Chapter 19 – Love and Marriage
"Dad," Ron said, anxiety stressing his words. "Mom had to escape with the other shoppers, right? Maybe she went home, to the Burrow, let's go there."
"Well," Mr. Weasley hesitated, torn between his duty to the wizarding world and his desire to protect his family. "I need to stay here," he finally said with a sigh. "Things are too chaotic for me to leave. But you two go. I need you to find your mother for me. I'll be here, so you can Floo me when you find out where she is. But I don't want you going outside of the Burrow. We've put up some wards, but those only protect the house itself. Floo there, see if your mother is there, and then come back here right away. Do you understand?"
"Yes Dad, I understand." Ron said with a determined voice. "Let's go," he continued, grabbing Hermione by the hand and running to the fireplaces.
With a quick shout of "The Burrow" the two of them disappeared in the green flames and shortly emerged into the familiar environment of the Burrow. It had been almost a year since Ron had been in his home, but nothing had really changed.
"MUM!" Ron shouted frantically, running into the kitchen, only to find it empty. Turning quickly he ran up the stairs, shouting for his mother as he searched each and every room on the main level. He kept going up the stairs, even frantically searching the attic, but he found nothing. Dismayed to find the entire house empty, Ron belatedly realized that Hermione hadn't followed him.
Swearing, he ran back down the stairs, looking for his girlfriend. As he ran back into the living room he immediately pulled out his wand when he saw Hermione's pale face. She was as white as Peeves and was staring in horror. Turning around in a tight circle, wand ready to attack, Ron was confused when he didn't see anything.
"What's the deal Hermione?" he asked. "What's wrong?"
"The clock," she whispered with agony in her voice.
Ron turned around again and glanced at the clock. Confused, he looked more closely at the hands and gasped when he saw that his mother's wand was pointed to a spot that he never, ever would have thought to see his mother's clock hand pointed. "Mortal Peril," he whispered, indicating where the hand pointed. Ron's heart slumped and he almost fell to the ground, swaying in despair.
"There's more," Hermione whispered. "Look at Percy's."
"TRAITOR!" Ron bellowed, rage infusing his voice. "I'LL KILL THE BLOODY BASTARD. I'LL KILL HIM!"
Before Ron could figure out how to follow through on that threat, they heard a commotion from the kitchen and Ginny's frantic voice wafted through the house.
"Mum?" she called. "Mum are you here? Harry needs chocolate. We all do. Mum? Mum?" Ron's throat constricted at the tiredness he heard in his sister's voice.
She stepped in to the living room and let out a startled squeal as she saw Ron and Hermione. "What are you two doing here? I thought you went to the Ministry?" she asked as she rushed over and grabbed Ron in a big hug as tears slipped out of her eyes. Since Ron was still wrapped up in his rage, his hug for Ginny was full of tension.
Ginny noticed that Ron was unusually distraught and turned to look at the object of his anger. Seeing the clock, and where the hands were pointed, she shrieked in rage.
"OH NO!" she moaned, tears springing to her eyes as she clutched her arms around Ron's shoulders. "What has he done? Where is Mum? We have to do something."
Just as Ginny cried out Moody stomped out of the kitchen, dragging an unconscious Deatheater roughly behind him.
"Weasley, where's your chocolate?" he asked. "We all need some, especially Harry."
Confused and enraged Ron looked at Moody dumbly, not sure what Moody was doing in their home or why he was asking for chocolate. Ginny was still weeping against his chest, and Ron just stood there. Frustrated by Ron's lack of action Moody started to speak again when his magical eye stopped on the clock's face.
"Sweet Merlin," he sighed. "I'll go to the Ministry right away and inform Arthur. Where's your Floo powder? I have to bring this wastrel with me."
"Professor, wait," Hermione said, grabbing his arm. "You said you all needed chocolate, was there a problem in Diagon Alley?"
"We captured this bastard and the Dementors momentarily overwhelmed us. I'm fine, and so is Harry, he's just exhausted."
Hermione nodded her head and ran into the kitchen. Breaking off a big chunk for Harry who was slumped in a chair, she ordered him to eat it before racing back into the living room to give some to Moody and Ginny. Moody bit off a huge chunk and rapidly chewed through the piece. Color started returning to his face and the slump in his shoulders straightened out slightly.
"Ron, your Floo powder please? I need to inform your father right away."
Ron was still incapable of coherent thought. His mind was focused on the various ways he was going to cause pain to his older brother. Moody's request washed briefly over his consciousness, but was drowned out by the barely audible sobs coming from his baby sister. Finally a voice broke through the fog in his mind, a voice Ron knew he'd follow for the rest of his life, no matter the danger, no matter the cost.
"No Professor," Harry said tiredly, leaning on the door frame. "We'll all go. Their family needs to be together. We'll need to put our heads together to find Mrs. Weasley, I have an idea, but Hermione will need to help me work out the details."
Ron's head snapped up as relief washed over him. If anyone he knew could figure out a way to save his Mum, it would be Harry and Hermione. His best mate and his girlfriend would never let him down, they all meant too much to each other.
Harry gingerly walked over to Moody and whispered something to him. Nodding his head, Moody quickly disappeared with his soft "pop" of apparition. Harry picked up the pot of Floo powder and held it up to Ron and Ginny, who had hastily composed herself and was looking sheepishly at them.
"Sorry," she mumbled as Harry handed her a handful of Floo powder.
"Don't," Harry responded simply, grabbing her free hand with a squeeze. "It's okay to be overwhelmed in light of everything. We'll get her back, I promise."
Ginny gave Harry a quick hug and kissed him on the cheek, her eyes watering again.
"Okay," she sighed. "Let's go."
Before they left the Burrow, Harry and Hermione both shot stunning spells at the Deatheater again, made sure the ropes were tied very securely, and snapped his wand in half. Harry tucked the broken wand halves in his pocket and smiled grimly at the others.
"We'll tell your Dad to send someone to pick him up, but let's go. We have to get your Mum back."
---XXX---
Coughing a bit as he emerged from a fireplace at the Ministry, Harry tripped on a brick and stumbled a few steps before catching his balance. Shaking his head ruefully he scanned the damage of the battle that had taken place in the Ministry and scowled at the devastation.
As Ron, Ginny, and Hermione appeared behind him, Harry noticed with a sigh that none of them had any problems traveling by Floo. He nodded at them to follow him, and the foursome marched through the Ministry, looking for Mr. Weasley.
They found him down near the lift, consulting with several elderly wizards and a few newly minted Aurors. Seeing his children return, without their mother, Mr. Weasley's face grew drawn in anticipation of bad news.
"Where's your mother?" he asked quietly, guiding them away from the Ministry workers he was talking with.
"Dad, she's in danger, the clock pointed to 'Mortal Peril' and Percy, he's to blame," Ron said rapidly, anger coursing through his voice.
Mr. Weasley merely nodded, taking in the information, but Harry saw Mr. Weasley's eyes clench in pain. "What do you mean Percy's to blame," Mr. Weasley asked quietly, looking to Harry and Hermione for confirmation. When no one spoke at first, Mr. Weasley's ears started to turn red, his frustration level building. Finally Ginny spoke up.
"Dad, his hand was pointed to 'Traitor,'" she choked out, tears springing to her eyes as she shook her head, trying to stop emotion from overwhelming her.
Mr. Weasley paled and his shoulders slumped. He sagged back against a nearby wall and started rubbing his temples. "Sweet Merlin, what am I going to do?" he whispered, speaking to himself.
Harry reached out and grabbed Mr. Weasley's arm in a firm grasp. "I think I have an idea on how to find her, Mr. Weasley. But we need to wait for Professor Moody to get back here. It should only be a few minutes."
"While we're waiting Mr. Weasley," Hermione asked quietly, "could you tell us what happened here?"
"It was a Deatheater attack," the Minister of Magic replied, his eyes lost in thoughts of his missing wife. "Two dozen of them showed up at once and started blasting everything in sight. Fortunately we've been putting in some better security, and half of the bastards were caught right away.
"The others made their way through the Ministry, apparently causing random damage, intent on destroying everything in their path. Kingsley and I managed to rally the staff and ordered most of them to get to safety. The Ministry can be rebuilt, the people can't."
Harry nodded his head in agreement with that thought, and was grateful that Mr. Weasley was so concerned about the people who worked for the Ministry. Harry knew Mr. Weasley was trying his best to be a good Minister, and this attack would be damaging to his efforts to make people feel secure in these dark times.
"They started making their way down to the Department of Mysteries, and we realized that their goal had to be freeing Lucius and the others. We couldn't afford that, he's too valuable to Voldemort, so Kingsley and I, along with my bodyguards, chased after them. We managed to subdue them before they reached Malfoy's cell, but both of my bodyguards lost their lives in the attack."
Mr. Weasley's eyes welled up at the memory of his guards being hit by the dreaded Killing Curse. His hands shaking, he paused and leaned against the wall. Ginny reached out and grabbed him in a hug, her own eyes welling as she sensed her father's pain. The two of them hugged for several moments while Harry seethed at the injustice. Ron was still fuming and Hermione was trying to calm him down, rubbing his hands and whispering soothing words to him.
"BLOODY HELL!" Ron finally shouted, unable to control his anger. "What are we going to do Dad?"
"We rebuild, son. We mourn our losses, but we go on. We have to, to honor the dead. Auror Jones and Auror Smith were brave, honorable men. I owe my life to them, and I will never forget their sacrifice. But we have to go on, to defeat the fear and terror. They knew the risks, and accepted them. We have to honor their memory."
"Good advice Arthur," Moody said after appearing quietly behind them. Perched on his shoulder was Hedwig and he was carrying several brooms and Harry's invisibility cloak. "Never let the bastards win. We'll fight until we win."
Arthur nodded his head, his face a mixture of sadness and determination. Straightening his shoulders he looked at Harry and Moody with a questioning look.
"What are your plans to rescue my wife?" he asked, not allowing hope to enter his voice, not yet.
"I think Hedwig can find her, Mr. Weasley," Harry said. "She's never had any problem finding anyone, and Sirius thought she'd even be able to find him when he was running from the Aurors. But he wouldn't let me use her because she's so distinctive."
"The boy's got a good idea Arthur," Moody said encouragingly. "We can follow his bird wherever she goes and determine what to do when we find out where she is."
"I think there's a flaw in your plan," Mr. Weasley said. "But I don't see any other options. Let's do it."
Just as Harry was about to talk with Hedwig, a dark, ugly owl swooped down and dropped a package into Mr. Weasley's hands. Startled, Mr. Weasley reached out and took a scroll off the top of the package. Breaking the seal he stared wordlessly at the document, his mouth opening and closing as his eyes scanned the piece of parchment. Finally, having obviously reached the end, his face paled and then shot beet red in anger. His hands started clenching in rage, wrinkling the parchment, and his entire body tensed in deepest anger.
Throwing the parchment to the ground he ripped open the package to reveal a lock of red hair and a simple ink well. Holding it in his hands he started swearing sulfurously, forgetting that his youngest children were there.
With an angry grunt, Moody bent down to pick up the parchment, but he was beat by Harry who quickly read the document.
Arthur:
We have your wife. She is currently safe with us, but the future of that depends entirely on you.
Minister Fudge is not pleased with your usurpation of his rightful position, and intends on resuming his role as Minister of Magic. Only your full cooperation in this endeavor will secure the release of your wife.
The Portkey inside the package will deliver you to our location where you will abdicate your position as Minister and declare Cornelius Fudge as your successor.
You will come alone, without your wand. If you come accompanied, or with your wand, we will immediately kill both you and your wife.
The Portkey will activate when you speak the phrase "Fudge for Minister."
Dolores Umbridge
Both Harry and Moody snarled with anger as they finished the note, joining Arthur in his cursing. Suddenly Arthur stopped his furious pacing and pushed his wand into Moody's hands.
"I have no choice but to go," he announced. "Contact Albus and let him know what has happened. He's at Diagon Alley, fighting the Dementors."
"Arthur, no," snarled Moody as he grabbed hold of the Minister's shoulder. Moody handed Arthur's wand to Harry as he reached to get a better hold of Mr. Weasley. "Think of what you are doing. We can find another way. Let us try the bird, or wait for Dumbledore."
Shaking his head determinedly, Arthur smiled sadly at Moody and the others. "Molly is my life. Nothing else matters if she is in danger. I have to go to her, now."
Moody was about to make a more strenuous protest when his magical eye suddenly snapped around in his head. A small, feral grin broke out across his face, and he simply nodded.
"Fine," Moody said, releasing his death grip on Arthur's shoulders. "Just take care of yourself, Arthur. Don't do anything foolish, we'll try to get to you as soon as possible."
Arthur nodded his head grimly, and held out the Portkey.
"I'll return with your mother," he said to his two children as he prepared to disappear.
"Be safe Dad," Ron said, putting his arm around his sister.
"We'll follow as soon as we can," Ginny added.
Mr. Weasley nodded and spoke the words to activate the portkey, saying "Fudge for Minister." Without so much as a breeze, he suddenly disappeared, leaving an empty space in the middle of the solemn group.
Ron and Ginny stared wordlessly at the space their father had vacated, forcing their thoughts to stay positive and hopeful for the safe return of both of their parents. Mad-Eye Moody and Hermione stood silently, neither wanting to break the silence.
Suddenly Hermione spun around in a circle, swiveling her head, obviously looking for something. With suspicion in her eyes she whirled around to face Mad-Eye.
"Professor Moody," she asked firmly. "Where's Harry?"
---XXX---
A shocked Mrs. Weasley gasped as the effects of the Portkey released her and she glanced rapidly around, taking in her surroundings. Percy had collapsed to the ground, his hands clutching his head as he moaned and mumbled to himself. Her mother's instinct having long since kicked in, she knew something was terribly wrong with her son, and the fact that they had been portkeyed to this place screamed at every fiber in her being.
Reaching for her wand as she tried to calm herself and survey the room that they had landed in, she surveyed the solid steel door that closed them in. Stepping closer to examine the door, Mrs. Weasley pulled the sleeves of her robe up and tried to unlock the door. The handle turned a bright red for a moment, but the door remained firmly locked. Scowling, she gripped her wand firmly and shot a spell at the door to test its strength. To her surprise the spell shot back at her. Diving to the side, the spell crashed into the wall behind her, spraying stone and mortar throughout the room. Unfortunately her child didn't see what was happening and a large piece of the wall landed with a thud on his head, knocking him unconscious.
Startled that she was contained in such a strong room, one that had been obviously prepared for her imprisonment, she shook her head in anger. Standing up, more furious than ever, she brushed herself off and stared at the door again, intent on freeing herself from this cramped room.
"Well, THAT won't work," she muttered to herself. "Let's see what a Hogwarts education can provide for me in this situation."
Searching in her memory for useful spells, she carefully probed the room, looking for weaknesses, testing the wards and protections placed on the room. Just as she was about to cast another attack on the door, she gasped as she saw it start to glow red. Silently watching the door, observing every detail as the glow from the door filled the room, Mrs. Weasley only slightly noticed that it was getting more and more difficult to breathe.
Her body started to sway as she realized that she wasn't getting enough air as she breathed. Her lungs pumped furiously as she gasped for breath, trying to reach for air, but it didn't come. Panic started to set in as the last of the remaining air in her lungs started to fade away. With a stumbled step she tripped and bounced toward the door, her wand falling to the ground with a loud clatter. She struggled to reach the door, but bright spots of black light appeared in her vision, distorting her view as she stumbled to the door.
Collapsing to her knees, her hands reached the door and she tried to pull at it with her last ounce of strength. With a dizzying whirl her entire body fell to the ground by the door, her lungs still straining to find some air to breathe in. Belatedly she thought of the bubble-head charm, but the lack of air caused her to forget how to flick her wand properly, and the charm failed.
The last thing that Mrs. Weasley saw before she lost consciousness was the door suddenly springing open. Through the fog of pain and panic, she couldn't make out the figure in the doorway, but she did see two stubby little feet in gaudy heels step toward her.
And then Mrs. Weasley blacked out.
---XXX---
"Where is Harry?" demanded Hermione, advancing on Mad-Eye.
"Why do you think I know," he asked with a slightly feral grin.
"Because you brought his cloak, which is now gone. He's gone too. Did he latch on to Mr. Weasley?"
"WHAT?!?" shouted Ron and Ginny. Both were horrified at the thought of their father going alone to wherever the foul little toad had taken their mother, but both were also distraught at Harry's disappearance.
"Harry hasn't the strength right now," protested Ginny. "He's still weak from the Dementors."
"Nonsense," Moody said gruffly. "True, we were both hit by those bastards, but he'll be fine. He's protecting a woman he loves like a mother, he'll find the strength, trust me. And it was the only way to send someone with Arthur without letting him know."
"Tell me Professor," Ron said with a calculating look. "Where is my father's wand?"
Moody simply grinned at the three teenagers.
---XXX---
"Molly dear, please wake up. Come along, be a good sport now."
Mrs. Weasley slowly opened her eyes and tried to focus on the high pitched feminine voice that was seeking her attention. Groaning as she tried to move sore muscles, she discovered that she was tightly bound to a chair and her wand was nowhere to be found. Looking around frantically, she tried to take in as much of the room as possible.
It was a barren room. Grey stone walls surrounded her with faint light coming from a small window that was barred with an ornate, but rusting iron lattice. She was seated in the center of the room on a gaudy pink shag rug. Finally her eyes settled on the tiny woman who was standing calmly in front of her.
The little woman had her arms crossed and she was tapping her foot impatiently. Mrs. Weasley was momentarily startled when she thought she had been captured by a sentient toad. Realizing that this was not a toad but a very ugly looking woman, Mrs. Weasley shot a foul glare at the woman.
"Who are you," Mrs. Weasley demanded. "What are you doing tying me up? Where is my son Percy?"
With each question Mrs. Weasley's voice went up an octave and her face turned the classic Weasley red. She was furious at her situation and had no intention of meekly accepting her circumstances.
"Temper, temper Molly," the ugly little woman said in a girlish voice. Please calm yourself down. We can't have you getting all upset. Everything will become clear in time."
"I don't believe we've been introduced," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "You know who I am, but I don't know who you are."
"Oh, of course, how silly of me. My apologies. You will, of course, be subjected to a Memory Charm, so it is largely irrelevant, but I am Dolores Umbridge, you may have heard my name mentioned before?"
"You foul, filthy hag!" spat Mrs. Weasley. "How dare you do this to me? My husband will track you down and rescue me."
"Your precious husband has already been notified," Umbridge said with a syrupy smile. "Why else do you think we bothered with keeping you alive?"
Mrs. Weasley paled at the implied threat, her normal bluster quickly fading under the clear danger she found herself in. Staring incredulously at the foul little woman who was her captor, Mrs. Weasley started struggling against her bonds.
"We can't have that," purred Umbridge. Raising her wand at Mrs. Weasley, Umbridge calmly stunned her, sending Mrs. Weasley back into unconsciousness.
---XXX---
"Are you awake?"
It was a soft, whispered voice, clearly trying to avoid detection. The urgency in the voice was what broke through the fog in her brain. Slowly gaining awareness, Mrs. Weasley struggled to open her eyes, but discovered that the room was completely dark. There was no light coming in from the room, and the little hag hadn't left any source of light after she stunned Mrs. Weasley.
"Mum, are you awake?" Percy whispered again.
"Percy?" Mrs. Weasley asked incredulously. "Is that you?"
"Yes Mum," Percy whispered back, pain in his voice.
"Would you care to explain yourself?" she demanded with a hiss. "Why did you bring me here?"
"Oh Mum," Percy cried softly. "They put me under the Imperious. It was Fudge and Dolores. I was talking with the Minister-"
"Your FATHER is the Minister you foolish boy," Mrs. Weasley snarled. "Cornelius is nothing but a power-hungry fool and an idiot. How could you let yourself go against your family? Your FAMILY, Percival. Nothing should ever come between you and your family."
"I know Mum, I know. I don't know what happened, everything just got so out of control. I just couldn't pull away."
Soft sobs escaped from Percy's throat as he started to get overwhelmed by everything he had done. Mrs. Weasley sat quietly, allowing her child to come to a full understanding of the depths of his failure as a man, as a son, as a Weasley.
"Percy," Mrs. Weasley said when she finally grew tired of listening to his sobbing. "You have an opportunity to set yourself on the path to redemption. I assume that's why you are here. Unbind me, give me my wand, and help me escape before your father does something foolish to try to rescue me."
"Okay Mum," Percy said, relieved to have someone telling him what to do. He was always best when following orders. He quickly waved his wand, removing the ropes from his mother, freeing her from the chair. With another wave of his wand he created a soft, light glow at the tip of his wand. He didn't want a bright light for fear of attracting unwanted attention.
"I'm sorry Mum," he said then. "But Dolores has your wand. We'll have to leave it if we want to escape."
"Your great-grandmother gave me that wand," Mrs. Weasley said with determination. "I'm not leaving here without it."
"But Mum, we can escape now, and come back for the wand," Percy protested.
"NO!" snapped Mrs. Weasley. "I will not let that foul little hag get away with this, and I will not leave my wand behind. Give me your wand, we're going out through the door."
Percy meekly handed over his wand, fearing to disobey his mother.
With a firm flick of her wrist, Mrs. Weasley thrust the wand at the door and shouted "REDUCTO!" with a mighty roar.
The door shattered into a thousand pieces, this spell having sufficient power to overcome whatever wards had been placed on it. Anger was a powerful tool, Mrs. Weasley often found, especially righteous anger.
Mrs. Weasley, her son's wand in hand, grabbed hold of Percy's collar and dragged him through the doorway.
"Where can I find the little toad?" she demanded. "And that fool Cornelius? Where are they Percy?"
Percy meekly pointed up the looming staircase.
"They are upstairs in the Min- erm, Fudge's study," he said with a weak smile. "They said they were waiting for a guest."
"Well, they'll get me instead," Mrs. Weasley said firmly. "Keep close behind me, and be prepared to duck. We're going in firing."
Percy nodded and followed his mother closely as she stomped up the stair well. As she reached the door to the study, she paused to listen before blasting it open.
"Oh you complete fool," she sighed to herself before squaring her shoulders. Percy looked at her in confusion, then ducked behind her as she thrust his wand at the door with another roaring shout "REDUCTO!"
The door to Cornelius Fudge's study simply ceased to exist. There were no splinters, no wreckage, nothing. The fury powering Mrs. Weasley's spell shattered the door into absolute nothingness, but the shockwave of her spell plowed through the room. With a fierce glare at Percy, one that he understood as the 'STAY HERE' look all mothers know how to give, Mrs. Weasley stepped through the space where the door used to be.
---XXX---
Arthur Weasley rather enjoyed traveling by Portkey. He somewhat enjoyed the feeling of being yanked by his stomach. He likened it to the feeling he got the few times he had the opportunity to play Quidditch. The soaring sensation as he was pulled bodily by his navel was quite exhilarating, and normally he would have marveled at the joy of this type of travel. But this was not the time to daydream, he realized.
With a soft thud he landed in an expansive room that looked remarkably like the office he took over when he became Minister of Magic. He thought he felt something bump into him when he landed, but when he turned around he saw nothing. Turning again, he looked around the room. There were gaudy wall hangings and a massive desk, copies of the things that Molly had removed from his new office as being ostentatious or silly. It was not surprising to Arthur when he looked at the huge chair with the seal of the Minister of Magic embroidered in the back, that it was occupied by his predecessor, Cornelius Fudge.
"Arthur, so glad you could join us," Fudge said with an uneasy smile. "Please take a seat, won't you?"
Arthur stared stonily at the pathetic little politician in front of him. Crossing his arms over his chest, Arthur refused to budge.
"Cornelius, I came for my wife," Arthur said in a controlled voice. "Bring her to me now so that we may leave."
"Hem hem," a girlish voice said from the doorway. "Now Arthur, please be civil, the Minister merely wishes to discuss some matters with you and we'll let the two of you about your way."
Umbridge closed the door behind her and walked over to one of the chairs near Fudge's desk. Climbing up into the chair to sit, Arthur saw that she was idly toying with Molly's wand. The rage that was burning inside him sparked hotter than ever.
"Dolores," Arthur said scathingly. "There are few things I care less about than what involuted schemes the two of you have cooked up. You have my wife, so I have no choice to abdicate and name Cornelius as the new Minister. But rest assured the Ministry will not accept this turn of events, nor will Dumbledore."
"How dare you," seethed Umbridge. "Of course the Ministry will accept Cornelius' return to the Ministry, or we'll disband the Ministry and the Wizengamot! We are the ones who should be in power, negotiating with the Dark Lord for a truce. You and your foolish attempt to battle him to victory will surely fail. Accommodation is the only way to survive!"
Arthur shook his head sadly. "I'm sure you believe that to be true, Dolores, which saddens me greatly. But that is none of my concern. If you disband the Ministry, the Order of the Phoenix will absorb them and do what you fail to see is necessary. We will bring the battle to the evil that faces us. No more, no less."
"Arthur my friend, don't you see that is the path of madness?" Cornelius asked. "Surely you don't think you can beat Him? He's too powerful."
"Your years of sucking up to the likes of Lucius have made you weak," Arthur replied with disgust. "So long as we stand against the evil, we can overcome it. With Dumbledore and Harry Potter leading us, we have hope and we can overcome our fears. You would have us cower in the corner and hope that Voldemort would continue to suffer to let us live. That, Cornelius, is the path to madness."
"Fools, you're all fools Arthur," Cornelius responded. "You'll kill us all."
"No Cornelius, your policy of appeasement will be the death of us. But that is of little importance to me. Nothing matters to me beyond the safety of my wife. Bring her to me and we will leave, now."
"Excuse me Arthur," Umbridge interrupted. "But there's the matter of your abdication and naming of Cornelius as your successor. We must see about that before we release your wife."
Clenching his teeth, his hands curling into fists, Arthur stomped over to the desk.
"Where do you want me to sign," he demanded, grabbing a quill from the desk. "Let's finish this."
Just as Cornelius picked up the parchment, a blast of power shot through the room, and Arthur was knocked to his knees. After a moment he recovered his senses and looked in the direction of the blast.
The doorway was gone. It wasn't shattered or destroyed, it had just ceased to exist. Standing in the middle of the hole where the door used to exist stood his darling wife. She was beautiful, as Arthur always thought, and she was radiating a fierce combination of power and rage that Arthur knew so well. It awed him, really, the love he felt for this woman, and the love she returned. Decades of marriage, more years of friendship, and still he was awed on a daily basis that she was his, and he hers.
"Molly," he said with a smile. "I see that my rescue of you may have been unnecessary?"
"Arthur, you bloody idiot, what are you doing here?" Molly asked as she stormed over to him.
"DROP YOUR WAND!" shouted Umbridge, shooting a quick jinx at Molly. With a curt wave of the wand in her hand, Molly deflected the spell and turned to face the ugly little woman.
"Make me," she said with a vicious smile. Her eyes were glinting dangerously as she focused all of her attention on the evil woman who was responsible for so many foul things. Attacks on Harry, Fred and George leaving Hogwarts, and now her own abduction, these crimes condemned this fouls little woman in Molly's eyes. Raising her son's wand, Molly prepared to cast a spell when she faltered. Instead of trying to avoid her spell, Umbridge was smiling at Molly. Or rather she was smiling at a figure behind Molly.
"I'm sorry Molly, truly I am, but I'm going to have to ask you to drop that wand," Cornelius said with his greasy smile.
Molly's face paled as she realized that she had inadvertently placed herself in the middle of her enemies. Desperately searching her memory for some spell or trick that would get her out of this, she realized that she was trapped.
Nodding her head in defeat with an anguished look at her beloved husband, she slowly bent her legs at the knees to slowly place the wand on the floor. Just as she was about to let go, she heard a very familiar voice, one that she was surprised to hear.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry cried, shooting a spell at Cornelius Fudge. With a flash, the spell intersected with Fudge, and his body went completely rigid. With a loud moan, his now petrified body fell forward against his desk. By chance, his body didn't collapse to the floor, but stood leaning against the desk, watching with horrified eyes as Harry pulled off his Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointed directly at Umbridge.
"Hello, hag," Harry said scornfully. "I thought we already ran you off. What will it take to get rid of you?"
"More than you've got, boy," Umbridge snarled. With a snarl she ducked behind a chair, shooting spells blindly for cover. Unfortunately one of the spells found a target, and Arthur found himself stunned, collapsed on the ground. As he fell his head hit the corner of Fudge's desk and a large gash opened up, pouring out blood onto the floor. Molly raced over to him, quickly reviving him, but cradling his head in her lap as she murmured healing spells over him. Umbridge, grateful for the momentary distraction, shot stunning spells at the two of them, causing both Weasley's to collapse to the ground.
Harry calmly stood his ground, erecting a powerful shield around him, deflecting each of the spells shot in his direction. Umbridge grew more desperate as Harry easily deflected her spells. She started using more powerful spells, but Harry blocked those too, watching with amusement as she grew desperate.
Perhaps Harry should have realized how low Umbridge would sink, but at that moment he was not worried about her depravity. As she shot spell after spell at him, Harry could have lowered his shield and allowed his Mother's protection to end this duel, but he didn't think of it. Even if he had, he probably wouldn't have used it for fear of getting used to it.
Instead Harry concentrated on his shield, and shot a few spells to deflect the more serious spells that Umbridge shot at him. It quickly became apparent why Umbridge spent so much of her time on theory, outside of her desire to keep the students from understanding how to defend themselves or their school. Umbridge was not a very powerful or knowledgeable witch. Her repertoire of spells was very limited, and the power behind them was insufficient to dent Harry's shield.
Sure, over time Harry would tire and his defenses would fail, but that would take much longer than Umbridge had available to her. Harry knew that the Order would arrive soon, and all he had to do was stall for time.
It was the reassured smile that scared Umbridge. She saw that Harry was confident, she saw that he was not worried, and she assumed it meant that Dumbledore was on his way. This can be the only explanation for what happened next.
Shaking in fury as each of her spells was calmly deflected by this stupid, attention-seeking boy, she stood to her full height, snarled, and shouted as she pointed her wand at Harry.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The green beam of light shot out of her wand and shot straight towards Harry's chest.
As the green beam screamed through the air, Harry's mouth dropped open in astonishment. Before he could react, before he could think, he felt a huge thud hit him in the middle of his chest. His body was lifted off the ground in a wave of pain and he was flung back in an agonizing snap, landing heavily on the ground.
The pain was intense. It was as intensely painful as anything he had ever felt before. He felt like his chest was on fire as he tried to gasp for breath. Black lights started spotting his vision, and all he could hear was Dolores Umbridge screaming.
The last thing he realized before the darkness took him was that he felt like there was a crushing weight on top of him and he faded into a black oblivion.
---XXX---
To Be Continued...