Thanks to all who reviewed.
Come on people, what do those numbers mean?
Guesses so far from reviewers.
MythX: No sorry hon, nothin' that simple! Heather: Hmm very good idea, but no it's not that. Keladry: No the numbers are not coordinates to find Atlantis. And no sorry, they're not direction to the other skulls. Angelis: Nope sorry, try again.
Chapter 19
"Mayhem, absolute mayhem," Miranda growled as she entered the room, Harry tried hard not to snicker. The press had been all over his godmother as soon as the news about her being chosen as one of the Eight by the skull had been released. "I am going to FRY the next person to ask for my autograph." Severus went into a coughing fit, Albus was chuckling away, Miranda glared furiously at him, suddenly Albus's hair turned orange, then blue, then white again, Miranda blinked then grinned sheepishly. The rest of the group went into fits of laughter.
"I hope you were more polite to your reporter shadows." Albus commented smoothly as if nothing had happened, Harry could have sworn Miranda GROWLED before she went to sit down in one of the overstuffed armchairs. While it would have been highly entertaining to listen to Miranda rant for a while, or possibly burn Albus's hair off, there was a reason the Gold, Purple, and Red patrols had gathered that day. Sirius soon appeared at the door, looking harassed.
"Rashena, Feldar, Jaylem, Nilna, would you please go and make sure those goddamned reporters are leaving? I set a few of the War Unicorns and Dire Wolves on them so they'd leave." Sirius said, the four guards departed, looking amused.
"Resorting to violence Sirius? Setting, quote, "dangerously violent and out of control magical creatures," end quote, on them?" Harry asked teasingly, referring to an article in the Prophet about the Order animals two days before. As Sirius whirled to glare at him he went on quickly. "I'm surprised it took you so long, I sent a few Fire Lions out to take care of any new ones who tried to enter and join that mob a half hour ago myself. Umm you didn't send Flame after them as well did you?"
"Yes, why?"
"He's in a rather bad mood.threatened to tear the ears off every reporter who dared call him a cur." Harry said, starting to get a little worried. Sirius sat down and closed his eyes for a moment, and then he opened them again and grinned at Harry.
"It's okay, nothing too drastic has happened, yet." Harry nodded, relieved, and then stopped, wondering just what Sirius's present opinion of drastic was.
"The latest report from several sources is that Voldemort has been much to quiet lately and is finally attacking again. He's marching into Japan with all his forces, and into North and South Korea." Sarlan said to start off the meeting.
"Damn, the muggles will notice that.terrorist or wizards?" Miranda swore.
"Terrorists, he won't use his own unless he has too, 900,000 muggle terrorists is our best guess." Sarlan supplied, the dirty blonde haired man's black and dark green eyes were glittering angrily but the weariness lurking behind them was pronounced. Sarlan had been working himself and his spies hard, Voldemort hadn't attacked in two weeks, and no one knew what was coming next.
"The latest census puts it at nearly three million dead." Miranda said softly, tears of fury in the corners of her eyes. Sirius slumped, burying his face in his hands. And Albus sighed and closed his eyes. Harry bit his lip, furious and pained.
"Sirius, we cannot stop the muggle terrorists enough to do any real good. We need to focus on the death eaters, Satan, and Voldemort. Let the muggles work on the terrorists, we'll send in supplies to help, and take on the death eaters, the ones the muggles can't fight. Let's send out word that we're looking for people not to fight, but to heal, and transport supplies, organize refugee centers, there's nearly six million homeless because of this war, we ought to help them." Harry suggested in the pause that followed Miranda's announcement.
"Excellent idea Harry, I'll have Gregory, our reporter, set up an add tomorrow in the prophet, and we've got a few injured Agents who can't fight but they can start an office for support." Sirius said, looking up immediately, a smile on his face, he looked off into space for a few moments as he contacted the reporter agent. Harry noted that Sirius looked older than he was, and strained, the responsibilities of being Phoenix and the constant stress was getting to his godfather. Thank goodness he had Miranda to take on some of the responsibility.
At that moment the door flew open, literally, and an Order Agent of the Gold patrol rushed in, sweaty, with blood seeping slowly from a head wound.
"Lord Phoenix!" he gasped out, nearly collapsing, they had all leaped to their feet when he entered and now Harry moved over to steady him as he staggered, panting.
"Andrew, what is it? What's happened?" Sirius asked.
"V-Voldemort, destroying Beijing and close w-wizarding towns. Estimated n- nine thousand d-dead in the l-last half h-hour!" He gasped, gasping for air and coughing hard. "Fire's everywhere," cough, cough "dementors and mesmerd, death eaters leading them." He said quickly before starting to cough again. Sirius turned and closed his eyes to contact the Order but Andrew straightened quickly. "NO!" Sirius turned to stare at him. "Voldemort.he's found a way to destroy the connection.doesn't work." Andrew slumped into the nearest chair, wracked with horrible coughs and shaking.
"Damn, Miranda you're telepathy will still work, call everyone in the base to the center square. Harry.can you still give others control over the elements?" Sirius asked thinking quickly. Harry looked down at his palm, unsure.
"I don't know, but I'll try."
"Good, Albus send the phoenixes to the patrols in North and South Korea, that's the diversion, and the one in Russia and one of the two in Canada. Get them back here as fast as possible." Albus nodded and hurried form the room, phoenixes could fly much faster than owls, owls could also be intercepted, and floo system could be tapped, and apparition wards were in the oddest places, so none of those were usable.
The Order assembled quickly, Harry having set up alarms to sound throughout the Fortress three days before, which were proving to be very useful.
"Okay, Harry, would you try to give Remus the ability to command fire?" Sirius asked, Harry went over to Remus and placed his palm on the other's forehead, and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, clearing his mind and searching deep for the power. But though he found it, try as he might he couldn't force it out.
"No, it isn't responding anymore." He said finally, he stepped back and shrugged. "It only comes when I have to aid one of the Eight I guess. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it, Green Patrol? Red? Silver? We're leaving in five! Purple, Yellow, head out!" Sirius shouted out. People hurried everywhere.
Beijing, why Beijing? What about Korea? Harry looked around, then realized he was reading minds and concentrated, bringing his mental shields back up, stronger.
"You all right Harry?" Miranda asked, she seemed to be the only calm one.
"Yes, yes, fine - "
"You'll go in with the Blue Patrol in ten, you'd best get ready." Harry nodded and hurried into one of the storerooms.
The Patrol leaders met with the Phoenix and the Council briefly before leaving. Harry spread a map of the city on the table.
"The death eaters have been in there for nearly ten minutes, enough time for them to spread throughout the city. We'll started from the city's edge and move in. When we've driven them all into a concentrated mass near the center we'll portkey into the city's center and cast an advanced stunning spell. (Which could blast through almost any shield and knocked someone out until they were awoken with the enervate spell) With two hundred or so agents it should clear the city of death eaters and stunt he muggles so their memories can be modified. The Ministry's have been contacted; we can expect seven hundred Ministry wizards form all over the world within a half hour. They've got a plan for memory modification; we'll help them do most of it but we'll leave it to them to hutn out every last muggle." He explained, marking stations for refugee centers, prisoner-holding stations, where apparition wards should be set up, and where the Order of the Phoenix agents would start.
**
Screams and thick smoke filled the air high building rose around, most burning steadily. A few lay, in bits and pieces, everywhere on the ground. Debris chunks the size of houses, the top of some skyscraper. Harry flew overhead on broomstick, invisible. Spotting a pack of dementors he dove, two Broom Brigadiers following him down.
"Rahimvar! Stupefy! Aristan!" Crack! Two death eaters went flying twenty feet through the air, spinning wildly. "Expeliarmus!" the stunned death eater's wand flew to his hand. Harry went up and into a loop, coming down ropes leaped form his wand, wrapping themselves around two death eaters. A raise of his hand brought their wands to him.
Harry spun and dove, lighting crackled, death eaters screamed. A sudden coldness in Harry's mind warned him of approaching dementors, a large crowd of them.
"Take care of those people! I'll get rid of the dementors!" Harry called, the other two signaled to show they had heard and dove to the twenty or so people the death eaters had trapped. Harry soared up higher, a spell shot past him. He twisted and rolled, falling from his broom, landing on it again twenty feet lower. A quick blasting spell set the death eater blasting straight through a brick wall.
Harry sighted the dementors, nearly fifty of them, just ahead crossing a street, which was filled with fainting muggles in cars and on the sidewalks.
"Expecto Patronum Magnus!" Thunder boomed and a huge, semi-transparent, silvery Royal Aaron leaped from Harry's hands. The gigantic creatures roared and attacked the dementors. Harry dove, landing lightly on the sidewalk.
"Accio!" Nearly a hundred muggles came flying towards him and landed about him, all unconscious from the effects of the dementors. A squadron of Broom Brigade fighters flew down and began to apparate them to the refugee station on the city outskirts. Harry left, levitating another hundred or so muggles as he did and flying off, taking them to the second refugee station.
Craaack! With a great snapping and crackling one of the tall buildings swayed dangerously. A blast of red light at its base, with a groaning sound it collapsed, leaning towards Harry and the muggles, steel beams splintered and sprung out of place. Harry concentrated, he'd never taken this many muggles by teleportation before, but there was no way out. With a slash of light followed by a deafening boom and rumbling they all vanished.
Harry left again; having gotten the muggles safely to the refugee station he now reentered the city on foot with the silver patrol.
"Fan formation!" Agents sprang into a fan formation, Harry taking the far left. The smaller building in front of them blew up as death eaters fired dark spells into it. The agents and Harry were forced to put up shield charms to avoid flying rubble. Then they ran ahead, Miranda leading the patrol and blasting rubble out of their way. The death eaters fled. The agents split into pairs, each pair picking out a death eater to track down. They would keep up the chase until they captured, killed, or lost the death eater. It was a tactical fighting arrangement that Harry had implemented in the Order, and it worked like a charm.
Harry went off on his own, following the sense in his mind that was the darkness of the death eaters. He ignored most of them, picking out Inner Circle members to chase.
Harry raced down the street, dodging in between parked cars, and into the building.
"Avada Kedavra!" The killing curse leaped form a wand to his left. He dropped and rolled under it, and continued rolling down the hallway. Coming to his feet at the corner he pressed his back against the wall. Tapping the wall with his wand and using a silent spell he made it transparent. The death eater was on the other side.
"Kundinbaq!" With a huge whoooom! The wall dissolved away under the contorting spell.
"Grakizan! Stupefy!" The death eater shouted as he leaped out of hiding and attacked. Harry dodged both skillfully.
"Sethral! Aritumos!" Harry dodged the first and sent the other right back at the caster, who was so shocked at Harry's being able to turn the dark curse back upon him that he almost didn't dodge in time.
"Stupefy!" This time he didn't doge in time and fell to the floor with a thump. Harry pulled a portkey from his pocket and placed it on the death eater's chest along with his wand, he tapped the portkey twice with his own wand and the death eater vanished.
Harry whirled and ducked into the shadows and ran down an alley, a blinding light flared, he leaped out of the way, turning two flips down the alley and landing, crouched, wand outstretched, ready to fight.
"Crucio!" A voice rang out, Harry leaped forward and ducked the curse, lighting crackled form his palm. The death eater screamed as his wand blew up. He drew and knife and leaped shouting at Harry. Harry whirled and struck out, his foot hitting the man's leg out form under him as he landed, his left hand grabbing the others' knife hand and holding the knife away form them. He punched him hard with his right fist, the blow sent the man staggering into the wall, as he staggered Harry dug his fingers into his wrist, the knife fell, Harry kicked it away and launched himself at the death eater. The first punch went to his stomach, Harry leaned back and then kicked him in the head, sending him spinning and falling to the floor.
Harry had to give the death eater credit for his endurance, the wizard shakily straightened and charged. Harry leaped to meet him and dealt him a blow to the jaw, kneed him in the gut, and punched the side of his head, followed by another blow to the left eye and a kick to the chest, the snap of breaking bone was audible as the death eater staggered and sagged to the ground.
Harry sent him back to the group collecting prisoners, then explosions from a large intersection were heard and he took off at a run.
The crowd of death eaters, about a dozen of them, was battling furiously with Order Agents. As Harry sprinted form his alley he slipped into the shadows to watch fro a moment. Four other agents appeared from a building to his left, Harry ran over to them. The five ran around behind the death eaters and attacked.
Harry raised one hand concentrated on the street underneath the death eaters. With a grounding and rumbling sound the pavement curled up in front of them, loose chunks of earth lifted and flung themselves at the death eaters. Harry made a quick gesture, a parked car lifted into the air and was flung at the death eaters, who dodged frantically to get out of the way, tow of them being crushed under it.
Spells leaping form their wands the five attacked, the other four spread out in twos to the sides, Harry attacked straight on. Trading spells with the death eaters, his powerful shield charms keeping him and the few muggles about safe. Two more agents came running to joint he fight, Harry took a brief respite to plan an attack. Harry looked up and flicked his wand at the brick building beside them, the roof caved in, nearly a ton of bricks and shale from the roof fell into the street, following Harry's wand movements flying at the death eaters, the shale pieces spinning wildly like Frisbees.
Harry signaled frantically to the other agents to move back, they fled, alerting the others as they went. Harry made a furious movement with his wand, concentrating hard on the spell. The rubble about the death eaters exploded, screams of pain rang out as shale and brick slivers embedded themselves in the death eaters, order agents created a barrier about the scene, allowing no one to escape. Harry shot a powerful stunning spell at the staggering death eaters and the others attacked with him, in moments all of the death eaters were down.
The death eaters had been drive to the city's center, now the Order Agents teleported, or port keyed into the city's center where they had planned to meet. Two hundred and seventy of the most dedicated and powerful wizards and witches on the planet gathered in the mass. The Agents all stood around a circle drawn on the ground in white chalk, about twenty-five feet in diameter. Harry moved to the center and tossed a tennis ball sized orb of light into the middle. It hovered, four feet above the ground, a target to aim their spells at. Sirius spoke moved into the circle as Harry left.
"On the count of three everyone cast the advanced stunning spell, Stupefy Vastak, at the orb, then apparate out as quickly as you possibly can, apparate to your patrol's station on the city rim and set up barrier and shield spells. Spread out so that you don't miss any part. Keep those shields up until the spells have dissipated. One, Two, Three!"
"STUPEFY VASTAK!" Two hundred and seventy voices yelled. The red spells blasted form wand points and hit the orb, all the order Agents apparated out as the spells all rebounded off each other in every direction, some even went straight up into the air.
The blast of red light rippled outward at an amazing speed, but when it reached the city limits it hit the barrier set up by the Order and Ministry wizards, and rebounded off, sweeping into the city and ricocheting off each other. They were unavoidable and every person in the city was hit in just a few moments.
It was six hours before anyone else where it he world got word of what had happened to Beijing. It was not destroyed; merely the victim of one of the largest terrorist attacks yet. B dropped on the city by terrorists' planes, and others set up before hand and triggered to go off at the same time were blamed. Damage costs exceeded 30 billion, which was a lot less than it would have been had not the wizards and witches of the Ministries and Order of the Phoenix repaired and modified much of the damage.
**
Harry returned to Hogwarts two days after leaving, completely exhausted. Even though the muggles had had their memories modified inquisitive investigators needed to be taken care of, and he had spent hours helping to heal the injured. The Order had lost nearly a score of agents in the Battle for Beijing, as it was already being called. He hurried down the corridor to his rooms, hoping no one noticed him.
"Harry! Harry!" Someone called, Harry turned, Ira came sprinting around the corner at a dead run, nearly colliding with him. Hermione and Draco followed a few seconds later.
"What is it?" Harry asked, curious as to why Ira was grinning like a maniac.
"We - figured - it out!" She gasped.
"Figured what out?"
"That prophecy and numbers, come on." Hermione said, Harry, confused, followed them into his rooms and sat down on the bed. Ira shoved a piece of paper under his nose and Harry took it.
The young must grow old, Whilst the old grow older, And cowards will shrink, As the bold grow bolder. Courage may blossom in quiet hearts, For who can tell where bravery starts?
Truth is a song, oft lying unsung, Some mother bird, protecting her young, Those who lay down their lives for friends, The echo rolls onward, it seldom ends.
Who is that one, loyal and brave? Who never turned and ran, but stayed? This is a warrior born not made! The warrior is one of wisdom Living in peace, aye many a season, Calm in life, sound in reason.
Peace shall lie over land and sea, Until the great evil arrives, With a wicked horde, Driving a warrior to pick up his sword, The challenger rings then, straight and fair, Justice is with us, beware. Beware!
1.4.6 1.2.20 1.2.3 4.6.1 1.2.3 1.3.19 1.1.8
2.2.11 2.1.8 4.4.1 1.1.3 3.1.11
"Look at the numbers! They match up with the letter perfectly!" Hermione said excitedly. Harry blinked, to tired to understand what she was so excited about, and then he looked lower on the page.
1.4.6
Verse 1 Line 4 Letter 6
B
He paused, his tired brain having trouble switching from healing mode onto whatever was going on.
"Ira you explain." Draco said, Ira launched into an explanation.
"The numbers are like coordinates. The first number is the verse, the second is the line, and the third is the letter. Each series of numbers lets you find one letter. The series of numbers go in groups; that's how you know what the word is. The first set of numbers, 1.4.6 1.2.20 1.2.3 4.6.1 1.2.3 1.3.19 1.1.8 Give you the word Beijing!" She said excitedly, Harry paused, looking it over, then it clicked.
"The prophecy is meaningless, what matters are the numbers! Listen Harry Beijing was just attacked. Don't you think that it's a little odd that the city this prophecy.riddle really, names Beijing, then Beijing gets attacked? This prophecy is telling us where the death eaters will attack next!" She said breathlessly. "I've already done the next series of numbers, 2.2.11 2.1.8 4.4.1 1.1.3 3.1.11
It comes out to be Baden, wherever that is."
"You guys are geniuses! Bloody brilliant!" Harry said, leaping up and hugging her, "this is great we'll know exactly where they're going to attack. Baden is in Austria isn't it?"
Long chapter, sorry about Ira's taking Hermione's place as the group genius a bit. Please review!
Come on people, what do those numbers mean?
Guesses so far from reviewers.
MythX: No sorry hon, nothin' that simple! Heather: Hmm very good idea, but no it's not that. Keladry: No the numbers are not coordinates to find Atlantis. And no sorry, they're not direction to the other skulls. Angelis: Nope sorry, try again.
Chapter 19
"Mayhem, absolute mayhem," Miranda growled as she entered the room, Harry tried hard not to snicker. The press had been all over his godmother as soon as the news about her being chosen as one of the Eight by the skull had been released. "I am going to FRY the next person to ask for my autograph." Severus went into a coughing fit, Albus was chuckling away, Miranda glared furiously at him, suddenly Albus's hair turned orange, then blue, then white again, Miranda blinked then grinned sheepishly. The rest of the group went into fits of laughter.
"I hope you were more polite to your reporter shadows." Albus commented smoothly as if nothing had happened, Harry could have sworn Miranda GROWLED before she went to sit down in one of the overstuffed armchairs. While it would have been highly entertaining to listen to Miranda rant for a while, or possibly burn Albus's hair off, there was a reason the Gold, Purple, and Red patrols had gathered that day. Sirius soon appeared at the door, looking harassed.
"Rashena, Feldar, Jaylem, Nilna, would you please go and make sure those goddamned reporters are leaving? I set a few of the War Unicorns and Dire Wolves on them so they'd leave." Sirius said, the four guards departed, looking amused.
"Resorting to violence Sirius? Setting, quote, "dangerously violent and out of control magical creatures," end quote, on them?" Harry asked teasingly, referring to an article in the Prophet about the Order animals two days before. As Sirius whirled to glare at him he went on quickly. "I'm surprised it took you so long, I sent a few Fire Lions out to take care of any new ones who tried to enter and join that mob a half hour ago myself. Umm you didn't send Flame after them as well did you?"
"Yes, why?"
"He's in a rather bad mood.threatened to tear the ears off every reporter who dared call him a cur." Harry said, starting to get a little worried. Sirius sat down and closed his eyes for a moment, and then he opened them again and grinned at Harry.
"It's okay, nothing too drastic has happened, yet." Harry nodded, relieved, and then stopped, wondering just what Sirius's present opinion of drastic was.
"The latest report from several sources is that Voldemort has been much to quiet lately and is finally attacking again. He's marching into Japan with all his forces, and into North and South Korea." Sarlan said to start off the meeting.
"Damn, the muggles will notice that.terrorist or wizards?" Miranda swore.
"Terrorists, he won't use his own unless he has too, 900,000 muggle terrorists is our best guess." Sarlan supplied, the dirty blonde haired man's black and dark green eyes were glittering angrily but the weariness lurking behind them was pronounced. Sarlan had been working himself and his spies hard, Voldemort hadn't attacked in two weeks, and no one knew what was coming next.
"The latest census puts it at nearly three million dead." Miranda said softly, tears of fury in the corners of her eyes. Sirius slumped, burying his face in his hands. And Albus sighed and closed his eyes. Harry bit his lip, furious and pained.
"Sirius, we cannot stop the muggle terrorists enough to do any real good. We need to focus on the death eaters, Satan, and Voldemort. Let the muggles work on the terrorists, we'll send in supplies to help, and take on the death eaters, the ones the muggles can't fight. Let's send out word that we're looking for people not to fight, but to heal, and transport supplies, organize refugee centers, there's nearly six million homeless because of this war, we ought to help them." Harry suggested in the pause that followed Miranda's announcement.
"Excellent idea Harry, I'll have Gregory, our reporter, set up an add tomorrow in the prophet, and we've got a few injured Agents who can't fight but they can start an office for support." Sirius said, looking up immediately, a smile on his face, he looked off into space for a few moments as he contacted the reporter agent. Harry noted that Sirius looked older than he was, and strained, the responsibilities of being Phoenix and the constant stress was getting to his godfather. Thank goodness he had Miranda to take on some of the responsibility.
At that moment the door flew open, literally, and an Order Agent of the Gold patrol rushed in, sweaty, with blood seeping slowly from a head wound.
"Lord Phoenix!" he gasped out, nearly collapsing, they had all leaped to their feet when he entered and now Harry moved over to steady him as he staggered, panting.
"Andrew, what is it? What's happened?" Sirius asked.
"V-Voldemort, destroying Beijing and close w-wizarding towns. Estimated n- nine thousand d-dead in the l-last half h-hour!" He gasped, gasping for air and coughing hard. "Fire's everywhere," cough, cough "dementors and mesmerd, death eaters leading them." He said quickly before starting to cough again. Sirius turned and closed his eyes to contact the Order but Andrew straightened quickly. "NO!" Sirius turned to stare at him. "Voldemort.he's found a way to destroy the connection.doesn't work." Andrew slumped into the nearest chair, wracked with horrible coughs and shaking.
"Damn, Miranda you're telepathy will still work, call everyone in the base to the center square. Harry.can you still give others control over the elements?" Sirius asked thinking quickly. Harry looked down at his palm, unsure.
"I don't know, but I'll try."
"Good, Albus send the phoenixes to the patrols in North and South Korea, that's the diversion, and the one in Russia and one of the two in Canada. Get them back here as fast as possible." Albus nodded and hurried form the room, phoenixes could fly much faster than owls, owls could also be intercepted, and floo system could be tapped, and apparition wards were in the oddest places, so none of those were usable.
The Order assembled quickly, Harry having set up alarms to sound throughout the Fortress three days before, which were proving to be very useful.
"Okay, Harry, would you try to give Remus the ability to command fire?" Sirius asked, Harry went over to Remus and placed his palm on the other's forehead, and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, clearing his mind and searching deep for the power. But though he found it, try as he might he couldn't force it out.
"No, it isn't responding anymore." He said finally, he stepped back and shrugged. "It only comes when I have to aid one of the Eight I guess. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it, Green Patrol? Red? Silver? We're leaving in five! Purple, Yellow, head out!" Sirius shouted out. People hurried everywhere.
Beijing, why Beijing? What about Korea? Harry looked around, then realized he was reading minds and concentrated, bringing his mental shields back up, stronger.
"You all right Harry?" Miranda asked, she seemed to be the only calm one.
"Yes, yes, fine - "
"You'll go in with the Blue Patrol in ten, you'd best get ready." Harry nodded and hurried into one of the storerooms.
The Patrol leaders met with the Phoenix and the Council briefly before leaving. Harry spread a map of the city on the table.
"The death eaters have been in there for nearly ten minutes, enough time for them to spread throughout the city. We'll started from the city's edge and move in. When we've driven them all into a concentrated mass near the center we'll portkey into the city's center and cast an advanced stunning spell. (Which could blast through almost any shield and knocked someone out until they were awoken with the enervate spell) With two hundred or so agents it should clear the city of death eaters and stunt he muggles so their memories can be modified. The Ministry's have been contacted; we can expect seven hundred Ministry wizards form all over the world within a half hour. They've got a plan for memory modification; we'll help them do most of it but we'll leave it to them to hutn out every last muggle." He explained, marking stations for refugee centers, prisoner-holding stations, where apparition wards should be set up, and where the Order of the Phoenix agents would start.
**
Screams and thick smoke filled the air high building rose around, most burning steadily. A few lay, in bits and pieces, everywhere on the ground. Debris chunks the size of houses, the top of some skyscraper. Harry flew overhead on broomstick, invisible. Spotting a pack of dementors he dove, two Broom Brigadiers following him down.
"Rahimvar! Stupefy! Aristan!" Crack! Two death eaters went flying twenty feet through the air, spinning wildly. "Expeliarmus!" the stunned death eater's wand flew to his hand. Harry went up and into a loop, coming down ropes leaped form his wand, wrapping themselves around two death eaters. A raise of his hand brought their wands to him.
Harry spun and dove, lighting crackled, death eaters screamed. A sudden coldness in Harry's mind warned him of approaching dementors, a large crowd of them.
"Take care of those people! I'll get rid of the dementors!" Harry called, the other two signaled to show they had heard and dove to the twenty or so people the death eaters had trapped. Harry soared up higher, a spell shot past him. He twisted and rolled, falling from his broom, landing on it again twenty feet lower. A quick blasting spell set the death eater blasting straight through a brick wall.
Harry sighted the dementors, nearly fifty of them, just ahead crossing a street, which was filled with fainting muggles in cars and on the sidewalks.
"Expecto Patronum Magnus!" Thunder boomed and a huge, semi-transparent, silvery Royal Aaron leaped from Harry's hands. The gigantic creatures roared and attacked the dementors. Harry dove, landing lightly on the sidewalk.
"Accio!" Nearly a hundred muggles came flying towards him and landed about him, all unconscious from the effects of the dementors. A squadron of Broom Brigade fighters flew down and began to apparate them to the refugee station on the city outskirts. Harry left, levitating another hundred or so muggles as he did and flying off, taking them to the second refugee station.
Craaack! With a great snapping and crackling one of the tall buildings swayed dangerously. A blast of red light at its base, with a groaning sound it collapsed, leaning towards Harry and the muggles, steel beams splintered and sprung out of place. Harry concentrated, he'd never taken this many muggles by teleportation before, but there was no way out. With a slash of light followed by a deafening boom and rumbling they all vanished.
Harry left again; having gotten the muggles safely to the refugee station he now reentered the city on foot with the silver patrol.
"Fan formation!" Agents sprang into a fan formation, Harry taking the far left. The smaller building in front of them blew up as death eaters fired dark spells into it. The agents and Harry were forced to put up shield charms to avoid flying rubble. Then they ran ahead, Miranda leading the patrol and blasting rubble out of their way. The death eaters fled. The agents split into pairs, each pair picking out a death eater to track down. They would keep up the chase until they captured, killed, or lost the death eater. It was a tactical fighting arrangement that Harry had implemented in the Order, and it worked like a charm.
Harry went off on his own, following the sense in his mind that was the darkness of the death eaters. He ignored most of them, picking out Inner Circle members to chase.
Harry raced down the street, dodging in between parked cars, and into the building.
"Avada Kedavra!" The killing curse leaped form a wand to his left. He dropped and rolled under it, and continued rolling down the hallway. Coming to his feet at the corner he pressed his back against the wall. Tapping the wall with his wand and using a silent spell he made it transparent. The death eater was on the other side.
"Kundinbaq!" With a huge whoooom! The wall dissolved away under the contorting spell.
"Grakizan! Stupefy!" The death eater shouted as he leaped out of hiding and attacked. Harry dodged both skillfully.
"Sethral! Aritumos!" Harry dodged the first and sent the other right back at the caster, who was so shocked at Harry's being able to turn the dark curse back upon him that he almost didn't dodge in time.
"Stupefy!" This time he didn't doge in time and fell to the floor with a thump. Harry pulled a portkey from his pocket and placed it on the death eater's chest along with his wand, he tapped the portkey twice with his own wand and the death eater vanished.
Harry whirled and ducked into the shadows and ran down an alley, a blinding light flared, he leaped out of the way, turning two flips down the alley and landing, crouched, wand outstretched, ready to fight.
"Crucio!" A voice rang out, Harry leaped forward and ducked the curse, lighting crackled form his palm. The death eater screamed as his wand blew up. He drew and knife and leaped shouting at Harry. Harry whirled and struck out, his foot hitting the man's leg out form under him as he landed, his left hand grabbing the others' knife hand and holding the knife away form them. He punched him hard with his right fist, the blow sent the man staggering into the wall, as he staggered Harry dug his fingers into his wrist, the knife fell, Harry kicked it away and launched himself at the death eater. The first punch went to his stomach, Harry leaned back and then kicked him in the head, sending him spinning and falling to the floor.
Harry had to give the death eater credit for his endurance, the wizard shakily straightened and charged. Harry leaped to meet him and dealt him a blow to the jaw, kneed him in the gut, and punched the side of his head, followed by another blow to the left eye and a kick to the chest, the snap of breaking bone was audible as the death eater staggered and sagged to the ground.
Harry sent him back to the group collecting prisoners, then explosions from a large intersection were heard and he took off at a run.
The crowd of death eaters, about a dozen of them, was battling furiously with Order Agents. As Harry sprinted form his alley he slipped into the shadows to watch fro a moment. Four other agents appeared from a building to his left, Harry ran over to them. The five ran around behind the death eaters and attacked.
Harry raised one hand concentrated on the street underneath the death eaters. With a grounding and rumbling sound the pavement curled up in front of them, loose chunks of earth lifted and flung themselves at the death eaters. Harry made a quick gesture, a parked car lifted into the air and was flung at the death eaters, who dodged frantically to get out of the way, tow of them being crushed under it.
Spells leaping form their wands the five attacked, the other four spread out in twos to the sides, Harry attacked straight on. Trading spells with the death eaters, his powerful shield charms keeping him and the few muggles about safe. Two more agents came running to joint he fight, Harry took a brief respite to plan an attack. Harry looked up and flicked his wand at the brick building beside them, the roof caved in, nearly a ton of bricks and shale from the roof fell into the street, following Harry's wand movements flying at the death eaters, the shale pieces spinning wildly like Frisbees.
Harry signaled frantically to the other agents to move back, they fled, alerting the others as they went. Harry made a furious movement with his wand, concentrating hard on the spell. The rubble about the death eaters exploded, screams of pain rang out as shale and brick slivers embedded themselves in the death eaters, order agents created a barrier about the scene, allowing no one to escape. Harry shot a powerful stunning spell at the staggering death eaters and the others attacked with him, in moments all of the death eaters were down.
The death eaters had been drive to the city's center, now the Order Agents teleported, or port keyed into the city's center where they had planned to meet. Two hundred and seventy of the most dedicated and powerful wizards and witches on the planet gathered in the mass. The Agents all stood around a circle drawn on the ground in white chalk, about twenty-five feet in diameter. Harry moved to the center and tossed a tennis ball sized orb of light into the middle. It hovered, four feet above the ground, a target to aim their spells at. Sirius spoke moved into the circle as Harry left.
"On the count of three everyone cast the advanced stunning spell, Stupefy Vastak, at the orb, then apparate out as quickly as you possibly can, apparate to your patrol's station on the city rim and set up barrier and shield spells. Spread out so that you don't miss any part. Keep those shields up until the spells have dissipated. One, Two, Three!"
"STUPEFY VASTAK!" Two hundred and seventy voices yelled. The red spells blasted form wand points and hit the orb, all the order Agents apparated out as the spells all rebounded off each other in every direction, some even went straight up into the air.
The blast of red light rippled outward at an amazing speed, but when it reached the city limits it hit the barrier set up by the Order and Ministry wizards, and rebounded off, sweeping into the city and ricocheting off each other. They were unavoidable and every person in the city was hit in just a few moments.
It was six hours before anyone else where it he world got word of what had happened to Beijing. It was not destroyed; merely the victim of one of the largest terrorist attacks yet. B dropped on the city by terrorists' planes, and others set up before hand and triggered to go off at the same time were blamed. Damage costs exceeded 30 billion, which was a lot less than it would have been had not the wizards and witches of the Ministries and Order of the Phoenix repaired and modified much of the damage.
**
Harry returned to Hogwarts two days after leaving, completely exhausted. Even though the muggles had had their memories modified inquisitive investigators needed to be taken care of, and he had spent hours helping to heal the injured. The Order had lost nearly a score of agents in the Battle for Beijing, as it was already being called. He hurried down the corridor to his rooms, hoping no one noticed him.
"Harry! Harry!" Someone called, Harry turned, Ira came sprinting around the corner at a dead run, nearly colliding with him. Hermione and Draco followed a few seconds later.
"What is it?" Harry asked, curious as to why Ira was grinning like a maniac.
"We - figured - it out!" She gasped.
"Figured what out?"
"That prophecy and numbers, come on." Hermione said, Harry, confused, followed them into his rooms and sat down on the bed. Ira shoved a piece of paper under his nose and Harry took it.
The young must grow old, Whilst the old grow older, And cowards will shrink, As the bold grow bolder. Courage may blossom in quiet hearts, For who can tell where bravery starts?
Truth is a song, oft lying unsung, Some mother bird, protecting her young, Those who lay down their lives for friends, The echo rolls onward, it seldom ends.
Who is that one, loyal and brave? Who never turned and ran, but stayed? This is a warrior born not made! The warrior is one of wisdom Living in peace, aye many a season, Calm in life, sound in reason.
Peace shall lie over land and sea, Until the great evil arrives, With a wicked horde, Driving a warrior to pick up his sword, The challenger rings then, straight and fair, Justice is with us, beware. Beware!
1.4.6 1.2.20 1.2.3 4.6.1 1.2.3 1.3.19 1.1.8
2.2.11 2.1.8 4.4.1 1.1.3 3.1.11
"Look at the numbers! They match up with the letter perfectly!" Hermione said excitedly. Harry blinked, to tired to understand what she was so excited about, and then he looked lower on the page.
1.4.6
Verse 1 Line 4 Letter 6
B
He paused, his tired brain having trouble switching from healing mode onto whatever was going on.
"Ira you explain." Draco said, Ira launched into an explanation.
"The numbers are like coordinates. The first number is the verse, the second is the line, and the third is the letter. Each series of numbers lets you find one letter. The series of numbers go in groups; that's how you know what the word is. The first set of numbers, 1.4.6 1.2.20 1.2.3 4.6.1 1.2.3 1.3.19 1.1.8 Give you the word Beijing!" She said excitedly, Harry paused, looking it over, then it clicked.
"The prophecy is meaningless, what matters are the numbers! Listen Harry Beijing was just attacked. Don't you think that it's a little odd that the city this prophecy.riddle really, names Beijing, then Beijing gets attacked? This prophecy is telling us where the death eaters will attack next!" She said breathlessly. "I've already done the next series of numbers, 2.2.11 2.1.8 4.4.1 1.1.3 3.1.11
It comes out to be Baden, wherever that is."
"You guys are geniuses! Bloody brilliant!" Harry said, leaping up and hugging her, "this is great we'll know exactly where they're going to attack. Baden is in Austria isn't it?"
Long chapter, sorry about Ira's taking Hermione's place as the group genius a bit. Please review!