Things are heating up! Thank you all for the reviews, and I hope you enjoy Chapter 11!
I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 11: Shadows Falling
They emerged from the bank to find that the heavy clouds from that morning had broken. It was drizzling slightly. There were even fewer people now on the streets than there had been before, though there were decent numbers inside the shops.
"All right, then, Harrison. Lead the way," Remus said with a smile. It was odd for Harry to be addressed as Harrison, but it was the alias he was using that day to avoid unwanted attention.
Harry grinned and took the lead. He remembered the Weasleys' shop address, having memorized half their letter in his excitement to see the shop itself. It was number 96, so Harry started counting.
"Ninety, ninety-two, ninety-four—Whoa!" He stopped short. It was a wonder he hadn't spotted it before. Number 96 was easily the busiest and most colorful shop in the whole Alley. It was a garish orange that more or less matched the Weasley hair, and there were constant bangs and hisses emitting from the partly open door and the chimney. The sign above the door read, in large block letters, "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes."
"This is brilliant!" Tonks exclaimed, and Remus snorted at reading the big promotional sign on one of the front windows. It read:
Why are you worrying about You-Know-Who?
You should be worrying about U-No-Poo—
The constipation sensation that's gripping the nation!
Once Harry caught sight of it, he broke into guffaws that Tonks quickly followed. Remus was slightly more composed, but clearly only through great effort.
"Oh, let's go in!" Tonks pleaded, pulling at Remus's robe sleeve. Her expression was pleading, very much supporting her teenager persona, but in her eyes was a very mischievous glint.
Remus rolled his eyes, though still grinning, and played along. "We're going in, Jocelyn. Keep your hair on."
Harry snorted at Remus's choice of words, but excitedly pushed the heavy doors open. All manner of sounds immediately assaulted their ears, from laughter to what sounded distinctly like a muggle whoopee cushion. Plus, Harry was convinced for a moment that he'd been jinxed to see only red and orange, because that's what color virtually everything in the shop was. Then he blinked a few times and his eyes adjusted, and he realized it was just the ostentatious décor that was so outrageous. The actual products were many-colored.
For several minutes the trio wandered through the aisles, just taking it all in. Harry recognized the Skiving Snack Boxes and the fireworks the twins had used to escape Umbridge as well as the Extendable Ears, their portable swamp, and a few others. They had typical prank supplies like fanged Frisbees and dungbombs, too, but there was a whole host of things Harry had never seen before. There was even a section of muggle practical jokes that were clearly selling very well. Harry was amused to see that Remus was having trouble reigning in his inner Marauder and several joke items had made it into his hands. Tonks was staring at it all in awe, clearly wishing she'd had some of these supplies while she had been at school.
"Enjoying the merchandise, are we?"
"I hope none of it—"
"Ends up in your pocket unpaid for—"
"When you leave."
"Hi, Gred, Forge," Harry said, nodding. The twins gave him a calculating look.
"Do we know you?" George asked.
"Because you don't look familiar—" Fred continued.
"And we know quite a lot of people," George finished.
Harry adopted a hurt look, glad that they were near the back of the store now and without too many eyes on him. It was the perfect chance for him to prank the pranksters. "You don't remember me? I'm hurt, Fred. After five years, and you still can't recognize me?"
The twins exchanged a look. "Are we supposed to?" Fred asked, looking suspicious.
"Of course. We shared a tower for five years," Harry continued with a slight whine in his voice while letting his morphing slip just a little closer to the Harry Potter they knew. Tonks and Remus shared a grin behind their backs.
George looked thoughtful. "A fellow Gryffindor, then. And…going into sixth year, I presume?"
"I don't know, Forge. He could be lying," Fred said, looking Harry over critically. "Although…"
"Now that I think about it…"
"You do look sort of familiar..."
Harry smiled a little and let his morphing slip a little more, enjoying their confusion immensely. He deliberately didn't respond, and instead started inspecting things on the shelf. He picked up a lump of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.
"How much does this cost?" he asked.
Fred and George exchanged another look, then answered together: "Six galleons."
Harry allowed dismay onto his face. "That much? I don't even get a discount? I thought we were friends," he said, shaking his head.
George narrowed his eyes, studying Harry more closely. "I swear we know you," he said. "Don't you think so, Gred?"
Fred narrowed his eyes too, matching his twin's expression exactly. "I think you're right, Forge. But I just…"
"Can't…"
"Place…"
"How," they finished together.
Harry hid a grin and let the rest of his morph fall. "I'm only the one who gave you the money for all this stuff," he scoffed, pretending to be offended. "Not even recognizing your own supplier. How disappointing."
The twins' eyes got wide at exactly the same moment in identical expressions of surprise. "Harry!?" they both exclaimed.
"About time! I've only been talking with you for fifteen minutes!"
"But…"
"How…"
Harry grinned again and morphed back to the face he'd worn when he first walked in. "You've been pranked, good sirs," he said, and he, Remus, and Tonks all burst out laughing when their mouths started moving soundlessly, in perfect time.
It was several minutes before they regained their composure. Then they both exclaimed, much like Tonks had upon first discovering it, "When did you become a metamorphmagus?!"
"I thought they were born,"
"Not made!"
"I didn't figure it out until this summer, but I guess I've always been able to do it," Harry answered with a shrug.
"Shall we take this upstairs, gentlemen?" Tonks asked, winking and resuming her usual appearance as well for a brief moment before returning to the disguise.
"Of course," they said in unison, bowing slightly. Then they led the way toward the back, Remus trailing behind and looking highly amused. Fred called out to someone named Verity to cover the shop and got a affirmative response. Fred and George then led the trio up a set of stairs into a flat. Harry looked around, idly observing the twins' living quarters. Then they shut the door and rounded on them.
"Now. Explain," they said together, doing a fairly accurate impression of their mother with their arms folded pointedly across their chests.
Harry grinned, resuming his usual appearance. Tonks followed suit, and Remus lifted his glamor once again. Harry smirked at their look of surprise at seeing their former professor, but also appeared to be resigned, as if they should have expected it. And so Harry explained, after having them promise again not to tell anyone. He left out the really important details, like becoming an animagus, but otherwise recounted it all. By the end, the twins were flabbergasted, but thrilled at having pulled one over on the Order.
"You realize everyone is looking for you, right?" George asked.
"But good Remus here has assured everyone that you're okay—"
"So at least they're not panicking—"
"Except for Mum," they finished together, shaking their heads in unison.
"Why is your mum panicking?" Tonks asked curiously.
"Because her little Harrikins—"
"Is all alone in the world—"
"Without an adult to look after him."
"And having just been through such a traumatic experience,"
"Who knows what could have happened?" George added, pretending to swoon.
"She's convinced you're living on the streets, mate," Fred finished, rolling his eyes.
"Well, now you can tell your dear old mum that you've seen me and I'm still alive, with all my limbs intact," Harry replied, echoing Fred's eye roll. He loved Mrs. Weasley, he really did, but she was sometimes just a little too much. "Maybe I'll drop by Headquarters someday soon, just to prove that I really am still around."
"Ron thinks you and Tonks eloped, since she hasn't been to the meetings recently, either," George pointed out.
"Yeah, it's really disappointed Mum. Ever since you and Charlie met, she's been trying to play matchmaker," Fred added, nodding at Tonks. She rolled her eyes.
"Charlie and I have never been more than just friends. I think he'd rather marry one of his dragons than any girl in the Isles," she said.
"Well, it's mostly 'cuz of Fleur," Fred explained, shrugging.
"Triwizard champion,"
"And Bill's girlfriend."
"She doesn't approve," George said, shrugging.
"You two are giving me a headache by talking like that," Remus said, shaking his head and speaking for the first time. "It's worse than James and Padfoot ever were."
Both twins suddenly perked up. "Did you say Padfoot?"
"As in the Padfoot?"
"The one on the Marauders' Map?"
"The Padfoot?!" Fred repeated.
Harry laughed. "They idolize you guys," he said to Remus, who chuckled.
"It would appear so."
"Well, Mr. Moony, your secret's out now," Tonks interjected, smirking.
"Moony!?" Both twins exclaimed.
"The one and only," Harry said proudly. "Mr. Moony, meet Fred and George Weasley, the two-man next generation Marauders. Though, I reckon you four still have them beat."
Fred and George looked awed, then suddenly in unison they bowed low, their noses basically touching the ground. "It is a great honor to meet you, Mr. Moony."
"We are not worthy to be in the presence of such magnificence."
"We only hope you have found us worthy successors."
Harry rolled his eyes at their antics. "Get up, guys," he said, and to his surprise, they did.
"Who were the other Marauders?" they asked eagerly.
"Have we met them?"
"Well, you've met one other. Padfoot was Sirius Black," Tonks explained. "The other two were James Potter, who was Prongs, and Peter Pettigrew, or Wormtail," she finished.
"But we don't speak of him," Harry said darkly. The twins nodded solemnly.
"But you're the son of Prongs?" Fred suddenly asked, and Harry couldn't help but grin.
"That's me," he said, puffing out his chest and making the others chuckle. "Harry Potter, son of Prongs. So it's a good think you already gave me the Map, or I may have had to steal it from you as part of my inheritance," he added with a smirk.
"As fun as this is, I'd love to check out some of your products," Tonks broke in.
"Of course, Miss Tonks," the twins said. "Right this way,
"And we shall give you a proper tour."
Tonks grinned, then she and Harry morphed back to their disguises and Remus restored his glamour.
"By the way, for the length of this trip we're Harrison and Jocelyn Carter, and Remus is John," Harry said as they left the twins' flat and headed down the stairs.
"Just as well. Now, here we have the Extendable Ears, with which I imagine you have already had some experience with…" George began, and so began their tour. Aside from a few times they were called away by troublesome customers, the twins showed them the entire shop. They stepped onto the rainy street with their money bags considerably lighter (though Fred and George had refused to accept more than a quarter of the full cost from Harry, claiming that he had a third share in the business anyway as the source of their startup funds) and pockets considerably heavier with shrunken prank materials. Harry made a mental note to be extra careful for the next few days, especially—the look in Tonks's eye was dangerous.
They had only gone about a hundred meters from the shop when suddenly several black-robed figures appeared out of nowhere, wands blazing.
"Attack! Death Eaters in Diagon Alley!" Someone shouted. There was an eruption of noise, mostly shouts of alarm. Adrenaline flooded Harry's veins, wand immediately in his hand.
"Everyone who won't or can't fight, stay inside," Harry shouted. He would not be even partially responsible for another innocent's death.
"Expecto Patronum," Remus muttered, followed by a series of other phrases that Harry didn't quite catch through the escalating noise. He was sending a message to Dumbledore and the Order. Harry and Tonks had already been thrown into the fray, flanked by shopkeepers and adult patrons, plus the Weasley twins, all of them immediately engaging the Death Eaters.
Harry found himself dueling harder than he ever had before. The other noise in the Alley was tuned out as he focused on the fight. His opponent, like the rest, wore a mask. Harry had no clue as to his identity, but he didn't hesitate. He'd already seen a few sickly green spells in the crossfire, and he knew one wrong move could mean his death. Half his spells were spoken, the rest silent. Instead of casting shields, Harry chose instead to dodge offensive spells wherever possible.
Some of the Death Eaters were easy to pick off. Harry sent off rounds of stunners and other incapacitating hexes, leaving a line of moaning black-clad wizards lying on the cobblestones, some with bloody wounds. Others weren't as easy. At one point Harry would swear he was dueling Bellatrix before she was distracted by a hex from behind and switched her focus. Harry sent a hex at her unprotected back as well, and he and the unseen duelist on the other side kept her on her toes until finally she broke away, snarling. Two torture curses just barely missed Harry, and his relief was tangible.
Soon Harry found himself dueling another Death Eater, unfortunately not a second-rate duelist like many of the others. The other wizard was fighting dirty, and Harry was hard-pressed to avoid all the spells sent his way. A rushing sound filled Harry's ears, effectively drowning out every other sound. His feet moved in a dance, twisting and narrowly dodging around multicolored death traps while his arm cut through the air with his own curses. His heart pounded, but from adrenaline, not exertion. For once Harry was grateful for his morning exercise routine. An ugly red spell sliced through the air toward Harry; he spun, but not fast enough. The cutting curse sliced a gash in his upper arm.
Gritting his teeth, Harry sent one right back, followed by a stunner and a tickling hex and finishing with an Expelliarmus. All four spells were colored red, and Harry was counting on the Death Eater not recognizing the difference until it was too late. The tickling hex hit through sheer luck and the other wizard coughed as it took effect. Harry took advantage of the distraction to move in closer, wand still flying. Finally he got off a solid stunner, but too late for his opponent had sent a blasting curse his way. It missed but hit the ground by Harry's feat. He was thrown through the air by the force and collided with the wall of a shop Harry didn't even realize was behind him. The impact completely drove the breath from Harry's lungs and he lay groaning in a pile of rubble.
Only moments later he heard a series of cracks. There was a sudden and short upsurge in the noise level, the magic crackling in the air like lightning. Following was another series of cracks and a number of curses. Harry raised himself on his elbow, wincing, and saw about a dozen witches and wizards in the red Auror robes, and not a single Death Eater to be seen but the few on the ground, mingling with the downed civilians. Harry hoped desperately no one had been killed. A shop had caught fire down the Alley, one more was smoking oddly, and a good half of the rest were damaged. There was rubble everywhere.
Suddenly Harry's vision went blurry, accompanied by a particularly painful throb at the back of his head, and he collapsed back to the ground.
He came to a few minutes later, eyes opening to see the blurred face of a familiar pink-haired witch with a worried expression on her face. "Ungh," Harry groaned, closing his eyes again; the light hurt.
"You okay, Harry?" Harry was surprised to hear a slight quaver in her voice.
"M'fine," he mumbled. "Now 'elp me up," he added, slightly raising one hand. Although he didn't see it, he could practically hear Tonks roll her eyes. But her hand closed around his wrist and with deceptive strength, she helped Harry stand. Once on his feet, however, he swayed and fell back against the wall of the shop. "Maybe m' not fine," he mumbled, and Tonks chuckled slightly.
"At least you're standing. I'll be back in a sec," she said and jogged into the crowd of the shoppers emerging from their places of safety to observe the carnage. The Aurors and, Harry was gratified to see, a good portion of the Order though sans Dumbledore, were trying to restore order and get a head count of the injured. Harry spotted Kingsley with the Aurors as well as Mad-Eye Moody and a stern-faced, dumpy witch in Auror robes Harry vaguely recognized from his trial the year previous. He remembered her because she'd been the only one who was truly fair to him, and she'd asked about his Patronus. But with his brain muddled from the hit, he couldn't place her name.
The Order members were working with the Aurors to do damage control. Several people he saw carted away via portkey, presumably to St. Mungos if they weren't a Death Eater. Those were sent to the Ministry holding cells. Harry spotted Remus among the crowd, battered but otherwise unhurt. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Tonks was helping as well, though he noted with some concern that the left sleeve of her robe was bloody and she appeared to be limping.
A few minutes later, when it was nearly impossible for Harry to remain on his feet, the large group had made it over toward where Harry was. Remus was the first beside him, running a diagnostic charm that Harry recognized from both his lessons in healing with Remus and the countless times he'd watched Madame Pomphrey perform the same spell on him.
"How are you, Harry?" Remus asked urgently.
"A bit of a headache and a little sore, but otherwise I'm fine," Harry replied, shrugging with one shoulder because he only just now realized the other—the one that had hit the brick wall—was throbbing.
Remus frowned, clearly believing his spell more than Harry's word. "You'll be fine after a few days' rest," Remus finally said. "But good job at taking a few of them down with you," he added with a slight smile, glancing toward the limp figures of the Death Eaters Harry had fought.
"They were hardly any challenge," Harry complained, unable to keep from bragging a little bit. "How am I supposed to practice my dueling skills in real life if my opponents are useless?"
"You should be grateful for that, Harry," Tonks cut in, joining them on the other side. She glanced at the group behind them. Catching Fred' eye, she nodded. The twin nodded back, looking relieved that they were all okay. "Looks like they're cleaning up nicely. They probably don't need us here anymore, so let's go," she said. The other two nodded in agreement, though Harry winced, and the three of them apparated out of the Alley.
They reappeared in the sitting room of Harry's cottage, where he was promptly pushed down onto the sofa. Remus ran a more thorough diagnostic and sent Tonks to retrieve a collection of potions. Remus's frown grew more and more pronounced as the diagnostic listed off his injuries.
"Concussion, fractured shoulder, minor and major lacerations, heavy bruising, damage from dark spells…" Remus muttered, and Harry was slightly worried at the fierce look in his eyes. "Merlin, cub. What did they do to you?" he said softly.
"Moony? I'll be fine," Harry said hesitantly.
"Well, you sure as hell aren't now," Remus practically growled.
Just at that moment Tonks returned with a handful of colorful vials in her hands. She frowned at the list of injuries as she put the potions on the side table, then faced Remus.
"Remus, he'll be fine once you get on with healing him," she said reasonably.
"What about you, Tonks?" Harry asked, starting to sit up. He was almost angry when two pairs of hands shoved him back down, but not quite because his head started spinning and he was glad to lie down again.
"I'm fine. I already took care of what I could," she replied. "Now, you, Remus Lupin, had better start healing Harry before I botch the job and we have to take him to St. Mungos," she said fiercely.
Remus opened his mouth to argue, then finally sighed and nodded. He carefully schooled his emotions and set about murmuring the healing spells.
"You're damn lucky I learned how to heal concussions at school, or you'd have no choice but to see Madame Pomphrey," Remus muttered. Harry winced at the idea of being subject to Hogwarts' mediwitch's wand. He also dimly noted how odd it was to hear Remus curse because he was usually so calm. But his vision was going fuzzy. He felt a vial pushed into his hand, and almost on instinct Harry downed it, followed by two more. He gagged as they went down. A glass of water was put in his hand, so Harry drank that, too. He'd just barely set it down when the potions all kicked in and he passed out.
Harry came to around dinnertime, when the sun was beginning to set. His whole body was sore and his head ached, but it seemed the potions had helped somewhat. He tried to suppress a groan when he turned his head and was startled when Remus was almost instantly beside him, kneeling on the floor beside the sofa. He must have been sitting close by.
"How do you feel, cub?" Remus asked, his voice quiet but worried.
"Sore, but otherwise I'm fine," Harry answered, wincing slightly as he unconsciously shifted. Remus gave him a disbelieving look. "Okay, I'm really sore and my head hurts," Harry corrected himself. "You can hardly blame me for downplaying injuries when you do it all the time," he muttered. He heard a slight chuckle and knew Tonks was nearby as well and had heard him.
Remus sighed. "I'm just worried about you, cub," he said. "We should have sent you home after we finished at the bank," he muttered to himself.
Harry frowned but before he could retort, Tonks did. "You worry too much, Remus. Harry's more than competent as a duelist. Hell, he's almost defeated me more than once, and I'm a fully qualified auror. Most of Voldemort's Death Eaters are second-rate idiots who barely know which end of the wand to cast with. And you know as well as I do that it's inevitable that people will get hurt. We can't defend against every possibility."
"And I've had worse," Harry cut in, "and survived with hardly a scar. Compared to other years, this is nothing."
Remus winced slightly. "Not what I wanted to hear, cub." He shook his head. "All those times you've nearly died, and you wonder why I worry?"
Harry shrugged. "I'm sorry?" he said sheepishly. Remus finally chuckled slightly.
"Just rest, Harry, and please try not to put yourself in any more danger, if not for your sake then for the sake of my sanity."
Harry grinned. "I will, Moony. Speaking of danger, I may be in danger of starving to death. When's dinner?"
Remus and Tonks burst into laughter. "I'll heat up something. Let Tonks know if you need anything."
Harry and Tonks both nodded and Remus headed to the kitchen. Tonks then snuck Harry another pain-relieving potion.
"I'm not blind, kid," she said with a smirk when Harry tried to protest. "Take it and be glad. Then you can either rest or study, your choice." Harry promptly closed his eyes, and Tonks chuckled.
Before long, Remus brought three plates out to the sitting room. Tonks helped Harry into a sitting position so he could eat. The meal passed lightly, and Harry opted to sleep on the sofa to avoid extra movement. Tonks and Remus retired to their respective beds after wishing him a good-night.