Disclaimer I don't own Harry Potter. All rights to the characters and universe the story belongs in belong to JK Rowling

Reviews welcome. Any advice to help me improve would be brilliant. I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Chapter 6 - the Burrow

Dawn was breaking through the window illuminating the two wizards who had mostly been sat in silence for the last few hours. After they had exhausted most conversation about the attack earlier in the night, Harry had gone quiet to try and hide his identity from Bill.

During the war the two of them had met on a handful of occasions, even working on the same missions together. If Sirius hadn't been so careful with where they were living and who knew, Harry was sure they would have become good friends.

They each shared the same drive, humour and were formidable on the battlefield. Harry had an uneasy, guilty feeling for trying to hide himself, but it was for Bill's own good. Nothing good could come of anyone knowing who he was, even if they didn't want to vilify them.

Tonks groaned groggily as she started to stir 'Bill?'

'Hey Tonks, I'm here take it easy.' He replied still keeping hold of her hand.

Her eyes shot open as she sought him out, she didn't notice Harry sitting on her other side. 'What happened?'

'We were attacked-'

'I know I remember that.' She interrupted hastily 'Is everyone OK? Where's Teddy?'

'Teddy's fine, he went to Harry's with Andy and the rest of my lot.'

She slumped in relief, 'That's good Harry will look after them, although, he might be a bit grumpy about people randomly turning up in the middle of the night.'

'Considering it was my idea, I'm sure I'll live with it.' he interjected smiling slightly. Tonks' head whipped round.

'Harry? You're here?'

'Where else would I be?' He asked gently.

She reached for his hand. 'It must have been bad for you to come, I'm sorry I didn't mean for you to get dragged into this.'

'It's not your fault. Do you need anything?'

'I'm ok for now thanks.'

'Ok, now your awake I'm going to get something to eat, then head over to the Burrow.' He stood to leave.

'Wait Harry, please don't do anything stupid.' Pleaded Tonks.

'I won't, promise.' He said innocently, she'd heard that tone before, it never ended well.

'When you go at least take someone with you or wait till I'm out and we'll go together.'

'I'll be fine, I'm going to start searching to get an idea of who attacked you. Unless you already know?' He asked hopefully.

'No I don't, just be careful, I don't want to see you in here with me.'

'Don't worry about me I'll be fine. I'll visit later on.'

'Wait by the door a minute and I'll come with you.' Said Bill.

'Nah it's alright you stay here.' Harry told him with a mischievous smile. 'I'll tell Andy to give you two a bit before she brings Teddy too.'

'Bugger off Evans.' Tonks tried to keep her face straight, unfortunately her lips twitched into an unavoidable smile.

The atmosphere in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place was glum when Harry came stumbling out of the floo. Kreacher was tenderly attending to breakfast while Andy sat at the kitchen table, having evidently not slept, being comforted by Molly and Ginny.

'How is she?' Croaked Andy whilst he dusted himself off.

'She'll be fine,' assured Harry 'she's just woken up.'

The faces of the three witches brightened and Andy moved to stand up. 'Great I'll go wake Teddy and we'll go and see her.'

'Easy Andy.' Said Harry chuckling. 'Maybe wait until after breakfast.' He hung up his coat on the rack.

'Why?' She demanded.

'If you went now Teddy might see something that's not PG rated.'

'PG rated?' She asked furrowing her brow.

'Never mind.' Muttered Harry. 'Bill's still with her.' Harry was slightly amused that only Ginny's face showed any understanding.

'What's that got to do with anything?' Asked Molly.

Harry and Ginny's eyes met, before she peeled off into a fit of silent laughter.

Deciding it was up to the two of them to tell everyone else he went for a different tac. 'At least let Ted eat before you go, hospital food is atrocious. She'll still be there later.'

Andy sat back down with a sigh 'You're right.'

He walked over to the stove where Kreacher was working away avidly. 'Morning to you too Kreacher.' He said brightly, loading up another pan with some cooking oil.

'Morning Evans.' The house elf grumbled back.

'What's got your bee in a bonnet?'

'Nothing.' He snapped, although Harry could hear him continue to grumble under his breath catching the odd word like 'witch', 'bloody', 'talking about', 'slave'.

He turned around mouthing to Andy "What's up with him?" She just shrugged.

The two continued to work silently as the others made their way down to the kitchen, following their noses towards the scent of sizzling bacon on the fire. They all looked rather tired and subdued, although they each offered small smiles to Harry as they entered.

Apart from Hermione, the bushy haired witch scowled at him when she arrived in the kitchen, this had Harry worried. Don't tell me she knows who I am.

'Evans you're burning the bacon.' Kreacher informed him mildly.

'Whoops, sorry.' Frantically, Harry lifted the pan and turned off the heat. He was turning to grab the plates from the cupboard, when the sound of the last resident coming tumbling towards breakfast caught Harry's attention.

There was an almighty crashing sound from somewhere above them. That will be the umbrella stand. Then there was a loud thud. That will be the portrait. Then finally the bippity bop of someone tripping down the stairs. Just like his mother.

A rather disgruntled Teddy came through the door to the kitchen. Still half asleep, he hadn't even noticed what had happened on his way down. 'Morning everyone.' He mumbled as he took a seat next to his nan.

'Morning clumsy, did you pick the umbrella stand back up?' Asked Harry.

'And sprog, is the portrait back on the wall?' Asked Kreacher.

'Huh?' Asked Teddy, the table erupted in a fit of chuckles.

'Just like your mother.' Said Harry fondly as he started loading the plates up. Teddy looked questioningly up at Andromeda, who just continued chuckling and ruffled his hair.

Harry started passing the plates down the table, once they all had one, the two cooks sat on the end. Teddy was halfway through his breakfast when he shot an accusatory glance at Harry, 'I thought you were staying with mom Uncle Harry?'

Harry finished swallowing before answering 'I did, she woke up about an hour ago.'

'Can I go see her?' he asked excitedly.

'Once you've finished your breakfast, yeah.'

'Are you coming?'

'Sorry I can't this morning.'

'Why? What else is there to do?' he asked furrowing his brow.

'I've got some work to do.' Said Harry evasively.

'Are you leaving the country again?' The boy asked in a quiet dejected voice.

'No Teddy-'

'DON'T LIE! YOU JUST DON'T CARE!' Screamed Teddy, his hair turning red. He slammed his knife and fork down before sprinting out of the room.

'Well handled.' Said Kreacher as he shoved another sausage into his mouth.

'Shut it Kreacher.' Murmured Harry through clenched teeth.

'Let him cool off sweetheart, I'll speak to him.' Said Andromeda kindly.

Harry nodded dejectedly before setting down his own cutlery. 'I've had enough, I'll see you all later.'

'Where are you going?' Called Kreacher.

'Where do you think?' He growled.

He made his way through the house without a backward glance and out the front door. He slammed the door to his white coupe behind him and started the engine when someone sat in the passenger seat.

Ginny, seemingly oblivious to the death glare she was receiving, put her seat belt on and sat back looking out the windscreen. Harry continued staring at her incredulously before, without looking at him, she said 'Are we going or what?'

When there was no response, she finally deigned to look at him 'We haven't got all day, now step on it.'

'Fine.' He grumbled, pulling out of the parking spot.

Half an hour into the journey, Harry was still fuming, the two of them had been sat in simmering silence since the car started moving. The only noise in the car came from the engine, not even the radio had been switched on yet, such was the mood.

Bored by the silence, Ginny started tapping a steady tune from the weird sisters on the glove box, when she started humming along Harry indignantly switched the radio on. Huffing, she leaned back in her seat and stole another glance at the man beside her.

His shoulders were tense and his face impassive, the knuckles of his left hand were clutching the gear stick so hard they had gone white. She could see he was shaking, whether with rage or sadness though, she couldn't tell.

'Do you want to talk about it?' She asked gently. Harry didn't respond, he didn't even give any suggestion that he heard her. 'Do you know where you're going?' She tried, still nothing.

Sighing, she went back to looking out of the passenger side window. 'Why are you here?' He asked abruptly.

She studied him closely in the windows reflection before answering. 'I said I'd help you Yesterday, my family were attacked too you know or is Teddy right and you don't care?' He winced. Abandoning her staring contest with the glass, Ginny turned to look at him.

Leaning in, she whispered conspiratorially. 'I don't believe that though, Teddy's told me about his Uncle Harry, he doesn't sound like someone who doesn't care.'

Although he didn't say anything, Ginny was relieved to see him relax slightly, his lips twitched to almost resemble a smile.

It was another hour, with barely another word spoke between them, before they pulled into the village of Ottery St Catchpole. Harry drove the car in and parked at the rear of the pub in town, he switched off the engine but didn't move to get out of the car. 'How's your leg?'

Surprised by his concern, she answered. 'It's ok, the healer patched me up in no time.'

'You sure?' She nodded 'Right, you're an Auror right?'

She acquired a bemused smile. 'Yeah, how did you know?'

'Tonks mentioned you, she said you're good.'

'Really? I'll have to pay her the ten galleons I owe her.'

Harry snorted. 'We can't risk a fight, so if they are still there, we're leaving, ok?'

'Here's me thinking you would be more reckless.' She smirked at him.

'I promised Tonks I wouldn't end up in the hospital with her.' He said flatly.

'How often do you keep your promises?'

'Not as often as I should.' He admitted guiltily. 'Come on, you can lead the way.'

Walking slowly, they made their way through the quaint town of Ottery St Catchpole towards the Burrow. The main high street was quiet due to the market just outside of town, only the butchers and grocers remained open on this dull dreary Sunday.

Ginny led Harry through the high street with a local's confidence, skipping the dog leg at the end of town, by meandering down a small side street. Without breaking step, she strode up a private road that wound between the trees of a small forest, Harry trailed a step behind her.

They followed the dusty trail until the trees thinned out, revealing a rather ramshackle house that held a certain charm. The structure was unnatural as if extra floors had been added when they were needed, rather than by the architect's design, leaving Harry wondering how it still stood.

To the right-hand side there was a pond with a jetty leading out into it, and to the left Harry saw a makeshift Quidditch pitch in the distance with one hoop on either side.

Before stepping into the open, the two of them crouched low in the trees for cover. Surveying the grounds from their hiding spot, Harry saw that the doors to the shed just outside the house had been blasted open. That was nothing compared to the house itself, all of the windows had been shattered in their frames, whilst only splinters hung from the hinges in the doorframe.

'Can you see anyone?' Whispered Ginny.

'No.'

'I'll take front, you circle around the tree line. You can then use the bushes for cover over there and come in from the rear.'

'OK, be careful. Especially when going inside, there bound to have left something behind,'

Ginny grunted in response then, crouching low, made her way to the side of the shed for cover. Liking the no nonsense approach of his new-found partner, Harry set off at the same time.

Making sure to check for anyone else in the vicinity he quickly circled the house via the trees and approached carefully by the bushes. When he was near the back door, he made one last check, then moved into the open.

The rear door had fared no better than the front, merely splinters remained hung on the hinges, the rest blown through into what looked like a lounge. Harry swore under his breath when he saw the damage, the furniture was in tatters with pieces of wood and cushioning all over the floor mixed in with glass from the windows.

Worst of all was the collapsed ceiling, the toilet had fell through, and the bath hung perilously from the gaping hole. Treading carefully, Harry made his way into the room, shards of glass crunched under his feet on every step.

He had almost made it to the doorway, which he guessed led to the front, when he spotted something on the floor. It was a clock, although it was unlike any other he had ever seen, each hand had a picture of one of the Weasleys.

Instead of hours or minutes running along the edge, there were various destinations, for example: Home, Work, Travelling, even Mortal Peril.

Seeing the Burrow like this left a pang in Harry's heart, even without ever stepping foot in the building before, he knew this place had been a true home. Somewhere you could feel safe, loved, now it was gone because of the actions of a few. Yes, they could rebuild, however, it wouldn't feel the same for many years.

Mentally shaking himself, he left the room (clock still in hand), towards the front of the house. He passed the stairs, noticing they had been broken halfway up, and entered a large kitchen.

Ginny was shaking with rage in the front doorway. She didn't even look at him as he entered, her eyes instead fixated on the damage. The dining room table had been snapped in half, the chairs were smashed to pieces, all the cooking utensils had been thrown haphazardly around the room and food littered the site.

'I'm sorry Ginny.' Harry said sadly, she just nodded mutely, tears threatening to fall. 'I found this, you should bring it with us.' He held out the clock for her to take.

'Thanks.' She took the clock from him, shrunk it with her wand and put it in her pocket.

'I can't see anything down here and I don't think we should go upstairs it's not safe.'

'OK.'

'We'll get them.' He promised.

Her eyes snapped up to meet his. 'How can you promise that, we've been after these… these' She struggled for the word. 'Bastards for almost a year. How are we ever going to find them?'

Harry eyed her critically before answering. 'Who's been leading the searches from the Auror department?'

Ginny squinted as if to see his point. 'Kingsley Shacklebolt.'

'And who's your main target?'

'Harry Potter.'

Thought so. 'Have you any proof that Potter is involved and are you looking for anyone else?' He asked sharply.

'No, we have no proof, there never is any.' She spat. 'We're going after Potter because he is Undesirable Number 1, the Wizengamot have pretty much ordered us to find him at all costs.'

'What do you think?'

'What do you mean?'

'About Potter.'

'What are you getting at?' She exasperated.

'Maybe your looking in the wrong place. What if this has nothing to do with Potter and he's just being blamed?'

'Well then we've got nothing to go on.' She snapped in frustration.

'Haven't we? Who stands to gain from Potter being taken out?'

'Almost everyone on the Wizengamot…' She was interrupted by the sound of people approaching the house. 'Shit we need to get out of here.' She turned on the spot, only to hit solid air. 'There's an apparation barrier up.'

Acting instinctively, Harry grabbed her arm, pulling her into the house. At the base of the stairs, he paused to look at them calculatingly. 'We'll be safe up there.' He whispered.

'As long as we don't fall through.' She hissed sarcastically.

Ignoring her, Harry walked up the first five steps then jumped a gap of three. Thankfully it held, he turned around and offered his hand to her. 'Come on I'll catch you.'

'If we fall through, I'm going to kill you.' She threatened before jumping. He caught her expertly and they turned into a bedroom which sat above the kitchen, it was in the same disarray as the rest of the house.

Ginny cast her wand over the two of them muttering under her breath.

'What was that?' Asked Harry when she was done.

'Notice me not charm. Now detection spells shouldn't pick up on us.'

Begrudgingly impressed, Harry fell quiet as the men approached. Peeping out of the window Harry got a good look at one of the men as they started surrounding the building, there was a moment's pause, where Harry's blood ran cold. It was the man from the photo Clark showed him, the one who had killed the agent.

He was recognisable as he had his back to the Burrow and had his head tilted to the side in a similar manner to the photo.

I can't let him get away. He thought furiously. Any plans of capturing the man though, were about to go up in smoke, literally.

'Ok let's burn it to the ground!' The man Harry recognised commanded, turning around, giving Harry a view of his face.

'Please tell me there's a broom on one of these floors.' Harry whispered urgently, turning around.

Ginny was already leaving through the door. 'Come on.' She urged, wand in hand. They both headed up the stairs as quickly as possible, luckily it seemed that the attack had been focused on the lower floors, so by the time they reach the third landing the floor was pretty much intact.

They entered a room on their righthand side which was decorated with Weird Sisters and Holyhead Harpies posters. Thankfully, there was a broom in the corner by the wardrobe, Ginny reached to pick it up when there was an almighty "Whoosh!" sound from outside.

Simultaneously, the wizards outside cast a demonic fire, the likes of which hadn't been seen since the war. Creatures formed in the flames and ripped into the lower levels, the stairway began glowing orange and the air grew unbearably hot.

Ginny just managed to mount the broom and drag Harry on behind her as a Phoenix, wreathed in flame, burst into the room. Without a second glance she shot out the window with Harry holding tightly to her waste.

Unfortunately, their escape didn't go unnoticed. As Ginny headed back towards the town to escape the wards, the men followed on foot firing curses with surprising accuracy, causing Ginny to dodge and weave.

'Head into the trees!' Harry shouted in her ear. She dove expertly below the canopy. When they were just about to break out of the trees, Harry felt her turn on the broom. As she apparated, he let go and fell to the ground.

Rolling to break his fall, Harry prayed that Ginny wouldn't come back for him. He'd barely known the witch more than a morning, yet somehow, he knew she wasn't going to be happy with him. Not that he could blame her, it might even be a nice change to have someone else berate him for his recklessness, besides Tonks and Kreacher that is.

Staying low, away from the path, Harry moved his way back to the Burrow. He was halfway through the trees when he spotted the wizards who had attacked reconvening with each other. Careful to avoid detection, he crept closer so he could hear when, the last one returned breathlessly.

'They dissaparated.' He heaved. 'I heard them.'

'Who were they?' Asked another who had his back to Harry.

'One was definitely the Weasley girl. Not sure about the other.'

'Hmm she's going to cause us trouble, we'll have to find a way of dealing with her.' Anger surged through Harry at those words, surprising him, he hadn't felt anything like it since the war. The only thing stopping him from attacking was the lure of more information.

'What next?'

'Let's rest up, we attack in Spencers Wood tomorrow at nightfall.' Spencers Wood, why do I recognise that place… Oh no, Mad-Eye.

Without another word they made their way to the apparation point and disappeared.