Disclaimer-Read the first one


Diagon Alley


Petunia was silent on the flight, and Harry couldn't seem to open his mouth to ask questions. Petunia had a death grip on her spoon.

Harry remembered the Hagrid hid his snapped wand in his umbrella and used it for everyday things like charming his house or opening Diagon Alley. But when had Aunt Petunia ever had a wand?

"Where are we going?" she asked suddenly.

"Diagon Alley," Harry said, without thinking. "I sent Hedwig there. We're meeting with Fred and George."

"Who?"

"Oh yeah, that's right, you never bothered to find out who they are," Harry said bitterly. Petunia didn't answer. "They're my best friend's older twin brothers. You know, the ones who left the candy for Dudley, that made his tongue grow?"

"Oh…oh, yes, I remember," she said, and then muttered something. Harry couldn't hear all that she said, but he thought he heard "James" and "Sirius" thrown in there.

He supposed she was making yet another insult to his dead father and didn't say anything, just urged the Firebolt on faster.


Harry touched down in London just in front of the Leaky Cauldron. He muttered the shrinking charm from earlier and stuffed his broom in his pocket.

The Leaky Cauldron was padlocked closed. Swearing under his breath, he pointed his wand and whispered, "Alohomora!"

A stream of yellow light emitted from his wand, and the padlock fell open.

He shoved open the door and ran to the back, Petunia following him. He emerged from the pub and into the courtyard.

As Petunia shut the door behind her, Harry tapped the brick that would allow them entrance into Diagon Alley.

As the bricks moved away, Harry thought sourly that usually this was a welcome sight, the sprawling street lined with shops, bursting with activity.

Now, it seemed unusually closed-in and quiet. It seemed almost…dead.

"Harry!" someone screeched.

He turned to look to a shop, where he heard the voice. Hobbling out of the doorway, using a stick for a crutch, a bandage around her forehead, was Hermione Granger.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled, running towards her.

"Hermione, don't!" someone yelled, and he saw George come out. He, as Harry thankfully noticed, was perfectly fine. "You can't run around just after this!"

Hermione ignored George's call as she continued to run to Harry. He caught her mid-way by the arms.

"Hermione, what happened?" he asked.

"Oh, Harry!" she wailed, and flung her arms around him, throwing her crutch aside. She burst into tears on his shirt. "You're safe! You're safe!"

"I'm fine, Hermione, I'm okay," Harry said soothingly, as she continued weeping into his chest.

"The Death Eaters…they found HQ…and they…they…" She was unable to finish.

George finally caught up with them. "Harry, get inside. Fred's in there, taking care of everyone else. Hermione, come on love, get back inside."

"No!" she yelled, and clung tighter to Harry. "Not without Harry!"

"Hermione, he's coming with us," George said patiently.

Hermione looked up at Harry, her face tear-streaked and her eyes bloodshot. "Harry, stay with me, please, don't leave me…"

"I'm not going anywhere, Hermione," Harry said comfortingly, squeezing her.

"Come on, get inside," George said, leading Harry, Hermione, and Petunia towards the shop he had run after Hermione from. A large, red sign was painted above the door, reading: "Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes".

But inside, all the practical joke paraphernalia was locked up in glass cabinet, and all around the floor were bodies. Some were unconscious, some were moaning in their sleep, and others were wide awake, biting their lips so as to not scream.

"Harry!" a raspy voice whispered, and Harry turned to see Ron leaning against the corner.

"Ron!" he yelled, starting for him.

"Harry, no!" someone yelled, and Fred suddenly appeared. "Ron's bleeding internally, you might make it worse!"

"Fred, what happened? Why is everyone hurt?!" Harry demanded.

Fred sighed and magicked up three chairs. "Sit down, all three of you."

Harry sat down in one. Hermione, still clinging to his torso, sat in the other and leaned over onto him. Petunia took the last one.

"George and I were over here, waiting for news from Mum about an Order meeting. We couldn't go; too risky. But instead we get Errol, with a Howler saying that the Death Eaters attacked Grimmauld Place and that the old hag, Sirius's mum, told them where you live, and that Death Eaters were going to attack yours and Hermione's house. You know, kill off as many Order members as possible."

"So we went to Grimmauld to get back whoever was there," George cut in. "By the time we got everyone back, your owl and Pig had come. But there was no note, so we thought…we thought…"

Fred cleared his throat. "That's what we know."

"Harry, it was…it was awful!" Hermione yelled. "The Death Eaters came to my house…they…they killed my mum and dad…and they tried to get information out of me…like where Tonks and Moody are…I wouldn't tell them…they tried to kill me, they thought they did…" She shuddered violently.

"Hermione's house was set up to the Floo Network, so she got to us that way," George said. "She told us she'd sent a Howler to you from upstairs, while downstairs…they were…"

"THEY KILLED MY PARENTS!" Hermione shrieked. Harry held her tighter as her sobs grew stronger and wilder.

"What happened at your end?" Fred asked.

"Pig showed up with Hermione's Howler," Harry said. "I sent Hedwig and Pig to you guys. I went downstairs to warn my relatives. I don't know where my uncle and cousin are. But my aunt here came with me. A Death Eater—I think it was Lucius Malfoy—tried to stop us but sh—he got petrified." He had almost said "she petrified him". "I took the Firebolt to get us here."

"Good," Fred said. "Now, if we can get owls to the other Order members…thank God not everyone was there."

"W-who was there?" Harry asked. "Who—who di—" he couldn't bring himself to ask who had died.

The twins knew what he was saying. "Well, there were Hermione's parents," Fred said. "And I'm sure we're all glad to know Kreacher bit the big one."

"Harry, they killed Bill," Hermione said. "And Percy."

"Percy? What was he—?"

"Apologizing," Fred said shortly. "He was about to when they attacked…he fought them. One of them tried to use Avada Kedavra on Mum—and he took it for her."

"Percy, my baby, my little perfect Percy," a small voice said in the back. Harry could see Molly sitting against the far wall, her arms held as if she were cradling a baby. "My Bill, my big, strong Bill."

"Mum's regressed 23 years," George said. "She won't accept it. She thinks that they're just a babies."

A small sniffling sound was heard. Harry's eyes glanced over. Petunia looked like she was barely controlling herself. A lone thought, "Why?", wandered across Harry's otherwise blank mind.

"They seemed to want to torture us first. You know, build their egos before they kill us. Well, as for injuries, Dad's hurt bad and Mum…well, you've seen her," Fred said. "Ron's bleeding horribly and Ginny…we're not sure if she's going to make it."

"Why aren't you taking them to St. Mungo's?!" Harry yelled.

"Too dangerous," George said. "Death Eaters could be watching the Floo Network. They just might decide to finish us off now. We have some blood-stopping potions we learned in school for Ron and Ginny, but we don't know if it'll help Ginny. Dad's got a lot of broken bones and some spell damage. And Mum…there's nothing physically wrong with her, she's just mad with grief."

"Does St. Mungo's have a Floo connection?" Petunia asked suddenly.

"Yeah, but we told you, it's too risky."

"Use Harry's Invisibility Cloak," Petunia said breezily, as if she were discussing weather.

Fred looked at her. "Aren't you Harry's aunt, that old hag who made him sleep in a cupboard?"

"That's Petunia Dursely to you," Petunia said, with a sniff.

"Petunia?!" Molly exclaimed from the wall. She still sounded dazed. "Petunia Evans?! My word, how time flies! Remember me? Molly Caleb?"

"Yes, Molly, I remember you," Petunia said, and her voice was kind, like when she was giving Dudley sweets.

"Aunt Petunia, just how—"

"Not the time, Harry," Petunia said. "Get your Cloak."

Harry fished his Cloak from his pocket and enlarged it.

"Right, now, we'll take Ron first. You two, get him here," she said to Fred and George. "There we go…easy does it…"

Fred and George managed to get a wincing Ron to stand up. Harry threw his cloak to the twins, who wrapped it around their brother and themselves.

"Come back with the Cloak!" Petunia said, as the three went for the fireplace.

"We're not stupid, Mrs. Dursely," Fred said, and the three disappeared in a flash of green flame as George yelled "St. Mungo's Hospital!" Soon, Fred and George reappeared with the Cloak.

It went like that for everyone else. Molly went peaceably, still cradling the imaginary baby. Arthur was hard to stand up, and he groaned horribly as he slipped in and out of consciousness. Ginny was absolutely heartbreaking to carry, her almost 15-year-old body tiny and limp in Fred's arms, blood running down her forehead.

"Hermione, it's time to go," Petunia said.

"Harry, stay with me," Hermione begged.

"I'm not going anywhere else," Harry said, as Petunia spread the cloak around herself, Harry, Hermione, Fred, and George, and were transported to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.