Chapter 17
A Big Sacrifice
As soon as Harry and Ron opened the door, they saw nothing but total chaos. There were trees engulfed in flames and it seemed that people had turned the tables on their sides to provide cover from fired curses.
Harry's first instinct was to look for Hermione and Ginny since they had been separated earlier. He did a quick scan of the grounds, but before he could finish, he was launched onto the ground by Ron who had come out the back door behind. A jet of red light narrowly missed the pair and instead struck the door, which was impaled with a large whole. Harry was very quickly snapped out of the trance that had overtaken him initially upon seeing the grim scene.
"That was close. Thanks." Harry said as he and Ron got back on their feet and sought cover quickly behind a broken piece of table. There were hexes hitting the table at a steady pace which left Ron and Harry in a vulnerable position with no place to go.
"We need to move Harry." Ron said as he pocked his head around the table to take a look at the scene and then quickly pulled it back to avoid getting hit. "It seems that there is a large contingency of people over by the shed behind a table that looks like it has been expanded about twenty yards from here."
Ron peered around the corner once more but was not as lucky getting back this time. He was hit with a curse that glanced off his right shoulder.
"Ah!" He screamed as he grabbed his shoulder with his other hand. Harry pulled him close to make sure that the table was completely covering him and that none of his body was still exposed,
"Ron! Are you alright?"
"Yea, it didn't hit me square. It just glanced. It burned for a second but I haven't lost the feeling." Ron was moving his shoulder in circular fashion to prove that he still had full mobility. "There are two Death Eaters focused on us and the rest are concentrating on the big group by the shed. They are taking on some heavy fire over there. We need to get over there and help them."
"Ron, do you have your rock?" Harry asked as he reached into his pocket and pulled his rock out. Ron initially gave Harry a puzzled look but then caught on. He reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a similar rock.
"Thank God for Professor Lupin." Ron stated.
"The rock barrier should be enough of a distraction to allow us to disarm those two." Harry added. "Then we can take some heat off of the other people."
Ron nodded and they both tossed their rocks a few feet away from them. Ron tossed his to the right, and Harry's went left.
"Roccia Protecto." Harry shouted as he set a jet of blue light at the rock. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ron do the same and the next second there was a massive rock wall in front of the boys. They stood up and gathered their thoughts quickly.
"Alright, remember two taps on the rock with your wand will dissolve it." Harry said looking over at Ron. "Make sure you have a spell ready. You look right, I'll look left."
"Ok." Ron responded. "One, two, three." On three they both dissolved their rocks and came out firing.
"Impedimenta." Harry yelled and shot a jet of light at the nearest death eater. He froze in his tracks and fell to the ground like a log. Ron had sent a disarming spell at his Death Eater, which had knocked him off the ground. But he was now back up on his feet.
"Incarcerous!" Harry yelled as thick ropes went flying at the advancing man and tackled him to the ground.
Harry and Ron immediately began to run for the table next to the shed. Their scene had caused some other Death Eaters to notice and they were avoiding flashing spells as they tried to get to safety.
Just then, Fred and George burst out of the shed and disarmed the two nearest Death Eaters using their Weasley's wand catchers. Harry hadn't even thought to use his and thought to himself that he would have to remember that next time he was in a tight spot.
Meanwhile, using the distractions that the Weasley's had caused, Hermione and Tonks jumped out and sent powerful freezing charms at the two remaining Death Eaters who were in the area. Harry and Ron were then able to make it safely behind the table.
"What happened?" Ron yelled. "Where is everyone?" The only people that were seeking shelter behind the large table were: Hermione, Tonks, Ginny, the twins, Hagrid, and Mr. Weasley who was had two men from the Ministry standing on either side of him.
"We think it was an assassination attempt." One of the men from the ministry said. "We need to get the Minister out of here now."
"Assassination!" Ron yelled. He was staring to lose his head a little and Hermione quickly jumped to his side and grabbed his arm. "Where's mum?"
"Don't worry, she's fine." Mr. Weasley spoke up. "She apparated to the Ministry to get help, I thought she would have been back by now. Well no matter, the Death Eaters have since put up anti-apparation wards around the yard so we're stuck." Ron seemed to calm down when he heard that his mum was fine.
"They're right." Tonks said glancing over at Hagrid. "We need to make sure Arthur and these kids get out of here now. I can hear more dueling going on. We can't stay here hiding behind this table, more Death Eaters will be on their way."
"Any ideas?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"I got a portkey to take us to Hogwarts?" Hagrid said pulling out the candlestick. "But it's not set to activate for another hour."
"We can't wait that long." Another of the ministry workers spoke up. If they came here for Arthur, or Harry for that matter, he who must not be named will not be satisfied until the job is done. We have to go now!"
"What about the floo?" Harry said trying to take an active role. They were about forty yards from the house and things had seemingly quieted down.
"That will be our best bet." Tonks said. "We are going to have to make a run for the house."
"Alright." One of the ministry workers conceded. "We will be on either side of the group." He said flashing a look over at the other ministry man and Tonks. "The rest of you stay in the middle and just keep running for the house no matter what happens." They all nodded and prepared themselves to go. Harry looked around and saw each person readying their wands.
"Everyone ready?" Tonks asked as she neared the edge of the table.
"Wait!" Fred and George shouted in unison. "These will give us a bit of a head start." They walked over to Tonks and handed her two small gray balls about the size of golf balls.
"Just toss them out there." Fred said.
"Okay." Tonks nodded. "Everyone get into position." Tonks was at the front with Hermione and Ron behind her. Harry grabbed Ginny and pulled her next to him, and Mr. Weasley was next to her. The Twins were right behind Harry, and Hagrid was bringing up the rear. The two men from the ministry were flanked on either side of Harry and Mr. Weasley.
"Go!" Tonks shouted as she tossed the two gray balls out in front of them. They started emitting large amounts of deep gray smoke that quickly engulfed almost the whole back yard. The door to the Burrow was straight ahead and they all began to run for it through the thick smoke.
Harry had grabbed onto Ginny's hand and was running straight, although he couldn't see anyone in front of him. There were shouts of spells and a few errant jets of light were the only things that could be seen in the thick fog. Harry just kept running as fast as he could and made sure they he held on to Ginny with all his might. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, they came out of the fog and the door to the Burrow was only about thirty feet away.
"Come on." Tonks, Ron and Hermione were shouting. Pleading for Harry and Ginny to make it to the door unharmed.
They made it, and out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Mr.Weasley and the two ministry wokers appear behind him. Then, a few seconds later, Hagrid and the twins followed suit. They had all made it!
"Alright to the fireplace." Tonks shouted. Hagrid threw the door closed and pulled the Weasley's kitchen table in front of it.
"Here look at this." Tonks said showing a piece of paper to the two ministry workers.
"Okay" One of them responded. "The minister first."
"No.' Arthur shouted. "The kids."
"There's no time for this Arthur, just go." Tonks pushed Mr. Wealsey towards the fireplace and in one motion he yelled, "Number 12 Grimmauld Place." Harry and Ron urged Ginny and Hermione to the front and they went next."
"Go ahead mate." Harry urged Ron as he heard something crash against the front door. Ron nodded and quickly jumped into the fireplace and was whisked away. Harry went to grab a handful of floo powder and jumped into the fireplace as well and as he did heard another crash at the door. This time, the door was broken down. A bunch of Death Eaters flooded in the room.
"Go Harry!" Tonks shouted.
"I'll hold em off." Hagrid yelled. The large half giant ran full speed towards the Death Eaters. In unison, they began firing curses at him, which would just bounce off.
"Go now Mr. Potter." One of the ministry workers yelled.
"Number 12 Grimmauld Place." Harry yelled as a bright light shot at Hagrid. And the last image Harry saw as his body was yanked up the fireplace was his first real friend falling to the ground in a heap.
Author's note: Ok I admit it, I am evil. I really love to put cliffhangers in. If you really don't like them, let me know and I will ease up on them a bit. I know this chapter is a little short, but there wasn't anything else that I wanted to happen in this chapter. By the way, I am looking for a new Beta so if there is anyone out there that has the time and would like to do it please email me at Cubs9911@aol.com. Anyways, keep reading and reviewing, I appreciate them a lot.
A Big Sacrifice
As soon as Harry and Ron opened the door, they saw nothing but total chaos. There were trees engulfed in flames and it seemed that people had turned the tables on their sides to provide cover from fired curses.
Harry's first instinct was to look for Hermione and Ginny since they had been separated earlier. He did a quick scan of the grounds, but before he could finish, he was launched onto the ground by Ron who had come out the back door behind. A jet of red light narrowly missed the pair and instead struck the door, which was impaled with a large whole. Harry was very quickly snapped out of the trance that had overtaken him initially upon seeing the grim scene.
"That was close. Thanks." Harry said as he and Ron got back on their feet and sought cover quickly behind a broken piece of table. There were hexes hitting the table at a steady pace which left Ron and Harry in a vulnerable position with no place to go.
"We need to move Harry." Ron said as he pocked his head around the table to take a look at the scene and then quickly pulled it back to avoid getting hit. "It seems that there is a large contingency of people over by the shed behind a table that looks like it has been expanded about twenty yards from here."
Ron peered around the corner once more but was not as lucky getting back this time. He was hit with a curse that glanced off his right shoulder.
"Ah!" He screamed as he grabbed his shoulder with his other hand. Harry pulled him close to make sure that the table was completely covering him and that none of his body was still exposed,
"Ron! Are you alright?"
"Yea, it didn't hit me square. It just glanced. It burned for a second but I haven't lost the feeling." Ron was moving his shoulder in circular fashion to prove that he still had full mobility. "There are two Death Eaters focused on us and the rest are concentrating on the big group by the shed. They are taking on some heavy fire over there. We need to get over there and help them."
"Ron, do you have your rock?" Harry asked as he reached into his pocket and pulled his rock out. Ron initially gave Harry a puzzled look but then caught on. He reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a similar rock.
"Thank God for Professor Lupin." Ron stated.
"The rock barrier should be enough of a distraction to allow us to disarm those two." Harry added. "Then we can take some heat off of the other people."
Ron nodded and they both tossed their rocks a few feet away from them. Ron tossed his to the right, and Harry's went left.
"Roccia Protecto." Harry shouted as he set a jet of blue light at the rock. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ron do the same and the next second there was a massive rock wall in front of the boys. They stood up and gathered their thoughts quickly.
"Alright, remember two taps on the rock with your wand will dissolve it." Harry said looking over at Ron. "Make sure you have a spell ready. You look right, I'll look left."
"Ok." Ron responded. "One, two, three." On three they both dissolved their rocks and came out firing.
"Impedimenta." Harry yelled and shot a jet of light at the nearest death eater. He froze in his tracks and fell to the ground like a log. Ron had sent a disarming spell at his Death Eater, which had knocked him off the ground. But he was now back up on his feet.
"Incarcerous!" Harry yelled as thick ropes went flying at the advancing man and tackled him to the ground.
Harry and Ron immediately began to run for the table next to the shed. Their scene had caused some other Death Eaters to notice and they were avoiding flashing spells as they tried to get to safety.
Just then, Fred and George burst out of the shed and disarmed the two nearest Death Eaters using their Weasley's wand catchers. Harry hadn't even thought to use his and thought to himself that he would have to remember that next time he was in a tight spot.
Meanwhile, using the distractions that the Weasley's had caused, Hermione and Tonks jumped out and sent powerful freezing charms at the two remaining Death Eaters who were in the area. Harry and Ron were then able to make it safely behind the table.
"What happened?" Ron yelled. "Where is everyone?" The only people that were seeking shelter behind the large table were: Hermione, Tonks, Ginny, the twins, Hagrid, and Mr. Weasley who was had two men from the Ministry standing on either side of him.
"We think it was an assassination attempt." One of the men from the ministry said. "We need to get the Minister out of here now."
"Assassination!" Ron yelled. He was staring to lose his head a little and Hermione quickly jumped to his side and grabbed his arm. "Where's mum?"
"Don't worry, she's fine." Mr. Weasley spoke up. "She apparated to the Ministry to get help, I thought she would have been back by now. Well no matter, the Death Eaters have since put up anti-apparation wards around the yard so we're stuck." Ron seemed to calm down when he heard that his mum was fine.
"They're right." Tonks said glancing over at Hagrid. "We need to make sure Arthur and these kids get out of here now. I can hear more dueling going on. We can't stay here hiding behind this table, more Death Eaters will be on their way."
"Any ideas?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"I got a portkey to take us to Hogwarts?" Hagrid said pulling out the candlestick. "But it's not set to activate for another hour."
"We can't wait that long." Another of the ministry workers spoke up. If they came here for Arthur, or Harry for that matter, he who must not be named will not be satisfied until the job is done. We have to go now!"
"What about the floo?" Harry said trying to take an active role. They were about forty yards from the house and things had seemingly quieted down.
"That will be our best bet." Tonks said. "We are going to have to make a run for the house."
"Alright." One of the ministry workers conceded. "We will be on either side of the group." He said flashing a look over at the other ministry man and Tonks. "The rest of you stay in the middle and just keep running for the house no matter what happens." They all nodded and prepared themselves to go. Harry looked around and saw each person readying their wands.
"Everyone ready?" Tonks asked as she neared the edge of the table.
"Wait!" Fred and George shouted in unison. "These will give us a bit of a head start." They walked over to Tonks and handed her two small gray balls about the size of golf balls.
"Just toss them out there." Fred said.
"Okay." Tonks nodded. "Everyone get into position." Tonks was at the front with Hermione and Ron behind her. Harry grabbed Ginny and pulled her next to him, and Mr. Weasley was next to her. The Twins were right behind Harry, and Hagrid was bringing up the rear. The two men from the ministry were flanked on either side of Harry and Mr. Weasley.
"Go!" Tonks shouted as she tossed the two gray balls out in front of them. They started emitting large amounts of deep gray smoke that quickly engulfed almost the whole back yard. The door to the Burrow was straight ahead and they all began to run for it through the thick smoke.
Harry had grabbed onto Ginny's hand and was running straight, although he couldn't see anyone in front of him. There were shouts of spells and a few errant jets of light were the only things that could be seen in the thick fog. Harry just kept running as fast as he could and made sure they he held on to Ginny with all his might. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, they came out of the fog and the door to the Burrow was only about thirty feet away.
"Come on." Tonks, Ron and Hermione were shouting. Pleading for Harry and Ginny to make it to the door unharmed.
They made it, and out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Mr.Weasley and the two ministry wokers appear behind him. Then, a few seconds later, Hagrid and the twins followed suit. They had all made it!
"Alright to the fireplace." Tonks shouted. Hagrid threw the door closed and pulled the Weasley's kitchen table in front of it.
"Here look at this." Tonks said showing a piece of paper to the two ministry workers.
"Okay" One of them responded. "The minister first."
"No.' Arthur shouted. "The kids."
"There's no time for this Arthur, just go." Tonks pushed Mr. Wealsey towards the fireplace and in one motion he yelled, "Number 12 Grimmauld Place." Harry and Ron urged Ginny and Hermione to the front and they went next."
"Go ahead mate." Harry urged Ron as he heard something crash against the front door. Ron nodded and quickly jumped into the fireplace and was whisked away. Harry went to grab a handful of floo powder and jumped into the fireplace as well and as he did heard another crash at the door. This time, the door was broken down. A bunch of Death Eaters flooded in the room.
"Go Harry!" Tonks shouted.
"I'll hold em off." Hagrid yelled. The large half giant ran full speed towards the Death Eaters. In unison, they began firing curses at him, which would just bounce off.
"Go now Mr. Potter." One of the ministry workers yelled.
"Number 12 Grimmauld Place." Harry yelled as a bright light shot at Hagrid. And the last image Harry saw as his body was yanked up the fireplace was his first real friend falling to the ground in a heap.
Author's note: Ok I admit it, I am evil. I really love to put cliffhangers in. If you really don't like them, let me know and I will ease up on them a bit. I know this chapter is a little short, but there wasn't anything else that I wanted to happen in this chapter. By the way, I am looking for a new Beta so if there is anyone out there that has the time and would like to do it please email me at Cubs9911@aol.com. Anyways, keep reading and reviewing, I appreciate them a lot.