The Storm Begins
In a small town about fifty miles out of Cardiff, a raven fluttered onto the window sill of a café that protruded out from under a canopy, and fluffed up its feathers, giving it an odd owlish look, and it looked out over the old cobblestone street, which was wet and slippery from the rain. Due to the bad weather, the streets were rather empty and quiet, but the sound of the falling rain did not cover a loud pop down the street. The raven’s eyes moved in the direction of the sound, and three figures appeared nearby which weren’t there before. One of them had an owl on his shoulder.
–Bloody hell,†Ron gasped, holding out a bleeding arm, at which Hermione discreetly pointed her wand, muttering healing spells. –That was close! At least we made it out of there. That was lucky.â€
–That wasn’t luck,†Harry grumbled, watching Hermione proceed to heal a few burns on her hands. –That was me.â€
Her job done, Hermione stowed her wand in her pocket and looked around. –Where are we, anyway?â€
–Godric’s Hollow,†Harry answered, his face stony. –There’s a picture of this street in my parents’ photo album, so I knew what to concentrate on. First place I thought of.â€
After Harry overheard the Death Eaters’ plans to attack Hogsmeade, he and the others had hurriedly packed their things and began work on covering any sign in the Shrieking Shack that they had ever been there. They had just finished when the attack started, and two stray curses smashed through Hermione’s remaining enchantments (the most powerful of which she had removed so they could Disapparate out), blasted one wall out, and set the place on fire. Harry didn’t think the Death Eaters had realized anyone was in the Shrieking Shack, so they hadn’t actually been attacked personally, but he grabbed Ron and Hermione and Disapparated just as the roof collapsed.
–Looks like taking Hedwig out for hunting did us more good than harm in the end, though, didn’t it?†Ron said to Hermione with a grin as the three of them began walking hurriedly down the street.
The owl hooted in reply. She was still disguised as a fairly large tawny.
–All right, first thing, let’s get out of the rain,†Harry said, drawing his hood up.
–That looks good,†Hermione said, pointing at a café. Harry scrutinized it for a moment, before he nodded his approval and left Hedwig on a lamppost under a canopy outside as they entered.
The café was empty except for a plump, elderly woman at the cash register, who loked up from her newspaper as they took their seats by a table in a corner.
–Hello, dearies,†she said as she bobbed to their table, beaming. –What can I get for you today?â€
–I could use an espresso,†Hermione told her, glancing at a menu printed on some cheap copy paper that lay on the table. –And a ham sandwich.â€
The waitress looked at Harry and Ron.
–Same,†they told her.
The waitress wrote down their orders, but as she stowed the notebook back into her pocket, she paused, and stared at Harry, frowning. Suddenly wary, Harry asked, –Yes?â€
–Oh, sorry, lad,†she said, shaking her head. –You just remind me of a bloke who used to live here. You look a hell of a lot like him. Actually, you could be his twin, except for your eyes.†She shrugged. –But he died like fifteen years ago.â€
Still frowning, the waitress then left their table and disappeared into the kitchen.
–She must have met my dad,†Harry said, his eyebrows raised.
–A lot of people around here might notice you because of that,†Hermione reasoned. –It’s a small town. Why did you bring us here, anyway?â€
–Like I said, it was the first place I thought of,†Harry retorted. –Anyway, I’ve been meaning to come here for months. You know that.â€
Hermione didn’t reply, which Harry had half-expected, knowing that she had concerns about visiting Godric’s Hollow.
–Where are we going to stay now?†she asked after a moment. –We can’t go back to the Shrieking Shack, obviously.â€
–We’ll find some place,†Ron said reassuringly. –Now that we’re away from the attack, we can slow down and think of something.â€
–I’d like to visit the cemetery,†Harry added. –I’ll bet that waitress knows where it is.â€
–What did they attack Hogsmeade for, anyway?†Ron asked indignantly.
–There’s a lot of anti-Death Eater sentiment there,†Hermione replied. –Most of Hogsmeade’s prominent and respected persons, people like Madam Rosmerta and Aberforth Dumbledore, are openly against the Death Eaters and always have been. Anyway, the Death Eaters use terror as much as violence. Nothing like launching an assault on the only all-Wizard town in Britain.â€
–Blimey, I hope they’re both all right,†Ron groaned.
–I think Aberforth will be,†Hermione said. –He and his brother were at the helm of the Helvetican Paladins during the war against Grindelwald. He’s more than capable of defending himself.â€
–What are the Helvetican Paladins?†asked Harry curiously.
Hermione snorted. –Didn’t you ever pay attention in History of Magic?â€
–No,†Harry and Ron replied in unison, grinning.
Hermione rolled her eyes. –The Helvetican Paladins were a group of wizards organized by the Dumbledore family against the Triskelen. They were so named because they mostly were Swiss, with a few English helping; you see, Dumbledore’s family spent their summers at a family home in Switzerland, and Dumbledore had as many connections there as in Britain.†Hermione glanced at the kitchen door, and then looked back at Harry and Ron. –What’s less commonly known is that after the Ministry declared a state of emergency in 1967 due to the Death Eater threat, Dumbledore reassembled the Helvetican Paladins at his family home here in Britain and they renamed themselves the Order of the Phoenix.â€
–So the Order actually goes clear back to Grindelwald?â€
Hermione nodded. –Because of the Paladins’ experience, they initially were able to seriously challenge the Death Eaters, but unfortunately, by then the original members were getting on in years, and none of them were any match for Voldemort himself. Most of them were killed off eventually. I believe that Elphias Doge and Aberforth are the only members of the current Order who were in the original anti-Grindelwald group. But the point is, Aberforth more experience than most of the Aurors in fighting Dark Wizards.â€
–Don’t get too complacent,†Ron warned. –I’ve heard that Aberforth’s gone a bit around the bend in his old age. Fred and George say that he keeps a Muggle goon under the counter at the Hogs’ Head.â€
Harry sniggered, and an exasperated and amused Hermione corrected, –A gun, Ron.â€
–God, that feels good,†Harry told Hermione, still laughing. –Normally it’s me that’s completely confused about the world around me, since I wasn’t raised in the Wizarding World.†Looking at Ron, he added, –Tables are turned, mate.â€
Now Hermione was smirking as well. Ron’s ears went pink.
–Whatever,†Ron muttered, annoyed. –But still, why does Aberforth keep a gun? Not like it’s going to be of any help against Death Eaters or even in a wizard bar fight. It’s a Muggle weapon, isn’t it?â€
At this, Harry and Hermione both frowned.
–You know, that’s a good question,†Harry said to Hermione. –Unless a wizard got a shield up before you pressed the trigger, a gun would be just as lethal to him as it would be to any Muggle. Would guns be any good in a fight?â€
–Don’t know,†Hermione said contemplatively. –I can’t think of any instances where anyone’s tried using guns in a wizard’s battle. I doubt it would even occur to most wizards. But it’s like you said, if you pulled the trigger before the wizard finished any protective or offensive incantations, he’d be down. Maybe Muggle weapons are more effective than wizards give them credit for. Having fought in Germany during the 1940s, Aberforth may have realized that.â€
At that moment, the kitchen door opened, and the waitress returned with a cart, wheeling out three ham sandwiches on plates, and three cups of coffee.
–Here you are,†she said, passing them to each recipient. –Enjoy the meal.â€
–Thanks,†Harry said. –Do you know where the cemetery is?â€
The waitress nodded. –It’s just on the edge of town. Keep going west down the street outside. It’s by an old church. Can’t miss it.â€
Harry nodded. –Thanks again.â€
As the waitress disappeared into the kitchen again, Ron suddenly asked, –Have we got any Muggle money?â€
Hermione pulled a wallet from her pocket. –I always carry some with me these days, and anyway, Mum and Dad gave me a debit card before they left. Should last us a while.â€
–A what?â€
Hermione ignored Ron and opened her coin purse. A few coins fell out onto the table.
–We could try hiding out at a Muggle inn somewhere for a day or two,†Ron suggested as he swallowed a bite of his sandwich. –It wouldn’t be too difficult to Confund the innkeeper and then make the room undetectable in some way.â€
Hermione thought this over for a moment. –Well, I suppose that’s no worse than the Shrieking Shack was,†she admitted. –But again, that can only be temporary.â€
As they finished their meals, the waitress bustled to their table again, and handed them a check. –Ten quid, dearie,†she said cheerfully.
Hermione gave her a handful of coins, and within a minute they left the café. It had stopped raining, but Harry kept his hood up. He looked at Hedwig and nodded, before making his way down the street, keeping his eyes on the pavement and looking at no one. A glance backwards told him that Hedwig was slowly following them.
–Keep your wands at the ready, just in case,†he advised Ron and Hermione, as he quickly stowed his own up his sleeve.
Eventually they passed through a group of half-timbered houses, and Harry began looking around, searching either for the wrecked house where his parents might have lived, or for the church the waitress had told him to look for.
Then it slowly loomed into view, a little church built just on the edge of the village. As they passed by, Harry saw a vicar accompany an elderly couple out of the church and into the churchyard they now could see stretching out past the old stone building. The three of them looked at each other for a moment, and then followed the three strangers into the graveyard.
The cemetery wasn’t enormous, but it was large enough for Ron to grumble that it would take ages to find the Potters’ graves. Hermione shot him a glare, but Harry didn’t really hear Ron. He felt as though by entering this graveyard, he had just stepped over a threshold from which there was no return, as though by going to see his parents’ graves, he was taking another step towards facing the monster that had murdered them. A sudden wave of fear, not of the grave itself, but of where he now stood in the world, washed over him.
Not wanting to risk exposure by spending the afternoon searching for the right headstone, Hermione led them over to where the vicar stood with the elderly couple over a small headstone in the center of the graveyard.
–Excuse me, sir,†she started.
The vicar looked up. –Good afternoon,†he said, smiling at her, before turning to greet the others. He similarly greeted Ron, but when his eyes fell on Harry, he raised his eyebrows a little. He then turned to look at the couple behind him; the woman had knelt by the grave of a long-dead infant daughter and laid a rose on it.
–If you need anything else, Mrs. Ferrin, you know where to find me.â€
The Ferrins thanked him, and the vicar then drew Harry, Ron, and Hermione away from the couple until they were out of earshot.
–I thought you would come here sooner or later, Harry,†he said quietly. –You look just like your father.â€
Harry nodded. –I’ve been told. You knew him, then?â€
The vicar nodded. –Yes, I knew Lily and James quite well.â€
–These are my friends, Ron and Hermione,†Harry told him, gesturing at them.
–Thomas Hughes,†the vicar introduced himself. –You three are here to visit them, then?â€
Harry nodded.
–Follow me.†Mr. Hughes gestured at an area of the graveyard to their left, near a grove of trees. –I’ve had to guide many of your parents’ friends to visit this grave, both wizard and Muggle.â€
Harry stared at thim. –You know about…â€
Hughes chuckled. –Of course I do,†he said. –I too went to Hogwarts, Harry.â€
–Why do you work here then?†asked Ron, surprised.
–Because serving others and God was all I ever wished to do,†the clergyman explained. –My mother was Muggle-born and a devout believer. She raised me as such.†His smile widened. –Your parents, your father especially, found the idea of a pastor who knows witchcraft rather amusing. I know a fair few people who would find the idea blasphemous.â€
Harry and Hermione smiled at this small piece of humor, but Ron still looked dumbfounded. Without waiting for a response, Hughes continued down the row of graves, and they followed, until he stopped.
–They are next to that grove,†he told Harry.
Thank you,†Harry said, stretching his hand out. The vicar shook it, smiling.
–It was a pleasure to see you again,†Mr. Hughes told him. –I haven’t seen you since you were fourteen months old. You had your mother’s eyes, even then.†As Harry stepped forward toward the grave, he added, –I’ve prayed for you every day since your parents died, Harry. I don’t know if we’ll ever see each other again, but I know that you can overcome this.â€
Harry’s heart sank as he again thought of his parents and the future that lay ahead, but he nodded. –Thanks again.â€
The vicar turned and began walking back towards the church. Harry watched him go for a minute, before turning and continuing toward the cluster of graves near the grove he had indicated.
–That was surprising,†Hermione remarked, –but a relief at the same time. I didn’t want to Obliviate him.â€
Harry wasn’t paying attention. He had caught sight of a single marble tombstone in the corner of the fence separating the graveyard from the trees, and when he got near enough to read the writing, he stopped.
19 January 1960 - 31 October 1981
Lily Potter
08 November 1959 - 31 October 1981
Harry felt a lump lodge itself in his throat as he read his parents’ names over and over again, and this time he did nothing to swallow that lump. Hermione and Ron hung behind him, allowing him a bit of time, while Harry thought of two of the most important people in his life, important but no longer living.
But Harry wasn’t able to dwell on his parents for more than a minute, before he heard a footstep to his right. He looked up sharply, staring at the area for a minute, before he saw a movement that seemed oddly out of place, the movement of something he couldn’t quite see, the movement of a man Disillusioned.
–Down!†Harry cried, just as two voices shouted –Stupefy!â€
Harry ducked just barely in time. The beams of red light shot over him, singeing his hair, and as Harry stood again, his wand out, the two masked Death Eaters appeared, their wands raised.
Fury overcame Harry like no anger he’d ever felt before, the thought that the followers of his parents’ murderer had been standing watch over their grave, waiting to destroy their son right where they were buried. Without thinking, Harry shot a Blasting Hex at one of them, just as Ron and Hermione moved into combat too. The Death Eater dodged Harry’s spell and flung another Stunner at him.
A moment later found Harry and Ron battling one Death Eater, and Hermione battling another. The combination of the three teenagers’ skills, and the two Death Eaters’ ferocity made them fairly evenly matched at first, until Harry and Ron slowed their opponent with a Jelly-Legs Jinx, and they began to gain the upper hand.
A gasp nearby caused Harry to glance in Hermione’s direction, and he saw that her wand had been hit with a Cutting Curse, making it difficult for her to aim her wand.
–Expelliarmus!†Harry shouted, aiming his wand at Hermione’s opponent. Taken by surprise, the Death Eater stumbled, and his wand flew out of his hand.
But before anybody could make any further moves, a wave of cold washed over Harry, and then the fence by the grove of trees seemed to melt away into nothingness as a third wizard appeared on the scene, also in black robes, like the Death Eaters, but with his hood completely drawn over his face. There were silver chains and insignias attached to his robes, and the wizard wore an iron girdle, which had a black eye on the buckle, an eye which had a five-pointed star carved into its iris instead of a pupil.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all raised their wands, but the wizard didn’t appear to have any wand. He strode forward until he was right before them, behind Lily and James’s grave, and placed his foot on the tombstone. He then raised his left hand, and used his right to tug his sleeve upwards. Harry expected to see a Dark Mark on his forearm, but to his surprise, the man had tattooed two chains on his wrist and forearm, the lower chain with a black padlock over the back of his hand. Between the two chains was the same eye that was carved onto his girdle.
Harry had never encountered anything like this before, and thus was completely unprepared for what followed. Suddenly, in some corner of his mind, he thought he could see a pair of eyes staring at him accusingly; then he saw a dark cavern, where Albus Dumbledore lay on an island, and Harry watched as he himself poisoned Dumbledore. Then he saw Ginny lying close to death in the Chamber of Secrets, and heard Tom Riddle’s cruel laughter. The vision shifted, and he saw Sirius fall through the Veil in the Department of Mysteries. All of Harry’s worst memories flashed before his eyes, as though he were facing a Dementor, but something was different; this time, the dream Dumbledore, the dream Ginny, the dream Sirius, everyone he loved who had suffered or died, all looked at him, and the accusation was clear.
–It’s your fault!â€
A sudden onslaught of paralyzing fear cascaded over Harry, fear he couldn’t control, terror so sudden and so crippling that he couldn’t even think, let alone ask himself why he was so scared. It was an aura so dark that even the gray clouds above them turned black, and a shadow seemed to seep into their very souls, originating from that mark on the wizard’s forearm. The man waved his fingers over the eye, and began changing in a deep and penetrating yet soft voice, over and over again: –Erigmus corpus patris, erigmus magicum patris, erigmus corpus matris, erigmus magicum matris…â€
As the sorcerer chanted, the padlock tattooed on his hand moved, opening, and the chains seemed to unravel, while the pentagram visible in the eye between the chains darkened so that there appeared to be a hole or a whirlpool in his forearm. Then the five-point star turned a fiery red, and from its points spread fiery tendrils that ate their way up the sorcerer’s arm in a strange, swirling pattern. The ground beneath their feet began to tremble. In less than two seconds, the burning lines seemed to cover the sorcerer’s whole body, and as they reached his right hand, he raised both into the air.
Then he threw his head back, his hood falling to reveal a pale face with white, blank eyes, and he shrieked, –SURGATIS CORPORA! SURGATIS INFERA!â€
There was a roar, and a whirlwind came to life around them. Then the tombstone cracked right down the middle, between the names of Harry’s mother and father, and continued along the ground where they lay. Then a black cloud seemed to cascade from that rift, before some force blasted the soil up into the air, raining down upon Harry and his friends. Then the unnatural wave of terror seemed to ebb away, and Harry, suddenly feeling capable of doing so, raised his wand, bracing himself for whatever followed.
When the dust cleared away, he clearly saw the sorcerer standing unmoving on the grave, and beside him were…
It was like the best dream and the worst nightmare at the same time. Harry’s heart pounded, because it couldn’t be true. It simply couldn’t be, and yet there they stood, their faces calm, serene, and undecayed, as though the years under earth had somehow preserved them, though they were both chalk white. On the one side, Harry’s eyes fell upon a pair of green eyes exactly like his, and a long main of dark red hair, and on the other side, untidy black hair and glasses, like looking into a mirror, except for the hazel eyes. Both of them were holding wands, which had been buried with them. Stunned, amazed, and overcome at seeing the faces that had hovered on his dreams and had smiled at him in the Mirror of Erised, Harry’s wand hand quivered, and he started to lower it.
–HARRY!†Hermione’s voice shrieked from what seemed like miles away, muffled and oddly distorted. –HARRY, LISTEN TO ME! THEY’RE NOT YOUR PARENTS!â€
But there was a crack, which Harry barely noticed, cutting Hermione off as one of the Death Eaters ran at her, engaging her into battle again. The woman standing beside the fiery, tattooed wizard looked at Harry with an odd, scrutinizing expression, and then she raised her wand.
The trance was broken, and Harry raised his wand again, but then Lily Potter’s voice serenely said, –Crucio.â€
The onslaught of terror was replaced with an onslaught of agony. Harry bit down on his tongue hard, tasting blood, as fire seemed to run through his veins and his bones, tearing at each and every cell in his body. His muscles seized up, and when the white-hot fire gained intensity, Harry opened his mouth and screamed into the darkened sky.
He felt nothing except the pain, and saw nothing except the red mist that seemed to rise up around him, and he heard nothing except for his own piercing cries. Somewhere in the midst of that pain, he felt a cold hand close around his burning throat, and squeezing hard, so that he couldn’t even scream anymore. Acid seemed to bubble in his lungs and throat, burning him, trying to break through his closed trachea, as the Cruciatus Curse strengthened in intensity. A poisonous fog seemed to cloud Harry’s mind, until all he knew was the blackness…
And then, just as suddenly, the pain stopped and the hand released Harry, and he took a gasping breath, and opened his eyes to a blurred image in front of him. Harry could just see the glint of a metal blade swinging back and forth, thrusting at the barely-visible forms of Lily and James Potter.
Ron was aware that even as he stepped forward and back, firing spells at the taller Death Eater as hard and fast as he had ever fought, the Inferi animated by the dark wizard standing on the Potters’ tombstone tortured his best friend. Ron had to force himself to look at his opponent and not at the dead bodies of the Wizarding World’s most famous couple as they savagely attacked their only son. But he could hear Harry’s agonized screams, and a terror fell upon Ron like he never knew, a horror as he realized that if he and Hermione didn’t stop their two opponents quickly, there was absolutely nothing they could do to save Harry.
It had to be a dream, he thought wildly as he dodged a hex which blasted apart another tombstone. It just had to be, because he could not understand how such unspeakable terror and cruelty could exist on the face of the earth. Harry’s screams had stopped suddenly, and Ron, in mid-dodge, looked at his friend for just long enough to see the corpse of James Potter with its hand around Harry’s throat, strangling him, while his mother’s body held him under the Cruciatus Curse. Harry was convulsing violently, and his face, contorted in agony, was slowly turning blue.
–HARRY!†Ron screamed helplessly, but he couldn’t take a single step forward before the Death Eater shouted, –Confringo!â€
Ron leaped out of the way barely in time before another tombstone exploded with the force of a bomb. He managed to keep on his feet, touched only by clods of dirt and specks of marble dust that rained upon him, and he whirled around, his wand raised, prepared to retaliate.
Before Ron could get the incantation out of his mouth, however, the Death Eater suddenly jerked forward, dropping his wand. He then raised his hand to the back of his neck, and then, before he could react, he stumbled forward and fell to his knees, a dart visibly protruding from the back of his neck.
Without another thought, Ron turned around to run to Harry’s rescue, but the first thing he saw was Harry slumped against another headstone, his face draining of color, but the two Inferi had leapt back as a short man wearing steel armor ran at them with a scimitar in hand.
Hermione then ran forward towards Harry, and Ron looked back to see that her Death Eater had fallen unconscious. Ron stared from the armored man forcing back the two corpses, to the subdued Death Eaters, and then he looked past them to see three more armored figures standing nearby, lowering what looked like brass bike pumps. The one that had taken out Ron’s opponent dropped his instrument and too ran forward. But then the two bodies dropped like puppets whose strings had been cut, and the sorcerer who had summoned them vanished in a whirlwind of black smoke.
–Oh my God,†Ron heard Hermione moan over and over again, and he ran to her side, to see her feeling for Harry’s pulse.
Then she suddenly bent forward, and to Ron’s shock, opened up Harry’s mouth and lowered her mouth to his. Before Ron could say anything, hover, Hermione then jumped back and pressed both hands over his heart, thrusting his sternum inwards, over and over, counting as she did: –One, two, three, four, five…â€
She then returned to his mouth for a second time, and then repeated pushing on his chest.
–One, two, three, four, five…â€
–Hermione!†Ron exclaimed, –what…â€
A hand rested on Ron’s shoulder, and he turned to see one of them men in armor next to him. –Keep back, Mr. Weasley,†a low voice said quietly. –It’s called CPR.â€
–Sorry?â€
–It’s a Muggle technique for restarting the heart,†their rescuer informed him. He then stepped back, and pulled his helmet off. Ron started, because their savior wasn’t a man.
–Dr. Benedict Grobschmied,†the goblin introduced himself, holding out his hand, which Ron dazedly shook. –And that must be Miss Hermione Granger.â€
Ron didn’t reply.
–So,†one of the other goblins said, bending down over the unconscious Death Eaters and removing his own helmet to examine them more closely. –What do we do with these two?â€
–Up to you, Menger,†Grobschmied replied. –Personally, I think there’s a lot to be said for feeding them to one of the dragons at Gringotts. But I think killing them would draw a lot of unwanted attention too soon, so it’s probably best if we tie them up and leave them somewhere where the Aurors will find them.â€
Menger tilted his head, considering Grobschmied’s words, before he shrugged and stooped down to remove the dart from the first Death Eater’s neck. He then stepped to the second and likewise removed an identical dart from his side. Menger then looked at the fourth member of Grobschmied’s party, also wearing steel armor, but who was much shorter than the others, too short to be a goblin.
–You heard Dr. Grobschmied,†Menger told the elf. –Think you could inconspicuously get these two louts to the Ministry?â€
–Consider it done,†the elf told Menger grimly. He then seized one of the Death Eaters by the shoulder and Disapparated.
Ron was too stunned to react to any of this, but he didn’t need to. At that moment, Hermione emitted a cry of relief, and Ron turned around to see that Harry had started breathing again, but he remained unconscious. The unidentified goblin who had driven back the Inferi stepped forward and bent over Harry, examining him closely.
–We need to get him to the Drôn Khalghil infirmary,†he concluded.
Grobschmied nodded grimly. –Do so.â€
Without another word, the other goblin stooped down and took hold of Harry’s wrist. A moment later, there was a flash of green light, and both goblin and Harry vanished.
Ron rounded on Grobschmied, –Where’d you take him?†he demanded.
Grobschmied looked completely unfazed by this angry outburst. –Exactly where Rok said he’d take him, and where we’re now going to take you,†he said sternly. –Mr. Potter needs a bed, restorative potions, and the care of more than one Healer.â€
Ron, unable to counter this, didn’t respond. In the moment that followed, he saw a raven flutter down from one of the trees, and land on Grobschmied’s shoulder. The goblin looked at it, and then turned back to Ron.
–You are very lucky that Hugin caught sight of you three,†Grobschmied said. –If we had arrived any later, all three of you probably would be dead now.â€
Hermione stood up. She surveyed Grobschmied and Menger, and then smiled weakly. –Thank you,†she whispered.
Grobschmied gave Hermione a short, polite bow, and then turned to his companion. –We’d better get out of here, Menger, before the Aurors or more Death Eaters arrive.â€
Menger nodded, and reached into a small burlap bag hanging from his belt. He then held his hand out to Hermione.
–If you would, Miss Granger,†Menger offered. –I’ve got a Beacon Key… a Portkey, as wizards might call it.â€
Grobschmied made a similar gesture to Ron, but Ron narrowed his eyes at the elderly goblin suspiciously. He had been taught his whole life to be wary of goblins, because of their own distrust of wizards. But on the other hand, Bill had always been respectful towards goblins, and since these three had just saved Harry’s life, Ron couldn’t decide what to make of this.
Grobschmied raised his eyebrows. –If we were in league with Voldemort, we wouldn’t have stopped the Inferi from killing Harry.â€
–But what… how…†Hermione stammered.
–We’ll explain when we get to safety,†Menger interjected. –I’m sure Mr. Potter will need you two by his side when he regains consciousness.â€
He had a point, Ron realized, as he thought of the state Harry would be in when he woke up. An image of Ron’s own parents as Inferi floated to the front of his imagination, and he shivered. Then with a nod, Ron reached forward and grasped Grobschmied’s hand.
The goblin Portkey did not give the sensation of a hook jerking his naval, as a wizard’s Portkey did; instead, Ron felt the pleasant sensation of flight, like speeding through the air on a broomstick.
Ginny drifted in and out of sleep as her concussion, with some assistance from Madam Pomfrey’s concoctions, slowly healed, but in her waking moments, she heard nothing from the battle at Hogsmeade, and wondered if it was still raging, how serious it was, and if her brothers were all right. Occasionally Molly woke Ginny up herself to check the progress of the restorative potions; when she last did this, the first thing Ginny asked was, –What’s happening?â€
Molly made no reply, and instead gently propped her daughter into a sitting position. She then handed Ginny another draught, which Ginny accepted, but didn’t drink.
–Mum,†she pled. –Everyone’s gone off to Hogsmeade to fight. I need to know what’s going on.â€
–I’m not hiding anything from you,†Molly finally told her. –I just don’t know what’s going on myself. We had Lupin’s Patronus here about an hour ago asking for Poppy’s assistance, but since then, nothing.â€
Ginny slowly drank the draught and grimaced at its bitter taste. Molly said nothing else, and left the room for the kitchen, leaving her daughter to finish her medicine. Ginny looked back at the brown fluid sourly, feeling sick just at the thought of swallowing more of it; but she couldn’t fall asleep again. Instead, she sat there, waiting for what seemed like hours, until the back door opened and Fred and Charlie came in, both looking disheveled. Fred was covered with blood, and Charlie’s clothes were burnt.
Molly, hearing them enter, shrieked. –Are you all right?†she cried. –Is it over? Where are the others?â€
–One at a time, Mum,†Charlie muttered, sinking into a chair with a groan. –Yes, it’s over. Yes, we’re all right. We’ll be right as rain by morning. As for the others, they’re all over the country, helping the Aurors. It’s a disaster.â€
–All over the country?†Ginny repeated, suddenly even more uneasy. –What the hell happened?â€
Her brother sighed. –The Lovegoods and Hogsmeade weren’t the only places to be attacked today. Since this morning, there have been about a dozen other villages and households. Though the targets seem to have been mostly Muggle-borns, the Death Eaters attacked their neighbors as well. About eighty people are dead, from what I’ve heard, most of them Muggles, but we lost quite a few witches and wizards as well.â€
–Alicia Spinnet managed to hold off the Death Eaters until the Aurors got there,†Fred told Ginny and Molly, but his voice had taken a somber note identical to Charlie’s. –But they got her older brother. Justin Finch-Fletchley’s entire family was murdered. So were the Cootes.â€
Ginny’s heart sank. Ritchie Coote was one of the Beaters on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and was one of her classmates.
–Angelina Johnson was also attacked, but she was able to take out the Death Eaters before help arrived,†Fred added, and the faintest note of admiration entered his voice. –But they also wrecked Dean Thomas’s house. Luckily, his family was one of the first we got out of the country.â€
Ginny exhaled at this. However badly her relationship with Dean had gone, she was glad he was all right.
–Lupin said that they also attacked Little Whinging,†Charlie said. –They razed the Dursleys’ house completely, and killed half their neighbors. Arabella Figg got out all right, but most of Privet Drive was destroyed. I suppose somebody got a bit frustrated when they found that Harry’s relatives don’t live there anymore.â€
–There probably will be more attacks before the week is out,†George muttered, looking exhausted.
–And Hogsmeade?†Molly asked, her voice tense. –You haven’t said anything about what happened there.â€
–Eleven of the inhabitants are dead, and twenty were sent to St. Mungo’s,†Charlie told her. –Some of them aren’t likely to survive the night. The attack on Hogsmeade was vicious. No idea how many Death Eaters there were, but there were hundreds of Dementors. About a dozen people have been Kissed.â€
Though Charlie tried to keep his expression neutral, something in his voice boded ill. Ginny hadn’t missed it and knew, as soon as Molly spoke, that she hadn’t missed it either.
–Who was it?†she asked, her voice quivering. –We lost someone in the Order, didn’t we?â€
Charlie nodded, looking away. –It was Mad-Eye.â€
Ginny gasped. –Mad-Eye’s dead?â€
–No,†George whispered with a pained expression. –He was fighting Dolohov, and got hurt. Aberforth stepped in and beat Dolohov back, but while he was distracted, a Dementor got Mad-Eye.â€
–Oh God,†Ginny whispered, horrified.
–That enraged the Aurors,†Charlie told them. –Most of them remember and respect Mad-Eye, and they became just as ferocious as the Death Eaters. That’s when we gained the upper hand. At least Azkaban has a few new prisoners now. But Hogsmeade was wrecked. Many of the villagers’ homes were destroyed. And we lost Madam Rosmerta.â€
Ginny closed her eyes, and tried to quell the fury that rose up inside her. Stunned at what she was hearing, she demanded, –What the hell prompted this? It’s been months since Dumbledore’s death, but Voldemort’s been fairly quiet for the last few months. Why have they waited so long to do anything?â€
Molly flinched at Ginny’s use of Voldemort’s name, and Charlie exchanged a look with Fred, before answering, –We think it’s because Harry’s come of age. In Voldemort’s eyes, that makes him even more of a threat than ever. We’re not sure if he’s aware that Harry’s run away, but these attacks being so soon after his birthday can’t be a coincidence. A lot of the victims today have some connection to Harry: fellow students, Quidditch teammates, roommates, or former members of the DA… Voldemort probably is trying to goad Harry out of hiding by attacking friends and acquaintances.â€
–Then maybe it’s for the best that Harry’s run off,†Fred remarked. –If Harry had been here today and had heard about these attacks, he probably would have been the first to go off and fight the Death Eaters, which undoubtedly was exactly what Voldemort wanted.â€
Ginny saw Molly’s face turn pink, and knew instantly that her mother was still angry about what she called Harry’s –crusade.†But Ginny said nothing. Given the tension between her and Molly and the rest of the Order for the past few days, it probably was best if she didn’t speak up. Still, she worried about Harry’s reaction when he heard about the killings. He wouldn’t take it well.