With Darkness There'll Be Light
Two - And He Cried
The sight that greeted the five young Aurors when they arrived in the outskirts of Surrey was frightening; bone chillingly scary, even.
Draco Malfoy, normally strong and tough, bent down with his slender hand over his mouth. He did his best to avert his eyes. And he tried not to let his breakfast make a second appearance.
Harry Potter, the boy who could face Voldemort single-handedly, wrenched his eyes from the sight and looked at the wall, willing himself not to cry. The pinpricks at the corners of his eyes told him he wouldn't be successful.
Ron Weasley, always brave and loyal, couldn't move his legs although his mind willed him and tried to push him out the door. He stood his ground, rooted to the spot because of the shock.
Seamus Finnigan, the clown, could not find one single thing funny about the scene that lay before his eyes.
Justin Finch-Fletchley, always quiet and shy, wanted nothing more than to crawl up in a corner, shut his eyes and forget any of this ever happened.
The five strongest Aurors in the country could not move. They were frozen; with fear.
Harry closed his eyes, opened them and then closed them again, taking deep breaths. Finally, he opened his eyes and made himself survey the surroundings; he had to do his job.
It may have been dark in the room they were in, but the raging fire shed enough light so that he could plainly see the two bodies hanging from the ceiling; they were rocking back and forth slightly from the force of the fire. He identified them as two people he didn't really know, but whom he would surely miss.
Harry grabbed his wand, clutching it so hard in his fist that he thought he might break it.
"Get your wands," he growled at his counterparts. Draco, Ron, Justin and Seamus took out their wands one by one.
"Granger's parents," stated Draco when Harry looked at him.
"Yes," replied Ron shakily. "Oh my God." He put a freckled hand to his mouth.
He and Harry said the next thing simultaneously, with voices that held panic and horror, "HERMIONE!"
In the next second, all five of them had torn through the house but were met with nothing but destruction. Charred walls, overturned furniture, smashed dishes, frayed books, and not a living thing.
"She has to be alive," Ron choked out, looking around as the fire continued to burn the house. He started to cough, the smoke finally getting to him.
Seamus put a hand on his back, "There's no way anyone could survive this much fire, Ron."
"Why did they hang themselves!?" He demanded shrilly, his eyes locked on Harry's.
"They didn't hang themselves," Harry answered sternly. "They were murdered."
Draco swallowed, feeling like he'd never have enough oxygen in his life. "We have to get out of here."
Harry nodded, "Come on." He lead the other four out of the house and onto the Muggle street. They were met with another unfamiliar sight.
Absolutely nothing.
Draco breathed in the air thankfully, but pushed down the celebration when he realized what was going on. The Muggle street that the Grangers lived on was completely burned to the ground. Small fires here and there were smoldering and Harry could hear a fire engine in the distance. But everything was gone; it was too late.
Muggles were running all around. Some little kids were screaming and coughing. Mothers in house coats and shower caps tried to corral their children. Fathers tried to sooth the crying mothers. Some older woman in a wheel chair was staring at a pile of ruble with too much sorrow on her face. It was almost more than the five men could handle. Almost.
Harry kicked some dirt on a small grass fire near where he stood. It had been slowly creeping towards the Granger's house to join its fellows. Harry felt tears pricking at the corners of his eyes once more. He looked and saw that Seamus was charred a little and had wet cheeks. Ron looked beside himself with grief. Even Draco looked upset. Draco looked all around, his lips turned into a frown. For the first time in his life, he had no idea what to do.
Draco could hear more and more sirens sounding, coming closer.
"We should go," said Ron quietly. "We don't want to be here when the please men get here."
"Police," corrected Harry, "but you're right. Come on." Harry led the others behind what was left of the Grangers house and they Disapparted to see the Minister of Magic.
Percy Weasley was the first person they saw when they popped back to the Ministry.
"PERCY!" Ron hollered. "There's been an attack!"
Percy looked more solemn than anyone else in their group. He held up a piece of parchment. On it were a few well chosen words in his hand writing.
Voldemort has been sighted in Great Britain with thousands of Death Eaters. Muggle streets burned to the ground. Many missing witches and wizards.
Percy looked very close to tears. Ron stepped up to him in a brotherly fashion, but Percy shooed him back.
"Here," Percy said, shoving a piece of parchment at Harry, "a list of the missing."
Harry took it and paled instantly. He read it aloud, "Missing: Hermione E. Granger, 19 and Ginny H. Weasley, 18. Last seen----" Harry stopped reading as the tears finally fell from his eyes. He made no move to hide in shame; he made no move to stop the flow. He just stared. And he cried.
Ron's lip was trembling as he held Percy in a strong hug. Draco, Seamus and Justin looked on with saddened expressions on their faces.
Percy pulled away from his brother, taking the list from Harry and handing it to Justin. He didn't say anything, but strolled from the office ready to be the best Minister of Magic he could be. Even though the empending grief was threatening to eat him up inside.
Justin's eyes wandered down the list. He muttered the names, "Last seen at the Granger home in Muggle London. No bodies. Escape possible. Kidnapping also possible." Justin looked up and was greeted with very solemn faces but faces that urged him to continue. "Parvati Q. Patil, 19. Padma G. Patil, 19. Paul P. Patil, 45. Patsy P. Patil, 44. Presumed dead. No bodies. House burned to the ground." Justin choked back a sob and looked to his friends who were watching him in expectation. "You want me to finish?"
Ron, Harry, Draco and Seamus all nodded. They needed to know. They couldn't hide from it.
"Bodies Found: Roberta and Roberto Robertson, both 33. Griswald Grister, 39. Eartha Moon, 12; Star Moon, 15; Trip Moon, 41; Mercury Moon, 43." He scanned the rest of the bodies found list and came upon the unknown list. He paled instantly.
"Joshua Finch-Fletchley, 12...Oh my God." Justin put a hand to his mouth. "My brother." Justin continued to read, unable to stop. "Jenisa Finch-Fletchley, 9...that's my sister." Justin put a hand to his mouth and shoved the parchment at Draco.
Draco swallowed and resumed the list, "Janica and Joseph Finch-Fletchley, both 6. James Finch-Fletchley, 44 and Jillian Finch-Fletchley, 43." Draco shook his head and uttered words no one standing there ever thought he could say, "I'm so sorry, Justin."
Justin looked up, tears falling down his cheeks. "Thanks."
"You should finish," said Ron, choking back tears. "It might have more information on the unknowns."
Draco looked back at the list, "Unknowns include 10 more people, including 3 separate families. It says under the unknowns that there could be possible recovery, but unlikely." He looked up from the parchment. "It says it's unknown because the Ministry tried to track them and didn't get a response."
Ron and Seamus both put hands on Justin's shoulders. "It'll be all right. Maybe everything's fine," whispered Ron, barely believing the words himself.
Draco turned to Harry, "Well, what's the call?"
Harry pondered his answer very carefully. "We need to find Hermione. First and foremost. Seamus, Justin, you two can go see Percy about tracking down the attackers. Mal---Draco, you----"
"Will go with you and Weasley to look for Granger," supplied Draco. "I'm not letting you go alone."
"We'll be fine," insisted Ron, rolling his eyes.
"I want to go," said Draco, staring intently at Harry.
Harry surveyed him for a moment, wondering why he even cared. Why he even bothered. Then it dawned on him suddenly. A light bulb went on above his head and he knew.
"Okay," conceded Harry, "Draco, you'll come with us. Seamus, report to me on the Wizard Wireless. Okay?"
Seamus held up a small purple object that resembled a Muggle walkie-talkie. It fit very well in his hand, only twice the size of a quarter. It had two buttons on it, only. "Check."
"Justin," said Harry, turning to the brown haired boy, "I know it's hard, but please try and do your job."
"I won't let you down, Harry," promised Justin, his voice strong and his body rigid.
Harry checked his robe pockets for all the gadgets he'd need and then motioned for Draco and Ron to follow him from the office.