Chapter 04
• Death •
Awakening rather abruptly Harry looked around, not feeling very comfortable with his surroundings. He could hear yelling, and the prancing of footsteps from overhead as people rushed through the Headquarters of the Order.
He'd been back for several days now spending most of the time sleeping and recovering as per Tonks's orders. The last time he'd fallen asleep in the muggle house Tonks had used a charm on him. Apparently they had traced the magic and showed up soon after. He awoke in the bed he'd slept in the summer before, without the company of Ron, or anyone for that matter.
Tonks came around, and there were a fresh set of glasses on his bed stand but he was locked and once again he was confined. It always seemed to be like this. But, no one had come to speak to him other than Tonks and until last night the door had stayed locked.
Now, all of the candles in his room were burning with an intense flame, and the fireplace flickered out of control, casting an intense eerie light on the room. His foggy, sleep encrusted mind, came instantly awake because of the tune of the things that were around him.
Though he was still slightly weakened from his prior accident, mostly in his own mind, he easily hopped out of bed and grabbed his glasses from the stand. He bolted from the room, looking for someone to find out what was happening. For a moment he wished for Tonks at his side, he'd feel much safer with her there.
Somewhere an alarm rang out and Harry flinched, wondering what exactly was wrong. He tensed as he heard footsteps heading his way. Immediately he wondered if it was friend or foe, and deciding he'd rather find out first he slipped into the shadows of a gruesome serpent pillar that stood in the hallway.
The hallways seemed to darken as the footsteps approached. Finally they flickered and died as the door to the hallway opened. "Lumos." Someone whispered and the hall lit up again, but Harry was still hidden by the pillar.
"Harry?" The figure whispered, trying to see if someone was ahead of her.
"Tonks?" He asked, not sure if it was truly her. He stepped out from around the pillar to reveal himself and get a better look at her. She was in another disguise of sorts. Her long black hair flowed around her porcelain colored skin, ending mid way down her back. Her now cinnamon colored eyes sparkled in the flickering of the magical light. Harry felt slightly attracted to her again and took a moment to gawk.
Tonks heard something and waved him to the side, turning to the person who was making their way up behind her. Harry dropped to the ground, peering out from the bottom of the statue so he couldn't be seen so easily. He noticed that Tonks seemed to have been woken suddenly too, she was also dressed in her pajamas. Harry never pictured her wearing a black silk kimono to bed, and he thought it fit her even though he had only seen it on the tele with Japanese woman wearing them.
The footsteps stopped and then padded away. Harry could see Tonks visibly relax but as she turned to him, he could see worry still coating her face. The young wizard had a feeling something horrible was going on, and he was even scared to ask.
"What's going..." Harry he finally started, but he was interrupted before he could finish his question.
"Listen," Tonks started, her voice grim, "we've really got problems. But we have to get moving, we can talk on the way."
Gripping Harry's free arm she yanked him along back down the hallway. They set out at a brisk trot, keeping in the shadows. Out of the hall and into one of the many sitting rooms that existed in Grimwald manor.
Plush chairs lined the walls and a large meeting table sat in the center of the room. Deep red carpeting covered the floor and above them hung an expensive crystal chandler which cast a strange light on the room. Harry hadn't gotten around much since he'd been back and before Tonks pulled him off he got a good look of the room. They'd definitely done a lot since the year before.
Tonks took a breath and then pulled him again. Around the table and other scattered objects that seemed to have been placed in their way. She paused again on the other side of the room, peering out the door and then dragging Harry through the hall.
"Alright, here's what going on." Tonks said, stopping again and looking around before they entered into a room that Harry'd never been in. "Fifteen minutes ago a report came in, Death Eaters were attacking a small wizarding village near Stromness. You know where that is, right?"
Harry's face scrunched up in thought. He'd heard of the town before but could only recall the name, nothing else about it. "Maybe?"
Tonks just shook her head, smiling at him. "It's a little town on the eastern shore of the Orkney Islands. You do know where those are, right?" She asked him, semi-sarcastically, but not mean.
She halted again, pushing the doors open extremely slowly, her mind focused on what was ahead for the moment. Harry had a good idea of where they were going. The operations room, located near the center of the house behind a mirrored wall. It was still a good distance away, and he wasn't positive yet, but it was likely the safest place for them to be. How he'd found out about it was naturally a mystery and he wouldn't let Tonks know he knew about it.
"In here," she whispered, pulling him in and gently shutting the door, holding the latch so it wouldn't click. The sound of pounding footsteps echoed in the hall and Tonks held herself up against the wall incase they cam bursting in the door. Whoever it was continued on and Tonks looked across the room.
"So, naturally we respond to the threat immediately. According to the report the Aurors we're being beaten down quickly and so we sent everything we could. They all Portkeyed into the thick of things. It was a quick job, and Dumbledore went with them. Sounds simple, right?" She asked, her eyes tracing over the room again, looking for something Harry didn't see. "Well, they get there and there was nothing abnormal there, nothing but anti-Apparation wards everywhere for 20 kilometers every direction. They'd even blocked Portkeys."
Harry's eyes grew round, thinking about what it meant. Voldemort was preparing to do something, and he'd trapped a good deal of the order for the time being.
Tonks jetted across the room again, pulling Harry with her. She didn't seem to bother a single thing in the room as she might've under normal circumstances. She stopped in front of a bookshelf on the far wall and her eyes read the title of several before she finally reached out and pulled one from the shelf. Harry heard a sliding noise, but nothing changed. Tonks then replace the book and pulled a second away from the rest.
Under them an opening appeared and Harry could vaguely make out stairs. "Down." She whispered. Harry followed her instructions, heading down into the darkness. Behind them the opening slid closed again and Harry raised his wand. Tonks grabbed his wrist before he could whisper the spell. "Not here, just be careful not to fall."
Trusting in whatever Tonks was doing Harry nodded.
"A few of the members were able to procure some broomsticks. They tried to use Floo powder, but it seems that the whole network is all but shut down. I can't get a hold of Dumbledore anymore either. I don't know how they know it, but everything we do seems to be predicted, except for how Dumbledore got a hold of me. They'd have never thought to cut the muggle phones in the area. Gene had one installed a few weeks ago, seems to work great."
A cold chill ran through Harry as he thought about the situation they were in. "It was a trap." Harry said coldly. "They were smarter than us, they played us out to be fools and we fell for every bit of it."
"Yeah." Tonks nodded, using her hands to feel the wall for something. "We got a Death Eater infestation and nobody's hear to help us out."
"Nobody?" Harry gasped. "No one at all? How did they pull that off, I thought that Dumbledore required four people in this place at all times?"
Finding what she was looking for Tonks grasped a stone and pushed it down the wall until it made a slight hissing sound. "Well you and I, Worth and Aled. He wasn't exactly expecting us to have to defend the fort."
Harry dropped his head. "So it's up to you and I, isn't it? Aled'll never make it across the room, she can barely walk as it is. Worth'll give them a fight, but he won't make it far in his wheelchair even if it's charmed."
Tonks sighed and nodded, agreeing with him as she peeked through what seemed like a stonewall. "We have to get to the operations room, they shouldn't know where it is and for the time being it's the safest place." She said, grim determination filling her voice. "It's a big place, and they probably don't know their way around to well so it'll take them a while to search it."
"It's clear. Come on." Tonks said as she pulled Harry through the rock wall. "We're not far from it at all."
"But as close as you'll ever get." A voice wheezed. Tonks and Harry both spun around to the corner of the room, where the voice had come from. No one was visible. "Don't move." It spoke again. Harry's eyes searched for signs of where the person was standing, but could see nothing. They were in a room with a wooden floor and the person didn't seem to be moving so no odd light refraction occurred.
"I've been told that it doesn't matter how I bring the both of you in, dead or alive. They said not to kill you unless you struggle though, so please make this easier on me, allow me the pleasure of killing you."
Tonks sighed loudly and her wand clattered to the ground. "Good, the voice said. Now, the boys' as well."
Not wanting to loose his wand Harry refused to drop it, it was the only edge he had. Gripping it tighter he shook his head, he refused to allow it to happen.
"You have only a few moments before your stubbornness kills your beautiful companion." The voice said. It had moved its position away from the corner, a little closer to them. Harry's eyes shifted to try and track the person who was holding them captive.
Hesitating for only a second he already knew his answer. The thought of endangering Tonks at all was too much. He didn't ever want to see her injured.
"Now." The voice demanded and Harry's keen eyes, used to picked up the glimmer of a snitch caught the shimmer of the moving invisibility cloak. Harry nodded and dropped to a knee, putting his wand slowly on the ground. He started to lift again, and as his hand came away from the wand, but instead of standing he launched himself forward, taking one quick step. He was trying to catch the man off guard. There was no real response to the movement and so Harry continued forward, putting everything he had into his attack.
There was no hesitation at all, Harry knew what would happen if they were captured. He'd be taken to Voldemort and killed or tortured. Voldemort was the only one who could kill him, Dumbledore has said so. Harry trusted in Dumbledore and the prophecy more than anything right now, because if it was true this person would not be able to kill him as he had warned.
There was a cry out and a brief shuffle. Harry adjusted his course just before he made contact, trying to compensate for the movement. Even being as light as he was Harry was able to bowl the legs out from under him, knocking the individual over and intertwining Harry in the invisibility cloak he'd been using.
Behind him he could hear Tonks yell a spell to freeze the man, which was easier when he was dazed and visible. Her bare feet padded across the floor and she helped Harry stand, unwrapping the cloak from around him. When he'd stood he grinned at her, looking for a thank you.
What he got was not what he'd hoped for. She looked angry at him, and he started to ask why when she slapped him across the back of the head. "Don't you ever do that again. He could have killed you. You ever do that again and I'll wring your neck, understand?"
"But..." Harry tried to say.
"No buts. Don't you dare try and kill yourself."
Tonks finished tying up the man and then relieved him of his wand and took the invisibility cloak, handing both to Harry. "I've got an extra wand up my sleeve, keep one hidden in case we're forced to give them up again. Understand?" She said, looking about the room again, even more observant than before.
Nodding Harry flipped the invisibility cloak out and pulled it over himself. He wasn't all that much shorter than Tonks as it was and she was easily able to slip under it. "Keep absolutely silent." He told her, he was used to using the invisibility cloak more than a lot of people.
"Silencio." Tonks said as Harry pulled the coat tighter around them.
It was smart, silencing them so that others would not be able to hear. Harry'd never really thought of it before, he'd always been silent under it anyway.
"Now we have to get to the room, there's a Portkey there that'll take us away from here, somewhere that's safer." She whispered, still staying quiet even though she'd put the silencing spell on them.
Squeezing her hand was enough of a response and they hurried forward, not nearly as careful as before. As they marched out of a particular room Harry yanked Tonks from going any further. He felt a horrible pain ring through his scar and with it a feeling of dread. Not more than a few seconds after stopping the door at the end of the hall burst open. Through the door the black cloaks and white masks of the Death Eaters marched through, several. Each with wand pointed ahead. They moved quickly, straight down the hall.
Had the entered the hallway they would have had no escape. They were safe only momentarily. Another five Death Eaters followed them, kicking in a door at a time and firing an unknown curse into each room. Tonks' grip tightened on Harry's shoulder as she moved backwards.
"Up the ladder." She whispered in his ear.
It took some cooperation to get up the ladder and keep the invisibility cloak on, and it was too close to the door for Harry to feel comfortable. If they should be discovered they'd have not a bit of chance of escaping. They stopped near the top and waited, almost without breath while the shouting neared.
Two Death Eaters stepped through the door, looking around. They fired their curse into the center of the room. Everything turned a blue color and then normal again. Harry wasn't sure what it was they were doing, but he was scared to know. Tonks seemed frightened of it.
A second later, after they seemed to have examined the room both turned to leave. Harry saw one of them slow slightly and start to point his wand up. Tonks reacted quicker than Harry.
"Expelliarmus." She yelled, right into Harry's ear. The man did not hear it, but he was blown flat into the ground and his wand flew out to the other side of the room. Harry used the same spell on the first man, who had barely enough time to react as it was.
The second man was also floored, but his wand rose to Harry's hand, which was stretched outside the cloak. A shout from the hallway alerted the rest of the Death Eaters to their location. "Don't you dare move." Tonks said, just before dropping out from under Harry to the ground, making her way away from the ladder.
A dozen Death Eaters appeared, barreled foolishly through the door, wands pointed at Tonks. She was already ready though and put a leglocking curse on the first two. Harry wondered why she was using something so basic. However, the effect was that the first two Death Eaters stumbled, and with them nearly all of the others who could not stop moving.
Some of the Death Eaters had been smart though, and had waited until the first of them were through the door. The appeared in the doorway, wand pointed, and curses flying before Tonks could get hers off. She tried to get out of the way to avoid them, but was unable to. The other Death Eaters rose while she was in pain. Tonks was in less pain than she seemed, and when she rolled to her side groaning barely a moment passed before she was on her feet and running for the other door.
Three Death Eaters were able to pursue her easily, the other had a hard time moving over each other. Harry watched in despair as the last of the Death Eaters were able to get to their feet and together they headed after Tonks. Remembering Tonks slapping him upside the head, Harry faltered on making a decision for a second, but not for long. Just before the rest of the Death Eaters made it through the door Harry raised his wand and pointed at the bookshelf next to the door "EVERTO!" He screamed.
The blast from the bookshelf demolished the bookshelf, and some of the wall. The Death Eaters jumped back away from the door as books rained down upon them. Harry looked around, and seeing that the shelves were not built into the walls he had an idea.
Jumping from his position on the ladder he darted across to the other side, where he had a better shot at the bookshelf next to the door. "TRAXI!" He screamed again at the top of his lungs, hoping it would be enough, the bookshelf was quite heavy.
He remembered the spell from 4th year when Hermione had helped him learn Accio. They'd looked for something that might work better, and traxi was similar, but usually used to haul things that were heavy.
The whole bookshelf slid forward slowly and the confused Death Eaters stepped backwards, trying to decide what to do about the bookcase. The spell didn't work as Harry'd hoped, the bookshelf continued to slide toward him, rumbling and ripping into the wooden floor as it did, but doing nothing to stop them. One of them scoffed at it and worked on the door again, having enough space the others ignored it momentarily too.
Thinking fast Harry focused on a book on the bottom shelf. "EXTUNDO." He yelled; trying to stay focused on that one point. Meanwhile two of the Death Eaters seemed to have spotted his location, even under the cloak and they raised their wands. "Crucio!" Both yelled at the same time. Harry was hit flat on, because he was more focused on the bookshelf.
At the same time, behind them the bookshelf stopped and rumbled forward, deciding instead to shake violently. One of the Death Eaters dropped his curse to turn and see what was going on. The seven others, who were making quick work of clearing the doorway didn't seem to notice the bookshelf stop.
Finally, the last moment that Harry could hold his head up he saw the bookshelf folded over, unable to take the curses that were both pulling and pushing against it. It toppled forward, the bottom swinging out behind it. Under it, the surprised Death Eaters were crushed before they could take any actions, it was far too large to move out from under.
Still, he dropped to his knees, bending over in agony even after the second Death Eaters curse was lifted. His whole body tingled sharply crying out in pain.
For several minutes Harry himself up on his knees, trying not to fall over completely. Finally the pain lessened and he was able to stand shakily. The cloak around him had slipped to the side, leaving half his body uncovered. Tonks came running back into the room through the door they'd never made it through. She looked around at the half-demolished room and her eyes widened. When she caught site of Harry she ran to him and grabbed him tightly. He groaned, the pain of the curse seemed to have bruised his whole body.
More gently this time Tonks tried to pull the limping Harry behind her. She did her best to pull the cloak back over them, but it didn't stay well. "I told you I'd take care of them." She snapped at him, but she didn't seem all that angry at the moment.
Two more Death Eaters were standing at the end of the hallway as they exited. The invisibility cloak was not enough to keep them from being seen, it seemed most of its effects had been nulled. "Ecio!" one of them shouted and together Harry and Tonks were thrown violently backwards, down the hallway. Harry was unable to stand, but Tonks did, trying to fight them. "Ecio!" The voice shouted out again and she was thrown further back down the hall.
The second of the Death Eaters laughed. Harry looked up to see McNair smiling evilly. "Don't move Potter. You've been too much trouble already."
Giving in to the pain Harry just laid there, unable to do much anyway. They walked forward towards Harry. "Don't." Tonks growled from behind. Both men stopped dead in their tracks, looking up to Tonks.
"You're in a loosing position Auror." One of them said, sneering. Harry was angry at them for being so stupid, they should have waited until he had more energy.
Tonks did something and the men backed away a few steps. "You wouldn't." One of them said.
"I'll do what's necessary to protect Harry." He could hear her say. The Death Eaters took another step back and she continued. "Rathens. You're slime you know that, no matter how you put it, you're slime and you always will be."
"Tonks..." One of the men said, having much more confidence suddenly.
"Yes." She returned and Harry could feel something touch his foot. She bumped it again and Harry slowly tried to get to his feet. He wasn't going to let her help him, because she'd be in a loosing position again if she did. Whatever it was she was using to hold them back surely wasn't enough to keep them back if she looked away.
As quickly as possible he pulled himself to his feet, the pain almost overtaking him before he did. He resisted and after a few restful moments finished standing.
"So," Harry whispered, smiling at Tonks, keeping his face pointed away from the Death Eaters so that they couldn't see what pain he was in. "Shall we go?"
He could see in one hand Tonks was holding out a necklace from her neck, and in the other her wand was still pointed at the men.
Tonks nodded and took one step backwards, waiting for Harry to follow. Slowly, one step at a time the backed down the hall until they were almost at the end. He could hear the men whispering harshly to each other. One of them yelled out something and started to say something Harry had heard many times before. "Avada Kedavra."
Whoever it was aimed at, Harry didn't care. He'd seen Sirius die, he'd seen Cedric die and he wasn't about to let someone else he knew die again. Whether it was absolute trust or absolute stupidity he stood as straight as possible and jumped towards Tonks, trying to keep himself covering most of the hall.
The curse struck from behind him, near the top of his neck. Harry arched from the pain as it traveled through his whole body almost instantly. His head reeled from the explosion that had seemed to be echoing through his whole body, more painful each time. He didn't hear much, nor did he see the curse arch backwards as if it had hit a mirror. The hallway turned into a ball of golden light and each of the people, except Harry, were brought to their knees. Harry couldn't help but stand, his muscles had tightened so much that he could move an inch.
The green light that connected the two men spread, jumping between the second man and then to Tonks. Harry tried to scream in pain, but still his body would not respond. It hurt more, not being able to let it out and for a moment he thought that it might be better to die.
That moment passed. With it went the light, and not just from that room. The whole house darkened. Harry collapsed somewhere between relief and pain. He was only halfway conscious when Tonks lifted him, with great effort, onto her shoulders and dragged him through the blackened house and down the stairs. He could feel blood seeping down his back and soaking the robe he was wearing. His pain was so great that even to open his mouth made him arch again.
So, relaxing, he let Tonks drag him on her shoulders down the hall, past the two men. One seemed half conscious, the other seemed to have died. Harry felt loss, even though they'd tried to hurt him they were still human and deserved better than death.
Down one more stairwell, which hurt incredibly. No matter how much Tonks tried to relieve his pain she could do nothing. Then, a few steps into a deserted hallway Tonks stood in front of a mirror. She reached into it, whispering a secret word as she did and then stepped through it.
On the other side Tonks laid Harry out on the ground gently. "Are you alright?" She asked, her horribly dirty face filled with concern.
Drawing in a larger breath than he'd been taken Harry managed to breathe out a yes. Tonks didn't believe him and she pulled away his cloak, slowly undressing him. "You... saved me." She said as she brought a medical kit from the wall. "You jumped in front of the killing curse. No one's ever done anything like that for me."
Rather than try to respond Harry just let it go. He'd have done it for anyone he knew, he would rather die himself than see someone else precious to him be taken. It had gone remarkably well, better than he dared imagined. Whatever his mother had done to keep him alive was still working, and the only person that could void it was Voldemort himself because the blood that ran through his veins was also Harry's.
Tonks continued talking, working on him as she did. When she stopped talking he focused up on her, and he could see dread in her eyes. She reached down, near his face, but continued past it, touching the ground next to him. When she drew her hand back it was coated in thick red blood. He remembered it flowing down his back, but now he could no longer feel it.
"We have to get you somewhere else. I can't fix all of this." She said to him, waiting for a response. Harry tried to nod, but barely was able to move his head at all.
"Do... it." He forced himself to breathe out.
Tonks nodded and moved to the side, somewhere he couldn't see, and returned holding long chain. At the end of the chain hung a golden phoenix. "Harry, were we're going... Don't do anything at all before you ask me, alright? Not a single thing. I'll try and be there the whole time."
Not being able to answer Tonks just accepted he agreed and dropped the phoenix into his hand, pushing hers against it. Harry felt a familiar jerking sensation of the Portkey as it transported him to some unknown place, one he'd already been warned about.
•