A.N. no they belong to J.K. Rowling, so don't sue.
And to all my fateful readers, consider this a Christmas present (and don't actually expect any new chapters until Easter:) just half joking)
Chapter 22
Magical mayhem
Flooing into the Weasley twins' shop on Diagon alley, Harry was relieved to see he had managed to properly arrive. Mrs and Mr. Weasley were already there, along with several other Order members.
Harry almost missed moving off the hearth in time for Ron's arrival; he had been transfixed by everything around him. The shop looked like nothing he had seen before. It was an explosion of colours, lights and sounds.
Harry took another moment to glance around the shop. The intense colours caused Harry to blink twice before his eyes adjusted. Garish shades of orange, putrid hues of yellow, and a lurid shade of green appeared to be the preferred palette for the shop. Directly to his left was a tower of jack-in-the-boxes stacked twenty high. Only a few feet in front of the hearth was a pile of atomic bouncing balls balancing precariously. Looking through to the end of the shop, near the door, Harry could see an expansive candy display to rival Honeydukes. Whistles and bells were causing a cacophony of noises, and various bits and baubles around the shop seemed to honking, letting off steam, and bubbles. It was pure pandemonium. Eager though he was to explore the rest of the shop, now was not the time, Harry reminded himself, tearing his eyes from an advertisement for Gred and Forge's Eyebrow Remover-Perfect for Sleepovers.
Once outside it took him even longer to recover. Diagon Alley had always been a crazy place filled with the most unexpected things, Harry found. All the little shops filled with creatures and objects one could only find in their wildest dreams. But what Harry was seeing now was wilder than even that.
He couldn't even see the walls of the shops, or the posts; every centimetre had been covered in posters with faces of witches and wizards Harry had never seen before. All of them waving and gesticulating wildly with broad smiles on their faces.
A vote of no confidence had been given for Fudge as the Minister of Magic recently, Harry knew. Because of this, dozens of witches and wizards, in all shapes and sizes, were vying for the position. Harry looked a little closer at the posters at eye level.
'Vincent Harbottle' it read. 'Longtime supporter of the anti-Voldemort movement'. Harry snorted. It seemed to be the only thing he stood for. "A radical thought, that." Harry commented to Ron, who grinned when he read it. They stepped down a few meters and continued reading.
Musicians, obscure politicians, retired teachers; even a magical circus animal trainer had apparently all thrown their hat into the political arena for this election. Harry shook his head. He had looked through seven different candidates, not one who had said anything bright.
Apparently, though, the posters were getting their point across. Literally. "Ouch!" said Ron, rubbing his head, where yet another flier, in the shape of a paper airplane, bombarded him. He grabbed it and showed it to Harry, "Luetta Lavton: a proponent of the people'. What does that mean, Harry?"
Harry smiled, "She thinks people are a good thing, I guess."
"New fangled notion, that. "Expect she'll send the world reeling if she's elected." Ron shot back. The candidates were all shouting over one another to passers-by, making the din in the small street almost unbearable.
Still amazed by the new look of Diagon Alley, Harry and Ron made their way in and out of shops. They had about half an hour to spend and, naturally, one of the first places to visit was the Quidditch articles shop. Harry looked around at the models. His Firebolt was still the best, but there some other models had appeared with marked improvements. He moved over to take a look at the book section; this year he would be back on the Quidditch team, but a lot of the old members had already graduated so there was need for new tactics.
He picked up a book called 'Fly to Win: a Guide to Success'. Not an overly original title, Harry thought. Leafing through the book, he walked right into someone and knocked them down. He looked up to apologise only to see Cho Chang's face looking up at him, bewildered and surprised. After a moment she huffed and retrieved her own books. Harry bent to help her.
'Please don't start crying.' Harry said, half-joking, half-serious.
'I won't, thank you very much.' She answered snappishly.
Harry straightened up, wishing he hadn't said what he's said. He hadn't meant to offend her. He hadn't meant to run into her and knock her down, hadn't meant to run into her period. It was an awkward moment and he didn't know what to say, so for the next few moments he just surveyed her, waiting for her to make the next move.
'Harry, where are you?' Ron asked appearing from behind some shelves containing compasses. He looked blinking, from Harry to Cho. 'Hermione will scold us if we're late.' He added.
'Oh. Hermione, I see.' Cho turned around to look at him. 'You don't have to give me explanations.' Cho said sounding offended. 'We'll see each other at school, then.' She said though from her tone Harry didn't think it sounded like something she was looking forward to.
'She's just my friend.' Harry said weakly at Cho's retreating back, but she didn't turn. 'Not my girlfriend.' He mumbled. For a moment there he thought he should do something right then and there, like kiss her, or confess his undying love for her, but it really didn't matter, and besides, he wasn't sure it was an undying love.
His eyes met Ron's who groaned. 'Let's go Harry.' Ron mumbled.
Once outside, it took them awhile to find Hermione. They had tried Flourish and Blotts along with a few other places appropriate for her interests. They had not expected to find her settled at a nice table outside Florian Fortescue's, having an ice cream and watching the world go by.
'Harry! Ron!' Hermione exclaimed, waving.
'Why weren't you at Flourish and Blotts?' Ron asked, sounding bewildered. He received one of Hermione's looks that clearly stated it was a stupid question to ask.
Sitting there at Fortescues, eating ice-cream and talking about the summer happenings had a refreshing effect on Harry. With Ron and Hermione he felt as if nothing could go wrong, though he knew it was a stupid feeling, as every time something bad had happened the two of them were always dragged into it with him.
They decided not to talk in-depth of Voldemort's recent attacks since they were in such a public place, and everyone passing by was looking at him. Even now as he ate his ice cream, he heard whispers from the other patrons. Being the boy-who-lived was a tiring job, and it was twenty-four hours, seven days a week, all year long, every year, for the rest of his life.
'Harry, what do you think of it?' Ron asked him.
Harry realized he hadn't been paying attention to anything Ron and Hermione had been saying. He just gave them a small nod, hoping it would cover his inattention.
Hermione didn't buy it and huffed at him, explaining it one more time. 'I was just telling Ron that nobody even knew until recently that there were so many death eaters that had infiltrated the ministry.' She said frowning. 'Now that it has got out, they're trying to get rid of all of them, or at least cover up for their previous mistakes.'
'So that's a good thing, now isn't it?' Ron assumed.
'I don't know.' Hermione said scowling at her melting ice cream. 'At least Fudge seemed to have given into Dumbledore's reasoning when it came right down to it. A new minister could stir up much more trouble then they would solve.'
'She has a fair point there, mate.' Harry told Ron, trying to hide the grimace that had crossed his face at the mentioning of the Fudge.
'Look, there's your mum and dad, Ron. I think we should join them.' Hermione told them as she yanked them towards the cobblestone.
Harry knew he would soon have to leave them in order to join Dumbledore and the group at the Ministry of Magic. He did not expect the first words of Mr. Weasley, rather than the enthusiastic greeting he always had, to be 'Follow me.' as he lead Harry out of Diagon alley.
The meeting point was the Fountain of Magical Brethren. The statues had been repaired after the fight that had took place at the Ministry only a month ago. The witch was just as lovely as before and the wizard had his head back. Nothing of this place seemed to serve as a reminder of the gruesome fight that had taken place.
Standing beside the fountain were Spica and Charon, accompanied by Dumbledore who was speaking with them.
'Hello, Professor Dumbledore. What brings you here?' Mr. Weasley addressed Dumbledore formally.
'Rather unpleasant business, I'm afraid.' Dumbledore answered cordially. ' Had to spend all morning in the Department of international Magic Co-operation.'
While Dumbledore and Arthur did their small chitchat, Harry approached Spica, questioning her about what was going to happen now.
'Well, Bumblebee here will take us to the department of mystery one way or another and then we'll see if we can do our little David Copperfield tricks.' Spica told him dryly. Harry didn't know what to say, he found it unsettling to see her so set on ridicule. He also didn't appreciate the Copperfield reference. Copperfield was a muggle magician, nothing like the magic Harry and rest of the Wizarding world practiced. He couldn't understand why she was so derogatory of the Headmaster.
'Headmaster, there are serious matters needing your attention.' Even in the well-lit hall, Snape still managed to appear seemingly out of the shadows. Harry was sure Snape had intentionally used the word "serious", as his glare moved sideways to Harry.
The headmaster nodded. In a few moments Harry, Spica, Charon, Dumbledore and Snape were all descending to the department of mystery, leaving Mr. Weasley behind.
Harry was amazed that no one had once stopped them to ask where were they going during their descent to the Department of Mystery. Some older wizards had exchanged a word or two with the headmaster on the elevator but no one else seemed to notice them.
When they arrived in the circular room with unmarked doors, Harry remembered how hard he and the DA had manoeuvred their way through this place. Dumbledore, however, knew exactly which door he needed to open.
Dumbledore led the group as he stepped across the threshold in to the dimly lit rectangular room known as the Death Chamber. Harry gazed once again at the crumbling archway with the black veil over it, through which Sirius had fallen.
The others did not take so much time for contemplating, however. The two girls rapidly descended to the low platform, taking their places on each side of the archway. Spica called him down as well, breaking his reverie. Dumbledore and Snape did not go down; Dumbledore near the door and Snape halfway down the aisle, as if staying on guard or something.
The preparation work done, Spica's eyes flared brightly for three seconds as a pulsing seal appeared under them on the main floor, causing Harry to jump back in shock. Ignoring his surprise, a mystical, almost surreal tone came out from Spica's mouth.
'I am preparing to call Sirius and direct him back from the spirit world.'
Grim nods were given from everyone. Spica and Charon closed their eyes, and began chanting, beginning and ending at each owns choosing, so they didn't start or stop at the same time.
As he watched closely, Harry could see something behind the veil respond to the girls' chants. Something, better yet, someone was struggling to get out. He saw something bulge from under the veil and then, seemingly out of nowhere, a hand grabbed on to the stone pillar supporting the arch.
The veil blew apart to reveal a horrifying sight. A man whom Harry immediately recognised as Sirius was struggling to break free from hundreds, thousands, of grey, slimy scabbed hands, which were trying to pull him back.
The girls' chants increased, and their cloaks billowed as they united their hands, having stood and moved closer during the incantations. They seemed in a trance.
In the centre, a hard battle was taking place within the arch. Beams of light and pure darkness erupted from the stone archway. Harry was not expecting the strong gust of wind that swept into the room and pulled him off balance as it whipped through his robes. It seemed to pull him both towards and away from the arch.
The girls chanting grew steady again. They stepped inward and knelt, hands still clasped.
With the final word of the summoning, Harry realized not only could he feel the wind time, he could hear it. A great rushing noise was whistling down the hall, and Harry braced himself. The blast rushed through the archway, slamming Harry back against the stone benches.
He saw the grey hands no longer had power enough to hold Sirius back. Their grasps released and he passed through the archway. Harry became aware of how warm the room felt now, even the stone bench he was leaning against. The heat had increased, not enough to cause discomfort, but enough to be noticed.
Harry looked at Sirius, he was sprawled on the floor at the base of the arch. He looked very pale, ashen, like a ghost, but he was breathing steadily, his clothes in rags where the hands had grabbed at him.
All the light and warmness that Harry felt around him suddenly evaporated. For a moment, he thought something had gone wrong, and he was desperately looking from Spica to Charon and to Sirius. Sirius still didn't look quite more then a mere ghost and he was afraid he would remain this way. He knew Sirius would rather die then stay like this.
Then he heard the all too familiar sound of long, hoarse, rattling breaths. It chilled his blood. It couldn't be, not now, Harry thought desperately. They couldn't get in the Ministry with all the wizards present.
He slowly turned around to see them blocking the entrance. He took out his wand immediately in the same moment Dumbledore and Snape did. At the same time they spoke the Patronus charm. Three silvery forms erupted from their wands, charging at the hooded forms of the dementors. Instead of fleeing, the dementors dodged the silvery forms and glided with unnatural speed towards the centre of the chamber.
All were stunned at the unnatural behaviour of the dementors. They practically charged for the form of Sirius. It must have been that his ethereal form was highly more appealing than a normal human form. The dementors visibly affected everyone except the girls. Spica and Charon stepped between Sirius and the approaching dementors with no trace of fear.
The two dementors that were leading the charge lifted their hoods and prepared to suck their souls in order to get them out of the way.
It seemed time slowed down. Harry watched as one of the dementors reached a pair of grey, slimy, scabbed hands to grasp Spica, pulling her towards him reaching her to give his deathly kiss. He watched with horror as the Dementor sucked the air and she opened her mouth to him.
A.N I just love the way this chapter ends in a cliffhanger.
And absolute that's to my beta reader, Bena Glinney who helped me immensely with this chapter. The description of the twins shop and that of Diagon alley belong to her as she's great at writing such detailed, vivid descriptions. I am not.
So thank you very very much Bena.
