Chapter 21 Time to Strike

With a sense of reluctance Harry began to slowly open the door. The door was merely two inches open when the blinding light came spilling out from behind it. With the door fully open, they both cautiously walked in, wands drawn with their free hand shielding their eyes. The door was left open, unsure if it would lock itself now that Brooklyn had retrieved her wand from it. Inching closer, the light was becoming even more blinding. Feeling as though their sight was going to be compromised, Harry told Brooklyn to stay back and make sure no one was coming. She didn't argue, immediately turning her back toward him, keeping guard at the door.

Harry felt as though his corneas were being burned as he approached the source of the ever blinding light. From what he could tell, it was an empty room with the exception of a lone center stone column. The light was the purest color of white he was ever seen. When he reached the column, he could see nothing but white light. He was almost certain that he would be blinded if he kept his eye on it for much longer.

Expecting there to be some form of container, he reached for it blindly. He could feel the energy emitting from it, becoming extremely warm, but not hot. Harry never did find a container. Unsure if he had come into contact with it, he fully opened his eyes. The light was so blinding it startled him, making him stumble forward, having to brace himself on the column to not fall completely.

He landed face first into the ball of contained energy. Just as quickly as it had made contact with him, it was gone. Eyes stinging from the exposure, he glanced around. The room was quite dark. Brooklyn was still standing by the door keeping watch. For an instant he thought it had disappeared, lost it completely. But he noticed something different.

He was feeling…weird. It wasn't a bothersome feeling, it was just…odd.

It must have absorbed into him immediately on contact. Harnessing the power was a lot easier than he had anticipated. He just hoped that it was nontransferable. Testing this, he approached Brooklyn and touched her shoulder. She turned slowly, eyes preemptively squinting. They fully opened upon seeing that there was nothing to shield her eyes from.

She smiled. "I take it you succeeded."
"I guess so."
"Your features are lighter." She said. He looked at her quizzically. "Nothing drastic, it just looks like a weight has been lifted from you or something."
He sighed in relief. "Oh good, I thought you were about to tell me my hair was blonde or something."
"Well, that too."
"WHAT?!?!"
"Just kidding." She smirked
"You better be…" He ruffled his hair, making sure a few strands came out in the process. After affirming that his hair was still indeed brown, he looked around the barren room one last time. "Alright, let's get out of here."

--------------------------------------------

Anders decided the quickest way to get there was by apparating. When he popped into his office he was stunned by what he found. He door had been left cracked open, drawers open, files everywhere and his whole desk askew. His first instinct was to check on the Potter file. His anxiety began to rise when he saw the locked cabinet drawer containing the file wide open. As he feared, the file was not in its proper location. Anders started to panic, throwing file after file out of the drawer onto the floor until it was empty.

This was not good. Not good at all.

His mind began to race. His first thought immediately went to his wife. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to her. For one thing was for certain…this missing file meant that he was in immediate danger. If whoever it was went to go looking for him at his home, they'd find Evelyn there making party preparation. He didn't want to go beyond that thought.

Anders calmed himself down enough to do a quick search of the rest of his ransacked office. With a sigh, he determined that only the Potter file had been taken. He slammed his top desk drawer shut, leaving the rest in their remaining half open positions.

Oh no…

His key and wand were still missing.

Just when Anders thought things couldn't get any worse, they did.

Now standing in the doorway was none other than Harry Potter and…him.

-------------------------------------------

"Stupefy!" It was Harry's first instinct when they reached Anders Tollen's office and realized that the real Anders Tollen was there. "Alright use a memory charm on him. We'll leave the place ransacked and he'll just assume he was attacked."
"And the file I burned?" She took Anders wand from Harry and placed it on his desk along with the key to his office.
"Well, he'll have more problems than that to handle when he wakes up." He dragged Brooklyn toward the door. "Change back into him so we can get my wand back."

She complied, performed a few memory charms and performed the counter-curse once Harry was halfway down the hall and ran. Once back on the ground floor they returned to the registry to get Harry's wand.

The attendant looked at them oddly. "You're done?"
The Anders looking Brooklyn cleared her throat, "Yes."
"Isn't he supposed to go straight to Azkaban?!"
Harry's mouth dropped.
Brooklyn didn't flinch. "There isn't a sufficient amount of evidence to do so."
"But that doesn't matter! He's supposed to be transported after interrogation!"
Brooklyn stepped forward, looking quite angry. "Last time I checked, I ran this case and I don't follow commands from anyone but the Minister of Magic himself."
"But, this is an outrage! He's a wanted Death Eater!" The attendant was clearly exasperated.
"Give me his wand." She demanded.
"I won't give a wand to a Death Eater!"
"And you think I would?"
The attendant stared speechless for a moment. "I need to clear this with the Minister."
"If I'm not mistaken, the Minister is on Holiday."
"Then I'll check with…" the attendant sighed heavily.
"That's right, I'm next in line in this matter. Now give Mr. Potter his wand."

Begrudgingly, Harry's wand was given back. Harry couldn't help but smile. Brooklyn was extremely quick thinking and convincing beyond belief. He was actually disappointed in himself for not taking notice of her in school, even though she was a year ahead of him.

With his wand now in hand, they were walking leisurely toward the exit. That was until the real Anders Tollen appeared at the registry, apparently asking if anyone had been in here since he had left earlier that evening. The attendant was screaming indecipherably, pointing down the hallway toward them. When Anders started running toward them, Harry's grabbed Brooklyn's arm and apparated both of them out of there, back to his house.

If there wasn't a bounty out for him already, there certainly was now.

Now all he had to do was figure out how to get in contact with Snape and Malfoy to save Ron.

--------------------------------------------

"Okay," Brooklyn said, still completely flabbergasted. "That was by far the most spontaneous thing I've ever done in my life."

Harry looked at the date on the paper. January 1, 1998. He put it on the desk in the drawing room. He was about to respond to her statement when a sudden burning sensation came from his chest. He grabbed his shirt, immediately knowing what the cause was. His now authentic Dark Mark was now functioning for the first time. He unbuttoned the first few button of his shirt. Sure enough, there it was in all of its hellish glory.

Brooklyn looked to him knowingly. "Time to get in contact with the Order."
"I'm sorry." He offered.
She ignored his statement. "Let's go to Tonks' house. We'll just wait for her if she's not there."
"And how are we supposed to get in if she's not there?"
"Please, Harry. She told me that you became quite the expert at unlocking things in her house." She smirked. "Besides, we're practically certified in breaking and entering."
"I would like to hex her for leaving us in that house from hell for so long. I guess the element of surprise would help." He mused.
"You've got to be on good behavior, Harry."
"Now you sound like her."
"Trust me, I'd love to hex her myself for having to put up with that demon child." She shuddered at the mere thought of that kid. "I rather just get this over with and move on."
"Alright, alright. Good behavior."

He should've made her promise the same. As soon as Tonks walked into her house, Brooklyn had her fall flat on her face. Tonks didn't retaliate. She didn't say anything about it in fact. She said something else…

"Do you two ever think before you act?!" She straightened out her sleeve. "Now everyone has to work on a Holiday! A Holiday!"
Harry ignored her comments. "Tonks, I have something really important to tell you."
"And not just any Holiday. National Hangover Day!"
"Tonks!"
"People were still drunk, falling asleep, stumbling ar-"
"Will you shut it about working, I'm trying to tell you something!" Harry said after losing patience. Tonks stared. "There's a Death Eater meeting going on."
"A what…?" She shook her head. "How do you know this?"
Harry sighed heavily. "My Dark Mark works just like any other one. Whatever is going on started about half an hour ago."

Tonks didn't respond. She walked over to the couch and sat by Brooklyn. Her expression was grave. Something was obviously not right.

"Harry, you've made an enemy."
"The list grew?"
His sarcasm obviously wasn't amusing her. "Harry, I'm serious. Someone in the Order has aligned themselves with the Ministry."
"But the Ministry thinks he's a murderer." Brooklyn interjected.
Tonks acknowledged her statement.
"Who is it?!" Harry demanded. She didn't respond. "So, I can't trust anyone. Not even you."
"Harry…" Tonks said warily.
"Who is it? Who thinks I killed Ron?!" He yelled.
"Moody." Harry stared, stunned. "You know how he's suspicious of everyone." She sounded as if she was actually trying to reassure him.
"Yeah, but he's an enemy I really can't afford to have! What am I supposed to do?!"
"We will see where he really stands in the end."
"With Moody on my tail, I might not make it to the end!"
Tonks glared at him. "Which is why you should still be in hiding."
"I can't wait any longer." He said firmly.
"If you go off searching alone, it will not end well. You need the Order to help you."
Indignantly, Harry stood his ground. "From now on, it'll be the Order that needs my help. I'll be in contact with you when I'm ready for your services."
Tonks started to panic. "Wait! What about the Dark mark? The meetings? You're all we have!"
"I just told you there was something going on. I don't know where and I don't know what, I just know that Death Eaters have been summoned."
"And that is priceless information."
He sighed. "I'll let you know when it happens again. But for now I need to leave."
"Where are you going?" Tonks inquired.
"I can't tell you." He stood up, Brooklyn did the same. "You need to stay here."
"What?! No!" Brooklyn said, outraged.
"It's going to be dangerous enough as it is." Harry said calmly.
"Don't give me that crap! I got you into the Ministry! I pretty much opened that door for you!"
She did have some valid points.
"I don't want to go where I'm going." He stared at her, hoping she could figure out where he planned on going with having to say it.
She lowered her head and nodded.
Tonks looked horrified. "Oh god, Harry. What are you doing?" He was gone before she could finish the sentence. She turned to Brooklyn, demanding where he went.
Brooklyn hesitated, then sighed heavily. "To get Ron."

-----------------------------------------

Three. That was how many times Harry had stepped foot in this damned graveyard. This time would be the last time. How he hoped it really, truly was.

There was dead silence in the graveyard. It was eerie instead of evil. He figured he must be getting used to the place. Harry knew he needed to find Snape or Malfoy, but wasn't quite sure how. He looked toward the house in the distance and instinctively began to move toward it. He had barely taken two steps when a voice cut through the air.

"Took you long enough, Potter." It was definitely Malfoy. "We don't have all the time in the world to work with here."
"Where's Ron?" Harry demanded.
"Now, now. Don't get you're panties in a twist." Malfoy taunted. "Ron's fine. A little battered, but nothing too serious. Minus that one time, but he's alright now."
Harry simply glared.
"What?!" Malfoy said defensively. "Snape fixed him up as soon as no one was looking!"
"Can we just get on with this?"

Malfoy threw a pair of robes at him. Obviously ones a Death Eater would wear. Harry didn't need to be told what to do with them. Hating what he was doing, he put on the robes and put the hood up. If Moody could only see him now….

"There's a meeting going on nearby." Malfoy said, starting to walk toward the house. "I can only assume it won't last much longer since you took forever to get here."
"Just tell me what I need to do."
"There are ten Death Eaters assigned to this place at all times. Obviously you know who two of them are already."
"You're boring me Malfoy, get to the part where Ron and I get the hell out of here."
"After tea and biscuits of course." Harry was ready to slug him. "Just shut it and listen, Potter or you'll get us both killed."

Standing in the shadows of the Riddle house, Malfoy told him the master plan.

Harry was less than impressed.

"So let me get this straight," the sarcasm was dripping from his voice. "Ron's already out wandering around aimlessly and you want me to wander around in there aimlessly too and hope we run into each other before getting caught?"
"Well, it was mostly Snape's idea." Malfoy defended. "And you're not wandering aimlessly, Ron's looking for that damn snake and you're going to help him kill it."

Harry sighed. He had forgotten that he would have the chance to kill Nagini during this as well. That snake could kill Ron and him in one strike. Who knows how long they would have to get to a doctor if one of them got bit. Not to mention he wasn't exactly sure how to kill a living Horcrux. He decided his best bet was simply Avada Kedavra.

"Potter, you coming or what?" Malfoy said impatiently, waiting for him by a side door.

Nodding slightly, he made his way toward the door, knowing that more of his nightmares were about to become reality.

--------------------------------------

Ron had been hiding behind the decrepit chair for about five minutes since another Death Eater came to stand guard at the door. He didn't know why, there was nothing in this room to guard. At least nothing that he could see from his current crouching position. He had run upstairs in search of Nagini after Snape had let him out and gave him a pair of Death Eater robes as cover and his wand. Snape had told him that Nagini was currently slithering around somewhere on the top floor. Snape had also told him that Harry had been successful at breaking into the Department of Mysteries and should be on his way to help.

How Ron wished Harry would hurry up.

The Death Eater, who had his back toward Ron, left the doorway. Ron took the opportunity to get up and scope out the room. There wasn't much too it. He checked every corner, crevasse, any snake like hiding place. Then he remembered that Nagini wasn't exactly a small snake.

Snakes were quickly taking over spiders as his biggest fear.

It was time to search another room and hopefully not get caught. He knew that there were at least two Death Eaters he had seen and he was fairly certain he heard the voice of another. The third floor was definitely smaller compared to the others. The stairs led to an open landing with five different doors. This didn't exactly give Ron much of a chance to switch rooms without being seen.

Mustering up some nerve, he threw the hood over his head and looked out the door. There was one Death Eater leaning on the railing, looking down to the floors below. The other two were engrossed in a conversation in the room right next to his. Just as he was about to step out of the room, a voice from downstairs sounded.

"Hey Crabbe! Come here will you?" Ron thought it sounded like Malfoy.

The Death Eater leaning on the railing nodded and made his way down the stairs. From the quick glimpse that Ron got, Crabbe was indeed the Crabbe from Hogwarts. He was willing to bet that the other two on the floor were some Hogwarts dropouts as well. When he couldn't hear the stairs creaking, he peered out again. The other two Death Eaters were now at the railing, obviously looking to see what was going on.

Ron took his chance and stealthily made his way to the other end of the landing, to the only other open room. Once inside he stepped to the right and pressed himself against the wall, pushing the hood off of his head. His heart was pounding. It was the only thing he could hear. He closed his eyes hoping it would help decrease the anxiety. It seemed to work. He could hear the muffled voices of the two Death Eaters still outside the room.

He looked out the door once more. To his surprise, no one was there. He caught a glimpse of them going down the stairs and breathed a sigh of relief. He turned around to explore the room.

A lump rose in his throat.

Nagini was glaring right at him…

And was rising into a striking position.