Chapter Four: The Attack on the Burrow
When Harry stepped into the kitchen at the Burrow, he felt like all hell had broken loose and left him behind. The only two walls of the room that were still standing were the back wall that held the staircase to the upper levels and the one which contained the doorway through to the lounge. The exterior walls, which faced the back garden and the hill, were gone. Quite literally.
And all seemed empty. There was no one there.
"Ginny!" Harry yelled, feeling panic rising in him. His chest constricted. What if she wasn't here? What had happened to her? "Ginny!"
"Harry!" her voice came to him from the staircase.
"Ginny... I thought..." he rushed to her, pulling her down to him and holding her tightly against him. "When Bill got to the shop... are you... you're not...?"
"I'm fine, Harry. Tonks and I are just here packing up a few things. Mum and Dad are already at your place."
"You and Tonks? What... it's not safe here, Ginny! You shouldn't be here with just Tonks!"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, there, Harry," Tonks grinned from above. "But as it happens, it's not just the two of us. Kingsley and several others are about. Outside, checking for signs of who they were."
"Who they... I'll bloody tell them who they were...!" Harry was furious.
"Harry?" Tonks' eyes were dark as she looked directly at him, her eyes communicating something more than she was saying. Obviously, Dumbledore had spoken to her. "You know, and I know, and Kingsley knows..."
"And I know, now," Ginny sighed.
"...but we don't have to broadcast the facts as we know them to the entire bloody world quite yet, do we?" Tonks continued as though Ginny hadn't spoken.
"No... no... where is Dumbledore?"
"Back at your house with Mum and Dad."
"Gin? Was there anyone else...?"
"Ron was here. He's outside..." Ginny looked at the missing walls and laughed. "Out... with Kingsley. Bill was here, too, but Dad sent him off to find the twins."
"I left him at the shop," Harry confirmed, still looking at her, trying to reassure himself that she wasn't hurt.
At that moment, there were three loud pops and Bill and the twins materialized in front of them.
"Oh..." George looked at the blue sky visible through the missing walls. "Mum's going to have a fit when she sees this."
"Mum's already seen it," Ginny said dully. "The Burrow is... they've destroyed it. I don't think that this can be repaired, Harry."
"If it can't, we'll build new, Ginny," Harry held her close, wrapping his arms around her. "So long as you're safe."
"I am now," she sighed, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder.
"I'm taking you back to the Manor."
"I have to get the things..." she started to pull away, but Harry could see that her eyes were beginning to dilate. Shock was setting it. He needed to get her home, get her to lie down and rest, before she fell down.
"We'll take care of it, Gin-gin," George patted her on her back consolingly, using her childhood nickname without thinking. "Let Harry take you home. We'll bring what we can."
With a sigh, she looked over at Tonks and smiled. "Thanks, Tonks. You'll be at Harry's later?"
"I'll be right behind you with your kit, Ginny," Tonks agreed gently. "Off with you, now. Let Harry take you home."
Harry rather thought he liked the sound of that, and after eyeing the about-to-topple floo, he simply wrapped his arms around her and apparated, taking her with him.
"How did he do that?" George asked.
"Harry is a pretty strong wizard, George," Bill said softly. "Apparating with a second would be pretty easy for him."
"But..."
"And he loves her," Tonks smiled again before turning and heading back up the creaking staircase to the rooms above to salvage what she could of the Weasley family's belongings.
Arriving back at his room in Potter Manor in Harry's arms, Ginny looked around with surprise.
"Harry?"
"Relax, Ginny," he whispered. "It's okay. I've brought you home."
"I... did we floo?"
"No. I apparated us."
"Both of us?"
"Yes," Harry agreed. "Now lie down. Rest."
"But Mum and Dad... Ron... the Burrow..."
"Rest, Ginny. I'm going to take care of it. Just rest."
"Harry?"
"What is it?"
"Thank you," she whispered as she laid down and he pulled the duvet over her.
"For what?" Harry said in a strained voice. "Not being there when you needed me?"
"You..." she sat back up, looking at him with worried eyes. "You can't be aware of everything all the time, Harry... you can't be with me every minute."
Harry was silent, but his jaw was set stubbornly.
"Fine. If you want to blame yourself, go ahead. It's stupid, but I know full well that I won't be able to talk you out of it. But don't you dare believe for one minute that I blame you for not being there, Harry... Merlin, it could have been any family!"
"Go to sleep, Ginny. When you wake up, I promise, everything will be different."
"That's what I'm afraid of," she sighed before closing her eyes. "But thank you for being there, for coming when I needed you. Thank you for bringing me home."
Taking a sharp breath, Harry tucked the duvet around her and then left the room, heading downstairs to the kitchen, where he was sure he'd find the others.
Sure enough, the group had convened at the kitchen table. Molly was being handed a cup of tea by Mrs Granger, who had a worried look on her face as she glanced up at Harry. Mr Weasley looked older than Harry had ever seen him looking, and Dumbledore stood at one end of the room, gazing out the window, his back to the others.
"Mrs Weasley?"
"Oh!" the teacup she'd been raising to her lips shook, spilling tea into her saucer.
"I'm sorry," Harry came forward. "I didn't mean to startle you."
"I would imagine we'll be rather jumpy for... for a few days, Harry," Arthur smiled sadly at him.
"I was just at the Burrow. I brought Ginny back. She's upstairs in bed."
"Oh, Harry... Ron... is Ron okay?" Molly's worried eyes rose to meet his.
"Ron is there... checking... with Kingsley. They're looking for..."
"They will find nothing. Nothing of any use," Dumbledore spoke without turning.
"But..." Arthur glanced between Harry and Dumbledore. "Surely the signature will tell them..."
"There will be no signature, Arthur," Dumbledore's voice was low. Harry hadn't heard him speak that way for... well, since the night he'd run into the Entranc Hall at Hogwarts and told the aging headmaster that Voldemort's forces were coming.
He sounded... resigned.
"But..."
"They will not have used their own wands for this, let me assure you," Dumbledore turned from the window and Harry noticed that the sparkle was gone from his eyes. They were now shadowed with... grief? Fear? Anger.
"Arthur! Our home..." Molly began to shake with reaction.
"Molly, we'll rebuild... we'll..." Arthur pulled her close, holding her tightly against him. Harry could see the dampness in Ginny's father's blue eyes.
"Your home is here, Mr Weasley, for as long as you want it to be," Harry said softly. "There is plenty of room for you... all of you."
"We can't..." Arthur began.
"Of course you can. There's no reason to not stay here. The Burrow is all but destroyed, Arthur. It will require extensive repairs, and perhaps must be rebuilt entirely. In the meantime," Dumbledore stated. "Ginny will be off to school. Harry... and Ron... well, I would imagine that they have plans of their own."
"I can't speak for Ron, Professor," Harry nodded, his hand still on Mrs Weasley's back. "But I'd like to accept your offer."
"Offer?" Molly looked up at this.
Harry, taking a deep breath, sat down next to her, facing her with a serious expression on his face. "Mrs Weasley, Professor Dumbledore has offered me a position at Hogwarts."
"Harry?"
"But..." Arthur glanced between them. "Harry, I thought you and Ron wanted to be aurors?"
"We did, but... well, situations change. I've been offered the position of DADA teacher, amonst other things. I've decided to accept."
"Oh, Harry!" Molly cried, throwing her arms around him and sobbing. "You'll be safe! You won't be training to go after more of them. Oh, I've prayed for this..."
"Mrs Weasley," Harry hugged her back, but tried to interrupt her, wanting her to understand.
"And Ron?" she looked at Dumbledore eagerly.
"I have yet to speak to your son, Molly. I'm sure you'll understand that I can't discuss with you what I haven't yet spoken to him about?" Dumbledore cast a meaningful look at Harry.
"Of course, Albus... of course... I..."
"Mrs Weasley, Ginny is resting... why don't you go and do the same?" Harry said softly.
"Oh, I couldn't..."
"Molly, you need some rest," Arthur looked at her.
"I do?" she gave her husband a look that spoke volumes. "It wasn't me who blasted three of them with a binding spell so hard that they ended up thirty yards into the orchard, Arthur!"
Harry's eyebrows rose and he looked at Mr Weasley with new respect. The older wizard was blushing.
Amazing.
"They attacked my family... my... my children," he managed to keep the tears from welling, but the sob caught in his voice.
"You both need to rest, Mr Weasley. Go... take the room you had. We'll... we'll see to everything that needs to be seen to immediately. Bill and Ron will be back shortly, and then we can..."
"Yes, perhaps that would be best, Harry. Perhaps..." Arthur nodded, then stood and helped Molly to her feet. Moments later, they were gone from the room, and Harry, Dumbledore, and Mrs Granger looked silently at each other.
"Is Hermione safe?" Mrs Granger asked quietly after a moment of staring hard at Harry. "She's not here... she..."
"She should be home shortly," Harry looked at the clock on the kitchen wall... an eighteenth birthday present from Ginny, it had everyone he cared about on it. Hermione's hand pointed to "travelling".
"Ron and Bill?" Dumbledore enquired.
"Bill looked... I think he should be looked at," Harry admitted. "He was coughing up blood."
"I shall floo Madame Pomfrey to come," Dumbledore turned to the doorway.
"Ron... I didn't see Ron, Albus," Harry used the headmaster's first name without thinking. "Was he okay?"
"Ron was fine when I brought his parents back. He showed himself well in the fight, as did Ginny. They both have trained well, Harry."
"He didn't use...?"
"He used defensive spells only, Harry," Dumbledore confirmed solemnly. "Which might prove to have been a problem in itself."
"Why?"
"We have no proof. None were held."
"But the binding spells on the three that Mr Weasley..."
"They were released by the others, and taken as they left. We have no proof, and no idea of who it was. And no way to find out."
"But..."
"Harry... the wards on the Burrow, as you know, were as strong as the wards on Potter Manor..."
Dawning realizing of what was being said made Harry burn with anger.
"Then how did they...?"
"That, Harry, is the first question we must find the answer to. Otherwise... no one will be safe ever again."
Life Love Sanity: Thanks for the comments... writing effectively is just being persistant, really. And reading good literature, often, helps as well!
Weselan: My husband accuses me of using "that Bene Gesserit crap" on him when I try to make him see things my way! Excellent series. Have you seen the miniseries made a few years back? I think it was done for television, but we bought the DVDs. Quite well done, surprisingly. Few book adaptations move well into made-for-television film, but this was good.
CaptainAlexObvious: Well, I'm honored, then. I saw a review response where someone made comment about being given a black ribbon, and I wondered!
Brittschrick: Catch a break? We ARE talking about Harry here, you know!
Alli-Baby: Well, someplace had to be attacked... or we wouldn't have a story. And it couldn't be the Ministry (you'll see why, later...)
Potterfanforever: Sorry it's getting on your nerves... they're not necessarily interruptions, you know. Think of them as pauses.
JapaneseJew: Do you REALLY want to know anything about Fred and George's clientele? LOL!
WhimsicalFirefly: Perhaps we should just send the leaders out. Full stop. Maybe then we'd have short-lived wars.
WolfsScream: You're not "carping", you're "critiquing". And I appreciate it. Don't think I don't. The site has been doing some weird stuff, lately, though, so I don't think it's all me!
LarnaMandrea: How much sugar have you had today? LOL!
Shotgunn: Ah, I see. And here I thought it was SCHOOL that was keeping you from writing, and now I find out it was preoccupation with a girl. Ah, well – I'll have to forgive you that, if you supply us with a few chapters while she's gone. Someplace sunny, I hope?
Kordolin: Your favorite? I'm honored!
Kazziedal: See, the thing is, I just don't know. I don't see JKR focussing on the "romance" aspect of Harry's life, really, beyond the "first" experiences that every teenager might well have (at least, the G rated ones...). But having said that, the original artwork for the HBP cover shows Harry and DD, with a cauldron, and on either side, from the bottom, faces looking up. On one side, it's very obviously Hermione and Ron, and on the other... a lone, redheaded girl. So... what do I think? I think JKR is playing with us. What do I hope? Well, given the pairing I choose to write, I think you know that already!
Manatheron: Have you considered writing that? See, all these ideas...
RyougaZell: Lol... VANILLA FUDGE! LOLOL! Oh, I must use that one!
And to everyone else who took the time to comment, thank you: Kaiserzacc, Trixie7, JediKnightBus, Gerie, WhatdoIhavetodo, Froboy, padfootlives101, SabineStrohemMoss