Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I associated with anything to do with Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, or any of the cast members of the movies.
The remainder of the summer was spent mostly indoors, for obvious reasons. Hermione rested for a time, regaining her strength, while Harry spent countless games being annihilated by Ron in wizard’s chess. The summer had been the best of Harry’s life, and he felt more apart of a family than he ever had before. The next day, the group of Hogwarts students would make the long journey back to the castle. This would be the last time for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They were all excited. Having the whole Weasley family coming in frequently over the summer to Grimmauld Place was comforting to Harry, and the most honorable House of Black was starting to look like it was inhabited by folks other than dark wizards.
After three solid hours of chess, Harry had lost patience and almost given up...until Fred and George decided to watch. Both started ganging up on their younger brother, frustrating him. Ron made a wrong move, and Harry saw his chance. Quickly, and quite prominently it must be noted, he moved his queen, removing Ron’s castle and ending the game.
“Checkmate!” Harry exclaimed, surprising everyone in the room by the outburst.
“No bloody way!” Ron said incredulously, reviewing the move that had just been played. Once the truth of the matter reached Ron’s brain, he shook his head and looked at his friend. Harry looked back with a very pleased expression on his face.
“Oh, fine then. One game, Harry, it was one game!”
“But that’s the first time I’ve ever beaten you!” Harry pointed out. He was so happy he could’ve written a book about it. Surely this had to be legendary enough to immortalize through writing!
“He beat you?!” Ginny said, coming over to rub it in. Fred and George would have as well, had they been able to breath between laughing so hysterically. The mood was light, and everyone was in smiles. That was not to last, however.
Later that evening, Arthur, Molly, and Tonks came in with worried looks on their faces. They rushed to the kitchen to talk to Remus. Fred and George tried using their Extendable Ears, but a spell was put on the door so that all they could hear was static. Moments later, Mad-Eye limped in, soaking wet with sweat, and blood trickling down his face. He was followed by Slughorn, who was also covered in sweat, and breathing hard. Bill and Charlie Weasley followed just behind them. Lastly, and most surprisingly, Kingsley Shacklebolt briskly walked in and shut the door just as quickly behind him. Same as the other two, he was breathing hard. But his face looked worse than Moody’s did! It was as if his entire face were colored red rather than skin-color. He led the group into the kitchen as well. Mad-Eye was the last one in. He turned around quickly and saw the group of teenagers walking with curiosity towards the room.
“Potter!” he shouted. “You’re a member of this Order, are you not?! Come in here!”
Harry wasn’t about to miss what happened to these men for anything. He walked forward, tailed by Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and their brothers. A look from Alastar gave them their answer.
“Only Potter,” he explained with a tone that was non-negotiable. They backed up and walked to the den area, having nothing to do but wait.
While the teenagers waited on the outside, the atmosphere within the kitchen was completely different. Arthur and Remus grabbed towels and washcloths for the returning Order members, which were anything but their original colors after a few minutes. Everyone in that room was shocked to see Kingsley.
“We thought you were dead!” exclaimed Tonks, looking in shock at the older Order member.
“I was, according to most,” he replied. “But it takes more than three Death Eaters to take me out completely.”
“I could’ve told you that, Shacklebolt,” Moody said with a chuckle. “We’ve worked for too long together. I know that as fact. Just as I knew that this idea, which was no better than a child’s, would not have worked for a minute, Slughorn!”
At this, Horace started cowering, not wanting any more trouble than what he had caused. It took roughly fifteen minutes to apply counter-curses, provide antidotes, and heal wounds before any of the five men were able to answer questions. One by one, they relaxed, except for Mad-Eye, who still sat rigidly, glaring at Horace.
“What exactly happened?” inquired Arthur.
“The fact that Kingsley came back with us should tell you how bad it was, Arthur!” was Moody’s response. He then proceeded to yell some more at Horace, who couldn’t make himself any smaller without the use of magic.
“That’s enough, Alastar!” Kingsley bellowed. “It’s been a hard night as it is. Let’s not start killing more people, alright?!”
“Killing more people?! What on earth happened out there?!” Molly asked, concern in her voice as she wandered towards her sons sitting at the table.
“We were ambushed, Mum,” Charlie said, looking over at Bill, who nodded in agreement.
“Hold on one moment,” Kingsley said, focusing on Harry. “What are you doing in here, Potter?”
“He recently became a member of the Order, Kingsley,” Remus stated. “So he’s allowed to hear everything that we are.”
“Very well, but do understand that what I’m about to tell you is not for the faint of heart,” Kingsley responded.
The room went deathly silent as the five men all exchanged agonized looks to one another. It was Kingsley who spoke first.
“To bring to date those who do not know, I was protecting the Muggle Prime Minister, as per our Ministry’s orders. Some time ago, I had a relatively lethal encounter with three Death Eaters trying to take control of the Muggle Ministry. I fought them off, but was hurt rather badly in the process. I had to fake my own death and take Polyjuice Potion to disguise myself as a Muggle to stay on duty with their Ministry. We assumed once Voldemort was back, he would start attacking Muggles as well as wizards, hence why it was of utmost importance I stay there. Unfortunately, we were right.”
He paused for a moment, sighing heavily before continuing.
“The Prime Minister of the Muggles has been murdered this night.”
The gasps coming from each mouth of the room showed the significance of such a loss.
“For a Muggle, though, he put up one hell of a fight! He was fist-fighting Dark Wizards for a few moments before they got him with the Killing Curse. I was there...along with a few other Aurors from the Ministry of Magic. The others were being killed. There had to have been at least six of us. I was fighting two Death Eaters, and after the second one went down, I looked at the Prime Minister. I was rather amused with his fighting and dodging. I saw the green light before he even knew what was happening. His body fell to the ground and they carried him away. I pursued, and ran into Mad-Eye. He heard I was in trouble, and he joined me in our pursuit. The Death Eaters threw several nasty curses at us, missing us most of the time. As you can see, they nailed me in the face with the skin-eating curse. One of them threw something at Alastar, and he got hit rather hard as well.”
“It was a Muggle knife,” Moody chimed in. “Rather hard to deflect, as I’m sure Potter here knows.” Harry just stood there, nodding promptly to answer the question. Having never dodged a knife before in his life, he just went by what he saw on the few movies he’d been able to watch behind walls at Privet Drive.
“He Apparated to get some help, and at the same time, two more Death Eaters Apparated in front of me. In this line of work, and at times like that, it’s ‘kill or be killed,’ I’m afraid. So I took them out. I continued to follow the leaders, and the rest of these guys showed up. They took out the remaining Death Eaters that were following me, and we continued to go after the Minister. They Apparated away just before we could get them. Now I always keep a set of brooms with me at all times, so we Apparated to where I keep them. Once all of us had one, we took off, scouring the city for any trace of the Minister.”
Kingsley took another break, his eyes starting to water. He tore himself apart because of the sight his eyes beheld.
“We found him...”
“Yeah, we found him,” Moody continued, “hanging from a rope, which was tied around his neck, from one of the arms of Big Ben, that tower clock they have.”
“That wasn’t all, though,” Bill said, speaking up for the first time. “After we found him, we were going to find a way to get him down. Death Eaters came out of nowhere, attacking us with every curse they had. We flew out of there as fast as possible, exchanging curses and dodging the Unforgivables. We finally made it here in, well, the state we’re in now.”
The room now had a terrified disposition. This was not good news at all.
“That’s terrible,” Molly shrieked, gathering Bill and Charlie in her arms. Harry stood in shock, as did Remus and Arthur. It was hardly imaginable that such an attack could happen. For the latter two, it hadn’t sunk in yet just how much danger they were in. However, Kingsley cleared his throat, uttering a statement that scared everybody.
“There’s more.”
The room once again was silent as a graveyard. Every ear leaned in to hear how there could be any more.
“I went flying past them a few times after we fled,” said Kingsley. “I wanted to see what they were planning. As it turns out, they put the entire clock tower in flames! Then they started randomly harassing Muggles as they left. It was the most horrific scene I’ve ever seen.”
There couldn’t possibly be anything more that could be said that would shock them further. Then Harry asked the only question he had left.
“So, what did Professor Slughorn do that was so terrible?”
Mad-Eye turned and looked intensely at Harry before answering.
“We suspected there may be a few Death Eaters hanging around the Muggle Ministry, so we had to stay alert. It was your dear Professor’s decision to try some magic to see if that brought them out. He used a spell that shouts off red sparks in the sky that take different forms, which apparently was their signal to start chaos. His reasoning for it was that, if there were any of Voldemort’s followers in the area, they would be scared away. If you can figure out the logic in this, then explain it to me.”
“Why is Voldemort doing this?” Harry asked tentatively.
“Because he’s after you,” said Horace cautiously. “By planting little seeds of fear in the Muggle and Wizarding worlds, he hopes to draw you out. Once he finishes you, the world is his.”
“You mean if he finishes him,” corrected Remus. “You’re forgetting that Harry defended himself and his friends against two Death Eaters recently. One of which has given you two a run for your money.”
This last comment was directed at Moody and Shacklebolt. The Order continued discussing many things that night. Each one made Harry more scared than ever. He was now realizing the full extent of the Dark Lord’s power. Now, more than ever, he wondered just how much of a chance he would have standing up to a wizard that had never been killed or defeated.
Harry walked out an hour later, after all the arguing and debating was over. He was once again reminded, this time by every member of the Order of the Phoenix, of the weight that was on his shoulders and the cost of his failure. His friends surrounded him as he walked up the stairs in a daze. Never before had he felt so overwhelmed. After all, not just the lives of those in the Wizard world depended on him. The Muggles were in danger too.
Once upstairs, Harry explained the whole meeting to his friends. By the end, he lay on his bed, physically and emotionally drained. Fred and George left in deep conversation, while Ginny walked out shortly after. Ron and Hermione didn’t know what to say, but they stayed with Harry until he was asleep before leaving him.
At half after three in the morning, Harry stirred, and couldn’t fall back asleep. Frustrated, he quietly left his room and walked to the den area. He turned on a dim light and sat in the first chair in front of him. He was restless and scared, yet also excited. After all, in a few hours, he’d be back at Hogwarts. Then all he had to worry about was school...and the horcruxes...and Ginny. Ginny?
Sure enough, Ginny was standing at the doorway, looking worried. She had on her night robes, and as she walked slowly up to where he was sitting, Harry could see she was barefoot. She had her hair down, which was the way he liked it. Ginny knelt down next to the chair Harry was sitting in, and sat looking into his eyes for a moment before speaking.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” she asked. “You look so scared, and you’re really worrying me. I know you’re not one to open up about things, but you know you can trust me.”
“It’s not a matter of trust, Ginny,” he replied softly. Gosh, she looks beautiful, he though to himself before bringing his attention back to the present. “I’ve just got a lot to worry about, that’s all.”
“You have too much to worry about, Harry. I hate that you feel you have to do this alone. So many people care about you. So many people would do anything for you. Why won’t you at least let them help you through this?”
“Because this is something I have to do alone,” said Harry, more harshly than he intended. He brought his voice back down and continued.
“I don’t want to be responsible for the death of any more people, especially someone I care about. I couldn’t bear to live with myself if that happened to anyone.”
“So you think we’re not strong enough to help you, is that it?” Ginny was starting to get upset, and it showed in her voice.
“That’s not it at all. The Prophecy says that only I can defeat Voldemort.”
“But that doesn’t mean you can take on all that he is, Harry! You can’t take on all the Dark Wizards around by yourself! You’ll die!”
“Do you really think I don’t know that?! I know I don’t stand a chance. Tonight proved it! His Death Eaters took out six, SIX Aurors! And he hasn’t shown his face since the night at the Department of Mysteries! I know I don’t stand a chance, and that’s why I don’t want other people dying to save me. If I’m going to go out, then I want to go out alone.”
“I’m not going to let you do that, Harry Potter! I care too much about you to let you do that!”
“How are you going to stop me?” Harry asked, meeting her defiant glare with one just as passionate. “How can you stop what’s going to happen?”
Tears started to fall down Ginny Weasley’s face, despite her fighting them. She looked deep into Harry’s green eyes, looking into his tormented soul. She saw the fear, and the fierce compassion he had for protecting those he cared about. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his. Pain started to ebb away at her own heart. She cared a lot more than she had told him, and the fact that he wouldn’t let her stand beside him hurt her. She finally lost it and bent over crying. Harry slid off the chair and gathered her in his arms. She wrapped her arms around him, crying hard. Being this close to each other was both a comfort and a plague to either one. They both wanted to be together, but Harry knew he couldn’t. It killed him to have her in his arms and not be able to comfort her more, to hold her tighter, to kiss her. Ginny could not stop thinking about the last time they were like this. After barely speaking for an entire summer, she felt very relieved to be in Harry’s arms again. Talking to him was something she’d wanted to do, but felt she didn’t have the right.
Her heart continued to betray her thoughts as she took refuge in his arms. Tears continued to stream down her face as her heart poured out its agony. She desperately wanted him to touch her face; to kiss her; to look at her like he used to and tell her that all was going to be fine, although she knew things would never be the same. She pulled away, locking eyes with him. Harry lost himself in her gaze, unconsciously leaning closer to her. His feelings did not want to listen to his mind, which was telling him to stop. The closer he got to her, the more he wanted to pull her as tightly to her as possible and never let her go. He saw the same look in her tear-filled eyes. Their faces drew nearer as if they were two stars drawn in the same constellation. Ginny closed her eyes, her lips just inches away from his. Harry couldn’t take any more, and made the decision he knew he would regret.
“I...can’t do this, Ginny,” he said, slowly pulling away.
Fresh new tears started to fall down Ginny’s face as she pulled her broken heart away from his arms.
“Why won’t you just give us a chance? Why did you end it in the first place?” She could barely speak through her crying.
“It’s just...I...I can’t lose you. And I know Voldemort. He’ll go after you to get to me. I know he will! And I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”
“So you don’t think you’re hurting me now?”
Harry didn’t have an answer to that. He knew she wanted to be together at least as much as he did, but he was so scared of losing the one woman he’d fallen for that his mind won the battle with his heart.
“This just...can’t happen right now, Ginny. I’m sorry.”
He didn’t know what else to say, and he couldn’t bear the sight of Ginny, the beautiful fifteen year old witch in front of him, with the most gorgeous, long red hair he’d ever seen, crying anymore. He turned from her and walked away towards another part of the house. He could hear her running up the stairs, balling her eyes out. He walked into the kitchen and sat down. He stared at the table for a moment before his emotions also overpowered him. There in that kitchen, all alone, the Boy Who Lived put his bleeding heart on the table and cried himself to sleep.
A few hours later, Harry heard many noises coming from all over. He awoke with a start and looked around. Everyone was getting ready for the train. As he looked out of the kitchen door, he saw that, not only was everyone packed, but they were walking out the door! At that moment, Mrs. Weasley walked over to him and gave a surprised shriek.
“Harry! Why aren’t you ready to go?!” she asked, shocked that he was in the kitchen at a time like this! They had to go!
“Are you alright, dear? You look a little pale,” she added, seeing how he looked worse for wear. Not five seconds after she asked this question did Ginny pass outside the door, looking straight at Harry for a moment before continuing on her way out. Harry looked at Mrs. Weasley with as much of a smile as he could muster and told her he was alright.
“Well, come on then, dear. Let’s get moving! Ron packed your things, so your trunk is all ready for you. Now get a change of clothes and let’s get out of here, or you’ll miss the train!”
Ten minutes later, everyone was in the enchanted car with Arthur behind the wheel. Driving at break-neck speed, he floored it to the train station. The car emptied as fast as possible, with all its occupants running as fast as their legs could carry them. Bursting through the station after passing through security, they ran through to platform nine and three quarters. A wave of relief hit them all as they realized the train was still there.
Mrs. Weasley gave all her children quick hugs, then Hermione, then Harry. She looked at him and asked once more if he was alright.
“I’m fine, Mrs. Weasley. Thank you for a great summer!”
“Oh, you have nothing to thank me for, Harry, dear. Just remember, if you ever need anything, ask me. You are a member of this family now, just as you are a member of the Order. Anything you need, send us an owl. If we can’t contact you that way, we’ll find other means. Don’t worry. You’ll be fine this year. Now enjoy as much of it as you can by first making it onto the train!”
With one final hug, Harry was off running. The conductor looked annoyed that he’d been stalled by this student. Then he looked again. That student was Harry Potter! That settled it in his mind: he could take as long as he needed. Once Harry was on board, the train took off, traveling at a brisk speed to account for lost time. Harry went to look for his friends, who he soon found were waiting for him.
“Where were you?” inquired Hermione.
“I was...err, held up,” Harry replied.
“Well, we’ve got to start with our Prefect duties,” Ron said, “so we’ll catch up with you later, mate.”
With that, the two of them walked away to the Prefect cart. It was once again Harry and Ginny. The tension resumed, until Ginny saw some of her friends waving at her. She turned around and looked at Harry with a sad smile before walking towards her friends.
What, is this a new thing? Harry thought to himself. Everybody’s leaving me. Well, it’s probably for the best, he thought. After all, hours before, he was telling Ginny the same thing. He gathered his belongings and began searching for a place to sit. He hadn’t walked that far when his shoulder was rammed by someone else who was walking past. He didn’t need to look up to know who it was. Draco Malfoy stood right behind him, a glare pointed in his direction.
“You’ll pay dearly for what you did this summer, Potter,” he spat out.
“Oh, I’m sure I will, Malfoy. By the way, how’s your father?” Harry asked with a devilish smile on his face.
Draco drew his wand, but by the time it was halfway out, Harry’s wand was at his throat. This was enough to convince him to stop.
“Know this. I’ll be watching your every move. If I see anything...anything out of the ordinary, I’ll come after you personally. It’s been six years of this. We’ll see who comes out on top.”
“You’ll see that I will, Potter,” Draco said, his voice quavering. “I’ll deal with you later. I’ve got better things to do with my time.”
“I’m sure you do,” Harry said sarcastically, and withdrew his wand. The two backed away, still facing the other, before turning simultaneously to go in opposite directions.
Harry walked further to the next cart, where he found Neville sitting by himself. He decided to walk in and sit with him.
“Hi, Harry!” Neville exclaimed. “How are you? How was your summer?”
“Hi, Neville,” Harry said nonchalantly. “I’m fine. My summer, however, was one strange event after another!”
“Really? Tell me about it, then!”
So Harry regaled Neville with the tale of his summer. He mentioned the encounter in the park, the boring stages, and conveniently left out the night before with Ginny. Then Neville started telling Harry how his summer had gone, with his Grandma keeping him close by for her assistance. She bought him some new dress robes and a few other items as well. Then his face sank to the floor in a melancholy sort of way.
“What is it, Neville?”
“Trevor ran away,” he said sadly. “I looked everywhere for him, but I couldn’t find him. So my Grandma said to use the school owls and she’ll work on getting me another frog.”
“I’m sorry to hear about Trevor. If you’d like, I’ll let you use Hedwig as often as you need to.”
“Really?” he asked, his face brightening.
“Of course. I’m sure she won’t mind.”
They talked for a few moments before they were joined by the Creavy brothers. As soon as the duo entered the room, both excitedly began telling Harry Potter how their summer went, step for step, day by day. After about an hour of incessant storytelling, they stopped for a moment before bringing up another topic.
“What do you think they’ll do, now that Dumbledore’s gone?”
This was the one topic Harry did not wish to discuss. He shook his head solemnly and looked out the window, hoping they would drop the issue, which thankfully they did. A few minutes went by, then Harry smiled unexpectedly.
“What is it, Harry?” asked Neville.
“We’re there!” he exclaimed.
They dressed in their Hogwarts robes quickly and gathered their things. Once outside the door, they made their way off the train. For Harry and Neville both, this was bittersweet.
Ron and Hermione walked up to them and smiled.
“It’s mental, isn’t it?” Ron asked. “I mean, it’s the last time we’ll leave this train to school for the rest of our lives!”
“Well,” began Hermione, “let’s make this year one we can’t ever forget.”
“I don’t think we’ll have a choice with that one,” Harry said. When his friends became quiet, he smiled mischievously.
“After all, it’s our last year. Let’s have some fun!”
His friends’ smiles returned, yet his was erased not a minute later. Ron and Hermione looked at him with a worried look on their faces.
“What’s wrong, Harry,” asked Hermione.
Harry looked around them. Everything seemed normal and in place. All except one thing, which bothered Harry immensely.
“Why are there so few of us?”
Harry Potter & The Silhouette Of Eternal Benevolence by JourneyJosh
Chapter Notes: More develops with the Order of the Phoenix as things take a drastic turn for the worst, leaving more pressure on Harry. He and his friends later return to Hogwarts and realize that more has changed than was previously revealed to them.