Harry Potter and the Sons of JENOVA
Chapter X
"Ruin and Wreckage"
"Somebody help me!" Madam Malkin screamed while lying under a bit of fallen roofing. Her legs were pinned down and she couldn't get out of her shop. Luckily, the fires hadn't reached her robe shop, but she knew it was only a matter of time before her precious store was ablaze with the rest of Diagon Alley. So she started screaming for help, hoping that someone passing by would hear.
Someone did. It just wasn't whom she wanted to hear. A black robed Death Eater stepped into her shop. He saw Madam Malkin immediately; she was trapped in plain sight. A toothy grin plastered across his face when he saw her, like when a predator stares down its helpless prey. Madam Malkin squirmed and struggled from under the roofing, trying to free herself enough to reach her wand. The Death Eater watched her struggle, enjoying her plight while he walked over to her. He drew his own wand from the folds of his robe and held it causally at his side. He bent over and touched her, brushing some hair out of the terrified woman's face.
"You know," he said in a low, frightening voice. "I always hated wearing your stupid robes." His smile contorted into a frown as he stood up and raised his wand at her. Madam Malkin threw her free arm in front of her face, not wishing to witness her fate. "Avada Ked…"
The rest of the incantation never left the Death Eater's throat. When she realized she was still alive, Madam Malkin slowly peered out from beneath her arm. The Death Eater was standing stock still, his wand still raised at her and his mouth slack like a fish. Madam Malkin lowered her arm and stared at the motionless Death Eater. A flash of movement filled her with dread once again and she hid once again behind her arm. This time it was a kind voice instead of silence that brought her up.
"It's alright Madam Malkin. He can't hurt you."
Madam Malkin peered out and was greeted by a pair of green eyes. She immediately recognized the voice.
"Harry Potter?"
He smiled. "Come on lets get you out of here." He bent down and freed her from the rubble. She slowly made it to her feet and looked up at her savior.
"Thank you my dear," she smiled graciously. He nodded. "What did you do to him?" she asked pointing at the still frozen Death Eater.
"Body Lock Curse," he said as they approached the Death Eater. Harry reached out with one arm and lightly pushed the Death Eater. He fell backwards like a board of wood and landed with a loud thump. Madam Malkin gave a light laugh.
"Nicely done," she commented. She took a look around her devastated shop. "Oh, my. This is going to take quite some time to fix."
"Right now we need to get you out of here. Let's go," he said. She withdrew her wand from her pocket and together they ran from her shop.
Harry led the way, pausing in the robe shop's entrance way. He quickly scanned the street for any threats and then motioned for Madam Malkin to follow him. The pair made their way down the alley, stopping and hiding behind various amounts of cover along the way. They were able to make their way fairly quickly, there were no Death Eaters to hinder their progress.
Near Quality Quidditch Supplies, Harry heard voices. He ducked behind a crumbling wall to hear. Madam Malkin crept up next to him. They could barely make out the angry voices. Harry slowly peeked out from the wall. There were two masked Death Eaters conversing. The voices sounded familiar to Harry. He was sure he had heard them somewhere before.
"Where are they? They should have been here by now!" growled one of them.
"Patience, Nott. They haven't been near people in many years. Let them have some fun before joining us. We will allow them a little more time," said one of his companions. Harry immediately recognized that voice. He could recognize that smooth, cold voice anywhere. It was the voice of a Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy. Harry suspected that she had taken the place of her imprisoned husband. Harry also recognized the name of her companion, Nott. They were members of Voldemort's Inner Circle: his most trusted and the highest ranking of his Death Eaters. Familiar rage returned to Harry and his blood began to boil. Clutching his wand like a sword, Harry prepared to storm out from behind his cover and attack. Madam Malkin saw the hatred in Harry's face and grabbed hold of his arm, not letting him charge into a fight.
Harry was about to shake her off when he felt it. It was small at first, but it was growing exponentially. Something was shaking the ground itself, like an earthquake. Harry could hear it now, a low and regular thump, thump, thump. The noises and tremors grew louder and stronger.
"What is that?" wondered Madam Malkin. Her eyes were wide in fear and she grasped Harry's arm harder and harder as the tremors came closer.
"I don't know," replied Harry, his own fear growing. He stole a look at the Death Eaters. They were laughing. They knew what was coming.
"Ah, here they come now," said Narcissa.
'They,' thought Harry. A sudden realization stuck Harry and a wave of cold fear tightened his guts.
"It sounds almost like…" started Madam Malkin.
"Footsteps," Harry finished for her.
-VII-
Tifa, Tonks, and Ginny sped around the corner and arrived back at what little remained of Florean's. The shop had been reduced to nothing more than a pile of burning wood, its rooftop caved in from the fire. What was once a place where the young and old enjoyed a moment of peace and happiness was now just piles of flaming refuse and ash.
Tifa stared at the remains of the ice cream parlor. "Cloud you stupid jerk," she muttered under his breath. She started walking towards the burnt out building when she heard a small cough. Tifa spun around and breathed a sigh of relief.
Cloud was sitting with his back against a nearby wall of another building than had been spared by the fires so far. His head was hung low between his knees and he was breathing heavily, coughing up the smoke he had inhaled inside Florean's. His SOLDIER uniform was blackened from the heavy amounts of soot and his face was streaked with lines of ash. Tifa ran over to his side as he shuddered in another coughing spasm. Behind him, Hermione sat rocking a small bundle in her arms. It was the baby boy, his face black with ash like Cloud's but was otherwise just fine.
Tifa smiled at the sight of the baby. She looked down at Cloud and asked, "Was there anyone else?" Cloud raised his head and shook it gravely. A single puff of flame flickered at the top of the largest blonde spike in his hair. Tifa licked her fingers and snuffed the flame out.
"Thanks," whispered Cloud between coughs. "What's going on?"
"Well," answered Tifa. "Tonks and I were attacked by a bunch of guys in black robes she called Death Eaters who are killing everything that moves in the entire alley. We took out a lot of them before they ran off. Harry is still missing and Ron is still trying to get people out of the alley. Oh, and the girls haven't been able to put any of the fires out."
Cloud stood up and brushed some of the soot and ash off of his shirt. He was about to speak when a mob of hysterical people came tearing down the street. The terrified mob ran right past Cloud, Tifa, Ginny, and Hermione without a second glance. Bringing up the rear where Ron, Fred, and George.
"What's going on?" called Hermione at the fleeing brothers.
"GIANTS!" screamed Ron, Fred, and George together over their shoulders as they kept running. Hermione, Ginny, and Tonks' eyes grew wide in fear. Without hesitation, they ran off after the twins. Cloud and Tifa looked at each other briefly, and then ran towards the area Ron and the twins had just left. They didn't have to run very far. The alley was completely destroyed. Entire buildings had been toppled over, fires burned unchecked, and Cloud and Tifa could hear the trapped people's screams. In the distance they could see the culprits. They were hard to miss.
There was 3 Giants, each close to 30 feet tall. They were filthy, covered in mud and clothed in crude, black animal skins. Two had long, greasy, matted hair, while the third was completely bald and was missing most of his teeth. He was the biggest and ugliest of the bunch, probably the leader. All three were waving around large clubs; which upon closer examination proved to be just uprooted trees clutched in their hairy fists.
Cloud and Tifa, who were both accustomed to seeing strange and unusual things, showed no signs of fear or apprehension when they saw the Giants. They climbed over the destroyed buildings, leaping from fallen rooftop to fallen rooftop. Climbing and scaling the rooftops reminded Cloud of escaping from the Sector 6 church with Aeris. The thought of the flower girl caused a brief pang of pain, but Cloud buried his feelings and focused on the situation at hand. They climbed over the last ruined home and sprinted the remaining distance, covering the ground between them and the Giants quickly. They rounded a corner and were confronted by a horde of Death Eaters. They were traveling behind the Giants, mopping up anything the Giants missed. The Death Eaters opened fire on Cloud and Tifa. The street quickly turned into a powder keg. Flashes of green lightning spat across the sky and Cloud and Tifa leaped backwards, back into cover behind the corner.
"So what now?" asked Tifa, breathing heavily. She opened up her Materia bag and began to rummage through it. She picked out a large green one. "Ultima?"
Cloud stood hunched over, his hands resting on his knees. He shook his head, "Ultima is too widespread. We'll take out the rest of the homes." He peeked out from around the corner and quickly withdrew his head as a blast ricocheted off the wall. He then opened up his own Materia bag. "How about Flare?" he asked Tifa.
"I think there are enough things already on fire right now Cloud," Tifa said. She took a turn peeking around the corner. The Death Eaters had ceased firing and were slowly advancing on their position.
"Here they come," she warned Cloud. They felt the rumbling of the Giants approaching as well. "What do you want to do?" she asked calmly. Most people would be frozen in terror or fleeing in panic, but she wasn't worried that these were 20 feet tall Giants they were dealing with. Or that they were vastly outnumbered and fighting wizards that they didn't know anything about and magic that they had no experience against whatsoever. In fact, Tifa and Cloud were a perfect picture of calmness. They both knew that they had come up against much worse monstrosities than a couple of Giants. These Giants wouldn't have even come up to the kneecaps of the Ultimate WEAPON. And they had faced far greater odds against the Shin-Ra Corporation's armies. What were a few tall dirty creatures with bad hygiene and some badly dressed guys waving a bunch of sticks around in the air compared to that?
Cloud felt the same way.
"Take 'em all down on three?" he smiled at her, cocky as ever.
Tifa smiled back and tightened her fighting gloves. "On three."
Cloud drew his massive sword and crouched in readiness. He nodded to Tifa.
"One…Two…" he counted down.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Tifa interrupted.
"What?" Cloud asked impatiently.
"Do we go on three? Or is it one, two, three then go?"
Cloud rolled his eyes at Tifa's questions. 'You gotta be kidding me…' he thought.
"Well its your ass babe," he replied smiling.
Now it was Tifa's turn to roll her eyes at Cloud. "Right, right. On three."
"We go on three?" Cloud asked to make sure.
"Yeah."
"Ok. One…" Cloud tightened his grip on his sword.
"Two…" Tifa rose from her sitting position to a ready crouch.
"THREE!"
Screaming war cries, Cloud and Tifa leapt over the remains of the wall and charged fearlessly at the Death Eaters.
-VII-
Hermione, Ginny and Tonks fled just behind the Weasley Twins and Ron with the remaining shoppers and store clerks through what was left of Diagon Alley, a horde of Death Eaters and a Giant nipping at their heels. The crowd was in a panic; people were tripping and falling in the rush: only to be stomped by the massive feat of the Giants or the terrified mass of people. Soon the fleeing people were engulfed by the Giants, surrounded by tree-like clubs and stinky feet. The Giants swung their heavy clubs into the crowd, batting people high into the air only to come down crashing into buildings or the unforgiving pavement. Others brought their clubs straight down on the terrified mob, smashing and squashing dozens of people beneath them. One Giant gleefully set down his club and began stomping his feet through the crowd, laughing as he skipped and hopped down the alley like a schoolchild.
Ginny ran through the alley, picking up people who had tripped in front of her without ever slowing down. Always glancing over her shoulder for the next foot or club coming down to snuff her life out, she also managed to keep an eye on the rest of her companions. Hermione was running on her left side, separated from Ginny by several other screaming shoppers, clutching the baby Cloud rescued to her chest. Ron and the twins were on her right side. Ron was terrified, his pale face even whiter than usual with fright. His freckles stood out like streetlights. He kept tripping over his own lanky legs and feet; the twins needed to constantly catch him from falling and being trampled by the crowd or Giants. Ginny couldn't see Tonks, but she could hear her voice. It somehow boomed over the screaming and smashing and disgusting laughter bellowing from the elated Giants.
"EVERYONE GET INTO GRINGROTTS!" her magically enhanced voice shouted over the dim. The crowd immediately reacted and herded towards the great, enchanted doors of the Wizarding Bank. The Giants heard too and increased their assault, doing everything they could to see that no one made it inside that bank alive.
Ginny glanced over her shoulder as a club swooped down just above her head, so close that she could feel the wind as it passed. She increased her pace and ran faster than she thought she could. Something blocked out the sun and Ginny jumped to the left as a hairy foot crashed down indiscriminately where she just was. Up and running before she was overtaken by the mob, Ginny searched frantically for Gringrotts. The great bank was in sight, so close but still so far away. Ginny peeked over her shoulder again as a Giant loomed over her and her brothers.
"Look out!" she shouted at her family as a club's shadow engulfed them. The club came down upon them with a roaring whoosh. Ginny dived out of the way just before it crashed into the ground. The club landed smack in the middle where she and her brothers had been running, it was so wide that it still nearly hit her despite leaping out of the way. Ginny looked up at the uprooted tree the Giant had used and stared. As it lifted, Ginny's eyes widened in horror.
Her brothers were gone. There was no blood, no bodies. They were just gone. Ginny's eyes, welling up with tears, searched everywhere for something, any sign of her brothers. People ran past her, Giants stepped over her, but Ginny stood stock still amidst all this chaos.
'Where are they?' she thought desperately. 'Where could they be?' A sudden horrific thought flashed through her head and she looked up at the club that nearly just killed her, deathly afraid that her brother's bodies may be dangling grotesquely from it.
Nothing. A mix of thankfulness and fear washed over Ginny as she continued looking. More people rushed by her, one man ran into her nearly knocking her over. Ginny spun from the impact, almost falling when someone grabbed her shoulder. It was Tonks.
"Ginny, come on!" she shouted and shook her back to her senses. Ginny looked at her with sadness in her eyes and Tonks instinctively knew why. "Come on girl," Tonks said gently and pulled Ginny towards Gringrotts. Everyone left alive in the crowd was making their way up the stairs and into the bank. Ginny and Tonks were at the very end of the crowd, the last. They became the sole targets for the pack of Giants. Upset that their prey was escaping, the Giants bellowed and gnashed their broken teeth at the two young ladies and charged.
Tonks grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her up the stairs as the Giants closed in.
"Shut the doors!" shouted Tonks. Inside, terrified Goblins pulled at chains and levers, some lined up and pushed the doors with their spidery hands. The doors began to close as the two girls rushed up the stairs, taking them two or three at a time. They reached the doors seconds before the Giants reached the bottom of the stairs, just out of reach of their huge clubs, and squeezed themselves through the remaining space as the door closed. Ginny and Tonks popped through the crack, stumbling into Gringrotts. They spun and threw their bodies against the doors, aiding the Goblins.
Tonks was nearest to the crack and could still see outside. Death Eaters, traveling behind the Giants, were storming up the stairs brandishing their wands. Doubling her efforts, Tonks pushed and pushed, straining her already tired muscles. The door groaned and creaked, but budged with dreadful slowness.
"Push!" shouted Tonks at the others, urging them on. The doors resisted briefly before slamming triumphantly into its jams, closed and sealed. Tonks, Ginny, and the Goblins let out a collective sigh of relief and collapsed against the door, tired, drained, but alive.
WHAM!
The bank doors rumbled under a fierce blow. It startled everyone and they all scrambled away. Tonks stood there, watching the doors shake from the impact.
WHAM!
The bank doors shook again. Leaning up against the door, Tonks could hear shouting from the outside.
"Hit it again!"
"Get the little bastards!
"Break it down!"
"Smash it to bits!"
"Harder you lazy dogs!"
The Death Eaters screamed encouragements at the Giants. They pounded on the doors with their clubs and meaty fists. Those Death Eaters not spouting encouragements and threats cast spells and curses at the doors, making little popping noises as they struck harmlessly.
WHAM! WHAM!
The vicious blows came harder and faster and those outside cheered and jeered louder with each blow, but the doors of Gringrotts held.
Tonks stepped away and looked at the huddled mass of frightened people milling about like sheep. Even the Goblins, who know all the multiple enchantments on those doors better than she did, were frightened. But there were still two other people inside Gringrotts that hadn't broken down, that still remained strong and brave. Two Gryffindors through and through. It was Ginny, her lower lip quivering slightly and her eyes misty over the disappearance of her brothers, and Hermione, gently rocking the crying baby in her arms. Ginny must have told her about Ron and the Twins as slow tears rolled down her cheeks. Tonks took the two girls gently aside by the arm, away from the others. She needed their help now and tried to explain as gently as possible.
WHAM!
"Listen good now. Those doors are magic, really old, strong stuff and they won't break for a good while. But sooner or later they will break and then they'll all be able to come inside. So I need to go and get help. I can't contact anyone from the Order in here and we need 'em. I need you two to take charge in here, alright?" Both Ginny and Hermione nodded. "Keep them away from the doors and keep them calm," Tonks instructed. "I'll be back soon," she smiled and gave the girls a wink. They smiled back at her and Tonks knew that no matter what happened that they would be fine, that they were strong enough to handle it. She was about to apparate out of the bank when Hermione grabbed her arm.
"Here, take him with you," she said handing Tonks the squirming baby. Tonks took the child and the baby cooed at Tonks' bubblegum hair and reached out and tried to pull on it. Tonks giggled at him but still held him at arm's length.
Hermione and Ginny laughed at Tonks and it surprised them both that after everything that had happened today that they could still laugh about something. Tonks gave them a knowing smile and stepped back away from them.
"And be ready to jinx the hell out of anybody who apparates inside too, girls," she warned. "Can't be too careful," and with that Tonks disappeared with a loud pop.
-VII-
"You clumsy git!" yelled Fred. "What the hell do you think you were doing?" he asked as he pulled a half-eaten, moldy sandwich off his expensive Dragonskin pants.
"I was trying not to get squashed!" Ron replied defensively. The Giant's club had nearly killed them all. Ginny's warning came for too late for them to react to. In fact, it had hindered them more than it had helped. At the sound of her voice, the three boys had stopped in their tracks to listen, each with a priceless look of confusion etched across his face. It was Ron who saw the club first, or rather its shadow. The club blocked out all light as it came racing down to crush them. Too frightened to tell his brothers, or breathe for the matter, Ron tried to run away. Terrified, he tripped over his feet and crashed into his two brothers, sending them head over heels into a back alley and a large pile of very smelly trash cans.
"You're welcome by the way," Ron muttered. "That's the thanks I get for saving your lives."
"Saving us? You tripped over your own bloody feet! Some hero you are," laughed George, unceremoniously pulling a banana peel off his head.
"If it wasn't for me you two would be just a greasy spot on the street!" argued Ron loudly.
"Shh," hissed Fred.
"Don't tell me to Shh!" shouted Ron back at him.
"Shh," whispered George, ducking behind a trashcan and pulling Ron down with him. Clamping his hand over Ron's protesting mouth, George pointed towards the front of the alley.
A Death Eater, hearing all the shouting and commotion coming from the alley, had entered to investigate.
The three brothers didn't move, didn't even breathe. They remained hidden by the garbage cans, but they knew that it was only a matter of time before the Death Eater found them. Ron slowly shifted his body so he could draw his wand. Suddenly, a cold sensation trickled down his back. Ron snapped his head up and looked it his brothers. Or at least where his brothers were. They were gone; Ron couldn't see them at all.
"Shh," whispered Fred's voice behind him. "Disillusionment Charm. Look at your hand."
Ron looked down at his hand and saw right through it. He knew he wasn't invisible like Harry was when he used his cloak, but that his skin was an exact copy of his surroundings. Sort of like being a really big, human chameleon.
The Death Eater continued to walk down the alley, coming closer and closer towards the hidden brothers. Suddenly, the Death Eater tripped and fell! The mask hit first with a crumbling of plastic and fell away, reveling a young, pretty face with raven black hair behind it. Ron gasped in spite of himself. He always thought Death Eaters were old, ugly hags with warts like Bellatrix Lestrangeor was a nasty pureblood with their nose stuck up in the air like Malfoy's mother.
The Death Eater heard Ron's gasp and drew her wand. She aimed it in the direction of the noise and started to search for the source. She crawled on her hands and knees right at Ron, until her wand tip was mere inches away from his nose. Ron scrambled backwards, knocking into trashcans and scattering garbage all over the place.
"There you are," she purred in a husky voice. "Crucio!" She started casting curses randomly at Ron's direction, some just missing him by inches. Ron dove backwards trying to find some form of shelter from the flying curses of pain.
"Aguamenti!" shouted Fred's voice as a jet of water shot out of his wand like a fire hose. The blast slammed into the pretty Death Eater and drove her against the alley wall. She screamed and fought against the torrent of water, but the flow was too strong and kept her pinned against the wall. Finally, the stream lessened and she fell slack against the wall, dripping wet and dazed.
"Arachnidia!" shouted George's voice. White coils burst from his wand in the shape of a massive spider's web. They flew through the air and glued the Death Eater to the wall. She thrashed and struggled, but the sticky strands held her down.
Ron stood up as the cold sensation returned, this time it traveled up his body as the Disillusionment Charm was lifted. He could see Fred and George again, the twins were marveling over their handiwork.
"Nice bit of work with the web charm," complimented Fred. "About time you got that to work."
"What was that?" asked Ron as he walked towards his brothers to look at the trapped Death Eater.
"Spider Surprise," answered George proudly. "A spell I've been working on for a while. Never really worked before."
"You used an experiment to save me!" exclaimed Ron.
"You're lucky we saved you at all!" countered Fred. "Next time we might now bother."
"Let's just get out of here," said George. "Tonks said they were heading for Gringrotts. We can just apparate inside and meet them."
"Alright," agreed Fred. "Let's go." He and his twin began to walk away.
"Wait! I don't know how to apparate!" complained Ron. Both Fred and George rolled their eyes at Ron. True, they both well knew that Ron couldn't apparate, but they couldn't help teasing their brother a little more.
"Blimey, do we have to do everything for you Ronny?" teased George.
"Alright, you can side-along with me," said Fred. He laid a hand on Ron's shoulder and they disappeared with a loud pop.
George took one last look at the pretty Death Eater still struggling in his spider web, a multitude of curses streaming out of her mouth.
"Tsk, Tsk," he mocked. "Didn't your Mum ever teach you that's not very lady like?" George gave her a parting wave and disappeared after his brothers.
-VII-
Harry and Madam Malkin continued to watch Nott and the Lady Malfoy mill about Diagon Alley. They hadn't left the area, despite the rumbling and great explosions of noise and fire caused by the arrival of, Harry could only assume, Giants. Nott and Narcissa were speaking in low tones. Harry strained to hear, but was too far away and too hidden to make anything out. Harry tried to creep closer, only to be held back again by Madam Malkin. Harry grit his teeth in annoyance. 'This is getting old,' he thought at he spun around to face the much older woman.
"Let go of me," hissed Harry. Madam Malkin's eyes widened in fear that Harry's voice had been heard. She quickly looked over Harry's shoulder at the pair of Death Eaters. Thankfully, they were still to involved with their own conversation and hadn't heard Harry.
"Be quiet," she scolded the boy. "You'll get us caught.'
"I don't care," retaliated Harry. "I need to hear them. Let me…"
"Look," interrupted Madam Malkin, pointing at a large black shape approaching Narcissa. Harry shrugged her off his arm roughly and looked.
A large black owl silently fluttered down and landed on Nott's outstretched arm. He plucked a note from the owl's leg and handed it to Narcissa. She unfurled the message and read it quickly.
"They've arrived at Gringrotts. We're to join them at once." Nott nodded and began to write a note to send back with the owl. Narcissa turned her back to Harry and uncovered a pair of black brooms.
'That must have been how they got here,' thought Harry. 'It'd be impossible to stop people from flying into the alley undercover, there's no way to stop them.'
"Hurry up Nott!" called Narcissa as she mounted her own broom and kicking it up into the air. She took off and awaited him several feet above the rooftops. Harry and Madam Malkin slid further behind their crumbling wall to avoid being spotted. Nott quickly finished his note and sent the owl back into the air. He clumsily jumped onto his broom and joined Narcissa in the air. Together they sped off into the sky.
Harry waited until they rounded a corner before leaping to his feet. Rushing out to the spot the twp Death Eaters just stood at, he searched the area for another broom. There were none. Harry cursed his luck. He had to follow them somehow.
"Arghhh!" he shouted, letting his frustration get the better of him. "I'd give my right arm for my Firebolt…right…now," Harry looked up at the wall Madam Malkin was emerging from and stopped dead sentence. A poster for the new Firebolt II hung in tatters on the battered wall. Memories of the Triwizard Tournament came rushing back to Harry as he drew his wand and pointed it at the Quality Quidditch Supply store.
"Accio Firebolt II!" he commanded. There was a crash of glass and the broom flew into Harry's waiting hand. The wooden handle was smooth and light in Harry's grasp. The broom seemed to radiate energy, like it had an inner desire to take to the skies and fly. Harry leapt onto the broom. It hovered steadily just off the ground. Harry was just about to take off and follow the Death Eaters when Madam Malkin grabbed his arm, again.
"Don't leave me," she pleaded with him. Harry rolled his eyes at the scared, but increasingly annoying woman.
"Do you still have your wand? Harry asked. She nodded. "Can you Apparate?" She nodded again. Harry slapped her across the cheek. Not hard enough to hurt her, but enough to startle her and release a little bit of his frustrations with the woman.
"You can Apparate to anywhere you can think of and you're still here!" he shouted. "Get the hell out of here!" With that, Harry kicked off and flew into the sky.
Madam Malkin stood still for a moment, lightly caressing the spot Harry had slapped. Realizing her error, she pulled out her wand and vanished into thin air, just like Harry told her to.
Meanwhile, Harry couldn't remember the last time he had this much fun. After being banned from Quidditch, he never thought he'd fly like this again. The wind flew through his longer hair, unfurling his loosely constructed ponytail. He quickly rose into the air, passing the rooftops instantly. The ground blurred by as Harry rocketed after Nott and Narcissa. He caught up to them frightfully fast, almost to the point of overshooting them. Harry had to pull back hard on the nose of his broom to keep from being spotted. Naturally, the Firebolt II handled perfectly and they slowed in time. Now flying much slower, Harry could see the streets below and the vast amounts of carnage.
Most of Diagon Alley was burning; great pillars of smoke clouded the skies. Even high above the flames, Harry could still feel the suffocating heat rising into the air. Squinting through the smoke, Harry could see massive indentions and craters in the streets: the footprints of Giants. In places where the clouds of smoke parted, Harry could see the Giants in the distance. He could see the tops of their heads and could hear their laughter carry on the wind.
While passing through another cloud of smoke, Harry lost sight of Nott and Narcissa. Stopping and hovering in midair, Harry searched the skies for the pair. All he could see was more smoke all around him. Harry pushed the nose of the Firebolt downward into a perfect dive. 'Maybe they already landed,' he thought.
As Harry flew closer and closer to the ground, the devastation of Diagon Alley grew worse and more terrible to behold. Many of the fires were burning out of control. The animal stench of the Giants and coppery scent of blood hung heavily in the air. The bodies of the helpless victims lay stretched out on the streets in grotesque death throes, bloody and broken. Harry's heart sank at the sight as bile rose in his throat. He quickly looked away, afraid he might see a friend amongst the bodies.
Harry continued to fly, somehow, over the trampled and ravaged streets, a mixture of sadness and anger etched across his face. The sights only added to the already over-powering sense of guilt and anger that had been consuming him all summer.
"God damn you, Voldemort," he muttered through grit teeth. Harry's hands began to shake with rage, nearly disrupting his flying.
Far up ahead, Harry could see the tops of Giant's heads over the buildings and a loud hammering sound, like someone knocking heavily on a closed door. He began to climb up over the buildings to get a better look when someone screamed in the distance. It was a girl and it sounded very familiar to Harry.
"Cho…"
A.N.
Yeah, I know it's been awhile since I updated this story. Between school, work, writer's block, and excessive drinking I just got caught behind the 8 ball on this one. Sorry. I will be bouncing back and forth between this story and my X-Men/Sin City Fic "Blood, Bullets, and Broads". So there will be more updates along the way.
Nataku's Wrath