Disclaimer :: All things Harry Potter are owned by JK Rowling, and it would be quite an insult to her if I were to claim them as my own wouldn't it? Here we go!
To End in Serenity
Written by MattSilver
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Rated because of coarse language, teenage drinking, violence, references to sex, sarcastic humour and slight out of character situations and personalities. You have been warned.
General Notes :: Harry, Ron and Hermione are referred to as the Golden Trio, or just the Trio. Note the capital 'T' when I refer to them. Get used to seeing that.
- Several lines and phrases from the actual books are used occasionally, mostly from the third, fourth and fifth books.
- The backstory of the war is based around some events of HBP and DH, but only basic plot things like Horcruxes and Dumbledore's death are mentioned.
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Chapter 4 of 6 :: An Eventful Winter
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It was early December, on a random Thursday, when the teachers announced the upcoming Yule Ball. The Trio, laying low after their adventure a few weeks ago, were actually looking forward to it.
"It's just something fun to do right?" Ron said. "Oh Hermione?" The girl looked up from her dinner and smiled. "Will you do me the honour of not going with that surly git and accompanying a poor red headed boy to the Yule Ball?" Harry laughed softly, and several students looked startled at Ron's invitation.
"Sure, if you can dance," Hermione said teasingly.
Ron nodded brightly. "I can do all kinds of dances!" Only Harry and Hermione got the double meaning. Hermione reddened, and Harry laughed.
"Potter," Aimee said, approaching Harry once dinner was over. "You sneaky little romantic you. So, are you taking me to the Yule Ball?"
Harry nodded slyly, placing one arm around her shoulders. "Life is full of surprises."
"Git," Aimee replied, sticking her tongue out. "You better sweep me off my feet Harry, or no drinking for a month."
"I promised I would didn't I?" Harry said softly. He leaned in and whispered in the Slytherin's ear, "Sorry that we have to start off the dancing though. Burden of being a champion you know?"
"You're the only champion I would go with," Aimee replied. She loosened herself from Harry's arm, and walked off to the library. Harry sighed, watching her go.
"Nice girl, Potter?" growled Moody, approaching Harry. Harry sighed again, this time a little more exasperatedly. "We have to talk in my office. Come on, lad."
"Fine," Harry relented. He hadn't had a chance to interrogate Moody as of yet, but it looked like Mad-Eye was getting to it first. Tightening his grip on his wand, Harry followed the imposter to his office.
"Now lad," Moody started, ditching the fake leg and taking a seat. "I admire the way you handled the dragon. Nice and easy does the trick, as I would of told you."
"Thank you, sir."
"Now, how are you going with the next clue? The egg?"
Harry smirked. "Got it already."
Moody chuckled. "Good job, Potter. Do you know why I'm talking to you now, because it isn't about the Tournament."
"I guess it has something to do with Aimee," Harry said. His wand hand was itching to curse the imposter and find some things out. "You started this conversation by complimenting her. I picked up on it from there."
"Good!" Moody cried appreciatively. "Constant vigilance! Understand your surrondings and take control of them before they overwhelm you. You understand that, and you would make a good Auror some day."
"Thank you sir."
"Now, Professor Dumbledore asked me to talk to you. To feel you out. I told him that there was nothing to be worried about, but he's relentless. With me so far?"
Harry nodded.
"Good lad. Your performance in the First Task opened the old man's eyes. Now, do you mind me saying that Albus hasn't really had the best interests of you in mind?"
Harry nodded again, face blank.
Moody took a swig from his hip-flask. "Good good. Your filthy guardians are a good example of this. But, Albus is worried that you're turning Dark."
"That's impossible," Harry blurted. "Dark wizards like Voldemort killed my parents! I would never be like them."
"I know lad. But Albus doesn't want you out of reach. Out of his control. You're getting to him. The advanced magic, the disrespectful attitude, and your friendship with Miss Moon. I would chalk them up as normal teen things, but Dumbledore does not want that. He does not want you to turn to the Dark."
"Well then fuck him," Harry cursed. "I'm not turning Dark. Aimee is a great girl, despite the fact she's a Slytherin. I need the advanced magic to fight Voldemort don't I? The attitude is probably a by-product of my guardians' brilliant parenting styles..."
Both of Moody's eyes bore into his. Harry didn't feel any Legilimency attacks, but kept his shields up anyway. He was inwardly wondering what Crouch was trying to pull. Was the imposter trying to sow seeds of distrust in him by telling him that Dumbledore wasn't happy? Was Crouch working on a half-cocked plan to recruit Harry for his Lord?
"I know lad. Between you and me, I know. I will tell Albus that you aren't turning Dark, and he may back off. If he doesn't, I will help you out. I promise it," Moody said determinedly. It was very slippery of him to batter down Harry's trust of Dumbledore. But, of course, Moody didn't know Harry already hated the old man.
"Thank you sir. Thank you a lot."
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The night of the Yule Ball, Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville changed into their dress robes up in their dormitory, all but two of them looking very self-conscious. Harry was calm and collected, and Ron wasn't wearing horrible maroon robes this time (Having ordered some navy blue ones via owl, paid for by his and Harry's Irish friend), so they were relaxing.
"Who are you going with Harry?" asked Dean. Seamus and Neville were looking at him curiously too. Neville had asked Ginny again, and Seamus was going with Lavender. Dean, meanwhile, was taking Parvati.
"It's a surprise," Harry said slyly. True, Aimee had told him not to spread anything around, because she wouldn't hear the end of it in the Slytherin Common Room. And our boy Harry loves surprising people.
Dean laughed. "Padma Patil? Hermione Granger? Pansy Parkinson? Who?"
"It's a surprise, and I'm going with Hermione," said Ron.
"Oh yeah," Dean said, forgetting that Ron was going with Hermione. "Good luck with that mate."
The Common Room looked very colourful, with a mass of different colours amongst the black. Harry bid Ron a quick goodbye, before leaving to fetch Aimee from the Slytherin Common Room. Ron waved him off, awaiting his own date.
Harry reached the dungeons a few minutes later, passing by a few Slytherin couples on the way. He reached the wall where the Slytherin Common Room was hiding behind, and spoke to it clearly:
"Icarus." The wall let him in after the correct password, and Harry smirked. Aimee had told him to wait outside, but he had a better idea.
Walking into the Slytherin Common Room with no disguise was a highlight for Harry. Mouths dropped as he entered, and several wands came out. Harry's own wand was already in hand, but he plastered a cheeky smile on his dial.
"Hello," he said cheerily, and more wands joined the fray. Malfoy, guarded by Crabbe and Goyle, spoke up first.
"What are you doing here Scarhead?" Harry smirked.
"Waiting for my date, of course," he said, enjoying the jaw droppings around the room. Malfoy himself was staring blank-faced, awaiting the punchline to Harry's joke.
"You're lying, Potter," Malfoy said disbelievingly. Harry was wondering what kind of flack Aimee would get, but decided he didn't mind. She didn't either, because she hated her House as much as Harry did.
"Harry?"
Aimee herself had arrived, wearing dark green dress robes that looked very form-fitting. Her usual combed down hair looked a little more wavy than usual, cascading down her shoulders like it had its own private wind. She was looking amusedly at Harry, ignoring her housemates.
"Aimee," Harry said simply, approaching her. The Slytherin population was looking at the two in disbelief - a blood traitor girl and the Boy-Who-Lived... the world had ended. Harry conjured a red rose. It was corny, but was effective. "You look beautiful. Shall we go before your fellow Slytherins lynch me?"
She nodded, pinking slightly. But there was a cheeky smile on her face as she took Harry's arm, and allowed him to lead her out of the Common Room and away from the Slytherins.
"Thanks for the rose," she said lightly. Harry chuckled. "And for freaking out my housemates. That was genius... how did you get in?"
Harry tapped the side of his nose. "I have my ways."
She looked exasperated, but didn't press on. The two continued the walk up to the Entrance Hall, occasionally checking for Slytherins behind them. Harry would not put it past several of them to curse the living daylights out of him.
The Entrance Hall was packed, all milling about and awaiting the Yule Ball to begin. Harry and Aimee quickly found Ron and Hermione, who were looking rather couple-y.
"Hey you two. Aimee, you look great!" Hermione said. Aimee smiled and patted down her robes.
"You should of seen what Harry did to the Slytherins. It was brilliant," she said happily. Harry was discreetly checking her out while she chatted. He liked what he saw, and she knew it.
Ron looked at Harry. "You actually walked in? I'm glad I didn't bet any money."
The quartet laughed, as the oak doors leading into the Hall opened. Karkaroff and his Durmstrang students walked in. Krum was with one of his groupies in Fred and George's year, and looked rather unhappy with it.
"He asked me a few days ago," Hermione told the gang. "He looked so angry that I already had a date. It was funny." Ron smiled proudly at her. Hermione had changed for the better in his eyes, and he was thinking that he was the reason for the changes.
Malfoy, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle came up from the Slytherin dungeons a few minutes later, all glaring at the quartet's direction. Harry and Aimee waved to them, but it wasn't returned unfortunately.
McGonagall suddenly appeared out of no where, and called, "Champions over here please!"
"That's our cue," Harry said happily, taking Aimee over to the Transfiguration Professor. Cedric and Cho, Krum and his groupie, and Fleur and Roger Davies all looked at Aimee curiously, but didn't comment.
"Wait here please," McGonagall told them, also eyeing Aimee oddly. The Great Hall doors opened, and students started pouring in.
"Aimee right?" asked Cho, hand out. Aimee shook it. "You sometimes hang out in the library with my friend Marietta right? You're teaching her Ancient Runes?"
Aimee nodded. "She's not that great at that subject, and her parents are old friends of my dad's." Cho smiled, and turned to Harry.
"Harry," she greeted. "Shame we have no Quidditch this year."
Harry smiled. "So I could beat you again?" he half-joked. Harry really didn't think much of Cho these days, but that could be because he already chalked her up as a disaster to date back in the old timeline.
Cedric jumped into the conversation. "I was looking forward to playing against you again Harry, but this Tournament is enough isn't it?"
"Definitely," Harry agreed. The conversation ended when McGonagall came out of the Hall and instructed the couples to line up and follow her. They did so, and everyone in the Great Hall applauded as they entered and walked up towards a large round table at the top of the Hall, where the judges (Including Harry's favourite - Dumbledore) were sitting.
Harry and Aimee walked confidently, resisting the urge to wave smart-arsedly at the students looking at them disbelievingly. Harry caught Ron and Hermione's eyes as he neared the top table, and he smiled. Aimee, meanwhile, was half-smirking at a shattered female population.
Dumbledore smiled benignly at the Champions as they approached the table, but his eyes didn't linger on Harry and Aimee for too long. Ludo Bagman was not catching Harry's eye as well, perhaps remembering Harry's threat during the First Task. Crouch was absent, and Percy was there, to Harry's dismay.
When the couples reached the table, Percy motioned Harry to sit down next to him. Being that Percy was the furthest away from Dumbledore, Harry took a seat next to him, after being a total gentleman and pulling out Aimee's chair.
"Milady," he said, gesturing. She took a seat beside him and two seats down from Percy, smiling.
"I've been promoted," Percy said smugly. "I'm now Mr Crouch's personal assistant, and I'm here representing him."
"Brilliant," Harry said sarcastically. Percy didn't catch it, and was nodding happily. On Harry's other side, Aimee was giggling. Dinner was a light affair, with Harry and Aimee ignoring the other occupants of the table and criticising Malfoy.
"It took him two hours to do that hair," Aimee said, taking a sip from her goblet of water. Harry laughed.
"We should ask him," he said challengingly.
"I will if you will."
Dumbledore eventually stood up, creating a raised platform for dancing. The Weird Sisters, tonight's entertainment, trooped onto stage and started to play their first song.
"Let's roll," Harry and Aimee said simultaneously. Harry led her to the dance floor, trailing after the other champions. He avoided the gazes of his friends and the other students as he seized Aimee's hands and started leading her around in some kind of waltz he made up on the spot.
They danced through the entire song, running into other students and teachers. Ron and Hermione winked at them both, dancing their own little dance, Ginny and Neville said a quick hello, Neville stepping on his date's feet in the process. Dumbledore waltzed with Maxime, Karkaroff was standing off to the side, Ludo was dancing with a blushing Professor Sinistra, and Percy had seemingly disappeared. He didn't have a date, so there was no dancing for the third-eldest Weasley child that night.
Moody passed Harry and Aimee, dancing with Professor Sprout. "Nice socks, Potter," he growled. Harry was wearing Dobby's socks again, and he had shown them to Aimee during dinner, to the girl's laughter.
"Dobby the House Elf knitted them for me," Harry replied.
After the song finished, Harry and Aimee danced to the next two songs, before heading to get drinks.
"You know, this is a lot of fun," Aimee said, sipping on a Butterbeer. She was looking rather pink from all the dancing, but delighted all the same.
"Yep," Harry agreed. "But the date isn't over yet."
Aimee smiled. "Really?"
Harry smirked, and pointed to the entrance of the Great Hall. Percy Weasley was walking in, beside Penelope Clearwater. However, this Percy wasn't strolling confidently, he was ambling along with Penelope on his arm, looking rather pink.
"Harry," he greeted. "And this must be Aimee."
Aimee laughed nervously. "Harry? Percy knows he met me half an hour ago right?"
Harry laughed. "How are things, Remus? Tonks?"
'Penelope' grinned. "Brilliant Harry. Your friend Percy went home, after vomiting his breakfast all over the Entrance Hall."
Aimee was looking confused, but Harry was still laughing. "Brilliant. Are you two going to dance tonight?"
'Percy' flushed, and 'Penelope' nodded happily.
"Here you go Harry," 'Percy' said, handing Harry a small whistle. "It's set to go off in one hour, and it can return here at any time."
"Thanks Remus. Go have some fun you old man," Harry said, and 'Percy' smiled briefly. He allowed 'Penelope' to lead him to the dance floor, if a bit reluctantly. "Those two..." Harry said fondly.
"Harry? What the hell was that about?" Aimee asked.
"Aimee my dear." Harry took her hand. "Life is full of surprises. I will tell you that I'm ready to go out and dance some more if you'd let me, and that we just had a conversation with Professor Lupin and his date, Nymphadora Tonks."
"What?" Aimee said, allowing Harry to lead her to the dance floor. The two started up again, and Harry explained:
"Remember Professor Lupin? He and I have become pen pals this year, and I asked him for a favour. We hashed up a plan involving some hexing, Polyjuice, and some definitely illegal Portkey use. He got help from an old friend of mine, Tonks, who's posing as Percy's ex-girlfriend. All so I can sweep you off your feet."
Aimee raised an eyebrow. "Illegal Portkey use?"
Harry smiled, and pulled her close for a slow song. "Life is full of surprises."
Aimee didn't follow up with it, and the two danced for the next fifty minutes. Harry and Ron swapped partners a few times, and didn't dance with anyone else (This was fortunate, because Harry didn't want to have Neville break Aimee's toes if he swapped with the chubby boy).
"Are you going soon?" Ron asked, as the quartet relaxed at a table.
Harry nodded, and then turned to his date. "Yep. Aimee, are you ready to go?"
"Only if you tell me where we're going," she said. Harry smiled.
"Don't you trust me?" Harry asked. Aimee nodded slowly.
"As long as you don't kill me and drop my body in a back bay." Ron and Hermione laughed. Harry lead Aimee out of the Great Hall and out onto the grounds.
"We're heading just outside the wards," Harry told her. She started to shiver a little, and so Harry pulled out his wand and cast a warming charm.
"Thanks," Aimee said. Harry took her to just next to the Hogwarts front gates. Unbeknownst to Aimee, Harry had cast several charms to stop people following them or tracing their Portkey signature.
The whistle Portkey Remus gave Harry activated a minute later, taking the couple to a large grassy field, surrounded by trees and riddled with complicated wards. Aimee didn't see the cottage dead centre in the field, but Harry did.
However, Aimee did see a large blanket spread on the grass, with floating fairy lights swarming around it (Helpfully stolen by Remus a few hours earlier). Harry motioned for Aimee to sit on the blanket, and she did, relaxing into the extra charms Harry put on the blanket (Cushioning, Warming and Bug-Repelling).
"Dobby!" Harry called, and the elf popped in.
"Hello Harry Potter sir!" he turned to Aimee. "And Harry Potter's Moon girl!"
"Hello Dobby," Aimee said kindly. "Thank you for the socks." Along with Harry, Ron and Hermione, Dobby had knit Aimee some black socks with green lightning bolts. She wasn't wearing them at the moment, but she got a kick out of them anyway.
Dobby beamed at her, and Harry looked amused.
"He's a sock expert he is," he said. "Dobby, can you please fetch the basket I prepared earlier?"
Dobby nodded and Apparated off. Harry turned to Aimee.
"Did you get him socks in return?" he asked.
Aimee nodded. "I gave him an old pair that my grandmother gave to me. Hideously purple and gray, but Dobby loved them."
"I gave him some mustard coloured socks that belonged to Vernon." Dobby popped back in at this moment, holding a large basket.
"Here you go Harry Potter sir!" he said excitedly. "I placed Warming Charms on the Firewhisky too Harry Potter!"
"Thanks Dobby," Harry said, opening the basket. Dobby made like a Mundungus Fletcher and disappeared instantly before ruining the mood.
"Wow Harry," Aimee whispered, looking up at the stars. She took the bottle Harry offered her, containing a apple cider/Firewhisky Frankenstein drink Sirius and Dobby had created.
"It's corny though," Harry muttered embarrassedly. "You know, I gave you a rose, we danced a while, and now we're drinking out under the stars."
Aimee took his hand and squeezed it. "It's great Harry. What I'm interested in knowing is how you found this place."
Harry smiled. "My friend owns a cottage here. You can't see it, since it's under heavy warding, but this little piece of land is where he lives."
"Nice," Aimee replied. "Who's cottage?"
"Sirius lives there," Harry said, and Aimee nodded. He had explained to her about his godfather's innocence, including the whole story with Pettigrew and Sirius gaining innocence after a meeting with Amelia Bones.
"Is he in now?" Aimee asked.
Harry shook his head. "Nope. I told him to go out for the night. He's probably tearing up Muggle London by now." Actually, Sirius was on a date with a woman he met at the Ministry some time ago. Stay tuned.
The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Aimee still holding Harry's hand. In between looking at the stars or the fairies Remus 'borrowed', Harry searched his date's face. She was looking nervous, and fighting some internal battle.
"Something on your mind?" he asked her. She nodded slowly, not looking at him.
"Harry..." she started. "I've got something to tell you, something that you might not like."
Harry nodded. "Go on."
"Do you remember everything I told you about my family?" Ahhh... she wanted to broach the subject of her Death Eater uncle. Harry smiled reassuringly.
"Yep. Your father is a Muggleborn from France who works in the Portkey Regulation Department. Your mother runs a store at Serenity Valley right? You mentioned that your grandmother sent you crappy socks... and your father is a bit temperamental about strange young men."
Aimee chuckled at the jab about her father. "Yeah... but I've never told you about my mother's side of the family."
"They're pureblood right? You mentioned that they were all pureblood Slytherin types."
"Yes. But... my uncle," her voice cracked a little, and Harry squeezed her hand, "My uncle, and my grandfather are... Death Eaters."
Harry said nothing. He kept the smile on his face though, ready to reassure her fears of him hating her.
"I know you must hate them all... because of what they did in the war," Aimee said slowly.
"But I'd never hate you," Harry said softly. Aimee smiled, and caught his eyes.
"Thank you. But my uncle Christian... he was a great guy actually... He was forced into being a Death Eater by my bigoted grandfather, who believed Lord Voldemort was a future emperor. Christian wanted out a week after being Marked, and hid with mum. He didn't hate her like grandfather did, for marrying a Muggleborn. Two weeks later, you killed Voldemort, and Christian stayed with us.
"He was a loving uncle when I was younger. He worked with mum in the supermarket, and then got a job in Knockturn Alley. At the start of this year, his Mark became 'clearer', I think that's what mum told me."
"Because Voldemort's coming back," Harry muttered. Aimee nodded.
"We gathered that. But... Uncle Christian became edgy, and scared. He broke down a few weeks before I returned from Hogwarts. He didn't want to be forced back into being a Death Eater."
"I'm sorry," Harry said cautiously. He was thinking about the tall, dark haired man that Hermione killed in the World Cup battle. He remembered watching the man's mask come flying off at Hermione's curse, a shocked look... blue eyes... so much like Aimee's. Hermione broke his spine with a well placed curse. Harry had complimented her, and watched the Death Eater fall to the ground, writhing in pain. He briefly remembered Hermione ending Christian Selwyn's pain a second later.
Aimee's eyes started to glaze over a little. Harry pulled her closer. "He disappeared two days before the World Cup," she said. "We didn't find out until the Aurors came and questioned us about any 'people of interest'. He died in that battle... some Ministry worker, or even one of the Death Eaters, broke his spine in two places, and slit his throat after that. It was sick. It was horrible. Mum didn't know if he was innocent or if he did it on his own. Dad was stressed, Mum was stressed, and I became quiet..."
She sighed, and allowed Harry to hug her. "Until I met you. Got drunk with a stressed kid who made me laugh at his sarcastic comments. Thank you."
"You don't owe me anything Aimee," Harry said. "You've helped me out too you know? You're a good friend, and..." This was a sticky bit for Harry. He had never really said 'I love you' to a girl before, and he wouldn't start now. "... I'm becoming emotionally invested in you."
Aimee laughed, her earlier sadness forgotten briefly. "You're such a teenage boy. I'm becoming emotionally invested in you too."
It was a good night for the new couple. Aimee got the burden of her family's problems off her chest, and Harry realised he was in fact becoming more emotionally invested with someone that he barely knew in the last timeline. Someone new, and it was a good feeling. Yes, the couple did snog a bit, and Aimee later commented to Harry:
"Well, you certainly lived up to your end of the bargain."
Harry grinned at her, activating the Portkey back to Hogwarts. "And you don't owe me any money anymore Aimee. Trust me, I won't have my girlfriend owing me squat."
"Really?" she asked coyly. "If I had known this would've got me out of debt earlier, I would've snogged you months ago."
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Harry and Aimee's date was a success, and the couple were happy. Unfortunately, there were two highly powerful wizards that weren't in happy moods.
In his office, Albus Dumbledore sucked on a lemon drop and pondered many things.
Dumbledore was worried about the Boy-Who-Lived. Harry had been happy and a perfectly pleasant person that night at the Yule Ball, dancing away with Miss Moon. Moody had assured Dumbledore that Harry was fine, but Moody didn't know that Harry Obliviated Professor Snape a few weeks back.
Dumbledore had to accelerate some plans. He needed to get inside Harry's head, and the boy wouldn't let him do it willingly. For the greater good, Dumbledore would have to separate the Moon girl from him, catch him unawares, and fix the Boy-Who-Lived from becoming a new Voldemort.
But what to do? Dumbledore would ask himself. Would he simply have his Order remove Aimee Moon from Harry's sights for a while? A Love Potion to direct his attention elsewhere? These questions bugged the Headmaster. He didn't want Harry to become more estranged, but he wanted him back under control. Snape had told the Headmaster that Voldemort was getting stronger, and Dumbledore needed his golden boy prepared to die for the cause. How else would Voldemort's accidental Horcrux be destroyed?
"Severus," Dumbledore said, as the Potions Master entered the office. Snape nodded briefly. "What news of Harry?"
"Miss Moon returned to her dorms a few minutes ago," Snape said evenly. "I do not know if Harry has returned, since you are the one monitoring his dorm."
Dumbledore shook his head. "My Listening Charm has been disabled, and I cannot get a new one in. I do not know what he did, but Harry has made it impossible for us to monitor his room."
"You're giving Potter too much credit," Snape said silkily. "Perhaps he got help from Miss Moon or the Granger girl. Or you have made a mistake."
Dumbledore stared hard at the man across from him, daring him to repeat what he said.
Snape smirked. "Goodnight Albus."
"Goodnight, Severus."
Once Snape had left, Albus returned to his musing. Harry was becoming a flight risk more and more. He needed to find out where Harry, Ron and Hermione would sometimes disappear too. Perhaps he would send an owl to Sirius Black, who was in occasional contact according to the letters Black sent to Harry with advice on the Tournament.
..::..--.--..::..
At the Crouch household, Tom Riddle watched the flickering flames in the fireplace, pondering many things.
Voldemort was worried about his plans to get a new body. He did not doubt that Barty Crouch Jr would succeed, because the fanatical follower had gone far enough and would reach the end easily. He was worried about Wormtail, who narrowly avoided being arrested a month ago.
Voldemort's servant Wormtail was lucky once. He escaped after killing the Potions dealer Sammy Samson, and managed to return to his Lord thanks to three Death Eaters taking down the Aurors. Two of those Death Eaters were in Azkaban now, having been captured by the Ministry a few weeks ago. Voldemort needed more help than just Wormtail, who was now actually wanted by the Ministry. Minister Amelia Bones had told her Aurors to hunt Wormtail down, but hadn't informed the public. Voldemort only knew that thanks to his foray into Crouch Sr's mind.
But what to do? Voldemort would muse. Death and mayhem only got you so far, and he needed servants that could procure the correct ingredients and tools for his resurrection. Reaching a decision, he called in Wormtail, who was interrogating Crouch Sr.
"Wormtail," Voldemort hissed. The ex-Marauder bowed low, awaiting orders. "I do know it is not your fault, but we need some more help on this Wormtail. We need some help in planning my return."
"Yes, my Lord."
Voldemort smirked. "I need you to contact Amycus and Alecto Carrow for me. Do not bring them here... I do not need my servants to see me in this form. Tell them to procure illegal Portkeys to the island of Azkaban."
"Yes, my Lord. If you don't mind me asking, what are you planning?"
"A breakout," Voldemort said simply. "Your friend Sirius showed us that being an Animagus can help in that regard. With the Carrows' Portkeys, you can transform into a rat, drop them off into several cells, and they will be taken here. I will relocate to Riddle Manor for now, and none of my servants will see me in this form. They will recover here, and the able ones will go out into the world and help you."
Wormtail nodded. He spotted several holes in the plan, but it wasn't worth his life to point them out. Unfortunately, Voldemort read his mind for a few seconds.
"Crucio," he said coldly. Wormtail writhed in pain for half a minute, before Voldemort released the curse. "Wormtail, you doubt the plan? I will talk to the Dementors, and didn't you know they had access to the wards? They can shut down the proper wards to get you in without alerting the Ministry. If we act quickly, we can break our people out before Amelia Bones enacts a law to restrict the Dementors."
Wormtail nodded, twitching slightly. "Who are we breaking out?"
"Six of my most loyal. Bella, the Lestrange brothers, Dolohov, Rookwood and Travers. My inner circle will be back and ready to serve upon my resurrection, and Harry Potter's death."
With that, Voldemort dismissed Wormtail, who scurried off to get in contact with the Carrows. If he was lucky, the Death Eaters could be broken out by mid-January.
..::..--.--..::..
MASS AZKABAN BREAKOUT! Six Death Eaters escaped from Azkaban!
January 14th, 1995, Adelbert Davies reporting:
The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban prison.
Speaking to reporters in public, Amelia Bones, newly appointed Minister of Magic, confirmed that six high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening, and that the Muggle Prime Minister has already been informed.
'Six of the country's most dangerous wizards and one witch, wizards that didn't escape justice like the ones employed in my predecessors' Ministry, are out there,' Minister Bones said, speaking clearly and confidently. 'Public vigilance is advised, and several informational pamphlets will be released, specifically written by our Ministry's top Aurors. I will do everything in my power to make sure this doesn't happen ever again, and I will track these people down, and make sure they do not inflict horrors on our world that they did in the last war.'
When asked about how the Death Eaters escaped, Minister Bones told us frankly and regretfully:
'Because we trusted the Dementors. They turned on us before, and I admit I was drafting a law to remove them as of last week. New wards are being built, and the other prisoners won't be leaving again. I will not have any Death Eaters running around during my term.'
This reporter personally asked if the six escapees were related to the Sirius Black escape a year and a half ago. Minister Bones denied it, citing that 'That is a press announcement for another time.'
For more information on escapees Bellatrix Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, Augustus Rookwood, Rabastan Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange and Daniel Travers, turn to page 2.
"SIRIUS!" Harry called, Apparating to Lovegood Getaway, paper in hand. Ron popped in right after he did, munching on some toast.
"Maybe he's not here?" Ron asked, peering around at the seemingly empty cottage. Hermione was running distraction for the two boys, who came to the cottage to get Sirius' thoughts on the subject.
Harry started opening random doors, not finding Sirius in the bathroom, the upstairs bathroom, the bedroom he used in the summer, the Potions Lab/Library, the second and third bedrooms, the en suite bathroom in the third bedroom, the living room, the upstairs closet, the cupboard under the stairs, the Training Room, the small bedroom that became the Memorial Room and the den.
"Only one left," he told Ron, standing outside Sirius' bedroom door. Harry opened it, and found Sirius in bed.
With Penelope Clearwater.
Remember when it was mentioned Sirius was on a date with a woman he met at the Ministry? Well, that woman was Penny Clearwater, who was a little over half Sirius' age, but neither minded. Apparently, Sirius loved younger women as much as Remus did, and Penny was attracted to Sirius being a completely different man than Percy was.
"Fucking hell!" Harry cursed. He whipped out his wand, and use Levicorpus to remove the naked Sirius out of bed. On the bed, Penny stopped her current actions and movements to look at the doorway.
She squealed and reached for her discarded clothes. Sirius was glaring at Harry, who was still levitating him.
"Harry, put him down," Ron said, laughing his head off. Sirius naked and levitated and his brother's ex having sex with Harry's godfather? It was a funny day to be Ron Weasley.
Harry released Sirius, letting the man crash on the bed.
"Get your clothes on, and meet us in the kitchen in three minutes. Sorry to disturb you, but you're needed," Harry said, not sounding sorry at all. "Hi Penelope," he added.
Five minutes later, Sirius was clothed and glaring at Harry across the kitchen table. Penelope had left two minutes earlier, wanting to escape the awkwardness.
"That was mean," Sirius pouted. "Why?"
Harry threw the Prophet at him. "Read. Complain about not getting laid later."
"Just because you're jealous Aimee isn't giving you any," Sirius muttered, reading the paper. Harry barely resisted the urge to curse him.
"I may be 25 mentally Sirius, but we're still 14 years old. No sex yet."
Ron laughed beside Harry. "But me and Hermione are both 25 year-old mind, 14 year-old bodies! We've done it."
Harry shook his head. "Too much information. I'm not pressuring my new girlfriend, indeed the only relationship I've been in since your sister back in '97." After and during the war, Harry became a one-night stand kind of guy, while his friends turned to each other for emotional and physical release.
"How are things with Aimee?" Ron asked. Harry just smiled.
"Brilliant. Basically how we were before the Ball, only with snogging and more meaningful conversations."
"You're fucking me," Sirius swore, dropping the paper. "Points to Amelia for not selling me out though. But... Merlin... my crazy cousin is out of Azkaban? The world is done for."
Harry nodded. Bella Lestrange will always be a very sore spot for him. Mostly because he never got to kill her. During the war, the Trio impersonated her to break into Gringotts, and planted several memories to frame Bella for the deed. Voldemort killed her for her 'betrayal', and didn't cotton onto the fact the Trio were destroying his Horcruxes.
"We needed the Lestranges too," Ron mumbled. Indeed, the Trio needed the Lestranges to break into Gringotts and get the cup Horcrux again.
"No matter," Harry said dismissively. "I bet I know where they're hiding." At the other two's looks, Harry elaborated. "Crouch's home. Where else? Voldemort wouldn't want his inner circle to see him in his weakened state right? He could possess Nagini for short periods of time, but would hide in Riddle Manor to avoid his servants."
"Plan?" Ron and Sirius asked simultaneously.
"Plan... scout out the Crouch home. Go behind Amelia's back, we can't have them finding out squat. And risk exposing Crouch Jr and blowing the whole plan... we need to find out who helped Wormtail get into Azkaban, then we need to take care of the Death Eaters. While they're still weak from Azkaban, we attack the Crouch home if we can."
"Who's left out on the streets?" Sirius asked. Harry thought it over, but Ron answered.
"The Carrows. Amycus and Alecto, those motherfucking pigs, they went in hiding when the First War ended right? We don't know where, but Wormtail could've gotten their help."
Harry nodded, before looking at his watch. "Me and Ron have Charms in ten minutes, so we got to head off. Sirius, don't do anything stupid, excluding sleeping with Penny. Have fun, and we'll be back in a few days."
"All right then. No hunting Death Eaters, I got you."
..::..--.--..::..
The next morning at breakfast, Harry noticed something different in the food he was eating. He sniffed a few times, recognising some intoxicating aromas: treacle tart, Firewhisky and polished broomstick.
"Guys," he whispered to Ron and Hermione. "My breakfast has been spiked with Love Potion."
Ron and Hermione shared a look, before Ron sniffed his own food. "None on mine. I think Dumbledore's got it in for you."
"Harry? Is it affecting you yet?" Hermione asked.
"Nope. Power of Occlumency shields," Harry replied, dropping his fork. The person poisoning him was either expecting Harry's shields to be inadequate or down during breakfast. Love Potion directly attacked the mind, switching some things up. Thanks to Harry's Occlumency, the effects could be stopped if the potion was a minor dose. Harry had only started to eat breakfast, so there wasn't any urges to fall in love with someone else.
Harry shook his head, and abandoned his food and drink. Speaking a little louder, he announced: "You're right Ron, I should go eat with my lovely girlfriend at breakfast. Thanks. See you two in Potions okay?"
Harry got up and strolled over to the Slytherin Table, plopping down next to Aimee.
"Hey gorgeous," he whispered, giving her a peck on the cheek. Aimee beamed at him, ignoring her housemates. Yeah, the Slytherin population wasn't too happy at one of their own dating Harry Potter, but they left her alone for fear of the Boy-Who-Lived. Mafloy got his shots in every now and then, but no one else bothered.
"Hey," she replied, watching her boyfriend gather some food and sniff it cautiously. "Are you Moody in disguise?"
"No," Harry laughed. "I'll tell you later, but the short story is that someone, probably the Headmaster, spiked my Gryffindor food with Love Potion."
"WHAT?" Aimee said indignantly. Harry gave her a look, and she looked somewhat abashed at raising her voice. Harry took control, raising his own voice.
"I know right? The Tornadoes actually lost to the Harpies! You won't believe how much money I lost!" Several Slytherins snickered at Harry's 'misfortune', before returning to breakfast.
On the way to Potions, Harry and Aimee took a shortcut to avoid the students and the portraits that reported to Dumbledore.
"I told you before that Dumbledore wouldn't like our relationship right? Add in the advanced magic and attitude, and he thinks I'm the newest Dark Lord. Well, the Love Potion seems to be his plan."
"That's fucking amazing. How gullible is that man? Don't answer that, but wow. Who was the potion influencing you towards?"
"I don't know," Harry said, thinking it over. "I'll get Ron to test it later, his Occlumency shields are the weakest. How are yours?" Harry had taught Aimee some basic Occlumency shields since the first day they met. By giving her a crash course in Occlumency, Harry made sure Aimee could handle alcohol for a little longer. Later on, he taught her to keep his secrets safe.
"Fine. I finished the book you gave me, and I've got the pendant," Aimee replied, producing a silver pendant Harry bought her. Officially, it was a Christmas present and just for show. Unofficially, it was a mind router of sorts. If Dumbledore or Snape peered into her mind, they would get redirected to the fake memories Aimee poured into the pendant. She had it tested when Snape confronted her on the night of the Yule Ball, and it worked, as Snape didn't find out she and Harry had left the school grounds.
Harry and Aimee got to Potions with a minute to spare, and sat through the lesson as usual. They both avoided Snape's eyes, concentrating on their perfect little Calming Concoction they were making.
After Potions, Harry met up with Ron and Hermione in the Room of Requirement.
"Seriously?" Harry ranted, pacing the Room. "A Love Potion? That's just ridiculous..."
"You don't think he's done it before?" Hermione asked.
Harry started to shake his head, before thinking it over. "Could I chalk the disaster of me liking Cho Chang to Love Potion?"
Both his friends smiled and shook their heads.
"Who then?"
Ron produced a piece of toast from his robes. "Nicked this from your plate. How did Dumbledore poison just your meal though?"
"House Elf," Harry replied. "Easy. An invisible House Elf was waiting for me to sit down before swapping some breakfast platters around and giving me the right one. Makes sense in hindsight."
Hermione nodded. "Who's going to test the Potion out?"
Ron sighed, "I will. I've got the weakest shields, and you two can dive into my mind and fix it right? Or create a cure?"
Harry nodded. "Your sacrifice will be written in the history books Ron."
Ron nibbled on the cold toast carefully. It took a few minutes, but his eyes glazed over and he got a stupid grin on his face. "Nice day isn't it? I gotta leave." He made a move towards the door, but Harry and Hermione stood in front of him, wands out
"Where are you trying to go Ron? Who are you trying to go to?" Harry asked. Ron smiled dreamily.
"Ginny Weasley," he declared in a sickening tone of voice. "I'm looking for the prettiest girl in my house at home and here at Hogwarts!"
Hermione stood firm in front of the door, but Harry was on his hands and knees, laughing. "That's... just... fucking... amazing..." he wheezed.
Hermione cracked a small smile, while Ron looked indignant.
"Hey! Are you laughing about Ginny? Because I love her!"
"The same way a brother loves his little sister?" Harry laughed.
Ron lunged at Harry, but was stopped by Hermione's Stunner.
"He will never live that down," she said sadly, though she was smirking.
"I can't believe it. I guess I'll be hanging out with Ginny more often then. Do you think she knows?"
Hermione levitated Ron to a chair and shook her head. "We went over this in the last timeline Harry. Ginny likes you sure, but she denied it when I asked her. Don't you remember?"
"Yeah. But this time around, Ginny saw me with a Slytherin girlfriend and could've gotten a little miffled at that," Harry protested. Ginny was a good friend with benefits back in the day, but she was young and a fan girl once years before that.
"No Harry."
Thirty minutes later, Hermione had brewed a quick antidote, and Ron wasn't in love with his sister anymore. Instead, he was suffering from massive embarrassment, but his loyal friends didn't poke fun at him. Much. Aimee, however, upon finding out later that night, laughed her head off at Ron the next time she saw him.
..::..--.--..::..
It was quite an eventful January for our key players, but February would prove to be just as tiring. Harry was wary of the Love Potion-laced food he was eating, but still ate it with Occlumency shields up to their strongest power. Just to help Dumbledore believe he was under the influence, Harry started chatting with Ginny randomly, about things like Quidditch and homework.
Harry and Aimee became closer and closer, but not close enough to warrant Hermione to share her Contraceptive Potions with the Slytherin girl. Ron and Hermione weren't too distracted by homework (It was surprisingly easy to do things the second time around, especially after years of other schooling), and borrowed the Room of Requirement occasionally.
At the Ministry, Amelia Bones had the Dementors removed from Azkaban and placed in a Gringotts vault, for the safety of the world. The goblins were very helpful because of Amelia's attitude towards them - she was nice and not a moron, like Fudge was. Amelia also asked the goblins to erect new wards in Azkaban, including Anti-Animagus. Azkaban was a safe prison again, even without the Dementors.
The 'Azkaban Six' were not sighted at all as January closed. The Trio theorised they were recovering from the Dementors' effects, but if it was in the Crouch home was to be decided. A letter from Percy indicated that his boss was still sick, and locked up at home.
On February the 4th, a Saturday, the Trio decided to scope out Crouch's home. If there was evidence that the Death Eaters were there, the Trio would attack.
"There are a lot of wards," Hermione announced, checking them with her wand. Harry and Ron watched as she looked over a spiral of colours to indicate the ward layout. The outermost lines on the spiral indicated the outer wards, and the innermost lines were the centred wards. "Anti-Apparation, Anti-Portkey, Anti-Animagus, Muggle-Repelling, Untraceable... everything but the Fidellius really."
"Plan?" Ron asked, itching his thigh with his wand.
"Plan..." Hermione hummed, looking over the spiral. "Ah-ha!" she said triumphantly. "Got it."
Harry looked closely at the spiral, studying the shape and colours. "A gap in the wards? Or the origin point to take down without detection? Anything to get us through?"
"They overloaded one point," Hermione said, indicated a grey blob on the spiral. The blob was connected to six or seven different coloured lines. "Look, their warder did a hack job to save power. Instead of splitting the more powerful wards into their own origin points, they piggybacked them with the weaker ones. While that holds them in place, it also slowly drains them. I think these are some kind of Dark wards, and the caster has to be inside them at all times to be effective."
"Explains how many wards could be up by one person," Harry said. He pointed his wand to a little black starburst in the spiral, located between two bright green lines. "Dark Mark wards. If we don't have the Mark, an alarm will go off."
Hermione waved her wand, enlarging the spiral. "They're all booby trapped. If one ward goes down on that grey origin point, the alarm will go off."
"But if we overload the origin, we can temporarily get through the seven that's connected to them."
"Then we tackle the single wards." The wards in place indicated that several were tied to a person and a rune, the origin point, and that several were built in. The built in ones were the individual ones that weren't connected to the warder's rune, and were your basic Anti-Apparation et cetera wards.
"Just like Nott Manor," Ron commented. "Rookwood was their warder that time too."
Harry and Hermione nodded. "He's inside, or these wards wouldn't be working. He's a good warder usually, but I think Azkaban drained him too much. Using less power drove him to connect these seven to one rune."
"Idiotic, but effective in the power department," Hermione concluded. "I'm going to fetch some tools, before we do this." She Apparated off, leaving Harry and Ron behind. Harry studied the wards.
"You with me Ron?" he asked.
Ron nodded. "Overload the rune from a distance using anchor stones, run through those seven, and systematically break down the other basics tied to alarm wards using more stones. Done deal."
Hermione returned holding several anchor stones. They would draw power from other wards and store the magic for a short time. She placed four of the small purple rocks on the ground, engraving runes on them with her wand. She did some chanting, and produced the ward spiral again.
"Wait for it," she said, pointing to the seven tied wards. The anchor stones she brought started to hum and glow a little.
Harry and Ron pulled on their hoods, casting some quick concealment charms. The Trio were wearing scarlet cloaks with hoods, covering some basic dragon-hide vests they had purchased some time ago. The cloaks were charmed to burn people who touched them with bare skin, so the Trio were all rather covered up and not standing too close to each other.
The anchor stones stopped glowing, and Hermione indicated to the ward spiral. The seven coloured lines connecting to the grey blob started flashing. Hermione, still under disguise from her trip to buy the stones, pulled her hood on.
Suddenly, the ward lines disappeared. Hermione picked up the anchor stones, and pocketed them. The Trio ran forward, through the now-disabled wards. Hermione cast the ward spiral again, showing the Trio were in the inner wards, not connected to Rookwood's rune.
Hermione produced a few new anchor stones, engraved them with some new runes, and cast the power transfer spells. The stones did their glowing thing again, and Harry and Ron prepared to attack.
The ward spiral suddenly started blinking, indicating that Hermione was successful in destroying them. Hermione pocketed her stones again, and raised her wand.
The Trio bolted to the backyard fence of the modest sized Crouch home. The two story house was some ways off from a Muggle neighbourhood, and had a clumping of forest behind the house's back fence. The trees were where the wards started, and just before the fence was where Rookwood's wards ended.
Harry jumped the back fence, followed by his friends. The backyard was a simple grassy lawn, with several rose bushes, kept by Winky back in the day, arranged off to the sides. The Trio double checked their possessions, and ran towards the back door of the Crouch home. However, Rabastan Lestrange got to them first.
"Crucio!" he shouted. Hermione ducked to avoid the spell, and Rabastan leered at them. He was a few feet away from the Trio, just outside the house. "Rodolphus! Bellatrix! Antonin-" he was then Silenced by Harry.
"Sorry Rabastan," Harry simpered. Ron and Hermione conjured pure marble blocks and made a hasty barricade. Rabastan had appeared at the back door, and he went back inside to avoid Harry's Reductor Curse, which blew the door off its hinges.
Harry ran back to hide behind Ron and Hermione's barricade, located halfway between the fence and house. Hermione was doing some chanting and playing with her anchor stones, creating Anti-Apparation wards.
Six Death Eaters, all unmasked and wearing simple robes, all appeared at once with simultaneous spells. Their spells blasted the marble barricade or flew over it, not connecting with the Trio. The back fence, however, was not as lucky.
Harry quickly ascertained the situation. The Carrows and Dolohov were on the house's roof, ducking behind the chimney, the Lestrange trio were throwing spells out of the windows beside the back door, and Rookwood and Travers were not visible.
"Magical sight spells!" he told Ron and Hermione. They both performed the spell, as did Harry. He spotted Travers leaving the back door, and took aim.
"Avada Kedavra!" he cried. Travers had no time to dodge, having thought the Trio couldn't see him. The blazing green light connected with Travers' malnourished stomach, and the Death Eater fell to the ground, dead.
"Daniel!" Alecto Carrow cried. Harry had no time to imagine her and Travers being lovers or something, because the Death Eaters upped the ante to some very Dark curses.
"CONFRINGO!" Ron and Hermione called, aiming at the roof. It exploded, sending Amycus Carrow flying to the ground. The Trio heard a crack, and Amycus did not stand back up.
Harry was busy trading spells with the Lestranges, who were undoubtedly the most dangerous of the lot, despite being in recovery from Azkaban.
Dolohov, Alecto and the Lestranges were capable of team work, and cried out:
"Confringo!" Their simultaneous Blasting Curses destroyed the marble barricade the Trio created, sending several pieces of shrapnel flying. One surprisingly sharp chunk of marble imbedded itself in Hermione's waist.
"Damn!" she cursed. Harry and Ron were on their feet and flinging curses at the Lestranges, and Hermione ducked behind a rose bush to heal herself, throwing the occasional spell towards the half-destroyed roof.
Harry managed to hit Rabastan Lestrange with a Bone-Breaking Hex at the shoulder, causing the man to drop his wand. Bella and Rodolphus decided to get some revenge and took aim. Two Blood-Boiling Curses flew at Harry, who barely had time to dodge one of them. The second one missed him completely, hitting the back fence.
Hermione, having removed the marble chunk and numbed the wound, rejoined the battle with a rapid fire Silver Arrow spell. The name says it all, as two dozen conjured arrows flew towards the roof area. Dolohov dodged and shielded himself, while Alecto wasn't so lucky. She was hit with one of the arrows, and fell through the roof hole, clutching her stomach.
Rabastan Lestrange was back in action, and he started throwing curses with his good arm. Harry decided the Trio needed a new barricade, and pointed his wand at Amycus Carrow's unconscious form.
"Accio Amycus!" he called, summoning the Death Eater. Ron grinned at Harry after ducking a curse from Dolohov, and pointed his wand at Amycus.
A quick Bone-Breaking Hex ended Amycus' life, but his solid form made for a good shield. Harry levitated him, and Ron cast a spell to make the Death Eater's robes swish and billow around, blocking the two completely.
Hermione, meanwhile, took a quick dash from her rose bush and dived behind Harry and Ron's Death Eater shield, who was taking the brunt of his friends' spells.
"Where's Rookwood?" Hermione asked, conjuring several floating plates. The plates took the spells the surviving Death Eaters were throwing, shattering upon contact. A dozen of the plate shards tore one of Ron's boots to shreds, and the redheaded stumbled in pain.
"Don't know!" Harry grunted. Bella's Dark Cutting Curse had nicked him in the wand arm, blood spurting out onto Hermione's cloak. "Reducto! Sectumsempra!" Both curses hit Rabastan Lestrange, blasting him backwards into the house. He was dead upon the Sectumsempra's contact with his chest.
Harry and Ron's Amycus Carrow shield became useless when Bellatrix and her husband blasted a clear, fleshy, hole through the dead Death Eater. When several curses started to blast through and had to be dodged, Ron turned to Harry questioningly.
"Dolohov?" he asked, shielding himself from a Concussion Hex.
"Dolohov," Harry agreed. He motioned to Hermione who ran back to her rose bush for cover. Along the way, a bluebell flame connected with her foot, her to trip and land face first on the lawn. She gained several cuts and bruises on the face, but made her way to the bush without further injury.
Harry and Ron simultaneously Banished Amycus Carrow towards the roof, where Dolohov was still shooting spells from behind the chimney.
Ron shouted "Confringo!" at the exact same time Harry cried: "Extremuvis Praemium!"
The Blasting Curse destroyed Carrow's body, showering the ground with blood and flesh. A pink mist blocked Dolohov's vision temporarily, so he didn't see Harry's self invented Exploding Curse... until it hit him right between the eyes. The force of the spell obliterated Dolohov's skull all over the roof, and his brain mass became the texture of a very undercooked egg.
Harry and Ron narrowly avoided Killing Curses from Bella and Rodolphus, who were the only two they could see as conscious. They dived behind rose bushes, which quickly erupted in flames upon contact with the Lestranges' curses.
"Bella! Rodolphus!" called the smooth voice of Rookwood. He was inside the house, but the Trio didn't see him. "Crouch is dead! I've got Alecto and sent her on - let's go!"
"Augustus!" Bella snapped. "We're not done, we can get them! Our Lord will be so pleased for killing the ones who killed Rabastan and Antonin!"
"No Bella!" Rookwood called. "Our wards are destroyed, and I think the Aurors are on their way! Grab the Portkey!"
"No way Rookwood," growled Rodolphus. He ducked one of Ron's Bone-Breaking Hexes and replied with a weak Petrification Jinx. "We have to avenge Rabastan!"
"NO!" Rookwood commanded. "Our Lord will not want you two dying as well. Come or I will curse you both!" Spells briefly stopped flying out the back windows, and the Trio moved to approach it.
"Fine," relented Bella. She shot three Killing Curses at the Trio, all three missing and blowing chunks of the lawn up. She grabbed the Portkey Rookwood was holding, motioning for her husband to do the same.
Rodolphus growled, still shooting spells out the window. Rookwood rolled his eyes and muttered: "Stupefy."
Bellatrix dragged her husband to the Portkey, and grabbed hold of it. A second later, the three Death Eaters were gone.
Harry, Ron and Hermione noticed the lack of spells, and started to relax a little.
"Check for extras," Harry ordered, checking his wounds. He had a burn on his left arm and several cuts, including a big gash on his cheek. Ron was looking heavily bruised on the neck, and Hermione had a burnt foot and a puncture wound in her stomach. Harry's Exploding Curse had taken quite a bit out of him, so he was feeling rather magically exhausted.
Hermione quickly scanned the area. "No one alive is inside. No one invisible either."
"Plan?" Ron grunted, healing his bruises to the best of his ability. He also examined his left hand. The skin between Ron's middle and index fingers was blackened and oozing purple pus.
"Get in and check things out before the Aurors can come."
Harry and Ron left Hermione to tend to her foot and approached the house. Harry gave Travers a little kick along the way, making sure his curse actually hit the Death Eater. The entire back wall of Crouch's house was riddled with holes, burns, and pieces of Amycus Carrow. A fine pink mist covered the roof and Dolohov's body, half-hanging off the edge of the hole Hermione and Ron created.
The back door was splinters on the ground, and the back windows were completely obliterated. Harry noticed the Lestranges had pushed a table under the windows, using it as cover. The back door lead into the kitchen, which was also quite untidy and covered in some blood. Harry guessed it was Rabastan's, since he didn't remember hitting the other two Lestranges with anything causing that much blood to spurt on the wall.
"Found Rabastan," Ron said, pointing down the hall from the kitchen. Rabastan was lying on the ground with a disjointed shoulder and a large cut in his chest area. His eyes were open in total shock, and Harry smirked.
Harry and Ron checked the living room and dining room, which were both empty of people/bodies, but had some light spell damage and littered Firewhisky bottles. Next to the front door were the stairs to the next floor, and Harry walked up cautiously. At the top of the stairs was a bloodstain, most likely Alecto Carrow's.
Turning to the left, Harry noticed the hole in the roof, dripping some blood onto the carpet. Beyond the bloodied carpet was an open window, that the Carrows and Dolohov used to get up on the roof.
"Merlin..." Ron suddenly breathed, and Harry turned to him. Ron was at the other end of the hallway, peering into a random room. "It's Crouch's study."
Harry joined his friend and looked in. Inside was a neat and precise study that Crouch had locked himself in at Wormtail's Imperius Curse. The only sign of clutter was the parchment on the desk, and the dead body in the middle of the room.
"Well... I wonder how the Ministry's going to spin this?" Harry said, crouching to check Crouch's body. He was unmarked, indicating a Killing Curse death. "Death Eater escapees kill Ministry official... but what's with signs of a battle? They'll be confused... we probably shouldn't of destroyed the roof."
"HARRY! RON!" shouted Hermione from down a floor. Harry and Ron left Crouch and joined her at the bottom of the stairs.
"Aurors are out back in the trees, checking the wards. We have to go," she said hurriedly. Harry noticed her bandaged foot, but didn't inquire.
With that, the Trio Apparated to the Lovegood Getaway, sinking into the kitchen chairs gratefully.
"Thank Merlin we don't have school tomorrow," Ron sighed, rubbing his chest area. Hermione examined Harry's face gash, stopping the bleeding and fixing the skin.
"Thank Merlin that they were weakened because of Azkaban," Harry said, summoning a bottle of Firewhisky. "But four inner circle members? That's probably our record since the Battle of Hogwarts."
"Oh yeah," Ron said. "But you killed three here, instead of two. And Hermione did less structural damage. And I got Carrow again! What a world."
"Shame Malfoy wasn't there," Harry muttered. "But there's always the Third Task isn't there?" Lucius Malfoy and his wife had taken a holiday in France since Fudge's death, to avoid prosecution by Amelia Bones. The holiday may end up being indefinite, but Harry knew daddy Malfoy would show up to kiss his Lord's robes.
"Do we have a plan for that one?" Hermione asked. Before Harry or Ron could answer, she clarified, "We went in half-cocked today boys. Yes, we took down a Lestrange, Carrow, Travers and Dolohov, but what about the graveyard? While Harry is killing Voldemort by himself, we have to capture Wormtail and take down Malfoy, Bella, Rodolphus, Rookwood, Gibbon, Rowle and Alecto. And who knows that Voldemort won't break Nott, Parkison, or Bulstrode out of Azkaban?"
"And they'll be a little stronger," Harry reminded the other two.
"And angrier," Ron said.
"And ready to die for their Lord, instead of fighting three people they didn't know, and are now really pissed at," Harry added.
"Plan?"
"We'll think of something."
Harry, Ron and Hermione returned to Hogwarts later, after taking some of Hermione's healing potions and making sure they didn't look like they just came from a battle. Harry gained a new scar on his wand arm, Ron was still bruised in the chest area, and Hermione walked with a limp for a week, but nothing serious.
..::..--.--..::..
To be continued in Chapter 5...
..::..--.--..::..