Hermione gave a terrified squeak.
“Why, Harry Potter, what a pleasant surprise...”
“You!” Harry glared at Lucius Malfoy with utmost dislike, hand tightening on his own wand.
“Oh, I’d put that away, Potter…you see, resistance is futile.” To Harry’s horror, more Death Eaters emerged from the doorway of the Three Broomsticks. Screams suddenly issued from inside as people realised they’d been sharing the pub with the country’s most wanted killers. Pandemonium broke out; terrified witches and wizards poured out through the doorway, and ran or Apparated away from the scene. Chairs clattered, there was the sound of glass breaking, and shopping bags spilling over with Christmas presents fell unheeded to the ground as their owners fled.
“Now, why don’t you just step out of the way and let me retrieve that charming necklace the dead Weasley is holding….”
Everything happened so fast; as the Death Eaters closed in on him, Harry had only one thing on his mind: get the necklace and get out of this place alive.
“Stupefy!” he bellowed, moving backwards as quickly as he could to stand in front of Percy’s body. Lucius blocked the Stunner, and suddenly curses were flying at Harry from all directions.
Harry dived to one side. As he scrambled up, Shielding himself quickly, he saw Ron and Ginny fighting heroically to fend off the Death Eaters and keep them away from the Horcrux. Several more jets of light shot at him; Harry dodged, and raised his wand quickly.
“Pyrashio!” he roared, slashing his wand through the air; the resultant wave of fire that crashed towards the dozens of Death Eaters surrounding him probably saved his life.
“Stupefy! Impedimenta! Sectumsempra!” Harry fired off a sequence of effective spells, darting in all directions as he did so to avoid being hit himself. Several Death Eaters fell, but there were too many “ any second now he was going to be overpowered.
“AVEUGLEUS!” Harry shouted in desperation; the Blinding Charm sent Lucius Malfoy and two others down on their knees, clawing in agony at their eyes. Harry ducked several rays of red light that shot directly at him. “Expelliarmus! EXPELLIARMUS!”
Where was Hermione? With a jolt of sick fear, Harry realised she was gone. Ron and Ginny were doing well; still on their feet, they were keeping the Death Eaters away from the necklace, which was clutched in Percy’s dead hand. But of Hermione there was no sign.
“Avada Kedavra!” Harry only just escaped; he felt the Killing Curse shoot past his left ear. It was Bellatrix Lestrange who had sent it at him; seconds later, she screamed as a well-aimed hex from Ron set her long dark hair on fire.
“Ron, where’s Hermione?” yelled Harry, but before Ron could answer, there was a loud crack! right beside Harry “ Mr Weasley had appeared. Then another crack!, and another, and before Harry’s astonished eyes half of the Order of the Phoenix Apparated right into the scene.
“Harry!” Hermione was suddenly running towards him, as the confused Death Eaters struggled to cope with this unexpected reinforcement.
A well-aimed spell cracked Harry over the head like a block of ice and he staggered, seeing stars “ but he was still conscious, still alive, though the world was rocking before his eyes. Hermione dragged him back, out of the immediate firing line, as Kingsley Shacklebolt, Lupin, Bill and Charlie Weasley, Tonks, and all the others began to duel. It was suddenly a full-fledged battle. Harry, his head aching, gaped at Hermione.
“Hermione, what “?”
“I went back to Grimmauld and got everybody there to come as soon as possible “” A malevolent flash of purple light shot their way and they both automatically threw up Shield Charms; it bounced harmlessly away.
The Order was doing well; many Death Eaters were down, and others had fled, but to Harry’s horror he saw Order members amongst the fallen. Not knowing whether they were dead or merely unconscious, he and Hermione wordlessly ran forward, back into the battle. As the adrenaline surged through his body, the pain in Harry’s head seemed to recede.
A glimpse of a familiar round face surprised Harry “ Neville was in the midst of the action. His face pale but determined, he attacked the Death Eaters with an uncharacteristic fierceness. McGonagall was battling a Death Eater nearly twice her size.
There was a sudden, piercing shriek, and Harry almost got hit by a curse as he turned automatically to locate the source of the noise. Mrs Weasley, it seemed, had only just seen Percy’s body. But she didn’t stop fighting, or even run to his side. Instead she turned on the Death Eaters with twice as much ferocity as before. “Which of you did it?” she shrieked, livid with furious grief. “Take that! And that! And “”
The fighting was beginning to make no sense to Harry. People were falling and screaming everywhere; a Death Eater twice Harry’s size stumbled blindly into him, clutching his face in pain. Jets of light were shooting in all directions, and suddenly more people were joining the fight. Harry’s brain barely registered that now Ministry Aurors were fighting too “ where had they come from? “ and that the Death Eaters were slowly but surely getting fewer and fewer.
Every muscle in Harry’s body ached, and sweat poured from his forehead into his eyes as he fought to just keep fighting, keep blocking, to stay on his feet….
A sudden, agonising pain pierced his leg, and Harry stumbled. Remus Lupin and Mad-Eye Moody immediately appeared at his side; they sent a volley of curses at the Death Eater who had injured Harry, who ran, hands over his head, to get away.
And then the Death Eaters were gone. Evidently having realised that the odds were against them, they had given up hope and Disapparated. Harry barely noticed; the searing pain in his leg was beginning to fog his vision, and he sank to one knee. Strong hands jerked him roughly to his feet, supporting him.
“Harry, are you okay?” Lupin’s voice was steady though anxious, and he quickly knelt before Harry to examine the damage. Harry pulled himself together “ it had been mostly shock that had nearly caused him to faint; he was not badly hurt, there were many times he had felt worse.
“I’m all right,” he said to Lupin, determinedly ignoring the fact that the aching pain had returned to his head as the adrenaline drained away, and that his leg was throbbing terribly. “Where’s Ginny?”
“She’ll be fine,” Lupin reassured him. “Just knocked out, she’ll come round soon. Tonks is seeing to her.”
Tonks was indeed bent over Ginny’s prone figure; as Harry watched, concerned, Ginny stirred and woke. Relieved, Harry’s gaze swept over the rest of the scene. The place was a mess “ bodies were everywhere, in varying states of consciousness. Aurors were moving among the Death Eaters, immobilising and binding them to prevent escape.
“I don’t know where Minerva is, though,” murmured Lupin in concern, his eyes sweeping over the wreckage. “Unless she’s gone to fetch help….”
One of the windows of the Three Broomsticks was smashed, and Madame Rosmerta had crept out of the pub to gaze with horrified eyes at the scene, moaning softly, “Death Eaters in my own pub! Oh, I can’t believe this….” Harry met Hermione’s eyes from across the clearing; she looked unhurt, but she gestured sadly to where Percy lay. Harry looked over.
Mrs Weasley was bent over Percy’s body, all the fight drained from her at last. She did not speak or even cry; she just knelt there, her loose hair hiding her expression, as she gazed upon her son’s still face. Mr Weasley was beside her, his whole figure drooping defeatedly. Charlie and Ron had also congregated there. Together, the family made a small, sad group. Harry’s insides burned with guilt and sadness, and Lupin saw his expression.
“At least he died fighting for our side,” he said gently. Harry stared wordlessly into his old teacher’s face; did Lupin imagine that Percy had been killed by Death Eaters before the Order had arrived on the scene? But before he could think of anything to say, a rough, commanding voice barked at them.
“You there, get away from Harry Potter!”
A tall Auror with cold blue eyes and a pale, hard face had noticed Lupin, who let go of Harry’s arm as though he had been burned. As the Auror approached, his wand aimed at Lupin’s throat, Lupin’s body tensed, and his eyes strayed to his own wand. He had dropped it on the ground when he bent to help Harry.
“Don’t even think about it, werewolf,” snarled the Auror, and Lupin froze. “Yes, I know who you are, Remus Lupin. I was surprised to read in the papers four years ago about your condition…you never let on at school what you were. Did Potter and Black and Pettigrew know what you were?”
Lupin looked at the Auror carefully and his face suddenly took on a closed expression. “Samuel Penwick. Ravenclaw, weren’t you?”
Penwick made no answer; he just smiled thinly. More Aurors were coming over. Perhaps they had heard Penwick say the word “werewolf”; in any case, their faces were grim with intent.
“Don’t touch him,” snarled Harry, reaching for his wand, but two Aurors immediately seized his arms and held him back.
“What’s going on? Remus!” Kingsley Shacklebolt was suddenly running over, followed by Hermione, Mr Weasley and a limping Mad-Eye Moody. The ex-Auror didn’t seem to have noticed that his arm was covered in blood.
“Remus Lupin, as a werewolf we are placing you under arrest,” said Penwick clearly. “You will be escorted to the Ministry, where you will be dealt with accordingly. Take him!”
“No!” said Harry, his mouth dry with fear. He fought angrily against the strong men
holding him as the Aurors closed in on Lupin, who made a sudden, desperate lunge for his wand. But he never made it; several ruthless hands gripped his arms and he was pulled back, struggling fruitlessly to wrench himself free.
“Get off him!” shouted Kingsley and Mr Weasley together, brandishing their wands as the Aurors yanked Lupin’s arms behind his back.
"Expelliarmus!" Two hulking, scarred-faced Aurors Disarmed both Mr Weasley and Kingsley before either could speak another word, and within seconds, both had wands pointed warningly at their chests.
“You don’t know what you’re doing, Penwick,” growled Mad-Eye Moody furiously. “Lupin’s a good man. Let him go!”
“Yeah, he’s done nothing wrong!” said Harry loudly, trying to ignore the fact that the pain in his leg was getting steadily worse and he was beginning to feel light-headed. Hermione seemed too frightened to speak to these grim-faced Aurors, but she backed Harry up by nodding vigorously.
Penwick ignored them all, and bound Lupin’s hands tightly with thin cord that shot from the tip of his wand. “Keep out of this, Alastor,” he said coldly. “It’s Ministry business. He’s only a werewolf. I don’t know why any of you should be worried about him…unless you are in league with him, Shacklebolt?”
Kingsley hesitated, and Penwick raised an eyebrow. “I think there may be an inquiry into this,” he said softly. Then without warning he turned back to the Aurors restraining Lupin. “Take him away,” he said. “Tell the Minister this is Remus Lupin, werewolf; he’s been hiding from us for a long time.”
And before Harry or any of them could speak another word of protest, the Aurors had Disapparated, taking Lupin with them. Harry stopped struggling to get free and instead felt himself go weak. He stared at his shoes, chest constricting, as the words of the newspaper article they’d all read with such horror all those months ago came back to him with numbing clarity: “Any known werewolf, if found, will be arrested on the spot, interrogated, and if found to have ever endangered any person “ wizard or Muggle “ legally executed as soon as possible….”
“Samuel!” A small, lean man with dark hair and a thin moustache came over. “We’ve found a necklace in Weasley’s hand. What should we do with it?”
Harry’s head snapped up and he inhaled sharply “ he’d forgotten about the Horcrux. He and Hermione shared an agonised glance.
“It’s mine,” he said before Penwick could get in a word. “It’s “ got nothing to do with Percy.”
Penwick and the small Auror looked at Harry, as did Moody and Mr Weasley.
“Harry, do you know something about this?” said Kingsley, his deep voice calm yet slightly suspicious. Unable to meet Kingsley’s eyes, and certainly not Mr Weasley's, Harry once again addressed Penwick.
“The necklace is mine,” he repeated, trying to speak offhandedly. “It’s nothing important, honestly.” But a note of desperation had crept into his voice. Penwick wasted no more time.
“Take the necklace to the Ministry,” he said brusquely. The small Auror nodded and headed back to where Percy lay.
Harry struggled with himself, but he couldn’t let someone else die, even if they were going to take away one of the Horcruxes they had searched so hard to find. “Don’t touch it with your bare skin,” he finally yelled at the small Auror’s retreating back, then twisted fiercely round to glare at the strong, dour man still tightly gripping his arms. “And get your hands off me,” he snarled. “There are more useful things you could be doing.”
The man hesitated, but when he saw that the small Auror had straightened up, holding the necklace in a carefully-gloved hand, he finally loosed his grip. With bitter resentment, Harry watched the small Auror Disapparate, and vowed that he would get that necklace back if it was the last thing he did.
“Hey, you lot “ they’re taking people to St Mungo’s now,” came a new voice, and Tonks came to join them. “Or to Azkaban, obviously, if they’re Death Eaters. Oh, and you haven’t seen Minerva, have you? No one knows where she’s gone, unless she went to St Mungo’s or something for help…what’s going on?” she added curiously, for nobody was anwering her; Moody and Hermione were shooting Samuel Penwick viciously aggressive looks and Harry was seething.
“Tonks,” said Shacklebolt gently. “I don’t know anything about Minerva, but I’m afraid that Penwick here decided to “ to take Remus to the Ministry.”
Tonks paled. “What?” she breathed, her eyes wide. “You mean “ he’s been arrested?”
She did not need an answer; she saw it in Kingsley’s sympathetic eyes. With a furious wail, she lunged at Penwick. “What are you going to do with him?” she screamed. “You’re going to try to have him executed, aren’t you? Well, over my dead body “”
Penwick raised his arms to fend her off, “What is it to you, Tonks?” he snapped. “There’s something strange about all this. You and Shacklebolt and Moody, and these kids “” He gestured at Harry and Hermione, who both bristled. “You’re all defending the werewolf. I’m going to have to report this to the Minister. You know it’s illegal to hide or protect a werewolf, so I hope for your sakes that you have not been doing so.”
“What if we have?” said Tonks recklessly, breathing hard; Harry could see that she was fighting back tears. “What can’t you people just leave him alone?” She was shouting again, and Penwick stood there, a calculating look in his cold blue eyes.
“Perhaps you should join us for an inquiry at the Ministry, Tonks,” he said dryly. “You seem to know a lot about all this. Yes, I think the Minister would like to ask you a few questions “ you too, Alastor, Kingsley. Report to the Ministry in ten minutes, or the Minister will be very displeased.”
“You think I care what the damn Minister thinks “” muttered Tonks mutinously. “What’s going to happen to Remus?”
“Do as you’re told, Tonks, if you want to keep your job,” snapped Penwick. “I have other business to attend to, namely, the inquiry into Weasley’s unfortunate demise. Good day.”
And he walked off, leaving a still-shocked, angry, but most of all fearful, group behind him.
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