Chapter Seven: The Cult of The Phoenix
"I need to find Dumbledore, see if he has the artifact, take it if he does, take him out, shut down his little re-orientation and find a way to undo it, eliminate the Cult of the Phoenix," muttered Harry as he jotted down items on the list, locked in the library at Potter Manor. "Find out how to return us home, if it's possible…"
Harry continued to write on the piece of paper. Studying the re-orientation up close had given him an accurate idea of how it worked but finding a way to reverse the effects, especially the long term effects would be a painstaking process. He always assumed that they would be heading home, but for the first time, he had his doubts that it was possible to reverse what was done. The more he went over it in his mind, the more it appeared to be a one in a trillion magical fluke. He decided to keep these from Ginny as much as possible, because he needed all the help possible in finding the way. Besides, there were times where Harry wondered if he actually wanted to return home. Out of some misguided sense of loyalty to the world that he left and the fact that there was a strong likelihood that his counterpart was trapped in a strange world as well, Harry would plug away to the very bitter end.
The door pushed open and Harry quickly bounced to his feet, pointing his wand towards the doorway but he did not relax it when he saw Allison standing right there.
"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" asked Harry as he looked at Allison with an annoyed expression but she just gave him a little smirk.
"Of course, I've heard of it, but it's not something I make a common practice of doing," responded Allison as she looked at Harry with a frown. "Took me almost twenty minutes to figure out your unlocking charm and another ten to figure out how to remove it, in case you were wondering, most would give up in that amount of time. I'm the patient sort, but I decided to see what you were up to. You've locked yourself in this library for three hours."
"Planning what I'm going to do with Dumbledore," stated Harry in a nonchalant voice, as if this was the most common thing in the world. "If he has the artifact, I have to get it back and…"
"And go home to what precisely?" demanded Allison as she looked at Harry, intently studying him, as if she was trying to figure out of he just enjoyed inflicting suffering on himself.
"When I have an answer to that question, you'll be among the first to know," said Harry as he looked at the list, as he began to formulate a plan with what little information he had. "Besides, what about…"
"At first I was angry with what happened, losing him like that, and if we could get him back, great," said Allison in a nonchalant tone of voice as she looked at Harry. "I would tell you that none of this is your fault, but I won't waste my breath. I get a feeling that you get that a lot and tire of hearing it."
"You better believe it," said Harry in a detached voice. "Ginny and I…"
"Are not obligated to do anything for us, don't try and be a hero," answered Allison. "You got Ginny, great, good for you. I must admit, I rarely am pleasantly surprised, but this girl is so different from the one I know and hate, that it's like night and day. The artifact, it may or may not be here and with Dumbledore, I don't know. I do know that you're here right now and it's your choice what to do. Don't try and do any favors for a world that will vilify you once they get bored of praising you. This world is nothing but fickle, one week they're outraged with Dumbledore and the next week the public is blaming the Ministry for not trying to compromise with him."
"At least some things are constant in all worlds," said Harry to himself, more to the girl on the other side of the room.
"Ah yes, stupidity is a constant, precisely what I was afraid of," said Allison as she turned to walk on Harry. "I'm surprised Ginny's taking this so well, but then again, she's not taking it as well as she should be. She's worried that you're obsessing about something that you have no control over and let's face it, you…"
"Ginny knows how I work better than anyone else," interrupted Harry. "She learned all too well, to the point where I refused to give up, when I probably should. I do wonder if I'm all that different from that Harry, given…"
"Well there are some differences, you're a bit more jaded than he was, it's amusing that I'm the optimistic one, but you're a bit better handling yourself in a duel, not that he was hopeless with a wand," said Allison. "Harry, the other Harry, his parents, have tried to keep him shielded from the horrors of the world. It didn't work but that's not the point. He always did have an air of a rich kid who was a bit spoiled and got the best of everything in life, even though he did care for his family and the few friends he had. You on the other hand, you were flung headfirst into the horrors…"
"I could have run, but the problem was that trouble followed me everywhere," said Harry. "Would he have dared to face Dumbledore?"
"Given the proper motivation, he might have, but he really liked to keep a low profile," said Allison. "He did have a temper on him when his friends were pushed around and he hated to see anyone get hurt. It was just so sudden when he decided to break up with me for his own good. I wonder what made him do it and now I'll never know."
Harry just remained in silence. There was no easy answer to his dilemma. Not that there ever was an easy answer to anything. Returning home would be returning to that, but staying would upturn so many lives. Once again, Harry found himself trying to work a miracle to appease everyone but he wondered if this was the one time he really should be thinking about what was best for him. He looked at Allison, she kept her emotions well hidden, but Harry expected that she was thinking about thing. Harry wanted to keep the emotional drama to an absolute minimum, but he knew how well that had worked the first time.
"Dad's onto something, hopefully Dumbledore will be brought down soon, and you won't have to do anything," responded Allison after a moment's time but the lack of conviction in her face was obvious. Riddle had gotten close during his one battle with Dumbledore and he was not getting any closer, simply because Dumbledore had learned from that one mistake. It was a novel concept, the villain learning from his mistakes, but there you were.
"One can only hope," said Harry, who decided that he had a list of what he needed to do but the problem was actually carrying it out. It took nearly a year to find all of the Horcruxes and destroy them, even with Ginny's help. Even with all of the information they had and it was more then he had right at this moment, which was not really saying much.
-
Knockturn Alley was a place that only the most hardened wizards should venture into. It was full of individuals that preyed on the weak and the vulnerable, along with a slight trade of dark magical artifacts and other Ministry restricted items. Technically, done under the table, but with the right amount of gold and patience, some rather valuable items could be found.
Not to mention, information, as Tom Riddle found out, walking through the alley, where one of his many contacts were waiting. With each step, he was on high alert. Despite all of the precautions, a trap was always inevitable. Members of the Cult of the Phoenix were lurking everywhere.
Tapped on the shoulder, Riddle nearly turned around, a deadly curse on the tip of tongue, but relaxed only slightly when the hooded figure who tapped him on the shoulder, backed off in fear.
"Riddle, that can only be you," said the hooded figure, in a shaky voice.
"Information, you have it," said Riddle shortly, wishing to get this over as quickly as possible. He had a couple of close calls in recent time and always managed to just cover his tracks with doing something above Ministry Laws.
"Inside quickly, I don't know how long I can stick around, my life could be in danger for what I'm doing, I just barely shook off someone," said the informant and Riddle followed him, casting a spell that would reveal any concealments down the empty street but found nothing. The hooded wizard motioned for Riddle to walk inside and the doors locked behind him.
"The information if you please," prompted Riddle.
"Information, agents of Dumbledore have been taken a lot of trips overseas to the United States of America, I don't know why, there magical economy is virtually in shambles and they have nothing to offer, without much of a government to speak of," said the informant and Riddle just looked back thoughtfully.
"They are in desperate need of gold and Dumbledore is in desperate need of bodies to further his agenda," said Riddle, as he pieced together everything. "Not to mention the American Magical prisons are overcrowded and Dumbledore could take those prisoners off their hands…"
"Yes, yes, of course, and at bargain basement prices, given the value of the money over there, he's been working on a new and improved re-orientation process as well lately, to use on older witches and wizards," said the informant, as he clutched his hands together, fingers digging into his knuckles, darting towards the boarded up windows.
"This information is most disturbing, but I thank you," said Riddle.
"No problem, but I have to leave, they might be onto me," said the informant and Riddle nodded, before slipping some gold into the informants hand and leaving, with a light pop. The informant held his hands together, nervously as he walked forward, out of the front entrance of the building and three figures in bright orange robes with yellow hoods pulled over their hands, a stark contrast to the dark atmosphere of the Knockturn Alley, stood out, wands held in front as the informant, who backed off in fear, but he was surrounded.
"Hello, Walters, long time no see," said one of the members of the Cult. "You've been acting like you had a dirty little secret lately and now we know why."
"One would think you were a Seeker on your house team at Hogwarts, because you're nothing but a snitch," said another Cult member, a female this time.
"N-now, it's not what it looks like, I swear," said Walters.
"Sounds like you were selling information about our glorious leader to Riddle, to make a little pocket change," said the female Cult member. "It's a shame such a bright young wizard like yourself has to turn traitor. The world needs more young people to he shape it, the Phoenix Lord is only doing what is best for everyone…"
"I used to think that but now after I saw what he does…" stated Walters but one of the Cult members silenced him with a wave of his wand.
"Dumbledore will understand when we purge a weed from the perfect garden he's trying to grow," said the female member of the Cult as she raised her wand. Walters tried to get out of the way, but he was paralyzed. "You're one of us until death and since you're no longer one of us, that is the release you'll get. Now you'll know what a Phoenix goes through during their burning day but you will not rise from the ashes of your betrayal."
A blast of fire from all three wands engulfed Walters. He screamed in agony. The flames had consumed his body and he did not quite die before the pain had reached its most excruciating. The three members of the Cult had sorrowful looks on their face as they hit him with the spells. Walters was reduced to virtually nothing because of the magically enhanced fire, as the three members of the Cult watched his remains.
"A shame when goes astray from our cause but we have done our noble duty," said one of the Cult members in a slightly saddened voice. "The traitor has been removed from the world, just one of the many elements that will be purified by our great leader."
"Walters never deserved to live in a peaceful world that Dumbledore will give us," said the female Cult member as they walked off.
-
"This shouldn't be too different from our normal work," summarized Ginny as Harry had just completed his explanation of his plan to her and Allison, who insisted that if Harry was planning on doing something stupid, she got included in it as well. Harry sensed some frustration that she got kept out of the loop so often by her father, only telling her what she needed to know. "We just keep an eye out for anything strange and peculiar and if we get our hands on any of the members of the Cult, modify their memories so they don't expect a thing is amiss and hope that one of us will know where Dumbledore is."
"A nice theory, but I doubt more than a few people are even allowed in the presence of the great Albus Dumbledore," responded Allison in an irritated voice.
"Didn't you say that Percy had some kind of job where he worked directly with Dumbledore?" asked Harry.
"Yes, I almost forgot about that, I don't know how I could have, with the fact that the couple of days I was there, he constantly brought up the fact that he was one of the few to be in Dumbledore's main base of operations," said Ginny. "Mostly to gain Molly's acceptance I think, she always made snide remarks about how disappointed she was with her sons…"
"Given how the alternative version of you was, they must have done something that made your antics acceptable to her," said Allison. "Given the rumors of how she was like, I think she was proud that you continued her noble legacy, but enough about that. Percy might work with Dumbledore, but does he actually know where he's going?"
"That's a good point, isn't it?" asked Harry as Ginny nodded. "Given the number of Death Eaters that Voldemort had and maybe only half of a percent knew where his main base of operations of. They were summoned through their dark marks but I'm not going to go into how that worked."
"I just wonder if that Portkey you reprogrammed was one that lead to Dumbledore's base," said Ginny.
"Might be, but it won't be easy to track," said Allison as she looked at the shelf of books, mostly to give herself something else to look at other than Harry and Ginny sitting close together.
"I love a challenge," said Harry and Ginny nodded, she was the same way. "Still…"
The door opened and all three leapt up, wands drawn, but Jade walked into the ring, shielding her hands.
"Doesn't anyone knock anymore?" asked Harry.
"No, but you should know that Mum and Dad are going to be a bit late getting back and by a bit late, I mean a lot late," responded Jade. "They found one of Dumbledore's bases of operation, at least what they think is a base."
"Any chance you know where it is?" asked Harry hopefully and Jade shook her head.
"No, they didn't mention it, probably afraid that we would go after anything, you'd think they would let me know, because I technically am of age," said Jade.
"They know you would let Harry know," said Allison wisely and Jade nodded her head, as she sat down with the group.
"What are you three working on anyway?" asked Jade.
"A plan to find out where Dumbledore's main base of operations is," answered Harry.
"Really?" asked Jade in a surprised voice. "You don't think you could even come close to finding it."
"That's what I told them, Dad's been looking for years, he's never been there and he was Dumbledore's adopted son," said Allison in a hopeless voice. "But Mr. and Mrs. Master Unspeakable think they can find it."
"I have a good idea how we might find it and by finding it, the sooner we can…the sooner we can do what needs to be done," said Harry as he looked at Ginny, who nodded with a confident expression on her face.
"Well I said that I would help you to find anything that you need and I stand by that," offered Jade as she looked at the three teenagers. "The problem is, trying to do this without Mum and Dad finding out."
"That's not too much of a problem, my father on the other hand, that could be a problem," cautioned Allison. "He's a hard person to fool, yes Harry, I know you defeated what he was in your world but…"
"You don't give me enough credit, the amount of times I've won fights against people who thought I couldn't," said Harry. "Just like I got past all the traps through the Philosopher's Stone, even though it's a gesture that grows less significant with each passing year, given how blatantly the traps were fixed to our strengths. Second year, my finest moment, not only did I save Ginny, but I defeated a Basilisk…"
"WAIT A BLOODY MINUTE!" shouted Jade in surprise. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DEFEATED A BASILISK?"
"Exactly how it sounded, Harry, since no one else had a clue, had to come down the Chamber of Secrets because of something I did when I was young and stupid," answered Ginny swiftly, causing the other two girls to look at them quizzically. "Long story, really one I have no interest in reliving ever again, especially since I could have gotten Harry killed."
"Ah, I wondered if the rumors were true, with the Basilisk in the Chamber," remarked Allison. "My Father might have found where it is and it would be the perfect security measure of Hogwarts."
Harry and Ginny nodded, it would have been, if the Headmaster happened to be a Parseltongue. If Riddle was half as cunning as he became as Lord Voldemort, he would have held that little talent.
"So a Basilisk…." stated Jade weakly but Harry had cut her off.
"Yes, as much as I just love to talk about the times where I nearly died but I didn't," answered Harry as he looked at Ginny, who nodded. "We have an important job to do and I know you two will want to be included into this, but I warn you that if any of you are in danger, I will force a Portkey into your hand and send you to a safe place."
"What about Ginny?" challenged Allison as she looked at the red haired girl but she looked back with a calm, cool, and collected expression. Jade just leaned back, ready to get in the middle should things get a bit ugly, but fortunately, Harry was ready to exercise some careful damage control.
"I can trust her, I barely know both of you, I'm sure you're capable, but this needs to be done, to get things back the way they should be," said Harry in a firm tone of voice. "And I know exactly where we might find some answers, the place where Albus Dumbledore took his first steps to what he became today…"
"You don't mean…" said Jade as she suddenly had a far off look, as if some pained memory was brought up.
"Godric's Hollow, yes, that's exactly what I mean and we're start there, and start right away, because we have a lot of work to do," said Harry, as he created a Portkey. It took a lot less power to reprogram a Portkey, than create one from scratch, but Harry managed to take the worn book on the table. "Okay, everyone grab on, the Portkey leaves in fifteen seconds."
-
The resistance against Dumbledore and his Cult of the Phoenix made their way outside of a large building, a tall building, with weeds growing everywhere and the building in great disarray.
"Are you sure this is the place?" asked one of the members of the Resistance.
"Yes, Rosier, this is the place," said Riddle in a calm tone of voice.
"Doesn't look like a place that someone like Dumbledore would spend time at," stated Rosier.
"That's because the place is charmed to look like it's ran down, it's really fairly nice, but it appears to be abandoned," said Lily as she cast a few spells and sure enough, the weeds disappeared and the building looked a little less worn. "Wait, no, someone is moving inside."
"Who is it?" whispered a voice from behind her as James moved in.
"Moody, Alastor Moody," responded James as he recognized one of the legendary Aurors. "He's a member of the Cult of the Phoenix."
"Doubt it very much, Moody doesn't seem like the type to mindlessly worship someone, must be looking around like we are for his own reasons," suggested Bellatrix. "Still we should be on our guards…"
"No kidding, Moody's the type to hex first, ask questions never," responded another member of the Resistance.
"Potter, you know him the best, go talk to him, but do be on your guard, in case this is a Dumbledore scheme," said Riddle calmly and James nodded, before he held his wand, nodding, before he walked inside as the other members of the Resistance moved back a bit, being in position to help but far back enough so Moody did not feel there was something up. James knocked on the door and it swung open on his own accord. He walked inside of the building, as there were portraits of Dumbledore on the inside walls and bookshelves that have long been cleaned out.
"Hello," said James but suddenly, Moody spun around and sent a cutting curse right at his wand hand. James blocked the attack, he did not need to lose any more body parts and Moody stepped back, before he nodded.
"Potter, long time no see, I would ask you what you're doing here, but I don't want to know," said Moody as he looked at James, taking in the eye patch with amusement. "Still going with the patch, eh, Potter, even though it looks ridiculous. Have ever you thought in investing in a magical eye?"
"Believe me, Moody, if I could have, I would, but a nasty allergic reaction put a stop to that," said James and Moody nodded, as he walked forward for a bit, before he decided to speak.
"A shame, really, with two children, a magical eye can be a must have," said Moody as he looked at James, before he turned his back, walking off. "I let this building go long enough with taking a look at. Dumbledore must have cleared everything out, he has his snitches in the Auror Department, but Crouch refuses to shove Veritaserum down everyone's throat, saying it's against the law. His going by the book is going to get all of us enslaved by Dumbledore not that Riddle is much better. If he's the one we have to rely on to do someone we have to rely on, we're in trouble. Don't trust him, not at all, a bit too shifty for my tastes."
Moody continued his walk down the hallway, to a set of wooden doors, with a door knocker in the shape of a Phoenix. He studied it, casting a number of spells on it to determine what it was.
"Rigged, for the floor to cave in if we open the doors, Potter," remarked Moody.
"Nothing here then, another dead end," responded James as Moody looked at him, before he brushed his wand across the walls, looking for a secret switch or door, that would reveal him a hidden room.
"Times like this I wish I had a magical eye," growled Moody as he found nothing, not even a small piece of parchment or a broken piece of a magical artifact or anything that would give him an accurate hint of Dumbledore's plans. "Blast it another dead end, they knew that I knew and cleared everything out. Damn Scrimgeour for hovering over me like a bat."
"Really thought there would be something here," said James who had the task of reporting back to the others that the building had been cleared out.
"Of all the people to practice Constant Vigilance it would have to be Dumbledore," grumbled Moody as he gave one last look around, overturning a table but in this case, a table was just a table. James decided this would be the best time to take his leave but Moody's eyes widened. "Potter you fool, stop your stepping right into a rigged…"
Moody did not finish his sentence, before James had stepped on a floor board that had caused the other boards to vanish and cause the floor to collapse beneath them, before they landed on a floor. It was a stroke of luck that Moody was ready with the cushioning charms and they hit the ground with a thud. Moody winced as James looked, he could have hit himself for stepping right into a trap and they were quite a ways under ground. Moody took a peak around, noticing a cabinet, obscured by a thick layer of dust. He walked over to pry the cabinet open and found several slightly discolored but still legible rolls of parchment.
"Potter you are both really brilliant and really careless," said Moody as he shook his head, unrolling the parchment, before he frowned. "A map, and some blue prints, but none of them combine together or do they. These locations don't make sense, but they must to Dumbledore, that's a park and a Muggle shopping mall and one of those places where Muggles fly those ridiculous winged contraptions to one place to another, an airport if I'm not mistaken. These locations are clearly marked."
"It's lucky that something was down here," said James but that brought Moody to his senses.
"Too lucky, Potter, much too lucky," said Moody. "Almost if Dumbledore was deliberately leading us somewhere, but making it look like he was hiding what he was doing. Clever, of you, Albus, I never said you weren't smart, most would fall for this ruse, and…what's this?"
"What's what?" asked James curiously.
"Never you mind Potter, I have to take these back to Auror Headquarters for further study, there are a few people that I do trust, but Crouch must not know what I found," said Moody. "Once I find a way out of here, these underground tunnels always have an exit somewhere, but stay sharp Potter."
James nodded, he was to report right back and now he was trapped underground with Moody, not exactly the most pleasant person to spend time with in a dark cavernous tunnel.
-
"We're here," said Harry as they dropped off right at Godric's Hollow, right in front of the Potter Home or what was once the Potter home. It was nothing but charred rubble and debris as Jade took a look at him, taking a deep breath, as Harry and Ginny looked at her.
"We lived here, until I was six and you were three, then Dumbledore's Cult found us and tried to torch it to the ground, with us inside," explained Jade, as she was revealing bad memories. "We just barely escaped, for that's the first time I remember us having to leave a home and it wouldn't be the last. Don't worry, I'm alright, I got over it a long time ago, but it's just a shock seeing it here."
There was an awkward moment of silence that Ginny broke.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but Dumbledore's childhood home should be close by," responded Ginny.
"Yes, a few houses down to the right of the Potter home, if I remember rightly," said Harry, as the group moved forward.
"How do you know, I mean it could have changed?" voiced Allison but Harry shook his head.
"Reading over Dumbledore's history and by extension, the history of the world, everything up until a certain point happened as it did, but given what I learned, I know the exact point where the timeline split," said Harry and Ginny nodded.
"Well do share it with us Harry," prompted Jade.
"Well you know what happened to Dumbledore's younger sister?" asked Harry and the two girls nodded. "Well she was murdered when she was six in this world. In our world, the Muggle teenagers who attacked her did not take it that far, just assaulted her. She suppressed her magic inwards, but she was still alive. Here, she died and everything fell apart for the Dumbledore family. Dumbledore still befriended Gridelwald, completing a path he just barely began in our world. "
"She was also the trigger to make Dumbledore stop and think about what he was doing, when she was accidentally killed in a fight involving Dumbledore, his brother Aberforth, and Gridelwald, but when she died earlier, he continued down the path with Gridelwald and history speaks for itself," concluded Ginny as Harry moved around, seeing the Dumbledore home. The other three got a closer look but it did not look like it had been lived in for many years, decades even, since Dumbledore had left for his tour with Gridelwald.
Appearances, however, could be most deceiving as the group walked forward, wands drawn, as they walked towards the house.
"No one touch anything yet, I want to see something," said Harry as he waved his wand and the door knob illuminated, with fingerprints all over it, fresh one's too and several sets, all the same person. "Just as a thought, Ginny, take a look at this and see if you see what I see."
"Someone's been entering this house often and regularly, I'd say once every couple of days it looks like," summarized Ginny as she studied everything.
"You can tell this how?" questioned Allison.
"Unspeakable trade secret," said Harry calmly, as the door clicked open and they walked inside, but Harry stopped, as they remained on the worn rug right in front of the door. "Footprint and once again, someone's been here rather recently. Let's go."
Allison, Jade, and Ginny followed Harry deep inside the house, as they all held their wands out, a good practice, as they moved inside. The drapes were a little too new for Harry's liking and there were several other inconsistencies for a house that was said to be abandoned for decades. Entering the sitting room, Harry saw a fireplace with a jar. Opening it, he found Floo powder.
"New, purchased within the last six months or so," said Harry, as he tapped his wand on the fireplace. "Used within the last week or so as well and it's only connected with one fireplace, but the access is blocked, a password that we need, I'm guessing."
"Well, I'm not an Unspeakable, but even I know this looks familiar," said Allison, as she had just unfolded a crumpled up piece of parchment and shoved it into Harry's hands. "Does that room look familiar to you or anything?"
"The room we were sent to with Re-Orientation, of course, but this one, the one detailed in the picture appears to be a prototype model, different in many ways, but similar enough that it would be a valuable tool to have," commented Harry as he slipped the parchment into his pocket as he looked around, before they looked around the house. The forgotten Re-Orientation Prototype drawing was the only thing they found, other than a few worn pieces of furniture and old faded books that lent credibility to the fact the house had been unused in that many years. In fact, there was one place to check and that was the basement. Harry moved forward and twisted the knob, but found it immobile. "Locked but it shouldn't be a problem. ALOHOMORA!"
"Okay this could be a problem," said Ginny but Harry just shrugged, as he motioned for them to stand back, so he could blast the doors down. Several powerful spells just were absorbed by the doors.
"He made it impervious to magic, I see," remarked Allison as Harry continued a few more tricks but he found it was a no go.
"I'm going to get into that basement one way or…" said Harry before he trailed off as they saw a figure lurking outside the window. Allison had seen him too and she bolted outside, wand raised, as she chased what appeared to be an eleven or twelve year old boy, before she blasted him in the legs. A loud crack echoed and he was dropped to the ground, as she stood over him, wand at his throat.
"Alright, talk, you little brat, what were you doing lurking around the window, spying on us?" asked Allison as Jade, Harry, and Ginny moved forward, as she had his wand at the child's throat, who was shaking in fear.
"I didn't mean to, they made me, the older kids who come here, they said they would hurt me and my little sister, if I didn't watch this place for them, they said it was my duty to him, to tell them if anyone is snooping around," said the boy, who was absolutely scared to death, at the cold, murderous look in the older girl's eyes.
"Let up on him, Allison," said Harry in a stern voice and Allison just shot him a glare, rolling her eyes slightly, before she backed off. "Your duty to whom?"
"Don't hurt me, I'm not one of them, my parents are squibs, both of them, but I'm magic, the only reason I haven't been re-oriented yet is because I'm not a Mudblood…" stated the young boy who was trembling and Jade and Ginny had scowls on their faces, at the boy's blatant use of the "M-word". "They said if I stepped out of line, they would hurt us, before bringing us to her, the bad place, Weasley Manor and I'm sorry that I have to do this, but I don't want to go there."
The boy managed to pull out a wand and send a magical flare into the air, in the shape of a bright orange phoenix. Allison held her wand, but Harry shook his head.
"We have bigger problems on our hands," said Harry as several figures dressed in the bright orange robes of the Cult of the Phoenix walked forward, a young group of witches and wizards, from ages fourteen to about eighteen, all with wands trained on them. They were outnumbered about thirty to four.
"Well isn't this a bonus, two Potters and a Riddle, and I thought this would just be a bunch of Muggles snooping around where they shouldn't be," asked a girl with long straight brown hair but the voice sounded very familiar to Harry and Ginny, even if she did not have her normally bushy brown hair.
"Hermione?" asked Ginny in a surprised voice, but the cold, callous look on her face, made Harry and Ginny realize very quickly this was not the Hermione that they knew before she died at the hands of Lucius Malfoy.
"And the traitor's here too, brilliant," said Hermione as she turned to the rest of the group, who looked at Ginny, along with Jade, Harry, and Allison with contempt. "Your mother would like to have a word with you, Ginevra, about you not fulfilling your duties by running off with these two. Honestly, you should have known that no one could escape their duties for our noble Phoenix Lord. However, if you come with us, our great leader may show some mercy for your misguided actions."
Harry waved his wand and a bright blast of light blinded their opponents, but it only served as a distraction long enough for them to get into position. As spells began to fly through the air, Harry felt this could have been worse. At least they were fighting inexperienced witches and wizards, but the number's game did kind of paint a grim picture of their chances but Harry did enjoy a good challenge from time to time.
-
"Looks to be the end of the tunnel," grunted Moody as he reached a hatch at the end. James moved forward to open the door but Moody blasted his hand away with his wand. "Think Potter, such an obvious exit may be rigged with traps."
Moody picked up a rock and flung it towards the door. The moment it touched, a blast of magical energy incinerated the rock into nothing.
"See Potter, that could have been your hand," lectured Moody as he held his wand, before he carefully managed to deconstruct each and every security measure placed on the door. It was a delicate process, as he did not want to trigger any secondary security measures placed on the door. After he checked his work a total of five times, he turned to Potter. "Keep your wand ready at all times but the door is as safe or as safe as anything will be."
Moody opened the door and they climbed inside, walking into another chamber. James hoped this would not be another tunnel and there would in fact be a way out, but suddenly several torches lit and footsteps appeared. Moody pointed his wand and sent a stunning spell right down the hallway. A groan and a figure thumped to the ground. More figures moved forward and suddenly James and Moody found themselves surrounded by a group of wizards in bright orange robes with the Phoenix stitched on the back of them but judging by the additional patch on the right side of their chests, they were not any run of the mill members of the Cult of the Phoenix.
"Dumbledore's Elite Security Force," breathed James in a surprised tone.
"Come quietly or we'll be forced to use force," said a balding wizard, but Moody just partially amused and partially irritated.
"Potter, I hope you've come ready to fight," said Moody gruffly as he attacked first, knocking another wizard out with a stunning spell before he blocked an organ shredding curse and repelled another wizard into a wall. "Because we're in for a hell of one right now."
And that's the end of Chapter Seven and I have nothing of value to add to what you've just read.
