War Within A Breath

Title: War Within a Breath

Author: Muddgutts

Rating: PG-13 (for strong language)

Ships: H/Hr

Summary: Following the events in OoTP the gang from the DoM must live a life in hiding. They are constantly on the run from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Voldemort will stop at nothing to finish the ‘Potter’ problem that keeps plaguing him. No place is safe now for Harry and the gang as they are forced to move from one hiding place to the next all summer long. As the danger increases so does the tension between the kids when cabin fever sets in, and Harry and Ron clash in the argument that could rip the trio apart for good.

AN: I would like to thank everyone that gave me input for this story, and helping me realize the growing tension between Harry and Ron’s friendship. No story is complete with out a good beta and I’m lucky enough to have a great one. Thank you very much AnneU. You’ve helped me so much, I don’t think I could do it with out you.

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Chapter 1

“Harry, wake up.”

“Harry . . . wake up.” The voice called out again this time with a little shake on his shoulder. Through the haze of sleep a dim light filled the damp room. His body ached and his left arm was still not fully awake yet so it would send little tingling shocks up to the shoulder when he pushed himself upright. Harry reached into his coat and grabbed his glasses, “Tonks? Wha. . .what time is it?”

Tonks moved her wand closer to herself and kneeled next to his bed, “Listen Harry, we have to get moving. This place isn’t safe anymore.”

Harry flopped back down on the bed with a groan, “Come . . .on, we just got here yesterday, and now we have to leave already? This better not be another one of Moody’s drills, or I’m going to transfigure his leg into a toothpick.” He looked up to her waiting for a laugh that never came.

Tonks looked very serious and stood up, igniting the oil lamp on the nightstand. “Harry, we don’t have a lot of time to screw around. We have to meet Kingsley and Remus downstairs in ten minutes. Now move, all of you.” Her last was stated very loudly causing Neville and Ron to wake.

“What’s going on?” Neville said seating up in his cot. Ron just flopped over, pulling the covers over his head.

Tonks walked over to the closet and pulled out their bags and threw them into the middle of the room. “Up NOW! You have five minutes to get your gear and be ready to move.”

Harry watched her for a minute curiously. She hadn’t act like this for weeks, and his stomach dropped remembering the last time they were all awakened in the middle of the night to move to a new safe house, almost two weeks ago

They were all holed up in an old barn, somewhere near York. Everything was fine until suddenly from out of the cool night sky Tonks and Remus came swooping in on brooms demanding they all get into the air and leave. They tried not to panic and grab all their belongings, but Hermione started hyperventilating when she realized she didn’t have a broom. So Harry did the only thing he could, he pulled her onto his broom and took off. After some cursing and punching Hermione calmed herself when she looked back over Harry’s shoulder to the old barn. Not more then two minutes after they all left a large group of DeathEaters appeared in front of the building. The images of the barn burning high into the night sky still plagued her dreams.

Harry leapt from his bed and started throwing all his schoolbooks and clothes into his backpack. He looked around the room for anything he might have missed, and noticed Neville was doing the same, but Ron still hadn’t gotten out of bed. He gave his bed a swift kick. “Hey Ron! Get up or you’ll be staying here, mate.”

Harry didn’t stick around to see if Ron had gotten the hint because he was right on Tonks’ heels out the door. They moved down the hallway quickly to the only other door. Tonks turned around and gave Harry a push backwards stopping him from running into the room.“Um Harry, maybe I should go in first, huh.”

At first Harry was confused. Knowing that time was of the essence all he wanted to do was get in there and help Hermione with all her books; that would no doubt delay them leaving on time. Then as he saw the smile Tonks was giving him it dawned on him that the girls might not be properly dressed. He blushed and leaned against the wall. “Oh...right. ”

Tonks swept through the doorway into the room, wand high in the air lighting the way. “Raise and shine ladies, it’s time to get up,” she ordered. From outside the room Harry could hear them all starting to come to life. He slipped his arms into the straps of his backpack and tightened them down. He paced around in a small circle checking his pockets.

“Wand, check. Money, check. Photos?” His fingers ran the length of his jean pockets then up to his shirt pocket, and he let out a deep sigh of relief as the hard edges of the old pictures revealed themselves. Withdrawing them he moved to the light from the doorway and held the pictures out in front of him. When all of this insanity had started in the first week of summer he removed two pictures from his photo album; those had to stay behind with all other unnecessary baggage. One photo was now was very old and worn now; it was from his parents’ wedding day. His mother, father and Sirius waved to him with great smiles of joy. The other was of Ron, Hermione, and himself from first year. He smiled as they all pushed and shoved each other into a rather messy group hug.

The bedroom door swung open and Tonks strolled out into the hall. “Harry, I’m going to seal the back door and the rear windows. Make sure everyone is at the front door and ready to move as soon as Remus shows up with the car. OK?”

“Car? What car?”

“Kingsley, umm, borrowed one from the Ministry depot tonight. Best not to think about it too much, Harry. Just get a move on, will you,” Tonks finished as she walked swiftly down the hallway. Harry shrugged, dismissing the information, jammed the pictures into his back pocket, knocked hard on the door once and pushed it open.

Ginny nearly slammed into him as she ran from the bathroom carrying all their toiletries. “Watch it Harry!” Luna held open her bag and Ginny dumped all of it inside. Hermione was busy throwing back the covers of her bed looking for something. All of them, boys and girls it would now seem had taken to sleeping in their clothes in case of an emergency like this.

Harry didn’t bother to ask permission as he moved over to her nightstand and grabbed her backpack off the floor. With great speed he cleared the room of all books, parchment, quills, and clothing. Hermione didn’t even notice this as she was currently trying to reach something that had fallen between the wall and the bed.

“Oh come on, just a little . . . bit closer,” she said thrusting her hand again into the narrow space. Harry watched her for a moment with a smile. She looked so much older now compared to the picture he had of her from first year. Her body had matured in all the right places, she was just as tall as he was now, and to be honest he found himself staring at her a little too much lately. She was very striking now, at least to him, and he supposed to Ron as well but Ron would never say it, bloody coward. Harry grabbed hold of the bed frame and gave it a hard jerk, sliding it away from the wall.

Hermione let out a short, “Oh,” in surprise and then saw Harry standing next to the bed. He smiled down at her. “Come on, hurry now. I have all of your books and papers,” he said, throwing her backpack over his other shoulder. She retrieved the lost item from behind the bed and sat up; it was her daily planner. The small black book looked ready to burst at the seams, there were so many pieces of multicolor paper sticking out from inside, and the clip looked broken and was held closed with a rubber band.

“Thank you . . . Harry,” she said through a long yawn, covering her mouth with one hand. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep, sorry.”

Watching her yawn made him yawn as well and he extended his hand to her. Grabbing it firmly she stood up, but swayed on sleepy legs and leaned against him resting her head on his chest. Harry looked around the room and Ginny was staring at them now with raised eyebrows.

“When did you go to sleep last night, Hermione?” Ginny asked.

Hermione straightened herself a bit and rubbed her eyes. “Well, about a hour ago I think.”

Harry just rolled his eyes to this. It was no surprise really. “Let me guess, Potions essay right?”

Hermione stepped back now and frowned at him, “Yeah, that’s right. At least mine’s done now. Bet you haven’t even started yours, and don’t even think you’re copying mine. I told you to start it a week ago.” Harry opened his mouth to say he wasn’t planning on copying her when Ron popped into the doorway.

He gave the room a quick survey and settled on Harry with both his and Hermione’s backpacks and frowned. “Typical . . . Hey you left your broom back there.” Harry’s eyes narrowed when he heard the word ‘typical’ from Ron. Just what the hell was that supposed to mean?

Ron walked up to them and handed the Firebolt over to Harry. “Well it looks like your hands are full, so I guess you’re riding with me tonight, Hermione,” he said, looking just a little too happy about this too.

“Ohh no more flying please,” Hermione moaned, “I’m too tired to even think about getting on a broom.”

Harry just grinned at them both. “We’re not flying. Kingsley is bringing a car for us.”

“What? A car? Where did he get a car?” Ron asked as his smile faded.

Harry just shrugged. “I don’t know. Tonks said he got it from the Ministry and that he and Professor Lupin will be here any minute.” Ron huffed and turned quickly towards the door looking rather defeated.

Hermione looked back at Harry questioningly. “What’s his problem?”

Harry was about to answer when the ground suddenly shuddered.

“What was that?” Ginny asked. Then it happened again and this time it was a bit longer and louder.

Out of instinct or fear Hermione stepped closer to Harry. “What’s making that noise?” she asked. He wasn’t sure about the noise, but one thing was sure. He didn’t plan on sticking around long enough to find out.

“Come on let’s get out of here!”

The girls and Harry made it to the door and ran straight into Neville.

“What going on? Why is the ground shaking?” Neville asked looking rather pale.

Ron was down the hall by the front door and called for them to come look. “Quick come here. What’s that?”

Everyone crowded near the front door. Just out past the driveway were large pine trees that pierced high into the cloudless night. The trees swayed violently as the ground rumbled again. Hermione let out a little whimper and clung to Harry’s arm, “That . . . that sounds like . . .”

“Gwarp,” Harry finished, “but—bigger!”

Ron grabbed Harry by the shoulder and spun him around. “Gwarp! You mean Hagrid’s half brother and full Giant?”

Neville swallowed a big gulp of air, “A GIANT!” Everyone pulled out their wands and started to back away from the front door now.

Through the glass panes of the door they watched as the ground shook and a large group of trees fell onto the front lawn, and high into the sky the shape of a head could be clearly seen against the black night. Harry’s jaw almost hit the floor as the nearly 25-feet-high giant stepped into the moonlight. The closest Harry could describe the giant was that he looked like a grotesquely oversized Norseman, like some Viking right out of his history books, with a white vest made of wolf pelts, a long loincloth of deerskin, and straps of leather wrapped around his feet and hands. His knuckles alone were the size of boulders, and his feet bigger than Uncle Vernon’s car, and as he broke into the clearing between the house and tree line a single figure could be seen as well. It was Antonin Dolohov. Harry would never forget his form even under his masked face, and cloaked body. He had nearly killed his best friend, his Hermione!

Harry’s blood boiled and his fingers tightened around the end of his wand thinking of the best curse to use on the Death Eater. He ducked down out of view of the glass, and pulled Hermione down with him, “Get down all of you! Don’t let him see you!” At Harry’s command, everyone dropped down to the corner of the wall and the floor, making them as small as possible. Ginny doused the lantern and everyone moved in close, waiting.

“Who’s out there? Who did you see?” Ginny asked. Harry furrowed his brow thinking of all the implications of Dolohov being free from Azkaban. Ron started lifting his head high to take a look, but Harry yanked him down hard to the floor.

“I told you to stay down! There’s a Death Eater out there controlling that giant!”

Ron shrugged free of his grip. “Get off! If you would’ve said that before I wouldn’t have had to look! Would I, smart ass?”

Harry grit his teeth biting back the anger. “I don’t have time to cover every detail with you. Just keep you’re damn head down! Got it?”

Ron rolled his eyes and flopped down between Luna and Neville, “Right, Commander!” Hermione had heard enough and was fed up. “That’s it, you two cut it out right now.” She turned back to Harry. “So what are we going to do now? We can’t stay here and where’s Tonks?”

From outside Dolohov’s voice could clearly be heard as he yelled to the giant. He spoke in a foreign tongue none of them knew. It sounded like he was egging the giant on, encouraging him to continue his rampage. Even down low to the floor Harry could see as the giant reached down and picked up a tree trunk as a club and turned back towards the house.

“Harry! Come on we have to leave!” Hermione pleaded, clutching Harry’s arm. “Please, it’s not worth it.”

Facing her with anger in his eyes he wanted to yell at her, ‘Not worth it? This man almost killed you! He should be in jail!’ But when he saw the fear in her eyes he couldn’t speak, and only nodded. Ron was edging backwards away from the door now and Harry got an idea. “Ok let’s make for the back door. Ron, lead the way.”

Ron shot him the dirtiest look he’d ever gotten from him. “Me! Why do I have to go first?”

Harry wanted to just punch Ron now for being such a jerk. “Because I’m the ‘commander,’ remember,” he said sarcastically. Ron snarled at him.

Ginny pushed Ron out of the way and started moving. “Oh for heaven’s sake, you two are imposable! Get out of the way, you big baby.” She moved down the hallway swiftly in a low crawl. Luna grabbed the lantern, falling in behind Ginny, with Neville close behind. Ron was practically pushing Neville up the hall he was so eager to get away now.

Harry took one quick look through the glass and saw the giant had moving to the house, and was swinging the tree trunk mightily above his head. Without warning Harry grabbed Hermione and pushing them both to the floor hard. “Everyone get down!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Down the hallway, the rooms where they’d all been sleeping not more then fifteen minutes ago exploded in a crash of timber and stone. Glass and wood panels flew everywhere, and they were enveloped in a cloud of dust and debris. Over the screams of Ginny and Luna Harry could hear the small house’s foundation groan and break.

“Is everyone ok?” he asked. He heard them reply that they were fine, but he couldn’t see them through the thick layer of dust covering his glasses. Ron was screaming to Ginny, “Go . . . Go before we’re all squashed to death!”

Harry looked down to see if Hermione was okay too and met her wide eyes and red cheeks. She was flat on her back and he was on top of her like a shield. “Are you okay, Hermione? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

She inhaled a deep breath causing her chest to press firmly against his weight. “No, you didn’t hurt me...thank you, Harry,” she finished, looking away, and her cheeks and ears burned bright red. Harry wasn’t a total fool as to not notice either their position or her lack of protest to it, but there was really no time to think about it at the moment either. With one quick contraction of his body, Harry sprung to his feet pulling Hermione up with him.

The air cleared a bit and the enormous tree trunk started to slide out from under the wreckage of the house, no doubt to finish off the crumbling structure. The door at the end of the hall open with a sudden crash as a Death Eater went flying out through it. His body hit the floor with a mighty thud and he slid to a halt right in front of Ginny. She gave him a little tap with her foot to see if he was awake, but there was no response. In the kitchen doorway Tonks was standing with her wand in one hand and another unconscious Death Eater in the other.

“Hurry up! Out this way,” she called to the puzzled teens. No one needed a further invitation then as everyone pushed their way into the room. Another Death Eater lay in the middle of the remains of the kitchen table, which had been smashed to bits. The window in the back door was also broken and it looked as if the Death Eaters had entered the house that way, until they ran into Tonks. Harry had only seen Tonks fight once, in the Department of Mysteries, and even then he was impressed with her power. She was a brilliant Auror and the proof was now spread across the kitchen floor in the form of three unconscious Death Eaters.

Tonks pushed Neville and Ginny toward the broken back door with purpose. “Come on! Stop gawking and move. Do you want to be a pancake?” She started to usher them all towards the doorway and stopped momentarily to visually check over Harry. She gave him a quick pat on the shoulder, “You all right, Harry?” As Ron passed with Luna through the doorway he couldn’t help notice this little exchange between the two and swore under his breath, but Luna just pulled him along as she broke into a run towards an old lawn shed by the driveway.

As Tonks, Harry and Hermione ran clear of the house a loud primal roar echoed through the night. Harry took one final look over his shoulder and watched as the hulking trunk of the tree came crashing into what remained of the house. Everyone dove for cover as shards of wood and glass flew through the air showering the area with rubble.

The giant grunted and stomped his great feet through the wreckage as he watched his intended victims fleeing the house, and in one mighty stride he stepped over the house towards them. Hermione pulled Harry backwards as he showered the giant in spells. He sent three quick stunning spells that bounced harmless off the giant’s chest. Hermione shrieked into Harry’s ear, “It’s no good Harry! We have to run come on!” Seeing the futility of his efforts he turned to see where Tonks was, but she wasn’t near him anymore.

The rest of the group was at the shed now and screaming for Harry and Hermione to run as a giant closed in for the kill. Running as fast as their tired legs could carry them Harry and Hermione made a break for the small lawn shed, which really wasn’t any cover from the giant, but they ran anyway. Where else could they go, it looked hopeless. Harry tugged on Hermione’s arm as they ran. A flash of red light from a spell passed just over his head, and Hermione pushed Harry to the left as they ran. He heard Hermione scream out a spell from behind him. Then another flash of light passed by them and crashed into the grass in front of them. Harry turned and saw Dolohov not far behind them near the house sending spells at them.

“That’s it! I’ve had just about enough of you!” he said as he skidded to a halt swinging Hermione behind him.

Hermione looked at him with fear in her eyes. “Harry! What are you going?” He pulled her down low and pointed his wand at Dolohov sending spell after spell at him, which the Death Eater dodged easily using the wreckage as cover.

“Distract him! Levitate some of that debris around him so I can get a clear shot on him!” Harry yelled.

Trying not to think about the lumbering giant bearing down on them, Hermione started levitating a large piece of ceiling beam in to the air. It hung in mid-air for a minute before it swooped towards Dolohov’s back. She moved the wood in a poking fashion at him, like some giant fork. While he jumped from side to side trying not to be crushed Harry focused his aim and screamed, “Incarcerous!” Ropes flew out of his wand and bound Dolohov to the crumbling structure.

With a loud pop Tonks appeared next to Hermione and with a quick wave of her wand summoned Dolohov’s wand to her hand. There was a loud whistling sound in the air and suddenly with out warning Tonks and Hermione were both pulled down to the ground with Harry spread across them protectively. Before they even got a word out, a dark blur passed overhead. Only as the shape retreated into the sky was it clear that it was the enormous hand of the giant who was now looming over them. In their little duel with Dolohov they had forgotten why they were running in the first place, and now it was too late . . .he had them trapped!

Ron and Neville watched in horror as the giant closed the distance on Harry and Hermione and was ready to strike. Ron’s mouth flopped open and closed for a second before he could think. Ginny shook Ron’s arm fiercely screaming, “Do something!” When he didn’t answer her she turned to Neville and dragged him out of the shed with her. “Come on we have to distract him!”

Neville’s eyes flicked from his friends who were about to be crushed and then to Ginny. With determination in his eyes and in his voice he said, “Bright spells! Anything flashy, just get his attention!” Ginny gave him a quick nodded and blasted a spark spell into the air. It was just an enough to light the backyard between the house and the woods, but it was bright.

They started saddle skipping to the right as they unleashed spell after spell at the towering giant. Through the flashes they watched the giant’s right arm swung down to snatch their friends up, when a piercing white light flooded the area and distracted the monster from hitting his target.

The loud honking of a car horn echoed off the trees and filled their souls with hope as a black Ministry car streaked into view. Harry pushed himself upright and smiled as the car skidded to a halt and Remus Lupin jumped out of the front seat, wand in hand. He pulled open the backdoor for Ron, Luna, Neville, and Ginny to get in.

“Where’s Harry?” Lupin asked.

“Over there!” Ginny pointed.

“Bugger!” was all he got out before he Disapparated over to Tonks.

With a very ungraceful crack he Apparated right between Tonks and Hermione. “Tonks! Grab Hermione.” Then he grabbed Harry and Disapparated back to the car and shoved him inside. Harry slammed into Ron on the seat, and a moment later Hermione was pushed in next to him. Ginny, Neville, and Luna where in the seats in front of them and helped pull Tonks into the center of the floor on top of everyone’s legs and shut the door. Through the back window they watched as the destroyed house and the enraged giant faded from view, and they uttered a collective sigh of relief.

After about a quarter hour and several uncomfortable bumps later things were starting to become very cramped inside the backseat of the car. Ron tried desperately to shift his legs out from under Tonks, who shot him a dark look. “Listen Ron if you want to touch my bum then go ahead and try it, but stop twitching your feet around down there.”

“Well I can’t help it if I’m the tallest one here,” he whined, looking around the backseat at everyone. The back of the car did have two seats facing each other, but with seven people and their backpacks it yielded little space for someone of his size. Neville, Luna, and Ginny sat in the seats facing forwards with their bags on their laps. Ron, Harry, and Hermione sat in the seats facing backwards with Tonks lying in the middle of the floor.

Hermione took a quick look around and solved the problem in a second. “Okay, all of you stack the bags over there against the door.” She now took a hunched-over standing position and motioned for Ron to slide over. “Ron, move all the way down the seat and let Tonks get in there.” He did and Tonks gratefully got up off the floor onto the seat. Harry slid over to give her room, and noticed a small problem.

“Umm Hermione,” he said, “where are you going to sit? You shifted yourself out of a seat.”

“Oh,” she replied and furrowed her brow in thought. She chewed on her lip working out a possible seating arrangement for the number of people. “It’s okay, I’ll just sit here on the...” she said, but was cut off when the car hit a rather nasty pump. Hermione bounced into the air and hit her head on the roof, which sent her into the seat in front of her, right on to Harry’s lap. He instinctively caught her as she fell.

“Oh, Hermione, are you okay?”

She squinted her eyes as she rubbed the bump on her head, “Ouch, sssss. . . that smarts oh.” Harry just cradled her there in his arms getting accustomed to her position. He couldn’t help it but he wanted to smile. After everything that just happened to them, all he could think about was how soft and tender Hermione’s touch was to him, simple human contact to let him know that he was not alone in this nightmare of a life he was caught in. She was real, then and there, and not just a memory or a photograph. He was sure now that there was more to life then just pain and misery, and as he turned his head and stared out the window at the night sky it dawned on him.

“She can relate to me. She has always understood me. Not even Ron knows me like she does,” and he smiled.

Hermione couldn’t see his face from her seat on his lap, but tried to face him anyway. “Harry, if I’m too heavy I can move, it’s no big deal. I don’t mind sitting on the floor.”

She tried to get up off him, but his grip around her tightened, and she stopped. He whispered in her ear through her bushy brown hair, “Please, don’t go . . .it’s okay really.” Hermione could feel his breath on her neck and it sent shivers down her spine, and she leaned into his embrace a little more. She was lost in thought for awhile thinking of everything that just happened and how relaxing it was to be with Harry like this. Tonks broke Hermione’s train of thought as she gave her a little poke in her leg.

“Hmm?” was all she could muster as the car came back into view. Tonks’ smile was mischievous and her eyes blinked slowly and deliberately as if to say, ‘Enjoying yourself?’ Hermione didn’t have anything to say and continued to look Tonks in the eyes and her own lip curled upwards a bit too. Tonks gave her a knowing little pat on the leg and reached into her cloak and withdraw a wand. “I have a present for you, Hermione.”

“I have a wand already, but thanks anyway.”

“Ah but this wand is the rightful property of our Death Eater friend Antonin Dolohov,” Tonks said coolly, handing the wand over to Hermione. She bounced it between her hands thinking of what to do with it, but Harry’s voice was low and strong and carried from behind her.

“Break it.”

Now she did manage to turn around and face him. His expression was blank and his piercing green eyes didn’t flinch as he spoke. “Do it Hermione. Break the wand, and put your fears of him behind you.” Hermione looked around the car at everyone.

Ginny beamed at her, Luna gave her a simple nod, and Neville smiled at her making a breaking motion with his hands. Ron’s expression was unreadable. There was something else behind his exterior as he said, “Go ahead, and break it already. You know you want to.”

Tonks looked on at her with a warm smile and her head tilted to the side a bit. “Go on Hermione, nothing bad will happen.”

When Hermione turned back to Harry he took her hands in his and placed them on either end of the wand in her hands and said, “You’ve earned it, Hermione. He can’t hurt you anymore.” Her breath shuddered and her grip tightened. Gritting her teeth and sucking in a deep breath she mustered all of her strength and cracked the wand in two. Little particles of the core burst into the air free from their wooden prison, and drifted through the car slowly. A loud chorus of Hooray’s filled the car and everyone started laughing, and Lupin tuned the radio to some classic rock station, and everyone was chatting again as if it was morning tea and everything was normal again.

Hermione’s chest hitched and her head sagged to her chest. An overwhelming feeling of relief flooded through her. She leaned into Harry’s chest and let out a small sob, and his hand rubbed her back. “It’s okay, rest now. It’s over.” Hermione’s eyes drifted closed and she pushed all her complicated thoughts into the back of her mind.

Harry and Hermione both fell asleep bouncing around in the back seat of the car as it raced through the night, speeding them to another safe house and another day closer to returning to Hogwarts.

Title: War Within a Breath

Author: Muddgutts

Rating: PG-13 (for strong language)

Ships: H/Hr

Summary: Following the events in OoTP the gang from the DoM must live a life in hiding. They are constantly on the run from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Voldemort will stop at nothing to finish the ‘Potter’ problem that keeps plaguing him. No place is safe now for Harry and the gang as they are forced to move from one hiding place to the next all summer long. As the danger increases so does the tension between the kids when cabin fever sets in, and Harry and Ron clash in the argument that could rip the trio apart for good.

AN: I would like to thank everyone that reviewed last chapter. I was very surprised that everyone liked it honestly. You’re reviews really lifted my spirits and I love going back and reading them when I think that I just don’t have it in me to finish writing. I know some of you have question about why some things are happening, and I hope this chapter clears a few of those questions up for you. So please enjoy and don’t forget to review. Please ^_^ Special thanks goes out to AnneU for your help with this chapter. I know I couldn’t do it with out you. Honestly!

Chapter 2

Dolohov shifted again trying to pull his arms free from his bonds, but it was no use; the magical ropes were too strong and wouldn’t give way. For all his struggling all he accomplished was to rub his arms raw against the shattered rock and the ropes holding him in place. ‘If only I had my wand I would be free in a minute, and those damn kids would be dead at my feet right now,’ he thought to himself. Looking around the clearing behind the house he saw an enormous break in the trees where the giant had wandered off into the woods after the car fled the battle scene. Without his wand he couldn’t control the giant. He was powerless to stop him from leaving, and in doing so he knew to whom he would have to answer, because of his failure. The thought made the bile in his stomach rise, burning his throat.

The cracks of many people Apparating into the area broke Dolohov from his dream of snapping Potter’s neck in two. “Who’s there?” he cried into the black night. “I can hear you!”

Only the sound of footfalls echoing of the surrounding trees answered him. Desperate to see who it was, he tried to crane his head around to look behind him, but there was nothing and no one in sight. His heart raced and sweat rolled down his grimy neck, and he sucked in a deep breath when the sounds of the walking stopped.

Dolohov whipped his head back around and saw three Death Eaters standing in front of him, “Loki’s blood! You scared me half to death! Untie me damn it!”

The tallest Death Eater, standing in the center, had long black hair that spilled out from the sides of her hood, and the white porcelain mask that covered only the top of her face seemed to have an eerie glow in the moonlight when she spoke in a low voice. “Half to death you say . . .hmm interesting choice of words, Dolohov.”

The blood rushed from Dolohov’s face and his voice cracked when he spoke. “Bellatrix, it...it wasn’t my fault. I swear to you! It was Bragi, and those two new guys! They were supposed to catch Potter’s group as they ran from the Giant!”

“Shhh . . .” she cooed kneeling down in front of him. She closed on him like a tigress. From his waist she slid upward, hovering inches away from his body, sucking in his scent. “Tsk tsk, Antonin, that’s twice you’ve failed our Lord.” Bellatrix paused by his earlobe and flicked it with her tongue. “I told him you were worthless, and he should just leave you in there to rot, but he thought you still had some value left in you.”

Dolohov reeled from her touch. He knew she loved to play with her prey before finishing them off. “Please, it’s not my fault. Don’t . . .” He stopped talking when her wand slid out from under her robes.

She tapped the wand against his inner thigh lightly and whispered in his ear. “You’re not going to die—yet! The Dark Lord has plans for you,” she said as she moved her face directly in from of his, and her eyes flashed wildly at him. “Of course you must be punished for your failure, and he has left it up to me to decide what to do with you.”

Pulling away from him she pointed her wand at the ground, and with a flick of her wrist a soft green light poured from the end of her wand. The ground beneath him came to life as long thorny vines sprouted from it. He desperately tried to free himself but it was no use. The vines started wrapping themselves around his legs, and the thorns dug painfully into his skin. They continued up his body to his waist leaving deep ragged cuts across his bare skin. His screams pierced the lonely night sky causing birds nesting in near by trees to flee in shock.

Bellatrix stood back and watched with curiosity and rolled her head to the side to get a better view. Every so often she would renew the spell, or wake Dolohov from passing out. Some time later another Death Eater called to her from the rubble of the old house. He was down on his knees and his wand was lighting the area of debris in front of him.

“What have you found?” she demanded, striding over to his location.

The Death Eater tossed a few random pieces of wood away and lifted a tattered old photograph from the rubble, “This belongs to the Potter boy. His parents’ names are on the back, but I don’t know the other man.”

Taking the picture, Bellatrix’s eyes widened at the sight of her dead cousin Sirius. “Yes I know who this is . . .” she said trailing off in thought. ‘Still clinging to the past baby-Potter boy?’ Bellatrix mused to herself walking away from the kneeling Death Eater. She spun on her heel and pointed to the masked Death Eater, “Summon an Owl and get this worthless piece of flesh ready to move.”

“Do you know where they’re headed next?” he asked without standing up.

Bellatrix took one hard step towards him and stomped her foot hard to the ground screaming, “NOW!” The Death Eater sprang to his feet and rushed off into the darkened forest. Bellatrix returned to the photo in her hand and traced the outline of her cousin’s face.

“Nous verrons.” *

~*~

After their daring escape in the middle of the night Remus and Kingsley drove the group around England for two and half days straight. They stopped only for food and fuel, and on the second day they pulled into a park for an hour to give everyone time to stretch their legs before heading off again to who knows where. Harry was starting to think maybe Kingsley didn’t even know where they where going after they passed the same rest station three times.

Everyone was tired and starting to become more and more cranky by the hour, and as the sun slowly drifted toward the horizon the sky turned into a field of reds and orange. The car gave a little jerk as Kingsley downshifted and turned off the highway onto an un-named road. After about five minutes the road beneath them ended and turned into dirt, and the trees reached overhead from either side of the road forming a canopy above them. The trees were bare and twisted as if withering in pain as they reached for their brothers across the road.

As Harry watched the last rays of light pass behind the trees, he sighed. He wondered where they had ended up this time, and decided it didn’t matter anyway. There was nothing for him here, or any of the other places he rested his head this summer. It didn’t matter any way, it wasn’t his home. None of these places were. He didn’t have a home, not a real one anyway. Harry rested his forehead against the window glass and closed his eyes. His scar throbbed against the cool surface. It was tingling a lot today. He wondered if Voldemort was angry with his Death Eaters for letting them slip away again.

“Are we almost there yet? I’m starving back here.”

Harry’s head flopped back on to the headrest and looked around the car. Ron was massaging his aching stomach, Neville was biting his nails again, and Luna was reading an out of date copy of The Quibbler in her hands, Ginny had fallen asleep long ago. She bounced a little when the car hit a bump in the road. She hadn’t been talking a lot lately, and when she did speak it was a roar. Maybe the stress was starting to eat away at them all. Well, maybe not all of them, Hermione was a rock; nothing bothered her when she was set on finishing something, and right now she was set on finishing her reading. Still nestled on his lap she perched her book, The Standard Book of Spells Grade 6, on her knees, and was about halfway though it now.

No one bothered to answer Ron’s questions anymore. He seemed to always be hungry or tired or bored, and everyone was growing tired of it. They just choose to ignore him, and before long the car came to a halt. Kingsley turned the car off and turned around to everyone. “Well here we are.”

“Huh, where are we?” Ginny said rubbing her eyes.

Ron fumbled around for the latch and the door sprung open spilling all the their packs onto the ground. He leaped from the car spreading his arms wide into the air. “Ahhh that’s great. After two days this feels so good!”

Everyone exited the vehicle feeling sore and very stiff. When Ginny got out and saw all of her belongings falling out of her pack into the dirt she nearly exploded, and gave Ron a hard shove in the back. “Look what you did, you stupid idiot!”

Ron spun around and closed on her. “Don’t blame me! If you had closed your bag in the first place it wouldn’t have happened! What is all of that crap anyway? Love letters from your boyfriend no doubt!”

“Ron!” Hermione hissed under her breath.

Kneeling down Ginny started throwing her clothes and books back into the bag roughly. “Well I’m sorry, but I need more to live on besides a stupid chess board and TWO pair of underwear!” Ron’s fist clenched as he opened his mouth to fire back at her, but she cut him off, “AND! For your information whom I write to and who I date is none of YOUR business. So get out of it!”

Neville chuckled as he walked around the car, but stopped the second Ron glared at him, “Shut it Neville! This is none of your business.” Ron shouted as his anger increased.

Everyone started yelling and cursing at each other all at once. Even Tonks was screaming trying to break up the fight as Ron and Ginny started squaring off with each other.

Harry rubbed his forehead hoping to stop the increasing pain, but that didn’t help, not with all of this yelling, and he snapped and screamed.

“Would all of you just shut the hell up already!”

Everyone turned and stared at him. He knew they were waiting for him to explode into a rant like he did all last year. He could feel the pressure building inside of him aching to come out, and his throat burned as the bile in his stomach rose again. He reached down and grabbed his bag off the ground and gave it a hard smack knocking the dust off it. When he stood up he met Hermione’s troubled gaze. She looked scared, but concerned all in the same breath, and he couldn’t speak. His mouth worked as he tried to think of something to say, and he couldn’t so he just flung his bag over his shoulder and started off towards the house.

They watched him for a minute in silence before anyone moved. Remus walked alongside Harry without speaking and pulled a rusty old key out from his pocket. Harry stopped and looked at the house. It was a simple one-story home with dirty white panels on the outside and the paint on the front door had peeled under the hot rays of the sun. The grass was overgrown, and a wooden fence wrapped behind the house enclosing a large field. Off in the distance was another structure that looked like a barn.

Remus cranked the key into the lock and with a hard push opened the door. Returning the key to his pocket he said, “Well it’s not the royal palace, but it’ll do for now.”

“Whose house is this?” Harry asked as he stepped through the entranceway.

“A woman I used to know, she . . .she’s dead now. I don’t think she’d mind us using the place for awhile.” Remus walked in and flicked on the light. “At least the lights still work, that’s a start.”

Harry walked into the living room, which still had all the furnishings intact. It reminded him of Mrs. Figg’s house in Little Whinging; it smelled like old people. He dropped his pack in the corner of the room and sat down on the couch.

Remus stood by the doorway still watching him. “Are you ok Harry? Is anything the matter?”

Giving a little shrug Harry looked at him deadpan and said, “Tip top, just have a headache is all.” Remus again eyed him closely, and Harry sighed, lying back on the couch. “It’s from being in the car for so long. Don’t worry alright?”

“Right well,” Remus said, giving the rug a little kick, “I’ll go get things set up. Just rest for awhile, and I’ll call you when we scrape together some food.” Harry kicked off his shoes and curled up on the couch feeling totally exhausted. After about twenty minutes the pain in his scar stopped hurting and sleep overtook him.

Tonks had left right after they arrived to report to the Ministry of Magic about the giant’s attack. Now that Fudge knew of Voldemort's return and the attack on the Department of Mysteries Harry and the gang were given special permission to perform magic outside of school. Of course this was only for emergency use and each time they did use magic it had to be reported and catalogued at the Ministry. Kingsley and Tonks speculated that the Auror divisions were trying to gather any information possible about the Death Eaters and how they functioned to help track them down.

Over the next few days a roaring silence fell on the dirty old house as everyone seemed to retreat into their own space within it. Harry felt like everyone, including himself, was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. At any moment Voldemort himself would step through the door and end it all. After awhile he didn’t care anymore just as long as it would end the loneliness in his heart. The only time people were in the same room together was in the living room which had a television, but there wasn’t anything good on.

Kingsley also brought with him all of the latest newspapers and magazines for the last week when he was away on normal work for the Ministry and not guarding the kids. Working in pairs, two on and two off, Tonks, Remus, Kingsley, and Moody rotated in shifts, each pair watching over the group for about three days at a time.

The night of the third day Harry had gone to sleep a bit earlier then everyone else. He felt like he just didn’t have the strength to do anything that day beside lie around and read his Transfiguration book, but what he was really thinking about was the prophcey. He had been mulling it over in his mind a lot the last few days. It was the last thing on his mind when he went to sleep and the first thing he thought about when he woke up in the morning. The words rolled around in his head as the darkness of sleep overcame him.

He was walking now wand in hand through the Forbidden Forest to Hogwarts Castle. A fog covered the land, thick and hot, clinging to everything. When he came to Hagrid’s hut on the edge of the forest, it was empty and dark. The hut was covered in vines and overgrown with weeds that swallowed the fence to the garden and everything within it.

Harry’s body moved on towards the castle without his consent; it was like he was just along for the ride watching. As he got closer to the main gate he noticed that this wasn’t just a fog but smoke as well. Hot embers floated on the wind into his hair and his cloak. The ground started to become uneven and wet. When he kneeled down to get a closer look he almost fell over at what he saw. The ground was covered with bodies. Everywhere he looked were bodies, hundreds of them. Their eyes, cold and unblinking, stared back at him.

Closing his eyes Harry ran as fast as he could towards the open doors of Hogwarts. A shape in the doorway beckoned him closer. He tried to run, but his feet became stuck in the mud below him. The more he struggled the further he sunk. Water lapped at his face, warm and sticky, foul and rancid. He raised his hands to his face and they were red. Thick crimson blood ran down his hands, and he stopped his fighting and waded in the grass that had now become a lake of blood. Bodies bobbed up and down in the current. A strong force under the water started to push him violently towards the castle, faster and fast. Harry smashed into arms and legs along the way, and he closed his eyes and mouth trying not to swallow the blood washing over him. Then suddenly he was tossed into the air and sailed onto the hard flagstones of the stairway leading into the castle, and a gentle hand reached down touching him shoulder.

“You should not be here Harry.”

He knew that voice, it was Professor Dumbledore and just the sound of it relaxed him a bit as he got to his feet, but what met his eyes what not the noble man he knew. Instead, Dumbledore was a broken man clothed in rags and filth. Then Harry stopped looking and gasped when he saw Dumbledore’s face. He had no eyes!

“We did it all for you, Harry,” Dumbledore said. “You should have run far away from here so he couldn’t find you.”

Harry couldn’t speak, he couldn’t look at him, so he ran. With tears in his eyes he ran as fast as he could through the halls of Hogwarts. From behind him echoing off the halls he could still hear Dumbledore’s voice calling to him, “Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Harry ran for an eternity, stepping over the bodies of people he knew along way. He couldn’t stop moving to look at them. Sadness felled his soul and it threatened to overtake him if he stopped moving. The stairs to the North Tower came into view and grew with each step he took.

The sounds of a battle carried from high above him. Harry froze as a scream echoed in his ears. It was Hermione—he would swear it was her. She’s not dead! Casting all other thoughts aside he tore up the steps two at a time. When he reached the top a spell of brilliant green light bounced off the wall next to him. There was Voldemort dueling with Ron and Hermione.

Voldemort laughed loudly deflecting their spells with little effort, “Why do you bother even trying? You do not have the power to defeat me. None of you do!” Ron cursed at him and sent another Stunner at him. Voldemort disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared behind Ron, and before he could react Voldemort had him by the throat and a wand pointed to his head.

His eyes flashed bright red and Voldemort hissed, “Drop your wand, my dear, or your friend here dies!”

Harry watched in horror as she did just that, and Voldemort raised his wand over his head ready to finish her. Before he even thought of what to do Harry was running straight for her. As the flash of Voldemort’s wand clouded Harry’s vision he grabbed hold of Hermione. They both went sailing over the edge of the castle together, but Harry grabbed hold of the edge just in time. Hermione clawed at Harry’s left arm as he held tight to the stone edge with his right hand.

“Harry! Please don’t let go of me!” she screamed. Desperately trying to hold on with all of his strength Harry held onto her wrist for dear life.

“I’m not going to let you fall, Hermione! Hang on please!” he screamed down to her as a shadow blocked out the sun above him. Harry looked out and there was Ron standing there watching him. He seemed to be thinking it over in his head whether or not to help them. Summoning every ounce of strength Harry called up to him, “Ron! Help us up! Hurry!”

Ron scowled at him defiantly, “There you go again ordering me around! I’m not your slave, Harry, you can’t tell me what to do!” Then from behind him Harry watched as Voldemort’s face appeared over Ron’s shoulder. Then Voldemort whispered into his ear and Ron laughed, and when he did Harry saw that Ron’s right hand was made of silver. Slowly Ron moved forward and stepped on Harry’s hand. He growled at him and gave his hand a sharp stomp with his foot, and Harry and Hermione fell!

“Harry!” he heard her cry to him. He reached out and pulled her to him tightly waiting for the impact.

“Harry! Wake up!” he heard again through the black and he opened his eyes. Hermione was there in his arms, but they were not falling. He was still in his room, and Hermione looked terrified.

She pushed sweaty clumps of hair away from his forehead and looked deeply into his eyes. “It was just a dream, Harry. You’re okay now.” He breathed a sigh of relief and rested his head on her shoulder. He didn’t speak for a few minutes as she stroked his wet hair back. “I heard you calling my name so I came to see what was happening and you were thrashing around in your bed calling to me.”

“I’m sorry if I scared you, Hermione,” he said lifting his head a little but not looking at her. “It was just a bad dream.”

“What was it about?” she asked.

In truth he didn’t know what to make of the dream so he just summarized what he thought it was about and said simply, “The war.”

Hermione lifted his head up to look him in the eyes now. “What did you see? How will it end? Do you know?”

Harry wasn’t ready to tell her about the prophecy or whatever it was that he saw about Ron. Looking into her scared eyes he said, “In fire.”

~ ~ ~ ~

“Nous verrons.” * “Well will see.” In French.

AN: Well I hope it wasn’t too slow for everyone, but I need this chapter to build on the story. Next chapter we really get into the fun stuff. Harry vs. Ron no hold barred! Stay tuned and don’t forget to review. Thanks for reading.

Muddgutts

Title: War Within a Breath

Author: Muddgutts

Rating: R (sorry but the language is going to get harsh, and for other reasons too)

Ships: H/Hr

AN: I’m sorry this chapter took so long to write, but publishing is very busy this time of year, and I only have time to write at night these days. I’ll try to get the next chapter out to you faster. For everyone that read and reviewed, “Thank you very much,” and if you did review that’s ok too. Special thanks goes out to all of you in the Lj circle, you’ve all helped me along with this in someway. Especially AnneU the best editor I could have asked for. *Hugs* I’ve added a little recap from where we left off in the last chapter. I sometimes like to go back and read the last page of the previous chapter to refresh my memory. I read so many of the great story here at Portkey it’s hard to keep them all-straight. I hope it helps. ~ ~ ~ ~ Chapter 3

“Harry!” he heard her cry to him. He reached out and pulled her to him tightly waiting for the impact.

“Harry! Wake up!” he heard again through the black and he opened his eyes. Hermione was there in his arms, but they were not falling. He was still in his room, and Hermione looked terrified.

She pushed sweaty clumps of hair away from his forehead and looked deeply into his eyes. “It was just a dream, Harry. You’re okay now.” He breathed a sigh of relief and rested his head on her shoulder. He didn’t speak for a few minutes as she stroked his wet hair back. “I heard you calling my name so I came to see what was happening and you were thrashing around in your bed calling to me.”

“I’m sorry if I scared you, Hermione,” he said lifting his head a little but not looking at her. “It was just a bad dream.”

“What was it about?” she asked.

In truth he didn’t know what to make of the dream so he just summarized what he thought it was about and said simply, “The war.”

Hermione lifted his head up to look him in the eyes now. “What did you see? How will it end? Do you know?”

Harry wasn’t ready to tell her about the prophecy or whatever it was that he saw about Ron. Looking into her scared eyes he said, “In fire.”

Hermione looked confused but not scared. She shifted her legs on to the bed and sat cross-legged in front of him, “Okay, that doesn’t tell me a lot. What kind of images or pictures did you see?”

Harry sighed and propped himself up against the headboard. “I don’t remember. It was all so fast, just flashes and...stuff. I’m not sure really,” he lied, spreading the sheets out. He wasn’t even sure why he was lying to her. Maybe he thought it was all tied in to the prophecy, and to explain the dream he would have to tell her about that too. That wouldn’t be a bad thing, he knew, but maybe he just wanted some time to figure out what he wanted first.

Toying with the string on her nightgown Hermione asked, “You don’t remember? Or is it that you just don’t want to tell me?”

Harry banged the back of his head softly against the head board a little bang in frustration. God! How is it that we always know what the other is thinking? He straightened up and looked her right in the eyes now. “Hermione, please just give me some time to think about this okay? I promise you that when I’m ready to talk about it that you will be the first person I come to. I swear, all right?”

Edging closer to him she clasped his hand in hers. “But Harry, what if it’s Voldemort trying to trick you again?”

“I don’t think he can do that anymore, ” he said, shaking his head and giving her a little tug towards him. Hermione frowned a little at him.

“Well maybe he can I’m not sure, but Dumbledore said that he can’t enter my body anymore,” he continued. “Something about him not being able to stand the feeling or feelings I have. Something like that, I’m not sure really. I just can’t think straight right now.”

Hermione stood up and pulled the sheets over him a little. “You’re just tired, Harry. Get some sleep and we can talk about this later okay?” He gave her a little nod and slid down into the bed again. She walked to the door and took the knob in her hand, but turned back to him again. “Are you sure your going to be okay, Harry?”

He propped himself up on his elbows and shook his head ‘Yes,’ but said, “No . . . don’t go. Not yet—please.” She let go of the doorknob and eyed him with curious expression.

“You’re not scared, are you?”

Harry rolled to the right side of the bed. “No. I’m...I’m just—lonely. Does that sound weird? You know for a guy to say that?” She looked down to the floor and shook her head ‘No’ and walked over to the left side of the bed.

“Okay, here’s the rules,” she said removing her outer robes. “You stay on your side and I’ll stay on my side. No monkey business, got me?” Hermione looked stern but playful as she shooed him over to his side of the bed.

Holding up his hands in defeat Harry laughed a little. “Right, no monkey business. Promise.” She smiled and pulled the covers up to her neck, and he did the same. They both lay there in complete silence staring at the ceiling for a few minutes until Harry spoke softly to her.

“Hermione?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.”

She rolled on to her side and faced him. “You’re welcome Harry. Now get some sleep.”

They both started to drift asleep and Harry rolled on to his side facing Hermione. There was a rather large gap between them and he didn’t like it. He knew he’d probably regret it but he did it anyway -- slowly and as silently as possible his hand crept towards her across no man’s land.

His fingers probed and searched for her slowly and when they made contact with her hand he jerked it back a little. Harry waited for a minute with his eyes closed for her to scream or to smack him. When he opened his eyes she was looking back at him in the darkness, but she didn’t look mad or ready to hex him like he thought she might. Then he felt her hand slipping into his and she smiled. “Go to sleep.”

Harry’s heart sang, he was so happy. An overpowering desire to kiss her was starting to build up in him, but he held it in check and closed his eyes. He thought it was better to learn to walk before he learned to fly, and he drifted off to sleep holding Hermione’s hand. During the night he woke at some unknown hour and found that she had claimed his arm as her new pillow. He didn’t mind it at all and drifted back to sleep.

~*~

Riddle Mansion 11:51 pm

Lucius Malfoy stormed up the spiral staircase to the second floor landing, smashing each step with great force. Reaching the long hallway he made his way to the last door on the right and with a swift kick knocked it open.

“Bellatrix! What the hell do you think you’re . . .” He stopped mid-sentence with his mouth hanging open.

The room was only dimly light by two candles on the nightstand table and a heavy scent of sandalwood hung in the air. Bellatrix lay naked on her bed raining kisses across the back of another naked woman with blond hair that Lucius didn’t know. She stopped her advances and looked up at his with a sour expression on her face. “What?”

Malfoy gave a little cough and turned away from the women, facing the dresser. “Would you care to explain why Dolohov is downstairs alive and eating my roast pork dinner as we speak? You were told to kill him and dispose of the body. What happened?”

“Come back later,” he heard Bellatrix tell the other woman as she got up off the bed. Without speaking the other woman walked over to the dresser, retrieved her robe and swung it around herself as she moved towards the door. Bellatrix stopped as the other woman paused at the door and exchanged a long slow kiss with her. When they pulled apart she looked over Bellatrix’s shoulder at Malfoy and suppressed a small laugh then vanished through the doorway as it closed behind her.

Bellatrix slinked across the room to her nightstand and picked up a pack of cigarettes. She pulled one from the pack and lit it with the end of her wand. “What is it that you’re on about now?”

“Why the hell is that man in this house? His body should be on the side of the road in a ditch right now!” Malfoy screamed, towering above her.

“I have my reasons,” she said, exhaling a large cloud of smoke at Malfoy. He snarled at her and grabbed her arm, yanking her to her feet.

“You do, do you? Well I think we should go and see what the Master has to think about this.”

Bellatrix didn’t seem the least bit taken back by his threat and Lucius became more enraged and pulled her by the arm, dragging her down the hall. Other Death Eaters flattened against the wall as Bellatrix and Malfoy stormed past them. When they reached the door at the end of the hall Bellatrix snapped her arm out off Malfoy’s grasp. A long, thick snake slid up to them from under the door and hissed, baring it fangs at them.

Malfoy stood his ground. “Nagini,” he told the snake, “ask the Master if we may speak with him,” but Nagini made no movement and continued to watch them. He sighed rolling his eyes and said, “Please.”

Nagini returned to the room and a few minutes later the door opened with a squeak. The long snake coiled in front of the fireplace on the hearthrug watching them. Lucius entered and scanned the room for Lord Voldemort. He didn’t see him, but there was another man in the corner of the room with his back to the door. Long greasy black hair curtained the man’s face as he turned from his cauldron near the window. With a long ladle he continued to stir the potion as he watched Lucius and Bellatrix enter. Serverus Snape did not speak to them; he only pointed to the bathroom with a long finger. Nodding to him graciously, Lucius walked to the door of the bathroom and rapped on the door once with his knuckles.

A cold slow voice carried from within. “Ah, Lucius, enter, and Bellatrix, you as well, my dear. We have—matters to discuss.”

Malfoy gave Bellatrix a little smirk and pushed the door open to enter, but she stepped in front of him and entered first. They both stood in silence as they watched a long bony hand pull the bathtub curtain back slowly from inside. A sky blue mist washed over the edge of the tub drifting to the floor in little waves, and Voldemort’s voice could be heard from inside while only his hand could be seen

“Why have you disturbed my healing Lucius?”

Malfoy stammered for a moment and collected himself standing taller again. “My lord, Bellatrix has not been following my orders, and Dolohov is still alive.”

Voldemort’s hand twirled and the door behind them closed and locked. The hand moved in slow lazy gestures as the fingers curled, calling Bellatrix to him. A small smile grew in the corner of her mouth and she kneeled down in front of the tub. Raising her face to speak to her, he silenced her running one finger down her cheek to her collar bone.

“Do you think me a fool, Malfoy?”

“No, Master, of course not. I just thought that the . . .”

Voldemort’s hand slapped the side of the tub hard. “It is not your place to think, Lucius! You will do as you are told! Am I perfectly clear?” His voice trailed in a low hiss and Bellatrix closed her eyes in pleasure hearing the sound.

“Yes Master. I live to serve you. What are your orders?” Lucius said, not raising his head, but watching Bellatrix from under his long blond hair. He now had a feeling why he was falling out of favor with the Dark Lord, and she was his new shining star. He hated her.

He watched as Voldemort’s long fingers reached down pulling the cigarette from Bellatrix’s fingers and returning to the inside of the tub. A large cloud of bluish smoke trailed out from the tub and Voldemort spoke in a low voice.

“I want you and Dolohov to go back and find that giant. Collect him and wait for Bellatrix to owl you. She will tell you what you need to know next. This is her plan as I am,” his hand gestured to the tub, “indisposed at the moment.”

Malfoy was concerned about how long he would be subjected to Bellatrix’s orders. “Did the Potions Master say how long you will have to remain in the healing waters?” he asked.

“Another two and a half weeks on and off. Something about that boy, it damaged me more then I thought. One of Dumbledore’s tricks no doubt, but his luck won’t last forever. Will it, my dear?” Voldemort finished, stroking Bellatrix’s hair.

She smiled and glanced at Lucius out of the corner of her eye, “He can’t win all of the time.” Lucius Malfoy bowed and left the room, silently screaming inside.

~*~

The sound of someone walking down the hallway outside his door stirred Harry from his sleep. When he woke Hermione was curled up in a fetal position around his arm. A gentle summer breeze blew through the open window causing the curtains to swing forwards and then slowly drift back down and out the window again. The room was warm from the morning sun’s glow. Harry took a few minutes to watch Hermione sleep before waking her. She had a firm hold on his arm with her cheek resting on his forearm. Her skin was so soft to the touch as he stroked her shoulder lightly. Hermione’s gentle breathing tickled the hairs on his arm, and he sighed softly. Harry lowered himself above her ear and whispered, “Hermione, wake up. Hermione?”

Her leg gave a little involuntarily jerk and her eyes sprung open. “Harry!”

He lightly pressed his finger to her lips to silence her. “Shh, It’s okay, Hermione, everything’s fine,” he said as he continued to run his fingers through her hair.

She sat upright looking around the room. “What time is it?”

He gave a small shrug. “I don’t know maybe seven, seven thirty,” he guessed. Hermione jumped out of the bed and started searching for her discarded bathrobe. Harry watched her feeling a little disappointed.

“What’s the matter?” He threw the covers back and got to his feet following her to the door. “Hermione, wait. Did I do something wrong?”

Hermione cracked the door open just a little bit and peaked into the hallway. No one was in sight so she turned back to him. “No Harry, it’s not you. I . . . well I need to get in the shower before Ron does. You know how long he takes and I would like to have some hot water for once.”

Feeling much better Harry leaned against the wall and nervously took her hand. “Thanks, Hermione.”

“For what?”

“Well for last night. That was the best night’s sleep I’ve had all summer,” he said looking up at her shyly.

She rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb and smiled at him. “That’s what friends do for each other, Harry.” She could feel his hands shaking nervously and when she looked deeper into his eyes they twinkled liked a hundred Christmas trees.

Harry took one step forward into her personal space and averted his eyes to the floor. “And what if one friend wanted to—kiss—the other friend? Is that something friends do for each other?” His other hand now reached across to her hand on the doorknob.

Moving a little closer Hermione couldn’t look away from his hopeful gaze. Her voice was soft, almost a whisper. “It would depend if it was a kiss because they had just slept in the same bed” – Harry shook his head ‘No’ inching closer – “or because the one friend had deeper feelings for the other friend and wanted to express those feelings,” she swallowed deeply, “by kissing the other.” Harry nodded ‘Yes’ as his head dipped down towards her slowly. Hermione’s head tilted to the side as his lips hovered above hers for the longest second of her life.

Closing his eyes Harry kissed Hermione lightly at first and didn’t hit the mark fully. He ended up kissing mostly her bottom lip and some of her chin, but played it off well by placing a few smaller kisses on the corner of her mouth. Trailing his way to her moist lips he wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her close, and finally locked his lips with hers. They kissed slowly exploring the new experience together.

The sounds of someone moving in the kitchen down the hall caused them to stop kissing. Hermione sucked her lips inward savoring the aftertaste of his lips. She watched him as he slowly opened his eyes to her and sighed, cradling her in his arms.

“Hermione?”

“Harry?” she said, biting the corner of her bottom lip.

Placing another kiss on her lips he said softly against her skin, “I really like you, a lot.”

Hermione smiled as he pressed his forehead against hers. “Yeah?”

Harry gave her a little squeeze with his arms and nodded, ‘Yeah.’ She kissed his cheek and said into his ear, “I like you too Harry.” The sound of water running from the bathroom echoed through the open door and Hermione’s head dropped to Harry’s chest with a little groan of disappointment, “Oh, there goes my shower.” She gave him a playful push out of the way. “See what you did, Harry?”

He smiled and gave her a little kiss on the cheek as she retreated out the door. From the hall she walked backwards for a second waving good-bye, then disappeared from view.

An hour later everyone was standing around in the small kitchen having breakfast as they got ready to leave. Today was moving day and everyone was packed and waiting for Tonks and Lupin to move then to another safe house someplace. Harry and Hermione stood in the corner drinking their tea and talking about next year’s Potions class. Ron jammed a piece of toast in his mouth staring at them. He wouldn’t be taking Potions next year. He hadn’t gotten the minimum score required to enroll, but somehow Harry had managed to get an OWL so he would be continuing on the road to being an Auror without him.

Lupin walked into the kitchen slowly with his head down and shoulders slumped. He was pale and looked exhausted. No doubt the full moon was on the rise and he would be leaving them all soon for his own safe house. He pulled a cup from the cabinet and poured himself some tea. “Does everyone have everything? Because after we leave we’re not coming back.” Everyone was tired and slow to respond but they all answered yes.

Laying her copy of the Daily Prophet on the table Luna turned to Remus and asked, “Where are we going this week, sir?” Everyone looked to Lupin waiting to see if he would really tell them where they where going. Normally they never had that luxury, and only found out when they arrived at the new place.

Lupin rubbed his aching temples and answered, “We’re going to Grimmauld Place for one night then I don’t know where we’re off too.”

“Grimmauld Place?” Hermione nearly shouted. “Is the house still open? I thought it would, you know, lock itself after, . . .” She shifted nervously in place as Harry dropped his cup to the counter with a loud thud and made for the door not looking up. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but didn’t know what to say.

As Harry reached the door Tonks walked through and blocked his way. “Ahh good everyone’s here,” she said. “So we can be off in a few after I get my gear on.” She was holding her robes in her hands and had her backpack over her shoulder. Tonks gave Harry a little push back into the kitchen and handed her bag to him. “Gave me a hand, will you, Harry. I’m going out on patrol tonight and have to leave as soon as we drop you off.” Harry followed her in silence as she walked over to the table and dropped her robe on to the empty seat next to Neville.

Everyone watched Tonks as she pulled various items from her bag laying them on the table and started dropping things into her pockets or hooking then to her belt. There was a pair of muggle handcuffs, a coiled piece of metal wire with two rings on the end, and a large selection of small vials in many sizes.

Neville examined a glass flask with glowing red liquid inside it. “What’s this stuff do?” Hermione and Ginny craned their heads over Ron’s shoulders trying to get a better look at what Neville was talking about.

Tonks reached out and picked the flask up from the table. “This? Oh, it’s a Sleep toxin. A few drops of this in any drink and it’ll drop an adult troll in a heartbeat. Great stuff, but I never had to use it yet.” She placed it in a little pouch on her belt, and emptied the rest of her stuff on the table. A small gray gun in a leather holster and a wide hunting knife caught Harry and Ron’s attention.

Ron picked up the knife, turning it around in the air, examining it. “Wow, why do you carry this stuff for?” Harry didn’t pick up the gun, but he did lean closer to the table to get a better look at it.

Luna looked confused and asked, “Why do you have muggle weapons? You’re a witch. You don’t need those.”

“A good Auror is ready for anything. You would be surprised how many times I’ve had to use this,” Tonks said. She picked up the gun and slid it into her belt behind her back, and then took the knife from Ron and stuck it inside her boot. She collected her cloak and bag and looked at all of the teens watching her. “Remember this, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Besides, what would you fall back on if your wand broke or you were disarmed?”

All of them watched Tonks as she went over to talk to Lupin, and Hermione let out a little cough to get Harry’s attention. His eyes snapped over to Hermione and she just frowned and mouthed, “I’m sorry.” He shook his head a little and smiled at her. Lupin turned to the group and pulled a long brown tie out of his coat. “The Portkey is ready so grab hold. We’re leaving in,” he looked down at his watch, “one minute.” Everyone placed a finger onto the old tie and waited. Harry looked at Hermione and smiled. The moment wasn’t lost on Ron, who eyed them both quickly.

With the familiar tug in his stomach the kitchen disappeared and the backyard of Grimmauld Place appeared. Harry remained standing afterwards and found himself looking at the one place he had been dreading the whole summer. He didn’t want to come back here. He felt he just wasn’t ready to deal with this yet. The cries of a raven in the tree above them echoed off the house and caught everyone’s attention. It sat on a branch flapping its wings and screeching down at them.

Ron reached into the dirt and dug out a rock and looked back up at the bird. “Go on! Get out of it already!” Drawing all the strength he had, he whipped the rock right at the raven. The rock bounced off the branches and didn’t hit the bird, which took off and flew away just the same. Hermione shook her head in disbelief. Lupin led them to the back door and entered the house. Everyone filed inside and locked the door behind them.

Once inside a silence filled the room and no one talked as Harry led the way into the kitchen. There was no one there. Empty Butterbeer bottles stacked in neat little piles by the sink reflected an odd brown light across the room.

Harry broke the silence and turned to Lupin. “Who’s going to be with us tonight?”

“Moody will be here in a little while, and me, but I won’t be too much good though. The moon will be full and I’ll be indisposed,” Lupin said taking a seat at the table. Everyone started to move through the house and up to the same rooms they stayed in last summer. The portraits of Mrs. Black and Kreecher the house elf were missing from the house now, but no one seemed to know why. Other than that it was just as they had left it last summer – still dark and musty, and every inch of it reminded Harry of Sirius.

Not long after they settled in Tonks left for work and Moody arrived to fill in. He was his normal cheerful self as he reprimanded the teens throughout dinner about “Constant vigilance!” and tore into Neville and Luna for not carrying their wands at all times. After a quick bite to eat Lupin disappeared upstairs to the top floor of Grimmauld Place and sealed himself inside. No one had seen or heard from Snape in over a week so Lupin didn’t have his potion to ease the transformation this cycle.

As the clock struck six in the boys’ room everyone was going about their own business. Ginny, Luna, and Neville were sitting on his bed talking about all of the things they wanted to buy when they went to Diagon Alley the next week. Hermione was quietly working on her Muggle Studies paper, and Ron was lying on his bed just staring up at the ceiling. Harry, on the other hand, was a different story. He wandered around the house not speaking to anyone. Taking only a few bits of his dinner he excused himself and retreated upstairs to Buckbeak's room. When he opened the door Buckbeak jumped to his feet and bounced around a bit flapping his wings, very happy to see anyone at this point after spending most of his time alone all summer long. The only times he did have any contact with anyone was every two days when someone from the Order came to clean up after him and drop off his food.

Harry gave Buckbeak a little bow, which the hippogriff returned. “Hello Buckbeak, how have you been?” Harry asked, petting the feathers on his head. Buckbeak looked up at Harry with very sad eyes. There was really no need for Harry to answer. He knew Buckbeak missed Sirius just as much as he did. So he sat with the hippogriff on the bed in the room for about an hour before leaving. It was just too much – the entire house, Buckbeak – and no matter how much he tried he couldn’t think of anything else but how unfair life was.

Harry couldn’t keep it together anymore as waves of guilt washed over him with every passing moment, so he wandered back downstairs. Finally he ended up in the boys’ room with everyone else, but didn’t talk to them. He just sat on his bed tying and untying his shoes over and over.

Hermione watched him for a while. When she couldn’t stand it anymore she set her books aside and went over to his bed. “May I sit down?”

“Sure,” he answered without looking up.

She sat down next to him and placed a hand over his as he untied his shoe once more. They didn’t speak or make eye contact, but he did take hold of her hand for a moment before letting it go and flopping back on the bed. Hermione knew what was troubling him, but how to approach it was the problem. They had avoided the topic of Sirius’s death all summer long, and being at Grimmauld Place wasn’t helping matters any. Harry was retreating inward with every passing moment. When the summer started he was the same way, but after the Death Eaters started showing up around their neighborhoods Harry seemed to forget for a while. Hermione leaned over him with a hand on his thigh and asked, “Hey, I was thinking now may be a good time to finish off that essay for Potions. I’ll help you with the research, okay?”

He put on his best smile, but it was forced and she knew it. “I’m not really up to it right now, okay? How about we tackle it in the morning after breakfast?” he said then returned to staring at the wall. Hermione knew he wouldn’t want to do homework right now, but she had to try anyway. What she needed was Ron; she had to get him to help her. She gave Harry a little pat on the leg and walked over to Ron’s bed. He had pulled out his chessboard and had just started cleaning the pieces with an old sock.

“Ron, I need your help,” she said taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

He didn’t look up at her but his shoulders slumped and he stopped cleaning the pawn in his hand. “What’s the matter with Harry now?”

Hermione rolled her eyes at his thickness. “What’s wrong with him? Are you even on the same planet as us? Look at him.” Ron sighed and watched Harry as he curled up into the corner of his bed facing the wall. “You have to help me get him out of this funk. Go over there and talk to him or play chess with him. We have to help him take his mind off Sirius,” she said, now pleading with Ron.

He looked up into her eyes now and they looked so desperate that he couldn’t say no. So he grabbed his board and went over to Harry’s bed.

“Hey Harry, you’re not going to bed yet are you?” Harry rolled over and looked up at him. Ron sat down cross-legged on the bed and set the chessboard between them. “Come on, it’s time to get your arse kicked again.”

So Harry sat up and unenthusiastically started setting up his pieces. “Yeah I guess it is.” They sat in total silence playing for about ten minutes. Harry wasn’t even trying really. He was just pushing pieces around the board and Ron would take them after every move.

Occasionally during the match Ron would sneak a glance at Hermione and find her staring at Harry. It started to make him mad after the second game when Hermione hadn’t taken her eyes off of the back of Harry’s head. There was this look in her eyes. Something had changed between her and Harry. Then it hit him, the shower! When he went to the shower this morning Hermione’s books were still on the table. She never leaves her books out over night, and the door to Harry’s room was open too. His mouth fell open at the realization, ‘Oh no! She slept with him last night!’

He slammed his knight on the board with a little bit more force than was necessary when taking Harry’s queenside castle. The little knight smashed the castle with a broad stroke of his sword, and castle shattered into large chunks off to the side.

Hermione made a little mouth motion with her hand and mouthed, “Talk—to—him.”

Ron looked back and forth between them for a minute then settled on Harry. His jaw tightened and his voice dripped with malice as he said, “So, Harry.”

Harry didn’t take his eyes away from the board. “Yeah?”

Ron toyed with the broken pieces of the castle as he asked quickly, “Tell me . . . how was it?”

“How was what?” Harry said as he moved his bishop and placed it down. He looked up at Ron and his face was burning the colors of fire to match the intense hate in his eyes. Ron didn’t answer as he chewed his lower lip, but his eyes did flash between Harry and Hermione who had stopped reading and was staring at Ron now. The knight in Harry’s hand started to squeal as he squeezed it tightly. “I said, how was WHAT, Ron.”

Crossing his arm and leaning back against the wall Ron quipped at Harry, “Well I guess it wasn’t that good. Glad I didn’t miss anything, now did I?” He sat there grimacing at them both.

Hermione got to her feet right away and yelled at him, “Why, you slimy little bastard! How DARE you say that . . .” She charged at him with her arm cocked ready to slap him, but she never got the chance because Harry beat her to the punch, literally.

That was it. This was the last draw for Harry. He didn’t know what happened inside of him, but something snapped when he heard those words come out of Ron’s mouth. He knew what Ron was really asking and he couldn’t believe he had just said it. Before his mind registered what was happening he had flung himself over the chessboard and smashed Ron across his jaw with a right hook. The knight he was holding shattered into little pieces upon impact, and he and Ron clawed desperately at each other’s throat as they rolled off the bed onto the floor. Harry landed on top and wailed away at Ron’s chest with three quick punches.

Ron cursed at him and managed to kick Harry back off of him with his long legs. Harry sailed backwards and crashed into the nightstand sending books and a cold cup of tea crashing to the floor. Ginny and Luna screamed and ran over to Hermione grabbing hold of her arms to stop her from jumping in to the fight too.

“Stop it you two! What the hell is going on? Hermione, why are they fighting?” Ginny screamed at the three of them.

Getting back up to his feet Harry raised his fists and steadied himself as Ron rained blow after blow into his chest and arms, “Is that all you got, Harry? Come on HERO, even Ginny hits harder then you!” Ron screamed between hits. His last punch landed right on the left side of Harry’s jaw sending his staggering for a second.

Harry gathered himself after the last hit rubbing his jaw and shot Ron a smile with blood trickling out of the corners of his mouth. “I hope that’s not the best you can do either. That’s pathetic really.”

“Oh don’t worry there’s a lot more where that came from. I grew up with five brothers, remember. I’ll kick your arse!”

With the lighting quickness he reserved for catching the snitch Harry punched Ron right in his gut, dropping him to his knees. He towered above him and growled at him, “You may have had five brothers, but I had the one thing you didn’t,” he paused to spit a wad of blood on the floor, “I had DUDLEY!”

Hermione yanked her arm free from Neville’s grip and drew her wand and pointed it at both of them. “Stop it right this instant! Or I’ll curse both of you!” They paused and looked over at her. “Now what the HELL are your playing at, Ron?”

He stood slowly and when he reached his full height he said through clenched teeth, “This is about YOU and Mister Wonderful here – screwing around behind my back!”

~ ~ ~ ~

I’m very sorry to leave you with this evil cliffhanger, but honestly it’s the only way. I want the next chapter to contain almost all of the fight. So I have to stop now. Please review now, and tell me what you think about how this is moving along. Thanks for reading.

Muddgutts

Title: War Within a Breath

Author: Muddgutts

Rating: PG-13 (for strong language)

Ships: H/Hr

AN: I’m sorry that this took so long to post, and I’m sorry about the cliffhanger in chapter 3. I hope that you like how this plays out, because I found it very hard to write. A fight of this kind has a mind of its own and could change the whole story. So I tried my best, and I hope you like it. I would like to thank Artemis for recommending War Within a Breath here at Portkey. It really made me feel great to see that post. Of course I wouldn’t be able to finish this without AnneU she’s helped me so much with this chapter, Thanks.

Last Chapter

Harry gathered himself after the last hit rubbing his jaw and shot Ron a smile with blood trickling out of the corners of his mouth. “I hope that’s not the best you can do either. That’s pathetic really.”

“Oh don’t worry there’s a lot more where that came from. I grew up with five brothers, remember. I’ll kick your arse!”

With the lighting quickness he reserved for catching the snitch Harry punched Ron right in his gut, dropping him to his knees. He towered above him and growled at him, “You may have had five brothers, but I had the one thing you didn’t,” he paused to spit a wad of blood on the floor, “I had DUDLEY!”

Hermione yanked her arm free from Neville’s grip and drew her wand and pointed it at both of them. “Stop it right this instant! Or I’ll curse both of you!” They paused and looked over at her. “Now what the HELL are your playing at, Ron?”

He stood slowly and when he reached his full height he said through clenched teeth, “This is about YOU and Mister Wonderful here – screwing around behind my back!”

~ ~ ~ ~

Chapter 4

~ ~ ~ ~

“What!”

“Ron what are you talking about? Nothing is going on BEHIND your back!” Hermione yelled, breaking away from Ginny, Luna, and Neville.

Ron stood there staring at her, his chest heaved in deep breaths as he tried to collect himself. With his hands still up and ready to fight Harry demanded, “Well! . . . You better start talking or I swear I’m going to deck you!”

“Come on then!” Ron said stepping forward.

The wand in Hermione’s hand crackled with electricity, as she jumped between them. “No, I said no more fighting!” She rounded on Ron with so much anger in her eyes that he took a few steps back from her. “Answer my question, Ron! What do you think is going behind your back?”

“Where did you sleep last night? Huh?” Ron said with a little twitch in his eyebrow. Hermione’s mouth fell open and she spun around to look at Harry. As they looked at each other with the same stunned look on their faces, so Harry just shrugged his shoulders.

“I fell asleep in Harry’s room last night. So what! Nothing happened.” Hermione said and Ginny and Luna broke into low whispers behind her.

“Yeah right! Do I look that stupid? Why are you staring at him then? You haven’t taken your eyes off of him for the last twenty minutes!” Ron accused, inching above her as he yelled.

Hermione shoved him in the chest hard with both hands and her voice cracked. “So what! I’m NOT your girlfriend! I don’t have to ask your permission to LOOK at someone, or to like them either so just stop acting the fool!”

“Right there! See, I knew it,” he said, pointing his finger in her face, “I knew it!”

Hermione rapped Ron across his finger with her wand and eyed him fiercely. “Get your finger out of my face! Right now, Ronald Weasley, or you’ll be pulling back a stump next time.”

Shaking his brushed finger through the air Ron cursed under his breath, “How did it happen huh? Did you throw yourself at his feet like some first year proclaiming your undying love for him, or did you just want to be the first?”

“Fine! You asked for it that time!” Hermione yelled drawing her wand back into the air, but stopped short from casting her spell when Harry slammed Ron against the wall.

Harry had his forearm up against Ron’s throat pinning him to the wall. “What’s your problem? WE DID NOT SLEEP TOGETHER!” he roared at Ron at the top of his lungs. “Why do you always have to insult her like that? It’s like you enjoy making her feel bad or something!”

“I do not.”

“You do too, and it makes me sick! I thought after the Yule Ball you couldn’t go any lower, but then you pull this. I don’t want to hear you talking like that to her anymore!”

Ron pushed back off the wall getting Harry’s arm off of him, “Why, is she your girlfriend now?”

“No, you prat, she’s not my girlfriend,” he said slowly looking back to Hermione. There was a look of uncertainty on her face, and silence hung over the room for a moment. Harry turned back to Ron and said, “I’ll tell you this, though, I’m not afraid to ask her. Unlike somebody I know.”

Looking utterly disgusted at Harry Ron shook his head. “You would do that to me, wouldn’t you?”

“Why not?” Harry said throwing his hands in the air. “I've sat back and watched you act like an idiot for two years now. Did you ever tell her how you feel? NO!”

Ron looked away from them feeling very embarrassed to have this information thrown around like this in front of Hermione. She sighed and put her wand back in her pocket, and when Ron finally looked up at her she looked disappointed at him.

“You spent all that time together last summer," Harry continued to rant, "did you tell her? No! You two were even prefects together, and you still didn’t have the balls to say anything!”

Starting to get mad again, Ron pushed his shame back inside himself and squared off with Harry. “That’s because every second of the day she was always talking about YOU! Between reading every book ever made and her rambling on about you I couldn’t get a word in edge-wise! It was always Harry this, or Harry that! It was starting to make me sick!”

“Well maybe if you'd paid more attention to your prefect duties we would have something else to talk about. You never backed me up against Fred and George! Why did I have to do all the work?” Hermione bellowed, closing in on him.

Ron's eyes flashed between Harry and Hermione, who now stood close to each other again. “Oh that’s right.” He snapped his fingers and clasped his hands together over his heart, and in a high-pitched voice at mimicked Hermione’s and said, “Oh Harry! You too? I knew it! I knew it.” His fake smile evaporated as he moved very close to Hermione, “You never thought I was good enough to be a prefect, did you? As soon as you saw the badge you thought it was Harry’s badge, right?”

Hermione’s mouth flopped open a few times then she sputtered, “No, it was a mistake. I just assumed it was his.”

“And why would you assume that?” Ron folded his arms across his chest now, looking proud to have gotten the truth out of her. “Maybe because The-Boy-Who-Lived is also The-Boy-Who-Gets-Everything too!”

“I do not, Ron, and you know it!” Harry protested, placing a hand on Hermione’s shoulder.

Ron frowned and shook his head. “It’s not enough that you’re the richest or most famous is it? You just had to sweep in and take Hermione too.”

“I did not! What . . .” Harry started but was cut off by Ron’s yelling.

“You always do Harry! You turn back Voldemort in your first year at Hogwarts. Your FIRST year! Then you find the Chamber of Secrets and kill the basilisk. Save Sirius from dying in third year and win the Quidditch cup on top of it. Then you win the bloody Tri-Wizard tournament too! What’s left for me? Nothing, that’s what, I’m just your goofy side-kick with stupid ginger hair!”

“I never asked for any of that to happen to me!" Harry screamed at Ron, burning inside with hate. “Do you think I enjoy having Voldemort chasing me around trying to kill me?”

“Well it sure as hell didn’t stop you from moving in on the one girl I liked, now did it?” Ron snarled at him.

“I don’t remember you ever coming to me and telling me how you felt about her. So why should I tell you how I feel?” Harry said with a sweep of his arm.

Ron’s eyes practically bulged out of his head. “You bloody bastard! I didn’t have to say a thing. We had an understanding.”

“I don’t remember us having a contract about girls either.”

“Well, I was just waiting for the right time to bring it up is all.” Ron mumbled as he turned away from everyone. Hermione’s head sagged to her chest.

Harry watched as his two best friends and the pain this whole mix up was causing everyone, “Maybe I should just tell them about the Prophecy and be done with it? That way it would be in the open and . . .” He stopped mid-thought and the images from his dream came flooding back. All the bodies on the grass and Dumbledore’s words too, “They died because they didn’t know! I never told them.” He knew what he had to do, but not now not like this.

“Listen, Ron,” Harry countered. “I don’t know what’s going to happen from one day to the next with this psycho on the loose out there, but I’m not holding back anymore.” Harry slipped his hand into Hermione's and stopped for a second to look at her. “I do like Hermione, okay? I told her that this morning”—Ron turned his back on them now—“and I do want her to be my girlfriend.”

Looking at Hermione, Harry squeezed her hand a little. “Is that okay?” She didn’t speak but silently nodded ‘Yes’ and he kissed her quickly on the cheek. Unknown to the trio the door to the room slowly opened and Ginny, Luna, and Neville slipped out of the room. As the door closed Ron turned around and seeing Harry and Hermione standing together hand in hand his frown deepened and he flopped down on the bed.

Hermione walked over and sat next to him and took his hand in hers. She started to message the finger she hit with her wand, “Ron? How come you never told me?”

“I don’t know why I never said anything. Maybe I was hoping you would figure it out, and give me a sign or something,” he said with his eyes down cast and his shoulders shacked as a lone tear fell on Hermione’s hand. Ron sucked in a deep breath and looked up at her, his eyes where very red and puffy as he asked, “Why him and not me?”

Slowly Hermione’s hand raised to his face and she caressed his cheek as she spoke softly to him, “Ron I, . . . I don’t know why really, but you have always been here in my heart too,” she extended her other hand out to Harry and he took it kneeling down in front of Ron. Hermione looked deeply into Ron’s cobalt eyes and said, “You’ve been the brother that I never had growing up Ron. Nothing will ever change that.”

Ron’s head fell into his hands as he moaned, “Oh god, that’s like the kiss of death.”

Harry couldn’t help but laugh a little at Ron’s statement. “At least she didn’t say, ‘Can’t we just be friends?’ You’ve reached brother status now.” Hermione looked at Harry and her eyes went wide. How could he make a joke about this?

Ron’s shoulders started to bounce up and down and a small laugh escaped from under his hands. He looked up from behind his hands at Harry and smiled a little, “You’re such an ass. You know that right?” Both Harry and Hermione smiled back at him and Harry gave him a playful punch in the knees. Ron’s eyes light up and he dove off the bed on top of Harry sending them both to the floor. They play punched and pushed each other as the rolled into the other beds, and Harry bumped his head on the post.

They all laughed for a minute as Harry rubbed his bruised head. Hermione checked it to make sure it was fine, and as Harry was going to stand up Ron’s hand extended out to him. As Harry took Ron’s hand and stood up they both stopped and stared into each other’s eyes for a moment. With a slow nod of his head Ron said to Harry, “I’m a, well you know about the stuff I said before, I’m sorry, Harry,” he finished lamely and offered his hand to Harry.

Harry accepted his hand in a rather Spartan handshake. It was the kind that Quidditch players gave only to members of their own team, a true sign of friendship and brotherhood. “It’s all right, Ron. I think this summer is starting to get to all of us.” Harry turned away from Hermione and pulled Ron close and said, “So are you,” he made a gesture between him and Hermione, “are you going to be okay with this?”

Running his fingers through his hair Ron said, “No, but I’ll get used to it.” They turned back to Hermione and she was bouncing a little on the balls of her feet waiting to see what would happen, and when they turned back to her she gave off a tiny little sob and jumped on to them crushing them in a hug.

After Ron was able to finally breath again he turned to Harry and asked, “Hey do you mind if I talk to Hermione alone for awhile? I think I have some explaining to do.”

Harry just nodded and then gave Hermione a small kiss before heading down stairs as an old grandfather clock at the end of the hall struck 7:30 pm.

~*~

Riddle Mansion 7:45pm

The door to the bathroom inside Voldemort’s room opened slowly, squeaking on the hinges as Bellatrix exited. She walked into the main room drying herself with a towel, and made her way over to the cauldron boiling in the corner. The contents inside bubbled and steamed sending a bluish mist into the air. Inhaling deeply of its fragrance Bellatrix moved over to the small shelf by the window. Her fingers bounced from one jar to the next till she found what she needed. As she picked up the jar of dried Shark Fin someone behind her coughed loudly.

“May I ask what you're doing with my supplies…Bellatrix?” Servus Snape asked in a low dry tone.

Bellatrix didn’t bother to cover herself as she turned and started walking towards the door. “No Snape. You may not ask.” With the jar still in her hands she left, slamming the door. Snape dashed over to his shelf of ingredients and did a quick inventory and discovered what it was she had taken. He sat in silence for a few minutes thinking about what use she could have for dried shark fins, and started thumbing through his large tomb of potions and enchantments.

Thirty minutes later as Bellatrix was in her room mixing the last of the shark fin into a small copper jar when she heard a rapping at her window. She leapt to her feet and pushed the window open to the muggy night air. In through the window a black raven flew onto her bed. Slowly a large smile grew on her face and she slowly kneeled down in front of the black bird. Stroking the feathers on its head, she stroked the feathers on its head and coed, “Who’s a good bird?”

Slowly she raised her wand to her throat and talked to the bird. “They’re there, aren’t they?” The raven flapped his wings and gave a little squawk.

Bellatrix jumped to her feet and clapping her hands together, “I knew it! I’ve got you now.” Quickly she threw her robes on and ran out into the hallway and screamed, “Nott!” She waited for a second then heard him running up the stairs. Nott slid to a halt by her door. The corner of her mouth curled into a smirk.

“It’s time to go," she ordered. "Gather the men and meet me downstairs in five minutes.”

Nott bowed slightly before leaving. “Yes, Mistress.”

“And Nott,” she eyed him closely now, “you had better be right about your little friends. Are you sure we can trust them?”

“I worked in the Ministry of Magic for over ten years. I know how to deal with them, leave it to me,” Nott said as he cracked his knuckles. Bellatrix nodded and returned to her room again. Through the door she could hear Nott calling out for everyone to prepare to leave.

Bellatrix sat back down on her bed and reach under her pillow and pulled out the old photo of the Potter wedding. She ran her fingers over Sirius’s face slowly, “It’s time to play again, Sirius.”

~*~

Stay tuned the action half of this fiction is about to explode. I’ll try to update faster next chapter. Thanks for reading, and as always your input about this chapter is always helpful to me, thanks.

Title: War Within a Breath

Author: Muddgutts

Rating: R

Ships: H/Hr

~ ~ ~ ~

Chapter 5

~ ~ ~ ~

Knock, . . . knock

“Come in,” Bellatrix called as she fastened the clasp on her cloak. The door to her room open a little and Mona, her young blonde lover, slipped into the room. She too was dressed and ready to leave for tonight’s raid. She moved across the room in small quick steps removing her mask from her face.

Bellatrix picked her potion up from the nightstand. “Why are you dressed like that?”

Mona stopped before her with her hand out stretched as she spoke. “Please Mistress, don’t make me stay behind. I want to go with you tonight. I, I just want to be with you.”

Lifting Mona’s face with her finger Bellatrix moved in close and kissed her roughly, backing her up against the wall. The kiss was only broken when Bellatrix started trailing kisses down her neck and softly spoke into her ear, “But Mona, I need you here. You must ready the room in the basement for Potter when we return.”

Sticking her lip out in a little pout Mona whined, “Why do you always leave me behind? You never bring me along for the fun stuff. I can fight too, you know.” Bellatrix snaked her hand down across Mona’s belly and into her jeans. Her fingers caressed the soft hairs trailing down into her neither region. A small gasp escaped Mona's lips as she laid gentle butterfly kisses on Bellatrix’s neck. “Please . . .”

“I’m sorry love, but I can’t risk something happening to you. You don’t know Potter and his friends like I do. It’s better that you stay here, and out of harm's way,” Bellatrix said, as she removed her hand from Mona’s jeans. Throwing back her hood she placed her mask against her face.

Mona sighed and stepped behind her and knotted the ties behind her lover's head. “Just be careful ok, for me?”

Opening the door Bellatrix pulled Mona forward, kissing her much more softly this time. Their tongues massaged each other's slipping in and out of their mouths. When they stopped kissing, Bellatrix just smiled at her and drew her hood over her head. “Be back in a tick, okay?” Mona frowned a little as she nodded, and then Bellatrix was gone.

When Bellatrix reached the stairs she looked down at the other Death Eaters assembled below in the main gallery. Some were dressed in the black robes of the Death Eaters that the public has come to fear, but others were dressed in different clothing, such as uniforms from Muggle and magical agencies. A few were dressed as policemen, four had on Medi-wizard uniforms, and two had coveralls on and looked like workers from the Muggle sewer authority. Bellatrix descended the steps slowly looking at each of them, “Everyone knows what to do tonight, right?” A loud chorus of ‘Yes Mistress’ followed and when she reached the last step a lone Death Eater waited by the window with an owl on his arm. Bellatrix handed him a note from the inside of her robe and walked to the center of the room. The note was tied to the owl’s leg and he was set free out the window.

Bellatrix drew her wand and pointed to the large grandfather clock in the corner of the room. “We have precisely 35 minutes to get in position and be ready to strike. When that owl reaches Malfoy and Dolohov, they will set off the diversion drawing all attention to them. Nott and I—with the help of his creepy little friends—will storm the house and get Potter. Once your assigned task is completed withdraw, but do not come straight back here in case you're followed. Is that understood?”

“Yes Mistress!”

With a broad sweep of her arm she commanded them, “Go!” Throughout the room, one after another, the Death Eaters disappeared in little pops of smoke. She turned back to Nott and looked him up and down, “You ready?”

Nott only nodded and took her hand Disapparating them both away to the location of his secret army.

~*~

Harry walked into the kitchen and dropped his potions textbook on the table. He sat down and pulled out his essay he had started last week when Hermione had told him to and looked it over. It didn’t take him too long to review it. There was only one line written on the page. He sighed and flipped the book open to the flagged page and started reading.

“Not bad, Potter,” Moody’s voice echoed from the doorway.

Harry turned as Moody walked in to the kitchen. His wooden leg made a hollow thumping sound as he walked and sat at the end of the table. He paused for a second and his magical eye stopped spinning and studied Harry’s face. “You took those hits and you still kept on going. Good for you, but that one you took to the face in going to leave a mark; the muscle is bruised.”

Swallowing a bit Harry asked, “You were watching the whole time, weren’t you?”

“Of course I was. Wouldn’t be much of a guardian if I wasn’t, would I?”

Harry regarded him for a minute. “How come you didn’t come up there and stop us then?”

Moody scratched his noise as he said, “Well it’s none of my business. You're almost adults now, I think you can handle your own problems.”

This made Harry feel very warm inside. It was good to have another adult besides Tonks and Remus treat them like adults. “Thank you Moody.”

“Bah, it’s nothing. You’ll be sixteen next week and it’s about time people stop treating you like a kid.” Harry nodded and returned to his reading. “Listen, I’m going to set a few perimeter charms up outside the house before we go to sleep. So keep your ears open on the upstairs ok?”

Harry again nodded, understanding Moody didn’t mean Ron or the others, but Lupin. He would be transforming tonight. Harry’s insides gave a small lurch thinking about the time in third year he watched Lupin change when they met Sirius. The backdoor slammed and locked from the outside after Moody left.

Reaching into his back pocket Harry felt the photos inside and pulled them out, but there was only one. The picture of Hermione, Ron, and himself moved and danced around inside its paper borders, but the picture of his parents' wedding was gone. Harry jumped to his feet and checked all his other pockets, but it was no good, it wasn’t there. He checked his backpack too and found nothing.

He smashed his fist into the table and cursed. “Damn it,” he clenched his fists and swore to the gods above. “Why do you always take everything from me? I hate you!” Tears rolled down his cheeks and he flopped back down in his chair. His head landed on the table with a bang on his potions essay. His hands franticly grabbed at the offending piece of parchment and he ripped it to shreds throwing it across the room, and yelled, “You’ve taken everything from me, and you still want more! Screw your prophecy! Just leave me the hell alone!” After a few minutes of crying into his hands Harry drifted off to sleep with his head down on the kitchen table.

~*~

Nott and Bellatrix walked down a dark cave light only by their wands. Their feet stepped over small crushed bones of many animals and humans along the way. Bellatrix’s foot bumped into a thigh bone of a dog or some other animal and a cold shiver ran down her spine. “So Nott, how did you happen to find a colony of Hobgoblins living in the heart of London? I thought all the Hobgoblins were wiped out in the last war.”

Lowering his wand to the ground a little Nott examined the path in front of them, “Well about four years ago I worked with Macnair in the Ministry of Magic. We were told to check on a report about four Hobgoblins seen in the area. We came down here and found the nest just like the report said.” He stood and continued down the path leading the way. Bellatrix followed close behind.

“And I assume you didn’t kill them. So what happened?”

“When we found them they were close to starvation anyway, so I had an idea. Macnair and I decided to let them live in secret here, and for sparing their lives they owed us a life debt.” Nott hunched over as the tunnel got smaller and smaller as they descended.

Bellatrix thumbed the wand in her hand nervously as they walked. “And what makes you think they will help us with Potter? We are wizards after all. Why would they risk exposing themselves to the Ministry?”

Nott stopped walking as they approached a reinforced wooded door with large metal bars, and he spoke quietly to her. “Freedom.” He paused and looked her in the eyes. “If Potter is out of the picture, the Master will have no one to stand in his way. They are warriors by nature, they only need a reason to fight, and the Master will grant them their freedom when the dust settles.”

“You’ve thought this through, haven’t you Nott,” she said patting him on the cheek. Then she grabbed him by the throat and banged his head against the door. Moving close to his ear she whispered, “Just—don’t—forget—who's—in charge here, Nott. Do we understand each other?”

Struggling for breath Nott gasped, “Yes, Mistress.”

Bellatrix yanked her hand away from his neck, leaving red track marks from her nails across his throat. “Good, now let’s get moving, we’re running out of time.”

Nott banged on the door once, waited a second then banged on the door again three more times quickly. They waited in silence for a few minutes. The sound of rushing feet could be heard from the other side of the door. A small slot opened in the door and a glassy red eye watched them from the darkness beyond the door, “Nottzz, . . . who is dah female?”

“A friend, now open the door.”

There was a lot of grumbling and cursing, but after a moment or two the door cracked open. As the light from the wands flooded into the doorway the Hobgoblin cringed away from the light. It cursed in a guttural form of goblin that Bellatrix had never heard before. She lowered her wand a bit bringing the beam down to its feet and traveled upward.

It was much bigger then any goblin she’d ever seen before. The biggest difference between Hobgoblins and normal Goblins was height. Dagnir, as she later found out was his name, stood just about four feet tall. The goblins at Gringotts Bellatrix remembered being only about two and a half to three feet tall at most. Dagnir's forearms were very large and muscular, clad in dried leather armor. His hair was long and wild, braided in little clomps in the back and greasy black in color. His face looked just like any other goblin with the exception of his teeth, which were much bigger and very nasty-looking.

Dagnir and Nott spoke in goblin for a few minutes and Nott handed him a small scroll with the Dark Mark pressed in a red wax seal upon it. Dagnir grumbled and called for someone down the hallway. A moment later another Hobgoblin came running and Dagnir gave him the letter. They spoke quietly off to the side for a minute reading the letter from Voldemort then returned. Dagnir’s red eyes flashed between Nott and Bellatrix and he held out his hand. “We will fight!”

“Good, very good,” Nott said rubbing his palms together. “Gather your men quickly, we must hurry.”

The two Hobgoblins bowed just a little, but never removed their eyes from the two wizards as they left.

~*~

Hermione and Ron sat on opposite sides of his bed as they talked about their problems. Ron toyed with the sheet as he spoke. “I think I should start by doing something I should’ve done a long time ago.” Hermione didn’t look up as Ron spoke; she had a feeling she knew where this was going. “Hermione, I’m sorry about the way I acted at the Yule ball. I was a jerk and I must have made you feel horrible.”

She looked up at Ron and asked, “Why? Why did you do that to me? Was it because you liked me?”

“Maybe, I think it was, but it also made me angry that you went with him and not one of us.”

“So you would have been ok if I'd gone with Harry and not you?” Hermione folded her arms across her chest, eyeing him intently.

“Yes! I wouldn’t have minded,” he said, looking down at his feet. “Ok, well maybe I would have minded, but you have to understand Viktor was the enemy at the time and I didn’t think you should’ve been hanging around him to begin with.”

Hermione sighed and lay back on the bed. “You see, there you go again, acting like my brother.”

“I was not. I was just trying to look out for Harry is all, and you!” Ron said raising his voice a little. Hermione pursed her lips and just shook her head. Ron coughed a little and adjusted his seat, “Sorry.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Ron. I don’t need you to look out for me. I’m a big girl now and I can take care of myself.”

Ron frowned and said, “If that’s true then why is it whenever we’re in trouble you always go straight to Harry’s side? You never hang on to me like that.”

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, “Come off it Ron, I do not.”

“Do too. You even did it the other day when the giant was attacking. As soon as the bad guys rear their ugly heads you're hanging onto Harry’s hand or his arm. It’s true, Hermione, and it makes me feel . . .”

“Feel what?” Hermione sat up again looking at him.

“I don’t know, left out I guess. Like you don’t need me.” Ron’s ears turned red as he scratched his neck.

Hermione didn’t even realize she had been doing these things Ron was telling her, but in some way it made sense. She had always felt more comfortable with Harry than with Ron, and when they were in trouble the first thing to cross her mind was Harry’s safety. All of that aside she knew the real reason why she had been acting this way. “Don’t you ever say that Ron. Harry and I have always needed you, and we still do.”

“Even now that you’re a couple?”

“Yes…I suppose that was the reason why I was always acting that way,” she said, crossing her legs in front of her.

Now Ron was really confused. “What?”

“Ron, I’ve been in love with Harry for a very long time now. I’ve always tried to do my best not to show it, but you know, things just…happen.” Hermione’s head was downcast as she flicked her shoelace with her finger. “I couldn’t let anything happen to him. I don’t know what I would do if something really bad ever happened to you or Harry.”

Ron could tell she was starting to get emotional and that actually scared him a little. He never knew what to say or do. So he just rubbed her shoulder with his hand. Hermione reached up and took his hand in hers. Her eyes were very desperate and her cheeks flushed red as she spoke. “Ron we need to put this behind us so we can be a team again. I know that’s asking a lot of you—but you’re our best friend. Harry needs you to be there for him.”

“And you?” He couldn’t meet her eyes as he asked.

She squeezed his hand and gave him a half smile, “Yes, I need you too Ron, just not like that.” He smiled at her too and laughed a little.

“Yeah,” he smiled and looked away. “Listen, I know that you love him and would do anything for him. I got the hint a long time ago when my arse backwards approaches at getting your attention always turned out bad. You never showed any interest in me.”

Hermione let go of his hand and became serious. “You did get my attention, but it was the wrong kind of attention. You always made me so mad. I—just didn’t feel the same way, and I didn’t want to hurt you. I’m sorry. If I had said something a long time ago, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Bah, it’s ok,” he said smiling broadly now. “If I would’ve said something back in third year, we would’ve settled it then, right?”

Hermione cocked her head to the side and looked a little surprised. “Third year? How far back does this go?”

“How long have you liked Harry?”

“I asked you first.”

“So, you guys started it today. You tell me.”

“No you started it today, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.”

~*~

Serverus Snape thumbed desperately through every book he had, and as he was just about to give up hope of ever finding out what Bellatrix was up to, he found an entry that looked promising. It wasn’t for a potion but for an enchantment spell instead. The name was Loki’s Lore. It was very similar to a polyjuice potion but did not require any physical elements from the person being impersonated; instead a photograph was the item of choice. It was very simple; with the proper ingredients and a photo the caster could take the appearance of the victim’s loved ones. This was it. It had to be, nothing else made any sense.

Snape moved over to the desk and retrieved two small pieces of parchment. He quickly scrawled two notes about Bellatrix’s intended course of action—one to Dumbledore and the other to Lucius Malfoy, who no doubt would find this information very useful. Bellatrix had been keeping Malfoy so in the dark about the whole operation that he didn’t even know what he was walking into tonight.

The potions master wrapped the notes tightly and placed them on the windowsill as he took a jar of worms from the shelf. He pulled two of them out and placed them on the table, then stopped and checked the room quickly to be sure he was alone. No one was around so he carried on. With a wave of his wand he transfigured the worms into owls. Snape attached the notes and sent them off on their way.

~*~

The clouds rolled across the evening sky revealing the perfect white orb that was the moon. Its light cast odd shadows over the ruins of the house that had been destroyed by the giant a few days ago. Lucius Malfoy pulled up a rickety metal chair and had a seat. With a wave of his wand he repaired the shattered teakettle and began brewing himself a bit of tea. There wasn’t anything to do really, but wait. Dolohov had found the giant a few miles away sleeping in a clearing, and luckily for him was able to regain control over the giant easily.

Lucius swirled the tea in his cup as he watched Dolohov command the giant to walk in circles backwards. This didn’t seem to be normal behavior for a giant so he had to ask, “How is it that you can make him do such things?”

Stopped just long enough to look over his shoulder Dolohov said, “The Namba beetle.”

This only served to confuse Lucius more. What did a beetle have to do with controlling a giant. “I don’t understand. Giants can repel most magic; even the Imperius Curse doesn’t work on them. So again I ask how can you do it?”

The giant stopped and bowed to Lucius and Dolohov before sitting down in the grass. Dolohov walked over and sat down on a large wooden beam lying across the ground. “You're right, the Imperius Curse doesn’t work on giants, but it works on the Namba beetles just fine.” Lucius shook his head and sipped his tea. “You see the Namba beetles are from South America, and the thing that they thrive on is anger.”

“Anger?”

“Yes, you see the beetle is very small so what they do is climb inside of a person's ear at night.” Lucius unconsciously started to scratch his ear for a second. “Once they get inside your noggin they latch on to the spinal cord and the nervous system.”

“And?”

Dolohov shook his head, “Didn’t you learn any of this in Care of Magical Creatures?”

Looking down in his teacup Lucius pursed his lips, “Get on with it already. What does this have to do with the giant?”

“Easy, mate, I’m getting to it. So they live on the back of your spine, right. So the more pissed off you get the bigger it gets. Eventually they lay eggs and, . . . well you get the idea, but the beauty off the whole thing is this. Imperio won’t work on the giant, but it works on the beetle!”

Lucius looked up at him with an impressed smile on his face, “I see now. So by controlling the beetle that has control over the nervous system you bypass the giant’s resistance to the Imperius Curse. Brilliant idea, Dolohov.”

Dolohov tugged on the corners of his robe straitening them a bit, “Thank you, thank you, and another thing. . .” He stopped speaking when he saw a black silhouette on the horizon flying towards them. Lucius stood up and tossed his teacup to the ground.

He held out his arm and a brown barn owl drifted through the air landing on his arm. Lucius untied the note from its leg and ripped it open. It was Bellatrix’s instructions for tonight's attack. A small piece of shoelace fell into his hand as he read the note. When he finished he crumbled it up and threw it to the ground. “Unbelievable! This woman has some pair of stones on her I tell you.”

Shaking his head Dolohov asked, “What? Where are we supposed to go with the giant?”

Rubbing his temples with his fingers Lucius voice was tense and low. “Bring the giant over here and grab the string.” Dolohov waved his wand in the air and the giant walked over to them slowly. He kneeled down behind him and held out his index finger between them both. Malfoy took one end of the string and so did Dolohov. They pulled it tightly and rested it across the giant’s finger.

Dolohov watched Malfoy intensely and asked, “Well are you going to tell me or what?”

Anger was boiling inside of Malfoy now. “We’re going to Diagon Alley!” he barked out. Dolohov just shook his head as his throat tightened. He tried to speak but the words just wouldn’t come out. Why would Bellatrix want them to walk into one of the must highly guarded areas in London?

Lucius adjusted his mask a little tighter as they waited for the Portkey to activate. “I hope you know what you’re doing with this giant, because as soon as we show up every Auror in the bloody ministry is going to be on to us."

There was a sharp pull behind their navels and a surge of light and they were gone.

~ ~ ~

I know that we’re all waiting for the action to start here, but I needed this chapter to complete the set up. So the pieces are in motion and chapter six will be a good one. I promise ok. Thanks for reading and review with your questions. They help me a lot it’s because of your comments that I felt this chapter needed to be fleshed out more. Thanks again.

MG

Title: War Within a Breath

Author: Muddgutts

Rating: R

Ships: H/Hr

AN: First off before we start I would like to say I’m very sorry to you all. I now it’s been awhile between updates. My RL has become very demanding. See my Live Journal for more info if you’re interested. ^_^ Many thanks go out to AnneU for being a good friend and Beta, and also to Bojack for being my sounding board for this story and helping me with the fine details. Thanks for all the great reviews. You’ve all been very kind and helpful to me.

The layout and store locations of Diagon Alley in this chapter are based off of the map made by Steve Vander Ark, posted at Harry Potter Lexicon. Bonus points go to any reader that knows what movie the term/code “1L-19” came from. ;)

~ ~ ~

Chapter 6

~ ~ ~

Knockturn Alley

“Dispatch, this is Tonks, I’ve got a 1L—19 on the loose in Knockturn Alley!” Tonks screamed into her relay crystal as she ran down the street. Kingsley grabbed her by the arm and pulled her against the wall in front of the Shrunken Heads shop.

The crystal around Kingsley’s neck started to vibrate, against his skin so he yanked it out from under his shirt by the chain. A soft voice echoed from the crystal, “Kingsley, this is dispatch, come in.”

Kingsley raised the crystal to his mouth and spoke quietly into it. “Go for Kingsley, dispatch.”

“Please confirm Tonks’ last message. . .”

Suddenly the soft female voice was cut off and the harsh male voice of Major Atticus Vagnose, the shift commander, replaced it. “Kingsley! What the hell’s going on down there? We just got a report from Transportation that an illegal Portkey was just used in Diagon Alley! Confirm!”

“Confirmed, I have one male Hill Giant in sight. He just popped in at the end of Knockturn Alley,” Kingsley said, sticking his head around the side of the building in time to see the giant crash through the corner of a nearby store sending people running in all directions. “Requesting reinforcements ASAP!”

Kingsley and Tonks pushed the fleeing witches and wizards down the street to safety.

“Roger! We’re on the way. Stay with him and don’t let him out of your sight! Atticus out.”

“Well, that won’t be too hard.” Kingsley pushed his crystal back into his shirt and turned to Tonks, “Well, you ready?” Tonks took a few deep breathes, readied her wand then nodded. Together they ran across the street to the other side of the alley trying to stay out of sight. As they inched along the wall Kingsley whispered to Tonks, “This bloke looks familiar, don’t you think?”

In one quick motion Tonks looked around Kingsley’s broad chest and down the street. “Sure does, I wonder where the Death Eaters are?”

“They can’t be far away, keep your eyes open,” he said and suddenly pressed Tonks against the wall with his arm. A few shop owners came running down the street clutching money pouches in their arms. One of the pouches ripped and several galleons spilled out on to the cobblestone street. The shopkeeper stopped to pick them up, but changed his mind as the giant let out a deep breath that shook the nearby store window. Then the shopkeeper cinched up his pouch and ran. Diagon Alley looked to be deserted now. There was no movement besides the enormous giant standing in the alley milling about at the corner between Borgin & Burkes second-hand shop and the Poisonous Candles supply store.

~*~

The sound of footfalls in water echoed like thunder as Bellatrix and company ran through the large underground sewer passage. Once Dagnir and his group of hobgoblins were ready, they left for Grimmauld Place at top speed. They would have used a Portkey to get there faster, but that would alert the Ministry. So they ran through the filth and stench of the sewers to get there. It was faster then traveling above ground and kept them hidden from Muggles as well. After ten minutes Bellatrix’s legs burned as every muscle protested against such an intense test of her endurance.

About 20 hobgoblins clad in leather armor kept pace just behind them carrying pole-arms and small-edged weapons of their choice. Nott informed Bellatrix that hobgoblins, being goblins bred for the sole purpose of fighting against wizards, had a very high resistance to magic but had little to no knowledge of magic themselves. So they relied on brute force and numbers to overpower an enemy. They were a sad lot, to be honest; goblins had bred them to fight in the revolution against the wizards, but when the peace treaties were signed the hobgoblins were forgotten. The promise of a new life among the very wizards they were bred to destroy tasted like ashes their mouths. They chose exile, and fled from their own kind. For years after the war the Ministry hunted them to the very edge of destruction. Dagnir and his soldier were the only clan left in Great Britain from the once mighty hobgoblin race, and tonight they would go to war again.

Through large gasps of breath Nott spoke in little bursts. “Bellatrix—how—much—farther?”

“Not far now,” she yelled over the echoing footsteps. “Turn right at the next junction!”

After about three more minutes they reached the turn. Their legs hurt so much that Bellatrix and Nott almost collapsed into the foul brown water running in the passageway. Bellatrix dragged herself against the wall to the steel ladder leading up to street level. Clutching his side Nott staggered over to the ladder and motioned for Dagnir and his hobgoblins to follow.

“Wait, you can’t go up yet.” Bellatrix said stepping in front of the ladder. “The house is unplotted so you’ll need this.” She reached into her robes and produced a small scrap of paper.

Nott took it from her and read it aloud. “Number 12 Grimmauld Place is the Black family home? How did you get this?”

“My family is cousins to the Black family,” she answered quickly. “I used to come here during the summer holidays from France, so of course I know how to find the place. I never thought my dear cousin Sirius would tell Potter about it, but now I’m glad he did.”

“Right,” Nott said and told Dagnir the message in the goblin tongue. A few minutes later the message was passed down the line for all of the other hobgoblins to learn.

Bellatrix adjusted her robes. Before she started walking down the tunnel again she turned to Nott and said, “You know the plan. You and the hobgoblins go out this exit, and I’ll go up the next one. We meet back here in fifteen minutes, right?”

“Got it, good luck,” Nott said and started up the ladder to the manhole cover on Grimmauld Place.

~*~

“Reducio!” Tonks screamed shrinking a metal bench flying through the air. The bench shrank to the size of a shoebox and bounced down the cobblestone street behind them. Kingsley ducked into the alleyway in front of the giant spider shop and took cover. Sticking just his arm out from around the corner, he shot a volley of arrows out of the tip of his wand. They landed dead in the center of the giant’s chest.

In blind rage the giant charged Tonks and Kingsley. He was much bigger than the alley itself, and his tree-trunk-sized legs smashed through buildings as he went down the alley. The Poisonous Candle shop collapsed in a hail of wood, candles, and glass, sending large chunks of wood from the ceiling twirled through the street and hitting the street lamps over the road. The impact ignited the gas inside the lamps, causing them to burst into flames.

Crack . . .Crack

Tonks and Kingsley both Apparated down Knockturn Alley to the bottom of the long stairs leading up to Diagon Alley.

“Did you see that? He didn’t even feel those arrows!” Kingsley said watching the giant struggle toward them past the flames.

Tonks nodded catching her breath. “All of my spells bounce right off of him. What the hell?”

“I know. He didn’t even flinch when those arrows hit him. Something isn’t right here,” Kingsley said.

High above at the top of the stairs Atticus Vagnose’s voice echoed off the high brick walls. “Shacklebolt, Tonks, clear the area!” Atticus was standing on the top stair waving them up. His wavy brown hair shone in the pale moonlight and his hazel eyes flashed with intensity.

“Look out!” he cried.

Tonks spun around just in time to see the giant’s left foot burst through the side of a nearby building and then start to descend on top of them. Both Tonks and Kingsley Apparated to the top of the stairway just as the giant reached to bottom of the steps.

Atticus shoved them off to the side, clearing the way for the row of Aurors behind them. The Aurors crowded the streets in every corner and angle they could find cover waiting for the giant. Atticus looked down at the giant from the edge of the stairway. As the giant rose to his feet, his small black eyes narrowed on the young Auror. For a man of only 26, Atticus had already had a very distinguished career in the Ministry. He was always well dressed, with his awards and medals pinned to his chest. His suits were all perfectly tailored, and his royal blue cloak fluttered in the breeze. To the giant he was the perfect representation of the wizard pride and prejudice that for centuries had oppressed his race.

The giant watched the Auror at the top of the steps and growled a little through his beard. With a mighty thrust he dug his hands into the brick walls and started pulling his way upward through brick and timber. The thunder of the foundations of the buildings breaking covered all other sounds. The very ground they stood upon began to shake, and the smell of burning wood filled their noses as fires burned out of control in Knockturn Alley.

Atticus was yelling to the Aurors to make ready to cast their spells, but Tonks couldn’t hear his voice over the noise. She watched him mouth to hold their fire. Large clouds of dust and debris floated upward as the giant crushed everything in his path.

Slowly Atticus backed away from the steps, his right arm in the air, ready to give the signal. Then Tonks saw the top of the giant’s head rising above street level. Atticus let him continue upward for close to thirty seconds more then yelled, “NOW!”

Suddenly night became day as all of the Aurors shot their spells at the same time. Beams of brilliant red and orange smashed the giant in the face, sending him tumbling down the steep incline back down into Knockturn Alley. As he was falling a silence hung in the air until he hit the ground flat on his back.

~*~

“Number 12 Grimmauld Place is the Black family home. Number 12 Grimmauld Place is the Black family home,” as the words rolled off of Bellatrix’s lips her eyes widened as the old house appeared between numbers 11 and 13. It still looked the same as she remembered it from her childhood, but now it was rundown and gray. The once proud home of the Blacks was nothing more then a ghost of its former glory. Shaking herself from her daydream Bellatrix moved over to an old BMW parked across the street and pulled the potion from her pocket. Carefully she placed it on the hood of the car and retrieved the photo of the Potter wedding.

The images of Lily and James Potter watched her curiously, whispering to themselves and then back to Sirius, who also watched her, his head cocked to the side trying to see her face. Bellatrix drew a small penknife from her inside pocket and started chanting the first set of verses to the complex spell. Her wand glowed as she waved it above the photo and the bottled potion. The bottle’s contents started to glow a faint ember and she thrust the penknife into the center of the photo. Lily and James jumped to one side of the picture and Sirius moved to the other to avoid the blade. Bellatrix dragged the knife downward cutting the picture in two, leaving the Potters standing on the church steps in the picture and Sirius by himself on the other half.

Bellatrix inspected the half with Sirius on it and was pleased. She stabbed the penknife into the other half of the photo, pinning it to the hood of the car. As she uncorked the potion with her thumb Bellatrix’s chanting increased in speed and she dropped the photo of Sirius into the potion. The waxy film on the photo’s surface bubbled and blistered, peeling away from the paper, and sank into the potion. The potion’s color changed from ember to a cool blue and its inner glow faded. Bellatrix swirled the contents inside the jar observing it closely.

When she was pleased with the change she pulled out the paper remains of the photo and tossed it to the ground then raised the potion high above her head. Chanting the last verses of the spell aloud, she poured the potion on top of her head. As the potion oozed like jelly over her skin, its color changed from blue to a pinkish flesh tone, then spread quickly down her face and neck. Soon the potion masked her like a second skin, and as Bellatrix raised her hand to her face the mask bubbled and rippled. Then as she spoke the final charm of the spell the mask stopped changing. It shrank and tightened wiggling into her pores grabbing hold of her. Slowly Bellatrix turned and looked at her reflection in the car’s windshield. What she saw wasn’t her own face, but that of her cousin Sirius Black.

Bellatrix broke out into a fit of laughter, giggling and pointing to her reflection in the glass. “Oh, dear sweet cousin. You always were a handsome man.” Her fingers ran across her check bones and she frowned. “It’s a shame really.”

~*~

Nott and the horde of hobgoblins crawled through the backyard of the house behind Number 12 Grimmauld Place until they reached the fence. Only a few lights were on side the house, making most of it appear black and empty. Nott turned to Dagnir and motioned to the top floor. Dagnir moved in close and saw what Nott was pointing at. On the top floor of the house the windows were boarded up, but looked very easy to get into. Nott whispered into Dagnir’s ear, “Leave four of your best men with me. We will enter the house on the ground level. The rest of you scale that drain pipe to the top floor.”

“Understood,” the hobgoblin grinned showing his pointy teeth. Dagnir snapped his fingers and the hobgoblins hopped over the fence into the yard of number 12 and rushed to the side of the house.

Before he could go over too Nott grabbed Dagnir by the wrist. “Remember our arrangement, Dagnir,” he said. “No one touches the Potter boy. The rest are yours, but he lives, understand?” Dagnir smacked his body-armor with his fist and gave a hearty harrumph, then he and Nott hopped over the fence and started to make their way to the back of the house behind the other hobgoblins.

As three hobgoblins started to scale the drainpipe on the side of the house, a flash of purple came from the shadows, crashing into them. They tumbled through the air and crashed into the high grass by the fence face first. Nott whipped around with his wand at the ready.

“Hmm, curious indeed. So it would appear that you and McNair never did clear out those Hobgoblins after all, former Ministry Executioner Nott,” Alastor Moody said stepping out of the shadows. His wooden leg made a solid thump with each step on the brick walkway.

In one swift movement Dagnir drew his short sword and made ready to attack, but Nott threw his hand in the way. “No, this one is mine,” Nott said. He tipped his head downward a bit and spoke softly to the hobgoblin. “Get the children, follow the plan.” Dagnir slowly backed away and the rest of his warriors followed his lead. Nott flung his cloak up as he walked forward with his wand held low towards the ground. “Alastor Moody, I presume—how very unpleasant to meet you finally. I thought for sure that the Ministry had locked you away in an insane asylum.”

Moody’s magical eye continued to spin, watching the hobgoblins climbing the house, while his one good eye watched Nott. “I’m not the one who will be seeing the inside of a jail cell tonight.”

A very wide grin spread on Nott’s face and his eyes narrowed as he watched the old Auror walk. “You should look in the mirror more often, old man. Do you really think you’re a match for me?”

“Boy, I was taking down dark wizards before you were even born!” Moody said un-buttoning his jacket. “Let’s do this, I’m starting to get hungry.”

~*~

Lying on the old musty cot in the top floor of Grimmauld Place, Remus could feel the transformation starting to overtake his senses as the muscles in his arms and legs began to convulse. Biting back the pain he sat up in the bed and pulled at his clothing; his chest burned and his lungs felt like they were on fire. Everything in the room started to swirl and turn before he lost his balance and fell to the floor in a quivering heap. Soon all the color drained from his vision and all that was left was black and white patterns, wolf’s vision.

Remus tried to push himself off the floor, but as he extended his arms his fingers curled and retracted into his palms and claws grew outward from the knuckles. He tried to scream, but his voice cracked in the middle of it into a howl.

Through the darkness a thin ray of light from the window pierced the room and Remus cringed away from it. He threw himself back onto the bed and into the corner of the room. The shaft of light continued to grow and the sound of breaking wood echoed in the empty room. Something was happening, but he knew not what it was for his mind had already started to turn in on itself.

As the light filled the room, ever growing in size, a flash of light on steel caught his eye, and he watched as the shapes of small men in armor poured into the room. One of the small men walked towards him with his hand extended out, beckoning to him from the corner of the room. As the hand came within striking range Lupin instinctively swept at it with his clawed hand. His strike was quick and deep, slashing the figure before him in the throat and chest. Blood splashed across the walls and down Lupin’s face, and it tasted good. The men fanned out in front of him pointing weapons at him. Remus leapt from the corner to the nearest man, clawing and biting at him, but it was no man, it was a goblin of some kind.

Drawing back to attack again Remus felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down and a large spear was plowed through his ribs. On the other end was another hobgoblin, who twisted the shaft turning Remus’s insides. Remus tried to scream or howl, but was thrown into shock as more pain consumed him. Arrows and blades pierced his chest and legs, and he fell forward only to meet the shining blade of their leader Dagnir’s sword across his throat. His body hit the floor with a wet slap on the wood as blood pooled around his body. Remus lay there not moving as the hobgoblins cleared the window and started hammering on the door to the hallway with their weapons.

Struggling to breathe, Remus couldn’t move or talk, and the last thing he could see was the reflection of the moon in his own blood. Then everything went black before his eyes. Only the sound of hammering echoed in the room and that faded too.

~*~

Wow I hope I don’t get flamed to bad for this chapter. I just realized Thanks to AnneU that there is no Trio action in this chapter, at all! Wow how the f**K did that happen? We needed to finish the set up for the ending. I hope it wasn’t too boring for you. I’ll try to be faster next time with the updates, ok. Thanks for reading, and as always your review are very helpful to me.

Muddgutts J

Title: War Within a Breath

Author: Muddgutts

Rating: R

Ships: H/Hr

~ ~ ~ ~

Chapter 7

~ ~ ~ ~

With one hard kick of his legs through the cool water Harry reached the edge of the pond. As he waded towards the small beach near the big tree he caught sight of her. He slowed his pace and drank in the glow of her body. The midday sun bleached the color from everything in the woods behind the pond except under the big tree and Hermione had claimed that space. She lay on her stomach with her feet pointed into the air reading a book. Her body was still a little wet, which cause her oversized t-shirt to stick to her back. Harry could clearly see the shape of her body through her two-piece vermilion colored bathing suit. His groin swelled causing his eyes to flutter closed, and a small groan to pass his lips.

Quickly Harry padded over to Hermione’s blanketed area and dropped to his knees on the soft grass. Hermione smiled as she looked over the rims of her sunglasses at him. Closing the cover of her book she pushed it off the blanket onto the grass. Harry gently reached out to her, dripped water onto her warm skin and placed his palm on her forearm. The water pooled and ran off in little rivers.

Their eyes locked as Hermione rolled onto her back and Harry lay down next to her on the blanket. The wetness of his body and the heat of hers caused their bodies to stick together. Hermione smiled coyly at him pressing her hips against his crotch and asked softly, “What’s this all about now?” Her fingers slide over the wet skin on his chest down to his swimming trunks.

Harry’s eyes closed slowly and his hips ground into hers as he spoke. “Well what do you expect? Look what you’re wearing, or should I say not wearing.” Lifting the wet t-shirt up just high enough Harry slipped his hand underneath and started caressing her abdomen. His fingers ran upward over her ribs causing Hermione to arch her back.

Her lips parted in shallow breaths as she lifted her face to his, “Do you like it?”

Harry tenderly squeezed her left breast and nodded, ‘Yes.’ The rhythm of her breathing and the pounding of her heart mesmerized him. There was something so gentle but strong about her. Maybe it was the fact that she was so reserved most of the time that the vision of her so relaxed with herself, with her body that excited him. No matter how much he touched her it was never enough. It didn’t matter how long they kissed, or rolled around in the grass, he needed more. Her fingers and tongue were just as greedy as his. He was dying of thirst and she had become his wellspring.

A hot wind blew suddenly from the south rustling the leaves in the trees. Harry tilted his head to the side and through the leaves the wind sounded like a voice calling his name. Hermione placed her hand on his face and turned his head back to her. “What is it?”

Harry shook his head and strained his ears to hear, “I don’t know? For a second I thought it was,” he stopped as the wind blew again.

“Harry. . .”

“There, did you hear that?” he said as he sat up looking through the trees.

Hermione looked around too for a second then turned back to him, “I don’t know what your talking about Harry, I don’t hear anything.”

“Help me, Harry. . .”

This time Harry didn’t bother to ask if she could hear the voice. He could, and he was going to find it. Harry jumped to his feet and started walking into the woods. Hermione's voice echoed off the trees calling him back to her.

“Harry, don’t go there. You don’t know what’s out there.” Hermione was begging him now. “Please Harry, stay with me, where it’s safe.” Her pleas fell on deaf ears as Harry walked through the underbrush of the forest. The wood deepened and the sky shifted to night before his eyes.

“Harry, please I need your help. I’m so weak. . .”

“Where are you? Who are you?” he cried out as he ran. His feet followed the path as it curved and dipped deeper into the earth. The path started to thin as it reached a large cluster of trees. Harry’s throat tightened and his skin crawled at the sight before him. There, strung between two trees, was the veil from the Department of Mysteries. There was no arch, but it was the same curtain he had seen before. It fluttered in the wind and the whispering voices were no longer whispers. Their voices screamed in pain, calling for someone, anyone, to set them free from their prison. The air became thin and hot and hard to breath. The closer he got to the veil, the more Harry’s chest tightened like a vise around him, but the sound of Sirius’s voice beckoning to him to come closer lured him in.

“Harry, please help me! I’m dying in here. You have to set me free.”

His feet carried him forward towards the veil, but as he stood before it he stopped. Another voice cried out his name from behind. He turned and there was Hermione lying on the ground curled in a fetal position clutching her chest, just as she did last year in the Department of Mysteries.

“Hermione!” he shrieked and tried to run to her, but a hand grabbed his arm, holding him back. He tried to shuck it off, but the hand wouldn’t give and as he turned to see who it belonged to he screamed. A lone withered arm was coming out from inside the veil through the thin slit between the curtains. It was gray and thin and reminded him of the arms of the Dementors he had seen before. The more he struggled the harder it pulled him closer into the veil.

“NO! Let me go! Sirius, don’t!”

Harry woke in a fright thrashing his arms around struggling to escape. His books and inkwell were knocked to the floor. Black ink splashed all across the kitchen floor. The sound of the breaking jar brought him back to the moment, and he realized it was only a dream. He sighed deeply and rested his head in his hands. “I think I’m going mad. I have to control these dreams.”

“Harry . . .”

His head shot up from the table and Harry quickly looked around the room. There was no one around, but he was sure he had just heard someone say his name. “Someone, that’s a laugh,” he thought as he rubbed his temples with his fingers. “That wasn’t just anyone’s voice it was Sirius’s. Now I know I’m mad.”

“Harry, come to the door please. I need your help.”

This time Sirius’s voice carried through the window of the kitchen. Harry jumped to his feet and dashed to the window. The overgrown ivy on the side of the house obscured the view, but he could just make out a shape near the fence. A cloaked figure struggled to keep his balance along the fence, clutching his side, and as he reached the corner the hood of the cloak fell back slightly and Harry could see his face. It was Sirius Black, his godfather.

~*~

“No Ron, I’m not telling you that. So just stop asking,” Hermione said, growing weary of Ron’s curiosity.

“What’s the big deal?” Ron asked as he shoved his backpack with his foot. “It’s not like I won’t find out anyway.”

Hermione was starting to become annoyed. One minute they were talking nicely and it seemed like things among the three of them would go back to being normal. Then out of the blue Ron was right back on the topic of the other morning again. Her eyes drilled into him, and she spoke in a flat tone. “I’m not going to tell you what we said to each other or who said what to whom first. I’m not going to have you start this whole thing over again because you have this misguided notion that Harry ‘stole’ me from you.”

“Ah ha, so he did say something to you first! I knew it,” he said.

“I didn’t say that! God, sometimes you're such a prat, you know that?” Hermione huffed and got up off the bed. She grabbed her backpack from the floor and started walking to the door. “Listen Ron, you can go on thinking whatever the hell you want. I’ve tried to be nice and not hurt your feelings, but you just don’t get it.” She made a quick motion with her hand between the two of them and said, “You and I are not going to happen. Not now, not ever! We’re friends and that’s it, okay? I love Harry, and nothing you say, or do is going to change the way I feel.”

Ron jumped to his feet ready to argue with her, but she held her hand out to stop him. “No! You’re going to wait and hear me out. You and Harry are best friends. You’re the closest thing he has to a brother, and right now he needs you. We’re all he has, and let's face it, Ron, you and I aren’t the best friends in the world.” Ron looked a little hurt by this, so she corrected herself. “Yes we’re friends, but it seems like we fight every ten minutes, and quite frankly that gets a little boring. Do you really think we could have a halfway meaningful relationship without killing or hating each other in the end?”

“Whoever said anything about that, for Merlin’s sake? I just like you, I never said I wanted to marry you!” Ron said, blushing.

“Ron,” she said pausing to collect herself leaning against the door. “With everything that is going on in the world do you think I want to go off on dates to Honeydukes, or the Three Broomsticks? We may not even make it back to Hogwarts this year. I can’t hold back my feelings for Harry anymore, and he feels the same about me. So we’re going to give this a try while we still have time.” Hermione extended her hand to him. “Come on Ron, can’t you just be happy for us? We need you, and you need us.”

Ron’s jaw tightened and his eyes closed as his heart ached. He knew there was nothing he could do to change her mind when she set her heart to something. If this was what she wanted then he would accept it for her sake, and Harry’s too. Harry was like a brother to him, and Ron knew he would be miserable without him as a friend. Fourth year taught him that, and he didn’t care to repeat it. Slowly he got to his feet and looked at Hermione as if it was the first time he had ever seen her. She was an incredible girl and it saddened him, only because she was determined to be with the one she loved and that person wasn’t him. For some reason there was a sense of peace inside him, and for the life of him he didn’t know why. Maybe it made him happy just to see her so happy.

Whatever these new emotions welling inside of him were he didn’t have time to dwell on them for long. As clear as day the piercing cries of Buckbeak the hippogriff could be heard echoing through the roof above. Ron and Hermione looked at each other with the same look of concern. They both moved quickly to the door, and Ron grabbed the doorknob and looked up the stairway. Neville was looking up the stairs as well from the landing to the girls’ room one flight down. Hermione pushed her way past Ron out into the hall. The sound of a struggle traveled down the dimly-lit stairway.

“What’s Buckbeak so upset about?” Ron asked.

“Maybe he’s scared because Professor Lupin is in the room above him tonight," Hermione said, taking a step onto the stairs leading upward. “Maybe he can sense the transformation.” She continued up another step when the whole staircase shook violently. Hermione grabbed on to the railing before she fell backwards. “Woo, what was that?”

Neville darted up the stairs to them, but Ron stopped him and pointed to his ear. “Shh, listen—what is that? Do you hear it?” Neville stared up the stairs trying to listen for what ever Ron had heard. Over the sound of voices, lots of voices, a steady thumping noise came from Buckbeak's room.

“Who’s up there with Buckbeak?” Hermione asked Ron and Neville, drawing her wand. Luna and Ginny had now joined them on the landing. The thumping sound grew louder and louder.

Ginny said in a rather shaky voice, “It could be Harry, or Moody. Where are they, anyway?”

Before anyone could guess the location of their missing friends the door to Buckbeak's room exploded outward into the hall. Buckbeak came crashing through the door, smashing into the opposite wall. The wall sagged inward dropping plaster and fragments of old wallpaper down around him. His hindquarters struggled desperately to gain traction on the dusty old floor as his clawed front legs pulled him towards the steps. Blood ran freely down his back and wings from small puncture wounds of some kind. Just as Buckbeak got back on his feet a horde of hobgoblins poured through the doorway after him, slashing and stabbing at the retreating beast.

“Oh my God! Buckbeak, RUN! Come on boy!” Hermione cried out to him, taking a step backwards and bumping into Neville. “Everyone get back into the room quick!”

Luna, Ginny moved closer to Ron and Neville and the questions started to fly.

“What are those things?!”

“Hobgoblins!”

“How did they get in the house? I thought no one could get in?”

Dodging a spear that flew just over his head, Buckbeak gave a strong kick with his back legs right into the chests of two hobgoblins. Their bodies went limp as they went soaring through the air and crashed into the advancing invaders behind them. A large hobgoblin with a curved short-sword pushed his way through the broken doorway swinging his blade at the hippogriff's wings. With one strong flap of his wings Buckbeak came sailing down the steps towards the group of teens. Hermione dove to the floor as Buckbeak flew over her head, missing her by a few inches. Ron pushed Ginny and Luna into the boy’s room, and Neville jumped in behind them. Buckbeak landed hard on the floor at the bottom of the steps, smashing into the wall and knocking the coat rack over.

The largest hobgoblin at the top of the stairs pointed his sword at Ron and Hermione and yelled, “That’s them! Kill them all!” The hobgoblins started charging down the steps towards Ron and Hermione, weapons drawn. The blades of their weapons were covered in blood and the look of murder flashed in their eyes as they spilled down the rickety old staircase.

Ginny and Luna scrambled to the back of the room behind the beds, and Neville motioned for Ron and Hermione to follow them, but Hermione was already on her way down the steps towards the kitchen calling Harry’s name. Ron grimaced and grabbed the doorknob and slammed the door shut.

“Seal it,” he cried and then darted down the steps after Hermione.

“Harry! HARRY! Where are you?” Hermione called, but when she reached the ground floor with Buckbeak she got her answer. On the floor trailing from the kitchen, a set of footprints outlined in black ink led out the front door. They had the distinct shape of Harry’s old trainers. The hippogriff was clawing at the front door, and gave a soft chirp. Hermione looked out the side window and almost fainted at the sight before her. There was Harry walking across the front grass towards a person hunched over in the street. Harry moved slowly and calmly as if in a trance, and when the dark figure in the street turned his head Hermione saw his face. It was Sirius Black—but it couldn’t be. Sirius was dead. She wanted to believe with all of her heart that it was really Sirius, but she knew it couldn’t be. Dead was dead, and there’s no coming back. Not in the muggle world or the wizarding.

Ron jumped down the last flight of stairs next to Hermione, landing with a loud thump. “Hey! Wake up, we’re going to have company,” he yelled at her, sending a stunner up the stairs at the hobgoblins. “Did you find Harry? Where is he?”

Hermione broke from her thoughts and said, “He’s outside, come on, we have to help him quick.”

“What? What the blazes is he doing out there?”

“There’s no time to explain. Just get on Buckbeak, we’re going after him!” Hermione yelled, jumping out of the way as a hail of short black arrows whizzed past her. She gave the hippogriff a quick bow and he returned it weakly, then she climbed onto his back trying to avoid the cuts and bruises. Ron was backing up slowly towards them, but continued to throw spell after spell at the advancing hobgoblins.

Most of the hobgoblins stopped at the door that the other teens had locked themselves inside of and were trying to break it down. About six of the battle-frenzied hobgoblins continued down the steps towards Ron, who deflected wave after wave of arrows with his protection charm, but it was no good. He couldn’t stop long enough to mount Buckbeak.

“Come on, hurry, Ron—get on!” Hermione yelled to him as she cast a banishing charm at the closest hobgoblin. It hit him in the chest sending the hobgoblin over the railing of the stairs to the hard floor below. For a second he lay there stunned, but pushed himself up and retrieved his dagger.

Without even turning to look at her Ron slapped Buckbeak on the arse. “Go! I’ll catch up!”

Screeching loudly, Buckbeak knocked the front door open, and as Hermione tried to call out to Ron they flew off into the air. Hermione held on for dear life as Buckbeak circled into the sky high above number 12 Grimmauld Place. The moon was very bright and illuminated the ground below fully. Down in the back yard of the house a battle raged as Moody and an unknown Death Eater dueled, deflecting spells in all directions. The ground was pocked with blast craters, and a large wall of thorns was summoned to cover the back of the house blocking the door. The thought passed Hermione's mind quickly of stunning the Death Eater from up here, but the distance was too great. Passing over the roof Hermione noticed the unmistakable outline of the window to Lupin’s room. It was smashed in, and the room was dark and motionless. “This is bad, real bad.” Hermione said as her nerves caused her whole body to shake.

~ ~ ~

AN: I’m sorry for all the cliffhangers in this fic, but that’s just the way I write. I have to keep you on the edge of your seat. ^_^ I’m also very sorry this one took so long to post. Well that’s enough of my babbling. Please review if you like. Your comments are always helpful. Thanks for reading.

Muddgutts

Title: War Within a Breath

Author: Muddgutts

Rating: R

Ships: H/Hr

~ ~ ~ ~

Chapter 8

~ ~ ~ ~

Wizarding Wireless Network Broadcast 8:34 pm

“We interrupt your normal broadcast this evening for a special report from the Ministry of Magic. All witches and wizards are asked to leave the area of Diagon Alley immediately. A state of emergency has been declared and Diagon Alley is being sealed off from the public as we speak. It is unknown at this time as to the reason why, and Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge has yet to comment on the present crisis, but we have had mixed reports from civilians fleeing the area. Some have stated that a giant is on the loose in the area, while others claim this could be the latest attack by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and his Death Eater minions. The Floo Network has been closed in and out of the area, and no one is being allowed to return once they have left. That much we know for sure. Stay tuned to this station for more up to the minute reports from the field here on WWN.”

~*~

“Move, MOVE—come on faster! He’s coming back this way!” Kingsley yelled to Tonks as they apparated from rooftop to rooftop down the south end of Diagon Alley. With a loud crack Tonks apparated ahead of Kingsley then dropped down on one knee, taking a quick look down between the stores below.

“Clear!” she yelled and disappeared over to the next roof.

Kingsley popped in next to her and scanned the area, “Nothing! No one in sight, where the hell are these bastards hiding?” Kingsley was starting to reach his breaking point. “I swear on Dumbledore’s beard that if I find the scum controlling this giant I’ll break him in two!” The rapid sound of spells exploding in the air caught his attention from the north. Three Aurors on high speed brooms cut through the night sky on attack runs against the lumbering giant as he smashed his way through Diagon Alley. Their spells ignited the air around the giant in glowing balls of red flame that sucked all oxygen from the air. The giant swatted at the flying Aurors like flies, but he was much too slow.

“Unbelievable, look at that,” Tonks said slowly.

Kingsley furrowed his brow and looked at Tonks questioningly. “Look at what? You’ve seen airburst spells before. What’s the big deal?”

Tonks shook her head and spun Kingsley around so he was facing Knockturn Alley, then pointed off to the horizon. “Not that, you melon head. There just above the fire, look! It’s an owl.” Kingsley looked closer to where Tonks was pointing and just above the flames coming from west was a barn owl trying to go down into the flames.

“Hmm, wonder where he’s . . .” Kingsley was cut off suddenly when Tonks grabbed his arm and Apparated them both closer to Knockturn Alley. Kingsley shook violently for a second from the shock and he almost bit his tongue. “Damn it! Don’t do that when I’m talking. How many times do I have to tell you?”

“Shh,” she whispered to Kingsley and patted his arm. “Sorry about that, but I don’t want to lose track of the owl.”

Raising an eyebrow Kingsley smirked at Tonks. “Got a hunch about this one, huh?” Tonks nodded as she watched the owl circle once then drop down towards one of the few building that wasn’t on fire, Borgin & Burkes. “You know the last time you had a hunch about something I ended up in St. Mungo’s for a week.”

Tonks gave him a winning smile. “And the nurses haven’t stopped talking about you since. You should be thanking me not criticizing.”

A sudden coughing fit overcame Kingsley as he blushed and said, “Right, come on then your going to lose the bloody bird already. Let’s go.” Tonks smiled from ear to ear and Apparated away towards Borgin & Burkes.

~*~

Moody desperately tried to pull his wooden leg free from its stone prison. His leg had sunk into the brick walkway when Nott cast a stone-to-mud spell on it, changing the surface long enough to trap Moody in place. Nott laughed loudly as he apparated from one location to the next, peppering Moody with spells.

With his plan of attack ruined, Moody was left with very few options but to defend against wave after wave of incoming spells blasts. His magical eye followed Nott's movements and he countered every spell Nott sent at him. Moody’s protection charm was much stronger then any of Nott’s hexes or charms, so Moody started to take aim with the spells he deflected towards Nott. His last sleep charm rebounded back just over his head and slammed into the roof of number twelve Grimmauld Place. Loose roofing tiles came crashing down into the yard around them both.

“You're still pretty fast, old man.” Nott said, covering his head. Catching sight of the remaining hobgoblins breaking in the back door, he smirked at Moody, “Just not fast enough.” With a flash he apparated over to the back door of the house and pushed the hobgoblins out of the way so he could get in.

The back of the house was enveloped in a wash of green light shining from Moody’s wand. All over the back of the house, a wall of thick pointy thorns erupted from the ground. Nott jumped back just in time, but the hobgoblins were not fast enough to escape. Thorns pierced their armored bodies, impaling them to the side of the house. The sound of their screams was drowned by the sound of breaking stone. Nott spun around fast and dove for cover behind the old tree in the backyard.

“Looks like you won’t be going in that way,” Moody said, shaking the remaining particles of rock from his leg. “Ah, that’s better.” He walked slowly over towards the big tree with his wand leveled at Nott. “So where’s your boss, the Dark Lord? Not up to a real fight I bet.”

“What would you know about it, you old fart?” Nott said as he slashed his wand towards Moody. A circle of fire sprung up around him blocking Moody's path.

Only the sound of Moody screaming could be heard as the flame consumed him. Nott smiled as he tipped his head towards the flames, “Nice knowing you, you crazy old bastard.” He turned and started off around the house. As he tried to break into a run his knees locked together and he fell to the ground face first, cracking his Death Eater mask in two. As he looked back towards the flames, Moody walked out of the fire unharmed.

“You didn’t think I would fall for some amateur trick like that did you?” he said dusting off his overcoat. He stared at Nott intensely and his magical eye stopped spinning and focused on the other man. “I’m still waiting to be impressed. I know girls that can duel better then you.”

With one twist of his wand hand Nott broke the Leg Lock jinx and jumped to his feet. “Let’s see if any girl you know can do this! Avada Kedavra!”

~*~

Inside the boys’ room of Grimmauld Place the teens worked franticly moving the beds and dresser over into the corner of the room. They stacked the beds next to wall around them and Luna cast a freezing charm to hold them in place. Neville stood with his wand pointed at the door ready to cast at the first person who entered. His hand jerked every time the hobgoblins slammed against the door, but he held strong to the belief that someone would come and rescue them before the hobgoblins got inside the room.

Luna watched the door calmly with her wand ready to fight. The banging increased in speed and the leader's voice echoed down the stairway as he commanded the hobgoblins to go faster. With each hit on the old oak door Ginny whimpered a little more. When Neville looked down towards the corner Ginny was curled into a ball trembling with fear. He kneeled down to her and took her hand. “Ginny, come on stand up.”

“I—I can’t . . . hate goblins. Fred and George scared me to death in Gringotts when I was small.” she stuttered. She looked Neville right in the eyes. “We’re going to die here.”

Neville pulled her to her feet and faced her towards the door, placing her wand in her hand. “You can do it. I know you can.” Neville placed his hand on her cheek and she looked at him with confusion in her eyes. “We are not going to die," he insisted. "Do you understand? We’re not going to die. Say it.”

The door gave a mighty crack as the wood started to split along the sides. Ginny’s eyes closed tightly and her voice shook. “We’re—not—going—to—die.” The door gave another loud groan and split in two as the hobgoblins started pushing through the crumbling doorway.

“Here they come!” Luna yelled, bracing herself between the wall and the dresser.

Neville didn’t remove his hand from Ginny’s cheek as he turned sideways and sent the a Severing charm at the first hobgoblin through the door. “Try to keep them in the hallway as long as possible!” The charm cut the first hobgoblin's arm clean off as he pushed through the door. He screamed and fell to the floor, clutching his bloody shoulder as others pushed him aside and jumped over him

Two hobgoblins slipped in and moved to the side of the room, loading their crossbows with arrows. “Conjunctiva!” Luna made a quick slash with her wand, blinding them. One hobgoblin dropped his crossbow and started pulling off his helmet, clutching his eyes. The other shot his arrow blindly across the room, missing them completely.

Ginny couldn’t pull her eyes off of the severed arm on the floor. She didn’t even notice as a hobgoblin charged their makeshift defense and dove over the top knocking her to the ground. She screamed in terror as he pinned her to the ground with his knee and drew back his sword to stab her.

“Ginny! Cover your face!” Neville screamed, pointing his wand at the back of the hobgoblins head. Just as Ginny pulled her arm up to shield herself she watched as the Neville spoke the words of his spell.

“DIFFINDO!” Neville screamed and the hobgoblin's head exploded like a melon. Thick black blood ran down his body as it twitched and flopped around. Ginny screamed and pushed him over to the side as she stood up. Quickly Neville pushed her into the corner as another hobgoblin tried coming at them over the top of the barricade. Just as the hobgoblin jumped Luna hit him with a banishing charm, throwing him back over the side. Neville kicked the dead body out of the way and yelled at Ginny, “Snap out of it and help us!” A large spear pierced through the bed and grazed Neville’s leg, drawing blood. “Damn!” he cursed pulling back towards the wall.

“Neville!” Ginny cried pulling him away from the spear. The spear continued to move as the owner tried to pull it back out of the bed. Ginny moved alongside of it and stomped down hard on the shaft breaking off the tip.

~*~

Summoning every ounce of his strength, Ron ran towards the kitchen door with the hobgoblins right on his heels. They tried to grab hold of him as he slammed through the door, but Ron was too quick for them. As soon as he was through he turned and swung the door shut, hitting two of his pursuers right in the face with the heavy wooden door. “Colloportus!” he yelled sealing the door, but he didn’t know how long it would hold before they kicked it in. The only thing on his mind was that he had to get outside. He wasn’t sure what Hermione saw outside that made Harry leave, but judging from the look on her face, it couldn’t be good. Now she was out there alone trying to stop it.

When Ron reached the back door it wouldn’t open. As he pulled back the small set of curtains covering the windows on the door, a very disturbing image stared back at him. Pressed against the glass was the face of a Hobgoblin with long pointed thorns piercing his face and neck. The sight sent a shiver down Ron’s back. “Guess I’m not going out that way.” Franticly searching the room for a way out, he spotted a window over the sink. He darted over to the window as the head of an axe cut through the door. Despite pushing as hard as he could, Ron couldn’t open the window. It appeared to be painted closed so he backed up a bit and yelling "Reducto!" blasted it open with his wand. Again the tip of the axe broke through the door as the hobgoblins pressed their attack. Wasting no time Ron climbed through the window and tumbled out onto the lawn.

~*~

As Hermione flew over the roof of Grimmauld Place on Buckbeak's back, the hippogriff made a little chirp when he saw Sirius in the street below. Harry was close now, only a few feet away from Sirius, and still looked as if he was in some kind of trance. Her fingers strained against Buckbeak’s collar when he started to circle downward towards the street below. Hermione pulled herself closer to Buckbeak’s head and tried to reason with him. “No, Buckbeak! That’s not Sirius. Don’t go down there, please.”

Buckbeak thrashed his head to the side with a sharp squawk. He didn’t believe her, and apparently neither did Harry. Hermione and Buckbeak continued to circle floating downward, but Sirius and Harry hadn’t noticed them yet. Hermione's mind raced trying to think of what to do. Any second now Sirius was sure to spot them and she would lose any chance of proving that this was an imposter. As they circled only about ten feet above them now she could clearly see Sirius extend one hand out to Harry, but the other was holding a wand behind his back. That was all the proof she needed. Hermione held fast with her left hand to Buckbeak’s collar and drew her wand. When Buckbeak started his landing descent, she leaned out past his head and called, “HARRY! Look out!”

At the sound of her voice, Sirius jerked his head in Hermione’s direction but was too late. With a quick twirl of her wand Hermione sent a banishing charm right at Sirius. He tried to shield his face, but the spell sent him flying into the door of the old BMW. Buckbeak hovered in place for a second, his head cocked to the side, watching Sirius and Harry. Harry shook his head and blinked his eyes rapidly as he took in his surroundings. “What the hell,” he said as Sirius got to his feet, but when he turned toward Harry his face was shattered. The skin was cracked down the side like a piece of glass, and another face looked back at Harry from underneath. It was Bellatrix Lestrange.

All of his hate, all of his anger and grief from the loss of his godfather coursed through him. “You! I’ll kill you!”

Moving quickly with her wand Bellatrix blasted Harry with her spell. “Petrificus Totalus!” The full body bind hit Harry as he drew his wand; his body became as stiff as a board and he fell onto his back.

“Stupid boy, did you think it would be that easy,” Bellatrix snarled. She turned her wand on the flying Buckbeak and Hermione and shouted, “Toxicum Sagitto!” A volley of poison arrows flew from her wand towards them.

“Move! Buckbeak Go!” Hermione yelled trying to get Buckbeak to move out of the way, but it was too late. Three black-tipped arrows hit her in the back, while two hit Buckbeak under his wing.

Harry watched as they spiraled out of control and hit the ground behind some bushes a few houses down the street. He tried to scream to call out to her, but his mouth wouldn’t move. Tears pooled in his eyes as the image of her face flashed in his mind.

A dark figure moved before him. It was Bellatrix, kneeling down before him with her face half Sirius' and half her own. The lower half that was still Sirius’s smiled as her own eyes flashed maliciously at him.

“Looks like it’s just you and me now, Harry.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Spell notes

Severing Charm: This is the same spell used by Harry in GOF, but I simply tweaked it a bit. We don’t know the full power of this spell so I took some liberties with it.

Protego: I’m not sure it can stop a physical attack, but hey what the hell right.

Arrow spell: I’ve read about it in QTTA, but again the full power of the spell is unknown.

Toxicum Sagitto: This is a Dark wizards version of the arrow spell that I made. It shots poison tipped arrow.

~*~

AN: Well I hope you liked chapter 8. I think I was faster this time around then the last few chapters. The stories really heating up and we have only two, maybe three chapters left in the story. Thanks for reading and as always comments are always helpful. J

Title: War Within a Breath

Author: Muddgutts

Rating: R

Ships: H/Hr

~ ~ ~ ~

Chapter 9

~ ~ ~ ~

Tonks and Kingsley made no sound as they apparated to the street in front of Borgin & Burkes. They moved quietly alongside the building until Tonks came to the front window. Reaching inside her cloak, she produced a small hand mirror and slowly edged it into view so she could see inside the store. The store was cluttered with strange artifacts and shelves filled with tombs of dark magic ancient and evil, and on the counter in the rear of the store Dolohov sat cross-legged with his wand extended in front of him. The wand’s tip glowed a faint yellow and Dolohov’s eyes were white. Reaching behind herself, Tonks searched for Kingsley. Her hand grabbed his cloak and pulled him closer as she slipped back from the window.

Pulling Kingsley down to her level she whispered in his ear, “In the back,” then handed him the mirror. “It’s Dolohov, he’s controlling the giant. I don’t see anyone else.”

Kingsley got down on one knee and inched forward a bit, propping the small mirror around the window to look. The image of Dolohov came into view and Kingsley’s blood boiled. “How many times do I have to bust this guy before they lock him up for good?” he thought. Then from the back room Lucius Malfoy walked into the room with a small roll of parchment in his hand. Kingsley had no doubt this parchment was from the owl the Order had been tracking. He watched intensely, trying to pick up on their conversation. Tonks crawled low under the window to the other side so she could watch too.

“Damn that woman!” Malfoy yelled, kicking a small brass pot across the floor. He crumbled the parchment in his hand and drew his wand from the end of his cane. “I will not let her get the upper hand on me again.”

“What is it now?” Dolohov replied, remaining as still as a statue.

“I’ve just been informed that she has no intention of eliminating Potter at all,” Malfoy barked as he stomped around the store. “She’s planning on bringing him back as a present to the Dark Lord.”

Dolohov’s face showed no emotion as he spoke. “That’s good, Potter will be out of the way for sure this time, right?”

“NO! You simpleton, that’s not good. Don’t you see the big picture here?” Lucius paused for a second watching Dolohov, but he didn’t move so Malfoy continued on. “If she brings in Potter we’re done for! Don’t you get it?”

Again he waited and Dolohov didn’t respond. Enraged, Malfoy closed the gap between them quickly and slapped Dolohov across the face, “Are you even listening to me DAMN IT!”

Dolohov shook his head quickly, rubbing his cheek. “What the hell did you do that for? I’m trying to work here!”

“Well pay attention when I’m talking to you! This is important!” From somewhere in the distance the giant roared in pain. The sound echoed off of the London skyline. Malfoy glanced out the front window quickly. He turned back to Dolohov, pointing a finger at him as he spoke calmly staring into his eyes. “If Bellatrix delivers Potter to the Master then we,” he motioned between the two of them, “we are going to be worth less than dirt to him. You and I have had failed in the past and she has been sucking up to him all this time winning his trust.”

Dolohov still watched Malfoy with a confused expression. “I didn’t spend fourteen years holding the Death Eaters together while he was playing dead for nothing! These are my men. They may be sworn to serve him, but I trained them. I was the one who converted them; they’re MINE!” Pulling back slightly Dolohov averted his eyes from Malfoy’s gaze.

“And remember this, my friend,” Malfoy said, placing his hands the counter and locking Dolohov in place, “when the Dark Lord falls, and believe me he will. Remember Potter has defeated him before, and he’ll certainly finish the job one day. Just look at his Potter’s track record against the dark Lord so far, he always gets away some how. It clear that Potter holds some power that the Dark Lord can’t beat. So when he falls I will be there to take my rightful place as the leader of this organization, and I will—not—have—that—woman—screw—up—my—plans!” he paused for effect then looked Dolohov in the eyes. “So are you with me? Or against me?”

A shudder ran down Dolohov’s spine, and he took a calming breath as he soaked in the information. He remembered the look on Bellatrix’s face when she tortured him, and he was eager to have his revenge on her.

“What do you need from me my lord?” Dolohov asked, his lip twisted upward in a smirk.

“Good, very good. I knew you were a smart man, Dolohov. Now this is what we’re going to do,” Malfoy said, scratching his chin in thought.

Outside the store Tonks and Kingsley both looked stunned.

‘Bellatrix is after Harry!’ Tonks silently mouthed to Kingsley, who nodded and produced a small glass jar from his belt pouch. On the side of the jar was a small paper label that read ‘Tracking bug,’ and inside was a small cockroach with a blue dot between his wings. Tonks smiled knowingly and retrieved hers as well, but hers had a red dot on it. Together Tonks and Kingsley uncorked the jars and slipped the cockroaches under the front door. Unnoticed by the two Death Eaters the roaches scurried across the dusty floor to their targets. The roach with the red dot crawled up Malfoy’s cloak and clung to his back. The other with the blue dot went around the counter and up into the hood of Dolohov’s cloak.

Tonks chuckled to herself quietly and Kingsley dragged her around the corner into an alleyway. Shushing her with a finger Kingsley pulled a piece of folded parchment from his cloak and whispered the revealing charm under his breath. Slowly the outline of the store appeared on the paper with the name Borgin & Burkes written in red. Two dots, one red and one blue, moved around the store. Kingsley watched the dots move for a moment then the red dot disappeared from the paper, and his eyes shot to Tonks.

“He’s on the move! Quickly where did he go?”

Fumbling with the clasp on her pouch Tonks’ fingers worked desperately to find her tracking parchment. Gritting her teeth she yanked the pouch open and the parchment fell to the ground, where it landed on the edge of a smoldering piece of timber. Almost instantaneously the yellowish parchment caught fire around the edges.

Tonks gasped and without thinking thrust her hand into the fire retrieving the paper. “Ahhh! Damn it!”

“TONKS! Are you alright?” Kingsley yelled, pulling her away from the flames.

Tears rolling down her cheek, Tonks cradled her blistering right hand to her chest. “Read it quickly,” she hissed, thrusting the crumbling paper at Kingsley. Flattening the charred paper against the wall Kingsley read the letters in red across the top. His eyes flashed from the paper back to Tonks as the blood drained from his face. Tonks shook her head slowly starring at him. “Well . . . where did he go?”

Kingsley’s mouth worked but no sound came out for a second. His expression was confused and troubled as he spoke the location softly. “Grimmauld Place.”

“Oh no . . . Remus—Harry!” was all Tonks could manage. “I’m going, Kingsley!”

“No wait, I’ll call Atticus and get some back —” Kingsley never finished his sentence as Tonks apparated away to Grimmauld Place. “God damn it Tonks!”

~*~

Recklessly Bellatrix dragged Harry off of the street onto the grass. Harry had lost all feeling in his arms and legs as his body scraped and bumped across the jagged pavement. His vision was fixed towards the heavens and his heart was hollowed. The sight of Hermione getting hit with those arrows was branded into his mind. Bellatrix hovered over him with a satisfied smirk as she twirled her wand and bound Harry in magical ropes. She then released him from the full body bind. The power of movement returned to Harry and an indescribable wail burst from his mouth as tears stung his eyes and made them burn and swell.

“You fucking bitch! I swear,” his voice choked as his chin trembled against his will. “I’m going to watch you burn. Even if I have to drag you down to hell’s gates myself and throw you in—I’ll get you if it’s the last thing I ever do!”

Landing on his chest with a hard thump Bellatrix straddled his bound body and jammed Harry’s mouth shut with her hand. Her eyes flashed brightly as she ripped the remaining bits of the ‘Sirius’ mask from her face. “I seem to have struck a nerve this time,” she crowed. Shaking her hair out from the last bits of her disguise Bellatrix swooped down close to his face and licked the tears from his cheek. Savoring the taste a bit she bucked her hips against him.

Harry grimaced trying to turn away from her, but she would not have it. Holding him in place she continued to speak, whispering into his ear, “Was she dear to you? Did you love her?” All expression left Harry’s face as the full impact of this hit him. He did love her. More then anyone in the world she above all others was most dear to him, and the thought of living in a world without her was too much for him. He wanted to just disconnect everything and everyone. What was the point of going on without Hermione?

The stinging pain of Bellatrix’s nails digging into his cheeks as she grabbed hold of his face and yelled into his ear, “WELL? Did you love that little Mudblood?”

When Harry chose to ignore her, it only maddened her. Jumping to her feet, she growled, “You’re a blood traitor just like your father! You make me sick just looking at you!” Her face full of fury, she pointed her wand directly at him.

“Crucio!”

Everything suddenly went white as electrifying waves of pain shot through Harry’s body. He tried to lock his jaw from rattling so he wouldn’t bite his tongue off. His mind blanked, and then it stopped just as quickly as it started. Harry gasped as he spat up blood, coughing violently. He couldn’t focus his eyes enough to see her, but he heard the draw in Bellatrix’s voice as she chastised him, “That’s how you use an unforgivable curse boy. You have to mean it. Observe.”

Harry’s eyes started to focus again as Bellatrix leveled her wand on him. Just as she began to twist her wrist to cast her spell, the front grille of the old BMW in the street exploded in a flash of red light. Shards of plastic and metal rained down on the street as Bellatrix turned quickly on her heel toward the street.

Blinking rapidly, a bruised and very angry looking Hermione stepped into the light, pointing her wand at Bellatrix. It felt like a hundred pounds had been lifted from Harry’s chest as his eyes met hers, and he knew it was really Hermione. In one glance Harry could see her desperate pleas to hang on just a little longer.

“It’s not possible!” Bellatrix shrieked, blocking Hermione’s path to Harry. “No one can survive three poisoned arrows! Not even a full grown troll!”

Hermione thrust her chin out as she glared at Bellatrix. “You—missed.”

“Never!”

Slowly with her left hand Hermione slid her backpack off and let it fall to the street. It hit the ground with a low thump and a book peeked out from the opening. Hermione dragged it out with her foot, and there in its cover three poisoned arrows were firmly lodged.

Bellatrix’s brow furrowed as she tried to read the title. “What do you have there, Mother Goose? Hmm little Mudblood?”

Harry chuckled to himself knowingly as Hermione’s eyes narrowed. “Hogwarts A History, limited edition seconded printing. Now get away from my boyfriend—Bitch!”

“Oh, so you want to play do you?” Bellatrix said with a wide smile. Her eyes blinked slowly as she sized Hermione up. Something about the way Bellatrix was looking at her made Hermione’s skin crawl. Bellatrix took a step closer towards the street, and as her mouth twisted into a smirk she shook her head.

“This is what you were so broken up about, Potter?”

Hermione’s jaw tightened and her stance widened, ready to duel.

Throwing Harry a sideways glance Bellatrix frowned. “Honestly now you can do better than her. She’s positively boring, and look at that hair. Hah! What a disgusting little wretch.”

Harry tried to sit up as best he could. “She’s twice the witch you’ll ever be!” he shot back, his voice laced with malice. Feeling a bit prouder Hermione slowly started to face off with Bellatrix moving forward towards Harry.

“Really?” Bellatrix questioned as she drew her cloak behind her back. “Let’s see then.”

“Reducio!”

~*~

The sound of breaking wood echoed through the open kitchen window as Ron scrambled to his feet and ran towards the front of the house. When he reached the corner of the house Ron saw Hermione and a tall woman in black robes dueling in the middle of the street. Drawing his wand from his pocket he shuffled forward, hunching low so as not to draw their attention. As he reached the cluster of Muggle waste bins by the curb he paused, trying to think of a good spell to use. There was little doubt that the woman Hermione was dueling was a Death Eater. So he knew his spell had better be effective. Pounding his forehead with his palm he tried to think, but his mind was drawing a blank. All he could hear was the pounding of his heart in his ears.

A loud tearing sound startled him from his thoughts as clumps of grass and earth rained down on his head. Risking being noticed Ron peeked his head around the side of the waste bin to his right and watched as Hermione and the Death Eater sent hexes and curses at each other. Both Hermione and the unknown woman in black very quickly jumped out of the way of incoming spells and retaliated with their own.

Ron raised his wand and tried to aim at the woman in black, but the duelers were dodging too fast, and he was afraid of hitting Hermione by accident. Just as Ron was about to lower his wand he spotted movement from another person lying on the grass, bound from head to toe in ropes. Ron pulled back behind the waste bin and quickly plotted a course across the street that would keep him out of view from the streetlights.

~*~

Sucking in a deep breath Luna sprang up from behind the wall of mattresses and took aim at the center of the attacking group of hobgoblins. “Lumos Solarum!” she cried.

A brilliant burst of white light flashed from the end of Luna’s wand. Most of the hobgoblins shrieked and shielded their eyes, which momentarily halted their attack. Neville flipped over the body of the headless hobgoblin and drew the dagger from its belt and the short sword from its hand.

Turning to the girls he held the weapons out for them. “Here, hang on to these.”

“I don’t want that!” Ginny said holding her hands up in the air defensively. “I wouldn’t know the first thing about using a sword.”

“You’re going to need it!” Neville demanded. “There are too many of them and our spells are having little effect on them. So take it!”

Luna cocked her head at Ginny as she took the sword. “Haven’t you ever played Pirates before?” Neville couldn’t help but chuckle as he slapped the dagger into Ginny’s hand.

“Yes, but this is totally different.” Ginny said, as she held up the dagger by two fingers.

As if she didn’t even hear Ginny’s answer Luna continued talking to herself, looking over the beds. “I used to love playing Pirates with my cousins. Protego!” A small cluster of arrows bounced off her shield charm. “I think they’re getting mad,” she nodded toward the hobgoblins.

Ginny popped her head up over the edge of the bed just in time to see a large hobgoblin throw a spear at her. She ducked back behind cover just in time as the spear sank into the wall behind them.

Several hobgoblins rushed the protective mound of beds at once and started scaling up the outside. Neville stood up and drew back his wand to cast a spell when a hobgoblin dove over the beds, landing on top of him. The hobgoblin let out a short gargled growl as he clawed at Neville’s face and neck. Neville surged forward, slamming the hobgoblin into the bed frame. The impact rocked his whole body right down to his toes. He drew back to slam the hobgoblin again, but he felt a wave of heat pass before him and stopped. The hobgoblin sprang off Neville to the floor, and then straight at Ginny.

“Inflamare!” she yelled, thrusting her wand at the hobgoblin. Three white-hot balls of fire hit the hobgoblin in the face and chest setting him ablaze. He franticly waved his arms trying to extinguish his burning hair, but Luna made an overly dramatic forward lunge with her new sword, piercing his chest. Thick dark blood bubbled from the hole in his chest as the hobgoblin fell dead to the floor. Luna tried to withdraw the blade, but it was stuck in the hobgoblin’s ribs and refused to come out. Neville quickly doused the burning hobgoblin in a shower of water from the tip of his wand, and Luna yanked the sword free from his chest.

The makeshift wall of beds shuddered violently and started to list towards the teens. The hobgoblins had worked themselves into furious battle frenzy now as they attempted to knock the wall of beds down on top of the teens. Neville threw his back against the beds and placed both feet on the back wall trying to hold the beds in place.

“The spells weakening! Freeze it again!” he yelled.

Ginny blasted the structure again with the freezing spell, but that didn’t stop its collapse. She panicked and tried to hold the bed too.

Dropping her sword Luna took aim with her wand, but suddenly the blade of a short sword wiggled through a small gap between the beds and pierced her shoulder. Falling to her knees Luna cried out in pain, clutching her shoulder as blood flowed freely from the wound at an alarming rate.

“LUNA! Are you okay?” Ginny screamed.

Luna’s head sagged to her chest, as she shook her head, ‘No.’

Holding the beds one-handed Ginny pointed her wand at Luna, yelling and trying to get her attention.

“Luna! Show me your shoulder!” Luna’s face was rapidly turning white as she slid down into the corner.

“Show it to me Goddamn it!” Ginny yelled again. Slowly Luna released her grip on her wound with a small whimper. The flesh had been cleaved right down to the bone, and blood pumped out of the wound in steady streams. Fighting back the urge to gag at the sight of so much blood, Ginny muttered a bandaging charm. The magical bandages wove around Luna’s shoulder stemming the flow of blood, but Luna still looked like she might pass out at any moment.

“BACK! Get back damn you!” Neville screamed, and when Ginny turned to see what was happening Neville was fighting off two hobgoblins at once with the spear that had just been stuck in the wall. As one hobgoblin slashed at him with its sword another was trying to smash Neville with a spiked metal mace. Neville swung the spear at both of them, deflecting the sword, but when the blade of the sword hit the shaft of the spear it rebounded to the floor and hit the other hobgoblin in the legs knocking him over. The mace flew from the hobgoblin’s hands and smashed into the wall next to Ginny, leaving a fist sized hole in the wall. While Neville was struggling to get back to his feet Ginny saw a small ray of light coming from the hole left by the mace. Without hesitation she moved closer to the hole and peeked through to the other side. It was the bathroom next door, and it looked empty. Just as she was about to turn and tell Neville, the room was filled with a haunting growl from the hallway.

Neville checked the hobgoblin in front of him across the chest with his spear and looked across the room to the doorway. The sickening sound of crunching bones caught the attention of the rest of the hobgoblins and everyone turned toward the smashed in door to the room. Watching the hallway, no one moved as the sound of claws scrapping against wood echoed down the steps. Ginny’s hands trembled as she pulled herself up just enough to see over the wall of bed frames and mattresses.

Slowly the blood-drenched snout of a large gray wolf moved down the steps from upstairs and stopped in front of the doorway. His eyes had rolled back in his head and were completely white. Arrows and the broken shaft of a spear pierced his chest and back, and the gray fur around his neck was stained red with blood. Dagnir, the leader of the hobgoblins, pushed his way towards the door.

Drawing his sword, he cursing in Goblin under his breath, “You! We already killed you. You want some more?”

Now completely berserk with rage and pain, Remus Lupin saw his prey and snarled, licking his bloody chops.

Pointing his sword at Lupin Dagnir barked out to his soldiers in a booming voice, “KILL HIM NOW!”

The hobgoblins charged just as Lupin leaped through the door into the advancing enemy. With his claws out and his teeth ready Lupin slashed and bit everything within range. Chopping and stabbing at the insane werewolf with their weapons, the hobgoblins fought desperately to stop him, but nothing worked. Their weapons inflicted no pain, only wounding the wolf, but as they fought the wounds closed before their eyes, healing at an amazing speed.

Transfixed by the horror in front of them, Ginny and Neville watched as Professor Lupin, now fully in his werewolf form, killed hobgoblin after hobgoblin. He bit off arms, ripped out throats, and cleaved their leather breastplates in two with his claws.

“Is. . . that . . . Professor Lupin?” Ginny squeaked out as she clung to Neville’s arm.

Neville tore his eyes away from the carnage. “Yeah—I think so,” he nodded, closing his eyes. “We have to get outta here fast, or we’re going to be next.”

Like a firecracker going off in her mind Ginny remembered the bathroom. She spun Neville around quickly and pointed her wand at the crumbling wall. “Reducto!”

The hole widened and the tiled floor of the bathroom could be clearly seen on the other side. “Come on, we’re leaving. Help me with Luna,” Ginny demanded. Neville nodded and they both pulled Luna to her feet. The hobgoblins didn’t even notice their actions; they had much bigger problems on their hands now.

~*~

AN: As always I would like to thank AnneU for taking the time to Beta for me, and from being a good friend. I’m sorry to say that there will be no update of chapter 10 until the beginning of May. My wife and I are going to England and Paris next week, and will return at the end of the month. Well happy reading and thanks again everyone.

Title: War Within a Breath

Author: Muddgutts

Rating: R

Ships: H/Hr

AN: Hello everyone, I’m sorry this chapter took forever to post, but with the London trip and the baby on the way things are crazy. I would like to point out one thing before we start. I’ve had a few reviewers that feel Harry is very weak in this story. I think that’s kind of unfair considering Harry hasn’t even had a chance to jump in the action yet. If you’ll only bear with me until the end I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Well enough of my babbling—on with the show.

Thanks AnneU hugs <3

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chapter 10

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Harry couldn’t help but think how stupid he must look at this moment—the so-called savior of the wizarding world, hogtied and lying in the wet grass trying desperately to face the street. He kicked his legs and flipped himself onto his side so he could watch Hermione and Bellatrix circling each other. Hermione had no problem side stepping the first spell Bellatrix cast at her, and now she mirrored Bellatrix’s movements, slowly circling sideways with her wand at the ready.

It was like watching a pair of gun fighters in an old muggle western movie. Each had her best poker face on waiting for the other to make the first move. After about thirty seconds — which felt like an hour — Bellatrix grew tired of waiting and attacked. With a sharp chopping motion of her wand Bellatrix threw a burst of small glowing white orbs at Hermione, who jumped out of the way quickly. As soon as Hermione’s feet hit the ground she spun on her heel and sent a stunner back at Bellatrix, who easily deflected it with a shield spell, but in the time it took to cast her protection charm Hermione dashed over towards the back end of the old BMW parked in the street and ducked behind it for cover.

“Oh you’re quick, I’ll give you that, but not very bright!” Bellatrix snorted as she waved her wand over the ground. Suddenly all of the broken bits of metal strewn across the ground from the BMW’s broken grille floated into the air, and then streaked down towards Hermione. Sucking in a deep breath Hermione leaped out of the way onto the lawn. The rogue shards of metal impacted on the trunk of the old BMW punching small holes right through the car into the street with amazing force. Picking herself up quickly Hermione noticed water and fuel starting to leak out of the car onto the street, and she got an idea.

Creeping forward again Hermione whispered a summoning charm. The petrol pooling on the pavement began to float through the air to the palm of her hand then swirled into a shimmering globe of amber in her hand. Gritting her teeth Hermione sprang up from behind the car and hurled the ball of petrol at Bellatrix. Noticing the approaching ball of liquid, Bellatrix again raised the shield spell in front of her as she advanced.

Smiling, Hermione leveled her wand at the flying ball of fuel and screamed, “Incendio!”

A blast of fire ripped from her wand and hit the ball of petrol as it flew towards Bellatrix, lighting the fuel in midair. A large cloud of fire swept pass Bellatrix’s shield spell, engulfing the Death Eater. The oily flames licked at her flesh and set her robes and hair ablaze. Bellatrix shrieked, whirling around as she tore the burning robes from her body, and then began dousing herself with water from her wand.

Edging around the car towards Harry, Hermione stopped for a moment. Smiling, she waved her wand towards the sky and then down to Bellatrix, summoning a blast of snow and sharp, frozen chunks of ice toward Bellatrix. The cold wind crystallized the water on Bellatrix’s skin, cracking her flesh and turning her hair into a tangled web of frozen ice. Shivering, Bellatrix dropped to her knees as her wand fell to the pavement.

Hermione dashed over to Harry and started pulling at the ropes around his body trying to free him. Harry lifted his head quickly and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Remind me never to piss you off, okay?”

Hermione smiled as she loosened the ropes a bit around his waist and said, “You think I’m mad now; wait till I get you back in the house.”

The smile dropped off Harry’s face quickly as he looked over Hermione’s shoulder and saw a dark figure blocking out the streetlight. “Look out!” he screamed, but it was too late.

Bellatrix grabbed Hermione by the shoulders, pulling her away from Harry. The Death Eater’s face was inches from Hermione’s ear, her icy breath on the girl’s neck as she spoke. “Ah-ah-ah! We’re not through yet, Mudblood! Now it’s my turn!”

~*~

Tonks appeared with a crack in the backyard of Number 12 Grimmauld Place and immediately had to dive for cover from incoming blasts as red and green spells filled the air from Moody and Nott’s duel. Taking cover behind the tree, Tonks called out to the aging former Auror, “Moody!”

Without turning around Moody spotted Tonks with his magical eye. “Took you long enough, Tonks. Where’s the rest of the Order?”

Tonks got to her feet and peeked out from behind the tree. “They’re on the way. Where are the kids?”

“Inside! They need help bad. Get to the second floor!”

“Right,” she replied and quickly looked the house over. A wall of thorns blocked the back door, but she did see the open window at the top of the house and her stomach dropped. ‘Oh my god . . . he’s loose.’ She didn’t know how or when Lupin had escaped his room, but he was on the loose now, and she knew that no matter what their friendship was in the daylight tonight she was the prey and he was the hunter. Tonks had no choice but to defend herself the only way she could. Reaching into the waistband of her jeans Tonks pulled out her handgun and released the clip with her thumb. The clip, loaded with standard lead ammo, fell into her hand and from inside her cloak she produced another clip that was filled with silver-tipped bullets. She tried to place that clip into the base of the handle to load the gun, but her hand was shaking and she couldn’t. Large pus-filled blisters were growing on her right hand, and her palm throbbed in pain.

“What the blazes are you waiting for? Get in there!” Moody screamed to her as he blocked another spell from Nott.

“Bullocks!” Tonks cursed, slapping the clip into the gun then jamming it into the front of her jeans. Taking her wand in her left hand Tonks apparated to the small roof outside of Lupin’s room. She edged towards the window, hugging the wall and listening for movement inside. Nothing. The room was as still as the grave, too still for her liking. Hesitating just a moment Tonks slowly crept in through the broken window, broken glass and wood crunching under her feet as she went. It was pitch black inside except for a bright patch of white light from the full moon shining through the window.

A faint bubbling sound echoed from the other side of the room, and Tonks started scanning the room with her now-glowing wand. The room was a wreck. Everything was smashed and the door to the room was broken outward into the hallway, where the floor was smeared with blood and the bodies of dismembered hobgoblins. There Tonks found the source of the strange bubbling noise—one hobgoblin who was still alive under the bodies his comrades, but only just. His chest had been ripped open by a fierce slash from a clawed hand, and blood bubbled out of the wound with every breath the hobgoblin took. Tonks pushed one of the corpses off him and inhaled a sharp breath. The werewolf curse had already started to consume him. His eyes were white and hair was starting to sprout from his face and neck. It wouldn’t be long before he was a raving animal lusting for the hunt. Tonks grimaced, drew her pistol and placed a silencing charm on the gun. Without so much as a second glance she placed two rounds of silver bullets in his chest and one in his head for good measure. Brass shell casings falling to the floor echoed off the ceiling as the hobgoblin stopped breathing.

Bloody paw prints trailed out through the smashed doorway into the hall. A cold chill ran down Tonks’ spine as she followed the trail to the landing in the hall. A few damaged stairway lamps no longer worked, leaving the stairs dim and dirty looking. Tonks’ steps were precise and gentle as she moved down to the third floor landing, not making a sound as she stopped a few steps before it. The rug outside the room was stained with dark dried blood and long gray feathers. Like the door to Lupin’s room, the door to Buckbeak’s room was smashed and broken, but outward this time.

Tonks flexed the fingers on her right hand sending a new wave of pain through her body. The flesh was charred and blistered from the fire at Diagon Alley. She thought of doing a bandaging charm on it but wasn’t sure she could wield her wand too well left-handed. So she gently took her already light wand from her left hand and switched it to her right. With her wand lit and her gun loaded with silver bullets Tonks quickly entered the doorway to Buckbeak’s room and scanned the area. She nearly gagged at the sea of dismembered bodies covering the floor. The stench of broken intestines hung in the air as Tonks scanned the remains for the teens and prayed she wasn’t too late.

~*~

Wasting no time after Tonks left, Kingsley whipped out a small scroll of parchment covered in complex runes and flattened it against the outside wall of Borgin & Burkes. He waved his wand over the parchment and its black letters turned fiery red for a second before the paper phased into the wood making the structure itself into an anti-Apparition charm.

Circling around to the front of the shop again Kingsley peered from the shadows through the dirty front window. Dolohov moved quickly through the store gathering objects of interest from the shelves. Once the sack in his hand was filled he placed it on the counter and drew his wand level in front of himself. His eyes glazed over and the tip of his wand glowed a soft yellow. Dolohov spoke in a low hoarse voice, but Kingsley was having a hard time placing the language. It sounded like ‘Northern Hill Giant,’ but the phrasing was backwards and broken; perhaps it was a regional dialect, but he didn’t know. At any rate it was clear to Kingsley that Dolohov was giving his final orders to the giant before leaving to follow Lucius Malfoy to find Bellatrix. Just as Kingsley was about to burst through the door of the shop and grab Dolohov, something odd happened.

Dolohov’s breath came fast and heavy from his lips, and his eyes flared bright in the shadowy darkness of the old shop. His wand hand faltered and dropped to his side and Dolohov cursed under his breath, “Not yet! There’s still more work to be done then he is yours, my pet, I promise.” His wand rose again into the air, its tip glowing fiery yellow again. As if pushing an unseen force to the side Dolohov thrust his wand forward and breathed a sigh of relief. His body swayed to the side and he caught his balance against the countertop, breathing heavily as his eyes returned to their natural color. After a moment he reached for his bag on the counter and raised his wand in front of him to apparate. His eyes screwed up in concentration, but nothing happened. Panic flooded through him as he quickly looked around the room, and his eyes fell on a dark figure standing in the doorway.

The dark silhouette of Kingsley strode through the shop, crossing the main sales floor quickly. Coming into the dim candle light he said, “Hello Dolohov, remember me?”

“Kingsley Shacklebolt—I was just . . .” Dolohov snarled at him, whipping the bag off the counter at Kingsley, aiming for his head. Kingsley deflected the bag with his forearm and in one mighty stride closed the gap between him and the Death Eater. Dolohov desperately tried to point his wand as he tried to cast his death curse at Kingsley, but the Auror was too fast for him and grabbed his wrist, forcing it down towards the floor. The green blast from his wand ripped the floor to pieces sending hunks of wood flying through the air.

“I don’t…”—Kingsley struggled to say as he lifted Dolohov into the air one handed and threw him over the counter top into the wall—“…think so!” As Dolohov hit the wall and slid to the ground his wand escaped him and rolled under the sarcophagus against the wall. Before he could even shake off the dizzy feeling in his head, Kingsley was on top of him, his large hands grabbing Dolohov by the throat and pulling him to his feet. Kingsley bound his hands together with a simple wave of his wand and then ‘Accio’ed’ Dolohov’s wand and stuck it in his pocket of his cloak.

Struggling against his bonds Dolohov yelled at Kingsley, “I know my rights! You can’t treat me like this!”

Kingsley slammed his captive against the doorframe on his way out of the shop and tightened his grip on the back of Dolohov’s neck.

“Rights!” Kingsley growled. “You have no rights! You’re a Death Eater, and you just tried to used an Unforgivable Curse on me!” Pushing Dolohov sharply against the wooden frame for good measure, he added, “That alone is ‘Life’ in Azkaban prison. So don’t give me any shite about rights. You’re going down this time for good.” With a firm hold on his prisoner Kingsley pulled Dolohov out into the street and Apparated them both to the Leaky Cauldron.

~*~

Bellatrix grabbed Hermione by the shoulders, pulling her away from Harry. The Death Eater’s face was inches from Hermione’s ear, her icy breath on the girl’s neck as she spoke. “Ah-ah-ah! We’re not through yet, Mudblood! Now it’s my turn!”

Before Hermione could pull her wand from her pocket she felt the harsh pull on her body of Apparition.

*POP!* *POP!* *POP!* *POP!*

Everything became a whirl of colors and shapes before her eyes as Bellatrix Apparated them both rapidly from one place to the next so quickly that Hermione could feel her stomach turning and her head spinning. With the last pop Hermione felt solid ground under her feet again and Bellatrix gave her a hard shove forward. Hermione’s legs betrayed her and she fell to the ground, desperately clutching the street and trying to make the world stop spinning before her eyes. Though her hands shook violently she still managed to pull her wand out from her pocket and get to her feet.

She could hear Bellatrix laughing as she circled her enjoying the moment fully, but it was the sound of another voice that brought Hermione out of her dizzying fog. Harry’s voice boomed loudly and her body reacted without question when he yelled to her, “Hermione! Protection spell NOW!” She cast her Protego spell in front of herself, and as a spell crashed hard against the shield it made her arms tingle. Her eyes focused again, she saw Bellatrix just a short distance in front of her with an angry smirk on her face.

~*~

Jumping over a small hedgerow into the front lawn Ron saw Harry still bound and lying on the grass next to the old BMW parked on the street. Trying to stay as low as possible, Ron moved quickly across the lawn to Harry’s side. Harry nearly jumped out of his skin when Ron placed a hand on his shoulder. “Shh! Harry, it’s me.”

Harry craned his head around and a wave of relief washed over his face. “You scared the hell out of me. Cut me loose.”

“Right, have you out in a tic, mate,” Ron said as he began cutting the ropes with a mild severing charm. “How’s Hermione doing?”

Harry turned his attention back to the street. “Not good. We have to get out there and help her quick. Hurry!”

“I’m trying!”

“Now come on, she needs us!”

“Just a few more cuts and you’re there.” Ron swiped his wand down the side of the ropes breaking the last few. Harry squirmed his way out and got to his feet drawing his wand, but froze in his tracks as he watched Bellatrix round on Hermione.

~*~

Hermione desperately tried to keep her wits about her as Bellatrix sent spell after spell at her. She dodged as many as she could and deflected the ones she couldn’t avoid, but Bellatrix was just too fast for her, Apparating from one location to the next, which made Hermione constantly turn and spin checking behind herself for the next spell blast. As a large blast of orange light bounced off Hermione’s shield, Bellatrix growled in frustration.

“Play time is over, dear. I’m no longer amused.”

With the same blinding speed Bellatrix Apparated right in front of Hermione and pulled her left hand out from a pouch on her belt. Raising her hand in front of her face, she blew into it, sending sparkling red and white flakes soaring from her palm and into Hermione’s eyes.

“AAAHHH!” Hermione screamed in pain as the sparkling dust got into her eyes, burning and eating away at her pupils. Falling to the ground, Hermione clutched her eyes, unable to stand the pain, then dropped her wand trying franticly to wipe the coarse powder from her eyes. The more she blinked the worse it got. It felt like a bucket of sand had been poured into her eyes. As the sound of footfalls thundered on the pavement towards her, Hermione’s hand searched franticly on the hard surface of the street for her wand.

~*~

For the second time that night, Harry watched as Hermione fell, stricken down by Bellatrix. Recalling the image of her crumpled form on the floor of the Department of Mysteries, he broke into a dead run toward her, slipping a bit on the damp grass as he went. Ron bolted into the street as well, but not to Hermione. Harry threw him a quick glance as they ran, and Ron snarled, drawing his wand. “Get her off the street!” he said quickly to Harry before he started hurling spells at Bellatrix.

Spotting Hermione’s wand a few feet in front of her, Harry swept in like a seasoned Seeker. He snatched the wand in one hand as he ran, placing it between his teeth, and scooped Hermione up off the ground. She struggled for a second then stopped and whimpered softly, throwing her arms around his neck, hanging on for dear life.

With a small hop Harry jumped over the curb and gently placed Hermione on the grass behind the BMW so she was away from the street. He ducked down behind the car as well and tried to speak to her in the best calming voice he could summon.

“Hermione, what did she do to you? Let me see your eyes.” He gently placed his hands on top of hers and pulled them away.

Grimacing, Harry cupped his hand over his mouth to keep from gasping, as he didn’t want to scare her anymore than she already was. The powder Bellatrix had blown in her eyes was acting like an acid-bath, burning her sight away. Hermione lifted her face towards him, her voice only a whisper as she said, “I’m sorry, Harry. Sorry—sorry I tried but she . . .”

Wrapping his arms around her softly Harry hugged her tightly and cooed into her ear, “Shh, it’s okay, you’re going to be fine. You were brilliant out there, honestly you’re so quick. Don’t worry, okay? Ron and I have this all wrapped up.”

He didn’t know if Hermione believed him, but she did trust him and she nodded, straightening up against the car. “Go on and help Ron. I’ll just wait here.” A sad smile broke on Harry’s face as he watched her try so hard to act tough and not cry out in pain. He wanted to stay with her, but he had to get back out and help Ron. As he stood to leave Hermione grabbed his hand in hers and sounded desperate as she said, “Please Harry . . . be careful—for me.”

Harry knelt down quickly and cupped her face. “I’ll be right back. I promise.” As tenderly as he could he placed a soft kiss on her lips, savoring the strange mix of spiced tea still lingering on her tongue from tonight’s dinner and the salty blend of dirt and blood on her lips. Releasing her he placed her wand in her hand and said, “If you hear anyone coming close to you that isn’t me or Ron, blast ‘em!”

She gave a quick nod and he dashed around the car, charging into the street headlong into the duel between Ron and Bellatrix. Something turned on inside of him when he saw Bellatrix in the middle of the street easily blocking Ron’s hexes. This was it. He had Bellatrix in his grasp and he knew it was now over never. He moved with purpose, gripping his wand tightly, for tonight he would face his godfather’s murderer. Tonight he would have his revenge!

Title: War Within a Breath

Author: Muddgutts

Rating: R

Ships: H/Hr

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Chapter 11

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The first thought that entered Kingsley’s mind when he apparated to the temporary command center if front of the Leaky Cauldron was Chaos. The narrowing alley was packed with people trying to leave Diagon Alley, but a pair of large Aurors blocked their exit. Everyone was being held for questioning. As Kingsley pushed his way through the sea of witches and wizards, people started to notice the Death Eaters’ mask around Dolohov’s neck. The word spread fast within the crowd, but it was only after a single women stopped in front of Kingsley and Dolohov that it got ugly.

The middle-aged witch’s face was stained with tears as she wrung the purses in her hands speaking directly to Dolohov. “You! You’re the cause of all this, aren’t you! Where are my babies?!” Bashing Dolohov’s helpless body with her purse she yelled at him, “What have you monsters done with my children?!”

The crowd rounded on Dolohov screaming and yelling for justice. Whether he did anything at all didn’t matter at this moment. He was a Death Eater and they had found their scapegoat, and he was going to pay. Soon anyone and everyone within arm’s reach started grabbing and punching Dolohov. With his hands tied behind his back and Kingsley using him like a snowplow there was nowhere to run. There was nothing Dolohov could do but hang his head to his chest and take the blows. Kingsley half-heartedly tried to tell the angry mob to stop, but they weren’t listening so he gave up and plowed forward to the command center.

When he was close enough to the entrance Kingsley signaled the guards blocking the exit for help with the crowd. The larger of the two men pulled his wand from his belt and started shooting sparks into the air as he pushed through the crowd towards Kingsley and Dolohov. Sparks had little effect on the crowd, but when the Auror started lifting people off their feet one-handed and moving them out of the way people started to clear a path.

The Auror pushed his way to Kingsley and grabbed Dolohov by the shoulders and flashed Kingsley a wide grin. “At least you didn’t come back empty handed.”

“What?” Kingsley yelled to the guard over the angry crowd. The guard either didn’t hear Kingsley or choose to ignore him as he pulled Dolohov through the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. Holding Dolohov tightly by the upper arms, the guards hauled him into the main room and pushed him down into a rickety wooden chair in the corner of the room. When Kingsley entered the tavern he saw Atticus Vagnose, the shift commander, hovering near a table in the center of the room, staring at a map of Diagon Alley.

Kingsley pushed his way to the table through the throngs of Aurors and stood at attention waiting for Atticus to set him at ease. Although he saw Kingsley standing there, Atticus was too wrapped in talking with the Ministry command center over his relay crystal to address the other Auror. “Say again, dispatch, you’re breaking up! Say again!”

The crystal in Atticus’s hand vibrated as the female dispatch officer’s voice spoke back to him much louder this time. “The Ministry is being flooded with reports of attacks all over England! Death Eaters have been spotted in Hogsmeade, and near the Stonehenge campus!”

Running his fingers through his hair in frustration Atticus replied, “Understood, dispatch. Notify all reservists through the Floo network to report for active duty immediately. Was there anything else?”

“No, but the reports keep coming in. We’re having a hard time keeping up here,” the woman’s voice added, almost as an afterthought.

“Just get those reservists ready to hit the streets, and try and find Fudge. We need his authorization to use the killing curse on the giant before this gets out of hand.”

“Understood, dispatch out.”

Atticus turned and stared at Kingsley standing at attention before him. Saluting him quickly, Atticus asked, “Shacklebolt, I see you’ve found someone. Who is he?”

Taking a more leisurely stance now, Kingsley removed Dolohov’s wand from his cloak and handed it over to Atticus. “This is Antonin Dolohov, low level Death Eater. Tonks and I found him and Lucius Malfoy inside of Borgin & Burkes second hand shop in Knockturn Alley. Lucius apparated away and Tonks is in pursuit. I captured Dolohov just as he was about to leave. He appeared to be the one controlling the giant, sir.”

Examining the wand in his hand Atticus ran his fingers over the surface. The edges were rough and unfinished, leaving the wand with a rushed unprofessional look. He tapped the wand in his palm as he walked over to the bruised and battered Death Eater tied to the chair and eyed him closely.

“Well, Mister Dolohov,” Atticus paused as he pulled a chair in front of the prisoner and took a seat. “Are we going to do this the easy way, or are we going to do this the real easy way?”

Dolohov raised his eyes just high enough to look Atticus in the eyes. “Piss off, PIG!” Sucking in the pooling blood from his mouth Dolohov spat on the floor and turned away.

Chuckling under his breath Atticus got to his feet, drew a small vial of clear liquid from his belt pouch, and motioned to the guards at his sides, “Hold his mouth open.” The guards at Dolohov sides yanked his head back by the hair and pinched his nose. When Dolohov couldn’t hold his breath anymore he opened his mouth, gasping for air. The guard to his left grabbed hold of his jaw and held it open as Dolohov tried to struggle free of their grip. Atticus slowly walked forward, unscrewing the cap of the clear liquid, and poured it down Dolohov’s throat. The guard holding Dolohov’s jaw snapped it shut and covering his mouth with his hand.

Retaking his seat in front of Dolohov Atticus waited a few minutes for the Veritaserum to take effect. Kingsley shifted in place for a moment hoping that his hunch was right and Dolohov had been the one controlling the giant. Dolohov’s body visibly relaxed and his head sagged to his chest for a moment as his breathing became steady again. Looking pleased Atticus edged closer in his chair then spoke in a clear commanding voice.

“Now Mister Dolohov, you’re going to tell me everything you know about Northern Hill Giants.”

~*~

As he ran, Harry slowed to a walk, moving to the edge of the street. Bellatrix cast one, two, three stunners in a row at Ron, who sprinted onto the lawn of Number 12 Grimmauld Place looking for cover. A cool sensation ran up and down Harry’s spine and he realized he wasn’t scared. No matter what was to happen in the future Harry embraced the fact that to win this war, to defeat these people who are his enemies, he would have to fight. He would have to kill them before they killed him and the people he loved. The words of the prophecy echoed in his head, but it wasn’t Dumbledore’s voice that spoke them. It was Hermione’s, and he remembered his promise to her. “Let’s make this quick. She needs me by her side right now . . . This one’s for you, Sirius.”

Harry swirled his wand rapidly, sending a Leg-Locker jinx skimming across the surface of the street at Bellatrix, who was focusing her attention on hitting Ron at the time. The jinx hit Bellatrix from behind right in the knees. She swayed for a second trying to regain her balance, then fell forward on her face. Rolling onto her back she looked behind her and saw Harry marching across the street towards her with a face like carved granite. There was no emotion in his eyes and his mouth was locked in a tight grimace. Her breath shuddered as she broke the Leg-Lock jinx and jumped to her feet.

“That’s the spirit boy,” she said, as she rolled her head around on her shoulders cracking her neck joints. “Come on, Potter, let’s see what you got.”

Ron stepped out from behind a tree in the center of the lawn. Without breaking eye contact with Bellatrix, Harry called out to him, “You all right there, Ron?”

Taking a few steps toward the street again Ron stopped and leveled his wand on Bellatrix. Digging his heels into the soft surface of the lawn he prepared to cast his spell. “Fine…let’s show this old hag how the DA duels.”

Turning so that Ron was on her left and Harry on her right, Bellatrix hung her head low and muttered a charm under her breath. Harry sidestepped quickly to the right and winged a Jelly-Legs jinx at Bellatrix. Ron’s feet dug in deeply to the ground as he sent the most powerful stunner he could summon at her. Without moving from her spot Bellatrix swiftly parried both spells with a shimmering protection charm glowing around her right hand. The way she sent spells flying away from her into the night sky made it look like she was playing tennis. Snarling, Ron sent a wave of stinging hexes toward Bellatrix, who made no attempt even to dodge the incoming spells. Just as the spells reached her she Disapparated then reappeared right behind Ron.

Harry called out to his friend, “Ron, move! Now!”

Hearing the loud crack of Bellatrix breaking into the ozone behind him, Ron spun around quickly to face her. She flashed him a wicked smile before pointing her wand right at his chest. “Expelliarmus!”

A blast of yellow and red light from Bellatrix’s wand covered Ron, sending him tumbling through the air. His body flipped and turned until it smashed into the tree in the center of the lawn face first. Ron slid slowly down the front of the tree until he hit the ground.

Laughing at her handiwork, Bellatrix didn’t see the shimmering wave of purple light from Harry’s Hiccup Jinx hit her from the side, knocking her off her feet. Lifting her bruised body off the ground Bellatrix started to hiccup uncontrollably, disrupting her ability to concentrate long enough to Apparate.

Turning, she saw Harry charging towards her and cringed at the look on his face. She’d seen the fire burning in his eyes only once before – in Voldemort’s eyes right before he was about to punish or kill someone. Her blood ran cold and she scrambled to get to her feet, but she wasn’t fast enough. Harry leaped toward her from the edge of the sidewalk over Ron’s unconscious body.

As he descended towards her, Bellatrix swung her wand around and screamed, “Expelliarmus!” Harry’s wand ripped from his fingers and sailed across the lawn, but the spell didn’t stop his advance. He grinned like a wild man as he landed with a bone-crunching thud on top of her chest. Bellatrix coughed up a wave of blood as she tried to push Harry away from her.

Eyes narrowed, Harry mumbled through clenched teeth, his fingers finding the pasty flesh of her throat. “I told—you! . . . would happen! . . . Hate you so . . . much, MURDER!” His eyes blazed wickedly as he whispered to her, “Now . . . you DIE!”

Then Harry’s fingers locked around her throat as he began to squeeze with every ounce of strength he had.

Though she tried to twist and push Harry away as best she could, Bellatrix couldn’t break his grip, and her eyes started to flutter closed as her head began to feel light. With very shaky hands Bellatrix raised her wand and, jamming it into Harry’s side, croaked through strangled breaths, “Cr. . .io . . .Crucio!”

~*~

Kingsley was having trouble keeping his mouth closed as Dolohov told the Aurors all about how he controlled the giant. He’d never heard of such a thing being done before. The use of the Namba beetle was illegal in Great Britain, and for good reason too. During the Second World War a group of dark wizards working for the Nazis tested these beetles on their own troops fighting in Russia. The results of those tests were less than satisfactory as a potential option for winning the war.

Dolohov’s eyes glazed over and his voice was low and showed no emotion. Atticus was becoming upset and started pacing back and forth in front of Dolohov, rubbing his temples in thought trying to think of a way to solve this crisis. After Dolohov had recounted his whole story to his captors Atticus sat back down in his chair in front of him.

“So you’ve shoved these infernal beetles into this over-grown behemoth, and now you’re saying you can no longer control it?”

“No, the beetles have multiplied now and have grown too strong. I was barely able to give them their final orders before I lost control.”

“Final orders?” Standing up suddenly Atticus knocked his chair over to the floor. “What orders? What did you tell him to do?”

The crystal around Atticus’s neck started humming loudly. Raising it to his mouth Atticus walked briskly to the table where the map of Diagon Alley. “Talk to me. Where’s the giant now?”

Above the loud sounds of the wind whipping by, a female voice yelled back at Atticus, “The giant has just reached Gringotts Bank, sir, and is attempting to break through the protection wards around the building.”

As Atticus tapped his wand to the Gringotts’ spot on the map, a small scene resembling a miniature version of the bank grew outward from the parchment. Next to it was a giant kicking and punching the shields protecting the bank.

The low monotone voice of the drugged Dolohov brought Atticus’s attention back to the prisoner tied to the chair.

“Lucius wanted to punish the Ministry for seizing his funds after it was known he was a Death Eater,” Dolohov said. “I told the giant to destroy Gringotts Bank.”

“Oh, you son of a . . .”

Atticus quickly looked over the map and started barking out orders to the Aurors within the room and over his com-crystal. “Kingsley, take everyone you can find and get them down there NOW! Hammer that big bastard with everything you got.”

Kingsley snapped to attention. “Yes, Sir!” With that he and every other Auror in the room rushed out into Diagon Alley.

Atticus stormed behind Kingsley still yelling into his crystal, “Flight groups Alpha and Bravo, get ready to make your attack run. I’m authorizing you to use the killing curse. Make sure to watch your background.”

The same female voice replied back to Atticus, “But sir, we need authorization from the Wizengamot before using an Unforgivable.” At this Atticus stopped in his tracks and look around quickly before he replied to her.

“Now you listen to me, sergeant,” Atticus said, pointing into the air towards the Auror flying in the clouds above him. “We don’t have time for Fudge and his bureaucratic red tape. We need to stop this thing now before the giant gets through the wards protecting the bank.”

“But Sir, I still need proper clearance or it’s my arse in the wringer.”

“Don’t you understand?! If he levels Gringotts the system will break down. Wizarding Britain’s economy would be in ruins for months as we dig out the vaults below. We don’t have a choice!”

Kingsley and two other Aurors stopped and waited beside Atticus.

“I’m sorry sir, but without proper authorization from the Minister of Magic or a member of the Wizengamot I cannot perform the order.”

Outside the backdoor of the Leaky Cauldron, Atticus kicked over a barrel and yelled, “Goddamnit!” Straitening his robes a bit he calmed himself and started walking out into Diagon Alley with Kingsley in tow.

“Dispatch?”

“M.O.M. dispatch here, go ahead.”

“Has there been any word from Fudge yet?”

“Negative, sir, his assistant said he took a sleeping draft tonight and isn’t to be disturbed.”

This stopped Atticus in his tracks again and he looked at the other Aurors around him in disbelief. “You’re having me on.” They all looked back and worth between each other with the same look of disgust on there faces. “Do you believe this wanker?”

“Pardon, sir? I didn’t catch your last?”

Atticus rubbed his neck as he started walking faster towards Gringotts Bank. “Never mind that dispatch. I want you to find Dumbledore and ask him to come here as soon as possible.”

The dispatch officer didn’t respond right away.

“Dispatch, is there a problem?”

“No, sir, but we have been told by Minister Fudge not to . . .”

Atticus spoke over the dispatcher’s voice, cutting hers off. He was furious and started screaming into the crystal around his neck. “I DON’T CARE WHAT FUDGE SAYS! We’re in a state of emergency down here, AND WHAT I SAY GOES! Is that clear?”

A small whimper was heard before she responded clearly, “Yes . . . yes sir.”

Sucking in a deep breath Atticus looked around at the people staring at him and started moving again. He cupped the crystal in his hand and spoke more softly. “I’m sorry about that, Nancy, but you don’t know what it’s like down here. We . . . I need you to find Dumbledore and please ask him to get here as quick as possible. Can you do that for me, please?”

“Yes, Lieutenant Vagnose, right away.”

“Nancy — call me Atticus.”

“Sure . . . Atticus.”

~*~

“Do you think he’s still out there?”

Neville placed the bloody sword down on the cool white tiles of the bathroom floor and took a seat next to Ginny on the edge of the tub. “I’m not sure. I thought I heard something moving in there before, but that was awhile ago.”

Leaning forward Ginny rested her elbows on her knees. A long sigh passed her lips as she stared at the floor. “Do you think he really would have killed us?”

Neville opened his mouth to reassure her that Professor Lupin would never harm any of them willingly, but he stopped and didn’t speak. Maybe Lupin would; there was no way to know what he was thinking when he was transformed by the power of the werewolf’s curse. When Neville didn’t respond to her question Ginny turned to face him, but she couldn’t find the words to describe the mixed emotions passing through her.

A deep frown crossed Neville’s face when he saw the confusion in her eyes. He slowly started rubbing his hand up and down her back as he tried to calm her with the most confident voice he could muster, “Don’t worry about it, Gin. I’m sure he’s not coming back. Besides I think if he was still after us he would have tried to get in here by now. Right?”

Ginny nodded as she pulled her shoulder-length red hair back behind her head, and tied it back with a elastic band from around her wrist. When her hair was tightly secured she turned and without warning placed a light kiss on Neville’s cheek. “Thank you, Neville. You were very brave in there.”

A deep red blush spread across Neville’s nose into his cheeks. He stammered for a moment before mustering the courage to reach out and cover her hand with his. “Um, ah thanks.” Ginny smiled and a small blush colored her cheek as well. She shifted her feet across the floor nervously as she pulled her eyes away from his.

The sound of heavy breathing from behind them caught their attention. After they had broken through the wall Luna had passed out from shock. The bathroom was too small to lay her on the floor comfortably, and they didn’t want to block the door in case any unwelcome guests came knocking. So Neville and Ginny had placed Luna gently in the tub so she could rest while they tried to figure out what to do next. Over the last five minutes her breathing had become erratic and she was mumbling in her sleep too. She was quiet for a minute, but when they turned to look at her she bolted upright in the tub and screamed at the top of her lungs, “RONALD!”

Before Ginny or Neville could calm Luna down a sudden bang from the bathroom door almost made them jump out of their skin. Shielding Luna, Neville and Ginny swung around pointing their wands at the door. The door swung outward quickly, and Neville and Ginny both sent stunners sailing through the door together.

“Woo! Hold your fire, it’s me!” a voice carried from the outside hallway.

Neville jumped to his feet and moved forward to the sink and looked out into the hall. “Tonks?”

Deep-pink spiky hair appeared from around the corner, and Tonks peeked into the room. “Neville, Ginny! Thank the gods you kids are okay.” Keeping her voice low Tonks entered the bathroom and moved towards the tub where Luna was still sitting upright but with a foggy confused look on her face. “What happened to her?”

Still standing by the door Neville looked quickly out into the hallway before answering Tonks. “She got hit by one of those hobgoblin swords.”

Moving up behind Tonks, Ginny knelt down by the tub and took Luna’s hand. “It’s pretty bad — her shoulder is cut down to the bone. She needs a doctor.” Tonks didn’t need to hear anymore. She reached down in to the tub and lifted Luna out; with Ginny’s help they got her to her feet and started moving towards the door.

Tonks motioned to Neville to get the door. He swung it open again and moved out on to the landing. Tonks whispered to Ginny over Luna’s shoulder, “Where are Harry, Hermione, and Ron?” Ginny didn’t answer but just shook her head. Luna continued to mumble Ron’s name under her breath as she faded in and out of consciousness.

“I think they went down stairs,” Neville said softly as he crept down the steps one at a time. He hugged the wall with his wand pointed out in front of him, watching the ground floor hallway below them. He knew there was still a good chance of running into more hobgoblins and he was ready for them this time.

Right before Neville hit the last step Tonks made a soft clucking sound with her tongue, catching his attention. Neville turned and saw Tonks motioning with her eyes toward Luna. She mouthed silently, “What are you doing? Get your narrow arse over here!” Rolling his eyes, Neville slipped back up the stairs and changed places with Tonks. He propped Luna’s arm around his shoulder and gave Ginny a quick smile before they started moving again.

Tonks swept down the stairs, quietly scanning for movement in the shadows with her wand and pistol ready. As she stepped down into the front hallway something in the kitchen caught her eye. Holding one finger to her lips Tonks motioned for Neville, Ginny and Luna to come down quietly. Without removing her eyes from the partially open kitchen door Tonks motioned for the teens to keep moving out the front door behind her. As gently as possible Neville and Ginny helped Luna to the front door, which was swinging open and closed in the hot evening breeze. Neville craned his head around and saw a pair of dark green hobgoblin legs sticking out of the kitchen doorway. The pair of hobgoblin feet lay motionless for a moment before they were pulled into the kitchen, causing the door to swing open a bit before closing. A low rumbling sound came from inside the kitchen and Tonks started to back up slowly towards the front door.

Propping the front door open with his foot, Neville beckoned Tonks to hurry up so they could leave. When the door didn’t open again Tonks relaxed a bit, but just as she turned to retreat out the door her foot got caught on the overturned coat rack strewn across the floor. She slammed to the floor with a loud ‘Uhff!’ Ginny’s heart jumped into her throat as the kitchen door swung open again, smashing into the wall. A pair of bright yellow eyes flashed in the shadows of the kitchen through the doorway and a throaty growl broke the silence.

Tonks scurried backwards quickly as the werewolf form of Remus Lupin emerged from the darkness into the hallway. His snout was drenched in blood and his jaws continued to crunch on a rib bone in his mouth. Once Tonks had regained her footing she made a break for the door yelling to the teens, “go-gO-GO!”

With one strong tug on Luna, Neville pulled her and Ginny off the front stoop into the bushes around the house. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Tonks bounded out the front door and turned. The end of her pistol flared, lighting the night around them as she showered the hallway in a hail of silver bullets.

~*~

Bellatrix tried to twist and push Harry away as best she could, but she couldn’t break his grip, and her eyes started to flutter closed as her head started to feel light. With very shaky hands Bellatrix raised her wand and jammed it into Harry’s side, and croaked through strangled breaths her curse, “Cr. . .io . . .Crucio!”

Hot, intense pain coursed through every inch of Harry’s body. His toes curled and his vision faded away, but he never released his grip on her throat. In fact as the pain mounted his grip tightened, squeezing Bellatrix’s precious life giving breath from her body. Just when he thought he would go mad from the pain it stopped. He gasped for breath and an intense lingering pain stung him from his rib cage where her wand was touching him.

He heard Bellatrix’s wand fall to the ground and his vision slowly started to return to him. Bellatrix’s eyes were almost popping out of her head now as she feebly pawed at his hands around her neck. Harry watched in awe as her eyes closed slowly, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her breath slowed and became shallow.

Releasing his grip quickly Harry looked down at his hands in amazement. He pushed himself off of her, standing up on weakened knees. “I did this! I almost killed her with my bare hands!” he thought as he stumbled across the lawn and retrieved his wand from the grass. “I really am a killer . . . I’m no better than she is.” A part of his mind refused to believe that last statement. Reasoning that this was only an intense emotional reaction to pain inflicted on him and his friends by this woman, he tried to justify his actions. “It must be,” he thought.

But a small voice in the back of his head spoke to him in an eerie voice that sounded like Voldemort’s, “You are a killer! Just like me. That’s why I choose you. We are the same.”

Harry focused his thoughts and raised his inner defenses shielding his mind. “No! I’m nothing like you! I’ll never believe you!”

He waited for a moment, but the voice was gone now. He looked down at Bellatrix, who was just starting to move slowly now. She ran her hands gingerly across her bruised throat as a soft whimper crossed her lips, which had turned slightly purple from blood loss. Stopping above her, Harry held his wand high, ready to cast the death curse at her. He could finish it right here, right now, and be done with her forever. But he hesitated, chewing his lip in thought. “Can I do it? Can I take another person’s life? Who am I to say who lives and dies?”

Inside Harry knew he could kill her if he wanted to. If it were Voldemort lying there on the ground at death’s door he would do it. But it wasn’t and he was lost. He didn’t know what to do. This was a door he did not want to pass through yet. Harry lowered his wand and resolved not to become what he knew one day he would have to be to end this war. But now he knew he could step through that doorway when the time was right.

“Bravo, bravo, Mister Potter.” Lucius Malfoy’s voice drew his attention away from Bellatrix to the old broken BMW where Hermione was hiding. “How does it feel to play God?”

Harry shut his eyes tightly and his nostrils flared as he cursed under his breath. With his wand pointed at Bellatrix Harry turned slowly, confirming his worst fears. Lucius Malfoy was leaning against the hood of the BMW with his wand drawn, but it wasn’t pointed at him – it was pointed at Hermione, who was bound in magical ropes and lay in the street in front of Lucius.

“Let her go, Malfoy,” Harry demanded, pointing his wand toward Bellatrix. “Or she dies!”

Stepping away from the car Lucius moved closer to Hermione. “Now, now, Potter we wouldn’t want to do anything rash.” With the tip of his wand Lucius gently moved a few strands of hair away from Hermione’s face, bringing her damaged eyes into the light of the moon. “We wouldn’t want to delay getting your little friend here the care she so desperately needs, now would we?” Hermione moved her head away from Malfoy’s touch as she tried to shuffle away, but Lucius placed a hand on her shoulder, restraining her.

A fire was burning a hole in Harry’s stomach for he wanted badly to smash Malfoy’s ugly cane over his head, but he couldn’t with Malfoy holding Hermione hostage. “What do you want? Take me instead and let her go,” he hissed at the older man.

“Harry, don’t!” Hermione screamed as she turned her head to the sound of Harry’s voice.

Malfoy was beaming at him now. “Ah Mr. Potter, always the martyr.” He smiled and made a large sweeping motion with his hands. “D’accord, Potter.”

“What?”

“An agreement, Potter. A contract if you will.” Lucius lifted Hermione to her feet and held her at arms’ length in front of him as he spoke. “A straight trade. Your little Mu—friend here for Bellatrix.”

Eyeing Malfoy closely Harry tried to detect any signs of falsehood in his tone. “That’s it? You’re just going to let us walk away from here without a fight?”

Lucius nodded slowly in agreement, his eyes meeting Harry’s when he spoke. “That’s right. I give you my word as a gentleman. I will not raise my wand against you for the remainder of the summer, Potter. Consider it a birthday gift if you like.”

“Why?”

Venom flashed in Malfoy’s eyes as he stared at Bellatrix’s broke form on grass. “You’re not the only one with a score to settle here tonight. Give her to me, boy, and I will finish what you’ve started.”

Harry couldn’t grasp what he was hearing, but he had no other choice. Hermione needed to see a doctor quickly, and there was no time to lose. “How do I know I can trust you?”

The question caused Malfoy to stand up straighter. As he turned his head slightly towards the night sky, his voice assumed a lofty aristocratic tone. “Unlike some people, Potter”— his gaze flicked between Harry and Bellatrix — “I still believe in honor. I may be evil in your eyes, but I’ve never broken my word once I give it.”

“Yeah right!” Harry snorted. “You’re going to have to do better than that.”

Lucius impatiently flicked a lock of Hermione’s hair with his wand as his eyes narrowed on something behind Harry. The sound of the front door of Grimmauld Place opening caught Harry’s attention. Very quickly he turned and saw Neville, Luna, and Ginny coming outside.

Lucius spoke a clear commanding tone to Harry now. “Our time here has come to an end, Mr. Potter. Do we have a deal or not?”

As the sound of gunshots from the house rang through the night, Harry flinched automatically. “Yes! Yes, we have a deal. Now hurry!”

Malfoy removed his hand from Hermione’s shoulder and Apparated next to Bellatrix. Taking hold of Bellatrix’s hand, he looked up at Harry as he bounded across the street to Hermione and caught her in his arms. As he snuggled his face in Hermione’s hair, Harry heard Malfoy’s voice over his shoulder, “We’ll meet again, Potter.”

Then the sound of Malfoy and Bellatrix leaving broke Harry’s hug. “Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you did he?”

Hermione shook her head ‘No’ as Harry began removing the ropes around her with his wand. Once the ropes were gone Harry took her right hand in his left. “Come on, they need our help.”

~*~

AN: Thank you all for waiting so very long for this chapter. I’m sure I lost a few readers because of this, but it couldn’t be helped. I only wanted to give you the best chapter possible. Plus I really tried to keep Harry and others in character too. Thank you all for reading.

Title: War Within a Breath

Author: Muddgutts

Rating: R

Ships: H/Hr

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chapter 12

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Aurors swarmed in from all directions towards the rampaging giant, popping up on every inch of rooftop and alleyway that wasn’t smashed to pieces by the rampaging giant as he closed in on Gringotts bank. By the time Kingsley and Atticus reached the edge of the battle the night sky was glowing with spells ricocheting in every direction off of the giant's skin. The Aurors of squad six started raining down waves of freezing cold wind at the beast, while squads 3 and 12 began summoning bright bolts of lighting from the heavens.

The giant's outer fur vest froze and shattered into pieces from the chilling winds, but that didn’t slow him down in the least. Reaching behind himself, he ripped the roof off a nearby store one handed. He was raising the rooftop above his head to smash it against the defensive shields around Gringotts when the lighting hit. Four bolts arched through the clouds and joined when they connected at his raised arms. His body convulsed momentarily, causing the section of rooftop to drop from his hands and crash into the middle of the street sending Aurors running for cover.

Kingsley’s relay crystal hummed loudly over the noise of the battle, “Flight team BRAVO coming in on attack run! Clear the area!” Atticus spun around quickly looking to the heavens, and there just above the clouds four Aurors on high-speed brooms streaked through the night in a V formation. Hugging their brooms tightly one-handed and aiming with the other they broke from the clouds towards the giant.

“INCOMING! Take cover!” Atticus screamed to the clusters of Aurors attacking the giant. Everyone within the path of the approaching flight teams apparated back about 20 feet as the flying Aurors broke through the large wafting clouds of black smoke filling the air from burning buildings.

Just as Bravo team was on their final approach the giant turned to face them. His fists balled, and his whole body tensed when he gave off a booming roar that echoed down Diagon Alley. In perfect unison Bravo team sent four shimmering globes of magical energy down towards the giants feet. He stepped back a bit, but when the spells hit the ground around him they burst open like four enormous water balloons. But there was no water inside of this spell — It was more like giant balls of glue that splattered all around the giant’s legs and onto the buildings to his sides. The giant screwed up his eyes as he looked down at his legs. He tried to pull his feet free of the sticky mess, but the more he moved the tighter the glue gripped him.

The Aurors in the area started hooting and hollering in approval as they watched the giant struggle. A large grin spread across Kingsley’s face as Atticus congratulated Bravo team over his relay crystal. “Great work Bravo team! He’s not going anywhere now.”

Snapping to attention Kingsley turned to Atticus and asked, “Sir, with your permission I’d like to go and see to my partner.” Atticus watched the flight groups swing around for another pass on the giant before he turned to face Kingsley. Atticus wasn’t a short man, but Kingsley was at least a full head taller then himself so he had to look up when speaking to him.

“Permission granted, Shacklebolt. Take a few men with you as well. Just to be sure.” After a sharp salute Kingsley turned to leave when Atticus called out to him, “Oh and Shacklebolt, remember the muggles this time. I don’t want to read about it in the papers. Make sure no one remembers a thing if they see you. Got it?”

“Yes sir, understood.”

~*~

The sound of her heart pounding against her ribcage blocked all other sounds for Tonks as she sprinted towards the open front door. She could feel Lupin’s teeth closing in on her as she took the last few strides to the porch in a bounce. She leaped from the porch spinning 180º in the air raising her gun at the werewolf that was Remus Lupin. Tears ran down her cheek as she whispered, “I’m sorry . . .” Tonks rapidly yanked back the pistol's trigger, emptying the clip at the advancing werewolf.

Lupin snarled as he sprang off the walls and floor and continued to chase his prey through a hailstorm of silver bullets zipping past him down the hallway. One bullet pierced the thigh of his back left leg going clear through the other side, and he yelped in pain as he landed on the grass outside the front door of Grimmauld place. Displaying a certain amount of preprogrammed grace Tonks tucked and rolled onto her feet again when she hit the lawn.

With Hermione still in tow behind him Harry moved quickly over to the tree where Ron lay unconscious and stepped in front of him. Lupin showed no sign of stopping his rampage; a second silver bullet hit him and passed right through him, but the wound didn’t heal this time. Furiously he turned on Neville and Ginny as they struggled to get Luna to her feet again. Using a banishing charm Harry knocked Lupin off his feet, sending him flying through the air and slamming the wolf into the side of the old gray house.

Tonks choked back a sob, her arms trembling as she took aim at Lupin with her pistol. “Get out of there quick!” she screamed to Neville and the others.

Harry’s eyes went wide and he jumped in front of Tonks blocking her from Lupin, “NO! Don’t shoot!” Tonks grabbed Harry by his forearm and was about to push him out of the way, but a calm soothing touch on her right shoulder made her pause.

“There’s no need for that, Nymphadora,” a soft voice said from behind her.

Her voice was so breathless as she turned and saw the smile on the headmaster's face, “Dumbledore . . .” With a twinkle in his eye Dumbledore floated past her to Harry who was still holding Hermione’s hand tightly. The headmaster leaned forward a bit as he spoke to Harry. “I believe your Patronus will be very helpful about now, don’t you think, Harry?”

Dumbledore’s statement started a flood of images and thoughts racing through Harry's mind, and it all clicked. “Sirius, Lupin, Dad . . . Stag . . . friend!” Hermione could almost feel Harry focusing the happy thoughts inward as his hand tightened around hers. Resting her head against his shoulder, she hugged his arm as he raised his wand and shouted, “Expecto Patronum.”

A great silvery stag sprang forth from the tip of his wand onto the lawn of number twelve Grimmauld Place. It stood majestically between Lupin and the others, shimmering in the light of the moon and catching Lupin’s attention fully.

Wisps of silver light floated from the stag’s body like fireflies in the night. Lupin hung his head low to the ground as he approached, whimpering softly. When he was close enough Lupin raised his snout towards the stag, but there was no scent. This was not his friend! Eyes narrowing, teeth flashing, he turned back to the group of people watching from behind the stag and leapt at them. His paws never reached the ground as his body was thrown into convulsions by the magic coming out of Dumbledore’s wand.

Before anyone even noticed he was gone, Dumbledore had moved across the lawn and cast a Homorphus charm on Remus Lupin. The power of the charm surged through Lupin’s body sending tingles from his nose all the way down to his tail. Harry was astonished as Lupin began to revert back into his human form before their eyes. Placing her pistol back in the waist of her jeans, Tonks started to unhook the clasp on her cloak. Behind Dumbledore, Neville and Ginny moved cautiously out from the bushes on to the lawn.

All the fur on Lupin’s body disappeared, his paws grew fingers again, and his long bony snout returned to the shape of a normal human face. The light from Dumbledore’s wand faded as the magic stopped, leaving a naked, unconscious Remus Lupin lying in the grass. Tonks swooped in quickly and covered him with her cloak. As she wrapped it around him she couldn’t help but stare at the multitude of scars on his body. His chest and back were covered in long jagged scars from scratching himself. She now knew why he always wore a jacket or a jumper even in the summer. The sleeves covered deep bite makes up and down his arms too.

Everyone gathered around Tonks and Remus and looked to Dumbledore. Harry could see the same look of concern in his eyes he’d seen so many times before. His long white beard danced as he spoke. “Tonks I wonder if you would be so kind as to take Remus to St. Mungo’s Hospital. I think they might want to have a look at his leg.” Guilt burned in Tonks' cheeks before she gave a simple nod and apparated away with Lupin in her arms.

All around the group Aurors started apparating onto the lawn of number twelve Grimmauld Place. With wands drawn they started spreading towards the other houses on the street. Harry could hear a few shouts of fear as they knocked open the front door to number eleven, but it all stopped when he heard the Auror say, “Obliviate!” When he looked around to the other houses the same scene played out on every front porch of every house on the block. Whatever the Muggle residents had seen was gone, wiped away with the stroke of a wand. They would never remember this hot summer night when six teenagers stood against the edge of night, or how close the shadows had come to consuming them all.

Pressing her weight more onto Harry, Hermione started to tremble a bit until he wrapped his arms fully around her, supporting them both. She spoke softly with her face still pressed against his shirt. “Harry?”

Harry nuzzled her hair closer to her ear and held her tight. “It’s okay, Hermione, we’re leaving soon. Just lean on me.” Her trembling slowed a bit as she threaded her hands together behind his back. “I’ll never let you go, ever,” he said kissing the top of her head.

~*~

Before Kingsley Shacklebolt and the other Aurors had finished cleaning up the mess in and around Grimmauld place, Dumbledore had portkeyed the teens away to the Hogwarts infirmary. Madam Pomfrey moved through the hospital wing at great speed still wrapped in her dressing gown, getting the teens properly into beds and mending wounds. Neville's and Ginny’s wounds were quickly treated and they were sent to bed while the school nurse worked on Luna and Hermione with the utmost care. Ron lay in the bed next to Hermione. He looked like he was sleeping, but other than the big red bruise on his face, he didn’t look like he was in much pain. Harry insisted upon staying with Hermione and Ron, but Madam Pomfrey wouldn’t hear of it and tossed him out past the large wooden doors saying he could return in a few hours.

Harry was beside himself with worry as he paced back and forth in front of the hospital wing doors, eventually losing track of time. When Professor Dumbledore finally exited sometime later, Harry nearly threw himself at the headmaster, speaking rapidly. “Professor! How’s Hermione? Is she going to be all right? I mean, will her eyes be all right? And Ron? He wasn’t moving when I left. He’s not seriously hurt is he?”

Dumbledore smiled at Harry over his half-moon glasses and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder to calm him. “Fine. They’re all going to be fine, Harry. Relax.”

Breathing a sigh of relief Harry closed his eyes closed momentarily before started talking again, “So Hermione will be able to see again?”

Leading Harry down the long hallway into Hogwarts, Dumbledore reassured Harry again, “Poppy has convinced me she has everything well in hand. She has a full batch of Optical-Grow on hand and she’s sure Miss Granger will be better than ever in a few days. Mr. Weasley has a minor concussion, but should wake very soon.”

“And Luna?”

Dumbledore averted his eyes to the floor as they walked. “Ms. Lovegood was poisoned from the cut to her left shoulder, but she will recover swiftly. She is a very strong girl, but I fear she will be taking some of Madame Pomfrey’s more unpleasant tasting remedies for the next few days.”

Harry stopped abruptly. “Professor, how did they find us? How could they get into Grimmauld Place like that? You said it was unplottable. That no one but people within the Order could get in? What went wrong this time?” His voice was accusatory and cold as he stared at the headmaster.

Dumbledore sighed and shook his head slowly. “Harry, you must understand magic is not a guaranteed art. There are many tricks and loopholes built into many spells. Some practitioners lace their spells with back door clauses in case their charms are used against them.” Harry continued to watch him with curious eyes as they began to walk again. “The Black family placed the original charms on the house to make it unplottable. So I can only assume that Mrs. Lestrange discovered a way around the charms I had placed on top of the house.”

“I see,” Harry said softly, feeling very small next to Dumbledore, and was reminded of just how much he still had to learn from this great man. They walked for a while in silence until they reached the double doors of the Great Hall. “Does this mean we can never go back there now?”

“Well, not for some time at least. Just to be safe I would like to reconstruct the wards around the house and place a few new ones as well before we return,” Dumbledore smiled at Harry. “But you will return there one day.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Harry said as his mind started to replay the night’s events again, but more slowly this time. He had so many questions to ask he didn’t know where to start.

“Now go and rest for a bit, Harry,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “We’ll have time to talk later. You and your friends will stay here at Hogwarts for the next two days before you leave.”

“What? We have to move again? Why can’t we just stay here on the grounds?” Harry yelled, surprise in his voice.

Dumbledore continued to stare at Harry, unmoved by the teen’s outburst of emotion, “I’m sorry, Harry, but many members of the staff are away on missions for the Order. We all have our part to play in this war, Harry. It just wouldn’t be wise to leave you here by yourselves.” Harry sighed dejectedly, leaning against the wall. “Don’t worry, Harry. I’ve arranged for all of you to spend the rest of the summer at the Weasleys’. The Order has placed several protection charms around their home, and I have increased the Order detachment protecting you.”

The prospect of sending the rest of the summer with the Weasleys’ lifted Harry’s spirits a bit, but before he could get too excited about his good fortune, Dumbledore spoke softly to him with piercing eyes. “I have one last question before you leave Harry.” Harry started to wipe his palms nervously on his jeans. “At any time during tonight did Voldemort try and make contact with you mentally?”

“You are a killer! Just like me.”

“Murderer!”

“We are the same.”

“That’s why I chose YOU!”

Head spinning, Harry lost his balance and stumbled backwards, hitting the wall. Dumbledore placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder, steadying him. When Harry’s balance returned he sheepishly returned the headmaster’s gaze, and when their eyes met it was like a shooting star coursing through his mind. He could feel Dumbledore probing his memories of the events of the past few days. The search was gentle and slow, unlike Snape’s attempts to read his mind, but when Dumbledore starting getting close to his memories of kissing Hermione Harry’s mind closed like a vault, forcing Dumbledore out.

Removing his hand Dumbledore stepped back a bit as a smile grew on his face. A small pulsing pain grew in Harry’s temples as he stood up straight again, staring daggers at the headmaster.

Dumbledore nodded slowly as the twinkle returned to his eyes. “Impressive, Harry. You completely locked me out of your mind when I reached something you consider . . . private. Yes?” Harry frowned, but nodded yes. “I think it’s time I took it upon myself to instruct you from now on in Occlumency.”

Dumbledore continued to ramble on about mental discipline and such, but Harry’s mind kept tripping over the fact that Dumbledore must have seen what he’d done tonight. Suddenly feeling very ashamed of himself Harry drew his clock around himself as if the act alone would mask the fact that he was only inches away from killing Bellatrix tonight.

As if he sensed Harry’s uneasiness Dumbledore gave him a reassuring smile and patted him on the shoulder. “Go on now, Harry. Get some sleep and we will talk more after dinner tonight. I’m sure you want to get back to the hospital wing later when Poppy is allowing visitors again.” Harry could only nod in agreement before taking his leave.

~*~

Like breaking two pieces of stale bread, Bellatrix opened her tear-crusted eyes to a dimly lit room that smelled of moldy cabbage and sweaty gym shorts combined. Scrunching up her nose Bellatrix looked around in disgust. The room was small and dark with only a single oil lamp near the door and no windows or vents of any kind. Long iron pipes rusting at the joints lined the ceilings from one end of the room to the other. They leaked water down the walls, causing them to blister and warp.

When she tried to move her arms Bellatrix could feel the ropes tighten around her body. That’s when she noticed that her arms and legs were bound to an old wooden chair which was part of a set. Two other chairs sat off in the corner of the room next to an equally old wooden table, at which a man sat with his back to her eating. He had long blond hair tied in a ponytail that ran down the center of his back over his pitch-black robes.

Bellatrix knew right away who it was. It had to be him. He always seemed to have a craving for fish and chips after a mission. Something about the malted vinegar combined with sea salt calmed his nerves. Forcing the word from her bruised larynx Bellatrix’s voice was raspy and dry. “Lucius!”

From the shadows near the door, a man she hadn’t seen before stirred then moved into the light. Withdrawing his arms from the sleeves of his cloak Severus Snape moved forward.

“She’s awake.”

Wiping his mouth dry Lucius Malfoy rose from his chair and faced Bellatrix. He tossed the napkin to the table as a smirk grew on his face.

“Ah, see Severus. I told you she would be fine. No need for fancy potions to bring this one around. She’s a grade A bitch. Tough as nails, and as dumb as a stump!”

“What’s going on here, Malfoy?” Bellatrix’s eyes flicked between the two men closing in on her. “When the master hears of this you’re dead! You hear me — DEAD!”

Her words did little to persuade Lucius as he examined his fingernails, totally ignoring her. “Oh that’s where you wrong, my dear. The master will never know of this little . . .” — he paused thinking of the proper words — “Interlude, if you will.”

“You see, my trusty friend Severus here is very handy with memory charms. Did you know that?” Lucius smiled brightly and Snape gave her a courteous little bow. “I’ve had him watching you for some time now.” Bellatrix stared daggers at Snape that would make a lesser man cringe in fear, but Snape displayed no emotion to her anger. “Oh yes, I know all about how you’ve been worming your way into the Dark Lord’s favor, all the while poisoning my reputation behind my back.”

“Bullshit! I’ve never done anything of the kind!” Bellatrix cried. “He’s lying to you, Lucius.”

Moving closer Malfoy screamed at her inches from her face. “SILENCE! I know everything about how you wanted to regain your place as his number one soldier ever since you got out of Azkaban! Don’t play me for a fool!”

Snape withdrew his wand from his robes and stopped in front of her. “Shall I proceed?”

“What are you doing? No, don’t!” Bellatrix’s voice rose as panic boiled inside her heart. “Wait please, Lucius, wait—I could go away. I promise I, I could help you. Whatever you want . . .”

Standing up straight again Lucius flattened the folds of his robes and casually walked back to the table where his food awaited him. With his back turned to Bellatrix he gave the order, “Do it.”

Snape leveled his eyes with Bellatrix’s as a chill ran down her spine. With his wand raised Snape began to probe her mind, sifting through useless thoughts, pushing deeper and deeper into her mind. Beyond her time in Azkaban prison. Past her first meeting ever with the Dark Lord to her childhood, where her knowledge of the home on Grimmauld Place lay and how to find it. Unknown to Malfoy this was Severus’s top priority — the removal of all knowledge that could lead the Death Eaters back to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Once the memory was removed and destroyed Snape modified the rest of her memory of the night’s events.

Bellatrix would now have no knowledge of Lucius’s arrival at Grimmauld Place or anything that happened afterward. She slumped back in the chair, suddenly feeling very tired, but had no idea why or even where she was for that matter. Satisfied with his work Snape probed Bellatrix’s mind quickly for any signs that it had been tampered with, and when he didn’t find anything he turned back to Malfoy with a grin. “It’s done. She’ll never remember seeing us tonight.”

Lucius paced back and forth across the room, eyeing Bellatrix as she faded in and out of consciousness. “How far back did you go? Will she remember the details of her plans tonight?” Lucius asked, quickly fingering his wand.

“Yes, she will remember everything up to the point when Potter started to strangle her. I’ve removed all her memories after that point,” Snape answered slowly as if he was talking to a small child.

The potion master’s sarcasm wasn’t lost on Malfoy who turned on him suddenly as he spoke through clenched teeth. “Don’t think you can speak to me in that tone, Severus. Just because the Dark Lord depends on your potion-making skills does not mean I need you in the same fashion.” His fingers gripped the end of his wand as he locked eyes with Snape. “Now get back in there and remove it all.”

“All of what?” Snape’s voice was low and drawn out. “How much further do you want me to go?”

“EVERYTHING!” Malfoy spun around and blasted a large hole in the wall with a flick of his wand. “I want it all gone! ALL OF IT! I want you to completely wipe her mind blank!”

Snape stood his ground amid Malfoy’s fury, trying to reason with him. “You can’t do that! She’ll be a vegetable like Lockhart if you do that.”

“I don’t care! That’s the least I should do. I should kill her for what she’s tried to do tonight.” Malfoy’s eyes flashed with intense hatred as he screamed. “If it wasn’t for your little note I would be dead right now, or at the very least in prison because of her fucked-up plan.”

“No,” Snape replied, not moving from his spot. “I won’t be part to this. She means too much to the Master. If he finds out we’re as good as dead.”

Malfoy chuckled, shaking his head. “We’re already in too deep. There’s no going back now Severus. We have to guarantee that she can never get in our way again.” He paused for a second, waiting to see what the potions master would do. When Snape didn’t make a move Malfoy became madder and stomped across the room drawing his wand.

“NO! WAIT!”

“OBLIVIATE!”

~*~

The Burrow

Three days later

The midday sun scorched the grass and baked the reddish clay dirt around the pond. Close to the eastern shore a cluster of large oak trees hugged the pond, their lush branches reaching out over the water and shading a large patch of land underneath. This had become the spot where Harry took Hermione to read every day since they had arrived at the Borrow. An old tire swing swung in the breeze. Its rope was frayed and the rubber treads where old and cracked, but it still worked. Harry smiled remembering the first summer he had ever spent at Ron’s house. He remembered how they would run down the hill from the side of the Borrow and launch themselves onto that old tire-swing out over the lake. A small sigh passed his lips as he wondered if life could ever be that carefree again.

Hermione stirred from her position, turning towards him. Her eyes were still covered with a thin gauze bandage protecting them during the long process of re-growth. Madam Pomfrey had Hermione taking four different potions three times a day for the last three days, and wouldn’t remove her bandages until the next night. Hermione tightened her grip on Harry’s knee waking him from his daydream.

“Harry? Why did you stop?”

Coming back to the here and now, Harry repositioned the book on his lap. “Huh? Oh sorry where was I?” His fingers trailed down the page before him finding his spot on the page. Harry continued the tale of how the Fellowship of the Ring escaped the Mines of Moria as Hermione leaned against him. She snuggled up against him resting her head on his chest as he read aloud to her. It wasn’t long after leaving the hospital wing that Hermione started to go mad with boredom after being robbed of her favorite pastime, reading. So Harry did the only thing he could do to calm her — he read. The reading so far had been History of Magic, Charms Grade 6, and Advanced Potions, but today he had convinced her to take a small break from academics with a novel he had found in Charlie’s old room. He was sure she had read the book before because she continued to correct his pronunciation of all the main characters’ names while he read, but she didn’t mind hearing the story again. So Harry read and Hermione listened. They spent most of their days like this now.

The mornings were a matter of routine for the teens now as Mrs. Weasley took her proper place as mother hen. It didn’t matter to her that it was summer. Promptly at 8 am every morning she would wake them for breakfast with her and Mr. Weasley. All were expected to help out in one way or another with the cooking or the cleaning. Cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner for seven people was a daunting task. Not that Mrs. Weasley couldn’t handle the job of course, but it was nice to have help sometimes. To her surprise and Ron’s increasing fascination, Luna was actually a stunning cook. Once the poison was flushed from her system by Madam Pomfrey’s potions she was back to her uniquely normal self. She mentioned how, after her mother’s death, she had taken control of the cooking in her house. Mrs. Weasley was most grateful for her help, and would cast small smiles at Ron as he watched Luna cook like a pro.

Ginny had become very quite after their escape from Grimmauld Place and their encounter with Remus. Harry noted how she tended to stay within close proximity to Neville at all times. Most of the time they lounged around in the living room or worked out in the garden picking vegetables for Mrs. Weasley. Ron on the other hand was a different story. He retreated into his room most of the day claiming to be working on his summer homework that he had not started yet. Harry had offered to help him, but he refused stating that he was perfectly capable of handling his own work without the help of anyone else. No matter how Harry twisted it he couldn’t help but get the feeling that Ron was still a bit mad at him for how things turned out with Hermione. He knew Ron would work through it in his own way over time, but it didn’t make him feel any better.

So Harry devoted all his free time to taking care of Hermione. After breakfast each morning they walked around the property for a bit of exercise. Then if the weather permitted they would laze around by the pond while he read to her from next year’s spell books. Which is where they had wandered off to today.

Before the sun had passed over the surface of the pond Harry laid the novel aside. Hermione had fallen asleep a while ago, but he continued to read for a time just to make sure. Ever so gently he lowered her head from his shoulder down to the flannel blanket they rested upon. Brushing a rogue cluster of hair away from her face Harry sat and watched her sleep. This was starting to become a habit, he thought, lying down next to her. Propping himself up on one elbow he continued to study her mannerisms when she slept. Hermione’s face relaxed into a peaceful smile. This face was so natural looking, so pure. It was much different from ‘study’ Hermione, or even ‘bossy’ Hermione. No, this one was different. This was her true face, and it was more beautiful than any he’d seen before.

His eyes examined every inch of her skin, marveling at its perfection and imperfection. Yes, lots of girls were prettier than Hermione, but that didn’t matter to him. Her heart was bigger then all of the girls in Hogwarts combined. That was what had captured his heart in the end. When his eyes fell on the bandages over her eyes a lump began to rise in his throat. Before he realized it, small rivers of tears ran down his cheeks. Those terrible images of her falling in the Department of Mysteries flooded back to the front of his mind. They were slowly replaced with newer more disturbing images of her being hit with poison-tipped arrows from Bellatrix’s wand. Clamping his eyes closed tightly, he desperately tried to lock those thoughts away in the deepest corners of his mind never to be seen again.

Unbeknownst to Harry in his state of self-torture his tears rained down onto Hermione’s cheek. At first she thought it had begun to rain again, but when she heard Harry’s soft moans she knew what was happening. Unable to see his face she slowly raised her hands above her and found his shoulder. With little effort she pulled him down to her, wrapping her arms around him.

“Harry? What’s wrong—shh,” she cooed tenderly, stroking his wild hair.

Harry’s hands clung to her back desperately pulling her shirt taut around her chest. Choking back another sob Harry mumbled into her neck, “I’ve put you in so—much danger, Hermione. I ... I don’t know what I would do if you had been . . .”

Hermione’s embrace tightened around him. “Don’t say it, Harry! Don’t even think like that.” She paused for a moment and placed a kiss on top of his head. “I’m not going anywhere, Harry.”

“You can’t,” was all she heard as Harry’s breath slid across her skin sending goose bumps down her back.

He released her and pushed himself upright. “Hermione, I have to tell you something.”

Hermione nodded slowly, and with a little help from Harry she sat up and faced him. Harry’s mind began to trip over itself now trying to think of a way to begin. When he felt her hands slip into the palm of his hand he found his courage. “I know what was in the Prophecy, Hermione.”

“But, I thought you said it was destroyed?” Hermione questioned curiously.

The sound of squirrels rustling in the trees above pulled his eyes skyward as he spoke. “It was, but Dumbledore had a personal memory in his pensive about it. When we returned to Hogwarts that night he showed it to me.”

Hermione edged closer crossing her legs in front of her. “What did it say?”

For a moment Harry was thankful he couldn’t see her eyes right then. He was sure they would be blowing holes in his will to speak right now. Steeling himself Harry recited the words of the prophecy aloud. Surprisingly it felt good to do this. It felt therapeutic somehow.

About halfway through the prophecy Hermione’s head hung low to her chest. Her shoulders sagged and Harry was sure that if she could Hermione would be crying right now. He was grateful that she couldn’t; it would have made things that much harder for him to finish. For a few minutes Hermione said nothing, and Harry’s thoughts started to back-peddle. ‘What if she is freaked out? What if she doesn’t want to be with me because of this?’ A sickening feeling was growing in the pit of his stomach with every second she didn’t speak.

Raising her head again, Hermione sucked in a small sniffle and adjusted her position sitting up straighter. “Right, well . . .we, I had a—a feeling it would come down to this . . .” she felt around in front of her until she found the copy of Lord of the Rings between herself and Harry. Her hands trembled a bit as she placed the book off to the side on the blanket. “No more fiction then. We’re going to have to push ahead and cover as much as we can about dueling, Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, potions . . .” She continued to babble swiftly, mentally checking off all the different things they should do to conquer this new problem.

Hermione’s reaction to this news didn’t surprise Harry in the least. When in doubt hit the books, but it didn’t make him feel any better either. He wanted to scream at her, to shout out loud, ‘I could DIE! Don’t you care?’ but he didn’t. He could tell just by her body language alone that she was terrified. She just didn’t want to display any weakness that might give him the false impression that she didn’t believe in him. That he might not walk away from this encounter. Harry knew very well that, in all likelihood, he would be killed by Voldemort, but right now he needed Hermione’s touch. That feeling of her heart beating against his chest to let him know he wasn’t dead just yet. He needed her bossy take-charge attitude that had never failed to pull his arse out of the fire before. She had a way of making him summon his inner strength in the process. She brought out the best in him.

With great force Harry threw his arms around Hermione, smothering her with his body. A tiny, “Eep!” passed Hermione’s lips as Harry pulled her down to the blanket. For about half a second Hermione hesitated before starting to plant kisses on his forehead. “We can do this, Harry.” She cupped his cheeks in her hands so he wouldn’t move his head. “I know we can—I know you can, and you will,” she slowly covered his lips with hers. Harry felt his courage being renewed with the power of her kiss. His lips responded, intensely hungry for more. Their hands squeezed and pulled at each other’s bodies as they were swept away with this burning desire that coursed between them.

Breaking away for air Harry spoke in gasps blowing hot breath against Hermione’s neck. “It doesn’t—bother you—that one day I’ll be a—murderer?”

Hermione slipped her slender hands out from inside of Harry’s shirt and hugged him tightly. “Harry, this is war.” Her voice was calm and determined now. “In war you don’t murder the enemy. You kill them; it’s you or them.” She placed a blind kiss on his face missing his lips a bit. “Understand?”

Running his fingers through her tangled hair Harry uttered a breathless, “Yes.” A relaxed smile grew on Hermione’s face as she felt his fingers get locked in her hair. “Honestly Hermione, how long does it take you to tame this hair in the morning?”

Hermione gasped and made a sudden motion with her leg towards his privates making Harry flinch. “You’re one to talk!” Playfully she started digging her nails into his back. “At least I can get mine to lay flat. . . sometimes.”

“SSSHH Ouch! Ok, ok mercy! I’m sorry.” Harry snaked his fingers from her hair down to her shoulders caressing her smooth tan skin. “I was only trying to lighten the mood a bit, but you crossed the line.”

“What? You insulted my hair!”

“No, I just asked a question. You tried to knee me in the nards!”

Hermione made a small clucking sound with her tongue and quipped, “Oh I barely even came close, yah big baby.”

With a smirk he knew she couldn’t see he corrected her. “Ah, but you’ll be surprised to know that even the mere threat of a strike to that region will send most men running in fear. So please, please. Don’t ever do that again. Unless you want me to be childless for the rest of my days?”

Harry chuckled at his little joke, but Hermione wasn’t laughing. She tucked her head in under his chin and whispered softly to him, “I’m sorry Harry. I didn’t know it was so. . .” His body went ridged when he felt her dainty fingers begin to gently caress the area in question.

“Ohh, umm it’s—all right.” She gave a tender little squeeze and his voice hitched into his throat. “Hermione!”

She flashed him an impish grin and pecked his neck with her lips. “Yes, I can tell it’s very—sensitive down there.” Harry kissed the top of her head weakly, and she released him. “I’ll make a note of that for future reference.”

“HARRY! HERMIONE! Time for lunch!” Mrs. Weasley shouted from the backdoor of the Burrow.

“Ohh, just when things where getting good,” Hermione moaned. Harry laughed and propped himself up pulling her along with him. She didn’t let go of his hands as he stood so he could guide her up safely.

After placing a soft kiss on her forehead Harry gathered their belongings and laced his arm through hers. “Shall we?”

“If we must,” Hermione replied, hugging his arm. Together they walked back to the Burrow as Hermione started forming study plans for them. Harry listened in quiet awe. Telling her about the prophecy made him feel better somehow. He was sure that they would find a way to overcome it together, just like all their other obstacles in the past. Sometimes he hated the gods for all the pain they laid in his path, but today he loved them. For they also given him the best partner in the world to walk that path with. Yes, today he loved the gods, and he loved her.

~*~

Sorry about the long wait for this up date, but RL is hell. I have only two words as defense.

Baby & moving. Have a great Holiday everyone.

Muddgutts

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