Chapter 13 - The Escort

The flight to Azkaban had been uneventful. They'd left early in the morning and had reached the island by ten. After the broom exercise the day before a last minute change had been made. Ewan had recommended to the Head Auror Robards that Harry be replaced as the Carrier for Lucius Malfoy and that Harry serve as an extra escort. Harry was arguably the best with a broom of any Auror on the staff and he'd made great strides casting spells since he'd signed on as a Trainee. Since the Prophet had made it public that Malfoy would be naming names and identifying key information regarding the outstanding Death Eaters, the Aurors were taking no chances. Auror Duncan thought this would be a perfect time to have an extra broom or two in the air.

The Aurors had a tactical formation called Formation Thirteen that that was flown when escorting a single important prisoner. The formation involved two squadrons of six Aurors. Each squadron would further separate into three wings. Each wing had the Primary and his Wingman. The first squadron always met trouble head on while the second squadron stayed with the Carrier and his prisoner at all times.

It was decided Harry and Angelina would be added as extras to oversee the action from above. Ewan felt Harry and Angelina would best serve the group flying on their own since they had little experience with the formation. If any unfriendly Wizards or Witches arrived then Harry was to have free reign and Angelina was to watch his back. Ewan had told him, "From as high as you are flying a stunner or body bind will kill as easily as a curse. The drop to the water will break nearly every bone in their body – use only quick stunners."

Zacharias had not been happy that he'd been asked to fly the mission on a day's notice. Ewan had been yelling at the young Trainee when Harry came in to receive his orders. "I do not care if your leg has fallen off Zacharias! You are our most experienced Carrier and I need you up there today."

Now, as they returned with Malfoy, Harry watched from above as Zacharias flew with Lucius Malfoy and the two squadrons of Aurors. They were two hours from the beach when Angelina spotted them. She signalled to Harry and he signalled the others. When flying, opponents in the air were called bogeys. From what Harry could see there were at least twenty bogeys headed straight for them. They flew tight together and because they weren't in any particular formation they looked like a small swarm of wasps.

Harry and Angelina immediately flew in at top speed and were joined by one of the squadrons of Aurors – the other squadron held back and waited with Zacharias. Angelina could barely hear Harry when he called out, "My broom will be too fast for you to keep up. Watch me from behind and take anyone that gets behind me." Harry was flying his new Firebolt.

As soon as he was within range, Harry began firing off the easiest and quickest spell he knew. Silently he fired off stunner after stunner and with each blaze of light the Death Eaters spread out in panic. Fortunately they had been so close together that Harry hit two out of luck. Each fell from their brooms and plummeted to the sea. Harry didn't have time to feel bad for them.

Within seconds brooms buzzed by him as he met the first wave. He noticed that one of the Carrows was on a broom and though she was flying awkwardly, she was firing green streaks at Harry and the other Aurors as fast as she could. Harry was happy he'd received the advice from Ewan because otherwise he'd be firing off much more powerful and slower spells at his enemies.

Once Harry flew past the last Death Eater he made a sharp turn so that he could get behind them and pick them off as quickly as possible. For this he had to place both hands on the broom and stop casting spells. As he made his turn he saw the other Aurors doing the same while holding formation. Angelina was flying much further behind him and she was now a target of several strikes from Death Eaters. He began firing at the backs of these same Death Eaters and picked off two more. The other Aurors were taking heavy fire and one dropped to the ground after being separated from his broom.

What Harry saw next chilled him. Zacharias had broken formation and was now flying back toward Azkaban and closer to the water. The Aurors from the reserve squadron were following him but this still created two problems. This placed their backs to the Death Eaters and kept them from defending Zacharias as the opposition got closer. Once the Death Eaters were in range they'd be able to fire on Zacharias without any wands firing back at them.

Harry shot back to Zacharias at top speed. He fired at whatever Death Eaters he could but he hoped to calm Zacharias down or if needed he'd move Lucius to his own broom. He noticed the typical Carrow stoop on a broom as he buzzed by and sent a stunner that hit its mark. The Carrow plummeted down screaming. Harry felt bad for the woman but could not have too much sympathy for someone who'd moments before had been firing killing curses at him.

Angelina was now all turned around. Her broom simply couldn't keep up. She did the best she could to catch up to Harry but she realised she'd be better served attacking the Death Eaters in range and reaching Harry when she could. At the speed he was flying there was little chance a Death Eater could catch him. None seemed to fly a top line broom. They obviously hoped sheer numbers would carry the day.

Harry caught up to Zacharias fairly quickly. Six men were yelling at the boy to turn around. One of them was nearly frantic, "They are going to reach us soon. If you don't turn around then they will have the advantage. We can't protect you like this. Turn around while the other squad still has them scrambling."

Zacharias was colourless when Harry reached him. Harry flew as close to Zach as he could and he tried to talk him back. "Mate, either turn around or give me the prisoner. We've practised it before. I can take him and you can get out of the fight." Zacharias nodded shakily. Still white as a sheet he flew closer to Harry and their brooms nearly touched. Harry had a hold of one of Lucius' hands. The calming spell had apparently been broken because he screamed to Harry, "This boy is mad! Get me off this broom, Please! I will give you anything! I have millions of Galleons!" As Harry made to lift Lucius off the broom he saw green flash beside him and Zacharias went limp before falling sideways off his broom. The broom itself began to lose altitude and Lucius dropped with it. He dropped so quickly that Harry lost grip. He tried to hold on but Lucius' hand went limp and slipped out of Harry's. Harry watched as Lucius fell to the sea.

Harry made to dive but his back began to burn hot. His cloak had caught fire. He quickly did the best he could to take off his cloak while flying and still holding his wand. His broom began to veer off into a corkscrew as he lost control. He felt a gush of water behind him as one of the Aurors had cast "Aguamente!" and he nearly lost his wand in his surprise. Two wings of Aurors had now broken formation and joined the fight. Harry was now followed by a single wing as he resumed his dive to help Lucius. He reached the water to see Lucius flailing and screaming. Harry could hear him shout, "Get me out! Please get me out! I'll do..."

A wave crashed over Malfoy's head before Harry had the presence of mind to levitate him or cast a bubble head charm. Harry watched the waves carefully hoping that Lucius would come back up and could be saved. Finally after a few minutes one of the Aurors that had followed him placed his hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

Harry rejoined the fight. There were still Death Eaters scrambling around. High up in the sky Harry could see the Death Mark. The Aurors were chasing most down with better brooms but one Death Eater got lucky and hit a witch from behind and she began to fall. Fortunately Harry had been low enough and close enough and as he zipped to her he shouted "Wingardium Leviosa." He was so close to her that he could hear her screams but she calmed down as he slowed her descent and eventually levitated her above the waves.

Harry darted to her. She nearly pulled him off his broom as he tried to lift her on. Harry could barely breathe as she held on to him desperately from behind. He could feel tears fall on the back of his neck and sobs now that the witch was safe.

By then the battle was done and all but two Death Eaters had been caught or struck down – one of them the brother of Miss Carrow. Both flew away at top speed once Lucius had been struck down. None of the Aurors were in position to make chase and they made a clean exit. The rest had been disarmed or killed. Harry counted off six new prisoners as the Aurors flew in formation around their new captives. Harry then counted off the Aurors and found that thirteen remained on twelve brooms. Two Aurors were still scouring the surface of the sea for signs of Zacharias, Auror Nelson, Lucius Malfoy or any of the Death Eaters that had been struck down. After an hour the two Aurors caught up to the others empty handed and not long after the entire group made land.

Only one Death Eater tried to escape once they were rounded up. He'd tried to dart off as soon as the group made land. An Auror hit him with a body bind and he landed on the beach so hard that he broke several bones. He was immediately rushed to St. Mungo's and rumour was that they weren't sure if he'd make it.

Harry spent most of the trip back in silence. He'd watched the man he despised most fall to his death. He'd tried to save him but he just wasn't fast enough. He replayed the memory of Lucius dropping to the sea over and over in his head and he watched as the man's hand went limp in his. He wondered where the fire to his cloak had come from. He still felt the utter helplessness that came over him as he watched the wave crash over Lucius when he could have easily remembered the proper spell and saved him.

Harry knew he had questions to answer. Unfortunately not even he was satisfied with his answers.

Ginny's party was everything Harry had wished his party could have been. It was much more intimate than Harry's party. With few exceptions, all of the guests were either family or mates from Hogwarts. One of the few exceptions was that Witch's Brew was invited...this time as guests. Harry had also pulled a special guest out of his hat but he made sure Molly was the only one who knew he'd invited her...

Gwenog Jones had spoken to Slughorn about Ginny and her marks. It had been rumoured that she had been phenomenal her Fifth Year when she'd helped the Gryffindor win their final match and the Championship as Seeker. New talent, especially witches, were hard to come by recently and Gwenog was helping team management prepare to scout for the upcoming season. The Harpies liked the idea that Ginny might be able to serve as both a reserve Chaser, or even starter, in a years time.

Slughorn had let the conversation with Gwenog slip when they had set up their meeting at the Hog's Head in June, Harry got the idea that if Gwenog was interested in Ginny then she might like another chance to see her close up. He called the Harpies front office and arranged for Miss Jones to drop in on the party.

Ginny was once again speechless. They'd met before at one of Slughorn's Christmas parties but to be in her own house? At her birthday party? Gwenog smiled, "I was told it was your birthday and remembered you were a fan so I thought I might drop in and wish you Happy Birthday myself. I hope I'm not crashing the gate..."

"No! Would you like something to eat? Something to drink? Maybe a..."

"I'm quite fine at the moment. I'd heard you lot play Quidditch here at the...Burrow you call it?" asked Gwenog.

It took every bit of will power the family could muster not to mob the poor lady. Molly was told by Harry that Gwenog would be coming and she informed the rest of the Weasleys in advance. Ginny's mates had been told nothing, though, and both Katie and Angelina followed the Beater and Harpies Captain for a good ten minutes before she asked them, "Would you like an autograph?" Both heads bobbed up and down like those of child's. She smiled and obliged.

Quidditch began soon after. Gwenog got more than she bargained for from the trip as she watched Angelina and Katie play. She paired up with Charlie, Angelina, Katie, Susan, George and Oliver as Ron picked Harry, Ginny, Dean, Alicia, Susan and Seamus. There were only a few hours of light left but the group hoped to fit the game in before dusk. Lee was unable to be there as he had his Quidditch Weekly show on the Wizard Wide Network so Ginny begged Luna to do the honours. They'd had a lot of fun with Lee announcing the end of the match at Harry's party.

Gwenog was thoroughly impressed with Ginny as a Chaser. She made sure to send extra Bludgers the girl's way because she wanted to see how she'd react. The passing between Dean and Ginny was tremendous for amateurs. Even more impressive were her team mates George and Charlie. When George was close enough she asked, "How did you not ever make it onto a professional Quidditch pitch?" He winked at her, "My calling was pranks, Charlie's dragons and I'd venture to say Ron will be an Auror one day. Quidditch is in our blood but professional Quidditch is too much work. Watch out!" Seamus had noticed her attention was elsewhere and had sent a Bludger her way hard. Without even looking she batted it back and nearly took the young Irishman off his broom.

Harry was clearly out-flying Charlie this afternoon but after the first hour the day's work finally caught up to him, The team took a timeout. "You lot are going to have to finish without me. Eleven hours on a broom is even too much for me. I'm surprised Angelina can keep up. Perhaps you could shift up a bit. Bill can play Beater, Susan Chaser and Ginny can take over at Seeker."

Ginny's team shifted around. Gwenog noticed quickly that the new lineup of Chasers was outmatched. Ginny's team lost the lead quickly and Gwenog knew if Ginny didn't find and capture the snitch then the game would be out of reach soon.

Luna was still announcing for the small crowd that sat outside drinking and eating snacks. "Ginny is frantically looking for the snitch," the dreamy voice announced. "Angelina has scored her seventh goal. Dean now has the quaffle. Oh...it is stolen by Katie. Dean has such nice hair today. Oooh...a butterfly! Oh, sorry...Seamus bats a Bludger to Charlie but he easily dodges. Charlie seems to be looking at something. I'm not sure if he sees the snitch but he's making a quick dive. Ginny must realise he is faking because she looks him off. Oh..now she dives in the other direction. Did you know that some butterflies have magical properties? They can ward off dangerous...sorry. Ginny does see the snitch. She nearly has it. She might hit the ground. No, she pulls up just in time and her hand has...Yes, what I said about butterflies is absolutely true, Harry. Oh dear, Ginny is being mobbed by her team mates. She has now run up to Harry and they are sharing a particularly passionate kiss. I haven't seen two people kiss like...oh, yes, I suppose it is over."

And with that the match ended.

The sun fell below the horizon soon after the match but tables were set up outside and they ate as the last remnants of light were left. The conversation was loud but Harry enjoyed that all eyes were on Gwenog and Ginny. For once Ginny and Harry sat on opposite sides as everyone jockeyed to sit as close to Gwenog as possible. Harry continued to think through the events of the morning. Occasionally he'd listen to pieces of conversation.

"Have ye ever considered datin' a younger bloke, Gwenog?" asked Seamus slyly.

"Have you ever considered joining the Harpies?" the Beater asked Seamus in response.

"Erm...No, I'd always been told men weren't allowed." responded Seamus.

"Well, you make me out to be old again and I may have a hand in making you eligible," she winked. Seamus took a second to fully understand Gwenog's response. When he finally did he unconsciously placed his hands in his lap and crossed his legs.

"Ginny, you have some skills. Have you considered playing professional Quidditch. You need some polishing up but if you were to work hard this season at Hogwarts...there's no telling, I could see you as a starter eventually." Ginny was shocked to hear this from her childhood hero. "And Angelina, I'd consider it an honour if you and Katie would attend tryouts as my guest in a few weeks. We have a few ladies retiring to start families this season and we could use a few new reserves. No guarantees but there will be a spot or two open." Angelina accidentally dropped her cup, "Oh..."

Molly's wand was out and the mess was cleaned up before the spilled drink even reached the edge of the table. "Now I know where your family gets their Quidditch skills from," observed Gwenog, "Lightning reflexes on your Mum there."

Harry didn't hear any more. His thoughts returned to the morning and all that had happened.