Chapter Three – Night Shifts and Day Dreams
Harry and Ron found out on Monday morning that Josh had decided that they needed to cover the Lestrange place twenty-four hours a day, and then they were sent home to rest all day while Neville and Josh would take the day shift. They were to be in position to take over the stakeout by eight o'clock that night, and they'd be taking the twelve-hour long night shift until further notice.
"Like we'll be able to sleep all day so soon after getting up," Ron complained. "If you hear me snoring later tonight, just put a silencing spell on me."
"Sorry, mate," Harry answered. "You'll have to figure out a way to stay awake. If we do any magic that close to the shields, they'll know someone's out there."
"Well, at least we'll have the day to spend with the girls," Ron said grudgingly. "Hermione was going over to the Burrow after her Mum and Dad went in to get things started back up in their dental office again."
"That'll be great for today, but by tomorrow, we'll be asleep most of the day, and I doubt they'll find watching us do that much fun."
"I'll cut back on my sleep," Ron declared. "Hermione wants to study to get ready for September anyway, so I can nap when she's doing that."
"Good luck with that plan," Harry told him. "If I can manage to spend some time with Ginny before falling asleep in the mornings, and maybe get up in time for dinner before going back out at night, that's about as much as I expect to be able to handle." They apparated to the Burrow, and Hermione was already there, so they got to surprise both Witches when they walked into the kitchen.
"Did they finish rounding up all of the bad guys and give you the day off to celebrate?" Ginny joked as she hugged Harry in welcome.
"No," Ron answered. "We've been stuck with the night shift surveillance starting tonight, so we're supposed to rest up and be back at work for eight o'clock tonight."
"Then this works out pretty great," Ginny told him. "Hermione would like to go see Harry's house, and you guys need to do something to tire yourselves out so you can get some sleep today. I vote for a road trip!"
Harry laughed and hugged her again. "Maybe we could wander Diagon Alley after that, and have lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. I'd really like to see about picking up some food we could have on these stakeouts that isn't as horrid as the Ministry field rations while we're shopping."
"Can you live without a whole morning of studying?" Ginny asked Hermione.
"Try not to be shocked, but yes I can," Hermione answered. "Going shopping sounds great, and I really want to see your house, Harry. Ginny just finished telling me all about it."
"Then I guess we should just tell your Mum what we're doing, and head out," Harry said, and Ginny went to do that.
They spent about an hour and a half at Harry's house, Ginny leading the tour inside, and then they all wandered around the lawns and gardens outside. From there, they went to Diagon Alley, where they shopped until they were all ready to go have lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. They sat at a table that was along one wall and away from the main aisle leading back to Diagon Alley, placed their orders, and Harry tried to ignore the fact that half the people in the room were either openly or covertly staring at him, just like people had been staring at him all along Diagon Alley and in every shop they'd visited. For some reason he kept getting a mental picture of a crowd of Witch and Wizard groupies all following him around on his stakeouts like Minister Shacklebolt had his group of Ministry followers trying to go everywhere with him.
Hermione leaned in close so she wouldn't be overheard. "That's one really brilliant thing about your family home," she told Harry. "If you were going to live here in the city, you'd probably get gawkers coming by all of the time."
"We can hope that'll help," Harry agreed. "Is there anything else any of you want to do in town after lunch?"
"There's no such thing for Witches as too much shopping," Ginny told him, "but you and Ron need to get some rest this afternoon, and we're already pushing our luck – Mum's probably going to want a word with me after she sees all of the clothes you bought me today."
Ron snorted. "When she's sees you in that one pair of shorts and the top set, she's going to make you wear your school robes over it before letting you out of the house."
"Funny, you didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with the set that Hermione bought, and they weren't that much different than mine."
"From my perspective, there's a very big difference, since the words 'sister' and 'hot' should never be used in the same sentence."
"I think that was actually a compliment for both of us," Hermione suggested to Ginny.
"In a backhanded, unintentional sort of way," Ginny agreed, "but definitely a compliment."
"Are you both going to hit the books while we're having our afternoon naps?" Harry asked, and Ginny waved to Hermione to answer.
"We can do that for a while, but I'll have to be home by four-thirty," she answered. "I sent Professor McGonagall an Owl Post, and hopefully we can get in to see her to discuss getting ready for going back to Hogwarts."
"They must already be working on how to deal with that," Ginny suggested. "It's going to be a crazy year if they keep everyone back a year. The first year class alone would be doubled, and we'll already likely have a lot of students coming back after their parents have kept them out because of all of the trouble there over the past seven years."
"The school should be safe now that I'm not going back," Harry joked. "I'm surprised the Daily Prophet hasn't pointed that out already."
"Well, we weren't actually students there this past year, so I don't think you should be busted for that one, mate, but give them time, and I'm sure they'll run something," Ron told him. "They're probably just lying low right now, after being Riddle's mouthpiece for so long."
Their food and drinks were delivered, and the conversation turned to other topics, and after finishing their lunches, they all went back to the Burrow, with Ron and Harry both going up to their rooms to attempt to get some sleep while Ginny and Hermione sat at the kitchen table and studied for a few hours before Hermione had to go home. Harry hadn't thought he'd be able to do that, but eventually he did get to sleep, and woke up to Ginny's gentle nudge and the sound of her calling his name close to his ear. She jumped a little when he put his arms around her, but her soft laugh was muffled by the kiss he'd pulled her close to share.
"Mum said you have twenty minutes to grab a shower and get ready for work before dinner will be ready," she told him; brushing a hand through his hair. She kissed him again, and then stood up, laughing softly, and deftly avoiding his attempt to keep her where she was sitting on the bed and draw her into another kiss. "I'll see you downstairs when you're ready."
With his impromptu plan A nixed, Harry got up, grabbed fresh clothes, and went to have that shower, making it back downstairs to the kitchen just in time to sit down next to Ginny and have dinner. Ron had already been up, and told Harry he'd been awake in time to see Hermione off. Harry expected his best mate was going to be in for a long night on just a couple of hours of sleep. The dinner conversation revolved around what the four teens had done in the morning, and Mr. Weasley told them all about the work that was going on in the offices he was in charge of at the Ministry. When they'd finished eating, Harry and Ginny had time for a short walk, and a long goodbye hug and kiss out in the orchard before they went back to the Burrow. He and Ron left then, with about a half hour left to make the trip from their apparation point to the stakeout spot outside of the Lestrange estate.
"At least we've got something better than field rations to eat while we're stuck here," Ron said as they walked in from the northeast.
"Hermione's parents would be appalled if they saw what you've brought along," Harry suggested. "All of those chocolates and sweets should keep you wired all night, though."
"Yours isn't much better," Ron shot back, and Harry grinned at him.
"True," he agreed, "but I'm not dating the daughter of a pair of dentists."
"Dentists who seem to forget that we can fix things like cavities with a wave of our wands, or just grow new teeth," Ron told him. "Hermione did get us to buy some healthy food too. Do you think Josh is on the right track with this stakeout?"
Harry nodded. "I actually think there's a better chance that we could see more action during the night, if anything is going to go on around here at all."
Josh and Neville had picked other places to conceal themselves, and there was no contact between them when Ron and Harry took over and both young Wizards settled in for a long, lonely night. Hour after endless-seeming hour dragged on with nothing happening, until shortly after three in the morning, when Harry caught the sounds of hushed voices down the road, still shrouded in darkness. By the time he could see the outlines of two dark forms, the voices were clear enough to overhear from his hiding spot at the side of the road.
"I haven't had a decent sleep since our masters went on the run," the voice coming from the dark shape on the right said in a raspy growl. "We're stuck in that little hovel, and they continue to demand the royal service like we were still here at the mansion."
"When they're not raging at thin air and taking out their anger on us," the other added, his voice shaking slightly and nervous-sounding. "At least we're away from them for a bit now, even if we don't get any sleep."
"You do realize that being sent on these errands means that they've decided that we're expendable, don't you?" the man on the right asked.
"Probably," the other man agreed. "We have no choice, though, so let's get what we have to do done, and get out of here. The masters will just make it worse for us if we're late getting back again."
Harry watched as the two Wizards turned into the Lestrange estate lane, one of them waving their wand before they stepped through onto the estate grounds. They were soon swallowed by the darkness, though Harry did see lights moving from room to room within the mansion after a few minutes. They were at the estate for just over a half hour, and then left again, though on their way out there was nothing about their conversation that was of any interest to Harry. He'd briefly considered following them, but in the near-absolute silence of the night, he doubted whether he could stay close enough to see them without his footsteps being overheard. Instead, he'd waited nearly twenty minutes to make sure they were long gone, and then worked his way back to Ron's hideout spot to talk over what he'd overheard.
"I don't think there will be anything else going on here tonight," Harry told him. "Why don't you make your way out of here and go to Auror Headquarters, fill out our report, and maybe Josh will be in early enough that you can talk to him and see what he wants us to do if they come back."
"That works for me," Ron agreed. "I'll hang around there until Josh gets in, and then see you back at home later."
Ron left then, and Harry made his way back to his stakeout spot next to the lane and settled in to wait out the rest of the night. While he waited, he considered the problem of tracking the two Wizards when they came back, and he was sure they would be back. They could be hiding brooms somewhere out in the countryside and then walking in from wherever they were flying to, but he expected they were likely apparating in and out, just like he, Ron, Neville, and Josh were doing.
Remus had told him that the only way to follow someone who was apparating was if you were actually touching them when they left – like the Death Eater had been doing when he tagged along with him, Hermione, and Ron to Grimmauld Place from the Ministry. That was how he'd known what to do to follow Marcus Flint, but doing that without being found out might be impossible. Attempting Legilimency would likely give him away just as quickly if either Wizard were even moderately talented at Occlumency.
He hadn't really come up with any solid ideas by the time eight o'clock rolled around and he was able to leave. He'd spotted both Josh and Neville coming in, though they certainly didn't see him under his cloak or notice his passage as he left the area, heading to the northwest. When he was far enough away, he apparated to the Burrow, where Ron was already having breakfast, and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were nearly finished cleaning up from their own breakfast.
"Dad's already gone to work," Ginny told him as she met him for a hug and kiss. "Ron's just started to tell us about your night at work. Come sit down and eat." He did that, and Ginny sat down next to him, holding his hand while he ate and they listened to the rest of Ron's recap.
"Did Josh have any suggestions or orders?" Harry asked.
"No suggestions," Ron answered. "We're just supposed to keep watching for now, and hope that someone slips up and says something."
"Maybe Hermione would have some ideas," Ginny suggested. "She and Luna are coming over today to study with me."
"That's a great idea," Ron told her. "If she can't come up with anything, nobody else will."
They talked quietly until Ron and Harry were done eating, and then Mrs. Weasley sent them off to get some sleep while she and Ginny cleaned up their dishes too, though Ginny did have a bedtime hug and kiss for Harry before he went tiredly upstairs to his room, got changed, and collapsed into his bed, totally out of it until he woke again late in the afternoon. Getting up, he grabbed a shower and got ready for the day – or night for everyone else – and went downstairs, finding Ginny, Hermione, and Luna working at the kitchen table, their books, parchment, quills and inks spread out and taking up most of the space.
"Getting stuck with the night shift is looking really great right now," he joked; going over to hug and kiss Ginny, then hug Hermione and Luna in turn. "You're probably all having a blast though, aren't you?"
"Hi Harry," Luna said in her whimsical, dreamy voice. "Hermione says that it's a brilliant change studying with us compared to you and Ron." Harry grinned at Hermione, who blushed and smiled back at him ruefully. They were both used to Luna's sometimes uncomfortably honest statements.
"I'm sure it is," Harry agreed. "Ron and I were always reluctant study mates, though we did always love and appreciate Hermione's help."
"That's really very sweet, Harry," Luna told him.
"Did you hear back from Professor McGonagall yet?" he asked Hermione, who nodded.
"I got an Owl Post this morning," she answered. "We're not going to have a meeting with her, but she sent me an advance copy of the letter they'll be sending out to all of the students soon. All of the first to sixth year students will get the chance to take their exams near the middle of July, and if they pass, will be advanced, or will take the year over if they don't, or choose not to write them. The seventh years can study for, and take their NEWTs through the Ministry, or take the year over. They're recommending that any seventh years who want to get their NEWTs should repeat the year."
"And we'll get to use magic to get ready for our practical exams," Ginny added, smiling happily.
"As long as you're supervised, and only for your studies," Hermione agreed.
"It's too bad that you and Ron and Neville won't be going back too," Luna told him, "but you've all got things to do instead."
That was certainly an understatement, Harry thought. "Without us holding her back, Hermione should be able to get straight O's for her NEWTs instead of just missing out by getting one E like she did on her OWLs."
"Was helping Ron and Harry with their studies harder than all of the time we spent trying to keep Riddle and his Death Eaters from killing him?" Ginny asked, and the other two Witches laughed.
"Some days," Hermione agreed, smiling at Harry fondly.
"Where's your Mum?" Harry asked Ginny.
"She went out to pick up a few things, and should be back any time now." Closing the textbook she had open in front of her, she began rolling up the parchment she was working on. "That's it for me today," she told Hermione and Luna. "I'm only going to get a few hours to spend with Harry before he has to go to work tonight, and I'll be at George's store working all day tomorrow."
"I should go home soon now anyway too," Luna agreed, starting to pack up too. "If I don't get home early enough, Dad will cook dinner, and that hardly ever turns out very well."
"Do you want to get together again on Thursday?" Hermione asked, and Ginny and Luna both nodded.
"We'll need to if we're going to be ready for those exams in two months," Ginny agreed. "I doubt that hardly any of what Luna and I were taught in some of our classes will be on any of those exams, so we have a lot to cover."
When the girls were packed up, Luna left for home, Hermione went upstairs to give Ron his wakeup call, and Harry and Ginny went outside to wander around and have a little time to themselves, though that didn't last long before Mrs. Weasley got home and put them both to work on helping her with getting dinner made. Hermione joined them to help out after a while, and Harry enjoyed watching as Ginny and Mrs. Weasley had fun with teasing Hermione about why it had taken so long to wake Ron and get him going. Mr. Weasley got home from work at nearly the same time that Ron made it down to the kitchen after getting ready for work.
With just the six of them at the table, it was still much quieter than when the whole family was together, but things were starting to return to normal again, and there was more laughter and fun as they talked and ate their meal. Moments like this were one of the reasons that Harry wasn't in any big hurry to move out on his own, where there'd be a lot of dinners for one and solitary hours. After dinner, the four teens sent Mr. and Mrs. Weasley off to relax while they did the cleanup, and then they all went for a walk to town and an ice cream run to finish off their evening before Hermione left for home, and Ron and Harry needed to get to their stakeout.
For the rest of the week, there was almost nothing going on during the nightly stakeouts for Harry and Ron. There wasn't even a stray late evening or early morning hiker on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday nights, and they didn't learn anything at all from the same pair of Wizards who came at one-thirty in the morning on the Thursday night – Friday morning shift. Harry side-along apparated Ginny to work on Wednesday, and got up early enough in the afternoon to both pick her up from work, and make stops first at Gringotts, and then at Quality Quidditch, where he picked up a new Firebolt.
With Ginny studying with Hermione and Luna on Thursday, and working at the wheezes shop both Friday afternoon and evening, and all day Saturday, Harry didn't get to spend much time with her, but compared to spending three-quarters of the past year apart, just getting a few hours together every day seemed brilliant by comparison. The only other non-work things that Harry took care of during the week was to finally talk with Kreacher, who'd been continuing to help out at Hogwarts over the past nearly two weeks now, and spend a couple of hours with Teddy on Saturday morning after taking Ginny to work.
Kreacher was going to continue to help out at Hogwarts, but Harry had asked him to take care of Grimmauld Place as he saw fit until Harry decided what to do with the house – though he'd needed to assure Kreacher that he would be keeping the place. The house elf had stared at him in wide-eyed wonder when Harry had suggested that he take Regulus' room for his own quarters, had bowed and thanked him profusely before popping out of sight when Harry had indicated that he had no other instructions for him. Harry had thought about having Kreacher help out with the Potter home too, but had decided that he would rather just keep up with the work there himself.
Ron and Harry finally got the break they'd been hoping for early on Sunday morning, when Harry was again able to listen in to the conversation between the two Wizards coming to the Lestrange estate to do whatever it was their masters required of them. This time, they arrived at about a quarter past two, and their voices were loud enough that Harry thought Ron would probably be able to hear them too.
"This is getting ridiculous," the Wizard who Harry thought of as 'raspy voice' complained. "First they make us walk for miles away from the hideout before we're allowed to apparate, and then we have to walk another mile or so to here. When we go back, it'll be miles more walking from Beck Lane again."
"And out near the river on Carr," the other Wizard agreed. "Why they picked Appleby of all places to hide is as ridiculous as all of this walking and skulking around."
"We ought to all just come back here," raspy voice suggested. "There probably aren't even enough Aurors left to break through these defenses even if they wanted to try coming after our masters."
"You're probably right about that," the nervous-sounding Wizard said. "If they do decide to return, I'll be glad to be back in my own room and bed again. You snore is louder than the Hogwarts Express."
Harry waited until he saw lights moving around in the house, and then made his way back to Ron, who was looking as excited as Harry felt. "Let's get out of here, and take a trip to Appleby, and with luck, we'll get there first," Harry whispered.
They still took their time, being extra cautious in the dark not to make a mistake and alert the other two Wizards to their presence. They went the opposite direction to the one their quarry had come from, and when they were sure they were far enough away, they apparated to Appleby. Since Ron didn't have the advantage of the invisibility cloak, he'd wait at Beck Lane where they'd hidden while Harry would follow the two Wizards, and hopefully find out where the Lestranges were hiding out.
It wasn't a long wait before the two Wizards appeared about a half-block away from where Ron and Harry had hidden, and without even looking around, they started walking off. Harry put his cloak on after nodding to Ron, and followed after them, giving them as much of a lead as he dared, and picking up his pace each time they turned a corner, until they were on Carr Lane, and then he kept them just in sight, making each step as soundless as possible. There were still lights on in the cottage they eventually turned into the driveway for, and Harry was able to get close enough to watch them walk up to the small house, knock, and wait to be admitted, which had only taken moments.
Harry only stayed there long enough to check out the area before making his way back to where Ron was hiding. They then spent an hour working their way back to a spot that Harry had picked out to watch the little cottage from, and after watching the place again for a while and seeing no new activity, they moved away again to a spot where they could discuss what to do next.
"We don't know that the Lestranges are there for sure," Ron pointed out, and Harry nodded.
"True, but there's a really good chance that they are, and if we act soon, we could take them by surprise. Why don't you go back to headquarters and wait for Josh and Neville, and I'll keep an eye on the place. If Josh agrees, you should bring extra help, since we also don't know how many Witches and Wizards might be hiding out in there either."
"Couldn't we sleep on this plan first, or at least get some sleep?" Ron joked, and Harry grinned at him.
"Come on, mate. You complain when there's no action, and now when there might be some fun and excitement, you want to go have a nap."
"You've got a seriously warped idea of what fun and excitement is," Ron told him. "I'll head for the Ministry and see what Josh wants to do. Do you want me to meet you back at that same hiding spot to let you know what they want to do?"
"Works for me," Harry agreed. "Be careful, and I'll see you in a few hours."
They split up, and Harry, with his cloak on again, went back to watch the cottage and wait. A couple of lights that he could see through the front windows stayed on right through until dawn. Between dawn and the time that Ron returned, one Wizard, and then later a Witch and Wizard came outside and walked around the yard, apparently just to stretch their legs and get out of the place, though they didn't leave the property. When Ron did get there, he told Harry what Josh and Gawain Robards had decided to do. They'd agreed with Harry that the chance of catching them by surprise was worth the risk that the Lestranges weren't actually there, and Ron had returned with Josh, Neville, and eight other Aurors who were now surrounding the cottage.
Harry's first task was to take down the shields and wards at precisely nine-thirty, and then he and Ron were to approach the cottage from the front, while there would be two Aurors coming from each flank at the front too, with Josh and Neville coming in from the east. Ron had told him that Neville was in charge of the anti-Muggle charms, while another Auror would put up an anti-apparition spell immediately after Harry destroyed the protections around the cottage. There was nothing to suggest that their closing trap was noticed by anyone within the cottage, and at nine-thirty, Harry pulled out his wand and with a loud detonation, blasted the shields around the cottage apart, and he and Ron rushed toward the place at the same time that the other nine Aurors and one trainee did.
Josh had opened his mouth to announce himself to the Wizards and Witches in the cottage, but before he could do that, the front door flew open, and several Wizards stepped outside, putting up shields and firing curses at the Aurors even as others followed them outside. Harry had a shield up too that was covering both him and Ron as they each counter-attacked. Thinking about the statues that Dumbledore had thrown around to protect him at the Ministry from killing curses, Harry also began throwing rocks and other objects in the way of any green bolt of energy he saw, and when that line of defense worked against the killing curses, Josh, Neville, and Ron quickly joined him to do the same.
There were now twelve Wizards and Witches in a group around the front of the cottage, and they were trying to push their way out. The only two Harry recognized were Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange, and they were shouting orders, though he couldn't make out what they were saying over the din of the fight. He blasted away one of the shields, and Ron and Neville took advantage of the opening to each immobilize one of their foes while Harry then disarmed them, the two wands flying to his waiting hand. He fluidly dropped them into his pocket even as he continued to attack, throwing another Wizard backward through the air until he hit the wall of the cottage and crumpled to the ground before the remaining fighters closed the gap made by the missing shield and fought on.
"Aguamenti!" Neville shouted, dousing their opponents with a deluge of water, but it just ran off of most of them, including the Lestrange brothers, as they each countered with impervius charms to waterproof themselves. Harry understood where his friend had been going with that line of attack when a moment later, the water that was now on the ground was frozen, and two of the fighters slipped and fell, losing control of their shields.
Neville and Josh each had a wand soaring toward them, and Harry was binding the Witch and Wizard who had fallen, while Ron stunned Rabastan Lestrange, and bound the man with ropes. Rodolphus saw that, and roared with rage, turning and firing a string of powerful curses at Harry, who calmly put obstacles in the way of the killing curses, and let his shield handle the other, less dangerous attacks. Bellatrix's enraged husband was so focused on attacking Harry that he didn't even see Neville's counter-attack, and Harry smiled when the man's eyes widened in shock as Neville hit him first with a full body-bind, and then disarmed him, the Dark Wizard's wand flying through the air to land in a triumphant Neville's hand.
"Throw down your wands!" Josh ordered the remaining Witch and Wizards. "You are all under arrest!"
The five servants who were still standing did not surrender, though, and fought on. That didn't last much longer, because the servants who'd apparently been holding the back of the cottage had been over-run. When two of the Aurors who'd been attacking from the back came through the front door, they caught the last four combatants by surprise – the fifth had just been taken out by Josh – and ended the fight by knocking out two of the Wizards, while the others were subdued by Harry and Neville when they made the mistake of turning to face the new attack.
"That was fun," Josh told them, panting hard as he and Neville met up with Harry, Ron, and the other four Aurors. "Is everyone okay?"
"One of our guys has a pretty bad cut and broken leg out back," Auror Proudfoot reported. "One fatality and two injuries on their side plus three other captures." He looked around and nodded to himself. "Looks like just the one who hit the wall out here for injuries."
"So we've got seventeen prisoners, and three with injuries," Josh summarized. "Was the old man with the group out back?"
Proudfoot shook his head. "No. It appears he wasn't here with his boys. Nobody got past us, and the anti-apparition shield is holding."
Josh nodded. "We've still had a good haul here," he declared. "I'll keep the trainees here with me to watch this lot. The rest of you can get the prisoners you have out back and as many of these as you can take with you in the first trip back to Auror Headquarters. Hand them off to others, and then come back to help us with the rest."
Auror Proudfoot and the other three Aurors all nodded their agreement. Two of them left immediately with two of the prisoners from the front, while the other two went out back to pass on the instructions and take care of the five prisoners and one body back to the Ministry of Magic. When they were gone, Josh walked over to where Rodolphus was standing immobilized, his expression hard and his eyes glowering with hate.
"This must have been quite a step down from the luxury you're used to at your mansion," Josh told him conversationally, "though it is quite a bit nicer than your next home is going to be." He smiled then and Rodolphus was turning red and shaking now with rage. "Oh, that's right, you're very well acquainted with Azkaban, aren't you? I personally think there's some poetic justice in the fact that Alice and Frank's son should be the one to catch you."
"I'd say it's brilliant," Ron suggested, laughing and clapping Neville on the shoulder as their friend smiled, his eyes still bright with triumph and excitement.
"Your prisoner seems to want to talk to us," Josh pointed out, waving to the furious Rodolphus.
"There's nothing I'm interested in hearing from him," Neville told him. "If we let him shoot his mouth off, I'll probably be even more tempted than I already am to repay him in kind for what they did to my Mum and Dad."
Josh nodded. "I suppose we'd better not tempt fate then," he agreed.
They had nearly a half-hour long wait before the other Aurors returned and they could all leave for Auror Headquarters with the remaining ten prisoners. By the time they arrived at the Ministry of Magic Atrium, there were reporters and quite a crowd of gawkers who'd heard that there had been a major capture, and there were cheers and applause as the twelve Aurors and Auror-trainees escorted their prisoners through security after running the gauntlet of reporters who shouted questions at them and the jubilant onlookers.
"Well done!" Gawain Robards told Josh, coming over to greet their group as they got ready to process their ten prisoners. "I've already sent word ahead for the guards to get Rodolphus and Rabastan's old cells ready for their homecoming."
"That's really very considerate of you, sir," Josh joked. "Auror-trainees Potter and Weasley have been on-duty for quite a while, so if you don't mind getting their reports later and can spare the extra help to deal with this lot, I'd like to send them home to get some rest."
"That's fine," Gawain agreed. "Have your reports on my desk by the end of the day tomorrow," he told Harry and Ron, who both nodded. Harry had been watching the Head of the Aurors, and while he did act pleased about the capture, there was something that just didn't feel right about him, and Harry had the distinct feeling that Auror Robards was not nearly as happy about what was, after all, his Auror-trainees' capture. He'd barely even looked at Harry and Ron when agreeing to let them leave for the day.
Josh took them aside, and told them to meet him and Neville at Auror Headquarters first thing in the morning, and then the two young Wizards were free to leave. It took a while to get back out through the Atrium, and then they apparated back to the Burrow, where Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were both waiting for them a bit anxiously. Ginny's hug had been fierce, and she'd held on to Harry for a long couple of minutes before kissing him and then leading him to sit down at the kitchen table after her mother had hugged him too.
"They said on the WWN that there was a big fight and a lot of Wizards and Witches captured in Appleby," Ginny said as she sat next to Harry and held his hand tightly. "The first reports said there were injuries and one death, and then that there was at least one Auror taken to St. Mungo's and one body brought back to the Ministry. Mum and I have been so worried."
"It was pretty hairy there for a while," Ron told them, "but we were brilliant. You should have seen Harry – he started throwing up rocks and things in front of killing curses, and they'd get blasted, but doing that shielded us from those curses, and our other shields kept us from getting hit by flying debris. When Neville, Josh, and I saw that, we jumped right in and started doing that too." He took a breath, and Harry couldn't help but smile at his friend's excitement as he proudly told his mother and sister about the fight.
"They had us outnumbered two to one, but we took them all down," he continued. "I knocked out Rabastan Lestrange, and Neville got Rodolphus. How many did you get, Harry?"
"The two wands of the guys that you and Neville bound first, bound the two who fell on Neville's ice while he and Josh got their wands, and knocked the one guy out when he hit the wall after I blasted him off his feet," Harry answered quietly. "He was the only one injured out of the twelve up front."
Ron nodded. "You and Neville each got one of the last two standing at the very end too. That water and ice idea of Neville's was great," he said enthusiastically. "I would have never thought of it. Anyway, we didn't actually hear about everything that happened out back, but there were six of Lestrange's people against six more Aurors, and the Auror who was hurt got a broken leg and bad cut, and they injured two of their opponents and killed one of them."
"I wonder that nobody has tried throwing things in front of killing curses before," Mrs. Weasley said from where she was working on making up a late breakfast for Harry and Ron.
"Dumbledore did it to protect me in the Atrium at the Ministry of Magic when he fought Riddle," Harry explained. "That's where I got the idea from, though he was throwing statues in front of me instead of rocks or bushes or things."
"Well, you saved both of those Aurors flanking us on the west, and probably saved Josh from a bolt that I don't think he saw coming his way," Ron told him. "I'm sure they're all glad you decided to try it, even if Josh was the only one of them who seemed to catch on to what you were doing. Those other two didn't accomplish anything in the fight that I saw."
"That just makes you wonder who should be training whom," Ginny suggested. "I'm just glad you're both okay – and that Neville is. You're probably both tired, but just in case Hermione's been listening to her WWN, you should probably go let her know you're not hurt after you eat too, Ron."
Ron had agreed that was a good idea, but didn't end up needing to do that, since Hermione came rushing into the kitchen about ten minutes later, her expression going from pale and worried to relief and happiness when she saw that Ron wasn't hurt. She'd hugged and kissed him, and then sat down next to him, holding on to his hand as tightly as Ginny was still holding Harry's. Ron repeated his account of the fight and capture for Hermione while he and Harry finished eating, wrapping up by the time they'd finished cleaning up after their meal. They all sat at the table for a while longer after that until Mrs. Weasley noticed Harry starting to doze off.
"You boys go up and get some sleep," she ordered. "Harry looks about ready to fall over, and you're not looking much better Ron."
Harry would have liked to stay and sit with Ginny a while longer, but she pulled him to his feet, led him up to his room, and shared a soft kiss and warm hug with him before pushing him into the room and closing the door firmly behind him. He made it to the bed and crawled in, but didn't remember anything from that moment until he woke up again sometime in the evening. A quick, hot shower woke him all the way up, and once he was cleaned up and dressed, he went downstairs, finding Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny in the sitting room talking and listening to the WWN, which was now thankfully back to playing music like they normally would after what they'd told him was mostly another news day as they covered the big story out of the Ministry of Magic.
"Ron's already up and gone to stay overnight with Hermione," Mrs. Weasley told him. "He said that he'll meet you at headquarters in the morning. There are leftovers from dinner if you're ready to eat."
"We can take care of that Mum," Ginny offered when her mother started to get up. "You've been running all day. Relax, and stay here with Dad."
Mrs. Weasley sank back into her seat and smiled gratefully at Ginny. "Thanks, honey. It really has been a long day." Ginny and Harry went into the kitchen, and it only took a few minutes to heat up the plate Mrs. Weasley had made up for him, get drinks, and sit at a corner of the table where they could face each other and talk quietly.
"I thought you might end up sleeping through until morning," Ginny said, smiling at him. "I'm glad you didn't. We're a bit overdue for some cuddle time."
"Yes we are," he agreed. "Did I miss much while I was out?"
"Not really," she answered. "Hermione went back home after you and Ron went to get some sleep, and Mom and I went out to work in the garden so it'd be quieter in the house, and when we were done that, and we were sure you were both out for the count, we did some laundry and cleaning. Dad had a busy day at work too, but nothing as newsworthy as the stories out of Auror Headquarters. Now that you've caught the Lestranges – or at least caught two of them – what do you think you'll be doing next?"
Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure whether Josh will have us chasing down Rodolphus and Rabastan's father, or leave that for now and start chasing down the Averys. If I had to guess, I'd say it'll be the Averys, and Ron and I will be right back on nights again."
"Maybe you should think about being a little less successful, and get back on days again," Ginny joked.
"They won't be able to keep going seven days – or nights – a week indefinitely," Harry pointed out. "I don't know about the other Aurors, but I'm definitely going to need some down time in the not too distant future."
"Just make sure that you don't book those days off when I'm working," Ginny reminded him.
They sat and talked until Harry finished eating, cleaned up, and then spent another hour in the sitting room visiting with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. When they went up to bed, Ginny stretched out on the sofa and snuggled with Harry, sharing a fairly brilliant snogging session before she happily drifted off to sleep in his arms. He'd been wide awake still after sleeping most of the day, and had stayed there holding her until nearly one o'clock before finally feeling tired enough that he could get a few hours of sleep too. He gently woke her with soft caresses and softer kisses, and they spent a little more time in each other's arms before finally going up to their bedrooms and off to sleep for the rest of the night.
Harry's guess about moving on to the Averys had been right, and after he and Ron had spent a few hours filling out reports from their weekend activities and handing them in to Gawain Robards, they went to the Avery estates, doing another disguised walking tour and daytime stakeout. Josh and Neville had gone ahead earlier, and had already been watching the place, and they all spent the rest of the day there before meeting back up at Auror Headquarters late in the afternoon.
"It's back to working nights again for us, isn't it?" Ron asked when he saw the look on Josh's face.
"Yes it is," Josh agreed unapologetically. "At least there's more activity going on around there than at the Lestrange estate."
"Is there anything you want us to do about all of those people coming and going from the place?" Harry asked, and Josh shook his head.
"Nothing specific. Just keep your eyes and ears open, and we'll see what kind of leads we get. There are other Aurors out working other angles, and eventually we'll get something useful."
The change again from days to nights gave Ron and Harry a bit more than twenty-four hours off. Hermione was home with her parents that evening after spending the day studying with Ginny and Luna, so after dinner, Harry, Ginny, and Ron went out to play Quidditch for a while, with Ginny using Ron's Cleansweep while he used his new Ministry Comet, and Harry finally got to give his new Firebolt a go. The two couples decided to spend the morning in London on Tuesday before Ron and Harry needed to get back to the Burrow and rest up before going back on nights again.
After that, over the next few weeks, they all settled in to a pretty set routine. Harry and Ron were working seven nights a week, sleeping during the day, and spending time when they could with the girls. Ginny had her Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday shifts at George's store, and studied at least two days a week with Hermione and Luna, and sometimes three. Near the end of May, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley both started helping Andromeda out with Teddy, taking him for a morning or afternoon, and for two overnight stays when she'd needed a break from constantly being on the go. Harry had spent most of those mornings or afternoons helping with Teddy too, and while there'd been no real progress with the stakeout, he thought that the time he got to spend with Ginny, Teddy, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and their friends when he and Ron weren't off working was absolutely brilliant.
"What do we have here?" Harry thought to himself as he watched Pansy Parkinson walk up the road and turn into the Avery estate. "Ms. Parkinson, whatever could you be doing coming here at this time of the morning?"
It was Thursday morning, the second Thursday of June, and while he had no idea why Pansy Parkinson was making a visit to the Avery estate just after dawn, he was sure that whatever the reason, this was the break they'd been waiting for. She didn't stay long, and was only in the manor house for maybe five minutes before leaving again, and Harry watched her head back down the road, this time carrying a large bag over her shoulder. Harry made his way to Ron's hiding spot from where he'd been posted next to the road.
"Let's go to Auror Headquarters and try to catch Josh and Neville before they leave," he told Ron.
"You think Pansy's our new lead?" Ron asked, and Harry nodded.
"I'm sure she is," he agreed. "Time for us to move our stakeout again."
They made it back to the Ministry and still had more than a half-hour wait before Neville, and then Josh, made it in to work. Josh was willing to follow Harry's hunch and while Harry and Ron went off-duty, he and Neville went to set up their first daytime stakeout of the Parkinson house. For the next week, they observed Pansy going on trips several times a day, though they hadn't been able to follow her, since she apparated to and from her front yard each time. By the time Ron and Harry were on duty, she was always in for the night, except for the occasional evening walk in the yard, and just one early morning departure that they weren't able to follow her for any more than Josh and Neville had been able to do for any of her other trips.
Ron and Harry were just finishing with cleaning up the dinner dishes on the following Wednesday evening while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were sitting at the table and talking with them when Neville knocked on the door, and then came rushing into the kitchen, his face flushed with excitement.
"They're at the house!" he exclaimed. "Josh wants you to come back with me right away."
"The Averys?" Ron asked, and Neville nodded.
"We both saw them. They came outside and walked around the yard for a while, and then went back inside. It was definitely the Averys."
"They probably figured that since we'd already raided the place and arrested Pansy's parents that we'd never think to go back there to look for anyone else," Ron mused, and Neville nodded enthusiastically again.
"That's what Josh thinks too," he agreed. "Come on," he urged his friends. "Josh wants to go in before it's dark."
Ginny had already gotten up from the table, and she went over to Harry, wrapped her arms around his neck, hugged him fiercely, and then kissed him. "Be careful," she breathed into his ear, squeezing him tightly one more time before letting him go. Mrs. Weasley had gotten up too and hugged all three boys before letting them leave.
"What's the plan, boss?" Ron asked when he, Neville, and Harry joined Josh where he was still watching the Parkinson's house.
"They're still not using any shields or wards," Josh answered. "I want you and Harry to do the Muggle hiker disguises, and when you get to the lane into their house, Harry can put up an anti-apparition shield, and you're to take the front. Neville and I will work our way around and come in from the back. Be ready, because there's no way that the Averys will go quietly."
"We're not exactly on Pansy's most-loved Wizards list either," Neville reminded them. "Don't underestimate her."
"Or turn your back to her," Ron agreed. "Too bad she didn't learn anything from her parent's arrest and trial."
Harry and Ron left to make their way out of the area, and while they gave Neville and Josh time to make their way around to the back of the Parkinson's property, they got into disguise, being careful to make sure that everything was done right before starting the walk back to the Parkinson's house. When they got to the lane, Harry put up a massive anti-apparition shield that covered the entire property and quite a large section of the surrounding area too, and then he and Ron hurried up the lane toward the house.
Whether Pansy and the Averys had spotted Josh and Neville first, or there was some other reason, the two Wizards and young Witch came rushing out of the front door of the house, wands raised, shields up, and on the attack. Their plan was likely to just over-run Ron and Harry, but that didn't happen as Harry shielded both of them, and threw obstacles in the way of the killing curses while Ron counter-attacked.
"We've got to get past them!" the older Avery shouted, moving to flank the Auror-trainees. He glared daggers at Pansy. "She must have led them here. Kill her too," he ordered. "We've no use for such an incompetent."
Harry sent a potted plant flying into the air to intercept the killing curse that the younger Avery Wizard immediately fired at a momentarily stunned Pansy, who'd just stood there open-mouthed after hearing her own murder being ordered and as the curse had shot toward her. Harry then knocked her out with a stunning spell and disarmed her before he and Ron both faced off against the Averys.
"Watch our backs!" the older Avery bellowed as he sent more curses flying toward Harry and Ron. Walking in a kind of side-step, and nearly back-to-back, the men were attempting to work their way past Ron and Harry, but they were moving too, and keeping them from getting to where the Dark Wizards thought they needed to be to apparate and escape.
"You're under arrest!" Josh shouted as he and Neville finally made it around the house and faced off against the younger Avery. "Surrender your wands – NOW!"
"Kill them!" the older Avery spat, and his son sent two quick killing curses toward Josh and Neville, but each one was met with a pair of large rocks which Neville sent to intercept the attacks, and there were two loud detonations as the rocks exploded, sending debris flying everywhere, including against Josh and Neville's shields.
"Get ready," Harry told Ron quietly, and then fired a spell that blasted the older Avery's shield apart, and knocked him backward into his son. Ron immediately bound him with ropes, and Harry disarmed him, catching the man's wand a moment later as it shot across the distance to his waiting hand. By then, the son had turned and released his father, but now that the older Wizard was wandless, it was too late, and a moment later, his wand was in Harry's hand too, and both men were again tightly bound.
"How's the girl?" Josh asked as he and Neville joined Harry and Ron next to their two prisoners.
"Just stunned," Harry reported. "They tried to kill her, and seem to think that she gave them away."
"You gave yourselves away," Josh told the two glowering Death Eaters. "You were seen when you went for your little walk earlier. Coming here, and staying without putting up wards and shields was quite a good idea. Too bad you didn't wait a bit longer to deal with your cabin fever – we were nearly ready to call off the surveillance here, since Ms. Parkinson seemed to be here alone, and doing nothing suspicious."
"Too bad for them, good for us," Ron murmured, and Josh laughed.
"Quite true," he agreed. "Auror-trainee Longbottom, could you please revive Ms. Parkinson and take her into custody? I'm afraid that this time, aiding and abetting known fugitives is serious enough to warrant her arrest too."
Neville did that, and when he had her ready to go, they all apparated to the Ministry of Magic, making their way to Auror Headquarters, which by then was deserted, so they had the place to themselves while they processed their three prisoners before delivering them to the holding cells on the dungeon level. They gathered at Josh's desk after that, and he smiled at his three trainees.
"Fill out your reports before you leave, and then take the day off tomorrow," he ordered. "We'll get back to work on Friday morning, but I think we've all earned a day off."
"And then some," Ron agreed. "What will we be starting next?"
"I'll stop in tomorrow to check in with the boss and find out," Josh answered. "We've been so busy with this that I haven't tried to keep up with the status of the other cases."
Harry, Ron, and Neville all spent another nearly two hours filling out their reports, and then they headed for home, all of them looking forward to having a day off on Thursday. Ginny and her parents were still waiting up for them, but once they were assured that both young Wizards were okay, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley went up to bed, followed shortly after that by Ron, while Ginny and Harry were left to snuggle and have some time alone in the sitting room.
"I'm beginning to think that our job is harder on you, Hermione, and your parents than it is on us," Harry said, and Ginny nodded.
"It's hard having to wait and not knowing for so long whether you're alright," she agreed. "Mum is definitely having the hardest time." She smiled at him. "Now that you've got the day off tomorrow, we should definitely cancel our study day so Hermione and I can do something with you and Ron instead."
"Is there anything in particular you'd like to do?" he asked.
"Not really," she answered. "We can discuss that with Hermione and Ron in the morning." Pulling him closer, she kissed him. "Right now, I'm not feeling much like talking anymore."
Harry didn't know it at the time, but his night shifts were over, at least for a while. Ginny had the best of intentions for snogging with Harry, and they did share some seriously heart-warming kisses, but it wasn't long before she snuggled happily in his arms and drifted off to sleep. He was content to hold her until he finally got tired too sometime into the early hours of the morning, gently woke her up, and they went up to their rooms for the rest of the night. A brilliant day off followed, where the two couples spent the morning doing a little shopping, an afternoon playing at the beach, and for Harry and Ginny, a wonderful evening walk and sitting room snogging session that was a perfect ending to another one of those really great days.
There were still many Dark Wizards out on the run, and while Harry and Ron would continue to be busy with work, Hermione would be continuing to help Ginny and Luna get ready for the sixth year exams, which were now just under four weeks away. Summer was heating up, and it wouldn't be just the weather making that happen!