On a hot summer's day at end of June, an owl fluttered into the old muggle building, unseen by any muggle eyes.
Mad-Eye Moody cast several cautious spells on the owl before finally taking the letter from its talons. He opened it up, reading it over.
"Who's it from?" Tonks asked, coming over to the window.
Moody handed her the letter. He gave a shooing motion and watched the owl depart. "Albus - he thinks he's found one. He's going tonight," he spoke, nodding at the letter as Tonks finished reading.
"He's having better luck than we are with these things. Shouldn't we be going with him?" said Tonks, frowning.
Moody shook his head. "Our job's to focus on the others - not that we've found any of the blasted things yet. But Albus alone has got more power in his left pinky than you and I do in our whole bodies. He can handle it by himself. Besides, he's asked us to be at the school tonight - probably thinks there's a chance of the Death Eaters getting word he's away, and making a move against it. Wouldn't put it past them to have someone stationed in Hogsmeade, keeping an eye on things...or even a student in the castle with criminal relatives."
Tonks nodded, vanishing the letter with a tap of her wand. "We'll be there."
"Let's go," said Moody. "If we're expecting trouble, we need to be ready before it arrives."
Tonks summoned her bag and took Moody's arm, and together they disapparated.
As day turned to night, Albus Dumbledore sat in his office alone, gazing down at his withered hand.
The constant pain of the curse pulsed up his arm, through his shoulder - nearly into his heart. Contained it may have been, it would soon break free...
It was time.
He sighed. "Dobby," he spoke quietly.
The house elf appeared with a faint pop, and immediately bowed.
Dumbledore rose to his feet, gesturing for the elf to stand.
"What is the great Albus Dumbledore be needing from Dobby tonight, sir?"
Dumbledore strode around his desk and knelt before Dobby. "I find myself about to embark on a very dangerous mission, Dobby - one that will severely weaken one...Tom Riddle. It will certainly hasten his end. I will not make this an order of any kind, but I would instead ask you: would you be willing to accompany me on this perilous journey?"
Dobby's eyes widened in recognition of the name - of course. He gave an enthusiastic nod. "Of course sir! Dobby will do anything to make sure that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named cannot hurt anyone else in this world!"
Dumbledore returned the elf's nod. "Thank you, Dobby. I believe your magical talents will prove incredibly useful to us on this mission." He straightened, offering his good hand to the elf. "There is a place I would like you to apparate us to, for a start, please."
"Yes, sir! Just tell Dobby where to go!"
Dumbledore obliged, and they disappeared out of Hogwarts - all enchantments bypassed in a most marvelous way.
Dumbledore knew very well he might not survive this night (he had barely survived his attempt to gain the ring).
If Dumbledore had to give any order to Dobby, his last would be to tell the elf to leave him behind and save himself.
The Death Eaters and their three dozen associates emerged from the Vanishing Cabinet before one Draco Malfoy.
They all gazed around the room full of stacks of junk and items.
"Good to see the place looks as shite as usual," one remarked, causing the others to laugh.
"Now that we're all here..." Amycus Carrow started. "Dumbledore would be up in his tower, wouldn't he? Like always, looking down on us all! My brother and I will go - as will dear Draco - the rest of you go make a distraction...and have some fun!"
The Death Eater grabbed Draco, and began striding the halls swiftly.
Opposition was met in some students wandering late at night.
They were silenced with green flashes of light, usually before they could even speak.
Soon, the Carrows and Draco came to the gargoyle statue guarding the spiral staircase.
"What's the password-?" the statue began.
"Get out of our way, or we'll blow you to pieces!" Amycus snapped.
"That isn't the-"
The Death Eaters aimed their wands in unison, and twin Blasting Curses erupted.
The gargoyle was obliterated, the walls on either side of the stairwell charred. Pieces of stone fell, smoking and fragmented.
The Death Eaters ascended together.
They waited at the top, listening through the door as noises were heard.
Heavy breathing, quiet voices...
They burst through the door, immediately casting spells.
Dumbledore's wand was torn from his grasp and pulled across the office; Amycus caught it, then tossed it aside.
Her brother's Killing Curse soared for Dumbledore.
Dobby snapped his fingers and Dumbledore flew to the side, avoiding the spell. Both Death Eaters cast at once, infuriated, aiming for Dobby. Their spells struck the house elf, felling him instantly.
Amycus aimed her wand at Dumbledore, binding him in thick ropes and levitating him, dragging him to the middle of the office. She turned to Draco, giving him a nod, a smile on her lips. "Here you are, Draco. Do the deed the Dark Lord wants for you - we have him gift wrapped. It should be so easy - just say two little words..."
Draco took a step forward, shaking, avoiding Dumbledore's gaze. He raised his wand, aiming at Dumbledore's chest. He took a long, rattling breath. He tried to speak - it got lost somewhere along the way.
"Draco," Dumbledore began. "Listen to me: you-"
Dumbledore's mouth slammed shut with a twitch of Amycus's wand. "I think we've all heard enough out of you to last a lifetime," she hissed. "Save your breath for once, old man! Draco: Do it already and we can get out of this stuffy tower - back down to where the fun is happening!"
"He won't do it," her brother scoffed. "Look at him: he's as weak and pathetic as his father. Lucius never had the spine for the real hard work. Only when the helpless muggles made it easy for him..."
"I'm not weak or pathetic, and neither is my father!" Draco snapped.
"Then prove it to us," Amycus retorted. "Prove it to the Dark Lord - or you know what will happen to your pathetic family-"
"Enough with this!"
The Carrows and Draco all turned to find Severus Snape stalking through the doorway into the office, his face cold and harsh.
"How nice of you to join us," Amycus said. "Draco was just about to-"
"No, he wasn't," Snape snapped. He shoved past them, drawing his wand. "And he won't - we're in agreement on that - so let someone else do the job and we can be finished here!"
"Well...if that's what you want," Amycus shrugged. She gave a wide, gleeful grin at Draco. "Say goodbye to mummy and daddy..."
Draco whimpered, lowering his wand and bowing his head. His eyes shut tight.
Snape gazed at Dumbledore's floating figure. "Avada Kedavra!" he said harshly.
The green light burst, and Dumbledore crumpled to the floor like a puppet with cut strings.
"Crucio! Where is Potter?!"
Screams echoed up and down the corridor, shrill and desperate.
"What are you doing?!" A black robed figure came striding down the hall, dragging Draco Malfoy by the arm.
"Professor S-Snape-" Ginny cried out.
"I'm trying to extract the location of Harry Potter out of his little friends - what are you doing, Snape?" Macnair snapped, ignoring Ginny.
"As if any of these children would know that," Snape scoffed. "Potter, among the many things that he is, is also intelligent and clever; he would have realized that his friends might be captured by us, and he wouldn't have made the mistake of telling his friends where he disappeared to. All you're doing is wasting time, forcing us to hang about until the Aurors arrive here in full force!" he snarled out. "Now let's go."
"Well, if they're of no use to us - Avada Kedavra!"
"NO!" Snape moved-
But the spell struck before he could hope to intercept it.
Luna Lovegood fell, and lay limp on the stone.
Macnair eyed Snape in a tense silence. "What was that? Trying to protect these kids now, huh, Snape? Grown a soft spot for them?"
"Of course I haven't - Lovegood was a conspiratorial little lunatic. But our orders were clear!" Snape hissed. "If you can't control yourself, then we're going to-"
Ginny gazed up at Snape, beseeching. "Y-you- you're a l-liar, a monster and a-"
Snape flicked his wand, hitting her in the chest with a Stunning Spell. Ginny fell to lay beside Luna's unmoving form. "We are leaving, now!" he shouted, shoving the Macnair in the shoulder. "The Dark Lord won't be pleased if he has to hear one of ours was captured when it should have been so easy for us to slip in and out! His orders were to be swift and precise! Not to screw around with the students! He also won't be happy to hear you murdered a pureblood girl, blood traitor or not - she could have been given the chance to reform her ways and join us. Now, no more distractions!"
Snape dragged Draco roughly down the corridor, the latter turning back to gaze on the two girls with terror and tears, as if on verge of being sick.
Macnair finally followed, with a last look of disgust at Ginny Weasley.
"Go - shields - Weasley, Longbottom!"
Millicent Bulstrode waved her wand, concentrating on the nonverbal incantation as hard as she could.
The air shimmered, the barrier formed, cutting the corridor in two.
The Death Eaters' dark curses struck against it.
Millicent cast back at them through her own shield - Blasting Curse, Cutting Curse - anything she could think of. The most powerful spells she could think of.
This was what she had been training all year for. The entire DA. Even without Harry there anymore; they had been more determined than ever to stick with it, to learn and grow. Millicent had been...more than ever.
She had to make up for her mistakes of last year. She had to make up for her own wrong views about things that she had held for years - the views that Daphne and Astoria had finally made her see was wrong. Millicent had never had a clear idea of what it would even mean to do that - to make amends, to do "the right thing" for once.
Fighting against the Death Eaters alongside two blood traitors, protecting a school that had always welcomed half blood and mud- muggleborns...this seemed like the right thing to do.
Even if it was terrifying in a hundred different ways.
Ron and Neville stepped up beside her, casting Stunners and Blasting Curses at the Death Eaters together.
The Death Eaters increased their rate of returning fire, battering away at Millicent's shield and blinding them all with flashing lights.
In all those lights, she saw a brilliant green erupt.
A jet of energy shot down the corridor, aiming right for Weasley.
Millicent didn't think - she just moved. She threw her considerable body weight at Weasley, shoving him aside completely.
She had only enough time to turn her head before the Killing Curse struck her in her side, and her world went dark forever.
Ron and Neville watched as Millicent fell heavily to the stone floor, her head striking with a sickeningly definitive crack.
"YOU BLOODY BASTARDS!" Ron yelled, turning his wand on the Death Eaters and casting a deadly curse.
Millicent's shield was gone - and in a mere moment, so was Neville's; a second Killing Curse had been sent their way, in the moment that Neville turned his eyes on Millicent's corpse. This second curse struck its target, and Neville joined her in slumping to the floor, his wand rolling from his grasp.
Footsteps pounded up the corridor, and Ron glanced behind himself to see a third Death Eater had arrived.
The Death Eater paused, gazing at him. Then he began casting Stunning Spells, along with deadly Cutting Curses - aimed at Ron's lower body!
"It's Ronald Weasley; we'll take this one alive!" the new arrival yelled to the others, authoritative. "He can lead us to Potter - find the other best friend as well, the mudblood Granger girl!"
Ron desperately fought, terrified at the thought that he would be tortured into selling out his best friend - but it wasn't enough.
Several Stunners struck him in the back and front, and he fell unconscious.
Macnair gazed down on the boy, gesturing to the others to carry him. He turned back the way he had come and grinned as he said, from behind his mask, "With this one in hand, I happen to have left a handy piece of motivation a few turns back that way. Why don't we go get it? The Dark Lord will be pleased with our efforts."
The sound of light, shuffling footsteps, and Harry glanced up to see Astoria standing in the hallway. Her hands were together as she peeked into the living room, her eyes on Daisy.
This had become a more and more common occurrence over the past few weeks in the Greengrass household, as they got into summer now. It was something Harry was happy to let Astoria indulge in; Daisy seemed to enjoy the attention, at any rate - from both Greengrass sisters. She had even warmed up to Natalia at last (Harry thought it had to have been the eyes that had been putting Daisy off, at first).
Indeed, Daisy's face lit up as she spied Astoria, immediately beginning to coo and babble at her, reaching out clumsily in her direction.
"You can come and see her for a bit," Harry encouraged Astoria, smiling at her. "She wants to see you."
Soon enough, Astoria was down on the living room floor with Harry and Daisy, helping the former hide toys from the latter, and making numerous silly faces at the latter exclusively.
There was a snort from the couch, a ruffling of messy, gorgeous hair. Daphne Greengrass raised a shaking hand, her lips trembling in a smile. "Toss me a ball, Harry - don't let my sister have all the fun today..."
Harry obliged, gently pressing a little soft ball into Daphne's hand. Her fingers closed around it about as clumsily and weakly as Daisy held onto objects.
Daisy's eyes found Daphne, tracking the toy with sharp precision and interest for her age. She crawled right over to the couch, reaching up for the toy; she strained to reach it before flipping herself over with a noise of frustration.
"Daphne, if you're going to play with her, you have to actually...you know...play with her," Harry said lightly.
"I know what I'm doing," Daphne rasped. She scooted closer to the edge, letting her arm drape down further. She rattled the toy. "Hey - Daisy girl - look at this! Look...You want it?"
Daisy rolled over and pushed herself up, and she made for the toy again with delight on her face. She swiped for it, smacking Daphne's hand aside. Then she reached again with both her small hands, grasping. She pulled herself forward and put her mouth to Daphne's fingers.
"Ugh - come on, no biting again-" Daphne protested weakly, wriggling her fingers and withdrawing them. "Just-" She gave a little flick of her wrist, sending the toy rolling across the floor with a great deal of noise.
Daisy ignored Daphne in favor of pursuing the ball, making excited noises the whole way.
Harry smiled when Daisy came right back to him, dropping the toy in his lap and babbling at him as she struck at his legs.
Even now, with Daisy on verge of being a year old - just one month to go (more or less; he had decided, with no real knowledge of the date of her birth still, that August the first was probably close enough) - he was still her clear favorite person in the world.
But was that always going to be true?
He supposed...as long as she was made happy, he didn't care who made her feel that way.
Even if it wasn't himself.
It came back to sacrifices, didn't it?
About the kid, not about yourself.
Even in matters like that...
It seemed like only a moment, between the time when Harry had fallen asleep in the living room of the Greengrass house, and when his eyes were snapping open as noises and lights flared all around him.
Hands were grasping at him - his wand was being pressed into his hand - he was being yanked up off the couch in the dark. "Get up! Harry, now! Take Daisy - go!"
Natalia was shouting, her wand in hand, her other arm clutching an extremely disoriented and upset Daisy at her hip and offering her out.
Harry took Daisy immediately against his chest, holding her tight. He surveyed the room in a second's time; out the window, there was a swirling blue energy surrounding the house. Various colored lights kept flashing, and electricity would crackle! He saw numerous figures standing outside, beyond this barrier. Robes, masks, recognizable with every flash of light.
Death Eaters!
They'd found him here!
But how? When?
No time to figure it out.
Harry flicked his wand at his enchanted bag, and everything he owned that was scattered about the living room soared right into it - mostly everything Daisy related (supplies, crib, etc). Another flick, and he had brought the bag to hand. He was lucky his Cloak was still safe inside the bag already.
"Go!" Natalia repeated, pointing down the hall.
Harry nodded, and he ran with Daisy down the short hallway.
The door to Astoria's room was open a crack - two sets of eyes were gazing out of it.
A dark, trembling hand was on the door itself, grasping it firmly.
The door opened further as Harry came upon it, revealing Daphne and Astoria - the former of whom was clutching the door for dear life, hanging on like it was the only thing keeping her on her feet (it likely was, Harry despaired).
"What are we doing, where are we-" Harry began, as soon as he was inside the room with the two girls.
Daphne shushed him and glared at him. Her gaze returned to the hall. Her wand was at her side, shaking there, Harry noted. "Mom was never going to make the same stupid mistake twice," she whispered, her voice wispy and her breathing thin.
Natalia waved her wand about in the living room, passed through the kitchen, and then returned to the hallway. She hurried down it, pausing in front of the door to Astoria's room. She turned back, and tapped her wand to the wall. Light flared, and the hallway suddenly lengthened, stretching out by hundreds of feet. It rotated as it moved, becoming a twisted spiral that hurt Harry's head just to look at. She tapped her wand to the wall again, and the air was shimmering with purple particles. A third tap, and down the length of the hallway, dozens of brick walls materialized, spaced out in layers of protection every few feet.
She gave a final, fourth tap, and directly in front of them, the floor, ceiling and walls all curved inward to meet, and a yellow barrier of magic burned brightly to coat this final wall of protection.
Natalia let a breath go, and turned her head toward them. "As soon as they bring the barrier down, you three go out the window," Natalia said firmly, pointing. Outside, Harry could see two Death Eaters standing in wait, wands in their hands.
"There are two Death Eaters out there," Daphne protested.
"I know - I detected their presence already. Don't worry; they can't see inside the house, or hear us. But once we're out, we'll need to make a path together," Natalia answered strongly. "Once we're far enough away, I can Apparate with all of you."
"You can't Apparate with four people - one of them a baby!" Daphne exclaimed. "You'll splinch us all!"
"Would you rather be splinched or dead?" her mother said harshly. "Do any of you know how to Apparate reliably?"
"Astoria and I started our lessons months ago!" Daphne replied. "We can do it!"
"Alright. Astoria's been in better health than you lately - she'll do it," Natalia decided. "She can take Harry and Daisy, and you and I will go together."
"Where should we go?" Harry asked.
Natalia hesitated. She frowned. "Hogsmeade village."
Harry nodded. "Okay-"
Outside, a massive purple light flared, nearly blinding them all, and the blue dome of magic evaporated.
A great boom sounded, and then came a series of explosions, rocking the whole magical house.
"They're already in, and trying to get past my defenses," Natalia murmured. "Everyone - over to the window. Get ready to run. I'll see if I can't put a few more obstacles in their way - it might take a few of them out for us if we're lucky..."
"Mum-" Daphne began, starting forward and seizing her mother's arm.
Natalia shook her head, shook her head. "The only thing I want from you is to stay alive. Don't make everything I've ever done for you in life pointless."
Daphne glared, her mouth trembled. She stepped away, letting Natalia go.
Natalia left the room, shutting the door with a quick snap behind her.
The door rippled with scarlet energy, and the handle vanished. The seams in the doorway melded away, becoming smooth wall.
"BITCH!" Daphne screamed suddenly, lurching forward and slamming her fists against the door that was now fused with the wall. "That's a dirty fucking move, how the hell- who do you-!"
Astoria grabbed at Daphne's arm, much the same as Daphne had just done for her mother. She yanked Daphne around, gazing down into her face with a startling kind of determination on her own. She looked to Daisy (who was not happy with the yelling whatsoever), then back down at Daphne. She frowned, and shook her head. Put a finger to her lips.
Daphne stared up at her sister, her shoulders shaking. Her wand gripped in hand so hard she might have been about to snap it in two. Tears sprang in her eyes. "She's going to kill herself for us...we can't just let that happen, dammit."
Harry gazed at the two sisters, two friends, with utter despair. If there was some way to reach Natalia, some way to just get them all out safely without even having to confront the Death Eaters... The Floo might have worked, but that was in the living room, not back here. If only...
The thought struck Harry like lightning.
There was a way!
He could stop this from happening, stop Natalia from dying like Sirius - and, ironically, it would be the same creature responsible for the latter that would be responsible for the former tonight.
"Kreacher!" Harry shouted.
The house elf appeared a split second later. "What is filthy half blood master wanting for-" He stopped dead as he realized what was going on around him. The explosions, the flashing lights - the masked figures waiting patiently out the window. "What are you calling Kreacher into danger like this for, you-"
"Kreacher, take Daisy home - Grimmauld Place - get her inside! And- please- make sure she's as safe and cared for as you would...any of the Black sisters," Harry told him firmly. "Then come back to us!"
Kreacher struggled with himself, with his orders, then he reached out to take Daisy, and he Disapparated with her.
"You have a house elf?" Daphne breathed, looking at Harry as if he had grown two heads. "Since when?! And how did he just pop in and out past the anti-apparition enchantments?!"
"I guess house elves are just different," Harry responded, relief flooding him, which gave way to confidence. Last summer might have been a disaster of a night, but tonight...? This summer? It wasn't going to go the same!
A horrendous, terrifying full minute passed before Kreacher reappeared.
Explosions, closer and closer now - just outside the door -
There was a yell, Natalia casting spells, curses and hexes-
A heavy thud and a male voice screaming in agony.
"Kreacher, get us on the other side of this door!" Harry yelled at the elf. He seized Daphne's hand (feeling awful as she winced but tried to disguise it), then Astoria's.
Kreacher took Harry's hand and nodded, disgust on his face. But he obeyed.
They disappeared, only to reappear three feet away, in the middle of the hallway.
The long, twisted hallway was shrouded in purple flames, there were great big holes blown in it along its length, and those strange particles of mist weren't there anymore.
Natalia was casting spells down the hall from behind a powerful shield, toward a group of four Death Eaters. Strewn about behind the masked figures were the still forms of several others.
At the appearance of Kreacher, Harry, Daphne and Astoria, Natalia whipped around with a gasp, her wand aimed, her lips moving for a no doubt deadly incantation!
"Perfilus Sancti-"
"Mum!" Daphne cried, waving her wand to cast a barrier of her own, curved and hovering in front of them. "Don't blast us!"
Natalia paused, her wand lowered an inch-
A green light flashed behind her, and an energy bolt of emerald streaked down the hallway to strike her in the square of her back.
Natalie fell forward, collapsing on her face, her wand leaving her fingers.
Daphne stood staring blankly ahead, down the inferno of a twisted hallway.
Then her face changed, and she threw herself forward, right over her mother's body, cursing and screaming - and Cursing. Blasting Curse, Cutting Curse, Crucio, Avada Kedavra! Again and again, the green light burst from her wand tip in succession, the energy bolts streaked down the hall toward the Death Eaters!
"DIE!" Daphne shrieked, her wand slashing like a deadly sword. "ALL OF YOU DIE, I'LL MAKE YOU DIE! YOU'LL BURN - YOU'LL ALL FUCKING BURN!"
Harry felt a tight hand on his arm, fingers digging in. He turned to see Astoria, her face full of desperate pleading. She gazed down at Kreacher.
Daisy's waiting...we can still get out of this...we have to...
Harry grabbed Astoria, then grabbed Kreacher and yanked him forward with them. Astoria seized Daphne's arm and pulled her back as more spells came their way.
Daphne resisted, not even looking. Her wand was aimed with a single, reckless hand, her voice still shrieking and coughing out all manner of curses, lights bursting out of her wand.
Astoria pulled harder, then she curled a fist and punched Daphne in the back of her head.
Daphne cried out, whipping around furiously. "What the hell is wrong with-"
Boom! The wall to Astoria's room was suddenly blown out, a massive hole left in it. Two Death Eaters stood in the midst of dust and debris, wands readied.
"Kreacher - get us all home!" Harry yelled out, turning back and aiming his wand, throwing up a hasty shield.
"Fuck that-!" Daphne immediately protested.
Kreacher grabbed Daphne, and they all Disapparated once more.
After going through the familiar, horrid squeezing sensation, the darkness all encompassing, they reappeared right on the steps of Grimmauld Place.
Harry immediately rushed up the steps and threw open the door, stepping inside.
He hurried down the hall, turned into the living room - and there was Daisy, right on the floor. Safe and sound, if looking severely upset still by everything that had just occurred in her life tonight.
Harry fell to his knees before her and scooped her up. "Daisy - Daisy, it's okay, you're all right now. We're home now...This is our real home. My godfather Sirius gave it to us. Kreacher looks after it. He sort of helped look after you last we were here, actually. He's- nice..."
Screaming, cursing, pounding footsteps down the hall.
Daphne came staggering in, with Astoria right on her heels, trying to physically hold her older sister back.
"YOU F-FUCKING ARSEHOLE, YOU GODDAMN- I'LL PUNCH YOUR FACE IN, I'LL KNOCK YOUR TEETH OUT, I'LL MAKE Y-YOU...YOU...I'll...I'll..."
Daphne wobbled on her feet, and then she collapsed.
Fortunately, Astoria was there to catch her.
Harry held Daisy close, gazing at the two girls. Tears of his own were growing in his eyes now, as it all really hit him. Natalia...their mother...
"Y-you can take her upstairs - any room will do," Harry told Astoria. "Get her a nice bed. She probably...needs it."
Astoria nodded, a flash of gratitude in her eyes. She rose to her feet with Daphne in her arms. She struggled, wobbled, but then she seemed to find her footing, and she left with her sister.
They all needed a nice bed tonight, Harry thought numbly, pressing his lips to the top of Daisy's head.
They all needed a long, long sleep.
Even more so after the shocking news they would receive the very next morning.