I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.
Escorts
Alex stepped off of his broom and ended his Disillusionment Charm as the others did the same, then looked around, adjusting his dragon-skin jacket and vest before heading for Harry's house after the others. He glanced at Moody, who had a pair of sacks, one filled with rucksacks and cages containing fake Hedwigs, and the other containing Muggle clothes and dragon-skin jackets and vests. Bringing them had been Alex's idea. After having felt the cold, heavy feeling of dread before both the Department of Mysteries and seventh floor corridor battles, he'd decided on bringing his own dragon-skin jacket when he'd felt the same dread weigh down on him about this mission. Then, he'd convinced Fred and George to wear theirs, and to bring a jacket for Harry and each of his other escorts. They'd agreed, so Alex had put his on before he left.
He followed the others into the house to the sitting room, and took a spot beside Harry, remaining silent and tense as the others all laughed and chatted, all of them excited to be able to see Harry again. Alex glanced around at the other escorts present. Besides himself and the Weasley twins, there was also Ron, Hermione, Bill, Fleur, Mad-Eye Moody, Lupin, Tonks, Shacklebolt, Mr. Weasley, and Hagrid. Originally, the group had included Mundungus instead of Alex, on account of Alex and Luna having been supposed to be on the island until the wedding, but when they'd gone to Ron's to wish everyone luck on the mission, and subsequently found out that Mundungus was going, Alex had all but demanded to replace him, as he was untrustworthy and liable to get someone killed. It had been a very short discussion followed by unanimous consent.
"Kingsley, I thought you were looking after the Muggle Prime Minister?" Harry called across the room.
"He can get along without me for one night," Kingsley said. "You're more important."
"Harry, guess what?" Tonks said from her perch on top of the washing machine, and she wiggled her left hand at him; a ring glistened there.
"You got married?" Harry yelped, looking from her to Lupin.
"I'm sorry you couldn't be there, Harry," Lupin said. "It was very quiet."
"That's brilliant!" Harry grinned. "Congrats!"
Alex glanced at the window, eyes narrowing as the hair on the back of hia neck stood on end, Alex running a hand down it and glancing at Moody, who nodded. Moody, when Alex had described the feeling he'd gotten before each battle and had now, had agreed that he seemed to have something like a sixth sense for violence and danger, and had agreed that they all needed to be ready for it tonight. That was the main reason he'd agreed to the dragon-skin jackets.
"All right, all right, we'll have time for a cozy catch-up later," Moody roared over the hubbub, and silence fell in the kitchen. Moody dropped his sacks at his feet and turned to Harry. "As Dedalus probably told you, we had to abandon Plan A. Pius Thicknesse has gone over, which gives us a big problem. He's made it an imprisonable offense to connect this house to the Floo Network, place a Portkey here, or Apparate in or out. All done in the name of your protection, to prevent You-Know-Who getting in at you. Absolutely pointless, seeing as your mother's charm does that already. What he's really done is to stop you getting out of here safely. Second problem, you're underage, which means you've still got the Trace on you."
"I don't-" Harry began.
"The Trace, the Trace!" Moody snapped impatiently. "The charm that detects magical activity around under-seventeens, the way the Ministry finds out about underage magic! If you, or anyone around you, casts a spell to get you out of here, Thicknesse is going to know about it, and so will the Death Eaters. We can't wait for the Trace to break, because the moment you turn seventeen you'll lose all the protection your mother gave you. In short, Pius Thicknesse thinks he's got you cornered good and proper."
Harry could not help but agree with the unknown Thicknesse. "So what are we going to do?"
"We're going to use the only means of transport left to us, the onlyones the Trace can't detect, because we don't need to cast spells to use them," Alex said, speaking very quickly. "Brooms, Thestrals, and Hagrid's motorbike."
"Now, your mother's charm will only break under two conditions: when you come of age, or," Moody gestured around the pristine kitchen, "you no longer call this place home. You and your aunt and uncle are going your separate ways tonight, in the full understanding that you're never going to live together again, correct?"
Harry nodded.
"So this time, when you leave, there'll be no going back, and the charm will break the moment you get outside its range," Moody said. "We're choosing to break it early, because the alternative is waiting for You-Know-Who to come and seize you the moment you turn seventeen.
"The one thing we've got on our side is that You-Know-Who doesn't know we're moving you tonight. We've leaked a fake trail to the Ministry. They think you're not leaving until the thirtieth. However, this is You-Know-Who we're dealing with, so we can't rely on him getting the date wrong; he's bound to have a couple of Death Eaters patrolling the skies in this general area, just in case. So, we've given a dozen different houses every protection we can throw at them. They all look like they could be the place we're going to hide you, they've all got some connection with the Order. My house, Kingsley's place, Molly's Auntie Muriel's...you get the idea."
"Yeah," Harry nodded, though he looked less than convinced.
"You'll be going to Tonks's parents," Moody continued. "Once you're within the boundaries of the protective enchantments we've put on their house you'll be able to use a Portkey to the Burrow. Any questions?"
"Er...yes," Harry said. "Maybe they won't know which of the twelve secure houses I'm heading for at first, but won't it be sort of obvious once," he performed a quick headcount, "fourteen of us fly off toward Tonks's parents?"
"Ah," Moody nodded, "I forgot to mention the key point. Fourteen of us won't be flying to Tonks's parents. There will be seven Harry Potters moving through the skies tonight, each of them with a companion, each pair heading for a different safe house."
From inside his cloak Moody now withdrew a flask of what looked like mud. There was no need for him to say another word. Harry understood the rest of the plan immediately.
"No!" Harry said loudly, his voice ringing through the kitchen. "No way!"
"I told them you'd take it like this," Hermione said with a hint of complacency.
"If you think I'm going to let six people risk their lives-" Harry started to say.
"-because it's the first time for all of us," Ron said sarcastically.
"This is different, pretending to be me..."
"Well, none of us really fancy it, Harry," Fred said earnestly, then grinned. "Imagine if something went wrong and we were stuck as specky, scrawny gits forever."
Harry did not smile. "You can't do it if I don't cooperate. You need me to give you some hair."
"Well, that's the plan scuppered," George said sarcastically. "Obviously there's no chance at all of us getting a bit of your hair unless you cooperate."
"Yeah, thirteen of us against one bloke who's not allowed to use magic?" Fred agreed, equally sarcastically. "We've got no chance."
"Funny," Harry said. "Really amusing."
"If it has to come to force, then it will," Moody growled, his magical eye now quivering a little in its socket as he glared at Harry. "Everyone here's overage, Potter, and they're all prepared to take the risk."
"Can we hurry this up?" Alex asked impatiently, lighting a cigarette to stave off his anxiety. "We don't have tine for this."
"Let's have no more arguments," Moody said. "Time's wearing on. I want a few of your hairs, boy, now."
"But this is mad, there's no need-"
"No need!" Moody snarled. "With You-Know-Who out there and half the Ministry on his side? Potter, if we're lucky he'll have swallowed the fake bait, and he'll be planning to ambush you on the thirtieth, but he'd be mad not to have a Death Eater or two keeping an eye out, it's what I'd do. They might not be able to get at you or this house while your mother's charm holds, but it's about to break and they know the rough position of the place. Our only chance is to use decoys. Even You-Know-Who can't split himself into seven."
Harry caught Hermione's eye and looked away at once.
"So, Potter...some of your hair, if you please."
Harry glanced at Ron, who grimaced at him in a just-do-it sort of way.
"Oh for fuck's sake!" Alex snapped, ripping a small bundle of hairs from Harry's head himself.
"Ow!" Harry yelped. "Hey!"
"Good," said Moody, limping forward as he pulled the stopper out of the flask of potion. "Straight in here, if you please."
Alex dropped the hair into the mudlike liquid, then dropped his cigarette and stamped it out. The moment the hairs made contact with its surface, the potion began to froth and smoke, then, all at once, it turned a clear, bright gold.
"Ooh, you look much tastier than Crabbe and Goyle, Harry," Hermione said, before catching sight of Ron's raised eyebrows, blushing slightly, and saying, "Oh, you know what I mean! Goyle's potion tasted like bogies."
"Right then, fake Potters line up over here, please," Moody said.
Ron, Hermione, Alex, Fred, George, and Fleur lined up in front of Aunt Petunia's gleaming sink. Moody pulled half a dozen eggcup-sized glasses from inside his cloak, which he handed out, before pouring a little Polyjuice Potion into each one.
"Altogether, then," Moody said.
"Bottoms up," Fred and Geoege said together.
Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Fleur, and Alex drank. All of them gasped and grimaced as the potion hit their throats. At once, their features began to bubble and distort like hot wax. Hermione was shooting upward; Ron, Fred, and George were shrinking; their hair was darkening, Hermione's and Fleur's appearing to shoot backward into their skulls; Alex's skin paled rapidly.
Moody, quite unconcerned, was now loosening the ties of the large sacks he had brought with him. When he straightened up again, there were six Harry Potters gasping and panting in front of him.
Fred and George turned to each other and said together, "Wow...we're identical!"
"I dunno, though, I think I'm still better-looking," Fred said, examining his reflection in the kettle.
"Bah," Fleur grimaced, checking herself in the microwave door, "Bill, don't look at me! I'm 'ideous."
"Those whose clothes are a bit roomy, I've got smaller here," said Moody, indicating the first sack, "and vice versa. Don't forget the glasses, there'ssix pairs in the side pocket. Everyone who needs one, put on a dragon-skin jacket. They won't stop the Killing Curse, but they'll stop them from Stunning you. And when you're dressed, there's luggage in the other sack."
Alex had to admit that this might just be the most bizarre thing he had ever seen, and he had seen some extremely odd things. He watched as Harry's other five doppelgangers rummaged in the sacks, pulling out sets of clothes, putting on glasses, stuffing their own things away. He felt like asking them to show a little more respect for Harry's privacy as they all began stripping off with impunity, clearly more at ease with displaying his body than they would have been with their own.
"I knew Ginny was lying about that tattoo," Ron said, looking down at his bare chest.
"Harry, your eyesight really is awful," Hermione said, as she put on glasses, then passed Alex his own set of glasses, since Alex was already dressed in what they'd be wearing, and passed Harry his dragon-skin jacket.
Once dressed, the fake Harrys took the rucksacks and owl cages from the second sack.
"Good," Moody nodded, as at last seven dressed, bespectacled, and luggage-laden Harrys faced him. "The pairs will be as follows: Pruitt will be traveling with me, by broom, Arthur and Fred-"
"I'm George," the twin at whom Moody was pointing said. "Can't you even tell us apart when we're Harry?"
"Sorry, George," Moody said.
"I'm only yanking your wand, I'm Fred really," Fred grinned.
"Enough messing around!" Moody snarled. "The other one...George or Fred or whoever you are...you're with Remus. Miss Delacour-"
"I'm taking Fleur on a Thestral," Bill said. "She's not that fond of brooms."
Fleur walked over to stand beside him, giving him a soppy, slavish look that Harry hoped with all his heart would never appear on his face again.
"Miss Granger with Kingsley,again by Thestral..." Moody said.
Hermione looked reassured as she answered Kingsley's smile. Alex knew that Hermione too lacked confidence on a broomstick.
"Which leaves you and me, Ron!" Tonks said brightly, knocking over a mug tree as she waved at him.
Ron did not look quite as pleased as Hermione.
"An' you're with me, Harry. That all righ'?" Hagrid asked, looking a little anxious. "We'll be on the bike, brooms an' thestrals can't take me weight, see. Not a lot o' room on the seat with me on it, though, so you'll be in the sidecar."
"That's great," Harry said, not altogether truthfully.
"We think the Death Eaters will expect you to be on a broom," Moody explained, who seemed to guess how Harry was feeling. "Snape's had plenty of time to tell them everything about you he's never mentioned before, so if we do run into any Death Eaters, we're betting they'll choose one of the Potters who looks at home on a broomstick. All right then," he went on, tying up the sack with the fake Potters' clothes in it and leading the way back to the door, "I make it three minutes until we're supposed to leave. No point locking the back door, it won't keep the Death Eaters out when they come looking. Come on."
Harry hurried to gather his rucksack, Firebolt, and Hedwig's cage and followed the group to the dark back garden. Alex and Moody mounted their broom together, Alex keeping his wand in his right hand, his left wrapped around Moody, who likewise held his wand.
"Since we're expecting him after us first, keep your magic eye on him," Alex said. "Let me worry about the rest."
"Agreed," Moody nodded, then looked to the others. "All right, then. Everyone ready, please. I want us all to leave at exactly the same time or the whole point of the diversion's lost."
Everybody motioned their heads.
"Hold tight now, Ron," Tonks said, and Ron threw a forcing, guilty look at Lupin before placing his hands on each side of her waist.
Hagrid kicked the motorbike into life. It roared like a dragon, and the sidecar began to vibrate.
"Be ready to fight!" Moody shouted over the bike. "Good luck, everyone! See you all in about an hour at the Burrow! On the count of three! One...two...THREE!"
They all kicked off hard, soaring up into the air, Alex tensing immediately. For a few moments, it was quiet. Then, all at once, out of nowhere, they were surrounded. No less than thirty cloaked figures on brooms formed a circle around them. Alex yanked upward on the broom, using his body to shove Moody flat against it, the broom rocketting upward just as countless flashes of green shot inward from the circle, narrowly missing Alex and Moody. Instantly, Alex lost track of the others as Moody yanked the broom around toward their destination, accelerating rapidly. Alex glanced back and narrowed his eyes as he saw five Death Eaters following.
"I don't see him!" Alex shouted over the wind.
"Above!" Moody shouted, just before swerving right, barely avoiding a jet of green light.
More jets flashed past them from behind, and Alex twisted around firing a Stunning Spell at the Death Eaters, only for them to scatter, avoiding the spell as their curses went wild. Moody swerved around another Killing Curse as Voldemort fell in behind them with the other Death Eaters just as a pair of Death Eaters pulled up on each side. They pulled their wands back just as Moody and Alex brandished theirs. Alex blasted his target with an Impetus just as Moody hit one with a Stunner, both of the Desth Eaters plummetting into darkness. Alex looked back again just as Voldemort brandished his own wand.
"Left!" Alex roared.
Moody obeyed, and a jet of green light flashed past Alex less than an inch away, close enough that for a moment he forgot to breathe. As he did, a Death Eater caught up on their left, only for Alex to jab his wand at them, catching the Death Eater with the Incarcerous Charm, the darkness hiding the black cords. The Death Eater yelped in surprise, yanked backward off of the broom and vanishing in the darkness. At the same time, a Knockback Jinx slammed into Alex's back, reflecting backward and smashing the broom out from under the jinx's own caster.
"Dive!" Alex shouted, just as nearly a dozen more Death Eaters appeared, Killing Curses flashing over them as they hurtled downward then rolled over and shot back upward.
With their broom toward the Death Eaters, Alex brandished his wand, blocking half a dozen minor curses and jinxes, shielding their broom and allowing them to streak into the air, narrowly avoiding several Killing Curses. The Desth Eaters shot upward after them, and Alex brandished his wand behind them and a huge, black net burst out of it, ensnaring two of the Death Eaters. Then, as they rolled and began to go forward again, Alex waved his wand, a pond's worth of water appesring and crashing down on two of the Death Eaters.
"Nice one!" Moody shoted. "Where'd you learn that one?"
"A spellbook from Lupin!" Alex shouted. "This one, too!"
He swung his wand around toward the last Death Eater, aimed carefully, then twisted sharply. For the briefest of moments, the space between them was illuminated by the blinding, brilliant, white light of a lightning bolt connecting his wand to the Death Eater's chest, the Death Eater streaking backward at more than double the speed he had been going forward, before the lightning vanished, darkness swallowing the Death Eater instantly, though Voldemort also vanished. Alex spun back to the front just as three Death Eaters appeared before them, firing off a trio of Killing Curses. Moody dove and spun, barely avoiding the spells, before spinning them into flying in a wide arc. The Desth Eaters pulled out of their own dive to Moody and Alex's right, and both brandished their wands. Instantly, Alex's Impetus Maxima and Moody's Impediment Jinx hit them. The blasts from Alex's Impetus Maxima exploded into two of the Death Eaters' torsos and faces, and they sailed away. The third was caught by Moody's Impediment Jinx and all but froze in mid air as his broom slipped out from between his legs and fell away. Then, the spell ended and the Death Eater fell. Moody quickly swung them around toward their destination again and they shot forward, finally reaching it just in time to dive for a boot, barely grabbing it before it vanished. A moment later, they were deposited, quite abruptly and unceremoniously, in the Burrow's pond.
Alex dragged himself out of the pond, then turned and pulled Moody out before waving his wand and drying them both.
"Don't move!" a voice said from behind them, both turning and raising their hands, Alex stowing his wand.
Kingsley and Lupin both had their wands trained on them, Lupin holding Luna back by the shoulder.
"What was the message in the first book I gave you?" Lupin asked Alex.
"A few friends and I made this book when we were in school," Alex recited. "I heard you were quite good at picking up new spells, and based off of the Undetectable Extension Charm on your bag, I'd say I heard correctly. I thought you might enjoy this book. Enjoy."
Lupin lowered his wand and released Luna, who flung her arms around Alex instantly, Alex holding her tightly as she trembled against him. Kingsley asked Moody what a Boggart looked like, and Moody simply reminded Kingsley that he wouldn't find out until Moody was on his deathbed. Kingsley was, apparently, satisfied with this answer, because he likewise stowed his wand.
"It's good you thought of the jackets," Lupin said. "It blocked a Stunner thst would have made George fall off the broom. Though..."
"What happened?" Moody growled.
"Snape cursed his ear off," Lupin said.
The others all ran inside, leaving Luna and Alex standing by the pond.
"I was so scared," Luna said, voice trembling as badly as she was.
"I'm sorry," Alex said. "But I'm okay."
Luna nodded, kissing him, and Alex kissed her back, holding it for nearly a minute before they followed the others inside, Alex instantly noticing they were a few people short. However, he was paying exclusive attention to George, who had a gaping hole in the side of his head where his left ear should have been. However, he was awake, and seemed to be otherwise intact, so Alex and Luna headed out back where Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Shacklebolt, and Lupin were waiting for whoever was missing. Noe thst Alex did a proper headcount, it was Ron, Tonks, Bill, and Fleur. Ginally, Ron and Tonks arrived by broom, explaining they were delayed by Bellatrix and missed their port key, but Tonks saying Ron did excellently, crediting him with hitting a Death Eater in the face with a Stunning Spell.
Hermione pulled back from kissing Ron, looking far calmer, and Ginny headed inside to tell the rest of the Weasleys that Ron was safe. Within seconds, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came sprinting out to see him, Ginny just behind them. Then, finally, a Thestral flew down and landed in front of them, Bill and Fleur, both windswept but unharmed, slid to the ground.
"Alex, you were amazing!" Bill said. "We saw some of your work, since we were headed North, too. Well done!"
"Thanks, Alex smiled. "Glad you two made it."
"It was close," Bill said. "We were supposed to take the same Portkey as you, but obviously we missed it."
"We only barely made it," Alex said.
Bill nodded. "I'm more impressed you actually did, as many as you had to deal with."
"We were just lucky Voldemort broke off when he did," Alex said.
"That'll be because if that lightning spell you used," Moody said. "Potter doesn't kill."
Alex nodded. "I figured."
"Voldemort would have broken off anyway," Shacklebolt said. "He was after us for a bit, but left quickly. Apparently, Harry used the Disarming Charm, which the Death Eaters have come to view as his signature spell."
"Makes sense," Alex nodded. "Well, we should probably head inside."
"Not me," Shacklebolt said. "I should get back to Downing Street."
Lupin nodded and Shacklebolt walked away, the others all heading inside. Bill poured them all a glass of firewhiskey, and they all drank.
"Now zat we are all safe," Fleur said as she lowered her glass, "Would somone care to explain 'ow zey know we were moving 'Arry tonight? Somebody must 'ave been careless. Somebody let slip ze date to an outsider. It is ze only explanation for zem knowing ze date but not ze 'ole plan."
"No," Harry said loudly, Alex internally chuckling as he realized the firewhiskey was already hitting Harry. "I mean...if somebody made a mistake and let something slip, I know they didn't mean to do it. It's not their fault. We've got to trust each other. I trust all of you, I don't think anyone in this room would ever sell me to Voldemort."
"Well said, Harry," Fred said.
"Yeah, 'ear 'ear," George said, the corner of Fred's mouth twitching as he restrained a smirk.
"You think I'm a fool?" Harry demanded of Lupin, who was watching him oddly.
"No, I think you're like James," said Lupin, "who would have regarded it as the height of dishonor to mistrust his friends."
Lupin turned away, and discussion turned to sleeping arrangements. However, before long, Harry announced he was leaving. People begsn to argue, but all talk stopped when Ginny slapped him and told him that under no circumstance was he leaving, even if she had to stun him and put him upstairs with the ghoul. Harry gave in almost immediately, being in a state of shock after being slapped. However, as Hagrid brought up the fact that Harry escaped Voldemort again, and everyone began to deny Harry's claim that his wand reacted on its own and cast golden flames, all of them claiming it wasn't possible for a wand to cast magic itself, Harry began to get angry, wincing on the side with his scar.
"It is possible, actually," Alex said. "My wand does it, though it's a special case. I assume Harry's wand doing...whatever it did, was also a special case."
Harry threw him a grateful look before muttering something about fresh air and heading outside, Ginny following.
"Is he alright?" Hermione asked after a tense minute.
"He's afraid, and he's getting flashes of Voldemort's anger," Alex said.
Everyone accepted the explanation, and talk returned to sleeping arrangements. Once ot had been decided, Hermione and Ron headed out to get Harry before everyone turned in or else headed home for the night. Except Alex and Luna. They headed out to the pond together and used it to muffle and hide themselves as they held a private celebration of not losing each other.
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