Well, I only got 4 reviews, but all of them were positive, for which I am
grateful. So, without further adieu, on with the fic!
I own nothing, except for the original characters. If you want to sue me, come and find me and I'll 'convince' you that it's a bad idea to piss off an over worked call center employee that also goes to school fulltime.
Chapter 1
"How go the preparations?"
"My Lord, all is proceeding according to plan, the muggles have accepted the proposal, the deed will be finished by dawn."
"Excellent, do not forget to pay them a visit to 'repay' them for their assistance."
"Of course, Lord Voldemort."
Reaching to his side, Voldemort slowly stroked a metal object, running his hand over the molded grip.
"And so the battle begins for some, just as it ends for others!"
-- --------------------------
Riggs knew that things were looking up. When a man comes to you with a bag of gold coins, wanting to use your 'special talents', that was definitely a good day. Biggs and Wedge ran up beside Riggs, panting from the run. Riggs took a look at the quiet neighborhood and saw the sun just barely peaking over the horizon. Looking at the identical houses, he got the distinct feeling that he was doing these people a favor, making them see that all things will change eventually
'A little chaos never hurt anyone....cept in this case the kid in that house.'
Shrugging his shoulders absently, he looked at his cohorts, wiping away any trace of sympathy he had for the young man they had been sent to kill.
"Ok, everything is set boss, it'll look just like a gas explosion."
Nodding, Riggs pulled the radio detonator from his pocket and pushed a button. A massive shockwave nearly threw the trio to their backs and moments later a massive fireball rose into the sky. Flames consumed the house rapidly, and Riggs smiled at his handy work.
"All right boys, lets get that gold!"
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Ron moaned as an unending buzzing filled his ears. Waving his arm blindly in the direction of his clock, he grabbed something solid and immediately threw it at his wall. One loud thump later and peace was restored to his room. The lanky teenager smiled as he pulled the covers over his head again, hoping that sleep would come soon. Moments later, someone pounded on his door.
"Go away! Sleeping!"
Moments later his bedroom door was flung open, and a bucket of ice cold water poured over his head.
"DAMN IT! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?"
Glaring at his older brother Bill, he paused for a moment and cocked his head to the side and said dumbly,
"Bill? What are you doing here? I thought you were in.."
"There's no time for that! Get dressed now, something's happened to Harry, some kind of explosion! We're leaving now to see if we can find out what's happening!"
Moments later Ron was rushing out of his room, tugging his shirt over his head. Looking over his family, what he saw made him feel very sorry for whoever had caused them all to worry. Bill and Charlie had large scowls on their faces, their wands gripped so tightly in their hands that their knuckles were turning white. Fred and George were muttering to themselves, scowling and making angry gestures. But the last of the Weasely children present caused Ron to feel the most uncomfortable. Ginny was practically shooting sparks from her eyes, her brown eyes flashing with a fury that all residents of the home knew very well. Reaching for the floo powder on the mantelpiece, Ginny threw it in the fireplace and muttered,
"Arabella Figg's"
Walking into the green flames, she shot a look at her brothers, as if saying, 'What the hell are you waiting for?' Moments later, Fred, George, Bill and Charlie were gone with several loud cracks. Ron quickly threw some more floo powder into the fire and absently thought,
'Why do I get the feeling that I should have stayed in bed?'
---- -------------------------------
Ginny was fighting desperately to keep calm. Harry was missing, and that news alone almost sent her over the edge, wanting to go out with her wand and capture/maim/torture every Death Eater she came across to find Harry. As much as she wanted to say that she was over him, she knew deep down she never would be. She was truly in love with him, and if that meant that she would give him up so that he'd be happy, she was more than willing to do so. As she tumbled out of Mrs. Figg's fireplace, she threw the front door open, not even speaking to a stunned Mrs. Figg, stalking over towards what was left of 4 Privet Drive.
As the scene came into view, tears threatened to leak from her eyes. Smoke drifted lazily into the sky, and several people were gathered around, mostly police and firefighters As the flames continued to consume the house, her strength failed and she fell to the ground, sobbing. Moments later, a pair of strong arms was holding her, rocking her back and forth gently, whispering softly into her ear that things will turn out all right. Looking into the face of her brother Charlie, all she could do was bury her face in his chest and sob. Bill looked at the scene before him, his heart nearly breaking at the sight of the burning house and his heartbroken sister.
'Who ever did this is going to pay.
'Looking to his right, he saw a man in a long jacket giving orders to the officers. Walking forward, he touched the man's shoulder.
"Officer, any idea what happened?"
"Yeah, looks like a natural gas explosion, took out the house this morning. Good thing that no one was here."
Bill looked at him in surprise and grabbed him by the shoulders
"Was there someone that got out before the explosion? Where is he? We're his friends, what can you tell us?"
"Hey, calm down! Neighbors are saying that a young man left the house last night around 7pm, walking down the street. No one saw him return last night or this morning and the firemen have searched the building, they're pretty sure that no one was in there, there should be some evidence if your friend was inside when the house blew."
Suddenly a young policeman came running forward and stopped in front of the lieutenant, catching his breath after running from his squad car
."Lieutenant, we just got reports of a triple homicide. We found three men with enough explosives and weapons to start their own war."
The lieutenant's eyes widened slightly and began walking away, but Bill was able to catch end of their conversation
"Any idea as to the cause of death?"
"No sir, it looks like they all died of natural causes, there wasn't a scratch on any of them."
Bill lowered his head, his shoulders shaking as he managed to put the two seemingly unrelated incidents together.
'He got those men to try and kill Harry.....and then he repays them with death. As much as I hate Voldemort, those three got what was coming to them for even attempting this.'
Returning to his crying sister, he rested his hand on the top of Ginny's head. The entire family had heard the conversation and all of them had looks of disbelief, grief and anger. Kneeling beside his sister, Bill titled her face towards him and said,
"Don't worry Gin, we'll find him, no matter what the cost. And if anything has happened to him, I pity the poor bastard because he'll get no mercy from any of us."
-----------------------
Weeks passed, and no word came about Harry's whereabouts. Several reports from the Daily Prophet tried to get a statement from the Weasley's, but received several curses instead. One reporter was so insistent that last anyone had heard he was in St Mungo's recovering from 15 different curses. No more reports ever came to the Burrow. Bill and Charlie had taken a permanent leave of absence from their jobs, spending all their time with the Order of the Phoenix. All members not on a priority mission were being used to search for Harry. Both Arthur and Molly were still out of the country making contact with foreign Ministries of Magic, but had been communicating with their children, boosting their spirits and helping them in any way they could. Dumbledore was also doing all that he could to find Harry, but people were starting to lose hope. Several leads had come up, but in the end, nothing came of any of them. Ron looked out his bedroom window, absently stroking Hedwig. The owl had shown up after the Weasley's had returned, extremely agitated that she couldn't find Harry. The family had sent several letters with the snowy white owl since they were sure that she would be able to find Harry no matter what. But every letter came back with Hedwig, unopened. Voldemort seemed to be very pleased with this latest turn of events, using the confusion of the wizarding world to launch numerous attacks. People everywhere had lost hope, hope that stood for them in the form of a young man that no one could find. Shaking his head, Ron pulled a cloak over his shoulders and left his room. All of his brothers were waiting for him in the living room. Today was the day to go to Diagon Alley and get his and Ginny's school things. Since the attacks had started, the entire family had decided that it was safer that they all were together. They had even gone as far as to try and talk with Percy, hoping that he would change his mind of how he thought things were. Unfortunately, Percy was kept extremely busy at the Ministry that he hadn't had time to talk with his family at all. Reaching for the floo powder, Ron tossed it in and motioned for Ginny to go ahead once their brothers had disapparated to the Leaky Cauldron. After his sister disappeared, Ron sighed again, knowing that this trip to Diagon Alley would be anything but fun, since Harry was missing and Hermione wouldn't be there. Dumbledore had taken her to 12 Grimmauld place for her protection, assuming that she'd be an excellent target for the Death Eaters to use as bait for Harry if he was merely hiding. Dumbledore had even gone so far as to send Professor McGonagall to get Hermione's school supplies. Tossing the floo powder into the fire, he clearly said,
"DIAGON ALLEY."
Moments later Ron was gone in a flash green flames
-------------------------------
Ginny took Bill's hand in hers and blinked back tears. Since the entire ordeal had started, she would burst into tears at any moment, wondering if she'd ever see Harry again, wanting so badly to tell him how she felt about him. Gone was the insecure girl, the torturous ordeal making her realize that she had to tell Harry when she saw him her feelings for him. Looking around, Ginny's mood didn't brighten any. Normally, Diagon Alley was bustling with wizards and witches, selling and buying. Children laughing at magical toys and trinkets, the sound and smells that would make any person feel alive with the magic and wonder of such a special place. But after Harry's disappearance, people seemed to have lost hope. Many of the people that would normally be in the Alley were missing, the only people that Ginny saw were several students from Hogwarts and the Aurors. After the attacks began, the ministry had left a permanent group of twenty Aurors in Diagon Alley to keep order and peace. The ministry had also decided that to cut down on any groups that Voldemort may attack, so very few people were actually allowed to come to Diagon Alley and restricted all Floo travel to just the Leaky Cauldron. People followed a specific schedule and these records were closely guarded in the Ministry. Just as the family had reached Gringotts, Bill stopped.
"Does anyone else feel that? Almost like the air has stopped moving."
All of the Weasley's looked around, seeing that several other witches and wizards had noticed the same thing. Moments later, the wind picked up until it became as powerful as a tornado. Bill pulled Ginny into a doorway, and watched the rest of his family gather beside him. Several witches and wizards didn't react quickly enough and were slammed into wall or through display windows. A high pitched laugh echoed through the streets and the wind mysteriously died down. Six black clothed individuals appeared, and looked at the remaining people that were standing
."And what have we here? More muggle loving trash? Or loyal followers of our true lord, Voldemort?"
Smiling at his companions, he turned to face the crowd. Everyone was frozen due to the display of raw power that these strange men had just shown. No one moved at all as the apparent leader continued to speak.
"If any are loyal to Voldemort, show it now. Give us the Weasley Family, and we will be on our way." Gripping his wand tightly, Bill looked at Charlie and nodded. Pulling his hand from his sister's, he knelt down and looked into her eyes
."Ginny, I need you to run with Ron, Fred and George, we need to get you out of here. When me and Charlie run out, you get to the Leaky Cauldron as fast as possible. Ok?"
Nodding quickly, Ginny's tears slowly trailed down her cheeks as he oldest brothers spoke to each other softly. George and Fred had their wands out, as did Ron. Looking at her family for what may have been the last time, Ginny shed her tears again, thinking,
'First Harry, now the rest of my family..when will this nightmare end?"
---- ------------------------------------
"No? A pity, lets show these simpleton's what awaits the foes of our Lord....DEATH!"
Pulling a metal object from his robe, he closed his eyes for a moment and a blood red blade sprang from the end of it. Each of the other black figures did the same, raising their glowing blades. Raising their free hands, blasts of red energy began to strike people rapidly, dropping them all to the ground. Each Knight raised their blades high, relishing in the slaughter that was before them
."ALL SHALL FEAR THE DEATH KNIGHTS OF VOLDEMORT! DEATH TO HIS ENEMIES!"
"REDUCTO!"
"REDUCTO!"
The two curses hit the center of the square the six Death Knights were standing in, sending shards of rock flying in all directions. Ginny and her brothers ran as fast as possible, making a break for the nearest floo connection. The black clothed knights seemed unfazed by the flying rock and turned to the Weasley Brothers, raising their hands and unleashing a blast of wind that send them flying back. A knight turned to the running group and raced after the fleeing Weasley's
."STUPEFY!"
The red curse raced towards the running knight, but none that were watching could believe what happened next. The glowing blade dipped downward into the path of the curse, and with at small flick of his wrist it was sent hurtling back to Charlie. Falling to the ground, Ginny saw look of agony frozen on her stunned brother's face, knowing that he had failed them. The black Knight stood over the youngest Weasley and leered at her. Raising his hands, George Fred and Ron were slammed through the nearest windows by blasts of air before they could even get their wands up. Ginny screamed as she saw her brother's fall in a tangle of limbs, bleeding from multiple puncture wounds from the glass. Turning quickly, she looked into the face of their attacker and fell back, fear causing her to freeze.
"Ah, the young one..just what the Master requested!"
Suddenly pandemonium struck, but his time it struck the Death Knights. A brilliantly bright tower of flames erupted around the five remaining Death Knights, causing them to clump together, not wanting to get burned. Just as Ginny's pursuer reached for her, a brilliant blue flash of light chopped own viciously, severing his hand. The knight fell to the ground, clutching the smoking stump and howling in agony. Looking to her left fearfully, Ginny's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. A tall youth with well defined muscles stood beside her, holding a familiar metal object but with a blue blade instead of red. Raising his hand, the injured knight went sailing through the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies, destroying the broom that was on display. Suddenly the blue blade retracted into the ornate hilt and Ginny was in the youth's arms, rising up to the rooftops of the shops in Diagon Alley on a current of air. Looking at the face of her rescuer, Ginny's breath caught in her throat and she managed to gasp
,"Harry?"
Turning to face her, he rescuer winked and shook his head. Looking closer, Ginny realized that though he resembled Harry, there were some subtle differences. His jaw line was more angular, making him appear a little older and he was definitely built more like a linebacker from that American muggle sport, football. But the biggest differences were his eyes, they were the most intense blue that Ginny had ever seen and the fact that he had no scar on his forehead
."Nope, the name's Jared. That's Harry."
Ginny followed his outstretched finger and her breath hitched in her throat again as she watched the scene unfold below her. Harry dove from the top of Gringotts and the wall of flames died down, revealing the human projectile that was to spell the Death Knights doom. Harry savagely attacked the nearest knight, hacking and slashing, never letting his opponent rest or gain the advantage for a single moment. Moments later, the fight ended with Harry knocking the blade from his opponents hand, he then raised his free hand and thrust it towards the downed man, sending him skidding painfully along the ground with a blast of air. Facing his remaining opponents, he declared in a loud voice,
"You want someone? Well come and get me!"
---------------------------
Jared grinned as he watched Harry move effortlessly between the flashing blades, following the patterns of magic that flowed around the blades as if alive, making him dodge when ever they came in contact with his magical aura surrounding his body. Harry seemed to not even care that four people were using deadly blades that were about to cleave him in two! A quick stab behind him and a knight fell behind Harry, clutching at his thigh and rolling on the ground. Moments later another knight fell, knocked unconscious from a point blank stunner after Harry batted away his weapon. The spell flew from his hand and tossed the first knight several feet back, while another turned to try and get away, but he was too slow as Harry's second stunner knocked him face first into the hard ground. The remaining knight eyed him fearfully. Moments later, his body blurred and the disappeared. Harry sighed and the glowing blade slowly disappeared and he attached his hilt to his belt. Looking to his side, he saw Charlie and knelt beside him, waving his hand over his stunned friend. Charlie bolted upright and started to grin manically,
"Harry, that was absolutely brilliant! Where did you learn to fight like that?"
Harry grinned as he slapped a round disk in Charlie's hand and he whispered a few words to him. After Charlie nodded in agreement, he disappeared. Tossing a similar disk to Bill, who incidentally was doing a very good impression a fish, he smirked as Bill automatically caught the disk and faded from sight. Pulling a pair of stylish sunglasses from the leather coat he wore, he looked at Jared and grinned
."Any problems?"
"Nah, piece of cake. But you know the one that you stabbed in the leg almost had you. Another couple of inches and he would have chopped your hand off."
Dismissing the tall youth with a wave of his hand, Harry placed the glasses on his face, blocking out he bright sun. Harry walked towards Ron and gathered him up in a back slapping hug which Ron returned enthusiastically.
"Harry, that was so wicked! You've got to teach me that! And that green blade, what was that?"
"All in good time Ron, all in good time, for now, I need you three to hold onto this. We'll talk when and where it's safe." Flipping the disk into the air, Ron grabbed it and looked at the markings on the front. An infinity symbol was etched into the surface, along with a set of scales that were perfectly balanced. After his brothers touched the disk, they all disappeared.
Ginny looked at Harry with barely contain joy as he somehow jumped the three story building they were on and landed nimbly on his feet beside her. She threw herself into his arms, squeezing as hard as she could. Jared snickered as he watched Harry turn a very interesting shade of blue
"Ginny....air.....good......breathe..."
Ginny quickly let Harry go, her cheeks bright red with embarrassment
'Well done, the one guy I love comes back, and I nearly kill him!
'Looking at Harry, Ginny's heart started to beat faster, seeing that he must have been very busy during the time he was missing. Before he was a lanky teenager, with very wiry muscles and almost no muscle tone what so ever. Now, there was quite a bit of definition to his muscles, nothing that was huge, but he had filled out nicely. It also looked like he had grown several inches, just topping 6 feet now. Before he had left, she had thought that he was cute, but now, he was defiantly more then cute, he was hot! Looking at the ground, she saw the Aurors finally regaining their senses. Each of them pumped several Stunners into each Death Knight, not entirely convinced they were out of the fight. Moments later, reinforcements arrived, as did a pair of very familiar faces for Harry and Ginny. Dumbledore looked at the scene of carnage before him, the blasted streets and destroyed shops telling him of the fierce battle that had taken place. But more importantly, the young girl beside him was nearly beside herself in tears, knowing that her friends were supposed to be here and now they may be hurt, or worse. Jared looked at Hermione as she clung to Dumbledore's side. Harry looked at Jared for a moment and saw a thoughtful expression come to Jared's face as he continued to stare at Hermione. Moments later Jared shook his head and looked at Harry again
"So, this is your other best friend, the most intelligent witch Hogwarts has seen in a century?"
Harry nodded and Jared smirked.
"Well, let's not keep her waiting in suspense shall we? I'm sure she'll be more than thrilled to see you."
Harry grinned and picked up Ginny in his arms, grinning even wider as the young girl giggled at him. Jumping forward, he landed softly beside his friend and let Ginny down and watched Jared land beside him. Walking forward silently, Harry stood beside Hermione and winked at Ginny and Jared.
"Hey, what happened here?"
Hermione's eyes became as big as dinner plates as she turned around. All Hermione did was stare at Harry for a minute or two, then suddenly she tackled Harry to the ground, sobbing into his chest and beating it at the same time. Jared fell on the ground laughing, tears coming to his eyes as he watched the amusing spectacle. Every witch and wizard that could stand was watching the scene unfolding before them, whispering between each other rapidly.
"Damn you Harry Potter for making me worry! I'm going to kill you!"
Grabbing Hermione's hands, Harry held her close till her sobs became sniffles and finally stopped. Looking into her eyes, he winked at her and she giggled, wrapping him up in a hug and whispering to him softly. Helping Hermione to her feet, Harry put his arm around her shoulder. Hermione looked at Jared for a moment and did a double take, then started to gape like a fish out of water. Jared leaned forward and gently closed her mouth with a light snapping sound the smiled widely.
'I bet 'm going to get a lot of that in the near future...'
"HI, I'm Jared. You know, you look so much cuter when you're not gaping at people like a fish out of water."
Harry turned away from Hermione, trying to not laugh as he face turned beet red and she glared at Jared. Ginny lightly slapped Harry's arm and glared at him and he composed himself quickly. Jared then walked towards Professor Dumbledore and pulled a small figurine from a pouch he had at his hip
"Professor, I'm sure that you recognize this, and know what it means."
Dumbledore looked at the figurine and nodded, his eyes twinkling brightly and a wide smile nearly splitting his face in two. Reaching out a hand he clapped Jared on the shoulder and then did the same to Harry
."Yes, I do recognize this.....and believe I know what it signifies. I have been waiting a long time for you to appear again and now that you have the spell is broken. I see that we all have much to discuss young Jared. If you'd be so kind to take us to the Citadel, I believe all of the players are now gathered."
Jared nodded and closed his eyes and spread his arms wide and began to chant softly in a strange language. Moments later a large glowing portal appeared in front of the small group, and Harry, Ginny Hermione Dumbledore and Jared were pulled in quickly. The moment that Jared passed through the portal it snapped shut, leaving a large number of confused and worried wizards and witches behind.
So, what's the verdict on this Chapter? Anyone interested in being a Beta reader? If so, email me and I'll put you up for consideration. As always, reviews and flames are appreciated! I mean, how else would I get better if you didn't tell me if my fic sucks?
I own nothing, except for the original characters. If you want to sue me, come and find me and I'll 'convince' you that it's a bad idea to piss off an over worked call center employee that also goes to school fulltime.
Chapter 1
"How go the preparations?"
"My Lord, all is proceeding according to plan, the muggles have accepted the proposal, the deed will be finished by dawn."
"Excellent, do not forget to pay them a visit to 'repay' them for their assistance."
"Of course, Lord Voldemort."
Reaching to his side, Voldemort slowly stroked a metal object, running his hand over the molded grip.
"And so the battle begins for some, just as it ends for others!"
-- --------------------------
Riggs knew that things were looking up. When a man comes to you with a bag of gold coins, wanting to use your 'special talents', that was definitely a good day. Biggs and Wedge ran up beside Riggs, panting from the run. Riggs took a look at the quiet neighborhood and saw the sun just barely peaking over the horizon. Looking at the identical houses, he got the distinct feeling that he was doing these people a favor, making them see that all things will change eventually
'A little chaos never hurt anyone....cept in this case the kid in that house.'
Shrugging his shoulders absently, he looked at his cohorts, wiping away any trace of sympathy he had for the young man they had been sent to kill.
"Ok, everything is set boss, it'll look just like a gas explosion."
Nodding, Riggs pulled the radio detonator from his pocket and pushed a button. A massive shockwave nearly threw the trio to their backs and moments later a massive fireball rose into the sky. Flames consumed the house rapidly, and Riggs smiled at his handy work.
"All right boys, lets get that gold!"
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Ron moaned as an unending buzzing filled his ears. Waving his arm blindly in the direction of his clock, he grabbed something solid and immediately threw it at his wall. One loud thump later and peace was restored to his room. The lanky teenager smiled as he pulled the covers over his head again, hoping that sleep would come soon. Moments later, someone pounded on his door.
"Go away! Sleeping!"
Moments later his bedroom door was flung open, and a bucket of ice cold water poured over his head.
"DAMN IT! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?"
Glaring at his older brother Bill, he paused for a moment and cocked his head to the side and said dumbly,
"Bill? What are you doing here? I thought you were in.."
"There's no time for that! Get dressed now, something's happened to Harry, some kind of explosion! We're leaving now to see if we can find out what's happening!"
Moments later Ron was rushing out of his room, tugging his shirt over his head. Looking over his family, what he saw made him feel very sorry for whoever had caused them all to worry. Bill and Charlie had large scowls on their faces, their wands gripped so tightly in their hands that their knuckles were turning white. Fred and George were muttering to themselves, scowling and making angry gestures. But the last of the Weasely children present caused Ron to feel the most uncomfortable. Ginny was practically shooting sparks from her eyes, her brown eyes flashing with a fury that all residents of the home knew very well. Reaching for the floo powder on the mantelpiece, Ginny threw it in the fireplace and muttered,
"Arabella Figg's"
Walking into the green flames, she shot a look at her brothers, as if saying, 'What the hell are you waiting for?' Moments later, Fred, George, Bill and Charlie were gone with several loud cracks. Ron quickly threw some more floo powder into the fire and absently thought,
'Why do I get the feeling that I should have stayed in bed?'
---- -------------------------------
Ginny was fighting desperately to keep calm. Harry was missing, and that news alone almost sent her over the edge, wanting to go out with her wand and capture/maim/torture every Death Eater she came across to find Harry. As much as she wanted to say that she was over him, she knew deep down she never would be. She was truly in love with him, and if that meant that she would give him up so that he'd be happy, she was more than willing to do so. As she tumbled out of Mrs. Figg's fireplace, she threw the front door open, not even speaking to a stunned Mrs. Figg, stalking over towards what was left of 4 Privet Drive.
As the scene came into view, tears threatened to leak from her eyes. Smoke drifted lazily into the sky, and several people were gathered around, mostly police and firefighters As the flames continued to consume the house, her strength failed and she fell to the ground, sobbing. Moments later, a pair of strong arms was holding her, rocking her back and forth gently, whispering softly into her ear that things will turn out all right. Looking into the face of her brother Charlie, all she could do was bury her face in his chest and sob. Bill looked at the scene before him, his heart nearly breaking at the sight of the burning house and his heartbroken sister.
'Who ever did this is going to pay.
'Looking to his right, he saw a man in a long jacket giving orders to the officers. Walking forward, he touched the man's shoulder.
"Officer, any idea what happened?"
"Yeah, looks like a natural gas explosion, took out the house this morning. Good thing that no one was here."
Bill looked at him in surprise and grabbed him by the shoulders
"Was there someone that got out before the explosion? Where is he? We're his friends, what can you tell us?"
"Hey, calm down! Neighbors are saying that a young man left the house last night around 7pm, walking down the street. No one saw him return last night or this morning and the firemen have searched the building, they're pretty sure that no one was in there, there should be some evidence if your friend was inside when the house blew."
Suddenly a young policeman came running forward and stopped in front of the lieutenant, catching his breath after running from his squad car
."Lieutenant, we just got reports of a triple homicide. We found three men with enough explosives and weapons to start their own war."
The lieutenant's eyes widened slightly and began walking away, but Bill was able to catch end of their conversation
"Any idea as to the cause of death?"
"No sir, it looks like they all died of natural causes, there wasn't a scratch on any of them."
Bill lowered his head, his shoulders shaking as he managed to put the two seemingly unrelated incidents together.
'He got those men to try and kill Harry.....and then he repays them with death. As much as I hate Voldemort, those three got what was coming to them for even attempting this.'
Returning to his crying sister, he rested his hand on the top of Ginny's head. The entire family had heard the conversation and all of them had looks of disbelief, grief and anger. Kneeling beside his sister, Bill titled her face towards him and said,
"Don't worry Gin, we'll find him, no matter what the cost. And if anything has happened to him, I pity the poor bastard because he'll get no mercy from any of us."
-----------------------
Weeks passed, and no word came about Harry's whereabouts. Several reports from the Daily Prophet tried to get a statement from the Weasley's, but received several curses instead. One reporter was so insistent that last anyone had heard he was in St Mungo's recovering from 15 different curses. No more reports ever came to the Burrow. Bill and Charlie had taken a permanent leave of absence from their jobs, spending all their time with the Order of the Phoenix. All members not on a priority mission were being used to search for Harry. Both Arthur and Molly were still out of the country making contact with foreign Ministries of Magic, but had been communicating with their children, boosting their spirits and helping them in any way they could. Dumbledore was also doing all that he could to find Harry, but people were starting to lose hope. Several leads had come up, but in the end, nothing came of any of them. Ron looked out his bedroom window, absently stroking Hedwig. The owl had shown up after the Weasley's had returned, extremely agitated that she couldn't find Harry. The family had sent several letters with the snowy white owl since they were sure that she would be able to find Harry no matter what. But every letter came back with Hedwig, unopened. Voldemort seemed to be very pleased with this latest turn of events, using the confusion of the wizarding world to launch numerous attacks. People everywhere had lost hope, hope that stood for them in the form of a young man that no one could find. Shaking his head, Ron pulled a cloak over his shoulders and left his room. All of his brothers were waiting for him in the living room. Today was the day to go to Diagon Alley and get his and Ginny's school things. Since the attacks had started, the entire family had decided that it was safer that they all were together. They had even gone as far as to try and talk with Percy, hoping that he would change his mind of how he thought things were. Unfortunately, Percy was kept extremely busy at the Ministry that he hadn't had time to talk with his family at all. Reaching for the floo powder, Ron tossed it in and motioned for Ginny to go ahead once their brothers had disapparated to the Leaky Cauldron. After his sister disappeared, Ron sighed again, knowing that this trip to Diagon Alley would be anything but fun, since Harry was missing and Hermione wouldn't be there. Dumbledore had taken her to 12 Grimmauld place for her protection, assuming that she'd be an excellent target for the Death Eaters to use as bait for Harry if he was merely hiding. Dumbledore had even gone so far as to send Professor McGonagall to get Hermione's school supplies. Tossing the floo powder into the fire, he clearly said,
"DIAGON ALLEY."
Moments later Ron was gone in a flash green flames
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Ginny took Bill's hand in hers and blinked back tears. Since the entire ordeal had started, she would burst into tears at any moment, wondering if she'd ever see Harry again, wanting so badly to tell him how she felt about him. Gone was the insecure girl, the torturous ordeal making her realize that she had to tell Harry when she saw him her feelings for him. Looking around, Ginny's mood didn't brighten any. Normally, Diagon Alley was bustling with wizards and witches, selling and buying. Children laughing at magical toys and trinkets, the sound and smells that would make any person feel alive with the magic and wonder of such a special place. But after Harry's disappearance, people seemed to have lost hope. Many of the people that would normally be in the Alley were missing, the only people that Ginny saw were several students from Hogwarts and the Aurors. After the attacks began, the ministry had left a permanent group of twenty Aurors in Diagon Alley to keep order and peace. The ministry had also decided that to cut down on any groups that Voldemort may attack, so very few people were actually allowed to come to Diagon Alley and restricted all Floo travel to just the Leaky Cauldron. People followed a specific schedule and these records were closely guarded in the Ministry. Just as the family had reached Gringotts, Bill stopped.
"Does anyone else feel that? Almost like the air has stopped moving."
All of the Weasley's looked around, seeing that several other witches and wizards had noticed the same thing. Moments later, the wind picked up until it became as powerful as a tornado. Bill pulled Ginny into a doorway, and watched the rest of his family gather beside him. Several witches and wizards didn't react quickly enough and were slammed into wall or through display windows. A high pitched laugh echoed through the streets and the wind mysteriously died down. Six black clothed individuals appeared, and looked at the remaining people that were standing
."And what have we here? More muggle loving trash? Or loyal followers of our true lord, Voldemort?"
Smiling at his companions, he turned to face the crowd. Everyone was frozen due to the display of raw power that these strange men had just shown. No one moved at all as the apparent leader continued to speak.
"If any are loyal to Voldemort, show it now. Give us the Weasley Family, and we will be on our way." Gripping his wand tightly, Bill looked at Charlie and nodded. Pulling his hand from his sister's, he knelt down and looked into her eyes
."Ginny, I need you to run with Ron, Fred and George, we need to get you out of here. When me and Charlie run out, you get to the Leaky Cauldron as fast as possible. Ok?"
Nodding quickly, Ginny's tears slowly trailed down her cheeks as he oldest brothers spoke to each other softly. George and Fred had their wands out, as did Ron. Looking at her family for what may have been the last time, Ginny shed her tears again, thinking,
'First Harry, now the rest of my family..when will this nightmare end?"
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"No? A pity, lets show these simpleton's what awaits the foes of our Lord....DEATH!"
Pulling a metal object from his robe, he closed his eyes for a moment and a blood red blade sprang from the end of it. Each of the other black figures did the same, raising their glowing blades. Raising their free hands, blasts of red energy began to strike people rapidly, dropping them all to the ground. Each Knight raised their blades high, relishing in the slaughter that was before them
."ALL SHALL FEAR THE DEATH KNIGHTS OF VOLDEMORT! DEATH TO HIS ENEMIES!"
"REDUCTO!"
"REDUCTO!"
The two curses hit the center of the square the six Death Knights were standing in, sending shards of rock flying in all directions. Ginny and her brothers ran as fast as possible, making a break for the nearest floo connection. The black clothed knights seemed unfazed by the flying rock and turned to the Weasley Brothers, raising their hands and unleashing a blast of wind that send them flying back. A knight turned to the running group and raced after the fleeing Weasley's
."STUPEFY!"
The red curse raced towards the running knight, but none that were watching could believe what happened next. The glowing blade dipped downward into the path of the curse, and with at small flick of his wrist it was sent hurtling back to Charlie. Falling to the ground, Ginny saw look of agony frozen on her stunned brother's face, knowing that he had failed them. The black Knight stood over the youngest Weasley and leered at her. Raising his hands, George Fred and Ron were slammed through the nearest windows by blasts of air before they could even get their wands up. Ginny screamed as she saw her brother's fall in a tangle of limbs, bleeding from multiple puncture wounds from the glass. Turning quickly, she looked into the face of their attacker and fell back, fear causing her to freeze.
"Ah, the young one..just what the Master requested!"
Suddenly pandemonium struck, but his time it struck the Death Knights. A brilliantly bright tower of flames erupted around the five remaining Death Knights, causing them to clump together, not wanting to get burned. Just as Ginny's pursuer reached for her, a brilliant blue flash of light chopped own viciously, severing his hand. The knight fell to the ground, clutching the smoking stump and howling in agony. Looking to her left fearfully, Ginny's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. A tall youth with well defined muscles stood beside her, holding a familiar metal object but with a blue blade instead of red. Raising his hand, the injured knight went sailing through the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies, destroying the broom that was on display. Suddenly the blue blade retracted into the ornate hilt and Ginny was in the youth's arms, rising up to the rooftops of the shops in Diagon Alley on a current of air. Looking at the face of her rescuer, Ginny's breath caught in her throat and she managed to gasp
,"Harry?"
Turning to face her, he rescuer winked and shook his head. Looking closer, Ginny realized that though he resembled Harry, there were some subtle differences. His jaw line was more angular, making him appear a little older and he was definitely built more like a linebacker from that American muggle sport, football. But the biggest differences were his eyes, they were the most intense blue that Ginny had ever seen and the fact that he had no scar on his forehead
."Nope, the name's Jared. That's Harry."
Ginny followed his outstretched finger and her breath hitched in her throat again as she watched the scene unfold below her. Harry dove from the top of Gringotts and the wall of flames died down, revealing the human projectile that was to spell the Death Knights doom. Harry savagely attacked the nearest knight, hacking and slashing, never letting his opponent rest or gain the advantage for a single moment. Moments later, the fight ended with Harry knocking the blade from his opponents hand, he then raised his free hand and thrust it towards the downed man, sending him skidding painfully along the ground with a blast of air. Facing his remaining opponents, he declared in a loud voice,
"You want someone? Well come and get me!"
---------------------------
Jared grinned as he watched Harry move effortlessly between the flashing blades, following the patterns of magic that flowed around the blades as if alive, making him dodge when ever they came in contact with his magical aura surrounding his body. Harry seemed to not even care that four people were using deadly blades that were about to cleave him in two! A quick stab behind him and a knight fell behind Harry, clutching at his thigh and rolling on the ground. Moments later another knight fell, knocked unconscious from a point blank stunner after Harry batted away his weapon. The spell flew from his hand and tossed the first knight several feet back, while another turned to try and get away, but he was too slow as Harry's second stunner knocked him face first into the hard ground. The remaining knight eyed him fearfully. Moments later, his body blurred and the disappeared. Harry sighed and the glowing blade slowly disappeared and he attached his hilt to his belt. Looking to his side, he saw Charlie and knelt beside him, waving his hand over his stunned friend. Charlie bolted upright and started to grin manically,
"Harry, that was absolutely brilliant! Where did you learn to fight like that?"
Harry grinned as he slapped a round disk in Charlie's hand and he whispered a few words to him. After Charlie nodded in agreement, he disappeared. Tossing a similar disk to Bill, who incidentally was doing a very good impression a fish, he smirked as Bill automatically caught the disk and faded from sight. Pulling a pair of stylish sunglasses from the leather coat he wore, he looked at Jared and grinned
."Any problems?"
"Nah, piece of cake. But you know the one that you stabbed in the leg almost had you. Another couple of inches and he would have chopped your hand off."
Dismissing the tall youth with a wave of his hand, Harry placed the glasses on his face, blocking out he bright sun. Harry walked towards Ron and gathered him up in a back slapping hug which Ron returned enthusiastically.
"Harry, that was so wicked! You've got to teach me that! And that green blade, what was that?"
"All in good time Ron, all in good time, for now, I need you three to hold onto this. We'll talk when and where it's safe." Flipping the disk into the air, Ron grabbed it and looked at the markings on the front. An infinity symbol was etched into the surface, along with a set of scales that were perfectly balanced. After his brothers touched the disk, they all disappeared.
Ginny looked at Harry with barely contain joy as he somehow jumped the three story building they were on and landed nimbly on his feet beside her. She threw herself into his arms, squeezing as hard as she could. Jared snickered as he watched Harry turn a very interesting shade of blue
"Ginny....air.....good......breathe..."
Ginny quickly let Harry go, her cheeks bright red with embarrassment
'Well done, the one guy I love comes back, and I nearly kill him!
'Looking at Harry, Ginny's heart started to beat faster, seeing that he must have been very busy during the time he was missing. Before he was a lanky teenager, with very wiry muscles and almost no muscle tone what so ever. Now, there was quite a bit of definition to his muscles, nothing that was huge, but he had filled out nicely. It also looked like he had grown several inches, just topping 6 feet now. Before he had left, she had thought that he was cute, but now, he was defiantly more then cute, he was hot! Looking at the ground, she saw the Aurors finally regaining their senses. Each of them pumped several Stunners into each Death Knight, not entirely convinced they were out of the fight. Moments later, reinforcements arrived, as did a pair of very familiar faces for Harry and Ginny. Dumbledore looked at the scene of carnage before him, the blasted streets and destroyed shops telling him of the fierce battle that had taken place. But more importantly, the young girl beside him was nearly beside herself in tears, knowing that her friends were supposed to be here and now they may be hurt, or worse. Jared looked at Hermione as she clung to Dumbledore's side. Harry looked at Jared for a moment and saw a thoughtful expression come to Jared's face as he continued to stare at Hermione. Moments later Jared shook his head and looked at Harry again
"So, this is your other best friend, the most intelligent witch Hogwarts has seen in a century?"
Harry nodded and Jared smirked.
"Well, let's not keep her waiting in suspense shall we? I'm sure she'll be more than thrilled to see you."
Harry grinned and picked up Ginny in his arms, grinning even wider as the young girl giggled at him. Jumping forward, he landed softly beside his friend and let Ginny down and watched Jared land beside him. Walking forward silently, Harry stood beside Hermione and winked at Ginny and Jared.
"Hey, what happened here?"
Hermione's eyes became as big as dinner plates as she turned around. All Hermione did was stare at Harry for a minute or two, then suddenly she tackled Harry to the ground, sobbing into his chest and beating it at the same time. Jared fell on the ground laughing, tears coming to his eyes as he watched the amusing spectacle. Every witch and wizard that could stand was watching the scene unfolding before them, whispering between each other rapidly.
"Damn you Harry Potter for making me worry! I'm going to kill you!"
Grabbing Hermione's hands, Harry held her close till her sobs became sniffles and finally stopped. Looking into her eyes, he winked at her and she giggled, wrapping him up in a hug and whispering to him softly. Helping Hermione to her feet, Harry put his arm around her shoulder. Hermione looked at Jared for a moment and did a double take, then started to gape like a fish out of water. Jared leaned forward and gently closed her mouth with a light snapping sound the smiled widely.
'I bet 'm going to get a lot of that in the near future...'
"HI, I'm Jared. You know, you look so much cuter when you're not gaping at people like a fish out of water."
Harry turned away from Hermione, trying to not laugh as he face turned beet red and she glared at Jared. Ginny lightly slapped Harry's arm and glared at him and he composed himself quickly. Jared then walked towards Professor Dumbledore and pulled a small figurine from a pouch he had at his hip
"Professor, I'm sure that you recognize this, and know what it means."
Dumbledore looked at the figurine and nodded, his eyes twinkling brightly and a wide smile nearly splitting his face in two. Reaching out a hand he clapped Jared on the shoulder and then did the same to Harry
."Yes, I do recognize this.....and believe I know what it signifies. I have been waiting a long time for you to appear again and now that you have the spell is broken. I see that we all have much to discuss young Jared. If you'd be so kind to take us to the Citadel, I believe all of the players are now gathered."
Jared nodded and closed his eyes and spread his arms wide and began to chant softly in a strange language. Moments later a large glowing portal appeared in front of the small group, and Harry, Ginny Hermione Dumbledore and Jared were pulled in quickly. The moment that Jared passed through the portal it snapped shut, leaving a large number of confused and worried wizards and witches behind.
So, what's the verdict on this Chapter? Anyone interested in being a Beta reader? If so, email me and I'll put you up for consideration. As always, reviews and flames are appreciated! I mean, how else would I get better if you didn't tell me if my fic sucks?