Chapter 2: The Crossroads of War

Harry sat in the window of a quiet little cafe on the corner of a busy street. His leg bobbed nervously and he looked around the people outside with shifty nervous eyes.

"Here." Dudley suddenly said. Harry jumped a mile and turned to his cousin with a growl.

"Don't do that! Bloody hell."

"Sorry," Dudley said with a chuckle. "I got you a cappuccino." he handed the steaming cup to him. "Decaf."

"Haha," he muttered darkly. Suddenly he stood up as Susan and Sirius suddenly came around the corner. He smiled widely as she entered the cafe. She beamed and rushed into his arms.

"Your uncle got away alright?" he asked.

"He's visiting France." she declared. "I convinced him to extend the trip for a while. Maybe tour Germany and Italy as well. Mrs. Marston is with him. He'll be fine." Harry nodded. "Are Anthony, Hermione, and Ron here yet?"

"No," Dudley muttered. He looked at his watch again, "We've got another twenty minutes then we have to move to the next station. They'll have to catch up." Harry winced worriedly.

"Can't we wait just a few more minutes?" he begged.

"Not a chance!" Dudley insisted. "Every hour that you stay in the same place the easier it'll be for the death eaters to track you down."

"How could they track me?" Harry demanded in irritation. "We're travelling the muggle way. In the middle of the largest city in the UK!"

"Don't underestimate them harry," Sirius warned quietly. Suddenly the bell over the door tinkled loudly. The four of them looked over to it jumpily. Ronald Weasley stumbled through the door and looked around. He grinned before huffing at Dudley.

"Couldn't have been more bloody specific could ya? I've gone into nearly every coffee shop in a ten-mile radius!"

"The point was to be vague so that if the letter was intercepted we wouldn't be found you knob." Dudley griped quietly.

"Oi! I'm not a knob!" he complained, "I'm just not good at orienting myself in muggle London is all." the door rang again. Ron spun around. A gentle scowl bloomed over his face. "Goldstein."

"Ron." Anthony replied cheerfully, "good to see you." Hermione scanned the room and nodded.

"Great," Dudley said before he settled back down at the table. "We're heading to Grimmauld Place. Oh, weird I just said it…"

"Dumbledore was the secret keeper." Sirius said quietly, "now that he's gone unfortunately anyone who was told the secret can now share it with others." he looked at Anthony and Susan's confused faces "Grimmauld Place was the secret headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. It's almost technically my house."

"Not technically." Dudley argued, "it's literally your house."

"Whatever." Sirius argued, "If we want to get really technical since I was disowned it's my parents' house."

"Regardless." Harry snapped before the pair could bicker semantics anymore, "we're heading there. It might not be quite as secure."

"Not to mention Snape knows where it is," Ron remarked. Harry swallowed thickly. Hermione elbowed Ron in the stomach with a firm look. The ginger boy instantly realized what he said and turned to Harry. "er… sorry mate."

"No." Harry insisted before straightening, "no I've got to get over it. I can't let him have a hold over me anymore. Not after what he did." he took a deep breath, "Ron's is right though. He knows where the house is. He could have easily taken others to it."

"If he has, I'll ring his scrawny little neck with my bare hands." Sirius snarled.

"Shh!" Harry cried in alarm before he looked arround then pulled out his wand and cast a silencing charm "Do you want the waitress to hear you and call the bloody cops?"

"I'm sorry. Take the spell down. Not hearing us would be even more suspicious." Sirius argued. Harry nodded and removed the spell after making sure the young waitress wasn't looking once again.

"If the house isn't secure anymore." Dudley began "we're falling back to plan b."

"Whats plan b?" Ron asked.

"Avery Cottage," Harry muttered quietly. The other teens all blinked at him owlishly.

"Avery Cottage? What is that?" Anthony asked.

"Isn't Avery a death eater?" Hermione asked simultaneously.

"Yes." Susan supplied, "He definitely is. What are you talking about Harry?"

"Okay, so you know how our grandfather, my mum and aunt's dad was secretly a squib adopted into the muggle world? Well, it turns out the family that adopted him out were the Avery's."

"Which means the death eater and that scrawny book worm from Slytherin are actually our cousins." Dudley supplied "unfortunately."

"What does that have to do with a cottage?" Ron asked.

"Well, the family was supposed to cut off all ties and pretend like grandad never existed yeah. Only our great-grandmother couldn't do that. She kept tabs on him and set aside a bit of money and a house, In case he ever came down on hard times. She hid this from the family of course. But when Harry and I went to Gringotts earlier this summer, before the mess with the ministry and the prophet started, we discovered the cottage. Now it's FAR from secure. Anyone with Avery blood can access it. So if that Avery bloke were to somehow discover it we'd be toast. But as of right now that's just a plan B." the door to the coffee shop rung open again. Two tradesmen walked in, faces smudged with grime. Then looked a bit grumpy as they marched up to the counter and scanned the menu. Something about them set Harry's instincts off and he began bouncing his leg nervously. Suddenly Dudley sat up straighter.

"We need to leave." he declared.

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"Cause I just got queasy," Dudley explained as he rose from his seat. Instantly the blinds to the windows closed and the door locked shut with an ominous clink.

"GET DOWN!" Sirius roared as the tradesmen suddenly turned with wands drawn and began firing curses. Dudley pulled the table down and Harry and Susan cowered under it while Sirius jumped up and began duelling the pair of them. Suddenly a stray spell blasted away the table that Ron, Hermione, and Anthony had hidden behind. Anthony and Hermione dove behind one of the booths. But Ron tripped on some rubble mid scramble.

"RON!" Hermione shrieked in horror as a spell flew straight for him. Then Anthony slid out from the cover.

"PROTEGO!" he screamed. The spell slammed into the shield and pushed the pair back a few centimetres, but the magic held and neither boy was injured. Sirius looked down at them for just a second and was struck by a spell in the shoulder and sent tumbling into the rubble. Harry jumped up to fire a spell and was almost hit himself. Dudley suddenly saw red and peered over his cover, looking for an opening to give those bastards what they deserved, just as Sirius climbed to his feet shouted a spell. A massive explosion suddenly shook the building. The counter behind the pair was a mess of powdered glass and shattered wood. Both men were crumpled to the ground. One of them had a nasty gash on his head. Sirius stood a bit stunned as the teens all rose to their feet. Ron stared at the carnage before turning to Anthony, slightly shocked.

"Thanks, mate." he finally declared. Anthony's eyes widened before he beamed.

"Any time man!" he cried and gave Ron a firm pat on the back. Hermione stared at them with slight disgust.

"Men." she finally muttered. Susan snickered into her hand. Suddenly the door to the kitchen slowly opened up. The lone waitress stepped out, smelling vaguely of cigarettes, and looking very apprehensive. The second she saw the destroyed room she let out a squeak of horror.

"Leave," Susan said firmly. The woman didn't need to be told twice.

"Bloody hell Sirius did you have to destroy the entire bloody cafe?" Harry griped as he kicked at the remnants of the shattered counter.

"I guess I got caught up in the moment," Sirius said sheepishly.

"What do we do with them?" Dudley asked as he knelt in front of the two broken men. "They probably heard our plan… or at least our plan B."

"We… we could always… get rid of them," Ron said quietly. Harry turned to his friend with a horrified frown. "What!? It's no better than what they just tried to do to us!"

"We're not going to kill them." Susan declared. "That would make us no better than them."

"We could obliviate them." Anthony offered, "if done properly it can be nearly irreversible." as he said this he gave Hermione a sad glance. The girl appeared completely un effect by his words as she drew her wand and stared down at each man and slowly erased their memories. Once she was finished she tucked her wand away and gazed at the carnage around them. "We should at least clean up a little-"

"No." Dudley insisted "we've already been here too long. There could be more on their way."

"But!" she turned around in a panic "I mean look at this place! The cost of repairs alone-" Suddenly Sirius dug into his pockets and pulled out a wad of twenty-pound notes and slapped it on the undamaged portion of the counter.

"There!" he cried before he pulled her towards the door.

"That was supposed to be for an emergency fund!" Dudley cried in exasperation.

"Don't worry, there is plenty more where that came from," Sirius assured his nephew. "Now let's get out of here. I for one have no desire to get any more surprises today."

A/N: Welcome to chapter 2!

So Avery is the family that Harry and Dudley are connected to. The specky git in Slytherin is actually their third cousin. so rip I guess.

The first few chapters are a bit shorter. But they kinda have to be. The fic wouldn't have the same tone if they weren't split up the way they are.

Rori Potter & ILoveGeorgeEads: Thanks!

Sen7877: I'm glad I was able to provide an enjoyable read! I think you'll continue to be pleasantly surprised by what is to come.

Definitely some subversion of expectations ahead! XD

See you again soon!

Don't forget to keep on reading!

-TTC