Chapter 21 - Back to Crigod's Commune
Two weeks had passed but still no news about the residents of Crigod's Commune. But Harry refused to allow himself to be the first to crack under the mounting desperation. He had to put on a brave and hopeful stance in front of the DA members who were now getting restless about the lack of news. Even the death-eaters were silent after the attack on the Ministry. It seemed that the plan to attack the werewolves' den was abolished or they would have heard about it by now. That was very fortunate on their part because if Voldemort noticed the peculiar behavior of the dementors, then he would surely find out that something was amiss. Harry assumed that maybe they were currently laying low and rethinking their plans to take over the wizarding world.
The only positive thing now was that Ginny seemed to be sincere in her actions. By the end of the week, she had already been allowed to join the DA meetings and had even been requested to write a few articles for the Rebel Quibbler. Her relationship with the others greatly improved too making them overlook her 'minor blunder' as the twins liked to put it. A discreet cough distracted Harry from his thoughts. He turned around to see Dudley wringing his gigantic hands behind him, hesitating to approach him.
"Hey, why are you standing there? Sit here." he politely asked him to sit on the chair in front of him. He noticed that Dudley was still hesitant but decided to do just that.
"Err...H-harry, I was wondering if you had any idea what mother was doing right now...I mean, that horrible professor of yours fetched her one morning and she had not returned till then...me and my father are worried already." said Dudley.
"Oh, so Uncle Vernon is still alive...I thought he already dropped dead from shock upon seeing so many magical beings here. I haven't seen him for a long time." commented Harry, not really answering his cousin's question. His cousin gave him a reproachful look. "Oops, sorry, bad joke."
"So...do you know?"
"I may or may not know but it's her story to tell not mine." said Harry casually. Seeing his cousin's nervous expression, he decided to elaborate more, "Don't worry, I'm sure everything's fine. She'll come back soon."
"I hope so...D-dad has been really weird since she left and one time, he-- he hit me..." Harry could see that Dudley was about to cry now.
"He hit you? B-but why?"
"I d-don't know...we were just talking about school and stuff then I a- accidentally told him what I experienced when we were attacked by dementoids --"
"Dementors not dementoids, Dud."
"Whatever...then he went berzerk and shouted obscenities at me as if I was a monster... then he hit me. I stayed out of his way since then...."
"God! Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I was ashamed to ask for your help and I really did not think that you would listen to me...I mean, I was horrible to you and all...why would you bother..."
"Forget about it. That's all in the past now. Can you tell me what happened when you were attacked?" Harry was definitely curious now as to why that particular memory would trigger his uncle to hurt his only son.
"Remember when I first went to Smeltings? I had no friends there aside from Piers and we were not on the same section. The first few weeks had been so terrible. I suffered some major bullying from the upperclassmen there and I had to endure it or else Dad would be so disappointed in me. I did not complain to the headmistress either because the bullies threatened me with more physical injuries. One night the teachers had a conference. The bullies got tired of making a punching bag out of me...and they decided to...."
Dudley finally broke down and Harry stared in confusion as he watched his cousin looking so fragile. He thought his cousin had it all and was never made to suffer anything...but here he was, crying his heart out about something terrible that happened at the exclusive school that his uncle was boasting about.
"What happened?" he gently encouraged him to go on, knowing that sharing the burden would make him feel better.
"Since there are no girls in our school, they d-decided to...release their umm-adolescent urges on me..." Harry exclaimed in disgust at that. What persons on their right mind would think of doing that? And they were still minors!
"...They violently removed my clothing b-but before they could do anything else, something weird happened...I couldn't explain it but it was as if a mysterious light had enveloped me. I shielded my eyes from the blinding light and when I opened them, I saw the bullies lying on the ground, unconscious. I was so scared that I didn't even bother to get dressed. I just gathered my clothes and ran to my room to hide."
"What happened to the bullies?" asked Harry furiously. 'Those bastards and I thought Malfoy was evil!'
"They got scared of me after that...and they did not tell anyone about it either. From then on, other mysterious things had happened to me but I was in denial. I don't want to think that I'm like you because I know my parents would be furious. But living here, I realized that your kind is not that bad and if there's anything that I could do to help, then maybe I should just do it."
Harry stared at his cousin in shock. First, his aunt now his cousin? A wizard? But surely, Dumbledore would have known...how come Dudley had never received a letter? So many questions unanswered but instead he said, "I appreciate your offer Dud but you better talk to your mother first when she comes back. I'm sure she can enlighten you on some of your problems. I'll see what I can do about Uncle Vernon."
Dudley nodded and for the first time, Harry felt that he had a real cousin.
"MY LITTLE PUMPKIN!" Both Harry and Dudley were startled out of their wits upon hearing the unearthly cry of someone who had just arrived.
"MUM!" Dudley quickly ran to his mother and embraced her tightly. "I missed you so much. Where have you been?"
Upon seeing the happy reunion, Harry discreetly left the two. They had a lot to talk about and he did not want to interfere. He immediately scanned the room for Snape. If his aunt was here, then it meant that Snape was also around. He did not have to look hard. The smug face of the professor was hard to miss since he was obviously looking for him too.
"Prepare your group, Potter. They are all at the Ministry right now waiting for our signal." said Snape without so much as a good morning to him.
"Are we going now?"
"Unless you have any objection. I was under the impression that you were in a hurry." said Snape with the usual sneer on his face.
"I am." said Harry.
Harry hastily rounded up all the members for a quick scenario building before they return to Crigod's Commune. He was about to start the meeting when he noticed that Cho, Luna and Ginny were not yet there.
"Where are the others?" he asked. The present DA members just shrugged their shoulders.
"Wait here. I'll look for them first." he said.
"We'll come with you." said Ron and Hermione at once.
Harry did not bother to waste time disagreeing with them. Instead, he whipped out the Marauder's Map that he always carry around in his cloak to locate the missing members. He was puzzled to discover that all three were standing just outside the Room of Requirements. When Ron and Hermione peeked into the map, they too found it strange. But nothing was stranger than the scene they witnessed when they opened the door. Cho and Luna were standing side by side, both glaring and pointing their wands at the person in front of them. They couldn't see the other person yet but they knew it was Ginny.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" exclaimed Ron as he ran outside to force their wands down. Hermione went with him.
"Luna, what's the meaning of this?" asked Harry. He couldn't believe that Luna would dare attack anyone, much less Ginny, since she was one of her close friends at Hogwarts.
"Ask her!" said Luna, vehemently pointing her finger at Ginny.
"Ginny, what ----"
"Oh, Harry! Thank goodness you're here! I just came out for a while to get some fresh air and next thing I knew, they already had their wands pointed at me and accused me of terrible things..." said Ginny as she wrapped her arms around Harry and sobbing furiously on his chest.
"You see! You upset her!" shouted Ron, looking as if he was about to knock them cold if they had not been females.
"Upset! Go side with her then but don't expect us to apologize!" screamed Cho too.
"ENOUGH! We all have to go back to the Training Room now. We have work to do. We can settle this later." said Hermione and she entered the room in a huff followed by Ron. Ginny was still clinging to Harry's arm as they went after them. Cho and Luna trailed behind...enabling them to witness the triumphant smirk on the girl's face as she glanced maliciously at their direction.
The DA members were shocked to find so many people waiting for them outside the village. Moody, being his usual paranoid self, went over to them for final instructions while Petunia joined her previous neighbors.
"How many enemies are inside?"
"Three death-eaters and a battalion of dementors but don't worry about them. They became tame after they lost their leader." replied Harry.
"Alright, then. You go first, then the residents accompanied by Order members will follow at your signal. Make sure the dementors are out of the way. We don't want them to feel nervous on their first day back. Are you sure your group can handle that?" asked Moody, eyeing him surreptitiously.
"Affirmative! By the way, how many are they?"
"About fifty. Your aunt had quite a fanatical fervor. She convinced most of them to go despite the danger." said Moody, his usual abrupt demeanor replaced with a momentary tinge of admiration for the horse-faced woman who never failed to irritate him before. Harry smiled slightly at seeing this, proud of his aunt too.
"Are you finished with your discussion?" said Lupin, tapping Moody on his shoulder to catch his attention.
"Hello Lupin! Good to see you!" said Harry, glad at seeing the professor he came to regard as a friend.
"Go now, boy. Don't let me keep you." said Moody after instructing Petunia to open the door for them.
Harry nodded and this time, he did not instruct the DA members to disillusion themselves. He was confident that they could handle three foolish death-eaters even if they were completely visible.
"Alright, guys, as soon as the door's open, run inside and stun every moving creature there. I'll handle the dementors." intructed Harry to his members. He noticed the door appear. "NOW!"
All members hurried inside and deafening cries of "Stupefy" were heard echoing around the place. Harry ignored them all and purposely rushed to where the dementors' were to give the necessary command. Within a few minutes, DA had everything under control and Harry sent sparks on the sky to signal that it was safe for the others to come inside. The residents were all on the verge of tears as they stepped into the place they once called home... the place that they now realized was still their home. The Order members took their respective positions to secure the location while they perform the ritual.
"Hermione, Cho....the potion. Now, everyone form a circle." commanded Harry as the potion was placed on top of the table that Lupin had conjured for their use.
The residents religiously followed his instruction while DA members formed an outer circle to serve as the second line of defense in case enemies arrive and got past the Order members.
The power acquired From these magical beings Obtained through evil means Be restored by the new king
To conquer the power within Downfall of the Dark Lord near Let the Crigod's children Reclaim the power denied
The chanting continued led by Hermione and Cho until the Power Revival Potion started to boil on its own volition. Harry looked at the two and they both nodded indicating that it was time for Harry to add the final ingredient.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" an enormous stag immediately exploded from his wand and circled all the residents before halting in front of the potion.
"PASSUS PATRONO HALKUM!" At Harry's command, a rainbow of colors emanated from the stag and was gradually absorbed by the brewing potion. They all watched in fascination at the wide array of colorful sparks dancing around the silver cauldron reluctantly lent by Snape for this particular event. When the captivating display had subsided, Hermione and Cho quickly scooped the concoction into golden tea cups courtesy of Professor McGonagall while Harry, Luna, Ron and Neville passed the cups to each of the residents with the careful instruction that they should not drink it yet.
Every resident held the golden tea cup with quivering hand, nervously awaiting their fate. Hermione, satisfied that everything was going according to plan, ordered them all to state each of their complete names clearly, maiden names for married women of course, and their residence during the time of the attack before drinking the potion.
As soon as the potion was consumed, the residents all collapsed on the ground. DA members looked at one another, horrified at seeing them fall. What have they done? Hermione and Cho frantically searched their notes for any reference about side effects or something but there was none. Other DA members took the residents' pulse to see if their breathing was still normal but were aghast when they noticed that their heartbeat was erratic.
"Harry! What's happening?" asked Ron nervously.
"I don't know. This was not supposed to happen." said Harry, also confused. He looked at Hermione and Cho to seek their assurance that it was only natural but their panicked expressions alarmed him too. He saw Luna approach the two, apparently trying to calm them down enough to find a solution to the problem.
Snape, Moody and Lupin immediately rushed to their side when they noticed the commotion too.
"What happened here?" demanded Moody.
"We don't know. I think something went wrong..." said Harry weakly.
"You should have let me brew the potion." said Snape, his usual smirk replaced with concern at seeing the bodies lying helplessly on the ground.
"You were always away on a mission and we honestly thought that we could do it without your help." stated Harry, his eyes not leaving the bodies of the residents as if mentally willing them to be alright.
Suddenly, they all heard a loud crash from behind the door. All heads instantaneously turned to the direction of the sound with wands at the ready only to be greeted with the unwelcome sight of figures wearing hoods to cover their hideous faces.
Two weeks had passed but still no news about the residents of Crigod's Commune. But Harry refused to allow himself to be the first to crack under the mounting desperation. He had to put on a brave and hopeful stance in front of the DA members who were now getting restless about the lack of news. Even the death-eaters were silent after the attack on the Ministry. It seemed that the plan to attack the werewolves' den was abolished or they would have heard about it by now. That was very fortunate on their part because if Voldemort noticed the peculiar behavior of the dementors, then he would surely find out that something was amiss. Harry assumed that maybe they were currently laying low and rethinking their plans to take over the wizarding world.
The only positive thing now was that Ginny seemed to be sincere in her actions. By the end of the week, she had already been allowed to join the DA meetings and had even been requested to write a few articles for the Rebel Quibbler. Her relationship with the others greatly improved too making them overlook her 'minor blunder' as the twins liked to put it. A discreet cough distracted Harry from his thoughts. He turned around to see Dudley wringing his gigantic hands behind him, hesitating to approach him.
"Hey, why are you standing there? Sit here." he politely asked him to sit on the chair in front of him. He noticed that Dudley was still hesitant but decided to do just that.
"Err...H-harry, I was wondering if you had any idea what mother was doing right now...I mean, that horrible professor of yours fetched her one morning and she had not returned till then...me and my father are worried already." said Dudley.
"Oh, so Uncle Vernon is still alive...I thought he already dropped dead from shock upon seeing so many magical beings here. I haven't seen him for a long time." commented Harry, not really answering his cousin's question. His cousin gave him a reproachful look. "Oops, sorry, bad joke."
"So...do you know?"
"I may or may not know but it's her story to tell not mine." said Harry casually. Seeing his cousin's nervous expression, he decided to elaborate more, "Don't worry, I'm sure everything's fine. She'll come back soon."
"I hope so...D-dad has been really weird since she left and one time, he-- he hit me..." Harry could see that Dudley was about to cry now.
"He hit you? B-but why?"
"I d-don't know...we were just talking about school and stuff then I a- accidentally told him what I experienced when we were attacked by dementoids --"
"Dementors not dementoids, Dud."
"Whatever...then he went berzerk and shouted obscenities at me as if I was a monster... then he hit me. I stayed out of his way since then...."
"God! Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I was ashamed to ask for your help and I really did not think that you would listen to me...I mean, I was horrible to you and all...why would you bother..."
"Forget about it. That's all in the past now. Can you tell me what happened when you were attacked?" Harry was definitely curious now as to why that particular memory would trigger his uncle to hurt his only son.
"Remember when I first went to Smeltings? I had no friends there aside from Piers and we were not on the same section. The first few weeks had been so terrible. I suffered some major bullying from the upperclassmen there and I had to endure it or else Dad would be so disappointed in me. I did not complain to the headmistress either because the bullies threatened me with more physical injuries. One night the teachers had a conference. The bullies got tired of making a punching bag out of me...and they decided to...."
Dudley finally broke down and Harry stared in confusion as he watched his cousin looking so fragile. He thought his cousin had it all and was never made to suffer anything...but here he was, crying his heart out about something terrible that happened at the exclusive school that his uncle was boasting about.
"What happened?" he gently encouraged him to go on, knowing that sharing the burden would make him feel better.
"Since there are no girls in our school, they d-decided to...release their umm-adolescent urges on me..." Harry exclaimed in disgust at that. What persons on their right mind would think of doing that? And they were still minors!
"...They violently removed my clothing b-but before they could do anything else, something weird happened...I couldn't explain it but it was as if a mysterious light had enveloped me. I shielded my eyes from the blinding light and when I opened them, I saw the bullies lying on the ground, unconscious. I was so scared that I didn't even bother to get dressed. I just gathered my clothes and ran to my room to hide."
"What happened to the bullies?" asked Harry furiously. 'Those bastards and I thought Malfoy was evil!'
"They got scared of me after that...and they did not tell anyone about it either. From then on, other mysterious things had happened to me but I was in denial. I don't want to think that I'm like you because I know my parents would be furious. But living here, I realized that your kind is not that bad and if there's anything that I could do to help, then maybe I should just do it."
Harry stared at his cousin in shock. First, his aunt now his cousin? A wizard? But surely, Dumbledore would have known...how come Dudley had never received a letter? So many questions unanswered but instead he said, "I appreciate your offer Dud but you better talk to your mother first when she comes back. I'm sure she can enlighten you on some of your problems. I'll see what I can do about Uncle Vernon."
Dudley nodded and for the first time, Harry felt that he had a real cousin.
"MY LITTLE PUMPKIN!" Both Harry and Dudley were startled out of their wits upon hearing the unearthly cry of someone who had just arrived.
"MUM!" Dudley quickly ran to his mother and embraced her tightly. "I missed you so much. Where have you been?"
Upon seeing the happy reunion, Harry discreetly left the two. They had a lot to talk about and he did not want to interfere. He immediately scanned the room for Snape. If his aunt was here, then it meant that Snape was also around. He did not have to look hard. The smug face of the professor was hard to miss since he was obviously looking for him too.
"Prepare your group, Potter. They are all at the Ministry right now waiting for our signal." said Snape without so much as a good morning to him.
"Are we going now?"
"Unless you have any objection. I was under the impression that you were in a hurry." said Snape with the usual sneer on his face.
"I am." said Harry.
Harry hastily rounded up all the members for a quick scenario building before they return to Crigod's Commune. He was about to start the meeting when he noticed that Cho, Luna and Ginny were not yet there.
"Where are the others?" he asked. The present DA members just shrugged their shoulders.
"Wait here. I'll look for them first." he said.
"We'll come with you." said Ron and Hermione at once.
Harry did not bother to waste time disagreeing with them. Instead, he whipped out the Marauder's Map that he always carry around in his cloak to locate the missing members. He was puzzled to discover that all three were standing just outside the Room of Requirements. When Ron and Hermione peeked into the map, they too found it strange. But nothing was stranger than the scene they witnessed when they opened the door. Cho and Luna were standing side by side, both glaring and pointing their wands at the person in front of them. They couldn't see the other person yet but they knew it was Ginny.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" exclaimed Ron as he ran outside to force their wands down. Hermione went with him.
"Luna, what's the meaning of this?" asked Harry. He couldn't believe that Luna would dare attack anyone, much less Ginny, since she was one of her close friends at Hogwarts.
"Ask her!" said Luna, vehemently pointing her finger at Ginny.
"Ginny, what ----"
"Oh, Harry! Thank goodness you're here! I just came out for a while to get some fresh air and next thing I knew, they already had their wands pointed at me and accused me of terrible things..." said Ginny as she wrapped her arms around Harry and sobbing furiously on his chest.
"You see! You upset her!" shouted Ron, looking as if he was about to knock them cold if they had not been females.
"Upset! Go side with her then but don't expect us to apologize!" screamed Cho too.
"ENOUGH! We all have to go back to the Training Room now. We have work to do. We can settle this later." said Hermione and she entered the room in a huff followed by Ron. Ginny was still clinging to Harry's arm as they went after them. Cho and Luna trailed behind...enabling them to witness the triumphant smirk on the girl's face as she glanced maliciously at their direction.
The DA members were shocked to find so many people waiting for them outside the village. Moody, being his usual paranoid self, went over to them for final instructions while Petunia joined her previous neighbors.
"How many enemies are inside?"
"Three death-eaters and a battalion of dementors but don't worry about them. They became tame after they lost their leader." replied Harry.
"Alright, then. You go first, then the residents accompanied by Order members will follow at your signal. Make sure the dementors are out of the way. We don't want them to feel nervous on their first day back. Are you sure your group can handle that?" asked Moody, eyeing him surreptitiously.
"Affirmative! By the way, how many are they?"
"About fifty. Your aunt had quite a fanatical fervor. She convinced most of them to go despite the danger." said Moody, his usual abrupt demeanor replaced with a momentary tinge of admiration for the horse-faced woman who never failed to irritate him before. Harry smiled slightly at seeing this, proud of his aunt too.
"Are you finished with your discussion?" said Lupin, tapping Moody on his shoulder to catch his attention.
"Hello Lupin! Good to see you!" said Harry, glad at seeing the professor he came to regard as a friend.
"Go now, boy. Don't let me keep you." said Moody after instructing Petunia to open the door for them.
Harry nodded and this time, he did not instruct the DA members to disillusion themselves. He was confident that they could handle three foolish death-eaters even if they were completely visible.
"Alright, guys, as soon as the door's open, run inside and stun every moving creature there. I'll handle the dementors." intructed Harry to his members. He noticed the door appear. "NOW!"
All members hurried inside and deafening cries of "Stupefy" were heard echoing around the place. Harry ignored them all and purposely rushed to where the dementors' were to give the necessary command. Within a few minutes, DA had everything under control and Harry sent sparks on the sky to signal that it was safe for the others to come inside. The residents were all on the verge of tears as they stepped into the place they once called home... the place that they now realized was still their home. The Order members took their respective positions to secure the location while they perform the ritual.
"Hermione, Cho....the potion. Now, everyone form a circle." commanded Harry as the potion was placed on top of the table that Lupin had conjured for their use.
The residents religiously followed his instruction while DA members formed an outer circle to serve as the second line of defense in case enemies arrive and got past the Order members.
The power acquired From these magical beings Obtained through evil means Be restored by the new king
To conquer the power within Downfall of the Dark Lord near Let the Crigod's children Reclaim the power denied
The chanting continued led by Hermione and Cho until the Power Revival Potion started to boil on its own volition. Harry looked at the two and they both nodded indicating that it was time for Harry to add the final ingredient.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" an enormous stag immediately exploded from his wand and circled all the residents before halting in front of the potion.
"PASSUS PATRONO HALKUM!" At Harry's command, a rainbow of colors emanated from the stag and was gradually absorbed by the brewing potion. They all watched in fascination at the wide array of colorful sparks dancing around the silver cauldron reluctantly lent by Snape for this particular event. When the captivating display had subsided, Hermione and Cho quickly scooped the concoction into golden tea cups courtesy of Professor McGonagall while Harry, Luna, Ron and Neville passed the cups to each of the residents with the careful instruction that they should not drink it yet.
Every resident held the golden tea cup with quivering hand, nervously awaiting their fate. Hermione, satisfied that everything was going according to plan, ordered them all to state each of their complete names clearly, maiden names for married women of course, and their residence during the time of the attack before drinking the potion.
As soon as the potion was consumed, the residents all collapsed on the ground. DA members looked at one another, horrified at seeing them fall. What have they done? Hermione and Cho frantically searched their notes for any reference about side effects or something but there was none. Other DA members took the residents' pulse to see if their breathing was still normal but were aghast when they noticed that their heartbeat was erratic.
"Harry! What's happening?" asked Ron nervously.
"I don't know. This was not supposed to happen." said Harry, also confused. He looked at Hermione and Cho to seek their assurance that it was only natural but their panicked expressions alarmed him too. He saw Luna approach the two, apparently trying to calm them down enough to find a solution to the problem.
Snape, Moody and Lupin immediately rushed to their side when they noticed the commotion too.
"What happened here?" demanded Moody.
"We don't know. I think something went wrong..." said Harry weakly.
"You should have let me brew the potion." said Snape, his usual smirk replaced with concern at seeing the bodies lying helplessly on the ground.
"You were always away on a mission and we honestly thought that we could do it without your help." stated Harry, his eyes not leaving the bodies of the residents as if mentally willing them to be alright.
Suddenly, they all heard a loud crash from behind the door. All heads instantaneously turned to the direction of the sound with wands at the ready only to be greeted with the unwelcome sight of figures wearing hoods to cover their hideous faces.