Seventh Year Gryffindor Boys Dormitory
Lee Jordan pulled a wireless from under his bed, setting it to a station half a step below the Wizarding Wireless Network, so Celestine Warbeck's warbling could still vaguely be heard in the background.
"Fred Weasley, come in—George Weasley, come in—oh come on, one of you, you're meant to have the radio on—Fred, George, pick up, this is a code D, code D—listen to your damn radio, you two—"
They'd developed the radio system before the twins left, but hadn't been able to perfect it before they were totally gone. The connection was only between the twins and Lee, piggybacking on the magic of the radios and that of the WWN's signal to allow two-way communication between Hogwarts and the shop. The twins were meant to have it on at all times, but if they were shopping or out of the room—or, Lee realized, helping the Order—they wouldn't hear it.
"George Weasley, come in—do you hear me? Fred—it's an emergency, a kid's missing—come on pick up, Fred, George do you copy—"
/
The Forbidden Forest
Apart from the light floating above Cedric's shoulder, the forest was nearly black, the waning moon obscured by clouds, and other light from it barely making it through the leaves and branches of the trees..
"Cedric?" Marietta said his name like a question, waiting for him to acknowledge her before continuing. "What do we do if we find Kevin and he's been found by…someone else first?"
"You mean the Death Eaters," Neville said, to everyone's surprise. Though his eyes still betrayed his fright, Neville's face was set more firmly than anyone had seen it. "We do what we've practiced," he said, "We fight, and we make sure we have each others' backs while we do. And we get Kevin back."
"Right—easy, then."
"Neville's right—we have to be ready. Everyone holding their wands? If this is an ambush, we're walking into it, and the time to get them out could be long enough to get hexed—or killed."
"Encouraging, Pucey," Rissa said, rolling her eyes—but, Marietta noticed, her hand tightened a bit more around her wand, and her arm got a bit looser, ready to cast.
"And remember what Harry's told us at the DA—your strongest spell is the one you should do first. Your first shot is the most important, and a strong Jelly Legs can throw someone off balance better than a weak stunner," Ginny added.
"Right—think about what spell you'll use," Cedric said, "and be ready to cast it. We're almost there—I can see that pool ahead, and our spot isn't far past that."
The group fell into silence, trying to retain what element of surprise they could when carrying a glowing light.
For a while, all Marietta heard was the rustling of leaves and the distant sound of a howl. As they walked, she noticed the rustling begin to grow more consistent, like a person—no, multiple people—walking toward them—
"Move!" She yelled, pulling Ginny and Cedric with her as she leapt away from the path they'd been making. Before the word was out of her mouth, Jake grabbed Neville and Rissa and jumped the other way, and Adrian fell to the ground not a second too soon, spells flying over the place they had all been standing.
"Protego!" Ginny shouted, covering Adrian while he got behind the cover of a tree.
Spells continued to fly at them, and Marietta knew that Ginny's shield wouldn't hold forever.
"Come out and play, kiddies—Crucio!" one of the Death Eaters shouted, running forward.
At this, Neville ducked out from behind the tree "Impedimenta!" he shouted, and the Death Eater tripped. Ginny followed his lead, weaving in and out of the trees with spells flying at the Death Eaters—and back at her.
"For Kevin," Cedric said.
"For the Wizarding World," Marietta replied.
And the five of them joined the fray.
/
The bluebell flames licked up the side of the jar Hermione was holding, their ghostly light making the forest even eerier than normal. Harry and Ron stood on either side of her, wands a the ready. Luna, to Andrew's left, looked unbothered, yet more focused than she usually did. Miles, on the other side of her, had lost the pale terror that had coated his face in the castle, replacing it with a cold fury.
Andrew was trying his best not to think about what they might find with Kevin—who they might find. He had told Potter himself: Kevin might be in the hands of Death Eaters. Which meant that Kevin might be in the hands of his father.
Andrew's thoughts were broken by the feeling of a hand on his arm—Luna, giving him a reassuring smile.
"You'll want to have your wand arm ready," she told him, and Andrew realized how much he had tensed. Relaxing as much as he could, he offered her a smile in return.
"Almost there," Hermione told them, her voice barely above a whisper. Andrew wasn't sure if that was because she was trying to be stealthy or just a result of fear, but he was glad either way—it felt safer, as though they actually had a chance to hide.
The clearing came into view, and laying in the center, asleep—Andrew hoped—was Kevin Bletchley, with no one else in sight.
A strangled cry came from Miles' throat as he looked at his brother, and the group picked up their pace. As soon as all six of them had entered the clearing, figures melted out of the darkness around them, stepping into the moonlit patch of grass, wands raised. Andrew cursed himself under his breath for not considering the possibility of disillusionment.
"Harry Potter—what a surprise. You were meant to be at the Ministry of Magic tonight—but my master will be so pleased with me when I bring you in."
Andrew froze at the sound of the voice, one he knew all too well.
"We knew the older Mr. Bletchley would come, of course, but who would have thought he'd have friends in such high places to call on? Though, he did have to settle on some accounts. Hello, Andrew—face your father."
Andrew's body was turning before he could control his movements. His father's eyes bore into him—the Death Eaters hadn't bothered to cover their faces this night. On either side of Denmore were faces Andrew was familiar with, had grown up seeing.
"Father," he said, stiffly. "Macnair, Yaxley. Come to relive the glory days of Hogwarts?" He tried to fill his voice with bravado, but he knew he failed—would have known even without his father's smirk informing him of it.
"No—no, that's not why we came. We came for you, Andrew. And Miles—and even little Kevin here. You see, we've heard that there's been trouble at school, that you've all been disobeying your teachers and fraternizing with Mudbloods. Dishonoring Slytherin House. We had hoped Adrian Pucey would be with you, but the three of you is plenty. You're going to be part of a lesson that we're teaching all of Slytherin House: a reminder of their roots, of who they are. It's an unfortunate side effect that you won't be there to see the change, but," Denmore rolled his shoulders in a shrug, "we all must play our part in the cause—and this is yours. In spite of your failures…" Denmore stepped forward, leaving little space between him and Andrew, "…in spite of letting down your family, you will die with honor."
Denmore drew his wand back, its tip pointed at Andrew, who knew that a shield charm couldn't help him. And then something hit him, and everything went dark.
/
Adrian wasn't sure how long they'd been fighting or how far from their original destination the fight had taken them, he just hoped that Kevin had been in the other location. One of the Death Eaters—Gibbon, he thought—had matched up with him, and the two were exchanging blows with no winner in sight.
"Stupefy!" He shouted, and was dodging the return spell when the world went black.
Adrian wasn't sure how you could turn the lights out if you were outside, but the moon was suddenly gone, the air filled with shouting voices trying to get their bearings. They must have run into another group of Death Eaters, because the voices surrounded him, yet no one was casting spells apart from Lumos, which wasn't helping at all—the risk of hitting their own side was too great.
The darkness gradually receded, fading from black to a hazy grey. Adrian saw a vague blob he assumed was a human lift another blob, the two of them floating up and over the trees—on second thought, maybe his vision wasn't returning.
As he stood, his vision continued to clear, and he saw two newcomers—their old professor, Lupin, and some witch with pink hair—going at it with Denmore Fawley, while the Weasley twins and another boy he assumed was their older brother, were going against Yaxley and Macnair.
Miles and Andrew looked to have somehow gotten tangled with each other, and they were trying to avoid spells long enough to stand, Potter, Granger, and Weasley giving them cover.
"Protego!" Adrian flinched as a spell hit the shield behind him.
"Watch your back, Pucey," Ginny Weasley shouted, and Adrian was surprised that she wasn't running forward to help her brothers.
Adrian turned back to Gibbon and saw, in the corner of his eye, the Death Eater who must have been paired off against Ginny, if the bogey bats attacking his face, even as he lay stunned, were any indication. Ginny was in the process of tying him up, which explained her
The already crowded clearing was soon stuffed with people. Neville, who seemed to have lost his wand, brought the heel of his palm up under a Death Eater's jaw, sending the man reeling far enough for Cedric to shoot a spell at him.
For a minute that seemed like a lifetime, it was chaos. And then, as one, the Death Eaters still standing collapsed, disappearing from the clearing.
Lupin swore and cast a spell that didn't seem to do anything, followed by another which Adrian recognized as an Anti-Apparition charm.
"At least we got Selwyn and Fawley," the pink-haired witch said, sounding rather more cheerful than Adrian personally believed was warranted.
"We've got this one too," Jake said, and he and Ginny lowered the body they'd been levitating. Lupin was staring at the death eater, seemingly in shock—and, in a moment, so were Potter, Granger, and Weasley.
"That," Lupin managed, "Is quite a catch." As he said it, he moved forward, muttering spells under his breath until the rope was glowing.
"That should hold him—but we'll want to be quick, just in case."
Adrian looked at Andrew, trying to see if his friend shared his confusion, but Andrew's eyes were on his father, knocked out and tied up.
"We'll take them, Remus—you help make sure this lot gets back safely." The oldest Weasley nodded at the twins and the pink-haired witch, and the four of them loaded the bodies onto brooms Adrian hadn't noticed before—which must have been how they'd arrived themselves. Lupin whispered something to the pink-haired witch, Adrian only catching the words "Animagus-proof," and she gave him a cheerful salute before flying off.
A silvery dog—a patronus, Adrian realized—suddenly appeared among them, licking Harry and Remus before giving a message in a voice Adrian was sure he'd heard, but couldn't quite place:
We're at the castle—come to the Headmaster's office as soon as possible. Albus says to bring everyone.
/
The Headmaster's Office
Andrew guessed that there was a special expansion charm on the Headmaster's office, because he wasn't sure how else it could hold fifteen students, three captives, and seven others without feeling overcrowded, but once everyone had a seat, it still felt like there was room for more.
They'd arrived back at the castle to see Luna Lovegood waiting in the entrance with Kevin Bletchley and—so he was told—a thestral. Andrew hadn't really been aware of how they'd left, but Miles had seemed relatively at ease when they were leaving the forest, having apparently seen them take off. Now, Miles was holding his brother to his side like a magnet, and Kevin didn't show any signs of wanting to move. Luna, on the other side of Miles, was chatting with a painting.
Andrew was listening to Lupin, Dumbledore, Tonks—the pink-haired witch, and, most shockingly, Sirius Black, discuss the night.
"We lost Hestia and Dedalus," Black said with a grimace, "but Rabastan, Crabbe, Mulciber, Dolohov, Avery, Jugson, Nott, and Malfoy were caught. Dear old Bella got away with her master, though."
"Yaxley and Macnair were here," Tonks put in, "and Rookwood, and some others I didn't recognize. They looked younger—newer recruits, I'd guess."
"Rodolphus Lestrange is dead, too," Bill said, "Or at least not here anymore. I saw one of Mad Eye's stunners knock him through that veil before I left."
Adrian was standing by the window, looking out over the grounds.
The first death of the night which had been mentioned was Adrian's father, the news broken to him in the gentlest manner possible.
It wasn't, Andrew thought, looking over at where his father was laying, still knocked out and tied up, a good night for Slytherin fathers.
At some point, Tonks popped out and came back with a man who introduced himself as Kingsley, as well as Rufus Scrimgeour, head of the Auror office, and Mad-Eye Moody. There was a conversation between Scrimgeour, Moody, Dumbledore, and Sirius about "Pettigrew" and "clearing your name," followed by a paper being signed, Scrimgeour saying "Your pardon will be in tomorrow's papers" through gritted teeth as the group left with the prisoners.
Andrew's last glimpse of his father that day was Mad-Eye Moody dragging him through the Floo network with a rough call of: "Auror Office."
Once they were gone, Dumbledore turned those still in the room.
"You are free to go—however, I would request that you make your way to the hospital wing, or I'm afraid our beloved Madam Pomfrey will never forgive me. Sirius, Harry—if I could ask one minute more from you?"
Andrew didn't remember the trip to the hospital wing, or falling asleep in one of the beds, only the nightmare that followed: his father's wand lifting off his throat, preparing for the kill.