(A/N: Anyone want some action? :)
[Mon, Jul 8]
Severus Snape continued to think about his idea from last evening as he ate dinner. While it was possible that he'd hurt the war effort, for he truly didn't want the Dark Lord to win, he didn't believe anything truly bad would happen and this would probably make himself look better to the Dark Lord - or least make him look a little more reliable.
Finishing his rather good meal at his house, he put his Death Eater mask in an inside pocket and Apparated to a special room in Malfoy Manor, one that only let those with the Dark Mark in or out - except for the Dark Lord who was keyed into them personally since he didn't wear the Dark Mark himself.
Snape walked into the formal dining room where he found the Dark Lord, Bella, and Lucius having dinner. He was reasonably sure this arrangement upset Narcissa, but Narcissa not being allowed to eat in her own dining room was Lucius's problem.
Severus bowed in the doorway and stayed bent at the waist. "My Lord, I come bringing news."
Voldemort put his silverware down and looked at him. "Come in Severus and tell us your news."
"My Lord, I've recently learned that Potter is no longer at his relatives house and is out from under those wards."
Voldemort sat up a little straighter. "Oh? Does Dumbledore know where he is?"
"No, my Lord; he is searching and quite vexed with Potter."
"Very interesting news, Severus. Have a seat and pour yourself some of the wine. It is excellent." The Dark Lord leaned back and looked thoughtful. "Lucius, your arm," he commanded.
Lucius Malfoy had no choice but to comply, almost but not completely hiding his wince when the Dark Lord pressed his wand to the man's Dark Mark.
"Severus,", the Dark Lord asked thoughtfully, "I believe Potter had five friends with him at the Ministry?"
"Yes, my Lord; you are correct."
"Do you know where each of those families live?"
Severus didn't allow a single muscle to twitch or a single hint of his sudden doubt of the wisdom of his plan to show. "Yes, my Lord."
Voldemort reached forward and picked up his glass of wine and still continued to think as he swirled the wine slowly.
A moment later, Peter Pettigrew arrived, bowing at the doorway as well. "You called, my Lord?"
"I did." He picked up a spoon and touched his wand to it so that it glowed blue briefly. "Take this Portkey." He tossed it down the table so it landed near the end and near Peter. "Be sure to turn into your other form as soon as you arrive. Then make your way to #4 Privet Drive. Do your best not to be seen, but see if you can touch the front door or the back door. Severus implies you'll be able to, but we shall test that. Return as soon as possible and I'm sure Lucius would like the spoon back."
"Yes, my Lord." Peter picked up the spoon and left, but not before Snape saw a mischievous grin on the balding man making Snape wonder if the spoon would come back or not.
"Lucius, I need quill, ink, and parchment." Riddle returned to his dinner while Lucius called a house-elf for the writing materials.
As Riddle finished his dinner, the elf returned and set the materials down before taking away Riddle's plate. The Dark Lord never acknowledged the little creature in any way. He started scratching some notes, pausing occasionally to look up at each there.
Riddle finished his task in about ten minutes while Snape slowly sipped his wine. Pettigrew took another five minutes before he returned and Snape noticed no spoon was set on the table.
"My Lord, I was able to do as you asked. To be sure, I checked both the front and back door and I was able to touch each," Peter said proudly.
"Excellent work, Peter. Take a seat and help yourself to a glass of wine." Riddle looked over. "Your arm again, Lucius." Slowly Lucius bared his left arm and held it out, wincing a little more this time.
It was definite, Snape thought. Lucius was in a difficult position. Probably the only thing that had kept him from being killed after the fiasco at the Ministry a few weeks ago was his buying a pardon for all the captured Death Eaters so they were free again.
"I shall await everyone in the Ballroom," Voldemort said as he rose. "Lucius, please see that all the arrivals come to me."
Everyone arose and those with a little wine left downed it hurriedly and then followed the Dark Lord, except for Lucius who went to the transport room. Voldemort stopped on the way and whispered to Bella who nodded at the instructions and left in another direction.
A few minutes later, Death Eaters started to arrive. Bella returned with Draco in tow. Snape hid his concern, starting to doubt his plan even more. He had only wanted the Dark Lord to order everyone to look for Potter and cause some concern. Now however, it appeared he was putting Draco in danger and he had no way to prevent it. It was obvious to him that Draco was going to be used to punish Lucius in yet another way.
As the 29th Death Eater arrived, Voldemort told the last one to go tell Lucius to join them.
Lucius entered the room and froze, seeing his son in this group for the first time that evening.
Voldemort seemed to smile, or probably what he thought one was. "Draco Malfoy. I've heard that you wish to serve me, to promote the Pureblood way. Is that true?"
"Yes, my Lord," Draco said eagerly.
"Very good. Come forward so that you can receive the Dark Mark and officially become one of us," the Dark Lord commanded.
Snape watch their master stare at Lucius, silently commanding him to keep quiet, which was done but just barely. Draco, though, eagerly walked forward and knelt on one knee.
"Your left arm," was commanded and Draco obeyed, holding out his bare left arm. Voldemort did a spell, ending with his wand touching the boy's arm, causing the boy to hiss in pain. At least he hadn't screamed.
"Very good, Draco," the Dark Lord said silkily. "Go stand next to your father for you shall accompany him on your first mission. "Yaxley!"
"Yes, my Lord."
"You are to sneak into the Ministry tonight. At eleven, you will modify the Floo Network so that it will not transport anyone, but it will allow calls. Can you do that?" Voldemort looked at the man.
"Yes, my Lord, it will be done."
"Be sure you can escape also. I want Aurors responding to calls of destress, but I don't want people escaping. Peter!" Voldemort looked to the next.
"Yes, my Lord."
"After I give all of my assignments, pick two others to go with you. I will give you another Portkey and you are to return to the Dursleys. Do not burn the house down, but you can do anything in the house that you like as long as all of Potter's family are dead when you leave. I do suggest you don't stay for more than about fifteen minutes," the Dark Lord said.
"Thank you, my Lord."
"Bella, I shall let you complete some unfinished business. Take Robbins," Voldemort nodded in the direction of their Curse Breaker, "and three others and visit the Longbottoms. I would prefer they die, but whatever you do, do not take long."
"Thank you for the gift, my Lord. It shall be as you ask," Bella gushed with pleasure.
"McNair, I've heard you like them young, take three others and visit the home of Xeno Lovegood and his daughter. Snape will make a Portkey for you. Kill the man and bring the daughter back here. She's to remain alive but she can stay in your company until I have use for her."
"Yes, my Lord. It shall be as you say," Walden McNair said with anticipation.
"Rookwood," the Dark Lord looked at him. "You are skilled with wards too, but will need more help. Take Avery and four others to the Weasleys. Kill all but the girl and bring her here. It is more likely reinforcements will go there first, so do not dawdle."
"Yes, my Lord, it shall be so," Rookwood said while Avery said, "Yes, my Lord."
"Finally," Voldemort looked at the Malfoys. "Lucius, you, your son, and I think Goyle will visit the Mudblood that's Potter's friend. Again, kill the Muggle parents but bring the girl back alive. You can use the parents to teach young Draco the Killing Curse. Snape will supply the Portkey."
"In all cases, the girls will be brought back so that they can bare us more Death Eaters, so do not hurt them so that is impossible. A few bruises don't matter though if they need a lesson to learn to obey. Other than Yaxley, those with assignments are to leave at eleven. The remaining ones will come with me, that includes you Severus."
"Yes, my Lord," Snape intoned, silently damning himself for this plan now. He didn't care about the adults of these families getting hurt or killed, but he regretted the students that were about to be lost - even Granger for she had some real potential for Potions if she ever set her mind to it. Most of all, he hoped Draco returned unharmed.
"All will stay here until it's time to go. Lucius will provide food as needed. Lucius, have your house-elf bring some real rope. Severus, come and make Portkeys with me," the Dark Lord commanded and all complied, most eagerly anticipating the evening's raids.
— — —
Snape watched Yaxley leave at fifteen before eleven and he resigned himself to this mad plan, as he'd been unable to get any message spell off to Dumbledore. He also vowed to himself to never suggest anything like this again. His only good thought was that Potter wasn't with any of these families, so if Dumbledore was correct and Potter was the key to winning the war, he'd survive the night. Perhaps the death of all of his friends would also motivate the boy to take the war more seriously and to train ... or Severus hoped that's how it would go.
At eleven, the other teams left. Ten minutes later, the Dark Lord was sure the Aurors were busy responding to multiple attacks, so he had Snape and the remaining eight Death Eaters grab the rope Portkey before Voldemort touched his wand to it … sending the last team on yet one more raid.
— — —
Harry was woken by a soft pinging; he also noticed that the lights in his room had also turned on by themselves but they were red instead of white. He put his shoes on quickly before he grabbed his work cloak and wand.
Just before he reached his door, Neville opened his bedroom door, slamming it to the wall. "Harry, we're under attack! Good, you're up, let's go!"
Harry followed his friend out of the room to the end of the hallway where Lady Longbottom was looking at what was normally a picture but now showed a map of the land with an outline for the house. There was a blinking blue dot on it. Unlike his Marauder's Map, there were no indications of people.
Seeing the boys approach, she pointed at a window. "Don't be seen, but look out to the right of the gates. Do you see anyone?"
Neville pulled the curtain aside just enough for his head. "Yes, I see at least one lighting spell and some other spells from another person."
"Keep watching. Let's see if Algie really knew what he was doing." Augusta touched her wand to a spot on the map/picture.
Neville yelped and stepped back. "That was bright! All I can see are spots!"
Harry moved forward and looked out the window. "I don't see anyone doing spells. There's not enough of a moon out to see much, but I think they're all on the ground." He noticed the blinking blue dot was now gone from the map.
"The attack has stopped, let's go look." Augusta turned and started walking quickly. "Harry, you will come with me and be the guard; your cloak will help you. Neville, you will stay in the front doorway to observe."
Harry was surprised she knew the cloak had some protection built in; then again, the Head Unspeakable was her brother.
"Gran-" he started to object before he was cut off.
"Neville!" she shouted to override him. "You will stay safe; I will not fail your parents as I did once before. If anything happens to myself, you are the last Longbottom and you will head to the safe room and you will activate the emergency ward. Do you understand?"
"Gran!" he started to complain again.
"Neville! No arguing! Stolli!"
"Yes, Mistress," the elf said as it he popped in.
"If anything bad happens to me on the grounds, you will take Neville to the safe room and make sure he stays even if he orders you to let him go. My order takes priority," Augusta ordered as they reached the front door.
"Yes, Mistress," the elf answered.
Neville looked angry but held his tongue this time.
"Neville, I know you don't like this, but this is for the good of the family. Mr Potter, if I go down, save yourself and come back in here and go the safe room with Neville."
"Yes, ma'am," Harry answered, knowing that was the only answer he could give, though he'd do his best to bring her with him. Neville gave him a look that said he better bring her back and he nodded to his friend.
"Let's go," she led the way.
The two walked out the front door; Harry moved to the left so they weren't standing next to each other.
"No lights," she whispered.
Halfway there, Harry's eyes were adjusting to the lower light. It looked like there were five people on the ground. The area to the right of the gates did look significantly darker and he thought there was a slight burnt smell in the air. Gripping his wand tighter and holding it in front of him a little higher, he walked on with Neville's grandmother.
When they were about ten meters from the group on the other side of the fence, one of the bodies started to move, to crawl towards another. Harry's dull red Stunning spell leapt towards the one moving, but a brighter red spell was cast at the same time by the older woman who was closer to the gates.
Harry heard a yell and then a crack just before his spell arrived. Looking closer he saw a separated arm lying next to another body; the one who left had been trying to take someone with him.
Augusta did a spell on each body with the one next to the severed arm being the only one that glowed. She did another severing spell and the head rolled a little so they now had four dead bodies. She also summoned the arm, letting it drop beside her. "Let's see him try to get his arm back now," she said smugly. "Slowly back, Mr Potter. There's nothing more to see or do here until we get some help."
"I could send a message to Algie," Harry suggested, glad the man had taught him the spell recently.
"Splendid idea, do that please," she asked as they continued to walk back to the house while still watching where they'd been attacked in case someone else suddenly appeared.
Harry sent the message. He'd continue to send it every five minutes until the man arrived, in case he was already asleep.
— — —
Peter led his group, quietly walking to #4 and then around to the back garden to be less noticeable. A quick spell unlocked the back door. He grinned as he looked down and saw the silver spoon with the Malfoy crest on it. He thought the police would have fun with that clue.
Remaining quiet, the group entered the house. It would be a very long fifteen minutes for the three occupants of #4 before they died and they never knew why this was happening.
— — —
Walden McNair looked at the house across the open field as he and his team stood at the edge of the woods. One of his men had a NEWT in Runes and knew about wards, so he was examining what was in front of them. "Well?" he asked quietly.
"Just basic wards," the young Death Eater answered. "As long as we don't use magic, we should be fine."
McNair smiled as he gripped his signature axe a little tighter. "Let's go then."
The group hadn't taken more than four steps when a couple of fairies flew up and looked at them. McNair swatted at one, hitting it with the flat of his blade and knocking it away, where it landed and didn't move. He looked at the other but it had already zoomed away. He grinned as a conqueror as he moved forward.
They had moved only another ten steps when he felt a stinging in the back of each thigh and he went down in surprise. The area lighted considerably by an entire flock of little fairies, he saw. He started to get up when he saw two little creatures the size of small shaggy dogs with a sharp jagged horn out of its head somewhat like a unicorn - the horn also had a little bit of blood on it.
As he reached for his wand, the little shaggy creatures charged him with their horns forward. McNair was too busy trying to save himself to pay attention to the screams of his men.
A few minutes later, the field was quiet and the self-appointed guardians retreated into the woods again, with the fairies erasing the small hoof marks on the ground before they left. The occupants of the house continued to sleep blissfully and ignorant of what might have been.
— — —
Rookwood surveyed the house in front of him, knowing that he'd be going up against wards erected by Albus Dumbledore to protect the Potter boy when he was here. He relished the idea and felt he was up to the task as a former Unspeakable. He was good with Runes even if Wards weren't his specialty.
He had forgotten about the oldest son of this family.
Detecting the edge of the wards was child's play. He had the two most junior members stand with their back to the house and hold their lit wand in front of them. That would give him a little light and block it from view of those in the house. Very clever he thought … then he got to work.
Avery and the other two stood back a little ways and watched quietly.
After a few minutes, Rookwood stood. "We need to move over a little. I think I found one of the anchor stones and that will make it easier."
Finding a spot he liked better, Rookwood had the two hold lights again and he returned to work and tried to work as quickly as he could.
Avery was bored and amused himself with fantasies of what he could do with the girl here, how maybe he could father a child with her and then watch her face as he took the child way.
Rookwood called the other two over to hold their lit wands so he could see better.
Avery returned to his fantasies and never noticed the sudden pulse of a "rock" on each side of the group. He was the only one in position to have seen that. Rookwood would have known what it meant, but his view was blocked. With Rookwood's next spell, the two "rocks" and the "anchor" all light brightly. Avery did see what looked like lightening coming up from the ground. It was the last thing he saw before he fell on his back.
— — —
Ron woke to shouting from his father. "Ron! Ginny! Get your wands and get down here instantly!" He wasn't sure how, but he was wide awake; then again, he wasn't sure he had ever fully fallen asleep as he had been reading a Quidditch magazine not long ago. He grabbed his wand and hurried out of his room in his bare feet to see his mother waving him down as she sent his sister down to the ground floor.
"Hurry, Ron, we're under attack!"
Her yelling didn't motivate him nearly as much as her words did. He took the stairs three at a time with his long legs and caught up with Ginny.
"Try the Floo to your aunt's house," their father told them as he looked out the window.
Ginny did that. "It's not working right. It fizzles and only shows a very small green flame," she announced.
"It's compromised, don't do anything with it," her father told them as their mother hurried in. "I've already sent a message off to Bill and Moody. Bill told me when he set these up that the wards should hold up long enough for help to come as long as there aren't too many attackers. However, I don't see anyone out there. Molly, look out front."
"How do you know we're under attack?" Ron had to ask.
"The alarm Bill set up was unmistakable," his father answered as he went to another window and looked out.
"I don't see anyone out here," Molly called from the other room.
Ron and Ginny gravitated to a window of their own to watch as they all waited nervously, each with their wand held tightly and eagerly awaiting help.
— — —
Dan Granger was a little annoyed with himself for drinking that last drink tonight. He didn't have any dental procedures scheduled for the next morning, but here he was having to relieve himself when he hadn't gone to bed all that long ago. Still, the cool breeze coming in the bathroom window did feel good.
He was about to flush when he thought he heard voices, which would be unusual as they lived in a quiet neighborhood. Ignoring the toilet, he put his head in the lower half of the half-opened window and listened.
"Quiet," was whispered harshly, then Dan had to struggle to heard the next parts.
"We search the downstairs first then go upstairs. Remember, the girl is sixteen, so she'll look like an adult so you can't kill anyone without making sure who you're casting at."
"Father, can I take the Mudblood? I'll show her her place and I promise I won't hurt her too much."
"We'll see; first we have to get her back to the Manor. Goyle, you unlock the door and go first. Remember, they're Muggles so this should be easy."
Dan shook his head and left the toilet unflushed as he hurried back into the bedroom before the clowns downstairs could enter the house and hear him. "Emma!" he hissed and shook her shoulder.
Her eyes blinked open with a panicked look.
"Shush," he whispered to her. "There are people about to break in with the intention of killing us and kidnapping Hermione; they're from her world, I think."
"Have you called the police?" she whispered back.
"Don't think I want them here right now. I think I'll show these wizards what I learned in the army." He turned and went to the closet. As he turned on the light in there, Emma was closing the door.
While he worked the safe, he whispered, "Emma, this won't be bits of clay we're shooting at."
"I won't let them do anything to our daughter, nor will I have anyone thinking they can kill us just because." She took her 20 gauge from her husband and grabbed a handful of shells for her pocket and a second handful to load. When she looked up he was already loading his 12 gauge.
"You stay here in the bedroom. If anyone comes in the doorway, let him have it. I'll go to the guest bathroom and wait. I'll let the first one go by and take the second. If you hear me fire, step out and shoot anyone you see. I won't leave the bathroom."
Emma kissed her husband quickly. "Be careful, dear."
"You too and be quiet, they're probably in the house by now." He turned the light off and she opened the closet door.
Dan checked the hallway carefully before heading out of the bedroom. He could hear murmured voices as he crept slowly down the hallway. Near the bathroom he came to the first issue. He lost the wall on his left as that was only a railing above the living room. Still, he couldn't see anyone down there, so he crept a little fast and took longer strides.
He made it to the guest bathroom safely and stepped in. Looking around, he decided to stand in the bathtub. Luckily, the shower curtain was pushed to the back. Slowly, he stepped into the tub with it only making one small creaking sound. He was behind a short wall and by leaning he could see the doorway.
His hands were shaking slightly but he took some slow deep breaths and forced himself to wait. He had surprise on his side along with five shells in his shotgun and five more in his pocket. He doubted he'd need more than the first five with Emma helping him. The shotgun also meant he didn't have to be quite as accurate as a pistol would have required.
A long moment later he heard the creak that was made by the third stair. Now he was glad he'd never fixed that tread.
Leaning left just enough for his left eye to see the doorway, a moment later he watched a tall adult walk by and stop to look into the bathroom, his silhouette barely seen from a nightlight downstairs. Dan froze completely, knowing the eye was attracted to movement and he was in the deep shadows with the window shade down and almost no moon tonight.
The figure moved forward. When the doorway was clear again, Dan lifted his left foot over the low edge of the tub and placed it on the mat. He also shifted the shotgun to his left shoulder. This was not his preference, but precision wasn't required here. His "target" was barely two meters away and he wanted the wall as a potential shield. Now he had to hope the second person would pass by here before the first went to the bedroom.
A large adult was finally visible in the doorway in front of him. "Drop the wand!" Dan shouted. Instead, the silhouette of a man turned to him and raised his arm. Dan fired his shotgun and automatically pumped the next round into the chamber as the man went flying backward, flipping over the banister rail, and crashing on something below in the living room.
Another figure, only a little smaller than the first jumped into the doorway and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"
Dan pulled the shotgun up as he lounged to the right, his shoulder hitting the tiled side wall, only his left foot outside the tub and not behind the short wall. Fortunately, the green spell was at body height and hit the window, blowing it and all of its frame out into the back garden.
Shifting his weight to move left again, Dan landed on his left foot with the shotgun pointing forward again. He could clearly see the figure in the doorway. He fired the shotgun and again watched a figure be flung backward and go crashing down into the living room. His shotgun was pumped for the next round as the crash came.
"Freeze and drop the wand!" he heard shouted before another gunshot was fired and a large thump sounded.
A door being opened caused him to race forward to the doorway but not into the hallway. He couldn't see anyone but he heard his daughter's panicked voice. "What's going on?!"
"Stay in your room and stay quiet, we're being attacked," Emma's firm doctor's voice ordered.
"But-"
"Hermione, for once shut up and obey! Dan?!"
"I got two of them and it looks clear," he answered.
"It's clear looking down the hallway."
"I'm coming out." He stuck just his head out; looking left he saw his wife with the shotgun pointed down at the man on the floor with his daughter in her doorway behind his wife, wand in Hermione's hand. He kicked the wand that was near the man's hand at his feet away before reaching for the neck. He shook his head.
"Go ahead and call the police. I think there were only three but I'll check," he said as he stood.
"Hermione," Emma was still using her take charge tone, "use the phone in our room and call the police. Tell them someone broke into the house but it should be safe now along with our address. Don't say anything else, don't mention our shotguns."
"Yes, Mum," the girl said contritely and sounding a little scared though she didn't move yet.
"Go on, Dan, I'll cover you from up here until we're sure they're all out of the fight," she told her husband.
Dan was actually thankful for her idea and nodded before he started to carefully walk to the railing and look down. He could barely make out two bodies with the nightlight and they didn't seem to be moving. He walked over and turned on the switch for the lights on the stairway. It blinded him for a moment as it would have anyone else down below also, but he could now see for certain the two bodies weren't moving, just as he could see their coffee table would have to be replaced.
A minute later after checking for pulses he looked up at Emma and said, "They won't be a problem either. I'll look around."
Other than the back door standing open without it being broken, everything looked normal, so he returned upstairs. He flicked the safety on and laid the shotgun on the bed, followed by the unused shells in his pocket. Emma did the same and then threw herself at him and they hugged tightly, each drawing strength from the other.
"Err, the police said they'd be here shortly," Hermione volunteered quietly.
Dan opened an arm and Hermione hurried over to have an arm from her mother pull her in as well. "We'll be fine," he told them with more confidence than he felt. "After we deal with the police, we'll gather a few things and head to a hotel for a few days, all right?" He didn't wait for an answer.
"Hermione, I heard them in the backyard say they were going to come in and kidnap you and kill us. That's why we reacted as we did. I know you've only seen the one up here, but do you recognize him?" Dan asked and she nodded against his body. "So he's from your world?"
"Yes," she almost squeaked.
"All right, we leave the part out that we have an idea who these people are and why they could be here, but everything else is the truth and we'll share that as anyone else would. There will be questions none of us can answer and we leave it at that and let the police deal with the unanswered questions. All right?" He received two yeses.
"Also, go hide your wand and anything else magical you have," Dan told his daughter.
— — —
With his mask on, Snape landed in front of a good-sized Manor house, though he didn't recognize whose for the moment.
"Spread out around the house to make sure no one escapes. Kill anyone who comes out," the Dark Lord ordered.
Snape moved over but was still in sight of the Dark Lord, so he had a good position to watch as the wards were taken down. The alarm was heard but only seconds before the wards failed; Snape was impressed.
"Advance slowly," the amplified voice of the Dark Lord called out.
When they were halfway to the house, Voldemort fired three spells. The first broke a window, the second started a fire, the third sealed the window back. "Seal all the windows but not the doors," he called out.
Snape had no choice but to comply and join the others. As he did, he realized he was now close enough to the front door to see who owned this manor. This was the home of Amelia Bones, Director of the DMLE and, more importantly, the best replacement for Fudge.
Suddenly, there was flashes of spell fire coming from the side. Snape followed the Dark Lord over. There he saw what looked like a body on the ground and Amelia Bones casting for all she was worth and also using the Killing Curse, causing a Death Eater to go down.
With her attention focused on her right, she never saw the Dark Lord who was mostly behind her now cast a Killing Curse and knock her off the porch.
As the Dark Lord started to walk over, multiple cracks were heard from the front of the house as three squads of Aurors showed up just a little too late to save one of their own. It was also many more Aurors than expected. "Leave!" Voldemort's voice shouted as a few spells were exchanged and then all of the living Death Eaters left.
The little transport room was crowded, but they left it quickly. Back in the Ballroom, Snape found two wounded from the fight and attended to them. He also saw all of Pettigrew's team there and there looked to be a burnt body that was missing an arm. He kept an ear open as he worked.
"What happened?" Voldemort asked as he stood next to the body.
"I don't know, my Lord," Pettigrew answered. "We found him in the transport room when we returned. Our mission went perfectly."
The Dark Lord studied the body, obviously a corpse. "That's Robbins, is Bella or anyone else from her team here?"
"Not that I've seen, my Lord," Peter answered.
"What of the other teams?"
"Yours is the only other, my Lord, but it is only twenty after." Peter noticed a new arrival. "Yaxley has just returned."
"Yaxley?" the leader called the man over.
"It went as you ordered," Yaxley replied. "I had a little trouble leaving as the Aurors were very stirred up not long before I left."
The Dark Lord nodded as he assimilated that. "Then we wait."
When no one else returned in another hour, not even Lucius, their master sent them all away so he could think. Snape was appreciative he wasn't being blamed for this.
— — —
It was half-eleven when Algernon Croaker showed up with Betty and Dupree at his side. He sent a message to Harry to come out. Harry went out with the other two following.
"I told you it'd work," Harry heard Dupree say to their superior as they approached.
"One got away," Betty pointed to the arm, "but if we are lucky, blood loss will have rectified that error."
Croaker rolled the headless body over and grunted. "Female, I wonder if we could be so lucky." He rolled the head over and smiled savagely. "Oh, excellent bit of work. The Mad-Bitch has been put down."
"Algernon, such uncouth language!" Augusta admonished him before she asked, "Really?"
"Looks like Bellatrix to me," he said with the aid of two other wands for light. "I'll bring the Aurors. Harry, inside and don't come out for anything before work tomorrow. As far as everyone is concerned, Harry was never here."
"Yes, a very good bit of work," Croaker said with a smile before he left with a crack, followed by the other two Unspeakables.
— — —
"They're here," Arthur called out, bringing relief to the entire family, before he walked out of the house to find Bill, Fleur, Moody, and Lupin.
"Did you see any others?" Moody called out. "These are all dead."
"No, we really didn't see anyone at all," Arthur answered. "Those must have already been on the ground."
"Lupin, let's go check out the rest of the perimeter," Moody ordered and the pair left for their walk at a quick pace.
"They fell for it," Bill said as he looked around. "Something I learned while in Egypt. Took two of our team; glad I had that day off."
Arthur cleared his throat and noticed his wife looked ill at hearing that. His younger children didn't look too much better. "Yes, well, what happened?"
"There's a trap here that looks like a ward anchor stone. When he tried to disarm it, he really set it off. It creates the equivalent of a lightning bolt, and a rather large one. It's an area affect so if they were all standing close enough…" Bill waved his hand around that wasn't holding his lit wand.
"Fried Death Eater," Ron supplied helpfully.
"Ron!" his mother chastised him, but the boy shrugged and no one else seemed overly bothered about the trap that kept them safe, not even his sister.
"Too bad you couldn't get Shacklebolt to come; I guess I'll have to call the Aurors," Arthur said.
"Couldn't, he'd been recalled, Tonks too," Moody said as the pair came from the other side, having completed their circular walk. "I don't think this was the only attack, but we can wait until you can get them here."
They had to wait until midnight when the third shift arrived, not that the second shift had been let go at the normal time due to all the activity.
[Tue, Jul 9]
Narcissa Malfoy had not slept well the previous night and now was up early. Neither her husband nor her son were in their beds and she didn't know why. She also didn't like the "monster" staying in her house nor how he treated them. She felt like a prisoner in her own home. Her beliefs were ignored in her concern for her family.
An owl arrived at her window. She opened the window and took the letter; the owl left immediately. She froze for a moment seeing the seal of Gringotts on the letter.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed her fears aside for a moment and opened it, reading quickly. It was as she feared - she was the last Malfoy. Many emotions threatened to burst out of her, but she managed to hold them back for the moment.
"Tippy," she called in a hoarse voice.
Their last house-elf arrive. "Mistress called."
She wondered why she hadn't thought to ask this last night. "Can you feel Lucius or Draco?"
The elf looked scared but finally said, "No mistress."
It was confirmed. "Do you remember my dowry house?"
"Yes, mistress."
"You are not to be seen by anyone else still in this house, but start gathering all of my things and take them to that house. Then you will continue to not be seen and gather anything of value here and take those things to that house. You will not go into or take anything from Lucius's hidden room. When you are done with all of that, bring all the food left in the kitchen and anything you need from it, as well as whatever you need to live. I do not believe we will not be returning here anytime soon, maybe never again."
"Yes, mistress." The elf popped away.
Narcissa walked down the stairs and into the study; thankful "the monster" was sleeping or out. She opened the secret safe and pulled out some documents and several Gringotts keys before she re-secured and hid the safe. She wrote a note saying "Since you took my husband and child, the house is yours too." Walking out the front door, she dropped the note on the table in the foyer, not caring when or even if it was found.
Once outside, she Apparated to the home that had been given for her dowry, which they had used for a summer home when they had been newly married. They hadn't visited here for over ten years. Looking around, she could see that Tippy had already made at least one trip and then another stack of boxes appeared.
Narcissa wondered if this was far enough away or if she needed to move to the continent. That was really a question for later though. Now, she dropped into a chair and held her face in her hands and let the emotions she'd bottled up come out as yet another stack of boxes appeared.
— — —
"That's unusual to see here," Xeno said as he looked out their kitchen window before he walked to the back door and out of the house; Luna followed.
At the edge of their property they found carrion birds feasting on four bodies. "I'm not sure we should disrupt their meal, but should we call the Aurors, Father?"
"In a moment, my dear. Look at that one there on the right. See those puncture wounds? That's what I'd expect a Crumpled Horned Snorkack to make," he told his daughter.
"Perhaps, but we both know this isn't a cold enough environment for them to live in. Also," Luna pointed, "look at the ground. It's soft but there are no hoof marks."
"Oh, you're so very right; how disappointing," he replied. "Still, I know we'll find one someday."
They stood there and watched the birds eat for a few moments. "Father, shouldn't we call the Aurors?" Luna asked again.
"I suppose we must. The birds won't eat the bones," he answered as they both returned to the house. Xeno found the Floo to work as usual and called the Aurors to come remove the bodies.
— — —
Since not all departments were manned during the night, Matilda Hopkirk entered her office to find a notice on the sensor for magic. She picked it up and started to record the incident so she could add it to the person's file before a warning was sent out when she noticed what had been recorded: a Killing Curse. She stared at that for a moment while her mind whirled with questions on what to do - this wasn't a simple school charm.
Deciding this was more than she was prepared to handle, she walked it down to the DMLE. There, she found a very riled up department and a Head Auror who looked like he'd been up all night. Nevertheless, she handed the notice to Rufus Scrimgeour with a brief explanation before she returned to her office, glad she had been able to hand this one off.
Scrimgeour was about to hand this off to two junior Aurors until the name Hermione Granger finally settled into a place he had context for: the incident in the Department of Mysteries with Harry Potter maybe two weeks ago. That had been a strange report to read and now here was her name again.
Looking around, he called, "Shacklebolt!" When the Senior Auror came over, Scrimgeour handed the notice to him. "Take someone and go check this out. I can't think of any reason for an underage Muggleborn to cast a Killing Curse in the middle of the night. All of the other activity makes me wonder what's going on and if this is connected."
Shacklebolt easily recognized the name from being around her last summer. Why her name was on a notice and warning for underage magic, and with that spell, was disturbing. "Yes sir."
He looked around and saw Tonks off to the side talking with someone. Might as well keep this a little more private, Shacklebolt thought and went over to the Metamorphmagus. "I need you to come with me on an investigation." Since she looked like she was about to protest, he handed the notice to her.
As soon as she read it she told the Auror she was talking to "Gotta run" and followed her partner for this task. "What do you know about this?" she asked as they walked.
"Only what you just read," he held his hand out and received the notice back. "I'm almost afraid of what we'll find, but I can't figure out why an underage wizard would cast that spell in a Muggle neighborhood."
"Yeah, that is very difficult to explain," Tonks agreed.
When they were at the Apparation area, they both left and arrived in the Granger's back garden.
"Bloody hell!" Tonks swore softly as the two looked at the large hole in the back of the house on the upper story.
"This complicates things," Shacklebolt said, pointing at the blue and white tape across the back door that said, "Police Do Not Cross". "Go look around the side and see if anyone is out front then come back. I'm going to look in the windows."
Tonks returned a minute later. "Don't see any police cars out front. What did you find?"
"Looks like no one's home, so let's look inside," he said and walked to the back door. It was locked, but a simple unlocking charm changed that. They entered and then locked the door again.
Inside, the two looked around. "Look at the damage," Tonks said when they arrived in the living room. "The table is smashed and that chair doesn't look so good. Oh, there's blood on the carpet too."
"Yes, I noticed the blood right away," Shacklebolt said slowly as he looked around. "Notice that the damage is just past the edge of the opening above. Let's go up."
At the top of the stairs, Tonks pointed down there hallway. "More blood on the carpet."
Shacklebolt looked in the first doorway and saw the opening to the back. On a hunch, he walked over and did a spell on the wall; it glowed slightly on the edges. "Magical residue from a strong spell. Odds are the Killing Curse did that, but who cast it?"
The next room was the master bedroom, then an unused bedroom, and finally a bedroom that was obviously Hermione's. "Not a thing that looks magical." Tonks said.
"No," Shacklebolt agreed. "Do you see her trunk?"
Tonks looked in the closet. "No. Are you thinking they left after this happened?"
"The timestamp on the notice is about the same time as the other attacks, so this is one more we weren't aware of before." He looked at her. "Yes, I think they left after the attack; wouldn't you?"
"Yeah, I'd go somewhere else for at least a little while; maybe I'd just move," Tonks said after a moment's thought. "Now what?"
"Well, I have a few questions that I don't know how to answer and I'd really like the answers to them."
"Besides what happened?" Tonks quipped with a smirk.
"Generally," Shacklebolt replied with his own smile, "but the first is, are they all right? Followed by who was hurt, and then where are the injured? I really doubt Hermione cast the Killing Curse, but then which underage wizard did?"
"Maybe send an owl to her and ask?" Tonks suggested hopefully.
"Can't hurt to try," Shacklebolt agreed. "Back to the office; we have a report to write and this investigation isn't over."
— — —
Harry entered the office an half-hour later than usual due to the late night. As he entered the office area, he was surprised to see "Heather" (who sat on the other side of Kathleen from him) holding her hands up and doing a victory dance as she held a slip of parchment in one of the raised hands.
As he passed Kathleen, he asked, "What's up?"
"Heather made another true prophecy, not that it matters much," the woman said with a small smile, obviously not meaning it as an insult.
"Hey!" Heather objected but not strenuously. "I'll have you know that while I may not make big predictions like The Great Cassandra, I have one of the highest prophecy counts and most of them have been verified as fulfilled.
"Here's my latest from two nights ago." Heather read from the parchment. "The bones will be found in the dark. It's not much, but what happened last night?"
"Someone walked into a dark cave and found some bones?" Inigo asked mockingly and received a glare from the woman.
"No, the Aurors are saying the Amelia Bones was attacked last night and she survived by hiding under her porch in the dark. See, it's true!" Heather proclaimed.
Harry wasn't sure whether to be amused or not. "Do you have any others?"
Kathleen groaned, "Don't encourage her."
"I have lots!" Heather said proudly.
"And the ones that aren't true?" Freddie asked a little unkindly.
"A few haven't been verified," Heather deflated and turned to the little cork board behind her and pulled a stack of slips that had been pinned to the board and she pulled off the top one. "Here's one from 1981: The fly will escape the toad."
Harry snorted. "You should see what Dolores Umbridge was doing in 1981 then." Everyone stared at him. "What? Haven't you all noticed how much she looks like a toad?" That drew a laugh from everyone, including Heather who was scribbling down the idea.
"What about this one?" Heather looked at him. "The turban will hide in the ashes."
Harry blinked and walked over and held out his hand. Heather gave him the whole stack of prophecies to look at. Harry noticed the one she read said May 1981.
"Fulfilled," he said and handed it back and looked at the next one.
"What? How? When?" she exclaimed.
"The king bird and king snake will fight then live together," Harry read quietly and all there either stopped their talking or only whispered to a neighbor as they looked at him. "Fulfilled."
"What? Mike, you have to tell me," Heather demanded.
He read, "The raven will roar like a lion." After thinking about it and all he could come up with was Luna's hat, he shrugged and handed it back then read, "The rat will outsmart the dog and his boy." He had to take a deep breath and said, "Fulfilled."
Even Heather was quiet now and all were paying rapt attention. "Three will become four by the unseen one. Sadly true." He handed it back and read, "The beloved and lost two will rescue the missing one from the reborn one." Harry had trouble swallowing then handed it back. "It happened."
He read the last silently before he set it down and walked out of the office area at a quick pace. He need to be elsewhere now.
Heather picked up the last and read, "The dying dog will unleash lightning & thunder. If that's true too, how does he know what they mean?"
The room suddenly rocked a little and dust floated down lightly from the ceiling. Dupree whipped out his wand and cast two message spells as everyone looked around.
Betty was the first to arrive and it was so quickly she must have already been on her way. "What happened?" she snapped.
"Mike's upset," Dupree said. "Maybe the training room?"
Betty turned and ran. Everyone looked at Dupree for more information when Croaker ran in. "What's the emergency and where did you send Betty?" He looked at Dupree.
"Mike's upset and I hoped she could calm him," Dupree answered.
"What upset him?" Croaker asked tightly, demandingly.
"Heather showed him some of her prophecies. We didn't think anything about it because you know how vague they are," Dupree held out his hand towards Heather helplessly.
Croaker walked forward and held his hand out and she handed the stack over. "Did he say anything?"
"He didn't know about one, but he said six were fulfilled and then he left on the last one," she explained quietly. "How does he know?"
Croaker looked through them all and especially the last one. He thought he understood.
Looking around he said, "I know who all of you are when you're not here. All of you have connections to Wizengamot members, heads of departments other than me, important people in our society - even the Minister. You know people and you know stories many don't. Mike is no different from any of you. He has his own history which includes knowing important people and events which may not be well known. Some of those events are pleasant, some are not."
He looked at Heather. "Do not press him on any of this; that's an order." He handed the slips back. "The last one should be marked as fulfilled also."
Croaker left the quiet and contemplative group. He didn't have far to go. In the nearest training room, he found Betty holding Mike who was crying on her shoulder. He smiled slightly as Mike wasn't the first to do that and probably wouldn't be the last. Betty could make the tough calls and do the hard things when forced, but she was probably one of the most caring people he'd ever met.
Closing the door behind himself, he walked over. "Having seen the memories, I'm sure some of those were hard to remember. Are you going to be all right - eventually?" He watched Mike sniffle and then back up and give Betty a sheepish, "Thanks, sorry." She just smiled at him as she conjured a tissue and handed it to him.
"Eventually," Mike said as he cleaned up the tear tracks. "The last one just hit me … badly," he ended unsure of himself.
"It's all right, we all have days that aren't what we'd like." Croaker didn't want to say this next part, but he decided it was better to get this out in private. "I've just returned from the Auror Department. Mike, there were a number of attacks last night, it wasn't just where you lived.
"Amelia Bones barely escaped with her life while her guard didn't. I also heard the Weasleys were attacked too." At Mike's sharp look, Croaker hurried on. "I've also heard they're fine. Sort of like where you were, they were frightened for a bit, but their wards kept them safe. That makes three attacks and I won't be surprised if there were others we haven't heard about yet.
"I know these events can be rough, but stay strong," Croaker encouraged him. "This is also why we do research. Sure, some of it is done 'just because', but other parts can make a difference. You, Dupree, and myself are working on questions that will affect and hopefully help you. I know it's hard to wait, but change requires time.
"Now, do you need the day off?" asked Croaker who watched his newest employee carefully.
"No," Harry shook his head. "A little bit time to clear my head and then some work on new spells to keep me busy, I think."
"Right, we can do that," the man agreed.
"Not my class today, I think," Betty told him. "We'll pick it back up tomorrow. You're doing well and I don't want to ruin that when you'd have trouble staying focused."
Harry nodded thankfully. He'd get through this, he told himself.
Croaker pulled out his wand and prepared himself to cast shields. A glance at the hole in the spell reinforced wall was all the reminder he needed to be ready for anything.
— — —
Hermione woke about noon still feeling tired since she hadn't made it into a bed until nearly four in the morning, with the previous day stretching for over twenty hours. For some reason she wasn't surprised to see her mother still asleep in the other bed and her father reading the newspaper, though he was still in his pyjamas.
Remembering back, the interview with the police had been stressful but they were fairly understanding about being attacked, at least after her father had shown them the damage in the bathroom and repeated the conversation he'd overheard from the men.
The mysteries had also piled up. The largest had been how the window and a good bit of the wall had been blown out of the house and no obvious weapon had been found; the sticks found near the attackers obviously couldn't have done that the officers had said. Then there was the unlocking of the back door without breaking it while both of her parents had sworn it had been locked before the three Grangers had gone to bed. It was assumed the lock had been picked, but no little tools had been found. There were also concerns about why the Grangers had been targeted by complete strangers, not to mention no identification on any of the intruders other than her father saying he'd heard the name Goyle and the boy call one of the men father. No, the police had not been happy by the number of open questions.
At least they should be safe now as it was very unlikely the Death Eaters would find them in a hotel.
Her mother stirred, so Hermione got up and started to get ready; her mother and father did also. They went down and had a quiet brunch in the hotel restaurant. She noted her father looking pensive and her mother didn't look any better. Hermione supposed she might feel the same way if she'd killed someone last night.
Back in their hotel room, her father said, "Take a seat, Hermione, we need to talk about our plans."
"All right." She sat beside her mother on the bed while her father took the chair again.
"There are a few obvious things which must be done, such as working with the police, though I won't be surprised if this is moved to Scotland Yard. We'll need to find a place to rent while that and a few other things are being done … such as having the house repaired." Her father looked at her mother for a moment before he continued.
"We've also been talking with some others in the area and we've located another dentist who's willing to buy our practice for a reasonable price." That surprised Hermione. "After the house is repaired, we'll put it up for sale and by the end of the summer - if all goes well - we'll move west. If you want to stay in a school for Magicals, you can transfer to the one in the area … Salem I think it's called from our research."
It finally hit Hermione exactly what he was saying. "You mean…but…"
"Hermione," her father's voice lowered slightly and seemed to turn to steel. "We've been attacked and would have been killed by people we can't really fight except for the shear dumb luck that I was up later than normal and happened to overhear them, not to mention that we had the means to protect ourselves. This is a bad position tactically. So we will be leaving and that includes you since you're still our responsibility."
"But-"
"We know what happened a couple of weeks ago, your professor sent us a letter about your fight and injury," her father told her, shocking her into silence. "That's twice and makes it enemy action. We can't fight this, or I'd stay; so we'll leave and let those who can fight take care of it."
Hermione blinked at him, not quite able to believe what she was hearing. She finally turned to her mother and saw the same resolve; she'd get no help from there she realized. "I'll be returning to Hogwarts by the time you're ready to leave. I'll be safe there."
"Will you?" he asked with disbelief and sarcasm. "Just like you were safe when you were almost gutted like a fish a couple of weeks ago?"
Her mouth opened and then snapped shut as she tried to determine if she was just surprised or angry too, not quite willing to accept his view as the hard truth.
"Honey," her mother said softly, "we love you and care about you and we want you to be safe. Therefore, you're coming with us. You can go to that other school if you want or you can attend a normal school, but you will not be returning to Hogwarts. You will also not be returning to England until you've finished the other school and have sufficient chance to protect yourself if you're that foolhardy to return to a war. No, we will not be paying for you to return to Hogwarts and we will not sign any release for you to attend there."
The teen wanted to retort, yell and scream even, but she knew it'd do no good. Her mother was stubborn and her father worse in that regard. She thought about it all for a few long moments looking for a way to stay with her friends, but could only think of one.
"Harry needs me to help him," she said pleadingly.
"Write him a letter with all the advice you can think of," her father answered, still with a pointed look.
That was her only play and it had been a weak one, so she dropped her head and nodded meekly - all fight gone.
Her mother wrapped her arms around her. "We know it's difficult for you to give up your friends like this and we don't want to make you since we know you've had so much difficulty finding true friends; but we think it's more important you stay alive. If they're really your friend, they'll understand and will welcome you back with open arms in two or preferably three years."
Hermione could only nod as she wept quietly on her mother's shoulder. She felt her father's strong hand on her shoulder squeezing gently and then on her head caressing it lightly. She loved them back, but she'd miss her friends so. She'd write long letters and learn as much as she could before she returned in two years she promised herself.
— — —
Severus Snape entered the Headmaster's office and took a seat. He knew what was coming the instant he'd received the summons. He was dreading it; wondering what he should share.
The old man looked at him kindly, yet still with a look that was piercing with his blue eyes. "Severus, what can you tell me about the attacks last night?"
"I'm sorry, but I was unable to send word; the Dark Lord kept me by his side the entire time."
Albus nodded but didn't say anything and waited.
"The Dark Lord wanted to flush out Potter." Severus couldn't admit to telling the Dark wizard the news about Potter. "He commanded me to make a few Portkeys for him and then he sent teams out. I was commanded to follow him to Bones' Manor. After, I had to heal all who were injured." His Occlumency failed him for once as he dropped his face into his hands. "Draco is gone."
Dumbledore looked at him in puzzlement. "I'm sorry, Severus. I haven't heard about him. What happened?"
Snape sat up and regained his composure in a few seconds by clearing his mind of the emotions of his loss. "Draco was goaded into taking the Dark Mark before he, Lucius, and Goyle were sent on what should have been an easy raid. They never returned."
"Where?" was asked gently.
"The Grangers, so yet another loss. She was insufferable, but she had true potential with Potions," replied Severus stoically.
"I'll have someone go check," Albus said. "What else can you tell me?"
He considered the results again; he had been doing so for almost every moment he wasn't asleep. "The Dark Lord lost 18, 19 with Draco." For the first time, Snape considered that his plan had actually caused the most damage to the Dark Lord in a single blow, even if it had been accidental. On the other hand, he knew he'd have trouble living with himself over Draco's death, which would haunt him for his remaining years, as Lily's death continued to do.
Albus sat up suddenly as he worked through that, oblivious to the man's inner turmoil. "Astounding," he murmured as he considered the news, wondering what this would do Voldemort's plans as well as wondering how many more attacks he was unaware of. "Perhaps you could get me a list?"
Snape stood a little woodenly before he started leaving. "Later. I must retire for more rest."
It was only now that Albus truly noticed the man countenance and posture, the grief he was trying to hide. For the young man to slip so badly spoke volumes. "Yes, get some rest. We'll talk later and I shall try to have some good news for you."
It was approaching dusk. Albus penned a quick letter and send it off with an owl.
— — —
As the sun was setting, Hermione was sitting by the pool in shorts and a T-shirt as she read a book, though she wasn't sure she was really comprehending it too well at the moment. Her emotions were all over the place and she was having many internal conversations: some with her parents about what she should have said, should still say to her parents, to her friends, and strangely even to Draco Malfoy - though the last was impossible now.
Her pondering was interrupted by an owl suddenly swooping in and landing on the arm of her chair. As quickly as she could, she removed the note attached as inconspicuously as possible, whispered "thank you" to the owl, and watched it take flight. Glancing around she saw only one man looking at her with great puzzlement, but no one else seemed to have noticed the odd event.
Hiding the note, she returned to her book and used her peripheral vision to watch the man. Eventually, he shook his head and returned to his newspaper. Pulling the note back out, she read the short note and was surprised when her mother's voice broke into her thoughts.
"Is it important?"
Looking around again and seeing that no one was paying them any attention, she looked up and said softly, "I've been requested to meet the other police. They noticed something had been done and need some answers."
Her mother nodded at the cryptic answer and was just as quiet. "I'm surprised it took them this long based on how they portray themselves. When and where?"
"Any time between now and ten at the pub near where I get my school supplies," she answered as she watched her mother frown and think for a moment.
"This will not make your father happy, but I suppose it can't be helped." Her mother thought a bit more. "We can leave here when he returns and find dinner out before we go."
"Where did he go?"
"He's starting the sale of our practice and arranging for a flat for us to stay in for the next month. Hopefully, the majority of the police work will be taken care of by then and we can travel abroad," her mother answered.
— — —
Hermione and her mother were back in their room and saw her father return wearing a suit jacket that looked a little bulky on him. He kissed his wife lightly and smiled. "An old mate helped out like I'd hoped."
Her mother didn't look pleased but nodded anyway. "The other police have contacted Hermione and we need to talk to them before ten this evening. They're in that pub we walk through to get to the magical alley."
"I'll be ready this time," he said gravely. "Reilly agreed to buy us out immediately and at the same price. The contract is off to the lawyers. I had time to find some contractors and because I was willing to pay extra, they'll be out tomorrow to start. A few of my old mates from the unit have agreed to join us for the morning for support in case any more terrorists come by."
"The moving company said it'd be the end of the week before they could come and pack us up," her mother said, surprising the girl who hadn't known her mother was making phone calls. "If you don't mind, I'd like to sell all the furniture and buy new on the other end. There would be less to pack and move that way."
Her father nodded. "That's fine. Let me grab one more thing so we can go. Dinner before I assume?"
"Yes," her mother replied.
After rummaging in his suitcase for a moment and putting something inside his pocket, he led them out and to the car.
— — —
Tonks took a sip of her beer and looked around the pub. "Thanks for picking up the tab," she told her partner. "Best assignment ever."
Kingsley chuckled. "Only the first two are on me. I have to agree this is easy, at least if she comes."
It wasn't too long after that Tonks said, "She's here, probably with her father." She held up her hand. The girl saw and pointed, causing the pair to walk over.
Kingsley stood and stepped around to the side of the booth by Tonks and waited until the pair stood in front of them. "Kingsley Shacklebolt, Senior Auror," he said and held out his hand, feeling a very firm grip.
"Daniel Granger, Hermione's father." It was a brisk and gruff greeting, almost rude.
"My partner is known as Tonks, who's a Junior Auror. Please have a seat." Shacklebolt sat beside Tonks, leaving the other bench open.
Hermione sat and scooted in, leaving the outside for her father.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to put up a privacy spell so people won't overhear us," Shacklebolt said and pulled out his wand. He noticed Granger stiffen and his hand went to the opening in his jacket, but he stopped there and watched carefully. Granger didn't relax until the wand was put away.
"We do not have much time, but what can we help you with," Daniel Granger asked, still brisk.
Shacklebolt looked at his partner and saw the same look of concern he felt. "We have a notice of a Killing Curse being used at your house last night by a minor. As we don't believe Hermione would have done that, we have to ask what happened and is everyone in your family safe."
"We are safe," Daniel answered. "My wife is outside waiting on us. As for your notice, it was triggered by three individuals invading our house in an attempt to kill my wife and me plus kidnap our daughter. The magic was done by them."
"We're glad you're all uninjured," Shacklebolt said slowly, trying to piece it all together. "Could you give us more details please? For example, can you tell us who it was and if they said anything when they left that could lead us to them?" The father smiled in a way that made the Senior Auror uncomfortable; Granger also kept one hand in his lap for some reason.
"I heard them call one Goyle. My daughter identified the other two as Malfoys. The younger one was my daughter's age and probably was the one to set off your alarm when he cast a spell that blew out the back of our house," Granger answered.
Shacklebolt noticed Hermione was looking down and didn't seem inclined to participate, letting her father do all the talking. "All right, that would explain the underage magic usage. Since all of you are uninjured and those like your visitors have a reputation for killing their victims, I assume you did something to scare them away?"
"You could say that." Granger's scary smile was back for a brief moment. "I happened to be up and heard them before they entered the house. We … stopped them and our police took them away. Perhaps you can have their bodies back if you'll answer some of the questions we aren't allowed to answer."
"They're dead?" Tonks asked quietly and in shock.
"Some people don't like strangers invading their home, especially in the middle of the night and when extreme violence is suggested. They were warned to drop their weapons, but they didn't. That's the rules in our world," Daniel Granger said with steel.
"I see," Kingsley said, feeling every bit as horrified as Tonks looked. "Whom should we speak with?"
"The Crawley Police took them away, but the case may have moved to Scotland Yard as it's being viewed as a terrorist attack," Granger said as if he didn't care. "Is there going to be any issue for Hermione?"
"Unlikely, but to be honest, politics may cause a few difficulties. Retrieving their wands to prove who did the Killing Curse would remove any doubt," Shacklebolt explained.
"Good luck with that as the police have them as evidence in the crime," Granger said with a slight smile. "Is there anything else or can we go?"
"Hermione, you've been very quiet," Tonks said. "Are you all right?"
The girl looked up with unshed tears in her eyes. "I never expected to be attacked in our own home." She looked at her father. "I understand, I think. I don't like it, but I understand."
His hard look softened but he made no move towards her. "We love you and we always will." That said, he stood, his hand staying near his stomach. "I'm glad we could clear this up. Let's go, my girl."
Hermione told them good-bye and stood, walking out beside her father.
The Auror pair sat there and watched. "What the hell just happened?" Tonks asked finally.
"They defended themselves and I think she just realized the emotional impact of taking a life." He paused for a moment then added, "I think. I'm also starting to wonder if there was another conversation happening at the end."
"Maybe," Tonks agreed. "So what do we do about this? If we say they killed the Malfoys, they won't be safe. Bloody hell, it'd be true about Goyle too just because the worthless idiot was a Pureblood."
"Did you notice they never said who did it?" Shacklebolt said into the silence.
Tonks snorted. "There's no doubt he did it. He's one of the scariest men I've ever met. Dad's a Muggleborn and he's told me some stories. Do you think he's someone from the last big Muggle war, you know, the one when we fought Grindelwald?"
"He's not old enough, but I think he could have done something like that." Kingsley thought for a moment. "All right, the story is they were visited by three Death Eaters, one of whom was a minor who cast a Killing Curse; but the Grangers scared them away by bringing attention to them so the Death Eaters left to avoid giving the secret of Magic away. Officially, we don't know where the attackers are or even who they are, but I know someone that might could talk to their police to get some information. I'll do that on the quiet and you'll say nothing about this…not even to the Order or Albus."
"The story sounds a little lame, but fine by me. This is getting complicated and I don't want to get Hermione in trouble," she said.
"Agreed." Shacklebolt led them back to the office to write up the report. Albus had asked about Hermione Granger and an attack just before they'd come here; he'd get only the official story too.
-Omake (I couldn't help but see as I was proofing)-
Voldemort reached forward and picked up his glass of wine and still continued to think as he swirled the wine slowly and petted the pure white cat in his lap. "It's simple really, Mr Bond has to die..."
(A/N: This chapter, and in a sense the idea for the story, was motivated by a story I read that had a Death Eater attack on the Grangers in their home, though that story went a much different path. [Of course to be honest, a number of stories do that now that I think about it.] Here, I gave Hermione's father a few terms in the Army for some practical combat experience, then showed the Wizards what Muggles can do. I've kind of wanted to do a "Harry leaves after his OWLS" story and eventually this all came together to what you're reading.)