In Every Darkness
Chapter Twenty Eight: Rampage
8.8.1996
"What happened here?" Ron asked, eyes wide. "It looks like its been hit by a rampaging hippogriff!"
"Not far from the truth, lad. Just say two rampaging hippogriffs and a male unicorn, and you've got it," a passing by man muttered to them.
Harry, Ron and Hermione watched the man racing away in amazement. "Right," they muttered as one.
"Harry, I might be able to help. Griffins have a powerful magic, when they reach adulthood, but even the younger ones can do a bit," Grypis whispered in Harry's mind. "I might be able to reach the minds of the animals – they are magical themselves, and that will make things easier."
"Can you find them?" Harry asked silently.
"This way," Grypis suddenly bounded down from Harry's shoulder and padded away.
"Gryphon!" Harry cried out, pretending that he didn't know Grypis was going to do that. "Come back here!" he raced after the 'cat's' retreading form, and Ron and Hermione glanced at each other once, then raced after their friend.
When they reached him, they saw that the crowd parted in front of him. Standing in the gap in the crowd were two hippogriffs and a unicorn.
The tawny cat was settled between one of the hippogriffs wings, and it seemed that the three animals were calming down.
"Grypis?" Harry asked, questing along the bond.
"I've half contacted them," the griffin responded. "I sent out an emotional 'question' and they established a contact. I'm trying to figure out what happened. Come here," before Harry could ask what 'here' was, he seemed to find himself in Grypis's mind, watching everything that the other three magical creatures were conveying.
Suddenly he pulled himself free, his mind reeling. "Behind us!" he yelled out, "there's an attack!" Everyone immediately turned to look, and indeed, they saw the black cloaks of Death Eaters that were getting decidedly more familiar.
There were screams, someone started cursing the Death Eaters, and more followed.
Harry dragged his two friends closer to the three magical creatures, knowing that they were less likely to get crushed there. "Stay here," he told them, "it not going to be at all safe out there."
"Harry, how did you know they were there?" Hermione muttered as the action began to make its way away from them.
"I felt my scar burn for a second," Harry replied. "So I looked back and caught sight of them."
"That scar actually turns out to be a bit of a good thing," Ron remarked approvingly.
Harry just smiled slightly. "Not always," he replied, sobering them all immediately.
"Sorry Harry," Ron started, but Harry held up a hand. "No, Ron. You don't need to apologise for every little thing that I don't like. I'm not the person I was last year."
Ron bowed his head, just as Hermione screamed. "What?" Harry's head snapped up, and Hermione pointed – a Death Eater had escaped the throng of people and was heading straight for them.
"Harry, the unicorn. I have asked, and it will permit you to ride it, for this. It will draw attention away from your friends," Grypis's voice was urgent in Harry's mind.
Harry looked to the unicorn, which lowered itself slightly onto its front legs, almost as if inviting Harry to mount. "Wait here," he told his friends, and hurried to the unicorns side.
"I thought they didn't like males?" Harry sent the question towards Grypis.
"That's because they find that males tend to be more violent," Grypis responded. "This one doesn't like humans much, but he agreed to let you ride him because the Death Eaters killed his herd, and he hates them more than he dislikes you."
"That made me feel so much more confident," Harry quipped, swinging himself up onto the unicorns back, thinking that he'd much rather be back on the ground.
The unicorn rose, swished its tail once, then suddenly ploughed forwards. Harry, not ready for the movement, very nearly fell off, but, by instinct, his knees tightened and he ducked slightly, streamlining his body and twined the fingers of one hand in the unicorns mane.
With his other hand, he took out his wand, bringing it from its hiding place up his sleeve, ready to curse the Death Eater if he needed to.
"Ahh!" the man yelped seeing the unicorn bearing down on him, a vision of fury, and its young rider's green eyes flashing with vengeful light.
The man turned to run, but Harry whipped his wand up and stunned the man, just before he and the unicorn were upon him. The unicorn tossed its head, mane dancing in the breeze, and ploughed forwards again, through the crowd, searching out more those who'd killed its herd.
Harry clung to its back, his curses not noticed in the fray of coloured lights that seemed to fill this end of the street. The Death Eaters, those that remained standing, were cornered. There were seven of them.
"Grypis, can you get the unicorn to return to you?" Harry sent out, knowing that he would never be able to get the creature to stop himself.
A moment later he got a response, "it will return now," was all Grypis said, and even as the words touched Harry's mind, the unicorn reared, turning around, fighting the push of the human bodies as it made its way back to where Ron, Hermione, Grypis and the two hippogriffs were waiting.
When the unicorn came to neat, gentle stop, Harry immediately slid down from its back, not wanting it to think that he was taking advantage of it.
"Bow," Grypis suggested, and Harry did so, deeply.
"Thank him for me, please," he bid the griffin.
Suddenly the unicorn bowed to him, only slightly, but it was a bow nonetheless. "He says that you are welcome. He believes that you, among all humans, might have a touch of the light in you. Many unicorns do not think that humans have any light, any good qualities, in them at all." Said Grypis, and the griffin leaped down from his perch on the hippogriff's back.
Harry smiled slightly, and watched as the unicorn and the two hippogriffs turned and raced away down the street. "Where are they going?" Harry asked.
"the Death Eaters set them loose here, and they will complete their bid for freedom," Grypis replied.
"Harry, a unicorn just allowed you to ride it, and all you can do is stare at Gryphon like he's the only thing left on the planet?" Ron's voice interupted their conversation.
Harry shook his head slightly. "Sorry Ron, just feeling a little … surprised by it all," he replied. "How are your owls?" He asked the other two, changing the subject.
"Harry, you aren't going to stop us asking questions just like that. Besides, there's a Death Eater attack going on up there – what's happening?"
"The Death Eaters are cornered, those that still stand," Harry replied. "They aren't going to be waiting on Voldemort's every want for a long time to come."
"Good," Hermione said, with surprising vehemence.
"So Ron, you're giving Pig to Ginny?" Harry tried to change the subject again. Ron rolled his eyes.
"Humour him," Hermione advised, doing the same.
"Yeah, Ginny loves the owl to bits – though I don't see why," Ron replied. "So I thought that if I could get a new owl, I could give her Pig, and we'd both be happy."
Harry smiled slightly. "That's nice of you," he remarked, and Ron flushed slightly.
"Not really," he said, but Harry and Hermione ignored his discomfort, teasing him about it.
"Harry! Ron! Hermione! There you are! We thought you might have been killed by the Death Eaters before they were discovered!" it was Arthur Weasley, calling to them, he and the rest of the group who'd come to Diagon Alley forcing a way through the crowd to reach them.
"No, I was the one that sounded the alarm," Harry replied, staggering slightly as Grypis landed on his shoulder after a quick leap. "I rode the unicorn to see what was going on."
"Thank god you're alright," was the only response. "Come on, we'd best be gone. This place will be crawling with Aurors soon, and I'd rather not be here."
"There's nothing I'd rather do," Harry replied fervently. "I've no wish to be questioned about everything, which is what will happen if they find out I'm the one that raised the alarm."
"There's a fireplace in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes," Ginny piped up. "We could get out that way – there's probably a que at the Leaky Cauldron."
Molly and Arthur nodded in agreement over the children's heads, and led them all toward the twin's shop. "Fred, George!" Molly called from the entrance of the shop.
"Coming mum!" Two voices yelled back, from somewhere in the back of the stall. A moment later two young men, dressed in lurid green dragon hide clothes. "Whatcha need?" Asked one twin,
"Can I interest you in any pranks?" The other asked, sounding hopeful.
"No, we just need to use your fire to get back home. With all the action out there, we figure that there'll be a que in the Leaky Cauldron," Molly said, sounding slightly offended
"Right you are," one twin grinned.
"This way!" added the other, and they both hurried away, with the group following behind him, watching the wares in the stall warily – you never knew what something here might do.
"Here you are!" both twins said as one, bowing with flourishes to reveal the fireplace.
"Harry, you first," Arthur said. Harry didn't wait to see what the order of the rest would be, just grabbed some Floo powder and threw it on the flames.
With green flames roaring around him, Harry disappeared from Diagon Alley, and, after a dizzying ride, stepped out of the fireplace in Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
Tonks was waiting for him, dressed in what seemed to be the same clothes she'd been wearing at Platform Nine and Three Quarters, when she and some other members of the Order came to make sure Harry was well treated at the Dursley's.
"Hows it?" She asked him brightly.
"Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley, but everyone from our group was alright, and the Death Eaters were all caught," Harry replied, feigning brightness himself.
Tonks cursed. "Wait here," she said, darting out of the room. Harry thought she'd probably gone to get Dumbledore.
As the rest of the group stepped out of the fire, Harry's thoughts were confirmed as Albus Dumbledore appeared, being towed along by Tonks.
"Slow down child!" Dumbledore panted, it was obvious that Tonks had been running, and Dumbledore had been running after her. "What's happened?"
"Death Eaters attacked Diagon Alley," Arthur stated, stepping through the fire last of all. "You can go now, if you like, children. I'm sure that Tonks will unshrink your purchases, if you ask her nicely."
"Sure thing!" Tonks agreed immediately.
"She agreed way to fast," Ron muttered.
"We're doomed for something," Harry agreed, a slight smile playing at his lips.
"What makes you think that?" Hermione asked.
"She's Tonks," was the reply.
Hermione just rolled her eyes as they walked into Harry's room, as it was between Ron and Hermione's.
Tonks flopped down on Harry's bed, grinning up at the three teenagers. "So, what happened?" She asked eagerly.
Ron and Hermione immediately began to tell the tale, sounding very happy to do so. Tonks listened intently, occasionally shooting an awed, surprised, or humoured glance in Harry's direction.
Harry, however, would have just as happily avoided the whole issue altogether – now, more than ever before, he despised being a celebrity.
He wandered around his room, looking at everywhere there. His birthday presents were arrayed around the walls and various furnishings, several items of clothing were lying on the floor. Hedwig was sitting in her cage, looking disapprovingly down at Grypis.
***Flashback***
"Hedwig, this is Gryphon, he's going to be staying with us now," Harry told his owl, somewhat nervously – Hedwig had a bit of a temper.
Hedwig screeched angrily looking down at the griffin with terror filled eyes, clearly saying "get that thing out of here!"
"Hedwig, he isn't going to hurt you. I won't let him, I promise," Harry tried to placate his owl. "The Order of the Phoenix gave him to me, they think that he'll be able to help protect me."
This seemed to make Hedwig calm down, at least a little bit.
Since then, Hedwig hadn't been actively hostile towards the griffin, but made it very clear that she'd rather it was anywhere but where she was.
***End Flashback***
Harry blinked out of his memories, hearing Tonks clapping slightly. He turned around to see that Ron and Hermione had finished their tale. "Well done Harry!" Tonks grinned at him, then laughed as Harry made a face. "You've got to get used to being famous," she told him, seeming to delight in Harry's reluctance to say anything to the comment.
"Why don't you help us get our stuff back to it's proper size," Harry suggested – anything to change the subject!
"Oh fine!" Tonks said, pretending to be insulted that Harry didn't want to talk about his fame to her.
Slowly, all of the items they'd bought that day were restored to their proper size, and Tonks left them to talk about things, her parting comment being, "I might be older than you, but that doesn't mean I'm not a teenager at heart!" She was pretending that they'd thrown her out of the room, or some such, it seemed.
"So, what are you guys going to call your owls?" Harry asked.
***
Not a cliffie, but oh well *sighs* there will be another meeting with Sirius next chapter, and I might jump to Hogwarts fairly soon. See you then!
~WolfMoon~