Chapter Two
The Attack
A few hours later, Harry had finished with the yard work and was painting the fence in the front yard. The sky was filled with clouds that looked unseasonably full of rain. It was a couple hours after noon, but it was dark enough to be almost seven. Dudley was leaving the house, accompanied by his gang.
"Bye Mrs. Dursley!" Piers called back through the door.
"Yeah! Thanks for the lemonade!" One of the other boys sniggered.
"It was nothing boys. Have a good time at the fair!" Petunia waved and went back into the house.
"So, where to today Big D? We could go hunt down Evans, I still think we let him off too easy last week." A few of the other boys nodded or grunted their assent. Harry stood up from where he'd been painting a lower post of the fence.
"Off to beat up more twelve year olds Big D?" Dudley turned white when he saw Harry. "Or have you and your flunkies graduated to kids only three years younger then you now?" Harry took great pleasure in seeing how afraid of him Dudley was. A few of the boys in his gang looked a little nervous too. All their mothers warned them about the freak who attended St. Brutus' Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys. That was Harry's aunt and uncle's made up story to cover for Harry's time spent at Hogwarts.
"Shut it, Potter." One of the boys retorted. A few nodded.
"Or what?" Harry continued.
"Or we'll beat you till you cry for your mommy." The gang all laughed. Dudley was looking green. Harry felt himself reaching for his wand when Hermione's letter came back to him. Don't let Sirius' death make you reckless... Well, he sure felt a little reckless right now, picking a fight with a group of Muggles. Harry felt his energy building up, and he knew if he didn't do something soon he'd be getting a letter from the Ministry for cursing a bunch of Muggles into oblivion.
Harry turned around and walked away. His feet pounded into the pavement along Privet Drive. He needed to get rid of this pent up energy. He turned the corner at the end and continued striding down the connecting street. He didn't know how long he'd been walking when he abruptly came to a halt at the end of an alley way... Magnolia Crescent. This was where he'd first seen Sirius...
Harry ran. He ran to the end of the street. The clouds that had been threatening rain all day started to let the water go, and a light sprinkle of raindrops fell to the ground. Harry ran faster, through the gate into the park and around the swings where he'd sat last summer. The rain was picking up its pace now, coming down in great fat drops that blurred Harry's vision as he ran into a large clump of trees. There was a pain in Harry's chest from running so far, but he didn't stop. He kept running, trying to leave it all behind. He ran from the pain and the guilt and the fear. The rain was pouring now, and a thunderclap crashed overhead, but it didn't make Harry stop running. He ran harder, trying to get away. His mind was a jumble of pain and sorrow. Then, suddenly, he wasn't running through the park anymore. Suddenly his mind was back at Privet Drive. His scar burst with pain as he saw the foolish Muggles running around trying to get away from the fires that now exploded through the houses.
Harry was suddenly brought back where he was when he tripped and went flying into the muddy path in front of him. He lay there fore a minute panicking about what he'd seen. He knew that he'd seen Privet Drive being attacked by Death Eaters, but he didn't know whether he could trust his vision. The last vision he'd chased after had lost him Sirius, and he just didn't know anymore. But as his scar seared with more pain, he knew he had to do something, and do it fast. He called for help.
"Professor Lupin! Mr. Weasley!" He started yelling for people in the Order. He knew someone had to be there watching him, he was never left unguarded. "Someone! Come quick! You have to come! There are Death Eaters in Privet Drive!" Harry was starting to seriously panic when he heard someone behind him. He turned and saw Kingsley Shacklebolt pulling off an invisibility cloak.
"Harry!" He called. "Quick, come with me! We have to get you somewhere safe where the Death Eaters can't find you. I've already sent Mundungus to alert the Order." Harry followed him down a side alley to a connecting street. "We've been watching you in pairs... Dumbledore's orders..." he panted as they ran. "We saw you fall... heard the screaming..." They were on Wisteria Walk, and Harry could see the fires at Privet Drive for real now. "I sent Mundungus to alert the Order... I have to get you to safety before they find out that you weren't there..." Harry saw Mrs. Figg's house in the distance and Kingsley nodded. "Her house will be safe enough for now. I'll leave you there with her and help the rest of the Order deal with the Death Eaters." They ran up to the house and Shacklebolt pounded on the door. A moment later Mrs. Figg, still in her slippers, open the door and pulled them both inside.
"Quick, quick, don't let anyone see the boy!" She said urgently. Mrs. Figg, Harry had found out last summer, was a Squibb, and part of the Order. "The Order is already there Kingsley," she said. "You can go just as soon as they send someone to take care of Harry. Heavens knows I'm no use in protecting him." She looked around nervously as they waited for someone to arrive. They'd been waiting for a few minutes when there was a pounding on her door. "Go into the kitchen Harry, we don't want anyone to see you're here. We have to hide you from them." As Harry moved into the kitchen he heard her opening the door. There was a faint murmuring and then the door closed again. Harry heard footsteps coming from the entryway to where he was. He looked up as Remus Lupin walked into the kitchen looking more worn then he'd ever looked in the past. Harry stood and Lupin embraced him for a moment before they both sat down at the table. Mrs. Figg came in after a minute and walked over to the teapot on the stove, pouring out three mugs of tea.
"All we can really do right now is wait for the Order to sort it out, Harry." Lupin said, answering Harry's unanswered question. "If the Order is unable to take care of the Death Eaters, I'm here to give Mrs. Figg enough time to get you to safety." Mrs. Figg nodded.
"I've put Mr. Tibbles on guard. If any Death Eaters approach the house, we'll know a few minutes before they get in. Dumbledore's put some protections on the house that will give us a bit of time." Harry was alarmed at the way they were talking. Surely the Order would be able to take care of the Death Eaters in Privet Drive? There hadn't seemed to be too many in his vision.
"It won't come to that will it Professor Lupin?" He asked. The Order was strong enough to beat back six or seven Death Eaters. Lupin considered the question for a moment before answering.
"Probably not. There were four Death Eaters still standing when I came here, and there are at least six Order Members out there right now. I think it should be fine, unless Voldemort has something else up his sleeve we don't know about." Mrs. Figg picked up the stirring spoon she'd dropped at mention of Voldemort's name and put it in the sink. She grabbed the three mugs, and sat with them at the table, putting one up in front of Harry and one in front of Lupin. The now-empty teapot was sitting on the stove.
"I find that tea usually helps me stay calm during times like these." She said by way of explanation. "I spend a lot of time sitting in the kitchen with a cup of tea while the battles are going on." She continued. Lupin nodded, looking out the window at one of the houses that was on fire a few blocks away. They sat in silence, sometimes looking out the window, sometimes picking up their glasses to drink their tea. Harry lost track of how long they'd been waiting when there was another pounding on the door.
The three of them got up to answer it, hoping it meant the battle was over. Mrs. Figg went to open the door as Lupin and Harry stood back, Lupin stepping in front of Harry as Mrs. Figg neared the door. She had nearly reached the door handle when a woman's voice cried on the other side "INCENDIO!" Harry watched in horror as the door exploded inwards and Mrs. Figg flew across the entryway. She landed in a heap, obviously unconscious, lying still at the foot of the stairs.
Lupin moved to protect Harry, and Harry drew his wand as well. The woman who'd caused the door to explode looked up at them from under heavily lidded eyes. Bellatrix Lestrange. It was the woman who'd killed Sirius.
"Aww it's the baby Potter and the werewolf." She taunted stepping into the doorway. Lupin took a step towards her, wand clenched in his hand. Bellatrix laughed. "You don't have to do that, werewolf. The Dark Lord doesn't want you, he wants the boy." She turned to gaze at Harry. As soon as her eyes were looking away, Lupin took his chance and threw a stunning spell at her. It almost made it, but she threw together a hasty block at the last second. "So... the werewolf wants to play. When's the next full moon hmm? Got your strength up?" She stepped forward cautiously. Lupin didn't say anything; he stood waiting for a moment to get in a curse on the woman who'd killed his best friend. Harry didn't know who'd started it when the spells started flying through the air. Bellatrix was suddenly shooting out waves of purple flame, and Lupin was countering with walls of blue light. They went back and forth, neither gaining an advantage. Bellatrix was moving now, towards the stairs where Lupin was descending towards her as well. They each had their eyes fixed on the other, leading Harry to believe there was a mental battle going on as well that he could not see. But he could feel the magic from their duel in the air. The whole room was tingling with the static of the magic they were shooting at each other. Lupin had stopped moving when he reached the landing halfway down the stairs. Bellatrix kept walking towards the stairs as though to come up and scratch Lupin with her bare hands. She wasn't watching, however, when she stepped and stumbled over some of the fragments of the door she'd blown into the house. Lupin took the momentary hesitation her fumble caused and sent a bolt of white energy towards her. She turned her head to avoid the streak of light, but she was a fraction of a second too late as the energy sliced a cut deep in her cheekbone. She was thrown sideways from the force of the blow, and Lupin took the chance to send another stunning spell towards her. She saw this coming as well, and a moment before it reached her, she Disapparated and was gone.
Lupin stood, breathing heavily on the landing for a moment before going down the stairs to where Mrs. Figg still lay slammed against the wall opposite the hole that was the front door. He checked her pulse, and muttered a soft charm which caused the worst of her bleeding to cease. He'd raised her onto a stretcher when five figures came running through the hole in the wall. It was the Order.
"Oh my goodness, Bella!" Tonks cried, as she saw Mrs. Figg on the stretcher.
"Is Potter safe?" Kingsley Shacklebolt asked as the Order all settled into the entryway.
"I'm here." Harry said from where he stood at the top of the stairs. The Order all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good. We've finished with the Death Eaters, Remus." Mr. Weasley reported. "We managed to capture one, but the others all Disapparated away when they saw they were outnumbered. One of Arabella's cats has been stunned out front. What on Earth happened here?" He asked, looking around at the disorder the entryway was in.
"Bellatrix Lestrange came looking for Harry here. She must have stunned the cat, he was supposed to warn us if a Death Eater was approaching the house. She knocked on the door, Arabella went to answer when Lestrange exploded it in on her. She Disapparated as well." He said this last part bitterly. Harry understood. It would have been nice to have destroyed Bellatrix Lestrange. She'd taken Sirius away from both of them. She deserved it. Tonks walked up the stairs to Harry.
"I'll take Figgy to Mungo's." Mundungus volunteered. He levitated her stretcher over to the fireplace and grabbed a handful of Floo Powder from the mantle. Tonks led Harry back into the kitchen as the flames turned green and Mundungus yelled "St. Mungos Hospital!"
The other Order members followed Tonks and Harry into the kitchen. Harry looked at the members of the Order. In addition to Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Mr. Weasley, was Mad-Eye Moody.
"What happened?" Harry finally asked.
"The Death Eaters somehow found out where your relatives' house was, even with all the special charms and protections on it." Tonks said. "They showed up while you were out running and came looking for you. They couldn't go into the house to get you, because of the protections in it, so they started blowing up the neighboring houses hoping that it'd draw you out of hiding." She paused here, looking to the others to verify her story. They nodded. "I'm guessing that's when you had your vision?" Harry nodded.
"Yeah, I saw the Death Eaters blowing up the houses and the Muggles running away." Harry said. "But if I saw it, doesn't that mean Voldemort was there?" He asked. Mad-Eye answered.
"Voldemort wasn't actually there, but he was watching. That's how you saw I'm guessing." Mad-Eye's eye was darting around constantly, checking through the walls and around the house to make sure they were alone and safe. Just then, Bill Weasley stuck his head into the kitchen.
"Charlie and I have got all the Muggles herded into the living room. Anyone wanna come practice their memory charms?" Bill laughed a little, cheering the atmosphere of the post-battle Order Members. Kingsley Shacklebolt followed him out of the kitchen. Mr. Weasley turned to Harry.
"I'm glad you're alright, Harry. You understand why we're going to need to remove you from your aunt and uncle's house, don't you?" Harry nodded. "Good. Go with Remus and he'll take you to a safe place." He paused for a moment before adding, "Alastor, perhaps you and Tonks had better accompany them. For... added protection. Just in case." Mad-Eye nodded.
Lupin looked around the room until his eyes settled on the teapot still on the stove. He walked over to it and picked it up. He tapped it with his wand and it glowed blue for a moment before going back to normal. Mad-Eye turned to Harry. He clapped Harry on the shoulder and said, "Time to go, Potter. We'll get you outta this unprotected Muggle place and somewhere better."