Disclaimer: Did Hagrid take nearly twenty-four hours to travel from Godric's Hollow to Surrey? Then I don't own Harry Potter.

My eternal thanks to Snowyiris129 for being the best beta ever.

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Chapter 1: The Dead Travel Fast

The horned-horse gallops faster than the rest.
She accepts the approach of maidens the best.
Should the marsh-horse choose, on land she will go.
Trust not her shape, she's a devil from below.
The feathered-horse seldom allows any to ride.
Swallowing drink, though, allows her to swallow her pride.
But fear the skeletal-horse, the Reaper's own steed.
A price she'll extract if you go to her in need.
A bit of blood may suffice if you have but to travel faster.
Should she save your life, though, you'll be closer to her master.

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"Confringo!"

Fabian deflected the Death Eater's Blasting Curse and responded with a spray of conjured darts. Two of the masked figures were struck in the legs, but the rest shielded or ducked behind cover. Fabian capitalized on the momentary breather by animating a large tree to behave in a manner reminiscent of the Whomping Willow.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The elder twin was forced to duck under the curse, disrupting his animation. Wand poised, he turned towards the newcomer, only for his eyes to widen in shock.

"He is here! Gideon, signal Dumbledore!"

Gideon grunted an acknowledgement from behind an overturned stone bench. His legs were bent at impossible angles and his wand arm was badly burned. However, he was still managing to shield his position and fire curses at any Death Eaters that moved into his field of view. Pushing back the sleeve on his left arm, the wizard tapped the centre stone on an odd, watch-shaped device. As the stone flashed bright red, Gideon noticed that three of the surrounding pebbles were already orange. Likely the rest of the Order was already tied up in battles of their own.

Gideon dropped his sleeve and crawled around the side of his cover. His appearance startled one Death Eater into shielding, but the other one in view caught a cutter to the chest. The first Death Eater trained his wand on the mobility-impaired Order member and cast the Killing Curse with a sneer in his voice.

Gideon's conjured slab of shale only a few feet from the Death Eater came as a surprise to the caster. Some of the shrapnel exploded towards the caster, shredding his robes and cutting his face badly. Gideon took some satisfaction in dropping the injured wizard with a Stunner to the leg, but his mood darkened as he saw the red-eyed figure hit his brother with a Cruciatus. Rolling to get a clear shot, Gideon cast a powerful Shield-Breaker, and followed up with a Heart-Stopper. The younger Prewett never saw the Reductor Curse headed for his chest.

Dumbledore arrived in a flash of flame as both Fabian and his torturer rolled to their feet. Dumbledore noticed a few dark figures around the property perimeter complete a short chant, and felt the anti-creature wards snap into being. He realized that this was a trap made specifically for him and Fawkes.

"No need to be rude, Tom," the old wizard said casually, "you need only ask and I'll stay." Dumbledore failed to notice the Death Eater behind him pressing his wand into his uncovered left arm.

The duel began again in earnest. Where the two titans clashed, fire and lightening broke against tree and stone. Three of the remaining Death Eaters converged on the exhausted Fabian, while a single one remained back, trying to knock the fiery bird out of the air. Dumbledore decapitated three conjured snakes with one spell and used their bodies to bind his opponent. He was gaining the upper hand in this duel, even more so than ever before. He supposed that Voldemort must have exhausted himself somehow prior to the Headmaster's arrival. The Prewetts must have put up quite the fight.

Suddenly the Knut dropped and the old wizard's blood ran cold. The Protean watch he wore on his wrist heated sharply. He knew, without looking, that another one of the stones would have flared red. Dumbledore chanced a glance down as the imposter Riddle vanished the snake bindings. His heart sank as he saw that the red stone was the one tied to Lily Potter's control.

There was only one combat-ready Order member not currently involved in a battle. Dumbledore spun to point his wand north. Summoning his power to give the messenger speed and range, he cast his spell. The winged silvery blur streaked off as the Death Eaters managed to overcome Fabian in his moment of distraction. The Headmaster turned back to the fight, intent on breaking out of these wards as quickly as possible.

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Hagrid raced towards the Forbidden Forest as fast as his thick legs could carry him. Dumbledore's message had been terse, "Voldemort at the Potter's. Get them to Hogwarts." Their floo was blocked, Hagrid couldn't apparate, and Portkeys didn't work for him. The next-best method of travel left much to be desired, but it was sufficiently important to assume the risks. Hagrid only hoped that the thick slab of Auroch meat over his shoulder would be enough to appease them.

Lacking the time to let the smell of blood draw them in, Hagrid let out a shrieking cry as he ran through the trees. Following the answering cry, the half-giant burst into a clearing to see several of the dark horses staring at him, their eyes level with his. Hagrid thrust the meat at the nearest mare, before speaking to the largest animal. "Hello, Tenebrus. I need ter be gettin' somewhere in a hurry. Will yeh give me a ride?"

The Thestral stared into Hagrid's eyes as if measuring his haste. Then, fast as a striking snake, the Tenebrus' jaws latched on to the large man's bicep. Hagrid felt his normally tough skin puncture, but didn't pull away as abnormal amounts of blood flowed into the creature's throat. After several long moments, the fangs disengaged and Hagrid clambered onto his mount's back.

A single flap of its enormous wings saw the skeletal horse and its passenger airborne. Then, with aerodynamically impossible speed, the pair flew off to the south.

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Sirius Black jumped backwards and stumbled as a huge fist slammed into the cobblestones where he stood a moment ago. Something that big, he thought, should not be allowed to be that fast. Or strong. Or hard to kill. He rammed another overpowered Bone-Breaker into the giant's kneecap and was unsurprised to see it have no effect.

The Auror standard operating procedure for dealing with giants was to keep moving, get some elevation, and cast at vulnerable flesh. Of course, normally giants wandered into some backwater village, not the middle of Muggle Exeter. Normally, there wasn't an Anti-Apparition ward in place. And normally there wasn't a rather accurate Death Eater in the skies, picking off any Auror who went above roof-level. Sirius and Alice were providing the close range distraction, while the third of their group stayed back to aim more accurately. However, darkness and the confusion of combat made striking the giant's eyes like trying to hit a snitch in a thunderstorm.

Sirius felt his Order-watch heat up and he chanced a glance down. Hopefully, Dumbledore would be able to help the Prewetts. Sirius couldn't leave his squad to deal with this by themselves. A block up the street, a loud roar sounded. It seemed like another squad managed to take out an eye on one of the other giants. Sirius had some catching up to do. He passed by Alice while dodging another stomp and shouted, "Quicksand under the feet! I've got left!"

A moment later, their target was sinking into the street as Sirius and Alice strained to maintain the large transfiguration at sufficient range to avoid his flailing limbs. They weren't optimistic enough to hope that it would hold the giant, but it did bring his head down closer to wand level. The hulking figure toppled forward onto his hands and roared his defiance at Sirius. Seeing his chance, Sirius drew a line with his wand from street to giant and incanted, "Waddiwasi!" A fist-sized stone flew towards the giant's mouth, and Sirius managed to tag it with a modified Doubling Charm just as it passed the teeth. Though the charm was not as potent the Gemino Curse, its effects should still significantly inconvenience the giant.

The giant reacted instinctively to something hitting the back of his tongue and swallowed. He proceeded to crack open the street as he pulled his feet out of the reverted pavement, but only managed to move one step before doubling over and throwing up stones.

"Confringo!" Alice was standing directly under the giant's eye socket when she fired the curse. The resulting blast blew out the giant's other eye from within and knocked Alice to the street with her legs twisted under her. Sirius felt faint from maintaining the Doubling Charm for so long, but raced over to Alice as fast as he could. He tapped her Portkey to St Mungo's with his wand, and then hunched over to catch his breath.

Glancing down, he saw that another stone in his watch had turned red. That doesn't make any sense, he thought. Voldemort can't be in two... Shit! That's Lily's rock. I've got to get to Prongs'!

Looking up, Sirius watched his other team member hurry towards the groups fighting the other two giants. His stomach twisted as he made the decision to abandon his post and leave the rest of the Aurors to deal with this disaster. Some things were just more important. Grimacing, he pulled a miniature motorcycle out of his pocket and enlarged it. He kicked the old bike into life and roared off in the opposite direction. He needed to get clear of these wards before he could apparate.

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Hagrid eased his weight forward on the motorcycle, pushing it into a gentle dive. He definitely preferred this method of travel. He didn't have the balance for brooms, even if any of them could handle his weight. He liked flying carpets, but they were outlawed now. And the Knight Bus was almost as bad as those damned Gringotts carts. The bike was a bit on the small side, but held him well enough. It also rode like a dream and roared like a dragon. He was grateful that Sirius had lent it to him before running off to check on Peter.

The motorcycle landed with a thump on the path to Hogwarts. Hagrid parked it next to the gates and reached into an inner pocket, being extra careful with that side of his coat. The Keeper of the Keys job was largely ceremonial, but it did leave him with the actual gate key to the grounds. Unlocking the large gates, Hagrid rolled the bike past a few wandering Thestrals towards his cabin.

After parking, Hagrid gingerly reached into the owl-pocket of his coat and pulled out a restless baby. The charm the groundskeeper used on Unicorn foals worked well enough to put little Harry down for a nap, but his sleep didn't seem to be very peaceful. Pulling a very thick wand out of another pocket, Hagrid waved it over Harry and said, "Finite Incantatem."

The squalls of an unhappy child soon filled the air. "Don' you cry, Harry. I've got yeh now. You-Know-Who can' get you no more. I've got yeh…" The larger man's voice broke as the tears he'd been holding back rolled down his cheeks. He sat down, slumping against the side of his cabin.

One of the Thestral mares came over to inspect Hagrid's burden, and was sniffing at Harry curiously. Harry's crying started to abate as he reached out towards the snuffling sound. His stomach gave a loud gurgle and Hagrid chuckled.

"Poor little tyke. Yer jus' hungry. Let's get you sommat ter eat. I'll jus' whip up…" Hagrid paused, thinking. His usual fare this time of the year was roast Auroch, a fairly tough meat. All his pumpkins were currently decorating the castle, and nothing else was still growing in his garden. The students who visited him liked his rock cakes and treacle tart, but somehow he didn't think Harry would enjoy them.

"S'pose we could trek back ter the castle an' wake up the elves. Little buggers always getting' underfoot… Wha're you lookin' at?" The Thestral had switched its attention from Harry to Hagrid, looking him straight in the eye. The mare had given birth last month, and her foal had recently learned to unfurl his wings. Hagrid glanced down to see her full teats hanging under her body.

"Well…if yer alrigh' with it, I guess it can' do 'im no harm," Hagrid said, lifting Harry towards the dark horse's underside. Harry was confused at first, but then drank greedily once he latched on. Hagrid was encouraged to see the rather unsociable Thestrals taking to the boy so readily. "Yer gonna be great with animals someday, Harry," he said proudly.

As child fed from beast, the clouds slowly parted to reveal the stars. The Centaurs in the forest looked skyward, sensing great portents in the heavens. Most sighed in relief as Mars dimmed from its recent brilliance. Fewer noted Betelgeuse shining brightly as it rose over the horizon.

A/N: The Auroch meat is a reference to Ectomancer by RustyRed. Interesting story, though sadly abandoned.