A/N: Hi everyone! Here's chapter 4, the last "filler" chapter, after this one the plot will really start to move along. Hope you enjoy what my interpretation of what the Auror's are all about =) Please review if you have a few minutes!
OOO
Chapter 4 - Exams Again
"Help us!"
"Where? I can't see you! Where are you?!"
"Help!"
Panic was starting to take over Harry. He was stood in the corridors at Hogwarts, spinning around desperately trying to locate the source of the voice that was shouting. Every time he turned the voice came from a different direction. Choosing a corridor at random he started to jog, wand at the ready, hoping he would find whoever was in trouble.
As he jogged he began to notice something wasn't quite right. The walls were darker than he knew, and there were no portraits on the walls. There was a smell in the air that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Something evil was here, he knew it. Worrying even more, he sped up.
"You cannot save them."
Harry stopped dead. He felt a coldness descend up on him; born of a fear so great he couldn't start moving again. No, he thought to himself, it can't be you.
"Oh, but it can."
Harry suddenly remembered how to use his legs. He began to sprint away from the voice, crashing through the first door he came to. Emerging into the Great Hall, his breath caught as his eyes met with the man at the other side of the room.
Lord Voldemort waved his wand at Harry, sending him flying backwards and slamming into the wall above the teacher's chairs. Try as he might, he couldn't break the spell holding him in place.
"You're dead!" he screamed, continuing his struggle, "I watched you die! This isn't real!"
"Real, Harry Potter, is a matter of perspective. My body may be gone. My soul may be destroyed. But you keep me alive here."
Suddenly his bonds broke. He dropped to the floor with a crash but sprang back to his feet, firing a curse at where Voldemort was stood; only he had vanished. Catching his breath and glancing around warily, he slowly started to creep towards the large double doors, his senses in over drive.
All of a sudden a large group of people burst through the doors. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, Remus, Tonks and Sirius came flying into the room duelling two Death Eaters each. Harry raised his wand and tried help, but all his spells disappeared before they made contact. He watched in horror as a killing curse struck Fred in the chest; as Remus dived in front of Tonks, getting hit himself; as Sirius laughed before getting hit from three directions. One by one his friends fell until only Ron, Hermione and Ginny stood back to back against a dozen Death Eaters.
"Stop! Leave them alone!" Harry screamed.
A sinister laugh made him turn. Voldemort had returned. He was sat in Dumbledore's chair, casually aiming his wand at Harry.
"You can never save them, Harry, no matter how hard you fight."
After a blinding flash of green light Harry jolted awake, sitting bolt upright. He was drenched in sweat, his covers wrapped around him like a straight jacket. Vivid images of his nightmare raced through his head as he tried to regain control of his breathing. Eventually, he calmed enough to realise someone was sat with him, rubbing his back and whispering soothing words to him. For a heart stopping second he thought it was Ginny, but then he remembered she didn't live there anymore, and deduced it was Hermione.
"I'm sorry I woke you," he said, embarrassed.
"Don't be silly, here," said Hermione, handing him a glass of water. "Are you ok? That's every night for a week. I thought we got passed these?"
"We did, for a while. I don't know why they've started again."
"Perhaps you should see someone."
"It's not that bad yet. I just have a lot on my mind," said Harry. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and untangled himself from the covers. Hermione moved so she was sat next to him. "Where's Ron? Did I wake him too?" he asked.
"No, you didn't. He's not here. Mrs. Weasley had an emergency late last night, so he went to help. He said not to wait up."
Harry grimaced. He had long since learnt what an emergency at Mrs. Weasley's meant. Since the night she had stood Harry up, Ginny had been living back at the Burrow. Harry's night out had ended rather quickly. He had left out the back of the Leaky Cauldron to enter Diagon Alley, only to find Ginny passed out on the floor, her head resting against the wall. After a long struggle he had managed to get her back to the Burrow, where a worried Mrs. Weasley had taken over and told Harry to go get some sleep.
A month had passed since then, and he had spent every night going to sleep by himself. Ron had told him Ginny was living with her mum and, as Harry hadn't heard anything from her, he'd assumed she didn't want anything to do with him. The few words they had exchanged had been pleasant enough, but Ginny clearly didn't want to talk.
It wasn't until a week ago he had started having nightmares. They were the same in general, only the details varying. He had put them down to stress and pushed it to the back of his mind. He was starting to realise now it was unfair on Hermione to comfort him every morning.
"What time is it?" he asked.
"Half six."
"Might as well get up then," he said stretching. "Do you want some breakfast or you going back to bed?"
"I'll get up too. Breakfast sounds good," said Hermione standing. "I'll just shower quickly and I'll be down."
"All right."
Once Hermione had left the room Harry got up and walked to his bathroom. Taking a look in the mirror he groaned. The bags under his eyes were getting worse and his skin looked paler than it used to. Splashing some water on his face he tried to wake himself up. He needed to be alert; today was an important day. In a few hours time he would be taking his first Auror exam. If the team passed, they'd be cleared for official field work; under supervision, of course.
With everything that was happening in his personal life, Harry had buried himself in his training at work. He was excelling at using his Crystal Core, he'd managed to disarm Alex once during a duel and was the first to master their latest piece of Ar-Tech; a magical device that looked like the arm off of a pair of glasses. Worn behind the ear; when channelled with magic a visor appears around the users eyes, giving detailed information about targets, revealing hidden or disguised people and allowing the user to make use of a spell Hermione invented, which places a hidden mark on a person or object, which is only visible through the Ar-Tech. The Auror's had named them See-ers.
His bond with his team mates was getting stronger, too. Even John, with his arrogant attitude, was first to help if one of them was struggling. Alex beamed with pride as they grew to work as a unit. Ron had been given the role of squad leader after several demonstrations of good strategy and, as much as Harry wasn't surprised, it seemed to shock Ron how well he slotted into leadership.
The four team mates, along with Alex and Hermione, had started to spend a lot of time together outside of work as well. John had been captain of the chess club at Hogwarts, much to everyone's surprise, and enjoyed discussing strategy with Ron. Rebecca and Hermione had found a lot in common; the first time they had invited Rebecca, John and Alex to the apartment, Rebecca had nearly lost her head at Hermione's prized collection of first addition magical history books. Which left Harry and Alex.
Harry wasn't entirely sure what was happening with Alex. He knew he enjoyed her company, he spent enough time around her. Harry had gotten into the habit of working long hours at the Ministry, to try and drown out everything else that was happening, and, to his slight surprise, Alex was usually there as late as he was. They both were usually found in the training rooms or hanging around the Enchantment devision in the Department of Mysteries right up to the time the overnight locking wards came into place. Hermione had told him anyone still there after that time was stuck there until early the next morning, an idea she had taken from Muggle banks. He laughed a lot around Alex, the only real laughing he was doing, and being around her had the added bonus of increasing his skill at duelling, among other things.
Between work, extra training and his thoughts of Alex and Ginny, time was moving by at an alarming rate. He wasn't sure he was ready for this exam; the thought of it sent a nasty feeling through his gut. But, at least Ron would be leading them, and he trusted Ron with his life. Giving himself a mental shake, he finished washing, got dressed, and went to join Hermione for breakfast.
OOO
"Welcome, Auror's, to your first exam!"
Later that day found Harry, Ron, Rebecca and John stood in a line in front of Henry Friar. They were waiting near the Department of Mysteries training rooms, all slightly nervous of what was to come. Rebecca seemed to be fairing the worst, she looked petrified. Ron gave Harry a worried glance. Not knowing what to do, he just shrugged. She relaxed a little when John put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. At least one of us knows what we're doing, Harry thought to himself.
Alex had met them at the start of the day, but left shortly after to watch from a special viewing room for the exams. They had met Henry outside of a training room door, looking extremely serious. Alex had told them a lot about Henry. Apparently he rarely laughed; he believed strictness led to survival. The fact he had single headedly taken on eight Death Eaters during the war against Voldemort, Harry thought he may be on to something. His serious tone wasn't helping with anyone's nerves. Even John seemed a little on edge.
"You'll be briefed inside," said Henry. "If you could place a finger on the pads."
Feeling apprehensive, Harry and the others obeyed the order. Henry placed his palm on the large pad and closed his eyes. After five minutes Henry still hadn't moved. Harry glanced around his team but they all just shrugged. Eventually, Henry opened his eyes.
"In an emergency," he said, "you can exit as normal. When all mission parameters have been met, the exit will appear. If you feel you've met all the requirements to finish the mission, then exit as normal. Understood? In you go then. Good luck."
Henry held the door as they trooped inside one by one. Waiting inside was ... Henry.
"Good morning, Auror's."
"What the bloody hell?" whispered Ron.
"This is a touch weird," said Rebecca.
"It must be for you to say it's weird," said John sniggering.
"Shut up. I wonder if he responds to us. Harry, ask it something."
"Err... Are you Henry Friar?"
The fake Henry smiled. "Yes, Harry Potter, I am. And to answer your question, Miss Riley, I do respond."
"Wicked," said Ron.
"Enough joking," said fake Henry. He motioned to square table in the centre of the small room they were in. "Gather round. Now, your mission is simple in nature. A number of dark wizards have broken into a manor house in the Welsh country side, taking the family and staff hostage. We are unsure of their intentions, so we must assume the worse. You must enter and detain the fugitives and secure the hostages. Stealth is of utmost importance to ensure the safety of the hostages."
"Is err, real Henry watching?" asked Ron, looking at the others to check they didn't think he was mad.
"Yes he is," replied fake Henry, "Mr. Weasley, is your team ready?"
Harry nodded to Ron along with the others. They all lifted their robes over their heads, revealing their newly issued Auror uniforms. All clad in black, the material was soft yet sturdy, with thick padding across the chest, arms, legs and back designed to try and reduce the force from enemy spells. The clothing made no noise when the wearer moved and was loaded with enough pockets to store all the Ar-Tech he wanted. After sliding his See-er behind his ear, he fired a bit of magic into it to check it worked. Taking a quick glance at Rebecca, he mentally asked the See-er for information on her. It read:
Name: Rebecca Riley
Age: 18
Skill: High, engage with caution.
Notes: lightning reflexes, bordering on foresight.
Turning off his See-er he looked at Rebecca normally, wondering. She did seem to have abnormal reflexes, he thought to himself. He jumped when the fake Henry spoke again, reminding him where he was and what he was doing.
"When you are ready," said fake Henry, placing an old tooth brush on the table, "the Portkey will take you to the entry point. From there you're on your own."
Ron stepped forward, picked up the tooth brush and turned to the others. "Ready?" he asked.
They all nodded and, as one, they placed a finger onto the Portkey.
After the usual but horrible spinning, they landed on a large hill in the countryside. Turning his See-ers on, he magically zoomed in on the large manor house in the distance. All Harry could say was it looked old, he'd need Hermione for any more details.
"Eighteenth century, I'd say," said Rebecca.
"And why would you say that?" asked John.
"The architecture, the brick work, the style. Take your pick."
"All right, all right, whatever you say."
"Ok guys," said Ron, sounding a little nervous now the time had come to lead. Harry gave Ron a reassuring smile, and he brightened up a bit and continued. "You heard what we have to do. We find the hostages first, then we clear the rest of the house. Harry, Rebecca; take to the air and do some recon. Find out how many targets are around the house. John, with me, we'll walk closer and look for a way in."
"These rooms never cease to amaze me," whispered Rebecca as Ron and John crept slowly down the hill. Harry had to agree. For a moment he had forgotten this was still inside the Ministry. He'd had no idea that they could put people in these things.
"Come on," said Harry, "Disillusionment charms. You go left, I'll go right, compare counts when we meet up?"
"Sure."
They both pulled out their wands and summoned their Fliers from a pocket on the back of their suits. Silently enlarging the pads, Harry leapt on, Disillusioned himself and took to the skies.
The Fliers were a different sensation to brooms. They didn't make him feel as free, but they were maneuverable on a level brooms would never achieve. Harry let his magic flow freely through his body and soared smoothly around the grounds of the manor.
Harry hadn't always been so good with his Fliers, quite the opposite. He'd gotten his wish, he had had his fair share of being the source of laughter for the team. After a week of meditation practice and theory, Hermione had finally signed them off to use the Fliers. On his first try, his levitation spell had been a bit strong and, in his panic, he had forgotten how to control it after releasing it. The result was him shooting into the air. Unable to take control he'd be forced to jump from fifty feet up, casting a Cushioning Charm to break his fall. Safe to say, they had all found this hilarious. Luckily, after a few hours practice, he'd manage to get the hang of it; not that his team mates would ever let him forget.
The manor was set in a large ground. A long cobble stone path ran from the main gates to the front doors, with a circular section created around a large fountain. The main gates were guarded, as were the front doors. As Harry flew around, he spotted patrols of two wizards dotted about the place. The perimeter of the grounds was surrounded with tall hedging acting as a wall and, inside the hedging, everything was open, making him worry how they were going to get inside. Finishing his count, he looked up, trying to spot the shimmering in the air that would be Rebecca. When she spoke from behind him, he nearly fell off his Fliers.
"Think I've found something."
"Bloody hell, Rebecca," whispered Harry, borrowing a few of Ron's chosen swear words. He could see her through his See-ers, but she shimmered slightly due to the charm she had on herself. "You scared the life out of me."
"My bad," she said, grinning, "I think I saw a way in. There's a man hole back there, slightly off the grounds. There's two guards over it, I'm assuming that means we can enter."
"All right, let's go get the others."
"Already done. Look," said Rebecca, pointing behind Harry. He turned and zoomed in on where she pointed. His See-er's illuminated Ron and John crouched down in a bush near the man hole. The two guards had a small, shining white R and a black J hovering over their heads. A few moments later two thin jets of red light fired from the bush, hitting the two guards at exactly the same time. It was a technique Alex had taught them. The marks they had put on the guards could only be seen through the See-er's, letting the team mark and take down up to four people at once.
Harry and Rebecca flew downwards to join the other two, dismounting and putting away their Fliers. Ron emerged from the bush with John just as Harry dropped his Disillusion Charm. They converged near the man hole, John waving his wand and wrapping the two guards tightly in rope.
"How was the count?" asked Ron.
"Eight outside," said Harry. He glanced at Rebecca who nodded in agreement. "Two on the gates, two on the doors. There's a set of two patrols made up of two people each."
"That's not too bad," said Ron, "I think we go in, find and secure the hostages, take out who ever we see, and leave through the front doors."
"And what about the eight guards?" asked John.
"We leave two of us on the hostages; the other two can take the outdoor guards out from the air. Then we leave the grounds. Sound all right?"
Once they had all nodded, Harry aimed his wand at the man hole and tried a Levitation Charm, frowning when nothing happened. Next Rebecca tried an Unlocking Charm to no avail. Rolling his eyes John stepped forward, aimed and cried "REDUCTO" at the top of his lungs, blowing the man hole clean off.
"Idiot!" hissed Ron, "we'll be lucky if half the country didn't hear that."
"Don't call me an idiot, Weasley..."
"Quiet, and get down!" said Harry, as quietly as possible. He had spotted two of the guards walking to investigate. They had both pulled out wands from the inside of their black robes. Harry grabbed Rebecca's hand and jumped into the man hole, praying it wasn't a huge drop. John soon followed, then Ron, who was holding his wand and lowering the man hole cover over them.
Luckily, it was only a few feet before they splashed into ankle deep water. Harry held his breath as the small thumps of footsteps above them grew louder. The sound stopped, as if the people above were looking around, before starting again and fading to quiet.
"That was a bit close," whispered Rebecca.
"Too close," said Harry.
"You guys know this isn't real, don't you?" said John smirking.
Ron's ears went bright red. "It's real enough that if we fail here we lose our jobs!" said Ron angrily. "I'm not failing because of you!"
"We won't fail, calm down"
"Calm..." started Ron, but Harry, knowing the tell-tale signs of Ron getting very worked up, stepped in.
"Can we just get on with it?" asked Harry. So much for working as a team, he thought to himself.
"Agreed," said Rebecca.
"Ok, fall in behind me," said Ron, breathing in deeply before carrying on. "Harry at the back. Light your wand, but be ready to put it out again. Lumos"
Harry copied Ron, lighting his wand and joining the back of the group. They were in a thin stone corridor Harry assumed led to the house. It was pitch black, damp and cold. The eerie nature of the place gave Harry the creeps. Shaking himself, he reminded himself he was actually in the Ministry. Still, he thought to himself, definatley creepy. After a few moments, or an eternity, Harry wasn't sure, they saw a ladder in the distance. All of a sudden Rebecca stopped moving in front of him, causing Harry to walk into the back of her.
"Rebecca?" said Harry, putting his hand on her shoulder. She whipped her head round to look at him, her hair flying wildly, and Harry found he couldn't breathe. She was staring at him with blank, white eyes. Her hair had started to float slightly behind her, and, when she spoke, her voice sounded a little harsher than normal.
"There's two up the stairs, backs to the door. Through the next door, the house entrance hall, there's three sat at a table and two at the top of the stairs looking down. The hostages are through a door to the left, guarded by four hostiles."
The others stood there with shocked faces as Rebecca's eyes rolled forward and returned to their normal colour. Rebecca looked shyly around, shrinking into herself a little.
"Err, well, that wasn't weird," said John.
"Are you ok, Rebecca?" asked Harry, frowning at John. "What happened?"
"Can I explain later?" replied Rebecca. "Just trust me."
"Are you a seer?" asked John. Harry thought he sounded rather rude.
"Please, drop it."
"Come on..."
"Enough!" said Ron forcefully. Harry was proud of how Ron was adapting to leading. He was good, really good. Just, like normally, he was working on his confidence. "We take Rebecca's word for it. We clear one room at a time. Ok?"
"Yes, sir!" said John, fake saluting. "Honestly, sorry Rebecca," he said sincerely. He smiled after she nodded to him.
"Right, two through here, backs to us?" asked Ron.
"They were when I saw them," said Rebecca.
"All right. Harry, with me."
Harry and Ron crept slowly up the stairs. They both summoned a shield from their Crystal Cores before pointing there wands at the door. Harry wordlessly cast a silencing charm all around the door in case of a squeak, and Ron opened it to peek through. True enough, two guards awaited them with their backs to them. Harry and Ron silently turned on their See-er's, marked their targets and, on Ron's count, fired stunners into the room. Before they hit the floor they both cast a levitation charm on the bodies, stopping the thump and moving the bodies out of sight. All these moves were courtesy of Alex, she'd trained them well.
Ron waved the others through, and the four of them crept to the next door. Harry was feeling nervous now they were inside, something didn't feel quite right. He just hoped Rebecca was right, how she knew could come later.
"Wait," said Rebecca. She closed her eyes, scrunching them together. When she opened them they were white again. Now they were in a light room, instead of a dark underground corridor, it didn't look as eerie. After a few seconds she returned to normal. "Still three at the table, the two upstairs are patrolling in a square on the landing. They can see over easily."
"Right," said Ron, "err... right... hmm..."
"In your own time," said John.
"You're getting on my nerves, Cleric," said Rebecca, angrily.
"Ohh, last name terms now, Riley?"
"Please," begged Harry, "can we just focus. We've been fine in training!" Ron was clearly folding under this pressure. Harry wanted nothing more than to help. "Duel each other senseless when we get out, just, let's do well now."
"Ok, ok, sorry."
"Me too."
"What do we do, Ron?"
"I think, we're about to alert them to our presence," said Ron. "Rebecca, can you take us to the hostages?"
"Yes."
"Good, we have to be fast," said Ron. "Send a Flashing Charm in, shield your eyes with the See-er's and take them down."
They all nodded and got into position around the closed door. Ron cast a spell causing a ball of light to appear at the end of his wand, brighter than Lumos, and nodded to John, who waved his wand making the door fly open.
Harry channelled into his See-er's to shield his eyes just as Ron flung the ball of light into the room, jabbed his wand at it causing a blinding light to flash in the centre of the room. Taking his cue Harry dived through the door, choosing a target and dropping him with a stunner. Glancing round he saw the other guards were unconscious, the only issue is they didn't go down quietly.
"Go, go!" cried Ron.
Harry fell in line behind Rebecca as she shot off up the stairs and along the landing, crashing through a door on the left. Ron went in after, followed by John. As Harry came to go through a guard burst through the door at the end of the landing, firing a jet of red light towards him. Harry summoned a shield from his Crystal Core before side stepping after his friends.
"Fuck," said Ron, slamming the door behind Harry and locking it with a wave of his wand. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."
"At least we found the hostages," said Rebecca, gesturing to a group of a dozen people huddled at the back of the room. Harry saw his friends hadn't wasted time dealing with the guards in the room, their bodies piled in the corner.
"Found is a strong word," said John. "You actually told us they were here."
"How do we get out, though?" asked Harry, "we can't go back through that door, they'd decimate us."
"Bloody hell, wait here," said John. He used his wand to blow out the widow behind him, summoned his Flier's from his rear pocket and dived out of the window.
"For fucks sake..." said Ron through his teeth. "Now what? I'm going to .."
Just then something banged into the door, cutting Ron off. The three Auror's summoned shields, positioned themselves around the hostages and dropped into a defensive stance. It was only then Harry really paid any attention to the hostages. A man and a woman were crouched covering three small children, along with what Harry assumed were the staff of the house. They all looked terrified.
This place is a little too real, he thought to himself.
After a few breath taking moments, he heard a muffled smash of glass shattering from outside the door. After a couple of bangs, a crash, a lot of swearing and a thump, John's voice sounded from the other side.
"Open up, it's clear."
"I swear, if you ever..." started Ron angrily, opening the door to reveal John's smug face looking at him. But Ron didn't finish his sentence due to a burst of red light hitting John in the back of the head, catapulting him back into the room.
"This isn't going well, is it?" said Rebecca, trying to smile. She ran to the door, using the wall as cover and firing spells into the entrance hall. Ron crouched down near Ron trying to revive him, leaving Harry to figure out what to do next.
Harry took a deep breath, trying to remember his training. Looking around the room he tried to figure out the best way out. The window, the hostages could jump and they could cast a Cushioning Charm? No, too slow, they could be ambushed. That left the door...
"Ron..."
"Not now, Harry, he won't wake up."
"Ron! We'll have to carry him, we can't stay in this room forever!"
Rebecca was clearly struggling, finding less opportunities to fire spells out the door. Ron sighed and stood up, turning to the hostages. He impressed Harry with the confidence in his voice.
"Right, you're going to follow behind Rebecca, she'll follow when we tell her. Only move when she says move, understood?"
All the hostages nodded and stood shakily. One of the children, a little girl, started to cry.
Far too real, Harry concluded to himself.
Harry's adrenaline was really pumping now. Ron took Rebecca's position at the door so she could prepare to carry John. She pointed her wand at him, casting a spell to make him light as a feather, while Harry got ready to duel.
"We're going over the banister to the lower level," shouted Ron over the noise. "Stay covered in here, Rebecca. We'll fire green sparks in the air when it's clear. Ready, Harry?"
Harry nodded, summoning a fresh shield on his left arm. He'd done this with Ron before in training, they worked well together with this sort of thing. Harry waited for Ron to nod, then sprinted for the door. He put a leg onto the banister and flung himself off, Ron following behind him. A quick charm broke his fall and he fell into a stance with his back to Ron.
His See-er's made this easier, illuminating enemies in bright red making them less tricky to spot. He counted ten on his side, so he assumed Ron had the same. Spells flew back and forth, Harry found his rhythm, slowly sending offensive spells at his targets. Eventually, the dust settled and the room went quiet. A few curses had hit him, his face stung where a Slicing Hex had caught him and he limped slightly where a spell had slammed into his leg. Ron was in a similar state, Harry noticed when he turned around.
"That could have been worse," said Ron, panting.
"Yeah, shall we get the hostages?"
"Ok," said Ron aiming his wand above his head and firing sparks into the air. A few moments later Rebecca appeared leading the hostages around the landing and down the stairs, carrying a weightless John on her back. "There can't be many more left," he said. "Let's go."
The group started to move towards the doors, Harry secretly hoping Ron was right. Surprisingly, when they quietly opened the doors, the grounds were deserted. Making the most of it they moved quickly across the grounds, until an ear piercing screech sounded from back inside.
"What... who are we missing?" barked Ron at the hostages. They all looked too scared to talk. Eventually the mother looked around and screamed herself.
"My little girl!" she cried, running to Ron. "She's still inside! Do something."
"I..."
"Ron, focus!" said Harry, but he seemed too stunned to think. Shaking his friend by the shoulders, he said, "Stay with the hostages! I'll get the girl!"
Harry summoned his Flier's and shot off around the side of the manor, scanning for the window John smashed when he flew out. It was only now he noticed what was keeping his head so clear. Fawkes was singing inside him again, only he filled Harry with hope and focus, forcing him to concentrate on his goal. He felt elated, like nothing could stop him as long as the dead phoenix kept singing.
Spotting the window, Harry flew towards it as fast as he could. He had a split second to notice a guard inside, looking out of the door, before Harry dived off his Fliers and landed inside the window. He dropped the guard by the door before putting his back to a wall. Quickly taking in the number of enemies, Harry started volleying spells back and forth with the two in the room. He managed to drop one of them with a stunner, but the other reached behind the bed, grabbing the little girl and using her as a shield.
Harry was long out of stamina, running solely on the adrenaline Fawkes was pumping through his body. He locked eyes with the wizard holding the hostage. The man was wearing black robes, with a hood covering most of his face. He needed to stun him, or disarm him, but the danger of hurting the hostage was putting him off.
After a few long seconds he noticed a loose brick lying on the ground behind his enemy. Trying not to move his wand, Harry silently raised the brick to the man's head height, before dropping it again with a dull thump. The noise made the man turn his head slightly, giving Harry the opening he needed to fire a stunner at him. The wizard fell to the floor, releasing his hold on the girl.
"Are you all right?" asked Harry, running forward. The girl gave him a small nod before running forward and hugging him tightly. Harry wasn't quite sure what to do. He tried to think how Hermione would handle this, so he said, "Come on, it's ok, let's get you out of here."
Harry picked the girl up in his arms, summoned his Flier's and flew back out the window, swooping around the building to land near his friends. He gently let the girl down, allowing her to run to her mother's arms.
Jogging over to Ron and Rebecca, John still unconscious on the floor, he said, "So we're done now right? We got the hostages out. I didn't see any more people inside."
"I guess so," said Rebecca, "your call, Ron."
"All right."
Ron waved his wand, summoning the door to leave. As the door appeared in front of them, the hostages disappeared leaving them alone in the grounds. John stirred on the ground, groggily opening his eyes before launching to his feet and waving his wand wildly. Taking a good look around, John calmed enough to talk.
"What happened?" asked John.
"You got knocked out," said Rebecca, giggling, apparently finding the whole thing funny now they were out of danger.
"Great. Are we done now then?"
"Yeah," said Harry, "we were just leaving."
"How long was I out?"
"Long enough to miss Harry and Ron duel about twenty people, rescue the hostages, go back in for one we missed and decide we were done," said Rebecca. "Thanks for your help."
"It wasn't quite twenty..." said Ron looking at the floor.
"Ready to get grilled for being reckless?" asked Rebecca nudging John in the ribs. Harry joined in laughing with the others as John went bright red.
"Time to see how we did then," said Harry opening the door.
OOO
"Cheer up, you weren't that bad!"
"I bloody well was."
Later that evening Harry was sat around a dining table with Ron, Hermione and Alex in a restaurant on Diagon Alley. They'd invited John and Rebecca too, but they had both declined, claiming to need some sleep. Harry and Ron had just finished retelling the story of their exam to Hermione, along with the telling off they'd all received when they got out.
"He's just strict, Ron," said Alex kindly, "I wouldn't worry. You passed!"
"I suppose," said Ron, sulking. "We'd have been fine if John wasn't so full of himself." His eyes widened and he seemed to cheer up when their food arrived.
"Did anybody ask Rebecca what the whole seeing into the future thing was?" asked Harry, thanking the waitress for his food.
"Nah," said Ron, "Henry Friar screaming at me kind of drove any other thoughts out my head."
"What do you mean, Harry?" asked Hermione.
"Her eyes went all white, was kind of creepy. Then she described the enemy numbers in the house right up to the hostages."
Hermione nodded, seemingly lost in thought. Harry noticed Alex deliberately cutting into her steak. "You know something," he stated.
"I might," replied Alex, evasively, "I can't tell you, even if I did know something."
"Why not?" asked Ron, earning him a frown from Hermione.
"It's not my business to. She'll tell you when she's ready."
Ron looked at Harry, shrugged and delved back into his dinner. The rest of the meal passed in relative silence, each person seemed lost in their own thoughts. Harry put Rebecca to the back of his mind for now, and, once again, found his thoughts drifting to the blonde sat next to him.
When they'd arrived, he'd sat next to her without conscious thought, it just felt right. He'd told Hermione about what was going on in his head. She'd had lots of long talks with him at night when Ron was helping with Ginny, advising him to try not to worry at the moment, and to relax and enjoy having a new friend in his life. Recently, though, her advice had changed. She had told him he obviously couldn't be expected to wait forever for Ginny; that, as much as it wasn't his fault, she may not be able to be more than friends to him. This had confused Harry even more.
To his greatest relief, though, the entire Weasley family still considered him one of their own. He still went for dinner at the Burrow once a week, still played the odd game of Quidditch with Ron and his brothers. It lifted his heart every time he thought of it, especially the night Bill had announced Fleur was pregnant, approached Harry and asked if he would be Godfather, along with Ron.
He frequently found his thoughts wondering to Alex, though. He wasn't even sure why, he barely knew anything about her. He just knew how he felt when he saw her; the swooping sensation he felt when she spoke to him. He just didn't know, not yet; he'd decided to just make the most of something nice that was happening to him.
"Penny for your thoughts?" said Alex, poking him in the ribs and making him jump. "You look like you're in another world."
"I'm just tired," he replied truthfully, "today was tough."
"Yeah, I bet."
Deciding he'd had enough, he put his knife and fork down on his plate. Everyone else had already finished eating, so they all stood and picked up their jackets from the back of their chairs.
"Do you want to come for a glass of wine, Alex?" Hermione asked.
Alex gave Harry a quick glance, before replying, "Sure, if you'll have me?"
"Don't be silly. You're always welcome."
Harry brightened up knowing she wasn't leaving. They all turned to leave, Harry walking next to Alex towards the door. It took a moment to notice Ron wasn't following them. Harry stopped and turned around, causing Hermione to nearly walk into him. Alex glanced back too, freezing when she saw where Ron was, and what he was doing.
"Harry, what..." started Hermione, but Harry just nodded behind her, making her turn around herself. What she saw made her clap a hand over her mouth.
Ron was next to the dining table, down on one knee and holding a small, black jewellery box. It was only due to how long Harry had known him that he could tell Ron was ready to bolt for the door. But he didn't; his back was straight and his shoulders were squared.
Hermione started to walk very slowly towards Ron. Harry's stomach did a back flip when he felt a small hand enter his own, fingers entwining with his. When Alex's skin touched his jolts of electricity fired through him, he felt invincible. They shared a shy smile before turning to watch the proposal playing out in front of them.
When Hermione was within touching distance of Ron, he tried to speak.
"Hermione I..." he started, cleared his throat, and tried again. "Hermione Granger... I love... Will... Will you be my wife?"
An extremely long few seconds passed by, during which Harry heard Hermione sniffle and Alex's grip on his hand tightened, then Hermione said, "Get up, you prat. Of course I'll marry you."
The entire restaurant burst into cheers. Harry and Alex ran forwards as Ron got up and hugged Hermione tightly. When Harry reached them he joined the hug, along with Alex, both of them shouting their congratulations above the noise. The four of them left the restaurant arm in arm, laughing madly, heading back to the apartment to celebrate properly.
OOO
"Make sure you're prepared for this."
"He'll be pissed if you fuck it up."
"I won't fuck it up. You uphold your end, I'll uphold mine. You lure them here; I promise you they won't leave."
"We don't care about the others. We just want Potter and the red head."
"And I get my researchers, at last? Neumann tells me he can make more powerful equipment with more."
"Yes, you'll get your fucking researchers. Watch your tone, Dyer. Remember who the wizards are here."
A/N: So, what did you think?! Out of curiosity, are you hoping Harry and Ginny will mend their relationship, or that Harry and Alex will develop theirs into something more?
Chapter 5 I hope to have uploaded at the latest two weeks today.
Keade