***

Disclaimer: All characters and concepts belong to J.K. Rowling.

The Secret Keeper

Chapter Two: The Attack

An exhausted Remus Lupin jerked suddenly from his sleep, to stare stupidly at the wailing watcher orb that had been next to his ear on the desk. It took only a moment for his tired brain to register that the protections around Privet Drive were being infiltrated again. Not already. Remus grabbed his wand and ran over to the old dusty couch.

"Wake up, Padfoot", he roared, shaking his friend none too gently, "God, how could you sleep through that?"

"Huh? Oh…Geez, come on, we'd better hurry".

"No. You're staying here. Tell Mundungus and the others what's happening. Make sure they use floo powder; they can't apparate with the watcher installed. When you do that, owl Dumbledore, and go the Burrow".

"Moony, you know full well I'm not going to stay here, with Harry in danger-"

"Damn it, Sirius! There's no time for this. Just do what I tell you! The ministry will be sending wizards there, and if you're seen…Please, for Harry's sake…I'll see you at the Burrow".

Remus threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace and yelled, " Four Privet Drive". Nothing happened.

"What now?" he groaned, "Oh God, Padfoot. What if we're too late and…?"

Sirius's face paled.

"I'll try Arabella's. Don't dare follow me, Padfoot! Whatever it is, you mustn't be caught. Two Privet Lawns!"

And with that, Remus was gone. Sirius stood looking at the fireplace in silence, feeling dread building up in the pit of his stomach, an all too familiar feeling. I've failed you again, James. Oh, please let him be safe.

***

For miles around, curious spectators stepped quickly out into their gardens for a better view of the fireworks display in Privet Drive. Startling flashes of red and green dominated the skyline, but for a fireworks display, it wasn't very noisy. What use was a fireworks display without the distant rumble of rockets exploding? Besides, fireworks were much more spectacular at night. Nevertheless, people got out of their cars as they sat in traffic, or paused while hanging out the clothes to dry, to watch the beautiful bursts of colour and wonder what was being celebrated.

To the onlookers on Privet Drive who were brave enough to twitch behind their net curtains for a better view, the scene was somewhat different. A horde of black robe-clad people were surrounding number four and apparently shooting light towards the house with long sticks. The flashes however seemed to be ricocheting off an invisible shield, that glowed and sparked with each impact. There was no sound, except for a vague buzzing, each time the shield was hit. Otherwise, all was silent.

One of the black clad people moved about giving instructions to his fellows, who began to concentrate the beams of light on one area. The effect was devastating, as the beam penetrated the shield and with an almighty explosion, destroyed half the upper storey of the Dursleys' house. A distraught Petunia Dursley stuck her hairnet-covered head out of a glassless window, before screeching and running away. The assault continued mercilessly and Vernon Dursley's car was seen hurtling through the air to land with a deafening thud in the driveway of number five. Minutes later, the chimney came toppling down.

The neighbours either cowered under furniture or watched horrified at the scene unfolding before their eyes. Suddenly, two streets away, amidst a deluge of indecipherable yells, poor old Mrs. Figg was seen to come running out of her house, followed by around two dozen people dressed similarly to the attackers. They raced toward number four Privet Drive, engaging the attackers in close exchanges of fire. The muggles watched in horror as attackers from both sides fell, apparently dead, in the violent battle.

***

Harry's eyes blinked in the sudden and unexpected blaze of green light that filled the kitchen, not noticing as Ron's letter fell out of his hand and onto the tiled floor. His mind subconsciously associated the phenomenon with Voldemort. Avada Kedavra. Terrified, Harry stood rooted to the spot in the kitchen doorway, too stunned to think or act. Further bursts of light, in red and green, ripped through the room, but Harry didn't notice. The screams and explosions melted into the background as they were blotted out by his disbelieving brain. Afterall, this was only supposed to happen at Hogwarts. Slowly and reluctantly, Harry emerged from his stunned state to approach the kitchen window and peer out. Beyond the garden wall were at least two dozen Death Eaters, and they appeared to be directing curses at the house, however the deadly flashes were being deflected by some kind of invisible shield. Must be the protections Dumbledore mentioned.As the volume of sound increased in his ears he began to realize the enormity of the situation..Owl Dumbledore quick. Harry raced upstairs, and grabbed his quill and parchment. He hastily scribbled a note,

Prof. Dumbledore,

Death Eaters attacking the house,

Harry.

As Hedwig flew off with the note, Harry quickly told Pigwidgeon to go back to the Burrow. Miraculously the little owl understood and fluttered out after Hedwig. Now what? Better check on the Dursleys. Harry raced to his uncle's room, almost tripping on his too large jeans, only to have his calls drowned by a deafening crash. Almost instantly, Harry was engulfed in a torrent of dust, splinters and shards of glass. He ducked quickly and protected his eyes from the shower, waiting a moment before looking in astonishment at his room. It was gone. Harry stared in shock at the devastation and coughed as he inhaled a cloud of dust and plaster. Nothing remained but the floor and debris from the explosion. Looking down onto the street, Harry could just barely distinguish the dark figures outside continuing their assault on the house. Harry stared incredulously. Isn't anyone going to help? Where's Sirius?A slightly muffled but terrified shriek from Aunt Petunia told him that the Dursleys were awake, not surprisingly, so Harry dashed downstairs.

Harry could feel himself starting to panic. He could see the Death Eaters from the kitchen window and knew that they would be coming into the garden at any minute, as the shield was visibly weakening. A well-aimed blue flash lifted Uncle Vernon's car of the driveway and sent it hurtling nextdoor. I have to do something. Instinct made him reach for his wand, until he realised it was locked away in the cupboard under the stairs with all his other wizard belongings. Presently, Uncle Vernon came running into the kitchen, followed by Petunia and Dudley, looking completely shocked. Uncle Vernon pointed a long, shaking finger at Harry, screamed, "You! This is your doing! Out of my house, NOW!!!" while Petunia dragged Dudley under the kitchen table for shelter. "But.." Harry's response was muted by a deafening explosion upstairs, and the racket of a torrent of plaster pouring out of the living room fireplace. "Keys to the, the cupboard", Harry pleaded weakly with his uncle, but it was no use. Vernon had joined his whimpering family under the table and Harry knew that he wouldn't get an answer.

As Harry ran to the hall, he could hear screams from outside. He hoped desperately that the ministry had reacted quickly and sent wizards to protect the house. Right now, however, Harry needed his wand. He didn't know what he would do with it or whether he would go out and fight. He just knew he would feel better with it in his hand, so he proceded to kick the cupboard door frantically. He desperately kicked until his leg ached in pain and then threw his entire rather meagre body weight on the door, but it was no use. Finally, as his rage surged up inside him, he screamed at the offending object, only to suddenly find his wand in his hand. For a moment, Harry glared at it dumbstruck, but was interrupted by the front door bursting inwards and Lucius Malfoy stepping triumphantly into the hallway, a proud superior sneer on his face.

"I'll be relieving you of that, Potter. Expelliarmis!"

Harry's wand flew through the air and straight into Malfoy's hand, who smiled.

"I have a gift for you boy, from my lord-"

As Harry saw Malfoy raise his wand, he knew he had to hide. Harry made a dash for the door into the kitchen, as the curse missed him by inches and blew a hole in the wall. There was nowhere to hide. Harry put the kitchen table, and the Dursleys, between himself and Malfoy, and looked around frantically.

"There's nowhere to hide this time, boy. Now accept your gift and be grateful. My lord created it just for you- Crucio solo infinitum!"

In the instant before the curse hit him, Harry's only thoughts were that this couldn't be the end. Not like this. He heard Malfoy curse him as though it was happening to someone else. Then a pain unlike anything he had ever experienced ripped through Harry's skull, a terrible excruciating agony. Harry could hear a strange voice screaming, and realized through a haze of confusion, that it was his own. He vaguely welcomed the darkness, when it finally engulfed him.

***

Lucius Malfoy watched anxiously as the Potter boy collapsed to the floor in pain. Cautiously, he bent down to examine the now still body. After a moment he pocketed his wand, satisfied that he had performed his master's work correctly. As he got up from the floor, a small piece of paper caught his eye…

A/N: Sorry this was so short. I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but don't worry, the next few are much better and more introspective.Trust me, the attack on Privet Drive is merely a means to a glorious (I hope!) end. So, is Harry dead? Will Lupin and the others arrive on time to save the Dursleys? And how will Sirius react?

The next chapter is already finished, and I'll post it some time over the weekend (I'm very pleased with chapter three and I think you'll like it too).

Thanks to all who reviewed J, namely (at the time I wrote this) Rufus (I know, yet another fifth year fic…Sorry, I couldn't help it. By the way, I love "And When the Dawn Begins"), Anya (The Weasley thing will be explained soon), Firecross (I agree totally about Harry's feelings about Cedric and will probably be returning to this in a later chapter. As for the title, all will be explained around chapter 5 and 6, but it's not what you think!), Steffi Silberstreif, Harry's Mum Lily, Harry's crush, ~~R~~, person, OrcaPotter, *~*Ginny*~* (thank you for the ultimate compliment!), muggle genius (Congratulations! You were closer than anyone else to guessing what would happen!), Giesbrecht, Amanda Mancini (Hope this lives up to your expectations), Lavender, Mwalimu (Glad you liked it, and yes, I like to assume that anyone reading this story has read all the books, so I don't need to go back and explain everything) and Twilight and Silence (Hooray! You were the first to review). I really appreciate your taking the time to review as it gives me ideas for future chapters.

Pleiades