A/N: Now we get some answers! Or is it just more questions and action? Who knows! Only I apparently. Here's the next chappie folks! I hope you all enjoy it very much.
Disclaimer: This is not written by J.K. Rowling. I do not own Harry Potter, if I did, I'd be rich! But I'm just a normal girl with a love for the books who can't seem to write as brilliantly as the infamous Jo Rowling!
For Mysterious Mistress Kura, my first constant reader and reviewer who has been with me from the beginning. I now know that I can always expect a review from you!
Chapter 9: Together Again and Tragedy
It took them nearly a week to find out where the orphanage was. They looked at all the maps of London they could find. Harry didn't know the exact location of the orphanage; he just knew it was in London somewhere.
They poured over maps all day, every day, but got nowhere. Finally, after another day of tiring map searching Hermione threw down her quill and whacked herself on the forehead.
"How could I have been so brainless?" She cried throwing up her hands, "They record everything!"
"Er—" Ron said looking bewilderedly at Harry, "What are you talking about Hermione?"
"Hogwarts registers students!" Hermione said as a matter-of-factly. Harry looked at her blankly and Ron said, "They do?"
"Ron," Hermione said furiously, her hands on her hips, "Hogwarts registers every student that comes into the school." She started walloping the table to emphasize her key words, "They know where you live, who you live with, who your parents are…down to your very street address!" She was red faced and huffing, how could they know so little about the school they went to?
"If you say so," Ron said, "But how does that help us?"
"You are the limit," she said almost disgustedly, "The information we need will be in the records at Hogwarts!"
"And you propose we just walk in there and take that information?" Ron asked.
"Of course not, we'll have to go in at night when most people are asleep."
"What about the aurors and all the other protections?"
"We'll have to find a way around them!"
"Just how do we do that?"
They fought on and on until Harry finally yelled, "STOP!" They both fell silent and looked at him.
"Now that I have your attention," Harry said looking at the pair of them, "Let's think this through."
And so they planned; for over an hour in fact. That night they would put their plan in action.
"Ouch!" Hermione said, "Ron you stepped on my foot!"
"Sorry," Ron said, "It's hard to walk over double."
The three friends were under the invisibility cloak making their way along the secret passage under the Whomping Willow. Their destination was Hogwarts' library. They would have to maneuver throughout the corridors and avoid aurors, teachers, and prefects. Then they would have to find the right records quickly and get out of Hogwarts as fast as they could.
They had all grown much too tall for the invisibility cloak, especially Ron; but aside from the Disillusioning Charm, it was their only choice. Aurors were more than likely trained to spot disillusioned persons, so they had to use the cloak. They had disillusioned themselves only because their feet might show.
They came to the end of the passage and climbed out with difficulty. They were now out in the open air under the stars. They sidled away from the tree as fast as they could and made for the Forbidden Forest.
"Okay," Harry said, "Here's the plan, if we meet any aurors you are to stay as still as possible. If we're discovered we might have to resort to stunning and make a run for it."
The other two nodded.
"Let's just hope no one finds us."
They set off across the grounds towards the castle. They had to dodge their first auror next to the greenhouses. She patrolled amongst the greenhouses, wand at the ready. They waited for her to pass them, and then scurried away. She didn't even turn around, hopefully the other auror experiences would turn out the same way.
They reached the oak doors that led into the entrance hall. Harry was about to perform the Alohomora charm when Hermione stopped him; grabbing his arm.
"It probably won't work, not with the new security measures. They probably have a Stealth Sensoring Spell on them," she said.
Harry looked around, how were they going to get in if not through the doors? Then he heard footsteps on the other side of the doors. He motioned the others back, making them get out of the way. There was a series of clinks and clangs as the doors unlocked, the friends pressed themselves against the wall just in time to avoid a tall figure coming out. A middle aged man about five foot ten strode passed them without a backwards glance. He seemed to be another auror; his wand was out and he was walking purposefully towards the greenhouses. Perhaps he was relieving the auror on duty.
But Harry didn't have much time to think about it, he, Ron, and Hermione quickly slipped through the open doors and into the entrance hall.
They met no one until they were in the corridor leading to the library. Someone came hurtling around the corner… or rather someones.
Ginny, Luna, and Neville were sneaking down the corridor at a fast pace, nearly running into Harry and the rest. But they quickly sidestepped them and pressed themselves against the wall.
When the three's footsteps faded Harry heard Hermione breathe a sigh of relief. He smiled and then noticed that Ron was silent.
"What's the matter?" he asked, he knew Ron was staring in the direction his sister had taken.
"What are they doing out of bed this late?" Ron asked, apparently still staring.
Hermione snorted, "We were out of bed this late before, and you didn't protest then."
Ron moved, Harry knew he was shifting to look at Hermion. "But we had reasons to be out."
"What makes you think they don't have reasons?" she retorted hotly, "And don't justify what we did, you could hardly call those 'reasons'."
Ron opened his mouth to argue but Harry quickly shut them both up, "Shh! Someone's coming."
They watched and listened silently. They heard a dull clunking sound. Clunk, clunk, the noise came nearer. The sound of voices came with it.
"Mad-Eye!" Hermione whispered, "What'll we do? He can see through invisibility cloaks!"
"Let's go," Harry whispered just as quietly, "Make for that empty class room." He pointed to a door on the left. They quickly stole through the door directly in front of them and shut the door quietly. Then they dove under a desk for good measure. They waited silently as the clunking came to a stop at the end of the corridor.
"Don't know why you bother," Moody's gruff voice flitted into the room, "They'll be long gone by now."
"I bother because students out of bed are a danger to themselves," said a voice Harry recognized as Professor Slugohorn's.
"Maybe," Moody growled, "but we'll never catch up with them now, they'll already be back in their common room, I'm sure."
"Well… maybe they're hiding in an empty classroom. Like this one for instance."
Harry's heart leapt into his throat, they were about to come into the room! Maybe if he… There was no time to move to another room, the door handle slowly turned. Harry watched its progress helplessly, all tactics forgotten.
The door swung open revealing Slughorn and Mad-Eye Moody. None of the trio moved, they crouched motionless under the desk. Both men by the door looked carefully around the room. Moody's magical eye was swiveling this way and that. But it never came to rest on their hiding place.
"There's no one here," Moody growled, "let's forget it, I have a message to deliver to McGonagall."
With that they both left. Harry stayed where he was for a few minutes in case they came back. When they were sure that the two weren't coming back, they hastily crawled out from under the desk.
"That was close," Ron said. Harry nodded, and then remembered they couldn't see him properly.
"Yeah," he said instead.
"I wonder why he didn't see us?" Hermione said, puzzled. Then she was silent, thinking.
"Dunno," Harry said indifferently. "It's a good thing he didn't."
"Mmm…"
They sat for a little longer and then Ron said, "Let's get to the library and get out of here; before someone else finds us."
The other two agreed and they all left the classroom, peering cautiously through the crack in the door before doing so.
Seeing no one in the corridor, they swiftly made their way to the library. The doors were locked, but the Alohomora charm worked on these doors.
Closing the door silently, Hermione threw off the cloak and proceeded down a row of shelves.
"Look on these shelves," she said pointing at the rows of papers and books behind her.
Having no idea what they were looking for, but still determined, Ron and Harry passed over the shelves looking at various documents that looked promising.
In the end, after what seemed to have been hours (although it was only half an hour), Hermione made a triumphant sound and pulled out a stack of papers.
"A list of students from fifty years ago! And it has their registration forms," she said jubilantly. She sat on the floor and began examining the lines on the parchment.
"Riddle…Riddle…" she turned page after page, running her index finger down the lines of words. It was taking her so long to scan the file that Ron was starting to get annoyed. He clicked his tongue impatiently.
"I'm sorry," Hermione said, her patience gone as well, "but the fool who wrote this didn't do it alphabetically!"
After about five more minutes she finally cried, "Ah ha!"
Harry and Ron scurried over to her and tried to read the paper over her shoulder. But she shoved them away and replaced the document in the pile of un-alphabetized papers.
"It's number forty-two Burlington Street, Dunesburrow, Ervington. Hmm…" Hermione looked thoughtful, "Ervington, isn't very far from London. It's right next to it as a matter of fact."
"How—?" Ron started.
"I saw it on a map," Hermione snapped, "We've been through hundreds of them in case you haven't notice."
Harry and Ron stared at her.
"I don't know how you remember all these things Hermione," Ron said.
"Yeah," Harry said, "Sometimes I wonder if you have photographic memory."
They couldn't see it, but Hermione blushed. She was always getting comments like that.
"Anyway," Hermione said, "Let's get moving."
Ron went under the cloak, while Hermione put the stack of papers back on its shelf. Then she too slipped under the cloak. They left the library as quietly as they could. Their sneaking skills were quite excellent, due to their assortment of adventures.
They met no interference on that floor. But as they proceeded down the stairs, they saw an auror.
They tried to get out of the way quickly, but Ron was very awkward under the cloak. He tripped and tumbled head first into the auror; who was taken by surprise and his wand soared out of his hand down a few steps.
He threw himself at it, grabbed it and whirled around, sending a curse in their direction.
BANG!
A jet of red light narrowly missed Harry and Hermione who were still under the cloak. Ron had dived out of the way just in time.
"GO!" Harry roared, throwing the cloak off him so Hermione could run freely. He raced down the stairs, jumped over the auror and careened down another corridor. The others followed his lead, he could hear their pounding footsteps right behind him.
The auror was running too and was sending spells in their direction as fast as he could. Harry took out his wand, pointed it over his shoulder and thought, STUPEFY!
A spurt of red light hit their pursuer in the chest and he crumpled to the floor. But all the noise had attracted people from every direction.
He heard thumping footsteps above him, in the corridors next to him, and along the corridor ahead.
Someone whisked around the corner of the next corridor and sent a stunning spell their way.
Harry performed another jinx and saw that he wasn't the only one firing at the auror. Ron and Hermione had their wands out and were firing it in the new adversary's direction.
The man was disarmed and petrified at the same time. They kept on going, past him and dodged yet another person on the next flight of stairs.
They ran pell-mell towards the entrance, which was being barred shut. Harry heard Hermione mutter something with staggered breathing and the big oak doors swung open. They darted through them into the night air. Aurors on the grounds had been forewarned and were converging on the gates, blocking their way.
Harry, Ron and Hermione threw curse after curse, hex after hex. One by one their spells were deflected.
Harry was finally able to disarm the three in the middle and break through their ranks. Hermione and Ron were right behind him.
"STOP THEM!" One of the aurors cried, throwing an impedimenta jinx Harry's way.
Harry blocked the spell and kept on running. As yet another jinx flew over his shoulder, missing him by inches, he reached the gates and blasted them open.
Then he jumped to the side to make way for Ron and Hermione. He heard two pops and knew his friends were safely away. As the aurors came through the gates, Harry thought of the Shack and apparated.
There was darkness, and a dizzying spinning. Then Harry landed heavily on the side of the sofa, then he rolled over and onto the floor with a resounding thud. Ron and Hermione were in likewise conditions, dazed and disoriented. They, like him were breathing hard.
They lay there for a few minutes, panting. When Harry finally had some of his breath back he gasped, "Is everyone alright?"
Hermione nodded and Ron replied quietly. Harry stayed where he was a few minutes more, then got up and sank onto the couch. No one said anything for quite sometime. The silence was only broken when Hermione asked, "When do we start?"
Harry thought a moment, they needed rest, but it was probably best that they traveled by night.
"We'll get a few hours of sleep and start at midnight."
"I don't think we should," said Hermione hesitantly.
Harry and Ron looked at her.
"I thought you wanted to get this over with as soon as possible." Ron said incredulously.
"I do!" Hermione said, "But we can't do it tonight, the aurors will be scouring the countryside and all of London doubly hard for signs of more Death Eaters. Considering there was another break-in at Hogwarts."
"But we aren't… we didn't—" Ron spluttered looking dumbfounded.
"Of course not, but they don't know that it was us. They'll think it was more Death Eaters trying to kill off students."
Ron looked around at Harry who sighed and said, "Hermione's right. We'll have to stick round a few days and keep a low profile."
The others didn't argue, they went upstairs to bed, not looking forward to the frustrating days of waiting that lay ahead.
Harry stayed up a little longer, thinking; then he too made his way up the stairs.
The next few days were spent dueling and preparing for the journey ahead; though not much got done because all three of them were agitated and eager to get on with it. The dueling was not as intense as it could be; their minds were distracted and kept wandering to the quest.
Finally, a few days later, they were ready. Harry didn't want to leave in the daylight, still wary of the aurors. So they waited till midnight.
Midnight came and Harry packed his trunk with things they would only need for the journey. Ron and Hermione did the same, and at exactly twelve thirty, they set off. They were going to fly again, but first they were going to apparate to London. Then they would take to the air and travel north.
They appeared in the small square at Grimmauld Place. It was the only part of London that they knew of that wouldn't have too many wizards or muggles. All the same, since the Orders headquarters was close at hand, they hastily took to the sky and soared away.
Harry looked down on the ground and watched as Grimmauld Place grew smaller and smaller. The place reminded him painfully of the events that had taken place at the conclusion of his fifth year at Hogwarts.
Even though Harry now owned number 12 Grimmauld Place, Sirius' old house, he didn't want anything to do with it.
He tried to drive the memory from his mind; but a sadness was flooding through him. A sense of loss that he had felt for the last few years was building and building.
He was seeing Sirius fall through the veil again, an expression between fear and surprise plastered to his godfather's face. The memory faded and was replaced by the one of Dumbledore hanging in midair.
NO, Harry thought, trying to master himself and push the visions away. But as he tried more came: Cedric Diggory lying on the ground with those empty, lifeless eyes. Hermione on the floor of the Department of Mysteries unconscious. Luna flying through the air in the Department of Mysteries and Ginny being hit in the face by a stunning spell. Ron on the floor of the enormous chess board as motionless as could be. Ginny, lying at the feet of the statue of Slytherin in the Chamber of Secrets. Neville writhing on the floor as he was being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange who was using the Cruciatus Curse on him.
Then the more recent memories came:
Bill lying in the Hospital Wing, covered with the new, bloody scars Greyback had given him. Dumbledore sprawled on the ground beneath the North Tower with his half-moon spectacles askew on his crooked nose.
No, No! Harry thought. This time he was able to fight down the memories. He was breathing heavily, but still flying behind Hermione and Ron.
Harry tightened his grip on his broom handle, he couldn't stand to see the same things happen again. Not to his friends, or to anyone.
Slowly his breathing returned to normal. He felt drained, and miserable. Why did the memories have to come now? Why did they have to come at all, why didn't they just leave him alone? He didn't want to be haunted by them any longer.
"Harry?" asked Hermione's voice uncertainly. He looked up and saw her looking over her shoulder at him, a curious look in her eyes.
"Why don't you come up here between Ron and me and tell us? Something is obviously wrong."
Harry resisted the urge to tell them. But Hermione encouraged him further. No, he didn't want to depress the other two, but then again, it was times like these he needed them most.
So he gave in and complied flying in between them he told them about his memories. He had hardly finished when he heard Hermione sniffle and look away, tears in her eyes.
"It's okay Hermione," Ron said gently, he too was showing signs of emotion; his voice was strangely choked as he tried to comfort her.
Harry was furious with himself. He knew he shouldn't have said anything, now Hermione was upset.
As if reading his thoughts Hermione turned to Harry and with a great effort said, "It's alright. You should tell us these things so we can share them, not keep them bottled up inside."
Harry looked at her, feeling his heavy burden slide off his shoulders. She was right, they needed each other in these times of darkness, there was no point in keeping anything form each other.
They did not pursue the topic more; they just flew on in silence.
Later that night, a storm blew in. It came suddenly and the three friends had no warning. The wind grew fierce and it tossed them and their brooms around in the sky. Harry could only just keep sight of the others. They were all fighting the storm, trying to get back to the ground. Then he lost sight of them. As the wind swirled him in another direction for what must have been the dozenth time he ran into something… no someone!
As he spun off, Harry recognized that someone, but it was not Ron or Hermione. A mane of red hair flew in his face as his gasped… he had run into none other than Ginny Weasley.
She too was fighting the storm with all her might, trying desperately to keep on course towards the ground.
"Ginny!" Harry exclaimed.
She looked around at the sound of his voice; locating the source of the voice calling her name.
She positively beamed when she saw him and grabbed his broom handle to keep them from being separated by a strong gust of wind. He in turn grabbed her broom and they held on together. Once they were secure, Ginny looked up at Harry and gave him a look that said, I'll tell you later.
"Harry!"
Harry's head whipped around as he looked over his shoulder, trying to pick out where the voice had come from… no, not just one voice but two!
Harry's mouth dropped open. There, to his utter astonishment, was his second surprise of the night. Flying in the midst of the storm behind him, were Neville and Luna.
They seemed to have seen what he had done with Ginny and had followed his example. Neville held tight to Luna's broom while she gripped his with her right hand.
They drew level with him, their smiles making their faces glow joyously. Then a particularly rough wind current swept beneath them and their expressions turned to those of concentration as they battled against the current of air.
Harry heard a strangled yell to his right. He whisked his head around so fast he cricked his neck. He saw Ron hanging on to his broom with one hand, reaching down to Hermione below him. She seemed frightened out of her mind and was struggling to stay on her broom.
Ron tried frantically to get closer to her to help but the wind pushed him away. He was thrown even farther away from her.
Then, a jagged air current struck Hermione's broom, making it jolt uncontrollably. She slid off the end of her broom screaming. In the air she made grabbing motions at her broom but couldn't grasp it; she plummeted towards the ground.
At the same time Harry and Ginny screamed "NOOO!" while Neville, Luna, and Ron yelled "HERMIONE!" in unison.
Ron dove into the steepest dive Harry had ever seen and sped after Hermione, pursued closely by Harry and Ginny.
As Harry dove he was knocked off course by a burst of wind, he was thrown into Ginny and as one they were hurled backwards. They soon regained control over their brooms but they had lost precious time. Again they dived, this time more desperately.
Ron was still diving; he had not been thrown off in the least by the wind stream that had gotten Ginny and Harry. He didn't notice anything in his surroundings; he was focused only on Hermione, who was still screaming. She was a yard from him, he reached out to grab her… one foot… inches from her hand… he grabbed her wrist and held on with everything he had. He wouldn't let her go…
Hermione threw up her free hand and clutched at him madly, looking fearfully at the ground.
Ron saw two streaks pass him and saw Ginny and Harry pull out of a steep dive. They circled beneath him and Hermione incase Ron were to lose his grip. They couldn't get too close to Ron for fear of the wind driving them into him. Ron was determined not to let go, he navigated his broomstick downwards and got to the ground as fast and as smoothly as he could.
When they had landed they were all trembling and had faces that resembled a ghosts'. As soon as she reached the ground, Hermione collapsed; sobbing.
Harry felt faint, he sank to the ground, gasping. They all took in deep, shaky breaths. Neville and Luna landed next to Harry, holding Hermione's broomstick both looked white and scared.
After what seemed like an hour, Ron pulled himself together and demanded of Ginny, "What are you doing here?"
It was then that Harry took in his surroundings. They were in a place where boulders and trees rose all around them. The patch of earth where they were congregated seemed to be the only open space for half a mile. At second glance he noticed that they were on some kind of hill above a small village. Below them were dozens of small, twinkling lights.
Then he focused his attention on Ginny.
She must know about the horcruxes He thought. He had to say something. And before she could answer Ron he said,
"You shouldn't be here."
Ginny looked at him reproachfully and said, "You sound like mum."
"Well you shouldn't."
"Ron and Hermione are here!"
"That's different—" But before he could finish she cut him off.
"You didn't ask them to leave," said Ginny glaring at him and pointing at Ron and Hermione.
"Well actually—" Ron began, but Harry gave him a dark look and he shut up.
"But they're still here!" Ginny said, knowing what Ron had meant to say and using it to argue her point further, "Even though you asked them they will still stay. I'm no different!"
"But—" Harry started heatedly.
"Just because I haven't been on most of your adventures doesn't mean I don't belong at your side!" Ginny said defiantly, crossing her arms over her chest; determined that he see her side of it.
"She's got a point you know," Luna pointed out dreamily.
"We feel the same way!" Neville added.
Harry looked at them, from one to the other. From Ginny who still had her arms crossed to Neville who was looking at him pleadingly to Luna was usually staring into space but was now looking intently at him. There was no point in trying to argue with them, their minds were set and they wouldn't budge. He wasn't going to be able to persuade them otherwise, just like the night of the Department of Mysteries.
Harry looked at them all one last time and then relented. He sighed and said, "Fine. But you'll have to promise me one thing."
"What's that?" Ginny asked, wanting to know the terms before she agreed to anything.
Harry grinned, "That you tell me how you found out about the horcruxes."
Neville's eyes widened and Luna looked pleasantly surprised. Ginny on the other hand didn't show any emotion. She just nodded and started pacing. Ginny didn't start right away; she was busy looking around and thinking about how to reply. After a minute she sat down next to Harry, took a deep breath and launched into her story.
She explained how she had Hermione's notes that she had written and left behind in Ron's room at the Burrow. She had been in contact with Neville and Luna the whole summer and had told them everything, from the suspicious behavior of Ron, Hermione, and Harry, to the mysterious note she had found.
No one interrupted her as she described everything further.
"Then, when we got to Hogwarts, we went to the library to find out what horcruxes are."
"And like us, you didn't find anything right?" Harry asked grinning at her.
Ginny smiled back.
"Correct." Then she continued, "We were walking past the staff room one day say… about a week ago, on our way to the Great Hall for lunch when we heard raised voices coming from the Staff Room. The door was opened a crack, and I heard Professor Slughorn say something about horcruxes.
Naturally we wanted to hear this conversation, as it would probably give us the information we needed. I performed a mediocre disillusion spell (not bad but not real good) on all of us and we entered through the door. McGonagall was arguing with Professor Slughorn. She said, 'What makes you think that?'"
"Then Slughorn told her how you had been asking about horcruxes. She gasped and asked how you would find out about such a thing. Professor Sprout was in the room and asked what horcruxes were. McGonagall told her they were parts of someone's soul embedded in an object.
"Professor Sprout gasped and asked 'Why would Potter want to know about them?'
And Professor Slughorn told them something about Dumbledore…
Ginny's voice caught in her throat. She cleared it and went on:
"Told her something about Dumbledore and a memory of some sort. He said that you were both in on it and he didn't know much more about it. She questioned him further and he told her how he had given you two a fake memory to go on. When she demanded that he give her the real memory, he balked and said he couldn't. Then she said she needed it to find out what you were up to. He said he didn't remember the true memory.
"We put two and two together, from what your note said it seemed as if Voldemort was the one who had the horcruxes."
"So then of course we wanted to find out more about Voldemort's horcruxes. Then I remembered that… that on that night… when you left with Dumbledore," here she looked at Harry and then continued, "You were gone somewhere. I suspected that you two had gone after a horcrux."
"Then I also remembered Fred and George were acting funny every time you guys' disappearance came up. We thought they knew. So the next day I told McGonagall I wanted to go home to be with my family. Considering the circumstances, (having a brother missing and all), she let me go. I figured out what Fred and George knew because of something they let slip. Then I hurried back to Hogwarts and informed Neville and Luna.
"We decided to find out more about Voldemort. We looked him up in the library, you should have seen the mess we made of the papers, (Hermione gave an "oh!" and Ginny looked at her curiously and then went on with her tale) we found out where his orphanage was and decided that you guys might be headed there. We found the orphanage on the map and decided we could apparate to London and use brooms from there. We wanted to skip school at Hogwarts and help you guys because this quest here is more important than school. So we planned our 'escape'."
"Then someone broke into Hogwarts."
Ron, Harry, and Hermione looked at each other but didn't say anything. They would tell the other three their story in time, but not right now.
"Whoever it was got away, injuring a few of the aurors, not badly though. Curious," she looked at the three of them, "I heard that the person, or rather persons hadn't use unforgivable spells." She stared intently at Harry, "It was you guys wasn't it?"
Harry smiled grimly at her and nodded slightly. Then said, "We'll tell you about that in a little bit, get on with your story."
Ginny looked like she was about to argue but then stopped. She considered a moment and the resumed her account.
"Well, we waited a few days for things to quiet down and then left. And now, here we are."
She ended her story and looked at the trio expectantly. It was Harry's turn to tell their tale.
He explained in great detail about quest so far, starting with the events of last year. Then he told them about what had happened after they had left the Burrow.
He had a very good audience; they all gasped at the right parts and looked terrified at the thought of the Wragerwolves.
The only interruption was when he got to the Shrieking Shack part. ("Oooh," Ginny had said, "The Shrieking Shack of course!") Then he finished with the break in at Hogwarts and that night's events.
They sat in silence for a while, letting all the information sink in.
"Wow," Neville said, "This is pretty incredible."
"Yes," Hermione said, her brow crinkled in thought. Then she said conversationally to Ginny, "So that's why all the names were out of alphabetical order when I saw them. You guys must have been in a real hurry."
Ginny blushed and said, "We didn't want anyone to know what we were up to."
Then she turned to Harry, searching him. He looked away feeling guilty already.
"You're hiding something Harry." She said simply, still giving him the searching look.
Harry knew she was right; he had done it on purpose. He didn't want to tell them about the prophecy. But Ginny saw his hesitation and pounced, "What is it?" she asked sharply, "I know you left something out. Now tell us, we hid nothing from you."
Harry thought for a while on how to reply. Picking his words carefully, he told them about the prophecy.
By the end of it he was looking at the ground, repeating the story miserably. He looked up and watched Neville's reaction.
Neville was staring at the ground, his round face furrowed in sadness and disbelief.
"So…" he said, meeting Harry's eyes, "That could have been me?"
"Yes." Harry said, "But Voldemort didn't pick you; he might have, but he didn't. Because I was a half-blood like him."
Neville looked even more sorrowful, "You're in a worse position than me. How could you live, knowing why your parents were killed so brutally?"
Harry shook his head, "I think you've got the worse end of the deal when it comes to parents. At least I never knew mine and don't have to suffer the pain of not having them here. It hurts yes, but not as much as it would if I had known them better."
Neville looked thoughtful in a sad way. Then he smiled, "Well, were in the same boat. We both think the other's predicament is worse. Maybe it's better that way."
Harry nodded his agreement. Before they could discuss the subject further however, they were interrupted by the sound of wings. He looked up and saw an owl flying with a newspaper in its beak.
He looked at his watch, it must be nearly morning. He deduced that there must be a wizard in the village below; it looked like the owl was flying in that direction.
The owl seemed to know they were magical, because it changed direction and flew towards them. It also seemed to think that it was supposed to deliver its burden to them because it dropped the paper in the middle of the clearing and flew off. Strange, it hadn't waited for payment.
They all stared at it, wondering what news from the world it held. Hermione got up to retrieve it. She picked it up then faltered.
"Hermione?" Ron asked.
"I just feel guilty reading someone else's paper."
Ron laughed, shaking his head at Hermione, "You are so virtuous Hermione. It's not our fault the owl gave the paper to us. We might need it more than the person it was going to come to think of it."
Hermione frowned, "Everyone deserves to know what's going on, not just us." But she seemed to think the need for information too great and without further ado, she unfurled the paper.
"Anybody we—?" Ron was about to say his usual question when he was interrupted by Hermione's gasp. Her eyes filled with tears as she read the headline and the first few lines of the article. Before she finished reading she sank to her knees and let the paper slip through her slackened grip. Staring into space, then she started sobbing uncontrollably.
Ron was bewildered at her reaction and picked up the paper to investigate. He only had to read the headline before he threw the paper away in disgust; tears of fury leaking from his eyes. Then he collapsed on the ground next to Hermione and hugged her, stroking her hair and wearing a disbelieving, blank look on his face.
Harry felt dread as he looked at the paper, what could induce his friends' show of emotion like this? He wondered.
Slowly he bent down and revealed the page to the others, who were ready to read the report over his shoulder.
A horrible sight met his eyes, there, emblazoned in big letters was the title:
ATTACK UPON THE MINISTRY
AUROR OFFICE ASSAULTED
It has been revealed that an attack has been made upon the ministry of magic. Speculations as to what they were after are still hazy, but it is suspected that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named intends to do away with one of his biggest barriers: the aurors.
A group of followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named known as the Death Eaters broke into the ministry late Friday the night of August the 30th. Evidence shows that he centered his attack around the auror headquarters, slaughtering whomever he found there...
Harry didn't need to read anymore, he knew who they were. The ones who had died. Their pictures were blinking up at him from the front page.
Dawlish, Kingsley, Tonks and Lupin were all dead.
Harry felt again, a sense of loss. Kingsley… Tonks… Lupin… three members of the Order… three had died.
Kingsley, whom Harry hadn't known very well but had still liked, was dead. Tonks… clumsy, likeable Tonks wasn't there anymore either. And Lupin… the last of his dad's loyal friends… the last faithful Marauder was gone… gone forever.
Harry felt a surge of rage run through his body. He crumpled the paper, threw it to the ground and kicked a boulder with all his might in uncontrollable anger. Then his grief overwhelmed him and he leaned his back against the sole tree in the little clearing. He slid down it and landed with a soft thud on the ground. Harry put his head in his hands, trying to block out all the memories of Kingsley, Tonks and Lupin. It was painful enough to have them dead, but to be remembering them at this moment was too much.
He looked up and stared around at the others. Hermione was crying harder than ever on Ron's shoulder. Ron still had the same, empty expression on his face, patting Hermione's back. Neville was staring at the paper on the ground, the lines in his face etched with grief. Luna was beside him, looking lost. Ginny's face was contorted in fury mingled with grief. She was leaning her forehead against a boulder, weeping silently.
Harry got up and went to her. Then he took her in his arms and rocked her. She put her arms around his waist and sank her face into his chest, sobbing louder.
Luna was sitting on a boulder now, looking into space, tears rolling down her cheeks. Neville was at her shoulder trying to comfort her. But you can hardly comfort someone when you yourself feel the same pain.
They stayed in their positions a long time; no one knew how long, they didn't even care how long they had stayed. They were just lost in the mazes of their own minds.
It grew cold, and they all huddled together for warmth, miserable beyond recognition. No one had the heart to read more details about the happening. And so time went by, and they all fell into a deep, troubled sleep.
-:-
A/N: sob Okay. I hated doing that! But I REALLY needed something that would push the group on to an even greater level. Killing seemed to be a good place to start…evil me. Despite that horrible little piece done by me, what did you all think about me having them all teamed up once again? Please R&R! –E.S.E.
