Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I am writing this fanfiction for my own amusement and make no profit, all recognizable characters in this story are the property of J.K Rowling, Scholastic, Warner Brothers, etc.
Tonks Residence, Reading, 3/30/1996, 09:29
Harry stepped into the kitchen to find Andi and Tonks chatting at the table and sipping their breakfast tea.
"Good morning, Harry," Andi smiled as she flicked her wand at the counter.
"Good morning," Harry croaked as a plate of bacon and eggs floated over to the table and landed in front of him.
"You slept in pretty late," Tonks chuckled as she swiped a piece of bacon from his plate, much to Harry's annoyance.
"I was pretty worn out after the train ride," Harry shrugged.
Today was the first day of the Easter holidays much to both Harry's and Tonks' relief. The last few weeks had seemed to drag by and Harry had never wanted to leave Hogwarts more. It really was a strange feeling for him to voluntarily leave the school during the holidays
"So, how long have you two been seeing each other?" Andi asked casually as Harry was sipping his orange juice.
"Huh?" Harry sputtered, looking sharply at Andi.
"How long have you and Nymphadora been seeing each other?" Andromeda repeated, ignoring the glare Tonks was giving her.
"We're not see-
" Now Harry, you should know better than to lie to me," Andi admonished.
"Mum, just stop it," Tonks exclaimed, as she glared at her mother.
"Well it's pretty obvious something has changed between you two, even your father has noticed," Andi shrugged, unbothered by the look Tonks was shooting her way.
"What?" Tonks demanded.
"You two were snuggling awfully close on the couch last night," Andi pointed out.
"It was cold," Tonks defended lamely.
"You were holding hands," Andi added.
"Alright fine, we are seeing each other, happy?!" Tonks snapped.
"Depends," Andi said unfazed by her daughter's reaction.
"On what?" Tonks asked.
"Is he gay?" Andi asked.
"No!" Harry exclaimed in embarrassment.
"He's definitely not gay," Tonks exclaimed before she realised what she was implying.
"Then yes, I am quite happy as long as you two are safe. I am too young to be a grandmother," Andi said, a wide smile playing on her lips.
"And I thought Hermione was bad," Harry muttered, feeling his face heat up.
"So how long has this been going on?" Andromeda asked.
"The weekend after Valentine's day," Harry answered before he began eating his breakfast.
"We went on a date in muggle London," Tonks said with a smile.
"So you two snuck out of school?" Andi asked as she narrowed her eyes at the two of them.
"Well yeah, Hogwarts doesn't serve fried chicken," Tonks shrugged.
"Unbelievable," Andi snorted.
"So how have things been here?" Harry asked, hoping to change the subject.
"Good, I started my garden up last weekend," Andi answered with a knowing smile.
"That's nice, has dad figured out what we're doing for Easter?" Tonks asked.
"Yes, Harry is going to spend the day at the Weasleys while we go and visit your Aunt Maggie," Andi answered.
"Excellent, I can take my broom for a flight if I can pry it away from Ginny," Harry said excitedly at the prospect of visiting the Burrow again.
"You had better behave yourself around her," Tonks warned.
"No worries, I'm not into redheads," Harry assured her.
"Good, though if you were into redheads"... Tonks trailed off as her hair shifted to a deep shade of auburn.
Harry couldn't deny she looked good with red hair but something about it just felt... off.
"I prefer your brunette look, to be honest," Harry admitted.
"That's my natural colour," Tonks said, sounding very pleased with his answer.
"The pink is kind of sexy as well," Harry added, ignoring Andi rolling her eyes at them.
"Yeah I think so too," Tonks beamed.
"You two are going to make me vomit," Andi sighed.
"Now you know how I felt when I walked in on you and dad snogging at Grimmauld Place," Tonks quipped back.
"Do as I say, not as I do, Nymphadora," Andi sniffed.
"So what are we doing at Aunt Maggie's?" Tonks demanded.
"Actually, you'll be going with Harry to the Burrow," Andromeda corrected
"So I don't have to put up with Aunt Maggie and all of her backhanded compliments?" Tonks asked, sounding thrilled.
"No, though I will have to spend the whole day listening to her brag about how wealthy her husband is," Andi said sounding a bit put out.
"Who's Aunt Maggie?" Harry asked.
"Dad's sister, she's a right bint," Tonks answered.
"Nymphadora, that is no way to speak about your aunt," Andi admonished half-heartedly.
"She's hated me ever since I was twelve," Tonks huffed.
"You threw a cricket ball through the window of her brand-new Mercedes," Andi pointed out.
"I didn't mean to, I was passing the ball with that kid next door and I got a bit distracted," Tonks defended.
"By what?" Harry asked in amusement.
"Ted pulled up with our dinner, fried chicken if I remember correctly," Andi answered.
"It was from KFC," Tonks said as if that explained everything.
"Well regardless of what it was, after that incident Maggie hasn't been too fond of Nymphadora," Andi said shooting her daughter an exasperated look.
"I don't know what her problem was, dad repaired the window in a few seconds," Tonks scowled.
"The car was brand new," Andi shrugged.
"At least I get to keep my eye on the Weasley girl," Tonks said deciding to get back to the original topic.
"She's dating Dean Thomas, last I heard," Harry pointed out.
"How have your classes been going Harry?" Andromeda asked in hopes of steering the subject away from teen drama.
"Good, I am not very worried about my O.W.Ls," Harry assured her.
"Excellent, and your occlumency?" Andi pressed.
"I finally managed to raise the protective shield over my thoughts back in February," Harry said with a note of pride in his voice.
"I can't enter his mind at all anymore," Tonks added.
"I will test your progress this afternoon but if you have raised a shield then that is as far as you can really pursue that branch of the mind arts," Andromeda said sounding very pleased.
"Awesome, it really does help me with studying," Harry admitted.
"I know, that is an added benefit of occlumency, it sharpens the mind," Andi agreed.
The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up and just filling each other in on what had happened over the past few months.
Harry was so happy to be home, he was starting to see Hogwarts as less of a sanctuary and more of an obligation so it was nice to be free from the confinement of the castle.
When Andromeda tested his occlumency after lunch, she was unable to enter his mind at all and seemed very pleased with his progress. She had told him that all he had to do now was continue strengthening his shields and always organize his thoughts before he went to sleep.
It was a quarter after six when Ted stepped into the kitchen looking exhausted. Andi was just pulling a casserole out of the oven and beamed at her husband as he stepped through the door.
"You're just in time, dear," Andi beamed as she set the pan on top of the stove and captured Ted in a hug before helping him out of his healer's robes.
"Whatever you're cooking smells delicious," Ted grinned as he eyed the stove hopefully.
"Beef casserole and mashed potatoes," Andi said as Harry and Tonks entered the kitchen.
"Good, now that the love birds are here we can eat," Andi beamed.
"Ah, so we were right?" Ted asked as they all took a seat at the table.
"And he's not-
"No, they both were very insistent that he is straight," Andi said much to Tonks' annoyance.
"Well keep them out of the hot tub," Ted shrugged as he served himself some dinner.
"We're right here, you know," Tonks scowled.
"Yes, I see that," Ted nodded, giving his daughter a playful wink.
"So how was your day, Harry?" Ted asked.
"Good we watched Star Wars," Harry said casually.
"You brought that filth into this house, you know perfectly well that this is a Star Trek family," Ted exclaimed dramatically while pointing his fork at his daughter.
"Oh give it up dad, we all know you find Yoda hilarious," Tonks said, rolling her eyes at her father.
"Lying you are," Ted said in a passable imitation of Yoda.
"Yoda kind of reminds me of Professor Flitwick," Harry chuckled.
"He does, doesn't he," Tonks said thoughtfully.
"Well, which series did you like better and bear in mind that there is a wrong answer?" Andromeda asked, giving Harry a subtle wink.
"Star Trek of course," Harry replied easily.
"Good man, my daughter hasn't completely corrupted you yet," Ted beamed.
"Just give me time," Tonks muttered as she took a drink of her Coke.
"Well I am glad you brought up movies because I just happen to have a new Star Trek movie," Ted beamed.
"Another one?" Tonks sighed.
"Yep, Star Trek Generations," Ted said grandly.
"Oh brother," Tonks muttered.
"It's a crossover between Next Generation and the original," Ted beamed.
"Yay," Tonks said not looking very enthused.
After dinner, they went into the sitting room and put in the movie. Harry ignored the knowing look Andi gave him when Tonks snuggled up to him as the movie started. Harry tried to focus on the movie but Tonks kept distracting him, running her fingertips over the back of his neck or blowing lightly into his ear and sending a pleasurable shiver down his spine.
'I'm starting to think she's doing this on purpose," Harry thought to himself after she blew in his ear for the third time and he lost all concentration on the movie.
It was a couple of hours later when Harry had lain down for the night, he was just starting to doze off when his bedroom door creaked open and Tonks tiptoed into his room and climbed under Harry's covers with him.
"If your mum catches you in here, we'll never hear the end of it," Harry said as Tonks snuggled up to him.
"I'll risk it, I didn't sleep for shit last night," Tonks shrugged as she snuggled into his side.
"I didn't either Harry admitted as he felt Tonks run the tips of her fingers over his stomach just below his navel.
"I'll have to get up early to report to Bones so Mum shouldn't find out," Tonks whispered as her soft hand slipped under the waistband of his boxers, causing him to gasp in surprise
"Oh god," Harry said as she began to fondle him.
"I figured we could push things a bit further," Tonks whispered in his ear.
"O-okay," Harry grunted.
"Then it's your turn to play with me," Tonks added as she placed soft kisses on the side of his neck.
Harry grunted as she began to make a familiar stroking motion and Harry knew it would be long before he made a mess of things.
'Best night ever,' Harry thought as he felt himself getting close to his release.
Riddle Manor, Little Hangleton, 4/3/1996, 22:39
The death eaters were gathered for another meeting tonight. Voldemort had several attacks planned for the next few days and tonight he would find out if his servants had completed their assigned tasks or if they needed to be... punished.
After the last servant had taken their seat, Voldemort directed his focus to his first in command.
"Bellatrix, are the inferi in place?" Voldemort asked in a silky tone
"They are in place at all three of the locations that you instructed, my lord," Bellatrix assured him with a wide smile.
"Good, we shall make our move during Easter Sunday," Voldemort said, quite pleased at this news.
"As you wish my lord, but we found something unusual in the lake," Bellatrix said nervously.
"Oh?" Voldemort asked, giving her his full attention.
"There was a corpse that didn't have the runes carved into its skin for the inferius ritual, my lord" Bellatrix answered.
"You're certain of this?" Voldemort asked.
"Very, the body had never been enchanted, though It looks as if it's been there for decades," Bellatrix replied.
"Is it still in the cave?" Voldemort demanded.
"Yes Master, we thought you would like to see it for yourself," Bellatrix nodded.
"Very well, no one is to enter that cave," Voldemort said as he looked around the room to emphasise the seriousness of the command.
Once he was confident that his followers understood, he moved on to the next order of business.
"Has there been any word from the ministry, Mr Yaxley?" Voldemort asked looking down the table at Corban.
"Yes, I believe I have the identity of the ministry spy inside Hogwarts," Yaxley answered at once.
"Well?" Voldemort asked testily.
"There is an auror by the name of Nymphadora Tonks, she is a metamorphmagus and hasn't been seen at the ministry since May. Dawlish believes Auror Tonks is pretending to be a student but he does not know which student, my lord," Yaxley answered nervously.
"I believe I may know which student, my lord," Narcissa Malfoy spoke up.
"Enlighten us, Narcissa," Voldemort asked, looking at his newest inner circle member with interest.
"At the beginning of September Draco informed me of a new student that was spending a lot of time with Potter, a girl named Wendy McDonald. She is the girl that I have suspected is the ministry spy for a while, my lord," Narcissa answered in an even tone.
"Your sure?" Voldemort asked.
"Yes master, Wendy McDonald doesn't exist in the magical world. There ate no records in any of the muggleborn registries, my lord," Narcissa replied
"Very well, we shall follow that lead first," Voldemort said before turning to her sister, "Bellatrix instruct Cassius to find out as much as he can about this girl."
"Of course, master," Bellatrix nodded eagerly.
"Very well, Mr Yaxley is the secondary attack set up?" Voldemort asked.
"Yes, the old bat didn't update her wards after last time, the passage is still in place, my lord," Yaxley replied.
"Excellent, do not kill the heir, do as you wish with her," Voldemort instructed.
"I would like to be part of that team, master," Bellatrix offered.
"I think not, you did enough damage the last time you visited them," Voldemort said, ignoring his servant's crestfallen face.
"As you wish," Bella sighed sounding almost petulant.
"Do not pout, Bella, I will let you direct the first group of inferi," Voldemort said sounding amused.
"Thank you, it is an honour master," Bellatrix exclaimed sounding thrilled at this news.
"Excellent, Amycus will direct the second and I believe that Mr Travers can take the third," Voldemort said thoughtfully.
"With pleasure, my lord," Amycus agreed, his piggy eyes lighting up in excitement at the prospect of leading an army of the undead.
"I will not fail you," Travers promised sounding more solemn than his compatriot.
"A teenage girl is staying at the location, if you can capture her before the inferi, then you may do as you wish with her," Voldemort suggested.
"I do like a challenge, my lord," Travers said, seeming to perk up a bit.
"Now the final order of business, have the giants arrived yet?" Voldemort asked as he looked towards the Carrow twins.
"They have my lord, they are in good health and awaiting their marching orders," Alecto spoke up.
"Excellent, I have just the task for them but it will have to wait until after Easter, just keep them... happy for the time being," Voldemort instructed.
"They seem quite happy on our lands, there isn't any snow," Alecto chortled.
"Good, I believe it is time we adjourn for the evening, I want everyone in place by noon," Voldemort said as he waved his hand in a gesture for them to leave.
Voldemort watched his servants scamper out of the room as Nagini slithered onto the table from where she had been hiding under his chair.
§They reek of fear, speaker§, Nagini hissed as she slithered towards him.
§Most of them are a means to an end, my sweet§, Voldemort crooned as he stood up and draped her over his shoulders.
§I am hungry, I wish to go hunt§, Nagini hissed as Voldemort walked out of the dining room.
§Very well but stay close to the graveyard§, Voldemort chuckled as he opened the parlour door and allowed her to slither outside into the cool April night.
§I do not need to go far, speaker§, Nagini hissed before she disappeared into the night.
Voldemort knew his familiar was getting restless here, the wards necessitated her to stay close for her safety. She was probably the only living thing he really cared for, though that could be because she carried a piece of him inside her.
Voldemort had initially planned to use her for clandestine missions, he could actually inhabit her mind if he so desired due to her bearing a part of his soul. After all of the setbacks of late, he had decided against this. Why risk his familiar when he could just send a servant or two, if they got killed, so be it.
Nagini wasn't the only one who was getting restless, he had been looking into acquiring a new weapon but at present, he couldn't leave his followers to run things. They were incompetent at the best of times and it felt as if he had to hold their hands to get anything done. He knew the organization would collapse if he left for any amount of time.
Now he had something else to look into, he would have to visit the cave to remove the locket anyway but now he would have to investigate this corpse Bellatrix had brought to his attention. The fact that whoever had entered the cave had fell victim to his protections gave him some comfort. Still, he wished there was a way to discover how this person found his cave in the first place.
Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind for the time being, Voldemort ascended the steps and made his way to his favourite room in the house.
Voldemort pushed open the door and entered the drawing room. Flicking his wand at the fireplace, there was soon a roaring fire in the grate, casting the room in warm orange light.
Voldemort poured himself a drink before he got comfortable behind his desk and began going over the blueprints he had been studying before the meeting.
'I think I may have to handle this one myself,' Voldemort thought to himself as he studied the complex ward schematic.
London, 4/5/1996, 17:39
Harry was still laughing as they stepped out of the cinema, the movie was utterly ridiculous but it was hilarious. They had decided to leave the house early, catch a movie before dinner and then go to the arcade for a few hours.
The movie they had just watched was about a grown man going back through primary school in order to take over his father's hotel chain.
"I think I'm going to try that penguin bit at the next order meeting, it'll drive Mad-Eye spare," Tonks chortled.
"I would pay to see that," Harry snorted as they began walking to an Italian restaurant near the cinema.
"So have you ever been to a video arcade before?" Tonks asked curiously.
"Nope, I heard Dudley talking about them and have always wanted to go to one," Harry admitted.
"Well we'll soon fix that," Tonks smiled as she took his hand in hers, lacing her fingers through his.
"Good, I heard of this game called Space Invaders, Dudley said it was a lot of fun," Harry grinned.
"That game is ancient, I think dad even knows how to play it," Tonks said as they entered the restaurant, the smell of pizza filling their senses.
"Well, we can see what else they have," Harry shrugged as they stood in front of the hostess stand waiting to be seated.
"We'll start with table football and go from there," Tonks said as a blonde in her mid-teens approached them.
"Table for two?" She asked.
"Please," Harry nodded, giving the girl a polite smile.
"Right this way please," The girl said as she took two menus off of the stand.
They followed her to the back of the dining area and took a seat at a table near a window facing the busy London street.
"Your waitress will be with you shortly," The hostess said before she set their menus down and left to greet another couple that entered the restaurant.
Harry quickly opened his menu and scanned the pizza menu going over the different toppings even though he already knew what he wanted.
"So we're agreed that we want a large stuffed crust supreme with a side of garlic bread?" Tonks asked giving him a hopeful look.
"Yeah, that sounds good," Harry agreed.
"Good, I was hoping you wouldn't want to go Hawaiian," Tonks sighed.
"Absolutely not, who decided to put pineapple on a pizza anyway?" Harry snorted.
"No idea, I tried it once and I'll never do it again," Tonks said flatly.
"Are you ready to order?" A redheaded teenage girl asked, coming to stand at the end of their table.
"Yeah, I think so," Harry said after getting a nod from Tonks.
"Excellent, I'm Wendy and I'll be your waitress this evening," the said as she gave them a winning smile.
Harry had to hold back a laugh at the irony of the girl's name and quickly placed their order.
"So Pepsi to drink, a large supreme and a family order of garlic bread?" The girl asked as she read their order from her notepad.
"That's it," Harry agreed.
"I'll have that out in just a bit," Wendy assured them before she made her way to the kitchen.
"When she said her name, I almost lost it," Tonks giggled.
"What are the odds that we actually run into somebody with that name?" Harry agreed as the waitress came back and set their drinks down, giving them both curious looks.
"So how has work been?" Harry asked as he took a sip of his drink.
"Bones has me patrolling the alley, it was nice to put on my uniform again," Tonks grinned.
"You do look pretty good in your auror robes," Harry agreed.
"You said the same thing about my Hogwarts robes," Tonks sniggered as Wendy set a plate with garlic bread down between them.
"Well I do like seeing you in school robes," Harry admitted, his cheeks flushing slightly.
"Keep talking like that and I may just have to take you in for... questioning," Tonks warned before taking a bite of her garlic bread.
Harry thought about what she meant and got a dazed look at the possibilities.
"I think I broke you," Tonks sniggered.
"Just thinking," Harry said as he finished his first piece of garlic bread.
Harry glanced over and saw Wendy approaching with their pizza and couldn't fight the grin, he hadn't had pizza since last summer.
"Come on we have to eat so we can get to the arcade," Tonks said as she put a large slice n her plate.
Harry didn't need telling twice and dug in with gusto, they didn't talk much after the pizza arrived as they were both starving.
'If only I could find a way to get this at Hogwarts,' Harry thought to himself as he helped himself to a second piece.
Four hours later, Harry and Tonks stepped out of the arcade smiling widely. They had spent almost a hundred quid in the arcade but they had a blast doing it one token at a time.
"You were pretty good at the racing game," Harry beamed as they walked down the pavement, the sound of the busy London street replacing the sounds of bells and buzzers from the packed video arcade.
"I've always wanted to drive a real car," Tonks admitted.
"So why don't you, there is a car parked in the driveway?" Harry asked, shooting her a curious look.
"That thing hasn't run in years, I don't even know if it still works," Tonks admitted.
"Oh," Harry said, dumbly.
Though now that he thought about it he hadn't seen it move since he came to stay with the Tonks' last June.
"It was given to dad by Aunt Maggie but he only drove it a few times, mostly dad keeps it in the driveway so we blend in with the neighbours a bit better," Tonks explained.
"Did I ever tell you that me and Ron flew a car to Hogwarts in our second year?" Harry smirked.
"You're making that up?" Tonks snorted as she pulled him towards a side alley.
"Am not, I'll tell you all about it when we get home," Harry promised as he took her offered hand.
"Good, then we can see about using the hot tub before mum and dad get home," Tonks grinned as she took his hand and spun them on the spot.
The mental image of them in a hot tub completely ruined his preparation for apparition and left him caught off guard as he was pulled into the suffocating rubber tube-like feeling that always preceded this mode of travel.
The Burrow, Devon, 4/7/1996, 13:39
Harry swerved to avoid Ginny and dove towards the ground, dodging the practice bludger aimed at him from George as he cradled the very old quaffle in his left arm and made a move for the hoops.
Harry sped towards Bill and rared back to take the shot only for the quaffle to get smacked out of his hand by a smirking Ginny.
"Fancy flying isn't all there is to it, Potter," Ginny called back as she made a run for the other hoop.
Harry did a quick about-face but he could tell he was not going to catch her in time. They had been playing three-on-three quidditch since Harry arrived, it was him Ron And Fred versus her Bill and George with Tonks switching out with Bill or Ron when a new game started.
But so far during every game, Harry's team was getting creamed.
Harry could easily fly circles around Ginny but her quaffle-handling skills far surpassed his. She kept stealing the quaffle when he tried to line up a shot, much to his frustration.
Even more irritating, was the fact that she didn't have to slow down to take a shot. She could hit any hoop she wished flying at full speed, making it almost impossible to steal the quaffle or intercept her shots.
Harry watched as she threw the quaffle through Ron's hoops with contemptuous ease bringing the score twelve to ten in Ginny's favour.
"Little Gin Gin is something else," Fred muttered.
"I'll gladly switch out with you and play beater for a bit," Harry offered.
"Nah, we'd be worse off than we already are," George snorted.
"POTTER STOP LETTING HER STEAL THE DAMN QUAFFLE! Tonks bellowed from where she was watching, leaning against the stone broom shed.
Harry watched Ron wind up and toss the quaffle before he started flying towards it, his Nimbus allowing him to easily beat Ginny there. That wasn't really his problem though, he was having trouble holding onto the quaffle long enough to make s shot on Bill's hoop.
"I'm kicking your ass on my old decrepit Cleansweep," Ginny sniggered as he turned to make another run at Bill who was playing keeper for Ginny's team.
Harry ignored her, quickly pulling away on his much faster broom as he flew towards the centre hoop. Harry took aim and let the quaffle loose and was rewarded as it soared between Bill"s outstretched hands and through the hoop, at the same time a massive explosion tore through the air followed by the sound of shattering glass.
"Shit, the wards are down!" Bill exclaimed, his face losing colour.
"What is that?" Ron asked as he pointed towards the field on the other side of the orchard.
Everyone turned in the direction Ron was pointing to see a mass of human shapes staggering towards the Burrow at least five hundred yards away. High above the gathering was a single figure on a broomstick that seemed to be guiding them forward, from this distance the flyer looked like a tiny black dot.
"Inferi," Bill muttered as he got a good look at the mass of human-shaped figures.
"What are inferi?" Harry asked, never looking away from the mass of bodies slowly moving towards them.
"Dead bodies turned into puppets," Bill answered as he cast a patronus that flew off to the north.
"So fire?" Harry asked as he drew his wand.
"Huh?" Bill asked dumbly.
"Fire spells to combat them?" harry clarified as he could start to make out the features on the crowd as they neared the edge of the orchard.
Their faces were a sallow grey colour and most of them were missing patches of hair showing large sections of their bare scalp. The most striking features were their eyes which Harry could see were almost completely white and sunk deep into their skulls. There had to be over a hundred of them men, women and children all with the same vacant expressions on their dead faces and the same staggering gait. Their clothes were literally rotting off of them and quite a few of them weren't wearing clothes at all.
Harry watched the mass of inferi stagger over the ground walking almost robotically, they had already started to spread out through the apple orchard and were a few hundred yards away from the Burrow.
"Yeah, fire is the only way to deal with them. I already sent word to the order, we need to get back to the house," Bill said, looking as if he was forcing himself to remain calm.
"Yeah fuck that, I'll deal with them just make sure and get the others inside," Harry said before he leaned forward and flew straight at the advancing inferi.
"HARRY GET THE FUCK BACK HERE!" Harry heard Tonks scream from the ground but he ignored her as he flew towards the flyer.
It didn't take long for the flyer controlling the inferi to spot him approaching and the death eater immediately began firing familiar green curses at him.
Harry swerved left and then right, easily dodging the incoming killing curses as he made a beeline towards the other flyer.
"POTTER!" Harry heard a feminine voice shriek and realized who the lone flyer was.
"INFERNUS INCENDUS HORRIBILIUS!" Harry bellowed as he directed a swath of pitch-black flame into the group of inferi.
"YOU DARE USE A BLACK FAMILY SPELL AGAINST ME!" Bellatrix shrieked as she cast a trio of twisting red curses at him as he continued to fly towards her.
Underneath them, the hellfire spell he had just cast had begun to consume everything it touched, many of the inferi were incinerated before they could flee from the black flames. The apple trees were quickly ignited and the smell of burning rotting flesh filled the sky, thankfully the fire did not generate much smoke, it just gave off overwhelming heat as it consumed everything in its path.
The hellfire spell was one of the nastiest fire spells known to wizardkind and only surpassed by fiend fire. The only real difference between the two fire spells was that fiend fire was semi-sentient, the blacks had actually designed this particular spell based on the original fiend fire spell. The hell flames had the same destructive nature as the original spell but they couldn't develop a mind of their own, making the spell much safer to use.
Harry was pulled back to the present as he was forced to dodge two more cruciatus curses, he kept his current course pushing his Nimbus to the limit. One way or another, this bitch was going down!
Harry got within ten feet of her before he pulled his broomstick back hard so that his broom began to climb vertically. Just as he'd planned, his forward momentum carried him toward her at over a hundred miles an hour.
Harry kicked out hard, the toe of his boot catching her under the chin as he flew past her. Harry was rewarded when he heard a sickening 'CRACK' followed by a feminine shriek of pain.
Harry continued to pull back on the broomstick until he was flying inverted before twisting his body to where he was flying normally again, heading back in the direction he had approached from. Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he was forced to perform a sloth grip roll to avoid another trio of killing curses aimed at his back.
"HOW DARE YOU ASSAULT ME LIKE A FILTHY MUGGLE!" Bellatrix shrieked in fury as she gave chase completely forgetting about the hellfire consuming the inferi underneath them.
Harry pulled into a vertical corkscrew and flew back towards his opponent catching her completely by surprise when he began firing a chain of piercing hexes as he accelerated straight at her.
Harry knew he had the advantage here, Flying was his element and he planned on using it. In the air it didn't matter how good of a duelist she was because on a broom, you were only able to move with the broomstick. Bellatrix was a modest flyer at best and had to use all of her concentration to avoid or parry his barrage of spells.
Harry pressed this advantage by flying straight at her making it harder for her to track his spells the closer he got to her.
She was good with a wand, she could block his spells or parry them away from her with ease but she couldn't go on the offensive like she would have been able to on the ground.
Harry was grinning as he flew towards her at full speed and continued casting a never-ending chain of bludgeoners, piercing, and slashing hexes. He was giving her no chance to do anything but block his spells as he moved in to literally toss her off of her broom.
"You're trying to kill me?" Bellatrix cackled as she ducked under a decapitation hex.
Harry didn't respond and closed the last twenty feet between them never letting up on his spell chain only to come to a hasty stop as she cast a powerful shield around herself.
Bellatrix was panting heavily as they stared at each other, their brooms hovering ten feet apart while the black cursed flame burnt the orchard underneath them, the heat of the fire making both combatants sweat profusely.
"Are you mad at naughty Bella for the little Abbott girl?" Bellatrix cooed, breaking their staring contest.
"I am going to kill you LeStrange," Harry said in a voice full of cold hatred.
She looked so much like Andromeda yet so different, they had the same eyes and jawline and looked to be of similar build. Where Andromeda gave him a sense of warmth, Bellatrix was the complete opposite. Her features were cold and cruel and put him in mind of a shark smiling widely right before it ate you alive.
She looked much healthier than the last he'd seen her, she had regrown her teeth so they didn't look like they were rotting in her mouth. She had also put on weight so she didn't look like a walking corpse any longer. Harty realised that when he had seen her last she was still on the mend from her stint in Azkaban, now she was back in fighting shape.
The two flyers hovered facing each other fifty feet off of the ground while they continued to size each other up, out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see more flyers heading towards them.
"My men were supposed to break her in, did you know that?" Bellatrix taunted, bringing Harry out of his musings.
"I've heard, how did that work out?" Harry asked not reacting to the taunt.
"She still died," Bella cooed.
"So did the rest of your team and... Draco," Harry pointed out a smirk playing on his lips.
"It was you!?" Bellatrix demanded her teasing smile vanishing as his taunt sank in.
"Your diary was very helpful, though I was hoping you were part of the Bones raid," Harry said ignoring her question.
"You will die the slow way, Potter!" Bellatrix growled in fury.
"I am glad it worked out the way it did, I want to see you die. I want to be the one that kills you" Harry whispered before he raised his wand and cast an overpowered bludgeoning hex at her shield, the force of it jarring her around on her broom.
"You're never going to break my shield," Bellatrix cackled as she pushed more power into the transparent bubble that surrounded her like a magical hamster ball.
Harry continued to fire at her shield, each hit pushing her back more as he poured more power into each bludgeoning spell, willing his magic to overpower hers.
His spells were striking her sheild with tremendous force, sounding like bombs going off every time they impacted the transparent sphere surrounding her.
Her shield was starting to show strain and had begun to crack under the constant assault. Suddenly spells more began slamming into Bellatrix's shield from all sides as the flyers he had seen a moment ago joined him in attacking her shield.
"Mark my words Potter, all of these filthy blood traitors are going to die," Bellatrix hissed before she tried to activate the portkey around her neck, only for nothing to happen.
Harry's next spell shattered her shield and sent her broom wobbling dangerously so that her wand slipped out of her hand and fell into the inferno below as she frantically grabbed the broom handle to avoid being chucked off.
Harry didn't pause in his follow-up spell, even when he heard someone cry out, "Accio broomstick," a second before her broom was violently ripped out from under her.
Bellatrix was suspended in midair just long enough for Harry's next piercing hex to slam into her chest causing a cloud of pink mist to spray behind her before she plummeted to earth.
Harry watched with some amount of satisfaction as she fell into the black flame underneath them and was completely consumed, her blood-curdling scream cut short as the cursed fire rendered her to ash in seconds.
"You're fucking insane!" Harry heard Bill exclaim as he flew towards Harry looking furious.
"Who summoned her broom?" Harry asked distractedly.
"She did," Bill said as he gestured to Tonks who was flying towards them.
"Where is everybody else?" Harry asked as he watched order members flying towards them from all directions.
Below him, the hellfire continue to consume the last of the inferi, the heat coming off of it was starting to overwhelm him.
"Mum has them all at the house, what is that spell? I can't put these damn flames out," Bill demanded, pointing at the flames that were slowly moving towards the house.
"Hellfire and you have to use the right countercurse," Harry replied as he began going through the wand motion to extinguish the flames before the fire could reach the Burrow.
"You shouldn't have taken off like that," Tonks sighed as he copied Harry and began to help him put out the fires.
"The wards were down, those things would have completely overwhelmed us in a matter of minutes," Harry said absentmindedly as he concentrated on snuffing out the hellfire.
"That was Bellatrix out here!" Bill exclaimed.
"I know. She killed Hannah, I've been waiting for this day since her funeral," Harry answered as the order members began to join in casting the spell to extinguish the flame.
"Potter, well done," Mad-Eye said as he flew over to where he, Tonks, and Bill were hovering.
"Thanks but Tonks helped," Harry said not looking away from the fire he was directing the extinguishing spell at.
Before Moody could say anything else a weasel patronus appeared in front of them and spoke in Arthur Weasley's voice, " the Lovegoods and the Diggorys are both under attack!"
"Dammit! Potter, keep putting out these damn fires! Everyone else with me!" Moody barked.
"Someone should stay with Hatry," Remis pointed out.
"Right, Tonks you stay with him, everybody else with me!" Moody bellowed before he and the dozen or so order flew off to the southeast.
"I hope they get there in time," Harry muttered as he and Tonks continued to cast the spell to put out the fires.
Harry noticed that the area the fire had touched was now completely barren, the ground was soot black and looked almost... dead. There was very little left of the inferi other than a few charred human skulls here and there. The row upon row of blooming apple trees was now nothing more than charred stumps of wood sticking out of the earth.
"They will," Tonks said though she didn't sound particularly confident.
"Thanks for helping me a minute ago," Harry said as he looked over at Tonks hovering beside him on Ginny's broom.
"I told you I would help you take the bitch down," Tonks shrugged.
"How come her portkey didn't work?" Harry asked.
"Weasley cast transportation ward over the orchard, I remember how she got away back at our house last summer and I wasn't taking any chances," Tonks smirked.
"Good thinking," Harry grinned.
"I ought to kick your ass for taking off like that, I had to summon the Weasley girl to the ground before I could commandeer her broom," Tonks huffed.
"Bet you enjoyed that," Harry chuckled.
"That'll teach her to ask my boyfriend out," Tonks said, a teasing grin playing on her lips.
"I feel bad about the apple trees," Harry said as he took in the scope of the destruction his spell had caused.
"Better the trees than those things getting inside the house," Tonks shrugged.
"Still, it's going to take years before the ground is fertile again," Harry sighed as he succeeded in extinguishing the last of the flames.
"Maybe but it was still worth it, now let's get back in the house so Molly can give you a proper tongue lashing for flying off into danger," Tonks said as she guided Harry back towards the Burrow.
"Damn, now I wish there were more inferi," Harry muttered.
"I'm pretty sure inferi are attacking the Lovegoods and Diggorys," Tonks pointed out.
"I hope Luna's okay," Harry said worriedly.
"Me too, she's starting to grow on me," Tonks admitted as they touched down on the edge of the Weasley's back garden.
"Thanks for watching my back," Harry said as he turned Tonks to face him.
"Don't mention it and don't ever take off on me like that again," Tonks said before pulling him into a gentle kiss.
Harry eagerly kissed her back, his hands coming to rest on her hips as he let go of his broom. Harry was just starting to deepen the kiss when Tonks pulled back, breaking the kiss.
"As much as I'd like to carry on, we had better get inside before somebody sees us," Tonks whispered.
"Damn, let's get this over with," Harry sighed as he picked up his broom.
As they walked back towards the house, neither of them noticed a face peeking out at them from a bedroom window on the second floor.
Longbottom Hall, Orkney Islands, 4/7/1996, 14:19
Neville was currently tending to the seedlings of mimbulus mimbletonia in the family greenhouse. The break had been fairly uneventful though he had visited the Greengrasses last Friday to arrange a sale of seven of these first-generation plants for their commercial greenhouses. Ironically the stinksap these plants created was highly sought after by companies that made perfumes and the like.
Neville was brought out of his musings as he saw several silhouettes pass by the opaque windows of the greenhouse.
"We have to hurry Malfoy, the other attacks have already started," Neville heard a nasally female voice whisper.
"I know Alecto, just don't let her go for a wand...
Neville froze as he recognised the name Malfoy but he was baffled as to how death eaters could have entered through the wards around the manor. Neville drew his wand as he saw more people walking past the greenhouse, their shadows distorted by the glass.
Sneaking to the door that faced the manor, Neville cracked it open and looked across the lawn. He could see half a dozen men in black hooded robes crossing the lawn as they made a beeline for the manor.
Remembering the spell Harry seemed to favour, He drew his wand and aimed for the death eater in the middle and bellowed, "TEREBRAREUS!"
The yellow-coloured spell left his wand with so much force his arm bucked, the men turned in time to see the spell slam into Alecto Carrow's chest and explode out of her back.
"Dammit, get him but do not kill him!" Lucius ordered as the five death eaters began directing their wands at the teen.
Neville was forced to dive out of the path of five deep red spells, the curses slamming into the windows of the greenhouse with a deafening 'BOOM' that send shards of glass flying through the air.
Suddenly the ground underneath the death eaters seemed to come alive as long vines green thorny vines wrapped around them like tentacles.
Only Lucius' quick reflexes prevented him from being wrapped up like his comrades. Lucius heard the sickening sound of bones snapping as his teammates were crushed by the vines and pulled into the earth.
Lucius returned fire, catching Augusta by surprise with a killing curse. Neville watched on in horror as his gran collapsed on the lawn, her blank eyes still showing her surprise.
Neville scrambled to his feet hoping against hope that the spell hadn't worked right, that she would wake up and everything would be okay.
Neville barely noticed as Lucius fled the same way he had entered, the teen went into a trance-like state. Neville was not able to process what happened and was quickly going into shock, that's how the ministry aurors found him an hour later.
AN: Since Google has utterly failed me in finding out what arcade games were popular in the U.K during the late nineties and I have no wish to repeat the KFC fiasco of chapter 25, I decided not to write the scene with them playing video games.
AN: Thanks to Plums for giving me an idea for this chapter that I hadn't considered.