Harry's eyes widened in fear as he rushed to where Ron was standing. There were loud smashing sounds coming from inside the Burrow and the shadow of a large person passed by one of the windows upstairs. The death eaters were still inside, maybe there was still a chance to save Ron's parents. He pulled out his wand and looked around quickly before nudging Ron to follow him.
"Get the fuck away from me Harry," Ron whispered angrily "I don't want your help."
"We can talk about this later Ron," said Harry quietly "Right now we have to help your parents." Ron walked ahead without saying anything and Harry followed quickly. Mr Weasley's shouts could be heard from inside the house, and Harry saw Ron's fists start to shake in anger and he gripped his wand tightly. Harry stepped in front of Ron and opened the door quietly. It was dark inside but the house echoed with smashing and screams. He could see flashing colours from different spells coming from the hallway upstairs. He eased his way in through the door quietly and had to restrain Ron from rushing upstairs to his parents.
"We have to do this quietly," whispered Harry angrily "Surprise is the best weapon we have right now." Ron stared furiously at Harry and their eyes locked for a long moment. He finally looked away, though it looked like he would like nothing more than to punch Harry in the face…again. Harry walked very quietly up the stairs, his heart pounding in his chest. He stopped every now and then on the long journey up, listening to the sounds in the hallway above them. He wanted to make sure that they had the advantage rather than walk into a crowd of armed death eaters. Ron had to be restrained several times.
"Why don't you just get out of here and let me take care of my family," he hissed to Harry at one point "You don't always have to be the hero you know" Harry rolled his eyes in anger and frustration and carried on creeping slowly up the stairs. He could hear Mrs Weasley weeping and she shouted out 'petrificus totalus' in a very shaky voice. They finally reached the landing and it was deserted. He could hear horrible sounds of pain coming from Mr and Mrs Weasley's bedroom and he slowly began inching his way towards it. Suddenly a death eater came rushing out of the room. Harry knew he had to silence him quickly before it was all over. He thought 'silencio' and aimed his wand at the death eater…not fast enough.
"POTTER!" shouted the death eater in a familiar screeching voice. The bangs and crashes from Mr and Mrs Weasley's bedroom stopped momentarily and suddenly the doorway was filled with half a dozen black robed and masked people, all with their wands pointing at Harry. Ron suddenly came rushing past Harry and threw himself into the hallway, desperately pointing his wand towards the group of murderers though Harry knew he wouldn't stand a chance.
"MUM! DAD!" he shouted urgently.
"RON!" shouted Mr. Weasley, his voice filled with fear "Get out of here! They came here hoping to-" His voice was suddenly cut off and Mrs Weasley let out a petrified scream. The laughter of the black robed people echoed through the hallway, and Harry felt sick to his stomach with a sudden rage. He dived towards Ron and shoved him into one of the bedrooms opposite him. He opened his mind and could sense the death eater closest to him readying a curse in his mind, his wand pointing threateningly at him. He thought 'protego' and made it to the bedroom unharmed, not seeing the great white light that had momentarily surrounded him.
Ron and Harry turned around to face the door, now having an advantage because their attackers were all in front of them. Harry gripped his wand and pointed it at the door, a grim smile on his face. He was ready for payback. He felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach and hoped that Mr. Weasley was ok. He looked at Ron quickly and saw pure fury written on his friends face. He suddenly noticed a weight at his side and saw Godric's sword hanging there. As he held his wand he felt a peculiar tingling sensation rise though his waist, through his arm and into his hand. It wasn't uncomfortable; it felt like there was a strange energy in his arm and hand. He frowned and wondered what was going on, but was interrupted when a death eater rushed through the door. Ron fired and hex which bounced off of him. Harry quickly thought 'finite incantatem', and the shield charm was removed. Harry raised his wand and pointed it at the death eater.
"STUPEFY!" he shouted, and a red light leapt out of his wand and hit the death eater. To Harry's surprise the spell hit the death eater with such force that he smashed through the wall of the bedroom and landed in the hallway. Clouds of dust and debris filled the area where the death eater had exited. All that was left was a huge gaping hole. 'Oh no,' he thought 'I've ruined the Weasley's house' then pushed that ridiculous thought out of this mind. Another death eater filled the space where the last had exited, and Harry raised his wand again. He thought 'Expelliarmus' and the wand flew out of his opponent's hand with an extraordinary force and lodged itself into the wall behind Harry. The death eater turned and tried to run, but Harry cast another 'stupefy' and gave a grim smile at the large crash that followed. More of the Weasley's house was undoubtedly ruined. He wondered what else this sword could do…
Mrs. Weasley's screams of pain suddenly filled Harry's ears and seemed to echo throughout the house. He felt a grating sensation down his spine as her screams seemed to reach every part of him. His anger bubbled in the pit of his stomach and he knew they were using the cruciatus curse on her. Ron shouted in a pure rage and bolted out of the door, screaming like a mad man.
"NO!" shouted Harry "RON! THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT!" He heard a loud thud, then a small and pitiful yelp. Harry rushed into the hallway after Ron and saw him lying on the floor, a death eater laughing manically and pointing his wand at Harry.
There was a huge racket from downstairs and the windows in the Weasley's bedroom smashed in. The Order had arrived and Harry let a malicious smile creep onto his face. He raised his wand while the death eater was distracted and shouted 'Suffoco!' The death eater stopped suddenly and Harry concentrated on squeezing his neck muscles tighter and tighter. He could hear a wheezing sound coming from the robed figure but he kept on going…until the figure started shaking and gasping desperately for breath. Then Harry let him fall to the floor and bound him quickly. He didn't hear someone coming up from behind him until it was too late. That awful and torturous feeling filled his body, like his whole body was burning and on fire. He heard himself screaming at the top of his voice and hoped that someone would come to help him. He tried to put the walls up in his mind and found it was a very difficult task. He held on, trying to not think about the pain, whilst his body lay writhing on the floor, his yells echoing throughout the house. Suddenly he felt a strange shift in his mind, the walls started to go up ever so slowly and the pain receded somewhat. He wasn't screaming anymore, though his body still writhed in agony on the floor. He had to do something, he had to think…think…think…For the lack of anything better to do he thought 'Protego,' and a bright and dazzling force field covered his body. There was no more pain and his body felt like his own again, though he was undoubtedly very weak and shaky. He moved his head to the side and saw the death eater trying to break through his shield. Harry held on to the thought of his shield with all his might, and gave a satisfied smile when the death eater lowered his wand and hastily rushed away. Harry stood up very shakily, leaning against the wall and breathing deeply.
Suddenly the death eaters were running, out numbered and unprepared. Harry was about to attempt to join the Order and try to capture as many as possible…but suddenly remembered Ron on the floor and felt his already laboured breath catch in his throat. He knelt down and fumbled to try and find a pulse on his best friend. He felt tears prick the back of his eyes when he did and hugged him quickly, knowing that this may be the last time he was ever close with Ron again after what he had done. He ran to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and was relieved to see them both alive. They looked dishevelled, scared and had quite a bit of blood on them. He fell to his knees and allowed himself to be embraced by them. They were the closest things he had to parents, how could he bare it if anything happened to them? He felt the familiar guilt pierce his chest and felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. There was a noise at the doorway and they all looked up to see Lupin standing there.
"Harry!" he said breathlessly "How did you get here?"
"Ron disapparated here and I followed." said Harry numbly. Mrs. Weasley seemed to shake at the mention of her son and she stood up quickly to find him. Lupin looked horrified and Harry began to feel fear in his chest.
"We have to get back to the cottage…NOW!" said Lupin, sounding scared.
"Why?" said Harry standing up quickly.
"They'll know where you are now Harry. The cottage has wards that can't detect when spells are cast, but they can detect apparition from the ministry. They'll know where you are now, and so will Voldemort," said Lupin hurriedly.
"Oh no," said Harry "Luna…Susan…" said Harry, but his mind was filled with Hermione's face and a terror gripped his chest like he had never known before. He disapparated without another word, with Lupin following quickly.
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He entered the cottage and found the three girls sitting on the couch painting their nails; the living room was strewn with magazines, ice cream and make up.
"Hurry," he said quickly "Get all of your things down here now. We have to leave…" Hermione's face dropped and but she summoned her luggage quickly and quietly. Harry got all of his things ready, including the Horcruxes, his books and the animals. It took less than a minute before Lupin disapparated with all of their belongings. Harry held onto Hermione and Luna. Luna grabbed Susan's hand and Harry readied them to disapparate. There was a large crash at the door and Susan looked up in fear…a flash of green light spread through the cottage and they could hear the harsh sounds of glass breaking violently. A split second later they were standing outside number twelve Grimmauld place and Harry felt relief wash though him. He looked at the three girls standing in front of him (all with freshly painted nails, newly plucked eyebrows and perfect make up) and sighed in relief. None of them appeared hurt. He led them quickly into the house where they congregated in the kitchen.
"What happened Harry," asked Luna worriedly "Where's Ron?" Before Harry could answer Lupin appeared at the door, looking very weary.
"I just stopped by and talked to Mad Eye quickly. Ron's just been transferred to St. Mungo's. He's got a dozen Aurors with him, so the second he can be moved he'll be brought back here. Molly and Arthur are coming to stay here too Harry, it's not safe at the Burrow…" Harry nodded mutely, glad that his friend was ok and wondering what it was going to be like now that Ron HAD to stay with them. He sighed and leaned against the counter. Hermione moved closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and gave her a small smile, then put his arm around her shoulders. Despite everything that had happened he felt happy that he was finally able to do this in front of people. He wondered what kind of a person this made him.
"This is where the Order meets. I never got the name of the place though…you were too busy yelling at Snape. Where are we? Are we staying here now?" asked Susan, looking around the place with a look of worry on her face.
"Yeah. This is Grimmauld place. My Godfather left his house to me when…Well anyway, it's really safe so it's a good idea if we just stay put. We'll have to clean the place though, it looks disgusting in here…" said Harry, looking around and wondering if there was anyway to brighten the place up. But even that wouldn't erase his memories of Sirius locked up here. He looked at the floor and tried to block those images from his mind, now was not the time for weakness.
"Well I must say," said Luna vaguely "It has the perfect name. It certainly is a grim old place…" Harry smiled at Luna; somehow she always knew how to break the tension, even if it was saying something very odd.
"What happened Harry?" said Hermione quietly. Harry tightened his arm around her and began telling her everything that had happened, he was going to keep it brief but ended up telling them every detail. He felt a lot better afterwards but Hermione seemed to be nervous, almost to the point of frantic.
"I'm sorry Harry," she said quickly and tears began to fall rapidly down her face. "I want to listen to you but…if they went after the Dursley's, then Ron parents…mine are next. They could be there right now! I have to go, I have to go now…"
"What about my dad? Do they know I'm with you? They could be at his house right now!" said Luna worriedly. Susan's face went pale and she wordlessly opened and closed her mouth.
"Don't worry. I'll send members of the Order to both of your houses and place your parents somewhere safe. I'll take Hermione to her parents house now and we'll move them too," said Lupin, ignoring Harry's angry protests "You need to stay where you are and keep safe. We'll hide her parents somewhere safe and I'll bring her back later. Don't let your heart get in the way of common sense." Harry stood there staring at Lupin. Did everyone think he was in love with Hermione? It was really starting to irritate him. He couldn't be angry at what Lupin had said though, for he had not said it out of anger but only because he cared for Harry. He nodded mutely and Hermione gave him a quick hug. He kissed her on the lips quickly and watched them both disappear. He hoped her parents were ok, and began to pray that nothing would happen to Hermione.
Harry sat himself at the kitchen table; Susan and Luna wordlessly followed and pulled up chairs next to him.
"Ron's going to be ok isn't he?" asked Luna, nervously fiddling with the fabric of her robes.
"He'll be fine, you heard what Lupin said…" said Harry quietly. Luna nodded mutely and stared at the details of the table as if fixated. Susan moved closer to her and put an arm around her shoulder.
"He will be fine Luna," she said "Don't worry about your dad either, they'll put them all somewhere safe and then we can go and visit them." Luna nodded her head again and rested her head on her friends shoulder. They sat there in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Eventually Luna broke the silence.
"He'll get over it Harry. He was bound to be angry when he found out, though I do think you should have just been honest with him from the start."
"You saw how he reacted Luna. Can you imagine if I'd just sat him down and told him calmly that I wanted to be with Hermione?" Said Harry irritably.
"You mean that you love Hermione," said Susan matter of factly.
"Susan…" began Harry but was interrupted by Luna.
"Ok ok," she said "Let's not get into that now. Harry's not quite ready for that yet. What I think we should do is talk about our situation. It will help us take our minds off things. I hate sitting around with nothing to do but worry. What happened this evening with the sword was quite interesting Harry. I bet that it would work the same for Susan and I if we used the tiara and the cup. If our magic intensifies when we use them then we need to start learning how to wield that kind of power. I think we should get the items and begin practicing with them." Harry stared at Luna for a moment. He really wanted to just stay here and wait for Hermione to get back, but he knew it could be a while and he would get sick of waiting around and doing nothing. There was so much that still needed to be done…
"Let me go and remove the evil in that cup first, then we can figure this all out," said Harry quietly and he stood up to leave the kitchen.
"I think we should go to Hogwarts to do this," said Susan quickly before Harry could leave "I think we need to find out more about the four founders before we start experimenting in this kind of stuff. I don't know about you two but I need to make sure Hermione is right before I start meddling in powerful magic." Harry nodded in head and left the kitchen to move all their baggage upstairs into their rooms and retrieve the cup. He only hoped he'd have enough strength to go to Hogwarts afterwards.
Luna and Susan sat in the kitchen, quietly discussing the evening's events.
"So…" said Susan, trying to be casual but not being successful "How do you really think Ron's going to act when he gets back? He looked so angry. Poor Harry and Hermione."
"Ron will be just fine," said Luna tersely "He's taken this too far anyway. He knows that Hermione doesn't want to be with him but he still tried to punish her anyway. He needs to grow up. Besides, he doesn't want Hermione; he just wanted something that Harry didn't have. He loves Harry, but he's always been in his shadow. I guess that manifested itself into a crush on Hermione."
"How do you feel Luna?" asked Susan worriedly "It can't be easy watching the man you love fighting because of some other woman."
"Especially since it's so obvious she loves Harry! I mean, honestly how could he have missed it all? They're always staring at each other and blushing when they catch the other one looking at them. You know I really thought he was warming up to me Susan, always asking me to play chess with him and asking if I would make him a necklace. I'm so fed up, do you think he'll ever want me?"
"Of course he will. He's just too stupid to know it right now. You're the best thing that could ever happen to him. I admire the way you've stuck by him, I would have stopped bothering with him a long time ago. Of course, I've never been in love before so I guess I shouldn't say that…" said Susan, smiling at her friend.
"When do you think Harry will admit he loves Hermione?" asked Luna quietly. Susan smiled and shook her head in exasperation.
"I don't know, but it's so obvious he does. I'm getting rather annoyed actually…I know he's a bit scared because then she'll be his one weakness and… " replied Susan, but looked up to see a very weary Harry leaning on the doorframe. They both stood up quickly and went over to him, he had a slight sweat on his forehead and he looked as weak as a kitten. He was gasping a little and looked like he was fighting the urge to fall onto the floor. Susan pulled out her wand and made a swirling motion, and Harry's gasping stopped. He stood up and smiled, stretching his legs and rolling his shoulders.
"Wow," he said, "What was that? I feel like I've just had a good nights sleep and a really large cup of coffee."
"A little spell I learnt while we were taking our exams. It just refreshes you if you've been up all night studying, and it has a healing property in there too. Not if you've been seriously injured of course, but anything minor can be taken care of," she said briskly.
"I think we should all get together and go over some spells. Neville has a great one that we should all learn, I think if we used the heirs objects to intensify it we could cause Voldemort some real pain…" said Harry happily.
"Sounds like a good idea." said Luna "But the clock is ticking and if we hurry up we can make it to the great hall in time for breakfast!" Harry's stomach rumbled at the thought and he nodded his head in vigorous agreement.
"Lets go then," he said "But one more thing before we go…Stop talking about me loving Hermione will you? I swear if I hear it one more time I'll go insane…"
"Sure Harry," said Susan grinning
"Anything you say Harry," said Luna dreamily, a slight smile playing upon her face. Harry shook his head and forced images of Hermione out of his mind. He hoped she was ok, he hoped her parents were ok, he hoped she'd come back today…
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