Well here's the next installment, let me say welcome to the newcomers and howdy to the old readers. I had to change the prophecy some; I forgot to add a line when I was revamping that chapter. So you might need to check it out. I have it posted on my profile if you don't want to go looking for it.
Chapter 21: Starting Again
Harry gasped at the suddenness of it, he slumped foreword for a second sending the carpet into a dive. This caused the children to scream, which alerted the attacking wizards to the carpets position. Dodging a red spell Harry looped around and headed towards Grimmauld Place.
Nearing it, he used his wand to throw open the attic window. He crashed into a stack of boxes, the noise summoned Kreacher and Mali, the head house elves. Making himself and the children visible he tumbled onto the floor. Coughing Harry hoisted himself up and checked on the children. The triplets, Joseph, Michael, and Nathaniel were scared, but unharmed, Kirsten had a bruise on her cheek, while Robin held his arm carefully. "Let me see your arm," Harry said biting back the pain that was coming through the link.
Robin held it out the arm, it was broken, but was easily healed with a quick spell by Harry. Groaning Harry got up and picked up Nathaniel while Kristen and Robin picked up the other two, "Kreacher, Mali get some water for us and fix up two guest rooms for the children. Then report back to me."
The elves bowed and popped out of the attic. Harry led the way down to the kitchen; he motioned to them to be quiet as they pasted a large curtain covering part of the wall.
While much had changed about Grimmauld Place, they never found a way to remove Mrs. Black's portrait. Her portrait was all that was left from the time that Harry first arrived here. Pictures of family outings lined the walls, drawings made by the children hung all over the place.
Entering the kitchen he brought out some bottles of butter beer and past them around. "It's like root beer, or some other soda, except there is no carbonation," he said dully. They sat around the large table not speaking Kristen would occasionally look up and almost say something but the look on her godfather's face stopped her.
Kreacher and Mali walked back down the stairs and entered the kitchen quietly. Harry looked down at them, "The rooms are ready Master Potter," Kreacher said quietly; he hadn't seen his master like this since the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry had brightened up immensely when he heard that Fred had survived after all.
"Take them up and come back, I need you to run some errands," he told the elf, to the children he said, "You can stay in one room if you wish but I want you to stay up there okay," he said kindly as possible as they walked up the stairs. Once they left he stared into space, 'This can't be happening, I can't lose her now that I've finally found her,' these thoughts were interrupted by Kreacher and Mali returning. "Kreacher, Mali I need you to go around and contact the members of the Order and ask them to come here. Don't have Ginny, Hermione, or Ron come. Tell them that I'll tell them what's going on when I get there after the meeting."
The elves nodded worriedly before leaving. Harry stirred enough to make up enough coffee for the members coming in. There weren't many left, mainly the Weasley's and Shacklebolt, most of the others had been killed in the war or in the battles afterwards against rogue Deatheaters.
It didn't take long for the members that could get away to arrive, the only ones that couldn't come were Charlie, his wife, the Hogwarts teachers, and Fred. Minister Shacklebolt was the last one to Apparate into the kitchen.
Harry quickly told his story; the room was quiet throughout the telling. Finishing Shacklebolt said, "We've had reports of several attacks on ten year old children all over the country. The only thing they have in common is their birthday, August 29th, 2006."
"Lillian foretold that a child born that day, they would have been harmed by the last war in someway, and set apart for the actions of their ancestors, would be the one to destroy the newest threat to the world," Fred commented.
"Yes I remember seeing a report of a new prophecy cross my desk, but a building had blown up in Muggle London and I had to convince the latest Minister that we had nothing to do with it," Shacklebolt said after some thought, "Are any of the children you brought back with you Harry possible suspects?"
"Lillian and my goddaughter is ten, and the other boy that we found is also ten. Lillian had the documents that allowed us to take custody of them. So I don't know when their birthdays are," he shook his head and sighed, "We could ask them I guess, but I'm not sure they're ready to meet a lot of people just yet."
"I could go up and find out sir," Mali said quietly, "they seem to trust us."
Harry looked at her surprised, he had forgotten that she and Kreacher were in the room, glancing at the other people in the room he nodded and Mali disappeared up the stairs. A few minutes later she reappeared and said, "Kristen's birthday on that day, Master. Robin's is in July."
"Then she may be one then," Harry said dully, "one more of a possible six."
"What do you mean?" Bill asked.
"Lillian has connections to the centaurs as you know, one of them told her that there are six candidates this time. Unlike last time when there was only two," Harry said, the pain from the link was easing like it was getting farther away. This allowed him to concentrate on the meeting. "It seems though that there are several magical children born that day, so we must look at the rest of the factors to narrow it down. How many attacks have there been?" he asked the minister.
"Including the attack on you there have been eight others, one of which was on Draco Malfoy's son Scorpious. No one was hurt on any of the attacks though, the attackers seemed to be testing the wards on them," Shacklebolt said.
"Then there are eleven that are possible. My son, Albus, her daughter, Bellalexa, and a young centaur, Candra, whose mother was a witch and father a centaur, are also born on the 29th," Harry said, "So we must look to the next factor of the prophecy, those harmed by the last war." The people stopped and looked at Harry queerly when he mentioned a centaur. After all how could a centaur?
"But how can we really tell that? Does that mean they were physically harmed, which I doubt since they were all born after the last of the Deatheaters Battles or does it mean that family members were killed?" George said.
"Or perhaps we should skip that one and go to the ancestors," George said.
"Well Albus will be set apart because you Harry," Percy said, " Scorpious because of his father and grandparent's actions during the war, and Kristen because she's Snape's granddaughter, but what about the others?
Harry hesitated before saying, "I don't know if I should tell you this, it really should be Lillian telling you but… her adopted daughter, Bellalexa Lastrange is not only Bellatrix's granddaughter. She's also Voldemort's granddaughter." The room when silent, no one moved or spoke for several long seconds.
"You're sure?" Fleur said, she had been quiet since seeing how distraught Harry was.
Harry nodded.
"And you're alright with this?" Shacklebolt asked.
Harry nodded again, not looking at anyone.
"She is just a little girl, besides parentage doesn't always count. Look at Sirius or myself," Andromeda said from the end of the table. The room turned to look at her, then most of them nodded, they tried not to judge based on a person's parentage.
"Harry I know that you want to go and save your sister, but we have no idea where she has been taken to. We need to prepare, and do it quietly so that whoever took her doesn't notice us. I think it's time to start recruiting for the Order again and the DA," Shacklebolt said rising.
"If you need help with running her orphanage let us know," Arthur said, Molly nodded.
"I know, I just….wanted to let everyone know that we need to be ready for anything. Can the children be protected, it seems like someone has heard the prophecy or at least part of it. If they're blindly going after all the children, perhaps they've just heard the first little bit. Whichever it is means that we had a spy or at least a trespasser on the night of the party," Harry said hesitantly. "You should get back to your jobs, I'll let you know if we need your help Molly, Arthur."
With this the meeting ended and people started Apparating away. Molly and George stayed behind for moment to talk to Harry privately.
Molly hugged him and said, "We're all here for you, if you find out anything that could help us find her tell us." Harry nodded and hugged her back; she then left leaving him alone with George and the elves.
"Harry twins have a link, while it's not much when you get older, sometimes it allows you to still talk. Especially if emotions are high," George said calmly.
"I know," Harry said furrowing his brow, "we use it to talk all the time, but all I can feel from it is her pain. She has two broken legs and perhaps an arm, but it's been getting more distant as time has passed, I can barely feel it now.
"You can still use it? Most of the time the connection lessens after you turn twenty. Maybe because you and Lillian never used it when you were younger it became stronger instead of weakening. Though you do have to be careful of using over too long of distances, it'll give both of you quite the headache," he said with the classic Weasley twin smile.
"I know, we were using when I was here and she was up at Hogwarts once. It took several headache potions to make my head quit hurting enough for me to walk," Harry said wearily. George winced and turned to leave stopping when Harry said, "Wait, if I know my sister, she'll want the open house to go as planned. Can you still be there?"
"Yeah, Fred and I'll be there in two weeks, but by then she'll be back. Fred and I met your sister back at Hogwarts. She helped us with several pranks, one of her best talents is to get out of sticky situations."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, he had never seen this side of his sister before.
"There are few rooms that are restricted, mainly because they contain dangerous forces, or beings. One of these rooms housed something like a boggart. Fred and I knew about it and avoided it, but Martha… Lillian didn't know about it. We were out setting up a prank on the Slythrins when Mrs. Norris came around. We of course ran for it, right into Lillian. She was wandering around, supposedly setting up a prank on Filch. Now that I think about it, it was the same night that you, Ron, Hermione, and Neville went to duel Malfoy. Anyway we ran and were about to be caught by Snape when she ducked into that room. Fred and I followed after to try to get her out without anything happening to her. But as we got in the door swung shut and locked magically, no magic could unlock it," George paused and smile, "She was so calm, didn't let anything bother her. She waited until we heard Filch go by, then she pulled out, I think she called it a library card, something Muggle. She used that to unlock the door. That's when Fred and I decided to learn how to pick locks."
"Somehow that sounds like her," Harry said sadly.
"Don't worry, I don't think she'll need us to get her out, just to clean her up and make her stay in a bed. You've seen her she'll keep going until she falls down. She's stronger than people think at first glance."
Harry nodded with a smile. George then bid him good-bye and Apparated off. Harry stood up and went to the rooms where the children were in. Knocking he entered the children were all on the bed, the triplets asleep and Robin and Kristen were talking. They looked up as he came in. "I have to go to Lillian's orphanage and tell the people there what's going on. I want you to stay here, if you need anything just ask Kreacher or Mali. The other elves are less patient with children, but they're good workers, so just don't bother them. Okay?" he smiled at them. "don't worry we'll get her back it just might take some time. My wife will becoming home with me tonight, along with my youngest two children, Albus and Lily."
The two nodded and looked down. Then Kristen looked up, "Is she gone because of us?"
"No and don't let her hear you saying that when she gets back. She doesn't stand for self-pity. You should get some sleep," he smiled again and left. Robin hugged Kristen and went to the other room.
Harry told Kreacher to take care of them and Flooed to Sanctuary. He stepped through and seeing Ron, Ginny, and Hermione's worried expressions he said, "It's started again."
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Thought I'd get a school story about Lillian in this one. Anyway thanks for reading, I'll get the next chapter up soon, it's not as slow as this one I think. Don't forget to review it's always appreciated.