Chapter 8
A Turn of Tides
Four wizards appeared outside of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. It was their last stop to make before panicking. Everywhere they had looked, the Order could not be found. Harry thought hard on the name of the place, and a door appeared between numbers eleven and thirteen. It was followed closely by a familiar house. The group quickly ran up the steps and through the door.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Remus Lupin awaiting them in the entry hall. He took Harry in a quick hug and led them to the kitchen. They all sat down in complete silence until Harry burst out saying, “Well, are you going to tell us anything?”
“Dumbledore has taken members of the Order and spread them out. We are trying as hard as we can to find them, but we need you four to stay here.” Lupin looked anxiously at Harry’s face, expecting a fight, and he wasn’t disappointed.
“What do you mean stay here?! That’s my godfather and fiancé the Death Eaters have out there! I can’t just sit here like a little boy waiting for good news! I’m going to help!”
Lupin, not waiting for him to continue, began to talk. “You are not part of the search party; however, you will be a part of the rescue team. It will not take us long to find their whereabouts, however, the rescue may take a lot of time. A place is easy to locate, but not always as easy to obtain access to.”
A flash of red hit the table and made everybody jump. A phoenix feather was floating less than an inch from the table. Tied to it was a note. Lupin took it and read it over.
“They tracked the Death Eater and have a lead on where he is. Like I told you, it will not be long before we locate them. Go upstairs and get some rest. I’ll call you if we get any news.”
Lupin flicked his wand and a piece of parchment appeared. As he began scribbling a note down, Harry left the room. He, followed by Ron and Hermione, went upstairs into the room he had Ron had shared on a few occasions. Harry laid his head on the pillow of the bead and stared at the ceiling. He slowly began to cry.
He couldn’t contain himself. Within a minute of his first teardrop, Hermione was sitting next to him, holding him as he cried. He cried every emotion he had felt the past week. Anger, longing, love, happiness, anger again, and then, most powerfully, dread. He couldn’t stand to lose his godfather again. He had just found him. He had finally found him. Then there was Ginny. He couldn’t lose the love of his life, either. He had He had grown so much every passing year at Hogwarts and it was not until that moment, that he had realised how much he could love someone, but not that strong. That’s when it suddenly hit him.
“Nothing will happen to them,” he said in an almost inaudible whisper. “Voldemort isn’t after Ginny and Sirius, he’s after me. It’s a trap.”
Ron looked at his best friend with a look of terror in his eyes. He realised that of course, it was true. How did none of them realise it? “We need a plan,” Harry said, completely confident in what they had to do.
Harry had gathered together every member of the Order. They had been rounding up people over the past week, and now had nearly two hundred extra people on their side. Most of them were Aurors and Ministry Officials, but word had gotten out about the kidnapping and so, many ordinary citizens had also offered to help.
Harry had assigned certain people as captains. Each captain was in charge of relaying Harry’s message to their groups. The captains, along with the Order members, were now sitting in front of them.
“We need a disguise. I’m going to arrive at the scene alone,” he began to explain. “The Death Eaters are known to be residing in a forest near here, and they are keeping Sirius and Ginny in a clearing. They needed to be easy to find. At the first sign of a spell, the air raid will begin. Fly your brooms overhead and drop things, anything, including spells, on the Death Eaters. This way, they will be looking up and surprised when the other group charges out of the forest. If I send green sparks into the air, groups three and four join us, but if I send up red, stay out.” Harry was nearly smiling as he finished this explanation. He watched it play out in his head, and they won with ease.
Fifteen minutes later, everyone had left to explain the plan to the awaiting forces. Dumbledore approached Harry and put his hand on the young wizard’s shoulder. “The plan is great, but I need to make one adjustment. I want to enter the clearing with you. Don’t protest yet. There is a reason. The Death Eaters will be more inclined to believe you have no reinforcements if I enter with you. This way, the ambush will truly be a surprise. I’d also like you to make sure the forces are invisible when we arrive. They will have spies set, and if no help can be found, they will have nothing to report.”
Harry considered this for a moment before nodding. That was a brilliant idea. Dumbledore was right.
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Harry looked up at the brave, old wizard walking alongside him. Dumbledore had warned him that because his heart was involved in this, he’d be inclined to do something rash. Harry kept his focus.
Harry thought back to the forces awaiting his signal. It brought a smile to his face that was wiped away the minute they had reached a clearing. As soon as Dumbledore and Harry were out of the wooded area, they heard several rapid cracks; they didn’t even have to look around to realise that Death Eaters surrounded them. From the centre of a group in front of them, a voice emerged.
“I see you’re not alone Harry. Good choice in bringing Dumbledore.”
“Do you think I’d miss this event, Tom?” Dumbledore replied to Voldemort’s voice.
Before Voldemort could reply, Harry asked, “Where’s Ginny and Sirius? If you release them now, there will be no need to die.” Voldemort laughed. Harry’s plan worked.
The outermost ring of Death Eaters began to charge at the pair of wizards, yelling and firing hexes at them. And Harry was ready. The moment he detected the movement, he shot several green sparks into the air and so, the aerial attack began about just a second later, and was soon joined by the ground forces. While Harry was signalling for the reinforcements, Dumbledore covered Harry as well as himself. Then Harry charged at the Death Eaters, who had stopped in horror when they saw their opponent’s army, and fired hexes at them. They soon recovered and jinxes of all kinds were being thrown every way. People on Harry’s’ side were emerging out of the forest in herds. Within the minute, they were locked in a one-on-one combat.
Harry took out two Death Eaters at a time. As he was attacked, he caught quick glances around. They were winning. A spell grazed his left ear and he turned around quickly , muttering a hex. His spell hit the closest Death Eater in the chest, and the man fell backwards.
This warfare went on for ten minutes until Harry noticed Voldemort and Dumbledore dueling. This was the perfect moment. Harry ran.
The next minute happened in slow motion. Harry raised his wand from behind his enemy and shouted, “Avada Kedavra!” and was taken aback not a second later. Blinding red and white lights hit him from every angle, and he fell.
Life Of a Wizard by xCoHoRoIoSoToAx
Chapter Notes: As the end of the war draws nearer, the Order and the Living Wizards confront their biggest battle yet.