The Leader

Chapter 20

Rescue Mission

The second Harry Apparated into the fields around the Warehouse, everyone stopped what they were doing. It wasn't the fact someone had Apparated in that caught their attention, but the sheer amount and tenor of the magic fluxing around Harry that did. He was angry, extremely angry, and all of them wondered what caused it and what was going to happen.

"Who knows the whereabouts of Malfoy Manor?" shouted Harry, standing out among the large crowd.

Severus, who had Apparated beside Harry, looked around at the large group of people, observing their attention focusing on Harry and their reactions to his anger. There was no terror here; no fear that they would be subjected to a curse or be harmed because of whatever had angered him. The werewolves, the vampires, the wizards and witches, and other creatures had all joined Harry out of the need for a better life. They stared, waiting for instructions, ready to lay their lives down for their leader, the vampire who had given them a chance for a prosperous life, where they didn't have to hide or steal to get by. It was then he finally truly understood how different the two groups were, and allowed himself to see that they were nothing like the Dark Lord or the Death Eaters. They weren't even like the Order; these people had come together, and for better or for worse they were in this for the long haul.

"I do," replied Severus, first to speak up.

"I've been there as well," said Brecon. "I was invited with my family to a gathering— it was around seven years ago— for Draco Malfoy's birthday." And he'd hated every single second of it. Malfoy was so…slimy; both of them were, pretending to be good when they were as evil as they came. Yes, Brecon was dark, but not evil; he had never hurt another, although he had come close. What mattered was that he had been stopped in time, before the Dark Arts had enthralled him completely.

"I've never been in, but I know where it's located," added Bill, stepping forward. What was going on? Why was Harry suddenly interested in Malfoy Manor?

"What's going down?" asked Rick. Malfoy Manor had never been brought up, not in all the time he'd known Harry. His Leader wasn't impulsive, so something had happened, and he was curious to know what it was. Had he interrogated Pettigrew already? It was obviously something important, otherwise Harry would have done more research than this.

Harry looked around at everyone, and when he met Jack's gaze, he began to speak passionately. "I found out that there is a young boy, three years of age, being held captive in Malfoy Manor. He might not be one of our own, but he is a werewolf, and he deserves protection. As soon as Pettigrew is given to the Ministry, he would become collateral damage."

"What do we do with the Malfoys?" asked Wyatt.

"Severus?" suggested Harry, giving him he choice.

"What?" asked Severus surprised, staring at Harry, stunned. Then he realized that Harry knew everything about him... which would include the fact that Draco was his godson. The silence and everyone staring at him set him very much on edge; his skin prickled uncomfortably. He was used to being stared at, but that was usually by eleven- to seventeen-year-olds, not a large gathering like this.

"I am not completely heartless; I do what I think needs to be done. However, it is ultimately up to you, just this once," said Harry sternly. It was the only family Severus had, or rather, familial connection. He was an only child, both parents were deceased, and Draco Malfoy was his godson, so he was, or had been, close to the family at one point. "If they fight back, we may not have a choice."

"They will fight back," Severus said sharply. "Narcissa cares for nothing else, other than her son, and she would sacrifice her husband for him in a heartbeat, no matter how much she may have loved him at one point. From what I've gathered, she doesn't want her son following his father's footsteps, but will allow him to go through with it. She would rather mourn his innocence than his death."

"Lucius Malfoy will fight― he's lethal, one of Voldemort's inner circle," warned Bill; he knew it was unnecessary, but he'd rather have everyone aware.

"Then he dies," said Harry coolly; he wasn't risking anyone to save the likes of Lucius Malfoy. For Severus' sake he was willing to let Draco Malfoy survive. "Subdue the others only; if the boy follows in his father's footsteps, there will be nothing we can do for him." The end of that statement was more geared towards Severus, who understood all too well and nodded grimly in acceptance.

"Who is the child?" asked Jack possessively. The thought of a cub being harmed turned his stomach and made him feel feral.

"Aaron Greyback," revealed Harry. "Now, Malfoy Manor is said not to be Voldemort's base of operations, but we have no idea how many Death Eaters might be there. I want at least ten of you to come with me. Jack, he might respond better to an Alpha there," Harry added, giving him a choice.

"Of course I'm coming," said Jack. Greyback's son or not, it was a cub in danger; they protected and looked out for their own. They had to, since nobody else was going to... well, until Harry had come along and banded them together in ways nobody else ever had. They weren't alone anymore, struggling to survive; they had each other. For once, there were vampires and werewolves getting on; they both had had shit ends of deals, thanks to the Ministry.

"Will I be taking down the wards?" asked Bill. He was the best at his job; it was why Gringotts had been happy to accommodate him when he'd moved from Egypt back to England. Surprisingly, there were just as many jobs to be done here as there had been in Egypt, so he wasn't suffering from lack of work or a money shortage.

"With Dale, yes," stated Harry. "We leave now; the longer we wait, the more chance of Voldemort finding out something has gone wrong."

Everyone began moving in, a lot more than just ten people, but Harry said nothing about it. As long as Jack, Bill, Dale, and Rick came, he knew this would go off without a hitch. No, the real battle would be against the vampires; he would only be taking five with him for that, making it a fair fight, as he always did. Callahan would regret ever thinking about trying to overthrow him; Harry should have kept a better eye on him. At least he had found out before anyone else had suffered from his idiocy. He was almost insulted that the fool thought he could get enough vampires on his side to do any sort of damage to his own group.

"Those that know where the manor is, take two people with you," Harry instructed sternly.

"Can I come?" asked Reg; he even had a wand now, and so he could help them.

"No, you stay here," said Jack possessively, wincing when he realized he shouldn't have. Since Harry was there, it was his decision in the end.

"You will gather writing materials; we will need to inform Greyback that we have his son," said Harry, "We will be back in a few minutes, is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir!" said Reg eagerly, happy to help, to do something, even if he wasn't getting to go with them. He looked over at Jack, swallowing thickly and praying nothing happened to him. He didn't know what he would do if something went wrong. Not even the comforting nod his Alpha gave him helped; he was grasped by the shoulder, then just like that, they were gone.

"Be quick; if he has proximity wards, they will alert him to our presence," said Harry as soon as they landed in front of the wards surrounding Malfoy Manor.

"Already been disabled," said Dale, as he and Bill worked in sync to take down the wards surrounding the home. They had worked as quickly as they could, knowing that at any moment they could be found out. That might be all it would take to cause the Malfoys to leave their home.

"Brecon, anti-Apparition wards," barked Harry.

"On it," said Brecon, his wand already moving in a complicated motion, placing the wards up while the others took everything else down.

"Severus, Jack: follow me to the dungeons; the rest do what you have to," demanded Harry. He didn't have his wand out— he had no need for it— but everyone else had theirs at the ready. Bit by bit the manor was revealed to him as the wards were completely brought down. There were dozens of peacocks prancing around. It was completely pretentious, was his first thought, the way they flaunted their wealth, which probably meant they didn't have as much as they liked to make everyone think.

Severus observed their formation. Five vampires―Wyatt, Rick, and three others he was unfamiliar with― stood in front; two were at the back with Harry, protecting him. "Are we walking or Apparating?" enquired Severus.

"Walking; we never Apparate into properties," said Harry immediately. It gave whomever was on the other end warning, and left them vulnerable, since they had no idea what was on the other side. The noise of Apparition also stopped them from being able to surprise them.

"Done," said Dale. The only other ward was being worked on by Bill.

"Me too," said Bill, exhaling in relief.

"Go!" barked Harry, watching Rick, Wyatt, Howard, Takumi, Jessie, Rachel, and Josh run, using their vampire speed to get onto the property in no time. "Let's move," he added to the others. They were wizards, so to say the walk towards the manor house was excruciatingly slow for him was putting it mildly. He could hear the fighting coming from inside, but by the sounds of it, they were holding their own. After what felt like an age to Harry, he finally entered the ostentatious Manor, paying no attention to anything or anyone.

"Do you know where they are?" Harry asked Severus, but Jack was already moving ahead, inhaling sharply every few seconds, able to smell the boy. "Is he alive?"

"Yes, but he's hurt," said Jack, baring his teeth at the wall. He could sense the cub through there, but there was absolutely no sign of a door or secret passageway.

"Pull the lamp back," said Severus bluntly as he finally caught up with them.

Jack grabbed onto the wall sconce, and yanked it firmly; only then did the wall give way, showing them steps which obviously led below the house. The walls flared with light as they descended the steps into the cold dampness of the dungeons. There was more than just one person there; the cells were filled with people.

Harry stalked towards the little boy's cell and yanked the door off its hinges, not even bothering to unlock it. The smell of terror wafting from the boy drew him up him short. Kneeling down, he observed him; the child had bite marks all over his arms and legs. The full moon had just passed, and being locked up by himself, he would have chewed at himself, especially if he was hungry. Which he was, if the grumbling of his little stomach was anything to go by. "Hello, little one," murmured Harry soothingly, so very different from his normal self that Severus stopped what he was doing to stare at him in blatant surprise. "Come, I'll take you to your father; you are safe now."

"Daddy?" whispered Aaron, perking up; he wanted to believe them, but he had been teased before by the bad people who had hurt him.

"That's right; come on," said Harry, holding his hand out and giving the young child a chance to come to him. A rare smile appeared on his face as the boy took his hand; Harry hoisted the child into his arms. He should have brought potions with him; Aaron could have used them. He walked slowly so he didn't startle the child. While werewolves were fast, this boy had been hurt and was still afraid.

"Here," said Severus, handing over his cloak and placing it around the child to keep him warm. The boy had absolutely nothing on; his clothes had probably been ruined the first time he transformed. He didn't like to think that the little boy had been there since the Dark Lord had come back, at least not right away. Otherwise the child had been there since he'd been born. However, judging by the fact that he understood the word "father," that wasn't very likely.

"How are the others, Brecon?" asked Harry, looking around for him.

"Four are dead; two are gravely injured— beyond healing, I think, but I'm no expert. Three seem fine enough to walk on their own, albeit a little hurt." said Brecon.

"Two have been bitten," Jack said quietly, sniffing the air; he could smell the lycanthropes. It had happened recently; since the smell wasn't full-out, they hadn't turned into their wolves yet.

"Are they magical?" asked Brecon, holding his breath.

Jack shook his head; no, they weren't. His gaze regarded them solemnly.

"Bring them with us, do everything you can to help them accept what they are before the full moon," said Harry grimly. Either they'd been put in the same cell as the child, or gotten too close to him during the full moon and paid a very heavy price. If they didn't survive, he'd at least know he had tried his hardest. Muggles didn't survive the transformation, but that might be because they didn't understand what was going on, inducing terror until their hearts stopped, or they had actual heart attacks that finished them off.

"The others?" asked Brecon.

"St. Mungo's," said Harry, "Keep an eye on them; if they're refused treatment, bring them to the warehouse."

Brecon nodded grimly before he Apparated out with the three unconscious wizards.

"Go, Jack," said Harry. "Alert Greyback; make sure it's understood the child is not a bargaining chip."

"You want me to do it?" asked Jack, surprised.

"It will mean more coming from a fellow werewolf," Harry replied sternly, nodding his head again, demanding that he leave now.

"What about the others?" asked Severus, kneeling down and pressing his fingers against a pulse point to make sure there was nothing there.

"Dobby?" called Harry; he had hoped to avoid this.

"Yes Master…" Dobby trailed off with a squeak at being back in Malfoy Manor.

"Take these bodies to the Ministry; the least they deserve is a proper burial," said Harry. "When you are finished go to the warehouse; make sure we have pain relievers. If we don't, bring some from the Manor."

"Yes, sir," said Dobby, before he took a deep breath, knelt down, and transported out with one, giving him the respect he hadn't had in life.

Harry looked down at the child, and found he was asleep in the crook of his neck. He was warming up under the cloak already. He silently walked up the steps out of the dungeons, his face a mask of rage. He found the three Malfoys were still alive, although there was a dead body lying on the floor nearby.

"Uncle Sev?" cried Draco, looking relieved and betrayed at the same time as he stared at the wizard behind Harry.

"Kill him." said Harry, glaring at Lucius Malfoy, whose neck was snapped with swift movements before anyone realized what was happening.

Narcissa and Draco Malfoy were stunned, their bodies hitting the floor unceremoniously. But they were alive; that was more than could be said for Lucius Malfoy.

"Let's go, we are done here," Harry snapped, before he wrapped his magic around both himself and the small boy and Apparated to the Warehouse.

"The Potion cupboard is stocked," said Jack immediately, from where he was sitting, writing out a letter to Greyback, with Reg clutching at his side, more clingy than usual. You would think he had been away for days on a dangerous mission, not just a few minutes. All cubs were the same, though; that thought caused him to clench his hand around the quill, digging his nails into his palm of his hand. "Go get a salve and pain reliever; go on, shoo," he added to Reg as he tried to regain control of his temper.

"If you need to, go to the field," Harry stated demandingly, sensing the brewing anger in the alpha.

Jack nodded grimly, knowing it was an order.

Harry moved away and placed the child on one of the more comfortable chairs they had, keeping the cloak around him. They had no clothes that would fit him, so they would need to shrink what they had as far as they would go. Harry accepted the potion and salve from Reg, who then went back to Jack. Opening the jar of salve, he removed the cloak a section at a time, rubbing the cream into the wounds; there were a great many of them. Aaron stayed asleep throughout; the full moon took a lot out of one, without one's being already hurt.

"Here," said Severus, handing over a sponge and a bowl filled with warm water. He didn't know why, but the way Harry was dealing with the child continued to surprise him. He was always so stern, demanding, and determined; seeing him like this, Severus actually began to see there was more to Harry than met the eye.

"I can feel you staring at me," Harry said without turning around as he wrung out the sponge and began to clean the filthy child, being as gentle as he could, treating him like precious cargo, like one of his rare books. As soon as the sponge touched him, the boy began to get restless, moaning lightly, trying to bat the coldness away. So Harry did it more quickly, leaning Aaron against him as he washed his back and legs, leaving him smelling like a clean wolf cub without wizards' scent stinking him out. "Accio clothes!" Harry called; the box immediately barrelled towards him.

"I'll do it," said Severus immediately, grabbing the box and leaving Harry free to hold onto the child, who thankfully had settled again. He didn't do well with crying children, but that might be because he'd never had to deal with them before. The youngest he'd had to deal with was eleven-year-olds. He picked up the clothes that were the smallest, which were for a teenager, but with a few flicks of his wand the clothes shrank down enough that they would fit the boy. They would probably be a little baggy, but that was better than him being cold or naked amongst the group— although from what he had observed, children had no shame about running around with nothing on. He passed the clothes over to Harry, feeling that things were changing drastically. If this went right, they would have Greyback and the rest of the Werewolves on their side... wait, their side? When had he started to think of this as his side? Dangerous assumptions to make, he thought to himself.

"That's the letter sent; I've told him to meet us here, at midnight," Jack said; Greyback already knew where they were. "I'll make sure everyone is told so they'll be on their guard."

"Good, you've done well," said Harry, covering the boy with the cloak; he'd drunk the potion, so he would probably sleep for a few hours. It just depended on how used to pain relievers he was. His had been stronger, though, so he might sleep regardless.

"Is he staying?" asked Reg, staring at the young boy, feeling protective of him, as all werewolves were with cubs.

"That is not known yet," said Harry.

"I need your permission to leave; the Order is having a meeting," said Bill. He was the only one that could bring Harry information, since Black and Lupin were blacklisted, so to speak.

"Go; be careful," ordered Harry.

betaed by jordre and Jake.