Title: Harry Potter and the Wrought Iron Witch

Author: ebilein

Spoilers: PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP, HBP, QA, FB

Rating: PG-13

Most (or rather, pretty much all) of the characters, including but not limited to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Snape, Lily, Ginny etc., are (c) J.K.Rowling. I'm only have a little bit fun with them, no copyright infringement is intended.

-CHAPTER TWO-

Dudley's Dread

Harry didn't dare to look back. He swallowed, imagining what could have happened.

Now that the dazzling light had vanished, he could see the faces of the Aurors: Kingsley Shacklebolt, a tall, bald black wizard wearing a single golden earring, Nymphadora Tonks with her heart shaped face, and two other wizards Harry recognised—Williamson and Dawlish, both of whom had tried to arrest Albus Dumbledore more than a year ago.

The Aurors were looking past Harry, their faces horror-struck.

Then Harry heard something move behind him. He turned around, the broomstick still in his hands.

He felt the urge to vomit.

It wasn't the first time he had seen bodies. He had seen Cedric Diggory, whose grey eyes had lost all life in them, and he had seen Dumbledore's corpse after he had fallen from the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts.

But he had never before seen the corpse of a Muggle who had been murdered through magic.

Uncle Vernon was lying on his back on the floor, his eyes empty, still clad in his morning gown. His mouth was slightly open.

One of Bellatrix's killing curses must have hit him.

Dudley was lying next to him. His arms were outstretched, he was still in his pyjamas, holding Harry's wand. He was dead; Harry knew it instantly, although he didn't seem to be harmed at all. He was just dead.

Aunt Petunia was standing next to them, her eyes wide in shock, her lips trembling in horror. She shook her head a little, then closed her eyes, as if she were hoping to wake up from this nightmare.

But she wouldn't. Harry knew what she felt; it was what he had felt when Dumbledore had lain in the grass, his glasses askew, his limbs out at odd angles.

It was no nightmare; it was real.

Harry still stood there, not really seeing what had happened. His uncle and his cousin just had been murdered, by none other than the woman who had also killed his godfather. If it was possible, he loathed Bellatrix even more than ever before.

Dawlish and Williamson took a few steps towards Aunt Petunia. They were trying to speak to her, but she didn't seem to understand a word of what they were saying. Kingsley approached the still stupefied Rabastan Lestrange; Bellatrix and her husband had left their fellow Death Eater behind.

Tonks got closer to Harry and Ron. She said quietly, 'You'd better go to the Burrow, right now. There's nothing you can do anymore. The Ministry is going to have to worry about it from now on.'

Ron seemed to be too shocked to argue about anything. Harry's head, however, was getting clearer. Aunt Petunia's crying still ringing in his ears, he said, 'Aren't you going to follow them? The Death Eaters?'

Tonks lowered her head. 'We can't. We don't know where they are now—they Disapparated, they could be anywhere. You know what?' she said, turning to Kingsley. 'Are you going to be all right with Lestrange? I think it'd be better for them to leave this place.'

Kingsley nodded. 'Where are you going to take them? We might have to ask them a few questions.'

'The Burrow. They were going to go there anyway this morning,' Tonks answered.

'You two have passed your Apparition tests?' Kingsley asked Harry and Ron.

They shook their heads.

'Well, then... Tonks, guide them if you please.'

'You've already Side-Along-Apparated, I suppose?' Tonks asked them. Harry nodded; Ron, however, shook his head. 'Don't worry,' Tonks said, 'it's not difficult. Just hold on to my arms.' They did as they were told. 'I'm going to see to it that your things will be sent to you in the morning. And now...'

The Apparition sensation was as unpleasant as ever, and Harry was glad when their feet hit the ground again.

It was dark, the grass was wet with dew and the and the wind was whispering quietly as it flowed among the trees. The Burrow, the Weasleys' family residence, was dark. Not one window was illuminated. Apparently, everyone was asleep.

Harry and Ron let go of Tonks, and Harry, whose head seemed to be exploding with questions since they left Privet Drive, Number four, burst out loud, 'What's going to happen to the Dursleys? What about Aunt Petunia? How did you know that Death Eaters were in Privet Drive? Wha--'

Tonks put her index finger on Harry's lips to stop his flood of questions.

'Shhh, everyone's asleep,' she said. 'And I doubt I'll be able to answer all your questions.' When Harry began to start speaking again, she added hastily, 'But I'm going to try and answer all the other ones, but we've got to go inside first, it's not safe outside anymore.

'Expecto patronum!'

A big silver shining wolf erupted from Tonks's wand. It flew through the air and entered the house. Harry knew Tonks had just informed the Weasleys that she was standing outside, waiting to be able to enter the house.

One window suddenly glowed with bright orange light, and a few minutes later Mrs Weasley's voice sounded from the other side of the front door.

'Is it you, Tonks?'

'Yes, Molly,' Tonks said. 'I've brought along Ron and Harry, please let us in.'

'Ron? And Harry?' They heard a key being inserted into the lock, a clicking noise, and then the door opened and Mrs Weasley ran outside, hugging Ron and Harry tightly. Harry was vaguely reminded of Hagrid's hugs, those had always made him feel as if his ribs were crushed.

'I'm so glad to see the two of you all right,' Mrs Weasley said, 'it's been such a long time... More than a month...'

'We'd better get in quickly,' Tonks said, looking around. 'I've just told them it's no good to be outside of the house for too long.'

'Yes, yes, you're right, of course,' Mrs Weasley said. 'Let's get in, let's get in...'

Five minutes later, they were sitting in the kitchen. Prodded by Mrs Weasley's wand, the tea kettle and cups began preparing tea. The Weasley matron sat across from Harry and Ron, next to Tonks.

'But why did you bring them here, Tonks?' she asked. 'We expected them today in the morning, yes, but that early? It's one o'clock! Not that I wouldn't be happy to see you two,' she added hastily.

'There was... well, an attack, Molly,' Tonks said, 'but don't worry, they're fine.'

'An - an attack?' Mrs Weasley whispered, horrified, looking from Harry to Ron to Tonks, who nodded.

Harry was staring at the floating cups. And Ron spoke, for the first time since he had been tortured with the Cruciatus Curse. 'It was Death Eaters. The Lestranges. They came to get Harry. We fought.'

Mrs Weasley's face was ashen white and her hands were trembling slightly, but she stood up, went around the table and sat down again, next to Ron. She embraced him.

'They killed Harry's uncle and cousin,' Tonks added gravely.

Harry shook his head. 'Not "they",' he said. 'It was Bellatrix.'

'I can't believe this person's supposed to be my aunt,' Tonks said.

'They - they killed Mr Dursley? And his son?' Mrs Weasley said in disbelief.

'But Tonks,' Harry said, suddenly remembering something as Mrs Weasley mentioned Dudley, 'Dudley...he did do magic, but then - he couldn't have. He's a Muggle. He can't be anything but a Muggle, or he would have been sent to Hogwarts.'

Tonks shrugged. 'I'm not an expert in genealogy, but his aunt was a witch, after all -'

At that moment someone knocked at the door.

'I'll go open the door, Molly,' Tonks said. 'You'd better stay with them.'

When Mrs Weasley had nodded, Tonks got up and left the room. Then Mrs Weasley turned to Harry and Ron. Her lips were trembling.

'I'm... Oh, Ron, if I had known what could have happened... And Harry, you, too, I wouldn't have let you return to the Dursleys,' she said, tears falling from her eyes and running down her cheeks.

'Don't worry, mum,' Ron said.

'Dumbledore wanted me to return to them,' Harry said.

Mrs Weasley wiped her face, and then turned to Harry. 'You, dear... how are you feeling? Oh, what a silly question it is, I know - after what has happened - you could have been killed, oh no, and I wouldn't have even known... You could've been killed like your uncle and your cousin - but... your aunt, Mrs Dursley, is she still alive?' Mrs Weasley asked Harry.

He nodded, and then Tonks entered the room again, followed by Lupin and – and Aunt Petunia.

'Remus?' Mrs Weasley said, 'You here? And Mrs Dursley? How -?'

'Arabella told me,' Lupin answered, 'about the incident.'

'She also informed the Aurors,' Tonks said. 'Thank Merlin she was looking for her cat all over Little Whinging, or no one might have noticed the Death Eaters Apparate in Privet Drive.'

'I'm very sorry for your loss, Harry,' Lupin said. 'I know you weren't always too happy with your uncle and your cousin, but... well, anyway, you know what I mean. I've… seen them, I went to Privet Drive the moment Arabella told me something had happened there, but when I arrived Kingsley told me you'd already left for the Burrow.

'Dawlish and Williamson asked me to bring along your aunt, and I agreed.'

'Why don't you sit down, dear?' Mrs Weasley asked, guiding Aunt Petunia to a chair.

Aunt Petunia looked terrible. Her eyes were red; Harry doubted she had ever blinked since she had seen the blinding, dazzling light. Mrs Weasley helped her to sit down and then prepared two more cups of tea. She apparently didn't want to frighten Aunt Petunia with more magic, because she worked with nothing but her hands.

'The Aurors said they couldn't leave her in Privet Drive,' Lupin said. 'And I agree. One just couldn't leave her there... with, well...' Lupin sighed deeply. 'It's a terrible story, I think it's bound to come to the newspaper... Muggles murdered by Death Eaters in the house where you lived, Harry... It's going to be a big story, not only in the Prophet but also in the Ministry. I think someone's going to come to interrogate you two and your aunt soon, Harry.'

The very second Lupin had said it, someone knocked on the door, yet again. Tonks went to open it once more.

Aunt Petunia was oddly calm when she drank the tea Mrs Weasley had made. She wasn't screaming or shouting or trying to hit anyone, as Harry would have expected her to; after all, she had just lost her husband and her son, and she was in the kitchen of a family she despised for what it was, a family that once had even blown up her clinical, clean living room. She still seemed to be in a state of shock.

Then Tonks came back, accompanied by two men. The one right behind Tonks seemed to be very old; the top of his head was bald, but behind his ears long white hair fell down to his bony shoulders; he wore oval glasses and was holding a suitcase.

The other one was very brawny and Harry thought he looked rather like a bodybuilder. He seemed to be around Lupin's age - he had very short brown hair, tanned skin and dark blue eyes that were scanning the room the moment he entered it.

'Good evening,' the elderly one said; his voice was high and quavering. 'Or rather, not so good, seeing what we are here to discuss...'

'Mr Wiggleworth,' Lupin said, 'may I help you with your suitcase?'

'No, no, do not worry, young man,' Wiggleworth said. 'It's not that heavy, just a few pieces of parchment and quills.'

'Why don't you sit down, sir?' Mrs Weasley said. 'Do you want a cup of tea? Coffee? I even have cocoa...'

'Oh, no, thank you... but why don't you ask Gawain, I think he might be a little bit tired; Gawain Robards, in case you don't know him, but then, who doesn't know—he has quite a name these days in the Ministry, but one rarely has a chance to talk to him, always working hard... I think he could use a coffee, don't you?'

Robards nodded in a courtly manner and sat down next to Wiggleworth.

'Yes, it is quite hard-going lately, is it not?' Wiggleworth said while he took out unpacked several pieces of parchment—some upon which something had already been written, some blank—and a large quill. 'Quite busy nowadays, isn't it, and then you're Head, too—that makes twice the amount of work, I guess.'

Robards did not answer, but looked sternly around the room.

Mrs Weasley placed a cup of coffee on the table. Robards did not thank her.

'Well, well, we are here because of the terrible incident in Little Whinging,' Wiggleworth said. 'Terrible, terrible of course... well, everyone that was present there now present here?'

Tonks answered, 'Everyone except the other three Aurors that were sent there with me -'

'Full names, please,' Wiggleworth said.

'Kingsley Devin Shacklebolt, who led the troop, Julian Jeremiah Williamson and Ethan - does anyone know if Dawlish has a middle name?' Tonks asked.

Everyone in the room shook their heads.

'And Ethan Dawlish,' Tonks said.

'Anyone else?' Wiggleworth asked.

'The three Death Eaters that caused the incident,' Tonks said, 'one of them has been captured – Rabastan Lestrange. The other two fled and were Rodolphus Lestrange and Bellatrix Estelle Lestrange.'

'Very good, very good,' Wiggleworth said. 'Now, who else?'

'Ronald Bilius Weasley,' Ron said.

'Nymphadora Cardea Tonks,' Tonks said.

'Harry James Potter. And... er, my aunt, Petunia Anne Dursley.'

'Well, well,' Wiggleworth said. 'The victims?'

Aunt Petunia swallowed loudly, but did not answer. Harry answered, not feeling very well at all. 'Vernon Webster Dursley and Dudley Raymond Dursley.'

'Very good, very good... but no, I am sorry, it is not good at all, not good at all,' Wiggleworth said quickly. 'Any Muggles involved?'

'Sir, the victims were Muggles,' Tonks said. 'And Mrs Dursley is a Muggle, too.'

'But wait,' Harry interrupted before Wiggleworth could note it down, 'it's not that simple! My cousin, Dudley, he performed a spell...'

'And this Dudley, he was how old?' Wiggleworth asked.

'Seventeen,' Harry said.

'Therefore of age and able to perform magic if he wishes to do so -'

'But - but my cousin, you've just noted down that he is... was... a Muggle!' Harry interrupted him.

Wiggleworth was confused, but smiled politely and sympathetically. 'Your cousin, was he at Hogwarts? Was he a wizard?'

'MY SON IS NOT!'

Everyone turned around; Aunt Petunia was on her feet, her face pink with anger. She was breathing fast, looking at everyone in the room with a look of contempt and disgust.

'My son is not - he is not - one of you! He isn't! My son is normal! He didn't do any funny stuff like my sister did, he didn't do anything these... these brats opposite you did, he didn't do anything the way you do! He didn't! He didn't! He never did! Never! Never! NEVER!'

Then she sank back in her chair, shaking terribly. Wiggleworth looked at her, apparently taken aback by this outburst of emotion.

Robards, however, didn't seem to care at all. He sighed loudly, in a way that made clear to everyone that he was bored.

'Well, so this Dudley was not a wizard,' Wiggleworth said.

'But not a Muggle either or he wouldn't have been able to perform the dazzling charm!' Harry interrupted him loudly.

'Was he born into a family with genes disposed towards magic?' Wiggleworth asked, looking at Aunt Petunia.

She shook her head, but before Wiggleworth could take any more notes, Harry said quickly, 'But his aunt - my mother - she was a witch. None of his grandparents were, though.'

'Well, well, well,' Wiggleworth said, writing it down. 'Did he perform anything magical before this incident?'

'No, I've never seen him doing something like that before, sir,' Harry said.

Wiggleworth wrote this down, too.

Suddenly Harry remembered something. Gasping, he said, 'But he must have done something! Aunt Petunia, didn't you tell Dudley to take the wand?'

Aunt Petunia didn't answer. Her lips were trembling.

'But you told him! You told him to take the wand and you told him to move it! So you must have known!'

'I KNEW!' Petunia suddenly screamed, once again jumping to her feet. 'I knew, but you—you were lying there on the floor, and your useless friend was unconscious, and we would have all been killed!'

Wiggleworth was writing as fast as possible with his quill. Robards still seemed to be very little interested.

'I knew he could do it, he had done it once before, I'll bet it was you who influenced him,' she spat at Harry. 'Oh, if only I'd never let you stay with us! You brought all that bad luck into our house! Dementors, nearly sucking out Dudley's soul, just because of you!'

'And then this Dumbledore had to remind me that I promised, I promised him not to let you go away, because you were part of something, but I don't care anymore, it's your fault that Dudley and Vernon are... are...

'And Vernon didn't even know!' she screamed, tearing her hair. 'He was at work, I was alone with you two, and when Dudley did... did... did what he did... making the tea cups in the living room float—I was so angry, I was so scared, I… what if what happened to my sister happened to him too?

'So I scared him, yelled at him, and he was only four, and you - it's your fault!'

After having said all this, she was shaking, gasping for breath, breathing fast and heavily, as if she could not believe she had just said all of that.

Harry looked at her in astonishment.

'So - so that was his worst memory, isn't it?' Harry finally said quietly. 'That's what he remembered when the Dementors came.'

Aunt Petunia didn't answer, but she didn't have to; Harry already knew it was true.

Lupin, Tonks, Mrs Weasley and Ron were gaping at Aunt Petunia. Wiggleworth was still furiously writing. Robards, however, took a look at his watch.

He turned to Wiggleworth and said in a deep, soft voice, 'Dempster, please, let us deal with this quickly. I'd rather be back in my office now and -'

Wiggleworth stretched out his arm to silence Robards.

'A little bit more sympathy, please, Gawain. It's always the same with the young,' he added, looking at Mrs Weasley, 'they want to do seven things at one time, but unfortunately they only have two hands and a wand.'

'I'd rather you talk to me with more respect,' Robards said angrily. 'After all, I know what happened to this Dudley kid.'

Harry gaped at Robards. 'So why didn't you tell us? Why did you let us talk about all this when you already knew what was wrong with him?'

Robards cast Harry a look of superiority. 'Because no one asked me,' he said superciliously. 'And you are wrong, yet again, Mr Potter, because there is nothing wrong with this Dudley kid. He is just a plain Muggle, that is all there is to say.

'Magic is not an ability one has or one has not, although this is believed quite often by the uneducated man. Magic is power. Everyone has power. So everyone has magic. There are, however, more powerful wizards than others and those people can normally control their gift better than those others can. A wizard with great power will perform great spells, while a wizard with less power will perform poor spells. Magical power also increases with time, and might erupt if it is not trained or used.

'Even Muggles have power in them; not many wizards and witches are aware of this fact. Still, you can see it with as yet uneducated magical children: sometimes the magic, when suppressed for too long, erupts.

'Not many Muggles ever perform magic, because they simply have too little power. Some, however, manage to do so once or twice in their lives; but they are not considered as genuine Hogwarts applicants, because they simply do not have enough power to continuously use it. Those few Muggles who perform magic once or twice in their lives generally do not realise what they have done and carry on their lives as if nothing had happened.

'That is all there is to say; you were simply lucky your cousin decided to use his little magical power the moment you all were in danger.

'Well, Dempster, I think we don't have to say anything else any more. We're leaving.'

With these words, Gawain Robards stood up, nodded shortly in order to say good bye, and then left the kitchen.

Wiggleworth gazed at the open kitchen door for a few seconds, then stood up, saying, 'Pleasure it was to meet you all, I'm disappointed it was for such a sad matter... Anyway, good day to you all, or rather, good night.'

He crammed the parchments and the quill into his suitcase and followed Robards out of the kitchen.

Everyone in there, except Aunt Petunia, was taken aback by the sudden leave of the two authorities. Ron's mouth was slightly open.

Harry couldn't quite believe that the investigation was over already - no one had heard that Ron had been cursed with the Cruciatus and that Harry had been lying on the floor, not able to defend himself...

Bitterly, Harry thought that the Ministry was a bunch of idiots. It had been while Fudge had been Minister for Magic, and it hadn't changed since Scrimgeour was Minister.

On her chair, for the first time that night, Aunt Petunia started crying.

Mrs Weasley looked around her kitchen, obviously feeling uncomfortable. She turned to face Ron and Harry.

'I think it would be best if you two went to bed; I don't want any of you to fall asleep during the ceremony.'

Harry looked at Ron, who looked just as surprised as Harry did. With all the tumult that had been going on that very night, they had both completely forgotten that they would have been at the Burrow anyway, for Ron's oldest brother's wedding.

'I think it would be best if you two stayed in Fred and George's room, because I've got Fleur's brother and sister in your room, Ron, and Mr and Mrs Delacour are in Percy's bedroom -'

'Does that mean Percy's not going to come to the wedding?' Ron asked his mother.

Mrs Weasley lowered her head. 'No, he won't.'

'Git,' Ron said under his breath.

'Remus, Tonks – will you two keep an eye on Mrs Dursley while I help Ron and Harry with the bedroom?'

'Of course, Molly,' Lupin said.

Mrs Weasley nodded, thanking him, and left the room, followed by Harry and Ron.

'Please be quiet,' she said while climbing the stairs to the second floor, 'everyone else is sleeping right now and I don't want to upset Bill and Fleur, they were so tense the last few days, of course—who wouldn't be with the wedding coming up...

'Right, here we are.'

The Weasley twins' room was just as messy as it had been one year before. There were still loads of boxes everywhere in the room, some of them sealed with Spellotape while others were bursting open with pointed objects, smaller boxes, and bright colourful items.

With a swish of her wand, Mrs Weasley changed the blankets on the beds; then she turned to Harry and Ron. 'All right, I'll go back to the kitchen now, and you two, go to sleep.'

'Mrs Weasley?' Harry said.

'Yes, dear?'

'I just wanted to know what's going to happen to my aunt.'

Mrs Weasley smiled weakly. 'I don't know, Harry. I don't think she'll be able to stay here, but I doubt that she'll want to go back to Privet Drive. We'll think of something.'

She was already standing in the doorway when she turned around one last time.

'I'm so glad you're both all right.'

Without further ado she closed the door and left Harry and Ron in Fred and George's bedroom.

Ron sat down on one of the two beds, frowning slightly.

'I just can't really believe it all happened today,' he said.

Harry nodded while taking off his jumper. 'I know,' he said. 'Dudley and Uncle Vernon—' Harry stopped, shuddering. 'Well—I'll never see them again. It feels… odd.'

He could not quite articulate the muddled mass of feelings inside him. Ron took off his shoes and then stretched.

They lay down. Harry fell asleep, right after he had closed his eyes.

He did not dream that night.

TBC in Chapter III, A Wet Wedding, in which Hermione comes to the Burrow, Harry and Ron meet Fleur's mother Yolande and her brother Sébastien and Harry brings Hermione up-to-date in terms of what has happened so far.

Thanks to my three reviewers - go and leave another one, pretty pretty please :)