adorable pout: "But perhaps I will make an exception for you."

"Well, Heir Peverell..." Marlene slowed down until they came to a halt. She beamed up at him with large blue eyes and took a confident step forward: "If I remember correctly, I promised you a reward..."

"Indeed, you did..." Harry nodded with a grin: "After all, it was only due to how much your promised reward motivated me, that I was able to hold myself against so many opponents..."

"This is where you should just shut up and let me kiss you already." Marlene rolled her eyes playfully as she closed the remaining distance between them, flung her arms around his neck, and pressed her lips against his.

Harry's heart roared in triumph and victory. Her lips felt incredibly soft as they moved against his own in perfect harmony. Harry might have kissed his fair share of girls, but none of those experiences could compare to the firework of emotions that exploded in his brain and made him forget everything else around him.

There was no more wind... There was no more cold or snow, not with Marlene's hot, soft body pressed against his. There was no more thought given to any Slytherins or even the threat of Voldemort. All that mattered was the blonde witch in his arms, who sighed contently even after their lips detached way too soon for Harry's taste.

He stared down at her in awe at what they had both just shared with each other and the spark she must have also felt. Her lips were still left slightly parted. The small blush on her cheeks only made her appear even more gorgeous. Somehow, her eyes must have grown larger over the last few seconds because Harry got completely lost in their depths.

Neither of them said a word as they simply held each other. His hands were on her soft hips, hers around his neck, playing with his hair. Then Harry gulped heavily, his voice slightly raspy "That was..." He had no words for it and could not even begin to describe what he felt.

"Wow..." Marlene finished for him with a mischievous gleam in her eyes: "Incredible... I should have done that much sooner."

She looked so incredibly kissable, yet, Harry decided not to rush things with her. This was too serious to be just a fling. Besides, he was still significantly older than her and intended for their relationship to progress at whatever speed she felt comfortable with. He fought off the urge to snog her again and simply offered her his arm with a grin: "I will always be available for a repeat performance, should you feel the need."

She blushed furiously but laughed nevertheless: "That is good to know. However, I suggest we get some shopping done now."

"I wholeheartedly agree." Harry nodded and led the way.

Village of Hogsmeade

"What did the Lestrange mean by that, Harry? Marlene asked the questions she had only temporarily suppressed during their kiss: "Who is coming for you?"

Harry sighed and she felt his arm stiffen as they stomped through the snow: "It is not unlikely that Strange Boy and his friends, or at least their families are part of the new, raising pureblood movement. Or more specifically, a group that calls themselves the Death Eaters..."

A shiver ran down Marlene's spine. She had heard the whispers about them, but so far there was no public appearance yet: "You think they are going to go after you?"

He laughed despite the seriousness of the situation: "I have already pissed a few of them off during my trial. I am certain I have been on their radar from the moment I opposed the upper-year Slytherins after the feast. However, now, they also know that there is more to me than just a big name. Those boys might be bloodied and bruised, but they will remember it was me who took them on. That means I am a big name in the wizarding world and somewhat skillful with a wand. That makes me a target..." He trailed off.

"But Lestrange spoke of a single man, not a group," Marlene remarked.

"This group has a leader; I am sure you have heard of him already..." Harry sighed: "Does the name Voldemort ring a bell?"

Marlene involuntarily shuddered at hearing the name, most people did not even dare whisper: "So far I have only heard rumors about him... He is supposed to be very powerful. Roughly a year ago the Ogden Manor was attacked. Tiberius Ogden was the only survivor. According to him, a single wizard overpowered his wards and burned down the entire manor with a spell called Fiendfyre. They say it was him..."

"Sounds rather likely." Harry merely nodded, seemingly unimpressed: "Fiendfyre requires exceptional control and power to be cast efficiently. He would be one of the very few wizards to do."

Marlene did not question how he knew so much about such a dark spell. "How are you not terrified?" Marlene asked wide-eyed: "If this man learns about you..."

"Oh, I am certain he is already very aware of me..." Harry chuckled: "But for as long as I remain at Hogwarts, there is nothing he can do, besides send his little minions for me. I can handle myself with a wand just fine against them..."

"Just fine..." Marlene snorted: "You were amazing, Harry." She beamed up at him: "I have never seen someone fight the way you did before, not even my brothers. It was like you anticipated every move and spell they threw at you. And the way you used your surroundings! It was so creative, yet so simple... Where have you learned to duel like that?"

"During my previous education, I gained some dueling experience." He replied vaguely.

Marlene desperately wanted to know more about it, but she forced herself to get back to a more important topic: "What about the duel against Lucius Malfoy? That was the only reason they attacked you in the first place, wasn't it?"

Harry grinned: "While I am certain that Strange Boy wanted to pull his wand on me for some time already, they indeed attacked me to ensure Lucius victory. The plan was not even that bad, but now we will use it to our advantage."

"How so?" Marlene inquired, noticing the flash of emerald green fire in his eyes for just a split second.

"Because right now, an owl is on its way to Lucius Malfoy, telling him about the Slytherin's attack on me. Malfoy will undoubtedly assume that almost a dozen of his friends will be able to deal with me. We know that their aim was to cause injuries... Injuries grave enough for me to lose against him in the duel. Now he will schedule said duel as quickly as possible, so I have no time to heal. "He grinned down at her: "It would not surprise me if I received a missive from the Malfoys tomorrow morning at breakfast."

"Are you ready for him?" Marlene frowned: "I mean, I have seen you duel, but Lucius Malfoy is on a different level than Rabastan and his idiot friends. He is also allowed to use the Unforgivables in an Honor Duel." She swallowed heavily, trying not to think about what would have happened if Harry did not intercept Rabastan's Cruciatus curse.

"I have met men like Lucius before..." Harry explained with a knowing grin: "They are all talk and no action. And unlike him, I will not underestimate my opponent. Undoubtedly, he will be so enraged when he finally fights me, that his emotions will be all over the place."

"Why is that?" Marlene asked curiously.

"Because of my little stunt with Narcissa, his betrothed." Harry shrugged: "He certainly did not like that."

"Oh..." Marlene's voice dropped. A weird feeling crept up inside her as the memory of Harry kissing a different girl flickered in front of her eyes. Was that jealousy? She cleared her throat: "Let us please not talk about that."

"I apologize." Harry looked down at her and squeezed her hand affectionately through her mittens: "That was rather insensitive of me."

They continued in a comfortable silence until Marlene's heart started beating faster and her grip on Harry's arm tightened, as they reached the outskirts of the village. Nevertheless, she gave Harry a short nod when he sent a questioning look down at her. Her peers knew she was courting Lestrange and would undoubtedly question why she was being escorted through the village by another boy. However, none of them knew about the actual stage of her relationship with Harry. Therefore, what they were doing could simply be explained away as formal courtesy among two ancient Houses.

Luckily, most of the streets were empty. The cold weather urged most of her peers to spend their time visiting the village inside one of the many shops or pubs like the Three Broomsticks.

"My friends might be worried about me taking so long to send a single owl." Harry mentioned: "Do you mind if we visit the Three Broomsticks to let them know we are fine? I know it's a bit more public, so if you don't..."

"No, it's fine!" Marlene stated determinedly: "Right now you are merely escorting me, just as you have done after Slughorn's party. Perhaps we will find Florence there as well... She intended to go with some classmates."

"Sounds good." Harry nodded and led her down the road to the most popular pub in the village. By now, the occasional shopper noticed them and quickly turned to their friends in silent whispers and chatters. Marlene did not know what would make the Hogwarts rumor mill spin faster: The fact that Marlene McKinnon made a public appearance with a boy that was not the one who is actively courting her, or the fact that Harry Peverell, has seemingly settled down and finally taken out a girl on a date.

"It is so annoying." Marlene huffed, doing her best to ignore the many stares: "How do you ignore it all the time?"

"You just get used to it after a while." Harry shrugged and reached for the door handle to the pub. Just before his hand made contact, the door was pulled backward, and James Potter almost ran straight into him.

"Harry! Thank Merlin you are alright!" The boy sighed in relief: "We already thought the Snakes had gotten to you."

Behind him, Black, Lupin, Pettigrew, and even Evans and her friend McDonald appeared, all in various states of getting dressed to exit the pub: "They did actually get to me, but this time the princess saved the knight." Harry laughed and earned himself a sharp elbow from Marlene.

"What?" Potter's face was a mask of confusion, then his gaze came resting down on her: "I am glad you are fine, but what exactly happened, mate?"

"Perhaps we can get back inside to a table and chat a bit?" Harry suggested and looked down at her.

Marlene frowned. Being seen in public with the likes of Potter and Black was already borderline dangerous for her. They might be purebloods, but her own father had cut ties with Lord Potter a long time ago and Sirius Black was the black sheep of the otherwise very respected family. Lupin and Pettigrew were half-bloods, so she usually would not even talk to them. Though the biggest problem was Evans and McDonald.

Her father would never forgive her if she was seen with either of them publicly. Particularly now that Harry's social and political standing was at an all-time high, she might be able to convince her father that he was a better candidate than Lestrange. Yet, Lord McKinnon would never allow his daughter to court a boy if it led to her mingling with mud- muggleborns.

She knew that the group of students watched her as her eyes darted from Harry to Evans and back to Harry. His expression instantly fell and the gleam in his eyes was replaced by a slight frown, disappointment, and hurt. Marlene knew that strategically it was the right thing to do. She had to focus on the long-term goal here, but would Harry understand that? Right?

"I am sorry." Marlene croaked and unlinked their arms: "I will just go over to..." She trailed off and turned around before the unbelieving look he gave her could hurt her even more.

"She is just as bigoted as the rest of them..." Marlene heard Evans' snort right as the first tear came.