Author's Note: I want to thank an anonymous reviewer who signed his/her review "Shinigami". I would also like to answer his/her questions since I can not reply to the review. Regarding Sirius-good job, you're the first person to catch that. Ted was killed at the beginning of the attack. (His hand went to 'Unknown' because the afterworld is not known. Yes, Sirius knew that Regulus and Rose got married. Melanie knew nothing about the prophecy. She decided to die because it was either her or Regulus. In her opinion, he was young and had his whole life ahead of him. She was only fifty-four, but she had already lost everything she thought was worth living for.
Chapter Ten- Old Temptations
"Oh, shit," Ron swore, "What do we do?"
"We get a mediwitch or wizard," Harry answered, his voice abnormally detatched. When no one moved to do anything, Harry nearly hissed, "Ginny, I want you to find Nymphadora Tonks. Hermione, find me a healer, I don't care who, as long as it's someone we can trust. Ron, contact the Order again. We need Kingsley Shacklebolt. We can't get Moody. He needs to be at the scene of the attack. Who the hell is probably as good at- nevermind. We don't need Moody. McGonagall will do."
"McGonagall," Ron repeated skeptically. Harry sent him a glare that could rival one of Snape's and the youngest of the Weasley boys practically ran back to the kitchen to contact the Order again. Hermione went over to the fireplace in the parlor, where they all currently were gathered and began contacting possible healers. Ginny told Harry that Tonks was probably outside because her hand was moving toward 'Home'.
"Good," Harry replied, "Talk to her. Keep her occupied. DO NOT let her see her mother, not until Andromeda is in stable condition." Ginny did as she was told and was already opening the door before Tonks had even apparated onto the front porch.
"Hi, Ginny." Tonks greeted her distractedly. "What's going on? I was on my way to an Order meeting when Mcgonagall's patronus showed up and told me to come here instead. I tried to floo in, but all the grates were unavailable! Was there an attack or-"
"Yes, there was an attack. We just needed you to come here so you would be protected," the red-head half-lied, "since they suspected you might be a target." She then led Tonks upstairs, where she kept talking and talking, just to keep the young auror from going downstairs.
Without being ordered to do so, but assuming that since Harry was in Tom Riddle-mode, then he probably would have ordered him to, Regulus went to ward the foyer until McGonagall and Shacklebolt arrived. When Harry turned to give an order to Regulus and found that his uncle was no longer in the room, he shouted the man's name. "I'm warding the foyer until back up gets here," Regulus shouted back, "I sent an extra stunner at Bellatrix, just to be sure she doesn't wake up too soon." Harry approved that plan of action and then turned to face Ron and Hermione, both of whom were standing practically at attention.
"Hermione, you first," he said, cuing her to give a report.
"Well, I contacted Madame Pomfrey, she was the first person I could think of. She said she would apparate somewhere down the street a little and that she was brining your aunt, Petunia, who is apparently also a mediwitch, with her." When she finished her 'report' the amber-eyed witch inhaled deeply, having said all that in just one breath.
"Ron?"
"McGonagall and Shacklebolt are on their way." Harry nodded. For once he was grateful for his best friend's succinctness.
"Both of you, go to the front hall and wait for the others to arrive. When they do, Ron you give a full report of all you know about what's going on to McGonagall. Hermione, likewise, do the same with Pomfrey. I'm going to the foyer to help Regulus ward the room." With that, Harry stalked out of the room.
As Ron and Hermione made their way to the front hall, Ron muttered, "That was a bit scary back there."
"More than a bit," Hermione commented.
"I feel like this is Headquarters again, only this time we're the ones running around like chickens with our heads cut off, trying to get control of a situation," he continued. Then he was quiet for a while as they waited. A little less than five minutes later, McGonagall, Shacklebolt, Madam Pomfrey, and Petunia arrived.
"Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall asked, "What is so urgent that you have need of two healers, an auror, and the head of the Order of the Phoenix?" The two students were about to give their reports when suddenly, Mrs. Black began shrieking about the matter. Down the hall, in the foyer doorway, Harry heard the portrait and immediately barked out another order to Regulus.
"Go shut that woman up. Now. If she keeps yelling about Andromeda being in the house, she'll say something about Andromeda being close to death."
Nodding in understanding, Regulus dashed down the hallway and pointing his wand at his mother's portrait, shouted, "Silencio!" It would only silence her for about ten seconds, but it was long enough for him to yank the curtains shut and recast the sealing charm. When he turned to face all the other people in the hallway, he noticed that half of them (McGonagall, Shacklebolt, and Pomfrey) were giving him the same disbelieving look that he had been met with when he first stumbled out of the fireplace the day before yesterday. "I'm…er…not Sirius. I'm Regulus and I'd really appreciate it if you didn't attempt to arrest me."
"Ron!" all of them jumped when they heard Harry shout out his name.
"What, Harry?"
"I just realized that the ministry needs to be alerted about the attack as well. Try to get a hold of your father. Professor, Madame Pomfrey, Shacklebolt, and Aunt Petunia, you're needed in the foyer. McGonagall and Shacklebolt first, please. Hermione, you stay here and observe what's going on. When I return, I expect a full-detailed report. Regulus, you're on portrait patrol. I'm going to find out why Andromeda was targeted and why Voldemort sent almost the entire inner circle to the attack." Having given these orders, Harry walked briskly past the others and was already standing on the bottom step before Ron stopped him.
"How are going to find that out, mate?"
"By taking a nap," Harry answered, quite seriously. Everyone gaped at him, completely puzzled, except Hermione.
"Harry James Potter, Don't You Dare!" She shrieked. "You are not going into Voldemort's mind!"
"I shall do whatever I please," he said coldly, slipping even further into his Tom Riddle persona. "He probably won't even recognize me, besides, I know Occulemency and Legilimency now."
"You do not," Hermione argued.
"Yes, I do. The locket had memories up to the age of thirty-five. I was already a master at both by that age."
"Stop using the first pronoun when referring to him," Hermione shouted, quite angry.
"Stop using the third person pronoun when referring to the person with whom you are speaking," Harry countered. She glowered at him.
"You. Are. NOT-"
"Hermione," he growled, "do you not remember what my memory self said to me in the Chamber of Secrets. 'Voldemort is my past, my present, and my future.' I am who I am. You cannot change that. Nor will I put up with you if you attempt to stand in my way. I will do as I see fit Be lucky I am holding my tongue, Mione," he sneered, "or I would have called you another nickname beginning with 'M'. And it would not have been 'muggleborn'." He didn't even bother to finish ascending the stairs, instead choosing to apparate directly to his room. Nobody even noticed that he already knew who had been sent on the attack.
"Miss Granger," McGonagall began, before Regulus interrupted her and pulled Hermione aside into the library, where no one else could hear them.
"Sorry for cutting off the professor, but from first hand experience, I suggest that you first of all, never question him, and second of all, do not ignore his orders. That means, Hermione," the man said, his voice a little softer when talking to the already upset girl, "that you pretend he did not just insult or berate you. All you do is act as his eyes and his ears."
"You've taken it upon yourself to be his second in command, have you?" Hermione glared at Regulus as she demanded this.
"Well, yes, seeing as I am the only one who knows at least a tiny bit about how this man works."
"What do you mean this man," she cried, outraged, "We are talking about Harry!"
"No, Hermione, we are not," the blue-eyed wizard explained gently. "We are talking about a boy named Harry Potter who has the memories of a man named Tom Riddle and some memories of a monster named Vol-Voldemort." Regulus shuddered, not having said his former master's name aloud in nearly two decades. "We are dealing with a wizard who is neither a boy, nor a man, but who is, for all intents and purposes, a strange combination of all three people."
"Then why treat him like, Voldemort? Why not treat him like Harry," Hermione questioned.
"I'm not treating him like V-Voldemort. I am treating him like some one who is acting like a cross between Harry Potter and V-Vol- damn it!- Voldemort. I am also erring on the side of safety and so I am treating him with the caution I would use when interacting with V-Voldemort."
"If he's a mix of Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and Voldemort and he's acting like a cross between Harry Potter and Voldemort, which one do we identify him with, assuming we had to pick just one?"
"I'd say Tom Riddle, since he seems to be halfway between Harry and V- screw this- the Dark Lord."
"Great, wonderful," Hermione muttered darkly. Then she inhaled and exhaled loudly.
"Don't explain any of this to the others," Regulus advised her, referring to the adults excluding himself, "without his permission or he will be furious." She just nodded and they returned to the hallway.
"Scuse me, where's Harry," Ron asked. Hermione glared at him. "Well, I suppose I'll just tell you, Professor. The ministry has sent the Order back up at the Tonks residence. I'm supposed to brief all four of you. Regulus, Hermione, and Ginny have different orders. Regulus, they're both still unconscious, right?" The man nodded. Ron looked relieved. "Good, cause I don't care how hurt she might be, Bellatrix Lestrange is dangerous."
"Go on, you two, bring them into the foyer. I'm on portrait duty. Ginny's on distracting Nymphadora duty, and Harry is fishing through the Dark Lord's mind. So, Ron, I suppose that leaves you in charge of the danger zone." After saying this, he went back down the hall to the portrait. Everyone else anxiously and yet reluctantly followed Ron to the foyer as he explained what had been going on for the last few hours.
When he finished, he added for the medi-witches' benefit, "It's pretty logical to assume that Andromeda's the priority."
Suddenly Hermione added, "But I am willing to bet anything that Harry wants Bellatrix Lestrange alive and healthy enough to survive interrogation. He'll also probably have a fit if anyone other than himself is the one to interrogate her." The four adults looked at her questioningly, still unsure about what the scene in the hallway had been about. The brooding young witch however, did not say a further word. Seeing that the interrogation was the reason they were presumably there, McGonagall and Shacklebolt stood back, out of the way, allowing Madame Pomfrey to examine and assess each of her patients' status. Somehow, the Hogwarts medi-witch was able to bustle around as if one of her patients was not one of the most notorious deatheaters currently at large. After performing numerous scans and spells on both patients, she turned to the others and announced her diagnosis.
Petunia paid sharp attention, knowing that she would be treating one or the other of the two. Hermione, despite her mood, decided she might as well be as attentive to detail as possible, since she wasn't one to ever do a job less than perfectly if she could help it. As leader of the Order, Minerva assumed she would be the one primarily addressed. It was therefore very unexpected when Pomfrey addressed her assessment to Ron. "Mr. Weasley, I don't quite understand what the operation taking place here is, but since both Mr. Potter and Mr. Black made it quite clear that you were in charge of the going-ons of this room, I take it that I should probably be 'reporting' to you." During this speech, Ron' face had gone nearly as red as his hair and McGonagall wondered, not for the first time that afternoon, what on earth was going on. "You said Andromeda was the priority, so I assume you want to hear her diagnosis first?" Ron managed to nod in confirmation, very much embarrassed and proud that he was being viewed in such a light of authority. "Very well. Based on visible evidence alone, I can tell you that Mrs. Tonks was hit by multiple -and when I say multiple, I mean quite numerous- cutting curses. The wounds on her head and back imply that she was hit with more than one blasting curse. She appears to have been thrown against a wall- probably made of stone- at some point towards the middle of the struggle. Only a few minutes before her arrival here, a piece of debris, again probably from a misfired blasting curse, impacted with the side of her skull. She has a slight concussion from that, but I believe that she was nearly unconscious by that time anyway. My scans show that she was briefly held under the Cruciatus, but there is no permanent damage from the curse. The only reason she is in such perilous condition is due to blood loss." A quick glance from the senior medi-witch sent Petunia to the side of the conjured cot to tend to Andromeda's injuries. The change of focus from Poppy to Petunia was only temporary because everyone else in the room was quite curious as to what had happened to place Bellatrix in such a precarious condition. "As for Mrs. Lestrange," Poppy continued, "she seems to have suffered far more serious injuries than her sister. She was hit by four cutting curses: one that grazed her face, another which hit her right arm, a third much more powerful one to the shoulder, and a fourth potentially deadly hit to the abdomen. Because of these, she is suffering from extreme bloodloss. In addition, she was held under two particularly violent Cruciatus curses for an extended period of time. There is a noticeable amount of damage to her nerves, but nothing that cannot be at least partially healed. Last of all, it seems that Mrs. Lestrange has the ability to use wandless magic. Her magical energy reserve is severely depleted in such a manner that could only have been achieved in the given time frame of the struggle by means of accessing her wandless abilities." After pausing a moment to consider all those factors, she informed everyone that the supposed deatheater would not be able to do any magic –wandless or otherwise- for at least two days, while her magic reserve replenished itself. She would also need a blood transfusion. Because of her rare blood type, no one in the room –even if they had been willing –had compatible blood. Ron called in Regulus who, as it turned out, did have the same blood type as his older cousin. He allowed Madame Pomfrey to draw some of his blood to make the transfusion. Then he returned to the hallway.
A short while later Petunia announced that Andromeda was in stable condition. Ron went upstairs, retrieving Ginny and Nymphadora, the latter of whom became quite worried when told that her mother had been the target of the attack. The three of them arrived in the foyer, which was now a make-shift hospital ward, and upon seeing her mother, Tonks rushed to the woman's bedside and sat down next to the cot in one of the chairs which had been pulled over from the other side of the room. She then sat quietly, completely oblivious to everyone but Andromeda, who she now knew was her only living parent. Pomfrey in the meantime healed all of Bellatrix's visible wounds and completed the blood transfusion. When this was finished, she stood back and assessed her work, running all the necessary scans to make sure that everything was working well. After getting a particular result from one of the scans, she frowned. "Oh, dear," she muttered.
"What," asked Ginny curiously.
"Well," Poppy replied still frowning, "Her nerves are not healing naturally, as they normally would, because her magic level is just too low. It the damage to her nervous system is not repaired immediately, her other injuries put her at risk of falling into a coma."
Startling everyone in the room, Minerva, whose presence had nearly been forgotten, inquired, "Is there nothing you can do to aid her natural healing process, Poppy?" The medi-witch shook her head in the negative.
"I know something that would work," Ginny offered against her better judgment. McGonagall, Pomfrey, and Petunia all turned to gaze at her with interest. "It's a potion Harry made for when he used to have nightmares about Voldemort," she explained, now more reluctantly. "It's an anti-cruciatus potion apparently and I'm pretty sure there is some up in his room. I'm not so sure he'd be pleased about it being used on Bellatrix, but I'll go get it if it's absolutely necessary." After being assured by Madame Pomfrey that it was indeed most important, the red-haired girl hurried back upstairs and returned a moment later with a vial of neon blue potion. "Here," she said, handing it too the medi-witch, "Only use half the bottle and hurry, because Harry is waking up and I have a funny feeling that he isn't going to be too happy."
Suddenly, Regulus, who was on clock-monitoring duty, as well as portrait duty, called from the hall, "Ron, quick, switch places with me!" Remus Lupin isjust outside the front door and if I'm the first thing he sees, he'll probably have a heart attack or something." Sharing the man's opinion, Ron dashed out of the foyer and Regulus dashed toward it.
"Regulus, morph into something he wouldn't recognize, okay," Ron told his best friend's uncle as the passed each other in the hallway. Regulus merely nodded affirmatively. Ron reached the door just as the knock came. Catching his breath, he opened the door to find the preoccupied werewolf standing in front of him. "Hi, professor," he greeted.
"Hello, Ron," Remus replied, stepping inside. Then he asked worriedly, "Has something happened to Nymphadora? A distress alarm went off on my clock at home just a short while ago." Ron pushed away his slight surprise and explained what had happened in regards to the man's girlfriend. At first, Remus had looked highly anxious when he was told that Bellatrix was at Grimwald Place, but he calmed down perceptibly once Ron assured him that the supposed deatheater was basically magicless, not to mention unconscious and being held in the presence of three aurors and one former auror. Ron did admit however, that one of the aurors (Andromeda) was also and unconscious and that another (Tonks) was in a state of emotional shock. By the time the two had reached the foyer, Regulus had managed to make himself all but invisible to the slightly older man who went to comfort the devastated young woman who was still staring unblinkingly at her mother's unconscious form.
Apparently the shock had affected Tonks quite strongly, for she was traumatized enough to unknowingly morph back to her natural appearance, which only Remus, the Hogwarts Headmistress, and Andromeda had ever seen. Her hair had grown out to reach just a little past her shoulders. It was slightly wavy and black, curling in at the ends. Her eyes had gone from purple to dark navy-blue, not unlike Regulus, her mother, and her aunt. For the first time, it was abundantly obvious from her appearance that she was a Black.
All of the sudden, without any warning, the sealing charm on the curtains covering Mrs. Black's portrait wore off and the woman began shrieking her disapproval of the presence of Remus (a halfbreed), Andromeda (a bloodtraitor), and Tonks (a half-blood). This nearly startled a few people (namely Petunia and Madame Pomfrey) into jumping at the unexpected clamor. Regulus was about to go subdue his mother when there was a second noise of even more prodigious volume. From upstairs there came the sound of a door being slammed open with enough force to be heard above the portrait's yelling. This deafening bang, which really sounded more like a boom, was immediately followed by a very loud series of noised that no one in the foyer was even remotely capable of imitating. When they heard footsteps on the stairs, it soon became obvious (to almost everyone) that Harry was hissing furiously in parseltongue. Even Regulus, who had heard the Dark Lord rant and rave in the snakelanguage many times, had forgotten that it was possible to be that loud in parseltongue. He also hadn't remembered that mere hissing could sound so very enraged, intimidating, and violent. From these three qualities of the boy's voice, Regulus assumed that his nephew was likely to be swearing abhorrently.
Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Harry let out a hiss that seemed to be separate from the rant. There was another bang and Mrs. Black fell silent. Resuming his rant, the infuriated young wizard stormed into the foyer, his wand out in his left hand and his emerald eyes flecked with red. Entering the room, he fell silent. Everyone else eyed him with more than a little trepidation. No one spoke as his bloodstone-like eyes passed over each one of them in a venomous, calculating glare that frankly terrified them all. Ignoring the four wands being pointed at him by McGonagall, Kinsley, Remus, and Petunia, Harry turned his attention to the youngest person in the room, his girlfriend. "Ginerva," he hissed, though this time in English, "You entered my room and removed from it one of my possessions without my permission while I was in a trance. What is the meaning of this?"
"M-Madame Pomfrey said that if Bellatrix's nerves weren't healed, she'd fall into a coma," the girl answered, her small frame and her voice trembling. "I only did it because I kn-" After catching the look of warning Regulus was giving her, she changed her wording, "anticipated that you would want to question her. I was only doing my best to-" Seeing Harry in such a strange mood gave her the strangest urge to say 'serve'. "-help you." After starring at her piercingly for an instant longer, Harry shifted his still furious gaze to Regulus.
"Black," he demanded, unable to keep himself from addressing his uncle he way Voldemort would have, "you were sighted and recognized on your way here." He paused to let Regulus, who had morphed back to his natural form, consider the implications of this statement. The poor man, who was now standing directly in front of Harry, dropped to one knee, both out of instinct and in a conscious attempt to appease the boy who was once more reminding him far too much of the Dark Lord. This action seemed to give the terrifying wizard some satisfaction, but his voice was no less furious than before. "You were sighted, by a deatheater, one of those who was well aware that you were supposedly killed and why, one who is capable of entering this house. Do you now where, with whom, and by whom you were seen?" Harry demanded. When there was not an instantaneous reply, he decided to simply inform him. "You fool! You were seen with Narcissa Malfoy, who is currently being hunted down for treason against the Dark Lord. You were seen at a location in very close proximity to the Tonks residence by none other than Narcissa's own son. Though the boy hardly wishes his mother dead, Draco did not stand a chance against the Dark Lord's legilimency. After this information was pulled from the boy's mind, it was ascertained that Narcissa was hiding under the Fidelus charm and that her sister, Andromeda was her secret keeper. That is why the entire inner circle was sent on the attack! Therefore," he hissed menacingly, "You not only caused an attack and caught Voldemort's attention, but you then proceeded to floo here from an insecure location, leading Draco, and through him his master, to my residence, thereby compromising my security." Regulus was quite literally petrified with fear. The young wizard in front of him was radiating fury, power, and darkness, and this time, it was not a glamour. Everyone else was too shocked to say or do anything.
Harry himself was enraged beyond anything he had ever felt before. He knew that a part of this was Voldemort's darkness encroaching upon him. He knew that some of his rage was not his own, but he was far past the point of keeping in control. He could feel the same familiar evil, the same warring within his soul which he had experienced decades ago. It took every ounce of will power he possessed to resist the temptation of Crucio-ing Regulus and out right Avada-ing Bellatrix. He fought those temptations with all his strength, but he could not suppress the impulse to at least punish, to hurt the man who was at the moment the object of his anger. And so, without really thinking about it, without considering any consequences other than those that would placate his emotions, he reached out toward the kneeling man with his mind and hissed a word venomously in parseltongue. The result was immediate. Regulus' face blanched, draining of all color. Pain flared up from his dark mark and waves of it traveled up his arm to his shoulder before spreading like wildfire through the rest of his body. Harry could not think. All he knew was the intense desire to cause pain. It didn't matter that Regulus didn't deserve it, or that this was someone Harry supposedly cared about. All that mattered was that he found an outlet for the rage that threatened to choke him. It was strangling him, this feeling, and in a desperate attempt to find relief from the madness that seemed to be consuming his very soul, he gathered all his cruel impulses and lashed out through the only channel he could.
Suddenly, pain as terrible as that of the worst Cruciatus burned through Regulus' nerves and his knees gave out beneath him as he began screaming in agony. At first, his actions did not truly register in Harry's mind. He first felt the rush of the drug-like high as dark magic seethed out of him, and next the beginning of relief as the darkness within loosened its stranglehold on him. For a few seconds longer, he reveled in the sadistic pleasure the sound of his victim's screams gave him, until finally, the fury seeped out and his mind was quite suddenly aware again.
Realizing what he had done, Harry froze in fear and horror. 'I should not be able to manipulate the Dark Mark. Oh, how am I going to get out of this one?' Harry found an excuse in the most unlikely of places. A shaking Regulus pulled himself up from the floor. Trying to repress a shudder, the man shook his head to clear it.
"Bloody hell, if I thought you were angry, then the Dark Lord is ten times more so!" Harry nearly died in relief when it became clear that his uncle and likely everybody else truly believed that Voldemort had bean the one to torture Regulus. Thoe Boy-Who-Lived did not let it show however. Instead, he plastered a shocked, concerned, and apologetic expression on his face.
Looking properly aghast, the emerald-eyed teenager said, "Uncle Regulus, are you all right? Merlin, I should have warned you that he was so angry. I'm so sorry. Here, let me help you." Harry helped him limp over to a chair. Then, without turning away, he said, "Ginny, hand me whatever is left of the anti-cruciatus potion." A moment later, a half-full bottle of neon blue liquid was placed in his hand. Not quite sure what the damage to Regulus' nerves actually was, but assumed based on the way he had been screaming that it was pretty bad, Harry instructed that his uncle drink the other half of the potion. Regulus complied and a few minutes later, the tremors that ere wracking his body ceased. In the silence that followed, everyone heard Alastor Moody's voice calling from the kitchen fireplace.
McGonagall, after ascertaining that no one was any longer in any physical danger, went into the other room to find out the results of the Order's mission. Silently, Ginny followed the headmistress. Minerva did not very much appreciate being under the surveillance of a barely sixteen-year-old girl, but seeing no harm in it, allowed her to listen to the Auror's report. A short time later, McGonagall and Ginny returned to the foyer. Minerva announced that she and Kinsley needed to return to headquarters, but that Tonks and Remus could remain if they wished to. Then she and Shacklebolt departed for headquarters. After making sure that Petunia could handle both patients, Madame Pomfrey followed suit.
Once they were gone, Harry decided it would be better if they all simply remained in the foyer and held their 'meeting' there, since Tonks and Remus, as well as Petunia all needed to remain in the make-shift hospital ward. Everyone, including Harry was a bit shaken by his earlier display, so before the meeting was permitted to commence, Remus intelligently insisted that they all take a few minutes to gather their wits. Finally, Harry, true to his word, asked Hermione for a full report of the events he had missed. She gave him the report in full detail, even managing to repeat Madame Pomfrey's diagnosis of both Andromeda and Bellatrix verbatim. Pleased with this, Harry turned to Ginny and asked her what Moody had told McGonagall.
"First of all," his girlfriend began, "Lucius Malfoy is dead, hit by a double Avada Kedavra. Apparently Andromeda had assistance." The red-head paused and eyed the unconscious form of Bellatrix Lestrange with a new fascination. "The Order captured the Lestrange brothers and had brought them to an undisclosed location for interrogation. This was before the ministry Aurors arrived. The ministry incarcerated Augustus Rookwood, Antonin Dolhov, and What's–his-face McNair. That must be a slap in the face to Voldemort. The same day you break some of your followers out of Azkaban again, they just get imprisoned, again. Anyway, the rest escaped. That's all I know." Harry nodded before loosing himself in thought.
When he came back to himself, he noticed that hit was nearly time for dinner. It being a Tuesday and there being an Order meeting, the quartet had no obligation to attend dinner at the Burrow, and so, after asking everyone else if they wanted anything to eat, Harry called Dobby and asked him to prepare a light meal, offering –as a placation to Hermione- to help the house elf it assistance was needed. Dobby assured his 'employer' that he could make the dinner on his own. A while later, all of them took their meal in the foyer so that Remus, Tonks, and Petunia would not be excluded. Once dinner was concluded, it was agreed upon that Tonks (after much persuasion on Remus' part) would sleep upstairs, not in the foyer. Perunia would be sleeping in the foyer to keep an eye of both of her patients. Remus, Regulus, and Harry would be rotating 'guard duty' during the night, just incase. Remus had the first shift and so, having had an extremely long day, everyone else traipsed upstairs and went to sleep.