Chapter 4:
A/N: Hello again! I apologize for the late (and terrible) update. I know that it really isn't any excuse but life (aka school) has been really crazy. Combine that with a severe case of writer's block and here we are. Good news is summer is coming up so hopefully I will be able to keep my updates a little more frequent and regular. Thank you all so much for your amazing comments and feedback. As always, let me know what you all are thinking (good and bad) and ask any questions you may have.
Also, I find myself in need of a beta, so that no more chapters come out looking like this one. I struggled and struggled with this chapter and still couldn't seem to get right, and so just decided to post it. I am sorry. But if anyone would like to help me with this story, that would be amazing. Simply send me a message and we can talk!
Thank you guys again for all your support and sorry for the long note!
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Harry stumbled from the from the fire place, landing heavily on his knees as his head missed a nearby table by inches. Just once. I would like to land on my feet just once. Harry thought irritably. Was it really to much to ask? I defeated the darkest wizard in history but I can't land when flooing, something most children can do.Shuffling out of the way to allow his friends through, Harry took the time to haul himself to his feet and look around.
Pushing his disparaging thoughts from his mind with a force of will, Harry thought back, trying to recall if he had ever seen his version of the Leaky Cauldron looking this dilapidated. The chairs were well worn and everything was in need a new dusting. There was no sign of the usual figures that tended to hang out there and the tables looked forlorn without their normal occupants.
In fact, the only person Harry saw was the old barkeep, Tom, who was lazily wiping down the bar with an old rag. If Harry hadn't seen Tom, he might have though he had gotten out at the wrong grate, ending up in the Hog's Head instead of the leaky cauldron. Very little looked as he remember from his own world. Well, before the place had been destroyed that was.
Ignoring the soot on his clothes as it was conveniently hidden among older, more colorful stains, Harry began to weave his way through the empty tables until he reached the door at the opposite side of the tavern, where he leaned against the open frame to wait for his friends.
It took a fair amount of time for the flames to flare green again, the fire growing to expel Ron, who stepped out with a grace that Harry could only dream of achieving. Harry watched as Ron rolled out of the way to make room for the others who were already stepping through the fireplace, landing with more grace than even Ron had. Even Moody, with his peg leg landed with barely a sound, already balanced and moving the moment his feet touched down.
As Harry continued to grumble about the injustices in the universe, Ron began to make his way over to where Harry stood, as Hermione, Neville, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, Tonks, Moody and few more made their way out of the fireplace and farther into the run down bar.
Tom did not say anything, his hollowed eyes simply watching the new comers with a wariness that should not be present in a host's eyes. It made Harry's heart clench to see the old man, who had once had a smile for everyone, including a certain terrified eleven year old boy, become scared of his own potential costumers, choosing to hide from perspective business rather than risk drawing attention to himself. Even Dumbledore was no longer approachable. Just how bad was this world? Harry wondered as he tracked Hermione's progress to where he stood.
"Sorry we took so long." She said when she had reached where he and Ron were waiting. "It took a while to convince them we were not going to kill them all and were not totally insane. Even so I'm pretty sure they only came to make sure we didn't do anything to hurt anyone, or ourselves."
Harry nodded absently, mind already on the upcoming battle. He trusted Hermione and the others to not have given any more information than needed.
"So, what's the plan?" Neville approached the small group of dimension travelers, the rest of the wizards trailing behind him.
"Same as usual," was Harry's absent reply, trying once more to repress the memories and guilt that surfaced at the sight of those he had watched die standing in front of him. Harry was sure that if this kept going as it was, his nerves would be frayed beyond all recognition by the end of the week, driving him insane if it didn't straight up kill him and end up doing what hours of torture, 117 assassination attempts and several very determined reporters as well as a dark lord had failed to do time and time again.
"And just what would that be?" Sirius asked, his bright blues eyes boring into Harry's, who found himself quiet unable to speak under the power of that suspicious gaze.
"Um…." Very articulate Harry, he scolded himself. Get it together. This is nothing compared to a hundred demontors. Just open you mouth and spit out the plan. You can do this. Harry's pep talk, despite it's stern tone, did nothing to help his verbal skills and so he was left gaping at Sirius, doing a rather accurate impression of a goldfish.
Once more coming to his friends rescue, Ron stepped in and answered the question for him.
"It's simple really. Harry will be the focus, being loud and obnoxious, so basically his usual, attention seeking-self."
Here Harry gathered his wits enough to elbow his friend in the side before Ron continued on.
"Hermione will be to the right, hidden under a concealment charm while I will go up to a high place, probably a roof and watch the battle from above, looking at the larger picture if you will. Neville will cover Harry's other side, in this case the left, also under concealment charms. You guys will be spilt up, and invisible. Your job will basically be to help when ?" Harry watched the Order's reaction to their plan and saw a mass of befuddled stares.
"But how do will avoid hitting someone accidentally if we can't see one another?" Tonks addressed her question to Ron but it was Neville who responded.
"It's quiet simple really. You cast a spell on yourself, a simply notice me not, with a modification that allows you to 'exempt' people from the spell. This is done using a potion that Hermione and I created, with a little help from Luna as well. You just smear a streak on your forehead and 'end points' such as your hands and shoes, it creates a rough glowing outline that is can only be seen by chosen people."
"If you each put a couple hairs in here?" Hermione asked, stepping forward and holding out a small cauldron containing a faintly bubbling potion. Harry fought a smirk as he saw Sirius crinkle his nose in distaste when he caught sight of the potion. It tasted even worse than it looked and that was saying something.
"If you don't mind me asking but how did you create this?" Dumbledore examined the contents of the cauldron as he dropped a few of his long, silvery hairs into the mix, causing the concoction to hiss and spit, acquiring a grey tint to its previous murky brown.
"It was simple really-" Turning away from the increasingly academic discussion, Harry strode into the alley and began to look around, thinking though the attack. He knew this attack strategy by heart by this point, but he still liked to go over it one more time so that if something were to go wrong he had a back up ready. Just one more way Hermione had rubbed off on him.
"How much longer?" Harry asked absently, striding back over to the group.
"About 10 minutes."
"Concealments on then. Let's go." Turning on his heel, Harry tapped the familiar pattern on the bricks to reveal the archway that led to the alley, fighting the wave of nostalgia that overcame him. He had such amazing memories linked with the harsh sounds of the bricks sliding into the welcoming arch of Diagon Alley. He could still remember the sent of awe that overcame when he saw the flashing storefronts filled with magical items.
Dragging his thoughts back to the present, Harry took in the area as it stood now while he waited for the others to spread out around him. Glancing around to make sure everyone was ready, Harry strode over to the fountain, attempting to work the tremors from his frame.
Consciously relaxing his posture, Harry pulled out his wand and lazily twirled it between his fingers, trying to appear calm and casual. His eyes never stopped moving though, noticing the many differences in this Alley and the one in his own world. Here, there were no flashing store fronts. No bustling customers. In fact, Harry noted only a handful of people, all of whom had hoods drawn over to the faces and hurried movements as they scurried from store to store, clinging to the shadows.
It seemed wrong on an almost fundamental level to Harry. This was not the way it was supposed to be. The war was over. It was done. But it wasn't here. The thought crashed through his mind with the weight of an anvil and he had to struggle to keep his relaxed posture. Sure, he had realized that the war was still going on here, he had been in old snake face's mind after all, but it hadn't sunk in yet. Seeing the evidence, the damage wrecked across society laid out before him in such stark terms knocked the wind from his chest. He would have to do it again. He didn't know if he could do it again.
Before his thoughts could spiral any father, Harry caught sight of what he had been waiting for. Someone was approaching the fountain lacking the terrified feel the rest of shoppers seemed to exude.
Harry waited for the man to draw a little closer before pushing off of the fountain and taking a swig from a bottle of whiskey he conjured.
"Hey, hey, hey!" He mumbled, bringing a drunken sway to his stance, plastering a senseless grin across his cheeks. "Johnson! Wha yer doin here? I's a thoughts this was mines jobs." Harry stumbled his way over to the robbed figure, slinging an arm around the man's shoulders and leaning heavily on him.
Letting loose a slightly manic giggle, Harry pulled off the man's hood to expose his highly uncomfortable looking features. So it was Johnson. I thought I recognized that limp. Fighting a smirk at the death eater's distress, Harry began pushing the man away from the fountain, straight into another hooded form that had drawn closer.
"Ha's you've- you've broughteded another friends!" Harry exclaimed happily, taking another swig of his whiskey, making sure to slosh some on the newest figure's crisp robes, much to the man's displeasure.
"What's going on here?" The new man asked in hard voice, clipped with frustration.
"Here's? Nothin. Nuttin. Nuthin. Nu-uh. Nope." Harry raised his hand to his mouth as if to muffle his chuckles and ended up socking the nearest death eater in the face. Goyle deserved it.
"Hey!" Goyle exclaimed grasping Harry's arm and yanking.
"Ow! Mate watchya hurting me fore?" Harry asked, bringing more force to his words as he drew back from the men although careful to keep the sway in his body. It was frighteningly easy with the tremors still effecting him every so often and Harry dreaded how long it would take for him to recover from this. Harry ducked a wild punch from the Goyle, who had a rapidly purpling bruise already spreading across his jaw. Goyle himself seemed a little unsteady on his feet and Harry fought a grin. He must have hit him harder than he thought.
"Enough!" Snarled the Johnson, shoving smaller man out of his way as he stomped over to the fountain. Just as he reached into his pocket to pull out his wand, no doubt to signal the start of the attack Harry dropped his drunken act, clobbering the man closest to him into unconsciousness with whiskey bottle with viscous accuracy. Using his momentum to carry him forward towards the Goyle, Harry pulled his wand and sent a silent stunning spell.
Hardly pausing to register the soft 'thump' that signaled the man was down for the count, Harry twisted and ducked the spells already coursing his way from the other forms that suddenly emerged from the shadows. Harry barely noticed the others join in the fight as he allowed his instincts and training to overtake. He felt his body fall into the familiar rhythm of battle and despite his peril, his thoughts calmed for the first time since he had awoken in the Order meeting.
In a fight there was no time for feeling. No time for fear. No time for panic or pain. That was one how died. It had been drilled into his head over and over until it had become something akin to second nature. So Harry twisted and turned, firing spells faster than many others could follow let alone block or battle and death eaters dropped like flies around him.
Steadily making his way through the hoards, Harry watched his companions from the corner of his eye, marking their positions and possible threats to them, even as he continued with his own fights. Just becuase they didn't trust him and were stupid gits didn't mean he wouldn't do everything he could to protect. No one should have to die before their time. No one. Even the spells he doled out were not lethal and neither were the spells his friends used. They had all seen enough death to not feel the need to create any more.
The death eaters however, suffered no such restrictions and the alley flashed with green light whenever one of the masked figures was able to get a clear shot. No longer having the protection of Voldemort's hatred to save him from being killed by one of Voldemort's minion Harry found himself dodging several killing curses, much to his surprise at first. It hadn't even occurred to him that they would try to kill him. Not that it bothered him overly much, it was just a new color added to many jets of light flying before his eyes but he found himself startled nonetheless. He was so used to Voldemort wanting to save him for himself that Harry had never realized how much protection that had given him in battle; how much it had limited the death eaters.
No such restrictions existed now as Harry danced his way through the web of spells that was being created. Several lesser curses landed but Harry pushed the pain to the back of his mind, convincing himself that it's presence was no more important than a fly buzzing around his ear. It worked. Sort of.
He could hear Ron through the modified extendable ear the twins had made that allowed them to communicate over long distances, describing areas that needed more support or where death eaters were trying to involve the innocent bystanders trapped within the surrounding stores. Ron provided the strategy and plan of the big picture while Harry was his tool to bring his plan to fruition. And so he ran from point to point, as Ron continued to describe the areas that needed more help, his wand nothing more than a blur in the air.
Harry did not know how long the battle lasted. His world consisted of nothing more than the current moment, and what needed to be done to allow him to live into the next moment. Whether it was duck, twist, shield, it took all of his concentration and control. But exhaustion began to drag on his limbs and he could see several of his own side began to stagger, either from pain or weariness Harry couldn't tell.
And then it was done. Not one more figure moved in the alley. Harry ran a weary hand through his sweat soaked hair, looking around to make sure everyone was okay. Dumbledore looked weary but did not appear to be hurt. Tonks was sporting what looked like a sprained wrist but was already being attended to by Remus who seemed fine besides a small gash that cut through the sleeve of his navy robes.
Sirius was walking towards Dumbledore, limping but apparently not in any life-threatening danger. Ron he knew was okay, he could hear him on the coms, still talking. Hermione he could see beside Neville, her hair messier than usual and singed in a few places but otherwise she seemed to be fine. She was busy healing a long gash that stretched nearly all the way down Neville's arm in a way that had Harry wincing in sympathy.
The knowledge that his friends that were safe seemed to sap the lingering energy from his body and Harry found himself sitting, rather abruptly, on the edge of the fountain that was conveniently next to him. Closing his eyes Harry took a moment to try and push back the pain that was once more trying to swamp his brain. Not too much longer. He told himself. Not too much longer than you can crash. Just don't do it quiet yet. Let Hermione set up nice strong wards and have Ron find a nice warm bed. Maybe Neville could even find one of the plants that adjusted the temperature of the room to be perfect…
"You okay?"
Harry jumped as he opened his eyes to see Remus's concerned face swimming inches from his own. Nodding his head on reflex Harry winced as the movement sent the world bucking around him and a wave of nausea rose from within his stomach.
"Harry?" Remus asked, gently touching Harry's shoulder.
Later, Harry would know he had overreacted. He would know it seconds after he did it. But having someone touching him, something that did not occur even under normal circumstances, so soon after battle, was too much for his frayed nerves. He had thrown Remus over his shoulder and had him pinned to the ground, and was seconds away from stunning him, into oblivion before Neville's call jerked him back to reality.
"Sorry." Harry stepped back, sheepishly rubbing his neck. He felt his cheeks burn as he took in the crowd that had surrounding them, no doubt drawn by his sudden movements. "I reacted on instinct. I apologize."
Remus simply lay winded on the cobblestone path, staring up at him. An awkward silence descended as those around him continued to stare, shocked by his reaction to such a simply thing.
"You're bleeding!" Tonks called suddenly, shocked by the growing stains on his worn clothes.
Harry just nodded blearily, swaying slightly where he stood. He could feel the wetness soaking his robes but was having difficulties summoning up the energy to care. His eyelids felt like there were weights attached but he gritted his teeth and forced them open. He could not relax yet. Ignoring the concerned stare of Hermione, who was beginning to reach towards him, Harry looked around him and considered what needed to be done next.
"Let's get out of here. I'll get treatment back when we are safe. Back at headquarters." Harry shuffled forward, leading the group back over to the fireplace where he raised a shaky hand for some floo powder and sent himself back to headquarters, bracing himself for the ungraceful exit he knew would occur.