Disclaimer: Harry Potter and associated characters belong to J.K. Rowling
A/N: Well, this chapter is the training/raid, but I don't know if you guys wanted to do the Quidditch tryouts. There will be quidditch chapters later, but I thought the tryouts were insignificant compared to the raid, so I kinda skipped it, so unless I get about 25 reviews or e-mails saying that you want the quidditch tryouts/training prior to the raid as a separate chapter, then this chapter will stay. I'm rather annoyed that I took too long to get this done, but hope you enjoy it.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 15: Order 01: Raid
As the day of the raid came closer, classes went on as usual though the duelling class and the Dark Arts class quickly became very popular among the students at Hogwarts and even though the students were quite afraid of Professor Sepet, the majority had come to like Walter.
The ghouls that Harry and Cho captured with Walter the first week of school were used as target practice for the students and Walter somehow managed to capture enough ghouls so that each student could try fighting against one. Harry and Hermione did well since they fought them before in Romania, but those like Dean or Neville, who had never gone up against a ghoul, much less anything of the undead nature, tended to freeze up in fright and Walter had to come and save them.
Transfiguration was also fun for Harry since they got to transform each other into smaller objects like quills or needles that would make it harder for any Death Eater to find them. Hermione, as usual was able to transform the other person perfectly, but those like Neville ended up transforming their partner into a large needle with hands and feet.
For the most part, Harry was enjoying himself in between training for his first mission with Hermione and doing homework for his classes but if there was one thing he missed, it was Quidditch. The training and his classes took up so much time that he hardly had time to go flying on his firebolt. In fact, when the Quidditch tryouts came, he was in his duelling class with Hermione and he had missed it completely. However, they were both pleased to see that Ron was made a reserve beater with Ginny and that Seamus was the new keeper while Dean became the new chaser, replacing Angelina Johnson. Finally, the new captain of the Gryffindor team turned out to be Alicia Spinnet, which Harry was happy to see since he knew that she could do a good job and he could continue with his training.
The morning before the raid was to take place, Harry was in his bed early in the morning, wide awake and thinking of how he could best protect everyone in case something went wrong when his amulet that Hermione gave him for his birthday started to glow.
Fortunately his curtains were drawn so no one could see the emerald glow emitting from it but Harry still had to quickly grab his wand and cast a silencing spell around his bed so that no one could hear Hermione when she started talking.
"Hi Harry," he heard her say. "I couldn't sleep, so I was wondering if you were awake and could talk to you."
"I'm awake Hermione. What is it that you wanted to talk about?"
"Well - I have two things I want to talk to you about," Hermione said hesitantly. "But one I want to do in person."
"Okay Hermione, I'll let you do that later. We won't be going down to breakfast for a few more hours," he said.
"The first thing is, what should we tell Ron tomorrow when we don't go to Hogsmeade?" she asked.
"Hmm, that's a tough one. We could say that we want to get some extra studying in, but Ron will really get suspicious. He's already suspicious enough since we've been coming back late at night several times already because Professor Dumbledore wanted us to update him on our preparation," Harry said.
"I was thinking of having Professor McGonagall tell him that we're doing something for Dumbledore tomorrow so we can't go to Hogsmeade," Hermione suggested.
"That sounds great," Harry said. "Ron will be sure to believe her, but what happens if he decides to stay behind also?"
"Then let him, he won't see us anyway," Hermione replied. "But he'll question us or Dumbledore what we've been up to. How should we take care of that?"
"I don't know," Harry said thoughtfully. "This phoenix business is starting to become too much to keep quiet all the time."
"I know.."
Harry went through some ideas that Ron could possibly believe, but they could all end up with more people hurt since Ron might get revenge on some people if they went wrong. Then it hit him. Malfoy.
"Why don't we go talk to Walter about this," Harry said.
"What did you have in mind?"
"Well, we could attack Malfoy again and have Walter give us detention with Dumbledore, to be served when all the students are in Hogsmeade."
"Then when Professor McGonagall tells Ron we're doing something for Dumbledore and asks him, Dumbledore can say we're serving detention. That's great!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, but what happens if Ron decides to attack Malfoy?" Harry asked.
"Well, if he does, he'll be in the infirmary and we'll need a replacement. Which would be good since we'll get someone better than him coming with us and we don't need to worry about him telling his father about our mission," Hermione said.
"What about Professor Sepet?"
"What about him?"
"Well, you have been very suspicious of him and you have been spending too much time in the library looking up spells you could use for his class."
"Oh, that was for my S.P.E.W. campaign," Hermione explained. "But I think I should do some more research."
"You're always researching something," Harry said dully. "And will you give up the S.P.E.W. stuff? The elves are happy working as they are."
"Honestly Harry, why don't you help me. The house elves are slaves and they deserve to be paid. After all everything is taken care of by them. Why don't you and Ron join me in the library sometime? Maybe you won't find it so dull," Hermione said irritably.
Harry laughed. "No thanks. I think that we'll let you do the reading. - Speaking of which, how is your training coming?"
"You mean with the Elemental magic?"
"Yes silly, what else did you think I meant?"
"Oh, well I've been practicing at night after everyone's gone to sleep and I can do all of the level 3 spells without a problem but level 4 is draining me," Hermione said.
"What about your animagus training?"
"Sirius did tell me he was going to teach me, but he hasn't gotten around to it. He's always either in hiding or doing some patrolling in Kilndare for Dumbledore."
"Does that take care of everything? I think everyone will be waking up soon."
"Yes, I'll tell you the second thing later in person. See you down at breakfast," Hermione said and his amulet stopped glowing. He put it away again under his pyjamas and got up to shower.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After Harry had showered and changed, he went down to the common room to find Hermione sitting on the couch reading a Defense Against the Dark Arts called 'Creatures of the Graveyard.'
"Hello Hermione," Harry said.
"Hi Harry," she replied and smiled at him. Harry thought her smile was the most wonderful thing in the world and it helped strengthen his resolve to protect her in their upcoming mission.
"Ron should be coming down soon along with everyone else and we can go to breakfast."
"Alright. Some people went down already, but we'll wait for Ron."
It was some time before Ron came down but once he did, the trio made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When they got to the Hall, Harry noted that the Count was once again not present at the teacher's table. Probably still going to the Ministry like he always does, every morning but at least he wouldn't be around to bother Harry like he did in the duelling class.
The Phoenix members still had the duelling class on their own in the evening and as much as Harry enjoyed it, he thought that Professor Sepet was trying to pick on him since he kept saying that Harry was too slow or doing something wrong, and would attack him at random times just to see if he could react fast enough. However, by now, Harry found that he was indeed improving his reflexes and was able to dodge more of the Count's random attacks; though trying to counter attack was another matter since he still wasn't able to find a spell capable of penetrating the Count's magical shield. If nothing else, Harry was happy that could be with Hermione for this class and he thought it was worth having to put up with the Count's antics, especially if it meant that he could protect her better when they actually went on their mission.
They took their usual seats with the fifth years and Harry and Ron were talking about Quidditch like always when they saw a bunch of owls fly through the room to deliver some mail. Harry and Hermione got a letter each and they could guess what it was about before they even opened it. Ron also got a piece of mail as well. He immediately opened it and read it while Harry opened his letter. Again there was the phoenix symbol, but this time with '7:00 this evening' written.
He pocketed the letter and saw Hermione doing the same, before turning to Ron.
"So Ron, what was your letter about?" Harry asked.
"Oh, it was from mum. She just wanted to make sure I was carrying out my prefect's duties well," Ron replied not noticing that his two friends had also received a letter.
"Well, have you?" Harry said.
"A lot better than Hermione has, but you wouldn't know that since you two have been gone until late at night at times," Ron said grudgingly.
"Sorry Ron, but we've been busy with work for Dumbledore," Hermione said with an apologetic look on her face.
"You're always busy with something," Ron stated, now becoming seriously annoyed.
"I think we should go to class. We have Defense Against the Dark Arts first, then History of Magic, which will be boring as usual, but at least we get the rest of the day off," Harry cut in, not wanting his two friends to get into another argument. "Come on."
So they got up and went to their Dark Arts class down in one of the other dungeons.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When they got there, Harry saw that Walter was sitting at his desk and the other students hadn't arrived yet, so he told Ron and Hermione to go find a seat while he went to talk to Walter.
"Um, Professor?" Harry said as he approached him.
"Ah, Good Morning Mr. Potter," Walter said and gave him a quick smile. "Could I help you with something?"
"Uh, yes, could I talk to you outside for a while?"
"Of course, please step outside."
They stepped outside of the classroom and Walter turned to look at him. "Now what did you need?"
"Well, it's about the raid tomorrow.."
"I see, nervous are you?" Walter questioned.
"Its not that I'm nervous.. It's about my friend," Harry said.
"Ah, you mean Miss Granger - you're worried that she'll get hurt when she's coming along," Walter said knowingly.
*How did he know that? Only Dumbledore has been able to read my thoughts, * he thought.
"I'm not reading your thoughts Mr. Potter, I'm just observing your body language," Walter said. "If you're not nervous about tomorrow then you must be worried."
"Where did you learn how to do that?" Harry asked in surprise.
"If you've interrogated people as often as I have, you start learning a few tricks," Walter explained. "But I can only go so far without having to torture them."
Harry gave him a horrified look. "You're right that I'm worried about Hermione getting hurt, but my friend Ron is starting to suspect something with all this Order business."
"I see, so you need my help to figure something that he'll believe when you two don't show up in Hogsmeade tomorrow."
"Yes, I was thinking of having you give us detention with Dumbledore tomorrow so that we'd have to stay back," Harry said.
"I'm sure that can be arranged. Just make sure that Mr. Malfoy meets with some type of accident," Walter said hintingly.
Harry grinned at him. He was glad that Walter understood him. "Thanks Walter, I appreciate it."
"You're welcome Mr. Potter, and tomorrow, I'll make sure that nothing happens to your friend," Walter said. "I'm not my lord's most trusted bodyguard for nothing."
"One more question," Harry interrupted as Walter was starting to walk back into the classroom.
"Yes?" Walter said, turning around again.
"Why are you so cheerful? You're supposed to be a Necromancer who enjoys inflicting pain on others," Harry asked.
"As a person who acts as a bodyguard for such a high ranking noble as Lord Sepet, I am required to attend social events such as balls that are held at his castle. For me to be effective, people can't see me as a threat. I don't always dress in this armour you know," Walter explained, grinning at Harry. "So I must dress according to the occasion and be able to socialize well with others. I must say, some of the ladies were quite good looking and it is a pity that I'm not younger. I was quite the ladies man back then."
Harry was taken aback by Walter's explanation. He had never expected such an answer from a man who dealt death out to others so often, but his idle thoughts were pushed aside as the other students arrived and he walked back into the classroom to sit with Ron and Hermione.
When Malfoy arrived, Harry could see that he still didn't have his sword, but Harry was hoping that Malfoy would act like he normally did and come bother him so he'd have his excuse to attack him.
"Now that you've all taken your seats, we'll be learning how to defend yourselves against skeletons. Unlike the ghouls, they aren't made of flesh; they are just bones so fire won't work too well. Does anyone know what their weakness is?"
Hermione raised her hand as always. "Miss Granger?"
"Since they are made of bones, freezing charms work perfectly, then you can use something hard like a stick to smash them to pieces," Hermione said.
"Very good. Yes, that works, but you could also just use any large object to destroy them without having to freeze them. After all, they are rather frail. 10 points to Gryffindor," Walter said. "Alright, today, we'll let some of you try your hand at combating a skeleton. Any volunteers?
Harry raised his hand. "Mr. Potter, so you wish to be the first one. Very well, step forward."
Harry went up to the front of the classroom with his wand in his hand. Walter then walked over to a pile of bones in a corner and muttered something.
Immediately a skeleton came to life and walked towards him. He pointed his wand at it and fired an ice bolt at it. The ice bolt hit it right in the chest and froze the skeleton in place.
"Very good, now draw your sword and destroy it," Walter commanded.
Harry didn't like to draw his sword since it was hidden and no one knew about it except the other phoenix members, but in this case, he didn't have much of a choice so he drew his sword and brought it down on the frozen skeleton, shattering it into a million pieces on the stone floor.
"Excellent. Another 10 points to Gryffindor," Walter said while the rest of the class looked on torn between amazement and horror.
Harry sheathed his sword again under his robes and went to sit back down.
"Amazing Harry, where did you get that sword?" Ron whispered excitedly.
"Professor Sepet gave it to me in duelling class," he replied.
"How come we didn't get one?"
"Because he only had 4 of them and he selected the ones that he wanted to give them to," Harry said truthfully.
"So why'd Malfoy get one? He's supposed to be a death eater in training," Ron asked.
*Oh great, now how do I get out of this one, * Harry thought.
"Because he didn't know Malfoy was one. Besides, he took it away," Hermione chimed in and Harry gave her a look of relief.
"I asked Harry, not you. Why are you covering for him anyway?" Ron whispered a little louder.
"I'm not covering for him. I'm in the same duelling class as Harry, so I would know," Hermione stated matter-of-factly.
"Oh, I forgot about that," Ron said, though the look on his face was more like one of annoyance.
The rest of the class progressed smoothly but Malfoy didn't bother them to the disappointment of Harry. He wanted an excuse for Malfoy to meet with the unfortunate accident he had planned. However, the opportunity came sooner than he expected.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After their Dark Arts class, Harry, Ron and Hermione were on their way to the Great Hall for lunch when Malfoy and his two goons, came up behind them.
"Well that was a nice demonstration you put on for us in there," Malfoy said sarcastically while Crabbe and Goyle smirked. "I'm surprised you didn't answer the question about the skeletons. Instead you let your mudblood girlfriend do it for you."
"Malfoy you really don't want to mess with me today," Harry said, trying to act as irritated as possible, when in reality he was delighted since this was his chance to attack Malfoy. Though he had to hold back Ron from beating him to a pulp.
"Oh, I think I do," Malfoy said. "Why don't we settle this right now. You and I so that we can see who really is the better duellist."
"I accept," Harry replied, smiling evilly, though Hermione made an attempt to stop him.
"Harry, you know that you're going to get into trouble if you duel him right now," she said.
"Hermione, I've been wanting to show this bouncing ferret how to duel, now leave me alone," Harry said.
"I've had enough of watching you flirt with your girlfriend Potter," Malfoy said disdainfully. "Its time I teach you who's the better man."
With that, Malfoy drew his wand and fired a curse at Harry, but after having Professor Sepet attack him randomly many times over the past few weeks, Harry was prepared and dodged it easily. He sent a paralyzing spell back at Malfoy, which hit him and he crumpled to the ground.
"Aw, what's wrong Malfoy, fallen and can't get up?" Harry taunted him while Ron and Hermione looked on, Ron amused while Hermione was scowling in disapproval.
Crabbe and Goyle then advanced on Harry trying to attack him, but Hermione saw it coming and she took the opportunity to stun them with a full body bind spell.
"Mr. Potter! Miss Granger!" said a voice from behind them.
Harry, Ron and Hermione turned around to see Walter coming towards them.
"I'm afraid I'll have to give you two detentions for attacking another student. You'll be serving it with Dumbledore tomorrow and you won't be allowed to go to Hogsmeade," Walter said. "Now get moving and don't bother with Malfoy, I'll take care of him."
They knew better than to question him, but Harry was happy that the plan worked perfectly. Now they would have an excuse to go on their mission without Ron suspecting anything.
"Great job you two," Ron said delightfully his face dropped in disappointment. "But now I'll have to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow alone."
"Don't worry Ron, the detention won't last long and you'll get to see us when you come back. If you want, you could go with Fred and George to the Zonko's and buy some stuff," Hermione said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The rest of the day until it was time for the meeting with Dumbledore was boring. History of Magic was dull as usual with Professor Binns droning on and on about how some goblin was trying to start another revolt. Didn't the goblins ever learn when to stop trying to revolt after they've failed so many times? It's a wonder they're even in charge of the bank if they're that dull witted.
Dinner was a bit more enjoyable since he was able to talk with Ron about Quidditch and it was an opportunity to relax before the meeting, but when the time came, Harry and Hermione told Ron that they would be going to see Dumbledore about their detention tomorrow. They got up and went off to Dumbledore's office leaving an enraged Ron behind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When they got to Dumbledore's office, they met Cho outside who greeted them enthusiastically.
"Hi Harry, Hi Hermione," she said smiling at them. "We'll be starting soon so we should be going up."
With that, she said the password (Chocolate Frogs) and the gargoyle hopped aside so that they could enter. They let the stairs carry them up to Dumbledore's office where they found all the teachers waiting for them, along with Moody.
"Hello Harry - Miss Granger - Miss Chang," Dumbledore said with his eyes twinkling behind his spectacles. "Please take a seat."
They sat down and looked to Dumbledore who began to speak.
"Tomorrow morning we will be starting your first mission: the raid on the death eater house in Kilndar. Thanks to Sirius, we know exactly where it is located and we have planned out the proper method to conduct the raid, but I think Alastor can elaborate more. - If you please Alastor," Dumbledore said motioning to the middle of the room while he sat down.
Alastor Moody got up and walked toward the center of the room, his wooden leg making a clunking sound on the floor of the office. Once he got there, he conjured a map with his wand so that everyone could see the town's layout.
There was a road that went through the town, which branched out into different paths along the way. Each path was lined with houses and Harry saw that the Death Eater house, which was marked in red on the map, was located in the top left corner of the town, far away from the gates.
"I have gathered the ten aurors from the Ministry. They are aware of the objective, which is to find any information regarding the Death Eater activities around this area. Tomorrow, they will be stationed in the two houses adjacent to the house we plan to raid," Moody said, pointing to the two houses next to the red mark with his wand.
"The house itself has 3 floors and so we will have to search each floor separately. There is also a possibility that there will be Death Eaters in the house so be prepared for trouble. Normally we would apparate into the house but since there is a shield around the house that prevents anyone from apparating into it, we will have to use floo powder to get into the houses next to it though Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, and Miss Chang would be using floo powder to get to their destination since they can't apparate."
Harry was surprised that Cho would be coming along, but when he looked around, he noticed that Malfoy wasn't present. Maybe he had hurt Malfoy a lot more than he had thought at first, but he figured it had something to do with Walter, however he turned his attention back to Moody and the map.
"The Sirius, Remus, Arthur, Percy, and I will use floo powder to get to the house on the left, while Mr. Potter, Professor Laikov, Miss Chang, Miss Granger, and Professor Sepet use the same method to get to the house on the right. Each of you will have 5 aurors coming with you to each house. They will be waiting when you arrive," Moody continued in his scratchy voice.
"Everyone in the left house is team one and everyone in the right house will be team two. Team one will enter through the front while team two will enter from the back. Once we are inside, five of my aurors will cover the first floor while everyone else searches the other two floors. We will also have two lookouts, one at each door and after we get the information we need, we will quickly exit the house and get back here using floo powder. Any questions?"
Professor Sepet was the first to speak. "What plan do you have of escape if it turns out to be an ambush?"
"According to our spies, they aren't expecting an attack on the house, but I will be carrying a portkey, just in case," Moody said.
"Very well," Professor Sepet said, giving Walter a quick look, who only nodded. "Also, why is Mr. Malfoy not coming along with us and why Miss Chang as his replacement?"
"Mr. Malfoy has met up with an unfortunate accident and has been confined to the infirmary my lord," Walter answered before anyone else could. "As for Miss Chang, she volunteered to be his replacement this afternoon."
Though everyone in the room looked at Cho in surprise, Professor Dumbledore showed no sign at being affected by her decision.
Harry turned to Cho, who was sitting next to him and whispered, "Why did you volunteer?"
"Because no one else would and after all you've done last year, I think this is the best way to pay you back, even if it means getting killed," she replied.
Harry was surprised at her willingness to sacrifice herself for him, but when he looked into her dark brown eyes, he saw that she was sincere and was touched by it.
Cho caught Harry looking at her and also looked back into his emerald eyes, but unlike Harry, she quickly turned away blushing though Harry took no notice and went back to the briefing.
Dumbledore stood up once Moody sat down and walked to the center of the room again.
"Thank you for the information Alastor," Dumbledore said. "I ask that everyone meet here again tomorrow at 7:00 in the morning. The other students will be in Hogsmeade, and Minerva, please keep an eye on them," said Dumbledore. "You are all dismissed."
With that, everyone got up and filed out of the office. Harry and Hermione started walking towards the Gryffindor tower when Cho caught up with them.
"Harry, could I talk to you for a moment?" she asked.
"Uh, sure," Harry replied, giving Hermione an uncertain look. "I'll catch up with you Hermione."
Hermione walked ahead, and once she was out of sight, Harry turned back to Cho.
"So what did you want to talk about?" he asked.
"Well, it's about tomorrow. I don't know how it will turn out, but I just wanted you to know that I'm glad I got the chance to know you and be your friend," Cho said, giving him a weak smile.
"I'm glad I got to know you too," Harry replied. "I hope that everything turns out well and no one will die."
"Well, I should be going now. We need to get up pretty early tomorrow so. good night Harry," Cho said and she gave him a quick hug.
Harry accepted it and when she pulled away, Harry noticed that she was blushing before she quickly walked towards the Ravenclaw tower.
*Did I see what I thought I saw? * Harry thought to himself as he walked towards the Gryffindor tower. *Well, I should be going to sleep as well. Its best that I'm alert tomorrow so that I can make sure that nothing happens to Hermione *
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Harry got to the portrait of the fat lady, he said the password (Griffin). The portrait swung open and he walked in to see Hermione sitting on the armchair reading her duelling book while Ron was playing a game of Wizard's Chess with Seamus.
"Hi Hermione - Hi Ron," Harry said as he walked in.
"Hi Harry," Hermione said dryly.
"Hey Harry," Ron said, not looking up. "Rook to A2 - HAH EAT THAT! CHECKMATE!"
Seamus groaned and got up to go upstairs to the boys' dorm while Ron was busy cleaning up the pieces.
"So how'd your chat with Cho go?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, you've been talking with Cho?" questioned Ron.
"Yes I was. It went alright I guess," Harry said. "She just wanted to tell me something."
"Tell you what?" said Ron.
"It's about the detention tomorrow," said Harry. "She'll be joining us tomorrow because she cursed another Slytherin for insulting Cedric. - Well, I'm off to bed. Our detention tomorrow is very early in the morning. Sorry we can't join you in Hogsmeade Ron."
"Alright, good night mate," Ron said. "Hermione, care for a game of Wizard's Chess?"
"No thanks Ron, go play with Dean or something. I'm off to bed. Like Harry, I need the rest," Hermione replied and she walked upstairs.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next morning, Harry awoke before everyone else and quickly got dressed in his robes before going down to the common room to find Hermione. He found her waiting by the portrait and she was also dressed in her school robes.
They both walked towards Dumbledore's office and along the way, they saw Cho, Walter and Professor Sepet, however, the Count was dressed in a full black cloak with the hood up whereas Walter was wearing his black plate armour like always.
"Harry," Hermione whispered. "Professor Sepet looks a lot like the death eater in the mirror back at the castle in Romania, especially since he's carrying his sword under his cloak."
"You're right. I think we should keep our eyes peeled for trouble," Harry whispered back. Harry thought it was rather strange for them to see the Count up and about in the morning, and wearing a cloak no less. Hermione was right and he did resemble the Death Eater in the mirror. He would have to be extra careful and be prepared to fight against him, despite his power.
Eventually they got to Dumbledore's office and found that everyone was already waiting.
Sirius and Remus gave Harry and Hermione a hug, which they both returned happily.
"Is everyone ready to go?" said Alastor Moody.
Sounds of acknowledgement echoed through the room and Moody drew out a bag of floo powder, which he gave to Harry.
"Here you go Mr. Potter. Just say 'Kilndar' before you step into the fire and you should appear in the house," he said to him. "The same goes for you Miss Granger and Miss Chang. Good luck and we'll see you there."
With that everyone, took a pinch of the floo powder and stepped into the fireplace until Harry, Hermione, and Cho were the only ones left in the room.
"Harry, Miss Granger and Miss Chang," Dumbledore said from behind them as they stepped towards the fireplace.
They turned around and looked at him. "I wish you three the best of luck and please keep your eyes open for trouble. Since Voldemort's (Hermione and Cho flinch) return, he has been gathering more followers from all over the world. It is possible that you may encounter some of them on your trip so use caution. Good luck."
"Thank you professor," Harry said and he turned to the two girls. "I'll go in first in case something is wrong, then you two can follow."
"Be careful Harry," Hermione said and she gave him a hug while Cho looked on, scowling.
"Good luck Harry," said Cho.
"Thanks you two," Harry said and he stepped up to the fireplace. "See you two over there."
With that he threw the floo powder in the fireplace but he turned around and gave Hermione and Cho an encouraging grin before yelling 'Kilndar' and walking in.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry appeared in a room moments later, which he assumed to be the house. The fireplace was marble with a moving portrait of two wizards fishing in a lake and there was a window on either side of the fireplace through which sunlight was coming into the room. The rest of the room had forest green walls and there was a desk off to right and two red armchairs on the left wall next to a bookcase filled completely with large books. In between the armchairs, there was a lamp table with an oil lamp on it. It looked more or less like a study room.
Harry saw that Walter was already in the room and he quickly got up to join him. Soon enough, Hermione and Cho popped through the fireplace and he was glad that they had made it safely.
"Hello you three," Walter said. "This is it, let's go. The five aurors are already waiting outside with Lord Sepet. Have your wands out and follow me."
With that, Harry, Hermione and Cho drew their wands, ready to curse and they followed Walter, who had drawn his dagger, out the door.
When they had gone through the door, Harry saw that there were two wizards waiting with their wands drawn in the hall that they had entered. There was a door on the far right of the hall which was the exit and everyone made their way towards it.
"Keep your eyes open for trouble," Harry heard one of the wizards say from behind in a cautious voice. "Professor Sepet is already outside looking around."
They quickly exited the house and fanned out, looking around for trouble. Harry saw that the house was surrounded by a hedge, about one meter high(approx. 3.2 feet), and that Professor Sepet was already running towards the right, his sword drawn. Once he reached the hedge, Professor Sepet quickly used his sword to cut through the hedge with inhuman speed and soon enough, there was a path wide enough for everyone to walk through.
They all ran towards the opening with the Count leading and entered the grounds of the house that they were supposed to raid.
Once everyone was on the other side, the Count walked quickly towards the back door of the house, which had three levels like Moody had said, and motioned for everyone to follow.
Everyone joined them and the Count put a finger to his mouth, which Harry couldn't see since his face was covered with the hood, telling them to be quiet.
"I can sense that there are a total of ten Death Eaters in the house," the Count said. "Four on the first level, two will be in the hall, once we enter."
"You there," the Count said to a wizard in a red robe standing next to Walter. "Blow the door open and Walter and I will take care of the two Death Eaters in the hall. Everyone will then enter the house and you will stand guard out here, keeping a watchful eye for any trouble."
"Yes sir," the wizard replied.
"Alright, ready?" the Count asked, to which they all nodded in acknowledgement. "On my count. Three - two - one - go!"
The wizard then blew the door open and the Count entered with Walter, who had a bone spear forming in his hand, which was glowing green. The two Death Eaters standing in the hall were taken by surprise and before either could draw their wands, Walter had thrown his spear at one of them, impaling him through the heart while the Count rushed at the other with his sword, cutting the Death Eater through his robe in a diagonal slash starting at the left shoulder and coming down to the right hip.
Blood gushed out of the cut, spraying against the wall across from where he was standing and some getting on the Count's cloak while the one with the spear going through him was thrown back from the force of the spear hitting him and Harry could see that a spot of blood was forming on the Death Eater's robe, quickly spreading down his cloak.
Walter's spear disappeared and both Death Eaters fell to the floor, dead, with pools of blood forming on the floor below them. Neither had the chance to even utter a cry since it had all happened so fast.
Hermione and Cho each let out a gasp at what they had just seen and when Harry looked at them, he saw that they both were a bit pale.
"What do you think you're doing Professor?" asked a wizard in a purple robe, spitting out each word. "You were supposed to stun them, not kill them."
"I do what is necessary," the Count replied. "If it means that there's one less Death Eater walking around, then so be it."
"Very well. I will have to report this to Professor Dumbledore," the wizard replied disdainfully before the door on the other side of the hallway opened.
Walter quickly had another spear forming in his hand while the Count held his sword in front of him, prepared for trouble. Fortunately, the door opened to reveal Moody, who had his wand drawn before him.
"It's only me," Moody said before looking over at the two slain Death Eaters on the floor. "Nice job with the Death Eaters professors. We have secured the first floor."
"You two," Moody continued, motioning to two aurors in blue robes. "Stand guard here. Make sure that no one else comes in. The rest of you, follow me."
They followed Moody out of the hallway, Hermione and Cho looking away from the two Death Eaters lying on the ground as they passed, into a foyer which had a stone staircase off to the right as they entered the room. Harry saw that Percy, Arthur, Sirius, Remus and two more aurors were already in the foyer. Sirius gave Harry a small smile, which he returned happily before Moody started talking again.
"Now for the second floor and there's also a room on this floor that needs to be searched. its right over there," Moody said, pointing to a door to the left of the foyer. "Professor Sepet, could you please search that room while everyone moves on to the second floor."
The Count made his way over to the room and entered it while Moody led the way up the stairs, walking cautiously, his wooden leg echoing on the stone floor, which wasn't good since it could alert any Death Eaters waiting around the entrance to the second floor. Fortunately though, there weren't any Death Eaters around and the group made it up safely.
Walter quickly ran over to the nearest door as Percy and Arthur did the same with a door farther down, their backs pressed against the wall and their wands to their side. Walter motioned to Harry and he quickly went over to him.
"I'm going to blow this door open. There's a Death Eater on the right once you enter the room. Take care of him," Walter said and he made ready to kick the door in. "Ready?"
Harry nodded and he made ready to enter.
Walter then kicked the door open and Harry ran in. The Death Eater was standing looking at a bookcase when he entered and Harry quickly fired a paralyzing spell at him. It hit him and the Death Eater fell to the floor with a thud.
"Good job," said Walter. "I'm going to take care of him now."
"You're not going to -," Harry started to say in horror, but Walter had already gone up to the Death Eater and plunged his dagger into his heart.
"There - one less Death Eater to worry about," Walter said, withdrawing his blood stained dagger from the lifeless body and blood started to spread on the floor. "Let's go."
Harry was starting to have second thoughts about Walter as he followed him out of the room. Both Walter and the Count didn't hesitate to kill anyone. They would be dangerous enemies if they ever turned against the Order and to Harry, the safety of those he cared about came first.
"The other room is taken care of," Harry heard Percy say as he exited the room with Walter.
"Good job and I took care of the last Death Eater in the room at the end of this hall," Moody said. "Percy, stay here with the remaining aurors I brought with me and search the rooms. Everyone else, follow me up to the third floor."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Moody once again took the lead as he led them up to the third floor and when they arrived, Arthur and Sirius went over to one of the doors while Remus, Hermione, and Cho took another door.
Sirius blew open his door while Arthur ran in and stunned the Death Eater in the room before looking around while Remus was doing the same thing, only there were two Death Eaters in his room and Hermione and Cho stunned both of them with a full body bind spell.
Moody looked around with approval. "I don't sense anymore Death Eaters around here. Search each of the rooms. Look for anything that could look like plans for some type of attack. Sirius - Remus - take the stunned Death Eaters and bind them tightly. We will want to question them under veritaserum later."
While Sirius and Remus were busy dragging the Death Eaters into the hall and binding them, Harry, Hermione, and Cho were busying searching one of the rooms together while Walter was watching the staircase with Moody in case trouble came up.
"Harry," Hermione said, catching his attention.
"Yes Hermione?" Harry said.
"What do you think we're looking for?" she asked.
"I don't know. Look around at the desk," he said, pointing at the desk, which was located in front of a bookcase. "There might be a parchment in one of the drawers. I'll search the bookcase with Cho."
As he searched the bookcase, Harry couldn't help thinking about the mission he was on. Everyone was safe, right? So why was he feeling so uneasy? They had successfully raided the house and the Death Eaters didn't know what hit them and he should be relieved, but he couldn't relax. Something was wrong.
By then, Hermione finished looking over the desk and she looked over at Harry, only to notice the thoughtful expression upon his face. "Something wrong Harry?"
Harry quickly looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, I was just thinking that this seems too easy and I can't help wondering that something is wrong."
"Harry, you're just worrying too much," Hermione said, giving him a reassuring smile. "I'm glad that this mission is almost over and we can return. The Count and Walter are really scaring me. They've killed at least two Death Eaters already while everyone else has been stunning them."
"Yeah, Walter killed a third one on the second floor," Harry remarked.
"Really - you think that Dumbledore would want to hire someone else, like Mundungus Fletcher. He doesn't kill his enemies," Hermione said frowning.
"Hey you two!" they heard Cho exclaim. "Look what I found."
Harry and Hermione went over to her and saw that she had a book in her hands with a piece of parchment in it, but upon closer inspection, they saw that it wasn't any ordinary parchment, but plans for taking over Hogsmeade and freeing the Death Eaters in Azkaban.
"Great Job Cho," Hermione said. "Let's take it to Moody."
They stood up and had just walked out the door when they heard a yell coming from the first floor.
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! IT'S AN AMBUSH!"
Harry quickly ran over to the nearest window at the end of the hall and looked down. He saw about forty Death Eaters advancing on the house and looking over at the houses that they had come from, he saw that more were apparating there by the second. They were trapped.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Thanks to everyone who reviewed:
GazzadaSpazza: I'll think about the unicorn. It sounds like it would suit Hermione's personality.
Angelis: Thanks for your nice review.
Mikala: Thanks for reviewing and I hope I didn't disappoint you with this chapter.
BloodRedSword & Phoenix of Light: Well, I made sure Malfoy was replaced on the mission. Hope you're happy.
Dark Golo: You'll find out what Harry's sword does later. I can't tell you now. It'd ruin the fic. =)
A/N: Well, this chapter is the training/raid, but I don't know if you guys wanted to do the Quidditch tryouts. There will be quidditch chapters later, but I thought the tryouts were insignificant compared to the raid, so I kinda skipped it, so unless I get about 25 reviews or e-mails saying that you want the quidditch tryouts/training prior to the raid as a separate chapter, then this chapter will stay. I'm rather annoyed that I took too long to get this done, but hope you enjoy it.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Chapter 15: Order 01: Raid
As the day of the raid came closer, classes went on as usual though the duelling class and the Dark Arts class quickly became very popular among the students at Hogwarts and even though the students were quite afraid of Professor Sepet, the majority had come to like Walter.
The ghouls that Harry and Cho captured with Walter the first week of school were used as target practice for the students and Walter somehow managed to capture enough ghouls so that each student could try fighting against one. Harry and Hermione did well since they fought them before in Romania, but those like Dean or Neville, who had never gone up against a ghoul, much less anything of the undead nature, tended to freeze up in fright and Walter had to come and save them.
Transfiguration was also fun for Harry since they got to transform each other into smaller objects like quills or needles that would make it harder for any Death Eater to find them. Hermione, as usual was able to transform the other person perfectly, but those like Neville ended up transforming their partner into a large needle with hands and feet.
For the most part, Harry was enjoying himself in between training for his first mission with Hermione and doing homework for his classes but if there was one thing he missed, it was Quidditch. The training and his classes took up so much time that he hardly had time to go flying on his firebolt. In fact, when the Quidditch tryouts came, he was in his duelling class with Hermione and he had missed it completely. However, they were both pleased to see that Ron was made a reserve beater with Ginny and that Seamus was the new keeper while Dean became the new chaser, replacing Angelina Johnson. Finally, the new captain of the Gryffindor team turned out to be Alicia Spinnet, which Harry was happy to see since he knew that she could do a good job and he could continue with his training.
The morning before the raid was to take place, Harry was in his bed early in the morning, wide awake and thinking of how he could best protect everyone in case something went wrong when his amulet that Hermione gave him for his birthday started to glow.
Fortunately his curtains were drawn so no one could see the emerald glow emitting from it but Harry still had to quickly grab his wand and cast a silencing spell around his bed so that no one could hear Hermione when she started talking.
"Hi Harry," he heard her say. "I couldn't sleep, so I was wondering if you were awake and could talk to you."
"I'm awake Hermione. What is it that you wanted to talk about?"
"Well - I have two things I want to talk to you about," Hermione said hesitantly. "But one I want to do in person."
"Okay Hermione, I'll let you do that later. We won't be going down to breakfast for a few more hours," he said.
"The first thing is, what should we tell Ron tomorrow when we don't go to Hogsmeade?" she asked.
"Hmm, that's a tough one. We could say that we want to get some extra studying in, but Ron will really get suspicious. He's already suspicious enough since we've been coming back late at night several times already because Professor Dumbledore wanted us to update him on our preparation," Harry said.
"I was thinking of having Professor McGonagall tell him that we're doing something for Dumbledore tomorrow so we can't go to Hogsmeade," Hermione suggested.
"That sounds great," Harry said. "Ron will be sure to believe her, but what happens if he decides to stay behind also?"
"Then let him, he won't see us anyway," Hermione replied. "But he'll question us or Dumbledore what we've been up to. How should we take care of that?"
"I don't know," Harry said thoughtfully. "This phoenix business is starting to become too much to keep quiet all the time."
"I know.."
Harry went through some ideas that Ron could possibly believe, but they could all end up with more people hurt since Ron might get revenge on some people if they went wrong. Then it hit him. Malfoy.
"Why don't we go talk to Walter about this," Harry said.
"What did you have in mind?"
"Well, we could attack Malfoy again and have Walter give us detention with Dumbledore, to be served when all the students are in Hogsmeade."
"Then when Professor McGonagall tells Ron we're doing something for Dumbledore and asks him, Dumbledore can say we're serving detention. That's great!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, but what happens if Ron decides to attack Malfoy?" Harry asked.
"Well, if he does, he'll be in the infirmary and we'll need a replacement. Which would be good since we'll get someone better than him coming with us and we don't need to worry about him telling his father about our mission," Hermione said.
"What about Professor Sepet?"
"What about him?"
"Well, you have been very suspicious of him and you have been spending too much time in the library looking up spells you could use for his class."
"Oh, that was for my S.P.E.W. campaign," Hermione explained. "But I think I should do some more research."
"You're always researching something," Harry said dully. "And will you give up the S.P.E.W. stuff? The elves are happy working as they are."
"Honestly Harry, why don't you help me. The house elves are slaves and they deserve to be paid. After all everything is taken care of by them. Why don't you and Ron join me in the library sometime? Maybe you won't find it so dull," Hermione said irritably.
Harry laughed. "No thanks. I think that we'll let you do the reading. - Speaking of which, how is your training coming?"
"You mean with the Elemental magic?"
"Yes silly, what else did you think I meant?"
"Oh, well I've been practicing at night after everyone's gone to sleep and I can do all of the level 3 spells without a problem but level 4 is draining me," Hermione said.
"What about your animagus training?"
"Sirius did tell me he was going to teach me, but he hasn't gotten around to it. He's always either in hiding or doing some patrolling in Kilndare for Dumbledore."
"Does that take care of everything? I think everyone will be waking up soon."
"Yes, I'll tell you the second thing later in person. See you down at breakfast," Hermione said and his amulet stopped glowing. He put it away again under his pyjamas and got up to shower.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After Harry had showered and changed, he went down to the common room to find Hermione sitting on the couch reading a Defense Against the Dark Arts called 'Creatures of the Graveyard.'
"Hello Hermione," Harry said.
"Hi Harry," she replied and smiled at him. Harry thought her smile was the most wonderful thing in the world and it helped strengthen his resolve to protect her in their upcoming mission.
"Ron should be coming down soon along with everyone else and we can go to breakfast."
"Alright. Some people went down already, but we'll wait for Ron."
It was some time before Ron came down but once he did, the trio made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When they got to the Hall, Harry noted that the Count was once again not present at the teacher's table. Probably still going to the Ministry like he always does, every morning but at least he wouldn't be around to bother Harry like he did in the duelling class.
The Phoenix members still had the duelling class on their own in the evening and as much as Harry enjoyed it, he thought that Professor Sepet was trying to pick on him since he kept saying that Harry was too slow or doing something wrong, and would attack him at random times just to see if he could react fast enough. However, by now, Harry found that he was indeed improving his reflexes and was able to dodge more of the Count's random attacks; though trying to counter attack was another matter since he still wasn't able to find a spell capable of penetrating the Count's magical shield. If nothing else, Harry was happy that could be with Hermione for this class and he thought it was worth having to put up with the Count's antics, especially if it meant that he could protect her better when they actually went on their mission.
They took their usual seats with the fifth years and Harry and Ron were talking about Quidditch like always when they saw a bunch of owls fly through the room to deliver some mail. Harry and Hermione got a letter each and they could guess what it was about before they even opened it. Ron also got a piece of mail as well. He immediately opened it and read it while Harry opened his letter. Again there was the phoenix symbol, but this time with '7:00 this evening' written.
He pocketed the letter and saw Hermione doing the same, before turning to Ron.
"So Ron, what was your letter about?" Harry asked.
"Oh, it was from mum. She just wanted to make sure I was carrying out my prefect's duties well," Ron replied not noticing that his two friends had also received a letter.
"Well, have you?" Harry said.
"A lot better than Hermione has, but you wouldn't know that since you two have been gone until late at night at times," Ron said grudgingly.
"Sorry Ron, but we've been busy with work for Dumbledore," Hermione said with an apologetic look on her face.
"You're always busy with something," Ron stated, now becoming seriously annoyed.
"I think we should go to class. We have Defense Against the Dark Arts first, then History of Magic, which will be boring as usual, but at least we get the rest of the day off," Harry cut in, not wanting his two friends to get into another argument. "Come on."
So they got up and went to their Dark Arts class down in one of the other dungeons.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When they got there, Harry saw that Walter was sitting at his desk and the other students hadn't arrived yet, so he told Ron and Hermione to go find a seat while he went to talk to Walter.
"Um, Professor?" Harry said as he approached him.
"Ah, Good Morning Mr. Potter," Walter said and gave him a quick smile. "Could I help you with something?"
"Uh, yes, could I talk to you outside for a while?"
"Of course, please step outside."
They stepped outside of the classroom and Walter turned to look at him. "Now what did you need?"
"Well, it's about the raid tomorrow.."
"I see, nervous are you?" Walter questioned.
"Its not that I'm nervous.. It's about my friend," Harry said.
"Ah, you mean Miss Granger - you're worried that she'll get hurt when she's coming along," Walter said knowingly.
*How did he know that? Only Dumbledore has been able to read my thoughts, * he thought.
"I'm not reading your thoughts Mr. Potter, I'm just observing your body language," Walter said. "If you're not nervous about tomorrow then you must be worried."
"Where did you learn how to do that?" Harry asked in surprise.
"If you've interrogated people as often as I have, you start learning a few tricks," Walter explained. "But I can only go so far without having to torture them."
Harry gave him a horrified look. "You're right that I'm worried about Hermione getting hurt, but my friend Ron is starting to suspect something with all this Order business."
"I see, so you need my help to figure something that he'll believe when you two don't show up in Hogsmeade tomorrow."
"Yes, I was thinking of having you give us detention with Dumbledore tomorrow so that we'd have to stay back," Harry said.
"I'm sure that can be arranged. Just make sure that Mr. Malfoy meets with some type of accident," Walter said hintingly.
Harry grinned at him. He was glad that Walter understood him. "Thanks Walter, I appreciate it."
"You're welcome Mr. Potter, and tomorrow, I'll make sure that nothing happens to your friend," Walter said. "I'm not my lord's most trusted bodyguard for nothing."
"One more question," Harry interrupted as Walter was starting to walk back into the classroom.
"Yes?" Walter said, turning around again.
"Why are you so cheerful? You're supposed to be a Necromancer who enjoys inflicting pain on others," Harry asked.
"As a person who acts as a bodyguard for such a high ranking noble as Lord Sepet, I am required to attend social events such as balls that are held at his castle. For me to be effective, people can't see me as a threat. I don't always dress in this armour you know," Walter explained, grinning at Harry. "So I must dress according to the occasion and be able to socialize well with others. I must say, some of the ladies were quite good looking and it is a pity that I'm not younger. I was quite the ladies man back then."
Harry was taken aback by Walter's explanation. He had never expected such an answer from a man who dealt death out to others so often, but his idle thoughts were pushed aside as the other students arrived and he walked back into the classroom to sit with Ron and Hermione.
When Malfoy arrived, Harry could see that he still didn't have his sword, but Harry was hoping that Malfoy would act like he normally did and come bother him so he'd have his excuse to attack him.
"Now that you've all taken your seats, we'll be learning how to defend yourselves against skeletons. Unlike the ghouls, they aren't made of flesh; they are just bones so fire won't work too well. Does anyone know what their weakness is?"
Hermione raised her hand as always. "Miss Granger?"
"Since they are made of bones, freezing charms work perfectly, then you can use something hard like a stick to smash them to pieces," Hermione said.
"Very good. Yes, that works, but you could also just use any large object to destroy them without having to freeze them. After all, they are rather frail. 10 points to Gryffindor," Walter said. "Alright, today, we'll let some of you try your hand at combating a skeleton. Any volunteers?
Harry raised his hand. "Mr. Potter, so you wish to be the first one. Very well, step forward."
Harry went up to the front of the classroom with his wand in his hand. Walter then walked over to a pile of bones in a corner and muttered something.
Immediately a skeleton came to life and walked towards him. He pointed his wand at it and fired an ice bolt at it. The ice bolt hit it right in the chest and froze the skeleton in place.
"Very good, now draw your sword and destroy it," Walter commanded.
Harry didn't like to draw his sword since it was hidden and no one knew about it except the other phoenix members, but in this case, he didn't have much of a choice so he drew his sword and brought it down on the frozen skeleton, shattering it into a million pieces on the stone floor.
"Excellent. Another 10 points to Gryffindor," Walter said while the rest of the class looked on torn between amazement and horror.
Harry sheathed his sword again under his robes and went to sit back down.
"Amazing Harry, where did you get that sword?" Ron whispered excitedly.
"Professor Sepet gave it to me in duelling class," he replied.
"How come we didn't get one?"
"Because he only had 4 of them and he selected the ones that he wanted to give them to," Harry said truthfully.
"So why'd Malfoy get one? He's supposed to be a death eater in training," Ron asked.
*Oh great, now how do I get out of this one, * Harry thought.
"Because he didn't know Malfoy was one. Besides, he took it away," Hermione chimed in and Harry gave her a look of relief.
"I asked Harry, not you. Why are you covering for him anyway?" Ron whispered a little louder.
"I'm not covering for him. I'm in the same duelling class as Harry, so I would know," Hermione stated matter-of-factly.
"Oh, I forgot about that," Ron said, though the look on his face was more like one of annoyance.
The rest of the class progressed smoothly but Malfoy didn't bother them to the disappointment of Harry. He wanted an excuse for Malfoy to meet with the unfortunate accident he had planned. However, the opportunity came sooner than he expected.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After their Dark Arts class, Harry, Ron and Hermione were on their way to the Great Hall for lunch when Malfoy and his two goons, came up behind them.
"Well that was a nice demonstration you put on for us in there," Malfoy said sarcastically while Crabbe and Goyle smirked. "I'm surprised you didn't answer the question about the skeletons. Instead you let your mudblood girlfriend do it for you."
"Malfoy you really don't want to mess with me today," Harry said, trying to act as irritated as possible, when in reality he was delighted since this was his chance to attack Malfoy. Though he had to hold back Ron from beating him to a pulp.
"Oh, I think I do," Malfoy said. "Why don't we settle this right now. You and I so that we can see who really is the better duellist."
"I accept," Harry replied, smiling evilly, though Hermione made an attempt to stop him.
"Harry, you know that you're going to get into trouble if you duel him right now," she said.
"Hermione, I've been wanting to show this bouncing ferret how to duel, now leave me alone," Harry said.
"I've had enough of watching you flirt with your girlfriend Potter," Malfoy said disdainfully. "Its time I teach you who's the better man."
With that, Malfoy drew his wand and fired a curse at Harry, but after having Professor Sepet attack him randomly many times over the past few weeks, Harry was prepared and dodged it easily. He sent a paralyzing spell back at Malfoy, which hit him and he crumpled to the ground.
"Aw, what's wrong Malfoy, fallen and can't get up?" Harry taunted him while Ron and Hermione looked on, Ron amused while Hermione was scowling in disapproval.
Crabbe and Goyle then advanced on Harry trying to attack him, but Hermione saw it coming and she took the opportunity to stun them with a full body bind spell.
"Mr. Potter! Miss Granger!" said a voice from behind them.
Harry, Ron and Hermione turned around to see Walter coming towards them.
"I'm afraid I'll have to give you two detentions for attacking another student. You'll be serving it with Dumbledore tomorrow and you won't be allowed to go to Hogsmeade," Walter said. "Now get moving and don't bother with Malfoy, I'll take care of him."
They knew better than to question him, but Harry was happy that the plan worked perfectly. Now they would have an excuse to go on their mission without Ron suspecting anything.
"Great job you two," Ron said delightfully his face dropped in disappointment. "But now I'll have to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow alone."
"Don't worry Ron, the detention won't last long and you'll get to see us when you come back. If you want, you could go with Fred and George to the Zonko's and buy some stuff," Hermione said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The rest of the day until it was time for the meeting with Dumbledore was boring. History of Magic was dull as usual with Professor Binns droning on and on about how some goblin was trying to start another revolt. Didn't the goblins ever learn when to stop trying to revolt after they've failed so many times? It's a wonder they're even in charge of the bank if they're that dull witted.
Dinner was a bit more enjoyable since he was able to talk with Ron about Quidditch and it was an opportunity to relax before the meeting, but when the time came, Harry and Hermione told Ron that they would be going to see Dumbledore about their detention tomorrow. They got up and went off to Dumbledore's office leaving an enraged Ron behind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When they got to Dumbledore's office, they met Cho outside who greeted them enthusiastically.
"Hi Harry, Hi Hermione," she said smiling at them. "We'll be starting soon so we should be going up."
With that, she said the password (Chocolate Frogs) and the gargoyle hopped aside so that they could enter. They let the stairs carry them up to Dumbledore's office where they found all the teachers waiting for them, along with Moody.
"Hello Harry - Miss Granger - Miss Chang," Dumbledore said with his eyes twinkling behind his spectacles. "Please take a seat."
They sat down and looked to Dumbledore who began to speak.
"Tomorrow morning we will be starting your first mission: the raid on the death eater house in Kilndar. Thanks to Sirius, we know exactly where it is located and we have planned out the proper method to conduct the raid, but I think Alastor can elaborate more. - If you please Alastor," Dumbledore said motioning to the middle of the room while he sat down.
Alastor Moody got up and walked toward the center of the room, his wooden leg making a clunking sound on the floor of the office. Once he got there, he conjured a map with his wand so that everyone could see the town's layout.
There was a road that went through the town, which branched out into different paths along the way. Each path was lined with houses and Harry saw that the Death Eater house, which was marked in red on the map, was located in the top left corner of the town, far away from the gates.
"I have gathered the ten aurors from the Ministry. They are aware of the objective, which is to find any information regarding the Death Eater activities around this area. Tomorrow, they will be stationed in the two houses adjacent to the house we plan to raid," Moody said, pointing to the two houses next to the red mark with his wand.
"The house itself has 3 floors and so we will have to search each floor separately. There is also a possibility that there will be Death Eaters in the house so be prepared for trouble. Normally we would apparate into the house but since there is a shield around the house that prevents anyone from apparating into it, we will have to use floo powder to get into the houses next to it though Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, and Miss Chang would be using floo powder to get to their destination since they can't apparate."
Harry was surprised that Cho would be coming along, but when he looked around, he noticed that Malfoy wasn't present. Maybe he had hurt Malfoy a lot more than he had thought at first, but he figured it had something to do with Walter, however he turned his attention back to Moody and the map.
"The Sirius, Remus, Arthur, Percy, and I will use floo powder to get to the house on the left, while Mr. Potter, Professor Laikov, Miss Chang, Miss Granger, and Professor Sepet use the same method to get to the house on the right. Each of you will have 5 aurors coming with you to each house. They will be waiting when you arrive," Moody continued in his scratchy voice.
"Everyone in the left house is team one and everyone in the right house will be team two. Team one will enter through the front while team two will enter from the back. Once we are inside, five of my aurors will cover the first floor while everyone else searches the other two floors. We will also have two lookouts, one at each door and after we get the information we need, we will quickly exit the house and get back here using floo powder. Any questions?"
Professor Sepet was the first to speak. "What plan do you have of escape if it turns out to be an ambush?"
"According to our spies, they aren't expecting an attack on the house, but I will be carrying a portkey, just in case," Moody said.
"Very well," Professor Sepet said, giving Walter a quick look, who only nodded. "Also, why is Mr. Malfoy not coming along with us and why Miss Chang as his replacement?"
"Mr. Malfoy has met up with an unfortunate accident and has been confined to the infirmary my lord," Walter answered before anyone else could. "As for Miss Chang, she volunteered to be his replacement this afternoon."
Though everyone in the room looked at Cho in surprise, Professor Dumbledore showed no sign at being affected by her decision.
Harry turned to Cho, who was sitting next to him and whispered, "Why did you volunteer?"
"Because no one else would and after all you've done last year, I think this is the best way to pay you back, even if it means getting killed," she replied.
Harry was surprised at her willingness to sacrifice herself for him, but when he looked into her dark brown eyes, he saw that she was sincere and was touched by it.
Cho caught Harry looking at her and also looked back into his emerald eyes, but unlike Harry, she quickly turned away blushing though Harry took no notice and went back to the briefing.
Dumbledore stood up once Moody sat down and walked to the center of the room again.
"Thank you for the information Alastor," Dumbledore said. "I ask that everyone meet here again tomorrow at 7:00 in the morning. The other students will be in Hogsmeade, and Minerva, please keep an eye on them," said Dumbledore. "You are all dismissed."
With that, everyone got up and filed out of the office. Harry and Hermione started walking towards the Gryffindor tower when Cho caught up with them.
"Harry, could I talk to you for a moment?" she asked.
"Uh, sure," Harry replied, giving Hermione an uncertain look. "I'll catch up with you Hermione."
Hermione walked ahead, and once she was out of sight, Harry turned back to Cho.
"So what did you want to talk about?" he asked.
"Well, it's about tomorrow. I don't know how it will turn out, but I just wanted you to know that I'm glad I got the chance to know you and be your friend," Cho said, giving him a weak smile.
"I'm glad I got to know you too," Harry replied. "I hope that everything turns out well and no one will die."
"Well, I should be going now. We need to get up pretty early tomorrow so. good night Harry," Cho said and she gave him a quick hug.
Harry accepted it and when she pulled away, Harry noticed that she was blushing before she quickly walked towards the Ravenclaw tower.
*Did I see what I thought I saw? * Harry thought to himself as he walked towards the Gryffindor tower. *Well, I should be going to sleep as well. Its best that I'm alert tomorrow so that I can make sure that nothing happens to Hermione *
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Harry got to the portrait of the fat lady, he said the password (Griffin). The portrait swung open and he walked in to see Hermione sitting on the armchair reading her duelling book while Ron was playing a game of Wizard's Chess with Seamus.
"Hi Hermione - Hi Ron," Harry said as he walked in.
"Hi Harry," Hermione said dryly.
"Hey Harry," Ron said, not looking up. "Rook to A2 - HAH EAT THAT! CHECKMATE!"
Seamus groaned and got up to go upstairs to the boys' dorm while Ron was busy cleaning up the pieces.
"So how'd your chat with Cho go?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, you've been talking with Cho?" questioned Ron.
"Yes I was. It went alright I guess," Harry said. "She just wanted to tell me something."
"Tell you what?" said Ron.
"It's about the detention tomorrow," said Harry. "She'll be joining us tomorrow because she cursed another Slytherin for insulting Cedric. - Well, I'm off to bed. Our detention tomorrow is very early in the morning. Sorry we can't join you in Hogsmeade Ron."
"Alright, good night mate," Ron said. "Hermione, care for a game of Wizard's Chess?"
"No thanks Ron, go play with Dean or something. I'm off to bed. Like Harry, I need the rest," Hermione replied and she walked upstairs.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next morning, Harry awoke before everyone else and quickly got dressed in his robes before going down to the common room to find Hermione. He found her waiting by the portrait and she was also dressed in her school robes.
They both walked towards Dumbledore's office and along the way, they saw Cho, Walter and Professor Sepet, however, the Count was dressed in a full black cloak with the hood up whereas Walter was wearing his black plate armour like always.
"Harry," Hermione whispered. "Professor Sepet looks a lot like the death eater in the mirror back at the castle in Romania, especially since he's carrying his sword under his cloak."
"You're right. I think we should keep our eyes peeled for trouble," Harry whispered back. Harry thought it was rather strange for them to see the Count up and about in the morning, and wearing a cloak no less. Hermione was right and he did resemble the Death Eater in the mirror. He would have to be extra careful and be prepared to fight against him, despite his power.
Eventually they got to Dumbledore's office and found that everyone was already waiting.
Sirius and Remus gave Harry and Hermione a hug, which they both returned happily.
"Is everyone ready to go?" said Alastor Moody.
Sounds of acknowledgement echoed through the room and Moody drew out a bag of floo powder, which he gave to Harry.
"Here you go Mr. Potter. Just say 'Kilndar' before you step into the fire and you should appear in the house," he said to him. "The same goes for you Miss Granger and Miss Chang. Good luck and we'll see you there."
With that everyone, took a pinch of the floo powder and stepped into the fireplace until Harry, Hermione, and Cho were the only ones left in the room.
"Harry, Miss Granger and Miss Chang," Dumbledore said from behind them as they stepped towards the fireplace.
They turned around and looked at him. "I wish you three the best of luck and please keep your eyes open for trouble. Since Voldemort's (Hermione and Cho flinch) return, he has been gathering more followers from all over the world. It is possible that you may encounter some of them on your trip so use caution. Good luck."
"Thank you professor," Harry said and he turned to the two girls. "I'll go in first in case something is wrong, then you two can follow."
"Be careful Harry," Hermione said and she gave him a hug while Cho looked on, scowling.
"Good luck Harry," said Cho.
"Thanks you two," Harry said and he stepped up to the fireplace. "See you two over there."
With that he threw the floo powder in the fireplace but he turned around and gave Hermione and Cho an encouraging grin before yelling 'Kilndar' and walking in.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry appeared in a room moments later, which he assumed to be the house. The fireplace was marble with a moving portrait of two wizards fishing in a lake and there was a window on either side of the fireplace through which sunlight was coming into the room. The rest of the room had forest green walls and there was a desk off to right and two red armchairs on the left wall next to a bookcase filled completely with large books. In between the armchairs, there was a lamp table with an oil lamp on it. It looked more or less like a study room.
Harry saw that Walter was already in the room and he quickly got up to join him. Soon enough, Hermione and Cho popped through the fireplace and he was glad that they had made it safely.
"Hello you three," Walter said. "This is it, let's go. The five aurors are already waiting outside with Lord Sepet. Have your wands out and follow me."
With that, Harry, Hermione and Cho drew their wands, ready to curse and they followed Walter, who had drawn his dagger, out the door.
When they had gone through the door, Harry saw that there were two wizards waiting with their wands drawn in the hall that they had entered. There was a door on the far right of the hall which was the exit and everyone made their way towards it.
"Keep your eyes open for trouble," Harry heard one of the wizards say from behind in a cautious voice. "Professor Sepet is already outside looking around."
They quickly exited the house and fanned out, looking around for trouble. Harry saw that the house was surrounded by a hedge, about one meter high(approx. 3.2 feet), and that Professor Sepet was already running towards the right, his sword drawn. Once he reached the hedge, Professor Sepet quickly used his sword to cut through the hedge with inhuman speed and soon enough, there was a path wide enough for everyone to walk through.
They all ran towards the opening with the Count leading and entered the grounds of the house that they were supposed to raid.
Once everyone was on the other side, the Count walked quickly towards the back door of the house, which had three levels like Moody had said, and motioned for everyone to follow.
Everyone joined them and the Count put a finger to his mouth, which Harry couldn't see since his face was covered with the hood, telling them to be quiet.
"I can sense that there are a total of ten Death Eaters in the house," the Count said. "Four on the first level, two will be in the hall, once we enter."
"You there," the Count said to a wizard in a red robe standing next to Walter. "Blow the door open and Walter and I will take care of the two Death Eaters in the hall. Everyone will then enter the house and you will stand guard out here, keeping a watchful eye for any trouble."
"Yes sir," the wizard replied.
"Alright, ready?" the Count asked, to which they all nodded in acknowledgement. "On my count. Three - two - one - go!"
The wizard then blew the door open and the Count entered with Walter, who had a bone spear forming in his hand, which was glowing green. The two Death Eaters standing in the hall were taken by surprise and before either could draw their wands, Walter had thrown his spear at one of them, impaling him through the heart while the Count rushed at the other with his sword, cutting the Death Eater through his robe in a diagonal slash starting at the left shoulder and coming down to the right hip.
Blood gushed out of the cut, spraying against the wall across from where he was standing and some getting on the Count's cloak while the one with the spear going through him was thrown back from the force of the spear hitting him and Harry could see that a spot of blood was forming on the Death Eater's robe, quickly spreading down his cloak.
Walter's spear disappeared and both Death Eaters fell to the floor, dead, with pools of blood forming on the floor below them. Neither had the chance to even utter a cry since it had all happened so fast.
Hermione and Cho each let out a gasp at what they had just seen and when Harry looked at them, he saw that they both were a bit pale.
"What do you think you're doing Professor?" asked a wizard in a purple robe, spitting out each word. "You were supposed to stun them, not kill them."
"I do what is necessary," the Count replied. "If it means that there's one less Death Eater walking around, then so be it."
"Very well. I will have to report this to Professor Dumbledore," the wizard replied disdainfully before the door on the other side of the hallway opened.
Walter quickly had another spear forming in his hand while the Count held his sword in front of him, prepared for trouble. Fortunately, the door opened to reveal Moody, who had his wand drawn before him.
"It's only me," Moody said before looking over at the two slain Death Eaters on the floor. "Nice job with the Death Eaters professors. We have secured the first floor."
"You two," Moody continued, motioning to two aurors in blue robes. "Stand guard here. Make sure that no one else comes in. The rest of you, follow me."
They followed Moody out of the hallway, Hermione and Cho looking away from the two Death Eaters lying on the ground as they passed, into a foyer which had a stone staircase off to the right as they entered the room. Harry saw that Percy, Arthur, Sirius, Remus and two more aurors were already in the foyer. Sirius gave Harry a small smile, which he returned happily before Moody started talking again.
"Now for the second floor and there's also a room on this floor that needs to be searched. its right over there," Moody said, pointing to a door to the left of the foyer. "Professor Sepet, could you please search that room while everyone moves on to the second floor."
The Count made his way over to the room and entered it while Moody led the way up the stairs, walking cautiously, his wooden leg echoing on the stone floor, which wasn't good since it could alert any Death Eaters waiting around the entrance to the second floor. Fortunately though, there weren't any Death Eaters around and the group made it up safely.
Walter quickly ran over to the nearest door as Percy and Arthur did the same with a door farther down, their backs pressed against the wall and their wands to their side. Walter motioned to Harry and he quickly went over to him.
"I'm going to blow this door open. There's a Death Eater on the right once you enter the room. Take care of him," Walter said and he made ready to kick the door in. "Ready?"
Harry nodded and he made ready to enter.
Walter then kicked the door open and Harry ran in. The Death Eater was standing looking at a bookcase when he entered and Harry quickly fired a paralyzing spell at him. It hit him and the Death Eater fell to the floor with a thud.
"Good job," said Walter. "I'm going to take care of him now."
"You're not going to -," Harry started to say in horror, but Walter had already gone up to the Death Eater and plunged his dagger into his heart.
"There - one less Death Eater to worry about," Walter said, withdrawing his blood stained dagger from the lifeless body and blood started to spread on the floor. "Let's go."
Harry was starting to have second thoughts about Walter as he followed him out of the room. Both Walter and the Count didn't hesitate to kill anyone. They would be dangerous enemies if they ever turned against the Order and to Harry, the safety of those he cared about came first.
"The other room is taken care of," Harry heard Percy say as he exited the room with Walter.
"Good job and I took care of the last Death Eater in the room at the end of this hall," Moody said. "Percy, stay here with the remaining aurors I brought with me and search the rooms. Everyone else, follow me up to the third floor."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Moody once again took the lead as he led them up to the third floor and when they arrived, Arthur and Sirius went over to one of the doors while Remus, Hermione, and Cho took another door.
Sirius blew open his door while Arthur ran in and stunned the Death Eater in the room before looking around while Remus was doing the same thing, only there were two Death Eaters in his room and Hermione and Cho stunned both of them with a full body bind spell.
Moody looked around with approval. "I don't sense anymore Death Eaters around here. Search each of the rooms. Look for anything that could look like plans for some type of attack. Sirius - Remus - take the stunned Death Eaters and bind them tightly. We will want to question them under veritaserum later."
While Sirius and Remus were busy dragging the Death Eaters into the hall and binding them, Harry, Hermione, and Cho were busying searching one of the rooms together while Walter was watching the staircase with Moody in case trouble came up.
"Harry," Hermione said, catching his attention.
"Yes Hermione?" Harry said.
"What do you think we're looking for?" she asked.
"I don't know. Look around at the desk," he said, pointing at the desk, which was located in front of a bookcase. "There might be a parchment in one of the drawers. I'll search the bookcase with Cho."
As he searched the bookcase, Harry couldn't help thinking about the mission he was on. Everyone was safe, right? So why was he feeling so uneasy? They had successfully raided the house and the Death Eaters didn't know what hit them and he should be relieved, but he couldn't relax. Something was wrong.
By then, Hermione finished looking over the desk and she looked over at Harry, only to notice the thoughtful expression upon his face. "Something wrong Harry?"
Harry quickly looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, I was just thinking that this seems too easy and I can't help wondering that something is wrong."
"Harry, you're just worrying too much," Hermione said, giving him a reassuring smile. "I'm glad that this mission is almost over and we can return. The Count and Walter are really scaring me. They've killed at least two Death Eaters already while everyone else has been stunning them."
"Yeah, Walter killed a third one on the second floor," Harry remarked.
"Really - you think that Dumbledore would want to hire someone else, like Mundungus Fletcher. He doesn't kill his enemies," Hermione said frowning.
"Hey you two!" they heard Cho exclaim. "Look what I found."
Harry and Hermione went over to her and saw that she had a book in her hands with a piece of parchment in it, but upon closer inspection, they saw that it wasn't any ordinary parchment, but plans for taking over Hogsmeade and freeing the Death Eaters in Azkaban.
"Great Job Cho," Hermione said. "Let's take it to Moody."
They stood up and had just walked out the door when they heard a yell coming from the first floor.
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! IT'S AN AMBUSH!"
Harry quickly ran over to the nearest window at the end of the hall and looked down. He saw about forty Death Eaters advancing on the house and looking over at the houses that they had come from, he saw that more were apparating there by the second. They were trapped.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Thanks to everyone who reviewed:
GazzadaSpazza: I'll think about the unicorn. It sounds like it would suit Hermione's personality.
Angelis: Thanks for your nice review.
Mikala: Thanks for reviewing and I hope I didn't disappoint you with this chapter.
BloodRedSword & Phoenix of Light: Well, I made sure Malfoy was replaced on the mission. Hope you're happy.
Dark Golo: You'll find out what Harry's sword does later. I can't tell you now. It'd ruin the fic. =)