INTERVENTION
XIV.
Author's Note: Ok, this is where the slight AU comes in. Jo's the same age as Harry for reasons that will become clear over the course of this fanfic. And also, even though there is a Down Street in London, I'm not sure whether it has a Shopping Centre/Mall at the end of it or not. And the title of this chapter is of course based off the awesome song Future Starts Slow by the Kills. Feel free to play it when you get towards the end of the chapter, when they're in the clothing store. Because ideally, if this was a TV show – that would be where the music would kick in.
Future Starts Slow
I.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" HARRY SHOUTED from beneath his cloak, as he fired back at the approaching Death Eaters, who didn't seem to care whether or not they could see him – they were just blasting spells in his general direction. Fumbling with Dean's phone, he quickly texted the words, abort, I'll find my own way out – as quickly as he could and was rewarded moments later with a response from the Weasleys.
You sure?
Harry simply responded with the affirmative and headed towards the Floo exits, hoping against hope that they had not regained control of the room that had all the on/off switches to magical transportation that one could ever need. The Ministry workers were starting to help the Death Eaters, no doubt sensing that a reward for capturing Harry Potter would be greater than that of Tom Riddle's followers – and Harry was forced to run, and in his cloak, that was harder than it looked. He turned the corner and was forced to pull it off, because it was becoming just that much more of a hindrance.
Thankfully there was nobody on this corridor to act startled by the fact that Harry Potter had just appeared out of nowhere. Again. Harry made his way down to the location of the fireplaces, sprinting now if he wasn't before, and edging closer with every step to Freedom.
And then he turned the final corner.
And regretted ever coming here at all.
"We meet again, Harry Potter," the voice of Lord Voldemort greeted his arrival, and the Boy Who Lived skidded, shocked to a halt infront of the remaining Death Eaters who had not been chasing him.
He was surrounded, and cut off from the Fireplaces– it was on the sides, but any move he would make to them would be noticed before he took one step, and he doubted that Fred and George's protection could stand up to a spell casted by one of the most powerful wizarding figures ever to have lived.
II.
DEAN LEAPT DOWN from the Rooftops once the majority of the wizards had scattered, realising that they could not use apparition and shocked by the Eclipse, which was mercifully still in affect but the eldest Winchester brother estimated he had a mere few seconds before the sun broke again. Charlie was with him, waving magic and blasting those he could. Having switched to a Shotgun, Dean was now blasting away Demons like they were nothing, desperately forging his way through the terrified onlookers towards the captives.
Ruby and Sam were still providing covering fire, but had to react all the more quickly because Demons, who had noticed their location – were closing in on them,
And there was one word that Dean would have used to describe this situation.
Chaos.
"Dean, that you?" They hadn't knocked anybody out cold, and Dean was rewarded with Bobby's response as the Winchester approached. "You sure as hell took your time, kid."
"Woah, easy now," Dean said, dodging a spell from a wizard experienced enough not to be shocked into fear by the surprise attack. "Alright, listen up. You're in front of Gringotts Bank. As soon as I pull the blinds, you need to run to the Joke Shop ASAP. There, Floo Powder will take you to a decoy location where you'll be taken via Portkey to Grimmauld Place. That sound good?"
"I don't know where the hell any Grimmauld Place is, but if it isn't here, then I'm up for it," Bobby remarked as his blindfold was pulled off. All the while, Charlie was providing cover for Dean.
"Bloody hell," was Ron Weasley's first reaction once the blindfold was pulled off his head, and he saw the carnage unfolding beneath him. Already there were several bodies on the floor, and the Minister had long departed.
"Let's move, people, we're on a clock," Ellen said once she'd been freed, and was leading the Order and the teenagers through the carnage. Dean had other ideas, and sprinted after the Minister, who was being surrounded by a bunch of guards as he quickly tried to run for the nearest building.
"Dean!" Bobby called in his direction, and the Winchester looked back at him. "He's not worth it. We need to get out of here alive first and then worry about revenge."
Dean's response was to unload a Shotgun blast into a Demon trying to attack him – and headed in the direction of the shop that they were aiming for. Revenge on the Minister would have to wait.
II.
"YEAH," HARRY TOOK a moment to recover from his shock, and began to muster up some bravado. What would Dean do? "I guess. You fell for my trap, though. My friends are getting away. You failed."
"I don't care about your friends, Harry," Voldemort said, calmly. "You should know that by now. The whole plan was getting you to me."
Harry smiled, having been inspired now. There was going to be no more cowering to a Dark Lord – for he'd seen worse than Tom Riddle. He'd met Alistair and survived. Voldemort now looked like an newcomer compared to the Demon who he had encountered, and whilst it had only been a brief meeting it was enough to gain an impression. There were things worse than Voldemort on this Earth. So if he was going to have to fight them, he would have to cure his fear of the Dark Lord first. If you could call it a fear. "Well, good job."
"You dare," one of the Death Eaters spat. "Master, let me finish him."
"No," Voldemort snapped. "He is mine. Aren't you, Harry Potter?"
"Not exactly," Harry remarked. "You see, I'll tell you something, Tom. Time to turn the tables a bit. Every time we've had this conversation, you've been the one doing the talking. I've never had the chance to say something. All these years, you've talked, and talked. And you know what?"
"Talking's what's kept me alive," Harry said, with a smile, and producing a smoke grenade from his pocket, courtesy of the Winchesters, pulled the pin and hurled it at the floor in front of them. Smoke began to billow out of it seconds later, blinding the Death Eater's vision. And Harry's too, but he knew where he was going.
He knew what had to be done. Approaching the nearest Fireplace, he produced Floo Powder from his other pocket, and hurled it into the flames, before shouting as clearly as he could. "24, Down Street!"
It wasn't Grimmauld Place. But that was the point.
III.
THE BUILDING ON Down Street was disused. Nobody lived in it and there wasn't any shops – but it served a purpose as the Order's in-between base, in order to keep the Grimmauld Place location a secret. Rather than using the Floo transport or taking a Portkey direct to Grimmauld Place and potentially compromising their location, they'd go to Down Street – which was on the other side of London from the home of the late Sirius Black. More than once Down Street had been raided by Death Eaters during the first war – but they'd found nothing.
Currently, there was nobody in Down Street. Well, at least nobody who lived there on a permanent basis. For its inhabitants were both travellers, and for that matter, similar aged. "Uh. You're Harry Potter, right?"
"Yeah," Harry replied, somewhat nervously – noticing that the girl didn't look at his scar. "Who are you?"
"Jo Harvelle," she said. "I've been in the country for a few weeks. Teaching your friends how to kill Demons. Mind you, it's a crap job. Don't get paid. Have to deal with morons who live in the 19th Century. But I get by."
"You were captured by Riddle," Harry recognised her as being the blonde girl on the camera, who Dean had reacted to. "Sorry about that. Kind of my fault."
"Because Riddle wants to get you so badly that he used us as bait?" Jo asked, raising an eyebrow. "You'd risk your life for your friends? He knows that, doesn't he?"
"Unfortunately," Harry admitted. "Anyway, we should probably head to Grimmauld Place. The others will be waiting for us."
"How'd you get dragged into this mess, anyway?" Jo asked, as they headed towards the door. Harry noticed that there was a bowl of money on a nearby, table – with instructions of how to call for a taxi – which was also muggle. The instructions were so simple that they looked like they were designed for a 10 year old. "Why's the guy want you so badly?"
"Um, he tried to kill me when I was a baby," Harry explained, and it felt odd – because it was the first real time that he'd had to explain it to someone else. He'd thought that Jo would have been informed. "And I was able to stop him. Still working on out how."
"Fair enough," Jo shrugs. "So I guess we've got to get a Taxi?"
"Looks that way," Harry said, taking a few notes, and some coins – just in case. He then refilled the pot with magic, as the instructions provided. "C'mon."
He led the blonde haired girl out of the building, and within seconds they were outside. "Uh, I don't see any Taxis here. Where are we?"
"Down Street," Harry replied. "And they might be different in America, but here, Taxis are mostly black. They should be fairly obvious to find – it's rare that you go that long in London without finding them."
"Uh, Harry?" Jo asked, glancing at the Boy Who Lived as they made their way down the street. "Don't react, but I think we're being followed."
"Already? You think they have spies on the place?"
"Must have," Jo observed. "Besides. Everybody else must have come through this way already. Someone must have noticed a group of people who were scheduled for execution leaving the same house. Couldn't hurt to put someone on watch in case more people showed up."
"Are they Death Eaters or Demons?"
"Death Eaters normally wear the mask and cloak, don't they?" Jo asked, and Harry nodded with an overwhelming sigh of relief, that was cut short when the youngest Harvelle spoke again. "Well, they're not wearing them. It's Demons."
"How many?"
"Two last time I checked," Jo observed, and then glanced towards a Shopping Centre at the end of the street. "We can cut through there and lose them in the crowds. You got any salt?"
"No," Harry replied. "The others took it all when they went to rescue you."
"You mean you didn't go with them?"
"No."
"Where where you, then? Sitting here waiting for me?"
"I was the distraction," Harry replied. "Besides, why would I wait for you? I don't even know you."
"Well, you're about to," Jo said. "In three seconds, cross the road."
Harry obeyed, and as naturally as he could, walked across the road. It was all he could do to prevent him from squinting behind to check on the Demons, but was . "Three more. Disguised as teenagers. In the park."
"How can you tell?"
"They just looked at us as we walked past them," Jo said with a shrug, as both teenagers had to break up and move away from each other to avoid a crowd of tourists. Harry dared a glance behind, and recognised the two Demons following them.
"They know we're onto them," Harry spoke, switching his focus towards the front of them just as they started accelerating.
"What?" Jo snapped, keeping her voice low as they made their way across the road at the end of Down Street – almost in the Shopping Centre now, and thankfully for them, it was heavily crowded. It would not be hard to lose the Demons in here.
"I, uh, looked behind me," Harry admitted.
"Oh, great," Jo grimaced. "Remind me never to take you on a stealth mission."
"Sorry," Harry apologised as their pace quickened. Glancing behind, he could sense the Demons' paces quickening too, and the three in the park swarmed out of its exits. Sensing their opportunity, Jo and Harry made their way through a crowd of shoppers entering the building, and determined to lose their pursuers, took the escalator down towards the lower levels.
"Hold my hand," Jo instructed, once they'd reached the bottom. "There are five Demons on the floor above. Two coming towards us. Act like we're a couple."
"Um," Harry glanced nervously at the girl.
"You've never been in a relationship before, have you?" Jo asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Before Harry could reply, she said, "Laugh."
"It's not working," Harry replied after a moment of forced laughter – which only seemed to earn the attention of confused shoppers.
"I know," Jo replied. "Into the shop."
She hauled Harry into the nearest store, selling clothes. Producing a wallet from her pocket, she smiled as the two who she had identified as Demons walked past, not noticing them inside – with her dragging Harry behind a stack of clothes as quickly as she could.
Harry reached into his pocket – which benefited from an Undetectable Extension Charm, and pulled out his Invisibility Cloak when he made sure that nobody was looking in their direction. "Uh, I'm going to put this on. It makes me Invisible – so you're going to steal a hat and follow me out of the store."
"If you insist," Jo said with a shrug, letting Harry take over for a change, and reached for a nearby cap – and watched as Harry whispered something with his wand, pointing at the piece of clothing where the label displaying the barcode was. Within seconds, the barcode was gone – as though it had never existed at all.
"Neat trick," Jo complimented the invisible Harry once they made their way out of the store, knowing that he was within hearing range. They made their way past the Demons without detection, and it wasn't long before they were heading up the Escalator.
Harry watched, invisible and thankful for the relative lack of people ascending up the escalator on the other side of the Shopping Centre, and managed to keep the Cloak from falling into the gaps as he made his way up. It meant that his feet were a bit visible, but with the two teenagers the only people heading up – it didn't matter.
It wasn't long before they were out of the store and he was able to remove his Cloak. "We're free," Harry said, as he made his way down the road, making sure that nobody was paying any attention.
"Nice job," Jo replied as they made their way around a corner. "Now, about that Taxi."
A black Taxi, with a yellow light signifying its active use, pulled around the corner that they had just headed behind them. Harry watched Jo stick out her arm and the Taxi pulled over.
Both teenagers climbed in to the backseat, and Harry gestured to the driver, whose face remained obscured from their view. "Take us to Number 12, Grimmauld Place."
"If ya say so," he said, his thick English accent easily distinguishable. Kicking the car into life, the black haired man glanced up at the mirror, as he pulled the Taxi out onto the main road. "Nice to meet ya, by the way, kid. Name's Crowley."
FINAL NOTES...
So there we have it, the end of Chapter 14 and another cliffhanger. Yeah, it was always going to be Crowley who would be the next Supernatural character to be introduced in this storyline so congratulations to those who guessed correctly.
NEXT TIME: Chapter 15 –The Highest Stakes – Harry Potter and Jo Harvelle have unwittingly got into a car with the crossroads Demon, Crowley – and their destination is going to be very different from Grimmauld Place! Trapped in a high security facility beneath the City of London, the two new allies have to escape by any means necessary. However, in order to escape before Crowley's Auction Begins, they must enter the most dangerous game of all.
Harry has never played a game of muggle cards before. But he's going to have to put his life on the line against the deadliest of opponents – Death herself! And things are about to get very interesting indeed when she learns that he has one of her Hallows...