Author's note: Chapter two guys. Hope you like it. Thank you for all the reviews and follows, oh! And favourites too…
Starzinmieyez: Thank you for the review. Hope you like this chapter as well.
LifeOnEarth: I'm glad you liked it. Thank you for the review.
Harry waited outside Pansy's door while she got ready. Finally she opened the door and looked at him. "I'm ready." She said, her heart already beating faster.
Harry nodded and walked ahead of her as they made their way across the hallway.
"These people, do I know them?" she asked trying to make small talk with Harry.
"Yes." Harry replied as he walked down the staircase.
"Do these people know I'm here?" she asked as she trailed behind Harry like a lost puppy.
"I think they have a clue." Harry said and stopped outside a white door. Muffled voices reached them as he turned towards Pansy.
"They have been here for quite some time. You'll be shocked to see them but I repeat, maintain you calm after you see them and you'll try and adjust here. I do not entertain fighting and quarrelling here. Is that clear?" he asked as he placed his hand on the doorknob.
She nodded once and Harry opened the door leading to the kitchen. Harry stepped in and waited for Pansy to arrive at the door. The sounds stopped and Pansy's jaw dropped as she saw the people currently eating breakfast.
Her eyes first fixated on Theodore Nott who was balanced on the kitchen counter and then they rested on Blaise Zabini who was drumming his fingers on the dinner table impatiently. Her eyes trailed to a more pronounced scowl on Daphne Greengrass's face and finally they rested on Draco Malfoy who was leaning back against his chair, arms crossed on his chest and a mask of indifference on his face.
She noticed Theo jumping down from the kitchen counter, his eyes brows raised high as he looked at Pansy and back at Harry once again.
"Shocker." He said and Hermione smacked him across his head.
It was then that Pansy noticed the other people in the room. Luna stood cooking omelettes next to where Theo was sitting just moments before, helping her. Hermione and Daphne were setting up dishes for the breakfast. Ron was sitting next to Blaise, his arm draped carelessly across Blaise's chair and Neville sat next to Ron, his nose buried in some book. Ginny crossed the room and stood beside Harry, holding his hand as she smiled up at him.
"Pansy, you know these people." Harry said as he walked inside the room. He sat on the chair next to Neville who smiled up at him.
"Umm…why don't you sit down Pansy?" Hermione said as she opened one of the cabinets. "Have breakfast with us." She said as she handed Daphne some plates and forks.
Pansy took her time to approach the table. She sat down gingerly beside Harry not trusting her house mates anymore. She looked one more time towards Draco and found him winking at Hermione. She went red in her face and looked down at the mahogany table.
"Harry?" she called in a small voice. If Harry hadn't seen her lips moving he wouldn't have been sure Pansy spoke at all.
He looked at her and held her gaze. "Why are they all here?"
Everyone silenced down as they heard Pansy's question.
"Why do you suppose we are here Parkinson?" Blaise said as he leaned forward in his chair to look at her. Pansy leapt back in her chair as she saw the venom in his eyes.
"Didn't think we would be the ones to deflect Voldemort first, did you?" Theo asked as he sat down with a loud thump in his chair beside Draco.
"That will be enough guys." Harry warned. He looked at everyone else and then at Pansy. "They deflected a long time ago, probably at the start of our fifth term. They wanted nothing to do with Voldemort so they came to me and I offered them protection." Harry looked at Pansy as she absorbed the information.
"That is why they didn't visit in the Christmas?" she asked catching on quickly.
Harry simply nodded. "They are now a part of what we call ourselves DA Core. They have gained my trust to be part of it."
"There were rumours about a secret organization, guess it was true then?" Pansy said as she stared down at her omelette.
"And we were at the centre of it." Draco said speaking for the first time but his eyes still held the suspicion in them.
"And we are going to continue with it." Blaise said finally cutting through his now cold omelette.
"You mean…Death Eaters?" she asked in a small voice.
"Yes." Harry replied before Blaise could. "But don't worry; I won't include you in it. You are far from it. So you'll be safe."
They all started eating their breakfast after that, the usual talk surrounding the table. They talked about politics, Hogwarts, wizarding population and developed a few swear words for the Minister. Once they were done Harry called for the attention of the table.
He looked at Pansy. "As I told you won't be a part of this Core, because I am supposed to keep you safe and not throw you in some danger. This house belongs to Mrs Figg's daughter. She stays in another house with her husband some distance from here. When the Slytherins decided to go against Voldemort I promised them, I would keep them safe no matter what. So I approached Mrs Figg and asked her for a location where I could hide them and she offered this house to me."
"I'm mostly going to use this house for The Core planning stuff and other such things, so you'll move in with Mrs Figg's daughter. She recently had a baby, so you can help her around with that. She's quite young and I can assure you, you'll be comfortable around her. She's quite easy to befriend. If you want you can visit us along with her. Alright?"
Pansy nodded slowly as she took in Harry's every word. "Good, Mrs Figg will arrive here in five minutes to take you with her."
As if on cue Mrs Figg arrived on the door looking around hurriedly. "Oh! There you are." She said looking at Pansy. "We better hurry."
Pansy nodded faintly and looked at everyone else. "Whatever you guys do, I'll support you." She said and trailed behind Mrs Figg out of the door.
"Wow! That was so difficult to believe." Theo said his eyes still on the door.
"Enough of it, back to the main topic." Harry said as he shifted in his chair.
They all cleared away their breakfast dishes and took out all the parchments and maps that they had made and studied.
"Harry?" Hermione called from across the table. "This is the list of the main Death Eaters." Hermione passed on the list to Harry.
"Lucius Malfoy, Fenrir Greyback, Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange…." He trailed off. "You know we can't capture each and every one of them right?" Harry asked looking up from his parchment.
"We do realise that Harry." Daphne said as he passed on a crumpled piece of paper to Neville. "But we can eliminate the others. I know Lucius, Bellatrix, Rodolphus are kind of difficult but the others on this list like Crabbe and Goyle are easier. And there are many others like them that we can capture."
"Alright then, I think we should get started. It's already been a month since we are out of Hogwarts. The Ministry isn't doing anything to stop the Death Eaters and Voldemort from getting at large. Maybe it's time we should to something." Harry said standing up from the table.
"And we'll do it in secret." Theo said jumping up from his seat.
"So who's our first target?" Hermione asked as she started collecting the parchments again.
"According to Cashis, its Crabbe Sr. He'll arrive at the entrance of Knockturn alley at 1:15 am sharp for some get together." Daphne said.
"Alright. We will leave around 1:00 am." Harry said and everyone nodded.
-….-
That night.
Time: 12:58 am
Location: Inside Knockturn alley.
The crooked forlorn street of Diagon Alley writhed through the cold breeze of the night. The empty and deserted alley showcased deep sinister shadows at every bend; the once familiar street was now more like a stranger to the regular inhabitants' and shop owners. The six young wizards quickly entered the Knockturn alley, their faces hid behind their hoodies.
The six wizards quickly ran the length of the lone corridor and entered the gap between Borgin and Burkes and a shop that sold human bones.
Their breaths were ragged but they didn't dare make any sound. The six wizards stood still in their positions, their wands held expertly in their fingers, waiting for their target to arrive.
At exactly 1:15 am a distant crack reached their ears. They knew their target had apparated in front of the shop that sold giant spiders. They waited for him to reach the bend when they bolted out of their hiding spot.
The sounds of footsteps made the man to turn behind. His eyes widened for a second as they took in the six hooded figures standing in front of him. He took out his wand, to put on a fight but the wizard on the extreme left, flickered his wand lazily and the man's wand slipped from his fingers.
He looked around fearfully, but the Knockturn alley was as deserted as the Diagon alley was. Sweat rolled off the huge man as he tried to look at the faces of the six wizards but their hoods hid their faces expertly.
"Wh…who are you? What do you want?" the huge man bellowed, taking a step back with every word.
None of the six wizards spoke. They watched silently as the man stumbled backwards, his hands flat against the stone wall behind him. The entrance to the Knockturn alley was now visible and the six wizards knew they had to do it soon before they reached the entrance.
The wizard in the centre lifted his wand and casted a non-verbal spell. A jet of red light emitted from his wand and struck the man on his chest. He fell to the ground in a heap and the six wizards slowly walked up to him. They peered down at him and the same wizard casted an 'Impedimenta.' The green light again struck the man at the same place and froze him in his stupefied form.
He then raised his wand skywards and cast a non-verbal spell. The red and blue lights shot from his wand would alert the aurors of a captured Death Eater. The same figure then nodded towards his fellowmen and they together raised their wand and aimed it at the wall behind the stupefied man.
Jets of red, green mixed with white light emitted from their wands and the brick wall slowly got craved into 'The Illuminate' means to lighten up got carved into the brick wall. They lowered their wands and looked at the now carved symbol before apparating sounds filled the still air. They ran back to their hiding place beside Borgin and Burks and watched as the Aurors inspected the now frozen Crabbe Sr.
They immediately identified him and bound him by the ropes before casting the 'Finite' spell. One of the Aurors saw the sign carved in and it was immediately brought into the attention of the head Auror, satisfied with their work the six wizards dis-apparated from their place just as three Aurors came to inspect the alley.
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Done! Hope you guys liked this chapter.
Notes: Here are some clarifying points.
Cashis – Cashis is a man who works secretly for Harry and gives him the inside information.
For the complete map of Diagon and Knockturn alley here's the map link. See the map if you guys are confused about the attack on Crabbe Sr.
Here's 'The Illuminate' symbol they carved into the wall.
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