R&R, and enjoy! ~F
Chapter Two
Aerial Ambush
Harry was concerned over Hermione's seeming distraught state, but not until the end of the meeting did he have the opportunity to check up on her. When he arrived in the corridor with her room, he found Ron exiting Hermione's room with a thoughtful expression. As he approached, Ron held up a finger to his lips.
"She's sleeping now," he said quietly after they stepped away from the door.
"What was wrong?" Harry asked.
"She feared for her family's safety, and obliviated them of her existence, as well as making them want to move as far from here as they could." Ron explained quickly.
Harry nodded. It would make sense for Hermione to be distraught about doing what was needed to protect her loved ones. He did feel better that she was here at Orthanc with them, rather than out in the muggle world though. Hermione was probably one of the most valuable people they had for fighting Voldemort. Her researching ability alone far outstripped the rest of them combined, and would be needed if they were to discover where the locket and other Horcruxes currently resided.
Before they could devote all their time to searching out the vile items; however, they had to deal with the potential threat to Privet Drive. From what Severus had conferred to the White Council, they knew that Voldemort and his followers were greatly interested in what time Harry supposedly would be moved from the muggle home to a safe house, but it was clear to anyone who paid attention to where Harry had turned up to fight that he was not confined to the residence for his own protection.
If Voldemort even so much as suspected that he was not there any longer, he might attack just out of spite for thinking that Harry would come to the Durleys' rescue. Until summer two years previously Harry would have not even considered going too far out of his way to protect his Uncle's family, but Dudley had proved himself to be breaking the mold his parents had trained him in, so Harry found himself unwilling to simply send Order members to move them or something else so impersonal.
If it was time for him to return to Private Drive one final time to make sure that the Dursleys understood the danger and fled for their lives, and then he would step out of their lives forever.
Faykan was clearly of the same opinion, and had already voiced his willingness to warn the muggle family, despite the treatment they had both been given for so many years.
Departing from Ron in the dormitory corridor, Harry went to the top of the dark stone tower where Faykan waited for him. "You ready?" he asked, watching Harry for any hint of doubt.
"Yes," Harry replied, steeling himself for the bile that his Aunt and Uncle may throw because of their return. Faykan nodded, and spun on his heel, disapparating on the spot. Visualizing the boring neighborhood strongly from memory, Harry pushed through space with his magic and will, and tore open a small hole for him to twist through, and entered silently with a slight spin on his heel.
A soft popping sound was all that he heard, accompanied by a gentle pressure on all sides, and the area around him melted from the scenery of Fanghorn to the plainness of Surrey.
The pair of wizards quickly approached Number Four and, fully aware of the welcome they would receive with their robes and staffs, knocked sharply on the front door. Harry stifled a groan of annoyance when Uncle Vernon opened the door and widened his eyes in fury upon seeing them.
"Vernon," Faykan said neutrally, "we need to talk, urgently."
Uncle Vernon clearly had no such desire, and attempted to slam the door in their faces, but Faykan had manipulated his staff in the way, and the magically enhanced wood would not budge. "This concerns the life of you and your family Mr. Dursley," Faykan continued, "if you would give us but a few minutes of your time to explain, we can get you all to safety and you can continue your perfectly magic-free existence."
Vernon continued to throw his weight into the door for a few moments, before noticing that a few of the neighbors were watching from their windows as two brightly clothed people stood on his doorstep. Glaring in abstract rage at them, he mutely opened the door and permitted them entrance.
As they turned into the very familiar sitting room, Petunia and Dudley realized who had entered. Petunia gave a small muted shriek of anger, while Dudley smiled widely at seeing Harry. but the smile was replaced with outright confusion at seeing Faykan, unmasked from his standard illusions. "Piter?" he asked, "But, you were dead… Harry told me…"
Petunia looked aghast at her son's words, but Faykan gave the youngest Dursley a small smile, "reports of my death were greatly exaggerated…" he replied teasingly.
"Well," Vernon said angrily as he entered the room, "say what you have to say and get out."
"As you wish," Harry replied, "Faykan, the shades and lights if you will." As his best friend waved a hand to shut out all outside light and dim the bulbs in the sitting room, Harry places his staff straight up in the center of the room. Once the outside light was dimmed as much as possible, the solid emerald with in glowed with a brilliant light.
"I would ask you all not to interrupt while I show you what is coming to threaten you, and why we feel so strongly that you all need to be moved as soon as possible." Harry said, knowing that it would do little to stop his Aunt and Uncle from being themselves, but they had been warned nevertheless.
The glowing staff started displaying images of the Death Eaters, showing the dark power that they used to capture, torment and kill muggles and their fellow wizards. Orcs, giants, and dementors, among many other Dark Creatures were displaying in turn, finally ending with Voldemort himself, and the vicious cruelty that he displayed to anyone that stood in his way.
"All these and more are coming for you all specifically," Harry said after the short display ended, "Voldemort will stop at nothing to harm me, and if he thinks that harming you will get at me, he would try it, even if it was only partly true. We're not completely certain when he will attack, but it will be soon…"
"Wait, wait, wait…" Vernon started, but Faykan cut him off.
"There's no time to completely assure you of all the madness you would demand Vernon." He said quickly, "All you need to know is one big bad scary wizard has you and your family targeted because your related to Harry, and if he didn't have a sliver of care for you we would have let him have you. Be thankful that we are the good guys and whether you like it or not, you will not be here when he descends on your house."
Like a big mouth bass, Vernon was gulping at air as the two powerful wizard countered all his bluster and arguments in one fell swoop. "But, why do you even care?" Petunia said hesitantly.
"I have my reasons," Harry said mysteriously, glancing at Dudley. The stocky boy knew exactly the reason Harry was helping them, but his parents didn't need to fully understand.
"If it were up to me, you'd be used as bait for the trap we intend," Faykan commented to Petunia, which silenced her. "The fact stands, Harry has moved for us to transport all three of you safely elsewhere for the duration of the oncoming war. If you desire, or care, we may contact you when it is safe, but otherwise this will be the last time we meet. Your compliance is mandatory."
"I'll go," Dudley spoke up quickly, which completely shut down any retort or argument from either of his parents, "just tell us what to do."
Harry smiled at the bold trust that his cousin gave him now. The boy had grown quite a bit since the last time Harry had interacted with him, nearly two summers previously. From within his robes, Harry pulled out the toy car that he had enchanted to be a portkey to a remote countryside in France. "This will take you all out of the country, there will be a car waiting for you will money enough to start a new life in France or wherever else you wish to go. From there it's all up to you, just don't return to Britain unless we send word, and then only if you really want to."
"Thank you Harry," Dudley said as he held out a hand for the car. "Dudley!" Petunia said, frightened, but he turned on her, "Mum, stop. They are not going to hurt us just because of who they are, and I'm going with or without either of you."
Vernon, who had been uncharacteristically silent throughout this, spoke up, "Pet, I think they have us beat. We should go, just so that our family is not torn apart. I don't want to as much as you, but if even a part of what they have to say are true, do we really risk it?"
"I…but…we…" Petunia stammered, confused at the sudden change of heart from her normally stubborn husband. Even Harry was surprised at the abrupt turnaround from his uncle. "Fine," Petunia said at last, defeated, "We'll go…"
"Good," Faykan said, and he quickly began instructing them on how to activate the Portkey, as well as how much of their things they could bring with them. Meanwhile, Harry began to walk the house, slowly placing sensory charms and other surveillance spells to warn them immediately when the house was attacked.
Since the creation of his staff, Harry found that there was far more options with magic available to him, including spells that he knew had incantations and wand movements, but that he could cast with a simple thought. Recalling the more recent prophecy he speculated for a moment that this, unrestrained access to magical knowledge might have been the 'power that the Dark Lord would envy above all else,' yet it was not the 'power he knows not of.'
That seemingly was a bad thing, yet Harry understood it as a blessing in disguise. Simply because Voldemort would envy the power of an Istari, which definitely didn't mean that he would never possess it. It was plainly just something that he could understand, as opposed to the other power, one that even Harry was not aware of yet. Didn't Dumbledore think it was Harry's ability to love?
As Harry paused outside the room that was for a short time his bedroom on the second floor he pondered the possibility that love was the great mysterious power. It was love for his friends that allowed Harry to keep on fighting, even when he had thought that Faykan was gone and that the wizarding world was closing in around him. If one changed the definition of power from its usual meaning, and replaced it with more of a motivating force, then it applied instantly. Leave it to Dumbledore to find the most shrouded meaning possible and stick to it.
Harry chucked slightly as he entered the smallest bedroom, but he stopped when he saw that it had not been reverted to Dudley's storage space for excess toys and junk. Everything had been left exactly as it had been when he departed two years ago.
"I… I made them leave it alone while you were gone…" Dudley said, appearing in the doorway behind him. "I hoped you might come back… at least one more time."
Harry smiled, awed and impressed at the nearly insane amount of change his cousin had gone through. From schoolyard bully to legitimately good natured. "I… thank you Dudley, but there's really nothing left for me here…"
"Yeah…" Dudley said, looking around at the mostly empty room. "So, you're fighting him, that evil guy Lord Voldiwart or something?"
Harry stifled a laugh at the spin on the Dark Lord's name, but nodded, "Yes, it's part of a long story, but basically I'm the only one who can beat him. Only then can the world start to repair the damage he caused."
Dudley seemed to think about it for a few moments, and during that time Faykan arrived, "I've shrunken and packed the majority of your room, Dudley, it's almost time for you and your family to go. If you want to check once more to see if I forgot anything, now is the time."
"Alright," Dudley said calmly, still watching Harry.
"Take care of yourself Big D." Harry said.
"You've changed since I last saw you," Dudley said observantly, "you look far… older… than two years ago…"
"I feel a lot older," Harry laughed, "You've grown up a lot as well."
"Be safe Harry," Dudley said quietly, before taking the rucksack that Faykan was holding, and without a backward glance, he descended the stairs.
"Good kid, your cousin," Faykan commented idly as the sound of the portkey activating echoed from below.
"Personally I'm just surprised how well they took all this, given who they are…" Harry replied.
"Oh, well, there may have been a bit to do with that…" Faykan said sheepishly, looking highly guilty. "Nothing permanent, unfortunately, but just enough to actually get them to leave on the spot, but still, Dudley was perfectly genuine. I only had to charm his parents into following what he decided."
"So, now that they're safe, what do we do with the house?" Harry asked, gesturing around them with his staff.
"You set up the surveillance charms?" Faykan asked, to which Harry nodded in reply. "Good, I had a few traps that I thought would be good, nothing too destructive mind, just something that'll send any Death Eaters that come inside packing with their tails between their legs."
Harry grinned at Faykan's humor as they set to work inscribing runes and throwing up subtlety wards.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Draco paid very close attention to Harry since the strange ritual where he and Faykan constructed a staff. He didn't know completely what was going on, but it seemed, while not off or wrong, just strange. It could be the time around Faykan, but it seemed that the boy's personality was rubbing off on Harry. Both were becoming rather secretive on certain topics, albeit private topics that Draco wasn't willing to push, but still quite mysterious nonetheless.
Chief among these strange happenings was the pairs little disappearance after the Council meeting nearly two weeks prior. They had been gone for several hours, and spoke about nothing that occurred when they returned. It seemed that something was being planned behind the scenes, but Draco was not currently privy to the details.
Currently, Draco was sitting on the roof of Orthanc, watching the pair of wizards as they went through several training maneuvers of staff combat, combining spellcasting as well as sword strikes alongside the powerful magical foci.
Hermione climbed the nearby stairs, having only emerged from her room, and Ron's company, a few days previously. She was also being very tight-lipped about some personal things, but Draco was even less desirous to engage that potential danger.
"Are they still at it?" she asked neutrally, and he nodded in response.
"Haven't stopped all morning," Draco added as Hermione sat alongside him to watch. Together each of them had been observing the pair's interaction to try and understand what changes had occurred in Harry, and what the causes could be. It was hard to place, but there seemed to be some growing magical similarities along with personality changes.
It was strange to see at times, such as when Faykan would be discussing something with them, Harry would chime in as though he and Faykan were thinking literally the same thought.
"I wonder what could…" Hermione began, but she was cut off by a flash of fire, and Fawkes appeared over Harry and Faykan, who stopped instantly to watch the brilliant orange bird drop a scrap of parchment and disappear again. Harry snatched the fluttering scrap out of the air in his free hand and perused it quickly, before grinning at Faykan.
"Wonder what this is about," Draco commented. He thought he was quite enough to not be overheard, but apparently not so, as the pair of wizards turned to him and Hermione.
"Ah, don't be so hasty about that Draco," Faykan said cheekily, "this news would be of most import to you, Miss Granger, and indeed all our allies. Why don't we bring those who this information would primarily concern to the main room and share this, and indeed quite a bit of what will happen right shortly."
"Yes," Harry agreed, raising his staff and summon a Patronus wordlessly, "Moody and the whole crowd," he told the stag, which charged off into the sky.
"Come, we can explain some of it on the way," Faykan said to Draco and Hermione as they turned toward the stairs.
"The message was actually rather straight forward," Harry explained as he joined them in their precession down the stairs, "Severus was informing us that the attack on the Dursleys' house will be in two days, at night, nearly a week before the Order was presumed to be removing me to their safe house."
"Where was this safe house supposed to be?" Hermione asked.
"The Burrow; which we will actually be spending some time at, for token appearances as well as a favor for Mrs. Weasley. They want extra security for Bill and Fleur's wedding." Faykan answered.
"We hope when Voldemort springs his supposed attack on my relatives, who are long gone by now, that we can counter attack and wipe out more of his Death Eater and wizard forces. Clearing out orcs is well and good, but they aren't the most versatile of his tools. If we could eliminate, for instance Lucius or Yaxley," Draco winced slightly, but refused to comment, "We could greatly hinder their political influence on top of removing their more powerful casters."
"But for that, you need to flush them out," Draco deducted, "which means enlisting the Order's help."
"Correct in one," Faykan said as they arrived on the ground floor.
As they entered the main atrium, they found several of Dumbledore's old crowd already appearing, as well as a few of the dignitaries milling about. The centaur, Firenze, approached their group on sight. "Lord Alatar, it is good that you have arrived when you did. I bring word from the school and the forest nearby."
That caught all their interest, "Speak Firenze," Faykan said instantly, his blue eyes sharpening in the torchlight.
"Dark Creatures are abroad, Dementors, orcs, and all manner of vile things, slowly surrounding the school on all sides. It seems that the evil one is preparing to make his control of the school absolute." The centaur explained quickly.
"Voldemort won't make a move against the people of Britain by slaughtering their children," Harry reasoned, "He'll want to keep them at the school as hostages to prevent anything from not going the way he wants. We will have to liberate the school before the end. I trust we can have your support in watching for an opening to retake the school and free the students?"
"Of course, Lord Calenrohtar," Firenze said, bowing slightly before turning to depart.
Draco was confused. Lord… what? Since when did Harry have a title in elvish from the creatures of the forest? He was about to voice this question, when Alastor stomped his way to the front, "You'd best have a good reason for breaking silence and summoning us all here from our positions," he said gruffly, "not long before someone notices that we've all up and vanished, and it won't be too hard to put two and two together for old Voldie…"
"This will be a simple matter to address Alastor," Faykan said, urging the old Auror to peace. "We just need to relay an abrupt acceleration of our plans, and a small change."
"Changes in plans lead to people being killed," Moody growled, clearly irked at a seeming child dictating strategy to him.
"Nevertheless, plans have changed, and we must adjust accordingly if we are to intercept Voldemort's next move."
"Don't say the name!" Moody barked, "Their lot have reestablished the taboo on it; saying the name causes them to know where you are and weakens ward around you."
Faykan scoffed, "We are under Fidelius; there is no magic that he has that can reach us here."
"I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you, boy."Moody retorted. "Why Dumbledore left you in charge of the Order I have no idea, but I will do what it takes to make sure that whatever hair brained schemes you make will not cost unnecessary lives!"
Faykan just looked at Moody with a quiet smirk, "Well, I am glad then to have someone Albus trusted so much looking over my shoulder then..."
That seemed to be enough to deflate the scarred Auror, and Faykan quickly conveyed the change of plans, including the counter attack over Harry's Muggle relative's old home that would occur far ahead of the expected timetable.
"I only need the very best of our fliers and duelists," Faykan said, "as you said, no need for unnecessary deaths."
Alastor apparently could find no fault with the plan, as he offered no rebuke to its design, and hastily stomped off to make the arrangements with the rest of the Order of the Phoenix.
"Well, now what do we do?" Hermione asked as Moody departed, and the others returned to their previous conversation.
"Now, we wait... and prepare," Harry said.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Bellatrix smiled gleefully as she soared through the night sky above the boring and oblivious Muggles as they cowered in their houses. The foolish swine of the human race had no idea of the power that waiting to clean the world of their filth. But the Dark Lord had given her strict instructions that there would only be three deaths of the most unworthy of blood. It did bother Bellatrix somewhat that they seemed to kill more witches and wizards than Muggles, but in the long run that would all change. There needed to be only a few more key deaths, and hopefully this night would accomplish them.
Potter's Muggle relatives would be the perfect bait for the boy and his Istari ally to come to their own deaths. Barely retraining the cackle that threatened to pierce the night, Belltraix lead her squad of six mid ranked Death Eaters down toward the targeted house. Lucius, as well as Macnair were leading their own groups on the house, hoping to prevent any escape that the filth attempted.
The lights of the dwelling were out when the twenty some odd Death Eaters landed around the premises, and the three leaders threw powerful wards up that would prevent entrance and exit by any who did not bear the mark of their Lord. All things prepared, Macnair took four of the lower Death Eaters, and made their way inside, blasting the feeble wooden door off its hinges and storming the house.
Bellatrix felt her elation of a plan well executed fade away quickly when the shouts and laughter of the group invading the dwelling turned to screams of pain and death as several powerful magical traps were set off. Blasts rocked the group beneath them as the house all but collapsed upon itself. The Dark Lords right hand knew that those inside had all perished, and that they had been tricked.
"They are not here," she hissed at Lucius, "we have been betrayed!"
"What would you have us do," he shot back, "retreat to the Dark Lord with our tails between our legs, ready for his punishment?"
Bellatrix lost her angry retort as their wards around them shattered. "sul ngwawa ar' niire!" bellowed a voice above them. Bellatrix whirled as a mighty gust of razor sharp wind tore through the assembled Death Eaters, slashing robes and causing blood to fly from wounds that were gouged through those on the outermost edges.
Above them, Bellatrix spotted a host of fliers speeding toward them, lead by none other than the vivid blue form of Alatar, shining in the darkness. What did surprise Bella though was the emerald green projectile that was speeding along beside the ancient wizard.
She had seen and heard more after the fact about how Potter's magic had unleashed itself to a Lord-like state the night of Dumbledore's death, but she hadn't expected that the boy would become greater than even Dumbledore's threat had been to her Master.
"Get to your brooms!" she cried, and around her the others scrambled to mount and launch upward to meet the oncoming foes. Before a single Death Eater could take to the sky, three more were cut down by spell from those swooping overhead.
Bellatrix rocketed into the sky; wand drawn and snapping out curses at the Order members that had dared to ambush her. Two were knocked from the air, but even as they fell they vanished with the blue light of Portkeys.
This infuriated the witch even further, however she could do nothing about it, as within seconds both Potter and Alatar were on her tail, blasts and bolts of light flying after over Bella's shoulders and she twisted and weaved out of the way.
Off to her left, Lucius was tangling with Moody and two other wizards she didn't bother recognizing, and the three-on-one battle was not boding well for her blond ex brother-in-law. Screeching in rage, Bellatrix swerved, dodging around the two staff wielders, and barreled toward Moody, easily the strongest fighter outside the two boys chasing her.
"Avada Kedavera!" The curse came easily to her lips, and Moody was force to spin out of the way, the deadly green curse launching off into the night. Bellatrix snarled at the scarred man, but was once again on the defensive as the two incredibly powerful wizards caught up to her, staffs blazing with unrestrained magic.
All around her, Death Eaters were falling from enemy spells or disapparating away to safety. Lucius yelled something unintelligible to her as he too vanished. Roaring her frustration at her mission going so wrong, Belle took aim at the nearest hostile and fired another Killing Curse. There was a scream, a satisfying explosion as something connected with the spell, and Bellatrix turned midair, squeezing through space back to her Master's side.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Hermione paced worriedly as she waited for the ambush team to return from Surrey. It was nerve wracking just thinking that all her friends were out there fighting the Death Eaters without her. But it was the most logical choice; Hermione was next to useless on a broom, and they wanted a quick surgical strike and then to retreat just as quickly.
But still, it was dreadful, just waiting with no word whatsoever. Hermione wandered the tower to try and alleviate the stress, but it did very little. The few people she encountered tended to keep to themselves, so she didn't even have conversation to hold her attention.
That was, at least until people from the team started Portkeying in by the ones and twos, many of the having minor to moderate wounds on them. Unfortunately this only heightened her worry, as the survivors only had tales of Death Eater brutality, and flying spells that they narrowly avoided.
Several tense minutes later of assisting the wounded and hearing smatterings of the story, the rest of the group arrived in a swirl of Portkey magic. Relieved, Hermione saw that Faykan, Ron, Draco, and Harry were all safe and sound. But still, there was a body that the group of returning warriors was carrying. Hermione couldn't make out the face as they passed, but Alastor Moody was stomping along behind, and he was far easier to waylay for questions.
"Who…?" Hermione asked breathlessly, and Moody's magical eye shifted to her for a split second as he plodded along, "Kingsley…" he grunted, not pausing to answer anything further.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Voldemort was oddly not displeased with the results of Bellatrix's mission. Despite losing nearly ten of his followers, including the useful Walden Macnair, and the trap that had clearly been set and sprung on his forces, he had learned some important information. Potter had gained definite power, and from Bellatrix's description he seemed to have become like Alatar, which did not bode well for the future of his war.
Also, there was a spy in his ranks, feeding information to his enemies, and the Dark Lord would stop at nothing to root the person out. The witch or wizard who dared to betray the Lord of the Earth would regret the day they had been born.
Voldemort had his suspicions of who the traitor could have been, but there were several avenues that needed to be explored to confirm his suspicions, including the inner workings of the Ministry. The Unspeakables were being surprisingly tightlipped to any of attempts to infiltrate and get information from.
Voldemort felt that the scholarly types must have been on the side of his enemies, which would be just another loose end to tie up when the Ministry was his, which would be soon.
Thickness had spread the Imperius Curse to several other of the Department Heads in the Ministry, slowly drawing a net around Scrimgeour, and in less than month, the man would be dead, and the Dark Lord's puppet in his place. Once that was accomplished, then order could be set in place to remove Mudbloods and blood traitors from any semblance of power, allowing the purebloods to finally take control.
Meanwhile, his forces would move on to hunt down Potter and his allies wherever they would run. Their deaths were required to pave the way to his larger conquest, beginning with continental Europe, then the world.
~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~
Harry was deeply saddened by Kingsley's death during the ambush over Privet Drive, but they had all known the risks, and there was little that could be done but to remember the experienced Auror and trusted Order member, as well as make sure that his murderer, Bellatrix LeStrange, was taken down for good.
The mad witch was quickly becoming the most establishing her reputation as the most dangerous of Voldemort's supporters, even with the massive additions to his ranks over the last two years. Killing her quickly became a high priority for their forces, next to defeating the Dark Lord himself.
Sadly for the Order, Kingsley had ben their biggest asset inside the Ministry, being one of the lead Aurors, and Moody was very quick to show his displeasure with Faykan over the matter. The Istari took the scarred wizard's wrath in stride, continuing to organize their next few moves.
For starters, they; himself, Faykan, Ron, Hermione, and Draco, were going to the Burrow to act as added security for the wedding that would happen just days after Harry's seventeenth birthday.
A small party was also probably being prepared for him, but Harry didn't mind. There was a downside however to going to the Burrow; Mrs. Weasley herself. The woman was a wonderful person, but she was slightly on the overly motherly side at times, and if she caught wind that they were all going to drop out of Hogwarts to pursue the Horcruxes, she would most definitely not be pleased about it.
But with luck, Mrs. Weasley would remain in the dark until September the first, at which time the five of them would slip of back to Orthanc to prepare for their hunt. With only the initials R.A.B. and a list of possible items as their clues, there was much left to be desire in the way of direction.
When they finally Portkeyed over to the Burrow, it was well near evening, but the welcome was more than warm. Mrs. Weasley was more than prepared for five additional guests, and had them all seated with heaping plates in front of them before any could protest about being too much of a burden.
"Nonsense," she said, waving them away, even as she bustled off to clean the dishes of those who were finished. In addition to the rest of the Weasley family, Fleur, Tonks, and Lupin were in attendance.
For the most part the meal went smoothly, with nothing awkward asked or discussed. Most of those at the table were still muted from the loss of Kingsley. But, inevitably, the discussion turned to the upcoming Hogwarts term.
"So, Harry, what N.E.W.T.s are you hoping to get?" Lupin asked cordially.
"Well…" Harry hesitated, not wanting to lie, but also uneasy of spilling their secret so soon into the time they would be at the Burrow.
"Remus," Faykan started, but Harry cut him off with a raised hand. He was more than capable of explaining the situation.
"The truth is," Harry started, grimacing as all attention turned to him, "I, well us five, we aren't going back to Hogwarts this year…"
There were a few sharp intakes of breath, and Mr. Weasley looked heavily concerned. "May I ask why?" he said neutrally.
"Well, several reasons really. Most importantly, Dumbledore left us a specific and highly important task to complete; Moody knows more of the details, so you can ask him about it…" Mrs. Weasley looked like she wanted to intervene at that point, but her husband held her arm to cause her to wait.
"Also, I really don't think it's a good idea for me, or anyone immensely close to me to be in a place where they could be so easily attacked. I mean, look at the facts, six years at Hogwarts and not one of them were remotely safe with Dumbledore present. I shudder to think how bad it would be without him there." Harry reasoned.
That seemed to have more of an effect on the parents and teachers in the room. "I… I suppose that does make a lot of sense," Mrs. Weasley said slowly, still somewhat unconvinced, but at least considering the danger. "But you will stay for the wedding at least, we could really use the help."
"Of course, Mrs. Weasley, we wouldn't miss it for anything." Harry assured her.
"So sweet of you," she replied, wiping a small tear from her face and smiling as she levitated their empty plates and left for the kitchen.
Harry felt sure that their plans had been okayed despite the underlying protests from the Weasley parents, and hopefully there would be little resistance when the time finally came after the wedding.
Taur leuthil ar' quesse en' naur auta vee' er tehta en' poldora ar' val : wood, gem and wand of light be as one, a sign of strength and power
Calenrohtar : Green Warrior
sul ngwawa ar' niire : Winds howl and tear!
Potential Spoilers Ahead, You Have Been Warned
I had always found the final interaction between Hary and the Dursleys endearing, if not somewhat off-putting because of how oddly it went. Hopefully my version, while similar, comes across a bit more pronounced and realistic to the natures of the characters and how they've grown (or remained stagnant) throughout the series. Until next time. ~F