5 – Death Eaters

"M…m…master…I tried to get him master. I did…honest…"

"Shut up Worm."

"But master…"

"Wormtail, do you dare defy me?"

"No…no master…I…I…I didn't mean to upset you. Please…have mercy…"

"Crucio." Wormtail gasped as he fell to the floor in agony. Voldemort's high pitched laugh rang loud and clear and several Death Eaters stepped forward. They were hooded and cloaked with their masks over their faces. Voldemort turned to face them as he released Wormtail from the cruciatus curse.

"Death Eaters of the Dark Mark. I'm sure you all remember our little encounter with a certain Mr. Harry Potter and his friends last year. If it were not for Albus Dumbledore, they would all be dead right now. We will get them. We are going to start a war which will prove to be the final battle, and we will defeat Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter once-and-for-all!" Voldemort raised his arms in a triumphant gesture towards the sky and the Dark Mark appeared with a series of bangs and flashes.

Harry yelled in pain as his scar blistered and burned. Ron was shaking Harry as violently as he could. Harry managed to open his eyes but his hands remained clamped over his scar. He sat up and slowly removed his hands from his head as the pain subsided. What he was not prepared for was the blood that covered his hands. He was stunned into silence. Ron looked at Harry's hands and grabbed his arm, pulling him out of bed.

"Where are we going, Ron?"

"The Order need to know about this…we're going to the hospital wing."

"My scar's hurt before and…"

"…it's hurt before but it's never bled, has it?"

"Well, no but"

"That settles it." Said Ron decisively. "We're going to see Dumbledore."

The troop of Death Eaters made their way up to the gates of Azkaban and hid amongst the shadows, waiting for the crucial signal. Then, they would strike on the call of their master. The Dark Mark had turned red and was flickering brighter by the minute. Suddenly, causing many of them to jump, a loud explosion was heard and a second Dark Mark, this time blue, appeared above the fortress of the Wizard Prison. Pettigrew led them forward, for now was the time for them to break out the remaining followers of Voldemort from where they were imprisoned.

Dumbledore had contacted the Order at once and sent them to different points around the country. Snape and Lupin also left to keep a lookout. McGonagall stayed as they couldn't have too many of their teachers leaving, especially if they were attacked and needed skilled witches and wizards to form protection shields.

The screams of guards being slaughtered echoed that night. The few Dementors left sucked the souls of anyone who got in their way and left to follow Voldemort. Death Eaters were scattered all over the country to wreak havoc on whichever major wizarding sites they were sent to. Pettigrew led the raid on Diagon Alley, Malfoy led the massacre at Hogsmeade, and the remaining followers who were not in those groups were led through various villages and towns by Voldemort himself. The residents of the towns put up a fight to be proud of but that did not change the facts. The sky was alight with the sign of Voldemort in many different colours. Tears were shed as hundreds were killed.

Hogsmeade became almost a ghost town. Few had survived and those who fled didn't dare return for fear of what sight awaited them.

Diagon Alley had faired no better. Shopkeepers had died defending their shops and, although there were more survivors than at Hogsmeade, there was a priceless amount of damage. Most of Ollivander's wands had been stolen though he had hidden a few in his cellar, where he waited out the attack unharmed. The cries of magical books burning and the magical pets scattered throughout London. The wizarding world had been pushed to the edge of its resistance. If there were any more attacks too soon then it wouldn't stand a chance.

Harry and Ron had been sent to wake Hermione and Ginny. Now, all three of them were seated in Dumbledore's office awaiting his return. They feared for the lives of those they cared about. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley, Mad-Eye, the other members of the Order and……well, Snape could almost be included, simply because he was extremely useful if you thought about it for long enough. The Order was the last chance anyone had against Voldemort and if any more of them were taken then the result would indeed be disastrous. Dumbledore and McGonagall entered the room with Sturgis Podmore, the member of the Order of the Phoenix that had been put in Azkaban for six months. He had brought some bad news. Azkaban had been raided and all the criminals had escaped. The rest of the Order appeared in turn in Dumbledore's fireplace from their various points of lookout. The first to appear was Mrs. Weasley. She and Tonks were at a small village near to Hogsmeade. They reported on the increasing number of casualties. They were searching the wreckage and couldn't talk for long. Even Tonks looked deadly serious with shoulder length black hair tied back in a messy ponytail. They were both red-faced and practically dripping in a mixture of sweat and blood. Mr. Weasley and Kingsley were in Diagon Alley checking out the damage with Emmeline Vance and recovering survivors and trying to track down the missing people and their stock. The rest of the Order including Lupin and Snape were putting out fires in Hogsmeade and they were reporting form the Shrieking Shack's fireplace because it was the nearest place to where they had just finished tidying the debris. The Three Broomsticks had been burned to the ground, and Harry thought he could hear a definite note of sadness in Lupin's voice when he told them that Zonko's had also been blown up.

Harry and his fellow Gryffindors were sat in the common room awaiting more new on who had died in the raids. Around him were all the people whose friends and family had been caught up in the battle. It had been two hours since the reports had come through from the Order. Teachers were taking it in turns to stay in the common room with the students and try to offer what little comfort they could. By midnight they still hadn't heard anything and half the students were dead with exhaustion. At ten past two Dumbledore's head popped up in the fire. His face was unusually whit and his eyes were dull and lacking the reassuring twinkle the students had been hoping to see. He took a deep breath before sighing.

"I have some bad news. The final death toll of the raids…" all students sat up and some let some solitary tears escape down their cheeks "...is 2459 wizards and witches including children, and 27 muggles who wandered into the paths of the Death Eaters. I also need to speak to the following students: Hannah Abbott, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Hermione Granger, Dennis Goodwith, Neville Longbottom, Karlie Moastry, Harry Potter, Dean Thomas, Ronald and Virginia Weasley, Daisy Weepshift, Andrew Vaselliot and Freda Zeliis." And with that, he disappeared.

Harry and the others headed up the stairs to Dumbledore's office. As they walked, Harry wondered why he had been called to the headmaster's office. It dawned on him that it could mean only one thing…one of the Order must be dead. He knew who he wanted to be, and he knew who he didn't want it to be. Either way, he couldn't change what had happened and he had to be prepared to take it. After all, at least it wasn't a member of his family that had been killed…

One by one the students went in and came out, many crying or speechless. Harry had Neville one side of him and Ron on the other. Hermione had gone in and come out and she looked at Harry with pure pity before heading off down the corridor. It finally came to Neville's turn and when he came out his face showed an expression of mixed fear and relief. He turned to Harry and Ron.

"It's me Nan. She's critically ill. I'm going to see her now."

"Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Ginny Weasley." McGonagall's voice called.

The three of them took deep breaths and entered the office. Dumbledore gestured for them to take a seat.

"I'm sure you know why I've called you here. I am afraid that several members of the Order have been injured and one has been killed."

"Lupin." Harry whispered putting his head in his hands.

"Mum and Dad." The Weasleys whispered doing likewise.

"No no no. I am glad to say that they are all safe and are only suffering from a little shock and a few minor injuries, but that is all. No, I am afraid to tell you that Sturgis Podmore was killed for warning me about the raid on Azkaban. Those in St. Mungo's are: Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Emmeline Vance and Mundungus Fletcher. They are all going to recover but I thought you would want to know."

"Yes, thank you Professor Dumbledore. When will we see the Order again?"

"Ah, that is the other matter of which I need to speak to you about. I believe some of our members wish to speak to you."

Harry instinctively went to kneel by the fireplace but Dumbledore laughed.

"Harry, don't you wish to talk to us in person?" a mild voice inquired from behind him. He turned round to see Ron and Ginny hugging their parents while Lupin, Tonks and Snape stood looking down at him. He stood and greeted each of them in turn. The meeting was brief but it was enough to put Harry's mind at rest. Most of the Order was safe and there had been only one death. He arrived back at his dormitory that night, a great weight taken off his shoulders, and slept like a log. No nightmares befell him that night, a rare event that did not happen very often and for which he was very grateful.

That night, his dream was of Quidditch and how good it would feel to be out on the pitch again and searching for the golden snitch in front of a cheering red and gold crowd and the jeers of the green and silvers. He could almost feel the wind in his hair; he could almost taste the glory as he held the snitch high above his head in a victorious gesture to confirm their win against Slytherin. He felt peaceful as he soared above the clouds and up into space on his Firebolt. This was like nothing he had ever felt before. He wished it could last forever.

"Harry! Harry! Wake up! You've got a Quidditch game against Slytherin today!"

Great. Thanks Ron for disturbing the best night's sleep I've had in ages! Harry thought wearily as he rose out of bed and pulled on his Quidditch robes.

A/N: - That was slightly longer than my last chapter and I'm working on it, I promise. Hope you enjoyed that - please review now, thank you!