Disclaimers and such can be found in Chapter One.
Loss
"Damn!" Harry swore loudly as Percy apparated out of the room. Draco strode across the office to his wife. Looking around at the four of them, Harry nodded. "Let's go."
Without another word, the two wizards and their wives disappeared from the room, leaving an empty office as Minerva McGonagall came in. "Headmaster?" Glancing around, she could see that they had left in an apparent hurry and hoped that everything was all right.
Turning and walking out of the office, she activated the locking spell on the room and headed toward the staff room to inform them that most likely, the battle had begun and they needed to get the school's defenses ready.
*****
Harry felt the world twist around him and found himself standing in the living room of the Burrow, children running everywhere. Looking around quickly he spotted Jun pulling some smaller children up the stairs toward the bedrooms. "Jun! Get some of the other children to help you!"
Looking up at her father's voice, Jun smiled long enough to nod and then yelled at her younger sister. "Anne! Get away from there!"
Turning to find his youngest daughter standing at the window he was about call out to her when Cho rushed past him. "Lily! Harry, she's out front with the Weasley's!"
Cursing silently, he pulled Anne to his side and grinned down at her before telling her to go with her sister. Looking around, he saw Hermione herding more children toward the stairs. Draco was nowhere in sight. "Mione! Where's Draco?"
"Outside! He ran out there as soon as he apparated in! Molly, Arthur, Percy, and Oliver are out there! We can't find Narcissa or Phillip!" She was calm but worried about her children, just as Harry was. Nodding at her he rushed toward the door, gently guiding children toward the stairs as he went. Coming to the front door, he saw Draco crouching behind a wooden chest of the porch, his wand out as he fired off at the cloaked figures surrounding the Burrow.
"Draco! How many are there?" Draco turned to answer Harry as they both heard Percy scream.
"OLIVER! GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
Pushing past the door, Harry saw Oliver being held by two Death Eaters while a third knocked him unconscious as Percy raised his wand, his eyes filled with fury. At that moment, Harry spotted two flashes of color out of the corner of his eye. Turning he saw Narcissa and Lily standing next to one another, Phillip crouching next to his twin sister, all three of them flinging curses and charms as fast as the adults. Molly was trying to defend the three children on the porch and wanting to run to Percy's side. Arthur was lying against the wall, holding his arm up to his chest as he tried to stop it from bleeding.
Looking up, Arthur caught his gaze and grimaced. "I'm fine! Help them!" Stepping forward, Harry raised his wand and joined the fight.
*****
Leaning forward, Draco raised his wand and fired off a few spells in various directions, taking out Death Eaters with each curse. Suddenly he heard Narcissa's voice cut across the din. "Now Phillip! Now!"
Risking a glance to his left, he saw his daughter and Lily clasp hands and raise their wands toward the open sky. Before he could even begin to consider what they were doing, he heard them shout in unison. "ACCIO DRAGON!"
Gaping at the two children, he didn't even see the wand being aimed in his direction and the next thing he knew, he was lying on the porch with Harry on top of him. "Draco! You all right?"
"I'm fine, I didn't see." His sentence was cut off as a loud scream of outrage filled the air. Looking past Harry's shoulder, he saw the winged shape in the sky. Harry followed his gaze upward and paled.
"Oh no, they didn't do that! Did they?" Harry was watching the two girls grin at one another as they watched the Death Eaters turn their wands on the dragon. Screaming in rage, the beast began belching fire toward the dark wizards and witches.
Meanwhile, Percy was casting curse after curse, trying to free Oliver from his captors. But before he could do anything to break through their defenses, one of them reached into a pocket and the group disappeared before his eyes.
"NO!" Percy's scream was enough to silence the group outside and attracted the attention of the dragon, which turned toward its new target.
"Percy! Look out!" Harry shouted to his friend who looked up and noticed the creature floating above him. Diving to the left, he avoided being hit by a jet of flames as the dragon screamed again and headed off into the countryside.
***** "Percy!"
Raising his head, Percy could hear his name being called. Glancing around, he saw his mother and father rushing toward him. Rising to his feet, he cast his eyes about and saw a spot of scorched earth across the yard. "Oliver.no."
"Percy! Let me look at you son," Arthur's voice came gently to his ears as his father grabbed him and began to check him over. He glanced up long enough to see the anguish in his son's eyes before Percy collapsed into his mother's arms, crying helplessly.
"There, there, Percy. We'll get him back." Molly's voice was filled with grief as she held her son. "Arthur, go check on the children. We need to make sure none of them are hurt or missing."
Nodding, Arthur turned to see Harry and Draco heading around the house in opposite directions, wands out and ready to fend off any Death Eaters left behind. "Boys! They'll be long gone by now! Come on in the house so we can talk!"
Draco glanced over at Harry who nodded at him. Shaking his head and mouthing silent curses, he walked back into the house to find Hermione scolding their children. Cho was across the room doing the same to Lily. "Philip! Narcissa! You two could have been killed! What were you thinking going out there like that?"
Draco walked over and put his arm around Hermione and grinned at the twins. "You're mother's right. But, you both did very well out there. I'm proud of you."
"Draco! They could have been killed!" Hermione was staring at her husband as though he had lost his mind. When he turned to her and flashed his infamous Draco smile, she sighed in disgust and walked away.
"Now, your mother's right. Narcissa don't interrupt," Draco said, holding up a hand to forestall his daughter's protest. "You both could have been killed. But, I'm still proud of both of you. The two of you handled yourselves very well out there. You're going to be Slytherins yet."
"Don't bet on it Malfoy," Harry called across the living room. "With courage like that, they have Gryffindor written all over them."
"Sod off, Potter," Draco called back with a grin. Just then, he heard the front door open and turned to see Molly and Arthur brining an ashen-faced Percy back inside. "Go upstairs, both of you. No, Narcissa, go!"
***** After watching Draco send the twins upstairs, Hermione headed over and helped Molly get Percy into an overstuffed chair in the living room. "Hermione, dear, could you get some tea?" Molly was looking at Hermione, her face etched with worry.
"Yes, of course."
Walking into the kitchen, she heard Percy speak softly. "I'll find him, Mum. I will and when I do, I'll kill them all if they've hurt him."
Heading over to the stove, she spotted a battered teapot resting there. Pointing her wand at it, Hermoine murmured softly under her breath and smiled as steam began to rise from the spout. Looking around she found some cups and made up a tray for all of the adults and carried it out into the living room.
Harry and Draco were talking quietly in the corner while Molly and Arthur had pulled chairs up next to Percy and were talking softly but urgently to him. Setting the tea down on a table she heard Cho come down the stairs. Turning to smile, at her she saw Cho shaking her head. "What's wrong?"
Smiling at her, Cho laughed softly. "They're asleep, all three of them. I don't think they realized how tiring flinging curses and whatnot about like that would be. Jun is having the time of her life entertaining the younger ones."
Hermione handed her a cup of tea and poured one for Molly and Arthur. Walking over, she handed them both a cup and knelt on the floor in front of Percy. "Percy, we'll find him. I promise you that. We will get Oliver back."
"Damn right we will," Draco growled from behind her. Searching Percy's face, she felt him put his hand on her shoulder and felt Draco's resolve. "Flint won't get away with this, Percy. You can count on that. I owe him."
"No," came Percy's soft reply. "This is my fight. I'll get Oliver back. I don't want any of you getting hurt."
"But that's what Marcus wants Percy," Harry said quietly. Walking over to stand next to Hermione and Draco, the young Headmaster stared down at his friend. "He wants you, he always has. This is just a ploy to get you to come after him so he can crush you by making you watch while he destroys Oliver."
Harry's words were spoken softly but clearly in the room. No one said anything else for a while. Finally, Percy looked up and blinked away the last of his tears. "All right, what now? I'm sorry about the way I acted. I shouldn't have taken off like that. I could have caused more trouble than I did by doing that."
"Nonsense!" Molly said loudly. "If you hadn't shown up when you did, I don't think your father and I would have lasted much longer. Percy dear, this isn't your fault!"
Sighing loudly, Percy reached up and ran his hands through his hair. He made to rise, yet instead faltered sideways. Hermione and Harry caught him before he could fall and helped him right himself. "Percy, you're exhausted. You're not going to be able to do anything like this. Why don't you go up to your old room and get some rest?" Arthur's suggestion earned nods from everyone in the room.
"All right then, up we go," Molly said. Putting her arm around Percy's shoulders, she led him upstairs and out of sight. "Wait a moment!" Hermione said after Molly and Percy were out of sight. "Doesn't Oliver have their portkey? The one Percy made for him?"
"Not anymore." Turning at Cho's soft comment, they saw her standing in the kitchen doorway, holding the small replica of a snitch in her hand. "I found it on the table."
"Oliver must have set it down when he came in," Arthur said. "Damn!" Arthur cursed loudly as the tense atmosphere in the room spiked.
"What now?" Grim faces answered Hermione's question as the group realized they had no clue where to start looking.
TBC
Loss
"Damn!" Harry swore loudly as Percy apparated out of the room. Draco strode across the office to his wife. Looking around at the four of them, Harry nodded. "Let's go."
Without another word, the two wizards and their wives disappeared from the room, leaving an empty office as Minerva McGonagall came in. "Headmaster?" Glancing around, she could see that they had left in an apparent hurry and hoped that everything was all right.
Turning and walking out of the office, she activated the locking spell on the room and headed toward the staff room to inform them that most likely, the battle had begun and they needed to get the school's defenses ready.
*****
Harry felt the world twist around him and found himself standing in the living room of the Burrow, children running everywhere. Looking around quickly he spotted Jun pulling some smaller children up the stairs toward the bedrooms. "Jun! Get some of the other children to help you!"
Looking up at her father's voice, Jun smiled long enough to nod and then yelled at her younger sister. "Anne! Get away from there!"
Turning to find his youngest daughter standing at the window he was about call out to her when Cho rushed past him. "Lily! Harry, she's out front with the Weasley's!"
Cursing silently, he pulled Anne to his side and grinned down at her before telling her to go with her sister. Looking around, he saw Hermione herding more children toward the stairs. Draco was nowhere in sight. "Mione! Where's Draco?"
"Outside! He ran out there as soon as he apparated in! Molly, Arthur, Percy, and Oliver are out there! We can't find Narcissa or Phillip!" She was calm but worried about her children, just as Harry was. Nodding at her he rushed toward the door, gently guiding children toward the stairs as he went. Coming to the front door, he saw Draco crouching behind a wooden chest of the porch, his wand out as he fired off at the cloaked figures surrounding the Burrow.
"Draco! How many are there?" Draco turned to answer Harry as they both heard Percy scream.
"OLIVER! GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
Pushing past the door, Harry saw Oliver being held by two Death Eaters while a third knocked him unconscious as Percy raised his wand, his eyes filled with fury. At that moment, Harry spotted two flashes of color out of the corner of his eye. Turning he saw Narcissa and Lily standing next to one another, Phillip crouching next to his twin sister, all three of them flinging curses and charms as fast as the adults. Molly was trying to defend the three children on the porch and wanting to run to Percy's side. Arthur was lying against the wall, holding his arm up to his chest as he tried to stop it from bleeding.
Looking up, Arthur caught his gaze and grimaced. "I'm fine! Help them!" Stepping forward, Harry raised his wand and joined the fight.
*****
Leaning forward, Draco raised his wand and fired off a few spells in various directions, taking out Death Eaters with each curse. Suddenly he heard Narcissa's voice cut across the din. "Now Phillip! Now!"
Risking a glance to his left, he saw his daughter and Lily clasp hands and raise their wands toward the open sky. Before he could even begin to consider what they were doing, he heard them shout in unison. "ACCIO DRAGON!"
Gaping at the two children, he didn't even see the wand being aimed in his direction and the next thing he knew, he was lying on the porch with Harry on top of him. "Draco! You all right?"
"I'm fine, I didn't see." His sentence was cut off as a loud scream of outrage filled the air. Looking past Harry's shoulder, he saw the winged shape in the sky. Harry followed his gaze upward and paled.
"Oh no, they didn't do that! Did they?" Harry was watching the two girls grin at one another as they watched the Death Eaters turn their wands on the dragon. Screaming in rage, the beast began belching fire toward the dark wizards and witches.
Meanwhile, Percy was casting curse after curse, trying to free Oliver from his captors. But before he could do anything to break through their defenses, one of them reached into a pocket and the group disappeared before his eyes.
"NO!" Percy's scream was enough to silence the group outside and attracted the attention of the dragon, which turned toward its new target.
"Percy! Look out!" Harry shouted to his friend who looked up and noticed the creature floating above him. Diving to the left, he avoided being hit by a jet of flames as the dragon screamed again and headed off into the countryside.
***** "Percy!"
Raising his head, Percy could hear his name being called. Glancing around, he saw his mother and father rushing toward him. Rising to his feet, he cast his eyes about and saw a spot of scorched earth across the yard. "Oliver.no."
"Percy! Let me look at you son," Arthur's voice came gently to his ears as his father grabbed him and began to check him over. He glanced up long enough to see the anguish in his son's eyes before Percy collapsed into his mother's arms, crying helplessly.
"There, there, Percy. We'll get him back." Molly's voice was filled with grief as she held her son. "Arthur, go check on the children. We need to make sure none of them are hurt or missing."
Nodding, Arthur turned to see Harry and Draco heading around the house in opposite directions, wands out and ready to fend off any Death Eaters left behind. "Boys! They'll be long gone by now! Come on in the house so we can talk!"
Draco glanced over at Harry who nodded at him. Shaking his head and mouthing silent curses, he walked back into the house to find Hermione scolding their children. Cho was across the room doing the same to Lily. "Philip! Narcissa! You two could have been killed! What were you thinking going out there like that?"
Draco walked over and put his arm around Hermione and grinned at the twins. "You're mother's right. But, you both did very well out there. I'm proud of you."
"Draco! They could have been killed!" Hermione was staring at her husband as though he had lost his mind. When he turned to her and flashed his infamous Draco smile, she sighed in disgust and walked away.
"Now, your mother's right. Narcissa don't interrupt," Draco said, holding up a hand to forestall his daughter's protest. "You both could have been killed. But, I'm still proud of both of you. The two of you handled yourselves very well out there. You're going to be Slytherins yet."
"Don't bet on it Malfoy," Harry called across the living room. "With courage like that, they have Gryffindor written all over them."
"Sod off, Potter," Draco called back with a grin. Just then, he heard the front door open and turned to see Molly and Arthur brining an ashen-faced Percy back inside. "Go upstairs, both of you. No, Narcissa, go!"
***** After watching Draco send the twins upstairs, Hermione headed over and helped Molly get Percy into an overstuffed chair in the living room. "Hermione, dear, could you get some tea?" Molly was looking at Hermione, her face etched with worry.
"Yes, of course."
Walking into the kitchen, she heard Percy speak softly. "I'll find him, Mum. I will and when I do, I'll kill them all if they've hurt him."
Heading over to the stove, she spotted a battered teapot resting there. Pointing her wand at it, Hermoine murmured softly under her breath and smiled as steam began to rise from the spout. Looking around she found some cups and made up a tray for all of the adults and carried it out into the living room.
Harry and Draco were talking quietly in the corner while Molly and Arthur had pulled chairs up next to Percy and were talking softly but urgently to him. Setting the tea down on a table she heard Cho come down the stairs. Turning to smile, at her she saw Cho shaking her head. "What's wrong?"
Smiling at her, Cho laughed softly. "They're asleep, all three of them. I don't think they realized how tiring flinging curses and whatnot about like that would be. Jun is having the time of her life entertaining the younger ones."
Hermione handed her a cup of tea and poured one for Molly and Arthur. Walking over, she handed them both a cup and knelt on the floor in front of Percy. "Percy, we'll find him. I promise you that. We will get Oliver back."
"Damn right we will," Draco growled from behind her. Searching Percy's face, she felt him put his hand on her shoulder and felt Draco's resolve. "Flint won't get away with this, Percy. You can count on that. I owe him."
"No," came Percy's soft reply. "This is my fight. I'll get Oliver back. I don't want any of you getting hurt."
"But that's what Marcus wants Percy," Harry said quietly. Walking over to stand next to Hermione and Draco, the young Headmaster stared down at his friend. "He wants you, he always has. This is just a ploy to get you to come after him so he can crush you by making you watch while he destroys Oliver."
Harry's words were spoken softly but clearly in the room. No one said anything else for a while. Finally, Percy looked up and blinked away the last of his tears. "All right, what now? I'm sorry about the way I acted. I shouldn't have taken off like that. I could have caused more trouble than I did by doing that."
"Nonsense!" Molly said loudly. "If you hadn't shown up when you did, I don't think your father and I would have lasted much longer. Percy dear, this isn't your fault!"
Sighing loudly, Percy reached up and ran his hands through his hair. He made to rise, yet instead faltered sideways. Hermione and Harry caught him before he could fall and helped him right himself. "Percy, you're exhausted. You're not going to be able to do anything like this. Why don't you go up to your old room and get some rest?" Arthur's suggestion earned nods from everyone in the room.
"All right then, up we go," Molly said. Putting her arm around Percy's shoulders, she led him upstairs and out of sight. "Wait a moment!" Hermione said after Molly and Percy were out of sight. "Doesn't Oliver have their portkey? The one Percy made for him?"
"Not anymore." Turning at Cho's soft comment, they saw her standing in the kitchen doorway, holding the small replica of a snitch in her hand. "I found it on the table."
"Oliver must have set it down when he came in," Arthur said. "Damn!" Arthur cursed loudly as the tense atmosphere in the room spiked.
"What now?" Grim faces answered Hermione's question as the group realized they had no clue where to start looking.
TBC