(A/N: Youwill watch this pocket watch going back and forth. See the pretty watch?At the end of this Author's Note, you will read this latest chapter, and feel any anger you may have drain away. You will realize thatanything you mayrecognize from the Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling, notthis poor author. You will also realize thatFred and George's little... thing isan adaption of something some of you should know about. Again, not totally mine. End Author's Note.)
Chapter 17: Gotta Catch 'em All!
"Hey Harry!"
Harry smiled at Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan, who were in front of Gambol and Japes. "Hey guys. Was your summer okay?"
"It was a little boring, but nothing too bad. Do you know what time it is?" Dean asked.
"Almost noon. I'm going to go get some lunch. Talk to you later!" Harry winked at them, and wandered off, absently noting all of his schoolmates and DA members congregating in small groups, chatting. To the rest of the wizardfolk around them, it seemed perfectly normal. Harry knew that they were actually getting into their spots for the attack, which would take place soon. He had been checking with all of the groups, and so far, everyone was present or accounted for.
Harry ordered a small sundae from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, absently noting that Justin Finch-Fletchley and Hannah Abbott were three tables away, spooning up their own ice cream. Harry gave a slight nod to them, and they waved with their fingers. They were ready, their slight message said, and Harry grinned. So far, none of the wizards had noticed anything was amiss about all of the students gathering in Diagon Alley.
As he closed his eyes to better flavor the ice cream on his spoon, his magical sight kicked in. Recently, his second vision had been fluctuating on and off. Sometimes it was annoying, and sometimes helpful. Like that one time where he had been dueling Remus, and had seen the silent spell the werewolf had sent his way. Or that other time when Harry found a nasty booby trap in one of the tunnels he was exploring. Now, however, his magical sight revealed a glowing black web forming all around him, and what Harry knew was Diagon Alley. He glanced at the patterns, and guessed that it was an anti-apparition ward that was being set up. Turning his head slowly, he noticed another, thicker-laid web in the main thoroughfare of Diagon Alley. Harry then knew that the Death Eaters were in the Alley, hidden under an invisibility spell, waiting for their moment.
Harry opened his eyes and stood up, throwing away his half-finished sundae. Justin and Hannah looked at this sudden movement, and were alarmed when he flexed his right hand and went out into the Alley. The two, in response to his signal, also stood up and fingered their wands, waiting for the signal to proceed with their orders.
As Harry strode towards where he had seen the illusion web, all across the Alley, students stopped their chatter and watched Harry carefully. Luckily, he didn't cause that much attention due to the silence from the other wizards as they wondered if Harry Potter had indeed come into their midst.
The first gong caused noise to swell up. According to Caesar's Custom Clocks, a new store that had opened up this summer, and its huge grandfather clock, the time was now twelve o'clock. Patrons of Diagon Alley realized that it was lunchtime, and started hurrying away. Those nearest the Apparition point in and out of Diagon Alley were the first to find out that they couldn't Apparate out of the Alley. Confusion reigned as the fifth stroke tolled, except amongst the students. Some directed the mass of bewildered adults to the Floo station in The Leaky Cauldron, where Dennis and Colin Creevey were waiting with a huge vat of Floo powder. Others ran into shops, telling the owners point-blank that they were to cast the strongest spells they knew of to protect the shop, lock the door, and leave.
The final, twelfth gong rang, causing a wave of tension to run through the Alley. Harry drew his wand, as did the other DA members.
"Protego!" Harry said quietly, just in time to rebound the red stunner sent his way. "Oh Daisy Eaters, come out and play! We know you're there!" He smirked as the invisibility spell fell, and fifty black-cloaked figures appeared.
The adults immediately recognized the Death Eaters for what they were, and panicked. To their surprise, they were led immediately to the Leaky Cauldron, where the Creevey brothers handed them a pinch of Floo powder and told them to go home. It wasn't safe.
The Death Eaters didn't notice how quickly the Alley was emptying of all the adults, so focused were they on the youth in front of them.
"Oh, so you did decide to play." Harry's eyes glinted mischievously. "You went first. Now it's my turn." In the time that his opponents were able to blink, five of their number went down to Harry's quick stunners.
That was the signal for the DA members to attack. Jinxes and Hexes flew towards the Death Eaters, who were not ready for an assault. Almost half of the Death Eaters were down before the others got smart and started casting shield charms. Some kept the shield charm up under the barrage of spells, while the others revived their compatriots.
Undeterred, the DA members kept on shooting spells, their mind set on their mission. Harry moved silently, casting powerful hexes every now and then. Once he realized that the Death Eaters were merely countering the spells the DA members did get through, he pursued a different course of action. With a sense of slight regret, he aimed his wand carefully, and took a deep, somewhat shaky breath.
"Dissendo!" The cutting curse flew straight past the shield the Death Eaters had put up, and straight into the leg of one of those who was supporting the shield. The Death Eater screamed as blood sprouted from his now exposed leg, the curse causing his robe to go straight to ribbons and his leg showing a deep gash.
Both sides stopped for a moment, and looked at Harry. Both sides were, for a moment, united in their disbelief that Harry Potter would do such a thing.
Harry, however, had a cold look on his face. "Daisy Eaters, this is your chance to surrender. I know quite a few spells that will do that, but worse. Give up now, or face the consequences." He struggled to make his face emotionless, ignoring the feelings of guilt that sprang up.
A defiant Death Eater was the first to cast the horrible spell. "Avada Kedavra!" Gasps were heard all around the circle of DA members. Harry flicked his wand, and a huge, tightly stuffed pillow appeared in between him and the curse. The Unforgiveable slammed into the pillow, diminishing as it went through layers and layers of feathers. Harry was untouched, but the pillow exploded, sending feathers everywhere.
"I guess that's a no, then." Harry's voice came out of the feathery storm and he took the advantage with his magical sight to send curses flying. By the time the feathers had settled, half of the Death Eaters were down on the ground, bleeding from deep gashes on their bodies.
"Last chance, Daisy Eaters. I won't warn you again." Harry said. He raised his eyebrow as one of the few still left standing spit towards him. "Okay, no more warnings. Guys, blast 'em"
In a flurry of red stunners, those left standing were down and out. Harry smirked, and waved his wand. All of the Death Eaters piled up, and Harry tossed a small red and white ball at them. His friends watched, fascinated, as the ball separated into their colored halves, and a bright light issued forth. When they could see again, the Death Eaters were gone, and Harry was striding forward to pick up the now closed ball.
"What was that?" Ginny was the first to ask.
Fred and George piped up. "Magi-Balls! Capture your enemies and friends with one ball, and collect them! Lasts for three days, and are great for little siblings, annoying pets, and Death Eaters"
Harry snickered. "And right in here, I have our fifty little friends." He held up the small ball in his palm, and showed it to the onlookers. Then he looked at his watch. "We have five more minutes until the next wave. Everyone relax, and great job."
Five minutes later, they all stood up at Harry's hand motion, and held their wands out. All of them began to feel cold, and looked at Harry nervously. His own face was pale and taught, as screams started in his head. "It'll be okay, guys. This is nothing. Remember what I taught all of you last term. Focus on your happiest memories." Harry said soothingly, although he felt far from calm.
As over two hundred Dementors came into sight, Harry searched for the most recent, happiest memory he could possibly have. He'd discovered that the more recent and happier the memory, the stronger a Patronus would be. His mind settled on him wrestling with Firefur the day before. He slightly wondered why that memory came up, but pushed the thought away, as he had no time to seriously think about it.
"Expecto Patronum!" Harry, as well as many others of the group around him shouted. His brightly shining stag was the first to leap out, followed by Ginny's lioness, Hermione's otter, and the Weasley twin's pair of raccoons. Other silvery forms followed, leaping out of wands too quickly for Harry to recognize which Patronus belonged to whom. Harry's stag, though, led them all. Beads of sweat dripped down Harry's face as he concentrated on pouring power into his wand, and therefore his Patronus.
That concentration nearly broke when Harry saw silvery vapor rising out of his wand. Slowly, it collected into the form of a giant dog, which Harry recognized easily. "Padfoot?" He whispered in disbelief. The dog wagged his tail, and ran off to join the group of Patronii. The silvery mass circled around the Dementors bundling all one hundred into a single group.
Harry poured even more power into his wand as he realized that some of the Patronii were disappearing. "If your Patronus has disappeared, take some chocolate from the back ranks, and recast if you can! Hold them steady!" He shouted over his shoulder to those who couldn't hold the spell any longer, and those who were trembling.
Once all the Dementors were in their places, Harry breathed heavily as he cast his spell, casting a prayer upward that it would work. "Incendio Patronii!" Harry was almost blinded as his magical sight showed vibrant red and gold webs shooting out of his wand. The webs first wrapped around his two Patronii, and then spread to the others. Soon, what was left of the group of Patronii were no longer silver, but blazing with red and gold fire. Harry struggled to turn off his magical senses before the sight blinded him. When that didn't work, Harry simply closed his eyes, and hoped for the best.
Prongs attacked the Dementors first. His fiery antlers tore straight through the Dementor's robe, and out through the other side. The Dementor issued a chilling shriek before collapsing into a pile of black robes. The remaining Patronii followed his example, as teeth, claws, and any other available weapon attacked the Dementors. A cacophony of shrieks sounded, and everyone within hearing flinched as chills went down their spines. All of the DA members except Harry lost their concentration, and only Padfoot and Prongs were left of the glowing Patronii. And where the Dementors had stood was a pile of black robes.
Harry opened his eyes and watched in amazement as the two Patronii looked at each other, and walked back to him. "But, how?" He whispered. Prongs just bowed his regal head, still slightly ablaze, and Padfoot grinned and wagged his tail. They disappeared, their task done.
Harry immediately collapsed, exhausted and panting. His vision swam in front of him, and he saw the concerned faces of the new Marauders looking at him before he blacked out.
Ron shook off his shock, gathered his courage, and took charge. "Everyone, good job. We managed to survive. Go home quickly. Do not speak to anyone, I repeat, anyone about what you've just seen or heard.. There may be spies about, even when you talk to your mother. Until you receive an owl from Harry himself, you are not to even think about this. He won't like it if the whole story is printed on the front of the Daily Prophet tomorrow."
Everyone nodded in numb agreement. He went on. "You may be getting owls from the Ministry, talking about underage magic. Everyone will give their wands to Remus, so that nothing will happen to them. We'll get everything sorted out later. Just go on about your normal business."
Again, everyone nodded. "Now, get going. Make sure to hand your wand to Remus, so that it won't get snapped by those idiots down at the Ministry."
Remus conjured a cardboard box, and the students filed past him, dropping their wands into the box. Hermione's careful eye watched them to make sure that they didn't try to keep their wands, and Ron made sure that each student wasn't hurt or hexed before letting them go to the Leaky Cauldron to Floo away. Ginny got Harry as comfortable as she could, and absently ran her fingers through his messy hair.
Once all the students were away, Remus grabbed the box, and Ron lifted Harry gently. "I have to admit, we did one hell of a job." Ron smiled proudly.
"Language, Ron." Hermione said exasperatedly. "But yes, we did. I wasn't sure we'd make it out with no injuries whatsoever."
Remus looked at the teen in Ron's arm fondly. "It's all thanks to Harry. Without him, no doubt every person that was in this Alley would have been killed."
Ginny nodded. "Yeah… so does any one of us have any idea how he managed to know the Death Eaters were there before they attacked, or how he managed to kill all of those Dementors?"
"Not a darn clue," Ron said cheerfully. "I'm sure that Harry's probably as lost as the rest of us on that last one. We'll just have to ask him when he wakes up."
"Calm down Hedwig, and stop that ridiculous screeching! You look undignified!"
Hedwig looked at her talons, embarrassed. "I'm worried about Harry. He hasn't woken up yet. Is this normal? Why hasn't he woken up yet?" She continued rambling.
Fawkes gently whacked her with his wing. "You're starting to sound like the Weasley clan leader."
"Who, that Arthur guy?" Hedwig asked.
Fawkes chuckled. "You don't know who really leads the family? I thought it was obvious."
"Oh, the mother hen? I'm sorry, but I'm very worried about my master and friend!" Hedwig looked at him severely.
"I know, I know. But you've got to calm down. He only got in ten minutes ago. Besides, this is normal for humans who burn out their magic cores. Harry had to perform some very complicated magic, and created a new spell. Right now, his magical core is almost empty, and he's in a deep sleep while his body tries to refill."
Hedwig looked scandalized. "What do you mean he drained his magical core? He's not supposed to do that! Any fledgling knows that you have to have some reserves going, so you don't completely empty your magical core."
"Tell me, Hedwig, who told him as a fledgling about how to do all that? The humans have not realized how to do this yet. Harry only got the ability to speak to the animals over a month or two ago. He's never been trained, so it would be impossible for Harry to know how." Fawkes told the white owl, who had to think about that.
"I guess you're right," Hedwig said grudgingly.
Fawkes would've smirked if he had lips. "Naturally. When are you going to bow down and worship my very being?"
Fawkes decided that he probably should not say such things to a testy female owl within sight range. When a female is in a fowl mood, it was best to just keep quiet, and not have to run for dearlife.
Harry came to consciousness slowly, but kept his eyes closed. Running a mental check, Harry realized that he felt he had been run over by the Knight Bus. Four times, continuously. He decided that although his plan had worked, he shouldn't try that spell again until he knew how to store his magic together. Part of why he felt so awful was because the Patronus and Incendius Patronus Charms had to get magic from everywhere in his body, his magic was that scattered.
Absently, the teen wondered where everyone else was. Reaching out carefully with his magical senses, Harry discovered that he was in his bed in the Chamber, and the four other Marauders were in the Common Room. From what he could read of their emotions, all of them were concerned about him. Hedwig was currently speaking to a very injured Fawkes, her anger almost radiating off her. Harry couldn't make out what his owl was saying, because his mind wasn't completely awake.
Deciding that it was now or never, Harry slowly lifted his eyelids up, letting him see with his own eyes. Luckily for him, the light was off, so he wasn't squinting. As if it were a switch, his sight turned on all his other senses. Harry realized that he still had his clothes on, was lying in his bed, and a damp cloth was on his forehead.
"…and if he doesn't tell us how he did that…" Harry heard from an angry sounding Hermione. Quickly closing his eyes, Harry decided it was safer for his health if he went back to sleep.
"Oh dear, I must be getting cabin fever. Would anyone like to join me for a stroll in Diagon Alley?" Molly Weasley looked around, desperately. After Harry carted off her two youngest children, she had refused to leave Headquarters. Right now, however, she was feeling confined, and was desperate to get out. Shopping had always calmed her nerves. Normally, it was window-shopping, but Molly had saved up for a nice, new robe.
A few of the adults around the table looked excited about going. Tonks, in particular, looked delighted. "That would be wonderful, Molly. Diagon Alley---"
"Wos a'most razed to the ground, it was." All heads turned to the newest voice that had entered the conversation. Mundungus Fletcher had a pale look on his face. "I wos in Knockturn Alley, brushin' up on me friends, when the clock toll'd noon. I di'n't feel right, so I tried to 'pparate out, but wards were up agains' it."
Albus leaned forward. "Mundungus, tell us what happened." His eyes looked serious.
Mundungus shuddered. "I went to the Leaky Cauldron as fast as I coul', to Floo ou'. On the way, I saw some black robes, and whi'e masks. I woulda seen more, but a tyke rushed me inna the pub, handed me some powder, and rushed me off. They was probably Death Eaters, Albus."
The table was silent, when the door to the room banged open. Severus Snape stumbled in, his robes smoking, and bleeding all over. "Severus, what happened?" Came the cry from several throats.
"It seems for once, Mundungus is right. The Dark Lord attacked Diagon Alley today, and kept me behind, so I wouldn't 'accidentally' find Apparition abilities placing me here. He told me that he had sent fifty Death Eaters, and over two hundred Dementors to Diagon Alley, to utterly destroy it. After thirty minutes, a Death Eater came in, and told us that they couldn't find the fifty Death Eaters anywhere, the Dementors were nowhere to be found, and Diagon Alley was still standing. The Dark Lord let me go after a few rounds of Cruciatus, and killed the messenger." Severus winced, and clutched his arm, where his dark mark was burning. "He's not very happy right now, as you can imagine."
As Poppy Pomfrey rose to treat the spy's injuries, a third man appeared in the doorframe. "Dumbledore, sir, the Underage Magic Detectors picked up some major spells being thrown about in Diagon Alley. When our Investigators arrived, all they could see were feathers all over the place, and Dark Magic all over. And we found over two hundred pieces of burnt, black cloth where we registered some very powerful charm, that even our sensors can't identify what spell it is." Kingsley Shacklebolt looked vaguely worried.
Tonks linked the pieces together second. "So you're saying someone fought fifty Death Eaters, destroyed Dementors, and they were students?" She almost shrieked.
Albus Dumbledore leaned back in his seat, and gestured with his hands. A goblet of pumpkin juice appeared in his fingers, and he raised it in a toast. "Well played, Mr. Potter, well played." He said, and sipped.
Okay, I realize some of you are pissed that I didn't get this in much earlier. So much crap has happened in the past two months. Just for an example, I got stood up at the Homecoming Dance for my school (according to his mother, he was sick. according to the #(#, he wasn't, just didn't want to call me the night before when he knew he wasn't going to make it because of... long story, if you really want to know, I'll tell you, but it would take up too much space right here). And that doubly sucks, 'cause I'm a Senior. Also, in the past two months, I must have had easily a billion things to do for my stupid, Dual Credit English class, and my class had a bit of a blow-up with the teacher. Let's just saymy life hasnot been thecoolest lately.
On top of that, my Musedeserts me often. I'll try to catch her so I can write again. Due to the stupidity that is school, boys, and life, my update schedule will be sporadic. Please be patient, and don't bring out the torches and pitchforks immediately.
As for questions... pretty much the same as last chapter. Since I was more concerned on getting content in, I'm pretty sure that I didn't put the date of the attack in. Next chapter, I promise. Some of you have already guessed it. And if you want to ask questions, go for it! I'm just not completely sure it will be answered. ;-)
Well, 'til next we meet!
Ceres K.