Harry Potter and the Secret Spell by Phoenix 86
Summary: With the death of Albus Dumbledore came the passing of the most powerful symbol against the Dark Lord Voldemort. Now the Death Eaters are more active than ever, the Wizarding World is in mourning, the Order of the Phoenix has to regroup, and Harry Potter has to follow the path set before him. But Harry will get more help than he bargained for, will have more responsibilities than expected, and will find a spell that nobody knows how to work.
Categories: General Fics Characters: None
Warnings: Book 7 Disregarded
Challenges:
Series: None
Chapters: 37 Completed: No Word count: 151830 Read: 133234 Published: 05/06/06 Updated: 02/28/09

1. The Homecoming by Phoenix 86

2. Delacours Arrival by Phoenix 86

3. A Month's Wait by Phoenix 86

4. The Spell by Phoenix 86

5. Godric's Hollow by Phoenix 86

6. Surprise Attack by Phoenix 86

7. Search for Slughorn by Phoenix 86

8. Extracting Information by Phoenix 86

9. Initiation by Phoenix 86

10. The Orphanage by Phoenix 86

11. Back to the Start by Phoenix 86

12. The Extra Guard by Phoenix 86

13. Watching Kartley by Phoenix 86

14. Change in Pace at Privet Drive by Phoenix 86

15. A New Lead by Phoenix 86

16. The Forest by Phoenix 86

17. Holiday Intrusion by Phoenix 86

18. Defense and Offense by Phoenix 86

19. Spotting a Mole by Phoenix 86

20. Bucket Under the Leak by Phoenix 86

21. Rotten Reunion by Phoenix 86

22. A Turn for the Worst by Phoenix 86

23. Sudden Load by Phoenix 86

24. Sabotage by Phoenix 86

25. Different Tactic by Phoenix 86

26. Lectun Isle by Phoenix 86

27. Betrayals by Phoenix 86

28. A Slight Setback by Phoenix 86

29. In the Flat and Cellar by Phoenix 86

30. The Infiltration by Phoenix 86

31. The Key and the Vault by Phoenix 86

32. Preparation by Phoenix 86

33. Change in Plans by Phoenix 86

34. The Battle Begins by Phoenix 86

35. Little Hangelton Burns by Phoenix 86

36. A Dish Served Cold by Phoenix 86

37. Loyalties by Phoenix 86

The Homecoming by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
This is my first fan fic. Would be very nice if some people reviewed (even if you hate it).
It was a warm mid-June afternoon down Privet Drive with the blazing sun above in a cloudless sky and the flowers in full bloom. It was a normal street filled with normal people doing normal things. Children were playing outside, neighbors were talking about current events, or some were tending to their gardens. That was the case of Petunia Dursley in her best sunhat, who was trying to keep her garden the best in the neighborhood.

Mrs. Dursley stood up from the dirt and looked through the window at her husband, who was watching television. She wiped off some sweat, and thought about making some lemonade, when she head cries coming from down the street. She turned to try and pin point the source of the disturbance. All the commotion was being caused because of three shadowy figures in the distance that were making for her direction. As the parents around pointed them out, they called in their children and locked themselves inside.

“It couldn’t be,” Mrs. Dursley said to herself. Then, as the three figures came closer, she let out a scream and ran inside to tell her husband of the newcomers. Just then Harry Potter and his two friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, came up to the fence in front of number four.

Before they went through the gate Ron stopped and looked around. “Popular around here aren’t you?” he said, with a confused look.

They were each carrying a bag with a change of clothes. Not long ago they had gotten off the Hogwarts Express at Platform nine and three-quarters. From there Ron and Hermione informed their parents about their plans to join Harry at Privet Drive. The three of them got out spare clothes from their trunks and Hermione, being of age and better at magic, vanished them away to the Burrow along with their animals. Harry called for the Knight Bus, and arrived at the end of Privet Drive a minute ago.

“You could thank my aunt and uncle for that,” said Harry. “They’ve been telling everyone that I went to a place for people with problems. St. Brutus’s Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys.”

“Why would they do that?” asked Hermione.

“To explain my absences for my time at school and most likely to humiliate me at the same time. It doesn’t matter, we won’t be staying long.”

“How long exactly?” Ron said, now looking at Harry. “You never told us.”

“How long until Bill and Fleur’s wedding?”

“Mum said it’s scheduled to be in two weeks.”

“Okay, so we’ll stay here for two days. That’s how long I packed for anyway.”

“Maybe they’ll want you to stay longer, Harry,” said Hermione. “I mean if you’re not coming back then they might want to spend more time with you.”

Harry laughed. “Sure, then Voldemort might invite me over for tea and try to patch things up. Well, let’s got this over with,” he said now in a deflated voice, and they crossed the yard to the front door.

Harry knocked only once before the door flung open, a meaty fist dragged him inside, and closed the door on Ron and Hermione’s faces. When he realized what happened, he saw Uncle Vernon’s purple face contorted with unspeakable rage.

“Who do you think you are coming here with you freaky little friends in broad daylight!” he bellowed, a vein was throbbing on his temple, which Harry was expecting to burst.

When Harry finally got a chance to explain himself, he did it in the most polite voice possible. “Listen, my friends and I are just going to stay for a couple of days. Give us that and we’ll off as soon as possible.”

“Send then away!” he said in a low, but dangerous voice. “It is hard enough to tolerate you in this house. I am not about to allow two more of you in here.”

Harry then straightened up and looked at his uncle in the eyes. “Well too bad. We are going to stay here as long as we need. And if you still disagree then you can tell that to my friends yourself. But I should warn you that they are both seventeen. And if you forgot, that is the age that we become adults. So, that means they can now do magic outside of school”legally.”

Uncle Vernon’s expression changed, from rage to fear. He looked behind him at his wife, who nodded. Defeated, he went to open the door, but Harry stopped him.

“Do me the favor of letting us stay of our your own free will and treat us like guests. If you do, than I promise to never darken your doorstep ever again.” Harry was never coming back either way already. But, he was afraid that if he forced his way in then the spell Dumbledore put on them wouldn’t come into effect.

Uncle Vernon’s expression changed again, but from fear to confusion. “What?” he asked. He couldn’t believe his ears.

“Yeah. You heard me. Do all I just said and I’ll never come back.” Harry smiled and clapped his uncle’s shoulder. “So, what do you say?”

Uncle Vernon’s expression changed again, from confusion to absolute joy. Behind him Aunt Petunia gave off a squeal of delight. He straightened up, opened the door and treated Ron and Hermione like the king and queen. “Welcome! Welcome! You are friends of my dear nephew, so of course you could stay a while! You must excuse my behavior a minute ago, I forgot to take my medication.”

“Quite alright,” said Hermione with a bewildered look. Behind her Ron was lost for words, because this was not the person her was acquainted to three years previously. They both looked at Harry, but he made no sign.

“Petunia!” shouted Uncle Vernon. “You should get together some snacks for our guests.” He turned to the three of them. “You should go into the living room and wait for me there.” And he went into the kitchen with his wife, most likely to talk about what to do with them.

“You didn’t put a spell on them did you, Harry?” said Hermione once they entered the living room.

“Of course not,” said Harry half laughing. “I just told them that if they were nice to us then they wouldn’t see me again. But either way I’m not coming back,” he said hoping his aunt and uncle didn’t hear.

“Wow! They must really want to get rid of you,” said Ron. A malicious grin spread across his face. “So, where’s Dudley?” he asked rubbing his hands together.

“Probably out bullying eight-year-olds,” said Harry in disgust.

“Now Ron” said Hermione sternly, “from what I’ve been told Dudley is a git. But you shouldn’t go and jinx him. His parents would throw us out immediately.”

“C’mon Hermione. I’m sure he misses that tail Harry told me about.” He shut up at the look on her face.

A minute later Uncle Vernon came through the door carrying a tray of biscuits. “Hey you three, I would love for you to tell me about your plans,” he said very rigidly.

Even Harry couldn’t believe what his uncle was doing, even though he was the one who told him to be nice. The only other time Harry could remember Uncle Vernon being this much of a suck up was when the Masons came over five years previously.

“You don’t have to do that. All I really meant was feed us and provide some space,” Harry said desperately. He was not in the mood to have a conversation with his uncle.

Still, Uncle Vernon seemed to take this as a test of how nice he could be. “Nonsense, we haven’t spoken much sense you left, and I want to catch up,” he said with a very fake smile.

Harry, Ron and Hermione seemed to have no choice but to try to have some sort of conversation with him. They told him nothing of Voldemort and his Horcruxes, but told him about normal things (at least to them they seemed normal). They tried to tell him about future career plans and vacation spots. When ever something magical was mentioned Uncle Vernon turned a “What the hell is that” to a “Could you explain that to me.”

“An Auror is a dark wizard catcher,” explained Harry as he told Uncle Vernon about his possible career choice. “It takes top grades, but that is the only thing I can think of right now.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll make a fine one,” said Uncle Vernon convincingly, but his hands were balled into a fist on his lap.

“Tell us more about yourself Mr. Dursley,” said Hermione, actually interested and hoping for an excuse to stop talking about herself. Both she and Ron went through details about their families.

“That sounds good,” said Ron playing along. “My dad would especially like to know more about Mug”I mean, non-magical life.”

“What’s been going on since I left?” Harry asked, trying to sound as though he really cared.

“Well,” said Uncle Vernon. “It appears we got new neighbors last month.”

“Appears?” Harry said, actually curious.

“Yes, those people at number seven moved and we haven’t seen the weirdoes who moved in once.” Harry was surprised to see that Uncle Vernon was abusing people normally in front of him, Ron, and Hermione. But soon enough Uncle Vernon realized whom he was talking to.

The awkward conversation for both sides went on until the sun was beginning to go down outside. Soon enough Aunt Petunia came into the living room and announced that dinner was ready. When they entered the dining room Harry was amazed by what Aunt Petunia had cooked. She had made a delicious looking roast, rolls, salad, and all kinds of other things. He was never treated to a meal this good during his time at Privet Drive. Both Ron and Hermione also seemed amazed by the work that must have gone into it.

Harry was just about to declare to himself that the stay might not be so bad, when there was the sound of the front door opening and closing. Then came Dudley’s voice: “I’m home. Dinner smells great, can Piers stay?”

Both Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked at each other in horror. They were just about to go and intercept them in the hallway when Dudley and his rat-faced friend, Piers, came into view. They both stopped at the sight of the person they least suspected to see sitting at the table: Harry.

“Potter?” Piers said after a while. A devilish grin was spreading across his face.

Harry’s insides suddenly boiled with anger. Here was one of the people that made his life hell, Dudley’s right hand person, the one that always held Harry while Dudley punched. He caught himself just before his hand reached for his wand.

“Long time no see, Piers,” said Harry trying to smile and failing miserably.

“Indeed. But I’m confused. Dud here told me you were in a mental clinic,” he said not even trying to hide his laughter. Harry then shifted his eyes towards Dudley, who cringed. Lucky for him Piers was now looking at Hermione. “And who’s this? Is she your nurse? Except for that hair, she’s too much of a looker to be insane.”

Ron them stood right up, but Hermione pulled him down by the arm before he could reach for his wand. “No,” she whispered. They both now looked at Pierce with even more dislike than when he first insulted Harry

“What? I thought that was a compliment,” he said trying to look confused, but he was obviously enjoying himself. He was just daring Ron to attack.

“SO sorry Piers,” said Uncle Vernon suddenly taking action before the situation escalated. “This is a dinner for Harry and his friends. You see they are going to France to study for a couple of years. We’re just sending them off with this little celebration.”

Piers then leaned into Dudley’s ear. “I though we beat all the smarts out him years ago,” he whispered, chuckling slightly.

Dudley only gave off a very weak “Ha.”

“Well then,” Piers said, “I guess I should be going home. Nice seeing you again Potter. And too bad,” he said looking a Hermione, who was still holding Ron. “Looks like you missed you chance.” He said his good byes to the Dursleys, waved at Harry, and after winking at Hermione (which further enraged Ron) he left.

At last Dudley spoke when he heard the front door open and close. “Dad, what are they doing here?” he asked pointing at Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

“Well Dudders,” Uncle Vernon said going to him (Ron and Hermione forgot their anger and almost burst out laughing), “your cousin and his friends are going to stay here for a little while. And it looks like you’re going to have to give up you bed to Harry’s lady friend here. I would give her the guest room, but that belongs to Marge and she’s coming next week. And she can tell when ever anything”BODY!” he said correcting himself as quickly as he could, “has slept in it.”

“Oh no,” said Hermione, ignoring what slipped out, “you don’t have to do that. I’ll sleep in Harry’s bedroom.”

“No, that won’t do. It’s too small for three people. And I won’t have you sleeping in the living room. Besides Dudley doesn’t mind, right?” he said looking at his son.

By the look on the Dudley’s face it was obvious he did mind, but the look on his father’s face told him he had no choice. “No,” he said finally.

“Excellent!” said Uncle Vernon trying to sound happy. “Don’t worry it’ll only be for, um…how long are you staying, Harry?”

“Two nights.”

“Two night it is! Now we should eat this fabulous dinner that Petunia prepared. I’ll explain later,” he whispered in Dudley’s ear.

“Don’t worry Dinky Dums,” said Aunt Petunia to Dudley, “I’ll make sure to give your room a good cleaning.” She didn’t notice Ron and Hermione trying to hide their fits of laughter.
It turns out that the biscuits Harry, Ron and Hermione had earlier were not enough, and they gladly ate their dinner. It was even more delicious then they had guessed and became better as the high tensions started to lift from everybody at the table (except for the Dursleys, who were just faking). Still, they all finished off their plates as quickly as possible, not wanting to spend much time at the table.

Uncle Vernon and Dudley finished first and went upstairs to prepare Dudley’s room for Hermione as an excuse to leave. Harry and Ron followed and went to prepare a mattress for Ron, even though all it took was a wave of the wand.

Hermione, however, went over to Aunt Petunia, who was clearing the table. “Let me help.”

“I think it’s better if I do this alone,” Aunt Petunia said in a falsely sweet voice. “Here we do things the normal way and I’m afraid you will break something.” She continued clearing the table as if the matter was settled.

“I won’t. I come from a normal family and I help my mother.”
Aunt Petunia looked at her in disbelief, she didn’t think that anybody but her own parents would send their child to a school of weirdoes. Then, she let her help, afraid that she would insult Hermione by refusing.

Upstairs Harry and Ron were clearing everything from the middle of Harry’s room. With a wave of Ron’s wand a mattress, blanket and pillow appeared on the floor.

“You know,” Ron said, “it’s really too bad that your aunt cooked for us like that because we’re not supposed to come back. I never knew that Muggle cooking could be that good.”

“Same here. I did most of the cooking here before
Hogwarts. Whenever she cooked herself it was never that good. And during dinner parties I was locked in the cupboard and had to pretend that I didn’t exist.”

“That stinks. So, what are we going to do tomorrow?”

“I dunno. I doubt we should go outside. We might be too open to attack to Voldemort, not to mention Dudley’s gang. I don’t doubt Piers is going to tell everyone, and they will all be looking for me. So, I guess that all we can do is eat, sit around, introduce you to Muggle stuff, and try to think where and what the rest of the Horcruxes are.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun,” said Hermione sarcastically as she came into the room.

“Where were you?” asked Harry.

“Just helping your aunt with the dishes. She seemed surprised that I could clean as well as I did, even though I told her I was Muggle born. You two should have offered to help as well.”

“I’ve done enough cleaning around here to last me a life time,” said Harry looking into the hallway that he scrubbed down many times.

“Yeah,” Ron said, “and besides I’m surprised that they let me into the house in the first place, especially after my dad destroyed the living room. So, I don’t think they’re too keen on me touching anything.”

Luckily she didn’t press the issue any further and the three of them went back down to the living room. There they began their round of guessing on what the rest of the Horcruxes might be and how to find them (Uncle Vernon decided to go to bed so that he could stop talking to them).

“We have four Horcruxes to find: Hufflepuff’s cup, Slytherin’s locket, an artifact of Gryffindor’s or Ravenclaw’s, and Voldemort’s snake,” said Harry again, as if afraid he would forget.

“The snake might be the last one we get rid of,” Ron predicted. “Except for that time it almost killed my dad, I expect that V-Vol-demort would keep it close…. What?” Both Harry and Hermione were starting at him.

“You finally said his name,” said Hermione, surprised.

“I figured that I should get used to it,” said Ron casually, but twitching slightly.

“Anyway,” said Harry, “you have a point about the snake. I may not have seen it during any of my vision during our fifth year, except for that Christmas, but it should be close to him slithering around. So, after I get into Voldemort’s hideout, I’ll have to destroy the snake and then him right after.”

“You mean after we go to the hideout, and we go after Voldemort,” said Hermione.

Harry smiled grimly. “True.”

Just then they head heavy footsteps coming down the stairs and Dudley appeared at the door in his pajamas. “Sorry,” he said trying to sound polite as possible, “but it’s late, I’m tired, and that,” he said pointing to the couch where Ron and Hermione were sitting, “is my bed tonight.”

“No problem,” said Hermione feeling a little guilty about forcing Dudley out of his room. “C’mon you two, we should get to bed as well.”

They exchanged halfhearted good nights with Dudley and they went upstairs. Outside their rooms Hermione said good night to the boys, kissed Ron on the cheek, and went into Dudley’s room.

Deciding not to make anything of that moment, Harry went into his room with Ron and they changed into their pajamas. Ron fell on his mattress and Harry on his bed. Within a few minutes Ron started to snore, but Harry wasn’t tired. It was a very long day for him and he could not believe that Dumbledore’s funeral took place that very day, along with Rufus Scrimgeour’s offer, and Harry having to break up with Ginny.

Harry gulped. She of course was disappointed about the break up, but Harry had no choice and hoped that she would eventually understand better. He and Ginny rode on the train back to Platform nine and three-quarters with Ron and Hermione. After they arrived, Ginny heard Ron telling their parents about his plans and asked Harry to come along. He couldn’t see the harm in it, but Mrs. Weasley would not allow it. In the end they departed with a hug and Harry, Ron and Hermione left on the Knight Bus.

Harry was lost in these thoughts about Ginny for what seemed like a second when he heard a scream and then the sound of something big hitting the floor. He opened his eyes and they were dazzled by the sunlight coming through the window, for it was morning. After Harry found his glasses he saw Ron standing at the door, the side of his face looking murderous. He went to his side and saw Dudley sprawled on the floor, petrified by the sight of Ron’s wand pointed at him.

“Ron, no!” Hermione pleaded. “Put that down, he didn’t do anything. He just surprised me.” She was standing at the doorway into Dudley’s room, and looked nervously at the scene in front of her.

“Yeah,” Dudley whimpered. “Sorry, but I’m not used to having to knock on my own door to get a change of clothes. I didn’t want to peep at your girlfriend, she wasn’t even undressing.”

It didn’t take long for Harry to figure out what was happening. Apparently, Dudley had walked into his room, while Hermione was still in bed. She shrieked in surprise and obviously Ron took instant control of the situation.

Ron looked at Harry and nodded towards Dudley, which clearly meant, “What do you think?”

“I believe him,” said Harry indifferently.

Ron examined Dudley for another moment and put down his wand. “Sorry about that,” said Ron offering him a hand up. “And she’s not my girlfriend.”

Dudley looked at Harry to probably remind himself of the deal the family made. “It’s all right I guess,” he said, still shaking as he took Ron’s hand. He turned to Hermione and said kindly, “Can I get some clothes now?”

“Sure,” she answered getting out of the room. Dudley grabbed some clothes out of his dresser and made for the bathroom. Luckily for them it seemed that Uncle Vernon had already left for work, and out the window they could see that Aunt Petunia was outside talking to the neighbors about the people across the street.

“Honestly, Ron,” said Hermione as she went downstairs.

“What? I thought you were in trouble,” he said calling after her.

“Then you should have known I could have handled the situation myself,” she shouted from the kitchen.

“You know I was just trying to help, right?” Ron asked Harry.

Harry didn’t say anything and they both went downstairs to join Hermione. Considering the fact that Ron was within an inch of cursing Dudley, Ron and Hermione made up in the next five minutes (a new record without Harry having to interfere). The three friends ate together in peace the breakfast that Aunt Petunia already made for them. When Dudley came downstairs he ate as quickly as possible and left. He didn’t tell his mother about the incident upstairs in fear that she would kick out Harry and the deal would be off.

Nothing much happened the rest of the day, but Harry’s predictions about the day started to come true. Aunt Petunia was busy constantly answering the door and behind it were always some friend of Dudley hoping to get a glimpse of Harry. They knew they weren’t supposed to meet at the house, but took the detour anyway. Every time they came Harry was reminded of some bad memory and had to be partially restrained from taking his revenge.

Also, Ron was introduced to many Muggle items around the house. He had to be stopped from putting his hand in the blender and the toaster when they were on and was showed the correct way to operate Dudley’s computer. He also didn’t understand how the radio got its signal without magic. When Uncle Vernon came home and watched television (so that he wouldn’t have to speak to Harry), Ron finally found out the uses of the boxes in the living room and kitchen.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s second and final evening came and the dinner was even better than the day before. Uncle Vernon once again prodded the three with any question he could think of, and Aunt Petunia decided to join in. Their manners were forced, but they did a splendid job in putting up with two wizards and a witch in the house. Even Dudley had some how been polite and it seemed that it would take a long time before he could forgive himself.

“So, when are you three leaving tomorrow?” asked Uncle Vernon. It was the only question that he seemed eager to know the answer to.

“In the morning,” answered Harry.

“I will make sure to make you a splendid breakfast to before you all leave,” said Aunt Petunia.

“And how are you going away?” Uncle Vernon asked, his voice almost daring them to use broomsticks.

“The bus,” Harry said casually.

The Dursleys snorted, but didn’t say anything.
When the dinner ended Harry, Ron, and Hermione continued their conversation from the night before. Then, Dudley, who wanted to go to sleep, once again interrupted them and they went to bed as well.

When the morning arrived Uncle Vernon woke up the three of them. “It’s getting pretty late in the morning, and I’m sure you three have somewhere else to go. Come down and have something to eat.” What he really wanted to say was, “Get out of my house.”

They cleaned up, got dressed, and went downstairs to eat. By the look of the Dursleys when Harry, Ron, and Hermione got to the kitchen, it was clear that last impressions were also important to the family. The Dursleys had dressed up, but still kept casual, and Uncle Vernon took the morning off work to see them all off. They felt that by dressing nice and saying good-bye insured Harry’s riddance from their lives. After breakfast was finished the three friends went back upstairs and packed everything in their bags. Ron made his mattress vanish and Harry looked around the room for any of his possessions, until he realized he had none.

The Dursleys, Harry, Ron, and Hermione then went outside to the front garden. Harry shook hands with Uncle Vernon and Dudley, and gave an unenthusiastic hug to Aunt Petunia. Ron and Hermione did the same (except the hugging) and they and Harry grabbed their bags and stepped out onto the street. Harry stuck up his right hand and then there was a loud BANG. The Knight Bus then rolled down the street and stopped in front of them. Then, a person in a purple uniform not much older than Harry stepped out and gave the usual greeting.

“Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency”hey! It’s you three again. It’s only been two days. So, did you get my joke about the Muggle and the hag?”

“Not yet,” said Ron frustrated as he stepped in with Harry and Hermione. Stan Shunpike’s replacement, Daniel Lumper, had the annoying habit of trying to get everybody to laugh and rarely left Harry, Ron, and Hermione alone during their last trip. “Ottery St. Catchpole.”

“Righty-o!” said Daniel. “Hit it, Ern!”

Before they left Harry took one last look at Dursleys. The three of them were standing on the lawn looking petrified. Harry finally realized what was wrong (other than a bus coming out of nowhere) and started to laugh. He paid Daniel, and he left with Ron and Hermione to the back of the bus.

“What’s so funny?” asked Hermione. BANG. “Surely, you didn’t get that stupid joke,” she said once she recovered.

“Muggles can’t see the Knight Bus!” answered Harry.
Back to index
Delacours Arrival by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
Put Ginny in this chapter, so I only guessed at how she might have acted towards Harry. Not sure how she would really react.

Once they took their seats at an empty table, Harry started to notice that he was getting stares from the people. BANG. Everybody fell over, except for those that managed to hold on to something. But the stares continued.

“I thought that people would get used to me being ‘The Chosen One’ by now,” said Harry.

“Yes, well you still got this kind of attention even after fifteen years of being ‘The Boy Who Lived,’” said Hermione as-a-matter-of-factly.

“Just ignore them, Harry,” said Ron.

Harry then played dumb to the stares and wanted to change the subject. It would have been preferable to talk about the Horcruxes, but there were too many people around. So, the conversation turned to the issue of Hogwarts.

“I doubt it’ll reopen. At least not until V”Voldemort is done away with,” said Ron, flinching slightly.

“But, Hogwarts is the safest place to be. And if enough parents realized that, then it should have no problem reopening. That night only one thing was overlooked. So, that just means more”” BANG “”precautions,” said Hermione, getting up.

“True,” said Harry, “but few families would support it. They would want to stick together. Or, parents might send their kids to foreign schools.”

“Then that’s just one more reason to find all his pieces and destroy them,” she whispered.

“Ottery St. Catchpole next stop,” said Daniel coming from the front of the bus.

Harry, Ron and Hermione picked up their bags and followed him. BANG. They fell over and then found themselves rolling down an empty street. The doors opened and they got out. Before the doors closed again they heard Daniel talk to Ernie.

“Get it Ern! The broom was in the closet!”

“Ar,” Ernie said frustrated. It was clear that he much preferred Stan. The doors closed and BANG, the bus disappeared.

“We’re close to the center of the town,” said Ron looking around.

“Then lead on,” said Hermione very nervously. “I feel too exposed. We should have asked for an escort from the Order.”

“Don’t worry, Hermione. Follow me,” said Ron confidently.

Ron led the way south along the familiar route that they took after the Quidditch World Cup. After a little while they were now walking up the lane and the Burrow came into view. When they were walking down the lawn Mrs. Wealsey came out of the house holding the family clock. Harry guessed that Ron’s hand must be pointed to “traveling” and was about to move to “home.”

She came up to them and first gave Ron a bone-crushing, and then Harry and Hermione. “You all should have warned us that you were coming today. An escort could have been put together,” she said stepping back and looking at them.

“Sorry, Mum. But we’re here now, no harm done.”

“Oh, there’s no point in arguing now. All of you come inside,” she said hastily.

When Harry got inside his eyes immediately fell upon an oncoming Ginny, and his insides turned icy. The way she would treat him would most likely be horrible, and make Harry feel even worse about the breakup. Maybe to show him she meant business, Ginny would tell her mother right there about the relationship. But to Harry complete surprise she just greeted him warmly along with the others, almost as if they were on the same terms as last summer.

Mrs. Weasley, not noticing Harry’s confusion, turned to them. “Harry, Fred and George are vacationing until after the wedding, so you will be in Ron’s room. And you’ll be in Ginny’s room, Hermione. I’d offer you”” she gulped “”Percy’s room, but Charlie is sleeping there, he’s staying until after the wedding as well. Bill is in France right now with Fleur’s parents and will be back a few days before he’s married.”

“But Bill was only injured less then a week ago!” Harry blurted out.

Mrs. Wealsey smiled. “Yes, but he told me that nothing was going to get in the way of him getting to know Fleur’s parents better.”

Mrs. Weasley said no more and she and Ginny went into the kitchen to prepare some food and Harry, Ron and Hermione, who all went upstairs to unpack their things. Hermione left the boys at the third landing. Harry and Ron continued upstairs.

“Pig, get down from there,” Ron said to his owl that was fluttering around the ceiling. It ignored him.

“Hey Hedwig,” Harry greeted his owl that was snoozing in her cage. He took some owl treats from his trunk, which was lying in front of his bed, and gave them to her. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen the whole family,” he said to Ron cheerfully.

“I doubt you’ll see the whole family,” said Ron throwing his bag in the trunk. “Git,” he muttered.

“I hope you mean Percy,” said Harry, remembering Percy’s letter and last Christmas. “Who knows? He might come. It is his brother’s wedding.”

“If he does come it’ll take a lot of restraint to keep me from hexing him.”

“I wouldn’t mind a fair shot either.”

“Who said I’d be fair? The second he turns his back, I’ll be shooting a hex right between his shoulders.”

“And get murdered by your mum,” said Harry risking a small laugh.

“It’ll be worth it.” Ron sighed, and said calmly, “We better get downstairs and eat something. Mum won’t believe that we had a good breakfast at the Dursleys.”

“True,” said Harry laughing more openly.

The next few days at the Burrow passed and the wedding was a little over a week away. Along with the question of why Ginny was acting normally towards him, Harry had a new one arising in his mind. Part of him wanted the answer to be “right away,” but another said, “let’s put it off.” He finally decided by looking to Hermione and Ron (mostly Hermione) for the smart answer.

“What are we going to do after the wedding?” he asked after taking them into Ron’s room. “You know I want to go to Godric’s Hollow, but Ron and I can’t Apparate. We could take the Knight Bus, but I don’t want to rely too much upon it for what we’re doing afterwards.”

“No problem,” responded Ron. “We could just stay here until after you get your license.”

“We’ll still have to take the Knight Bus to Godric’s Hollow, but after that there might be no need for the bus,” said Hermione.

“That sounds good,” said Harry, relieved at the quick and obvious answer.

“One more thing,” said Hermione. “Where are we going to stay afterwards? I doubt we can stay here.”

Harry was afraid of what the logical answer was, but it seemed they had no place else to go. “I say Grimmauld Place.”

“Ugh! It must be filthy after over a year of being empty. Sorry!” she said quickly. A pain had gone across Harry at the mention of the house being empty.

“No problem,” he said, ignoring it. “Anyway, now that I think about it, we should head there first after I get my license. You know, to settle.”

“Excellent!” said Ron, standing up, “we have an extra month. So, why don’t we play some Quidditch? We could get Fred, George, Ginny and Charlie to play.”

“Count me out,” said Hermione recalling the previous day when she almost fell off her broom. “Besides with me around the sides will be uneven.”

“Oh, come on Hermione. All you need is more practice,” urged Ron.

“In case you haven’t noticed I’m not the sporting type.”

Harry quietly slipped out of the room, not wanting to be in the middle of the argument. What’s wrong with those two, he thought. Distracted, he crashed into Ginny, who was standing just outside the door.

“Sorry,” she said. “Mum wanted””

“Let me ask you something,” Harry cut in seeing it as the ideal opportunity to solve the mystery. “Why are you acting as if nothing happened between us?”

Ginny rolled her eyes, and said, “I thought the answer would be obvious.”

“Well it’s not,” Harry retorted. “You thought we would have a mutual understanding on how to treat each other?”

“Yes! I can’t mope around the house all day, can I? I figured this is how you wanted me to act. Look, I am definitely disappointed about the break up, especially since it was for a stupid reason.”

“My reasoning wasn’t stupid! I did it so that Voldemort doesn’t have any reason to come after you!”

“Shouldn’t I feel special!” she said sarcastically. “The great Harry Potter is looking after young and naïve Ginny Weasley.”

Harry saw that she was about to storm out, and grabbed her by the wrist.

“Listen, this is killing me too. So, how about this: When I finish what I have to do, I’ll come back for you if you’ll still have me.”

“Really?” Ginny asked Harry suspiciously.

“Really.”

Ginny then threw her arms around Harry, and he couldn’t help but do the same. After a second, he looked over Ginny’s shoulder and at the landing below them stood Fred and George with looks of confusion and accusation. Harry immediately broke off and turned Ginny to face her brothers.

“How long have you been there?” she asked, with a guilty smile after getting over her surprise.

“Long enough,” answered George, eyeing them. “We came in around Harry’s little promise.”

“How long has this been going on?” Fred asked, crossing his arms.

“Since May,” said Harry not wanting to encourage any hostility. “But as you might have heard I had to end it.”

“Do our parents know about this, Ginny?” George asked her.

“No. Only Ron.” Then she overcame that little feeling of guilt and turned it into rage. “You know it isn’t anybody’s business who I choose to date! And I like Harry, so tough!”

“Hey!” said Fred looking abashed. “We never said we hated the idea of you two dating.”

“We just don’t like the idea of you two dating behind everybody’s backs,” continued George. “Anyway, do you think we should tell our parents, Fred?”

After a brief pause where Harry and Ginny held their breaths, Fred said, “Naw. They aren’t together right now. No need to get anybody else involved.”

“I agree, but,” Fred emphasized, looking at the two, “if you two do get back together (and trust me we’ll know) I expect you to confess.”

“Deal,” said Harry and Ginny. Neither of them wanted to get parents involved at the moment.

The twins then turned to leave and Fred turned back to them. “Oh yeah. Dinner is ready. Get Ron and Hermione too.” He suddenly smiled at them and winked.

A wave of relief suddenly came over Harry and he almost fell over. As far as he could tell Harry and Ginny’s relationship had just gotten Fred’s (and possibly George’s) approval. He opened the bedroom door and the sounds of Ron and Hermione continued argument was heard.

“Ron, if you just paid attention in Professor Binn’s class you would know that didn’t happen in the Goblin Wars,” argued Hermione.

“You know I thought that class was boring,” retorted Ron. “Besides, who says that Mortemore didn’t crush it himself?”

“Excuse me!” yelled Harry. Ron and Hermione stopped arguing. “Dinner. And how did your row go from Quidditch to the Binn’s class?” he asked with genuine confusion.

“You don’t want to know,” said Ron exasperated. It seemed that he purposely didn’t mention that Harry and Ginny were acting more normally.

“Forget all that and let’s go eat,” said Ginny. The four of them went downstairs and ate.

More days passed in the Burrow without much happening. Fred and George had indeed not said anything, but they still kept a close eye on Harry and Ginny just in case. About four days before the wedding Bill, Fleur, and her family finally arrived. First, came in Bill, who had gotten used to his scars, leading many floating trunks. Behind the trunks came in Fleur and was followed by her parents. Mr. Delacour, who apparently was the full wizard, didn’t notice that he had stepped on Harry’s foot because he was gazing at his wife, who was the half veela. And after them came Gabrielle, who seemed a little nervous about the house collapsing on her.

“’Arry! Eet is so good to see you,” said Fleur as she swooped on Harry and kissed him on the cheeks. Behind him, strangely enough, Ron greeted Fleur as though she were a regular person and didn’t seem eager for a kiss. Harry figured it was because Hermione was next to him.

“How have you been holding up?” asked Bill.

“Fine,” said Harry.

“You of course remember my sister,” said Fleur as Gabrielle came up. She had gotten older since the last time Harry saw her. Gabrielle was still young, but it was clear that would likely turn out just like Fleur.

“Eet has been…long time?” Gabrielle said, looking up at her sister.

“Correct. She iz still learning Eenglish,” she explained to Harry.

“Oh, Bill!” said Mrs. Weasley excitedly when she finally finished in the kitchen. She pushed Ron out of her way, and forced Bill down and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I have gotten so used to you being around that it’s agony to have you away.”

“There’s the groom!” came Charlie’s voice as he down the stairs with Fred and George. Charlie was especially happy to see his older brother after so long. The three of them then greeted the Delacours. Harry noticed that Gabrielle was gazing at Charlie dreamily.

“Now, now,” said Mrs. Weasley. “We are having dinner outside tonight.” Fluer’s parents didn’t seem to understand. “Fleur, would you please translate? Bill, your father will be home soon.”

The tables outside were set up just as they had been before the Quidditch World Cup. Mrs. Wealsey had cooked up many of her usual meals, including some French delicacies. Even the Delacours were impressed by how convincing the French food was.

“There’s my boy, back from France!” said Mr. Weasley when he got home. “Four days. It’s almost hard to believe.” He then joined his wife, Bill and the Delacours at the end of the table.

“So, Bill,” said Mrs. Weasley, “where are you and Fleur planning going for your honeymoon?”

“We’re going to spend a couple of weeks in Sicily.”

“Yes,” said Fleur, “I ‘ave been there before and eet ‘as ze most splendid beeches. A few summerz ago””

“I really don’t think that you should go somewhere you’ve been before,” Mrs. Weasley cut in. “It might take a little away from the moment. Why, Arthur and I went to Athens.”

“The Greek food was excellent,” said Mr. Weasley, sticking his fork into his plate.

In the middle of the table sat Charlie, Fred and George having their own conversation.

“So, Charlie,” said George, with a grin spreading across his face, “I guess you’ll be the next one to tie the proverbial knot.”

“What makes you say that?” said Charlie nervously.

“George and I intercepted a couple a very worn out owls from Romania. Interestingly enough they were all addressed to somebody named ‘My Dearest Charles.’”

“Now who could that be?” said George putting his hand under his chin and pretending to think.

“You have a girlfriend, Charlie?” said Mrs. Weasley overhearing the conversation.

Charlie grew red under his many freckles and smiled dangerously at his brothers. “I’m going to kill you guys,” he said through his teeth.

“Don’t be so hasty,” said Fred, wagging his finger. “I don’t think that ‘Natty-poo’ would want you to commit murder.”

“It’s Natalya! Now shut up,” hissed Charlie. Gabrielle looked devastated.

“Why didn’t you bring her?” Mrs. Weasley pressed on, disappointed.

“I would have considered it, but one of her dragons took sick and she had to stay,” Charlie said, trying to hide his face.

“Why would you have only considered it? I would very much like to meet her.”

“The thing is, Mum, that she isn’t what you”or, any of you”might call…normal,” he finally said.

“Well, if she works with dragons like you do, then she must be slightly odd. Now, it would be very nice if you come over for the holidays and you bring her with you.”

Fred and George were still sniggering at Charlie.

At the other end of the table sat Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. They were not talking, but were enjoying each other’s company. Harry and Ginny have been on better term since his promise and were now on even more similar terms as the last summer. Ron and Hermione have also been getting along better since their last fight and now being nicer towards each other. But Ginny was starting to look a little uncomfortable as the dinner progressed and she kept eyeing the three friends.

“What are you three going to do?” she blurted out loud enough so that only they could hear.

“What?” Harry said.

“I overheard you guys talking outside the room that day. You’re all going to Godric’s Hollow first and then some sort of thing. That’s why I was standing behind the door,” she said looking down at her plate. “I know it has everything to do with Voldemort, but could I have some details?”

“I think we should continue this inside,” said Hermione quietly. The four of them got up and stole away into the kitchen.

“I know what you’re thinking, Ginny,” Ron said once they got inside. “And you can’t come with us.”

“Why not! If you can go it, so can I, Ron. Don’t underestimate me,” Ginny said hotly.

“I’m not, but you aren’t of age yet and Mum won’t let you. I mean if school reopens it’ll be hard enough to tell her me, Hermione, and Harry aren’t going back.”

“What! Do Mum and Dad”oh, of course they don’t know. They would be throwing a fit. Besides it’s really up to Harry, isn’t it?”

“Ron’s right, Ginny. And I told you I didn’t want to put you in danger,” said Harry.

“The only reason you are letting Ron and Hermione come with you is because they are your friends, and they want to be with you where ever you’re going. You won’t let me come because I was your girlfriend. Well, I’m not anymore. I’m your friend and I want to be with you too.”

“But Ginny,” said Hermione, “you aren’t of age yet. You are still under your parent’s authority. They will never let you do something that is so obviously dangerous.”

“And what if I was of age?”

“Then I can’t stop you,” said Harry. “I didn’t ask Ron and Hermione to come, but forced themselves into this and nobody can stop them.”

“Then you can expect me in a year and two months (if it lasts that long),” said Ginny sternly.

Harry ran his hair in frustration in knowing that she was serious. “Fine,” he finally said, “I don’t doubt that you could help out.”

Ron looked disheartened and tried to cheer up. “Now since that’s settled,” he said, “I believe I haven’t had my proper share of the meal.” He went back outside to the table. Hermione rolled her eyes and followed him and last came Harry and Ginny.

The time before the wedding allowed for the two families to get to know each other better. Since it was Charlie that helped handle the dragon that their daughter had to face, Mr. and Mrs. Delacour took some interest in his work. Fred and George took it upon themselves to show their future sister-in-law how to have a good time around the Burrow. They set off no-heat fireworks at night, let her watch the testing of new products for the joke shop, and showed her Ron’s reaction to spiders in his bed. They gave Gabrielle free samples from the shop: Patented Day Dream Charms and a pygmy puff.

Finally came the night before the wedding. As Harry tried on his dress robes for the next day, he realized how much he was looking forward to it. Not only because it would be his first time attending a wizard version of a wedding, but his first wedding ever. Next to him Ron had on his dress robes, which were much nicer than the ones he wore to the Yule Ball.
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A Month's Wait by Phoenix 86
The wedding the next day was both everything and nothing that Harry had expected. The actual ceremony itself was basically the same thing that one would expect at a Muggle wedding. But the reception party was what amazed Harry the most. There were dozens of tables set up around the backyard, hundreds of differently colored orbs floating in mid-air to provide lighting, and even the gnomes in the Weasleys’ backyard were put to use as servers. Never-ending tankards of butterbeer and fire whiskey were set up all around the yard, all the food was better than ever, and large wireless speakers provided the dancers with loud music.

All in all, Harry had a wonderful time. He enjoyed it so much that he got caught up in the euphoria and snogged Ginny for about ten minutes, hopefully away from prying eyes (Fred and George’s, mostly). After that, they realized what they had done without any great regrets from Harry, and went back to their status of being broken up.

Ron and Hermione’s day could possibly gone the same way, but they overheard Fleur express her discontent that Victor Krum had to leave so early. Ron immediately blew things out of proportion and turned to Hermione, demanding to know where she had been during her short period of absence that she claimed was for a bathroom break. Even Harry enjoyed sniggering behind their backs with Fred and George.

Far into the night, the party ended when Bill and Fleur left to spend the night in a fancy hotel room they rented in London.

Hermione and Ron didn’t totally make up by the next morning, but it was a definite improvement over how long their arguments usually lasted. They put their trouble aside since Bill and Fleur were coming over before leaving on their honeymoon.

“So,” Ginny asked over the last breakfast with the two families together, “are you two Apparating to Sicily?”

“Oh, no,” Bill answered, “We might get separated. We bought a luxury broom in France that will take us the whole way there.”

“Eet will be so romanteek eef we argue about which way to go. Zat will only prove to everybody we are married.” Fleur leaned in and kissed Bill on the cheek.

“Riiight,” said Ginny slowly, giving her a look as though worried about her mental health. Everybody else laughed and continued to eat.

After breakfast they all went outside into the warm summer sunshine. Bill went back into the house and brought out a trunk and the broom they would be using. Harry could only describe the broom as a boxy Y shape. There was a large space in between the two seats for luggage, charmed so that nothing would fall off the broom.

Bill and Fleur said good-byes to their families (Harry and Hermione too) and mounted the broom. They zoomed up into the air and flew away south. It wasn’t until the broom was a speck in the sky that the spectators moved again. The Delacours then got their trunks and met the Weasleys at the front of the house. The parents of both families said their good-byes, and Gabrielle somehow managed to coax Charlie down to kiss him on both cheeks. Mrs. Delacour grabbed Gabrielle’s hand and Mr. Delacour took the trunk. They turned and waved to everybody, and Disapparated.

“Well,” said Charlie, “I guess I should be going too.” He already had his things with him.

“Try to bring your girlfriend for Christmas this year if you can make it,” said Mrs. Weasley when she hugged Charlie.

“Uh”sure,” he said casting an evil wary eye toward Fred and George.

Crack.

Following Charlie’s departure, Fred and George also announced their leaving.

“Well, vacation’s over,” Fred said, both rundown and enthusiastic about getting back to work.

“I hope Verity wasn’t too swamped while we were gone,” George said.

“She shouldn’t be,” Fred reassured him. “Those instructions you left her should have made it easier for her.”

George stared in horror. “I thought you left her the instructions!”

“I told you to do it!”

“But I was packing my things!”

“I was packing my things!”

“’Bye!” the twins said in unison, Disapparating.

The rest of the month leading up to Harry’s seventeenth birthday went by just as the previous two weeks”except for the absence of Charlie and the twins, and no more wedding talk. Everything was passing along peacefully and it was starting to feel like a regular summer, but the same didn’t go for the outside world.

Two days after the wedding there was an attempted assassination on the Diggorys. They both made it out with minor injuries, but the Death Eater, who probably underestimated them, was in intensive care. After he healed he would be thoroughly questioned. To Hermione’s horror, Professor Sinistra, who was apparently believed to have been very close to Dumbledore, was tortured to death for information regarding Order business. Luna’s father was also killed for his role in revealing Voldemort, even though it has been more then a year ago. Luckily, Luna had been in Diagon Alley buying crushed snake fangs. The Ministry forced her into hiding.

“Poor Luna,” said Ginny, almost in tears. It was halfway through July and she, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in the living room reading the Daily Prophet. This touched the four of them the most out of anyone at Hogwarts. Luna was the only person other than Neville that was part of the D.A., at the Department of Mysteries, and the only members that came to help during the battle at the school.

To top everything, there was another mass breakout from Azkaban and all the Death Eaters captured at the Department of Mysteries escaped.

More bad news came as another week went by, but it was momentarily forgotten in the Burrow, for Bill and Fleur had come back. According to the couple, they had apparently lost an entire day of the honeymoon because they didn’t realize that they overshot Sicily until they saw Egypt below them. When they finally got to the hotel it turned out that the reservations were lost. So they didn’t get the luxury beach house they asked for. Instead they got a small shack that flooded during high tide and didn’t get much room service. Still, Bill and Fleur admitted to having a good time. The sunset was beautiful through their window and the beach was still marvelous. High tide gave them an excuse to get on the bed.

After the welcome-home dinner Bill and Fleur Disapparated to their new home in London. Another week passed and finally came Harry’s seventeenth birthday. Bill and Fleur came back, along with Fred and George. Hagrid, Lupin, Tonks and Moody came by also.

“All righ’ there, Harry,” said Hagrid, as he clapped him on the shoulder, which caused Harry’s knees to buckle. “Seventeen now, blimey. It on’y seems yest’rday that I fetched ye from the Dursleys.”

Harry had to agree, for this day marked his sixth year since his introduction into the wizarding world. He hoped that he would live to see his seventh.

“So how are things at the school?” Harry asked, trying to keep his mind on other things.

“Not the same without Dumbledore there,” he said sadly. “But I’m still sticking aroun’ ter perform me gamekeeper duties. McGonagall’s stayin’ at the castle too, so that’s some comfort, she bein’ the new Head an’ all.”

Harry patted Hagrid on the shoulder in remorse and joined him in getting a piece of cake.

His presents were some of the greatest that he had ever received. He got a watch from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, assorted sweets from Lupin and Tonks, a dark-detecting device from Moody, a new pocket knife from Hagrid, a number of items from Fred and George’s shop, an updated copy of Quidditch Through the Ages from Hermione, and Ron and Ginny pitched in for Seeker gloves.

“Thanks,” Harry told them happily. I hope I’ll be able to use them, he thought miserably.

Unfortunately, the pleasant mood was killed just as it had been the year before. While everyone was going at the cake, when news came of five more Muggle-born murders, and all the victims were high up in the Ministry. Also, Dolores Umbridge was murdered in full view during a rally for the support of the identification and relocation of all half-human creatures. The theory was that a murder of person high in the Ministry out in the open would further lower public confidence in the government.

“Putting that aside,” Mrs. Weasley half-shouted, forcing a piece of the cake into Bill’s hands. She then spoke softly. “Arthur, why don’t you tell Harry the plan?”

“Right,” said Mr. Weasley, turning to Harry. “I will be escorting you to the ministry to earn your last gift, your Apparition license”and Ron too,” he added as an afterthought.

Harry and Ron gave a shout of joy, and later in the afternoon the two of them and Mr. Weasley were walking down the lawn.

“Okay, boys, since this isn’t a misuse of magic trail you will be Side-Along Apparating with me. Now grab my arms.”

They did as they were told and Mr. Weasley stepped forward. Harry felt the usual pressure and then it subsided. When he opened his eyes he found they had appeared outside the rundown telephone box, the entrance to the Ministry.

“Why didn’t you just take us inside, Mr. Weasley?” asked Harry.

“Because you two are guests, and this is the guest entrance. All right, step inside.”

They stepped inside as best they could and Mr. Weasley dialed six, two, four, four, and two. The dial rolled back into place and the cool female voice filled the space.

“Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business.”

“Arthur Weasley,” he said aloud, “Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects, here to escort Ron Weasley and Harry Potter for their Apparition tests.”

“Thank you,” the voice responded. “Visitors, please take your badge and attach it to the front of your robes.”

The silver badges came out the coin slot and Mr. Weasley gave them one each. Harry’s read Harry Potter, Apparition Test. He and Ron pinned them to their shirts.

“Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wands for registration at security, which is located at the end of the Atrium.”

The floor shuddered and the telephone box descended slowly. It became dark when they went fully underground and a golden light at their feet appeared and grew larger. Then, the Atrium came into full view.

“The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day.”

They stepped out of the telephone box and started to walk down the Atrium. They passed the fireplaces on both sides, and the empty space where the Fountain of Magical Brethren used to stand.

When they reached the security desk the security wizard, Eric, put Harry and Ron’s wands through the usual procedure.

“Fourteen inches, willow, one unicorn hair, been in use for four years,” Eric said, reading the slip from Ron’s wand. “And eleven inches, holly, phoenix tail, used for six years.” He gave back their wands and placed the slips of paper in the spike.

Harry, Ron, and Mr. Weasley went through the golden gates to the lifts.

“Hold on!” yelled Mr. Weasley to a lift that was closing. They caught it just in time and they started to ascend as the grilles slid closed.

“Level seven,” said the same voice from the phone booth, “Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Official Gobstones Club, and Ludicrous Patents Office.”

The grilles opened and people came in and out, along with some interdepartmental notes. The grilles closed and they started to ascend again.

“Level six, Department of Magical Transport, and the incorporating the Floo Network Authority, Broom Regulatory Control, and Apparition Test Center.”

“This is us,” said Mr. Weasley, grabbing Harry and Ron. They bustled through the crowd and left the elevator as the grilles shut.

They passed through a corridor and a room full of cubicles with working people, who weren’t maimed like some of the Aurors on the second floor. They went into another corridor and at the end of it were large double doors marked Apparition Test Center. Through the doors they could hear the faint sounds of people Apparating.

“I’m leaving you two here,” said Mr. Weasley. “If you pass, then go back home. If not, then use the Floo Network. Either way, I want you to send me a note.” He clapped them both on the shoulders and left.

Harry and Ron opened the doors and sounds of Apparition were more profound, with the occasional shrieks of terror of someone splinching. The room was huge, about the size of two cathedrals. On the side they were standing on there were many lines of people waiting to take their tests. They came up to a desk with a wizard behind it wearing earplugs and reading the Daily Prophet.

“Take a form, fill it out and give it to an Apparition examiner,” the man shouted automatically, barely looking at them over the top of the paper.

Harry and Ron did as they were told and filled out the forms with the provided quills. It asked simple things such as name and date of birth.

“Now wha”” Ron started to ask.

“Get in a line,” interrupted the man, jabbing his thumb toward the lines behind him.

They both the chose the second line from the left and waited.

“Nervous?” Harry asked.

“Oh, no,” said Ron anxiously. “Just because if I fail again I’ll never hear the end of it from Fred and George, and Hermione might think less of me, doesn’t mean I’m nervous. I mean, what if I end up like Charlie and Apparate five miles south of here?”

“Come off it. Sure Fred and George will never let it go, but Hermione won’t care. She knows tests were never your strong point. And I’m sure if you so overshoot, then it’ll only be three miles.”

“Thanks a lot,” he said sarcastically. “What about you?”

“I’m okay,” Harry lied. The truth was that he had bats instead of butterflies in his stomach. He had already done this before, but it had been under very different circumstances.

They waited for another twenty minutes until the Apparition instructor called Harry’s name. As he stepped forward Ron gave him a thumbs up.

“Form, please,” said the instructor. He took the form from Harry and his eyes widened. He looked from Harry to his scar. “You’re””

“Here for the test. Correct,” Harry said, interrupting forcefully. There was another shriek of terror as another person splinched.

“Uh…yeah. Sorry about that.” The instructor checked over Harry’s form again. “All seems in order,” he said, as he signed it and gave it back to Harry. “Now, all you have to do is Apparate to the other side of the room. If you passed, then give the form to the man waiting for you and he’ll give you your license. If you don’t pass (and you will know if you did), we’ll help you out and you can come back some other time to try again. Take your time.”

Harry shut his eyes and concentrated on the other side of the room. Somebody else shrieked. Maybe the three D’s would actually help. Destination, Determination, Deliberation…nothing, he thought bitterly. To Apparate to the other side of the room was all he wanted. He waited for another second and stepped forward. The pressure came and left, and when he opened his eyes he found himself on the other side. Harry could hear a very faint whoop from Ron. Harry checked himself for any missing body parts and cheered as well.

“Form,” said a tired-looking wizard, snatching the form from Harry. He inserted it into the slot of a large camera. There was a blinding flash and a plastic card shot out of another smaller slot from under the lens. The wizard then took it and shoved it into Harry’s hands. He then went to serve somebody else who just appeared.

Harry looked at his license. It had all of the information that Harry put on his form, as well as his picture. He stuck it in his pocket.

Crack.

Ron had just Apparated a little to Harry’s left. He checked all of his body (especially his eyebrows) and cheered. Ron went through the same procedure as Harry and they left through the large double doors marked Exit.

Trying to find their way back to the elevators, they found an office. Ron sent a message to his dad and Harry got directions. Within minutes they were both walking down the Atrium.

“Ready for your first licensed Apparition?” Harry asked.

“More than I ever was,” answered Ron.

They both thought about the Burrow. They stepped forward and turned. Then the Burrow appeared in front of them.

When Harry and Ron entered that house it was clear that they were not to getting the triumphant return they had been expecting. All the guests except for Bill and Fleur had left and everybody was sitting around the kitchen table. Ginny seemed the most subdued.

“Uh…we passed,” said Ron uncertainly. All eyes at the table shifted toward them.

“What happened?” Harry asked.

“We got a letter from Hogwarts,” said Hermione, holding up an envelope with the Hogwarts crest. “It says that they won’t be reopening until the threat is either gone or diminished.”

“I am indeed sorry zat ‘Ogwarts will not be reopening,” said Fleur somberly. “Eet was a wonderful school.”

“What is going to happen now?” Mrs. Weasley asked to nobody in particular. “Hogwarts is the safest place there is. And what about you four?” she said to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. “What are you going to do without a complete education?”

“I know eet will not be ze same, but I am certain zat I can convince Madame Maxime to take all of you in.”

This offer took Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny completely off guard, but it cheered Mrs. Weasley very much.

"Oh, that would be delightful, Fleur!” said Mrs. Weasley excitedly. Harry figured that this was the first time she was glad to be related to Fleur.

“What!” Ginny blurted out. “No offense, but I really don’t want to go to school in France! And I’m sure this lot feels the same way.” She pointed to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

“But, Ginny, you all don’t have much of a choice. What are you going to do without a complete education?”

“We’ll manage,” said Harry. “Besides, I already have plans.”

“You mean we already have plans,” said Ron and Hermione.

“Plans?” said a confused Mrs. Weasley. “I thought the Dursleys were””

“That was just stage one, Mum,” said Ron.

“But you never ran anything else by me, Ronald.”

“Sorry, but I’m seventeen now, Mum. I don’t have to.”

Mrs. Weasley stood up and slapped Ron hard across the back of his head as best she could. “That may be true! But I only have your best interests in mind”all of yours! Now, what are these plans?” she demanded.

“Traveling,” said Harry quickly, hoping it would somehow be a good enough excuse.

“Traveling? But there is plenty of time for that after school. And where to, exactly?”

“We’re going to spend a little time in Godric’s Hollow. Then, we go wherever we have to.”

Before Mrs. Weasley could retort, Bill stood up and cut her off. “Listen,” he said, glaring at the three of them, “You lot may be of age, but what was the point of the last six years if you’re not going to finish? And the same goes for you, Ginny.”

“This is important,” said Harry. “Even more than school right now. I am sure that Beauxbatons is a very good school, but I can’t go. And I can’t say what we are going to do.”

“Why?” said Mrs. Weasley, sounding more worried.

“It’s a secret, Mum,” said Ginny, standing up. “I don’t know myself, Harry wouldn’t tell me. But I do know this is important.”

“Really,” said Bill suspiciously. “Tell me, Harry. Would you still go through with this if Hogwarts did reopen?”

Harry shifted uncomfortably. “Yes, this is important,” he said. Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement.

“It can’t be more important than a proper education,” said Mrs. Weasley desperately. “I will not let anybody stay in this house if they are supposed to be in school. And if you still refuse to go then you will have to go somewhere else.” It pained her to say that, but she hoped it would scare them with the prospect of nowhere to stay.

“What about me?” Ginny cried out.

“If you still don’t want to go to Beauxbatons, then you will just have to go with Harry.”

Harry wouldn’t meet Ginny or Mrs. Weasley’s eyes. “I’m sorry, but Ginny can’t come.”

“That just proves you’ll be doing something dangerous,” said Mrs. Weasley, bursting into tears and putting her head against Ron’s shoulder.

“Sorry, Mum, it’s just something that we have to do,” said Ron, putting an arm around her.

“Can’t this be done by the Order?” she sobbed.

“No,” said Hermione, “it has to be us.”

“I think that we’ll have to leave tomorrow,” said Harry. “But I can at least tell you we’re stopping by Grimmauld Place first.”

Ginny was the next one to start crying. “So I guess I’ll be going to France. But I don’t want to leave everybody behind. It’ll take weeks to get news by owl.”

“Do not worry,” said Fleur, “I will make sure zat you can keep close contact. I don’t know ‘ow, but I will.”

Harry turned and tried to leave in the same manner he had at Dumbledore’s funeral.

Crack.

Harry stumbled backward and the mood in the kitchen was interrupted by the appearance of Kreacher, who saw Harry and bowed low.

“What do you want?” Harry snarled. This is not good timing.

“Master must know by now that Hogwarts is closed,” croaked Kreacher with a slightly gleeful tone. “All other house elves of school to be taken care of in another place, but not Kreacher, no. Kreacher does not belong to the school he belongs to Master. So Kreacher came to Master for his next orders.”

Harry ran his hand across his face. Of course, he thought miserably. He was then struck by a thought and turned to Mrs. Weasley, who had momentarily forgotten her main troubles.

“Mrs. Weasley, Ron told me once that you wanted an elf to help out. Why don’t you”?”

“Quite all right, dear,” she said, backing off. “He belongs to you, not me.” She tried to sound grateful for the offer and forced a smile.

“Bill””

But Bill was hiding Fleur behind him and giving Kreacher a look of dislike. The same went for Ron and Ginny. Not surprisingly, Hermione pitied the elf.

“Fine,” said Harry, rounding back on the elf. “Just go back to Grimmauld Place and wait for me there.”

Kreacher bowed again. “Right away,” he said, delighted.

Crack.

“Sorry about that,” Harry said to everyone.

“Harry,” said Hermione, “if Kreacher can’t be with the other Hogwarts elves, doesn’t that mean””

Crack.

Harry stumbled again, but was not surprised to see Dobby, who was holding an unconscious Winky. They were both was wearing some of Hermione’s old knitted scarves and hats, and Dobby had on a pair of socks that Harry had given him.

“Harry Potter!” said Dobby, putting Winky down (Hermione gently picked her back up) and jumping onto Harry. “It is good to see you, sir!”

“Same here,” said Harry, unsure of what to say. He wasn’t surprised to see Dobby, but was curious of Dobby’s intentions. “Why are you here?” he asked, putting him back on the floor. “I’m not your master.”

“Dobby and Winky have been fired,” he said sadly, ears drooping. “They say they will only help real Hogwarts elves, sir. But I came here with hope that Harry Potter could help us!”

Instantly, Harry saw the answer to Ginny’s problem. “Mrs. Weasley!” he said. “I know that you don’t like Kreacher, but Dobby’s different. He cleaned the entire Gryffindor common room all by himself for months. And he’s cheap.”

“That’s true,” Hermione eagerly supported. “He only worked for a Galleon a week”by himself? Why?” She was now eyeing the hats and scarves Dobby and Winky wore.

“Later,” said Harry, waving her off. “So, what do you say?”

“Harry, this isn’t the best time for this,” said Mrs. Weasley. “We are in a middle of a serious problem, remember?”

“Exactly. And Dobby is the answer to one other problem.” He turned to Dobby and asked, “Can you Apparate between here and France?”

“It is no problem for Dobby,” said the elf.

“See? He can pass news much faster than an owl.”

Mrs. Weasley smiled warmly down at the house-elf, and said, “Very well, we can discuss payment later. Why don’t you start by getting Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s dirty laundry?” She looked at the three of them. “They will need fresh clothes for when they leave tomorrow.”

“And what about ze other elf?” asked Fleur, looking at Winky with both sadness and interest. “Can she do all ze things you do and be paid ze same…Dobbee, is it?”

“Dobby is sure she can, ma’am. But Dobby does not know if she will be up to it. She is still very sad about her old master, ma’am.”

“Yes, well, when do you think we can contact Madame Maxime, Fleur?” asked Mrs. Weasley.

“Right away,” said Fleur, standing up and taking Bill with her. “We can go to our ‘ome now. Ginny better come as well.”

“All right.” She turned to Dobby. “I will base my decision on payment on the quality of the laundry, so you should get started. And your friend could stay as long as she is no trouble.”

“Winky will be no trouble, ma’am, no trouble at all,” said Dobby happily, and he left for the stairs to the other rooms.

“Didn’t even tell him where our rooms are,” laughed Ron.

“He’ll figure it out,” said Mrs. Weasley, giving Ron a hug. “We will be back soon. And I do hope you know what you’re doing.” She gave Harry and Hermione a hug and left.

“Sorry,” said Harry as he hugged Ginny as well before she left. She made no reply and followed her mother.

Harry could only imagine what it must have been like for Mr. Weasley when he got home later that evening. They now had a house-elf that was exceptional at chores, their daughter was now enrolled in a foreign school, and Ron would be leaving with Harry and Hermione the next day for some dangerous task, about which they would not go into detail.

“Blimey,” he said miserably. “I’m doubting if I should ever go back to work again.”

Not one of the best endings to my birthday, Harry thought.

When Harry got to bed he felt guilty about defying Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who had taken care of him. But finding the Horcruxes was far more important than fulfilling Uncle Vernon’s lie about him studying in France. And after that, Harry has to face Voldemort once and for all.
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The Spell by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
Very special thanks to my Beta Lyric for fixing chapters 3 and 4. Hopefully, she will return. Please review.
Harry and Ron woke up the next morning to find a pile of freshly laundered clothes at the foot of each of their beds. They packed them in their trunks and went downstairs to have some breakfast. There, Hermione met them and she was also ready to go.

“Well, the month is up,” said Ron sadly as he sat down next to Harry.

“It has to be today, or we’ll never leave,” Harry said.

Mrs. Weasley brought over a large plate of eggs and put it down in front of them. “So you will be going to Grimmauld Place?”

“Yes,” Harry said, piling eggs onto his plate. “After that, we’re stopping by Godric’s Hollow.”

“Make sure you come by at least once a month and for the holidays.”

“That’ll be okay,” Hermione said. “Will it, Harry?”

“Sure.” He smiled at the prospect of taking time off from his search, though he doubted it would be possible.

“Marvelous,” said Mr. Weasley as he entered the kitchen. “I’m off to work,” he said, shaking their hands and gripping Harry on the shoulder. “Now be careful”all of you!” He kissed Mrs. Weasley on the cheek, left through the door, and disappeared in the distance.

“Hey,” greeted Ginny when she sat down at the table.

“What took you?” asked Hermione. “You were awake by the time I left the room.”

“Still tired,” she said, shrugging her shoulders and smiling weakly.

After finishing breakfast, Harry, Ron, and Hermione went upstairs and levitated down the trunks and cages. Once they got outside, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny hugged each of the three.

“Now take care and don’t get into too much trouble,” said Mrs. Weasley as she hugged Ron.

“We won’t,” Ron lied.

“Expect me to join in a year and a bit,” whispered Ginny as she hugged Harry.

“I will,” said Harry, hugging her back.

He almost had to pry himself away from her. Harry, Ron, and Hermione then made their way down the lawn. Thinking about Grimmauld Place, they Apparated to the same spot Mr. Weasley had. After the pressure subsided, they found themselves outside the dirty and unkempt house. They made their way down the walkway to the door with the serpent-shaped knocker. As Harry went for the doorknob, the door clicked and opened without it being touched.

“You are the owner now, Harry,” explained Hermione.

“I know,” Harry said, a little frustrated by being told the obvious.

“Well,” said Ron quietly, while going in, “it’s not as dirty as when I first came here, but it could still use a good cleaning.”

“I agree,” said Hermione. “We should do that if we’re going to live here for a while.”

“All right,” said Harry, “we’ll make this place inhabitable today and make for Godric’s Hollow tomorrow. I’ll take Fred and George’s room. You two can sleep where ever you want.”

They quietly passed the portrait of Mrs. Black and went up the stairs. Harry was left alone once he got to his room. He put his trunk in front of one of the beds and put Hedwig on top of the dresser.

“I’ll let you out later,” Harry told Hedwig, giving her an owl treat from the trunk.

Before Harry left the room, he heard a muffled voice coming through the door: “That bratty, little master, bringing his nasty friends into this house again. Oh, how my old mistress would weep. If only I was miss Bellatrix’s elf, everything would be so much better.”

Harry opened the door and Kreacher bowed low when he saw him. “What are you up to?” Harry asked, not really caring.

“Kreacher was only going through the home that he has known all his life. Is that forbidden?” The elf was staring angrily at the floor. “Good master, bringing back the Mudblood and traitor.”

“Stay out of my sight unless I call you,” Harry commanded, looking at Kreacher with spite. “But stay in the house.” Harry left without another word.

He met up with Ron and Hermione in the kitchen and it seemed that they also ran in with Kreacher.

“I swear, I can’t stand that lunatic elf,” said Ron, ignoring Hermione’s disapproving grunt. “Just comes into my room and starts to insult me under his breath. Thinks I can’t hear him.”

“That is not fair, Ron,” argued Hermione. “Kreacher has had a horrible life and has been influenced by his old owners.”

“Yeah, but the thing is that they are dead and he now belongs to Harry. Yet, the nutter still talks about them as if they were the most noble people to walk the Earth.”

“Well, he still feels a connection to them. I bet Dobby hasn’t gotten used to insulting the Malfoys without having to punish himself.” She turned to Harry. “Kreacher might speak badly about his old masters if you set him free.” Hermione gave Harry the same hopeful look she once gave Sirius.

But that only pained and angered Harry. “No way, Hermione. Kreacher might still know too much about the Order. He could still betray us.”

“Can’t betray someone if you were never on their side,” muttered Ron.

“Well, I don’t believe that there isn’t any good in Kreacher,” defended Hermione. “Just treat him better, Harry. He might still come around.”

“I doubt I’ll be doing that anytime soon,” responded Harry. “Look, we still have the whole day ahead of us. Why don’t we do what you said, and clean the place a bit.”

“I hope the rodent doesn’t get in the way again,” said Ron, getting up from his chair. Hermione once again backfired. She and Ron started to argue again.

Harry sent them to different sections of the house, and he went to his own room to start the clean up. After letting Hedwig out, Harry didn’t feel like being thorough and simply blasted the dust with air shooting from his wand and opened a window. He discovered a mold that was growing behind his bed and decided to blast it away. But that only sent pieces of it everywhere and made the job of getting rid of it more tedious.

After finishing, Harry went downstairs to help Ron out with his room. It was not as bad as Harry’s, but there was a strange buzzing sound coming from the curtains. They decided to leave that alone and Harry suggested that Ron should try and find a new room.

“Remind me again why we’re back here,” Ron asked Harry tiredly.

“Because,” Harry said, just as tired, “we have no place else to go. Besides, this place can still only be found by the people Dumbledore shared the secret with.”

“Including Snape,” Ron added.

Harry shrugged. “Yes, but Snape will have to come alone. I’m sure the three of us can take him. It’s not like we’re going to hold back.”

“But even that might not be enough!”

Harry ignored that comment. If Snape was foolish enough to come, it’ll be his funeral. As if I’ll leave the body to have a proper burial, he thought spitefully.

Finally, Harry and Ron met up with Hermione in the drawing room. There wasn’t any doxy infestation there, but a large, horned rat had to be forced from the back of the bookcase (Hermione decided to hold back and yell instructions). During the struggle, many books that survived the purge two years previously fell out.

“Afraid of rats, are you?” said Ron, who had the horned rat in a Leg-locker curse.

“No, just the ones that have more weapons than teeth.”

Harry, meanwhile, was putting all the books back on the shelf. There was one that made him scowl when he saw it: Necessary Purification by Means of the Dark Arts by Oscar Sangre. Still, curiosity got the best of him and he flicked it open to the inside cover. A note was written:

Dear son,

I hope this book will help you on your noble mission.

Yours lovingly,

Mother

Written beneath the letter at the very bottom was something else, but in very different handwriting: Lectun Repalo.

Shrugging his shoulders, Harry got another book from the bookcase and tossed it to the ground a few feet away and pointed his wand at it.

Hermione then noticed what he was doing. “Harry, what are”?”

“Lectun Repalo!” yelled Harry. He waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened.

“What was that all about?” asked Ron, coming to Harry’s side and looking at the book in his other hand and snatching it. “Necessary Purification by Means of the Dark Arts,” he read.

“That’s not what interests me,” said Harry, opening the cover. “That is.” He pointed to the incantation under the note.

Hermione came over too and read what was on it. “Are you crazy!” she exclaimed. “I thought you learned your lesson about performing spells without knowing what they do!”

“What’s the big deal?” said Ron. “It didn’t do anything.”

“Yeah,” agreed Harry. “Besides, I thought you always like to learn new things.”

“Not when they might be dangerous,” Hermione retorted. She then turned and stormed out of the room.

“So who’re these ‘son’ and ‘mother’ people?” asked Ron, turning his attention to the note above the spell.

“I guess it’s Sirius’s mum and brother. She must have gotten him this book after Regulus joined the Death Eaters. What else can the ‘noble mission’ be?”

“Oh, yeah,” Ron said slowly, comprehension dawning on him. “I forgot Sirius’s brother was a Death Eater. And this family would dark enough to support Voldemort.” He shivered slightly and added, “Except for Sirius, of course.”

“Yeah. You know, Regulus was killed after he joined Voldemort.”

“Really? Wonder why,” said Ron, looking at back at the note, as though hoping it would give him the answer.

“Who cares,” Harry said. “Let’s just finish up here.”

When they finished cleaning up the drawing room, they went down to the kitchen. There, Hermione was waiting and decided to forgive them, but still scorned them for forgetting one very important thing.

“Food!” she yelled. “Out of all the people in the world (especially you, Ron), I can’t believe that neither of you wondered what we are going to eat!”

“Well, excuse me for feeling too guilty about what we were doing to my mum to remember,” Ron retaliated.

“I have to agree with Hermione,” said Harry with an apologetic look to Ron. “The only other time your stomach was struck dumb was that stupid love potion.”

“Don’t remind me of that,” he asked, covering his face with his hands in shame.

“Do house-elves shop for groceries?” Hermione asked Ron. “I’m only asking, of course, because we can’t go outside.”

“Not very often,” answered Ron. “They might get their money stolen, or get ripped off by the clerks. Still, it might be worth a shot sending Kreacher to Diagon Alley or something.”

It was then that they heard two simultaneous sounds of Apparition and Disapparition, and then Mrs. Blacks ranting. “Desecraters of the house of my family, leave at once, or retribution will be swift!”

“What the bloody hell…? Harry said. They all took out their wands, and ran back upstairs. Aside, from the hallway being in total uproar, everything seemed fine. Who or what could have Appariated into Grimmauld Place? It was only after Harry and Ron closed Mrs. Black’s portrait, and Hermione stunned the rest, did they take notice of three sacks lying in the middle of the hallway.

Pinned to one of the sacks was a piece of parchment. Ron went over and read it. He smiled, and handed it to Harry and Hermione. Couldn’t let you three get hungry, it said. If Harry had any doubts of sender of these sacks were from, they were dashed when he opened them to find pies, cakes, and all sorts of food.

“Thanks, Mum,” Ron said gratefully, taking out one of the cakes.

“It was kind of your mother to send us all this, Ron,” Hermione commented a minute later back in the kitchen. “We have enough here for weeks.”

“Actually,” Harry cut in, “I think it was Mrs. Weasley who cooked, and Dobby who delivered.”

“What makes you say that?”

From on of the sacks, Harry withdrew three pairs of different colored socks. “Definitely from Dobby.”

“He has a point,” Ron said. “Mum wouldn’t allow those things to be sent to us.”

“Whatever,” Hermione said, “the point is that none of us, including Kreacher, doesn’t have to go to Diagon Alley.”

“As if we could trust that little git not to poison our food,” Ron alleged.

“He wouldn’t!” Hermione shouted. “Well…not if he was ordered not to.”

“Forget it!” Harry interrupted loudly, stopping another oncoming argument. “Now that we’re fed, the issue is tomorrow.”

“Do you think the Knight Bus is necessary?” Hermione asked.

“One more ride won’t kill us. Besides, do you know how to get to Godric’s Hollow?” Harry questioned.

“What are we going to do after that?” asked Ron, finally having eaten.

“After what?” Harry asked back.

“You know, after our visit to Godric’s Hollow. How are we going to find the Horcruxes? It’s been over a month since we properly talked about them.”

“We should start at the Muggle orphanage that Voldemort grew up in,” Harry said after thinking. “If we get lucky and find one, then we’ll be even more lucky if my next guess is right.”

“Brilliant, so if we do find a Horcrux, how are we going to destroy it?”

“I say blow it up into a million pieces,” suggested Harry.

“Then why didn’t Dumbledore do that to the ring?” asked Hermione. “It would seem much easier than carrying it around with him.”

Harry stopped in the middle of taking a bite. He realized how true Hermione was and wondered if blowing up a Horcrux would prove faulty. Would Harry have to give up his hand to destroy one as well? Would he have to give up four limbs?

While Harry was taking in all those thoughts, Hermione was waving her hand in front of his face.

“I think he’s in shock,” said Ron, concerned.

“Maybe,” said Hermione, now snapping her fingers.

“I’m not,” Harry answered, throwing his apple against the wall in frustration.

“So how are we to destroy one?” asked Hermione, ignoring the violent gesture. “Dumbledore surely must have told you how.”

“I haven’t the bloodiest clue,” he responded in a panicked tone.

“So just ask,” said Ron, as if it were obvious.

“And exactly who are we going to ask, Ron?” Harry retorted.

“Slughorn,” Ron said simply, taking another apple. “He was the one who told Voldemort about Horcruxes in the first place.”

“That’s true!” said an amazed Hermione. “Of course, we have to ask Slughorn.”

“I had to get him drunk to just to confirm Dumbledore’s theory!” Harry told them, looking at his two friends as if they were mad.

Ron looked away and exhaled sadly. “Dumbledore’s dead now. Slughorn has to cooperate.”

Harry stared down at the table, realizing that Ron had a point. “You’re right. He has to cooperate.” He looked back up. “After Godric’s Hollow, we’ll make for Hogwarts and ask McGonagall where Slughorn lives. I doubt she’ll just give us the information if we just write. Hagrid told me yesterday that she’s staying at the school and she must know where Slughorn lives.”

The rest of the day was spent in an uncertain peace. After cleaning up as much as they could stand, Harry spent most of his time trying to get the spell to work, while Ron continued to eat the rations sent to them, and Hermione was in the drawing room looking over the book that came with the spell, hoping for some clue to it.

“Lectun Repalo!” yelled Harry again. He had his wand pointed at the same book he used earlier and nothing happened.

Concentrate, he thought. For some reason, not knowing the spell was irksome for him. Harry pointed his wand again.

“Damn.” He kicked the book in frustration and went downstairs.

For dinner, Hermione decided to have a go at using what was given to them by cooking. Neither Ron nor Harry had any experience with her manning the stove, and were nervous.

“Not bad,” complimented Ron. Harry had to agree.

“How do you eat so much?” Hermione asked, slightly disgusted and exasperated.

Ron swallowed. “You’ve known me for six years and you ask me that now?” he said.

“Anyway,” cut in Harry, “find anything in that book, Hermione?”

“I’ve gone through almost the entire book and I can’t find anything on the spell, Harry. It only has reasons why Muggle-borns are scum and what spells would be ‘useful’ in getting rid of them. I suggest just forgetting about it for now.”

“She’s got a point,” said Ron. “Wait until we see Lupin or Moody again and ask them.”

“Fine, but once more,” said Harry, taking out his wand. He pointed it at Kreacher’s sleeping space and said the incantation. “Lectun Repalo!” Everything stayed the same. “Nothing.” Dismayed, Harry took a piece of the pie.
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Godric's Hollow by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
A big thanks to Allamensia for becoming my new Beta in my time of need.
The next day Harry, Ron, and Hermione woke up late in the morning and packed for the next day or two. Harry and Ron let Hedwig and Pig out of their cages to hunt and Hermione let Crookshanks run around freely (except for in Harry and Ron’s rooms). After having breakfast, they began walking to the street away from Grimmauld Place.

Harry reluctantly raised his right hand and then came a loud BANG. Once again the Knight Bus came down the street and stopped right in front of them and Daniel stepped out.

“Welcome””

“We know,” Harry interrupted and began climbing onto the bus with Ron and Hermione following. “Godric’s Hollow.”

“Right away! You heard them Ern, Godric’s Hollow,” said Daniel enthusiastically.

Ernie closed the doors, there was another BANG, and the bus was off. Harry paid Daniel sixteen Sickles when he recovered and was about to join Ron and Hermione in looking for the farthest seat possible when he was called back.

“Hold on a sec!” yelled Daniel, running up to Harry.

Harry breathed in hoping to find patience and turned to him saying, “I’m not up for any jokes at the moment, so no thanks.”

“It’s not that. Just wanted to give you a little tip.”

“And what would that be?” Harry asked without caring.

“If you’re looking for a place to stay at Godric’s Hollow, the only place for a witch or wizard to stay at is the Witch’s Wand--mind, it really is the only place to stay for a witch or wizard,” he added.

“I’ll make sure to remember that,” said Harry, hoping to take leave of Daniel’s presence.

“You’d better. I’ll tell Ern to drop you off there. Oh yeah, make sure to mention me to Larry; he’s the owner and an old friend of mine. He should give you a nice discount.”

Harry thanked him and a minute later found Ron and Hermione at the far end of the second floor.

“What did he”” BANG “”want?” continued Ron, sitting himself back down.

“Nothing. He just gave me some lodging advice. Looks like we’re going to stay at the Witch’s Wand.”

“I’ve heard of that place,” said Hermione. “Lavender told me that she stayed there with her family a few summers ago while they were on a trip. It’s supposed to just as good as the Leaky Cauldron and the Three Broomsticks.”

“That’s nice to know,” muttered Ron, trying to lay his head back. BANG. He fell off his chair again. “Blimey, isn’t it possible for someone to take a five minute nap around here?” he yelled, getting up to his feet.

“Didn’t get enough sleep last night?” Harry asked.

“No! That damn buzzing wouldn’t stop.”

“You could have just found somewhere else to sleep.”

“I was too tired,” he said, trying the same thing again. He was only interrupted again by the bus, which suddenly swerved violently to the left and to the right. It seemed that nobody was able to hold to anything and toppled off their seats.

There was a scream of pain followed by whimpering. A man had caught his leg on the leg of his chair and they both broke. His friend then came up and healed the leg with a tap of his wand.

“Old bus driver,” the man complained after seeing his leg was fine, “isn’t fit to operate a toy broomstick. I’m sure these jumps would go easier with someone younger.”

“I don’t think so,” said his friend that was now looking out the window. “It wasn’t a jump because we’re still in Sheffield.”

Later, two people came to the second floor and everybody found out that Daniel had scared Ernie from behind as a joke.

“Git,” Ron muttered. “Honestly, trying to scare the operator of an already unstable bus. We all could have been killed.”

It was another hour or two before Daniel came up and announced their arrival at Godric’s Hollow. “Here we are,” he said, taking Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s bags. “Now remember to mention me to Larry; he usually charges too much because this is the only wizarding pub in town.” He handed the bags back to them as they got off the bus. “Come again!”

“Only if serious misfortune comes our way,” Hermione said under her breath.

BANG. The bus was gone.

In front of them stood a cozy shack. Above the door there was a sign of a hand with painted fingernails holding a wand that was emitting sparks.

“The Witch’s Wand,” Hermione read from under the hand.

“We won’t get anywhere by just reading will we?” said Ron, hitching up his bag. “In we go.” Harry and Hermione followed.

Inside they were met with the same atmosphere as the Leaky Cauldron. There was a man in the corner who was completely indulged by the Daily Prophet, a large group of witches were chatting along and taking up three tables, and some figures who were sitting in the back blowing smoke rings. But unlike Harry’s first visit to the Leaky Cauldron, nobody was making a fuss over him.

Observing the scene, Harry led the way over to the bar where a pretty young witch not much older than them was serving drinks. Ron inhaled a large amount of air when he saw her, but gagged it out when Hermione elbowed him hard in the ribs.

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked smiling as they came up.

“Nothing, we only want two rooms for the night,” answered Harry.

“Ouch…two you said?” she said, with a pained expression. She took out a quill, ink, and parchment from under the counter and dipped the quill in the ink. “One is pricey enough, but that’s what happens when you’re the only one in town that provides lodging. Names?” she asked preparing to take them down. Her eyes then moved to Harry’s scar, and she shamelessly said, “Oh, its Harry Potter of course.”

“Hold on, does a person named Larry own this place?” Harry asked quickly before she took down his name. Daniel’s advice might be worth something.

“Yup, he right over there,” she said pointing to a table where two people were sitting. “He’s the one with in red.”

One of the men had on a red robes and wore a pair of furry boots. His gray hair had signs of going bald, but was still pretty full. He seemed to be talking business with another man sitting across from him.

“You can’t find a better location,” Larry said, as if trying to sell a product.

“I don’t care, other places are giving me a better offer,” said the other man.

“But do those places have better rooms than us? What about service? And drinks?”

“Well no…”

“So what’s the problem? Sure, we may be a tad more expensive””

“A ‘tad’! The Burning Castle charges half what you do!”

“Fine,” Larry said, putting up his hands in mock defeat, “tell the Weird Sisters that they have to stay in some worn down, dirty shack to prepare themselves for their next concert. It’ll be your head.”

The other man looked flustered and seemed to give up. “Oh…very well,” he said, holding out his hand.

“Excellent!” Larry said taking his hand and shaking it. “Tell you what. I’ll cut down my prices by ten percent.”

“Thank you,” he said, but still not sounding very happy.

After the man left Larry now turned his attention on Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were standing close by. “What can I do for you three?” he asked with a cheery smile.

“Yes, we are looking for two rooms for the night,” answered Harry.

“Ouch.” Larry put on the same pained expression that the witch wore. They were clearly not trying to hide how expensive this place was. “That will defiantly put a hole in your pocket. Go to my young bartender. She will set them up for you.”

“But the thing is that Daniel sent us,” Harry held his breath and hoped this would work. If not then it sounded as if he would have to empty his vault at Gringotts.

But luckily, Larry’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he put on an even cheerier smile. “Well, well, you know old Danny! Knew him since he was a lad. To think, that he knows Harry Potter is remarkable. Taught him everything I knew about jokes.” He didn’t notice Ron annoyed scoff and Hermione trying to cover it up.

“Did you now!” said Hermione, putting on a smile.

“That one about the Muggle and the hag was hilarious,” continued Harry.

“Very,” agreed Ron.

“Claire!” Larry immediately shouted to the young with at the counter.

“Yes?” answered the witch.

“Give these three the one night special at half off!”

“Right away,” Claire responded looking confused.

“The special includes rooms, free meals and a tourist map of the town,” he said turning back to Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Some special, Harry thought.

“Tourist map?” questioned Ron.

“Yup. After You-Know-Who disappeared folks have been coming here to pay their respects to your parents at the graveyard, Potter. Of course, they mostly come around Halloween time, so you should have some privacy when you go there.”

“That obvious where I’m going?” Harry asked, smiling grimly.

“Sure is! You haven’t been here in almost sixteen years. You gotta go see your parent’s graves.” He then reached under his robes and pulled out what must have been the tourist map. “After that I suggest you visit your old house.”

“I thought it was destroyed.”

“It was,” Larry said, starting to sound guilty, “but the town decided to have it rebuilt and turned into kind of a museum. Hope you don’t mind.”

“I guess I don’t,” Harry exhaled out. “I think I will stop by.”

“Great. Now you can go pay Claire and she’ll give you the room keys.” He shook all their hands and went off to see he could do anymore business.

Harry would have had to practically empty his moneybag to pay for the rooms at regular price, but it wasn’t so with the discount and Ron and Hermione chipping in. Claire gave them the keys to two rooms and they went up to the next floor to put their things away. Hermione took the second door to the right past the first landing, so Harry and Ron took the one next to it.

Once they got inside it was easy to see why Larry was saying the Weird Sisters would be happy with staying in one of his rooms. The floor was made of Mahogany and was so polished that one see their reflection in it, but it wasn’t slippery. There were velvet drapes hung in front of the bay windows, despite the lack of a bay, and two very comfortable looking beds. They had thick, warm blankets with fluffy pillows. The two dressers were cut from ash and also polished, and each had a mirror.

“Very nice,” Ron complimented, tossing his bag onto one of the beds. “The Galleons this place makes obviously doesn’t all make it into their pockets.”

“That’s no lie,” Harry said, throwing his bag on the other bed.

They both met back up with Hermione a minute later and decided to have one of the meals that were promised to them. Within moments a large, juicy roast was brought to their table, along with mashed potatoes, gravy, salad, and three flagons of butterbeer.

“Hey,” Larry interrupted, as Harry, Ron and Hermione were about to start on the roast, “since you guys love Danny’s jokes, I have a new one for you three to hear.”

“Let’s hear it,” said Harry anxiously, but groaning inside. Ron and Hermione seemed to do the same.

“Okay, how many Muggles does it take to change a candle on a high banister?”

“How many?” Hermione asked, feigning interest.

“Three,” he answered enthusiastically. “One to put in a new candle, and two to hold the ladder.”

Harry and Hermione laughed weakly and Ron seemed slightly amused, but didn’t make too much out of it and ripped a leg off the roast.

“That was great,” Harry lied. Keep it up, he told himself, or he might change his mind and charge full.

“Can’t wait to tell that one to Danny. We had about a dozen guests that got the discount because of him. Mostly because he got that job on the Knight Bus.”

“Wouldn’t have if the Ministry didn’t lock up Stan Shunpike,” Harry said darkly.

“Yeah, it should have been obvious in a second that he wasn’t a Death Eater,” Ron said, biting into the leg.

Larry’s eyes widened again, but with surprise rather than delight. “Blimey, didn’t any of you hear? Shunpike confessed to everything! Been sentenced to years in Azkaban.”

“What?” Harry and Hermione exclaimed together. Ron started to choke.

“I don’t see why you’re all so surprised. He’s been held for almost a year now. The Ministry wouldn’t hold anybody unless they were sure that person was trouble.”

“But the guy is an idiot,” Ron forced out, clutching his throat.

“Well, you have to be to join You-Know-Who,” Larry stood up and smacked Ron on the back. “Better?”

Ron took a large swallow. “Yeah, thanks,” he gasped.

“Anyways, things turned out for the best,” Larry said going back to all three of them. “A Death Eater is locked up, Danny got a good job, and you three got a very nice deal.”

After Larry left, Hermione urged Harry and Ron to eat as quickly as possible. She was the first one to finish and was waiting impatiently for the other two. After about ten minutes they got up and left

Before Ron closed the door behind him he saw Claire wink at him. He let out a sound of being punched in the stomach and took a clumsy step out the door.

Hermione seemed very annoyed by that, but tried to ignore it and took out the map that was given to them. “You know why Stan confessed, don’t you?” she asked Harry and Ron.

“No,” they answered in unison.

“Dumbledore,” she said fiercely. “It’s all because he was killed, even with all the protection set around Hogwarts. I’m sure of it.”

“Why?” Ron asked.

“Because Dumbledore was a large figure against Voldemort,” Harry answered this time. “People are even more unsure about the Ministry and their security.”

“So the Ministry really wants to be seen doing something,” added Ron, finally catching up.

“Exactly,” said Harry. “I bet anything that Scrimgeour was even more desperate to have me on the Ministry’s good side back at the funeral.”

“I have a feeling that the confession was forced,” Hermione said, disgusted, while pouring over the map. “Take a right here.” She led the rest of the way and after passing a few more streets they found themselves in front of the entrance to the graveyard. The large metal gate was glooming over them, casting a barred shadow over them. “And I have a bad feeling more bad things will come our way than expected,” she said, dismayed, and looking up over the gate.

Behind the gate there was a large field filled with trees and tombstones of different sizes. Some had large parties of mourners standing above them for a funeral; others had fewer visitors, filled with just as much sorrow. In front of the gate there stood two cabins on either side. The one on the left most people who were looking for directions to a certain grave, but the one on the right was practically deserted.

Harry instinctually made for the cabin on the left, but Hermione stopped him.

“Don’t you see?” she asked.

“See what?”

“The one on the right works the same way as the Leaky Cauldron.”

Upon further inspection Harry saw that she had a point. Nobody was even glancing at that cabin on the right.

“Good point.”

Harry, Ron and Hermione then went into the cabin on the right. Inside the wizard behind the desk was aroused by their appearance.

“How may I”” He stopped and looked from Harry to his scar. “Northwest corner. It should be pretty obvious which one it is.”

“Uh…thanks,” said Harry, not sure of what to say.

After leaving the cabin and entering the graveyard it did not take them too long to find the graves. The man had been right about it being obvious which graves belonged to the Potters. They were the most noticeable tombstones that were sitting side by side in the Northwest corner. The one that was labeled JAMES POTTER had a large marble stag standing on its hind legs. The other labeled LILY POTTER had a marble angel. Around the graves many dried up flowers littered the ground.

When Harry got closer he saw that there was a small plaque under the stag that read Personally Requested by Remus Lupin.

Harry then noticed that he was alone, for Ron and Hermione stood back in hopes of giving him some privacy.

“It’s all right,” he called them over, “I don’t mind some company.”

Harry took out his wand and with a wave produced flowers from the tip and placed them on top of both graves. Ron and Hermione followed suite.

Mum…Dad. “Wish I got to know you guys better,” he said in a carried whisper.

“I know they feel the same way,” said Hermione, who was now laying her head on Ron’s shoulder and looking sadly down at the graves.

The three of them didn’t spend too much more time at the site. The sun was beginning to set and they realized how open to attack they were. But before they left Harry went between the graves and kneeled, placing one hand on each of the graves.

I know I’m putting myself in danger by going after Voldemort, but it’s something I have to do, he thought desperately. “Bye,” Harry got up and rejoined Ron and Hermione.

Harry stepped forward with them and felt the pressure of Apparation come and go. They then found themselves back in front of the Witch’s Wand. Inside the population had increased and people were now starting to stare at Harry.

“It’s rude to stare!” yelled Ron at one of the people close by.

“Forget it, Ron,” Harry said, waving everybody off. “I’m used to it.”

“I should have guessed that people we saw in here earlier couldn’t be all the guests,” inquired Hermione. “Everybody here was just out for the day.”

“Whatever,” Ron said, shooting another nasty look at another person. “How about some drinks? My treat.”

Hermione quickly stood up and refused the offer. “No, that’s not necessary. I’ll pay.” Without another word she left for the bar.

“What’s gotten into her?” asked Ron.

Harry looked over to the bar and saw that Hermione was having a chat with Claire.

“I think it rhymes with ‘pear’,” Harry suggested.

“Come off it. It was nothing. It didn’t mean anything,” he said indifferently, though his ears were pinking. “She’s a looker and all, but I’m not gonna ask her out.”

Hermione returned with three flagons of butterbeer and looked even more annoyed than she had earlier.

“It’s nothing,” she replied instantly.

“Nobody asked yet,” Harry said.

“You were.” She took off the top of started to drink.

But in between gulps Harry heard her distinctly murmur things like “thinks he’s kind of cute,” or “two years older than him.” Having the knowledge that Ron wouldn’t be dumb enough to ask out Claire, Harry was to a certain extent enjoying the situation due to all the times Ron messed him up in talking with girls.

“So we’re heading for your old house tomorrow, Harry?” asked Ron, trying to ignore Hermione’s muttering.

“Yup. That way we could leave early and head for Hogwarts later,” answered Harry, hoping that would slightly please Hermione.

But after finishing their drinks she ushered Harry and Ron to get to bed early.

“It’s only eight at night!” complained Ron.

“So what?” she said earnestly, making a face that he
couldn’t refuse.

“Fine, but I’m going to be lying awake for hours.”

“At least we’ll be getting our money’s worth out of the rooms.”

Harry and Ron did lay awake on their beds for a few hours before falling asleep. During that time Harry’s mind was back at the graveyard. He came and did what he had to, and now going to Hogwarts would be his, Ron, and Hermione’s first steps in searching for the Horcruxes.

Thinking about his parents had caused Harry’s dreams to be consumed by the old thoughts that were given to him by the dementors. He heard James order Lily to run away with Harry and how he must have fought off Voldemort. Then he found Voldemort finding Lily holding Harry and telling her to get out of the way. She refused. He killed her and went for Harry. There was a flash of green light Harry awoke with a jerk.

The sun was starting to come up and Harry was drenched in sweat, almost as if a dementor was close by, but there were none. He ran his fingers across scar, not because it hurt, but because Harry could almost feel the Killing Curse against his forehead.

Not many people could say the same, he thought dismally.

Harry lied back down and fell asleep again, only to be awoken by something soft impacting his head.

“Get up,” came Ron’s voice. He had thrown his pillow at Harry.

“Why?” he asked, sandwiching his head between the pillows.

“Hermione said so,” he yawned.

“Speaking of Hermione, shouldn’t you tell her that you don’t fancy that Claire person? Unless you do of course.”

“I don’t,” he said hotly.

“Then say something,” Harry demanded, getting out of bed.

Harry and Ron got dressed and went downstairs to have the breakfast that was also included with the rooms. Hermione joined them a minute later and the three of them ate the large stacks of pancakes placed in front of them.

“The house isn’t far,” Harry said, looking at the map and eating at the same time.

“That’s good,” Ron said, taking another bite.

After finishing they went outside and turned right. The sun had risen properly now and the streets were beginning to fill with people. Hermione was leading again and she stopped when they got to a comfortable looking brick house.

There were already a few others that were making their way in and out of the house. Some were walking across the lawn and admiring the house and others seemed to bend over to get a good look at something.

Harry crossed the fence first and was followed by Ron and Hermione. People started to gawk at him, but then looked away. Inside the house looked as if somebody was actually living there. Nice furniture filled the living room, there was a good table in the dining room, and the appliances in the kitchen actually worked. The only things that the place was missing were the pictures in the frames.

In the hallway there was a plaque that got the attention from the people around. Harry made his way forward, and it gave was a theory about what happened when Voldemort attacked. He was rather impressed by description, and how the rubble was checked for spell damage to get clues.

Harry read it over again and sighed. “I already knew all that.”

“We should go upstairs,” suggested Hermione. “Your old room is supposed to be there.”

Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed the stairs and went into the room at the end of a short corridor. The room was filled with many baby things like a crib, toys and bottles. Prints of birds circled around the room.

“This is nice,” complimented Ron. “Wonder where these people got the idea of how the house was decorated.”

Hermione thought about it for a second. “Maybe””

Crack.

The three of them whipped around and looked for who just came, but nobody was there. The sound seemed to have come from downstairs. Suddenly, the people below started to scream. More sounds of Apparation followed and the screams got louder and desperate.
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Surprise Attack by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
Reviews would really be nice.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged deep looks of dread and knew what each other were thinking: Death Eaters…or worse. They automatically took out their wands and pointed them at the stairs. Suddenly, the foundation of the house shook and a battle erupted downstairs.

A man dressed in black robes then came up the stairs and the three of them reacted. “Stupefy!” they cried in unison.

The Death Eater caught the three stunning spells in the right in the chest, was blown back to the wall and toppled back down the stairs.

“It’s still in the morning!” said Harry in disbelief.

“Why would that matter?” Ron said darkly.

“Are we going to just stand here, or are we going to fight!” yelled Hermione.

Not waiting another moment they dashed back through the corridor and down the stairs, where they found the unconscious Death Eater. From the foot of the stairs they saw that a large portion of the Order had arrived and were already fighting the countless Death Eaters. Most of the walls had already been blown down and the furniture was being used as shields. The battle was even raging outside.

Harry saw that Moody was fighting a Death Eater and was being starting to be overtaken. Harry pointed his wand and yelled, “Relashio!” He caught the Death Eater in the side of the head, and was finished off by Moody.

“I owe you one, Potter,” he growled, and hobbled off out of sight.

Harry turned to Ron and Hermione. “Stay alive,” he ordered, and ran off and joined the fray.

He jumped into the living room to try and find his first opponent. Harry then heard the incantation of a spell, and moved just in time to avoid being hit by a jet of blue light, which melted through the wall like acid.

“Stupefy!” he heard.

“Protego!” A shield appeared around Harry, and the spell thrown at him was deflected. He immediately turned to his black hooded adversary, and they began to throw spells and curses at one another. The Death Eater was fast, but not fast enough.

“Incendio!” the Death Eater shouted.

Harry didn’t know why, but he countered by yelling, “Aguamenti!” The water shot out of Harry’s wand to meet with the fire, and produced a large amount of steam. It then covered the fighting area, and fogged up Harry’s glasses.

He tried to wipe them, but that did no good since they just fogged up again. And even if they didn’t, the stream would have been too thick to see through. Harry was feeling very exposed, and that wasn’t pleasurable.

Harry was about to cast a wind charm, when the Death Eater yelled, “Reducto!” He immediately ducked, and thought he heard about a dozen of the spells within the surrounding walls. But one managed to strike Harry right in his side.

Along with considerable damage that would have to be taken care of later on, the air was knocked out of Harry, and he couldn’t stand. It was then that the steam lifted, and the Death Eater spotted him. Harry cursed himself for not using another Shield Charm.

“Expelliarmus!” Harry managed to cry. He managed to disarm the Death Eater, but he retaliated by kicking the wand out of his hand.

Ignoring his wand, the Death Eater lunged down at Harry, and grabbed him around the throat choking him.

“Your…boss…wants…me…alive,” Harry struggled to say, while trying to pull away the Death Eater’s fingers.

“I don’t plan on killing you, Potter,” he said evilly through his mask. “I’ll just let you struggle until you pass out.”

And struggle he did. Harry flailed as much as possible, trying to escape, but with his already depleted oxygen level, it seemed impossible. Finally, Harry managed to free one of his pinned down legs, and knee the Death Eater in the groin.

When the Death Eater released him in his immense discomfort, Harry pushed his body off, and reached for his wand.

Harry pointed, and shouted, “Stupefy!” But his enemy dodged, ran, and got his wand back.

He was about to throw another spell, but the Death Eater beat him to the draw: “Silencio!” Harry tried to cast a curse on reflex, but was met with silence. He saw that the Death Eater was about to throw another spell, so Harry bolted for the upturned couch, and dove behind it. The couch then ripped open, and the stuffing flew in all directions, causing another sight obstruction.

“You can’t hide from me again, Potter! You’re defenseless. Severus told us all about your ineptitude with nonverbal spells!”

Rage and hate filled up Harry so that it almost felt like he could burst. So apparently Snape had been giving pointers to the Death Eaters on how to get him. And if they were using things they learned from him, why couldn’t Harry do the same? Especially since his voice was now out.

Raising his wand over the couch, Harry thought, Levicorpus!

There was a yell of surprise from the Death Eater, and Harry prepared himself to finish the job. Harry put his wand to his throat, and desperately said in his mind, Sonorus! He opened his mouth, and was surprised to hear himself make a sound. Now he pointed his wand at the Death Eater, yelling, “Stupefy!” Harry then flicked his wand to let the now unconscious body drop.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to catch his breath, and heard a spell being cast from behind, but wasn’t able to dodge in time. The spell hit Harry’s left shoulder and there was a burning sensation. Harry ignored the pain and turned on the spot ready to do battle again.

Harry and the Death Eater exchanged many spells for a few minutes, all of which were deflected or dodged. Finally, Harry was able to get past his defenses and hit him on the leg.

Harry saw the Death Eater contort with pain and fury, and point his wand. “Cruc””

“Dextrata!” he yelled faster. The Death Eater’s movements were now at the mercy of Harry’s wand. Harry lifted his wand up in one swift motion, and the Death Eater hit the ceiling hard. Harry brought down his wand again, and the Death Eater hit the floor. Harry continued the same cycle five times and finally threw him against the wall unconscious. Harry lifted the spell and Death Eater’s hood came off as he slid down the wall to reveal a bruised and bloody face.

Knowing his opponent was knocked out of commission, Harry inspected his left shoulder and saw that his shirt was burned through and that his flesh was blackened. He rotated it once and it hurt, but decided to continue to ignore it. He also checked his side, which was bruised from the first Death Eater.

“Just die already!”

The source of that voice came from a large hole in the wall that led into the dining room. Through it was a duel between a Death Eater and a pale looking man Harry had never seen before. As the match progressed, it was evident that it wouldn’t end any time soon. The Death Eater kept on sending curses and jinxes, while the pale man was only dodging and using the Shield Charm all the time.

Finally, the pale man took the offensive, and caught the Death Eater right on the shoulder with a spell, but it didn’t do any good. The Death Eater stood right up again, and shot another spell at the man, who looked horrified. It hit him in the stomach, and he hacked up blood. Harry had enough.

“Stupefy!”

The Death Eater heard this, and ducked with plenty of time. “Impedimenta!”

“Protego!” The spell was deflected, but more came immediately after. Harry tried to side step, but was grazed by two of the attacks. He was brought down to his knee, and the Death Eater loomed over him, intending to finish the job.

“Stupefy!” There was a burst of red light as a Stunning Spell hit the Death Eater right in his back. When he fell, it was revealed the spell caster was a woman with black hair, and with a face hidden behind sweat and some blood.

“Thanks,” the pale man said to the woman.

But the woman went over to the man, picked him up by the neck of his robes, and shook him. “What the heck is going on, Geoffrey? I get an owl telling me to get over here because all hell broke loose. How did this happen?”

Why is she asking him? Harry thought. There had to be others that knew the answer. Then the woman dragged the man named Geoffrey to where Harry was.

“Get back to work,” she said, helping Harry up. “This fight isn’t over yet.” Then she and Geoffrey went and took off.

Inside the kitchen there were many duels going on at once”one of them involving a lone person trying to take on two at once. Harry jumped right in to give him a hand.

“Petrificus Totalus!” The body of the Death Eater he was pointing at snapped together, and fell to the floor. His dueling partner didn’t even notice, and continued to fight the man Harry just helped.

“Expelliarmus!” the man yelled. The Death Eater was disarmed.

Harry took over. “Impedimenta!” He caught him right in the face, and went down just like the other.

“Good one,” the man said, acknowledging Harry.

“Thanks, I””

Harry didn’t get to finish because the man suddenly shoved Harry out of the way, was caught in the chest by a red jet of light, and collapsed. Before Harry registered this, there was a sharp pain on his injured shoulder, as if somebody was thrusting a pitchfork through it.

“The Dark Lord would like to see you, Potter,” came the voice of Fenrir Greyback. Harry then felt his hair being pulled back to crane his neck, and there the werewolf was staring down at him. He now understood: what felt like the pitchfork must have been Greyback’s nails digging into Harry.

Harry was filled with dread and tried to struggle to get away, but that only amused Greyback. Harry then tried to position his wand to take him down, but Greyback grabbed the wand from his hand, cast it away and started to make for the exit.

Suddenly, a spell hit Greyback from behind, and he hunched over in pain and loosened his grip on Harry slightly. He turned to see who cast the spell and saw Moody standing close by with a fresh cut across his face that would undoubtedly leave another scar.

“Let him go,” ordered Moody.

“You think you can make me, Mad-Eye?” Greyback snarled.

Harry took advantage of the momentary distraction and elbowed him as hard as he could in the gut, but only to hit what felt like stone. Still, Greyback completely let go of his grip in surprise and Harry dashed for his wand.

“NO YOU DON’T!” shouted Greyback, going after Harry.

Harry scooped up his wand just in time and turned back to face the werewolf getting a point-blank shot of the face. “Reducto!”

Greyback was blown away and skidded back several feet.

“We’re even,” said Moody, hobbling away to the man that was knocked out by the curse earlier to check if he was still alive.

But Harry went over to Greyback, who was still growling weakly and bleeding freely through his broken nose. He pointed his wand at Greyback’s face again. “Stupefy!” he yelled, totally knocking out the werewolf. “That was for Bill.”

The fighting inside of the house was now starting to filter away, and being taken outside where there was more room to take advantage of by both sides. Kingsley Shacklebolt was fighting three Death Eaters at once; Dedalus Diggle magnificently took down the one he was fighting; and Hagrid was trying to bash Death Eaters with his bare hands.

Once Harry got to the backyard he saw Sturgis Podmore sprawled on the ground. Then he heard the sound of a spell being cast and deflected. He saw the source of the spell and his blood boiled with pure loathing. Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius’ killer, was having a duel with Tonks.

He immediately pointed his wand at her. “Avada””

But he was stopped by Lupin coming out of nowhere and putting down the wand.

“Don’t, Harry!” he pleaded. “You might hit Tonks. Just make sure she’s okay”Hagrid! Watch out!” Lupin pushed Harry out of the way, and Stunned one of the six Death Eaters that were trying to ambush Hagrid from behind. Lupin then left Harry’s side to further help Hagrid, who was only able to take out one more with a swing of his arm.

Bellatrix Lestrange may have been a very formidable opponent, but she still couldn’t have been tougher than six Death Eaters. And, Harry knew, that was why Lupin had to go help Hagrid, and left Harry to try and overtake Bellatrix with Tonks.

“Expelliarmus!” Harry cried, directing his spell at Bellatrix. It was blocked easily, and she kept on fighting.

“Crandore!” Tonks shouted.

Bellatrix flicked her wand, and shield appeared around her. Tonk’s spell was deflected, but instead of flying off somewhere it came right at Harry, who was taken by surprise and totally unprepared.

Tonks ran up, and for the second time Harry was
pushed out of the way of a spell. As it zoomed over them, Harry heard a squeal of immense pain, and Tonks cringed.

“Avada Kedavra!”

Harry and Tonks both instinctively dove in opposite directions just as the Killing Curse hit the spot they were just on.

“Tell me you have a plan,” Harry asked of Tonks, while keeping his eyes on Bellatrix.

“I would, but I’d be lying,” she responded.

Bellatrix then started to laugh. “You won’t avenge my cousin by flailing around, Potter!” she taunted.

“You’re not even worthy enough to mention Sirius!” Harry shouted back, his anger rising again. She wasn’t going to get away this time”he would make sure of it.

“Don’t use Dark magic, Harry,” Tonks said to him. “You’d still be a better person than her, but not by enough.”

“Fine”Protego!” The curse aimed at Harry deflected just in time, and Harry started to throw every curse and jinx he knew at Bellatrix.

After only a minute more of fighting her, it became more evident to Harry and Tonks that Bellatrix had somehow gotten better at dueling. And no matter how badly he wanted to hurt her, he couldn’t get past her defenses.

Finally, Harry wasn’t able to block one of Bellatrix’s attacks, and was hit on the chest. He landed on his back, and started to scream his lungs out, and clawing at where he was hit. Whatever the curse did, it made Harry feel immense pain that was focused in one spot. It felt like fire ants were making a meal of him.

He rolled all over trying to get the pain to stop, but it didn’t. Then a wall of fire appeared between him and Bellatrix, and Tonks appeared in his line of sight.

“Harry, what’s wrong?” she asked desperately.

“It hurts!” Harry screeched, continuing to claw at his chest.

Tonks raised her wand, and muttered, “Finite!” And the pain went away.

Harry stopped clawing, and breathed in heavily. Tonks then pulled him up to his feet, and shoved his wand back his hands.

“What did she use?” Harry asked, the memory of the pain still obviously fresh in his mind.

“Let’s just say it’ll get you a year or two in Azkaban,” she said, turning her attention back to the wall of fire. “Now get ready. This won’t hold her much longer.”

And sure enough, the fire fizzled out, and Bellatrix stood there with an angry face covered in soot.

“Thought you would have ran away by now,” she growled.

“Try to use the Cruciatus Curse,” Tonks whispered to Harry.

Harry's eyes widened. “What! You told me””

“Just do it!” she hissed.

Still confused, Harry looked back at Bellatrix. She deserves it, Harry thought angrily.

“Avada Kedavra!” Bellatrix shouted, sending another Killing Curse at Tonks, who dove out of the way, and sent her own spell.

After Harry fired a Stunning Spell at Bellatrix, not seeing an opening for the Cruciatus Cruse, and the duel flared up once more. And just as it was back in the Ministry of Magic, Bellatrix was more formidable when she was mad. What would happen if Harry tried and failed again at the Unforgivable Curse?

“Torrentel!” Tonks shouted. A brilliant yellow light speeded towards Bellatrix, who had a tougher time deflecting it. Now was Harry’s chance.

“Crucio!”

And just like before, Bellartix screeched and fell backward in pain. “You still can’t do it properly?” she yelled, her voice resonating extreme anger. She would be an even harder opponent. “You’ll pay, Potter!”

And while all her focus was on Harry, Tonks shouted, “Caecus!”

It then appeared as if some sort of black gunk attached itself to Bellatrix’s face, and was completely covering her eyes. Her hands went to her eyes, trying desperately to get it off.

“What did you to me?” she yelled, staggering about in sheer terror.

“Stupefy!” Harry and Tonks cried together. Both their Stunning Spells hit Bellatrix, and she went down without a word.

Tonks went over, kicked the body, and grinned. “Nice,” she complimented to Harry.

“Sorry I couldn’t do the Cruciatus Curse right,” Harry apologized.

Tonks waved it off. “Don’t. I knew you wouldn’t be able to pull it””

Harry and Tonks went stiff as boards and fell to the ground. It then dawned on him that in their euphoria of finally having taken down Bellatrix, they had momentarily forgotten about the battle around them. A Death Eater had come up from behind and used the Freezing Charm on both of them.

How could I be so stupid? Harry thought as the Death Eater came up to them to inspect his work.

“Well, well,” he sneered, “the famous Harry Potter. Oh, the Dark Lord will be very happy with me when I deliver you to him myself.”

Harry was completely defenseless and at the mercy of the Death Eater, who now started to drag him by the neck of his shirt. Harry desperately tried to shout for help, but it was no use. And everybody else had to be too busy to come to his aid.

The Death Eater stepped forward to Apparate, but nothing happened. Harry heard a large explosion and a cloud of dust floated above him. The Death Eater then dropped Harry, and started to run away from something that he could not see.

The Death Eater that was carrying Harry dropped him and followed the rest. At the corner of his eye Harry saw that those running were being picked off by a bombardment of stunning spells. Then, witches and wizards that were giving them a chase and shooting the spells replaced the retreating Death Eaters.

Harry’s heart skipped a beat with excitement and was consumed by joy. They were being saved by Aurors from the Ministry.

One of the Aurors stopped at the sight of Harry and Tonks on the ground. He muttered an incantation, and Harry was free.

“What took you so long, Drew?” asked Tonks, as she got up. “Harry here was almost taken captive!”

“Sorry, Tonks,” said the Auror named Drew. “Some idiot down at the Ministry took his sweet time getting word to the Auror office. Anyway, we put an Anti-Disapparation Jinx around the whole area, that’s why they’re all running away.” He then turned to Harry enthusiastically. “Mr. Potter! It is great to finally meet you,” he said, shaking his hand. “I’ll have you know that I never believed that filth the Prophet said about you.”

“Appreciate that,” said Harry stiffly, taking back his hand and trying to nurse the spot on his back where he fell.


"That looks nasty,” said Drew, looking at Harry’s shoulder. “You should go to the front yard. We have some Healers there.”

“That sounds good.” In the distance he could hear the faint sounds of Appartion and stunning spells being shot.

Harry left them and turned to leave. He saw that the Aurors had completely blown off the wall at the back of the house. It seemed that the reason the house wasn’t falling apart was because of magic. The Aurors that stayed behind were either taking away the a few captured Death Eaters, or helping the injured.

As he went through the house, Harry was surprised that see that it was still standing. The wall at the front of the house was also blasted away, and the only ones left were at the side of the house. A clock that was lying on the ground, but still working, told him that it was almost noon.

At what used to be the front door Harry was extremely relieved to find Ron and Hermione. Each of them had already been treated for their injuries. They both were covered in dust that came from the demolition, and looked extremely tired. Ron had on a bandage on his arm and head, and the bottom of Hermione’s hair was partially singed.

When Hermione saw Harry she sprang up and hugged him. She squeezed a little bit too tight and Harry curled up in pain.

“Sorry! Are you seriously hurt?” she asked anxiously.

“No, just aching all over.”

“I don’t blame you, mate,” said Ron. “We saw part of your fight with Lestrange.”

A Healer then came up to Harry with a case. “Excuse me,” he said, conjuring up a chair and forcing Harry down into it. The Healer inspected Harry all over to discover most of the injuries sustained, and came up with a solution. He reached into the case and pulled out a bottle of liquid, he poured all over the burn on Harry’s left shoulder, and tapped it with his wand. It instantly healed and then he took out another bottle and gave it to Harry. “Drink this and you should feel a lot better.”

After the Healer left to check on more people, Harry drank the potion and he felt coolness run throughout his body and the aches and bruises vanish. He lifted his shirt to see the marks left were gone. Harry sighed in relief that this part was now over, that Ron and Hermione had both made it through as well.

“Better?” asked Ron.

“Loads. What happened to you two?”

“Well, we were doing fine at first,” started Hermione. “We helped out a couple of members of the Order and injured some Death Eaters.”

“Then,” continued Ron, “I was caught off guard and hit by a nasty curse.” He indicated to the bandage on his arm. “The healers said that it’ll clear up in a few day if I keep this on.”

“Anyway, I tried to buy a little time so Ron could recover, but for some reason the Death Eater was more intent than usual to try and kill me. He obviously didn’t get to,” she added with a satisfied tone.

“That’s because I finally was able to help again. He wasn’t able to take the both of us on.” He shrugged and continued, “Then, seeing as he couldn’t handle fighting two-on-one, another Death Eater came to help him out. After a while I think that they were planning to take me down first.”

“What makes you say that?” asked Harry.

“Because they both pointed their wands at me and cast curses. I blocked one, but the other got me on the head.” He indicated to the bandages on his head. “Knocked me right out.”

“I took over from there,” said Hermione, a dark look passing her face. “You don’t want to know what I did to them. They only managed to do this,” she said, grabbing a handful of her singed hair.

“I came to a few minutes after they were taken down and saw what she did,” said Ron. “I don’t reckon those welts will ever fully heal. So after that was done we continued to fight.”

“That’s when we caught a glimpse of you fighting Bellatrix. We would have helped, but that’s when the front walls of the house were blasted and the Aurors came in. The Death Eaters started to run like mad. The back walls of the house were taken down by Death Eaters trying to make their own exit, and that’s how we got covered in all this.” She raised her arms and turned around for Harry to get a better look at the dust she and Ron were covered in.

“And why didn’t you help me after I was petrified?” asked Harry.

“You were petrified?” exclaimed Ron.

“Yes! A Death Eater almost took me back to Voldemort.”

“Sorry, Harry,” said Hermione in horror. “But an Auror took us to the front of the house to get treated, and we couldn’t do anything about it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, knowing it wasn’t their fault. “Lucky the Aurors came when they did. I should really blame that person at the Ministry who delayed getting word to them about this fight.”

“A person at the Ministry did that?” asked Hermione, disbelieving.

“Harry!” cried a voice that belonged to Lupin. “You three all right?”

“We’re okay,” answered Harry, as Lupin came up.

However, Lupin still gave them all a quick look over. “Good. Listen, everybody from the Order who isn’t hurt is now leaving. I suggest that you three do the same. Unless, of course, you want to be swamped by reporters.”

At that moment, the Order started to go past them to leave the area and Apparate away. Then the pale man Harry had to help appeared among them, looking distraught.

“That’s Geoffrey Baxer,” said Lupin, following Harry’s gaze. “You never met him, he only joined at the beginning of the year.”

“Doesn’t seem much of a fighter, does he?”

Lupin shrugged. “We figure that he’s seen a lot since he joined and that shook him up. Poor guy. Didn’t seem to think this was what he was getting into.” Lupin sighed heavily and changed the subject. “Now, I assume that you three are staying at the Witch’s Wand, so you should go back there, get your things, and leave this town. I have to go. An emergency meeting was just called.”

Hermione pointed her wand at herself and sent a jet of air that blew away the dust and did the same thing to Ron.

“Hey!” he said, being taken by surprise and trying to shield his face. When Hermione stopped, Ron checked his clothes. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

The three of them didn’t want to stay any longer, and made their way out of the area as quickly as possible to Apparate back to the Witch’s Wand. For some reason, the inside was completely empty, but they didn’t dwell on it. They just gathered their things, left the room keys on the bar, and left Godric’s Hollow.
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Search for Slughorn by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
All reviews appreciated.
When Harry had gotten back to Grimmauld Place, Harry cursed at his luck for delaying them. He, Hermione, and Ron were to visit the house in the morning, and then make their way to Hogwarts with plenty of time. But now there undoubtedly was an emergency meeting of the Order happening, and McGonagall would be far too busy”not to mention not one of them knew where the new headquarters was.

They all decided it would be best to do things to take their minds off the morning. Then, later in the afternoon, Errol smashed against Harry’s bedroom window. Harry stopped practicing the spell he found (with no results), and Ron and Hermione put a hold to their twenty consecutive games of chess (Ron dominated in all of them).

After letting Errol recover in Hedwig’s cage, the letter was torn open. Even though the details weren’t much, they all were still surprised to see that Mr. Weasley posted some information about the Order meeting. And more to Harry’s surprise, the meeting was more about the blunder at the Ministry and what to do about it. The meeting actually only brushed over Harry’s security. Apparently, a majority of the members recognized Harry’s sovereignty, and beat out a vote to force him into hiding if necessary.

“That’s good news,” Hermione commented. “At least we’ll have no problem leaving tomorrow.”

And leave the next say they did. Still careful of any enemies that thought of looking for Harry at Grimmauld Place, they ran out the front door, as the house melted away behind them. The three of them then stepped forward, Apparated, and found themselves outside the familiar gates of Hogwarts.

“I must say, this is certainly a surprise,” McGonagall said in greeting an hour later. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had to wait in a confused Hagrid’s newly repaired cabin since McGonagall had stepped out. “I don’t usually get student visits over the summer, especially when there’s no school to go back to in September.”

“That’s because we have a question,” Harry said nervously.

McGonagall folded her hands, and stared at them intently. “And what would be that question?”

“Do you know where Professor Slughorn is?”

“Of course I do,” she responded immediately.

“Really?” Ron said excitedly.

“Yes, but I’m not giving that information to any of you,” she continued harshly.

“Why not?” Harry asked, irritated by having his hopes raised and dashed almost simultaneously.

McGonagall gave him an angry glare. “Because Horace Slughorn went to the Order of the Phoenix himself, and trusted us to put him into hiding. I am not about to break that trust!”

“Do you want to know what I was doing the night Dumbledore died?” Harry blurted out. Ron shot a look at him, Hermione made a sound of agreement, and McGonagall cocked an eyebrow.

“That would be nice to know, Potter,” McGonagall said suspiciously.

“We have a question for Professor Slughorn,” Harry continued, “and after we ask him, it’ll be pretty obvious what happened that night.”

“And then he’ll come to the Order to tell you all what is going on,” Hermione finished off. Now it looked as if Ron understood. After going to Slughorn, and after asking him about the Horcruxes, he would definitely confront the Order about the manner at hand. There was no way it could stay a secret.

After a few seconds McGonagall sighed, pulled some parchment in front of her, and scribbled down something with her inked quill. Harry was about to take it, but she bypassed him and handed it to Hermione.

“I’m warning you, I am betraying someone’s trust. Do not let this fall into the wrong hands.”

“We won’t,” Hermione answered. She then stuck the parchment in her pocket.

They turned and left her office. Nobody spoke until they got outside.

“Where’re we headed, then?” asked Ron once they passed the front gates.

“A place called Acomb,” Hermione read from the parchment. “Any of you two know where it is so we could Apparate?” she asked anxiously, dreading the alternate decision.

“Nope,” said Harry, frustrated, sticking his right hand into the air. BANG. The violently purple form of the Knight Bus rolled down the road and stopped in front of Harry.

Daniel leapt out of the bus and before he could say anything Harry said, “Take us to Acomb.”

“No problem,” he said, steeping aside to let Harry, Ron and Hermione pass. He took fourteen Sickles from Harry and said to Ern, “Hit it!”

BANG. They were now rolling somewhere along Scotland.

“Can’t believe that you’re alive!” Daniel said happily, throwing them a copy of the Daily Prophet. The headline read: "Ministry Blunder at Godric’s Hollow Further Undermines Public Confidence."

“It’s a miracle,” Daniel continued. “It said that about twelve of the those people that helped out before the Aurors came had to be taken to St. Mungo’s”three of them resulted in fatalities!”

“What?” Harry said, tearing his eyes from the newspaper. He had never given a second thought about what happened to the members of the Order that he hadn’t seen leave the house. He had only recognized a few of the faces that left.

“Yup, and only four of them Death Eaters were captured.” He shook his head in disappointment and said, “Keep it.”

Harry also purchased a hot chocolate and went to the back of the bus, followed by Ron and Hermione. They took the tables in the most secluded spot and looked over the article. The one bit of good news was that Bellatrix Lestrange was among the Death Eaters captured. There was a bit more about casualties, and then it got to the part Harry wanted to see. Apparently, it was a man named Henry Dempsher, Amelia Bone’s replacement as head of the department of Magical Law Enforcement, who delayed getting word to the Aurors. He was now facing an inquiry.

“Hope he isn’t like Lucius Malfoy and has the right people in his pocket,” said Ron in disgust.

“Scrimgeour won’t like it if this Dempsher person gets off without too much punishment,” Harry said thoughtfully. “The attack shook up a lot people, and trust in the Ministry for security is already low.”

“I just hope that the Ministry doesn’t go and accuse other innocent people of being Death Eaters for the sake of false hope,” Hermione said in the same tone as Ron. She wore a sour look on her face, but it changed to surprise when she read the next line.

“Oh, look,” she said, pointing at a sentence. “It says here that the owner of the Witch’s Wand, along with that Claire, were chosen for a second round of questioning. They didn’t seem like the type to join the Death Eaters, did they?” she asked them.

Ron reddened slightly and shrugged, probably thinking the question was directed at him. Harry, on the other hand, knew Hermione wouldn’t accuse just anybody she didn’t like to be Death Eaters.

“Talkin’ about Larry and Claire?” Daniel had come up to the table and sat down with them. “I forgot to ask: Did you mention me to Larry?”

“Yeah,” Harry said thankfully. “Would have had to empty my money bag to pay for a room, otherwise.”

“Then you must have more money in that bag than I would have guessed,” he said cheerfully, and then looked down at the sentence Hermione was still pointing at.

“Can’t believe that they took him ‘n Claire,” he said with a grimace. “I’ve known her just as long as Larry”and neither them would be Death Eaters.”

“Must be tough having friends facing possible time in Azkaban,” said Ron sympathetically.

“Yeah,” Daniel said, his eyes going out of focus into a dreamy state. “Friends,” he repeated with a chuckle, “were more than friends once. Pity it didn’t work out with her,” he quietly said to himself.

Hermione looked at him with concern and snapped her fingers in front of his face, causing him to jump. “Oh, sorry about that,” Daniel said, blushing with embarrassment. “Acomb’s the next stop, by the way.”

When they got off the bus Harry, Ron, and Hermione found that they were in a mostly rural area that had some farms lined across road.

Hermione then looked up a nearby street sign and she seemed to understand it, because she suddenly started off down the street. Harry and Ron followed, knowing that she knew what she was doing. The area wasn’t too populated and only a few cars passed them when a street sign came up on their left that told them that they reached a street called Bishops Hill.


“We’re looking for number eighteen,” Hermione announced as they started walking up the street. The houses in this neighborhood were obviously designed for well off people. They were all brick two story houses, with nice, big lawn and fences. It was a step up from Privet Drive.

“Fourteen…fifteen…sixteen…seventeen,” Harry said counting the house numbers on the mailboxes. The sun was almost all the way down and it became harder to see where the number.

“And eighteen,” Ron finished when they stood in front of a wooden house with a large front yard. Their faces fell when they saw that the door was ajar, and they felt tension in the air.

“Ouch!” Harry yelled. A sharp pain shot across Harry’s scar and disappeared as fast as it had come.

“What is it?” Hermione asked, horrified at the prospect of the answer. Ron was the same way.

But Harry didn’t hear her and just said, “Wands out.”

The three of them pulled out their wands and started for the house. They made it across the lawn and opened the front door further. Inside everything looked in order: the chairs were upright, no bloodstains on the wall, nothing was broken. Harry, however, kept walking, somehow knowing where to go. He led the way up a set of stairs and came into a hallway that had a door open.

When Harry looked inside he was stunned by what was there, even though he had already caught a glimpse of it when his scar hurt. Professor Slughorn was lying on the floor next to a bed and was bleeding freely through his chest, which looked as if it had been torn open. Ron and Hermione seemed to have lost the ability to speak. Then they heard a hiss in the corner, where a large snake was slithering and looking at them with an evil glint in his eyes. It was Nagini!

When Harry looked into those eyes his scar seared again, but he tried to ignore it and realized the obvious: Voldemort was controlling the snake. Harry had to try and not make eye contact again, unless he wanted Voldemort to get another peek into his mind.

“Get away from him!” Harry shouted, looking at the snake’s tail. Hermione and Ron jumped at must have been a sudden hissing sound issuing from Harry.

“Watch out!” shouted Ron, pulling Harry out of the way as Nagini coiled and tried to strike Harry. It hit the opposite wall, recovered and coiled to attempt another strike.

It lunged forward before any of them were prepared, and missed them again. It landed on the bed, and its fangs sank into the pillow. Nagini pulled out, and seemed disoriented by the feathers still attached to its fangs.

“Stupefy!” Harry cried. But Nagini shook off the feather, slithered out of the way just in time, and prepared to attack once more. It struck again, this time catching them off guard and going after Ron.

“Crap!” he yelled, dodging as best he could. The snake only got a piece of his shirt, but it turned out to be a ploy, because it then cunningly wrapped its tail around Harry’s ankles.

Harry tripped, and dropped his wand in the process. As more of the enormous snake began to wrap around him, he could feel his legs being crushed. The snake struck its fangs menacingly when ever Ron or Hermione tried to intervene with a spell. In the meanwhile, the coils worked its way up to Harry’s hips.

Then, Ron grabbed the pillow and tried to beat the head of the snake’s head with it, sending more feathers flying out from the tear. It tried to strike Ron, but he put the pillow in the way to take the blow.

“Diffindo!” Hermione shouted, while Nagini was too busy dealing with Ron.

Harry suddenly felt the Nagini’s grip go slack followed by warm liquid spraying on his face. He looked up and saw that Hermione had severed off the snake’s tail, and it was gushing out blood. Nagini was now flailing around, just having part of her body cut off.

Harry didn’t waste anymore time, and grabbed his wand. “Incendio!” he yelled, intending to hit the creature and the area around it. The snakes shot up in flames, and the writhing became wilder. But it only managed to roll around in more fire. As the flames continued, Nagini started moving less and less, until finally it was nothing more than a long strand of burning flesh.

Then a pain punctured Harry’s skull and it felt like it was going to split in two. He clasped his hands onto his forehead and fell to the floor twitching, screaming his lungs out like never before. And his screaming was not just of pain, but also anger was resonating from it. Something bad had just happened, and it was making the pain worse”it was only second to the Cruciatus Curse. Harry squirmed all over the floor, his nails digging into his head. He blacked out.


A/N: Sorry if this chapter was too short, ended abruptly, or the fight with Nagini wasn’t long enough”anyway one more Horcrux down.
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Extracting Information by Phoenix 86
“Harry!” said a distant sounding voice Harry heard cry, followed by the sting of a hand slapping his face hard. Harry opened his eyes and saw Ron standing over him. He immediately pushed him out of the way, turned to face the floor, and vomited.

“You okay, mate?” Ron asked, his face gone white.

Harry stood up shakily, wiping his mouth. “What do you think?” he asked in an irritated voice. His legs almost gave away, but Ron caught him.

“Pretty obvious that Voldemort’s angry,” Ron said, letting go after Harry shrugged him off.

“Not just angry,” Harry began. “Really, really angry. More anger than you usually get from the death of a pet.”

“So that’s good news,” Ron started. Harry immediately clamped his hand over Ron’s mouth.

”Shut it!” he hissed, as another pain shot across his scar. Harry did his best to clear his mind, but not with much success. Even though Harry also thought that Voldemort’s level of anger meant Nagini must have been a Horcrux, they couldn’t say it out loud. It was vital that Voldemort not even get a hint that Harry knew about his Horcruxes. And with Voldemort’s mental defenses against Harry down for the moment, he could easily find out with a just small peek into his mind.

Ron nodded, and Harry let go. “Let’s get out of here,” he said, “that snake smells.”

Harry looked, and indeed saw that Nagini’s charred body was lying nearby. He also noticed that two people were missing from the room. “Where are Hermione and Slughorn?”

“Took him to St. Mungo’s,” Ron said. “We felt a pulse, so he was still alive. She told me to stick ‘round and wait for you to come to.”

“Then we’d better follow,” he said, ignoring another stab of pain.

Harry closed his eyes and envisioned the waiting room at St. Mungo’s. He stepped forward with Ron, and after the pressure subsided he found himself inside the large room with the reception desk at the other end.

When they got to the reception witch, she gave Harry a surprised look, and asked, “What in Merlin’s name happened to you? You’re all green.”

“I’m fine,” Harry cut in. “Horace Slughorn was brought in not too long ago. Where is he right now?”

“Let’s see,” said the witch, running her finger down a list. “He’s being taken to an operating room on the first floor. Number nine.”

“Thanks.”

Harry and Ron made their way up the stairs to the first floor and ran along the hallway in search of the operating room. Then they finally found Hermione outside a room with a bronze nine over the door.

“I got him here just in time,” she said at once. “The Healers told me they have to stop all the bleeding before he could speak again.”

“D’you know when we can talk to him?” Ron asked.

“They said probably not until tomorrow morning,” she answered.

“Perfect,” Harry said, throwing his hands into the air in frustration. “And what are we supposed to do until then? This just sets us back.”

“We should wait in the tea shop,” Hermione suggested. “We could get a bite to eat, and wait it out there.”

“All night?” Ron responded skeptically.

“Well, we’re not going back to Grimmauld Place without the information we came looking for,” Harry declared.

When they reached the top floor they bought themselves tea and as many biscuits they could carry. It was after nightfall now, and outside the purple night sky could be seen. They didn’t talk at all, and hoped to fall asleep so that the morning could come faster. But it wasn’t until Ron’s head hit the table and started snoring around one in the morning that Harry and Hermione also fell asleep.

“Ms. Granger?”

Harry was woken up by the sound of the voice that belonged to a Healer trying to wake up Hermione. He brushed off crumbs that were sticking to his face and rubbed his eyes awake. A weak sunlight was pouring in from the window; the sun had just risen.

“Huh? Wha’ d’you want?” Ron said when Harry jerked him awake.

“Ms. Granger,” said the Healer again, “Horace Slughorn is awake and able to speak to you.”

“Thank you,” Hermione said stretching her arms. “Which ward is he in?”

“The Dai Llewellyn ward.”

The name of the ward had the effect of waking up Ron. “The Dai Llewellyn ward?” he said to Harry, watching the Healer leave. “Isn’t that where my dad was?”

“Well, that ward is for ‘serious bites’,” said Hermione, shoving a stale biscuit into her mouth.

“Let’s go,” Harry said, standing up and stretching out his stiff back.

They went back down to the first floor and made the same trip to the ward that Mr. Weasley once resided in. Slughorn was lying in his bed reading the Daily Prophet, which had another story about the murder of another Ministry official. His bed was between a wizard that had a large leech stuck to his chest, and another wizard covered in strange looking bites that had turned green.

“Harry, m’boy, you’re here!” Slughorn cried joyfully, despite having half of his walrus mustache covered in dried blood and being wrapped in heavy bandages. “The Healers only told me that a young, bushy-haired girl brought me. That means I have to thank you and Ms. Granger for saving my life!”

“Ron was there too,” Hermione said, looking at Ron’s sour expression at not being mentioned. He was just as visible as Harry was.

“Of course, of course, you too,” Slughorn added with less enthusiasm. He then dropped his joyful attitude and looked at them suspiciously.

“How did you know where to find me?” he asked quietly.

“Well”um”we asked Professor McGonagall where you lived,” said Harry.

“When I went to the Order of the Phoenix and asked them to hide me, I had confidence that they would not reveal my location anybody,” Slughorn said bitterly.

“We told her it was important for us to talk to you.”

“And why is talking to me important to you all of a sudden?” he said, possibly already knowing the answer.

“We wanted to ask you about Hor””

“I said I know nothing!” Slughorn shouted. “I told you before that I don’t know anything about those”those things. Now leave or I’ll have the Healers will drag you out for disturbing me!”

“Professor, please,” said Hermione, “all we want””

“You two are involved in this as well?” Slughorn asked, looking from Hermione to Ron. “I thought that after that night, Harry, you would have given up on this. But, no, you had to get your two friends involved.”

“It’s because of those things that night happened!” Harry said quietly, but very fierce. “Dumbledore found another source for the information you wouldn’t give, and we went to search for one of Volde”I mean, You-Know-Who’s you-know-whats!” He didn't think that it would help to tell Slughorn that he got him drunk.

“You-Know-Who had more than one of those things?” he said hoarsely, his eyes wide with shock and fear.

“He made six!”

Slughorn went white. He put his hands to his face and groaned through his fingers. “This is my fault. I was the one who told young Riddle about them.”

“You told Riddle about those things?” Harry asked, trying to sound surprised. “Well”um”it’s not your fault that he used the information, is it?” he said rounding to Ron and Hermione, looking for their vote of confidence.

“Absolutely not,” said Hermione.

"Course not,” Ron said bracingly.

“If you still feel bad about this,” Harry said, turning back to Slughorn, “you can fix it by telling us how to destroy them.”

Slughorn removed his hands and they could see that some color came back to his face. “I knew that if You-Know-Who asked me about Horcruxes, he must have made at least one, but I’ve been in denial…fine,” he said, looking into Harry’s eyes, “I’ll tell you what you need to know.”

“Thank you,” Harry said gratefully, extremely relieved that he was going to get the information he needed. “So…how d’you destroy them?”

“Well,” he said, lying back in his pillows, “if that ring I saw Dumbledore wear last summer was a Horcrux, and he told you about it, Harry, it should be obvious that you shouldn’t try and blow them up. The soul would still be in those pieces and that would be a bad thing…”

“Yeah, but in my second year,” interrupted Harry, “I already destroyed a Horcrux. It was Riddle’s diary. And all I did to destroy it, though I didn’t know what it was, was drive a basilisk fang through it.”

A small frown appeared on Slughorn. “Hmm…was there anything peculiar about this diary?”

“It did try to suck out my sister’s life,” Ron said bitterly.

Slughorn thought for a moment and said, “Maybe to a certain extent there was more than a soul in that diary and after you killed that, Harry, it died along with the soul.”

“Would the same thing go for snakes?” said Harry, trying to keep down his fear that he made a horrible mistake.

“He used a snake as a vessel?” Slughorn said, his face turning a fine shade of sickly green. “To think that I taught him makes me sick. But yes”if you killed that snake the soul would die as well.”

“And how would you destroy a Horcrux that was a locket or a cup?” Harry gulped and asked, “Do I have give up a limb to destroy it?”

Slughorn looked up at him and said, “No. If you’re referring to Dumbledore’s hand. It was a curse that took it. No, no. Actually retrieving the Horcrux, which is most likely protected by dark spells, is much more dangerous than destroying it.

“If you want to destroy the piece of the soul inside the vessel you will need the proper environment; an anti-You-Know-Who setting. Keep it with you and the soul inside will eventually whither and die. You will know that it’s properly destroyed when the vessel itself show signs of physical deterioration such as rusting, cracking, or anything else.”

A few seconds followed Sluhorn’s explanation.

“I’m telling the truth!”

“That’s it?” Harry said, trying not to feel too happy in case the explanation was false. “That’s what we have to do to destroy a Horcrux?”

“Yes, you see””

But he was interrupted by the sound of the door of the ward banging open, and the entrance of Professor McGonagall and Mad-Eye Moody.

“What happened?” Professor McGonagall demanded. “I got word from a Healer that you were attacked, Horace. I only had time to retrieve Alastor.”

“I’m fine, Minerva,” insisted Slughorn. “But if it wasn’t for Potter and his friends I would already be dead.”

“Potter?” she said, looking as though she only just noticed him, Hermione, and Ron standing close by. “So you three brought him here after I gave you Horace’s address. I forgot I gave it you in my rush to get here.”

“What did they want his address for?” growled Moody. “That information was supposed to top secret”we were supposed to tell no one outside the Council.”

“Potter said it was urgent, and that I would find out about the night that Albus was murdered. Is it safe to assume,” McGonagall said, turning to Harry, “that I will be finding out now what you were up to?”

“Yes,” Harry answered heavily. “Professor Slughorn can easily answer your question, it he’s willing. If you need us, we’ll be back at Grimmauld Place.”

Harry beckoned Ron and Hermione forward and they left without asking.

“Thanks again,” Slughorn called to them before the door shut.

“So, what now?” Hermione said while they were headed for the ground floor.

“Obvious, isn’t it,” Harry said. “We finally have to go to the Muggle orphanage where Riddle stayed.”

“And where would that be?” Ron asked, curious to see if Harry somehow had the answer.

“No idea,” Harry simply answered. “All we can do is rest up and look up old records somewhere in London for this place.”

“That’s going to take ages,” Hermione groaned. “There has to be an easier way.”

“Are you actually complaining about having to do a bit of studying?” Ron said with a smirk.

“Yes,” she said flatly.

They didn’t talk the rest of the way. Once inside the reception area they Apparated and found themselves, once again, outside Grimmauld Place.

Dinner that evening was mostly spent talking about where they should start their search, and if searching in old records would prove a waste of time. London was a big place, and there was a very good chance that the orphanage didn’t exist anymore.

“It’s been fifty years since Voldemort lived at the orphanage,” said Ron, setting down his fork. “For all we know it could be torn down and a thrift store could have been built over it.”

“I don’t think so,” Hermione said. “If the orphanage does contain a Horcrux, Voldemort would have found someway for Muggles to leave the building alone.”

“I agree,” Harry said, pushing away his plate. “Voldemort’s ideal hiding place for a Horcrux isn’t under a pile of rubble or a store. He’d want””

“Hey!”

The three of them jumped and turned to look at the fireplace, where Lupin’s head had appeared amongst the flames.

“What is it?” Harry said urgently, sitting down on the hearth.

“Did something happen?” Hermione asked, sitting next to Harry, who was followed by Ron.

“Don’t worry, everybody is okay,” Lupin said in an assuring tone. “I’m calling upon you three for Order business. You see, Slughorn told McGonagall and Mad-Eye everything he know about those Horcrux things and what you told him. Now they have relayed this information to the rest of the Order and we decided unanimously to take over your search.”

“WHAT!” Harry yelled standing up and staring right at Lupin. “What do you mean the Order is taking over the search?”

“I mean that the we have voted and decided that this matter is too important for three teenagers such as yourselves to handle.”

“We’re of age!” Ron shouted, offended. He stood up right beside Harry.

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Hermione said in the same offended tone, “we have grown up since our third year!”

Lupin looked abashed, recovered, and said, “I never””

“Well, it sounded like it,” Harry cut in. “Besides we didn’t tell Slughorn everything! There are still loads of clues that could lead us to the Horcruxes that you don’t know!”

“That is exactly why,” Lupin said calmly, “you are going to tell us everything you know. Frankly, I’m surprised that not one of you came to the Order after Dumbledore died and told us about these things.”

“Well I’m not telling you anything!” Harry said fiercely. “This is my responsibility!”

“And we’re coming with him!” Ron said, for he seemed to see Lupin was about to point out him and Hermione.

“Of our own free will. Harry knows that he can’t stop us. Right?” Hermione asked Harry.

Harry paused for a second, and said, rather reluctantly, “Yes, they are.”

“You three are impeding Order business!” Lupin half-shouted.

“Fine,” Harry said, coming to a conclusion. “If the Order wants to get involved in the search for the Horcruxes, then you all will just have to induct me,” he said, looking right into Lupin’s eyes.

There was a moment of silence where everybody’s eyes were on Harry.

“We would never allow that. You are far too young….”

“You told me that to join the Order you have got be of age and out of school”and I fulfill both qualifications. In case Mrs. Weasley didn’t tell you, I’m not going to study at Beauxbatons.”

“And neither are we,” Ron said, indicating himself and Hermione. “If we want to join, the Order has no excuse to reject us.”

“True,” said Hermione. “If we don’t join, than we will be impeding our separate searches. With our information and your resources we can do this much faster.”

“Ron,” Lupin pleaded, ignoring Hermione, “think about your mother””

“Don’t bring her into this,” Ron said. “Mum has got to accept that I am not a child anymore!”

“Well, you sure are acting like one!”

Harry could see that the only thing stopping Ron from kicking Lupin’s head were the hot embers. Lupin tried to steer the argument in another direction.

“This is not a game. If this is about pride, or whatever, that shouldn’t be reason to put yourselves in danger. This is important. In fact, I was pulled off my mission to reach out to werewolves to do this!” ”

“We know this isn’t a game and that it’s important!” Harry said, taken aback by Lupin’s complete misunderstanding. “I’m doing this because I have to! Because Dumbledore meant for me to do this.”

Lupin now turned to Hermione. Before he could start she said, “There is no way you could change my mind. Either induct us into the Order, or we’ll be having two searches that could be more effective as one.”

Lupin looked at each of them as if he was seeing them in a whole new light. He frowned and with a pop, head vanished from the fire.

“Bright and early tomorrow morning,” Harry said suddenly without looking at Ron or Hermione. “If we stick around here for too long we’ll be easier to find. Anyway, we have all of London to search for that orphanage.”

The argument unhinged Hermione and Ron so much that they didn’t have any objections. The three of them left the kitchen and went up stairs for an early bed, leaving their unfinished dinner to turn cold over night.

A/N: My explanation on how to destroy a Horcrux is based purely on the fact that Dumbledore did not blow up the ring.
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Initiation by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
Another thank to my Beta.
Harry was still seething about Lupin and the Order to trying to take away his responsibility. He couldn’t see how they could do that and not include Harry in their plans. They aren’t going to stop me, he thought to himself. He fell into an uneasy sleep, and was woken up in the morning by Hermione, who was practically jumping up and down on his bed.

“Get up!” she shouted into Harry’s ear.

“I’m up, I’m up,” Harry said groggily. “Didn’t know you would be this anxious to get started,” he said, reaching for his glasses.

“I doubt that we’ll be starting today,” Ron said when he came into focus.

“Why not?” Harry asked, bewildered.

“Look outside,” he said, nodding towards the window, which was letting through dazzling sunlight.

Harry got out of bed and looked outside, and when his eyes adjusted to the sunshine, he saw three figures standing outside the front door: Mr. Weasley, Lupin, and Mad-Eye Moody.

“What the heck are they here for?” he asked Ron.

“I’ve got a shrewd suspicion, but I’m not getting my hopes up by saying it out loud.”

Harry beckoned Ron and Hermione out of his room and dressed as fast as he could. He just got his left arm through his T-shirt when he wrenched open the door and went downstairs.

When Ron and Hermione caught up, Harry opened the front door.

“Good morning, Harry,” Lupin said. There wasn’t anything in his tone that suggested anything good. Harry stepped aside to let all three of them through.

“Close the door, Potter!” Moody said. Harry shut it after realizing he had been gawking at them with the door wide open.

Mr. Weasley’s eyes lingered on Ron for a second, but he didn’t give any greeting when he passed him. Lupin then quietly led the way towards the basement kitchen.

“Now,” Lupin said, turning to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, “I have discussed our conversation last night over the fire to the rest of Order, and we have came to a decision.”

“Some of us, including myself, are dead set against it,” growled Moody, eyeing the three of them, “but it appears we have no choice.”

“Actually, Alastor, everybody is against this,” said Mr. Weasley, looking glum.

“So, we are offering you lot one last chance,” Moody said. “Tell us all you know about these Horcruxes of Voldemort’s.”

“No,” Harry answered defiantly.

”Fine, if there is no other way to get the information out of you, then it looks like we are going to have to induct you into the Order,” Lupin continued. His expression was unreadable.

"You are?” Harry said, completely stunned, even though it was obvious that was where they were going. He had never seriously expected the Order to let him join. Hermione and Ron looked shocked as well.

“Are you serious?” Ron said, grinning.

“Yes, but only because you are giving us no other choice.”

“And it’s nothing to be smiling about, Ron,” Mr. Weasley retorted angrily.

“All right, then,” Harry said, enthusiastic about getting something done. “Let’s do this.” He then spotted Ron and Hermione and said to them, “Look you two don’t have to do this. I’ve got the Order to help me now….”

His voice trailed off when he saw their faces.

“Come off it,” Ron said, annoyed. “We aren’t letting you do this alone”even with the Order behind you.”

“Actually, nobody is going to join at this very moment,” Hermione said, looking at Mr. Weasley, Lupin, and Moody.

“And why not?” Ron asked.

“Because,” she said, “how do we know that after we join and give them the information, that they won’t just shove us aside and search for the Horcruxes without us?”

“That is a very good point,” Harry said, turning back to the three older wizards and casting them suspicious looks. “How do we know that you won’t do just that?”

The smallest trace of a smile appeared on Lupin’s face, but left instantly. “Very astute of you, Hermione. Very well, I give you three my word that I will put you on the Horcrux assignment.” He ignored Mr. Weasley’s groan. Apparently he expected Hermione’s suspicions to come to pass.

“Fine,” said Harry, “when are we doing this?”

“We’ll be leaving for the headquarters right now,” he answered. With that, he left the kitchen with Mr. Weasley and Moody. Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed. They all went back upstairs and outside.

There, Lupin took hold of Harry’s forearm, Mr. Weasley took Ron’s, and Moody took Hermione’s. They all stepped forward and Harry felt the familiar pressure around him. Before he knew it he found himself outside a quaint Muggle neighborhood. Nobody was around, even though it was still the morning, but Lupin was already shoving him forward between two houses.

“Take this,” he whispered, shoving a piece of parchment into his hands. Ron and Hermione looked over his shoulder. They recognized the handwriting to be McGonagall’s.

The new headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is number twenty-one Waterside, Exeter.

Harry looked back up to see that a new house had appeared between numbers twenty and twenty-two. Moody, whose irregular eye was swerving in all directions, took the parchment from Harry and burned it with the tip of his wand. He must have been much more paranoid since all this was being done in broad daylight.

“Go on,” he said, going back to Hermione and prodding her forward. Lupin and Mr. Weasley dragged forward Harry and Ron. Lupin hit the front door with his wand, there was a clicking sound, and the door creaked open.

They were all shoved inside, where it was far less gloomy than Harry’s first visit to Grimmauld Place. The wooden floor only had the occasional scuff, the chandelier and the candle brackets in the hallway had no cobwebs, and when Lupin spoke he didn’t bother to keep his voice down.

“This way,” he said. Lupin led them down the empty hallway to a set of stairs on their right. When they reached the first landing they went down another hallway, and the second door to the left stood ajar. He let Harry, Ron, Hermione, Moody, and Mr. Weasley pass first, and then closed the door behind them.

Lupin and Moody went forward to sit at a long table at the center of the room where Professor McGonagall and a wizard Harry recognized as Sturgis Podmore sat. This must be the Council that Moody mentioned, Harry figured. In a shadowy corner he saw the wizard that had fought poorly at Godric’s Hollow, Geoffrey Baxer.

“Don’t mind him,” said Moody, who had followed Harry’s gaze. “He’s our scribe. Been keeping a real close eye on him ever since he let that Ministry official get assassinated.” He shot a menacing look at Baxer, who whimpered.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I””

“Now,” cut in Professor McGonagall, looking at Harry, Ron, and Hermione over her square spectacles, “as Remus has already informed you, due to your lack of cooperation in giving us information on these Horcruxes of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, it seems that we have no choice but to make you three part of the Order of the Phoenix.”

“Great,” Harry said, nervous and unsure of what to say or do. “Erm”so, where do we sign up?”

“There is no signing up, only the matter of taking an oath against You-Know-Who.” Upon saying that, she placed three rolls of parchment. “Each of you take one”but be warned,” she added quickly when Ron made for a grab for one of the rolls, “there is no backing out. Once you three have taken this oath, we expect you to hold to them. This is your last chance to tell us what you know.” She held them in her gaze and watched carefully for any hint of weakness, until none came. “Memorize and proceed.”

Harry, Ron, and Hermione unrolled their parchment and began to read. After reading it about five times, they gave back the scrolls and started to say their oath. It seemed much too simple.

“ ‘I swear to always fulfill the tasks the Order sets for me to do and work against the Dark Lord, to do whatever it takes for me to complete the task, even if it should lead to my own death. I will not back down when I see what there is before me, and will continually judge what will be the right thing to do if I may go astray.’ ”

“Welcome to the Order,” McGonagall said once they had finished.

“That’s it?” Ron said disbelievingly. “It seems too easy.”

“This was very short notice, Ron,” Lupin explained. “We had to get this done as quickly as possible.”

“We’re very selective about who joins,” said Sturgis Podmore. “We normally run a very thorough background check before we offer membership.”

“The only reason that weasel, Snape, got into the Order,” Moody said, answering Harry’s unasked question, “was because Dumbledore vouched for him. And Pettigrew must have joined the Death Eaters after he joined, because his record was clean.”

“How do we know that this wasn’t all some kind of trick?” Harry asked suspiciously.

McGonagall simply gestured to the wall on her left, where a desk stood and quill was moving on its own over a piece of parchment. Harry went over to look and saw that three names were written on fresh ink under many other names: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley.

“Blimey,” said Ron’s awed voice behind him. Harry understood how he felt completely: they were now part of the Order of the Phoenix.

“Now, as your first duty,” Professor McGonagall said, satisfied that she had convinced them that this was no trick, “is for you to tell us all that you have learned concerning the matter of You-Know-Who and his Horcruxes.”

“We are going be involved in the search, aren’t we?” Harry asked Lupin.

“Either way you have got to tell us about the Horcruxes, since it’s your duty to fulfill your oath,” he answered. “But, yes, you three will be involved in the search.”

Harry looked into his eyes and believed him. Then, pausing for a moment, Harry said, “I started taking private lessons with Professor Dumbledore at the beginning of the last school year, where I learned about Voldemort’s past.” He then started to spew out everything that Dumbledore had shown him: the Gaunts (though he had to explain Voldemort’s true name), Caractus Burke, the orphanage with Riddle, Voldemort visiting Morfin, Voldemort’s application for a job, Hokey the house-elf’s memory, and Slughorn.

“So three of the Horcruxes that Dumbledore suspected had existed I know for sure are already destroyed: Voldemort’s pet snake, Marvolo Gaunt’s ring, and Tom Riddle’s diary.”

Ron and Hermione were standing in the corner, so as to not interrupt Harry. Mr. Weasley had not said a word since they left Grimmauld Place, and every body at the table was listening carefully.

“And what of the other three?” Sturgis Podmore asked.

“Two of them are still hidden: that’ll be Hufflepuff’s cup and some other artifact of one of the founders of Hogwarts. The last one was hidden in the cave, which was Slytherin’s locket, and it was already taken by some person calling himself R.A.B.” From his pocket he took out the fake Horcrux that he had been carrying with him.

“Any idea who this person might be?” Lupin asked, taking the locket from Harry’s outstretched hand, and looking at it.

“Nope,” said Harry simply.

"We will leave that for later,” McGonagall said, examining the locket, which she had taken from Lupin. “From what you have told us, can you guess the location of any of the two Horcruxes that You-Know-Who has hidden?”

“My best guess is Tom Riddle’s old orphanage. It’s somewhere in London, I know that, but it could take a while to find it.”

“No, it will not. Remus, could you kindly go to Hogwarts and look into old records for Tom Riddle?”

“Of course, Minerva,” Lupin said. He got up from his seat and walked out the door.

“That easy?” Ron asked again.

“Hogwarts is a very large castle, Mr. Weasley,” McGonagall responded. “Why would we simply toss out information on a student that could be helpful later on?”

“What do we do now?” Harry asked.

“Your first order was to tell us about what you knew. Your second is to wait back in Grimmauld Place. And I assure you,” she added, when she saw that Harry was going to interrupt, “that Remus will get you after he retrieves the information on Riddle’s orphanage.”

After a brief pause Harry turned on his heel and left out the door with Ron and Hermione.

“You three have done it now,” said Mr. Weasley, who had followed them out. “When I tell Molly about this….” He shuddered at the thought.

“Hold on!” Ron said. “How does Mum not know about this?”

“She was under the weather, I think it was because she was so worried, and asked me to represent her. I didn’t tell her that the Order decided to let all of you in, because I knew she would just get in the way. And I asked Bill not to say anything, either.”

“Mr. Weasley, look,” said Harry, trying not to sound too apologetic. “Dumbledore meant for me to do this, so I’m not letting””

“Yeah, I know,” he said, waving it off, “Remus told us. Well, wish me luck.” And with that, he walked past them and went down the stairs.

“Oh, I do hope that Mrs. Weasley doesn’t take this too bad,” Hermione said earnestly.

Ron snorted. “If Mum goes ballistic on him, then I won’t be looking forward to my next meeting with her.”
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The Orphanage by Phoenix 86
Harry had the same rude awakening the next morning as he did the previous, but Ron caused it this time.

“There’s a message here for you!” Ron said, practically pushing Harry off his bed.

“Okay, okay,” said Harry, trying once again to get used to the sunlight. “Where’s the owl?”

“It’s not an owl, mate. Go to my room.”

Harry got out of bed and it took him a second longer than it should have to realize what Ron meant: Phineas Nigellus, the portrait in both Ron’s room and the Headmaster’s office at Hogwarts. Without dressing out of his pajamas, Harry bolted out the door, up one floor, and into his old room at the house.

“Finally up, I see,” Phineas sneered at Harry, who could see Phineas’ swollen, red eyes that clearly meant he was also rudely awakened.

“So, what’s the message,” Harry said anxiously.

“Always want to get right to the point, do you? Can’t say hello, can we?”

“Since when d’you care? Just give me the message!”

“Oh, very well,” Phineas said in a tone that clearly wished that he was still asleep. “Professor McGonagall wanted me to tell you that Remus Lupin has found the information that you seek and is coming over right now.”

Harry tore out of the room without another word and ignored an annoyed scoff that sounded like “young people.” He went back into his room to find Ron, who was now joined by Hermione.

“Well?” Ron said eagerly.

“What did he want?” asked Hermione.

“Lupin’s coming,” Harry said, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice. It wasn’t that he was looking forward to putting themselves in danger, but aftermath of that danger: destroying another Horcrux. “Let me get dressed and I’ll meet you two in the kitchen.”

After Ron and Hermione left Harry got out of his pajamas and slipped on Dudley’s old jeans and shirt. He reached into his trunk and pulled out the knife that Hagrid had given him, thinking it might come in handy. When he got into the kitchen Harry didn’t have to wait long before the doorbell rang and Mrs. Black’s screeches once again filled the house.

“BLOOD TRAITORS! MUDBLOODS! VERMIN OF ALL VERMIN!”

Harry and Ron wrenched the curtains closed again and went to open the door to find Lupin at the entrance in his Muggle best, holding an old paper bag.

“Good morning,” he said, walking in.

“So you found it? The orphanage?” Harry asked, closing the door after Lupin

“Yes, I have. And as I promised, I am here to pick you up and we are all going to do this together.”

“And what’s in there?” Ron said, eyeing the bag Lupin was holding.

“This,” he said, indicating the bag, “is some extra security measures for the three of you.” From the bag he withdrew three thermoses, each labeled with Harry’s, Ron’s, or Hermione’s name. “Polyjuice Potion, I don’t know if you’ve heard”” He stopped when he saw their reaction.

“What?” Ron said weakly. “Ugh, that stuff tastes horrible.”

Hermione was looking apprehensive as well, for the last time she had taken it she had ended up with the fur and a tail of a cat.

“And how would you know that?” Lupin asked in the same suspicious tone that he had once asked Harry in.

“Hermione told us,” Harry said at once, nudging Hermione. “Right?”

“What”? Oh”yes, I did. Read about it, you see and I told these two. I’m surprised that they remembered,” she said innocently.

“If you say so,” Lupin said, though not entirely convinced. “Anyway, donated hairs from members of the Order you don’t know yet have already been added. And I also made sure they were all about your builds.” He separated the thermoses and handed them to indicated drinker.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to go to their own rooms for the change. When Harry got to his he took off the top and looked into the contents: it gave off the foul odor of rotted eggs and cabbages, and murky color of dung brown. Without hesitating, he pinched his nose and drank it as fast as he could. It went down hard and Harry once again felt the sensation of snakes going down his throat, and his skin like hot wax. He was brought down to his knees and tried to focus his changing: his hands were more tanned, he grew about an inch, he could feel his feet growing tight around his trainers, and his bangs grew over his eyes and he saw that it was blond.

The feeling passed and Harry stood up. He saw that his jeans no longer rested comfortably below his ankle, and his arms became more muscular. Everything was blurred and he took off his glasses, which he pocketed.

When he stepped out of his room, Harry saw at the landing below him two people that he assumed were Ron and Hermione. To his surprise, Hermione was now that same woman that had helped him back at Godric’s Hollow. She had the same face (without the sweat), same black hair, and he saw she had clear blue eyes. Hermione was also a little taller.

Ron on the other hand was now a good half a foot shorter and was only a few inches taller than Hermione. His pants were sitting comfortably on his trainers; his eyes were brown, which was the same color as his shorter hair.

“Harry?” came the voice that was not Ron’s.

“I guess,” came a different voice than Harry’s.

“We’ve already wasted about a minute,” said the unrecognizable, but same bossy tone that was Hermione’s. “Let’s go!”

When Harry caught up with them, he saw that he was now eye level with Ron. Smiling in spite of himself, he walked back down stairs.

“Finally,” Lupin said, not showing any sign of noticing that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had changed their physical appearance. “We’re taking the Underground. Follow me.”

The four of them walked out into to the brilliant morning outside and Grimmauld Place dissolved behind them. The journey was easy enough: they got to the same station that Harry had been to with Mr. Weasley, went past the stop that took them to the Ministry of Magic entrance, and finally ended up at a station that wasn’t as busy as the previous ones.

“Stay close,” Lupin said, as he continued to walk.

They kept going and the area around them continued to grow older. Luckily, when there weren’t people other people waking around, Harry, Ron, and Hermione started to change back. Harry could see his bangs receding, a blurry Ron starting to grow taller and regain his red hair, and the blurry hair of Hermione starting to become brown and bushy again. Finally, Harry had to take out his glasses and put them back on to see properly.

“Almost there,” Lupin said, as though it was normal for people to spontaneously change physical features.

But Harry could see what Lupin was talking about, for they were now walking down the familiar path that Harry saw the seventy-years-younger Dumbledore take on his way to the orphanage. There were definitely signs around them that suggested so much time passed, but there was no mistake of where they were. Then, up ahead, a gloomy old building surrounded by iron gates appeared in the distance.

“This is definitely it,” Harry whispered, afraid for some reason that he might be over heard.

When they passed the gates and went for the front entrance Harry felt the same kind of shiver go through him that he felt back at the cave, and it seemed to go through Ron and Hermione as well. Lupin, however, looked as if nothing was bothering him. The warmth around them vanished, and though the sunlight lingered, the heat didn’t seem to reach the earth.

“Keep Out”Dangerous?” Lupin said, reading the sign on the door. “Yeah, right.” Suddenly, he reached for the doorknob and tried to turn it.

“It could have been cursed,” Hermione said anxiously.

“Well, Hermione, it’s not,” he said, throwing his weight onto the door, but it wouldn’t budge. He took out his wand pointed it at the doorknob. “Alohomora!” Nothing happened. “Okay,” he said thinking, turning back to the three, “Harry, you come with me and we’ll go round the left side of the building. Ron, Hermione. You two go around the other side. Try the charm on all the windows. We’ll meet at the back.”

Ron and Hermione nodded and went the other side of the building trying to charm the windows open, and the same went for Lupin and Harry.

As Harry went around he tried to see inside, but after being closed for probably so many years, the windows were too grimy to look through.

“Alohomora!” yelled Harry, pointing his wand, but still nothing happened. Then Harry got a simple idea and stood back further and pointed again. “Reducto!” The spell bounced off the window and zoomed over Lupin, who had to duck to avoid it.

“Well,” Lupin said, both grimly and with approval, “if the Alohomora Charm didn’t prove this place is magical, that did.”

They met up with Ron and Hermione, who also had no luck, at the back of the building. Then, the four of them made their way back to the front entrance.

“Now what?” Ron said, exasperated.

“I could keep trying a variety of counter-spells,” suggested Lupin, looking at the door with dislike, “but that could take a while.”

“Maybe,” Harry said quietly, also looking at the door, but with curiosity. He unconsciously took out his knife and cut across the back his hand.

“Harry!” Hermione shrieked, as Harry smeared his blood across the door, which clicked and opened on its own.

“You could have warned us!” Lupin shouted, clearly not noticing the door had opened. He ran his wand across Harry’s hand and healed the cut.

“It did serve a purpose,” Ron said, pointing at the door.

Lupin turned and looked in amazement at the entrance to a filthy hallway. Then he gave a Harry a questionable look.

Harry shrugged. “Don’t see why Voldemort wouldn’t have used the same lock twice.”

Wand at the ready, Lupin led the way inside. The inside was just as how Harry had seen it in the Pensieve, except that it was much darker and there was cobwebs and dust everywhere. The black and white tiled floor had cracks and several tiles were missing, showing aged stone underneath. Also, the paint on the walls had been longed chipped and scratched. The smell of aged and soggy wood lingered.

“Where now?” Lupin asked Harry.

“We should try Voldemort’s old room,” he answered. “What are you two waiting for?” he said, noticing that Ron and Hermione were falling behind.

“It’s just that it’s creepy here,” Ron said, looking around. “I mean, think about it: He lived here.”

Hermione, who was looking a little nervous, was clutching Ron’s arm so tightly it looked as if she might have cut off his circulation.

“Look,” Harry said sympathetically, “I understand if you two want to wait outside, but I’m going ahead.”

“Don’t try that,” Hermione said confidently, though still holding Ron’s arm, which Harry figured was becoming slightly numb, “we said that we’re coming with you, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

“C’mon, then,” Ron said, walking forward with Hermione.

In total silence, Harry led the way over to the stairs and started to climb up. The relative ease that they had experienced so far made Harry very uncomfortable, and he peered over his shoulder frequently for any sign of trouble. But so far, no curse had been activated, and no Inferi or any other foul creature had popped up.

When they got off at the same landing Dumbledore had all those years ago, they turned and found themselves at the beginning of a long corridor. Again, the only thing that seemed to change was how much dirtier the place was, but when Harry reached the door into Voldemort’s old room, he noticed something that was clearly not in the Pensieve: five locks.

“What the bloody hell is this!” Harry shouted in frustration, causing some dust to fall from cracks in the ceiling.

“Harry, are you telling me that these things weren’t here before?” Lupin said, while he examined the locks.

“No! It was just a plain door.”

“Clearly Voldemort’s work. Alohomora!” Lupin yelled, pointing his wand. Just as before, nothing happened. He tried to turn the doorknob and slam into it, but that didn’t work either.

“Well, obviously we need keys,” Hermione said, running her hand across the door. “But the question is where they are.”

“Maybe Voldemort’s got them,” Ron said, dismayed. “In which case, we came here for nothing.”

“I don’t think so,” Harry said, thinking. “I mean, back at the cave, Voldemort could have just conjured his own boat to get across the lake, rather than leave one there.”

“So the keys to these locks have got to be hidden somewhere in here,” Hermione said, now looking at the other doors.

“That’s better, I guess,” Ron said, also looking at the other doors in the corridor. “But that’s going to take ages.”

“We should look for the records of the kids who used to live here,” said Harry, still thinking. “If Voldemort is hiding these keys based on his past, then we can probably assume that he hid the keys in the old rooms of those he bullied. I know of at least three.”

Since nobody else had any better ideas, Harry led the way again and ended up in Mrs. Cole’s old office, where they found many filing cabinets stuffed with old papers. At last, after minutes of searching, Harry found the three names that he was looking for: Billy Stubbs, Amy Benson, and Dennis Bishop. He looked in the their files, found their room numbers, and headed for them.

“Let’s try this again,” said Lupin when they were in front of Amy Benson’s old room. “Alohomora!” And, as expected, nothing happened. “Harry,” he said, struck by an idea, “let me see that knife of yours.”

“No, I’ll do it,” Harry retorted, knowing what Lupin was planning to do.

“That’s an order, Harry. Now give it to me.”

“For goodness sakes,” Ron said, tired of the argument and already taking out his wand. He used a small Severing Charm to cut his hand.

“Ron!” Hermione shrieked, as Ron wiped his blood on the door, which opened just like the front door.

“Why do you all always insist on taking the grunt of the work?” Lupin yelled, healing Ron’s hand.

“Because otherwise nothing gets done,” Ron answered.

Hermione pulled him down and said fiercely, “Don’t you ever do anything like that again without at least some warning.”

“Okay, I won’t,” said Ron hastily.

“I think it would be a good idea to check inside,” Harry said, stepping into the old and dark room. Amy Benson’s room looked just like Tom Riddle’s had in the Pensieve, except, of course, that it was much dirtier, but there was a similar bedstead and wardrobe.

“Dead depressing,” Ron said when he came inside.

“Yeah,” Harry agreed, “so lets try and find the key if it’s in here. Shouldn’t take us too long.”

They all looked inside the wardrobe and under the bed for the key, but it wasn’t until that Hermione stepped in a loose floorboard similar to the one Harry once used that they found the key inside.

“You’d think that it would have been hidden in a more magical fashion,” Hermione said, holding up the plain and slightly rusted key.

“Forget about pondering Voldemort’s method and continue to look,” Harry said, checking Dennis Bishop’s file for the room. “Says here that this person’s room is a floor above us.”

After making their way up the next floor, it was Lupin that gave the blood donation to the door. Inside they finally found the key hidden inside a secret hole in the wardrobe. Next, on the same floor, was Billy Stubbs’ room. Again Lupin gave the blood, and he and the others heard the key rattle in one of the hollow iron posts holding up the bed. It was only the matter of a simple Summoning Charm to get it out.

“Three down. Two to go,” Harry observed, holding up the third key after searching Billy Stubbs’ room. “We can rule out the unlocked rooms for the rest of our search.”

And indeed after a tedious search of having to force open doors to check which ones were magically locked, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Lupin found two more doors that required a blood donation (which Lupin obviously did), and both keys were found in similar hiding places.

Once they found all five of the keys, the four of them went back to door with the five locks and proceeded with inserting the keys. After all five were in place and Lupin gave another donation of blood, the keys turned and the door swung open.

Tom Riddle’s old room looked just like Harry had seen it; it looked as if no time had passed inside. The wardrobe was in the same state and the mattress wasn’t torn up like all the others.

“Careful,” Lupin warned, “the blood was the most dangerous thing we had to deal with so far, I’m sure things are going to get much nastier after this.”

He took the liberty of opening the wardrobe and inside hung the same gray tunics that the children used to wear. On the top shelf, where Riddle’s box of stolen items once was, was a long, thin package that was wrapped in ordinary brown paper. Lupin stood back and raised his wand. “Accio!”

The package shook violently, but was held back.

“Nothing for it,” he said, looking back at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and reaching up for the package.

“You could be hurt!” Hermione said. But Harry was not really worried, for he expected Lupin’s hand to be stopped by the same barrier that protected the fake Horcrux”but he was wrong.

Lupin clasped the long package and took it down with ease. He smiled turning back to them, but then the package started to shake violently again and there was a huge BANG that filled the whole room in black smoke.

“Lupin!” Harry choked through the thick smoke, feeling his way around. When the smoke drifted out the door, he saw Lupin lying unconscious against the wall, with blood trickling down forehead. “No,” Harry said weakly, going to his body. He can’t be dead, Harry thought desperately. He can’t! Dumbledore said that Voldemort wouldn’t kill us straight off!

Hermione landed next to Harry and checked Lupin for a pulse. “He’s still alive,” she sighed, “we need to get him to the”Ron, what is it?” she asked, because Ron was pulling on her shirt trying to get her attention.

“That,” he gasped, pointing at a spot on the floor.

She and Harry both turned to look at what Ron was indicating, and they gasped too: A long golden staff encrusted with sapphires was laying among the ashes of what used to be the wrapping.

“Rowena Ravenclaw had a scepter,” Harry said in an awed voice, picking up the staff and eyeing the sapphires that made it clear to whom it once belonged.

“Harry,” Hermione said nervously, “what’s that sound?”

Harry was brought back down to the situation at hand and then he heard it, too and it sounded familiar.

“I know what that is,” Ron said, glancing inside the wardrobe. “Its doxies!”

Then Harry recognized the buzzing sound and knew that Ron was right, and doxies have somehow taken to living in Voldemort’s old tunics. Then, without the use of Doxycide, the black, fairy-like doxies came out and started to attack Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the unconscious Lupin.

“RON! HERMIONE!” Harry bellowed, while trying to hide under his arms and being bitten over and over again by the mad doxies, “ONE OF YOU TWO GRAB LUIPN AND DISAPPARATE!”

Hermione immediately took Lupin arm and turned, but instead of disappearing, she stumbled and fell.

“There’s an Anti-Disapparation Jinx on the building, Harry!” Hermione cried.

“Then we’re running! You and Ron carry Lupin!” he yelled, still being bitten.

Horcrux and wand in hand, Harry sprinted for the door, but he immediately lost balance when the floor started to quake under them. Getting back to his feet, and still trying to beat away the doxies, Harry staggered out into the hallway and to the stairs, Ron and Hermione behind him carrying Lupin. Luckily, the doxies stayed in the room.

When Harry was about to start his decent down the stairs, Hermione yelled, “Wait!” But it was too late. Harry put his foot down to take the first step down, but it never reached solid ground. Harry fell, realizing that the stairs had disappeared under him and he was now falling into the blackness below. He was just about to give up hope when Harry felt his ankles being tugged up and was now hanging in midair, somehow still managing to hold on to the scepter.

“You okay?” Ron yelled from somewhere above.

With the hand that was holding his wand, Harry pushed his glasses farther up his nose and responded, “I’m fine.” Harry bent his back and looked up to see Ron, who one arm around Lupin and the other pointing at him with his wand.

“Sorry, but I had to use Levicorpus,” Ron said, answering Harry’s puzzled expression. The floor was still shaking, and Ron fell against the wall with Lupin and Hermione.

"Do something!” Harry bellowed, the blood rushing to his head.

Hermione raised her wand and shouted, “Wingardium Leviosa! Ron, let him go!”

Ron obliged and Harry no longer felt the straps against his ankles, but he was still floating thanks to Hermione’s charm. She easily lowered Harry to the bottom floor, while trying to keep her own balance, and Harry floated over the ground floor where the stairs used to be and landed in a heap.

Harry stood himself up against the wall and yelled up to Ron and Hermione, “Drop Lupin! I’ll catch him!”

Harry put the scepter down and put his foot over it, wand at ready. A second later Lupin’s limp body came within Harry’s line of sight, and Harry yelled, “Wingardium Leviosa!” Lupin slowed down, Harry brought the body to him, and put him down on the still shaking floor before he called up to Ron and Hermione again. “One of you two next!”

It was almost a minute before Ron came screaming down and stopped abruptly, most likely due to Hermione’s spell work.

“She pushed me!” Ron shouted when he landed in a heap just like Harry, and getting up. “I wanted her to go first, but she wouldn’t have it!”

“Catch me!” Hermione cried from two floors up.

Ron and Harry were ready by the time she came down. She floated up over the floor, but landed a little more gracefully than Ron and Harry.

“Pick Lupin back up and let’s go!” Harry said, snatching the scepter back up.

They were made it halfway down the shaking hallway when it became evident that the building was no longer going to hold. A large bit of debris fell right in front of Harry, who kept on going. After making it three-quarters of the way, the floor split without warning, leaving a large fissure that went down so deep it didn’t seem to have an end.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione slammed themselves against the wall just in time, and caught Lupin before he could fall in.

“Reducto!” Harry yelled at a wardrobe that had fallen through a new gap in the ceiling leading to a room above. The wardrobe was blasted aside and fell into the nothingness below. “Keep going!” he ordered. Ron and Hermione once again took Lupin as burden.

When they reached the door, still trying to stay against the wall, Harry put his wand between his teeth, so that he could fumble one-handed through his pockets for the knife. Suddenly, Hermione slammed Harry against the wall, took out her wand and used the same Severing Charm Ron had used, and smeared her blood on the door. The door opened into the midday sun, and Harry ran out with Hermione, Ron alone supporting Lupin. As they ran across the courtyard and past the gates, the orphanage behind them collapsed into a pile of rubble and dust.

“I’ll take him to St. Mungo’s,” Ron said, after passing the iron fence.

“No,” said Lupin, who was starting to stir. “King’s Cross”the platform,” he said weakly, and fainted again.

“Go on,” Harry urged Ron, who turned and vanished.

“Can’t let you do all the work,” Hermione said, running her wand across her bleeding hand and healing it. There were several bites that on her face and arms from where the doxies had struck. Harry looked at his arms and saw he had just as many.

"You can pat your own back later,” Harry said, putting down his arms. “Let’s go.”

They both turned and vanished as well, leaving the pile rubble that was the orphanage behind”but with a Horcrux in hand.

A/N: If anyone thinks that the orphanage is obvious, I can see your point. If anyone thinks that it is too soon to find another Horcrux, I also see your point. And if anyone thinks that finding the location was too easy, I can also see your point. Just saying it was now or never.
Back to index
Back to the Start by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
Please bare with me here. I know what I am doing.
“Mum that hurt!” Harry and Hermione heard Ron shout. They looked and saw that Ron and Mrs. Weasley were standing near a pillar away from a group of people standing over Lupin’s body.

“That didn’t hurt nearly as much as you deserve, Ronald Weasley!” Mrs. Weasley yelled, livid in the face. “What were you thinking in joining the Order?”

“I was thinking about doing my part do get rid of Voldemort!”

Mrs. Weasley flinched badly, but recovered, saying, “We have enough people doing that! This is dangerous! You are still too young!”

“I’m old enough to make my own decisions, Mum!” Ron shouted back. Harry was rather taken aback by the way Ron was speaking to her mother; he had never seen any of the Weasley children do so. Ron was now acting as tall as he looked.

“You two need some medicine, too,” said the deep voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had left the group and was examining Harry and Hermione’s bites, which were now turning purple.

“That would be a good idea,” Hermione said, feeling her forehead and looking drowsy.

“How’s Lupin?” Harry asked.

“He’ll be fine. All he needs is some potion and a few days rest.”

Harry looked around Kingsley and saw that the group included Mad-Eye Moody, Mr. Weasley, Elphias Dodge, and a very teary Tonks. It seemed Mr. Weasley was trying to ignore his wife’s constant plea to join her row with Ron.

“Molly,” he said, finally acknowledging her, “I’m not happy about this either. You know that. But what’s done is done. And right now we have more urgent matters.”

Mrs. Weasley was frustrated, but didn’t give up and turned back to Ron. “The fact of the matter is”Oh, my goodness!” she cried, her eyes swelling with tears, for Ron was now leaning against the pillar and straining to breath. The doxy venom must have acted faster due to Ron’s shouting match.

Harry was worried, but also felt like he was coming down with a fever and it was becoming a labor to breath. Next to him, Hermione looked even worse. Lupin was resting, so he thought it might take longer for him to get worse.

“Molly,” Kingsley said urgently, looking at Harry, “do you have any cure for what appears to be doxy bites at your house? Am I right, Harry?”

“Yeah,” Harry said hoarsely, clutching at his chest and dropping the scepter, “doxy venom.”

“Yes, I do,” she answered, and then turned to her husband. “Arthur, take Ron home so I can go ahead and get ready.”

Moody came over to Harry and took him by the arm. Harry felt the pressure of Apparation come and go. When the blackness left he saw that he was back in the front lawn of the Burrow, being pushed forward by Moody. Mrs. Weasley already entered the house ahead of him when Hermione and Ron appeared to the right, both escorted by Kingsley and Mr. Weasley.

In next to no time, Harry was lying in a bed back in Ron’s room, with Ron in the next bed. Harry’s chest felt constricted and forehead as if it were on fire; Ron was just as bad. He barely remembered how he had gotten there and was sure it had happened no more then twenty minutes ago. But then, Mrs. Weasley came in carrying two bottles, which she put the ends of into Harry and Ron’s mouths.

Harry drank down the potion and he felt his chest fall and rise with air again, his forehead cooled, and his head started to clear. When his head cleared completely and his memory came back, Harry sat bolt right up.

“Where is it?” he half-shouted at Mrs. Weasley. “Where’s that scepter I was carrying?”

“It was taken by Elphias Didge back to the headquarters,” Mrs. Weasley said, pushing Harry back down. “And your system still has to get rid of the venom, so you are going to stay in bed until tomorrow morning.”

“Blimey, it felt like a hippogriff trampled me,” Ron said, trying to sit up, but Mrs. Weasley went over to him and forced him back down.

“You are not to leave this bed until I say so,” she said fiercely. She took out two more small bottles of potion and force-fed them to Harry and Ron. Harry suddenly felt woozy and fell back onto his bed, asleep.

When Harry had awoken again, it was a beautiful new day outside. The kind of day that would normally be spent playing Quidditch, but that did not come to pass. As soon as Harry and Ron met back up with Hermione in the kitchen, a letter from the Council greeted them.

It clearly instructed the three of them to spend the next three days recuperating in the Burrow. None of them were to go out. And after the three days were up, they were all to head back to Grimmauld Place indefinitely. They were told that details about the scepter would be divulged later.

Of course, none of them were happy about this news, especially Ginny, for some reason. She had helped make breakfast and was there to read the letter.

After it became apparent to Harry what was wrong with her, he took action. And then when it came to leave the Burrow once again, he broke the news to Ron.

“You gave her your what!” he exclaimed, after ending up back in the gloom of Grimmauld Place.

“My Firebolt,” Harry said to him again. “I have no use for it at the moment, so I had Dobby bring it over when I asked him to feed Hedwig. I mean I couldn’t not give Ginny a birthday present.”

Ron was about to say something again but was interrupted by Hermione. “I didn’t really think she would appreciate a second-hand broom,” she said.

“Hermione,” Ron said to her as if she were crazy, “it’s”a”Firebolt. Not some cruddy robes.” He seemed to have a change of heart in record time. The subject wasn’t brought up again, and they entered the confines of the house.

As the weeks passed and August turned into September, Harry felt much more gloomy in Grimmauld Place than in his previous stays. Ron and Hermione were his best friends, and he has shared a roof with them for the best part of the past six years, but the fact of the matter was that they were now the only ones around. Harry started to miss his usual contacts: Ginny, Fred, George, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Luna Lovegood. They weren’t his best friends, but they were around if you wanted somebody else to chat with.

The habits of Ron and Hermione that Harry barely noticed anymore were now starting to show up. It turned out that Hermione had snuck out of the Burrow despite orders not to for a brief period the day before they left, so she could go to Flourish and Blotts and purchase Standard Book of Spells, Grade Seven. Now she kept pushing the book under Harry’s nose every chance she got, and urged him to learn from it himself.

Ron was now seemed to be chewing too loudly during meal times, and his snoring could be heard from different parts of the house. He was also being urged by Hermione to read Standard Book of Spells, but unlike Harry, he always got into a row with her when she tried.

“They’re standard spells, Hermione. Standard,” said Ron on the evening of the first of September. “I doubt they’ll help out too much.”

“Don’t try to deny that they have been useful, Ron,” argued Hermione.

Harry was already in a much fouler mood than usual, because the Order denied his request to see to go back to the Burrow and see off Ginny before she left for Beauxbatons a few days previously, and wasn’t in the mood to hear the fight. He was also annoyed with Ron, due to the fact that Harry kept trying to make the Lectun Repalo work, and Ron kept scoffing him at his attempts. Only the day before Harry almost hit Ron because when he coughed it sounded like another scoff.

“Harry, please!” Hermione said, trying to persuade him again. “It’ll be a better use of your time than practicing a spell that doesn’t work.”

“I’ll get it to work,” he said defensively. “Maybe it takes a certain situation to get it to work. Or I have to think something specific, like the Patronus.”
“Surely you must have tried everything by now,” she retorted. “You’ve had plenty of time to practice.”

“Apparently not enough. Look, we probably have weeks in this house left to go. Why can’t I use that time to do this?”

“Because you won’t have enough time,” said a voice in the fire.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione jumped again and saw Lupin’s head among the flames once more. They bolted and kneeled in front of the grate.

“You’re all right!” Harry said excitedly. “We never got any news of whether you were fine or not.”

“I wouldn’t think so,” said Lupin. “Now, the scepter has slowly been detonating since we got it. Hopefully, it won’t take much longer.”

“Is that all?” Hermione asked. “Did you figure out another possible place for a Horcrux.”

“We would, but we’re stuck in here,” Harry said resentfully.

“Don’t worry,” Lupin assured them, “we’ve already started looking for another one.”

“And that work paid off!” Ron said, practically ready for another life threatening mission.

“Sadly, no,” he answered. Ron slumped looking put-down.

“Then why are you here?” asked Hermione.

“As you should have known, the Horcruxes weren’t going to be your only responsibility. We have of another use for you three.”

“And what will that be?” Harry said, afraid it was just going to be busy work.

“Guard duty.”

“Excellent,” Ron said, ready once more. “So what it’s going to be? Something like the prophecy? Another Ministry official about to be killed?”

“You’ll find out after you get to headquarters,” Lupin said. He pulled his head back and vanished from the fire.

“Well, let’s go,” said Ron; he looked the liveliest he’s been in weeks. “Can’t wait to get out into the world again.”

“I would have thought that after what happened to your dad, that you wouldn’t want to do something like guard duty,” said Hermione.

“Yeah, but the snake’s dead, isn’t it?”

“Still, I don’t have a good feeling about this,” she said, getting to her feet.

Harry got up too, and said, “Think we’ll all be killed this time.”

“It has nothing to do with how dangerous the mission is going to be,” she said thoughtfully.

“The sooner we get to headquarters, the sooner we find out what we have to do,” Harry said, leading the way out of the kitchen.

He, Ron, and Hermione stepped out into the cool evening air and the orange glow of the nearby street lamp. They Apparated and ended up back at Exeter. After entering headquarters, going upstairs, and going in the second door on the left, they were back in front of the Council.

“Welcome back,” McGonagall greeted them. “You three are undoubtedly curious about what we have in store for you.”

“So, what do we have to do?” asked Harry.

“As you three know,” Moody began abruptly, “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named wouldn’t hesitate for a second to murder an entire family, but luckily the one I’m talking about hasn’t been killed yet. But we know for sure that he has been itching to have them murdered for some time now.”

“So are we to help evacuate them?” Hermione said to Lupin. “That’s not exactly guard duty.”

“Hermione,” Lupin said patiently, “please let Alastor finish.”

“It would be wrong of us,” Moody continued as if there was no interruption, “to let them get killed if we knew about it and did nothing. So, we set up a post that you three will take over starting tomorrow night.”

“You want us to baby sit?” Ron said, outraged.

“Ron,” Lupin said in the same patient tone, “what did you think it was going to be if it was something like the prophecy you had to watch over.”

“Exactly, this is baby sitting,” Moody growled. “Now, we set up this post months ago, even though Dumbledore had told us at that time that it wouldn’t be necessary for a while. But we went ahead with it.”

An icy dagger of truth stabbed Harry in the heart when he realized whom Moody was talking about. Hermione looked as if she had figured it out as well. Ron said ignorantly, “Who are we staying with, then?”

“I didn’t say that you’re going to stay with them,” said Moody. “These people have no idea that they’re being watched, and we want it remain that way. What we have done is purchase a house across the street to have a good vantage point in case any enemies call upon them.”

“Fine,” Ron said, “where are we staying?”

It was Sturgis Podmore who made himself noticed, and said, “Number seven, Privet Drive. You will be watching over the Dursleys.”

Harry froze, and was just as immobile as if the Freezing Charm was on him. Yes, he knew that those names were coming, but actually hearing it was hundreds of times worse. He wanted to groan into his hands and lean on the wall in agony, but kept face.

“But I don’t understand,” said Hermione after a second. “If you were posted across the street for months, then why didn’t you give us an escort over the summer?”

Moody waved off the question and said, “Simple. We figured that you three were going straight back to the Weasley’s house. Not much need for an escort.”

“Don’t tell my mum that,” said Ron, who had gotten over a shock that was less than Harry’s.

“We don’t intend to,” said McGonagall. “You three should go back and get your things ready to leave tomorrow night.”

Harry was going to open his mouth again, but McGonagall gave him a stare that told him the conversation was over. So he left in the low spirits with the prospect of having to back to Privet Drive the next day.

“I can’t believe they’re doing this to us,” Ron complained back in the basement kitchen. “They’re just wanting to make us feel like we’re being useful, when we’re being cast aside.”

“Do you think I feel any better, Ron?” Hermione asked. She took a swig of butterbeer and continued. “I’d rather be doing something more useful. I mean, I’m not saying the Dursleys should be left for dead, but they have other people to do this sort of thing.”

Harry, who was barely paying them mind, smirked as he remembered a passing comment Uncle Vernon made.

“What are you smiling about?” Ron asked curiously.

“My uncle said told us that number seven had some new occupants. Now we know who.”

As the rest of the day passed, Harry was still far from accepting this unfortunate turn of events. But either way, he had no choice in the matter.

Finally, after midnight the next day, the doorbell sounded. After muffling Mrs. Black’s screams, Harry found Lupin, Tonks, and the woman Harry recognized from Hermione’s Polyjuice Potion, the one who had saved him at Godric’s Hollow.

“Good evening, Harry,” Lupin said, stepping in, and was followed by Tonks and the woman.

“Wotcher, Harry.”

“Name’s Bethany,” said the woman, extending her hand to Harry. “Bethany Williams. Nice to meet you, Potter.”

“Likewise,” Harry greeted back, shaking her hand, and taken back by her powerful introduction.

“And you must be Hermione,” Bethany said when Hermione came into view with Ron. “As you must know, I donated that lock of hair for you to use…. And you are?” she said to Ron.

“Um, Ron Weasley,” he said, also taken aback by her forceful approach, and also very much noting that Hermione had turned into her.

“Molly’s kid?” she asked, shuddering. “Of course you are. Had the unfortunate luck of telling her I supported membership for you and your friends.”

Ron, who seemed to have taken a liking to her, said, “Bad move.”

“Enough talk,” declared Lupin. “Have you three got your things ready?”

“Yes, we do,” answered Hermione suddenly. “Let’s got our things.” She and Ron went upstairs to get their trunks.

Harry went into the basement and got his trunk and owl, while Ron and Hermione went to their rooms. In less than a minute Harry was back in the main hallway, when the other two came downstairs with their trunks, Pig, and Crookshanks.

“I’ll take those,” Tonks said. “Locomortor trunks.”

Once outside in the cloudy night, the front door clicked and the house melted behind them. Tonks led the way, followed by Harry, Ron, and Hermione carrying their pets, and Lupin and Bethany bringing up the rear with their wands out. Tonks lifted the spell, grabbed two of the trunks, and Disapparated. Lupin grabbed the last and followed.

“Apparate to the start of Privet Drive,” Bethany said, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of trouble, wand at ready. “From there, follow the love birds.”

Harry stifled a laugh, and said to Hedwig, “Brace yourself.”

He turned on the spot with Ron and Hermione and ended up under the same sky, but in a completely different neighborhood filled with identical houses on either side of the street. I’m back, Harry thought miserably.

Crack. Bethany appeared behind him. “Keep moving!” she whispered.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed Lupin and Tonks, who were a little farther up. They went down Privet Drive until, right across the street, Harry could see number four, where Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley were undoubtedly sleeping, unaware of the unwelcome party.

Lupin went to the front door of number seven and rapped its door with his wand to unlock it. He opened it and entered with Tonks and the trunks.

“In!” Lupin whispered, keeping the door open until Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Bethany were inside.

“That went more smoothly than expected,” Bethany said freely, stowing her wand in her robes and turning on the lights. “Didn’t really need all of us, did they?”

“Better safe than sorry,” said Lupin. “Okay,” he said to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, “the wireless we installed a few weeks ago is located in the living room, and through it you can hear inside number four. So, if any Death Eaters decide to come in from the back, you three can hear it and help the Dursleys”hopefully there won’t be more than one or two. The front windows are bewitched so that from the outside it looks as though the curtains are closed, so you don’t have to worry about being spotted unless you leave the house.”

“But what if the Dursleys are out?” asked Hermione. “What then?”

“You’ll have to rely on your smarts,” Lupin answered, tapping his forehead. “Hopefully you’ll know beforehand where they are. Remember, you can’t let them know that they’re being watched. It would be unfair to them to deviate them from their regular life styles if nothing has happened.”

“I think a little change in Dudley’s routine would be good for him,” Harry said darkly.

“No change, unless necessary,” Lupin simply answered. “Also, the owls would be a dead give away to your aunt and uncle that there are wizards about.”

Hedwig hooted in annoyance
.
“And don’t worry,” Lupin went on, “we might decide to pull any of you away at any time to do something else for while.”

“One more thing,” Harry added, “why couldn’t we have just stayed at Mrs. Figg’s house? It’d be a simpler move.”

“And I have no doubts it would be. Unfortunately, this house obviously has a better view of the Dursleys, which is why we acquired it in the first place. And that’s about it,” he finished. “Oh, and one more thing,” he said, turning to Ron, “the Council would like a word with you, Ron. Mind coming back to headquarters with me?”

That comment took everybody in the house by surprise.

“Why me?” Ron asked, bewildered.

“Remus, this wasn’t in the agenda,” Bethany said.

Lupin ignored her. “You’ll find out when we get there.”

“Okay, I guess,” he answered suspiciously. “When will I be back?”

“It won’t take long. Now, if you will,” Lupin said, leading him to the back door.

“See you two in a bit,” he said to Harry and Hermione. Ron then left out back with Lupin, who flicked his wand in the air. They both then turned without the usual sound of Apparation.

“Did you know about this, Harry?” asked Hermione accusingly.

“No.”

“Anyway,” Tonks said, throwing off her confused expression, “I’d better going, too. Have work in the morning.”

“No problem,” Bethany replied, “I’ll stay and make sure these two settle in. I don’t have to come in for work until noon.”

“Thanks, Beth.” Tonks left through the backdoor and Disapparated at the same spot Lupin and Ron had, using the same flick of her wand.

“Are you an Auror?” Harry asked Bethany.

“Huh?” she said, jumping a little at the sudden question. “Oh”no, I work at another part in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I sometimes have the unfortunate job of having to report to Dempsher.”

“I’m sure that thing last month was only a mistake,” Hermione insisted, though she too had agreed it was blunder.

“If that was a mistake, then I don’t why he’s still head of the Department. If the Aurors had gotten there earlier then maybe more than four Death Eaters could have been captured. You see, the longer the attack goes on, the more they expect reinforcements to come.”

Bethany grabbed Ron’s trunk and started to take it up the stairs, and signaled for Harry and Hermione to do the same with theirs. The entire layout of the house was exactly the same as the Dursley’s house; the only difference was the decoration. Harry had decided to take the version of his small room out of habit, and because it had a good view of the street. Hermione took the master bedroom.

“So tell me,” Harry said to Bethany, who was waiting out in the hall after putting Ron’s trunk in the room that would have been Dudley’s, “how did the Order convince the old owners of this house to sell?”

Bethany chuckled. “Remus explained to everybody that he visited Hogwarts and asked Nearly Headless Nick to pay a visit here. In exchange, Remus put in a good word for Nick at the Headless Hunt, because a werewolf’s recommendation was very good. So, the next day, Remus came by posing as a Muggle interested in buying a house. The old owners sold right on the spot.”

“Good,” Harry said, laughing. “I never liked those people.”

“How come the Ministry didn’t do anything?” Hermione asked, coming out of her room.

Bethany chuckled again. “Do you know how many Muggles claim their homes to be haunted? We usually just ignore them. Well,” she said, peering into Harry’s and Hermione’s rooms, “I think this would count as ‘settled.’ I’ll be going now, ‘night.”

She went back downstairs, and Harry heard the backdoor open and close. Now they were left alone in the neighborhood that had never treated Harry right.

A/N: To let everybody know, Harry will still be working on the Horcruxes. The Order won't provide some instant solution that leads to one.

And the Dursleys are exposed now that the protection is gone. I see no reason why Voldemort shouldn't try and have them killed. Just explaining my actions.
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The Extra Guard by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
As it states in my summary, Harry "will have more responsibilities than expected." He is a member of the Order, and I feel I have to treat him as such. In other words: Horcruxes are the prime concern, but he has to do other things.
The next few weeks stuck in Privet Drive were actually not as bad as Harry had initially thought. He still hated the place, of course, but being around when none of the neighbors knew he was there made the street more appealing. He didn’t have to go through Uncle Vernon’s constant accusing stares whenever something went wrong, Aunt Petunia’s habit of chewing her tongue when he was nearby, Dudley’s lip, or any of the neighbor’s talk. But the one thing that distracted Harry from being glad that he was at least out of Grimmauld Place was Ron.

Both he and Hermione had gone to bed the first night without waiting up for Ron, and thought he would divulge all information the next morning. Unfortunately, when it came time and he was in the kitchen eating some cereal, he wouldn’t answer any of their questions.

“I’ve been told to stay quiet about it,” Ron had told them.

“Why?” Hermione asked.

“Because I can’t tell you,” he said simply.

“Why is it so important that you’re hiding it from us?” Harry said after getting angry. “I’ve told you everything about the Horcuxes!”

“Because Dumbledore said you could,” Ron retorted. “And I was told I can’t. But I can tell you this: I’ll be going out every few nights.” He then surprisingly left his cereal half-eaten and marched upstairs.

The next night, it became evident that Ron wasn’t lying as he bid farewell to Harry and Hermione and quietly Apparated away out in the backyard.

Over the next few weeks, Ron periodically left number seven and always came back in the morning. And every chance they got, Harry and Hermione asked him what he was up to. And every time they asked, Ron wouldn’t say anything.

This was a fairly new experience for Harry, since the only other time Ron had a secret was when he intended on trying out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. But even then, he gave in easily after being caught. But this time was very different. What could the Order have put him up to? Or, actually, what did the Council put him up to?

“He’ll crack soon,” Hermione said one night late into September, after Ron left again. “A few more weeks of asking and Ron will spit it out.”

“I don’t think so,” Harry disagreed. “This is pretty serious, and Ron can be trusted.”

“Oh, please,” said Hermione, rolling her eyes. “Ron can’t be trusted with sensitive information.”

“Like when?” Harry demanded.

“Let’s see…. You, after he told me about Umbridge cutting open your hand; you, after your dream about Nagini; and Ginny, when he told Fred and George about Michael and Dean.”

“Doesn’t count,” Harry said immediately. “All those times he meant well.”

“Really?” she said skeptically. “And how is blabbing to Fred and George helping?”

Before Harry could answer her, there was a tapping on the window. He looked to see a small owl on the windowsill with a letter in its beak.

“ ‘Owls would be a dead give away’,” Harry said, repeating Lupin’s words in annoyance. Poor Hedwig had been cooped up in her cage for weeks. Still, he went over to open the window, and the owl fluttered in.

Harry took the letter and the owl flew away. He looked at the envelope to see it was just addressed to him.

“What does it say?” Hermione asked, looking over his shoulder.

“Looks like I have a job,” Harry said, rather impressed with himself. He could use some time away from here, even though it wasn’t as bad as the past sixteen years.
“That’s nice,” Hermione said enviously. “And here I’ll be all alone while you and Ron are out.”

“Make sure they stay alive,” Harry said to her, heading out the back door. He gave a quick glance at the neighboring houses to make sure there were no nosey people spying, and flicked his wand into the air as he had been taught the previous week. He made a soundless Apparation back to headquarters.

Harry then stole across the yard to the front door and rapped it with his wand, causing it to unlock and open. Inside, he made his way up the stairs and to the door that lead into the Council’s room. Harry knocked out of courtesy.

“Enter,” he heard McGonagall say.

When Harry did as he was told, he saw that she and Moody were the only Council members sitting behind the table. And to his slight surprise, Bethany from his first night at Privet Drive was sitting in a chair facing the table. She immediately turned to look at Harry with an astonished expression, and then back at Moody and McGonagall.

“Are you serious?” she said, standing up and pointing at Harry. “I asked for you for some extra help and it’s Potter alone? No offense,” she added to him. She turned back to the table. “You couldn’t have sent me his friends, uh…Granger or Weasley as well?”

“Shut it, Williams!” Moody commanded. Bethany obeyed and sat back down. “You sit, too, Potter!”

“So, what exactly am I not good enough for?” Harry asked after taking his seat. Who does she think she is? Harry thought, glaring at Bethany. She doesn’t even know me.

“Listen, Bethany,” McGonagall told her, ignoring Harry, “Potter is a very dependable young man, so I am sure that he can handle one night without letting you down.”

“That’s not what I’m afraid of,” Bethany said. “What I’m afraid of is that he won’t be enough.”

“I understand your concern,” McGonagall continued. “But he is the only person available this night. And it would be a risk to pull Ms. Granger from Privet Drive as well. As for Weasley, he is indisposed at the moment.”

“I’m right here,” Harry blurted out, annoyed. Why did they call him in if he was just going being put aside from the conversation?

“Fine,” Moody said, “let’s get straight to the point. Potter, you’ll be taking your eyes off the Dursleys for tonight so you could spend a little time with another family that’s in danger.”

“Why didn’t you get Hermione?” Harry asked. “I know Privet Drive better than her if there’s trouble there.”

“Look, Mr. Potter,” McGonagall said rather impatiently. “When Ms. Williams asked for some help, it was either you or Ms. Granger, and we chose you since you are more apt at dueling. I doubt that You-Know-Who would send his best servant to do away with the Dursleys, and Ms. Granger will only have to evacuate them.”

Harry was taken slightly by surprise. Did McGonagall actually say Harry was better at something than Hermione? This raised his spirits a bit.

“Whatever,” Bethany said, standing back up and turning to Harry. “C’mon, I’ll explain a bit more once we get there.”

“And just go back to your station after tonight if there is no trouble, Potter,” Moody ordered, heaving himself up with his walking stick. “Also, don’t fall asleep! That’s when you’re most vulnerable in case of a sneak attack.”

“Doubt that’ll happen, Mad-Eye,” Bethany responded, exhaling a little. She grabbed Harry and led him out the door.

“So,” Harry started, hoping to break the ice, “whom exactly are we protecting?”

“Mallings family,” she responded, heading down the stairs and outside. “Very anti-You-Know-Who, and very influential. Having them dead won’t be good for our side. They support the Order, so they’ll catch on to why you’re with me. Hang on.” Bethany grabbed Harry and Apparated.

When the feeling of being squeezed through a tube left, Bethany clamped her hands over Harry’s mouth before he could gasp for breath. She raised her index finger to her lips and shushed him.

Looking around her, Harry could see that he was taken to a place that had to be pretty far from the city. It was just a big field beyond the street they stood on. And only the lights of a few houses dotted the landscape.

“Stay here,” she told him, pushing him back against what felt like a brick wall. Bethany then stole away until she got to a break in the wall that had an iron gate blocking her way in.

“Who’s there?” Harry heard a voice ask behind the gate.

“Williams,” Bethany answered, pulling something out of her robes and holding it up in the air. “Magical Law Enforcement Squad.”

“How many cats can fit in a cauldron?” the voice now asked.

What? Harry thought, dumbfounded. Why would such a stupid question be relevant?

“What color are the cats?” she asked back, putting away the object. And before Harry could comprehend the meaning, the gates opened up and a figure walked out to meet Bethany. Harry pressed himself to the wall so he would be seen.

“Pretty quiet night so far, Beth,” the figure said. “Don’t think you’ll see any action.”

“That’s the best kind, Stoke,” Bethany said chuckling. “Well, I got this. You can head back to where you’re going.”

The figure named Stroke yawned. “Best thing I’ve heard all day. Hey, when do you get off?”

“Not ‘til the morning,” she said, thinking. “Why?”

“Oh, just wondering if you’d like to get some breakfast together,” he said flirtatiously.

Bethany sighed in annoyance. “See you at the office, Stroke.”

“See ya,” Stroke responded in a dejected tone. And with a crack he vanished.

After he was gone, Bethany waved Harry over.

“Didn’t think it’d have been a good thing if he saw you,” she said to Harry after he caught up. But he was barely paying attention, because in front of him was one of the biggest houses Harry had ever seen. It was a large brick house with three floors, large oak doors, and fountains on both sides of the walkway. She and Harry both entered the through the gates. Bethany then tapped them with her wand and said, “Colloportus!” The gates locked shut.

“C’mon, Potter,” she said, “don’t want to keep them waiting.” She started forward and Harry followed, though he didn’t know exactly what to do. Was he just supposed to sit around and wait for trouble? Or patrol the outside? He was brought out of his thoughts by the knocking of the door. She pushed him aside.

The right door opened a little to let a pair of eyes see through. “You from the Ministry?”

“Yeah.” She dug into her robes again to pull out what must have been a badge. Bethany then leaned forward and lowered her voice. “The Order of the Phoenix sends their regard. Brought some company for the watch.”

The door then opened fully to reveal a man that couldn’t be much older than thirty. His dark blond hair was slightly disheveled and he had bags under his eyes.

“The Order?” he repeated, looking at Bethany expectantly. “That’s a relief. So, who’s with you?”

“Uh, I am,” answered Harry, not really sure of what else to say.

The man’s eyes widened and they shot to his scar as usual. “Harry Potter!” he exclaimed excitedly. He then took Harry’s hands and shook them vigorously. “I never thought that I would ever get to meet you! Much less in my house! Imagine, the Chosen One in my home! This is such an honor. Otis. Otis Mallings.”

“There’s a reason I whispered!” Bethany hissed pushing them both inside.

There it was, just as magnificent as the outside. A huge staircase going upstairs met him instantly. The entrance room was paved over with polished tiles to reflect the ceiling.

“Doreen! Aggie!” Otis called after the doors were shut. “Come here! There’s someone I want you to meet!”

Harry felt his face burn with embarrassment as a woman’s voice in another room said, “What is it, Otis. Since when are you so excited about some lackey from the Minis”?” The woman appeared from another section of the house and stopped when she saw Harry. A little girl no older than nine appeared by her side. They both stood agape looking at Harry.

“Harry Potter,” she cried, fixing up her hair quickly and then shaking Harry’s hand. “It’s an honor. I’m Doreen Mallings”oh and this is my daughter, Agatha.”

“Nice to meet you,” Agatha said nervously.

“Look,” Bethany said forcefully, ending the introductions. “I was assigned by the Ministry to look after all of you tonight. But I didn’t feel comfortable doing it alone, so I went to the Order somehow got Potter. Everybody into the living room.”

The family did as they were instructed rather grudgingly. When Harry entered he was stunned at how large it was. Expensive furniture was placed all over the room, a fireplace roared at the other end, and a chandelier illuminated the room beautifully. While looking around, Harry found himself a comfortable chair, and the family took up a couch.

“So, how come you didn’t want to do this watch alone?” Otis questioned Bethany, becoming serious. “Are we in more trouble tonight than we were told?” Harry saw Agatha hold on to her mother in fear.

“Listen,” Bethany began, standing over them, “I wasn’t told anything different about tonight, so I wouldn’t worry. I just don’t believe one person can protect a family if there is danger.”

“I can fight, you know,” Otis said, standing up. “When it comes to my family, I won’t back down to protect them. You could have just asked me for help if trouble comes. I’ve said that to everybody else before you.”

“And I expect you will,” Bethany replied. “But I can’t let you die, which is, again, why I brought Potter. To help watch over you. Now, you should all go to bed. It’s getting pretty late.”

“Nobody else told us what to do,” Otis said, annoyed. “They just kept out of our way and minded their own business.”

Bethany walked up to him and looked him in the eyes. “Well, you’ll just have to put up with me for this one night. Now, go to bed.”

“Let’s go, Aggie,” Doreen said to her daughter. She picked her up, and went out of the room. “Packy!” she then called.

A house elf then came running into the living room. He adjusted the dishtowel around his waist, and stood at attention. “What can Packy do for you, mistress?” he squealed.

“See to it that the needs of our guests are met,” she ordered, gesturing over at Harry and Bethany.

“Are my favorite pajamas ready, Packy?” Agatha asked the house elf.

“Yes, they are, little miss,” Packy responded rather proudly. “Cleaned, ironed, and ready to go for another good sleep.”

“Good job,” she yawned, going back into the entrance room and up the stairs with her mother. Otis gave them a look and followed. Packy looked absolutely thrilled to have been complimented for his work.

“And what can I get for you, honorable guests of the family?” Packy asked Harry and Bethany.

“Tea and pastries would be nice,” she said, taking a seat across from Harry. The house elf bowed and left.

“Never really seen much of a single family’s house elf work before,” Harry commented curiously. The only one he did see was the brief one of Hokey. “The ones I know are either free or belong at Hogwarts.”

“Really?” Bethany asked intently. “So you’ve been down in the kitchens?”

“Loads of times,” Harry said, sticking out his chest. “Always left with an armful of food.”

Bethany started to laugh. “Don’t try and make it look like some sort of accomplishment. You could treat them like dirt, and you’ll still get the same service”not that I did, mind you.” Packy then came back with what she asked for. “Thanks.”

“True,” Harry agreed, pouring himself some tea. “But I wouldn’t. Especially since it was one of my best friends that started S.P.E.W.”

She stared. “Spew?”

“Society for the…something. I dunno. All about house elf freedom and stuff.”

Bethany started to laugh even harder. “That’s where you cross the line with house elves. Offer them freedom and they become sulky.”

Harry knew that was true, especially after the episode when Hermione told the house elves in the kitchen that they deserved pay. Not the warmest good-bye they’d ever received.

“So,” Bethany continued, “I’m guessing it was Granger that came up with that stupid idea.”

“Yeah,” he said, a little surprised. “How did you know?”

She shrugged and sipped some tea. “Your other friend’s a Weasley”all of them are pureblood and born and raised in the wizarding world, just like me. No way he’d be that ignorant. So, since I don’t know anything about Granger, I’m assuming she doesn’t know enough about our way of life to just accept the status of house elves as a given.”

“Don’t sound so harsh,” Harry said. “I was raised by Muggles, and I know as much as her. I just caught on to the whole house elf thing a bit quicker.”

“How are you related to those Muggles that raised you?” she asked, ignoring the last comment. “What were they like?”

“Horrible,” Harry summarized. “Sure, they fed and clothed me, but it was meager portions and hand-me-downs.” He pulled on his shirt, which had the sleeved rolled back a few times. “This is from my fat cousin. And my aunt is my mother’s sister,” he said in answer to the first question.

“I can’t believe that your aunt didn’t treasure her dead sister’s son,” Bethany said, in an extremely scandalized tone that surprised Harry. “And I always complained about doing my own laundry.”

It took Harry a second to realize what she was saying. “Wait, so you weren’t raised by your parents?”

“For the first twelve years of my life,” she said, now turning sad, looking down at her drink. “Death Eaters got them while I still in Hogwarts. And I wasn’t left with an inheritance to help pay for the rest of my time there.”

Harry didn’t meet her eyes. He had a mountain of gold hidden at Gringotts to help pay for his education.

“So, what happened to you?” he asked carefully.

“The school helped pay, of course,” Bethany went on. “And during the summer I would stay with some relatives. I’d have liked to stay with my uncle, but the last time I saw him was during my parent’s funeral. Death Eaters must have got him too. The entire family was broken up about them for a while.”

All Harry managed to say was, “Sorry.” Yes, losing his parents without ever knowing who they were was horrible for him. It must have been just as horrible to have them suddenly taken away from you.

Bethany then waved it off, and gulped down the rest of her tea. “Bah, we’re not here so I could brood on my life. We have a job to do. Patrol the upstairs while I go around the perimeter of the house,” she told him.

A little taken back by how she could put it aside so suddenly, Harry did as he was told and went upstairs. So that was why she was angry with the Council, Harry figured. She wanted the extra protection so that another family won’t share the same fate. He would be mad, too, if thought that a family’s safety was being overlooked.
The first floor of the house was almost as big as the ground floor. Apart from it being so big and the number of rooms seeming to exceed capacity, there seemed nothing strange about the house.

Then he came across a plain door with a tree ornament nailed to it. Harry opened it to find some sort of jungle inside. When a lion strolled by, he shut the door.

“Little miss likes her animals,” Packy said, appearing out of nowhere.

“But lions?”

“Cuddles is a good lion. Packy may go and visit him sometimes.”

Harry continued his patrol into the second floor, more wary of what might be hiding. Except for an indoor Quidditch pitch, owlery, and full playground, everything else seemed normal for the most part.

After an hour passed, Harry went back down to the ground floor to get some of the leftover pastries. Bethany came by later after having checked every corner of the garden for trouble. They constantly patrolled the house and garden, occasionally returning to get a quick bite to eat to stay awake.

When dawn broke, Harry was dead tired. His eyelids felt heavy, and he just wanted to lie down for a good sleep. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be an option until he got back to Privet Drive.

“Better this than trouble, eh?” Bethany asked, back in the living room. She must have been used to all-nighters, since she was still wide-awake.

Harry yawned in response. He then began to regret not having practiced the spell all night. But then again, if he somehow got it to work, it could have had a devastating effect that would destroy the mansion. He did think about the memories in hope of another clue to Horcrux, but that proved futile.

“What are you thinking about?” Bethany asked, slightly concerned. Harry figured he must have looked half dead with how tired he was and his thoughts.

“Did the Order tell you about the Horcruxes?” Harry said in answer.

She shivered. “Sound dead evil. Yeah, the whole Order was briefed.”

“The whole Order?” Harry asked, waking up a little. He’d been told that by Lupin, but Harry never realized how many people knew now. That couldn’t be good.

“Don’t worry. We’ve been told to keep our mouths shut out in the field about them,” she said as if reading his mind.
That helped, but it didn’t quench Harry’s fears. Voldemort can’t find out!

They then heard someone coming down the stairs, and Otis entered the living room. He was in his work robes and carrying a box stuffed with parchment. He had the refreshed, cheery smile that only came from a good night’s sleep.

“Morning, all,” he greeted them merrily. “Quiet night, I s’pose?”

Bethany looked at the grandfather clock against the wall. “No big surprise,” she said. “Well, my replacement should be arriving soon to watch over your family, Mr. Mallings. And I’ll be escorting you to work alone.”

“That’s good to know.” Otis then went over to Harry and shook his hands again. “And thank you for the extra precaution, Mr. Potter.”

Harry yanked back his hand. Sleep was starting to take control again, and he was looking forward to bed. “No problem,” he said, yawning.

“Want anything for breakfast?” Otis asked courteously. “Packy makes the most delectable poached eggs.”

Bethany turned down the offer. “Sorry. I have to report in, and Potter has to get back to his regular watch.” She stood up and made for the door. Harry had a tough time getting up, and followed with Otis right behind.

“I just love the morning air, don’t you?” Otis asked Harry when they got outside.

Before Harry could even grunt, Bethany said, “Potter, cross the lawn and go stand next to the gate and stay pressed against it. I don’t want the guy replacing me to see you.”

Shrugging, he went and leaned against the brick wall, while Bethany and Otis stood in front of the gate.

“Who’s there?” Bethany demanded in the tone of a castle guard, repeating the words from the previous night.

“Evista,” another voice behind the gate declared.

“What do trolls do for fun?”

Another stupid question, Harry thought.

“Paint each other purple.”

And another stupid answer, he said to himself. Otis was chuckling.

Bethany then dropped her act and smiled. “Nice to see you, Charles. Alohomora!” The gates creaked open with a tap of her wand.

“Avada Kedavra!”

Almost as if in slow motion, Harry could see Bethany’s expression change from cheeriness to shock. She then immediately pounced on top of Otis, causing the jet of green light to zoom over them. Bethany then raised her wand to send a spell of her own.

After another shout of a spell being thrown, Harry pulled out his wand and dashed in front of Bethany and Otis yelling, “Protego!” In the split second that it took for the spell to bounce off his shield, Harry was able to look at the attacker. He didn’t have the look of a Death Eater or an enemy at all. And strangely, his eyes didn’t show any kind of surprise that Harry just jumped right in. In fact, they were clouded.

“Stupefy!” shouted two voices. One came from the first attacker and the second from a different direction.
Harry was then pushed to the ground by some unseen force and the two Stunning Spells crossed in midair and missed him. He looked over to where Bethany was laying and saw she had her wand pointed at him. She then immediately jabbed it up the air.

“Impendimenta!” she yelled, pointing towards the source of the second voice. The spell made its way and was blocked by what was undoubtedly a Death Eater. “Just knock out Charles, Potter!” she commanded, her eyes not leaving the Death Eater. “He’s under the Imperius Curse!”

With his controller now trying to get past her, Charles couldn’t put up much of a fight. Harry made quick work of him and joined Bethany in the duel.

“Give yourself up,” Bethany ordered the Death Eater. “You’re outnumbered and I put an Anti-Disappariation Jinx on the area.”

“Avada Kedavra!”

The Killing Curse went straight for her, and she was able to get out of the way.

“Reducto!” Harry yelled.

The Death Eater blocked, threw another curse, and shouted, “I’ll be taking you to the Dark Lord after everyone here is dead, Potter!”

“Expelliarmus!” Bethany shouted. The wand flew out of the Death Eater’s hands and landed in Bethany’s.

He cursed and began to run. “Stupefy!” they both cried, Bethany able to use both of the wands in her possession. The three jets of light were on target and got the Death Eater right on his back.

Bethany blew back a strand of hair over her face and went over to Otis, who was still lying on the ground and had watched all that had transpired. Harry was wondering why he didn’t help out, when Bethany flicked her wand and Otis stood up.

“I could have helped!” Otis said angrily.

“It’s my job to protect you,” Bethany argued, extremely irritated and not taking any complaints from him. After this and Godric’s Hollow, it seemed clear that surprise attacks touched her nerve. She then went over to Charles and inspected him. “Nothing a good sleep won’t fix.”

Harry in the meanwhile went over to the fallen Death Eater. He kicked the body face up and pulled of the hood and mask to see his wrinkled up face. This one was a very old man. He must have been very experienced, and dedicated to put up a good fight.

“Hey,” Otis said, coming to Harry’s side, “I know who that is. Pendle Draker, one of You-Know-Who’s oldest supporters.”

A light bulb then clicked inside Harry’s head. Oldest supporters?

Bethany came over. “My only question is how this bastard got a hold of Charles. But whatever the reason, I can’t wait ‘til he gets a cell in Azkaban.”

“How about you tell the Ministry that he got away instead?” Harry inquired.

“What?” Bethany and Otis said in extreme confusion.

“Why the hell would I do that when I have him right here?”

Harry grinned nastily down at the Death Eater. “Because the Order could make far better use of him. If he’s as old of a supporter as Otis says he is, then maybe this guy an provide us with some details about Voldemort’s items.” They both flinched

Bethany still nodded in comprehension, but still looked unconvinced. “I doubt that You-Know-Who would confide in anyone about them.”

“True,” Harry agreed. “But Draker just might have caught onto Voldemort’s past dealings and could give us a hint…or more. He could know if he made any frequent visits to certain places.”

“Can you lie for us and say he escaped?” Bethany immediately asked Otis.

“Sure…but what are you two talking about?”

She didn’t respond. She raised her wand to Draker, muttering, “Ennervate!” Draker stirred weakly. She pulled out a scroll, unsealed it with her wand, and shoved it in front of his face. “Read it,” she hissed.

The old Death Eaters eyes went back and forth. “Exeter…what?”

“Stupefy!” Bethany blasted him right in the face, knocking him out again. “Minerva gives us these in case of emergency,” she explained, tucking the parchment back in her robes. “Now, Potter, take him to headquarters and explain everything. I have to take Mr. Mallings and Charles to the Ministry.”

“Got it.”

“What about my family?” Otis asked.

“We’ll send someone over once we get there,” Bethany assured him.

So, after they all left, Harry took the Death Eater to headquarters and began to think of ways to explain this bizarre turn of events to the Council.
Back to index
Watching Kartley by Phoenix 86
At first, when Harry had explained to Moody, who was the only Council member present at the time, he couldn’t believe his mismatched eyes. A Death Eater was given the location of the Order’s headquarters and then brought there. Then Harry had to quickly explain his rational that he believed Draker could possibly provide some kind of lead to another Horcrux. He had to know something since he was an old servant of Voldemort.





So, after scorning Harry for going overboard and compromising their security, Moody chained up the Death Eater to a chair in the basement. He then summoned all the Council members for an emergency session.





“We have no choice now but to try it your way, Potter,” McGonagall said angrily. “But next time you decide to pull something so off the charts, don’t!”





“Head back to Privet Drive, Harry,” Lupin said, talking through his fingers.





“You’re not just gonna stick me there, are you?” Harry asked nervously.





“We’ll contact you when we have another job for you,” Podmore said simply. “Now go back.”





Why were they so mad? Harry asked himself as he headed out the room. Surely that Death Eater could give them a clue. He soundlessly Apparated back to Privet Drive nervous, confused, and dejected”and it wasn’t even midday.





Back at number seven, Hermione greeted Harry warmly until she saw his face. Ron also noticed and seemed to wonder what was wrong.





“Did the mission go bad?” Hermione asked, slightly scared.





“Are the Mallings dead?” Ron said, leaving his breakfast.





Harry looked at Ron quizzically. “How did you know I was there?”





“Saw you there last night, and asked the Council after you left,” he explained. “Well, what’s the trouble?”





Harry then went into the story of the previous night, and that morning’s capture of a Death Eater. He looked into their faces expecting to see understanding, but that was the opposite of what he actually got.





“What were you thinking?” Hermione asked in frustration. “Taking a Death Eater into headquarters? Are you mad?”





“You weren’t there!” Harry told her. “It was spur of the moment. Otis Mallings said ‘old servant’, and it seemed logical that Draker should know something.”





“But Voldemort would never say anything about the Horcruxes to anyone!” Ron said. “You should know that better than anyone.”





“I know that! But Draker could know something significant that could lead us to one. He’s an old servant. He should have noticed something.”





Hermione merely groaned and went upstairs. Ron went back to the food he had on the table.





Harry stared at him for a second. “And what were you doing at headquarters last night, anyway?”





“What the Council asked me to do.” He left it at that. Harry shook his head and went to bed. After all that had happened, now wasn’t the time to think about it.





Over the next month, Harry didn’t get any word of the progress being made with Draker, which irritated him, since it was his idea. It took Ron and Hermione some time to act normally around him again. Neither of them could make sense of revealing to a Death Eater where the Order resided. In truth, Harry couldn’t either, but it had to be done. Any clue to a Horcrux was worth the risk. If Draker was important, why would he be sent on what should be a simple assassination?





Harry spent most of his time back on the Repalo spell, still trying to get it to work. He tried all sorts of emotions, wand jabs, and pronunciations, but nothing worked. All that happened was that Harry’s resolve to find its use increased. Why did he care?





As it was getting closer and closer to Halloween, that was when Harry’s depression about Hogwarts and being back at Privet Drive set in more thoroughly. It was during this time that the halls of the school would be buzzing with talk about the first Quidditch match of the season, and the upcoming feast. Instead, he was stuck back in his old home that was never really his home, with no Quidditch match or feast. Just the Dursley’s babble over the wireless, a spell that wouldn’t work, and the anticipation of a Death Eater’s words back at headquarters.





When Halloween did come by, it predictably didn’t turn out to be anything special. Over the wireless, Dudley was talking with his parents about his plans to join his friends at a party. Harry scoffed.





“More like vandalizing houses, stealing candy, and scaring little kids,” Harry said in a disgusted tone. The sun was starting to set, and Dudley’s night of terror would start soon.





“At least I bewitched the doorbell so we won’t hear it,” Hermione said, trying to cheer him up. Harry had made a passing mention at the annoyance they would receive that night. She then looked at Ron. “But I guess you wouldn’t care either way since you won’t be here.”





“I’ll be here,” Ron said, affronted. “And don’t make it sound like you’re jealous that I’m getting out more. I’m not exactly out having a good time, you know.”





“Why aren’t you going out?” Harry asked curiously.





Ron shrugged. “I dunno. I was just told not to come in today.”





Over the wireless, they could hear Dudley say, “I have to go, Mum.” And sure enough, outside the window at number four’s door, Dudley opened the door and left. He dressed in all black and strolled smugly away.





“Git,” Harry muttered, thinking of going out in his Invisibility Cloak to ruin his fun.





When the sun went down and the first costumed children went out to get their share of candy, the first stop of many groups of kids and their parents was number seven. A particularly large group went up to the steps and rang the doorbell, which wasn’t heard by anybody inside. Many of the parents looked intently at the door, hoping to finally see the occupants of the house. Eventually they gave up and left. Five minutes later a group of hooligans egged the house.





Then the sound of the backdoor opening and closing attracted their attention. “Oy!” cried Bill’s voice. Harry, Hermione, and Ron looked at each other and then went into the kitchen to find Bill looking through the pantry. He came out with some ground coffee and smiled. “Happy Halloween…maybe not.”





“What are you doing here?” Ron asked, confused.





“Can’t I pay a visit to my little brother and his friends?” he asked back, taking a coffee pot and filling it with water. He poured the coffee grounds in the water, tapped it with his wand, and it started steaming.





“Not here,” Ron responded. “And isn’t it a little late for that?”





“The Order fears a Death Eater attack in a town or two up north,” Bill said, getting to business. “They sent out groups to watch over things at the Halloween festivals and stuff. I’m here for two volunteers.”





“Just two?” Hermione asked.





“’Course. One of you has to stay and watch things here.”





“You’re staying, Ron,” Hermione told him.





“Why me?” Ron argued. “Do you want to get in the middle of an attack?”





“It’s not that. I just haven’t left this place since arriving. Harry only once. And you’ve been out all the time.”





Ron looked to Harry for help. He only shrugged. “She has a point…but if you’re willing to tell us what you’re up to…”





Ron kept silent.





“Get you’re coats, you two,” Bill said, pouring the coffee into a flask he conjured up. “We have to meet Baxer soon.”





Within the next five minutes, Bill grabbed Harry and Hermione and they Apparated away from Privet Drive. When they materialized, they ended up in a field with a town up ahead. Even from a distance it was easy to tell how big of a festival they were having. Bonfires were lighting up the sky over the town, and the noise from the residents was overwhelming.





“Welcome to the quaint little Muggle village of Kartley,” Bill announced. “Every year they throw this big party that attracts a lot of visitors. A prime target for any Death Eater who’s looking to cause some Halloween mayhem.”





“We won’t be much help at repelling them,” Hermione stated.





“Sir! Sir!” a squeaky voice called. Harry looked down to see Winky jogging towards them looking scared. She was wearing a small and surprisingly clean blouse.





“Winky, I thought I told you to stay with Geoffrey,” Bill said accusingly.





“I tried, sir! I tried!” she said, tears starting to form in her large eyes. “But Winky has lost Mr. Geoffrey. I did as you say: I keep my distance away from Muggles with Mr. Baxer in my sight. But he vanished in large party.” Winky started to cry and hugged Bill’s legs. “Please don’t let me go! I have no place else. I is sorry!”





Hermione looked at Winky with concern. Bill just sighed in annoyance.





“Don’t let her go!” Hermione said to Bill.





“I’m not letting you go, Winky. It’s not your fault.” He pulled her off and smiled at her. “Now, go back to town and stay on a roof or something to watch over things. We’ll get there soon.”





“Yes, sir,” she said, cheering up a little and running off.





“She’s so sensitive,” Bill said, shaking his head. “Makes one mistake and she thinks I’m gonna chuck her out.” He gestured for them to make for the town.





“That just means you’re treating her well,” Hermione said approvingly. “How much are you paying her?”





Bill sighed again. “I keep telling her that she deserves more pay and that I don’t own her, but she won’t listen. She barely accepts a Knut a week. ‘I is a good house elf.’ You have no idea how guilty I feel…what?” he asked, for Harry was staring at him.





“Why is Winky here in the first place?”





“If we have any trouble, then she pops on over to headquarters and asks for some backup,” Bill explained simply. “Dad has Dobby with him in another village.”





They stopped talking about all things magical once they were close to the village and people had begun to appear around them. The only people in the houses were costumed children and those giving out the treats. But the center of it all was a lot more chaotic. A live band was on a stage and was playing for all those around; others were dancing around the bonfire, and many were just talking with friends and having a good time.





Suddenly a man in a pirate costume appeared in front of them and admired Bill. “Very nice scars! How did you get them to look so real?”





“It was torture,” Bill replied. “Took me forever to get it like this.”





The man then looked at Harry and Hermione, who were in plain clothes. “Get in the spirit, you two!” He then ran off.





“Now, where the hell is Baxer?” Bill asked, looking around and thoroughly annoyed. “I’m gonna report him if we don’t meet up soon.”





“Maybe he’s in disguise,” Harry suggested. “The weirder you look, the less conspicuous you are, of course.”





“Or maybe,” Bill continued, crossing his arms and looking towards the bonfire, “he’s just being an idiot.” And Baxer could be seen dancing around with a bottle in his hand. The three of them made for him.





“Bill!” Baxer said, more lively than he had been back at Godric’s Hollow. “Glad to see you finally made it! Oh, and you have Harry Potter and a girl I don’t know with you.”





“Hermione,” she corrected.





“Sure,” he responded dully, turning to Harry. “I was looking forward to seeing you here, Mr. Potter. Just wanted to say thanks for the assistance back at Godric’s Hollow.” He took a swig of the brandy. “Wow, I had no idea that Muggle drinks could be this tasty.”





Bill grabbed him and dragged him to a secluded part of the festival. “Geoffrey,” Bill whispered, “could you explain to me why you left Winky’s sight, when I specifically told you she’s supposed to watch our backs? And how could she do that if she doesn’t know where you are?”





“C’mon, Bill, house elves are only good for cooking and cleaning. They can’t do much past that.”





Hermione was scandalized. “Excuse me! But house elves are capable of doing anything if they put their minds to it.”





Baxer stroked his chin thoughtfully. “You have a point…I guess they could also tend the garden.” He ignored her scowl.





“We have a job to do, remember?” Bill cut in, ending the conversation. “Look, Geoffrey and I will take the perimeter. You two just patrol the actual party. If there’s any trouble, send sparks into the sky. And here.” Bill went into his robes to pull out some Muggle money. “Buy yourselves some masks or something. They should have something on sale.”





“Can you believe him?” Hermione said a minute later, while standing under a tree to keep an eye out for trouble.





“A grudge isn’t enough to gang up one each other, Hermione,” Harry said to her seriously. “That happens now and Voldemort wins.”





“It’s not just that,” she defended. “But didn’t just leave Winky, but he also goes and gets drunk while on duty. And from what you said, Baxer isn’t much of a fighter. What’s wrong with him?”





“Don’t judge. He’s doing what can,” Harry said, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Besides, if you want somebody really incompetent, look at Mundungus.”





“Now who’s judging? You know, stealing Sirius’”or rather your things, doesn’t make him useless. He has connections with crooks that can come in handy. What exactly does Baxer contribute?”





“This is my second time meeting him, Hermione, so I really don’t know. Can we please drop this?”





Hermione remained for a second. She then pointed out a nearby convenience store that had a line of people trying to buy drinks. “Let’s use the money and get something,” she suggested.





From the pile of cheap costumes that were lying in the corner of the store, Harry picked out a bandana and Hermione a plastic witch mask complete with a wart at the end of the nose. After purchasing them, Harry wrapped the bandana around the lower part of his face and then put the hood of his jacket up.





“Think I should be more offended?” Hermione asked through the mask. Harry started to laugh.





After an hour the festival didn’t even begin to die down. The only problems were those caused by people getting into fights. At one point, Harry was scared that he spotted a Death Eater who was probably buying time before causing trouble. But upon closer inspection it turned out to no more than a Grim Reaper costume.





“This is just a bloody waste of time,” Harry declared, after having to pull off the hood of someone who looked more convincingly like a Death Eater.





“You’re just saying it because people around here only look like them,” Hermione said, after having to apologize to the man they unmasked. “If you stop paying attention to every person in black robes, then you won’t think that as much. If a real one came, they would immediately start killing people.”





“Guess you’re right.” Harry then accidentally bumped into a pair of people in wolf masks and tattered blue robes. “Sorry.”





“Don’t touch me, you filthy Muggle.”





Harry and Hermione froze. It couldn’t be! Harry thought horribly. The pair then shoved them both out of the way, and laughed about it. Looking back at them, Harry noticed they both had one hand in a pocket, and peering around as if searching for someone.





Why him? Why was it that Death Eaters always came during Harry’s guard duty? Why was it that the Mallings were attacked on Harry’s watch? Why? Why? Why? But now wasn’t the time to ponder that.





“Harry,” Hermione breathed, taking off her mask slowly to reveal wide eyes. Even the way her breath rose up into the cold air showed something ominous. “Maybe we should have Winky get help.”





“Agreed.” Harry didn’t take of his face covering since it was the only thing that stopped the Death Eaters from recognizing him.





They both simultaneously started sprinting in the opposite direction to the outskirts of the village.





“Winky!” Harry called out desperately. Crack. She appeared by their side looking frustrated.





“I is supposed to stay on a roof and watch, like sir said to!” she whimpered angrily. “I cannot defy him again. I don’t want to be fired!”





“If you don’t go to Order headquarters right now and get as much help as possible, I’ll make sure that Bill fires you!” Harry shouted, knowing she wouldn’t listen otherwise. “Now, listen to me and go!”





Winky squealed and left. Harry was about to point his wand into the air to send the sparks, but Hermione stopped him.





“Are you dunce? That would be a dead giveaway to the Death Eaters that we know they’re here!” Harry cursed, knowing she was right.





He and Hermione instead ran off to look all around the village. But the only thing they saw were the children from earlier heading back home with a bag full of sweets. Finally, they saw them arguing some feet away from another person dressed in a black cloak.





“He could be a Death Eater!” Baxer argued. “Better safe than sorry.”





“We already unmasked five others. In fact, I think we did him twice.” Bill then saw Harry and Hermione running over with their wands out. “What happened?”





“Death Eaters,” Harry gasped, taking in air. Baxer went pale.





“You sure you saw correctly?” he stammered. Bill shushed him and led the way out of the village for some privacy.





“We already sent Winky for help,” Hermione continued.





“Wait a minute,” Bill said skeptically, “how come we haven’t heard them causing trouble?”





“I dunno,” Harry said crossly. “The point is that they haven’t started killing yet. And we should take them out before they do.”





Crack. Behind them appeared Moody, flanked by four other Order members. They all had their wands raised and were ready for battle. They all had tried to don their Muggle best, so it was a good thing it was Halloween. They must have been hanging around headquarters, waiting to be needed.





“Where are the bastards?” Moody growled eagerly. “And how come this village isn’t up in flames?” He had on his usual overcoat with a bowler hat pulled over his oversized eye.





“There are at least two Death Eaters by the heart of the festival,” Harry explained. “For some reason they haven’t started to kill any Muggles yet.”





Moody couldn’t help but look even a little disappointed; still, he let out a relived, “Good. Now we need a plan. Heart of the festival you say?” Harry nodded, and Moody began to stare at the village. “Yes, I make out the concentration of Muggles…. Here’s what we do…”





Within a minute, Moody positioned Bill, Baxer, the four other Order members, and himself in spots around the bonfire and stage. He then sent Harry and Hermione as the ones to carryout the preemptive strike. After that, if any other Death Eaters were around, then everybody else would jump in.





“This is bad,” Hermione said, putting her mask back on. “What’s Moody thinking? He didn’t want us in the Order in the first place. Why would he put us in danger like this?”





“We’re covered,” said Harry, his hand in his pocket gripping his wand. Up ahead the two in the blue robes and wolf masks left the festival, and started moving away. They covered the distance until they could hear them talking.





“Damn it, Craddock,” one said, “I’m getting tired of walking among these Muggles. Why don’t we just cause some mayhem?”





“Because,” the other named Craddock hissed, “our orders aren’t to kill Muggles. It’s to capture Harry Potter!”





Harry and Hermione stopped in their tracks. What! Harry thought. How did they know I’d be here? They caught up again to continue to listen in.





“Killing Muggles would draw out Potter,” the first argued. “I was at Godric’s Hollow, and I saw him fight there. He won’t run from a fight!”





Craddock stopped, took off his mask, and looked the other in the eyes. “The Dark Lord wants to avoid another Godric’s Hollow. If Potter is here, he isn’t alone. Others will come to his aid, and it’ll be harder to get to him.”





“We’ve been out here with six others looking, and we still haven’t found him. This festival is going to end sometime, and by that time Potter will be gone.”





An evil smiled spread across his face. “I see your point. I’m sure the Dark Lord wouldn’t mind as long as we have our target.”





Harry nudged Hermione, and they both raised their wands. “Stupefy!” The two Stunning Spells caught them both completely by surprise, and were they were hit. The Muggles that saw stood agape at what just happened. Some were rather impressed probably thinking it was a trick, and others backed away slowly.





“Now what?” Hermione asked, looking around. That Death Eater said there were six others around, and all of them had to be blending in”at least they were until Harry saw three of them come out with wands drawn.





Harry pulled Hermione away, as one of them yelled, “Avada Kedavra!” The Killing Curse hit a house, and blasted the front into pieces. The Muggles got the hint and ran screaming. They would hopefully pass on what happened so they would stay away.





Then a barrage of spells and jinxes came from all around, hitting two of the Death Eaters. The last three appeared, and the real fight began.





“Penicus!” Harry shouted, throwing a spell at a Death Eater aiming for the last of the fleeing Muggles. It hit with a resounding snap, and he fell over unconscious.





“Dicorga!”





Harry looked just in time to see the slashing movement of a wand across an Order member’s body. He just stood there for second, spit up blood, and then toppled over, undoubtedly dead.





Harry was enraged. “Nisadra!” The spell was on target, until it was deflected. She then immediately threw a counter spell, which managed to graze the side of Harry’s head, and take off his hood and bandana.





The Death Eater stood, stunned. “Harry Potter!” said a female voice behind the mask. “Well, well, this is certainly interesting”Stupefy!”





“Protego!” Harry cried, and the spell was deflected.





“Reducto!” he heard Hermione yell. Harry followed with another of his own. Both spells flew at the female Death Eater. She completely blocked the first, but the second only partially. Her mask and hood came off to reveal a woman that couldn’t have been too much older than Harry. Her dark blond hair and features were good looking enough, but her eyes had the intent to kill.





“Avada Kedavra!” she shouted, pointing at Hermione. Harry was too far to do anything.





“Reducto!” Moody’s voice cried. His spell suddenly hit Hermione, and she was blasted out of the way of the Killing Curse. “Sylvia Coleman,” Moody said to the woman Death Eater, without any guilt over Hermione. “I thought you would be smarter than to follow your father’s footsteps.”





“You locked him up in Azkaban when I was still young!” the Death Eater named Sylvia howled. “Joining was my best chance for revenge”Avada Kedavra!”





Moody somehow dodged, and the duel ensued. Meanwhile, Harry went to see if Hermione was okay. The worst she had was a few bruises and annoyance at Moody.





“Should we help?” Hermione asked her, after she stood up.




“He’s fairing,” Harry observed, witnessing the duel. “There are others that need help.”





With the Order still outnumbering the enemies seven to five, they were slowly taking each of them down one by one. Harry and Hermione assisted in taking down a stubborn Death Eater with a habit of using Unforgivable Curses. But Bill and two others suffered injuries, and their strength lessened.





And finally only two were left, including Sylvia, who was still busy with Moody. When she about to get ganged up on, she emitted a smoke screen and ran off. Everybody who was still up shot a barrage of spells into the mist, but there was no sound of confirmation that she was hit. Then when the mist cleared, Sylvia was gone. Fortunately, the rest of her group was still among them.





When it was clear that there was no way of getting her, Moody started to concentrate on the casualties. His and Harry’s first one was the one Sylvia had killed. Strangely enough, there were no wounds on his body.





“You did all that was asked of you, Shostak,” Moody said somberly, closing Shostak’s eyes. “At least that wench didn’t mutilate you.”





Harry now started to get a horrible feeling stewing inside him”a feeling that had been suppressed until now due to the fighting. He was dead! A member of the Order was dead and it felt like it was his entire fault. The only reason the Death Eaters had to be fought was because Harry was here.





He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Bill, who had on a sling and a sympathetic look. “It’s not your fault, Harry,” he said, as if reading his mind. “He knew what he was doing.”





“We need to take all of these Death Eaters to headquarters for questioning,” Harry declared. He had to get to the bottom of this. How did they know Harry would be here?


“What?” It was Baxer, who surprisingly didn’t have a scratch on him. Why did he fight at Godric’s Hollow and chickened out here?





“No way, Potter,” said Moody, angrily. “Just because you brought in one without our permission doesn’t mean we’re taking prisoners. The one we already have is already a nuisance.”





Baxer did a double take. “We have a Death Eater at headquarters?” None of the others took this as news.





“You’re a useless whelp, Baxer,” Moody said. “We saw no reason to tell you.” Baxer threw Moody a filthy look, but cringed at his stare.





“These Death Eaters knew I’d be here,” Harry continued. “Right, Hermione?”





“He’s right,” she said. “Before we attacked, they confirmed that they have some source of information.”





“Well wherever this source is, I doubt they know,” Moody argued. “The only reason we’re keeping the other is because he could lead us somewhere. We’re going to leave all the scum here for the Ministry.”





“But,” Harry started.





“NO! Now, tie them all up and erase their memories,” Moody ordered. It was the end of the discussion and Harry knew it. “And somebody please take Shostak.”


Back to index
Change in Pace at Privet Drive by Phoenix 86
After the trouble at Kartley, Harry and Hermione were sent back to Privet Drive without a chance to speak with the Council. They tried their best to tell them what the two Death Eaters said. From the sound of it there was a leak somewhere, and it had to be plugged up.



They did try and get Ron to bring forth their claim, but the Council shot him down. Apparently, they were still sore about Draker.



So the next week was spent in relative peace. The Dursleys followed their same routine”so much so that only Hermione took into account their actions. Then one morning Harry was having a nice dream about his short time with Ginny back at Hogwarts.



“HARRY! RON!” yelled Hermione from the hallway. “GET OUT HERE NOW!”



Harry bolted out of bed and opened the door to see Hermione pulling on some pants under her nightgown.



“What’s going on?” Ron said, coming out of his room wand drawn.



Hermione shoved a letter into Harry’s chest and went into her room. Harry read the letter with Ron over his shoulders. The letter was written so fast that it was almost illegible:



Death Eaters are coming. Evacuate to headquarters now. No time to wait for back up.



In the envelope there was a second letter in McGonagall’s handwriting that told them the location of the Order. Harry and Ron made to go into their rooms at the same time and crashed. After recovering, they put on their regular clothes over their pajamas, and put on their trainers. They met Hermione back in the hall.



“I have bad news,” she said, going downstairs with them. “Harry, I was listening to the wireless before the letter came. Your uncle left for work half an hour ago. Also, Dudley went off with his friends.”



“This early in the morning?”



“They said something about getting a jump on a Willard Brokes, or something,” she said impatiently. “Look, you’re going to have to Apparate to your uncle’s office and get him. Ron and I””



“How can I? I don’t know where to go!” Harry shouted.



“You don’t,” she groaned. “How can you not know?”



“You think Uncle Vernon actually took me along on something like take your child to work day?”



“What are we going to do,” Ron said desperately. “I bet the Death Eaters have been planning this, and they would know where to go.”



Harry looked out the window for an idea, and found it.



“I’ve got it,” Harry said. “You two agree that magic is necessary right now?”



“Yes,” said Ron and Hermione, looking at him.



“Let’s go.”



Harry opened the door and sprinted outside into the cool and breezy November morning, Ron and Hermione behind him. The few neighbors that were outside were beyond shocked to see Harry come out of nowhere with two strangers. He ignored them and was soon across the street. He jumped the gate and made to the front door. When Ron and Hermione caught up, Harry banged on the door until it was answered.



“Did you forget something, Diddy?” came Aunt Petunia’s voice. She opened the door and when she saw them she was about to let out a scream. But Harry covered her mouth before she could make a sound, and pushed her inside.



“Promise not to scream?” Harry asked, looking right into her eyes. She nodded and Harry let go.



“What…what are you doing back here,” she choked. “You promised to never come back.”



“Do you really think I want to be here?” he snarled. “I’m here because your life is in danger!” She was about to scream again, but was silenced.



“What do you mean my life is in danger?” she cried.



“I mean that Voldemort is sending his cronies to come here and do in you and your family.”



Aunt Petunia was petrified. Harry shook her. “We are here to save your life!”



“We have to go to Piers’ house to get Dudley,” Aunt Petunia said urgently when Harry removed his hand. “He’s having early morning tea.”



“Hermione,” said Ron, “I thought you said….”



“I’ll explain later!” Harry shouted. He turned back to his aunt and said, “Are you willing to do what ever I say so that you can all live?”



“Yes,” said Aunt Petunia, “but how are we going to get to Vernon’s office and get him? He has the car!”



“I have an idea, so don’t worry.”



Harry opened the front door and ushered everybody out of the house. He led them next door where the neighbor’s van was parked outside. He took out his wand and tapped the van. “Alohomora!”



The van clicked open and Aunt Petunia was stopped from screaming by Ron.



“Shut it, will you?” he asked patiently. They were gathering curious looks from others outside.



Harry opened the driver’s side door and turned to Aunt Petunia again. “Are you okay to drive?” She nodded again.



She got into the car and then said, “We have no keys.”



Harry tapped his wand on the dashboard and the engine started.



“What’s going on here?” asked owner of the car when he came out of the house. “How did you start my car…? Potter?”



Without thinking, Harry blasted a whole in front of the neighbor’s foot. The neighbor screamed and ran into the house. The people who were on the streets also ran screaming.



“This is bad,” Hermione said nervously.



“Forget him,” Harry said. “You and Ron go with my aunt to my uncle’s office. As soon as you find him take them to headquarters.”



“What about you?” Ron asked.



“I’ll find Dudley. I have a good idea where he is. And you take this,” he said, giving the parchment with the location of the Order to Ron.



“But what’ll happen if you get to Dudley first?” Hermione asked.



“And what if you get to my uncle first?” Harry asked back.



When Ron and Hermione got into the van, Aunt Petunia still looked hesitant. When Harry shouted, “Go!” she was off.



After they disappeared, Harry went back inside number four and went into Dudley’s room. There he found just what he was looking for: Dudley’s bike. Whenever Dudley had gotten to fat for a bike, the Dursleys would dump it on Harry. So he knew how to ride one fairly well. Harry was now starting to regret his decision to give Ginny his broomstick, which would have been much faster.



He grabbed the bicycle and headed off downstairs. Once outside, Harry got on the seat and rode down the street. He rode up and down Wisteria Walk, and checked the alley. He also checked every nook of Magnolia Crescent and Magnolia Road. The park was also completely void of life. Harry searched all the streets in the neighborhood where Harry knew Dudley’s gang would hang out. After half an hour of searching, Harry didn’t find him.



Then, Harry decided to stop and concentrate. Where would Dudley go after beating somebody up? The answer came in a second: food. Before Dudley’s diet there would have been enough snacks at number four to satisfy the entire gang, but not anymore. Harry also doubted that any of the other gang member’s houses stored enough. So, Harry went with his gut feeling and headed for the nearest corner store.



Within five minutes Harry spotted a group of people coming his way down the sidewalk. They were all laughing and whooping at what they have just done.



“Did you hear that little pest squeal?” Harry heard one of the people in the group say. “Nice right hook, Dud!”



“He had it coming to him,” Dudley sneered. “Little maggot, making fun of me behind my back.”



“How did you know that he was making fun of you?” asked another excitedly.



“Well….” His voice disappeared when he saw Harry coming his way on the bicycle. Dudley’s gang, who were all looking admirably at their leader, didn’t notice Harry. When they noticed Dudley’s shocked expression, they all turned and saw Harry coming their way.



Each and every one of them wore a look of confusion but at the same time glee. It looked as if Harry came back to them for the sole purpose of getting the stuffing knocked out of him. Dudley, on the other hand, was scared out of his pea-sized brain.



Harry stopped, jumped off the bicycle, and ran the rest of the way. “Dudley!” he shouted. “You have got to come with me!”



“I thought you were supposed to be in France, Potter,” said Piers, making his way to the front of the group. “But if you want to relive old times, we’re more than happy to help. Right, Dud? Dud?” Piers turned and saw that Dudley had a greenish tinge his face.



“Is he really that fun to smack around?” asked a member of the gang Harry didn’t know.



“You betcha,” Piers said devilishly, apparently thinking Dudley’s sickness was due to excitement.



Harry pulled out his wand, and shouted, “Dudley, come here now! We need to get out of here!”



“Ooh,” said one of them, balling up in mock fear, “a stick. P”please don’t hit me with it.”



Dudley went white.



Crack. “Avada Kedavra!”



Harry reacted instinctively by throwing himself to the ground, pointing his wand at Dudley’s gang, and yelling, “Cuerpo Dropa!” Harry tugged his wand as if pulling a rope, and every member of the group had their feet pulled from them and fell to the ground. A jet of green light zoomed above Harry, missed one of Dudley’s friends by and inch, and hit a nearby tree, which withered and burst into flames on impact.



Harry turned and stood up to face his opponent, wand up.



“It seems fortune favored me today, Potter,” said the Death Eater.



“And why would that be?” asked Harry coolly, not dropping his guard.



“Because I can now get back at you for what you did to my darling Bella!” he shouted, pulling off his hood to reveal Rodolphus Lestrange. He wasn’t too different from when Harry had seen him the in the Pensieve, but he didn’t age as gracefully as his wife. “Avada””



“Stupefy!”



Rodolphus abandoned the Killing Curse and blocked Harry’s spell. Harry suddenly noticed that behind him Dudley and the others weren’t running.



“What are you doing?” he yelled at them angrily. “Get the heck out of here!” They didn’t listen.



“Avada Ked””



“Stupefy!” Harry shouted, causing Rodolphus to block again. “I thought Voldemort wanted to do me in himself.”



“You sent Bella to Azkaban! I saw you duel her back at Godric’s Hollow! I don’t care what the Dark Lord does to me!” he roared. “Impedimenta!”



Harry deflected the jinx.



Crack. “Stupefy!”



Harry looked to his right, but wasn’t fast enough to avoid getting hit by the spell. He was knocked back against the wall of the house, and blinked to try and clear his vision. He then saw another Death Eater crossing the street and coming over to him.



“Good job holding off Potter, Rodolphus,” said the Death Eater. “He was here just like we were told.” Those words caught Harry’s complete and full attention. “Yes, the Dark Lord will be pleased. Now let’s kill the great lump like we were told, and then deliver Potter.”



Rodolphus immediately stepped between Harry and the Death Eater. “No, Jacobs! The only reason I asked to be put on this was for the chance to get Potter,” said Rodolphus. “I’m going to kill him myself!”



The Death Eater let out a loud groan. “Is this about that wife of yours?” Jacobs said, annoyed. “Boo-hoo, so your little Bella got sent to Azkaban. You’ve been talking about how you were going to kill Potter behind the Dark Lord’s back for months now. Count yourself lucky I haven’t turned you in. Besides, do you really think that Bellatrix was as angry as you are when you got sent to Azkaban last year? She didn’t shed a tear. She knew that you would be out soon enough.”



Jacobs and Rodolphus were now arguing, leaving Harry to ponder the extent of his stupidity. Why did he send both Ron and Hermione with Aunt Petunia? He didn’t want either of them in danger, but some back-up would have been really nice. Also, he should have known that Voldemort would have taken pleasure in killing the Dursleys by sending one for each of them. The third one was likely to show up at Uncle Vernon’s office, but the other two would have stayed in the neighborhood to finish off Aunt Petunia and Dudley.



But they aren’t here, he thought, and I’m going to have to make due without them! He looked over and Dudley and was miraculously able to catch his eye. He was shaking with so much fear, that neither he nor his gang could muster up the energy to run.



The force at which Harry had hit the house seemed to have really scrambled him, so he could only feebly raise his wand. He got it to point at the turned back of Rodolphus and thought, Levicorpus!



“Aaargh!” Rodolphus was raised from the ground and was hanging as if invisible ropes were holding him up by the ankles.



After Jacobs got over the surprise of what just happened, he said, “Nice trick, but that only going to cost you your”oof!”



Jacobs had momentarily dropped his guard and that was the signal for Dudley to press the advantage. He had run up quick as lightning and punched Jacobs right in the face sending his the ground a few feet away, and his wand even further.



“C’mon!” Dudley yelled at his gang. They all got over their shock and automatically went over to Jacobs and started to beat on him. Dudley picked him up by the collar and continuously punched Jacobs. After Dudley dropped him, Piers started to kick him in the side along with five other. Soon enough, Jacobs was lying bruised and bloody on the sidewalk.



“Damn you, Potter,” Rodolphus struggled to say.



“Shut up,” Harry said, standing and supporting himself against the house. “Stupefy!” The spell hit Rodolphus in the face and knocked him unconscious. Harry thought the counter spell, and Rodolphus toppled to the ground.



“What the hell, Potter,”’ said Piers, coming up to Harry and inspecting his work. “What are you?” The rest of the gang wasn’t too far away.



“A wizard,” Harry said shortly, binding Rodolphus and Jacobs with ropes. And to further display his power, Harry pointed his wand at them shouting, “Obliviate!” If the spell worked properly, they wouldn’t remember what month it was.



“Did you know that?” one of the members of the group asked Dudley.



When Dudley nodded they all looked frightened of Harry.



“You’d better count yourself lucky I didn’t know about this before I was eleven, Piers,” he told him nastily. “Also, that my school didn’t allow me to use magic unless I was in danger.”



“So that’s how you climbed the school that one time me and Dudley were chasing you,” he said awed. “You can use that stuff.”



“Now,” Harry told them, “as I was saying before, Dudley, you have to come with me. These two came here to do you and your family in. Trust me, these won’t be the first if you stay here.”



“Okay,” Dudley choked.



“As for the rest of you,” he said to the rest of the gang, “people from my government will be coming here soon. You’ll know them when you see them. Tell them everything that just happened here. And…whatever you do, don’t mention my name!” Harry didn’t know how much trouble he would be in if the Ministry found out that it was him who had performed serious magic. “At the moment,” he lied, “they are looking for me because I caused a bit of trouble elsewhere. And if they find out I was here they will torture you for information about my whereabouts, which none of you will know.”



He then looked at the fallen enemies. The Death Eaters had to have a source of information that was being tapped. But where was it? And why didn’t they attack until now? Harry considered taking one of them in, despite how angry the Council would be. Unfortunately, he couldn’t. Ron and Hermione had taken the slip that told the headquarters’ location.



Harry regained his strength during his talk and went over to Dudley, the members of his gang stepping back. He then grabbed Dudley on the arm tightly.



“Also, if these two move beat them up some more…. This’ll feel weird, get ready,” he told Dudley.



Harry turned on the spot and everything became black. Gripping Dudley as hard as he could, they reappeared in front headquarters. When he let go Dudley fell to the ground breathing hard.



“Told you,” Harry said.



“Where are my mum and dad?” he gasped, standing back up.



“In there,” answered Harry, pointing at headquarters



“Where?” Dudley said, looking right through building.



“Harry!” shouted a nearby and relieved voice. Ron, who had a black eye, came running up to them.



“You’re okay,” Harry said delightedly.



“Here,” he said, giving the parchment to Dudley.



Dudley read it and then looked up at the headquarters and screamed, “Where did that house come from?”



Without responding, Harry and Ron pushed Dudley inside just in time to hear Uncle Vernon yelling, “I want my son now!”



“Dad?” Dudley said weakly, Harry and Ron closing the door.



“Diddy!” Aunt Petunia shrieked, breaking away from Tonks, who had pink hair down to her shoulders, and ran up to give her enormous son a hug.



“Dudley,” Uncle Vernon croaked, joining his wife.



“Lucky you got here when you did, Harry,” Tonks said. “They were here only ten minutes and were already going mental.”



“You okay, Harry?” asked Lupin, who had come downstairs. “Any trouble?”



“Yes,” Harry said. “Two Death Eaters showed up!”



“Whoa!” exclaimed Ron. “Only Alecto showed up at the company. She was the one who threw one of those metal sticks with the hole at the end. Got me,” he said gesturing at his eye.



“What about Hermione?” Harry said, noticing that she wasn’t around.



Ron grinned slightly.



“What happened?” Harry asked anxiously.



“It’s only a little amusing because it didn’t work properly. Alecto was shooting at us while we were trying to run away. I think she restrained from the Killing Curse because of all the machinery around. Anyway, Alecto sent a scalping hex that just grazed the top of her hair. She’s getting that bald spot fixed right now by Trenton, the bloke from your Polyjuice Potion.”



“He works at the Department of Magical Catastrophe, so he’s had practice with minor incidents,” Lupin added.



“What’ll happen to them?” Harry asked, nodding his head at the Dursleys, who were still huddled together.



“They’ll have to go into hiding, obviously,” answered Tonks. “They’ll have to have little or no contact with the outside world.”



“Wait just one bloody minute,” shouted Uncle Vernon, who had overheard. “Listen here, Pinky, my wife and son can hide, but I have a business to run! I will not be intimidated by some wacko,” he said defiantly.



“Then that wacko is going to have you killed,” argued Tonks unflinchingly. “I think your wife and son would prefer to have you safe than out risking your life to keep some crummy drill company in order.”



“Isn’t there somebody who can take your place, Mr. Dursley?” Lupin said reasonably.



“I wouldn’t trust anybody with it,” he said, turning purple at the thought of his drill company being in the hands of others.



“We’ll think of something,” Lupin said. “We’ll make sure that you can somehow keep working.”



Not wanting to stick around, Harry and Ron left. Ron led the way over to a room on the ground floor and found Hermione inside inspecting her hair with a hand mirror.



“Perfect,” she said. “Thanks, Mr. Perch.”



“No problem,” said a voice Harry recognized. A few feet away stood a man with tanned skin and blonde hair. “And call me Trenton.”



“How did the patch work go?” asked Ron, going over to Hermione to get a better view. “Nice work. You wouldn’t be able to tell that she was as bald as my dad.”



“Thank you, Ron.” Trenton then spotted Harry and went over to shake his hand. “Did my body suit you well, Mr. Potter? I was of course more than happy to help.”



“Well, you don’t look like me, so it did work well,” Harry said. “And call me Harry.”



After about an hour Mr. and Mrs. Weasley swung by headquarters. Mr. Weasley had obviously heard about the disturbance in Surrey, so he figured exactly what happened. Also, Mr. Weasley informed Harry that Dudley’s gang told them everything that happened, expect for who saved them, and they had their minds successfully modified. Lucky for Harry, the Obliviators thought they got enough information out of Dudley’s gang, and didn’t bother ask questions to anybody else.



There was far more trouble, it turned out, at Uncle Vernon’s drill company. It may have only been one Death Eater who attacked, but all the Muggles cramped inside one building along with so much machinery made it almost impossible to make a clean getaway. Fortunately, the Ministry only got very vague descriptions of Ron and Hermione from the Muggles interviewed. And they also had no idea which Death Eater it was that attacked, since Alecto wore her cloak the entire time. The Ministry had a hard time wiping the memories of everybody present, and had an even harder time making up a story.



As for the Dursleys, they had been relocated by the end of the day. Uncle Vernon was allowed to continue personally working at his drill company on the condition that he allowed a witch or wizard to be with him at all times for security.



Though Harry, Ron, and Hermione had once again proved themselves capable members of the Order, the Council saw it fit for them to once again return to Grimmauld Place. Mrs. Weasley had offered to take them for a few days to the Burrow, but the suggestion was struck down.



A/N: For all those displeased with them going to Privet Drive, they are out and won't come back! That is all I am saying about future chapters.
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A New Lead by Phoenix 86
After the evacuation from Privet Drive, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all sent back to the security of Grimmauld Place. From a letter Harry got from Mr. Weasley, it seemed that the Dursleys were put up in a new home by the Order very grudgingly. Uncle Vernon absolutely refused to put his company in the hands of another, so he now had an escort under an Invisibility Cloak whenever he went to his office. Dudley’s education had to continue, so he was put back in school, but they couldn’t go following him inside the crowded hallways. Instead, a few wizards were constantly stationed outside the school. As for Aunt Petunia, she really had no life outside her family and gossiping with neighbors, so no special arrangements were made for her.



When only a week passed, Harry was starting to get very sour with the Council. At least back at Privet Drive he felt of some use, but he didn’t like being cooped up at Grimmauld Place with nothing to do.



He also didn’t like the fact that they were ignoring his claims that there was some sort of leak in the Order. They didn’t think he heard right when Harry claimed the two Death Eaters at Kartley were looking for him, even though Hermione had heard, too. They also figured that the Death Eaters must have found him out at Privet Drive. And another thing that extremely agitated Harry was that the Council gave no word on Pendle Draker.



Finally, he had enough. Harry left for headquarters without telling Ron or Hermione. Only Lupin and McGonagall were there at the time.



“You have to investigate this!” Harry demanded, both hands on the table. “If there is a leak, we can’t ignore it. “



“Potter, are you even sure of what you heard?” McGonagall said rationally.



Harry nodded furiously. “Yes, they both knew I’d be there at Kartley. How else could they if there wasn’t a leak somewhere?”



“We can’t just start purging Order members for information,” Lupin explained. “We run a tight background check before we even consider asking if someone wants to join. Plus, it’ll show distrust.”



“I’m not asking you to point fingers,” Harry said. “I’m asking you to find out how the Death Eaters could have possibly known I was there. Didn’t you tell Bill all of a sudden to pick me up for the mission?”



Lupin locked his fingers in thought. “That’s true.”



“We’ll gather the rest of the Council to reexamine your case, Potter,” McGonagall sighed. “If we do have leak, we shall do our best to find it”but we will not take anymore prisoners for this. That is the Ministry’s job.”



“The only reason they captured Death Eaters these past few months is because of us,” Harry argued. “We can make better use of them.”



“That is enough,” she said, concluding the discussion.



“Fine,” Harry said. “Now…what about Draker? We’ve had him for over a month, so we should have something.”



“But we don’t,” Lupin said. “You are dismissed.”



Harry turned on his heel and left without another word. On his way down the staircase, Harry ran into something and stumbled backwards.



“Baxer?” he asked, recovering.



“Harry!” Baxer said excitedly. “I have great news: Draker’s finally agreed to talk. I’m heading up to tell the Council.”



“Really?” Harry asked excitedly.



They both went upstairs and told Lupin and McGonagall. They both seemed very surprised at first, but went down to the basement all the same. There, Harry got his first look at Draker in over a month, and he looked even worse than the last time he saw him. He was chained to a chair, his cheeks were practically hollowed out, and his eyes looked almost dead. What had they been doing to him?



“And to think you consider yourselves just,” Draker said weakly, but full of hate all the same. “How can you go and starve a man my age, eh?”



“Be thankful we didn’t torture you,” Lupin responded. “That would be your method, would it not?”



“Only blood traitors, Mudbloods, and Muggles.”



“You said that you were going to speak,” McGonagall cut in threateningly. “Do not do so, and I won’t think twice about lowering your rations to one slice of stale bread a day.”



Draker scowled up at her. “Fine, so what is it that you’re so anxious to know that you kept me prisoner?”



“Voldemort’s past,” Harry said immediately. “Tell us anything that you know about it.”



Draker jumped at first, then looked taken back, and finally let out a long laugh that echoed through the basement. “Me? Know about the Dark Lord’s past?” He laughed again. “And why exactly would he tell his servants anything about it, when all we care about is purifying the world?”



“Don’t answer my question with another question,” Harry hissed dangerously.



McGonagall intervened. “When your master first gathered his followers, did he at any time disappear for a certain amount of time?” she asked fiercely. “Did he ever do anything that didn’t make any sense?”



Draker blinked. “How on earth did you figure that?”



“Tell us, now!” Lupin shouted, sticking his wand against Draker’s throat.



“Okay! Fine…one of the most bizarre things that the Dark Lord ever did was move our base of operations for no reason.”



Harry was intrigued. “Tell us more.”



The Death Eater’s stomach rumbled, and he sighed. “Our first base of operations was in a huge forest. It was a simple cabin where we all met to plan our takeover. This place was very secluded, so it was perfect for our meetings.”



“When did you move out?” Lupin asked. He put the wand back when Draker hesitated. “Cruc”!”



“I can’t remember,” he said desperately, shutting his eyes. “Probably…ten years before he first fell, I think.” He let out a long sigh when the wand was taken away.



Lupin smiled, and then conjured a piece of parchment with a map of the entire country. “Point where this cabin is.” Draker’s left arm chain went slack.



“Here,” he answered scathingly, pointing to a spot on the map. Ink then formed around it to mark it. “Hope you’re happy.”



“Where exactly?” Lupin continued, waving around his wand.



Draker shut his eyes again. “Maybe…the northwest part. Somewhere in there.”



“Do you actually think that I would have stooped down to your level?” he asked, rolling up the map.



“We will be back once we have followed up on this,” McGonagall said. “And you had better hope that this leads us somewhere”Baxer!”



Baxer, who was standing nearby and watching intently, snapped to attention. “Yes, Minerva?”



“Keep your watch over this Death Eater until further notice.”



Harry, McGonagall, and Lupin left the basement. And for some reason, Harry was slightly unnerved. To him it just seemed too easy. But he shook off the thought. They had another lead! And for some other reason, Lupin looked a little dejected.



“What’s wrong?” Harry asked him back up in the hall. “We have another possible Horcrux, so let’s make plans to go get it.”



“Not just yet,” he said, looking thoughtful. “We don’t know anything about this forest. First and foremost, we have to send a scouting party to this place. What do you think, Minerva?”



“True,” she agreed. “Potter, I understand that you do not have you broomstick at the moment.”



Harry was stunned that she even knew about that, but shrugged it off. “Yeah. Why? You aren’t honestly thinking of flying there, are you?”



“Come back tonight,” she said, ignoring that last comment. “And tell Ms. Granger to plan for a very cold night.”



“And what about Ron? Is he coming, or is whatever he’s doing getting in the way?”



McGonagall and Lupin stared at him. “Harry,” he said, confused, “didn’t Ron tell you?” Harry shook his head. “Ron was taken off the Horcrux assignment.”



It took a second to register. “What! Why in blazes would he agree to that? We had a deal! And why isn’t he throwing a tantrum about this?”



“Ron was displeased, Harry, believe me. But we told him he had to stay calm. Now, please head back to Grimmauld Place and tell Hermione to prepare and then come back here.”



“But””



“That is an order, Potter,” McGonagall said sternly.



Harry grimaced and left. He was starting to really dislike the amount of authority the Order was pushing on him. Without him they wouldn’t even know about the Horcruxes. But he had to admit they were useful. It would have taken weeks scouring London for the orphanage, and after that Harry would be completely lost at what to do next. Searching for the Horcruxes was easier said than done.



Back at Grimmauld Place, Hermione took the news of Ron’s noninvolvement in looking for the Horcruxes as hard as Harry did. Ron then went on an explanation that the Council didn’t want him distracted from his new mission, which he still revealed nothing about. Initially, he had fell back on the deal made, but he eventually conceded.



It then dawned on Harry that Ron had been acting a bit strange ever since September. Sure, Ron and Hermione still had their disagreements, but they were usually discontinued in a matter of minutes. And lately when Kreacher reared his ugly little head, Ron paid him no mind”not even a disapproving huff.



“So you’re saying you want us rowing again?” Hermione asked Harry in his room. She had jackets, sweaters, gloves, pants, and a two pairs of boots lying in front of her on the bed.



“No, I’m just wondering why he isn’t being what you might call his usual pig-headed self…. What are you doing, anyway?”



She did some complicated wand tricks over the pile of clothing, and after she finished nothing seemed to happen. “Warming them up. McGonagall asked you about your Firebolt, which means that we’re obviously flying to this forest. And it’s November out there, so the skies are dead cold. Plus, she said to prepare for a cold night.”

Harry was skeptic. “I dunno…it’ll be a long flight. From what I saw on Lupin’s map, the forest was a good way up north.”



Hermione gathered up all her clothing. “Just put these on. They get warmer as it gets colder, so we won’t freeze to death.”



When she left, Harry sighed and kicked off his trainers. After changing, he went back downstairs to meet Hermione, who was with Ron. He had his Cleansweep Eleven with him.



“You’re coming?” he asked him. “Don’t see why not. From what Lupin and McGonagall said, this is only a scouting venture.”



Ron shook his head and surprisingly handed over his broomstick to Hermione. “Just be careful.”



“Don’t worry, I won’t destroy your precious broom,” she said, chuckling a bit.



Ron laughed. “I couldn’t care less if this thing came back in pieces as long as you stayed safe.”



Hermione turned red, and said to Harry, “Shall we go, then?” She gripped the broom tight and went for the door. Harry gave Ron a hardy farewell pat on the back and followed.



Outside, Harry immediately felt the effects of Hermione’s spell work come into effect. When the icy November air hit him, he barely had to curl up due to his clothes warming up. It was only dusk, so it was bound to get colder. He and Hermione strolled away and Apparated back to headquarters.



Once there, a small crowd in the middle of the hallway met them. Almost all of them had broomsticks with them. Lupin then pushed his way forward and greeted them. He had with him two more brooms, but cast one aside when he saw the Cleansweep Eleven. Without a word, he thrust the remaining one into Harry’s arm. A Cleansweep Six, Harry thought grudgingly, reading the insignia. Now he really regretted giving his Firebolt to Ginny. She had better be putting it to good use.



A whistle sounded through the hallway. “Okay,” Lupin called out. “Now that we’re all here, it’s time to begin the official briefing.” He was standing on the stairs, looking down at all of them. A few stares lingered over Harry and Hermione.



“Now, pertaining to a meeting two months ago, it is possible that one of Voldemort’s Horcuxes could be located.” A cheer went throughout the people. “But we are not”I repeat, not”going after it. We are only here to check on the area where we think it is. I am going to be leading the way with Tonks just behind me. After her I want everybody in pairs lined up behind her. Nobody is to get lost!”



It was then that Harry noticed Tonks standing at the foot of the stars, looking up at Lupin. He then gave her a sign, and she went to the front door. “Wotcher,” she greeted, as she passed Harry and Hermione. Tonks then took the Put-Outer that both Moody had used once. She went outside, and Harry could see the glow of the street lamps extinguishing one by one.



“Everybody pair up!” Lupin ordered. In all, there were four others with them in total, none of which Harry knew. They all looked eager to pair up with Harry, but he already grabbed hold of Hermione. He wouldn’t be talking with anyone during this flight.



Everybody gathered to the front door, and Lupin took a quick look outside. He then dashed out, jumped on his broom, and soared off. Tonks followed. Another pair did the same a few seconds later. Next came Harry and Hermione. They both waited a few seconds as the previous pair did before setting off.



The spell took affect one more, so Harry wasn’t distracted much when he put the Cleansweep Six under him and took off with Hermione next to him. The feeling was amazing. This broom was noting compared to his Firebolt, but being back up in the air was an amazing feeling nonetheless. It was, of course, around this time that the first Quidditch match of the season should be taking place. It was only natural.



The wind blew through his hair, his gloved hands didn’t start to develop the frostbite that would have taken hold, and the spell was working perfectly. The only thing that mattered now was staying awake for the long journey. But that wouldn’t be problem, considering how fast the ground was soaring past him.



Up ahead he could see the four people in front leveling off, so he did the same. Harry then gave his old broomstick a burst of speed to keep pace with the leaders. It looked like Hermione wasn’t having as much trouble as Harry had thought she would. Her long hair was whipping about pointlessly behind her, but that wasn’t the problem. The wind seemed to be getting to her, so she dug for her wand and tapped her face. She then looked alert and did her best to keep course. Harry took out his wand to do the same.

Down below, the town of Exeter was leaving them, and the countryside began to appear. This was a good thing, since the chances of being spotted was reduced. The last time Harry had done this, Moody was overcautious. At least here they didn’t really have too much reason to fear being followed. Lupin began to raise his altitude and turned a little east. Harry followed, and the convoy flew over a cloudbank.



Soon enough, Harry’s fingers began to cramp. He eventually had to fly with one hand to let the other rest for a while. Then, even though they were high up in the air, Harry’s eyelids began to get heavy. In front of him was the same scenery with no hope for an end. More than once, Hermione had to maneuver close enough to give him a kick.

When they hit open waters below, they started to take a more westerly direction. The water below was churning menacingly, just looking for a victim in its frigid waves. By the time the party was back over land, Harry figured that they must have now been passing over Wales. He had no idea how long they’ve been flying.



Harry had to force his eyes to be alert for anything for the almost the entire night. It was probably the early hours of the morning when the front started to descend. That was when Harry noticed that the neat little fields that he was barely able to make out had turned into a solid patch of black up ahead. Harry was fully awake again, and followed downwards.



He and Hermione started to make for a field of tall, frost covered grass, where the first two pairs had landed. When Harry’s feet made contact, he could hear the crunching sound. And when Harry put all his weight on his feet, he fell over. His legs were practically numb from hanging over his broom for so long. Hermione faired no better. The last two to arrive had similar problems, but they seemed more used to it.



“You two okay?” Lupin asked, coming over to them.



“Yeah,” Harry responded, trying to generate some extra heat in his legs to get the blood flowing. “We here?” Tall, dark trees now loomed not too far away. There was definitely something wrong with this place.



“We’d better be,” he said, looking at the trees. “Had to spend an extra hour interrogating Draker for more details about the location. Don’t move.” He left and got back everybody’s attention. “Rest up. Sunrise should get here soon.” And indeed, to the west, Harry could see some red on the horizon.



“You think this place really contains a Horcrux?” Hermione asked, Ron’s broom over her shoulder. She was staring at the brightening trees curiously.



“It had better,” Harry said. “But we should get our answer based on whether or not we can fly over the trees. There would be some kind of barrier if there was a Horcrux.”

“Agreed.”



Sunrise came slowly but surely, and within a half hour the bright sun completely went over the horizon, ready for a new cycle. Everybody gathered to find out what was next.



But instead of detailed instructions, Lupin said, “Wilson, Short, come with me.” He then mounted his broom and took off towards the forest. The two confused wizards gave each other funny looks and did as they were told.



“What’s he up to?” Harry asked, concerned.



Hermione gasped. “I think he has the same idea as you!” And sure enough, Lupin made a beeline for the trees. He flew over a few of the trees, before slowing down and coming to a stop. Suddenly, he was flung back violently, and Wilson and Short were there to catch him.



After Lupin retrieved his broom, he came back to a very annoyed group”especially Harry. That was supposed to be his job.



“You know what to do, Anne,” he said to a witch who had taken the rear. He then took Tonks, Wilson, and Short, and flew off to the left, following the line of trees.



“We’re circling the other side of the forest,” the witch named Anne said to Harry, Hermione, and the remaining wizard. “Let’s go. We’re looking for any break in the barrier, or any other abnormality.”



The four of them then got on their brooms and went the opposite way. Now that the sun was up, Harry was able to fully see the expanse of the forest. It was composed of miles of thick trees all around, with no hole anywhere to suggest a cabin. It would take ages search through all that. He had to hope for a break in the barrier to allow a search from the sky.



Unfortunately, there was none. After probably seven miles of trees, and going at a slow pace so as not to miss anything, they couldn’t find anything. And soon enough, Harry saw Lupin and everybody else closing in on them. They didn’t have anything to report either.



“It looks like we’re actually going to have to enter this damn place,” Lupin declared heavily. “But with what we gathered, it shouldn’t take more than three days. But not today, of course.”



Tonks was mortified. “But Remus, you can’t! There’s going to be a full moon soon, remember?”



He cursed. Lupin stared into the forest thoughtfully for a second, and then gave her an apologetic look. “Then you have to stand in for me, Tonks. You need to enter.”

Everybody in the vicinity was stunned by this sudden announcement. Tonks laughed nervously. “You’re joking, right?”



Lupin shook his head mournfully.



“But why me?” she asked, her demeanor breaking and voice cracking. “Why not anyone else here?” She tried to point another person out, but they backed off immediately.



“Because, Tonks, I don’t want this to be delayed anymore than it has to. And you told me you have time off soon.”



Tonks blushed furiously, and crept closer to him. “I told you because I was hoping we could do something together.”



“You don’t have to go,” Harry interjected. “Listen, I appreciate all the help, but I can do this alone.”



“He won’t be alone,” Hermione said. “I’ll be with him. Just give us a tent and some food, and we’ll be fine.”



“No!” Lupin exclaimed. “Even if you two weren’t involved in this so deeply, we would never allow just two people to do something so dangerous. After the orphanage, it was decided that at least four are needed to retrieve a Horcrux.”



“Okay, I’ll do it,” Tonks said, running her hands over her face. “But who’ll be the fourth?”



“Don’t worry,” Lupin said to the rest of the Order members, “I’m not asking any of you to do this.” He turned to Harry, Hermione, and Tonks. “I’ll make sure to get the best person possible.”



A/N: Next chapter really, really long by my standards.
Back to index
The Forest by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
Please be patient with me.
“I don’t like this one bit,” Ron said that afternoon down in the kitchen. “You two are going to explore some strange forest and look for some cottage or something.”

“We’ll be back before you know it,” Hermione said, trying to calm him. “You’ll just be alone for about a day or two.”

“Besides,” Harry added, “you shouldn’t be complaining after agreeing to be taken off the Horcrux assignment.”

Ron stared into the fire thoughtfully. “It’s not just that. I think you should call this off. It’ll probably be more trouble than it’s worth.”

“Almost any amount of trouble is worth getting a Horcrux, Ron,” Harry defended. “In case you forgot, destroying them would make Voldemort vulnerable to death.”

He sighed in a consent that was too easily given. “Fine, but promise me you’ll be careful.”

“Of course we will,” Hermione assured him. “Now, if you would excuse us, Harry and I have to pack.”

“Seriously,” Harry said, going up the stairs with her, “you’d think Ron would put up more of a fight. He really doesn’t want us to go, and I can’t blame him.”

She exhaled profusely. “Thank goodness, I thought it was just me who was noticing that. Why has he been acting so calm?”

“MUDBLOODS! VERMIN! FILTH!” Mrs. Black screamed. Hermione had forgotten to quiet down. After shutting her up, neither of them brought the subject of Ron back up.

Mrs. Black’s shouts filled the house again the next day after the doorbell was rung. After closing the curtains, Harry grabbed his bag of charmed clothes, and answered the door to find Tonks”and for some immensely unpleasant reason, Mundungus Fletcher. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all gaped at him. He was the best person possible?

“Figure I’m gonna be killed, so you’ve come to get the rest of the stuff here?” Harry roared at him.

“Nothin’ like that, mate,” he said nervously. “Remus asked me if I had a tent, I said yes, and ‘ere I am”not like I’m ‘appy ‘bout it, mind.”

Tonks, who was dressed warmly as well and had a blonde ponytail behind her, stepped forward and poked Mundungus in the chest. “It’s you’re fault you’re here in the first place, Dung. All the Council asked of you was to borrow your damn tent, but you didn’t want to part with it.”

“It’s new!” he argued. “I had every right to refuse after all the trouble I went through to get this. But trust me, if I’d known I would be sent on this instead, I definitely would ‘ave lent it to you.”

“Then go back to headquarters and leave that here,” Harry said, wishing for Mundungus to leave his sight. “I doubt you’d be of any help anyway.”

“No,” Tonks opposed, “the Council said it takes a team of four. So, unless Ron gets off the hook on whatever he’s doing, then we’re stuck with Dung.”

“Hey!” Mundungus said. “I’m not completely useless.” He turned to Ron and Hermione. “Am I?”

“Well,” Ron started slowly, “I guess that you do have some…qualities.”

“You don’t exactly have the best reputation,” Hermione said apologetically.

Tonks intervened. “Look, I am not spending my time off talking about how useless Dung is outside of thievery.” Mundungus groaned. “I am here to go after that bloody Horcrux thing. Now, let’s go!”

“But we really would be”” Harry started.

“No,” Tonks said shortly.

“See you, Ron,” Harry said, feeling less confident.

“We’ll be back soon,” Hermione told him, clasping his hands.

“Just be careful,” Ron repeated from the night of the trip. He gave her hand a squeeze, let go, and closed the door behind him.

After Tonks did a quick check for Muggle eyes, she okayed them to leave. Harry turned on the spot with her, Hermione, and Mundungus. When the sensation of being squeezed through a tube went away, he found himself back in front of the forest.

Tonks adjusted the backpack she had on and said, “Well, we’re not going to find it by standing around.” She entered the start of the forest, which had to get thicker further in. Mundungus reluctantly followed. Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance, and took up the rear.

Upon entering the forest, Harry realized how much worse he’d actually been through. After all of his excursions into the Forbidden Forest, this place wasn’t so bad. The sun came though the leaves, the foliage wasn’t as thick”the only ominous thing was the absence of wild animals, which ran rampant in the Forbidden Forest. Probably another sign that the forest was enchanted.

The worst so far was dodging low branches, a few thorns and twigs getting caught in their clothes, and avoiding rabbit holes in the ground hidden by dead leaves. But after a half hour of walking, Harry began to realize the full extent of their search. There was almost no change in the scenery. How would they be able to tell where they’d been?

“Are we just gonna wander around aimlessly?” Harry finally had to ask. “There’s no way we’ll find this cabin of Voldemort’s out here.”

Tonks and Mundungus cringed at the name.

“No, we aren’t,” she said after recovering. “I’ll show you what we’re going to do after we make camp.”

The day wore on with relatively little progress. After going in deeper, everybody slowed their pace, so as to search the surroundings more thoroughly. It would have been a very inefficient waste of time if they happened to accidentally pass the cabin. Unfortunately, the trees were starting to get so thick that they couldn’t see too far.

When the sun started to go down and it was getting too dark to see past three or four yards away, Tonks called it a day. She and Harry cleared a small patch of land of trees and brush to make way for the tent. Mundungus then took it off his back, flicked his wand at it, and the tent sprung up. From the outside it looked like the type of tent a Muggle family would use while camping.

The inside, however, was breathtaking. It was complete with a living room, kitchen, and a den with a fireplace. There was a set of stairs that led up to what must have been the rooms. Mundungus must have gone through serious trouble to get this.

Tonks took them into the dining room, put her backpack on the floor, and spread a piece of parchment over the table. On it was an outline of some shape with a line penetrating it partially through.

“This is where we are,” she announced, tapping at the end of the line. “I thought this place would be Unplottable, so we kind of lucked out that it wasn’t. Anyway, I drew the border of the forest on the map, enchanted it to correspond with the real thing, and the black line represents out progress.”

A smile went across Harry’s face. “This is great! We won’t have to be worried whether or not we checked an area twice.”

“Not necessarily, Harry,” Hermione interjected, frowning down at the map. “We are only on a thin line here, and it doesn’t cover the area within our sights. The northwest portion of the forest is still pretty big.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Tonks said, slightly pleased. “I mean, you are right that we won’t have to worry as much, Harry. But we still have a good bit of the area to cover.”

“Think we can finish this up in three days?” Mundungus asked pleadingly. “I meeting a friend of mine for…a drink.”

“Making plans to meet a chum at the pub in advance?” Tonks said, mocking approval. “I must say, Dung, you sure are organized.”

“What can I do to make you stop badgering me?” he grunted.

In response, she took out what looked like a small package of sugar used to sweeten coffee out of her bag, and tossed at him. “Put it on a platter, and add a small drop of water.”

The small package turned out to be a fabulous meal in a dehydrated form. Harry realized how hungry he was; so hungry that he forgot about his dispute with Mundungus for the time being. He and Hermione dug in on the partially dry roast, stale bread, and tasteless mashed potatoes. Harry wasn’t sure if an instant meal came like that or if not enough water was added, but that didn’t matter at the moment.

After the dinner, Tonks ordered everybody upstairs to find a bed. Harry did so, lying back and looking up at the barely visible stars through the canvas ceiling and overhead trees.

“’Night,” he heard Hermione say through the walls to the next room. Harry repeated the words to her and fell asleep. It was an uneasy sleep, however, due to the fact that a Horcrux was somewhere in the forest, and it had to be found.

When the sun rose the next morning, Tonks woke up everybody up. After Harry got dressed in his proper clothing, he went down to the kitchen with Hermione. There, Tonks had already set up an instant breakfast.

“Where’s Dung?” she asked. Harry and Hermione also noticed his absence.

“Right ‘ere,” he called, letting out a big yawn. Mundungus groaned as he sat down at the table, rubbing the sleep out of his bloodshot eyes. “C’mon, Tonks, I can’t do anythin’ without my eleven hours of sleep.”

“Deal with it,” she quipped.

“Please, who put you in charge anyways? Last I checked, having a thing with a Council member doesn’t mean you have authority over others.”

“You did seem to sort of take control,” Hermione said carefully.

“I’m not saying I’m the boss,” Tonks argued hastily. “It’s just that…well, nobody’s voiced their opinions!”

“Fine,” Harry chimed in, “I say we keep heading the same direction, but a little farther north.” It was he who had the most experience with Horcruxes, so Harry felt he should be heard out more”even though his advice had the basis of knowledge.

The rest of the day, everybody pretty much kept silent. The tent was put back up in the early afternoon to eat and plan the next route, but that was it. Practically all energy was focused on staying on their feet and peering through the trees for any sign of a clearing. When the sun started going back down, nobody had seen anything.

It was the same thing the next day. The only thing that really changed was Harry gradually moving to the front to lead the way. Then, as the third say started to dissipate, Harry looked up into the sky and groaned at the clouds.

Tonks stopped in her tracks. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s gonna snow,” he answered. Harry might not have felt the bitter cold on his body due to his charmed clothes, but his face constantly stung whenever there was a breeze. He knew it would be too cold for rain. And it was hard enough trudging through the forest without snow in the way. “And I don’t want to go into a fourth day.”

“You’ve gotta be jokin’,” Mundungus said, depressed. “Tonks, your time off should be almost over, right? Well, shouldn’t we head back? I’ll give you the tent for when you come back.”

Everybody in the group shot him a nasty look.

“And what about you?” Harry said scathingly. It was bad enough that he was here in the first place, but having him run home scared seemed worse.

“All I’m doin’ is pesterin’ ya, aren’t I?” he responded pathetically.

“Shut it, you two,” Tonks ordered, pulling out her map. “Well, we definitely made progress hiking around this damn place, though it was the western half mostly. The end of the forest isn’t too far off. We could make it before sundown.”

“So we’re just giving up?” Harry asked, turning his anger on Tonks. “We can’t do that. The Horcrux is still out there somewhere!”

“I’ll be in the bushes,” Mundungus said casually.

“What for?” Tonks and Harry asked at the same time.

“Nature calls,” he said. He started laughing, but tried to pass it off as a cough when no one else laughed. Mundungus dropped the tent and left.

“Listen, Harry,” Tonks continued, getting back to business, “I have to go back to work two days from now. And I’d prefer it I had one day to recuperate from all this.”

“Then leave the tent and food with us,” Hermione cut in. “The both of us are fine to continue. We’ll be able to handle it.”

“Absolutely not! The Council said this has to be taken care of in groups of four at the least. I’ll get in huge trouble if I just leave you two behind.”

“Does it look like I give a damn about what the Council or the Order thinks?” Harry said. “The only reason I joined up was to look for Horcruxes. I only did all that other stuff because I had no leads to go on. You can’t stop me from continuing.”

“Bloody hell!” Harry heard Mundungus shout from the trees.

“What is it?” Harry yelled back desperately. His heart was thumping already.

“C’mere and look at this!”

“I’d rather not,” Tonks responded reluctantly.

“Damn it, get over here!”

Tonks, Harry, and Hermione all went over and saw Mungundus pointing through a rather thick crop of trees. Harry went through them to reveal a very old building standing in the middle of a large clearing. Though the Gaunt house was still by far the most depressing house he’d seen, but this one came in a very close second. Harry was the first to step forward, and he felt the same feeling as in the cave. The feeling gave him a rush rather than dread.

“You’ve gottta be kidding!” Tonks said in an awed voice. Harry had to agree. After all that time, after all that walking, it was Mundungus Fletcher going to the bathroom that spotted the cottage. It was impossible. But the proof was right here.

“First step in the right direction, Dung,” Harry complimented him. He ran up to the cabin and everybody else followed.

The old building had only one floor to it, and all of its windows were cracked and grimy. Also, the wood that it was made from was rotting away, giving it a very noticeable smell. The bricks of the chimney were falling apart. The front door was still on its hinges, which were very rusty. Tonks went up to the door and after trying to turn the knob she took out her wand.

“Alohomora!” Tonks said, tapping the door, which clicked and opened surprisingly noiselessly. But the thing that caught Harry’s attention was how easy it was to open the door. He had expected that it would take another blood donation to open it. He then went over to a window, pushed on it, and was glad to feel it not giving in.

The inside was so dreary and the windows so grimy that it was completely dark inside. Tonks flicked her wand again and a number of flames lit up around her and made their way to the walls. Then they were able to see that it was all just one big room with a large table and chairs in the center, and an empty fireplace at the end. All the walls were just large bookcases filled with old and moldy books

Hermione went to the nearest shelf, took a book, and looked at the cover. She looked disgusted, and set the book back.

“Remember that book you found the spell in?” she asked Harry. “That one was ten times worse.”

Mundungus went over to the end of the table where a spindly chair overshadowed the others. It was definitely the one that Voldemort sat in.

“After we find this Horcrux, ‘ow about we take this along?” he said, examining the chair. “Could be worth a pretty Sickle or two. I’ll share!” he added defensively when the others were looking at him funny. “Well, not really.”

“Let me make this clear, Dung,” said Tonks. “The only thing we’re taking from this place is the Horcrux. Everything else stays.”

“Oh, all right…you strict nutter,” Harry head him mumble under his breath.

“From what Remus told me,” Tonks began, “this place is very different from that orphanage. So we’ll split up since this there is only one room, and we can keep an eye on each other. Leave no chair unturned, no book left shelved.”

So the search for the Horcrux began. Harry went over to the chairs and literally turned them over for some kind of clue. Hermione went over to the bookshelf with Mundungus, and they both opened every book without bothering to put them back. Tonks, to Mundungus’s dismay, was shredding the stuffing from Voldemort’s chair.

Finally, Harry got down on his knees and crawled under the table. He checked the dusty floor for some kind of oddity. Then he found a strange gap in the floorboards in the shape of a square. Harry ran his hands along all the sides, and found two holes just small enough for fingers to get through. Digging his index fingers in each the holes, he pulled up and it came completely off.

“Find anything?” Tonks asked, bending down to get a good look at Harry.

“Yes!” Harry answered excitedly, moving to the left so that she could see properly.

Mundungus’ and Hermione’s heads had appeared under the table as well when Tonks said, “Get out from under there.”

Harry complied, as did Hermione and Mundungus. Tonks stepped back from the table and pointed her wand at it. “Reducto!” The spell hit the table and blew clear across the room. They all walked over the now empty space, kicking away splinters.

Everybody looked down at the spot where the false floorboard was, and saw that there was a large, black handle to an unmistakably trapdoor. There were no locks on the door, just a piece of wood with rusty hinges.

“I’ll open it,” Harry said after a brief pause. He was almost to the handle when Tonks stopped him.

“I’ve got a better idea,” she said. She pointed her wand at the door and flicked it. Nothing happened. “Guess it can’t be charmed to open.”

“I don’t trust this,” Hermione said thoughtfully. “Harry, give me your jacket.”

After Harry did as he was asked, Hermione pulled one sleeve under the handle. She then took both sleeves in one hand and pulled on the door with the jacket. But it didn’t budge.

Harry cursed. “I think this can only be opened by hand”and I’ll have to be the one to do it.”

“No, Harry, I’m going to,” Tonks responded. “The Council doesn’t want you maimed.”

“I’ll do it,” Mundungus said aggressively. All eyes tuned on him.

“Why?” everybody asked simultaneously.

He started to take deep breaths. “Because…I want that bloody chair!”

Tonks started to chuckle. “Why on earth would you want to risk your life for a damn chiar? You should know what You-Know-Who is like. This handle will most likely kill you.”

“Actually,” Harry reminded her, not taking Mundungus seriously, “it wouldn’t straight off. Lupin wasn’t killed by that explosion after getting the scepter.”

“Good enough for me.” Mundungus pushed Harry out of the way, and grabbed the handle. Upon impact, a sizzling sound emitted from the handle, and Mundungus let out a wail of agony, but he didn’t let go. He panted his feet firmly and lifted the door, letting go to let it fall back to reveal stairs underneath.

Harry couldn’t believe what he witnessed! But Mundungus was right there holding out his palms in agony. Upon closer inspection of the hands, Harry saw the most grotesque burns he’s ever seen. They were nothing like Dumbledore’s, whose hand was black and dead. These were searing flesh wounds.

Tonks took Mundungus’s hands and tapped them with her wand causing bandages appeared out of thin air and wrapped themselves around. “These aren’t ordinary burns, Dung. Just hold out. After we get the Horcrux we’ll take you to St. Mungo’s.” She turned to Harry and Hermione. “C’mon, let’s get down there.” She was just as lost for words as Harry.

She led the way down a thin, spiral staircase, with her wand lit in front of her.

Harry and Hermione watched Tonks go down the stairs, and quickly followed close behind. They descended for almost five minutes before hitting ground level. It was the start of a very dark tunnel with earthy walls.

“Oh, I hope this place stays together,” said Hermione after extracting a wet ball of dirt from the wall. “The walls collapsed in the orphanage.”

“You mean the entire building collapsed,” Harry reminded her. Hermione groaned.

The tunnel abruptly ended when they reached a set of old doors. Tonks opened them cautiously and inside the candle brackets automatically lit up, giving the large room a red glow. At the far end of the room opposite them was a pedestal, upon which stood a box. And if Harry could guess from so far away, he would say it was about the same size Hufflepuff’s cup would have been.

“That has to be it,” Harry said, admiring the box. He stepped forward but was stopped again, this time by Hermione

“Are you mad? It can’t be as easy as just going over there and picking it up.”

“Hermione’s right,” said Tonks. “Look.” She ran her finger across the floor in the middle of the room, where a white line was drawn horizontally.

Harry took out his wand, pointed it at the box, and yelled, “Accio!” The box rattled, but stayed where it was.

Tonks sighed. “I guess we have no choice. I’ll go on.”

Harry had enough. “Look,” he said, “you may be a senior member of the Order, but this is my mission too. I did dangerous things ever since I joined, but you all took the risks. It’s my turn.”

“The reason we take all the risks is so that you don’t die!”

“You two go together,” Hermione compromised. “I’ll stay behind and if anything happens, I’ll help.”

Harry and Tonks agreed. They both started forward, with Harry slightly ahead. As Harry went forward, he started to feel that something would go wrong. But what could be so bad about a line? Everything, he thought.

Harry got his left foot past the line, and Tonks looked as if she hit an invisible wall over the line.

“Blimey!” Tonks exclaimed, backing up and rubbing her nose.

“What happened?” Harry asked. He was able to step over the line with ease.

Tonks went forward again and pushed against whatever was blocking her way. “What’s going on? There’s some sort of barrier.”

Harry retracted his foot, and Tonks suddenly fell forward but was able to keep her balance and stay behind the line. When she recovered, she extended her arm beyond the line as if nothing was there.

“What in the world…? Harry, try to move on.”

Harry did as he was asked and now he felt a wall in his way, like cool glass. He knocked on it and heard a faint sound.

“Any thoughts, Hermione?” Harry asked looking back at Hermione.

She came to them and put a hand on the wall, which was still air to Tonks.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Hermione said. She was applying a little more pressure. “It’s a Single-Person-Barrier Spell. It’s supposed to be a very difficult spell to pull off. Only one person at a time can enter a closed off area, and if anybody else tries to get in, he or she hits a solid wall. Tonks, get your arm away.”

Tonks did so, and surely enough, Hermione’s hand fell through.

Tonks’s eyes widened. “Of course. Why didn’t I see it before? There must be something foul in there that one people can’t deal by themselves. Doesn’t matter, because I’m still going in.”

“No, I’m going,” said Harry.

Tonks turned her wand on Harry. “Petrificus Totalus!”

Harry’s limbs snapped together and he fell on the floor. Tonks came into his line of sight looking sorry. “Had to do it. Release him after I pass the line, Hermione.”

Hermione, who was shocked at first, got over it and nodded. Tonks disappeared and Hermione did the counter spell. Harry got up, grumbling.

“Can’t believe she did that,” he complained. But Hermione wasn’t listening: She was looking horrified. Harry looked over and them saw that Tonks had crossed the line, and was about half way through when she fell onto her knees. She clutched her throat with both hands and was gasping for air.

“You okay?” Hermione yelled, banging on the barrier with her fist.

“What’s wrong with her?” Harry demanded. Hermione must have read something on what was happening.

“I’m not sure…but I think it might be Garroting Gas,” she answered desperately. “See how she can’t breath properly?”

That brought back a distant flicker of memory. “You mean that stuff Ginny said Fred and George were going to use on Umbridge?”

“I think so. Oh, we have to do something or Tonks will die!”

“But this can’t kill her! Fred and George would never release something that can kill.”

Hermione looked at Harry questionably. “This obviously isn’t the work of Fred and George. I bet that Voldemort concentrated the gas behind the barrier. That was if the person who’s trying to get the Horcrux has friends, they would be helpless to do anything.” She broke into tears. “And it’s working,” she sobbed.

Harry could not believe what was happening. That is supposed to be me out there. Dumbledore set for me to do this. He took out his wand and tried to break the barrier with a curse. It was bounced back and missed Harry by inches.

“Get out of there!” Harry yelled at Tonks. “You’ll choke to death.”

“No,” she managed to gag. “I’m almost there.” Taking long, ragged breaths, she got to her feet and stumbled forward to the pedestal. When she finally got there, she fell onto it with both hands for support. Her face was very blue.

“She can’t breath anymore,” Hermione said. “Not only that but the gas is still strangling her!”

As Tonks picked up the box and turned, Harry also now saw that her neck was raw red. With all her might Tonks forced herself back to where Harry and Hermione. But only a little over six feet away, Tonks fell on the floor unconscious or dead with her head only a foot from the line. When the box was dropped it bounced a little and skidded just far enough for some of it to pass the line at Harry’s feet.

“Help,” Tonks managed to say with the very last of the air in her lungs. She weakly moved her hand past the line.

Harry and Hermione immediately grabbed it and dragged the rest of Tonk’s body back. Harry turned her over and felt of a pulse. It was weak, but there was no breathing.

“Move over,” Hermione ordered, shoving Harry out of the way. She checked for a pulse herself, and then took out her wand. “Respira!” she yelled, jabbing her wand at the center of Tonks’s chest. Then Tonks started to breath, but she was still knocked out.

“What did you do?” Harry asked, but he was very relieved.

“It’s a simple charm. I filled her lungs with air and opened her airway so that she wouldn’t die. But she’s still out of it. We have to carry her back and get out of this place.”

Harry stepped forward, bent down, put Tonk’s arm around him, and heaved her up. “I’ve got her. You take the Horcrux,” he said indicating the box.

Hermione went over and picked up the box by the half of which was sticking from behind the line. She then led the way back through the door and long tunnel.

“This seems far too easy,” Hermione said nervously. “After we took the Horcrux out of its place at the orphanage, it started to collapse. So far nothing is happening here.”

Harry now noticed it too, and was half expecting the mounds of earth fall around them. Why was the area relatively peaceful?

The trip back up the thin, spiral staircase was not fun for Harry. He had to carry Tonks all the way up by himself because Hermione was carrying the box, and it was too narrow for her to help anyway. Finally, they made it all the way up. But something was wrong: it was much darker than when they left. The lights that Tonks put up earlier didn’t disappear, but the amount of light filtering through the grimy windows had lessened.

“You’re back!” greeted Mundungus, who was very happy to see them, and helped Hermione out. “You got the Horcrux…! Blimey, what ‘appened to Tonks?” he said when Harry brought half her body up through the door.

“Garroting Gas,” Harry said, having trouble bringing up the rest of the body. “And you can still help!”

Mundungus came up to him, and took a hold of Tonks under the armpits with his elbows. He brought her up and laid her on the floor gently.

“You guys came back just in time,” said Mundungus. “Look at that.” He gestured towards the fireplace, which now had large black flames shooting thick smoke billowing from it. “And the sky’s been gettin’ darker ever since it started.”

“How long ago?” asked Hermione.

“About ten minutes ago.”

Hermione rounded to Harry. “Harry, that’s about the same time we took the Horcrux from the pedestal!”

“Then we should leave, shouldn’t we?” Harry said. “Dung, take the box”forget the chair. Hermione, help me with Tonks.”

Harry and Hermione each took an arm, and put around their necks. Mundungus picked up the Horcrux and put it under his own arm. They were ready to go. When Mundungus went forward and opened the door, everybody’s mouths fell open at once. Outside was even darker than any of them predicted. The sky was filled with thick, black smoke, blocking out the sun.

Harry left Hermione with the burden and went outside to look at the roof. There the chimney was the source of all the black smoke. And source of the smoke was undoubtedly from the newly kindled fireplace inside.

“This is very bad, Harry,” said Hermione, coming over with Tonks still around her. “Something very Dark must be coming if it has to have no light.”

“Think we should bother to try and Apparate!” asked Harry.

Hermione shook her head in dismay.

Harry took out his wand, and muttered, “Lumos!” Harry wand lit up, and he scanned the area for any danger. “Can you still hold a wand, Dung?” he asked Mundungus.

“’Fraid not, mate.”

Harry cursed. Why did the two most experienced members of the group have to be out of commission? He and Hermione might be able to handle it, but other help would be greatly appreciated.

Suddenly, a sound came from the trees at the edge of the clearing. The thick plants around the area made it hard to see. Then, to Harry’s immense displeasure, an Inferius walked out of the shrubs, and came straight towards them. Its white face and molting clothes were covered in damp earth. From afar Harry could tell it wasn’t it the same condition as those back at the cave. It came from under the ground, he thought.

Hermione screamed, and Harry was already yelling, “Petrificus totalus!” The Inferius went still and fell over. Then Harry ran past the body, into the trees, and found out his theory was correct. Close enough to see properly in the wand light, Harry saw fresh, dug up dirt, and a hole large enough to fit a human body.

Harry heard another sound, and then lifted his wand higher to see dozens of mounds of earth rising up from the ground, eventually the tops of a pale heads rising up.

“Incendio!” Harry heard Hermione shout from behind him. He turned and saw another Inferi running away from Hermione. But it was only replaced by three more of Voldemort’s cursed corpses. Tonks was now being looked over by Mundungus.

“Get back here!” she yelled. Harry did as he was told.
Within a minute there were about thirty Inferi surrounding them.

“Incendio!” Harry and Hermione shouted together. More Inferius ran, but it was still not enough. At the rate they were going, the Inferius would finish them off in a minute.

A pack was getting closer. Harry pointed his wand at them, but suddenly a cold, white hand grabbed it. An Inferi met his gaze, and it then started to pull Harry away. But where are they taking him? Underground?

“Get off me, you disgusting”!” Harry stopped to throw a left hook, but the Inferi’s other hand caught that. It then started to put immense pressure on his left wrist while pulling him along. Harry screamed in pain as he felt the bones starting to crush under the Inferi’s strong grip. It would surely break soon.

“Ignito Orbis!” Harry heard Hermione shout. And then a ring of fire just like Dumbledore’s erupted around them, sending all the Inferius running wild. The one on Harry let go, and he too started to panic. Harry recoiled his arm, and saw that the Inferi had left a large bruise.

He looked over at Hermione with her wand up and smiled. She was using the same spell as Dumbledore. “How did you get that to work?” he asked, amazed. The fact that they were in mortal danger seemed almost irrelevant.

“The question is how long I can hold this!” she struggled to say, now gripping her wand with both hands in the air. “Not long! That’s how long!”

Harry’s smile dropped. “How do I do it?”

“Just concentrate on what you want, and say the incantation!” she shouted, appearing as if the wall of fire won’t last long.

Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. What did he want? What did he want…? To get out of this damn forest, and destroy the Horcrux, he thought hard. That was the whole point of this excursion. “Ignito Orbis!” he yelled, jabbing his wand into the air. And with a sense of horror, nothing happed.

What else could he possibly want more badly?

“Uh, to end the war…kill Voldemort,” Harry said under his breath. “Ignito Orbis!” There was a flicker of fire that went away quickly. Not that either!

“Stronger!” Hermione yelled, struggling more than ever. Harry saw this, and felt horrible at how much effort she was putting in. He looked over at Mundungus, who was scared out of his wits, and Tonks, who was just unconscious and might never wake up.

He got it. Harry didn’t care about the stupid Horcrux. All he wanted was to get out of this forest with everybody alive. “Ignito Orbis!” Finally, the flames shot out, and surrounded the area just as Hermione failed.

“Move!” Hermione ordered, picking up the Horcrux. “Mundungus, take Tonks!”

Harry started forward, setting ablaze all the trees and bushes in his wake. But Hermione had it under control by blasting away any hazards. It was slow moving, but they were getting out of the forest the fastest way possible.

After only ten minutes, Harry felt drained. But the clouds were still over him, so that meant more Inferius would come if he stopped now. Luckily, Hermione took over. They exchanged places twice more until the clouds were gone, and they could run away normally.

As the forest started to thin around them, everybody knew that the end was near. With the Inferi behind them and the black smoke receding, Harry and Mundungus decided to hold Tonks instead of keeping her under the Levicorpus. Hermione was running ahead of them, holding the box that had to contain Hufflepuff’s cup.

Then, Hermione seemed to have caught one of her moving feet in a hole covered in withered leaves, and fell forward on her face. The box escaped her and tumbled away.

“You okay?” Harry asked when he and Mundungus caught up.

“Yeah,” she said, trying to get to her feet, and brushing dead leaves from her hair and clothes. “Ouch, that hurt.”

“’Arry,” said Mundungus, looking at something on the ground curiously. “What does this cup of ‘Ufflepuff’s look like.”

That was a stupid question, Harry thought, looking at Mundungus in exasperation. “It’s a golden cup,” he answered. “I thought all this was explained to you.”

Mundungus didn’t look away. “Yeah, that’s why I’m confused.”

Harry now turned his eyes to where he was looking, and saw that the lid of the box had sprung open. And not far from the open box was a rough-hewn cup even shabbier than the Goblet of Fire.

“No,” Harry said in quiet dread. “No, it can’t be.” He left Mundungus with Tonks, went straight for the cup, and picked it up. It was definitely not the cup Harry had seen in the Pensieve. Not only that, there was a Dark Mark etched right into the wood. This wasn’t R.A.B.’s work at all, but that of Voldemort’s. To add to all of the foul things and spells protecting the real Horcruxes, he created decoys that were just as dangerous to get.

Harry looked at the unconscious Tonks, exhausted Mundungus with his burned hands, and beat up Hermione. It was all for nothing.

“That’s not the cup?” Hermione asked, bewildered. “Is it another fake Horcrux?”

Harry yelled in frustration with the top of his lungs. He hurled the cup away and started to kick the nearest tree. “Damn!” he shouted, continually kicking the tree. “Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!” The only thing it did was cause a bruised toe, which he didn’t even notice.

“Harry”” Hermione began sympathetically.

“He knew!” Harry yelled in blinding rage. “That bastard Draker knew that the Horcrux would be fake!” He had no proof, but he knew. “What are the chances that after a month of imprisonment, he finally gives in and tells us to go here”to one that Voldemort planted?”

“Listen to me, Harry!” Hermione shouted, finally getting his attention. “We have to figure this out later. Tonks is hurt, she needs help!”

Harry sprung towards Tonk’s unconscious form. “Yeah…you’re right.” It looked liked Mundungus needed help too.

She exhaled loudly. “Accio cup!” The cup zoomed from the bushes into Hermione’s outstretched hands. “I think this could provide some clues”doubt it, though.” She then started to stare right at the Dark Mark. “How many more you think there are?”

“Let’s hope none,” Harry answered, still seething. He was going to give Draker a very violent piece of his mind when he got back to headquarters. Harry tried to pick Tonks back up, but almost dropped her because the injury he got from the Inferi acted up. He was extremely lucky that it was slow in its work, and didn’t kill him.

“I got her,” Hermione offered, giving the cup back in the box back to Mundungus. Confident that they were out of the Anti-Disapparation zone, they all went back to headquarters to treat their injuries.

A/N:fake Horcrux? yes. Original? no. R.A.B.? no. Necessary? yes. I still have a long way to go before the end, so finding another Horcrux now would have the story end sooner. and if they didn't at least attempt to get one, people who ask when they would. show of hands, who's mad? please don't stop reading.

anyway, just wait for the next chapter. i'll be dropping another bomb.
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Holiday Intrusion by Phoenix 86
Tonks and Mundungus’ injuries weren’t too bad. Tonks was just put to bed, and was given potion to heal her airway. Mundungus’ hands took longer to fix up due to the terrible curse placed on the handle. And as for Harry and Hermione, their minor injuries they were healed up rather quickly, and they had to spend the rest of the day at headquarters. Ron was there too, looking glad to have his two friends back safe and sound, though he did take the news of the Horcrux being a fake just as hard as everybody else.

And then that lead to the matter of Pendle Draker. He looked absolutely stunned to see Harry back in his presence. Harry began to try and get the reason for that without the Council finding out. Why would he be surprised to see Harry back if he had just gone to some cabin in a forest? Harry wasn’t able to get an answer out of him, and left Draker tied up in the cold and dark basement, until he was ready to give real information. They weren’t about to set him free.

A week into December a letter arrived from Mrs. Weasley inviting the three of them over for the holidays. Harry was thrilled. He could use something that would help him put the forest behind him, and then concentrate on the next Horcrux afterwards. And as an added bonus, the letter mentioned that Ginny would be coming home too. Harry didn’t even complain about having to be cooped up in Grimmauld Place for the time being.

So, on the twentieth they all packed their trunks, gathered up their animals, and bid a temporary farewell to Grimmauld Place and Kreacher.

“Oh, we should take him with us,” Hermione said. She immediately retracted her statement due to Harry and Ron’s expressions.

Harry closed his eyes and imagined the snow-covered lawn of the Burrow. He Apparated and then ended up at his intended destination. Ron and Hermione appeared next to him, both looking very pleased to be back. Crookshanks leaped out of Hermione’s arms, shook off the feeling of Apparation, and clambered off.

Mrs. Weasley then came running at them looking disheveled. She immediately came up to Harry and Hermione, and gave them a big hug. “Oh, my goodness, I heard what happened to you two.” She grabbed hold of Hermione’s left hand. “Maybe I should check it to make sure you’re alright.”

“I’m fine, Mrs. Weasley,” Hermione claimed. “Nice to see you.”

Mrs. Weasley shifted over to Harry, and inspected him from head to toe. “And are you sure you weren’t hurt in that dreadful place, Harry?” she asked earnestly. “To think the danger you were put under, and you managed to get out practically unscathed.”

Harry started to feel a little guilty. It was he who was supposed to have gotten hurt, not anyone else. “We’re okay,” he assured Mrs. Weasley.

She then went over to Ron, and for some reason put her palm on his forehead. “I was told that you didn’t go into that awful forest, Ronald. I’m happy for that, but you must have taken seriously ill not to go along.”

“Well, I’m not.” He took off her hand. “Can we go inside now?”

“Yes, yes, come in. I’m preparing supper.” She led the way. “Oh, and I must thank you for letting Ginny use you broom over at Beauxbatons. She”never mind, she could tell you all about it.”

Harry’s stomach flopped. “Ginny’s already here?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

“Yes, she arrived last night. As for Bill and Fleur, they went to France to spend Christmas with her family. And Charlie will be coming tomorrow or the day after.” She sounded positively giddy. “He’ll be bringing his girlfriend.”

“I have got to meet her,” Ron said, sharing the same enthusiasm Fred and George had over the summer.

“Too right about that, little bro,” Fred said, once they got inside. George right there with him. Fred grabbed Ron and pulled him away an arms length inspecting him. “Don’t see anything. Do you, George?”

“No I don’t, Fred.”

“See what?” Ron asked.

“See anything that could possibly make you any use to the Order. I mean, what are they having you do? Make notes during meetings?”

“Having you deliver letters, even though owls do a better job?”

“Or maybe he’s handing out ‘Death Eaters Stink’ flyers,” George suggested. “Now you see, Fred and I could be much more helpful. Wish we had some trump card that would allow us to join behind everybody’s backs”mind telling us what it is?”

To Harry surprise, Ron merely grinned, and simply said, “Order business.” What was going on with him? Ron would usually explode. Then again, that one comment was enough to sting the twins in the right place. He had access to that and they didn’t.

Fred and George grinned back. “Good one.”

“Good one what?” a familiar voice asked. Harry looked up the stairs and saw Ginny descending them.

“Everybody clean up,” Mrs. Weasley announced. She shuffled into the kitchen. “Dobby, how’s the meal coming?”

“Very good, Ma’am,” Dobby’s squeaky voice responded.

“So,” Hermione started, “what are you two doing home so early? Shouldn’t you be running your shop for the holiday rush?”

“Our holiday rush came early for us, dear Hermione,” Fred said boastfully.

“The Holiday Sparklers were a huge hit,” George continued. “People bought them along with ten other items in the store. We cleaned up so good, we decided to take an extended vacation.”

Harry was barely paying attention to the conversation. All he heard was something about one of them accidentally changing from red to green during testing, before his attention was back on Ginny.

“So,” Harry began, “how’s school so far?”

He and Ginny took a seat at the dinner table. “Not bad,” she admitted. “But I prefer Hogwarts, obviously.”

Harry thought about what to say next. “How are you?”

“Harry, I’m fine,” she said, putting on a genuine smile. “I’d be better if it didn’t end, but I’m making due.”

“How?” Harry asked, alarmed.

“Oh, you know,” she said airily. “I’m now going out with ten different boys. And I’m thinking of dating the six others who asked me out so far.”

It was an obvious joke, but an unsettling one at that. Harry gulped. He forgot that being broken up now meant she was single again, and within every right to find someone else. “Six, huh?” he managed.

“What would you expect from one of the biggest upsets in Beauxbatons Quidditch history?” Ginny started to laugh. “No, just one or two asked me out so far. But I turned them down, of course.”

Fred slid in next to them. “I don’t know, Ginny. It might be good to broaden you horizons. You know, find someone kind, generous…won’t dump you at the first sign of trouble,” he said, shooting a look at Harry.

“I dunno,” Ginny continued casually. “I think it’s kind of sweet if a boy is willing to be miserable just so that his girlfriend can be safe.” She looked at Harry. “But then again, that boy should have considered his old girlfriend’s feelings before he acted so rashly.”

Harry leaned into Fred’s ear. “I’m not trying to get back with her.”

He smiled. “All I needed to know. And just for the reassurance, I’ll take your stuff up for you. ” He left.

“One of the biggest upsets in Beauxbatons Quidditch history, eh?” Harry said as if Fred never came. “Knew you’d be a shoe in, even if you didn’t have the Firebolt.”

“Got to admit it,” she said, “I never would have considered joining a team without you giving me that broom. It’s a real stress reliever.”

Their discussion about Quidditch lasted a while, and continued into supper. Dobby had laid out all the dishes, served the meal, and earned himself some appraisal from the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione.

Hermione asked very curiously how Ginny got through all of her schoolwork at Beauxbatons, since they had to of spoken French. She explained that it was a simple matter of having a self-writing quill take notes for her in English, thus Ginny spaced out during most of the lessons. As for her homework and tests, she just wrote in self-translating ink. She also made some English speaking friends that translated anything else.

“And you’d be amazed at how much better they think their school is from Hogwarts,” she continued. “Those that I can understand keep asking me how much I like that school better than Hogwarts. Or, they blab about some of the academic programs they have that they think are superior. And the few that see me as in intruder always make snide remarks. All I had to do to shut them up was say that Fleur was my sister-in-law. She’s of course very famous there due to her time as a Triwizard Champion and all.”

“Gits,” Harry, Ron, Fred, and George muttered. They all looked at Hermione.

“Oh! Um, yes, very rude of them.”

By the time supper ended, and it was time to sleep a few hours later, Harry had a magnificent day”his first in a while. He allowed himself to forget all of his troubles: At least for now. Draker would be dealt with again soon enough.

Three days before Christmas, everybody in the house except for Mrs. Weasley was down in the kitchen eating breakfast. They were having a normal time, when she came rushing in pulling on a traveling cloak.

“I have to go,” she said urgently. “I got an owl from Charlie saying he’ll be here with his girlfriend tomorrow morning, and that they’d enjoy a frittata”I don’t have the proper ingredients for one.”

Mr. Weasley stared. “Shouldn’t they be trying to make a good impression on us instead?”

“Oh, I know, Arthur. But you know that I don’t think dragon work is the kind of profession that attracts women. It’s a miracle he found someone in that line of work. I’d better go now. Have lovely morning.” She then rushed out the door.

“Hasn’t even met her yet, and already she likes her better than Fleur,” George commented. A few grins were exchanged.

Then, a few minutes later there was a knocking on the door. Mr. Weasley went to open it, and to everybody’s bewilderment Charlie was behind it.

“Nice to see all of you,” Charlie said nervously. “Is Mum gone?”

“What in heaven’s name are you doing here, Charlie?” Mr. Weasley asked accusingly. “You mother said she got an owl saying you were coming tomorrow, and then she bolted off!”

Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. “So, it worked.”

“Don’t tell me,” Fred said jovially, getting up from his chair. “You got Mum out so we could meet Natty-poo first? Just so we could vouch for you?”

“Ugh! She must horrid, then!” George finished. “Worse than Fleur!”

“Shut it, you two!” Charlie shouted, red in the face. “And it’s Natalya!”

“Don’t tell me they’re right?” Mr. Weasley asked, horrified.

“No, no,” he stammered. “It’s not like that at all.”

“Then what?” Ron asked, standing up.

“All of you follow me,” Charlie said. All the Weasleys started to follow.

“C’mon,” Ginny said, dragging along Harry. “We’ve got to see this.” Harry nodded, wanting to know what was going on.

“Let’s go,” Ron said to Hermione.

“I can’t, really,” Hermione responded, reluctant to go. “It’s a family thing.”

“Don’t belittle yourself,” he urged, coaxing her out of her seat.

Soon enough, all the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione were out in the snow covered back yard. Harry rubbed his hands together, and stuck them in his pocket, just waiting for something to happen.

“Hey, Natty, I want you to meet the family,” Charlie called into the trees.

All of a sudden one of the most stunning women Harry had ever seen walked from behind a tree. If Harry didn’t know any better, he would say that she was a veela”but she couldn’t be. No chance. This woman didn’t have any of the stupefying effects that veela have. A person could choose whether or not to act like an idiot around her. She was tall and lean with thick blond hair, and a slight shadow under her eyes that somehow worked for her. But she would have been more attractive without the sulky look she had on her.

As she was getting closer, Harry took a look at the other’s reactions. Ron, Fred, and George were all looking approvingly at the woman. Mr. Weasley was just stunned, but it didn’t look like it was because of her appearance. And Hermione and Ginny were both giving her a wary look.

“Nice one, Charlie,” George said, stroking his chin as if looking at work of art.

Suddenly, the woman came up to Charlie and smacked him behind the head. Everybody in the vicinity looked dumbfounded.

“Ouch!” Charlie yelled out, rubbing his head. “Natty, I said I was sorry!”

“You lied to me, Charlie Weasley!” Natalya shouted angrily, her accent full of Italian. Her snapped towards everybody else. “Nice to meet you all.”

“Indeed!” Fred said eagerly. He ran up to her, took her hand and kissed it. Hermione and Ginny gasped. “Fred Weasley’s the name. Joke shop’s my game. And let me say that you are one of the most charming women I have ever had the privilege to meet.”

George pushed his twin out of the way, took her hand, and kissed it as well. “George Weasley”same game. And let me just add that I think it’s miracle that my brother was able to somehow catch your fancy.”

“Pleasure,” she responded, taking back her hand.

“Out of the way,” Charlie hissed at them. He turned back to Natalya. “Look, I know I shouldn’t have lied, but I was worried about how they would react if I told them without them meeting you first.”

“And if they rejected me for what I was, then you could have just been a man and stuck up for me!” she roared, turning angry again.

Ron was about to go forward and introduce himself, when Hermione stopped him. “Ron!” she whispered urgently.

“Come off it,” he said, sidestepping her. “Ron Weasley,” he announced to Natalya, holding out his hand. “Member of the Order of the Phoenix.”

“Member of the Order of the Phoenix,” Fred and George mouthed mockingly behind his back.

Harry leaned into Hermione’s ear. “Uh…what exactly is she?”

Hermione and Ginny gave Harry a quizzical look.

“Harry,” Hermione began quietly, “she’s a vampire!”

“I am only half!” Natalya shouted at her from far away. “In case you have not noticed, the sun isn’t killing me and Charlie doesn’t have fang marks on his neck!”

That’s when Harry saw it. It was true. That’s the reason why the shadow under her eyes worked. She even had the slightest dark tinge in her skin, which also looked nice on her. And her dark robes seemed only natural. There was even what looked like a small set of fangs showing through her lips.

Somehow knowing she wasn’t dangerous, Harry walked up to her and extended his hand. “Harry Potter.” Should he give some sort of occupation like the rest had?

“Ahh,” she said knowingly. “Charlie has told me about you along with the rest of the family. He says that you’re brave and cunning. Qualities I would expect from someone who can get past a Hungarian Horntail”not to mention He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.” Harry had completely forgotten that she worked with dragons.

“Thanks,” he said, not knowing what else to say.

“And you must be Hermione Granger,” Natalya went on, looking straight at her. “Apparently you are the smart one in your group.”

“I guess,” she responded timidly.

“And I’m Ginny,” Ginny said, trying to get over her fear. Of what Harry didn’t know. “Beauxbatons Quidditch team, I guess.”

“Charlie spoke has of course spoken of you,” she said back. “Says you have very good Quidditch skills. They can be put to much better use at Durmstrang Institute.”

Ginny rolled her eyes in annoyance, breathing, “Of course they can.”

“And I’m Charlie’s father, Arthur Weasley,” Mr. Weasley finally said in a perfectly friendly manner. “Pleased to meet you, Natalya.”

“I feel the same way,” she answered, smiling warmly at him. “And let me just say I bare no hardships towards you. I can only imagine the fear of one of your children being with what the public labels a menace. Do not worry, I have perfect control, and I have no urges to bite.”

“My wife will find it much harder to let that message sink in,” Mr. Weasley told her, chuckling. “Very protective of her children, no matter how old they are. Come inside, I’m sure you must be freezing.”

And with one last angry look at Charlie, Natalya went inside the house with Mr. Weasley. Charlie followed with Fred, George, Hermione, and Ginny. Harry pulled back Ron to go in last.

“What’re their problems?” Harry asked him, indicating Hermione and Ginny.

Ron waved it off. “They’ll get used to her. In general everybody knows that half-vampires are just like us, but with the ability to suck out blood. Still, they got all the stuff from the vampire parents that make them attractive. Try imagining meeting a male version of Natalya with Ginny around.”

Harry then got the picture of a tall and handsome man that caught the attention of all the women, including Ginny. Along with the possibility that she could have her blood sucked out, Harry didn’t like him one bit. “See your point.” Harry smirked. That’s how Ginny was feeling towards Natalya. But there was no way he’d tell Ron that.

Instead he said, “Then that’s how Hermione must have been feeling towards her. I mean Natalya was here…and so were you.” He grinned boldly at him. “Don’t think that’s a coincidence.”

Ron’s face went hot, and he ducked away into the house. Back inside it seemed that Natalya had forgiven Charlie for the moment.

When Mrs. Weasley finally came back with the proper ingredients for a frittata, the first thing she noticed was Natalya laying her head on Charlie’s shoulder. She immediately must have thought the obvious, and screamed. It took twenty minutes and two calming droughts to get over the sight of her son possibly having his blood sucked out by a half-vampire that came out of nowhere. Then she turned angry.

“How dare you lie to me, Charlie Weasley!” she hollered. “You deliberately send me an owl just to get me away!”

Mrs. Weasley continued on her rant for a little while longer. And when she stopped to take a breath, Natalya went on for her, once again angry. “That is inexcusable!” his girlfriend yelled. “I wondered why your mother was not around, but I never thought it was because you lied to her!”

Fred leaned into Harry’s ear grinning. “Brilliant,” he whispered. “Charlie got Mum all riled up about lying to her, so that she’s ignoring the fact of Natty’s origins.”

Harry was confused. “He did this on purpose?”

“’Course. None of us would have the guts to lie to Mum like that without a very good reason.” Harry then noticed how much Charlie was trying not to grin as he tried to look ashamed of himself.

Mrs. Weasley sighed and turned to Natalya. “I must apologize for my son. You may be a half-vampire, but that doesn’t make you any less of a woman”and no woman would want to meet the family under such circumstances.” It sounded as though Charlie tried to pass a yelp of success into a cough.

After that, Natalya went into a short and simple history. She had a vampire father, and witch mother, who she got most of her looks from. And Natalya had been able to disguise herself without too much effort to look like a full witch. After going through Durmstrang, dragon care called to her. She met Charlie while treating one of his sick dragons in his keeping.

“I still can’t believe it,” George said that evening in the living room, with his parents, Charlie, and Natalya still in the kitchen. “Do any of you know how much half-vampires are known to be picky?”

“Extremely,” Fred answered for him. “But then again after Bill I can’t say I’m too surprised.” They were both in such an awed state they barely noticed that Harry had taken a seat next to Ginny”and he was sitting pretty close.

“And Percy too,” George added, but with some distaste in the name. “Doubt he still has Penelope, but he still had her nonetheless.”

Ron stared at them. “What in the bloody hell are you two talking about? Penelope is no where near Fleur and Natalya’s league!”

The twins stared at him pitifully. “Ron,” Fred said, “we weren’t talking about looks”though we agree Penelope isn’t in the same league.”

“We’re talking about those three having the Death Eater’s Stamp of Disapproval. None of them are purebloods. It’s a trend that in the family might continue.”

“Take yourself for example.”

“W”What are you two talking about?” Ron stammered, his ears going red. He started to inch away on the couch from Hermione, who also blushed.

“And if Harry doesn’t change where he’s sitting,” George said threateningly, looking over at him and Ginny, “we’ll have to assume Ginny’s also on the same path.” They both immediately moved away from each other.

“Yeah,” Fred went on, “Harry Potter isn’t exactly the most popular name among the Death Eaters”a half-blood and you’ve escaped You-Know-Who.”

“Don’t get us wrong, though. Unlike Fleur, Natalya, Hermione, and possible Penelope, it was not a miracle you chose Ginny”but the other way around.”

Fred then went over to Hermione, took her hand, and kissed it in the same fashion as Natalya. “We are simply amazed at how much our brothers,” he said emphasizing “brothers”, “lucked out the in girl department. Ron might have lucked out the most of all”him being the second biggest git and all.” Harry obviously knew he meant Percy to be the first.

Hermione went redder. And Ron smacked away the hand, and looked Fred right in the eyes, yelling angrily, “What’s that s’posed to mean!”

“It means she could have done so much better, little bro…. Well, ‘night all.” He yawned and went upstairs to bed. His twin waved goodnight as well and followed, leaving the rest of them awkwardly quiet.

The next few days before Christmas, Natalya proved herself to be a much more preferable girlfriend than Fleur had. While Fleur did seem to try to act her best around the house, Natalya had not been snobbish about anything. It did seem like Natalya didn’t take to Mrs. Weasley’s music either, but she wasn’t as rude as Fleur had been. It was likely that she knew being a half-vampire was still a crippling quality when it came to getting to know others, while having veela inside of you bred natural arrogance.

The only time that being a half-vampire made others uncomfortable was when she pulled out a blood red lollipop. She explained that she had no urges, but she did enjoy the taste. Another uncomfortable moment was when the tomato she was cutting up squirted her in the eye. Natalya got extremely angry, bared her fangs, and bit the tomato to suck it dry in less than five seconds. Mr. Weasley rightly told Harry to keep his distance for a few minutes.

When Christmas morning finally came, Harry woke to find his usual load of gifts at the end of his bed. Ron woke up too, and they started to unwrap the gifts.

“Whoa! Thanks, Harry,” Ron said, holding up a snow globe with a Quidditch stadium and miniature players flying inside. Ron then picked out a smaller package. He cheeks went pink as he stared at the small present in his hands.

“What is it?” Harry asked eagerly. It was probably a good laugh after the MY SWEETHEART necklace the previous year.

“Nothing,” he said hastily, stuffing it into the ripped paper. Ron then got out of bed and started to gather up some clean clothes.

“Where are you going?” Harry asked confused. “Not half your presents are opened.”

“I’m just going to clean up, so I could head down to the village,” Ron answered. “I’ll open the rest later.”

“Why?”

“Just gonna show Hermione around,” he said, trying to sound casual.

“Oh,” he said, understanding. Harry smirked. “I’ve always wanted a tour. Can I come?” he taunted.

“You won’t like it.” And without another word, Ron slammed the door behind him. Harry chuckled and went back to his presents.

As the morning went on, it was turning out to be a quiet and peaceful Christmas. Ron and Hermione had already been gone a while, Dobby was preparing a meal for later, and Harry was sitting at the kitchen table with Ginny, Fred, and George. The four of them then caught sight of Charlie and Natalya kissing nearby. The twins grinned at each other.

Fred licked his teeth in thought. “Too bad she isn’t French,” he said. Harry and George started to laugh.

“Charlie might hurt himself,” Ginny observed. Harry rolled around his tongue at the thought. It wouldn’t be a very pleasant experience.

There was a sudden knock on the door, and Mrs. Weasley went to answer it. “Remus,” she said in mild surprise. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d have other arrangements.” By that Harry knew she meant Tonks.

“Yes, Molly, I do,” Lupin responded. He scratched the back of his head. “But I was hoping to have a talk with Ron first.”
The kitchen went quiet.

“Why?” Mr. Weasley asked suspiciously. “What’s he up to, Remus?”

“He’s doing the Council a favor,” Remus answered quickly. “And I have to have a word with him now.”

“He is in the village with the girl, Remus,” Natalya responded, surprising everybody”except, it seemed, Charlie.

“Thanks, Natalya,” Lupin said. He then left, and went around the house.

It was Harry who decided to ask. “How do you know him?”

“Sorry, everybody,” Charlie said, grinning in amusement. “Forgot to mention that Natalya’s in the Order. I introduced her to the Council before we got here.”

“She’s in the Order!” Fred and George exclaimed. They looked at their mother. “Mum, please””

“You may try, but I’ll stand in your way,” Mrs. Weasley quipped.

“Dad!”

“I’m not going to stand in the way of her standing in your way, boys,” he said, going back to his food.

An argument then erupted in the middle of the kitchen, and it didn’t take long for Harry to get sick of it. He leaned into Ginny’s ear, and whispered, “Want to go outside?” She nodded in relief, and they both left the house.

When the noise of the Burrow died down, Harry and Ginny stopped in the trees at the end of the yard where those in the house couldn’t see them.

“What was all that about Ron?” Ginny asked, leaning against a tree.

“It’s just as Lupin said,” Harry answered, annoyed that he didn’t have any details. “Ron’s doing something for the Council, and he won’t tell us about it. He’s been going to headquarters a lot for the past few months.”

Ginny sighed and looked in the direction of the village. “It won’t be a good thing when Lupin finds Ron and Hermione. Their date would go down the tubes.”

Harry stared. “Date? Who ever said anything about a date?”

She started to laugh. “Are you seriously in denial about your best friends getting together?”

He kicked aside some snow. “Just don’t want them ending up snogging constantly in Grimmauld Place. It was torture having to hang around Ron and Lavender all those months, and it’ll be ten times worse with him and Hermione in closed quarters.”

Ginny smiled. “If Ron put up with us, you should put up with them. You’ll be as big of a hypocrite as he is if you don’t.”

“Wish he still had to put up with us,” Harry mused. He looked at Ginny in longing, and wished that they could just forget everything. Ginny seemed to have picked up on that, as she got off the tree, and shuffled closer to him.

Why not? Harry thought. It was Christmas, and he really should pretend that no war existed right not. It was just him and Ginny”in fact, it was! They were standing under snow-covered trees, and looked as if they were going to kiss. And if they were, Fred and George were too busy at the moment. Harry leaned in too.

And just before their lips connected, a familiar voice called, “Harry!”

Harry immediately retracted, but in anger not in fear of being caught. He knew that voice. It was the voice of a man that he refused twice already. He turned to find Rufus Scrimgeour making way up to them, and leaning on his walking stick.

“Go back inside,” Harry whispered to Ginny. She nodded again, and left.

When Scrimgeour finally got to him, he said pleasantly, “It’s been a little while, has it not, Harry? How have you been doing?” He gave Harry a look that didn’t show too much concern.

Harry wasn’t in the mood for small talk. “I already told you I’m not interested in helping the Ministry.”

The Minister sighed. “Right down to business, eh, Harry? Well, I’m not surprised. A man of your caliber wouldn’t appreciate nonsense.”

“There’s nothing that you can offer me,” Harry went on.

But Scrimgeour didn’t seem to be listening. “ I came here in hopes that you’ve had time to think about my proposal. I figured that with Dumbledore’s death being six months ago, and the shock of it being so fresh, you weren’t thinking too clearly back then.”

“There’s nothing you can offer me,” Harry repeated. He gave Scrimgeour one last look, turned on his heel, and started to leave.

“Harry,” the Minister called in a semi-solemn tone, “I was hoping that it wouldn’t come to this, but you forced my hand.”

An alarm in Harry’s head went off, but even if it didn’t he still sensed the threat. He turned back around, and said coolly, “What do you mean?”

Scrimgeour only smiled a smile filled with coldness. “About a month and half ago, Harry,” he started, “there were two incidents that took place simultaneously”both of which broke the Statue of Secrecy severely. One took place in Surrey, not too far from where your Muggle guardians live. There we found two Death Eaters that were bound up and beaten, with a gaggle of Muggle adolescents next to them. Those Muggles went into a story of how they were saved by one of us, and then took their leader. Unfortunately they couldn’t give us a name or face. Later on we found out that the Death Eater’s memories have been wiped. Naturally, we didn’t find out who fought the Death Eaters.”

What’s he trying to do? Harry asked himself, panicked. He didn’t allow his voice to hint at that. “And what does that have to do with me?”

Scrimgeour smiled that same way again. “We did a follow up investigation a week later. During that we decided to take a look at a smaller incident that took place close to the main one. So, after calming down a resident of Privet Drive, he started to tell us about how you showed up out of nowhere, shot a strange light at him, and then stole his vehicle.”

“So I either help you, or I go to Azkaban for helping my guardians!” Harry bellowed, seething. How could he have forgotten about the Dursley’s neighbor?

“Of course not,” Scrimgeour said, affronted. “You may have broken the Statue of Secrecy by shooting that jinx at that poor Muggle, but could you imagine the scandal if the Ministry sent ‘The Chosen One’ to Azkaban? We wouldn’t consider it. Besides, there is no proof that you were the one that had that big duel with those two Death Eaters, which further broke the Statue. That would only be speculation.”

Harry was confused, but he didn’t show it either. “And even if you did have proof, I would have been within the law! I would have been trying to save those people!”

Not wanting to take anymore, Harry was about to leave again when Scrimgeour spoke again: “I still haven’t told you about the second incident.”

Harry’s heart almost stopped. He couldn’t possibly mean that, he thought.

Scrimgeour would. “This one took place in a Muggle company called Grunnings,” the Minister kept going. “It is owned by your uncle, I believe? Anyway, after the Ministry arrived at the scene, it was total chaos. Machines were broken, Muggles were injured, and everybody inside saw the duel between a Death Eater and two others, who had Vernon and Petunia Dursley with them.”

“What of it?” Harry snarled. It took all his willpower not to curse the Minister.

“Many Muggles were questioned,” Scrimgeour continued. “In fact, the most credible Muggles had memory charms placed on them that can lifted easily. Everybody told us that they saw a short person in black cloak fighting two younger people: a tall young man with red hair, and a shorter woman with brown and curly hair.”

“And your point?” Harry asked through clenched teeth, his fists balled in anger.

“The Dursley’s neighbor told us of two people fitting that description who were by your side, Harry. Well, after that we went to the homes of your fellow classmates, and asked them who those two might be. They all gave me the same answer: Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger.”

“You have no proof that it was them!” Harry shouted, wanting to wring his neck. The Minister crossed the line.

“But it is good enough to get them a court summons.” Scrimgeour then pulled out two envelopes from his robes. “I could have easily mailed them, but I preferred to deliver them myself.”

“Even if they were there, they were trying to save my uncle,” Harry said, not taking the envelopes.

“Car theft is a crime,” Scrimgeour said. “And the vehicle the Muggle neighbor had stolen was found near the company. Plus, they were within severe breach of the Statute of Secrecy. I’m sure the rescue could have gone a lot quieter, and with less Muggle casualties that were caught in the exchange of spells. And kidnapping isn’t very appreciated either.”

“Who are you saying they kidnapped?” Harry snapped.

“Why, the Dursley family, of course. They are nowhere to be found, so that constitutes as kidnapping.”

“You still have no proof they did any of that!” He was an inch away from hurting the Minister.

“That is why they are being asked to appear in front of the Wizengamot. There we will provide Muggle witnesses who can identify them rather easily”that is if they are guilty.”

“You’re just using them to get to me,” Harry whispered dangerously. “I’ll go to the Prophet on you!”

Scrimgeour chuckled. “Did you learn nothing from Fudge’s time as Minister?”

“Then I’ll go to The Quib”” He stopped, forgetting that The Quibbler stopped printing after Luna’s father was killed. “I’ll just go to the streets then.”

“People have enough problems without having to worry about the fates of two others”even if they are friends of Harry Potter himself.” Scrimgeour then shoved the envelopes into Harry’s hands, and started to leave. “The summons is for January the fifth, Harry. Either they come or you do.”

As Harry watched Scrimgeour walk away, his fears came to past: Ron and Hermione had gotten in danger. Up until now they had been very helpful at the orphanage, and at Kartley. But this was very different. They hadn’t gotten themselves in the type of danger they could forget after escaping, because there was no escaping the Ministry’s wrath without something big getting the way.

He scrunched up the envelopes in his hands in anger. The Minister already knew what Harry’s choice would be.

“Harry?” said Hermione’s voice. He looked and saw that she had come back from the village, but strangely without Ron. But that didn’t matter right now. “What’s wrong? Why was the Minister here?”
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Defense and Offense by Phoenix 86
Throughout the rest of the holidays Ron and Hermione pleaded Harry nonstop to just let them take the matter to the Wizengamot. They both claimed that Scrimgeour had no case. It had been a life or death situation, so what happened back in November had been completely within the law.

And Harry knew that they were both right. But he just couldn’t take the chance that the Minister had the Wizengamot in his pocket, and without Dumbledore there for the defense, the verdict was out before the voting began. After Mr. Weasley heard he wanted to try and do something about it, but that was also futile. He would have been sacked faster than Weasley’s Wildfire Wizbangs on caffeine.

So, when the morning of January the fifth arrived, Harry woke up and dug through his trunk looking for some wizard robes. I’m still Dumbledore’s man, Harry reminded himself constantly, and he’d want me to help my best friends.
When he got downstairs, he found Ron and Hermione waiting for him at the foot of the steps.

“Look,” Ron began stiffly, “I can quit my mission at any time. If you don’t go to the Ministry, I’ll quit and tell you what the Council was planning for me.”

It was the opportunity that Harry had been waiting months for. Any other time he would have given in to the proper demands, and have Ron spill the big secret…. Unfortunately, now wasn’t it. He had to turn him down.

“Sorry,” Harry said.

“Harry, please take it,” Hermione pleaded him. “I’ve been reading up on this ever since you told us. I built up an effective case that should get Ron and I off the hook.”

“Brightest witch in your age or not, Hermione, how convincing will you yourself be, eh?” he retorted. “How calm will you be when you’ll be facing possible time in Azkaban?”

She turned a little pink, and looked away. And with good reason too, Harry thought. She may have gotten all A’s on exams even after burning out on studying, but proving your innocence in front of possibly unsympathetic people was too much.

Harry walked past them with only a slight glance. He then noticed that the portrait of Mrs. Black hadn’t reared its ugly head. Must be because she knew she couldn’t make things fouler, he figured with a scowl.

After making sure there were no Muggles around outside, he turned on the spot, and Apparated to the Atrium. There so many people were Apparating and Disapparating at the same time that nobody took any notice to Harry at first. But as he made his way to the lifts, heads started to turn. Then at the security desk, Eric Munch looked very surprised to see Harry coming towards him.

“Didn’t think the Minister was serious,” he said, when Harry came up to check his wand. “Well…follow me.”

“My wand,” Harry protested.

“No need for that today, Mr. Potter.” Eric then led the way to the lifts leaving his post behind. Slightly concerned, Harry followed. Who would make sure no dangerous people got in?

The security wizard then got a lift of his own, and waved Harry to go inside. He did so, and then Eric came in and pressed the Level One button. As they went up without interruption, the usual voice didn’t say anything until they reached the top.

But Eric pulled Harry out, and led him along the corridor. And after a few more hallways and double doors, they finally arrived in a fairly large room with seven desks. Six were all filled with overworked-looking wizards and witches. The one at the end of the room only had one person calmly scanning some papers. With a scowl, Harry noticed that person had a crop of red hair.

As they passed, Harry didn’t even attempt to make contact with Percy. Percy, on the other hand, was startled by his sudden appearance. He tried to ask something, but Eric waved him off.

“He’s the Minster’s personal guest,” the security wizard explained.

“Uh”yeah.” He nodded with a confused look on his face, and got up to open the door behind him marked “Minister of Magic.” Inside the spacious office was a large oak desk with the form of Rufus Scrimgeour sitting behind it. He had been looking over some parchment, when he heard the door open.

“Thank you, Eric, you may leave us,” the Minister said.

“Very good, sir.” And Eric backed away closing the door behind him.

“Take a seat, Harry,” Scrimgeour offered, waving at a plush chair in front of him.

Harry stuck his hands in his pockets. “Rather stand.” Every cell in his body practically told him to make a break for it. No, it’s for Ron and Hermione.

“As you wish,” the Minister responded indifferently. He then handed Harry a piece of parchment. “A reporter from the Daily Prophet will be coming over in a little while, Harry. This is a list of possible questions he might ask, and the correct responses. If anything strange comes up just use your head.”

Harry snatched it from his hands, and read over it. “What made you finally give support to the Ministry after year of silence?” one asked. The answer was some bullocks about the Ministry making progress the past few months, and them being the only hope. “What is your favorite program enacted by the Minister?” Answer: a no mercy policy on Death Eaters or people suspected of affiliation in any way. The questions went on, and he handed it back when he was through. He would most likely feel sick by the end of this.

The interview itself was a grueling process. The reporter sat across from Harry, and asked almost every single question on the list. And as Harry spoke, the reporter practically drooled over the scoop that he was getting. He predicted it to be the biggest interview since the one given to The Quibbler. The reporter did throw in some odd questions, and Harry gave the most confident answer possible.

By the end of it, the reporter had almost ten pages worth of notes, and he quickly hurried out of the office to make a dash for the Daily Prophet. The interview would most likely end up on that day’s afternoon edition.

The Minister looked very pleased. “Good, Harry, very good!”

“Glad your happy,” Harry spat, dropping his act. “Can I go now?”

Just then the door to the office opened once more, and a man walked in. His face was one that was reaching old age, but was not there just yet. His gray hair still had a few whips of black in it. When he walked in he looked very surprised to see Harry there, but was delighted nonetheless.

“Henry,” Scrimgeour greeted, getting up to shake the man’s hand. “How may I be of service?”

Henry? Harry thought. Could this man possibly be…?

“It’s nothing,” the man named Henry responded, looking at Harry intently. “I was just wondering if the rumors are true”and apparently they are! So, Harry Potter has sided with the Ministry!”

“Apparently so,” Harry said, still unsure of that name.

“Ah, how rude of me,” the Minister said. “Harry, this is Henry Dempsher, Amelia Bone’s replacement as the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.”

Now he was positive. “You’re the one that delayed the Aurors getting to Godric’s Hollow!” Harry blurted out. “I remember it from the papers.”

Dempsher shook his head. “Yes, nobody lets me forget that blunder. I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Potter, but it was an honest mistake.”

“A mistake that could have gotten me and my friends killed!” Harry backfired.

A curious look then crossed Dempsher’s face, and he then turned to the Minister. “That reminds me, Minister. I remember reading that the court summons for Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger had been cancelled. There was a report that placed them as your friends…are they not, Mr. Potter?” he asked Harry.

Harry tried to shrug casually. “Yes, they are.”

“Yes, it’s interesting that their court summons was cancelled just before you decide to support us. Interesting coincidence is it not?” He cast a keen eye at Scrimgeour.

“Harry, go back home,” Scrimgeour advised. “And come back once a week. People have to see your face around here to believe your story, but they see it too much, and they’ll think it’s suspicious.”

Dempsher smiled and opened the door for Harry. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Potter.”

Harry gave a curt nod and left. When Harry walked out Percy had immediately tried to talk to him. But Harry ignored him completely. Being nice to Percy wasn’t part of the deal, and his day was already bad enough. Harry found his own way back to the lifts, went back down to the Atrium, and Apparated back to Grimmauld Place.

Down in the basement kitchen he found Hermione sitting alone with a mug in her hands. She had a glazed look in her eyes as she just stared forward.

“Uh…where’s Ron?” Harry asked, taking her by surprise.

She jumped a little. “Oh! Um, never mind that now. How did it go down at the Ministry?”

Harry decided to giver an encouraging smile as he sat across from her. “As long as I do what I’m told you and Ron should be kept out of Azkaban. And unless Scrimgeour says otherwise, I just have to appear at his side once a week. So, where’s Ron?” he asked again.

Hermione looked away. “He went out for the rest of the day. Said he wouldn’t be back until tomorrow morning.” She sighed heavily. “Poor Ron. You should have seen him as he left. Looked like he was close to throwing up. What in blazes is he doing?” she asked for the umpteenth time.

“All we can do is wait.”

And wait they did. Harry hadn’t lost too much sleep that night since it was common for Ron to stay out all night. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t worried. Hermione had pretty much said that Ron was nervous, and that didn’t show before now to the best of his memory.

When morning came and Ron came back he indeed looked like he had just thrown up, but was thoroughly pleased about it. At the foot of the steps Harry and Hermione just stood there watching him, wondering what to say. Ron merely looked up at them tiredly, grinned nervously, and passed them on the way up to his room.

“So you’re saying you aren’t done yet!” Harry asked two days later in the kitchen. He and Hermione had tried to pry out what Ron’s mission was ever since he had come back, and so far there was as little success as before. And when Harry tried to argue that Ron should spill it since the mission was done and over with, Ron denied that he was done.

“Nope,” Ron corrected. “You could just say that I’ll be home more often. I still have a long way to go.”

Just then Hermione came running into the kitchen with a letter in her hands. “The Council wants us,” she announced.

“What for?” Ron asked, snatching the letter and reading it over himself. “Well, can’t be anything too serious, can it? Probably babysitting or something.” Though, Harry noticed, he didn’t sound too convinced. “I mean it is getting kind of late, so we might just have an all-nighter.”

Hermione looked at him curiously. “You seem pretty well informed.” It was usually her that deduced things like that.

Ron shrugged. “Just some things I picked up at headquarters.”

“Maybe Draker spoke up again,” Harry suggested, though he severely doubted it. So, not wasting anymore time, the three of them left Grimmauld Place, and Apparated to headquarters. They ended up in a small alley to avoid any Muggle eyes. Then they ran up to the house that appeared to inflate between two others, and knocked.

The door opened, they entered, and the door slammed behind them.

“Harry, Ron, Hermione,” Lupin called from down the hall, ushering then into a room. “The briefing’s about to start.”

“Briefing?” Harry wondered out loud. Was this bigger than he thought? And indeed it was. Inside the room about a dozen or so other people were standing. All of them were simply talking amongst themselves, and there was a chalkboard on the other side. Lupin then whistled.

“Listen, now that the last of us have arrived,” he said, pointing out Harry, Ron, and Hermione, “we can begin.”

“We find a Horcrux, Remus?” a voice asked excitedly. Harry looked for the owner and saw Bethany Williams standing towards the front. She then looked back at him. “Only reason why Potter and his friends would be here, right?”

Moody then limped his way into center stage. “No,” he announced, deflating her. “But we do have a piece of very interesting information that we are going to exploit tonight.”

Intrigued, and ignoring Bethany’s semi-insulting comment, Harry listened intently. Lupin then rapped the board with his wand, and lines began to appear on it making what appeared to be floor plans.

“Through one of our sources,” Lupin began, “we found out about a Death Eater facility in a small town on the east coast. And by interrogating Pendle Draker to see if he knew anything about it, we determined that this pace is basically a prison for people that can provide very useful information.”

Ron’s eyes widened. Hermioned muttered, “Prison?” Harry could hardly believe it himself.

“While we’re just keeping Draker hidden away, and above the line of starvation,” Moody went on, “the Death Eaters are most likely doing things on the level of torture. And they have a lot of people trapped down there from what we understand, so I doubt even Severus Snape could make enough Veritaserum.”

“It’s our duty to rescue these people,” Lupin added hotly. He then pointed to the chalkboard. “The plan is simple enough, so when we run through it, we’re heading out. How many of you here know how to get to Bacton?”

About half the people”including Hermione”raised their hands.

“When were you there?” Ron asked her, surprised.

“Before I came to Hogwarts,” she answered simply. “Passed through there once when I was nine. Never knew it had a wizarding presence, though.”

Lupin smiled. “Excellent.” For the next half hour or so, he went over the floor plans tediously. He had everyone memorize the simple yet dangerous task to the letter. They were to break in, and immediately head for the door hidden behind the fireplace. Then down the stairs to where the prisoners were held. The trick was getting inside in the first place. “Apparate to the north side of the town,” Lupin finished.

In twos and threes everybody Apparated away as they were told. Hermione grabbed Harry and Ron, since they didn’t know where to head exactly, and she Apparated. When the sensation of being sucked through a tube ceased, Harry regained his vision to see that the sun had completely set. There were a few more cracks, and it seemed as if everyone made it.

“Harry, Hermione, Ron.” Lupin came up to them. “Go over with Bethany. I put her in charge of your group.”

They all nodded and found her with another wizard. “Potter,” she greeted, looking at him curiously. “Weasley. Granger.”

“Hey, Beth,” Harry said. Ron and Hermione nodded.

“You know,” said Bethany, “I heard the craziest rumor going ‘round the Ministry. People are actually saying that you went to Scrimgeour’s office, and gave him your support.”

Ron and Hermione looked away. “Yeah,” Harry said slowly.

Bethany’s eyes widened. “Why in the bloody hell would you do that? You know as well as I do we’re not getting anywhere!”

“I had no choice,” he responded, leaving it at that.

And before Bethany could say another word, the wizard said, “Hey, Beth, we’re moving out.” Harry looked, and saw that two other groups led by Moody and Lupin were headed towards the town.

“Stay alert,” Bethany ordered, waving them forward. They then went on about a dozen yards behind the rest.

Everyone moved through the streets as quietly as possible, ducking behind houses and alleys, and crossed the streets trying to avoid streetlights. Whenever a Muggle ran into them a quick mind wipe did the trick.

Finally, the group in the lead was about five houses ahead when they stopped. Bethany stuck her arm out, and led them around the corner of a house. The group that was in the middle stopped three houses behind the first.

“From what Remus said to me, we should be in for quite the show,” she said, sticking her head around. “We move in after the house is infiltrated.”

Just then a figure ran across the street to a decrepit building with no lights on. From what Harry could see in the dark, the person went up to the door and knocked. Then, a bright square of light appeared through what was probably a peephole. Suddenly, the figure raised his wand, and a red light went though hitting whoever must have been on the other side right in the face. The figure then sprinted back the way he came.

Then the door of the building burst open, and about six Death Eaters rushed out shooting spells. And immediately the first group came out into the open, and began to fight. Spells and curses flew, loud bangs erupted all over, and Harry wondered how long it’d be before neighbors came to inspect. He could see a spell being deflected, which then landed nearby.

“Blimey,” Ron breathed, looking nerve racked.

More Death Eaters then rushed out of the building, and that’s when the second group joined the fray. The reinforcements looked to have taken the Death Eaters completely by surprise, and they were dealt with quickly. And soon enough there were only three enemies to be dispatched compared to the nine or so Order members. A few went into the building and were met with spells.

“Go!” Bethany yelled. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the wizard all began sprinting to the building. They threw a few spells to the fight still going on outside, and managed to get one in their hurry.

“Stupefy!” Harry shouted, shooting the spell at the first enemy that came into view. He caught him right in the chest. Then, following the plan, Harry ran through the house, casting spell after spell towards the fireplace.

“Lanktus!”

“Watch it!” Ron yelled, shoving Harry aside, and taking the hit. The curse had tore through his shirt, and made a throbbing purple bruise.

“Ron!” Harry and Hermione yelled. Then they both threw a curse at the caster who hit him. Harry then went over to a table and turned it over, and Hermione dragged Ron behind it.

“You okay?” she asked Ron, with Harry guarding over them.

“Yeah,” he grunted, holding his injury. “Keep going!”

Harry didn’t need telling twice. The fight around them was raging. It seemed that only half the Death Eaters inside the house had gone outside to initially do battle, so the two sides were even at the moment. Lupin was already disposed of, Moody was taking two at once, and the rest were doing their best to overtake the enemy.

He then spotted a Death Eater pointing his wand at Bethany, shouting, “Avada Kedavra!”

Harry took a page out of Moody’s book. “Reducto!” he yelled, blasting Bethany aide. When the Killing Curse completely missed, Harry then pointed his wand to the would-be killer. “Stupefy!” It was blocked. A gray jet of light then hit the Death Eater causing him to be blasted right against the wall, and creating a large hole.

“Bastard,” Bethany spat scathingly at the Death Eater, clutching the spot where Harry hit her. “Thanks, Potter.” Something caught her eye, and she ran off in that direction.

Over the next ten minutes the Order started to take the upper hand. And when a new wave of reinforcements led by McGonagall came bursting through the door, Harry knew that they won the battle. Ron, despite his injury, continued to fight with a vigor Harry hadn’t seen before. Hermione took care of anyone who might try and get them from behind. When the realization that they had lost got to the Death Eaters, they began to run through the door, broke through the windows, or created an exit for themselves.

“Petrifucus Totalus!” Moody yelled, paralyzing one that was trying to make his escape. The Death Eater’s limbs snapped together, and he toppled over. “Blake! Simon! Terry!” he barked at three other people. They were all looking battle worn, but all nodded and went to the downed members of the Order. Lupin was quickly carried out of the house.

Ron then collapsed, holding his bruise in pain. “Damn! What did he do to me?” To their horror, it looked like it was spreading.

Hermione went to his side looked extremely worried. “I’m sure you’ll be okay,” she told him soothingly, taking his hand.

The one who Harry guessed was Simon came over to him, and inspected the injury himself. “Looks like a massive amount of pus formed inside,” he diagnosed with a grimace. “He has to be taken back to headquarters for treatment, or else it will get worse when it reaches the heart.”

“I’ll take him,” Hermione immediately offered. And without waiting for a response, she heaved him up and led him to the door.

“Thank, Hermione,” he said tiredly. Simon then went over to another person, and treated the wounds with his wand.

“Potter, get over here,” Moody said. He was standing over the paralyzed Death Eater. “Keep a wand over him in case he tries anything funny after I unfreeze him.” Harry did as he was told as Moody muttered the counter spell. The limbs went free, and he stood on his elbows looking at them spitefully. “Give us the password,” Moody ordered, putting his wand to his neck.

The Death Eater put on an unconvincing look of confusion. “What password?” he asked.

Moody pressed his wand tighter. “You know damned well what password. Don’t make the mistake of taking me lightly, Shaw.”

Shaw the Death Eater eyed the wand warily. “The Dark Lord shall rule.” Suddenly the fireplace went cold, and shifted towards the side to reveal stairs going down just as the floor plans showed.

“Stupefy!” The Stunning Spell hit the Death Eater right in the jaw, and he was instantly knocked out. “I need two people.”

So Harry, Moody, and two other wizards went down the stairs with their wands drawn. Then they started to hear the cries of other people asking for help. They then quickened their pace to find cells full of people. Harry was immediately disgusted at what was done to them. Many of them had bruises all over, their faces were shrunken, and they were all pale from the lack of sunlight. Some even had their hair turned unnaturally white.

“We’re saved!” many cried jubilantly when they saw them. Unfortunately, some did not take notice to them, because they looked too deranged by what was done to them. They were just sitting on the floor looking horribly into space. How many of them would regain their sanity?

Even Moody looked horrified. “Start opening cages,” he said, running over to the nearest cell and blasting it open.

Harry went over to the farthest cell, and muttered, “Alohomora!” There was a click, and the door swung open. The people who were still relatively healthy helped the ones who could barely walk. Harry himself let one man who couldn’t stand at all ride on his back”he was very light, so it wasn’t very difficult.

“You’re Harry Potter, aren’t you?” he asked weakly as they went back up the stairs.

“Yes,” he answered, not really caring that he knew.

The man huffed appreciatively. “You know who I am?” Harry shook his head, concentrating on moving forward. “Let’s just say I was captured for information on press gatherings for important Ministry officials.” When Harry didn’t respond, the man said, “Name’s Barnabus Cuffe. I’m the editor for the Prophet. And if you ever need a favor after I recuperate, just owl me.”

Harry stopped at the top of the steps, and looked over his shoulder at him. “Are you serious? What if I wanted something printed that the Minister wouldn’t like?”

Barnabus Cuffe smiled. “Just say the word. I owe you one, and from what little I heard from Horace about you, it’d be worth the trouble.”

“Harry, put him down,” Bethany said, coming up to him. She had a few bandages on her face. “We’re letting the Ministry investigate the disturbance here, so they could take of these people and treat them properly.”

He nodded, and carefully placed Cuffe on a chair that was still standing. “Remember my offer,” he added.

“Oh, I will,” said Harry excitedly. But he’d have to wait until the opportune moment to bring down Scrimgeour. He could still hurt Ron and Hermione somehow. Something big had to happen so that the Minister would be far too busy to cause them more trouble….
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Spotting a Mole by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
For those that might not have caught it, I forgot to mention that Barnabus Cuffe is not an OC, but rather was mentioned in HPB. I just personified him for my own purposes.

After Ron was treated for his injury, the three of them returned to Grimmauld Place. Then for the next two days he and Hermione barely spent any time apart. Harry started to get sick of catching them stealing glances at each other and grinning. He wondered whether or not anything happened, and when.



But that all came to an end when Ron had to leave once more, and neither of them were happy about it. And Harry had to admit that he’d rather be annoyed than have Ron do something he didn’t want to do. When he came back in the middle of the afternoon the next day, he looked even worse than the aftermath of his first Quidditch match.



“Hi, Ron,” Hermione greeted him expectantly.



“Yeah,” he muttered half-heartedly, not even meeting her eyes. “Bed.” Ron then slumped upstairs without even greeting Harry. Hermione looked extremely put out.



Over the course of the following weeks whenever Ron went out, he came back even worse than before. He always went up to his room and locked himself in, not talking to Harry or Hermione. The only time they ever really saw him was during meal times, and even then Ron wouldn’t talk to them. He only grunted when they tried to start a conversation.



Unlike Harry, who was worried about him, Hermione seemed to get angrier and more frustrated with each passing day. She always greeted Ron kindly and wanted to get one in return. Whenever it seemed like she was blown off, Hermione always turned to Harry and said, “Can you believe him?” Then she went on a rant that Harry learned to tune out.



But that was only one of Harry’s problems. Every week he had to go back to the Ministry of Magic, and keep on pretending that he approved of Scrimgeour’s actions. And it wasn’t just confined to the Ministry, either. Sometimes they’d go on a little field trip to detention centers for suspected Death Eaters”and they were only a few steps up from the prison Harry helped liberate.



Each time they’d pass a cell, the occupants would keep on pleading to be set free, that they had no connections to the Death Eaters. Whenever Harry had the stomach to look into one of their eyes, he’d see innocence. He doubted any of them were guilty enough of anything to be locked up. What made it worse was that they’d see “The Chosen One” approving of it.



One day an oddly familiar voice called out to him. “Potter!” He looked into the cell, and was shocked to find Larry, the owner of the Witch’s Wand, locked up. Larry had gotten thinner, his hair was almost gone, and the cheery smile was gone from his face. “Please, you gotta vouch for me. I keep tellin’ them I had no role on the attack at Godric’s Hollow, but they won’t believe me.”



“Let the system decide that, Harry,” Scrimgeour said to him, wanting to continue the tour.



When the Minister turned away, Harry gave Larry a sympathetic look, and mouthed, “Soon.” And he left behind a relived looking man. But what he didn’t know was that Harry didn’t know when soon was. First he had to get information that would get Scrimgeour to back off. If not, then the Minister might have the gall to give Ron and Hermione their own cell.



When February the eleventh came, Ron had at least told him and Hermione that he would once be heading out. For some reason he sounded even more reluctant than usual to do so. But, of course, he didn’t give any reason as to why that was. So, they all just sat down for dinner that night before Ron had to leave, and once again he didn’t speak. Harry, though, decided not to think about it that night. Mrs. Weasley had sent over fresh food for them, and he was determined to enjoy.



“Ron, we have to talk,” Hermione spoke up suddenly. Harry choked on his food. She had to do this now during dinner? She couldn’t have cornered Ron during any other time?



“Can’t. Have to go,” Ron said, getting up quickly. He barely had two bites.



Hermione got in his way. “A few minutes won’t kill you.” Throwing a mental fit, Harry threw down the fork and knife, and left the kitchen to leave them alone. He was tempted to stay when heard her say, “I want to know…”



Harry decided to go into Hermione’s room, got Standard Book of Spells, Grade Seven out of her trunk, and decided to give it a shot after so many months. There was nothing too useful that he could use in a fight with Voldemort, but perfectly suited if he was in a duel with one of his lesser cronies. Some stuff about how a proper stance can make a spell more effective, and how to Transfigure inanimate objects into animals. He’d need a teacher to get the moist out of most of the material. At least it got his mind of those two in the basement kitchen.



Just then the sounds of someone coming upstairs got to his ear, and a few seconds later Hermione came into the room smiling brightly. “Oh, finally studying up, I see,” she commented.



“A bit,” he admitted. “So what was your little talk about?”



“Nothing. Ron left by the way, and I’m going to bed.”



Harry looked at the clock in surprise. “It’s not that late.”



“But I’ll be getting up early,” she responded, shooing him away. “Good night.”



After slamming the door in his face, Harry put it out of his mind, and decided to finally have his dinner. He warmed it up with a wave of his wand, and happily ate as if nothing had interrupted his meal.



When morning arrived, a loud knocking at his door woke Harry up. “Harry,” Hermione called through. “Get up, I need to ask you something.” Groaning tiredly, and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he arose and went to open the door to find a Hermione who had already completed her morning chores. She hadn’t been joking when she said she was getting up early.



“What d’you need?” he asked groggily. Harry hadn’t gotten up so early since he still had classes to attend.



“Just some money if you will,” she said in a reluctant tone. “I’ll pay you back as soon as I can, of course.”



Pretty surprised by the sudden favor, Harry still went over to his trunk and took out his moneybag. “How much?” In response, she took the whole bag, and bolted out of the room and down the stairs. “What’s it for?” he called after her.



“You’ll see,” she called back. Then the sound of the front door opening and closing came up. Harry rolled his eyes, he grabbed some clothes out of his trunk so he could go and clean up. He sat alone in the house (actually, he heard Kreacher sneaking about sometimes) for the next few hours, and continued reading Hermione’s book.



A few more useful tips he could use against Death Eaters in an ocean of dumb ones later, the front door opening and closing filled his ears. Not long after that, Harry saw her enter the room with a rather large package.



“What’s in there?” he asked curiously. It was still his money that she must have bought it with after all.



“You’ll see,” she said again, shooing him out of her room. “Read the book somewhere else, would you?” Hermione them slammed the door in his face once more.



“Fine,” Harry told the door crossly. He decided to continue downstairs in the kitchen. There, he got the second surprise of the day: Ron was just sitting at the table having a drink.



“Hey, Harry,” he greeted lamely, taking a swig.



“When did you get here?” he asked, bewildered by his sudden appearance. “The front door””



“Floo,” he answered, looking to be in thought. He beat some soot of his clothes. “Didn’t feel like Apparating.”



Harry suddenly became concerned, and put it aside taking a seat next to him. “What’s wrong? By the way Hermione’s acting, I figured something good happened between the two of you.”



Ron drummed the flask with his fingers. “I guess it was, but then again…” He trailed off, and shook his head. “I got some pretty nice news last night after I left, at least.” A grin then cracked across his, and he began to chuckle to himself for the first time in over a month. “You know what? I’m gonna enjoy it.” He then stood up, and downed the rest of his drink. “Thanks for the talk, mate,” he said, wiping his mouth and leaving behind a confused Harry, who barely said anything useful.



Harry followed him, and went back upstairs just as Hermione came down from her room saying breathlessly, “Ron! I didn’t hear you some in.”



“Flooed here,” he responded simply. “How was your day?”



Ron was really surprising Harry. Wasn’t he sulky the previous day? What did Hermione do to him?



“Fine. I got some news robes for the fourteenth,” she said, answering Harry’s question. They were going on a date! Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw her hand creep into Ron’s.



“Can’t wait,” Ron said nervously. Hermione was beamed even more. Harry went upstairs to give them peace. He’d much rather be in sugary moments than watch one take place. But he did wonder why at first Ron was reluctant to go out.



Early the next day, it seemed that it was going to be the same thing all over again. Harry contemplated heading somewhere else to give them their privacy. He hadn’t seen the joke shop in a while, and he was sure Fred and George wouldn’t mind hearing about what was going on. Plus, they must have something planned for Valentine’s Day at the shop, so the decorations might be spectacular. Maybe he could finally laugh about the aura of discomfort he was in. He might even get to practice the spell later, which he hadn’t done so in ages.



But just as the thought was crossing his mind, Hermione came down holding an open letter. Why does she get the letters?



“The Council wants us, Harry,” she announced.



“ ‘Us’ as in…?” he asked.



“Just the two of us. Sorry, Ron,” she said to him.



All Ron said was, “Good luck, then.”



“Wonder what they want this time? Why only the two of us? Think it’s a Horcrux?” Harry asked, as he and Hermione went into the hallway, and out the front door.



She shook her head. “Doubt it. I don’t think Draker knows anymore more about where to find one then we do. And it’s unlikely they’d find another source of information.”



“You just don’t want tomorrow ruined,” Harry said accusingly. After Apparated to the alley near headquarters, they then ran up to the house that inflated between two others.



“I do not,” she continued as if nothing magical happened. “If sacrificing tomorrow meant finding another Horcrux, then I would gladly give it up.”



When they went upstairs, Harry saw the wizard who he remembered to be Trenton Perch waiting outside the Council’s room. For some reason he was holding a camera.



“What’s going on?” Harry asked him.



Trenton smiled at them. “Hello, Harry. Just go inside. I was instructed to wait out here until I was needed.” He lifted his camera to signify he would probably be using it. He then opened the door for them.



When they went inside Harry was slightly surprised that all four members of the Council were present. They hadn’t all been there at once since the initiation. And for some reason they all looked rather grim and disturbed.



“Come in, you two,” Lupin said, waving them in. Harry noticed he had a fresh scar on his left cheek. Lupin noticed him noticing it, and smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m perfectly okay. Tonks actually likes how it looks on me.”



“This isn’t the time for that, Remus,” McGonagall snapped. She then turned back to Harry and Hermione, and took out her wand to conjure some chairs for them. “Take a seat, you might need it.”



When they did, it was Sturgis Podmore who spoke solemnly, “We got some unsettling information last week regarding security within the Ministry. They have been infiltrated at a very high level.”



Harry and Hermione gasped. “How far?” they asked at the same time. In response, Moody pulled out a folder from under the table, and slid it towards them.



“You’ve got to be joking!” Harry exclaimed. He opened the folder to see a photo of a face that he sees almost every time he went to the Ministry. “Henry Dempsher? He’s a Death Eater?”



“But that’s impossible!” Hermione insisted, her eyes wide. “Dempsher is the head for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement! There is absolutely no way that a Death Eater could penetrate the Ministry that far in. Even Scrimgeour wouldn’t be so blind.”



“It’s not that the Minister is blind, Granger,” Moody said. “It’s that Dempsher is damn near invisible. He has absolutely no criminal record of any kind. The Ministry ran a full-blown background check on him before he was promoted. He’s clean.”



“We ran one ourselves to be on the safe side,” Sturgis took over. “The only queer thing about Dempsher was that his Gringotts bank vault went steadily dry before You-Know-Who’s first rise to power. His family fortune reduced to half of what it used to be. He was still young back then, so the Ministry probably thought it was just an over indulgence of a rich, young man’s experiments of vice.”



“Listen,” McGonagall said, “we have been trailing him as discreetly as possible ever since the accusation was brought forth.” She sighed heavily. “And sure enough, he made a brush pass with another person. We followed her too, and it was clear she was a Death Eater.”



Harry slammed the photo with his fist in anger. “That means that the delay at Godric’s Hollow wasn’t an accident,” he figured raging. “Word probably got to him that a move was being made on me, and was told to stay alert.”



“That is more than likely,” Lupin agreed.



“And he knows that Scrimgeour has me under his thumb,” Harry said. “And if Dempsher knows, then by now so does Voldemort. “



“We figured that,” Lupin said. Harry had filled in the Council about his predicament following the rescue the previous month. “And he may somehow use that against you. Also, we think that Dempsher provided the Death Eaters with the security detail with the Mallings family. That’s how Draker was able to Imperius Bethany’s colleague.”



And idea clicked in Harry’s head. “Maybe he won’t,” he declared. All heads turned to him. “Listen to me, Barnabus Cuffe said that he would run any article I wanted the Prophet. If we expose Dempsher, Scrimgeour won’t have time to retaliate against me if I retract my support for the Ministry.”



“That’s brilliant,” Hermione put in. “We’d be killing two birds with one stone.”



“We can’t do that,” McGonagall said. Harry’s mood deflated.



“Why not?” Harry barked angrily. He’s been waiting over a month for an opportunity like this to arrive. He’d be free of the Ministry’s hold.



“Because,” Moody growled, “Dempsher is a very important source of information for the Death Eaters, so his exposure would cause a massive instigation in their ranks. We could no longer being able to exploit the breaches in their security we’ve found. In the long run, it would do more harm for our side than good.”



“So we just let Dempsher walk?” Harry asked, livid. “We can’t just sit and do nothing!”



Podmore smirked. “Why would we have called in you two if we were planning on doing nothing?” Harry shut his mouth.



“We heard,” Lupin continued, “that Henry Dempsher shall be taking a trip to Diagon Alley tomorrow. Bethany helped us confirm it by sneaking into his office, and taking a look at his day planner. It said that he was going out with his wife, but we already know that she has been sick in bed for the past week. We were going to ask Fred and George to keep an eye on him, but they are preparing for a rush, so it wouldn’t be fair to them.”



“That is where you two come in,” McGonagall took over. “We want the both of you to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow, and follow him. The two of you will be posing as a young couple on a date since it is Valentine’s Day. According to the Weasley twins, Diagon Alley was packed the previous year despite the danger that You-Know-Who possesses, so it should be no different this year.”



“What?” Hermione objected, standing up. “But I can’t. I have plans!” Harry just sat there frozen. He was against this just as much as she was, but for far different reasons.



McGonagall cocked an eyebrow. “So cancel them, Ms. Granger. If Dempsher meets with a Death Eater in a secluded area, you must overhear what they are saying.”



“Can’t Hermione go with Ron?” Harry asked, trying not to sound too pleading. “At least he’ll be less conspicuous than I am. I’ll stick out like a sore thumb because of who I am!”



“Which is why you’ll be in disguise,” Podmore interjected. “Trenton, you can come in now.”



“Finally,” Trenton Perch said, coming through the door. “I was getting sick of waiting.” He then stood in front of Harry and Hermione, took a blinding picture, and left the room. “I’ll have them ready by tomorrow, Sturgis.” He then left.



“Trenton is only second to Tonks in magical concealment,” Lupin explained.



“Even so, Ron can still go instead of me,” Harry went on. Even though it was a mission, they still had to act like he and Hermione were going out.



“We would prefer that our participants weren’t distracted, Mr. Potter,” McGonagall said.



“Distracted?” Hermione asked, looking a little insulted. “Why on earth would I be distracted by Ron?”



Harry didn’t answer her. Instead, he said, “Why can’t I use my Invisibility Cloak?”



“The problem with those, Mr. Potter, is that you’ll still be solid in a crowded alley. Something visible and solid is much less conspicuous.”



“Be here by four tomorrow afternoon,” Moody said, dismissing them with a wave.



“How long will it take?” Hermione asked desperately.



“As long as it has to, Ms. Granger,” McGonagall responded, getting up to leave. “Now if you don’t mind, I have to back to the school, and prevent Hagrid from turning the Great Hall into a home for his brother.”



Harry groaned, and slammed his forehead against the table. He’d much rather feel awkward due to being present for one of Ron and Hermione’s moments.
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Bucket Under the Leak by Phoenix 86
When Harry and Hermione got back to Grimmauld Place, neither of them had gotten over what had just happened. Hermione was muttering to herself at how annoyed she was that this sudden turn of events ruined her plans. He didn’t blame her, either. If Ginny had been right about Lupin’s visit during Christmas that made two outings that the Order ruined. Harry felt no better about it. For all he knew, he was going to have a peaceful day without the awkwardness of her and Ron to get in the way. Maybe he could’ve practiced the spell. He hadn’t done so in ages.

As for Ron, he didn’t take it well, either. At first it looked like he couldn’t believe what they were saying, and Harry couldn’t blame him. First, hearing that the Head of the Department of Magical Law enforcement was in cahoots with the Death Eaters, then that his two best friends had to spend Valentine’s Day together on a fake date. Ron even went to headquarters himself for confirmation. He came back looking sulky again.

“It doesn’t matter,” Hermione told him in the drawing room. Harry was sitting at the other trying to immerse himself in another book. Unfortunately, Ron and Hermione were blocking the only exit. “We could always do something the next day.”

“Yeah…maybe.” Harry took a peek over his book to his Ron walking away leaving a slightly disappointed Hermione.

The next day, Harry and Hermione left for headquarters a few minutes before four. For some reason she was taking the package with her.

“I can’t believe it,” she kept on muttering. “Waited in line for hours at Madame Malkin’s”and for what? Just to be used in a stupid mission.”

“A stupid mission that could help save lives,” Harry said, taken back by her demeanor. “Hermione, how can you take babysitting the Dursleys more seriously than this? So your date is ruined””

“Who ever said it was a date?” she asked pointedly, as they entered headquarters. “It was just going to be Ron and I having a evening out to make up for Lupin interrupting us on Christmas.”

They went upstairs to find that the Council room was locked. “Over here,” Trenton Perch said from a room farther down the hall. “I have them ready.”

“What’s ready?” Harry asked exasperated, following him in, where in the middle of the room were two vials”a blue one and a lime green.

“Drink the green one, Harry,” Trenton said confidently. “I’m sure the results will impress you.”

Hermione went over to the green vial, and looked at it keenly. “Trent,” she said, amazed, “is this Changling Potion? It’s supposed to be really hard to make!”

Trenton nodded proudly. “Yup. Usually it takes two or three days to cook up, but not for me. Go on, drink.”

Sure it wasn’t dangerous from Hermione’s reaction, Harry uncorked it, and downed it in one gulp. After it went down without any weird side feelings inside, he just stood there and waited, but it didn’t feel like anything was happening. Then he looked at his hands, and they were growing until they were a half-inch longer. His bangs then grew over his eyes, and they were a dark brown.

Harry looked over at Hermione, and her hair shortened to shoulder length. She also was just standing there looking transfixed at the sudden changes. Trenton then handed her a mirror, and she was amazed at the results. She handed it to Harry, and the person looking back didn’t look like him. His chin was a little more chiseled, and cheekbones higher.

“Can’t have these,” Trenton said, taking off Harry’s glasses, and making everything blurry to him.

“But I can’t see,” he protested. He then felt the sting of Trenton’s wand smacking the side of his eyes. Harry tried to blink out the pain, and when he opened his eyes everything was clear. “What did you do?”

“Fixed your eyes, but don’t get used to it. It’ll ware off in about twelve hours. As for the potion, that’ll start rotting in about a month.”

“Rotting?” Harry questioned hesitantly.


Hermione answered: “It means that the shapes we took will start to age horribly.”

Harry didn’t want to think about that, so he said, “So, who are we?”

“Nobody,” Trent responded. “I took your pictures yesterday, and with that I looked at what to change on you to make a whole new person. With Polyjuice Potion all you need is to stock up and add hairs, then the infiltration will begin. The crummy thing is its short lifespan, and the rotten taste. When you went to get that Horcrux back in August, all you needed was a quick change, so I didn’t have to do anything this elaborate.”

“Do you have anywhere I can change into this?” Hermione asked him, holding up her box.

“The next room.”

When she came back Hermione was now wearing a set of pink robes. They weren’t as nice as the ones she wore during the Yule Ball, but an “outing” with Ron”who probably would have been left speechless at the mere sight of her”didn’t call for anything that fancy. Luckily the robes still went well with her new identity.

“Can’t let these go to waste, can I?” she huffed.

“They ready?” came Moody’s voice. He then limped into the room. “Ah, excellent. Let’s go, you two.”

“Thanks,” Hermione said to Trenton.

“Yeah,” Harry said, going back to admiring the extent of the change. So he was a whole new person?


“Listen,” Moody started, passing the Council room, and heading down to the hall, “we have Williams following Dempsher right now”undercover, of course. He’s definitely headed towards the Leaky Cauldron right now.”

“What do we do?” Harry asked.

“Sit at a table until you see him come in”Williams will be the one entering a few seconds after our target. When she enters cough three times, Potter. Granger, ask him if he took his potion.” Moody then opened the front door for them. “From there, she’ll greet you, and you take over from there. The rest is obvious. And one more thing.” He pointed at Harry: “Herman.” He pointed at Hermione: “Hailey.” And as if he was asking them to run a simple errand, he shoved them out the door, and slammed it behind them.

“Not very creative,” Harry observed. He couldn’t have a cooler sounding codename?

“Shut it, Herman, and let’s get this over with,” Hermione said.

The two of them then went back to the alley, Apparated to the beginning of Diagon Alley, and were instantly greeted with a blast of pink. Almost every shop window had little decorations for the day’s festivities, and was bustling with business. Couples seemed to have taken over, as no one could be seen without another by his or her side. Fred and George hadn’t been kidding when they told the Council the alley was active.

As they entered through the archway into the Leaky Cauldron, Harry and Hermione weren’t walking as if they were a couple on a date. More like a brother and sister forced to spend time with each other by their parents. Many people noticed that as they passed by, and Hermione immediately took Harry’s hand, and smiled. Harry didn’t protest, but still felt awkward.

“Look convincing, for goodness sake,” she said through her teeth.

In response, Harry pulled out the chair for her at an empty table. He then went over to the bar, and called over Tom.

“What can I get for you?” Tom asked, giving him a toothless grin. He looked right at him, and Tom didn’t seem to recognize him. Trenton really was good.

“Two butterbeers,” Harry said.

As Tom handed him the drinks, he said quietly, “Quite a looker that one, eh?” He indicated Hermione”or rather Hailey. “You have good taste.”

“Thanks,” Harry said flatly, earning him a curious look. He paid for the drinks, and went back to the table.

“Did he recognize you?” Hermione asked discreetly, taking her butterbeer.

Harry shook his head. “Nope. And you owe me for the drink too.” He started to take sips from his drink, and kept on letting his eyes wonder towards the entrance, where Dempsher should be appearing. Come on, you bastard, get in here, he thought, taking another swallow.

“Why so tense?” Hermione asked sweetly, taking his hand from across the table.

If Harry was in any other state of mind, he would have immediately recoiled, and started at her dumbfounded. Instead, he put on his best smile, and gave showed it to her. “Nothing,” he said, shrugging. “Probably a little nervous.”

She gave him a grin that said, “Good one.”

Over the next twenty minutes, Harry put on the best impression that he was having the best date of his life. In reality, they were the ones of himself and Ginny out by the lake. But he tried to put it out of his mind knowing that having a glazed look, and completely ignoring your date wasn’t a good way to put on an act. Eventually, Harry’s hand started to numb out in Hermione’s. He tried to take as few glances at the door as possible.

“Mind getting me another, dear,” Hermione piped up. “I’m out.” She shook an empty sounding flask. Gulping down the rest of his, Harry went back to the counter to buy another round.

“Two more,” he asked of Tom.

“You can’t just sit here, and drink the entire time, mate,” Tom advised warningly, bringing over the butterbeers. “You should want to make this the best Valentine’s Day she ever had.”

Harry thought of a lie quickly. “Just waiting for the best moment to woo her,” he said, paying.

The sound of the door opening was heard through the chatting in the bar. “Ah, Henry!” Tom greeted joyfully, forgetting about Harry. Harry whipped around to see Tom going over to shake hands with none other than Henry Dempsher. “How’s the Mrs.?”

Dempsher shook his head in regret. “She’s still out of it, I’m afraid. Pity, and I was planning on taking her somewhere very nice today. Hopefully my shopping will make a fine get well gift.”

“Well, pull up a stool. The usual?”

Harry sped back to the table as quickly and inconspicuously as possible. He gave Hermione the butterbeer and an excited look. They’ve made visual contact. A second later, the door opened again, and a woman Harry didn’t recognize walked in casually. She looked as is she was going to the bar. Harry immediately coughed three times as instructed, and Hermione said in a concerned tone, “Did you take your potion, love?”

Just then, it looked as if the woman had noticed them out of nowhere, and walked over to them with a friendly smile. “Hailey! My sweet little niece, how are you? Oh, and who’s this strapping young man?”

“My date, Herman,” she responded as if he actually was.

The woman who was undoubtedly Bethany, leaned into his ear, and whispered ever so quietly, “He’s yours. Now, look nervous and nod.” When she withdrew giving him a serious look, Harry gulped convincingly and nodded as he was told. Absolutely no one at the bar gave them any mind. “Well, I don’t want to be a bother.” Bethany then went over to the bar, and got herself a drink.

Hermione then leaned in, and whispered, “How far along in his drink?” Harry, who had a better vantage point, took a passing glance at Dempsher, who took a swig.

“Barely started,” he predicted, taking the best estimate from the angle Dempsher tipped the flask. Hermione then began to take another but longer sip of her drink. Getting the idea, Harry did the same. They finished a bit quicker than the previous drinks, but still nobody noticed.

Harry still took her hand rather awkwardly, and made their way to the portal leading back into Diagon Alley. They waded through the sea of real couples, and Hermione stopped just beside the store window for the apothecary shop, where pink ingredients for potions were being displayed.

“Oh, look, dear, a make your own love potion kit,” Hermione said intently, looking into the shop window.

“Don’t think you’ll be needing it,” Harry told her, chuckling.

She rolled her eyes at him. “I wouldn’t even consider using it on anyone.”

“You just sounded a little too enthusiastic.”

“Shut it!” she hissed, pointing back at the portal. “Here he comes.”

And indeed, Henry Dempsher came through the opening in the brick wall. As he got closer, Harry and Hermione turned their attention back to the window display, melting into the background. They could see Dempsher’s reflection as he walked past them. They allowed him to put distance between them, then turned and followed.

Dempsher’s first stop was Eeylops Owl Emporium. Harry and Hermione entered about half a minute after him. To seem less suspicious, Harry decided to take the time to go and buy Hedwig some owl treats, while Hermione admired the differently colored birds, and kept an eye on their target at the same time.

“That’ll be sixteen Sickles,” the owner said, taking Harry’s money. He went over back to Hermione, who was looking at some spotted owls, so they could leave the store. Staying too long after making a purchase would be too risky.

“Looking to buy an eagle owl,” Hermione said out of the corner of her mouth. “Can I have one?” she asked him in a normal tone.

“You better just be buying time,” he whispered annoyed into her ear. If she was serious, and kept on pleading, then it would draw attention to them. Fortunately, Hermione wasn’t that kind of girl.

“Just kidding,” she said playfully. “You know they’d just get eaten by my cat. Let’s go, shall we?”

After they left the shop, they both knew that it wouldn’t look right if they just stood around waiting for Dempsher to come out.

“How ‘bout we check out Quality Quiddtich Supplies?” he asked her, throwing in a wink.

She gave him a knowing grin, but erased it quickly. “Do we have to?” she said, exasperated. “It’s the same thing all over again.”

“Please, I want to see the latest broom.”

“Fine, I’ll wait out here,” she huffed.

Knowing that Hermione would keep a keen eye on the owl shop, Harry entered the store to see that it wasn’t decorated like the rest of the alley. What could a Quidditch supplies store do for Valentine’s Day? So, making sure he could see out the window properly, he went around looking for things to buy.

Five minutes later, Harry was considering to buy a bottle of broom shiner, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dempsher leave Eeylops Owl Emporium from afar. Outside the window, Hermione gave him an impatient look, and tapped on her watch. Shrugging, he left the store and met back up with her.

“Not good,” Hermione said quietly, as Dempsher entered Madame Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions a while later. “I can’t go in there. Madame Malkin might notice me. I mean I bought these robes not Hailey.”

“Come off it,” Harry said, leaning in close. “She’s probably had hundreds of customers in the past week. What are the chances she’ll spot robes in your measurements on someone else?”

“I can’t risk it. We’ll just have to wait outside.”

“But Florean Fortescues is closed, remember? We can’t go in there and have a treat while we wait.”

She sighed. “Okay, but it’s on your head if we get caught.” Hermione then grabbed Harry by the arms, and dragged him into the store like a reluctant boyfriend.

The store wasn’t as crowded as the previous ones. Madame Malkin was looking over things since the rush she must have had was over, and was now swimming in Galleons. There were only a couple of people inside that seemed intent on buying something. Harry and Hermione, therefore, had to stay out of Dempsher’s sight.

“I’m here for a set of robes for one Lydia Dempsher,” Dempsher said to the young witch at the counter.

“Excuse me,” a voice said next to Harry. He looked to see it was Madame Malkin giving Hermione a funny stare. “Would you happen to be a customer of mine? That is clearly my work.”

“Oh, yes,” Hermione said, keeping her voice steady, and looking pleased. “You did some excellent work.”

“Thank you,” she said, pondering. “It’s just that I swear I sold robes just like these to another young woman. Same measurements as well.”

“Well, some people do have a similar build,” Hermione told her, trying not to look nervous, and giving Harry an “I told you so” look.

“Yes, but not the same taste. The only time I really make robes that look alike are for school uniforms.”

“Thank you,” said Dempsher’s voice. He was now walking out of the store with a set of new robes.

“What’s your name?” Madame Malkin asked Hermione.

“Hailey…Grander,” she blurted out. “Okay, ‘bye.” She then dragged Harry back out the store. “Told you we shouldn’t have gone in,” Hermione said, irritated. “Now, if she has record of customers, she’ll find ‘Granger’ while looking for ‘Gander’!”

“That’s your fault,” Harry said, continuing their pursuit before loosing their target. Over the next half hour, Dempsher had gone into Magical Menagerie, and Gambol and Japes. He came out each time with more parcels on his person. Harry and Hermione had not gone into those stores incase Dempsher somehow noticed their presence before, but decided to ignore them to see where they go. They had a difficult time trying to keep their distance, and having the entrance in their sights, praying that there wasn’t a back way out.

“Damn it, when’s his meeting?” Harry said, annoyed by Dempsher’s stupid little errands. Maybe he wasn’t meeting with anyone at all today. Maybe he just didn’t have the chance to change his day planner.

“Just be patient”oh, no!” she said again. This time he shared her sentiment: Dempsher just walked into Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. If Madame Malkin spotted something familiar about Hermione’s robes, no doubt so would Fred and George also find something odd. And there were so many people making their way in and out, it’d be hard to spot Dempsher once he left.

“Let’s go,” Harry sighed. The two of them then made their way into the crowded store. Inside it seemed as if it was the prime spot for couples. Many jittering girls with amused boyfriends were swooning over the tank of Pigmy Puffs, which now came in more colors then pink and purple. It also seemed that the twins hired some more people. The only place where there seemed to be loners was under the shelf of Patented Daydream Charms.

“Over here,” Hermione said, leading Harry behind a stack of love potions. It had a good vantage point where they could Dempsher from practically anywhere in the store, while pretending to read over the packages.

“Can I help you with something?” another voice behind them asked. They turned around to see George looking eager to help some customers. His smile then dropped at the sight of them. “Do I know you two from somewhere? I swear that we’ve met.”

“You don’t,” Harry and Hermione said quickly, trying to leave his presence.

“No, I’m pretty sure that I do,” George continued, following them. Harry noticed that they were getting a bit of unwanted attention due to the owner of the store stalking them. They had no choice.

“Damn it, c’mere!” Harry hissed, dragging George to the backroom. He looked around, and was pleased to see that Dempsher was too immersed in a product to notice.

“Hey, not just anyone can come back here,” protested George.

“George, it’s us!” Hermione said urgently.

He looked confused. “You who?”

“It’s me Harry!” Harry said. “Hermione and I are in disguise, so will you shut your mouth!”

George’s eyes widened. “Har”!” Before he could shout, Harry put his hand over George’s mouth.

“Why the bloody hell are you two in disguise?” he asked, taking off the hand. “Wait…are you two going out behind Ron’s back!”

“Of course we aren’t,” Hermione said, smacking his arm hard.

“Ouch! So, Ron knows about this, but you two still get a kick out of masking yourselves?”

Hermione hit him even harder. “We’re undercover for the Order!” she said in a hushed tone. She opened the curtain, and pointed at Dempsher. “We’re following him.”

George looked surprised once more. “Henry Dempsher? He’s a regular around here. Why are you shadowing him?”

“He’s a spy for the Death Eaters!” Harry told him.

It seemed to take a while for the message to sink in. George then gave Dempsher a filthy look, and started for him saying, “Not in my store. Not in my bloody”” Harry got in his way.

“There’s a reason we’re following him! We’re trying to over hear anything he says incase he passes information.”

“Just turn the bastard in!”

A dark expression crossed Harry’s face. “Believe me, I want to. But the Council says it’s too risky.”

George then reached into his pocket, pulled out some flesh colored string, and stuffed it into Harry’s hands. “Get going.” He then left the backroom to go back to performing his job, but not going anywhere close to the target. Harry put the Extendable Ears into his pocket, and left the backroom with Hermione.

“Henry,” Fred’s voice said. Harry could see him going over to Dempsher, and shaking his hand in a friendly manner. “What can I get for you today?” It would come as a surprise when George told him the news.

Harry and Hermione then decided that it was best to go back outside, and wait. It didn’t take long for them to spot Dempsher coming out. For some reason he no longer had a run-of-the-mill attitude, but rather a serious one. They let him go on ahead, and followed. Harry’s heart skipped a beat, when Dempsher suddenly slowed down, looked around for any followers, and ducked into Knockturn Alley. Every couple around was so distracted with each other that no one else noticed.

“Should have brought the Invisibility Cloak after all,” Harry said. “No one’s in Knockturn Alley.”

“Well, we don’t have it, so let’s follow.”

They too took the advantage of the distraction that Valentine’s Day served, and dipped into Knockturn Alley. Soon enough the chatter from Diagon Alley faded away, and all they could hear were their own feet, which they quickly took care of. Going as quietly as possible they could hear Dempsher getting farther and farther. Suddenly, the sounds of him moving stopped, and Harry and Hermione ducked behind a large pot with runes painted on. She looked up at them, her eyes moving back and forth, and scowled.

Harry then reached into his pocket, and pulled out the Extendable Ears. He threw the end as far as possible, and put the other end to his ear. He could hear voices talking as if on a radio. Hermione put her ear to it too.

“You sure you weren’t followed?” a familiar female voice pressed.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Dempsher said. “And for anyone to over hear us, they’d have to be close enough for us to see.” Harry and Hermione looked at each other, and grinned in amusement.

“Fine, what do you have?” the female asked. “And it better be good. I’m missing on something important because of this.”

“My first piece of information is about a lead that the Ministry has on one of our facilities south of here,” Dempsher told her. “Apparently, Jacobs and Rodolphus finally cracked, and told them everything about it. You have to evacuate Hastings as fast as possible.”

“Okay, what next?”

“Jacobs and Rodolphus themselves. They’re being transported back to Azkaban tomorrow.” It sounded as if something exchanged hands. “Here’s all the information you need on the transport. Do with them what you will.”

“Not bad, Dempsher, not bad. At least this wasn’t a total waste of my time.”

What came next was something about new fighting techniques the Aurors were developing. It turns out that if the Death Eaters exploit some sort of weakness, the Aurors will be pushovers. Then some more about programs the Ministry was working on. It might not have sounded too important, but every little thing that Dempsher spilled was a blow to their side.

“One more thing,” Dempsher continued. “Ever since Godric’s Hollow there’s this whiner that really been getting on my nerves. Take care of him, will you? The information is on the parchment I gave you.”

Harry mentally cursed. They didn’t hear any specifics. But on the bright side, Harry didn’t hear anything about the hold Scrimgeour has on him.

The female sounded amused. “Sounds like fun. Is that it?”

“For now.”

“Fine then, I’ll report to the Dark Lord immediately.” A deafening crack was heard. Harry sighed. It was over now. All they had to do was report to the Council.

Just then, Dempsher was heard walking back up the way he came to Diagon Alley! Harry looked around panic stricken, but there was no hiding place. If they were spotted, Dempsher would surely know what was going on, and all their effort would be for nothing. The information would become useless. If they tried to make a run for it, then the result would be no different.

Then, before Dempsher came within sight, Hermione slammed Harry against the wall, and pressed her lips to his. Getting the idea, he kissed back trying to put on his best act. Harry looked through one eye to just see Dempsher coming into sight looking straight forward, when Hermione suddenly grabbed both his hands, and placed them firmly on her buttocks.

She squealed, broke the kiss, and stepped back giving him an angry glare. She then slapped him hard across the cheek, huffed, and stomped off back to Diagon Alley. Harry was grasping his burning cheek standing there stupefied. He then saw that Dempsher had stopped in his tracks, and had seen what unfolded. Dempsher then threw his head back laughing.

“Bad luck, mate,” he chuckled. Harry gave him a genuine look of annoyance. Dempsher then continued on his way.
Waiting another minute until Harry was sure he was gone, he bent down and gathered up the Extendable Ears. Then, he went back to Diagon Alley, where Hermione was waiting with a smile on her face.

“We did it,” she declared.

“Did you have to hit so hard?” Harry asked her, rubbing his cheek. They started forward.

“It had to be convincing. Trust me, what kind of sleazy date would date would take his girlfriend into Knockturn Alley for a snog? It could have only ended that way.”

“S’pose so,” he agreed.

A/N: If anyone didn't get it, I was NOT H/Hr "shipping." It was only a mission.
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Rotten Reunion by Phoenix 86
As soon as Harry and Hermione got back to headquarters, the first thing they did was take the antidote to change them back to normal. After that, they immediately spilled everything that they had heard from eavesdropping on Dempsher. Lupin copied it all down, and then immediately left the room.



“Good work, you two,” McGonagall told them afterwards. “This information will be delivered to Kingsley and Tonks immediately. You are dismissed.”



So, knowing that their efforts were truly appreciated, Harry and Hermione went back to Grimmauld Place after the long and awkward day. When the door closed behind them it made a loud noise in the silent house.



“LEAVE THE DOMINION OF MY ANCESTORS AT ONCE!” Mrs. Black screeched.



“Shut it, or I’ll torch the whole hallway!” Harry shouted.



“YOU WOULDN’T DARE!”



“Try me!” And the curtains fell back in place easily.



“Things have been a bit too quiet ‘round here, haven’t they?” Ron said, coming down the stairs. He came to a stop at the sight of Hermione, who was still in her robes, and grinned awkwardly. “You look great.”



She went a little red, and muttered, “Thanks. So what did you do all day?”



“Thinking,” he answered tiredly. “A lot of thinking.”



“About what?” Harry asked.



“You wouldn’t be interested.”



“Would I?” Hermione asked anxiously.



Ron looked right at her. “Maybe.”



Taking the hint, Harry left the two of them to talk. He muttered a small good night, and went off to an early bed. As he fell asleep, Harry was a little worried that Ron and Hermione would return to their weird-to-hang-around-with phase. But on the contrary the two of them acted completely like much like they have the previous weeks.



The only difference was Hermione, who wasn’t getting angry with Ron when he returned to his gloomy mood. She didn’t seem exactly happy either, but occasionally she gave Ron a few glances, and went back to doing whatever she was doing. When Ron didn’t return her greetings after he came back, Hermione sighed and left for a different part of the house.



Harry would have been more worried about the two of them if it weren’t for his weekly visits to the Minister’s office. And if they weren’t enough, Harry now had to hide all of his rage whenever he came in contact with Henry Dempsher. Harry wanted nothing more than stand on something, point to Dempsher, and tell everyone that he was a spy for the Death Eaters. The only thing worse than knowing and not being able to say anything was that he had to talk to him a casual manner.



The only thing that made up for it was the memory of seeing the headline in The Daily Prophet the day after Valentine’s Day. Harry only had to think about that to chuckle at the remarks Dempsher made and thought were clever: Ministry Lucks Out, Catches Dozens of Death Eaters in Hastings. From what he read, the Ministry acted on very reliable information from prisoners, and caught the Death Eaters completely off guard while they were packing up to leave.



The next bit of good news came two days later. About seven more were captured when they were trying to intercept a prisoner transport for confirmed Death Eaters Rodolphus Lestrange and Barry Jacobs. Dempsher had looked absolutely pleased when Harry first saw him after hearing him spill the information in the first place, but underneath he was most likely seething and confused at the same time. Whatever it was, Dempsher did a good job of hiding it.



Then as the weeks passed, when there was a rare scuffle between Aurors and Death Eaters, the Aurors always came out on top. According to them, the Death Eaters for some reason just overconfident, and that was their downfall. Robards Gawain, Scrimgeour’s replacement as Head of the Aurors, was absolutely pleased with those results.



“But I do have to give credit to Shacklebot,” he had said while Harry was around. “He did bring forward to me the flaws in our new fighting technique that could have been used against us”and from the reports of my Aurors, the Death Eaters were trying to do just that. Strange isn’t it?”



“Yes,” Dempsher said in thought. “Very strange indeed.”



“At least your making progress,” Harry chimed in merrily. Despite not liking Dempsher one bit, he did appreciate the sense of superiority that he gave him. It’s because of me that your plan fell apart, he said in his mind.



The only thing that bothered Harry was the “whiner” that Dempsher wanted to have killed. So far there had been no reports of anybody killed in cold blood by the Death Eaters, which he guessed was a good thing. Still, it’s been almost a month since he put out the hit on that poor soul, and Harry was growing more worried that he’d see a headline in the Prophet about a person being randomly killed.



“We can’t argue with that, Henry,” Scrimgeour said. “There’s an expression: Don’t look a gift horse in a mouth. Things are finally going our way.”



Dempsher looked at him, and chuckled. “There’s another expression, Minister: Don’t jinx it.” Through a flap on the Minister’s door flew in an Interdepartmental memo. Dempsher looked at it, and said, “Interesting. Well, I must take my leave, Minister.” He then got up, and left.



“Same goes for me,” Gawain said. “See you next time, Mr. Potter.”



After he left, there was a minute of silence. “Excellent work, Harry,” the Minister said. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d have believed your act as well.”



Harry’s cheery manner dropped instantly. “Remember that I’m doing this for my friends. Can I leave now?”



“Just one more bit of business.” Scrimgeour paused. “How do I say this? Ah, yes, an idea has come to me. Harry, tonight I want you to pay a visit to the Leaky Cauldron to have a drink with Percy Weasley.”



Harry didn’t think he heard right. “Excuse me.”



“You see the only time people actually see you supporting the Ministry is when you’re here. I want the public to see that you are on friendly terms outside this facility with one our staff”preferably one of mine, and one who you’ve had previous relations with.”



He eyed the Minister as if he was mad. “Percy and I haven’t spoken in nearly three years. We haven’t been on the best of terms since he gave his support to those who called me and Dumbledore deluded.”



Scrimgeour smiled. “Which is why having a drink with him will show that you’ve put aside all misgivings, and have truly given your support to us. Meet him tonight around eight ‘o clock.”



Fuming in knowing he had no other choice, Harry left the office without another word. He only gave Percy the slightest of glances. Percy met his gaze, and it seemed he had already been told about the plans, and he didn’t look happy about it either. Harry continued on to the lifts, and when one arrived, he found Tonks waiting inside. The Council saw it fit to provide Harry with some security due to Dempsher’s treachery.



“How’d it go?” she asked the doors to the lift.



Harry didn’t say anything. He waited until the lift got to the Atrium to say, “Leaky Cauldron. Tonight at eight. Also, Dempsher got a note that intrigued him.” Harry had to tell the Council of all the things the Ministry was making him do. He then got off, and looked back at Tonks, who winked and pressed the button to a different floor. The grills slid closed, and she went up.



After that, Harry went back to the entrance, where he Apparated back to Grimmauld Place. Down in the kitchen he found Ron sitting there after going through another day of his duty. Instead of asking him as usual what he was up to, Harry decided to tell him what happened.



“And then he tells me I have to have a drink with Percy, and look like mates,” Harry complained to Ron a while later. The two of them were sitting around the drawing room playing a game of chess, while Hermione was out. Ron looked to be thinking about more than just the game and Harry’s problem.



Ron scowled. “Having to spend time with that git just because of us. Sorry, Harry…. Knight to E3,” Ron said, part of his mind still somewhere else.



“Don’t worry about me.” Harry then smiled as he saw his opening. “Pawn to E3.” The little foot soldier then beat the knight of his horse, and dragged him off the board. “Check.” Harry shooed away Crookshanks, who was looking for a chance to pounce.



Suddenly the door burst open and Hermione stomped in distracting both of them. Harry quickly grabbed Crookshanks in mid jump. He was too close to finally beating Ron to let the cat mess it up, and Harry deserved some sort of highlight in the day.



“You’re uncle is one of the most infuriating people I have ever met, Harry,” she boasted angrily.



“You just noticed?” Harry asked confused.



“Honestly, the next time the Order has me baby sit him while he’s at work I’m demanding shorter hours.” Hermione took a seat close by. “Even though I was sitting in the corner quietly under an Invisibility Cloak he still sneered at me as if I was dry rot.”



“Put it out of your head for now,” Ron advised, putting almost all his attention on her. “Take the bishop, will you.” Harry smacked his forehead as the queen wrestled off his man in robes. His plan of action was ruined.



“It’ll take me a while,” Hermione said, Crookshanks leaping to her lap.



There was a pause before Ron said, “Then why don’t you tell me about it over a few drinks?”



Harry now focused all his attention on the game. Besides, with Hermione distracting Ron, he should have the match in the bag.



“Are you serious?” Hermione asked excitedly, a large smile coming to her face.



“Yup,” Ron said, as Harry dealt him a blow. Ron barely retaliated.



“So you really are!”



Ron nodded. “By this time tomorrow I’ll be handing in my resignation.”



“You’re quitting you job?” Harry said, taken completely off guard. Crookshanks made another dive, and Harry just stopped him. “Your job that you won’t tell us about.”



“If the Council approves I’ll tell the both of you what I’ve been doing,” he answered, not meeting their gazes.



Harry looked at Hermione questioningly. “But how could you tell?”



“I just said I’d invite her out for a pint when I decided to quit,” Ron said for her.



“Want to go now?” Hermione asked him. “I have nothing else to do.”



“I think we should,” he said, getting up. “Besides, if we leave now we won’t have to have a run in with Percy.”



“Why would Percy be there?” she said, getting up as well. The two of them seemed to have completely forgotten Harry was there.



“I’ll explain on the way.”



“What about the game?” Harry protested. He didn’t want to finally win by forfeit.



“Knight to D5,” he responded just as he left out the door with Hermione. “Checkmate.”



And Harry just sat there staring in disbelief as his king became completely surrounded without any place to go. Crookshanks finally landed on the board scattering the pieces.



Harry then stomped upstairs to his room, and waited until it was time to leave. Great, he thought, putting the game out of his mind, Ron having no job to distract him meant he’s going to be drooling over Hermione without distraction. But it was better, he figured. Ron obviously didn’t like what he was doing, or else he wouldn’t quit.



When it came time to go, Harry sucked it up, and left Grimmauld Place for the second time that day. He then Apparated to Diagon Alley, just outside the pub. Once he entered, Tom greeted joyfully, “Mr. Potter! Haven’t seen you since you came in last year!” He probably hadn’t seen many customers since Valentine’s Day. It seemed Ron and Hermione had already left.



More like a month, Harry thought. “Butterbeer, Tom,” Harry ordered, pulling up a stool. He considered downing a firewhiskey, but he thought better of developing the habit.



“Why so down?” Tom asked concerned, giving him a flask.



“Bad business,” he answered, immediately taking a swig. Harry took a look around, but didn’t see Percy anywhere. He just wanted to get this over with.



Tom cocked an eyebrow. “Thought things would be going pretty well with you supportin’ the Ministry ‘n all.” Around them, the pub started to slowly fill up. Percy should be arriving soon.



“That didn’t exactly give me much happiness,” he let slip out.



Tom leaned offering a sympathetic look. “Go on. Spill.”



Harry didn’t know what made him do it, but it was finally time to tell someone else about his little problem. “First you have to swear to me not to tell anyone else,” he whispered seriously.



“’Course.”



“Remember those two major disturbances last November?” And from there Harry began to tell Tom everything about the Minister in quiet. About how he threatened to prosecute his two best friends for saving lives, and how Scrimgeour forced that statement out of him. Harry, of course, didn’t say anything about Henry Dempsher”that was strictly classified by the Order. And now he was at the pub for the sole purpose of continuing the fraud.



“Your friends were the two that were here earlier on date, right?” Tom asked, eyes wide.



“Tall red head, and a shorter one with curly hair?” Tom nodded. “Yup.”



“But how can they be so calm?”



Harry sighed. “They feel bad about, but there’s nothing they can do.”



“You can’t be serious,” Tom said.



“Tell no one about this,” Harry repeated. “If this went to the public, the Minister would go after my friends.”



“Secret’s safe with me,” he said, shaken. “Refill on me.” Tom took the flask, and came back with another. Maybe Tom could come in handy to when Harry decided to call in Cuffe's favor.



The door to the pub opened, and Percy came in looking sulky. He spotted Harry, and took a seat next to him. “Butterbeer, if you will, Tom.”



“You do all the talking, and I’ll pretend to listen,” Harry told him, sipping on his drink. “Despite what you heard, I don’t want to be here.”



Percy sighed as he took his drink. “Think I want to? Haven’t been this uncomfortable since last Christmas.”



“I know discomfort, Percy, and trust me, this isn’t remotely close to being back at my house. I’m just peeved that I have to drink with a person I considered a friend, and then sided with the people who called me a loon.” Harry took another sip.



“Don’t just judge me like that, Harry,” he responded. “It was the best opportunity for an advancement in my career.”



Harry now looked him right in the eye. “So your career was more important than friends and family?” he asked angrily, but made sure on one else could hear. They were, after all, supposed to look friendly towards one another.



“Of course not, but what other choice did I have?” Percy said. “Siding with you wouldn’t have helped one bit. After the incident with Mr. Crouch, I needed something to get me back on track. When Fudge came to me with the job, it seemed too good to be true.”



“It cost you your family! You should’ve seen your mum after you broke her heart. Fred and George tried to cheer her up by telling her the truth and called you a right git. They couldn’t lie and say you’d be back.”



“If they just sided with the Ministry at the time””



“If they sided with the Ministry just to keep you around, then Voldemort would have had more people deciding to ignore him and make it easier for his takeover. And your brothers and Ginny wouldn’t play dumb just to make you happy, so your parents would’ve lost them.”



Percy jumped badly, readjusted his glasses, and said, “He was exposed, Harry. That’s all that matters.”



Harry gave him a piercing look. “He had a year to prepare himself, Percy. A bloody year! That’s unforgivable on the Ministry’s part. And what’s more unforgivable is that you tried to turn Ron against me.”



Percy huffed. “You know about that? I sent that letter at night in hopes of it being kept secret between the two of us.”



Harry scowled. Percy didn’t even look like he felt any remorse about that damn letter. “Git,” he muttered. An hour ago Harry didn’t want anything to do with Percy. Now he wanted nothing more than to hit him”to hit Scrimgeour for making the both of them be in each other’s presence.



“Sticks and stones, Harry. After Fred and George a snide remark made by you doesn’t mean anything.”



As Harry’s thoughts brooded on the letter, there was one question that ate at him. “Tell me, Percy, when you told Ron that Dumbledore and I were touched in the head, was that you talking or the Ministry?”



Percy put down his drink, and stared into space. “The Ministry at first”the stuff about focusing on his career was all me, though. But eventually I decided to believe what the Ministry said. I decided to believe it because I didn’t want to believe you.” He ran fingers through his hair. “You weren’t there, Harry. You weren’t there for all the fear, for all the secrecy, the distrust. I was young back then, and I was scared. I didn’t want to believe that it was all coming back.” Percy looked right at him. “Believing the Ministry was so much easier, you have to understand.”



“Well I don’t!” Harry told him fiercely. “What about Bill, eh? What about Charlie, Fred, and George? I’m pretty sure that they were old enough to get a grasp of the situation just as you had. And they all believed Dumbledore and me. They believed us because they knew we were right, and they decided to do something about it this time around.”



Percy shook his head. “My reasoning wasn’t all that uncommon, Harry. A lot of people didn’t believe because they simply didn’t want to.”



“And what did you do when you were forced to believe. Forced to come to the realization that I’d been telling the truth for over a year?”



“I accepted it very grudgingly.”



“And why didn’t you come back to your family after you accepted it?” Dumbledore had already answered that question, but Harry wanted to hear it straight from Percy’s mouth.



“Because I couldn’t face them,” he answered. “After calling them liars for a year, and turning my back on them every possible way, it didn’t feel right going back.”



“They would have forgiven you”or at least your mum would have.”



The grip Percy had on his flask tightened. “I may regret my fallout with them, Harry, but I’m not looking for forgiveness. All I was doing was taking the path that made the most sense. You-Know-Who coming back was not just a frightening thought but also an illogical one. That made it easier not to believe you and call you insane.”



“So you regret calling me insane?”



“Yes, but again I’m not looking for forgiveness. All I was doing””



“”was taking the path that made the most sense,” Harry finished exasperated. “Still doesn’t make it right.”



“And I’m trying to right my wrongs,” Percy retorted. “Look, do you think I wanted to go by the house last Christmas? No, I didn’t. But I did it anyway because helping the public keep calm by getting the Minister to you was part of my duty.” He sighed. “And I regret what I did to mum that time as well…. For that I do want forgiveness. That was the best moment to try and reconnect with the family.”



“And that’s why you came here,” Harry figured. “It was your duty to be seen here having a good time out with ‘The Chosen One’, was it?”



Percy looked away. “And you’re here on duty too, right? But not to Minister, but to Ron and Hermione.”



Harry paused. “So he told you.”



“No, I put two and two together. Their court date being cancelled the same day you pledged your support was no coincidence.”



Harry shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. And you still support Scrimgeour?”



“Have to. The Ministry is our only hope. Trust me, if there was any other way to stick it to the Death Eaters instead of sitting here, then I’d like to know. What I did in the past was a mistake, and I want to make up for it.”



An idea popped into Harry’s head. A crazy, insane, and super risky one, but an idea nonetheless. It may all even be a setup by the Ministry, and Harry had no proof to think it was a good idea. Still, Harry leaned in saying, “So you’re saying that the only reason that you’re with the Ministry now is because you think they’re the only hope?”



Percy looked at him curiously. “Yes, before I thought they were right, and that You-Know-Who didn’t really return. Now I want to make up for it by doing whatever I can against the Death Eaters, and my desk job is the only way I know how. Where are you going with his?”



Harry took a quick glace around the pub. “How much does the Minister trust you?”



“Enough with all the things that is required of me. That’s about it.”



“Any dirt?”



Percy’s eyes widened. “You want me to betray his trust, and help bring him down!” he said so only they could hear.



Harry grinned. “That’s the jist of it.”



“I can’t do that! Not only will it be going against authority, but taking down the Minister would be paving the way for the Death Eaters.”



Time to throw caution to the wind. “Ever heard of the Order of the Phoenix?” Harry whispered. “Trust me, with them in the way, the Death Eaters taking over won’t be all too easy.”



“Are they that effective?” Percy asked cautiously.



“Yes, we are. Who do you think were the first to respond at Godric’s Hollow? Helped save the Mallings? Took down the Death Eaters at Kartley? Freed those prisoners in Bacton? And the tip to move in on Hastings, and the attack on the prisoner transport didn’t come out of thin air.”



Percy looked convinced, and slapped the counter enthusiastically. “I’ve read things in a file or two I was told to burn. What can I do?” Now this was the brother that the twins always wanted.



Harry raised his almost empty flask. “Just be at the Burrow tomorrow.” If Harry no longer found himself under Scrimgeour’s thumb because of Percy’s information, and Ron and Hermione became safe, then all will be forgiven”even if he didn’t want it. Plus, it’d be nice to see Mrs. Weasley happy to see her family back together.



Percy raised his. “I’ll be there.” The two of them toasted lightly, and downed the rest of their drinks. “Looks like this plan of that idiot Dempsher didn’t turn out so bad after all.”



Harry choked on his butterbeer.

Back to index
A Turn for the Worst by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
as a heads up, chapter 23 is giving me some problems. i'll try not to take too long with it.
Harry was coughing up his drink hard. The sudden spasm had surprised Percy, who was in the process of patting his back. “You all right, Harry?” he asked, giving him one more thump. “What got you spooked?”

Taking a deep breath, Harry asked urgently, “What did you say?”

“I asked you what surpri””

“Before that!”

“If you’re all right.”

“Before that!”

Now Percy looked really confused. “About us having a drink was actually a good idea?”

Harry grabbed the neck of his robes, and pulled him down so that his face was next to his. “Before…that,” he said more quietly, his teeth gritted. He already knew what Percy had said, but Harry was praying that he heard wrong. There was no possible way those words had come out of Percy’s mouth.

“That this was Henry Dempsher’s idea?” he asked, confirming Harry’s fears. “Why? What’s wrong?”

Harry breathing became more labored. He started turning around on his stool to look at the people in the pub”but that was it! Since when were there so many people having drinks at the Leaky Cauldron after Voldemort was exposed? Sure there must have been a handful of security from the Order and the Ministry, but there were too many people.

“But the Scrimgeour told me this was his idea!” Harry said, keeping his voice down.

Percy cocked an eyebrow. “No, I was in the Minister’s office when the idea was proposed to him by Dempsher.”

“When exactly?”

“It was before you came in today.”

Harry then remembered the note that Dempsher got, and how he left in a hurry. Could Dempsher somehow have gotten to speak with a Death Eater after leaving? Then something else came to mind.

He eyed Percy fearfully. He just couldn’t be, Harry thought horribly. “Percy…you called Dempsher an idiot, didn’t you?”

Percy huffed. “Well he is. Honestly, how he could have forgotten to send the Aurors to Godric’s Hollow is beyond me. Ever since then I’ve did everything in my power to get him to run a smoother operation. Dempsher seems rather annoyed, but it’s for the good of the people.”

Harry heart was now thumping so hard that it just might jump out of his chest. So all this wasn’t the publicity stunt that Scrimgeour thought it was! It was all a scheme of Dempsher’s to kill two birds with one stone: capture Harry, and do away with Percy. He grabbed Percy around the elbow, and tried with all his might to Apparate. But it was no use. And surely Tom wouldn’t put an Anti-Disappariation Jinx around the Leaky Cauldron since it’s already common courteously to Apparate a ways away.

“We have to go,” Harry declared, getting to his feet, and dragging Percy along. All around him faces started to look in their direction, and a few got slowly got out of their seats. How many of them were Death Eaters waiting to make their move?

“Despite our plotting, Harry, we can’t leave yet,” Percy protested quietly, unable to break the grip. “We’re being watched.”

Harry forced him to the walled courtyard, and closed the door behind them. “More than you know,” he said, taking out his wand, and pointing it at the door. “Colloportus!”

“What do you mean?” he asked, his voice cracking from the panic.

As Harry tapped the correct sequence of bricks, he said darkly, “Dempsher’s a spy for the Death Eaters.” Percy barely had time to react before Harry dragged him through the opening portal into the deserted Diagon Alley. Since it was getting dark the shops started to close early, and the stand operators were packing up. As they ran Harry kept on trying to think of a happy thought to conjure a Patronus to summon backup.

“But there’s no way”!”

“Avada Kedavra!” a voice cried out.

Harry pulled Percy out of the way, and they jumped over one of the stands that sold the Dark repelling amulets. The clerk then ran away in panic as the Killing Curse blasted away the sign of the stand.

“Believe me now?” Harry asked loudly, and catching sight of Percy’s red hair. That’s it, he thought. Raising his wand to the air, thinking of Ginny, and praying someone would see it, he shouted, “Expecto Patronum!” A silver stag erupted from the end of his wand, and lit the darkening sky.

“Get reinforcements!” a harsh voice ordered as the stag departed.

Percy pulled out his wand, got to his feet, and shouted, “Stupefy!” The jet of red light that blasted from it hit its mark. With a squeal the owner of the voice was brought down. Harry was about to say something, but Percy’s eyes widened, and dropped down yelling, “Get down!”

Five or six shouts of the same curse followed, and behind them the stand was blown to bits. Splinters falling all around them, Harry and Percy started to run.

“Reducto!” Harry kept on shouting, sending the spells towards the enemies. He and Percy had now taken refuge in the entryway of Quality Quidditch Supplies. Beyond that the Death Eaters kept on shooting curses and jinxes at them wildly. Percy took the liberty of providing Shield Charms. Just then back down the alley the back wall to Leaky Cauldron exploded in a cloud of dust and pieces of bricks.

A new barrage of spells issued from the cloud of debris, taking down some of the Death Eaters. The ones that still stood began to focus their efforts on the new fighters from the Order and Ministry alike. To Harry’s dismay the people that appeared through the dust first already looked tired and battle worn. The bit of the pub that he could see from his angle was practically demolished with bodies littering the floor. The wave of fighters had to first take out the Death Eaters stationed in the Leaky Cauldron.

What Harry was about to say next went against all he believed in. “Percy, we have to find a place that doesn’t have the Anti-Disappariation Jinx! We have to run!”

“But we can’t just run!” Percy argued, putting his back to the wall.

“Damn it, Percy, we’re the targets! Dempsher planned this so you could be killed and me captured! Stupefy!” Harry sent a Stunning Spell at a Death Eaters trying to sneak up on someone. “If the Death Eaters get us they win!”

Percy hesitated for a second, and then nodded. “On three, then,” he said. “One.”

“Two,” Harry took over.

“Three!”

The two of them then jumped out of their cover, and started sending spells and curses wherever they saw an enemy. Numbers on both sides were already dwindling. If they could just get a surge of fresh people, then the Death Eaters would face an early defeat.

Harry and Percy ran as fast as they could down the alley towards Gringotts. If they could get past that, then maybe they could Apparate away. But that was put of the question when sounds of Appariation erupted in front of them. There, twenty or so Death Eaters appeared, and one of them jabbed his wand up in the air. Now they surrounded with no hope for escape by Appariation.

Before even one of the new foes could fire a spell, Harry and Percy immediately skidded to a stop, and doubled back quickly. Then even more spells began to fire their way. Looking for some kind of cover to shield them until help arrived, Harry spotted Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions.

“Reducto!” he shouted, blasting away the window along with the displays. Grabbing Percy by the collar, he practically threw him inside and followed.

“What do we do now?” Percy asked in a panic, crouching in the space beneath window display. Harry pointed towards the back of the shop, and keeping down the two of them scurried their way past all of the robes and mirrors.

“You, you, you, you, and you,” one of them ordered from outside. “Get in there, and get Potter. Kill the other. We’ll wait out here to make sure they don’t escape.”

Hiding in the shadows, they could see five enemies stepping cautiously through the broken window wands up. They all split up, and looked around everything that could be used as a hiding place.

Then getting an idea (it wasn’t the nicest but they had to cut down the enemy’s number before help came), Harry beckoned Percy forward. Staying as low as possible, they made their way around the shop trying not to touch anything that gave away their position. For once Harry was glad about who he was because that was the only reason that the Death Eaters weren’t throwing Killing Curses wildly.

Only with pure luck were Harry and Percy able to make it back towards the front of the store. Under the window display, Harry told him quietly, “Shoot at them outside when I give the signal.” Percy nodded, and Harry went to the other side of the window display.

Ever so cautiously, and hoping the Death Eaters would be foolish enough, he raised a bit of his wand over his head, and pointed it at the enemies outside. Levicorpus! Harry thought, which was followed by the cry of surprise of the one he got. “Now!” he shouted out loud to Percy.

Percy then got to his feet, and shouted, “Stupefy!” After he fired the spell, his eyes widened, and he threw himself back down.

First the Death Eaters in the store sent their own spells in the general area where Percy was, missing him completely. After that there were cries from outside of, “Avada Kedavra!” Numerous jets of green light then zoomed over his head and into the shop. And as Harry expected, he heard as some of the Killing Curses hit the enemies inside.

“Stop it, you fools! Stop it!” the leader outside yelled angrily. Harry figured that the distraction he caused at first caused confusion with those waiting outside. Then when Percy shot spells of his own, their first instinct would be to send a barrage of Killing Curses into the store, most likely hitting their comrades depleting their number by a quarter instantly.

But there was a flaw in his plan, since most likely all of them would come into the store to come after them. But then outside there were yells of pain, and spells being thrown. “Avada Kedavra!” they finally heard a Death Eater shout.

“Move out of the way!” cried a familiar voice. “Reducto!”

They both looked at each other, and stood up to see a spell shooting out of George’s wand. It then hit the enemy that had most likely shot the Killing Curse. And he wasn’t alone, either. Along his side were Fred, Ron, and even a few of his workers from their shop! On the ground were no less than four Death Eaters”most likely from sneaking up behind them for the first strike. And with those killed inside the store that made the two sides about even. Excluding Ron, it looked as if a special task force in magenta robes were called up. Whenever a spell hit one of them, the shield hats, cloaks, and gloves they were all wearing effortlessly bouncing them back.

The worker Harry remembered to be Verity was fighting especially hard. “Impedimenta!” she yelled fiercely. Verity looked over a Fred. “Mr. Weasley, look out!” She shot a curse at the Death Eater that almost took out Fred.

Not wasting another second, Harry and Percy got out from their cover, and helped in the fighting. Rightly, none of the other Weasleys gave Percy any sort of grief. There was a great danger to be dealt with, so all that mattered was that they were on the same side.

“Harry! Percy!” Fred yelled, throwing them some hats. “Put them on!” The second that Percy put on the hat, a spell hit him, but it was deflected back at the conjurer.

Then somehow finding himself teamed up with what was probably a new employee of the twins, Harry shot curse after curse, spell after spell in hopes of getting past their foe’s defenses. As the fight went on, Harry was thankful that he remembered some of the useful tips he got from Hermione’s Standard Book of Spells, Grade Seven. His stance, timing, and incantations actually made a difference.

“Ferrous!” Harry shouted. His spell was able to hit the enemy in the stomach as if being punched by massive block of iron.

“Stupefy!” the worker in magenta yelled, finishing off the foe.

“Expelliarmus!” another Death Eater cried. The spell sent the worker’s wand flying out of his hand.

“Get it! I’ll hold him off!” Harry told him. But instead the worker pulled something out of his pocket, and threw at the enemy. The thing caught him completely off guard, and it exploded right in his face with a loud noise. The Death Eater then dropped his wand, and staggered around disoriented while cupping his ears. “Stupefy!” Harry shouted, finishing the job. He then looked at the worker curiously.

“Decoy Detonator, Mr. Potter,” he answered with a smile. “For far more uses than the name gives it credit for. Always keep one with me just in case.” The worker grabbed his wand, and went back to battle.

Before Harry could even ponder where that person got the idea of using that product in such a fashion, there was a gust of wind that blew off his hat followed by something hitting him on his left side. He fell over gasping for breath, and then someone said, “I’ve got him! Give me”oof!”

“Damn it, Harry, be more careful!” Ron told him harshly, helping Harry to his feet. He was hearing a coat, hat, and gloves just like the rest that protected him from serious injury. The worst thing he had was a small cut along his cheek. Around him the fight was practically a stalemate. But Fred, George, and everyone else were still fighting strong without giving up. Thanks to the Shield Charms they were able to hold their own brilliantly, and had the common sense to get out of the way of an Unforgivable Curse. It was then that Harry noticed someone missing by Ron’s side.

“Where’s Hermione?” he asked worriedly.

“After I saw you Patronus, I told her to get to headquarters and ask for help,” Ron answered. “But that was too long ago.”

“I’m sure”” He noticed a ball of green light coming up behind Ron, and Harry quickly threw himself and Ron to the ground. “Impedimenta!” The spell went for its target, but was blocked.

“Thought that was funny, did you, Potter?” the Death Eater said scathingly. “Tricking my men into killing their own?” He ripped off his mask to reveal the pale, twisted face of Antonin Dolohov.

“Halkous!” came two cries with the same voice. After the two spells were blocked, Fred and George stepped up looking angrily at Dolohov.

“Ready to get some payback for uncles Gideon and Fabian, George?” Fred asked his twin, wand at ready.

“Yeah,” George responded, readjusting his hat. “You know, I would’ve very much liked to have gotten to know them.” The two of them then simultaneously went on the offensive. They both fought with a vigor that Harry had only seen in the running of their business.

“You’re related to the Prewetts?” Harry asked Ron, after taking cover.

“Mum’s side,” Ron answered, taking off his scarf and putting it around Harry. “I’d get a little revenge too, but Fred and George already have Dolohov covered.” And that wasn’t a lie. The twins were putting up such a good fight that Dolohov barely had time to cast any nasty spells. He may have been good, but it still took him four others to take down the Prewetts, so two-on-one against him couldn’t have been his specialty.

Harry and Ron then went back to helping out the employees of Weasley’s Wizard Wheazes, and Percy”who surprised Harry with some fighting skill. Whether it was practice or just instinct he didn’t know.

Over the next five minutes, Harry began to notice that the fighting near the Leaky Cauldron seemed to heat up. When he left that spot only about a five or six enemies were left standing outnumbered by the security that was originally in place. More jets of light and screams of pain started issued from that direction, and Harry wanted to go there and see what he could do. But he was currently engaged in a duel with another Death Eater.

“When’s the Ministry going to send more people to help?” Percy wondered out loud.

Just then the fighting at the beginning of Diagon Alley began to get closer and closer. It seemed that the Ministry had already sent reinforcements to quell the fighting taking place, but they were just met by even more Death Eaters. Their fighting was going nowhere, and Harry knew it. And eventually the two separate battles became one.

He was starting to make out some of the familiar Aurors that he’d seen in his trips to the Ministry. Kingsley Shacklebot was fighting over by Flourish and Blotts, one Harry was introduced to only as Prangley was having a hard time with two foes, and another was in just as much trouble. They were greatly outnumbered, and help needed to some fast.

That was when he heard sounds of Appariation issuing from farther down the alley past Gringotts. And with that a surge of people without any sign of black on their robes came up to the battle to join the fray. Harry’s spirits soared! The Order finally came.

“Continue up the alley!” Sturgis Podmore ordered, leading about five people. “They need our help!”

Lupin could be seen helping out the worker with the Decoy Detonator, and Hestia Jones came out of nowhere to take out Harry’s opponent. Even Hagrid came to do battle, and started to toss around some enemies.

“All righ’, Harry?” he asked, knocking another out of the way.

“Better than ever!” Harry answered, sending a jinx another foe’s way.

But even though the arrival of a fresh wave of forces had given a boost in morale to everyone fighting, it didn’t change the fact how numerous the Death Eaters had become. If nothing was done, then the battle might go on for another day.

“Harry!” Hermione’s voice rang out through the fighting.

“What’re you doing back here?” Ron asked her loudly.

“Shut it, Ron. I wasn’t about to sit back and let everyone do the work.”

Ron took off his coat in a hurry, and shoved it onto Hermione. “Don’t take it off!”

“Sorry it took so long, but the Council was busy putting together a plan,” she explained after a word of thanks. “Harry, you have come with me and get safe. If they get you they win.”

“That’s only half”” Harry started to say.

“Tell me later,” she interrupted, grabbing his robes and dragging him along. “Ron, cover please?”

She then started to take Harry to the boarded off Florean Fortescue’s. Hermione blasted a hole in the wall, and dragged him inside with Ron making sure no one came in after them.

“That you, Hermione?” Trenton Perch then came into view with his wand raised.

“Yes…are you sure you want to do this?” she asked apprehensively. “You know what’ll most likely happen, and you’re still a great help to the Order.”

Trenton shook his head in remorse. “I drew the short straw.” Then from his robes he withdrew two flasks, and then suddenly plucked a hair from Harry’s head.

“Ouch.” Harry suddenly understood. “No!”

But Trenton raised his wand, and slammed Harry against the wall unable to move. “Sorry, but I have to do this.” He pinched Harry’s nose, but he wouldn’t open his mouth. Harry wouldn’t allow someone else to take his place. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before his lungs started to scream for air. He tried to hold out as long as possible, puffing his cheeks in defiance. But eventually his body took over, and Harry exhaled and inhaled loudly. That was when Trenton forced the foul smelling Polyjuice Potion into Harry’s mouth and down his throat.

After a minute or so of uncomfortable transformation, Harry once against saw the blond bags falling over his eyes. In front of him, Trenton added the hair he took into the other flask. The potion inside sizzled and went from murky brown to sludgy yellowish color. Trenton raised the flask, and downed it. He dropped the flask as he started to transform, but he eventually turned into another Harry.

“You can’t do this,” Harry said in a voice that wasn’t his. “We can win this fight!”

“We can,” the new Harry said, “but that’d take too long. And the longer you stay and fight, the more chances you have to get captured.” He then turned around, and passed a bewildered Ron to go back outside and fight.

“Sorry, Harry,” Hermione said, removing the charm placed on him. “But if they capture you the Death Eaters win. We had no other choice.”

But Harry barely listened to her. He just took off his glasses, and sprinted back into battle in hopes of finding Trenton and get him out as well as Percy. And who knows, the potion only lasted an hour, and maybe he could Trenton avoid being captured for that long.

“Wait up!” Ron called, emerging from the ice cream parlor with Hermione. “A sacrifice was just made, so leave before it goes to waste!”

“If you want to help someone, help Percy!” Harry shouted at him. “He’s been marked for termination by the spy!”

Both Ron and Hermione gasped. They both then nodded, and went off in a different direction. Meanwhile, Harry kept on looking for himself.

The battle around him had spread all over Diagon Alley by that point. He could see duels taking place inside of Flouish and Blotts, Quality Quidditch Supplies, and Magical Menagerie. Some bright lights from firing a wand were even coming from Knockturn Alley. On the ground were the bodies of both friend and foe alike. Harry wasn’t able to locate Trenton in the mess, but he did see Bethany taking on three on her own fiercely.

“Take that, you bastard! That too!” she shouted continuously, throwing spell after spell at her enemies. And just like when they took down Draker, she had two wands in her hand both firing different curses and jinxes at the same time. In short, she was giving them hell.

But Harry still dove in to give her support. “Stupefy!” Harry shouted, causing one to loose his balance.

And before Harry could deliver the finishing blow, Bethany already sent a curse to knock the enemy out, and summon a Shield Charm at the same time.

“Imedimenta!” she yelled, grazing a Death Eater. She turned over the wand in her other hand quickly to send a jinx behind her to get the other that was trying to be sneaky.

“Reducto!” Harry cried, blasting away the enemy.

And with that done, Bethany suddenly swept on Harry kissing him lightly on the lips. “Owe you one, Trent.”

Before she could go, Harry grabbed her, and said, “You should know something.” And as Harry began to explain the situation to Bethany, she began to shake.

“That idiot,” she muttered. “He’s noble, brave ‘n all, but he’s an idiot!” Bethany then ran off in look for Trenton in Harry’s form. The real Harry wasn’t far behind her. She looked even more desperate to find him than Harry did, so Bethany had a far better chance of finding Trenton. He just couldn’t let the Death Eaters kill him in spite just for switching places with the real target.

In hopes of finding him the two of them kept on running around all of Diagon Alley. Along the way they were able to help other in need of service, and with Bethany’s little trick, they were able to catch plenty of enemies off guard.
“How d’you do that?” Harry finally had to ask, after they successfully took out another.

“You know how some people can write with both hands at the same time?” she asked, breathing hard. Harry nodded. “Same thing.”

After maybe a half hour more of fighting, the two of them started to get worn down. The charm on the shield hat was wearing down as well, probably due to excess of curses that have been thrown at him. And if that was happening to Harry, then the same probably went for the others who had them. The battle had to be won before any of the employees could get seriously hurt.

That was when they spotted Ron, Hermione, and Percy dueling two enemies outside of Ollivander’s. They may have had numbers on their side, but those two Death Eaters were more than a match for them, and what made it worse was that they all lost their Shield Charms.

“We have to help!” Harry told Bethany. “Percy’s on their hit list.” She nodded, and they were about to help when more enemies snuck up on them blocking their path.

Since it wasn’t the two of them jumping in on the enemies, the duel lasted a lot longer than the others. Their best option for taking out a single one would be to fire three spells at one target, but that wasn’t an option. If they only focused on one, then the others would be free to attack.

“Pumalus!” an enemy shouted. The curse got past Bethany’s defenses, and hit her left arm hard.

“Ah!” she yelled in pain, dropping the wand in her left hand.

Another curse was shot at her to finish her off, but Harry got in the way, yelling, “Protego!” His Shield Charm was able to bounce back the curse, giving Bethany ample time to regain her composure.

She then retaliated with a spell from her right wand. “Stupefy!” Her left arm only hung uselessly at her side.

Out of the corner of Harry’s eye, he saw another Death Eater run up to where Ron, Hermione, and Percy were still fighting. He yelled, “We’ve got Potter!” Bethany and Harry gasped. They were too late.

“About time!” one said in a female voice. Just then she made easy of work of Hermione and Ron by blasting them aside. The Death Eater then made a slashing movement across Percy’s chest, yelling, “Dicorga!” Percy stood still there for a moment, coughed up blood, and toppled to the ground.

“PERCY!” Ron bellowed at the top of his lungs.

“Morsmordre!” the female Death Eater shouted, sending the Dark Mark into the sky.

“Reducto!” Ron shouted, sending the spell at the killer.

Laughing, she merely blocked it, and ran away. And she wasn’t alone. Nearly all the Death Eaters in Diagon Alley began to drop the duels they were engaged in, and ran away as well. Then a barrage of curses and jinxes began to follow them. A dozen or so were brought down, but the rest blocked them, and continued to run.

Many people including Bethany started to chase them before they got a chance to Apparate away. Harry, on the other hand, went over to where Percy was lying with Ron and Hermione over him.

“C’mon, Percy, hang on,” Ron said, holding Percy’s head up. Harry couldn’t take his eyes off the horrible sight, made ten times worse by the green light flooding the scene.

“Too…late,” Percy murmured, a little more blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. “Ron…sorry.”

“What happened?” Fred and George were those that were chasing the fleeing Death Eaters when they saw the scene in front of them. The two of them were battle worn, and seeing their brother in the verge of death couldn’t have made things easier.

“It’s not too late,” sobbed Ron. “All we have to do is take you to St. Mungo’s and they’ll fix you up there.” Somehow Harry knew that Ron didn’t believe that. Everyone that was present knew that.

Percy’s breathing became heavier, but that only seemed to be doing more harm to him. Harry could hardly believe what had transpired. He had just convinced Percy no more than an hour ago to come to their side”to reconnect with his family. But all that came crashing down because of Henry Dempsher.

Eventually the breathing stopped, Percy’s eyes closed, and there was nothing any of them could do about it. Ron then broke down and began to cry. Fred and George looked away in pain, tears flowing as well. They may have all taken their fair shot at Percy’s name, but that didn’t mean they stopped caring about him.

“We need another one who needs medical attention!” someone who spotted Percy yelled. Then a group of people ran up to them and got Ron to back off. They then carried away Percy from the Anti-Disappariation zone to take him to St. Mungo’s.

“Come here,” Hermione said, embracing Ron to give him comfort.

“What happened here?” a deep voice asked. Harry looked to see Kingsley Shacklebot running up to them. He had multiple injuries on him, but it seemed he declined medical attention to get things under control.

“Percy Weasley was seriously injured,” Harry answered.

Kingsley looked from him to the Weasleys and Hermione. “Get them to the hospital, Trent. I’ll alert the rest of the family.” Harry was surprised to find that he still looked like Trenton. He had completely forgotten about the Polyjuice Potion.

Harry nodded all the same. “Sure. And make sure you take good care of anyone in magenta robes.” The twins’ employees deserve some sort of reward for the effort they put up. Kingsley said he understood and left. Harry turned to the rest, and told them they needed to get to the hospital.

The reception area of St. Mungo’s was literally packed with injured people. Healers were running around everywhere doing their best to treat everyone who was injured. Many people were lying on the benches screaming in pain, some were just lying there in a blood curdling silence, and still others that needed immediate operation were taken to the upper floors.

“Where’s Percy Weasley?” Fred and George kept on shouting. “Where was he taken?” Ron was keeping silent, and didn’t look up from the floor.

They finally found someone who had the information they were looking for. Harry and Hermione were going to follow the twins, but stopped when they saw Ron sitting on a waiting bench in silence.

“Ron, don’t you want to see how’s he doing?” Hermione asked.

“I don’ wanna be there,” Ron muttered in agony, shaking his head.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, and he saw that she understood too. So, they both sat on either side of Ron trying to comfort him. As the minutes flew by the effects of the Polyjuice Potion finally started to wear off. His blond bangs receded, and his skin became less tanned. Now he started to sorry about Trenton. By now he should be turning back to normal as well. What were the Death Eaters going to do to him after they found out that “The Chosen One” they got was a fake in disguise? He didn’t want to think about it.

It was about that time when the rest of the Weasley family Apparated into the reception area. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Bill (Fleur was with him) spotted them right away. They asked for an explanation, it was up to Harry to tell them what happened to Percy. After he told them what operating room he was being taken to, they rushed away in a panic.

About twenty minutes later a Healer came up to where they were sitting looking sorrowful. “You here for Percy Weasley?” he asked. They nodded. “We couldn’t do anything…. Sorry.” After he let the message sink in for bit, the Healer left them to grieve in peace.

Ron was still sitting with his head bowed. Suddenly his hands began to shake, and he surprised Harry and Hermione by saying, “Percy was a git. He was git for turning his back on us, for making Mum cry, and trying to turn me against my best mate.” He then looked up looking livid, tears still coming. “But as soon as I found out he was to be killed none of that mattered. All that mattered was that he was my brother.” He stood up with a yell, and kicked the bench hard. “HE WAS MY BROTHER!”

Harry and Hermione were taken back by his outburst. “And then,” he continued in rage, “that foul woman came up and killed him!” Ron then broke down again and cried once more. “I failed Percy, and she killed him,” he sobbed, putting a hand over his eyes.

Hermione embraced him once more. “You’ll get through this, Ron. I’m sure she’ll get what’s coming to her.”

Then Harry remembered. The curse used on Percy was the same that killed that Order member back at Kartley. And that voice. She was the one that Dempsher gave the information to.

Dempsher, Harry thought scathingly. This was the fault of Henry Dempsher! And Harry wasn’t about to him go on with his treachery any longer. Forget ruining Rufus Scrimgeour”that was only an added bonus now.

He left Ron and Hermione alone, and made his way to the overwhelmed welcome witch. “Do you have mail service?” he asked, making sure she knew it was important.

“Uh, yes, we do incase we need to get messages to family members.”

“I’ll need your two fastest owls. It’s urgent!”
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Sudden Load by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
sorry for the wait. i hope the next few chapters turn out beter than the last. i'm starting to feel the pressure, so all reviews are appreciated.
Scandal in the Ministry of Magic


“I am here to officially renounce the support I gave the Ministry of Magic over two months ago,” said Harry Potter following the devastating attack in Diagon Alley. Many were shocked to learn of this interview since popular belief was that he’d been captured. “The disgusting assassination of Percy Weasley shows a clear incompetence, and I can no longer give out false hope to the public. I demand that this matter be investigated! I want to know the person responsible for this tragedy!”

And that person was found only hours after this interview was given. Irrefutable evidence was brought forth to the Auror office that Henry Dempsher, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, was responsible for the horrific event. As it turns out he has pulled an Augustus Rookwood, and had been passing along information to the organization known as the Death Eaters led by You-Know-Who himself.

“This is an outrage,” the Minister told reporters early in the afternoon. “I assure you that this will not go unpunished. With the support Harry Potter is showing us…” The reporter at the interview then interrupted and told Minister Scrimgeour about “The Chosen One” publicly withdrawing his support. “There is nothing I can do in the wake of such a crisis,” the Minster continued after a few moments of stunned silence. “I have no choice but to continue fulfilling my role.”

Henry Dempsher was immediately taken into custody, given a speedy trial before the Wizengamot, and was escorted to a cell in Azkaban for a lifetime. He had been charged and found guilty with conspiring against the Ministry, assisting in the death of Junior Assistant to the Minster Percy Weasley, and treason.

But that is not the end of it. Following Harry Potter’s withdrawal, the inn keeper of the Leaky (continued on page 8A)

Harry sighed sadly and folded up the three day old paper. He had reread it numerous times just to make sure that it all really happened. Back at St. Mungo’s he sent one owl to the Order telling them that they have absolutely no choice but to expose Dempsher, or else he’d quit and search for the Horcruxes on his own. The other went to Barnabus Cuffe to call in that favor. But none of that changed the fact that Percy was killed.

Having to face the rest of the family after Percy was pronounced dead was a nightmare. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley took it especially hard that they lost a son; worse after Harry told them he was able to turn Percy around. Fred, George, and Bill took the loss as a large blow as well. When Ginny and Charlie were contacted they arrived at the Burrow in tears and shock. But none of the siblings seemed to take it as hard as Ron. After all, it was Ron that had fought along side Percy, tried to protect him. Unfortunately his effort weren’t enough, it turned out that woman has just toying with them, and Percy ended up dead. Ron barely spoke after his burst of anger, and was mainly comforted by Hermione.

Including the ones Harry helped take out, three more Death Eaters were killed in the fight. Along with them almost two-dozen other Death Eaters were captured. Antonin Dolohov was found tied upside-down near Fred and George’s shop, and he was screaming his head off. “Our Patented Daydream Charms sometimes had the opposite effect during testing,” the twins said after Harry asked them about it.

But that was only a trivial victory compared to the sixteen lost on the side of the Order and Ministry. While trying to provide support for those at the start of the alley, Sturgis Podmore got hit by a Killing Curse. Harry learned from Tonks that Drew, the Auror that unfroze them back at Godric’s Hollow, was also among the dead. The fourteen others were faceless names to Harry, but their deaths brought sorrow to him nonetheless.

But the one that wasn’t listed among the casualties was Trenton Perch. His stomach churned uncomfortably when he thought of him and the sacrifice he made. Almost as bad was seeing Bethany in quiet tears when she arrived at St. Mungo’s to get her left arm treated. There was no hint that she and Trenton had a thing, and Harry never saw them together, but that didn’t mean it didn’t exist. Now she (along with Harry) had to brood on all the horrible things that would happen to Trenton after the Death Eaters discovered he wasn’t really Harry.

As for the Minister himself, he got into a lot of trouble after Tom brought the accusation forth. After that all Harry had to do was confirm the story with The Prophet with a simple yes. And to make it seem as if punishing Scrimgeour wasn’t part of his goal, Harry added that he didn’t want to make a fuss about it after the battle. The Minister was then asked to step down while the case was being investigated. Any actual sentencing (if it came to that) wouldn’t come for a few months.

“You okay, Harry?” Ginny asked him tenderly, putting a hand to his shoulder. They were at the graveyard and the funeral had just ended. While people were still weeping over Percy’s grave, Harry went over to a nearby tree alone to clear his head.

Harry reached up to grasp her hand. “I should be asking you that.”

“Well, I’m fine,” she answered.

“Me too.”

Ginny looked over at the grave where the amount of people around it diminished. “Any final words for him?” Harry nodded and went to stand over the grave with the casket inside.

“It’s because of you, Percy,” Harry said to him sadly. “It’s because of you that Dempsher was brought to justice, and Scrimgeour has what’s coming to him.” He paused. “Wish it happened another way, though.” He then tossed inside the newspaper with the article. “See you in the next life.” That earned him a smack on the arm from Ginny. “Hopefully not too soon.”

“You were still my brother, Percy,” Ginny said, tears leaking out. “You may have peeved us all, but we never stopped loving you.”

A little while later the earth was put over the casket, and everyone started to go home. Harry, Ron, and Hermione went back to the Burrow. There was a toast to honor Percy’s memory, and they tried to reflect on the good times for the rest of the day. Ron, it seemed, couldn’t. He still looked too hung up.

“You did the best you could,” Fred told him. “Besides, he was our brother too.”

“Just because we stomped on his name didn’t mean we care whether he lived or died,” George offered.

“You…just don’t get it,” Ron finally spoke up. “I was there and I failed to save him. You two had Dolohov to take down”and you succeeded.”

The twins offered their sympathies, and went off to bed. Slowly everyone did so as well until only Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were left downstairs.

“You need some rest, mate,” Harry said. “You’ve barely slept the past two days.”

Ron sighed, and stood up. “I agree, but I’ll have to go one more night without sleep.”

Harry and Hermione looked at him in alarm. “Why?” they asked urgently.

“I need to do what I can against Voldemort even if I don’t like it,” he explained. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.” And with that he went out the back door.

There was a pause. “He didn’t quit,” Hermione said, shocked. “He said he was going to quit but he didn’t quit. Why on earth didn’t he quit?”

“He just said it,” Harry told her in remorse. “If whatever he’s doing is somehow putting a good enough kink into Voldemort’s plans, then it’ll be payback for Percy. Before he didn’t have too much sentiment to stay on.”

Ginny looked from one to the other. “Is this about Lupin coming over during the holidays?” They both nodded. “And you still don’t know?” They nodded again. She exhaled and said, “I’m going to bed.” Harry and Hermione looked at each other, and followed her upstairs.

Ron came back the next day amid a flurry of questions from parents and siblings alike. Those that weren’t there for the talk the previous night were panicked at his sudden absence from breakfast. But Ron kept silent, and barely showed emotion. In fact the most that he did show were when Charlie and Ginny had to leave that night.

“’Bye, Gin,” Ron said, giving her a warm hug. “Keep telling those snobs at Beauxbatons who’s the boss.” A nearby Fleur huffed, and it didn’t bother Ron.

Ginny saw that, and said nicely, “Be careful with whatever you’re doing.”

“Sure you won’t spill?” Charlie asked, coming to say his good-byes.

“Sworn to secrecy.”

“Take care,” Harry said to Ginny, giving her an innocent hug.

She let out a small smile. “I should be saying that to you.”
“We must be off, Ginny,” Fleur told her. “Madame Maxime only gave you a few days to mourn before you ‘ave to return.”

“See you, Harry,” Charlie said, shaking his hand. “Until next time. Only hope that Natalya’s not too sore at me for taking too much time off without her.”

“She should understand,” Harry assured him. It was, after all, his brother they were burying.

After the three of them left, Bill decided that it was his turn to go as well. “I’ll stop by more often, so don’t worry about me,” he said to his parents. Ron, Fred, George, Harry, and Hermione all decided to stay at the Burrow for a while longer.

“As if we have a choice,” Fred said, bitterly.

“Yeah, half our shop was demolished in the fight, not to mention the flat. Practically all of Diagon Alley is going reconstruction.”

Over the course of the next two weeks, things went by quietly. The Weasleys kept in a silent mourn, and Harry and Hermione followed suit. Ron had continued to go out every couple of nights, and there was nothing anybody could say to stop him. Either way, he did come back in tact, and looking both slightly satisfied and demoralized at the same time.

“Ungrateful child,” Mrs. Weasley kept on muttering under her breath, helping Dobby with supper. It was getting on in the afternoon, and Ron was usually home in the morning. “Should know better than to keep such things secret.” Despite her anger, Harry could sense her worry.

“Haven’t seen her on the edge in a while,” Fred pointed out.

“Yeah,” George took over. “Can those potatoes get any more mashed?”

Harry looked at them tiredly, and said, “You’ll get used to it. Besides, before Christmas Ron went out every other night. Now it’s just two or three times a week”even less sometimes.”

“That won’t stop Mum.”

Just then there was a tapping on the window. An owl standing on the windowsill with a letter clamped in its beak. A nearby Hedwig hooted in annoyance, and Harry couldn’t blame her since its been ages since he sent her on a delivery. Still, Mrs. Weasley went to let the owl in.

She took a quick glance at the letter, sighed, and said, “Harry, Hermione, Minerva wants the both of you at headquarters.”

Harry looked up from his meal confused. “Why?”

“Doesn’t say,” Mrs. Weasley answered, looking strained. “You should go.”

“If it’s anything dangerous, we’ll be careful,” Hermione assured her.

“Whatever it is, good luck,” George said, giving them a small salute.

“You know, Mum, we could make sure they were safe if you’d stop””

“Absolutely not!” Mrs. Weasley raged.

When another argument erupted, Harry and Hermione took their leave. They Apparated to the alley, and walked the rest of the way.

“What d’you reckon it is this time?” Harry asked.

“No clue,” she responded. “I just hope it’s worthwhile.”

Harry was about to agree, but when he opened the door to headquarters a shouting voice grabbed his attention.

“What the hell, Remus!” Bethany yelled, looking positively incensed. She was in the middle of the hallway yelling right at a patient Lupin. “What the bloody hell was the operation cancelled?”

“I already told you, Geoffrey, and everybody else, Beth: it would’ve been suicide,” Lupin said calmly. Harry and Hermione were looking from one to the other in confusion.

Bethany inhaled and exhaled hard. “Of course there were risks involved. But I was willing to stick my neck out!”
Lupin crossed his arms. “Since you won’t just accept it, fine I’ll tell you. The operation was scrapped because Trenton was moved.”

She looked flabbergasted. “But when? Why?”

“He was moved not too long ago,” he answered sorrowfully. “Aside from that, all I know from the owl the lookouts sent was that they took Trent away, and was replaced by many Death Eaters. We would’ve been running right into a trap.”

Bethany's eyes widened. “So they knew we were coming?”

Lupin nodded. “That’s the only explanation. I don’t know how but they got wind of our rescue attempt?”

“Rescue attempt?” Harry finally blurted out.

“We found out where Trenton was being held,” Lupin told him. “A rescue operation was planned, but as you heard it was scrapped.”

“Were Potter and Granger going to be part of it?” Bethany asked suddenly.

“Um, no, why?”

“Then whatever they’re here for, I want in,” she demanded.

“Sorry, Beth, but their mission has to be ran by only a few people,” Lupin objected.

“Then the next opportunity you have to stick it to the Death Eaters arrive, I better be part of it.” Without another word, Bethany stormed passed Harry and Hermione, and left headquarters.

“So how come I wasn’t told about this?” Harry asked Lupin accusingly. He wanted to help save Trenton too.

“You see why when you go upstairs,” Lupin responded, heading towards the door. “Right now I have to get more details from the lookouts.”

Wanting to know what he was called in for, Harry started up the stars with Hermione. When they reached the Council room they saw McGonagall sitting alone at the table. And it wasn’t until Harry heard the snoring that he realized Ron was sleeping on one of the chairs in front of the table.

“They finally arrived, Mr. Weasley, so will you please wake up!” McGonagall snapped, causing Ron to wake up with a snort.

“I’m up, I’m up,” he grunted, looking back at Harry and Hermione. “Morning.”

“It’s the afternoon,” Hermione said, holding back a grin, and taking a seat next to him. “How come you didn’t go back to the house?”

Ron rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “After my usual all-nighter, I was told to rest here to be briefed on another mission later.”

“So what’s all this about?” Harry asked, sitting down.

“Very well, Mr. Potter,” McGonagall began, lacing her fingers. “There is no point in leading you on, so here it is: You-Know-Who has set up a dragon encampment up north, and I’m trusting the three of you in a mission to help destroy it.”

“What!” the three of them shouted out loud. Harry didn’t think he heard right, Hermione looked scared and confused, and Ron was now fully awake.

“But it makes no sense to send us,” Ron pleaded. “What do we know about dragons”much less destroy a whole encampment of them.”

“Not only that, but it doesn’t seem possible that Voldemort could set up such a thing,” Hermione told her. “You’d have to keep them under control, feed them, and keep them healthy. Besides, how come we haven’t heard anything about it until now?”


“Because, Ms. Granger, You-Know-Who hasn’t used them yet”but we suspect he will soon.” McGonagall turned her eyes to Ron. “And to answer you’re question, Mr. Weasley, we don’t intend on sending three teenagers to attack all by themselves.”

“So why are you telling us for?” Harry inquired, breathing a little easier after having such a load dumped on him.

“You all shall assist in destroying the encampment, but with covert sabotage. That is where Natalya Olivetti comes in.”

“Wait, Charlie’s girlfriend?” Ron asked, surprised.

“Yes. We called her in a few days ago, and had told her about the situation. Though it was the extremist of reluctances, she agreed to brew a potion that would kill the dragons that are posing a major threat to Muggles and wizards alike.”

“So, what, do we give this potion to the dragons or something?” Ron asked, arching an eyebrow curiously.

“Invisibility Cloaks will be provided, I assure you,” McGonagall answered. “Any further question can be answered by Ms. Olivetti.”

“But how come we were chosen?” Hermione said. “Surely there are other members like Hagrid that would be more used to this kind of thing.”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Granger,” McGonagall said, sighing. “But we can’t take the chance that Hagrid will try and put a leash around a dragon instead of killing it. And even though Ms. Olivetti was reluctant as a dragon medic to take part in this, she is still knows that we have no other choice.”

“That doesn’t answer why we””

“Because the three of you are one of the few members of the Order that know her. Though some wizards don’t bare many hardships to part vampires, unlike you, they’ll probably have some trouble following her instructions to the letter.”

Seeing that the meeting was coming to an end, Harry started to stand back up. “All right, we’ll just wait for her to pick us up, and””

“Sit back down, Potter,” McGonagall interrupted. Harry obliged. “You three shall be meeting Ms. Olivetti at a Muggle town east of the encampment right now. This mission is going to be executed tonight.”

“Tonight?” Harry said in confusion. “But you said the encampment was up north. Even by broom it’ll take hours to get there!”

McGonagall gave him an unsettling smirk. “Three…two…one.” At that instant it felt as if a hook was jerked forward behind his navel, and he fell head first into a mass a swirling color and light while Harry’s entire body was stuck to the chair.

When the chair landed, Harry was thrown off and he landed on a dusty floor. Beside him her heard two more chairs fall along with Ron and Hermione’s grunts.

“About time,” a voice said, followed by Harry being picked up almost like a doll. The only thing that prevented his feet from leaving the ground was that the woman the arm belonged was just a bit taller than him. “It’s almost sunset, so we have to leave now.” Natalya then went over to Ron and Hermione to pick them up as well.
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Sabotage by Phoenix 86
“Bloody, hell,” Ron groaned, getting to his feet. “McGonagall could’ve warned us the chairs were Portkeys!”

“Well, you were there all day. How could you have not known?” Hermione said.

“Please, Hermione, with your smarts, I would expect you to spot one out in a second!”

“Does ‘ordinary objects’ ring a bell?” she retorted.

“There is no time for this!” Natalya hissed. “Follow me.” As Harry regained his senses, he saw that they ended up in a small, dark room. The window outside showed that the sun was going down, and the town he could see in the distance was a ways away. Natalya then led the three of them out a door into the main room of the house they ended up in.

“If I remember right, you’re the one in charge,” Ron started, scratching the back of his head. “Could you elaborate on what McGonagall said?”

Natalya stopped, took a deep breath, and turned around to face them with a sorrowful look. “First let me tell you how sorry I am about Percy. I was with Charlie when he got the letter, and he was very devastated.”

Ron didn’t meet her gaze, and said, “Appreciate it.”

“Now down to business.” From the corner of the room she picked up two bags and two Invisibility Cloaks. “I saw this encampment for myself yesterday. It’s real! I counted at least twenty-eight dragons with my own eyes sitting at the bottom of a small valley. It’s about an hour’s walk from here.”

“And do we take them down with whatever’s in there?” Hermione asked, pointing at the bags.

Hesitantly, Natalya nodded. “You have no idea how reluctant I am to do this”I swore an oath never to use my teachings for this!” She paused. “But they are unfortunately better off dead than in the hands of the enemy.”

“And how exactly do we use whatever’s in the bag?” Harry inquired.

In response, she opened one of them, and took out a succulent looking roast. “I can say with confidence and guilt that when a dragon eats this, it’ll be its last meal. I’ve been soaking it in my potion for over a day, so it has absorbed it. We get under the Cloaks, and go forth with our mission.” Natalya shoved the roast into what must have been the magically expanded bag. “Ready?” she asked, tossing one of the bags at Ron, who almost lost balance after catching it.

“S’pose I’ll be ready as I’ll ever be,” Ron said, hitching the strap over his shoulder.

Running his fingers through his hair, Harry said, “Let’s get this over with.” At least this time around he didn’t have to dread the prospect of facing off with a dragon one-on-one. After Hermione nodded, the four of them headed out the door.

They headed west in the direction of the dying sun on a dirt path. Soon enough they continued forward off it, and they had to draw their wands out.

“Can I ask you something?” Hermione asked suddenly. Natalya turned her head back. “If you have a problem with doing this, then how come you just didn’t brew up the potion, and have someone else put the dragons to sleep?”

“Because,” she answered, sighing heavily, “Charlie and I are really the best ones in the Order who knows how to deal with them. I met this half giant that takes an interest in them, but he’s really just an amateur.”

“Hagrid,” Harry, Hermione, and Ron chimed together. Harry still remembered how he tried to learn dragon care from a library book.

“Yes, that him. Anyway, it was bad enough that this had to happen now”there’s an outbreak of scale rot, and there’s another medic away that is visiting his sick mother. So, Charlie’s back at our encampment helping with the outbreak, and I’m here to make the poison and have the innocent creatures consume them.”

“You know,” said Ron, “they aren’t exactly innocent if those dragons were meant to cause mass destruction.”

Natalya immediately threw him a filthy look. “Hagrid may be an amateur who thought a dragon would make a good house pet, but at least he understood their soul! You have the common attitude that shouts ‘good riddance’.” Ron hunched over, and retreated a few paces back.

When almost all signs of human occupation were gone, and only empty fields were left, Natalya stuck her arm out to stop them. She produced the two Invisibility Cloaks. “Two under each. Ron, Hermione, take one. Harry, you’re with me. Hold hands, single file, keep quiet, I lead.”

Doing exactly as she ordered, they all proceeded forward. Soon enough the sun went down, and it was got a lot darker. Harry then had to hold on to Ron behind him, keep the tripping over the cloak, and try not to trip over anything on the ground. They walked for a good distance, and soon enough the hills around them became barren.

“When’re we getting there?” Harry asked quietly.

“We’re close,” she answered. “You should be able to tell since the earth is scorched.”

Over the next hillcrest Harry suddenly saw an orange flame shoot into the air. Somewhere behind him Hermione gasped. Ron said quietly, “Blimey!” They climbed up the hill, reached the top, and before his eyes was a terrifying sight: dragons! There really were dragons down there.

He couldn’t see them properly in the dim light, and they were far away, but there was no denying it. At the bottom of the hill were the small figures of over two-dozen dragons spread throughout a valley. The dragons fire breathing created quick shadows of what were undoubtedly Death Eaters keeping watch.

“So,” Ron said, his voice cracking nervously somewhere next to Harry, “what now?” Harry might not have been able to see it, but his face was probably no more confident.

“Avoid the enemy at any cost,” Natalya ordered. “Hermione and Ron, take the right half. Harry and I take the left.” She gulped. “Don’t get too close, and toss one of the roasts from under the close. After that close the bags securely. We meet on the other side of the valley when you’re through.”

Though he couldn’t see them, Harry could hear the sounds of Ron and Hermione cautiously moving down the hill towards their targets. Harry and Natalya looked at each other, and moved forward. As they crossed the gap between the bottom of the hill and the first dragon, there weren’t any Death Eaters that they had to maneuver by.

“So how do we do this?” Harry asked quietly, keeping down to make sure they had enough cover. In the dimming light, Harry made out the dragon to be not much bigger than the Horntail, but it had silvery look to it. It was just lying on the ground napping oblivious to its surrounding.

“Shush!” she hissed quickly, slowing her pace. The dragon’s head then snapped up, and began to look around in alarm. Natalya then put down the bag, and carefully took out one of the succulent looking roasts. The dragon began to sniff the air. “We clear?” she asked, closing the bag.

Harry took a look around, and said, “Yeah.” He then lifted the Invisibility Cloak ever so slightly off the ground. Natalya then chucked away the roast through the gap. The dragon then looked surprised by the appearance of the sudden meal, but stretched out its neck ate it anyways. It yawned, and went back to its nap.

“Sorry,” Natalya whispered to it, fighting back some tears. “Let’s go.”

As they continued down the lines feeding the dragons one by one, Harry started to look to his left and right at the other lines. Every so often he’d see a dragon’s neck look around in surprise, and then dive back down to the ground with its mouth open. There were no problems so far.

“Did you see that?” they suddenly heard. Harry and Natalya both panicked as two Death Eaters came their way.

“See what?” the other said, looking confused.

“I think that brute just ate something off the ground.” It was too close to comfort when the enemies passed them, and they couldn’t move lest the Death Eaters hear them.

“You’re seeing things, we fed it an hour ago.”

The first Death Eater scratched his head. “But I was so sure.” The dragon then licked its snout, and laid its head back down. “See! It always does that after eating!”

“Get over it. Probably only a bird.”

“But birds never come here anymore.” The second just waved him off and left. The first still seemed unconvinced, but followed all the same.

So vowing to be more watchful, Harry and Natalya continued onward. As they progressed, ever so often they caught glimpses in the distance of a dragon raising its head, and plunging down at the ground mouth open. At least that told them Ron and Hermione were progressing as well.

When they reached a dark green dragon, they went through the same routine. Harry and Natalya crouched down to open the bag of food. As usual the dragon sniffed the air, but then it looked in their direction.

“Head down!” Natalya said in an urgent whisper. Just then the dragon opened its mouth wide, and shot out flames! “Fuego Progar!” Then the flames passed around them as if being deflected by an invisible shield. “Feed it!”

Wasting no time, Harry grabbed one of the roasts, and tossed it out from under the cloak. The dragon blew out some fore fire into the air, clearly feeling uneasy. But eventually it calmed down enough to spot the food, and scoop it up.

“Stupefy!” some Death Eaters shouted, blasting spells at the still rather wild dragon. Using the distraction, Harry and Natalya went on.

She smirked. “They are nothing compared to Charlie.

Finally they reached the last one. The bag had become considerably lighter since only a few were left. The golden brown dragon with spiked chin didn’t seem to notice their presence. They both crouched down again, Harry lifted the cloak, Natalya threw the roast, and the dragon ate it peacefully.

“Let’s get out of here,” Harry said breathlessly, not wanting to spend time there any longer. It took almost an hour of crouching around to feed all of the dragons. His calves were tired, and behind Natalya’s emotionless face he could tell she felt the same way.

Natalya nodded. But they barely moved three steps towards the large hill in front of them before she stuck out her hand to stop him. Harry was about to ask what was wrong, but she put a finger to her lips. Then Natalya looked to her left with a curious expression.

It was then that Harry began to hear the voices of Death Eaters coming their way! He desperately tried to get Natalya to move, but she wouldn’t budge. Slowly her curious expression was turning into pure rage as she stared at the enemies coming their way.

“Sure you can’t stay any longer?” one of them said. “There really is no need to go back.”

“Have to,” the other said in a Greek accent. “If I play my cards right I should be able to get inside of the Order of the Phoenix soon.” He chuckled, and Harry’s attention was totally on the Death Eater. “That blood traitor Weasley hasn’t said anything to me, but if I keep on pretending to be against the Dark Lord, I should be in.”

Harry had a fleeting suspicion that the Weasley the Death Eater was talking about was Charlie”it was reaffirmed by Natalya’s furious expression. And by the way her eyes were full of loathing, her fangs seemed sharper, and her fingers dug into the ground, it was obvious that it went way beyond a simple misplacement of trust. Harry was worried she’d act irrationally, so he put a hand on her shoulder.

“Hmph,” the first said, in disapproval, “were you serious when you told me about him and that half breed woman?”

The second nodded shamefully. “Yes, to further disgrace his bloodline, he actually began a courtship with it”I also suspect she’s part of the Order.” Harry had to practically hold down Natalya. They were under orders not to engage in combat. But holding her down was no easy task. She was easily loosing control of her human side, and wanted to extract her revenge. Harry guessed that it would’ve been nearly impossible for him to hold down a full-blown vampire. “Anyway, she’s the one that was gullible enough to cover my shift, so I better get back to the encampment.”

The two Death Eaters then went their separate ways. Since the Greek one was going up the hill, Harry wanted to climb up on another part of the slope. But when the fist Death Eater was out of sight, Natalya broke Harry’s grip, and took out her wand. She pointed it at the enemy going up the hill, and then his limbs snapped together and he collapsed.

“What the hell are you doing?” Harry asked, keeping his voice down. “The Council doesn’t want us taking hostages!” A few months prior Harry would’ve been aboard, but after so many quiet months with Draker, he no longer saw the point.

“We aren’t,” she snarled, moving him towards the petrified Death Eater. Natalya grabbed the enemy through the Invisibility Cloak, and began to drag him up the hill. They reached the top of the hill, and Ron, Hermione took off their cloaks looking confused. Natalya took off theirs too, and kept moving.

“What’s going on?” Hermione asked. “We were aren’t supposed to expose ourselves.”

But Natalya didn’t answer. She only picked up the Death Eater with one hand off the ground. After taking off the hood and mask with the other hand, she used it to wave her wand around, causing the enemy to go limp. Natalya then brought her lips next to his ear, and whispered dangerously, “Hello, Kostas.”

The Death Eaters yelped loudly, and stammered in terror, “N”Nat”alya! What”what are you doing here?” He was squirming in her grip with his legs flailing wildly.

“So this is what you call visiting your sick mother?” she hissed angrily. “I’ve been covering for you every month for almost half a year Kostas, and this is what you’ve been doing! I’ve been wondering how these dragons managed to stay in health.”

Harry gasped. Was that Death Eater the person she was talking about earlier?

“I was forced into this, Natalya, I swear it!” Kostas pleaded, sweating profusely. “They said they’d kill me if I didn’t help care for the dragons here!”

“I heard what you said when you talked with that other bit of filth,” she said furiously, tightening her grip to choke him further. “So I am nothing more than a half breed, am I?”

He squealed. “I will tell you anything I have learned during my time if you have mercy”ANYTHING!” he cried with tears of fear. “Please, Natalya.”

She brought her lips to his ear again. “I respected you before, Kostas, so I never told you that you have no usefulness outside dragon care. I doubt you know anything that is of any interest to us.”

Harry, Hermione, and Ron just stood there staring at the scene before them. They might have done something, but it would be no use. Natalya was so angry, there was no reasoning with her.

“I do, I DO! I’ve heard things,” he struggled to say.

“You used the skills we learned together for evil purposes,” she said, moving her lips down to his neck, baring her fangs. “Because of you I was forced to do away with innocent creatures, and that is unforgivable.”

“Can we let her do this?” Hermione asked Harry urgently.

“It wouldn’t be smart to get in her way when she’s peeved like this,” Ron said, getting in her way.

“LECTUN ISLE!” Kostas hollered suddenly.

That immediately caught Harry’s attention, and he shouted, “Wait!” Natalya looked from Kostas to Harry, and withdrew.

“Make use of the extension your life was given,” she whispered, throwing him down and pointing her wand at him.

“L”Lectun Isle,” he muttered, eyes closed and breathing heavily in relief. “Lectun Isle, Lectun Isle, Lectun Isle.”

“What is it exactly?” Harry asked, taking out his wand too. How come that Death Eaters said the first word of the spell Harry couldn’t get to work? “Tell me!” Ron and Hermione looked at each other in amazement.

“You don’t think…?” Hermione breathed.

Kostas took a deep breath and said, “Two months ago””

“The time you were gone for a week?” Natalya shouted.
He jumped and continued, “There is an island out at sea. I don’t know why, but it is very important to the Dark Lord.”

“Tell me more,” Harry immediately demanded.

“I don’t know why,” he whimpered. “It is only a desolate rock with buildings that was probably used as a facility during the first war.”

“More!”

“I heard talk among the Death Eaters,” he went on, struggling. “They don’t know much either. All I know is that the Dark Lord began having guards put on the island about eight months ago.

“You better have more, Kostas,” Natalya said.

“I don’t,” Kostas said, shaking his head in fear. “I didn’t explore. I just sat on the dock looking out for intruders. I don’t even know how to get there. I was blindfolded before being put on the barge steered by an Inferi.”

Inferi? Harry thought. And it was important to Voldemort?

Natalya picked Kostas back up by the hem of his robes. “Any more?”

“That is all,” Kostas stammered, shaking badly. “If you want more then ask Pendle Draker. It appears to me that older Death Eaters have more knowledge of this place.”

“Draker?” Natalya asked, looking at Harry.

“He’s an old Death Eater that we have in custody,” Harry answered. “We were hoping to get some information out of him”but how did you know we have him?” he said to Kostas in confusion.

“It is common knowledge,” he responded. “Please do now ask me how. It was just talk I’ve heard.”

“Is that all, Harry?” Natalya asked, moving her mouth ever so slowly back to his neck. Kostas started to whimper and squirm again, pleading for mercy.

“Stop it!” Hermione spoke up. “Can’t you see that he’s already beaten? Don’t stoop to their level.”

“He is just Death Eater scum!” Natalya raged told her, pulling away a bit. “He would not be any doubt in his heart if Kostas was going to kill you.”

“Just like you didn’t waste a second before deciding that his life was worth ending,” Hermione shot back. “If this was a fight to the death, I wouldn’t blame you killing him; but he’s defenseless. This wouldn’t be a just kill, it’d be murder.”

Inside Harry’s mind he saw the points of both Natalya and Hermione. From what Natalya said, the Death Eater Kostas only sounded like a grunt that was made useful by keeping the dragons in good condition. But that was it: by keeping the dragons in good condition, he was making sure they would be efficient killing machines when sent to towns.

“Damn it,” Ron finally blurted out, all eyes going on him. It seemed to Harry that an argument was also raging in Ron’s head. “She’s right. Sorry, Natalya, but it would be pointless murder.”

Hermione beamed at him, and Natalya scowled. “He is one of those that killed your brother!”

“And no one wants revenge more than I do!” Ron retaliated loudly, his nostrils flaring. “Percy died right before my eyes because I failed to save him. And as much as I’d like to see this scum dead, Hermione’s right: he’s beaten and defenseless, so it’d just be murder.”

Natalya exhaled and inhaled loudly. “Half vampires may have control over their nonhuman side, but you underestimate our hostility when angered so severely.” She ignored the continued pines of the Death Eater in her grip. “Kostas lied to me, used me, insulted me, made me do something completely against my nature”I won’t let that go so easily! I am not going to simply wipe his memory, and send him on his way. He may help in restarting this encampment.”

“Then turn him over to the Council,” Harry finally said. “I doubt they’ll keep him captive, but he will be disposed of in some fashion.”

“Besides,” Ron said, crossing his arms, “what would Charlie say to you killing someone in cold blood? He’d find out sooner or later.”

Natalya looked back at the fidgeting Death Eater with an angry but thoughtful glare. A battle seemed to rage in her mind for a few seconds before saying in frustration, “Cazzarola!” Then out of nowhere she pulled him in, and head butted him hard between the eyes. Natalya then flung the unconscious Kostas over her shoulder.

“Didn’t that hurt?” Hermione asked, concerned.

“Don’t forget what I am.”

“So I guess he’s coming back with us,” Harry commented.

“We’ll let him repeat what he told us to the Council. I have another idea of how to dispose of him.”

“What d’you mean?” he inquired.

“The dragons will be dead in a matter of hours,” Natalya answered. “The enemy will want to point fingers, and we’ll make Kostas think he betrayed them. Best way to hide out involvement in this.” Harry had some objection due to it being an all to familiar plan, but he decided it was best not to say anything. “Let’s get out of here. It’s a miracle we weren’t discovered.”

“Sounds good to me,” Ron said, picking up the bag that had leftovers.

“Leave them,” she ordered. “They only know of one person with the kind of expertise to make that, and that’s this slime. Most likely it will help to put the blame on him.”

Ron shrugged, and dropped it. The four of them then turned on the spot to Apparate back to the alley near headquarters.
Back to index
Different Tactic by Phoenix 86
After Kostas, the Death Eater repeated everything he had said to the Council, his memory was erased, and was replaced with one of him thinking he poisoned the dragons. He was sent on his way. It was a very vivid reminder for Harry of what Voldemort had done to his uncle, but he had no say in the matter. The Council did not want to keep a Death Eater around who was of no use to them, and decided Natalya’s plan was best. As for asking Draker about Lectun Isle immediately, it was going to be put off until the next day, giving Harry ample time to investigate a thought he had.

“I dunno, Harry, I’m having a really hard time believing that,” Ron said, thinking.

“You think I’m one-hundred percent sure?” Harry retorted. “It’s the best lead we have to finding him right now, and to a certain extent it makes some sense.”

He, Ron, and Hermione had just gotten back to Gimmauld Place. Everyone at the Burrow was probably expecting them back, but Harry sent a letter say otherwise. As for Natalya, she immediately left to return to Romania. She was curious about what Draker had to say, but Natalya was needed elsewhere.

“He does have a point, Ron,” Hermione offered, though she looked unsure herself. “I mean if the A was for his uncle Arcturus, then it would fit.” The three of them were in the drawing room, pouring over the Black family tree that still hung on the wall. Kostas had said the island was important to Voldemort, so it could very well contain a Horcrux. If they did find one there that meant that Regulus Black had to have some sort of tie with them, since it was in his book that Harry found the spell in. And Regulus Black was just one initial short of R.A.B. The island, after all, was called Lectun Isle.

“I’m still not buying it,” Ron persisted. “Seriously, you would have to be important to know enough to find out about the Horcruxes if you were a Death Eater. And the way you said Sirius talked about his brother, I doubt he was important. He was just a bloody little coward that got in over his head.”

“He has a good point too, Harry.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Harry asked, irritated.

“Besides, if it really was Regulus Black, where did he hide the locket, eh?” Ron reasoned.

“Defiantly not here,” Hermione said, looking around the room. “The message R.A.B. left had to be written before Voldemort’s fall. It sounded as if they knew each other, so Voldemort could’ve very well known about this house. And before the Fidelius Charm was put over this place he could have easily walked in and retrieved the locket.”

“Yeah, and I’m sure Kreacher would have been more than happy to help out his old master’s master,” After seeing Hermione’s glare, he quickly added, “Sorry!”

“Look,” Harry went on, “I’m not saying that it’s fact, alright? All I’m saying is that if we do find a Horcrux on the island, then we have to follow this.”

“I can work with that,” Hermione agreed.

Ron shrugged, saying, “If you say so.”

Before heading off to bed, Harry decided to get back into the habit of scouring Necessary Purification by Means of the Dark Arts, for any clues leading to the origin of the spell. But aside from the message on the inside cover, and the signs of aging, there were no other marking in the book. Eventually Harry gave up once more in looking for answers in it, and had fallen asleep.

None of them got up until the late morning the next day, and after a quick breakfast provided by Mrs. Weasley’s recent care package, they went back to headquarters. Lupin and Moody met them in the front hallway.

“I have a new technique to find out if he knows anything,” Lupin told them, motioning to go down to where Draker was being kept.

“It’s not anything nasty, is it?” Hermione asked reluctantly.
“I wouldn’t allow you to be here if it was.”

“So what are you going to do?” Harry asked.

“You’ll see.”

When they got down to the basement Harry got his first look at Draker in months. His cheeks were as hollowed as ever, his skin was pale, and he seemed to have aged by years. Harry almost felt sorry for taking him in the first place. Baxer, who was sitting nearby, stood in their presence.

“What’s going on?” Baxer asked.

“Possible mission, Geoffrey,” Moody answered. “If you hear this you’re part of it, so I suggest you back off now.” Baxer gulped and shook his head. “Your funeral, whelp.”

All attention then went to Draker. “Well, well,” he wheezed, looking up at them with empty eyes, “I’m once again blessed to bathe in Harry Potter’s grace. What is it this time?”

“Alastor,” Lupin said. When Moody pointed his wand at Draker, Lupin went behind the chair Draker was tied down in and undid the ropes. Everyone including Draker was stunned.

“What’s all this?” he asked, rubbing his wrists. But Lupin didn’t answer, and waved his wand to make a tray with food appear.

“Eat up,” he invited.

Draker along with Harry, Hermione, and Ron put on a quizzical look. “It’s poisoned.”

“Nope,” Lupin said without a hint of a lie. “Just ordinary food.” There was a few seconds hesitation before Draker pounced on the food like a wild animal. After about seven minutes of devouring the meal, he put down the chicken bone he was chewing on.

“What’s this about?” Draker demanded, but looking fully satisfied.

Lupin made a chair appear and face down facing him. “Voldemort isn’t going to win, Draker.” There was recoil at the sound of the name.

“Don’t say the Dark Lord’s name!”

“Even so he will lose,” he persisted. “As long as there are people who stand against him, the Death Eaters won’t win. Understanding that now will be very beneficial to your future.”

That caught Draker’s attention more thoroughly. “Where are you going with this?”

“We have the resources to make you disappear,” Lupin said seriously. “To live out the rest of your life away from persecution from the Death Eaters and Ministry alike.”

Draker began to chuckle softly. “And all I would have to do is answer another question?” Lupin nodded. “You think…that after fifty years in his service, I would turn traitor just like that? Well I’m won’t, werewolf. So you might as well force it out of me! When the Dark Lord takes over he shall honor me for holding out this long! And then I’ll make sure that each and every one of you are dealt with.”

“He’ll find out that you told us about the forest,” Lupin shot back.

“That’s different!” he squealed, looking uncomfortable. Draker shut his eyes tightly before saying, “He’ll overlook that.”

“Even if that is true it won’t matter because Voldemort won’t win!”

“Yes he will!”

Moody took over, and pressed his wand tightly to Draker’s throat. “And who says we’ll let you live after he does take over, Draker?” he said menacingly. “If you don’t answer the question we’re going to ask, then we’ll just dispose of you here and now. We’re sick of this, Draker. Sick of feeding you the meager portions we give you, and sick of having to come down to make sure you’re still alive.”

“So here’s the thing,” Lupin began. “You answer our question, and we’ll take you out of the country and make sure you live out the rest of your days in peace. If not, then there are people in this organization that would be more than happy to channel their aggressions against the Death Eaters on to you.”

Draker’s breathing started to become heavier, and his eyes started to linger on everyone in the room. Finally, he said, “All I have to do is answer your question?”

“That’s it?” Lupin confirmed.

“Fine…give it to me.” Harry exchanged looks of astonishment with Ron and Hermione. Behind them Harry saw Baxer look pleasantly surprised as well.

“Tell us about Lectun Isle.”

“What did you say?” Draker asked quickly, his eyes wide.

“Lectun Isle. What is it?”

“But how did you find out?”

“That doesn’t matter. Just tell us.”

Draker gulped loudly, and bowed his head. “I was stationed there back during the first war,” he answered, his voice turning hollow. “I wasn’t the highest ranking there, but I still did my fair share.”

“Your fair share of what?” Lupin pushed on.

There was a pause. “You know how people kept on disappearing? Most of them ended up there.” Draker ginned smugly, probably knowing that the Order wouldn’t do anything since they needed him. “I believe one of your number...Caradoc Dearborn, I think...passed through there.”

“Don’t push it!” Moody growled, putting his wand to his temple.

Harry saw that Lupin’s nerve was struck as well, but he kept his cool. “Keep going.”

“Okay, okay! At the island experiments were performed.” At that Harry did recoil. Voldemort conducting experiments definitely wasn’t a good thing. “The Killing Curse didn’t come naturally to everyone, so alternative forms of bodily harm were created.”

Lupin scowled. “The deal still stands, Draker, so give us anything we can use.”

Draker looked up at the ceiling in thought. “When the Dark Lord fell, we destroyed all records of out involvement there lest it ever be discovered.”

“And how does that help us?”

“About two years before that,” he went on quickly, “the Dark Lord closed off part of the island to everybody. Just like the forest, he didn’t give a reason.”

“I don’t know,” Lupin said, looking unconvinced. “But it seems worth to check out. How do we get there?”

“On the east coast about thirty miles south of Sunderland. There’s an old harbor there if the seas haven’t claimed it yet.” Draker then cringed. “Even then there will still be an Inferi steering a barge stopping at the location. It won’t attack, so just get on, and it’ll take you to the island.”

“Can’t we get there by broom?” Lupin asked.

He shook his head. “Just that barge. Only thing that can get through the barrier.”

Lupin sighed, and looked up at Moody. “Anything else?” Moody shook his head.

“How’d it get its name?” Harry spoke up.

Draker frowned up at Harry. “As if I’d know something so trivial.”

“We’ll make you arrangements as soon this is done and over with,” Lupin told Draker, tying him up again. “You have my word.” He looked at Baxer. “As Alastor told you, Geoffrey, you’ll be part of the mission.”

“What!” Harry objected. He still remembered the performance that Baxer had put up back at Kartley. “Are you sure?”

“Harry’s right, Remus,” Baxer said, shaking a bit. “Don’t think I’ll be much help. I could leave now and pretend I didn’t hear.”

Lupin shook his head. “Look, just stay here until your shift is over.” He then went back upstairs, and everyone else followed. “We’ll summon you later.”

“Weasley,” Moody suddenly barked. “I know you’re off the Horcrux case, but you think you can go?”

Ron shook his head regretfully, surprising Harry and Hermione. “Sorry, but I’m due back tonight.”

“That’s fine,” Lupin responded. “Guess I’ll be going. And, Harry, I want Bethany to be part of this too. You heard her after the rescue mission was cancelled.”

“She doesn’t have to know about this,” Harry said.

“She could be helpful in case of trouble.” Harry thought about it and nodded. Besides, if Mundungus Fletcher went to the forest, why couldn’t she go to the next place? “And just like last time there should be a scouting party first. Alastor?”

Moody shook his head. “Scouting, yes. Party, no. I’ll check this harbor myself later today to make sure it isn’t a waste of time. I know a place in Sunderland, so if and when I’ve confirmed this mission is a go, the retrieval party can start there.”

“I’ll go with you,” Harry insisted.

“No, if this turns out to be reliable, then we don’t want you fatigued in the morning from the expedition. I’ll send you an owl telling you where to meet up.” Knowing he had no other choice, Harry nodded.

So that night after Ron left, Harry and Hermione stayed almost the entire night in the drawing room waiting for that letter. Harry once again picked up the book, while Hermione dozed off on a sofa.

“If Mudbloods persist to be a problem and you don’t want to implicate yourself, then Dementors are the solution,” Harry read, his stomach churning. “Have a cheery house elf go to a dank and miserable location to attract one, and have it lead the Dementor to the offensive one’s home.” Harry doubted that it would work if put into action, but the idea was still disturbing. Wonder how Hermione took it.

It was getting very late, when from down in the hallway Harry heard the chime of the doorbell. Hermione was then instantly woken up when Mrs. Black started her usual rant again. After shutting the portrait, they went to the door to find Lupin standing there.

“So I take it the information’s valid?” Harry asked excitedly, not caring that it was getting to be three in the morning.

Lupin nodded. “Alastor found the harbor Draker was talking about, and soon after an Inferi steered barge came into view. Let’s go, we’re meeting everyone in Sunderland.”

“And we go on from there?” Hermione said, as she and Harry went outside and closed the door behind them.

“Correct,” he answered, taking a quick look around and grabbing hold of them. He then Apparated them to a remote road and then lead them to a normal looking house. Since they it seemed like a rural area outside the actual city, and it was so late, the three of them calmly went inside.

Standing next to the fireplace in the living room was a serious looking Bethany, who noticed them coming in. “Had my doubts, but I guess this is the real thing.”

“More than you know, Williams,” Moody growled, hobbling into the room. He then stopped. “Where the hell is Baxer?”

“Just brief us now,” Lupin said. “This should be pretty straight forward.”

Moody exhaled impatiently, and said, “Sit down, all of you. I confirmed that there really is a harbor around the area Draker mention, and not too long after finding it a Inferi steering a barge docked there.”

Bethany put on a look of bewilderment. “A Inferi driven barge? All I was only told about the island. What kind of madness is that?”

“You-Know-Who’s madness, Williams. Their merely puppets that do the master’s bidding; the only reason people don’t have those foul creatures cleaning houses is because of the Dark magic.”

“So what’s the island like?” Hermione asked, with her fists balled up.

“No damn clue, Granger. But if the harbor exists, then so must the island. You four shall get on the barge, and start exploring the island. With any luck a Horcrux will be there.”

“Aren’t you coming with us?” Bethany asked pointedly.

Harry honestly didn’t mind, the fewer the better.

“I can answer that,” Lupin interjected, stepping forward. “We have no idea what the island is going to be like”basically if there is some sort of trap, then we’re going to spring it. So, Alastor is going to wait by the harbor with some other members of the Order incase we need assistance.”

Moody then withdrew what looked like four glass eggs, and handed one to each of them. “If you run into some trouble, throw these on the ground. A small bird will eject, and find its way straight to me.”

As Harry took his, he thought it would be a shame to shatter it. It seemed like the kind of trinket that a child would be punished for breaking. He pocketed it.

“So we ready to leave?” Harry asked.

The front door then slammed open, and Baxer stumbled inside. Lupin was about to say something, but Baxer put up a finger while he took a deep breath. “So…what did I miss?” Harry rolled his eyes, seeing what Hermione was talking about back at Kartley about being incompetent.

“Oh nothing, Geoffry, we just came back from the island and found a Horcrux,” Bethany said mockingly. “Now we’re having a little party.”

“Why are you so late?” Lupin asked. “You were supposed to arrive at the same time as Bethany.”

“Sorry, Remus, just had to take care of business,” Baxer responded apologetically.

“This late at night?” Hermione pointed out.

Baxer ignored her. “Anyone care to catch me up?”

She leaned into Harry’s ear, and whispered, “Probably slept in.” Harry had to agree.

Moody took out another egg and forced it into Baxer’s hands. “Incase you run into trouble,” he explained simply.

“Trouble?” he inquired.

“Just break if you run into it,” Moody answered, making for the stairs. “I want to rest up before I’m needed again, Remus, so take over from here.”

“Sure.” Lupin then turned to everyone. “We move out before dawn, and brooms shall be provided.

So for the next hour and a half, Harry just sat around waiting for the time to come. Just like he told Ron, if there really was a Horcrux on the island, then they have to investigate R.A.B being Regulus Black. Maybe he was more important than Sirius made him out to be.

“Can’t bloody wait ‘til this search is over, and we get storm You-Know-Who’s fortress,” Bethany said to him, her voice full of anticipation. “I’d do anything to have at it right now, and rescue Trenton and whoever else might be locked with him.”

“I have a much different target in mind,” Harry admitted. “Possibly two.”

She grinned. “If there’s anyone that deserves their revenge, it’s you, Potter.”

“It’s almost time,” Lupin announced after looking out a window. “Everybody out the back.” And from the closet he took out five brooms, which he handed to them one at a time. “I’ll lead. Harry and Hermione are to take the middle. Beth and Geoffrey take the rear.”

After getting into position, Harry stepped over his broom. And when Lupin gave the signal, Harry kicked up and rose along with the four other brooms. They first made their way to the nearby coast, and then turned due south.
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Lectun Isle by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
reviews would be really nice
As the sun started to creep up over the horizon, the five brooms tried to stay in front of it as much as possible. That way anybody that woke up early wouldn’t be able to spot them all too easily. They also kept high and near some cloud banks for extra cover.



About half an hour after taking off, Lupin gave the signal to descend. As Harry went lower and lower he began to spot an extension off the coast in the water. Soon enough he was able to see that it was a rickety old harbor just waiting to be swallowed by the sea. The land connected to it was a desolate beach filled with rocks that no family could have a holiday in.



After everyone touched down Lupin waved everyone over behind some rocks. “Come on. While we wait for the barge, we can’t take the chance of enemy will show up and spot us.” He then took each of their brooms, and vanished them with a wave of his wand. “No point in keeping these around.”



Harry looked out at the sea and tired to catch a glimpse of the island. But it looked as if nothing was out there except cold, choppy water.



“You know, they could already be on the island,” Hermione pointed out. “Kostas said Voldemort was having it patrolled for eight months.”



Bethany and Geoffrey cringed at the name. Lupin grinned as he looked over the rocks. “In that case we catch whoever’s there by surprise.”



“Sure hope this all goes as planned,” Baxer said, looking tense.



“Relax, we’ve barely started,” Bethany told him.



“Easy for you to say,” he retorted. “You’re so hooked up on that boyfriend of yours that you aren’t giving a second thought about falling into the water if the harbor collapsed.”



“Too right,” she said, slightly impatient. “Because after this it’s just a matter of finding out about a couple of initials, and then we strike.”



“It won’t be that simple,” Hermione put in. “I scoured the library at Hogwarts and didn’t find a clue about who he was.”



“Then we’ll keep on looking,” Lupin said reassuringly.



The five of them waited behind that rock for about an hour on the look out in case Death Eaters dropped by. They had no idea when the guards changed shifts, or how many escorted the replacement. Finally, through the mist, Harry was able to make out something drifting their way. And the lone figure on it seemed to be moving its arms mindlessly.



“Wait,” Lupin said as Harry tried to make his way towards it. “Let’s see if anyone else is on it so we can get the jump.”



When it got clearer the hairs on the back of Harry’s neck stood on end. The barge that he heard about docked on the harbor, and on it was a single Inferi. Its skin was completely pale, the arms were holding a ratty oar, and it looked as if the body was going to fall apart at any moment. The barge itself seemed to be in no better shape, barely looking like it could support another body.



They all waited there for another minute with the Inefri doing nothing but just standing…waiting. Finally after a while of staying completely still, it lifted the oar out of the water, and went to the other end of the barge putting it back in.



“Go,” Lupin ordered. The five of them then cautiously moved their way to the harbor with their wands up. One-by-one they climbed aboard when the Inferi began to row back the way it came with surprising speed. If Harry had to guess, it had the same exact routine even during the years after Voldemort’s first fall.



“Phew, this thing stinks,” commented Bethany, covering her nose and moving as far back as possible. “My guess it wasn’t just the Dark magic the kept the seagulls from picking at it. Doubt even they’d eat it.” The Inferi just kept forward and rowed like the Dark puppet it was.



“Really wish we could have followed it from the sky,” Lupin said.



Harry, however, didn’t really care about the stench. After so many years of doing nothing but steering the barge out at sea, it came as no surprise. If he had any chance to get smell the ones trying to kill him, he doubted they’d be any more pleasant. Harry just stared forward wishing for the barge to get him to the island faster. And if there was a Horcrux there, not only would it be another one down, but also they’d have a possible lead to R.A.B. He still didn’t consider Regulus Black a worthy candidate, but anything was possible.



Hermione then came up next to him with her arms crossed. “This may sound selfish,” she said, “but I wish Ron was here.”



“Wish I was here alone,” Harry said, not looking at her. “If this place has a Horcrux, I would’ve found it eventually.”



“Really?” she said skeptically. “What would be the chances that you would capture a Death Eater who patrolled the island, and that he’d find you so threatening that he would divulge such sensitive information?”



“Shut it,”Harry griped, annoyed in knowing Hermione was right. “Besides, I was right about the orphanage, wasn’t I?”



“Let me break it down for you,” she said, testily. “If you didn’t join the Order it would have taken weeks for you, me, and Ron to find it. And if you were completely alone then you’d be searching around London for months. It may have taken a while for the Order to pick up some sort of trail, but it would have taken you so much longer.”



“I know, okay?” Harry blurted out. “I know that letting the others into this made it go faster. Nobody knows better than me that the faster Voldemort is killed the better.” He exhaled heavily. “I just don’t want anyone to die doing the job meant for me.”



“Dumbledore may have passed this to you, Harry,” Lupin said, coming up to them, “but don’t be as conceded to think that we aren’t willing to lay our lives down for the cause.”



“I never said you didn’t””



“Two of my best friends were killed by Dark forces, and one was corrupted by them,” he interrupted. “Bethany lost her parents and an uncle. As for Geoffrey…well, I’m not exactly informed, but I’m sure he has his reasons for being here.”



Harry snorted. “Moody forced him.”



Lupin smiled. “Yes, but he joined the Order.”



All of a sudden it felt as if Harry was forced through a sheet of freezing water. As he cringed so did Hermione and Lupin, and the same went for Bethany and Baxer behind them less than a second later. When he recovered, Harry saw a landmass that appeared out of nowhere coming up in front of them. The Inferi just kept rowing towards it.



“Whoa!” Harry exclaimed. “When did that appear?”



“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Hermione said, looking straight ahead. “We passed through the barrier that Draker was talking about.”



“Damn it,” Behtany exclaimed, shivering. “It’s going to stink having to go through it again.”



“If we have to go through it again,” Baxer corrected.



Behtany threw him a dirty look. “Don’t make me throw you overboard.”



“Everybody down,” Lupin suddenly ordered. Everybody in the barge then dropped to their stomachs as Lupin supported himself on his elbows to look over the side. Harry looked over too to see that on the harbor ahead there was person there. When the barge got closer he saw that it was only a single Death Eater pacing around impatiently. Behind the Death Eater was a large wall with stairs leading up to the top.



“Why is he so jittery?” Harry inquired, producing his wand again.



“Well you would be too if you were stuck in this place,” Baxer said, coming over to inspect as well. “I know I would.”



“I see your point,” he agreed.



As the barge neared the harbor, the Death Eater seemed to grow more and more anxious. Harry could tell that his hooded eyes were on the Inferi, and he backed off slowly. In the barge Lupin tapped his Harry’s shoulder, and mouthed, “On my signal.”



When they finally docked, Lupin jabbed his thumb up, and both and Harry stood up shouting, “Stupefy!” The two jets of red light found their target knocking him off his feet.



“Everybody out,” Lupin told them, stepping onto the dock and ushering them all out. “Damn, we should have asked whether or not more than one person was stationed here at a time. Wands up!”



With Lupin taking the lead and Harry right beside him, the five of them moved forward cautiously. Along the way they tied up the unconscious Death Eater, and Bethany pocketed his wand incase she needed it later. There was no sense in taking any chances.



They all went down the dock with their wands at ready. The first priority was to check every inch of the area under the wall for anybody that they could have missed. The five of them then walked down it towards the bottom of the stairs. It was there that Bethany got in front, and climbed up step-by-step with her wand pointed up. Harry and Hermione guarded their rear just in case.



“Remember that feeling we got back at the orphanage and forest?” Hermione asked.



“Yeah,” Harry answered, knowing what she was thinking. “I have it too.”



When they reached the top, right in front of them, they saw was a bare, patch of land that lead straight to an aging building. And on either side of it was a large fence that blocked the area beyond it from the harbor behind them. There seemed to be no need for the fence to go around the perimeter since they were surrounded by water. The five of them then went on forward inside.



“What is this place?” Bethany questioned after entering. Around the building were fragments of filing cabinets, ashes, and rusted railing. There was no question that it hadn’t been used in years.



“I think this is where the people imprisoned were divided up,” Lupin said with distaste. He pointed at the three doors in the back of the building with signs under each. “Look: ‘torture development’, ‘murder development’, and ‘potions development’.”



“Not a pleasant place to be,” Harry said, stating the obvious. “And Draker wasn’t joking when he said that they destroyed all records of their involvement. What if the Horcrux that possibly could’ve been here was moved too?”



“I doubt it, but just to make sure check under everything here,” Lupin ordered, going over to the nearest pile of rubble. And there began to the first of what would most likely end up being many searches.



When nothing was found inside, the five of them went outside through one of the three back doors. Beyond them were three buildings that coincided with the three doors, and past those were several smaller buildings.



“Beth, go around the left side of the island,” Lupin said. “Geoffrey, you take the right. Check those structures that are on the corners of the fencing. Harry, Hermione, and I will go up the middle to check out the buildings. If you run into trouble, then break the egg and send up sparks.”



“See you on the other end,” Bethany said to Baxer, taking off.



“Yeah sure,” he responded, looking around uncertainly before leaving.



“And we,” Lupin told Harry and Hermione, “ will search every bit of the buildings here.” He pointed straight forward to the middle building that had to be for the murder development. “Let’s get started before some enemies show up.”



When they got inside all they found were cages on either side of the crumbling building that had bunk bed with many rows. Everything was covered in dust, the doors to the cages hung on their hinges, and the wood that it was made of was probably rotten. On the floor were an innumerable amount of worn out tread marks.



“These were probably caused when Death Eaters had to drag away their victim,” Hermione surmised, kneeling down to run her hand across them. “This most likely being the barracks that held people that were chosen to be experimentally killed, their eventual fate was obvious.”



“I have to agree with you there, Hermione,” Lupin said, going over to one of the bunk beds, and shoving aside some blood stained sheets to find some bones. He shook his head in remorse and put the sheets back. “Well…start looking again.”



Harry began to look under every single lump that he found on the sheets of the bunk beds. Hermione looked under the actual bunk beds, and Lupin tore up the flooring. It was then on the top bunk that Harry noticed that a ceiling board was undone. It was too dark to see when he raised his head through it, so he brought up his wand.



“Lumos!” When the tip of Harry’s wand lit up the first thing he saw was a human skull staring right at him. “Whoa!” he yelled, falling down. He then heard a creaking noise, and the bunk bed instantly collapsed under him.



There were cries of, “Harry!”



He started to choke on the dust, and when it settled a worried Hermione and Lupin came into view.



“Harry, you okay?” Lupin asked urgently, helping him up.



“Yeah,” he answered, coughing one last time. His head and back were aching, and his left hand was bleeding, but everything was in order. Harry just counted himself lucky that no nails went into him, and that Hermione decided to inspect another the other cage in the room.



“What did you see?” she asked curiously, fixing Harry’s hand.



“Get back to the door,” he said. When they did so, he raised his wand to the ceiling, saying, “Reducto!” The Blasting Spell shattered the ceiling, sending dozens of skeletons crashing down.



“Those poor people,” Lupin said, his eyes wide. “They must have been taken care of along with all the other records. No witnesses left behind.”



“And its probably the same story everywhere else,” Harry predicted. “Look, there are a lot of buildings here, so it’s probably best that we split up to cover more ground.”



“I don’t know about that, Harry,” Lupin said skeptically. “It might be too dangerous. Bethany and Geoffrey can take care of themselves, but it’s best if we stick together.”



“Then you and Hermione stick together,” Harry persisted stubbornly. “If this place has a Horcrux, I want to find it as fast as possible.” Harry turned on his heel and headed for the similar building that was marked for torture development. “I’ll look around the right half of the island.”



“Harry, we’re safer in a group,” Lupin argued.



“And the search would be faster if we looked in different places,” he argued. When it came to the chance of locating a Horcrux, Harry wasn’t about to let an adult tell him he knew best and hold his hand. “And personally I want to get off of this desolate rock as quickly as possible.”



“Have it your way,” he heard Lupin say. “Let’s check over there, Hemione.”



Grinning slightly despite the environment, Harry made his way to the other building across the one they were just at. It didn’t surprise Harry that it also had cages used to hold prisoners”guinea pigs, he corrected himself. As before he tore up the entire place to find even the slightest hint that a Horcrux was there. And similarly there was only dust on the covers and tables, and skeletons hidden in the space between the ceiling and roof. Harry didn’t expect it to be any better in the other buildings he was going to check.



As he went on to inspect the other buildings under the “murder development” section of the island, it was apparent Harry was right. In those buildings all that he found were more destroyed records, even more skeletons, and blood stained walls.



“Damn it,” he cursed, as he sifted through another demolished filing cabinet, but it was the most intact one that he ran into so far. The only reason that he bothered to do so was because it might contain any kind of clue to the area Voldemort closed off, and that meant a possible clue to the Horcrux.



It was then that he found a folder that only had singed edges, and it was dated about a month before Voldemort’s first fall. Intrigued, he flipped it open and found a relatively brief letter:



(Copy)



To the Dark Lord:



As instructed, the new recruits you wanted to be turned efficient purifiers of the Wiazarding race, they have begun making progress. They are using our newly discovered methods of killing on the prisoners, and shall be ready for a raid on Muggle London by November the seventh.



Harry actually recoiled. By the look of it the island was also used to harden any Death Eaters with weak stomachs. And if Voldemort had just waited another week to go after him, then it was possible numerous lives would’ve been lost. He read on.



A complete list of recently developed spells and potions to gain further advantage in the fight against Mudbloods and blood traitors can be viewed on the next page.



Now, pertaining to the testing done to break the will of our prisoners at a much faster rate, more test subjects are needed. There are some people that have been suggested to us by a loyal servant, and his choice of candidates for the testing seems reasonable. A list of the requested subjects is on page three.



The letter went on, and Harry skimmed through it without finding anything useful. So, went to the page with the list of people, and took it. If any of them were captured before Voldemort disappeared, then the families would want to know what happened. He doubted that Voldemort would have done the job himself, it wouldn’t take much for him send some cronies to run the errand.



So who are these unfortunate people? Harry asked himself, heading out the building. He took a quick glance at each of the names. “Barkman, S; Donovan, L; Grather, P; Inglet, H””



Harry stopped when he saw the next two names: “Longbottom, A; Potter, L?” he read horrified. Potter, L? Potter, Lily? Lily Potter? It didn’t seem possible, but how many other Potters first name began with L? And if Harry remembered correctly Neville’s mother’s name was Alice. What were the mothers of the two possible “Chosen Ones” doing on the list? It almost seemed as if someone purposely setting Voldemort up for the fall.



But as confusing as the situation was, Harry didn’t have time to just stand there and think about it. He had to remember that he was looking for a Horcux. He’d have to ask Lupin for his thoughts about it later. After folding the list and pocketing it, Harry left the building to continue the search.



Half an hour later, after digging through everything on his side, Harry felt that his only hope was in the others or that the Horcrux was still in its original location. Then to his dismay Harry found that he had reached the end of the buildings with nothing but a rocky shore ahead.



“Damn it!” Harry exclaimed in frustration, kicking a nearby boulder. He ignored the pain and instead decided to pay more attention to his surroundings. There had to be something that he had missed”anything!



He placed his palms on the boulder to support himself while thinking. And then while moving his thumbs he felt something odd, but Harry didn’t look up. He just continued to twirl his thumb around and it felt like there was a hole in the rock”but it couldn’t have been formed naturally. It was perfectly circular and went in rather deep.



Finally he looked up and backed up a little. He adjusted his glasses, and took out his wand. “Alohomora!” he said, knowing that it wouldn’t work. ”Reducto!” he yelled. The spell bounced off the boulder, and after Harry stood back up from ducking he smiled. Any other rock would have just been blasted to pieces.



So what’s the hole for? Harry asked himself. A thought occurring to him, he raised his wand to eye level. Deciding that it was worth a shot Harry stuck his wand in the hole, and it was a perfect fit. But nothing happened.



If the hole was just the right size to fit a wand then some sort of spell might have gone along with it….



“No way,” Harry whispered to himself in amazement. It couldn’t be that obvious. But again it was worth a shot. “Um…Lectun repalo.”



All of a sudden a brilliant flash of red light emitted from the wand. Harry was blinded for a second but then when he got his eye sight back a surprising sight met him: a door with a handle had suddenly appeared on the boulder.



Withdrawing his wand, Harry grabbed the handle and pulled the door back. And he couldn’t help but smile when he saw a golden cup sitting on a cushion.



Not wasting another second Harry snatched the cup out of its safe. It didn’t take long for him to verify that it was indeed the cup that he’d seen in the Pensieve.



It was done, Harry thought valiantly. Now all we need is to find out the fate of the locket through R.A.B and”



“Crucio!”
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Betrayals by Phoenix 86
Harry dropped the cup, and fell to the ground writhing in unimaginable pain. He screamed his lungs out as it felt for the first time in years that white hot knives were penetrating his skin.

“Expeliarmus!” he heard a voice shout, taking the pain away. Aching all over and gasping for breath, it took everything he had just to stand up on his elbows. “Listen here, I don’t give a damn what your problem with Harry Potter is! The Dark Lord wants him alive!”

Harry was able to turn his head around to look at who was talking. It was a Death Eater holding a wand up at his assailant, and his other hand tossed away another wand. And to his horror he saw that Bethany was on the ground tired up not too far away, and for some reason she was struggling in pure rage. That Death Eater was definitely an enemy, then who the hell had initially attacked?

Then he heard a chuckle coming from above him. “Relax; we’re on the same side.”

The Death Eater slowly took off his hood to reveal a bewildered face. He had a pointed nose and chin, he had a head full of black hair, and his eyes were full of anger and accusation “No you’re not. I saw you get off the barge with the rest of the Order of the Phoenix.”

That last comment made Harry try and look up at his initial assailant, but before he could a foot kicked him onto his back. When he opened his eyes, Harry saw Geoffrey Baxer crouching over him digging into his pockets.

“See,” Baxer said, pulling out the egg that Moody had given him. “If he broke this then it somehow would have helped. Believe me now?”

Then an anger sprung up in Harry, and he lunged up yelling, “You traitorous bastard!”

But the Death Eater shouted, “incarcerous!” Ropes flew out of his wand, binding around Harry tightly. His wand was then pointed at Baxer again. “That doesn’t prove anything. This woman threw one over my head and nothing happened after I heard it break. Show me your Mark.”

A speck of hope then appeared in Harry’s bleak situation. That Death Eater didn’t see the bird fly out of the egg? Help could come soon.

“I don’t have the Mark,” Baxer said, pulling back his left sleeve. “I came to the Dark Lord, and he didn’t give me the Dark Mark so I could join the Order to spy. Since I had no previous criminal record they were happy to let me join.”

The Death Eater then slowly lowered his wand with an eyebrow arched. “So that’s why Severus didn’t send someone after you? I thought it was just because you were incompetent. And how come Rabastan came to my aid when he was supposed to go after Potter?”

“Snape!” Harry shouted through the ropes in renewed rage. He started to struggle in hopes of having another chance to go after Dumbledore’s killer. Baxer could wait.

“Oh that,” Baxer said airily. “Yes, I told Rabastan to let me handle Potter, and go aid you since Williams should’ve been a challenge. By the way, where is he?”

“She almost killed him when he jumped in,” the Death Eater said. “But after that I was able to get the upper hand. After that, I left him lying somewhere give him chance to recover.”

Baxer then grinned smugly, and went over to couch in front of Bethany. “You almost killed him? I know you famous for your fighting, but you never went that far.”

Bethany’s struggling doubled, and she was able to get her mouth free. “YOU BASTARD! I swear, I’m going to strangle that scrawny neck of yours when I get the chance!” The rope was then stuffed back over her mouth, and Baxer retrieved his wand.

“Don’t see why she’s surprised,” Baxer said, coming over to Harry. “I mean the only reason she came to me at Godric’s Hollow was because it was my shift to watch you before the fight broke out. Who do you think gave away your location in the fist place?”

Harry’s rage was then focused right Baxer once more. People died because of you! Harry couldn’t speak through the rope.

“But it goes without saying that the Dark Lord wasn’t too pleased that nobody was able to capture you,” he went on. “Then a few days later I redeemed myself when I overheard about those Horcrux things.” Harry then remembered in horror that Baxer was at the meeting where he had told the Council everything. “Oh yes, Potter, the Dark Lord has always known that you knew for quite some time. Unfortunately, letting that Ministry official die led Mad-Eye to make sure I didn’t screw up again, so I couldn’t go to the Dark Lord in time to tell him you were going to that bloody orphanage.”

Harry now realized the significance of the words of Kostas. “All I know is that the Dark Lord began having guards put on the island about eight months ago.” That was around the time they went to the orphanage.

“And finally the time came to use that information against you,” Baxer continued, his aura of smugness growing. “At first after I learned that you were going to Kartley, I slipped that house-elf to warn others. And even though that fiasco ended in disaster, it was made worthwhile by learning of Pendle Draker. I was instructed by the Dark Lord to tell Draker to tell you about the forest. Before that he was hoping to get you at Privet Drive after I told him about it, but that also ended in defeat. So, he went along to make the traps in the cabin less lethal so you’d be captured alive.”

How Baxer was able to reveal that much so fast was beyond Harry, but it also made sense. Harry had suspected that Draker had led them into a trap after the Horcrux there turned out to be a fake. And since Baxer guarded over Draker they must have many chances to talk.

“That didn’t come to pass either. Your luck is only surpassed by your arrogance”at least that’s what Snape told me. But now it’s over, Harry. I risked being late for the meeting at Sunderland to warn the Dark Lord about your excursion here.”

As Harry stared back at that mocking grin he thought it would be impossible for him to be angrier. He was wrong.

“Baxer!” a voice that made Harry’s blood boil even more shouted. “You were under instructions not to expose yourself!” Harry turned his head to see that Snape was walking up to them flanked by Death Eaters. His robes billowed behind him, his hair was as greasy as ever, he showed no sign that he knew Harry was there. Hermione and Lupin were both then tossed next to Bethany, and both of them looked at Baxer in wonder. “As soon as you were alone your orders were to get off the island without being seen.”

Harry desperately tried to set himself free, but it was to on avail. Everybody above him just went on ignoring him.
Baxer waved it off. “Relax, Snape, it’s not as if anyone here will see the light of day ever again.” Lupin and Hermione’s eyes both widened in comprehension.

“Wrong,” Snape spat angrily. “Why do you think the Dark Lord wants us to take Potter’s allies alive? It’s so that they can be witnesses to Potter’s death, and then they’d be set loose to tell the world what they saw.”

“Oh,” Baxer said, slightly deflating. “Well, um…not a problem. Let’s just erase their memories up to this point, and then turn them in. I’ll leave, and make it look like I barely escaped.”

Snape exhaled loudly, and his head snapped towards the Death Eater that tied up Harry. “How come you didn’t keep Williams out of sight of Baxer, Andrew? It should have been obvious what was going on, especially when I told everyone here that nobody was to be killed.”

“Don’t pin this on me, Severus,” the Death Eater named Andrew said. “If you had warned me beforehand that we had a spy planted in the Order of the Phoenix, then I would’ve done just that. But all I saw was this idiot about to kill Potter, and ruin everything for us.”

“And where’s Lestrange? He was supposed to capture Potter, not you and Baxer.”

“Williams took him out when I sent him to help Andrew,” Baxer answered unsympathetically. “I wanted the fun of getting Potter myself.”

“Yeah,” Andrew said accusingly, “and then I had to disarm Baxer because he was using the Cruciatus Cruse on him.”

“What!” Snape yelled angrily, taking out his wand and looking at Baxer. The other Death Eaters around didn’t look happy either. “We are NOT supposed to harm Potter, Baxer! The Dark Lord wants to kill him at his best, and when he finds out about this all of us will be responsible!”

Damn it where’s the back up Moody promised? Harry asked himself desperately.

Recoiling in fear, Baxer said desperately, “But I didn’t know! Please, Severus, the Dark Lord doesn’t have to know about this.”

“It doesn’t matter! Whether by Legilimency or torture he’ll find out. Why, even Potter might rat you out just to get back at you before he dies.” Snape then looked down at Harry. “Which brings me to you. I’m curious as to know the reason that brings you to this desolate place.”

Harry suddenly gasped as he remembered the Horcrux. Unable to help himself he jerked around frantically until he found it lying on the ground not too far away. Snape saw that, and snatched it.

We need help now! If it didn’t come soon not only would they all be captured, but Voldemort would take back what was likely to be his last Horcrux. Then he might never be stopped.

“Well it obviously has something to do with this,” Snape said. “I don’t see what is so special about this that the Dark Lord would keep it a secret.”

Baxer chuckled. “You may not know, Snape, but I very much do. Trust me that trinket is very important to our master.”

“Well if you know why then tell me.”

“Are you sure we should, Severus?” Andrew asked.

“Yeah, let’s just leave already,” another pleaded.

“No,” Snape told them, looking down at Harry. “If Baxer won’t tell us what’s so special, then perhaps Potter will.”

Knowing what he meant, Harry immediately shut his eyes and looked away. Voldemort might have already known what Harry was up to, but it was better if Snape never found out.

“I don’t want to risk being tortured if you hurt him, Severus,” he heard Baxer say in hesitation. “The only reason I know is because I was doing my job.”

“Shut it, Baxer. Alam, hold Potter up.”

Harry then felt himself being hauled up to a sitting position, and his eyes were forced open. Snape then stood over him with a smug look and his wand drawn. “The situation maybe different from the last time, Potter, but trust me the results will be the same. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get a glimpse of whatever you were doing the night I killed Dumbledore”other than getting beaten up, of course.”

Harry leaped forward in rage in hopes of at least being able to head butt him, but he was being held back. He then tried to clear his mind, but it was too seething for Harry to hear Dumbledore’s name come through the lips of that murderer.

“Everyone stand back,” Snape ordered, rolling up his sleeves. After a brief pause, he pointed his wand and said, “Legilimens!”

And like a film strip, memories started to flash right in front of Harry’s eyes. Dudley and his gang were chasing Harry around the school yard…. Harry was desperately trying to avoid eye contact with the Basilisk…. Hundreds of Dementors were floating over the lake…. Sirius was falling through the veil…. Harry was reading the note from R.A.B. over Dumbledore’s body…. A fellow Order member was being struck down at Kartley. As all the memories flooded through Harry kept on trying to think of a way to get out it. But he was tied up and without a wand.

Then all of a sudden the flashbacks ceased, and Snape came back into view.

“Enemies!” a panicked and tired voice cried not too far away. Harry turned his head to see a Death Eater running towards them. “They’re coming! Six of them are getting off the barge as we speak.”

Finally! Harry thought in relief. He had almost given up hope.

“If they see me I’m done for!” Baxer squealed.

“Incarcerous!” Snape shouted, conjuring ropes that wrapped themselves around Baxer. “Grab hold of one of the prisoners, and use them as a shield! We drop Baxer before getting on the barge, and take everyone else with us. Andrew, you hold this.” He then tossed the cup to him.

“What about Rabastan?” one of them asked.

“Forget him. It’s his own fault that he got hurt even when he had the upper hand.”

“Come on, Potter,” Alam said, hauling Harry up in front of him. On his left he saw Hermione and Baxer being picked up. Bethany put up a huge struggle as Andrew tried to put her in front of him.

Forcing Lupin in front of him, Snape said, “This is only fair, Remus. You once tried to kill me, now you will keep me from harm’s way.”

The hostage takers then moved off the rocky beach back to towards the main facility. The captives were trying their best to allow the help that was on its way a good enough target for them to hit. But all too soon spells erupted in front of them, and Order members appeared around the buildings in front of them.

“Shoot to disable only!” Harry heard Moody’s voice call out. “They’re using our people as shields.” From what he could see there were only three others at his command, but that should be enough.

Damn it, someone hit Baxer hard! Harry thought angrily. He tried to look at Hermione and Lupin, and they were both probably thinking the same thing. But he knew the Order would be careful not to since they didn’t know about Baxer’s treachery yet.

There were then many shouts of, “Avada Kedavra!” The Order members ducked out of the way, and the Death Eaters continued on the harbor.

“Portego!” Snape shouted, deflecting a spell aimed for his face. The Order was on the verge of flanking them, and Snape was rapidly becoming frustrated. “Alam, split up and take Andrew with you around the other side of the facility. They won’t put preference on Potter as long as I have more hostages.” He then shot a few Killing Curses to his left to make the people there move out of the way, and took the remaining Death Eaters that had hold of Hermione, Lupin, and Baxer.

“This way!” Alam ordered, making for the nearest building in the facility.

When they were half way through the room with blood smeared walls, the doors behind them opened again. There were just two shouts of “Stupefy!”

The Death Eater holding Harry immediately dove out of the way, and then turned all the way around to put Harry in the line of fire. “Avada Kedavra!” Moody lunged himself behind an old wooden crate.

“Let our people go, and I’ll consider letting you leave with your arm intact!” Moody growled from behind the crate.

“No matter how you look at it we have the advantage, Mad-Eye!” Alam yelled. “Reducto!” The spell hit the crate blasting it apart. It was swiftly answered by out of aim Stunning spells.

“Impedimenta!” Andrew yelled, throwing his jinx at the other Order member. He earned himself an angry glare from Alam.

“Damn it, Andrew, we need a bloody jinx to get these pests off our backs!”

Harry then saw Andrew take a deep breath, and then yelled, “Avada””

Then all of a sudden the ropes that were holding Bethany seemed to blow apart. Andrew was blasted back, and the cup and his wand escaped him.

“Stupefy!” she shouted, sending the Stunning spell and Alam and Harry.

“Protego!” It was easily deflected, but Bethany used to the distraction to make a dash for the cup. She scooped it up and ran from the battle.

“No you don’t!” Andrew yelled. He grabbed his wand, sent a barrage of spells her way, and ran after her.

“You didn’t check her for a second wand?” Alam called after him in anger. “Don’t you know that she’s famous for fighting with both”” CRACK!

Seizing the opportunity, Harry bashed the back of his head against Alam’s nose hard, causing an agonizing cracking sound to issue from it. He dropped Harry, and staggered back in agony holding his bloody and broken nose.

“Stupefy!” Moody shouted. The spell found its mark, and Alam fell to the floor unconscious with his nose still bleeding.

“Diffindo!” the other Order member yelled. The bonds holding Harry were then cut, and he was set free. “You hurt?”

“No,” Harry answered, rubbing the back of his head and grabbing Alam’s wand. “Look, you two go help Lupin and Hermione. Beth has the Horcrux, so I should go help her.” As much as Harry wanted to go after Snape he had to make sure the cup was secure”meaning back in his own hands. And he trusted that Moody would let nothing would happen to Hermione and Lupin.

“I understand, Potter, but whatever you do don’t get in the way! Derek, let’s go.”

“Wait!” Harry called back, suddenly remembering. “Keep Baxer tied up, he’s a traitor trying to look innocent.”

Both Moody and Derek stopped in their tracks, and looked back in surprise.

“What do you mean, Potter?” Moody asked slowly.

Harry gave them a dark look. “He’s responsible for Godric’s Hollow, Kartley, and this mess. He even planned the failed search at the forest.”

“You’re kidding,” Derek said, confused. “Baxer? Geoffrey Baxer? He barely has the courage to speak up.”

“Why would I make this up?” Harry told them. “If you don’t believe me then ask Hermione, Beth, and Lupin. They were all there.” And without another word, Harry turned around and went the same way that Bethany had gone.

When Harry got outside he realized that Bethany and Andrew could’ve gone anywhere on the island. But since she was carrying the Horcrux he went left in hopes of finding her.

After a minute or two of running he had found that one of the buildings had a door slightly open. Harry might have ignored it were it not for the fact that it was blasted open. He slowed his pace to reduce the noise of his advancement, and Harry flattened against the bit of wall next to the door.

“Damn it all,” he heard from inside. Harry poked his head through the opening in the door to see Andrew with his back turned, he was running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

Deciding to take out the Death Eater first, Harry crept inside and was able to sneak up behind him. “Don’t move,” he ordered, pointing Alam’s wand up at the back of Andrew’s head. He jumped and then turned on the spot in surprise. There was no escape.

“When did you”?”

“Doesn’t matter, I have you now.”

“Then how come you didn’t just Stun me?”

“I owe you one for stopping that traitor Baxer from torturing me,” Harry explained, “so I’m giving you the chance to come quietly.”

Andrew’s surprised face then broke a small grin. “Please, Potter, for Baxer to have been a traitor he’d have to have been on your side in the first place. Besides, I’m under orders to keep you alive, so letting that windbag have his way wouldn’t be good.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that you lifted the Cruciatus Curse,” Harry told him. “Now, are you going to come quietly, or will I have to do it by force? Either way you won’t have time to use your wand, so just drop it.”

“Sorry, Potter,” Andrew said coolly, “but I’m also under orders to get captured. I have to make far better use of my time.” All of a sudden with his left hand he threw something down on the floor causing thick smoke to come out of nowhere.

Harry began to cough and gag; throwing spells and curses in every direction. When it finally cleared he found that Andrew had disappeared. At first he wondered how come he hadn’t knocked out and taken Harry, but he soon realized that it probably would have been next to impossible. To do that Andrew needed to see clearly through the smoke, and it he’d have to somehow dodge all those spells Harry was throwing. It most likely would mean a lashing from Snape and Voldemort, but Andrew seemed to have thrown in the towel.

It was then that Harry decided to go back in search of Bethany. She may not have been in danger, but she still had the Horcrux. As he went back outside near the shore he kept a keen eye out for any enemies. It was very possible that they had also called for help without their opponent’s knowledge.

“Oi, Potter!” he heard her call from the beach. Harry then saw Bethany running up to him from behind some rocks. She then ginned, and withdrew the cup from her robes. “I believe that this is what you want.”

“Yeah,” Harry admitted, taking it into his possession, “it is.” He then turned around to look at the other side of the island where the fighting was still likely going on. He handed it back, saying, “Hold onto it for now. I’m not running away with it, and if I get captured I don’t want this to also end up Voldemort’s hands.”

Behtnay flinched at the sound of the name, but she took it back. “If you say so. Now let’s go, I doubt the rest of the Order got anywhere if Remus and Granger are still in trouble.”

“Find yourself another wand, I can go ahead.”

She instantly produced it. “Why the hell do you think I came here after getting rid of that creep Andrew?” Bethany started to run, and Harry followed.

Some of the fighting was taking place near the shore on the other side. He was hoping that they might have gotten somewhere. All the Order members had congregated behind a large rock, and that’s where the situation was explained to Harry.

“The three of them got separated, and they’ve taken cover for a while now,” Moody said, pointing at three rocks in the distance. “We can’t risk getting any closer or else our people could get killed.”

“Well you have to think of something,” Harry demanded, but he was surprised that Snape hadn’t killed Lupin straight off.

All of a sudden out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw the Death Eater that was holding Hermione making a break for it. Barely a second passed before no less than four Stunning Spells hit his back. There was then a mad dash to secure Hermione before danger found her again.

“Diffindo!” The bonds holding Hermione were then cut, and three pairs of hands helped her up.

“You okay?” Harry asked.

“She can answer later,” Moody told him hastily. “Derek, get her away from the fight!” Derek nodded, and took her some place else.

Harry began to say, “Now we have to make sure Lupin is””

“Severus!”

Looking around, Harry saw Andrew running towards where Snape was. Then the nearby Death Eater that held Baxer dropped him; and went to where Snape and Andrew were. Knowing what was going to happen, Harry was about call attention to it, but it was too late. A cloud of thick smoke rose into the air and they were gone.

“No!” Harry shouted, running to the spot where they disappeared. Snape was indeed gone along with his chance for revenge. To Harry’s relief, they had left Lupin lying on the beach tied up and unharmed. “Diffindo!”

Lupin pulled off the ropes over his mouth, and said, “Thanks. Did we get the Horcr”?”

Harry didn’t pay attention, and immediately headed in the direction of the harbor. Fancy vanishing trick or not, it was the only way off the island. Behind him followed some of the other Order members. They all passed through the sorting station, and hurried down the steps with their wands at ready.

But they were too late. Already they could see the barge in the distance making its escape with the three remaining Death Eaters aboard. Knowing that there was no hope in going after them, and that the Horcrux was in their custody, Harry automatically went back to the safe. There he reclaimed the wand that he had dropped, and snapped in half the one he took from Alam. After that he met back up with the Order who were all gathered around something.

Hermione and Lupin both smiled at him, and Bethany walked up to him with the cup in hand. There were three injured Death Eaters lying not too far away, but everyone else was looking down at something else with scorn. “Nobody got hurt, so we decided to cut to the chase as soon as you got here,” she said, handing him the Horcrux.

“Thanks,” he said, taking it.

On the floor in the middle of the group Geoffrey Baxer was still tied up and squirming, his eyes full of fear.

“Well, Geoff,” Bethany said casually, crouching down and putting her wand against his temple, “I believe you have some explaining to do.”
Back to index
A Slight Setback by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
sorry for the wait even though this had to go un-betaed
Crack!



There was the sound of someone on a chair toppling over, and then Ron bolted up saying in surprise, “Harry!” His eyes then widened when they saw the cup in Harry’s hands, and he grinned ear to ear. “You did it! You got the Horcrux!” But then his smile dropped. “Where’s Hermione?”



“She’s fine,” Harry answered, passing him and going up the stairs into the hallway.



“Then why isn’t she with you?” Ron asked, following him up. Harry went up to the drawing room, and went straight to the bookshelf. “What are you doing?”



Harry grabbed Necessary Purification by Means of the Dark Arts, and said, “Hermione’s at headquarters, and I’m here to get some quick answers.”



Ron made a move to leave but immediately turned back looking confused. “From who?”



In response, Harry called, “Kreacher!”



The old house-elf then shuffled into the drawing room, and he bowed all the way down to the floor. “What can Kreacher do for mast”?”



“Tell me about this book,” Harry said, tossing it at Kreacher’s feet. “And I want the truth.”



“Um, seems to me that you should have asked him this ages ago,” Ron pointed out.



“Oh, really?” he said sarcastically, then turning back to Kreacher. “Well, go on.”



“This book is belonging to master Regulus many years ago for joining the Dark Lord,” the house-elf answered. “A present from mistress.”



“I figured that much,” Harry persisted, urging him on. “If it was a present, then how come it’s here? Don’t leave anything out.”



Kreacher picked up the book, closed his eyes, and shook his head. “One night,” he wheezed with reluctance, “I is seeing master Regulus return to this noble dwelling while it was still in its majesty.” Kreacher paused to give Harry a brief but angry glare. “He had this book, and was asking mistress for the home of my previous master.”



“Sirius?” Harry asked. The house-elf’s ears wobbled when he nodded.



“Bloody hell,” Ron whispered. “What was that about?”



“Keep going!” Harry ordered after a few seconds of silence.



“Mistress wondered why he wanted to see her blood traitor son, but all he said was… ‘need him now just in case.’” Harry and Ron looked at each other with wide eyes. “But mistress obviously kept no contact with her awful son, so she didn’t know. So, master Regulus gave her book, begged her to keep it safe, and left saying he would return.” Kreacher glared up at them with his aged eyes. “He was found dead a few days later.”



“A”Anything else?” he asked anxiously. “Anything at all?”



Kreacher once again nodded, but it looked like it was forced. “He also left a locket with mistress.”



There was a pause. “I was wrong,” Ron said laughing happily. “Never in my life was I so happy to be wrong!” His eyes shot at Harry. “Not just me but Hermione, too! She was the one who agreed with me about the locket not being here.”



“And where is it now?” Harry asked excitedly. “I order you to tell me.”



“Kreacher does not know,” the house-elf said without hesitation. He gave them a brief, gloating smirk.



“What do you mean?” he asked, his spirits dropping instantly. “How could you now know?”



“Because the locket master wants is no longer in the place that it was. Kreacher has not known the locket’s place for a long time.”



“How long?” Harry demanded.



Grumbling, Kreacher said, “Three years almost.”



“Wasn’t that when this place ifrst became headquarters?” Harry asked Ron.



After a few seconds Ron said in a nauseous tone, “Harry, you don’t actually think that, um…you know, we could’ve accidentally thrown away the Horcrux…do you?”



“No way,” Harry said, shaking his head like mad. “There is no way you could get rid of something so evil that easily.”



“But what if you could?”



“Then where the hell does trash go after you put it in one of those rubbish bins?” Harry asked, giving in to the panic. “It can’t just turn into nothingness.”



“How am I s’posed to know?” Ron retorted. “You think I wonder where my trash goes after I throw it away?”



“We’re going to headquarters,” Harry said, turning away from Kreacher and heading out the door. “It’s more likely the locket was misplaced, so we have to arrange for the Order to turn this house upside-down”literally if it’s necessary.”



The house-elf squealed, and ran up by Harry as they went downstairs. “Does master think that is the wisest decision?”



Harry stopped. “Why? Do you know where the locket is after all?”



“Kreacher does now know, but””



Ignoring him, Harry and Ron went proceeded back downstairs to Apparate. They ended up in the usual alley near headquarters, checked for any Muggles, and hustled the rest of the way to headquarters. Harry was about to reach for the knob, but before he touched it was opened on the other side.



“You said it would be quick, Harry,” Lupin told him, ushering them both in. Behind him Bethany appeared, and she was holding an unconscious Draker over her shoulder. “What took so long?”



“Well, Remus, I’m off,” Bethany said, hitching up Draker. Before going out the door she stopped and looked from Harry to Ron. “See you ‘round, Potter…. Nice seeing you again, Weasley.” She went out the door, and Lupin closed it behind her.



After a few seconds, Harry asked, “Um…what’s she doing?”



“Taking him to a safe house where Mundungus keeps some of his merchandise,” Lupin answered, gesturing him upstairs. “From there we’re going to send a small party to release Draker in a couple of days.”



“What!” Harry exclaimed, stopping and looking at Lupin as if he was mad. “Draker knew exactly what Baxer was going to do after he overheard about the island. How can you keep your promise after all the trouble we went through?”



Lupin looked at him. “Harry, I said ‘release’ not ‘take care of’. Draker did know that there would likely be an ambush since Baxer was in the room yesterday, but it was on his information that we retrieved another Horcrux. Besides, he is of no further use to us, so that’s why we’re merely dumping him somewhere in the countryside.”



“But he could be of use to the Death Eaters,” Harry retorted. “He’s been here, he’s seen faces.”



“Didn’t I just say that Voldemort lost another one of his Horcruxes to us on Draker’s information?” Lupin asked rhetorically. “He might want him back, but only to severely punish him. Draker knows nothing important enough that will be able to deter Voldemort’s wrath.”



Harry then slightly surprised himself by saying, “I hope they find him.” He then looked over at Ron, and decided that he might as well tell him. “Baxer was spying on us for the Death Eaters the whole time. He’s responsible for a lot of things.”



“You’re joking?” Ron said skeptically. “There was an ambush?”



“We’re all alright,” Harry told him, making for upstairs again. “But it definitely wasn’t easy getting out of it.”



Ron shook his head. “That git,” he muttered.



“Anyway, we already debriefed everybody else who was at the island,” Lupin went on. “All that’s needed for now is for you to turn in the cup.” He then looked curiously at the book that was still in Harry’s hands. “What’s that for?”



Harry forced it into his hands. “Inside cover,” he answered. He caught a glimpse of Lupin’s eyes widening, and Harry carried on to the Council room.



After the door was opened two things happened. Ron and Hermione immediately caught sight of each other, and quickly ram up to hug each other. Lupin went straight to the table where Moody was sitting, and opened the book saying, “Look at this.” Moody had the same reaction as Lupin



“Were you hurt?” Ron asked her, pulling back a little. “You have no idea how worried I was, even before I found out about Baxer.” He looked up at the table. “Speaking of which, what’s going to happen to that slimy mole?”



“We’re deciding that now,” Lupin said. “First, Harry, please present the cup.”



Harry proceeded to slam the cup down on the table. “I trust this is going the way of the scepter.”



“You can be sure of that, Potter,” Moody growled. “And if you don’t believe me, look for yourself.” From under the table he produced the same scepter that was retrieved from the orphanage many months before”but it was different. The gold was tarnished, and the sapphire encrusted at the top was worn and cracked. “Seems like a fair trade. Well have that cup destroyed soon.”



Hermione came over and took it in her hands. “Just as Slughorn said,” she confirmed.



“Now,” Moody said, waving the book in Harry’s face, “what’s this all about?”



“Are you seriously going to tell them this?” Hermione inquired with skepticism. “We may have gotten a Horcrux, but it still seems””



“Just listen,” Ron interrupted, giving her a quick grin. All attention was then on Harry.



“The Horcrux was in a safe, and I used that spell written there to open it,” Harry started out confidently. “I asked Kreacher about the book, and now I want all of Grimmauld Place searched on the off chance that we could find the locket.”



There was a few seconds of silence. “You sure about this, Harry?” Lupin asked.



He shrugged. “I think it’s still a long shot, but it’s the best we have. If the Order won’t follow up on this then I’ll do it all by myself if I have to.”



Lupin rubbed his eyes tiredly. “Fine, I don’t see the harm in it. Alastor?”



“Very well, but I want to hear more,” Moody said. “Order that house-elf of yours to tell us exactly what he told you”down to the last detail. As for you three, get some sleep. We’ll send some people who are already familiar with the house tomorrow.”



Harry would have immediately objected, wanting to start the search as soon as possible. But he suddenly noticed how tired he was, having stayed up all night waiting to get to the island. Still, there was one more thing on his mind.



“Tell me what you think about this when you get the chance,” Harry asked of Lupin, withdrawing the letter and list meant for Voldemort. With the spell out of his mind, that would now occupy the back of his mind. He once again saw his eyes widen with surprise as he looked down the list.



On the way back to Grimmauld Place Ron gave Hermione a quick explanation of Harry’s actions. She also became certain that the house had to be thoroughly searched just in case. Before going upstairs to get some well earned rest, Harry had ordered Kreacher to tell the exact same story to the Council and head right back to the house. He grudgingly obeyed.



After Harry went to bed to get a little rest, he spent the rest of the day looking all over Grimmauld Place. Most people would’ve been content to find one Horcrux a day, but there was no point in putting it off. He didn’t find anything, but he didn’t really expect it to be so easy.



The extra help that arrived from the Order the next day didn’t do too much either. They were mostly made up of people that Harry had seen in and out of meetings when Grimmald Place was still headquarters. Over the course of the next few days Harry had them look under every piece of furniture.



“Harry, we’ve looked all over the drawing room three times today,” one of them said. “It’s not there.”





“Then help out in the kitchen,” Harry told him. “We can’t just give up.”



“Whatever you say.” He went downstairs as he was told, and passed Ron and Hermione as they came up.



“Lupin’s here,” Ron said. “He brought Tonks and Dung to help out.”



“Good,” he said, coming up with an idea. “We’ll need the extra people to tear up the floorboards in the kitchen.”

“Isn’t that a little much?” Hermione asked, as they went down. “We’re ruining the house as it is, Kreacher might have an attack.”



“Hey…yeah,” Ron responded brightly. He quickly wiped his smile.



“Anyway,” Hermione continued slowly, “Kreacher also said that the locket’s been missing for three years. It could very well have been taken out of the house.”



Harry decided to ignore that. If she was right, then the chance of finding the locket was extremely slim. When they got down to the kitchen, he called over Mundungus, and they proceeded to rip off the flooring one board at a time.



“You’ve of course know ‘bout the tense situation I was in these past few days, right?” Mundungus suddenly asked, as he put aside the wood.



“You mean Draker?” he asked back, as he used his wand to pull out a nail. “Yeah, he was kept in your keeping for a few days, so what?”



“Actually, where that Death Eater was kept I also stow certain…goods”goods that the Ministry wouldn’t take kindly to.”



Harry tore off the floorboard, and stuck his head under the space below. “Where are you going with this?”



“Ever since Draker stayed there I was scared outta my wits that the Ministry would barge in lookin’ for ‘im, and then I’d be done for. And even though he’s been released, I was still rather tense afterwards.”



“Just get to the point, will you?” Harry was getting tired of being distracted. “Lumos!” All he saw was cobwebs and dust in the gap beneath.



“What I mean is that I was barely paying attention when I was dragged over here for the search, so I ‘ave no idea what I’m lookin’ for.”



He finally turned to face him. “Are you serious?” Mundungus nodded. “The locket, Dung! Salazar Slytherin’s locket that Voldemort used as vessel for his soul!”



“Here?” he asked, looking around confused.



“I know it doesn’t make the most sense, Dung, but it’s the only thing that we have to go on. So…unless you happen to find a golden locket with a snake in an S shape, don’t talk again. Got it?” He then started to get to work on the next floorboard.



“Oh,” he heard Mundungus say in comprehension. “Ooooohhhhhh....”



Harry immediately recognized the foreboding tone, and turned to face Mundungus again grabbing his shoulders. “D’you know where it is, Dung? The locket? Have you seen it?” he asked, shaking him. “You can tell me.”



“Nope, haven’t seen it,” he answered quickly, going back to work enthusiastically. “We’ll just have to keep on looking.” He grunted as he tore off another one.



“No, no, no, Dung, you have seen it before, haven’t you?” Harry asked again, dragging him up. “I heard you, so don’t deny it.”



“I haven’t seen it before,” Mundungus claimed, starting to panic.



“Yes you have!” Everybody in the kitchen was starting to look at them in confusion.



“I swear, mate, I have no idea what happened to that locket.”



Harry grabbed the neck of his robes, and slammed him against the wall. “Voldemort knew that we knew, Dung. And by now he knows that all of his Horcruxes are gone. So, we have to find out what happened to this locket as fast as possible before he can make another one! Now, if you please, tell me what you know.”



Mundungus gulped loudly. “It’s a lose-lose situation for me. Even if I spill then you’ll still get peeved.”



After breathing in and out to calm himself, and Harry said, “I promise that I won’t hurt you if you tell me. If not…I can’t make that promise.”



“It was a few years ago,” Mundungus began nervously under Harry’s glare. “You know, it was business as usual. I was looking through a bag of rubbish when I saw found it.”



“Mundungus…you didn’t?” Lupin said in horror.



“It was obviously worth a small fortune, and it was being chucked out anyways, so I took it.” He tried to smile as if it was an amusing situation, but it didn’t help him. “And not too long after I went to a big customer of mine, and I sold it for a few ‘undred Galleons.”



“To who?” Harry demanded in a quiet but extremely threatening tone.



“Now this is the part where you’re gonna get mad at me,” he said nervously, making fast gestures with his hands. “But you can’t blame me ‘cause I didn’ know back then”none of us knew!”



“Just tell me!” Harry demanded.



“But it’s okay,” he went on, trying to be reassuring. “Because I didn’t know what it was. I don’t think he knew either. It was most likely a good deal on both parts, not a gift to You-Know-Who.”



“Who?” he almost yelled.



“Dempsher!” he answered, his voice cracking with fear. “Henry Dempsher.” Everybody in the room froze.



And instead of getting angry and wanting to beat Mundungus senseless, Harry’s grip went slack in despair. “How?” he asked nobody in particular. “If Voldemort has it, then I’ll have to raid wherever he is, take the Horcrux, quickly destroy somehow, and then kill him. It’s impossible.”



“Of all the times, Mundungus,” Lupin said in frustration. “Of all the times that you’ve proven yourself a crook and incompetent, this blows it out of the water!” He shook his head. “The forest doesn’t matter anymore. We never should have invited you to join.”



“But I already told you!” Mundungus said desperately. “I don’t think that Henry Dempsher gave it to You-Know-Who. All I remember was seeing greed in his eyes when I sold him the locket. There was no other intention.”



“Besides,” Harry chimed in, recalling what Snape had said, “he shouldn’t have even known that the Horcruxes existed in the first place. Not even Snape knew, so what are the chances that Dempsher knew. I think Dung might actually be right.”



“That still doesn’t help up,” Lupin told him. “Henry Dempsher is in Azkaban. It’d be a miracle if any of us got to question him about the locket.”



“Actually,” Tonks spoke up, brightening up, “I think it’s very possible, Remus.” All eyes then went on her, and she smiled. “The Auror office fed the story that Dempsher was sent to prison to the papers. Actually, he’s being held somewhere for questioning. I doubt we could get him for ourselves through normal channels, but he’s being guarded by inexperienced recruits.”



“So,” Harry said, catching on, “all we have to do is””



“Absolutely not!” Lupin interjected, putting his foot down. “If you mean deliberately go against the Ministry, then that is out of the question.”



“Why is that?” Harry asked, his only hope slipping away. “We’ve gone against the Ministry before.”



“The only time that we’ve moved against the Ministry was when Dumbledore claimed that Voldemort had returned”all those other times we’ve simply worked around them. We can’t simply launch an assault against our own government.”



“And a lot of us work for the Ministry,” someone else in the kitchen spoke up. “If any of us get caught we’re done for. Seriously, Tonks, what’re you thinking?”



“Sorry,” Tonks apologized, slightly recoiling. “I just got caught up in the moment.”



Lupin exhaled. “Well since it was still Mundungus who confirmed that the locket is no longer here, we should leave this as is. And then try to pick up some other trail.”


“But there is no other trail!” Harry argued. But everybody was already heading out. He caught Tonks by the arms before she went out the door. “Just tell me where he is. I’ll take him myself if I have to. You know as well as I do that this is our only choice if we want to stop Voldemort.”



She paused and looked up at Lupin as he was leaving. “Look, Harry, incase you’re thinking it, my feelings aren’t getting in the way. Remus has a very good point. If this is traced back to me, my life would go straight down the tubes. Plus, anyone that’s captured in the raid would be branded for treason. Besides, it was just on instinct that I blurted it out.”



“Some say that the first instinct is the best one,” Harry said to her seriously. “And as for the risk, some people would think it’s worth it. Look, all you have to do is give me the information I need and that’s it. Leave the rest to me.”



Tonks but her lip as she looked around once more. “I’ll send you a message tomorrow at three. Make sure that this isn’t traceable to any of us.” She then broke the grip, and left upstairs.



When the kitchen was almost empty Ron came up and patted Harry on the shoulder. “I’m with you all the way, mate.”



“So am I,” Hermione added in. “I just have one concern. The three of us aren’t enough to pull this off.”



“Yeah,” Harry responded in thought. “I know.”



“So what are we going to do?”



Harry absolutely hated himself for what he was thinking, but he knew there was no other choice. The purpose of it wasn’t to commit treason, though in the long run it would mean Voldemort’s demise. Exhaling loudly, he asked heavily, “How many do you think started carrying their coins again?”



Back to index
In the Flat and Cellar by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
FINALLY! Chapter 30 to come soon.
Just as Tonks promised a letter arrived from her the next at three. It detailed the location of the place where Dempsher was being kept, how many guards were around him at certain times, and when the best day to kidnap”take possession of”Dempsher would be. After the letter was read, Harry brought out his old Galleon that summoned meetings for the D.A. Ron had already confirmed that Fred and George were more than willing to participate, and that they could use Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes as the meeting place.

“Tonks said the best time to attack would be four days from now,” said Harry, as he was about to etch in his coin. “I’ll set up the meeting for tomorrow at seven at the joke shop. And, Hermione, can you make another Jinxed parchment just incase?”

“If you say so,” she said.

“No way will anyone sign it after what happened to Marietta Edgecombe,” Ron pointed out.

“If anybody agrees to this then they’ll be warned about the consequences beforehand. Besides, it’s necessary if we want everybody involved to avoid any trouble.”

Over the course of the rest day what Harry was thinking and what he was doing were contradicting. On the inside he was hoping that nobody would actually show up to the meeting, or that if anybody did they’d back out. But at the same time he’s been planning out the sort of techniques that will be revisited if the operation went forward. Harry was also studying a rough sketch that Tonks also sent of the area north of York where Dempsher was being held. He was already formulating a plan, but whether or not it’d work would depend on how many people were on board.

But no matter what he was thinking there was no turning back from the meeting now. Those that were carrying their coins again had to be determined to help, and wouldn’t care if the coin suddenly told them to not go. When the time came for him, Ron, and Hermione to leave, all Harry could do was dedicate himself to putting the safety of everybody first.

“Is it ready?” Harry asked Hermione as they entered Diagon Alley for the first time since the night Percy was killed. He tried not to let that memory brood over him. It seemed harder for Ron, who looked down on himself.

“I have it right here,” she confirmed, patting her pocket. “Now, Ron, are you sure that Fred and George said it was okay to use their shop?” That question was probably more to get him out of his thoughts.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I wouldn’t ask them without explaining what we’re up to first. They’re even closing the shop for us.”

As they passed through the shops they found it to be in the same condition that it was when they last came to buy school supplies. All of the shops had been repaired since the battle, people were traveling in packs again, and the stands selling fake Dark repelling charms were back up. But among the bleak scene before them they also found Neville Longbottom already waiting outside the joke shop, which had a closed sign on it.

When they came into view he had jumped up, and ran towards them. “Hey!”

Harry actually smiled at seeing one of his old classmates after so long. “Neville! How’ve you been?”

“Fine,” he answered, shaking his hand madly. “Gran barely lets me out of the house, though. I had to sneak out.”

“But you’re of age?” Ron said looking scandalized.

“But she’ll always be my grandmother.”

The door to the joke shop then opened, and Fred poked his head out saying, “Oi! Get in here, or do you want to get in trouble?”

“Trouble for what?” Neville asked. “Surely our meetings are legal now.”

Harry gave him a serious look. “I’ll explain when it’s time.”

Before going in, Ron looked left and right expectantly. “I would’ve expected to see Luna floating in by now.” Hermione smacked him on the arm hard. “Ouch! What was that fo”?” He stopped himself and cringed. “I’m a git.”

“All I read in the Prophet about her last summer was that the Ministry took her in hiding,” said Neville. “Doubt she’d be able to slip them like I did Gran.”

“We have our flat ready,” George informed them. He took the four of them in the back, and up some stairs. Along the way Harry saw some products that were probably close to being marketed such as Hand Transforming Wands, Gravity Grenades, and Extra Stink Soap. “I didn’t know how many to expect, so we put out chairs for everybody.”

“I doubt we’ll need that many,” Harry said when they entered the room. “Oh yeah, I need the two of you to do me a favor if anyone leaves during the meeting.”

By the time that seven arrived Harry saw able to see outside as more people showed up outside the shop. They had knocked on the door uncertainly, and were quickly let in by Fred or George. The first to show up were fellow Gryffindors Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. They were then followed by Parvati and Padma Patil, and (to Ron’s discomfort) Lavender Brown. After them came Hufflepuffs Ernie Macmillan, Susan Bones, and Justin Finch-Fletchley.

“Ah, finally he came,” said George as Lee Jordan arrived. “Thought he’d be here sooner after that owl we sent him.” Harry hadn’t really expected too many people who had already left Hogwarts. Then Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, and even Michael Corner showed up. It was a far larger turn out than Harry had come to expect.

A few nods were exchanged between everybody but they mostly kept silent as they took a seat. And just like back at the Hog’s Head they looked up at Harry waiting for him to say something. Harry was about to say something when he realized that while planning out his plan of attack he hadn’t planned what he was going to say.

“Um, glad to see that so many of had started to carry their coins again,” Harry started lamely. “But whether you were hoping to help against Death Eaters this time around, or to continue our training against Dark Forces, I’m sorry to say that those weren’t the reasons why I called this meeting.”

“Well what other reason could you have for calling us here?” Michael Corner asked.

“You all know about Henry Dempsher, right?” asked Harry, receiving mostly nods. Dean, who had Muggle parents, looked a little confused but then Seamus leaned over to them to explain. He was shocked. “Well I found out from an Auror friend of mine that he is not in Azkaban, but he’s being held somewhere by the Ministry for questioning.”

They all looked at each other in confusion, but all the attention went back to Harry when he was ready to talk again. It was time for the hard part. “Two days ago I found out that Dempsher is in possession of extremely important information, though he doesn’t know it.”

“I’m sorry, Harry, but the Ministry won’t just hand over Dempsher to you,” said Ernie. “If they went as far as lying to the Prophet about his location, then you’ll have to…” He trailed off when he saw where Harry was going.

Harry nodded grimly. “The information that Dempsher knows is important, and if he has to be taken from the Ministry by force then so be it.” He looked over all the shocked faces. “The only problem is that I need help.”

“You want us to go against the Ministry?” Susan Bones asked, shocked. “Don’t you realize that if any of us are captured that””

“We’d be tried for treason,” Harry finished for her. “Yes, I realize that. But the risk is definitely worth it if I get the needed information.”

“And what information would that be?” asked Terry Boot. “What could be so important that you’re asking all of us to stick out our necks?”

Harry had no choice. He knew that to get the maximum amount of support he’d have to be as open as possible with them. “No matter what we do at this point Voldemort can’t be killed,” he started off solemnly. The name was enough to get them all jumping, but what Harry just said caused more of a panic.

“What do you mean?” Parvarti and Padma Patil said together.

“You’re joking?” Dean blurted out.

“He has these…objects,” Harry began again when it quieted down a little. “These object prevent with him from dying, he has six of them, and five of are definitely are out of the way.” He paused for a second to look at everybody and wondering how many would keep quiet. It doesn’t matter, he thought, now looking over at Fred and George. “Dempsher knows where the last one is even if he doesn’t know what it is. If all goes well then Voldemort can be killed.”

“Why can’t you just, you know, ask the Ministry for Dempsher?” Susan said.

“It’s as Ernie said, the Ministry lied to the Prophet so no one outside the Ministry is supposed to know. Doing that would put my friend in trouble. Also, after I helped get Scrimgeour booted I’m not exactly popular around there. And if the Ministry found out what we know what Dempsher knows, then it’ll somehow get to Voldemort, and he might get to Dempsher first. A major mole may have been discovered but that doesn’t mean there aren’t anymore.

“Now…any volunteers?” Harry asked trying to hide how anxious he was. “Those that don’t want in can leave now. I won’t stop you.” If he told them Fred and George would then forcibly erase their memories before leaving it would brood too much distrust. For those might go the way of Marietta Edgecombe he had Hermione.

“This isn’t some school rule that if we break we’re facing expulsion,” said Ernie worriedly. “It’s the law.”

“That’s why I’m asking for volunteers. Just like joining the D.A. nobody is being forced into this.”

“Will you try to make sure that nobody gets in trouble for this?” Lavender said.

“That’s my first priority,” Harry assured strongly.

“Well can we think about this first?” asked Susan.

“This has to happen in three days,” Harry informed them. “If you are positive you want out now then leave. And for those that stay I want to do some reviewing of spells and jinxes.”

A few heads turned to see if anybody was getting up to leave, but miraculously nobody did. They all mostly just shifted in their seats nervously and kept their eyes on Harry, who was satisfied and nodded at Hermione.

“This time I’ll be truthful this time,” she started out. “To ensure that nobody decides to go behind our backs everybody here has to sign up.” Hermione brought out the sheet of parchment. “It’s jinxed so that those that do go to somebody not only will large pimples appear all over your face, but if Marietta Edgecombe ever saw you she’d consider herself lucky.” Her eyes were deadly serious. “I don’t want to believe any of you will betray us but no chances are being taken when everybody here is facing time in Azkaban.”

That last statement definitely had a strong effect on all of them; a few even left their seats. But they looked from Harry to the exit where Fred and George stood and sat back down. Neville also looked unnerved, but he was the first to get up, take the parchment from Hermione, and say rather bravely, “Have ink and a quill?”

And slowly but surely everybody else started to get up and sign the parchment as well. But as they did a couple seemed as if they were shocked by what they have done. And when everybody sat back down they looked as anxious as ever.

Just to give them all reassurance for the risk they were going to take, Harry stood up and said as steadily as he could, “I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure no one get in trouble. Check your Galleons over the next few days for our meeting place to practice. Thanks…and come up with a good excuse for your absence,” he added as an afterthought.

“Well that went better than expected,” Ron said after everyone had left.

“Probably a good thing I left out the part where the hands would swell up too if a persons gives us away,” said Hermione, rolling up the jinxed parchment. “That might’ve been a bit much.”

“The problem now is getting a place a practice in by tomorrow,” Harry pointed out. “Any ideas?” he asked Fred and George.

“We can rule out Hogwarts,” said Fred, thinking.

“Can’t really think of too many places where we could practice without the risk of being caught,” George put in.

“So,” Ron piped up suddenly, looking as if an idea came to him, “what we need is a place where not that many people go to, and the proprietors won’t ask questions.”

“Well that’s kind of obvious,” Hermione told him. “Where can we get”?”

“See you back at the house,” he interrupted, leaving the flat and going downstairs. Outside the window Harry saw Ron come out of the front entrance below, and Diapparate.

“Seems like Ronnie has things figured out on his own,” commented Fred impressively. “If there aren’t any objections we’d like to open our shop.”

Within minutes of opening up to customers again the shop was already starting to make well-earned gold again. After making sure that the twins would be joining the practice sessions (depending on Ron’s ability to find a place), Harry and Hermione headed back to Grimmauld Place.

Ron got back to the house about five minutes after Harry and Hermione did, looking both pleased and slightly guilty at the same time.

“The Hog’s Head has a cellar big enough for all of us to fit in,” he first said. “I stop by there when I’m on assignment, so I’ve gotten to know the place a little bit. All we have to do is sound proof the walls and bit, and nobody would be the wiser.”

“Why do you have to go there?” Harry asked, confused.

“How did you arrange it for our use?” said Hermione.

“The barman has connections with the Order,” he explained simply. “Didn’t ask too many questions when the Council reserved a room for me, and then I told him the Order needed the cellar for the next few days too.” Ron’s guilt showed a little more. “Luckily he didn’t see through the lie and gave it to me.”

“But why do you have to go there?” Harry asked again.
“We may be going against the Order’s wishes, Harry, but I’m still working for them. Sorry, I can only say that it’s a stop off point before I get to the real work.”

Already knowing that it was futile to probe any further, Harry said, “Fine,” and decided it was best to start to plan things out now that he had more people to work with.

When the next day arrived he now just had two days before the time came to break the law. Harry etched into his Galleon to meet at the Hog’s Head at seven in the afternoon, and set off with Ron and Hermione half an hour beforehand.

“I still find it kind of hard to believe that the barman would just give you the cellar, Ron,” said Hermione as they walked up the High Street.

“Will you just wait until you see the place before you criticize me?” Ron said. The three of them made a right toward the Hog’s Head, and as they approached the bar Ron lead them off the road and behind the building. Harry saw a door on the ground against the building. Ron opened it, and climbed down the stairs.

When Ron lit the torches with a flick of his wand, the slight annoyance Harry had with him disappeared. The cellar was surprisingly clean compared to the grimy pub above them with all the junk that must have usually filled it pushed to the side. So there was enough room for the D.A. to meet in rather comfortably. Harry would’ve preferred the Room of Requirement but he had no complaints, especially with the side room where Dempsher could be held after being taken”another worry of Harry’s.

“Very nice, Ron,” said Harry impressively. “This will do.”

Hermione whipped out her wand. “I’ll start sound proofing the walls and ceiling before everyone gets here.” Ron and Harry helped her, and when it got close to seven Ron went back outside that nobody strayed into the pub above by accident.

The D.A. members arrived individually or in packs, and came down the steps clearly not as impressed as they were with the Room of Requirement. But none of them said anything against it and waited for things to get started. After Ron came back down and closed the cellar door behind him, Harry counted and was pleased to see that everybody showed up without a blemish on anybody’s skin.

“Um, glad to see you’re all here,” Harry began. “Since this is taking place two nights from now it’d be best to review mostly Stunning and disarming spells tonight and tomorrow.”

“No Patronus?” asked Seamus, sounding slightly disappointed. “I was so close last time.”

“We’re going up against Aurors not dementors,” he told him. “Those that’ll be there in two nights will be inexperienced, but that doesn’t mean their pushovers. And I also want to practice Shield Charms.”

“No need for that,” said Fred dismissively. “We’ll supply you with all the Shield hats, scarves, and gloves you’ll need.”

Harry just stared at him. “And what would you say when the Ministry knocks on your door asking who you sold so many of those things too?”

Fred thought for a moment, and said, “Good point.”

From there Harry thought that it went rather smoothly. Clearly a year out of school has taken a toll on most of them and would need a lot of work. When Harry paired himself with Neville the Stunning Spell aimed at him was off, but it wasn’t just Neville. Harry was glad that he decided it was best to get practice in.

They mostly started to improve before Harry decided to call it a night and he told everybody to meet back there at the same time. Harry might have gone back to Grimmauld Place in better spirits if Ron hadn’t said he had to leave for the night again, and went into the pub with a wave. Though he was extremely tempted to follow Ron, Harry decided to spend his time thinking out the next day.

Back at the house he began to study the map some more, and along with some extra notes provided by Tonks, came up with a plan. But it would all depend on how organized they were, and the kind of resistance that the Aurors would put up.

Harry was met the next day with vast improvements from everybody in the D.A. He found it harder to find any mistakes being made, but still fixed very minor details and went over the plan of attack so that he knew everybody was as ready as possible.

“The first thing we’ll need is a diversion,” Harry started off just as determined as ever. “And when I say diversion, I mean a major, major diversion. We need a bit of information on them so that we can get a better idea of what we’re dealing with.” He lifted his eyes off the map on the table and looked around at his fellow D.A. members, who were all nervous and tense. All of them were wearing white ski masks scrunched up over their faces, listening intently. Harry had probably gone over the plan a dozen times already but he had to make sure that nobody was left in the dark. The operation was going to take place in a mere hour.

He turned to the twins. “Fred, George, did you get what I asked for?”

Fred held up a bag. “Yup. Pity, though, we won’t be able to market them after this.”

“Good, give one to Neville, Susan, and Terry…. And you’re sure that you’re okay with the other part I’m asking you to do?” asked Harry anxiously.

“It’s going to be rather uncomfortable living with it for the rest of our lives, Harry, but if we get what we need then it’ll be worth it,” George assured him, laughing grimly, dipping into the bag and giving them out.

Harry was about to say something along the lines of it being no laughing matter, but instead he said, “Thanks.” And from there Harry went over everything from the time the Aurors would be distracted to when they had Dempsher in custody.

His eyes then shot at Lavender, who by a stroke of luck was made by her parents to do some studying under a Healer. She was far from being fully qualified but she said she could handle injuries. “I still say that you should stay out of harms way so that you could””

Lavender huffed impatiently. “I already told you that if anyone gets hurt I’d bring them back here immediately to spare anyone else the trouble. I was put in Gryffindor for a reason, you know.”

“Fine,” Harry said, taking off his glasses causing the room to become foggy. “Everyone know where to Apparate?”

“Yes,” they all chorused.

“Know what you’re doing, Hermione?” he asked.

Harry saw a blurry Hermione take out her wand. “I only know so much from the book Ron took from headquarters for me but here it goes.” She then rapped her wand on the side of Harry’s head. He blinked as he felt the sting, but when he opened them everything was clear.

Harry placed his glasses on the table, and forced his white mask over his face and everybody followed. “Move out in groups just like we planned.” He led the way out of the cellar and into the night.
Back to index
The Infiltration by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
Sorry, took longer to write and submit than I thought.
After the normal sensation of being sucked through a rubber tube subsided, Harry found himself on a worn out dirt road. Around him erupted many cracks and Harry looked around as the rest of the D.A. appeared out of thin air. He waved them for them to take cover in the thick foliage that littered the side of the road, and they all continued on forward trying to keep together.

After five minutes of trudging through the dark trees, Harry said in an audible hiss, “Fred. George. You know what to do.”

“Wish us luck,” said Fred, as he and George plunged in deeper away from the road.

After running for a little while longer, Harry slowed to a stop and the sounds of the others’ footsteps died away too. He ordered them to stay put while he went to the road to get a better look, and farther ahead he saw a cabin silhouetted in the darkness. As expected, about three or four figures came out.

Harry dove back into the trees to meet back up. “Dean, Lavender, Terry, get up front with me,” he said, taking out his wand. Everybody continued on forward with their wands drawn as well, trying not to make a sound, which was a challenge due to the concealed twigs and the possibility of tripping over a root with a grunt. But that didn’t happen and it didn’t seem like anybody overheard them coming.

When they ended up in front of the cabin across the road, Harry was able to make out the people standing outside easier. The light inside the cabin appeared to be off, and it was too dark to see the Aurors properly. Still, he hid behind a wide tree and crouched poking half his head around it. Dean, Lavender, and Terry were close at hand, with the rest of the D.A. a little further behind until Ron or Hermione would charge forward to provide more support when needed.

“Maybe it was a false alarm,” he heard on say, sounding annoyed.

“If something set off our Intruder Jinx then we can’t take it lightly,” retorted another.

Harry looked behind him at the sky over the trees. Any second now, any second, he thought desperately. In the meanwhile he waved his hand to signal those he had not called forward to move back, praying that they would stay silent at the moment.

Just then another man came out of the cabin. “Why don’t we send a few people to scour the area, send up spark if they see anything”” At that precise moment a greenish haze appeared underneath the trees, and then the Dark Mark came into clear view as it illuminated the sky. Harry watched its progress as it rose up, and then looked down to se the rest of the D.A., whose expressions were unfathomable under their white masks. But if Harry had to guess most of them probably just realized how real the situation was now. But they knew that there was no danger from the Death Eaters since they all heard Harry tell Fred and George what the incantation was to conjure the Dark Mark. He then looked back in front of him at the Aurors and saw with a grim satisfaction that they were stunned to see what was upon them.

“Everybody to your stations! Everybody to your stations!” one started crying, running back in and ordering people around, while the rest outside remained transfixed up at the sky. Then he came out again with no less than seven with their wands out at his command, and they all sped up the road with the one in the lead saying, “Stay alert!”

Harry tried to make himself smaller as they all passed out of sight, and turned his sights back on to the Dark Mark. According to Tonks there was going to be more than twenty people on guard tonight. Harry knew that by conjuring the Dark Mark somewhere in the distance a good bit would go to the source of the disturbance. And seeing the Aurors sprinted towards the Dark Mark told Harry that there must be an Anti-Disappariation Jinx in place.

When Harry turned back to the cabin from behind his tree he saw that there were five, but he didn’t have to worry about that at the moment”not until Fred and George sent up the signal: red sparks to tell them the Aurors were wearing Shield garments, blue to signify they weren’t. If none came up…Harry didn’t want to think about the trouble they might have gotten into.

Finally, blue sparks flew through the air with such a force that the Dark Mark was dispersed. The Aurors outside looked up into the sky dumbfounded, Harry stuck out his left hand, Terry gave him the Gravity Grenade not unlike the ones the twins just used to easily subdue the Aurors, and Harry pulled out the pin and hurled it awkwardly at the guards from around the tree.

After a second or two of the Aurors gazing down at it in confusion one of them finally had the sense to yell, “WATCH OUT!” He ran up to try and kick it away but too late. In a flash of light it exploded, and when Harry’s vision cleared he saw that three of the Aurors had fallen to the ground and couldn’t get up despite their struggling.

Without wasting anymore time Harry, Terry, Dean, and Lavender all came out of hiding shouting, “Stupefy!” The four Stunning Spells caught their marks totally by surprise, and the last two fell to the ground. Harry did some fast counting in his head: seven had left for the Dark Mark and five were just taken down. Eight more to go. Then the doors too were blasted open, and only three came out shooting spells and curses from their wands. If the Aurors were surprised to see that their opponents didn’t seem to be Death Eaters they didn’t let it show.

At that point it was a purely defensive battle on Harry’s part. Those that were standing outside and were taken down fairly easily had made the mistake of being easily distracted, but if they had been ready to battle then they’d more than likely put up a very good fight”just like those that just came out. “Protego!” Harry yelled, deflecting a spell aimed for him. Dean, Lavender, and Terry were following suit.

The mask Harry was wearing was itchy, made it hard to see, and he could barely breath properly. But he couldn’t have another small wave of the D.A. come in until a few more Aurors joined the fray.

With Dean being the tallest among them, and Lavender with the sticking out from behind the mask, it had to be Terry who yelled, “Expelliarmus!” His spell was able to get past the Auror he was dueling causing the wand to fly out.

Harry then blocked a spell just in time, but the force caused him to stumble a little. Then the Auror who sent it pointed his wand at Terry, and yelled, “Stupefy!” and the Stunning Spell hit the unsuspecting Terry right on the head, knocking him out.

Damn it! Harry cursed. He was hoping that more Aurors would have come out of the cabin, but there was no choice now with someone hurt. He, Dean, and Lavender all ducked just when there were six fresh shouts of spells and jinxes coming from the trees.

Two were taken down, but the last had a Shield Charm. “Petrificus totalus!” Harry yelled from the ground. The last Auror’s limbs snapped together and he fell to the ground stiff as a board. He stood up and turned to Lavender. “Get him out of here!”

“Locomotor body!” Lavender said, pointing her wand at Terry. His body levitated a few inches above the ground, and Lavender guided him away. They then quickly Stunned those that couldn’t get up from the ground, and with some effort moved them out of the way.

“With me!” Harry ordered, going to the door with people behind him and sticking out his hand again. “Give me another.” Neville gave him his Gravity Grenade, and Harry waved him back a little. He pulled the pin, opened the door, threw the grenade in, and quickly slammed the door again. Only this time he heard the unmistakable sound as it was kicked back towards them and hitting the other side of the door. “Back!”

Harry heard it explode, some light seeped from the space under the door, and then the door collapsed under it’s newfound weight. Knowing what would come next, Harry yelled, “Protego!” Many spells and curses flew from the open doorway, and those that had Harry in their sights were deflected. Some of the other D.A. members did the same just in time, but three were hit and fell to the ground unconscious.

At that moment the last six of the D.A. came charging through the trees. One person was able to take the three knocked out to safety despite the newly created chaos.

Harry stepped through the threshold into the cabin with everybody else, and they entered the stage of the plan that he knew would be the most difficult. The interior of the cabin would have most of the guards inside of it, and once the D.A. broke in then they’d have to face all of them head on without the advantage of surprise back up.

“Stupefy!” Harry yelled after ducking away from a curse aimed at him. The Auror he was fighting easily blocked it, and then started to charge. Harry threw more Stunners but they were deflected too, and before he knew it the Auror tackled him.

Amazingly though instead of pulling off the mask he went for the left sleeve. He pulled it back, and his eyes widened in surprise most likely due to not seeing the Dark Mark. “Who’re you people?” he shouted angrily, about to rip off the mask.

“None…of your…business!” Harry choked, struggling to keep his mask on.

But he only got it past his chin before he heard Hermione shout, “Stupefy!” The Auror was knocked aside and didn’t move. “Accio!” Harry’s wand flew into her hand, and she tossed it back to him.

“Thanks,” he said catching his wand.

Then a curse came out of nowhere hitting Hermione, causing her to be thrown backwards and landing a few feet away. Harry swung around his wand at the source of the curse but another voice shouted angrily, “REDUCTO!” It hit it’s target, which was blasted against the wall with resounding crunch.

“We’re to Stun or disarm only!” Harry yelled at the caster, who was undoubtedly Ron. Harry was also angry that she came to harm but he wasn’t going to show it.

“Shut it!” Ron retorted, picking up Hermione and taking her away with Harry providing some shielding along the way. When he saw they were going to make outside the Anit-Disappariation zone he went back to the fight.

The D.A. still had numbers on their side, but the Aurors surpassed them in skill that resulted from better training. It took all they had to make sure that nobody was unmasked. At one point Dean was taken down and his mask was past his lips before three members of the D.A. acted in the nick of time.

It was no easy feat when two of the original seven Aurors in the house were left. Harry was now only left with the people he guessed to be Seamus, Susan, Justin, and Michael. There were three that were no longer able to fight, but no one was able to take them back to the cellar to be treated. It didn’t mean that everybody else got hurt and left, but that Harry didn’t want those that returned the injured to the cellar to come back under any circumstances. Harry had to help in fending off the Auror that Susan and Justin were fighting.

“Impedimenta!” Justin shouted, his spell deflected.
But that let an opening for Harry to yell, “Expelliarmus!” The Auror’s wand flew out of her hand, and Harry caught it. She was then was finished off by a pair of Stunners from Justin and Susan. The three of their wands now turned to the remaining Auror, who was fighting Seamus and Michael.

He looked around when the sounds of the other fight subsided, and he saw that it was now five on one. Scowling, he lowered his wand saying, “Damn it. Who the hell are you?”

Harry merely said, “Sorry, mate. Incarcerous!” Thick ropes flew out of Harry’s wand and wound themselves tightly around the Auror, who lost balance and fell cursing.

There was a few seconds of silence when they all looked at each other before Justin said jubilantly, “Excellent! This’d make a good story for when I have kids…too bad this has to go with me to the grave.”

“Too right it will,” Harry replied. “Alright, one of you take them back,” he said, gesturing to the two on the ground.
As Susan volunteered to do so, Justin made to the only other door in the cabin saying, “So Dempsher’s in here, right?”

“No, wait!”

Too late. When Justin opened the door a jinx caught him in the chest. Harry and Michael bolted over to either side of the open door, and turned in shooting Stunning Spells at one last remaining Auror that was personally gaurding Dempsher.

“Didn’t I say when we ran over the plan that there’d more than likely be one more of them with Dempsher?” Harry said angrily.

“Who the bloody hell are you people?” a voice from inside the room asked.

Harry looked around to see Dempsher tied up to a chair. It was clear that the confused and angry expression on his face used to be glee not long ago. Harry didn’t answer but pointed his wand at him. “Stupefy!” His Stunner caught Dempsher in the face, and he slumped in his chair. He turned to Seamus and Michael, and gestured towards Justin the other three on the floor saying, “Get them out of here. I got Dempsher.”

After they did as they were told, Harry cut the bonds holding Dempsher to his chair. He put Dempsher’s arms around his neck, and heaved him out of the cabin. It was still a good ways away until dawn, when replacements would come to take over their shift, but Harry still wanted to leave as quickly as possible. “Get well soon,” he said to the tied up Auror as he passed. He just flailed angrily.

When Harry finally left the Anti-Disappariation zone he turned on his heel, and ended up in the back of the Hog’s Head with Dempsher at his side. He kicked open the cellar door, and entered to find the entire D.A. grouped up around beds with their masks off. Harry greeted as he passed them on the way to the side room. Inside he conjured up a chair, dumped the unconscious Dempsher on it, and tied him up. It was only until he closed the door behind him that he felt it safe to finally take off his mask.

“Lavender, he’s ready for you,” Harry announced.

“Hold on, I have to check on everybody else first,” she said. Lavender’s expression showed no emotion as she went over to the bed where Hermione was lying, with Ron sitting next to her. “All right, you’re wound should be sterilized by now.”

She shooed Ron away rather more harshly then needed, and made hangings appear around Hermione’s bed. Ron gave Harry a look out of the corner of his eye. “You don’t think”?”

Harry waved it off. “She wouldn’t stoop that low,” he said just before a painful gasp issued from behind the curtains. “How is she?”

“Lavender says it’s just a flesh wound, though she put on a bit of liquid that stung to clean it.”

Harry nodded, and went to go see how everybody else was. Terry, who was the first to be brought back, was sitting up on his bed looking content. Neville, Dean, and Ernie were all lying close by in their own beds.

“You all okay?” Harry asked, concerned. It was his fault, after all, that they got hurt.

“Fine,” Neville answered, twitching. “Lavender gave me something for that, it should go away soon. Wish I lasted longer, though.” Dean and Ernie seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

Harry waved it off. “It’s my fault you got in this mess”

“Well, they didn’t leave permanent damage, so it’s no big deal,” said Dean.

“Yeah,” Ernie put in, “as long as this didn’t turn out to be a waste of time.”

Yeah, I hope so, Harry thought. “So who brought you back?”

“That’d be me,” Anthony answered from close by. “After everybody started fighting inside it seemed safe to do it.” Harry noticed he had a bandaged left forearm. “Oh yeah, I was hurt too…I guess.”

Actually smiling, Harry left them to go where Fred and George were sitting around Lee. Parvarti and Padma Patil were lying not too far away.

“Justin’s an idiot,” Lee immediately declared. “It should have been him that got hit by that Impediment Charm, and then I wouldn’t have opened that door. Now’s he’s lying there with that purple wart.” He jabbed his thumb, and saw Lavender, who was done with Hermione, treating a aching Justin.

Not wanting to watch that Harry turned to Fred and George. “Good job. Any problems?”

“Couldn’t have gone smoother,” said Fred. “After we set off the Mark we hid up in some trees and waited.”

“And then the idiots come blundering up in one big group gawking up at the thing,” George took over. “So we just tossed a few of out Gravity Grenades around them, and they went down without a hitch.”

Shrugging, Harry said, “Well if they were on par with Kingsley then we wouldn’t have had a prayer.”

Lavender then came up to check on Parvarti and Padma. She left them looking satisfied, pulled on her mask, and went into the room with Dempsher.

After thanking Fred, George, and Lee, Harry went back to Hermione’s bed. “What happened?”

“She just put some bandages on me,” answered Hermione. “Wish her first aid kit carried something that didn’t sting as much, though. Lavender reckons that we were lucky that lethal force wasn’t used on us, or else a lot more of us would be hurt.”

“Good thing that Ron got out, still,” Harry said, turning to him. He was expecting Ron to give him a hardy nod or maybe an “I had to,” but he almost seemed ashamed of himself.

Finally, he reached out to grab her hand and said, “Sorry, Hermione.”

Both Harry and Hermione were completely taken back by that statement. It took a lot of self restraint not to join Hermione in saying, “Sorry for what?” But Harry wasn’t blushing as she was. “You weren’t the one who hurt me, you know.”

“I know,” Ron said, looking right at her. “I’m sorry that I had to see in danger and get hurt to get my thick skull to realize that you mean the world to me.” Now Hermione’s face was scarlet, and Harry wished that he had stayed with Fred and George.

Luckily he was given an excuse to leave when Lavender appeared through the door to the side room. “He conscious,” she said, taking off her mask and giving the bed a wide berth. She then went to go check on Dean.

So, pulling on his mask and leaving Ron and Hermione a little privacy, Harry entered the room to find Dempsher conscious. He was looking around in confusion before went in, but as soon as Harry came in Dempsher’s eyes were nowhere else.

“Good morning, Mr. Dempsher,” Harry responded as if they were back at the Ministry.

“Who the hell are you people?” Dempsher asked angrily. “That other person didn’t even talk to me!”

Harry paused for a second, then said, “Why so upset? Did you perhaps think that it was your Death Eater friends coming to your rescue?” The answer to that question was obvious, but he thought Harry thought he’d play with Dempsher a little.

“Well you obviously aren’t,” Dempsher spat. “Or else I’d already be back in front of the Dark Lord. You all must actually be Ministry trying to get more information out of me with this hoax.”

“Yes, Mr. Dempsher, we aren’t Death Eaters, but we are not Ministry either,” he answered simply.

“Then who are you?” Dempsher asked again.

Harry thought about it, and decided to give him an ounce of truth. “Treasure hunters.”

Dempsher just stared with a raised eyebrow. “Treasure hunters?”

“Yes, and we happen to know that you’re in possession of something very valuable that we want to get our hands on.” Harry went to the other side of the room where a small package laid, something he retrieved the previous night and thought he would need to convince Dempsher.

His eyes widened when Harry unwrapped it. “Did that…belong to Rowena Ravenclaw?” Harry held the scepter right in front of Dempsher’s face. “What in the world have you done to it?” he blurted out in horror, seeing its dilapidated state.

“Found it like this,” Harry lied, heaving a big disappointed sigh. “But seeing it still belonged to a Hogwarts founder it’s still worth something. We’re hoping to find the locket of Salazar Slytherin.” Dempsher eyes looked back up at Harry, who smiled under his mask. “And Mundungus Fletcher told me that you bought it from him three years ago.”

“Let me guess,” Dempsher began knowingly, “it’s my freedom for that locket.”

“Very good,” Harry said approvingly. “So you tell us where it is, and once we have it you’re free to go.” That was a bold faced lie. As soon as Harry got what he wanted it was a memory wipe for Dempsher before he was chucked back to the Ministry.

It seemed Dempsher knew that, for he said, “Only of you do an Unbreakable Vow with me!”

“What!” Harry blurted out. “No deal!”

“No vow, no locket,” Dempsher said simply. “I’m not stupid, you know. It wasn’t by luck that I evaded capture for so long while I kept the Death Eaters financed and informed. I know that as soon as you get what you want you’ll just give me back to the Ministry. Perform an Unbreakable Vow with me, and then I’ll tell you what you want.”

Harry whipped out his wand, and stuck it under his chin praying that Dempsher would fall for his bluff. “I could just torture it out of you, thought of that?” Unfortunately he only smiled.

“If you were cruel enough to use Unforgivable Curses your capture of me would have gone a lot easier.”

Harry didn’t say anything. He just put down his wand, exited the room, and pulled off his mask. Ron and Hermione were just staring at each other, so Harry went over to the bed.

“Ron!” he barked, causing him to jump a little and turn around in surprise.

“Harry?” he asked, confused. “What happened? Did it turn out to be a wasted effort?” Around them it seemed a few people were thinking along the same lines.

“Not yet,” he said quieting down. “Look, Dempsher isn’t going to talk unless he’s guaranteed we’re going to set him free.”

“We aren’t, are we?” Ron asked, looking appalled and angry. “You know”” he leaned in closer. “You know it was because of him that Percy and so many others died that day!”

“Want to have a go at him?” Harry asked in an even more hushed voice.

Ron inhaled and exhaled deeply, his expression serious. “What d’you mean?”

“The only way that Dempsher’s going to talk without knowing he’d be set free is if thinks that his life is in danger. Tell him who you are, what he did, and beat on him enough to think you’ll actually kill him. I’m sure Dempsher won’t be so tight mouthed if it meant getting you off him.”

Ron had already made a motion towards the door when Hermione grabbed his hand to stop him. “What? Are you sure that there’s no other way, Harry?” she asked quickly.

“I dunno, Hermione,” said Harry, annoyed, “we could use a truth potion, but I don’t think that any of have any available.”

“I could make one,” she said desperately. “But it might take a while and then it might turn out poisonous.”

“Will he live long enough to tell us what we want to know?” Harry asked.

“Harry!”

“I have some Veritaserum.” Harry and Hermione both looked around at Ron, who just said his second random thing of the say.

“Excuse me,” Harry said, not fully understanding. “You have Veritaserum?”

“Well,” he said, running his chin, “I was supposed to force feed it people when I needed to get information badly, though the one who gave it me didn’t exactly have this scenario in mind at the time.”

“Who cares!” Harry told him excitedly. “Go and fetch it!”

Ron looked at the door longingly for a second as if wishing he could beat on Dempsher, he bolted out of the cellar. In two minutes he came back with a small bottle with clear liquid inside. He shoved it into Harry’s hands, and plopped back down into the chair beside Hermione’s bed.

And Harry pulled on his mask again, and entered the room with an aura of smugness so large that Dempsher easily noticed. “You’re right, Mr. Dempsher,” Harry started off. “After we’re done with you we are going to give you back to the Ministry.”

“Then I won’t say a word!” Dempsher said, spitting at Harry’s feet. Harry then stood over him and uncorked the bottle. “What’s tha”aad!” he squeaked as his nose was pinched.

Upon seeing that Harry was going to tip the bottle into his mouth, Dempsher shut his mouth tight. He somehow was able to hold his breath for over a minute before his body finally got the best of him. Harry immediately poured in a few drops, placed his palm over his mouth forcing Dempsher to swallow.

He stepped back a few steps to witness the effect, and after a few seconds of Dempsher flailing he finally calmed down and looked up at Harry in a defeated sort of way.

“Is your name Henry Dempsher, ex-head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“And have you been passing information to the Death Eaters?”

“Yes,” Dempsher repeated.

“Did a man by the name of Mundungus Fletcher sell you the locket of Salazar Slytherin three years ago?”

“Yes.”

Harry took a few steps closer. “Where is it now?”

“Gringotts vault nine hundred and sixty five.”

Damn, Harry thought. “And how can we get into the vault to retrieve the locket?”

“You’ll need my key to the vault,” Dempsher answered.

“Where’s the key?”

“I keep in my room at my mansion,” Dempsher told him. “My wife’s bedside table has a jewelry box with a false bottom. The key is over that.”

Harry figured that he’s have to ask Tonks to get the key for him. “Anything else we need to know to get in side?”

“My presence or my wife’s so that you’ll be taken to the safe.”

That part he couldn’t fake, so Harry will need to hope that Bill can get him into the vault.

“Thank you,” Harry said softly, raising his wand. “Stupefy!”
Back to index
The Key and the Vault by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
sorry...another long update. hopefully the next won't take as long.
“Hedwig! Oi, Hedwig,” Harry said to the sleepy owl. Judging by the bones at the bottom of her cage, it was clear that Hedwig had a good night of hunting and was looking forward to some sleep. “C’mon, you can rest as much as you want after you get back. This is important.”

She turned her large amber eyes towards him, hooted, and climbed onto Harry’s outstretched arm. “Okay, now this is for Tonks,” Harry told her while trying to tie the magically sealed letter to her leg. “And make sure that nobody else is around when you give it to her.”

After Harry opened the window, Hedwig put pressure on his arm, and then took off into the air. As he watched the snowy owl fade into a speck in the rising sun, Harry hoped that it wouldn’t take long to catch Tonks alone.

But that task should be easier than what Harry had to go through when he told the members of the D.A. to head home. They all wanted to stick around to make sure their effort didn’t go to waste, but he assured them that he’d tell them all through the Galleons. And those that got hurt would need their sleep.

They aren’t the only ones, Harry thought while failing to stifle a yawn. But sleep would have to wait until after he got into the vault. Before he was tempted to lie down on his bed to rest his eyes, Harry left the room and proceeded to the basement kitchen. There he found Hermione and Ron having breakfast together.

“So,” Ron started off after pushing a plate of eggs towards Harry, “d’you reckon the replacement Aurors are doing something about our little mess yet? Hermione thinks so, but my guess is that they’re too peeved to even speak right now.”

“Who cares?” Harry responded. “Just as long as nobody gets in trouble, and we get into that vault.”

“You should take into account the possibility that we won’t get in today,” said Hermione, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Tonks is most likely swamped back at the Ministry to find time to get to the Dempsher mansion. Not only that, we have to arrange something with Bill so that we don’t look suspicious as we enter a vault that doesn’t belong to any of us.”

“Always the downer, aren’t you?” Ron said before inserting toast into his mouth.

“Well if I am shouldn’t that mean that I’m a downer that means ‘the world’ to you?” she retorted with a small grin.

“But that doesn’t mean you can’t be a bit more optimistic,” said Ron, only slightly fazed. “The sooner that damn Horcrux is destroyed, the sooner Voldemort is vulnerable, the sooner he’s gone.”

“That all may be true, Ron, but even if we do get it today then it’ll still take a while to actually destroy the Horcrux.”

Harry rolled his eyes as Ron began to retaliate, and concentrated on breakfast. The rest of the morning was a blur of anticipation for Harry, so much so that he kept to the drawing room looking out the window hoping to see Tonks appear. Ron and Hermione got over their spat and were now resting comfortably on one of the sofas.

His mind then kept on wondering over to the vault that they would eventually have to visit, and with it the poem on the silver front doors of Gringotts also appeared. Even though Harry assumed that the Ministry wouldn’t keep an eye on Dempsher’s vault, there was still the problem of the goblins. The only people that could enter a Gringotts vault were the owner or a goblin, and neither worked to Harry’s advantage.

He could put Dempsher under the Imperius Curse, but he was supposed to be in Azkaban. His wife probably had access but she was most likely being watched by the Ministry after what had just happened. Security at Gringotts was too tight to even consider the possibility of controlling a goblin. So, Harry would have to depend on Bill.

All of a sudden, out of the corner of his eye, Harry caught a glimpse of something white shoot past the window. “Hedwig!” he gasped, causing Ron and Hermione to jerk up in attention. He ran out of the room with the two of them just behind, and went upstairs.

In his room Harry saw the snowy owl standing outside the window that she flew out of only six hours ago. She had an envelope in her beak, which he took after letting her back in. Her job completed, Hedwig flew up to her cage without even asking for a reward.

Harry tore open the envelope, and to his delight withdrew a tiny golden key similar to his own. There was no note, but Harry would wonder about that later. He, Ron, and Hermione all just stood there gazing at the key, and then at each other.

“To Gringotts?” Ron finally suggested.

And without another word, the three of them bolted downstairs, left the house, and Disapparated to Diagon Alley. Its decrepit state didn’t bother Harry since soon enough it should be bustling with happy shoppers, who didn’t have to worry about death. They went up the front steps of the wizard bank, were bowed in by the goblins at the polished bronzed door, and once they got through the silver ones they came to a complete stop.

“Bloody hell,” Ron said with his eyes wide open in the amazement, and Harry couldn’t blame him for the main hall was filled to its capacity. All around them witches and wizards were being pocked and prodded by goblins with security devices. People that made it to the counters were complaining about such secure measures when all they wanted was to make a simple withdrawal or deposit.

“Oh dear,” Hermione sighed, getting on the balls of her feet to get a better grasp of the situation. Harry felt someone bump into him from behind. He looked to see that a few more people had joined the enormous queue. “Well, it looks like we’ll just have to wait.” She made to stand at what she thought was the beginning of the line.

Ron snorted. “As if.” He then grabbed Hermione’s hand as he started to push his way forward, and Hermione just grabbed a hand full to Harry’s sleeves to drag him along.

His tall stature made it easier for Ron to force himself, Hermione, and Harry though the numerous annoyed people. Many goblins came forward with angry looks to try to stop them, but couldn’t keep up as they pushed on. Hermione made attempts to apologize to them, and tried to scold Ron at the same time for his thoughtless actions. But Harry also noticed that she seemed slightly amused.

“Next,” a goblin called from the counter.

“Oi!” Ron shouted, raising a hand and moving toward him.

“You must get in the back of the line!” the goblin said nastily.

“Ron Weasley here to see my brother, Bill Weasley,” he said authoritatively. “Now, it’s an emergency.”

The goblin looked him up and down over his pointed nose. “Do you have proof of who you are?”

Ron arched an eyebrow, and pulled on his red bangs. “There’s a slight family resemblance between us, don’t you think?”

“Polyjuice Potion,” the goblin immediately retorted.

“In which case I’d have some form of identification to help fool you. Get my brother so he could ask me a question that only I would know.”

He just stared at Ron for a second before calling over another goblin. “Get Weasley out here.” The second goblin then disappeared behind one of the hundreds of doors behind the counters. Five minutes later Bill came out the same door looking surprised at the sight of them.

“What did Mum call you when you were five?” he immediately asked.

“What!” Ron said looking horrified. “C’mon, Bill, no ask something else, please.”

“Just answer the question,” Bill said impatiently.

“Yeah, Ron, answer the question,” Hermione said with a smile.

Ron went red around the ears, and put a hand over his face in embarrassment. “’My”my little Ronnie Bonnie’,” he grumbled just over the chattering in the main hall. Harry and Hermione hid their laughter, but Bill looked convinced

“Let’s go to my office,” he said.

“Make sure they wear these,” the goblin said, giving him three golden button pins.

“Yeah, sure,” leading the way back through the door. They ended up in a handsome marble corridor that seemed cut from the same stone as the main hall. “And that’ll teach you to come unannounced.”

“You knew it was me?” said Ron.

“’Course I knew, especially after the way you reacted.”

“Then why did you make me answer the question?” he asked through his teeth.

“You’re reaction alone wouldn’t have been good enough for the goblins anyway, so get over it.” He turned his head around to look at them. “So what brings you here?”

“We’ll explain in your office,” Harry said quietly.

A few minutes later they arrived at Bill’s office. It was much larger than Mr. Weasley’s at the Ministry, and had a window and a large filing cabinet resting comfortably against the wall. Bill leaned against his desk, and eyes them suspiciously.

“So why are you all here?”

Harry got out his wand, and pointed it at the door. “Muffliato. Sorry, can’t risk being over heard.” With his other hand he took out the key. “We need to get into vault nine hundred and sixty five.”

“What for? And how did you get that key?” he asked in confusion. “None of you own that vault.”

“Please, Bill, we really need to get what’s inside,” Harry pleaded. “We’ll explain another time.”

But Bill went over to the filing cabinet, and pulled open a drawer. He fingered through the papers until he pulled one out. “Let’s see…that vault belongs to”” Bill stopped as he just stared at the file in his hands. “Henry Dempsher.” He looked up at them in astonishment. “Why in the world d’you need to get into Dempsher’s vault? Not only that, how did you get the key in the first”?” He stopped once more.

“What were you three up to last night?” Bill asked slowly, putting away the file.

“Why is that important?” Ron asked trying to sound innocent.

“Because I dropped by headquarters this morning for anything new. It seems that Henry Dempsher was kidnapped from the Ministry last night.”

“Bill, we can explain,” Hermione said hurriedly. “But we can’t right now, we just need your help. You’re the only one that has a chance of getting us to that vault.”

“Do you have any idea how much trouble I could get in if I helped?”

“I swear to you, if there was any other alternative then we’d do that instead,” Harry argued vigorously. “We wouldn’t be asking you to put your job on the line unless it was really important!”

Ron whipped out his wand. “Look, Bill, the question we could be asking you is if whether or not you can get us in, not if you will. The Imperius Curse can be useful since it’ll help us get what we want, and it’ll get you off the hook. Win-win.” Harry hated himself for privately agreeing, but if it had to be done then so be it.

“But that doesn’t matter because you will not use a curse that’ll get you a life sentence in Azkaban,” Hermione clarified, grabbing Ron’s wand hand.

“You’re looking for a Horcrux, aren’t you?” Bill said looking at the wand. “No way you’ll go so far for anything else.

Harry took out his wand too. “Sorry, Bill, but that’s right.”

“Harry!” Hermione groaned.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help.”

Sighing in relief, Harry stowed his wand. “Thanks.”

“So what’s the plan?” Ron asked jubilantly.

Hermione gave him an exasperated look. “Ron, this is going to take a lot of planning. Bill just can’t pull a””

Bill put up a hand to silence her. “One that the goblins won’t like even if we aren’t caught,” he said in thought, answering Ron’s question. “The three of you are just lucky they gave me access to the carts so that they wouldn’t have to take everywhere.”

“So what do we do?” Harry asked.

Bill tossed him one of the gold button pins the goblin at the counter gave him. “This is a visitors pass, so when we go through the corridors you won’t receive unwanted attention.” He paused for a second and shifted his view to Ron and Hermione. “You two won’t need one because you’ll be the distraction while Harry and I sneak into the caves.”

“What? We want to go with Harry,” Ron protested.

“Well too bad. If you want my help then you have to do exactly as I say.”

“It’s true,” agreed Harry.

Bill checked his watch. “Okay, there should be a good number of goblins in their break room right about now eating. Head out now, and I’ll leave with Harry soon after.”

“Fine, what do we do?” asked Ron.

“Use your imagination,” Bill answered, waving them away. “Take a right out the door, and you should see some signs in English pointing you in the right direction.”

“C’mon, ‘Ronnie Bonnie’,” Hermione said, guiding him out the door.

“Please don’t call me that,” Ron groaned.

There was an awkward second of silence before Bill asked, “How long have”?”

“Comes and goes,” said Harry.

Another minute passed when an aggressive knocking came from outside. Harry put on his button pin, and Bill opened the door to find an annoyed goblin looking up at him.
“Why on earth are you not keeping your guests under control?” he asked.

“What are you talking about, Jagfort?”

“You know very well what I’m talking about!” Jagfort rebuffed. “Your brother and his woman are defacing our lounge. Not only that, they are not wearing their designated visitors badges.”

“But I was sure I pointed them towards the one reserved for humans.”

“It doesn’t matter where you told them to go, Weasley. What matters now is where they are and the rules they are breaking,” said Jagfort. “We would deal with their bothersome presence on our own, but we are allowing you the courtesy of taking care of it.”

“Thank you,” said Bill with a slight bow. “I’m truly sorry, all I asked them to get was a muffin. C’mon, Harry.” Harry nodded and followed him out the door leaving behind Jagfor the goblin.

“’Defacing’? What could they be doing? Usually they’d be a little more specific,” Bill told Harry in an undertone as they made down the corridor.

“Dunno,” Harry answered, not wanting to think about it. They passed a few adjacent hallways that were filled with more jabbering goblins about what was happening in the lounge. Eventually Harry saw a sign pointing to the goblin lounge, and saw the only reason it was in English was because it had “No Humans” in the margins.

The sign told them to go right, but Bill took a left into a deserted corridor. The two of them didn’t go too far before Bill stopped along a bit of wall on their left just before another corridor. Harry and Bill looked around the corner to see a lone stone door at then end with nobody in front of it.

“Thought so,” said Bill, going towards it freely. “They may have given me the chance to get Ron and Hermione under control, but the nearest security goblin still left his post to watch over them incase things got too out of hand.” He then started to examine the stone door, which Harry noticed was covered in runes and it had no handle.

He started to wish that Hermione were with them to translate when Bill said, “What cycle are we in?” Bill took out a pocket watch, the kind that Harry had once seen Dumbledore use. And like Dumbledore, it must have made sense to him.

“Okay, here we go.” He then tapped the stone door in seven different places causing some of the runes to light up. Then to Harry astonishment the door slid upwards to make an entrance into a dingy cavern. Bill then ran in with Harry at his heels as the doors closed again. “The pattern that opens the door coincides with the lunar calendar,” he said grimly. “Only a curse breaker or goblin can do what I did, and no goblin enters the caves from this entrance unauthorized.”

“So they’ll know it was you?” Harry asked worriedly.

“They’ll definitely suspect it seeing as my guests are causing a disturbance not too far from here.”

“Bill, I’m sorry that””

“Make it up to me by getting rid of You-Know-Who,” he said, reaching the railway tracks with a lone cart waiting for them. Bill and Harry climbed in, and then the cart started to hurtle forward. The cart made its usual sharp turns and sudden dips with the cold wind biting at Harry’s face.

Harry didn’t see do Bill doing anything to drive the cart expect just sit still, though he did seem to be concentrating rather hard. And if Bill were telling the cart where to go without the use of his hands, what would have impressed more was how Bill knew where to go. Unlike his first trip into the vaults, Harry made no effort to memorize the routes he was taking.

Then they stopped in front of a passageway with a vault door that was bigger than Harry’s, but it looked far less secure than the one that kept the Stone. Harry and Bill got out of the cart, and Harry took out the key.

Bill took it a little apprehensively as he stuck it in the keyhole and turned. “Never stole from this place,” he said as green smoke issued out from the interior of the vault. His expression didn’t change when in front of them were mounds of gold and silver even bigger than Harry’s. There was armor, goblets, and all kinds of jewelry that were encrusted with fabulous diamonds and emeralds. Harry was beginning to wonder how they would sort through all the treasure to find the locket. “And I hope I won’t have to again.”

“You do that,” said Harry starting forward, but Bill stopped him.

“This isn’t the most secure vault we have, Harry, but that doesn’t mean the goblins left it unprotected.” Bill waved his wand, and said in a resounding voice, “Eximo forca!” All at once the path between the mounds of treasure collapsed into a seemingly bottomless pit, dozens of small knives shot down from the ceiling, the left and right walls spewed out searing flames, and with amazing speed Bill scooped up one of the knives and plunged it deep into the ground behind them. Less than a second later the door to the vault began to close on them but the knife stopped it. For extra measure Bill stuck a few more in the vault doors path before saying, “We haven’t got much time. Move!”

Without thinking, Harry jumped onto the nearest pile of gold, and began to climb to the top. He tried to keep his balance as gold coins slipped beneath his feet, and then met Bill at the top of treasure mound. Where is it? Harry asked himself as he looked around the vault.

“All right, this is Salazar’s Slytherin’s locket we’re talking about,” said Harry in thought. “Dempsher will want to give it a place of honor.”

“Like over there,” Bill said in awe, quickly making his way back down the pile of gold and heading towards the back of the vault. Harry looked up to where he was going, and was stunned to see what seemed like ancient relics. He followed Bill over more mounds and jumped over crevices. Thankfully, their destination still had a floor. “That bastard.”

Bill started to carefully examine a gold statue of a man with a bird’s head. “How in the hell did Dempsher sneak all this into the country?” he asked in outrage. That’s when Harry noticed that there were far more things that had to be from Egyptian origin: sarcophaguses, headdresses, and jewelry. Clearly Dempsher’s tastes stretched outside of England.

“But you’re a Curse-Breaker, shouldn’t have you known about all this?” asked Harry.

Bill put on a thoughtful look. “So…that’s why it seems my rounds never make it this part of the caves. I’ll bet anything that Dempsher somehow paid off the goblins to keep me away from here.” He smiled mischievously. “Dempsher may already have a lifetime sentence for passing information to the Death Eaters, but I’m making sure he pays for this too.”

Harry sighed. “That’s all well and good but can we get back to the Horcrux now?”

It seemed as if Bill was pulled out of a trance. “What? Oh, yeah, let’s go.”

They stayed at the back of the vault looking around all of the ancient treasures. Harry then spotted a locket with a snake in the shape of an S on the front hanging on the wall. “There!” Harry yelled excitedly, making to go grab it.

“Harry, no!” Bill exclaimed.

It was too late. Harry moved the locket from its place, and instantly it felt as if the floor was removed from under him and he plunged downwards. He threw his arms up, and came to sudden stop. “Damn, I should have warned you that simply entering the vault won’t set off all the traps. And whatever happens, don’t drop the locket.”

Harry gripped the locket tighter in his left hand. “I still have”ouch!” It felt as if spikes erupted all around the locket penetrating Harry’s hand. Still he held on. When Bill pulled him back was back on solid ground, Harry put down the still smooth locket and checked his hand. His palm and fingers were pockmarked with red blotches.

“That’ll come off,” Bill assured him. “But keep that hand hidden until you get out of the bank. Otherwise, the goblins will know for sure we stole from here."

But Harry didn’t care about that. All that mattered now was that he had the last Horcrux. As soon as it was destroyed then Voldemort could be killed.

An awful scraping sound came from the entrance. “The door!” Harry and Bill shouted in unison. Harry picked up the Horcrux, sprinted with Bill back to the entrance while jumping over the crevices and scaling the mounds of gold.

“Come on!” Bill yelled terror. He then launched himself from the first pile of gold as the knives in the vault door’s way began to bend. Harry jumped through the threshold before it slammed shut completely, and tumbled right next to Bill.

The two of them caught their breath for a minute before Harry said, “Let’s not keep Ron and Hermione waiting.”

“Good thinking,” agreed Bill, heaving himself up and getting into the cart. Harry stuck the locket in his pocket, climbed in the cart, and it started to make its way back to the surface.

They ended up back where they started from, and began to make their way up the passageway to the stone door. No sooner had they reentered the marble corridor did a livid and scratchy voice hollered, “WEASLEY!”

Harry quickly put his left hand with the Horcrux, and his right ready to pull out his wand. He and Bill both turned around to face the peeved goblin coming towards them.

“What were you thinking taking an unauthorized trip into the mines?” he demanded.

“I was just giving Harry here a tour, Grolder” Bill lied, doing his best to put on an innocent face. “Wants to become a Curse-Breaker, you see.”

“That is no excuse. And also explain his two friends?” Grolder the goblin hissed. “And how come you didn’t quell their inappropriate manner when you were told to?”

“I didn’t get the message,” Bill lied again.

Grolder eyed him with intense dislike. “Jagfort told me he passed on the order successfully.” His face snapped towards Harry. “What are you hiding?”

“Nothing,” Harry said so nervously that it caused the hand holding the Horcrux to jerk.

That didn’t escape the goblin’s eyes. With amazing speed he forced the pockmarked hand out of his pocket along with the locket. “You dare steal from us! So it was you who caused the security disturbance we received. And you helped him!” he said to Bill.

Harry had no choice. He took back his hand, kicked the goblin away, and pulled out his wand. “Stupefy!” The jet of red light hit the goblin in the center of his chest to knock him unconscious.

“Looks like our escape isn’t going to be clean after all,” Bill said in dismay.

“No,” Harry disagreed, pointing his wand at Bill, “mine isn’t. Incase you forgot you were under the Imperius Curse. Stupefy!” Before Bill could react the Stunner hit him and he fell to the ground.

Not waiting another second, Harry dashed off down the corridor in search of Ron and Hermione. The halls were filled with goblins going one way or another without knowing that Harry hurt one of their own. They all kept talking about the security breach they just had at vault nine hundred and sixty five.

Harry followed the signs towards the goblin break room, but when arrived neither Ron nor Hermione were to be found. If Harry had to guess then the two of them were driven out of the bank unharmed. But he couldn’t take that chance and went on to search the rest of the corridors.

A minute later he turned left at a fork, and from behind he heard someone yell, “Impedimenta!” Harry and the surrounding goblins dove out of the way causing the spell to hit a large vase. Harry turned ready to fight, and to his astonishment he saw Bethany facing him with a smirk.

“What the”? B””

“Incarcerous!”

“Protego!” The conjured ropes veered off and tied themselves around a goblin. “How did you know we’d be here? And why d’you want to fight?” It then hit Harry, and he scowled at her. Bethany proved herself to be a good ally in the Order but she was also part of the Ministry. And the only reason that she was here must be because Tonks was caught. That also must mean… “Where are Ron and Hermione, B”?”

“Reducto!”

“Protego!” Harry yelled. The Blasting Charm bounced off and destroyed part of the wall. He quickly moved to his left, pointed, and shouted, “Stupefy!”

Bethany easily blocked it with a Shield Charm from her right wand, and swiftly pulled out a second wand with her left. “Expelliarmus!”

Harry couldn’t react fast enough, his wand was blasted away, and Bethany caught. “Damn it, this is all working towards getting rid of Voldemort,” Harry pleaded. “You have to understand, B””

“Petrificus totalus!”

Harry’s limbs snapped together, and he painfully fell facing the ceiling. Bethany came up and stood over him shaking her head. “How you pulled last night’s fiasco off, I don’t know, Potter. But I guess it doesn’t matter anymore, does it?”

“Move aside, move aside!” Harry heard just before Grolder the goblin came into view and looked down at him. He was disheveled from being hit by the Stunning Spell but that didn’t take away from mad gleam in his eyes. “Just so you know I still think Weasley was part of your plan to steal from our bank, but seeing as you Stunned him too I’m forced to act otherwise.” The goblin then reached into Harry’s pocket. “But it doesn’t matter as long as this is put back.”

“I don’t think so,” said Bethany, snatching the locket away.
“That is the property of the owner of vault nine hundred and sixty five!” Grolder snarled.

“It’s evidence,” she backfired. “Without this the Ministry can’t prosecute Potter for stealing from your precious bank. Is that what you want?”

The goblin inhaled and exhaled heavily. “Very well, but I shall expect this back. What is your name?”

“Betty Comely,” she answered. If Harry could move his face it’d be in confusion. “So, why don’t you let me take him in, and you can get things around here back to normal. It’s enough of a madhouse out there.” She put Harry’s wand and her extra wand in her robes, and waved her original at Harry. He felt himself being lifted up from the ground, and was guided away by her.

“Well?” he heard Grolder’s fading voice say to the other goblins. “What are you all standing around for? Get back to work!”

Bethany didn’t say anything to him as she walked or even looked down at him. The most she paid attention to him was when she tossed something over his face just before he heard the noises of hundreds of annoyed people. They were back in the main hall.

The entire time he could only think about what could have possibly have happened to Ron, Hermione, and Tonks. There was no way it was coincidence that she was in the back corridors of Gringotts at the same time he was, especially after what happened the previous night. And even if it were then she would have no reason to attack Harry unless she knew. And if she knew then the only way she could have found out was through Tonks after she sent the key. He figured that the only reason Bethany used a fake name was to keep the goblins off her back.

Harry heard large doors opening and felt fresh air. They had made it outside and Bethany was now guiding him down the front steps. After a little while of walking Harry heard her use a Blasting Charm on something, and continue forward. All of a sudden he fell to the ground.

“We’re in Florean Fortescue’s in case you’re wondering,” she said, taking off the rag that was covering Harry’s face. Bethany grabbed the neck of Harry’s shirt, and heaved him into a standing position. She maintained her grip on him, turned, and the two of them Apparated.

After the blackness was gone, Harry landed in what he recognized as the alley near headquarters. Bethany chuckled at him, flicked her wand, and Harry was free.

“What just happened?” he asked in utter bewilderment.

“Nothing short of a miracle,” she answered, offering a hand to help him up.
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Preparation by Phoenix 86
“Wha”what d’you mean a miracle?” Harry asked, not taking her hand.

Before Bethany said anything, she dragged him up and made their way to the house. “Well,” she corrected, “it’s not as if we had to make a dashing escape on a hippogriff or a dragon or something…but we got out without any real resistance from the goblins. Especially after they saw you took this.” From her robes she took out the locket of Salazar Slytherin, and gave it to Harry once reaching the front door.

“So…you helped me?” he asked, looking from her to the locket.

She smiled. “’Course.”

Harry cracked an amused smile as he took out his wand to unlock the door. He was about to ask Bethany how she knew where to be, when the sight of McGonagall standing at the entrance caught his attention.

“It seems that you have some explaining to do, Mr. Potter,” she said.

“Do I?” Harry asked in a self-pleased tone that he would have never of dared use back at Hogwarts.

“Yes,” McGonagall went on, ignoring Harry’s insolence, “and Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley are already doing that upstairs. It will be your turn after he’s done, Williams.” She turned her back on them and went started down the hall towards the staircase.

“Please, Minerva, I haven’t answered to you since I gave Ian Boyd fungus for ears.” Bethany nonetheless followed, and Harry did too not knowing what else to do.

They reached the upstairs landing, and from inside the Council room Harry heard Lupin say, “I can’t believe Aberforth didn’t confirm this with us.”

“Well I’ve been going in and out of there for months now, what d’you expect?” he heard Ron retort.

“Aberforth?” Harry asked out loud. Why did that sound so familiar to him?

“You know, Dumbledore’s brother, the one who owns the Hog’s Head,” Professor McGonagall answered, opening the door to the Council room.

“Him?” Harry blurted out. Before he could make any more inquiries he was led inside.

“Harry!” Ron and Hermione shouted before colliding onto him with hugs.

“Oh, my goodness, Harry, we were so worried after we heard the alarm being raised,” said Hermione.

“How did you get out, mate? The goblins were in a right state,” Ron said worriedly. “And what about Bill and the Horcrux?”

“He can explain when the two of you are done,” McGonagall interrupted, taking her seat behind the table next to Lupin. “What have they said so far, Remus?”

“Our suspicions were right,” he responded heavily. “They were responsible for last night’s incident, and they have Dempsher tied up under the Hog’s Head. And not only have they committed treason, but Ron reserved the bar’s basement for their own use under our authority without permission.”

“And after that?”

Lupin waved for Ron and Hermione to continue.

Ron rolled his eyes as he said, “Harry interrogated Dempsher and we found out that the locket was in his vault, so we got the key””

“Hold on,” Lupin said skeptically. “First of all, I doubt that Dempsher just told you where it was.”

“Veritaserum,” Harry said, just wanting to get through all this as quickly as possible. There were other far more important matters that had to be discussed now.

“What? Where in Merlin’s name did you get that?”

“You mean you didn’t give it to him?” Hermione asked just as confused as Harry was to that reaction.

“Who?”

“Ron.”

“No. Do you know how hard it is to make that?”

“Well from what I’ve read it very complicated,” Hermione started off. “It would take””

“That was rhetorical,” Lupin cut in. “Look, let’s deal with that later. Just tell me where you got the key.”

“I gave it to them, Remus,” said Bethany. “Sent it to them by owl after I found it in Demspher’s mansion.”

“Really?” Harry, Ron, and Hermione all said in unison. Immediately they knew it was a mistake.

“Gauging from your reactions I assume she wasn’t in on your plans,” Lupin deduced, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It was Tonks, wasn’t it? She’s the only person that you know well enough that could feed you information that’ll almost guarantee a success.”

Harry, Hermione, and Ron looked at once another with some guilt. It would be their fault if they had driven some sort of wedge between Lupin and Tonks.

“Well since that’s out,” Bethany went on carelessly, “it was her who asked me to check out the mansion, and told me to send it to these three.”

“Lucky we have someone else from the Ministry that’s willing to go so far,” Harry told her appreciatively.

She gave him a bemused smirk. “Also helps that she was so swamped with what you guys did that she had to ask me. The present Ministry can go to hell as long as the Death Eaters are stopped.”

“Okay then, let’s get to the events at Gringotts,” said McGonagall. “Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger, if you’ll tell your side of the story.”

Ron and Hermione recapped from the time the key had arrived at Grimmauld Place to when the two of them, Harry, and Bill split up. Afterwards they had no problems getting to the goblin’s break room. Harry expected that he would want to shy away from the conversation but it turns out that all they did to offend the goblins was show off their magic in front of them. It was nothing more than arrogantly serving themselves tea and biscuits by wand. Hermione was very hesitant to do so, so it was Ron that did most of the taunting.

“You enjoyed that, didn’t you?” accused Hermione, smacking his upper arm rather hard.

“Ouch! Well anyways,” Ron finished off, rubbing his hurt spot, “Beth showed up, and told us that she’d make sure Harry got out.”

“Knew at least Potter would need come sort of help getting out,” said Bethany.

“Harry, just tell me what you were up to,” Lupin asked of him.

Harry did so in a rushed sort of way. He ended it by showing the table the Horcrux, and saying strongly, “Now we need to destroy it, and then Voldemort is next.” Then to Harry’s utter surprise he saw and heard a tiny crack appear on the face of the locket.

Lupin’s eyes then shifted from the Horcrux to Harry, and his face softened. “Okay…let’s drop this issue for now. But just so you know we were never going to turn you in, just deciding if we should expel you from anymore operations.”

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and put the Horcrux in his pocket. It would be he who would destroy it. “Thanks. Now, why don’t you tell me where Voldemort is so I can kill him later?”

McGonagall ignored that comment. “We should start making plans to raid You-Know-Who’s fortress, Remus.”

Lupin nodded. “I agree. But unfortunately it’ll have to coincide with the Ministry’s force, which we’ll need Kingsley for. But he’s probably tied up investigating last night.”

“Potter,” McGonagall immediately said to him, “you shall immediately wipe Henry Dempsher’s memory”I don’t care if he forgets his name in the process, just do it! After that dump him back into the Ministry’s hands as discreetly as possible.”

“Okay, but I want to be part of the planning,” Harry demanded.

“Please, Potter, keeping you away from the planning would be like keeping a niffler from digging up the ground.”

“We’ll send word of when the first meeting will be,” said Lupin, waving them off. “You three are dismissed.”

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all nodded and turned to leave, but were stopped when McGonagall called out, “We didn’t mean you, Mr. Weasley.”

“Oh, okay,” Bethany said with a tone of realization, “well see you then.”

“Just tell Kingsley that Dempsher is going to be brought back to the Ministry,” asked Lupin. Bethany nodded and left.

Knowing that he wasn’t allowed inside anymore, and not wanting to be told to leave, Harry said, “See you back at the house, Ron.”

“What?” Hermione asked. “Bu”” Harry grabbed her shoulders from behind and led her out of the Council room. When the door slammed behind them she jerked herself free. “What was that for?”

“You know just as much as I do there was no point in trying to stay,” responded Harry, digging into his pocket to retrieve his fake Galleon. On it he etched one word with his wand: “Success.” “Let’s just focus on getting rid of Dempsher.”

“Well, okay,” she said, with one last hopeful look at the door before turning to go down the stairs.

When getting back to the basement of the Hog’s Head, Harry and Hermione once again donned the white ski masks from the previous night. It was harder for Harry to see this time around but he was still able to make out Dempsher’s form still sitting on the chair.

“Got what you were looking for, have you?” Dempsher asked menacingly. It was clear from his tone that he took the Veritaserum as a personal insult, and to add to it Harry showed him the locket. “It’s cracked! What the bloody hell did you do to it?”

They gave no response. Harry and Hermione pointed their wands at Dempsher, and shouted, “Obliviate!”

There was no flash of light, but Dempsher’s head was jerked back, his eyes became pale, and finally he hunched over unconscious.

“Not the usual side effect,” observed Hermione, taking off her mask and taking a closer look at Dempsher. “But we did it.” She then flicked her wand in the air to release the anti-Appariation Jinx that must have been in place. “So how do we take him back to the Ministry?”

Harry untied Dempsher, and put his arm around his neck. “The front door, of course.”

A minute later they arrived at the rundown street with the broken-down telephone box. After checking that no Muggles could see what they were doing, Harry and Hermione stuffed the unconscious Dempsher in it.

“Six…two…four…four…two,” Harry counted off as he spun the dial over the body. When the dial spun back in place the same female voice resonated in the telephone box.

“Welcome to the Ministry of””

“Henry Dempsher, here to turn myself in,” Harry interrupted. And before the visitor’s badge even appeared out of the change slot, he slammed the door shut, and watched as the box slowly began to descend.

“That wasn’t very nice,” said Hermione when Dempsher disappeared under the sidewalk.

“Right, next time I see her I’ll apologize,” said Harry sarcastically. “Let’s just go home.”

It wasn’t until they did that Harry realized how tired he was. With a kidnapping and a robbing of a bank behind him, he was able to concentrate on other things. Hermione wanted to wait up for Ron, so Harry went up to his room for some well-earned sleep.

A large rumbling in his stomach woke Harry up. He opened his eyes to find that the sun had set and the streetlights outside were glowing brightly. Rubbing a crick on his neck he found a little bit of dirt clung to him that was either from the fight of the robbery. Need a shower, Harry reasoned, but filling his stomach came first.

Down in the kitchen he was a little surprised to see Hermione sleeping with her head down on the table and a flask resting nearby. Harry was about to wake her up but the job was done for him when green fire sprung up in the fireplace, and Ron stumbled out of the flames. Hermione jerked awake.

“Ron?” she asked, rubbing her eyes. “You just got here?”

“Yeah,” he answered, sounding particularly peeved. “Sorry, but the Order made me go out.” Ron sat down across from Hermione with his face in his palms. “Bloody hell.”

“What?” asked Harry, hoping to get some information out of him in his riled up state.

Ron shook his head. “Same thing as always. Well, the only good news is that Kingsley dropped by headquarters after I got back there. We’re due back for the beginning stages of the plan of attack tomorrow.”

“But it’ll take some time to destroy the Horcrux,” Harry stated uncertainly. “Isn’t it a little premature to plan things right now?”

“Let’s worry about that tomorrow,” said Hermione. “You should get some rest, Ron.”

The next day’s meeting didn’t go how Harry had thought it would. He figured that Kinglsey would be going over some diagram, telling who to go where and how to break through the dozens of Death Eaters they would be undoubtedly facing. But the only people from the Ministry there were Tonks, Mr. Weasley, and another that seemed slightly familiar to Harry. They were all sitting in a circle of chairs in the Council room.

“How are things with Dempsher?” Lupin asked Tonks. Harry gave a sideways look towards at Hermione, who smiled when Lupin asked the question. That was all Harry needed to see to know those two were okay.

“Kingsley is handling the investigation,” she answered. “You have no idea how peeved Minster Barnes at all this. Only about a month in power and this happens, so he’s trying to keep it quiet as best he can.”

Harry honestly didn’t know whether to feel relieved or angry. On the one hand if the case didn’t get any publicity then it would fizzle out faster. On the other, the new Minister was just covering things up like his predecessors.

“Which is proving quite a challenge,” one man said. Harry looked at the man’s sharp nose and silver streaked hair, and recognized him from a few photos in the Prophet of him alongside the Minister. “Dempsher appeared out of nowhere in front of the entire Atrium, when everybody thought he was in Azkaban. It’ll be days”God forbid weeks”until all this quiets down enough to pull out some of our forces to focus on new things.”

“Excuse me,” Harry spoke up. “But what does this have to do with our attack on the Death Eaters.”

“Everything, Potter,” Moody replied. “Incase you haven’t noticed we’re deciding when to leak the location of the Death Eater’s main base of operations to the Ministry.”

“If we do it now the Minister will be too eager to regain some face,” the man went on. “He’ll send out forces far too early. How much more time do we need?”

“About a week left for the cup,” said McGonagall. “And the locket, Potter?”

Retrieving it from his pocket, Harry was happy to see some more damage appearing on the locket. “Two weeks at the most.”

“Think it’ll be possible to do it in two weeks, Dominic? Tonks?” McGonagall asked the man.

“I can’t remember being involved on something this potentially big,” Tonks said in thought. “But Kingsley and Robards would at least want a week to prepare.”

“That means the location has to be leaked in a week,” Dominic took over. “If you really want it to happen in that timeframe, then I’ll do my best to calm him down. That way he won’t fly off the handle when the information first gets to him.”

“Does anybody disagree with this?” Lupin asked all the people present. When nobody spoke up, he said, “Then it’s settled: the location of Voldemort’s stronghold will be revealed by next week.”

“And how exactly are we going about that, Remus?” Mr. Weasley asked. “This sort of information can only come from a Death Eater in custody or one who’s looking to make a deal.”

“We have an idea, but it’ll take some refining,” said Moody. Harry saw the magical eyeball do a complete turn in its socket. “And if that won’t be possible then we have another…. Best we not go into details at this time.”

“I must disagree, Alastor,” Dominic protested. “You should at least let one or two Ministry personnel in on””

“We were already going to do that,” Lupin interrupted. “Sorry but we’ll have to leave it at that.”

After a few moments of silence, McGonagall asked, “Does somebody have anything they would like to add?”

“Yeah,” Harry said in annoyance, “how come it’s you three that knows everything and keep the rest of us in the dark?”

“Listen,” Moody piped up, “believe it or not, what we’re having Weasley do is the only secret that we’ve been keeping from everybody.

“And even that is going to too far,” Mr. Weasley said, throwing a look at Ron. “Making him do something”that as far as I know can get him killed”and then making him lie about it.”

“I volunteered, Dad,” said Ron, his guilt showing. “I mean, yeah, they approached me, but ultimately it was up to me.”

“Sorry, Arthur, but that’s how it has to be,” apologized Lupin. Mr. Weasley waved it off with a tired hand. “Listen, this isn’t the best time, but can you tell Charlie what’s going on. We’ll need his help.”

Mr. Weasley cracked a smile. “Even if I don’t tell him, as soon as Bill hears about this he will. Sure, I’ll give him the message.”

“Does anybody else have something to say?” asked Lupin. This time nobody spoke up. “Okay, our next meeting is in the basement two days from now. Tonks, Arthur, Dominic, we need all Order members in the Ministry that will be fighting to attend.”
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Change in Plans by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
........reviews are always nice
As the time when he must inevitably face Voldemort drew closer, Harry felt even more and more dreadful of what was to come. It wasn’t himself that he was worried about, either. His face-to-face with Voldemort also meant that Ron, Hermione, and so many others would join in the battle that was sure to follow.

But Harry always reassured himself by taking a look at the Horcrux, which after nearly two weeks of decay had to have been already destroyed. At the dinner table almost a whole day before the Ministry and the Order would begin their attack, Hermione asked for the locket.

“It’s gone, Harry, just look at its state,” she said, turning it over in her hands.

“Let’s hope your right. If I actually do get to deliver some sort of finishing blow, I don’t want him to just stand back up again.”

“We can go to Slughorn,” suggested Ron.

Harry thought about it and shook his head. He had to believe that it was destroyed just like he had to believe he could kill Voldemort. “It’s gone.” Besides, it was his last real evening with Ron and Hermione before the attack the next day.

Ron smiled, and raised his glass of butterbeer. “To the fall of Voldemort.”

“And if I should fall instead,” Harry said with some dark humor, “may someone el””

Immense pain then shot right into Harry’s scar. And along with that pain was also anger”anger for having waited so long for an answer that was right in front of him. “YOU WAIT UNTIL NOW!” a horrible voice raged. “CRUCIO!” There was a horrible scream of agony, and he caught sight of a pale form in robes writhing on the floor.

The same screaming continued until Harry found himself back in the basement kitchen, and the screams of pain turned into his own. He was on his own floor covered in sweat with Ron and Hermione kneeling over him with stony expressions. Harry sat himself up, trying to hold in his urge to vomit. It had been so long since Voldemort had let his defenses down to accidently allow Harry inside, but that didn’t make what he saw any less unnerving. In fact, it made it more so with the attack only a day away.

“Harry?” Hermione said unevenly, her face pale as a ghost. “What did you see?”

He closed his eyes, and kneaded his forehead. “I’m…not sure. Voldemort’s peeved, that’s for sure.”

“Peeved at what?” Ron asked.

“Apparently somebody just told him something important, and he’s wondering why it so long for the information to get to him,” he answered, knowing it was right. There was another small prickle across his scar. “Voldemort’s up to something.”

“You have any idea what, or”or who”or anything?” Ron pressed on desperately. “C’mon, Harry, the fight’s soon, we can’t get caught off guard.”

“Look, all I’m getting is that Voldemort knows something, tortured the person who gave it to him for taking so long, and now he has something in the works,” Harry retorted heatedly. “I think that’s pretty damn good for now!”

“We have to go to headquarters, and find some way to stop the attack,” Hermione immediately said, standing up.

“Wait, WHAT?” Harry blurted out, getting to his feet on wobbly legs. “No way, Hermione, if we don’t do this tomorrow, then when will we?”

“You just said it: Voldemort knows, something now,” she said, turning to face him. “We heard the way it came out of your mouth, Harry. He is angry that something wasn’t brought to his attention before. For all we know, he knows about the attack and is preparing now.”

“No,” he disagreed flatly. “If he found out about the attack, then he wouldn’t be this angry.” Harry felt another prickle in his scar that worried him a little. It seemed as if Voldemort was planning something. “He’d be happy because he’ll know I’ll be in the front lines.”

“Still,” Hermione persisted. “We should tell the Order.”

Harry stomped that out too. “Even if the Order decides that this is a bad idea, that won’t stop the Ministry, so they’ll still go to fight. But I’ll probably be tied down at headquarters for my own safety.”

“So we do nothing,” Ron figured.

“Exactly.”

“Harry,” Hermione went on sympathetically, “remember all the times before when you entered Voldemort’s mind? It meant something every single time. How can we ignore this?”

“Look,” Harry said calmly. “After tomorrow it won’t matter anymore. I say we just go to bed.” He turned towards the door, leaving their meal virtually untouched. “And promise me that neither of you will go running off the Order.”

“But”” Hermione started.

“Promise!”

“Oh, okay, promise.”

Harry looked at Ron, who bit his lip thoughtfully and sighed. “Okay, I promise.”

He then left the room and went back up the stairs in to the main hallway. Before he even took his first step up the flight of stairs to his room, Harry’s scar throbbed, and he let out an audible yelp.

“SCUM OF THE EARTH!”

“Reducto!” The Blasting Charm hit Mrs. Black’s portrait, and she was forced to jump into a neighboring frame.

“Mistress!” Kreacher cried, scrambling to his mistress’ side.

Not wanting to be around for when Ron and Hermione came up to investigate, Harry rushed up to his room and lied down on his bed. There he just looked at the ceiling wondering what could have happened. Voldemort was extremely annoyed and angry the first time, but the one that just happened felt more like anticipation. Maybe Hermione was right about him knowing about the attack. He kept on thinking about it until sleep took him.

What awoke him at first was a creaking sound that came from downstairs. Harry decided to ignore it so he could get more rest, but not two seconds later the sound of someone pounding down the stairs got him up. He opened his eyes and saw that the sun had barely gotten up.

“Ron, where are you going?” he heard Hermione demand.

Harry yawned, shoved on his glasses, and went out of his room. He peered over the banister to catch sight of Ron and Hermione some flights down.

“I’m going out, I’ll be back soon,” he answered, about to continue downstairs.

Hermione grabbed him. “But the attack is tonight!”

Harry was now fully awake. Having a whole day before having to face the most evil wizard of all time was far different than having a mere twelve hours.

“Ron, we have to be at headquarters hours before we move out. Can you honestly say you’ll be back in time?”

“Hermione,” he said, exasperated, “today’s different, and you know that.”

“So you’ll be back,” she told him, suddenly becoming stern. “I don’t want the next time I see you to be when I’m saving you from a Death Eater.”

Ron laughed. “Okay, don’t worry. I promise that I’ll check up on things on my front as fast as I can.”

Ron turned to go again, and Hemione once again pulled him back. Only this time she forced him down to plant her lips onto his. Ron was caught off guard at first but started to kiss her back. Harry stood a few floors above them watching in a stunned silence as the kissing intensified. Ron and Hermione put their arms around each other as if trying to get so close that they’d fuse together.

After maybe a minute of snogging and Harry wondering who would consume whom first, they finally broke apart. But they kept close enough so that one could easily start the whole thing over again.

“What was that for?” Ron finally said, his voice cracking slightly.

She smiled. “Just go. I’ll see you later.”

Ron nodded blankly, continued on downstairs, and Harry heard the front door close. Hermione went back to her room with a distracted expression.

Two hours later he made no comment on what he witnessed while having breakfast with Hermione, who was reading from the Daily Prophet. The two of them just acted as if it was just business as usual, which, of course, it wasn’t with the prospect of being killed only an afternoon away.

“Any news?” Harry asked carelessly. He was once again caught up in what he saw the previous night.

“Same things as always,” responded Hermione, turning the page. “Huh?” She moved her mug of coffee to place the newspaper flat on the table.

Harry looked to see it was turned to the international section. “Two French Ministry officials found dead?” he asked out loud. “What’s that about?”

But Hermione was already scanning the article, her eyes moving from left to right in record-breaking speed. “I can’t believe it! They won’t say which department they worked in. It could be important.”

“It’s France,” Harry pointed out. “Doubt it has anything to do with us.”

“How can you be so naïve, Harry? Just because you’re going after Voldemort today, doesn’t mean he’s putting his schedule on hold.”

“Well if this is his work, then it’s just one more reason to kill him.”

They put the matter to rest, and the rest of the morning fizzled away. Their thoughts then turned to Ron, though neither of them admitted it, since the three of them were to report to headquarters in another hour. In fact, every single Order member that wasn’t already going in the front lines with the Ministry was supposed to be there.

“Where is he?” Hermione said tensely, drumming her fingers on the table.

Harry wasn’t exactly worried. It wouldn’t be like Ron to break such a promise like the one he had made.

He was about to reassure her, when the fireplace suddenly erupted in emerald flames. “RON! HARRY! HERMIONE! Get over here NOW!” Lupin shouted from the fire.

The two of them jumped at the fierce order. Harry secured his glasses, and stepped into the flames first. He felt himself spinning in the hot air, and as he neared the correct fireplace, Harry stepped off and stumbled on the floor.

He was helped up by a red headed figure, which he recognized as Fred when Harry put back on his glasses. George helped Hermione when she appeared out of the fireplace. Along with the twins and Lupin, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Fleur were all in the room.

Lupin stared expectantly into the flames. “Where’s Ron?”

“He’s on his assignment,” answered Harry with an arched eyebrow.

“What!” Lupin exclaimed, his eyes widening. “But he supposed to be”” He stopped and shook his head.

“Remus, where could he be?” Mrs. Weasley asked worriedly.

“If he has his head on straight, Ron should be fine at the moment,” he responded, though he didn’t seem entirely sure. “But something just serious has just happened. Come up to the Council room with me. Minerva and Alastor can help explain.”

“‘Has his head on straight’?” Harry saw Mrs. Weasley and Hermione mouth silently with some dismay as they went into the hallway.

There, Harry saw that some Order members had already arrived for the meeting. But they just gave the group curious looks as they passed. As Lupin began up the stairs, he said, “Did you hear about those dead Ministry officials in France?”

Just then the front door locks all clicked open, and the door itself burst open with a resounding slam. The sound caught everyone’s attention as a crippled figure limped into the house. Its head was bowed, the breathing was ragged, the left arm was grasping the chest, and it wasn’t until Hermione screamed out “Ron!” that Harry finally recognized the figure for who it was.

Ron looked up at them with a bruised and bloody face, muttered something inaudible, and collapsed onto the floor.

“Ronnie!” shrieked Mrs. Weasley, running to side with the rest of the Weasley’s right behind her.

“Bloody hell!” Fred and George chorused together.

“Merlin’s beard,” said Mr. Weasley.

“Ron? Ron, can you hear me?” asked Hermione, her face positively white.

Ron groaned and opened his eyes. His breathing was still ragged, and he tried to say something but all that came out frothy blood.

“Oh no,” she gasped, pulling up Ron’s shirt. On his chest were more bruises, which most likely meant broken ribs. “I think he has a punctured lung.” Mrs. Weasley gasped and tears started to pour from her eyes.

“Minerva!” Lupin called.

McGonagall came rushing downstairs, and gave a gasp of her own when she saw Ron’s condition. “What in heaven’s”?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out. I know school’s out, but is there any way that you can get in touch with Madame Pomfrey?”

“Yes, of course,” she said, leaving through the still open front door.

“Remus, do you have a bed somewhere?” Bill asked.

“Yeah, let’s get Ron on a stretcher and take him upstairs.”

It was less than four minutes later when Ron was lying on a bed with everybody surrounding him, when Madame Pomfrey burst into the room.

“Where’s Minerva?” asked Lupin.

“She said she had to go to Hogsmeade,” she replied, shooing everyone away from her patient. Madame Pomfrey examined his chest first, and then took out a vial from her case. “Drink.” Ron did so without question, and Madame Pomfrey immediately waved her wand over the chest.

All of a sudden Ron inhaled loudly, and coughed but this time with no blood. He tried to sit up only to be pushed back down by Madame Pomfrey.

“Ron, please tell me that you didn’t,” Lupin pleaded, dumbfounding all those in the vicinity.

Scowling at him, Ron replied, “What else did you expect?”

Lupin shook his head. “You should have come straight back to us to report this!”

“Well by the sound of it, you found out before I even got here,” he retorted strongly, trying and failing to sit up once more.

“At least tell me how you knew to be there in the first place.”

Ron took a few easy breaths as everyone listened carefully (except for Madame Pomfrey, who was working on his other injuries). “Last night,” he started off, “Harry saw into Voldemort’s head”ouch!”

“Sorry,” Madame Pomfrey said. She went back to work after she prodded him with her wand.

“What did you see?” Lupin asked Harry.

“It was nothing, really,” Harry insisted, baffled that it had anything to do with what was happening. “Voldemort was just really angry at someone for holding out on something important.”

“Malfoy,” Ron blurted out, trying and failing to sit up. “It was Malfoy you saw, Harry.”

“How could you possibly know that? The only way for you to know is if you were th”” Hermione gasped and put her hands to her mouth. Her eyes were wide with fear as she asked, “Ron…you’ve been doing that!”

As Ron nodded shamefully and Hermione groaned into her hands, it hit Harry even harder than Cormic McLaggen’s Bludger to the head. “You haven’t!” Harry said in shock.

And the undeniable proof revealed itself as Ron shook back his left sleeve: there, on his upper forearm, the Dark Mark burned blacker than Harry ever thought possible.

Harry looked around to see everybody else’s reactions, and it didn’t give Harry any hope that it would all be okay. “Remus,” Mr. Weasley started off slowly, “what did you make my son DO?” He was about to lunge but was stopped by Fred and George, though they didn’t take the surprise pleasantly, either. Mrs. Weasley started to cry. Bill and Fleur were just staring at Ron in disbelief.

“Sorry,” Ron said to Harry.

“‘Sorry’ doesn’t begin to cover it, mate,” said Harry, a part of him glad that “mate” didn’t sound foreign.

“No…sorry for tying you up back at Lectun Isle. But I have to look keep up the act, you know.”

Harry racked his brains, trying to recall the details of that day. “So wait, you were that Andrew guy? You were in disguise.”

“You honestly didn’t think they’d let a Weasley into the Death Eaters, did you?” Ron said with some pride.

“But it makes no sense,” Hermione said, finally speaking up and looking directly at Ron. “Voldemort is a powerful Legilimens, so how could you have stayed under his radar?”

Ron looked confused. “What’s radar?”

“We’re getting off topic?” Lupin interrupted. “Ron, what happened to Ginny?”

The atmosphere in the room became even more rigid than it already was. It felt to Harry as if all the hope left in the world was about to run dry. What did Lupin mean?

A dark expression crossed over Ron’s face. “He has her.” And with that the last of the hope was gone. All of a sudden Harry couldn’t breathe properly, and he could no longer control his movements. It just couldn’t be true. It wasn’t true. There was no possible way it could be true because Ginny was in France. Harry looked at the other Weasleys, hoping to see reassurance that it was all a bad joke, but he couldn’t find it.

“What the hell do you mean by that?” Bill yelled in panic, vocalizing Harry’s thoughts. It was clear the rest of the family wanted to shout the same thing.

Madame Pomfrey was now done, and slumped to the corner with eyes full of fear.

“I mean,” Ron continued angrily, sitting up, “that Voldemort had Ginny kidnapped!” His hands curled into a fist in the bed sheets.

“But…but, why?” Mrs. Weasley asked, once more on the verge of tears. “Why would he go”?”

“Malfoy!” Ron repeated, his breathing getting harder. Now that Ron got his secret out in the open he was able to focus on telling them what had happened. “It was Malfoy. He told Voldemort about Ginny.”

Mr. Weasley looked at Harry. “But that doesn’t explain why he’d target Ginny.”

Harry had no problem confessing that he dated Ginny at the moment, but that would’ve only added some unneeded complications. Ron saved him from explaining.

“Because if Harry went into the Chamber of Secrets to get her, then he’d try to save her now!” Ron exclaimed. He exchanged glances with Harry, who nodded in thanks and for him to continue. “He knows Harry won’t just leave her to die, just like he’d try to save the rest of us.”

“But she’s all the way in France””

“Exactly!” Ron cut in again. “She’s the one who had the least protection if you think about it. All Voldemort had to do was use someone in the Ministry to find out where she was, then send two of his cronies to get her.”

Mr. Weasley was skeptic. “You have a point, but two Death Eaters can’t walk into Beauxbatons.”

“They can if they’re in disguise,” Lupin said, sighing tiredly. “Two people from the French Ministry were found dead early this morning. It wasn’t in the papers but Madame Maxime sent us a letter saying they were from the school board. Apparently those same people came to the school asking for Ginny last night. After they left she said she noticed that Ginny and one of the governors looked a little off, but it was so late that Madame Maxime didn’t give it much thought.” He ran his fingers through his graying hair. “And this morning Alecto Carrow was found in her bed. The woman didn’t even put up a fight; she acted as if she already won while being restrained. That’s when the letter was sent out to us.”

The door burst open. “We thought it was urgent when we saw that the eagle owl carrying it had a Speed Charm placed on it,” Moody growled, making his way in. Harry saw the magical eyeball land on the Dark Mark. “So I guess the secret’s out.”

“Too right it is!” Harry exclaimed. “Now let’s go now! Voldemort wants me to go save her, so I’ll give him exactly what he wants.”

“Wait, Harry,” said Lupin.

“What d’you mean, ‘wait’?” Fred and George cried, taking their wands out.

“We’ll be right there with him,” said Fred.

“Just try and stop us,” dared George.

“Ron, how come you were left alive?” Lupin asked hurriedly.

Ron looked as if he tasted something foul in his mouth. “I saw Ginny being dragged in, so what else could I do except try and save her. But seeing as I was surrounded by Death Eaters I was beaten to pulp.” He scowled at the floor.

“They then took me Voldemort, who looked into me head.” He punched the bed. “He saw through my disguise, found out who I was, who my friends were, and what I did. The only reason he let me live was so that I could give Harry a message.” Ron looked up at him. “He wants to continue the duel that you two started three years ago”at the same place.”

“What does that mean?” Bill immediately asked Harry.

Harry didn’t answer. Instead he turned to Lupin and Moody. “The attack plan is scrapped. We have to get word to the Ministry, and deviate every single person they have to Little Hangleton! Voldemort isn’t just going to sit and wait”he’ll kill every single Muggle in the village just for the fun of it.”

“Too right he will,” Ron said urgently, standing up. “Because if you’re not there by the time they’re all dead then so is Ginny.”

“Then it looks like the new plan is to head to Little Hangleton and hope for the best,” said Lupin, tensing up. “Bill, if you have any way to reach Charlie, tell him about the change in plans. Arthur, I know you want to save Ginny as fast as possible, but we need you get go the Ministry and warn Kingsley of this.” Mr. Weasley nodded and left. “Poppy, if I were you I’d get over to St. Mungo’s…there’s going to be a lot of injured people heading that way soon.” Madame Pomfrey also left without a word.

“Where’s Minerva, Remus?” asked Moody.

“Hogsmeade”probably to have a chat with Aberforth,” said Lupin. “We should meet her there, and then gather as much help as possible.”

“Be careful,” warned Ron. “The first people you encounter won’t be actual Death Eaters, but prisoners under the Imperius Curse.”

“I doubt Voldemort told you that much,” Lupin retorted. “And if he did, he’s probably looking for us to go easy on his forces.”

“Well, all my information before now has been reliable, so if you find yourself killing Trent Perch out there don’t come crying to me,” Ron flung right back heatedly.

Lupin and Moody looked and each other, and left the room without another word.

“What the hell are all you people lounging around for?” Harry heard Moody shout from downstairs. “Send a message to every Order member not here yet: GET YOUR ASSES TO LITTLE HANGLETON!”

“I have to get to Charlie,” said Bill.

“I shall go with you,” Fleur said.

Mrs. Weasley ran up to them. “Hold on, I want to go too.”

“We have to get there by broom, Mum, and I can’t take you and Fleur on the same one.”

“I’ll show you just what I can do!” she argued, her eyes flashing. “Just wait another minute.” Mrs. Weasley then went over to give Fred and George a spine-crushing hug. “I can’t stop you this time, so take care of yourselves.”

“We will, Mum,” they said, trying to breath.

“And as for you,” she said, going up to a nervous Ron, who was also dragged down for a hug, “what you did was stupid”but brave. Take care, Ronnie.”

Harry thought that she was now finished, and would now leave, but he was wrong. “You’ve always been like a son to me,” she said. “Make sure to bring Ginny back.”

“I will, Mrs. Weasley.”

And now it was Hermione’s turn. Mrs. Weasley gave her just a big a hug as the rest, and told her, “You’re part of this family, too.”

With that, she, Bill, and Fleur all left.

Fred and George exchanged glances. “See you there,” said Fred, starting to leave with George.

“It’d be safer if we stuck together,” Ron protested.

George smirked, and looked at Harry and Hermione. “Make sure our ikle Death Eater here doesn’t get himself killed.” With a wave they left.

“Let’s get moving,” said Harry, wondering why he hadn’t already. “I’ll Apparate us somewhere secluded.”

“Fine with me,” agreed Ron eagerly.

“Me, too, but I at least want to know how come Voldemort never found you out until now,” Hermione persisted.

“You want to know? Fine!” Ron said rounding to her, being short with for the first time in months. “I didn’t actually infiltrate their ranks until after the holidays were over. Before that I was right here trying to learn Occlumency.”

“So that’s why you’ve been less volatile than usual.”

“I admit that’s why I’ve been trying to keep my temper these past months, but I still wasn’t good at it. That’s why Lupin came to talk to me during Christmas: to try and make me back out…I should have but I didn’t.” Ron pressed both his palms to his eyes. “Can we go now?”

“But Volde””

“Something clicked,” Ron interrupted. “I dunno what, but when it was my turn to get the Mark burned into me, it all came to me at once, I calmed down…and I kept my mind clear as Voldemort tried to penetrate my head like he did everyone else.”

“Bloody hell,” Harry breathed. He had a firsthand experience in trying to learn that technique, and knew how hard it was. Then again, Harry had Snape for a teacher, Umbridge breathing down his neck, constant fights with Cho Chang, and half the school thought he was off his rocker.

“So you’re an Occlumens now?” Hermione said with a gasp.

Ron shook his head. “I haven’t been able to do it since, but with all the crap I’ve seen since then not keeping a clear mind shouldn’t be hard to explain…. Luckily I was only a scrub that Voldemort had no interest in, so he only did it that one time up until today.”

There was a few seconds where none of the spoke, until Harry asked Hermione, “Happy now?”

She nodded. “Enough time was wasted. Let’s go.”

The three of them ran outside, Harry grabbed his two friends, and they all Apparated away.
Back to index
The Battle Begins by Phoenix 86
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all stumbled when they came out of the darkness. When Harry regained his composure, at first he thought that they had ended up in a completely different place than where he meant to go. It was only when he was able to make out the depressing ruins of the Gaunt house that he realized they were in the right place.

If it were not for the dark holes where the windows should have been, then the house would have been completely invisible to somebody strolling by. The surrounding wilderness had taken the ruins with such efficiency that Harry couldn’t make out the door.

“Where are we?” Hermione finally asked, peering at the house.

“Voldemort’s mum’s house,” Harry said simply.

“And the village?” asked Ron. Harry pointed and Ron took off in that direction. “Oi! We can’t just”!”

“Shh!” Ron hushed urgently, holding up a finger and waving for them to follow.

Harry was annoyed with Ron but followed anyway with Hermione at his side. The three of them followed a downhill route towards the village of Little Hangleton, and slowly the trees around them began to thin. In the sky Harry noticed black smoke drifting up, and it was only then that he started to hear the sounds of people from far away.

Ron suddenly held a hand up to signal them to stop. He stood perfectly still, and peered around intently. Harry’s annoyance tripled.

“In case you forgot, Ginny’s””

“I was the once who saw her being brought in!” Ron snarled quietly. After a few seconds of silence he said, “Don’t you notice anything?”

Harry looked around and listened. “There’s no fighting,” he said in shock. All he heard were explosions, screaming, and laughing coming from the village.

“Well, the Ministry can’t be rounded up on such short notice,” Hermione reasoned. “Especially when there was another plan that they were about to execute.”

Ron looked towards the village in thought. “Okay, the two of you stay here while I go on ahead. I need to””

“Like hell you are!” Hermione blurted out angrily, catching Harry off guard but making Ron shush at her.

“They could be anywhere,” he hissed. “Fine, you can come along, but you have to do exactly as I say. I know how these bastards work.”

“Lead on, then,” Harry said, wanting desperately to get something done. His plan was to get to Ginny as fast as humanly possible, make sure she was safe, and then find Voldemort. Unfortunately, he knew that sort of plan wasn’t possible without distractions.

Without another word Ron started to make his way towards the village again, and the sounds that issued from it became louder. Eventually the trees cleared enough allowing them to get a spectacular view of the village”or at least it would have been spectacular if it wasn’t for the destruction that met their eyes.

Dozens of buildings were lit ablaze, which was spewing up all of the black smoke that Harry saw earlier. Tiny figures were running every which way trying to runaway from the figures that were shooting speck of light at them. Harry was even able to make the numerous people that were now hovered far above the ground.

Sick, twisted people, Harry thought to himself angrily.

Ron signaled for them to stop again. This time Harry knew why: there were footsteps that were getting closer. He led them into a thick bush, and the three of them laid low until they saw the hem of the owner’s black cloak billow not too far from them.

“Damn him, ditching me so he can go Muggle hunting,” they heard him grumble loudly. “Not like I wanted to go too!” he turned around to yell before moving on.

Harry saw Ron smirk and jab his finger on the ground to tell Harry and Hermione to stay put. Slowly, Ron maneuvered his way out of the bush barely causing a sound. He then started to sneak his way towards the Death Eater in an awkward way, probably to avoid stepping on a twig.

When he finally got close enough, Ron said audibly, “Oi, Frisky.”

“I told you a million times,” the Death Eater said, turning around, “not to call me””

As soon as the front of the head was exposed, Ron smashed his right fist against the Death Eater’s jaw, causing him to fall to the ground. “You know, you never were the brightest, Frisky,” he said, rubbing his knuckles.

“A Stunning Spell would have been less barbaric,” Hermione said, coming out from under the bush.

“A Stunning Spell would have been loud,” responded Ron, actually out reasoning her.

Harry went to look at the groaning Death Eater. Kicking him onto his back, Harry saw that his mask had fallen off to reveal a weak chinned man with a large lump on his cheek. “Frisky’s” eyes widened at the sight of Harry.

“Podder!” he exclaimed but not without pain. He seemed to make a motion to reach into his robes but Ron stomped on his hand.

“Not today, Frisky,” Ron told him, digging the ball of his foot into his hand. “Now, you’re going to tell me where that prisoner from France is being held.”

“Who da bloody ‘ell are you?” the Death Eater asked venomously.

Without warning Ron kicked his side, causing the Frisky to recoil in pain. Harry stared at Ron, and instantly decided that he didn’t like this side of his friend. He knew that Ron was completely on his side, but did some of the Death Eater’s ways rub off on him? Still…whatever it took to save Ginny.

“Why I’m hurt, Frisky. Don’t you recognize your pal Andrew?”

Recognition lit up in the Death Eater’s face. “Da spy!”

Ron kicked his side again, and then bent down to grab him by his collar. “Exactly, this means that you know full well that my cover was blown because I tried to save the prisoner. Now tell me where she is.”

“No clue,” the Death Eater said in defiance.

Surprisingly, Ron smiled. “Come now, Frisky, do you actually expect me to believe that? For Merlin’s sake, everyone knew that the only reason she was taken captive was because she’s with Potter. There’s no way you don’t know where she is.”

“And why should I tell you, triador?”

Keeping his grin, he said, “Please, to be a traitor would mean that I was on your side in the first place.”

This time the Death Eater spat at Ron, who immediately punched him on the side of the head once more. “D’you know why I risked my life to save her?” Ron asked while the Death Eater was blinking in pain. “Because she’s my sister, Frisky. And don’t think for a second that I won’t do whatever it takes to get you to talk.”

“You’re bluffing!” the Death Eater said, though there was fear in his eyes.

“I’d use the Cruciatus Curse if I didn’t know you would scream your bloody guts out,” threatened Ron.

The fakest laughter that Harry ever heard issued from Frisky’s mouth. “Please, you had no talent with Dark magic whatsoever.”

“True,” Ron said quietly, “but I don’t need magic to make you talk.” Ron took the Death Eater’s right hand. “Remember, Frisky, the prisoner is my sister and Potter girlfriend. And as for her.” He nudged his head at Hermione. “She may not like my methods, but I’m sure she’ll gladly step out while I interrogate you.” He started to bend the Death Eater’s pinky in the wrong direction. “What do you say?”

“It’ll heal.”

“It’ll hurt like hell,” Ron retorted, applying more pressure.

“The mans”!” Ron put his hand over Frisky’s mouth and shushed him. “The mansion on the other side of the valley,” he said more quietly.

“And Voldemort?”

Frisky made an involuntary spasm. “Waiting for Podder in the graveyard.”

“And Mulciber?”

“The top of the church’s bell tower.”

At that last answer Ron delivered final blow with his fist that was stronger than all the others. With the Death Eater effectively knocked out, for some reason Ron began to take off the black robes.

“Ron,” said Hermione, trying to hide her disapproval of the way the enemy was treated, “why are you doing that?”

“Because my mask and robes were taken from me after Voldemort let me go,” he answered.

“And what do you want with Mulciber?” asked Harry.

“Normally,” Ron explained, struggling to get the robes over Frisky’s head, “Voldemort is in control of all the Imperius Curses placed on people. But for obvious reason he wouldn’t want to be distracted by that today, so he most likely gave Mulciber (a specialist with the Imperius Curse) control over all those people.”

“Sounds good,” Harry said, nodding. “We go for Ginny, and then he’s next after she’s safe.”

Ron heaved a great sigh as he finally liberated the robes from its wearer, and then pointed down at the village. “The bell tower is along the way to the mansion, so we have to take out Mulciber first.”

“Bullocks, we have to save Ginny first,” Harry disagreed.

“Be reasonable,” Ron said, baffled by his reaction. “There are too many Death Eaters between here and the other side of the village. We can cut down their numbers by freeing all those under the Imperius Curse.”

“Then we’ll go around!”

“We could be caught,” Hermione suddenly said, wringing her hands. “I agree with Ron: We disguise ourselves and try to turn the odds in our favor.”

“Oh of course you agree with him,” Harry said to her sourly. “You two do what you want, I’m going after her.”

Harry made to leave, but Ron grabbed his shoulder. “I need your help.” When he didn’t listen, he continued, “Look, my first instinct was to charge in headfirst, too, but there are other ways to do things. Freeing all those people won’t just give our people a better chance but it’ll also help all the Muggles down there. Doing exactly what Voldemort wants won’t help us win the war.”

There were a few seconds of no talking and all that can be heard were the sounds of destruction coming from below. What would have Ginny thought if all Harry cared about if he went straight for her without even trying to save all those innocent people?

There was then a large explosion. He turned to look down at the village to see a column of smoke in the distance, and then there were scattered cracks issuing all around them. The Ministry had finally arrived.

“Damn, we don’t have time for disguises now,” said Ron, tossing aside the black robes.

“No, it’s still a good idea,” said Hermione, picking them back up. “We just need to get two more and avoid anyone on our side.”

“Hold it right there!” a voice called out behind them.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all turned with their wands drawn to see a man pointing his own wand at them. But he slowly put it down at the sight of them and the beaten (and half naked) Death Eater lying nearby. “Harry Potter?”

“Avada Kedavra!”

The man reacted with a surprising speed to dodge the Killing Curse, while Harry shouted, “Stupefy!” He heard the Stunning Spell surprisingly hit its mark seeing as he could barely see the target through the foliage.

“Thanks,” the man said, regaining his composure. “The Ministry is focusing most of the attack over there,” he told them, pointing to a far off spot down the hill. “Most of the bastards will probably be too distracted to notice you passing by.” Without another word he ran past them to join his Ministry fellows.

Harry then looked across the valley to see the speck on top of a hill that had to be Tom Riddle Senior’s mansion. When he lowered his eyes he saw triangular roof of the village’s church and its bell tower. It was a good distance away from where the man said the Ministry would focus its forces, which no doubt were already suffering casualties”both from loyal Death Eaters and those under mind control. And Tonks, Kingsley, and Beth are all somewhere in there.

As frustrating it was to admit it Ron was right. They had to find some way to tip the odds in their favor before they could get to Ginny.

“Let’s go,” Harry said, taking off down the hill with Ron and Hermione right behind him.

“We need two more sets of robes,” Hermione said, the ones she had fluttering behind her as she ran.

Before Harry could answer a jet of blue light shot out from the brush to their left and passed right in front of them. The sounds of fighting then appeared from where the spell came from.

“Get the hell out of my way!” Harry heard.

“Dad!” Ron exclaimed, running in that direction.

Harry and Hermione followed, and when they reached a small clearing they saw Mr. Weasley and two others dueling against four Death Eaters. Harry was about to jump in to help when Mr. Weasley started amazing him with his fighting ability. Any spell that was thrown at him was immediately blocked and countered. It was only when he noticed someone else in trouble that Harry finally shouted, “Stupefy!”

His Stunner was blocked and it called attention to his presence.

“Relashio!” Ron shouted, jumping into the fray to help his father.

Hermione threw down the robes she was holding. “Impedimenta!”

Harry blocked the counter spell aimed at her, and the two of them did battle with the same Death Eater. Wanting nothing more than to move on, Harry unleashed every single spell, curse, and charm that he could think of.

“Get the hell out of our way!” Harry yelled at the Death Eater, who didn’t even have time to respond while trying to defend against him and Hermione.

The duel lasted for a few minutes, and Harry and Hermione were able to take down their foe with no damage. It was Mr. Weasley who got away with the worst of it when a curse caught his arm. All four Death Eaters fell a little too easily, but it was only a small taste as to how hard it was going to get.

“So what’re you three up to?” Mr. Weasley asked after nursing his wound.

“We’re gonna try and set free all those under the Imperius Curse,” Ron answered. “You have to spread the word to hold off on harming anyone who is being controlled.”

“And how exactly”?”

At that moment Harry and Ron began to take off the robes of the Death Eaters they helped cast down, and Hermione began to pull on the ones taken from “Frisky”.

“I”never mind,” Mr. Weasley finished with an arched eyebrow. “Just try not to get killed by anyone on either side.”

“Just focus on getting as many Muggles to safety as possible,” said Hermione, putting the hood over her head and donning the mask.

“Of course,” he said, leaving.

The black robes hung loose around Harry after he got them on. One of the people that were with Mr. Weasley then came over with his hand stuck out. “Good luck, Mr. Potter.”

“Don’t go dying on us. Remember that you’re ‘The Chosen One’,” said the other.

“Shouldn’t the two of you go out doing you’re jobs!” Ron told them harshly.

Eyeing him curiously, they ran off in Mr. Weasley’s direction. When Harry put on the hood and mask, he immediately found it unpleasant to be in the enemy’s clothing. “How did you ever get used to this?”

“Who says I ever did?” Ron asked back, putting on his own mask.

Harry then found it very odd to hear Hermione’s voice coming from inside a Death Eater’s hood saying, “Let’s get going, the more time we take the more lives that are lost.”

“This should go without saying, but keep your guard up and let me do all the talking,” Ron ordered, continuing down the hill towards the village. Harry and Hermione followed without any contradictions.

As they got closer and closer to the village, more Death Eaters started to pop out of nowhere. Harry was so used to them attacking him that he had a hard time now try to curse them oblivion. They were mostly in groups that consisted of one person giving commands to the other, usually barking orders to get to the front lines faster, or to fortify some building. None of them gave Harry, Hermione, or Ron any mind.

But it wasn’t until the three of them actually entered the village that Harry wanted to do as much bodily harm to as many Death Eaters as humanly possible. Multiple houses were in flames or ruin, the bodies of dead Muggles littered the streets, and those that were still alive were being chased down for sport. Those that weren’t being chased were too traumatized to move, and the Death Eaters didn’t seem to take much fun in harassing them so they were left alone.

He then crashed into Ron, who had stopped in his tracks.

“Listen,” he told Harry and Hermione very seriously but quietly, grabbing their upper arms with a strong grip. “There is nothing that you can do for these people right now. You hear me? Nothing! The best thing we can do is get this over with as fast as possible.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Hermione said from behind her mask, though she sounded a little sickly.

Promising that he’d make Voldemort pay for all suffering he caused, Harry gave Ron a firm nod.

“Oi! What the bloody hell are you three standing around for?”

Harry looked around Ron to see a large Death Eater storming up to them. “Get your asses to the front lines, there’s work to be done!”

“Well I already have my orders!” Ron immediately retorted, spinning around to face the man. Harry noticed that he had changed his voice considerably. “I’m not about to let some nobody like you tell me what to do!”

“Oh?” the enemy said sarcastically. “And what exactly are you’re orders?”

“Brisbee wants us to give Mulciber extra security. You know as well as I do that we can’t afford to let the blood traitors under our control be set free.”

Despite everything that was happening around them, Harry couldn’t help but be impressed with Ron’s ability to make up such a story on the spot, and sound so convincing. He exchanged looks with what little he could see of Hermione’s eyes, and he could tell that she felt the same way. Still, Harry’s wand was ready to be unleashed at a moment’s notice.

“And where exactly is Brisbee?” the Death Eater asked menacingly.

“Up in the hills coordinating a defense incase any forces try and sneak up on us on this side.”

“Can’t the bastard tell that we’re being attacked from one front? He’s just wasting our manpower.” Harry heard the Death Eater mutter under his mask. “Get to your posts, you lot. And don’t be surprised if you’ll end up answering to me next time we see each other.” He then stormed right though them up into the hills.

“That one was always a bloody git,” Ron said after the Death Eater was out of earshot. “Let’s go.”

As they started sprinting again, Hermione asked quietly enough so only they can hear, “How many of these people d’you know?”

“Enough,” answered Ron, looking around to make sure that all the enemies around were too busy to overhear. “If I was ever caught by our side, I needed names to hand over to get out of as much trouble as possible.”

Harry was about to respond to that when a building to their left exploded. He was blown off his feet, and skidded several feet before coming to a stop.

“Breach! We’ve been breached! We need rein”ach!”

“Get as many Muggles to safety as possible,” another voice yelled.

As the dust started to settle, Harry saw that an influx of Ministry and Order forces had entered the area. Normally he would be thrilled to have so much help, but at the moment they posed more of a threat to him. The witches and wizards that didn’t start doing battle with the Death Eaters went straight for a Muggle and got them to safety as fast as possible. Harry stood up on wobbly legs, looking around for some kind of way out.

“Incarerous!” he heard someone shout.
“Protego!” Harry countered, diverting the ropes aimed for him. A woman then started to run at him shooting all kinds of spells. Having no other option, Harry countered as many as possible but he wasn’t fast enough and his left arm was grazed. Knowing he had no time to appreciate the irony that his first injury was caused by someone on his side, Harry yelled, “Petrificus totalus!”

Obviously not expecting something so tame from a Death Eater, the woman was caught off guard and didn’t block herself in time. Her limbs snapped together, and she fell to the ground face first.

“Expelliarmus!” Harry heard. He whipped around and saw the only two people in robes that weren’t trying to obliterate their opponent.

“Stupefy!” he shouted, sending his Stunner to the opponent of the taller of the two. That Auror, too, was caught off guard and suffered a direct hit. Harry and Ron quickly went to Hermione’s aid, and the three of them escaped from the fight as fast as possible.

The good news was that the combined forces of the Ministry and Order were penetrating the village and saving many Muggles in the process. The bad news was that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were mistaken for enemies. But Harry had no choice but to keep on the robes he was wearing, for the Death Eaters would go after him more with them off then an Auror would with them on.

As they sprinted nearer to the church, Harry heard a resounding boom up in the sky. He, Hermione, and Ron stopped in their tracks to look up, and amid all the smoke Harry could make out six figures zooming around. One of the figures dive-bombed not far from where they were standing, and multiple explosions went off behind it.

“It’s George!” Ron cried.

Harry thought that was preposterous, because how could George be traveling so fast and set off explosives with the risk of hurting so many innocents?

“Look out!” exclaimed Hermione.

Another one of the figures was heading towards their area. Hermione waved her wand around, and a protective bubble appeared just as the figure zoomed past and explosions went off around them. It was then that Harry noticed that the resounding bang only produced a green haze.

From inside the bubble, Harry watched as the Death Eaters around them were beginning to keel over with fits of laughter.

“Laughing gas?” Harry blurted out loud.

“Obviously something new they’ve been working on,” said Ron. He took a large gulp of air and charged out of the bubble.

“Wait until it lifts!” Hermione shouted in frustration. She saw that there was no stopping him, took in a gulp of air too, and followed. Harry wasn’t far behind.

Harry ignored the many Death Eaters that were trying to control their fits of laughter, and were crying out to him for help. It didn’t take long for the haze to lift, but the effects still lingered. Finally exhaling, Harry had to stop for a second to regain his breath.

“What’re you waiting for?” asked Ron, though he too was trying to catch his breath. “The church isn’t far from””

He was interrupted by three blurs instantly surrounding them.

“Seems like a few of them made it out,” a familiar voice said.

The blurs came to a stop, and Harry instantly recognized them. George, Oliver Wood, and Katie Bell were all wearing rags over their mouth and noses. Each held a wand pointed at them in one hand, and in the other was their broom with some sort of odd attachment on the end.

“Stun their asses,” George said without any pity.

“Wait, it’s us!” Ron told him, removing his hood and mask.

“Ron!” Katie and Oliver exclaimed. Harry and Hermione removed them too.

“Geez, Ron, you must really like that outfit,” George observed.

“Shut it,” Ron snarled. “Just get back to work.”

“What’s that at the end of your brooms?” Harry had to ask.

“Like it?” George asked proudly. “It took a million trials but we finally got it to break the sound barrier.”

“Avada”ha ha ha! Ked”Ked”av””
“Stupefy!” the six of them yelled, all the Stunners hitting the Death Eater trying to cast the curse.

“Listen, you three should spread your gas over the church,” said Ron.

“Mulciber is in the bell tower, Ron,” Hermione told him.

“What’s Fred up to?” asked Ron. His question was immediately answered by a series of explosions on the other side of the village. “Okay then.”

“You three should get as many Muggles away from the village as possible while spraying that gas,” Harry told them. “There is an antidote, right?” He didn’t want anyone be sent to St. Mungo’s on his account.

“Of course, but we won’t be giving it to any stinking Death Eaters, that’s for sure. Count on us,” George said, mounting his broom.

“Nice seeing you again,” Oliver told Harry with a salute.

“Bye,” said Katie.

The three of them kicked off the ground and went to another part of the village. Harry, Ron, and Hermione donned the masks once more and started for the church.

As the amount of Death Eaters increased once more, they finally reached the church. From what Harry would see all of the entrances were guarded, so it wasn’t going to be easy to get inside.

Harry was about to formulate some sort of plan, when Ron yelled up at the tower, “Oi, Mulciber!”

A hooded figure poked its head through the opening high up, and asked, “What is it?”

Ron instantly pointed his wand upwards. Surprised by the sudden action, Harry and Hermione did as well. “Reducto!” the three of them yelled. The three Blasting Charms all hit the side of the tower, which began to collapse.

Nobody was trying to subdue Harry, Ron, and Hermione after they cast the spells. They were all far too busy running away from the tons of collapsing stone and woodwork. When it all came crashing down, a cloud of dust and debris swept over the three of them.

When it all settled, the Death Eaters that managed to escape turned to them, and yelled, “Traitors!” He was about to cast a spell in their direction, which Harry was prepared for, but was thwarted by another Death Eater”or at least that’s what he looked like a first glance.
End Notes:
sorry that these updates are taking so long.
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Little Hangelton Burns by Phoenix 86
Author's Notes:
yes..............it's been forever since my last update. i am truly deeply sorry.
Most of the people that were now freed of the Imperius Curse at first took a few looks around utterly confused. But they quickly got over that, ripped off their masks, and immediately started to do battle with those that didn’t. Ron wasted no time in ripping off his own, and throwing a curse at a true Death Eater. Harry and Hermione weren’t far behind, neither wanting to be attacked by someone on their side again.

“It’s Potter!” more than one enemy yelled out.

But luckily almost none of the Death Eaters were very interested in Harry at the moment. Everyone, one side or the other, was engaged in a duel with absolutely no way out other than finishing off the opponent. Harry was fighting a fierce Death Eater that had every intention of delivering him to Voldemort. But the only thing that Harry did was one Shield Charm after another.

He was slowly trying to get out of the middle of the fray so that he can easily make a break for it. With the minds of his allies now free, getting to Ginny was next on the list thing that he had to do.

“Proteg”ah!” he cried out in pain. A spell had caught him from behind and sent Harry to the ground. Looking up, he saw two Death Eaters looming over him.

Harry was about to make a desperate attempt to get away, when he heard, “No you don’t!” Ron appeared out of nowhere and tackled one of the enemies.

“Stupefy!” another voice shouted. A Stunner then hit the other Death Eater, who was focused on trying to get Ron off his companion.

“Trent?” Harry blurted out, seeing who it was that cast the Stunning Spell. His cheeks were hollow and his skin was paler, but Harry recognized the man that forced him to take the Polyjuice Potion back at Diagon Alley. It was also he who was the first one that fell out of mind control to start fighting.

“Get out of here, Harry,” said Trent, pointing his wand at the Death Eater that Ron was still wrestling. “Impedimenta! I’ll try to organize everyone to get focus off you.

“TO THE FALL OF VOLDEMORT!” Trent bellowed, pouncing upon the nearest enemy. That war cry automatically inserted vigor into those fighting the Death Eaters, instead of striking fear as the name usually did.

“Wingarium leviosa!” Hermione’s voice shouted. Less than a second later Harry saw a Death Eater being thrown through the air, and smashing through a window.

“Nice one!” Ron was saying when a jinx caught the small of his back.

Panicked, Harry and Hermione immediately went to his side to fend off any enemies. Like Trent promised, focus was gradually being taken off Harry, Ron, and Hermione so that they could make a relatively easy escape from the fray. Ron had to limp away with his arm around Hermione, finding a house with a large hole blasted into its side.

Inside, Ron collapsed behind a couch and removed his Death Eater robes, though with some difficulty. Harry kept his wand at ready incase any Death Eaters chased after them while Hermione tended to him. Outside the window serious fighting was taking place, people were running all around trying to figure out what to do.

“You have to be more careful,” she told him, lifting his shirt to check the damage.

Ron just stared at her. “We’re”in”a”war!”

“All the more excuse to be more careful!” Hermione shot back, jogging to the kitchen and rummaging through the cabinets.

“You could show a little more sympathy,” said Ron, cringing in pain.

“I would but””

“Would the both of you just shut it!” Harry yelled.

Unfortunately his screams called attention to his location. Two Death Eaters ran in through the hole, and Harry, surprisingly, took the two of them down with silent Stunning Spells.

Hermione had returned from the cabinets with a bottle of clear liquid. She poured it over Ron’s wound, and he jumped a mile. “Bloody hell!” he cried.

“Shush!” she hissed just as loudly, conjuring bandages. “Just a bit of alcohol to clean your wound.”

Harry had to silently Stun another enemy that heard them make noise”he figured that the pressure he was under forced him to get the hang of casting spells with no incantation.

“I’m no Madame Pomfrey, but that should do,” she announced, helping Ron to his feet.

“You really have to work on not man-handling you patients,” Ron told her, rubbing his backside.

Hermione threw Ron a venomous look. “Well excuse me for helping you! And if you want to help me to get better at ‘man-handling’ it’ll have to wait until we’re out of this mess!”

Harry turned around to face them, thinking he didn’t hear clearly. “Wait what?”

“Oi! I found some””

“Stupefy!” Ron and Hermione cried, their Stunners hitting a fourth Death Eater that had entered through the wall.

“I thought you were keeping watch, Harry,” Ron said, annoyed. He stood up with a groan kneading his injury. “Now they know we’re here.”

“Doesn’t matter anymore,” said Hermione, quickly discarding her Death Eater robes. “Let’s get going.”

Harry took off his too, putting what he thought he heard out of his mind and focusing once more at the task at hand. “We still have a way to go before we get to the Riddle’s house. I’ll take the lead putting up Shield Charms as we go”the two of you do the same behind us.”

“On three then?” Ron asked, preparing himself.

“One,” Harry started.

“Two,” Ron continued.

“Three!” Hermione finished running back outside with the two of them.

They didn’t take ten steps towards the manor when their Shield Charms came into use. It was mostly crossfire from the opposing forces that bounced off them, everyone being too caught up in the confusion to notice them. Harry, Hermione, and Ron had to dodge flying pieces of debris and avoid tripping over the occasional body (dead or alive Harry didn’t know).

The three of them just kept on running, dodging, and quickly helping someone out of trouble block after block. It was long before Harry started to get winded, but the sight of the mansion at the top of the hill gave him strength. Hold on, Ginny, he thought over and over. We’ll be there soon.

“Run away! You can’t kill it! Run away!” Harry suddenly heard.

He, Ron, and Hermione were about to cross a street when four Death Eaters came from the left. They about to prepare to fight once more, but the Death Eaters paid absolutely no attention to them. Instead a column of flame shot from the direction they came from, and the Death Eaters were consumed by it.

Hermione let out a scream, and Ron himself between her and flames (and the grotesque scene of burning bodies). Harry had to skid to a stop, and put his arms in front of his face due to the heat. When the flames were gone Harry saw that only one of the Death Eaters survived, but he was running around screaming in burning robes. The rest were motionless on the ground.

Taking pity on the man, Harry brandished his wand, yelling, “Agumenti!” A stream of cool water shot out extinguishing the fire and knocking the Death Eater out.

“What in world did that?” Hermione asked, shaken.

A loud roar from the left answered her question. Then an enormous dragon came thundering into view shooting fire from its mouth, aiming for the hooded figures trying to take it down with spells. Unfortunately for them all the spells did was bounce off harmlessly, sometimes even hitting another person.

“Oi, watch out!” Suddenly curse shot out from the air, and hitting a Death Eater that was without a doubt going to attack them from behind. Harry’s eyes went to the unconscious person when Charlie Weasley flew in on a broomstick. He landed hard on the ground and stumbled towards them. “A dragon won’t keep all of them busy!”

“Are you telling me that thing is yours?” Ron asked, pointing at the great black dragon.

“Of course,” he answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Good thing Bill, Fleur, and Mum caught up with us before we got to the fortress.”

“Where are they now?” asked Ron.

“They went to help the Order,” Charlie said. “And Natalya and I have the dragon under control, don’t worry,” he added because Hermione was on the verge of criticizing him.

“That better be true, you don’t want that thing attacking our own people,” Hermione snapped, as the dragon took swipes that the hooded figures.

“Charlie!” they heard coming from above. Harry looked up to see Natalya hovering above them on a broomstick. “Three giants just came out of the forest, and they’re heading this way!”

“Damn!” Charlie snarled, mounting his broom. “You three do whatever you need to do, and make it fast! Dimitri can’t handle that many giants at once.” As he said that the ground shook beneath them signaling the giants getting closer. The Death Eaters that were still fighting with the dragon, must have saw the incoming giants and decided to finally run for their lives.

“You named it too?” was all Ron said as Charlie took off to meet Natalya. Using some wand sparks, they caught the attention of the dragon, which started flapping its great wings and took off.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran to see where they were headed and saw the upper bodies of the three giants looking up at the approaching dragon. Dimitri the dragon spewed fire at one of the giants, and then used the distraction to dive bomb it. The last Harry saw of it, it appeared to bite the giant’s arm and caused it to topple down on top of a house while the other two stood there stupefied.

The battle between the dragon and the giants was slowly getting closer, and it was Ron who finally said, “Shouldn’t be keep moving?” A giant literally took the roof off a house, and chucked it at Dimitri the dragon, who easily got out of the way sending the roof in Harry’s direction.

“We should definitely keep moving,” Harry answered. The three of them took off in the direction of the manor, and the roof landed right where they were standing a second before.

The path before them was clearer than before. Houses were burning or destroyed, bodies littered the streets, cars were upturned, and a pub called the Hanged Man collapsed as they passed it. The lack of actual fights taking place around them was rather disturbing in Harry’s opinion”as if all the people around had already killed each other. Harry took a quick look behind him and saw Dimitri was airborne shooting down flames.

After what seemed like an eternity from when they started to where they were now, Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally reached the other side of the village and began to the tedious climb up the hill to the Riddle mansion. But the incline didn’t deter Harry, who had his eyes set forward, had his wand in his hand, and pumped each leg with every step. The afternoon sun was blaring down on them, making the hike up even harder. Almost there, Ginny, he said to himself over and over.

He wiped sweat and grime from his forehead, and Hermione and Ron looked just as tired but determined. More and more of the mansion came into view as they went forward. When the hill started to level out the three of them automatically came to a stop, and Harry realized how stupid it was of him not to have gotten any help for the raid they were about to pull off.

“So how do we do this, Harry?” Ron asked, the three of them kneeling down and eyeing the mansion.

“You’re asking me?” he asked back.

“Hermione?” the two of them inquired at the same time.
She arched a sweaty eyebrow. “Books are my territory”dueling is yours, Harry!”

“What’s mine?” asked Ron.

“Quidditch facts on demand,” she said sarcastically. “Focus!”

“No, Death Eaters,” Harry contradicted. “You should know how Voldemort would set up his cronies, Ron.”

Ron didn’t answer immediately but wiped his mouth in thought. “Not the most powerful, but good enough,” he told them. “Maybe like six or seven”at least two on the upper floor to keep lookout. Damn!” Ron forced them all flat on the grass. “Hope they didn’t see us.”

“So what do we do?” said Harry.

Ron wiped his mouth again. “You two stay here while I try and peek inside the house. If I see Ginny I’ll cause a distraction on the opposite side of the house, and you two save her the first chance you get.”

A jet of green light broke though a window and the sounds of a fight inside the mansion started. “Or we just barge in,” Harry decided now that Ron’s plan was shot. The three of them stood right up and began to charge forward.

Once close enough they pointed their wands forward, and shouted together, “Reducto!” The Blasting Charms hit the side of the house making an entrance, which they ran right through into a kitchen.

They automatically sent Stunners at as many Death Eaters as they could before they could react. Those that weren’t immediately taken down fought back, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron once again found themselves in a fight. They were still outnumbered, but three more people entered the kitchen and started to fight against the Death Eaters. Two of them looked like Death Eaters themselves but the third was undoubtedly”

Ginny!

But now wasn’t the time to be relieved by her presence. Harry began to focus on the enemy in front of him, determined to take down him and the other scum. He gave the enemy no chance to counter attack, sending one attack after another.

“Stupefy!” Harry yelled. The Death Eater blocked again but was knocked out of balance. He took the chance: “Expelliarmus!” The enemy lost his wand, Harry caught it, and he finally finished off the duel.

Harry saw that Ginny was fighting alongside Hermione, and the two of them would take out their opponent soon enough. The two that came in with Ginny were in duels of their own, but Harry went to Ron’s aide. They made quick work of the enemy, and were about to go help someone else, when…

“Avada kedavra!”

Harry’s head turned to see that one of the people that came into the kitchen with Ginny had fallen. As tragic as it was he couldn’t stop to pay respects, and took over the duel. Hermione and Ginny finished off their opponent, and the last two Death Eaters didn’t stand a chance. A minute later the fighting within the Riddle mansion had ceased. The fight had cost Ron a grazed forearm, and Hermione a cut across her cheek, but they were for the most part okay.

After kicking the final enemy that had been taken down to make sure he was really taken down, Harry finally turned to Ginny. She just stood there looking right back at him in her torn pale blue robes, her flaming red hair frayed. They just stood there oblivious to the other three conscious people in the kitchen.

They instantly closed the gap between them and mashed their lips together. Despite the death and danger around them for that brief moment they were safe, able to act on their feelings. Harry expected Ron and Hermione to be exasperated by the irresponsible act, but he didn’t care. He just focused on fusing himself with Ginny, happy to have her back in his arms, picking up where they left off back at Christmas.

When Harry and Ginny finally parted the battle could have already been over for all he knew.

“Took you long enough to get here,” Ginny said to him.

“Sorry,” was all Harry said. He then started to take note of his surroundings. On the other side of the kitchen he saw the back of a blonde head. In front of this person Ron and Hermione were staring him down. “Malfoy?” He had been so busy with the duel that he didn’t take in who it was that was helping them.

Draco Malfoy turned his head, sneered, and said, “Finished have you? I don’t think you two have properly eaten each other’s faces.”

“Mal”” Harry looked at Ginny stunned. “Malfoy was helping us?”

Ginny just shrugged. “I was just as surprised as you are.”

“And who was”?” Harry turned to the dead body of the other person that helped. He moved closer to it, turned the body face up, and gasped. “Wormtail!”

“What?” Ron and Hermione both cried, their attention drawn from Malfoy. They came forward and were just as stunned. Again, Harry was so caught up in other things he didn’t notice that it was Peter Pettigew who was helping him. The silvery hand that was given to him by Voldemort had already dissipated leaving a bloody stump.

“Who is he?” Ginny asked sadly. “He looked really conflicted when it was his turn to guard me. Then he said something like ‘Always nice to me,’ and started to untie me. What’s that s’posed to mean?”

Ron shook his head. “Let’s just say that Scabbers wasn’t as useless as I thought.”

Harry looked at her. “What did they tell you when you found out Sirius was innocent?”

She shrugged again. “That he was framed. It came from Dumbledore, so it was good enough for me.”

Wanting a change of subject, Harry turned to Malfoy. “And what made you help us? The Death Eaters aren’t fun anymore?”

Ron stuck out an arm in front of Harry, and was looking at Malfoy in a way he never did before: sympathetically. “Voldemort killed his parents because he didn’t tell him about Ginny before last night. He wants revenge just like I do.”

“Don’t compare yourself to me, Weasley,” Malfoy spat. “You just lost your worthless brother, not your entire family. Not even that beating you took earlier gives you an idea of how I feel.”

All sympathy was gone, and Ron was about to shout back, but Ginny stepped between them. “Speaking of earlier, what the hell was that all about?” she bellowed angrily. “What were you doing in disguise in the Death Eater’s base?”

“Didn’t you know? Your brother here was burned with the Mark and became one of us,” answered Malfoy, sneering and turning his eyes on Ron. “You were one of the last people I would ever expect to get one.”

“I was NEVER one of you,” Ron snarled.

“Not even when you were all snuggly with that bitch Coleman? She seemed a little peeved after that mask came off.”

Ron gave Malfoy a look of pure poison. “I hate her, and I proved it this morning.”

Hermione looked from one to the other and seemed on the verge of saying something, but Harry shook his head hard. Whatever Ron did during his time as a Death Eater would be discussed later.

“HEY!” Ginny shouted. “In case all of you forgot there is a battle still going on! So how about we get down there and fight?”

“You four can”I’m leaving before I get killed,” Malfoy responded, turning his back on them.

“I thought you wanted revenge?” said Harry.

“And I got it,” answered Malfoy, starting to walk out the kitchen. “Helping free your girlfriend is good enough for me. I may want him dead, but I’m not stupid enough to take on the Dark Lord and his army. That’s your job, Potter.”

Malfoy disappeared through the doorway and that was that.
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A Dish Served Cold by Phoenix 86
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were running back down the hill towards the village in ruins. In all honesty Harry didn’t have a clue why he was heading there in the first place. The graveyard was on the other side of the hill, and that was where “Frisky” the Death Eater said Voldemort would be waiting. But he wanted to make sure that Ginny got to some place of relative safety before facing off against the Darkest wizard of all time.

“So what’s the plan?” Ginny asked as they reentered the village of Little Hangleton.

“Alright,” Harry started off, coming to stop, “the three of you need to get out of here as quickly as possible.”

“What”” Ron started off but Harry cut him off.

“Look, we did what we needed to do; now I need to do what I need to do, got that?”

“No, Harry, we can’t just leave you alone,” Hermione objected.

“Yeah, and don’t treat me like some sort of weak little girl that needs constant rescuing!” Ginny said angrily. “We’re sticking by you.”

Harry looked at each of their determined faces, but he already decided that this was something that he needed to do on his own. “I’m sorry, but this is where we separate. Ron, Hermione, get Ginny as far away from here as possible.”

“I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!” Ginny shouted, poking Harry hard on the chest. “Not while everybody else is out here sticking their necks out!”

“The only reason you’re here is because you’re with me!” Harry yelled back. “Any Death Eater here can try and recapture you.”

“He’s got a point,” Ron said being surprisingly reasonable.

“No,” she said flat out.

As much as he hated to do it, Harry had to find some sort of way to ditch them. He may not have the power to make them leave the battlefield, but Harry wouldn’t allow any of them to be taken by Voldemort. They would simply be tortured and Harry would be forced to watch.

He was on the verge of pulling some kind of pulling something out of thin air, when he heard, “Wait up! Oi, don’t move from that spot until I come back, got it?” Harry turned around to see Bethany running towards them leaving behind a gaggle of confused looking people.

“Beth, you’re okay!” Harry said delightedly, having been worried about the fate of her and many others earlier. Like everybody else her robed were tattered and Bethany’s face was covered in dirt, but she didn’t look tired at all.

But she paid no attention to Harry and went straight for Ron. “I think we got her pinned down, Weasley,” she said, confusing Harry, Hermione, and Ginny. “She’s at the library with a bunch of Death Eaters, and they’re holding well over a dozen Muggles hostage. Are you in or out?”

“Ron, what’s she talking about?” asked Hermione.

Ron didn’t answer. He just stared at Bethany with a serious look. “She’s mine, got that?”

The only possible conclusion for Harry was that Ron had to be talking about Percy’s killer.

“First come, first serve, Weasley.”

“What’s going”?”

“I’m trusting you to get Ginny out of here,” Ron suddenly said to Hermione, grabbing her by the shoulders. He then turned to Harry and patted him on the shoulder. “Good luck, mate.” Ron then swooped down to Ginny and gave her a hug.

“Have you gone mad?” Ginny asked, trying to break free.

Again Ron didn’t answer. He moved over to Hermione again, planted a kiss on her lips, and took off with Bethany back towards the people that she was with.

“Ron, wait! What’s this about?” Hermione demanded, running after him without hesitation.

Ginny and Harry traded a look before she followed, shouting, “You better not be trying to get yourself killed, Ron!”

This was it! Harry thought to himself. He may have preferred to have Ginny taken away from the village, but she should be safe with Ron, Hermione, and Bethany close at hand. And Harry knew full well that Ginny wasn’t a weak little girl that needed constant rescuing. They were all off doing whatever needed to be done, while Harry could go and finally face off against Voldemort.

Still…he worried. Harry didn’t like the look in Ron’s eyes; he knew that he was about to jump into something reckless. And he was leading Ginny and Hermione into it…. “Damn!” Harry took off after them.

They were delving deeper back into the village. More and more destroyed houses came into view, along with more and more dead bodies. Harry was slightly disgusted with himself that the scenery wasn’t having as much an effect on him as it should have. Still he sprinted forward trying to catch up with Ginny, who was trying to catch up with Hermione, who was trying to catch up with Ron.

Up ahead Bethany came to a stop at a rather large group of people who were all more or less looking in the same direction. When Harry caught up he saw that it was a rather old and surprisingly intact building. A fancy stone sign declared it the Little Hangleton public library.

“Ginny! Oh my god!”

Harry looked to see that among the group was Bill, and he ran up to embrace Ginny, who was looking very flustered. Bill’s relieved face was covered in so much blood that it looked like his scars reopened.

“We were so worried,” Fleur said next to them, patting her heart. Fleur’s hair was a mess and her robes were torn in many places, but she was proving to be resilient.

“I’m fine, Bill, they didn’t hurt me,” Ginny told him.

“C’mon, we need to get you out of here,” said Bill, taking her by the hand.

“I. Am. Not. Going!” she protested, wrenching her hand free. “Why is everyone telling me to run away? Honestly!”

“Because you’re under age,” Bill told her.

“I’ll be seventeen in a few months, so drop it!”

“Mum would have a fit if she knew you didn’t escape when you had the chance.”

“Speaking of which, where are Mum and Dad?” Ron asked coming up to them.

“They’re in the hillside helping fight the Death Eaters still hold up there,” answered Bill. “And they aren’t making this easy, either.”

“And what about down here?” said Harry. “The village seems a little too quiet.”

“Just this part of the village quieted down because everyone wants to stay clear of the giants,” Bill said to him. “But trust me, there’s plenty of danger to the north of here.”

“Kingsley, when are we going to attack?” a man near the front of the group asked.

“I told you, Fredrick, we’re too few in number to do anything,” Kingsley responded impatiently.

“But the longer we wait the more likely the Muggles in there will be killed!”

“That won’t happen anytime soon. Keeping those Muggles alive is the only thing that’s keeping us from barging after them”we might hurt too many in the process and they know it. We have to wait for reinforcements.”

A growl ripped through the air along with a high-pitched scream. The wizard named Fredrick looked back towards the source nervously. “If there are any left after those giants get through with them.”

“Those damn giants!” Harry heard Natalya say nearby. To his left he saw Natalya had her face buried deep in Charlie’s shoulder, and she was sobbing.

“What happened?” Harry asked, going up to them.

“They killed him!” Natalya shouted turning to face Harry, who immediately stumbled back at the sight of her. Her tear-streaked face was contorted in rage, her eyes were red, her fangs were fully visible, and her nails were more like claws. “Dimitri was able to do away with one, but that caused the others to become more violent. One grabbed his leg while the other snapped Dimitri’s neck like twig! He was still so young!”

Ron pulled Harry back a little, and said quietly, “Remember to keep your distance when she’s peeved.”

“We knew the Death Eaters were going to bring those giants here,” Charlie told her soothingly, tightening his grip on her. “If they didn’t bring giants here then we wouldn’t have needed Dimitri, Natty. Remember that.”

“I was there when he hatched,” she breathed dangerously. “I will make the scum pay for what happened.”

Somewhere in the distance Harry suddenly heard a loud and familiar roar followed by a loud crash. He wondered what it was for a moment when he heard Kingsley say, “Sounds like Hagrid’s brother took up the fight up with the giants.”

“What?” Harry blurted out. “You can’t mean Grawp!”

“But how on earth did he get all the way here?” asked Hermione, stunned.

“Ask him yourself when he gets here,” answered Kingsley, brandishing his wand and sending up a Patronus. “For now everybody form ranks”we start the attack now! Beth, Charlie, Natalya, and Fredrick, you’re with me. Everyone else stay back.”

Kingsley started forward to the closed library doors followed unquestioned by those he called out. Harry took the opportunity to look at those around him. Ron had his face set and seemed determined to face what waited for him inside; Bill was just as ready as his youngest brother, but it didn’t look like he knew that Percy’s killer was inside; Hermione, Fleur, and many others were all ready but nervous at having to go back into battle. Harry felt someone grab his left hand and saw that his was Ginny’s. She gave him a squeeze, which Harry returned before letting go.

“REDUCTO!” the five that charged forward cried. The Blasting Charms blew open the doors to the library, and everybody else took it as the sign to charge in too.

“A lot of them are using Muggles as shields!” Kingsley yelled, as he and the four that came in with him started putting up Shield Charms. “Stunning Spells only!”

Up ahead Harry had a clear view as Natalya ran across the entrance hall of the library”her wand not even ready to cast a spell! But quick as lightning, she tackled the nearest Death Eater to the floor, bore her fangs, and bit right into the side of his neck. For the briefest of moments the exchange of spell fire ceased to take in the grisly sight. With each intake of blood Natalya took there was a slight spasm from the Death Eater that almost made Harry empty his stomach.

“Monster!” a Death Eater shouted in horror.

It was Harry who got his wits back first. “Stupefy!” he roared, his jet of red light hitting an enemy whose head was exposed behind a Muggle.

There was then a chorus of “Stupefy!” Unfortunately many Muggles had to take the grunt of the Stunners, but at least they were still alive and of no longer use to the Death Eaters.

“Avada kedavra!” more than one hostile voice shouted.

Harry immediately dropped to the floor, and heard as the Killing Curses either hit some unlucky person got in the way or hit the walls. “Impedimenta!” Harry yelled from the floor, pointing at the retreating Death Eaters that were branching off to different parts of the library.

“You lot get to the roofs and make an entrance to get the drop ‘em. As for you get all of them Muggles to safety,” a familiar voice thundered from the doorway. Harry looked behind him to see Hagrid ordering around a group of people that he couldn’t make out.

He was about to call out to Hagrid, when he heard, “Harry! What are you waiting for?” Hermione was standing at the edge of the staircase leading to the upper floors waving her arms.

So, not waiting to see who the reinforcements were, Harry shot up to the second floor of the library. There it was total pandemonium. Almost all of the bookcases were toppled over with books, paper, and other debris littering the ground. Most of the spell fire was being done at the both end of the bookcases that were still standing, and on the sides the Death Eaters were occupying Harry spotted terrified looking Muggles.

Harry quickly ducked forward to the nearest cover he could find, and began firing spells at whatever Death Eater he could see. “Expelliarmus!” he cried, disarming one that was having a shoot-and-take-cover duel with Hermione and Ginny.

The Death Eater looked from his empty hand to the source of the spell. He jumped up and pointed, saying “Harry Potter’s over”!” A dead on curse from Hermione silenced him. Harry then dashed with his head down over to where they were. With the better view he was able to see that enemy they took down was just one of four that were holding Muggles hostage.

“What’s the status over here?” Harry asked quickly, sending a few jinxes without looking.

“Bloody terrific! The battle’s over, the Death Eaters are rounded up, and we’re all about to go out for a cup of tea!” Ginny rattled off wearing a smile that spilled sarcasm. From the bottom floor Harry heard thundering footsteps that could only have belonged to Hagrid. Harry smiled as he saw Hagrid’s messy hair crossing the threshold, but it faltered when his head disappeared followed by a large crash. “And the stairs can’t support Hagrid!” Ginny continued. “How do you think it’s going?”

“Could be better,” said Harry, taking a quick look around. A quick count told him that there were only about fifteen on the side of the Order and Ministry. “Where’s Ron?”

“Last time I saw him he was”” Hermione started, but was interrupted by a large explosion on the other side of the library. One of the few bookshelves that were still standing was blown apart, sending splinters and paper flying. A blonde woman appeared and shot a jet of light to something on the floor, but it was deflected. Harry then witnessed as Ron stood up and started countering ferociously.

“We need to help him!” Ginny cried, getting up from her cover.

“Avada kedavra!”

Hermione tackled her to the ground just in time, and Harry sent Stunning Spells towards the caster. “We can’t do anything right now!” she said, though it obvious she wanted to do the same.

“Crucio!” a voice shouted nearby. There was an ear shattering cry of pain, and Charlie was writhing on the ground. “Take that blood traitor!”

“Charlie!” Natalya shouted. Her vampire features didn’t leave her but she was now using her wand (Harry could only assume that she already got enough blood). Unfortunately before she could do anything an enemy that came out of hiding disarmed her.

Harry turned his wand towards them but there were already shouts of “Stupefy!” and “Expelliarmus!” from Fleur and Bill, respectively. The one that disarmed Natalya was Stunned and Charlie’s aggressor no longer had a wand. Without a second’s pause Natalya pounced on the one that attacked Charlie. “Have mercy!” was all he got out before Natalya sank her fangs into her second neck of the night.

This time around Harry didn’t allow himself to be distracted. Taking a look over his cover he desperately thought of a way to save the Muggles in danger (“Rancid!” he heard Natalya say).

“Oh my god, Harry, look!” Hermione said, pointing.

“No thanks,” Harry answered, trying to get a better look at the enemy’s position.

“But”!”

“I’ve seen enough blood sucking, Hermione!”

Then there came the sound of a window breaking, and Harry saw somebody on a broom shoot right through the library and crash out another window. Harry barely had any time to wonder what that was all about before it happened again. At least four or five brooms kept on zooming in and out of the library causing both sides to be distracted.

And then there was a small explosion somewhere above Harry. He looked behind where the Death Eaters were, and saw that the ceiling was collapsing. The people on brooms were still winding their way in and out so that the Death Eaters didn’t even notice when somebody jumped in through the roof and Stunned them from behind.

Harry, Hermione, and Ginny exchanged looks before leaving their cover to go help untie the Muggles. By the time they reached them the person stood up right, turned around, and pushed back her long, dirty blonde hair.

“Hello, Harry,” Luna Lovegood said pleasantly. “I think it’s better to stay where you are until it’s safe,” she said to the Muggles she just untied. They just nodded quietly.

“Luna!” Harry, Hermione, and Ginny exclaimed.

“It’s nice to see you again,” Luna said giving her usual smile. “Sorry I couldn’t come the last time you called a meeting, but I’ve been under constant supervision.”

“Okay,” Harry said slowly, “but how did you get here?”

Before she got a chance to answer many other parts of the ceiling fell and more D.A. members dropped in to join the battle.

“My coin burned again, only this time the person watching me came here to fight,” she explained as the battle around them raged. “The D.A. met up back at Hogwarts and found Hagrid tying his brother to some thestrals so they can fly here. He didn’t want us to come but we followed on the school brooms and some left over thesrals.” It was only then that Harry noticed that there were indeed thestrals flying all over Little Hangleton.

“No! You don’t know what she’s capable of!” Harry heard Ron shout from the other side of the library.

“Ron,” Hermione said breathlessly, taking off after him. The new surge of reinforcements had completely distracted the Death Eaters, so it was a more or less clear field for her.

“Be careful, Luna,” Harry told her, as he and Ginny took off after Hermione. There were still more than enough Death Eaters to continue to cause major trouble. Nobody was taking cover anymore, with spells flying everywhere. More than once Harry had to dip and dodge as he ran across the field of battle.

Along the way he spotted Cho Chang and Michael Corner both in a duel with the same Death Eater. Justin was covering Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbot as they led away Muggles. Many other members of the D.A. ran to and fro contributing to the battle at had. To Harry’s surprise he even witnessed as Colin Creevey Stunned from behind one of the two Death Eaters that Kingsley was fighting.

“Eveythin’ all righ’ up there, Harry?” Harry heard Hagrid call as he passed where the stairs used to be.

Harry stopped in his tracks to look over the banisters. “Make sure none of the scum get out, Hagrid!” he shouted quickly before taking off again.

When Harry finally reached the other side it was a bit emptier than the rest of the library, but by no means quieter. Ron was still in a fierce duel with that same person that tried to finish him off earlier. Jet after jet of light erupted from the end of his wand, but almost all of them were countered or dodged by the blonde woman.

“Stupefy!” neither of then said. Harry looked to his left and saw Seamus Finnegan emerge from a pile of books.

“You again!” again the woman screeched. “Avada kedavra!”

“Damn!” Seamus yelled, barely getting out of the way. “Bloody hell! The both of them are off their rocker!” he told Harry, Ginny, and Hermione. “I’m trying to help but Ron doesn’t want any.”

“Because she’s the one that killed Percy,” Hermione said uneasily.

“WHAT!” Ginny screamed, instanly ready to draw blood. She drew out her wand about to jump into the fight, but Harry and Ginny held her back. “Let go of me! I have every right! I heard how Percy came back to us!”

“You don’t want just rush in,” Seamus said, shaken. “Ron didn’t even notice me and almost took my head off!”

“Didn’t expect that, did you!” Harry suddenly heard the woman say to Ron, who was floating in midair. He was then thrown, hit the wall hard, and landed on the floor hard. “Avada kedavra!” Ron rolled out of the way and Harry saw his chance.

So did, Ginny, Hermione, and Seamus. “Stupefy!” the four of them cried. Three of them were blocked, but one caught her left arm and she doubled over in pain. It was at that moment that another broom rushed into the library through a broken window. “Avada kedavra!” she yelled, using her other arm.

As Anthony Goldstein hit the ground dead, the woman snatched the broom and flew off out a window. Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Harry immediately ran forward as far as they could as pointed their wands at the retreating figure. They all cast spells, and it was Ginny’s that hit the tail of the broom making it catch on fire. They watched as the woman left a smoke trail and crashed on the streets.

For some reason Ron took a look around him at the battle, then at Ginny, Hermione, and Harry, seeming very conflicted. But he then pointed his wand out the window, shouting, “Aguamenti frio!” A stream of water burst out of his wand and cascaded out the window, and then freezing into a sort of ice slide.

Without hesitation Ron launched himself down the slide, and took off at a run upon hitting the ground.

“You three get goin’,” said Seamus. “I think we can take down the rest of these Death Eaters on our own.”

“Thank you,” said Hermione and Ginny, going down the slide. Harry nodded his appreciation before following.

“You have two other brothers fighting in there, Ginny,” Harry said after catching up.

“Neither of which are as stupid as Ron,” she responded.

“Hey,” he heard Ron say from farther ahead. “Fleur isn’t going to let anything happen to Bill. And you saw what Natalya did to the one that attacked Charlie. They’ll both be fine.”

It wasn’t long before they spotted the broom with the burnt tail. Harry, Ginny, and Hermione were going rush toward it, but Ron stuck his arm out to stop them. “Too easy,” he muttered. “Stay here.”

Ginny grabbed Ron’s arm and gave him a hard look. “I want a piece of her too. I don’t care if I wasn’t there when he died.”

Ron pulled his arm away. “Just watch, okay?” He then started forward as Ginny, Hermione, and Harry watched anxiously. When Ron got closer to the broom there was a shout of, “Avada kedavra!”

It seemed as if Ron expected that. The Killing Curse emerged from an alley, and Ron dove to the ground to avoid it and return fire. “Make sure that you cover the other exits so she can’t get out,” was all he said before getting back to his feet and rushing into the alley.

The three of them did as they were told. Harry went left while Hermione and Ginny went right. Harry made the first turn into the alley he found and went in a little deep before stopping upon hearing the sounds of a duel. As he stood next to the trash bins and took in the mossy smell, Harry wondered how on earth he found himself in such a situation. He was supposed to be at the graveyard to finally faceoff against Voldemort, but instead he was helping Ron take revenge.

“You’re a coward!” Harry heard the woman’s voice yell. Harry heard footsteps getting louder from a right turn ahead. He drew his wand and blocked the escape just as the woman appeared.

“Ava”oh it’s you,” she spat, looking up and down at Harry. Along with her injured left arm, it looked like that fall she took off her broom caused many cuts and bruises. “I’ll be taking you to the Dark Lord after I finish off the blood traitor.”

“Back up then,” Harry said coolly.

“Where d’you think you’re headed, Coleman?” Ron said, appearing with his wand up. The two of them slowly made their way to the middle and more spacious part of the alley, staring each other down.

Harry had his wand up too and made sure to block the Coleman woman’s means of escape. In other turn offs in the alley he spotted Hermione and Ginny emerging. Ginny looked as if she was going to jump into the fight, but Ron said, “No! You don’t know what she’s capable of, Ginny.” Miraculously, Ginny listened to her brother.

“What’s wrong, Andrew? Not letting your mates fight your battles for you?” she sneered.

“No, just making sure you can’t run like the little coward you are,” Ron spat, raising his wand.

The only other times that Harry remembered such tension was back when Snap and Sirius were face to face. And just like them, nothing but loathing was etched into Ron’s and Coleman’s face. The two of them just stared at each other, just waiting for the other person to attack first.

“You were just leading me on,” Coleman whispered with pure malice.

“It wasn’t easy to listen to all that crap you were spewing,” Ron said without a hint of remorse.

The two cast their curses at the same time, and the two jets of light met in midair to explode in a cloud of purple haze. Ron and Coleman charged forward and clashed inside of the smoke. For more than a minute all Harry could do was keep his guard up and waited until the cloud lifted. In the meanwhile he had to listen to the curses cast from within.

Harry was expecting to see a tooth-and-nail duel once the cloud lifted. He surely thought that they were punching, kicking, and biting at one another. Instead Ron was actually keeping his distance from Coleman. Every time she tried to get in closer he backed off.

As it went on it was clear that they were in a stalemate (despite Coleman being injured). Every curse, jinx, and spell was being dodged, countered, or only just grazed its target. Harry had never seen Ron duel for fiercely.

From across the dueling field Harry saw Hermione with her wand in one hand, but the thumb of the other hand between her teeth. Ginny was on the verge of stepping in, but knew that there was no opening to jump into the fray. The three of them could have easily sent Stunning Spells, but the there was a very good chance they’d hit Ron. Better Stunned than dead, Harry thought.

It was then that Ron went on to do a series of Shield Charms. Coleman had found an opening, and Ron was being walking backwards trying to be overtaken. He went too far too fast and crashed into some trash bins.

There was a glint in Coleman’s eyes that didn’t bode well for Ron. “Avada kedav”ah!” Ron had grabbed one of the lids of the trash bins and tossed it like a Frisbee. It caught Coleman hard on the shins and her Killing Curse went flying in the wrong direction.

Coleman tried not to fall to her knees, and that gave Ron his chance. “Expelliarmus!” Ron cried, knocking the wand out of her hand.

Harry suddenly became aware of how his body was positioned. In the brief second that Ron was down he had prepared himself to duel, and had his wand stretched out to save him. On other side of the alley Ginny and Hermione were the same story. They were only a split second away from taking action before Ron saved himself.

“It’s over, Coleman,” Ron declared, pointing his wand at the defenseless woman. “Give up.”

Coleman said nothing. She looked from her wand ten feet away to Ron, and slowly made his way to Ron. “Don’t move!” But she didn’t.

“I remember this Auror from that battle in Diagon Alley,” she started, getting closer. “I saw her wand arm injured and was about to be finished off…but she did something rather unexpected.” Everybody was bewildered. Harry and Ron made eye contact, and Harry just shrugged. Why did the enemy always have to get in those last words? Coleman was barely two feet from Ron when she stopped. “That woman”that Williams, I think her name was”had a good strategy that I decided to use just”in”case.” Harry saw her reach into her pocket and it clicked.

“Ron! She has a second wand!” Harry bellowed.

The wand was only half way out of Coleman’s pocket before Ron panicked. With his wand he made a diagonal slashing motion cross Coleman’s chest, shouting, “Dicorga!”

Coleman’s eyes nearly left their sockets. For a second it looked as if Ron’s curse had no effect. Then, blood dribbled out of Coleman’s mouth as she muttered, “You bastard.” Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground dead.

Why did the enemy always have to get in those last few words?
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Loyalties by Phoenix 86
There were a few seconds when no one spoke. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny didn’t know what to say to Ron, who had remained locked in position after delivering the finishing blow. Slowly, Ron looked around at them, to Coleman’s dead body, and to his wand. Then without warning Ron lurched, and threw his head into an open trash bin to vomit.

After he was finished retching Ron emerged and collapsed onto the nearest bit of wall looking sickly green and trembling. Hermione and Ginny ran forward in alarm, as did Harry.

“What happened?” Hermione asked with worry.

“What’s wrong?” asked Ginny.

Ron pressed his forehead with the heel of his hand. “I…I killed her,” he said in shock, his voice shaking. “I killed her.”

Ginny looked from the dead body to Ron. “But she killed Percy…didn’t she?” she asked apprehensively.

Ron nodded, saying, “And ever since then I wanted to get revenge. But…but I didn’t”” he struggled to get the next few words out. “I didn’t know I’d end up feeling like this…like I’m no better than them!” Ron exclaimed hysterically.

“You’ve never killed anybody before, Ron!” Hermione said to him rather harshly. “And it’s because you feel this way that you are better than them!”

Those words seemed to have struck a chord in Ron. He looked up at Hermione, whose expression was unreadable. His gaze turned to Ginny, who gripped her brother’s shoulder sympathetically. When Ron’s eyes turned to Harry, who just said, “There’s still fighting left to do.”

What Harry actually wanted to say would have been impossible. He was horrified, shocked, surprised, and glad that it was all over all at the same time. All Harry knew was that they couldn’t stay in that dank alley for the rest of the battle. Ron needed to get over this as quickly as possible or he would be picked off easily.

“I should have known,” a voice said from behind them. Harry turned around to look at who had just spoken when his body became rigid, and he was thrown against the wall above Ron in a spread eagle position. Two thumps on either side of him told him that the same thing happened to Hermione and Ginny.

“What the”?” Harry blurted out, looking around before he spotted who had entered the alley. “You!” he spat angrily as Severus Snape emerged from the shadows. Struggling with all his might, Harry tried to move but he found it impossible.

“Damn!” Ginny cursed, trying to free herself.

“Ron! Do something!” Hermione pleaded desperately as Snape drew closer.

Snape’s wand was out and he was pointing it at the three people he had stuck to the wall. He drew closer and closer, his robes billowing menacingly behind him. There was a triumphant smirk crossing his lips as his eyes locked onto Harry, who stared right back.

There he was…Dumbledore’s killer once more before him. Harry wanted nothing more than to free himself and curse every inch of Snape. But it was as though he was glued to the wall and his wand was several feet away. The only thing he was able to do was meet his gaze, show Snape that he wasn’t afraid.

And neither, it turned out, was Ron. Instead of wearing fear, or even shock, at their old teacher’s appearance he looked positively confused.

“Whose bloody side are you on, Severus?” Ron asked, standing himself slowly and frowning at Snape.

Severus? Harry thought, confused. Since when was Ron on first name terms with Snape? From the perplexed looks on their faces, it was obvious Ginny and Hermione were thinking the same thing.

“Oh, how I’ve been waiting for this day, Potter,” Snape breathed, his smirk growing and ignoring Ron. “No lessons, no obligations, no nothing…just you, me, and a wand.”
Harry braced himself for the worst.

“Scourgify!” Soap suds burst out of Harry’s mouth. He gagged and began to spit them out, coughing. Snape then lazily flicked his wand and all three of them fell to the ground, Harry still coughing and spitting. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that, Potter. Just consider yourself lucky that I didn’t do anything worse.”

“What was that all about?” Ron roared at Snape angrily, his horror of taking a life behind him for the moment.

Snape didn’t answer and turned his wand on him. “Scourgify!” Soap spilled out of his mouth too, causing him to gag. “Don’t complain, it’s not like you didn’t need a good rinsing,” he said, looking down Coleman’s dead body. “But I must say that I would’ve been surprised if you didn’t get sick after killing someone.”

Ron spit once more and wiped his mouth angrily. “Don’t play games, Severus! What the bloody hell are you doing here?”

“Please,” Snape sneered, as the other three watched the exchange of words in wonder (Harry was so thrown off, that he didn’t retrieve his wand), “I only told you to call me by my first name to fool everybody else that we were on good terms. You can go back to using my surname.”

“Oh I don’t think so, Severus,” Ron said savagely. “It seems as if me calling you ‘Severus’ annoys you, Severus! And that just happens to be one of my favorite hobbies”and you didn’t answer my question.”

Snape’s lip curled at the insolence before him, but answered, “I’m here for Potter.”

“Excuse me,” said Harry, stopping himself from laughing at how ludicrous those words sounded. It was only then that Harry snatched up his wand from the ground and immediately pointed it at Snape. “And what makes you think that I’m willing to do what you say?”

What Harry did care about the exchange Snape just had with Ron? Ron could simply explain after Harry paid Snape back for killing Dumbledore. He had his eyes locked on Snape, who was looking back at him with a stony gaze.

“Pathetic,” Snape whispered with relish. “Even Weasley was able to close his mind, even if it was just once. And from what I understand all you would have had in Dumbledore was a crippled old man.”

Harry snapped. “Stu”!” Ron grabbed Harry’s outstretched hand and looked at Snape with a scowl.

“Stop playing around, Severus. What do you need Harry for?” he demanded

“For what else? To take him to the Dark Lord,” Snape answered.

“Like hell!” Ginny shouted, breaking her silence and stepping forward wand drawn once more.

“Ginny, no!” Ron told her, now stepping in front of her.

“First you were a Death Eater, then you killed somebody, and now you’re mates with Snape!” she rattled off at Ron. “What’s next? Do you have a family that we don’t know about?”

“He didn’t kill us, and take Harry by force, did he?” Ron reasoned, looking at the three of them. “Snape’s definitely not our friend but he wants Voldemort dead too. He didn’t turn me in to Voldemort, even though he saw right through my disguise; he’s been passing me information; and where do you think I got that Veritaserum from?”

“But weren’t you getting information from her?” Hermione asked uncertainly, pointing as shaky finger at Coleman’s dead body. “That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“From the two of them,” he answered quickly.

“If it makes you feel better, Granger, I was the one that made Weasley pump Sylvia Coleman for intelligence,” Snape snapped. “And it proved useful, did it not?”

Ron grimaced and rubbed his nose. “Yes…and don’t make it sound like I actually did anything.”

“And what about Lectun Isle?” Harry said to Ron. “Snape didn’t seem so keen on helping there.”

Ron eyed Harry as is the answer was obvious. “For the same reason I didn’t: I couldn’t blow my cover. So I told Beth what I was doing for the Order, and she called for help. Severus even played along.”

“Snape could’ve killed Lupin!”

“But he didn’t, did he?”

Harry could hardly believe his ears. Ron was defending Snape?

Holding his hands up in defense, Ron said, “Look, we aren’t friends”barely even allies. The only reason I took his help was because I had no other choice. Not even the Order knew.”

“We’ve wasted enough time,” Snape piped up. “Potter, let’s go.”

“I didn’t say I was going with you,” Harry retorted stubbornly.

“And here I thought you were planning on confronting the Dark Lord,” he sneered. “And you think me the coward.”

“I’m not a coward and I am going to finish Voldemort”but I won’t face him wrapped up like a present.”

“Who said I was going to tie you up?” he said, raising his wand.

Harry immediately got his own ready to duel, but Snape simply pointed it down at Sylvia Coleman’s dead body, shouting, “Sectumsempra!” Long, deep gashes erupted all over her body squirting blood. Harry was close enough that he had to put his hands in front of his face to avoid being hit by a spray of blood.

“Are you mad?” Ron shouted, wiping some that got on his cheek. His eyes fell on the mutilated body, and Ron quickly looked away.

“Just wait, will you?” Snape said, exasperated. “Blood has been spilled all over this village, this may take some time.”

And so they waited. For what, Harry didn’t know. So far Snape hadn’t done any bodily harm to him or his friends, so Harry decided what decimating a dead body could possible accomplish. All of a sudden a scaly, black horse fell from the sky and landed right next to the dead body. Staggering back from surprise, it took Harry a second to recognize what it was. Ron, Ginny, and Hermione all let out gasps of surprise and shock.

“What on earth is that?” Ginny asked, intimidated as the beast began sniffing and licking at the blood on the body.

“Oh my god,” Hermione gasped, holding her hand over her mouth. “Is that a”” The horse bit the arm and began trying to rip it off the rest of the body. “Yes, definitely a thestral,” she finished as another flew down get its share.

“I definitely prefer them invisible,” said Ron, trying to look away.

“I didn’t count on Hagrid bringing these, but they’ll prove useful all the same,” said Snape, stopping the first one from tearing apart Coleman. “Get on, Potter.”

“I still didn’t say I was going with you,” Harry retorted, hardly believing the message wasn’t getting through Snape’s greasy head.

“Then I suppose you prefer going to the graveyard by yourself on foot with the chance of a few Death Eaters getting the jump on you,” Snape patronized. “Then you can simply be presented to the Dark Lord like a”what did you call it, Potter? ‘Wrapped up like a present’?”

Harry let those words hang in the air before saying, “Damn.” As much as he hated to admit it, Snape had a point. Walking towards the graveyard without any cover would be like painting a target on his back. Marching over to the scaly horse he climbed up on its back, finding it a bit easier the second time around.

“I can’t believe that you’re actually listening to him,” Ginny told him, grabbing the thestral’s mane in some vain attempt to stop him. “It could be some sort of trap.”

“Either way I have to face him,” Harry said, clasping his hand on top of hers. “You told me that last year, remember?”

Ginny chewed on her lip, then let go. “Just come back.”

“Try and stop me,” he responded, putting on what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

“Good luck,” Hermione said in her strongest voice possible. Ron didn’t say anything, but he nodded with a forced smile.

“D’you have any idea where Bellatrix is, Severus?” Ron suddenly asked Snape.

“Last I heard she was wreaking havoc to the south of here. Why? Planning on killing her too?” he asked in his most demeaning voice.

“Not like she wouldn’t deserve it,” he said, as he turned to leave the alley.

“Wait, Ron, we need to gather some help first,” Hermione insisted, catching up to him. Ginny gave Harry one last looking before following them.

“I’ll do what I can from the sidelines,” Snape told Harry.
“Just whose side are you on, anyway?” Harry finally asked him.

Snape paused before answering. “My side, Potter. If the Dark Lord wins then all we’ll have is an age of Darkness and genocide. Hardly the kind of world I think wizards should rule over.” He leaned towards the thestral’s head. “Over the hill to the north, at the Little Hangleton graveyard.”

The black horse then extended its wings, crouched, and leapt upwards into the sky. Harry put his arms around the neck just in time to keep himself from falling, and when the thestral reached the top of its climb he had a spectacular view of the town below. Buildings were still on fire, if not destroyed, sounds of battle issued from everywhere, and in the distance Harry spotted Grawp still fighting with one of the giants. He hardly believed so much was still going while he wasted time in that alley.

Flapping its great wings, the thestral turned north and flew over the hill the Riddle mansion stood upon. The scenery below him changed from the run down house to a dark patch of woods. The thestral began to circle over the area, and Harry took opportunity to try and peer through trees.

And sure enough he spotted an area littered with tombstones. Not only that, but Harry thought he could see at least a dozen figures moving to and fro.

Suddenly the black horse started its decent, but immediately seeing the folly in that, Harry grabbed the mane and pulled upwards as a signal to stay in the air. Thankfully the thestral obeyed his command, and Harry gulped. How was he supposed to land? Did Snape expect Harry to make some sort of gallant appearance before Voldemort? Land his steed with expert precision, dismount, and challenge the Darkest wizard of all time to a duel?

Gulping again, Harry made sure that his thestral stayed in the air. He felt like a coward, letting down his friends and all those that were depending on him. How long would it be before one of those Death Eaters noticed the beast he was riding on hovering above them?

Then a small green light appeared down on the ground, and it gradually became larger and brighter as it got closer. Harry easily maneuvered the thestral out of the way.

Harry exhaled loudly, and felt his hands grow numb wrapped around mane. His mind set now that he was spotted, Harry took a guess and pushed down on the thestral’s neck. It worked: they were going for a landing.
End Notes:
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