AN – Hey guys and girls. THANK YOU! Thank you for all the support you have given me in this story; it has reached 200 followers! This is the most popular story I've written and I hope you continue to enjoy it.
Any way here you go
Chapter 25
The night before school was to restart everyone went out for a peaceful dinner at what had become their favourite muggle restaurant. Hermione and her mum had spotted it one day back from shopping in the muggle world and suggested they try it out, and after a few visits it became a solid favourite. Harry sat next to Bella and Draco which had become his standard position; they had become close friends which he could see sometimes made Hermione sad but he couldn't help that right now. Their new friendship had a new dynamic in which they both were still apprehensive about how to deal with one another; Hermione because she didn't want to lose what they had even though she didn't agree with his decisions sometimes. Harry knew she wasn't too happy with all the training that he had decided to plan for himself.
They all enjoyed a good meal and great conversation; Sirius acting like the joker he normally was, had decided to tell them about his early days in the Auror office. They finished their supper and decided to get some last minute supplies before they were to head back to Hogwarts.
Once they entered the alley and found it very quiet, they made their way down the alley and into a few shops.
"Get down!" Harry shouted as a green light illuminated the alley
He pulled his wand and started casting stunners and shepherding the Grangers and Bella into a safe archway
"Stay here, Hermione and Bella use your best shields spells to keep the elder Grangers safe" he commanded
Draco and Sirius had managed to divert spell fire to an abandoned shop; the force was small but had skilled fighters. Harry was seeing spells which he hadn't encountered before so he chose to dodge them instead of casting a shield which may falter. Harry managed to disrupt the fight enough to give Sirius an opening to cut down two of them. Harry saw Draco in trouble as a werewolf pounced on him but he evaded. Harry summoned Godric's blade and cut the werewolf down before it could move on Draco once more.
"Thanks" he said and rushed into the fight once more
They cut down the last of the attackers and checked the surroundings for any more but found no further adversaries, Sirius transported the girls and the Grangers home while Harry and Draco waited for the Aurors to arrive. The Goblin force arrived first; looking ready for a fight that had already finished
"Where were you?" Harry asked the leader
"We are the second shift" he said shuffling his feet
"How did they know to attack just as you switched?" Harry demanded "Have you been switching every day at the same time?"
"Yes, we're on from ten to six" he said
"Then you're a special kind of stupid" Draco shouted
The Aurors arrived a few moments later
"Useless, utterly useless" Harry shook his head "How are we to defend the magical world when we can't even respond to attacks on our alley?" he looked every goblin and Auror in the eyes
"Tell Amelia to meet me in Blackclaw's office" he said to one of the aurors and then made his way to Gringotts
He marched into the office with Draco by his side with his sword in hand; no goblin stopped them as they headed in.
"Mr Potter" Blackclaw said friendly
"What the hell Blackclaw, do your troops not plan ahead? There was an attack in the alley and they arrive after we've disposed of them. We'll be at Hogwarts for the next three months and then who will defend the alley" he was close to shouting now
"Where were our forces?" he demanded from his captain who walked into the office
"We were switching shifts sir" he said not meeting the older goblins eyes
"And the old shift didn't wait for the new shift to arrive before they left?" he asked
"No sir" he said
"Unacceptable, give me your sword and shield" he demanded "go join the general forces" he said once the goblin handed over the items
"While that is needed it doesn't answer my concerns" Harry said "Are your men fit to stand against Voldemort and his supporters?"
"You question our skills? Be careful Mr Potter you're treading on thin ice now" he said angrily
"I don't care right now Blackclaw" he said stubbornly
"Harry…" Draco tried placing a calming hand on his shoulder
"Back down Mr Potter" Blackclaw said "This is not the fight you want to pick"
"Then organise your men, we are depending on them to realise our dreams" he said
"I understand, but let us not follow the same path that our forefathers have. This alliance can be an easy one" he said softening his own tone
"Okay" Harry said and took a seat "It was a complete mess, both forces showed up hopelessly too late"
"I apologise, shall I show you around so you can see our warriors?" Blackclaw offered
"No thank you, but I'd like you to show Amelia around. She'll be here soon" Harry said and stood to leave
"I will Mr Potter, I'll talk to them as well about switching out guard duty" Blackclaw said and watched the two boys leave the room
Draco dragged himself up the stairs breathing heavily. Harry advised him that he should consider upping his cardio and endurance training as it would become a problem in the long run
Harry found Sirius in the kitchen having a drink with Hermione's father
"Thank you for today Harry. Mary and I would have been done for if you hadn't been there" he said
"No problem, I'm just sorry Moony couldn't join because of his furry little problem" Harry said shaking his head
"You done well though pup" Sirius said and passed the boy a bottle of water
"Thanks Sirius, I went off at the Goblins and the Aurors after you left and gave them a piece of my mind regarding their preparations. I really upset Blackclaw as well but we managed to calm ourselves down before we ended up regretting our words" Harry explained
"Good, now get to bed you must be tired and tomorrow is back to Hogwarts" Sirius advised
"I'm going, I'm going" he said and left the room
Harry slept poorly that night; he woke up completely exhausted from the bad dreams he had. It had been the first time in a long time since they plagued him like this
He got showered and dressed; he found Dobby finishing off his packing. He grabbed an outfit and changed before he headed down stairs. They ate a quick breakfast and Harry noticed that Draco looked just exhausted as he did
"Rough night buddy?" Harry asked
"Yeah, long night" he replied
They made for the fire place and soon they were on the train; Harry had his head in Bella's lap and he slept through the entire train ride.
"We saw that they were fighting again in the alley" Neville said to Bella
"Yes, and these two" she pointed to Harry and Draco "Decided to face the Goblins and tell them that they ran a shitty operation" she shook her head
"That is purely on your boyfriend" Draco said and yawned
"He is slightly overzealous" Bella said playing with his hair
"Killing basilisks and all" Hermione laughed
AN – Any way I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and will review.