Rest in PIECES
Erik fired at the bunch of Death Eaters before taking cover again. Voldemort was hitting them with all he had. His scanners had detected monsters as well as humans. Luckily, the DA had trained at least the contingency plan for this. The members led their fellow students down to the great hall, which was currently defended by McCord, Morgan and Kelly. Erik, along with Ginny and Catherine had moved up to engage the Death Eaters. According to the short but intensive interrogation of Nott, the source was a vanishing cabinet he had moved to the Astrology tower. It had taken them to threaten to leave him with Ginny alone to get him talking. He wasn't a real soldier after all. Not prepared to die for his cause. Arriving at the tower, Erik engaged his cloak and went up first. It didn't look good. The dark mark was above the roof, surely to lure Dumbledore and Harry towards them. Hushing from shadow to shadow, Ginny jumped up into the structure, waiting. Catherine appeared behind the telescope, picking her targets as Erik spotted the broom with Harry and Dumbledore. He watched as they landed, completely unaware of the trap, well, at least Dumbledore was unaware. As the Death Eaters struck, Harry launched the counter-attack. He fired several spells at them, one of them being Sectumsempra. From the other side Ginny attacked with a blasting curse directed at Nott junior. He evaded it, leaving Bellatrix open to take the attack. The woman pulled another Death Eater into its path to avoid death and fired a Cruciatus back, but her joy was short-lived as Ginny merely shook it off and charged. She slammed into the woman, throwing her back. Another Death Eater went to attack but a laser bolt stopped him in his tracks. Erik saw Nott firing a curse at Dumbledore who barely blocked it, but the explosion still forced him back. Jumping from his hiding spot, he barely caught the hem of the old man's robe and pulled him back to safety where Ginny caught him, preventing him from galling down the stairs. However, his momentum carried him over the wall where he fell down.
Harry gasped as he saw Erik falling over, but his attention was soon captured by Bellatrix who attacked him. "How you survived the Killing Curse is a mystery to me, but I will make sure you will die this time!" She cackled. She fired a blasting curse which was directed at him, but Catherine appeared out of thin air and took the shot. The explosion tore her clothes away, but her shadows covered the most intimate parts. She lunged out and punched through the golem Bella had conjured. Seeing defeat was imminent, she sounded the retreat. Harry huffed a little as he leaned against Ginny for support. Dumbledore was kneeling on the ground, staring at the part of his robe where Erik had grabbed him.
"Hey!" They looked over the stones. "Don't mind me. I'm just hanging around." Catherine laughed as she reached down to grab him and pull him up. She pushed the mask aside and kissed him.
"Maybe I should fall more often when I get this as a result." Erik mock-suggested. They teleported into their private chambers. Ginny and Harry did the same. As the two couples went to sleep, the three remaining Rangers led the students back to their dorms. Kelly went into the hospital wing to see if she could help.
The next morning all occupants were woken up by intense waves of magic radiating from the Gryffindor Tower.
The school year was canceled. Hermione was the only one who loudly complained, until Daphne reminded her that there was only one week of school left. Soon they were on the train heading for London. They flew across the countryside and decided to spend time planning for the summer. "So? What are you going to do?" Ron asked.
"I'll be moved from my home to Grimmaud Place, Dumbledore said." Harry explained.
"Good. There you will be well protected against the Death Eaters." Hermione said.
"Your parents will also be moved there. You are a potential target. It's no secret that we are friends." Just then Erik entered the compartment. "Hey guys." He sat down on the free space Ginny made as she skipped over into Harry's lap. Erik pulled a white sheet of paper and held it towards Harry. "The compensation for the mistreatment Vernon put you through."
Harry opened the paper. He was surprised at the amount of money Vernon took from him over the time. No wonder Dumbledore believed him to be well cared for. Apparently Vernon had used it to buy shares at his company, Grunnings, to promote himself. But now, as the money was rightfully Harry's, so was Grunnings. Griphook had added a note that Vernon would be sacked by the next two weeks. The only thing he still possessed was the house, as Lily had given it to Petunia as a welfare gift, covering all costs. Petunia, again, had given it to Vernon. Harry could care less. The costs of maintaining it was already covered by the interest he had from his trust vault. Also, Griphook had added a letter, telling him that Gringott's would always hold the Potters in high regards.
"Why is this?" He asked. "Apparently one of your ancestors helped the goblin called Gringott to set up his business. One of the small points in the contract was that Gringott had not to pay the loan back, but instead would not charge the Potters for anything. It had been the first and only time that the goblins didn't pay attention to the contract. That's why they are always wary nowadays. Still, they made good business with the money from the Potter vaults, as they are granted to use it for their business. Loans investments for example, which is now common work in all banks."
Erik looked up. "We are about to arrive at King's Cross. Remember the plan." He whispered the last part, so only Ginny and with extent Harry could hear it. He placed a small device in her hand. She recognized it. Plugging it into her ear she heard Catherine's faint voice. "Good. Thanks to the soul-bond, only you and I need these devices and can keep them on the lowest volume. Erik is also keyed into this comm, should the need arise.
In the mean time Erik met with a person clad into a black cloak. "You understand? Do not let them get to him unless we do. And we will come with the large Calvary. I'll tell you no more. You know what they say: Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead." The man nodded. "I'll make sure of it. Just stick to the plan." Erik nodded as the figure disapparated. He watched as the Weasleys passed the barrier while Harry seemed to stare off while Petunia and Dudley took his trunk.
Ginny was curious. After the fall-out last summer her mum seemed to be happy to meet her. But it was all a farce. As soon as they arrived at the burrow, the doors were shut. She could smell the intense aroma of garlic and wrinkled her nose. Disgusted by the penetrating stench, she carried her trunk up and closed the door behind her. Scoffing, she noticed the cross mounted on her window and the open windows. With a flick of her wrist a small fire crackled along the ceiling, warming the room without burning the wood, keeping the house together. A knock on the door got her attention. "What?" She asked. "It's me, hun." He dad answered. "Can we have some father-daughter time?"
With another flick the door opened and closed again after Arthur passed the threshold. Ginny threw herself into her bed, letting the flames surround her. "What did you want to talk about, dad?" She asked friendlier. "It's about your mum." Ginny's mood immediately sunk. "I know she is overreacting, but she wants to keep our family together." "Did she? Bill left as soon as he graduated. He could have been a curse breaker in Wales but he chose to go to Egypt though. Charlie left for Romania. Percy moved out as soon as he began working, too. Fred and George didn't even wait to graduate to leave. Only Ron and eventually I remain here." Arthur looked down. "I know. We are falling apart and I don't know how to fix it. When I heard that you trained with the soldiers, I feared that you would forget us. From what I saw I believed the soldiers to be emotionally detached, indifferent to outsiders. Dumbledore told us and I easily forgot how it was to actually talk to one of them. Erik even explained me the use of a rubber duck. I only remembered when I saw mine in the shack." Ginny lifted her burning hand and patted her father's shoulder. He flinched but soon leaned into the warmth. "It's okay dad. He manipulated a lot of us. I think mum took it worse, as she is still stuck in the old traditions. She lived in her own protected perfect world since her brothers died."
Arthur looked up. Gone was the sorrow. His daughter's words held great wisdom. Even with her now nearly mature appearance, it was easy to forget that she had been possessed by a being five years older than her, forcing her to grow up a lot faster and giving her different experiences. At first he had feared that she would turn dark, but he had soon determined for himself that he would support his daughter, no matter what. "No matter what, I will be there for you." Then someone knocked on the door. Arthur went to open and revealed Molly. She was holding a set of letters. "Ginny-dear, the Hogwarts letters came early this year. They want you to pick your N.E.W.T.s"
Without a word a fire erupted around the envelope. Molly shrieked as the fire touched her, but to her surprise it didn't burn her. The parchment landed in Ginny's open palm.
~What are you picking?" She asked Harry after she went over her results. As expected she had exceeded in nearly all subjects. The lack in Muggle Studies was clear and Potions was a little less, but she knew Snape would let her in his N.E.W.T. course anyway. Across the country Harry looked over his sheets.
~Potions, DADA, Transfiguration. Maybe Charms, too. No that we really need them.~ ~Yeah. We are going to be so bored next year.~ Ginny yawned. ~Only because you have prefect recall, that doesn't mean you should miss the fun of experiencing the actual course.~ Harry shot back.
Three weeks into the holidays Operation Shell Game was about to begin. Phase one would be to evacuate the bystanders, meaning the Evans and the Grangers. At exactly 0800 two large Humvees arrived at the two households each. At the Grangers' the two drivers, Kelly and Morgan helped the adults to get the most important things. Most were mainly certificates and personal belongings. With Kelly's, help a lot of the furniture was shrunk and packed into the large back of the vehicles. To confuse possible attackers even more, Kelly changed her appearance to Jean Granger while Morgan did the same with Henry. They each went with the partner of their counter part, effectively having two Granger pairs driving in separate vehicles on different routes.
McCord arrived at Privet Drive No.7 with one Striker. Due to the security issue, the Evans needed more protection. But on the other hand they also didn't need much. They had a few personal belongings they took like the Potter's painting and a few notes on potions. The furniture was expandable, also because it was supplied by the Task Force when BloodSquad moved in five years ago. Harry was helping carrying the trunks out when suddenly McCord dropped. He had taken the full brunt of a shotgun into his back. Vernon stormed across the road with his weapon. "YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY DUDDERS AWAY, YOU FREAKS! IT WAS BAD ENOUGH YOU TURNED MY WIFE AGAINST ME! From the corner of his eye Harry could see how Petunia pulled her service weapon. But it was shaking. She had not fired it once outside the shooting range, also Dudley was too close to Vernon for her to have a clear shot. Vernon grabbed Dudley, making him drop the Potters' painting, and pulled him towards his house. Harry watched helplessly. He could try to confound him, but he was not proficient with the spell enough to reverse it, should he hit Dudley by accident. Dudley himself knew that he couldn't do anything. He had learned enough at the police to know that a recently fired weapon could discharge if it was dropped and Vernon's already trigger-happy finger wouldn't help at all.
Suddenly, a fire separated them. The punch threw Vernon away. Suddenly he held his head and screamed. "You did what!?" Ginny screeched. All control she had over herself went out of the window as she shifted through the man's memories. Harry caught glimpses of what happened. As she charged both disappeared into the house. McCord pulled himself up and checked his armor. It had taken the worse, but his back would be bruised for the next weeks. He waved at the Evans. "Get in. We should have been on the move since five minutes. Like robots they got into the APC and left with screeching tires. Harry waited in his bedroom when he felt Ginny's satisfaction. ~What did you do?~ "Just say that Dumbles will be in for a surprise and that your uncle really tastes as bad as he is." Harry didn't need her to explain any further. "I need to get the taste out of my mouth." Harry pulled her from the window onto his bed. She wiggled out of his grasp and pinned him down. Licking the side of his neck she got a moan out of him. As his hands roamed her body she bit down.
Dumbledore was satisfied at the level of magic in Surrey this evening. Despite the soul-bond, the blood wards seemed intact. Nothing else could cause the high level of magic radiating from Privet Drive No. 4. This night they would get Harry out of the grasp of the soldiers. He had redone the fidelius charm over Grimmaud Place Number Twelve. Only Harry and Ginny would have to be filled in. He hoped that Severus would do his part, as would Sirius and Remus. The two had the greatest influence on Harry, after Ginny. He would certainly want to live with his Godfather, after his awful relatives. Albus allowed himself a smirk. He was almost sorry to have to betray the soldiers. But he had to follow his principles and it would be done for the greater good. Lieutenant Winston would understand. The man had saved him from death although he was in danger of getting killed himself. He looked back over the list of people ready to help him. Bill and Fleur, they wanted to get married this summer. Tonks and Lupin would be another couple. "Ah, young love.", he muttered to himself. With so much love on his side Voldemort would go down. Alastor and Shacklebolt were another set of assets he would deploy here. He had thought of Mundungus, but the man reminded him too much of Pettigrew. The Weasley twins along with their fiancés, Angelina and Alicia, would come, too. Miss Granger and Ron Weasley had also given their agreement in the rescue.
Suddenly, an owl flew through the open window and dropped a note. He immediately recognized the handwriting. It was definitely Tom. The last time he had seen anything from his was during the school year. The note was as short and ingenious as the boy had always been: Rest in Pieces.