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.
Harry Potter and the Secret Spell by Phoenix 86
Chapter Notes: yes..............it's been forever since my last update. i am truly deeply sorry.