harry 04

11
They Must Know

The Chosen One Strikes Back
It was the most awe inspiring scene in the Ministry of Magic in quite some time early yesterday as none other than The Chosen One, Harry Potter, made an entrance none who witnessed it will soon forget. Witnesses report that Mr. Potter apparated into the lobby of the ministry holding onto an unconscious death eater. Mr. Potter turned the unidentified death eater over to aurors who claimed the prisoner within seconds of Mr. Potter’s arrival.

Mr. Potter was escorted upstairs where it is suspected that he met with Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. By the time Mr. Potter returned to the lobby, it had become jammed with those wanting to get a first hand look at the person some believe to be the chosen savior of the wizarding world. Escorts attempted to create a path for Mr. Potter to walk through, but to everyone’s surprise the normally elusive young man stopped to answer a few questions posed by others and myself.

When asked if he had been the one who captured the death eater, Mr. Potter said, “Yes. I captured this death eater after he tried to attack one of my friends who was helping to put up the shields on all of the Hogwarts students homes.”

Mr. Potter refused to elaborate on the identities of those helping him disperse the shield to the students’ houses, but said that the attack would not stop the effort to protect the students. He went on to confirm that it was an effort not undertaken with the assistance of the Ministry of Magic.

There have been rumors circulating since the death of Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore that Mr. Potter would join many who are not planning to return to Hogwarts this year fearing that it may be too dangerous. It was a question to which Mr. Potter responded by saying, “I had thought about not returning, though not out of fear. I have since changed my mind and do plan on returning to Hogwarts for my final year. I hope that most of the other students will decide to return as well in the end.”

Seeing that the aurors were becoming anxious to lead Mr. Potter from the chaotic scene, I took the chance personally to ask the question that everyone has been dying to know the answer to. I asked if any of the reports about his trip to the ministry when You Know Who was seen there were true. The look on his face made me think that he was considering the question very carefully before he said, “I guess that would depend on what reports you’re referring to. I did come to the ministry on that night along with a handful of brave friends. I won’t tell you all of the details that led me to follow such a rash course of action, but it was soon made clear to me that You Know Who (Mr. Potter actually used the real name, but The Prophet will not print it) himself lured me here to remove a prophecy concerning the two of us that was made many years ago. The prophecy was smashed during a battle with death eaters who were attempting to retrieve it for You Know Who (again not what was said).”

When asked if the prophecy had revealed him to be “The Chosen One”, Mr. Potter considered his words carefully again before he said, “I intend to keep hunting death eaters and turning them over to the Ministry until I return to Hogwarts. Some day I will fight You Know Who again. That much has been foretold. I intend to turn his body over to the Ministry after I kill him. If I don’t do it, then no one will. If that makes me the chosen one, then so be it.”

As one might imagine, pandemonium erupted in the lobby as everyone excitedly launched question after question at Mr. Potter. The aurors struggled to keep the crowd from pressing too close as Mr. Potter gave a slight grin and apparated away.

It was several minutes before anyone thought to question how it was that Mr. Potter had managed to apparate into and out of the Ministry of Magic when there are spells recently put into place guarding against just such a thing. Then again, perhaps there is very little “The Chosen One” is not capable of. We can only watch and wait as the days and months stretch out before us.

Perhaps now we will begin to see a ray of hope shining through the darkness that prevails in the land. Perhaps now You Know Who, the master of fear, will finally have some of that fear turned back on him.

Voldemort tossed the copy of The Daily Prophet that he had been reading down to the floor in a rage before making it crumple into a ball and burst into flame. He took a moment to let his emotion melt away as he watched the flames consume the paper. Once he had regained his calm, he called for Bellatrix.

“I am here my Lord and Master,” Bellatrix said as she entered the room and bowed deeply. “How may I be of service to you?”

“I assume you have read the article in the Prophet this morning,” Voldemort said.

“I have, My Lord,” Bellatrix confirmed.

“Which of my death eaters has allowed themselves to be captured this time?” Voldemort asked letting her know that he was not pleased.

“I believe it was Moreland, My Lord,” Bellatrix answered. “He is the only one who did not report in yesterday. He was stationed in Harrogate to watch for those putting up shields.”

“I see,” Voldemort said dangerously. “It would appear that he found some of them. I assume you followed my orders and delivered my instructions to all of the death eaters.”

“I did, My Lord,” Bellatrix responded with her head bowed, keenly aware of how close Voldemort was standing.

“Then why,” Voldemort began as he placed his face close to Bellatrix’s, “were my orders not followed? Why was I not personally informed of their location right away? Why would one of my death eaters, those who have sworn to obey my every command, ignore my wishes?”

“He is young, My Lord,” Bellatrix said.

“You were young once as well,” Voldemort hissed. “I never had that trouble with you. I have never had that trouble before with any of my young death eaters in the past.”

“Some of the younger ones are…” Bellatrix stuttered. “It’s hard to explain, my Lord. They believe as we do, and yet…”

“They do not believe in me as you do,” Voldemort said finishing her thought for her. “It is not the same as it was in the old days. Perhaps I have become too focused of late. I spend all of my time administrating the attacks and little time taking part in them. Even when such attacks achieved my goals, others carried them out. Even my plan to kill Dumbledore was tainted because I was not the one who killed the old man myself. Not to mention the disgrace of having Severus disappear with young Malfoy after the attack. The young death eaters see all of these things as weakness.”

“Snape is a coward not to come to you,” Bellatrix seethed as her hatred of him rose to the surface.

“Or perhaps he believes young Malfoy will be harmed if he does so,” Voldemort said. “He would be right of course. I would make an example of him for not carrying through with his orders. Still, the unbreakable vow Severus made with your sister to protect Draco would not allow him to willingly turn him over to me.”

“But…” Bellatrix began in surprise as she looked up.

“Don’t look so surprised, Bella,” Voldemort said. “I have known about that vow since the night it was taken. Though you have always taken Severus for a traitor, he informed me of the vow on the very night it was made. Still, I will find him eventually and punish him appropriately as he fully expects. For now, I must concentrate on the problem of the young death eaters and their mistaken perceptions of my power. They must know what it means to defy The Dark Lord. Perhaps a little demonstration is in order.”


12
Wrath Unleashed

“Oh no,” Hermione said as she tossed The Daily Prophet down on the table in front of her.

“Is something the matter with your food, dear?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“I wish that was all it was,” Hermione said pushing the paper to Ron. “I knew Harry would do something stupid. We never should have left him alone.”

“You don’t really think he would…” Ron began as he skimmed through the article on the front page.

“Do you really think he won’t if we don’t do something to stop him?” Hermione asked.

“I thought the prophecy was smashed and no one heard what it said,” Mrs. Weasley said as she read over Ron’s shoulder.

“Dumbledore knew what it said,” Ron informed her. “He told Harry right after he got back from the Ministry that night.”

“Oh, poor Harry,” Mrs. Weasley said as a look of grief came over her face as if one of her own children was in danger. “He should have said something. He shouldn’t have to carry that knowledge around by himself.”

“Harry only gave The Prophet the barest of details about what it said though,” Hermione said.

“Do you mean to say that Harry told you lot about it?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“Of course he did,” Ron said. “He didn’t tell us right away though. He waited until last summer to do it.”

“I can’t believe you would keep something like that from me,” Mrs. Weasley said as tears formed in her eyes. “You know how I feel about Harry. If he’s in some kind of danger then your father and I should know about it.”

“When is Harry not in danger?” Ron asked.

“Don’t get cheeky with me Ronald Weasley,” Mrs. Weasley said. “You know what I mean. I’m going over to his house to get him. I’ll drag him back here by force if I have to.”

“I’m going with you,” a tear stained Ginny said from the base of the stairs. “I have to know he’s all right. I’ve been up most of the night worried sick about him.”

“I think it would be better if you stayed here, Ginny,” Mrs. Weasley said knowing the kind of response she would get.

Before Ginny could respond though, there was a knock at the door that startled all of them. Ginny bolted for the door in hopes Harry would be standing on the other side. Mrs. Weasley moved to stop Ginny though to remind her that they would have to identify who it was before they opened the door. Ginny didn’t like it, but submitted to her mother’s wishes anyway.

“Who is it?” Mrs. Weasley asked as she held tightly to her wand.

“It’s Minerva McGonagal, Molly,” McGonagal said from the front step.

“What is your favorite candy?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“I don’t have time for something as foolish as candy?” McGonagal answered.

Mrs. Weasley opened the door and lowered her wand as she stepped aside to allow McGonagal to enter and said, “It’s good to see you again Minerva.”

“Likewise, Molly,” McGonagal said as she surveyed those present in the room. “I’m sorry to bother you so early, but I was wondering if Mr. Potter is staying with you. I’ve just come from his house, and he wasn’t there.”

“No,” Mrs. Weasley said. “He isn’t here. We were just about to go to his house to find him.”

“Don’t waste your time,” McGonagal said. “As I said before, he isn’t there. I performed a spell to see if he had been there recently, but he apparently didn’t spend the night there. I’ve dispatched the Order to search for him. I was hoping he would have come here.”

“I guess you read the article in The Prophet then,” Mrs. Weasley said.

“It was a foolish thing for Harry to do,” McGonagal said making her disapproval known. “He’ll have every death eater in the country looking for him.”

“What scares us is that he’s likely out there looking for them as well,” Hermione said.

“I believe he feels pressures on him that would seem to require just that,” McGonagal said. “As unnecessary as it is, he seems to be taking that responsibility on his own shoulders.”

“I don’t think Harry sees it as unnecessary,” Ginny said feeling a need spring up in her to defend Harry no matter what.

McGonagal studied the look in Ginny’s eyes momentarily before she said, “Forgive me. Perhaps unnecessary was not the appropriate word to use. I simply meant that no one person can be expected to accomplish such a task single handed.”

“He won’t have to do it alone if I have anything to say about it,” Ginny said as the feeling in her brought the tears back to her eyes.

“I’m sure we will all do our best to lighten that burden on him,” McGonagal said sensing that she was about to witness an emotional outburst. “We will just have to find him first.”

At the Ministry of Magic, spirits were as high as they had been in some time. Everyone was feeling upbeat as they began their day. In the recent days, their successes fighting the forces of The Dark Lord were encouraging. Of course, they all knew that it was at least partially due to the assistance of The Chosen One. There was a sense of peace that had fallen over the place just from the knowledge that Harry was on the job.

It was midmorning and the fireplaces in the lobby of the Ministry of Magic worked as usual to spew forth newcomers and sweep those departing off to other destinations. Little did anyone suspect that the security set up to check all arrivals through would be woefully inadequate on such a fine day.

It was at half past ten that a figure emerged from the floo network dressed in black robes with a hood pulled up to hide the face that the cheerful attitude changed almost instantly. One of the security men noticed the man and called out to him to stop. When he didn’t, four other security men joined the first in drawing their wands. They warned him once again to stop, and he did as requested. They asked him to remove his hood so they could see his face, but instead he turned to face them. When he made no move to remove his hood, they began to ask it again. They never completed their latest request as the man raised his open hand toward them quickly and they were all instantly hit with a force that slammed into their chests. They listened to their own ribs break even before the pain of the crushing blow reached their brains. The four of them dropped instantly gasping for air and writhing in pain as the man turned and continued his walk for the elevator.

The security man behind the desk began to rise as he drew his wand, but a jet of green light hit him in the chest before he could utter a word. Screams rang out from the civilians in the lobby as they caught on to what was happening. It was the mad scramble of the crowd to reach safety that prevented the remaining security men from getting a clear shot at the man. By the time their way was clear, the elevator doors had closed and the elevator was making its way down its shaft.

The elevator had not reached its chosen destination before alarms rang out throughout the Ministry of Magic. The way ahead would get more difficult from then on. Most of the element of surprise the man had counted on in the lobby would be lost on the lower floors. He knew what he faced though, and he was prepared to deal with it.

The elevator clanged to a stop as it hit its destination. Even as it did, he could hear the sound of another elevator descending toward him. It would add another layer to his difficulty soon, but first things first. The elevator doors opened and the hooded man stepped out into the corridor beyond to face seven aurors with their wands pointed at him.

“Stop where you are,” Dawlish ordered as the man complied instantly. “Remove your hood and identify yourself.”

“If you wish,” the man hissed as he raised his hands to his hood and slowly peeled it back.

Even the steel nerved aurors let out an involuntary gasp of shock as their minds rushed to recognize the one man they had wanted to find, and the one man they had feared to find.

“I am Lord Voldemort,” Voldemort announced with authority. “Stand aside and allow me to pass and I will spare your lives.”

“I…I… can’t do that,” Dawlish said as he fought to resist the urge to obey that Voldemort was attempting to place in his mind.

“I didn’t think so,” Voldemort said with a twisted grin as he quickly tossed a vile of potion to the floor in front of the aurors.

The effects were nearly instantaneous as the broken vile emitted a thick cloud of blue smoke that filled the lungs of the aurors and made them slip from consciousness before their bodies ever hit the floor. Voldemort, having taken the antidote prior to his arrival, strolled onwards through the smoke toward his destination.

At the place in the hallway where it junctioned with another, Voldemort shot a flame from his wand that spread around the corner into the other hallway and filled the space from floor to ceiling. The screams of pain were nearly instantaneous as the aurors stationed to be the next line of defense flailed in vain to escape the burning flames that consumed them. Seconds later, the screaming stopped and Voldemort lowered his wand as the flames disappeared. He stepped around the corner to find the charred remains of four aurors lying in the corridor before him as a faint clanging sound reached his ears.

The second elevator had finally reached its destination, and Voldemort knew that aurors would be spilling out of it very soon. In the event that they figured out a way to get past the cloud of poison that still hung in the air there, Voldemort turned and waved his hand, knowing that an invisible barrier had been erected to keep unwanted company out.

As he progressed onwards, Voldemort passed three more junctions and performed the same flame spell as before, but did not encounter any more aurors at those junctions. He had expected to encounter more resistance, but he thought that he must have taken out all of his opposition since none came to challenge him. He rounded one final corner, but did not bother to use the flame spell to clear the passage beyond first. He stopped immediately as he looked to the end of the hallway before him to see one last auror standing in front of the door that was his destination.

“You know you can not stand against me, Nymphadora,” Voldemort said as he prepared for the attack he knew would eventually come. “There will be no one to assist you. Their path has been blocked. Join with me now or stand aside to let me pass.”

“I will stand against you,” Tonks said with determination as she gripped her wand. “I’ll stand against you for as long as I have breath in my body.”

Voldemort chuckled evilly as he said, “Then you are a fool. I will not kill you. Your aunt has already asked me for that honor. Still, I will not let you stand in my way.”

“And I won’t let you pass if I can help it,” Tonks said praying that she would be able to hit him with a binding spell before he was able to get his wand up.

Voldemort grinned again as Tonks suddenly raised her wand and quickly cast her binding spell. She wasn’t fast enough though as Voldemort brought his own wand up and conjured a pillow in mid air that received the binding spell and dropped harmlessly to the floor. Tonks was setting up for a powerful cutting spell when her wand was suddenly ripped from her grasp and clattered to the floor in front of her. She bent over to pick it up and took a powerful blow under her chin that bent her head back dangerously as her entire body was thrown back against the door only to slam into it hard before sinking to the floor.

Voldemort walked forward halving the distance between them as Tonks attempted to shake off her pain and recover. Before she could though, a power wrapped around her and pulled her quickly along the floor until she stopped at Voldemort’s feet. The force lifted her up to a semi-kneeling position as Voldemort bent down to look her in the eye.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like to surrender?” Voldemort asked. “I enjoy this sort of thing you know. I really don’t have time to play with you much longer.”

Tonks summoned every bit of strength she had remaining as she swung her hand up and attempted to shove the fingers right into Voldemort’s eyes. He saw it coming though and moved back out of the way so that her effort missed its intended mark.

“A bad choice,” Voldemort said as he raised his wand and sent Tonks flying backwards into the door.

Tonks knew immediately that bones had broken as her body impacted the door hard enough to overcome the magical protection holding it shut and tear it from its hinges to fly into the room. Tonks vision was blurred as she opened one eye and watched as Voldemort walked into the cell room. Try as she might, Tonks couldn’t make her body respond to any calls for movement. If she could have seen the unnatural way her body was twisted as it lay broken and bleeding on the floor, she never would have attempted to move.

“My Lord,” Moreland said as he fought against his chains to kneel as Voldemort entered the room. “I told them nothing. I knew that you would come for me.”

“Did you?” Voldemort asked smoothly.

“I didn’t know that you would come personally,” Moreland said. “I thought you would send the death eaters for me. I am honored to be in your presence.”

“This is something I would never allow my death eaters to do for me,” Voldemort said. “I hand down all punishments to my death eaters.”

“Punishment?” Moreland asked confused.

“You will stand as an example to the other young death eaters who seem to doubt my power and resolve,” Voldemort said. “When I give an order it is to be taken seriously. To prove that, I have personally battled my way through the pitiful Ministry defenses to reach you. Your punishment will make sure that no other death eater ever fails me again.”

“But, Master…” Moreland began.

Even in her clouded immobile state, Tonks understood what was happening as Voldemort performed a spell that literally blasted Moreland apart as blood and bone exploded against the wall behind him. If Tonks had enough consciousness left, she would have been sick, but she just stared numbly as Voldemort walked over to her.

Voldemort bent down close to Tonks’ bloodied face and hissed in a whisper as he said, “Let that be a lesson to all of those who defy Lord Voldemort. No one will escape my wrath if they do not follow me. If you do survive your injuries long enough, be sure to repeat what you have seen and heard to “The Chosen One”. No man, woman, or Potter will ever be able to overcome the power of Lord Voldemort.”

It was at that moment that Tonks’ consciousness finally gave way and everything went black, with her last thought of ‘We’ll see about that’ etched firmly into what was left of her mind.

Voldemort walked quickly back to the place where he had erected the magical barrier to keep unwanted intruders out. He had erected it in such a way that made it possible for him to walk around the corner to look for opposition without being in danger of one of their spells breaching his defensive shield. He had nothing to fear though as he soon discovered the hallway beyond the barrier to be clear.

The cloud of poison was still hanging in the air and obscuring the elevators from view. Voldemort walked closer to the cloud wondering if the aurors had been foolish enough to attempt to walk through it. It didn’t take long before he could hear the mutterings on the other side of the cloud to tell him that some of them had wisely chosen to stay clear. Had they only known that he was standing not twenty feet from them, they would have been able to make an attempt at stopping him. As it was though, they never had a chance.

Voldemort raised his hands together out in front of himself as he concentrated on the area beyond the cloud. When he spread his hands quickly out to either side there were several loud crashes and groans as the aurors were thrown against the walls and pinned there. Voldemort strolled forward into the cloud and emerged on the other side to find the aurors struggling in vain against he spell that held them against the walls and unable to raise their wands to utter a spell.

“You may all consider yourselves lucky,” Voldemort said as he walked to the elevator. “You easily could have suffered a similar fate to your other auror friends who stood against me. I am leaving you alive so you can tell your precious Minister of Magic to stand aside and name me as Minister of Magic or I will continue to rein destruction down on those who stand against me. Today was just a small sample of the pain I will cause to achieve my goals. I will expect to see the abdication in the Prophet within the week.”

The elevator began its climb back toward the lobby level, and Voldemort had to smile to himself. He took pleasure in knowing that even Rufus Scrimgeour would harbor a thought deep within his mind of stepping aside. He knew that it would be buried deep though. Voldemort had resigned himself long ago to the knowledge that he would only rise to power through conquest.

The second the elevator doors opened, a variety of spells designed to subdue flashed out to impact only on the back wall of the elevator. Six security men and three aurors stared astonished as they hesitated to take a breath. They thought for sure that the elevator would contain the man who had broken into the lower levels. It was several seconds later before any of them could lower their wands and walk forward to investigate.

It was during those precious seconds that Voldemort slipped out of the elevator unseen by any of his would be attackers. He waited until he had gotten behind all of them and they were all close enough to the elevator entrance before he raised his wand and performed a spell that picked all of them up and tossed them into the elevator on top of one another. Another wave of Voldemort’s wand closed the doors as he pulled off the invisibility cloak with his other hand. Knowing that it wouldn’t take the men in the elevator long to recover, Voldemort whipped his wand forward and set loose a powerful cutting spell that sliced cleanly through the metal cage that surrounded the top of the elevator. The spell cut through the protective cage and made its way on to the cables suspending the elevator at its current floor.

Seconds later the elevator began to plummet downwards in free fall. Voldemort smiled once again as he heard the distant sound of metal twisting and churning from the impact far down the elevator shaft. Voldemort smiled as he turned and began making his way back toward the floo system to make his visit complete. He was confident that no one would dare oppose him after he had personally carried out the most devastating attack ever to take place in the Ministry.

Voldemort reached the fireplaces and prepared to step into one when he heard a sound behind him and turned to make sure more aurors weren’t trying to stop him. What he saw both surprised him and made rage flare within him. Fifty meters away from him, four of his death eaters lay unconscious on the floor where they had not been moments before. It was the fifth member of the party that interested him the most though.

Harry apparated with his nights quarry into the lobby of the Ministry as he had previously. It only took a split second for Harry to realize that something was seriously wrong. The Ministry, normally bustling with activity at that time of day, was deserted as if it was after hours. A look off to his right told him why.

“Voldemort,” Harry said feeling his anger of the previous day return as he stood to face Voldemort, who had begun to step in Harry’s direction.

“Harry Potter,” Voldemort said in a hiss. “We meet again.”

“I’ve been waiting,” Harry said seriously as he prepared to reach for his wand at any moment.

“Have you?” Voldemort asked. “You won’t have Dumbledore here to defend you this time, Harry.”

“I won’t need him to,” Harry said watching Voldemort closely.

“Ah, yes,” Voldemort grinned. “The Chosen One has some new found confidence. I should have known you’d gone mad when I read that you had actually started to believe what they write about you in The Prophet.”

“Or perhaps I just know what that prophecy you tried to steal said,” Harry pointed out knowing it would get Voldemort’s attention.

“You lie,” Voldemort said.

“I guess you would know all about that,” Harry began, “since you haven’t told the truth in years. Are you still trying to convince yourself that you aren’t a half-blood.”

“Watch what you say, Harry” Voldemort hissed warningly.

“Or what?” Harry asked. “Are you going to kill me? Haven’t you tried to do that enough yet? Obsessions like that aren’t healthy you know.”

“Your luck has finally run out today, Harry,” Voldemort said well aware of the distance his hand would have to travel to reach his wand. “I will kill you once and for all. Then I’ll take my death eaters back with me.”

“If you want them,” Harry said getting ready, “then come and get them.”

An instant later, Voldemort’s wand was in his hand and at the ready as he said, “Avada Kedavra.”

“Sectumsempre,” Harry said as he brought his own wand up in a blur of movement.

As had happened before, a thin golden thread connected the tips of both of their wands. Both of them stared intently into the eyes of the other determined not to be the one to give in.

“I see your reflexes have improved,” Voldemort said as he strained with is vibrating wand.

“Have they?” Harry asked. “Maybe you’re just getting slower.”

“I thought this might happen if we dueled again,” Voldemort said.

“So did I,” Harry said trying to keep the grin off of his face.

It was Harry’s turn to try a surprise attack as he raised his empty hand toward Voldemort and performed a wordless and wandless spell with his left hand while maintaining his grip on his wand with his right. It was a spell that Voldemort was not fully prepared to deal with, so he did not get a shield charm up in time to intercept it. The spell hit him in the abdomen and began to bore it’s way inside. Voldemort’s robes were already straining to absorb the blood before he was able to pass his hand over the wound to stop the spell from digging any further. The damage was done though. Voldemort knew he would have to get back to his potions soon if he hoped to reverse the process.

Voldemort raised his free hand and performed a spell that knocked Harry backwards several meters and caused Harry to break the connection between their wands. Harry hit the ground hard, but forced his body to ignore the pain as he rolled to a crouch as he got ready to defend against another attack. Voldemort was not attacking though as he realized the urgency of his situation, and, somewhat hunched over, he made his way back to the fireplaces.

Harry scrambled to his feet and took aim at Voldemort’s back, but had to duck back down to avoid a barrage of killing curses Voldemort was shooting over his shoulder in Harry’s direction. It was at that moment that Harry heard the arrival of another elevator. He looked behind him to see Rufus Scrimgeour and Kingsley Shaklebolt exit the elevator with six other aurors. He looked back around just in time to see Voldemort step into one of the fireplaces and disappear.

“Good lord, Harry,” Scrimgeour said in surprise as he and the others ran to him. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just making another delivery,” Harry said pointing to the four death eaters still lying on the floor nearby. “I got here just before Voldemort was going to floo out of here.”

“Did you actually duel with You Know Who, Harry?” Kingsley asked.

“I really wish you would all start calling him by his name,” Harry said with a twinge, as he became aware of the broken rib he had suffered in his fall. “He’s as mortal as the rest of us. I did duel with him though. I think I got in a good shot on him. He’ll have to work pretty quickly to repair his injury or he may be out of action for quite some time.”

“He’s sure made a mess of things for us here today,” Scrimgeour said. “He broke through all of our defenses and went down to the detention level. Did he leave with anyone?”

“No,” Harry answered caressing the sore spot in his left side. “I think he was alone. Of course someone may have left just before I got here.”

“I suppose he came to break out that death eater you brought in yesterday,” Scrimgeour said. “We had better get down to the detention level and see what happened. We haven’t had any contact with them since the first elevator full of aurors went down to try to stop him.”

“I’d like to come with you,” Harry said. “I’d like to see for myself if he managed to break out that death eater.”

“Are you sure you’re all right, Harry?” Kingsley asked taking notice of Harry favoring his left side. “You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“It’s nothing that would stop me from going with you,” Harry responded.

“You might as well,” Scrimgeour said as he looked at the newest prisoners Harry had brought in. “If people are hurt down there it would mean a lot to them to have you there.”

“It would mean more to me if they were all able to stay out of harm’s way,” Harry said as they stepped into the elevator. “The fact that Voldemort made it down there and back leads me to believe otherwise though.”

“It may not be a pretty sight, Harry,” Kingsley said. “You may know some of the aurors that were down there. Are you sure you’re up to it?”

“I think I’ll be fine,” Harry said wondering if he really was ready for the horrors that may wait below.

No one else said a word as the elevator crept downward to one of the lower levels and came to a stop. The doors opened and the aurors immediately sprang out to attempt to help their colleagues who were still pinned to the wall by a spell. Harry stayed behind in the elevator opening as the spells were broken one at a time to get the aurors down. Harry could see though that there were bodies lying in the corridor under the gas cloud that was suspended in the air above them.

“No, minister,” one of the aurors said. “He came out alone. He said to tell you to step aside and name him as the new Minister.”

“Not likely,” Scrimgeour said as he studied the cloud in font of him. “Maybe the aurors further in were able to repel his attack somehow.”

“I would think they would have chased him out to this point if they were still in a condition to do so,” Kingsley said. “We aren’t going to know that until we get past this cloud though. I don’t know if we can afford to wait for it to dissipate on its own. It could last for days.”

“We could apparate past it,” Harry said as he stepped from the elevator for the first time.

A quiet fell over the aurors as they looked at Harry and Scrimgeour said, “You can’t apparate on the detention levels, Harry. Otherwise all of the prisoners would escape.”

“Unless of course, Harry wants to tell us how it is that he manages to apparate into the Ministry lobby even though blocks have been put on that as well,” Kingsley pointed out.

“I won’t put Mr. Potter in that kind of danger even if it were possible,” Scrimgeour said.

“It is possible,” Harry said looking at the bodies under the cloud once again.

“I can’t allow it,” Scrimgeour insisted.

“Harry,” Kingsley began, “Tonks was one of the aurors on duty in there. If anything has happened…”

“I’m going in,” Harry said immediately as he stepped forward.

“I said, no,” Scrimgeour said with as much authority as he could muster.

“With all due respect, Minister,” Harry said as he looked at Scrimgeour, “you’ll have a hard time stopping me.”

“Are you sure, Harry?” Kingsley asked. “What you find might be…”

“I would never forgive myself if I didn’t try to help when it was in my power to,” Harry said. “I would like you to go with me though.”

“Of course,” Kingsley said as he stepped to Harry’s side.

“I’d like you to come as well, Minister,” Harry said.

Scrimgeour studied Harry for a moment before stepping to his other side and saying to the other aurors, “I want half of you to wait here for us to come back. The other half get back upstairs and find someone who might be able to get rid of this cloud and evacuate the dead.”

“Just hold tight to my arms,” Harry said as Kingsley and Scrimgeour complied.

In an instant the scene before them shifted to an open expanse of hallway. Kingsley and Scrimgeour were momentarily bewildered about what had just happened. They had expected to feel their bodies compress as it did during a side by side apparation. Instead they had felt only the briefest feeling of weightlessness. A look behind them at the cloud confirmed that they had indeed moved further down the corridor.

“Wow, Harry!” Kingsley exclaimed. “That was amazing. You’ll have to teach me to do that sometime.”

“I can’t do that,” Harry said. “You would have to arrest yourself.”

“What?” Scrimgeour asked wondering what law Harry might have just broken.

“Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies, Minister,” Harry said seriously. “Shall we move on?”

Kingsley took the lead, but was suddenly thrown back as he ran into Voldemort’s barrier. Harry helped him up, and the three of them apparated once again past the barrier. The sight that met their eyes crushed some of their hopes that Voldemort may have been repelled. They walked past the charred bodies in silence until they had reached a junction and turned the corner.

“Harry,” Kingsley began, “I think you should stay here.”

“Why?” Harry asked.

“Because there is only one auror not accounted for so far,” Kingsley said as gently as he could.

“If Tonks is injured you’ll need me to get her out of here past the barriers,” Harry explained.

“I think he’s referring to the state the bodies we just passed were in,” Scrimgeour put in. “You may not be ready to be exposed to what he might have done to her.”

“I’ve seen dead people and injured people before, Minister,” Harry said trying to shut out the images that tried to pop to the surface in his mind. “I’ll be fine.”

There was a long silence as the Minister considered Harry’s insistence before Kingsley said, “Well we had better keep moving anyway. Time may not be on our side.”

The three of them threw caution to the wind and set off at a run through the remaining hallways with Kingsley in the lead. Harry ran right into Kingsley’s back as he rounded the last corner. Kingsley had stopped at the sight of what lay before him, and made every attempt to shield Harry from it. He couldn’t do so for long though as Harry fought to glance around the big auror.

Harry’s eyes went wide with horror at his immediate reaction. His first look squared in on the blood splattered on the back wall of the room. A scream of pain came into Harry’s throat, but he was too emotionally stunned to utter a single sound as his mind rushed to make sense of the rest of the scene. The door lay inside the room hanging tenuously from its lower hinge having been smashed in.

It was no more than a few seconds before Harry spotted her, though it seemed an eternity to Harry. Choking down his sorrow that filled him, Harry stepped around Kingsley and ran forward and stepped into the room. It wasn’t until he got inside the room that he noticed the slumped body of the death eater he had captured the day before still in his chains, but with a sizable hole in the center of his chest.

Harry tore his eyes away from the death eater to look at Tonks’ twisted form lying on the floor ahead of him. Harry couldn’t stop the tears as he knelt down at her side. He reached out his hand toward her and brushed a few hairs out of her face. Harry’s heart nearly jumped as his hand glided across her temple and felt something he had not expected.

“She’s alive!” Harry exclaimed to Kingsley and Scrimgeour as they watched from the doorway.

“What?” Scrimgeour and Kingsley asked in surprise.

“She has a pulse,” Harry said not taking his eyes from her as he stroked her cheek. “Come over here. I have to get her to St. Mungo’s. Either you go with me or you have to wait for me to come back for you.”

Scrimgeour and Kingsley both walked over and took hold of Harry’s shoulders as he took hold of Tonks’ hand. In a mater of seconds, all was quiet once again on the detention level. Harry was determined not to lose the last decent part of the Black family line. He was determined not to lose a friend. He was more determined than he had ever been not to lose.

13
Believe Me When I Tell You


Everyone in the kitchen at the Burrow reached for their wands instinctively as the carelessly unlocked door flew open. They all froze as they watched a frantic looking Arthur Weasley burst in panting as if he had run there from work. He immediately took notice of everyone present and considered how what he was about to say might affect them.

“Arthur,” Mrs. Weasley gasped as she began to fear the worst. “What is it? What’s happened?”

“There was an attack at the Ministry,” Mr. Weasley responded as he panted. “You Know Who did it himself. Several of the aurors were killed. The Ministry is in Chaos.”

“Oh my lord!” Mrs. Weasley shrieked. “Percy!”

“He’s fine, Molly,” Mr. Weasley said as he walked over to comfort her knowing his real news would hit her just as hard. “He’s the one who told me.”

“Told you what, Arthur?” McGonagal asked.

“The Minister of Magic sent him a message from St. Mungo’s,” Mr. Weasley said. “Tonks was apparently injured pretty badly in the attack. The healers are working on her now.”

“Oh my,” Mrs. Weasley said as tears came into her eyes quickly.

“There’s more,” Mr. Weasley said as he glanced at his daughter and prepared himself for her reaction.

Ginny saw the look in her father’s eyes as he looked at her, and her heart sank as she asked, “Harry?”

Everyone turned to look at Arthur once again as he hesitated before he said, “Apparently Harry got into a duel with You Know Who just as he was trying to leave the Ministry. Percy didn’t have any details, but he said that Harry was at St. Mungo’s as well. I don’t know how seriously injured he is, but he was injured.”

Tears of pain had already begun to run down Ginny’s cheeks. Hermione rose from her seat as she prepared to comfort Ginny. She never got the chance though as Ginny closed her eyes and disappeared with a small pop.

“Ginny!” Mrs. Weasley screamed.

“She isn’t old enough to apparate yet,” Mr. Weasley said in shock.

“I didn’t even know she could,” Ron said proudly.

“It may have just been a fantastic bit of accidental magic,” McGonagal said as she rose from her chair. “If it was, and she was thinking of Mr. Potter, then there is a high probability that she is now at St. Mungo’s. I believe it would be a good idea for all of us to join her.”

Ginny reappeared with a pop loud enough to attract the attention of the two aurors who rushed into the room with their wands drawn.

“It’s okay,” Harry said quickly from his bed. “I know her. She’s my girlfriend.”

“Harry,” Ginny said as she ignored the aurors and ran to Harry and embraced him tightly. “I was so scared. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Harry responded hugging her back. “It was just a broken rib. The healers have already mended it. They just want me to stay here overnight.”

“Good,” Ginny said as she thought about her first vision of Harry in his bed. “You look terrible.”

“I haven’t gotten much sleep lately,” Harry said with a smile. “It isn’t anything a good night of sleep won’t cure.”

“What about Tonks?” Ginny asked as she sat up on the side of the bed. “Is she going to be okay?”

“I don’t know, Ginny,” Harry answered as he fought to control his memory of what Tonks had looked like when he had found her. “They haven’t been willing to tell me anything about her condition yet.”

“I’ll see if I can find out something for you in a while,” Ginny said.

“Are you planning to apparate into her room as well?” Harry asked with a grin. “When did you learn to apparate anyway? And just how is it that you managed to find me? You weren’t just popping into random rooms hoping to find me I hope.”

“It came as a bit of a shock to me too,” Ginny said. “I was standing in the kitchen at the Burrow as my dad told us about what happened at the Ministry. He said you had been injured. I closed my eyes and thought of you. The next thing I knew I was here.”

“Dumbledore always said love was a strong magic,” Harry said as he enjoyed the slightly queasy feeling he still got when her hand was in contact with his. “I guess we were meant to be.”

“We will be if I have anything to say about it, Mr. Potter,” Ginny said with a blushing grin. “Mark my words.”

“Oh, I intend to, Miss Weasley,” Harry said with a smile. “You can count on that.”

“Kingsley,” Mr. Weasley said as he and the others spotted Kingsley in the waiting area of St. Mungo’s. “Have you seen Ginny here by any chance?”

“Ginny?” Kingsley asked surprised. “I don’t think so. Her red hair would have stood out enough for me to notice if she had been through here. Why?”

“We thought she might have accidentally apparated here after she found out Harry had been injured,” McGonagal explained.

“Not unless she managed to apparate closer to his room,” Kingsley said. “There are two aurors guarding Harry’s door that have orders to hex first and ask questions later. If that had happened I would have heard about it by now.”

A student healer walked out into the waiting room and spotted Kingsley as he walked over and said, “I have a message for you, Mr. Shacklebolt.”

Kingsley took the folded message from the student and grinned as he read it.

“Well?” Mrs. Weasley asked as she clutched onto her husband’s arm.

“Everything is fine,” Kingsley said as he looked up at them. “Apparently your daughter managed to apparate directly into Harry’s room. Harry managed to stop them before they got a chance to hex her. She’s fine. Unless of course you consider the fact that Minister Scrimgeour ordered that no one be allowed to speak with him until he had been questioned. I had better go straighten all of this out.”

“We’ll be going with you,” Hermione put in. “We have a few questions we want answered as well.”

Upon entering Harry’s room, Mrs. Weasley rushed to her daughter and pulled her into a tight hug. Everyone else greeted Harry as Kingsley stood by the door with McGonagal waiting for an opportune time to interrupt.

“You realize that you’ve had all of us worried sick, of course,” Hermione said. “You never should have tried to do that alone.”

“I didn’t want to take the chance that anyone else would get hurt,” Harry responded. “Besides, I have a few new tricks up my sleeve that kept me mostly out of harms way.”

“Well now I know you’ve lost your mind,” Hermione said with a snort. “Dueling with Voldemort isn’t what I would call staying out of harms way.”

“That was an accidental meeting,” Harry pointed out. “I wasn’t looking for a fight at all. It was just bad timing that brought us together this time.”

“Actually, Harry,” Kingsley said as he stepped forward, “the minister would like me to ask you a few questions about that.”

“About what?” Harry asked. “I didn’t have any more to do with Voldemort showing up there than you did.”

“We’re aware of that,” Kingsley responded. “We were more interested in learning exactly how it is that you managed to get there in the first place. If you can break though our security measures then someone else might be able to.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you,” Harry said. “I doubt any other wizard would manage to learn what I have.”

“If you can learn it then someone else can,” Kingsley said. “I take it that the methods you used to learn it were illegal though. When we were on the detention level you told me I would have to arrest myself if I ever learned how to do it. Not every wizard will have that problem.”

“You’ll just have to take my word for it,” Harry said.

“I don’t know that the Minister will accept your word that easily,” Kingsley said, wondering how Harry would respond.

“I don’t know that he has much choice,” Harry replied.

“He has methods at his disposal that would make you tell him,” Kingsley warned.

“It would be political suicide for him to use any of them on me though,” Harry said as his mischievous grin returned. “He wouldn’t last a week if the Daily Prophet ran a story on the front page explaining how the Minister was forcibly extracting information from “The Chosen One”.”

“Even that may only carry you so far, Harry,” Kingsley cautioned. “I don’t think you realize the full potential of what you’ve done. If you can breach the security measures at the Ministry, then there would be little else to stop you from doing so at other high security locations; Azkaban, for instance. Believe me when I tell you that, he may feel he has no other choice but to detain you.”

“Believe me when I tell you that he’ll find that more difficult than he might think,” Harry said in all seriousness.

Voldemort stood over the table in his private chambers where his cauldron boiled and steamed with each new ingredient that was thrown in. He had to fight against his vision, which occasionally slipped out of focus, while he tried to ignore the intense wrenching pain in his abdomen. Sweat dripped from his brow, and only served to add to his frustration as it stung his eyes. It was just as he added the last of the needed ingredients that his equilibrium failed him at last, and he slipped to the floor as he swiped the table with his hand in an attempt to grab onto something that would stop his fall.

Bellatrix was walking in the corridor just outside Voldemort’s chambers when a thunderous sound of breaking glass reached her ears. Knowing better than to barge in on The Dark Lord, she knocked on the heavy wooden door.

“My Lord?” Bellatrix asked through the door when her knock got no reply. “Is everything all right?”

When she still received no response, Bellatrix opened the door slowly as she carefully stuck her head inside. She noticed first the shards of glass strewn about one side of the room. The next thing she saw made her draw her wand instinctively. Her master lay unmoving on the floor behind the table, and she could see that the front of his robes were drenched with blood.

Bellatrix threw the door open and quickly scanned the room for threats as she made her way over to Voldemort and said, “My Lord! What has happened? My Lord, can you hear me?”

Voldemort opened one eye and tried to focus on Bellatrix without success as he struggled to whisper, “Potion… seven ounces… per hour.”

Bellatrix looked to the potion still steaming on the table as Voldemort slipped from consciousness. She wasted no time in what she knew she had to do. She immediately recovered the scales from among all of the broken glass on the floor and placed it back on the table. Trusting that the potion was finished, she carefully measured out precisely seven ounces.

It was nearly four thirty in the morning when Voldemort awoke and opened his eyes as everything around him came into sharp focus. He was laying in his own bedchamber, and in the candlelight he could see Bellatrix sitting in a chair across the room reading a large dusty book.

“You have done well, Bellatrix,” Voldemort said, causing Bellatrix’s head to snap up in surprise.

“My master,” Bellatrix said with a rare smile as she closed the book and walked over to Voldemort and knelt down beside his bed. “I have done no more than I have sworn to do. I deserve no further praise.”

“Yet I would have trusted no other to watch over my recovery,” Voldemort said.

“Is your recovery complete now, my Lord?” Bellatrix asked.

“No,” Voldemort responded. “The potion you have been giving to me must continue to be taken every hour for the next two days. In addition there are other potions that will need to be brewed to further repair the damage. It will fall to you to brew those potions for me.”

“I am at your service, my Lord,” Bellatrix said proudly. “If only I could have been there to prevent this injury in the first place. You should have let me go with you to the Ministry. I would have placed myself between you and the aurors to prevent your injury.”

“The aurors were no match for me,” Voldemort spat in disgust. “I sliced through their defenses as if they were made of smoke. I broke into their most secure area and killed Moreland as I intended. I strode out again with just as much ease.”

Bellatrix could see the fury burning in her master’s eyes, so she hesitated before she said, “But your injury…

“Potter,” Voldemort hissed. “I was nearly into the floo system when I looked behind me and saw that Potter had arrived.”

“But surely he could not have…” Bellatrix began.

“We have all greatly underestimated Harry,” Voldemort said. “Perhaps I more than any other have underestimated him. It was my belief that he had always survived against me out of trickery and timely intervention from others. It was that image of him that I had in my mind when I dueled him at the Ministry. Little did I know that the Harry Potter I was dueling was not the same Harry Potter I had faced before. I have no doubt that I could beat him in a duel the next time we meet, but I displayed a serious lack of judgment in our latest duel. I had in mind to toy with him for a moment before I killed him. I would have been better served if I had adopted his frame of mind though. He stepped into that duel as I would have in my younger days. His only thought was to kill me.”

“I don’t understand how he could have grown so powerful,” Bellatrix said as she tried to process what she was hearing.

“Perhaps Dumbledore’s death galvanized his thinking more than we had anticipated,” Voldemort said. “I have never seen him so focused before. I’m sure it must have been that same focus that led him to learn to use the ancient spell he injured me with. It would have surely killed me then and there if I had not studied the same spell and it’s countercurse when I was a student myself. It just shocked me for a moment that Harry would have been learning spells like it. They can only be found in the restricted section of the library at Hogwarts in the section on the dark arts.”

“Perhaps Potter isn’t the vision of good that everyone believes him to be,” Bellatrix said with a twisted grin.

“I dare say that it was Dumbledore who taught him such a spell,” Voldemort said. “We know from our spies that Harry was meeting with Dumbledore during the last school year for private lessons of some sort. It wouldn’t surprise me if Harry didn’t even know it was dark magic he was learning.”

“Then I doubt he can perform much of it properly, since with most dark spells you have to want to cause harm to someone,” Bellatrix said. “He tried to use an unforgivable curse on me when we fought at the Ministry. He failed miserably.”

“Don’t assume that is still true,” Voldemort warned. “The spell he used against me had as much will behind it as I would have used. It may not just be me it works against either. When he appeared in the lobby before our duel, there were four more death eaters lying unconscious around him.”

“But how?” Bellatrix asked in shock. “How is it possible that he was not only able to find them, but was able to overpower them all as well?”

“I have to assume that Harry has come into possession of some device that enables him to locate death eaters,” Voldemort said as if thinking out loud. “I would also assume that he is only targeting death eaters who are alone. It might be possible for him to surprise a lone death eater long enough to render them unable to respond in time. At least, it seems to be easiest with our more recent additions to our ranks.”

“I am attempting to train them, my Lord,” Bellatrix said as she hung her head in shame.

“I do not question your methods or your determination in such a task, Bellatrix,” Voldemort said as another stabbing pain shot through his abdomen. “I know that I have waited long enough to lighten your burden. Most of my inner circle of death eaters sit even now in Azkaban awaiting the day when they will be free to do my bidding once again. The time of their liberation is near. Once I have fully recovered, we will begin the planning for an attack on Azkaban. Believe me when I tell you, we will not fail.

14
The Visitor


Harry had been back at home for just over twenty-four hours, and he was feeling more and more like a caged animal. Hermione and the entire Weasley clan had accompanied him home from St. Mungo’s after his one night stay there. They were all so worried that he would try to go after more death eaters that Hermione slipped him a sleeping potion at dinner that knocked him out until well into the following day.

Harry had awoken to find Ginny above the covers next to him with her arm draped over his chest. He was so overcome with happiness at that moment that he forgot about his anger with Hermione. He watched her sleep for several minutes before she opened her eyes and noticed he was looking at her.

Harry had bowed willingly to Ginny’s request that he stay in the house with her for the rest of the day. Spending the day with Ginny was as pleasant as it had ever been, but it began to bother him more and more that she would tense up if he so much as looked out a window. If anything, it only made him more determined to stick to his word.

“Have you given much thought to what you want to do after you graduate, Harry?” Ginny asked as she snuggled closer into Harry’s arms as they watched a magical fire dance in the fireplace.

Harry hesitated long enough as he considered her question to make her look up at him before he said, “I used to think about it often enough. I can’t really say that I’ve thought about it recently though. I haven’t really thought about my own future since just before…”

Ginny could see pain suddenly come into Harry’s eyes as she softly said, “Since before Professor Dumbledore died. Oh Harry. I didn’t mean to make you feel like this tonight.”

“It’s all right, Ginny,” Harry said. “I need to feel this way every now and then. If I didn’t I would be no better than Voldemort. He doesn’t feel anything for anyone. I, on the other hand, have very strong feelings for several people.”

“Well I certainly hope I’m included in that list,” Ginny teased.

“You’re at the very top, and you know it,” Harry said giving Ginny a playful jab in the ribs.

“A girl likes to hear it every so often,” Ginny said with a giggle.

“You deserve to hear it every day,” Harry said as he brushed her cheek lightly with the backs of his fingers. “I’ll try to remember to tell you just how much I love you every day.”

“Oh you have no idea how long I waited to hear you say words like that,” Ginny said as Harry kissed the top of her head. “I still can’t believe it sometimes. It’s like a dream come true to be sitting here like this with you.”

“You really do know how to make me think about the future don’t you?” Harry said as he imagined something in his head and Ginny looked up at him questioningly. “Someday I want this to be our house.”

“Are you sure?” Ginny asked. “I can be pretty hard to live with. Just ask one of my brothers.”

“I don’t need to,” Harry said with a grin. “I think I know you pretty well myself. Aside from the occasional bat-bogie hex, you’re wonderful. I’ll suffer through those if I have to.”

“Harry, I…” Ginny began before she was interrupted by a whistling sound from the mirror in the entry indicating that someone was coming up the front walk. “I’ll see who it is.”

“That isn’t what you were going to say,” Harry said as he followed her to the entry. “Come on, out with it.”

“Later,” Ginny said with a smile as she looked at the mirror. “Professor McGonagal is coming.”

“It isn’t like her to call so late unless she has some important news,” Harry said as he was surprised to find that the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. “Ginny, stand back out of the way. Let me get the door.”

“Harry, what’s wrong?” Ginny asked as she noticed Harry reaching for his wand.

“I don’t know,” Harry responded as there was a knock at the door. “Something just doesn’t feel right. Please, stand clear of the door.”

Ginny moved back into the sitting room as Harry had asked as he opened the door while holding his wand in his left hand behind his back.

“Good evening, Professor,” Harry said as pleasantly as he could.

“I need to speak with you, Harry,” McGonagal said causing Ginny to realize that something was indeed very wrong. “May I come in?”

“Of course,” Harry said as he stood aside.

Professor McGonagal placed a single foot inside the doorway before the floorboards in the entry seemed to come to life and sprang forward to wrap around her tightly as Ginny screamed in surprise. An instant later, she was pulled fully into the entry and thrown hard onto the floor where more boards wrapped around her like tight ribbons and pinned her down. Struggle as she might, the boards would not give an inch as they suddenly became as hard as they had ever been.

“Now, Professor,” Harry began as he walked closer with his wand in full view and already halfway through a spell, “who are you?”

A deep pink light flew from Harry’s wand and hit Professor McGonagal square in the face before spreading to envelope her entire body. The sturdy floorboards rattled under the strain the spell caused, but the trembling came to an end as the light from the spell dissipated. The captured person’s disguise had been melted away leaving the true assailant still trapped beneath the tight wood bands.

Harry knelt down beside the exposed head of his captive as he said, “You should know for future reference, Mrs. Malfoy, that Professor McGonagal almost never addresses me as Harry.”

“I was not trying to deceive you, Harry,” Narcissa said as she struggled vainly against her binding. “It was the only way for me to come to see you without being recognized by those who watch your home for the Dark Lord.”

“Why would you need to see me about anything?” Harry asked. “If memory serves me correctly, you and your entire family work for Voldemort.”

Narcissa winced at the mention of his name as she said, “Please do not speak his name in front of me.”

“Sorry,” Harry said. “My house, my rules. You don’t have to say it, but you can’t stop anyone else from saying it. I’ll ask again. Why do you need to see me?”

“Is it true that you have some means of locating the death eaters?” Narcissa asked.

“What makes you think that?” Harry asked as he tried to keep surprise out of his face.

“The Dark Lord believes that you do,” Narcissa said with urgency. “Bellatrix told me that he believes that is how you have been locating the death eaters you captured.”

“So, he managed to survive our latest duel,” Harry said as he shook his head. “Pity. I was hoping he would do us all the favor of dying. Again, why did you want to see me?”

“I need you to help me find my son before the Dark Lord does,” Narcissa said as tears began to run down her cheeks. “He’ll kill him if he finds him. I can’t let that happen. Draco is all I have left.”

“He should have thought of that before he tried to kill Professor Dumbledore,” Harry said as he tried to suppress the rage that threatened to cloud his thinking. “If I find him first, he’ll wish Voldemort had found him.”

“But he didn’t kill Dumbledore,” Narcissa pleaded. “It was Snape.”

“Draco was the one who got all of the death eaters into the school in the first place,” Harry pointed out.

“You have to understand,” Narcissa begged. “Draco was just trying to prove himself. His father had been captured. My husband had been leading that mission to recover the prophecy. His failure to do so brought shame down on the house of Malfoy. Draco saw this as the only way to get back the prestige he believed his family deserved.”

“So you come to me to help him?” Harry asked. “Maybe you think he stands a better chance against me than he does against Voldemort. Or maybe you think Snape will be there to save him from me. Then again, maybe Voldemort hasn’t been able to find them and sent you here to convince me to do his dirty work for him.”

“I have risked everything in coming here,” Narcissa said as tears streamed down her cheeks. “I’ve been trying to find them all summer. The Dark Lord would kill me if he ever knew that I had spoken to you. That is why I disguised myself to come and see you. He may know of it even now though since you stripped away my disguise.”

“Explain,” Harry said. “How would he know?”

“The dark mark on my arm links me to the Dark Lord at his whim,” Narcissa responded. “He can use it to send messages to his death eaters as well as keep track of their locations.”

“If that were true,” Harry said leaning a bit closer, “then why hasn’t he been able to use that to locate Snape?”

“It can be suppressed if the person is located in a place that is unplotable,” Narcissa explained. “I believe Snape may have taken Draco to a place like that to hide him.”

“Yet you believe I know how to find him,” Harry said shaking his head. “You poor desperate woman. It must have killed you to come to me about this.”

“I know perfectly well that I may have been wasting my time,” Narcissa said closing her eyes in resignation. “You were right. I am desperate. I have come to the end of my patience about finding Draco. How much is a mother expected to stand? I just can’t take it any more. I know that you’ll turn me over to the ministry and send me off to Azkaban, but I beg you to find my son for me. I’ll give you anything you want. I just need my peace of mind knowing he’s safe from the Dark Lord’s wrath.”

“Why is Snape protecting Draco?” Harry asked after considering what she had told him. “It isn’t a logical thing for him to do. He isn’t the kind of person who does favors for people out of the goodness of his heart. I would have expected Snape to leave Draco on his own by now.”

“He can’t do that,” Narcissa said as she looked at Harry questioning what would make him ask such a question. “He swore to protect him.”

“But that wouldn’t be enough for someone like Snape,” Harry said. “I’m willing to bet he gave his word to Dumbledore on a few things as well. It didn’t stop Snape from killing him when he needed Snape’s help the most.”

“It must have been an unbreakable vow, Harry,” Ginny said as she walked closer for the first time. “Even Snape wouldn’t be able to break an unbreakable vow if he took one.”

“He took one with me,” Narcissa confessed. “I thought Draco would fail or be caught trying to do what the Dark Lord asked him to do. I was just trying to protect my son.”

“So you knew what they were planning to do,” Harry said in disgust. “You knew the whole point was to kill Professor Dumbledore.”

“I won’t pretend I didn’t,” Narcissa said. “It was never a secret that the Dark Lord wanted Dumbledore out of the way. There were attempts made previously, but none had ever succeeded. I didn’t honestly think it would work when it did. I thought the attempt would fail and Draco would be sent to Azkaban. I just meant for Snape to do what he could to stop that from happening.”

“I haven’t heard anything that would convince me to tell you where Draco was even if I knew,” Harry said as he passed his open hand over the place where Narcissa was pinned to the floor, and the floorboards unwrapped themselves only to return to their proper positions.

“Harry, what are you doing?” Ginny asked in surprise as she backed away a couple of steps.

Harry then reached out his hand to Narcissa as she looked at him questioningly and said, “I don’t understand.”

“It’s a simple thing,” Harry said as he continued to hold out his hand. “I’m offering to help you up.”

Narcissa hesitated, but eventually reached out and took Harry’s hand. Harry helped her stand, and she took a moment to smooth out her robes while never taking her eye off of Harry.

“I wouldn’t worry about Voldemort being able to find you right now even with your dark mark,” Harry said as he turned and walked into the sitting room as Narcissa followed him. “As you found out, my house is set up with a few defenses. They should shield you from his prying eyes. Have a seat.”

“I don’t understand,” Narcissa said. “I thought you would be calling for the aurors by now.”

“It wouldn’t do me much good if I did,” Harry pointed out. “You’ve managed to keep your name off of their wanted known death eaters list. Haven’t they already searched your house looking for Draco and Snape? The Prophet said you were there during the search and cooperated with the aurors fully. If they had an interest in sending you to Azkaban they would have done it by now.”

“But why are you asking me to sit down?” Narcissa asked. “Why aren’t you throwing me out the door?”

“Because I had a mother, who loved me as much as you love Draco,” Harry said as he gestured toward a seat across from where he sat. Narcissa sat slowly as Ginny came to stand behind Harry’s chair. “Have you had any contact with Snape or Draco since the attack at Hogwarts?”

“There was just a single note sent by owl the day after it happened,” Narcissa confessed as her hopes began to rise slightly. “It was from Draco. He told me that he was all right and was being protected. He told me that they would have to disappear for a while and stay out of contact. Then he told me not to worry before instructing me to destroy the letter.”

Harry studied the way Narcissa’s eyes dropped during her last statement before he said, “You didn’t destroy it though.”

Narcissa looked back at Harry with surprise as she hesitated to say, “No.”

“How did you manage to keep it from Voldemort?” Harry asked. “Surely he questioned you personally about where Draco could have been. You couldn’t have kept knowledge like that from him. He would have stolen it straight out of your mind.”

“He was too quick to question me,” Narcissa said. “He called me in to question me before I had gotten the letter. At the time, I truly didn’t know anything about what had happened to Draco. I got the owl jut after I returned home. Apparently it was just before the death eaters started intercepting all of my incoming and out going mail.”

“So you’ve kept it with you since then?” Harry asked as he played a hunch.

“Yes,” Narcissa said with another surprised look. “Are you reading my mind the way the Dark Lord does?”

“No,” Harry said with a smile. “I was betting that keeping it with you was the only way to keep the aurors from finding it when they searched your house. I’m also willing to bet that you realize who else might search your house every time you leave it. It would be equally dangerous for you if either the aurors or the death eaters found it.”

“But how did you know I didn’t destroy it?” Narcissa asked.

“Because I could never bring myself to destroy anything of my mother’s,” Harry said softly. “I’ll never see her again. It’s all I have left of her. If Voldemort finds Draco, that letter will be the last thing you’ll have to remember him by. How could you destroy that?”

Narcissa smiled as tears once again ran down her cheek, and she said, “I never would have believed you and I would have so much in common.”

Harry smiled as he said, “Maybe there isn’t as much of a difference between us as I first thought. I’ll do what I can for you to find Draco. It may be best for him if we don’t find him though. If we know where he is, Voldemort could pull that information from us. Still, I will find Snape. I’ll leave Draco out of the fight if I can, but I’m willing to bet he won’t do the same. I will defend myself if I have to.”

Narcissa couldn’t contain her happiness as she said, “Oh, thank you, Harry. I know I can never repay you for what you’re doing for me, but…”

“Actually,” Harry began, “there is something I would like you to help me with.”

“Name it,” Narcissa said. “I’ll do anything.”

“I need some information,” Harry responded as he leaned closer. “What can you tell me about Mr. Fortescue and Mr. Ollivander?”


15
Enigma


Mrs. Weasley hummed joyfully as she checked the large pot of soup she was brewing for lunch. It had been some time since she had had so many hungry mouths to feed. It wasn’t every day that Harry Potter came over for a practice game of quidditch though.

“Molly,” Arthur said as he walked in through the kitchen door, “you forgot to lock the door again.”

“I didn’t expect to see you until around dinner time,” Molly responded as she greeted Arthur with a kiss on the cheek as he looked over her shoulder to see what she was cooking.

“I decided to come home for lunch so you wouldn’t have to eat alone today,” Arthur said as he stared at the enormous pot of soup. “It would appear that you were expecting company to stop in though. Who are you making the soup for?”

“Harry came over with Ginny this morning after they went to visit Tonks,” Molly said. “He brought his broom with him, so Ron and Hermione rounded up a few people for a quidditch practice. Even Fred and George came. They closed up their shop for the day so they could come and play.”

“Really?” Arthur asked suspiciously. “They never close that shop. Something is going on, Molly.”

“Oh, Arthur,” Molly chided, “you’re just being paranoid.”

“Am I?” Arthur asked as he placed his hands on his hips. “Then explain to me why it is that all of those people came over to play quidditch, and I didn’t see even a single broom in the air as I walked up to the house.”

“Well…” Molly began before the reality of the situation set in. “Not even one?”

“No,” Arthur confirmed.

“I’m sure there must be a reason for it,” Molly said.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Arthur said as the worry washed over his face. “Minerva told us we would have to keep an eye open for suspicious activities Harry might try to get his friends into.”

“And I think it’s as ridiculous when you say it as it was when she did,” Molly charged. “Honestly. This is Harry we’re talking about. I love him as if he were one of my own.”

“So do I,” Arthur said. “However, considering all of his recent activities, I think we should be as vigilant as we were with Fred and George. Something tells me, he can be just as mischievous as they can if he puts his mind to it.”

Molly was about to respond when she was distracted by the familiar sound of owl wings flapping against the window. Looking to the window, she noticed four owls sitting on the windowsill waiting to deliver their messages. Molly opened the window, and the owls flew in one at a time to drop their bundles of letters on the kitchen table.

Arthur looked at the letters and said, “It looks like the Hogwarts letters came a day early this year. I was expecting them to come early tomorrow.”

“I suspect others knew that as well,” Molly said. “Minerva must have changed it to ensure all of the letters would get through.”

“I think I’ll just deliver these to the kids out back right away,” Arthur said as he picked up all of the letters. “Maybe I’ll be able to find out what it is they’re up to.”

Arthur walked out the door that would take him to the paddock where the quidditch practice was supposed to be happening. Again, he could see no sign that anyone was doing any flying, and it made him even more curious about what was really going on.

Upon rounding the hedge that gave him a clear view of the paddock beyond, Arthur could plainly see that his suspicions were correct. None of the thirty or so kids were even pretending to play. In fact, he noticed very few of them with a broom at all. Instead, they were all gathered under the shade of a large tree listening intently as Harry explained something to them while he pointed at a large piece of parchment rolled out on the ground.

Seamus Finnigan alerted the group to Arthur’s approach, and they silently turned and moved closer together, hiding Harry from view. A few seconds later, the crowd parted and Harry walked into the open, though Arthur could see that the parchment they had been looking at had been removed from sight.

“Hello, Harry,” Arthur said as he neared the group. “It’s good to see you again.”

“I hope you don’t mind us using your paddock, Mr. Weasley,” Harry said knowing that he had always been as welcome there as if it were his own home.

“I don’t mind at all, Harry,” Arthur said. “You’ve certainly made Molly a happy woman, giving her so many mouths to feed. The only thing I’m confused about is why she thought you were all here for a quidditch practice.”

“I thought it would be easier on her that way,” Harry said with a grin. “You know better than anyone how she worries.”

“That’s true,” Arthur confirmed. “Then again, maybe she has a cause to be concerned. Seeing what I’ve just seen might lead her to think you lot were up to something.”

“What would make you think that?” Fred asked as he stepped forward.

“It could be perfectly innocent, you know,” George said as he joined his brother.

“The fact that you two are here is all the proof I need,” Arthur said as he raised an eyebrow. “Don’t give me that look. I am your father you know. You don’t get as much by me as you might think.”

“It isn’t anything new, Mr. Weasley,” Hermione said. “We were just talking about how many more Hogwarts students need to have the shield put on their houses.”

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea for all of you to think about doing the rest of it,” Arthur said. “The death eaters are surely watching for anyone putting that shield up. It could be dangerous.”

“It was dangerous when we were doing it before,” Ron protested. “They were looking for us then and you didn’t have a problem with it.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that if I were you, Ronald,” Arthur warned seriously. “If I remember correctly, you were the one who told me how close Hermione came to being either killed or captured the last time. It was a stroke of dumb luck that Harry showed up to prevent that from happening. How can you even think of taking that kind of chance again?”

“We won’t be taking chances like that again,” Harry said calmly. “We’ve learned from our mistakes, Mr. Weasley. We were more concerned about speed than safety before. We were going in with small groups, and spreading them out to cover a larger area more quickly. Hermione was in danger because she was alone. She didn’t have anyone to warn her about the death eater sneaking up on her. This time we’ll be sending everyone in groups of no less than ten to any one area. That group of ten will divide into two groups of five. Those two groups can work separately, but can never move out of visual range of the other group. One member of each group of five will be responsible for performing the shield spell. The remaining four keep an eye out for trouble.”

“I’d love to know who you’ve been talking to about tactics, Harry,” Arthur said with surprise. “Those are tactics the Order has been using for years.”

“I found some writings about it in my parents cellar,” Harry responded with a smile.

“Still,” Arthur continued, “I don’t think you should be doing it.”

“This isn’t something we’re doing because we want to,” Ginny said as she stepped forward for the first time. “This is something that needs to be done. The Order doesn’t have the time or the manpower to devote to it. We still don’t know who in the Ministry can and can’t be trusted with the shield spell. We’re the only ones left who can do it. Every one of us here, other than Harry, has the shield spell protecting our homes from the death eaters. How can we be expected to sit by and do nothing when we know that other kids will go to sleep tonight without that protection?”

“It won’t be long before most of those kids are back at Hogwarts for another term,” Arthur pointed out. “No death eaters will be able to get to them there.”

“But their parents will still be at home, Mr. Weasley,” Cho said as she stepped next to Ginny. “For that matter, so will I. So will several of us who have already graduated and can’t look forward to the protection Hogwarts offers. We live in that world, and we have a right to protect it.”

“And we plan to keep doing it even after Harry and the others have gone back to school,” Alicia Spinnet said from Hermione’s side.

Arthur thought in silence as he looked at the resolute expressions on the young faces of the crowd before he said, “Then you should all know that, should you be in need of help, you will always be welcome in this house.”

“I don’t think any of us have ever felt otherwise, Mr. Weasley,” Harry said as he noticed what Arthur was holding. “Are those our Hogwarts letters, Mr. Weasley?”

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Mr. Weasley said as he held out the bundles of letters. “These were all delivered a few minutes ago.”

Later that evening, Harry stood at his dining room table looking down at his map as twenty other people stood around and waited for him to hand out the next location assignment for their groups. Harry surveyed the map as it displayed the names of the students who had yet to receive the shield.

“It looks like there are three students in Whitehaven,” Harry said almost to himself. “Add additional subjects to show any death eaters in Whitehaven.”

A collective gasp went around the room, as two new dots appeared over the area marked as Whitehaven.

“I suppose it had to happen sooner or later,” Hermione said. “We had to expect to find a few the more times we did this.”

“Maybe we should skip that place for now,” Seamus said looking around for agreement. “We can always come back to it tomorrow.”

“No,” Harry said calmly. “We’re only going to delay for a few minutes. Zoom to Whitehaven city view.”

“Are you sure, Harry?” Hermione asked as the map redrew itself.

“I’m sure,” Harry said as he studied the map. “Those death eaters won’t be there when we get there. Ginny and I have already planned for this.”

“I’m ready, Harry,” Ginny said as she moved closer.

“It looks like they’re standing outside on the street,” Harry said as he continued to look at the map. “They’re near the intersection of Tangier Street and Hick’s Lane.”

“Got it,” Ginny said as she turned to go. “I’ll be back in a flash,”

Ron watched as Ginny walked into the next room and disappeared into the floo system before he turned to Harry in a panic and said, “You better not have sent her into danger, Harry.”

“Relax, Ron,” Harry said. “She’s gone to the Ministry. We’ll let the aurors clear Whitehaven of death eaters before we go in.”

Minutes later, after Ginny had returned, they all watched as a dozen aurors appeared and took down their prey in seconds. It was less than a minute later that the label of the aurors and the death eaters disappeared from the map altogether.

“Whitehaven is clear now,” Harry said shaking everyone from their amazement after watching the capture. “Cho, take your group in and put up the shields. Have you memorized the addresses of the three students?”

“I’ve got them,” Cho said as her group gathered together and joined hands. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

“I’m counting on it,” Harry said with a grin. “We’ve got plenty more to do before the night is over.”

Cho’s group disapparated from Harry’s dining room, and immediately appeared as dots on the map on the table.

“Now let’s find one for your group, Hermione,” Harry said. “Zoom out to country view.”

Hermione looked over the dots on the newly redrawn map trying to guess where Harry would choose to send her. To her surprise, her attention was immediately drawn not to a label that appeared on the map, but to one that suddenly disappeared from it. She realized with a gasp what had just happened.

“What is it, Hermione?” Ginny asked as she noticed Hermione’s expression.

“Did you all just see that?” Hermione asked with a look at those around her.

“What?” Ron replied as he looked intently at the map.

“I swear that there was a student’s label right there in Penshurst,” Hermione said as she pointed to the spot on the map. “It was there, and then it just disappeared.”

“The label is still there, Hermione,” Ron said wondering what she was talking about.

“I know there is still one,” Hermione said becoming exasperated. “I’m saying that there were two of them and one just disappeared.”

“Well, that can’t be,” Ginny said as she became aware of her growing sense of dread. “Neither of the groups currently out putting the shield up are anywhere near there right now. Zoom to Penshurst city view. Show any death eaters in Penshurst.”

Everyone waited anxiously as they realized what had carved the worry onto Ginny’s face. The seconds passed, but the map did not add any new labels to the Penshurst map. Ginny repeated her request, but still the map remained unchanged.

“It looks like there aren’t any death eaters in Penshurst,” Harry said calmly. “Maybe the student living there apparated out of the town or something.”

Everyone else was just about to agree with Harry, when the second student label suddenly disappeared just as the first had.

“It would be quite a coincidence if that one decided to apparate out of town as well,” Seamus pointed out.

“Too much of one,” Hermione agreed. “Show all Hogwarts students in Penshurst who are currently being protected with a shield.”

Instantly the two labels that had originally been on the map returned.

“Somebody is putting the shield up there,” Ron stated. “It can’t be anyone in the D.A. All of the D.A. members who know how to do it are helping us tonight. It must be someone from the Order. They would all know how to do it by now. Show all Order of the Phoenix members in Penshurst.”

Again they all waited, but the map did not change.

Hermione considered the problem for several seconds before she said, “Show anyone from Penshurst whom graduated from Hogwarts or left Hogwarts in the last five years. Hmmm, no one. That narrows things down a bit. I had thought it possible that Fred or George would have gone off to do this as a prank, knowing that we would be looking at the map. Show all current Hogwarts students located in Penshurst.”

To everyone’s amazement, a new dot appeared very near where the last shield was put up. What surprised them even more was the fact that a label did not accompany the dot.

“Well I’ve never heard of a Hogwarts student that didn’t have a name,” Ron said with a nervous chuckle.

“Don’t be silly, Ron,” Hermione admonished. “Everyone has a name. Show the name of the unlabeled dot in Penshurst.”

Everyone in the room took a collective breath as, instead of the label, large words appeared across the map that said ‘Ask me no questions, and I’ll tell you no lies’.

“Ruddy map,” Ron said as his frustration level began to rise. “Show her what she asked for.”

They all watched the dot disappear from Penshurst just as another message formed across the map saying, ‘Mind your own business’.

“I think Fred and George put a bit too much personality into this map,” Ron said as his ears turned red from anger.

“I’ll have a talk with them about it later,” Harry said. “For now we should get back to work so we can get as many done tonight as possible.”

“Do you really think we should, Harry?” Hermione asked. “What about our mystery dot? Maybe we should try to find out who it is.”

“We could spend all night tying to track that person down,” Harry explained. “For now I don’t need to know who it is. As long as they’re out there putting the shield charm on students houses, we’ll finish that much sooner. There will be time to find out who it is later. Besides, maybe you’ll run into them while you’re out putting the shield up.”

A short time later, Harry had given a new destination to Hermione for her group, and they disapparated just as Fred and George’s group returned. Time after time the groups returned and departed. Over the next three hours they were able to perform the shield charm on most of the student’s houses. The thing that only Harry and Ginny were able to watch in progress was the mystery dot appearing in small towns all over the country placing shields on the houses as it went.

By the time Cho returned with her exhausted group, the other two groups, being done for the night, stood around the map and watched as the unknown helper placed the shield on the last student house on the map. None of them were more surprised than Fred and George. They were at a loss to explain why the map would refuse to identify the dot even for them. They knew that it would do so under certain conditions, but those conditions were not in play at the time to explain it.

“I know everyone is tired,” Harry said as he rolled up the map, “but I was just going to pop over to Wick in northern Scotland to say hello to our mystery helper before he has a chance to apparate away. Does anyone feel like joining me?”

Seconds later, everyone who had been standing in Harry’s house appeared in a soggy field in Wick with a small house barely visible through the steady cold rain that was falling. Harry was just about to tell everyone to spread out in their groups of five to search for their enigmatic dot in human form when he spotted movement in a grove of trees just ahead of him. Leaving caution to the wind, Harry headed for the grove at a run as everyone else chased after him.

It wasn’t until the group was within ten meters of the grove, through the curtain of rain, that they looked up and saw a figure silhouetted as he stood beside a tree and watched their approach. They had closed to within seven meters when they watched the figure wrap its cloak around itself tightly and disapparate.

“Lumos,” Hermione yelled over the rain as light sprang from her wand just an instant after the figure disappeared.

“Did anyone get a look at him?” Ron asked as they closed in on the spot where their mystery friend had once stood.

“Why didn’t I think to use a light sooner?” Hermione asked herself in frustration. “Just a few seconds earlier and we could have found out who it was.”

“Why wouldn’t he have stuck around to meet us?” Seamus asked. “We were all working for the same thing.”

“Think about it,” Cho responded. “What would you have done if you looked up and spotted thirty or so wizards and witches running toward you. Looking back on it, I can’t say that I blame him.”

Harry looked down at the footprints left behind in the spot where the stranger had stood watching them. He bent down to study them more closely and was overcome with a feeling of déjà vu that he couldn’t make any sense of. He shook it off as a remembrance of a dream fragment, though he had no clear memory of what the dream might have been.

“Harry, look at this,” Ginny said as she walked over to him with a waterlogged piece of parchment illuminated by her wand. “He must have dropped this. Most of the ink has run into an inky mess, but you can still make out part of the first thing written. It looks like ‘Pens’. That must be Penshurst. That’s where the dot showed up first. I’ll bet this was a list of the towns he was going to visit.”

An hour later, with the majority of the D. A. gone home, Harry sat in his sitting room listening as Hermione continued to study the tattered remains of the found piece of parchment, and argue the possibilities of it with Ron.

“As I’ve already told you, Ron,” Hermione said sharply, “that is impossible. There was no way for anyone to know which towns we hadn’t already gone into to put the shield up. Harry stood around the table here tonight and chose the towns at random to send us to.”

“But he knew which towns this guy had already been to,” Ron pointed out. “He didn’t have any need to send us to those.”

“I think what Hermione is trying to get across to you, dear brother,” Ginny said as she rubbed her temples to relieve the headache the arguing pair were causing, “is that it is highly unlikely that this person went out with a previously written list of towns to visit without going to one that we would have sent people to tonight.”

“Who cares?” Ron asked as he threw his hands up in defeat. “All that really matters is that this guy is working on the same side we are.”

“Don’t you get it, Ron?” Hermione asked. “This means that someone out there has figured out how to put this spell on. They’re working alone. If the death eaters find them and capture them, it won’t take Voldemort long to drag the spell out of them. If he knows how it was created, he may be able to find a way to counter it. For another thing, I find it a bit disturbing that our mystery helper has also found a way to remain unidentified by Harry’s map. Even Fred and George were stumped as to how he could have done it.”

“Maybe he had an invisibility cloak,” Ron suggested. “Maybe the map can’t identify someone under an invisibility cloak.”

“We all saw him plainly enough in Wick,” Hermione said as she rubbed her eyes. “If he was so keen on concealment then he would have disappeared below the cloak the moment he spotted us. For that matter, you’re making the assumption that he was under the cloak for the entire night and that is why the map couldn’t detect him. If that was the case then why would he have taken it off?”

“Let’s not bring up any new hypothetical situations tonight,” Harry said with a yawn as he stretched out his arms. “It’s late. I’m going to bed. Of course, you’re all welcome to stay if you would like.”

“Thanks for the offer, Harry,” Hermione responded, “but I have to go home tonight. I’ve barely spent any time with my parents all summer. I promised them I would spend the day with them tomorrow since we’ll be going to Diagon Alley the day after for school supplies.”

“I’m afraid Ron and I are going to have to go as well, Harry,” Ginny said. “We’ve both let about a summers worth of chores build up, and mum says we have to finish them before she’ll take us to Diagon Alley. I’ll come back in the morning and make your breakfast if you’d like.”

Harry smiled at Ginny and put his arm around her as he said, “It won’t be the same without you, but I think I can manage to make at least one breakfast for myself. I’m just planing on hanging out here tomorrow. I may spend some more time going through some of my parent’s things in the cellar. If I don’t see you tomorrow, I’ll meet you in Diagon Alley at Fred and George’s shop in two days.”

“Are you sure, Harry?” Hermione asked as she eyed him suspiciously. “Maybe it would be a better idea if you went to the Burrow with Ginny and Ron.”

“I have my own house now, Hermione,” Harry responded with a grin. “I have my own chores to get done. I don’t need to share any of theirs.”

“I just thought…” Hermione began in protest.

“I know what you thought, Hermione,” Harry interrupted. “You don’t need to worry. I’ll be fine.”

Minutes later, Harry walked into his bedroom and closed the door. He immediately walked over to the wardrobe where he usually stored the map and placed it in its customary position. Before he closed the wardrobe, Harry pulled out a heavy cloak and wrapped it around his shoulders. He knew that Hermione would never forgive him if she knew what he was about to do, but he also understood that he would never be able to sleep until he had a question answered. The answer to that question, he knew, could only be found in Wick.


16
Into the Lair


A knock at the door signaled the arrival of the first of Harry’s planned visitors. He walked into the entryway only to find the overly large grins of the Weasley twins staring back at him from the mirror. Of course, being the ones who installed the early warning system, they were well aware that they were being watched.

“Evening, Harry,” George said as he walked in the opened door.

“Sorry we’re late, Harry,” Fred said as he walked in behind his brother.

“Actually,” Harry said with a grin, “you’re a bit early, Fred.”

“Oh, he is good,” George said with a grin of his own. “It takes most people much longer to decide which of us is which.”

“Goodness, Harry,” Fred said as he took stock of Harry’s appearance. “You look exhausted.”

“What in the world have you been doing today, Harry?” George asked. “You look like you could collapse at any minute.”

“I’ll be fine,” Harry said. “I just didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“I suppose that mysterious dot kept you awake,” George said as he walked further into the sitting room.

“You might say that,” Harry confirmed.

“I suppose that’s why you called us here tonight,” Fred said as he followed Harry into the sitting room. “We’ve been trying all day to work out what could have gone wrong with the map.”

“I’m afraid it has us stumped though,” George said.

“Don’t worry,” Harry said. “That isn’t why I asked you to come at all.”

Both of the brothers caught the glint in Harry’s eyes, and knew that what he had planned would prove to be far more exciting than researching the dynamics of the map.

“All right, Harry,” Fred conceded. “You’ve got our attention.”

“Why did you really ask us to come over?” George asked.

The warning sound from the mirror in the entry prevented the brothers from having their questions answered as it alerted them to another new arrival. Harry gave the mirror a glance as he walked to the front door and opened it.

“That was a damn fool thing to do, Potter,” Moody said as his magical eye swiveled to look behind him. “I would think by now you would know to at least make an attempt to verify the identity of people knocking on your door. People have impersonated me before, Potter.”

“It’s nice to see you again too,” Harry said with a grin. “Take a step inside and I’ll know if you are who you pretend to be.”

“Constant vigilance, Potter,” Moody said as he stepped inside briskly. “However, if you insist on treating security matters so lightly, you might as well leave the door open. There are two more people coming up the walk.”

“I know,” Harry said. “I asked them to come.”

“Reckless kids,” Moody grumbled as he turned to walk into the sitting room with Fred and George, though he never took his eye off of the new arrivals approaching.

“I wouldn’t make a habit of summoning the Minister of Magic to a meeting, Mr.