Still, nothing belongs to me except the stuff that does.
Chapter 5: Danger in Diagon Alley
It was three days before the start of school when Ron and Harry met Hermione in Diagon Alley to go shopping for supplies. They traveled there by floo powder, so no one needed to come with them.
"Well, where should we go first?" asked Hermione as they walked up the street.
"Oh, I don't know," said Ron sarcastically. "We could go to the book store, or the book store, or of course there's always the bookstore." Hermione hit him and Harry laughed.
Suddenly they heard a loud, high pitched scream. People began frantically running in every direction shouting and screaming.
"What's going on," asked Harry. He soon realized that he could answer his own question. A group of Death Eaters were standing in the center of the crowded street. A man who was dressed in ministry robes was obviously under the cruccious curse. He had fallen to the ground and was rolling around moaning as the Death Eaters laughed.
"Maybe we should get out of here," suggested Hermione, eyeing Harry's scar.
"No," said Harry. "I want to see what happens." Ron nodded. Others were standing around watching as well, but keeping a safe distance between them and the mob of Death Eaters. A few seconds later, a group of ministry members came rushing into the street.
"Hey, that's my dad!" exclaimed Ron, pointing to on of the ministry members. "Stupefy!" the ministry began shouting to stun the Death Eaters, but they didn't get to one soon enough. A man standing near the inner part of the circle pointed his wand at the man with the cruccious curse and shouted "avada kedavra!"
"Oh my gosh!" Hermione was one of the many people to shriek in horror. "They killed him!" People began running into shops and hiding to get out of sight. Harry, Ron, and Hermione ducked behind a bush so they could still see what was going on. One of the Ministry members managed to stupefy the man who'd performed the killing curse.
"The auror is coming!" he shouted so that the people in the street and the stores would hear. "It is safe to resume with your activities." The silence was broken with the sounds of people talking about what had happened. Apparently, Harry found out, similar things had been happening a lot lately.
"Who do you think that man was?" asked Hermione.
"I don't know," said Ron. "But I'll bet my dad knew him. He was wearing ministry robes."
"This is so violent," said Hermione. "They just kill people for no reason at all. Just because they're not supportive of You Know Who. It's not right." Ron gave her a look that clearly said "duh."
"So what will happen to the Death Eaters that were caught?" asked Harry.
"Azkaban," said Ron.
"Even if they didn't do anything?" asked Harry.
"Yeah," said Ron. "The ministry declared a few weeks ago that just being a Death Eater is considered a crime worth a sentence in Azkaban. They decided it's the safest thing they can do. It'll make people afraid to join, and afraid to show themselves in public as Death Eaters. At least that's what dad said."
"It doesn't seem fair," said Hermione. "What about people like Snape who were Death Eaters, but decided not to be?"
"I don't know, really," said Ron. "From what I understand for now they're arresting everyone they can, and then later if Voldemort loses power again certain people might be released."
"I think it's a good idea," said Harry. "They have to do something drastic if they want to stop them."
"I guess so," agreed Hermione. "You would know, Harry. You've actually experienced being tortured by them."
"Don't remind me!" exclaimed Harry.
"Harry's seen worse than the Death Eaters," said Ron. "He's battled Voldemort." It was true. Harry hated the thought of it.
"I wouldn't exactly call it battling," he said. "More like being terrified and running for my life. Now can we please talk about something else?" They realized they were still standing in the street from when the attack had been. They headed into a shop. Ron and Harry noticed that the entire day Hermione seemed frightened. She'd always stick close to their side and never go into an empty shop. Harry didn't really mind it though. It had been a disturbing sight. Especially, he guessed, for people who had never seen someone die or been attacked by Voldemort and lived. Apparently he was the only one who'd ever lived through that situation. It wasn't exactly something to brag about though.
They had finished shopping and were almost ready to head back to the burrow when they heard a voice call out from behind them.
"Potter!" They recognized the voice. It was Draco Malfoy. Harry groaned.
"Answer me when I talk to you, Potter!" Draco shouted again. They turned around.
"What do you want, Draco?" asked Harry. "Did daddy get arrested for attacking people?" He'd found out that Draco's father was a death eater.
"My dad?" laughed Draco. "He's not stupid enough to get caught. Great attack today though, huh?"
"You are a freak! How can you allow things like that? You're killing innocent people!" Hermione shouted.
"Innocent?" said Draco. "What does it matter if they're innocent? They're on the wrong side."
"You're on the wrong side, Malfoy!" shouted Ron.
"I'd be careful if I were you Weasley," said Draco. "You too, Potter. Mudbloods and mudblood lovers don't stand much of a chance. You never know, any day could be your last. Just a nice, friendly warning for you. Have a nice day." Draco made a fake evil smile and walked away, snickering. Ron was all ready to go running after him, but from past experience, Harry and Hermione were already holding him back.
"Don't let him get to you, Ron," said Harry. Hermione looked to be in tears.
"Do you think he's serious about them wanting to kill mud—uh people with muggle parents?" she asked nervously.
"I think Malfoy's exaggerating," said Harry, trying to comfort her, but he knew that they really did go after people who had muggle parents more than pure blood wizards.
"Why don't we go back to my house now," suggested Ron.
"Yeah, let's go," said Harry. Suddenly, they heard screaming again. They looked around again. Someone had put the Dark Mark into the sky. People were shrieking in terror and hiding.
"Let's go!" Ron shouted. "Just go!"
