An; here we go. You know the drill. I got a review asking if this was the
last battle. No, sorry, but its on its way...
Chapter fifteen,
Holed in.
Harry woke at two thirty, dressed quietly and went down stairs where a thin lipped Mrs Durlsey was feeding Tonks, Lupin and Kingsley already. He hadn't told Ron or Hermione about the mission, knowing Hermione would be worried sick (^_^) and Ron jealous, neither of which he needed right now.
"Alright there Harry?"
"Yep." To Harry's inner surprise, he was. He had thought it would feel like he was just about to play Quidditch for the first time again. But he was quite clam and smiled at his friends.
The idea of the mission was simply to see how many Death Eaters there were. After the recent attacks things had become quiet and the Order needed to know exactly how many Death Eaters they needed to combat.
They flew. Back over Hogwarts, over the mountains, to a familiar rocky island with a fortress of sorts situated on top. Even under his disillusionment spell Harry was uneasy. Last time he had been here the security had been lax, and he had managed to get his friends out with the help of some extremely nice Thestrals. This time security was bound to have changed.
It was stormy, only adding to their worries. Harry had to grip his broom tightly just to stay on, let alone land. He managed it though it was slightly ungraceful. They landed on the shore, well away from the cursed water and hid their brooms. In the briefing before take off, Lupin who was the leader, had said if they got separated to make their way back to the brooms and get out of there, no matter what else was going on.
They got rid of their disillusionment charms, not talking because of the weather, even when Tonks appeared with a long blue bob.
They crept stealthily towards the castle. The wind and the rain battered Harry's face and tugged at his cloak and the wet rocks made them all slip. He climbed over the grey rocks, keeping an eye on Tonks in front of him, not wanting to loose sight of his team mates.
Once inside they split up as had been previously discussed, and Harry and Tonks crept stealthily up one slimy, dark and smelly corridor, Lupin and Kingsley up others, Harry heartily wishing for a warm fire. Then he berated himself for thinking about that when he was somewhere so dangerous.
He and Nymphadora (don't call me that!!) found what appeared to be a rest room. It was full of rather dingy bunks that reminded Harry of his bed under the stairs, years ago. They counted five asleep and one dosing, and crept silently away as quietly as possible.
Harry was now so tense that he had to make a conscious effort to relax his muscles. His mouth was dry and his hands were sweaty. They were getting closer to the higher, more habitable parts of the castle. The trod carefully down a slimy corridor dripping with things that Harry would rather not know about.
They came to a sort of grand hall, with a set of about twenty stairs leading into a corridor much wider than the one they had come down. Harry and Tonks climbed the stairs, wands out and ready for trouble. The corridor in front of them was silent.
Then everything went to hell.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!!!" shrieked a voice. Harry and Tonks dived sideways, Tonks going one way and Harry the other and a white hot green spell spun past from the darkness of the corridor in front of them and harmlessly hit a wall. Harry roled and looked for their attacker, and hard Tonks shriek, and glanced sideways to see her in the middle of one of her famous klutz attacks, her feet spinning up in the air as she fell backwards down the stairs.
"Tonks!" he yelled, having forgotten his attacker.
"Crucio!" yelled the same high pitched voice. Time slowed. Harry turned, saw the curse powering towards him, and thought 'why me?' before throwing himself backwards, down the stairs.
Tonks looked up at the end of her fall and saw Harry watching her worriedly, heard the spell, saw the boy turn, and watched in amazement as he hurled his body backwards down the stone steps. She winced in sympathy as she heard the 'whumpf' as his back hit the stairs, and he rolled, bouncing down the steps to land in a heap next to her, and was grabbing her arm within seconds of landing with one hand, pointing his wand and yelling "PROTEGO!!" with the other.
Bellatrix Lestrange's shouts had now bought more Death Eaters, and Tonks and Harry's only choice was to run. The tore down another dark corridor, heard running footsteps in the next corridor and stopped. 'Now bloody what?' Harry asked himself, pressing himself against the wall next to Tonks.
A group of Death eaters rang past their corridor, and disappeared from view. "Kingsley and Lupin must be up to something, this way." Hissed Tonks.
Harry followed Tonks silently through the now seemingly deserted corridors of the lower level. Tonks seemed to know where she was going and Harry followed quietly. They came to a huge old oak door, and Tonks rattled it a little opening it, making Harry wince but then they were inside and she shut the door.
They were in a large empty room. He could hear footsteps over head and it took him a second to realize that the ceiling was wood. Tonks grabbed his sleeve and whispered in his ear.
"Were under they're main meeting hall. Be quiet for heavens sakes!"
Harry nodded dumbly.
"Go over to that crack," Tonks pointed to where some light was filtering in from above, "and count all."
Harry nodded and went. Many black cloaked figures moved in and out of his view and he counted, 1...2...3...4...5...6...7..8...9...10...
Once he was finished counting he went back to Tonks, "I counted fifty." He whispered.
"I counted forty eight, but we're close enough, let's go."
In seconds they were outside again.
They heard yells echoing from the Hole. And watched in horror as a familiar figure ran out the entrance, being chased by no less than five DE's.
"We've got to help!" Harry hissed to Tonks.
"Dumbledore said-"
"Screw it! Come on!"
Harry grabbed his wand and charged Tonks after a moments hesitation did likewise.
"Petrificus totalus!" bellowed Harry.
"Experliarmus!" yelled Tonks.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry cried, now waving his wand at a Death Eaters Mask,
"Protego! Stupefy!" yelled Tonks, who had fought her way over to Lupin.
"Stupefy!" yelled Harry, taking care of the last one.
"Lets go!" yelled Lupin, struggling to his feet.
Harry ran faster than he had ever thought possible over slippery rocks. They made it to the brooms in record time, and found Kingsley waiting for them anxiously.
They lost no time in taking off, and Harry had to be careful not to outrun the older brooms of his friends.
When they returned to number twelve the atmosphere inside the house was electric. Mrs Weasley was banging pot around in the kitchen, and muttering angrily to herself. Mr Weasley was sitting in the drawing room, looking rather tired and a little haggard. There was silence from upstairs, but it was the silence of listening intently, not of sleeping. Lupin shut the door and grinned at Harry.
"Alright there Harry?"
"Yeah, thanks."
"You did well Harry." Added Tonks, patting his shoulder, "you did well." Harry smiled at her. Kingsley nodded and added in his deep voice, "I'd be proud to fight with you again Harry."
Harry tried to look like he wasn't glowing with pride.
"Is that them? Are they back?" a voice called from the kitchen and next minute the lady herself appeared, looking very annoyed.
"Right!" she said in a dangerously low voice, talking to Lupin.
"Hello Molly." Said Lupin nervously.
"Don't hello me! What were you thinking when you took him with you?"
Harry wondered for a second what she wastalking about, and stepped forwards, "Mrs Weasley-"
"Be quiet. I wasn't talking to you Mr Potter!"
It was the first time she had called Harry that, and he shut his mouth in surprise.
"What were you thinking allowing him to go on a mission with you? Hes too young! He's too immature!"
Harry blinked, insulted. He felt Tonks shift uneasily beside him.
"Molly, calm down, nothing happened!"
"Nothing! Nothing! You call this nothing?" Mrs. Weasley's voice was rising. She stepped forwards and grabbed Lupin's sleeve, showing everyone the tear in it and the red skin beneath.
"He could have died!"
Harry was sick of being talked about, as if he wasn't in the room.
"Mrs. Weasley," he began earnestly, "I could have died many times on my er adventures at Hogwarts."
"You didn't mean to get yourself involved in them Harry, this you went into knowing full well what was going to happen!"
"Mrs. Weasley," said Tonks earnestly, "nothing happened. We completed our mission and returned home."
"That's not the point! He's too young!" Mrs. Weasley's voice was still rising.
"Mrs. Weasley! Im sorry I worried you!" said Harry loudly, "but I can't just sit around and do nothing! Im like Sirius!" it was the first time he had mentioned his godfather in his old house and the effect it had on those around him got the point home, "I would have become as bitter and angry as he did! Don't you understand! It's impossible for me to sit and do nothing! I can't!"
There was silence.
"Thank you for caring though." Said Harry quietly.
"Oh... you silly boy.." Mrs. Weasley hugged him and Harry smiled. He hadn't been hugged for a while.
"Do you want some food?" Mrs. Weasley was apparently back to the hostess role.
"I do!" said Tonks, very obviously relieved that the storm had disappeared.
"None for me thanks." Said Harry, "I'm just tired. I think ill head up to bed."
"Alright," said Mrs. Weasley as she pulled out her wand, "but mind you don't wake anyone."
Harry headed upstairs listening to the murmur of the adults as they tucked into their plates of whatever Mrs. Weasley had cooked for them
He pushed open the door to his and Ron's room, smiled bleakly at the cloudy ceiling and glanced at Ron. His friend was facing the wall, with his back to him. The stiffness of his friend's shoulders told Harry that his friend was awake. But the body language plainly told him too that any conversation was not welcome. A little confused, Harry dressed for bed and climbed underneath the covers, and frowned at the ceiling.
An; sorry about not updating, I'm going on a Bonza camp (fundraiser) and organizing has been a bit of a bitch. See you next chapter and as always, tell me what you think!
Chapter fifteen,
Holed in.
Harry woke at two thirty, dressed quietly and went down stairs where a thin lipped Mrs Durlsey was feeding Tonks, Lupin and Kingsley already. He hadn't told Ron or Hermione about the mission, knowing Hermione would be worried sick (^_^) and Ron jealous, neither of which he needed right now.
"Alright there Harry?"
"Yep." To Harry's inner surprise, he was. He had thought it would feel like he was just about to play Quidditch for the first time again. But he was quite clam and smiled at his friends.
The idea of the mission was simply to see how many Death Eaters there were. After the recent attacks things had become quiet and the Order needed to know exactly how many Death Eaters they needed to combat.
They flew. Back over Hogwarts, over the mountains, to a familiar rocky island with a fortress of sorts situated on top. Even under his disillusionment spell Harry was uneasy. Last time he had been here the security had been lax, and he had managed to get his friends out with the help of some extremely nice Thestrals. This time security was bound to have changed.
It was stormy, only adding to their worries. Harry had to grip his broom tightly just to stay on, let alone land. He managed it though it was slightly ungraceful. They landed on the shore, well away from the cursed water and hid their brooms. In the briefing before take off, Lupin who was the leader, had said if they got separated to make their way back to the brooms and get out of there, no matter what else was going on.
They got rid of their disillusionment charms, not talking because of the weather, even when Tonks appeared with a long blue bob.
They crept stealthily towards the castle. The wind and the rain battered Harry's face and tugged at his cloak and the wet rocks made them all slip. He climbed over the grey rocks, keeping an eye on Tonks in front of him, not wanting to loose sight of his team mates.
Once inside they split up as had been previously discussed, and Harry and Tonks crept stealthily up one slimy, dark and smelly corridor, Lupin and Kingsley up others, Harry heartily wishing for a warm fire. Then he berated himself for thinking about that when he was somewhere so dangerous.
He and Nymphadora (don't call me that!!) found what appeared to be a rest room. It was full of rather dingy bunks that reminded Harry of his bed under the stairs, years ago. They counted five asleep and one dosing, and crept silently away as quietly as possible.
Harry was now so tense that he had to make a conscious effort to relax his muscles. His mouth was dry and his hands were sweaty. They were getting closer to the higher, more habitable parts of the castle. The trod carefully down a slimy corridor dripping with things that Harry would rather not know about.
They came to a sort of grand hall, with a set of about twenty stairs leading into a corridor much wider than the one they had come down. Harry and Tonks climbed the stairs, wands out and ready for trouble. The corridor in front of them was silent.
Then everything went to hell.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!!!" shrieked a voice. Harry and Tonks dived sideways, Tonks going one way and Harry the other and a white hot green spell spun past from the darkness of the corridor in front of them and harmlessly hit a wall. Harry roled and looked for their attacker, and hard Tonks shriek, and glanced sideways to see her in the middle of one of her famous klutz attacks, her feet spinning up in the air as she fell backwards down the stairs.
"Tonks!" he yelled, having forgotten his attacker.
"Crucio!" yelled the same high pitched voice. Time slowed. Harry turned, saw the curse powering towards him, and thought 'why me?' before throwing himself backwards, down the stairs.
Tonks looked up at the end of her fall and saw Harry watching her worriedly, heard the spell, saw the boy turn, and watched in amazement as he hurled his body backwards down the stone steps. She winced in sympathy as she heard the 'whumpf' as his back hit the stairs, and he rolled, bouncing down the steps to land in a heap next to her, and was grabbing her arm within seconds of landing with one hand, pointing his wand and yelling "PROTEGO!!" with the other.
Bellatrix Lestrange's shouts had now bought more Death Eaters, and Tonks and Harry's only choice was to run. The tore down another dark corridor, heard running footsteps in the next corridor and stopped. 'Now bloody what?' Harry asked himself, pressing himself against the wall next to Tonks.
A group of Death eaters rang past their corridor, and disappeared from view. "Kingsley and Lupin must be up to something, this way." Hissed Tonks.
Harry followed Tonks silently through the now seemingly deserted corridors of the lower level. Tonks seemed to know where she was going and Harry followed quietly. They came to a huge old oak door, and Tonks rattled it a little opening it, making Harry wince but then they were inside and she shut the door.
They were in a large empty room. He could hear footsteps over head and it took him a second to realize that the ceiling was wood. Tonks grabbed his sleeve and whispered in his ear.
"Were under they're main meeting hall. Be quiet for heavens sakes!"
Harry nodded dumbly.
"Go over to that crack," Tonks pointed to where some light was filtering in from above, "and count all."
Harry nodded and went. Many black cloaked figures moved in and out of his view and he counted, 1...2...3...4...5...6...7..8...9...10...
Once he was finished counting he went back to Tonks, "I counted fifty." He whispered.
"I counted forty eight, but we're close enough, let's go."
In seconds they were outside again.
They heard yells echoing from the Hole. And watched in horror as a familiar figure ran out the entrance, being chased by no less than five DE's.
"We've got to help!" Harry hissed to Tonks.
"Dumbledore said-"
"Screw it! Come on!"
Harry grabbed his wand and charged Tonks after a moments hesitation did likewise.
"Petrificus totalus!" bellowed Harry.
"Experliarmus!" yelled Tonks.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry cried, now waving his wand at a Death Eaters Mask,
"Protego! Stupefy!" yelled Tonks, who had fought her way over to Lupin.
"Stupefy!" yelled Harry, taking care of the last one.
"Lets go!" yelled Lupin, struggling to his feet.
Harry ran faster than he had ever thought possible over slippery rocks. They made it to the brooms in record time, and found Kingsley waiting for them anxiously.
They lost no time in taking off, and Harry had to be careful not to outrun the older brooms of his friends.
When they returned to number twelve the atmosphere inside the house was electric. Mrs Weasley was banging pot around in the kitchen, and muttering angrily to herself. Mr Weasley was sitting in the drawing room, looking rather tired and a little haggard. There was silence from upstairs, but it was the silence of listening intently, not of sleeping. Lupin shut the door and grinned at Harry.
"Alright there Harry?"
"Yeah, thanks."
"You did well Harry." Added Tonks, patting his shoulder, "you did well." Harry smiled at her. Kingsley nodded and added in his deep voice, "I'd be proud to fight with you again Harry."
Harry tried to look like he wasn't glowing with pride.
"Is that them? Are they back?" a voice called from the kitchen and next minute the lady herself appeared, looking very annoyed.
"Right!" she said in a dangerously low voice, talking to Lupin.
"Hello Molly." Said Lupin nervously.
"Don't hello me! What were you thinking when you took him with you?"
Harry wondered for a second what she wastalking about, and stepped forwards, "Mrs Weasley-"
"Be quiet. I wasn't talking to you Mr Potter!"
It was the first time she had called Harry that, and he shut his mouth in surprise.
"What were you thinking allowing him to go on a mission with you? Hes too young! He's too immature!"
Harry blinked, insulted. He felt Tonks shift uneasily beside him.
"Molly, calm down, nothing happened!"
"Nothing! Nothing! You call this nothing?" Mrs. Weasley's voice was rising. She stepped forwards and grabbed Lupin's sleeve, showing everyone the tear in it and the red skin beneath.
"He could have died!"
Harry was sick of being talked about, as if he wasn't in the room.
"Mrs. Weasley," he began earnestly, "I could have died many times on my er adventures at Hogwarts."
"You didn't mean to get yourself involved in them Harry, this you went into knowing full well what was going to happen!"
"Mrs. Weasley," said Tonks earnestly, "nothing happened. We completed our mission and returned home."
"That's not the point! He's too young!" Mrs. Weasley's voice was still rising.
"Mrs. Weasley! Im sorry I worried you!" said Harry loudly, "but I can't just sit around and do nothing! Im like Sirius!" it was the first time he had mentioned his godfather in his old house and the effect it had on those around him got the point home, "I would have become as bitter and angry as he did! Don't you understand! It's impossible for me to sit and do nothing! I can't!"
There was silence.
"Thank you for caring though." Said Harry quietly.
"Oh... you silly boy.." Mrs. Weasley hugged him and Harry smiled. He hadn't been hugged for a while.
"Do you want some food?" Mrs. Weasley was apparently back to the hostess role.
"I do!" said Tonks, very obviously relieved that the storm had disappeared.
"None for me thanks." Said Harry, "I'm just tired. I think ill head up to bed."
"Alright," said Mrs. Weasley as she pulled out her wand, "but mind you don't wake anyone."
Harry headed upstairs listening to the murmur of the adults as they tucked into their plates of whatever Mrs. Weasley had cooked for them
He pushed open the door to his and Ron's room, smiled bleakly at the cloudy ceiling and glanced at Ron. His friend was facing the wall, with his back to him. The stiffness of his friend's shoulders told Harry that his friend was awake. But the body language plainly told him too that any conversation was not welcome. A little confused, Harry dressed for bed and climbed underneath the covers, and frowned at the ceiling.
An; sorry about not updating, I'm going on a Bonza camp (fundraiser) and organizing has been a bit of a bitch. See you next chapter and as always, tell me what you think!