Chapter 17 The Riddle House
Rick went back to Hogwarts three hours after the departing in Hogsmeade. With him were the Head-Auror and the head of the Unspeakables, Mr. Stanley himself.
They were brought via portkey to the border of the wards and got instantly on their way to the office of the headmaster. But they were intercepted by McGonagall: "Gentleman, Albus is awaiting you in a more fitting room."
With that she led them to a room a level beyond the headmasters office. The room was large, about half of the Great Hall and the most important people of the Order of the Phoenix were already there. Now, shortly before an official mission, they all wore a dark red battle robe with a black phoenix on their back. The most of them were gathered over a map as it seemed to the newcomers. Harry's friends were also there but they sat separated in the background and talked quietly. Dumbledore beckoned the ministry employees over to the large table.
"Friends, these are the leaders of the ministry, the new Head-Auror Mr. Winston, the Head of the Unspeakables, Mr. Onyx and lastly Rick Weller the last not so secret anymore warlock. I am sure you three know the most of my friends here." He introduced them to the order. Stanley Onyx nodded, "Sure, we know them already. Lets get started! Rick, perform the tracking-charm! I hope Mr. Potter was as good as you claimed him to be."
Rick nodded and grinned, "He isn't. He is even better!" he said proudly and drew his wand. He waved it, spoke quietly an incantation and pointed his wand with a last jab to the map. A red dot flew from his wand and zoomed over the map which showed the whole UK. It came to halt over a spot not far from London. Dumbledore tapped the area with his wand and the map zoomed in to more detail. The red dot moved again and came to stop over a small town called Little Hangleton.
"This name sounds familiar." Dumbledore stated deep in thoughts.
Again they enlarged the area until they saw the exact location within the small town. But there was nothing to see there.
"I think, that is the town where Mr. Riddle Senior lived but I can't really grab it. It seems to be under a Fidelius charm." Dumbledore mused.
"That is more than likely. As far as we know, he came back to his body on this graveyard here and that is somehow connected to the Riddle House. So it is written in our files about Mr. Potter and his… adventures." Onyx stated as a matter of fact.
"So now we know where they are. Let's plan the final attack then!" Moody stated eagerly.
"Okay, if that is the headquarter of Voldemort we have to expect strong wards beside the Fidelius charm. This particular charm becomes useless as we know now exactly where the hidden home is. We will be able to see it, when we stand before it." Dumbledore explained.
"I have already gathered nine of my best Unspeakables to deal with any wards. As I heard, young Mr. Bill Weasley here is quite an expert too. He can join them." Onyx stated.
The redhead with the ponytail nodded.
"My team and the team of Mr. Winston will be here in three hours. Lets say we need another three hours to inform them and deal out the orders. The attack is going to start in about seven hours. All not needed for the planning should rest." Onyx declared.
Dumbledore addressed the order members, "You heard him! Go and rest! I will plan with the three here and Alastor, you can join us. You have more experience than the others."
The gathered people scattered out of the room. Ron, Hermione and Ginny went to the five adults and looked at them with tears in their eyes.
"Will they both be alright?" Ginny asked.
Rick sighed, "I don't know, nobody does, Miss Weasley. If Harry managed to keep up his disguise, and as it wasn't a simple charm what hided his true features so that is very possible, then they still might be okay. Voldemort wanted Tonks only to lure Harry out and as long as he doesn't have Harry, she will stay alive. I don't know about 'Jared'. He is expendable for them but let's hope they can convince them that he is needed too."
"I think Tom will keep both alive. 'Jared' was a friend of Harry for the public. He is a bait as well as Tonks." Dumbledore corrected him gently. All his grudges forgotten in face of the final battle.
"Let's hope you are right." Rick said concerned for his apprentice and friend.
"But let's face the facts!" Moody warned, "They might be alive but that does not mean, they are well."
"We know, Mad-Eye. At least there is still hope." the teenagers nodded with tears in their eyes and left.
Ron turned around before he finally left and faced the headmaster: "I don't care what you say, Headmaster. I am going to be with you at this final battle to help my best friend and foster-brother."
He turned and left the room without waiting for an answer and left a stunned Molly behind.
"How dare he…?" she started but Dumbledore interrupted her, "Stop it, Molly! He made up his mind and this time you won't get through him."
She sighed, "I know and I will not be able to change Ginny's mind as well. Could you order them to fight in the back lines?" she pleaded with him.
Dumbledore nodded, "Of course. Harry would never forgive us if something would happen to them. Now go and rest!"
After Molly left, they began to plan in earnest.
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Harry groaned as he came back to his senses. He was chained to a wall with iron cuffs around his wrists and ankles.
As he opened his eyes, he saw right into the laughing face of a Deatheater and the next he knew was the unbearable pain of the Cruciatus.
"That was for my friend you son of a bitch! You killed him in Hogsmeade. You can feel lucky, that my master wants to meet you… alive. I am going to inform him that you are awake now. I will take you both to him soon enough. Now… if you would excuse me?"
Before the Deatheater reached the door, he turned around and said smirking: "I forgot… CRUCIO!"
Again Harry tensed under the pain curse but no sound came out of him.
Then the Deatheater went out clearly dissatisfied about the lack of reaction.
Harry alias Jared turned his head and saw Tonks chained to the wall as well four meters away from him.
She was sobbing heavily.
"Hey! How long was I out?" he asked and tried to sound cheerily but failed because of the pain he was still feeling.
"Nine hours, I think. It should be Sunday now." she replied clearly shaken.
"Did they hurt you?" he asked concerned.
"This guy hit me twice with the crucio and my legs are still sore. Otherwise, yes." she answered exhaustedly.
"Well then, it could be worse. What… what is with you?" he asked as she started to shake. She was near a nerve breakdown.
"I… I am disturbed, Jared. I… feel something for you and I thought I lost you… that hurt me. But I also know I love Harry and now… now I betray him." she sobbed again.
"That is enough now! Wait a moment, I come and get you!" he said determined.
Her head flew up.
"What? How?"
She stared at him with red rimmed eyes as he suddenly was completely covered in blue flames and his cuffs began to melt. Then the chains broke away, he was free and the flames vanished.
"Well, that was not too hard. Now to you.. where are our wands?" he asked cheerily.
"Over there on the desk." she nodded her head in the direction still in awe.
"Now that was reckless of them." He said evilly grinning and held his hand up. Both wands came flying to him and he opened Tonks cuffs with a flick of his wand.
She flung her arms around his neck and sobbed. into his shirt.
He stroked her gently and spoke quietly to her:
"Tonks, please look up!"
She raised her head and looked into his caring eyes.
"Your heart didn't betray Harry." he said quietly.
"Not?" she asked uncertainly.
"No, but your eyes did." he replied and changed back into his true form.
Her eyes widened and she looked deeply hurt.
"It was my last test. I had to stay two weeks undercover beside you without giving me away to you." he whispered.
"But Harry! Two weeks! I… I missed you so much! I was so worried about you! How could you do that to me?"
She sobbed again but this time out of disappointment.
"Tonks. It was even harder for me!" he said sternly.
"How…? You knew all the time that it was me!" she yelled.
"Because I haven't seen you for three years." He said quietly.
Her eyes widened and after some seconds her eyes lit up.
"That was it, what you meant with your last test and you look older too. You trained three years within the last… days?"
"Yes, I am now a full trained Warlock and yesterday was the last day of the two weeks. Can… can you forgive me?" he asked uncertainly.
She looked him in his sad eyes and hugged him fiercely.
"You have to forgive me. I had no right to criticize you. You have much more suffered than me. I am sorry for shouting. And I am so proud of you."
"Thank you. I better change back, in case someone comes."
She nodded and kissed him before he changed back.
"What now?" she asked.
"Well we have two possibilities. We can now try to get out of here fast or we can wait until the battle starts and wreck havoc during that time."
"What? What battle?" she asked.
He stroked gently over her neck and then he held her necklace up.
"I tend to believe, that they are on their way to this hell-hole now, at least as far as I know Rick."
"Who his he then?" she asked interested.
"My mentor."
"Now I understand. Well, are you up to fight, Nightwing?"
"Sure and you?"
"I am too. I have some scores to settle." she said grimly.
"Yeah, we could overwhelm him and then you could use his robes to sneak around here." he said grinning.
"And how are we going to do that?" she asked with a devious smile.
"Well, let me chain you to the wall!" he said mischievously.
"No." she backed away from him.
He grinned, "Not really, silly. You can hold the open cuffs with your hands and hide the wand in your sleeve."
"And you?" she asked relieved.
"I will hide."
"Ok."
She walked to he wall and stood as if she was still chained to it.
Harry changed to his tiger form and disappeared.
She smiled at this with new hope in her eyes.
Five minutes later the Deatheater came in grinning evilly but his grin died on his face as he stared at the molten cuffs where Jared had been.
"Where… where is he?" he asked Tonks.
She smiled and said: "Turn around!"
"What? That is the oldest trick of the world!" he said angered and fell hard to the ground a moment later as a 700 pound tiger jumped on his back.
He was out cold instantly as his face hit the stones with a loud thump.
Harry changed back and laughed. Tonks hugged him again.
"That is clearly sad. I wanted to pay him back." she pouted.
"Come on! We are better than that. Besides you can get some other asses to kick, that I am sure of. Lets chain HIM now to the wall."
She grinned and did it, after he freed him of his robes.
She took his robes and changed her face to that of the Deatheater.
They stole his wand too and simply snapped it.
"Where are my weapons?" Harry asked.
"I don't know. I only awakened an hour before you." she said.
"Well that is bad, but not too bad."
He held his hand out and had the sword of Gryffindor in his hand a second later.
He still had his scabbard and placed the sword in it.
"What is your disguise?" she asked.
"This." He said and tapped himself with his wand. He became invisible.
Only as he moved, a slight blur of him was visible but that blur was much less to see than the effects of the disillusionment charm.
"That is very advanced." she whispered impressed.
"And the rest what Jared did not?" Harry joked.
She smiled but shuddered.
"That is creepy to hear your voice but not to be able to see you."
"And to see my girlfriend with the face of a man is not? A man who is a Deatheater who had tortured us both, I might add?"
She grinned, "Ok. You win… this time. Now what?"
"Now… well we could wander through the floors and take some Deatheaters out until the others arrive. Maybe we find out, where Snakeface is. I think, that is going to be the final battle. But if it is, please promise me something!"
"Wh… what?"
"Run away and look for cover! I don't want him to kill you to get to me and I might be forced to use my fire element fully and then you better be on the other side of earth."
She nodded, "I promise. Wait… Fire Element? The flames! You are a fire mage!"
"Well… I am still your Harry. At least I hope so." He sighed.
"Scan me and you know that you are for me! You are nothing but my Harry. But I am still proud of you." she said full of honesty and love.
"Thank you… I would kiss you but not with that face." he added with a shudder.
"Oh please!" she teased him.
"Dear Lord… we are in the demons pit and my girlfriend is teasing me. I begin to worry if I am sane."
"You? Sane? When were you ever sane?" she laughed.
"Every time I tell you, that I love you." he said seriously.
She smiled and changed her face back to her true form and felt invisible lips on hers a second later. She changed back after they parted.
"Well… that was strange, to kiss an invisible man."
"Ready to wreck havoc in dear Voldies home?" he asked with a devious tone in his voice.
She nodded determined and gripped her wand hard.
They sneaked out of the room and into the floor but Tonks tried to move inconspicuously like a normal Deatheater as far as they were normal in the first place. She was relieved that she wasn't alone in this creepy house
One other Deatheater met them and greeted Tonks, "Hey Nick. The master is awaiting you in an hour. Have fun until then!"
The next moment he fell down with a broken neck. Harry had sneaked around him and attacked him from behind. He opened the next door to hide the lifeless corpse.
There sat two other Deatheaters who looked up surprised at the dead comrade half hanging in the air and no one in the door.
Before they came to their senses, they met the blade of Harry's sword neck on.
Tonks had dragged the other in the room in the mean time.
"You are scary, you know that? Are you on a killing spree?" she asked slightly disturbed.
"No. I really hate it to do that but if we stun them and only one finds them he will revive them and then we are in even more trouble."
"You're right. But it is scary too. When this is over, I want my shy sexy boyfriend back!"
"Tonks, I will never ever forget that. Never. I have now blood on my hands." He said sadly and tears dwelled up in her eyes at his broken voice. She knew inside him had just something died.
"Harry, I love you and you have no choice. We all know that. Don't let it tear you apart." she pleaded.
"I won't, I promise. But I will also never be the same again. But your boyfriend, you will get back." he replied with a honest smile.
"I hope so. And you are sexy too. Now, if you aren't shy anymore but confident, that is ok by me." She said smiling as well.
"Okay. Let's go on."
They killed further thirty Deatheaters in that way. They changed their tactics though.
Harry was now in his tiger-form and spied absolutely invisible and if there was only one or two, he killed them with a bite to their neck or a quick stroke with his paws. The instincts as predatory animal made it easier for him to perform the kill. In other cases, they used curses, but only spells which were silent to avoid alerting other guards.
They dragged the bodies in empty rooms and closed them off with quick but complicated spells from Harry. Even Tonks didn't know the spells. Harry reassured her that the doors weren't to open with a simply 'alohomora'.
It was after two hours, as the activity in the house increased.
Voldemort must have become impatient with 'Nick'. They were wondering why that hadn't happened earlier. Maybe he was ordered to torture them until now.
Harry changed back and gripped his wand and sword. Now they would have to fight for real.
Tonks was about to hex the next Deatheater that was running to them but Harry held her arm down.
"Snape." He whispered.
"Nick! Where are the prisoners?" the Deatheater asked.
"Why? Are you going to rescue them?" Tonks asked him.
Snape's eyes widened and he drew his wand. Harry had sensed, that the rescue of her had indeed been his intention. He held now Snape's arm down and became visible.
"You don't want to kill your 'prisoner' do you?" he asked teasing.
"Jared! Then… Tonks? Puh! We have to get you out of here! He knows that you aren't in the cell anymore. What… what were you doing? And why are you still here?"
"Snape, how long are you here now?"
"A day. Why? I was summoned before the attack and am now tending the wounded."
"Because I bet, our forces are here very soon. You remember her necklace?"
His eyes widened and he nodded.
"And about what we did… well there are now around thirty Deatheaters less here. How many are there at all?"
"After the losses in Hogsmeade… only seventy that means now forty to fifty."
"Not the worst odds." Harry said grinning.
"You are crazy. And that all for Potter. I wonder where he is. I thought the last battle was his." Snape spat annoyed.
"Well, it is. Care to join us?" Harry asked cheerily.
"I think, we have nothing to lose anymore. I can very well help you to prepare the battle from inside. What about Potter then?"
"He is standing before you." Harry said and became visible in his true from for a moment and Snape gasped.
"You are… an Unspeakable?"
"Well, yeah. Long story. I change back now and you will lead us to the snake pit. And then you will get the hell out of here! Both!"
"Why…?" Snape asked stunned.
"Because I said it!" Harry hissed and then added, "And if you don't, you may be fried."
"He means it!" Tonks said now seriously.
"Say, do you know by any chance where Pettigrew and Lestrange are?" asked Harry grimly.
"Sure, licking the boots of the dark lord of course." Snape sneered.
"How many are in there?"
"Ten, I think. They are the last guard. The rest is looking after you."
"Are there anti-apparition wards?"
"Yes but no anti portkey wards."
"We have to change that. I need a safe place for a moment." Harry said.
"Follow me!" Snape replied and turned around with a billowing robe.
Snape led hem through some corridors and on the way, they killed another three Deatheaters.. which were very surprised to be attacked by their own people.
He led them straight to a potions lab.
"Tell me, master of the fine art of brewing, is here anything that we could let explode in front of his ugly face?" Harry asked grinning.
"Why, Longbottom is the master of explosions." Snape smirked but nodded.
"Give me fifteen minutes."
"Good. I'm going to put the ward up. We can not permit that anyone leaves this cool party now can we? But I will make two special ones that will get you out. So you can accompany me to the den of Snakeface though and help me a little on the way."
"Okay." Tonks said and guarded the door.
Snape looked disbelievingly for a moment at Harry but then he remembered the accomplishments of 'Jared' at school. It would be hard for him not to underestimate Harry Potter anymore. He had definitely outgrown his image of a shy frightened schoolboy.
Harry concentrated hard and began to cast the complex series of spells for the anti-portkey ward and after that he produced two portkeys for his friends.
He was a little bit exhausted after that. To ward such a big house was draining, even for him with his huge magical reserves.
"Here." Snape said and handed him a potion.
He nodded and swallowed it. He felt the new energy in him instantly.
"Thank you."
"Here are your grenades. They will cause a fire explosion on impact."
"That is perfect. Now lead the way, Professor."
He led them to two huge double doors. They took out another ten Deatheaters on the way.
Harry changed to his tiger form and took a peek through the door after he switched to the other dimension. He changed back afterwards.
"They all are facing the door with drawn wands. You both will get out now! If you find the others, tell them to stay away from the house. You are going to land at the graveyard before the house. It is the place, where he came back to life in my fourth year. Better you change back, Tonks, or they will think you are an enemy. Besides, I want a last kiss."
"It will not be your LAST kiss or I will kick your ass!" she scolded him but changed back nonetheless.
Then she hugged him and kissed him senseless.
As they separated, they saw, that Snape was facing away from them.
"You can turn around again!" Harry said smiling.
Snape nodded to him with a hint of respect in his eyes and handed him the three glass flasks.
"Kick his ass for me, Harry!" he said sincerely.
Tonks hugged him and had now tears in her eyes: "Be careful."
Harry nodded and said: "I promise!"
He kissed her quickly and gave them the portkeys.
He activated them and they were swirled away.
"Now to the fun part." he muttered to himself.
At the same time around fifty wizards appeared out of the air without a sound on four points hundred meters away around the Riddle House. They all were covered by invisibility cloaks or disillusionment charms. The four groups advanced silently to the old manor. As Dumbledore promised, once they knew through the tracking charm where the house was, they could see it. The Fidelius was useless in that special case. From every group two or three people separated and stood in front of the others. They covered the four sides of the home and drew their wands. That were the ten specialized wizards that would deal with the wards.
The other wizards were Unespeakables trained for battle, Aurors and members of the order. Dumbledore indeed had ordered the teens to stay in the background and give cover to the other wizards. At least they understood the need for that and would abide this order.
The wizards drew their wands and eyed the guards around the house warily.
Moody gave a whistle that sounded like a hawk. That was the signal to take down the wards. After they would fall, the rest was going to attack.
The ten wizards concentrated hard and raised their wands. As there were enough of them, they could cover the most wards with one attempt. They flicked them and shouted the incantations which would bring down the wards. A loud explosion and a blinding light later all the wards were shredded to nothingness. The forty other light wizards attacked before the surprised Deatheaters blinked their temporarily blindness away.
AN: I am short of time momentarily ;-) So I won't answer all your reviews. I thank you all for your reviews though. I naturally read them all and do think about the critical ones. I am sad to say, the battle between Harry and Voldy is final and it is going to happen soon, as you can guess now. Also there is no sequel planned for now. But you never know and Voldy himself is not the only bad guy. There will always be a dark lord or maybe a dark lady? Or maybe a dark group? Or there could be a sequel about Harrys and Tonks day to day life and 'little' problems or Voldys and Bellatrix' if the evil wins grin You never know.