A/N: Greetings, readers and reviewers! I would like to thank-you so much for all of your reviews for the last chapter. I appreciate the time you take to leave me a message. They do mean a lot to me. You may find the end of this chapter a bit dark; I think it is something that Harry had to experience before turning his life around. This is his deep dark hole. A special nod goes out to my Beta, Dementor149. He has been the "Demented Keeper" of my sanity throughout this whole process. So without any further ado, happy reading, and I hope to hear from you soon!
In my own little "demented" mind, Harry doesn't belong to JKR, he belongs to the world, and so I am free to do as I please…
Chapter 34
The Evils of War
The night of the intended attack was cool and clear. The DA arrived at the Burrow just before dusk. Bill and Fleur had come for a visit for the weekend, and so the entire Weasley family was home, save Percy, who was still not talking to them. Harry wasn't sure how Voldemort and his Death Eaters had found out about this planned visit, but it made it easier to explain why the entire clan was here. Mrs. Weasley was dead set against Ginny coming, but Ron convinced her that it would look strange if she wasn't there.
Harry rubbed his hands together to ward off the November chill as he went over the plan again in his head. It was simple. They would trap the Death Eaters in the anti-Apparition zone around the Burrow and try and take out as many as possible, as quietly as possible. Harry, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Seamus were under their invisibility cloaks, ready to strike. He had scattered them around the Weasley's property, taking advantage of the trees and hedges for cover. Lupin, Tonks and Moody were with the rest of the DA, creating a perimeter so they couldn't escape. Hopefully, this whole thing would be over before Voldemort and his followers were alerted.
Harry shifted under his invisibility cloak, scanning the area as he did so. He could see Neville leaning against a tree in his invisibility cloak, seemingly uninterested in his surroundings, but Harry could see his wand at the ready. He looked in the other direction to see Hermione's head peeking out from under her cloak as she gave last minute instructions to one of the hidden DA members. Harry watched as she finished and turned to face him. Her face didn't change as she pulled her hood up and vanished from view. He could still see her outline, thanks to the magic of the cloaks, and it brought back memories of the first time they had tried the cloaks on in the twins' shop.
Harry sighed. She had remained cool towards him, and he wished he had an answer to his dilemma. He missed her every day, but knew of no other way to keep her safe from Voldemort.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, it was harder to see everyone, and there was a tension in the crisp night air, as if everyone and everything was on hold. Harry had no idea of how this battle would turn out; this was the first time he had organized anything of this caliber. Lupin and McGonagall had offered suggestions, but they had left the final planning up to him. He worried about the safety of his team, and spent many moments double-checking that everyone was ready.
Harry was lost in his musings when he heard the distinct popping sound of wizards Apparating. Scarcely breathing, he watched as two of them slunk past where he was standing. He waited patiently until they were under the ward, and then he took the first one down with a silent `Petrificus Totalus'. The Death Eater fell stiffly to the ground with a soft thump, causing his partner to look around. He slowly approached his fallen comrade, wand out, ready for an attack. Harry watched with amusement as he kicked the fallen Death Eater with his foot. Obviously, they were not the brightest in the bunch, and probably expendable. He sent out the second silent spell, and the confused Death Eater joined his partner on the ground. Harry levitated them out of sight behind the bushes and bound them tightly. Hopefully, the rest of the Death Eaters could be caught just as quickly and quietly. He watched as Neville took out two more, and then duck back into the cover of the trees, to continue his vigil. Harry moved closer to the Burrow, looking for any sign of Death Eaters that may have slipped past his sentries. He figured there had to be more than four; Voldemort would send a small army against a Wizarding family such as the Weasley's.
He looked up at the sound of a creaky screen door to see Ron and the twins make their way out on to the front porch. Harry frowned. He knew they wouldn't stay indoors when there was fighting going on. He and Ron had argued about where the Weasley boys would be when the attack started. They were none too happy to be waiting it out on the inside of the Burrow. Ron moved to the front of the porch and Harry could tell he was looking for him or Hermione. Harry sighed and headed towards the house, intent on telling him to go back inside, when a movement to his left caught his eye. A Death Eater stood up from the cover of a bush with wand pointed towards the house.
"Ron!" Harry yelled as he brought his wand to bear on the semi-hidden assailant.
"Stupefy!" Harry yelled as Ron and the twins dove to the side. The porch railing in front of where they had been standing exploded, showering the boys with splinters of wood. The Death Eater slumped to the ground, and all hell broke lose. The element of surprise was gone, and the Order members began trading spells back and forth with the Death Eaters as they emerged from their hiding places.
Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie came flying out of the house and Harry could see Mrs. Weasley holding a furious Ginny back. As they joined in the fray, Harry watched as Hermione's silhouette sidled up to the porch to check on Ron and the twins. An errant spell flew past Harry's head, bringing him back to the task at hand. He decided to take advantage of his invisibility and snuck towards a small group of Death Eaters that he could see hiding behind the shed. As he got closer he reached into his invisipouch and pulled out a few of the twins' bombs. He enlarged one, and seeing the `SS' on the side for `Stupefying Stunner', lobbed it towards the group. It hit the ground and exploded with a small `whump', causing the Death Eaters to look down before sliding into unconsciousness. He quickly flicked his wand and bound them, and then moved on, looking for more targets.
Harry had to be careful, since he was invisible to most of the spell-casters around him, and he found himself watching everyone. He saw Luna as she moved, ghost-like, through the fighting, methodically taking out anyone in her path. He observed a small skirmish between the Patil twins and several Death Eaters, and watched with pride as a cloaked Neville came to the rescue of Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot. Lavender was working in tandem with Dean and the two of them seemed to work well together, covering each other's back. There seemed to be an abundance of Death Eaters, and Harry vaguely wondered where many of these unknown wizards had come from. Their fighting skills were fair, but he could tell that the Order was better trained, thanks to Moody, Lupin and the others.
He rounded the back of the house and saw a small group of Death Eaters trying to sneak in and attack the inhabitants in the house. Harry was about to hex them when a flash came from up above. Harry looked up to see Ginny and her mother hidden at the window, firing spells at whoever tried to enter the house. Harry smiled as he thought that this whole raid might help Mrs. Weasley understand just how determined and brave her daughter was. Harry headed back to the front of the house where he could hear shouting, and rounded the corner just in time to see Dean Thomas take a spell in the back and go down. Lavender was sitting on the ground cradling her arm, but she appeared relatively alert. He sent a `Stupefy' at the Death Eater that was responsible, and moved on to help out the Creevey brothers who seemed to be pinned down by a group of dark wizards.
Within a few minutes it seemed to be over, and Harry flipped off his cloak, mopping his brow as he did so. He strode over to where Ron was standing with Seamus, a revived Dean, and Lavender.
"What happened to using the element of surprise, Ron?" Harry asked. "You were supposed to wait until the attack was underway before you came out. That way you could have honestly said that you had no idea about the attack. If the word gets back to Voldemort that we were waiting for them, he'll suspect a spy. Not only that, but with all the commotion, someone may have heard and informed the Ministry."
Ron crossed his arms and looked down on his friend. "I didn't see anything wrong with going out for a breath of fresh air; we do it all the time. And who's going to hear anything? We are no where near the town."
"You almost got yourself killed," Harry said. "If you had stayed inside, that wouldn't have happened."
"Was that how you were planning to keep me safe? By keeping me out of the way?" he asked angrily.
Harry sighed. "Ron…"
"Harry! Down!" he heard Hermione scream and he dove for the dirt as a green flash flew past where he had been standing.
Ron and the others scrambled for cover, wands drawn, searching for the source of the attack. They could hear spells being traded in the cover of the trees, so they ran towards the sound. They arrived in time to see a cloaked wizard collapse to the ground as Hermione came out from behind a tree, cloak in hand. Harry approached the figure carefully, and turned him over. It was Dolohov. He looked up to see Hermione looking at him with what could only be described as an `I-told-you-so' look on her face before she turned and made her way to the Burrow. Harry sighed. He bound up Dolohov, pocketed his wand, and took out one of the extra portkeys and attached it to the Death Eater's cloak.
"Hogwarts' Holding," he said and Dolohov disappeared.
"What do you want him for?" Seamus asked.
"Maybe he can give us some information on Voldemort's future plans, or where he is hiding," Harry said. "We need to get out of here. Ron, make sure your dad doesn't mention the Order. I'm not ready to explain our actions to them."
Ron nodded, and Harry could still see the accusations in his eyes.
"We'll talk later," he said, meeting his eyes. "Order members, time to leave. Meet in the Room of Requirement in one hour for a quick meeting. Professors Lupin and Tonks, could you stay here, please? It may help to explain how the Weasley's took out so many Death Eaters."
Harry twisted his portkey pin, first left, and then right. "Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes," he said, and with a tug at his navel, he disappeared, along with the rest of the pin-wearing Order.
The meeting actually went quite well. Some cuts and bruises reported, and one broken arm, but no losses. Mr. Weasley had popped in to report on his dealings with the Ministry, explaining the story he concocted.
"They did ask about your whereabouts, Harry, since both Hermione and Ron were there and you weren't. I explained that you were feeling a little under the weather and had decided to stay at school," he finished.
"Thanks, Mr. Weasley," Harry nodded. "They didn't suspect that we had prior knowledge to the attack?"
"No," Mr. Weasley said. "I think having Tonks there helped. She made the report more…official."
Harry nodded his thanks and Mr. Weasley returned home. After sending everyone off to bed, Harry found himself wide-awake. He decided he wanted to talk to Dolohov tonight, instead of waiting for tomorrow. As he headed down the moving staircase, he saw a familiar pair coming towards him. He stopped and waited, leaning against the railing with folded arms, until they were even with him.
"You missed the meeting," he said to them.
Ron shrugged. "Wasn't much to tell from my side, unless you want to know what I had for dinner?"
Harry looked at Hermione. "It would have been nice to have an account of Dolohov's actions," he said.
Hermione looked at him for a moment, before crossing her arms.
"He shot, you ducked, he missed, I didn't." she said. "Oh, and you're welcome."
Harry opened his mouth to make a retort, and then changed his mind. He was already in a foul mood, and didn't feel like making things worse. He turned and headed down the stairs.
"Oi! Where are you going?" Ron called.
"To see Dolohov," Harry replied without turning around.
Ron and Hermione exchanged glances, and then turned to follow.
The three of them made their way down to the bottom floor of the castle, away from the Slytherin room, and towards the seldom-used dungeons. They moved down the dimly lit hall in silence, until they came to a little used door with two gargoyles on each side. Harry had set this up at Dumbledore's insistence; how he knew it would come in handy amazed Harry.
"Demented Keepers," He said and the door slowly creaked open.
They strode into a large room. Around the outside walls were several doors that led to small cells with very few amenities. Harry could tell which one Dolohov was in by the amount of thumping and yelling going on. Obviously, the spell that Hermione had hit him with only knocked him out temporarily.
He moved to the door and waved his wand. "Aperio," he said.
The door became transparent and they could see Dolohov struggling on the floor. When he realized he had company, he stopped and stared at them. His eyes lit upon Hermione and his frown turned into a leer.
"You like playin' with wands, do ya, girlie? I could teach you a thin' or two," he laughed.
Hermione, for her part paled slightly, but her expression didn't change. Harry felt the anger burning within him, and before either of his friends could react, he had unlocked the door and gone inside.
"Harry!" Hermione called after him.
He picked up Dolohov off of the ground and threw him onto the bed against the wall.
"Where's Voldemort?" he growled.
Dolohov laughed. "Wouldn't you like to know, Potter? A bit touchy about that one eh? Keepin' her fer yourself?" he said as his eyes slid over Hermione, who was now standing in the doorway.
He turned back to look at Harry, narrowing his eyes as he did so.
"You're dead, Potter. The Dark Lord'll see to it. Then maybe he'll give me a pretty little present," he taunted.
Harry was so angry that he barely had any control.
"I will ask you one more time, where's Voldemort?" he asked.
Dolohov just smirked at him, taunting him with his eyes.
`Legilimens,' Harry thought, and forced his way into Dolohov's mind as he grabbed hold of the Death Eater's face.
Dolohov's eyes went wide as Harry ripped down the flimsy boundaries he had erected. He pushed his way past Dolohov's frenzied thoughts, trying to ignore some of the more vile ones. He knew he would have to go deep.
Dolohov started to shake as Harry pushed further, beads of sweat beginning to form on the Death Eater's forehead. Harry could feel his resistance, but his anger fuelled his power and he pushed on.
He found locked doors and blew them open with his wand. He was beginning to get frustrated with his inability to find the information he wanted. He came to yet another door, which he blew in, only to hear the hissing of snakes. He stopped for a moment, waiting for something to attack, but nothing did. He poked his head through the doorway to see a scene with Voldemort placing a cup on a pedestal. He was surrounded by a small group of snakes. A younger Dolohov was standing at the end of what appeared to be a tunnel, looking very nervous.
"How long, My Lord?" One of the snakes hissed.
"Not long," Voldemort assured him. "You will be greatly rewarded."
The snakes around him hissed in agreement and curled around each other in excitement.
"We will stay then," their leader said.
"What's so important about that old thing?" Harry heard Dolohov ask.
"Let's just say that it's something I treasure," Voldemort said as he caressed the side of the cup. "Something my dear little friends will protect from those who cannot explain their presence here. You would be wise to remember that."
Dolohov, who had been staring at the cup with greedy eyes, startled at Voldemort's veiled threat. "Me? You won't catch me comin' down here. I don't want anythin' to do with a bunch of snakes that hiss at you."
"Hmm, yes, I'm sure." Voldemort said as the snakes around him hissed with laughter. He bowed to them before turning to leave. "Come, I have much work to do," he said as he headed down the tunnel, with Dolohov in tow.
Harry found himself being pulled backwards down the tunnel to a set of stairs, which led up into a house. Harry vaguely remembered the large room as he moved through it, as well as recognizing the outside surroundings as he was pulled out the front door.
The scene shifted, and he found himself back out in Dolohov's mind again, staring at several sets of doors, and one in particular seemed to have many locks on it.
"Alohamora!" he called, blasting the first lock away. The area he was in seemed to shift and vibrate slightly. He looked around for the source, but couldn't see anything. He blew another lock off and the floor shifted again, with more violence this time, causing Harry to lose his balance. He got up and blew the third and final lock, determined to get into that room.
The floor pitched as an inhuman wail could be heard. Harry suddenly realized the walls around him were red, and seemed to be dripping and oozing. He could feel himself shaking as he was pulled away from the door.
"No!" he cried, he had been so close…
He fell back with a thump, and became aware of a hand on his shoulder.
"I almost had it," he said angrily, realizing that one of them had pulled him away.
He looked up at his two friends who were both looking very pale. He turned to look at Dolohov to see him leaning against the wall, his jaw hanging open and a trickle of blood running from his nose. His eyes looked blank, as he seemed to be staring off into space.
"Harry," Hermione said shakily, "You almost killed him. He was convulsing, and-"
"Serves him right," Harry muttered as he got up, the guilt at what he had just done making him feel sick.
"Harry! That's a terrible thing to say, even if he was a Death Eater!" Hermione said.
Harry turned to look at her with hardened eyes, trying to cover the tumultuous emotions that were trying to overpower him.
"Do you think he would have shown you any mercy? Believe me, from what I saw, he wouldn't."
"That still doesn't give you the right-" Hermione began.
"Look, Hermione, this is war. There are no niceties. If I want to win this, I-"
"Will become just like him!" Hermione cried angrily. She nodded at Dolohov. "You seem to be going in the right direction. You've got the `Evil Lord' thing down pat."
Harry stiffened at her accusation, his eyes darting to the man, who, for all intents and purposes, was nothing more than a vegetable now. Hermione grabbed Harry's arm to get his attention. She could feel the tenseness of his muscles beneath his shirt. He turned to look at her, and for a split second she could see the pain in his eyes before he locked it away.
"Harry," she said, trying to reason with him, "You might think that this is how to win this war, but its not going to work. `He will have the power the Dark Lord knows not'. That's what the prophecy said. He knows about evil, Harry. This," she said pointing at Dolohov, "is evil. Voldemort doesn't know about love. You used to, unless you've forgotten about that too?" she said sarcastically as she felt him trying to pull out of her hold. She just had to get through to him.
Harry stopped and looked at her for a minute before yanking out of her grip, turning, and brushing past an astonished Ron. Hermione watched him go, a single tear sliding down her cheek, the image of the pain on Harry's face etched in her brain. She didn't know if she would ever be able to get through to him again.
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