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The-New-Dawn
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Гарри Поттер
Гарри Поттер и Новая заря
Автор:
Прабал
ГЛАВА 12 ЗАГРУЖЕНА!
Продолжение «Сила Хогвартса».
Все ждут, что Гарри поведет остальных в бой, но готов ли он?
Сможет ли он разобраться во всем до финальной схватки?
АУ.
Сначала прочтите ПоХ!
Рейтинг:
Художественная литература T
- Английский язык - Приключения - Гарри П., Н. Тонкс - Главы: 12 -
Слов: 152 208 - Обзоры:
248
- Избранное: 271 - Читает: 367 - Обновлено:
27.07.2008, 21:45:00
- Опубликовано:
09.11.2005, 11:57:49
- идентификатор: 2652873
1. Initial Reactions
Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter and the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers. I
am not the original writer (though I wish I could be J) and I do not wish
to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued.
So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah...forget it and let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
Note: This is the sequel to Harry Potter & The Power Of Hogwarts. Please
read it before moving on with this story.
HARRY POTTER & THE NEW DAWN
Chapter 1 – Initial Reactions
Harry Potter. These two words gave relief to some while others hated it.
But one thing which was certain was that these two words were the most
widely known ones except maybe for the phrase "You Know Who".
Harry Potter was sitting in complete darkness of his room in the trunk
and thinking of what had happened on the previous night. New Year was
generally a happy time for him because it meant getting presents and
having lots of fun. Alas, this year had started off with misery as he lost
the love of his live. Nymphadora Tonks was someone whom he had
silently loved the whole of the past year. He didn't dare to say anything
to her as he was afraid that he might lose her as a friend but now it
seemed as if he had been foolish to hide his feelings. Now that she was
not here anymore he felt kind of lost in this world.
Lost wouldn't be the right word to describe his feelings since he knew the
goal of his life perfectly well. But still, Tonks had seemed like a guiding
force to him along with Remus. Add to that the fact that he loved Tonks,
she had become the single most important person to him in the past few
months. Tonks was the only one who used to get angry with him over the
slightest of things he did which she thought might harm him. Remus used
to have a talk with him but Tonks was the one whose reaction would be
extreme. He would miss that forever. Only if he had known that her
reactions were the way they were because of her love for him, then he
might have made some different choices down the road just to be with
her.
Harry sighed in the darkness and if anyone had been around then they
would have been able to detect the undiluted sadness in that one sigh. He
had shed a lot of tears when Tonks had died but now he didn't have any
more tears to shed. Now, he only had her memory on every part of his
heart and soul. Now he knew that she used to love him too and that was
enough for him. Even if Nymphadora Tonks was not there with him
physically, she would always be there in his heart.
&&&&
"No…this can not be true" Molly Weasley's wails rang throughout the
office of Albus Dumbledore on the morning of January 1'st. The Weasleys
had been celebrating the New Year when they had suddenly found that
Ginny was missing. Initially they had thought that it was one of Ginny's
numerous pranks but later on, they had realized she was really not in the
house. It was then that they had had panicked and called up all of her
friends but without any results. Then, in the early hours of the morning,
Dumbledore had flooed and had asked the whole Weasley family to come
to Hogwarts.
"I am sorry Molly" Dumbledore said with a heavy heart. He looked quite
old now that he had just been back from Tonk's funeral and he knew that
this was going to be one of the most emotionally straining days in his
life.
"No Albus…it can not be true" Molly repeated. "It just can't be"
"This must be a misunderstanding Albus" Arthur Weasley said to the
elderly headmaster in a pleading voice. "Surely it was someone else under
the polyjuice or something…". Arthur looked at the headmaster with
expectant eyes but the headmaster refused to meet his gaze.
"This is a big joke…I know it" Arthur Weasley said at last. "You are in this
along with Ginny. I never knew she could persuade you to join her in
such an evil prank". Arthur Weasley gave a small but unconvincing laugh
at this.
"Was it really Ginny?" Fred spoke for the first time since hearing the
news. If someone thought that the twins could never get serious, then
they could not have been more mistaken at the moment. The seriousness
on the twins faces was rivaled only by that of the headmaster who gave a
silent nod.
"Surely you don't believe him" Ron said in a bewildered manner to the
twins who seemed to take the headmaster's word as the final verdict.
"Ron…it was Ginny" George said.
"WRONG!" Arthur shouted. "It could not have been Ginny. She wouldn't
do anything to hurt us"
"You are right" Molly Weasley added confidently. "There must have been
a mistake. These kinds of things have happened in the past too Albus…
when people under the polyjuice…"
"Arthur…" the headmaster looked gravely at one of his favorite students
of all times. "It was Ginny". There was a sense of finality in that statement
which Mr. Weasley couldn't question. He looked at the headmaster for a
couple of seconds before collapsing on the chair nearest to him. Slowly,
he began to understand the implications of Dumbledore's words.
"Surely you don't believe him" it was Ron again this time repeating his
previous statement. "I mean…how can it be Ginny? Ginny…a death ea…
yuck…no way!" Ron looked adamantly at everyone present. Dumbledore
had a sad look on his face while the twins looked as if someone had died
in the family. His father also looked as if he was trying to distinguish
between what was correct and what was not. Only his mother seemed as
adamant as himself.
"It was…Ginny?" Arthur Weasley asked again after a long period of
silence. Seeing the expression in the eyes of Dumbledore, Arthur broke
down completely. This had to be some kind of a nightmare. He couldn't
have lost two of his kids to the dark side…not after the sacrifices they
had made in the first war. Percy and Ginny had always listened to how
their uncle's had laid down their lives to protect them from the death
eaters and, every time they had heard it, they seemed to appreciate and
respect the efforts of their uncles even more. Ginny always used to say
that she would grow up to be like her eldest uncle who had taken on
seven death eaters on his own to give Arthur enough time to save
everyone else from a death eater attack. The thought that the same Ginny
could have turned dark was just…heartbreaking.
"WHY?" Arthur Weasley's scream rang throughout the corridors of
Hogwarts. "Just because I don't have enough money? Just because I am
too poor to satisfy their needs?" he looked at his sons with tears in his
eyes. The twins shook their head while Ron seemed too stunned to do
anything.
"You-Know-Who must have offered Ginny lots of money to join him"
Arthur said as he looked at the headmaster again. "I will give Ginny
money. I will do anything…I will beg on the streets…I will sell
everything I have but I will give Ginny all the money she wants". Even
Dumbledore couldn't stop his eyes from going misty at this statement.
"Fred…George…" Mr. Weasley, tears in his eyes, rushed over to his sons.
"Can you two please lend some money to this poor father of yours?" he
asked hopefully. "I will repay every knut…I promise. I just want to bring
Ginny back home". The tears of Mr. Weasley just wouldn't stop. "I beg of
you"
"Father…please…don't speak like this" Fred and George said
simultaneously. Even they were crying. No one had ever seen or heard
Arthur Weasley say things like these.
"Ron…" Arthur rushed over to his youngest son. "Can you get me to talk
to Harry?" Ron looked shocked at this. "He has a lot of money…he is a
very good kid…he will surely lend me some. I will repay him every bit…I
will work day and night to repay him". The look of emotion on Mr.
Weasley's face was indescribable.
"Molly…" Mr. Weasley rushed over to his wife who herself seemed
shocked at his statements. Everyone knew how proud Arthur was when it
came to monetary matters and, here he was, begging for money to bring
back his daughter. "Molly…we can repay everyone, cant we? Just tell me
that I can and I will be able to do it" Mr. Weasley's voice quavered as he
said this. "You are my strength Molly…you will be there for me, wont
you?"
"Dad…" a voice came from the doorway. Standing there were Bill and
Charlie with tears flowing down their cheeks. They had entered a few
moments ago and had heard enough to comprehend what might have
had happened. It tore their heart apart to see their dad ready to beg for
money.
"Bill…Charlie…" Mr. Weasley looked helplessly at his two most
established sons and rushed towards them. "Bill…your sister needs lots of
money. Can you help me get it?"
"Dad!" Bill hugged his dad tightly. "Dad…please don't beg for her. Please
dad…"
"She's your sister son" Arthur said in between hiccups.
"No dad…she was our sister" Charlie came forth and said. "Not anymore"
"Shut up Charlie". Mrs. Weasley hissed at her son. No one had seen the
change coming on Mrs. Weasley's face when she had seen the emotions
her husband was going through. Even though he had never admitted it
openly, it was not too hard to know that he always had a soft spot for
Ginny. Without her, Mr. Weasley looked as if he had gone mad and Molly
Weasley couldn't stand the scene. She had reconciled herself to the fact
that what Dumbledore had said must be true. She had already lost Percy
and Ginny to the dark side but she couldn't see Arthur weeping and
begging like this. Whenever she had broken down, Arthur was there to
support her. Now was the time for her to give some support to her
husband.
"Ginny is still your sister" Mrs. Weasley said as she came over and placed
a hand over Arthur's shoulders. She knew how hard it would be if Arthur
was to think of Ginny being family as a past tense. "Don't worry Arthur…
all of us will be there for you…always" Molly said.
"But Ginny?" Arthur asked in a helpless tone. "How do we get her back?"
"She is lost Arthur" Molly said as tears started to form in her eyes once
again. "Lost forever"
"No Molly…" Arthur shook his head like a child denying that something
had gone wrong. "Not our Ginny…not my Ginny"
"She tried to kill Harry?" Bill exclaimed from another part of the room as
Fred and George explained the whole thing to him and Charlie. His initial
estimates seemed to dwarf in comparison to the reality.
"Yes but Tonks saved Harry" Fred replied.
"And she died in the process" George added gloomily.
"Tonks! Dead!" Charlie looked as if some sacrilege had been committed.
"Ginny killed Tonks! Oh - my - god!" Charlie said as he collapsed into the
chair nearby, his head in his hands.
"Some mistake…" Mr. Weasley said in between hiccups but he too knew
that it wasn't any mistake of any kind. Somewhere deep down, he had
started accepting the fact that Ginny was really lost to them forever.
"What about Harry?" Ron asked in a low voice. Charlie and Bill looked at
the headmaster for an explanation along with all the others present.
"He is now at Tonks's grave" Dumbledore replied. "It has been very tough
for him"
"Weren't Tonks, Remus and Harry living together somewhere?" Bill
queried. Dumbledore nodded in reply.
"Poor Harry" Charlie said with a sigh. "He's just lost another person"
"Not just anyone…" Dumbledore said as he got up to leave the room. He
knew that the Weasleys needed some time alone. "He lost a person very
close to his heart". The Weasleys stared at each other as Dumbledore
walked out of the room. They couldn't understand Dumbledore's
statement. It was Bill who suddenly looked up in astonishment.
"Did he mean that Tonks and Harry…?" he looked at the others without
finishing his question but knew that they had understood him perfectly.
A fresh bout of gloom descended on the room as they understood the real
meaning of the headmaster's words.
&&&&
"Why is Dumbledore calling us in so early?" Neville asked Ron as they
climbed down the boy's dormitory stairs.
"There have been some…developments" Ron said wearily. Something
about Ron's tone told Neville that he was not in the right mood to talk.
Little did he know what trauma the Weasley family was going through.
"I have heard that death eaters attacked Hogwarts yesterday" Seamus
came up from behind Neville. At this, Ron sighed and started to walk
slower. He couldn't listen to all this…not after what had happened during
the night before and how his sister was involved in all that.
"Me too" Lavender said as she overheard Seamus. "People are saying some
student was involved too"
"Bet Harry was in it" Parvati Patil chipped in. "He is always there when
something happens"
"Why do you guys drag him into everything all the time?" Neville seemed
slightly annoyed.
"Well…he's the Boy-Who-Lived for god's sake" Lavender said with a roll
of her eyes. "And the number of scrapes he has gone through…"
Lavender's voice trailed off as they moved out of the common room and
into the corridors. No one noticed Ron staying behind and then go up to
his room again.
"Hi there" a female voice called out from behind. Neville turned around
to see Cho and Soha hurrying towards them.
"Good Morning" Neville said. As the others exchanged greetings, Soha
spoke up. "Where is Harry?". Neville gave a shrug of his shoulders to
indicate he had no idea.
"Is he alright?" Cho asked in a concerned manner.
"Guess so" Seamus said as the group proceeded towards the great hall.
"You guys are supposed to be in the same house as him" Soha said,
throwing up her arms. "How come you never have a definite answer?"
"It's not our fault" Neville replied in a sincere voice. "It's been like this for
quite some time now. No one can say anything about Harry nowadays"
"Well…maybe Hermione knows something" Soha's voice had a hint of
hope in it.
"Maybe…" Neville said. "But we haven't seen much of her. The last time
we saw her was when she was talking to Ron early today morning for a
few minutes"
"Why do you think Dumbledore is calling us?" Seamus asked to no one in
particular. "I mean, there have been attacks in the past too but he hasn't
called everyone in like this at such a short notice"
"And to think we just got back…" Lavender added.
"It must be very important" Cho said even as Soha cast her glance around,
searching for Harry's face in the sea of faces around.
"Did you guys feel something yesterday morning?" Parvati said suddenly.
"I was checking out the stars positions when there was a kind of vibration
all around"
"Really?" Neville said. "Now I understand how I got awakened all of a
sudden without my granny poking me"
"I felt something too!" Cho added not knowing that it was the effect of
the Power of Hogwarts getting destroyed. "I thought I was just imagining
things but now that you guys have felt the same thing…" Cho looked
around in puzzlement.
"Maybe the stars have formed some kind of alignment which…" Lavender
started to explain but stopped when she saw that the others weren't the
least bit interested in her theory.
"Do you think it was some magical thing?" Neville asked to everyone at
the same time.
"Well…" Cho seemed thoughtful. "How else do you explain something
which has been felt all over the world?"
"But something like that must be really powerful" Soha countered, her
Ravenclaw logic forcing her to join the conversation. "It could have been
something natural too. After all, nothing is more powerful than Mother
Nature herself"
"Well…I guess there is only one way to find out the truth" Neville said.
"Listen to Dumbledore". They had all entered the great hall and knew that
only Dumbledore could give an explanation about the tremors, if at all.
With a quick nod to the others, everyone went over to sit in their usual
places. As Neville took his place, he found three vital seats empty – those
of Ron, Hermione and Harry whose new position was at the extreme end
of the table. Harry not being present was not too unusual nowadays but
the absence of Ron and Hermione was of great significance.
"Where's Hermione?" Neville instinctively asked the person sitting next to
him. With a start he realized that that seat was empty too. He had been
so busy searching out Harry, Ron and Hermione on the table that he had
ignored the fact that the seat to his left was also empty – that of Ginny
Weasley.
"What's the matter?" Seamus, who was sitting opposite to Neville, asked.
"Where the hell are these guys?" Seamus's question seemed to be on
everyone's mind as more and more people cast a puzzled look at the spot
where the Weasleys generally sat along with Neville and Hermione.
"No idea" Neville answered absent mindedly. His mind seemed to be
racing as he tried to add up all the happenings. There seemed to be some
relation in all this but he didn't know exactly what it was. A lot of
muttering continued around the hall as more and more people speculated
as to what could have happened. What worried many people were the
smiling faces of a lot of Slytherins. Whenever they smiled, it meant
something bad could be coming for the rest. The one notable exception
was Malfoy. He didn't seem to be showing too many emotions with
comparison to many others and that was saying something. If something
really bad happened, it was always Malfoy who strutted around happily
about it but for some reason he didn't seem too enthusiastic about
anything.
Slowly the teacher's table started filling up. Most of them looked very
stressed out while Hagrid looked as if he was on the brink of crying. His
eyes were deep red and anyone who knew Hagrid could swear that he
had been crying his heart out. Even McGonagall didn't seem as composed
as she usually did. One person stood out amongst all the teachers and
that was Fleur as usual. This time however it was her pale face which
seemed to attract unusual stares from the students as no one had ever
seen the quarter veela so pale before. Another notable thing was the
empty seat of Snape.
"Maybe Snape died" Seamus cracked a joke when he saw that, except for
Dumbledore, all the teachers had taken their place. "And Dumbledore has
called us to say that". Some of the Gryffindors around smirked at this
comment.
"But why would Professor Fleur be so pale?" Mark Evans asked very
seriously.
"Kid…maybe she loved Snape" Seamus replied much to the amusement of
some of the other seniors. Amidst all this, one grave voice spoke up.
"Something is wrong…" Neville said with a very calculated look in his
eyes. "…very wrong". Just then the whole hall fell silent. Albus
Dumbledore had just walked in.
&&&&
"Hey" Remus said as he walked into Harry's dimly lit room. Remus has
been to an urgent meeting with the teachers of Hogwarts but he didn't
feel like staying any more. Instead, in the middle of the meeting, Remus
asked Dumbledore to let him go so that he could be with Harry. In a very
rare gesture, Dumbledore had granted him the permission to leave the
meeting halfway through.
"Hi" Harry replied in a voice devoid of any emotion.
"Want to eat something?" Remus asked in concern. He knew that Harry
had lost track of time ever since the death of Tonks and didn't even care
about eating anymore.
"I don't feel hungry" Harry replied.
"Well…you got to eat timely" Remus said and got up to get some food. In
the kitchen, he found some ready food inside one of the "magic"
refrigerators which Harry used to use in Sunshine Villa before Dobby
came over to live with him.
"Here you go" Remus said putting down a few slices of sandwich and a
glass of mango juice in front of Harry.
"I said I don't feel like eating" Harry said again with slight irritation in his
voice.
"But your health will break down if you don't eat!" Remus looked Harry
straight in his eyes but Harry refused to meet his gaze. "You have got to
eat something Harry"
"Oh well…" Harry sighed but didn't make any movement to pick up
anything. Seeing no response coming, Remus took one of the sandwiches
and held it in front of Harry's mouth. After a few anxious moments,
Harry took the sandwich from Remus's hands and took a bite off it. As
soon as he started chewing, he suddenly realized how hungry he really
was.
Remus watched in satisfaction as Harry cleared up the whole plate and
gulped down the last of the juice in front of him. Even though Harry
wouldn't admit it, he felt slightly relieved when his stomach felt full. A
voice from deep within himself had been constantly telling him that he
needed to eat properly but he had ignored it till now. At long last, that
voice finally seemed to die away.
"Feeling better now?" Remus asked knowing very well that he wouldn't
get an answer for that. Pausing for a second, he continued "Do you want
to go to the great hall?". At this, Harry shot Remus a quizzical look.
"All the students have assembled in the hall" Remus explained.
"Dumbledore wants to tell them about the things which have happened in
the past couple of days"
"So what am I supposed to do about it?" Harry asked in a monotonous
voice.
"Well…" Remus looked slightly thoughtful. "…when the students hear
about what had happened, they will need some kind of a reassurance".
Harry narrowed his eyes at this. If Remus expected him to tell everyone
that he was going to save them from some dark wizard then he was
grossly mistaken. Remus seemed to read what was going through Harry's
mind.
"What I meant was that people look up to Dumbledore for protection.
Even the students know that as long as he is around they are safe. But…"
Remus paused again at this and seemed to be carefully weighing his
words. "…but…the students need someone who can lead them…someone
who motivates them to fight for justice"
"Remus…" Harry began but was stopped by the hand raised by Remus.
"Harry…you know as well as me that everyone has to lookout for
themselves now. Also, they have to know that they too can fight when
necessary. They need you in their midst" Remus said.
"But all I have ever brought to anyone's life is pain and suffering" Harry
said in a slightly quavering voice.
"And love…and the will to fight…the will to protect others even at the
cost of their own!" Remus's voice seemed very determined as he said this.
Harry looked at Remus for a moment but turned his head away. Remus
sat still for some time awaiting an answer from Harry but nothing of the
sort came forth. With a sigh Remus got up and left the room.
&&&&
"Today is one of the most vital days in the history of the wizarding
world" Dumbledore said to all the students who had gathered in the
Great Hall of Hogwarts on the morning of January the 2'nd. A murmur
went through the hall as everyone started speculating as to what could
have happened. However, the hall fell into pin drop silence within a few
more seconds.
"There had been another death eater attack on the castle yesterday". Even
as Dumbledore said this, looks of panic could be seen in the eyes of many
of the students. Dumbledore, however, looked as calm as ever. "I am
afraid your parents will not be too pleased about you knowing the truth
but I have always maintained transparency about everything that
happens at Hogwarts. You may be young but you have the right to know
the truth". Even as a murmur of consent went through the students,
except for the Slytherins, Dumbledore continued.
"Yesterday a couple of persons, whom everyone knew very well, decided
to choose the dark side over the light. They decided their priorities lay
with Lord Voldemort rather than with the rest of us". Before Dumbledore
could finish the sentences, the whole hall burst into wild speculations.
Some of the students were shouting across the house tables while some
others were talking in whispers. Still others were looking petrified at the
prospect of some of their known people joining You-Know-Who. Slowly
but surely, a few eyes came to rest at the empty seats in the Gryffindor
table.
"Please calm down" Dumbledore said over the noise the students were
making. Even as the last murmur died down, Dumbledore continued his
speech.
"As you can see, there are some empty seats around the hall". Some
people nodded to each other as to prove that what they had been
thinking was right all along the way. "Yesterday night, one of our
teachers and one of your fellow classmates left us. They were Severus
Snape and Ginny Weasley". If someone had expected the students to start
their conversations again then they couldn't have been more mistaken.
No one made a sound as the enormity of words sank in. Not only had the
Slytherins lost their head of the house, the brave Gryffindors had lost one
of their members to their enemy. Nothing could be more shameful than
that.
"I know this is very disturbing news for all of you" Dumbledore continued
after pausing for a few moments. "I must apologize to all of you for not
understanding Severus Snape's loyalties before. But…" Dumbledore
paused again to gain everyone's attention. "…we have to accept the fact
that everyone here will make a choice. Some of you will choose to follow
Lord Voldemort whilst others will fight against him till your last breath"
Dumbledore's eyes rested on Neville as he finished off this sentence. The
boy looked slightly blue in the face but his hands were tightly balled and
the look of determination on his face told the whole story.
"The choice you make will decide your and the wizarding world's fate"
Dumbledore continued once again. "It is up to you to decide which path
you will walk. Succumbing to Lord Voldemort's fear is much easier than
standing up to him. Now is the moment to unite once and for all". Many
heads amongst the students nodded in consent along with those of the
teachers. "Stand together and we will win"
"What about Harry?" one voice called out. It was Colin Creevy. Everyone
held their breath at this question. It was a well known fact that somehow
Harry always got involved in these kinds of things.
"Mr. Potter…" Dumbledore started but his voice trailed away for a
moment. Dumbledore adjusted his monocles as everyone kept looking at
him with rapt attention. Some of the teachers, however, were having
trouble keeping their emotions in check.
"Harry Potter tried to stop Severus Snape and Ginny Weasley"
Dumbledore continued, albeit in a very sad voice. "In trying to do so, he
lost a beloved friend of his". Some of the boys were staring open-mouthed
at the headmaster while many of the girls had covered their mouths with
their hands in shock. Dumbledore looked around for a few moments,
unsure of whether to say something or not. It was very unusual to see the
headmaster lost for words.
After a long pause, he continued "I hope you will respect his privacy and
give him some space. Also, Mr. Weasley and his family have suffered a
great loss too. Please give him the required space too. I don't have
anything else to say now. Thank you.". Without saying anything more,
the headmaster walked out of the great hall. Even after the headmaster
had left the hall, no one made a move to leave their seats. It seemed like
a bad dream for all of them…a very bad dream. No one noticed
McGonagall getting up from her seat to say something.
"I can understand this has been a tough beginning for you all this year"
McGonagall said. "However, Hogwarts will continue to function as
normal. Your classes will continue as specified earlier. Professor Flitwick
will take over the Defense against Dark Arts classes until a suitable
replacement is found". McGonagall could see the look of disbelief on the
faces of the students but she knew that life must go on. "Thank you"
McGonagall said as she left the hall too, leaving in her wake lots and lots
of angry and disgruntled students.
&&&&
Harry sat silently for many an hour after Remus had gone away. He knew
that Remus was right in a way that the students needed someone to
follow in the battle. He didn't want to be the leader who would show the
way to the students…not after what had happened to Tonks. Every time
someone came close to him, he or she inevitably died. It was strange…it
was inexplicable…but it was the fact. And every time, they had died
trying to protect him. He didn't want this to happen again. He knew
many of the students would be more than willing to follow his lead but
did he really want that to happen? Was he really ready for someone else
sacrificing their life for him again?
No. He couldn't let others die to save him time and again. He just
couldn't let it happen. With a determined face, Harry kept staring at the
wall opposite to him and tried to think up of ways to defeat Voldemort.
Hours and hours of thinking didn't yield any idea which might have good
potential of succeeding. Slowly but surely, the tired brain of Harry gave
up to the attractions of a much needed sleep.
&&&&
Harry found himself walking in the white, boundary less corridor again.
This time however, he asked himself as to what this place really was. Was
it just a dream or was it something else? Even as this thought seemed to
be occupying his mind, his feet slowly walked down the well known path
which led to the area where he had first seen his parents.
"Harry"
"Mom" Harry replied with tears in his eyes. There was a yearning in his
voice which he himself had never heard before. Somehow, now was the
time he needed the support of his parents the most but he knew they
were lost to him forever.
"Don't be so hard on yourself son" Lily Potter had tears in her eyes too.
The thirst in Harry's voice was something which she couldn't miss.
"Yes son" James Potter spoke up. His face seemed to reflect the pain
which Harry felt at that moment. "It's quite tough for you as it is…don't
make it tougher"
"But dad…" Harry looked on helplessly. "What can I do? I can't lead this
people to battle…I can't let anyone else die"
"They don't want you to lead them to battle Harry" James replied. "They
want you to show them the way"
"But the way is right in front of them" Harry said, anger getting the better
of his other emotions. "They don't know how to live a life of honor?"
"You are asking them to do something which you yourself are afraid to
do?" the taunting voice of Sirius Black asked Harry. Harry seemed
slightly taken aback at this.
"What's the matter Harry?" Sirius's face showed the anger he himself was
feeling. "You are pushing away your friends so that they don't die because
of you and then you think they should all fight together to save each
other's lives? Why…they also have every right to separate themselves
from the others and start fighting Voldemort…everyone can fight
Voldemort…but tell me, who is going to win it this way?" Sirius knew it
was time for some hard talk. Sometimes Harry had to be brought back to
his senses in a manner different from which his parents thought was the
best for him.
"I…uh…" Harry stammered slightly even as Sirius continued.
"Even Voldemort has his supporters. Why are you being foolish Harry?
You need people to fight with you…side by side, shoulder to shoulder, as
a team and not as individuals. You can't do this all alone and if you think
you can then you are an even bigger fool than Voldemort who thinks he
will become immortal one day"
"But every time someone…"
"Old excuse" Sirius glared at Harry. "People died trying to save you
because they foresaw you fighting Voldemort on equal terms one day. I
didn't die thinking you will defeat Voldemort and his whole army alone.
You have to fight Voldemort…but what about the death eaters? Who will
fight them?"
"I don't know" Harry turned his face away.
"Look at me young man" Sirius seemed to be in complete control of the
situation and neither Lily nor James dared to say anything in between.
Slowly, Harry faced Sirius again but was relieved to see that Sirius's face
had softened considerably.
"Harry…Harry…you need help. You can't do this all alone…none of us
can. You are our only chance. Don't blow it by being over-cautious" Sirius
was almost pleading with Harry.
"But Tonks…" Harry's voice choked as he mentioned the name of his one
and only true love.
"Tonks was a beautiful girl" Lily said. This was something which she
could handle better than Sirius. "She did what was right and it was her
own decision. You should show respect to her decision"
"But mother…"
"Harry…" Lily cut short Harry. "If you knew that a fatal spell was going to
hit Tonks, would you have given your life to save her?"
"Yes!" Harry replied without any hesitation. He wouldn't have thought
twice before doing the same as what Tonks had done for him.
"Then why don't you accept that fact and move on?" Lily asked. "She
loved you and gave her life to save you. Tonks didn't want you to be all
alone, did she?". Slowly Harry gave a nod.
"Tonks wanted to see you with your friends Harry" Lily continued. "Please
respect her wish".
"WHY SHOULD I?" Harry screamed out at his mother. "I wanted her to
live…with me. Did she respect my wish? Why didn't she do what I
wanted her to do?" Tears were flowing freely down Harry's face.
Lily Potter's heart bled as she saw the pain on Harry's face. No one knew
better than her as to how hard Harry's life had been. Tonks had been like
a breath of fresh air in his life but that too was gone now, making it even
harder for him to carry on.
"Son…" James spoke up. "You know why Tonks did what she did, don't
you?". James waited patiently for Harry's reply. He knew Harry would
start thinking logically again once his emotions were under his control
again. After many a second, Harry finally nodded his head.
"I know dad…I know" Harry said with a deep sigh as he brushed off his
tears. "I guess I should keep her wish". James, Lily and Sirius looked
greatly relieved at this statement. "But I still have to think about this"
Harry said with his jaws firmly set. "I have to know how I want to plan
out everything. Then only I will approach the others"
"Fair enough" Sirius replied while the others nodded. After all, they had
got some sort of a compromise from Harry's side which was more than
enough for now. They knew he would take the right decision when the
right time came.
"Thanks mom…thanks dad" Harry said as the room started to dissolve
from his view. "THANKS SIRIUS". Even as he said this, the room went
completely out of view. Moments later, a much relieved Harry was lying
awake on his bed.
&&&&
"Ginny Weasley!" the general tone of disbelief attached with this name
right now could be heard in every part of Hogwarts. No one could ever
imagine a Weasley going dark, that too Ginny who was such a lively girl.
Her likeable personality had won her friends in all the houses except
Slytherin and yet she had turned out to be more Slytherin in her
approach than anyone else.
"She fought with us at the Department of Mysteries for god's sake" Neville
said for the umpteenth time to Luna who nodded her head vaguely. They
were sitting in their Potions class but Fleur didn't seem to be in a mood
to teach. Rather, she had told the class to go over what they had learnt in
the past couple of months.
"How can she go over and join…him?" Neville's voice had such contempt
in it that a couple of students sitting in front of them turned around and
gave him a look. Without caring for them, Neville kept on repeating the
same thing over and over.
"Maybe it is related to the tremors we felt on January 1'st" Luna said
dreamily but Neville didn't seem to hear him and continued asking on the
same question over and over again.
"I don't know what happened" Dean Thomas was not in a mood to talk to
anyone but he couldn't keep his emotions in check when his roommate
Seamus sat down beside him in the Potions class. "I just don't know what
happened to her" Dean kept on shaking his head.
"Don't know mate…" Seamus seemed slightly dazed at all that had
happened from the morning. "This is some bad dream"
"No…this is life during war" came a voice from behind. Looking around,
they saw that a Ravenclaw boy had made the comment. At the looks
given to him by the Gryffindor boys, the Ravenclaw continued.
"1 brother and 2 uncles on that side" he said with a sad smile. "The rest of
us on this side". The ease and the manner with which the boy described
the whole thing was quite astounding and it left the two Gryffindor
students speechless for a second. "That's how it goes during this war" The
boy continued. "Our family is already torn…god knows how many more
will be".
"Hopefully none" Dean said.
"Hopefully" the Ravenclaw boy replied with a slight sigh.
&&&&
"Still can' believ' Snape was working for him all the time" Hagrid
grumbled at the emergency Order meeting Dumbledore had called during
the afternoon. This meeting was very important as not everyone knew
about Snape's actions on the night of January 1. Soon, the room was
filled with all the important Order members including Remus. The
persons who were conspicuously absent were the Weasleys. Dumbledore
was the last to enter the room which was eerily silent as many of the
members had learnt about the happenings due to Hagrid's constant
grumbling.
Without waiting for too long, Dumbledore informed everyone about the
happenings at Hogwarts and how Tonks had died trying to save Harry.
Everyone seemed shocked at hearing what had happened not to mention
the fact that the daughter of Arthur and Molly Weasley had gone over to
the dark side. Many wondered aloud what the Weasleys might be going
through after what had happened with Percy. They couldn't help but pity
Arthur and Molly at the turn of the events.
"You didn't have the remotest idea that Snape was working for
Voldemort?" Remus talked for the first time during the meeting. His voice
seemed devoid of all emotion.
"No Remus" Dumbledore couldn't meet Remus's gaze while replying. He
could only guess what Remus and Harry had gone through in the past 36
hours or so. "If I had only known before…" Dumbledore's voice trailed
away.
"Don't you think that we should shift the headquarters?" a young witch
asked. As Remus looked at her, he saw that she looked of foreign origin
and had dark features.
"You are right" McGonagall said in agreement. "We should move the
headquarters as soon as possible"
"I have already made arrangements for that" Dumbledore said. "Since
Hogwarts is the safest place right now, I think we should make this room
our meeting place all the time"
"But this is an ordinary classroom Albus" McGonagall did not think that
the decision to convert a classroom into the headquarters was a very
appealing idea. Any of the students could easily find their way to it.
"It's not ordinary any more" Dumbledore corrected her. "Only the
officially inducted Order members will be able to remember this
classroom's location. Also, I have placed this room under the Fidilius too
so we don't have to worry about any student stumbling in"
"Not a bad idea then" the young witch spoke up again. "We could all turn
up as the parents of some of the students and pretend to come here for
meeting the headmaster on the pretext of something or the other from
time to time"
"I don't think that would be necessary Alba" Dumbledore said as he
addressed the young witch. "The war is all out in the open. No pretending
of any sort is going to help anyone anymore. But yes, there is no harm in
taking precautions"
"Tha's sorte' out then" Hagrid said from the corner seat he had occupied.
"What about Harry?" another wizard asked this time. "Do we really have
to keep someone or the other to protect him and drain our resources?" A
few people nodded in agreement while others protested this statement.
The wizard, however, continued "We can't keep losing Order members
like this any longer, can we?"
Before Dumbledore could say anything, Remus spoke up. "Tonks was not
there on the Order's instructions. She was a friend of Harry's and did
what any one friend would do for another"
"Then it was most irresponsible of her" the other wizard said. "She was
the only metamorphmagus in the Order and…" Before the foreign wizard
could say anything more, he found himself pinned to the wall.
"She was just a metamorphmagus to you, wasn't she?" Remus asked in a
hissing voice as he gripped the man's neck even more tightly. As the man
struggled for air, Remus shouted "SPEAK TO ME. SHE WAS JUST A
METAMORPHMAGUS, WASN'T SHE?". It was seldom that Remus lost his
temper and it was during these times that the powerful beast within came
into view. With one powerful thrust, Remus lifted the man a couple of
feet in air.
"You have tested my patience a lot of times, Veldor" Remus continued in
the same hissing tone. The others in the room were too frightened to say
anything. Seldom had they seen Remus this angry. Furthermore, some of
the present members shivered at the thought of what this werewolf was
capable of when he was real angry and out of control.
Remus didn't hear Dumbledore asking him to calm down. Instead, he
grew even angrier at the man named Veldor as his breathing got faster
and faster. "I don't think I want to give you any more chances Veldor".
Veldor seemed scared out of his wits as he saw the werewolf bare his
fangs. Instantly he let out a scream.
"Let him go Remus". Remus turned around as he felt a hand being placed
on his shoulder. The deadly look on his face slowly started to fade as he
saw the sympathetic face of the headmaster looking at him.
"Save your anger for the persons who have caused such pain to you"
Dumbledore said in a reassuring voice. The anger started to subside and
made way for the pain which Remus had been constantly feeling. Slowly
he let Veldor out of his grip. Instantly Veldor collapsed to the ground,
coughing and gasping for breath.
"Let this be clear once and for all" Dumbledore spoke up once. "Harry
Potter is a very important person in this war and we have to protect him
at all costs. And, even if the Order doesn't do it…" Dumbledore glanced
at Remus as he said this. "…then there are plenty of people who are more
than willing to look after Harry on their own…" Dumbledore gave a
reassuring smile to Remus as he said this. "…including myself"
&&&&
"This is quite a nice place" Mrs. Delacour said to her husband as she
looked around their 'new' home in Godric's Hollow. It was a small two
storeyed building with a small garden in the front. Overall, the house was
a cozy place to live in.
"Yeah…I agree" Mr. Delacour replied as their two daughters and son
moved in. Gabriel instantly ran off and could be seen from time to time
as she moved from one area to another to inspect the place. Soon she had
gone upstairs and they could hear her feet going back and forth.
"Seems like she is deciding where she wants to sleep" Mr. Delacour said
with a smile to his wife.
"That's your darling daughter alright" Mrs. Delacour responded. Mr.
Delacour opened his mouth to protest but closed it again. It was a well
known fact that Gabrielle was the gem of his eye.
"You guys like this place?" Mrs. Delacour asked her other children. Her
son gave a short nod which was the most he could manage but Fleur
didn't respond. Rather, she seemed lost in her own thoughts.
"What's the matter Fleur?" her mother asked her. Upon hearing her name,
Fleur seemed to snap out of the trance-like state she had been in.
"Yes mother?" Fleur asked in a confused manner. It couldn't be more
obvious that her thoughts had been elsewhere.
"Do you like this place sweetie?" her mother asked as she slowly guided
her to the kitchen which was empty.
"Yes mother…it's very nice" Fleur replied instantly.
"But you haven't even had a look around dear" her mother said. Fleur
seemed slightly uncomfortable at this but her mother continued. "Tell
me…what's bothering you?"
"Nothing" Fleur replied though she didn't look straight into her mother's
eyes.
"No problem if you don't want to say anything" her mother said. "But if
you want to…". With this, Mrs. Delacour stood silently waiting for Fleur
to say something. Mr. Delacour was entering the kitchen but Mrs.
Delacour silently asked him to leave them alone for the moment. Mr.
Delacour duly obliged.
"Tonks is dead" Fleur said after a long pause, without taking her eyes off
her hands which she was carefully scrutinizing. There was a sense of
disbelief in her voice which was unmistakable.
"We know dear" Mrs. Delacour moved closer to her daughter and placed a
hand on her shoulder. "It was very tragic". Even though it had been a
couple of days since the incident had happened, Fleur seemed unable to
take her mind off it.
"She was so nice mom" Fleur said after a few seconds pause. "I mean…she
died to save Harry. How many people would do that?"
"Not many honey" Mrs. Delacour replied. "That's what made her special".
Even though Mrs. Delacour didn't want to raise the issue, she knew that
her daughter felt guilty about loving Harry now that she knew how much
Tonks had loved him.
"She even asked me if I liked…you know…" Fleur hesitated but was gave
a reassuring squeeze by her mother. "When I asked her if she liked him
then she said she liked him only as a friend. Why would she do that?"
Fleur asked in a confused voice, still looking down at her hands.
"Maybe she thought she was not the right person for him" Mrs. Delacour
suggested softly.
"But she was the right person!" Fleur exclaimed as a couple of tears made
their way down her cheeks. She knew she couldn't be as selfless as Tonks
and it pained her to think of what that girl might have gone through all
the time she had been near Harry and yet unable to confess her feelings
to him.
"Maybe…maybe not…" her mother replied. "But, at the end, they both
knew how the other felt"
"At the end, mom…at - the - very – end!" Fleur looked up with tears in
her eyes. "Is that justice mother? They loved each other so much and
yet…"
"Life is not always fair, my child" Mrs. Delacour said as she hugged her
elder daughter. Fleur was very insecure at the moment and she knew she
had to guide her right now. "And it doesn't stop for anyone honey"
"It has stopped for Harry" Fleur shed more tears as she said this. "I could
see it in his eyes"
"He will get over it dear…he has to get over it" Mrs. Delacour replied.
"But how?" Fleur asked again. "I listened to the words he had said…I
heard the passion and the pureness in them. He loved her with every part
of his self. How can he 'get over' this tragedy?"
"We have to help him get over it honey" Mrs. Delacour replied. "We have
to be there to support him"
"Why did it have to happen this way…why?" Fleur asked to no one in
particular. "They would have been so happy together…"
"It will be alright dear" Mrs. Delacour said. "Just be there for Harry when
he needs your support, ok?"
"Ok mom" Fleur said reluctantly as another tear fell. She knew she would
never be the one whom Harry would love. This, in itself, was very
painful. But what was even more painful was the fact that she would
never be able to bring herself to confess her love to Harry…not after
seeing Harry and Tonks together. However, one thing was for sure – she
would always be there for Harry when he would need her.
&&&&
"Where is Harry?" Soha asked Neville during their next Potions class
together.
"Don't know" Neville replied. No one had seen Harry except for the time
when he had come to meet Fleur for a brief minute in between classes.
He had apparently come to pass on his best wishes to the Delacours for
their new home. After a minute or two, he had vanished again. His
roommates knew that he was sitting inside his trunk but they didn't say
this to anyone else.
"How come he gets away with not attending classes?" a Ravenclaw
student sitting behind them asked in a puzzled manner.
"Dumbledore said he needed some time" Soha replied, clearing up the
boy's question.
"But…" Soha turned back towards Neville. "…aren't you guys roommates?
You should know where he is or what he is doing?"
"Look…" Neville sounded slightly irritated. "…none of us has any interest
in disturbing Harry now. He was just recovering from his godfather's
death when someone else dies again. Would you have gone meddling into
his business at this moment?"
Soha looked taken aback at this question but recovered quickly. "I am not
asking you people to meddle into his life now. All I wanted to know is
whether he is fine or not".
"He is fine" Neville replied. "He just needs some time and we don't want
to disturb him right now"
"What about Ron?" Soha continued but her eyes went over to where
Hermione was working fervently on her potion. Hermione had been
unusually quite in the class for the past few days. "I haven't seen him in
the classes either for the last couple of days"
"He will be back too" Neville replied. "It's been very tough for him and his
family to suffer this double loss"
"Double loss?" Soha looked slightly puzzled. It was then that Neville
realized that very few people knew about Percy. He had got to know
about Percy because Ron had told him about it. With Harry mourning
Tonks's death, Ron had no other person to go to other than Hermione and
Neville who had become quite close to this couple over the past few
months.
"Oh…someone passed away in his family just before all this happened"
Neville quickly made this up but, seeing Soha's reaction, felt that she
wasn't entirely satisfied with his answer. In any case, she didn't pursue
the topic further and started to concentrate on the potion in front of her.
It had been only a couple of days since they had got back and already
everyone could feel the absence of Harry and Ron in the classrooms.
Silently Soha said a prayer for both Harry and Ron. Both had suffered
losses and she hoped that god will give them the strength to move on in
life and keep fighting.
&&&&
"What is happening?" a man in his mid-thirties got up as he heard sounds
outside. It was around midnight that he suddenly woke up but he
couldn't understand why. In his dreams he seemed to have heard some
screams but now that he was awake, the night air seemed perfectly still.
"Go back to sleep" came the disgruntled reply. Obviously his wife didn't
like being disturbed in her sleep.
"Something is wrong tonight…" the man said hesitantly as he climbed out
of his bed. Something about the stillness outside gave him a nervous
feeling.
"Yeah" his wife replied as she turned over in her bed. "You are awake in
the middle of the night…that's what is wrong"
"What are those lights over there?" the man's voice had a curiosity which
made his wife open her eyes for the first time. "Green light…red light…
all kinds of lights…"
"Get back to bed, will you?" his wife said as she looked at her husband
who was standing near the window and looking out in wonder. She could
see some flashes of lights across the window pane but she brushed it off
as some kids sending of crackers even though it seemed absurd. Whatever
be the case, she just didn't like to be disturbed like this.
"No…this cant be!" her husband's voice sounded astonished along with a
tinge of fear. It was as if he had seen something unbelievable, yet
terrible. "People are appearing out of thin air!"
His wife looked very irritated and seemed to have overlooked the fear on
the man's face. Even as she got up to a sitting position, her husband
stumbled backwards and fell down. Within seconds however, he had
scrambled back on to the bed and was sweating heavily.
"One man saw…saw…me…" the man gasped out.
"Have you gone mad?" his wife seemed to be getting more upset with
every second passing by. It seemed like they were going to have another
argument. Not a single day passed without them having any argument of
some kind and now he had to start acting weirdly at night.
"No" came the reply. The man's wife seemed taken aback at the difference
in her husband's voice. It seemed very harsh…and ruthless.
"But now he will be" the voice continued. Only then did the woman
realize that the voice was not that of her husband who was already
looking at a dark corner of the room. As she looked around, a hooded
person stepped out of the shadows and lowered the hood to reveal a
handsome, red-haired young man. He had a small stick in his hand which
he pointed at the man sitting in front of him with his mouth open in
astonishment and fear.
"And you will have the privilege to join him too". A split second after the
boy finished the sentence, the air around them filled up with spine-
chilling screams.
&&&&
Harry jumped up from the position where he had fallen asleep whilst he
was thinking about Tonks. He did not know what had happened but he
was sure he had heard blood curling screams nearby. For a moment
Harry wondered where he was but, upon realizing that he was in the
trunk, he started to wonder what it was that he had heard. He was sure
he had heard something but then again, it could have been a dream.
Even as he tried to remember, he couldn't recall any dream he had been
having.
Harry got up from his bed and went over to the kitchen to drink some
water. He had the glass of water near his mouth when it stuck him. It had
not been a dream…rather, it was the sound emitted from one of the
spying devices implanted on the death eaters. The voice had seemed
recognizable to a certain degree but he couldn't remember it clearly now.
Not caring much about whose voice it was, Harry started to think about
how to stop what he had just heard – people being massacred.
&&&&
"Neville…get up" Dean Thomas tugged heavily at Neville's blankets.
Neville lifted his head with great difficulty and looked at the watch on
his bedside table. 5:30 A.M.!
"Go away Dean" Neville said as he covered himself with the blankets only
to find that they were gone the next second.
"You got to see this" Dean said excitedly…and nervously. As Neville
looked up again, he saw Seamus, Ron and Harry looking out of the
windows of their room each having a different expression on his face.
While Seamus seemed puzzled at what he was seeing, Ron looked fearful.
Harry, seen after more than 48 hours by Neville, looked on with his face
set in stony determination. There was something about his stony
expression which made Neville shiver inwardly. Neville saw that their
eyes were going back and forth on something on the grounds of
Hogwarts.
"Don't complain later" Dean said as he peeked out of another window. His
curiosity peaked, Neville got out of his bed, put on a jacket due to the
intense January cold and went over to Dean's window. Looking out, he
saw a scene he had never imagined in his wildest dreams.
Hundreds of people seemed to be crossing the Hogwarts grounds. As
Neville looked around, he saw one family of husband, wife and a small
kid. The lady seemed to be having a hard time putting the kid to sleep in
this cold weather while her husband was busy leviating their luggage in
front of them. Another group of people consisted of a very old couple
along with two small kids who were constantly crying even as they
walked across the ground. Their clothes seemed smeared with an unusual
color of red.
"What the hell?" Dean said as he pointed out the kids to Neville.
Apparently he was looking at the same group. "Why are they crying so
much?"
"Because they have lost their parents a few hours ago" it was Harry who
replied. The icy coolness in his voice caused everyone to look at him
oddly. "And the color on their shirts…it's blood…the blood of their
parents". At this everyone else in the room looked from Harry to the kids
and back at Harry. Harry couldn't be right...rather, he shouldn't be right.
This was what was going on through everyone's mind as they inspected
the kids again. No matter how much their minds tried to deny Harry's
statement, it seemed as if he was correct. A shiver went down everyone's
spine's as they imagined what might have happened to these kid's parents
and what these kids might have watched with their own eyes.
"What the…" Dean looked lost for words as more and more people came
into view. Some were just wearing their night dresses while yet others
were wearing a weird assortment of muggle clothes. Everyone seemed to
be shivering in the tremendous cold outside not to mention the slight
drizzle which had been there all through the night.
As they watched, they saw a few familiar faces appearing along with
their families. Harry remembered many of them from his first couple of
years at Hogwarts. More and more people were looking upwards as they
passed. Harry guessed that most of the lights of Hogwarts must have been
turned on by now. Even as he turned around, Harry saw Neville facing
him with a questioning look.
"Yes Neville…" Harry said. He knew what question was on Neville's mind.
"He has started killing again"
&&&&
"Oh my god…I can't believe this" Hermione said as she looked out of the
window of the Gryffindor common room.
"What is the matter?" Katie said as she descended down the stairs which
led to the girl's dormitories. She had been awakened by all the
commotion in her room and, deciding that she wont be able to sleep
again, she had got dressed and come down to find a room full of
students.
"Hundreds of people…they are all attacking Hogwarts" one small girl
squeaked from behind a curtain. Apparently she had thought she could
escape by hiding.
"Stop it kid" Hermione scowled. "Have a look for yourself" she said to
Katie. As Katie joined the other students near the windows, she saw the
same scene which Harry and his friends had witnessed.
"What is the meaning of this?" Katie looked stunned at what she had just
seen. She knew what this could mean but she wasn't willing to spell it out
herself.
"Refugees" Hermione said the one word which described the whole
situation perfectly.
"Harry!" one of the students exclaimed in delight. Everyone looked
towards the boy's staircase and saw the familiar, yet rarely seen figure of
the Boy-Who-Lived. Everyone watched the boy, rather the young man,
climb down the stairs followed by Neville. Harry moved on through the
throngs of students and out of the portrait hole with Neville. Once
outside, Harry went on towards Dumbledore's office while Neville went
off towards the Ravenclaw tower. The D.A. had to meet soon and it was
best if Cho had seen what they had just viewed.
&&&&
The Daily Prophet
Largest Killing Spree Of The Century
Our special correspondent Rita Skeeter reports what is probably the
largest death eater attack ever of the current century. Over seventy
wizarding villages were simultaneously attacked according to our
sources. The attacks, which started with the appearance of the Dark Mark
at Midnight of January 5'th, were carried out for more than an hour. It is
estimated that around four hundred death eaters carried out the attacks
in groups of five to seven each per village. It is not known whether the
ministry aurors were able to capture any of them or not but reports of
fights between aurors and death eaters are doing the rounds. Many
people say they had been saved by the aurors while yet others
complained about the ministries false promises.
The total number of casualties estimated right now is a staggering Nine
Hundred and Forty Seven. And it is still on the rise! The ministry,
however, denies this.
"About a hundred people were killed in the attacks" Minister Fudge told
us exclusively. "We had been successful in preventing larger number of
deaths because our forces were already on high alert. We had been
prepared for something like this"
However the unofficial reports contradict what the minister told us. It
seems like our ministry has failed in its promise to protect the people –
yet again!
It is still not known why this particular day was chosen for the attack but
it seems He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has decided to make his presence
felt. The last big attack was on the ministry building itself six months
back when death eaters attacked there. It is rumored that something was
stolen from the ministry building on that day but there had been no
reliable confirmations. After that, no attack of such significance had
taken place though there had been unofficial reports of death eaters
attacking Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft and The Delacour
Manor in France during Christmas. Currently, Fleur Delacour is
occupying a teacher's post at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and
Witchcraft.
"Where is Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter?". This is the common
question which is on everyone's lips today. People believe that if anyone
can stop these attacks then it has to be either of these persons. Even a
ministry official, on the condition of anonymity, told us that many of the
captured death eaters feared only these two persons. It seems that both
Albus Dumbledore and the Boy-Who-Lived have their work cut out for
them.
On the belief that Albus Dumbledore and the Harry Potter were their best
chances at staying alive, hundreds of people were seen proceeding
towards the Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft. Unofficial
estimates put the number of 'refugees' at Hogwarts at over two thousand.
People have flocked to the Hogwarts castle from all over England and
reports of more people leaving for Hogwarts are still coming in.
Overnight, many of the wizarding villages have turned into ghost towns.
The war has started!
Page 4: What can the Boy-Who-Lived do to save us?
Page 5: Dumbledore – Why doesn't he take care of this situation once
and for all?
Page 6: "We don't need anyone else!" says Minister Fudge.
&&&&
A/N: Sorry for this HUGE delay in posting the first chapter of the Sequel.
Caught up in my work…blah blah blah.
I didn't go for a prologue or any introductory scenes because I just didn't
feel repeating too much of PoH here. Hopefully this chapter was an ok
one to start off with.
A special thanks to Catherine for helping me out with certain stuff for
this story.
I am posting this under the Harry/Tonks section since Tonks will occupy
a huge portion of this story in some way or the other. How? Sorry…can't
say that right now but Tonks will be a big factor for Harry and this story.
&&&&
2. It Isn’t The Right Time…Yet
Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter and the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers. I
am not the original writer (though I wish I could be J) and I do not wish
to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued.
So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah...forget it and let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
Note: This is the sequel to Harry Potter & The Power Of Hogwarts. Please
read it before moving on with this story.
HARRY POTTER & THE NEW DAWN
Chapter 2 – It Isn't The Right Time…Yet
The Daily Prophet
Largest Killing Spree Of The Century by Rita Skeeter
Our special correspondent Rita Skeeter reports what is probably the
largest death eater attack ever of the current century…
…People have flocked to the Hogwarts castle from all over England and
reports of more people leaving for Hogwarts are still coming in.
Overnight, many of the wizarding villages have turned into ghost towns.
The war has started!
&&&&
As Harry made his way towards Dumbledore's office he cast a glance at a
corridor leading towards the great hall. Even in the warm shelter of the
castle, Harry could feel the drift of the cold wind rushing in through the
open doorway of the great hall. As the blast of ice cold wind hit his face,
he couldn't fail to notice the murmur of hundreds of people being carried
on by the wind. He could hear children crying while some other people
seemed to be arguing with each other. One voice seemed to be much
higher than those of the others and Harry came to the conclusion that it
was the voice of Filch. Obviously he was disgusted at the amount of dirt
these "filthy" people might have brought with them. Hurrying on so that
he would have to meet an angry Filch coming down the passageway
Harry soon found himself in front of the stone gargoyle.
"Cadbury" Harry said absent mindedly. The gargoyle seemed to give a
small smile as it jumped aside. Taking the moving stairs upwards, Harry
soon found himself outside the headmaster's office. Just as he was about
to knock, the door opened revealing the figure of Minerva McGonagall
stepping forward. She was looking at something in her hand when she
noticed someone standing a couple of feet from her.
"OH!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed as she looked at the person. It was
quite obvious that she had not expected anyone to be up here at the
moment and Harry's presence had scared her for a moment. Regaining
her composure as quickly as possible, she asked "What are you doing here
so early, Mr. Potter?"
"I came to meet the headmaster" Harry replied even as he mentally
counted the time it took for McGonagall to recover from her shock. His
calculation revealed she had taken approximately 3 seconds.
"He is not here at the moment" Professor McGonagall said as she closed
the door behind her.
"But I need to talk to him" Harry said in a desperate tone. "It's important"
"He is not at Hogwarts now Mr. Potter" Professor McGonagall replied as
she passed him and proceeded down the staircase. Harry, seeing no other
option, decided to follow her.
"When is he going to come back?" Harry asked again.
"As soon as his work is done at the places he is required most" came the
curt reply.
"But…" Harry started to say something but stopped. After all, there was
no point in asking McGonagall repeatedly as to when Dumbledore would
be back. Maybe she knew when he would be back…maybe she didn't.
Whatever might be the case, he decided that he would have to come back
later to check again. Even as Harry had finished coming to this
conclusion, he found that he had walked past the stone gargoyle once
again.
"He might come back in a few hours" McGonagall said as she walked in
front of him. "Check after some time". It looked as if McGonagall had
sensed exactly what was going through his mind.
"Yes ma'am" Harry replied and hurried past his transfiguration teacher.
However, he suddenly found a hand on his shoulder stopping his
movements.
"How are you doing Harry?" McGonagall asked in a low voice. As he
looked at her, he once again saw a very concerned looking face similar to
the one he had seen many a month back. This face didn't seem like that
of the teacher who taught them transfiguration.
"Hmmm…I think I am doing ok" Harry replied without exactly knowing
what he felt like. He was really sad in his heart but he hadn't been able to
get over Tonks yet. He knew it would take time but somehow it was
proving much harder than the time Sirius had died.
"If you want to talk about something then you can come to me, ok?"
Professor McGonagall continued in her concerned voice. As Harry nodded
in reply, his face showing gratitude for the offer the Professor had just
made, the look on McGonagall's face changed back to her normal one.
"And now get down to the hall for some breakfast" McGonagall said. "You
need to eat properly"
"Yes ma'am" Harry replied obediently. He knew that McGonagall wanted
her students to be disciplined in all their tasks but, somewhere deep
down, she cared for their feelings more than anything else. He couldn't
help but respect the manner in which she conducted herself and yet got
through to all the students when the necessity arose. Harry was lost in his
thoughts as McGonagall turned a corner and vanished from his view. As
Harry looked around, he saw that he had reached the passageway to the
great hall once again but the number of voices seemed to have increased.
Not wanting to go in the middle of so many people, he proceeded on
walking towards the Gryffindor tower all by himself. Just as he turned a
corner, he came face to face with a well known person.
"Potter" Draco Malfoy said in a loathing voice. "Seems like your friends
have deserted you". Harry didn't want to get into a skirmish and ignored
the boy's words. He moved right past him and continued on his way.
"Sorry she had to die" Malfoy said in an awkward tone. This caused Harry
to stop dead in his tracks, his anger suddenly rising.
"Your friends always seem to end up…"
"Stop it Malfoy" Harry said in an icy cool voice, his fists balled to keep
himself into control.
"From what I have heard, you rejected the Weasley for her" Malfoy's
taunting voice continued. Harry turned around slowly to face Malfoy who
had also turned around to look at him.
"Nice choice though" Malfoy said again with a sneer on his face. However
the sneer vanished as he saw something inside Harry snap. All of a
sudden Malfoy found Harry holding him by the collar of his cloak with a
deadly look on his face.
"One more word Malfoy…" Harry hissed a warning through gritted teeth
as he pushed Malfoy up the wall. Harry expected Malfoy to take out his
wand and hence balled his right fist in case Malfoy tried anything of the
kind. However, Malfoy made no such move. Instead, he put up his hands
in surrender.
"Take it…easy…Potter" Malfoy said in small gasps. Slowly Harry
loosened the grip as his anger started to fade slightly. He let go of
Malfoy, who was breathing heavily, and started to make his way towards
the Gryffindor tower once again.
"Why don't you take care of this issue once and for all Potter?" Harry had
moved about four paces when he heard Malfoy speak up again.
"What do you mean Malfoy?" Harry asked as he stopped in his tracks
once again.
"Why don't you fight the dark lord once and for all and get this sorted
out?" Malfoy explained. Harry turned around at this and his eyes closely
inspected Malfoy.
"And why would you be suggesting this Malfoy?" Harry asked, his eyes
narrowed with suspicion.
"It would be helpful for me" Malfoy replied still rubbing his neck where
Harry had squeezed it hard.
"Helpful?" Harry seemed confused.
"Yeah" Malfoy said. When he saw that Harry was still looking confused,
he rolled his eyes and continued. "Not enough brains in that brave mind
of yours, is there?". Harry didn't let the taunt get to him again and seeing
that he was getting nowhere, Malfoy seemed to give up on the taunts.
"Look…if you two finish this off, then I, for one, will be able to choose
which side I want to be" Malfoy explained. Seeing the look of disbelief on
Harry's face, Malfoy continued "I am a Slytherin Potter. I don't want to
end up dead. And I am not going to join any side until I know it is going
to win for sure"
"But you were always so sure that the Voldemort is going to win this war"
Malfoy winced at the name of Voldemort but Harry ignored it. "What
happened to you Malfoy?"
"I grew up Potter" Malfoy replied with a cunning look on his face. "I don't
care what happens to others as long as this war is over quickly. Even
though you…" Malfoy stepped back and looked at Harry from top to
bottom and then back to the top. "…you are no match for the dark lord, I
can't say the same thing about Dumbledore"
"Afraid Malfoy?" Harry asked in a voice which he tried to make taunting.
He didn't like taunting anyone but he had to pretend to do so right now
because he wanted to be sure of what Malfoy was really up to.
"No Potter" Malfoy replied in his usual snobby manner. "Just being more
intelligent than those fools who call themselves your friends and would
blindly follow you to death. I am not with anyone in this war…yet…but I
do plan to remain on the winning side"
"Seems like you are being as selfish as ever" Harry had a look of disgust
on his face but couldn't help but appreciate the fact that Malfoy was
checking all options available before taking his final decision.
"I am" Malfoy retorted. "And I am proud of it. Anyway…" Malfoy said in
an arrogant manner. "…enough chit-chat. Just finish this thing soon so
that I can make my decision, ok?". Even as Harry made to answer, Malfoy
had turned on his heels and left. A worried looking Harry stood there for
quite a few seconds before finally resuming his journey to the Gryffindor
common room.
&&&&
"Not again" one of the first year students cried out as his fellow
classmates dragged him out of his bed saying that they had to reach the
great hall for an urgent announcement. This was the general voice of the
entire Hogwarts student community including the Slytherins.
"What happened?" one of the fifth years asked a sixth year student.
"Look outside" the sixth year replied in a resentful voice as they
proceeded towards the great hall. The fifth year student looked out of
one of the windows they were passing and saw people still trickling
across the Hogwarts grounds. His eyebrows were frowned in deep
thought when it stuck him. These people must have come to Hogwarts to
seek some kind of a refuge.
Slowly but surely the great hall seemed to be filled up by students. As the
students entered the great hall, they couldn't help but notice that the hall
had been enlarged to at least thrice of its original size. The house tables
were still in their original position but the area between the house tables
and the great hall door seemed as big as a quidditch pitch now. The only
difference was that instead of being empty like a quidditch pitch, this
area was brimming to the top with people coming in.
"Please be seated" Professor McGonagall said once she was sure that most
of the students had come in. She saw that Harry was still not there but
didn't read too much into it. He was obviously trying to avoid all these
people here.
"As you all can see the attacks have begun" McGonagall said in a pained
voice. "There are many of us here who have been affected by the attacks
carried on yesterday night". Many of the students started talking amongst
themselves in a concerned manner. Now that McGonagall had raised this
point, it stuck them that none of them had had much news from their
families…at least not yet.
"Hogwarts…" McGonagall said in a high pitched voice so that everyone
could hear her over the commotion. The hall once again fell silent at
hearing her voice. "Hogwarts will provide shelter to those who need it.
We know that this is the time where we have to stand together and be
there for each other". Many people in the crowd murmured their
approval. "There are many ex-students of Hogwarts amongst you. This
had been your home for seven years. Please treat this as your home…just
like in the old days". Loads of people clapped and cheered at this
statement.
"But there are others too who haven't been to Hogwarts before"
McGonagall continued, addressing a section of people who looked
slightly overwhelmed by what they had just seen. "Please treat Hogwarts
as your home until we can find everyone a suitable replacement". A smile
crossed the faces of most of the people present. This was what Hogwarts
really stood for – friendship and camaraderie. They had only heard of it
before but they were having the privilege to see it first hand for the first
time in their lives. When they had left their homes many didn't know
how they will be received here but McGonagall's words had reassured
them to a large extent.
"Your living arrangements will be made in this hall for the moment after
the students have dispersed" McGonagall continued from where she had
left off. "Now…" McGonagall turned her attention to the students who
had been listening to her for the past 10 minutes. "I know you won't like
this but classes at Hogwarts are being postponed indefinitely for the time
being". Even though the situation was very grave, some smiles could be
seen on the lips of a few students. "Also, we expect you to treat our guests
here with respect and dignity"
"Also, we, the teachers of Hogwarts, expect all of you present…"
McGonagall looked at the refugees "…to treat the students with the
respect they deserve". Almost everyone nodded their head in consent.
"Now…" McGonagall turned to face the students once again. "…I will call
the names of certain people and they will follow me to my office"
"Where is Dumbledore?" a person shouted from near the back of the hall.
"Yeah…where is he?" another voice echoed the same sentiment. "We need
to talk to him. We can only be safe if he is around"
"Yes" a chorus of voices were heard the next moment.
"Only Dumbledore can save us from You-Know-Who" a voice was heard
as saying.
"Please calm down" McGonagall looked irritated at the behavior of the
people present but she knew that all of them were feeling very insecure.
As the chaotic scene came under control a bit, she continued.
"Headmaster Dumbledore has gone to meet the minister and take care of
this situation at hand. He will be back by noon today". A feeling of unrest
seemed to grow in the crowd.
"Till noon! That means we are without protection till then" one woman
said shrilly, her weary face covered with lines of worry.
"No…" another voice spoke up. "Harry Potter is here, isn't he?"
"Yes…" another refugee spoke up. "Where is Harry Potter? Is he here?"
"He can protect us till Dumbledore gets here"
"BE QUITE" the magically enhanced voice of Professor McGonagall
silenced the whole room in a single moment. "Please know that we
maintain strict discipline here at Hogwarts and anyone who doesn't
adhere by that is welcome to leave"
"We want to live Professor" one man spoke up. "Is that too much to ask
for?" Professor McGonagall looked lost for words when another voice
spoke up.
"If you want to live then live with honor" Fleur Delacour had entered the
great hall. "Don't rely on just one person…rely on everyone around you.
Fight for your honor". The hall fell into pin-drop silence at this.
"Easy for you to say lady" the man spoke again. "You live in this huge
castle and have a posh lifestyle. How would you know what it means to
live every moment thinking that it will be your last?"
"How would I know?" Fleur replied scathingly. "My house was destroyed
by death eaters long before yours mister. My friend…" Fleur's voice
choked slightly. "…she died in front of my eyes 5 days back. How would I
know?" Fleur almost rushed towards the man when she found that one
hand seemed to hold her back. Looking around, she saw it was Harry
who had her in a tight grip. He was standing in such a way that part of
his face and body was covered by the shadow cast by one of the pillars of
the hall.
"You know what…" Harry said as he let go of Fleur. "…I think most of
you do not have the slightest bit of self respect"
"Says who?" the man asked, his pride taking a beating.
"Me" Harry said as he stepped out of the shadows. "Harry Potter". The
man gulped at the sight of seeing Harry Potter in flesh and blood for the
first time. Same was the case with many others. However, many people
in the crowd looked relieved at the sight of the Boy-Who-Lived.
"What makes you think that I can protect you from all the death eaters
and Voldemort?" Everyone present in the hall winced at the name of the
dark lord being mentioned. "I am a kid compared to many of you and yet
you rely on me protecting you!"
"You are the Boy-Who-Lived" one woman said from the crowd.
"Do you want your son to be the Boy-Who-Lived lady?" Harry asked,
looking at the woman. "Do you think that if he had been in my place then
he could have saved the world by just waving his wand around?" Harry
looked calm outside but was seething with rage inside. How could these
people think that he was a match for one of the greatest wizards ever?
"Leave her" another person spoke up. "You have fought You-Know-Who
so many times and yet you are alive!" the man's voice had a hint of
disbelief in them. "If you can't save us…"
"He's a kid" another man, albeit much taller than the first one said. "He is
no better than us. Only Dumbledore can help us"
"Shut up John" the first man replied. As Harry looked around, he could
clearly see that there was a divide between these people. While most of
them believed that he could save them, there were some who thought of
this as a crazy idea.
"Look at what he is saying" the man named John replied. "He himself
doesn't believe he can fight You-Know-Who"
"Because he has more brains that you" a woman replied. "If you had half
his brains then god knows that you would have been a great wizard
yourself"
"Martha!" John pointed his finger at her, clearly giving her the warning
to stop.
"Will you all stop bickering?" the man, whose name was Peter, spoke up
again. "John…we all know that he is a young man but he also has great
courage. Even if half of what we have heard is true then…"
"Then what?" Harry asked, his eyes narrowed. "Then I will be able to save
you all from a dark lord and hundreds of death eaters?". Peter squirmed
under Harry's intense gaze.
"You people don't get the point, do you?" Neville spoke up from behind
Harry. "A war is not fought alone. Harry cannot fight on his own"
"Leave it Neville" Harry cut in. "These people wont understand". With
that, Harry turned around and left the great hall.
&&&&
"What are we going to do Peter?" a woman asked the man named Peter
who had earlier taken a stance against the person named John.
"We will do fine Betty" Peter said to his wife as she cast a spell to clean
another shirt which had been covered with blood.
"They killed him…" Betty sobbed. "They…they murdered our only child
Peter". Betty couldn't control herself any longer and burst into tears.
Peter, somehow managing to hold back his own tears, held his wife
tightly in his arms. His heart was filled with hate for all the death eaters
who had destroyed many a family the previous night.
He and his wife had been out on a social call and, on their way back,
they had got stuck at the apparition point of Diagon Alley. For some
reason, hundreds of people were apparating in that area around midnight
and there were chaos all around. Rumor had it that death eaters were
attacking the whole of England. Even as they tried to apparate to their
homes, they found themselves about four kilometers from their target.
Peter, who worked at the ministry, knew that this could mean only one
thing – ministry aurors must have set up anti apparation wards around
their village and were redirecting any apparition attempt to the nearest
apparation point.
Even as Peter and Betty ran towards their village, they saw the dark mark
over many houses. A spine chilling feeling passed through their bodies at
every such sight and they ran even harder towards their village. Peter
could hear Betty muttering a prayer that their eight year old son would
be safe and sound…that they should find him sleeping in his bed just like
any other day. Alas, that was not to be. As they turned the last corner
and their home came in to view, the dreaded dark mark shadow loomed
large over it. It was all over.
"They will all perish Betty" Peter said in a choked but confident voice.
"They will Peter…the have to" Betty said in between her sobs.
All around Peter and Betty, the same scenes were getting repeated over
and over again. Even though the great hall was filled with a couple of
thousand people, there wasn't much mingling between them. Everyone
was lost in their own sorrow, trying to recover from the shock they had
suffered yesterday. The two kids, whom Harry and the others had seen
through the dormitory window, were the ones who seemed the most
affected. Their grandparents were repeatedly trying to get them to talk
but neither the ten year old boy nor his thirteen year old sister muttered
a word. All they did was sit in a corner and stare blankly at everything
that was happening around them. Some of the occupants of the hall
pitied the condition of these kids but they too were not in a much better
condition either. A look of sympathy was the most that these kids got.
However, unknown to everyone present there, a single pair of green eyes
watched the kids with great empathy. Everyone in this hall wanted
revenge…and they would get it when the right time came.
&&&&
A couple of days later, Harry just didn't feel like staying in the trunk any
longer. Instead, he wanted to go somewhere. Where, he didn't know…but
he just wanted to get away from his memories for a short period of time.
He knew that he couldn't run from his memories as they defined what he
really was. However, it was one of those times when he just felt the need
to go for a walk.
The common room was brimming with students as Harry climbed down
the stairs. The commotion in the common room, which was quite
common nowadays, stopped briefly as everyone paused to look at Harry.
Harry sighed inwardly and stepped out of the portrait hole and into the
corridors of Hogwarts. The corridors were much deserted nowadays since
there were no classes held. Harry found the corridors more to his liking
and started walking without thinking where he was going. It was as if his
feet had a mind of it's own as he kept on walking slowly. He had thought
that a long walk would take his mind off Tonks for some time but that
did not happen. On the contrary, the memory of Tonks seemed to come
back to him like a flood.
Harry could clearly remember the look on Tonks face as she had got hit
by the curse. That smile…that lovely smile which always made him smile
even in the worst situation. However, on that day, that smile had made
him cry.
The last time he had cried before that was the day Dobby had died. He
had never thought of his life without these two person's present but fate
had something else in store for him altogether. He didn't know how
Remus was managing it. As for himself, his eyes were set on quite a few
figures for the time being – Voldemort, Snape, Wormtail and Ginny.
"Harry!"
Harry turned round to see the figure of Soha approaching him from one
of the corridors.
"I have been…" Soha stopped to regain her breath before continuing. "…
looking for you all day long"
"Is there anything important?" Harry asked as he started to walk down
the corridor once again.
"Yes" Soha said in a very concerned voice as she fell in step with Harry.
"The thing is…" Soha was still lost for breath but somehow managed to
go through her sentences. "The thing is that many people out there are
concerned for you but you don't even talk to them". Harry didn't reply to
this and, casting his glance in different directions, calmly continued to
walk down the corridor.
"You once told me that it was for your friend's own good" Soha carried
on. "But it is not doing them any good. Everyone is worried sick about
you"
"People still worry about the Boy-Who-Lived Soha" Harry replied in a
cold voice as he turned another corner. "Very…" Harry lost his voice for a
second before continuing. "…very few people have really cared about
Harry"
"You are wrong" Soha stomped her foot on the floor. "You are so wrong.
Ron, Hermione, Neville, Cho, myself…we all care about you Harry"
"Maybe you are right Soha" Harry replied softly. Soha continued walking
along with Harry expecting something more from him but he didn't say
anything.
"So?" Soha stepped in front of Harry to stop him. "What are you going to
do?"
"Walk along a bit more if you don't mind" Harry replied calmly. He tried
to side step Soha but she was too quick for him and blocked his path
again.
"Why are you doing this to us Harry?" Soha asked in exasperation.
"Forget me…I am new here…you have known Ron and Hermione and the
others for so long. Why are you doing this to them?". A vague look came
over Harry's face and Soha could understand that he was reliving some of
his old memories. However, the face soon became expressionless again as
was the case ever since the New Year had dawned.
"I don't know" Harry said absent mindedly and walked past a helpless
Soha. If someone had been near Harry as he turned yet another corner,
they would clearly have heard him say "It isn't the right time…yet"
&&&&
"What can we do to stop all this?" Anthony Goldstein's whisper could be
clearly heard in the D.A. meeting room. The D.A. had met to discuss the
future planning's of it's operations now that there were refugees in
Hogwarts but none of them could think of anything. All that was going
through everyone's mind was the state of devastation they had seen
outside.
"I don't think there is much we can do right now" Hermione said. "We
have got to help out the needy people right now"
"But we need to do something for people to stop becoming needy"
Anthony said in a sarcastic voice. He had been very upset from the
morning when he had learnt that his uncle and aunt had died in the
attacks and none dared argue with him at the moment.
"I agree with Anthony" Neville said.
"But what can we do?" Hermione asked Neville. "I mean…there are
hundreds of death eaters out there. We can't fight them"
"Hermione's right" Cho chipped in. "For the time being, I think that all we
can do is try to keep Hogwarts safe"
"Hogwarts IS safe" Anthony said again. "Hogwarts has Dumbledore.
Others don't"
"Anthony…" Neville went over to the boy and sat down beside him. "…
we all know how terrible you must be feeling. But we just can't rush out
there, can we?"
"Why not?" the boy asked in a choked voice. The emotion in his voice
conveyed the message as to how much his aunt and uncle had meant to
him.
"No Anthony…we have to wait for the right time" Neville said in a
soothing voice. "Also, we are still not up to the level to take on hordes of
death eaters"
"No…we can" another student, a Hufflepuff, said. "We took on those
giants and the death eaters"
"They were not using the unforgivables" Cho spoke up. "If they had, then
most of us wouldn't have been present here today"
"But we need to do something" another member spoke up. "Just look at
the people outside. I mean…none of us wants to be in a similar situation
and nor do we want others to have a life like this"
"Yes…I agree with you mate" another guy, a Ravenclaw, spoke. "But we
still need a lot of things to be of some real help outside. I think it is better
that we play to our strengths"
"And they are?" came the question.
"Our strength is that we know Hogwarts inside out" Hermione spoke
again after a long time. "Many people will be coming here to seek refuge.
We can ensure that they have a safe passage across the fields and around
the lake and don't stray outside when it is dark"
"As if that is going to stop You-Know-Who" Anthony's voice was filled
with loathing.
"No" Cho said. She could feel the tension in the D.A. and she knew that
somewhere deep down every member was scared. It was her and Neville's
responsibility to calm them down. She missed Harry very much right now
since, whenever Harry was present, they always could look up to him and
think that here was a person who had suffered many a loss and yet was
fighting it out. They needed someone like that amongst them right now
but Cho knew that Harry was not yet ready to come back…not after what
Soha had told her about her conversation with Harry. Fighting a feeling
to go and look for Harry, Cho opened her mouth to speak but stopped as
the door to the Room of Requirements opened. In the doorway stood
Ron.
No one except Hermione had dared to talk to Ron ever since they had
heard about what had happened. Some of those present knew the feeling
since a few of their family members had joined the dark side in the war.
In any case, everyone knew from the look on Ron's face that he was
feeling awful.
"C'mon inside Ron" Hermione said after Ron didn't move from his place
for well over a minute. He seemed to be staring at everyone present to
see if they were staring back at him or not. While the younger members
did stare at him, the older ones didn't meet his eye. He considered every
stare cautiously, as if to see whether they held sympathy for him or
whether it was hatred. Finally satisfying himself that he was amongst
friends and well wishers, he proceeded towards the back of the room and
sat down on one of the empty chairs present.
Even as Cho saw Ron walking towards the back of the room, a thought
stuck her. She knew that Ron was going through one hell of a time and
yet…
"Look at Ron" Cho said with emphasis and got up from his feet. Everyone
seemed slightly stunned at these sudden words but continued to listen
nonetheless.
"We all know he is going through one of the worst phases of his life" Cho
said as she looked Ron dead in the eye. She knew that she had to make
her point and yet she should not hurt Ron's feelings. "We all sympathize
with you Ron and we all hope that nothing like this happens to any of us
but…" Cho paused slightly to make her point. "…but it will happen again.
Today someone from Ron's family has made a wrong choice, tomorrow it
might be my own brother. Today a lot of people have died…some very
near and dear to many of us. Tomorrow's casualty list might contain my
parents list". Many people, including Neville, looked on with a new found
respect for Cho and the way she was dealing with the members of the
D.A.
"We know the times are bad but we have to do what we have to do" Cho
continued. "Ron came here because he felt it his duty to be here. We have
to protect the people at Hogwarts because it is our duty. If we can at least
protect these people, then also we will be taking a lot of burden off
Dumbledore's shoulders. Then…"
"Then he will be able to devote more of his time to gather his own forces
and get ready for the final battle". Neville said the very words which
were on Cho's mind. Cho stopped once she saw that Neville had taken
over the mantle. They had developed a good understanding over the past
few months and knew where to let the other take the lead. She now knew
why Harry had asked both of them to be joint leaders.
"We have to protect these people" Neville said earnestly. He knew how it
was to grow up without the love of one's parents since his parents were
all but dead. "These people think that only Dumbledore can protect them
and if Dumbledore is not there then they are unsafe. We have to give
them a feeling of security"
"And…" Cho took over from Neville and started circling the students. "…
once they know that we are there to save them if needed, then they will
be there to help us when we need them. God knows we need as many
people fighting as possible. If the adults in these groups know that we
can protect their kids then they might also take Dumbledore's side when
the war comes to the door of Hogwarts"
"We need everyone fighting for us" Hermione was the one to speak up
now. "We can't just rush off to our homes and fight there. One person…"
Hermione's eyes became a bit misty as she stopped for a moment. "One
person suffered a lot to see us work as a team. We can't let him down".
Everyone in the D.A. knew that Hermione was talking about Harry. Even
though they still thought that Dumbledore had been the one to organize
the D.A. training under Moody, they believed that it was at Harry's
insistence that the training had taken place. And everyone knew that it
was because of the training that they had survived the last Halloween
feast.
Slowly a murmur of consent went through almost everyone present there.
They had their own problems but they knew that they had to do their
duty – that to protect Hogwarts and it's occupants to the best of their
capabilities. They couldn't let them down…they couldn't let Harry down.
However, one person seated at the back did not say anything. All that
was racing through his mind was a single sentence"
"My sister let us down…she let you down Harry"
&&&&
"That was close" Cho said to Neville and Hermione as they gathered in
the great hall for the dinner.
"Well…" Hermione looked at Cho and said "You showed great guts to
take the example of Ron. I would never have dared to say anything like
that". Hermione's voice reflected the admiration she had for Cho's action.
"I had my fingers crossed" Cho replied. "I don't know Ron too well but he
is sometimes a bit short tempered. I was just hoping that…" Cho's voice
trailed off at this.
"I must say he took it very well" Neville said thoughtfully. "Ron's changed
a lot"
"Yes…he has" Hermione agreed as Cho went towards the Ravenclaw table
while she followed Neville to the Gryffindor table.
&&&&
"Harry" Remus called out softly as he entered the trunk. Finding Harry's
room empty, he went over to the training area. There he found Harry
hard at work with different spells. Remus recognized some of the spells
which Harry used while a couple of spells looked new to him. He knew
that Harry was going through his books a lot lately to take his mind off
Tonks and hence he had started learning new spells at a fast rate. Not
wanting to disturb Harry, Remus settled down at an empty chair in the
dining table and kept watching his godson at practice.
Harry seemed to have changed a lot in the past week. Nowadays he
seemed much more focused in his daily routine and his every movement
seemed to be calculated. He spent a lot of time training…sometimes more
than necessary. His mingling with his old friends, which had been on a
comeback trail before the death of Tonks, also seemed to have taken a
backseat. Also, he sometimes behaved like a younger version of Moody
but Remus knew that he couldn't blame Harry for being over cautious.
After all, what could be expected if someone like Ginny betrayed him?
However, on other occasions, Harry seemed to care about nothing in this
world. He would spend hours on the end in the trunk gazing at some
place or the other. Remus could only guess that Harry was thinking of
Tonks in those moments. It's not as if Remus himself didn't think about
Tonks. In fact, he thought about her a lot and wished that maybe
somehow she would be in their midst. Similarly, he couldn't forget the
little man of the trunk – Dobby.
Harry didn't say anything about Dobby but Remus could feel how much
Harry missed Dobby. Whenever Harry entered the kitchen to fix himself a
snack or make their dinner, he would stop for a moment and look at
Dobby's room. It was a small one attached to one end of the kitchen. Just
by the look of emotion in Harry's eyes whenever he looked at Dobby's
room, Remus could tell how deeply scarred Harry had been by the little
elf's death. Without Dobby and Tonks around, the trunk seemed very
quite and…it seemed just like a trunk. He missed the yelling of Tonks…
about how Dobby…
"Hi Remus" Remus was brought out of his thoughts by the distant voice of
Harry. Looking around, he saw Harry walking towards him with their
dinner leviated in front of him. Presently, Harry placed the plates on the
table.
"You seemed lost in your thoughts" Harry said in an apologetic voice.
"Sorry if I disturbed you"
"No" Remus brushed off the apology and pulled his dinner plate towards
him. "No problem at all"
"What were you thinking?" Harry asked curiously.
Remus squirmed around in his seat for a couple of seconds even as Harry
continued to gaze at him. "I was just thinking of some…old times" he
finally managed to say. Harry didn't say anything at this and his focus
shifted to his food. The rest of the dinner passed off in silence as both of
them were lost in their own thoughts. Soon the table was cleared away
by Harry and they found themselves sitting at their respective places. The
only difference was that two of the opposite chairs were empty.
"They were very good to us" Remus said finally. Harry just kept looking
at the chair opposite to him and didn't say anything in reply.
&&&&
"I have heard that some auror died that night" one of the girls in the
Gryffindor common room said to another. The rumors regarding the
death of Tonks had subsided in a couple of days but now that classes had
been postponed sine-die, many of the students had nothing better than to
gossip around.
"Yeah" replied the other girl. "And I hear that she had died while fighting
Severus Snape"
"That's not true" one of the boys who had overheard these girls came
over. "She was killed when they were fighting Ginny"
"She?" one of the girls looked at the boy in a wide-eyed manner.
"Yes" another member of the group spoke up. "I had also heard that it was
a lady"
"Was Harry there?" came another question.
"I heard she died trying to save Harry" the boy replied.
"How do you know that?"
"Word gets around fast here, doesn't it?" the boy replied. "I have reliable
sources"
"Why would someone risk their life for Harry?" the first girl asked even
though she knew the answer to this.
"Lots of people are out there who would do anything for him" the second
girl replied, saying exactly what was on the first girls mind.
"It was a girl, right?" another guy had joined the group of gossip
mongers. More and more people were beginning to listen to this
conversation.
"Yeah" the guy who had first come over replied.
"Do you think she was Harry's girlfriend?" the new boy asked. At this
many people exchanged glances. Most of the people present there knew
that Harry didn't have any serious girlfriend after the problem with Cho.
Also, lately he had withdrawn himself from Hogwarts public life
completely and hence had almost no chance to mingle with other girls.
"No" one of the girls replied. "From what I had heard, she was much older
than him. After all, she was an auror"
"And where is it written that a guy cannot have an older girlfriend?" the
new boy asked in a sarcastic voice. "What do the others think? Why
would a girl die for someone?"
"Well…" one of the girls looked very thoughtful. "Hermione tried to save
Ron but they were a couple then"
"Exactly" the boy said emphatically. "People do these kinds of things for
their families and loved ones. If she was not his family, as we all know
Harry has no family, then…" the boy left the sentence hanging and
looked at everyone present. No one could argue with his logic and yet
they didn't dare to agree with the boy completely.
"He must be so sad then" one of the girls in the group, which had swelled
up to twenty five by then, spoke up. "I mean…if they really were a
couple then it must be so hard for him to take it". Many of the girls had
sympathetic looks on their faces.
"Why don't we ask Harry if the auror was his girlfriend or not?" another
new member to the group said.
"Are you nuts?" the girls who had first started this conversation said in a
chorus. "He will curse you to oblivion"
"Whatever you think!" the boy said with a shrug. "I just suggested the
best way to confirm whether we are thinking the right thing or not"
"Yeah" another girl said with a roll of her eyes. "The best way to know
whether meddling with the private life of the current best DADA student
is going to have a good effect on your life or not"
"Well…he has a point though" the first boy said. "If we just asked Harry
politely…" at this moment, the voice of the boy trailed off. Everyone
looked at each other questioningly as to what had happened when a
series of nudges pointed out the source of this abrupt stop. Everyone
followed the fifth year boy's gaze and found it to be fixed on the figure of
a serious looking Harry Potter whose cold stare sent a chill down
everyone's spine.
No one said a thing as Harry climbed down the dormitory stairs. The
whole Gryffindor common room had fallen into pin drop silence. Other
students, who had avoided getting into the gang of gossipers, looked on
in anticipation to see what might happen next. Everyone's eyes were
fixed on Harry whose eyes were scrutinizing the faces of thirty odd
students gathered around the fire.
"Ask me what?" Harry asked in a calm but cold voice as soon as he came
up to the group. Many of the group members turned their eyes towards
the floor. This included the boy who had just suggested asking Harry
about Tonks.
"You people were going to ask me something" Harry said again. "What
did you want to know about?". There was something in Harry's voice
which dared anyone to ask him anything. Everyone knew that Harry had
overheard a part of the conversation and knew exactly what they wanted
to ask and yet they didn't dare say anything. Gone was their Gryffindor
courage in front of Harry's commanding presence. Neville, who was
standing near the staircase to the boy's dormitory, could not help but
admire Harry's overall personality. He knew that deep down Harry was
just the same old person they had always known and yet, when the
situation demanded, he could go that extra step to keep the situation
under control. He had not seen this side of Harry at the end of their
previous year of schooling and guessed that Harry had matured a bit
more than the others and knew how to handle different situations better
than most. Only if he had been there to lead to the D.A. then they would
have been able to achieve much higher standards.
"It's always better to speak in front of a person rather than gossip behind
their backs" Harry said slowly to make his point very clear. "Would you
have liked someone else prying on your private life if it had been you
instead of me?". The remaining students, who still were maintaining
some kind of eye contact, also lowered their heads. They knew that Harry
was right and they wouldn't want to be in his shoes for all the gold in the
world.
"We are sorry Harry" said one of the boys. Harry knew that it took a lot of
courage to admit one's own mistake and he appreciated the boy for it.
Gossiping was something which everyone did…more so when they were
in their teens. It's just that he was slightly weary of all this gossiping
because of the amount of controversies he had been involved in
throughout his life in the wizarding world. Just nodding his head towards
the boy in an acknowledging gesture, Harry walked across the common
room and climbed out of the portrait hole.
"Ouch!"
"Oh…sorry Fleur" Harry said as he recognized the person with whom he
had collided outside the portrait hole.
"It's ok" Fleur replied. Seeing that Harry seemed a bit upset, Fleur
continued "Where are you headed now?"
"Well…" Harry looked around uncertainly. Now that he thought of it, he
really didn't know where he was going. "I was just going for a walk inside
the castle" he said truthfully. Harry didn't know when this had become a
habit for him but every day he wandered around the corridors of
Hogwarts aimlessly. Every evening he was reminded of the happenings of
the dawning of the New Year and he would inevitably end up going to
the spot where Tonks had got hit by the fatal curse from Ginny.
Inexplicably, he felt very peaceful whenever he was at that spot.
"Maybe you could spend some time with us" Fleur said a bit timidly. To
tell the truth, she was in a mental mess. She didn't know whether talking
too much with Harry was good or bad for her. She was way too deep in
love with him to avoid him all the time. However, she loved him so
dearly that the thought of her confessing her love for him was sacrilege
to her. How could she even dare to take the place in Harry's heart which
he had reserved for Tonks?
"Us?" Harry asked in mild confusion.
"Well…my family has come over to visit me" Fleur explained. "When they
saw the reports of attacks all over…"
"I see" Harry absentmindedly interrupted Fleur. "Ok…I think I will like
seeing them once more". Fleur's smiled at this and led the way towards
the dungeons which was her home at Hogwarts. Inside, she felt her heart
skipping a beat with every step but on the outside she knew couldn't
show it. She knew very well that she was nowhere near to the place
which she wanted in her heart. Whatever be the case, she had made a
resolve to be Harry's friend throughout their lives. If this meant that
confessing her love might destroy their friendship, she wouldn't do so.
Just having Harry by her side was enough for her.
"How is Gabrielle doing?" Harry asked as they came nearer to Fleur's
living quarters.
"Why don't you find out for yourself when you get there" Fleur replied
with a smile and continued walking beside Harry. The ecstasy she felt
having Harry beside her was too much for her right now. She hadn't met
him for what seemed to be a very long time and she wanted to enjoy the
moment of walking side by side with Harry. Maybe one day he will hold
her hand when they walked side by side…
"No" Fleur whispered lightly to herself at this thought. She couldn't let
her heart get the better of her head. She couldn't replace Tonks. With an
inwardly sigh, she opened the door to the potions classroom and led
Harry to the room where her family was present.
&&&&
Harry was walking towards his dormitory and felt much better after
meeting with Fleur's parents and siblings. They loved him very dearly…
almost as if he was family. However, he didn't wish to have a repeat of
what had happened to Tonks. He had made it a point to be as far as
possible from Fleur and her family in public. Also, whenever they asked
him as to what he was doing or how he was feeling, he would always
provide a positive answer. He would always tell them that he was busy
studying or that Remus had helped him in overcoming the "problems"
they had been facing in the recent times. The Delacours never referred to
the death of Dobby and Tonks directly and Harry was grateful for it. He
wouldn't have minded if the Delacours had spoken about the deaths
again but he still preferred to keep the conversations away from this
topic.
"I feel much safe now that he is here" Harry heard a group of people
coming down the corridor around the bend. Not wanting to face them,
Harry quickly ducked into one of the empty classrooms on his left. The
last thing he needed now was another "save the world" plea.
"I agree with you Matt" a female voice said. "Having Dumbledore here is
really reassuring"
"But what can he do to save us mommy?" a tiny voice asked. Harry
guessed that the lady was not taking any chances by leaving her daughter
alone in the great hall. After all, Hogwarts was a huge place and any kid
could get lost easily.
"He will fight against You-Know-Who and protect us all honey" her
mother said in a soothing voice. Harry stood still in the dark and listened
as the group came nearer and nearer, their voices becoming clearer by
the moment.
"The thing is…" one person whose voice sounded more deep than the
others, said. "…why isn't the headmaster getting rid of You-Know-Who?".
Harry guessed that this person was a student of Hogwarts sometime long
ago since he referred to Dumbledore as 'headmaster'.
"Don't know" another person replied. "They say Harry Potter is the only
person who can fight against him"
"He's a kid" someone else said. "But he has a lot of character in him"
"That's right" the lady spoke again. "The way he was speaking in the hall
in front of everyone…even John didn't say anything after that"
"Mommy…was he really Harry Potter?" Harry heard the little girl ask in a
awestruck voice. As he peeked at the group passing by, he saw the girl
couldn't be more that eight years old.
"Yes dear" her mother replied, causing the girl's eyes to go wide. "But
don't you stare at him when he comes in front of you. It is…"
"…rude to stare" the girl completed the sentence with a giggle. Evidently
she was used to hearing it quite often. The groups voice grew
indistinctive as they moved farther away from Harry's hiding spot. Once
their footsteps had died down, Harry slowly stepped out of the classroom
and started walking towards the Gryffindor tower thinking about what he
had just heard. Dumbledore was back…and he needed to talk to him.
Quickly Harry turned and started walking towards Dumbledore's office.
He had to take many detours to avoid groups of people talking to some
professor or the other in the corridors. Finally, he found himself in front
of the gargoyle guarding the opening to the spiraling staircase. Upon
giving the password, he climbed the stairs and was about to knock when
he heard the voice of McGonagall inside.
"What is the matter Albus?" she asked impatiently. It seemed as if she had
been asking him this question repeatedly over many an hour or many a
day.
"It's very hard to let go Minerva" Dumbledore said in an emotional voice.
"Let go of what?" McGonagall seemed slightly puzzled.
"Memories…" Dumbledore replied as Harry listened from outside. "…the
past…the present…"
"How come you still manage to confuse me with your words?"
McGonagall said in exasperation.
"Experience" Dumbledore said with a sigh. To Harry, it seemed as if
Dumbledore was bearing a great burden on his shoulders…one which
was starting to take it's toll on him.
"Can I help you is any way Albus?" McGonagall asked.
"You have always been very helpful Minerva…" Dumbledore said slowly.
"…but not this time"
"You have always had your way" McGonagall sounded very irritated.
"Something is building insid…"
"I think I will like to talk to Mr. Potter now" Dumbledore cut short
McGonagall which, to Harry, seemed very rude. He knew Dumbledore
was not the sort of person who would do something like that to hurt
anyone but then again, maybe the situation was such that he had to do it.
Harry's thoughts, however, were interrupted by five words "You may
come in Harry".
"Good evening sir" Harry said as he pushed open the door and entered
the headmaster's office. "Good evening Professor McGonagall"
"Good evening" McGonagall replied in a cold manner without meeting
Harry's eyes and walked out of the room. Harry knew for sure that
McGonagall had been deeply hurt and he had a slight inkling that he had
seen tears in her eyes as she had passed him.
"Minerva told me that you were looking for me" Dumbledore said as
Harry took the seat on offer.
"Yes sir" Harry replied, feeling a bit angry at how Dumbledore seemed to
be unaffected by the way McGonagall had walked out. There was no way
Dumbledore could not have known that McGonagall had been deeply
hurt but Harry decided it was best to leave those matters alone. Just as
he didn't like others meddling in his life, he didn't want to meddle in
anyone else's life either.
"So what is it that is on your mind?" Dumbledore said as he cleaned his
glasses.
"Where is all this leading to sir?" Harry asked in a voice devoid of all
emotion.
"To you Harry" Dumbledore replied calmly.
"And these people?" Harry asked in the same monotonous voice. "Why do
they have to suffer?"
"I really don't have an answer to that one Harry" Dumbledore replied as
he put on his glasses, a strained look on his face. "He is exerting his new
found freedom"
"What can I do to stop him?"
"I am afraid that we cannot do anything right now Harry" Dumbledore
replied as he stared out of the window on the dark horizon. "He has all
the cards right now and we have to wait for him to make a wrong move"
"But…" Harry's voice rose as his temper got the better of him. "But…by
then a lot of people will end up dead. Families destroyed…orphans…"
"I can understand your feelings Harry" Dumbledore said as he looked
straight at his favorite pupil. "But we have to take into consideration that
we are fighting one of the greatest wizards of all times who also has a big
army of death eaters now"
"But there must be something we can do" Harry stood up, his adrenaline
running high. "There must be something the Order can do to stop his
followers…or maybe the ministry aurors…"
"We are doing whatever we can Harry" Dumbledore replied. "We have
over 50 Order members and 60 aurors…"
"50!" Harry looked at Dumbledore as if it was the most ridiculous thing
he had ever heard. "60!" Harry's voice peaked even more. "What are you
trying to tell me? There are hundreds of death eaters out there and we
have about 110 light wizards protecting the people of England?"
"I am afraid that is the strength we could muster till now" Dumbledore
replied. "But they are not protecting the people of England"
"Then what the hell are they doing?" Harry asked, his face betraying the
anger inside him.
"They are escorting everyone to a safe place" Dumbledore said. Harry
looked at Dumbledore with narrowed eyes before comprehension dawned
upon him.
"They are escorting everyone…here?". As Dumbledore nodded in reply,
Harry got up from his seat.
"Voldemort knows I am here so sooner or later he will come here" Harry
seemed to be thinking aloud as he started pacing around the room. "If
there are so many refugees here, then he will come here sooner so that he
can take care of everyone at once. I don't care what happens to me but if
there is a war here at Hogwarts…which there will be…then there will be
lots of casualties…" Harry stopped in his tracks and looked at
Dumbledore. "You can't keep them here"
"I can understand your feelings but…" Dumbledore paused for a long
moment before continuing. "…but…I cannot stop anyone from wanting
to come here. We are not forcing anyone to come here. We are only
escorting those people here who want to come here"
Harry leaned over Dumbledore's desk and asked "And how many of those
people are there who want to come here?"
"I have to admit there are quite a lot of them" Dumbledore replied.
"You just cannot let this happen" Harry threw up his arms in the air in
desperation. "The more the people are near to me the more they are near
to their doom"
"The more the people that are near you, the more united we will be and
the better we will be able to fight Lord Voldemort" Dumbledore
countered Harry. Harry looked at Dumbledore for a second before
starting to pace the room again.
"That's your way of looking at it" Harry said bitterly. "If only you had
lived my life…seeing my near and dear ones…" his voice choked slightly
and he stopped momentarily to blink back the tears that were starting to
form in his eyes.
"We always have to move on Harry" Dumbledore said in a sympathetic
voice. "We have to live for the future"
"But we can't leave our pasts behind" Harry said as he slumped down in
his chair once more. "I still think this is one bad idea. I mean…how many
people have died in this first wave of attacks? Thousands if I am not
wrong". Harry cast a questioning look at Dumbledore who gave a sad
nod. "And now, more people are coming here. An absurd amount of
people will end up dying if Hogwarts is attacked. And I don't know what
protection you have got here but if Voldemort attacks with all his forces,
then he is surely going to kill a lot of innocent people regardless of the
outcome of this war"
"But I can't help it any more than you can Harry. If there is an attack then
we will have to face it when it comes" Dumbledore replied. "We all know
he will attack Hogwarts. This place resembles hope for all the people of
England and conquering Hogwarts will easily propel Lord Voldemort to
greater heights. However, I cannot stop anyone from coming here. I
cannot force anyone to leave this place"
"Maybe I should leave this place" Harry suggested, the bitterness still
present in his voice.
"No!" Dumbledore said in an alarmed manner. "You are our only hope but
you don't stand a chance to fight against everyone single handedly. Never
leave this place or else we will all perish". As Dumbledore continued to
look at Harry, he saw a range of emotions crossing the face of the young
man.
"Give me your word that you won't leave Hogwarts until the war is over"
Dumbledore said as he leant forward. Seconds turned into minutes as
Harry didn't reply to Dumbledore. He was weighing every option in his
head to see which was the best possible way to fight Voldemort.
Dumbledore, seeing Harry deep in thought, didn't want to disturb him
either. However, he didn't take his eyes off Harry even for a second.
"Ok…you have my word" Harry said at last. At this, Dumbledore leaned
back in his chair, relief washing over his features. "But I might leave
Hogwarts…temporarily" Harry continued. "Maybe for a few hours or
so…"
"I have no objection to that" Dumbledore said.
"I still think keeping all the refugees here is a bad idea" Harry said as he
got up to leave. "Hopefully I am wrong"
"Hopefully" Dumbledore said as he saw Harry leave his office.
&&&&
"Hi"
"Hi" Harry said as he sat down at the end of his bed. He had not expected
Ron to be present at that time but now that Ron had greeted him, he had
to hang around a bit longer.
"How are you doing?" Ron asked tentatively. Harry could notice that
Ron's voice had a hint of fear in them but at the same time the concern in
his voice could not be missed either.
"Fine" Harry replied as briefly as possible.
"It's very hard, isn't it?" Ron continued but it seemed that he was talking
more to himself than Harry. "After you have known someone for so
long…"
"People make choices" Harry said, the scene of Tonks jumping in front of
him seemed to be replaying itself in his mind. Tonks had definitely made
a choice.
"Tonks choose to die" Ron said in a sorrow filled voice. "She was always
so jolly…keeping us all laughing". Harry didn't reply to this and kept
looking out of the window at the setting sun.
"She was a great friend" Harry said at last.
"I bet she was" Ron said with a nod. "Even I wouldn't die for someone
with a scar on his head" Ron gave a hesitant laugh at this. Harry smiled
slightly at Ron's pathetic attempt to lighten up the mood but didn't say
anything. He knew that if required then Ron would die for him hundred
times over but he didn't think saying all this stuff was of much use now.
"I wish I could have got to know her a bit better" Ron continued. "It's
weird…six months and there is no Sirius…no Tonks". Ron stopped as he
saw that Harry had balled his fists tightly at the mention of Sirius's name.
"I am sorry" Ron said as Harry slowly relaxed once more. Ron knew he
had made a mistake by bringing up the issue of Sirius when Harry was
already grieving Tonks. "I shouldn't have said that"
"No…" Harry replied. "I have to live with the fact"
"Yeah" Ron gave a sigh.
"I am sorry about Ginny and Percy" Harry said after a couple of minutes
of silence.
"There's no need to feel sorry for them" Ron's voice was filled with
loathing. "That girl tried to kill you…my best…"
"friend" Harry thought to himself as Ron stopped in the middle of the
sentence looking slightly uncomfortable. Deep down however, he felt
grateful to Ron for being so faithful…for still being there for him if
needed. However, he knew that he couldn't let his emotions get the better
of him. Not now…not after so long.
"I…" Ron stuttered slightly before continuing. "They are…they…"
"I understand" Harry said in a consoling voice. He knew that it must have
been very hard for the Weasley's to know that members of their family
had joined Voldemort. They must have felt as if two people of their
family had died.
"Mom…Dad…" Ron kept on saying some broken words and kept shaking
his head in disbelief.
"You guys are there to take care of them" Harry felt the need to take an
elder brotherly attitude after seeing Ron almost breaking down. He knew
that Ron must have kept a hold on his emotions throughout this period
since he didn't want to appear weak in front of his family. However, the
last thing Harry needed was to have to console Ron. "You, Fred and
George have to be there for your parents when they need you the most"
"You are right" Ron said spontaneously with a firm determination in his
voice. "We are not dead yet"
"You won't be" Harry said in a voice just low enough for Ron to clearly
distinguish what he had said.
"You said something?" Ron asked.
"No" Harry said with a sigh.
"Do you think they have met?" Ron asked curiously.
"Who?" Harry questioned back.
"Sirius and Tonks" Ron replied before continuing. "I wonder what it is like
in the afterlife". Harry looked at Ron for a few seconds before shrugging
his shoulders. Ron didn't say anything else for a long time. It was Harry
who broke the silence.
"Wherever they are, hopefully they are happy" Harry said. Before Ron
could say anything in reply, Harry got up and entered the trunk. He
needed some time alone. Dumbledore had been right after all. It was very
hard to let go of memories.
&&&&
A/N: Second chapter here. Hopefully the continuity in the storyline is
there. Thanks for all those reviews. Every review which you people made
is very much appreciated. Please know that.
HP18 – Sorry but the time for Harry to make up with all his friends has
still not come as is suggested by this chapter and its title.
Danielc – As to why Harry didn't see Tonks in his dream…that has
something to do with his mental state. It will become clearer in the
future 2-3 chapters.
polar2292 – If I am not wrong then you are the person who registered on
to review PoH initially. Thanks for sticking around :)
cazten – This is listed under Harry/Tonks because Tonks will be a large
influence on Harry throughout this story. Plus other information
regarding Tonks will also come forth in the coming chapters.
Makotochi, Silverscale, yorkvillebird – Nice to see that you are
following this story too. Thanks :)
Yoko Kitsune – Sorry about killing off Tonks in PoH. It was very
essential in this story. How? You have to hang around this fic for a while
to know.
strangeryou don't know – I don't know about romance yet but Harry
will have some happiness in terms of a romantic life
Everyone else – A BIG thanks for all your reviews. Just because I didn't
mention your name doesn't mean your review is of any less importance to
me. It is very much appreciated. Also, those who didn't review – thanks
for taking the time to read my fic.
&&&&
3. All In The Family
Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter and the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers. I
am not the original writer (though I wish I could be J) and I do not wish
to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued.
So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah...forget it and let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
Note: This is the sequel to Harry Potter & The Power Of Hogwarts. Please
read it before moving on with this story.
HARRY POTTER & THE NEW DAWN
Chapter 3 – All In The Family
"Sirius and Tonks" Ron replied before continuing. "I wonder what it is like
in the afterlife". Harry looked at Ron for a few seconds before shrugging
his shoulders. Ron didn't say anything else for a long time. It was Harry
who broke the silence.
"Wherever they are, hopefully they are happy" Harry said. Before Ron
could say anything in reply, Harry got up and entered the trunk. He
needed some time alone. Dumbledore had been right after all. It was very
hard to let go of memories.
&&&&
"Hello Professor"
"Hi Soha" Fleur replied, looking up from the papers on her desk. "What
brings you here?"
"With the classes suspended, I thought I could do some potions practice
here if you didn't mind" Soha replied with an expectant look on her face.
She was a Ravenclaw to the boot.
"Please help yourself" Fleur replied. "Just inform me which potion you
are making so that I know whether you might end up blowing this place
or not"
"Nothing of that sort Professor" Soha replied with a smile and walked off
to the nearest table. She took a bunch of papers and started going
through the various potions list which had been given there. Some of
them were titled as "Super Fast Enervate Potion", "5 Minute Invisibility
Potion" etc. which the D.A. had got from an unknown source.
Initially everyone had been suspicious about whether this was a trick of
the Slytherins or not but after a thorough research by Hermione and a
couple other Ravenclaws, the D.A. had decided that all of these potions
were safe and were a huge advantage to have. The fact that many of
these potions could be made from some commonly available ingredients
made them even easier to prepare. Only thing was that they needed to
make this in bulk and the process to make these potions was not a very
easy one. Soha had got the job to make these potions after Hermione and
another Ravenclaw girl had said they were too busy to brew these. Soha,
one of the brightest in potions, got the position.
Fleur was herself very busy in an important potion recipe which
Dumbledore had asked her to make. Even though she hated to admit it,
making the potion would have been a lot easier if Snape had been
around. She was so immersed in her work that she didn't notice the
unfamiliar blue vapor rising from one of Soha's potions. Try as she might,
Soha knew she wouldn't be able to hide the vapor's color from Fleur. And
if Fleur asked her what she was brewing, then she would have to tell her
the truth. This was already causing her to perspire a lot but her tension
started to fade slowly when she saw Fleur completely lost in her work.
"Are you done?" Fleur asked without raising her head from the pile of
parchments and books in front of her. Even though she was very busy,
she knew that Soha had been there for at least a couple of hours now, if
not more. After all, Fleur herself had managed to prepare about 25 of the
recipe of a very complicated potion and that was really saying something.
"Almost" Soha replied instantly. She had finished a part of the potion she
was brewing and knew she would have to come back for another couple
of days to complete it. Fleur didn't say anything in reply and the
continuous scratching of a quill against a parchment confirmed Soha's
assumption that Fleur was simply continuing her work. Soha slowly put
away the potion in one of the many vials she had and then continued to
rearrange all the ingredients and the cauldrons in one of the many
cupboards lining the dungeon. At last, after 5 more minutes, she was
ready to go.
"I am done Professor" Soha said to Fleur and, not expecting a reply,
proceeded towards the door.
"One minute Soha" Fleur said in a strange voice which caused Soha to
freeze in mid-step. Slowly she turned around and saw Fleur still
scribbling on the parchments in front of her. Not knowing what to do,
she stood still in her place.
"So…" Fleur slowly put away her quill and looked at Soha. Soha could see
that Fleur seemed to be upset about something and she braced herself for
the worst. "What did you brew?" Fleur asked and raised her left eyebrow
slightly. Soha didn't know that Fleur could do that and looked surprised
for a moment before answering in a hurry "Nothing".
"Nothing?" Fleur didn't seem too impressed with the reply. The look on
her face seemed to take a turn for the worse and Soha knew she could be
in deep trouble if she didn't reply quickly enough.
"Polyjuice…" Soha replied, her mind racing against time. She knew that
brewing Polyjuice Potion required permission but she just couldn't tell
Fleur the real names of the potions. Brewing the Polyjuice Potion and
getting caught was much better than what she had actually been doing.
"Polyjuice potion!" This time there was a distinct look of alarm on Fleur's
face.
"…variant for…hmmm…animals" Soha added awkwardly.
"What?" Fleur looked confused.
"I was trying the Polyjuice variant for the animals" Soha felt a bit more
comfortable now. "You know…turning one animal into another…"
"I don't remember any such potion" Fleur said, her face still showing her
confusion. Had it been Snape in her position, then he would have seen
through the blatant lie of Soha. However, Fleur was still learning to deal
with the kinds of tales told by students and had a long way to go.
"I found one methodology in an old book…" Soha said a bit more boldly.
"…in the library"
"I see" Fleur seemed slightly fazed by this new piece of information. It was
a well known fact that no one exactly knew the extent of information
present in the library and Fleur thought that she might have to do a little
bit of research herself as well.
"Well…the next time you brew it, just call me once so that I can have a
look too" Fleur said. Soha nodded lamely at this thinking of what a mess
she had got herself into. She could have said the name of a hundred
potions but no, the only name which had come to her mind at that
instant had been polyjuice. And the next time she came here, she would
have to ask Fleur to come and see her potion too. Oh god, she thought
and mentally kicked herself.
"By the way…" the strain in Fleur's voice was back. "…from when did you
start brewing potions without a partner?"
"Partner?". This time Soha was the one who looked confused.
"Yeah…" Fleur said but didn't look directly at Soha. She started arranging
some of the parchments in front of her and continued "Why is Mr. Potter
not with you?"
"Oh…" Soha said in realization. "Harry…hmmm…". Fleur saw a helpless
look come over the teenager's face. It was as if she was caught unawares
by the question and didn't have any clue as to what to answer.
"You are not on talking terms with him?" Fleur asked in a concerned
voice. Soha took it to be the concerned voice of a teacher who didn't like
any trouble between students whereas, in reality, Fleur was concerned
that Harry might be staying away from everyone and getting himself into
some kind of trouble.
"No…it's not that" Soha replied. "Actually…" Soha's voice trailed off at
this.
"Have a seat" Fleur motioned to Soha. "Is there a problem with Mr.
Potter?"
"Not really" Soha said as she sat down. It was kind of awkward talking to
teachers about her friends but then again, Fleur wasn't too old and didn't
seem that much of a teacher. "He's just so…quiet nowadays"
"Too quiet?" Fleur asked.
"Yeah…kinds of" Soha replied. "I asked him what his problem was but he
said it was nothing"
"Maybe he needs someone to talk to" Fleur suggested. "Maybe youyou're
your friends should get together and get him to break the ice"
"NO" Soha replied instantly, her eyes going wide.
"Why not?" Fleur asked at the look on Soha's face. She looked slightly
frightened.
"He is so…" Soha looked lost for words before saying "…commanding.
Even his house students don't have the courage to stand up to him"
"Really?" this was really disturbing news for Fleur. Harry had said to her
family that he was much "better" now with Remus helping him with his
"troubles" but it looked like he had not told them the whole truth.
"Yes" Soha said. "I suggested the same thing to Neville and he said he did
not dare to talk to Harry about his private life. Harry would talk about it
when the right time came, Neville said. The others also voiced similar
sentiments"
"I see" Fleur said as she got up from her seat. She was deep in thought
when Soha asked her something.
"Sorry…I didn't get you" Fleur said with an apologetic look on her face
for not hearing what Soha had said.
"Can I ask you something?" Soha asked in a tentative voice.
"Go on" Fleur said in reply.
"Who was the person who died on that night?"
Fleur looked distinctively uncomfortable at this. She knew that it was up
to Dumbledore and Harry to reveal the person's name if they wanted and
she had to make sure it remained that way.
"It was a friend" Fleur replied as truthfully as she could. "A close one"
"Harry's friend?" Soha couldn't believe what she was hearing. So all those
rumors that maybe Harry's girlfriend had died to save him were…
"Everyone's…including Harry's" Fleur replied in a tone which suggested
that she didn't want to pursue the matter further. However, in her
curiosity to know more, Soha failed to notice the tone.
"Was that person a girl?" Soha asked.
"I don't think that is a matter which concerns you Ms. Mentieva". This
statement from Fleur snapped Soha back to reality which was that Fleur
didn't want to continue on this topic. Soha knew that she had been lucky
enough to get through the evening without getting caught with the
potion she was brewing and didn't want to push her luck too much.
Quickly gathering her books and bag, she stood up with an apologetic
look on her face.
"Sorry ma'am" Soha said. "I didn't meant to upset you"
"It's ok" Fleur replied. She didn't like to snap at her students but she
wasn't in the mood to discuss anything more right now. As Soha left the
room, a thoughtful Fleur went back to her seat and started looking
blankly at the dungeon wall opposite to her.
&&&&
"Oh no…not again" Fudge was sitting in his office when he felt something
warm in his pocket. The warm thing in his pocket was none other than
the medallion which Simon Sinatras had given him. It was their, or rather
his, way of saying that they needed to meet to discuss something.
Fudge gave a reluctant sigh and waved away the parchments on his desk.
He knew that Simon didn't like to wait too much. Simon…the name itself
had become a nightmare for Fudge even a couple of months back. He
would sometimes get up screaming at night "No…I didn't take any
money" only to find out that he had been having a bad dream about
Simon turning him over to the public and saying he had taken money
from Malfoy. On those occasions, he would see himself getting cursed
and, somewhat strangely, getting stoned too. Maybe it was because he
had seen a man getting stoned by muggles when he was a child but
whatever may be the case, the name Simon was not good for his health.
The past couple of months had been much quieter for Fudge with Simon
only calling once. He had checked in to see whether everything was
going ok at the Wizard Council or not. After that meeting, Simon had not
bothered to call again. Slowly but surely, Fudge had managed to
convince himself that the boy was either dead or had moved away to
another country. Recently he had started to exert his freedom on the
aurors too. He had taken it upon himself to make some new recruitments
who, much to his dismay later on, proved worthless. However, he had
still been satisfied that the face of the teenager in muggle clothes had not
appeared when all that had happened.
However, now that the medallion had once again heated up, Fudge knew
that he had been wrong in thinking that Simon had gone away. It felt as
if someone had just taken away his oxygen supply…as if the ground had
been pulled away from under his feet. Try as he might, he couldn't do
anything about this "kid". He knew he had to meet him and do whatever
that kid told him to do. As the parchments settled down in a haphazard
manner on a nearby desk, Fudge took out a bit of floo powder and flooed
to the Leaky Cauldron.
"You are 2 minutes late" Simon, or rather Harry, said as soon as Fudge
entered the room where they usually met.
"I had to finish some work" Fudge replied, his face showing traces of the
disgust he held for the person in front of him. He was well practiced in
hiding his emotions but he couldn't control himself after seeing this
person after so long. However, he changed his expression to a neutral
state as fast as he could.
"You mean the work which is done by a minister?" Harry asked
mockingly. "And it was more important than doing the work required to
remain as the minister?"
"I have to live up to people's expectations" Fudge said in a well-rehearsed
manner. "I have to do what I had promised them and if…"
"Oh, shut up Fudge" Harry said casually. "I am not in a mood to hear all
this rubbish from you". Fudge didn't say anything and took his seat
opposite to Simon.
"What can I do for you this time?" Fudge asked after a long phase of
silence had passed between them.
"Rather…" Harry said "…what can you do for yourself, right?". Fudge
didn't reply to this knowing fully well that Simon was right. After all,
Fudge was doing everything for himself and to keep his place as the
minister safe.
"Ok…" Harry jerked into an upright position, shrugging off his self-
induced laziness. "Let's come down to business". Fudge gave a small
acknowledging nod.
"What do you propose to do about the situation at hand?" Harry asked in
a keen manner.
"What situation?"
"Refugees" Harry replied.
"Where?" Fudge gave a shrug.
"You know where" Harry said coldly. The more he saw of Fudge, the more
he was astonished by his stupidity. Why did this man always have to
make Harry's task difficult when he knew very well that he didn't have
any bargaining power?
"Are you talking about Hogwarts?" Fudge asked in concern, more due to
the look on Harry's face.
"Yes minister" Harry's voice was filled with hatred.
"What about it?" Fudge said in an I-don't-care voice. "Dumbledore is
taking care of matters I guess"
"You guess?" Harry asked slowly. "And when were you paid for
guessing?". Not expecting a reply from Fudge, Harry went on.
"Dumbledore is doing everything to take care of the situation now but the
number of people going to Hogwarts is just too great. They need more
protection"
"Hogwarts is filled with courageous wizards and witches" Fudge replied.
"They can take care of the refugees. Anyone can take care of a few
refugees"
"Then why don't I send some to your home and tell the death eaters that
you are sheltering them?" Harry leaned forward and looked calmly into
Fudge's eyes. Fudge shuddered as their eyes met – the eyes of Harry
didn't have any emotion in them. This guy in front of him was saying all
this in such a cold blooded manner that it made the hair on Fudge's neck
rise.
"Wha…wha…" Fudge stuttered before recovering slightly. "You know
death eaters too?"
"And what if I do?" Harry asked, the faces of Wormtail, Snape and Ginny
coming to his mind.
"It's illegal" Fudge said in a none to convincing voice.
"To know that someone is a death eater?" Harry wondered aloud.
"To know and not to report them" Fudge said, his confidence growing. At
last he had something which could land this lad in the jail.
"I remember one person named Malfoy" Harry replied in a monotonous
voice. "And I know someone who has repeatedly taken money from him
and…". Hearing this, Fudge started to cough loudly.
"So what about Hogwarts?" Fudge asked once he had recovered. "What do
you want me to do there?"
"I want more aurors at Hogwarts" Harry said as he relaxed slightly in his
chair.
"But we don't have enough of them" Fudge threw up his hands in
frustration. "I can't even get more than four aurors to protect me and
you…" Fudge stopped abruptly. He knew he had put his foot into his
mouth and now he was going to pay for it.
"Four aurors to protect you when the people of England don't have
enough protection?" Harry's eyes grew narrower as he said this. Fudge
would have had to pay with his life if Harry had his way.
"That was last week…" Fudge added hastily. "…during the International
Ministers meeting…"
"Hmmm…" Harry just kept looking at a fidgeting Fudge for a minute
before adding in an even colder voice "I will deal with that later. But for
now, I need more aurors at Hogwarts"
"But you don't understand…" Fudge said in true desperation. "…I just
don't have that many aurors at my disposal"
"How many do you have on hand?" Harry asked.
"5" Fudge replied. Harry kept staring at him coldly.
"Ok…10" Fudge said after a few seconds. By now he was sweating
heavily and Harry's staring wasn't helping matters for him.
"Fine…" Fudge said desperately once again. "I have 24 spare aurors".
Harry's cold gaze shifted towards the floor as his mind started racing
once again. Fudge's body language suggested that he had spelled out the
correct number of aurors this time around. If he was correct, then Harry
knew he would have make a strategy as to how many aurors are to be
allocated to Hogwarts and how many should remain protecting the
ministry.
"Wait" Harry thought to himself. "Fudge said that these were spare aurors.
That means he has more aurors protecting the ministry". Harry felt slightly
foolish at this logic because it was so obvious. However, his chain of
thoughts continued. "So, say if 14 aurors are placed at Hogwarts, what can
be done with the other 10? Fudge would most probably end up using them as
his bodyguards unless…unless…" and then it stuck Harry.
Harry felt like kicking himself for being so blind. How could he have
ignored the idea that there could be other places which can be targeted
too and which would have a very devastating effect on the whole moral
of the wizarding community! There was one more place which, according
to many people, might be more important than Hogwarts at the moment.
St. Mungo's!
It was not that St. Mungo's was just a hospital. It was the place where
many previous victims of the death eaters were being treated. It was
where Neville's parents were staying and hopefully getting better. It just
wasn't a hospital…it was a place of memories of the past and hopes for a
happier future. And, sooner or later, the death eaters would come for
these people again and maybe they would torture them beyond words
can describe.
"Hey!" Fudge's voice brought out Harry from his thoughts. He had been
so overwhelmed by the fact that he had turned a blind eye at St. Mungo's
that he had forgotten where he was for a moment.
"Hold on" Harry said irritably. "I am busy organizing things"
"I have things of mine to organize too" Fudge replied sarcastically.
"Like packing your bags and leaving the ministry allocated residential
complex of yours?" Harry queried with a hint of taunt in his voice. "Like
going to a wizard jail for assisting a death eater?". With this Harry turned
his gaze away from Fudge once more. He knew he had said enough to
keep Fudge quiet for the time being.
"I want…" Harry started off slowly after a minute had passed. "…
hmmm…14 aurors for Hogwarts and the remaining 10 for St. Mungo's"
"St. Mungo's!" Fudge exclaimed. "Why on the earth…"
"You have any wish to go against what I want?" Harry asked coldly but
didn't look at Fudge this time. He knew he had more important things to
sort out than giving Fudge a cold glare.
"I didn't say that" Fudge replied hesitantly. He could see that the boy in
front of him was thinking and he hated him with all his heart at that
moment. The more this boy thought, the more trouble Fudge found
himself in.
"St. Mungo's needs more protection" Harry said with a far-away look on
his face. It seemed to him that he was trying to visualize something. "The
patients there need more protection"
"It is protected enough" Fudge said grudgingly.
"However…" Harry's voice trailed off as his eyes seemed to move around
frantically in their sockets. It seemed like he was trying to see something
moving very fast in front of him…something invisible.
"However?" Fudge asked in a tentative voice. He didn't like the look on
Harry's face. Slowly, the creases on Harry's forehead seemed to go away,
only to be replaced by a smile. "How..ever…?" Fudge asked in a
frightened voice as he saw the smile on Harry's face. More trouble for
him, he thought.
"However…" Harry turned around to look at Fudge with the same smile
plastered on his face. He guessed that this must be the first time that
Fudge had seen him smiling genuinely. Without Fudge noticing, Harry
cast a silencing charm all around them "…I want you to…"
Fudge listened quietly to the whole thing which Harry explained. Slowly
but surely, Fudge's eyes grew wide in horror as he understood the
enormity of Harry's words. This boy had to be totally insane, Fudge
thought as he listened to Harry. As Harry finished, a worried look came
upon his face. There was a very good chance that his plan might taste
grand success and yet…
"YOU ARE INSANE" Fudge shouted as he jumped up from his chair. "You
are SO insane". Harry gave himself a mental pat on his back for casting
the silencing charm because Fudge's reaction was just what he had
expected. However, he didn't show any emotion on the outside.
"That's the way it is going to happen" Harry said matter-of-factly.
"Over my dead body" Fudge said angrily.
"Then so be it" Harry replied. Fudge blinked for a couple of seconds
before understanding what he had just said.
"I meant…" Fudge looked around frantically in a manner which was
reminiscent of Wormtail looking around in the shrieking shack when
Sirius and Remus had got to him. "I mean…this is suicide" Fudge said in a
much calmer voice though it was clear that he was still in a very strained
state of mind.
"It is not" Harry said. "And in any case, your life is not on the line, is it?"
"People will question me if something happens" Fudge almost made to
bang the table in front of him but stopped at the last second.
"As if you really care what they want and what they don't" Harry replied
sarcastically. "As if you value your prestige more than the pieces of
galleons in your bank"
"I do" Fudge said in indignation.
"Shut up" Harry said angrily. He was getting fed up with Fudge's attitude
and if Fudge had not been in a position to help Harry, then he would
have gone to the authorities right now and handed over all the papers
incriminating Fudge. "And I want all this done by tomorrow"
"Tommorow!" Fudge looked up in shock as Harry stood up to leave. "I
can't arrange all this in such a short…" Fudge looked around as Harry
walked out of the room, not even listening to him. "…time". Fudge
finished the sentence with a sigh. He was in some really deep trouble
right now and he knew he had nothing in his power to change it. With
another deep sigh, he rose from his chair and left the room.
&&&&
"Have you heard about what has happened?"
"What?" Seamus asked one of his house mates.
"There have been hundreds of attacks last night" a guy named Michael
replied.
"What!" Seamus seemed shocked and almost fell off his seat in the
common room. It was early in the morning and, with the classes
postponed, many of the students were yet to rise. The few who were
there came to join in the discussion which seemed to be starting.
"Yes" Michael replied. "In Magical Yorkshire itself about 50 dementors
were spotted by aurors"
"50 in a single attack or…"
"Single" Michael replied before the other boy had been able to finish his
question. "They attacked the ministry office there and many people were
kissed". Everyone drew in a sharp breath at this. Being kissed by a
dementor was the worst thing which could happen to a living being. It
was better to die rather than being kissed by a dementor.
"You must be joking" one of the guys said with a doubtful laugh. It
seemed just so…impossible.
"Check the Prophet Joe" Michael said and tossed The Daily Prophet
towards him. Going through it, the other boy saw that it was true.
"What does it say?" another boy in the group asked Joe.
"Just what Michael said…" Joe's voice was kind of fazed. "50
dementors…". Joe's voice trailed off at this.
"50 dementors what?" one of the boys asked after Joe seemed to be
staring blankly at the wall opposite to him.
"50 odd dementors attacked the ministry office in Magical Yorkshire" Joe
said after clearing his throat a bit more loudly than usual. "More than 20
people were kissed"
"What!" the same, if not greater, sound of disbelief could be heard in the
boys voices again.
"What did the aurors do then?" one of the boys got up in disgust and
kicked his chair. "Were they just sitting around the fire and playing
exploding snap or something?"
"Do you understand what the impact of 50 plus dementors is like?"
Michael asked. "They can drive you mad"
"Yeah" another boy said. "Remember how we were screaming when the
dementors attacked Hogwarts?"
"Aurors are trained for this!" the other boy said in even more frustration.
"Hell…they are paid for protecting us and if…"
"Money cannot buy everything mate" Joe said in a sullen voice. "They…"
"What the hell do you mean?" another boy spoke up angrily. "You mean
so many aurors cannot cast a patronus?"
"Maybe they didn't have the time" Seamus said.
"The time required to save others?" Joe didn't know who was right or
wrong. When someone spoke for the aurors then their logic seemed right
but when someone gave an argument against them then they too seemed
correct. "Man…I don't know who is right and who is wrong" Joe slumped
into his chair and withdrew himself from the argument.
"Those aurors should have been kissed" another boy commented angrily.
By this time the sun had already risen high and more students had started
pouring in. Seeing a commotion in the middle, many climbed down the
stairs rapidly to see what had happened.
"Some were" Michael said as he re-read the article.
"I hate all these so-called aurors" one of the girls said angrily. She had
been amongst the first to come down and take a peek at the article over
Michael's shoulders. Apparently she had read enough to come to her own
conclusion.
"They must have tried" Michael said again. After all, his father was an
auror who had died a few days ago trying to protect a family from death
eaters and he just couldn't think of an auror running away from a battle
scene where innocents might get killed.
"Maybe they should learn how to cast a patronus" the girl said again in a
shrill voice. "I mean, Harry drove away the dementors here and so many
aurors couldn't drive away these dementors"
"Harry is different" Michael said quietly. "Many people cannot match
him"
"C'mon Michael…" the girl replied. "You don't think Harry alone can do
such things"
"What's happening here?" the voice of Neville Longbottom stopped
Michael before he could reply.
"This" the girl said angrily and thrust the newspaper into Neville's hands.
Neville's hands were trembling with anger as he finished reading the
article.
"Those death eaters and dementors…ARGH" Neville almost crushed the
newspaper in his hand before throwing it away in disgust. It landed near
the girl's staircase just as Katie Bell and Hermione were coming down.
Hermione, seeing Neville in such an agitated state, quickly picked up the
newspaper and read the portion under a moving picture of people
running in all directions and screaming all along. After reading it, she
passed it on to Katie and moved towards the seat which had been
occupied by a very angry Neville.
"Hey"
"Hi" Neville said in a controlled manner but couldn't hide his anger.
"I know it is very upsetting" Hermione said with a sigh. "But…"
"But what Hermione…but what?" Neville's voice rose slightly causing a
few people to turn and look at him. "How much longer do we have to
take all this?"
"Neville…" Hermione said in a calm voice "…You know this is just the
start of the war. We have to hold on much longer"
"But I don't want to hold on much longer" Neville said in a disgusted
manner. "I don't know how many more people are getting killed daily…
tortured…becoming like my parents…". Unable to keep his emotions
under control, Neville turned his head away and blinked back his tears.
"I know it is very painful but we have to hold on, right?" Hermione was
having trouble keeping her emotions in control. "We have to…"
"I know" Neville finally said in a slightly quavering voice. "I just hope
someone ends this goddamned war"
"Dumbledore must be surely doing something about it" Hermione
continued.
"But…" Neville stopped abruptly as he saw Ron climb down the boy's
dormitory staircase. Ron glanced around at the angry faces of those
present in the common room and seemed to be trying to make some
sense of it. Initially he thought they were somehow angry with him
because of Ginny…at least that's what he thought whenever he saw
someone angry and shouting about death eaters or any dark creatures.
But then he saw the article in Katie's hands and seemed to relax slightly.
However, his eyebrows seemed to touch each other as he looked to be
deep in thought.
"Want to seat with us?" Hermione called out to her boyfriend who had
become very quiet nowadays. Ron gave an acknowledging nod and
slowly walked up to a chair beside the other two.
"A dementor attack" Hermione said as Ron took his seat.
"Hmmm…" was the only sound which came from Ron's throat. Hermione
could only wonder what Ron was thinking about. Maybe he was thinking
about how to fight off dementors…maybe he was thinking about her…
maybe he was thinking about Harry…
"My sister is behind all this" Ron said suddenly.
"Wha…" Hermione looked stunned for a second before continuing. "You
shouldn't think like that"
"I should because I know it" Ron said defiantly. "Everything has gone
wrong from the day she helped Snape"
"C'mon Ron…" Hermione said, placing a soothing hand on his shoulders.
"It's just a coincidence"
"Dark magic doesn't have coincidences" Ron replied grimly. "Something
happened that night which has led to all this and my sister…damn her"
"Ron…" Neville began in a low voice when, all of a sudden, the
commotion in the common room came to a standstill. Everyone could
hear a large amount of chattering coming nearer and nearer and…
"Owls…" Hermione pointed as the first owl swooped inside the Gryffindor
common room through one of the many open windows. "…and they have
newspapers with them"
"But I thought the prophet had been delivered" Neville looked astonished
as one of the owls landed in front of him and held out one of it's legs. He
could see the newspaper folded in a sheet of parchment specifying
"Special Edition for 5 knuts". Curious as to what this special edition could
be, Neville took the newspaper from the owl and paid the mandatory five
knuts.
"What is it?" Ron asked in a nervous voice as Neville tried to open it. He
had a bad feeling about this. As Neville finally got a view of the front
page, Ron and Hermione heard him draw his breath in sharply.
"What is it?" this time it was Hermione who was the one to raise the
question. In answer to her question, Neville laid down the paper in front
of them.
Werewolves Follow Dementors
There were large scale werewolf attacks hours after the dementors went on a
kissing spree yesterday night. It is not certain what led to the werewolves to
attack in such large numbers but it seems yesterday's full moon witnessed the
first such large attack since the last war when 48 werewolves reportedly
attacked Diagon Alley in a single night. A much larger number was spotted
this time around with rumors specifying the number of werewolves sighted at
over hundred.
"Over 50 werewolves attacked our village tonight" said a devastated John who
refused to divulge his last name. "One of my own children was bitten"
"What did we do to warrant such an attack?" a broken Rita McMillan asked
as she held onto her only child who had severe werewolf scratches on her
back.
"Where were the aurors?" asked a group of angry young men all of whom had
werewolf claw marks on their bodies. Reportedly, this particular group of 15
young wizards had fought off 5 werewolves attacking their family. They were
all having a party in their lawn when the attack started near their homes and
rushed inside seconds before the werewolves had broken through their fences.
With their homes getting ravaged and seeing their families in danger, these
men set an example by fighting off the werewolves bravely. However, whether
the scratches made by the werewolves will have any lasting effect or not
remains to be seen.
The ministry aurors have been blamed for not being present when the werewolf
attack took place. Reports were published earlier as to how the aurors had fled
when dementors had attacked the ministry office of Magical Yorkshire. It
seems that this time the aurors thought it best if they did not come out in the
open at all.
"That is not true" a ministry official denied the allegations that none of the
aurors present had gone to fight the werewolves. "The aurors went in groups of
two each to all the locations possible and saved many a pour soul from getting
bitten by these horrendous creatures". When queried as to why the werewolves
had launched such an attack, the ministry official refused to comment on it.
It seems more and more attacks are on the cards now. Attacks by dementors
and werewolves in a single night cannot be a mere coincidence. It seems He-
Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is challenging the law and order of the English
ministry. And the fact that there are no ministry personnel trying to stop him is
even more disturbing.
Mr. Fudge, are you listening?
Page 2: How to fight dementors?
Page 3: Did Harry Potter really fight dementors during Halloween?
Page 4 & 5: Mad Eye Moody writes a special article on dark creatures
&&&&
"Hermione…what is the matter?". Hermione was sitting alone in the
library when Soha had walked up to her and asked her this question. The
fact that Hermione looked devastated was the reason why Soha had
decided she couldn't wait for Hermione to leave the library before asking
this.
"Nothing" Hermione said with a shrug.
"Would you mind coming with me for a walk?" Soha asked gently. She
knew something was up but she didn't want to talk too much inside the
library. After all, no one respected the sanctity of a library more than a
Ravenclaw.
"Ok" Hermione said after a few quiet seconds and put away the books in
front of her in their right places.
"So…" Soha asked finally once they were outside the library. "What is
bothering you?"
"Nothing in particular" Hermione replied.
"It doesn't seem so at least" Soha said. "You look…disheveled"
"Forget it" Hermione said with great disdain. Who cared if she looked a
mess or not…there were enough troubles already.
"I would like to help you if you want" Soha pushed on. "I mean…Harry's
not always there now and Ron is…well…your boyfriend. Sometimes
people need to talk to others too. It becomes easier"
"Maybe you are right" Hermione said after contemplating Soha's
statement. After all, if Harry had been there then she would have
instantly gone to him to discuss the issue on her mind but that was not
possible now. Also, she just couldn't talk to Ron about these things at the
moment. Soha was not the best of her friends but if Harry could trust her
like he had done before then so could she.
"Well?" Soha asked gently once more. She desperately wanted to be of
some help to Hermione and her friends. She knew how much they missed
Harry and, ever since the Ginny thing, Ron was often very moody. So it
was up to the others to help out Hermione or Neville or Seamus
whenever they were in some trouble or the other unless they were
helping out each other.
"It's Neville" Hermione said at long last.
"What about him?" Soha asked in a concerned manner. After all, if
something happened to one of the leaders of the D.A. then…
"Well…hmmm…"
"Tell me Hermione" Soha said in a slightly emphatic manner which made
Hermione relent.
"He is getting angrier by the day" Hermione said. "You know…every time
he sees something related to death eaters and dementors and…"
"I understand what you are saying" Soha said sympathetically. "Even my
blood boils when I see all those things in the paper"
"It's not just that!" Hermione said. "I have seen Neville for the past five
and a half years and I have never known him to be like this. I mean, he
gets angrier than normal"
"I see" Soha said. The expression on her face showed that she was
thinking about something. "You think he is over-reacting?"
"Yeah" Hermione said with a very worried look as they climbed yet
another staircase.
"Some people do over react to certain things" Soha applied her
Ravenclaw logic. "Maybe it has something to do with his past…maybe
something happened…". Hermione knew that Soha was tantalizingly
close to the truth regarding Neville's family but also knew that Soha had
no idea about it. She couldn't help but appreciate her logical reasoning.
However, she also knew that she couldn't tell Soha the truth.
"I don't know…" Hermione said with a shrug. "But…"
"But what?" Soha asked as she saw Hermione's face fall.
"I just have a bad feeling about this" Hermione came to a stop and turned
round to look at Soha. Soha was slightly surprised to see that tears were
forming in Hermione's eyes.
"Why are you crying Hermione?" Soha asked as a single tear made its
way down Hermione's cheek.
"I don't want to lose another friend" Hermione said with a sniff. "I don't
want to lose Neville"
Soha couldn't help but feel sympathetic for the girl in front of her.
However, she couldn't resist asking the question which had popped up in
her mind.
"Who else have you lost?" Soha queried.
"Harry" came Hermione's short reply before she burst into tears. Even
before Soha could know what was happening, Hermione had hugged her
tightly and was crying almost uncontrollably.
"And…and I think I am losing Ron in this war too" were the only other
decipherable words uttered by Hermione after she broke down
completely.
&&&&
"Oh god…just look at that!" one tiny girl squeaked as she peeked out of
the common room of the Gryffindor tower. Hearing her voice, everyone
rushed to see what had happened. What they saw was absolutely mind
blowing.
"How many people are coming here?" Neville asked in slight shock as he
saw hundreds of people walking towards the castle. As far as Neville
could estimate, over a few thousand people were in his view with more
coming into view with every passing second. There was not enough room
to even walk properly. The initial number of refugees who had taken
shelter after the first phase of attacks seemed a fraction of the number of
people in sight now.
"4…5 thousand…maybe more" Dean replied without taking his eyes off
from the scene. Many of the people moving across the grounds were
badly wounded and were being carried on stretchers. As a small group of
people came into view, a few of the younger girls and boys screamed in
horror – a couple of these people had their arms missing and from the
way the shreds of flesh were hanging limply, it wasn't hard to tell what
had happened. Werewolves must have torn out their arms in the fight of
the previous night!
"How are they still walking?" one of the fifth year girls asked in a voice
filled with fright. "They have lost a lot of blood and…"
"I have no idea at all" a seventh year student replied. "Even pain killing
potions…anti-sleep potions…they wouldn't have been able to stop them
from being unconscious for the loss of blood"
"Willpower" Neville said quietly. He could understand why these people
were still walking around normally – they had decided they would have
to come to Hogwarts and their sheer determination was driving them
towards their current goal.
"Where will all these people stay?" Hermione asked. No one had noticed
her joining the group from behind.
"Don't know" replied Dean. "Maybe they will expand the great hall even
more"
"Every magic has a limit" Hermione said in a low voice. She didn't want
to sound bossy or anything like that. "If the great hall is expanded
infinitely, then it will burst"
"That can happen?" Dean turned around with a shocked look on his face.
Seeing Hermione give an affirmative nod, his eyes went wide and he
muttered something to himself before turning back towards the window.
As far as he could see, the sea of people didn't end. It was more like an
ocean of people out there.
"When the hell will all this end?" Neville almost asked himself in a
hissing voice.
"Soon my dear friend" Ron Weasley said in a reassuring whisper in
Neville's ears.
&&&&
"What do we do Albus?" Minerva McGonagall and several other senior
teachers of Hogwarts had come for an emergency meeting to the
Headmaster's room.
"I am afraid we don't have too many choices" Dumbledore replied calmly.
"I would not have preferred for such a scenario so soon but it seems we
must be ready for everything from now onwards"
"But how do we accommodate so many people in here?" little Professor
Flitwick asked. "Even if they camp in the grounds, then also it will be too
small"
"Hmmm" Dumbledore dwindled his fingers as he thought of the issue.
They were right…accommodating six thousand four hundred eighty six
people was no mean feat. Also, the numbers were growing by the minute.
For some reason, it seemed that the whole of England had decided that
Hogwarts was the safest place to be at.
"Maybe we can arrange something at Godric's Hollow" Fleur Delacour
suggested. Even though she was a newcomer, she knew her comments
would carry the same weight as that of the others.
"Excellent idea in my opinion" Dumbledore's eyes got back a bit of their
lost twinkle at hearing this. "What do you all have to say about this?"
"Well…" McGonagall seemed a bit lost in her thoughts. "Godric's Hollow
is big enough but at this rate it will soon be overflowing. These people
will need houses"
"What about the existing people there?" Madam Pomfrey asked. "I mean,
will they want new people to come and live amongst them?"
"A very good point Poppy" Dumbledore said before continuing with his
explanation. "Everyone knows what it is like out there and from my own
personal experience, I can guarantee that the people of Godric's Hollow
would be the first to offer their help to other people without caring
where they are from or other things"
"Yes" Flitwick said with a far-away look in his eyes. "I agree that Godric's
Hollow has a large number of helpful people to say the least. After all
their parents and grand parents had been such great people too".
Everyone there could feel that Flitwick was really fond of the people he
had taught in the past. "They have inherited the characteristics of their
forefathers" Flitwick finished off in a slightly emotional voice.
"Any objections to allowing these people to build houses in Godric's
Hollow and live there till the war is over?" Dumbledore seemed to be
taking a vote on this. Seeing no negative responses, he decided that that
was the way it would have to be done. He then instructed the different
teachers as to what was expected of them in the coming 24 hours and
soon everyone was on their way to carry out their duties except Minerva
McGonagall.
"What's happening Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked in a concerned
voice. "What can we do to stop all this from happening?"
"Someone else asked me the same question a few days ago and I will give
you the same reply I had given then" Dumbledore said in his usual calm
manner. "All we can do right now is to wait for Lord Voldemort to make
a wrong move"
"But the losses are mounting hugely" McGonagall seemed stressed. "We
have to do something to stem that"
"I have had a chat with everyone concerned" Dumbledore's voice sounded
a bit more serious than before. "Some have to undertake a few dangerous
missions and everyone has agreed to it"
"Who are those people?" McGonagall asked in curiosity. It was very
unlike Dumbledore to not mention such a thing to her before.
"Our friends" was the reply. McGonagall took this as a sign that
Dumbledore didn't want to tell anyone the names of the people involved.
Maybe it was for the safety of the missions or maybe it was because
Dumbledore didn't want other's to get too worried about it. Whatever it
might be, McGonagall knew Dumbledore had his reasons and didn't
pursue the matter further. When the right time came, Dumbledore would
surely let her know.
"And how is Mr. Potter handling all this?" McGonagall continued in an
even more concerned voice. She knew that all this must have had a
telling effect on the young lad.
"He wants all this to stop" Dumbledore replied in a strange sort of voice.
"But one doesn't always get what one wishes for"
"What do you mean by that?" McGonagall asked sharply.
"Oh…it was nothing" Dumbledore said with a small smile. "Just an old
man's wild thoughts"
"You know that you can still confuse me but you surely know that you
can't fool me, right?" McGonagall asked in a slightly angry tone.
"Of course" Dumbledore replied with a slight chuckle. "How foolish of me
to try such a thing!"
"What is it that you are hiding Albus?" McGonagall asked, her eyes
scanning every part of Dumbledore's features to detect the slightest of
expressions.
"Nothing which can be of any benefit to anyone" Dumbledore replied
with a sigh.
&&&&
"Thank god the day is finally over" Fleur said with a sigh of relief as she
sat down with her family members in their home at Godric's Hollow.
"Are all these people refugees?" Mrs. Delacour asked as she peeked
outside for the umpteenth time. The whole day they had seen people
coming in by huge numbers and setting up tents and everything else.
From being a sparsely populated area, Godric's Hollow had become one
of the most densely populated areas in a matter of hours.
"Yes Ma" Fleur replied. "Plus they have only got started. From tomorrow
onwards more work will take place"
"More work?" Gabriel queried.
"Yes dear" Mr. Delacour said. "These people have to build their new
homes here"
"War is bad" Gabriel said with great dislike. "I hate those who have hurt
so many people"
"So do we dear" Mr. Delacour shared the same feeling. "But now we
should all go to bed and have a good night's sleep. Your sister is very
tired"
"But she will go back to the castle" Gabriel's face fell at this. "She never
stay's over"
"I have work to do" Fleur ruffled the hair of her kid-sister in a playful
manner. "You know that, don't you?"
"Yeah yeah…" Gabriel said sarcastically and fell silent. Mr. and Mrs.
Delacour thought it best to let the girls talk over this matter and left them
alone. After all, Gabriel had grown enough to understand that there were
lots of things which were more important than staying home with your
family during this phase of their lives.
"Ok…I will stay today". This sudden statement from Fleur took Gabriel by
complete surprise. For a minute she thought that she was hearing things
but then saw that Fleur was serious. Her joy knew no bounds as she
embraced her elder sister. After all, seldom did Fleur stay at home as she
felt that Hogwarts needed her most at this moment. But just before she
embraced her, Gabriel saw another expression on Fleur's face…one which
she had seen many times in the past one month or so.
"Now I get it" Gabriel said as she pulled away from her sister. Even
though she was very happy that her sister had relented to stay, still there
was some sadness inside her because she knew her sister's decision had
not been fully for her happiness. Even though she could understand her
sister's point of view, still, something seemed missing.
"What?" Fleur asked in an astonished manner. The expression on Gabriel's
face showed that she was sad about something. About what, Fleur had no
answer to that.
"You are not staying back because I asked you too, are you?" Gabriel
asked in return.
"Of course I am" Fleur said and guided her sister to the empty seat beside
her. "Why do you think I am not doing this on your saying?"
"Flu…I have been your sister long enough now" Gabriel said in a manner
which reminded Fleur of her mother. "I know what you are thinking
when I see your face". She had not said anything in the past but she felt
she should comment on a few things now.
"Really?" Fleur asked, feigning surprise. Surely Gabriel couldn't have
guessed what was on Fleur's mind!
"It's him, isn't it?" Gabriel asked in a matter-of-factly voice. "You stayed
back because you don't want to stay too close to him, right?"
"Him?" Fleur asked in a mocking but very nervous voice. Was it that
apparent? Her pulse rate had started to quicken when Gabriel had given
the first hint that she knew what was on Fleur's mind. How would she
control herself if everyone noticed her feelings?
"Do I have to say his name as well?" Gabriel asked in a bored voice. "I am
part veela too Flu and I can understand some of these things. Him is
equal to Harr…"
"STOP!" Fleur cupped her sister's mouth before she could say anything
more. Even though a small part of Gabriel wanted to burst out in
laughter at Fleur's reaction, the major part felt very sad at the way Fleur's
life was progressing.
"Is it that much apparent to everyone?" Fleur didn't remove her hands
from over Gabriel's mouth as she asked her question. When she got no
response from Gabriel, she finally noticed that her strong grip was
preventing Gabriel from even moving her face.
"No" Gabriel said after taking in a long gasp of air. "It's just that I am your
sister and I can detect these very easily. And don't do that again, ok?"
"Sorry about that" Fleur said a bit apologetically. "You were about to say
his name and…"
"Because you were pretending as if I was just kidding you, you dumb old
veela" Gabriel said with a raised eyebrow. Fleur couldn't help but smile at
being called a "dumb old veela". Maybe that was how she would end up
in her life.
"Sorry" Fleur said apologetically and got a lovely smile from her sister as
the answer. This could only mean that her "sins" were forgiven.
"How long are you going to run away from him Flu?". All of a sudden,
Gabriel seemed the older of the two.
"Easy for you to say" Fleur said in mock anger. "What would you have
done if you were in my place?"
"Told him the truth" Gabriel replied honestly.
"It's not so easy 'elle" Fleur replied with a shake of her head. "Not after
Tonks"
"Well…maybe" Gabriel replied. "I don't know how close they were"
"Emotionally they were a single person at the end"
"You mean they were ready to die for each other?" Gabriel asked in slight
awe.
"Tonks died to save Harry, remember?" Fleur said. At this Gabriel
frowned at her.
"That's what happened that night, didn't it?" Gabriel seemed very angry.
"You all think I am too young for all this and you don't even say to me
about 'why' Tonks died in the first place!"
"Oh" Fleur squirmed in her seat when she realized that they had decided
not to tell Gabriel as to why Tonks had died. They had just decided that
this information was too sensitive for anyone else to know. "I am very
sorry 'elle…I just thought that Harry might not want everyone to know
about this"
"But he would want me to know about it, wouldn't he?" Gabriel was very
angry now. After all, Harry would never hide anything from her.
"Now that I think of it then I must agree that Harry would have told you
the truth if this topic had come up" Fleur replied after a few seconds of
thinking. "I am so sorry"
"It's ok" Gabriel said with a frown. Fleur didn't say anything more because
she knew that Gabriel was thinking something.
"This changes everything then" Gabriel said at last. "You just…"
"…cannot go up to him and say it, can I?" Fleur completed the sentence
before Gabrielle could even finish it.
"Yeah" Gabrielle said with a sigh. "But you do like him, don't you?". Fleur
just nodded in reply.
"You love him?" Gabrielle asked after a few minutes of complete silence.
Even though the word love was a small one, it had a much larger
meaning than liking someone.
"Yes" Fleur replied in a barely audible whisper. She was looking towards
the floor as she said this and Gabrielle noticed a small drop of tear fall to
the ground.
"It's hard, isn't it?" Gabrielle was trying to understand the kind of feelings
her elder sister was going through. "Being so near to him and yet…".
Gabriel's voice trailed off at this and more tears fell to the ground in front
of Fleur.
"But why don't you say it to him?" Gabriel asked defiantly. "I mean, he
has to move on as well, isn't that so?"
"What if he doesn't want to move on?" Fleur replied. "What if the memory
of Tonks is enough to last him for this life?"
"That can't be true" Gabriel said.
"Believe me, it can be true" Fleur said in a very slow voice. Gabriel tried
to understand the meaning of Fleur's sentence and didn't say anything for
a few minutes. Suddenly it stuck her as a bolt of lightning.
"NO!" Gabriel said in a shocked voice and turned to face her sister. "You
don't mean to say…"
"'elle…there will be no one else in my life" Fleur said as she heard her
sister's voice fade away. "I have already made that promise to myself"
"But Flu…you are only 20!" Gabrielle said in desperation. "How can you
even think of something like that?"
"I think this is what they call love" Fleur said with a sad smile. "They say
it is blind…it doesn't allow one to think logically…maybe this is what it
is about"
"But isn't love supposed to be something which makes one happy?"
Gabrielle asked with the innocence which could only come from a person
of her age.
"I am happy the way I am 'elle" Fleur replied. "I am happy if he is happy"
"What if he isn't happy?" Gabrielle countered her elder sister. "What if he
really needs someone in his life to give him the emotional support he
needs now?"
"His godfather is there for him"
"What if he needs someone more than his godfather?" Gabrielle asked.
Placing her hand on Fleur's chin, she slowly lifted her face so that Fleur
had to look Gabrielle straight in her eyes. "What if he needs someone like
you right now?"
"What if he doesn't?" Fleur asked as she looked into the big eyes of her
beautiful sister. She could see the pain which Gabrielle was feeling for
her and she was reminded once again why Gabrielle had been the "object
she would have missed most" in the Tri-wizard tournament. Fleur
reminded herself how lucky she was to have such a sister.
"Maybe he does…maybe he doesn't…" Gabrielle said without breaking
eye contact with her sister. "But if he asks you then promise me you
won't say no"
"'elle…" Fleur began but was cut short by her sister.
"Promise?" Gabrielle had a stubborn look on her face and it was clear she
would let her sister off the hook without getting her promise.
"Ok…" Fleur relented at last.
"Till then you will stay on as his friend, right?" Gabrielle just wanted to
be sure that her sister didn't push away Harry from her life altogether.
"I will try" was the reply which Gabrielle got.
&&&&
"Damn it" Neville threw away the book titled "Thinking the Light Way".
"What is the matter Neville?" a serious voice asked. Neville looked up to
see his friend standing next to a trunk.
"Nothing Harry" Neville replied.
"Neville Longbottom doesn't throw away a book in anger unless it is
something really important" Harry said as he sat down opposite to
Neville.
"Who cares about what Neville Longbottom does?" Neville said in a
disgusted voice.
"Maybe there are more people who care about you than you know
Neville" Harry said.
"No Harry…I think you are wrong" Neville said stubbornly.
"Maybe…" Harry replied. "Only time will tell"
"Yeah" Neville said in a tone which still held some of the anger which
had been building inside him just before Harry had climbed out of his
trunk.
"Won't you talk about what is bothering you then?" Harry asked again.
He knew Neville was very upset about something and he was keeping it
to himself for the moment. Even though Harry didn't want anyone to
poke their noses in his own life, he knew Neville was the sort of person
who was better off sharing their own problems. Also, for that matter,
Harry had Remus to talk to. Neville had no one except his grandmother,
who was very far away at the moment, and his friends.
"Well…" Neville looked at Harry with a look of helplessness on his face.
He didn't say anything more but the look on his face was enough to tell
Harry that Neville was living in a nightmarish situation for the past few
days or something.
"What is it Neville?" Harry asked in a concerned voice and leant forward.
Neville saw Harry's concerned look and knew his friend was still there for
him when the time came. Harry had never gone away from any of them
to tell the truth. He may have distanced himself but he was there for
them whenever they needed any kind of help.
"It's…hard to say" Neville said after what seemed like an eternity. It was
clear that he was having a fight with his own self over whether he should
tell Harry or not. Harry didn't mind that. However, he just wanted
Neville to be more comfortable with his own self. After all, if one of the
leaders of the D.A. is disturbed at this moment, then it won't take long for
the others to feel uncomfortable either.
"Try me" Harry said slowly. "I have been in many situations which are
hard to explain"
"Harry…" Neville's voice seemed more in control now and Harry could
feel that something was building up inside him. "What happened that
night?"
Harry didn't know how to react to this question. It was quite obvious as
to which night Neville was referring to. The tone of Neville's voice was so
different than that of the others that Harry knew he just had to tell
Neville the truth. There was just something about Neville's voice…the
eagerness combined with a great sadness…Harry knew he couldn't say no
to Neville. With a huge sigh, Harry told Neville the details of what had
happened from the time he knew Ginny was in the castle. He stopped his
narration at the point of where Ginny, Snape and Wormtail had
apparated away and told Neville that Tonks had died due to the curse
meant for him. Harry stopped a couple of times in between when he got
too emotional and, to his great relief, he found that Neville didn't push
him for every tiny detail about his interaction with Tonks or their
relationship. At last the room fell into complete silence.
"She did it then?" Neville spoke up at last. Harry, to his astonishment, felt
a huge amount of hatred in Neville's voice.
"Who did what?" Harry asked in a slightly confused tone.
"Ginny…" Neville said looking at the floor. "…killed an auror, didn't she?"
"You can say that" Harry replied. "She wanted to kill me but Tonks…".
Harry's voice got stuck at this point once again.
"I never thought Ginny could do something like this" Neville said in a
very emotional voice. "Not after we had such long chats all the time"
"We?" Harry seemed even more confused.
"I…" Neville stopped slightly and started shaking his head. Harry saw a
couple of tears fall to the ground. At this, he stood up and sat beside
Neville.
"Neville?" Harry prompted Neville ever so slowly.
"I…I…" Neville looked up at Harry at that moment and Harry saw
Neville's eyes were filled with tears. "I loved her Harry" Neville said in a
helpless tone before repeating the same thing "I loved her".
Harry looked stunned for a moment. The very thought that Neville could
love some girl, least of all Ginny, had never passed through Harry's mind
ever. Everyone thought of Neville as a straightforward and honest boy
but no one…maybe not all but many never even thought Neville could
ever propose to a girl. Maybe it was because of the way Neville
conducted himself…maybe because he was too straight a person…
whatever be the cause, Harry couldn't fathom the level of sadness Neville
was feeling right now.
"You…" Harry hesitated for a moment before continuing "…loved Ginny".
Neville gave an affirmative nod of his head before breaking down into
tears altogether.
"I…had thought I will…tell her after the holidays" Neville said in
between his sniffs. "I guess it wasn't meant to be after all"
"I am sorry Neville" Harry said. Harry had also lost the person he had
loved but at least he had the consolation that Tonks had died for an
honorable death. Neville, on the other hand, didn't have that consolation.
Ginny was as good as dead for him but he had to endure the extra pain of
knowing that the person he had loved had joined the dark side.
"You don't have to be sorry about anything" Neville said very grimly. "It
was my fault after all"
"It wasn't your fault" Harry reiterated.
"It was" Neville said stubbornly. "How could I have loved her if I didn't
even know she was going to join…him?" Harry could only hear what
Neville was saying. He didn't have anything to say which could lessen
Neville's pain. "It can only mean that I didn't understand her at all. That I
didn't love the real Ginny after all…that I didn't know the real Ginny at
all"
"Neville…" Harry began but was stopped by the ongoing barrage of
comments coming from Neville.
"She tried to kill you!" Neville said angrily. "She tried to kill the best
friend of her own brother. That's unforgivable. She is not one of us
anymore…she is dead for me at least". Tears flowed down Neville's face
as he said this but at the same time there was a grim determination on
his face. Harry knew Neville had hardened himself. Even though Harry
knew that it was the only way Neville could deal with the current
situation, Harry only hoped Neville didn't push himself as far as Harry
had done.
"I cannot forgive her" Neville said, his fists balled in anger. "Not for what
she did to you…not for what she has done to your auror friend". Harry
only gulped at reference of Tonks thinking just how great a friend she
was after all. "I promise you Harry that one day I will avenge your friend"
"What?" Harry suddenly gave a shake of his head as if he had come out of
a stupor.
"One day I am going to kill Ginny Weasley myself" Neville looked Harry
dead in the eyes as he said this and Harry could see that he meant every
word he had just said. Harry looked at Neville unable to say a single
word. He could only imagine what level of courage and determination
Neville had to say that he would kill Ginny…the girl he loved. Harry felt
like saying that Neville wasn't serious but he knew that Neville was more
serious than he had ever been in his entire life. At that moment, the
respect Harry had for Neville surpassed all limits which might have been
there initially.
"NO" a voice broke the pin drop silence in the room. Looking around in
surprise, Harry and Neville saw Ron standing in the doorway with Fred
and George behind him. Harry suddenly realized that the door had been
unlocked and Ron and the others could have entered mid-way during
their conversation. After all, Harry and Neville had been so engrossed in
their talk that they couldn't have noticed anyone silently entering the
room.
"You – will – do – nothing – to – Ginny" Ron said very slowly as he
moved towards Neville. Harry saw that Ron's face was red with anger.
"I don't care if she is your sister Ron" Neville replied angrily as he stood
up from his seat. "She will not escape me"
"She is my sister Neville" Ron was having trouble keeping his voice down.
"And I have the first claim to her"
"What?" Harry looked at Ron in a bewildered manner. He had just
thought that Ron was angry because Neville wanted revenge but…
"She is my sister and she tried to kill Harry" Ron explained. "I will have
my revenge" Ron's eyes were gleaming with anger and, Harry felt, a few
tears were also forming. After all, taking revenge from one's own sister
was no small thing to talk about. "I won't let anyone get in my way
Neville" Ron continued. "I will be the one to kill Ginny"
"And we will be the ones to take care of Percy" the twins added without a
touch of humor in their voices. They had been like this ever since the
Ginny episode and everyone around knew that only time could heal their
wounds. They would return to their normal selves one day but that day
was still far away.
"It's all in the family" Ron said as he and his brothers walked out of the
room leaving Harry and Neville in their wake.
&&&&
A/N: Third chapter here. It's been 2 months since I last updated. Sorry
for the delay.
Thanks for all those reviews. Every review which you people made is
very much appreciated. Please know that.
mary – No…Ginny was not under the Imperius in PoH. She did what she
did on her own free will.
harrisonpotter – Hmmm…I can't really answer whether Harry and Fleur
will get together in this story. You will have to wait and see.
PwnMaster Paladin – Yes…it takes a really loooong time to get over one
person's death.
Junky – In the last chapter, Harry wasn't contemplating about meeting
Tonks in the afterlife. Rather, it was Ron who was thinking about how it
is in the afterlife.
ExsulRegina – Thanks for the review. You printed out all 600 pages of
PoH? Whoa!
Everyone else – A BIG thanks for all your reviews. Just because I didn't
mention your name doesn't mean your review is of any less importance to
me. It is very much appreciated. Also, those who didn't review – thanks
for taking the time to read my fic.
&&&&
4. Messages
Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter and the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers. I
am not the original writer (though I wish I could be J) and I do not wish
to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued.
So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah...forget it and let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
Note: This is the sequel to Harry Potter & The Power Of Hogwarts. Please
read it before moving on with this story.
HARRY POTTER & THE NEW DAWN
Chapter 4 – Messages
"It's all in the family" Ron said as he and his brothers walked out of the
room leaving Harry and Neville in their wake.
&&&&
"Hello Professor" Soha said as she turned up to work on the potions
which were her responsibility now.
"Hello Ms. Mentieva" Fleur acknowledged. "Come to brew some potions
again I assume"
"Yes ma'am" Soha said very obediently. She had a very bad feeling about
this but hoped she would have some good luck today. And if Professor
Delacour got too suspicious, Cho had said they would make some
alternative arrangements. What arrangements, Soha didn't know but one
thing she knew very well was that any kind of alternative arrangement
would take time and that was one thing they couldn't afford to lose. After
all, no one knew just when a death eater attack might occur!
"Please help yourself" Fleur told Soha. "I will be in the back office if you
need me". Soha stood there in complete silence for a minute as Fleur
moved to her back office and closed the door. She just couldn't believe
her luck at the prospect of being able to brew the potions in a completely
care free manner. Quickly regaining her composure, she started getting
all the ingredients in place and started on her potions.
It was well over a couple of hours before Soha finally decided to stop.
She stopped more out of physical fatigue than anything else because her
eyes were burning like hell due to the various vapors rising from the
potion. She had not counted on that initially and decided to take some
precautions from the next time onwards. Even though she wanted to
continue now, she knew that there was a limit to everything. Grudgingly,
she put the potions in different vials and slowly started to put the rest of
the ingredients back in their respective places. Her back was turned at
her books and bags and vials when she heard a slight cough.
"Are you finished Ms. Mentieva?" Fleur asked in her normal voice.
"Yes" Soha said slowly as she kept on placing the ingredients back but her
hands had started shaking out of fear. What if Fleur had noticed the
vials?
"Please be careful about those ingredients because I see your hands are
shaking slightly…" Fleur said before adding. "…and if I were you then I
would also explain as to what exactly was brewed here in the past couple
of hours". Soha bit her lips at this – caught!
Soha had started breathing very heavily by now. As she turned around,
Fleur couldn't help but pity the girl. She had turned a ghastly white and
her breathing was taking place in short gasps.
"You don't look too well to me" Fleur said, waiting for a reply.
"I am ok" squeaked Soha in an abnormal kind of voice. She was mentally
cursing herself for not possessing either the courage of a Gryffindor nor
the cunning of a Slytherin. The one thing which she possessed, the logic
of a Ravenclaw, told her that she had been hopelessly caught by her
professor. Also, she had the feeling that Fleur had knowingly gone into
the back office room so that Soha could brew the potion without any
tension and could be caught red handed.
"But…" Fleur wondered aloud. "…if you are ok then why is your voice
getting stuck?". A smile played on Fleur's lips for a second before it
disappeared, only to be replaced by a serious look. "I would like an
explanation to what is happening"
Soha shifted her weight from one leg to another as she thought of what
she should tell Fleur. If she told that she was brewing the potions for the
D.A. then the whole secrecy thing will be blown off and she, being one of
the newest members, could be branded as a traitor. On the other hand, if
she told Fleur that she was brewing the potions for her own experiments
then many questions will arise as to how she got hold of the recipes and
most importantly, what she planned to do with all this. Saying that these
were needed by the D.A. would be a satisfactory answer whereas saying
that it were for personal…
"I am waiting for you Ms. Mentieva" Fleur said a bit impatiently.
"Well…" Soha bit her lips slightly as she finally decided to tell the truth
to Fleur. She would have to trust Fleur not to blow the cover off the D.A.
and it's potion making conquests but then again, it could be a disaster.
She knew she had to take a risk as she had no other choice left.
"Actually…these are for the D.A." Soha said hesitantly before adding
"Please do not say this to anyone…please…"
"D.A.?" Fleur looked surprised. "What is that?"
At that point it stuck Soha that this was the same question which she had
asked when she had heard the term 'D.A.' for the first time. She guessed
that Fleur didn't have any knowledge of the D.A. and this, in her opinion,
made matters even worse. Now she had to tell Fleur about the whole
background of the D.A.
"Then I will start from the beginning ma'am" Soha said with a sigh. "But
you will have to promise me that you will not tell anyone about what I
am going to say to you now"
"I cannot promise you anything right now, Ms. Mentieva" Fleur said in a
stern tone. "If what you say is harmful to anyone, then I will have to talk
to the headmaster about it"
"No…" Soha said immediately. "This is not meant to harm anyone"
"I will come to that conclusion if you don't mind" Fleur replied. Soha just
nodded her head in a half hearted manner. "And…" Fleur continued. "…
since it looks like this discussion will carry on for some time, then we
will be better off if we were seated". With a swish of her wand, Fleur
conjured up two chairs and soon Soha was telling a thoughtful Fleur
everything she knew about the D.A. When she was finished, Fleur kept
looking blankly against the opposite wall for a long time before finally
speaking again.
"Harry Potter started the D.A.?" Fleur asked. Soha just nodded in reply.
"And the headmaster knows about it?". Again an affirmative nod came
from Soha in answer to Fleur's second question.
"Ms. Mentieva…" Fleur said after another long pause. "…it seems this
D.A. has special powers at Hogwarts even though I did not have any
previous knowledge about it. But…" Fleur paused for effect. "…it still
doesn't give you the power to some in here and brew any kind of potion
you want. I want to know exactly what these potions are". Soha looked
helplessly at Fleur and explained how the D.A. had found some potion
recipes and had thought that they were a trap by the Slytherins. Later on
they had researched and found that these were really useful ones.
"You are telling me that you are brewing some potions whose source is
unknown to any of you?" Fleur asked in astonishment. Surely the sixth
year students knew better than that.
"Yes ma'am"
"Do you have any idea what can happen if any of the potions goes
wrong?" Fleur asked in a very high pitched voice which made Soha start
from her seat. "If there is even the slightest of mistakes in these recipes
then the people who will use that potion might be permanently stuck
with the effects!"
"We know" Soha replied, her eyes pointing at her feet. "But we also think
that whoever has given us the recepies had our best in his or her heart"
"And what if that person himself had made a mistake?" Fleur asked.
"What if these are some potions that person invented herself? Or what if
that person made a mistake when copying it down from some other
book?"
"We have to take that risk professor" Soha replied in a low voice.
"Oh my god!" Fleur threw up her hands and stood up. She looked at Soha
for a moment and then started pacing around frantically. "Has this war
taken away all your brains Soha? I thought you used to have some"
"This war has made us desperate professor" Soha replied with a little
more confidence. She was stating what she had seen in the D.A. meetings
and knew that whatever they did now had some direction…some target
which might be achievable…and may turn out to be affective.
"Look young lady…" Fleur said in a slightly angry tone.
"Professor…" Soha cut off Fleur as she stood up. "You haven't been to any
of our D.A. meetings. You haven't seen how Anthony wanted to take
revenge for the killing of his relatives. You haven't seen the face of Ron
Weasley…the shame on it…the disbelief on it…". Fleur was stunned for a
moment at these emotional statements from Soha.
"You haven't seen the anger which is eating up Neville" Soha continued,
tears streaming down her face by now. "You haven't seen the pain which
Hermione is in because she fears she will lose her other friends just as she
has lost Harry. You haven't seen everyone asking 'where is Harry Potter'
and getting no replies…you haven't seen what we are going through…" at
this point, Soha broke down completely in tears. The D.A. now was more
than just a fighting unit…it had become a family in itself. Fleur slowly
started to understand the depth of the feelings which now ran in the D.A.
Here was a sixth year student who was ready to brew unknown potions
so that they could use it to fight dark wizards when the time came. They
did not doubt each other…did not have any bitter feelings towards each
other…all they wanted to do was to help others and if that meant that
they had to take additional risks then everyone was ready to put his or
her foot forward.
"Please calm down Soha" Fleur said as she drew the girl closer to herself
and hugged her. The effect of Fleur's veela charm was drastic and, after a
couple of seconds, Soha had regained her composure.
"I understand your feelings…" Fleur continued. "…but I still think it was
very irresponsible of you to brew the potions in this manner". Soha's face
fell at hearing this. She knew that their chance of brewing the potions in
the potions room was gone. Now they would have to get ingredients and
what not to brew the required potions. After all, there was no way they
could stop on this now.
"However…" Fleur continued again after a pause. "…I have decided that
you are doing this to help others and hence I will help you in brewin…"
"YOU WILL!" Soha jumped in joy and astonishment as she heard this. She
just couldn't believe her ears.
"Only if you don't go around telling everyone" Fleur said with a smile.
"And please do stop jumping!"
&&&&
"Seems like you followed me" Harry said as the figure of Hedwig landed
on his left shoulder. "I am sorry I haven't been able to give much time to
you lately". At this, Hedwig gave an affectionate nibble on Harry's ears as
if to say that she could understand Harry's feelings at the moment.
"Thank you girl" Harry grinned slightly as he tried to comprehend just
how intelligent these magical creatures were. "Well…here we are" Harry
said as he came to a stop in a graveyard. He looked down at the
tombstone of Nymphadora Tonks and placed a pink rose on it. This had
become a daily routine for him in the evenings. He would daily come to
Godric's Hollow and place the pink rose…sit there for a few moments and
then return to the castle. For some reason, he felt Tonks very close to him
whenever he was here.
"I will be yours…always" Harry said as he looked at the tombstone. The
exact emotions in his heart were not on his lips but if anyone had had a
look at his eyes at that moment then they would have known just how
much he had meant the words he had just said. He did not shed tears
anymore because he did not want to undermine Tonks's sacrifice. He
knew Tonks would not like to see him sad all the time so he had decided
he would try to remain a bit more…cheerful…from now on. But, in the
heart of his hearts, he knew he just couldn't "move on".
Harry looked on at the tombstone for a few more moments before he sat
down beside it. It was on a higher level than the rest of Godric's Hollow
and Harry could see all the people working frantically to build their
homes there. Luckily for him, his seating position was such that he was
hidden in the shadows cast by a great oak tree nearby and no one could
see him.
"There are just…too many people here" Harry said to no one in particular
but knew that Hedwig understood each and every word which he was
saying. He kept on looking at everyone running around to finish their
tasks before the sun finally went down and he wondered just how many
people had been affected by the attacks all over the country. A few
children were playing around while some others were sitting alone under
a tree or in an opening. It wasn't hard to guess what had happened to
those who were sitting all alone. Obviously they had lost someone near
to themselves and, if their emotions were anything to go by, then it had
happened right before their eyes.
As he looked around, his eyes came to rest at a small clearing where an
old man had created a small one storyed house made of stones. The
house looked as if it would collapse any moment but Harry could see
some strong magic holding the place together. Harry looked on at the
house in curiosity…it had no windows…no ventilation…nothing except
for a door and he wondered how the people inside were living without
any light or air. Even though he didn't know how many people lived
inside, still it must be suffocating enough for even one person in his
opinion. Strange were the ways of people in the time of war. It was as if
some felt that without any windows to get through, they were able to
block one of the entrances which dark wizards might have.
"I wonder what he is up to" Harry said as he saw the old man come out of
the house. The man looked to be in his seventies and walked with the
help of a wooden stick. A part of his skull looked as if it had been banged
in by something very hard…like a club or something. He looked very
different from the rest and his eyes were kind of weird too. In a way,
Harry was reminded of Mad Eye Moody by this man.
Harry saw the old man walk past many people, some of whom looked at
him curiously, and many frightened children. Presently the man took a
turn to the left and started walking towards the graveyard where Harry
was seated. Harry moved a bit more into the shadows and cast a
disillusionment charm on him. After all, the last thing he wanted was for
some old man to see him and run towards everyone saying Harry Potter
was there.
Harry watched with narrowed eyes as the man came nearer and nearer to
the iron gate of the graveyard. Just as he thought that the man would
push open the gate and enter inside, Harry saw him take out a small
parchment and place it on a rock beside the gate. Looking around a bit
fervently, the man quickly turned around and started his walk back at a
much faster rate. Harry had the impression that the old man had been
fearful that he might have been watched. Even though the old man had a
frightening effect on the others, he seemed frightened at the prospect of
coming in front of a graveyard all alone. He did not find it convenient at
all…at least that was what Harry felt.
Harry sat there for a few silent minutes and watched the old man hobble
back to his house. The man would frequently cast a glance over his
shoulders to see if he was been followed or not. His walking pace slowed
once he was back amongst the other people of Godric's Hollow and he
resumed his old appearance there. The old man went up to the house and
knocked on it once…twice…thrice. Harry found the combination of
knocks a bit strange. It was almost as if it was a technique which only a
few people knew. Presently the door opened and the old man walked
inside but not before glancing all around him to be sure no one was
seeing him enter. Harry estimated that there was at least one more
person inside who had opened the door for the old man. As to why the
man didn't just open the door using a spell…Harry was baffled about it.
Harry looked around for quite a while to see if anyone came near to the
parchment or not. Even though he hated to admit it, he felt his curiosity
grow with every passing second. He wanted to know what was written on
that parchment and he wanted to know it badly. One thing he was
certain of by now was that whatever was in the parchment was not for
the eyes of everyone. When Harry was sure that no one else was going to
turn up just yet, he summoned the piece of parchment to himself and
read it carefully.
"Well…well…well…what do we have here?" Harry said rather loudly as
he finished reading the whole letter. Slowly but surely, a smile spread on
his face.
&&&&
"Hi"
"Oh…Hi" Neville said as soon as he recognized that the person he had
run into was Soha. "Sorry for the collision" Neville apologized.
"No need for that" Soha replied. "I should have looked out too". An
awkward silence followed this statement as none knew what else to say.
After all, most of their interaction had been limited just to the D.A.
meetings and they had never had any chit-chat before. Just as Neville
had thought up of saying something, Soha asked him a question which
took him aback.
"Do you know that your friends are very worried about you?" Soha asked.
"What?" Neville looked surprised at this sudden statement.
"Yes" Soha said as she started to walk slowly. Neville, in his curiosity, fell
in step with her.
"I don't get what you are saying" Neville replied truthfully. "Why would
anyone suddenly get worried about me?"
"Because they care about you" Soha replied in a voice which conveyed
the feeling that Neville had just asked an absurd question.
"I don't understand a bit of what you are saying" Neville still looked
confused.
"I had a chat with one of your house mates a couple of days ago" Soha
took care not to mention Hermione's name. "That person was very
worried that you were hmm…." Soha looked distinctly uncomfortable
trying to find the right words to convey what she had in mind. "…that
you were losing control of yourself"
"Losing control of myself?" Neville stopped in the middle of the corridor.
He looked questioningly Soha who looked even more uncomfortable
now.
"Well…" Soha said slowly. "People are worried that you might do
something on your own which…"
"What will I do on my own?" Neville cut in between Soha's sentence.
"Nothing…" Soha added hastily before continuing. "It's just that everyone
wants you to know that they are always there to do what you want them
to do but they also care about what you do to yourself"
"I see" Neville said in a slightly angry tone. "So now people want me to be
calm and just look on at what is happening all around"
"NO" Soha reiterated as fast as she could. She had taken the decision to
talk to Neville and she had to keep the whole thing in control. Otherwise
there was no way of telling what Neville might say to his house members.
"Look…" Soha put up her hands more in a manner to calm herself than
Neville. "We just want you to know that we are there for you"
"I already know that" Neville said, his anger subsiding a little.
"But please promise that you won't end up like Harry" Soha said
apprehensively. "We don't want to…"
"Harry is not doing anything wrong" Neville said before Soha could finish
her sentence.
"I know" Soha said. "But still, people need Harry and yet he is not around
all the time. Surely you will agree that Harry used to be around all the
time to help others in his first five years, wasn't he?". Neville didn't reply
to this one as he knew the answer to it all to well. He knew that he
would have loved to have a chat with Harry every now and then as to
what to do in this war but he just couldn't 'find' Harry. Harry seemed to
be inside his trunk most of the time and whenever he came out, it was
mostly through coincidence that they got to talk.
"We want you to be there for us…" Soha took hold of Neville by both his
shoulders. "…always"
"What if I can't?" Neville asked in a slightly uncomfortable voice.
"You have to…" Soha replied. "…For the sake of all of us"
&&&&
"Hi Remus"
"Hello Harry" Remus greeted his godson as he entered the trunk.
"So…where are you going?" Harry asked. Remus seemed to be dressed in
some formal clothes which were better than his normal ragged one's.
"I just came back after a little…hmmm…shopping" Remus said with a shy
grin. Harry looked at his godfather for a few seconds and smiled
inwardly. Remus was shy to tell Harry that he went to buy some new
clothes for himself. What would he tell the others?
"It's quite normal to buy some new clothes" Harry said as he kept on
gazing at Remus who refused to meet his eye. "I hope you understand
that, don't you?"
"Well…yeah!" Remus exclaimed a bit hurriedly…too hurriedly for Harry's
comfort.
"C'mon Remus…you look nice in these" Harry comforted his godfather.
"But I feel strange" Remus finally blurted out his true feelings. "I haven't
had new clothes for the past six years"
"What!" Harry looked astonished. In his years at the Dursley's Harry had
always worn Dudley's clothes but to think that a wizard, who had his
own income, didn't buy new clothes for six years was unthinkable. Harry
himself thought about the new clothes he had bought just before coming
to Hogwarts for the sixth year and was glad about his choice. Some had
adjusted very nicely and he knew he wouldn't require any new clothes for
another year or two at least. But…
"You didn't buy a single new piece of clothing for six years?" Harry
looked thunderstruck.
"Unless you count the underwear" Remus replied a bit awkwardly.
"Only new underwear?" Harry looked on for a minute in complete
disbelief. He just couldn't believe he was having this kind of a
conversation, least of all with Remus.
"What else did I need?" Remus was talking more to himself than Harry. "I
had my robes…"
"Worn out long ago" Harry commented.
"…plus my shoes"
"Torn beyond thinkable limits" Harry said again.
"…and my wand holster"
"That piece of leather is a holster?" Harry's eyes went wide in alarm.
"…and…"
"Forget it!" Harry shut off Remus completely. He just couldn't believe
how he never thought of forcing Remus to buy some new clothes. "I am
so sorry"
"About what?" this time Remus looked bewildered.
"About not buying you new clothes or something like that" Harry said,
regretting it immediately after. The look on Remus's face was enough to
tell him that he had made that wrong move again.
"Sorry…" Harry said as he took Remus by the shoulders. "I didn't mean to
brag about money or anything…it's just that I should have gifted you
something. If I don't take care of you then who will?". Remus looked at
Harry with genuine gratitude. This boy was James Potter son to the boot.
"No problem Harry" Remus said as he gave his godson a tight hug.
"But…" he continued after pulling away from Harry. "…it feels nice to
buy something with one's own money and have plenty still left over".
Harry gave a knowing smile at this. He knew that Sknoher Security
Systems were doing a lot of business daily and at this rate Remus would
become a millionaire soon.
"She would have loved to see us smile like this once again" Remus
suddenly said.
"I bet she would" Harry said in a strange tone.
"I think we should have these kinds of chats more now onwards" Remus
said with a sad smile on his face. "This is what she would have wanted us
to be like…to be happy…to smile"
"I guess so" Harry said after giving Remus's words a lot of thought. "But I
really miss her"
"Me too" Remus said.
"She really did a lot to change the atmosphere of this…this…" Harry
looked around himself at the rooms and the kitchen and his training area
and found that they just didn't make too much sense now. "…this trunk"
he said finally. This place had been a home once but not anymore.
"Dobby too" Remus added. He knew that Tonks's death had had a heavier
impact on Harry but he also knew that Dobby had been one of the most
important person, or rather elf, in Harry's life. Even though Harry didn't
mention Dobby all the time, the little elf had created a lasting impression
on him.
"Yeah" Harry said with a far away look on his face. He looked around the
trunk and could almost see Dobby and Tonks having a fight over who
gets to sit where…Dobby being chased around by Tonks for calling her
Harry Potter's Tonkie…
"They made a good pair" Remus almost seemed to read Harry's thoughts.
"They sure did" Harry replied in an emotional voice.
Remus, seeing that Harry's mood had taken a beating, decided to change
the subject. "Can you get us some dinner?"
"Oh…I forgot completely" Harry stuck his forehead with his palm. "I
better get started soon"
"What do you mean?" Remus looked slightly puzzled.
"Let me get the dinner ready first and then we will talk" Harry said as he
rushed into the kitchen. Remus started drumming the table in
anticipation. Whatever Harry was going to tell him may not be to his
liking. For quite a few days now it looked like Harry was in some kind of
deep thought. If what he was about to say was something related, then it
surely meant trouble.
"Here you go" Harry said as he gave Remus a plate of noodles and went
back to bring his own. Soon, they were seated opposite each other and
eating their dinner.
"So…" Remus started. "You wanted to say something"
"Yeah" Harry said a bit thoughtfully knowing fully well that the
information he was about to share with Remus would not please him at
all. He had to choose his words carefully so that he didn't end up making
Remus mad at him…rather…too mad at him.
"I had a chat with Fudge a couple…"
"You or Simon?" Remus interrupted sharply. Harry knew he had to tackle
this situation with tact.
"Simon" Harry said and continued fast enough so that Remus would not
be able to say anything else. "Let's not go into that stuff right now. I want
to get into some more important things"
"Ok" Remus replied. "As you wish"
"Basically I was thinking…" Harry slowly told Remus of the things he had
discussed with Fudge. He explained that Fudge had extra aurors left even
after an adequate number had been provided for Hogwarts.
"So what are you thinking of doing with these 10 extra aurors?" Remus
looked distinctly alarmed now.
"I have been thinking they would be better off protecting some place else"
Harry said apprehensively. At Remus's questioning look, Harry said "St.
Mungo's"
"Go on" Remus replied in a grave tone. "I want to hear the rest of it". At
this Harry gave a deep sigh and started to explain what he had in mind.
As he continued explaining, he saw Remus's features darkening with
every passing second. At last he finished his explanation.
"Hmmm" this was the only sound which came from Remus once he
understood that Harry had finished telling his idea to him.
"Should I get you something more to eat?" Harry asked, trying to get
Remus's to take the situation less lightly.
"This is not an easy thing to pull off" Remus said after giving it a lot of
thought.
"I know" Harry said. "That's why I am asking you to help me"
"To get yourself killed?" Remus asked grimly. "You are testing your luck a
lot Harry Potter". Harry knew that this time Remus was really concerned
and angry. He had never addressed Harry by his full name before and
this only meant that he was in trouble.
"I am doing what fate has in store for me" Harry said.
"That doesn't mean you have to go and seek trouble yourself" Remus
replied. "Maybe fate had decided that I had to be a werewolf but that
didn't mean that I had to seek out the werewolf which bit me"
"But I am not trying to do it alone" Harry threw up his arms in
exasperation. "For god's sake, I try to tell you something so that you can
help me and you start to say I shouldn't do it! Maybe I shouldn't have
told you anything at all"
"I didn't mean that" Remus continued in the same tone. He wasn't going
to be emotionally blackmailed by his godson but he also knew that Harry
meant what he was saying. Also the fact that Harry had told Remus about
his plan showed that he was really serious about it and knew it could
take a turn for the worse.
"I will think about this and let you know" Remus said at the slightly
angry but expectant look of Harry. "I can't say anything right now"
"As you wish" Harry said. This was more than he had bargained for and
he knew that Remus would agree to help him if needed. With a small nod
at Remus, Harry proceeded towards his exercise area and started
practicing spells and other maneuvers. Remus kept looking at him quietly
for a long time before he finally got up and left Harry alone. He had some
real hard thinking to do.
&&&&
"Hi"
"Oh…Hello Fleur" Harry said as he looked up to see whom he had run
into. He knew that he had developed this bad habit of looking down at
his feet and walking whenever he was deep in thought. This had led to
many a collision and he knew he had to put an end to it.
"Where are you going now?" Fleur asked Harry as she looked at her
watch. It was 8 at night. For the first time Harry noticed that Fleur wore
a muggle watch too.
"Nowhere in particular" replied Harry. "What about you? What were you
doing?"
"I was just coming back from Godric's Hollow" Fleur said. "There's a lot of
work to be done there"
"Yeah…I know that" Harry said and cast a glance at his own watch.
"Hey…I got to go. I have to eat dinner"
"Why don't you eat with me?"
"You mean you and your family, right?" Harry asked. For a minute he
wondered whether Fleur's parents spent all their time in the castle but
then Fleur cleared up the misunderstanding.
"No…it's just me" Fleur said before adding "Dumb old veela in a dumb
old dungeon". She tried to sound as if she was cracking a joke but Harry
detected something else in her voice.
"Ok…let's have dinner" Harry said as he cast a curious glance at his
potions teacher. He knew that Remus would prepare his dinner if Harry
didn't come in by 8:30 and hence it wouldn't be a problem. What
intrigued Harry was the way in which Fleur had just conducted herself. It
was just not like her…and he, as a friend, had to see if there was
anything which he could do or not to help her.
"Thanks" Fleur said with a smile. She had been feeling slightly
uncomfortable about her "joke" but was relieved to see that Harry had
not raised the issue. It had really sounded very weird now that she came
to think of it.
Both of them slowly walked towards the dungeons with an air of
awkwardness between them. Harry was the one who broke the silence.
"How are your parents doing?" Harry asked.
"Kind of ok" Fleur replied. "At least it is better than what we had back
there"
"But that was your home" Harry said. "Nothing can match one's own
home even if it is coming down in portions…"
"No" Fleur interrupted Harry. "It's not that. The main thing there was that
not too many people trusted us anymore after…you know…". Harry
nodded in acknowledgement as he remembered how Fleur's brother had
almost joined the death eaters before bailing out at the last moment. As a
result, the death eaters had made an example out of him and attacked
him in the middle of the city late one night. The news about the attack
on Zesauas Delacour and why it had taken place had traveled throughout
the length and breadth of France in a matter of hours and the family had
been disgraced ever since. Only a few people still remained loyal to the
family which was once one of the most respected in France.
"Here we are" Fleur said as she opened the door to the dungeon and let
Harry in first.
"So…" Harry said as he entered the dungeon. "…what variety of food is
available here?"
"Only English for the moment" Fleur said with an almost apologetic
smile. "We can't yet afford French fo…"
"I am hungry" Harry said hastily. He didn't want to start another
conversation of who could afford what or not. Why did people around
him always have to say things like these, Harry asked himself in vain.
Ron couldn't afford this…or that…Remus said he couldn't afford new
clothes…and now Fleur…Harry almost felt like shouting out in
frustration.
"Ok" Fleur replied in an embarrassed voice as she guessed what Harry
was thinking. Soon both of them were eating a nice English dinner.
"Is it ok?" Fleur asked hesitantly.
"Why?" Harry queried back. Why did it seem to him that Fleur was a bit
extra sensitive nowadays as to whether anyone was liking her things or
not?
"I made it myself…" Fleur replied, making a face at the food. "I am not
good at this…so…"
"I think it is quite good" Harry replied after understanding the reason
behind Fleur's question. "At least, I am not complaining about the quality
of cooking here. I like it very much"
"Thanks" Fleur said with a grin and her whole face lit up. At least Harry
liked her cooking and maybe someday he would like her too.
"No, I can't let these thoughts get hold of me…I just cannot" Fleur told herself
and mentally slapped her inner demons. She could never take the place
of Tonks in Harry's life. Muttering that to herself, she decided to enjoy
Harry's company as much as she could…just as a friend, nothing more.
&&&&
"What else should we do now?" Arthur Weasley asked his twin sons as
they tried to arrange their new home at Godric's Hollow. Following the
attacks which had taken place, the Weasley's had decided to stay as near
to Hogwarts as possible.
"We need to place this bed over in that room" George replied. Arthur
Weasley nodded in reply and leviated the bed to the next room. For a
second it got stuck in the doorway but Arthur shrank it and then enlarged
it once it was fully inside the room.
"May I come in?" a recognizable female voice queried from the doorway.
"You may" Molly Weasley said without looking up from the work she was
doing. The recent happenings had had a terrible effect on Mrs. Weasley.
She still had not been able to believe that Percy and Ginny had joined
You-Know-Who. They were Weasleys and Weasleys don't go bad! This
was the thought which went through her mind over and over again.
Sometimes she broke down completely and blamed herself for all that
had gone wrong. She would say that she should have treated them better
and should have given them new clothes, brooms etc. whenever needed.
Sometimes she would blame Arthur Weasley for everything that had gone
wrong. She would say that he just didn't have the urge to earn the money
required to keep their children's satisfied. However, she knew that no one
was at fault…no one except Percy and Ginny. Still, she couldn't bring
herself to blame them publicly. How could she blame her children when
she had had them in her womb for 9 months?
"Oh…Mrs. Weasley!". Everyone looked up to see that the new entrant was
none other than Fleur Delacour.
"Fleur!" Mrs. Weasley looked surprised for a moment before remembering
that Fleur was now a professor at Hogwarts.
"I was just checking if anyone needed anything in this tent or not" Fleur
explained. "This is my job for the time being…to see who needs what and
to help them as much as possible"
"We don't need any help" George said in an offended voice. It was very
clear that everyone's nerves were strained after the Ginny episode.
"No…I didn't mean it that way" Fleur clarified before adding with a
slightly hurt look. "I am just doing my job!"
"Forget him Fleur" Mrs. Weasley glared at George as she said this. "Please
come in and make yourself comfortable"
"Thank you Mrs. Weasley but I really can not come in if you don't need
any kind of help" Fleur replied gratefully. "There are a lot of people out
here who need our help at this moment"
"Yes…you are right" Mrs. Weasley added in a strange tone. Whenever she
was reminded of the refugees around their new home, her thoughts
inadvertently were drawn towards that of Percy and Ginny. This was
something which she knew she would have to live with all her life and
maybe time could lessen the pain slightly. However, it was bound to
haunt her.
Fleur, seeing the look on Mrs. Weasley's face, understood the emotions
inside her. After all, she had seen similar emotions and reactions when
her mother had first learnt that her eldest son was joining the dark
forces. It had been a very tough period in their lives but one which they
would never forget. It was all too plain to Fleur that Mrs. Weasley was
thinking of her two children and Fleur knew that talking about it might
help her release some emotions. Slowly Fleur walked up to Mrs. Weasley.
"I am sorry for whatever happened" Fleur said as she placed a consoling
hand on Mrs. Weasley's shoulders. Mr. Weasley heard the statement and
left them alone. Some matters didn't require his interference and he
thought it was best if he left the two ladies to talk in private.
"You don't have to be sorry for anything" Mrs. Weasley continued in the
same strange tone.
"She was my student too" Fleur said. "We should have noticed some signs"
"I don't want to think about it anymore" Mrs. Weasley said in a choked
tone and entered another room. Even though this room was very neat
and clean, still she found something to do to keep her busy.
"If you need to talk about anything then I am here" Fleur said as she
followed Mrs. Weasley inside. "Also my family lives nearby so if you want
to spend some time with my parents…"
"Who would want to spend time with the parents of…" Mrs. Weasley
found it hard to say but knew it was something she would have to say
one day. "…the parents of…death eat…". At this point she broke down
completely and couldn't continue anymore. Fleur quickly closed the door
of that room and sat down beside a silently weeping Molly Weasley.
"Oh Fleur…" Mrs. Weasley said as she tightly hugged the girl. "…I don't
think I can live with this…I don't want to…"
"You shouldn't say that" Fleur said as she slowly stroked Mrs. Weasley's
back as a mother would do with her child. "We all have some bad things
happening…"
"But this is not just bad…" Mrs. Weasley said in between her sniffs. "They
are…they are…death…". The silent crying turned into a howl for a
second before Mrs. Weasley covered her mouth with her hands. She
couldn't let her other children hear her wailing.
Fleur held on to Mrs. Weasley for a long time. She just didn't know what
to say. Here was a woman who took pride of her family's name and two
of her favorite children had gone on to betray her. They had rubbished
that very name which had made them hold their heads high in front of
the magical community in spite of the fact that they weren't too rich or
influential. And their mother was the one to suffer the most. She couldn't
stop crying thinking of what had happened and yet she dared not show
her emotions to her other children. She had to be strong for them…she
couldn't lose control of herself now. But yet…yet, how could she just
forget the past?
Fleur's mind raced against time to think of some consolatory words to say
to Mrs. Weasley but she found that she was incapable of it. This is where
the experience of a lifetime came in and she knew her mother would
have had something to say to console Mrs. Weasley at that moment. She
made a mental note to tell her mother to talk to the Weasley's one
evening soon.
"I have to leave now" Fleur said to Mrs. Weasley as soon as she cast a
glance at her watch. They had been sitting there for almost 45 minutes
now and Fleur knew she had to visit many other families that day. She
couldn't let her emotions keep her restricted to only one family at a time
like this.
"Thank you Fleur" Mrs. Weasley said as she rubbed her eyes which were
red by now.
"For what?" Fleur asked in slight astonishment.
"For being here" Mrs. Weasley replied. Fleur looked on for a moment and
decided not to comment on it. Staying beside Mrs. Weasley had been her
duty but she didn't want to say that "it was nothing". It would belittle
Molly Weasley's feelings. She only gave a silent nod in reply.
"Oh…before you go…" Molly Weasley said as she got up. "…do I look ok?
I mean…" she looked slightly embarrassed "…I don't want the others to
know…"
"You look fine" Fleur said in reply at which Mrs. Weasley just smiled.
"Thanks" Mrs. Weasley said slowly as she opened the door of the room to
let Fleur out. Fleur slowly walked out of the room towards the main door
when suddenly Bill entered.
"Oh…" Bill looked stunned for a moment before he regained his
composure. "Hi"
"Hello Bill" Fleur replied, an uncomfortable feeling growing inside her.
She still had not been able to forget how Bill had been more attracted to
her veela beauty than herself as a person but she also knew it was a thing
which happened all too often with men around her. Except Harry
maybe…
"So…" Bill looked lost for words. "…hmmm…You are leaving?"
"Yes" Fleur replied. "But I am afraid you are blocking the doorway"
"Oh…" Bill replied in slight embarrassment and moved away quickly. "I
didn't mean to…"
"I know" Fleur replied with a small friendly smile. "It happens"
"Yeah" Bill said in a slightly slower voice than normal as he too seemed
to be thinking of something.
"Well…see you guys later then" Fleur said to everyone present in the
room and walked out.
"Hey Fleur" Bill called out just after she had walked a few paces.
"Yes?" Fleur asked as she turned around.
"This may sound a bit awkward…" Bill said in a really awkward voice.
"…but maybe we could have some butterbeer sometime…" his voice
trailed off at this.
Fleur was not expecting anything of this kind from Bill. She didn't know
how to take this comment at all. Maybe Bill just wanted to clear up the
air between them so that they could maintain a friendly relation but what
if he said something more? Fleur couldn't rule out any of the two options
and decided it was best to have a chat with Bill if he wanted to have it.
"Ok" Fleur replied. "But I don't know when I can make it. I am just too…"
"No problem" Bill replied with a relieved smile. "Whenever you have time
is fine with me". With a final friendly smile Fleur turned her back
towards Bill and proceeded to the next tent, her mind lost in thought.
&&&&
"I have to ask him about this" Harry said to himself as he moved towards
Dumbledore's office. Something just didn't feel right to him with the way
the war was going and he needed some kind of clarification from the
headmaster. Harry turned down the last corridor towards Dumbledore's
office when he saw the headmaster approaching the gargoyle himself.
"Hello there Harry" Dumbledore said just as he was about to say the
password to the gargoyle guarding his office. "Would you like to have a
cup of tea with me?". Without waiting for Harry's answer, Dumbledore
moved onto the staircase and Harry had the distinct feeling that
Dumbledore knew exactly why he had been coming to him.
"How are you Professor?" Harry asked Dumbledore as the spiral staircase
moved towards its destination.
"Fine" Dumbledore replied and then turned back to have a peek at Harry's
face. "And I see you are doing better too"
"Time is a great healer, isn't it professor?" Harry said in reply.
"In most cases…yes" Dumbledore replied cryptically. Harry frowned for a
second before Dumbledore said "Remus is a very good man"
"Yes sir" Harry couldn't help but agree. After Sirius, he was grateful to
have a person like Remus in his life to take over the role of a godfather.
Harry was lost in his thoughts as the headmaster motioned him to get
seated.
"How can I help you Harry?" Dumbledore's question brought Harry out of
his thoughts.
"I can't understand all that is happening sir" Harry said.
"Regarding?" Harry knew for sure that Dumbledore knew his answer and
yet he knew he had no choice but to spell it out to the headmaster.
"This war sir" Harry said and cast a glance out of the window towards
Godric's Hollow.
"And what are you unable to comprehend?" Dumbledore asked again.
"Why is he attacking these innocent people?" Harry asked. "Why doesn't
Voldemort just attack the ministry and be done with all this?". Hearing
this, Dumbledore gave a smile which indicated that this was a question
which he had faced many times before.
"Lord Voldemort is known by many names…which I find to be rather
funny at times" Dumbledore added with a smile. Harry couldn't help but
grin too. After all, it really was absurd for grown ups, let alone their
young one's, to be afraid of a name.
"Never has there been such a dark lord in the history of magic"
Dumbledore continued. "Grindewald was a great dark wizard too but he
was not feared as much as these people fear Lord Voldemort. These
people fear to say his name!" Dumbledore gave a shrug at this as if he too
was unable to understand just why so many wizards and witches found it
hard to say Voldemort's name. "I had spent many a night wondering why
this was the case…as to why people feared to say his name. At last…"
Dumbledore said with a small sigh "…I found just why they feared Lord
Voldemort so much. Do you know why they fear him so much Harry?"
Dumbledore looked questioningly at Harry. Harry, on the other hand,
had decided he would let Dumbledore do all the talking and replied in
the negative. After all, he didn't want to always play along with
Dumbledore.
"Lord Voldemort strikes at the very heart of every family" Dumbledore
explained with an emotion Harry had never seen before. He seemed
angry…he seemed to think of Voldemort's actions as below human…and
yet he was maintaining the composure which he was famous for. Maybe
Dumbledore could hate too, Harry thought. After all, he was a mere
mortal. But the manner in which he spoke was enough to convey just
how much he valued human life and just why he hated Voldemort.
"Lord Voldemort wants to embed a fear in every human being…he wants
everyone to know who the best is…rather…who the master is. And in his
quest to do so, he recruited death eaters" Dumbledore continued
explaining. Some of this information seemed redundant to Harry but still
he listened on without interrupting. "Lord Voldemort does not think
every mortal deserves a death by his own wand…no…he is far too
superior for it. But…" Dumbledore paused slightly. "…but he knows that
if he is the master of all the killers then he is indirectly killing them and
they will end up fearing him only and not the death eaters individually"
"But it's kind of absurd that he has not tried to take over the ministry yet"
Harry interrupted Dumbledore.
"Harry…" Dumbledore got up and started pacing the room as if it was a
tough thing which he was about to explain. "Lord Voldemort doesn't like
symbols of power. The ministry is nothing but a building with a few
wizards and witches which his army of death eaters can capture at any
moment. But…" Dumbledore paused as if trying to visualize something.
"But…it is all too easy and there is no challenge for him there. No…Tom
Riddle never liked to own something which was merely a symbol of
power but didn't have any power of its own…he wants to be the symbol
of power"
"Does that mean he will not attack the ministry?" Harry asked in a
bewildered manner. What was this evil lord up to anyway?
"He will" Dumbledore replied. "But only when that is the last thing left to
destroy. It will be a symbolic attack and I hope that day does not come
because it would mean the start of the darkest era ever"
"But why sir?" Harry asked. "I understand that he wants to strike fear in
everyone's heart but attacking everyone in England all the time is
illogical. I mean, he could just attack 4-5 villages and that news will be
all over England within a few hours and most commoners will fear him"
Harry reasoned. "Why does he want to attack almost everyone?"
"He doesn't" Dumbledore replied as he resumed his seat. "You see…"
Dumbledore explained "…Lord Voldemort has a huge army of death
eaters now. But how can he expect a wizard or a witch to be a death
eater from their hearts?". Harry knew how Voldemort didn't proceed with
a plan unless he was absolutely sure that it was going to succeed.
Similarly, Voldemort could not be expected to have an army of death
eaters when he wasn't sure…
"Lord Voldemort does not take any chances unless it is absolutely
necessary" Dumbledore's voice interrupted Harry's chain of thoughts. "He
is making sure that those who join him have to remain beside him till the
last moment they live. And the only way to do it is have everyone kill at
least one person"
"But it is still illogical!" Harry argued. "I mean, I can be a death eater, kill
someone and still go against Voldemort, can't I?"
"Of course you can" Dumbledore replied. "But where will you go? If you
come back to the wizarding community then you will be thrown in a jail.
If you don't go back to Lord Voldemort then his followers will hunt you
down and kill you. The only way out for you…" Dumbledore relaxed in
his seat slightly and continued "…will be to gather your own followers,
which will be almost impossible for a common wizard"
"Does that mean he will go on killing until there are no people left in
England?" Harry asked, trying to understand what exactly Voldmort's
motive could be.
"I think he will stop soon" Dumbledore said with a distant look on his
face. "He has got his death eaters enough practice to ensure that they
don't leave his side. The very fact that Lord Voldemort is attacking more
and more people makes me think that he is getting his troops ready for
the final showdown"
"At Hogwarts?"
"Yes" Dumbledore replied.
"Because…" Harry started putting in the pieces of the puzzle together. "…
because Hogwarts is not only a symbol of power, it actually has to be
won over. He will have to defeat those who stand in his way to ultimate
supremacy". Dumbledore nodded slightly at this. "And…" Harry
continued. "…he will have to defeat Albus Dumbledore himself which
would mean…"
"Nothing" Dumbledore corrected Harry. "Defeating just me will get him
nothing. Attacking Hogwarts allows him to attack you once again and
that is what he wants at the moment"
"But what can he get from just defeating me?" Harry said. "After all, he
will want to defeat you and capture Hogwarts and then attack the
ministry. He doesn't know about the prophecy and so he should not be
interested in me"
"True that he wants to defeat me also but defeating you will get rid of his
own inner fear" Dumbledore leaned closer to emphasize his point more
clearly. "Lord Voldemort will do anything to silence his critics. He will go
to any extent to show that he is the best. But, in spite of what others
think, he still has to answer to one person as to who is the best…as to
which person he wants to defeat the most…as to when he will avenge his
downfall 16 years earlier. And the answer to that is that he wants to
defeat you the most, Harry"
"Who is this person to whom Voldemort has to answer to?" Harry asked
even though his subconscious mind knew the answer.
"Himself" was Dumbledore's response.
&&&&
Harry was quietly sitting in the grounds, looking at the hordes of people
moving to and fro between Hogwarts and Godric's Hollow. New refugees
were being escorted to Godric's Hollow by teachers and then they were
helped to settle down. Also, since Godric's Hollow was getting filled to
the capacity, many people had started settling down at Hogsmeade and
the nearby places. Everyone wanted to be near Hogwarts.
However, much to Harry's relief, the number of refugees pouring in
everyday had come down drastically after the first couple of days since
the attack. This had been mainly due to the additional security provided
by the ministry to different areas in England in addition to a drive
launched in which emergency portkeys were being installed in various
public places which portkeyed people to different safe places outside
England. These portkeys were made by the best of the best in the
ministry so that death eaters could not use it for their purposes. No
person with the dark mark would be able to use the portkeys. This,
however, did not make them fail safe but many people were satisfied that
at least something was being done.
Harry was wondering about how he had forced Fudge to launch the
portkey drive when a strange falcon swooped down towards him. For a
second he seemed stunned by the sudden dive of the falcon and his next
reaction was to go for the wand. But something told him to hold himself
back. Keeping a tight grip on his wand, Harry watched the Falcon glide
to a smooth landing just a few feet away from him. Not for a second did
anyone break eye contact with the other. It was Harry who relented at
last and saw that a letter was attached to the leg of the falcon.
The falcon kept watching Harry as he looked at the letter and then back
at it. It did not offer the letter to Harry which made him wonder for a
second as to whether the letter was really for him or not. Then Harry saw
the falcon's eyes dart towards something before staring at him again. It
was then he understood that the falcon did not trust him…because he
had a tight grip on his wand. Realizing that this falcon must be some
special kind of a messenger and that falcon's might be suspicious by
nature, Harry slowly let go of his wand. A few tense seconds passed
before the falcon finally offered Harry the letter.
No sooner had Harry taken the letter from the falcon that it took to
flight. Harry watched it for a few seconds before his attention was drawn
back towards the letter. It was just addressed to Harry Potter. Opening it
curiously, Harry found that it had been sent from Gringotts.
Dear Mr. Potter,
You had been kind enough to use our prototype wallet for the past few
months. Since there had been no complaints from your side in this time period
we are taking the liberty of assuming that our product was up to your
satisfaction.
We would also like to remind you that we had agreed that you will be able to
use our product at a discounted rate on certain terms and conditions. We are
enclosing a copy of the contract signed between you and Gringotts for your
cross reference.
We are planning on a commercial launch of this product any day now. As
agreed in our contract, you are required to be present on the day of the launch
and give an interview on the usability of the products. We hope you will be
true to your written word and will take time out of your busy itinerary to
launch this product.
As a goodwill gesture from Gringotts, we would also like to offer you and a
couple of your friends the lifelong usage of this product once it is launched. In
return, all we ask for is that you acknowledge this fact in public.
Hoping for an affirmative answer from your side as soon as possible.
Yours truly,
TevridGranghok
London Branch,
Gringotts.
Harry looked at the sign at the bottom of the page and remembered the
whole conversation he had had with the goblin named Tevrid. Harry had
agreed to do a few interviews and advertisements for Gringotts but he
had never thought that it would be in the middle of a war. He thought
for a long while as to why would goblins launch such an expensive
product in the middle of a war and the only answer which came to his
mind was they wanted to take advantage of the fact that people did not
want to come out of their homes anymore. They would rather pay an
extra hundred galleon once to get a wallet rather than risk their lives
every single time they went to Gringotts. After all, rumors had it that
Gringotts would be attacked any day soon for all the gold it had but
Harry seriously doubted it. If he had understood the goblins even a little
bit then they had most probably taken precautions against it already.
"When should I go?" Harry thought. Without classes going on, he had all
the time in the world to go to Gringotts. However, he didn't want to act
too fast on this letter. After all, if he replied instantly then the goblins
would think that Harry had fallen for their trap deal of a lifetime free
usage of their wallet. He wasn't greedy and he didn't want to do anything
which would make them think so. Hence he knew that he would have to
carefully plan when he would go to Gringotts. Thinking about his busy
itinerary, Harry quickly selected a couple of days on which he might go
to Gringotts. He made a mental note to write a letter to Tevrid in a
couple of days time so that he could be absolutely sure on which day he
would be going. Goblins didn't like false promises and he was not going
to make one right now. A couple of days more would not mean the end
of the world for anyone, Harry thought.
&&&&
"Give this to Mr. Tevrid" Harry told Hedwig as he tied a letter to the owl's
leg. Hedwig gave an acknowledging hoot and flew off into the night sky
even as Harry kept on watching. Finally, after Hedwig had gone out of
sight for a minute or so, Harry started his walk back towards the castle
and his dormitory.
After Harry had entered the castle, he started to walk along the many
corridors and took numerous long cuts to different places. For some
reason, the castle seemed to be calling out to him…he could almost feel
it as a part of himself and a strange sense of calm came into him
whenever he walked through one of its many corridors.
Initially Harry had thought that it was kind of weird but then he assumed
that it was due to the calmness of the deserted corridors that made his
own self comfortable. Hogwarts now felt more like what the trunk used
to feel when Tonks and Dobby were still alive – home.
As Harry walked along the corridors, he slowly placed his hand on the
walls of the castle and continued walking. He almost felt as if something
was connected to himself…something…
"Quite late to be out of your bed Mr. Potter" said a strange sounding
voice.
"Who is it?" Harry said because he couldn't see anyone around. Suddenly
the form of Nearly Headless Nick came into view out of one of the walls.
"Don't do that again, will you?" Harry said with a sense of relief. Nearly
Headless Nick saw the young man in front of him had a firm grip on his
wand and came to the conclusion that if a human had come in front of
him then most likely Harry would have sent a spell towards that person.
"Sorry to startle you" Nick said to Harry. "But you should be someone
who should know that staying out of bed at this late time is not allowed"
"Professor Dumbledore has allowed me certain allowances" Harry replied
curtly.
"I know that Mr. Potter" Nick looked slightly hurt at the way Harry had
said his last statement. Harry, seeing the look on Nick's face, regretted his
actions.
"Well…" Harry said with an apologetic look on his face. "…sorry for the
way I just said what I did. I shouldn't have done that"
"It happens a lot with me" Nick said, his face still showing his
disappointment. "People just think that I am a ghost and hence they don't
respect me anymore"
"That's not true" Harry reiterated, though it was more for Nick's
satisfaction than his own inner feelings. "Everyone in our house loves
you"
"I don't think so" Nick said in a dejected voice. "The way some make fun
of me…"
"No…you are misunderstanding that!" Harry said. "They do all those stuff
because they think of you as their friend. We play jokes on our friends,
don't we? So, if we play jokes on you, doesn't it make sense that we think
of you as our friend?". Nearly Headless Nick's face brightened at this
comment and Harry gave an inwardly sigh. At least the ghost will feel a
little better now.
"But…" the look on Nick's face had turned from a happy one to a look of
graveness. "…You don't play any jokes on anyone nowadays, do you?"
"Wha…" Harry seemed a bit taken aback at this comment. Seeing that
this might lead to something which might not be to his liking, he started
walking again.
"You didn't answer me" Nick called out to Harry from behind. Harry
stopped and turned around to look at Nick.
"I don't like playing jokes anymore" Harry said in a serious voice which
could have matched Dumbledore's.
"But you have to let the past go Harry" Nick said in a fatherly kind of
tone. "If you don't then you will suffer and the others will try to help you
by staying away and giving you some room. You will make them suffer
too…everyone will suffer…everyone will remain trapped…everyone will
be waiting for you to do something". Harry didn't know ghosts could cry
or not but Nearly Headless Nick's eyes seemed slightly misty to him. "You
have to let go Harry" Nick said in a very emotional voice. Harry looked
on for a moment before he turned around and started walking. Nick hung
there in mid air as he saw Harry approaching a corner.
"I can't" Harry said as he turned round the corner and went out of Nearly
Headless Nick's sight.
&&&&
A/N: Fourth chapter here. This was pretty quick by my recent standards,
wasn't it? ;)
I know the initial chapters are slightly "slow" and have quite a lot of
angst in them but that is necessary. Ultimately, I try to build characters
so that the latter chapters won't seem artificial (anyone remember how a
"beast" was building up inside Harry in HBP and one fine day he kissed
Ginny. Nah…not so fast…needed some more emotions in my opinion). If
you feel the initial chapters are too much of a drag on then please say so.
The main story line starts to slowly kick start hence forth.
Thanks for all those reviews. Every review which you people made is
very much appreciated.
Jeefus – The trio will reunite in time (same words again!). By the way,
can you give me a link to the lyrics of the song you mentioned:)
-never- - I don't know either why I get lesser reviews but I guess it is
because I don't review other people's fics a lot either (I don't read a lot
and hence can't review). I am not complaining because I know people are
reading it and hopefully enjoying it a bit too. Currently, I average about
1 review for every 670'th word I write. Its not too bad I guess :)
Also, you have assumed correctly that some interactions were needed for
the latter part of the stories to fit in. The plot starts moving henceforth
ever so slowly.
PwnMaster Paladin – Yeah…it takes a bit of hard work to bring Harry
out nowadays.
KingofthePhoenixes – You will have to wait for the pairing (if any!).
harrisonpotter – Man…I just can't tell you the plot, can I:)
Everyone else – A BIG thanks for all your reviews. Just because I didn't
mention your name doesn't mean your review is of any less importance to
me. It is very much appreciated. Also, those who didn't review – thanks
for taking the time to read my fic.
&&&&
5. Emotional Conflicts
Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter and the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers. I
am not the original writer (though I wish I could be J) and I do not wish
to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued.
So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah...forget it and let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
Note: This is the sequel to Harry Potter & The Power Of Hogwarts. Please
read it before moving on with this story.
HARRY POTTER & THE NEW DAWN
Chapter 5 – Emotional Conflicts
"You have to let go Harry" Nick said in a very emotional voice. Harry
looked on for a moment before he turned around and started walking.
Nick hung there in mid air as he saw Harry approaching a corner.
"I can't" Harry said as he turned round the corner and went out of Nearly
Headless Nick's sight.
&&&&
"Where are you going now?"
"Oh…you are awake?" Harry said as he turned round to see Remus
coming out of his room. "I am just going for a walk"
"Where do you go for these walks?" Remus asked as he passed Harry and
sat down at their dining table. "That also at 6 in the morning"
"I don't think there is any problem in going for a walk in the morning"
Harry's voice sounded slightly offended. "I just go for a walk in the castle
corridors"
"I see" Remus toned down his voice, clearly understanding that Harry had
not taken too kindly at being questioned like this. One part of Remus
always wanted to protect Harry whereas the other part argued that Harry
was old enough to make his own decisions and things like "going for a
walk" should not be questioned. However, to Remus, Harry would always
remain the emerald eyed kid who was the only living link to the memory
of James, Lily and Sirius. He couldn't let go of him so easily.
"Anything else?" Harry asked tentatively as he noticed a far away look in
Remus's eyes. Harry knew this look very well…Remus was thinking of
something of the past and fond memories were playing themselves in his
mind.
"Uh…" Remus looked slightly startled at this before realizing what Harry
had just said. "Yes…I think there is something else too…" Remus's voice
trailed off at this and he adjusted himself in his seat. Harry took this as a
sign that Remus wanted Harry to sit down and have a chat with him.
"What's on your mind Remus?" Harry asked as he sat down. Sometimes
he felt angry at being interrupted or questioned for what seemed to be no
issues at all whereas at other times, when he was thinking more deeply
or meditating, he would understand the real feelings behind Remus's
behavior.
"I was thinking of what you had told me about your…" Remus paused a
bit before looking at Harry. "…your plans". Harry's stomach turned at the
way Remus emphasized the word 'plans'. He questioned his wisdom of
sharing this information with Remus but then again reminded himself
how he had promised that he won't hide any information again. That
promise was made to Tonks and he just couldn't disregard it.
"I cannot stop you from doing anything…" Remus interrupted Harry's
chain of thoughts. "…so I will not stop you from doing what you are
doing. However…" Remus leaned forward and looked at Harry with a
grave expression on his face. "…however, I would like you to remain on
your toes all the time". Harry gave a serious nod at this. He knew that
Remus was not agreeing to his plan at all but he knew it was too late to
do anything about it now. Also, by the look of things, it seemed as if
Remus had also come to the same conclusion.
"Remus…" Harry began but was stopped by a raised finger from Remus.
"I am not finished yet Harry" Remus said calmly but it was not that hard
for Harry to see through the calm exterior into his true feelings.
Somewhere deep down Harry could understand that Remus was feeling
something which he had never felt before in his life – fear…the fear of
losing the last of his near and dear one's.
"I want you to contact me if anything occurs" Remus spoke again after a
couple of seconds of silence. "No matter where you are, I want you to let
me know about what is going to happen and what you are planning to
do". Harry gave a nod at this as Remus continued. "I think we are both in
agreement that I do not like you taking unnecessary risks but…" Remus
paused once again and Harry had the feeling that Remus was searching
for the best words to describe the situation at hand now. "…but in the
face of the circumstances surrounding us, I know you will have to do
some things which might not be to my liking. I have surrendered that
thing to my fate" Remus said in a very sad tone.
"It's not always in my hands" Harry said as he placed a hand on his
godfather's hand.
"I know" Remus replied as he felt the young yet firm grip trying to
reassure him that nothing will go wrong. "But I want you to…"
"I know…I know" Harry said instantly. "I will not hide anything from you
and I will let you know what is happening"
"Thanks" Remus said in a grateful voice. "I really appreciate…"
"You don't have to thank me" Harry interrupted Remus with an angry
look on his face. The last thing he needed was for Remus to feel he was
unwanted and meddling in things he shouldn't be. "We are a family,
remember?". Remus didn't say anything in reply but gave a sad sigh. The
trouble with having a family in times of war was the prospect of losing
them. He had been through such a scenario once before and now he was
in such a scenario for the second time. Hopefully this second war was
going to be the last one.
"Anything else then?" Harry asked uncertainly after over a minute of
silence had passed between them.
"No" Remus said with a slight smile.
"See you later then" Harry said and started to leave when Remus spoke
once again.
"I had a chat with Dumbledore the other day". Harry stopped and turned
round to face Remus. Remus had had many a chat with the headmaster
in the past too but he never mentioned them. Since he was mentioning
this one, Harry concluded that it must have been a very important
discussion.
"What did he say?" Harry asked, albeit with a great deal of curiosity.
"He talked about a lot of things…quite unlike himself" Remus said. "He
mainly talked about you"
"Me?" Harry's eyebrows curved in a frown.
"Yes" Remus said with a thoughtful look on his face. "He was especially
worried about you and how you were dealing with everything"
"I am fine" Harry said in a strange sort of voice.
"I know" Remus replied in an almost similar voice. "But the headmaster
does not think so"
"Did he say that?" Harry asked, his normal voice not regained yet.
"No…" Remus replied. "But that's the conclusion I came too. He said we
have to be less emotional now because a lot of unwanted things are going
to happen in the near future"
"He can't expect people to be less emotional about their families, can he?"
Harry sounded irritated.
"I don't know" Remus said with a shrug. "But in some ways he is right"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, his eyes narrowed as he looked at
Remus.
"I think we should move on…" Remus said in a very sad voice. "…they
would have wanted…"
"And what about what we want?" Harry asked, his anger getting the
better of him. "What – about – what – I – want?". Harry's almost shouted
at Remus who looked slightly taken aback at this.
"I didn't mean…" Remus began but wasn't allowed to finish his sentence.
"I don't care what you meant" Harry said in a high-pitched voice. "I
cannot let go of the past memories". With that, Harry turned on his heels
and proceeded towards the door leading to the fourth compartment. Just
as he was about to walk through, he stopped and turned back.
"And in case anyone forgets…" Harry said. "…it's not the fact that I
cannot let go of the past…it's just that I will not let go of Tonks and
Dobby from my life". Remus looked on guiltily as a seething Harry left
the room.
&&&&
"Why are you sitting all alone here?" Soha asked when she saw Cho
sitting in the Ravenclaw common room all by herself. The other's had
gone to have their lunch and it was uncommon for anyone to stay
behind. Soha had got delayed because she had been very busy reading up
the potions which she was brewing but there was no reason why Cho
might have stayed behind.
"I just don't feel like eating" Cho replied casually but there was no
mistaking the sadness in her voice. Her senses on alert, Soha sat down
next to Cho with a concerned look on her face.
"What is the matter Cho?" Soha asked.
"Nothing" Cho said. As if to prove her point, she looked around at Soha
and smiled at her.
"Hmmm…" Soha said as she saw Cho smile. "That's a good one…but you
don't fool me". At this Cho looked slightly offended but soon her
shoulders drooped and her expressions returned to being sad once again.
"I think I have been at Hogwarts long enough to be trusted" Soha said.
"But for some reason, many people think I am not worth talking to"
"NO!" Cho exclaimed, her eyes wide in alarm. She knew that in a way
Soha was right. Many of the girls had still not been able to accept Soha
into their midst but that kind of feeling was not present in the D.A. at
least. The main reason why many girls did not like Soha was the fact that
she was very pretty but seemed quite oblivious to the fact that many guys
at Hogwarts kept trying to impress her instead of others. Most of the girls
thought that Soha only acted as if she did not know anything but many
people in the D.A. knew that Soha really didn't notice these things much.
When she was told that some guy was looking at her or was interested in
her then she would just dismiss it with some other explanation. Being
Soha at Hogwarts was very tough unless someone counted Harry, Fleur
and a few other people.
"Well…" Soha looked at Cho for a second before she gave a shrug and
rose from her seat. "I think I should be going now. I have to learn fast as
to when I am not wanted"
"It's nothing like that" Cho said in an angry voice as she pulled Soha down
on the seat beside her. Ignoring the 'ouch' coming from Soha, she
continued angrily. "Have I ever done anything to make you feel
unwanted?"
"You are doing so now" Soha replied in her defense.
"Sorry if I…" Cho looked lost for words. She didn't know what to say to
Soha or how to explain that she just wanted to be alone with her
thoughts for some time. However, Cho thought, maybe having someone
like Soha beside her at this moment was all for the best.
"It's ok" Soha said as she understood that Cho was in some emotional
distress which was making her act differently. "I think you need some
time alone. We can talk later when…"
"Maybe we can talk now?" Cho interrupted Soha. "I think it is best if I
talked to someone". At this, Soha smiled warmly at Cho.
"If I can be of any help then I will be really happy" Soha said. "What's
bothering you Cho?"
"Well…" Cho looked a bit awkwardly at Soha before speaking. "…it's just
the way others are behaving nowadays"
"What do you mean?" Soha asked curiously. What was wrong with other
people's behaviors?
"You see…how Ron is so suspicious all the time" Cho replied. "The way
Neville gets angry at the D.A. meetings and how he too is now saying
that we need to do something now. In fact…" Cho paused for a moment.
"…in fact he was one of those who said that protecting Hogwarts was our
first priority"
"I know" Soha replied, her voice sharing the same concern as that of Cho.
The behavior of Neville was affecting that of a lot of the others too. What
most people did not know was the background of Neville's parent's fate
and hence they were unable to understand the reason for Neville's
extreme reactions nowadays. Still, it was very disturbing indeed.
"There is a reason to everything I guess" Cho continued slowly. "Ron…
Neville…I guess they are going through terrible times in their personal
lives"
"I guess so" Soha agreed. "I can understand about Ron but Neville?"
"He has changed a lot in these past few days, hasn't he?" Cho looked at
Soha questioningly. "I mean, you have seen him for some time now…
hasn't he changed a lot?"
"Hmmm…" Soha looked thoughtful. "Five months is not a long time to
see a lot of change but yes…I think he has changed somewhat since the
starting of this year"
"Harry changed a lot in two months" Cho said after a pause of a few
seconds.
"I always keep hearing these things about how much he has changed"
Soha said. "Has he really changed a lot?"
"If you don't see Harry Potter going around with Ron Weasley and
Hermione Granger, then there is something seriously wrong there" Cho
replied. "And…" Cho added in a concerned voice. "…the person who is
wrong here is Harry"
"I don't think it is a matter of right or wrong" Soha replied. "I think it is a
matter of personal decisions"
"Maybe" Cho gave a shrug of her shoulders. "By the way…" she suddenly
turned around to face Soha. "…is he very sad nowadays?". Soha looked
bewildered for a moment as she wondered why everyone always had to
ask her this question.
"Why do you ask?" Soha queried, knowing the answer all to well.
"Well…" Cho said. "You are the only one to whom he chats from time to
time and…"
"Ok…ok…no need to say anything more…the same explanation again"
Soha said in a desperate voice. She had almost surrendered herself to the
fate of answering this question throughout her life if needed. However,
on seeing Cho's mystified look, she said "Nothing of importance…
everyone asks me the same question and say that I am the only one who
Harry talks to"
"I see" Cho said as she understood the reason behind the slightly tired
look on Soha's face. By the look of it, she had gone through this ordeal a
lot of times.
"Anyway…Harry is…" Soha's voice trailed off as she tried to visualize
Harry's face. Was it sadness that she was seeing on his face nowadays or
was it something else? Was it anger or was it hope? Was he doing things
for himself or was he doing everything to achieve some unknown target?
"What happened?" Cho put her hand ever so lightly on Soha's shoulder
who jumped away in fright.
"Sorry…" Soha said, taking a huge gasp of air. "I was thinking of
something and you suddenly…I got frightened…"
"I didn't mean it" Cho said apologetically.
"No…no…" Soha shook her head vigorously. "It's not your fault or
anything"
"You were saying something" Cho prompted Soha.
"Yeah…" Soha replied. "It's just that I don't know what Harry is like
nowadays. He is not sad…he is not angry…there is something else"
"What do you mean?" Cho asked.
"Well…I have seen him closely when he was sad…" Soha said. At Cho's
questioning glance, she explained further. "…you know, the time when
he started staying away from Ron and Hermione. I saw the look in his
eyes when he saw them together. It was almost as if he wanted to go up
to them and talk to them but couldn't do so. The look of sadness in his
eyes in those times was…" Soha just threw up her hands in the air as she
found herself lost for words to explain her emotions.
"I have seen him angry too" Soha continued after a few more seconds.
"Since the dawn of this year, I have talked to him only a couple of times
and in those times I had a distinct feeling that his mind was somewhere
else"
"Somewhere else?" Cho looked on even more curiously.
"Yes…" Soha said. "It's almost as if he didn't want to be disturbed…as if
he wanted to be all alone with his thoughts…"
"Thoughts of?" Cho queried again.
"I don't know" Soha replied. "I mean, there are a few rumors about him
going on…"
"The auror girl thing?" Cho said before continuing. "Is it true?"
"How would I know?" Soha looked angrily at Cho. However her anger
subsided as she understood that Cho only wanted to know what was
wrong with her friend and not what was wrong with the Boy-Who-Lived.
"I don't know" Soha looked very uncomfortable as she said this. "But it
looks like there is a lot on his mind"
"So maybe the rumors are true" Cho said in a slightly defeated voice.
Somewhere deep down she still longed for Harry but she knew that she
had been wrong to turn down the offer when it had been made. She just
didn't turn it down, she had even gone on to rub a lot of salt on it too. It
was a kind of balancing out things evenly.
"I don't know" Soha repeated again. "All I know is that he is very lonely
right now"
"I can understand" Cho said in a low voice. A feeling of depression
threatened to take over Cho's feelings but she somehow kept herself
under control.
"Do you like him?"
"WHAT!" Cho sat bolt upright in her seat at hearing this sudden question
from Soha.
"I don't mean to offend you…" Soha said in an apprehensive manner. "…
but I have seen both of you quite a lot in the last few months and…" Soha
didn't know how to finish the sentence and hence didn't continue. How
could she say that she had seen many a feeling in Cho's eyes whenever
she had set her sights on Harry?
Cho looked livid for a few moments at being asked this question so
bluntly but decided that there was no point in hiding the obvious truth.
After all, Soha did have a good look at her since they were both in the
same house.
"We…we…" Cho stuttered slightly as she broke the uneasy silence. "…
have a history" the last three words came out in a hurry. It seemed as if
she was almost relieved to have been able to say it.
"Ok" Soha said awkwardly. She knew she hadn't done the brightest thing
by saying what she had just done but she knew it could not be undone
now.
"I think I will be going now". Without saying anything more Cho walked
out of the Ravenclaw common room.
&&&&
"Pleath thave me". Harry looked at the barely 3 year old boy who had
appeared out of nowhere and was now clinging on to his left leg as if that
was all he needed. "Hally Pottal…pleath thave me"
"Where are you Ted?" a woman's voice called out from somewhere near
the Great Hall. Unknowingly, Harry had wandered just too close to the
Great Hall where some families were still staying until their homes at
Godric's Hollow had been constructed completely.
"There you are" the relieved voice of Ted's mother made Harry took away
Harry's attention from the kid who was looking at him in wonder. Harry
did not know how such a little kid could have recognized him but then
he concluded that the kid might have seen him before also or had noticed
the elders pointing towards him or something…
"Thank god you are ok" the woman continued speaking as she scurried to
pick up her son. "I am sorry Sir if he was a trouble…" the woman shifted
her gaze towards Harry as she literally tore her son away from him. "He
must have…" at this point the flow of words suddenly stopped. The
woman's eyes bulged as she recognized the person standing in front of
her and she looked enthralled. Harry groaned inwardly as he realized
that he was just going to be hero-worshipped once again when…
"GET AWAY FROM MY CHILD!" the woman screeched at the top of her
lungs taking Harry completely by surprise.
"I…I…am…" Harry tried to say something in response but found himself
tongue tied. He had not expected this kind of a response. "…sorry" Harry
finally managed to complete the sentence. However, thinking quickly, he
found no reason as to why he had just apologized. What did he say
"sorry" for?
"Just stay away from him" the woman said in a hissing voice before she
turned around and started dragging her son back to their temporary
residence.
"Ma!" the child started wailing at the pain he felt.
"Please be careful" Harry said instinctively as he almost felt the pain of
the boy. After all, his first 11 years had been a tale of pain and suffering.
"What did you say?" the woman turned round so fast that Harry was
slightly shocked again. His feeling was replaced by one of curiosity as he
saw the woman in front of him fuming in anger.
"I just asked you to be a little more careful" Harry replied in a calm tone.
He wasn't going to stammer this time.
"And who asked you to say anything in the first place?" the woman
slowly started walking towards Harry as she said this. Harry didn't say
anything in reply but his mind was working furiously. Why was this
woman so angry with him? Rather, why did she seem to almost hate
him?
"C'mon boy…tell me who told you to interfere between me and my
child?" the woman seemed to be losing her patience slightly. Harry, on
the other hand, started to wonder how long it had been since he had
been addressed as a "boy". Maybe, Harry thought, this woman was his
Uncle Vernon under the polyjuice!
"What's wrong here?"
"What is going on?". Quite a number of voices seemed to have sprung up
from nowhere. Looking behind the woman's back, Harry saw a group of
people suddenly coming towards them through the narrow corridor.
Leading the way was none other then Ted, the kid who must have run
from his mother's clutches when she had turned around to face Harry.
"The'l they aal…the'l they aal…" Ted was running as fast as his tiny legs
could permit and kept pointing at his mother and Harry. As the faces of
the people coming towards them became prominent, Harry saw a trace of
grave concern on the faces of many people. The look on their faces took a
turn for the worse when their eyes rested on Harry's face.
"Why is ma angly?" Ted asked innocently. It was evident he was still
learning to speak every word correctly at this young age.
"Ma is not angry at you dear" Harry heard one of the ladies in the group
saying. It could mean only one thing…the lady in front of Harry was
angry at him.
"Why are you not answering me…" Ted's mother asked before adding. "…
the Boy-Who-Lived".
Harry looked closely at the woman without answering. It seemed that the
woman was angry at the Boy-Who-Lived. Why…to that Harry had no
answer.
"I don't think I have harmed him in any way ma'am" Harry replied as the
other people came to a stop behind the woman. "So there was no reason
for you to scream at me at first even though your reasons might be
different from the one's I know of"
"Oh yes…" the woman replied. "…they are very different than anything
you can even think of Mr. Potter. But…" the woman raised a finger as to
warn Harry of something. "…don't ever dare to come near my son"
"Mary…" one of the ladies laid a hand on the woman's shoulders which
was rudely thrown off.
"Don't tell me it isn't his fault…just don't!" the woman replied. "And don't
you dare speak for him"
"Mary…it really isn't…" another man started to speak but was rudely
stopped too.
"It is!" Mary screamed. "He is the reason behind all this and yet…yet…"
"Is Ma angly with Hally Pottal?" this innocent question from Ted broke
the tense silence which had befallen the whole of the group.
"Yes". Oddly, it was Harry who replied instead of any of the others.
Kneeling so that he could be on the kid's level, Harry continued "Ma is
angry because Harry Potter is a bad man". Ted's mother looked on in an
astonished manner as she heard Harry say this.
"Hally Pottal is not bad" Ted shook his head vigorously in disagreement.
How can 'Hally Pottal', his hero, be bad?
"He is bad" his mother agreed as she took her son by his hand and started
walking away. "And you stay away from him"
"No!" Ted somehow managed to get out of his mother's grip and ran over
to Harry who was still in a kneeled position. He gripped one of Harry's
arms tightly…so tightly that Harry cringed in pain.
"You get back here right NOW" the last word was said in such a loud
voice that Ted stumbled in fright. He had never seen his mother so angry
and she had never shouted at him like that. Little tears started to form in
his eyes but he still wouldn't let go of Harry.
"Ted…" Harry spoke in a whisper. "Go over to your Ma. She is very sad".
Everyone could see Harry whispering something but only a very few
could actually hear him.
"She iz nevel thidth angly" Ted said in a similar whisper which was
followed by a sniff. "I am aflaid"
"Don't be afraid" Harry slowly patted the kid on his head. He saw Ted's
mother looking at him in a peculiar manner as he did this. In the past
five minutes or so, Harry had the distinct feeling that sometimes the lady
in front of him hated him very much whereas at other times she seemed
to look at him with a sort of regret in her eyes. It seemed like she was
caught between her feelings and conscience over something.
"Go" Harry said as slowly unwrapped the kid's hands from around his
arm. Giving a slight push to him, he slowly stood up…his eyes traveling
from the kid to his mother. Ted looked uncertainly at Harry and then his
mother. Then, all of a sudden, he seemed to decide that he would be
better off with his mother and ran straight to her.
"Solly Ma" Ted mumbled in between his sniffing. He was now crying
openly. His mother, seeing her son in such a state, could not hold back
her tears either.
"I am sorry I screamed at you" she said as she took the hand of Ted. Tears
were flowing down her face by now. "Let's go now". Slowly both of them
went out of Harry's view but not before Ted had sneaked a few glances at
him.
"She's a bit emotional" a heavy voice suddenly shook Harry out of his
thoughts.
"Wha…" Harry looked slightly confused.
"She's slightly emotional" the man repeated as many of the people who
had gathered there started to leave except for a couple of persons.
"Does she hate me?" Harry couldn't quite stop himself from asking the
question which was on his mind for the past five odd minutes. "I mean
she does hate me but why?"
"She doesn't hate you" one of the women who had stayed behind
clarified. "She's just confused over a lot of things"
"And with this war…" another man, much younger than the other two,
chipped in. "…everyone is slightly stressed"
"She has something personal against me" Harry wondered aloud. He saw
the two elders in front of him exchanging a quick glance before they
seemingly came to a conclusion.
Finally the elderly man said in his deep voice. "Hopefully one day Mary's
misconceptions will be driven away. She just has to realize that…you
couldn't have done anything about it"
"About what?" Harry asked curiously. He had a temptation to use his
legilimency skills on the man in front of him but resisted the urge. There
was always a difference between what was easy and what was right.
"It's not ours to tell" the man said in an almost apologetic voice. "Good
day Mr. Potter…" the man touched the tip of his hat as he said this. "We
wish you win this war…for yourself…for everyone". With that, the three
of them turned around and left, leaving a frowning Harry standing all
alone, lost deep in thought.
&&&&
"What are you doing here Malfoy?"
"It's none of your business Chang" Malfoy said as Cho stopped him near
the library. Cho had noticed Malfoy standing in a corner for a long time
and looking at his watch frequently. Thinking that Malfoy was up to
something, she decided it was best to confront him head on.
"I hope you know that you are answerable to the Hogwarts Peace
Keeping Force"
"Yeah…yeah…the HPKF thing" Malfoy rolled his eyes as he said this.
"Couldn't you come up with a better name?"
"What are you doing here Malfoy?" Cho asked in a much sterner voice. "If
you don't answer me then I will be forced to ask you to leave this place
right now"
"On what basis Chang?" Malfoy asked in a sarcastic voice.
"On suspicion of trying to cause trouble" Cho replied. "I think that many
people will believe me"
"Whatever" Malfoy said. "I am here to meet a friend of mine, ok?"
"Name?" Cho asked.
"Does it say that I have to say everyone's name too?" Malfoy asked, his
voice showing his irritation.
"If asked, you are bound to" Cho replied before adding. "Remember what
you did in Umbridge's time? What goes around comes back"
"I did what I did in past because I was foolish" Malfoy said.
"WHAT?" Cho almost shouted in shock. Draco Malfoy, the son of Lucius
Malfoy, was saying that he had done something foolish!
"Yeah" Malfoy smiled cunningly when he registered Cho's shock. "I should
have understood that Umbridge wouldn't last long enough. I should have
played my cards better"
"You are sick Malfoy" Cho said in disgust.
"And you are still after Potter who doesn't care for you Chang" Malfoy
said with a snicker.
"What t…" Cho seemed shocked for the second time. "How dare you say
such a thing?"
"Everyone knows it Chang" Malfoy continued in his bossy voice. "It's in
your eyes"
"And when did you start eyeing me Malfoy?" Cho said in an apparent
effort to make Malfoy uncomfortable and, to her satisfaction, saw
Malfoy's smile fade.
"Don't you dare talk to me like that" Malfoy said. Even as Cho started to
open her mouth to say something, Malfoy said "I think my friend will not
turn up anymore. I should be going". With that, Malfoy walked away
before Cho had a chance to counter him.
"Is it that apparent?" Cho queried to herself. "Do I really like Harry in that
manner? No…I can't do that…he doesn't like me" Cho reassured herself but
couldn't stop her thoughts. It almost seemed as if two parts of her were
speaking two different things. "Can you do it that easily? Can you forget
him just like that?"
"I rejected him when he approached me…I behaved badly with him last year"
"Yes…but everyone makes mistakes" a second voice spoke up from inside
her. "Don't you think that you should at least make an attempt?"
"No" a firm voice replied. "I can't…he has moved on…I should move on too".
Cho nodded her head as she agreed with it.
"It won't be that easy Cho, it won't be that easy" the other voice gave it's
final warning.
&&&&
"What in heavens name are you doing in there?" Harry shouted from his
bed in the trunk. He had been reading one of the books he had got from
the Black family vault when noises had started in Remus's room.
"Getting ready" came the short reply.
"Why?" Harry asked causally. Looking at his watch he queried again.
"Another Order meeting?"
"No". The tone of Remus's reply didn't go down too well with Harry. He
waited for a few seconds to see if Remus would clarify things a bit more
or not but, on finding no other comments coming from him, Harry got up
from his bed and went over to Remus's room.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked curiously as he saw the mess the
room was in. All kinds of stuff were lying around of which he could make
neither head nor tail. Remus was getting ready alright but if he had not
known better, it would have seemed that he was getting ready for some
kind of war.
"Packing" Remus replied without looking up at Harry. He quickly opened
a book, checked its contents and put it in a heap near one of the bags.
Both the bags on the bed were empty but loads of stuff was dumped in
front of them. Harry assumed that Remus was short listing things before
he started his packing.
"I can see that" Harry replied slowly as he scrutinized the things on the
bed. "But where are you going? You never start packing all of a sudden
like this"
"It's an emergency" Remus said as he picked up a white vial filled with
brownish liquid in it. He set it down lightly near a few other vials and
started looking for something else. Harry stepped forward and picked up
a piece of parchment which was lying on top of a table. It was a list of
names.
"Who are these people?" Harry asked curiously. He saw Remus cast one
glance at the parchment before he turned away.
"C'mon" Harry said. "Who are these people?"
"Werewolves" came the reply in a very un-Remus voice. The voice had
something which Harry had seldom heard before whenever Remus talked
– fear.
"Werewolves?" Harry somehow felt the fear in Remus's voice casting its
shadow on himself too. Why would Remus be carrying a list of
werewolves? Why…unless…
"I have to meet them" Remus looked straight into Harry's eyes for the first
time since Harry had entered the room. Harry could see a hint of the fear
he had heard in Remus's voice present in his eyes too. But, apart from
that, there was an expression of steely determination in them. At that
moment Harry knew there was something gravely wrong.
"Would you please care to clarify this whole thing to me?" Harry asked in
a quite voice. The silence in the room was deafening…as if it was the
calm before the storm. At long last Remus spoke up.
"There have been an unprecedented number of werewolf bitings in the
past couple of days" Remus said in a grave voice. "It seems Voldemort is
giving the werewolves a free reign in the country side…as if to tell them
that this is what they will get when he is able to rule the whole of
England"
"I see" Harry said but didn't add anything extra. He needed to know
exactly what was going to happen.
"That…" Remus pointed to the list in Harry's hand. "…that has the names
of some werewolves…some who…who…". It seemed to Harry as if
Remus was having to endure a lot of mental pain in trying to explain the
names.
"Who?" Harry prompted.
Taking a deep sigh, Remus continued. "They are the worst of us. There
isn't a single thing which those on that list haven't done. The one on the
top…" a look of hatred could be clearly seen in Remus's voice "…is the
one who bit me…made me who I am…and I have to meet that…that
filthy…". Remus bit his lower lip in anger and frustration as Harry
understood the true feelings of his godfather. On one hand Remus was
angry at having to meet the man who had doomed his life forever…Harry
could bet that he even wanted to kill him if possible but he couldn't do
that. However, on the other hand, he would have to talk politely with
him if required. Meeting such an old foe was both painful plus it involved
reliving one's past. Reliving the past was a terrible thing when it involved
all the things Remus had to endure as a child.
"Anyway…" Remus said after gaining his composure. "…that's about it I
guess. I have to meet these people and somehow persuade them not to
join Voldemort"
"I see" Harry replied gravely and, stepping forward, replaced the list in its
original place. Without saying anything, he stepped out of the room and
headed towards the dining area.
Remus stood quite for a second as he watched Harry leave without saying
anything. He knew that Harry was concerned about him and was
worried. However, he had to finish his packing first. Quickly finishing the
task in another fifteen minutes, he came out of his room to find Harry
sitting at his normal place in the dining table and staring blankly at the
chair opposite to him. Remus went up to his chair and quietly sat down.
"Don't worry…" Remus said. "I'll be…"
"Don't you tell me that" Harry said in a sharp voice. "Don't you tell me
you will be fine…don't tell me that you will return…don't!"
"Harry…" Remus said in a fatherly tone. "You know this has to be done,
don't you? You know I have to go"
"And you know that you are the last one of my family…" Harry looked at
Remus with tears in his eyes. "…don't you? Tell me Remus Lupin…DON'T
YOU KNOW THAT?". Harry banged his fist down on the table at this.
Even though Remus had not expected such a reaction, he knew he had to
somehow pacify Harry.
"Your friends are there Harry" Remus said in a calm voice. "They consider
you as family. You should do the same if not more"
"Why?" Harry leaned forward as this question escaped his mouth. "Why
should I keep thinking of others as my family when I have always ended
up being the person others died for? Why should I let them near me
when I am sure they will die for it? Why should I bear the pain when one
of them leaves my side to fight…or to talk to others to maintain peace?
Why Remus…why?" Harry finished his sentence in a desperate tone. For
a moment he seemed like a lost kid to Remus…one who was still
searching for answers…one who wanted to wake up one day and find
that there was no war going on…one who would be able to embrace the
others without having to fear for their lives.
"Because…" Remus paused to let Harry calm down before continuing. "…
because that is the way life is Harry. You have a destiny to fulfill and it is
going to cost you something. If you want to give millions of people a
chance to live happily then you will have to…" Remus gulped at the
thought of what he was going to say. "…be ready to lose a few on your
side. It is a trade off which cannot…"
"I – don't – want – to – trade" Harry almost shouted at Remus. "We are
talking about human lives and not some shop where we can trade old
things for new"
"I understand Harry" Remus knew this was going to be another tough
conversation but he couldn't blame Harry entirely. Here was a boy who
had lost three very close persons to him in the last six months and was
right now about to see another of his 'relatives' go off on a very
dangerous mission. Who wouldn't be upset at such a prospect?
"You people…" Harry gave a sad smile as he seemed to have suddenly
realized that he just couldn't fight with destiny. "…you guys don't
understand anything. You don't! I don't blame you"
"We try" Remus said honestly. "We cannot live your life for you but we do
try to understand the problems you are having"
"Anyway…" Harry suddenly became serious. "So when are you leaving?"
"In an hour" Remus replied a bit timidly as he didn't quite know how he
should interpret Harry's words. "You are not mad at me, are you?"
"No" Harry waved off Remus's remark. "You are doing your duty…I am
doing mine…it's part of the job" Harry's voice betrayed the sadness he
was feeling. "It…it just gets a bit tough sometimes"
"It surely does" Remus agreed.
"You sure you will be ok?" Harry asked in a concerned voice.
"Yes" came the reply.
"You are not going there alone, are you?" Harry asked a bit suspiciously
even though he knew Remus was not the type to do such things unless it
was an absolute necessity.
"No" Remus replied with a smile. "I have two other people traveling with
me and we won't be meeting more than three werewolves at a time"
"Be careful, ok?" Harry couldn't stop worrying about Remus. God forbid if
something happened to Remus.
"Don't worry…nothing will go wrong" Remus replied before adding. "And
if anything goes wrong then I can always take on some of them on my
own"
"Yeah" Harry said with a smile. "But be careful…you might break that old
back of yours"
"Hey…I am not old!" Remus said in mock anger.
"You are" Harry replied with a laugh. He was going to enjoy this one hour
with Remus to the maximum limit possible!
&&&&
"Hello Harry Potter"
"Oh…hello Professor Firenze" Harry said as he saw the centaur coming
towards him. It had been a long time since they had last talked but
somehow, Harry always had the feeling that Firenze knew where he
should be at a particular time. Maybe centaurs could really tell the
future.
"How are you doing Harry Potter?" Firenze asked in a polite manner.
"Fine…" Harry replied before adding. "…at least I think so"
"Everyone likes to think they are fine but their destinies decide their
lives". Harry couldn't help but agree with Firenze. "Your friend is going
on a dangerous task…his well being will be decided by the decisions he
makes on the day of the moon"
"What?" Harry asked in a slightly dazed voice. He replayed the words in
his mind to understand what could be the meaning of Firenze's words
and, to his utter surprise, he found this message much more simple than
the others he had heard before.
"Where are you coming from Harry Potter?" Firenze asked again and
slowly started walking towards his office.
"I had just gone to see off my friend…in Dumbledore's office" Harry
hesitated for a single moment before thinking that it would be better if
he told the truth. After all, Dumbledore had once said that centaur's
distrusted the wizarding community and he didn't want to start lying to
Firenze.
"He goes for peace which is what we need…" Firenze said as he cast a
glance out of the window at the sky. "…but which we are unlikely to get"
"Why do you say that?" Harry asked as he glanced out of the window too
as if he could somehow "see" what Firenze was seeing.
"Some will sway" Firenze continued speaking as if he hadn't heard what
Harry had just asked. "But many humans tend to believe that wealth is
the solution to everything. Your friend will have a hard time convincing
them"
"I know" Harry nodded his head in agreement.
"Harry Potter" Firenze suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to face
the young man.
"Yes Professor?"
"I have a favor to ask you". For a fleeting second Harry thought he had
seen a trace of shame on Firenze's face…almost as if asking for a favor
from a wizard was below him. But the emotion was gone the very next
instant. Harry guessed that years of prejudice, however little it might
have been, took a little time to go away.
"Please go on Professor" Harry replied as politely as possible. "It will be
my honor to be able to help you"
"I want you to talk with the other centaurs present in the jungle" Firenze
said in a slower voice. "They need to leave aside their bias and assist
Albus Dumbledore and you in this battle". Harry looked very thoughtful
as he tried to imagine the reaction of the centaurs at such a suggestion
from a wizard. It didn't seem such a good idea to him.
"Will they listen to me?" Harry asked in an apprehensive voice. "I mean,
they are much wiser than me and know…"
"They might be wiser in many ways but…" Firenze paused slightly as he
seemed to weigh his words. "…I don't think they are doing the right thing
now"
"I am not the one to judge right or wrong" Harry said as diplomatically as
possible. "What I am thinking is whether I should talk to them or not.
Don't you think they will listen to you more than me?"
"No" Firenze replied. "They will listen to only Dumbledore and you. And
now…" Firenze looked outside at the current celestial formation before
continuing. "…now they will listen to you more than even Dumbledore"
Harry thought for a few seconds as to what he should do. He knew that
Firenze was an outcast now and the centaurs would never listen to him.
He also knew that if Firenze had asked Harry to talk to the centaurs then
there must be a reason behind it. He was not the one to act whimsically.
The only thing he didn't know was whether the stars could really tell the
centaurs of the prophecy. Whether the centaurs would really give value
to his words…
"Ok" Harry said as he came to the conclusion that he had to give it a try.
After all, they needed as many allies as possible.
"Thank you Harry Potter" Firenze said when he heard Harry's reply. With
a last nod at Harry's direction, he strode off towards his quarters in the
castle with a hope that maybe Harry could make his fellow centaurs walk
down the path which he had taken long ago.
&&&&
"How are you doing Angelina?" Katie Bell asked her friend who had taken
refuge in Hogwarts along with her parents.
"I am fine I guess" Angelina said as she shuffled a few things to make
room for Katie to enter the tent.
"Oh well…it's getting worse by the day" Katie said. "I don't know when all
of this will end"
"Is there anyone named Angelina Johnson here?"
"Alicia!" Angelina jumped up and rushed outside to meet the last of the
trio of the famous chasers of Gryffindor. Both of them screamed at the
sight of the other and hugged each other tightly. Katie stood back looking
at the scene unfolding in front of her.
"Katie!" Alicia exclaimed at the sight of the most controlled of the three
friends. "C'mon"
"Yeah…yeah" Katie rolled her eyes and hugged Alicia. Then all three of
them went inside Angelina's tent.
"So…when did you get here?" Katie asked Alicia. "Angelina got here
yesterday"
"I got here about 20 minutes back" Alicia informed the others. "The last
couple of nights had been horrible"
"Every night nowadays is horrible" Angelina said.
"Yeah" echoed Katie. "So many people still pouring in. I heard people are
settling down near Hogsmeade too"
"You heard right" Alicia said. "Lots of people are down there"
"But what is going to be the solution of all this?" Angelina queried. "How
long will this last? It's odd you know. It's like a volcano suddenly erupted
and threw everything haywire"
"Yeah" Alicia agreed. "This new year began very badly".
"Everything is said to have started from here it is said" Katie told her
friends.
"Here?" Alicia and Angelina chorused. "Hogwarts?"
"Yup" Katie replied and informed them about the rumors surrounding
Harry, a female auror, Ginny and Snape. After listening to her complete
narration, the others seemed shocked.
"Don't tell me that…" Angelina started to speak but couldn't finish her
sentence. She just kept shaking her head every now and then.
"Harry again?" Alicia asked in a pitiful voice. "Oh god…doesn't he get a
break from all this?"
"It doesn't seem so" Katie said. "I wonder if You-Know-Who will come for
him or not"
"He will" Alicia said emphatically. "May my words be wrong but my gut
feeling tells me You-Know-Who will come for him sooner rather than
later"
"He had even started to open up a bit more recently" Katie said. Looking
at the puzzled features of her two friends, she explained how Harry had
become an altogether different person from the starting of his sixth year.
"And he had even wished us all a Merry Christmas…" Katie continued.
"…had bought gifts for Ron…you see…he was coming back in a way"
"And then all this happens" Alicia said in frustration. She couldn't believe
that the boy who was like a kid brother to her had changed so much.
"And with the talks last year about the department of ministries thing…"
Angelina finally seemed to have found her voice. "…damn!" was the only
way she could express her emotions.
"Yeah…" Katie agreed. "Damn!"
&&&&
Remus walked down the path and remembered the last time when he had
visited this place. It had been much cleaner at that time and the bushes
on either side had been trimmed nicely. Now it seemed as if the bushes
and the trees had not been tended to in a long, long time. The house in
front of him also seemed to be a shadow of what it had been in the past.
Once it had been the pride of the whole of Magical Yorkshire but now it
looked isolated from the whole world. The gloom surrounding the house
and its surroundings was enough to keep strangers and kids away from
that place. Remus peered closely at the house to see if he could detect
any movement or signs of life but then thought it would be best to just go
up and knock. After all, life had not been the same ever since the first
born of the Wallace's had been bitten by a werewolf.
"Who's there?" a gruff voice asked after Remus had knocked for the third
time.
"Remus" Remus replied.
"Remus?" the voice queried. "I don't know any Remus"
"I think you do know me Frank. I was the other one at Hogwarts when
you left in the second year" Remus replied from outside. The voice
opposite to him had come much closer and Remus could only guess that
Frank was now almost standing on the other side of the door.
"Lupin?" the voice asked again.
"The same old one" Remus replied in a cheerful voice. The door in front
of him was instantly flung open and a man in his late thirties came out.
He looked at Remus for a few seconds before hugging him tightly.
"It's been a long time Lupin" Frank said as he pulled away.
"Yes" Remus agreed. "It's been a really long time". Frank then quickly cast
a glance all around before pulling in Remus and closing the door. It was
quite apparent that he feared something. Remus could only guess as to
what that could be.
"So…" Frank said as he led the way to the dining room which seemed to
have lost almost all of its past glamour. "…how's it going for you?"
"Just the same" Remus replied. "The same kind of behaviors everywhere
except for Hogwarts"
"I know that" Frank said in a sad voice. "If only my dad had not been so
stubborn then maybe I could have finished my graduation from Hogwarts
too"
"Dumbledore still remembers you" Remus said.
"He does?" Frank asked in astonishment before his lips spread in a smile.
"Trust Dumbledore to remember everything in this world"
"Not everything…" Remus said. "…but the important things at least"
"What does he say about me?" Frank asked in a very curious manner.
Remus knew that this piece of information was very precious to Frank
who had lived almost isolated for the past twenty odd years.
"That how you would have made one of the greatest wizards ever" Remus
replied at which Frank burst out laughing.
"He sure has a sense of humor" Frank said with reference to Dumbledore.
"You know the truth as well as him" Remus said in a serious tone.
"Anyway, that's a thing of the past now and, from what I have heard, you
have developed some very good spells in the past decade"
"Nothing important" Frank replied modestly not preferring to mention
that a couple of his spells were taught in advanced auror training. "It's
just a hobby. By the way, what brings you here after so long?" Frank
asked. "You seemed to have caused quite a stir a few years back when
you taught at Hogwarts"
"Yeah…" Remus said thinking of Harry's third year. "It had been one hell
of a year. As to what brings me here…" Remus adjusted himself in his
seat as he said this. "…what happened yesterday and the day before was
not nice"
"Yeah…I know that" Frank said in an angry tone. "I hate those guys. You
know, if I had my way then I would slowly boil them in silver"
"Frank!"
"Sorry…" Frank said. "Just like the old days, huh? I used to get angry and
you used to reprimand me"
"Because I am older than you" Remus said.
"Yes" Frank replied in a sarcastic voice. "Just two months older.
Whatever…that is not the point here. Tell me, what can I do for you?"
"You are still in touch with the other guys?" Remus queried.
"Yes" Frank replied. "They are the only people who would come here"
"I see" Remus said. "How many are with Voldemort?"
"Most of them I think" Frank replied. "He gave an open invitation to
everyone on the last couple of days"
"That's what we had guessed too" Remus said thoughtfully. So
Dumbledore's assumption had been true after all. Voldemort had thrown
the dice and now had quite a few greedy followers it would seem.
"What are you thinking?" Frank asked.
"I have a proposal for all of them" Remus began but was promptly
interrupted by Frank.
"Not another one Remus" Frank said. "I have heard about your proposals
to different werewolves and none have materialized till date"
"I know" Remus said. "But this time it is different. This time even Fudge
has signed the papers and has agreed with Dumbledore. Dumbledore has
persuaded Fudge at long last". Remus finished thinking how Harry had
got Fudge to sign the papers disguised as Simon Sinatras.
"It can't be true" Frank said in an almost disbelieving voice.
"You can see the parchments here". Remus took out a bundle of
parchments. His hands shaking, Frank picked up the parchments and
started skimming through them. With every second his eyes grew larger.
"You know what this means?" Frank said as he leapt in joy. "Werewolves
are getting recognitions as magical creatures. I will be able to get a job".
Remus couldn't help but smile. He had reacted similarly when he had
seen the signed papers. "We will be able to get the wolfsbane at cheap
rates. Yipee!" Frank did a dance around the table. His joy knew no
bounds at the moment and it was only when Remus cleared his throat
that he stopped.
"We have to convey this to everyone" Remus said. "Hopefully they will…"
"I don't know" Frank said as he slumped down in his chair, more out of
exhaustion than anything else.
"Don't know?" Remus sounded confused.
"Remus…they have already pledged their alliance" Frank explained. "And
you know what happens if anyone breaks that?"
"We have Dumbledore on our side" Remus said. "Surely everyone knows
that Voldemort wouldn't dare to attack him"
"We all know that but the thing is that this proposal has come two days
later than the first biting spree" Frank said. "If it had come a little bit
earlier…two days earlier…"
"Don't tell me that no one will care for this proposal" Remus said.
"Frank…you have the most connections…you have to fix up something"
"It is going to be hard" Frank said pensively. "There are a few who still
swear by Dumbledore's name but…"
"Do whatever you can" Remus said. "We have to act as fast as we can"
&&&&
"Please meet me at my office at 10 am tomorrow". Harry went over the note
which he had received from Dumbledore for the umpteenth time and
wondered why Dumbledore wanted to meet him. If anything had
happened to Remus then he would have called Harry immediately. This
was a relief in a way for Harry who was worrying a lot over the past
couple of days regarding Remus's safety. He could only hope that
everything would go well with Remus.
Harry looked at his watch once again and saw it was 9:56 AM. Thinking
that he had just enough time to make it to the headmaster's office, he
quickly got out of the trunk and into his dormitory. With the castle so full
nowadays, he couldn't risk portkeying right in front of the gargoyle or
anywhere else for that matter. He went down the staircase and proceeded
out of the common room which had fallen silent at his entrance. On his
way to Dumbledore's office, Harry noticed several empty portraits.
"Must have sent them to do some spying" Harry thought to himself as he
turned the last corner which led to his destination. The gargoyle leapt
aside when Harry said the password and Harry stepped onto the spiraling
staircase.
"Right on time" Harry grinned slightly as he saw that only 20 seconds were
left for the clock to strike 10. He hopped off the staircase at the top and
knocked on the door once but got no reply.
"Strange" Harry thought to himself as he stood outside the door. At other
times, Dumbledore would call him inside even before he knocked but
today he didn't even answer to the first knock. Thinking this was really
strange, Harry knocked again with the same result. Harry stood outside
Dumbledore's office with a puzzled look on his face. It just wasn't like
Dumbledore to forget a meeting with someone, that too when he had
asked for the meeting in the first place.
"Professor" Harry called out but to no avail. He turned around in a
disgruntled mood when something in the back of his mind asked him to
try the door once. Taking the advice, he turned the door knob to find that
it was open!
"What the…" Harry looked more astonished than ever. Why would
Dumbledore leave his office in this manner? He knew that the
headmaster trusted his staff members a lot but then again Snape had
taken full advantage of that trust. The headmaster just wouldn't change,
Harry thought to himself as he strode inside.
"Hi Fawkes" Harry said when he saw the phoenix. The bird instantly flew
over and settled down on Harry's shoulder who instinctively started
running his hands through the birds feathers.
"You like that, don't you?" Harry asked curiously and was pleasantly
surprised at the acknowledging trill from the phoenix. He couldn't help
but smile at the intelligent phoenix.
"Well…I think I will wait here for the headmaster to come back" Harry
said to no one in particular as he closed the door and sat down. Fawkes
trilled his approval at this. As Harry was sitting down, he noticed a book
open on the headmaster's table. It was pointed towards the headmaster's
chair which could only mean that Dumbledore was reading it before he
left or went out.
His curiosity peaked; Harry went around the table and glanced on the
open page in front of him. The page in front of him had the heading
"Goblet of Fire: The Truth". Harry quickly started reading the contents in
front of him and was astonished to learn about some of the powers of the
goblet of fire. More astonishing was a footnote made by the author which
read "The Power of Hogwarts exists in the person who had last wielded it and
not in the objects only".
"Oh – my – god" Harry said as he tried to apprehend all the information
in front of him. "Damn it…why couldn't Dumbledore lend me this book
for a day!" he thought. Without thinking too much, Harry quickly turned
the page and started to go over the other information present. The
subsequent pages did not mention anything important about the Power of
Hogwarts but they contained information regarding some dark spells and
their effects. He even saw the name of the spell which had caused Tonks
death and read the contents with great difficulty. Just reading the correct
incantation itself was an ordeal for him as it reminded him of the
incidents of that night. But hours of meditation had enabled him to get a
grip on himself and he continued to go over some soul extraction spells
("this was how dementors extract the souls of its victims") to legilimency
spells which he didn't know could exist.
Harry, not finding this information too useful, quickly turned a few more
pages before he froze. The heading read "A complete history of the Power of
Hogwarts". Without caring to check his watch, he quickly started reading
it as fast as possible. He didn't try to understand everything at that
moment since he could go through it in detail during meditation. Quickly
savoring as much information as he could, he turned the pages and
moved on to the next sections. At long last, he was finally able to finish
it.
"Whoa!" Harry said to himself as he turned the pages to the one which
had been originally open. After all, he didn't want Dumbledore to know
that he had gone through some sections of this book. Harry then slowly
walked around the table and started to think about the things he had just
read. The Power of Hogwarts had been setup by Godric Gryffindor not
only to protect Hogwarts from Salazar Slytherin but also gave its wielders
the option to…
"Oh…Harry" the familiar voice of Dumbledore broke the train of thoughts
going through Harry's mind. "I absolutely forgot about our meeting"
"No problem Sir" Harry replied as he cast a quick glance at his watch. It
was 11:10 AM. "Is it something very important?"
"Now that I think of it…" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled slightly as he spoke
again. "…it isn't that important. I hope Remus talked to you about
things?"
"Yes sir" Harry said. "Do you know…"
"He is fine" Dumbledore's words reassured Harry regarding Remus's
safety. If Dumbledore said he was fine then he had to be fine. "Oh my…"
Dumbledore said as he cast a glance outside. "I have completely forgotten
that I am to meet Cornelius in 5 minutes time". Harry looked outside and
saw the figure of Cornelius Fudge crossing the grounds along with four or
five aurors.
"I guess I should be going then" Harry said as he stood up.
"Maybe we can talk again some other day" Dumbledore said as he held
the door open for Harry to go through. Harry gave an acknowledging nod
and climbed down the stairs and out into the corridor. Somewhere deep
down he had a feeling that Dumbledore had achieved the target of their
"meeting". "Clever old man" Harry said to himself as he looked back at the
gargoyle before turning into another corridor.
Harry started thinking of what he had read. The powers of the Power of
Hogwarts mentioned in the book were more or less similar to what Simon
Potter had written in the parchment accompanying the glove. Still, he
had learnt about a few more things, some of which were easy to interpret
whilst others made no sense to him. How could he describe "listen to your
inner voice and decide the path you will walk after the source of your strength
is gone". It seemed like a cryptic message to Harry along with the many
others present there. In any case, Harry decided that he will have to think
about this a lot along with all the information he had just gathered.
Harry entered the Gryffindor common room and into his dormitory. He
had hoped to talk to Neville regarding the happenings in Hogwarts in the
past two days but he found Neville in deep discussion with Ron and
Seamus. Not wanting to disturb them, he quietly climbed in his trunk and
made himself a small snack. Try as he might, he just couldn't take his
mind off the things he had just read. Add to that a list of questions as to
why Fudge had come to Hogwarts, it seemed a lot of headache to him.
Well, Harry thought, it would have been much simpler if it had been just
a fight between him and Voldemort. He wouldn't have to think…
"Damn!" Harry jumped up from his seat, his eyes wide in surprise. Even
he had not expected to pick up such information on his spy gadgets so
soon.
"I need a parchment…I need a parchment" Harry started to think and the
room produced one instantly. He quickly jotted down a message and
called out to Hedwig even as he kept listening on his spy gadgets
intently. As he was tying the message to Hedwig's leg, he said "Deliver
this to Remus. And if you cannot find him in one hour's time then don't
search for him. Come back and wait for me". Hedwig gave an
acknowledging hoot before taking off for her destination.
As soon as he saw Hedwig vanish from her perch, Harry took out a
portkey.
"St. Mungo's…here I come" with that, Harry portkeyed right into a
bathroom on the second floor of St. Mungo's. Even as he opened the door,
he saw a jet of green light fly past him and a subsequent thud. A wand
cluttered down to the ground and came to a stop right in front of the
door behind which Harry was present. Peeking outside Harry couldn't
help but gulp at the sight. He had never estimated that so many death
eaters would attack St. Mungo's.
"Here goes nothing" Harry said to himself as he jumped outside and picked
up the wand from the ground.
Two wands in two hands, Harry Potter stood up to his full height to face
the death eaters in front of him!
&&&&
A/N:Fifth chapter here guys. Sorry to leave you people hanging like this
but it has become my habit ;). I will try to update as soon as possible.
Thanks for all those reviews. Every review which you people made is
very much appreciated.
&&&&
6. St Mungo’s Patients
Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter and the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers. I
am not the original writer (though I wish I could be J) and I do not wish
to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued.
So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah...forget it and let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
Note: This is the sequel to Harry Potter & The Power Of Hogwarts. Please
read it before moving on with this story.
HARRY POTTER & THE NEW DAWN
Chapter 6 – St. Mungo's Patients
"Here goes nothing" Harry said to himself as he jumped outside and picked
up the wand from the ground.
Two wands in two hands, Harry Potter stood up to his full height to face
the death eaters in front of him!
&&&&
"Who's there?" Fleur thought to herself as she heard footsteps near her
door as if someone had just passed by. Looking at the clock on the wall,
she saw that it was two in the night. With a wave of her wand, the papers
on the desk in front of her were cleared. Grabbing her cloak, she quickly
stepped out in the corridor and tried to find the person who had just
passed by.
Looking around, Fleur found the corridor to be deserted. However, the
sound of the dying footsteps was enough to lead her in the right way. She
quickly started to follow the sound, her wand gripped tightly in her right
hand. As she turned a corner, she heard the footsteps stop for a moment.
Instantly Fleur came to a stop too. It was almost if the other person was
trying to hear whether someone was following him…or her. The whole
atmosphere in the passage seemed to have become eerie in nature with a
single ray of moonlight shining in through a high window. Fleur could
almost feel herself starting to sweat when the footsteps started again. The
person was on the move again but the quick sound of falling feet
suggested that he or she was in a hurry. Fleur too quickened her pace.
"Who?" this was the only word going through Fleur's mind right now.
"Not Harry I hope" Fleur thought as she was reminded of the rumors about
the adventures of Harry and his friends. She surely didn't want him to be
getting into any more trouble at this moment. Also, another thing which
concerned her was what she would do if it was indeed Harry. She might
not be able to bring herself to put him in detention...or report to the
headmaster…
"What if it is a death eater?" this spine-chilling question almost made Fleur
stop in her tracks. What if this was indeed a repetition of what had
happened on 31'st December? Not finding any confident answer to this,
Fleur decided she would have to take the risk and she started walking
even faster. If this was indeed a death eater, then she would have to track
the person down before any harm was done. As she turned another
corner, she heard the footsteps stop…and then start again. Fleur slowed
down her movement because the footsteps seemed to be slowing down
and moving away…coming back…moving away…someone was pacing
along the corridor! Slowly, Fleur peeked around the corner just as the
footsteps came to a halt. This time, she heard hushed voices too.
As Fleur glanced at the figure, she saw part of the body of the speaker
leaning out of the window on the corridor. It was as if that person was
talking to someone outside. Fleur quickly tip-toed towards the place
where the person was standing. When she was about ten steps away, she
heard a sudden rustle…as if a broomstick end had grazed the outside of
the castle wall and instantly the figure looked around.
"Rowena!" Fleur looked at the little first year old in surprise. How could
such a little girl be flouting school rules like that? Fleur quickly moved
over to the window where Rowena had been and peered outside. Even
though she didn't see anyone, she knew that someone had been there.
She quickly looked both above and below to see whether someone on a
broomstick was present or not but couldn't see anyone. Her eyes blazing
in anger at having missed the intruder, Fleur turned around to face the
first year Slytherin.
"So?" Fleur said after she waited for over a minute for an explanation
which had not been forthcoming.
"Ma'am…it's not what…" the voice of the little girl quavered as she
looked at one of the professors. Gone was the steely exterior which
everyone associated with Rowena. It had been replaced by an expression
of fear and helplessness. Finally, with tears welling up in her eyes, she
held out her left hand. Looking at the thing which Rowena had in her
hand, Fleur seemed to calm down.
"You should be more careful with that" she said as she slowly closed the
palm of the little girl who was shaking from head to toe at the moment.
Drawing her closer to her, Fleur gave her a tight hug.
"From now on, tell me the time, ok?"
"Yes…Professor" the little girl replied with a sniff as Fleur led her towards
her the Slytherin tower.
&&&&
Harry looked around at the mayhem which had been caused by the death
eater's arrival. The hospital beds were overturned and everything was
scattered around. Just as he was taking in the scene, a curse came flying
towards him. In a split second, he set up a shield with his glove which
absorbed the spell.
"Never greet a stranger like this" Harry said as he looked at the death
eater. The death eater looked slightly stunned at seeing the spell vanish
into thin air. However, he didn't have too long to think about it. The next
instant, a powerful stunning spell threw him unconscious.
Harry looked around and saw more death eaters rushing in through the
open entrance of the second floor. The first floor of St. Mungo's was more
like a general reception while the second floor was for treatment to
minor injuries. The patients admitted to St. Mungo's were mainly present
in the third and the fourth floors. And, as far as Harry could tell, that was
the exact place where the death eaters were heading.
Harry quickly ran over towards one of the staircases leading up to the
third floor. As he was climbing the staircase, he saw a jet of green light
out of the corner of his left eye. In an instant he fell flat on his stomach
and heard the curse crash into the wall in front of him. Not willing to
take any chances, Harry got up and jumped three stairs at a time to reach
the top and vanished from the view of the death eaters.
&&&&
"Where is everyone?" one of the death eaters asked in a gruff voice.
"No one comes here for first aids anymore sir" a new death eater replied.
"Only the long term patients remain here nowadays"
"That reminds me…" another death eater said as he came up to the
couple. "…I have a few scores to settle with a particular person named
Longbottom"
"We will get him alive for you Mr. Malfoy" the other gruff voiced death
eater replied and started marshalling the other death eaters, leaving a
smirking Lucius Malfoy behind.
&&&&
"Sir…uh…sir…" one of the death eaters shouted out to the gruff voiced
death eater.
"What is it?" the man asked in an annoyed voice.
"The top…" the death eater said as he pointed towards the third floor. "…
it's…" the man's voice trailed off as he seemed to be lost in thought.
"It's what?" his immediate senior asked impatiently.
"It's…nothing" the man said with an apologetic voice as he cast an uneasy
glance upwards. "I just thought…"
"You are not here to think" his boss said in an angry, hissing voice. "You
are here to follow orders"
"Yes sir" the death eater replied meekly. Without another word, he slowly
started to climb the stairs. As the death eaters came upon the landing of
the third floor, they found it completely still. Pity, they had come upon
the patients when they were asleep. After all, what was the enjoyment of
killing people unless one could see the terror in their eyes…unless one
could feel the fear in their voices…unless one could feel the satisfaction
that their job had been well done. With these thoughts on their minds,
the death eaters slowly moved across the vast span of the third floor.
&&&&
Lucius Malfoy looked on at the third floor span in great anticipation. His
initial estimate was that more than 300 beds were present there. With so
many people dead in a single assault, it would be a devastating blow to
the light side. His eyes gleamed with pleasure as he viewed the beds in
which the occupants were sleeping. It was going to be a good day for
them. He slowly raised his wand and the other death eaters followed suit.
"Crucio" Lucius Malfoy said in a whisper. Before it even hit its target, the
other death eaters had also cast their spells.
&&&&
Harry looked on from his hiding spot inside a cupboard as he saw the
huge number of death eaters slowly moving amongst the occupants of the
third floor of St. Mungo's. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that
around a hundred death eaters would have cared to attack this place. It
seemed like Voldemort was leaving no stone unturned in trying to ensure
the success of each of his plans.
In the middle of all the death eaters, Harry spotted one who seemed to be
moving much faster yet his movements seemed cautious. He seemed to
be an experienced death eater to Harry. Harry gulped as he saw the death
eater glance around and then raise his wand at his nearest "victim". Harry
couldn't do anything from there alone! He couldn't fight so many death
eaters. All he could do was watch as the man started to mouth the words
Cruc…
The next few things happened in a split second. Harry knew he couldn't
defeat so many death eaters but he could not stand back and watch what
was going to happen. Taking a firm grip on the two wands in either
hand, he watched as almost everyone cast their curses. It was time!
&&&&
"What the hell!" Lucius Malfoy broke off his curse as feathers appeared
out of nowhere. Looking around him, he saw feathers and cushions flying
all around. Not a single yell or scream had ensued when the "patients"
had been hit. All they had managed to hit was a pile of dummy figures
that were made of foam and feathers. As he looked at the puzzled
expression of the others, he saw a hint of movement from a corner. It was
almost as if a shadow had moved…almost as if just a stone of a wall had
moved. It was then that it dawned on him. They had walked into a trap!
"GET DOWN" Lucius Malfoy was barely able to shout this warning when
stunning spells appeared out of nowhere. He had barely managed to get
out of the way himself as many a spell crashed into the walls near him.
He rolled over quickly and turned over one of the beds which acted as a
shield. From behind it, he saw about ten aurors shooting spells at them.
Furious at being trapped in such a fashion and mad at himself for not
understanding it sooner, Lucius Malfoy stood up and started shooting
spells at speeds not many had seen before. He was not a member of
Voldemort's inner circle only for his money…he was a pure blooded
wizard too. And today he wanted to make a lesson out of those who had
tried to trap him.
&&&&
Harry saw the dark curses crash harmlessly in the cushions which had
been piled on each of the beds. For a millionth of a second he thought of
the time he had explained his plan to Fudge…as to how he wanted all of
St. Mungo's patients moved to Godric's Hollow and how he wanted aurors
to wait for the death eaters to show up. A lot of complex magic had gone
in projecting an image of the patients inside of St. Mungo's. If someone
had walked in through the door on the first floor on any day, then they
would see lots of patients being moved around or patients talking to
other patients. As far as interaction went, only a single healer was
stationed at the front desk. Any interactions with the others were not
possible as the reception area had been turned into a small cubicle from
where the entrants could only view the patients. This was in fact a
projection of the memory of one of the oldest healers at St. Mungo's. She
had willingly given this memory to the aurors so that they could make a
"virtual reality" trap using it.
Harry almost laughed at seeing the puzzled look on the death eater's
faces. They had just anticipated that the third floor would be packed with
patients. What they didn't know was that it was packed with life-sized
dolls made using feathers, foam and clothing. It didn't matter to him
whether they would have cursed or poked any one patient to see if the
situation was "under control" or not. What mattered was the fact that the
death eaters had arrived to the third floor where aurors were hiding.
Even though the death eater to auror ration was about 10:1 or 11:1,
Harry didn't care too much. These aurors had been picked by Moody
himself and they could easily take out 5 or 6 death eaters each. The rest
should be taken care of by the surprise factor.
Harry watched as one of the death eaters seemed to recover from the
shock faster than the others. He was the same fellow who had a bossy
atmosphere about him. Harry wondered whether he knew this guy or not
but it was impossible to tell under his mask. He saw the death eater's face
snap up for a second before he yelled a warning to the others. Alas, it
was too late for many a death eater as they got stunned by the aurors.
Harry didn't move from his place though. Only the aurors knew that
"someone" was hiding in the cupboard and he was sure that they knew he
was on their side. He knew he had to keep his urge to capture these
death eaters on hold for a few more moments. If anything, the aurors
might need some help real soon but he had to time it to perfection. He
just had to hold on for a little bit of more time.
&&&&
Mad-Eye Moody was crouching low in a corner when the death eaters
started cursing. The spells stopped with a second as everyone tried to
understand what had really happened. Moody's magical eye saw Harry
smirk inside the cupboard. He couldn't help but smirk himself…after all,
not always do you get to see the sight of so many confused death eaters.
However, Moody knew they didn't have much time. As he started to take
aim, he saw the eyes of one of the death eaters looking directly at him.
He immediately knew that his smallest movement had been detected. Not
wanting to let the death eater to warn the others, he immediately pressed
the medallion which he had in his left hand. Instantly each of the ten
aurors in the room felt their medallions grow hot. It was time to attack.
Instantly, eleven rays of lights stunned eleven death eaters. Moody's
magical eyes kept track on the unharmed death eaters. He saw one of the
death eaters about to curse him. Quickly Moody rolled over on his back
and fired a spell at the death eater. The death eater's eyes went wide in
shock as he saw the speed with which the body-binder spell came
towards him. Try as he might, he couldn't move out of the way fast
enough.
&&&&
"Lambert…cover me" Harry could clearly hear the voice of a woman
shouting to her colleague. Peeking just a bit, he saw a woman slightly
older than Tonks jumping and dodging behind the hospital beds while a
broad-chested wizard, whose name must have been Lambert, covered her
movements. Curiosity peaked, Harry kept on looking and saw the woman
come to a stop behind one of the pillars as an array of curses crashed all
around her.
Peeking from behind the pillar, the woman fired a couple of spells at the
death eaters. For a moment Harry wondered why the woman had run
over to the pillar? After all she could have just apparated…unless there
were anti-apparation wards set! As the thought passed through his mind,
Harry had the urge to kick himself for being so stupid. Of course the
aurors would have set up anti apparation wards to stop the death eaters
from apparating away.
&&&&
"Fools…get organized" Malfoy shouted at the other death eaters.
Instantly, the ones who had been standing like idiots till then, crouched
down and awaited their next command. Malfoy couldn't help but roll his
eyes in anger and frustration. Why did he have to get the worst lot?
"There are only 10 of them" Malfoy said to his immediate sub-ordinate.
"Take them out while I take out their leader". His sub-ordinate nodded his
head in reply and gave out a few commands. The death eaters
immediately spread out in a battle arrangement and took up their
respective positions.
"Oh no…" Malfoy said to himself as he eyed the "leader" of the opposition.
Even at such a distance, there was no mistaking Mad-Eye Moody. "…we
are not going to run away Mad-Eye. Today, I take my revenge"
&&&&
"Thanks Lambert" the woman mouthed these words at her colleague who
gave an acknowledging nod. Lambert was the kind of guy who let his
actions to the talking and one on whom any auror could depend on with
his or her life.
"Congeries Confusio" the woman cast a spell at the group of death eaters in
front of her which was supposed to make its victims confused. To her
dismay it hit one of the beds and became ineffective. However, she didn't
have much time to be sad about her miss as 7-8 spells came towards her.
She barely had time to move behind the pillar as the spells passed her
harmlessly.
"That was close" the woman named Samantha said to herself as she
heaved a sigh of relief. However, the next moment the pillar behind
which she was hiding was blasted apart by some very strong "Reducto"
spells. She barely had time to register the shock when she saw a green
light heading towards her.
"Uh oh" these couple of words barely passed her mind as she jumped out
of the way. The spell missed her alright but she now was fully exposed to
the death eaters. Looking on in shock for a moment, she saw a "lot" of
wands being aimed at her.
"Oh no…I am not going down so easily" Samantha said a bit loudly as she
jumped to her feet in one fluid motion and smiled. The death eaters
looked slightly shocked at seeing a prospective victim smile at them and
lost a couple of precious seconds in recovering from the shock. In that
time, Samantha had armed herself with the required items. An auror
shield on her left arm and her wand gripped tightly in her right hand, she
was ready for the competition on hand!
&&&&
"John…take the right flank. I will take the left" Lambert said as he moved
into position. The auror named John gave an acknowledging nod and
moved behind a few beds and started aiming at his targets.
"Damn it" Lambert said as he looked at the number of death eaters taking
up battle positions. These death eaters seemed to have been trained to
work in groups and that was not a very encouraging sign for the light
forces. Looking around, Lambert saw Moody battling a group of death
eaters. They were no match for Moody who used great strategy to gain
the upper hand over his lesser experienced rivals. Lambert also saw
Samantha out in the open with her auror shield open. That could only
mean that she was going for a major battle and going to give her all.
Cringing a bit at the idea of having to face an auror like Samantha in full
flow, Lambert moved on his focus to the other members. Not all of them
were doing well however as Lambert could see a couple of aurors almost
defeated by a group of thirty odd death eaters.
"Got to help them" Lambert said to himself as if it was the most normal
thing to go and help a couple of aurors fight thirty death eaters. Without
thinking any more, Lambert summoned his auror shield and stood up to
his full height of 6 feet 7 inches.
&&&&
"FervensAqua" one of the aurors shouted as a jet of boiling water shot out
from his wand. However, to his dismay, only one death eater got hit by
it.
"Lamnias" his partner, a lady in her late thirties, cast the spell which
generated a hundred knives. The knives flew at great speed towards their
target only to be blocked by a combined shield by a couple of death
eaters. In the meantime the other death eaters of that particular group
aimed at the aurors.
"Look out!" the lady shouted to her partner as a jet of grey light and a
couple of red lights came hurtling towards him. Her partner successfully
evaded the first one while the second one was blocked by his shield.
However, his efforts got nullified when the third curse hit him on his left
shoulder.
"Peter!" the lady shouted in concern as her partner slid down to the floor,
bleeding heavily from the wound on his shoulder. Looking at the
oncoming death eaters, she quickly conjured a heavy iron block and sent
it hurtling towards the death eaters. However it was blown away by a
"Reducto" curse almost instantly.
"Peter!" the lady shouted once more as she glanced over to the spot
where her best friend had been standing. Not getting any answer from
him, she rolled underneath a couple of hospital beds even as spells flew
past her. She just got to her friend as another spell hit the area where she
had been a split second before.
"Peter…get up" the lady shouted as she ducked under a cruciatus. As she
looked over, she saw about thirty odd death eaters approaching them in a
umbrella shaped attack formation.
"Pam…" Peter said in a very heavy voice. "Get out"
"Only with you" Pam replied to her friend. Quickly she looked up and
cast a couple of quick spells at the oncoming death eaters which they
evaded easily.
"This is no place to get emotional" Peter said through gritted teeth. "Take
them down"
"But I have to take you to a safe place first" Pam said even as one spell
crashed on the pillar behind which she and her friend were. Splinters of
concrete flew everywhere.
"Take them down" Peter insisted as he muttered a few first aid spells on
himself. The wound was a grave one and if it didn't get treated within the
required time by a specialist healer then it would turn fatal. "For me…"
the man said in a hardened voice as he slowly picked up his wand again.
"…For Damien" he added and saw the look on Pam's face change. She
turned a ghastly white at being reminded of her late husband who had
been killed by death eaters a few days earlier. However, in a split second,
her features had changed back. She looked at Peter as if he had done a
grave mistake by reminding her of her dead husband but she also knew
that Peter always put his work before everything else. They had to do
what they had come to do.
"For Damien" Pam said in a whisper as she activated her auror armor.
Peter took it as a sign of the determination of Pam to win this battle.
After all, an elite group of eight people had earned the auror armor
which was awarded once every five years.
"For Damien" Peter said in a whisper as he remembered the manner in
which his best friend had been killed. With that, both Pam and Peter
stood up to face the challenge posed by the thirty odd death eaters.
&&&&
Moody was caught up in a fight with four death eaters. If it wasn't for his
advanced age, he would have taken care of these "tiny bugs" within a few
seconds. However, with a wooden leg hampering his agility, he had to
rely more on strategy to defeat these death eaters. Even as he kept
fighting the death eater's on hand, Moody's magical eye surveyed the
battle scene. From what he saw, a bloody battle was just about to start.
Samantha had taken up a battle stance and had her shield in place. She
seldom used a shield unless the situation was almost beyond impossible.
Seeing her twelve odd opponents, Moody understood her decision.
John and his group were doing ok under the circumstances. Their group
of four aurors had successfully taken out about twenty death eaters and
was fighting seven more. The advantage this group had was their
positioning. They were in a location where there were some beams
attached to the ceiling and which, if they were blasted away, would bring
a huge part of the ceiling down on everyone. The death eaters leader had
noticed this promptly and had asked them no to hit the beams. This, in
turn, had helped the aurors there.
Even as Moody's magical eye shifted to a group of three aurors, four jets
of green light raced towards him. However, just by looking at the power
and speed of the killing curses, he knew that these death eaters had a
long way to go before becoming professionals at killing. Moody skillfully
side-stepped the first curse while he turned around on his side to let the
second and third curse pass on either side of him. The fourth curse was
the one which troubled his mind the most since it was coming directly
towards him. Moody quickly summoned one of the nearest hospital beds
into a vertical position and saw the fourth curse blast the thing apart a
few meters from his face.
"Want to kill me?" Moody asked in a gruff voice. He seemed unfazed by
the fact that he had narrowly avoided getting killed. "Avoid this". With
that, Moody cast a spell several times in the direction of the death eaters
so he wouldn't miss any of the four. The death eaters looked a bit baffled
as Moody cast his spell...after all, they couldn't see any light ray streaking
towards them. However, within a split second, each of the four fell to the
ground in a frozen state.
"Latest spell to enter the auror books" Moody said in a way which
suggested he was half smirking and half angered. "The freezer" Moody
said before adding "It's transparent!"
"Damn" Moody said to himself as he saw the leader of the death eaters
looking at him. As he focused his magical eye on him, he knew the
identity of the man behind the death eater mask. The main reason for
Moody's dismay had been the fact that the four death eaters had made
him reveal the latest weapon of the aurors, the freezing spell which was
transparent in nature. There was no doubt that Lucius Malfoy would
report to Voldemort that the aurors had some new kind of spell up their
sleeves. Even though just this information wouldn't stop the aurors from
using the spell, it would make the dark lord's forces more alert. Moody's
thoughts, however, were interrupted by a scream from someone.
Looking around, Moody saw that the first auror had been taken down by
the death eaters. A group of three aurors had only two left now. The
other auror had vanished from sight and was most probably lying on the
ground. Moody's magical eye scanned the area and confirmed his
assumption that the auror was indeed lying in a heavily injured state in
the middle of a pool of his own blood. Just then, he heard another
scream. Looking around once again, even as he dived to avoid getting hit
by a dark spell, Moody saw another auror go down.
Moody saw Pam rush over to the auror and assumed it was Peter. Within
a few seconds however, both Peter and Pam were back on their feet and
ready to face thirty odd death eaters. This was too great a number even
by Pam's standards who had been Moody's best student ever. Avoiding
another spell, Moody contemplated whether he should go over to help
Pam and Peter but changed his mind when he saw the huge figure of
Lambert rushing over to help them. Knowing that the situation was better
than before, Moody turned his attention to the group of three aurors of
whom one had been hit. The remaining two aurors didn't have the skill to
take on twenty five death eaters on their own. Making up his mind,
Moody decided it was time to take the battle to the enemy.
&&&&
Harry stood stock still inside his cupboard. He didn't know what to think
or what to do. A part of him wanted to rush out and help the others but
another part told him that he would do more harm than good if he went
out now of all times. It seemed to him that the major blood bath was
about to start. One female auror was about to take on ten death eaters or
so while another group of death eaters had attacked a couple of aurors.
The two aurors must have decided that enough was enough because they
seemed to come out of their hiding in a second and seemed ready to take
on the death eaters.
The dark skinned auror named Lambert seemed to be rushing over to
them. The third group of aurors seemed to be having a better time than
the rest. That left the fourth and the final group of three aurors. One of
them had been badly injured while the others kept on fighting valiantly.
Harry wanted to rush out and help them but he saw Moody moving
towards the couple of aurors, intent on helping them. For a split second,
the whole hall seemed to have calmed down...silence seemed to reign all
over. It seemed like the silence before the storm. However it wasn't to
last. The next instant, all hell broke loose on the third floor of St. Mungo's
hospital.
&&&&
"Let's dance" Samantha said as her mouth curled up in a wicked smile as
she saw the death eaters aiming their wands at her. The next instant,
eleven streaks of different colored light rays started to make their way
towards her.
Samantha started to move in a peculiar manner...almost as if she was
dancing! Since the death eaters had blasted apart the beds in between,
they had had a clear shot at her. Still, they had aimed for her upper
body. She dropped down to the floor on all fours giving the illusion of a
big cat about to jump on its prey. She looked on at the death eaters as the
curses flew harmlessly over her and cast a couple of quick spells in the
middle of the group. No sooner had she cast her spells, she jerked her
auror shield. Two boomerang kinds of blades got released which were
about a foot wide each.
A couple of death eaters in the front setup a shield to repel the spells of
Samantha. However, what they had not counted on was that two
boomerang blades would be heading their way. The blades seemed to
have a mind of their own as they crisscrossed each other. All the death
eaters' eyes were fixed on the blades as they came nearer and nearer. At
the last instant, the blades went on a different direction and went straight
for the throats of a couple of death eaters who barely managed to avoid
them. However their relief was short lived as they saw the blades turn in
mid-air and head straight for another pair of death eaters. But these two
death eaters didn't have to go into the trouble of avoiding the blades.
They were stunned unconscious by a couple of spells from behind just as
the blades were about to hit them.
"Never look behind when your enemy is in the front" Samantha said with
the same wicked smile plastered on her face. She had not moved an inch
from her position on the floor till now and, as the blades came in, she
extended her shield and they immaculately went back into their slots.
The death eaters looked at two of their fallen comrades and knew they
would have a slight bit of trouble handling this auror. However, a 9-to-1
was still a no-match in any fight...unless of course either Dumbledore or
Voldemort were involved! Without thinking anything else, the death
eaters started shooting spells at random at their target.
Samantha knew that she would have a tougher challenge now that one
element of surprise had been dealt with. From now on, the death eaters
would be more prepared. This time it was her turn to act faster. She
noticed nine curses heading her way and jumped to her feet. This time
however, the curses were aimed both at her upper and lower body. She
knew she couldn't avoid the curses this time by just dropping to the floor.
Also, she knew that setting up any kind of shield against nine curses was
not what she should be attempting. Instead, she had to play by her
strength's.
Samantha muttered a quick shield spell which repulsed one of the spells.
Having decided what to do, she started moving agilely on her feet even
as the death eaters cast more spells. The curses aimed at her upper body
got repulsed by the auror shield while she stepped between the curses
aimed at her legs. Her legs crisscrossed themselves elegantly as she
avoided all the spells coming at her. If it had not been such a life
threatening situation, someone would have thought she was just dancing
to a beat of music playing in her mind. She didn't try to cast any spell at
the moment. Rather, she had decided to use the tactics which had gained
her a lot of reputation amongst aurors...avoid spells by "dancing" through
them till your enemy is tired and attack them when it is the right time.
Samantha knew she had more on her plate than she had normally
handled in all the mock duels and training sessions at the ministry. As an
array of spells came directly at her chest and legs, she performed one of
her most skilled acts. She cast a leviating spell on the shield and did a
twirl like a ballet dancer on one leg. She had positioned herself in such a
manner that her legs were in the space between the two of the closest
spells. Even as she turned backwards, five spells hit the shield and got
destroyed and numerous others passed around her grounded leg.
Samantha, in the middle of her twirl, took out a boomerang blade from
the back of her auror pants and, as she came around, threw it towards
the death eaters.
In the midst of all the action and with Samantha moving so fast, the
death eaters failed to notice the throwing of the blade. Samantha finished
her 360 degree rotation and caught hold of the shield which was now
badly damaged after stopping twenty consecutive dark spells. Even as she
caught hold of the shield, Samantha saw the blade pass high above the
head of the nearest death eater. It was her sudden steady gaze that gave
it away. One of the death eaters stopped to look around and, much to his
horror, saw the blade coming back towards him, moving around its own
central axis. He ducked at the last second to see the blade pass
centimeters above his head. His elation was however short lived as he
heard a blood chilling scream the very next instant. As the death eater
turned round, the body of another beheaded death eater slumped down
to the ground. Looking on, he saw the blade making its way back to its
owner who caught it cleanly and without any complications since no one
had cast a spell in the last couple of seconds.
Samantha knew that these death eaters were slightly frustrated now. It
was the right time...for her to launch her attack.
"Want to dance some more?" asked Samantha as she gave another wicked
smile and got into action.
&&&&
"Lambert's coming" Pam thought as she saw the approaching figure of
Lambert from the corner of her eye. She knew that even with her auror
armor in an activated state, she and Peter would not be able to take care
of the thirty odd death eaters. 1:15 was too great a ratio for anyone for
that matter…even for her mentor Moody. But with Lambert coming to
help them, she knew they had a fair chance.
"Peter…look out!" Pam shouted as the death eaters simultaneously cast
their spells at the aurors. Thankfully none of them was the killing curse
but the ten to fifteen cruciatus's were enough to raise anyone's hair on
their necks. Peter just about managed to jump out of the way of the
curses coming at him while Pam somersaulted to her right as the curses
passed through the spot where they had been. The fact one of the
properties of the auror armor was to make its wearer light weighted
always helped Pam make these moves. As Pam completed her somersault,
she aimed her wand at the death eaters in the middle and fired a couple
of stunners. No sooner had she fired off the stunners that she saw another
array of curses heading towards her. This time she jumped behind the
nearest pillar and heard the curses collide with the bricks, throwing
splinters around.
As Pam stood she saw a unique formation. There were four pillars in an
adjacent manner. Lambert was behind the pillar on her left while Peter
was to her right. Even as more spells hit the area near her, she came up
with a plan. As soon as she made eye contact with Lambert, she
explained her plan to him using the sign language common to all aurors.
Lambert nodded in agreement as he understood the plan. Pam next
turned to Peter and explained her plan to him while Lambert fired a few
rapid spells at the death eaters to divert their attention. Once Lambert
saw that Pam had explained the plan to Peter, he turned around to face
the pillar. If the pillar had not been between him and the death eaters,
then he would have been directly facing them. Simultaneously he saw
Pam and Peter do the same. Pam held her three fingers of her left hand
up and started counting down. As she closed the final finger, the plan
was put into action.
The death eaters had just started moving a little closer when, all of a
sudden, the figures of the three aurors came into view. The three aurors
seemed to move in a synchronized manner as they moved from one pillar
to the adjacent one. Lambert rolled over on his back to move into the
position where Pam had been a split second before while Pam
somersaulted twice in quick succession to move to the location where
Peter had been. Peter also rolled over to move to the pillar on his left.
And in the midst of all their movements, the three aurors sent a hail of
spells into the midst of the death eaters!
For a split second none of the death eaters knew what had just happened.
They had thought that they had successfully cornered the three aurors
separately and just had to get a bit nearer to them to have a clean shot at
them. But all of a sudden, they found six of their group lying on the floor
in a petrified manner. No one had expected the aurors to be able to cast
spells at them while they were moving. Before the death eaters could
come to a conclusion as to how to deal with the problem, the aurors were
at it again. However, this time their movement was in the reverse
direction. Peter rolled back to his old position while Pam somersaulted
back to her respective position. Lambert seemed to have decided that
running sideways gave him a much better chance of aiming properly and
hence did just that. All this while, the aurors kept shooting spells in a
hurry…almost as if three machine guns were at work. It resulted in the
conscious death eater population going down by a further seven.
"Damn it" the leader of the group said as he saw that their number had
come down from thirty to a mere seventeen. He couldn't let this go on!
"Spread out" the commander shouted to his sub-ordinates. Instantly the
death eaters spread out over a larger area. As they were moving, the
three aurors carried out their act for the third successive time. The death
eaters fired many spells at them but couldn't hit the aurors. The aurors,
however, were successful in taking out four more death eaters.
"Thirteen more" Pam mouthed at Lambert and got ready to jump for the
fourth time. But this time Lambert shook his head in a negative response.
All his experience told him that at most they would be able to take a
couple of more death eaters out since they were now spread over a
greater area. Also, since the region covered by the death eaters was
larger, they risked getting hit by one of their curses. The risk was not
worth taking in his opinion.
"Now what?" Pam mouthed this question at Lambert who seemed to be
thinking. Suddenly his head snapped up as he came up with a plan. But
before Lambert was able to specify his plan to Pam, Pam saw a hint of
movement out of the corner of her eye. Before she had the time to say
anything, one of the death eaters appeared about 30 feet behind Lambert
who had no idea about the situation.
"Lambert!" Pam shouted, her eyes wide in fear, as the death eater shot off
the cruciatus towards Lambert.
&&&&
"Let's see what you are made of" Moody said in a loud, grumpy voice as
he walked towards the group of aurors whom he had decided to bail out.
The other death eaters seemed to take notice of him and started throwing
curses at Moody.
"You need more than that to take me out" Moody growled as he side
stepped a couple of curses and stopped the others by setting up shields.
His wand movements and spell casting was so swift that Harry couldn't
help but appreciate what he saw from his hiding place.
"Take this" Moody said as he cast several strong body binder curses at the
group of death eaters. However, they didn't have to worry much as
someone or the other in the group managed to set up a "Protego" shield to
stop the spell.
"Think you can stop me like this?" Moody said as another barrage of
spells came his way. Suddenly the death eaters seemed intent on taking
him out before the other two aurors. Moody just moved enough to let all
the spells go past him. However, one of the spells grazed a part of his left
sleeve and left a hole in his shirt.
Moody had one look at it and growled. "You will pay for this". With that,
he cast a couple of strong spells towards the middle of the death eaters.
Just as soon as the spells were cast, he conjured up a heavy block of
metal and "threw" it towards another part of the group. No sooner had he
done that, he conjured up a block of stone in front of him as he saw a
couple of spells coming at him. The next instant there were a couple of
huge blasts. The two stunners had effectively taken out a couple of death
eaters but the other death eaters had blown apart Moody's conjured block
to smithereens. Simultaneously, the conjured block of stone covering
Moody was shattered by the spells which were heading in his direction.
Moody growled a bit as a few splinters hit him on his wand arm. He
quickly cast a spell to remove them but saw a quartet of spells almost
about to hit him. He just about managed to set up a strong shield but that
was not enough. Three spells got stopped by the shield while the fourth
was enough to break the weakened shield and hit Moody who was
thrown off his feet. He landed in a heap a few meters away. However,
this time had been enough for the other two aurors to utilize. They had
quickly taken the advantage of Moody's diversion had magically stunned
and bound fourteen death eaters using a barrage of spells randomly into
the group.
"Well well well…" an all too mocking tone spoke up as Moody ducked
another spell. "Seems like the old auror isn't as quick as he was in the
past". Lucius Malfoy had stepped aside from his group of death eaters
who had shifted their focus back to the couple of death eaters.
"Seems like someone is still a fool" Moody growled as he slowly got up…
his eyes focused on Malfoy and his fellow death eaters.
"Shall we?" Malfoy asked in a mocking tone as he bowed slightly.
"Anytime" Moody said, without bowing. He knew these death eaters
couldn't be trusted at all, least of all Lucius Malfoy. Hence it was much
better to be constantly vigilant. Malfoy waited a bit longer for Moody to
bow but when it didn't come, he seemed slightly affronted. He and
Moody slowly started to move around in a circular path while Moody's
magical eye keeping a lookout for any death eater attacking him from the
back. However, it seemed no one had the audacity to interfere Lucius
Malfoy's duel. Realizing this, Moody focused both his eyes on Malfoy. He
knew it would come soon…and it did!
&&&&
"What's the matter boys?" Samantha asked in a mocking tone. "Having
trouble hitting me?". At this, a few of the death eaters got very frustrated
and launched a vociferous attack at Samantha. Samantha saw the number
of spells approaching her was far too great than it had been previously
but she knew she had to take care of it.
She ducked under the first spell even as she raised her left leg slightly to
let a curse pass below it. She bended her right knee as another curse
passed along that area and snapped her head to the left as a curse passed
just beside her right ear. As she saw another curse approaching her
midriff, she fell down on all fours to avoid it. At this, the death eaters
started directing their attack at the figure on the ground. As Samantha
looked on, she saw several more spells approaching her. She quickly
activated an automated shield charm which was a common feature of all
auror shields and protected the owner from splinters. Just as it was done,
Samantha raised her right hand from the ground and one curse crashed
into the ground right where her hand had been a split second ago. The
shield charm stopped the splinters from hitting her all over. The next
second she had to raise her left hand as another curse was about to hit it.
She quickly balanced herself on her right hand again.
&&&&
Harry watched in amazement at how fast Samantha could move. If he
had not read about a special kind of power of some witches then he
would have thought that he was watching some kind of a muggle movie.
Remembering what he had read from one of the books he had brought
back from the Black Vault, he was easily able to categorize Samantha as a
Hyperperor witch. These witches had a magnificent eye-body co-
ordination and they could move their body muscles with seemingly no
reaction time at all. This was due to the fact that their nerve impulses
were faster than normal and it resulted into an anomaly causing them to
be very flexible and fast.
To Harry's knowledge, there had been only four Hyperperor witches till
date. No one knew why this phenomenon was not found in wizards. As
Harry looked on, he found his eyesight getting dazed trying to follow
every one of Samantha's moves. They were so fast and yet so elegant. He
wondered whether all such witches choose to "dance" but then thought
there was no point in wondering about that now. He decided to stand
back and watch the "show" for the moment.
&&&&
Samantha moved her body in a snake like manner as she avoided getting
hit by a curse in her hips. She saw a few curses aimed right at her back
and knew she just couldn't move out of the way unless she rolled away.
She did roll away and came to her feet in one smooth motion. At this,
another spell raced towards her which was directly aimed at her chest.
She curved the upper part of her body and saw it pass harmless below
her right armpit. This left her in an awkward situation as the next spell
was coming right at her left shoulder which was awkwardly positioned
upwards like someone who had just finished a disco move. She elegantly
moved her left shoulder back as the spell passed inches above and
brought her body back into the correct position so elegantly that it would
have done any professional dancer proud.
The next moment she twisted her head to the left and then right in quick
succession as two spells passed through the area where either side of her
head would have been. Then she raised her left shoulder and dropped her
right as one curse passed near her right shoulder and did the vice versa
when another passed near her left shoulder. For one instant, she thought
she would end up break-dancing through the spells.
As another spell came towards her midriff, Samantha could feel her body
getting tired from this constant movement. She blocked in plainly with
her shield and avoided a few more spells. At long last, she could see no
more spells coming her way. As she looked on, she could see the
exasperation in the eyes of the faces behind the masks. She knew she had
to act now…and it had to be real fast too.
"Drop your wands…or he dies" this chilling sentence stopped Samantha
dead in her tracks.
&&&&
"FervensAqua" a jet of boiling water sped it's way towards Moody.
"Nidor" Moody quickly muttered the counter curse which hit the other
streak of light and evaporated the whole water stream. Even though
Moody had not heard what Malfoy had said, still the color of the spell
had been enough for him to know which spell Malfoy had cast.
"YmberPalmula" Malfoy said the spell a bit louder as twenty knives sped
their way towards Moody over an area 4 meters wide. Malfoy knew that
even if Moody jumped out of the way then also he would risk getting hit
by at least one knife.
"ConvertoCorollarium" Moody moved his wand in front of him and a wide
jet of orange light sped their way to meet the curse. No sooner had the
knives hit the orange light they turned into flowers.
"Thanks for the flower shower Malfoy" Moody said sarcastically as the
flowers collided gently with his body. Malfoy was incensed due to the
manner in which Moody had turned his poisoned knives into flowers. It
was humiliating to say the least.
"Flamma" a jet of fire sped towards Moody.
"Verto" Moody cast a spell at the last moment and redirected the spells
back towards Malfoy. Malfoy had to jump away hastily to avoid the
flames of his own spell.
"ElaborSolum" this time Moody was the one to cast a spell. The jet of light
from Moody's wand hit the floor near Malfoy's feet and turned the floor
into a slippery one. Malfoy quickly muttered a spell which broke the
whole tiling of the floor and the slipperiness was gone.
"Crucio" Malfoy cast the painful unforgivable at Moody who calmly side
stepped it. After so many years, the cruciatus was just another curse to
him. The only thing which he kept in mind when dealing with the
cruciatus was to always get out of the way rather than try anything funny
with it.
"FerrumFerratilis"
"Multiensis"
"Magus Funis" Moody muttered these three spells very fast. Malfoy's eyes
went wide as he saw iron wires punctuated by large pins coming towards
him followed by an array of swords which were revolving around their
axis. He quickly muttered a few "Reducto" spells and destroyed the initial
objects. However, the swords seemed to have come too close for his
comfort. Malfoy's arms and lips moved frantically as he blasted out each
sword in mid-air…one as close as a foot away from him. However, before
he could breath a sigh of relief, the conjured magical ropes from Moody's
third spell bound him from top to bottom. He fell to the ground with a
thud.
"Don't have any smart comments to make now, huh?" Moody asked as he
agilely moved over to the fallen death eater and disarmed him. Malfoy
had been stunned both by the agility of Moody and his ability to cast
spells so fast even at such an advanced age. However, the only emotion
which seemed to be filling his mind now was the one he seemed to have
for everyone – hate.
"Let's take care of you now" Moody said as he raised his wand. However
Moody couldn't bring himself to curse Malfoy…not after what he heard
right then.
"Drop your wands…or he dies" this chilling sentence stopped Moody in
his tracks.
&&&&
Pam stood there, too stunned to do anything. As she looked on,
everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Lambert, on seeing the
look on her face, knew that some death eater was near him and probably
going to curse him. Not knowing which curse to expect he tried to throw
his body out of the way, not knowing whether he was jumping into the
curse or away from it. All he knew was that he had to make an effort to
move out of the way and hope for the best. However, his best was not
enough this time. The death eater had too great a time advantage over
him to let him get out of this unscathed. The cruciatus hit him flush on
the upper right part of his body and the next moment he was lying on the
floor, writhing in pain like he had seldom felt.
Pam stood motionless as she saw the figure of Lambert fall to the ground
and start quavering under the effects of the cruciatus. Though the aurors
knew all about the unforgivables, only a few had ever felt the real blast
of an unforgivable. After all, aurors were trained to avoid getting hit by
unforgivables. The few who had been hit by an unforgivable, apart from
the Avada Kedavra, would always say that it was one of the worst things
imaginable. And right now, seeing the withering body of Lambert, Pam
could feel a little bit as to why she had been always told to avoid the
cruciatus.
The wizard cursing Lambert seemed to be a powerful one judging by the
way Lambert was struggling to cope with the pain. If he was a youngster,
then he would surely rise quickly amongst the ranks of the death
eaters...only if Pam let him live to see that day. As Pam saw the
expression on Lambert's face, her inner self got out of control. She knew
she had to do something to stop the spell. However, she intended to do
more than that. She wanted revenge!
Yes, she had a hard time believing it but suddenly this man seemed to
symbolize everything she had hated for these past few years and
especially these past few days. She wanted to do something which would
take her pain away...which would make that death eater feel the pain
which she was feeling. Without caring to think anything else, she
launched her attack.
"ElectrianoClaustrum" a bolt of electricity caught the death eater flush in
the middle of his chest and threw him off balance. Even as he was falling
and had gone out of sight, Pam started running towards him. Lambert
seemed to groan slightly as the pain seemed to go away a bit and he
didn't see the body of Pam jumping over him. The other death eaters,
seeing that they had a clean shot at Pam, started throwing spells as
rapidly as they could but Pam seemed to outpace them. As Pam reached
near the spot where the death eater had fallen, she saw a jet of green
light moving right towards the spot where she would be in a couple of
steps. Instead of stopping, she did a clean somersault over the spell. As
her body was turning in mid-air, she aimed her wand to curse the fallen
death eater. Just as her body came to a upside-down position, the killing
curse passed inches below her. At the same moment she found herself
right over the position of the death eater. Without caring for what was
going to happen to him, she sent another bolt of lightning crashing into
his body. As her body had started to straighten back to it's normal
position, her eyes met the death eaters for a millionth of a second. She
saw fear in them...and this satisfied her immensely.
As Pam landed cleanly on her feet, a few more curses crashed into the
area near her. She quickly ducked behind one of the cupboards holding
herbs and looked around. Peter seemed to be looking at her in an
astonished manner...as if he had seen a ghost. In reality, he had seldom
seen such an acrobatic move. Lambert seemed to be exercising great
control over his body and trying to get up. However, she knew that the
number of death eaters were still more than these two could handle in
their injured state. As she was the only uninjured member, she had to
somehow help them take care of the death eaters. Pam got mentally
ready to carry out an assault on her own...even if it was her final one
forever.
&&&&
Harry looked around at the tremendous fighting going on around him. He
couldn't help but appreciate the aurors at the work and his determination
to become an auror in the future seemed to grow even more. The
dedication with which these people were fighting was just incredible.
However, in the midst of all this, Harry could see that they were only
able to weaken the dark forces temporarily. He knew that the aurors
would never be able to kill someone. At most, they would be able to stun
them with some of the most advanced spells...some which won't let
concurrent "Enervate" spells be of any good. Still, Harry knew that if there
were any brilliant death eaters present here at the moment, then they
would be able to enervate their partners using ancient spells. The only
thing which Harry was able to draw some satisfaction from was the fact
that the fight was going on too fast for any death eater to look out for
their partners. Also, the fact that the number of death eaters forces had
come down from eighty odd to only about fifty odd gave him some relief.
The fight till now had not been without causalities on the aurors sides.
From what Harry could see, three aurors were not battle worthy anymore
along with another heavily injured auror. That left six aurors and Moody
but still the auror to death eater ratio seemed to be about 1:7. Even
though it was not the most healthy ratio, it was better than what had
been a few minutes previously.
Harry looked on in wonder as Pam truly executed one of the most
acrobatic spells he would probably see in his lifetime. He didn't know
how she did it but it sure was special. He watched Pam move behind one
of the other cup boards present and, from his location, he saw a change
in the expression on her face. He could see it had set into a grim
determined look...one which was not present even a few minutes before.
As he looked at her, he had the feeling that she was going to go for an all
out attack. However, just as he saw Pam about to rush out to launch an
attack, she became frozen in her spot. Her eyes went wide in horror as a
single spine chilling sentence was said.
"Drop your wands…or he dies"
&&&&
Everyone turned around to see what had happened. Even the death eaters
seemed to have stopped fighting. Unseen to everyone, one death eater
had managed to crawl under the beds and had reached the spot just
behind where Peter was. Pam had been the first to see the death eater
but it was too late. Her eyes went wide in horror as she thought of the
prospect of losing her best friend inside a few days of her husband. No,
she thought, this couldn't be happening to her. Lambert, on the other
hand, had raised himself to a seated position and was now aiming
straight from the partially visible head of the death eater. Moody didn't
make a move from the position he was in...his wand pointed at a fallen
and bound Lucius Malfoy. However, his magical eye was focused straight
at the death eater who had muttered the words. Samantha had also
turned at her spot and was looking on, a heavy stone seemed to be
crushing her heart. This couldn't be happening to her colleague Pam.
"Drop it!" the death eater gave another warning, poking his wand in the
back of Peter.
"Don't!" Peter shouted. "Take him out" he said to his colleagues.
"Lambert..." he turned to the fellow he knew he could always trust to do
the right thing. "Take him out...don't worry about me".
"Stop that drama and drop your wands" the death eater shouted again.
The other death eaters had stopped fighting thinking they had won the
battle. All that was needed was to take away their wands.
"Oh well..." the gruff voiced deputy of Lucius Malfoy gave a sigh at the
antics of his sub-ordinates. Why the hell did he get a group of blood
thirsty death eaters who didn't seem to use their common-sense? With
another sigh, he waved his wand and said "Expelliarmus Aurors". Instantly,
all the aurors wands got sucked away from their hands. And...
All of a sudden a jet of light sped out from nowhere and stunned the
death eater behind Peter even as the wands were in mid-air. Almost
simultaneously, another shout was heard "Reditus Wands Erus". This was
an advanced spell which returned the wands to their true owners. All the
airborne wands reversed their direction and headed straight for the
aurors who caught them cleanly. Lucius Malfoy's deputy was left standing
with his left hand extended...the auror's wands never came.
"Hello everyone" a smiling Harry Potter said. He was standing a couple of
feet in front of the now ajar cupboard in which he had been hiding. Even
though he was smiling, there was a look in his eyes which suggested he
was watching every death eater's movement as closely as possible. The
death eaters looked on in shock at the new entrant. Out of nowhere, a
slender boy who seemed to be about 19 years old had popped up and
seemingly taken away the taste of victory from their mouths...at least for
the time being. He seemed unaffected by all the death eaters...didn't seem
nervous at all. Also, the wind blowing across the hall made his hair and
clothes start to fly. It gave him an eerie and almost formidable
appearance. They didn't know who this boy was but...
"Harry Potter?" the deputy death eater spoke, his voice in slight awe as
he saw the famous scar behind the flying hair. The aurors eyes went wide
as they heard the name and their eyes shifted to Harry's forehead. Even
though these were very experienced aurors, seeing Harry Potter in flesh
and blood was a rare experience. Samantha gulped, Peter shifted his
weight from one foot to another, and Pam tried to see beyond the scar
while Lambert looked on keenly. The other aurors also looked slightly
shocked. Only Moody was cursing under his breath as he remembered
what had happened at Azkaban.
"Yours truly" Harry said with a smile and the next second a fresh battle
started, albeit a final one.
&&&&
Samantha was taking on her opponents in a much calmer manner. After
all, Harry Potter was there for them. Initially it had seemed like he would
be mince meat for the death eaters but his first couple of spells were
enough to assure everyone of his skill. She had heard tales about how he
had fought at Azkaban and today she had seen him fighting in front of
her. No wonder she was assured by his company.
Moody too looked happy to see Harry in action…if the expression on his
face could be called one of happiness. He knew Harry had been very sad
ever since the demise of Tonks and finally hoped Harry would take some
revenge and calm down a bit. Of course, no revenge would be complete
without killing Ginny Weasley and Snape but at least this could help him
temporarily.
The others looked on as Harry started to fight. All they knew was he was
the Boy-Who-Lived and was still a student of Hogwarts but how in
heaven's name could he fight so well? A couple of aurors exchanged
astonished looks as they saw Harry take on many a death eater on his
own and were presently surprised at how fast and flexible he was. Well…
they had a job to do and they started doing it. After all, Harry Potter was
doing his part well.
&&&&
"CrurisContorqueo" Harry said in a low voice and a jet of jelly colored
light sped towards its target. The death eater got barely out of the way of
the spell which would have twisted his leg until he fell to the ground. No
sooner had Harry cast one spell, he saw eight other spells coming at him.
At this, he smirked.
Harry let all the spells get absorbed by his shield and he let forth a very
powerful stunning spell at the group of death eaters fighting him. One of
the death eaters was blasted twenty feet into the air as he got hit by the
stunner. Harry then took out the second wand he had picked up just as
he had arrived at St. Mungo's. Two wands in two hands, he knew the
others would have to work a lot to defeat him.
"ObfirmoMala" Harry shot off one spell at the death eaters on the right
side of the group. Almost simultaneously, he aimed at some of the death
eaters slightly on the left of the group. "SomniumFama". The first spell
was supposed to lock the jaws of anyone who got hit and hence prevent
him from casting a spell while the second one made the wizard say non-
sense words…or for that matter any random combination of words. To
his dismay, Harry saw both his spells getting blocked by shields.
As Harry was about to say a third spell, a further array of curses came his
way. Spreading his arms wide, he said "Accio Cubile". Instantly a couple of
beds lying on the floor flew from either side of him and, on his wand
movement, sped towards the spells. All the spells crashed into the beds
and blasted them apart.
"Crucio" this dreaded word was said quite loudly by one of the angered
death eaters. Harry side stepped the spell but not before sending a
stunner in the direction of the death eater. However, it was too obvious
and the man easily moved out of the way.
"CongruensIgnis Claustrum" one of the death eaters shouted as a jet of fire
seemed to come out of his wand.
"CongruensIgnis Claustrum" Harry repeated the same spell. He was ready to
meet fire with fire. Both the spells collided in mid air and caused a huge
blast but the spells were not broken. Each seemed to be pushing at the
other to gain the upper hand as a tiny thread of fire linked both the
wands.
"CongruensIgnis Claustrum" another four death eaters seemed to think it
was a very good spell and sent a jet of fire towards Harry. Harry raised
his other wand and said "Congruens Aqua Claustrum". A wide spray of
water crashed into the spells and started to hold them off. Harry felt a
tremendous pressure on his magical reserves as he fended of five spells at
once. He was not some kind of a super hero after all! The only thing
which kept him going was his mental strength.
Some of the aurors and death eaters had stopped fighting for a few
milliseconds to see the scene at hand. It was a unique and a fascinating
one to say the least. Harry was standing with both his wands aimed at
the death eaters…one wand spraying water to douse the persistent fire
attack while the other fighting fire with fire. In the midst of this, the
other death eaters could see a wide opening to hit Harry.
"Crucio" a death eater aimed at Harry but Harry just about managed to
move out of the way without breaking his spells. He was already
sweating heavily at having to hold off so many attacks at once, one
which he had never tried. His eyes went wide in fear for a second as he
saw four death eaters aiming directly for him. However, as soon as they
sent the curses on their way, Harry smiled inwardly. Harry did not try to
move out of the way this time and let the shield absorb the spells.
Effectively he felt his magical energy go a notch higher. This was it,
Harry thought.
"CongruensIgnis Claustrum". "Congruens Aqua Claustrum". Harry said this
spells in quick succession. To his right a large ball of fire went out rapidly
to meet its opponent. No sooner had it reached the spot, there was a
tremendous noise as it literally tore away the other spell. But it didn't
stop there and followed the connecting line of fire up to the holder of the
wand. The death eater was unable to do anything in the split second and
the next thing he knew was a burning feeling before darkness overcame
him.
On his left side, a huge jet of water made its way to meet the balls of fire.
Instantly they were literally washed out of existence right up to the tip of
the wands of the death eaters who looked on in disbelief. They looked on
in disbelief at the sudden power behind the spells. Harry knew he had the
upper hand at the moment because the death eaters seemed to be slightly
dazed at this sudden change. He took this opportunity with both hands as
he sent a couple of stunners at the death eaters. One missed…the other
didn't.
"AvadaKedavra" finally one of the death eaters sent out the killing curse
at Harry. Simultaneously, the rest of the group sent other curses at
Harry's direction. Harry quickly evaded the killing curse and rolled over
to his left as the other curses passed by. Harry quickly moved to behind
one of the many pillars on the third floor while panting in slight
exhaustion at having to take on so many death eaters.
As Harry stood there, he could hear a lot of movement going on around
him. Just then a hail of spells hit the area near him. It seemed like more
death eaters had joined this group to capture him. After all, who wouldn't
like to be the one to hand over Harry Potter to the dark lord? Harry
quickly thought of a spell and looked around. As he saw more spells out
of the corner of his eye, he cast a spell on himself and rolled out from
behind the pillar. The death eaters looked at each others in wonder,
anger and god knows what else.
Instead of seeing one Harry Potter, a dozen Harry Potter's had rolled out
from behind the pillar and was standing in front of them. Harry had
performed an illusion charm on himself which cast a mirror image of
oneself within a given perimeter. The death eaters, instead of
surrounding Harry, now found themselves surrounded by him. As Harry
raised his wand, 11 other Harry's did the same.
"Expelliarmus" the twelve Harry's said this spell simultaneously but the
only one real spell hit the death eaters. All the other spells were just
illusions of what the real Harry was doing. Fifteen odd wands came flying
towards the real Harry when…
"WE WILL MEET ANOTHER DAY MAD-EYE"
Harry looked around just in time to see Moody trying to curse Malfoy
who had somehow got free. Much to his dismay, he saw Malfoy touching
something on his left wrist and immediately all the death eaters vanished
except for those who had been hit by anti-portkey spells. Everyone's
mouth was hanging in disbelief!
&&&&
Harry sat quietly in his room thinking about the events of the past few
hours which were basically days in the trunk. He felt slightly stressed out
at all that had happened. The fact that Malfoy had got away with the
help of some of the other death eaters was not helping his mood a lot.
Still, in the past, he had been happy whenever they had been able to
defeat or capture death eaters but today seemed to be different. Even
though he didn't know exactly how many death eaters had been captured
because he had left as soon as the fight had been over, Harry didn't feel
happy about it. Today only the skill of the aurors had been the factor
behind them being alive. If it had been the common wizarding public,
then it would have resulted in a massacre. For every win they had over
the death eaters, Harry knew that hundreds of thousands of general
wizarding people were losing a battle. The only way to stop this was to
stop the source...stop Voldemort.
Not knowing exactly what to do, Harry decided he would meditate a
little. Maybe meditation would help calm his nerves a bit...would help
him see things in a better light. Slowly Harry drifted off into his
meditation. In his meditation, he saw the battle at St. Mungo's from
different point of views…as to the difference in the reactions between
Pam, Peter, Lambert to Moody's own reactions. He could see how a life
full of hardships had turned Moody into what he was today. He could
understand that the feelings he saw on Pam's face meant a lot. And the
look on Malfoy's face when Moody had him cornered…
His thoughts then drifted off to what he had read in Dumbledore's office
regarding the Power of Hogwarts. A lot of things had been written in
there which made absolutely no meaning to him whatsoever. However,
he kept on thinking about what he had read and tried to understand it
from different perspectives. His thoughts then shifted to Remus telling
him how Dumbledore was worried about them being stuck in the past…
allowing their sorrows to dictate what they did next. He thought of how
Nearly Headless Nick had told him that he had to let go of the past to
help his friends…to look out for…Harry's thoughts went haywire at this
point. He suddenly remembered how Dumbledore had said during
Tonks's funeral that the power was still with him. The images of the pages
of the book in Dumbledore's office came into his view once again only to
be replaced by what Nearly Headless Nick had told him.
And then it stuck him! As if someone had suddenly opened a floodgate of
reasoning in his mind. He now knew why he felt so comfortable walking
around the corridors of Hogwarts, alone and walking endlessly and
touching the walls. It was as if someone had just shown him that he was
caught in a maze when he had never known he had been in a maze. If
someone never knew that they were in a maze then they couldn't get out
of it because they wouldn't be making an effort. But now he realized just
how important it was for him to move on with his life…how important it
had been to read the pages regarding the history of the Power of
Hogwarts. If he had not read it then…
Harry's eyes snapped open and he fell to the floor clutching his chest. It
seemed as if someone had just lifted a heavy weight from his heart and
he could breathe freely once more. Mentally he thanked Dumbledore for
showing him what he did. He knew Dumbledore was sneaky in his own
way but this time he had truly helped Harry in a manner like never
before. With a smile on his face, Harry got up to his feet.
"Lord Voldemort…" Harry shouted at the top of his lungs with his arms
spread out. "…the Power of Hogwarts will be resurrected again!"
&&&&
A/N: Sixth chapter here guys. I really have no idea how you people
would take to the action scenes here. I decided to go with more auror
fighting as there will be major auror battles at the end. But still, I don't
know if it was one of my worst fight scenes ever written or not because I
have gone for some unconventional fights in my opinion.
I also had to snip away a lot of what I wanted to include in this chapter
because this got way out of control. I ended up with 11k words of just
the fight scene!
Anyway, thanks for all those reviews. Every review which you people
made is much appreciated. And to everyone who didn't review, thanks
for taking time to read up to here at least.
&&&&
7. A Decision
Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter and the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers. I
am not the original writer (though I wish I could be J) and I do not wish
to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued.
So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah...forget it and let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
Note: This is the sequel to Harry Potter & The Power Of Hogwarts. Please
read it before moving on with this story.
HARRY POTTER & THE NEW DAWN
Chapter 7 – A Decision
"Lord Voldemort…" Harry shouted at the top of his lungs with his arms
spread out. "…the Power of Hogwarts will be resurrected again!"
&&&&
"I have to revive it" Harry thought for what must have been the millionth
time as he kept thinking of the Power of Hogwarts. He had finally been
able to piece together a lot of the information which he had gathered
over the past few weeks. Most of this information had come his way
unwittingly...like the chat he had had with Nearly Headless Nick.
However, the key to the puzzle lay in what he had read in the book in
Dumbledore's office.
In the past Harry would have guessed that Dumbledore had purposely
left the book there for him to have a peek. However, since he was quite
familiar with Dumbledore's ways, he knew for a certainty that
Dumbledore had done it on purpose. It was almost as if Dumbledore had
immaculately made moves on a chess board and Harry had been check
mated. However, in this case Harry was very happy to have fallen for
Dumbledore's trick...not as if he could have avoided it. And he knew that
Dumbledore had taken quite a risk with his tricky behavior. After all, the
happenings of the Department of Mysteries had not been forgotten by
anyone. Dumbledore knew that tricking Harry into seeing something
might have resulted in a violent reaction from Harry. But now, Harry
mentally thanked Dumbledore for taking the risk. It seemed Dumbledore
had finally learned to appreciate what Harry really wanted in his life and
was trying his best to help him out.
Harry's mind was torn away from the thoughts of gratitude towards
Dumbledore as he started thinking of what he had read in the book. As
he mentally recited every verse he had read, he tried to somehow make
the consequences seem improbable. Try as he might, he couldn't see an
change in the outcome if he followed a series of steps. Harry desperately
wanted to believe that the outcome would be different...it was just too
painful for him to think of it in that way. What if it didn't happen? What
if he ended up paying too high a price to achieve his goal? What if the
price he paid might cost the wizarding world dearly? His mind entangled
in these thoughts, Harry sat down on his bed next to a pile of books and
opened the largest of them all. If he had to do something about all the
things he was planning, he had to get ready for something big...maybe
the biggest thing since the rebirth of Lord Voldemort.
&&&&
St. Mungo's Attacked
Our special correspondent reports that St. Mungo's was attacked by over a
hundred death eaters in the late hours of yesterday. However, it is still unclear
as to what had exactly happened there.
"I saw a big group of hooded figures entering the building and I ran away like
hell" said John Abraham who was going to the hospital for some first aid.
"Everyone is still alive?" asked a witch who did not want to be named. "We
saw flashes coming out from all sides of the third floor for over 10 minutes.
How could the patients fight so many death eaters?"
Everyone is astonished and shocked at what has happened at the hospital
yesterday. Early investigation by our correspondent revealed that a number of
aurors were present there for guarding the patients. Apparently their presence
saved a lot of lives yesterday.
For those who don't know, St. Mungo's is the home of many renowned people
who had fought against the dark forces in the period which is now known as
the "First War". Many of the patients there are recovering from both physical
and mental injuries suffered during that period. Many renowned people in the
wizarding world have relatives recuperating from such injuries. If some rumors
of the past are to be believed, then a previous muggle prime minister was also
admitted to this hospital after he was caught in a fight between the light and
the dark forces in the early nineties.
Our correspondent reports that the ministry had been anticipating such an
attack and hence had posted the aurors there. This information came from an
unnamed ministry official after Minister Fudge refused to comment on the
attack. However, the fate of the patients inside is still unknown to many.
Rumors have it that Albus Dumbledore had moved the patients to an unnamed
location only a few days ago. We would not put such an action past the man
who is the only wizard whom He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is said to be still
afraid of. If this is not the case, then it is a cause of grave concern for the
wizarding world.
"I came to meet my aunt" a wizard in his early twenties said. "Now I don't
know what to do. They won't give me any information about her. They won't
even tell me if she is dead or not".
Such is the behavior of the arrogant and high-handed ministry aurors that the
common man is the worst sufferer. We have seen such high handedness in the
past too but since the return of many old aurors, the bar seems to have gone
up a notch.
"I don't have time for you lot" Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody replied when asked to
comment on the issue at hand. It is quite obvious that Mad-Eye has become
mentally retarded after so many fights with the dark forces and is not fit to
serve the auror team. Still, people like him are being given the roles of team
leaders of aurors. We really don't know what Cornelius Fudge is thinking.
After yet another crippling attack, the million galleon question is now which
will be the next target. There are not too many high profile targets left, none
bigger than Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Will it be the next
one?
Page 3 - Where really happened? An insider's report.
Page 4 - Has Dumbledore really shifted everyone from St. Mungo's?
Page 5 - Should people like Mad-Eye be trusted to keep us safe?
&&&&
"I think we should talk to Dumbledore" Ron said.
"It won't help" Hermione said with a shake of her head. "We all know he
has a weak spot for Harry"
"That's why I am saying we should talk to him" Ron said indignantly. "He
is the only one who can stop Harry from throwing away his life because
he cares about him a lot"
"But what can Dumbledore do?" Neville, the last of the group, asked.
They had been arguing for the past half an hour as to how they could get
Harry back to his normal life...or as close to normal as his life had been
once upon a time.
"Nothing" Hermione said. Ron, frustrated at Hermione's stubbornness,
rolled his eyes at this.
"For starters..." Ron argued. "...Dumbledore could talk to Remus and they
could figure something out"
"Remus also lost a loved one if I am not wrong" Hermione pointed out. "If
I am right then the three of them had been like family until..." Hermione
gave an involuntary shudder as she remembered all those horrible
rumors of Tonks dieing a very painful death.
"But she wouldn't have wanted him to be like this, would she?" Ron
snapped back. Neville was the only one who had not committed himself
to any side till now.
"We..." Hermione hissed angrily as she looked around the empty
classroom they were in. In a lower voice she continued. "...we are just
assuming they were a couple. It's not for sure"
"Maybe not for you!" Ron kicked hard at the bench opposite to him. "Did
you see his face when we came back? He looked like he was..." Ron
seemed to be having an internal tussle with himself. "...dying" he finally
managed to say with great difficulty.
"Don't talk about Harry like that" Hermione snapped at Ron even as her
voice became quite emotional. She couldn't think of Harry dying!
"Hermione..." Ron looked at his girlfriend with pleading eyes. "...I have
watched from the sidelines for too long. If he doesn't do anything then I
will have to break the barrier he has created"
"It will be almost impossible" Neville said very thoughtfully. Ron and
Hermione both gave him questioning glances. Seeing their expressions,
Neville explained. "Somewhere something has changed the very core of
Harry's thinking. He thinks he is a danger to all of us and he has almost
brainwashed himself". Neville looked down at his palms as he said this.
"And if my assumption is true then it will be very hard to change his
thoughts...almost impossible until this war is over"
"It's only an assumption" Ron said after a long moment's silence. He had
to admit that Neville's logic was very convincing but he didn't want to be
convinced. He still wanted to think of Harry as the person he had known
even a few months back. Hermione did not say anything and kept
grasping and un-grasping her hands. It was quite obvious that her mind
was trying to somehow prove that Neville's assumption was the most
illogical thing she had ever heard but she just couldn't find any answer to
it.
"Let's talk to Professor McGonagall" Hermione said at last. She knew they
had to talk to someone at the very least...someone whose words Harry
would listen to. Apart from Dumbledore, only Professor McGonagall had
the sort of personality to command unparralled respect from both
teachers and students alike. And if Harry didn't listen to her then he
would listen to no one.
"Something's better than nothing" Ron said with a shrug as he jumped to
his feet. Hermione and Neville followed suit and started the long walk to
McGonagall's office.
"Do you really think they were together?" Hermione asked as they turned
the last corridor leading to McGonagall's office. The three of them had
walked on for 10 minutes in complete silence till then.
"I hope not" Ron replied. "If it is true then..." Ron sighed thinking about
the dreadful feeling he had had when he had seen Hermione trying to
save him in the battle with the giants and death eaters. He remembered
how his heart had almost stopped beating and the relief afterwards to
find Hermione safe. "I remember him telling me once that they were very
close friends"
"Even that is very tough" Hermione blinked hard to fight the moistness in
her eyes. The three of them walked the last few steps in complete silence.
Hermione paused slightly in front of McGonagall's office, took a deep
breath and knocked.
"Come in" came the tired voice of Professor McGonagall. Upon entering
her office, it was very clear to everyone present that McGonagall had
been working non-stop for well over 2-3 days and seemed deprived of
sleep.
"Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Longbottom...what can I do for you?"
McGonagall queried in her usual quite manner. Ron couldn't help but
appreciate the character of this lady who was under so much stress but
could still maintain her composure. He could understand slightly why
Hermione had chosen Professor McGonagall as her role model.
"It's Harry" Hermione burst out. The emotions which had been building
up in her for the past few days seemed to be too great to bear anymore.
"You have to help him somehow". Hearing this, Professor McGonagall
stood up in a flash.
"Has something happened to Mr. Potter?" McGonagall leaned forward on
her desk with a very concerned look on her face.
"NO!" Hermione couldn't stop herself from shouting. The last thing she
wanted to do was to cause Professor McGonagall undue stress by giving
the impression that Harry had got into some kind of trouble with death
eaters or Voldemort for that matter. After all, Harry had never got into a
minor fracas till now unless one counted the silly confrontations with
Malfoy.
"Then?" Professor McGonagall seemed to relax slightly at this but she still
looked very concerned. For a second Hermione felt slightly jealous that
maybe...just maybe McGonagall was more concerned about Harry then
she had ever been for her but she quickly overcame those feelings. After
all, Harry Potter meant a lot to almost everyone in the wizarding world.
"Ma'am...he is..." Hermione struggled to put her feelings in words. "...he
has become very strange nowadays" she finally said. "He is...not the
Harry we knew". Hermione looked at McGonagall and could see the
feelings on her face quite clearly. It was all too apparent to her that
Professor McGonagall shared her opinion.
"Ms. Granger..." Professor McGonagall said with a strange expression on
her face. "...sometimes people change because they have to change. We
cannot dictate the way a person moulds himself"
"You are right professor" Hermione couldn't help but agree. "And we..."
she pointed to herself and Ron and Neville. "...had similar thoughts till
now but..."
"But what?" McGonagall asked in a neutral tone. She knew Harry's
friend's missed him a lot but the truth was none of the professors could
do anything. If Dumbledore didn't try to question Harry's decisions then
it was only wise that others didn't do so unless they really felt the need
for it.
"Let me speak" Ron stepped forward after seeing that Hermione was
having trouble expressing her feelings. McGonagall shifted her gaze
towards him.
"Professor..." Ron paused and took a deep breath as if to calm himself. He
closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them and started to speak.
"I have known Harry for a long time. He has gone through a lot of things
these past six and a half years. The main thing about him which struck
me was that he came out of each problem as a stronger person...as a
more understanding person...someone on whom we could rely with our
lives if required". Professor McGonagall nodded her head slightly as Ron
paused. She knew that Ron was having trouble keeping his emotions
under control as he was mentally reliving many of the precious happy
moments he had shared with Harry.
"However..." Ron choked slightly but quickly cleared his throat. "...since
the beginning...rather from the start of the summer holidays, he had
become very different. You know it as well as we do". McGonagall did
not say anything and remained non-committal. "On my part..." Ron
continued. "...I gave Harry as much space as anyone could need. I didn't
meddle in his affairs and let him sort out things for himself. After all, we
are now old enough to understand a few things ourselves". Both Neville
and Hermione, whose eyes were fixed on the floor, nodded at this.
"But when I came back from the Christmas holidays..." Ron's voice
quavered slightly at this point. "...Harry seemed to have changed a lot.
He seemed like a ghost of what he had been even ten days back. A lot of
things had happened in those few days...lot of regrettable things..." Ron's
voice started shaking with anger as his thoughts wandered to those about
Ginny. He stood silent for a few seconds and was brought back to reality
only when the reassuring hand of Neville rested on his shoulders.
"Ma'am..." Ron spoke up again. "...the thing is that Harry has gone from
bad to worse and we can take it no longer. He had become independent
which is a very good thing but right now, we don't think he is
emotionally stable. I mean, I am also having trouble coping with the
things which have happened recently but I have my family, Her...er...my
friends..." Ron stammered slightly and blushed a bit as Hermione's name
almost slipped through. Hermione, on the other hand, smiled inwardly as
she could feel just how valuable she was to Ron.
"But does Harry have anyone? The answer is no!" Ron said emphatically.
"And we think either Professor Dumbledore or you can make him see the
reality...make him feel that he needs some kind of support from us. No
one can live alone in this world". With this, Ron finished his statement.
Professor McGonagall pondered for quite a while on what Ron had just
said to her. Her eyes were shut tight as she seemed to contemplate on her
actions and their consequences. There was no denying that what Ron had
said was the truth but there was also no denying that controlling Harry
or trying to influence him might have grave consequences. After a couple
of minutes of pin drop silence, Professor McGonagall stood up from her
seat once again.
"Mr. Weasley..." she looked straight into Ron's eyes. "You have said words
of such wisdom that would do your parents proud. To tell the truth, I had
thought I would not be able to hear you speak like this until a couple of
more years had passed by". McGonagall smiled slightly at this. Both
Neville and Hermione beamed at Ron on hearing such high praise from
McGonagall. However, Ron's expression remained as grim as it had been
for the past hour or so.
"I fully understand your concerns regarding Mr. Potter" McGonagall
continued. "He is going through a lot of mental stress and does need
someone beside him even though he might not think so. As far as we
know Mr. Lupin is trying to help him overcome his problems"
"But that is not enough" Ron replied, his eyes wide in surprise. How could
someone expect Remus to do his work for the Order as well as have
werewolf transformations and still support Harry? "He needs you or the
headmaster to knock some sense into his brain. Then only can he see that
he needs some other people too...even if it means only sitting around the
fireplace in complete silence"
"I understand your reasoning Mr. Weasley" Professor McGonagall could
feel that Ron was almost at his snapping point. "However, I will not do
anything which might cause Mr. Potter more concerns. However, I can
talk to Mr. Lupin if you want that"
"We would like that but..." Hermione had just begun to speak when Ron
spoke again.
"We didn't come to you so that you could talk to Mr. Lupin Professor"
Ron said in a sarcastic voice. Professor McGonagall, knowing fully well
how much Ron was concerned about Harry, decided to overlook the
sarcasm. "I want you to talk to Harry"
"I am sorry but I can't keep your request" McGonagall replied as briefly as
possible.
"Sorry for wasting your time Professor". With that, Ron stormed out of
the office of their transfiguration teacher.
&&&&
"How could she give up so easily?" Ron asked out of sheer frustration.
Hermione and Neville had been quick to join him on the way back as
they had nothing else to say to McGonagall and Ron had effectively
closed the subject for discussion.
"She explained her reasons" Hermione replied though the disappointment
in her voice was pretty much evident.
"Human life is not always governed by reasons" Neville said in a somber
voice. "Sometimes we need to try even when all reasoning fails"
"Then why don't you guys try yourselves?" Hermione said sarcastically.
"Why are we running around after the teachers? You are his room
mates…sort out the stuff yourself"
"So we can't even criticize your dear professor anymore?" Ron replied in a
venomous voice. "More valuable to you than Harry, isn't she?"
"No!" Hermione stopped walking for a split second. Ron, however, didn't
stop. From the tone of Hermione's voice, he knew he had touched a raw
nerve and most probably she had tears in her eyes. If Hermione hated
anything, that was becoming too emotional. If she hated anything more,
that was anyone seeing her crying, even Ron. Hence Ron decided to walk
on knowing that Hermione would soon be with them…if she was not too
mad at him, that is.
"How could you say something like that?" Hermione hissed at Ron when
she had rejoined them. She had been a second late to regain her
composure.
"I said what I felt" Ron replied bluntly, knowing fully well that Hermione
would be hurt at this. However, he just couldn't help it. He cared too
much for Harry and didn't like the manner in which the professors
seemed to have given up on him.
"And you know you are wrong, don't you?" Hermione spat at him.
Neville, seeing a storm brewing up, quickened his pace and moved ahead
of the couple.
"You know what…" Ron stopped and turned round to face Hermione. "…
this time around, you and all your professors might be the wrong ones".
Hermione could see that Ron had become very angry but she wouldn't
back away either. "At least…" Ron continued "…I will not give up on
Harry by saying he is living his choices anymore because I know he is
not"
"And how would you know about his choices?" Hermione couldn't help
keeping her sarcastic voice down. "You of all people!" she added before
she could even stop herself.
Ron looked furiously at Hermione for a second before his face softened.
But to Hermione's surprise, his anger seemed to make way for a look of
complete amusement.
"After all these years you ask me how I know about him?" Ron asked, his
voice sounding slightly disappointed as well as amused. "You people are
so naïve"
"We are naïve?" Hermione had thought she couldn't get angrier but she
had been proved wrong. Her anger seemed to have gone up a hundred
notches and her eyes seemed like they were on fire. "You are the naïve
one Ronald Weasley…always the naïve one". Ron just looked at her for a
few moments and shook his head in apparent disappointment.
"Maybe…" Ron said finally and started to walk away on his own without
seeing whether Hermione was following him or not. "…Maybe not".
Hermione stood alone in the corridor and watched the back of Ron
disappear round the corner. She couldn't help stop the only thought
coming to her mind at that moment.
"Was Ron right this time around?"
&&&&
"Can we come in?"
"Hi Angelina" Cho said with a smile as she saw the figure of Angelina
Johnson standing in the doorway of the Room of Requirements. The D.A.
had been meeting there for the past 30 minutes and discussing the
happenings of the war when Angelina had entered. "You know you can
always come in here" Cho added.
"Well…yeah" Angelina said a bit warily as she entered. Another figure
entered right after her, Alicia.
"Hi Alicia" Cho and Neville chorused coincidentally. Alicia gave an
acknowledging nod to them and turned to wave at many others who had
greeted her. After all, no one could so easily forget one of the best
chasers Gryffindor and Hogwarts had seen in a long, long time.
"We need to talk about something" Angelina said in a distressed voice.
Alicia nodded at this. Seeing the expression on the faces of these girls, the
whole of the D.A. became very attentive knowing something important
had happened.
"Please go on" Cho said, the friendly voice replaced by a serious tone.
Angelina and Alicia quickly exchanged a glance as if to confirm that they
were doing the right thing. Angelina gave a slight nod to Alicia who gave
a sigh.
"We can't find Katie" Alicia said as bluntly as possible.
"What?" Hermione shot up from her seat. "What do you mean you can't
find Katie? She's at your tent all the time since you came here"
"Yes" Angelina replied in a meek voice. She didn't know why she was
being afraid but for some reason she felt guilty about everything that had
happened. Understanding the feelings of her friend, Alicia took a step
forward and started explaining.
"She was with us till yesterday afternoon" Alicia stated. "Then she told us
she had to leave for a couple of hours to meet her grandfather. She never
came back"
"She can't leave the castle like that" Hermione said in a bewildered voice.
"Every student must take Dumbledore's permission..."
"She had his permission" Alicia said. "I saw the permission slip myself"
"Did you try to contact her grandfather?" Anthony Goldstein asked from
one of the back rows.
"That's the main problem" Alicia said in a gloomy voice. "We talked to the
headmaster today and he said her grandfather had been admitted to St.
Mungo's. Apparently she had gone to visit him there"
"St. Mungo's!" Cho exclaimed. "Yesterday?". Alicia nodded slightly at this.
The whole of the D.A. was thunderstruck at this. After all, yesterday had
been the day that St. Mungo's had been attacked.
An uneasy silence fell in the whole Room of Requirements. The senior
members of the D.A. seemed to be lost in their own thoughts while the
junior members exchanged concerned glances. A few people of the D.A.,
mainly the first years, didn't know Angelina or Alicia but by the way they
had been greeted by the others, they could see that these were a couple
of much respected members of Hogwarts. Hence even they were feeling
sympathetic and concerned about the feelings of the two girls in front of
them.
"What do we do?" Cho asked after a couple of minutes of silence. Her
question seemed to be posed to the senior members of the D.A.
"What did Dumbledore say?" Neville asked Alicia.
"He said he would get a couple of aurors to look into the matter"
Angelina was the one who replied. "Also said that her grandfather was
fine"
"And he asked us to talk to you people" Alicia added. "He said that if
Katie was somewhere around Hogwarts...maybe in Hogsmead or
somewhere...then the D.A. would be better placed to find them"
"Why would Katie be in Hogwarts and not contacting anyone?" Soha
asked in a surprised tone.
"Maybe because she could have been kidnapped?" the voice of Ron
Weasley could be clearly heard from the back of the room. At hearing
this, another bout of silence gripped the room.
"Well..." Neville said after what seemed to be like an eternity. "If we have
to search for Katie then I think we should make a plan as to how to
conduct the search". Everyone around him nodded at hearing this.
"Let's get going" Cho said in a grim but determined voice. She knew they
had to find Katie at all costs. Whether she had been hurt in the castle or
had been kidnapped outside Hogwarts or had been somehow captured
during the fight at St. Mungo's was up to anyone's imagination. Even
though they couldn't rule out any of the options, it was better to hope for
the best. Whatever might have happened to Katie, they just had to find
her. The D.A. couldn't let students go missing just like that. With the
prospect of a couple of days of thorough search operations in front of
them, the senior members of the D.A. started to plan the best way to
proceed on the situation at hand.
&&&&
"I feel so terrible" Angelina said to Alicia once they were back in her tent.
Her parents had tried to convince her that it was not her fault but had
not been able to do so. At last they had left her with Alicia hoping that
she would be able to convince Angelina in some way or the other.
"It's not your fault Angie" Alicia said in a soothing voice.
"It's my fault alright" Angelina said in an aggressive voice. "I told her to
visit her grandfather as soon as possible so that we could all hang out at
Hogsmead for the weekend. Only if I had not pressured her to go there
before she had planned it..."
"No...no..." Alicia patted her friends head softly as Angelina broke into
tears. "It's not your fault Angie. It was a coincidence"
"It's my fault" Angelina said in between her sniff while Alicia kept saying
it was not. A few moments of silence passed as both the girls were lost in
their own thoughts.
"Ali?"
"Yes Angie?"
"What if we don't find Katie?" Angelina looked fearfully at her friend as
she said this. "What if she is lost forever?"
"She is not lost forever" Alicia said in an angry voice as her eyes seemed
to fill up with tears too. "And don't you dare ever say a thing like that"
"Sorry" Angelina replied meekly.
"Good" Alicia said in return as both the girls fell silent again.
&&&&
"Hello Mr. Potter"
"Hello Mr. Tevrid" Harry said as he shook hands with the goblin. "And
like I had said in our previous meeting, please call me Harry"
"Yes…yes…" Tevrid said with what seemed like a mischievous smile. "I
keep forgetting that part". Harry smiled at this. It was quite obvious that
Tevrid had not forgotten it. Rather, he must have thought that maybe
Harry had forgotten that he had asked Tevrid to call him by his first
name. For that reason, he had maintained the formality. However, he
seemed very pleased now to see that Harry had actually remembered
their last meeting.
"So…" Harry broke the silence between them. "Today is the day for the
big press release of your prototype wallet, is it?"
"Yes" Tevrid replied. "We have had a great response from you. Also, it has
prospect of being the top seller for Gringotts. After all, no one seems to
want to come here anymore"
"Times are tough" Harry said in understanding.
"Yes" Tevrid agreed. "That's why we want to launch it now so we can get
the maximum benefit. Not to mention the fact that this will generate
quite a lot of revenue for you too"
"I don't know what to do with so much money" Harry said in a wary
voice.
"Better keep it for your future" Tevrid said is a very serious voice. "You
will need it". After a slight pause, he added "Everyone will need their
savings for the rebuilding after everything is over"
"Why don't you join Dumbledore?" Harry asked in a very blunt manner.
Tevrid seemed slightly taken aback at the direct reference to the topic
they had been discussing.
"It's not my decision to make" Tevrid replied after a few seconds of
silence. If anyone other than Harry Potter had made such a suggestion,
then any goblin would have thought that he was trying to undermine the
goblins by asking them to join the wizards. Rather, if the wizards needed
their help then they should come to the goblins. However Tevrid knew
that Harry had not meant it in that way.
"We need to be united in this time of distress" Harry said in a low voice.
"And nothing will be more valuable to the wizarding community than to
have the co-operation of your respected goblin community"
Tevrid smiled at hearing these words from Harry. This young wizard was
both humble and also knew that every community should be respected. It
was very uncommon in wizards, even rarer in the newer generation.
Somehow, maybe due to the influence of Dumbledore or maybe due to
his own thinking patterns, Harry seemed to be an exception.
"We understand your concerns Harry" Tevrid said. "However there are
certain things which have happened in the past of which you have no
knowledge…things which have had terrible consequences". Tevrid
paused at this before continuing. "I, personally, wouldn't be able to forget
what had happened"
"Sometimes we have to forget the past to hold on to the present and build
the future" Harry said. "However, you are much senior to me and hence
are much wiser. I shouldn't be speaking in these matters"
"We know you are an important person in this war Harry Potter" Tevrid
used Harry's full name to signify his importance. "And we will keep your
offer in mind. It has been a long time since anyone other than Albus
Dumbledore has spoken to us like this"
"Thank you" Harry said. Just by saying that the goblins would keep his
request in mind was a great compliment in itself.
"Now we should go down to the press conference" Tevrid said as he
looked at the watch in his chamber. Harry nodded and followed the
goblin to the press conference.
The press conference went off very well in Harry's opinion. Initially no
one in the press knew that Harry Potter was going to personally endorse
the product and had been pleasantly surprised at his entrance. Word
spread fast and, before the end of the press conference, many more
reporters had come in to cover the event.
Everyone seemed to be very excited about the prospects of the new
product launched by Gringotts. Some of the more well off reporters even
placed an order for themselves before leaving. However, towards the end
of the press conference, the questions posed at Harry shifted from his
association with Gringotts to that related to death eaters. He responded
with a "No comments" to all those questions and said that at that moment
he was concerned with promoting Gringotts's products only and would
talk about other matters at a different time and place. It was no wonder
that all the goblins present at that time took very kindly to such a
professional approach from Harry.
"Thank god it is over" Harry said once he was back in Mr. Tevrid's
chamber once again.
"You handled it very well" Tevrid said with a smile. "Have you thought of
becoming a permanent "face" of all of Gringotts products?"
"I had explained the last time also that I was neither interested in any
money and didn't want more publicity" Harry replied in a firm tone. "I
am doing this because this product has really been helpful to me in these
past few months"
"But you are a shareholder of the profits Gringotts will make from the
wallet sales" Tevrid reasoned. "You bargained on that"
"It was business" Harry replied with a smile. "I couldn't let Gringotts get
away with all the money they would be generating from the wallet sales
just because I got a 275 galleon rebate, could I? But I really don't need
any further amounts of money coming in"
"As you wish Harry" Tevrid knew he couldn't make Harry change his
opinion. "If only you could sign these papers then we would be done for
the day"
Harry went on to sign a few documents and soon found himself outside
Mr. Tevrid's office. Wishing Mr. Tevrid well, Harry went on to find the
other goblin he had come to meet today.
"Come in please" the goblin sitting in his cabin said when he heard a
knock on the door. As Harry entered, the goblin rose from his chair with
a smile on his face.
"Hello Mr. Potter"
"Hello Mr. Larynth" Harry reiterated with a smile on his face. "How are
you doing?". Larynth was the same goblin who was in charge of all legal
matters related to Gringotts and whom Harry had met about seven to
eight months back.
"Oh…I am fine…thank you" Larynth seemed slightly taken aback at being
asked such a question. Usually people only talked about legal matters
only without going out of the way to be polite. "So, what can I do for you
Mr. Potter?"
"I have come here today to complete the formalities". Harry said. Larynth
invited him to have a seat and started talking only after Harry was
comfortably seated.
"Are you sure you want to do this Mr. Potter?" Larynth said in a
concerned voice. "I had thought you had forgotten about our discussion"
"I don't forget things so easily nowadays" Harry replied back with a smile
which was polite yet firm. "And I am sure I want to do this"
"Then I don't think I have anything else to do but go ahead" Larynth
didn't sound like himself at all. "Do you have the details worked out?"
"Yes" Harry said and held forward a piece of parchment. "Here it is". The
goblin went through the list quickly and nodded his head.
"It is very clear" he replied finally and looked back at Harry.
"That's all then" Harry said as he rose from his chair. "And I hope you
remember my request from the last time"
"Yes" Larynth replied. "This will remain between us only"
&&&&
Harry came back to Hogwarts Ogwartfrom the meeting with the goblins
in a relatively happier frame of mind. He had finished a couple of long
awaited tasks and he knew he didn't have to worry about any publicity
campaign for another month or so. Needless to say, he hated everything
in which he might have to deal with the press and being free for a month
or two was very good news for him.
As Harry made the way to his dormitory, a number of swishing noises
filled up the air around him. Looking around, he saw hundreds of owls
sweeping down into the Great Hall. One of the owls spotted him and
landed on his shoulder and held out one of her legs which had a
newspaper tied to it. He quickly paid the owl the 5 knuts it wanted and
started unfolding the newspaper which he had taken from her.
The Daily Prophet – Special Edition
Giants Appear At The Ministry
Today, at exactly 11 am in the morning, the ministry building was attacked by
a couple of giants. Apparently the ministry aurors had gone out on some
urgent work and most of the building was unprotected when the attack
occurred.
Eyewitnesses say that a huge hole opened up in the sky near the ministry
building and the giants are said to have stepped through it. The observations
suggest the opening of a teleportation passage which, if confirmed, will be the
first case of giant teleportation in more than a century.
The giants destroyed a couple of towers of the ministry building before they
went back through the passage which closed automatically as reported by
eyewitnesses. Few of the ministry officials were said to have put up a brave
fight in front of the giants but to no avail. However, no causalities have been
reported though an unnamed source revealed that a couple of ministry officials
were being treated for minor injuries sustained during the fight.
Giant teleportation is yet another development which has started to worry the
senior members of the Wizengamot. Many of them see this incident as an
experiment whereby the dark forces tried to see whether giant teleportation
was possible or not. If that is the case, then they have succeeded in it and that
is a cause of grave concern for the entire wizarding world.
We have seen attacks by death eaters and werewolves in the past. This attack
by the giants seems to be a show of strength of the dark forces who seem to
have garnered the support of all the species whom the ministry has neglected
for years. In the hindsight we are forced to think as to whether we did the right
thing by shunning these species. The whole prospect of fighting death eaters
supported by giants and werewolves seems to be a task too great for all the
ministries aurors.
"Was it all worth it?" was the sentiment echoed by a few senior aurors of the
ministry who had opposed the movement against the giants and werewolves. It
seems now that they will be the ones to pay first for the blunders our ministry
has committed…yet again.
Page 3 – Cornelius Fudge says "No Comments" to all queries.
Page 4 – Can even Dumbledore take out one giant on his own?
Page 5 & 6 – Giants: A guide to beating them in their own game.
&&&&
"Hi Harry" Fred said as Harry entered the empty shop of "Weasley's
Wizarding Wheezes". Upon seeing the dark shadow playing on his face,
he quickly said "Seems like you heard about it too"
"Yeah" Harry replied as he thought of the article he had read just a
couple of minutes ago. Without thinking more, he had portkeyed right
into Diagon Alley to get as much information on the incident as possible.
And who else would be better to go than the twins. "Do you guys know
what happened?"
"Nothing in particular" George replied from one of the rooms in back.
"Just tit-bits we are hearing from our customers"
"Anything of importance?" Harry seemed quite quirky. "The prophet
mentioned giants"
"Yes" Fred replied. "We feet their arrival…through the shaking of the
ground, that is. But it were the smaller ones only"
"Smaller ones?" Harry looked confused for a second before saying. "Oh…
you mean small giants?"
"Yes" Fred replied. George wasn't making too many comments and Harry
guessed he must be very busy. "Some death eaters attacked a couple of
shops at the far end of Diagon Alley"
"And the ministry asked it's aurors to move in to save them" George said
from inside. He wasn't so busy after all.
"And after a few minutes of fight everybody heard a huge thumping
noise" Fred continued from where George had let go.
"We rushed out to see the aurors in a state of confusion" George said.
"And then some auror heard something over their communication system
and he shouted 'Giants'"
"The prophet never mentioned an attack on any of the Diagon Alley
shops" Harry said thoughtfully.
"Maybe they didn't have enough space on their front page" George
shouted from inside, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"You seemed more worried than usual mate" Fred said in a concerned
voice.
"And that is saying a lot" George commented from inside. Harry heard a
huge bang and a smiling George emerged from their experiment room. "I
finally managed to enlarge the bottom of a cauldron to the extent of the
whole room. It bursts only if it's four sides hit the walls…otherwise it
continues expanding"
"Great to hear that" Harry didn't shared George's enthusiasm who didn't
seem to mind at all. He knew Harry had much larger things on his mind
that Ever Expanding Cauldrons.
"Giants being teleported is a very serious matter" Harry contemplated
loudly.
"Yes" George said in a serious tone. "I bet it was an insider job"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked in alarm.
"You can't create a teleportation path from one side" Fred said. "One
person has to be present at the source and the other at the destination"
"And both have to open up the teleportation portal at the same time"
George continued. "Once the connection is opened, then the wizards can
leave but they have to be there till the connection is fully opened"
"So…" Harry said. "You mean to say that someone was…"
"Near the ministry and cast a teleportation spell…yes" Fred finished the
sentence.
"But why did you say it is an insider job?" Harry asked curiously. "They
attacked a Diagon Alley shop to distract the aurors…so why would they
need an insider?"
"Mate…" George said. "Security at the ministry is so high now that
anyone with the dark mark on his arm will trigger off a load of alarms"
"So either someone cast a strong confundus spell…" Fred said
"Or they cast a spell to switch off the complete magical security system"
George continued. Looking at Harry's disbelieving look, Fred said "It's not
a powerful object like the Goblet of Fire which stops burning by itself
after the tournament is over. It's almost like a muggle system which can
be shut off"
"How do you think the death eaters got into the Department of Mysteries
without anyone knowing?" George asked. "Our ministry is not that
inefficient either"
"Like we had found in our fifth year when we had tried to apparate to our
father's office" Fred had a faraway look on his face.
"And ended up in the ministry prison for a couple of hours before dad
came" George said with the same look on his face.
"The shame…"
"…of failing"
"Understood" Harry said loudly so as to cut the flow of unnecessary
information coming from the twins at the moment. It made sense after
all.
"So someone had switched off the alarms at the Department of
Mysteries?" Harry asked to confirm. The twins nodded in unison.
"There are spies everywhere" Fred said.
"And it will be impossible to get rid of them" George added.
"Unless the ministry uses our Spy Wry Potion" Fred smiled.
"Which makes all the spies thirsty" George continued.
"And the thirst goes away only when they drink…" Fred gave a knowing
look to his brother who smiled back mischievously.
"Drink what?" Harry asked curiously. In the midst of all the ramblings,
the twins always packed some credible information.
"Veritaserum" the twins said in a loud cheerful voice. It was very obvious
that they were very proud of their product and since Harry had not heard
about it on his previous meetings with the twins, he guessed it was a
relatively new development.
"That's an interesting potion" Harry said with genuine appreciation.
"Anyway, thanks for all the information. You aren't missing anything, are
you? Do you guys have any idea why I didn't pick up anything on the
spying devices?"
"Told you all we thought was important" Fred replied.
"And everything which we can remember" George added. "As for the
spying devices, must be that the death eaters behind this were not
wearing anything which was bugged"
"Thanks…I also had a similar thought". With that, a thoughtful Harry
walked out of the shop thinking about the information he had gathered
from the twins. According to Harry's reasoning, something did not fit in
the whole thing. Voldemort was not the type of person who would be
"experimenting" with giant teleportation near the ministry building.
Taking into the account that there had been an attack at one of the shops
near the end of Diagon Alley, Harry knew something was wrong
somewhere in this whole thing. As to what was wrong…to that he had no
answer at the moment.
&&&&
"How can you expect us not to panic?" one of the refugees shouted from
the back of the Great Hall. All the refugees had come over to meet Albus
Dumbledore after reading the special edition of The Daily Prophet.
"What if the giants turn up here next?" another woman asked. "And
where is Professor Dumbledore?"
"He is right now at the ministry" Professor McGonagall replied calmly.
"And like I said before, you are not under any kind of threat from giants
being teleported"
"I saw some giants in the forest" one man shouted above the rest.
"WHAT!" a woman asked in a shrill voice and pulled her kids as close to
herself as possible. A lot of people looked shocked at the statement and
were about to voice their concerns when McGonagall spoke again.
"Yes…" Professor McGonagall said. "There are giants in the forbidden
forest but they are on our side. And if you all are wondering, they have
been here before you all turned up". Some of the people looked at each
other curiously as they were consumed in their thoughts. Having giants
on their side was slightly comforting in the face of all the bad news
which they had been getting lately.
"What if more giants turned up in the forest and they are against us?" one
woman asked.
"No giant can come here by themselves" Professor Flitwick explained. The
whole of Hogwarts seemed to be packed into the Great Hall at the
moment. "We guided these giants to the forests…otherwise they would
never have been there"
"And…" Professor McGonagall said sternly. "…for all those who go on
little adventures in the forest, please remember it is named the Forbidden
Forest for a purpose". A few people squirmed under the gaze of their
partners. "There are all sorts of animals in there including spiders as big
as Hogwarts itself". Hermione's head snapped towards her mentor at this.
She knew that this was a blatant lie but then saw a slight smirk on
McGonagall's face if that was possible. Looking at the reaction of the
refugees, she could understand the motive of McGonagall's lie. Everyone
was looking at McGonagall with their eyes wide open in absolute horror.
"WHAT?" the guy who had said he had seen giants in the forest looked as
if he had just heard the worst horror story of his life.
"You mean…spiders…Hogwarts…eeeeeeeeeek" one woman collapsed as
the meaning of McGonagall's words sunk in. Though she was instantly
enervated by her friend, her face seemed to be drained of all color.
"You are literally playing with your lives when you are entering the
forest" McGonagall said after a couple of minutes of silence for effect. "It
seems that you are doing more to harm yourselves than the death eaters
at the moment"
"We did not know" one woman said in a hoarse voice. "No one will ever
go there". A murmur of consent went through the crowd. Professor
McGonagall couldn't help but feel slightly satisfied with herself. She
knew that only three of the students knew the truth behind the spiders
but she couldn't care less about the topic at the moment.
"Still…" another woman said in a choked voice. "We don't feel safe at all.
We know we are at Hogwarts and everything but please do something.
We beg you…I beg you". The emotion in her voice seemed to touch every
person present in the room as she fell to her knees flanked by two kids
aged around three. This made the sight even more sentimental.
"Please remain calm" McGonagall said in a composed manner. "Please let
us discuss the options for a moment and we will let you know". With this,
all the professors moved to the room next to the great hall to hold an
emergency meeting. After a couple minutes had passed, Fleur came out
and asked Cho and Neville to accompany her inside. The students looked
slightly bewildered but followed nevertheless. Soon after, everyone
emerged from the meeting and Cho and Neville went back to their
respective groups.
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention and
said "We have come to the conclusion of holding round the clock flying
patrols around Hogwarts and its surrounding areas". Instantly,
enthusiastic claps could be heard all around. These died down as soon as
McGonagall cleared her throat for a second time.
"However…" McGonagall continued. "…we will need your co-operation.
We will be forming a group of students who will patrol the area and will
alert us if anything suspicious is noted. I assure you that these students
are well equipped for the duty we will trust them with". This sentence
effectively ended any chance of anyone objecting to 'students' patrolling
'elders'.
"During nighttime, some of you may be needed to patrol the areas since
the students will be in their beds". McGonagall paused for a second to see
how everyone was taking the news before she continued. "We will need
some volunteers"
"I am ready" one boy in his mid-teens raised his arm. Several more arms
went up, a few a bit hesitant initially but gaining in confidence later.
Soon almost everyone who could fly well was ready to volunteer.
"Please give your names to Professor Flitwick present here and he will
arrange the schedule and contact you". With that, McGonagall left the
Great Hall which was soon filled with great activity.
&&&&
"Hi"
"Oh…hello Rowena" Harry said as he saw the face of Rowena over the
top of the book he was reading in the library. "What brings you here?"
"Well…" Rowena looked around in discomfort. Harry knew it was always
hard for a kid so young to take so much pressure from her house mates
but sometimes some people come out stronger because of that.
"Want to go somewhere else?" Harry suggested. Rowena instantly nodded
her head in agreement. Harry quietly replaced the book at its right place
and asked Rowena to meet him in the room. Rowena nodded her head
again and vanished from Harry's sight very quickly.
"So, what is it?" Harry asked once he had also entered the Room of
Requirements and found Rowena sitting on a chair, awaiting his arrival.
"Can you come to my home sometime?" Rowena asked innocently, her
face loosing some of the steely appearance which everyone had come to
associate with her.
"Your home?" Harry asked in a puzzled manner. The question had come
out of the blue. "I…don't know"
"Oh" Rowena said with a downfallen look on her face which was quickly
replaced by the steely expression. Harry saw that the girl was feeling very
down and hence decided to do something about it.
"I have to ask the headmaster" Harry said. At this Rowena looked up at
him again with a hint of expectation in her eyes. "But he will ask me as to
the reason of my visit. Why do you want me to visit your home?"
"Actually my father wanted to meet you" Rowena replied.
"Your father wants to meet me?" Harry looked even more perplexed.
"Why? I mean…I don't want to sound rude but I am getting a bit afraid.
Maybe he wants to beat up a Gryffindor" Harry finished the sentence in a
much lighter tone. It helped because he saw Rowena smile at his
comments.
"No…it is not that" Rowena replied, the smile still lingering on her face.
"He just wants to meet you"
"C'mon" Harry said in mock exasperation. "Please tell me the reason"
"He wants to thank you" Rowena replied after a couple of minutes of
contemplation. Seeing the look on Harry's face, she continued. "For
saving my life"
"Saving your…oh" Suddenly Harry remembered how he had saved her
life during the battle at Hogwarts. "But that was a long time ago and
anyone in my place would have done the same"
"No…not everyone would do the same" Rowena said in a slightly fierce
voice. "And my father had been away for quite a few months that's why
he had not been able to ask you to come over"
"I see" Harry looked slightly thoughtful. The gesture by Rowena's father
was really appreciable and he did not think turning it down would be a
good idea. Also, not every Slytherin's parent invited a Gryffindor to their
home, least of all Harry Potter.
"Ok then…" Harry replied at last. "…Lets go to your home the next
weekend". Rowena seemed very happy at this. "But I have to ask the
headmaster first"
"I have already talked to him" Rowena said enthusiastically. "He said he
had no problems with this arrangement"
"That's good then" Harry replied. "But still it is my duty to ask him
personally"
"Of course" Rowena replied and got up from her seat. "I will tell my
father about your decision then"
"As you wish Rowena" Harry replied as a smiling Rowena left the room.
&&&&
"Where does Neville keep going every morning?" Hermione said this a bit
more loudly than she would have liked to. Ron, who was sitting opposite
to Hermione, just looked at Neville walking out of the portrait hole
before returning back to Quidditch through the ages. She and Ron were still
not on full fledged talking terms but they managed to get along for the
time being. They had been having the minimum possible conversation
ever since their fight over the "Harry-McGonagall issue".
"I am going to see where he is going" Hermione said as she cast a glance
at Ron. Ron didn't say anything and kept on reading. "You can come if
you want to" Hermione said in an expectant voice as she stood up and
started walking towards the portrait hole. To her dismay, Ron didn't
make a move to get up from his place near the fire. With a sigh,
Hermione walked out of the portrait hole and into the corridor just in
time to see Neville's back vanishing around the corner. As she started
hurrying after him, she heard footsteps behind her. Looking back, she
saw Ron trying to catch up with her. Smiling inwardly, she turned the
corner to see Neville walking towards the Great Hall.
Ron soon joined Hermione and fell in step with her. They crossed the
Great Hall in silence and followed Neville. Even though they didn't say a
word to each other, both knew that the other was curious as to where
Neville would vanish to every day. After all, old habits die hard. Soon
they found themselves outside the Herbology classroom. Exchanging a
quick glance, they sneaked inside.
"Thank god you are here" the heard Madam Sprout saying. Peeking over
the top of a few plants, they saw Neville putting on ear-muffs.
"Mandrakes" Hermione quickly came to a conclusion and conjured up a
couple of ear-muffs. She handed one of them to Ron who put it on
quickly. No sooner had they put on their ear-muffs that the deadly
shrieking of Mandrakes could be heard all around the place. It was a few
minutes before Neville spoke.
"Professor Sprout…Do you think these Mandrakes will be worthwhile if
the death eaters attack Hogwarts?" Neville asked.
"Yes dear" Madam Sprout replied. It was no secret that she was very
found of Neville. "I hope we don't have to face a situation where we
might need to use them"
"Me too" Neville replied in a grim voice before going back to work. Ron
and Hermione knew they had gathered enough evidence as to what
Neville was up to and they left the classroom quietly.
"So Madam Sprout is growing Mandrakes to fight the dark forces" Ron
said thoughtfully as they walked across the grounds of Hogwarts. In the
face of the new information, he seemed to forget he had had an argument
with Hermione.
"Not only Mandrakes…" Hermione said. "…lots of other plants are being
grown there which are categorized as dangerous by the ministry"
"I never thought that these could be used as weapons against death
eaters" Ron said in an awe filled voice. "It was always before my eyes and
yet…"
"It's a very novel idea" Hermione agreed. "And I bet it was Neville who
came up with this. He really has a thing for Herbology"
"He sure does" Ron agreed. "The classroom is full of plants and god knows
what. Do you think there are fatal plants there?"
"If you count the Mandrakes and the Acid Spitters and the Hallucinatory
Gas Emitting Plants section in the extreme end of the classroom, then
there are some pretty fight worthy plants in there" Hermione replied. "Of
course, these have to be used as projectiles or something so that we can
land them in the middle of death eaters if an attack occurs here"
"They will attack Hogwarts sooner or later" Ron said grimly. "They will
be satisfied only when both Dumbledore and Harry are dead"
"Why do you keep saying that?" Hermione shrieked at Ron. "Why do you
keep speaking of death?"
"So that I can remember that I have to be there for him when he needs
me" Ron replied with a sad but non-repentant expression on his face. He
didn't want to hurt Hermione but he had to make her realize that they
had to do something to bring Harry into their midst. Now that so many
attacks were taking place everywhere, someone needed to be with
Harry…or at least remain in contact with him. At the moment, no one
knew where Harry was.
"He matters to all of us" Hermione said as tears streaked down her face.
She didn't care about Ron seeing her crying anymore. All she wanted was
for him to stop speaking as if Harry was going to die the very next day.
"He matters to us just as much he does to you" she said in between her
sniffs.
"Then it would be better for all of us if we started acting that way and did
something" Ron said and started walking back to the castle. If no one did
anything, then he would surely do something.
&&&&
"Hello sir"
"Winky!" Harry was surprised when the tiny elf popped with a crack right
beside him as he was returning from the library.
"You is remembering bad Winky" Winky seemed slightly surprised and
ashamed at the same time. As Harry looked at Winky, he noticed that she
seemed much cleaner now. He guessed she had most probably given up
her drinking habits.
"What can I do to help you Winky?" Harry asked politely. Winky looked
absolutely scandalized at this. A human, more so Harry Potter, was
asking her how he could help her. She decided that if she had to escape
more torture then she would have to finish her work here quickly.
"Is Sir wanting Winky to come and work for Sir?" Winky asked hastily.
"Winky know Sir doing work himself". It was then that Harry understood
the purpose of Winky appearing in the middle of a corridor and talking to
him. He looked carefully at Winky for a moment and contemplated the
offer. He didn't need an elf working for him, at least not now when all he
had to do was just cook his food. Apart from that, he couldn't bear the
thought of another elf taking up the position of Dobby. No, he definitely
didn't need an elf.
What amused Harry slightly was the timing of this ofer from Winky.
Every elf was sure to have known about what happened to Dobby. A
couple of months had gone by before Winky came today and made this
offer. Everything would have been fine unless this offer had come only a
few days after Harry had read the history behind the Power of Hogwarts.
He smiled inwardly as he came to the conclusion that Dumbledore had
asked Winky to come to Harry. He doubted that Dumbledore would want
to spy on him but he didn't rule it out altogether. Maybe Dumbledore just
wanted an elf to be near Harry. After all, elf magic had saved the
Delacours from certain death.
"No Winky…" Harry replied. "…I don't need any help". Winky seemed
very disappointed at hearing this to say the least. However, from the look
on Harry's face, she knew that it was a final decision.
"But…" this word from Harry raised Winky's hopes slightly and she
looked up again. "If I need any help, will you help me?" Harry asked. He
didn't want to close all options just yet.
"Yes Sir…" Winky said brightly. "Winky will always be happy to work for
Sir. All Sir is doing is calling for Winky"
"Thank you" Harry said before adding "And please let Headmaster
Dumbledore know about my request, will you?" With that, Harry turned
around and started walking back to the Gryffindor tower as he vaguely
imagined Dumbledore chuckling at receiving the message.
&&&&
Ron was seated near the fire when he heard the sound of familiar
footsteps. Looking around, he saw Harry climbing up the staircase to the
boys dormitory.
"Harry…" Ron shouted as he got up from his chair. "…Wait for me in the
room". Harry nodded his head and saw Ron quickly arranging some
parchments before following him up the staircase. Hermione and Neville
looked on warily as Ron vanished inside the dormitory.
"What is it?" Harry asked once both were in their room. Ron sat down on
the bed opposite to Harry's. Harry, taking this as an indication that Ron
had something important to discuss, sat down on the end of his bed.
"Hmmm…" Ron seemed to be having slight trouble as to where to begin
from. "I have been thinking about some things these past few days".
Harry gave an acknowledging nod and waited for Ron to continue.
"I think you should do something about the situation you have created"
Ron said as frankly as he possibly could. Harry frowned on hearing these
words and remained silent since he could make neither head nor tail of
what "situation" Ron was talking about.
"The situation…" Ron clarified. "…is that you have isolated yourself from
all of us…maybe you think you are a threat to us or whatever…". Harry's
frowned even more at this but then tried to make his expression as
neutral as possible since he now knew what "situation" Ron was talking
about.
"Anyway…" Ron continued. "…I don't care what you have thought in the
past or what has happened or what you…whatever…it is very confusing
for me". Harry almost smiled at this comment. "What I want is that you
return back to the old Harry everyone of us knew. We want our Harry
back". Harry felt very guilty at hearing these words and knew that these
words had come after months of suffering of his friends. He knew he was
the cause of the pain but he couldn't help it, could he? How could he live
if someone else was killed because of him?
"And I want our relation back" Ron finished in a low tone. "I don't care
what you think of me…maybe you are sick of me or something else…
maybe you don't want me to be near you but…" Ron paused for breath
before continuing. "…but just tell me what it is and I will go away
forever. However, if you can't tell me that you hate me, then I want our
old friendship back"
This time Harry really smiled, one of great gratitude. He did not have
words to express just how much he had been touched…just what it
meant to hear all this from Ron…just how much it was so like Ron to say
things like these. Taking a deep breath, and nodding to himself as if he
was coming to a conclusion himself, Harry spoke.
"I will try" was all Harry said in return. Harry had been thinking on a
similar thing for the past few days himself and now he knew that his
friends also missed him a lot. Harry knew he needed some help in
resurrecting the Power of Hogwarts and now that he was all alone, he
needed his friends. Even though he hated to admit it, he needed their
help. The emotional part would never be back to normal but in the
present time, co-operation was needed between himself and the others.
He knew he would have to make a decision soon enough.
Ron looked slightly disappointed at this reply but was satisfied that at
least Harry had said he would try. And if Harry said he would try then he
would definitely try. Ron watched as Harry opened the top of the trunk
and started to climb inside. As he was climbing down, Harry stopped for
a moment and turned around to face Ron.
"I don't think our friendship ever went anywhere" Harry smiled slightly as
he said this and climbed inside the trunk and closed the cover. A smiling
Ron remained seated in his spot until it was dinner time.
&&&&
"What are we going to do now?" Hermione asked Neville in an edgy
voice. All of the D.A. seemed to have gathered and mounting fear could
be detected even in many of the fifth year students, leave alone the
younger ones.
"I don't know" Neville said in a helpless tone. "They seem to be getting
more frightened by the day"
"Who wouldn't be if they read the gruesome details of the killings" Cho
said in a disgusted voice. "The way they wrote about the McNealy family
being torn apart by werewolves…god". She put her hand on her mouth in
disgust as she remembered what she had read. It had really been like
reading the details of a horror movie; the only difference was that it was
the reality.
"But it is not happening here" Neville said. "I don't get it as to why they
are getting so fearful"
"It is not happening here but…" Hermione paused slightly. "…here is not
where everyone's family is. And there is also the possibility of the
Slytherins telling the death eaters the names of those who are in the D.A.
In that case their families might be endangered". Hermione seemed
slightly frightened herself and Neville guessed she was thinking of her
own family at the moment.
"Well…yeah…you got a point" Neville said. "But what can be done?"
"We have to decide on that Neville" Cho said as she put a hand on his
shoulder. "We have to instill confidence in them"
"It's not so easy" Neville said. "I don't feel so confident myself after the
attack on St. Mungo's". Cho looked slightly curious but didn't ask as to
why Neville was so concerned regarding St. Mungo's. She also noticed
that Hermione's face had a sympathetic look on it but thought it was
better not to ask anything.
"But it has to be done, isn't it?" Cho said. "I mean, look at them". Indeed,
as Neville looked at the D.A. members, they seemed to be fully
concentrated on the trio. It was almost as if they expected someone to
come forward and convince them that their families were indeed safe and
they could help others without fearing that their names might end up on
some death eaters hit list.
"Yes" Neville said as his face set in a grim determination. Quietly he
stepped forward and looked at the occupants. Some of the senior
members, including Ron, were seated in the back of the room while the
juniors were in the front. Even as Neville was about to address them, a
few of the occupants started asking questions.
"Some Slytherins stopped me today on the way here" one second year boy
said. "I don't know if I should be here or not"
"Me too" a third year said in a tentative voice. "My dad's a muggle"
"My mom's a muggle too" another third year said. "That doesn't mean
You-Know-Who will go after them. And even if they are attacked, my dad
will protect her". This show of determination gave Neville some hope but
the negative opinions far outweighed the positive ones.
"My mom and dad are not good wizards" one Hufflepuff girl said in an
emotional voice. "If someone attacks them then they wouldn't…
wouldn't…". She broke down completely as her voice seemed to desert
her. Hermione rushed over and started comforting her.
"And my dad was at St. Mungo's" a fourth year boy said, biting his lip to
avoid crying. "I haven't heard from him ever since"
"I am very afraid Mr. Longbottom sir" a tiny first year old said from her
seat. If it had not been such a tense situation, then Neville would have
laughed at being addressed as 'Mr. Longbottom sir'. However, things
seemed to be going from bad to worse in the Room of Requirements at
the moment.
"Me too" a similar aged boy said. "I don't know what to do. We couldn't
even find Ms. Katie. What if someone takes us too?". Neville looked at the
seniors for some support but he could see that many were quite afraid
themselves. It seemed like weeks of bad news was finally starting to take
its toll on the members of the D.A.
"We don't have to fear anyone". Neville looked around in surprise as a
single voice spoke out. He wasn't able to detect the source of the voice at
first but then decided to follow Ron's gaze. Ron was staring straight at a
dark corner of the room behind himself.
"Your families are safe…don't worry about it". As everyone looked
around, a figure stepped out of the shadows. The look of fear slowly
seemed to vanish from the faces of everyone looking on, slowly to be
replaced by one of complete awe.
"We have all tolerated enough. From now on, it's payback time". The look
of awe on everyone's face slowly turned into a confident smile. Yes, there
was hope for everyone yet.
Harry Potter was back to lead the D.A.
&&&&
A/N: Seventh chapter here guys.
This had initially become a 14k words chapter as I did not have MS-Word
on my Vaio. I kept typing in wordpad and when I finally installed MS-
Word, I was like "What the hell!". I moved a couple of scenes to chapter 8
to bring this down to 12k+ words. Seems like if I keep typing in
wordpad I will be able to give you guys longer chapters to read.
Anyway, thanks for all those reviews. Every review which you people
made is much appreciated. And to everyone who didn't review, thanks
for taking time to read up to here at least.
&&&&
8. Meetings
Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter and the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers. I
am not the original writer (though I wish I could be J) and I do not wish
to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued.
So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah...forget it and let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
Note: This is the sequel to Harry Potter & The Power Of Hogwarts. Please
read it before moving on with this story.
HARRY POTTER & THE NEW DAWN
Chapter 8 – Meetings
"We have all tolerated enough. From now on, it's payback time". The look
of awe on everyone's face slowly turned into a confident smile. Yes, there
was hope for everyone yet.
Harry Potter was back to lead the D.A.
&&&&
Simon, or rather Harry, sat beside Tonk's grave and looked on at the
people milling around in Godric's Hollow. As always, Harry had selected
his location underneath the tree nearest to Tonks's grave. For a split
second he wondered what Tonks would have done if she had heard about
his fight at St. Mungo's...about how he had dared to come out and had
fought off so many death eaters and helped the aurors. Tonks would have
been mad at him...maybe would have even gone to the extent of beating
him up. However, she would have known that Harry had Gryffindor's
glove with him and he knew about the risks which he had to take and the
one's which he had to avoid.
Harry's thoughts wandered away from Tonks when he saw an old man
come into the view. It was the same old man whom he had seen
previously sitting in front of the stone house which had only a single
door leading inside. He saw the man walk up to the stone house and
knock in the same unusual pattern as before. Within a few seconds, the
door opened up and the man had vanished from Harry's view.
"I think I owe you a visit" Harry said aloud to himself as he got up from
his position. He cast a disillusionment charm on himself and slowly
started making his way towards the stone house. He selected a difficult
path downhill so that he wouldn't have to pass anyone on the way. After
a few tiny hardships, he found himself at the door of the stone cottage.
Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door in the pattern the old man
had done before. Presently it opened.
"May I help you?" an old lady opened the door and enquired.
"Please tell the old man that a well wisher is here" Harry replied in a
voice which conveyed he knew everything about this place. The lady
looked at him for a moment with narrowed eyes.
"Please wait for a moment" she said finally and closed the door. Soon it
was opened again. "Please follow me" the lady said as she led Harry
inside. As soon as Harry entered the corridor, the door behind him closed
automatically. In a split second he saw a wand vanishing in the robe the
lady was wearing and smiled inwardly as he came to his conclusion. For
an old lady, she was pretty quick after all.
"He is in here" the lady said as she held open a door to Harry. Harry
walked in and the door was closed behind him. Looking around, Harry
saw the room was well decorated with wooden furniture. The corridors
had looked quite cold with the stone walls but this room seemed to be
very warm. Taking in the details of the room in one major sweeping
glance, Harry's eyes came to rest on the person sitting behind a medium
sized but quite decorated desk. A pile of parchments were stacked in
front of him.
"How can I help you?" the man asked politely but there was no mistaking
the quivering in his voice. The man looked slightly more confident than
the day Harry had seen him putting a piece of parchment near the gate of
the cemetery.
"I got your note the other day …" Harry paused for a moment before
continuing. "…Fudge". At this a groan ensued from the mouth of the old
man. He quickly cast a locking charm on the door and reverted to his
true self.
"Don't say that name here" Fudge hissed through gritted teeth. Harry gave
an amused laugh at this which seemed to anger Fudge even more. "Why
are you here?" Fudge asked angrily. "I am always leaving notes for you
where you asked me to. Why are you bothering me then?"
Harry's smile faded at this and he became serious at once. "What
happened at the ministry?" he asked in a quiet business like manner.
"I don't know" Fudge replied with a helpless expression on his face. "I
heard about it when I was in Poland, meeting their minister". Harry's eyes
seemed to pierce the very soul of the man in front of him, trying to judge
whether he was lying or not. By now, Harry was familiar with every
symptom of Fudge when he lied. But none of the symptoms seemed to
surface at the moment. Deciding to give Fudge the benefit of doubt,
Harry started pacing the room.
"Is anything missing from the ministry building?" Harry asked. The last
time Voldemort had attacked the ministry, he had stolen the veil from
there. This was still a secret to the general public.
"N…no" Fudge stammered slightly. On seeing Harry's dreaded gaze
coming to rest on him again, he continued. "The staff members told me
nothing was stolen"
"And you believed it?" Harry asked in a slow voice. Was this man that
dumb?
"Of course!" Fudge replied emphatically. "They are all very trusted and
loyal people"
"Trusted by whom and loyal to whom?" Harry continued in the same
voice. Fudge gulped a bit at this but did not reply.
"Tell me the truth, will you?" Harry said at last, not making any attempt
to hide his impatience.
"Well…" Fudge seemed to be trying to make up a believable story before
seemingly giving up. He knew Simon would find out the truth sooner or
later.
"I am waiting" Harry said in a sing-song tone and started tapping the desk
in front of him.
"The truth is…" Fudge sat down on a nearby chair with a deep sigh. "The
truth is I did not check if anything was stolen or not. And the truth is that
I no longer know exactly what artifacts or documents all the different
departments keep. If they tell me something then I have to believe it".
Harry's eyes narrowed dangerously at hearing this.
"You mean to say you have no idea what is kept in the ministry
building?" he asked in a voice which seemed to be a mixture of anger and
surprise.
"No…no…I did not mean that" Fudge said hastily, realizing too late that
Simon didn't seem to buy any of it. "What I meant was that I don't know
what newer items are there in the ministry building. Everyone knows the
older artifacts and things like that…" Fudge gave an uneasy laugh as he
tried to give the situation a less critical look. However, seeing the look on
Simon's face, it was clear that he had failed.
"So you really have no idea what things are kept in there, huh?" the
sentence was more of a statement than a question. Harry looked at the
man with open disgust and, maybe for the first time, thought that if he
had been the master of Nagini, he would most probably have fed Fudge
to her. Shaking off this thought, Harry looked at Fudge with a curious
expression.
"Why didn't you keep a track of the things present in the ministry?" Harry
asked, his voice matching his expression. "You are not the type who trusts
others!"
"Oh yes I am" Fudge replied in anger. "Look mister…" he said with his
finger pointed at Harry. "…if I don't know what items are in the ministry
building…if I don't know this…if I don't know that…whatever…I am not
committing a crime by not knowing it. You can't do anything about it,
can you?" his eyes seemed to light up because he knew that, indeed,
Simon couldn't threaten him over not knowing something.
Harry too realized the same thing. Plus, he realized it was immaterial to
pursue this conversation any longer. He would have to put up with this
man and his shortcomings for a while longer. But until the war was over,
he would have to tolerate some of this man's foolishness and manipulate
him when needed.
"Ok" Harry gave a sigh and got up. "You did not commit a crime by not
knowing what happened at the ministry. Maybe…" Harry's eyes had a
dangerous glint to them as he continued. "..maybe your bodyguards will
not do a crime by not knowing when their minister was…". At this,
Harry's voice trailed off.
"Was?" Fudge's eyes grew wide in horror. Was this kid in front of him
suggesting that something might happen to him?
"Let's leave that for another day" Harry said with an evil smirk as he
turned to leave. He cast an unlocking spell on the door and stepped out
leaving behind a very nervous looking Minister of Magic who turned
back into the old man again with the help of a transfiguration spell. Just
as Harry thought of walking back the way he had come, another thought
stuck him. He had never seen it yet!
"Sir" Harry called out in a mocking tone from outside Fudge's room.
"What now?" Fudge asked grumpily as he walked out to see a smiling
Harry. "What do you want now?"
"I want to see it" Harry said with a genuine smile. Fudge seemed confused
for a second before he realized what Harry meant.
"Ok" he said at last and started to lead Harry down another passage of the
"small stone hut". Presently they came upon another door, albeit one
which seemed to be guarded heavily by two huge men. Harry assumed
they were aurors. The men got up from their seats when they saw the
approaching people and made way for Fudge and Harry. Fudge pushed
open the door and they entered another room.
As Harry followed behind Fudge, his smile grew even broader. He
couldn't help but appreciate the amount of magic which had gone into
making his plan work out perfectly. Right in front of his eyes were all the
patients of St. Mungo's and the healers going about their work in normal
fashion.
"St. Mungo's shifted to Godric's Hollow" Harry thought to himself as he
turned around and started to walk back the way he had come. He smiled
as he wondered about the reaction of the wizarding world if they ever
learnt about the truth.
&&&&
"What have you got for us this time around Remus?" one of the
werewolves said in a taunting voice. About forty odd werewolves had
gathered in a meeting place arranged by Frank who had said Remus had
a new and more concrete offer this time around.
"Please go through this" Remus said and waved his wand over the
parchment in front of him. Instantly forty copies of the parchment were
conjured and they flew towards each of the occupants in the room each
of whom caught it cleanly.
Remus watched the reactions of the various occupants of the room very
minutely. He knew that the offer might have had come a bit too late but
still he had to take a shot. He saw as his eyes fell on a werewolf he didn't
know too well but whose whole shirt was smudged with a red colored
stain. He shivered at the thought as to how the werewolf had stained his
shirt. As Remus was looking, the werewolf looked right at him and
smiled a sickly smile. It was almost as if he had been able to read Remus's
thoughts and was very happy about what he had done a few nights
before. Remus felt sick inwardly and looked away at the other occupants.
Remus saw that Frank was also looking on at the others with great
anticipation in his eyes. Apparently he had gone to great lengths to bring
all these werewolves under one roof for one peaceful discussion with
"Dumbledore's agent". Frank had longed for getting recognition in the
wizarding world. If it had not been for the fear of other's discovering his
being a werewolf, Frank's parents might well have left him to study at
Hogwarts. If that had been the case, then Frank would easily have gone
on to become one of the great wizards of modern times. Alas, that had
not happened and Frank did not want another werewolf to suffer the
same fate. He wanted equal treatment and this was the only chance for
him to get it.
"So?" Frank asked as most of the werewolves finished reading the
parchments in their hands. It was quite noticeable that he was slightly
nervous. Remus could only assume that maybe it was for the reason that
the other werewolves might reject the proposal.
"So what?" one of the more nasty looking werewolves queried back. Even
though he was wearing very formal clothes, the freshness of the deep
gash on the side of his head could have come only from the recent
events.
"We have chosen our side Frank" another werewolf said. "We know who
our real well wisher is"
"Yeah" another werewolf agreed. "These ministry wizards are full of
double standards. Soon they will come up with another law banning us
or maybe they will pass a law allowing anyone and everyone to try to kill
us"
"That will never happen" Remus said before anyone could agree or
disagree with the person. "If you see the line at the bottom, it clearly
states that this resolution will be upheld by every succeeding Minister or
else he will have to resign from his post"
"Really?" the werewolf wearing the stained shirt asked in a mocking tone.
"And who will elect the minister once we have destroyed the ministry
building and that old fool you all call headmaster?" At this, the other
werewolves burst into guffaws.
"I have high hopes that situation will not arise" Remus said in a
determined voice. Some of the werewolves stopped laughing and turned
their attention to Remus who continued speaking. "We have quite a
number of allies on our side. Our strength is not something to be taken
lightly". The room fell into absolute silence as Remus finished his
statement. A few glances were exchanged between the werewolves before
someone spoke again.
"How do we know what you are telling us is true?" the werewolf asked.
"If you don't believe me you can ask either Minister Fudge or Dumbledore
himself" Remus replied.
"It's a trap" the werewolf in the stained shirt spoke up again. "He wants us
to go and talk to Dumbledore so that the old man can order the aurors to
capture us". A slight murmur of approval went through the crowd
present.
"I hope you all know Dumbledore to do something better than that"
Remus said with slight disgust in his voice. He may not have agreed with
all of Dumbledore's policies of late but the last thing he was going to let
happen was someone criticize his headmaster without any proof. "And as
for Dumbledore trying to capture us…" Remus paused slightly before
continuing. "…I hope you all know that he can take out all of us with a
single spell of his if he wanted. Just because he doesn't do that doesn't
mean he cannot do that if required"
The room fell into pin-drop silence once again. No one dared to counter
Remus on this point. They knew very well that Dumbledore's power was
too great to be challenged by some mere wizard or werewolf. Only the
dark lord could even think of fighting Dumbledore on an even footing.
"Are you threatening us?" a shrewd looking werewolf asked Remus.
"I do not go about threatening other people" Remus replied. "All I am
saying is that we have a decent option available at the moment…"
"Decent for you!" one of the werewolves said in a venomous voice.
"Let's…let's hear Remus out" Frank said in a shaky voice. This was not
going as well as he had expected it would.
"Why should we hear him out?" the werewolf continued in the same tone,
his blood shot eyes fixed on Frank. "He is a bloody agent of
Dumbledore…he isn't worth talking to"
"One second Frank" Remus said before Frank could reply. He then turned
his focus onto the person who had just made the accusations. "Firstly, I
am not an agent of Dumbledore. I am an agent of the light side". A few of
the werewolves snickered at this but Remus continued talking
undeterred. "Secondly, I have come to you with a solid proposal this time
and not with a rough draft. This…" Remus held up the original
document. "…is something which is a first for the whole wizarding world.
Hence it should not be taken lightly"
"Lastly…" Remus paused for a while. Everyone, including the nasty
looking werewolves, was listening with the utmost attention. "…this war
is coming to its climax. Someone will win…someone will lose. People
who don't take sides might be doing the correct thing but…" Remus
paused again, this time for effect. "…but if we do take sides, we should
be very careful about our choices". With that, Remus got up from his seat
and started to leave. No one said a word as he opened the door. Frank
looked slightly confused as to what to do but then decided he would stay
back and try to persuade the others to join Dumbledore.
"This…" Remus paused at the door and held up the original ministry
document again. "…is a ministry resolution giving us a status like never
before. It should not be taken lightly. No one…not even your dark lord
perceives us as equivalent. We should not throw away this opportunity. I
have 24 hours to let the ministry know of our decision and I will be back
tomorrow to listen to your decisions". With that, Remus Lupin left the
meeting.
&&&&
Harry was walking thoughtfully across the grounds of Hogwarts from his
recent meeting with Fudge. The cause of Harry's concern was the thought
of what would be the death eater's next target.
The surprise element which had been present during St. Mungo's fight
was no longer there. He knew that any new attack planned by Voldemort
would be much more organized from now on. Also, the thing which
worried him was the decreasing number of attacks on the people of
England. It seemed to him that Voldemort was not that keen anymore to
give his recruits some shooting practice. And the only reason why
Voldemort would do that would be because the death eater's were now
being readied for some major attacks…like the one on St. Mungo's. That,
in turn, meant that every death eater had now been sufficiently trained
which was not a very pleasant thought.
Harry was lost in his thoughts when he walked up the stairs of the castle.
He didn't notice the glances being cast his way by the refugees who had
still been unable to find a decent place in Godric's Hollow or didn't have
the resources to build a home. It seemed to Harry that his troubles were
somehow, incredible as it may seem, on the rise. He knew he had to
resurrect the Power of Hogwarts once again to have a shot at weakening
Voldemort and seeing whether his other assumption was correct or not.
Also, he wasn't able to divert his mind from the troubling thought that
Diagon Alley or Hogwarts could be the place which would be attacked
next.
Deep down Harry knew that he required the support of his friends to
carry out the tasks in front of him but somewhere down the line, he knew
he had created a barrier so thick that he wasn't able to break through it.
He didn't know if it was his intention to keep his friends away from him
for their safety or whether it was his ego which was stopping him from
approaching them. But one thing was sure that he had not been able to
approach either Ron or Hermione for some help. And with Remus absent,
he felt slightly lost.
Lost…Harry hated to admit it but he did feel slightly lost at times. He
didn't know if what he was doing was right or wrong. He also didn't
know if it was just his luck which helped him survive Azkaban or St.
Mungo's. After all, he couldn't expect himself to win against loads of
death eaters all the time. He might be destined to fight a dark lord…
maybe somehow even defeat him…but no prophecy had been made
which said he might not lose an arm or a leg during a fight with other
death eaters. He knew he had made the right decisions till now but still,
somewhere down the line, his luck might desert him one day. He didn't
want to get stuck in…
"The day comes…"
Harry looked around in bewilderment as he sought the source of the
harsh sounding voice. His legs seemed to know every corridor by now
and seemed to have taken him quite near to the Gryffindor tower when
he had suddenly heard the voice.
"…when the choice will have to be made…"
Harry detected the source of the voice coming from the end of the
corridor. He quickened his pace but didn't start running since he didn't
want to drown the voice in the sound of his footsteps.
"…and the burden of a hundred years, hundred months and hundred days…"
Harry quickened his pace even more. He was almost there.
"…will be lifted at the cost of tremendous pain and suffering"
Harry turned round the corner and could only watch as the figure of
Professor Trelawney collapsed on the floor.
&&&&
The next few days passed quickly for Harry as he got tangled up in trying
to solve the mystery at hand. Still, even after hours of meditation and
effort, he was nowhere near solving the puzzle provided by Professor
Trelawney's prophecy. Also, the professor seemed to have no clue about
her prophecy when Harry had met her in the hospital wing. She thanked
him profusely for bringing her to the hospital wing after her sudden
headache but that was all she could remember. A disheartened Harry
could do nothing but leave the hospital wing saying he had only done his
duty, like any other student in Hogwarts would have done.
"What is it with her making a prophecy every time I am nearby?" Harry
thought to himself as he made his way to the library. For a moment he
thought he should let Ron and Hermione in on the secret but then again,
what could they find out? All Hermione would do was try to figure out
every date of significance which was a hundred years, hundred months
and hundred days before now. That would mean she would be constantly
in the library trying to get her facts right.
"It's not a bad idea" a voice from inside Harry spoke up.
"I know…but I have bigger plans at the moment" another voice replied back.
"You know that this could be more important than what you are planning" the
first voice said.
"No! It can never be bigger than what I am planning to do" the second voice
seemed to snap back.
"But letting our emotions guide us in times of war can be disastrous" the frst
voice said.
"If we did not have emotions, we would have been mere zombies" the second
voice countered. "After all, aren't most people fighting the second war just to
keep their families safe…to live happily?"
"Most people are not named Harry Potter" the first voice reasoned.
"Sometimes I just have to do some things I have to do" the first voice
retorted. "You might try as hard as you want but I will have to follow my
instincts on this one"
"As you wish" the first voice surrendered. "Now, if I am not wrong, then we
have to meet Hermione, Ron, Neville, Cho and Luna, isn't that so?"
Soon Harry found himself in the Room of Requirements surrounded by
the people he trusted the most in the D.A. Harry had been planning this
meeting for quite some time now as he knew he needed the help of these
five people to carry out a few tasks. He was still contemplating whether
he would disclose all the details to them or not when Hermione spoke up.
"Harry…why did you ask us to meet you today?" she asked. "Is it
something important?".
"It is" Harry said in a serious tone. Ron and Neville exchanged a glance as
Harry stood up from his seat and started pacing around.
"Mate…" Ron said. "…spit it out and you will feel slightly better". Harry
looked at Ron for a second as a thought flashed in his mind. The way Ron
was speaking, it seemed as if he had forgotten everything that had
happened in the past 8-9 months. He couldn't let himself get drawn into
the same old emotions once again. Somewhere down the line, he had to
let the others know that his interactions with them for the time being
were strictly related to the business of fighting Voldemort and not to
revive old friendships. Well…reviving friendships could happen after the
war was over but for now it was not a priority.
"Let me clear up a few things before I get to the matter on hand" Harry
said in a no-nonsense tone. Everyone shifted slightly in their chairs
because they had seldom had Harry address them like that.
"First and foremost, I have come back with the intention of helping
everyone fight whatever is coming" Harry said. "This is something which
we cannot compromise on…we cannot let our feelings stop us from doing
what is needed now. If tomorrow there is a fight at Hogwarts and a
person X is about to be killed then…" Harry paused for a second to look
at the emotions on the various faces. "…then we come to a quick
decision. Can that person be saved? If the answer is yes then we do the
needful. If the answer is no then we carry on fighting instead of
mourning in the middle of the battle"
Everyone looked at Harry with their eyes wide open in shock. This
person didn't sound like the Harry they had known previously. What
Harry had said was true but still, putting it as bluntly as he had just done
required a certain bit of cold-bloodedness which they had never
associated with Harry.
"I might sound cold blooded…" Harry said as if he could almost read the
minds of the people in front of him. "…but the fact is I have experienced
these things and I know what I am saying is true. Trust me, you don't
want to come to the same conclusion after the death of a few of your
nearest and dearest ones". No one said anything in reply. There was
nothing to be said after all!
"Secondly…" Harry continued after clearing his throat. "…the situation
has come to a life and death one. We have to be mentally ready to be in a
potentially mortal situation and if required…" Harry paused once again.
"…if required, we might be forced to use some spells which are not...".
Harry's voice trailed off in a slightly tentative manner. Was he pushing
his friends too much?
"Which are not what Harry?" Hermione asked in an unfamiliar voice.
"You surely aren't talking about using dark spells, are you?"
Harry looked at his friend for a long moment before saying "Hermione,
what if Ron is in mortal danger and the only way to save him would be
to use a dark spell? I am not talking about the unforgivables but the
others spells categorized as dark"
Hermione looked slightly taken aback at this question. She had expected
a yes or a no in answer but the answer had been a question which she did
not want to answer. However, by the look in Harry's eyes, she knew she
just had to answer the question. And looking at the curious eyes of the
others, she could not afford to not answer.
"I will use the dark curse" Hermione said in a low voice before hastily
adding. "It's not like I want to use a dark curse…if there is any other
curse available…"
"Thank you Hermione" Harry said in a cold voice while Ron seemed lost
in thought. He did not know whether he should feel happy or sad. Well…
he felt happy alright but after the recent arguments with Hermione, he
didn't know whether their relationship would work out alright in the end
or not. But judging by Hermione's reply, she obviously had strong
feelings for him. He smiled slightly…there was hope for their relationship
after all.
"I did not want to put you in a spot…" Harry said with an apologetic look
on his face. "…but the thing is that we will be faced with these questions
in the middle of the battle. We won't have time to think about our
decisions at that moment"
"You talk as if Hogwarts can be attacked at any moment" Cho said in a
voice which seemed to have a touch of fear in them.
"Actually he is telling the truth" Luna said in her usual dreamy voice. "I
like to be prepared for the battle from now on itself". Turning to Ron,
Luna continued in her dreamy voice "Don't worry Ron, if required, I will
use a dark curse to save you from death eaters". The casualness with
which Luna said this left Cho gaping for a moment.
"Thank you Luna" Harry said, a clear indication that he wanted this
meeting to move forward. "Like I was saying, we will have to make
decisions...a lot of important ones. Therefore I ask every one of you to
think about what you will be doing once we find ourselves in the middle
of a fight. I..." Harry continued. "...will not hesitate to use any curse to
protect the innocent people"
"Any curse?" Hermione asked in a rather hoarse voice.
"Hermione..." Harry said a bit sternly. "I will take my decisions when the
time comes. Just be sure you are able to take your decision when it is
your time. Don't worry about what I will be doing". Harry felt his
statement was a bit blunter than he had intended it to be but it was
better for Hermione and the others to be clear about his thinking.
"Last but not the least..." Harry continued. "...in spite of all of what I have
said till now, remember that you alone will have to live with your
decisions. So, be very careful about what you do or do not do". The room
fell into a silence as Harry drank a glass of water. Neville and Ron
seemed to be lost deep in thought while Hermione kept glancing
nervously at Harry from time to time. Cho and Luna seemed to have
understood that Harry was just passing on some of his recent
"experiences" and they did not try to counter him. After all, there was no
arguing against facts.
"Now..." Harry said after a few seconds of silence had passed. "...I want to
discuss something of utmost importance with you". With that, Harry
quickly went over a few events of the past few months which were
known to very few people. He mentioned about how the veil was stolen
and then went on to mention that the Goblet of Fire was the object that
Voldemort had been trying to destroy as it was somehow preventing him
from carrying out an all out attack. He finished with how Ginny, Snape
and Wormtail had stolen the Goblet.
"Hold on a second..." Hermione said. "A huge tremor affected the whole
world on the first day of this year. And you say that the Goblet was
stolen on that day. These two are linked, aren't they?"
"Yes Hermione" Harry gave an affirmative reply, not at all surprised at
the quickness of his friend. "It was because the Goblet was destroyed"
"What!" Hermione jumped up. "The Goblet of Fire is one of the most
powerful magical objects still existing. Even Dumbledore cannot destroy
it"
"I know" Harry replied in a calm voice. "But you seemed to have
forgotten one thing. I had earlier said that the veil was stolen from the
ministry. Apparently, the veil had been created with the intention of
destroying powerful objects such as the Goblet of Fire"
"Wha..." Hermione seemed lost for words as she tried to digest all the
information coming to her. Somehow whatever Harry was saying seemed
to have a logical link but it just didn't seem possible. How could someone
have made something like the veil to destroy powerful magical objects?
"I knew about this" Luna said all of a sudden. "Dad said that the goose
which laid golden eggs had also been killed after someone threw her
behind the veil". Harry blinked hard at hearing this. He was sure his face
showed his confusion but Luna did not seem to notice anything. Ron and
the others, except for Hermione, were looking at Luna with amused
expressions on their faces.
"Whatever" Harry said in a low voice which was heard only by Ron.
"Anyway, as I was saying, the veil can be used to destroy many powerful
magical objects, if not all. You can confirm this with Dumbledore himself
if you don't believe me". This statement from Harry put to rest any
queries arising in other's minds. "And now..." Harry took a deep breath as
he prepared to say the thing which he had been the main purpose of this
meeting. "...we have to retrieve the veil"
&&&&
The rest of the week seemed to pass away in a blur. After returning to
lead the D.A., Harry conducted the first meeting on the weekend. Taking
care of some formalities, he went on to specify a line of action for the
D.A. The D.A. was categorized into three different groups namely the
senior, junior and the amateur group respectively. The senior group
consisted of the most experienced and talented people in the D.A. with
the likes of Hermione, Cho, Ron and others. Amongst the newcomers,
only Soha was included in the senior group. This group would be
responsible for any of the major planning's of the D.A. in the future.
The junior group consisted of people with average skills. These included
a few of the earliest members of the D.A. whose learning curve had not
been as fast as that of some of the others. Also, some of the more talented
and promising new members of the D.A. had been included in the junior
group. The main responsibility of this group was to act as a backup to the
senior group and patrol Hogwarts. These people were talented enough to
hold their own in a fight until backup arrived. Also, their responsibility
consisted of teaching newer recruits.
Harry had formed a third group which presently had only one member, a
first year Ravenclaw. This group had been named the amateur group and
would consist of newer recruits. The junior member was given the task of
bolstering the overall strength of the D.A. and to build up a really strong
pool of talent. The target set for the junior members was to bring in at
least 30 members into the amateur group every month. Though it was a
tough target to meet, Harry knew there was no other way to proceed.
Targets had to be set and they had to be met. This message was clearly
conveyed to everyone who seemed to take it in their strides. Earlier the
D.A. meetings would revolve around topics of how to defend the people
of Hogwarts but now the topics of discussions had changed. Now people
were discussing how to attack death eaters if needed, either inside
Hogwarts or outside. This had bolstered the morale of many and seemed
to take off their minds from the daily news of attacks by death eaters.
Now all everyone wanted to do was work according to the plan which
Harry had made so that when the right time came, they would have their
fair share of death eaters to deal with and to give back better than what
they would get.
The next week also passed away in a hurry as all the planning's were
being put into practice. Everyone found out that it was a much tougher
job to implement the things which were required but they did not get
discouraged. Harry worked very hard to help everyone out in the initial
stages. It was not until the next weekend that he was finally able to get
some rest.
"Harry" Ron said after the weekend meeting of the D.A. had finished at 4
in the afternoon. He knew that they had nothing to do this weekend and
was slightly happy that Harry would be getting some rest after all.
"Yes?" Harry said as he looked up from the pile of papers in front of him.
Everyone except Ron, Cho, Soha, Neville, Hermione and Luna had left.
"We were wondering what you are doing on the weekend" Ron said a bit
hesitantly.
"I have some work to finish" Harry said and went back to re-organizing
the parchments which had the latest strategies and reports of the D.A.
"Harry..." Hermione said, casting a glance at Ron who gave a reassuring
nod. "...we...we were wondering if you could come flying with us today"
"Sorry...but I have some work to do" Harry said firmly as he finished
organizing all the parchments. He was about to leave the room when Ron
stepped in front of him.
"C'mon Harry..." Ron said pleadingly. "...you can spare one hour for us,
can't you? I haven't flown in a long time with you. It's been almost 9 or
10 months since we have spent any time together. Surely your work can
wait for one hour more!". Harry looked from Ron to Hermione to the
other people in the room. Everyone's eyes seemed to plead him to say
yes. He wanted to say no and leave the room but just couldn't bring
himself to do so. If Ron had asked him to go to Hogsmeade then it would
have been a definite no but flying was an altogether different matter. He
loved flying and he knew that somewhere deep down, he longed to fly
again. He had not flown since coming back from France. Three long
months without once taking to the broom was a tough ask for anyone
who loved to fly. With an inwardly sigh, Harry agreed.
"Great" Ron said, his face showing the delight he felt. "We will meet you
in the quidditch pitch in 15 minutes, ok?". Harry gave a nod and went
out of the room. Depositing his things in the trunk, Harry soon found
himself in the quidditch pitch with his Firebolt in his right hand. He saw
that Hermione, Soha and Neville had taken their seats in the stands while
Cho and Ron had their broomsticks ready. Luna had also brought her
broomstick to the quidditch field but, instead of flying, she had laid it
down on the center of the pitch and was walking around it with a
peculiar glass in her hand. From time to time she looked at her
broomstick through the glass and said something to herself. Harry's eyes
went wide for a second before coming back to normal. Luna never failed
to come up with surprises!
"Ready Harry?" Ron asked with a smile. Harry nodded in reply and gave
a small smile in return. That seemed enough for Ron who zoomed up in
the air in a flash. Harry too followed suit with the smile lingering on his
face while he kept thinking of his chats with Ron in the past few days.
Ron had not called him mate ever since their first meeting and this was a
good sign for Harry in many ways. However, soon all thoughts left Harry
as he felt the air pass through his hair. He was back where he belonged.
It was after an hour of flying that the two boys and the lone girl touched
down. Exhausted but happy, they went over to the stands where Luna
had joined Hermione, Soha and Neville. Soha thanked both Harry and
Cho for the wonderful display of flying they had shown. Hermione had
filled her up with information about Harry's flying exploits in the
quidditch matches and how Cho was a very good flyer too. After another
15 minutes of chatting, Harry did not speak too much, they all started to
make their way towards the castle.
"By the way Harry..." Luna said. "Just when you did that last turn, one
Slasmagamagot passed you"
"One what?" Harry asked in a thunderstruck voice.
"Slasmagamagot" Luna replied. "They are lucky charms you know. People
say that if one such creature passes by you then you are blessed with a
long happy life"
"Right" Harry said, making a mental note of questioning Luna about
anything like this ever again. A long happy life due to some slasmagot or
something was the last thing Harry would expect.
"Hey...isn't that Charlie?" Hermione asked in a curious voice as she saw a
hurrying figure.
"Yeah" Ron said slowly. "What is he doing...is he going into the forest?"
"Seems so" Harry said in a calculated voice.
"What is he up to?" Ron wondered aloud. He turned to look at Harry and
then Hermione. Both gave a slight nod as they came to an agreement.
They had to follow Charlie and find out.
"Let's go" Harry said and quickened his pace.
"Go where?" Soha and Neville chorused.
"To see what Charlie is up to" Cho answered the question. "So this is how
you three had all those adventures in the past. And we all thought that
the Gryffindors made up those stories"
"No they did not" Hermione replied in what seemed to be an angry voice
but there was no mistaking the pride in it. After all, very few people
could boast of such adventures as they had had. Harry led the way to a
particular part of the ground where the a few trees of the forest
obstructed a direct view from the castle. Since he did not want anyone
from the castle seeing so many students disappearing into the forest, he
had thought that this would be the best place to enter. The others
followed his lead and soon they were a hundred meters inside the forest.
"Where did he go?" Ron whispered when Harry stopped and started
looking around. Suddenly Hermione tapped Harry on the shoulder and
pointed to a vanishing beam of light. Harry quickly cast a silencing
charm on everyone's feet and hurried after the source of light followed by
the others. It was only after they had followed Charlie for over twenty
minutes that he started to slow down. Charlie pushed aside a few more
shrubs and branches away and then disappeared from the view. Harry
motioned everyone to slow down and led the way slowly as he reached
the area where Charlie had vanished. Moving away a few of the
branches, he looked on to see a wonderful and yet potentially destructive
scene in front of him.
The huge area in front of him was cleared of all trees. And in the midst of
the clearing stood nine of the most ferocious looking dragons Harry had
ever seen. A few of the trainers of the dragons seemed to be having a
hard time keeping them in control but the more experienced ones were
well at home with their dragons. One of the more experienced trainers
seemed to have cast a flame repelling spell on himself and was happily
feeding the dragon under his supervision. The dragon seemed to be busy
in eating the food offered to him and didn't notice that the fire from his
nostrils seemed to be frequently engulfing the person.
"Oh god!" Hermione said after a minute of spellbound silence. "Let's get
out of here before they spot us". Harry and the others nodded in
agreement and quickly started to walk back the way they had come.
After hurrying through the forest and then across the grounds, the group
made their way through various hidden passages before entering the
Room of Requirements.
"Tell me what I saw was an illusion" Cho said with an involuntary
shudder. "So many dragons here and..." she couldn't finish her sentence as
her mind wandered to thoughts of the dragons.
"At last Dumbledore is doing something right" Harry said in a thoughtful
voice.
"How can this be right?" Soha asked, her eyebrows knitted in a deep
frown.
"What Harry meant..." Neville said. "...was that the headmaster has
already started bolstering the security of Hogwarts. Even if one thousand
death eaters attack us, those dragons will be able to take out quite a lot
of them"
"I don't know if this is right" Hermione said in a slow, unsure voice.
"What if they get out of control?"
"They won't" Ron said firmly. "As long as Charlie is alive every one of
those dragons can be controlled"
"I agree with him" Harry said. "But we should keep this thing to ourselves
only. No other person should know about it, ok?". Everyone present there
nodded in agreement and soon returned to their towers, their minds still
fascinated by the scene they had just seen.
&&&&
"Hello" Rowena said to Harry in a nervous voice as she met Harry inside
the Room of Requirements. Today was the day Harry would be meeting
her father. Harry had been given the permission by Dumbledore to meet
the parents of Rowena and the headmaster had said that Rowena would
tell him the exact method of getting to her home. Even though Harry was
slightly surprised, he decided to rely on the judgment of the headmaster.
"So how are we getting to your home?" Harry asked curiously.
"Using this" Rowena replied and held up a piece of old parchment. "A
portkey" she explained when she saw the blank look on Harry's face. "But
we can use this only from inside the forbidden forest"
"Why?" Harry asked a bit suspiciously. Why did they need to enter the
forbidden forest to use a portkey.
"Because no one can reach my home directly from within Hogwarts"
Rowena explained calmly. "Daddy has some spells against it"
"I see" Harry said wondering whether this kind of a spell was really
possible where the source area of a portkey could be blocked. He would
find it out in due time, he thought.
"C'mon...we need to get there before anyone else can see me with you"
Rowena's voice sounded slightly embarrassed at this but Harry knew that
she would really have a hard time from her house mates if he was seen
with her. Feeling a bit sorry for her, he quickly followed her out of the
Room of Requirements and down the various corridors. It seemed as if
Rowena also knew quite a lot of the hidden passageways and Harry
attributed this to the fact that she must be using these to attend the D.A.
meetings. After 10 minutes of walking, they were finally out of the castle.
In two more minutes, they had entered the forbidden forest and Rowena
came to a stop. Both Harry and Rowena tightly held on to the the
parchment as Rowena activated the portkey. Within a split second, they
were portkeyed away to their destination.
"Welcome to...eiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" Rowena screamed out as a couple of
hooded figures grabbed hold of her while a couple more stood on the
sides, looking menacingly at Harry.
"Leave - the - girl - alone" Harry said very slowly as he watched the four
figures. He was angry. For a second he felt that Rowena had betrayed
him but looking at the frightened look on the girl's face, he was sure she
did not know a thing of what was happening.
"And what if we don't?" one of the hooded figures asked in a hissing
voice.
"Then you will have to kill me before you can do lay a hand on her". With
that, Harry flicked his wand and cast a mild pain curse on the two figures
holding Rowena. He then cast a strong summoning charm on Rowena as
the two figures released their grips. In a split second, Rowena was
standing behind Harry who had his wand aimed at the hooded figures.
"BRAVO" a booming male voice echoed throughout the area where they
were standing. It was now that Harry noticed he was just outside what
looked like a huge castle. As he looked around, the four hooded figures
bowed their heads low and parted to reveal a very handsome looking
man with a lady, probably his wife, on his side. Both were wearing
clothes which had a regal touch to them and they really looked as if they
were from a royal family. Harry's tight grip on his wand relaxed as he
saw the warm smile on the faces of the two people's as they came to a
stop in front of him. At this moment, Rowena ran from behind Harry and
hugged the man who had bent down to hug her back.
"Welcome Harry Potter" the woman said in a silky, warm voice. "We had
heard a lot of things about you but Rowena's father..." the woman
pointed at the contended looking man and the little girl in his arms.
"...wanted to see for himself whether you really are willing to risk your
life to save Rowena"
"It was not the welcome I had expected" Harry replied quite coldly. "And
I have not come here to be judged"
"I apologize for the ordeal I put you through in these past few minutes"
Rowena's father said in an authorative voice. The reactions of the hooded
figures and Rowena herself suggested that they had almost never heard
this man apologize to someone. Everyone seemed very surprised, except
for the woman by his side.
"Let me introduce myself" the man continued. "I am Arturus Horatio and
this is my wife Isabella. And for the ordeal I put you through, I would
like to extend a hand of friendship to you as compensation". With that, he
extended his hand towards Harry still looked on suspiciously. However,
slowly he accepted the offer and took the man's hand in his own. He was
quite shocked at the coldness and the strength of the grip of the man.
However, his shock was nothing compared to what he felt at hearing the
next statement.
"I offer you the friendship of the Vampire nation"
&&&&
Harry sat in his trunk, lost deep in thought. No sooner had he come back
from the meeting with Rowena's parents that Dumbledore had summoned
him to his office. There Dumbledore had talked to Harry about the latest
news of the death eaters and the assumptions he had about Voldemort's
next intentions. In the midst of the meeting Harry had thought whether
he should tell Dumbledore about Professor Trewalny's prophecy but he
held himself back. He would tell Dumbledore when he thought the
moment was right. However, it was Dumbledore's parting statement
which had caught him unawares.
"Harry..." Dumbledore had said when he was leaving. "Times are tough so
accept any extended hand of friendship which might help us all"
Harry thought long and hard about his meeting with Rowena's parents. It
had been an experience which he would remember for a long time. As he
started meditating, his mind invariably wandered off to what he had
seen.
&&
"Vampire Nation?" Harry sounded puzzled as he shook the hand of
Rowena's father. It was now that he could understand the reason for the
coldness of the man's hand. He was a vampire.
"I see that Rowena has not told you anything" Mr. Horatio said with an
amused look on his face as he looked at his daughter standing beside
him. Rowena, on the other hand, was looking at her feet.
"It is nothing to be ashamed of sweetheart" Mr. Horatio said
affectionately to his daughter.
"So Rowena is a vampire? And so are you two and the others here?"
Harry asked curiously. Of course he knew the answer to these couple of
questions but hearing it from the actual people he was addressing was
much better than just assuming.
"Yes" Mrs. Horatio replied in an uncertain manner. They had assumed
that Rowena had told Harry about her background but apparently she
had not been able to draw the courage to do so. Now, both of Rowena's
parents looked distinctively uncertain as to what Harry's stand would be.
It was no secret that most wizards loathed vampires...calling them half-
breeds and animals. It remained to be seen how Harry Potter would react
to the situation.
"Interesting" Harry said thoughtfully. "How could Rowena have kept it a
secret from all the people at Hogwarts?"
"Albus Dumbledore knows" Mr. Horatio replied.
"Also Professor Delacour" Rowena added meekly. At the questioning look
from her mother, she explained "She caught me the other day when I was
taking the...the...blo...blood pill from Rano"
"I see" Rowena's mother did not look too happy at learning about this.
"Rano is our special friend" she explained to Harry. "He is the person who
is entrusted with delivering pills to Rowena at Hogwarts". Harry just
nodded his head in acknowledgement. "But I think he has not lived up to
our expectations"
"No!" Rowena said instantly. "Professor Delacour followed me at night
one day. She does not know about Rano. I made the mistake". Tears
started streaming down the face of the little girl.
"It's not your mistake dear" Mr. Horatio comforted his daughter. "I will
talk to Professor Delacour about this"
"You don't have to" Rowena said in between her sniff's. "After that time,
she has helped me get the pills without anyone noticing. Also, she said
she know that I am a vampire". The last sentence was said in a very low
voice. Mrs. Horatio seemed slightly surprised as to how a teacher would
know that her daughter was a vampire when Harry clarified the matter.
"Of course she would know" Harry exclaimed a bit more enthusiastically
than he had intended. Calming down, he said "She became a professor at
Hogwarts after completing a very detailed thesis...on vampires"
"I see" Mr. Horatio said in an interested voice. In the meantime Harry's
mind got lost in a whirlpool of thoughts. So this was why the Slytherins
hated one of their own...because Rowena was a vampire. They did not
want to be associated with her. Maybe if they knew she was the vampire
princess then it might have been different but Harry assumed that this
information was known only to Dumbledore.
Also, it also explained why Rowena had been over-cautious when joining
the D.A. Harry remembered how Cho had explained that Rowena seemed
a little different than the rest. Of course it all made sense now. So did the
occasion when Rowena had asked Harry if he would protect her if such a
situation arose. All this had been different pieces of a puzzle Harry had
failed to notice the whole time. However, now he knew.
"Mr. Potter?" Mr. Horatio's voice brought Harry back to reality. As Harry
looked around, he asked. "Anything wrong?"
"No" Harry replied with a warm smile. "Everything is just fine. As for
Rowena..." Harry's eyes narrowed slightly which made Rowena nervous.
However, the next instant Harry's smile made her smile too. "Don't
worry...I wouldn't be friends with you in any other way".
"Really?" Rowena squeaked in delight before blushing.
"Yes" Harry replied, much to the delight of her parents.
"Should we proceed inside then?" Mr. Horatio asked. Harry nodded and
they were soon entering the great castle. As Harry looked around, he saw
that every part of the castle seemed to be made of black emerald giving it
an eerie and yet majestic look. The corridors of the castle were lined with
interesting artifacts while one had the whole lineage of the Vampire
rulers. Mr. Horatio explained that he was the king of the vampires for the
past two hundred and forty three years which was when his father had
finally died. Harry looked slightly flabbergasted to learn a vampire died
as his idea was that they were immortal in a way. Mr. Horatio explained
that there was a decaying in the vampires too as they had to consume all
kinds of blood to survive. This decaying occurred over a period of a
thousand years which would span about six generations of a wizarding
family. Hence they were led to believe that vampires did not die.
"So how old are you?" Harry asked when they had finally settled down in
the dining room of the castle. To say it was huge would be an
understatement.
"I am three hundred and ninety three only" Mr. Horatio said.
"That's...hmmm..." Harry looked quite stunned. "...it's quite a long time"
"It is" Mr. Horatio said. "But I do have a lot of things to worry about"
"Of course" Harry said in understanding. "By the way, what did you mean
when you said you were extending the hand of friendship of the vampire
nation?"
"What do you think I meant Mr. Potter?" Mr. Horatio asked in return.
"I am not one to judge your wisdom, Mr. Horatio" Harry replied
modestly. After all, he knew he was talking to the king of one of the most
powerful beings on the face of the earth.
"Powerful yet modest" Mr. Horatio said with a smile. Rowena was
beaming at Harry while Mrs. Horatio seemed a little taken aback at the
highly diplomatic reply from a person as young as Harry.
"If I may take the liberty to rectify what you have just said..." Harry said
a bit hesitantly. "...I am not at all a powerful wizard. Just a lucky one"
"And a brave one" Rowena said loudly before her mother tapped her on
the shoulder and mouthed the word "Behave". Rowena bit her tongue and
nodded. After all, she was a vampire princess!
"I appreciate your honesty" Mr. Horatio resumed. "Back to the topic, I had
meant that if you ever want our help in your fight against Lord
Voldemort, then we will be ready to help you". Harry was pleasantly
surprised to notice that no one had any reaction to the name of
Voldemort. Most of the vampires were bound to have some reaction to
the name but Harry concluded that Mr. Horatio was too powerful a
person to be afraid of Voldemort.
"Thank you for your generous offer" Harry replied. "However, I have
heard many vampires are willingly following Lord Voldemort's
commands"
"You are right" Mr. Horatio sighed. "It is very sad for us that some of our
own have decided to tread such a path. But..." Mr. Horatio continued.
"...you will find that they are the exceptions"
"I understand" Harry said.
"Remember one thing Mr. Potter..." Mr. Horatio said. "...I am offering this
help only because you had saved my little child. In the past there have
been numerous cases where we have been hunted down by wizards and
vice versa. It is very hard for us to forget that but I am willing to forget
it"
"I can understand your feelings, Mr. Horatio" Harry replied. "But I cannot
speak on behalf of the entire wizarding world"
"I know" Mr. Horatio replied. "Just promise me that you will look after
Rowena while she gets her education at Hogwarts"
"I promise" Harry replied. Rowena's parents exchanged a glance at this
and smiled. They were delighted at having a brave person like Harry
protecting their daughter. Also, from what they had heard from Rowena,
Harry was the leader of a group of students who were equally brave and
respected all kinds of beings. This could only be helpful for Rowena.
"Also Mr. Potter..." Mr. Horatio continued. "...as a gift for saving my
daughter, I would like to place ten of my best warrior vampires at your
service"
&&
Harry's meditation broke at this moment. He had initially denied the gift
because he had said he would have done the same for any person. He
could not take a gift for doing something which had to be done. He could
not take a gift for standing up to death eaters! It was at this point that
Mrs. Horatio had intervened. She said her husband did not mean to put a
valuation on Harry's actions. For them, Rowena was priceless. All her
husband wanted to do was provide a few vampires as guardians who
would help Harry protect Rowena if required. Of course, if Harry wanted
he could ask them to help him in other tasks too. It was entirely up to
him as to how he wanted them to help him. However, she insisted on the
offer her husband had made. It was only after a prolonged debate that
Harry had finally accepted the offer.
Harry got up and went to the kitchen as he recollected how they had left
by portkey and how, from the time he had arrive at Hogwarts, he felt as
if ten shadows were following him. He knew the vampires were there but
could not locate them. After a lot of uneasiness, Harry had called on the
vampires and had told them that they could just stay around Rowena for
the time being and, if required, he would call on them. They obliged just
as Mrs. Horatio had said. From then on, Harry had felt more comfortable.
Harry finished making his dinner and ate in silence. Dumbledore had
indirectly hinted him to use the offer of help from the vampire king in
this war. He felt a strange burden on his shoulder. He knew all he had to
do was to ask the vampire king for full assistance and he would do so
readily but then again, it felt like he would be taking advantage of the
whole series of events. It was something which he knew he couldn't do at
the moment. He hated him for admitting it but he did admit the truth at
last. He wasn't mature enough at the moment to deal with a scenario
which could affect the relations between vampires and wizards. After all,
everyone would have a hard time forgetting the past. What would he do
if somehow relations got soured even more?
Harry knew he could not take the risk at the moment. He had to wait for
Remus to come back. Maybe Remus would be able to guide him...maybe
not. Maybe he would have to make the final decision after all. Still, that
could wait for now. Finally making up his mind not to do anything right
now, Harry went to sleep after a long hard day.
&&&&
"So what do you propose we should do?" Hermione asked Harry. The
senior members of the D.A. had gathered for a meeting in the Room of
Requirements to discuss how to retrieve the veil.
"We have to get some information as to where Voldemort might be
hiding it". Everyone flinched at the name of Voldemort but Harry could
not care less.
"But that is impossible" Ron said. "How can we know anything about You-
Know-Who?"
"Maybe if we had a spy in his ranks..." Neville wondered for a moment
but instantly stopped. It was a stupid suggestion after all considering that
Dumbledore himself did not have any spy's in Voldemort's ranks.
"Even if we had a spy in there..." Cho said. "...it's not like You-Know-Who
will go around telling everyone where the veil is kept"
"Unless it is the person who cleans it" Luna commented in her dreamy
voice while trying to convert a pair of spectacles into a giant mammoth.
"Yeah...right" Hermione dismissed it in a sarcastic voice. "Anyway, if..."
"What did you say Luna?" Harry suddenly seemed very interested in
Luna's comment which angered Hermione slightly.
"Well..." Luna said as she looked closely through the spectacles in her
right hand. "...someone needs to keep the doorway clean so he should
know the location"
"Even if someone wipes the veil clean everyday..." Hermione countered.
"...how are we going to get hold of that death eater and why would he
tell us where it is?". Hermione had a triumphant look on her face but
Luna seemed unaffected by it.
"It is not the task of a death eater to keep things clean" she said in a
dreamy voice as she looked up at the others.
"An elf!" Ron exclaimed as realization dawned on him. "A house elf"
"I am so proud of you Ronald. You are so intelligent that you should have
been in Ravenclaw" Luna said with a dreamy smile which almost choked
Ron. Harry had a hard time suppressing a bout of laughter while
Hermione looked downright furious.
"But how...?" Harry started thinking desperately once he had got over the
last sentence said by Luna. It was then that it stuck him.
"Winky" Harry called out.
"Yes sir" Winky said as she appeared beside him with a crack.
"Find out where the house elf named Kreacher is and tell me it's exact
location". Winky seemed to tremble slightly at the mention of Kreacher
but nodded her head affirmatively nonetheless. She vanished again with
a loud crack.
"Kreacher is with Bellatrix and Bellatrix is with Voldemort" Harry
explained enthusiastically ignoring the shudders at the mention of
Voldemort's name.
"But how will that help us?" Soha asked with a completely blank look on
her face.
"I am an heir to the Black family" Harry explained. "That would make me
a part owner of Kreacher too. And that makes Kreacher answerable to
me". Harry finished with a smile. At that moment Winky appeared beside
them. She quickly explained that she had located Kreacher. Harry asked
if the dark lord was present there too but Winky replied in the negative
saying that the house was inhabited by some death eaters and not the
dark lord himself. Finally, specifying the location of the house, Winky
vanished from the view but not before Harry had made her promise not
to tell Dumbledore about this at the moment.
"Ladies and gentlemen..." Harry said with a hardened look on his face as
he stood up. "...let's get ready for our first adventure"
&&&&
A/N: Eighth chapter here guys. And for those of you who are
curious...yes, dragons and vampires will be involved in the battle near
the end of this fic. Their combined fight scenes might go over 10k words.
Well...only time will tell.
I know a lot of people want me to update faster (including myself). But I
get too caught up with everything else. I know you guys understand that
and I appreciate that very much. Thanks for sticking around.
Thanks for all those reviews. Every review which you people made is
much appreciated. And to everyone who didn't review, thanks for taking
time to read up to here at least.
&&&&
9. The Power of Hogwarts
Resurrected
Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter and the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers. I
am not the original writer (though I wish I could be J) and I do not wish
to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued.
So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah...forget it and let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
Note: This is the sequel to Harry Potter & The Power Of Hogwarts. Please
read it before moving on with this story.
HARRY POTTER & THE NEW DAWN
Chapter 9 – The Power of Hogwarts Resurrected
Finally, specifying the location of the house, Winky vanished from the
view but not before Harry had made her promise not to tell Dumbledore
about this at the moment.
"Ladies and gentlemen..." Harry said with a hardened look on his face as
he stood up. "...let's get ready for our first adventure"
&&&&
"Harry Potter" a grave voice spoke up. "You are not welcome here". Harry
turned around slowly to look at the centaur standing behind him. The
centaur's bow was held tightly in his left hand which gave Harry the
impression that he might have been aiming at Harry initially. Harry
inwardly shivered at the prospect of what would have happened if
something like that had happened by now.
"I come as a friend" Harry said in a determined voice as he shook away
the other thoughts from his mind. Right now, he had to focus on getting
the centaurs to back the light side as Firenze had asked him to.
"We are not friends of any humans" another centaur said as he came into
a clearing illuminated by the moonlight.
"Then be a friend of the light side" Harry said. "In this war..."
"This is your war Harry Potter" the first centaur said in the same grave
voice as before. "We did not ask for it and have nothing to do with it"
"Neither did I ask for this stupid scar" Harry seemed to lose his patience
for a split second before he recovered. The centaurs exchanged a glance
as Harry continued. "Look...wizards and centaurs might not have been on
the best of terms in the past but we have a common enemy at the
moment"
"We don't" the second centaur said this time as another centaur came into
view. "You have an enemy, not us"
"Surely you don't think Lord Voldemort wants to be friends with anyone
other than pure-blooded wizards and witches!" Harry exclaimed. "He
wants to reign supreme and..."
"We do not wish to discuss these things" the third centaur, seemingly an
elderly one, said from behind. The first two centaurs, on hearing the
voice of the third one, bowed their heads in a show of respect and
cleared the way for the elderly centaur. "We only wish to live in peace"
"But sir..." Harry's wording's seemed to catch the centaur a bit off guard.
"...everyone knows Lord Voldemort is hell bent on ruling the whole world
as he wishes. Of course you don't see a peaceful future if that happens"
"The stars decide the ways, we walk them" the elderly centaur replied.
His voice seemed more polite than those of the others but the weight in
them was hundred times more.
"What do the stars predict about the outcome of this war?" Harry asked
defiantly. The elderly centaur seemed to weigh Harry's words carefully
before replying.
"It is not for us to tell" he replied. "It is for you to fulfill and find out for
yourself"
"But of course you have to take a side" Harry continued. "If you are not
with us..."
"We are neither with you nor with anyone else" the elderly centaur
corrected Harry in a sharp voice. In a much calmer voice, and what
Harry thought was a sympathetic look, he continued. "We will take no
sides in this war. Follow your destiny Harry Potter".
With that, the elderly centaur turned around and left. Taking this as a
signal, the other two centaurs also left leaving behind a frustrated Harry.
As Harry made his way back towards the castle, he comforted himself by
thinking that the centaurs would take no one's side. At least something
was better than nothing!
Harry absent-mindedly cursed the centaurs ability to read the stars as he
made his way back. Of course he did not believe in "predicting the future"
kind of things but still, he could not ignore the fact that the centaurs had
some powers of their own. Maybe they knew what the outcome of the
war would be...maybe not. "Follow your destiny". This was what the
elderly centaur had said to Harry just before leaving. Well, it seemed like
his destiny had been following him ever since his birth than the other
way around. He did not...
"Ouch" Harry cried out as he walked into something. He had been so lost
in thoughts that his mind had not registered the fact that a small blinking
light had been steadily growing brighter and larger. It had been a matter
of a further two or three minutes before the collision took place and
made him realize his surroundings. Harry stepped back and looked
closely at the thing in which he had bumped. Slowly a smile covered his
face as he started to camouflage the object in front of him.
&&&&
"The right time to attack is in the night" Harry thought as he lay on his bed,
his mind planning the attack in which he wanted to retrieve the veil.
Harry had gone straight to a meeting of the senior members of the D.A.
on his way back from the meeting with the centaurs. The D.A. meeting
had been a long one and they had made a rough outline as to how to
plan their attack. However, something did not seem right to Harry.
Firstly, they had no idea as to who was with Kreacher in the same house.
It was logical to expect that Bellatrix Lestrange was also living in the
same house but it was also possible that the house was a strong hold of
the death eaters. There was an equal probability of an attack ending up
in disastrous results which made Harry very nervous. What if they
attacked the place and ran into a fifty odd death eaters? It was illogical to
even dream that the D.A. members and Harry could take on so many.
Harry knew he could depend on himself to take on more than one skilled
death eater but he couldn't expect the same from the others. The others
would most probably be able to take on one skilled death eater each.
After all, not all death eaters were like Wormtail. In fact, according to
Harry, Wormtail was an exception and most of the death eaters were
quite skilled.
However, the single 'what if there are loads of death eaters?' query was
making Harry think like mad. Was he doing the right thing by bringing in
his friends in the fray? What if something happened to someone? Harry
shook his head to clear his thoughts. He did not want to doubt his friends
at the moment. After all, the fight would come to the door of Hogwarts
one day or the other. There was nothing to be gained by thinking that his
friends would be safe forever. Just like he had not been able to keep
Tonks...
Harry got up from his bed as the thought of Tonks came searing back.
No, he said to himself, he couldn't let himself get distracted at this
moment. With this thought, he meditated for a few minutes and cleared
his mind. Once again, he started to think about the mission and started to
weigh the prospects of their coming out unscathed. With a deep sigh,
Harry accepted that if there were too many death eaters present, then
they might not come back alive. Unless...
Harry almost kicked himself for not seeing this option previously. Of
course, he had a very good chance of knowing exactly how many death
eaters frequented that place. With a smirk on his face, Harry got up from
his room and fixed himself an early dinner. He had a meeting to attend,
one which had been just scheduled in his mind.
Soon Harry found himself walking down the corridors of Hogwarts in the
direction of the Slytherin tower. He made sure that he did not run into
Malfoy or his goons. Coming to think of it, Harry had not faced Malfoy's
childish tricks in a long time. All for the greater good, Harry thought and
smiled as he applied Dumbledore's words to such a small thing.
Harry quickly turned the second last corner when he suddenly felt as if
someone else was present. It was as if the very shadows of the castle
corridor was alive and waiting to lunge at him. Slowly Harry stepped
back and the feeling went away. Even the other corridors seemed less
darker than the one in which he had just been. He opened his wizard
radar and checked if anyone was around or not. He saw many dots
around the castle but this area seemed quite deserted. Quickly closing the
wizard radar, Harry turned the corner again and, as he felt the same
thing again, he said in a slight whisper "Rano, I summon you".
Instantly some of the darkness in the corridor seemed to fade away and a
figure appeared from the darkest corner of the corridor.
"Harry Potter" the vampire named Rano bowed slightly as he
acknowledged Harry's presence. Though vampires never bowed in front
of wizards, Rowena's father had been very clear that he wanted all the
vampires to treat Harry as if he was a part of the Horatio family. Just this
sentence from Mr. Horatio had been enough for the warrior vampires.
"Rano..." Harry looked slightly uncomfortable at seeing the vampire bow
slightly but decided not to say anything. "...I need your help in
something"
"I am here to follow your commands" Rano said, emphasizing on the last
word very clearly. Harry sighed inwardly and decided to continue.
"I want two or three of you to keep a watch over a certain house". With
that, Harry specified the location of the house to Rano. He explained that
he did not want any of the vampires seen since the residents of the house
might not be "friendly". Rano just nodded his head when Harry had
finished giving his instructions.
"It will be done" Rano said. "In another 48 hours, we will give you the
complete information of what happens in that house and who all live in
it". With that, Rano gave a slight bow and vanished from Harry's sight.
&&&&
"Hi Harry" Fleur said as she looked up and saw Harry standing outside
the potions classroom. She had been very busy these past few weeks
working on various potions and had not seen Harry for quite some time.
Harry looked quite tired but his eyes seemed to be burning with a sense
of unreal energy. He was wearing muggle clothes and had a red diary in
his hand.
"Hello Fleur" Harry returned the greeting. "May I come in?". It had been a
day since Harry had sent the warrior vampires to watch the place where
Kreacher was supposed to be.
"Yes...sure" Fleur replied, wondering why Harry was being so formal. As
Harry entered, she noticed that he looked more serious than normal and
that was saying something.
"I need to talk to you about something" Harry said as he cast his glance
around. Fleur got the hint and quickly cast a spell to lock all doors. Still
seeing the look on Harry's face, she went on to cast a silencing spell.
"Thanks" Harry said in a relieved tone. He could have done the same
things himself but it would have been rude for him to do so in someone
else's office. Fleur brushed off the comment and conjured up a chair for
Harry on the opposite side of the desk at which she was seated.
"Anything important?" Fleur prompted Harry who nodded back. "You are
not going to make notes about our conversation, are you?" Fleur tried to
make the mood a bit light as she made a reference to the diary in Harry's
hand. Harry looked once at the diary and then, with a sad smile on his
face, gave a negative reply.
"I know about Rowena" Harry said after a couple of seconds. There was a
slight look of confusion on Fleur's face before she understood what Harry
meant. But just as quickly, her face became expressionless again. After
all, Harry could be implying something else that what was on her mind
even though it did not seem likely.
"And I know that you know about her too". This sentence from Harry laid
to rest any doubts in Fleur's mind. Harry knew that Rowena was a
vampire.
"How long?" was all Fleur could ask. She had no idea how long Harry had
known about Rowena.
"Not too long" Harry said. "I wanted to ask you about a few things
though"
"Like?" Fleur queried.
"She mentioned she takes some...blood pills?" Harry seemed slightly
skeptical as he said this.
"Yes" Fleur answered but did not say anything more.
"What are these things?" Harry asked after a short pause. "Human..." his
voice trailed off at this. Now that he came to think of it, he could not
imagine Rowena drinking a humans blood. But then again, she had to
drink blood to live.
"A little bit" Fleur replied. Seeing the look on Harry's face, she decided to
clarify a little more. "These pills are made with special ingredients which
contain most of the characteristics and properties of human blood.
However, they can never replace human blood completely which is what
is these species need to survive healthily"
After a short moment's silence, Fleur continued. "Though the pill is
almost like human blood, however, to make the pill have any effect, we
need to add a small amount of humans blood to it. These pills contain
only about 5 human blood"
"I see" Harry said, nodding his head in acknowledgment. "And how many
pills does one have to take in a day?" he queried.
"Two..." Fleur replied before adding. "...in a month"
"What?" Harry sounded amazed at this. How can 2 pills in a month
replace a person's daily 'food'?
"I know it is an amazing thing" Fleur replied. "Some of the ingredients in
the potion have a long lasting effect. However, when Rowena grows up,
she will need a pill every week. The rest of their food needs are taken
care of by normal food. To understand how this happens, you will have
to understand the exact anatomy of a vampire's body and how this potion
works"
"Not interested!" Harry threw up his arms in surrender. Fleur smiled as
she saw the tension on Harry's face diminish slightly. It was hard to
suddenly know that someone you know might be drinking a humans
blood to live.
"Anything else I should know?" Harry asked in a serious manner once
again.
"Why do you want to know all this Harry?" this time it was Fleur who
made the query. Harry was not the kind of person who poked his nose
into other people's lives and yet here he was trying to know more about
Rowena's life.
"I don't know exactly" Harry replied with a deep sigh. "It's just that I feel I
could have done something for her...something so that she wouldn't have
to be what she is"
"Don't say that!" Fleur replied a bit angrily. "It's not her fault that she is a
vampire!"
"Sorry" Harry instantly apologized. "I should not have said something like
that"
"Of course you shouldn't" Fleur's angry tone was still in place.
"She is not happy about what she is" Harry said thoughtfully. "She is
almost ashamed. Maybe that's why I thought..."
"She is a kid" Fleur replied, her voice calming down slightly. Fleur could
understand part of Harry's psychology. He was human after all. She had a
similar psychology before she had done her thesis on vampires.
"I am really sorry". There was genuine regret in Harry's voice this time
and he looked truly ashamed. "I just wanted to know something about
her...so that I can understand her and help her when she needs some
help. Like you said, she is a kid"
"Well..." Fleur looked slightly tense as he contemplated something.
Finally, seeing the regret on Harry's face and understanding his genuine
feeling in wanting to help Rowena, she seemed to come to a conclusion.
"One more thing which you might want to know is that the blood we put
in the ingredient...it comes from a child"
"A child?" Harry choked for a moment.
"Yes" Fleur replied. "A child below the age of 5". Harry looked aghast at
listening this. How could someone take a child's blood for a potion?
"I know it sounds terrible..." Fleur continued. "...but it is the only way the
potion has been working till now"
"What does that mean?" Harry asked. "Till now?"
"In a couple of months a newer potion will be available" Fleur's cheeks
seemed to redden slightly as she said this. "Only the blood of an adult
will be able to complete the potion and it will work for a slightly more
time than now"
"How do you know that?" Harry asked curiously.
"Because I made that potion" Fleur lowered her head and Harry thought
her face had turned red in embarrassment. "That was the thesis which I
had submitted. That's how I got a job as a professor!"
&&&&
Harry sat in the Gryffindor common room going over The Daily Prophet.
The day had started well with Rano giving his detailed report to Harry
about the happenings in the Bellatrix Manor as it was known. He had
given his report at 3 am in the morning and Harry had not been able to
sleep since then. It seemed that the vampires had not been able to get too
many details because the area was heavily frequented by death eaters but
still, Harry seemed pleased with the information he had got.
However, the morning did not seem to bring good news with it...at least
not the The Daily Prophet. It seemed to contain the same stories of more
killings all over the country. What was new was that these kinds of acts
had now started to happen in many other countries, that too with
increased frequency.
As Harry turned over the pages, his eyes came to a stop on a heading
titled "Werewolves - A war within a war". The report continued to specify
how there had been heavy infighting reported within the werewolf
community over a supposed treaty by the ministry. Harry felt his insides
shiver as he read that a fight had broken out in the middle of the night in
a little town in the northern part of England. He knew Remus must have
gone there and maybe, just maybe, Remus had been involved in the fight
too.
Harry could not imagine Remus getting into a fierce fight since he was
normally such a controlled person. However, he knew that beneath the
cool exterior Remus was still as human as anyone else could be. He had
seen a glimpse of Remus's cold, ruthless self when Wormtail had escaped
and but he had no idea how strong Remus was compared to other
werewolves. After all, he had never known more than one werewolf in
his life, least of all someone who might actually love biting or killing
others. Harry did not doubt Remus's ability to fight back but, somewhere
deep down, he felt afraid for his adopted godfather.
The report went on to mention that the fight had only been stopped after
aurors had apparated and captured a couple of werewolves. One of them
had went on to claim that they wouldn't be able to hold him for much
longer as the dark lord's forces were going to sweep over the whole
nation. Most of the dark werewolves had escaped. About ten werewolves
had stayed behind from an estimated group of forty fighting werewolves
and many were said to be in critical state. Harry's face hardened as he
thought just how the werewolves might have hurt each other. They
would most probably have ripped off pieces of flesh from each other's
body, must have bitten their opponents as hard as they could, must have
mutilated their bodies...
Harry put down the paper as he saw a picture of the captured werewolf
screaming at the aurors. The wounds on his face and body seemed really
deep and if they were any indication, then Harry's mental image of
werewolves fighting was not far off.
After a long moment, Harry sighed and said in a whisper to himself. "I
hope you are ok Remus"
&&&&
"So..." Harry said after a long pause. "...this is it"
"Don't you think we should go over the plan once more?" Hermione
seemed slightly skeptical about the whole thing. "We can try to get the
veil tomorrow instead of today" she added hesitantly.
"Hermione, are you afraid?" Ron was the one who asked the question.
Hermione shook her head to give a negative reply but it was clear for all
those present to see that she was slightly afraid...if not more. In fact,
everyone present looked afraid.
Even though Ron gave Hermione a reassuring hug, he seemed slightly
pale himself. Cho and Luna were going over the plan repeatedly and in
the process they were not thinking what was about to happen. Soha
looked distinctly white. She was now inwardly questioning Harry's
wisdom in inducting her in the senior group of the D.A. but then she too
joined in the discussion Cho and Luna were having. Neville was the
quietest one. Apart from one or two suggestions, he did not say anything
throughout the meeting which was the last one before they attacked the
Bellatrix Manor...that night itself.
As Harry saw everyone's distinct way of dealing with the pressure, he
himself felt slightly hesitant about the whole mission. But then again, he
knew that everyone would have to face this situation sooner or later.
Also, he told himself to stop this habit of doubting his friends. Though it
would take a long time for the relationships to mend, they were friends
after all and he could not change that.
"Let's go" Harry said as he checked everything one last time. As they
moved out of the Room of Requirements, Luna asked.
"How did you get all this information Harry?"
"I have my sources Luna" Harry said curtly as he led them down a hidden
corridor. No one said anything else during the whole journey to the edge
of the forbidden forest. As Harry started walking into the forest,
Hermione gripped his right arm.
"In to the forest?" she queried. Harry just nodded in reply. He saw the
frightened look on Ron's face and figured out that Ron was thinking of
the time they had almost been eaten alive by Aragog's offspring's.
"We go inside the forest?" Hermione asked again. "But how do we get to
the mansion? I had thought we would go to Hogsmeade and..."
"Threstals again?" Luna asked in her dreamy voice. Harry gave a negative
answer and instead asked them to follow him as quietly as possible. At
last, he came to stop in front of a large growth of shrubbery and bushes.
"If..." Harry said and paused as everyone turned their attention back
towards him. "...If anyone wants to opt out then this is the time". Harry
gave a few seconds to the others to digest the news and understand that
they had a choice to not go on the mission.
"If we want to opt out then we will let you know the next time" the
determined voice of Neville Longbottom was heard. As Harry looked
around, he saw the fear on the faces of the others getting replaced by an
expression of grim determination. With renewed respect for his friends he
turned around and aimed his wand at the bushes in front of him.
"I had thought that we might have to use Threstals again but then I found
this". With that, he cast an uncovering spell to reveal the item in which he
had bumped a couple of nights ago. The Weasley family car.
"Whoa" Ron jumped in joy as he saw the car.
"This time we let Hermione drive" Harry said with a smile and hopped
inside. The others followed suit as Hermione seated herself behind the
drivers seat. If someone had been looking out of their castle window at
that time, then they would have seen a car coming flying out of the
forbidden forest with a girl driving it while a red haired boy was telling
others the story of what had gone down in the history of Hogwarts as one
of the finest entrances ever made on the grounds. Little did the occupants
know what was lying ahead for them.
&&&&
"Pumpkin Pimples" a grave voice said the password to the gargoyle
guarding Albus Dumbledore's office. The gargoyle leapt back and the
figure proceeded on to the spiraling staircase and, coming to a stop on
the landing of the office. Taking a deep breath, the person knocked on
the door.
"Come in" the familiar voice of the headmaster came from inside and the
person entered the room and closed the door behind him.
"Good morning headmaster" Remus Lupin said once the door had closed
behind him.
"Good morning Remus" Dumbledore replied as he minutely studied the
appearance of his one-time pupil. Remus seemed to have been badly
injured and Dumbledore attributed this to the report he had read in The
Daily Prophet.
"I have recovered sufficiently headmaster" Remus replied as he felt
Dumbledore's concern for him. Even though this was quite true, only
Remus knew how lucky he had been to escape the clutches of death in
that dreadful night. He still couldn't help but shiver inwardly when he
thought how he had counter-attacked the other werewolves and had
nearly taken apart a couple of them, literally.
"I see" Dumbledore said, not wanting to pursue a topic which might put
Remus in discomfort. He motioned for Remus to take a seat which he did.
"A few people have come on to the light side" Remus came to the point
instantly as he explained the division in the werewolf community of late.
"That is good news" Dumbledore said with a genuine smile before
continuing. "I am really grateful for the way you undertook this perilious
mission"
"But there are many on the dark side" Remus did not seem to be affected
by the gratefulness of the person sitting opposite to him. "Too many..."
his voice trailed off at this.
"I would like to disagree with you on this point Remus" Dumbledore said
in a soothing voice. He could understand that Remus was very affected
by what he had seen and done and he could not let Remus get
disheartened so easily.
"You forget one thing" Dumbledore continued as Remus looked up at
him. "The few who are with us have the courage to defend the innocent
and this fills them up with a strange power. These few have defeated
many an army in the past"
"But these are not people we are dealing with" Remus said, shaking his
head in disagreement. "These are...beasts" the last word was said in a
barely audible whisper.
"Everyone becomes a beast when they are blinded by greed and power"
Dumbledore replied. "Better people than us have fallen prey for power.
What you saw..."
"...was something I wish I never see again" Remus said in a horror-
stricken voice. Dumbledore did not reply to this and waited patiently for
Remus to speak again. After a few silent minutes, Remus spoke again.
"I have asked them to stay in the Shrieking Shack for the moment" Remus
said, clarifying where his "guests" were.
"Do they like it?" Dumbledore asked in a slightly humorous voice.
"Did you put the spells in place?" Remus asked in a very concerned voice
and did not seem to be interested in Dumbledore's question. "I still don't
trust all of them and if they get out in Hogsmeade during full moon..."
Remus could not finish the sentence and kept looking at Dumbledore for
an answer.
"Don't worry Remus" Dumbledore said as he looked through his glasses at
the grounds overlooking the area towards Hogsmeade. "Professor Flitwick
has personally cast all the charms and Minerva has tested them
thoroughly"
"How about you?" Remus asked tentatively. "Did you check them? There
are a lot of people in Hogsmeade!"
Dumbledore turned to face his one time pupil and saw the concern in his
face. "Yes" Dumbledore replied. "I checked them personally too". At this,
Remus relaxed visibly.
"I think you should go and rest for some time" Dumbledore said
sympathetically. "Maybe spend some time with Harry"
"Yes" Remus agreed and got up from his seat. "By the way, how is Harry
doing?"
"I think he is doing ok" Dumbledore said. "But I really haven't seen a lot
of him lately"
"I see" Remus said. "Good night headmaster"
"Good night Remus"
&&&&
"Harry...I am back" Remus shouted in a cheery voice as he portkeyed into
his room in the trunk. However, the very next instant he knew something
was wrong. He could hear many voices outside and someone was crying
too. Harry never brought any of his friends inside. Then what could have
happened?
"Harry?" Remus queried in a slightly nervous voice as he looked out of
his room. The scene which met his eyes sent shock waves down his spine.
Ron and Hermione were standing there, covered in sweat and blood.
Soha was sitting on a chair and trembling uncontrollably. Cho was trying
to comfort Soha. And there was Fleur who was bending over something.
As she turned to see who had called out Harry's name, the face of the
person in front of her was revealed. Harry was lying in front of Fleur.
Beside him lay Neville.
"Wha...?" Remus stumbled as he saw the body of Harry lying there. He
rushed towards Harry and, to his great relief, saw him breathing.
However, his breathing was slightly irregular. Remus's eyes moved on to
Neville next and he saw that the son of his friend was also injured.
However, Neville seemed to be stirring somewhat.
"Anything serious?" Remus asked Fleur in a very emotional voice.
"No" Fleur replied in a choked voice herself. "But these are not minor
wounds either" she said pointing to some of the burns and scars on both
Harry's and Neville's bodies.
"How did you people get in here?" was the next query by Remus.
"Harry helped us using portkeys" Ron replied from behind him. "He said
we would find everything we needed here. On the way we met Professor
Delacour and she joined us"
"What is this place Professor Lupin?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Why do you want to know?" Remus queried back as he started to think
of some story to tell them. It was quite apparent that they had no idea
they were inside Harry's trunk.
"I did not mean to ask something private" Hermione said apologetically.
She knew Remus and Harry had become quite close and it was logical for
Remus to tell Harry what his friends had said. If he learnt that she had
tried to get some information which he considered private, then the
reaction could be undesirable.
"It's not mine to tell" Remus said truthfully. He did not want to lie and
decided that if Harry wanted to tell his friends about his new home then
it was up to him. "But this is where I and Harry live"
"I see" Hermione said. She had guessed that much herself.
"Now can someone please tell me what happened?" Remus asked in an
impatient, almost irritated voice. Trust Harry to fight the dark forces
when he was not present!
"You tell him" Hermione nudged Ron with her elbow. Ron nodded and
started to say what had happened.
&&&
"Switch off the lights Hermione" Harry said as the car took off from the
forbidden forest. Hermione did as specified and continued to guide the
car in the direction Harry specified. Harry had chosen a moonless night
to attack the Bellatrix mansion which helped them to dive under the
clouds from time to time to check their direction. After almost getting
lost twice, they finally came to the part of London where the Bellatrix
mansion was present.
"Where is it exactly?" Ron asked as he kept looking out of the windows.
He had finally finished the story of how they had flown the car into
Hogwarts and was now alert to the surroundings.
"Checking" Harry replied as his eyes hovered on the map for a while
before checking the landscape below. Soon his gaze became fixed at a
section of the area in front of them.
"That place?" Ron asked in a slightly nervous voice. Harry nodded and
pointed out a large mansion to all those present in the car. The mansion
looked every bit as if it was from some horror movie. Most of the
mansion was plunged into darkness except for a couple of windows. A
shadow could be seen moving across one of the windows from time to
time which gave an even more eerie feeling to the overall situation. As
Hermione guided the car to a landing near the mansion, Harry and
company saw a couple of figures converging hurriedly near the other
lighted window and then departing just as suddenly as they had
appeared. The bushes and overgrowth on the grounds of the mansion
made up the whole chilling scenario.
"I think we should stop here" Hermione said as they approached a turning
from where the mansion was clearly visible. Harry agreed and they came
to a stop a few meters before the turning on the road.
"Ok...lets go" Harry said as he got off the car and cast a
disillusionmentcharm on himself. The others followed suit and reached the
corner of the street as Harry peeked around it. Seeing that the road was
deserted, Harry ran across the dimly lit street and came to a stop in the
shadows of the walls of a house. As the others crossed the street
hurriedly, Harry started to make his way quietly towards the mansion
which was looming at the next corner of the road.
"Where is the veil?" Neville asked Harry in a whisper as they came to a
standstill near one of buildings adjoining the grounds of the mansion.
"We will need to find it out" Harry whispered back. "This way" Harry
motioned the others to follow him as he ducked below the walls of the
grounds of the mansion. In about 10 more seconds, they came to a slight
opening in the brick walls which was covered by thick bushes and trees.
"How did you know there was a opening here?" Hermione asked
curiously as she followed Harry inside the grounds. Harry held up his
index finger to silence her and started surveying the whole scene. He saw
that the mansion was just like what he had visualized from Rano's
descriptions. From the place where he stood, which was one of the
corners of the ground, he could spot two entrances. The large oak door
was obviously the main entrance which the smaller iron door at the far
end of the building looked to be an emergency exit or a back door.
"That door should open in about 8 minutes from now" Harry said as he
checked his watch.
"How do you know?" Hermione asked, curiosity dripping from her voice.
"Read the stars" Harry said in a slightly irritated voice. He was obviously
not going to tell his friends about Rano or the vampires at Hogwarts.
It was only a couple of seconds later that Hermione understood that
Harry had referred to the centaurs ability of reading the stars and
predicting the future. Blushing in embarrassment as Ron stifled a bout of
laughter, Hermione made a promised to herself that she will not query
Harry about every minor thing unless it was really important.
"C'mon Hermione...are you not going to give Harry points for answering
your questions, are you?" Ron said in an apparent attempt to lighten up
the issue. Hermione did not reply and Ron let the issue drop.
"What do we do now?" Cho asked tentatively.
"I thought we were reading the stars" Luna said in her usual dreamy
voice. Even Hermione couldn't resist a smile at this.
"We wait for a few minutes" Harry said in a whisper. It was quite evident
that even though his eyes weren't leaving the grounds, his other senses
were quite on the alert. In the same voice, Harry continued. "For those
who know apparating...no one is going to apparate here. We don't know
how many people are inside at the moment and we cannot risk
apparating right in front of someone".
"Now, when the door opens..." Harry continued. "...two people will come
out. We will have to stun them and then we have to move inside. From
there..." Harry paused slightly. Here came the difficult part. After a few
seconds, he continued "...from there we will divide into groups of two
each and search for the veil. However, we will search one floor at a time
so that even if there are a large number of death eaters, we can still fight
our way out"
"Large number of death eaters?" Ron asked in a slightly hesitant voice.
"Just be on your toes and do not make a sound" Harry said reassuringly.
"I am sure everything will turn out fine". As everyone nodded their heads,
there remained no doubt as to who their leader was. The manner in
which Harry spoke gave everyone a confidence to believe...that they
were going to make it.
"Aren't there any wards around this place?" Soha asked.
"I don't think so" Harry said. After all, Rano had not reported feeling any
wards around the mansion.
"Weird how someone wouldn't put a ward where the veil is" Soha stated.
"I bet they never thought someone might locate them in the middle of
muggle London" Neville reasoned before adding. "Anyway, we don't
know for sure yet"
"One more minute left" Harry said as he glanced at his watch. He moved
a little ahead so that no one could see his actions. He quickly took out
the wizard radar and surveyed the scene around. There were some wards
present after all since he could not see anything inside the mansion walls.
However, he was satisfied to see that there were no death eaters on the
outside. Putting the wizard radar back in it's place, Harry motioned the
other's to follow him.
As quietly as possible, six figures darted across the grounds of the
mansion and came to a stop only after they had reached the safety of the
shadows of mansion walls. Taking a few seconds to regain their breath,
Harry and company moved quietly until they came to the far end door of
the mansion.
"20 seconds more" Harry whispered these words to Neville who
whispered it to the person behind him. With baited breath they waited
for the door to open.
&&&
"What happened next?" Remus asked as Ron seemed to have stopped
talking. He looked as if he had seen a ghost. Remus looked from Ron to
Hermione and back again as he sought an explanation.
"I will explain from here on" Hermione said as she saw that Ron did not
seem likely to proceed. "Two death eaters came out as Harry said and we
stunned them. Just as the door was about to close, Harry stopped it with
a spell. We then moved inside..."
"It was Percy" Ron said in a half angry and half stunned voice. Hermione
stopped her narration and looked at Ron with a sad expression. As Remus
turned to face Ron, he continued. "One of the death eaters we had
stunned was Percy. His hood fell and I saw him for the first time in
almost a year". After saying this, Ron collapsed in a chair with his head
between his hands.
"Then?" Remus asked quietly. He did not want to ask anything about
what Ron's reaction had been but knowing the Weasley's, he would most
probably have been too shocked to do anything against a family member.
"We all went in after hiding the unconscious death eaters in the bushes
and..." Hermione paused again even though this time Ron had not
interrupted her.
"And?" Remus prompted.
"An alarm went off" Hermione said with a sigh. "Some wards were set off
I think"
"What!" Remus jumped up from his seat. "You people could have been
dead. Setting off wards like that. This whole thing was one crazy idea".
He exclaimed as he resumed his seat. "What happened next?"
&&&
"Line up against the wall and stay still" Harry said as he activated the
invisibility feature of his glove over himself and his friends. He was
relieved to see that everyone had made it inside and Neville slowly
closed the door.
"What the hell?" one bellowing voice boomed from down the hallway
where Harry and co. were standing still. Harry slowly started to move
sideways as he saw a wooden staircase to his right. If he could get
themselves underneath the staircase then they might have a chance.
'Intruders?" another death eater made a query as he opened one of the
many doors in the corridor. Without even waiting for a reply, he shot off
a spell in the direction of the door. The spell passed narrowly past
Neville, the last member in the group to enter, and hit the wall beside
him. Harry, on seeing the close shave, walked even faster and in 3-4
seconds everyone was under the wooden staircase.
"What happened?" a few more voices could be heard approaching the
corridor.
"The intruder ward went off" the man who had shot the spell at the door
shouted back. At that moment, around twenty death eaters came into
view.
"Oh god" Harry thought to himself as he saw the death eaters. If this was
an indication, then many more death eaters had to be around.
"Where's the intruder?" one of the approaching death eaters queried.
"No one was there when I looked out" the death eater who had shot the
spell replied. "I cast a spell but no one was there"
"Hold on...we have to be sure" the other death eater replied. He took out
his wand and asked everyone to move aside. Harry knew what was going
to happen and he activated the glove's shield too. He put all his mental
energy into keeping both the shield and the invisibility features active. As
he saw the death eater raise his wand, he motioned the others to get
ready for action.
&&&
"I don't know how the others couldn't see us" Hermione continued her
explanation. "I think Harry cast some kind of a confundus spell or
invisibility spell on all of us. He must have done it really fast..."
"What happened next?" Remus said a bit impatiently as he saw Hermione
getting carried away in her observations. Hermione seemed slightly
unhappy at the way Remus had talked to her just now but she gave him
the benefit of doubt. After all, seeing Harry the way he was, he was doing
a great job in maintaining his composure.
"We all got ready to fight the death eaters when Harry motioned towards
us" Hermione said. "The next think I knew was..."
&&&
"FunditusInternecio" the death eater said as a jet of deep grey light erupted
from his wand. A couple of doors which lay open were shattered to
pieces as were a few barrels of water. As the death eater moved the spell
towards the staircase, Harry identified the spell as one which tore apart
any object which lay in it's path. He smiled inwardly as he saw the power
of the spell coming towards them. The amount of energy which the shield
would be absorbing was going to be more than sufficient in taking out a
few death eaters in one blow.
At that moment, the rays of the spell passed through the gaps in the
wooden staircase and hit the shield. The wooden staircase was blown to
smithereens but the very next moment, the death eaters eyes widened as
they saw the spell vanish into thin air just a few feet from the wall. In
fact, the death eater casting the spell was so stunned that his
concentration broke and so did the spell.
"Somebody's here" the death eater said in a low voice. However, since pin
drop silence had fallen in the corridor, his words carried clearly to Harry
and the others. It were his next words which took Harry by surprise.
"Protect it!" the death eater said in the same low voice but there was no
mistaken the seriousness behind his words. Harry knew that he had given
the instruction to protect the veil. This was it!
"Hello everyone" Harry said as he deactivated the invisibility feature
while keeping the shield active. The death eaters froze as they saw six
figures appearing out of nowhere but recovered quickly.
"We come in peace" Harry said in a mocking tone as he aimed his wand.
"And the veil". The next instant, a huge bolt of bluish light burst out of
his wand tip and hit a large number of death eaters. The power of the
spell was greatly enhanced by the amount of energy the shield had
absorbed. As the spell died out, seven death eaters lay unconscious on the
floor in front of them. The others who had managed to jump out of the
way were beginning to regroup quite fast. They knew they had a job on
their hands.
"Cover me" Harry shouted as he started sprinting. "I am going after them"
he said as four death eaters vanished from sight. The others could only
assume that they had gone to wherever the veil was being kept.
"I am coming with you" Ron said as he started following Harry. The
remaining members were shooting spells at high speeds so as to stop the
death eaters from aiming at Harry. They succeeded in covering
Harry...but only till the place where the corridor ended. In a span of a
three to four seconds, Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley had vanished
from their sight.
&&&
"Ron knows what happened next" Hermione said as she finished her
narrative. Remus turned towards Ron who seemed to have recovered
from the shock of having to think about Percy again.
"Ron?" Remus said in a slightly sympathetic voice.
"Uh...oh...yeah...I followed Harry" Ron said in a strange tone.
&&&
"Wait for me Harry" Ron said as he made to the corner and vanished from
the sight of the others.
"Go back and help them" Harry said as he made another turn. He
activated the wizard radar and was relieved to find it worked inside the
house. Also, he saw that there weren't as many death eaters in the house
as he had initially feared. There were a couple of death eaters right
near...
"Reducto" Harry aimed at the wall near another corner and heard two
screams. He ran past the room without looking. However Ron did not do
the same. Upon peeking inside, he found two death eaters badly injured
from the collapse of the walls behind which they were hiding.
"Bloody hell" Ron said inwardly as he thought how Harry had caused this.
He could not even begin to fanthom what had changed his friend so
much that he would be willing to gravely injure, maybe even kill, death
eaters. He knew he would kill one death eater if he had the chance and
that was Ginny. But...
"Stupefy" Ron's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Harry's voice
down the corridor. He quickly took off at full speed only to see the
retreating back of Harry down the length of the corridor they were in. As
he followed, he saw a death eater open a door just after Harry had passed
that area. As the guy aimed for Harry, Ron quickly aimed his wand and
disarmed the death eater. In a split second, the death eater had been
stunned by Ron who jumped over the slumped body.
"Don't think you are all alone, Harry" Ron said as he jumped over the
stunned body of the death eater.
As Ron turned round the corner, he saw Harry engaged in a fierce fight
with a couple of death eaters. Just as Ron rushed up to help him, he saw
Harry take out a muggle gun and fire at the death eater on his left. The
other death eater seemed slightly speechless as he stood staring at the
collapsing body of his mate with blood pouring out of his right shoulder.
This second of indifference was enough for Harry to disarm him and stun
him.
"Bloody good move mate" Ron exclaimed as he caught up with Harry.
"Always be ready to pounce when your enemy is surprised" Harry said in
a McGonagall-like voice to Ron. Ron looked slightly confused but then
understood that Harry wanted him to learn from what had just happened.
He nodded his head as they stood in front of an oak door.
"Behind this..." Harry said as he looked at the wizard radar without Ron
noticing. "...is the veil"
"We haven't come this far to go back with nothing" Ron stated grimly, his
gaze fixed on the oak door.
"There are thirty odd death eaters in there" Harry said, his gaze fixed on
the door too. "We cannot defeat them all...we have to take them out with
strategy"
"Which strategy?" Ron asked curiously. "The ones we learnt..."
"We need to improvise slightly on them" Harry said before Ron could
finish his statement. "Take this" Harry said as he gave Ron a small piece
of parchment.
"What is this?" Ron queried. "You were doing something with this when
we were in the grounds of this mansion"
"This is a portkey" Harry said. Knowing what Ron's reaction would be, he
continued quickly. "We will talk later about this. Just remember this,
there is a room at the end of the hall in front of us. You will go straight
for it and grab the veil on the side and activate the portkey"
Keeping his growing curiosity in check, Ron asked. "How do you know
that a portkey will work in there?"
"Instinct" Harry replied monotonously as he felt the throbbing of the
wizard radar growing against his chest. More death eaters were arriving
here and that could only be possible through portkeys. Also, it meant
they did not have too much time on hand.
"Are we late?" a female voice shouted down the corridor and Harry
looked up to see Hermione and the rest of the group running towards
them.
"No" Harry said as he took a step forward and checked the wizard radar.
40 odd spots were present and the number kept growing. Thankfully only
a couple were powerful death eaters.
"What do we do?" Cho asked impatiently as she saw Ron's gaze fixed on
the oak door in front of them.
"Cover Ron" Harry said grimly. "There are about 40 death eaters inside.
We distract them until Ron gets the veil"
"Ron...veil...40 deat..." Hermione stammered as she looked from Ron to
Harry and back to Ron. Harry could understand her nervousness but
knew there was no way out.
"Nothing will happen to Ron" Harry said. "Trust me". The tone of Harry's
voice was such that it calmed down Hermione instantly.
"Take these" Harry held out a piece of parchment for everyone. "These
are portkeys and will take us to the car. Activate the portkey the moment
you see Ron is gone". Everyone nodded their head in grim determination.
Hermione moved in and kissed Ron on his lips quickly before backing
away with a slight blush.
"Ready?" Harry asked but did not turn to see everyone's reaction. He
knew they were ready. "Ron, you go in last". With that, Harry took
another wand out of his back pocket. Ron assumed Harry had pocketed
this wand from one of the death eaters he had stunned. His suspicion was
proved right when Harry tested a Lumos spell. Seeing the results were up
to his satisfaction, he gripped the wand tightly. The others had lined up
on either side of him except for Ron who was standing behind him. His
features displaying an extraordinary level of concentration, Harry aimed
both the wands at the oak door in front of him.
&&&
"Then?" Remus asked as Ron stopped speaking. He sneaked a quick
glance at Harry as Fleur kept mixing some potions and forcing them
down his throat. She was doing the same with Neville too who was now
trying to sit up.
Though Remus was very concerned about both the lads in front of him,
he couldn't help but be curious about what had happened. It was like an
adventure on which he would have gone...almost like the days when the
marauders used to pick up fights for fun with other groups. The only
thing different was that the fight about which he was about to learn had
not been for fun.
"Well..." Hermione took over from Ron and continued.
&&&
The next moment, a couple of powerful spells blasted open the oak door
in front of the senior D.A. members. As if on cue, the death eaters inside
started casting spells at random some of which, to Harry's alarm, were
the unforgivables. However, Harry knew that these kinds of situations
could not be avoided any more. Taking a deep breath, he ran inside the
great hall followed by the others. No one tried to setup shields to block
the curses but rather evaded everything that came their way. Within a
couple of seconds, everyone was behind some pillar or the other.
Everyone except Harry and Ron.
"Drop to the ground whenever you see me do so" Harry whispered to Ron
before they joined in the action.
Harry ran straight in and said "AmplusSpeculum Flatus". He side stepped a
few spells even as the gray-colored ray, which had been emitted from his
wand, seemed to vanish into this air. The next moment, Harry dropped
on his chest as some more spells came towards him. It was not until too
late that many people realized the main reason for Harry dropping to the
ground. He had not tried to avoid the spells cast by the death eaters.
Rather, he was trying to avoid the affect of his own spell.
&&
"What is that!" Cho exclaimed when she heard a low rumble like thunder
in the room. As she peeked around the corner of the pillar behind which
she was hiding, she heard swishing noises starting to fill up the room.
Her eyes scanned the hall quickly and she saw Harry and Ron lying flat
on the stomach. Harry's eyes seemed to be focused on something when
Cho heard the first swishing noise coming from the middle of the hall.
The next moment she heard hundreds of thousands of swishing noises fill
up the room. It was only her quick thinking which made her draw herself
back to her hiding place as huge pieces of glass ripped through the room,
tearing everything in it's path.
"Holy god!" Cho clapped her hand to her mouth as she recognized the
spell, and the power behind it. It was know as the Glass Effect spell in the
wizarding world. It was a very hard spell to perform since it had a very
complex wand movement and required immense mental power. The spell
caused a huge sphere of glass to be formed in the place where the caster
wanted it to be formed and then it would then blow up in another second
by itself. It was like a time bomb as the magically enhanced pieces of
glass would tear apart anything which came in it's path in a radius of a
hundred feet.
&&
"Oh - my - god" Hermione said as she too recognized the spell. "Harry
performed THAT!" she almost screamed out but controlled herself in the
last second. She could not believe that Harry could have performed such
an advanced spell which, nowadays, was not even taught to aurors
because of it's devastating nature. It was only when Hermione saw the
devastation around them that she stopped admiring the level of
knowledge Harry had gained.
There were bodies lying everywhere around her. Apparently the death
eaters had been taken by surprise by the spell. Only a handful had
escaped the attack unhurt. Many were crying out for help which some
did not move. Hermione herself felt sick when she saw one man's arm
lying a few feet from body.
&&
"Go now Ron" Harry whispered to a thunder struck Ron. Ron gave a
shake of his head as if to get rid of his bad memories of the past few
seconds and jumped over a crouched Harry. As Ron jumped over Harry,
Harry came up to one knee and started firing spells at random. Most were
above average spells which kept the death eaters busy. Getting the hint,
the other D.A. members came out from behind their hiding places and
began firing spells at the ten odd death eaters who had been untouched
by the glass pieces.
"C'mon Ron" Harry muttered to himself as he saw Ron getting nearer and
nearer to the door on the other side of the room. This door led to a
smaller room which had the veil in it. Harry saw a couple of death eaters
turning to aim at Ron and he started shooting spells at them. He set up
the glove-shield and started running towards Ron who seemed
concentrating only on the door in front of him.
"I will be true to my words, Hermione" Harry said as he ran after Ron and
shot a disarming spell at one of the death eaters aiming for Ron. Out of
the corner of his eye, Harry saw a dark spell coming towards him. He did
not care. He kept running after Ron and covering him. Two very
powerful dark spells hit his shield and cracked it. Harry saw a third and a
fourth one being aimed at him from the front. The moment the curses
started to made their way towards him, Harry knew he had to make a
choice as to which one he had to avoid. Avoiding any one spell would
put him directly in line of the other spell and he knew he would have to
take a hit. The choice was not hard. One was the Cruciatus, the other was
the AvadaKedavra.
Harry moved out of the way of the green light and into the path of the
cruciatus. The next moment his senses were overcome by extreme pain.
However, Harry's mental strength caused him to push on. Putting every
bit of energy, he rolled over very quickly. The death eater could not
adjust his aim fast enough and the spell was broken. However, Harry
need not have worried. The next second, a couple of spells came from
behind and stunned the couple of death eaters. Knowing that the D.A.
members were holding their own and looking out for him too, Harry
turned his focus on to Ron.
Ron had stopped a few feet in front of the door and tried to blast it open.
However, the spell seemed to make only a small dent on the door.
Obviously, a very powerful spell seemed to be holding the door in it's
place. Ron cast the spell the second time when, to his astonishment, two
more rays of light hit the door with a huge magical power behind them.
He looked back and saw Harry standing about ten feet behind him and
casting spells on the door with the two wands he had in his either hand.
With renewed enthusiasm, Ron cast the spell for a third time. This time,
the door seemed to budge quite a lot but not enough for it to open.
At this moment, Ron felt a renewed magical surge coming through
Harry's spells. He was quite astonished to see that Harry's spell seemed to
grow in power. Breaking his spell for a split second, he saw a struggling
Harry trying to keep up the magical force behind his spells. Ron could
clearly see that Harry was using every bit of his magical strength to push
open the door. Deciding that this was a now-or-never moment, Ron
concentrated and, to his surprise, cast quite a powerful destructor spell.
The door swayed for a second but the moment it seemed that it would
open, it seemed to come back to it's original position. At that very
instant, a fourth ray of light hit the door...along with a fifth ray.
Hermione and Neville had joined in. Everyone concentrated one more
time and, at last, the door was blasted open.
"C'mon Ron" Harry shouted from behind as the sinister looking veil came
into view. Harry felt the wizard radar starting to vibrate rapidly and he
could only assume that more death eaters had arrived. They had to get
out now!
"Accioveil" Ron said as he pointed his cast the spell at the veil. The veil
came racing to a stop in front of him. Ron grabbed the side of the veil
and turned round to face Harry and the others. Just as his eyes met those
of the others, about fifty death eaters portkeyed right into the room while
more entered the room from the doorway. Without waiting a second
longer, the D.A. members activated the portkey even as eighty odd curses
were cast.
&&&
"We portkeyed to just beside the car and then took off as fast as we
could" Hermione finished her narration. Remus's features were a mixture
of worry, anger, bewilderment and god-knew-what. However, the top
most concern for him now was the safety of his godson.
"Where is the veil now?" Remus asked as his eyes fell on Neville. The boy
seemed to be trying to sit up and looked slightly better than before.
"Harry asked Winky to do something about it" Hermione replied. "I do
not..."
"REMUS" a scream from behind Remus startled everyone present. Fleur
dropped a vial of potion in her hand while Ron staggered back. Hermione
clutched her chest in shock.
"Go to Dumbledore" Harry said as he somehow managed to stand up.
"Tell him that it is time"
"Harry..." Remus took a couple of steps to grab the falling body. "You
don't have enough strength"
"Tonight, I have". With that, Harry Potter pushed away Remus Lupin and
slowly, but surely, stood up to his full height. "Please go to Dumbledore
now and meet me on the second floor girls bathroom" Harry said in a
voice quite unlike himself. It seemed to Remus that Harry was desperate
and that only meant more trouble. However, he did not dare to argue
with Harry. Without saying another word, Remus portkeyed away to one
of the corridors of Hogwarts.
&&&&
"This is a bit odd" Hermione said as they were walking down a corridor
on the second floor.
"What's odd?" Soha asked as she looked at Neville. He was the last one in
their group as he was still feeling slightly dizzy
"The castle" Hermione said cryptically. However, soon everyone could
make out what was "odd". The castle walls seemed to be emitting a slight
glow.
"Don't worry" Harry said in a monotonous voice. "The Power of Hogwarts
has been resurrected". Just as Harry finished saying the sentence, the
glow in the walls brightened for one more second before vanishing. At
that moment, everyone felt the surge of magical force throughout the
castle and a feeling of warmth flooded their bodies and minds.
"So this is how it feels" Neville said as he looked around in awe. The
others followed Harry in silence as they entered the girls bathroom on
the second floor.
"What are we doing here Harry" Ron asked in a quivering voice as he
remembered the last time he had been there. It had been one of the most
frightful moments of his life. However, now he wished Harry had been
unsuccessful that night in saving Ginny.
"We will be going down" Harry said as turned around to face the others.
"Why?" Ron asked, his eyes growing larger by the second.
"Trust me" Harry said and looked at his watch. Remus should have been
here by now according to him. It seemed to him that this night just didn't
seem to end.
"What is this place?" Fleur asked as she looked around. "This is just a
bathroom"
"It is not" Ron clarified. "It is the entrance"
"Entrance?" Soha asked in confusion.
"To the Chamber of Secrets" Hermione said in a voice which suggested
that she wasn't feeling too well. Cho looked at Hermione as if to suggest
that she was out of her mind but when she saw the look on Hermione's
face combined with that on Ron's face, she understood that she was
indeed speaking the truth. That meant that the stories they had heard
four years ago were not at all unfounded. As the enormousness of the
words sank in, her heart rate picked up and she felt as if something inside
her had turned. Looking around, she saw a look of horror on the faces of
everyone except Soha who did not know about the Chamber.
"Harry?" a voice called out in the corridor outside the bathroom.
"Come in Remus" Harry said out loud enough for Remus to hear it. Remus
entered the bathroom with a big bag on his shoulder and a grim look on
his face.
"So, this is the place, is it?" he asked in the voice of one who had just
heard something disastrous and was trying to match the facts with what
he had heard.
"Yes" Harry said as he looked at his watch once again and started pacing
around impatiently.
"Are we waiting for anyone else?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Yes" Harry replied. "We will have to wait for another few minutes..."
"We are here" a couple of voices chorused from the entrance of the
bathroom.
"Right on time" Harry said as he extended his hand. "Fred. George."
"How are you Harry?" George asked.
"Doing ok" Harry replied.
"Why did you floo us earlier today that you wanted us to be here
tonight?" Fred asked. "We thought you were joking"
"We have to enter the Chamber of Secrets today" Harry replied promptly.
Fred and George's eyes went wide with surprise before a smile spread
over their lips.
"We owe you another one Harry" George said as he punched Harry lightly
on his shoulder.
"After you have helped me out tonight, everything will be balanced out"
Harry said without showing any kind of emotion. With that, he cast a
spell to close the door of bathroom. He also cast an advanced locking
charm on the door so that nobody could invade their privacy.
"Oh Harry...I did not know you would be here" a girlish voice called out
from one of the corners of the bathroom.
"Not now Mrtyle" Harry said in a no-nonsense tone. "If you want to come
to the Chamber with me then..."
"No!" Moaning Mrtyle gave a scream and vanished down one of the
broken toilets in a flash.
"Ghosts are afraid of the Chamber too?" Fleur asked in a curious voice.
"Seems odd...but yes, Mrtyle's death has everything to do with it so it is
normal I assume" Harry replied as he turned to face the sinks. He stopped
once he found the tap with the sign of the snake carved on it's side.
"Open up" Harry said in parseltongue.
"He can speak parseltongue?" Soha asked Luna with a crazy look in her
eyes.
"Yes" Luna replied as if it was the most normal thing on the earth. The
others, however, seemed enthralled at the spectacle of the Chamber
entrance opening in front of them.
"Please follow me" with that, Harry jumped inside the opening. In a few
seconds time, everyone were reunited at the bottom of the pipelines.
Also, none of the girls seemed too happy with the dirt they were covered
in.
Harry started walking down the trail which he had walked on so long
ago. After a few minutes of walking through the trail, which had been
made treacherous by the cave-in caused previously, they stood in front of
the door of the Chamber.
"Open" Harry said in parseltongue again and the door in front of everyone
opened up revealing the Chamber. Hermione rushed in to see as much as
she could. She was followed by an enthusiastic Fred and George and the
others. Ron was the only one who seemed to be entering the chamber
reluctantly.
"There it is" Harry said in an almost bored voice as he pointed out the
dead basilisk still lying in the chamber. Cho shivered, Soha screamed,
Ron turned a ghastly white, Luna, surprisingly, smiled while Fred, George
and Hermione rushed over to get a closer look at the basilisk. Remus
looked at the basilisk and wondered at Harry's courage to have fought it
at the age of 12.
"Now we have to do what we have come here to do" Harry said and held
out his left hand towards Remus. Remus handed over the bag on his
shoulder to Harry as Harry lit up a portion of the Chamber to reveal the
viel.
"You asked Winky to bring the veil here?" Cho asked in a bewildered
voice.
"Yes" Harry replied as he started emptying the the contents of the bag
Remus had handed over to him. He carefully laid out the items on the
ground in front of him.
"What is the meaning of this?" Hermione asked as she looked at the items
in front of her. There lay Godric Gryffindor's sword and the sorting hat.
"It means that the school will need a new sorting hat from the next year
onwards" Harry said as he crossed his arms and got ready to do some
explanation.
"These items..." Harry said pointing at the items in front of him. "...were
part of the Power of Hogwarts. It was an ancient power created to protect
Hogwarts. Unfortunately the Goblet of Fire was destroyed using this veil
and so was the Power of Hogwarts. What we have activated right now is
a diminished Power of Hogwarts"
"So what do you plan to do?"
"I plan to destroy these items along with another item" Harry said.
Remus's eyes widened as he understood that the other item was
Gryffindor's glove which Harry was wearing at the moment.
"You want to destroy the Power of Hogwarts!" Hermione screamed. "This
could save us all...this is one of the biggest magical inventions...this is..."
"Hermione" Ron interrupted Hermione's ramblings. "I think we should ask
Harry about why he wants to destroy the Power firstly". Reluctantly,
Hermione agreed.
"As I was saying, we need to destroy the Power of Hogwarts" Harry
stated. "I cannot give you my reason behind it right now. I have read
something about it and all facts seem to match my assumptions..."
"Hold on Harry" Remus interrupted. "You want to destroy these magical
objects based on your assumptions?"
"Yes" Harry replied bluntly which caused Hermione to draw her breath in
sharply. "I hope you will draw assurance from the fact that Headmaster
Dumbledore agrees with me which is why he handed over these items to
you"
"Well...yeah" Remus agreed. "He said something about wanting to come
here too but said he would stay outside because that is where he would
be needed most"
"Yes" Harry said. "He will have to strengthen Hogwarts to withstand the
magical out-ashing from this destruction"
"I am confused" Hermione stated. "Dumbledore also agrees with your
assumption?"
"Yes" Harry said. "So, to continue, we have come here to destroy the
Power of Hogwarts. I have asked you all to join me so that you can help
me control the magical energy which will erupt when the Power of
Hogwarts is destroyed. In fact, the veil will also be destroyed once the
Power is destroyed and I could not have possible controlled such a large
amount of energy"
"What do you want to control the magical energy for?" Fred asked.
"First of all, I want to stop Hogwarts from getting destroyed" Harry
exclaimed. "And secondly, I want to focus the magical energy into one
other item which I have with me". No one spoke after Harry stopped
speaking. Harry took this as a sign that they agreed to go on with what
was going to happen. "Well, lets get started".
With that, Harry touched a green colored pimple on the inside of his left
forearm and, with a golden glow, the glove came off. Everyone stared in
amazement as Harry placed the glove on the floor too before walking
over to another area. There, he took out something from his left pocket
and placed it on the floor. It was then that Fleur noticed that it was the
same diary which Harry had been carrying around with him previously.
"Harry..." Fleur began but Harry stopped her.
"Later Fleur" Harry said. Fleur nodded her head in acknowledgment. "By
the way, I hope you guys remember the spell I displayed to you a few
days ago? The one which is used to control magical energies?". The D.A.
members gave a positive nod of their heads.
"Now, line up and keep your wands aimed" Harry said. As everyone lined
up, Harry's eyes flickered on the glove for a moment. It had saved his life
many times. As he looked at the other items, he wondered whether they
would be able to control the magical outburst or not. If they couldn't,
then it could have disastrous effects. However, he had not come this far
to fail. This was going to be one of his toughest tests and if they
succeeded then he knew the reward would be beyond anything he could
have asked for.
"Harry?" Remus's voice brought Harry out of his thoughts.
"Oh...yeah" Harry said with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. The
next moment, that look was replaced by one of sheer concentration.
"ClaxRes" Harry said. The spell hit the sorting hat and it flew behind the
veil. Instantly a huge magical spurt erupted from the veil.
"ImperiumNavitas". A chorus of nine voices was heard as the a ray of
magical force from the veil threatened to go out of control. Nine rays
struck the ray of light being emitted from the veil and started controlling
it and stopped it from hitting out at the chamber walls.
"ClaxRes" Harry said once again and the spell hit Gryffindor's sword. As
soon as it flew behind the veil, a huge amount of magical energy burst
out. The veil seemed like a small sun as rays of light started to come out
from all the sides. Harry watched as the D.A. members, along with Fred,
George, Fleur and Remus, were having a lot of trouble controlling the
magical energy being emitted.
"Focus on the diary" Harry said and pointed out the diary to them. The
others followed his instruction and slowly, but surely, moved the main
strand of energy into the diary. Instantly, it started to glow brightly.
Harry knew that destroying the glove will result into the maximum
energy emission since it was the item which triggered off the Power in
the first place. Also, the moment the four items merged behind the veil,
they would combine into a single object and would be destroyed. That
would result in a huge amount of energy being emitted. Harry closed his
eyes and took a deep breath and...
"ClaxRes" Harry said once again and the spell hit the glove. Harry
watched the glove fly towards the veil in slow motion. No sooner had the
glove reached the entrance to the veil, Harry shouted "Imperium Navitas".
He cast the energy control spell fully on instinct. As if to vindicate his
judgment, a massive amount of energy was emitted from the veil.
"Harry!" Fred shouted as a huge ball of energy seemed to be speeding
towards Harry. Harry's energy control spell had hit the energy beam
alright, but it had redirected the energy beam towards himself. Harry cast
the energy controlling spell once again. The D.A. members watched in
horror as the beam of bright white light seemed to engulf Harry.
However, in a split second more, they saw that Harry had pushed back
the energy beam.
The energy beam threatened to destroy everything in it's path. Harry's
wand swayed dangerously as the beam threatened to break the spell but
Harry held on tight.
"Hold on" Harry shouted to the others as he tried to redirect the energy
beam towards the diary. With great effort, Harry moved the energy beam
towards the existing beam of energy the others were controlling. Harry
was already feeling the strains of his previous efforts of the night and this
one seemed to be taking it's toll on him. He sank to one knee as he
concentrated on bringing the beam to merge with the existing one.
&&&&
"What is that?" Hermione asked as the diary began to glow brightly.
"No idea" Soha and Neville chorused back. The diary seemed to be
glowing more brightly with every passing second. All of a sudden, rays of
light seemed to converge from all sides into the diary. It was almost as if
Hogwarts itself was supplying energy to the diary or whatever it was.
"Bloody hell" Ron said as something which he had never imagined started
to happen.
&&&&
"Harry!" this time it was Remus.
"Hold on" Harry shouted back. "This will hit you like a huge blast". Harry
was sweating profusely and he grabbed his wand with both hands to stop
it from quavering. The energy beam seemed to grow in power as the veil
started to collapse under it's intensity. Harry knew that very soon the
energy would reach it's peak and that he could not let that moment pass
by. This kind of energy was something which someone could control only
once in their lifetime if they had the luck to find it. As Harry collapsed on
his second knee too, he saw the energy flow from Hogwarts into the
diary. Every bit of his instincts told him that the time was now or never.
"ImperiumNavitas" Harry shouted out with one more great effort. A huge
magical energy flowed into Harry's spell and successfully directed the
massive energy flow into the existing beam which the D.A. members
were controlling. At that moment, the veil collapsed under the
tremendous magical energy which led to an unbelievable amount of
energy being emitted. What happened next was nothing short of a
miracle.
As Harry saw the final amount of energy being emitted, he cast the spell
one more time. This time, he put everything into it. He did not care if he
lived or died. All he knew was he had to finish what he had started off
tonight. The energy beam collided with his spell which seemed to be of
great magical energy itself. It was with great relief that Harry saw that he
had been able to keep the flow of the energy beam intact. The enormous
amount of energy was channeled into the beam which the other people
were controlling. If anyone had seen the scene at that moment, they
would have thought that ten odd people were trying to control the
energy of the sun itself. The room was glowing so brightly that no one
could see anything. However, everyone's instinct told them they had to
hold on for just a second longer. Just that bit longer...
At that moment, the whole room seemed to burst into a fireball of
energy. White light spread to every part of the Chamber. Harry was
thrown off his feet along with the other people. Harry's vision became
dazed as he landed with a crash into one of the walls behind him. He
forced himself to open his eyes and saw that all the other people in the
room also seemed to have been thrown off their feet in various
directions. Just when Harry's mind threatened to slip into a state of
unconsciousness, he saw a familiar figure walking or rather running
towards him. He tried to keep himself awake...to stop himself from
thinking that he was hallucinating. He tried not to hope too much. After
all, in all probability he had not succeeded.
Harry slowly started slipping into unconsciousness. However, he knew he
had to keep on fighting. For what, to that he had no answer. But he knew
he had to hold on for just a moment longer...just one moment longer...
"Don't worry Harry" the familiar figure said as it reached Harry and lifted
his head. "I won't let you die on me"
Harry forcibly opened his eyes for one last time that night. No, he was
not hallucinating. He had succeeded and felt like the happiest man on
earth. With a smile on his lips, he could only say one last word before he
slipped into the depths of unconsciousness.
"Tonks"
&&&&
A/N: Ninth chapter here. I did not concentrate too much on the fight
scene in this chapter as, according to me, it was not the most important
part and the D.A. Members could not have possibly defeated all the death
eaters.
Now, all you Honks people - What say you?
Explanations will come in the next chapter obviously.
Thanks for all those reviews. Every review which you people made is
much appreciated. And to everyone who didn't review, thanks for taking
time to read up to here at least.
&&&&
10. Explanations
Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter and the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers. I
am not the original writer (though I wish I could be J) and I do not wish
to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued.
So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah...forget it and let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
Note: This is the sequel to Harry Potter & The Power Of Hogwarts. Please
read it before moving on with this story.
HARRY POTTER & THE NEW DAWN
Chapter 10 – Explanations
Harry slowly started slipping into unconsciousness. However, he knew he
had to keep on fighting. For what, to that he had no answer. But he knew
he had to hold on for just a moment longer...just one moment longer...
"Don't worry Harry" the familiar figure said as it reached Harry and lifted
his head. "I won't let you die on me"
Harry forcibly opened his eyes for one last time that night. No, he was
not hallucinating. He had succeeded and felt like the happiest man on
earth. With a smile on his lips, he could only say one last word before he
slipped into the depths of unconsciousness.
"Tonks"
&&&&
"This cannot have happened" the hissing voice of Lord Voldemort seemed to be
laced with venom.
"McNair". The trembling figure of the death eater stepped forward.
"My Lord" McNair said as he bowed in front of Lord Voldemort.
"Crucio". The other death eaters trembled as they saw the ferocity with which
the dark lord was torturing one of their own. After a prolonged torture,
Voldemort broke the spell.
"Do you fools know what you have let happen?" Voldemort asked as his eyes
surveyed the members of the inner circle of the death eaters. "You will pay for
this failure". With that, Voldemort cast the cruciatus on each of the death
eaters present. Finally, after 5 minutes had passed, which seemed to be 5 years
to many, Voldemort's anger seemed to shift from his own men to the person he
hated the most in his life at the moment.
"Harry Potter" Voldemort said in the same venomous voice. "You have
destroyed the veil. Now I will destroy Hogwarts"
"Harry...Harry" a feminine voice seemed to be calling Harry from
somewhere far beyond. "GET UP". Finally Harry seemed to stir slightly
and opened his eyes a little bit.
"Tonks" Harry said with a weak smile as he saw the concerned face of
Nymphadora Tonks in front of him. He felt Tonks clearing the sweat from
his face. After all, it had been a long time since he had had a vision of
Voldemort. However, before he could even mutter a word of thanks to
Tonks for waking him up from the terrible vision, his weakness got the
better of him and he fell into a deep sleep once again.
&&&&
"Hi"
"Hello Tonks" Remus said as he looked up from the book in his hand.
"How are you doing now?" Tonks asked. Dumbledore had asked Madam
Pomfrey to see to it that Fred, George and the rest of the D.A. members
recovered fully from their magical exhaustion and injuries. Remus had
insisted that he would be able to take care of himself.
"Better" Remus said somberly.
"Don't worry...he will be up soon" Tonks reassured Remus who was
eyeing Harry lying on the couch. Harry had been lying there for the past
three days without much movement.
"How did all this happen?" Remus asked for the first time since Tonks had
been back. "You..." Remus looked lost for words.
"I don't know" Tonks said, looking just as confused as Remus.
"You have to know something!" Remus said. "We saw you...die" Remus's
voice choked slightly as the memory of Tonks's painful death resurfaced.
"I know that" Tonks said. "After I died, I kind of expected to see Sirius"
Tonks said in a faraway voice. "But my soul could not move on to the
next world. Every time I tried to go, something seemed to hold me back.
It was almost as if someone was holding me on a lease"
"How do you try to move on to the next world?" Remus looked even more
puzzled than before.
"I can't explain it" Tonks replied. "It was just a feeling that I
had...something I knew I had to do"
"And you don't feel like that now?"
"Of course not!" Tonks replied. "I can't even remember the feeling now. I
just know that I had this feeling to move on to the next world and that I
could do it if I wanted"
"And you could not" Remus added.
"No, I could not" Tonks said. "Like I said, it felt as if someone was holding
me back. After a while I gave up and started moving around Hogwarts"
"Hold on a second" Remus interrupted. "You mean..." he gave a
disbelieving laugh. "You mean you were haunting Hogwarts like Peeves?"
"Haunting? No!" Tonks looked shocked, her eyes growing bigger.
"Peeves...yikes...NO. He is so disgusting. He does all sorts of...yuck" Tonks
made a face to suggest it was really disgusting and followed it up with an
involuntary shudder.
"Anything bad?" Remus poked Tonks with a twinkle in his eye.
"You wouldn't believe it..." Tonks started explaining when she saw the
glint in Remus's eye. "Hold on old man, you are trying to make fun of me"
"No" Remus said innocently. "I was just querying as to what happens
when a female ghost meets a male ghost"
"Argh" Tonks gritted her teeth in mock anger and her eyes narrowed
sharply. "If you had not been recovering..."
"Then what?" Remus said in a challenging voice.
"I will show you one day what I am capable of, Remus Lupin" Tonks said,
sticking her nose high up in the air.
"Anyway, what were you saying?" Remus turned serious once again.
"Well..." Tonks also regained her explanatory look. "I started moving
around Hogwarts. Not like Peeves or Nearly Headless Nick but I could
move through the walls"
"What do you mean?" Remus queried.
"I mean, I could not assume a shape like Nick or Peeves" Tonks explained.
"But I could move through the walls of Hogwarts. However, astonishingly
enough, I could not move through any other inanimate object"
"Like?" Remus asked again.
"I tried to move into an armor one night when Harry was walking down
the corridor. I couldn't do it" Tonks said.
"I see" Remus said. "Strange"
"Very much so" Tonks agreed. "It was as if I was tied to the castle in some
way". A minute of silence passed as both of them got lost in their own
thoughts.
"Tell me something" Remus said suddenly. "You said you wanted to move
into an armor suit when Harry was passing by". Tonks gave an
affirmative nod. "That means you could see everything?" Remus queried.
"Yes" Tonks said. "Only if I was present there, that is". Her voice trailed
off at this point as she remembered the times when Harry would walk
listlessly through the corridors of Hogwarts. She could feel the sadness he
was feeling. It was almost as if they had kept sharing the bond between
them even after her death. She had suffered with him during those times
and once she tried to reach out to him mentally. It had not worked.
However, she had noticed that Harry had this habit of touching the walls
of the corridors whenever he walked alone. Since she was able to move
through the walls, once she had tried to touch him when he was in
contact with the wall. And to her great surprise, she had been able to feel
him!
On that day, Tonks had also seen the reaction of Harry and knew that he
had also felt something. He had seemed very frustrated and sad but once
he had unknowingly made contact with Tonks, he seemed to calm down.
By the look on his face Tonks could tell Harry did not know why he had
suddenly felt much calmer. However, he seemed to notice that the
contact with the walls made him feel better because he made a regular
habit of touching the walls of Hogwarts whenever he was alone.
"Tonks"
"Uh?" Tonks was brought out of her thoughts by the voice of Remus.
"You seemed lost in your thoughts" Remus said. "I called your name twice
but you did not respond"
"Oh" Tonks understood. "I was just thinking of something. Why were you
calling me?"
"Your Harry seems to be moving" Remus said.
"I se...my Harry!" Tonks shot up to her feet so suddenly that the chair was
thrown backwards. She quickly covered her mouth with her hands as the
chair cluttered loudly on the floor because she thought Harry would most
probably be disturbed by the noise. To her relief, she saw that Harry had
not reacted much and was just murmuring something deliriously. Tonks
quickly went over to pick up the chair but managed to trip over it.
"Oh well" Remus said as he saw Tonks's antics and rolled his eyes. Even
death had not been able to change Tonks.
&&&&
"KATIE!" Angelina, who was chatting with Alicia, couldn't help but
scream out when she recognized the heckled face of the girl coming
towards them. Alicia looked around to see Katie barely managing to walk
towards them. Both the girls rushed towards their friend and caught hold
of her just as she seemed to be about to collapse. They led her the rest of
the way inside Angelina's tent.
"What happened? We have been worried mad about you" Angelina asked,
her eyes wide in fear. However, Katie did not respond. Katie's face
seemed to be bruised along with her wrists. It seemed like she had been
beaten up.
"Seems like someone beat her up" Alicia said thoughtfully as she scanned
the limp figure of their friend. "But why would someone physically beat
up a person in the wizarding world?"
"I don't know" Angelina said before adding "And I don't care about it now.
We need to get her to the hospital wing quickly. God knows where she
was for the past so many days"
"Let me check her once" Alicia said as she took out her wand. Looking at
the puzzled look on her friend's face, she explained. "Not everyone has
the luck to make it to a quidditch professional squad"
"Why don't I like that explanation?" Angelina asked shrewdly as Alicia
scanned Katie's body with her wand. Angelina knew that Alicia was not
the type of girl who would give a straightforward answer so easily. She
was always known to play with her friends a bit before letting them on in
the truth. It was one of the irritating bits about Alicia but it also was the
fun part about her. Whenever they would get bored, Katie and Angelina
would try to guess what Alicia was trying to hide from them.
"Well..." Alicia replied in her trademark voice which meant that she had
been caught again by her friend. "…I took some healer's lessons in these
past few months. I thought it would be better to become a healer in these
times than a quidditch player"
"That's more like my Alicia" Angelina beamed at her friend. Her respect
for her Alicia went a notch higher because she knew how much quidditch
meant to her and how tough it must have been to even think of some
other profession just for the sake of helping people in the times of a war.
"Our Alicia" a groggy voice corrected Angelina.
"Katie...thank god you are ok" Angelina said with a huge sigh of relief at
seeing her friend speak again.
"She's only bruised" Alicia said in a very professional manner. "A couple
of charms hit her but nothing more"
"My...hands" Katie said in a pained voice. "What happened?" she asked in
a bewildered manner as her gaze shifted from her bruised wrists to her
friends concerned faces.
"We were going to ask you that very question. You have been missing for
around a month now" Alicia replied as she cast a few healing charms on
Katie. The bruises looked sufficiently better once she was finished.
"What on earth happened to you?" Angelina queried, her face contorted
in a very concerned look.
"I don't know" Katie said as she got up and looked around. She saw that
she was in Angelina's tent. She guessed she had somehow come to that
place. But how?
"What do you mean you don't know?" Alicia asked. "You came here
looking as if you had just taken the beating of your life from someone
and you say you don't know anything?"
"I seriously don't know" Katie replied as she flexed her body slightly to
see if she felt any pain or not. "Last thing I remember I was walking
towards the library...hmmm..." Katie looked slightly confused as she
thought harder. "No" she said finally. "I was going to meet Dumbledore"
"You sure?" Alicia asked. "You look confused"
"Actually I am slightly confused" Katie admitted. "I was going to
Dumbledore's office when...hmmm...a group of first years came up and
asked me for the directions to the library. I gave them the directions..."
Katie's voice trailed off at this as she seemed to be lost in her thoughts
again.
"And then?" Alicia prompted Katie after a few seconds.
"I don't remember correctly" Katie said in a confused manner. "For some
reason I decided to visit my grandfather at St. Mungo's and..." she looked
at her two friends in a helpless manner.
"St. Mungo's?" Angelina's eyes went wide in fear.
"What?" Katie asked in surprise as she saw the same fearful look on
Alicia's face as well. However, her surprise turned into fear very soon as
she got no answer from her friends.
"No" Katie shook her head in disbelief. "Don't tell me that they destroyed
it too". Her gaze shifted from Alicia to Angelina and back to Alicia. At
last Angelina gave a slight nod of her head.
"It can't be" Katie was shaking her head in shock. "It's not possible. I
mean...there were aurors there..."
"There was a big fight" Alicia said. "But I don't think anything happened
to the patients"
"You sure?" Katie asked with a renewed vigor even though she was not
willing to believe her friends this time. "Everyone's safe?"
"That's what Dumbledore said to us all later on" Angelina said.
"Dumbledore said that?" Katie looked sufficiently relieved at this. If
anyone at Hogwarts could trust anyone's word without questioning twice,
it was the word of Albus Dumbledore.
"Yes" Alicia confirmed. "Apparently many people had relatives at St.
Mungo's. So he made this announcement just before the prophet came in
that day"
"How long have I been gone? What did the prophet say?" Katie asked
curiously. Though she knew that the prophet made things looked bigger
than they actually were, still they had some truth to it.
"You have been gone for about a month now" Angelina said. Katie looked
astonished at hearing this and she mouthed the word 'WHAT!'. Alicia
took on the responsibility of answering her second query.
"The prophet said that there was a fight between something like about a
hundred death eaters versus ten aurors" Alicia said with a smirk on her
face. "Can you believe the extent of their lies? I mean, how can someone
win against hundred death eaters?"
"I don't know" Angelina said with a shrug. "It could be true"
"Are you mad?" Katie looked back to her old self, completely oblivious
that she had been almost dead on her feet a few minutes ago. "A 1:10
ratio is a no-win situation"
"Not unless you put in Harry in it" Angelina said calmly.
"Harry?" Katie looked stunned for a minute. "Our Harry?"
"Don't tell me you believe that story!" Alicia said to Angelina. "There is no
way Harry could have reached that place, least of all fight off so many
death eaters"
"Our Harry?" Katie asked again.
"C'mon Alicia!" Angelina said. "You know how many times he has
sneaked out of the castle"
"And landed at St. Mungo's inside a minute or so?" Alicia retorted. "No
way!"
"Our Harry?"
"He could have apparated there" Angelina argued. "After all, everyone
knows where St. Mungo's is. And knowing Harry, he must have already
learnt to apparate"
"C'mon Angie" Alicia argued back. "Even if he has learnt to apparate he
couldn't possibly fight so many death eaters. These are just rumors"
"Our Harry?" the voice asking this question was starting to sound a bit
groggy again.
"Well...I wouldn't put it past him" Angelina said. "I remember the D.A.
training in the summer. If Moody made us do all that stuff, then Harry
must know them all too if not more"
"Oh c'mon!" Alicia threw up her arms in despair. "It's a rumor"
"Our Harry?"
"Yes!" snapped two angry voices.
&&&&
"Hello Harry" Tonks said sweetly as Harry seemed to wake up finally. He
had been delirious for the past few days due to a fever caused by magical
exhaustion but had recovered quite quickly. Today he looked much
better and seemed to have been refreshed by the prolonged rest.
"Hello...sweetie" Harry said in an off-handed manner and started
searching for something fictitious so as to avoid Tonks. Tonks was
looking in a bewildered manner at Harry, trying to decide whether she
should be angry or happy at being called sweetie. Her eyebrows were knit
together as she found that she was unable to decide on the matter.
However, when she saw Harry stealing a glance and snickering at her
apparent indecision, she became furious.
"How dare you call me something like that?" Tonks thundered. Remus
was not present at that moment and hence only Harry's ear-drums were
affected by the high-pitched voice of Tonks.
"Called you what sweetie?" Harry asked innocently.
"THAT!" Tonks shouted again, pointing her finger. "Sweetie...you called
me sweetie. I don't want to be called sweetie"
"Ok" Harry said in a resigned manner. "I will call someone else sweetie"
"What!" Tonks looked aghast. "Someone else? Sweetie? Are you mad
Harry Potter?"
"No" Harry replied as he sat up. "I just want to call someone sweetie.
Since you don't want to be called sweetie...hmmm...maybe Hermione
won't mind"
"Hold On!" Tonks said. "Hermione?"
"Yeah" Harry said with a shrug. "Hermione's quite nice and..."
"Yeah, yeah" Tonks nodded her head. "Hermione's nice. She's intelligent
unlike dumb Tonks"
"Dumb Tonks?" Harry queried. "Did you change your first name?"
"No" Tonks replied without thinking much. "I..." her voice trailed off as
she understood what Harry had said. She looked angrily at Harry for one
long minute.
"What is the matter?" Harry asked a bit nervously since Tonks did not
stay silent for too long if she knew someone was just making a little fun
of her.
"You have been pulling my leg for many a month now" Tonks said slowly.
"Which leg?" Harry asked instantly.
"Which leg? Hmmm?" Tonks wondered aloud before realizing she had
said more than was required once again. By now, Harry was laughing like
a mad man.
"You have gone mad Harry Potter" Tonks said in mock sadness though
there was no mistaking the smile which seemed to light up her eyes.
"I have" Harry said as he got control over himself and caught hold of
Tonks hand. "Your love has made me mad"
"Wh..." Tonks choked as Harry kept a firm grip on her hand. For some
reason, her heart started pounding against her chest with the power of a
sledgehammer. Many times in the past year she had wondered how she
would react if a situation of this type of a situation popped up and she
had always been convinced that she would have some witty remark ready
which would put Harry in an uncomfortable position. But now no witty
remark came to her mind. Rather, nothing came to her mind. It seemed
as if she had forgotten everything she had ever known and Harry's words
were the only thing she had heard in her entire life.
"I...uh..." Tonks muttered something incomprehensible under her breath
as she tried to regain her composure.
"Some dinner please" a voice said from somewhere behind Tonks. Tonks
looked around to see Remus standing there with a smile playing on his
lips. Though she was mentally cursing Remus for his supposed naughty
thoughts, she could not help but think that he had just saved her from an
embarrassing situation.
"I will get you something" Tonks said as she hurriedly got up from her
seat beside Harry's bed and rushed away, pulling her hand out of his grip.
Once in the kitchen, she touched the portion of her hand where Harry
had gripped her. Touching it, she smiled shyly before starting to fix
dinner for everyone.
&&&&
"Better now Harry?" Remus asked once dinner was underway. The
uneasiness of Tonks seemed to have passed away though she kept
stealing glances at Harry from time to time who was also doing the same.
"Yeah" Harry said. He looked to be deep in thought which seemed to
trouble Tonks.
"A couple of days back you were delirious" Tonks said hesitantly. "You
were sweating...as if you were..."
"I had a vision" Harry explained before Tonks had a chance to raise the
topic. Tonks gave a deep sigh and waited for Harry to continue. Harry
gulped down a part of the sandwich on his plate with the help of some
pumpkin juice before looking up to meet Tonks and Remus's gaze.
"Nothing to worry about" Harry said as he saw the look on their faces. "I
think I saw him because I was injured and, because I had not been able to
meditate, my mental shields were down"
"Did he break into your mind?" Remus asked in a concerned voice. Even
though Tonks herself was very concerned, she did not dare to ask Harry
anything at the moment. Remus was much better at this since he was
able to maintain a calm exterior.
"I don't think so" Harry said thoughtfully. "He didn't try to show me
anything. I think he was too angry with the death eaters to notice my
presence"
"What did you see?" Remus queried, all the while keeping a straight face
drained of all emotions.
"Lord Voldemort was angry because he somehow knew that the Power
had been destroyed" Harry said as the face of an angry Voldemort came
to his mind.
"We all know how powerful Voldemort is" Remus said. "All of us are
bound to every magical object on this earth. Since Voldemort is more
powerful than us, he is able to sense the linkage between himself and the
more powerful magical objects. That could be the way he might have felt
the Power of Hogwarts being destroyed"
"You mean to say we are all linked to all the magical objects on this
planet?" Tonks asked in slight bewilderment.
"Yes" Remus clarified. "However, we are unable to detect that linkage.
Only wizards like Dumbledore or Voldemort are able to feel them in a
particular manner. They can just feel their existence or destruction and
nothing else. They cannot wield that object"
"I see" Harry said, trying to understand as much as possible. It made
sense in a way. "Does that mean they can pin-point their locations?"
Harry queried.
"No" Remus replied as he drank some pumpkin from the glass in front of
him. "They can just feel the existence of the objects and nothing, I repeat,
nothing else"
"Got your point" Tonks said on behalf of both herself and Harry. Harry
just nodded his head.
"So, Voldemort is just angry?" Remus said with a look in his eyes
suggesting that Harry knew more than he was letting on. Harry knew
that look well enough and thought it best to share the last bit of
information he had about his dream.
"He is coming to attack Hogwarts soon". Tonks breathed in sharply at
hearing this. Remus, on the other hand, looked thoughtful.
"This is going to happen sooner or later" Remus said. "We have to be
ready for him". Harry nodded his head in acknowledgement. He knew
that he had to fulfill his destiny and it seemed that that time was going to
come sooner than he had thought.
"Harry" Tonks said in a tentative voice. As Harry looked up, she asked.
"What did you do?".
Harry looked at Tonks for a moment and smiled. He knew this question
was going to come sooner or later. He would have to explain how he had
brought Tonks back to life. This would mean going over in detail as to
how he had formulated his theories. This was going to be a lengthy
explanation which he would have to repeat to the D.A. members as well.
"I will be back in a minute" Harry said as he got up and started to
proceed towards the fourth compartment.
"Where are you going?" Tonks asked.
"To bring Ron, Hermione and the others here" Harry said. "I don't want to
explain the same thing twice". With that, he vanished into the fourth
compartment.
&&&&
"He destroyed the Power of Hogwarts for god's sake!" Hermione was
having trouble controlling her emotions ever since she had got better. It
had been a couple of days since the event at the Chamber and they had
been released from the medical wing.
"C'mon Hermione" Ron said, throwing his hands up in the air. "He did it
for Tonks. We all now know how much Tonks means to him". At this,
Cho, who was present along with Soha and Neville, sighed. Soha looked
sympathetically at Cho.
"How did he bring back Tonks after all?" Hermione asked curiously. "I
guess that does not matter. The thing is he destroyed..."
"...the Power of Hogwarts" Ron completed her sentence. "Yes...we all
know that and I think you are making a big fuss about it"
"Oh, now I am making a fuss" Hermione said angrily as she shot up from
her seat in the Room of Requirements. "Do you know what a great
magical achievement it was? From what I could dig up in the past 8
hours, Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw themselves created it"
"So?" Ron asked calmly. Neville, Soha and Cho squirmed in their seats as
they could feel a storm brewing up.
"So?" Hermione eyes went wide in surprise. Was Ron never going to
understand anything at all? "This could have defeated all the death eaters
in one shot. This could have saved us all"
"And what about Tonks?" Ron continued in the same calm voice.
"Harry could have found some other way" Hermione shot back.
"Maybe by destroying Hogwarts and using it's magical energy?" Ron
suggested.
"I didn't mean that" Hermione looked slightly uncomfortable. "What I
meant is that..."
"Tonks is not worth the Power of Hogwarts?" Ron continued. "Maybe the
Power of Hogwarts is more important to you than Tonks"
"Yes" Hermione said vehemently. "It is more important than one single
person. It could have saved many lives if it was not destroyed. But
now...now we have one dead person back and one of the greatest magical
inventions destroyed"
"Hermione, tell me something" Ron said with a sad look on his face.
"Does Harry's happiness mean something to you?"
"What kind of question is that Ronald Weasley?" Hermione asked in a
stone-cold voice. "You know how much his feelings matter to me"
"Then why are you not happy that he has Tonks back?" Ron said in an
almost pleading voice.
"Because this is not the time where a single person's life becomes more
valuable than that of the refugees at Hogwarts" Hermione replied
stubbornly. "At this time, I believe we should let our brain take the
decisions, rather than our hearts"
"So, if you had been in Tonks's place and I knew that the Power of
Hogwarts could bring you back, I should have done nothing?" Ron asked
with a curious look on his face. At this, Hermione looked stunned for a
moment and started muttering something under her breath.
"Ron" Cho spoke when she saw Hermione muttering uncomfortably under
her breath. "What Hermione is saying is that maybe, just maybe, we paid
too big a prize for bringing back Tonks"
"I see" Ron said. "I beg to differ. I think that after all these years, the guy
named Harry Potter needs a break from all the sadness and tragedy he
has been through. He needs someone who he can love". Ron paused as he
looked at the expressions of the others. Neville was nodding his head in a
gesture which suggested he agreed with Ron while Cho and Hermione
remained non-committal, each due to their own personal reasons. Soha
squirmed uncomfortably in her seat when Ron looked at her. She did not
know how to react because she did not know much about Harry's past.
She had heard things but had never seen them in person. Hence she felt it
was best to remain neutral.
"I hope you all have not forgotten the pains he had gone through to save
so many lives in his first five years" Ron continued. "If You-Know-Who
had got to the philosopher's stone, then god knows what might have
happened till now. I just..."
"I am sorry" Hermione said abruptly.
"What?" Ron asked with a slightly puzzled look on his face.
"I am sorry I said all those things about Tonks and Harry" Hermione said
in a low voice. "I guess I was just thinking too much in my own interests".
No one said anything for a moment. Seldom was there a moment in
Hogwarts over the last six odd years that Hermione Granger had done
something wrong. Even rarer was her acknowledging her mistake in front
of so many people.
"Thank you for opening my eyes Ron" Hermione looked at Ron
appreciatively.
"Oh...you guys are here". The door of the Room of Requirements had
opened at exactly that moment and Harry Potter was standing there.
"Hi Harry" everyone in the room chorused in unison by accident. Cho,
Soha and Hermione broke into giggles at this. Even Neville could not
hide a smile.
"I need you guys to be with Remus and Tonks" Harry said. Seeing the
curious looks, he continued. "I don't want to explain twice how Tonks
came back. Take this and you will find yourself at the required place. I
will be there in a minute or two more after I find Professor Delacour".
The others took the portkey Harry had handed to them and he vanished
from sight. Almost instantly they found themselves in the same room
they had been in a couple of days ago. All they could do now was to wait
for Harry to come back with Fleur and clear the mystery about how
Tonks came back.
&&&&
"So?" Remus said once Harry had joined everyone there. Everyone who
had been there when Tonks had come back was present in the fifth
compartment of the trunk which now resembled a small conference
room.
"Yeah...I am just thinking where I should start from" Harry said as he
started pacing the room. He looked once at Tonks as he tried to arrange
his thoughts.
"Well...hmmm..." was all Harry said as he kept pacing around. After a few
moments, he said. "I will just start randomly, ok?". No one said anything
in reply because they knew Harry was not waiting for one. "Let's see, you
guys know what the Power of Hogwarts is. Let me point out what I had
found out about it". Casting his mind back to what he had read in
Dumbledore's office, Harry started his explanation of the Power of
Hogwarts.
"The Power of Hogwarts was created by Godric Gryffindor and the other
founders to protect Hogwarts from Slytherin" Harry said as he sat down.
"He created the Power after one of the most tragic happenings he had
seen. It was after Salazar Slytherin had split from the group. He had
created a small army to take over Hogwarts. He had spent many a year in
hand-picking the candidates. When they were ready, he declared war on
Hogwarts"
"At that time, Hogwarts did not have enough security measures against
wizarding attacks. There were charms to safe-guard it against muggles
but no one had expected some wizard, least of all a small army, to attack
Hogwarts". Harry paused for a moment to drink some water and then
continued again. "Well...Slytherin's plan of taking over Hogwarts would
have succeeded but one of his recruits betrayed him"
"This guy came from a decent family. Salazar had spotted him during a
wizarding duel championship and recruited him. This guy was one of his
best guys. However, he defected to the other side a few days before the
actual attack. Later it was learnt that Rowena Ravenclaw had been the
one who had been responsible for the whole thing". Seeing a few raised
eyebrows, Harry continued his explanation.
"Basically, Rowena Ravenclaw had anticipated that Slytherin might try to
take revenge someday for his being asked to leave Hogwarts. She was
also the person who had the job of approaching families of students for
enlisting at Hogwarts. During these times, she had come across three to
four families whose sons and daughters had mysteriously disappeared.
Acting on a hunch, she setup the wizarding duel championship"
"As the tournament progressed, Rowena approached a seventeen year old
wizard who looked certain to win the tournament. She mentioned
Hogwarts to him and he seemed very excited. He wanted to come and
learn whatever he could. However, Rowena told him that he would only
be accepted if he worked for her on a particular mission"
"There were rumors that a highly trained wizard was at the tournament
and recruiting wizards and witches for training. Rowena told him that
this wizard would in all probability approach him and he was to accept
the offer and spy on him on her behalf. He agreed"
Harry stood up and started pacing the room again. At that moment the
room was so quite that he could hear the breathing of quite a few people.
"As he was instructed, he spied upon Slytherin for over a year and passed
on the information to Hogwarts. This person was Simon Potter"
"WHAT!" Hermione stood up in shock. "Simon Potter? The first leader of
the Order of Phoenix?"
"What?" This time it was Harry's turn to be shocked. "I did not know that.
What do you know of him?"
"I found about him in these past few months when looking up some stuff
on the Order" Hermione said with an embarrassed look on her face. It
was always so typical of her digging up stuff most people did not know
about. "Simon Potter is one of the first in the line of Potter's, which is
your family, whose life was well documented. Godric Gryffindor was said
to have created a secret society and had handed over its reins in the
hands of Simon Potter who, though he was quite young, had been able to
gain Gryffindor's trust"
"Must have been the spying part which earned him the trust" Harry
commented.
"It was also said that Simon Potter had been given possession of many
powerful magical objects though no one could ever find out anything
about them" Hermione concluded.
"Thanks Hermione" Harry said as Hermione resumed her seat. "A couple
of things have been cleared up then. It seems now we know more about
the Order of Phoenix. To continue from where I had left off, based on
Simon Potter's reports, the remaining three founders had decided that
they would have to create something to protect Hogwarts if a war came
upon it. It was then that they got together to create the Power of
Hogwarts"
"Rowena Ravenclaw created the spell work and started creating the
Goblet of Fire. The Hat and Sword were to be created by Gryffindor. It
required a mighty amount of magical energy to be put into place.
Anyway, the founders started creating the Power. However, mid-way
through, Slytherin attacked Hogwarts. Mind you, Simon Potter had
already declared his loyalty to Hogwarts. It was then that a great battle
took place".
Harry stopped for a few moments as he tried to think of how to phrase
his next sentences. "The founders and their apprentices fought long and
hard to protect Hogwarts and continue creating the Power. The war went
on for many days in which time the Power was almost ready and a last
amount of spell work was needed from Gryffindor. It was at this moment
that Slytherin learnt that a magical object was being prepared"
"That fateful night, Slytherin attacked Hogwarts with all his forces. There
was a fierce fight before Slytherin came face to face with Gryffindor
himself" Harry's voice trailed off at this moment as he felt some emotions
welling up inside him.
"What happened next?" Fleur asked in a hesitant voice.
"Oh...sorry" Harry said. "In that fight, Slytherin trapped Gryffindor using
treachery. He was about to kill Gryffindor when Rowena Ravenclaw
appeared and saved Godric"
"What happened next?" Tonks was the one who posed the question this
time. She had a feeling she already knew what happened but she wanted
to hear it from Harry himself.
"Rowena Ravenclaw died trying to save Godric Gryffindor, the love of her
life" Harry said with a sigh. Complete pin-drop silence ensued. It was
after a couple of minutes that Harry spoke again.
"The death of Rowena Ravenclaw stunned even Slytherin who had a
weak spot for her. He was said to have left the fight in a dazed state and
did not return to Hogwarts again" Harry said.
"But the Power of Hogwarts was still not finished at that point, was it?"
Neville asked.
"It wasn't" Harry confirmed. "It was at that time that Godric Gryffindor,
overcome by rage and sorrow at losing his love, tried to perform a ritual
to bring back Rowena Ravenclaw which almost led to his own death. He
did not succeed...Simon stopping him before it was too late. After that
Simon convinced him that Rowena would have loved nothing more that
to see the Power working since she had created most of the spells behind
it. You see, Simon had come to love her almost as if she was his elder
sister"
"Godric Gryffindor acknowledged Simon's statement and started working
on finishing the spells. However, he secretly modified a few of the spells
and added some new ones which led to the creation process to carry on
for a further eight years"
"Eight years?" Hermione looked stunned again. "It is a long time"
"Yes" Harry said. "It is a long time to create a few additional spells. But
the spells he created was beyond anything the wizarding world had seen.
Maybe Rowena Ravenclaw would have been able to create them in half
the time..."
"What were the spells?" Hermione asked slightly impatiently. After all, if
Harry estimated that creating the same spells would have taken Rowena
Ravenclaw four years, then those spells ought to have been very complex.
"Those spells are known as the Binder of Spirit". At this, Hermione looked
confused. Somehow, this piece of information was not documented
anywhere.
"These spells were created by Gryffindor in an attempt to bring back
Rowena" Harry continued. "He couldn't bring her back since she had
moved on to the next world and her spirit was gone. Hence he created a
spell which would refuse to release a spirit even if it wanted to move on.
This spell would work only in a special case where one person gave his or
her life to save that of the other person they loved. And this spell would
activate itself automatically if the wielder of the Power of Hogwarts lived
while the other died"
"I am getting confused" Neville said. "You mean the person who wields
the Power can bring back anyone they want?"
"No Neville" Harry said. "They can only stop the spirit of the one they
loved from moving on to the next world, that too if the person had died
trying to save the wielder of the Power. This was exactly what happened
with Tonks"
"So, if I had died a normal death..." Tonks said.
"...then you would have moved on" Harry completed the sentence. "If you
had died during some other fight, then also you would have moved on"
"So Godric Gryffindor made this a special clause to avoid a repeat of what
happened to Rowena?" Remus asked.
"Yes" Harry replied. "That is the reason Tonks's spirit could not leave
Hogwarts. Also, she could not be seen because she was not a normal
ghost, but rather held on here due to a spell"
"And you knew she was here from the start?" Cho asked. She felt slightly
envious of Tonks.
"No, I did not know because the spell auto-activated itself" Harry said. "I
could somehow feel that something was out there but I could never relate
it with Tonks. That's why I wandered off in the corridors...trying to think
what it was"
"Then how did you know that I am still here?" Tonks looked puzzled.
"Some luck and some deductions" Harry said. "One evening Nearly
Headless Nick told me to let go. I got the same message from a few other
people too". Harry looked meaningfully at Remus who nodded his head
slightly as he remembered his conversation with Dumbledore.
"I did not know why people were telling me to let go" Harry said in an
angry manner. "I was obviously not letting go of Tonks's memory and
certainly I was not going to forget her all my life". Tonks silently looked
at the floor to hide her misty eyes. "Godric Gryffindor had made the spell
into such that if I had let gone of my feelings, then the spirit, in this case
that of Tonks, would have been able to move on. I couldn't let go of my
feelings...so Tonks got stuck. Sorry for that Tonks, about keeping you
stuck here"
"No…ok" Tonks said in a choked voice. She did not dare to say anything
more lest she should burst into tears.
"What about the diary then? And how did you know how to bring her
back?" Luna asked these questions in a serious tone which was quite
unlike her.
"Everything started off when I accidentally found this diary" Harry
explained. "Somehow, whenever I was near it, I felt calmer, more
composed. Then one day I found all the information about the Power of
Hogwarts and putting 2 and 2 together was not that hard. I started
searching for the counter spell. I found the counter spell information
right in the middle of the text describing the Power of Hogwarts. It said
that Gryffindor had created a fourth object with the help of Helga
Hufflepuff. This was the veil"
"Initially I had thought that I would just need to resurrect the Power and
would be able to bring back Tonks. I had overlooked the significance of
the veil. But then I remembered something I had read somewhere...that
the veil was created to allow the destruction of the powerful objects like
the Goblet"
"But why would Godric Gryffindor create something which could destroy
the Power?" Cho asked.
"Maybe because he was afraid that if Slytherin or his followers got hold
of the Power, then they might modify its spells and use its magical power
for some evil purpose?" Remus suggested.
"Exactly" Harry agreed. "I came to the same conclusion too. This was one
of my assumptions. Even though the Power was made to protect against
Slytherin, if he ever took over Hogwarts, he could make it into an un-
penetrable fortress. And we did see how the fake Moody used a powerful
confundus charm during the tournament, didn't we?"
"I could not find any exact information on how to perform the counter-
spell" Harry continued. "The only thing mentioned was that a person
could only be brought back if the wielder was ready to make the ultimate
sacrifice. I could not make any sense of what the ultimate sacrifice could
be. If I died in trying to bring back Tonks, then it would mean that
Gryffindor created a spell which would be unable to re-unite two people.
Somehow this seemed improbable to me. I was very frustrated...angry...as
to what it was that I was missing. I was so angry that one day I even
thought of destroying Gryffindor's glove which I wore on my arm but
somehow I found that I revolted as soon as my adrenalin went away"
"That was it" Harry said as he stood up in his excitement. "Destroying the
glove was something which I could not think of easily. It was then that I
understood what Gryffindor had meant by the ultimate sacrifice. For him,
the ultimate sacrifice at that moment would have been to destroy the
Power if he could get back Rowena. That's when I knew what had to be
done...that the Power had to be destroyed"
"As for the diary..." Harry continued. "...Tonks, did you somehow feel a
part of yourself missing when your spirit was wandering in Hogwarts?"
"Now that you mention it, yes" Tonks said with furrowed eyebrows. "I
could not remember a few things and felt a bid odd in some places. It
was as if a part of me was not there" Tonks looked very thoughtful as she
tried to remember what she exactly felt like. "At that time, I thought it
was due to my being dead"
"Right" Harry said. "You see Tonks, you had somehow found a diary quite
similar to one created by Tom Riddle"
"That can't be" Ron looked aghast. "Don't tell me You-Know-Who left
behind more of those"
"I don't think so Ron" Harry said. "But Tonks found something similar".
Harry explained to others the information he had about Tom Riddle's
diary and how he had saved Ginny from it.
"So Tonks got a similar diary?" Hermione asked when Harry had finished
explaining to the others. "But how is that possible?"
"I think Tonks knows the answer to that one" Harry said as he looked at
Tonks. Tonks, in return, gave him a blank look. "Tonks..." Harry said.
"...you ever wrote anything in a diary? A separate diary for that matter?"
"Yes, I maintained a diary" Tonks said. "And...hmmm...yes, I had written
in a separate diary for once. It looked very similar to mine and I had
mistaken it for my diary. I found it at my office"
"Anything else?" Harry queried. Tonks shook her head negatively.
"Someone then placed the dairy on your table intentionally and you
started writing into it" Harry continued but was interrupted by George.
"Intentionally? Who could do so and why?"
"Yes George...or is it Fred?" Harry said. "Anyway, I say intentionally
because this diary was needed to bring Tonks back and whichever person
did it knew about what he or she was doing. I don't know who that
person could have been but this is the only logic coming to my mind"
"Why would a diary be needed when Godric Gryffindor created all those
spells?" Hermione asked. "Was it some sort of a focal point?"
"Right as you always are Hermione" Harry said which made Hermione go
turn slightly red in embarrassment. "The spell which Gryffindor had
created stopped a spirit from moving on but how could he stop the spirit
from moving away to different parts of the world? And if the spirit of the
person moved off to someplace else, how was he going to perform the
spell to bring that person back to life?"
"Unable to find a solution to these issues, Gryffindor's spell required a
part of the person's spirit to be stored in something which he could get
hold of" Harry explained. "In this way, he could focus his counter-spell on
the item and the rest of the person's spirit would automatically be drawn
towards it. As to how this happens, I have no idea"
"Hence, when Tonks wrote in that diary, an infinitesimally small part of
her spirit was transferred to it" Harry said. "Hence I used the diary as the
focal point and the whole of Tonks spirit knew where she was needed"
"But how did you know that the energy had to be channeled through the
focal point?" Hermione asked, slightly astounded at Harry's logical
reasoning.
"I did not" Harry said. "Rather, I remembered how we had an earth quake
when the Goblet was destroyed. My thinking was, would Gryffindor want
to cause a catastrophe in trying to bring back Rowena? No. Also, he had
mentioned that a huge amount of energy had to be channeled through
the focal point. So, since a huge amount of energy would be radiated
when the Power was destroyed, it was logical that this had to be
channeled through the focal point"
"Well...this is what had happened in my mind from the starting of this
year and thankfully, some of my assumptions proved correct"
"Wow" was all the Ron could manage. The others still seemed to be
digesting this whole flood of information.
"But..." Hermione was the one who spoke up. "...how did you know that
Dumbledore agreed with you?"
Harry smiled at Hermione. "Let's say I assumed he knew what was
happening and since he did not stop me, I took it as a positive sign"
&&&&
"Come in" Albus Dumbledore was seated in his office when somebody
knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal the towering figure of
Rubeus Hagrid.
"Good morn' Sir" Hagrid said as he entered the office.
"Hello Hagrid" Dumbledore said with a pleasant smile. "Please have a
seat". As Hagrid sat down, Dumbledore conjured up two glasses of
pumpkin juice for either of them.
"'t was not needed" Hagrid said as he gulped down the whole glass in one
shot. Dumbledore just smiled at him and refilled the glass.
"So, how are you?" Dumbledore asked after Hagrid seemed to have had
his fill. "All of us missed you very much"
"I cou' not bring many" Hagrid said dejectedly. "Only 15 of my fellow
men decided to join to 'ur side"
"But that is very good news" Dumbledore said in obvious delight. "The
fact that you got 15 giants to shun Lord Voldemort's offer is a great
diplomatic victory for us"
"He has 'bout 40 giants wit' 'im" Hagrid said in a slightly irritated voice.
"'t is no diplomatic victory Sir"
"You are wrong Hagrid" Dumbledore said as he sensed Hagrid's
disappointment with his own self. "If you had not gone and
communicated with them, then we would not have had a single giant on
our side. You have just made us fifteen times more stronger". Hagrid
seemed slightly happier at listening to this but his face turned grave
again.
"Do 'u think we will win 'tis war Sir?" Hagrid asked in a tentative voice.
"Harry 'on't get hurt, right?". Dumbledore looked sympathetically at the
half-giant in front of him.
"Hagrid, this is a war" Dumbledore said at last. "Everyone is going to take
some decisions...including Harry. All we can do is fight Lord Voldemort's
army and hope Harry will be able to save us all"
"'u really think Harry can kill Riddle?" Hagrid asked as he shivered
visibly. Somehow, even the human face of Tom Riddle struck fear in his
heart.
"I don't know Hagrid" Dumbledore replied. "Lord Voldemort tried to kill
Harry. That could mean something". Dumbledore knew that Harry's
secret was not for him to reveal.
"But the prophecy!" Hagrid said quite enthusiastically. "Tis Prophet says
Harry is 'posed to kill Riddle"
"They also say I am an old man who has lost his mind" Dumbledore said
with chuckle. "Do you believe that too Hagrid?"
"No sir" Hagrid said in a slightly embarrassed voice and looked away so
that he would not have to meet Dumbledore's gaze. However, he could
not stop himself from blurting out his query once again.
"Sir, do 'u think Harry defeat Riddle?"
"To tell the truth Hagrid, I don't know" Dumbledore said. "We can only
hope someone is able to defeat Lord Voldemort and hopefully it will be
Harry"
"Why don't 'u take care of Riddle, Sir?" Hagrid asked as Dumbledore
looked at him with a twinkle in his eye. "You are more powerful than
him and can easily defeat him if you wanted"
"I am flattered by all this praise" Dumbledore said after a few seconds.
"No, I am not joking" Dumbledore said when he saw Hagrid's face fall
slightly. Knowing Hagrid's nature, Dumbledore knew that Hagrid thought
that he was just trying to be nice but that was not the case. "As to why I
cannot defeat Lord Voldemort, I think that story will have to wait for
another day" Dumbledore said, giving Hagrid an indication that he would
not be able to make any progress on this issue.
"'opefully I will be alive to listen to it Sir" Hagrid said as he stood up to
leave.
"Hopefully I will be alive to tell it to you" Dumbledore said as his eyes
seemed to twinkle madly as he saw Hagrid's shocked reaction.
&&&&
"WAKE UP"
"Oh no" Harry said groggily even as he covered his head with his pillow.
However, Tonks pulled it away in a split second.
"You know you should not be in my room" Harry said as he wished for a
new pillow and the room provided one.
"And why can't I be in your room?" Tonks asked in a playful tone. "Let me
just fold up your blanket for..."
"NO!" Harry said with a start. "Stay away from me"
"Oh dear" Tonks said as she scanned Harry face's and her eyes traveled
downwards. Instantly Harry doubled up.
"You can't see through these" Harry said, blushing madly.
"Who said I couldn't?" Tonks queried as her eyes came to a stop at an
area which Harry least preferred. "All I have to do is make a wish and
this room will allow me to see through everything"
"Right" Harry said in a playful tone himself. "Now that you mention it, I
see you are wearing some nice muggle clothes"
"You - would - not - dare" Tonks said as her narrowed eyes shifted their
focus to Harry's face.
"Why not?" Harry continued in the same teasing tone but he seemed to be
having second thoughts seeing the look on Tonks's face.
"Try me" Tonks said as she took a step forward. Harry looked at her face
for a second before his eyes traveled below her neck and a naughty smile
came on his lip. The next thing he knew was Tonks had jumped on him
on the bed and was strangling him.
"Help" Harry said in a choked voice.
"Today, you die" Tonks said in a venomous voice.
"Why? What did I do wrong?" Harry asked as innocently as possible with
Tonks on top of him. He slowly managed to loosen her grip to the extent
that it was not the least bit painful for him but Tonks still thought she
had him in trouble.
"You should be ashamed of yourself Potter" Tonks said angrily even
though it was quite apparent that she was making up her expressions.
"Why should I be the only one ashamed?" Harry asked. "You don't seem
to be ashamed at the way you are positioned right now?". Tonks's eyes
went wide as she realized the way she was sitting on top of Harry with
her legs on either side of him. Try as she might, she could not hide her
blushing.
"That's not the issue here" Tonks tried to divert the attention.
"Ok" Harry said, a smile spreading on his lips. "I am quite comfortable.
So, you were saying I should be ashamed?" Harry queried in a
conversational tone. "Yes, I should be. What else do you think I should or
should not be doing? I am all ears". It was quite clear to Tonks now that
Harry was trying to prolong the conversation and get her to stay the way
she was at the moment.
"I don't know" Tonks said with a shake of her head. "I think I should be
going"
"As you wish" Harry said. However, as Tonks tried to move away, Harry
held on firmly to her. The more Tonks tried to loosen herself, the tighter
Harry gripped her.
"Let me go" Tonks said in a whisper.
"I won't" Harry said. Tonks looked deep into Harry's eyes and knew he
meant it. He just wasn't going to let go of her anytime soon. As she
looked on, she noticed that the sixteen year old Harry had now become a
young man of twenty and was everything she could have wished for.
Well, not everything considering he was still skinny compared to some of
the other guys but she knew more than to fall for physical beauty. Harry
had grown up to be a man which many a woman dreamed to have as
their chosen one and Tonks felt really lucky to be his chosen one.
"What are you looking at?" Harry asked, his naughty look being replaced
by a warm smile.
"Nothing" Tonks said as she found looked away shyfully.
"You look beautiful" Harry said as he released one of Tonks's hands and
turned her face towards him. "Tonks, thank you for choosing me"
"You are welcome Harry" Tonks said. "But I would like to thank you for
choosing me"
"No, I don't think so" Harry said. "I am the lucky guy here and don't you
dare take away that from me"
"What about me?" Tonks pouted her lips in a childish manner. "Can't I be
the lucky girl?"
"Do you want to be the lucky number one here?" Harry asked. Tonks, her
childish pout still in place, nodded her head in an affirmative gesture.
"You got your wish". With that, Harry pulled her towards him, cupped
her face and kissed her flush on the lips. Initially Tonks's eyes went wide
in surprise but soon she started kissing him back. They broke their kiss
after what seemed like ages.
"That was nice" Tonks said, a smile playing on her lips. "Not a bad kisser"
"Thank you" Harry said. "All the girls at Hogwarts think the same"
"What!" Tonks said as she got hold of the pillow and stuck Harry a
seemingly fierce blow. All the while, she remained seated on Harry.
Initially it had seemed awkward but now it seemed quite natural to both
of them.
"I also had a reputation of being a great kisser at school" Tonks said, her
nose held high in a superior gesture.
"Maybe" Harry said. "But it is always difficult to maintain one's reputation
outside of school"
"Oh, I can prove it if you want" Tonks said as she licked her lips. "Would
you like that Mr. Potter?"
"Of course" Harry said, his grin getting broader. "I do have to certify you
after all"
"Ok. But close your eyes." Tonks said as she brought herself closer to
Harry's face. Harry closed his eyes and moved upwards to meet her lips
when...
WHAM! A pillow hit him with great force as Tonks rolled over and stood
up on her feet.
"That was for all the embarrassment you caused me" Tonks said as she
rubbed her hands in glee. For a second she had been worried she had hit
Harry too hard but seeing the look on his face she knew he was quite
amused with the whole thing, and slightly irritated at not getting a kiss.
"Hey, I deserved that kiss" Harry said.
"Just you wait Potter. You will have to earn it" Tonks said as she walked
out of the room with a smile plastered all over her face. Harry groaned at
this. He knew he was in for a long, long wait. As he got up and
proceeded towards the shower, he couldn't help but smile. After all, it
was going to be a lot of fun wooing Tonks and he certainly wouldn't miss
this for the entire world.
&&&&
"What is it now Potter?" Tonks asked as she saw Harry entering the
kitchen behind her. She had seen him practicing hard in the training area
and had decided not to disturb him. However, for some reason, he had
stopped his spell training the moment he had seen her and had followed
her to the kitchen.
"How are you Tonks?" Harry asked quite normally but Tonks could feel
some strain in the voice. His voice sounded like this at times when he
spent a lot of time thinking of something.
"What is it Harry?" Tonks said as she looked at him. From the thoughtful
look on his face, she knew that her assumption had been correct.
However, she could see his eyes burning brightly in their sockets. They
seemed to have a new life in them ever since Tonks had come back and
she felt quite flattered that she could make Harry feel so happy.
However, she could not help but feel concerned at the moment.
"Nothing serious" Harry said in a reassuring voice. "It is something I had
been thinking for quite a while now. I have a small request for you"
"Like what?" Tonks asked. From the look on Harry's face, she knew that
he was not playing with her and was certainly not about to say anything
romantic at the moment. She waited as Harry explained what he needed.
"You sure about this?" Tonks asked when Harry had finished his query
request.
"I could have asked someone else to do it" Harry said thoughtfully. "But
now, I would not dare to think of anyone else doing this but you"
"I will do it" Tonks said in a very emotional voice. She knew that Harry
was showing great respect to her by making his request. There was no
way she would say no to such a request.
"Thanks" Harry said with a smile and went back to his training.
&&&&
"How are you Harry?" Hermione asked when she arrived in the Room of
Requirements and found Harry, Tonks and Remus waiting. She was still
feeling guilty by the way she had protested Harry's destruction of the
Power of Hogwarts. Though Harry did not know of this, she felt that it
was her responsibility to be nice to him so that she could somehow
compensate for her words. She knew it was an illogical thing but still
couldn't help it.
"I am fine Hermione" Harry said in a friendly manner. His mannerisms
had undergone a total change ever since Tonks had been back and he
seemed much friendlier now. "Where are the others?"
"They are on their way" Hermione replied as she took one of the empty
seats. Harry had called an urgent meeting of the senior D.A. members
and had asked Tonks, Remus, the twins and Fleur to be present. Soon
everyone started coming in and in another ten minutes all the invitees
were seated and waiting for Harry to begin.
"Thank you for coming here" Harry started off formally. "I will get right
down to the topic I wanted to discuss and that is Lord Voldemort".
Ignoring the shivers of most in the room, Harry continued.
"I know certain people who have sent me some information about Lord
Voldemort's movements and I am afraid to say that we are now
approaching the period when he will attack Hogwarts itself"
"What?" Fleur shot up from her chair. "Are you sure about this?"
"Yes Fleur" Harry said in a calm voice.
"How did you know?" Ron asked in a rather cold voice. The coldness in
his voice was rather discomforting and chilling in a manner.
"Some friends told me". Harry replied with tact. He did not want to
mention that Rano and one more vampire had brought him the news.
"So what do we do now?" Cho asked. "The headmaster must be told"
"I have already spoken to him" Harry said. "He knows the situation and is
taking the necessary steps on his behalf. What I was thinking was that
what are we supposed to do?"
"You are the one who decides what to do" Hermione stated. "We are
ready to do what you want us to do"
"I don't think so" Harry replied with a shake of his head. "We now need to
make some collective decisions because I do believe that two brains are
better than one"
"But you are better equipped than us in understanding how You-Know-
Who might attack Hogwarts" Cho said. "After all, you are the only one
who has faced him so many times"
"Then maybe I should go out and face him alone without the help of you
people" Harry stated with a sigh. Why did everyone always have to make
a big deal of how he had faced Lord Voldemort so many times and had
come out of it alive?
"Can I say something?" Tonks asked with her right hand raised. Harry
nodded, giving her the green signal to say what she had on her mind.
"I suggest we look at what we can do in a collective manner and then
take Harry's opinion on certain issues" Tonks said. "For example, Harry
would have no idea of how many aurors are there. We cannot expect him
to know everything"
"Agreed" the twins chorused. "Harry mate, do you want us to start?"
"The floor is all yours" Harry said.
"We did some research of our own" George started off. "My assumption is
we are outnumbered very badly unless we involve more people"
"Maybe we could ask the people of Hogsmeade to join us" Fred suggested.
"Individually they don't stand a chance but if they come and work with
us then we can defend Hogwarts better"
"Are we looking only at defending Hogwarts?" Fleur asked.
"I think we should concentrate on defending initially" George said. It was
quite unusual of the twins thinking of defense. After all, for them, offence
had been the best defense throughout their Hogwarts years. "Once
Hogwarts is secure..."
"Hogwarts won't be secure until Lord Voldemort is defeated" Remus said
before George could finish. "But I think we should concentrate on
security first and the best people to ensure security within the castle are
the D.A."
"You don't mean to say that we are just going to sit in here and see aurors
getting killed by death eaters, do you?" Ron asked.
"No" Remus said. "From what I know of your group, most of you are
inexperienced. Only some of you can take on a death eater, the majority
cannot". Hermione and the others had no option but to agree with
Remus. "However, since this is war time, everyone should be prepared to
do attack. If someone loses his or her life, then that life lost will not be
wasted". There was pin-drop silence in the room by now. "But this does
not mean that you have to go head on first. Make sure most of the D.A. is
protecting the people inside the castle. The few of you who are able to
fight on par with death eaters should only think of attacking. And you
can attack well only if you don't have to worry about saving others back
in the castle"
"I agree" Ron said. "But we have to do something to let them know that
we are not going to sit and watch them attack us"
"That's right" Soha said. "But can someone please clarify how many
people are on our side?"
"Good question Soha" Tonks said. "I think I will be able to clarify some of
them. We have a few giants, some vampires and werewolves on our side.
Add to that the aurors and other wizards and witches..."
"Also veela warriors" Fleur said.
"Really?" Tonks looked at Fleur with her eyes wide open. Fleur smiled in
return. "That's great" Tonks said on getting the confirmation from Fleur.
"Veela warriors have quite a reputation and having them on our side is a
definite plus. Plus from what Harry told me, there are some dragons also.
Well, this is basically it"
"This is it?" Soha said looking quite crestfallen.
"What did you expect, an army of thousands?" Luna spoke for the first
time. "You can only get that if you can please the god of Hanabbaratis"
"What?" Ron looked at Luna with a puzzled expression. Tonks, who had
never heard Luna's comments previously, was looking intently at her and
trying to ascertain whether she was joking or was serious.
"We don't have time for that at the moment Luna" Harry said before Ron
or anyone else could say anything else. "Thanks for the suggestion
though"
"You are welcome Harry" Luna replied. "But I do think we have enough to
protect Hogwarts" Luna continued. "Vampires and werewolves can
protect it at night while we can protect it at daytime"
"Right on the point Luna" Harry said with a smile at the girl and
wondering for the millionth time how she could come up with such a
simple answer in the middle of such a complex and serious discussion.
Tonks, on the other hand, seemed stunned by the simplicity of the answer
from the same girl who had said something about some god of Hana-
something. She gave a shake of her head as if to clear it of any
misunderstandings.
"I think we have a temporary solution for now" Harry continued. "We
have to instruct the D.A. members to protect the castle corridors. They
are to work in groups". Hermione, who had been quite silent throughout
the meeting, nodded her head along with the others. "Some of us here
might have to go on the offence along with the aurors. Of course we will
know when the time is right". Another round of nods followed. "Plus we
have some hope of protection at night-time due to the vampires and
werewolves"
"But we are far outnumbered" Cho said in a low voice. "If we have one
vampire on our side, I can bet You-Know-Who has ten on his side. Same
for all others". Everyone knew in their hearts that Cho was correct. They
turned to look in the direction of Harry for an answer.
"Yes, you are correct" Harry said. "But we have something on our side
which they don't have. We know we are fighting for the right thing. We
are fighting to save our loved ones. We are fighting to keep the world
from falling into darkness". Harry's voice rose and there was no mistaking
the zeal behind it.
"We are not trying to destroy anything. Rather, we are trying to make the
world a more secure one so that our next generations don't have to face
the menace named Lord Voldemort. This in itself gives us a reason to
fight and win". Cho nodded her head as some of Harry's confidence and
hope seemed to flow into her and the others. "And this is the reason why
we will win!"
&&&&
"The situation is graver than we had initially estimated" Albus
Dumbledore addressed the small gathering of Hogwarts professors in his
office.
"What do you mean Albus?" Professor McGonagall queried.
"Lord Voldemort has started to call in all his death eaters" Dumbledore
clarified. "We have come to know that a huge number of death eaters
have started gathering at a hidden location"
"That would mean the Tom Riddle is getting ready to attack Hogwarts"
little Professor Flitwick commented. "That boy had so much potential and
yet..."
"I agree with you" Dumbledore said. "And yes, it would mean that Lord
Voldemort has set his sights firmly on Hogwarts"
"Do we have any information as to how big his force is?" McGonagall
asked, her eyes showing that she was hoping for the best but prepared to
hear the worst.
"I don't know the exact figure but reports suggest that around a thousand
death eaters along with giants, werewolves and other dark creatures are
assembling". Dumbledore said in a grim voice.
"Oh - my - god" McGonagall said as Madam Pomfrey just opened and
closed her mouth without a single sound ensuing. The others looked too
stunned to comment.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we need to organize our gathered forces as soon
as possible" Dumbledore said as he stood up from his seat. "We can hope
for the best but preparation for the worst is my recommended
suggestion". Most of those present did not even utter a word as they filed
out of the office. Even McGonagall did not say a word before leaving.
After everyone had left, Dumbledore removed his glasses and cleaned
them with a simple spell. He turned and looked out of the window of his
room to see the setting sun and the horizon which seemed to be blood-
red that evening. All the signs seemed to be pointing to the worst
happening.
"I hope you can fulfill your destiny Harry Potter" Dumbledore said under
his breath as he turned back to his desk and started working out issues
required to get the light forces mobilized.
&&&&
A/N: Tenth chapter here. Hopefully my explanation of Harry not letting
go of Tonks's memory justifies the angst in the first six chapters. If he had
moved on, then there would have been no Tonks. I hope my explanation
is not too bad though there might be some loopholes which I missed out
on. Some parts might not make sense if you don't remember PoH.
Sorry about Hagrid's accent. I always get messed up there! Also, I am not
good at writing romance. So please forgive me if the scenes were not up
to what you were expecting. Just for the record, there will not be too
many romantic scenes.
One more chapter to go before full scale war starts :)
Thanks for all those reviews. Every review which you people made is
much appreciated. And to everyone who didn't review, thanks for taking
time to read up to here at least.
&&&&
11. The Symbol Of Life
Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter and the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers. I
am not the original writer (though I wish I could be J) and I do not wish
to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued.
So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah...forget it and let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
Note: This is the sequel to Harry Potter & The Power Of Hogwarts. Please
read it before moving on with this story.
HARRY POTTER & THE NEW DAWN
Chapter 11 – The Symbol Of Life
"I hope you can fulfill your destiny Harry Potter" Dumbledore said under
his breath as he turned back to his desk and started working out issues
required to get the light forces mobilized.
&&&&
"Good morning Harry" Dumbledore greeted his favorite pupil entering
into his office. It had been just over 12 hours since Dumbledore had sent
out notices to the light forces to get ready for an attack.
"Good morning Headmaster" Harry said and took the seat offered to him.
"What brings you here so early?" Dumbledore asked as he looked outside.
It was 8 in the morning and there was still some fog outside.
"I have been thinking" Harry said. "The time is coming nearer and nearer"
"So it seems" Dumbledore agreed.
"But I still have no clue as to what extra-ordinary power I have" Harry
said. "I cannot defeat Lord Voldemort using a jelly-legs spell, can I?".
"Of course not" Dumbledore chuckled at this but did not comment any
further.
"What can it be?" Harry queried with an impatient look on his face. "I
have a feeling you know what needs to be done"
"It is for you to find out Harry" Dumbledore replied.
"But this is something in which I need your help" Harry explained. "I
cannot be expected to come up with something which will defeat Lord
Voldemort. Unless I have 10 more years experience"
"I don't think you have 10 more years on hand" Dumbledore replied.
"What is the thing which I am missing Sir?" Harry asked again, this time
very slowly. "What would you have done if you had been in my place?"
"I would have tried harder and looked deep within myself"
&&&&
"Yeah, yeah...try harder" Harry muttered underneath his breath as he
made his way towards the dormitory. He was not satisfied with the
headmaster's advice, that is, if you could call it an advice. It was not
Harry's nature nowadays to go to Dumbledore with his problems but he
was not stupid enough to think that he could manage to defeat Lord
Voldemort all by his own. He knew he needed help from someone
elderly. He needed someone to show him part of the way and then he
would do the rest. As of now, he had no clue as to what he needed to do
to defeat his foe.
Still, he could not get Dumbledore's words out of his mind. Why did the
headmaster tell him to try harder? He was trying hard enough, wasn't
he? Or did the headmaster mean he was trying hard in the wrong
direction? After all, if he tried with all his might on the wrong path then
he would have no chance of success. And then it would be a waste of
time and effort. But he couldn't be doing anything wrong by learning new
and advanced magic spells!
As Harry turned around another corner, more questions started popping
up in his head. What did the headmaster mean by "looking deep inside
himself"? Was the answer to Harry's question somewhere inside him? Did
he already know the answer but was unaware of its existence? Did he...
Harry stopped dead in mid-step as his mind started registering some
voices. It had been a long time since he had last heard something on the
stealth spy devices he had planted on Percy. Without even thinking,
Harry touched his invisible ear-ring which doubled up as a listening
device. He could not believe what he was hearing at the moment.
Something terrible was going to happen.
Harry sprang into action just as quickly as he had stopped. He did not
have a moment to loose. Forgetting all about the portkey which he had in
his back pocket, he took the old fashioned way and started running at full
speed towards the Gryffindor house room which was now in his sights.
He dashed inside, inviting quite a few curious looks, and jumped three
steps at a time towards the boys section of the dormitory. Once inside his
dormitory room, he opened the trunk and vanished inside in a flash.
Luckily for him, none of the D.A. members had been present at that time
in the Gryffindor room. Otherwise, his actions would have surely caused
concern amongst all of them.
"TONKS, REMUS!" Harry shouted as he entered the fifth compartment of
the trunk.
"What is the matter Harry?" Tonks rushed out of her room at hearing
Harry's high-pitched voice. Remus also appeared from the training area
which he sometimes used for his own spell-casting.
"Are you guys ready?" Harry said as he went into his room and started
reloading his guns with new bullets. Both the guns were almost empty of
cartridges and Harry blamed his laziness for not reloading them earlier.
"For what?" Tonks asked curiously as she too entered his room. Her eyes
went wide in fear as she saw Harry reloading his guns and cursing under
his breath. This could mean only one thing.
"You mean you did not hear anything on your spy devices?" Harry asked
in exasperation. "Oh sorry...I forgot" he added quickly once he realized
that all three of them had previously decided to divide which section of
spy devices they would be listening to. Hence Tonks, Remus and Harry
always listened to independent set of voices most of the time.
"Gringotts is going to be attacked" Harry said as he stood up straight and
put his fully loaded guns in their holsters.
"And surely you don't mean to go there, do you?" Tonks said hesitantly.
"Of course I do" Harry said as he started to move towards the door only
to find Remus blocking his way.
"No Harry, you are not going" Remus said with such firmness that even
Tonks looked slightly astonished.
"And why am I not going?" Harry asked slowly. He knew Remus was
concerned about him but it was really foolish for him to try and stop
Harry from going.
"Because this is not your destiny" Remus said. "You are our only chance
against Lord Voldemort. You cannot let yourself get involved in each of
these situations"
"And you expect to convince me by just saying that?" Harry asked in a
surprised voice. "You expect me to stay indoors while innocent people get
murdered and you expect me to say to myself that I have to live to fight
Lord Voldemort? Just like that?". Even though Harry was losing time in
the trunk arguing with Remus, he was not too bothered. After all,
compared to the time outside, he had lost only a few seconds till now.
"Yes" Remus said. "Earlier I could not stop you because I did not have a
backup plan but this time I am ready with a backup plan"
"What plan?" Harry asked in a confused voice. Tonks, who had been
silent during the whole conversation, also looked curious.
"You want to help at the fight at Gringotts, right?" Remus queried. Harry
remained silent and Remus continued. "Then I would suggest you send
your vampire friends to their help"
"What?" Harry looked utterly surprised at this suggestion.
"Well..." Remus explained. "...I think Mr. Horatio and his vampires will be
able to fight better than a single person"
"How about Mr. Horatio and his vampires plus one more wizard?" Harry
commented.
"Look Harry" Remus said. "I am just trying to emphasize that you have
some resources in hand and you should utilize them fully. If you start
taking all the risks and then get injured or something...how will we be
able to defend Hogwarts if Lord Voldemort attacks us then?". Harry
looked thoughtful at this. What Remus was saying made sense in a way
but he had never seen himself as a leader of sorts in this war. He had
never thought he could order others to go to a fight without him. Rather,
he viewed himself as a fellow warrior in this fight against the dark forces.
Wherever they went, he thought he should go with them.
"It's not like you are superior to them or they are inferior to you" Tonks
commented in a low voice. This comment took Harry by surprise. He
wondered just how much Tonks knew him to make such an accurate
comment about what he was thinking at that moment. "It's about what
strategy you use in this war" Tonks continued. "We have to keep in mind
that you won't be able to fight every single death eater"
"Also, if you send the vampires to help, then it could result into a great
change of relationships" Remus said.
"Like?" Harry queried again.
"Vampires and goblins have hated each other ever since the goblin
revolution ended" Remus explained. "Vampires had killed a lot of goblins
in that war on the behest of the wizarding community. But if we could
get them to co-operate..."
"What if they don't?" Harry asked before Remus could finish his sentence.
"They have to" Remus said. "If not, then everyone dies"
&&&&
"I want to meet Rowena...now!" Harry told Rano in the same corridor
where they had previously met once. Ten minutes had passed since he
had initially heard that death eaters were going to attack Gringotts. From
what he had heard, all the death eaters had been getting ready for the
attack and, according to his estimates, he had a maximum of another five
minutes in hand. Even then, he knew he was being too optimistic to
assume he had another five minutes.
"Ok" Rano said and disappeared. Within a few seconds, he had appeared
with Rowena.
"What is it Harry?" Rowena asked in a low whisper. The look on Rano's
face had been enough to tell her that something was up. And the moment
she saw Harry she knew that something grave had happened.
"Rowena, I need to meet your dad" Harry said after he had cast around
them all kinds of security and anti-eavesdropping charms he knew.
"Is it important?" Rowena asked, knowing fully well what the answer
would be.
"It is a matter of life and death" Harry replied. Harry knew that the only
way he could persuade Mr. Horatio to help the goblins was to keep
Rowena by his side. She was his weak point and he would not refuse her
request. Harry knew he was taking advantage of the situation but,
according to him, if his manipulation saved lives then he would not
regret his actions.
"Hold me" Rowena said and held out her hand. Harry grabbed her hand
and instantly felt a tug behind his navel. He assumed Rowena had some
kind of an emergency portkey with her all the time. After a split second,
he found himself in the familiar surroundings of the vampire king's
dining hall.
"FATHER" Rowena shouted at the top of her lungs as soon as they landed.
In the blink of an eyelid, the Vampire king was in front of them along
with his wife. Both looked surprised and astonished.
"Rowena!" Mrs. Horatio rushed towards her daughter but stopped on
seeing Harry. "Harry?"
"Hello Your Highness" Harry replied. "I come here for help"
"Please go on" Mr. Horatio said at hearing this. If Harry Potter came
asking for his help then it had to be a serious situation indeed. Harry
then went on to explain that he had some information that Gringotts was
going to be attacked. Upon hearing the name of Gringotts, a cold mask
covered the face of Mr. Horatio. His wife glanced tentatively from Harry
to her husband and back to Harry again. After Harry finished his
narrative, he asked for help in saving Gringotts.
"So you are asking for our help in saving those goblins?" Mr. Horatio's
voice was so cold that all of Harry's senses told him he was really upset at
the request. However, he could not back off now.
"Yes Sir" Harry said confidently. On not getting an instant reply from
Rowena's father, he added "I come to you as my second last option"
"Then I would suggest you try your last option" Mr. Horatio said
immediately. "I am sorry Harry but we cannot help you" Mr. Horatio said
and turned his back at him.
"Thank you for your time" Harry said and turned away.
"What is your last option Harry?" It was Rowena who posed the question
to him just when he was about to walk away to the exit.
"I am" Harry said and walked away.
&&&&
"Will they be alright?" Rowena asked meekly to the person sitting next to
her in one of the empty classrooms of Hogwarts which offered a nice
view of the Hogwarts grounds and its entrance gate.
"Yes" replied Harry Potter. Just when he was apparate away from the exit
point of the castle of Rowena's father, Mr. Horatio had stopped him and
had said that he would help the goblins. Mr. Horatio knew that if Harry
went alone to fight god-knew-how-many death eaters and somehow got
injured, then Rowena would be the one who would get hurt the most. He
could not allow his daughter to get hurt even if it meant swallowing his
pride and going to help goblins.
"Why is father angry with goblins?" Rowena asked curiously.
"You will know in due course of time" Harry replied as he checked his
watch. It had been an hour since Mr. Horatio had left along with thirty of
his best vampire warriors.
"I have heard the goblins killed a lot of our people a long time back"
Rowena said to Harry.
"Maybe you will like to hear the other part of the story too" Harry said.
"Is it correct to assume whatever you have heard is true unless you know
all the facts?"
"No" Rowena replied. Harry smiled in return. It was at this moment that
his eyes fell on a group of people entering Hogwarts's gates. Harry
squinted his eyes and jumped up to his feet. A group of vampires and
goblins were approaching them.
"There they are" Rowena's keen eyes had detected their presence a split
second earlier than Harry. She took off to a running start in an attempt to
get to her father who seemed to be leading the way. Suddenly she found
herself unable to move. Looking back, she saw Harry had cast a spell on
her and stopped her from moving. She was about to yell at him in
frustration when Harry came up to her and placed his hand on her mouth
to prevent her from saying anything.
"Don't go to him now" Harry whispered sharply. "No one knows you are
his daughter and it would be better if we kept it that way". Rowena's eyes
went wide as she realized what a big mistake she had almost made and
nodded her head in acknowledgement. She did not want to create any
trouble for herself or her father. Harry released her from the spell and
moved nearer to the window once more along with Rowena.
Most of the people who had been in the grounds were now running
helter-skelter. And the reason behind this was the appearance of the
group of person's approaching the castle. As they came nearer, Harry
could see why most people were scared out of their wits.
The group was being led by Mr. Horatio and an elderly looking goblin.
Mr. Horatio's robes were blood red and it was only after seeing a black
area on the robe that Harry understood the truth - the robe had been
black in color and was now red because of blood on it! Mr. Horatio's
teeth were elongated as were claws on either of his hands. His handsome
face had a cold expression in it and his eyes were blood red.
The goblin on his left side was not much better off. His hands were
covered in patches of blood along with the front of his clothes. His face
was set in such a ferocious expression that even Harry, who knew that
they were coming back from a battle, felt somewhat uneasy. The goblins
bow and arrow were ready in his hands and he seemed ready to shoot
anyone who might seem a threat to him.
The others following them seemed to be in a much worse condition. One
of the vampires seemed to have lost a leg while one goblin's arm was
missing. Another goblin seemed to have lost both his forearms. The
others all seemed to be injured in some way or the other. Some of the
goblins and vampires had been elevated in stretchers while the rear of
the group was being brought up by about ten ferocious vampires. All in
all, Harry estimated twenty five odd vampires and forty odd goblins were
present.
As Harry took in the sight of the group, screams and yells could be heard
all over Hogwarts. Many people collapsed at the scene of so many deadly
looking vampires and goblins approaching Hogwarts. Many were
shouting that Hogwarts had been attacked. Some had their wands out but
none dared to cast a spell at the oncoming group. Nearer and nearer they
came to the great hall, more the panic started to set in.
To Harry's relief, Dumbledore appeared at that exact moment and greeted
the newcomers. Most of the people in Hogwarts looked astonished and
surprised at seeing Dumbledore greet them normally. In a matter of
seconds, Dumbledore and his guests had vanished inside and, according
to Harry's guess, were most probably heading towards the headmaster's
office.
&&&&
"Who are those guys?" one of the fifth year students asked as the
newcomers vanished inside the castle. He was a new D.A. recruit.
"Those were vampires" another boy, who was his classmate, said. "And if
I am not wrong, something big has happened. You do not get to see
bloodied vampires and goblins walking side by side"
"Agreed" the previous boy replied. "I don't think we are going to live
much longer"
"Neither do I" the second boy said again. They did not see a bushy haired
girl pass behind them. She could see that pessimism was starting to creep
into a lot of students and hoped the war would come to the gates of
Hogwarts as soon as possible. At least, in such a scenario, people would
not be living every day in fear of what was going to happen. The war had
to happen and, at this moment, it seemed that the sooner it happened,
the better it would be for everyone.
&&&&
It had been about an hour since the goblins and vampires had entered
Dumbledore's office when a person entered the library.
"Mr. Potter, the headmaster wishes to see you in his office now". It was
Professor McGonagall who said the words to Harry as he was sitting in
the library with Rowena. They were positioned in such a way that if any
Slytherin came in, then Rowena could easily slip away behind one of the
countless book shelves. "You are needed too" this time Professor
McGonagall's words were directed at Rowena. Harry and Rowena nodded
their heads in acknowledgement.
"Rowena, go ahead" Harry said. "I will meet you in a minute in front of
the Headmaster's room". Rowena said a quick 'ok' and followed Professor
McGonagall out of the library. Harry followed her as promised and soon
found himself in front of the gargoyle. He said the password and the
gargoyle leapt aside. In another ten odd seconds, he found himself
standing outside Dumbledore's office. Rowena was not there and Harry
assumed she had entered the office. He was about to knock when the all
too familiar voice was heard again.
"Come in"
Upon entering the room, the first impression which Harry got was that it
had been magically expanded to almost the size of the great hall. From
the way everyone was seated around a large table, Harry got the distinct
impression that a meeting was going on. His eyes wandered to where Mr.
Horatio was sitting, talking to Rowena who seemed scared. It was quite
possible that Rowena had never seen her father in this state and hence
Mr. Horatio felt the need to soothe her nerves.
"You wanted to see me Sir?" Harry said once he was finished with his
observations. He had also noticed that the more gravely wounded
vampires and goblins were not there. They were obviously in the hospital
wing of Hogwarts.
"Yes Harry" Albus Dumbledore said from where he was standing. "Please
have a seat" Dumbledore said and waved his wand. The table expanded
ever so slightly without disturbing the others and a chair appeared. Harry
stepped forward and seated himself.
"Mr. Horatio here tells us that you knew about the attack beforehand"
Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. Harry felt sure that
Dumbledore had an idea as to how he knew about this attack but
Dumbledore wanted him to explain it to the others present.
"Yes sir" Harry said.
"Can you please tell us how you knew about this Mr. Potter?" the
question came from the elderly looking goblin who had been in the front
along with Mr. Horatio.
"Well…" Harry looked around while turning and tossing the question in
his mind. He could not dare to reveal the fact that he had implanted spy
gadgets in wizarding clothes. "I had a vision" Harry said as it was the next
best thing he could think of.
"Vision?" Dumbledore asked in a tone symbolizing that Harry needed to
explain further. Also, by the twinkling in his eyes, Harry could tell that
Dumbledore was quite happy with the story presented.
Harry went on to explain how he used to have visions in his previous
years and how he still sometimes could see a few things which were
about to happen. Of course, all this had to do with Lord Voldemort and
his death eaters. Finally, when Harry finished, he waited for the others to
ask whatever they might want to.
"We accept your explanation Mr. Potter" the elderly goblin said at last.
"And we see you, with your gifts, as a strong ally in this war against the
dark forces". At this, Harry felt as if he could jump for joy. It seemed like
the goblins had finally decided that they would take a side and, in all
probability, their decision had been influenced by today's attack.
"We would also like to thank the respected King of the Vampire nation
for helping us in our darkest hour" the elderly goblin continued. "We
think that we can use today's events for laying the foundation for a
brighter future between our people". Mr. Horatio acknowledged these
words with a small, yet majestic, bow.
"Headmaster Dumbledore" the elderly goblin, who was clearly the head,
said and stood up. "We would like a place to store all of ours and
Gringotts possessions"
"It will be taken care of" Dumbledore said in a very humble manner. To
Harry, it seemed that Dumbledore did not want to let go of the
opportunity of getting the goblins on their side.
"And we would like to extend our hand of friendship to you in this war"
the goblin head said as he extended his hand towards Dumbledore.
Dumbledore shook his hand with a grateful smile on his lips. At that
moment, under the stare of his daughter, Mr. Horatio too came forward.
"This child of mine has made me see past the anger and ego of hundreds
of years" he said in a voice which had a hint of emotion in it. This in
itself was an unheard of thing in the Vampire world. "And it would be a
grave wrong if mistake if we allowed that same anger to cloud our vision
in this war. I too would like to offer the friendship of the vampire nation
to you in this war"
"Thank you Your Highness" Dumbledore said with a warm smile on his
face as he took the cold hand of the Vampire king in his. He looked
around and smiled at Harry who seemed to have little idea just how well
Remus's suggestion had gone.
"Sir" Harry said as he rose from his seat.
"Yes Harry?" Dumbledore asked. The others also stopped and started
looking at the boy.
"I have an inkling that Hogwarts could be attacked soon" Harry said.
"I see" Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "What do you propose?". Harry was
slightly taken aback by Dumbledore's question. He had expected
Dumbledore to just say he would 'take care of it' but now he had to say
something.
"I think we need tighter security around the castle 24 hours a day" Harry
said.
"My men will take care of patrolling the castle at night" Mr. Horatio said.
"That would be a great help" Dumbledore replied. "I think I can arrange
something for the daytime"
"Thank you sir" Harry said. "May I go now?"
"You may" Dumbledore replied. "Thank you Harry". With that, Harry left
the room.
&&&&
The day following the attack on Gringotts seemed to go very quickly as
Harry spent a lot of time meditating. His morning had been spent
debating with Tonks on what the Daily Prophet had written about the
attack in which only three goblins and one vampire had died. From
afternoon onwards, based on Dumbledore's comments, he had literally
decided to look deeper into his thoughts. Soon the darkness started to
cover the grounds as the sun set.
"Where are you going now?" Remus asked as he saw Harry getting ready
to go out in the evening after his marathon meditation session. Remus
did not like Harry wandering alone in the evenings and he had made it
clear on a lot of occasions. Still it seemed to have no affect on Harry.
"To Fleur's house" Harry said as he pocketed his wand. Tonks, who was
sitting on the sofa near the kitchen, sat up a bit straighter at hearing this.
"Any problems?" Remus asked as Harry came out of his room.
"No" Harry replied as he went over to the kitchen to get himself a glass of
water. "Fleur had told me that Mr. and Mrs. Delacour wanted to talk to
me about something". Tonks raised an eyebrow at this but did not say
anything as Harry continued. "I am a bit free today and hence decided to
meet with them."
"I see" Remus said. "Any idea when you will be back?"
"Soon I think" Harry said as he started off towards the door of the fifth
chamber. "Bye Tonks, Remus"
"Be careful" Remus and Tonks said in unison as Harry vanished from
sight.
&&&&
"Why do Fleur's parents want to meet with Harry?" Tonks thought once
Harry had left.
"Maybe they want to talk about Fleur and Harry's life" a voice spoke up
from deep down inside her.
"Who are you and what do you mean?" her brain asked the other voice.
"You know what I mean" the other voice said. "As to who I am, I am your
fear and insecurity"
"I am not insecure" her brain responded.
"Then why am I talking?" the other voice responded. "Rather, why do I
even exist?"
"I am hallucinating" her brain replied.
"You are not and you very well know that you are insecure about Harry
and Fleur"
"No I am not" Tonks almost shouted out these words. "I am just a bit
concerned"
"About what?"
"It does not matter you" her brain responded.
"It matters" the other voice said. "It matters because it is the reason for
my existence"
"Look, it is true I am a little bit concerned about Harry and Fleur..."
"Little bit? Are you sure it is not more than that?" the other voice
questioned her brain.
"Maybe a little more than that" her brain grumbled. "It's just that Fleur is
so beautiful and attractive but...but I trust Harry"
"You sure?" the other voice said. "Men cannot be trusted with beautiful
women"
"Harry is different"
"He is a man after all" the other voice said. "And Fleur is a veela. You
know what veela's can do if they set their eyes on someone. And you
know Fleur likes Harry"
"Will you shut up!" her brain yelled out in frustration. "I trust Harry and
that's it. No more arguments please"
"We will wait and see who is right" the other voice replied before dying
out.
&&&&
Harry had to toil hard to get out of Hogwarts as vampire guards had
spotted him. They had stopped and told him that no one was to leave
Hogwarts without a pass from the Albus Dumbledore. They let him go
only when Rano came and told the guards that Harry had special
permission from Mr. Horatio to travel anywhere he needed that they let
him leave.
As Harry entered Godric's Hollow, he saw many figures moving from one
place to another. People seemed to be moving in groups of three or more.
Pulling his hood up, Harry started walking towards the direction where
Fleur's parents lived when a voice stopped him.
"Who goes there?". The coldness in the voice was unmistakable. Harry
looked to his right side and saw a couple of wizards standing with their
wands pointed at him. Behind them seemed to an area which was like a
guard post and two more wizards seemed to be aiming at Harry from
there.
"A friend" Harry replied and pulled back his hood. One of the wizards
cast a Lumos spell and Harry's face could be clearly seen in the light.
Their eyes traveled across his face and came to a stop at his scar.
Instantly they stopped the spell and gave a nod at Harry.
"How do we know you are the real one?" one of the wizards from behind
queried. It was obvious he was not as trusting as the couple in front of
him. At this point, Harry uttered the pass phrase which was known to a
very select group of people.
"You may proceed now" the last wizard who had been at the back said in
a low but firm voice. Harry gave a nod of his head and, after pulling up
his cloak, continued towards Fleur's parent's home. He reached their
home without any further hindrances and knocked on their door. It was
opened by Mrs. Delacour.
"Oh...hi Harry" Mrs. Delacour said on recognizing the person standing in
front of her. "You have grown a lot in this past month or so"
"I hope I have not grown too old" Harry said with a smile. Mrs. Delacour
smiled back and stood back to let him enter. Soon, Harry was sitting in
their living room.
"We will be with you in a minute Harry" Mrs. Delacour said with a warm
smile as Gabrielle came bounding in. "Till then I think Gabrielle would
like to give you some company"
"Yes" Gabrielle said as she slumped into the chair opposite to Harry and
started talking about all sorts of things related to the war.
"Flu talks a lot about you" Gabrielle said once her mother was out of
sight. "She says you are getting ready to fight You-Know-Who"
"All of the elders have to fight him Gabrielle" Harry said.
"I believe you can defeat him" the little girl said so confidently that Harry
was touched by her faith in him.
"Thank you Gabrielle" Harry said as he heard footsteps. Within a few
more moments, Mr. and Mrs. Delacour entered the living room.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting Harry" Mr. Delacour said as he sat down
beside Harry. Both of them exchanged a quick handshake.
"Gabrielle ensured I did not get bored". Gabrielle looked away shyly at
Harry's words. It was quite clear to her parents that she was yet to get
over her crush on Harry.
"I bet she made you want to go mad" Mrs. Delacour said. "Don't you have
any homework to do Gabrielle?". This was a clear indication to her that
her parents wanted to discuss something important Harry and her
presence was not required. Gabrielle slowly got off her chair, said a quick
'Bye' to Harry and went up to her room.
"Something important Mrs. Delacour?" Harry said as Gabrielle's figure
went out of view.
"Yes" Mrs. Delacour said as she took out her wand. Quickly she cast a
silencing charm around them along with an anti-eavesdropping spell.
Only after both the spells were in place, did she look slightly more
relaxed.
"Now, we have something important to tell you" Mrs. Delacour said. "In
fact, Fleur told us that it would be better if you knew about the recent
developments here"
"I see" Harry replied calmly.
"I think it would be better if you showed him the place dear" Mr.
Delacour suggested to his wife.
"But what if?" Mrs. Delacour seemed hesitant but a reassuring nod from
Mr. Delacour seemed to satisfy her.
"Come with me Harry" Mrs. Delacour said as she got up and started to
lead the way towards the back of the house. Harry followed her. Mr.
Delacour stayed behind in the living room.
"What is it Mrs. Delacour?" Harry said as he followed the lady quietly.
"I would like you to meet some people who are interested in our fight
against You-Know-Who" Mrs. Delacour said as she came to a stop in front
of a broom cupboard.
"I see" Harry said and waited for Mrs. Delacour's next action. The lady
aimed her wand at the broom cupboard and cast a silent spell. The door
opened to reveal just what Harry expected - broomsticks. Mrs. Delacour
then picked up one of the broomsticks and poked it against the back of
the broom cupboard three times. Nothing happened for a few moments
after which the back of the broom cupboard started to part. Slowly but
surely, another room came into view.
"Come on in" Mrs. Delacour said as the broomsticks moved out of the way
themselves to open up a clear entry passage to the other room. Unseen by
Mrs. Delacour, Harry drew his wand and entered the next room. The very
second he entered the room Harry got hit by a huge blast of veela charm.
&&&&
"What are you doing?" Ron asked as he walked into the library to find
Hermione pouring over tons of books in front of her. Hermione had been
concentrating so much that she had not noticed Ron walking over to her
desk.
"Nothing" Hermione said as she hurriedly closed the book. "Where's
Harry?"
"I saw him walk out of the common room about ten minutes ago. C'mon,
what are you reading?" Ron said and took the book from Hermione who
gave it away quite reluctantly. He quickly found out what Hermione was
reading - "Can people be brought back from the dead?"
"Why are you reading this?" Ron asked curiously. He had seen the image
on the side of the page when Hermione was reading it and that had
helped him recognize the topic.
"Reading what?" Hermione asked as she purposefully opened another
book and gave the impression that she was extremely busy.
"You are trying to find out the spells behind the Power of Hogwarts,
aren't you?" Ron asked in a probing voice.
"Hmmm...what?" Hermione looked up to see Ron. Upon seeing his
piercing gaze, she knew it was better to admit the truth. "So what if I
am?"
"Why?" Ron asked in a bewildered voice.
"Why?" Hermione looked at Ron as if he had just asked the most stupid
question. Casting a silencing spell around them, she continued "Did you
see how she came back? Wasn't it the most absurd and yet magically
wonderful thing to happen?"
"It was kind of unique I think" Ron said. "I also never knew you could
bring back people from the dead"
"Exactly!" Hermione's voice was filled with excitement. "No one knew it
was possible. No one knows it can be done. A few people know but that
is immaterial. This shows that magic is boundless"
"I don't think so" Ron countered. "There have to be limits to magic"
"Like what?" Hermione queried back.
"I don't know" Ron replied. "I just think there are boundaries to magic.
There have to be some things which can be done and some things which
are impossible"
"You know what Ron" Hermione said. "I used to believe in that too. But
from what I saw that day, I feel like I was ignoring something. Almost as
if we all are turning a blind eye towards the un-limited capabilities of
magic"
"So you now plan to bring back people from the dead?" Ron asked after a
slight pause.
"No" Hermione said. "I plan to understand how it was made possible.
Maybe I could end up learning some things more but I surely do not plan
to try something like that. At least not now"
"Great" Ron said as he rolled his eyes and gave back the book to
Hermione. He did not know if there was a limit to magic or not but one
thing he knew for sure was that there was no limit to Hermione's
enthusiasm and quest for knowledge.
&&&&
Harry stood still, his wand aimed at the direction from which the veela
charm blast had come. He could feel that something was not right
here...almost as if someone was trying to control his mind. He had to
fight it. He just had too...
"What in heaven's name was that?" Harry said as he shook the cobwebs
away. All his senses were on alert and he could feel a strong veela charm
in the room. Looking around, he saw the apologetic expression on Mrs.
Delacour's face.
"I am so sorry Harry" Harry heard Mrs. Delacour's faint apologetic
sentence as he scanned the room. It was a giant hall in itself with many
doors leading to small rooms. And looking around slightly longer, Harry
noticed that there was a living area as well along with the occupants of
this hall and its smaller rooms. These were the most beautiful women he
had ever laid his eyes upon. These were the ones about whom he had
read about in one of the books he had brought from the Black family
vault. These were warrior veela's...a whole contingent of them.
"Are you feeling ok now?" Mrs. Delacour asked as she laid a reassuring
arm over Harry's shoulder. "They did not know you were
coming...otherwise they would have lowered the veela charm they were
emitting. I should have entered first and warned them"
"It's ok" Harry said as he lowered his wand. However, he did not loosen
his grip.
"Amazing" one of the warrior veela's rose from her seat and walked
towards them slowly. Harry saw that she almost had a kind of white glow
emitting from her body. It was so dense that her body outline looked
slightly hazy. Also, Harry noticed that her dress was quite unlike what he
had normally seen any veela wear. She had battle robes on in a way
which reminded Harry of a glimpse he had seen on television. Dudley
had been watching a serial on some Hena or Sena or Xena or whatever
and he had just had one look at the main character wearing a similar
dress like the veela in front of him.
"Ladies" Mrs. Delacour said as she stepped forward in a formal way. "This
is..."
"Harry Potter" the veela, who had come towards them, finished off the
sentence. For a moment Harry saw temper flaring on Mrs. Delacour's face
but it vanished just as quickly.
"Right Susie" Mrs. Delacour said but there was no missing the sarcasm in
her words. At the same time, Harry couldn't help but be uncomfortable as
the veela named Susie seemed to be taking a 'close' look at Harry.
"Can you always resist a veela's charm, Mr. Potter?" Susie asked in a
sultry voice. All the veela's in the room started looking at Harry with a
curious expression on their faces. They had lowered their charms, at least
all except Susie, but still very few men were capable of standing in the
presence of thirty odd warrior veela's and not drooling or begging.
"To a certain extent, yes" Harry replied quite normally as the Veela
started to circle him. Harry did not move his head but kept his gaze on
her for as long as possible. Also, he kept on calming his hormones by
doing using some meditating tricks he had picked up.
"Interesting" Susie commented in the same voice.
"Yes indeed" another Veela said from where she was seated. However, her
voice was pretty normal. "You are a rare one Mr. Potter"
"He is" Mrs. Delacour said as she kept an eye on Susie. It was quite
apparent that Mrs. Delacour did not trust Susie in 'certain' matters. "Now
Harry" Mrs. Delacour said as she moved towards the group of veelas "This
is Martha, this is..." and a list of introductions followed. Harry kept
nodding his head mechanically as he tried to remember all the names.
But in a few seconds he gave up. Remembering names seemed just as
hard as remembering the ingredients of a potion!
"So" Mrs. Delacour said once everyone was introduced. "We, that is
including me, are all Warrior Veelas"
"You too?" Harry's voice carried the shock he had just experienced.
Warrior Veelas were one of a kind. They were very fierce and, once upon
a time, they had even taken out many highly trained groups of wizards
and witches. It was impossible to think of Mrs. Delacour as a person who
might rip apart someone's throat with her claws.
"Yes" Mrs. Delacour said as she started pacing around the room slowly.
"Hundreds of years ago, veelas used to be very fierce. But times have
changed now. We were given due recognition by all wizarding
governments..."
"To hell with them" Susie said in a small hissing voice which caused
Harry to look at her in surprise. He couldn't help but notice the look in
her eyes towards him seemed just too friendly and inviting. Mrs.
Delacour, on the other hand, ignored her comments and continued.
"...and we were given our due respect. However, we formed a secret
society of Warrior Veela's"
"Why a secret society?" Harry queried.
"Because my dear..." one of the Veela's spoke up. "...they just wanted to
disband us and then put us into dungeons and cut us into tiny..."
"Thanks Maggie" Mrs. Delacour, who did not share her friend's suspicions,
cut in curtly. "To summarize, there was an indication that there might be
an attempt to kill us once veelas became quieter"
"I don't understand" Harry said.
"Look at it in this way" Mrs. Delacour explained. "Our great-great-great
fore-mothers were a very strong group. People shuddered in their boots
when they went on a rampage. They attacked the wizarding people
because they were not treated as magical beings and were sometimes
hunted down. Then the governments, maybe fed up by their inability to
defeat veelas and influenced by many wizards and witches pressing for
equal rights, gave them due recognition as magical beings"
Mrs. Delacour paused for a short while before continuing "That's all we
had wanted. But...but some of the wizards and witches...they had some
devious plans. They wanted to slowly get rid of Veelas. Many were killed
because veela's had started to live alone amongst normal wizarding folks.
It was then that our ancestors decided to form a society which protected
all veela's. These protector veela's were named as Warrior Veela's whose
existence is not known to many"
"I see" Harry said as he understood the issue.
"This is what remains of the society as of today" Mrs. Delacour continued.
"Thirty Warrior Veela's protecting all the veela's in the world?" Harry said
with an apprehensive look on his face. The ratio seemed disproportionate
to say the least.
"Thirty three" one of the Veela's said.
"Want to try your skills against any one of us Mr. Potter?" Susie, who had
been standing a few steps in front of Harry and looking at him, said.
"Veela's nowadays are more independent and can take good care of
themselves" Mrs. Delacour seemed to ignore Susie's comments
completely. "Also, any one of us is quite a handful. So, we are not too
worried"
"But I must say..." a slightly elderly looking veela said from behind. "...we
need to train up the kids. We cannot let the society dissolve"
"All in good time Judy, all in good time" Mrs. Delacour said calmly.
"Does the headmaster know you people are here?" Harry asked.
"He arranged for this tiny bit of magic" Mrs. Delacour smiled as she
waved her hand at the accommodation provisions present in the room.
"So?" Harry looked lost for words as an uneasy silence befell the room.
"The thing is..." Mrs. Delacour continued. "...we have converged from all
parts of the world and have taken a decision. We have decided that we
will support the cause of the light side in this war"
"That's great" Harry sounded elated.
"Also..." Mrs. Delacour said. "...we have decided that if you require our
support anytime, you can summon us using this". Mrs. Delacour gave
Harry a small ring which seemed to be just right for his small finger.
"Anytime you need us, all you have to do is tap your wand on the ring
and say Adveho and you will find us beside you"
&&&&
After his meeting with Mrs. Delacour, Harry, as he made his way back,
decided that he needed to get the D.A. into a mentality so that they
would expect an attack at any moment. Also, some instinct of his told
him that the attack was going to happen sooner rather than later. Hence,
using the galleon he had on himself, he called a meeting of the D.A. in
another 30 minutes time.
"Today we have gathered for one of our more important meetings in
recent times" Harry said as the last of the D.A. members entered the
Room of Requirements. "Hogwarts can be attacked any day". As Harry
said these words, an uneasy silence filled the room. It was only after a
few seconds that the silence was broken, albeit by the sniffing sound
made by a second year girl.
"What is the matter Ele?" Hermione said as she rushed over to the girl
who seemed to be crying uncontrollably. Hermione gave a knowing look
to Harry and started calming down the little girl.
"I could have hidden this fact from the younger members" Harry said.
"But, even if I had done so, it would not have stopped the events from
unfolding. It is better to know that we are facing danger so that we can
get ready for it"
"What do you plan to do?" a fifth year Hufflepuff asked from the back.
"Just what we had been practicing these past few months" Harry replied.
"As long as we stick to our plan, we will succeed in achieving our
objective. Remember, all I am asking you people to do is protect others in
Hogwarts"
"We are ready for whatever is going to happen" the girl who had been
crying stood up and said in a tiny but confident voice. Almost instantly
all the other members voiced their agreement. They knew they had to
face the truth and, in this case, offense was their best defense.
&&&&
"What is the matter Katie?" Hermione asked as she was walking alongside
Katie back to their dormitory.
"Nothing" Katie said as she gave a jerk of her head as if to clear it of
cobwebs.
"What nothing?" Hermione asked with a concerned look on her face. "You
seem to be having delusions ever since you have been back from
wherever you had vanished to. You were muttering something weird
before the meeting started"
"Yeah" Katie agreed thoughtfully. "I am having some dreams lately.
Confusing dreams but..."
"What kind of dreams?" Hermione stopped dead in her tracks. Was Katie
having dreams like Harry?
"Nothing important I guess" Katie replied as she also came to a stop and
she looked very uncomfortable.
"Tell me" Hermione insisted.
"Well...hmmm..." Katie seemed unsure but, seeing the look on Hermione's
face, she knew there was no way out. "I am having these dreams of being
in a room with a lot of boys"
"Just that?" Hermione asked curiously. If it was just that then it did not
sound too odd.
"Umm..."
"What else?" Hermione asked forcibly again.
"I don't know" Katie said as she lowered her voice and started looking at
her feet.
"C'mon Katie" Hermione said impatiently. "This may be important"
"Well...I don't know..." Katie said as she squirmed around. "I suddenly see
a boy tying me up and then everything's black". Katie's cheeks went flush
red as she said this. It was obvious that she was very uncomfortable
talking about all this.
"Anything else?" Hermione asked in a very serious tone.
"What else do you want to hear?" Katie's eyes flashed in anger at
Hermione's curiosity.
"I did not mean to offend you" Hermione said hastily. "I think I can help
you out with these dreams"
"Really?" Katie asked in a hopeful voice. "Are you serious?"
"I am" Hermione said. "I will brew you a potion in a few days and it will
let us know why you are having these dreams"
"Is it really important to know why I am having these dreams?" Katie
asked as her cheeks went slightly red again. "Can't we just get rid of
them?"
"I don't think it would be wise to just get rid of them without knowing
the cause behind them" Hermione said firmly. "I think there is a link
between this and your disappearance and I am going to find out what it
is"
&&&&
"Hey Charlie" Harry said as Charlie Weasley entered his dormitory room.
Ever since the D.A. meeting of the previous night, Harry was feeling a lot
better mentally and it seemed to be getting reflected on his face.
"Hi Harry. Seen Ron around?"
"No" Harry said from where he was lying on his bed, reading a charms
book. "Anything important?"
"Nothing much" Charlie said as he cleared some of the perspiration on his
forehead. "Just wanted to check up how he was doing"
"He's doing ok" Harry said. "He is a tough guy". By this time, Charlie had
sat down on the bed opposite to Harry. Harry had also pushed himself up
to a seating position.
"I guess so" Charlie said with a sigh. Charlie couldn't say how bad he felt
for not being there for Ron all these years. After all, his work had always
kept him away from his family. And now that Ron was going through the
most difficult phase of his life, all these thoughts were starting to bother
Charlie's conscience.
"You look worried" Harry commented.
"No" Charlie said with a forced smile. "Just daily life issues"
"I see" Harry said. He could understand that Charlie did not want to say
anything about what was bothering him and Harry did not want to push
him either. "By the way, if you don't mind, I have something to ask of
you"
"Go on" Charlie said with an alert look on his face. Harry quietly cast a
silencing spell on the room at this.
"With all the death eaters gathering, I think we should be prepared to
protect Hogwarts with our lives" Harry said. Charlie looked on without
any change in his expression as he was not sure what Harry was getting
to.
"I have been thinking a lot of how we should counter Voldemort" Harry
said without taking notice of the Charlie's flinching at the mention of
Voldemort's name. "Of course, you guys have things sorted out but I just
like to do some extra thinking on my part"
"And?" Charlie prompted in a manner to suggest that Harry could directly
come to the point. Charlie assumed that since Harry did not know him
too much in a personal manner, hence he was being extra formal.
"And some of us know that you have dragons in the forest in order to
protect Hogwarts". Charlie looked slightly astonished at hearing this.
How could anyone know that there were dragons at Hogwarts? But then
again, he reminded himself of the number of adventures Harry and Ron
had got into and it was no wonder that they would be among the first to
find out about the dragons.
"I see" Charlie said slowly. "So?"
"So..." Harry continued. "...I just want to ask you for a favor. If we ever
need any kind of help then can we call upon you and your dragons?"
"Help?" Charlie had a puzzled look on his face. "What are you planning to
do which might require help from dragons?"
"Something like killing Lord Voldemort and his death eaters!" Harry said
in such a calm tone that Charlie found it to be quite un-nerving.
"I think Dumbledore will take care of You-Know-Who" Charlie replied
after a pause. "I don't think you will be required to go to that level"
"Hopefully not" Harry said as he did not want Charlie to think that there
was more to this than was meeting his eye. "Still, I just wanted to know
your thoughts about helping us out if we are in such a situation"
"Are you kidding?" Charlie replied with a smile on his face. "You are
family. Just give me a call and I will be here to help you with all the
dragons I can muster"
"Thanks" Harry said with a relaxed smile himself. He now had one more
weapon in his bag.
&&&&
"Hello Harry" Tonks said as Harry entered the fifth compartment. "Let me
get you some lunch". As Tonks got up to go towards the kitchen, she
stumbled on a bag Harry lying on the floor.
"Ouch" Tonks cried out as she clutched her left foot.
"Don't worry Tonks" Harry said as he saw Tonks's plight. "I will fix
something myself"
"No...no...I will get it for you" Tonks said as she started to limp towards
the kitchen only to hit her right knee at the edge of the sofa. "OH MY
GOD" she shouted as she collapsed on the floor. "Somebody save me!"
"Tonks, you are fine" Harry said as he rushed to her side as she lay on the
floor.
"I am not" Tonks replied in between her cries. "There is a conspiracy to
murder me. Someone has cursed me. Someone..."
"Shut up, ok?" Harry said as he placed his hand on her mouth. "You are
doing quite fine"
"Really?" Tonks said as she looked around. "I am not dying?"
"No, you are not" Harry said as he rolled his eyes. Tonks really had a
knack for the dramatics.
"Great" Tonks said as she pushed herself up. "I will just fix you
something"
"No thanks" Harry said quickly as he did not want a repeat of the
previous couple of minutes of drama. "I will get something myself. Why
don't you wait for me at the dining table?"
"Ok" Tonks looked back in her high spirits as she nimbly got up to her
feet and moved away. Harry walked into the kitchen and started to pile
up some food on a plate. In between, he heard a couple of crashing
sounds, a curse followed by a blast. He quickly ran out to see a smiling
Tonks with her wand drawn. A few feet from her lay the remains of what
had been one of the chairs of the table.
"Just cleaning up". Even Harry could not resist a smile at seeing the
elated look on Tonks face as she said those words. He went back into the
kitchen and came on in another minute with food on a plate.
"How is your day going?" Tonks asked once Harry had started eating.
"Sort of ok" Harry replied. He then proceeded to tell Tonks about his chat
with Charlie. Tonks looked slightly relieved at hearing that Charlie had
agreed to help them out if needed.
"I just hope things work out fine in the end" Tonks said in a hesitant voice
as she cast a glance at Harry. Harry knew that Tonks was very worried
about what would happen when he and Voldemort finally met face to
face but he did not want Tonks to be too nervous. Hence he gave a
reassuring nod of his head.
"By the way" Tonks said as she remembered something. "I finished it"
"Really?" Harry said as he sprang up from his chair, his lunch forgotten.
"Show me"
"Only after you finish your lunch" Tonks said. Harry then proceeded to
eat at a frantic pace and was finished in ninety seconds flat.
"Ready" Harry said as he stood up once again and almost dragged Tonks
to the training area. There Tonks showed him the results of the work
which he had given her a few days ago.
"Wow" was the only thing Harry could say at the end.
&&&&
The rest of the day passed away quickly for Harry once again. Harry had
been in the library studying for the past six hours and really wanted to
get back and discuss some things with Hermione. Just as he was about to
enter the Gryffindor common room, a squeaky voice said "Harry Potter
Sir"
"Winky" Harry said on recognizing the tiny elf.
"Winky is wanting to talk to Harry Potter Sir in private" Winky said. She
looked much calmer than when Harry had seen her the last time which
was the day Winky had come to offer her services to Harry on the behest
of the headmaster.
"Is it important?" Harry asked warily. He did not want to get into another
conversation where Winky might try to persuade him to let her work for
him.
"Winky think it is very important" Winky said confidently.
"Ok" Harry said and looked around. "Can we talk here?
"Winky liking empty room at end of corridor" Winky said and motioned
towards Harry to follow her. Seeing no other option, Harry gave a shrug
of his shoulders and followed Winky to the room which she had
specified. Once inside, she snapped her fingers and instantly Harry could
feel a surge of magical energy surrounding the room. In a couple of
seconds, he felt the energy stabilize and his body felt quite warm.
"Winky is using magic to make room secure" Winky said as she saw a
curious look appear on Harry's face. "No one can now hear what Winky
tell Friend Harry"
"I had told you before that I don't want anyone working for me" Harry
replied with a sigh. It was what he had expected.
"Harry Potter Sir is not understanding" Winky said as she started jumping
around in nervousness. "Winky is knowing Harry Potter Sir not know but
other elves tell Winky that Harry Potter Sir is understanding"
"What?" Harry said in puzzlement. He could not make either head or tail
of what Winky was saying.
"Harry Potter Sir is Friend of Elves" Winky stated and started popping
around like mad. She could barely contain herself.
"What?" Harry exclaimed. "Yes...I am your friend"
"No!" Winky said in between her pops. "Harry Potter Sir is still not
understanding"
"Can you please stop and tell me what you are saying?" Harry said quite
sternly. Winky instantly stopped and popped right next to Harry.
"Harry Potter Sir is holding out his left hand to Winky" Winky said. Harry
raised one eyebrow in curiosity but did not ask anything. He simply held
out his left hand. Winky held Harry's hand and slowly made it to a fist.
She then turned Harry's fist so that the backside was visible to both of
them.
"Now Winky showing Harry Potter Sir" Winky said and snapped her
fingers. A small white glow started appearing on the back of Harry's
hand. It grew brighter and brighter before suddenly vanishing, leaving in
it's place a small white colored elf head. The elf head was the whitest
white Harry had ever seen. However, what interested Harry more was the
shape of the elf's head. It was an exact replica of Dobby's face!
&&&&
"What happened next?" Tonks asked, her eyes wide in anticipation at
hearing what Winky had told Harry.
"Well..." Harry had an expression on his face indicating he did not believe
a single word he was saying. "...the next moment Dobby's face appeared
on the back of my hand"
"Dobby's face?" Remus looked curious. "What did Winky say?"
"Winky told me this" Harry said as he continued his narration. "Once in
every thousand years, a special bond is created between an elf and a
human. It might happen anytime at anyplace. This bond supposedly leads
the elves to treat the human as their friend instead of their master. They
call this person 'Friend of Elves'. This person is always recognizable by
the mark of the elf on his or her left hand"
"Any idea how you got that mark?" Remus asked. "Or when did you get
it?"
"I am not sure" Harry said thoughtfully. "But when Dobby was...you
know...dying..." Harry paused for a moment before continuing. "...he had
held my hand very tightly. I remember that a pain shot through my arm
but I had thought that it was because Dobby was clutching me so hard.
So..."
"Oh...so maybe he put that mark on you at that time" Tonks looked quite
thoughtful at this. But Tonks knew better than to keep talking to Harry
about Dobby. She knew she had to change the topic fast which she did.
"So you are this friend guy?" Tonks asked.
"It seems I am" Harry said dejectedly. He did not want these titles! If only
he could trade his title for the life of Dobby...
"So what happens next?" Tonks asked.
"It seems that the elves of Hogwarts could see the mark right from the
time we came back from France" Harry gulped slightly at having to
remember the happenings of that period of time. "They thought I would
know but I obviously had no idea about this". Tonks shook her head
vigorously to show her agreement. "Now, it seems word has spread
throughout the elves that the opponent of the dark lord is the Friend of
Elves"
"Wow" Tonks's eyes went wider.
"And they have had a meeting amongst themselves" Harry said in a
lowered voice.
"About what?"
"This war" Harry's continued in the same tone. "They have decided they
will fight in this war by our side"
"Oh - my - god" Tonks exclaimed in a loud voice. Remus's mouth was
hanging open. It was quite a well known fact that elf magic was very
powerful. To have elves join their side was nothing short of a miracle.
"But elves cannot attack their masters" Remus said once his senses started
working normally again. There were bound to be some issues in this new
development and he now felt that this offer was not something to be
overjoyed about.
"Yes" Harry said. "I clarified these things. Winky said they were free to
attack anyone other than their master and their families. So unless their
master tells them not to attack death eaters, they can do so"
"But what if their masters tell them to stay at home during war? If they
get an explicit instruction, they have to follow it" Remus reasoned.
"You are right" Harry said. "In such a case, those elves won't be able to
take part. However, we would still have the full support of the house
elves of Hogwarts"
"That's a bonus alright" Tonks said as she tried to understand all the
possibilities and their implications.
"Maybe" Harry said as he looked at the back of his hand. He could still
see the calm face of Dobby on the back of his hand even though it was
invisible to the others. He did not want the elves to join this war if it
meant that more of them might die. All he wanted was to have Dobby
back. Alas, he knew that there was nothing he could do to bring back
Dobby. At least, he now had a mark of Dobby on his hand. Something
was better than nothing after all!
&&&&
It had been the three days since the goblins and vampires had arrived at
Hogwarts and the hours seemed to pass in a haze of preparations.
Everywhere around Hogwarts security restrictions seemed to have been
put into place. Goblin guards had been placed at many a location around
the castle. Aurors and volunteers seemed to be moving around the castle
all the time. A flying patrol was also running round the clock. All in all,
the people in Hogwarts were pretty satisfied with what they were seeing.
"Harry" Ron shouted at the retreating back of his best friend who seemed
to be going to the library. Harry stopped and turned around.
"Hey" Ron said as he caught up with his friend.
"Hi Ron" Harry said. "What is the matter?"
"I might be a little late for the D.A. meeting for tonight" Ron said.
"How late?" Harry asked.
"Twenty minutes maximum" Ron replied. "Mom is supposed to come at
that time"
"Ok, we will wait for you" Harry replied. "See you then"
Harry spent most of the time that day in the library. Finally, at 8:45 PM,
he started to make his way towards the Room of Requirements.
"We will have to wait for Ron" Harry said once he had entered the room.
They had to wait for fifteen minutes for Ron to arrive. But the moment he
entered everyone knew something had happened.
"Harry" Ron said as he looked directly at his friend. His face wore a very
frightened look. "Something's wrong"
"What's wrong?" Harry asked curiously.
"I don't know" Ron replied. "The people outside are…"
"C'mon…let me see" Harry said and rushed outside and almost crashed
into a running figure. Everyone seemed to be running in one direction.
Some screams could be heard from far away.
"Death eaters?" Hermione whispered in Ron's ears.
"I don't think so" Ron replied. "If death eaters were here then why would
people be running towards them?"
"Look…Harry is following them" Hermione said and started to follow
Harry. Harry was making his way through the maze of corridors before
he darted into one of the many shortcuts he knew. Almost the whole of
the D.A. seemed to be following him. They followed him from one floor
to another, down a few more corridors and finally into a corridor leading
to the great hall. That corridor seemed to be jammed with people and the
screaming seemed to grow louder by the moment.
"WHAT DO WE DO NOW?" Ron shouted at Harry. Harry looked slightly
surprised at seeing almost the whole D.A. behind him but he did not
waste time.
"FOLLOW ME" Harry shouted his response. He doubled back through one
of the corridors and then through a couple of other shortcuts which he
had discovered during his endless walking expeditions through Hogwarts.
Finally he came to a hidden passage which came out near to the door of
the great hall.
"Slowly" Harry whispered to the others behind him and started to make
his way towards the exit. He could see something flashy…something
which was glowing…something which seemed to dance like flames on
the faces of the many people who seemed to be looking at something. He
finally exited the passage and started to push his way towards the
doorway of the great hall. Once people saw who it was, they started to
make way to let him pass.
"Harry Potter" one of the women standing near the doorway caught hold
of him. "Save us" she said in a desperate voice. Harry was too affected by
her voice to say anything in reply. He only gave a small nod and made
his way to the outside. As he got there, the same glowing light got
reflected on his face as he looked up to see what everyone was seeing. A
gigantic dark mark was looming over the grounds of Hogwarts.
"They are here" an old lady whispered from beside him. Two small
children held her hands and were crying inconsolably.
A shiver passed down Harry's spine. The moment everyone had thought
would come had come. The time had come which would decide if the
wizarding world was going to fall in its darkest age. It was time for Harry
to step forward to meet his destiny.
"There they are" someone from the crowd pointed towards the Hogwarts
gates. A large number of people wearing the blackest black robes had
gathered quite some way off on the other side of gate. Some had even
setup tents which gave Harry the impression that they were getting ready
for a final war even if it meant that it might stretch over a period of time.
"GET INSIDE" a booming voice was heard from behind. Albus
Dumbledore had arrived on the scene along with the other Order
members. The people started to move inside the castle gates quickly. In a
way, the gathering of the people had been an unusual occurrence because
generally people fled on seeing the dark mark. But today, Harry drew
heart by seeing their attitude. These people were now ready to face their
worst fear!
Harry did not move on hearing Dumbledore's orders. He stood still on the
steps of Hogwarts and his gaze seemed to be fixed on the death eaters on
the other side. From time to time the earth seemed to rumble which
meant that giants had also arrived. Flashes of fire indicated dragons were
also present. By this time, Tonks had come up to Harry and was standing
on his right side.
"What do we do now Harry?" Ron said as he strode up to Harry.
"We fight" Harry said and took out his wand. He looked at Tonks and
smiled at her. "Thanks for the spell" he whispered in her ears. Pointing
the wand towards the dark mark, he shouted "Typicus Aevum" and a jet of
red light streaked towards the sky.
Tonks followed suit almost instantaneously. She did not need to spell out
the incantation loudly and neither was she worried about the wand
movement. It was a very easy spell for her to cast. After all, she had
created the spell. Her ray of red light met up with Harry's. It was then
followed by another ray of red light…this time from Remus. Hermione
followed suit as did Ron. Cho, Neville, Soha, Anthony Goldstein, Alicia,
Angelina, the twins, Charlie and the rest of the D.A. members joined in
and a unique pattern could be seen – that of two red light rays being
followed by twenty others.
All the rays showed their effect almost simultaneously, with maybe a
split second's interval between them. The next moment, a blazing red
colored Ankh symbol, which was the symbol of life, was formed.
Harry's eyes turned back on the death eaters who seemed to be looking
toward the new symbol over Hogwarts. Harry couldn't help but smirk.
This was going to be one hell of a fight.
"Come inside Harry" a familiar voice sounded from behind. It was Mr.
Horatio's voice. Harry looked around to see most of the people had
retreated. Only the D.A. members and the other spell casters were
outside. Harry and the others quickly made their way inside and the door
was shut.
"You all go to your rooms" Mr. Horatio said. Some of the sixth year D.A.
members started to lead their juniors to their respective house towers.
"What is happening?" Harry asked Mr. Horatio who looked to have
changed into battle robes. As Harry looked around, the very shadows of
Hogwarts seemed to be moving. Vampires were all around them.
"Look up" he said and pointed towards a great bank of cloud starting to
cover the moon. Slowly but surely the area seemed to get flooded by
darkness. Harry turned to stare once again at Mr. Horatio who smiled in
return.
"Tonight is the night of the vampires"
&&&&
A/N: Eleventh chapter here. Those who thought I was dead – no, I am
still alive and writing from time to time. And the war has started :)
As for those who flamed me over killing Dobby…no, I did not come up
with the Dobby's-face-left-hand-mark all of a sudden to make you guys
happy. If you go back and re-read PoH (chapter 22), then you will see
that I had clearly mentioned this. It was too small to be noticed then.
Thanks for all those reviews. Every review which you people made is
much appreciated. And to everyone who didn't review, thanks for taking
time to read up to here at least.
&&&&
12. The Night Of The Vampires
OK. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter and the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers. I
am not the original writer (though I wish I could be J) and I do not wish
to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued.
So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah...forget it and let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here.
Note: This is the sequel to Harry Potter & The Power Of Hogwarts. Please
read it before moving on with this story.
HARRY POTTER & THE NEW DAWN
Chapter 12 – The Night Of The Vampires
"What is happening?" Harry asked Mr. Horatio who looked to have
changed into battle robes. As Harry looked around, the very shadows of
Hogwarts seemed to be moving. Vampires were all around them.
"Look up" he said and pointed towards a great bank of cloud starting to
cover the moon. Slowly but surely the area seemed to get flooded by
darkness. Harry turned to stare once again at Mr. Horatio who smiled in
return.
"Tonight is the night of the vampires"
& & &
"Harry, we should hurry back" Hermione Granger whispered in the dark.
She was with Ron and Harry and they were on their way to the
Gryffindor tower.
"I suggest we get back and fight those vampires" Ron said in an angry
whisper. They did not dare to raise their voices because of the vampires
moving along near them.
"Don't be a fool Ron" Hermione replied in a similar tone. "You will only
get yourself killed". Harry did not make any comments and continued
leading the way. They were coming to the end of the secret corridor they
were in and it was necessary for them to be on their highest alert. Harry
paused a couple of meters from the opening and motioned his two other
friends to stop as well. He took out the wizard radar and activated it.
Once it was activated, Harry sucked his breath in sharply in
astonishment. If the radar was to be believed, there were innumerable
vampires in Hogwarts...probably in the region of a thousand.
"What is the matter Harry?" Hermione asked with a puzzled look on his
face. The wizard radar was only visible to Harry and not to the others
ever since he had activated it's privacy feature at the time of purchase.
Hence, Hermione had no idea as to what Harry was looking at.
"Nothing" Harry said absent-mindedly. Harry was more concerned with
what he had seen. The wizard radar had shown that there were about
twenty vampires just near the exit of the hidden passage they were in and
Harry couldn't help but believe the radar.
"We should keep moving" Hermione insisted.
"We should wait a bit here" Harry said to her. "I have a hunch that it
might be dangerous to move out right now". Harry did not want to
mention the wizard radar to his friends and hence this was the best
excuse he could come up with.
"You sure?" Hermione asked hesitantly. "Maybe I should have a peek to
see if all is clear or not"
"No" Harry said urgently. "Don't do something absurd"
"Don't worry Harry" Hermione said. "No one will be able to see me.
Remember, we are in the invisibility tunnel"
"Yeah" Ron agreed. "No one will be able to see her. Go and have a look
Hermione and see if you can find some vampires to kill or not"
"Shut up Ron" Hermione told her boyfriend and proceeded towards the
opening. Moving her head ever so slightly, she peeked out at the corridor
at an angle. What she saw almost left her speechless.
"I think you guys should see this" Hermione said in a low whisper, all the
while keeping her gaze fixed at what was going on in the corridor. There
was something in her voice and the way in which she was looking
outside which made both Harry and Ron alert. Both of them edged
forward slowly and positioned themselves around Hermione. Harry
peeked out from beneath her while Ron, the tallest of them all, looked
out from above. For the next few minutes, no one dared to say even a
single word.
& & &
"Everyone here?" Professor McGonagall asked once the counting had been
completed. In the rush, Colin Creevy had been given the job to see that
everyone had returned safely to the Gryffindor tower.
"Hmmm...Professor..." Colin Creevy looked slightly uncertain as he
checked his list and looked over towards the back of the common room.
He glanced at the dormitory stairs also before looking back at
McGonagall.
"What is the matter Mr. Creevy?" McGonagall asked.
"I can't seem to find three students Professor" Colin said as he looked at
the dormitory stairs again.
"What?!" Professor McGonagall looked thunderstruck at this news. "Who
are missing?"
"Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and..."
"Hermione Granger" Professor McGonagall finished off in a hoarse voice
as she started to understand the meaning of what she had just heard. She
quickly took out a piece of parchment and wrote down something on it.
Minerva McGonagall then cast a spell on it and the parchment vanished.
"What was that Professor?" one of the students asked curiously.
"I just asked one of Harry's friends if Harry is with them or not"
McGonagall said. She did not mention the name of Tonks in front of the
students but those who knew about the couple could understand very
well who the 'friend' was. McGonagall stood there clasping and
unclasping her hands as the seconds passed. After what seemed like an
eternity, a golden sparkle appeared in front of her and a parchement
slowly floated down. The golden sparkle vanished as the Professor caught
hold of the parchment and read it's contents. After finishing reading it,
she crushed the parchment in her hand in frustration.
"What is the matter Ma'am?" a little girl asked. "Is Harry Potter there?"
"No dear" McGonagall said in a quavering voice. "He is not with his
friend"
"Are you going to go and look for him?" Katie asked from the top of the
girls staircase. "I will come with you". Many other voices voiced their
opinions about starting a search but Professor McGonagall would hear
none of it.
"There are vampires out there" Professor McGonagall said in a very strict
voice. "If you want to live then we all have to remain here. This is the
only place where you all will be safe"
"What about you Professor?" Katie asked again.
"Headmaster Dumbledore asked me to keep you all safe" McGonagall
said. "I will have to wait too". With that everyone turned their eyes
towards the potrait hole. Maybe Harry and his friends would walk in any
moment now...maybe not. Right now, all the Gryffindor house members
could do was wait and hope!
& & &
A young teenaged girl was out in the corridors of Hogwarts all on her
own. As she came to a stop in one of the shadowed corners of a corridor,
thoughts flashed through her mind and she remembered that evening
which changed her life forever.
&
"Mom, I am going out to play"
"Not now, it's getting dark outside" a lady in her late twenties told her six
year old daughter.
"But mom!" her daughter looked very upset. "You promised I can play
after I finished my home work"
"I know" her mom replied. "But you took a long time in finishing your
home work. I had told you you had to finish it before dark"
"It's not dark yet" the little girl said as she ran towards the nearest
window and saw all the little boys and girls playing in the nearby fields.
Turning around, she saw the back of her mom vanishing through the
door. Quickly she ran behind her. "Mom, it is not dark yet!"
"It is getting darker" her mom said as she kept gathering clothes in the
laundry basket. She did not like washing clothes in the evenings but her
hectic schedule had left her no choice today. If she did not do the laundry
now, she would have nothing to wear to her office tomorrow.
"I will be back before it gets dark" the little girl said. "Please let me
go...please". Her mother turned to look at her daughter's pleading. If she
ever wanted her to give her something, all she had to do was plead for it
in her most innocent voice and her mother always let her have it. Her
mother tried to project herself as a strict mom but the reality was she
would do anything to keep her daughter happy.
"Ok" the little girl's mom said much to her delight. "I expect you to be
back in thirty minutes"
"Ok" the girl said as she ran outside. She did not dare to wait a second
longer in case her mother changed her mind.
The girl had a great time with her friends. She played many a game with
them and seemed very happy. But, as it was every day, her fun time had
to come to an end. As soon as the sun started setting, she knew she had
to leave.
"Hey Jimmy, I am going home" the girl said to her closest friend.
"Can't you stay for five more minutes?" Jimmy asked.
"No" the girl replied. "Mom will be angry"
"Ok, go on then"
"Bye bye everyone". With that, the little girl started skipping her way
towards home. As she got nearer to her home, she saw a number of
people dressed in black suits entering her home. She did not like the look
of them and hence she decided to enter via the back entrance. As she
entered through the back door, she heard some raised voices.
"I don't know what you are talking about" her mother seemed to be
shouting. In the past, every time she had heard his mother's angry voice
it had been due to her breaking some item or not doing her home work
properly. This time, she was relieved that her mother was not shouting at
her since she seemed really angry.
"Look, we require shelter for a few days" a deep booming voice said.
"This is not a guest house. You leave my house right now" her mother
shouted again. For the first time, the girl thought her mother sounded
slightly...afraid. It was like the times when she knew something was
about to go wrong.
"It is not really an option for you" the booming voice said again. The girl
slowly crept inside till she could see the people in the living room clearly
from behind a cupboard. The guy with the booming voice seemed to be
the bearded guy in the front. He was accompanied by four men and a
couple of women. One of the women was now looking outside as if she
was searching for something.
"What do you mean it is not an option?" the girl's mother asked in panic.
"This is my husband's house...my house!"
"I think I see him" the woman near the window said, her gaze fixed on
something outside. Hearing this, the others became very alert. One of the
men waved his hand and all the window curtains got drawn by
themselves.
"How...how did you do that?" the girl's mother looked frightened as her
gaze fell on the curtains. She was now trembling from head to toe. The
girl wanted to rush out and help her mother but somehow she felt she
had no strength in herself. Something inside her said that these men and
women were very bad people...just like the people her mom had warned
her to stay away from. As her eyes fell on her mother, she saw that her
mother had turned a ghastly white.
"HELP" all of a sudden the girl's mother made a rush for the door but was
caught by the second woman.
"You muggle, keep your mouth shut" the woman said fiercely and pushed
her against the wall behind. She raised a stick-like-thing at the girl's
mother and ropes flew out and bound her. The little girl in the corner
could only watch in horror as her mother started crying inconsolably.
"Everyone keep quiet" the bearded man with the booming voice said
again. He cast a silencing charm around the woman they were holding
captive. A tense silence fell upon the room as a group of people passed
outside led by a tall, frail looking man in a black hooded dress. After the
man was fully out of the view the occupants of this room visibly relaxed.
"We have to careful from now on" one of the men said. The bearded
looking man agreed. It was then that one of the women said the words
which changed the life of the kid forever.
"I am hungry"
&
"Today I will have my revenge" the teenaged girl said to herself, her body
still hidden in the shadows of the corridor she was in. She could not
forget the scene she had seen that un-fateful evening. The woman who
had said she was hungry...she opened her mouth and bit one of the men
present there and drank blood. Soon everyone had turned wild and
absolute mayhem had prevailed. Her mother had started screaming but
due to the silencing charm no one could hear her. At last, one of the men
had said he wanted to taste some fresh, warm blood. What followed next
had remained embedded in the girl's mind to this day and would remain
so for the rest of her life.
As the girl made her way out of the shadows, she remembered the
promise she had made on her mother's grave. She had promised her that
she would kill any dark vampire she could find and, if she found any of
her killers, she would take care of them too. The final moments of her
mother's life flashed in front of her eyes as she started running towards
the pack of vampires fighting. She knew which were the good one's and
which were the bad ones. The only thing which she cared about right
now was to kill as many rogue vampires as possible. With a deafening
shriek, she jumped into the fray and started blasting her way into the
maze of vampires.
& & &
Harry, Ron and Hermione kept looking in wonder at the fight going on
between the vampires. It was something they had never seen. The
vampires seemed to use the darkness to their advantage. The lights on
the walls of the castle was not enough to lift the dark blanket covering
the castle. Yes, the lights were able to provide visibility in the corridors
but still there were lots of dark areas in them for cover.
It was while Harry was watching two vampires fighting each other that
he first noticed something moving in one of the dark corridors. Initially
he thought it was one of the vampires but then the movement stopped.
He stopped giving it importance after the movement did not happen over
the next five minutes. What he did not know what that the person in the
shadows was biding time to launch an attack.
"Do you think we should still remain here?" Hermione asked in a tense
whisper.
"Let's wait till those guys finish" Harry said as he pointed out the group
fighting nearest to them. "Once they move away a bit, we can sneak in...".
Harry could not finish his sentence. All of a sudden he noticed the
movement again out of the corner of his eyes. Before he could turn his
head around to have a clear look, a person rushed past him. The back of
the person seemed known. It was only when the person passed the next
torchlight that Harry recognize the hair, the robe, the back of the
head...everything. He did not expect this...he did not expect her.
"Soha!" was all Harry could whisper.
& & &
Soha Mentieva knew no limits today. No one at Hogwarts knew that her
mother had been killed by vampires. This was because she did not like all
the attention it had got her back in Russia. But that had not changed the
truth. She had been waiting for the day when she would have completed
her studies so that she could go out to hunt down vampires. Today's
opportunity was something she had not anticipated and she was not
going to let go of this opportunity.
"Phoebus Coma" a concentrated jet of sunlight emitted from Soha's wand
and flew towards two vampires advancing from the far end of the
corridor. They scampered to safety as the light crashed into the wall and
fizzled out.
"Get out of here" one of Mr. Horatio's royal guard vampires shouted at
Soha.
"I will fight" Soha shouted back. "I want revenge for my mother's murder"
Soha added so that there was no further interruptions from the royal
guard vampires. However, she was mistaken.
"Girl, you will get killed. Take your revenge some other time" the
vampire said as he avoided a blow from one of his opponents.
"Shut up and fight your own fight. I will fight mine" Soha said and turned
towards another group of vampires approaching.
"Stupid girl" the royal guard vampire said and turned his full attention to
the fight on his hand.
& & &
"We need to do something" Harry said as he saw Soha shouting at one of
the royal guard vampires.
"You should stay here" Hermione said. "It is too risky for you out there"
"She is my friend" Harry said through gritted teeth.
"You are too precious to the light side" Hermione commented back, her
eyes fixed on Soha. "You cannot sacrifice everything for one person"
"She has a point Harry" Ron said hesitantly. He did not want to back
Hermione fully in case Harry got upset with him again.
"I don't care" Harry said and jumped up straight. He said the magic words
and his pants and jacket revealed the many hidden pockets they had. He
took out the largest knife he had and jumped out in the open. Wand in
right hand and a knife almost as big as a butcher's in the left, Harry was
ready for battle.
& & &
The royal guard vampires had quite a task on their hand. The number of
vampires on the opposite side was more than they had anticipated. There
were over eight hundred vampires on the dark side compared to three
hundred odd on their side. The royal guard knew that if Hogwarts was to
survive then they had to defeat the dark vampires. Their king had given
his word that Hogwarts would survive to see another day and the royal
guard had pledged to keep their king's word.
One group of royal guard vampires moved towards a group of dark
vampires. Both the groups moved through the shadows of Hogwarts in
such a manner that it seemed that the very shadows of Hogwarts was
moving. Two very dark shadows moved at each other at high speeds
before the vampires separated. To Ron and Hermione, it looked as if a
huge shadow had broken into many small shadows.
Finally, in their battle stances, the royal guard vampires stood in front of
the dark vampires, waiting for them to make the first move. Hermione
and Ron saw that the vampires were spread out over numerous corridors.
Because the corridors were next to the staircases, they could see each
other from one corridor to another. Everyone waited with bated breath to
see what was going to happen.
"We don't want to kill you Supa" one of the royal guard vampires said to
his opponent.
"But we want to kill you Gurap" the dark vampire named Supa replied
with an evil grin on his face. He drew his favorite weapon - a feet long
shiny knife. To muggles, it would look like an oversized knife similar to
the one used in the Rambo movies. Seeing this, the other vampires drew
their weapons too. Each of them now had a knife in one hand. Vampires
were said to be the most skillful beings with knives and today Hogwarts
was about to get it's proof.
"Are you ready to die Gurap?" Supa asked as he positioned himself in an
attacking position, his knife in his right hand. Others followed suit.
"We are ready to defeat you Supa" Gurap said and drew an eight inch
long knife in his right hand.
"Let's begin" Supa said and gave a battle shriek. Next moment, a fight
between the two biggest vampire groups broke out.
& & &
Soha had not seen the groups of vampires starting their clash near her.
She had been busy taking on a lone vampire on her own. Soha knew
vampires fought with knives and sometimes with swords and had come
prepared. She did not know sword fight. What she knew was to how to
use a knife efficiently. Harry had taught the older members of the D.A. as
to how to fight using knives and she had given special attention to it.
Today she just could not afford to forget those lessons.
"Phoebus Coma" Soha said the sunlight spell again which was the only
universal defense wizards and witches had against vampires. The
vampire opposite to her dodged the spell and leapt towards her. Just
when it seemed like the vampire would pounce on her, Soha moved aside
and moved her left hand in the vampire's path. The vampire just about
managed to move out of the way but could not avoid the long knife in
Soha's left hand. The vampire let out a squeal as a deep gash became
visible on it's left shoulder. Before Soha could do anything more, the
vampire vanished into the shadows of the castle.
Soha cursed under her breath as the vampire raced away. She thought
about following it but was stopped by a deep voice from behind.
"Hey kid, looking for someone?". Looking around, Soha found herself
facing five full grown vampires.
& & &
The two largest groups of vampires clashed with each other like two dark
clouds merging. Knives flashed everywhere as one strike was followed by
another, as one strike was blocked by another. The agility of the
vampires was what separated the better warriors than the others as one
vampire strived to strike the other down. And when it came to agility,
the royal guard was proving more than a handful for the dark vampires.
After all, they were not the royal guard for nothing!
Gurap was leading his own group of eight vampires against Supa and his
group of twenty odd vampires. Gurap went head to head with Supa and
an enthralling fight started. Gurap knew that Supa was a really powerful
dark vampire, one whose powers even his king respected. However, he
was not going to let the powers of Supa win this night.
Gurap and Supa crossed knives with hatred for each other in their eyes.
Gurap had his royal guard shield on his left arm while Supa had a knife
in each hand. Supa's left hand aimed for Gurap's left shoulder only for
Gurap to block it with his shield at the last moment. Gurap jumped back
and aimed for Supa's chest but the dark vampire turned sideways at the
last moment and the blade missed him by centimeters. At the same time,
he slashed his blade at Gurap only to find the light vampire's shield in the
way again.
"You have learnt fast Gurap. I am impressed" Supa said with hatred lacing
each word carefully. He had moved back a few steps and both the
vampires were circling each other, waiting for the other to make a move.
"Give up Supa" the royal guard vampire said again. "Be on the king's side"
"Never" said Supa and attacked Gurap with a renewed sense of hatred.
Even as Supa and Gurap continued fighting, different groups of vampires
were carrying on their own fights. Groups of eight to ten light vampires
clashed with groups of twenty odd dark vampires. In some places the
light vampires were winning but in most places the dark forces were
having the upper hand. Slowly but surely, the fight was turning one sided
due to the sheer number of dark vampires.
& & &
"What are we going to do now?" Hermione looked frightened as she saw
Harry rush off into the corridor after Soha.
"We can't wait here" Ron said in a determined voice. One thing he knew
for sure was that he was not going to waste time thinking. Harry did not
think before going to help his friend, and neither was he going to think
before going to help Harry. "I will fight". Ron turned around to look at
Hermione who looked quiet nervous. He then saw Hermione close her
eyes for a couple of seconds and then, when she opened her eyes again,
there was a fire in them.
"OK, this is what we need then" Hermione said as she started conjuring
up a couple of knives which had a slight blackish glow to them. "These
are poison tipped" Hermione explained to Ron the reason for the blackish
glow. "One for you, one for me". Both of them took one knife each and
took a deep breath. Fighting vampires was scarier than fighting wizards
and witches. However, they had no choice. Taking a final deep breath,
they stepped out in the open, a knife in one hand and a wand in the
other.
& & &
Soha had not heard the five vampires close in on her. Then again, you
could not hear vampires moving. Now, faced with five vampires in front
of her, Soha knew that the time had come for her to take down as many
as possible, even if it meant that she might die in the process.
"Looking for someone?" one of the vampires asked again.
"Yes. I was looking for vampires to kill" Soha replied in a strangely calm
voice. This made the five vampires in front of her chuckle.
"And we are looking for fresh human blood" one of the vampires from the
group stepped forward menacingly. Soha spread her legs wide and took a
battle stance. No sooner had she done that, the vampires broke up. One
vampire moved almost vanished into the shadows of the wall on her left
side while the other vanished in the shadows of the wall on the right. The
other three came straight towards her.
Since the corridor was small, Soha knew her only chance was to get more
space. She remembered a spell Harry had told them. "Andron Prolixus".
No sooner has Soha uttered the spell that the section of the corridor they
were in expanded tenfold times. The vampires looked slightly taken
aback at this but continued to proceed in any case.
"Phoebus Coma" Soha said and a jet of sunlight shot towards the
oncoming vampires from the front. They easily managed to dodge it.
However, Soha was prepared. She conjured up a mirror behind the
vampires and the sunlight ray bounced back. A grim smile spread on her
lips as she saw one of the vampires about to be hit from behind. Next
moment, the vampire vanished in a ball of flame.
"One down, four to go" Soha said to the other vampires who had stopped
in their tracks. Everything had happened too quickly but there was no
denying that one of them was dead. One of the vampires got enraged and
rushed at Soha at full speed. Soha shot off another jet of sunlight towards
the oncoming vampire which he dodged easily and leaped towards her.
However, with still a feet left to go, his teeth brandishing in a devilish
sort of way, the vampire disappeared in a ball of flame. Someone had
shot off the sun ray spell from behind Soha and had come up to join her.
"Four on one is not right, is it?" Harry Potter said as lightning tore apart
the sky outside and made him look like an eerie figure. However, the
vampires did not recognize him as his scar was hidden.
"Three on two is more equal" Soha said as a grim smile spread on her
lips. She knew now that there was a chance...a hope. Harry gave
everyone hope...all the time.
"Let's fight" Harry said as he rushed towards the vampires with Soha
beside him!
& & &
Ron and Hermione had a split second's time before the scene in front of
them exploded. They had seen how Soha had just been saved by Harry
and how both of them had then rushed forward to fight the vampires. It
looked fascinating and horrifying at the same time since, if either Soha or
Harry got bit, their fate would be worse than that of the dead! As they
looked on for a couple of seconds, many things happened in a flash!
& & &
Harry rushed straight for the vampires. One of the vampires jumped on
Harry from the front while another came in from the side. Harry shot off
a spell at vampire in front of him and rolled over. Even as that vampire
disappeared in a ball of flame, Harry slashed his left hand across the
other vampire's front, ripping his flesh. The vampire fell to the floor
squealing in pain. Harry did not wait for him to recover. Instead, the
vampire's body started burning as a huge ray of sunlight hit him squarely
in the chest from Harry's wand.
Harry did not wait after killing the two vampires. He turned around to
see Soha wrestling the remaining vampire. The vampire had got hold of
her wand arm and hence she could not aim at him. The vampire tried to
bite her but he had overlooked the knife in Soha's left hand. As he
lurched towards her to bite her, Soha drove the poison tipped knife deep
into his body and the vampire stumbled back. Soha took this opportunity
to aim her wand at the vampire and blast him with a ray of sunlight.
& & &
Hermione was shocked to see Harry act so ruthlessly. Yes, she knew this
was war but it seemed like a lot had changed in Harry. What she did not
know was that Harry did not want any of his friends hurt. He did not
want to see more deaths. And he knew that now it was a choice between
his life and that of the fighters of the dark side. And if the light side was
to win, he would have to be ruthless.
& & &
"Thanks for coming Harry" Soha said upon regaining her composure.
"The night is not over yet" Harry said in a grim voice as he viewed the
scene around him. Hordes of dark shadows were moving around all over
the castle and he knew better than to think of them as just shadows. He
could not cast a phoebus coma charm on the whole castle because then he
would end up killing all the light vampires too. Also, it would require a
level of magical energy which he didn't think he had reached yet. All he
could hope for is that the light vampires would be able to defeat the dark
ones tonight.
"Yes" Soha agreed. "The night is not over yet and I have more vampires to
kill"
"You should go back to the Ravenclaw tower Soha" Harry said in a grim
voice as some of the dark vampires looked at them. He knew it was going
to get messy soon.
"Don't stop me tonight Harry" Soha said in a determined voice. There was
a finality in her tone which Harry did not dare challenge. He knew that
tone. One could be so sure of something only when they were desperate
to have their revenge. And if luck was on his side, he would have his
revenge on Voldemort, not only for killing his parents but also for all the
pain he had caused to so many innocent people.
"Then we are in this together" Harry said as he took a battle stance. A
group of about thirty vampires was starting to approach them. They
seemed to have defeated a group of light vampires and now needed a
fresh prey. Soha nodded her head in agreement and got ready.
"Count us in too!" Harry heard a nervous voice from behind, closing up
on them. He knew who it was from. Hermione and Ron had come up to
fight with them. Harry was not going to stop anyone now. This was war
and they had to win.
"Best of luck" he whispered under his breath for his friends. If they were
to survive this night, they really did need all the luck they could get.
& & &
In most places the dark vampires were winning. Many light vampires had
been literally torn into pieces by the dark vampires. The situation was
starting to look bleak for the light vampires and their main source of
inspiration right now was Gurap who was fighting Supa bravely.
However, everyone could see that Supa was superior to Gurap and it was
only a matter of time before the fittest survived. And when it happened,
it happened in the cruellest possible manner.
After a fight lasting almost ten minutes, Supa had at last been able to
strike down Gurap with his knife. But that was not enough for him. He
proceeded to drive the knife into Gurap again and again and again until
his rage was satisfied. After that, he drank all the remaining blood in
Gurap's body. The scene looked so terrifying that if there had been
wizards or witches present, then they would surely have run away. But to
the credit of the royal guard vampires, they kept fighting on.
& & &
"What are we going to do now?" Hermione asked Harry in a small
whisper as the group of vampires came to a stop about twenty feet from
them. It seemed like they were contemplating something. A group of
sixteen vampires broke away from the group and started approaching
Harry and his friends. Suddenly, without any warning the group of
vampires divided into four separate groups of four vampires each and
rushed towards Soha, Harry, Ron and Hermione respectively.
Harry and his friends were prepared for the attack and set up shields in
front of them. Hermione set up a shield which had strains of sunlight
flowing through them. With that she covered both herself and Ron. A
couple of vampires jumped towards Hermione and Ron without noticing
the shield and paid the price. The moment they hit the shield their bodies
started melting and they died before they could do any harm. This caused
the other vampires to stop in their tracks and both Ron and Hermione
instinctively backed away a few paces. They shot off a couple of spells at
the vampires which they dodged easily. As the vampire pack kept
approaching, Ron and Hermione kept backing off slowly but surely and
the distance between them and their friends kept growing.
Harry was doing his best to ward off the four vampires and keep an eye
on his friends at the same time. As a vampire jumped towards him from
the side, Harry rolled over and moved back. He also setup a shield
similar to Hermione's but the vampires were watchful this time around.
Even as Harry kept throwing spells at them and kept the vampires at bay,
he saw first Hermione and Ron vanish from his view and then Soha. Even
though he wanted to rush to their aid and see whether they were ok or
not, he couldn't. He already had four vampires to take care of at the very
least, not counting the others standing there and watching the "show". As
he was contemplating his next move, he could see the slight indecision
on the face of the vampires all around him. They seemed to be bothered
by a fight going on near them and from the looks of it they were not
happy with the way it was going. Harry felt the vibrations of the battle
going on somewhere near to him when, all of a sudden, the scream of a
girl rang out in the night.
"Hermione" Harry's voice got caught in his throat as he feared for the
worst before an ear shattering scream was heard throughout the corridors
of Hogwarts. The vampires attacking him backed away upon hearing the
scream. It was unmistakable. The king of vampires was angry and ready
to fight till death if needed. Mr. Horatio had joined the fight.
& & &
Mr. Horatio was late! Too late to save an innocent girl from getting
bitten. He had been busy marshaling his forces elsewhere and he never
knew that humans had got involved in this fight! When he saw the girl
lying near the feet of Supa, his anger knew no bounds. He gave out a
shriek which rang throughout the castle. Even Dumbledore's face bore a
sign of concern when he heard that roar of a shriek.
"Supa, you have just written your death sentence" the vampire king said
in a loathing voice, his cape flying behind him. He held a long sword in
his right hand which gave off an eerie shine. Also he noticed that the girl
lying near Supa's feet had regained consciousness and was slowly
dragging herself away from the battleground and he was thankful for
that.
"My king...at last we meet" Supa replied in a mocking voice, followed
with a slight bow. The next moment he jumped towards Mr. Horatio with
a fierce scream, his knives aiming for the vampire king's chest.
The two vampires clashed with each other in the middle of the corridor
with Mr. Horatio easily brushing off the initial challenge. The corridor
was the same one which Soha had enlarged previously and hence there
was a lot of room in it. Mr. Horatio and Supa were in the middle, locked
in a fight which was going to last till death.
& & &
Harry, angry at himself for being unable to save whoever was bitten,
blasted away a couple of vampires and entered the corridor where Mr.
Horatio and Supa were fighting. Even as he entered, he could feel the
shivers of two might forces colliding, hitting out at each other. However,
he could not move in too close as another couple of vampires lunged
towards him. Harry backed away quickly, and started shooting off spells
at the vampires. He had no idea what was happening in that main
corridor, and from the looks of it he would have to wait for a while to
know what was going on.
& & &
The corridor in which Mr. Horatio and Supa were fighting had turned
darker than usual. It looked as if the very clouds on the sky had become
denser over that section of the castle. As the vampire king and Supa
collided, ripples of energy could be felt coming off them. Many of the
vampires stood still, knowing this fight was going to be one which would
go down in the history books of the magical world.
Supa's initial attack was easily stopped by Mr. Horatio but the rest was
not so easy. Supa's left knife flashed at the king who blocked it with his
sword. At the same moment, he swung his right knife at the king. Mr.
Horatio got a hold of Supa's right wrist with his left hand and, in a flash,
dug his teeth into Supa's wrist and started sucking off blood. Supa tried to
break free...and started struggling but the grip of the king was too much
for him. Seeing no other way Supa bent down a bit and did a back flip,
kicking the king on his chest as he turned in mid air. The king was
thrown back by a few paces as Supa landed on his feet. Blood was
dripping from the king's elongated vampire teeth, and an eerie smile was
on his lips.
"You have forgotten the old ways Supa" Mr. Horatio smirked. "Not all
wars were won with knives". Supa said nothing but it was for all to see
that he was still recovering from the shock. The king had really drained
off a lot of blood from his body in those three to four seconds and Supa
knew he couldn't allow such a thing to happen again. With a war cry,
Supa made another attack, but this time he used his full array of tricks
and strengths.
Supa took a couple of steps towards the king and then vanished in a puff
of black smoke! Mr. Horatio knew this was an ancient battle trick used by
vampires and was not unnerved. Rather, he let his senses do the work for
him. Being the vampire king, he could "feel" the presence of each of his
subjects. And this is what he was going to use against Supa.
Supa vanished from the king's front to appear behind him. He thrust his
knife into the back of the king but all he could do was penetrate black
smoke. The king had vanished from his spot only to reappear behind
Supa. And the next moment Supa felt a thunder like force hit him the
back. Mr. Horatio had punched Supa with his free hand - a punch so
powerful that it sent Supa crashing half way along the corridor!
Even as Supa was sliding down the corridor, he threw the knife in his left
hand towards his opponent. Mr. Horatio had not expected the speed of
the attack, and was slightly late in his reaction. The knife grazed his
shoulders as he moved at the last second possible. In the meantime, Supa
had vanished in a puff of black smoke and appeared right in front of Mr.
Horatio. He thrust his right knife into the stomach of the king, but Mr.
Horatio had vanished from his position. The next moment a sharp pain
cut through the side of Supa and he stumbled for a millisecond. Mr.
Horatio had appeared on his right side and slashed his sword across
Supa's arm. However, Supa recovered quickly and threw the knife in his
right arm towards Mr. Horatio. Mr. Horatio evaded it easily and the knife
passed him harmlessly. He stood with a smirk on his face, only to see
Supa smirking too. The next moment the knife, which was a boomerang
knife, dug itself deep into the king's back.
& & &
At other places the light vampires were falling thick and fast. Even
though the royal guard were highly skilled, they were losing out due to
the sheer number of the opposition strength. Groups of three to four dark
vampires were taking down each tired royal guard vampire in an unfair
fight. At times, groups of ten to fifteen vampires would savagely tear
apart one single royal guard vampire. There was no question of taking a
prisoner. It was a fight till death.
& & &
Harry watched as more and more royal guard vampires were getting
killed. The two vampires who had attacked him had left the fight
midway. They seemed more interested in bringing down the light
vampires down. After all, a lone wizard would be no match for all the
dark vampires once they had won.
As Harry moved along the shadows of the empty corridor he was in, he
saw a couple of shadows coming nearer and nearer from across the
turning in front of him. His wand ready in one hand, and the knife in the
other, he took a battle stance. With a spell ready on his lips, Harry waited
for the right moment to strike a fatal blow.
& & &
The smile faltered on the face of the king as he felt a sharp pain in his
back. He had not expected the knife to be of the boomerang variety. With
a grimace, he pulled out the knife from his back with his left hand. His
gaze shifted from the knife to the astonished look on Supa's face and he
laughed. Supa had no idea how strong he really was!
"Do you really think your toys are going to hurt me Supa?" the vampire
king said as he threw away the knife in disdain. The poison tipped knife
would have been enough to kill a normal vampire right away, but he had
undergone many rituals to enhance his tolerance to such poisons. He
could feel the poison was strong...but if treated in time, he would be able
to recover from it.
"You have hidden strengths" Supa conceded, looking thoughtful. For the
first time Supa knew that he could not defeat the king. His brain was fast
at work. The king had to lose, by hook or by crook. "But my king, you
strength diminishes your thinking" Supa shouted out with a renewed
energy. "You forget that you are one...and we are hundreds". King
Horatio looked around as a roar went up amongst the dark vampires. He
could feel about thirty odd royal guard vampires still alive, fighting with
their opponents nearby. He knew that they wouldn't be able to hold on
much longer and it would be up to him to finish this fight.
Supa gave a fiercer shriek and the other dark vampires screamed out in
delight. They were going to take down the great Horatio themselves, and
then put in place a new king. This new king would never stop them from
feeding on warm blood whenever they needed. This new king would
allow them to go on a rampage. This new king would be Supa.
However, they knew that the fight was far from over as the thirty odd
royal guard vampires were summoned by Mr. Horatio. No word was
spoken between anyone, but they knew what had to be done. They had
come to protect their king, and give him a chance to draw on all
remaining power of the vampire world. The king raised his sword
towards the sky, and Hogwarts parted in the middle. Even Hogwarts
dared not come between the king and his powers at this time.
The dark vampires looked on in amazement at the sky above, and the
massive hole in the middle of the great castle. And then a battle cry from
Supa brought them back to the present. He recognized what the king was
doing. He was drawing on the power of the elders, the last source of
power in the vampiring world. This was accessible only to the king, and
now he was drawing on it. It had been said that kings in the past had
used it only in dire circumstances, and Mr. Horatio was no different. He
was going to give it his all.
Even as Mr. Horatio started concentrating on the power with all his
might, humming an ancient chant, the dark vampires descended on the
royal guard. The royal guard had formed two circular rings around their
king. They knew they would not survive, but they also knew that if the
dark forces were defeated today then their names would be remembered
throughout ages. They held their positions as the dark vampires literally
tore into them. They fought with all their might, till the last drop of
blood left their bodies. The outer circle fell even as the king had almost
finished his chant. The inner circle moved ahead and started fighting.
They were too few in number...fifteen against five hundred. They were
taken apart into pieces within a few seconds. Even as the last of the royal
guard fell, an eerie power could be felt all around as Hogwarts rejoined
itself. As all eyes fell on the lone figure in the middle, there was no
mistaking a dark glow of the blackest black which had appeared around
him. There was something scary about the calmness on his face. There
was something scary about the power which was emitting from him.
There was something scary about the king of the vampiring nation who
had finished his chant, and had drawn on all the powers of the elders.
Mr. Horatio opened his eyes, which had turned completely black, and
took a battle stance. He looked around and saw his friends, the royal
guard, had fallen. He was ready to avenge them. With a calm energy
surging through him, he gave a battle cry and launched the final attack,
one which was going to decide the fate of Hogwarts that night.
& & &
"Albus!" Professor McGonagall was relieved to see the head of the
Headmaster appear in the fire. She had been really tense ever since she
found Harry and his friends were missing.
"Minerva, I need you in my office right now". Dumbledore's voice seemed
very serious and he almost seemed pained.
"What is it Albus?" McGonagall could feel that Dumbledore had
something on his mind. However, the head of the headmaster vanished
from the fireplace at that instant. McGonagall knew something really bad
had happened for Dumbledore to act like this and she quickly turned to
face the students.
"Everyone stay inside. No one, and I mean no one, will leave this room, is
that understood?" the graveness in McGonagall's voice was reciprocated
only by the stillness in the room. She knew that her message had been
properly conveyed.
"Katie, you are in charge here". With that, Professor McGonagall went out
of the room and proceeded towards the headmaster's room. It was when
she turned a corner that she heard something chilling.
"Can you believe it..." one painting said to it's neighboring one. "One of
the students got bit by a vampire!"
& & &
"OH MY GOD!" Harry gasped as Ron emerged supporting a limp figure on
his shoulders. Harry rushed forward...he could not believe all this was
happening. He knew one of his friends was bitten...but seeing her in that
manner just threw his guts in a twist. The neck was ravaged! There had
been only one bite, but then the teeth had been dragged right across to
the back of the neck. Someone had done this intentionally to cause pain.
Someone had been savage with a sixteen year old girl. And from the
battle cry of the vampire king, that someone was going to pay for that
with his life.
"Thank god I found her just in time" Ron said even as their remaining
friend joined them. She looked horrified at the scene on hand! "Let's take
her to the hospital wing". Ron said and started moving. Harry agreed
since he knew that Mr. Horatio would end the battle on his own terms
rather than the dark side's. It was now all in his hands.
& & &
The king of vampires rushed into his subjects who had turned to the dark
side. The first wave of dark vampires had about hundred of them coming
from all sides, and from above too. He swung his sword to kill the
vampires nearest to him, and thrust his left palm outward at another
group of vampires approaching him from the left side. A surge of energy
emitted from his left hand and ripped right through them, killing all
vampires in it's path, finally dissipating in the walls of Hogwarts. More
vampires attacked him from behind. He rolled over and swung his sword
at them and killed them. Even as he finished killing them, he saw ten odd
vampires descend on him from the ceiling. He knew he could not move
out and hence let a surge of power out of his left palm again which
ripped them into tiny pieces.
The circle of vampires was closing in on the king. He skillfully swung his
sword with one hand while letting out energy beams with the other.
Every beam left him weaker than before. Even as he killed his hundredth
vampire of that final fight, he knew he was down to his half strength.
Also, the posion was beginning to affect him more and more. Through all
this he could see Supa standing back and enjoying this fight. Mr. Horatio
knew he had to stop Supa at all costs!
Without caring for which vampires were attacking him, Mr. Horatio
started to fight his way towards Supa. The smirk on Supa's face started to
falter as he saw vampire after vampire fall as their king started to clear
up a path towards him. He saw a couple of vampire finally reach Mr.
Horatio and bite him, but Mr. Horatio did not care. His sword slashed
them away in a split second and another beam of power shot out of his
left hand. At the same time, a vampire landed just in front of him.
Without waiting, Mr. Horatio bit him on the neck and pushed him away.
The vampire stumbled back, and was dead before one whole second had
passed. The other vampires looked on in astonishment and then
understood the meaning - even Mr. Horatio's fangs were poisoned now.
The powers of the vampire king never ceased.
Mr. Horatio's sword cut through seven more vampires in one swipe, and
he bit three who wear nearest to him, but more and more were closing in
on him. He felt ten pair of fangs go through his back, as well as a couple
of stab wounds. Without even looking behind, he swung his sword
behind his back as much as he could and let out an energy blast at the
same time. The vampires behind him were dead before they even knew
what hit them.
Mr. Horatio had lost count as to how many vampires he had killed. But
he knew he had halved their strength at least even though the remaining
ones had really closed in on him. He knew it was only moments before he
would be unable to protect all his sides. Even as more and more vampires
bit and stabbed him, he kept on moving towards Supa. As he let out
another beam from his left hand, he screamed out in agony. Around
hundred pairs of knives had been driven into his back and side by his
opponents!
Mr. Horatio turned around with blazing eyes and swung his sword at his
attackers. Many fell, many screamed, and he screamed too as more and
more poison tipped knives went deep into him. One vampire had climbed
onto his back and bit him. Mr. Horatio did not care. His sword took out
many vampires to his right, while the power beam took out several on his
left. At the same time, he bit whoever he could. He then grabbed the
vampire on his back with his left hand and pulled it off. Even as the
vampires body was flying in the air, the king drove his sword right
through the vampires body and killed him.
By this time Mr. Horatio knew he had to act soon. Even as some more
vampires lunged at him, he let out a ray of energy and killed more of
them. At the same time, he let go of his sword with careful aim. The
attack was so sudden than most vampires were taken off guard as they
had not thought that he would let go of the sword. The sword, rotating in
a circular manner, killed everything in it's path before it reached it's
target - Supa. Supa had not seen the sword released due to the many
vampires in front of him...and it was too late when he finally saw the
sword. The next moment, his body had been sliced into two!
Most of the vampires had not seen Supa fall. All they knew was that the
vampire king was at their mercy and they wanted to kill him. But the
vampire king had seen the look of astonishment on Supa's face, and his
death. He was finally satisfied that Supa would not be able to win. As
more and more vampires stabbed him and bit him he closed his eyes and
said a final short chant. As he finished it the dark glow from around his
body glowed white for a while, before it exploded! The energy spread to
all corners of that corridor which had all the dark vampires present in it
at that moment...and the energy cut right through them! Vampire after
vampire was disseminated by that power which finally died out at the
edge of the corridor all of a sudden. The fight was over, the dark forces
had fallen, as had the light forces. And the king lay in the middle of the
huge enlarged corridor in a sprawled position, encircled by the dead
bodies of friends and foes alike.
Mr. Horatio closed his eyes with a smile on his lips. That final chant was
the last weapon a vampire king had but alas, it was only possible to call
upon that power at the very last. The power had the ability to wipe out
the entire vampiring population, and it was a testimony to Mr. Horatio's
control that he had limited it to the occupants of that corridor only. Mr.
Horatio slipped into unconsciousness as silence fell on the castle. He did
not notice the teachers peeking around tentatively after the fight had
been over for fifteen minutes. He did not notice Fluer putting him on a
stretcher and taking him to the hospital ward. But what everyone noticed
was that he had a look of calm on his face, and an unmistakable smile.
& & &
"Albus!" Professor McGonagall looked very flustered as she entered the
headmaster's office. "Is it true?"
"It is" Albus Dumbledore said in a grave voice. Seldom had Professor
McGonagall seen failure written all over Dumbledore's face. At this
moment, he looked an aged man, one who had been unable to protect
one of his student's safety.
"Who is it?" McGonagall asked in a trembling voice. She had no idea who
could have been bitten and she feared for the worst.
"It is Ms. Mentieva, our transfer student". Hearing these words Professor
McGonagall did not know how to react. On one side she was happy that
it had not been one of either Harry, Ron or Hermione. However, there
was no denying the pain she felt for the Russian girl who had become
very dear to all the teachers in the past few months.
"Oh my god" Professor McGonagall put her hands over her mouth. A
seventeen year old girl had been condemned forever to being a vampire
and there was no one who could help her. Unable to stand any longer,
Professor McGonagall sat down on one of the many chairs in the
headmaster's office.
"I will take up the responsibility for the this accident" Dumbledore said
from his chair. He looked very tired at this moment.
"This is war Albus" McGonagall tried to counter. "You cannot take
responsibility for everything that happens"
"But this happening could have been prevented" Dumbledore said.
"Anyway, Ms. Mentieva is in the next room and I want you and Poppy to
look after her"
"Poppy knows about this?" McGonagall was still trying to stabilize her
voice but was failing miserably.
"She is already in the next room, tending to Ms. Mentieva's wounds"
Dumbledore said as he took out a parchment and began writing
something in it. "She has already given first aid to Mr. Potter, Mr.
Weasley and Ms. Granger and released them"
"I will take care of this situation" McGonagall said in a slightly more
controlled voice before proceeding to ask "What about the vampires?"
"We have managed to hold on to Hogwarts for tonight" Dumbledore said
in a grim voice. "Many lives have been lost but King Horatio has kept his
word"
"Thank god" McGonagall said in a relieved voice. "I had thought they
would have attacked the towers also"
"They had tried to but Professor Flitwickand I managed to keep them
away from the towers" Dumbledore clarified. McGonagall nodded her
head in understanding and, without saying anything more, proceeded
into the attached room where the bloodied, unconcious body of Soha
Mentieva was being treated by a teary eyed Poppy Pomfrey. Outside, the
rays of the rising sun slowly started to penetrate the windows of
Hogwarts, bringing to a close the bloodiest night Hogwarts had ever seen.
& & &
"Hello Ginny"
"Bellatrix" Ginny Weasley acknowledged the person who had entered her
tent. They knew the battle had started but they were not really interested
in knowing what was going on at the moment. Ginny did not like to have
any visitors apart from Bellatrix Lestrange because they both had one
common factor - Harry.
"How are you doing Ginny?" Bellatrix asked in a soft voice which was
seldom heard by anyone.
"I am fine" Ginny sighed and turned her attention back to what she was
doing - polishing her wand.
"Let's hope he comes around this time" Bellatrix said in obvious reference
to Harry.
"I don't think he will" Ginny replied. "He is a very stubborn person"
"He is" Bellatrix replied as she remembered her fight at the Ministry of
Magic building. "But you know that I always hoped for the best for you"
"Yes Bella" Ginny replied. "The first time I met you, I thought you were a
bad woman"
"What do you think about me now?" Bellatrix asked with an evil smile on
her lips.
"You had your reasons" Ginny replied without looking up.
"You never shared your reasons with me" Bellatrix said with a hopeful
look in her eyes. She had always wanted to know what turned Ginny
towards the dark side but Ginny had always been quiet about it.
"Come on Ginny, I really want to know" Bellatrix insisted once again.
"Well..." Ginny stopped her polishing and looked up at Bellatrix. "...it was
Harry"
"How?" Bellatrix asked.
"I loved him...he knows that" Ginny continued. "I tried to make him
jealous by going out with other guys. He did not respond. I fought with
him in the Ministry of Magic building. Still he did not change his attitude
towards me"
"Then?" Bellatrix asked again.
"Sirius died and Harry went into a shell. At that time, I decided that I
would make my intentions clear to him. But first, I needed to get my own
place to stay...someplace where there would be no Ron, no mum, no dad,
no one. It may sound stupid but I wanted to have Harry all to myself"
"It's not stupid" Bellatrix said. "Who would want to live with so many
brothers and parents?"
"Yeah" Ginny agreed. "But I did not have money. One day I found some
items of my dad's and sold them at Knockturn Alley. It was there that I
met Ade"
"I see" Bellatrix nodded her head in understand. Ade, or Ademaire, was
the biggest black market trader in the whole of Knockturn Alley. He used
to rope in young wizards and witches to sell smuggled materials in the
muggle world and in return gave them a 30 profit. He had recruited
many people in this manner.
"Ade told me how I could earn more money without too many risks"
Ginny said. "Soon I started making a lot of money. I even opened my
Gringotts account. Now I had money. I thought I could have Harry
but...but..."
"But what?"
"The next time I saw him was with Tonks" her eyes were blazing as Ginny
said this. "He shouted at others for Tonks. Initially I was not sure if they
had a thing going on between them or not"
"When did you find out?" Bellatrix asked in a dramatic manner.
"I just assumed it. After all, two plus two is always four". Bellatrix nodded
her head in agreement.
"From that day on, I decided I would have Harry, by hook or by crook.
Alas, I failed" Ginny said in a downfallen manner.
"You will have your day dear" Bellatrix said with a pat on her head.
"Otherwise, we will make each of them pay for hurting you"
"Yeah!" Ginny said through gritted teeth. "I am going to make them pay
alright. If I can't have him, he cannot have anyone else either!"
& & &
"Mr. Potter, how can I help you?" Madam Pomfrey asked as Harry visited
the hospital ward for the second time in ten minutes. The first time he
had come was at around 7 AM to visit Soha.
"The Headmaster told me Mr. Horatio is here" Harry said as he glanced
around. Harry had "felt" the intense battle Mr. Horatio had fought and he
was worried about how critically the vampire king had been injured.
"He is here. Please follow me" Madam Pomfrey said to Harry as she cast a
locking charm on the hospital ward entrance door. "I have permission to
only allow Rowena and you to visit King Horatio"
"How is he doing?" Harry asked tentatively.
"Not too well" Madam Pomfrey replied in a tense voice.
"He will live, won't he?" Harry asked as a feeling of sudden panic started
to surface within him.
"I don't know" Madam Pomfrey said as they entered another room. "I
have given him some medication but I am afraid I don't know how to
treat some of the wounds. He is in a better position to know what might
happen to him because, technically, he is already dead". Even though this
sounded weird, it was the truth. Harry followed Madam Pomfrey into
another room which seemed to be shrouded in darkness except for one
torchlight. Madam Pomfrey pointed out to a bed in the corner and
headed out. As Harry slowly made his way towards the bed, he saw that
Mrs. Horatio and Rowena were seated on either side of the bed while
Rano was standing a couple of feet away from the edge of the bed.
"Harry, my friend" Mr. Horatio said in a hoarse voice as soon as he saw
Harry. "Come closer"
"How are you doing Mr. Horatio?" Harry asked as he moved closer.
"Not too good Harry" Mr. Horatio said in a sad voice. "I am afraid I won't
make it"
"Don't say that daddy" Rowena said in an angry but emotional voice. Her
face seemed devoid of any expression at the moment.
"You can't die!" Harry said in an unbelieving voice. "You are the vampire
king"
"Oh yes Harry, I can die" Mr. Horatio said. "Look at this". With that, Mr.
Horatio lifted the cover off his left arm and Harry saw a purplish liquid
flowing from it. Seeing Harry's questioning look, Mrs. Horatio clarified.
"He has been injected with a poison which makes the blood warm. We
are cold blooded. We cannot live in this condition as the cut does not
heal...ever. If he had been able to come back sooner then we may have
had a chance. But alas!" with that, Mrs. Horatio started cleaning the
wound but more and more purplish liquid started flowing.
"This cannot be happening" Harry said in a hoarse voice.
"Don't worry Harry, I have worked out everything" Mr. Horatio said with
a pained look on his face. After all, at this moment, he was as susceptible
to pain as any other person. "My wife will take over as the queen and
rule. And you, my friend, you have to promise me that you will take care
of my little girl while she studies here". Hearing this, Rowena could hold
back her tears no longer. She ran over to her mom who consoled her.
Harry spent most of the day beside Mr. Horatio's deathbed. The Goblin
King, the Hogwarts teachers, Headmaster Dumbledore and many other
dignitaries residing at Hogwarts paid visits. After a while, Harry was left
with Mr. Horatio, his family and Rano. Rano had suffered major injuries
himself but Madam Pomfrey could not keep him in bed. He was one
stubborn and loyal vampire. His family had served the vampire royal
family through ages and he was not going to lie in the bed while his king
died. He had to be there.
Slowly Mr. Horatio's strength started to diminish. In the late afternoon,
he made a couple of final wishes to his wife who promised to carry them
out. Rowena's eyes had dried by then. Harry wondered at the strength of
this little first year old and thought what he would have done if he had
been in her place. He could not even begin to fathom her feelings! At
last, at about 4 PM in the afternoon, the vampire king was freed of all his
pain. Harry stayed there for a while longer before leaving the royal
family and Rano to grieve over their loss.
& & &
"He can't be dead" Remus said in astonishment when he heard the news
from Harry. Remus had been busy getting the werewolves ready and
hence he had not heard of how bravely Mr. Horatio had fought the
previous night. Harry, who was standing in a corner of his trunk, did not
say anything. Somehow, he could not believe that Mr. Horatio was dead
and yet there could be no denying what he had seen.
"Oh god" Tonks, who was looking at Harry for some sort of a response,
said after a few moments of silence. "I am so sorry Harry". Tonks walked
quickly to Harry's side and took his right hand in her left and gave it a
reassuring squeeze.
Silence fell in the trunk for quite a while. At last Harry said "This is just
the start". There was a certain emotion in his voice which told Remus
that Harry was hardening himself. Harry knew this war would have
losses and the sooner he accepted it, and did not blame himself for the
deaths, the better.
"He died for a cause" Tonks said in a grave voice. "And we will fight for
that cause...and win"
"We will" Remus agreed. "There is too much at stake". Another few
minutes of silence passed between the trio only to be interrupted by their
breathing sounds.
"They are waiting for the nightfall" Remus said after a while.
"What?" Tonks looked around with a questioning look on her face.
"They are waiting for the nightfall" Remus repeated the sentence in the
same grave tone as he looked down at his hands. A cloud of deathly
silence seemed to blanket the room as they looked at each other. The
look on Remus's face told the whole story to the others. This fight was
inevitable!
& & &
"Harry" Tonks looked concernedly at her boyfriend. "Harry...what's wrong
with you?". Harry had been trying hard to hide his discomfort from all
those with whom he had been interacting with lately but he had not been
able to get past Tonks. She had detected that there was something wrong
with him.
"Nothing Tonks" Harry said as he started to butter a toast near him. It
was around 5 in the evening and they had come down into the trunk to
get something to eat.
"What are you hiding Harry?" Tonks said as she slowly followed Harry.
She was not about to give up.
"Nothing" Harry repeated once again, all the while avoiding his
girlfriend's penetrating gaze.
"So you don't want to share something with me, correct?" Tonks asked in
a voice which showed the amount of anguish she was going through.
"It's nothing important Tonks" Harry said as he looked at Tonks for the
first time that evening. He saw the expression in her eyes and felt his
insides turn. "I am sorry if I have hurt you"
"You should be" Tonks said in the same low voice. "There is something
important going on and you are not telling me about it"
"Oh well" Harry said as he took Tonks by her arm and seated her at the
dining table. He then proceeded to take on the chair next to her. "It isn't
anything too bad"
"I still want to know" Tonks said slowly. "I don't want to be nosy about
your affairs but right now, I think I have a right to know what is going
on"
"Yeah...maybe" Harry said. He slowly took Tonks's left hand in his hands
and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "I am...just..."
"Just what?" Tonks asked as she placed her other hand on Harry's hand.
"It's...well..." Harry seemed to be struggling to say what was on his mind.
It all came forth in a wave the next second "I feel Lord Voldemort's
connection"
"What do you mean?" Tonks asked curiously, a hint of fear in her eyes.
Now that the dark forces were just outside Hogwarts, anything to do with
Lord Voldemort directly had to be given the highest level of concern.
"Here" Harry said as he pointed out his scar to Tonks. "I can feel his
presence in my mind".
"WHAT!" Tonks shot up from her seat in panic. "It can't be. He can't be
controlling you now!"
"Relax Tonks" Harry said as he got up and caught hold of Tonks left
shoulder. "It's not that bad"
"Oh it's bad enough" Tonks's eyes grew bigger and rounder as she said
this.
"Let me explain" Harry said as he slowly forced Tonks to sit down again.
"I can feel his presence. It's not like he is controlling me"
"How do you know?" Tonks said in an apprehensive voice. "You might be
having visions right now..."
"I am not having visions" Harry interrupted Tonks. Seeing the look on her
face, he continued. "Trust me, I know what visions feel like now"
"But..." Tonks could not decide whether she could trust Harry on this or
not. She knew she could trust Harry with her life but she was unsure as
to whether she could trust Harry with his life or not.
"Look, the link was never closed permanently, right?" Harry queried. As
Tonks nodded, he continued "When I practiced occlumency I was able to
block out Lord Voldemort because he was so far away from me. But now,
he is nearby. I can still block him out but that does not mean I can't feel
him. If I let my shields down..."
"...then you could get possessed by him" Tonks ended off the sentence in
a shivering voice. If she thought she could not feel anything more
frightening then she was wrong. The look on Harry's face sent shivers
through her spine.
"What are you thinking Harry?" Tonks asked in an unsure voice.
"What if I let my shields down?" Harry wondered aloud in a slow manner.
"What do you mean?" Tonks said in a panic stricken voice. "Are you
mad?"
"No" Harry said. "But still, maybe I can view what Lord Voldemort is
planning...maybe I can..."
"It's stupid!" Tonks said in a strict voice. "You won't do anything of the
sort"
"I have to give in a try Tonks. I have to see his mind" Harry continued in
the same slow, calm voice.
"No!"
"Listen Tonks" Harry said as he looked at her. "I will give it a try. It is up
to you to decide whether you want to be there to help me out or whether
I am forced to try it out alone". There was a tone of finality in Harry's
voice which suggested that his mind was made up. For some reason, his
eyes had a sparkle in them just like Dumbledore's.
"It's not correct" Tonks's voice was barely above a whisper.
"Trust me Tonks" Harry said as he took her hands in his. "We can't go
wrong together". Tonks looked at Harry for a long minute before she
finally nodded her head. She knew that Harry would try it once and it
was better for her to stay beside him rather than no one at all.
"Good" Harry said as he slowly lifted his hand. "I will try it out now"
"What do I do if you go in a trance?" Tonks asked in a fearful voice.
"Talk to me about my parents, about Sirius, about us...and I will come
back" Harry said with a smile on his lips. He moved towards the sofa and
sat down in a meditating position. Tonks walked over to sit near him. She
saw him close his eyes. Nothing happened for a minute or so. Tonks
estimated that by this time Harry's mental shields were down and he was
most probably trying to enter Voldemort's mind. She knew it was a stupid
thing that Harry was doing but she knew Harry would have no other
way. She watched him carefully for any signs of trouble.
A couple of minutes passed and nothing happened. Suddenly an odd
expression appeared on Harry's face. It seemed like he was tense...and
happy at the same time. Tonks watched even more closely now. She
knew Harry had managed to identify Voldemort's mental link and was
most probably trying out something to find more about it. As she
watched, Harry's eyelids started to flicker, slowly at first but gaining in
momentum with every passing secong. He started to sweat as the
flickering increased. A look of intensity appeared on Harry's face as he
seemed to be trying to fight something inside himself. Tonks was on the
edge of her seat by now, biting her nails in anticipation. She did not
know what to do now. What if Harry could not come out of his
meditation? What if...
"Tonks" Harry said in a faint voice as he opened his eyelids in a feeble
manner. He seemed to be frightened and happy at the same time. "I saw
him...and he knew I was there"
Tonks looked frightened at this. However, her first question to him was
the most obvious one "Are you OK?"
"Never better" Harry said with a smile as he slowly stood up on his feet.
Now that Lord Voldemort knew that the connection was still active, he
would definitely try to show him visions again. Or maybe, he would try
to find out more about Harry's plans. For now, Harry had managed to set
up his mental shields to stop the dark lord from accessing any important
information. Also, as long as he was in the premises of Hogwarts, he
would have a certain amount of Hogwarts's magic to protect him. But
beyond that, it would be a cat and mouse game between Lord Voldemort
and Harry, one whose rules had not been set this time around since Harry
was more in control of his mind.
"Never better" Harry repeated slowly once more as he smiled at Tonks
once more before turning to finish his food.
Somewhere nearby, a set of thin lips curled up in a horrendous smile.
Lord Voldemort had felt his and Harry's connection stronger than ever
and he planned to use this knowledge to reap the maximum benefit
possible.
& & &
As the evening descended a sense of gloom approached the castle and it's
inhabitants. All the doors and windows were closed tightly and the
security enhanced by the teachers. As the final door was closed, a howl
went up in the distance, the sound of which sent shivers down the body
of all the students and teachers alike. More howls were heard both from
both the outside and from the inside of the castle.
It was the night of the full moon and the werewolves were on the prowl.
& & &
A/N: Twelve'th chapter here. I know it has been around 17 months since
my last chapter...and I am really sorry for taking so long. Lots of things
happened in my professional and private life...including me meeting the
one I always dreamt of :). And I got addicted to SecondLife in between :).
Anyway, I am now getting my fanfic writing back on track and I would
like to thank EVERYONE who has tolerated my absence for so long. I
have not abandoned this fic, and never will :)
Also, I hope this chapter is up to the mark. Length wise I know it is 13K
+ (3K more than my normal chapters). Quality wise, you guys have to
let me know :). If some stuff is mismatched, it is because I have restarted
after SO long!
Thanks for all those reviews. Every review which you people made is
much appreciated. And to everyone who didn't review, thanks for taking
time to read up to here at least.
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