Chapter 3 - Amalgamation
"Surely you must be joking," Shacklebolt said loudly.
"I am not, Kingsley," Dumbledore replied. "The Order of the Phoenix was originally created by me to fight Voldemort after my experiences in the war against Grindelwald showed me the need for such an organization. At first I had hopes of the Order defeating Voldemort and then once I learned the prophecy it was my desire that it keep a resistance alive until the one whose destiny it was to lead this battle should be ready. That time has come and Harry is more prepared than I could have ever hoped for to meet this challenge. Unless I am very mistaken when the veteran core of the Order strengthens the Light Bearers we will at last have a force capable of combating the Death Eaters on an even level for the first time in this war."
Kingsley looked skeptical but before he could say anything they were interrupted by the twins, Ginny, and Molly returning from the Burrow. The four of them looked around at the odd assortment of people ranging from the Grangers to the Order members.
"I'm glad you are all safe," Harry said as soon as he saw them. Harry and Hermione had not gotten to speak with Molly since winter break. Each of them felt slightly guilty, for different reasons, since Ron had been injured. Harry felt bad for not figuring out what was wrong with him in time. Hermione was ashamed that she had nearly killed him in a fit of rage without even bothering to consider that Ron might be under magical control after he used a portkey to take Harry to Voldemort.
"So what's up here mates?" Fred asked. He was looking directly at the golden emblem lying out in the open on the table.
"The Order has decided to join us," Harry said simply. "We need to bring up the protective clothing, potions, and equipment to supply them."
"First," Hermione interrupted, a gleam in her eye, "I need for our newest member to divulge certain information vital to our cause."
"I will not tell you the secrets of the Sorcerer's Stone," Dumbledore replied coolly.
"What?!" Shacklebolt said incredulously.
"I thought you were going to join us," Hermione said aggressively to Dumbledore. She purposefully ignored the belligerent auror.
"I know enough about the Light Bearers to be aware that your members take no oaths, no binding magical contracts to serve, and thus by the terms you yourself made I cannot be compelled to do anything I don't wish to," Dumbledore said in his most maddeningly serene voice. Hermione looked ready to burst a blood vessel at his slippery evasion.
"We'll be grateful for any assistance you can give us," Harry said diplomatically. "Maybe in time you'll trust all our decisions as much as you apparently trust our ability to run this conflict."
"Well then in that spirit I have some suggestions," Dumbledore said heartily. Hermione scowled but held her peace as the old wizard continued. "The first thing you need to do is reveal your identity."
"You've got to be kidding," Hermione snorted.
"What possible good could that do?" Harry asked. "We've gone to great lengths to keep our identities hidden."
"Normally I would agree," Dumbledore said, "but there are two reasons why it is pointless and even counter productive to keep them hidden anymore. Now that the prophecy is known it will help rally people to your cause and impede Ministry attempts in interfering in our work. Furthermore, it is only a matter of time before Voldemort knows of your leadership role, assuming that he doesn't already. With a secret like that it will burn in the front of the minds of those who know when they try to conceal it. Since some of those whom you've told are not gifted in Occlumency the first strong legilimens they run across will pry it from them. Even the Fidelius Charm can't protect such a widely known secret."
Harry thought back to his first encounter with Voldemort when he had the Sorcerer's Stone in his pocket and realized Dumbledore was right. The harder he had tried to hide the secret the more it weighed prominently in his mind. Voldemort had been able to tell exactly where it was.
"So what you're saying is that the Death Eater you let run around in Hogwarts probably already pried the information out of Ron," Hermione said bitterly.
"Yes, that is a distinct possibility," Dumbledore said with a sigh.
Harry patted Hermione's hand gently and used their link to beg her to calm down while Dumbledore continued to list his suggestions. The rest were mainly tactics and strategies that he had found to be useful. Harry called in Ron to listen to these while the twins and Molly went to get new cloaks for the Order members.
The twins set several shrunken ornate boxes of the Light Bearers down on the table with a thump before taking seats flanking Harry and Hermione. After the boxes were enlarged Arthur opened his and took out a set of black robes. The left shoulder had the Light Bearer symbol outlined in silver.
"We're not going to put any Order members into our established structure," Hermione said. "Instead the Order will be its own wing and Dumbledore will continue to lead it."
"What, don't trust us to take instructions well?" Shacklebolt sneered.
"No, I doubt some of you will since you're all joining on the request of Dumbledore instead of strictly by your own free will," Harry replied.
"I assure you," Dumbledore interrupted, "There will be consensus on this matter."
"Regardless," Hermione said. She removed her wand and waved it at the cloak Arthur was holding. Where a rank would normally appear a red phoenix outline materialized instead. "It would be too disruptive to our still new structure to have an existing group dispersed into it in such a fashion."
"Moving on," Harry said before Dumbledore could respond. "We need to plan our counter attack before Voldemort realizes how much opposition he still has. I want the Order to supply all the intelligence that they have on Voldemort's strongholds."
"We don't know any," Dumbledore replied.
"What? But how?" Hermione sputtered.
"We hit every known Death Eater hideout we were aware of when Harry was kidnapped by Voldemort. We planned on using those attacks as a stalling tactic to evacuate the country should our rescue attempt fail," Dumbledore explained. Hermione had a look of mixed disbelief that they knew nothing about where the dark forces were at and appreciation that the Order had actually taken such a practical step.
"What about Snape?" Harry asked. "He's with Voldemort's forces right now is he not?"
"We dare not use any of the information that Professor Snape has provided for us because to do so would risk exposing him as a spy," Dumbledore explained. "We can only use information that we could have gotten from a source other than him."
"Fine," Ron broke in aggressively, "then we'll use the intelligence that we've gathered."
Ron waved his wand at the table and several large charts appeared. They were rather detailed maps and accompanying reports that outlined the handful of suspected Death Eater locations that various members had been able to supply.
"Our best shot at getting additional information on Death Eater activity is at this old abandoned structure just outside London," Ron said indicating a rough sketch. "According to a witch that lives near it at least one known Voldemort sympathizer was seen going in."
"That's your idea of a lead?" Shacklebolt asked haughtily.
"It's our best shot right now," Ron bristled. "We've got a crude layout of the structure. We can send in a team tonight to search for supplies and if we're lucky we might even get a prisoner to interrogate."
"We can finally get a serious test of our field control and tactics too," Hermione said. Harry knew that she was worried that they would be unable to keep track of many simultaneous operations and since none of them had hardly any combat experience their performance in these types of raids would be an open question too.
"I'll leave it to your capable hands then," Dumbledore said. Harry didn't think the Headmaster was being sarcastic but Shacklebolt on the other hand barely managed to keep from rolling his eyes.
"I'll notify the people that will be going so they'll be prepared," Ron said as everyone stood. Whenever possible they tried to notify their members of their missions ahead of time so that they could make excuses for their absences if necessary.
"Good thinking Ron. In the mean time we're going to check in on all the refugees again and make sure everyone is all right." Hermione said.
It was depressing to walk through Grimmauld Place now that it was crammed full of people, most of who had lost nearly everything they owned. Some of them had lost family members too, their gaunt faces attesting to the pain they felt. Harry's old room, the master bedroom, had been transformed into a rough infirmary to handle those who had arrived injured. Harry and Hermione had done all they could but in the end they had to let Madam Pomfrey, the Order's only qualified healer, treat most of the cases.
"I wonder if there are any books on healing in the library," Hermione said after they had finished checking in on the injured.
The library looked the same as when they had left it but it felt different. The magical torches that flared along the walls seemed to be glowing dimmer than they had in the past but Harry wasn't sure if they really were or he was just imagining it. The great black cabinet that Hermione had created to protect the books that Shacklebolt had wanted to throw away looked a bit ominous too. Hermione was consulting with an index book so Harry decided to look it over. It was surprisingly cold to the touch and the seal on it tingled slightly in his presence. Harry knew how it was made but that didn't keep him from admiring such a superb example of permanent conjuring.
"Come on Harry, second floor," Hermione said finally. Harry followed her up the stairs and back into a dingy corner of the library that had obviously never got much use. The book Hermione wanted was apparently on one of the top shelves. Hermione's bushy hair bounced as she tried to stand on her tiptoes to get a large blue book.
"Here let me get that," Harry said. He was taller but there was no point to strain himself. Instead Harry just flicked his wand and summoned the book into Hermione's hands. "Aren't you the one always reminding me that I'm a wizard?"
Hermione grinned sheepishly, "I was raised a muggle too, remember? When I was young I spent lots of time in the library with no magic to help me get books and old habits die hard."
"I suppose so," Harry grinned back. "Now where is the next book at?"
"Other than the one we already found that's it," Hermione said solemnly.
"You mean out of this entire library they only had two books on healing?" Harry asked incredulously.
"I don't think that the Blacks were interested in healing people," Hermione said softly as they walked down the stairs towards the doors
"Neither am I when it comes down to it." Harry added sadly. "I've mastered even the Killing Curse, but I can't do much more than a basic healing charm."
"No Harry," Hermione said vehemently. She grabbed him by the shoulders forcefully and wrenched his gaze to hers. "First of all the word you are searching for here is we, we as in you and I both. More importantly there are more ways to heal than with a spell Harry. We've mastered terrible powers of destruction in order to keep people from needing a healer in the first place."
"It just…it feels so wrong sometimes," Harry said.
"You're a good person Harry, you don't want to hurt anyone." Hermione said, hugging him tightly. "We didn't start the killing though, Voldemort did. He's the enemy of all free people everywhere and in war the enemy dictates the terms of battle."
"I don't know if I can do it," Harry said thickly.
"You have to Harry, we all have to. Promise me if you have to choose between your life or theirs you'll…please don't die Harry," Hermione said, her voice becoming high and squeaky.
"I won't on purpose," Harry tried to joke, but his heart was breaking at seeing Hermione so distressed. "It'll be okay Hermione. We'll both live for each other, no matter what."
Hermione clutched to Harry's thin frame as they just let each other's warm presence sooth them. Harry stroked Hermione's hair gently and thought about what he might be forced to do in the very near future. When he had first heard the prophecy he had despaired that he would have to become a murderer or else be murdered. Even now the idea of killing someone still caused his stomach to twist, but he could no longer believe that killing was always murder…not like he had believed it at first.
"Harry, this is war," Hermione said raggedly, "war Harry, nothing less. We've got to stop them in any way possible."
Harry didn't reply but he knew that she was probably right, as usual. It seemed so simple when one looked at it logically. Either the Death Eaters are stopped and Voldemort is killed or else Hermione and everyone else who has ever opposed the self styled Dark Lord dies. Understanding what had to be done intellectually didn't bring Harry any emotional solace though. Suddenly the door opened. Reflexively the couple jerked apart and spun to face a startled looking Molly.
"We were, uh, just looking for a healing book," Hermione said hastily. Inwardly she wasn't even sure why she was bothering since that bloody article would be released any time now.
"Its okay dear," Molly said gently. "I suspected you and Harry were together for a long time, but I knew for sure when Dumbledore told us about your soul bond."
"Right, see, first of all why is everyone calling it a soul bond and what does that have to do with anything?" Harry asked. He felt frustration well up anew over the impending complication to their lives that would be caused by widespread knowledge of their relationship.
"He didn't tell you?" Molly asked. At their confused expressions she continued. "Well, I can see why he might not. A soul bond, which is what you two share, is a connection that's created in part by shared love."
"That's not what the book said though," Hermione argued. "The book said that any wizards of sufficient power and knowledge could master the skill."
"You found this in a book?" Molly asked skeptically. "Well, if the book said something different then it was simply to mislead you. Very few wizards know about the soul bond because pre-knowledge of it will cause anyone who attempts it to fail. Love isn't a skill that can be learned so if two people knew that love was necessary they would be trying to evoke the emotion in order to master the bond and then it wouldn't be true love enough to work."
"Wait, then how do you know about it?" Harry asked. "Do you have one with Arthur?"
"No," Molly replied wistfully, "The book was partly correct. Only two people of immense power can master the soul bond and neither Arthur nor I were ever that strong. There is one person we know who is though."
"Dumbledore," Hermione breathed. "He had a bond?"
"Yes, he did, with his wife Abigail," Molly said reluctantly. "He only told the story once but he was so out of it at the time that I'm not sure he realized he did."
"What happened?" Harry asked though he was dreadful of the answer.
Molly hesitated but at their demanding looks continued. "When Albus led the group of wizards that participated in the final battle with Grindelwald one of those who accompanied him was Abigail. Dumbledore was the only person who had a chance to prevail again the Dark Lord but she wouldn't let him go alone of course. No one saw exactly what happened but their battle lasted for hours, even after the rest of the fighting between lesser wizards had finished. When it was over Gindelwald was gone but so was poor Abigail. Albus wouldn't say anything about what happened except that she had saved him."
"Why didn't she flee into his mind?" Hermione whispered. She herself had nearly died and been saved by her bond with Harry.
"I don't know," Molly said, "This is magic beyond my comprehension. I didn't even know it was possible until you did it."
"So that's why Dumbledore is like he is," Harry said distantly. "He's been trying to protect me and do everything himself because he doesn't want us to end up like him and Abigail."
Hermione looked devastated. She had been very hard on the Headmaster during the last few months. Even the knowledge that she was right didn't help ease the pain of grasping the old man's traumatic loss. How could she blame someone who had suffered so for poor judgement when the things he did was just his best attempt to prevent her and Harry from enduring a fate similar to his?
Hermione looked like she wanted to say something but before she could do so they were startled by a shout following a loud thud from downstairs in the main hall. Footfalls fell heavily the stairs and before anyone could react a distraught looking George had burst into the library.
"Come quick," he gasped, "It's Remus and he's bad hurt."
Harry stood numbly for an instant, too long apparently since Hermione grabbed his forearm and hauled him along behind her. They raced down the stairs and found the haggard looking werewolf lying prone on the floor with a sickening pool of blood accumulating under him. Harry dimly wondered why old Mrs. Black wasn't screaming her head off at all the noise that was going on right in front of her painting.
Madam Pomfrey came scurrying down the hall from the opposite direction with Fred in tow. Hermione had already started administering a healing charm but Pomfrey shoved her aside to begin a more professional treatment. Harry refrained from asking the questions he so longed to about if his friend would live so that Madam Pomfrey could concentrate. Hermione's arms wrapped themselves consolingly around him and he reciprocated as they both looked on feeling helpless.
After several minutes of frenzied efforts on the part of the Madam Pomfrey she finally seemed satisfied that Remus was going to make it. The expert Hogwarts' healer levitated him into the main living room and into a soft bed that Hermione conjured.
"Can you wake him?" Hermione asked after he was settled.
"Absolutely not, he needs rest," Madam Pomfrey replied in a scandalized tone.
"It's obvious that his cover was blown," Hermione explained. "We need information on where he was and what happened. How soon can we wake him."
"There is nothing keeping him asleep," Madam Pomfrey said grudgingly. "I expect he'll awake within a few hours. He lost a lot of blood but I got a replenishing potion into him. His other injuries were mainly broken bones and lacerated organs easily enough repaired. We're just lucky they didn't use silver."
Harry conjured up two large ornately gilded chairs for himself and Hermione to sit in while they watched over Remus. In other circumstance Harry would have taken a moment to admire his own handiwork but for now he was too concerned with his mentor, the last real link he had with his father. Remus had always seemed to be a worn threadbare type of individual but Harry saw his mortality showing more starkly than ever before in the werewolf's gaunt frame.
They sat in silence for a while before Hermione decided that they might as well put themselves to some productive task while they were waiting. She retrieved the book they had found on healing charms and together they read through its tedious pages filled with complex techniques.
"How is he?" Mrs. Granger asked. She had snuck into the room along with her husband while they were preoccupied with their book. Harry suddenly felt uncomfortable since he and Hermione had been sitting pretty close together.
"He was tortured Mum," Hermione said bluntly, "Madam Pomfrey thinks that they used physical means instead of magical because they wanted to mutilate him while they were at it. If he hadn't gotten away when he did he would have probably suffered permanent disability."
Harry grimaced at the Granger's expressions when they absorbed this disturbing news. He could see why Hermione had been reluctant to tell them the naked truth about things in the past. Still, they seemed to be handling the prospect of their child being under such perilous threat better than he would have expected. They were calm and logical people just like their daughter.
There was a cracking sound as Kreacher abruptly appeared. He scrapped low in an awkward bow. "Master and Missus," he squeaked, "the fat loud muggle is pestering Kreacher about his room he is sir. Nasty dirty muggle bossing Kreacher around, old Missus would be ashamed she would…"
"Thank you Kreacher for bringing this to my attention," Harry said. He decided that he still needed to keep the evil little elf appeased with the notion that Harry was a dark wizard. "I need the muggle due to his wife's role in a powerful enchantment."
"Master is wise," Kreacher said with an eerie cackle as he cracked away. No doubt he figured Harry was going to disembowel the lot of them anytime now so he could perform a ritual or something.
"I guess I'd better go see to them," Harry said uncomfortably.
"Wait," Mr. Granger said with an embarrassed tone. "I'm afraid this may be a little our fault. That little fellow, Kreacher, put us in the same room as your uncle since space is so tight now. We, uh, had a disagreement over how the room would be divided. We didn't mean to offend your family…"
"They're not my family," Harry said sharply. "Don't worry about it, I'll deal with them."
"I'll go with you," Hermione said quickly, her voice laced with concern. She motioned for her parents to follow them and Harry could have sworn he heard her tell them in a terse voice, "Remember what I told you about the Dursleys?"
Harry sighed as he climbed the stairs. He didn't think anyone fully appreciated all the suffering he had endured over the years at the hands of the Dursleys except for Hermione. She had seen what happened first hand in his mind. After the time she spent in his head she shared a multitude of his thoughts and feelings just as he had gained hers.
Harry pushed into the large master bedroom and felt a little wave of anger that the Dursleys could be causing a problem over such a spacious room in the first place. The Dursleys looked equally irate at their accommodations despite the fact that they had taken over the bed as well as nearly two thirds of the room. The Granger's belongings were piled in a corner next to a couple of sparse cots.
Vernon lashed out indignantly the instant he saw Harry. "This room is a bloody outrage boy, it's too small and you're making us share it with those people."
Harry felt Hermione stiffen next to him as Petunia broke in. "That nasty little creature keeps pestering us too. I won't have those freakish creatures around my Diddykins."
Harry glanced over to Dudley's massive bulk, which was trying and failing to be unobtrusive. The boy's bullying tendencies seemed to have melted into a pile of quivering fear at being trapped in a magical house.
"I didn't come here to listen to your complaints uncle," Harry said brusquely, "I came here to tell you that I expect you to share the limited space that we have available with the Grangers. That nasty little Kreacher is going to be watching to make sure that you do."
Vernon started to sputter with indignant rage but Harry cut him off. "I'm being perfectly reasonable uncle. If you don't like it then perhaps you'd prefer I treated you with the same generous attitude with which you treated me during my years under your roof?"
Vernon paled considerably but wasn't ready to give up. "You always were an ungrateful selfish mean…"
"Ungrateful for being worked like a slave," Hermione burst out angrily. "I'm not entirely sure why Harry is going to such great lengths to be so nice to you people. He's saving your lives right this instant and all you can do is insult him."
"It's okay Hermione," Harry said softly. He flicked his wand and replaced the Granger's cot with a nice plain bed. The room reorganized itself into two equal halves. "As soon as possible I'll get you rooms separate from everyone else."
The Grangers looked uncomfortable as they followed the two teens when they left. The Dursley's looked sour but Harry was confident that they would be more agreeable with the Grangers until separate rooms could be arranged.
Harry was still distracted by his thoughts over the Dursleys when he and Hermione made it back to the main room. Molly and Madam Pomfrey were hovering over Remus rather anxiously.
"I think he's starting to come around," Madam Pomfrey said hesitantly. Sure enough Remus was making some noise and thrashing about feebly. Molly got out a vial of something that Harry assumed must work like smelling salts do for muggles since she held it under Remus' nose so he could inhale the fumes.
Madam Pomfrey looked askance at Molly's remedy but held her tongue when the werewolf's eyes began to flutter uncertainly open. He coughed roughly and groaned as Madam Pomfrey waved her wand over him some more. Molly had a bowl of some sort of liquid that she tried to press on him, but Remus shook his head and pushed it away.
"Dumbledore," he managed to squeeze out, gasping to get enough air to talk.
Harry and Hermione rushed to his side. "It's okay Remus," Harry reassured him, "Dumbledore isn't here right now but you can tell us."
"We need to know where you were at," Hermione said pointedly, "where is the werewolf base?"
Remus looked unsure of what to do for a second until Molly broke in. "It's all right Remus, a lot has happened since you've been gone. Albus has joined forces with the Light Bearers."
Realization spread across the shabby werewolf's face. "That's you guys?"
"Sorry we couldn't tell you sooner," Harry said apologetically.
"Not really surprised," Remus coughed, "do you have a map?"
"Right, Kreacher," Harry called. The little elf appeared. "Get Ron down here immediately and tell him to bring a map, he needs to hear this."
Kreacher bowed and disappeared to carry out Harry's orders. A moment later Ron came bounding into the room followed by Luna and Ginny.
"He's awake," Ron said excitedly. Ron had always gotten along exceptionally well with Remus.
"Are you feeling better Mr. Lupin?" Luna asked serenely.
"Better," Remus wheezed and tried to grin.
"Don't strain yourself," Madam Pomfrey said sharply, then addressed the crowd. "I know you need to talk to him but I must stress that you do it quickly so his body can begin to regain its strength."
Hermione nodded as Ron spread the map on a table Harry summoned up next to where Remus was lying. The map was charmed so that it could zoom in or out of a particular location. Thus when Remus jabbed his finger at a specific spot it automatically magnified itself so he could point again and quickly gain a precise location.
"There," he said finally after the seventh magnification process. "That's the entrance to an old coal mine that snakes back into that hill. There are maybe fifteen to twenty-five werewolves stationed there at any given time. Only four of us were wizards though, the rest were muggles who had been bitten on purpose to expand our ranks."
"What kind of defenses does it have?" Hermione pressed.
"Secrecy was the main defense but there are anti-apparation wards in place too and a portkey dispersion spell to prevent incoming travelers, but it only covers a small area. I expect the base will be abandoned since I've escaped or even worse the Death Eaters may be setting up a trap there." Remus said in a slow labored tone.
"Ginny, go get your dad and Professor McGonagall please," Harry requested. Ginny didn't say anything but jumped up to comply.
"What are you considering Harry?" Hermione asked. She was aware that everyone was staring at them now, probably wondering if they were talking to each other telepathically.
"We're going to need to send two teams. One to the original mission since some of the werewolves may have fled there as a temporary shelter and one to this base to check it out for potential clues to other Death Eater locations," Harry explained.
"You want Order members to accompany each group?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, it would make sense since they are the experts at this." Harry replied.
"I like it, that's a good idea," Hermione agreed.
"Here's something you won't like though. We need to split up." Harry said tentatively.
"You're right, I don't like it," Hermione responded.
"If we meet an avatar at either place then we'll need to be there or the team wouldn't stand a chance. We don't have breaker teams we can send in for support yet." Harry explained his reasoning.
"I suppose," Hermione reluctantly agreed with the mental equivalent of a sigh. "I also suppose you want to go to the coal mine base too, don't you?"
"I'm the best candidate to since it's the most potentially dangerous spot. If worst comes to worst I can take on everything at once assuming that Voldemort doesn't show up. The prophecy makes me invincible to anything less," Harry said.
"What if Voldemort does show up though?" Hermione said with concern.
"That's just a risk we're going to have to take and unless I miss my guess we're going to be taking that same risk pretty often from now on," Harry said with resignation in his telepathic voice.
Hermione sighed audibly. Ginny had returned with Professor McGonagall and Arthur. "Okay, here's what we've decided. Ron, Ginny, Arthur and Luna are with me. We're going to go ahead with the original plan to hit the warehouse. Professor McGonagall, Moody, and the team that the twins have set up will go with Harry to the werewolves' base. Everyone get ready to go, the original pre-mission meeting time is only an hour away and we're going to be keeping it."
Madam Pomfrey had gone back to treating Remus as soon as he had finished talking. Harry and Hermione gave him their well wishes one last time before he drank a sleeping potion. The couple hurried off up the stairs to the library even though they wouldn't need anywhere near an hour to get prepared for their mission. By the time they closed the heavy doors behind them Hermione was visibly nervous and Harry didn't feel very courageous himself.
"I don't know if I can do it Harry," Hermione said. She embraced him urgently, wrapping her arms around him as if he might disappear at any moment.
"If you can't do it no one can," Harry said reassuringly. "You rescued me from Voldemort remember? You're one of only three people to stand up to him alone and survive. Even my parents had to face him as a pair to escape."
"It was so different then, not like this," Hermione said softly. People would be counting on her. Lives would rest on both their actions. "I was so angry and desperate I could hardly think. The whole thing was surreal as if I were just an observer."
"I'm scared too," Harry said. "We're not fighters…not really. We've fought, but no one ever trained us like an auror and we don't have decades of experience like Dumbledore. Just think, if you could stand up to Voldemort when you were so distraught that you could barely function just think how much better you'll do now that you've got your wits about you."
Hermione smiled feebly and let out a little laugh. "I'm being silly," she blushed.
"Never," Harry said firmly and before she could say anything else he drew her into a tender kiss. For as long as they could the young couple just sat and held each other, both trying to keep from thinking that this could be the last time that they would be together. All too soon it was time for them to go out and put on a strong face to all the people who were counting on them to do what no one else had any chance of doing; defeat Voldemort.
"We'll portkey to one of our staging areas at first," Hermione said as she transfigured a long metallic rod into a portkey. "When we arrive we will meet up with the rest of the members who will be going and assign operational numbers."
Hermione had come up with a system for identification in the field by having each team member be assigned a temporary number which could be emblazoned on their cloak like a nationality arm patch might be placed on a muggle soldier's uniform. Harry was doubly glad about this scheme since he found it impossible to remember all the names of the various Light Bearers that the twins had managed to recruit over the months.
Everyone seemed a little nervous as they reached out to grasp the rod but they didn't have any time to dwell on it before they were whisked away and deposited in a tiny apartment located in a small village. The great thing about being wizards and witches is that their ease of transportation allowed them many more basing options than a muggle team would be able to utilize.
A few minutes after the group from Grimmauld Place arrived the remaining four Light Bearers apparated in one at a time from their various locations. Everyone was wearing scarves around their faces to conceal their identity but there was no question as to who the two mages were that wore cloaks adorned with the golden symbol of the torch.
Harry stared for a moment at the four members that until now he had never met. He knew about them in an abstract way from reading the information that the twins had sent along with their recommendations. One was a working class witch that gathered wood for broom manufacture. Another was an accountant for a wizarding corporation. Grey hair peeked from around the scarf on the third and Harry believed that he was the retired pest control worker that took care of magical creatures that bothered muggles. Harry couldn't remember what the final wizard did for a living but the point he was trying to make to himself was that they were all just average nondescript people who wanted nothing more than to be left alone. They had all graduated from Hogwarts with outstanding grades and were probably some of the best fighters the Light Bearers had but they weren't Ministry Hit Wizards or aurors. They were a true citizen's militia.
"For now my name is Fantail," Harry said, then indicated Hermione, "and this is Greywing. We're going to split up into to separate teams and portkey as close as we can to two separate Death Eater strongholds. Greywing will be leading the first team."
Harry stepped back to let Hermione address her own group even though most of them already knew what was going on. She brought out a map of the warehouse. "When we arrive we will penetrate the structure at this side door. We don't expect there to be any Death Eaters there but we will search the place and secure each room one at a time as if there were. Then we'll set up ambushes at strategic locations inside the building in anticipation of Fantail's raid."
"My group will be hitting a known werewolf base that may or may not be abandoned at this point. The assumption is that Voldemort has a presence there and he is expecting us with a trap, though the base may instead be simply abandoned. Our objective is to scour the base for any clues about other Death Eater locations, seize any useful material available, and if possible capture Voldemort supporters for interrogation. We'll be leaving soon after Greywing's team in order to give them enough time to set up a trap to capture anyone who may flee to the warehouse location from the base we're raiding." Harry explained.
"Remember," Hermione said. "If you encounter an avatar, or worse yet Voldemort himself, retreat and summon myself or Fantail. Believe me when I say that you cannot stand up to one of them and hope to survive. We cannot promise that all of you will come back from this alive so be under no illusions. We can promise however that we will be the first to step into battle, the last to leave, and we will leave no one behind."
Harry was glad he didn't have to say anything else since he wasn't sure his voice would work properly after Hermione's words. Instead he simply saluted her, a gesture which the other Light Bearers, even McGonagall, mirrored. In the past such a salute had been given as symbols of respect to social superiors. Now it was a symbol of their dedication to each other and to the greater cause of freedom for all creatures from Voldemort's terror.
Hermione held out her metallic rod for the others in her group to grab. There was a flicker of motion and then nothing as they went rushing away to the warehouse location.
Harry conjured an identical metal rod and transfigured it into a portkey that would land them close to the edge of the dispersion field surrounding the old mine.
Moody had an even more difficult time than most concealing his identity but he had agreed to with minimal complaining since secrecy appealed to his paranoid nature. He looked less fearsome with his big magical eye covered up behind his scarf and his wooden leg wrapped in cloth fortified with a silencing charm to prevent the loud clunking sound it made. His patience however was still as short as ever.
"You ready to get this show movin' there…uh…Fantail," he said in his usual deep grouchy voice. Harry supposed he should be thankful that the retired auror managed to refrain from calling him "Potter."
"Yeah, anytime now Number Two," Harry replied, referring to the magical numbers he had given everyone. Professor McGonagall had drawn Number One in the random selection when Harry performed the charm.
"Go Harry, we're set up on this end," Hermione's voice echoed through his mind.
"Everyone grab on," Harry instructed. Six hands reached out, a familiar tug yanked at them, and an instant later they were deposited behind an outcropping of rocks. Acceleration charms were out of the question because they needed to go in as stealthily as possible.
"Invisibility cloaks out," Harry said as he faded from sight behind his invisibility charm.
"Blasted charm is too strong," Moody grumbled as he bumped up against Harry when they set out. Harry made a mental note that he and Hermione needed to create eyepieces like ones that the aurors use to see through invisibility.
After a little initial confusion they made good time and soon were situated outside the entrance to the mine. They used wand flashes to coordinate while invisible, but Harry didn't want to trust that method inside a dark mine where each flash would make them a stark target. Instead of risking them going in blind he indicated that everyone should wait and conjured up a snake. It was hard to make sure that no one overheard him using the snake language that would almost assuredly give his identity away to those who didn't already know it, but he managed. With a hiss the snake disappeared into the entrance to the mine.
Minutes ticked past and Harry knew that soon he was going to have to make another move. If he didn't the rest of the team was going to start wondering what was going on. He signaled for everyone to remain in position before ducking into the mine entrance himself. He hoped that if it were a trap his invisibility charm would give him an edge.
He need not have worried. The conjured snake was coming toward him hissing its report. Harry listened intently for a moment before banishing the snake back to the oblivion he had called it from. The base was apparently deserted but there were several storerooms and an assortment of personal effects in a makeshift barracks.
Harry canceled the invisibility charm and went back outside. "Clear, everyone move in, numbers two, four, and five are with me. Everyone else spread out and find the wards then report back."
Harry led the way through the complex using the description the snake had provided to him. The mine tunnels flared outward and upward into a large chamber that was stacked with dozens of large crates.
"Wonder what this stuff is?" Moody said in his grouchy voice as he kicked one of the crates.
Harry went over and tapped one of them with his wand. The lid levitated off a few inches before clattering to the floor. Inside was a stack of potion ingredients. He went to the next box and found another set of ingredients.
"You know what this is?" Harry said in a hushed voice. He might not have recognized the ingredients had it not been for him knowing what type of creatures had been living in the freshly abandoned base. "They're making Wolf's Bane potion."
"Wolf's Bane?" Moody echoed incredulously. "That's real clever."
"What is?" Number Four asked. Harry wished he could remember names better.
"A werewolf is most dangerous when it's transformed," Harry explained. "The only problem is that a werewolf is just as likely to attack a friend as a foe because its mind goes feral during the transformation."
"So they use the Wolf's Bane potion to keep their minds intact when they transform," Number Five finished.
"The perfect werewolf weapon," Moody added.
"We can use this stuff ourselves," Harry said. He waved his wand and shrunk all the crates down to more manageable sizes. "Number Five you get to take these back to one of our expendable locations. We'll check them for tracing charms and traps there."
Harry transfigured another rod into a portkey and handed it to Number Five. He finished gathering up the now tiny boxes of Wolf's Bane ingredients and then flickered away as the portkey activated.
"Come on," Harry said after he left. "Let's find those wards, I want to take the protections on this place down and leave some of our own before we go."
They wandered through the various shafts and tunnels until finally Professor McGonagall found them. She had found the wards down in the center of another large cavern near the bottom of the mine. Portions of the walls were sagging and some of the ancient looking support beams were already sagging dangerously. In the middle of the room were two ward papers stuck onto a pole that was driven into the ground.
"Okay, everyone fan out and search the area while I work on these," Harry instructed.
"Harry, I've almost finished going through the things that were left behind here. We've found nothing substantial so far, how are things there?" Hermione asked. Harry had drawn his wand but lowered it while he concentrated on replying to her for a moment.
"We found a huge stockpile of ingredients for the Wolf's Bane potion," Harry replied. "I'm trying to bring the wards down right now."
"Wolf's Bane?" Hermione said. "This is bad Harry, who knows how many werewolves Voldemort has recruited by now."
"I know, and now we'll be facing them in their most powerful form every month with their minds intact," Harry said grimly. Hermione replied with the mental equivalent of a shiver before letting Harry get back to work.
The wards were not terribly powerful or complex so Harry doubted that Voldemort had created them himself. He wondered just how many Death Eaters could do things like wards when to the best of his knowledge very few former Order members were capable.
"Are you almost done Fantail?" Professor McGonagall asked anxiously. She had returned along with the rest of the team from scouring the barracks.
"Nearly," Harry replied, "did you find anything helpful?"
"No and I doubt that there ever was anything here that would enable us to find other Death Eater strongholds. From all appearances everyone here portkeyed out the instant our informant escaped. They didn't take anything with them because they had nothing to take."
"Is this normal operating procedure for Voldemort's forces?" Harry asked softly so that the others wouldn't hear.
"We don't know really," McGonagall whispered in reply. "We've never got to a base this big this quickly before."
The wards crumbled to dust as Harry finished punching through the magical framework that held the corporeal spell together.
"Never?" he asked. Suddenly Harry had a sinking sensation. "We didn't even ask how he escaped."
"They let him go to lure us here?" Moody wheezed with alarm.
"Who knows, but now is no time to hang around…" Harry was cut off as spells exploded around them. Three tall figures wrapped in black cloaks seemed to shimmer into existence all around them.
"Protect Fantail," Professor McGonagall yelled. Everyone surrounded Harry in a tight ring.
"No," Harry yelled back, "retreat now, everyone leave this to me."
"You can't be serious boy," Moody said in a strained voice. The old auror had created a silver shield adorned with a badger.
"These are avatars now retreat," Harry yelled again. The Light Bearer members that didn't know who Harry was disappeared. Harry flicked his wand to push the stubborn professor and ex-auror back into the hallway to the side of the cavern.
"You cannot hope to resist us," one of the avatars wheezed out in a gravely voice that Harry suspected was magically disguised to make it seem more terrifying. Ice seemed to cling to their robes and decay spread behind them almost as if they were dementors. Harry jabbed his wand up into the air and spun it around quickly. Spears of pure light shot out and impaled the avatars pinning them to their surroundings.
The abominations were not even phased by the devastating spell. Before Harry could ready another enchantment they
launched powerful hexes designed to cripple an opponent. Harry staggered to the floor even though his cylinder barrier
shield absorbed the worst of the spells before shattering. Jagged shards rained down on the avatars but they swept them
away effortlessly. Terror gripped at Harry but he fought it down. He had to last as long as he could to find some
weakness against them.
"Harry," Hermione's voice echoed in his mind. "We're under attack, two avatars."
Two avatars! Harry laughed and shimmered away to Hermione's side as another round of hexes slammed into the spot he had just occupied. He and Hermione together might be able to prevail against two. A few feet away two crouching figures stared wide-eyed for a moment at what had just happened before cracking away to safety.
The warehouse was already on fire when Harry arrived. Hermione was standing in an open space with the two avatars circling around her in an attempt to get past her defenses. Harry immediately pressed his back up against hers and conjured a shield so that they could work as a team.
"Is everyone safe?" Harry asked quickly.
"Yes, I sent them away immediately," Hermione replied. "Be careful, they're trying to capture us."
"I know, I was attacked too," Harry said. Inwardly he grimaced at the fact that they were trying to capture Hermione. That could only mean they wanted to use her as a hostage to get to Harry. Hermione didn't say anything more because she apparently saw an opening to attack. An intense orange stream of liquid fire burst from her wand and tried to burn down the avatar nearest her. The twisted human apparated easily out of the path of destruction but the wall behind it was decimated.
"Hurry, double team one, breaker spells," Harry said. Moving as one Hermione and Harry dashed toward the avatar across from Harry. They sent out one bone shattering blast of focused energy after another and succeeded in breaking the snake adorned shield of their enemy. The avatar staggered as the thin line of an advanced cleaving spell smashed against its torso but amazingly the mortal blow didn't kill it.
"What are these things made of?" Harry yelled.
"Keep going," Hermione shouted back, "overwhelm it."
They didn't get the chance to. The three avatars Harry had fought suddenly materialized between them and their wounded foe.
"You cannot escape us," the tallest one intoned darkly. Harry and Hermione didn't reply with words but instead with twin jets of fire. Hermione's flame was even more potent than it had been mere moments before and Harry could feel desperation rising in her. The flame congealed into a roaring inferno around the dark minions before back lashing onto its casters. Harry opened his mouth to scream but no air came out as the force of the fire sucked up all the atmosphere around them.
Even though Harry and Hermione had stopped most of the damage the fire would have caused with their defensive bubbles of water element they had been unable to stop all the pain. They hadn't been burnt to death but it felt as if they had. Their clothes and hair were smoking charred wrecks too. The heavy felling of anti-apparation jinxes signaled that it was time to go. Their policy was not to stay in any battle when only one method of escape remained.
"This isn't over," Hermione said defiantly, coughing horribly, "not by a long shot."
The couple grabbed their wrists and activated the emergency portkeys hidden there to rush them back to the safety of Grimmauld Place.
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