Ch 15: New Attacks
Saturday dawned bright and beautiful. Harry had no classes today, he was taking one last break with the others before classes began again on Monday. Tomorrow, they would be returning to Hogwarts in the morning. Molly had already done all of the school shopping for them, and everyone was packed early for once, so that they could fully enjoy their day together.
While Hermione relaxed with a book in the backyard, the boys were chasing each other once again on their brooms in a very fast paced version of Quidditch. Hermione watched the blurs for a moment and thought they all seemed to be flying a bit differently, especially Harry. She wondered for a moment whether their Animagi forms were subconsciously influencing the way they flew. They all seemed to be flying more naturally, and much more aggressively than she had ever seen them fly before. And she had seen all of them play in the matches Harry had played in. Returning to her book for a moment, she looked up as Molly yelled at the twins.
"I need you two to pop in at home briefly and pick up an extra trunk for Ginny. I picked up a few extra things for her and they won't all fit in her old trunk. Here's a list of a few other things I need you to pick up from the house for me as well."
"But, Mum, can't you see we're very busy right now?"
"Actually, you look like a bunch of rabid flying squirrels chasing each other like you've all gone barking mad. I need that trunk, NOW!" she roared. Ignoring Hermione's chuckles, Molly added nicely, "Thank you so much sweeties. You can bring all the stuff back to the kitchen."
With nasty looks at Hermione, who had dropped her book and was doubled over laughing now, Fred and George landed and gathered the list from their mother. The game temporarily suspended, Ron and Harry hovered on their brooms, laughing at the twins getting bossed around by their mother. Without another word, the twins disappeared, only to reappear five seconds later, both of their faces white as a sheet.
"What's the matter…"
"Get Dumbledore and notify the rest of the Order," stammered Fred.
"Tell somebody at the ministry as well," added George, "our house is on fire and there's ah…ah…ah huge green skull with a snake in its mouth floating above our house."
Molly's face whitened and she spun back into the kitchen to notify Dumbledore and the others. All of a sudden, Harry's broomstick fell out of the air. Harry was nowhere to be seen.
Ron landed and cried out, "What the bloody hell?!?! Where's Harry? Are you two sure what you saw? If this is some kind of bloody joke, Mum will absolutely kill you!"
"Noo, no joke. It's the same sign we saw two years ago at the World Cup championships. Where did Harry go? You don't suppose V-V-Voldemort…" stammered George.
"The three of us will look around here for him. But don't tell Molly yet that he's missing. She's got enough to worry about right now. Fred, you Apparate back to your house and look for Harry there," commanded Hermione.
"But Harry can't Apparate, can he? How could he be there?" questioned Fred.
"Please, we don't have time to argue. Just trust me. He might be there. Just go and look. And bring him back if he's there."
Fred disappeared again as the other three split up, spread out, and began searching inside the house and the backyard. Within a minute or two, the house was crawling with members of the Order who spoke quickly to Molly and George, and then disappeared again just as quickly.
*-*-*
Harry had nearly fallen off his broom when he had seen the twins reappear outside the house. When he heard what they said, all he could think of was that he needed to go there, he needed to see for himself the latest tragedy he had caused his friends to suffer because Voldemort was trying to get to him.
One moment, he was hovering on his broom in the backyard of the Black mansion and the next time he blinked, he was standing outside the Burrow where the Weasleys lived, the home now engulfed in flames. Still hanging in the air was the unmistakable Dark Mark, a green skull with a snake slithering out of the mouth.
Closing his eyes in grief, Harry stood still for a moment, grateful that at least nobody had been there. Even as a fire seemed to burn within him, he suddenly noticed a cool breeze on his face. Opening his eyes again, he noticed that the house was now only smoldering and smoking, the flames had gone out. But then he smelled something. Raising his head sharply, he concentrated. Amidst the acrid smell of burnt wood and powerful magic, he could smell…death. It was unmistakable. Slowly he walked towards the house. Shouldering aside the door that was nearly blasted off of its hinges, he paused for a split second to allow his sight to adjust to the dim, smoky interior. There, crumpled on the stairs was a form in a dark robe. Harry moved quickly to the body and fearfully rolled it over gently to look at the face.
Percy's lifeless eyes stared back at him with the same vacant stare he had seen in Cedric's after his murder. Suddenly he heard a rush of pops around the house outside.
He heard Dumbledore exclaim, "Fred, what are you doing here? I thought you and George had returned to your mother."
"I came looking for…uhh, I thought I might be of help here."
"You will be most helpful back with your mother comforting her. It is a terrifying thing to come home and find the Dark Mark floating above your home. Return to her and help her," urged Dumbledore quietly.
Harry thought desperately, "They can't find me in here. I can't be seen here." Wizards were already entering the living room as Harry looked quickly for a place to hide. To his surprise, three men walked right past him without even casting him a sideways glance. Looking, down, he thought he had looked right through his hand and leg, because all he could see was the floor. "I must have somehow triggered my teleportation and Disillusionment abilities." Harry thought to himself.
Several wizards were working quickly to put out the smoldering fires and trying to save what they could from the home. Dumbledore entered the living room and took command, magicking a sheet out of thin air and placing it over Percy before either Arthur or Molly appeared.
Moody turned to Dumbledore and asked, "Why Percy? This doesn't make any sense at all. He was no threat."
Looking at Moody, Dumbledore replied. "I think Percy just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. I think this is a message to Harry. So far, Voldemort has been unsuccessful in defeating or destroying Harry. And I believe Harry is defending himself better against Voldemort's mental intrusions. Perhaps Voldemort is trying another strategy, trying to beat Harry by hurting those closest to him."
As the smoke cleared out, a faint message became visible on one wall. It read, "A useful tool, a worthless fool. So end all those who oppose Lord Voldemort and all those who aid his enemies."
With a flick of his wand, Dumbledore erased the message. "There is no need for them to see that when they arrive," he said mournfully.
Harry watched quietly as the wizards continued to move around the home, looking for additional clues now that the fires were out. His mind raced. Suddenly something clicked. "Hermione's parents! Voldemort would be after them, too." his mind screamed. But he didn't know where they lived. "Hermione! She would know. I have to get back!" Despite already being invisible, Harry disappeared from the Burrow.
Puzzled, Dumbledore put a hand to the side of his head. For some reason, the words "Hermione's parents," and "Hermione," had flashed in his head. Gasping with realization, he motioned for Moody and several other members of the Order to follow him back to Black's estate.
*-*-*
Hermione had finished looking outside and in the woods. Harry wasn't here. She strongly suspected he had somehow teleported himself to the Burrow after hearing the startling news. She heard a pop and looked to see Fred appear again in the back yard. She ran over to him quickly.
"Did you find him?"
"I looked everywhere around the house at first and didn't see him. When I came around the front again, I saw him go in the front door. I was going to follow him in the house, when all of a sudden about half the Aurors from the ministry and Dumbledore showed up and they sent me back here to stay with mum. I stayed outside arguing with a few of the Aurors for a minute, but they wouldn't let me inside the house. I didn't see Harry come out so he must have left or hid himself or something. I don't know what happened."
All of a sudden, Harry reappeared with a mixture of sorrow, rage, and concern etched deeply on his face.
"How did you do that? What happened in there?" asked Fred.
"Later, Fred. I'm terribly sorry. Hermione, listen to me. Do you know what your parents' schedule was today? Were they going to stop at your home at all or were they coming straight here?" asked Harry urgently.
"I'm not sure, Harry. It's been a while since I've spoken with them. I just knew they were coming here at noon. Why? You don't think…" her eyes began to fill with tears.
"I don't know. I hope not…" Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione and tried to comfort her as she began to sob. Five distinct pops were heard and Harry and Hermione broke apart to look with Fred at Dumbledore, Lupin, Moody, Tonks, and Shacklebolt.
"Miss Granger. I apologize for not remembering your address, but it is very important that you give it to me now," quietly asked Dumbledore.
"Why? Do you think Voldemort has attacked my house too? Maybe…maybe my parents?" cried Hermione.
With a sharp look at Harry, Dumbledore responded, "I do not know. I hope not. But we intend to go there as quickly as possible and make sure your parents are safe."
She quickly gave him the address and he pulled a small glass globe from a pocket in his robe. He gazed at it for a moment and then passed it to the other Aurors, all of whom looked at it intently as well.
"Please take me with you," burst Hermione, "I need to see if my parents are OK. Please…"
"I am sorry, but I feel it is much too dangerous Miss Granger. I believe it would be best if you remained here for now," sadly answered Dumbledore, but he looked at Harry as well. "Please understand."
Coldly, Harry answered, "What we understand is that despite all of the dangers we have faced and overcome, we are still treated as children. Come on Hermione, let's go see if we can help Molly."
"But Harry…"
"Trust me, Hermione. I have an idea." he thought to Hermione.
"OK." With a last glance at Dumbledore, they turned back to the house as the five disappeared once again. Entering the house, Harry led Hermione to the study and turned and locked the door.
"Did you see that globe of Dumbledore's?"
"Yes, but so what?"
"Well, he's never been to your house before, so I don't think he could just Apparate there. I think he needed a visual image of your home first-that's why they all looked at the globe. I tried to look at it too, but I couldn't see through all of their hands as they kept passing it around. Here's what I suggest we do. First, let me tell you that I managed to both teleport and use the Disillusion abilities of my dragon form today, but I'm still not sure exactly how I did it. To be able use those abilities again, I'm going to need your help. If you can help me figure out how to use them, then I will need you to give me a mental image of your home. Then you can use my Invisibility Cloak and I will use my Disillusion ability and I will try to teleport both of us to your house."
"I don't know Harry, that sounds like a lot of if's."
"If you have a better plan, I'm listening."
"No, let's try it. Come here and sit in front of me." Harry sat opposite of Hermione and they looked into each other's eyes. Like before, Hermione saw herself within and enormous labyrinth. "You've got to help me, Harry. I don't know where I'm going."
"This way, I think." She followed the mental suggestions through dozens of passages before arriving at a large entryway that looked fairly new. The huge door looked like it was wedged closed. "Here." came Harry's voice. Hermione reached for the door handle and began to pull. She could feel a surge of power building somewhere beside her. As she tugged on the door, the power helped her, strengthening her, and increasing her effort to pull the door open "Ahhh! So that's how I did teleported. That's pretty easy, actually-I don't know why I didn't realize it before." said Harry happily.
"Where do I go to help you with the Disillusionment?" asked Hermione, gasping from her effort.
"This way, over here. And thanks." Shortly Hermione found another blocked door. This time, she drew her wand but then thought. "Harry, do you think it would be safe for me to use magic inside your mind?"
"I don't know. But I trust you. We'll have to talk about how you think this works later, but do whatever you think is best. I'll help you the best I can."
Concentrating intently, she intoned "Porto Flexiono," making the hinges of the door a little looser so it could swing open more freely. She tugged on the door and it opened easily. "Excellent, Hermione. That took hardly any effort at all. Now can you show me some memories of your home?"
"Yes, I'll try. Let me explain how I see things in your mind." Hermione quickly explained how she perceived his mind as a labyrinth of passages and how she followed his voice. "Now concentrate on seeing yourself in my mind."
Harry concentrated, trying to imagine the inside of Hermione's mind and suddenly found himself surrounded by shelves and shelves of books like an enormous maze. Chuckling, he thought, "I should have known. Of course Hermione's mind would look like the world's largest library."
"This way, Harry. It should be in section H, stack 78, shelf G, number 745."
"Uhh, which way would that be?"
"Oh, honestly. Just follow my voice." She quickly led him to the correct shelf and he reached out, grabbed the book, and opened it. A vision of an old, but well kept two story home on a country lane next to an open field with a small stream and some bushy trees came to his mind.
"Got it!" he exclaimed and found himself back in the study with Hermione looking back at him. He raised his wand and commanded, "Accio Invisibility Cloak." As the cloak appeared in his hand, he asked Hermione, "Ready?" At her nod, he gave her the cloak but before she put it over her head, he whispered, "No matter what happens, I'll be there for you. Don't worry, everything will be fine. You'll see." She nodded quickly and put the cloak over her and disappeared. He used his Disillusionment ability and thought, "This is sort of like cloaking myself in my Invisibility Cloak." He then filtered his sight briefly, so that he could see the warmth of Hermione's hand and grab hold of it.
Before he teleported them, Hermione asked him "Are you sure you know what you're doing? Are you sure you can teleport both of us?"
"No."
"What?!?!"
But then the room around them disappeared and they reappeared in the field by Hermione's house. Or what was left of it. An ugly green skull was floating above the house which was engulfed with flames. Dumbledore and the others were busily working to put out the flames and Harry felt a surge of white hot anger.
Hermione's gasp forced him to look at her. He of course saw right through her but saw immediately what had surprised her. Where there had been a raging inferno only a moment before, there was just a smoking ruin. The five wizards looked on in amazement, and Dumbledore looked around quickly. He seemed to pause a moment while looking in the direction of Harry and Hermione, but Harry couldn't be sure. Putting his arm around Hermione's shoulder he guided them closer to the burnt out house.
As they got closer to the house, they walked past the garage to get to what was left of the back door. "Hermione, weren't your parents driving their car?"
"Yes, why?" she replied chokingly, on the verge of breaking out into sobs again.
"Well, if they were here, wouldn't their car be in the garage or in the driveway somewhere?"
Whipping around, Hermione realized there was no sign of her parents' car. For the first time, she felt a slight ray of hope. "You mean maybe they weren't here at all? Maybe they're still alive?"
"Yeah, I think they might be safe. Nobody has been murdered around here."
"Harry, how can you know?"
"Because at the Weasleys, I could smell death when I arrived." he replied sorrowfully.
"You what? Not Ginny or Arthur! Nooo!"
"No. It wasn't either of them. It was Percy."
"Not Percy! Oh poor Molly! She'll never forgive herself! Oh I can't believe this, this is terrible!"
"I know. I don't know what on earth he was doing there, but the Death Eaters caught him there and they murdered him." He didn't add the suspicions that Dumbledore had mentioned.
"Hermione, can you wait outside for a minute? There is something I need to check inside."
"So now you're treating me like Dumbledore treated us earlier. I don't think I like…"
"You're right Hermione. I'm sorry. I just wanted to protect you…"
"I know. But I really don't want to be alone right now."
"I understand. Come on. There is something I need to see."
They walked quietly through the back door and moved softly through the house. In the living room, Harry and Hermione found the wizards reading another message left on the wall. "The next time we visit the Mudblood's parents, they'll die screaming before the Dark Lord's power. You can't be everywhere, you can't protect them all, who will be the next friend of Potter's to fall?"
An icy rage built within Harry and the wall exploded in flame. Hermione stepped back in surprise as did all of the other wizards except Harry and Dumbledore. Dumbledore whispered something to Moody, who then looked around and seemed to pause where Hermione and Harry were cloaked by invisibility. Harry just stared at the flame until the wall was no more. Surprisingly the fire did not spread, it simply died out as quickly as it had begun.
Both Harry and Hermione turned to one of the front windows as they heard a car approach. "Mum! Dad!" Hermione moved forward but Harry quickly grabbed her by the shoulders. "Harry, I just want to hug them, I was so scared that I would never see them again."
"I know, I know. But remember, we're not supposed to be here. Dumbledore and the others will take care of them. I'm sure they will take them somewhere safe like Grimmauld Place until they can figure out some place to protect them from another attack. I promise you that you'll see them soon. We can stay until they talk with them, but then we'll have to return, OK?"
"All right." They followed the wizards outside. Hermione's parents had stopped their car on the side of the road and were gasping in horror at what was left of their home.
Dumbledore moved quickly to speak with them. "I am Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts. I would like for you both to come with me. I will be happy to take you to see your daughter, and I will explain what has happened. But we must leave quickly. Please, come with me."
Harry grabbed Hermione's shoulder and teleported them back to the study at the Black mansion. Sobbing in relief, Hermione leaned against Harry. He gently pulled the Invisibility Cloak off of her and removed his own invisibility cloaking.
"Harry, I feel so terrible. I am so glad that my parents are alive, but I shouldn't because the Weasleys have just lost a son and a brother. This is awful, I-I don't know what to feel."
"I think it's OK to feel both. I feel the same way. I'm very glad that your family is OK but I feel horrible about what happened to Percy. It's not his fault he knew me…"
"Now don't go blaming yourself for all of this, again Harry. It's not your fault. It's Voldemort. He's evil. If it wasn't you and the people who love you, he would be doing this to somebody else. It's not your fault!"
"I know that. I know that. But I still can't help feeling responsible."
A knock at the door interrupted them. They unlocked the door and Dumbledore brought in Hermione's parents. As they embraced in a huge, tear-filled hug, Harry and Dumbledore quietly slipped out.
Harry could hear Molly sobbing in the kitchen and suddenly felt bad that he hadn't stayed to comfort her. But Hermione had needed to know about her parents, too. With great bitterness, he realized he couldn't be everywhere at once. As he and Dumbledore entered the kitchen, Harry ran to give her a huge hug.
"I'm so sorry Molly," he whispered between tears. Just then, Arthur stepped through the kitchen door, followed by Ginny.
"Molly, I am so sorry about Percy," began Arthur.
"Mum!" wailed Ginny. Molly wrapped them both up in huge hugs. When the Weasley boys entered, Harry once again slipped away from a tearful family reunion, following Dumbledore out of the room.
-->