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
