Unofficial Portkey Archive

Harry Potter and the Final Prophecy

Chapter Two

Even though it was only 5am, the quiet halls of 12 Grimmauld place were starting to come alive. Mr and Mrs Weasley were first to descend the stairs after being woken by Remus. Clearly shocked, Molly sat and hugged Harry for a while, crying silent tears of her own. Various members of the Order had arrived during the last half hour, and were now speaking in low tones, obviously at a loss to explain how Hermione had disappeared from under their very noses.

"I'll take that, Harry…" spoke a very disheveled looking Professor McGonagall, taking the hair and hurrying from the room. As Moody moved in to question him further, Harry noticed some familiar looking objects dangling from a string above them. Recognizing Fred and Georges' Extendable Ears, Harry pushed past Moody and made his way to the top floor. He found the twins sitting in the dark hallway, watching the proceedings and talking in hushed voices.

"Is it true?" Fred asked, without looking at Harry. "Have they taken her?" Harry merely looked down at his shoes.

"I think we need to wake the others……"

Several minutes later, they had all assembled in Ron's bedroom. Ginny sat in the corner, stroking Crookshanks and looking red eyed and pale. Ron was seated on his bed, head in his hands, while Fred and George simply looked furious. To Harry's surprise, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood had also been led in. Harry told them what had transpired during the last few hours, in the greatest detail possible. He forced himself to tell the group about Hermiones' hair, causing Ginny to start crying again.

Pounding his fist against the wall, George swore loudly, making Neville jump slightly. "How could this happen?" asked Ron, his chin still touching his chest. "We were all here, no one's left the house……."

"Figgy told me that an alarm had gone off recently?" spoke Harry, silently pleading with them for any information that could help make sense of the situation.

"Yeah, but Moody didn't find anyone……Dumbledore said that it was probably a false alarm" said Ginny, repositioning the sleeping cat on the floor beside her and wiping her eyes.

"Well, she can't have vanished…….it has to be connected somehow" spoke Neville for the first time. "We all saw her at dinner, around 7 o'clock, I think. Damn it, if I find out Malfoy Junior had anything to do with this, I'll rearrange his pixie, ferret face with my bare hands…."

Nodding agreement with Neville's threat, the worried group sat in silence for a while, oblivious to the frantic actions going on below them. It was finally Luna who noticed the heavy footsteps and yells issuing from the headquarters. Standing up, she exited the room and looked over the railing, beckoning for the others to come. Leaning over, Harry saw that there were close to 50 wizards running frantically around the cramped rooms. Some were polishing wands and brooms, others were practicing spells. Harry watched in amazement as many of them disapparated in front of them. Spotting Lupin among the crowd, Harry rushed over to find out what was going on, but didn't get much from him.

"Can't talk, Harry, the Dementors have attacked another suburb in South London and this time they mean business. Albus is coming to speak to you, just don't leave the house- any of you…." warned Lupin before disapparating with a loud `POP!'

"BUT WHAT ABOUT HERMIONE?" Harry yelled in dismay, aware that the others were now huddled together behind him. Swearing loudly, Harry kicked a pot plant that had been crawling around the floor, sending it crashing through a window, screeching loudly. Collapsing to the floor, Harry was only dimly aware that Mrs Black's portrait was now awake.

"FOUL, DIRTY HALF-BREED! HOW DARE YOU BISMIRCH THE NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK….GET OUT OF MY HOUSE BEFORE YOU SUFFER THE SAME FATE AS THE MUDBLOOD!"

"Shut up, ya' mouldy old cow…." Fred and George screamed back, more than happy to take their aggression out on anybody. Feeling scared and alone, Harry felt gentle hands on the back of his shoulders.

"We'll find her, Harry…" whispered Ginny. Giving her a weak smile, he nodded. Sighing, he settled himself into a chair and waited for Dumbledore.

Within a few minutes, Professor Dumbledore strode into the living room, his face reflecting the pain that they all felt.

"Harry, I must speak to you alone." Knowing that the others would be unhappy about this request, Dumbledore held up a placatory hand. "If you choose, you may pass this information on to your friends afterwards."

Nodding, Harry followed the Professor into the room that had once been Sirius' study. More family portraits lined the walls of the small room, whose inhabitants seemed alert and watchful.

"I will make this brief, Harry, as I am needed elsewhere. Voldemort has begun the second war, and he appears to have two targets. He has ordered the Dementor's of Azkaban to attack all Muggles and Muggle-born wizards." Dumbledore paused, wiping his forehead with a cloth before settling his gaze on Harry again. "We have every available wizard out there fighting them, and reinforcements are coming from other countries as we speak. I will be opening Hogwarts immediately as a refuge for the children whose parents are fighting." Sighing, Dumbledore looked sadly at Harry. "As you have probably already guessed, you are the second target."

Harry stared back impatiently: this information was already known to him. He was aware of the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries.

"There was a second prophecy made, Harry……."

Startled out of his thoughts, Harry went to speak but was cut off. "Before you ask, I do not know the contents, as it was not spoken to me. Sybil Trelawney is dead, Harry. She was abducted from her holiday home a week ago. It is my belief that Voldemort tortured her into giving her final prophecy. He is desperate for a means to destroy you. I believe this is connected to Miss Granger's abduction………."

Looking tired and weary, Dumbledore knelt besides Harry's chair. Placing a hand on his shoulder, the professor looked Harry directly in the eyes and spoke.

"We will not be able to assist you, nor will we stop you. You know what needs to be done, Harry. Some members of the DA may be of assistance to you, so don't go alone. I believe you will find a Portkey somewhere in the house, it is the only way they could gain access to her. I also believe that Alistair Moody's alarm was tripped when someone returned the object to the house to avoid suspicion."

Standing slowly, Professor Dumbledore headed for the door, turning to look at the overwhelmed teenager. Smiling proudly at Harry, Dumbledore spoke. "Take strength in your friends, Harry…..some are more than they appear to be." Gathering his robes around him, the elderly wizard swept quickly from the room to join the battle raging so close to the headquarters.

Exiting the room, Harry ignored the barrage of questions and raced back up the stairs, bounding into the room that had belonged to both Ginny and Hermione.

"What are you looking for?" asked a bewildered Ron, watching Harry throw the girls' clothes and belongings around the room.

"Something that Hermione would be guaranteed to use, that could be turned into a Portkey….." Harry explained, not knowing where to start.

"What about that?" asked Neville, pointing towards a book lying neatly on a bedside table. Crowding around it, Ginny read the cover, shaking her head in wonder.

"Hogwarts, a History" (Revised Edition)

Howdy! Next chapter will give a little detail on Hermione's current situation….

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