Thanks to buttamellow from WizardTales(dot)net and TheGreyLady from perfectimagination(dot)co(dot)uk for the beta of this chapter.
CHAPTER FOUR
Pomona Sprout did some coordinating with the other professors to guarantee the protection of the school and the containment of the Death Eaters that would arrive through Portkey. A room nearby the hospital wing was prepared to keep the captured Death Eaters until they could be delivered to the Ministry. Hagrid was patrolling the grounds, closer to the building because it was no use to spread their few resources even thinner.
In the hospital wing, the designated healing squadron was as ready as possible. Headmistress McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny Weasley all sat rigidly inside Madam Pomfrey's office, waiting for the alarm that would sound when one of the pre-made escape Portkeys passed through Hogwarts' wards into the Hospital Wing.
None of them tried to start a conversation. None was keen to have small talk, and the one subject that could interest them would only increase the tension in the room. Especially for Ginny, who was beyond angry about her mother's decision to not let her go with the group to rescue Harry.
The teen sat in her chair, arms crossed over her chest, her feet swinging skittishly, her head bowed to escape the stares of the others.
If they had been checking the time, they would have known that it had been around fifteen minutes since the groups had departed when the first pre-made Portkey was activated, and a group of five Death Eaters arrived in the middle of the Hospital Wing.
The four witches ran to attend the wounded. They floated each one to a bed and dispelled the ropes but made sure that the prisoners were Stunned or passed out.
They treated their injuries and then rebound the ones that didn't have anything too serious. Only one person of that group had any major wounds that would need a more capable healer from St. Mungo's. But they needed to wait for an update on Arthur Weasley's mission with the Ministry before moving anyone there.
Headmistress McGonagall called for the help of some house-elves, and the little creatures happily went to work, pegging numbers in the Death Eaters robes and then a correspondent number on their wands. Their white masks were also taken and labeled for future reference. Then the elves levitated the Death Eaters to the room previously prepared to keep prisoners and locked them there.
The elves returned to the kitchen and their usual chores, and the witches seated themselves once again, waiting for the next wave of wounded and prisoners.
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Next came two prisoners only Stunned and bound. Again a call from McGonagall brought a couple of house-elves that processed the prisoners in no time at all.
After these two were locked in the makeshift cell and the four women were again seated and prepared to wait, the fire in the Hospital Wing flared up and Arthur Weasley stepped out of it, soon followed by five Aurors, Minister Scrimgeour himself and, of course, his assistant, Percy Weasley.
Minerva McGonagall stood, walking toward the group of men. "Minister!"
"It seems that Mr. Potter has once again gone off without informing anyone."
"Potter believes that he was the one that should face of You-Know-Who, Minister. He left some information so we could follow him." Headmistress McGonagall responded, feeling pressured to defend the young man.
"Hmm…" Minister Scrimgeour looked around the room. "How long has it been since he went to… Where was it, Weasley? Malfoy Manor?"
"Yes sir, Malfoy Manor. That was the information that was passed to us," Percy answered, not looking toward his father.
Molly Weasley stood up and hurried to approach her husband. She couldn't control herself and tried to talk to her son. "Percy…" But she was abruptly interrupted by the Minister himself.
"How is it that the Aurors have made a series of raids there and never found anything? The way Mr. Potter keeps 'discovering' information that nobody else has been able to dig out is becoming quite suspicious."
"As I explained at the Ministry," Arthur answered, clearly out of patience with the man and his attitude, "a comment alerted Harry to the possibility of wards being made with Parseltongue spells. Since nobody else besides You-Know-Who and Harry himself can speak Parseltongue, not even the best curse-breakers would be able to identify them. That's why the Aurors couldn't find anything more at Malfoy Manor. But if Harry has brought down these wards, everybody else would be able to pass through."
"We have seven Death Eaters in custody. One of them should be sent to St. Mungo's for treatment. The other six are bound and locked in a room," Minerva informed.
"Smythe!" Scrimgeour called. "Go with this wounded Death Eater to St. Mungo's. If he is released, take him to the holding cells in the Ministry. If not, stay with him at the hospital."
The man walked toward the bed where the prisoner lay, touching his chest at the same time he activated a Portkey. The two wizards vanished from sight.
"And this place where you are holding the other suspects…?" the Minister asked.
"A room nearby," McGonagall answered shortly, peeved with the man's attitude.
"Well, I think we should check on them." Scrimgeour turned to leave the hospital wing, followed by the remaining Aurors and Percy.
"Minister!" Arthur Weasley called. The group stopped by the door and turned to look at the man. "Are you going to assume responsibility for those men?"
"What do you mean?"
"I believe that they have been bound, their wands taken, correct?" Arthur asked Minerva in a formal way.
"Yes, Arthur. Their wands were tagged, as were the men themselves, so we would be able to know which wand belongs to which man. Their masks were also taken and tagged," Minerva answered.
"Since this… operation was organized and executed outside the Ministry scope, I would say that it is necessary to establish the limits and responsibilities here. You already assumed responsibility for that Death Eater that Auror Smythe accompanied to St. Mungos." Arthur was in his best public servant behaviour.
"What do you mean by limits and responsibilities?" Scrimgeour seemed a little lost.
"The Minister didn't assume any kind of responsibility in this situation!" Percy intervened.
"Well, when the Minister accepted the fact that the wounded man was a Death Eater captured during tonight's operation and assigned Auror Smythe to guard him, he was acknowledging and recognizing the legitimacy of the action."
"I did no such thing!" Scrimgeour exclaimed.
"By Ministry regulations you did, sir," Arthur answered calmly.
Scrimgeour and Percy snorted almost at the same time, an expression of contempt on their faces. The four Aurors were quiet and trying hard to appear invisible behind the two politicians.
"Where do you want to go, Weasley? What do you expect to gain from all this babble?"
"Gain, Minister?" Arthur answered, a false expression of surprise on his face. Even if he didn't play the high political games around the Ministry, it didn't mean he didn't know how to do it.
"I think there is a need to be clear who is responsible for what in this situation. We have a large group of civilians going into battle with You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters in what could be his main stronghold." Arthur stopped to take a deep breath and risked a quick look around the room.
Minerva McGonagall was wearing her most severe expression, but, at the same time, her eyes were shining, in her version of the twinkling for which Albus Dumbledore was famous.
Poppy Pomfrey was a bit away from the main discussion, seated on a bed, clearly having fun with the dancing of words between the two men.
Ginny was watching the display avidly, chewing her nails. That was a side of her father that she had never seen, and she was quite impressed. At the same time, Ginny felt an almost uncontrollable desire to deck Percy in the head because of his pompous behaviour. Even after Dumbledore and Harry had been proven correct, the prat didn't see it fit to apologize to any of them, especially their parents.
Molly Weasley was torn between outmost pride in her husband's attitude and a mother's pain because her son – one of her babies – was being such a… git!
Arthur Weasley once again stared at the Minister and his 'assistant'. It was easier if he didn't think about Percy as 'Percy, his third son.' It was better, in this situation, to think of him as 'Weatherby, the sickly subservient assistant of the Minister.'
"As I was saying, Minister, if the actions of this civilian group are acknowledged and recognized by the Ministry, then this entire operation can be treated as a joint effort." Arthur let his words sink into the other men's minds.
"Since you assigned an Auror to keep guard of a prisoner retrieved by this civilian operation, I assumed you had already decided to work with them. This way we can assure that the ones deserving it will be arrested and thrown in Azkaban. And none of the brave men and women that are risking their lives this very moment will suffer for their courage… and independence." Arthur breathed loudly. "If this is to be declared a joint effort, the success will be spread over all involved." Arthur concluded.
"We don't want the prizes, Mr. Scrimegour," Minerva McGonagall completed. "But we want the certainty that things will be done right this time around."
The entire political discussion lost its appeal when a new group of Death Eaters was Portkeyed into the Hospital Wing. They were dirty and Stupefied. The Minister, Percy, and the Aurors stayed back while the four witches dealt with them.
Following this lot, the Death Eaters kept coming in groups, a few with wounds, all of them Stupefied and bound.
Molly, Minerva, Poppy, and Ginny worked quickly around the prisoners, identifying the ones in need of medical attention and the ones that were out cold.
This time Minerva didn't have to call for the house-elves. As soon as the first Portkeyed group arrived, a couple of elves showed to tag and claim their wands. With the increase of incoming prisoners, new elves kept popping around the Hospital Wing.
The influx of prisoners diminished and the people and the elves in the Hospital Wing began to relax.
But then two new arrivals rattled all of them. A wounded woman appeared on the floor, close to Madam Pomfrey. "Hestia!" Headmistress McGonagall screamed, running toward the Order member.
Seconds later a group of five Death Eaters landed in the middle of the room. Molly, Arthur and Ginny ran toward them. Arthur separated the three men that were only Stupefied and bound them, and the elves took their wands and masks, tagging them for future information.
Molly and Ginny examined the two injured. "This one might have a concussion. I think Madam Pomfrey should check him," Ginny said.
"This is a nasty Cutting hex," Molly whispered while trying to close the big wound on the back of the second Death Eater.
Finally Minister Scrimgeour and Percy Weasley abandoned their place by the walls and walked closer the new arrivals.
"Poirot Parkinson!" The Minister exclaimed in surprise after seeing one of the Stupefied and bound prisoners.
"And I think the one with the concussion is Marcus Flint, a Slytherin who graduated from Hogwarts the same year I did," Percy informed in a low voice.
"I think the big man is Balthazar Bulstrode," Minerva said, still by Hestia's side while Madam Pomfrey took care of her wound.
"The one with the nasty cut is the fugitive Dolohov," one of the Aurors said.
"Anyone recognize the last of this group?" Arthur Weasley asked.
"No… I don't think so," another Auror answered.
"We will have to interrogate all of them anyway," the third Auror stated.
"So…" Arthur stood up and faced the Minister. "That means you are approving of this operation, Minister?"
Scrimgeour made a face, unhappy with the way things had happened that night. But he couldn't deny the great accomplishment this group of 'civilians' had made. Better to stick with the winning side anyway, especially if Potter did manage to kill You-Know-Who.
"Yes, Weasley. After all, a group of Aurors did go to help this operation on Malfoy Manor, didn't they? Let's keep this as a joint operation. Everybody will be happy, and nobody will get in trouble."
"That's good enough for me, Minister," Arthur answered, smiling.
The elves were moving the new prisoners and cleaning up the Hospital wing when another Portkey entered the space. On the floor, in the middle of the room, were Ron, Hermione, and Remus Lupin, all three of them touching Harry Potter's body.
"What happened?" Molly screamed and ran towards the group.
"Harry!" Ginny cried at the same time.
"We found him like that," Hermione answered between hiccups. "We couldn't find any wounds but we couldn't wake him!"
Before anyone could do something, another person was delivered by Portkey. When he recognized his second son, Arthur Weasley ran to him, helping the young man to sit on an empty bed. He was holding a useless arm, his face full of pain.
Molly felt torn between the two young men. Ginny solved her dilemma.
"Go help Charlie, Mum. Harry will need Madam Pomfrey."
The older woman looked back and forth and finally nodded in agreement. She walked toward her second oldest son and started checking his wounds and healing whatever she could.
Madam Pomfrey ended the treatment of Hestia Jones, and Professor McGonagall helped the woman to get more comfortable in the hospital bed.
The Mediwitch looked at the two Death Eaters quickly, just to guarantee they didn't have any life-threatening wounds, and then she went to check Charlie, leaving him at Molly's mercy after identifying his wound.
Ron and Lupin carried Harry to 'his' bed; the bed in the far end of the hospital wing where Harry always stayed when he was injured. A situation so common that their roommate, Seamus Finnegan, used to joke that Harry deserved his own private room in the hospital wing.
Hermione and Ginny walked behind the two men carrying Harry. Hermione tried to clean her tears and Ginny fought to not let any fall.
Harry seemed to be asleep, but his complexion was too pale and his breathing too shallow to give any comfort to his friends.
Madam Pomfrey walked behind Harry's friends. "Do you know what he might have done?" She asked impassively, but anyone who knew the matron could recognize the worry in her voice.
"When we found him, he was out cold," Ron said.
"We tried to wake him up but couldn't," Hermione completed.
"No visible wounds," Lupin contributed.
Madam Pomfrey used her wand to cast a series of diagnostic spells. The tension in the room was rising as each moment passed without information on Harry's condition. Finally the witch lowered her wand and turned to the group crowded at the foot of the bed.
"He is magically exhausted. He has been exposed to the Cruciatus Curse and a few bumps, but nothing more serious. He just needs to rest."
A collective sigh filled the room. Hermione and Ginny quickly summoned a chair each and immediately claimed the sides of Harry's bed. Lupin fell, seated, on a nearby bed, letting his head rest in his hands. Ron hugged his father without shame and let the older man comfort him.
Scrimgeour, Percy and the Aurors finally moved to check the room with the prisoners while the house-elves dealt with the last of the Death Eaters in the hospital wing.
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While Ron, Hermione and Lupin Portkeyed away with Harry, Moody was checking the situation of the Death Eaters in the room. He quickly Stupefied and bound Bellatrix before levitating her towards the other bound Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy.
After helping convince his brother to go back to Hogwarts, Bill and the twins advanced to check the other two Death Eaters in the room.
"These two are definitively dead," Bill attested.
Moody limped toward them. "Nott and Avery," the old Auror recognized.
"Harry made a good use of our products," George commented proudly.
"That boy is dangerous," Moody growled. He made a movement with his wand, encompassing the room. "I don't think I recognize all the spells used here."
"Well, we can try some Priori Incantatem with the wands," Bill said looking around.
"But I think this is more important," Fred said in a low voice near the place Harry was found.
The other three in the room turned to the young man.
"What is it, Fred?" George walked to his brother.
"I think this is what is left of Moldyshorts," Fred said.
Moody and Bill hurried to the place. In front of them was a mummified-like body with a sword embedded in his chest.
"I think this is Gryffindor's sword, the one that used to be in Albus's office," Moody commented.
"The same sword Harry used to kill the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets," George informed.
"I never got the entire tale of that adventure," Bill said.
"Harry doesn't talk about it because Ginny gets upset," Fred told his brother.
The four men kept looking at the body in the floor.
"What we should do?" George asked, uncertain.
"We have to take him -- it? -- with us," Bill answered.
"But first, proof for posterity and the Ministry," Fred said pulling a camera from the knapsack he was carrying.
"Why did you bring a camera?" Bill asked.
"Well, if Harry came to finish off old Snake-Face, I thought that the accomplishment deserved to be preserve for future generations," Fred answered.
"And some hard proof couldn't hurt too," George contributed. "We all know how the Daily Prophet can be… imaginative in its descriptions, or how mule-headed those politicians at the Ministry can be."
"Better safe than sorry," Fred finished, while taking pictures of the state of the room they were in.
When he was finished, Moody conjured a big bag and levitated Voldemort's body into it. Bill took the sword with him.
They prepared the dead and the bound Death Eaters and Portkeyed them to the hospital wing.
"You boys go back to Hogwarts," Moody ordered. "I'll go check to see if the rest of the house is secured." And he started to walk away.
"Hey, we can help!" Fred protested.
"You're civilians! You've done enough. I bet Molly is in stitches, worrying about you. Go now!" And the ex-Auror wobbled out of the room, limping toward the entrance where Flitwick had disappeared earlier.
Bill turned toward his twin brothers. "He's right. There are Aurors around and it would be better if we don't get involved in any other fights."
The other two exchanged an entire conversation in the quick look they shared and nodded in acceptance. Bill produced a Portkey and the three of them touched it, feeling the usual pull taking them away.
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When the last three Weasleys appeared in the hospital wing they were quickly hugged by their parents. Ginny was close behind them.
Bill offered Gryffindor's sword to McGonagall, who took and put it in Madam Pomfrey's office.
The Mediwitch checked the young men, healing minor cuts from their adventure.
They could see the Death Eaters that were Portkeyed before them being dealt with. The dead were taken to a far side of the hospital wing, apparently the first lost in this fight. Malfoy was treated and then pegged with a number, his wand likewise. Bellatrix was a bit more complicated.
Accepting help from Bill, Madam Pomfrey tried to identify the curse Harry had used on her.
"What were you thinking, teaching this kind of spell to a young boy?!" The Mediwitch raged at him.
"I was thinking that Harry would go against a bunch of Death Eaters that wouldn't hold anything back. He needed all the advantages he could get," Bill answered a bit peeved for being chastised.
"Harry isn't a boy anymore," Hermione commented in a low voice. "He probably hasn't been a boy for a long, long time," she completed sadly.
Madam Pomfrey humphed but went on treating Bellatrix Lestrange, announcing in the end that the witch should be sent to St. Mungo's.
"I think she might never really recover from this. It is like having her own Dementor inside her head."
"Not that she was much saner before," Ron said.
Arthur went on to call for an Auror to accompany the witch to the hospital and the room was quiet again.
After the Auror took Bellatrix away and Arthur returned, the Order members sat in a corner of the hospital wing, around a conjured table and a light meal provided by the house-elves.
"How's Harry?" Bill inquired.
"Madam Pomfrey said he suffers from magical exhaustion and that he just needs rest," Ron answered between bites.
"Well, it's finished," Charlie commented, his arm still a bit stiff but not a hindrance to his appetite.
"Yeah…" Several voices sounded a bit lost around the table.
The silence stretched in the room, each person lost in his or her own mind, remembering the last months or dreaming of the future.
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Back at Malfoy Manor, the big group of Aurors and the remaining Order members were finishing taking care of the last resistance they had found on the mansion's second floor.
As soon as Elphias Doge and Sturgis Podmore climbed the stairs at the beginning of the raid, they were confronted by a barrage of spells that had them pinned against a wall without much space to maneuver. The arrival of the Order Aurors Shacklebolt, Tonks, and Towler helped a bit, but it was clear they were badly outnumbered.
Elphias Doge had just been hit by a Killing Curse and Podmore grazed by an Entrail-Expelling Curse when the stairs pounded with the hurried steps of a group of Aurors guided by Amos Diggory.
One Auror activated an emergency Portkey that would take Podmore directly to St. Mungos and the rest of the group advanced toward the room where the Death Eaters were entrenched.
They exploded the door to the room and the group advanced together, some launching spells, others using Shielding charms to protect as many as possible.
The sound of failed pops proved that the anti-Apparition wards were fully functional and now the panic was taking care of the Death Eaters.
The fight inside the room was vicious and quick. At the end, when Shacklebolt and the leading Auror could take the time to check, they found twenty-five Death Eaters. They counted five dead, five seriously wounded and the rest with cuts and scrapes, but nothing life-threatening.
Between the Light forces, they had lost Doge outside the room and another three Aurors during the fierce fight inside. Besides Podmore, they had ten seriously injured that were Portkeyed to St. Mungo's as soon as possible. The rest of the group had several wounds, from broken bones to cuts, to some exposure to the Cruciatus Curse, but all in all, they had fared quite well.
The Aurors sorted through the Death Eaters, preparing them to Portkey to the Ministry holding cells, while the Order members tried to take care of the minor injuries.
Flitwick and Auror Crisswell advanced in the room running. It took them a few seconds to understand what was happening.
"So, we missed the end of it?" Professor Flitwick asked, sounding a little disappointed.
"I'll bet that you had the chance to test your dueling skills, Fillius," Amos Diggory answered the diminutive teacher while taking care of Tonks's cuts, avoiding a direct answer.
"Yes, we engaged five Death Eaters in combat at the entrance of that secret room. After they fell, we left them to Moody," the short man answered.
"I think I pity them," Auror Towler said in a low voice.
"Well, they managed to injure Hestia Jones and Charlie Weasley; so no, I don't pity them," Flitwick said.
"What about Harry?" Tonks asked, still trying to escape Diggory's care.
"They hadn't found him when we left," Flitwick said, starting to walk around the room to offer his assistance.
Shacklebolt put a hand over Tonks's shoulder. "Calm down, Tonks. They will find him and the boy will be ok. He always is."
"Yeah, always is…" Tonks said with her head down. She sighed. "But what if his luck ran out? What we would do? Remus would be devastated. I don't think I could take that too…"
Shacklebolt squeezed her shoulder once more and walked away to help sort out the prisoners and dispatch them to the holding cells. Soon Amos Diggory finished patching Tonks's wounds and walked away as well, going to help the next injured person. The other Aurors also murmured something unintelligible towards the young woman and walked away.
Tonks slouched against the wall behind her, head bowed and lost in thoughts. She stopped paying attention to the movements in the room, letting her worries wash over her.
Some minutes later, she was brought back to reality by a gnarly hand grabbing her shoulder. "Tonks! Snap out of it! The boy is safe! Lupin took him to Hogwarts!" Moody growled into her face.
The young woman jumped at the unexpected contact and information thrown at her. She then immediately tripped over her own feet, slamming hard against the wooden paneling behind her. The wall moved of its own accord, quite like that of a wardrobe door.
Tonks and Moody pulled out their wands, Tonks kicking the false wall open while Moody shot a 'Lumos' spell toward the entrance to show them what they were facing, and to blind whomever might be hidden there.
A shriek and the soft sound of wood hitting the floor alerted the Aurors that they had their prey. When the hidden Death Eater removed his hands from his face, Tonks smirked.
"Well, well, well. Hello, little cousin. Fancy finding you here."
Inside the secret place, Draco Malfoy lowered his hands, showing his pale face. He sneered toward Tonks, trying to return to his superior ways. "This is trespassing! You attacked my house without provocation! The Minister will hear about this outrageous behavior!"
"Save the speech for your trial, little ferret!" Moody growled. "The Death Eater robe and mask are enough to take you in."
"And with all the reports we have of your… activities," Tonks continued, "your trial will be a stroll in the park. For us, that is. For you, it will be a one way ticket to Azkaban," she finished with an even happier smirk.
"You can't do that! I'm a Malfoy!"
"Yeah, the second one to go to Azkaban. Just wait until we get our hands on my loving Aunt Narcissa. It will be a happy family reunion," Tonks answered, kneeling to pick up the young man's wand.
"Come on, junior," Moody said grasping Draco's arm and pulling him out of his hideaway. The young man was bound and Stunned to be transported to the Ministry holding cells.
TBC…
