Well here is the next chapter. I'm not all that happy with it but I thought you had all waited long enough. I haven't reread this chapter as thoroughly as I have been trying to do with the last few chapters so there is probably a ton of spelling and grammar errors so I'll apologize for that right away.
Well anyway thanks for the reviews and here is the next chapter.
Chapter 13
At the sound of the alarm going off the order members immediately were in motion. From past experience the Order new that the moment that the alarms went off the attack was already under way. If they didn't hurry then the family under attack would have no chance of survival.
"The attack is at Portkey #12." Sirius felt his heart speed up. That was the number that he was in charge of.
Looking over at James they shared a look as they both grabbed a chain around their necks.
"Activate." Echoed around the room as the other members in charge of defending this particular family activated their portkeys
Sirius felt the familiar tug at his navel and tried to prepare himself mentally for what was about to happen.
Portkeying into a battle was one of the worst ways to arrive to a fight. The enemy was given too much warning of the arrival. Worst of all the people arriving by Portkey were usually a little disoriented at first. If it wasn't the quickest way to travel for a group then they wouldn't have used it.
He landed in a squat and immediately had his wand out ready to cast. Adrenaline surged through him as he scanned the area looking for the targets.
What he saw however caused his mouth to drop. On top of the target house which is where they had landed was the dark mark. It wasn't the mark that actually made him pause in disbelief. He had expected to see the dark mark on top of the target house. What he hadn't expected was to see the mark on top of every house on the street. This was a full out battle and not just an attack on a muggle born witch.
Once again he glanced over at James who looked just as shocked as he felt. They had only ten people assigned to this house. There weren't nearly enough of them to cover the whole street. This was a suicide mission.
Green light shot out of one of the houses as the Death Eaters noticed their arrival. Dodging out of the way the team made their way towards a parked car in order to find shelter.
"Weasley head back to headquarters and tell Dumbledore the situation. We need more people." He heard James bark out the order even as Sirius returned curses at the Death Eaters.
The youngest of the group, Bill Weasley, who had just joined the order after his graduation, immediately followed the order obviously seeing that they were beyond out numbered.
"We continue with the mission as planned extract the family from danger. After the family is safe we'll move on to try and help the rest of the street." James called out the order to the remaining nine people.
Even as James barked out the commands the rest of them new that there would be very few people left to help. Ducking to escape a stunner aimed his way Sirius began to fire spells as quickly as he could no longer caring about accuracy in order to create a diversion to get the team into the house.
"We're in Padfoot" James yelled to him and spells began to go over his head from the team in the house covering his and Shacklebolt backs as they made there way to the house.
There was a slight pause once they were inside the house. It was completely silent to the point that it was almost eerie. At the bottom of the stairs was a woman laying face up staring blankly up at the ceiling. One of the team members moved forward and checked the woman's pulse although it was obvious that the woman was dead.
They were too late.
The team split into two groups one to search the ground floor and the other to search the top. Sirius moved up the stairs silently and alert for any remaining Death Eaters.
A loud shriek rang through the air. Surprise and hope ran through him. Someone was still fighting. Forgetting protocol Sirius raced forward and towards the door that the screaming was coming from.
"Bloody hell Sirius" He heard Remus call behind him but he ignored him. They weren't too late there was still someone alive. Crashing the door in Sirius went low and began to throw stunners into the room so that if he did hit any on victims they would be fine. He knew that Remus was doing the same thing but sending stunners high.
Moving into the room he took note that either Remus or himself had hit one of the Death Eaters and the other was still standing over a little girl obviously a little startled at having been interrupted. Taking great satisfaction in it Sirius pointed his wand at the Death Eater and quickly petrified him.
"The rest of the upstairs is clear" He heard Shacklebolt call out.
"Clear here as well. We've got a survivor." Remus called from behind him.
"The cavalry has arrived." One of the newer order members called out from downstairs relief and excitement obvious in his voice.
Sirius froze for a moment waiting to hear James clear the bottom floor but no sound came. Swearing softly he turned away from the child and looked at Remus who was also turned towards the door frowning.
Gripping his wand tightly Sirius stood up from his crouch and began to make his way towards the door so he could find James and make sure that he was okay.
"Clear down stairs. We've got a casualty." James voice rang up the stairs causing Sirius to let out a sigh of relief. James was alright for now.
Turning his attention back to the child Sirius studied her fear stricken face. She couldn't be older then ten. Her face was red and puffy from crying. Her night gown was torn and the left sleeve was drenched in blood. Her hair was a dark brown that was long, frizzy and knotted. His gut clenched as he met her chocolate brown eyes and saw only fear.
"Sh… It's going to be alright. Can you tell me your name?" He asked the little girl while he approached her slowly.
She let out a little whimper and backed away from him. Merlin he hated it when children got involved.
"Is your name Hermione Granger?" Remus asked from behind him. He watched as the little girl looked up at Remus and nodded her head slightly while she continued to tremble.
Remus began to talk to the little girl using his calmest voice. Sirius stepped back to let Remus work. It was a gift that Remus had with kids that always shocked the hell out of the other Marauders. Children trusted Remus. His gut clenched at that thought. Children trusted Remus but his own best friends didn't.
Sirius shook his head in disbelief as Remus picked up the kid and the little girl clung to him like a life line.
"Take Shacklebolt and get her out of here?" Sirius ordered Remus as Shacklebolt entered the room.
"You need Shacklebolt here I'll take her back to headquarters on my own." Remus argued while shifting the kid in his arms.
He knew that Remus was right that they couldn't spare anyone in this battle but he couldn't let Remus take the child alone. He couldn't risk the kid that way.
"Take Shacklebolt with you and get her out of her Remus." He repeated a little louder making the girl jump a little. "That's an order Remus" He barked out when Remus began to open his mouth to protest again.
For a moment their eyes met and Sirius could see the confusion and anger in his friend's eyes. The wolf flashed in Remus' eyes before Remus gave a firm nod.
Sirius turned to the door as he heard the loud crack of Remus and Shacklebolt apparating away.
Making his way to the downstairs he found James kneeling over the muggle lying on the floor. James looked up as he came down the stairs.
"Remus and Shacklebolt got the kid out. No one else is upstairs." Sirius said even as he avoided James' knowing look.
"No survivors down here. We should move on to the next house. The rest of the Order is here as well as Dumbledore. The Death Eaters fled when they saw him." James said in a dead pan voice as he stood up. They both new that it had been a very risky move having Dumbledore show up; either the Death Eaters would leave or Voldemort would show up as well. They had lucked out.
Neither of them looked back at the dead muggle.
One hour later
This was a bloody nightmare. James had been right that the Death Eaters had fled but they had left a mess.
James and he had split up too begin to go through the houses hit by the Death Eater raid. While they did look for survivors for the most part they were only getting body counts. Ministry workers and the Order raced around together trying to get the place cleaned up enough to allow the muggle police at it.
Sirius gave a little shudder as he walked towards one of the last houses on the block. This would be sixth house that he was going into.
"Sir!" A relieved voice called out from the house causing Sirius to sigh. A fresh face junior Aurora stood in the doorway. He stood with his wand out and his hand trembling obviously trying to preserve the scene and keep the reporters out who were beginning to arrive. As if preserving the scene would do anything.
"Stand down Aurora trainee" Sirius barked out as he walked up the steps to the house. "There is no reason wasting you time preserving the scen…… What the hell" Sirius broke off as he stepped into the living room.
He turned slightly to the Aurora Junior who was smirking at him slightly.
"I've kept everyone out Sir." The Junior mocked him.
"Good work Aurora" Sirius muttered as he entered completely into the house.
It was a blood bath in here, a literal blood bath. Each house he had gone into the muggles had been killed with various curses that left very little blood. In this room however there was blood soaking into the carpet and on the walls. The most startling thing was that most of the blood had quite obviously not come from the muggles. There were several dead Death Eaters with small knifes sticking out of various vital organs and veins.
Stepping carefully to the first Death Eater he pulled the mask back to see a young girl that he didn't know; most likely one of Voldemort's new recruits. They were getting younger and younger. The second mask he removed was another unfamiliar face. Picking up the wands of the first two Death Eaters he moved towards the last one and removed the mask and began to swear. Rodolphus Lestrange; his cousin's husband; one of Voldemorts inner circle.
Turning his head he looked at the dead muggles with amazement. Picking up the third wand he moved towards the man and woman. The woman lay in the man's lap and he was hunched over her as if protecting her even in death. He carefully checked for a pulse and let out a sad sigh when he felt nothing.
"You put up a good fight." He whispered before he stood up. Turning around in a circle he tried to take in the scene and figure out what had happened but a bloody handprint on the wall had him pause. Someone had gone upstairs.
Moving carefully up the stairs Sirius followed the hand mark to the first door. The room had been gone through quickly as if it had been searched. He winced as he took in the child's room. It obviously belonged to a little boy. The parents had obviously put up a fight to try and save there child.
He was leaving the room when something above the bed caught his eyes. Moving towards the bed he reached for the ornament hanging above the bed. A dream catcher, he smiled sadly at the sight of it. Lily had made one for each of them when they had gone to their first battle and had trouble sleeping. He picked it up and frowned as a small jolt of magic ran through him. Pointing his wand at the dream catcher he ran a quick diagnostic spell. He frowned even more at the results. There was a charm that Lily had made on it that acted a lot like a sleeping potion.
Turning the Dream catcher in his hand he studied it. He had never seen the charm outside of Lily doing it. Breaking all protocol he slipped the Dream catcher into his pocket and once again examined the room. Seeing nothing else that caught his attention he moved to the next room that the bloody hand was on.
A sign hung crooked on the door with the word Princess written on it. He pushed the door open and prepared himself as well as he could for dead children although he had never truly learned how to prepare for that. But all there was in this room was a sign of a struggle. Moving into the room he took in the dolls and stuffed bears tossed carelessly around the room. Looking toward the bed he saw another Dream catcher hanging above it. Moving towards it he began to reach for it but his eyes caught sight of another stuff bear or deer he should say the bed. Smiling at seeing the stag in a blue skirt he picked it up and studied it. Once again magic shot through the animal confusing him. Taking his wand he once again caste a diagnostic spell only to find that it had been transfigured.
Taking a greater interest in the stag he studied it closer. It actually looked quiet familiar. Almost like the witch or wizard had been trying to make it look like James. Dismissing that thought he went to put the stag back down when a collar caught his attention. Reading the name on the collar his blood ran cold.
Prongs.
What the hell was going on. Racing out of the room he raced through the upstairs looking any sign of the children that obviously lived here. The only thing he found was more signs of a struggle in the bathroom. There were no bodies upstairs.
His heart was racing. In the back of his mind he could hear James telling him over and over that Lily wasn't dead. But he had dismissed that for his friend not being able to let go. What if he had been wrong?
Still holding the stag he moved down the stairs. At the bottom he pushed the dead muggle man off of the woman praying that it wasn't Lily. He felt a bit of guilt when relief raced through him at the sight of a strange woman.
"Aurora did you find any survivors in the house." Sirius snapped as he began to turn.
"No sir" The Aurora said firmly.
A small cry rang out from behind the Aurora but Sirius ignored it as the sound of the grieving muggles that were beginning to turn up.
"Then did you find the bodies of the children that live here?" Sirius asked as he turned around finally looking at the Aurora.
"No Sir. There were no children. The only bodies are the ones in this room." The Aurora answered.
Sirius however barely heard him. His eyes were locked on the red head standing behind the Aurora staring at the bodies behind him. He watched as her head whipped up and looked at the Aurora when he answered that there was no children.
The woman closed her eyes for a moment and it seemed like relief poured out of her. When she opened her eyes emerald green eyes met crystal blue eyes. He watched in fascination as her eyes widened in recognition.
"Lily?" He whispered in wonder.
She smiled slightly then looked back down at the bodies behind her. He watched as tears filled her eyes. When she looked back at him her eyes were filled with sadness and regret. Before he even knew what she was doing she turned and with a loud crack disappated.
"Lily!" He yelled over the surprised Juniors cry.
Looking down at the stuff stag in his hand his heart dropped. What the hell was going on?
"Padfoot what's up? You've been in this house for a long time?" James called out as he made his way towards him.
Looking at James Sirius debated what to say. Finally turning around he motioned for James to follow him into the house. Until he knew more of what was going on he wasn't going to say anything to James. His best friend had been through enough. He didn't need to know that Lily had just been here and left voluntarily.
Just what the hell was Lily up too?
POV Change
Lily looked down at the phone in her hand and frowned. She had been attempting to call Kim at home for the last hour while she was on break to find out if Harry had made it home yet but there had been no answer. It was very rare that no one was home to answer the phone especially at night.
"Hey Lily your break ended five minutes ago" One of the girls called over the loud music from the bar. Lily swore quietly as she put the phone down and walked back to the bar.
"Any luck?" Mandy one of the bar tenders asked as Lily reached the bar and grabbed her tray.
"No answer" Lily answered while she bit her lip trying to convince herself that everything was fine. In the back of her mind however she kept seeing Mitch looking out the window almost fearfully.
Turning to go back into the crowd her eyes fell on the phone and paused. Something felt off.
"Lily!" One of the girls called out to her breaking her out of her trance. Looking out into the crowd and back at the phone and made up her mind.
Turning back to the main bartender Lily put the tray down.
"Mandy can you cover for me I have to run home." Lily called out even as she made her way towards the door.
"Wait Lily" She heard Mandy call out but Lily ignored her. A man reached out to grab her but Lily dodged his hands too focused on getting home. She knew that there was a very good chance that she had just lost her job over nothing but she would worry about that later.
There were just too many things wrong at home for her to ignore. She was worried about whether or not Harry had made it home. She was worried about whatever Mitch had wanted to talk to her about. She was extremely worried about why no one was answering the phone. Lily knew that Kim would have called her the minute that Harry arrived home and she couldn't believe that Mitch and Kim would leave the house without Harry. Something had to be wrong.
The drive home from the bar was the longest in her life. Her mind raced over the different situations that could have occurred. She kept thinking of what if's.
She was just turning the last corner to her house when she arrived to pandemonium. Wizards were running up and down her street in complete chaos and didn't appear to care at all about the stature of secrecy.
Her heart began to pound loudly and for a minute she thought that the wizards were Death Eaters. She quickly dismissed that idea however when she noticed that the wizards were mostly wearing Aurora colors. Lily ducked in her car when she saw a witch look towards her car but the witch didn't make any move to come towards her. Instead the witch looked up into the night sky and then turned and moved up a driveway.
Driving very slowly Lily made her way down the street scanning the witches and wizards she nearly lost control of the car when she spotted Dumbledore talking to a wizard she didn't recognize. If Dumbledore was there it was almost a for sure thing that the Order of the Phoenix was there as well. If the Order was there that would mean that there was a good chance that there were more wizards and witches that she would know. More importantly there was a good chance that James was somewhere in this mess. She should have been worried about being seen but the closer she got to her home the more dread ate at her gut.
It wasn't until she was at her house and getting out of the car that she looked up to see the rows upon rows of dark marks over all the houses on her street. She spun around quickly to look above her home and felt the blood run cold at the sight of the mark above. Dropping her purse she raced up the drive way towards the front door praying that her family was alright. The wizard at the front door glanced her way but obviously didn't consider her much of a threat and turned back to whoever he was talking to in the house.
She stopped short of the door and let out a cry of pain at the sight of Mitch slumped over Kim. Both of them were too still and pale to be alive. Her mind screamed and she felt her heart drop. They were dead. She had failed her family. She didn't even look at the wizard kneeling over Mitch and Kim too in shock to really register anything.
She heard the wizard at the door say there were no survivors and her world fell apart. She let out a moan of pain and bowed her head as tears filled her eyes.
O Merlin it hurt.
An image of her son laughing and racing around with Sam came to her mind. O Merlin her babies.
"No Sir. There were no children" The wizard at the door said and Lilt froze on the spot. The words took a moment to register. Harry and Sam weren't in the house. Her mind raced with possibilities.
She looked up at the Aurora standing at the door feeling hope returning to her. There was a chance that Sam and Harry were alright. She had to focus on that. Feeling someone watching her Lily looked over at the wizard who had been kneeling over her friends' bodies. It only took her a moment to recognize Sirius.
He was looking at her with astonishment. Of course he would be after all he thought she was dead. Her eyes fell back down to Mitch and Kim and she felt tears come to her eyes. She wanted so badly to run up to Sirius and hug him. Let him comfort her until James came along to take over. To let someone else carry that burden she was about to take on. But she had to remain strong the children were out there. Looking at Mitch she remembered him telling Harry that if there was trouble to go to the schools playground. Hoping that Harry had listened to Mitch Lily looked back up at Sirius.
"Lily" Sirius whispered in wonder causing the other wizard at the door to actually look at her in confusion.
Smiling slightly at him she disappated ignoring Sirius' calling her name louder.
Reappearing at the school playground Lily looked around frantically for any sign of the kids. Her heart dropped when she didn't immediately see them.
"Harry! Samantha!" She called out to the empty playground.
A Phoenix's song had her whipping around in the opposite direction. Racing off to a piece of playground equipment she ducked under it and felt her knees go weak with relief. They were both there curled up together the way they used to sleep when they had been babies and toddlers. Collapsing beside them she frantically searched for pulses and only began to relax when she felt two steady rhythms. Sam had tears and blood dried on her face and Harry was pale and a little shaky but they were both alive.
Running her hands through their hair Lily began to shake as the realization of what had happened hit. Lily began to cry quietly for Kim and Mitch. Her heart hurt for the loss of two people who had become her friends and family. There would only be tonight however to mourn for them. Come the morning she would have to take Harry and Sam and disappear. This time she would have no help. She was truly on her own. She would have to protect both of the children. But she would worry about that tomorrow. Tonight she mourned.