Chapter 9: The Summer of Voldemort's Return
Although we didn't move into Grimmauld Place, Blue Team spent a lot of time there. Joanna and Jack took up residence in other parts of the country and we maintained contact, but it was best that we stay as separate as possible. Since we were exiled from the country it was best to not congregate together.
The entire Weasly family moved into Grimmauld Place for the summer. It was much easier this way because the kids could help clean the house and make it somewhat livable. The house was so bad that it almost couldn't even be used as a headquarters because off all the infestations and such. Dumbledore's hope was that by the end of the summer the entire house would be clean and people could stop by and take a bedroom for an extended stay without any problems. As it turned out the only livable room at first was the kitchen.
Molly Weasly wasted no time putting her children to work. At first they were excited, thinking that by doing the housecleaning they would also be asked to join the meetings and become part of the Order. When they learned that it wouldn't be working out like that their morale quickly plummeted.
Those first few weeks were very hard, especially because of the blow up with Percy Weasly. Add to that we were constantly waiting for reports and had no clear direction and it isn't surprising that the mood in the house was very low.
Despite all this we tried as best we could to make the best of the situation. The Weasly children always looked forward to us stopping by because no matter what the circumstances, we would always find a way to have fun. It seems odd to others but when your job is to combat the most dangerous wizards in the world, humor is often the best way to cope with the stress. The bond that I had formed with Matt, Kim, Aya, and now Anke was very strong and we always found ways to have fun and relax even during the most stressful times.
Molly and Arthur also enjoyed our visits because we could make them laugh just as much. Molly especially liked us I think, probably because we could be seen as positive influences on her children, unlike Mundungus Fletcher. Dung was amusing in his own right, but he wasn't the kind of person who you'd want your children to look up to.
Hermione arrived shortly after the Weasly's moved in and it was a bit awkward at first. Both her and Ginny Weasly would stare at me for a while and turn a bit red when I caught them. The boys did the same thing with Anke until Molly eventually called them out on it by telling them to 'stop staring at us like a unicorn caught in the wand light.'
I had petitioned Dumbledore to allow us to collect Harry and bring him to Grimmauld Place as soon as possible, but he maintained that the safest place was at Privet Drive. Voldemort, he reiterated, could not touch him there and any Death Eaters sent there would find him protected by members of the Order. Any attempt to move him would be watched by the Death Eaters and may lead them strait to Grimmauld Place. So Harry would have to wait, even though it was killing him to be alone without any news.
Meanwhile the Order grew quickly. Dora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt joined us days after Dumbledore's speech to the Ministry. To have two Aurors on our side was a huge plus, made even better when Sturgis Podmore, the unspeakable, joined a week after that. Suddenly we had eyes and ears inside the ministry just as Voldemort did.
Things weren't ideal, the majority of the population still believed Fudge and his insistence that Voldemort was still dead, but we were confident that all was being done to thwart the dark lord. There was a lot riding on Hagrid's mission in Europe to appease the giants, but it was too soon to worry about that. We didn't plan on hearing from him for a few months.
Matt and I had instituted a weekly movie night as a way to relax and have fun. The first one was a complete failure because Arthur Weasly kept interrupting every few minutes with questions about how the TV worked, how a movie was made, ect. We had to make him promise that he would remain silent for the entire time before we watched another movie. It was a little cramped in the parlor with the entire Weasly family, everyone on Blue Team, and anyone else who happened to stop by, but that's part of what made it so fun.
Matt had wanted to show a lot of classic American films as a way of 'educating' everyone about great movies, but I said it was best to just stick with comedies to help lighten our mood. Mel Brooks thus became a favorite. It didn't matter if you were magical or not, his films were just silly and had everyone in hysterics. We were halfway through Blazing Saddles when Kingsley walked in and motioned to me that it was my turn to keep watch over the department of mysteries, the place that housed the prophecy that Voldemort was trying desperately to get his hands on.
Reluctantly I got up and made my across the room and down to the front door. I had to grab Moody's spare invisibility cloak off the coat rack because disillusionment charms were tricky for me and I usually ended up casting a sub-par one.
It was after 9:00 when I left Grimmauld Place for the Ministry, but there were still people in the atrium. Some were leaving after what looked like a long day at the office, and others were getting ready to work their graveyard shifts. It was funny that the Ministry blacklisted me and yet not a one person stopped me as I made my way through the light crowd towards the lifts.
The best way to blend in is to look like you belong. I walked with a stride that suggested I knew exactly where I was going and nothing about me looked suspicious, so nobody gave me a second thought. I did have to be on the look out for senior level officials who would undoubtedly recognize my face, but otherwise it was incredibly easy to gain access to the entrance to the Department of Mysteries.
The long corridor was deserted only for a moment, and then Nymphadora Tonks appeared out of thin air. The young Auror gave me a smile as she made her way past me to the lifts. "Enjoy your night, nobody ever comes down here after ten."
"So I don't even have the luxury of people watching to help pass the time, great," I replied. This was my first night shift and it sounded like it would be pretty boring.
"Yeah, sorry bout that," she said. "What's going on back at headquarters, anything important?"
"Movie night, round three. Arthur has actually been able to keep quiet through the entire thing so far. If you leave now you may be able to make it back for the last half hour."
She seemed to ponder that for a moment before shaking her head. "Naw, I gotta be back here early for work tomorrow, I think I'll just head home and turn in."
"You sure?" I teased. "Remus is there and I'm pretty sure there was an empty seat next to him when I left."
Her hair went from bright purple to fireball red, a clear giveaway that I had hit home with the last comment. For a metamorphmagus to involuntarily phase like that was the equivalent of a normal human blushing. Sure Dora had kept her feelings for Remus a pretty guarded secret, but its not hard to pick up on the subtle cues people give off when they're attracted to another person. It must be human thing.
"Maybe I'll go say hi then," she conceded. Her hair changed back to purple. "Just don't tell him how I feel okay, it's kinda embarrassing because he's a lot older than I am."
I shrugged. "Age should never be a factor, but your secret is safe with me." I was aware of the hypocrisy of that last statement because to me age was a very important factor, but I figured a gap of ten years wasn't a big deal.
"Alright, I'll see you later then," she remarked as she made her way towards the lifts. "Try not to fall asleep, it'll get real tempting to do so later on."
I gave her a mock salute. "I'll find a way to resist the urge. Have a good night."
I watched her enter the lift and go up, and then threw on the invisibility cloak and sat down on the floor for what promised to be a very long night. Much like Hogwarts, muggle electronics couldn't function at the ministry with all the magic in the air, so I couldn't even listen to an MP3 player while on duty.
I can't begin to describe the boredom of sitting in the middle of a long hallway for eight hours with absolutely nothing to do. The invisibility cloak I was wearing was tight on me so I couldn't even read a book because the cloak wouldn't cover it. It would look awfully suspicious if someone happened to walk by and saw an open book hovering in midair.
After the first hour my ass got numb from sitting on the hard ground so I stood up and started pacing up and down the corridor in an effort to stay sane. At first it proved to be a nice deterrent from just sitting on the cold floor, but after a few minutes it became just as monotonous and I soon wanted to kill myself again. Perhaps next time I'd have someone cast a disillusionment charm on me and a book so that I way I could at least have something to read while being stuck down here.
I was just considering how bad it would be if I sat back down and dozed for a half hour when I heard the lift start to open. I looked over in that direction and saw Lucious Malfoy exit along with another person. They both were doing their best to keep quiet as they snuck towards the entrance I was guarding. When they were about ten feet away from me I threw off the cloak. Surprise flashed across Lucious' face but the other man didn't even move.
"Were you guys going somewhere?" I asked in a mocking tone. "I think this corridor is closed right now."
The shock on Lucious' face wore of and in its place was a look of anger. "Last time I checked," he sneered at me, "You were blacklisted from this country. I could call the Magical Law Enforcement Office right now and have you arrested."
I nodded my head. "I bet you could, but then what would you tell them when they asked what you were doing down here after hours?" Malfoy didn't really scare me. He wasn't nearly as smart as he thought he was. The guy he was with did concern me a bit. I couldn't put my finger on it, but he looked oddly familiar.
Malfoy changed tactics. "So you're the dog that Dumbledore has guarding the prophecy. It makes sense, your part servant anyway."
I assumed this was a cheap shot at me being part elf, but I let it pass. "Very astute. I'm the one guarding the prophecy so you can run along and tell your master that it's quite safe and secure."
The other man stepped forward. He was short, but muscular. I could tell by the way he carried himself that he had a quiet confidence in his abilities. He showed absolutely no fear when he looked at me. "So what's your move Marc?" He asked me. "Going to play hero and try and take us?"
I entertained the thought for a moment, but then dismissed it. "Naw. It's tempting, don't get me wrong, but as there is no direct connection between you two and Voldemort, it would look like I attacked two innocent men." Malfoy flinched when I dropped Voldemort's name, but the other guy again didn't even move.
Suddenly it clicked; I realized where I knew this guy from. "I remember you, I tried to recruit you for Omega Team. Your name is Greg Baum."
The guy named Greg nodded. "Top in my class at Hogwarts, Passed every single one of my N.E.W.T.'s with flying colors. Joined the Auror program right afterwards and was the youngest inductee in over a hundred years."
"So why does someone who is so smart and so talented join up with Voldemort?"
Greg let a slow evil grin spread across his face. "Are you wondering why a non-Slytherin would join up? Yes, I was in Ravenclaw, and I have no ambition for power. Given time I'm sure I'd move up through the ranks in the ministry just fine. I'm incredibly smart, and I know what Voldemort does is wrong, evil even. I'm not under any spell or anything.
"What I want is status. My father left my mother when she told him she was a witch. He said it wasn't natural. Unfortunately she was already pregnant with me when this happened. I've spent my entire life in poverty, and no matter what I accomplish I'll always be known for my rags to riches story. That may seem all good to some people, but I never want to be seen as someone who was poor, ever. That kind of status follows you around forever and I'm tired of it.
"With the Dark Lord things like wealth don't matter. Blood status and magical power are the only things he prides himself on, and that's what I like. I'm the worst kind of Death Eater; the kind who knows what he is doing is wrong but doesn't care. I believe full well in my cause, and am willing to do anything to ensure its success."
I rolled my eyes. "Your also someone who likes to hear himself speak."
At this I saw a flash of anger in his eyes. "I'm not foolish enough to fight you here. Your more than a match for the two of us, I'm smart enough to know when I'm at a disadvantage. However let me warn you, I'm not someone you want to fuck with. I'll wait for my opportunity, and when you're tired, or hurt, I'll be there to kill you."
I shrugged. "Good luck with that. Now are you gentlemen going to be going or should I raise an alarm and call for security to come down here?"
Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "We'll be going, but you might want to think about leaving also. The ministry will be receiving a tip that an illegal alien is currently roaming about the lower levels."
I waved to them as they made their way to the lift. "Bye bye. Nice chatting with you guys, give your master my best wishes."
I'm not one who is normally spooked by encounters like the one I just had, but something about Greg made me think he was no ordinary peon of Voldemort's. I had wanted him for Omega about ten years ago, which meant that he was a great wizard, and I got the feeling that he wasn't the type of person to back down from a fight. I also took him at his work when he said he would try and kill me when I was at a disadvantage. I wasn't scared of him by any means, but I was perhaps a bit wary. It's never a good idea to whimsically dismiss people like that.
I reported to Dumbledore what had happened and he told me much the same thing. He had seen Greg's talent firsthand at Hogwarts and instructed me to not underestimate him. Unfortunately we were unable to discuss the matter much further because news from Little Winging arrived. Apparently Harry had been expelled for using underage magic.
I immediately apparated to Number 4 where I met a hysterical Ms. Figg and was able to get the details about what exactly had happened. I sent a patronus to Dumbledore right away informing him of the attack by Dementors resulting in Harry's use of his own patronus to ward them off.
Jack and Red Team appeared moments later and took up defensive positions around the Dursley house in case of another attack. At the time we didn't know who had sent the Dementors and thus assumed that it had been Voldemort and were ready should any Death Eaters appear. Anke also came with Jack and she and I went to investigate the scene of the crime.
"Well, as usual we seem to be too late," Anke said as she looked around. We both had our wands out but after determining that there was no threat we both were just holding them at our sides.
"Dementors don't leave any traces so it's impossible to tell if they've been here," I replied. "Though I don't see any reason for Harry and Arabella to lie about what they saw. The real question is who was giving them orders to attack. You want to weigh in?"
"I'd put five galleons on the ministry ordering it," She said. Since I won our bet for the Triwizard cup she had been trying to get her money back.
"Your on. It doesn't make any sense for the ministry to order this. I know they want Harry expelled but they wouldn't go through such drastic measures. This has Voldemort written all over it."
Anke raised her eyebrows at me. It had the effect of looking both challenging and sultry at the same time. "Why would Voldemort send Dementors after Harry? Voldemort knows Harry has been able to cast a patronus for ages; it wouldn't make any sense to attack with them. Why not just have Death Eaters attack him directly."
She had a good point there. Neither possibility seemed very likely, but I was convinced that Voldemort had to have something to do with it. I knew Fudge too well to see him ordering an attack on Harry; he didn't have the balls to do it.
"Well, let's get back to Grimmauld Place. Dumbledore will want to get Harry out of Privet Drive as fast as possible to we better start planning an extraction scenario."
Anke nodded her head. "Race you there." Before I could even comment she disappeared, leaving me behind.
It felt it just a little strange to know that after working for so long to protect Harry from Voldemort, I still hadn't actually met him. I'm sure he had seen me before, but he never knew who I was or what I was actually doing to keep him safe. I think I was a little nervous about meeting him to be honest, I mean he is the one who is supposed to vanquish the deadliest dark wizard ever. How do you introduce yourself to someone like that?
After much consideration we decided on two groups to collect Harry from Privet Drive. The Advance Guard would be the ones actually escorting him while the Rear Guard would be scouting the area looking for potential threats. Omega Team was to make up the Rear Guard, and our job would be very difficult.
While the Advance Guard just had to ensure Harry's safety, we had to make sure that nobody got close enough to get to him and thus make the advance guard necessary. We all knew that Voldemort had scouts placed around the neighborhood so our job would be to make sure those scouts didn't send word for reinforcements.
We were all congregated about seven streets over from Privet Drive, waiting for the signal from the Advance Guard telling us they had Harry and were ready to go. Jack and Joanna had taken their teams on a scouting mission around the neighborhood and just informed me that the coast was clear, for the time being.
I kept scanning the sky, looking for sparks. At this point I was feeling jittery, just waiting for something to happen. I had a feeling that Voldemort wasn't going to make this easy for us.
Jack's Patronus suddenly came up in front of us. "Still all clear, continuing to sweep the area," it reported. I exhaled a bit but still wasn't completely calm. Kim shifted her weight next to me and I could tell I wasn't the only one on edge.
The night couldn't have been worse for an extraction. The moon was full and cast a pale light over the entire neighborhood, without any clouds in the area to possibly hide it. We may as well have done this during the middle of the day for all it mattered.
Despite the heat wave that was gripping the nation I felt goosebumps race their way up my skin. Too much could go wrong in doing something like this, and I didn't like exposing Harry.
A policeman turned the corner at the far end of the block and started walking towards us. Somehow I figured he intended to find out what five adults were doing loitering in the middle of a residential block. Apparently Petunia Dursley wasn't the only nosey person around, we were drawing attention just standing on the sidewalk in front of a plain looking house.
"Distract him please," I muttered to Anke. Things were tense enough as it was and I didn't need someone questioning us while I was trying to keep a lookout.
She took off and met the officer before he could get all the way to us. I felt sorry for him because Anke had her charm level turned up to max. Before long she had the guy eating out of her hands and he was soon gone. Anke came back to us with a pleased smile on her face.
"Men are so easy to manipulate," she remarked.
"Damn strait," Kim replied. "Just smile a bit and laugh playfully at their bad jokes and you got em'. If the need arises you can just puff out your chest a bit and you got a closed deal."
I had a few remarks in my head to that, but I was too busy keeping a watch to comment aloud. Everyone was nervous and Kim and Anke were just trying to calm themselves by joking a bit.
Suddenly red sparks lit up the sky in the direction of Harry's place. The Advance Guard was ready to go. I only had to wait for a few moments before Jack and Joanna sent patronus' to me telling me everything was clear by their positions. I nodded towards Matt who sent up the reply in the form of green sparks. I saw dark figures silhouetted against the moonlight night sky rise into the air and take off in the direction of London. Harry was on his way. A moment later, all hell broke loose.
