CHAPTER 10- INHERENT RESOLVE
Harry and his friends made their way to Dumbledore's Office to grab books on horcruxes and more.
They walked on silently, ignoring the bullet holes, shell casings and spots of spellfire across the walls. Clean-up duty and internal investigations were well underway. The fact that a dozen men were able to infiltrate what was supposed to be a secure Castle concerned the Minister and the Muggle leaders, forcing them to call for an inquiry on whatever the hell went wrong.
Once they reached the Phoenix staircase the statue just let them up, much to their surprise. Upon entering the office, the group wasted no time gathering whatever material they could find in Dumbledore's Library. They made no attempt to listen to what the portraits were going to say on stealing from the headmaster; but recent events have called for a more subdued and solemn mood on their part.
In the end, the portraits turned a blind eye to what the teens were doing. They were all at the back of the office, packing up various tomes on Runes and advanced spellwork, but have yet to find any book concerning horcruxes.
"Stop for a minute." Hermione told them. They looked at her curiously, wondering what she was planning to do. The bushy-haired witch took out her wand and said, "Accio book on horcruxes!"
Her friends wore blank and somewhat amused looks.
"It can't be that easy, can it?" Ron asked, unsure of what to say.
The answer to his query arrived in the form of clanging and rustling from the farthest end of the Headmaster's personal library.
A large, black tome zoomed past Ron and into the hands of a smug Hermione. At least her friends had the decency to look sheepish.
They all gathered around Hermione as she laid the book on Dumbledore's table. No wonder the school removed this from the Restricted Section all those years ago; it reeked of pure, unbridled malice.
"This must be it." Hermione breathed out, still unnerved by the book before her.
Ron put a hand on her arm, relaxing her. She nodded to herself and gingerly packed the book in her beaded bag.
With the books packed, the group's mood turned pensive. It had only been just yesterday that the Headmaster gathered them all here inside his office. For Harry's friends, it was a great honour to be even considered worthy of Albus Dumbledore's personal time and effort. For Ginny, Neville and Luna, they felt that they were now on equal footing with that of Harry, Ron and Hermione.
The group was so engrossed in their musings that they did not notice the door open until it was shut. Ginny recovered first and gasped slightly at the sight of their Head of House.
"Professor McGonagall. G-good morning, we didn't see you there." Ginny stammered out as her other friends grew suddenly shy. Harry moved to her closer and held her hand.
The Deputy Headmistress' expression softened at the sight of her young cubs and Miss Lovegood. They had been through a terrible ordeal, Harry especially. Hearing him so anguished and her learning of the death of the Headmaster broke her heart immensely; it had been decades since she truly sobbed over personal things.
She cleared her throat as she felt another round of tears well up. She made sure to speak evenly yet softly to the young group before her.
"I did not see you all at the Great Hall this morning. Madam Pomfrey told me that you had gone off somewhere but gave you permission to leave by breakfast time. But, I digress."
The sextet looked at each other, wondering what McGonagall was planning to say to them.
"I have just come from a meeting with the Board of Governors, the Minister and other officials. Needless to say, I tried my hardest to make sure it did not come to pass. But alas, last night's events have forced them to take more drastic measures."
Harry and his friends grew nervous, what did she mean?
McGonagall inhaled deeply and let out a breath, "It was deemed necessary…..to close down the school…indefinitely."
This should not have come as a surprise to Harry and his friends. The battle had only proven that the Castle would remain a target for such massive attacks by Voldemort's forces.
But still, having it come from the Deputy Headmistress shook them to their cores. It destroyed whatever semblance of normalcy they would have had. The implications for the education of future magical children were earth-shattering.
Deep inside the hearts of Harry and his friends was a sense of hatred for Tom Riddle. He was taking this away from all those deserving of an education, a life of magic. A sense of duty and resolve burned inside them.
McGonagall stared at the silent students before her. She was expecting them to say something about this development. Seeing the students dishevelled, carrying a small beaded bag and an almost empty library case was one thing, yet one look from Harry was all she needed to confirm her worst fears: they were off to do something incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. Either way, she knew it had something to do with the late night lessons with Albus.
Oh, how was she supposed to explain this to their parents, especially to the Weasleys?
"Potter. Whatever you are planning to do, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore-"she was harshly interrupted by the boy in question.
"No, Professor. Dumbledore made us swear to keep this mission between the six of us, and we're going to do our hardest to see this through." He told her decisively.
McGonagall paled at this, but schooled her features, reverting to the strict head of house they knew so well, yet her voice trembled as she spoke to them.
"I cannot in good conscience allow underage students to go off on a suicide mission. Merlin, Potter! Did you not consider that Dumbledore may have wanted the Order to help? Maybe you misunderstood his request, he could not possibly-"
"Professor, we did not misunderstand him. He was clear from the onset: no one but the six of us and we have to see it through." Harry finished.
Once more, McGonagall felt like wanting to argue further yet held her tongue. No matter what she would say, there was no changing their minds. Where ever Harry went, they will surely follow him to hell and back.
She could not choose between being proud or horrified of their dedication to their mission, and to Harry.
The Professor nodded, accepting their decision.
"Very well, Potter. Then may I suggest that you all go on to your dormitories. The Train will be leaving in a few hours." She finished primly, turning her heels from them and leaving the Headmaster's Office.
As the door shut, the six friends exhaled. No way was McGonagall going to keep this news from their parents for too long.
"Well, we better get a move on or else the Train will leave us behind." Ginny spoke up.
The friends agreed and left the Office in twos. Neville escorted Luna to Ravenclaw Tower while the rest made their way up to the Gryffindor Common Room.
As the four entered the Common Room, they were met with silence and curious stares from the students inside. Trunks were piled onto each other as more were coming down from the dorms.
The foursome and the newly-arrived Neville purposely ignored their fellow Gryffindors and went up to their dormitories.
By the time Harry, Ron and Neville entered the Sixth Year Boys' dorm, an eruption of chattering rose below them, much to their chagrin.
The three boys saw Dean and Seamus almost done packing their things. Neville noticed Seamus moving gingerly, as if trying to avoid a sore spot.
"You all right, Seam?" Neville asked as he began packing his own things.
Seamus replied in his usual cheeky manner, "Aye, I'm a'right. Damn Muggles and their contraptions had me and Dean jumping out of our seats last night! Landed on me bum, see. Dean swears his ears are still ringing from all those explosions. Pretty wicked if ya asked me."
"You do have the tendency to blow things up, Seam. What happened last night was probably in your alley." Dean said dryly.
As the two friends continued their banter, Harry was packing up his things from his four poster. He was emptying his drawers when he saw the old Potions book he had taken from Slughorn's cupboard during that first Potions lesson. There were a lot of useful notes scribbled along the lines of the book, they could use them while on the Hunt.
He decided to pack it inside his trunk. Before he closed it, he noticed a reflecting mirror beneath all his clothes and spellbooks. He saw that it was sporadically showing the face of some bearded fellow, much to Harry's surprise.
"When did I get a mirror?" He asked himself.
A moment later, recognition dawned on his face and a wave of sadness came upon him.
"Sirius' two-way mirror." He thought morosely.
"Hey, Harry. I'm all packed up, you done now?" Ron called to him.
Harry shook himself and said, "Yeah, almost done. I'll meet you downstairs."
"All right, mate." Ron said as he and the others left.
Harry reflected on the mirror in his hands. It would be one more thing connecting him to his late godfather, yet he could not help but feel that it was another reminder of what could have been, had he used this mirror instead of running off to the Ministry last year.
He stood up and packed it alongside the rest of his things, rubbing at his eyes and refusing to break down all over again. He silently swore to himself that he will do things right this time; especially for his friends.
He came down and saw that the room had cleared out, save for Ron, Ginny, Neville and Hermione. He set his trunk among the piled ones at the side and approached them.
"Well. Let's get down to the carriages, then." He said.
They went out of the common room together and met up with Luna at the Entrance. The Ministry Six left the Castle and were met by Muggles and Aurors standing watch, some of whom bore signs of wounds and battle scars. The students noticed the damaged courtyard, some destroyed vehicles remained and the dark plumes of smoke from the now-charred Forbidden Forest were still going. The sextet worried for Hagrid and his brother Grawp since the Forest had been a place where they frequented many times
The kids arrived at the carriages and sat together. The Thestrals, Luna noticed, were restless.
"So much death last night, the Thestrals have been unable to sleep well." She told them all quietly.
The group grew unnerved by this.
Ginny was looking around and noticed Muggle soldiers staring at the Thestrals. What she heard next shocked her.
"Oi, t-they weren't there last time." A young British private told his partner, who was staring at the Thestral with wide eyes.
"I must be seeing some shit, the fuck did they put in that Frankfurter MRE?" Muttered an American beside them.
A grizzled Auror approached the soldiers and told them sternly, "We've been seeing a lot of death lately. If you understand what death is, then you can see them. Don't worry, they won't bite." The Auror left it at that.
The soldiers sobered upon the realization and they left to check on the next few carriages. Ginny stared at them and noticed that they were almost the same age as Fred and George. It was another aspect of war she had come to understand: for even children are being asked to fight.
Her musings kept her silent throughout the carriage ride. On both sides of the carriage road, there were Muggle 'humvees' escorting the students, with .50 caliber gunners scanning the trees and the Forest for any hostile activity. Seeing these weapons did no favours for the already nervous students who were itching to go home.
While on the carriage, Harry was listening in on the radio from a Humvee parallel to them and adjusted himself so he can hear what it was saying.
"All Lima Victors, this is Lima Actual. Maintain current speed and aggressive posture. Call out any suspicious activity. Can't have any hostiles attacking these kids. Over."
"Lima Actual, this is Lima 1-5, understood. Out."
Harry went back to his original position to try and become as inconspicuous as possible, as he did not want to have his eavesdropping become part of suspicious activity.
After a tense carriage ride, the kids hurriedly left for the Hogwarts Express.
"Can't believe I'm saying this but I'm glad that was over." Ron said.
To his surprise, Hermione agreed.
"Come on, let's find a compartment before it all gets full." Neville suggested to them.
The group stopped for a moment to see several Muggle soldiers entering the Train.
"They're allowed onto the Train?" asked a fifth-year Ravenclaw.
A familiar Auror answered him, "Yes, they're allowed, now go on or you'll have nowhere else to sit. That means you lot too!" she directed this at Harry and his friends, which galvanised the sextet to quickly get on the train.
Tonks looked at the platform and saw it was clear of students and gestured to the all-seeing eyes of the Train driver that it was time to leave. She was the last to enter the Express.
HOGWARTS EXPRESS-INTERIOR
"Bloody hell, it's all full." Grumbled Ron.
The sextet struggled to find an empty compartment until they reached the end of the train cart.
"Over here!" Ginny exclaimed excitedly.
The six entered the compartment, finally able to relax.
It reminded Harry of the first day of the term, only this time, the future seemed bleaker than ever.
"Hey, I wonder what made the Ministry allow Muggles to enter the train." Ginny suddenly asked.
"Added security maybe." Hermione suggested.
"I saw one of them looking at me like I was a threat or something." Muttered Ron.
"They did just go through a huge battle in the Forest." Neville said.
"Huh, good point."
"In any case, it is better to have more friends than none at all." Luna spoke to the room airily.
The friends stopped talking about the Muggle presence in the Train and moved to other matters.
"So, I managed to modify our D.A. coins. Just for the six of us: we can use it to send small messages, three lines at a time." Hermione told the gobsmacked group.
"Blimey, that is wicked!" Ginny beamed.
They continued to talk about many other things until they reached Platform 9 ¾ after the excitement over the coins wore off.
PLATFORM 9 ¾
The sextet was met by the sight of many nervous parents clutching their children. There were no happy reunions, only people rushing to leave the platform. They even heard some students arguing with their parents over not being able to say goodbye to friends and among other things.
"RON! GINNY!"
The Weasley siblings were nearly tackled by a troubled Molly Weasley. Their father, Arthur, appeared worse for wear and extremely haggard, but nonetheless happy to see them both safe.
"Harry. My boy, thank Merlin you're safe." Molly turned to embrace Harry and looked into his eyes. He saw nothing but concern for him.
"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley." Harry told her, and he meant it.
The matriarch patted his cheek awkwardly and turned to embrace Hermione, who was looking for her own parents.
"They were probably caught up in traffic, dear."
Arthur smiled at Hermione, "It was tough getting here. King's Cross is packed to the hilt."
Somehow, this bothered Hermione even further but she shook herself and turned back to Molly, "I-yes, they probably were. Thank you Mrs. Weasley." Hermione gave her a forced smile, which caused Molly to frown and kiss her forehead.
Luna and Neville had already left with their relatives, leaving behind Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys.
"Let's go everyone. Hermione, we can wait for your parents out on the other side." Arthur said to them. He was nervous yet growing increasingly alert as the clocked ticked, Harry observed.
The group spared no time chatting. None of this boded well.
When they exited the platform, Harry asked Mr. Weasley about one thing he had nearly forgotten.
"Mr. Weasley, what about the Dursleys? Are they all right?" Harry knew that the Dursleys would probably not mind him coming back to Privet Drive, but he felt like he needed to ease his conscience.
The Weasley patriarch turned to Harry, grim-faced.
"Harry. We did not wish to tell you this, but….while Hogwarts was attacked, Privet Drive was attacked too."
Harry stopped moving as he processed all of this.
"We found no survivors. Your cousin apparently tried to fight back as evidenced by the bruises on his-." Mr. Weasley cut himself off and closed his eyes.
Harry looked at him imploringly. "Sir…p-please. Tell me what happened."
Arthur looked at Harry and nodded, "They were coming from a family outing, you see. Apparently some muggle foreigners were observing the house. They connected the dots with Mrs. Figg's daily trips with her kneazles to her checking up on the Dursleys every now and then. Dumbledore even assigned Mundungus Fletcher to watch the house, but apparently he did a shoddy job of it if that's what it looked like." Arthur grumbled this last part and cleared his throat. "Anyway, the muggle foreigners approached the house and according to the neighbours, heard loud noises…gunshots…. By the time the muggle please-men arrived, the foreigners were gone from the scene." Arthur finished, already regretting revealing all of this to Harry.
Harry did not know what to say. If anything, he felt a morbid sense of joy that the Dursleys would no longer pester him for the rest of his life. He nearly vomited at the thought.
"Harry…it wasn't your fault son." Arthur tried to comfort him after seeing his distress, though it mostly had nothing to do with his guilt.
Harry knew it wasn't. It was Voldemort's. But he couldn't shake the feeling that if he wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived, the Dursleys would still be alive.
He stared at the father-figure before him and gave him a small smile.
"Thanks for telling me, Mr. Weasley."
Arthur nodded and cleared his throat. He was already delaying their time to leave for the Burrow.
"Come on then, son. Let's go home."
Harry's throat tightened at this.
They caught up with the rest of the group outside King's Cross Station. It was chaos, Harry noted, as people were rushing to leave the parking lot. Cars were honking their horns as vehicles and persons caused unbearable traffic at the entrances and exits.
"Oh Merlin. I don't see my parents…how will they get in?" Hermione whispered.
"Don't worry Hermione. Why don't we bring you with us to the Burrow? We'll just Apparate you from there to your home?" Suggested Molly.
Hermione made to refuse but stopped herself.
"A-all right, Mrs. Weasley. Thank-." She was cut off by sounds of gunfire erupting from the parking lot. A man was firing a heavy machine gun into the crowded lot, rupturing car windows and killing multiple people, many of whom were families.
The man turned his HK-21 onto Harry and the Weasleys.
"Bloody-GET DOWN NOW!" Shouted Harry as he dove for the nearest taxi.
Arthur and Ron pulled down a screaming Molly behind an SUV as the machine gun's munitions went through the car windows. The steady hail of bullets hammered the vehicles and the train station entrance. Hermione and Ginny stayed down in the taxi behind Harry, keeping each other away from the bullets.
Harry turned to the girls, who wore wide-eyed expressions of dread, "STAY DOWN. DON'T GET UP!" He told them in a shaking voice. They nodded frantically as Ginny covered her ears at the sound of screams and the HK-21's automatic firing.
Harry turned to face the train station entrance and saw that civilians were getting killed left and right, children and infants were wailing and getting trampled on by panicking crowds.
"OH MY GOD! ARTHUR!" Molly exclaimed in horror as a child tripped and was stuck in the stampede. She was nearly shot in the head by a stray round as she made to stand from cover.
"MOLLY! STAY DOWN! PLEASE!" Arthur pleaded and held his stricken wife.
Harry and his friends were horrified at the cacophony of gunfire, they were too frozen in fear to move as the terrorists were firing indiscriminately into the crowd.
"ARMED POLICE, GET DOWN! GET DOWN!" A Metropolitan police officer shouted over the crowd, holding his Beretta M9 and firing at the gunmen.
The HK-21 gunner took cover behind the engine block of a sedan. The lull in the firing caused Harry to look up from the taxi he was hiding in. The machine gunner looked like he was reloading.
The bobby turned to Harry and his friends who were hiding behind a fleet of parked taxis.
"OI! GET OUT OF HERE NOW!" He shouted at them as he continued to lay down suppressing fire on the gunmen. He held his radio to call for more backup.
Harry turned to the Weasleys and Hermione after having recovered from the shock, "COME ON, LET'S GO!" They all left the taxis and ran with their heads down.
More help arrived in the form of Anglo-American Muggle soldiers, who obviously came from train platforms.
"We got bad guys, heavily armed in that parking lot!" shouted an American soldier.
"I have a visual on two tangos! They're behind the black Nissan at your 11 o clock!" a soldier called out as he took aim and fired at the shooter behind the Nissan.
"Assist those cozzers! Move!" a soldier moved to support the police men firing from their vehicles.
The British squad leader was looking around and still saw panicking civilians in the area. "GET THE CIVVIES OUTTA HERE!"
"Copy that! YOU LOT! GET BACK IN THE STATION!" A riflemen bellowed at Ron.
Harry and the group approached the soldiers. One of whom held his arm and spoke to him quietly.
"Go behind the ticketing booth. There's no one there to see you guys Apparate and shit. MOVE!"
Harry shook himself in surprise and stammered, "T-thank yo-"
"DON'T THANK ME! MOVE!"
The group managed to reach the ticketing booth. Arthur pulled out an old boot.
"Put your hands on these. Hold on." The Weasley father stammered out.
They placed their hands on the Portkey and felt themselves getting pulled from the navel out of the train station.
The Burrow
Once they arrived at the Burrow, Molly Weasley fainted.
"Oh Merlin. Ron! Help me with your mother!" Arthur gestured for Ron frantically.
Harry also stepped in and the three men carried the woman into the house.
"Ginny, get me the rag and some water." Arthur ordered her.
Ginny nodded mutely and set about with the task.
An hour later
The group was a solemn one. They sat down on the dinner table, staring into the nothingness. Ginny laid her head on Harry's shoulder while he rubbed her arm, trying to comfort her. Hermione and Ron were the same.
The minutes ticked by until they heard the first sounds of sniffling coming from Ginny.
It didn't take long for her to finally cry. Harry hugged her to his chest, letting her sob it out.
The horrors of the attack at the train station shook them all. Hermione sat in her seat mutely, secretly hoping that her parents were not among the victims of this recent attack.
When the sounds of Apparation were heard outside the property, Arthur and the kids rushed outside with their wands drawn and saw all the Weasley boys minus Charlie come through. Fleur even arrived with several other Order Members.
The Weasleys hugged each other tightly, refusing to let go.
Harry and Hermione were approached by Tonks, Remus and Fleur, they too hugged them tightly.
"Where's Molly?" Tonks asked, dreading the answer.
"She's fine, Tonks. Just upstairs resting." Arthur choked out. His sons sighed in relief at the news.
"Let's all bring this inside. I'll make you a cuppa." Arthur offered.
Everyone trudged back to the Burrow, now relieved that they were all safe.
Twenty minutes later
The Order members were busy discussing the perpetrators of the King's Cross attack. This time, Harry and his friends were a part of their impromptu meeting.
"We're confident that it's You-Know-Who causing terror throughout the country as we speak. Now that we know Muggles are involved, we're expecting greater military presence all over London. The Minister has even called in a session for the granting of more Muggle access to magical areas. The enemy has been found moving war materiel throughout the country in secret. Plus, the country has been experiencing increasingly abnormal events, which we believe to be The Dark Lord's lackeys creating havoc." Remus finished his report.
It was grim news indeed. Harry asked Remus another important question.
"Professor, what about Snape?" All the Order members stiffened at the mention of the man's name.
"Unfortunately, there hasn't been any news as to his whereabouts. Mad-Eye put up some enchantments around Grimmauld Place in case he showed up. Which brings me to this next issue. We have planned to move Order Headquarters here in the Burrow. Grimmauld has more or less been compromised, so Arthur and I have decided to strengthen the Burrow's Fidelius. We hope that it would be enough." Remus said.
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny looked at each other as if they were speaking telepathically.
"Is there anything you wish to tell us, Harry? Does this have something to do with Dumbledore's mission for you?" Remus asked him gently.
Arthur and Bill stood up at this, "Harry. What is this about?" urged the patriarch.
"If you're thinking of bringing my sister into this, Potter-."
"Oi! I'm right here, you know!" Ginny shot at Bill.
"Ginny, quiet. I want to know what this mission is and why you lot have to do it alone! Yeah, that's what McGonagall told us when you all left Hogwarts." Bill retorted.
Ginny's jaw tightened at this and made to rebut when Harry spoke up.
"I'm sorry Bill, Mr. Weasley. But I can't. Dumbledore made us swear that I only involve the six of us."
"Six? Who-?"
"Yes. Six. Neville and Luna Lovegood are the other two. But what you all have to know is that it's important we see it through."
"Does this have something to do with prophecy?" Tonks asked.
Harry thought this over. "I just can't say anything about it, Tonks."
The meeting ended soon after that. The kids all went up to their rooms while Arthur looked even more troubled and Bill silently fuming; he was not pleased with having his two youngest siblings getting involved in what seemed to be a suicide mission, and Harry couldn't blame him.
Harry was following Ginny and they reached the first floor landing outside her room when she stopped to face him.
"Harry."
He stared at Ginny. She was fiddling with her hair.
He looked at Ron, who simply shrugged and said, "I'll see you up in bed."
The lanky boy went on to his room, leaving Harry with Ginny.
"Gin. Is something wrong?" He asked, fully aware of the proximity between them.
Ginny looked up, her eyes bright and her cheeks slightly red. "Come in for a second. We need to talk."
Harry was caught off guard and cleared his throat. He rubbed his head nervously and said, "Erm. Okay. What about Hermione?"
"She's up in the bath. She'll be here in a few."
"All right."
She led him into her room. It was his first time seeing it. It was full of Holyhead Harpies memorabilia, the Weird Sisters posters and one of Gwenog Jones near the window overlooking the Burrow's front yard.
She sat down on the bed and patted the space next to her. Harry was blushing furiously but complied anyway.
After a painful silence, she spoke first.
"Harry, what are we?"
He looked up at her so fast he could've sworn he heard something crack. She couldn't possibly be-?
"W-what? You mean…?"
Ginny sighed and stared at him intently.
"Harry. Do you fancy me?"
At this, Harry gulped. But seeing her face, it was one of vulnerability. There was a war going on, and the recent attack further solidified the possibility of losing someone you cared about forever. If they don't take their chances now…
Harry closed his eyes and sighed, and then he decided not to tell her he fancied her.
Instead he leaned in and kissed her square on the lips.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Oh wow. Ten chapters already? Nice hehe. The chapter name was taken from the current operational name of the U.S.-led military intervention against ISIL.
Thanks for reading, reviewing and favoriting this story. Stay safe.