Chapter Eight: Christmas Presents
Severus lurked in the darkest corner of the dining room of Grimmauld Place. He'd found the spot years ago, a nice out-of-the-way corner that light just didn't seem to be able to reach. Even after Black's renovation of the place, the shadows still fell in the right manner to cloak him.
Make no mistake, Severus wasn't hiding… per se. He just didn't want to be bothered. Severus had learned as a small child that if he wanted to be left alone in places like Grimmauld Place, the best solution was to not be seen in the first place. Thus, Severus was lurking in the farthest corner of the dining room of Grimmauld Place at this late hour.
Severus looked at the clock one more time willing it to move faster. Well perhaps not as late as he would have liked it. It was a quarter past ten. Perhaps not late enough to call it a night, but far enough into the hour for Severus to wish he was somewhere else. No, that wasn't quite right. Severus wasn't being fair to these people. It could have been mid-morning or noon and Severus still wouldn't want to be here. And if he'd had a choice, well…
But Severus didn't have many choices these days. Dumbledore had made it clear that his presence was required, which could only mean that now was the time Dumbledore wanted him to share the Dark Lord's latest movements. So, Severus was here, in his dark shadowy corner, surrounded by, and yet insulated from, the warm low murmur of the rest of the Order of the Phoenix.
Black sat at the table laughing at something or another while he yapped away at Lupin. To the right of Lupin was his wife, who was trying to split her time and attention between watching the door and participating in her husband's conversation. Standing behind them was a small group of Order member, mostly Aurors, Shacklebolt included. The majority of the Weasleys were in their own little group talking away. The Granger girl among them. His fellow professors, along with Mad-Eye, were closest to him. If Severus strained his hearing he could just make out their low conversation.
It wasn't even the whole of the Order, not even half. But those called were clearly the important or long standing Order members. All of them were catching up with each other. Waiting for the start of the meeting. For Dumbledore to clear his throat and call the meeting to order. As Severus checked the time again, he knew it could start any minute now. As they were now more than fifteen minutes behind when the meeting was supposed to start.
At that thought, Dumbledore looked at the clock as well before clearing his throat. "I believe we will have to start now. Those still not here will have to trickle in and be caught up on their own."
Severus moved to sit down in a nearby chair. His eyes observed the room as he sat. The demon twins were looking at the door, along with their mother. But they sat down, just as the rest of the Order members present. Tonks looked worriedly over at the door again, but turned her focus to the Headmaster just as everyone else.
"You are all aware of the recent increase of activity of Voldemort and his followers." Severus flinched slightly at the use of the Dark Lord's name, and he wasn't the only one. He knew he should be used to it, but something in his bones rebelled against the name. Perhaps it was one too many Crucios associated with the name…
"You mean that Knockturn Alley business that occurred last week." Mad-Eye throw an old newspaper on the table. Severus looked on at the black and white image of a large scythe floating above a rubble covered lot. Severus knew it to be what was left of the Black Venom even if the ruins themselves hardly resembled the Black Venom in his memories. "Now, you're willing to have your little pet snake tell us about it! As if a piece of Knockturn Alley goes missing every fucking day!"
"It could have been worse than it was. We're still surprised it didn't affect the nearby buildings." Shacklebolt replied. At that Tonks took her focus off of the door to the conversation at hand.
"The explosion had to be controlled as we measured the blast power. It should have leveled the block fifty meters out as well."
"Leveled the block? That powerful of a blast. I thought it only took out one building?" the Granger girl inquired.
"I made sure we had someone look into it. The only thing keeping it isolated was a very skilled ward. From what we can figure, it was placed there to contain the damage… and maximize the casualties."
"This is hardly surprising seeing as ward placement and ward breaking seem to be within the Reaper's skill set." Lupin replied.
"But why go after the Black Venom? It was only a pub."
"Could it have had something to do with the other attacks?" Tonks asked Shacklebolt.
"What are you keeping from us, Snape!?" Mad-Eye question. Severus didn't like his tone, especially since it hadn't been his decision to wait until now to tell the Order about the Dark Lord's latest attacks, or attempts at an attack.
"I spoke with the Headmaster as soon as the events of that night had reached their conclusion. He did not deem it important to inform the rest of the Order."
"But now you do, huh? What's changed Albus? Finally getting it in your head that there are others concerned here?"
"For that Alastor, why don't you let Severus explain?" Dumbledore paused to stare Mad-Eye down. It wasn't until the hard-edged man had backed down, then Dumbledore continued. "Please Severus, if you would?"
"As you may be aware of already, the Reaper and the Dark Lord have been fighting each other far more intensely than before."
"Really wouldn't have guessed!" Black added acidly.
"If you'd let me finish, I might be able to give some insight." Severus replied.
"Please go ahead, Severus." Dumbledore.
"The Dark Lord is after the Ministry again." Severus saw Shacklebolt shiver. The last time the Dark Lord had been after the Ministry he'd been promoted. After the numerous deaths including Amelia Bones, someone had to fill the space. "His latest attempts were to send in three of his operatives to infiltrate the Ministry."
"Those wouldn't happen to be the same three men we just found dead in their homes? Two of them were clear targets of the Reaper, but the third was missing his signature scythe." As Severus' nodded, Shacklebolt exploded. "You couldn't have mentioned this at the last meeting!? Finding the bodies like this, so many days after…" Shacklebolt shook his head. Severus recognized those haunted eyes. He saw them every day in the mirror.
Tonks seeing her boss struggle chimed in, "Would have helped our job to know the connection to the Black Venom attack earlier."
"How the hell does the pub have anything to do with the death of the Ministry employees?" Black demanded.
"You might not realize this, but the Black Venom is a little known Death Eater pub."
"A Death Eater pub? I thought all of the Knockturn Alley pubs were Death Eater hang outs." Shacklebolt replied.
"Hardly. The Reaper targeted the pub, knowing that only Death Eaters would be frequenting it. It is the first time the Reaper has targeted non-Ministry employee Death Eaters. For which the Dark Lord is extremely unhappy." Severus unconsciously rubbed his arm over the mark.
"If this pub really existed, why didn't you tell us before!?" Black demanded. "We could have had Aurors infiltrate the place!"
"Enough Black! What good do you think that information would have done the Ministry? Aurors turn up dead in Knockturn Alley." Severus snorted at the idea. "Foolishness. Half-baked plans like this are why wild dogs ought to be put down." Severus added coolly.
"Why you piece of…"
"Enough!" The Headmaster roared. "Sirius, Severus. I believe we agreed to be civil."
"I'm not the one foaming at the mouth. Perhaps we should check to make sure Black's had all his shots."
Black lunged across the table only to be pulled back by Lupin. Severus wasn't at all concerned. There were reasons why he reported directly to Dumbledore. Dealing with fools like this was tiresome and a waste of his time.
"Severus." The Headmaster spoke coldly.
Severus cleared his throat before continuing, "The Black Venom was not what the Headmaster asked me to speak with you about."
"Right, old news those dead Death Eater blokes."
"Ron!" Granger whispered.
Severus ignored them both, "The Dark Lord has not given up. He plans to try once again, over the Christmas holiday."
"An attack?"
"Lucius is using all of his influence to get one of the Death Eaters highly placed within the Ministry. So, high it's almost guaranteed to help the Dark Lord take over the Ministry. Whether or not it's a direct attack, I cannot say."
"I thought Minister Fudge wasn't listening to Malfoy anymore?" Arthur questioned softly.
"Lucius is calling in a favor." Severus replied.
"A favor like this…" Mad-Eye shook his head, "That must be one favor..."
Severus inclined his head toward the retired Auror, "A favor that cannot be asked twice."
There was silence for several long seconds before Bill interrupted it. "This must be extremely important for Malfoy to use up what little remaining sway he has with Minister Fudge."
"Who is the Death Eater involved?" Shacklebolt asked.
"I was not told." Severus quickly talked over the outbreak of conversation that had erupted, "But I do know that she will change everything."
There was a moment of silence as everyone took in his words.
"I'm sure that Voldemort will attack over the holidays. It may be Christmas Eve or Christmas, but he will attack. This infiltrator is only the beginning of a bigger plan. We must not assume that his only target is the Reaper."
"You-Know-Who must know that this Death Eater won't last very long. The Reaper will kill her like he's done with all of the rest." Shacklebolt replied.
"How do we know that isn't the plan? Lure the Reaper in, and trap him. It would be easy to kill him then…" Mad-Eye added.
"We can't let that happen. Whatever the Reaper is, he seems to be on our side." Tonks spoke out.
"Yeah, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' after all." Ronald Weasley replied.
"Make no mistake, a man like that is no better than Voldemort. We must not forget that the Reaper takes life. No man has the right to take a life. No matter the cause." Dumbledore replied.
"You've seen some of his victims. It's hard to imagine a bloke like that on the side of the light. Demented maybe, but good?" Shacklebolt shook his head to answer his own question.
"Still, to let him fall into a trap? He saved the Weasleys. We owe him." Tonks replied.
"We owe him nothing!" Dumbledore spoke heatedly. "We will not be getting involved with the Reaper and Voldemort's battle. I will not support death and destruction in any form. It would be so easy to help the Reaper, to align with this man. However, we cannot fall prey to the easy course of action, but the right one."
"And the right one is to let a man die?" Tonks paused to let her statement sink in. "It sounds like we're doing the same as either of them. How does that make us any better?"
"I say let them kill each other. Less work for us. It would be even better if we could capture them both. Dark Lord and Reaper. Send them to Azkaban where they belong. Get'em cells right next to Potter's corpse."
Severus ground his teeth in anger, and he wasn't the only one who didn't sit easy at Mad-Eye's cruel comment. Tonks looked angry, while Lupin sat uneasily next to her. Even Black had the gall to look shame faced. He had no right, but it seemed that the reminder that he'd sent his godson to his death didn't sit easy with him. Severus could have cared less. For all the talk that Gryffindors were brave, the man had no backbone. At least Lupin was consistent with his spineless character.
"You go too far, Alastor." McGonagall replied coldly. At her hard gaze, Mad-Eye looked away. An awkward silence descended on the group.
Dumbledore waved his hand to regain control of the Order, "What's done, is done." Dumbledore looked around the group. "For now, we must deal with the present. Stay alert over the next few days, more so than any other time. We will not be getting involved with the Reaper." Dumbledore stared down Tonks waiting for her nod of agreement before continuing, "Now, let's start discussing ways to defend ourselves…"
Severus knew this meeting could go on for a while yet. But he was done with his share and honestly didn't care about the updates of the rest. He let his mind wander. First to the door, still a no show. Tonks was looking over at it too. Her worry was cute, but probably unnecessary.
Severus leaned back in his chair and looked out at nothing. Mad-Eye bringing up Harry had been unexpected. Not because the boy had not been on his mind recently. No, it was rare for him to go a week without that particular nightmare. No, Mad-Eye's cruel mention of Harry's fate had brought his thoughts back to the Black Venom.
What he'd not said, and what was probably more difficult for the Aurors to have determined was how many had died in the Black Venom attack. The Aurors seemed to think it was simply a bombing. And from the debris, that's all anyone would be able to tell. If they had known the body count, then they would have reconsidered the actions to be taken about the Reaper.
To think, the last time he'd been at the pub had been two months ago.
"Finally, Lucius. I was beginning to think you wouldn't show."
"It crossed my mind for a moment given the week I've had, but Cissa kindly reminded me about your… persistent nature."
"Whatever gets you here, Lucius…" Severus took a sip of his whiskey. "This meeting has been a long time in coming." Severus turned to wave the Bartender down, but stopped at the sight of the old man bringing over two more drinks.
"On the house Lord Malfoy." If the man could have gotten on his knees to serve Lucius, Severus was sure he would. "I'm so glad you could make it after the disappointing news of earlier."
Lucius nodded his head in agreement, only half listening. Severus briefly wondered what it would be like for situations like this to happen so often it becomes expected. Perhaps he'd be just as nonchalant as his friend… But that was not why he was here tonight, they had much to discuss.
Severus turned away from the Bartender ready to drill in on Lucius, only to be stopped as the old man continued to speak, "We had some new recruits come in Wednesday, told'em to come back tonight. Knew you normally come in tonight, Lord Malfoy."
"Oh? Did you now?" Lucius finally turned his full attention to the Bartender. Surprising, as Severus would have expected him to wave the man off.
"I'm expecting the girl any time now." The Bartender replied, "This one seemed different from the majority of the prospects we get here." Another pause as the old man searched for words, "Determined and sure of herself…"
"I don't see how that's any different from what we have now." Lucius replied. Severus would have said the same. Recruitment was at its all-time low, at least for above average witches and wizards.
"Not arrogantly, sir, but..." The Bartender paused again in search for the right words, "Driven! Yeah, driven." The old man bobbed his head at his success, "I think this one's going to be something more than a mindless drone, sir. And I didn't want to leave young talented minds in the hands of those fools." The Bartender nodded his head in the direction of Crabbe and Goyle's table.
"And you can tell from one or two drinks who has talent?" Lucius asked skeptically. Severus was also skeptical, but he'd been surprised before.
"When you've been bartending the number of years I have, milord, you pick up on mannerisms and presence fast. I got her measure from the moment she walked in. Thought she might have been an Auror, but they're not good at deception. No, sir. I can spot an Auror in seconds. She was something else."
Lucius nodded his head. Severus saw that gleam in his eyes that meant he was plotting something. Lucius had plans for this recruit already, Severus was sure of it. "When she arrives point her this way."
"Yes, sir." The Bartender replied before heading off back to his bar.
With Lucius' focus on him, Severus decided he could take a few minutes to comment, "Recruiting now?"
"I have Gorgon send me the more talented recruits. Unlike some, I've got to do everything in my power to stay in the Dark Lord's good graces."
"You think fooling Dumbledore is an easy task, Lucius?"
"Perhaps not, but you don't have to be in the frontlines nearly as often, Severus." Lucius downed his drink in one gulp and signaled to Gorgon for another.
Severus waited for Gorgon to replace Lucius' drink before he continued, "You had a close call the other day." Severus paused to sip his own drink, "A source, you say?"
"Yes, a source, who I'd like to keep confidential." Lucius replied too fast for Severus' liking.
"You seem to be forgetting my persistent nature, Lucius." Severus took another sip of his whiskey, "You're hiding something. Something to do with the Reaper, I'm sure, and why you were the only one spared that night."
Lucius moved to argue, but Severus cut him off, "No, Lucius, spared is the right word to use, and you know it. I was at the Burrow. I've heard the accounts from the Weasleys. You and I both know one man did that, no matter what the Dark Lord's idea about it." Severus took another sip to finish off his first glass before giving Lucius a piercing look. "You. Were. Spared."
"I gambled with the new recruits' lives." Lucius' reply was cool and collected. It also sounded rehearsed. "If I'd had the whole group pull out, then the Dark Lord would have surely killed me. So, I gambled. Hoped, the new recruits could get it done." Lucius sipped his own drink creating a natural pause, "I gambled, but I was not spared."
"You think for a moment I believe you'd risk your life with the Dark Lord's wrath on a gamble?" Severus shook his head to answer his own question, "No, Lucius. You were faced with an option, and you took the one that was less likely to get you killed. The sacrifice of the new recruits' lives was probably a small price to pay for the Dark Lord's forgiveness."
"You have me figured out, Severus. There is nothing else to tell. I wanted to live so I ran, but I would not think of it as a sparing of my life." Lucius swirled his drink around absentmindedly. "More like, self-preservation."
"Lucius, the Reaper could have killed you all. He didn't have to warn you of his intentions beforehand."
"I'm telling you, Severus. My source told me that he was coming. And I assure you, it was a very reliable source."
"The same source that's been giving you information and help with your other jobs? The same source that made you so confident that the Weasleys would be dead by now?" Severus gave a snort at Lucius' attempt to mislead him. "You want me to believe all that to be true?"
Lucius looked around, but no one was paying them the slightest attention, yet. Severus had carefully picked a table far away from the other inhabitants of the bar. It was a nice buffer that provided them some privacy, but that could change at the drop of the hat, or the whim of an additional drink.
"This is not a conversation to be discussed so lightly, Severus. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were suggesting I've betrayed the Dark Lord?"
Severus took that as a cue that Lucius was ready to talk, so he casted his spell softly under his breath, "Muffiato." He knew from experience that anyone nearby would only be able to hear an unidentifiable buzzing sound from their table, which Lucius would know as well. Snape continued with those thoughts in mind, "Betray the Dark Lord? No, but extra… let's call them insurances. I would think you foolish not to have them."
Lucius laughed bitterly at Severus' words, "Like your Dumbledore insurances? I think I can do better than that."
"Then tell me, Lucius. I will not accidentally point out your good fortune to Bellatrix or any of the others. Still, you can't expect this to go on without others putting some of the pieces together. We both know how dangerous it would be to put only partial pieces together. Who knows what someone like Bellatrix will fill in the blanks with?"
Lucius face gave away nothing. He'd been in the service of the Dark Lord for too long for Severus to expect that kind of mistake, but Lucius had other tells. His hands absentmindedly circled the top of his shot glass. It was a nervous habit of Lucius' that didn't show if he didn't have a drink in hand. Lucius probably didn't even know he had it. Still, that didn't stop Severus from taking advantage.
"There is a man… A man who goes by the title of the Fixer." Lucius paused to take a sip of his drink. "For the right price, he will fix any problem you might have."
"A hit man?"
"No, I've never known him to accept a killing contract outright, or I'd have paid to have him kill Dumbledore ages ago."
"And yet, there were no survivors of the Burrow attack."
Lucius laughed at that, "No survivors? My friend, are you forgetting that the Burrow attack was unsuccessful?" There was a look in Lucius' eyes that said he'd not soon forget.
Severus let Lucius' slip go without comment, instead he focused on this new information, "The price must be something. It surprises me that the Dark Lord hasn't noticed the large amounts of gallons you take out to pay for this Fixer."
"Simple. The payments are not monetary, but books. Ancient spell books. Each time, it becomes more expensive than the last. The Dark Lord may have his nose deep within my finances, but even he cannot notice when one or more of my rare books goes unaccounted for."
"Still, for the Dark Lord to know nothing about this Fixer." It just didn't make sense for someone this big to go unnoticed by the Dark Lord.
"I never said he didn't know, Severus. Only that he doesn't know that I'm using him to further our cause."
Severus thought for a minute as he sipped on his free drink. Bellatrix's words playing back to him. 'You don't think the Reaper is…'
"The Prisoner?" Severus looked over to Lucius whose eyes shone with amusement, "I thought he helped people? What you do couldn't be defined as helping anyone."
"The Prisoner is not who the Dark Lord thinks he is." The small smile on Lucius' lips did not go unnoticed by Severus. "Severus, I'm telling you this because we are friends. I trust you with this information."
"The Dark Lord would kill you if he knew you were withholding this type of information, Lucius. The link between the Prisoner and the Reaper is too strong to dismiss." Severus finished off his glass. "This is a dangerous game you're playing."
"No more dangerous than yours."
"What do you want in return?"
Lucius swirled his glass before finishing his drink off as well, "Silence. No more questions, Severus. My life, my family's life, your godson's life, hangs in the balance. And not with just the Dark Lord. The Prisoner is just as unforgiving."
"You don't want me looking into him, the Fixer or the Prisoner?"
"Somehow I think he'd sooner kill you than help you. And when he's done with you, there won't be much left, I'm afraid."
That had been the last time he'd been at the Black Venom. Severus had managed to get more information out of Lucius than Lucius even knew he'd given. His slip about the connection between the Reaper and the Prisoner had given Severus exactly what he'd wanted from Lucius. Where Lucius' loyalties lay, Severus couldn't tell. What he did know, was that if the Dark Lord got even a hint that Lucius was hiding the identity of the Reaper from him, then he'd kill Lucius and his whole family. Even with that knowledge, Lucius had been more afraid of giving up the Reaper's identity.
Severus had enough to go on to begin putting the pieces together on his own. The Fixer, the Prisoner, and the Reaper were all likely the same person. Severus had even put together the link between the Ministry and the Reaper. It seemed so clear now and explained why the Reaper only seemed to go after Death Eaters that worked in the Ministry. This new connection also shed some light on why the Ankou Company took the lead on these Death Eater killings.
Fudge's turnabout at using Lucius for ideas and a source of additional income had also been explained. Severus had never for a minute believed the submissive man had grown a backbone. No, Fudge was clearly deep within the pocket of the Reaper, now. For how long? Probably from the start of the Reaper's reign.
The Reaper was an interesting character. While he'd taken control of the Ministry, he'd clearly didn't have the same goals as the Dark Lord. The Reaper was a man for which Severus wouldn't mind changing his loyalties too. There was just one thing bothering him.
The Prisoner. It really was too much to hope for. What Severus had in mind was probably impossible. He knew he shouldn't even pretend to be thinking about this impossibility. For if he were wrong…
Severus forced his mind away from this train of thought. There were just some things that couldn't be lost twice. Something about getting over the same loss would be insurmountable, even for him. However, if it were true…
A feeling that Severus had not felt in the last ten years bubbled up unwillingly within Severus' heart, hope. Severus didn't, couldn't let it stay. So, he quickly squashed the feeling.
The simplest solution would have been to take a trip to Azkaban. Severus would know one way or the other, and maybe he'd get some closure… Either way, the Prisoner would be there. Severus needed to keep that the focus of his search for the Reaper.
Too bad it was nearly impossible to get into Azkaban these days. If he even started the process, Dumbledore would surely notice, and this was not something he wanted Dumbledore to notice.
Severus briefly came back to the meeting. From the sounds of it, Dumbledore was wrapping things up. Good, he could go home soon. Severus' eyes briefly landed on a fidgeting Tonks across from him. She looked like she was trying to will the door to open. The woman would be sorely disappointed. As he knew very well, will alone would get you nowhere. This late in the meeting, there was very little chance anyone else would be walking through that door.
The thought snapped his thoughts to the Black Venom again. That female recruit that Gorgon had talked up had been a no-show. A driven woman who wasn't an Auror. In addition, Severus suspected, she wasn't actually looking to join up with the Dark Lord. She'd been in the Black Venom on Wednesday of all the days too. Determined to find something, or someone. As the months wore on and Severus had plenty of time to think and observe, he'd begun to believe that she'd been determined to find the Fixer and had stumbled into the Black Venom instead.
The meeting was interrupted as the door opened. Ah, so the prodigal daughter returns? Severus watched as the youngest Weasley, well the youngest in her generation, walked through the dining room doors. He'd not expected her to show up today after such a delay.
"Ms. Weasley, so nice of you to join us." Dumbledore spoke into the abrupt silence. "As you can see, everyone else was here on time. Perhaps you had better things to do today?"
"I was held up at work." She replied tiredly. "New patient I couldn't leave. I got here as soon as I could."
"Unfortunately we're done here. Perhaps you should have just stayed with said patient?"
Severus looked over at Ginny's tired frame. The twins had lied about the Burrow attack, but he didn't expect to get anything out of them, nor would he have ever tried. Teaching them had been enough interaction with the demon twins for multiple lifetimes. However, Ginny… Severus was sure Ginny had not been home that Wednesday night. No, she had been down in Knockturn Alley that night. Looking for the Fixer.
Severus was also sure that she'd found him. Ginny Weasley knew who the Reaper was and wasn't about to tell anyone. Now, if only Severus knew if that was because the Reaper had threatened her and her family's life or because the Reaper was the love of her life. Impossible, he was sure, but his heart didn't seem to think so.
Severus continued to observe the young Weasley as the rest of the Order got up to leave. Tonks made a bee line to confront Ginny on her tardiness.
Severus couldn't help envying the young woman. It was just too bad Dumbledore would have noticed if his Slytherin Head of House, who hated all things Weasleys, were to suddenly get up and talk with the Weasley that was giving the Headmaster the most trouble. It would have been nice to just ask her directly.
Was Harry Potter alive?
Harry looked through the glass divider of what used to be his ritual room to watch as his Healer General worked with Owen. Ginny had been giving him the cold shoulder since the Black Venom incident. She still came in every day. For hours she would work, mostly teaching Owen new spells and techniques or deep in his potions lab with a book in hand and a journal next to it. It would seem his influence was still heavy on her study habits.
Her progress still surprised him. Harry had been sure it would take the whole of the two months to get though just the Azkaban stationed Ankou members. However, Ginny was nearly finished with her basic checkups on all of the Ankou members, and it had only been little more than seven weeks.
His Healer General had already enticed several of his non-Azkaban station members to her small Healer program. Harry had only just managed to negotiate with her to take only ten, and to have Owen teach them instead of her directly.
He just couldn't, in good conscious, give the required clearances to the new apprentices for Azkaban positions. And if you didn't have Azkaban clearance, you didn't have clearance to know who the Healer General really was.
Ginny had negotiated hard, and Harry had ended up agreeing to build a facility for her as a compromise. The location was still to be determined but was unlikely to be housed here in England. Blaise had some good tracts of lands across the channel on which he was already building. Add a portkey directly to and from Azkaban, and Ginny's Healers could live, sleep, and learn within one of the of the ready built buildings while he had another building tailored to the Healer General's Healer Program.
Eventually, Ginny wanted to work from there full-time. And he would have to let her, as it would be strange for the Healer General to continue working out of Anaon if she had a whole building devoted to her craft. He didn't want that though.
Owen looked up at him as he watched, while Ginny pointedly ignored his presence. She must have snapped at Owen, because the young Lieutenant bent back to her task. She was a strange one, Owen. As confident as any of his Generals with Ginny by her side, but take the Healer General away and she seemed to want to prostrate herself at his feet.
Harry turned around at last. He'd speak with Ginny later about her work for tomorrow. For now, Harry really did need to get some paperwork done. After the Black Venom incident, Cornelius had been giving him a hard time about his extracurricular activities. It seemed the man forgot who was in control these days. He was at a point where he planned to just replace the Minister all together. But that hassle and paperwork would have to wait.
With both Danny and Jim across the channel, Harry had to go over their normal duties as well. Lucky for him, Danny and Jim had created a good hierarchy to take most of the burden off him. Still, Harry needed to be extra careful about reading through the Colonels reports. It was something he should do regardless, but it was extra time away from having his attention on other things. Not to mention, it also left him to make mundane decisions that Danny or Jim usually would have done.
Harry sighed heavily. He'd expected them both to be back within the week, but Jim's latest report didn't look promising. Six more months. Harry didn't have six more months. Well, he would have if he'd not put off looking at the less urgent reports, which was about all of them.
Harry looked over to his desk where a mound of paperwork rested. The Ministry inner workings, Jacob's latest contracts in the name of the Fixer, Danny's spy network reports, and let's not forget Jim's work. ATL program updates, food stocks updates, the green house reports, Ankou member duties and the list just seemed to go on and on… He had to read and approve all of it.
When Jim got back, they were going to have a long talk about proper delegation of duties. Until then, Harry had to go back and review them all. He needed to at least put somewhat of a dent in this stack.
Harry sighed again as he fully stepped into his own domain. This was going to be a painful process.
Ginny carefully reviewed Bryony's work from earlier. She'd since told her to go home, or where ever it was she went to when not at work, while she looked over Bryony's work. It was easier that way. Ginny found that she was too harsh if she gave back her remarks right after reviewing them. This way, Ginny could think of the good and not just the obvious wrongs. Bryony was getting better with this suturing spell after all, even if her hand sutures left a lot to be desired. Ginny just needed to remember that most healers didn't know how to do hand sutures.
Buzz.
Ginny's wand buzzed within her robes. She'd set it for half past six, so that she could get out of here on time. Ginny couldn't have another repeat of yesterday's Order meeting. She sighed as she set Bryony's work down. Ginny would have to look over the rest later. She'd promised Tonks to have dinner with her today at the part of the Order meeting she'd managed to make yesterday. Ginny snorted to herself. Part of the meeting? Dumbledore had already been dismissing everyone when she'd showed up.
Ginny groaned to herself as Tonks made a bee line to her. Her mother she could have dealt with easily. It helped that mum Weasley didn't want her only daughter fighting for the Order, or fighting in this war at all. Ginny was sure that every time she missed or was late to a meeting, her mother did a little dance inside. Tonks, however, was another story. She understood her drive to fight. Her hatred for Riddle and his gang. Ginny had only one strategy that seemed to work with Tonks most of the time, look as tired as possible.
Ginny looked over as she felt the eyes of someone else on her. Sitting at the table across from where Tonks had been sitting was Professor Snape. His eyes drilled her, searching for some answer. Ginny didn't feel the sharp pain that was Professor Snape's Legilimency probe. Still, his expression was far more intense than she was used too. It was as if Ginny only needed to reach out with her mind to hear his thoughts directed at her…
Before Ginny could test that theory, Tonks was upon her. "You sure took your sweet time. And don't give me that bollocks about a new patient."
"Tonks, I swear I just lost track of time. I only just remembered about the Order meeting tonight, like, twenty minutes ago. I got over here as soon as I could." Ginny replied. Tonks stared her down looking for the lie. She wouldn't find one, though. Ginny might have bent the truth with Dumbledore, but she was telling Tonks word for word what had happened. So, she was leaving out the part about which job she'd been held up at. Tonks didn't need to know about that, and wasn't likely to be able to tell she was holding back.
"It's not the only meeting you've missed, Ginny." Tonks expression softened slightly. "I thought something had happened to you. In fact, I still think something has happened to you. You may have your disagreements with Dumbledore, but you've never let that get in the way of your work with the Order."
"Not now, Tonks." Ginny let her exhaustion leak into her voice, "I just..." Ginny shook her head as if to clear her thoughts, "This isn't the place."
Tonks paused to really look her over before she continued, "Okay, but you're not off the hook. And you're coming for dinner tomorrow." Ginny tried to argue, but Tonks talked right over her, "No, buts Ginny. I've already run it past Molly." Tonks set her hand on Ginny shoulder, "Christmas Eve you're having dinner with the Lupins, with your godson. Molly can have you for Christmas."
Ginny knew Tonks. There wasn't any way she could talk her way out of it and to be honest she didn't really want to. "Alright, alright." Ginny replied with her hands held up in surrender. "You seem to have my whole holiday worked out for me."
Tonks gave a very un-lady like snort in reply, "For a high profile Healer, I'm still surprised you didn't take the whole week off for vacation. Spend some time with that boyfriend of yours among other things…" Tonks replied suggestively. It was times like this that reminded her that Tonks was definitely not like her mother. Ginny was sure she was turning an interesting shade of pink.
"The holidays are when I'm needed most." Ginny paused to get her emotions under control. Too bad Tonks' comment hadn't made her think of Harvey, "Besides, Harvey understands."
Ginny had promised to be at the Lupins' by seven. Ginny paused momentarily at her office door. Now that she thought about it, she could have invited Harvey. "Too late now." Ginny spoke to herself as she moved from the door way.
Even if she'd had the time, she probably wouldn't have invited him. Ginny hadn't owled him since that failed dinner last week, nor returned any of his owls. She knew she ought to just break up with him, but Ginny didn't have the heart to break up with anyone during the Christmas Holiday. That just seemed cruel.
Ginny walked pointedly passed Harry's red curtain on her way out of Anaon. If only things were different…
"Ginevra," Harry's baritone voice called after her, "A word."
Ginny sighed. She really didn't have time for this, but she couldn't ignore a direct order. So, she turned around and walked back to his room, or office. Whatever he liked to call it.
"Well? My time is precious." Ginny didn't even try to hide her impatience. She was still mad at him after all.
Harry's reply was just as quick and heated, "Your time is mine. Or have you forgotten, Ginevra?"
Ginny looked upon Harry sadly. No, she didn't need a reminder. Not of that, "Don't. Not now, Harry. I've made a deal. I will finish out my debt, but that doesn't mean I need to tolerate your presence any more than I have too."
"And what is that supposed to mean." Harry replied darkly.
Really? Now, he was going to play coy? Two could play at this game. "Don't you have better things to do than watch me work?"
Ginny watched as Harry seemed to calm down. This man was impossible, and the ego…
"I didn't call you in here to discuss my work."
"Then please, enlighten me." She was going to be late at this rate.
"Christmas is tomorrow." Harry paused.
Merlin she didn't have all day, "Yes, I'm aware."
"What are your plans?"
"I'll be here if that's what you're asking. For two hours, you'll have my time."
"Don't bother. It's a company holiday. Only the bare minimum will be working. If we have a problem, I'll call in Owen. She'll be thrilled, I'm sure."
Ginny studied the man's face. A part of her wanted to be here on Christmas. A large part. She didn't want him to be alone, but… There were things she could not forgive. At least not without a proper apology. No matter how much she loved this man.
Ginny started to turn to leave, "If that's all…"
"There is one more thing," Harry began as he moved to pull out a small wrapped box. "I saw that you still wear it."
Ginny covered her wrist at his mention of her bracelet. It had become a habit wearing this bracelet. She didn't even remember putting it on anymore. Ginny wasn't sure what to say at his observation. No one else had ever commented on it. At least not since she'd gotten it...
Harry handed over the small wrapped box as he spoke, "I thought I'd get you something to match."
Ginny hesitated as Harry handed her the gift, "For a Gryffindor?"
"Ginny, you haven't been a Gryffindor for years." Harry replied with a sly smile.
"I was under the impression that once a Gryffindor always a Gryffindor." Ginny waited for a reply she knew wouldn't coming before continuing, "Still, I didn't know we were exchanging gifts?" Ginny looked down at the carefully wrapped present.
"Think of it as a Christmas bonus. All my employees get one, so Theo tells me." Harry dodged the question.
Ginny snapped her head up to reply, "Last time I checked, I wasn't getting paid."
"Ginny…"
Ginny sighed. It had been too much to hope for. She loved this man. She really did, but he would have made a poor Gryffindor. The coward. Before she could reply, Greengrass busted into the room. Looking completely out of sorts.
"Harry!" Greengrass stopped when she saw them together. She moved her mouth as if to speak, but her eyes said that she was unsure of what to say, or if she should say anything.
That was Ginny's cue to leave, so she slipping passed Greengrass. "I'll see you after Boxing Day, Harry." Ginny spoke the last word to the closed curtain. At the door to Anaon, Ginny found herself looking back against her on accord. She could only hope that everything would be alright. For now, she needed to change and get over to the Lupins. Besides, it would be nice to see her godson.
Harry looked after Ginny. This was probably for the better. "What is it Daphne?"
"Umbridge."
Harry whipped his head around studying Daphne. Umbridge. He'd not heard that name in so long. Theo had promised him that when the time came, then he could act without hesitation. Could now be that time?
Before he could say anything, the curtain swag back as someone entered. Was Ginny back already? Instead of long red hair and shapely curves hidden under her Healer General uniform, a tall thin man walked through. "Theo?"
"Good, Daphne's already here. I passed the Healer General on the way here and wasn't sure."
"I've just told Harry about Umbridge." Daphne spoke to Theo.
"No. You've said her name. What's happened? Daphne? Theo?"
"You remember when I told you to wait. That she'd eventually put herself in a position to give the Reaper a reason to kill her. Instead of Harry Potter."
"I remember well, Theo. And if you don't get on with it, you'll be remembering something else!"
"She's become a Death Eater, Harry!" Daphne said.
"But not just any Death Eater. Draco told me himself. His father has gotten her placed high within the Ministry. She got her old job back! Dolores Umbridge is undersecretary to the Minister!"
Harry moved to sit down. This was… this was something he'd not expected. "Cornelius better have a good reason for this! And Lucius. I ought to kill him too."
"Why? They've given you the perfect opportunity to kill Umbridge!" Daphne replied with an evil gleam.
"Too perfect. It must be a trap, my Lord." Of course Theo would become deferential as soon as he said something Harry didn't want to hear.
"It doesn't matter." Even if it was a trap, this was Umbridge. Harry had a personal vendetta against her that could not be stopped by any trap Tom could devise.
"Doesn't matter? Are you forgetting the Black Venom incident already, my Lord?"
"Hardly Theo. Ginevra doesn't let me forget it, which is precisely why I must be the one to take care of Umbridge personally." Harry didn't wait for Theo to come up with anymore arguments. It was time to plan his attack. The holidays were just starting to look his way. "When does she start work? When will she be at the Ministry? How many people will be working under her, if any? Her current living situation, favorite hang outs? I want to know everything you know. Theo. Daphne. Tell me."
Daphne looked pleased, while Theo looked worried. This may well be a trap, but he wasn't a boy anymore. He could take care of his own.
Harry's boots crushed the light powdered snow that covered the cobbled streets of London. Whitehall, London would have been an unremarkable place, gray and dull on any other month. But on Christmas Eve, it had an extremely festive feel. Only minutes away from the Christmas hour, Harry could still hear the soft sounds of holiday music. And every shop had some sort of light or decoration proudly on display.
Harry thought it a fitting mood for tonight. He'd worked with Daphne and Theo to pin point Umbridge's location. Harry had at first thought it would take them several days to get all the information together. Theo wouldn't have stopped arguing with him if he attempted to attack her on anything less than accurate information.
Several hours after the news about Umbridge's new employment, Harry had the best Christmas news he'd received in a long time. Umbridge was planning for one reason or another to work the midnight hour of Christmas Eve.
It had been too easy. He knew that, and Theo had argued it too. But that didn't, and couldn't change his plans. Harry had waited ten years to kill Umbridge, four of them impatiently. He would not let the fact that he was currently walking into a trap stop him. Umbridge would die tonight, and it would be the sweetest gift anyone had ever given him. Harry would handle the trap after he'd killed the woman. Damn anyone who tried to take that away from him.
Daphne had never even tried to fight him on it, and even Theo had seen his determination. Even so, Theo had made one last attempt to get him to at least take his spare wand. Harry knew it was probably arrogant of him not to take it, but he had not used a wand in ten years… There was just something powerfully addictive about wandless magic. Maybe it was the fear and horror in the eyes of his victims, or maybe it was the rush of a closer contact with his magic. Whatever it was, Harry wasn't ready to give it up. Not for Umbridge.
It didn't take Harry much longer to find himself in the visitor's entrance to the Ministry, an old red telephone box. It had been an easy decision for Harry not to apparate into the Minister's office. If Fudge was making deals with Death Eaters then there could be no telling what could happen if he apparated there. Even if Fudge feared for his life enough not to tamper with the wards in his office. Harry had never had any control of the wards placed outside of the office. It would have been extremely reasonable for Fudge to add extra security outside of his door.
So, Harry was going a different route. After he'd finished dialing 'magic', a cool female voice sounded inside the telephone box. "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. I'm sorry but the Ministry is closed for the day. If this is an emergency, then please press one and an Auror will be down to see you. Otherwise, come back…"
Harry didn't let the recording continue, instead he let his magic flow into the telephone box. The female voice came again as if he'd redialed, "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business.*"
"The Reaper here to speak with Madam Dolores Umbridge."
"Thank you. Visitor, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes.*"
Harry waited patiently for the click and rattle to settle and his silver badge with The Reaper, Meeting with Umbridge to slide out of the metal chute. Harry smiled softly to himself as he pinned it on. The badge would make a lovely keepsake of this wondrous day.
"Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium.*"
As Harry slowly sank into the ground, he knew that the charm on the telephone box wouldn't make it past inspection. He fully expected the Ministry to realize something was wrong within the next eight hours. Unfortunately for the Ministry, the spell could never be tracked back to him.
As the lift let Harry off at the Atrium, the female voice spoke one last time. "The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day.*"
"Oh, this will be a very pleasant day, indeed."
The Atrium was ominously empty, but Harry had expect that. It was Christmas Eve, no, Christmas after all. And it was clearly evident of that fact within the Atrium. Even after hours, colored lights hung along the walls. Even the fountain was decorated.
An oversized elf hat covered part of the house-elf's face. The goblin's beard had been charmed white and a red Santa hat sat on his head. The centaur had antlers transfigured onto his head. At least the witch and wizard were also in festive attire with both of their robes charmed to sparkle green and red.
Harry made his way past the vacant security desk on his way through the golden gates to the lifts. That too, he had expected. Now the only problem he had was Umbridge's location. "Reperio Umbridge." It was a gamble that this would work. However, it was all he had since Theo had not been able to get him a sample of her blood to use a more advanced locator spell.
Harry waited as the small light ball shuddered and twisted before it finally moved to the down button on the lift. He smiled wickedly to himself. A wand that wasn't partnered to Umbridge's could never have just done what his magic seemed to have done.
Once inside the lift, Harry pushed all of the buttons. He might have to stop at each floor, but one of these levels was going to lead him to Umbridge.
It wasn't until the stop at level four when his miniature light ball moved again. "Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures," the cool woman's voice from before spoke out. It figured that Umbridge was trying to mess around with Magical Creature regulations at this late hour.
Harry walked slowly down the dark corridors following his glowing ball. He took his time to look for traps, but could find nothing. What did concern him, however, was the number of four-way crosses and large rooms. This level was clearly made to house magical creatures. Behind those thick metal doors could have been anything.
A flicker of his glowing light caught Harry's attention. His spell stopped in front of large double doors that had been left cracked open. Harry bubbled with anticipation, but stopped to calm himself. If this was a trap then he wouldn't want to be disturbed.
Harry released the runes he'd brought with him for the occasion, and immediately felt his wards go up. Now, he could take as long as he liked.
Harry walked silently toward the only worker in the room, which appeared to be some kind of archive. "Working late are we?"
"I have clearance!" Umbridge turned around as she replied. Her high pitch voice had not changed in the ten years since he'd last heard it. "Who are you? Do you have the clearance to be here?"
A few strands of Harry's hair fell into his face when he'd stopped ten feet away from Umbridge. He brushed it out of his face, revealing his faint lightning bolt scar. "You don't remember me? Cornelius didn't either, but I thought surely Dolores Umbridge would remember me."
A confused look come over her face at his words.
"It's alright, even I can admit I've changed, but it seems so have you." Harry paused as he took Umbridge in. She was no longer fat, and her clothes had seen better days. Somehow, Umbridge's thinner face seemed to make her look even uglier. Skin hung from her face, and deep wrinkles embedded within the flabby skin. Grey dominated her hair. "Not eating as well as you used to, Dolores?"
The ugly woman turned red in anger. "Why you…"
"And yet, losing all that weight doesn't seem to have helped your looks at all." Harry shook his head in feigned disappointment. "It's almost like you've been living in the muggle world…" Umbridge growled low at that but Harry continued over her, "Dolores, you just don't seem to age well. Fortunately, we're wizards. I'm sure there's a cream for that," Harry added as he pointed to her face.
"Who do you think you are!? I'm the senior undersecretary to the Minister of Magic. I can have you thrown into Azkaban." Umbridge sputtered in outrage.
"Too late! You already did!" Harry's throw his right arm violently in Umbridge's direction. Sending her flying back. Her wand found its way into his hands. Harry was amazed that she still managed to bounce off the stone wall with what little fat she had left.
Harry waited for Umbridge to get shakily back onto her feet and her attention on her stolen wand before he continued, "I've always wanted to do this." Harry spoke as he snapped the wand in his hands.
Umbridge looked horrified at the broken pieces of her wand fell to the ground before she started frantically looking around. Clearly searching for some unseen help.
"They won't come. Can't, really. You're Death Eater friends will just have to wait for me to get finished with you."
"I don't… I'm sure there's been… some sort of misunderstanding…" Umbridge stammered.
"Really!? Was there a misunderstanding when you came to taunt a fifteen, no fourteen year old boy?" Harry replied as he lifted Umbridge off the ground with his magic. Harry was finally satisfied with the gleam of recognition that came from the floating woman's eyes.
"No… no… impossible…" She mumbled.
"Was there a misunderstanding when you arranged to have me sentenced to Anaon!?" Harry forced Umbridge's arms apart as if she were tied to a cross with his next wave of his hand.
"No! That impossible! Harry Potter died in Anaon, years ago!"
"Crucio!" Umbridge screamed as Harry held her under for several seconds. "Ten years I've waited for this moment. Ten years! I've thought and I've planned just how I was going to kill you when I got out."
"Please! Please, I'm sorry. I can make it up to you! Anything you want, I can do it. I can be a spy for you. Against the Dark Lord! You must want that. Need it!"
"Shut up!" Harry sent a bludgeoning curse her way and watch in satisfaction as her head snapped back and a loud crack could be heard as cartilage was destroyed. "I thought to myself. How should I kill the soulless harpy who could send a fourteen year old boy to Anaon? To his death!"
"Please! I beg of you!"
"I said SHUT UP!" A wave a magic hit her, and Harry watched as Umbridge screamed silently. He pushed the wayward strands of hair out of his face. The disadvantage to having long hair. Loud laborious breathing could be heard from the slumped form of Umbridge. Harry's magic the only thing holding her up.
"Then it came to me, one night." Harry spoke at a quieter tone. "I was playing with the cores of the dementors, when it came to me." Harry pulled out one of the smoky ruby-like gems and let it roll out in front of Umbridge. He waited for Umbridge to pick her head up to look. "I wanted you to suffer, the way I had suffered. But that, now, is an impossible dream."
Umbridge eyes held the fear he'd denied her more than ten years ago. It was the sweetest Christmas gift Harry could have asked for. "But I think I have something better for you. Be glad Dolores, you'll be the first human I've used this spell on." Harry smiled cruelly at the horrified woman before him. "Goodbye Umbridge. Dementors could only dream to be like you."
"Ahhh!" Interesting. So, it wasn't only dementors that made that unholy scream with this spell. Umbridge's core landed in his palm. The gem was blue instead of the deep red the dementors' core produced. At a closer look, there was a shadow swimming in the sea of blue. Harry briefly wondered if it was Umbridge's soul like some sort of reverse Horcrux. But it was highly unlikely. As far as he knew, there was only one spell that could rip a soul out of its body. Harry's hand briefly went to his forehead as he traced his faded scar.
Harry moved over to Umbridge's cooling body. His work was not finished. Harry transfigured the wood off a nearby desk into a thick cross and had Umbridge's body positioned. He ripped the cloth from her left forearm to reveal the dark mark, then conjured his signature scythe. Harry made to cut off her head, but changed his mind mid swing.
Looking down at the silver badge pinned to his robes, he'd really wanted the souvenir, but some sacrifice would have to be made for artistic license. Taking the badge off, Harry pinned it to Umbridge's robes. With the badge properly centered, Harry cut her head off. Just as he'd thought, blood poured down her front covering the silver badge in red. It would make for a lovely message.
Harry causally kicked her head back to sit by her body, and jammed the end of the scythe through the top of her skull. Harry stepped back to examine his work. It was… an excellent Christmas present.
Harry spent several seconds just standing, ingraining the image into his mind. He would never forget this moment. Harry turned around sharply. Now, came the tricky part.
Harry closed his eyes, to feel outside his own wards. The best escape would be to apparate from here. Unfortunately, it seemed like Tom had already erected his own wards. He'd need to make his way back to the Ministry apparition site, assuming they weren't also disabled.
But first, he had to take down his own wards. Harry collapsed his wards and waited. Nearly half an hour later and still nothing. Alright, so they weren't going to come to him.
Harry cautiously walked back toward the lifts. He'd made it through one full corridor and was beginning to believe the ambush would be in the Atrium. Stupid of them really, but he couldn't…
Boom!
Harry only just managed to get a shield up in time to blunt the force as he was blown back hard into the four-way cross. His clothes were singed and his body slightly bruised. Harry should have been paying more attention. He rolled back to his feet and started sending some of his spells that used the least amount of energy at the four separated groups of Death Eaters coming at him from the four corridors. How they'd gotten behind him, he didn't know and had less time to care about.
The only problem was that the dark bodies refused to go down. Harry used increasingly more painful and stronger spells, but he didn't even get a step of hesitation. Then they were upon him scratching at him, biting at him. One of the dead bodies crawled at his arm. Inferi!
Harry quickly switched to fire spells. "Damn it!" It was the first time he'd cursed himself for not bring his spare wand. Fiendfyre was impossible without the level of control offered to him with a wand.
Harry threw elbows, kicks, punches, in between blasts of flames. They were too close, and too many of them. They ripped and tore at his body.
Harry felt a sharp pain at his back as an inferus bit into his shoulder. He threw the inferus off of him and into the crowd of others. "Back!" With that word of power, Harry forced all of the inferi ten feet away from him. "Incendio!" Space enough to burn them alive, or dead as it were.
Harry breathed heavily. The banishment despite being small had taken a bit of magic. Damn, what he wouldn't do for a wand.
No sooner were all of the inferi destroyed, than another group of Death Eaters appeared. Running at him from the four corridors with long bats and pieces of wood or pipe. Pieces of wood and pipe? Could it be? Upon closer inspection of the running men and women, their clothes and their weapons of choice clearly pointed them out as muggles, likely under the Imperius Curse.
Harry made the mistake of looking the closest man in the eyes and hesitated. The man had fear in his eyes, which was surprising as most Imperiused wizards would have shown no such emotion. Unfortunately, Harry's brief hesitation cost him as the man swung his pipe at him. Sending Harry sailing across the four-way pass.
Harry rolled painfully up and cut down the group of muggles nearest him. His left arm dangled uselessly by his side as men and women were split open before him. There was no time for stunning spells here.
Harry briefly wiped the warm blood from his eyes, and regretted it. The movement caused him to suffer a moment of vertigo just as a small woman tried to beat him with a wooden plank. She got one good hit in before Harry could block the woman's next swing. He made sure his next move killed her in return.
Harry paused briefly to take in the destruction around him. He couldn't help thanking whatever deity was looking out for him now. If the Death Eaters had known anything about guns, this would have ended poorly for him.
As the last muggle fell to his magic, Harry called out to the shadows. "You think that will kill me!? I've suffered Anaon and lived! You'll have to do better than that, Tom!"
Harry waited but there was no reply. He tied his useless arm to his body before he turned and made his way carefully back to the lifts. The wards were still up, and now Harry knew he would not have the energy to break them and defend against the Death Eaters that would surely use his distraction to attack.
Carefully walking through the corridors, Harry disabled three explosive runes that must have been set up after he'd passed. At the third rune set up, Harry paused and listened. The soft sounds of foot steps seemed to be coming his way. Harry paused and waited for his approaching enemy. He would be ready with both fire and cutting spells for who ever approached.
A long shadow followed by a small child came running down the corridor at him with some type of paper attached to his chest. Harry didn't wait to see what it did, instead he sent the child flying in the opposite direction.
Boom!
The whole corridor shook as the child blew up seconds later. Harry laughed at his own predicament. It was a sound plan. Use the muggle adults for fighting, and their children as walking bombs. Harry snorted as several more children came his way. A flick of his usable wrist and they were exploding at a safe distance from him. Tom should have had them mixed in with the adults. Good plan, but poor execution.
Harry made it to the lifts before he turned around to address the unseen Death Eaters. Another small child ran out at him. Harry easily banished him back in the hall. Fifteen. A quick count would say that was probably the last of them as there'd only been ten pairs of adults. "Now, you're just making a mess. Come out and fight me, Tom. If that's what you're here to do. Otherwise, leave me alone and get on with your life."
Harry waited. If they let him get on the lifts, they'd never be able to catch up to him. What was it going to be?
Sickly green spells were his answer. Harry side stepped the poorly aimed spells and returned fire at his invisible foe.
"Who would have thought itty, bitty Potter would be the Reaper?" One of the Lestrange brothers spoke as a group of twenty Death Eaters appeared from the hall.
Harry counted three inner circle members. The Lestrange brothers and Avery, "Where's your wife, Lestrange? I'd have loved to see her again. I owe her for my stay in Azkaban."
"Fan out boys. He's heavily injured. This is going to be easy pickings." Avery barked out.
Harry waited. He couldn't afford to waste spells or put himself in a position he couldn't get out of safely. "I suppose she must have been too busy blowing off your Dark Lord to be bothered with your activities." Harry taunted.
The older Lestrange colored purple and began the attack before the rest of the Death Eaters could spread out. Harry assumed this one must be Rodolphus. He smoothly dodged the incoming attacks as he sent his own spells blowing up the majority of group of Death Eater crowded in the entrance way to the corridor. "Have I hit a nerve Rodolphus? I'd figured that for as long as she's been screwing him, you'd be used to taunts like that."
Rodolphus flew into a rage at that, "Rodolphus calm down!" Rabastan called out. But it was too late for Rodolphus. Harry had managed to maneuver him between him and the rest of the Death Eaters. As a wayward killing curse, caught Lestrange in the back.
As shock hit the inexperienced Death Eater, Harry sent several curse at his defenseless body, bringing the remaining standing Death Eaters to seven.
"Potter!" Rabastan yelled as he went on the attack enraged at his brother's death. Harry watch out of the corner of his eyes as Avery moved to flank him, while the other five remaining Death Eaters moved in the opposition direction. The five fools would be the least of his worries. For now, he needed to make sure Avery didn't get into a better position.
Harry carefully maneuvered Rabastan so that he was always in between the five other Death Eaters foolishly staying in a group. As if numbers could protect them. As Harry engaged more fully in his duel with Rabastan, he kept Avery in his sights and away from his back at all times.
With his injuries, Harry was forced to block the incoming unforgivable curses with inanimate objects instead of dodging them. In addition, his energy was low, and his spells were becoming weaker each passing second. Still, Rabastan was fighting in a blind rage, and Harry planned to use that to his advantage.
He unbound his useless arm and used his momentum to swing the arm at Rabastan. Harry had timed it perfectly with the purple looking spell Avery had sent from his right side. Lestrange dodged a spell that never came from his useless arm. The move putting Rabastan off balance just enough for Harry to successfully summon him forward. Placing the Death Eater in between the incoming spell from Avery.
"Ahh!" Rabastan screams were short as his body went limp from the spell. Harry banished Lestrange's limp body at Avery to distract him momentarily while he turned his attention to the five other Death Eaters. It was a simple matter for him to transfigure the floor below them into sharp rocks. Impaling the Death Eaters as a group. On instinct, Harry stepped to the right. His useless arm swinging painfully with him as a killing curse passed the spot he'd been standing only moments before.
Harry turned to face the only Death Eater left. "Leave. It's over Avery."
"Ha! For you maybe. I've catalogued all the wounds you've acquired. The Lestranges' were too hot-headed. Clouded with hate. Well, news for you, Potter. I don't hate you. I'm going to kill you. Oh yes, I'm going to kill you. But I won't be doing it out of hatred. You could even say I've a bit of respect for you."
Harry nodded his head in acceptance, while he bound his arm back down.
"You might have even made a fine dark lord, some day. It's a petty, I'm going to have to cut your career short." Avery laughed the end of his statement, but never took his eyes away from Harry.
"My only regret is that you're not Bellatrix."
"Don't insult me Potter!" Avery spat. "You won't be leaving here alive, so perhaps you ought to regret meeting me tonight!" Avery replied as he began their duel.
What happened next was the most painful dance of Harry's life. He ignored his wounds as much as he could and just dueled. After Umbridge, the inferi, the Imperiused muggles, and the other Death Eaters, this was not going to be an easy fight.
For two long painful minutes, they danced in a deadly duel. Harry's fatigue growing and his spells weakening. At this rate Harry was sure he wouldn't last. Avery was just too fresh for this duel to end well in his favor. He would have to take a risk, or die here. The choice was not hard. Harry still had some unfinished business.
So, he waited for the next non-killing curse to be sent his way. Instead of dodging or blocking, Harry took the spell full force. "Ahhh!" Harry cried out as he fell to his knees, the pain so intense. Momentarily, he was confused and his body tore at him, but Harry pushed the pain to the side. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Harry kept his head down and his breathing quick and heavy. It was a slight movement of the air that signaled Avery lowering his wand arm. It was all Harry needed.
"Finally…" Avery didn't get to finish as Harry's curse hit him full force with no warning. The silent curse was the most painful and tiresome curse Harry could ever remember. The only gratification coming from the sound of Avery's body hitting the ground and stayed there unmoving.
The silence was welcoming, but Harry knew it wouldn't last. He had to get out of here, and soon. Harry's tampering with the telephone box would be noticed soon.
Despite the rush, Harry didn't get up immediately. He spent a couple more minutes laying there eyes closed willing his heart rate and his breathing to slow down. A spasm shot through Harry's body at the lingering effects of Avery's last hex. Harry coughed roughly blood spotting the floor below him as he began to pull himself from the cold hard ground one-handed. Spots threatened to over take his vision as he moved to stand, but Harry willed them away.
Leaning heavily on the wall next to the lifts, Harry briefly looked around at the dead bodies surrounding him. He didn't have the energy or the desire to bother to make these kills Reaper deaths. Let the Ministry find them like this. One way or another, the Reaper would be credited with these death as well as Umbridge's. For now, Harry needed to get home. To safety.
The trip through the lifts was a complete blur. Harry only forcing himself to focus once he'd reached the apparition point in the lobby. Even with all his concentration, it took him several tries before he could focus on Azkaban enough to apparate away.
The soft sand under his boots was starting to color red. Had the shores always been this bloody? The world tilted as Harry took a shaky step toward the lone boat that would get him to Azkaban proper.
"My Lord?" The guard's questioning tone was the last thing Harry heard before he let the shadows in his vision over take him.
Happy Christmas, Harry Potter…
AN: Man, I really liked writing this chapter. But I got to be honest, no way this would have gotten out anytime soon, if I hadn't already had it written by the time I posted the last chapter. Last time I was stressing out about writing a grant, and I completely forgot about the NSF fellowship my committee told me to apply for... So, if those two predoctoral grants weren't enough, I've still got one more for NIH to apply too. So, the interlude that follows this chapter could take a little while getting out. Good news, is I'm more than halfway finished writing that chapter. Bad news, I still have nearly half the chapter to write...
Big thanks goes out to my beta bkats. Dude keeps this stuff legible. The * portions are from book five of Harry Potter. No point in making stuff up, when the book wrote it nicely for me. So thanks JK Rowling. On the same note, all the spells so far are from the Harry Potter Universe. So, I see no reason to write out what they mean here. I figure the context of the spells should be good enough. If it's not and you're about as lazy as me (meaning, there's no way you plan on looking it up...), then say something and I'll add them down here too.
Man, I was a little disappointed when no one guessed Umbridge. Not even my twin. Times like this remind me that I'm too clever for my own good. As I only hinted at Umbridge becoming a death eater once in chapter two (post three if you include the prologue), which was months ago... Oh well. Hope you enjoyed Umbridge's death as much as I did. Fair warning, chapter nine has to revolve around Ginny as Harry's knocked out for the majority of it, and thus could be pretty hard to write.
KJ
PS. I find I also enjoy writing Severus.