Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, and therefore do not own Harry Potter and any characters you recognize. I am not writing this for any financial gains. I enjoy writing and putting my own creative spins on things, and am thankful that J.K. Rowling allows fanfiction to be posted. If I did own Harry and friends, things would be a little different, but we can't all have our way.

The Search For The Four

Chapter 2: Hatching a Plan

By Heart of a Lion

Harry spent the next week thinking up plans for his future now that Hogwarts seemed out of the question. He had come to a decision about Potions that surprised even himself.

It was both logical and pig-headed at the same time. The logical part being that it was the only form of magic he could practice at the moment, and he knew he would need everything he had if he was to stand on his own without Dumbledore's protection. The stubbornness in him insisted that he force himself to practice potions so that he could prove to himself once and for all that he could indeed make decent potions by himself, without any help or distractions.

However, Harry would not be using the battered copy of Advanced Potion-Making he had last year. It was still lying in Hogwarts where he had left it. Harry had never bothered going back for it. Instead, he would review and practice stuff he should have learned in his previous years at Hogwarts until either he got new books and supplies, or he turned 17.

While Harry was determined to learn potions himself, he didn't spend every waking hour on it. He occasionally perused through his DADA book in search of useful spells, and had earmarked several pages to practice later on.

He wasn't sure how the Order would be operating, or if they were in any state of organization at all, so Harry didn't quite know how he would be able to get to Diagon Alley, or any other area in the Wizarding world. He would have to owl someone in the order.

Harry spent much of his time thinking of what was to come. Ron had owled him just yesterday about Bill and Fleur's wedding plans, and they were keeping the date already set before the attack. "I guess that's in about two weeks then."

Hermione had owled him today asking to visit, but Harry didn't think it necessary for them to visit.

Hermione,

I know you want to visit, but really, there's no point. The Dursleys are staying away from me, mostly, and I'll be leaving soon, a few days before the wedding. I'll just meet you and Ron at the Burrow. We can talk then, but right now, I just want to be left alone for a while. I'll see you in a couple of weeks.

Harry

After tying the letter to Hedwig's proffered leg, she hopped onto the ledge and took off into the sky. Harry stood watching as the winged form slowly shrunk into nothingness.

Harry suddenly had a brainwave that would allow him to get extra supplies and books from Diagon Alley without actually going there himself. He quickly wrote down a list of items, some of them very general, like Defense books. He could save himself the trouble of traveling, and avoid being the center of public attention.

"Dobby!" Harry called.

Appearing before him out of a small cloud stood the ridiculously dressed house elf.

"Harry Potter sir!" squeaked Dobby. "Is Harry Potter needing Dobby? Dobby will do anything Harry Potter asks."

"Dobby, is it possible for you to go buy things for me from Diagon Alley?"

"Yes Harry Potter sir, Dobby used to buy all sorts of stuff for master Malfoy, even dark…" at this point, Dobby's eyes went wide and looked about, sighted Harry's lamp, and jumped for it.

Luckily, Harry caught Dobby and pulled him back. "Dobby, you're free, remember? No need to hurt yourself. Now, can you get these for me?" Harry held out a scroll listing various supplies. He didn't quite trust Dobby to get him everything, not sure whether or not Dobby would understand what he wanted, but it was worth a try

Dobby nodded after taking the scroll. Harry handed him a small sack of Galleons that he had left over from the school year that he would have normally used on Hogsmeade visits. Dobby bowed and then with a snap of his fingers vanished into wisps of smoke.

Harry spent the rest of the day weeding the garden and various other chores that the Dursleys had pointedly neglected.

Dobby returned that evening carrying an assortment of bags hanging off his arms and parcels in hand. It seemed everything had gone alright. However, as Dobby set the parcels and bags down, his eyes began to tear up.

"Dobby is so sorry! Dobby could not find everything from the shops that are gone." Dobby wailed.

It was then that Harry remembered some of the stores in Hogsmeade had been closed, and it was very possible that some had closed down in Diagon Alley. After all, Mr. Ollivander had gone missing.

"It's ok Dobby, that's good enough for now. You can go now, and I'll call you if I need you again."

Dobby nodded sulkily before snapping and vanishing again.

Harry moved over to the pile before him and began to sort through them. There were a couple of dueling and defense books which looked useful, along with one on charms and one on transfiguration. And since Harry wasn't planning on returning to Hogwarts for his seventh year, he decided to round out his education with a potions book and a book on herbology. He imagined he would have to be privately tested on NEWTs since he wouldn't be at school next year, and if he was indeed to become an Auror, he would need the certification.

It seemed that Dobby had overestimated his size a bit, and the new cloak would need to be shrunk a bit before it could be used properly. It had numerous pockets which would come in handy, so he couldn't complain too much, and the material had a rain-repelling charm woven in. The potions supplies seemed to be in order, and so Harry sat back, satisfied that he had got everything he needed until he went there himself in about a week and a half's time.

Having already had dinner, if you could call it that, Harry would be left alone for the night. He decided to crack open one of the dueling books and look for useful spells and tips. Unorthodox Ways to Trap, Trick, and Truss Your Opponent by Nathaniel Northfrost caught his eye. The pages even had pictures demonstrating the spells and uses.

Opening the book, he began to read about very obscure but useful ways to defeat his opponent. One page detailed a spell designed specifically to destroy an opponent's shield. This spell differed on that its target was the shield itself, and explodes on impact. The incantation was contego infractum. After firing this spell, a follow-up spell would usually be a sure hit if the caster was fast enough. Harry couldn't wait to try this one out.

Another distraction tactic involved a variation on a bludger enchantment, with one specified target instead of the nearest target. A nearby object would be charmed to fly repeatedly at the target. Of course, the harder and more resilient the object to be charmed is, the better. This was a bit of complex magic, however, and would probably need lots of practice before seeing battle. No sense in using it if the object came after him!

Harry continued to look through the book until the words stopped making sense. With a snap Harry closed the book and lay down, hoping no nightmares would visit him tonight.

Unfortunately, Voldemort had other plans.

zzzZZZ

The Inner Circle of Deatheaters was spread out before him, awaiting his command. Two in particular had pleased him recently with their success, although he would have to punish one for not finishing the job. Who would have thought a mere boy could manage to find a way to sneak Deatheaters into Hogwarts, the safest, most secure place in England? And all without breaking any wards or tripping any alarms. He would, however, have to punish the fledgling Malfoy for hesitating in the kill.

Any doubts of Snape's loyalty had vanished when he had returned, claiming to have killed Dumbledore. A quick Legilimency scan of the Deatheaters that had witnessed the kill confirmed indeed that Dumbledore was dead, and by the hand of Snape. He could not have asked more from his favourite Potions master. Not only did he kill the one man who stood in his way, but he had also dealt a demoralizing blow to the Wizarding world that would be sure to gain him supporters and even greater power over the masses in their fear. Not even during the first war had he managed to take down Dumbledore.

"Now young Malfoy…it is good to see such brilliant work. You honor your blood and your family." Voldemort hissed. Draco's pride swelled as he heard his praise. "But you are young and inexperienced, and failed. You are lucky Snape was there to carry out your orders for you. Failures come with consequences, youngling. CRUCIO!"

Draco dropped to his knees, screaming in agony and the angry red beam hit him. The rest watched on impassively, knowing that they too could easily invoke the wrath of their master should they call attention to themselves. After the novelty of watching him scream and thrash about wore off, he decided it was time to reveal the newest plan.

Voldemort flicked his wand and an image appeared in front of him. "It doesn't look like much does it?"

The Deatheaters looked nervously at each other, none knowing which was the correct answer. It was often wiser and safer to agree with the Dark Lord, so they answered, "No, my lord."

"And now with the Dementors gone, it is even less than nothing! With mere human guards, they don't stand a chance. Azkaban will be ours, and you will be reunited with your brethren. We shall plunge the entire country into darkness!

zzzZZZ

The vision faded as Harry's scar seared with pain. His eyes shot open as he recalled his vision last night. Scrambling out of bed, he grabbed a quill and parchment and wrote Vision of attack on Azkaban! But then he stopped. Who would he send it to?

Sirius was gone and Remus might still be with the werewolves. Mundungus was out of the question, as was Snape, considering he was the traitor. That left the Weasleys, McGonagall, Hagrid or Mrs. Figg. Wait a minute, there's still Mad-Eye and Kingsley! They're the ones that could get help from the Aurors anyway. Harry felt stupid for not including them in his mental list of Order members.

He addressed it to Kingsley and sent Hedwig off into the morning fog. Hopefully, it would reach the Auror before the attack.

--------------

Harry waited anxiously for the next couple of days for a response, or a report in the Daily Prophet that there had been a breakout from Azkaban. Hedwig had returned without a response. Attacks were still a constant in the Prophet, with the number of deaths steadily increasing. But no news of Azkaban. Harry began to wonder if the vision was just a hoax, like it had been with Sirius. And with that thought, a wave of guilt and sadness washed over him.

His musings were interrupted by a tapping on the window. Outside the window was perched a sleek grey owl. Harry yanked open the window and the unfamiliar owl hopped in. Harry untied the letter from the owl and the owl flew over to Hedwig's cage, clearly indicating that it was waiting for a reply. He opened it cautiously, half expecting it to explode in his face, or hit him with some nasty curse. Moody's favorite phrase "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" shouted in his mind.

It turned out to be nothing more than a letter from Kingsley, but it did contain the much anticipated news.

Harry,

The Ministry and Order both send their thanks for the advance warning. The attack came last night, and with the extra reinforcements, we were able to repel a potentially disastrous attack. Scrimgeour was eager to report a victory, so he pulled practically all the active Aurors for the defense of Azkaban, and called the reserve Aurors to patrol instead. While this worked, sadly, our side won mostly through sheer numbers, and heavy casualties were sustained.

We stopped the story until the battle was cleared up, but I suspect that the Prophet will run a story on it tomorrow. Scrimgeour will, no doubt, boast to the world the first "victory" of the war. Unfortunately, such disregard for life will put a major strain on Aurors if this continues. But if you have any more "leads" please let us know. It is better to be prepared. However, we should keep communications secure, and if you would like, I will drop by on Friday to show you how to turn our silvery friends into messengers.

Kingsley Shacklebolt

Harry was very impressed by the frank honesty of the letter, and the fact that Kingsley gave him his personal opinion of the matter, not the Ministry of Magic's war time propaganda, which it seemed he would be receiving tomorrow morning in the Daily Prophet. Kingsley seemed like an honest, straightforward man who knew what he was doing, and Harry liked that. If he had any questions, it seemed like he would be the one to owl for the truth.

He was saddened and angry at the outcome of the battle, although he felt relieved that the Deatheaters hadn't achieved their aims. He didn't want to have to worry about senior Deatheaters running about freely during his search for the remaining four Horcruxes.

The notion of learning how to use his Patronus to send messages was very appealing to Harry, and wrote a hasty reply asking him to come anytime after ten on Friday. By then everyone would be out of the house.

After hearing this bit of news, Harry made up his mind to stay only one more week at the Dursleys before he left. With the start of major attacks, he would have to hurry to take down Voldemort before he destroyed everyone's lives.

Since Harry had never navigated London on his broom alone, he ruled out that possibility, and settled on the Knight Bus, which he had used on previous occasions. He wondered who the conductor would be, with Stan Shunpike being held on false charges. The Knight Bus could get him to the Leaky Cauldron, where he could stay, and go to Diagon Alley. He'd have to ask the Weasleys if it was ok to Floo to the Burrow. Hopefully they hadn't disconnected themselves from the Floo Network. As much as he hated the whirling sensation, the Knight Bus took longer and was full of stops and starts and loud bangs.

Harry had never explored Diagon Alley on his own, and there were lots of shops he'd never been in. He'd have to change that, of course, in the few days he would be staying at the Leaky Cauldron before the wedding.

And with that cheerful thought, he descended the stairway to experience yet another Dursley dinner...

Thanks everyone for reading. And thanks to Karania Avalon, my first reviewer.

-Heart of a Lion