It was the year 1997, nearly a thousand years after the founding of the first of the magical schools. Located deep in the Scottish highlands. The school was a port of call for Purebloods, the muggleborn, halfbloods, werewolves, politicians, and students from many lands.
It could be a dangerous place, but we all knowingly accepted the risks, because Hogwarts was our last, best hope for peace.
It failed.
But in the final years of the War, Hogwarts became something much greater: it became our last, best hope – for victory.
(adapted from the opening credits Babylon 5)
"The only thing that keeps a man going is energy. And what is energy but a love of life and all it holds"
Louis Auchincloss
Chapter Seven: Harry and Draco
Ministry of Magic Atrium, 01:00 28 June
Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister for Magic, was in a towering rage. He had been sat in his office reading through the newest law, he would be submitting to the Wizengamot, restricting werewolf travel, when he had been informed that Harry Potter was in the building to see him.
He had let himself believe that the youth had finally come around to his way of thinking. The publicity coup of having the boy-that-lived backing his plans would be immensely valuable to maintaining civil order in the increasingly chaotic Wizarding community. People were attacking his Aurors without warning, only that day three guarding the Bell residence had been hospitalised by a violent stranger, attacking without any provocation. The man had been skilled and savage, a dangerous individual, despite his lack of magic use.
Then the Death Eater alarm had been raised in the Atrium, the highly trained four-man Ministry protection detail that comprised his bodyguard had quickly taken steps to lockdown his office, allowing no one in or out until the all clear had sounded.
Now surrounded by his protection detail and several dozen recently returned Aurors and other Ministry personnel he was standing in the shattered remains of the Atrium, he had heard the report of the watch wizard, how Harry Potter and an as yet unidentified Auror had entered shortly before the attack.
The most worrying report was that Peter Pettigrew had been freed from within the Ministry itself, it wasn't the act itself that was worrying, it was the implied information that even the Ministry wasn't safe that would damage his standing should the information become public.
Now he was listening to the report of the only Auror, who had been able to actually identify one of the attackers, and he felt his rage bleed away to be replaced with a feeling of smug satisfaction, finally, finally he could take action!
"It was Harry, I mean Potter, sir. He snatched Wormtail with the help of one other unidentified man, dressed in muggle military clothing and armed with a muggle weapon. Minister, you have to understand, the boy is overwrought at the abduction earlier tonight of his girlfriend Miss Ginevra Weasley, and he isn't thinking straight, he cannot be held accountable for his actions!"
Scrimgeour casually waved aside the comment.
"That boy has been nothing but a thorn in my side from the moment I took over. His name is a rallying point for all of those that oppose me in the Wizengamot, Dumbledore's protégé, the supposed golden child, now I finally have what I need to do something about it. I'll have his wand snapped for this. For aiding and abetting in the escape of a convicted Death Eater, He'll go to Azkaban for life! Thank you Auror Tonks, go and get yourself checked out by a healer"
Scrimgeour was feeling so smug and self absorbed he missed the flash of anger that filled her face for a brief moment as Tonks walked away. The pain in her chest suddenly fading into insignificance, her eyes filling with tears, for the first time since she had embarked on her Auror career she felt torn between helping a friend and upholding the law, maybe this was why Aurors only mixed with other Aurors, to avoid this terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She had wounded Harry, quite badly. She had thought he was a Death Eater and had reacted instinctively. 'I must tell Remus' she thought, wherever he was now, Harry was going to need medical attention.
"Alright, listen up, I want all available Ministry personnel, not just Aurors, everybody, to be ready in an hour. Potter will have returned to the Weasley residence, and I want him and everyone found near him in custody by the end of the night. Should Potter or any of those found with him resist…then I hereby authorize the use of lethal force. I want this little upstart stopped by any means necessary"
Tonks knew her duty, however hard it would be to carry out, lay with the Ministry, and despite the pain she felt inside about turning her back on her friends, turning her back on Remus, she had taken an oath to uphold the law, even if that meant arresting Harry and sending him to Azkaban for the rest of his life.
OoOoO
Somewhere Else
Harry screamed, as pain beyond all imagining exploded inside him, it seemed as if his very bones were on fire. It felt as if his head would split in two down his lightning bolt scar. Harry longed for it to stop, he wanted to pass out, but the curse rolled on and on, he could hear Voldemort's evil laugh above the sound of his own screams. Pettigrew had taken turns with Voldemort, casting and re-casting the torture curse.
Then it suddenly stopped, and Harry found himself lying on his uninjured side, his head resting limply on the cold stone floor of the circular chamber, Voldemort stood over him cackling in enjoyment, Wormtail just behind him. Two Death Eaters wearing masks guarded the entrance to the chamber, both were watching him seemingly enjoying themselves hugely.
Harry found he was bathed in sweat and panting heavily. His entire body was one big horrendous ache, as if he had been pulled and stretched into shapes his body had never designed to be forced into. The entire chamber seemed to spin around him on multiple axis, and he felt sick to the pit of his belly.
Harry realised that if he was going to have any strength left in his body to act, then he had to do it soon, he had lost count of the number of times he had been subjected to the Cruciatus curse, and he didn't know how long he had been screaming for, time had lost all meaning for him.
His hand felt for his pocket, and he touched the three objects Thomas had slipped there earlier in the Ministry atrium, two of them were large and cylindrical in shape, and what had he called them? Flashbangs? The third was the soldiers flick knife. Thomas had wanted to give Harry his big black pistol, but Harry had shook his head. He had never touched a firearm in his life and was more likely to blow his own foot off than hit Voldemort. Harry wasn't really sure what he was going to do, but he knew the three muggle items were the only advantage he had.
"Well Harry, as much fun as that was I'm afraid the time has come for us to part company, I have so enjoyed your visit, please pass on my fondest regards to your parents and Dumbledore when you see them"
"I should think you will be seeing them before I do Tom!"
Harry purposefully tried to anger Voldemort by calling him by his real name, he hated it, because it reminded him of his muggle father and his less than pure bloodline.
Harry's plan succeeded only too well. Screaming in rage, Voldemort reached down and dragged him bodily from the floor by the front of his clothes, lifting him until not even the tips of Harry's toes were touching the floor. His magically constructed body gifted him with strength beyond that of a normal man and Voldemort dragged him so close their faces were almost touching.
"Still displaying the absurd bravery of a Gryffindor Potter, too bad there is no one here to see your last pitiful piece of defiance, once I am finished with you, I may go and entertain myself with miss Weasley, she was actually rather attractive, after het treatment at the hands of my followers, she might even appreciate my attention"
Harry closed his eyes against that image, Voldemort forcing himself upon Ginny, it was something he could not allow to get any deeper into his subconscious.
"Oh come now Tom, how are you going to do that? We both know that all your dangly bits fell off long ago!"
With a scream of rage, Voldemort threw the boy across the chamber away from him with savage force.
Harry struck the far wall hard, driving the breath from his body, and slid down it, landing on his injured shoulder. White hot pain lanced through his body and he struggled to stay conscious. He found himself focusing on Ginny's smiling face, he had to fight to stay awake, and after all, the only reason he was here was to rescue her and Helen Bell.
His vision wavered but he won the fight to stay conscious. Pushing himself upright with his back pressed against the wall and gathering his legs beneath him, Harry looked down at the two circular bits of metal in the palm of his hand, and smiled. Voldemort had been too busy being angry at him to notice Harry had slipped the muggle Flashbangs into his robes. Squeezing his eyes shut, Harry thrust his fingers into his ears, not a moment too soon.
BOOM!!
Voldemort was propelled backwards through the air like an out of control spinning top, landing atop Pettigrew and sending them both to floor in a tangle of dark wizard arms and legs, he might have screamed but Harry's hearing was temporarily destroyed by the detonation of the two devices. The echo of the detonation, amplified by the enclosed space seemed almost as if it was a physical barrier, and if Harry hadn't known what was coming and prepared for it, at that close a range he doubted he could have remained conscious.
Harry was up in an instant, recovering quicker than any of the others in the chamber and moving as fast as he could force his exhausted, pain wracked body to go, he stumbled for the exit to the smoke filled chamber, ignoring everything else except his overriding need to find Ginny and to escape.
He placed his foot upon something circular, one of the now useless flashbangs, and he teetered trying to keep his footing before crashing painfully back to the floor. A curse flashed over his head, bare inches away from him. Coughing at the smoke now filling the chamber, Harry scrambled on all fours still fighting towards the exit.
Feeling suddenly stronger than he had even a moment ago, Harry dragged himself to his feet and following the wall moved towards the exit. A figure holding a wand appeared out of the smoke in front of him, coughing and spluttering and holding his ears. Wormtail! The evil man smiled and cackled madly as he saw Harry and reached out to grab the youth's dark clothing. But Harry had been prepared for this and struck out with the flick knife Thomas had slipped him.
The blade pierced Wormtail through the palm of his normal hand and projected out the back, the blade slipped free and Harry lunged again striking the dark wizard in the arm. The man shrieked and held his injured limb to his chest. Harry pushed him savagely aside and ran on.
A powerful curse flashed through the air and struck the wall in front of him, exploding a storm of razor sharp stone fragments into his path, but despite the sudden pain, he didn't stop. Legs pumping hard, he stumbled up the stairs and into the corridor, bouncing off the walls like a drunken man, leaving bloody smears in his wake.
Just when safety loomed, something reached out and seized a hold of his leg and slammed him into the floor, and burning pain flared at the top of his thigh, using the wall for stability, Harry dragged himself back to his feet and stumbled on. Every step burned with an agony that made his eyes run, but he kept going.
The corridor had many portraits of blond wizards, many were yelling abuse at him. Some of the pictures seemed very familiar to him, a shared ancestry that he should have known if only his mind was working at top speed. The corridor took a left turn but there was a door in front of him, and he hit the door with his good shoulder while turning the handle. It was solidly locked against him, so he moved on.
At the end of the corridor was a grand and opulent double staircase that split at the landing, with some magnificent carvings, mostly of snakes, and large tapestries upon the walls. The staircase led both up and down. At the top was a magnificent domed skylight that appeared to be enchanted in a similar fashion to the roof of the main hall at Hogwarts.
From below, three Death Eaters were charging upwards, but without a wand, and only a small knife as a weapon there was nothing he could do, so he turned upwards and climbed the left hand set of stairs as fast as he could.
But it just wasn't fast enough, he couldn't make much speed, his thigh was burning so badly he was forced into a limp, and with every step he took, the Death Eaters closed the distance between them and him. He had no defence, if only he had his wand, but Harry knew his wand was safely at the burrow.
One of the Death Eaters threw a cutting hex at him, and Harry had to throw himself flat to avoid it, due to the curve of the staircase and the height of the solid banister rail, he was hidden from their view for a moment. He lay there on his side, panting at the exertion.
He felt so damn helpless, he felt almost naked without his wand in his hand, for a moment he remembered with fondness the feel of the wood in his hand, the weight, how it felt when the power flowed through him.
He heard the footsteps on the stairs coming ever closer, he really needed his wand, and without it he wouldn't be able to defend himself against the Death Eaters or to rescue Ginny, he'd never needed anything in his life more than he needed his wand right now.
OoOoO
The Burrow
Thomas was sat at the kitchen table, gratefully drinking the warm tea that Molly had provided, he was laughing at the twins description of how they had first met Harry on platform 9¾ , Thomas was really trying hard to put the stresses of the night behind him, anything to take his mind off his missing sister.
Thomas suddenly remembered what Harry had given him in the Atrium, reaching into his pocket Thomas touched the wand, and after a moments hesitation he pulled it out.
"Oi George, Harry asked if you'd look after this for him"
Thomas lobbed the wand in a gentle under hand throw, George held out his hand ready to snatch the wand out of the air with his Quidditch trained reflexes.
But the wand never arrived in George's hand, Thomas traced the arc of the wands flight with his eyes and watched it simply disappear as if it had never been there. Thomas looked at George in puzzlement, and George looked just as bewildered, no one else other than Fred had noticed the disappearance, and for the moment the three men decided to keep it that way.
OoOoO
Somewhere Else
Harry looked down in stunned amazement at the wand in his hand, it had just appeared without a sound. It took a long moment for his brain to accept it was real and not a figment of his tortured imagination. Harry clutched the precious piece of wood tightly in his fist and felt the familiar power flow through him, it was if a bright ray of sunlight had fallen upon him.
Standing, Harry found that he faced two of his opponents, with no sign of the third, he had a broad smile on his face. Seeing their unarmed victim suddenly appear above them holding a wand and smiling at them made the two Death Eaters pause for a moment, it was all the time Harry needed.
"Protego!" Casting the shield charm, Harry casually deflected both the Reducto and the cutting hex thrown at him. If there was one thing Harry was exceptionally talented at, it was the shield charm. Merlin knew he got enough practice.
"Reducto!" His carefully aimed return fire hit the staircase at the Death Eaters feet, blowing them both over, but despite their injuries they were both back on their feet in seconds. The time however allowed Harry to climb a dozen steps higher up the staircase.
The two Death Eaters split up, increasing the distance between them and making Harry split his own spell fire, while still shielding himself from theirs.
Harry found himself being driven back up the staircase, and with the injuries he had already suffered, he was tiring quickly, his breath coming now in pants. He had to finish this quickly, before his strength failed him completely.
'Use your environment to your advantage' he remembered something from one of lessons the false Alastair Moody had taught, a practical lesson about duelling. Duelling competitions were held in large open areas where there was nothing to interfere with the duel, but practical duels very rarely occurred in such wide-open spaces.
Harry looked up and grinned.
"Protego!" His shield charm blocked another round of incoming fire.
"Diffindo!"
The severing charm worked as advertised, and the tapestry hanging in the staircase began to slide down the wall.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
With a swish and a flick, Harry levitated the heavy tapestry into position, and then released it. Without warning it fell covering the entire width of the stairs, covering both Death Eaters in folds of heavy material.
"Incendio!"
With a last touch Harry set the tapestry on fire, with the Death Eaters still trapped underneath it. There were cries, and then screams from the two trapped men, but Harry had already turned to climb the stairs.
He came face to face with the third Death Eater, the man had rushed up the opposite staircase and crossed the landing to come down behind him and catch him unawares, and it had worked, the Death Eaters wand tip was levelled at his heart, while his was down by his side.
Harry recognised this man, Walden Macnair, one time executioner of magical beasts for the Ministry, he had also faced Harry in the Department of Mysteries. The last Harry heard the man was serving a long sentence in Azkaban.
"Stupefy!"
Macnair looked at Harry with utter disbelief, before sliding to the floor unconscious, Harry was just as confused as the Death Eater, his wand hadn't even twitched, and someone else must have stunned the man.
"Come on Potter, don't just stand there with your mouth hanging open, get up here!"
The voice was immediately recognisable, Harry had heard it so many times sneering at him over the past six years, and he had last heard it that fateful night on top of the astronomy tower. The night Dumbledore had died.
Draco Malfoy stood at the top of the stairs, Harry was shocked at the sight of him, the Slytherin appeared ill, he was gaunt with hollow cheeks, and he had big dark circles under his eyes. He appeared to have lost a lot of weight, his robes seemed to be almost hanging off of him.
"Come on Potter, Move it!"
Without waiting for a response, Draco turned and disappeared down the corridor. Harry found himself stumbling after, not entirely sure why. This was Draco Malfoy, a hated presence in his life for six years, the cause of most of his trouble at school, responsible for attacks on him and his friends, why in Merlin's name would Draco be helping him?
By the time Harry had ascended the stairs, Draco was waiting in an open doorway leading off the corridor.
"Today Potter! Bloody hell if you were this quick on a broom we'd have won a lot more Quidditch games!"
Holding the door open, Draco ushered Harry inside, and shut the door behind him.
Harry had his wand levelled at Draco before the door had even shut, for a long moment the two youths just stood there and looked at each other over Harry's levelled wand.
"Put the wand away Potter, if I had wanted you harmed I'd have let Macnair have you!"
"Why didn't you? Why did you of all people help me Malfoy? Gotten tired of being a Death Eater already?"
Harry spat the words out, and was surprised when Draco flinched away from him and dropped his eyes to the floor, this was far from the confident, arrogant jerk he remembered from school.
"I must be hard for you to understand, Saint perfect Potter, the golden child, but I made a mistake, a bloody huge mistake, one I'm trying to correct, and for your information, I'm not now, nor have I ever been a Death Eater!"
Draco rolled up both sleeves, revealing nothing but bare skin on both forearms. Then ignoring the wand Harry was holding in his face he crossed the room to a wardrobe and touched an intricate carving of a snake. There was a rumble and the wardrobe swung away from the wall, revealing a long dark passageway.
"I know why you're here Potter, and if you want to get out of here you had better follow me. Lumos!"
With that Draco stepped into the passageway, his brightly lit wand tip guiding the way, Harry looked once at the door to the room, then shrugged and limped into the passageway, it was not as if he had a choice, lighting his own wand he followed Draco into the darkness. The passageway led down in a tight spiral, and Harry guessed it would come out in a room somewhere on the first floor.
Draco paused in the passageway ahead, and turned to face him, he had a wary, almost frightned look on his face.
"Before we enter the next room, I want your word on something Potter, I know your word means something, which is why I'm asking for it. I want your word you will let me explain before you take any action, do you agree"
Harry regarded Draco for a moment, and then nodded. Draco pushed on a hidden button and there was another rumble and light spilled into the passageway. Draco entered first followed by Harry.
The room was large, and had a comfortable feel to it. The first thing Harry saw was the bed, a large extravagant four-poster, and the two figures that lay in it.
"Oh sweet Merlin, Ginny!"
Harry limped across the room as fast as his injuries would allow him and knelt down painfully beside the bed, Ginny's face was an awful mess, her beautiful features even more bruised and swollen than they had been that morning, her lips were split and her entire face was covered in dried blood. Even her arm, protruding from under the covers, was covered in black and purple bruises, taking a hold of the covers, Harry steeled himself for the worst, and lifted them aside.
Harry and Ginny's relationship had not progressed beyond the kissing stage, although the way he felt about her was deadly serious, he had been terribly afraid of moving too fast and pushing her away, he still didn't quite understand what she saw in him. So although he regularly saw her naked in his dreams, he had never seen her anywhere near naked in reality.
Nothing in his entire life had prepared Harry for the sight that greeted him under those covers.
Her legs, her arms, her neck, no part of her body had escaped the bruising, hideous purples and blacks marked her beautiful white alabaster skin. The bruising on her legs continued above the level of her skirt, and there were obvious livid red handprints on her thighs.
Ginny's blouse was ripped, torn and horribly blood soaked, although Harry really didn't want to look, he felt he had to, he needed to know how badly injured she was. He took a deep breath, and slowly reached down and gently lifted the two sides of the ruined blouse aside.
Harry felt the bile rise in his throat, and with a sense of panic he had to work hard at not being sick, Ginny's breasts were covered in red handprints and deep purple bruises, there were even red teeth marks. There was barely any unmarked skin on her breasts, ribcage or torso, and down one side was especially heavily bruised.
Gently placing the covers back over Ginny's body, Harry snuck a look at Helen, she thankfully appeared to be untouched.
Harry felt an anger starting to grow inside of him the likes of which he had never known, it made the hair on his head seem to prickle from a static charge. The room actually started to groan from the build up of magical energy, Draco took a step back as the rage seemed to physically radiate from Harry. The energy he had expelled in the incident with his aunt Marge paled beside this moment. That this had happened to Ginny, after he had promised her he would protect her, his insides grew cold and hard, he wanted to lash out at the only other person that seemed responsible.
Harry spun and held out his hand, he was so angry he never even noticed that he had placed his wand on the bed beside Ginny.
"Accio wand!"
Draco's wand flew to his outstretched hand and he tossed it aside.
"You are only still alive now because you made me give you my word, start talking Malfoy, and for your sake I hope it's good"
"Threatening me won't change what has happened! And in your condition you couldn't take me on anyway!"
Another wand appeared in Draco's hand from somewhere inside his robes, but to Harry's surprise rather than take the expected shot at him, Draco threw the wand onto the bed.
"Listen to me Potter, all you need to know right now is that neither of them was actually raped, I managed to prevent that at least, I wasn't in time to prevent the assault on Weasley, and for that I am truly sorry!"
Draco started pacing by the bed, in front of a large desk that sat in a corner of the room, running his fingers through his blond hair.
"You need to understand me clearly Potter, I'm not a good person, and I won't pretend to be something I'm not, I have done some truly terrible things, things I spend every waking minute of every day regretting. My choices up to this point have been extremely poor, but I am trying so very hard to put that right, to make some good choices for a change, a bad person does not have to be an evil one. Maybe there is a chance I haven't left it too late."
Harry felt the anger bleed away as he listened, Draco's voice was soft and full of anguish, Harry looked at him and wondered what had happened to the Draco he had known for six years at Hogwarts, Draco the bully, Draco the liar, Draco the cheat. Something quite fundamental had changed in the blond youth's personality.
"Dumbledore once told me something similar, he said that it was our choices that show us for what we really are, that define us. Did you know that in my first year the sorting hat very nearly placed me in Slytherin house?"
Draco turned to look at him, with an interested yet puzzled expression on his face.
"No, I didn't know, why didn't it?"
"Because I asked it not to. Its all about the choices we make Malfoy, I'm going to make a choice now, one I hope I won't regret, I am going to chose to trust you. Why don't you tell me what brought about your change of heart."
Draco regarded him for a moment, as if weighing every word he was about to utter.
"I was doing some research, you know we have always tried to prove the Malfoy's are direct descendents of Salazar Slytherin."
Harry nodded and waved for him to continue.
"Well I couldn't prove that, but I got sidetracked into bloodlines of other families, do you want to know what I found, do you know which pure blood family has the purest bloodline."
Harry wasn't sure he wanted to know, he had never cared how pure someone's bloodline was.
"It's the Weasley's! They have the purest blood of us all, can you imagine how that information rocked my world? Hell, even your bloodline Potter is purer that mine. Since that day my eyes have been truly opened to our world, I have come to realise that everything I was ever told has turned out to be a lie, all the pure blood superiority that I had stuffed down my throat from such an early age, it's a fantasy. I've found myself on the wrong side of a line, and I'm trying to hard to get back to the other side, to put right some very bad choices on my part. I was planning to escape anyway, but when Weasley and the child arrived…"
"Her name's Helen" Harry interrupted.
"Whatever…when they arrived, I knew I couldn't leave without them, apparently I'm becoming a better person against my own better judgement. Anyway the dark lord tortured Weasley for a while, seems he was expecting you, and he was a little disappointed at the new arrivals to say the least."
Harry scowled at such an offhand description of the pain inflicted on his girlfriend, his own bouts of the torture curse were still too fresh in his memory, and he shuddered.
Draco noticed the shudder and bent down, opening a draw in the desk and pulled out a chocolate frog, and after a moments hesitation chucked it to Harry and pulled out another for himself.
"Voldy then gave them both to three Death Eaters, who I happen to know like them…young shall we say, anyway, I recovered Weasley's wand from the floor and took after them as soon as I could. When I got there they were arguing over who got to go first, they weren't pleased to see me, and we had…a bit of a disagreement."
"What the hell does that mean Malfoy?" Harry snapped.
"It means I took on three Death Eaters to protect your girlfriend Potter, you could show a little gratitude! I had to kill one of them for Merlin's sake!"
Harry looked at Draco with new eyes, he had killed to keep Ginny safe? He looked into his enemies gray eyes and didn't need Legilimency to know he spoke the truth, the pain and raw emotion were displayed there for all to see, Draco had indeed been forced to kill on Ginny's behalf.
"Most of the blood isn't hers, its Jugson's, when I first reached her I thought she was dead, she just lay there so still. When she came round she thought I was one of them, that I had come to hurt her and she wouldn't let me touch her, but I really had to get them both out of that room before anyone came looking for the three Death Eaters. I had to stun her to get her here safely, and for that I am sorry, but I had no choice."
Harry accepted this fact at face value, he was having a hard enough time trusting Draco, for Ginny in the condition she must have been in, it would have been impossible.
"So what now?"
Draco moved to the wardrobe and pulled out a worn pack and a travelling cloak from inside, the pack appeared to be already full as Draco slung it over his shoulders, he had obviously been preparing for this moment for some time.
"Well, now Potter I think its time we made our escape don't you!"
"I'm open to suggestions Malfoy"
"Look behind you, see anything that takes your fancy?"
Harry turned, and looked at where Draco was pointing, hanging on the wall were two broomsticks, Harry smiled. The first was a Nimbus 2001, it looked a little worn, but well cared for. The second was a firebolt, the same as Harry's own broom. They were the two fastest, most expensive brooms on the market.
"Oh yeah, this has definite possibilities!"
"Thought you might say that, we need to get clear of the apparation wards around the mansion, this seems as good a way as any."
"The mansion?" Harry looked quizzically at Draco.
"Yes, I'd like to be the first to officially welcome you to Malfoy Manor, sorry for the impolite greeting on your arrival"
Draco was grinning at him, it was contagious, despite their years of rivalry, and Harry felt himself grinning back.
"When the dark lord arrives on your doorstep and tells you that he's taking over your home, its not like I had a choice, father was in Azkaban…"
"WAS!"
"Yeah was, all of the Death Eaters are out now, not sure how"
"That's just bloody marvellous!"
Suddenly there an explosion from somewhere below them, and the entire building shook. A voice seemed to reverberate off the walls themselves.
"Harry come out, come out wherever you are! It's not like a Potter to run Harry! Your father faced me like a man, why won't you!"
Harry scowled at the mention of his father he turned to face Draco.
"I think its time we were leaving, don't you?"
Draco smiled and recovered the two wands from the bed.
"Absolutely, I'll take the girl…Helen on the Nimbus, you know the firebolt better"
Harry nodded, and turned and took the nimbus from the wall, he slung it across the room and Draco deftly caught it, then Harry reached up and grabbed the firebolt. Despite it being the same identical model as his broom, it somehow felt different in his hands.
Moving to the bed, Harry carefully folded Ginny's arms across her chest, and then using one of the large double sheets he created a cocoon that held her tight and left only her head exposed. The sheet was large enough to form a body sling that would hopefully allow him to carry Ginny in front of him and ride the broomstick at the same time.
Tying the sling and fastening it with a sticking charm, Harry stood. And nearly passed out as a wave of pain shot through him, the knot of the sling was pressing against his injured shoulder, he could feel the wetness spreading down his back as the blood started to flow from the wound again.
Leaning against the bed, Harry closed his eyes and took several deep breaths trying to steady himself, he had come so far, and he couldn't fail Ginny now.
"Ready Potter? Are you ok?"
Draco had gathered Helen up in a similar fashion as he had with Ginny, and stood with the Nimbus in his hand, the small figure in the white sheet across his broad chest.
"Yeah, I'm fine, let's go, you lead Malfoy, it is your house after all"
Harry spoke through gritted teeth, his vision was swimming and for the first time in his life he actually had trouble mounting a broomstick. Once he was mounted securely the pain eased, the Firebolt supported some of Ginny's weight, easing the pressure on his shoulder.
Draco took a last long look around the room, there was uncertainty on his face as he turned his back on the comfortable life he had lived for over sixteen years. Then he turned away and he mounted the Nimbus and pointing his wand at the door, blew it right off its hinges.
Then without a word he sped out into the corridor, pulled a ninety degree turn using the corridors far wall and vanished from sight, Harry kicked off hard and followed.
It was incredibly hard to control the broom with one hand, his injured arm seemed to be just hanging limply by his side now, and he couldn't even feel where the sling was pressing on the wound. But Harry was an exceptional flyer, it was if he decided where he wanted to go, and it just happened at an instinctive level.
Making the turn in Draco's wake, Harry accelerated keeping tucked in tight behind the Nimbus, arriving at the staircase the two youths surprised a group of Death Eaters coming up the stairs, forcing them to scatter for cover as the two youths zoomed through the space the group had previously occupied.
Draco pointed his wand above his head and began firing Reducto curses at the domed skylight far above their heads, seeing what the blond haired youth intended, Harry added his own spell fire, guiding the broom with his knees.
Spiralling downwards inside the curve of the large staircase, Harry kept one eye on the Death Eaters and his other on the skylight, the dark wizards were picking themselves up and drawing wands. But the skylight was cracking and beginning to come apart under the magical assault.
A curse flashed downwards, narrowly missing Draco.
"Malfoy we have to go now!"
Draco nodded sharply once and kicked his broom into a vertical climb, he continued firing curses right up until the moment he crashed into, and through the skylight. Harry took a deep breath and followed.
The firebolt climbed, but not with usual speed he was accustomed to, it was substantially overloaded and struggled for altitude. Aiming for the hole Draco had already made, Harry ducked his head and then he was through into the night's sky.
Looking around him Harry saw Draco floating about thirty feet away, with his head bent over, sliding over towards him Harry reached out and touched his shoulder.
"Malfoy, are you ok?"
Draco looked up, he had a nasty looking cut in his forehead that was bleeding freely down his face, and he looked even paler than he usually did, shaking his head from side to side to clear it, he gave Harry a weak smile.
"I think I should have ducked lower, we had better get out of here"
Harry nodded and watched as Draco accelerated away, leaning down over his broom, Harry followed, tucking in to the right and slightly behind Draco's broom. He thought it was perhaps the first time he and Draco had ever flown in formation together.
Perhaps only a minute had passed as they zipped along at tree top height, but the hairs on the back of Harry's neck were standing up, and something made him glance back over his shoulder. The mansion was a fast receding blur of light in the night's sky, for a moment Harry couldn't see anything that could possibly be a threat.
Then he saw them, a tight arrowhead formation of broomsticks moving steadily up on them.
"Malfoy! We have company!"
Draco looked back over his shoulder, and nodded.
"I think Voldy's missing you already Potter, what do you say we try and pick up the pace a bit?"
Draco leant down further over the Nimbus, the pack he wore making him look like a hunchback, Harry leant forward too, urging every last iota of speed from the already overloaded firebolt. It did not take long to figure out it wasn't working.
"They're still gaining Malfoy!"
"I know. We can't outrun them Potter! Not while carrying passengers!"
"Well leaving the girls behind isn't an option either, as I see it that only leaves one solution!"
Draco grinned at him, having reached the same conclusion.
"That clearing, down there looks suitable, what do you think my dear Gryffindor?"
"Splendid choice my dear Slytherin!"
The two youths dived down into the large clearing, coming to a halt at the edge of the trees, both dismounted and carefully laid their precious bundles down behind a large tree. Leaving their broomsticks hidden along with Draco's pack, the two youths stepped out into the centre of the clearing.
Harry drew his wand and flexed his healthy shoulder, his thigh would barely support his weight now, and he felt decidedly ill. Draco had drawn his own wand, and pulled out another wand that felt very familiar, Harry knew it should have registered back in the room, but he had been concentrating on other things.
"That's Ginny's wand!"
"And when she's awake she can have it back, I think my need is a little greater than hers right now"
"Yeah, I suppose you have a point there"
The two youths grinned at each other for a second, before turning to watch the skies, they waited in silence for a moment, before the first of the pursuing broomsticks appeared over the treetops, quickly followed by five more. The six Death Eaters landed at the far edge of the clearing and dismounted, they conferred briefly, before stepping forward, spreading out around the clearing edge.
None of them wore their customary masks, but Harry only recognised two of them, Nott and Goyle, all six had determined expressions on their faces.
"Potter, not that it makes any difference, but it was Nott and Goyle, along with Jugson that assaulted Weasley"
Draco hissed the message to him before moving slightly to his left, creating some distance between the two youths. Harry narrowed his eyes at the two Death Eaters, and the anger he felt at seeing Ginny's body flared hot inside him, he was so angry he felt his shoulders shaking with rage. He tried to control his anger, he needed to use his head to duel, not listen to his raging heart.
The image of Ginny's abused body lying there on the bed tore at him, he had failed her, he had promised to not let anyone hurt her, yet these animals still had. They had laid their filthy hands on the beautiful body of his girlfriend, and Harry wanted nothing more than to kill them.
"If you leave now, you can live, if you stay none of you will!"
The Death Eaters laughed at what sounded to their ears an idle threat, six to two odds, and one of those was swaying so much that he could barely stand, this would be over quickly.
"Malfoy what are you doing with him? I would suspect maybe an Imperius curse, but i know saint Potter would never cast such a thing. Your father will pay for your betrayal, it will ensure that he loses his place at the dark lord's right hand."
Nott grinned at Draco as if expecting the blond youth to run over and stand beside him. When Draco didn't move Nott frowned and turned to Harry.
"Where's that cute little red head of yours Potter, we never got to finish what we started, she was oh so sweet, when we eventually find her, we are going to take our time and really enjoy ourselves"
Nott was baiting him, trying to make him angry enough to make a stupid mistake, what they couldn't know was that Harry had past beyond the point of simple anger, he was completely focused now on the task ahead of him.
"Malfoy?"
Harry spoke through gritted teeth.
"Yes Potter?"
"I'm going to kill them all!"
Draco grinned.
"I know, lead off whenever you're ready, I'll be right behind you."
Harry nodded and continued to study the slowly advancing Death Eaters, they obviously didn't consider the two teens a threat, they really should of, and here's why.
"Reducto!"
Harry, with a slash of his wand, threw the first curse at the nearest Death Eater, the man tried to cast a shielding charm, but was nowhere near quick enough, the curse caught him on his shoulder, and in a spray of blood the man went down screaming in pain.
Draco threw a bone removing curse, striking a Death Eater drawing an aim on Harry, the man's wand arm fell limply down by his side.
Suddenly the entire clearing lit up from spell fire as eight men all dressed in black tried their very hardest to kill each other, curse and counter-curse flew back and forth. Draco was a blond haired blur, constantly moving, rolling, dodging, firing offensive spells from both wands, his only defence resting in his speed and agility.
Harry knew that with his thigh as injured as it was that if he moved it was a distinct possibility he would fall flat on his face, so he didn't move at all, he just stood there casting shielding charms and curses as fast as he could in the hope that none of the Death Eaters could keep up.
A Death Eater drew a bead on Draco's unprotected back, Harry levelled his wand and several possible spells flashed into his mind, he could disarm, stun or body bind the man. But Harry wasn't in that frame of mind. He pictured Ginny's bruised body, her face. That was all the encouragement he needed.
"Sectumsempra!"
A line of red fire traced across the Death Eaters back, opening his flesh down to his spine, the man fell to the floor screaming in pain, Harry shut his ears to the cries and chose another target.
The ground exploded at his feet from a poorly cast blasting curse, Harry sank to one knee to steady himself for a moment before rising back to his feet, the first Death Eater had also regained his feet, blood pouring from his shoulder.
Harry levitated a tree trunk from the edge of the clearing and with a groan of effort, magically tossed it at the man. It struck him firmly between the shoulder blades ending his life most assuredly.
The Death Eater with the back injury was also lying face down and still in a rapidly expanding pool of blood. But if anything this made the four survivors fight all the harder, knowing now that they faced two opponents of some considerable skill.
Draco rolled under a killing curse and blasted the man from his feet with a well-aimed Reducto in reply, the last unknown Death Eater, the man with a boneless arm, fired another killing curse at him, which narrowly missed. Draco returned fire and saw his curse hit the Death Eater in the face, killing him instantly.
The odds suddenly evened, the two remaining Death Eaters seemed to Harry less sure of themselves, casting furtive glances at the sky for reinforcements.
"You can still leave here with your lives."
Harry spoke, but knew his words fell on deaf ears.
"So, two on two, who do you want, Nott or Goyle?"
Draco could have been discussing the weather, he sounded so calm and together.
"I want Nott."
"Right you are."
Draco moved across behind Harry so that Harry faced Nott and he faced Goyle.
"When I have finished with you Potter, I am going to find your little red head, she cannot be far away, and I'm going to rape her again and again until she pleads for death, and then I'm going to put her under the Imperius curse and keep her, like a sort of pet, to be passed around at parties! I can see that she will be very popular!"
Harry faced Nott with less than ten feet separating them, both men had thier wands at thier sides, each waiting for the other to move, a standoff that reminded Harry of several western movies he had seen.
"You Death Eaters always talk too much!"
"Sectumsempra!"
"Reducto!"
The two curses were screamed loudly, neither man made any attempt to defend themselves, the two curses crossed at the midpoint. Harry's aim was perfect and his Reducto curse hit Nott level with his heart, the blunt force trauma was enough to liquefy the heart muscle completely, killing the Death Eater before he hit the floor.
Harry, using the last of his strength, in combination with his seeker reflexes had already started to throw himself backwards as he fired, Nott's curse struck him a blow in the side, gouging a bloody trench across his torso, before exploding harmlessly against a tree. Harry felt a moment of blinding pain, then a sort of wet sucking numbness. He staggered back a pace struggling to stay upright, but his body seemed to have given up the fight.
Harry fell to the ground heavily and screamed in pain as the fall jarred his earlier injury. He tried to draw a breath and found he couldn't, it was like having someone sitting on his chest, and there was an enormous pressure preventing air from getting in to his lungs.
He suddenly felt unbelievably tired and cold, all he wanted to do was lay there until sleep claimed him. He stared up at the stars in the night sky, it really did look quite beautiful tonight, he would have enjoyed the chance to share such a fantastic view with Ginny, but that wasn't going to happen now.
What a damn shame, to have it all end like this, alone in the dark in some wood, he had done his best. At least Draco would be able to get Ginny and Helen safely home, and Draco would be able to tell her that Harry hadn't given up on her, he would never have given up on her.
Closing his eyes and welcoming the pain free blackness, the last thing that went through Harry's mind was how much he would miss not having a future with Ginny Weasley.
OoOoO
Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Professor Minerva McGonagall, she still couldn't bring herself to use the title headmistress, sat in Albus Dumbledore's office and cried. She was not known for her outbursts of emotion and would never dream of such a display in front of a pupil. But in the privacy of her office in front of two of her dearest friends, she felt she could let her barriers down a little.
Professor Filius Flitwick and Madam Poppy Pomfrey cried too, they were all grieving for the loss of their friend Dumbledore. It had come as a shattering blow to them all, the man had seemed somehow almost immortal.
Sniffing loudly, and blowing her nose into her lace handkerchief, McGonagall smiled her thanks for the support of her friends just for being there for her.
Suddenly one of the devices on the shelf near the empty perch where a phoenix had once sat, began to trill loudly. Rising from her seat, McGonagall crossed to the device, her heart hammering in her chest, she hoped she had got it wrong, that it wasn't the device she thought it was. But her worst fears were realised.
Flitwick watched concerned, as his friend clutched at the shelf for support, and when she turned to face them she had gone as white as a sheet.
"Minerva, whatever is wrong?"
"Its Harry Potter, Filius, he's very near death, I need to Floo Molly and Arthur Weasley straight away, he was supposed to have been going there, Poppy can you gather some supplies, your services are going to be needed"
OoOoO
The woods near Malfoy Manor
Get up Harry you need to get up!
But Hermione, I just want to sleep, will you just let me sleep.
Harry Potter! Get up! Ginny needs you to take her home, you promised her!
Harry sat bolt upright screaming Ginny's name, and found himself being supported in the arms of Draco Malfoy.
"Oh thank Merlin, I thought you'd gone and died on me Potter"
There was no faking the relief in Draco's tone of voice.
"You should be so lucky Malfoy, help me up"
Draco pulled Harry to his feet.
"Goyle?"
"After you took down Nott he apparated away, no doubt telling Voldy about how he faced down the entire Order of the Phoenix before escaping."
Harry laughed out loud, and immediately wished he hadn't, his chest was on fire with pain and he could no longer place any weight on his injured leg without the whole world spinning alarmingly.
Leaning on Draco heavily as support, Harry managed to get back to where they had left the two girls; they were both still unconscious, wrapped securely in their bundles. And the two brooms were still lent up the tree where they had been left.
"Are you strong enough to produce a portkey Potter?"
"Do I have a choice?"
Even to his own ears, his voice sounded weak and strained, he could never in his entire life remember feeling so exhausted.
Taking up the firebolt, Harry pointed his wand at Draco's bag and concentrated as hard as he could on the yard outside the Burrow, of the comfort and warmth it offered him, of the friends and family awaiting him there, at least for a short while.
"Portus!"
"Lets get the hell out of here!"
Lifting Ginny into his arms, Harry ignored the agony of his protesting body, if he could just get Ginny home to her parents, then he could rest, he had promised, and he always kept his promises.
Harry waited until Draco had gotten hold of Helen, and tucked the Nimbus under his arm, they both put a hand on the bag, and Harry willed them home.
OoOoO
The Burrow
Harry stumbled and fell to his knees when he was released by the effects of the portkey, but managed to keep hold of his precious bundle. Staggering back to his feet, Harry focused on the kitchen door, which seemed to sway and spin in his blurry and disorientating vision, forcing himself to place one foot in front of the other, Harry concentrated on moving forward.
He was having great difficulty remaining upright, his head was spinning, and he felt so cold, almost as if a Dementor was approaching. None of his wounds were hurting anymore, Harry wasn't sure but he didn't think that could be a good thing.
The Kitchen door opened, casting a halo of light out into the yard, Arthur appeared in the doorway, wand raised.
"Who is out there?"
Harry tried to speak, tried to reply to Arthur's question, to tell him how much he needed help, but only one word made it past his lips.
"Dad?"
"Harry, is that you?"
Arthur stepped out into the yard, squinting into the darkness, his eyes were not as young as they once were, and it took him a while to get his night vision.
Harry moved forward into the light, it was the only thing running through his mind, he must take Ginny home, he had promised, step, he must take Ginny home, he had promised, step.
He felt Arthur's arms around him, and he felt the warmth of family for so long denied to him, and he smiled, he done it, he had gotten Ginny home, he had fulfilled his promise.
"I told you I would bring her home, I always keep my promises"
Thrusting Ginny into her fathers' arms, Harry's thigh finally gave out and collapsed under his weight, Harry felt himself begin to fall, he wasn't looking forward to reaching the ground very much, which in his experience tended to hurt a lot.
He however never reached the ground, another pair of arms caught him and held him in a tight embrace, he looked up into the face of Molly Weasley, she was crying, her tears falling down her cheeks and onto him. Harry wanted to reach out to her, tell her everything would be all right, but his body wasn't doing what it was supposed to.
"Mum!"
Then the blackness claimed him for a second time.
OoOoO
Lovegood Residence
Ron looked about him, the kitchen was getting so over crowded, that the overflow was being forced into the lounge whether they wanted to go or not, it was an impressive turn out, and Ron felt an immense glow of pride within him for all these people, they had all turned up to help his friend.
Over in one corner he could see Katie and Luna deep in conversation, from the tears still running down Katie's cheeks Ron guessed it had something to do with tall dark haired man that had arrived with the twins.
The two had greeted each other rather stiffly to start with considering they were brother and sister, Ron suspected too many years had passed for them to be suddenly intimate. But after a few minutes the two had hugged each other as if desperate for the support the other could provide.
The twins had taken great pleasure in recounting their part in the raid on the Ministry, it sounded as if they had enjoyed themselves entirely too much. Then Thomas had told those assembled of his and Harry's success in carrying out the first part of the plan. Everyone had cheered and clapped, except Ron, he knew that for his friend the hard part had just started.
Jonas Lovegood acting as host and official record keeper of the nights activities had busied himself serving drinks and jotting down everyone's names in a large notebook, while Colin Creevey was using his camera to good effect, taking individual and group pictures on request.
Then Bill had dispatched the twins and Thomas to watch the Burrow, for a returning Harry, and the Ministry response they were all expecting, it had to come at some point, after all it was no secret where Harry would go.
Ron had a strange feeling that things were going to take a turn for the worst, and his suspicions were confirmed when he spied two masses of flaming red hair deep in conversation, across the kitchen by the open door.
Bill was talking intently to George in the open doorway, both had serious expressions on their faces. George was still clutching his broom and a 'borrowed' invisibility cloak.
Pushing his way through the crowded throng, Ron approached his two brothers with the sound of his heart pounding loudly in his ears, George would only have returned if he had news, and from the look on his face it wasn't good news.
"Listen up everybody"
Bill had turned and addressed the room, the noise level quickly tapered off.
"He did it, Harry has just returned to the burrow with both Ginny and Helen, he pulled it off!"
After a second's hesitation for this information to sink in, the room went wild with yells and clapping. Katie laughed and hugged an astonished Luna, swinging her around.
Reaching his brothers sides, Ron indicated they should go outside, once the door was shut Ron regarded his rather subdued siblings.
"There's more to it, I can see it in your faces"
"Ron, its Harry…its…he's a mess, I've never seen anyone torn up that badly and still walking, both Ginny and Helen were alive, but other than that I just don't know!"
Bill placed his hand on George's shoulder, he knew how hard it must have been to sit on his broom, invisible, and watch, when all he wanted to do was go down and be with his family, help his baby sister. As the eldest brother, Bill felt that urge especially deeply.
"What about the Ministry?"
George looked at Ron and nodded.
"Thomas says they are there, I couldn't see them, but he has this muggle thingy he uses that picks up body heat, there are six of them that he can see, it won't be long now I shouldn't think."
Ron turned away and made to go back inside when George reached out to him and grabbed his shoulder.
"There was something else, Harry didn't arrive alone. Draco Malfoy arrived with him, carrying Helen."
Ron just stared at his brother as if he had just suggested that Quidditch was a boring game and he'd rather read a book. Harry and Malfoy, he could not possibly imagine a situation where those two would work together for any reason.
"Right, let's muster the troops, its time!"
OoOoO
The Burrow
Someone was mopping his face with a damp cloth and it felt surprisingly good. Harry, with a great deal of effort, forced his eyes open and looked up into the blurry, yet somehow comfortingly stern face of Madam Pomfrey.
"I didn't know you made house calls"
His voice sounded very weak, Madam Pomfrey didn't quite smile, but her mouth twitched slightly and there was an amused twinkle in her eyes, as she continued to wipe his face with a damp cloth, which was helping his pounding head no end.
"Normally I wouldn't, but for you Mr Potter, my favourite patient, I make an exception, how do you feel?"
Harry took a moment to run one of his internal assessments, all the limbs seemed to be attached, but that was about as good as it got, beyond that, his entire body was one big mass of pain, and he felt very tired.
"I hurt."
"I need you to be a little more precise than that Potter, where does it hurt?"
"How long have you got?"
There was a chuckle from somewhere outside his range of vision, turning his head very slowly to try and avoid some of the thumping pain in his head, Harry saw a red headed blur sitting next to him, he was laid on a couch in the kitchen of the Burrow.
"Well it seems you're feeling better, here I've got your glasses" Harry let Arthur put them carefully on his face, and he smiled his thanks. The man had puffy eyes, he had been crying and looked as if he had aged twenty years since the last time he had seen him. The expected loss of his only daughter had greatly affected the family man.
"How's Ginny?"
"Sleeping, Molly's sat upstairs with her, she's got about a flagon of dreamless sleep potion inside her, she wouldn't stop crying, and she hasn't spoken a word to anyone"
Harry closed his eyes against the pain and the fear in Arthur's voice, it was a worse kind of pain in many ways than that he felt in his body. He felt Arthur place a hand on his shoulder, and opened his eyes again.
"Injuries heal over time Harry, without you…I…I would have lost my only daughter tonight, I owe you a debt that I can never repay, i owe you twice over now for the life of my daughter. I love my sons dearly, but Ginny is my flower, the best piece of all of us, and on behalf of my wife and i, i thank you Harry."
Harry wasn't sure why, but looking into Arthur's smiling face all Harry could see was a clearing filled with bodies, and he was responsible for half of them. It suddenly dawned on him that he was now a killer, his hands were covered in blood, and he was no better than the Death Eaters.
"I killed them!"
Harry was not sure where that outburst had sprung from, but it was like unplugging a dam, once it had started there was nothing he could do to hold the emotions back, he found himself crying.
"Killed who Harry?"
"The ones that…hurt Ginny, I could have disarmed them, I could have stunned them, or but a body bind on them, but I was so angry I just wanted them dead"
Arthur smiled sadly, lent over him and gently messed his hair.
"Harry, you care more for the people around you than anyone I have ever met, and you are so pure of heart. These men were not helpless, they would no doubt have not hesitated to kill you! You however acted in defence of Ginny's life and your own, you have nothing to be ashamed of! I am so proud of the man you are becoming, rest now, we have plenty of time to talk about this later"
Arthur smiled again, and exchanged a meaningful glance with Madam Pomfrey before turning to leave.
"You should know, I never would have made it out of there without Malfoy, he saved both Ginny's life and mine too, go easy with him"
Harry called out, Arthur stopped for a moment and his shoulders tightened, then he just nodded and kept walking.
"And now Mr Potter, I think its time you had a little pain relief of your very own, what do you think?"
"Healer knows best"
"Yes, in this case I rather think I do, drink up"
Harry smiled, and drank the offered potion, gagging slightly at the bitter taste, almost immediately the pain in his body began to lessen, and he found himself drifting off into a restless sleep.
Harry was woken by the sound of angry raised voices, still groggy from the pain relief potion, he was struggling to make sense of what was happening around him.
"I won't let you take him, his injuries are so severe that if you move him without supervision you may kill him!"
"Healer Pomfrey if you do not move aside, I will be forced to place you in custody as well as the Weasley's, now step aside, do it now!"
"I shall not step aside! The welfare of one of my patients is at stake, you'll kill him, and I won't…"
"Stupefy!"
There was a gasp, and the sound of a body hitting the floor. Harry tried to get to his feet, as the urgency of the situation penetrated his drug-addled mind, but he somehow got tangled up in the blanket placed over him.
Harry felt his arms seized in a strong grip, and he was rolled over onto his chest. With savage force his hands were pulled together and his wrists bound behind him with anti-apparation manacles.
Because of his injuries, Harry had expected to have been screaming in pain after such rough treatment, but he was surprised to hear that someone else was doing the screaming for him, and doing a really great job of it. What a great set of lungs! After a moment, slow realisation dawned that it was actually him that was doing all the screaming all along.
Harry was lifted by the arms and dragged outside into the yard, and dumped facedown on the floor, something inside his chest made an audible cracking sound. His chest was in agony, and he found himself struggling against a great pressure to draw breath again, his breath was coming in long drawn out gasps, each breath harder to take than the last.
"Harry dear, talk to me, can you hear me"
With great difficulty Harry slowly turned his head in the direction of the voice, Molly was sat a short distance away, her back pressed against the recently repaired kitchen wall, hands also bound, but in front of her, she was trying to inch her way over to him, concern for him all over her face.
Although in terrible pain, he found himself strangely detached from his own body. Harry was amazed, Molly Weasley's daughter was lying upstairs, Merlin knows how badly injured, she herself had been placed in Ministry custody for Harry's actions that night and she was still worrying about him, he really didn't know what he'd done to deserve to have these people caring about him.
There was an approaching blackness, a blackness that promised a quick and easy freedom from the pain and Harry found that a most appealing notion as he was slowly drawn downwards towards it.
"Hear you"
"Harry talk to me, it's important you keep talking to me"
"Hurts"
"I know it hurts dear, please keep talking"
"Can't breath"
"Keep talking Harry, I'm coming"
"Love you, mum!"
"Oh Harry, I love you too, keep talking!"
There was an edge of fear in Molly's tone now, as if she could sense somehow what was going through Harry's mind.
"Tell Ginny…"
"You are going to tell her, Harry, you are"
Harry could feel the blackness swirling around him again, he almost welcomed it now, and he was so tired of fighting it, he just wanted to go to sleep.
"Tell her I said sorry"
"You have nothing to say sorry for Harry!"
"…Sorry, and that I love her"
"She knows Harry, she's always known"
"Need to sleep now"
"Stay with me Harry, don't leave me"
The entrance to the long dark tunnel loomed wide in front of him, and Harry found he no longer had any fight left in him, it was so easy, he closed his eyes and he just relaxed into it, all the pain faded, it was so peaceful.
"Harry! Harry!"
Molly was screaming his name now, she had managed to reach him and was shaking him, trying to get some reaction from him.
"Tonks, Tonks! Over here, help me for Merlin's sake, he can't breath!"
That was good, if Tonks was here she must have been feeling better, Harry had been really worried about her being hurt, he felt guilty, he hadn't wanted that.
"Molly move aside, let me in there, Harry, can you hear me? Whose bright idea was it to manacle him! It's not like he was going very far with injuries like these!"
His manacles were released, and his arms fell limply to his sides, some of the pain eased, but he still couldn't breath. He was gently rolled over, propped up against something soft, and as soon as he was sat up the pressure in his chest vanished. But he was still slipping into the tunnel, and he just wanted to go to sleep, he was so tired, why couldn't they just let him rest in peace?
Then someone grabbed hold of his injured shoulder and squeezed hard, digging their fingers into the wound, he screamed in agony and his eyes flew open in shock, the grip on his shoulder stopped immediately. Tonks was kneeling in front of him, her hand bloody where she had squeezed his shoulder. Some part of his mind was still capable of recognising the irony, Tonks had just saved his life by squeezing the very wound she had give him to start with.
"Wotcha Harry, welcome back to the land of the living, you gave us a bit of a fright there"
"Tonks…shot…sorry"
"Don't worry about that now. Molly, have you got him?"
Harry realised the something soft he was leaning against was Molly, she was holding him in a loose embrace, and his head was resting on her shoulder. It was a feeling of belonging that he had been waiting his whole life for.
He felt so cold suddenly he shivered violently. His teeth were chattering so hard he was afraid he would damage them.
"Tonks, he's going into shock, can we not get him back inside?"
"No Mrs Weasley we most certainly cannot, the only inside Potter will be seeing from now on is the inside of Azkaban prison. Auror Tonks, you and I will speak later at length about fraternisation with suspects in custody"
A new voice, yet familiar, Harry turned his head slightly, Rufus Scrimgeour was stood over him with a very smug expression on his face.
"Now Mrs Weasley, where are your sons? We need to speak to all of them regarding an attack on the Ministry building this evening. Potter has already been identified as a participant, and where he is involved we can normally find a Weasley or two as well"
Harry was gradually becoming more aware of his surroundings, the yard was full of Ministry personnel, not only Aurors, although most of them were, there must have been nearly forty Aurors alone, and among their number were some familiar faces.
Kingsley Shacklebolt and Hestia Jones appeared to be questioning a bound Arthur Weasley, Harry could also see Tonks' three partners, he wondered what they thought of all this, earlier that afternoon they had all been here enjoying lunch.
Percy was standing there staring in horror at what was going on around him, looking from his father to his mother with a sort of stunned disbelief.
"I don't know where they are, they were all here earlier"
"This would go a lot easier for your family if you cooperated you know, it might even keep the rest of you out of Azkaban"
Molly shot the Minister such a look of complete and utter hatred, that even Scrimgeour took a step backwards.
"No matter, I really only wanted Potter, and he will soon be going to Azkaban for the rest of his life"
"Oh I really don't think so!"
The voice was soft, yet the words carried across the whole yard, all the Aurors spun, searching for the source.
A shape dressed all in black muggle military clothing detached itself from the shadows of the broom shed where he had stood unseen and walked slowly forward, both hands were held open down at his sides, gloved palms forward. Because there was no threat in sight the Aurors lowered their wands slightly.
Thomas Bell gave Harry a wry smile, before returning his attention to the Aurors and the Minister for magic stood front of him.
"Who the hell are you?"
"You don't remember do you Rufus? Never mind, no real reason you should, to you I was a step on your career ladder, but my dear Rufus, I remember you very well!"
Thomas stepped slowly forward until he stood only a dozen feet from the Minister, his hands were still empty and held palms outward. His expression remained blank and his tone neutral.
"For fifteen years I have waited for this moment, ever since you took the wand of a scared fourteen year old boy and snapped it in front of him. Your allegations of dark wizardry made your career, and destroyed my mother's!"
"Bell…But that's not possible, I thought you were dead!"
Scrimgeour stared at the man in front of him in astonishment, a shadow from his past rising to challenge his future, it couldn't be allowed, why this man could threaten everything he was trying to build, a more stable Wizarding society, a fair government for all.
"Rufus, you do remember! Do you also remember I was banned from magic for life, I took myself into exile, cut off from everything and everyone I loved. My mother made me take a Wizarding oath on her life, to not seek vengeance against those who destroyed my life, my future, and for fifteen years I have lived by it, but guess what, Rufus, she's dead! And here I am to collect!"
"Take another step and my men will stop you permanently!"
Scrimgeour's terrified voice caused many of the Ministry personnel to look around questioningly, he was only one man, an unarmed man at that, why did the Minister seem to fear this one individual so much?
"I'm not the one that's important right at this very moment, although you and I do have unfinished business which will need to be resolved, what is important is that I think you are going to leave here, and you are going to leave empty handed"
Scrimgeour laughed, it was a cruel vicious sound.
"Why should we do what you say, there's only one of you"
"Because I stand with Harry Potter! And who said I stand alone!"
In a series of loud pops over twenty cloaked figures appeared surrounding the Aurors, wands drawn. One of them stumped forward, and although he didn't lower the hood of his cloak to reveal his features, Harry and many of the others present recognised the voice of retired Auror Alastair Moody.
"The Order of the Phoenix stands with Harry Potter!"
Shacklebolt and Tonks looked about them with shock, they had known nothing about this, and they were Aurors and members of the Order, now each had to question where their loyalties lay.
From out of the darkness came the sound of an oncoming express train, and at head height came a tight formation of thirty five fast moving broomsticks, they circled down to land, the riders dismounted and drew wands, they were all Hogwarts students or former students, wearing their house robes, other than Slytherin, all the houses were represented.
Ron Weasley stepped forward, Neville Longbottom to his right and Luna Lovegood to his left.
"Dumbledore's Army stands with Harry Potter!"
The Minister for Magic narrowed his eyes and stepped forward, however he didn't tower imposingly over Ron like he once had, and Ron stared right back at him.
"Very creditable, Mr Weasley, standing by your best friend, but you are doing yourself no favours!"
Scrimgeour's voice was harsh and cold, as he tried to salvage something from this intolerable situation.
"Harry Potter isn't my friend!" Ron snarled back "He's my brother!"
Before Scrimgeour could say a word another voice spoke.
"Although it's still a mystery to me why on Merlin's green earth I'm doing this, I too find myself standing with Harry Potter!"
Draco Malfoy stepped out from the doorway of the Burrow, limping slightly from injuries sustained during the escape, two wands drawn and both his arms fully extended outwards, from the expression on his face, he was just waiting for an Auror to twitch the wrong way.
"The faculty of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry stands with Harry Potter"
From the darkness a dozen figures moved into the light, even with a cloak there was no mistaking the massive form of Rubeus Hagrid, or the small stature of Filius Flitwick. At the front of the group, professor Minerva McGonagall spared a glance at Harry, she gifted him with a rare smile, before turning her attention back to the scene in front of her.
"Minister, I think you need to reassess your priorities, Voldemort and his followers are rampaging seemingly unchecked across our land, and instead of working to bring him down, you pitch the weight of the entire Ministry against a minor! In his short life, this minor has faced Voldemort six times on his own, and rather than help him, you would see him locked away!"
Rufus Scrimgeour had never been angrier in his entire life, he was being defied by a bunch of school kids, an exile, a collection of thieves and mudbloods, and a group of renegade teachers. Drawing his wand, he was about to order his Aurors to attack when a flash bulb went off in his face.
A boy wearing Gryffindor house robes with mousy brown hair was waving a camera about, photographing everyone and everything. And a man looking suspiciously like that idiot Lovegood, who ran the Quibbler was scribbling notes onto a parchment, he kept asking Aurors how to spell their names correctly, so he could accurately report and record the events of the night.
"All right Harry?"
Harry, a bit overwhelmed by a combination of events and medication, smiled weakly up at a grinning Colin Creevey.
"Colin"
"Yes Harry"
"Anytime you want an autograph, just ask"
"Cor thanks Harry"
Harry shivered violently again, and his body went into spasms. Molly held him tight, trying to pass along some of her strength by physical contact. She was making reassuring sounds and gently rocking back and forth. Harry just relaxed into her grip, the only mother he had ever known.
Rufus stormed up to Arthur and jabbed him in the chest.
"Weasley get a grip of your family, I want Potter handed over to me now, and that's a direct order."
Arthur Weasley looked the Minister for Magic directly in the eye, and somehow the mild mannered, often overlooked and occasionally ridiculed man seemed to grow taller, and then he did the most unexpected thing, he laughed. In the circumstances it was an unusual and out of place sound. He moved to stand alongside his kneeling wife, who was cradling his gravely injured son.
He looked down into the youth's bright green eyes and saw the fear, insecurity and pain, he also saw the bravery of the youth that had walked willingly into the mouth of hell in order to rescue his only daughter.
Family, Arthur knew that's all that really mattered in the long run, family, it's what the Weasley's did best of all, sometimes they all needed a reminder of that. Coming to a difficult decision, Arthur addressed Scrimgeour.
"Minister, I hereby tender my resignation from the Ministry of magic, effective immediately. You are trespassing on my land and I would like you to leave!"
Percy, having come to some inner decision of his own, strode, with his head held high, to stand beside his father, he studied the determination burning in his parents eyes for a moment, then grinned, shrugged, and then he turned back to Scrimgeour.
"I also hereby tender my resignation from the Ministry of Magic, the Weasley family, ALL the Weasley family stand with Harry Potter!"
There was a rustle of robes and Ron, Bill and the Twins joined their family, stood in a protective circle around Harry.
Scrimgeour took a look around, he wasn't an idiot, his forces were too evenly matched, any fight would be inconclusive at best, and sometimes it was better to cut your losses. But he would remember those that had stood against him this night, and his memory was long.
"So be it, but this doesn't end here, you can count on that, from now on the Ministry withdraws all support from Harry Potter and the Weasley's, no more Auror protection, no more Ministry healers. And if the boy wonder steps out of line just once more, I swear to Merlin I will bring the entire Ministry here to arrest him, resistance or not, he will be sent to Azkaban, as will anyone that gives him aid."
With a nod to his fellow Aurors, Rufus Scrimgeour disappeared with a loud pop, quickly followed by the others, even Tonks left with them, she had an extremely sad expression on her face.
Molly looked down into Harry's face, but he had already slipped into unconsciousness, she ran her fingers through his hair and gently stroked his face, he sighed and a little smile appeared on his face.
Molly Weasley owed this young man everything, he had gone alone into danger twice to save her daughter, because of him Arthur was alive after getting bitten by a snake, and who knows how many times he had dragged Ron into and then out of trouble. And yet he had never asked for anything in return, all he had wanted was a family and the love and security that family provided.
She made a vow, to see that Harry got everything it was in her power to give, if she had anything to say about it Harry would be a part of her family on paper as well as in their hearts as soon as she could make it happen.
OoOoO
