Chapter 11 - The Second Mission
"Umm...Harry, can we talk?" said Ron tentatively.
"Sure." said Harry as he led Ron to a nearby sofa.
"Umm...about Ginny...I mean..."
Harry nodded in understanding. "You're asking if we are going to rescue her too?" he glanced at Ron who looked tormented with the thought of his only sister suffering at the hands of the enemies. "What do you think? Silly, of course we are. We just need to strengthen ourselves first."
Ron sighed with relief. "Thanks, mate. I just need to hear that. You know, before tomorrow."
"Don't worry. I'm sure Dumbledore ----" Harry suddenly stopped. Ron eyed him questioningly. "Nothing...I just remembered that Dumbledore was the one who adviced me to go here."
"But how? He was captured weeks ago." said Ron.
"I think he used mental telepathy to talk to me. Wait, I'll try if I can make it work reverse. I also want to ask him a few questions myself." said Harry, concentrating hard on the headmaster's face until it became solid in his mind.
"Professor, can you hear me?"
"Harry?"
"Yes, professor, are you and Ginny allright?"
"Yes, don't worry about us. Focus on your plan for tomorrow."
"Ok. Professor, I want to ask you something else if you don't mind. Do you have any idea how I can be talking to you right now? And why did my scar stop hurting. The pain is supposed to be intense now but I don't have any visions anymore."
"No, I don't mind. The shock you gave me when you almost demolished my office last June made me realize that. As for the first question, I think some of your inert powers surfaced at last due to the urgency of the situation. As for the second question, I can only presume that Voldemort has been closing his mind to you too to prevent you from discovering his plans. He does not want to take chances now that he's winning the war."
"Oh!" was all Harry could say to that.
"Be careful tomorrow, Harry."
"We will. Thanks, Professor. Take care too." With that, Harry cleared his mind again and started to tell Ron what the headmaster had told him about Ginny. He was exhausted from the effort but seeing the relieved expression of his best friend was worth every ounce of energy he spent.
=========================================================
Monday, 5:45 a.m. at the Training Room
All the members of Dumbledore's Army, wearing special DA cloaks magically sewn by their house-elf friends, were nervously pacing the floor while waiting for the signal to leave. The team leaders were currently reiterating the plan and outlining all possible scenarios to their respective groups. Professor McGonagall carefully stayed away from their path to avoid increasing their stress. As the clock struck 6:00 a.m., all members disillusioned themselves and silently followed their leaders to the path that led to Hogsmeade. They were glad to find the place deserted except for the house-elves nervously waiting for their arrival.
"Remember, the whole operation should take no longer than 15 minutes. If anything happens, just press the coin and the rest will try to help if they can. Also, as soon as the group has completed its mission, return to the training room immediately and wait for the others. We'll have a short meeting afterwards. Okay?" said Harry. "House-elves included."
The others mouthed a silent "yes" followed by swishing of cloaks and small 'pops' as the DA members apparated to their destinations.
Several minutes later, Ron's and Lee's groups arrived safely at the Training Room. No one said anything as they waited for the others to return. Some resorted to reading while others played solo wizard chess to while away the time. Each constantly checking the time and wondering what's taking the others so long. It had been almost an hour. Some unconsciously held the coin as if expecting it to burn soon. The wait was almost unbearable when they heard arguments erupting outside the room and it seemed to be getting nearer.
"HOW DARE THE TWO OF YOU! DIDN'T WE SPECIFY THAT WE'LL COME FOR YOU AT EXACTLY 6:05AM? DIDN'T WE CLEARLY STATE IN OUR LETTER THAT YOU SHOULD BE READY WHEN WE ARRIVE TO PICK YOU UP! WE ALMOST GOT KILLED BECAUSE OF YOUR IRRESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR!"
The door suddenly opened and in came a livid Hermione followed by Dean and highly embarassed twins. Parvati was assisting Seamus who was limping with pain but assured everyone that he just tripped on the way back and was not cursed by the death-eaters. Ron let out his breath which he never realized he was holding when he noticed Hermione enter the room.
"But the gnome ate the letter, honestly!" said George.
"Yeah, we were just starting to read it when the gnome grab it from our dainty hands and shoved it down its throat." added Fred.
Hermione was about to curse them to oblivion when Ron, upon realizing what's happening, hastily step in.
"Really! You know, you don't need to make pathetic alibis. A simple apology will do." Ron glared at them.
The twins looked nervously at one another. It never occurred to them that little ickle Ronniekins would dare tell them off for anything. But he was right. Mustering enough courage, they both looked at Hermione and mumbled something that sounded lile "we're sorry." Hermione just rolled her eyes at them and walked to the other part of the room. Then, as if suddenly noticing something, she returned to where Ron was.
"Where's Harry's group?" she asked Ron.
"They're not here yet!"
"WHAT!" shouted Hermione in panic. She quickly checked her watched. "It's more than an hour!"
As if on cue, the door opened again and all eyes turned to the new arrivals.
"Guys, is Luna here?" Harry suddenly asked, scanning the people in the room.
"Why? What happened?" asked Cho who walked over to join the conversation.
"We don't know actually. When we apparated to Hogsmeade, she was still behind us but when we arrived there, we discovered that she's not with us anymore. We checked the place and even went back to the safe house but we can't find her." said Katie. Harry looked distraught.
"Master Harry Potter, Dobby is looking for your friend, Luna. Don't worry." said Dobby quickly and disappeared. The other house-elves followed too.
All stared into space without any idea of what to do next. The others did not really like Luna. Some even thought her mad but the situation called for some unity and any fighter for the good side should be treated with respect and concern. Their anxiety was tripled as they felt the coin burning. Each took out the coin and saw the words ------ "Help! Luna! The Quibbler!" blinking fast.
Without wasting anymore time, Harry called Dobby and requested him to find out where the Quibbler was. Within seconds, Dobby arrived with the exact location and Harry apparated to the Quibbler's office where a shocking sight greeted him. Luna was fearlessly fighting her attackers - 4 death- eaters. Dodging curses and sending out several trying to buy some time until help arrives.
Harry quickly pulled his own wand and tried to get close to Luna to shield her from some of the more advanced curses, thankful that the attackers did not seem to be very adept at curses yet.
"ESTUPENDO!" he shouted at them and the enemies backed away quickly, staring at their wands as if wondering why they were holding such a stupid piece of wood. Harry smiled as he started to ran to Luna's side. His smile faded, however, when he heard loud pops again as more death-eaters entered the office. The battle continued.
"CRUCIO!" one of the death-eaters immediately cursed Harry but he was able to duck in time.
Harry realized that he need to get Luna soon so they could escape but the death-eaters made them too busy. The four death-eaters were still behaving oddly but the new arrivals were more experienced than the first four. They never gave them time to breath. Curses flew across the room at lightning speed. Harry saw Luna struck by a stunning spell. He quickly revived her and was exhausted himself when he heard several more pops. The death- eaters stopped to look at the new arrivals too, not expecting any reinforcements. But they were surprised when several curses hit each of them as ten DA members who already started training arrived.
"YOU IDIOT! Why did you disapparate suddenly?" shouted Hermione in between curses. "I thought we're not supposed to go anywhere alone, especially in situations like this. Whatever happened to the 'strength in numbers' speech you gave last time?" she continued furiously.
"Sorry. I guess I didn't think. I was too ....never mind. Sorry again." mumbled Harry as he helped Luna up.
"Hey, Harry! Let's try that 'collective-defend-and-attack' strategy we practiced before." shouted Ron, clearly enjoying himself.
"Yeah, cool!" shouted the others. Harry smiled inspite of himself. His friends did not seem terrified anymore. In fact, they seemed to have the upper hand in this little encounter. He gave Ron a free rein to lead the commands.
"FORMATION!" shouted Ron. They DA members quickly surrounded the bewildered death-eaters, stuck out their wands and simultaneously yelled, "ABSOLUTO PROTEGO!" A rainbow shield covered the DA members. Then without removing their wands, Ron shouted, "HYDRO-OXIDUS!" at the stunned death- eaters with the effect of the spell multiplied six times due to the combination of their powers.
It hit the death-eaters forcefully and smashed them to the wall, sending some of the office equipments to fall on the ground. Sensing defeat, they quickly disapparated to heal themselves somewhere and glared maliciously at the DA members as they did so. Harry then quickly put up some defensive spells around the office to avoid another encounter.
Hermione, still clearly annoyed at the turn of events, glared at Luna and asked heatedly. "Can you please enlighten us why we are all here now instead of the Training Room?"
"I apologize. I just could not resist the urge to visit my dad's office before I go back. There's something that I need to check because I don't believe that my father is dead." Luna said evenly while Harry held her hand in support. Cho's eyes narrowed when she noticed it.
Hermione's face visibly softened. "Did you find out anything?"
Luna got up and retrieved two pots of plants from under one of the table, probably his father's. One was dead, the other was still blooming. They all stared at the plants unable to comprehend what it meant but Hermione appeared to be deep in thought.
"These are not ordinary plants. My mother enchanted them to live magically. One represented her, the other represented my father and third me. My father brings my plant wherever he goes because it gives him an idea of my current condition. The one representing my mother is dead but the one representing my father is still alive. So, it means....it means he's still alive and just hiding or probably captured somewhere.....but still alive!" Luna said tearfully and the others, sympathizing with her finally understood why she had to do it.
"Luna, I may not know how to find your father now but I think we can do something to make his spirit come alive." said Hermione brightly, trying to make up for her rudeness a while ago.
"What do you mean?" said Luna cautiously.
"All publications have stopped operating or forced to close because of the current situation. Who shall give news to the people then? Who shall inform them on what to do or where they can go for help if anything happens? The ministry is almost useless nowadays so I believe the most we can do is...." Hermione hesitantly glanced at the others before she declared, "I think we must reestablish....The Quibbler."
A hushed silence followed her pronouncement.
"Umm...Harry, can we talk?" said Ron tentatively.
"Sure." said Harry as he led Ron to a nearby sofa.
"Umm...about Ginny...I mean..."
Harry nodded in understanding. "You're asking if we are going to rescue her too?" he glanced at Ron who looked tormented with the thought of his only sister suffering at the hands of the enemies. "What do you think? Silly, of course we are. We just need to strengthen ourselves first."
Ron sighed with relief. "Thanks, mate. I just need to hear that. You know, before tomorrow."
"Don't worry. I'm sure Dumbledore ----" Harry suddenly stopped. Ron eyed him questioningly. "Nothing...I just remembered that Dumbledore was the one who adviced me to go here."
"But how? He was captured weeks ago." said Ron.
"I think he used mental telepathy to talk to me. Wait, I'll try if I can make it work reverse. I also want to ask him a few questions myself." said Harry, concentrating hard on the headmaster's face until it became solid in his mind.
"Professor, can you hear me?"
"Harry?"
"Yes, professor, are you and Ginny allright?"
"Yes, don't worry about us. Focus on your plan for tomorrow."
"Ok. Professor, I want to ask you something else if you don't mind. Do you have any idea how I can be talking to you right now? And why did my scar stop hurting. The pain is supposed to be intense now but I don't have any visions anymore."
"No, I don't mind. The shock you gave me when you almost demolished my office last June made me realize that. As for the first question, I think some of your inert powers surfaced at last due to the urgency of the situation. As for the second question, I can only presume that Voldemort has been closing his mind to you too to prevent you from discovering his plans. He does not want to take chances now that he's winning the war."
"Oh!" was all Harry could say to that.
"Be careful tomorrow, Harry."
"We will. Thanks, Professor. Take care too." With that, Harry cleared his mind again and started to tell Ron what the headmaster had told him about Ginny. He was exhausted from the effort but seeing the relieved expression of his best friend was worth every ounce of energy he spent.
=========================================================
Monday, 5:45 a.m. at the Training Room
All the members of Dumbledore's Army, wearing special DA cloaks magically sewn by their house-elf friends, were nervously pacing the floor while waiting for the signal to leave. The team leaders were currently reiterating the plan and outlining all possible scenarios to their respective groups. Professor McGonagall carefully stayed away from their path to avoid increasing their stress. As the clock struck 6:00 a.m., all members disillusioned themselves and silently followed their leaders to the path that led to Hogsmeade. They were glad to find the place deserted except for the house-elves nervously waiting for their arrival.
"Remember, the whole operation should take no longer than 15 minutes. If anything happens, just press the coin and the rest will try to help if they can. Also, as soon as the group has completed its mission, return to the training room immediately and wait for the others. We'll have a short meeting afterwards. Okay?" said Harry. "House-elves included."
The others mouthed a silent "yes" followed by swishing of cloaks and small 'pops' as the DA members apparated to their destinations.
Several minutes later, Ron's and Lee's groups arrived safely at the Training Room. No one said anything as they waited for the others to return. Some resorted to reading while others played solo wizard chess to while away the time. Each constantly checking the time and wondering what's taking the others so long. It had been almost an hour. Some unconsciously held the coin as if expecting it to burn soon. The wait was almost unbearable when they heard arguments erupting outside the room and it seemed to be getting nearer.
"HOW DARE THE TWO OF YOU! DIDN'T WE SPECIFY THAT WE'LL COME FOR YOU AT EXACTLY 6:05AM? DIDN'T WE CLEARLY STATE IN OUR LETTER THAT YOU SHOULD BE READY WHEN WE ARRIVE TO PICK YOU UP! WE ALMOST GOT KILLED BECAUSE OF YOUR IRRESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOUR!"
The door suddenly opened and in came a livid Hermione followed by Dean and highly embarassed twins. Parvati was assisting Seamus who was limping with pain but assured everyone that he just tripped on the way back and was not cursed by the death-eaters. Ron let out his breath which he never realized he was holding when he noticed Hermione enter the room.
"But the gnome ate the letter, honestly!" said George.
"Yeah, we were just starting to read it when the gnome grab it from our dainty hands and shoved it down its throat." added Fred.
Hermione was about to curse them to oblivion when Ron, upon realizing what's happening, hastily step in.
"Really! You know, you don't need to make pathetic alibis. A simple apology will do." Ron glared at them.
The twins looked nervously at one another. It never occurred to them that little ickle Ronniekins would dare tell them off for anything. But he was right. Mustering enough courage, they both looked at Hermione and mumbled something that sounded lile "we're sorry." Hermione just rolled her eyes at them and walked to the other part of the room. Then, as if suddenly noticing something, she returned to where Ron was.
"Where's Harry's group?" she asked Ron.
"They're not here yet!"
"WHAT!" shouted Hermione in panic. She quickly checked her watched. "It's more than an hour!"
As if on cue, the door opened again and all eyes turned to the new arrivals.
"Guys, is Luna here?" Harry suddenly asked, scanning the people in the room.
"Why? What happened?" asked Cho who walked over to join the conversation.
"We don't know actually. When we apparated to Hogsmeade, she was still behind us but when we arrived there, we discovered that she's not with us anymore. We checked the place and even went back to the safe house but we can't find her." said Katie. Harry looked distraught.
"Master Harry Potter, Dobby is looking for your friend, Luna. Don't worry." said Dobby quickly and disappeared. The other house-elves followed too.
All stared into space without any idea of what to do next. The others did not really like Luna. Some even thought her mad but the situation called for some unity and any fighter for the good side should be treated with respect and concern. Their anxiety was tripled as they felt the coin burning. Each took out the coin and saw the words ------ "Help! Luna! The Quibbler!" blinking fast.
Without wasting anymore time, Harry called Dobby and requested him to find out where the Quibbler was. Within seconds, Dobby arrived with the exact location and Harry apparated to the Quibbler's office where a shocking sight greeted him. Luna was fearlessly fighting her attackers - 4 death- eaters. Dodging curses and sending out several trying to buy some time until help arrives.
Harry quickly pulled his own wand and tried to get close to Luna to shield her from some of the more advanced curses, thankful that the attackers did not seem to be very adept at curses yet.
"ESTUPENDO!" he shouted at them and the enemies backed away quickly, staring at their wands as if wondering why they were holding such a stupid piece of wood. Harry smiled as he started to ran to Luna's side. His smile faded, however, when he heard loud pops again as more death-eaters entered the office. The battle continued.
"CRUCIO!" one of the death-eaters immediately cursed Harry but he was able to duck in time.
Harry realized that he need to get Luna soon so they could escape but the death-eaters made them too busy. The four death-eaters were still behaving oddly but the new arrivals were more experienced than the first four. They never gave them time to breath. Curses flew across the room at lightning speed. Harry saw Luna struck by a stunning spell. He quickly revived her and was exhausted himself when he heard several more pops. The death- eaters stopped to look at the new arrivals too, not expecting any reinforcements. But they were surprised when several curses hit each of them as ten DA members who already started training arrived.
"YOU IDIOT! Why did you disapparate suddenly?" shouted Hermione in between curses. "I thought we're not supposed to go anywhere alone, especially in situations like this. Whatever happened to the 'strength in numbers' speech you gave last time?" she continued furiously.
"Sorry. I guess I didn't think. I was too ....never mind. Sorry again." mumbled Harry as he helped Luna up.
"Hey, Harry! Let's try that 'collective-defend-and-attack' strategy we practiced before." shouted Ron, clearly enjoying himself.
"Yeah, cool!" shouted the others. Harry smiled inspite of himself. His friends did not seem terrified anymore. In fact, they seemed to have the upper hand in this little encounter. He gave Ron a free rein to lead the commands.
"FORMATION!" shouted Ron. They DA members quickly surrounded the bewildered death-eaters, stuck out their wands and simultaneously yelled, "ABSOLUTO PROTEGO!" A rainbow shield covered the DA members. Then without removing their wands, Ron shouted, "HYDRO-OXIDUS!" at the stunned death- eaters with the effect of the spell multiplied six times due to the combination of their powers.
It hit the death-eaters forcefully and smashed them to the wall, sending some of the office equipments to fall on the ground. Sensing defeat, they quickly disapparated to heal themselves somewhere and glared maliciously at the DA members as they did so. Harry then quickly put up some defensive spells around the office to avoid another encounter.
Hermione, still clearly annoyed at the turn of events, glared at Luna and asked heatedly. "Can you please enlighten us why we are all here now instead of the Training Room?"
"I apologize. I just could not resist the urge to visit my dad's office before I go back. There's something that I need to check because I don't believe that my father is dead." Luna said evenly while Harry held her hand in support. Cho's eyes narrowed when she noticed it.
Hermione's face visibly softened. "Did you find out anything?"
Luna got up and retrieved two pots of plants from under one of the table, probably his father's. One was dead, the other was still blooming. They all stared at the plants unable to comprehend what it meant but Hermione appeared to be deep in thought.
"These are not ordinary plants. My mother enchanted them to live magically. One represented her, the other represented my father and third me. My father brings my plant wherever he goes because it gives him an idea of my current condition. The one representing my mother is dead but the one representing my father is still alive. So, it means....it means he's still alive and just hiding or probably captured somewhere.....but still alive!" Luna said tearfully and the others, sympathizing with her finally understood why she had to do it.
"Luna, I may not know how to find your father now but I think we can do something to make his spirit come alive." said Hermione brightly, trying to make up for her rudeness a while ago.
"What do you mean?" said Luna cautiously.
"All publications have stopped operating or forced to close because of the current situation. Who shall give news to the people then? Who shall inform them on what to do or where they can go for help if anything happens? The ministry is almost useless nowadays so I believe the most we can do is...." Hermione hesitantly glanced at the others before she declared, "I think we must reestablish....The Quibbler."
A hushed silence followed her pronouncement.