Chapter 23: Voldemort's Fury and a Visit to the Burrow

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Lord Voldemort was furious. For the last two months his every plan had been twarted by a shadowy group of wizards who seemed to appear from the shadows and disappear again. He was currently glaring at a gathering of his inner circle, all of who were kneeling before him, trembling.

"My lord," Lucious Malfoy said. "We have tried everything we know. We cannot find out who they are or where they are."

"Fools! I am surrounded by incompetent fools!" he raged at the assembly of Deatheaters before him. "Crucio!" he shouted at the nearest Deatheater, who immediately fell to the ground and began to writhe in pain. He kept him under the curse for several minutes before lifting it. Breathing heavily, the Deatheater strugged back to a kneeling position.

"Now." Voldemort said. "Find out who they are! Or I shall have to take more drastic measures to punish you."

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"You guys ready?" Harry asked. Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Hermonie, and Neville had just finished shrinking their trunks. As the number of Deatheater attacks had continued to drop, the group decided that now would be a good time to visit their families for a day or two. Harry had linked the situation map in their planning room to their message parchments, so that if anything happened they would be immediately alerted. Hermione's parents and Neville's grandmother were already at the Burrow, along with Sirius, Remus, Professor McGonnagal, Mad-Eye Moody, and Professor Dumbledore.

"Yeah mate. We're ready." Ron replied. Harry turned to John Clark.

"We should be back in two days. I've tied our situation map into our message parchment, so if anything happens, we'll know." Harry said. He then handed John a blank parchment. "This is a message parchment. Its been modified so that you can use it. If anything comes up that you need help with, just write my name at the top, then the message and write send." John Clark couldn't help but smile. Even though these youngsters were far more powerful then the entire Rainbow team and were technically not under his command, the Marauders had shown him remarkable deference, to the point of making him and Ding almost honorary Marauders. Likewise, John felt a growing attachment to these remarkable young people.

"Thanks for letting me know. Standard cover story?" He question. They had agreed that should the Marauders need to leave base for an extended period of time, John and Ding would create the necessary paper trail showing that the Marauders' alter egos had been dispatched consult on anti-terrorism programs that other cities or countries were putting together. It had a grain of truth to it: Rainbow had been conducting a lot of those consultations lately.

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"Hello?! Anybody home?!" Ron yelled as he and the rest of the Marauders walked into the front door of the Burrow, having just apparated in the front yard. They were amazed at the changes the Burrow had undergone. Since Arthur Weasley's election as the Assistant Minister of Magic, the Weasley family had received a substantial increase in funds, some of which had been put to use expanding on the Burrow. It was now twice as large as Harry remembered it. They walked through the front hall, into the living room.

"SURPRISE!" A number of voices shouted as they entered the darkened room, surprising the group. The room was illuminated to reveal their families. A large banner was suspended against the wall reading WELCOME HOME MARAUDERS!

"What's this all about?" Harry asked.

"It's a combination welcome home party and a job well done party." Sirius said, launching himself at his godson and pulling him into a fierce hug. "You had us all bloody worried for a while there." Harry grinned. Soon everyone, including Moody had made their way over to the group and was exchanging hugs and handshakes with them.

"Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George and Neville, I believe we owe you all an apology." Dumbledore stated after the greetings were finished. The Marauders looked at him, stunned.

"What do you mean Professor?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione, you, Harry, and the rest of the Marauders were correct with what you said in your letter. We did indeed underestimate your abilities and your maturity." Dumbledore answered. The others gathered nodded their agreement.

"Thank you all." Harry said. "We'd like to apologize as well for running out like we did. But it was something we just had to do."

"We understand Harry." Arthur Weasley said. "And we're very proud of what you seven have accomplished." The Marauders beamed.

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The next morning Harry awoke early the next morning, feeling rather refreshed. It was good to be back home in the Burrow. Next to him Ginny began to stir. The two teens had started sharing the same bed several weeks ago, though nothing happened beyond kissing and cuddling. Harry smiled. He was glad that Mr. & Mrs. Weasley didn't object too strongly to the news. The truth was, after all they had seen the last six months, it was the only way the two could get a decent nights sleep. The same was true for Ron and Hermonie. Carefully, so as not to disturb Ginny, Harry got out of bed and went to the door. Once there he opened it gently and walked into the hall, closing the door behind him.

"Morning Harry." Sirius greeted as Harry reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the living room.

"Good morning." Harry replied. He took a seat next to the fireplace.

"How are you guys handling everything, Harry? I mean really." Sirius asked. Harry sighed. He had known this conversation would come eventually.

"I won't lie to you Sirius. It's been rough. Especially the first time we had to…well, deliberately kill someone." Harry said. "But we got over that pretty quickly. It's kind of hard not too when you see the bastards do their handy work on some poor Muggle or a wizard that they don't like."

"How many have you…" Sirius started to ask, but was stopped with a wave of Harry's hand.

"I don't keep count. None of us do." Harry said. "But I know one thing. I feel no guilt over it. Those people were threatening innocent lives. They got what they deserve."

"How about the rest of the team? How are they handling it?" Sirius asked.

"About the same as me. I'll tell you Sirius, they are the greatest team I could ask for. I'd do anything for them." Harry said.

"We feel the same, mate." Fred said. Harry turned to see the rest of the Marauders standing at the bottom of the stairs.

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"Harry, I was wondering if I could speak to you and the Marauders for a moment?" Professor Dumbledore asked later that day. Harry and the rest walked over to where their former headmaster was standing.

"Yes Albus?" Harry asked.

"As you are aware, the Order has managed to rebuild most of its strength back, as has the Ministry. We feel that we are finally in a position to begin significant operations against Voldemort and his forces. Thanks to what you have done the last few months it appears that we may be able to win this war." Dumbledore said. "However, you have, technically, been acting as vigilantes. As Minister of Magic, I cannot ignore this." The Marauders exchanged looks

"Albus…" Harry started to say but was cut off.

"Therefore, in accordance with the Ministry of Magic rules governing military emergencies, I hereby commission Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, and Neville Longbottom as Aurors of the Ministry of Magic. Further, I hereby direct the aforementioned wizards and witches to conduct offensive special operations against Lord Voldemort and his supporters. They are granted special dispensation to plan and conduct these operations as they see fit and will act independently of the rest of the Ministry." Dumbledore said in an official voice. "Congratulations to you all." Harry and the rest of the Marauders broke into smiles.