"Cronus Rising"

"Chapter Thirteen: The Battle of Gringotts"

The week had passed in a blur since they had gotten back from France. Ginny and Teddy spent their days while Harry was at work packing up the flat. His nights at home were spent packing as well. All Harry saw was boxes scattered around every inch of the apartment, making it hard to maneuver around.

When Saturday came, all the Weasleys had appeared in the tiny flat to move Harry, Ginny, and Teddy to their new home. Harry had connected the floo from his flat to the new house temporarily for the weekend. After that, he wanted to close the passageway until the whole Cronus mess was taken care of.

"Okay, we're doing this in pairs. Everyone takes a box and unpack the room. Each box is assigned to a room and each box holds everything for that room in the main box," Ginny instructed.

Harry teamed up with Teddy. He grabbed the box with his godson's name written on it in Ginny's careful writing and disappeared upstairs. Opening the box, Harry pulled out a tiny bed. Setting it down in the corner of the room, Harry stepped back and flicked his wand. The bed grew bigger and bigger until it was its normal size. The bed had already been made neatly by Ginny that morning when they woke up before she transfigured it into a dollhouse piece.

Harry arranged the furniture first, listening to Teddy as he commented where he thought everything should go. Transfiguring a picture frame, Harry stilled. He saw Remus and Tonks beaming up at him, a baby Teddy in Tonks' arms. She glanced down at her son, a smile radiating across her face. Remus waved briefly at Harry before gesturing towards the bundle in his wife's arms. He had gotten the picture from Andromeda's cottage upon Teddy's request. In fact, he spent two lunch breaks the past week packing up some stuff to take to the new house. With more square footage, he was able to bring more of Teddy's things over than he originally had to the small flat.

Teddy took the picture, a sad smile crossing his features as he sat the picture down carefully on his nightstand. His fingers shook, as though he were worried about breaking the frame, as he adjusted it on the table. He cocked his head to the side, his hair going from black to a bubblegum pink and quickly to a sandy brown. Since Teddy gained his abilities back, the boy was often seen spotting black hair like Harry's or sandy brown like his father. He tested out his mother's signature pink, but commented that he didn't like it as much.

Harry pulled out another box to go through while Teddy grabbed his backpack off the floor and threw it onto his bed. He took Moony out and sat him on his pillow, the plush facing the picture. Harry flicked his wand, all of Teddy's books floated out of the box and placed themselves neatly onto the bookcase.

"This is our new home," Harry heard Teddy whisper his to Moony plush. "I think you'll like it here."

"Come downstairs everyone!" Mrs. Weasley shouted from below. "Lunch!"

Harry pocketed his wand and stared at Teddy who was now gazing at the picture of his parents. He walked slowly towards him, a hand resting on the boy's shoulder. Teddy jumped slightly, turning his attention to his godfather.

"I think there's lunch downstairs. You hungry?"

"Yeah…" Teddy trailed off, his eyes flicking to his parent's picture before he grabbed Moony under the crook of his arm and reached out his free hand for his godfather.

When they made it downstairs, the Weasleys were situated around the kitchen. Most were standing around and some sat at the table. Everyone was eating pizza from the island in the middle of the kitchen. Harry grabbed a paper plate and placed a piece on it for Teddy. He handed the plate to his godson who took it and walked over to the table where Ginny, Fleur, Victoire, and Mrs. Weasley were seated.

"Who got pizza? Harry asked.

"Ron and I did," Hermione said between bites. "There's a Muggle shop about half a mile away. Thought it'd be easiest just to grab something."

"How do you like the new house, Teddy?" Harry heard Mrs. Weasley ask.

"Thanks," Harry nodded at his best friends as he made his way over to the table.

"It's a lot bigger," Teddy said thoughtfully. "I just hope I don't get lost."

Ginny and Fleur smiled at the small boy as Harry sat down in-between Fleur and Teddy.

"Harry got a lot of my stuff from grandmum's," Teddy continued. "I forgot I had some of it. There wasn't enough space in the flat for it all."

"Well, I think your room at least doubled in size, if not more," Ginny commented.

"I never understood why you had that flat, Harry," Mrs. Weasley commented thoughtfully. "You should have bought a big house to begin with."

"Well," Harry said as his pizza dangled from his fingertips, "I was in training and never home. During the week, it was just me. Almost every single night, I was either at the Burrow or Andromeda's for dinner. On the weekends, Teddy and I normally went out to different places. I just never saw the need for more space until recently."

"I liked the flat," Teddy spoke up in his godfather's defense. "There was that cool park down at the corner. Harry and I always used to walk to the village. There was a bunch of restaurants and stores and the market. Harry and I always walked around town together. There was that good ice cream shop and the bakery. It even had that toy store with Mr. Gregory who would always order me all those plush wolves once he found out I liked them."

Teddy frowned. He remembered going into the toy shop when Teddy was just a baby and started buying the wolf plush toys. Mr. Gregory had always looked for them for new and interesting ones. He remembered, one day, when Teddy was three years old, he told Mr. Gregory his father had been a werewolf. The man had just smiled and listened to the small child. Once out of earshot, the man had told Harry that his godson had a fun imagination. That's when he started trying to find more and more plush wolves. Every Christmas, Mr. Gregory always gave him one on the house. In fact, everyone knew Harry and his orphaned godson around town. They probably wondered where the pair had gone.

After lunch, everyone departed from the house. Harry, Ginny, and Teddy looked around the house with exhausted faces. Empty, full, and half-full boxes littered the walls. They were all too tired to finish unpacking. Instead, they decided to play a game of Exploding Snap and unwind until bed.

It came that night, like a thief in the night. It slithered slippery through the window and whirled around Harry and Ginny, stirring them from their slumber. He sat up, his hand reaching automatically for his glasses. The otter hovered around the bottom of the bed, silvery and translucent.

"Gringotts," came an all too familiar female voice. "Now."

Harry was out of bed before the otter Patronus could even finish its two simple words. He grabbed a shirt and shoved it over his head. Grabbing a pair of jeans out of the drawer, he stuffed his legs in quickly. Ginny had summoned his shoes from the closet as he stuffed his feet in, sockless, as quickly as he could. As he grabbed his wand from the nightstand, he saw the green light of a clock showing it was 2:46 in the morning.

Then, Harry ran. He made his way through the house, bypassing boxes that had not yet been unpacked in the upstairs hallway. He could hear Ginny after him, as they ran down the stairs.

"Harry!" Ginny called after him. "Be safe! Send me a Patronus as soon as you can."

They were at the front door. Harry turned around quickly, his chest heaving. He wrapped a hand around the back of her head and pulled her into a bruising kiss. Pulling back, he allowed a hand to rest on her stomach, his heart constricting oddly.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too."

He wrenched open the front door, not bothering to close it, and ran down the street to the corner so he was outside of the wards of the house. He looked back briefly, seeing a blob of red in their doorway before he was gone.

The next second, he was standing in Diagon Alley. As soon as he landed on his feet, a spark of purple flew by his head. He dodged out of the way and started running towards the magnificent white building. He saw swirls of light, spells being casted all over the place. He saw a mass of people and goblins fighting outside the bank and those dashing into the bank. People were Apparating all over Diagon Alley, their wands out.

Harry felt the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he ran towards Gringotts. A masked figure shot a spark of deep orange towards him. His wand raised effortlessly, flicking sharply to deflect the spell. Licking his lips, he shot a Body Binding Spell. He had every intention of getting as many of Cronus' lackeys arrested as possible. He wanted as many interrogations as he could muster.

A Cruciatus Curse flew his way. Harry Disapparated out of its way and reappeared a foot to the right. His eyes scanned the sea of people to see where the curse had originated. His gaze spotted a familiar man with blonde hair with a mask hiding his face. He mostly placed shields up and dodged spells. Harry knew immediately that Malfoy was attempting to hold his own without actually cursing anybody.

A curse grazed Harry's shoulder, a stinging sensation spread down his entire arm. Luckily, it had not been his wand arm. Shaking out the limb, he tried to get rid of the feeling as he whipped around with his wand raised. He shot a Disarming Spell silently; the spell slightly overcharged and caused the man to stumbled backwards. His wand escaped his fingers. With another jab of his wand arm, his opponent's wand snapped midair.

Harry took two steps back, screams filling the streets of Diagon Alley. He was off, running as fast as he could towards Gringotts. He wanted to get inside, wanted to see how well the goblins had been holding off the siege of the bank.

He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, his feet moving as though out of control. Blue and purple sparks darted in front of him, Harry just narrowly stopping. Reeling to the right, he sent a Freezing Charm towards another one of Cronus' men. He avoided it, casting a Shield Charm. A battle was on instantly. Their wands both darted through the air like shining swords. Harry could barely think, sending whatever spell that popped into his mind towards his opponent.

While trying to send another Disarming Charm, Harry didn't have enough time to switch the position of his wand to cast a shield at the Blasting Curse hurling towards it. The spell collided with the floor in front of Harry, making him soar through the air until his back collided with a building. The bricks cracked around his back, his wand slipping from his grasp. All the air had escaped his lungs. Before he knew it, the man was in front of him with his wand pointed directly at Harry's heart. He stilled, his mouth suddenly becoming very dry.

Then, out of nowhere, Ron Weasley had tackled the man from the side. Their bodies collided with the cobblestone street, one of their wands flew from their hand but Harry couldn't tell which one was vulnerable. Harry, hissing in pain, attempted to stand up, his legs buckling underneath him. His knees hit the ground and his hands flew out in front of him, one catching a very jagged rock. The pain in his hands intensified. He reached out a shaky hand and grasped his wand, fully aware that his hand was bleeding from the impact. Standing up on shaky feet, he saw Neville Longbottom racing towards Ron and Harry. He threw a curse over his shoulder with ease without missing a step.

Harry's wand was out, trained on Cronus' accomplice as he waited for an opportunity to fling a cure. He didn't dare send one with the two rolling around on the ground – he didn't want to hurt his best friend by mistake. Harry saw Ron's fingers clenched around his wand. Harry glided his own wand to the discarded wand. With a flick of his wrist, the wand snapped in half.

Ron was standing up, slashing his wand furious at his opponent and petrified him. Harry briefly saw his best friend turn to look at him. When they both saw that each other were fine, Harry darted off. He was two doors away from the bank's entrance.

A flash of green light flew through the night sky, the Dark Mark shining in the stars. The snake slithered out of the skull's mouth. Then, another, more threatening green light was hurled towards Harry. There was a statue of Dumbledore that had been erected in Diagon Alley not long after the war had ended. Harry pointed his wand at the statue and flicked his wrist. The statue of Dumbledore dove in front of him and the Killing Curse hit it square in the chest. The statue exploded.

After the dust cleared, Harry shot a Freezing Spell at the culprit of the Killing Curse. He dodged to the right, nearly avoiding it. Shooting a Disarming Spell, the opponent blocked it with a shield. Pointing his wand at the bits of broken Dumbledore, Harry pelted the bits of stone at the enemy. One hit him square in the face, causing him to fall over in a heap. Harry snapped the wizard's wand with a wave of his own wand

His gaze caught sight of Hermione who was fighting two wizards at once. She was panting, a panicked look crossing her features. She was going to lose the duel. She was being forced to reflect every spell thrown at her, never getting a chance to hurl her own. Harry's wand drifted upwards and stopped on the ginormous stone dragon that sat on top of Gringotts Bank. He shot a spell at the dragon, watching as it roared to life.

He jerked his wand back, beckoning the stone dragon down from its perch. Its wings spread out, bits of stone flaking off. Harry's wand arm glided through the air, the dragon following the movements. His wand stopped, pointing at the two men battling Hermione. The dragon dove towards them. One of the two faltered in his attacks, a scream escaped his lips. There were two pops at they both Disapparated. The dragon, unable to stop, smashed into the ground, breaking up into multiple large pieces.

Hermione whipped around, her eyes wide and breath hitched in her throat. A smile twitched on her lips and she mouthed her thanks. Harry merely nodded.

Turning his attention back to Gringotts, Harry was nearly there. His legs were running on autopilot. There was a sickening sound, a loud booming rang throughout the village. Harry didn't realize what that was until it was too late. Half of Gringotts white bricks were flying through the air. Someone had blasted a hole right through the side of the building. People screamed, some Apparated out while others dove for cover. Harry stumbled when a white brick slammed into his face. He fell to the floor in a heap, a whistling noise ringing in his ear.

There was darkness.

Harry didn't know how long he had been out, but he was positive that he had only passed out momentarily. He could hear spells being shouted, people screaming, people crying, people cursing. The sounds around him sounded like they were coming through a waterlogged radio. A new, intense pain radiated throughout his body. Fresh aches wracked his body as exhaustion started to settle in. He managed to blink away the dust rising around him, his eyes blurrily looking at his surroundings.

There was a gash on the right side of his face. He felt the blood pouring down his cheek and neck. With every ounce of energy he had left, Harry planted his hands onto the ground and forced his legs under him. He was on all fours, his head bobbing up to see the bodies of the dead and unconscious Cronus' supporters, Aurors, and Order members littered in the debris around him. In the distance, those who had not been affected by the blast, were still fighting without missing a beat.

Harry attempted to stand, his body protesting with each strain. A new wave of pain overcame him and he collapsed back on the floor. A groan escaped his chapped lips and his eyes were forced close to get rid of the rapidly appearing dots in front of him. Once the wave of dizziness subsided, Harry braced himself for another attempt to stand.

Successful in his second attempt, he turned around to catch a look at the damage. Half of Gringotts was gone. He could see inside the building - the floor and walls were cracked in various spots. He wondered if the building would crumble. The goblins desks were smashed to the ground that was littered with debris, papers, and bodies. A ginormous dragon stood in the entryway of where the vaults were located. A broken chain was looped around the dragon's neck as he spewed fire at anything that attempted to go near him.

Intuition told Harry to turn to his left. As he did, he saw Cronus walking casually towards him. Both their wands raised instantly. Cronus had, unfortunately, not been affected by the blast. Harry's fingers tightened around the wood, his wand slippery from blood, the taste and smell of metallic overcame his senses. His head pounded painfully, his body tense.

The Cruciatus Curse hurled at Harry who threw up a powerful Shield Charm. The curse rebounded off the blue orb and hurled back at Cronus who Disapparated and Apparated back a mere five seconds later. In three jerks of his wand, Harry sent out a Disarming Spell, a Freezing Spell, and Body Binding Spell in rapid succession, hoping one would stick. Cronus avoided the first two and shielded the last with little effort. The fight was on.

It was a whirl of colors, spells flying wordlessly under the moonlight. Blue shields lit up the sky. Adrenaline pumped through Harry's veins, the pain in his joints and muscles momentarily gone. The two of the Disapparated and Apparated frequently as they dodged curses and spells. Harry was not aware of anything going on around him. He was focused solely on Cronus and ending it then and there.

Harry drew back his wand sharply, teeth bearing like a snapping turtle. With everything within him, with every single magical particle he could summon, he jabbed his wand forward. A red and orange swirl jetted from the tip of his wand at high speed. Cronus did not have time to duck, to shield, or Disapparate. The spell landed on the shoulder of his wand arm. There was a sickening crack as his bones snapped in half. Cronus screamed in agony, his wand dropping from his fingertips.

Harry licked the blood off his lower lip, took a step backward with his right leg and drew his wand high above his head. A nasty sneer worked its way onto his face. This was it. This was the end of Cronus. He swooped the wand down as lilac sparks emitted. In a blink of an eye, Cronus had Disapparated and the spell hurled and collided with a brick building.

Pops could be heard throughout Diagon Alley. Many of the battles around them must have halted while Harry and Cronus battled. Cronus' allies were disappearing everywhere as soon of their leader had left. Harry felt a breath escape his lips as his body sagged. The pain that had left his body was back with a vengeance. He leaned dangerous to the side and he felt himself falling. He vaguely registered people calling his name but he paid no attention to them as his body crashed into some brick debris. His eyes were closing shut, the voices sounded like they were screaming through a very long tunnel. The only thought in his mind was that they had won – they had won the Battle of Gringotts. They had successfully kept Cronus from taking one of the pillars of the Wizarding World. Then, there was darkness for the second time that evening.

The next thing Harry knew was a sterile smell. It assaulted his senses in an unpleasant way. He forced his eyes open, seeing only white. He was laying down on an uncomfortable bed, the covers around him were stiff. A groan emitted from his throat as he turned his head looking for his glasses. He spotted the blurry outline of them and reached out a shaky hand to grasp them. Settling them on his face, he struggled into a sitting position to look around the room.

There was a couch situated along the wall. He instantly saw Ginny lounged awkwardly in a seated position sleeping with her head lolled to the side in an uncomfortable position. On her lap was the head of his godson, hair black as night. He too was sleeping. Next to the couch was a chair which housed a tired, albeit awake Ron Weasley.

"Hi," Ron said lazily as he stood up from the chair.

There was a cut above his right eye that disappeared into his hairline. His left arm was situated in a sling. Other than that, his best mate seemed perfectly fine and unharmed.

"Hey," Harry responded.

"We apprehended twenty-seven of Cronus' men. Four were found dead. We also obtained Cronus' wand. Three Aurors were killed, two members of the Magical Law Enforcement are dead, and a whole slew of injuries. Too many to count to be honest."

"Who died?" Harry felt his chest constrict.

"Marcus Flannigan. Isabel Morris. Warren Venture. Maggie Tenn. Greg Shepard."

Harry saw Ginny stirring out of the corner of his eye.

"Vidar's injured pretty bad. They're giving him a twenty-five percent chance of survival. If he survives, Healers are saying he'll be down for the next three months at least. Kingsley was by… he wants you to be interim Head of the Auror Department until Vidar's back at work."

"Yeah…"

Harry's mouth was dry. His head swimming with a million thoughts. He wanted nothing more than to collapse backwards and let sleep rush over him.

"You gained a concussion and some nasty cuts and bruises. You also cracked a few ribs which they repaired but said it's going to be uncomfortable for quite awhile. Other than that, you're good to go home after they check you out. They gave you a sleeping drought to help you repair some internal damage. You've been asleep for over a day now."

"Harry?" a tiny voice spoke up.

Looking beyond Ron, he watched as his godson slowly got off the couch. He inched towards the bed, face white and tear stains on his cheeks. Harry gave what he hoped was an encouraging smile and held out his arms to the tiny child. Teddy burst into a run the rest of the way, clamoring up onto the bed and launching himself at his godfather.

Harry winched in pain, making a strangled noise in the back of his throat as the boy's body collided with his bruised ribs. Teddy, however, did not notice the noise and started heavily crying into his godfather's hospital gown. Wrapping his arms gingerly around the child, Harry laced one set of fingers through the boy's messy locks and the other wrapped around his shoulders.

He didn't know how long they sat on that hospital bed. He murmured comforting words into the hysterical boy's ear. Ron had slipped out the door and Ginny had crossed the room to sit on the foot of the bed. He felt her hand massaging his calf and the small family sat in silence.

A couple hours later, Harry found himself back at their new home. Harry sank down into the couch, his arm wrapped tenderly around his chest. Ginny disappeared into the kitchen to make lunch and Teddy sat down next to his godfather with his bottom lip tucked securely between his teeth.

"I'm fine, Teddy," he spoke evenly. "Nothing a couple days rest won't solve."

"But, Harry," Teddy started but Harry waved a hand in his direction.

"Trust me, I've been worse before. This is nothing."

There was a pecking at the window. Harry turned around, immediately regretting his decision as his ribs screamed in protest, to see an unfamiliar owl sitting outside the window.

"Teddy, can you let the owl in?" Harry hissed through pain as he slowly turned around.

His godson rose from his spot and disappeared from Harry's view. He heard the window open, a rustling, Teddy's soft voice saying, "Good girl", the window closing, and the floorboards creaking softly. The boy sank back down next to his godfather and held out a letter.

Harry took it, seeing his name scrolled on the front of the letter. Opening in, he read:

Potter,

You've officially gotten under Cronus' skin. He is livid with you to be without his wand and with a broken shoulder. He, apparently, wasn't smart enough to recruit a Healer into his ranks. He has vowed, most vehemently, to make you suffer the most painful death imaginable. He's even commented about setting up a nice little prison cell for you where he can torture you for a bit before he does you off.

Cronus has now set up a system of paranoia. He has spies spying on his own members. He feels he has one of your men in his ranks. Luckily, due to pure dumb luck, he doesn't suspect me. He keeps calling me cousin and slapping me on the shoulder like we grew up together. I am now spying on fellow Cronus members. While, he says he trusts me entirely, I do bare some wonder if this is, perhaps, part of some larger plan.

I will not be attending Order meetings for the next month. I want to lie low until he calls off his spying. I will not be caught and murdered. Before you question my decision to write this in a letter, I'm not stupid. I have enchanted the ink so only someone with the last name of Potter is able to read this letter. Don't believe me, why don't you have your little wolf cub look at the parchment. He'll see a blank sheet of parchment. I've used an owl that is not mine.

This is how I will communicate any important information. I will contact you – you do not contact me. I don't want to be in a meeting with Cronus and have your blasted owl coming through to blow my cover. If you need to talk, please, write my mother saying you're whoever you want and you've been bitten by a vicious werewolf and you need some potions for an easy transition. Shouldn't be too hard for you to remember – you have a soft spot for werewolves after all. Be sure to write vicious in your letter. Maybe, perhaps, write it a few times so I know for sure it is you. I'll then write you back with a meeting time and place.

Draco

Harry frowned, his blood boiling. He glanced over at Teddy and handed him the bit of parchment.

"Can you see anything on this?"

Teddy glanced down at the parchment. His eyes scanned over it before flipping it over to look at the back. Glancing up at his godfather, he shook his head in the negative.

"Who sent you a blank sheet of paper?" Teddy questioned.

"No one," was Harry's only response.

He leaned back into the couch, his eyes suddenly heavy with sleep. He vaguely heard Ginny calling them for lunch, but he did not move. He muttered at Teddy to go ahead and he'd be in later. All he wanted to do was sleep.

Hope you enjoyed the new chapter! I'm nearly done writing it which is both a happy and sad feeling. Please, leave a review!