A/N: I continue to be amazed by the amazing comments and even from the kind people who are just getting into the story for the first time! Thank you all! I couldn't do it without you!
"It's nearly time," Sirius spoke to the room at large in Grimmauld Place several weeks later. He had just been appointed the new head of the Order of the Phoenix early last month.
It was clear that one person was absent from the Order meeting as he was always found to be at Sirius's side. Remus had decided to stay at Hogwarts with Harry so as to not leave him unguarded while the rest of the Order members could attend.
"Harry's birthday is in one week," Sirius continued addressing the room. "On midnight of that day, Dumbledore and Lily's protections on him will vanish and he will become more vulnerable than ever. Hogwarts will not be safe for him any longer."
"So, we move him to the Burrow at midnight," Moody grunted. "Under the protection of night."
"It could work," Bill chimed in. "We'll need plenty of distractions though. They could be waiting for us."
"I think I have an idea," Hermione suggested from the far end of the table where she had kept mostly quiet as she sat next to Ron.
Ron and Hermione had both joined the Order officially the moment they had turned seventeen. Now that they were the legal age, there was no more stopping them from joining even though Molly Weasley fought with Sirius several times about the topic. Eventually, she gave in after Arthur had stepped in and convinced her how they were Harry's friends and this was the best thing they could do right now to protect him.
When Ginny found out, however, she had become even more furious than anyone had ever seen on her. Since she still was not of age, Molly refused to let her join and stuck by her decision sternly. This resulted in many heated and loud debates between her mother and her most nights during family supper.
Sirius now had a large grin across his face as he turned his attention towards the girl he had seen grow so much since meeting her during her third year at Hogwarts.
"I'm all ears," Sirius smiled brightly at the young witch.
"You can't tell Harry because he will become furious once he finds out," Hermione said before holding out a small glass vial revealing several of Harry's hairs. "I've been collecting them all year off his clothes just in case and have already started brewing a Polyjuice Potion for it. It's simple… we all disguise ourselves as Harry. Then they can't possibly know which one of us is the real Harry."
"It's brilliant!" Sirius clapped his hands excitedly. "I would have never come up with something like that! It's genius!"
"They don't call her the brightest witch of our age for nothing," Ron complimented his girlfriend.
This caused Hermione to turn deep red and blush from embarrassment. "It's really nothing…"
"It really is a great idea," McGonagall beamed at her student even though she would normally condemn her on the use of Polyjuice Potion. Times have changed though.
"The question is…" Kinglsey spoke in a low voice. "Who will take the potion and become one of the seven Harry's?"
The room became silent and still as everyone was thinking about the dark thought. Whoever took the potion and became Harry Potter would be risking their lives more than anyone else as Voldemort would be going after them himself.
They would have to accept the fact that they would have to fight the Dark Lord themselves.
Three Weeks Earlier.
"Hermione! Supper is ready!"
"Coming mum!"
Hermione Granger was on the verge of tears as she sat on the edge of her bedroom, allowing her legs to dangle as she stared at her bedroom's floor. This summer has been different. Things were getting bad. Really bad.
Wizards were not the only ones randomly disappearing without a trace. Muggles were too and they were beginning to notice it as well, especially when the dead bodies of those who disappeared showed up weeks later without a trace of physical harm done to them. They were simply dead.
Hermione knew exactly what was causing this. It was the Death Eaters as the Killing Curse never left a trace of physical harm on the victim. There was simply a green light and then they died.
She knew what needed to be done to protect her parents even though she didn't like it. She saw no other way. She needed to be there for Harry above all else while still making sure her parents would be safe while away.
Hermione grabbed her bag that was already packed from the corner of her room and made her way downstairs to see her parents sitting on the living room sofa waiting for her. She entered the room from behind before pulling out her wand and pointed it at them, hands shaking and hesitant.
'Forgive me,' she thought to herself before muttering the words of the memory charm.
"Obliviate."
Hermione saw her parents' eyes go blank while the pictures of her around their living room slowly vanished her from existence. Tears were now rolling down Hermione's face freely while she continued to administer the spell. Then it was finally over. To her parents, Hermione had never existed.
Hermione quietly made her way out of her childhood home and began walking down the large quiet street, her tears now falling more freely from her eyes.
With a loud crack in the air, Hermione Granger Disapparated to the Burrow. Her existence was known no more.
Ginny found herself staring out her window late into the night. The Burrow was quiet as the only occupants were she and her mother. She watched the clock in her room eagerly as the hand came closer and closer to reaching midnight.
Tonight was the night. The night Harry came to the Burrow.
Ginny couldn't help herself but feel sick at the thought. She knew Voldemort and the Death Eaters were waiting for Harry to turn seventeen so his protections from Dumbledore and his mother would no longer be an obstacle for them. She knew they were desperately waiting for him just as she was that very moment.
She prayed that everything would be fine and that no one would get hurt. All of her brothers and father had gone to help escort Harry back to the burrow. To help him come home.
"Ginny!" she heard her mother call from downstairs.
"Yes, mum!" she called back in her hoarse voice. The last thing she wanted was to leave her room right now.
"Come down here and wait with me for the others."
Ginny hesitated as the last thing she wanted to do was be down there for when the bad news came in. What if Harry never returned? What if one of her brothers was killed?
She quickly snapped out of it and tried to think of positive thoughts. She had to be strong. For Harry and all of her family and friends.
"Coming mum!" she finally called back, slowly making her way down the stairs while grabbing a sweater on her way out.
Ginny and her mother sat on the living room sofa in silence; each of them staring at the front door, waiting for their first visitor who was bound to arrive any second.
Please let it be Harry, Ginny thought to herself. He promised he would return to me.
Several long minutes later, there was a large crash of metal coming from the nearby field.
Ginny sprinted to the front door just in time to see a motorcycle with an attached sidecar crashing into the field that surrounded the Burrow; a red streak of fire coming from the engine.
Ginny looked up at the sky confused, swearing she had seen Hagrid driving the motorcycle and the passenger.
Was that Harry she had seen in the sidecar? It had sure looked like him.
Her thought was soon interrupted by a series of loud Apparation cracks revealing friendly faces and multiple… Harrys?
Why in the bloody hell were there so many Harry Potters?
"Harry!" Hermione's voice echoed excitedly in the Great Hall.
Harry turned around to see his friend running excitedly towards him, reminding him much of the memory of when she was released from the Hospital Wing during their second year.
Harry embraced her with a large hug, almost falling to the ground from the force of her embrace.
"Sorry," Hermione chuckled after letting go of him. "It's so good to finally see you again!"
"You too!" Harry returned excitedly. "As much as I love being here at Hogwarts, I can't wait to get out of here though."
"Well, that's why we're here," Ron said as he appeared behind Hermione and gave his friend a light hug.
"It must be weird being in an empty castle," Hermione added. "I would probably love it though. How tempting it is not to go check the library real quick."
Harry rolled his eyes playfully. "Only you, Hermione… only you."
It did not take long after for the rest of Harry's escort to begin filling the empty Great Hall. Many of these familiar faces were made up of the Order such as Kingsley, Tonks, Mundungus Fletcher, Hagrid, and even Mad-Eye Moody.
"Alright there, Potter?" Moody jolted his magical eye to give a good look at him.
"Yes, sir," he nodded confidently with a tint of nervousness in his voice. He knew how much everyone was risking their lives being here for him.
"Everything will be alright in the end." Moody gripped Harry's shoulder and gave him a slight grin.
Once everyone was gathered, Moody began explaining the plan on escorting Harry from Hogwarts to the safety of the Burrow. They would be leaving on brooms right at midnight when Harry's protections would falter and no longer be carried with him.
Hermione soon stepped in and began explaining how they would be using Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves as multiple Harrys to confuse the Death Eaters and Voldemort who were clearly waiting for them.
"The potion I made has enough for six of us to turn ourselves into Harry," Hermione went on explaining. "So… essentially there will be seven Harrys."
"No," Harry went to protest. "You all are risking so much for me as it is. Drinking this will make you more of a target than anyone else. Voldemort will target you specifically."
"We all know the risks, mate," Ron looked at his friend sympathetically. "This is the only way."
"We all have to do our part in ending this war," Sirius agreed. "But not to worry, we'll all be flying off in pairs. No one will be facing Voldemort or any Death Eaters alone."
Harry nodded hesitantly as he knew everyone would be against him.
It was Ron, Hermione, Fleur, Mudgungus, Fred, and George that ended up taking the Polyjuice Potion, turning themselves into reflections of Harry as he stared at all of them in shock.
"Do I really look like that?" Harry looked at all of them disgustingly.
"Yeah, mate. I have no idea what Ginny sees in you," Ron joked resulting in several loud bursts of laughter to fill the hall.
"You don't want her hearing you say that," Fred said. Or was that George?
Everyone was paired off into their respective groups with Harry finding himself paired off with Hagrid to much of his excitement. He would also be flying in the same sidecar Hagrid used to deliver him to the Dursleys all those years ago.
"I carried you to safety from old Voldy all those years ago," said an emotional Hagrid. "It's only right I do the same now."
Harry looked up and hugged the gentle giant. "I couldn't agree more."
Hagrid was Harry's first wizard friend and it was he who introduced Harry to magic and changed his life for the better seven years ago. Even Harry felt his emotions begin to surface as he had to fight to hold them back.
Sirius subtly took Harry aside as everyone made their way to the courtyard outside the Great Hall.
"Be careful," Sirius spoke with more fear than Harry had ever seen on his godfather's face. "Hagrid will take care of you and I'll be right behind you. I promise."
Harry hugged his godfather tightly, afraid to let him go. "I'll see you on the other side."
"AMBUSH!"
This is one of the last words Hermione heard before seeing the chaos erupt before her.
They had all been flying safely for a while but then everything went wrong when a full-on battle in the clouds began when the Death Eaters attacked them head-on.
Horrifying screams and shouts echoed throughout the sky from both sides. Killing Curses and stunners were being cast chaotically from the many brooms that sped past her.
"Keep your head down!" Lupin shouted at her. She had been partnered with her former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
Hermione did as she was told while nearly missing a jet a green that soared past her head from a nearby Death Eater.
"NO!" Voldemort's voice echoed throughout the clouds like a large crack of thunder. "He's mine and mine alone!"
Hermione took her chance and began casting as many stunning spells as she could at the nearby Death Eaters, hitting one squarely in the chest as he flew off his broom to the ground below.
Hermione squinted her eyes and could make out the faint figure of the real Harry in the far distance in Hagrid's sidecar accompanied by Hedwig and Fawkes on either side of him. Harry was safe still and was on the edge of the battle thankfully.
Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw a dark streak fly across her side at incredible speed and make its way towards Harry and Hagrid, revealing the white, pale face of who she had feared to see for so long in the black mist.
"It's Voldemort!" Remus cried out frantically. "Stop him!"
"Reducto!" Hermione yelled without thinking as she pointed her wand at Voldemort's position but found her spell easily vanquished by him as he continued flying off towards Harry's position.
Hermione found herself yelling out in fear as Voldemort was not nearly on top of Harry's position. She was out of range of her spells hitting Voldemort any longer.
"No, he doesn't," Hermione then heard the low grunt from Mad-Eye Moody, seeing him fly past her on his broom with incredible speed towards Voldemort.
It did not take long for the ex-Auror to catch up to Voldemort and a full-on duel in the sky had erupted between the two of them, each casting their respective curses and spells at their enemy.
Hermione's heart fell soon later when she saw one of Voldemort's killing curses escape Moody's defense and hit him squarely in the chest before falling off his broom and into the dark void of the night sky below.
Voldemort had finally managed to kill the Auror that so many had failed to do in the past.
Mad-Eye Moody was dead.
"Watch out, Harry!" he heard Sirius scream from a distance behind, ducking just in time to miss a Death Eater's curse that was heading straight for him.
That was close. Too close.
Fawkes had now seen the nearby Death Eater and tackled him, causing him to fall off his broom, screaming to the death that awaited him below.
A stray stunning spell had hit Hagrid in the back; the motorcycle now spiraling into a free fall towards the ground beneath.
Harry leaned over to take control of the motorcycle from the now unconscious Hagrid and prayed that he would wake up soon. Trying to steer the vehicle over Hagrid's large body was hard enough as it was, leaving him vulnerable to any stray spell that might be hurled his way.
Harry took the chance and glanced back to see that Sirius was no longer close on his tail. He must have been caught in a fight with some Death Eaters; trying to distract them from Harry as much as he could.
The plan seemed to be working for the most part but one stray Death Eater had slipped by and was now aiming his wand at Harry. The tip of his wand emitted green and shot towards Harry's head even though he knew the Death Eater's master had forbidden him from using that spell. Harry stared at the tip of the man's wand, knowing what was to come and that there was no way he could pull out his wand in time to protect himself.
The jet of green shot towards Harry's position but found that his heart had been torn to pieces not from the spell but from something else.
Hedwig—Harry's most loyal companion and friend—flew into the path of the curse to block it from hitting Harry and took it head-on. She let out a loud screech when the green spell hit her before her lifeless body began falling freely and becoming lost to the clouds below.
"HEDWIG!" Harry cried out but knew it was too late. He found himself yearning to stroke her beak one last time.
The one person who had always been by Harry's side since the beginning was now gone. Her snowy white form to never be seen again.
Farewell, Hedwig.
"Damn you all," Sirius cursed under his breath as he continued maneuvering his broom left and right and casting spells at any Death Eater that came into his range.
He couldn't remember the last time he had to fly on a broom so fiercely and on edge. The number of Death Eaters present was far more than they had ever expected. They had planned well for this and knew exactly where they were going to be and when.
This was no coincidence. Someone had betrayed them to Voldemort.
"Damn it!" Sirius cursed again after losing sight of Harry and Hagrid. At least most of the Death Eaters had their attention on him now instead of the real Harry.
He quickly glanced right just in time to see one of the Death Eaters fall off his broom rather violently after being hit by a spell from behind.
'What in the world?' Sirius thought to himself. 'I didn't hit him.'
Sirius glanced over in the general direction and swore to himself that he had seen the unmasked figure of… Snape? Did Snape just save him?
Sirius quickly snapped back to focus as that was a thought he could worry about another time. Harry was still ahead and he needed to find him before anyone else did; especially Voldemort.
The Firebolt he had borrowed from Harry was proving to be extremely helpful and reliable during this chaotic event. It didn't take him much longer for Harry and Hagrid to come back into his view.
Just a little further…
There was then a large crack with Sirius finding himself having to shield his eyes from the bright light that had just emitted itself from Harry's position.
A large stream of green and red had met forcefully in the middle of the sky, each spell pushing vigorously against the other. It was no doubt Harry's Expelliarmus charm pushing against Voldemort's own killing curse.
Sirius pushed Harry's broom forward as fast as he could. He had to catch up to protect Harry. He had to stop Voldemort.
Before he could do so, Sirius was beyond shocked to hear Voldemort's loud scream as Harry's spell had pushed Voldemort's killing curse back; a rather large explosion taking place before Voldemort disappeared from view.
What was all that about? Sirius knew that Voldemort had not been truly vanquished there but Harry still had found a way to fight him off once again. The Boy Who Lived had thwarted the Dark Lord once again!
'He must have been using a different wand,' Sirius thought. He knew that Harry and Voldemort's wands refused to work against one another as they were brothers after all.
There was another large crack in the air after Sirius saw a large trail of fire erupt from the end of Harry and Hagrid's motorcycle. Harry did not waste any time escaping Voldemort and the motorcycle began to dive into the fields of the Burrow below.
Harry found himself exhausted and magically drained. He knew that if he tried to cast another spell nothing would conjure from his wand. His magical reserves have been depleted.
So much had happened and gone wrong at the same time. The Death Eaters knew exactly where they were going to be and when.
Then everything went downhill when Voldemort showed up. But somehow Harry found himself alive and untouched from him once again.
He remembered when Voldemort had shot the killing curse right at him but found his wand acting on its own accord this time. It saved him and even blasted Voldemort away, forcing the dark wizard to retreat with no weapon left to defend himself with.
"'Arry?" Hagrid's voice brought his attention back to the present, the motorcycle now diving at a rapidly high rate towards the field below.
Harry then heard a low cry and saw that Fawkes had rejoined him at his side but had clearly noticed that absence of the snowy owl that was usually close by. Harry gave a sigh of relief when he saw the red phoenix fly up next to him. He had already lost too many friends on this day.
Hagrid quickly pulled the motorcycle upward, easing their rough landing on the Burrow's field but was still rough in Harry's opinion. He doubted the giant felt anything though.
"Harry, thank god!" Sirius's voice came from behind just as he was dismounting Harry's Firebolt, running up to embrace him. "I was so worried!"
"What happened?" Harry looked desperately into his godfather's eyes. "They knew exactly where we were going to be."
"I don't know," Sirius shook his head. "But the important thing is you're safe. We better get inside now."
Harry, Sirius, and Hagrid slowly made their way to the Burrow where he immediately found himself tackled to the ground my Ginny. He noticed her eyes were red and filled with fear but now had relaxed slightly when he leaned into her embrace.
"I was so worried," she sniffled into his shoulder. "No one else has come back yet."
"What!" Harry became worried but it was soon relieved when he heard several loud pops in the air erupt from around them.
Hermione informed him that Moody didn't make it as she had seen him fall when he had taken on Voldemort himself.
"Damn," Sirius muttered when he heard of Moody's fall. "I always thought he was untouchable like Dumbledore."
Harry looked over and saw that Tonks was letting her tears flow freely as she was taking the news the hardest. Moody was the one who had trained her and gave her a chance to become an Auror. Now both she and Harry's mentors were gone.
George later appeared bleeding vigorously, leaning heavily on his father while everyone helped carry him into the Burrow. It was later revealed that his ear had been sliced off by a Death Eater's slicing curse.
"It was Snape," Ron said. "I saw him cast it at him. He was there."
"I saw him too," Sirius added but Harry saw it was clear that he was hiding something about his former professor. He would have to confront him later about that.
The room had filled with silence as everyone's thoughts had gone back to the battle they had all just survived. They were the lucky ones.
"Harry," Hermione's soft voice finally broke the quiet Burrow as she noticed Fawkes had perched himself on Harry's shoulder but his other companion was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Hedwig?"
Harry shook his head but this time didn't stop the tears from falling freely.
"She… she didn't make it."
A/N: Sorry for the very sad chapter but there are some things that I just needed to keep. I know some of you didn't want me to kill Hedwig off but I felt like this was one of those things that had to stay especially with Fawkes in the picture on this one. Thanks again for reading!