In His Name
The silence was palpable as all the adults stared at the women, stunned, food clinging to their faces, and hair dripping with liquid. The only person making any noise was the small child who was babbling loudly and giggling. The five women stood smiling broadly, waiting for the inevitable outburst from the other two groups. After several moments of gaping mouths and hands angrily wiping mashed potatoes and gravy from their faces James stood up.
"Cheaters!" he cried, pointing dramatically at his wife. This one word broke the silence and everyone was suddenly shouting and pointing. A few, Harry, Hermione, and Arthur mainly, were chuckling but several others were quite upset.
"If you would please sit down," Molly began after having to cast Sonorus on herself. Finally, everyone began to sit and quiet down. "Thank you," she said after cancelling the spell.
"I'd like to defend my group from my husband's declaration of cheating. We didn't cheat. We followed the rules perfectly," Lily began. "We wrote the rules, we would know if we cheated, which we didn't."
Several people stood back up and began speaking at once. Molly waved at them to shush and she pointed to Ron.
"You first Ronald. How did we cheat?" Molly asked.
"You pranked me during dinner! And Dad, Hermione, and the rest of our group!" he exclaimed.
"We did not. We never pranked during dinner. Pranks came to fruition during dinner occasionally, but we never cast a spell during dinner time," replied Molly.
"But you said the rule, No pranks during dinner—"
"No, the rule was 'No pranks cast during dinnertime.' Therefore we did not cheat with this rule. We always cast our spells during the dinner prep on the actual food or dishes, or we cast them on the person before dinner started. Next?" Molly finished.
"You can't add a team in the middle of the game. That's just not fair," Sirius said loudly.
"We beg to differ. There was never a rule about how many groups there could be, only the amount of players involved with each team. As you can see we have the same number of players as your teams so that is fair. And exactly not fair to whom? The new group for having a late start? Because surely you had a good three day head start on us," Lily said with a smile.
"It's not fair because we didn't think we needed to defend against you. I'm sure there were several times where we could have done a Finite or something around you and prevented a prank or two. Not knowing we needed to defend against you is what's not fair," James replied.
Lily shrugged with a half-smile and said, "All's fair in love and war, sweetie." James gaped at her shaking his head.
"So wait a minute. What pranks did the five of you do?" Hermione asked the women.
"Well, I did the language spells on Harry and Percy yesterday," Minerva said with a big grin. Percy's jaw dropped.
"But…but you're a …professor?" he stammered softly, his world shattering around him.
"Yes, but it is important to remember, Mr. Weasley, that Professors are people as well, and they do enjoy having some fun moments in their otherwise scholarly lives," she returned, sending him a wink.
"I cast ze spells on Bill for ze tail and anozer one on 'is privates when ee waz thinking of me during ze day on Monday," Fleur said with an evil giggle. Bill shook his head.
"You did that to me? I thought that was Ginny," he muttered.
"You thought I would cast a spell on your privates? Why would anyone do tha—" she paused when she saw Bill blush. "You wanker! That's why you cast that spell on my chest on my birthday?" she shrieked. He hesitantly nodded his head while everyone around them chuckled.
"Language Ginevra!" Molly said firmly, but no one heard her over their laughing or shouting.
"Blame my wife! She's the reason I felt like I needed to retaliate. If I had known she was in a group and the actual culprit I never would have done that to you Ginny-bear," Bill said quickly, trying to save himself from the glare on his youngest siblings face.
Ginny opened her mouth to reply but Molly stepped forward, giving Ginny a look to quell any further interruptions, and held up her hand. Ginny glared at her brother but shut her mouth and waited for her mother to speak.
"To continue, Andromeda?" she said glancing at the other woman.
"I had to do something for a prank, so when I came to pick up Teddy on Monday morning, while Kreacher was still sleeping, I went around the house and made items stick to the surface they were sitting on. I must admit, though it wasn't a very well planned prank, I was torn between being upset that you thought it was a lame prank and glad that you thought it was someone else who did it," she said.
"You never really were much of a prankster Andy," Sirius replied with a smirk.
"It may have been a fairly lame prank, Sirius, but she still got the point for their team," Harry replied. "And I'll admit that the bedside table one got me. It was too early to comprehend I was being pranked so it took a few minutes to realize why my glasses were stuck to the table." Andromeda smiled at Harry's attempt to make her feel better.
"Well," Molly began. "I did the tails on Arthur and Percy, the baked beans spell on Ron, the holding hands, and the last one where the plates threw all the food on you all," she finished with a wide grin. Ron glared at his mother.
"And I did the tails on James and Sirius, the Secret Candy, and the dancing ones tonight," Lily finished.
"I knew that tail prank seemed too Lily-esque for my taste," Sirius muttered.
The women waited for someone else to speak. Harry started to clap and several people joined in, including most of the older team and a few of the younger team. Ron, Sirius, and George however refused to clap or congratulate the women's team.
"I'm sorry we didn't win, but we tried our best and you definitely had us beat fair and square," Harry said. "We'll just have to try harder next year," he added with a smirk. Several of the people cheered at the prospect of the Prank War being an annual thing, this time Ron, George, and Sirius joined in wildly. Percy was alone with his groan.
Molly, chuckling, waved her wand and the food re-arranged itself back onto platters and into bowls, fresh food appeared and the food covering everyone disappeared. Now that the younger group had the control of their limbs back they set into the food with gusto. Harry and Hermione spent several minutes trying to cheer up the other three members of their group, Ron and Ginny eventually perked back up and overcame the disappointment of losing to their mother.
George on the other hand was grumpy and sullen and didn't eat much before he stood up and started to walk inside saying he was tired and going home. Harry shared a glance with Ginny and he stood up to walk after George.
"Hey, George, wait up," he called. "I need to talk to you before you go." George waved at him as he entered the house and Harry caught up to him in the kitchen.
"Yes?" George replied testily.
"What's going on, mate?" Harry asked in confusion.
"I'm just not happy that we lost, okay? And I'm tired so I figured I'd go home early," George said shortly.
"Come on George, I can tell you aren't telling me the whole truth right now. What's really going on?" Harry said softly. George sighed and leaned against the counter.
"It's nothing…really. Just…nothing important," he replied vaguely. Harry saw him glance at the window briefly.
"George, let's go upstairs for a few minutes. I think I might know what's going on," Harry said. George rolled his eyes but turned and stomped up the steps. Harry followed and as soon as they entered George's old room Harry cast Muffliato on the room.
"Are you mad that your mum's team won?" Harry asked. George didn't reply and clenched his jaw.
"I know it's irritating that they created a group in secret and ended up winning, but it's not something to get this upset over," said Harry after a long silence.
"It's not that! I don't bloody care that they created a secret team and actually won. In fact, I'm planning on asking your mum for that Secrets candy recipe soon," George finally said. "It has nothing to do with them."
Harry waited for George to continue but the redhead sat down on his old bed and stayed silent. Several minutes went by while George fumed silently and Harry tried to figure out what had made George so upset.
"If Fred had been here, we would have won," George finally mumbled.
George's words hit Harry like a ton of bricks.
"Is this the first time you pranked anyone since he died?" Harry asked tentatively.
"Not really. Well, kind of. I mean, I've had to test new products, but that isn't quite the same thing I guess," George mumbled.
"Talk to me, George, please? You made a promise to talk to me," Harry said, reminding George of the conversation the two had shortly after Fred's death.
"Yeah, I know," the red head sighed. "I just feel like…I let Fred down. Technically speaking, yeah, this was the first time I've really planned out and acted on pranks since before May. I guess I just feel like…if he had been here, our team would have been better and we'd have won. Doing all these pranks has been fun, and it helped get my mind off his death a little, but at the same time, it's made him not being here so much more…visible.
"I guess at some point I wasn't doing the pranks for myself, I was doing them in his name. You know what I mean? So when we lost, it was like…I let him down. And to five people who aren't even pranksters! That part was just like a Bludger to the bits, you know? I mean…we lost to mum, our sister-in-law, and our former teacher!" George shook his head. "Fred would be so disappointed."
"Are you kidding me?" Harry said with a smile. "He would be happy you tried so hard. The Fred I remember would have had a fun time, and when your mum showed up as one of the winners he would have laughed the hardest, congratulated them, and then wiped away a fake tear claiming that you two had taught them all they knew. Next, he would have bounded up to the winning group and asked them if you two could have their recipes or spells to use in the shop. You didn't let him down, George. He never would have thought that unless you gave up and didn't try," Harry responded.
George sat and thought to himself for several minutes. Finally, he sighed and stood up.
"I hear you mate, but I'm still upset that we lost. I'm going to go back to the flat and get some sleep. See you later," he replied.
"George, at least come out and stay for a little bit longer. The night isn't going to take much longer before we all need to go home anyway. Besides, you need to congratulate your mother for her win. Remember what your dad said at the beginning of this whole thing. We need to move on and celebrate life. Your mum lost a son too, she's been having a hard time grieving and by joining in on this Prank War she was probably honouring Fred in some way too. Actually, I'd bet a good sized galleon that everyone participating was doing so in his honour. So really, Fred was honoured no matter who won. If you run off like this, it could upset her and ruin her celebration." Seeing that he wasn't necessarily getting through to his friend he added, "Not to mention if you run off, it'll look like one hell of a tantrum."
"That's not fair!" George yelled suddenly. "I'm not throwing some juvenile tantrum because I lost. I miss Fred!"
"And locking yourself away didn't work last time," Harry said calmly. "In fact it almost killed you. I'm not about to let you go sulk on your own again like last time. You aren't the only one who lost Fred, there's a huge group of people down in that front yard who also miss him and if you run off again, they're going to worry about you too and this whole week would have been for nothing. You've come so far, George. Just stay a little while longer, please?" Harry asked.
George stared at Harry who gave him sad eyes and a pout.
"Come eat some delicious pudding? Some pie? How about some of my treacle tart? I wasn't going to share it, but I could probably part with a piece or two…" Harry rambled.
George finally cracked a small smile and sighed heavily.
"Fine. You and your damn puppy eyes. And I get half of that tart," he mumbled as the two left the room. As they reached the kitchen there was a loud boom from outside. They started running almost instantly, their wands in their hands and as soon as they were outside a horrible stench hit them. They ended up sprawled face first into the ground in their attempt to stop their forward motion and return to the house by turning around mid-stride. Laughing could be heard from across the lawn, as well as loud gagging and the sound of someone vomiting. Harry found his wand and quickly gave himself a Bubble Head charm.
"Mate!" George gasped as he waved around his own head. Harry complied and George and he both gasped down the fresh air.
"Looks like…dad found…the shed prank," George wheezed. The two stood up and trotted over the swarm of bubble headed people and found Lily gagging into a bush nearby. Bill, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron were each holding each other up and laughing. James and Sirius were laughing and trying to slowly wade through the sludge into the shed to find Arthur, who was shouting about all his Muggle items being ruined. Molly was attending to Lily and shouting at the kids. Minerva, Percy, Fleur, and Andromeda were a safe distance away watching the scene with distaste.
"See mate," Harry said quietly to George. "We may not have won, but we got the last laugh." The two grinned at each other and walked slowly up to the oozing, gelatinous, wave of goo and evaporated it with a quick silent spell. This gave them the added bonus of watching James and Sirius, who were suddenly free of the goo, flail about and land in a pile with Arthur, who gave a sigh of relief that his collection was clean again. This caused the children to begin laughing all over again and it took several minutes to calm them all down once more.
As soon as everyone was calm, and free of the goo, they returned to the table for dessert.
Harry caught a grateful glance from Molly once she saw the two boys were back at the table with smiles on their faces. He smiled back and gave the slightest of nods to her and turned back to his half of the treacle tart.
He listened to the conversations going on around him for several minutes while he fed Teddy small baby biscuits. Sirius was jokingly complaining about losing to the younger generation and a group of women. This didn't sit well with the winners who began sending silent spells towards Sirius. Eventually it became a game as to who could change Sirius skin colour to the most vibrant before he noticed. He was bright orange with electric blue hair when he finally noticed.
Slowly, the night wound down and everyone took off for their own homes and beds. Harry gave Teddy a goodbye hug and kiss before handing him off to Andromeda. Then he and Ginny shared a quick snog and he was finally ready to go home.
"Harry, do you know when you'll be ready to tell us about last year?" Lily asked when they returned home.
"I don't think tonight is good. I'd like to do it on a night where I don't have work in the morning, since I'm sure it'll spark a long conversation, and possibly some nightmares," he added in an undertone. Hermione game him a sympathetic glance.
"Harry, I was thinking. I know the last year was difficult, so, I brought it up to Ginny and Ron while you were talking to George earlier that, instead of having the whole Weasley family here for the retelling, this time why don't we give you some privacy with your family? Ron and I can take care of telling the Weasleys later. When you're done telling them or showing them memories, I can bring the Pensieve to the Burrow. We'll tell them about that year, and when I'm done, I can return the Pensieve to Professor McGonagall," she said quickly.
"Ron and Ginny were okay with that?" he asked. She nodded and he was silent for a few moments. "I guess that sounds okay. I may need a few of yours or Ron's memories though." The two agreed that certain events would need either multiple points of view, or simply just someone else's memory of the event.
"How about tomorrow?" Harry asked his parents and Sirius. They agreed that they would finish the memories the next day and the adults left for their rooms. Hermione and Harry planned out which memories he would need from his friends. Before they went to bed, Harry asked Hermione to help him write a letter to Lonnie Sidner asking for his help.
Dear Mr. Sidner,
My name is Harry Potter and I have a request for you. Recently the Daily Prophet wrote a slanderous article about me and how I'm abusing my rights as an Auror in training. This article was almost completely false. I've since asked them to print a retraction but they refuse.
They have, however, offered me the chance to provide my side of the story in an interview that would be printed. They did not say who the interview would be with, so I am agreeing to the interview but only with the journalist of my choice. Suffice to say, it most certainly will not be Rita Skeeter. I had since spoken to an acquaintance of mine, Wanda Ellington, and she highly recommended you to me.
If you are willing, we could meet at the Burrow, in Ottery St Catchpole, Devon this weekend if you are available. Another old acquaintance of yours, and the mother of one of my best friends, Mrs Molly Weasley, has graciously offered the use of her kitchen for our meeting. I am willing to compensate you for your troubles if you so choose. I would be very grateful for your assistance in this matter.
I've instructed my owl, Marcel, to await your decision.
Yours faithfully,
Harry J. Potter
The next day after training, Harry trudged up the stairs lugging the set of heavy text books on Wizarding law that he had to study for the next few weeks. He dropped them off in the Drawing Room and found a letter from Lonnie in his mail spot.
Dear Mr. Potter,
I was quite surprised to receive to your letter. I would be most honoured to assist you in your dilemma. Would noon, Saturday work for you? I am perfectly fine with meeting at the Burrow. I remember Molly's cooking quite well, and I'm fairly eager to get a pleasant reminder. Seeing her would also be quite nice. Ha, ha!
Meeting you will be a nice treat as well. We can talk compensation more in person though.
Yours,
Lonnie Sidner
Harry checked his calendar and saw that he had planned on having lunch with Dudley on Saturday and would have to let his cousin know of the time change. Perhaps a late tea instead, he pondered as he wrote out his agreement to the time Lonnie had set. After sending off Marcel again, he settled into the sofa wondering where his father had gotten off to. He decided to run to the Muggle Petrol station a couple blocks away and give Dudley a ring to tell him of the time change.
When he returned to the house he ended up in his bedroom looking at the outline Hermione had made of their last year. He wasn't entirely sure how the night was going to go. He still had trouble thinking of the war and everything that had happened. Particularly the loss of his friends. Even Mad-Eye's death still shook him up when he thought about it. Hearing the name of a person who had died still gave him a jolt of sadness.
Harry spent the next hour thinking about which events he would show in the Pensieve and which would be simply spoken about. He even went as far as to mark them down on the outline. He chuckled to himself darkly, thinking about how Hermione would be so proud of his pre-planning.
Harry was lying on his bed curled into a ball. He was breathing deeply, tears leaking from his wide, unblinking eyes. His lips, slightly parted, were dry and his breathing was erratic.
This was how Ron found Harry an hour after the dark-haired man had returned home.
"Harry?" Ron asked timidly so as to not frighten his friend.
For several weeks after the war had ended, Harry's friends would find him like this, in the midst of a flashback or panic attack. Hermione had described the symptoms of something called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and they'd all agreed it sounded like what their friend was suffering from.
Ron shot off a Patronus to Hermione before cautiously walking over to Harry and slowly sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Harry, can you hear me?" he asked calmly.
Hermione, after doing copious amounts of research and even speaking with a Muggle psychiatrist, had walked Ron and Ginny through the steps of helping someone having a flashback. The most important thing was to never startle them. They learned this the hard way when Hermione ran to hug Harry during a panic attack and he cursed her suddenly. The key was to sound and act calm. Next,was to make sure the person suffering from the attack started breathing normally again. Finally, they had to be gently reminded of their current surroundings and that they aren't in danger anymore while making sure they can feel the loving atmosphere around them.
"Harry, I need you to breathe. Okay, can you breathe for me? In…and out…In…and out…Just listen to me, try to just listen to me. Okay. Can you hear me? Can you slow your breathing down a bit?" Ron continued with the breathing.
He could hear Hermione running up the stairs as quietly as she could manage.
"Harry, listen, Hermione's here now. Okay, she's going to come in and sit with us. Keep breathing, look at me…Good. Keep breathing. In and out," Ron said as Hermione entered the room slowly, breathing hard and attempting to be quiet.
"Hello Harry," she said in a soft, loving voice. Her eyes grew wet when she saw Harry's panicked expression and the outline of the past year lying next to him. "Oh, Harry. I'm sorry," she whispered, more to herself than to Harry.
"He's started to breathe a little better, but he still hasn't responded," Ron muttered to her. She had taken his place on the bed next to Harry where she was gently rubbing his hand. They had found that touching him anywhere else caused more panic during his episodes.
"Harry, I need you to focus on me. We are in your bedroom at Grimmauld Place. Can you see the poster on the wall next to you?" she asked. "Can you look at me? Good. Just focus on me. Keep breathing and focus. You are safe and sound. The war is over and we won. Your parents are back, and so is Sirius. They love you. So do we." This continued for a few more minutes until Harry sat up and rubbed his head. He brought his knees up and crossed his arms atop his knees. He rested his head on his arms and didn't move for several minutes.
"Thanks guys," he said softly. He sniffed and a sighed shakily. "Well, that hasn't happened in a while," he said with a quivery laugh.
"Yeah. A month at least. Probably more like six weeks," Ron said softly, worry lines etched in his brow.
"Harry, are you able to say what caused it?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
Several minutes went by before Harry replied. "The forest," was all he said. Hermione closed her eyes and breathed deeply. This was what usually caused the attacks.
After Harry had experienced a few of the panic attacks or flashbacks, Hermione urged him to seek help. She helped him find a therapist who knew little of Harry's story. Dr Lund had married a wizard but was a Muggle herself, so she was the best choice. Harry had visited her every day for two weeks in late May. By the end of those two weeks, Harry was feeling an incredible weight lifting off his shoulders and the guilt he'd felt for living after sacrificing himself was slowly being dealt with. Harry still went twice a month for visits, but hadn't needed an emergency visit since the middle of June.
"Do you need to visit Dr Lund?" Hermione asked him.
"No," said firmly. "I just saw her two weeks ago. I know what brought this on, and I don't expect her to bring anything new to light. I need to get this whole story telling shite over with," he sighed. "What are you guys doing here anyway?" he asked.
"Well, I came over to talk to you and give you a few of my memories. When I realized what was going on I sent my Patronus to Hermione,"
"Oh no!" Hermione exclaimed. "I just left McGonagall standing there! I have to go! Are you okay now Harry?" she asked gripping his hand tightly.
"I'm fine Hermione. Go ahead. Let, the Professor know she's welcome to join us. Just remember -" he said.
"I won't tell anyone, Harry," she said before giving him a quick peck on the forehead. She gave Ron a kiss on the lips before running back downstairs and Apparating from the landing.
Ron and Harry sat in silence for several moments.
"Mate," Ron started. "You don't have to do this alone tonight. Hermione and I-"
"Ron," Harry interrupted.
"No, Harry, just listen." Ron's voice was stern and his face showed how concerned he was. "Your parents and Sirius, they've never seen you go through an attack before. Knowing you, they probably don't even know you're in therapy. They wouldn't know how to stop it, or help you through it like Hermione and I could. Hell, even having Ginny there with you would be better than none of us." Ron's face softened. "We care about you, and we aren't going to let you do this alone. I know you don't want my whole family there, but you have to have someone else with you. I insist, so choose."
Harry thought silently for a few minutes.
"If I had to choose, I don't know who I'd pick between you and Hermione," he finally admitted.
"Then we'll both come," Ron replied.
"I can't ask you to do that, though. You still have to tell your family, and to have you sit through the whole thing twice? To see those memories more times than you should have to … it is just not something I'm willing to put you both through," Harry finished.
"Why don't you let us decide that," Ron said softly. "I'll let Hermione know and one, or both, of us will be joining you tonight for the last night of story-telling. One more night isn't going to hurt us. Besides, knowing you, you'll leave something out." Ron smirked.
"I will not! Git…" Harry chuckled. "What did you come over for anyway? Because I know it wasn't to break me from the throes of a living nightmare."
"Technically, to give you some of my memories. But also to talk to you about Hermione. She told me you two talked the other night and you convinced her to go see her parents. How the bloody hell did you manage that? I've been telling her that for weeks now!" Ron said flinging his arms up in frustration.
"I…well, how much do you know?" Harry asked.
"I know everything that happened. She also told me you know about her mum being pregnant. So I'm guessing she told you everything too."
"Well," Harry began."I asked her if she was happy with her decision and she said no, immediately with no hesitation. I think she must have realized then that she needed to go see them. I hope she can fix things with them. She's going to be a big sister and there's a chance that the baby will be magical as well. She should be in that kid's life too." Harry got a wistful look on his face for a moment thinking about baby siblings before he shook his head to clear it.
"We should follow her with the cloak. When she goes to see them," Ron said quickly.
"What? No. Ron…" Harry sighed. "You need to trust Hermione. You need to accept that Hermione is an adult and can deal with her family issues on her own. She doesn't need you to save her or protect her. She's perfectly capable of doing that on her own. And if she needs your help, she's adult enough to ask for help. What she needs from you is support. That's all." Harry swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. "I'm hungry, let's go down to the kitchen and see if Kreacher can whip us up some lunch."
The two raced downstairs and gave the old elf a bit of a fright when they burst into the kitchen shouting about who had won. They goofed off as they ate their meal and waited for Harry's parents and godfather to arrive home, but their playfulness had a tinge of stiffness to it. The episodes Harry would have always left a bitter taste to their lives for a short while afterward.
"BOY!" was the first thing Harry, James, Lily, Sirius, Ron, and Hermione heard after they entered the Pensieve. Harry had gathered them all together and ignored Sirius' question about why Hermione and Ron had come after they'd planned on it just being the family. He gestured to the bowl of memories he and Ron had worked on.
This time was going to be different, Harry had decided. No stopping and explaining after each memory. It was going to be a rapid fire session with many memories playing in a row. They'd planned on six blocks of memories and five breaks to allow for discussion, and to allow Harry to take a short break from viewing his nightmares.
Harry knew that his parents had been talking about visiting the Dursleys soon to discuss Harry's upbringing and treatment in their house, so he started with their departure from his life. Vernon and Petunia's at least.
"You took your time! Get down here, I want a word!" shouted Vernon. They watched as a slightly younger looking Harry casually trumped down the stairs. He exuded confidence and irritation, a drastic change from his younger self's fear and trepidation. It was a good sight for the group watching to see a strong, secure Harry.
"I've changed my mind," said Vernon.
"What a surprise," Harry replied sardonically.
"He had changed his mind every day, often more than once a day," Harry said with a roll of his eyes.
"Changed his mind about what?" asked Sirius.
"Taking the protection offered by the Order once my seventeenth birthday rolled around. The blood-protection around the house would end as soon as I turned seventeen or could no longer call their house my home. Which in this memory was that night," Harry said.
"I believe it's a plot to get the house," Vernon said loudly.
"What house?"
"This house!" shouted the angry Muggle.
Everyone watching snorted or rolled their eyes.
"What a bleeding idiot," James mumbled.
"Are you actually as stupid as you look?" Harry responded with incredulity.
Sirius barked out a laugh.
"I've already got a house, my godfather left me one. So why would I want this one? All the happy memories?"
"Yeah!" Sirius shouted. "You don't need this Muggle box of a house! You've got a bleeding Manor!" Harry shook his head in amusement before hushing Sirius.
Everyone stared at the scene watching Harry walk Vernon back through the steps convincing him to leave. Harry took this time to watch his aunt. She showed her emotions much more than Harry ever noticed since he was usually focusing on Vernon or Dudley. Harry noticed during the moments he was talking about the Dementors she was watching his younger self in horror. He realized that she had been convinced this whole time to leave. Had he just called Vernon's bluff one of the many times Vernon claimed to not be leaving, she probably would have stepped in and forced her husband to comply.
He rolled his eyes and switched his view to Dudley who was staring wide eyed at the younger Harry. The mention of Dementors had caused all blood to rush from Dudley's face, leaving Harry wondering once again what his fat, pampered cousin had seen that night.
"They will torture and kill you like they did my parents!"
"Dad - I'm going with these Order people," Dudley said suddenly. He was wringing his hands and stepping from foot to foot, his face showing how terrified he actually was. Harry was struck with how he hadn't noticed that night how scared Dudley actually was.
"Dudley, for the first time in your life, you're talking sense."
Now that they had decided on leaving the memory faded out and returned several moments later after Dedalus and Hestia had arrived and the Dursleys were finally about to leave.
"Why isn't he coming with us?" Dudley asked surprising everyone. "Why isn't he coming too?"
"Wow, he actually cares about you," Hermione said in slight awe. His best friends knew he met up with Dudley every couple weeks, but they didn't believe that the once fat boy had changed his views about Harry.
"I don't think you're a waste of space."
"Well, damn. He practically confessed his undying love for you there mate!" Ron joked. Harry chuckled.
"I'm pretty sure I say that in a moment," Harry chuckled.
A few seconds later, "Yeah, but coming from Dudley that's like 'I love you.'" Everyone laughed.
When Dudley came forward to shake Harry's hand Sirius and Ron wiped away fake tears and pretended to sob into each other's shoulders mimicking Petunia. Lily tried not to smile at their antics but was fighting a losing battle.
When Harry took Dudley's hand and said, "Take care, Big D," Ron wailed and pounded his fist on Sirius back, his body shaking with mirth and the attempt to change his laughing into fake sobbing. Harry was shaking his head and laughing along with them. He'd have to tell Dudley about this at their tea coming up.
"Well - good-bye," said Petunia. Lily stopped watching the clowning around going on behind her and watched her prickly sister. Harry had said goodbye himself and they watched as the older woman paused and turned as if to say something more before shaking her head and abruptly walking away.
After that the memory switched to the Order standing in the kitchen.
"Harry, guess what?" Tonks said. Harry watched with sadness as she waved her wedding ring around happily. They'd only been together a short while. They deserved so much more time together and with Teddy.
"The old wolf looks happier than I've seen him in a long time," Sirius commented with a sad smile.
"They were very happy for the little time they had together," Hermione added.
Mad-Eye explained the plan in detail for several minutes. Finally, the younger Harry gave in and donated several hairs to the cause. Lily grimaced as they watched all the people turn into Harry.
"Dung is going to cause problems, I can feel it," Sirius mumbled. Ron growled under his breath which made Sirius grow even more concerned.
"Wow – we're identical!" Fred and George said, causing the trio and Sirius to chortle sadly. Ron surreptitiously attempted to wipe away a tear. Hermione reached over and took his hand while Harry patted him on the back lightly and rubbed his shoulder.
Harry was reminded of his embarrassment as outfits were coordinated. "I wish you lot could have at least had the decency to cover your…er… my bodies…when you changed…" Harry grumbled causing all the guys to laugh loudly.
"I'm sorry Harry. It didn't even occur to us," Hermione said with a sincere frown.
Eventually the group moved outside. That was when Sirius exclaimed suddenly, "My bike!"
"Er, yeah. Hagrid had it this whole time I think," Harry said.
"Arthur's done a bit o' tinkerin'. It's got a few tricks up its handlebars now. Tha' one was my idea," Hagrid said proudly.
"Oh no," moaned Sirius. "My poor bike! What does that button do? You have to tell me! Oh Merlin, my bike! All my hard work," Sirius rambled as he stared longingly at the motorcycle.
"Erm, you'll see what the new…features do soon enough," Harry said. He gave his godfather an apologetic look and ducked his head down, trying to force a smile but all that happened was a weird grimace.
"Oh no…" was all Sirius said in return.
Once again, as soon as everyone was airborne and starting on their way, many Death Eaters appeared around them. James, Lily, and Sirius all gasped as they sped along following Harry and Hagrid. The first few seconds were pure chaos.
"They're shooting to kill!" Lily said loudly just as a killing curse struck Hedwig.
"No –NO! Hedwig –Hedwig—"
"Oh Harry!" Hermione said softly. The real Harry sighed as a single tear fell from his eye.
"Hagrid, we've got to go back! Hagrid, TURN AROUND!"
"My job's ter get you there safe, Harry!"
"I'm surprised you never got a letter saying you did underage magic, Harry," Hermione pointed out after he'd cast several spells.
"Yeah, I didn't even think about that," he replied.
"Hold on, Harry, this'll do for 'em!" Hagrid shouted before hitting the first button. Sirius covered most of his face, and had only his eyes poking out.
They all gasped when the solid brick wall popped out of the exhaust pipe. They were even more shocked when one of the Death Eaters ploughed into it, falling immediately after.
"Huh…that actually wasn't that bad," Sirius said shakily. "I guess," he added.
"There are two more buttons," Harry added. Sirius moaned.
Lily gasped every time a killing curse whizzed past her son's head. She was gripping his and James' arms tightly. Her nails were nearly piercing skin when Hagrid hit the second button producing a net.
"This'll do it, Harry, hold on tight!" shouted Hagrid.
"Does he think shouting to you that he's about to do something might tip off the Death Eaters that he's about to do something?" Hermione asked sardonically with a roll of her eyes.
Everyone was shocked at how fast the flying motorcycle suddenly shot forward with a burst of dragon fire. Lily and Hermione both noticed immediately that something had gone terribly wrong when the side car creaked and started to separate from the bike. Lily's nails finally broke through the skin on both James and Harry's arms.
"Er, Lily, dear, could you loosen your grip there? We're bleeding," James said softly as he tried prying her fingers loose.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed as she dropped her hands to her side.
"I'm on it, Harry, don' worry!"
"Hagrid! No! Let me!"
"REPARO!"
Lily wrung her hands together as they watched the side car start to descend. Harry decided that a little bit of blood wasn't that important and took her hand again. She gave him a smile and leaned her shoulder into his wrapping her arm around him and giving him a side hug.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" shouted Harry, who suddenly stopped falling, but was no longer moving forward. Spells whizzed past. Hermione was clutching Ron, her eyes wide. He was staring just as desperately at the scene as the Death Eaters zoomed toward their hovering friend.
They watched as Harry cast spells in vain trying to stop or slow the enemy from advancing on him. Hagrid's cries of "I'm comin', Harry, I'm comin'!" gave them no relief until suddenly the half giant's hand grabbed Harry out of the air.
The next few minutes went quickly. The girls and Harry all shed tears when the side car was blown up with Hedwig's body still inside. Then Stan Shunpike arrived and Harry cast the Disarming spell, Ron and Hermione both groaned just as the man shouted, "That's him, it's him, it's the real one!" before backing off and disappearing.
"Well…That was ominous. Where'd they go?" James said. They floated along in silence staring out into the black sky waiting while Hagrid assured them they were getting close.
Finally, the memory Harry burst out screaming as he clutched his scar. That's when Sirius screamed and pointed out into the sky towards a billowing black cloud, on which Voldemort floated, speeding towards them.
"He's flying! He's flying without a broom! Without anything! How the bloody hell is he doing that?!" Sirius shrieked. His fear could have been attributed to the fact that he was sitting between Voldemort and the memory Harry so it almost seemed as if Voldemort was flying straight at him, instead of his godson's memory self. The current Harry chuckled at the sight of his godfather attempting to paddle through the air away from the snake faced monster advancing toward him at an alarming speed.
They could see the ground advancing, as green jets of light shot past the two on the bike. Everyone gasped in surprise when Hagrid launched himself off the bike towards a Death Eater about to cast a Killing Curse towards them.
"Hagrid!" Lily and Hermione both screamed as the large man plummeted to the ground, taking the adversary with him.
"Mine!" screamed Voldemort with glee as he aimed his wand towards Harry.
The next several seconds was pure chaos as Harry's wand spun and shot golden fire at Voldemort suddenly and without warning.
"Hagrid! Hagrid – Accio Hagrid!"
"Oh no! Is he alright?! Will he be okay?" Lily wept as she wrung her hands. James wrapped his arms around her to give her some support. They watched as Harry continued to plummet, Voldemort vanishing before getting in one last shot, and Harry attempting to gain control of the bike before it crash landed in a muddy pond. Their final sight, a groaning Harry fading into the blackness.
"He's fine, mum. We both survived," Harry reassured her. "He was at my birthday party, remember?"
She nodded and sighed.
"What the hell just happened? What spell was that?" James asked.
"No clue," Harry said shortly. "Just keep watching. We'll answer questions in a bit."
"My bike," Sirius croaked out, his eyes wide. Lily rolled her eyes.
The next memory started becoming clearer. Harry, Ginny, and Hagrid standing on the front lawn of the Burrow.
"Ron and Tonks should have been back first, but they missed their Portkey, it came back without them. And that one should have been Dad and Fred's, they were supposed to be second. You and Hagrid were third and, if they made it, George and Lupin ought to be back in a minute."
The memory quickly flashed to the arrival of an unconscious George and Remus. Everyone gasped at the sight of the boy's mangled ear. Sirius and James both watched in momentary anger as they watched their friend grab Harry and drag him to the other room, push him up against the counter, and pull a wand on him.
"What creature sat in the corner the first time that Harry Potter visited my office at Hogwarts? Answer me!" shouted Remus.
James and Sirius both relaxed when Remus released Harry upon giving a correct answer. The memory switched to the group running outside and finding Hermione and Kingsley. The question method was repeated by Kingsley and Remus. Several minutes later the adults were shocked to hear who had cursed off George's ear.
"He lost his hood during the chase. Sectumsempra was always a specialty of Snape's," Remus spat.
"Severus? But he would never…" Lily stopped what she was about to say and shook her head. They knew Snape was the one who had betrayed the Prophecy to Voldemort. The reason their life spiraled downward so quickly.
The memory flashed forward, finding Harry in the living room with Molly and Ginny tending to George.
"I'll prove who I am, Kingsley, after I've seen my son, now back off if you know what's good for you!" Arthur practically screamed in the Auror's face as he ran into the house.
"Wow, I've never heard dad sound so scared before," Ron muttered as he watched his dad enter the room at a run.
"Fred looks so…lost," Hermione said softly.
They watched as George slowly woke up, Harry and Hermione sharing a slight smile.
"How do you feel, Georgie?"
"Saintlike."
"What?" Ron asked in confusion.
"What's wrong with him? Is his mind affected?" Fred croaked in fear.
"Saintlike. You see…I'm holy. Holey, Fred, geddit?"
"Did he just…" Ron started with his mouth dropping open.
"Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humour before you, you go for holey?" Fred said. Sirius and James both barked out a shaky laugh.
"He did! He almost dies and the first thing out of his mouth after waking up is a bloody joke," Ron said in awe and slight pride while shaking his head.
"You gotta hand it to him though, making a joke after so much blood loss isn't easy, is it Padfoot?" James joked as he elbowed Sirius in the ribs. Harry made a mental note to ask about that later.
The memory flashed and they heard Hermione shout, "It's them!" as Ron and Tonks descended from the sky on a broom. Their reunion was quick and sweet before the memory flashed to when Bill and Fleur arrived by thestral.
"Mad-eye's dead," Bill said immediately.
Sirius gasped as he listened and learned of Mundungus's betrayal.
"I knew that skiving little weasel would pull a stunt like that! Little bastard! Did he survive the war? Cuz if he did I'll kill him myself!" Sirius raged.
"At least Mad-Eye went down with a fight, and by the snaky bastard himself. He always did say the only thing that would kill him was Voldemort or retirement," James added. Sirius snorted.
"Remind me to have a drink when we get out of here," he said.
"No. I mean…if somebody made a mistake and let something slip, I know they didn't mean to do it. It's not their fault. We've got to trust each other. I trust all of you, I don't think anyone in this room would ever sell me to Voldemort."
"You think I'm a fool?"
"No, I think you're like James, who would have regarded it as the height of dishonour to mistrust his friends."
"He's commenting on the fact that one of my friends betrayed me, right?" James said softly. "Peter, someone I trusted implicitly, betrayed me."
No one said anything as the memory flashed to a happier moment in time. Bill and Fleur's wedding. But it wasn't going to last. It was several minutes before Kingsley's Patronus message warning them of the death of the Minister.
"Harry, what about the Will?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, yeah. I didn't think it was important enough to include an actual memory of it," Harry said quickly. He explained what each of them had received from Dumbledore's will and what they did, in the case of the deluminator. He finished just as the lynx Patronus showed up.
Panic ensued as people screamed and tried to leave. They watched as Hermione grabbed the two boys and Apparated away. The next few minutes showed the viewers the trip down Tottenham Court Road, Hermione's miracle beaded bag, the Death Eaters arriving in the café, the brief fight and Obliviating them as well. They watched as the memory shifted to the trio arriving at Grimmauld Place and the consequent search and revealing the jinxes. Arthur's weasel Patronus arriving announcing everyone was safe gave the adults a sigh of relief.
Harry had added a few glimpses of him finding the letter from Lily to Sirius, and the ripped photo. He wanted all the same info he'd gotten throughout the ten months so that when he finally showed them the memories from Snape, they'd understand that he was actually the good guy.
Harry watched Sirius' face when they passed by Regulus' door and made the connection from Sirius' dead brother to R.A.B. Sirius had a sad frown and he stared at the ground for several moments instead of watching the memory. But his eyes remained dry. The memory flashed to the moment they realized they'd seen the locket the day they cleaned out the cabinets in the Drawing Room summer before their fifth year.
"Kreacher nicked loads of things back from us," Harry had muttered. The three ran downstairs and searched the boiler room finally calling the elf to them. The interrogation left the adults stunned when they heard the elf mutter the name Mundungus Fletcher as the culprit who stole the necklace. They were even more astonished at the tale Kreacher told them of Master Regulus and how he came into possession of the Locket Horcrux.
During the elf's tale Sirius stared at the elderly elf with hatred.
"Master Regulus came to find Kreacher in his cupboard one night, and Master Regulus was strange, not as he usually was, disturbed in his mind, Kreacher could tell…"
Sirius shook his head slowly. Harry was worried about his godfather hearing this part. He knew he had already told him the whole story, but hearing it from the only other being that experienced that night had an eerie effect on a person.
"And he made you drink the potion?" The adults gasped when the elf shook his head as he wept. This was the first break in Sirius' furious façade. He suddenly looked more scared that angry.
Kreacher continued his story in broken, gasping sobs describing how his beloved Master Regulus met his fate. By the end, Lily, Hermione, and Sirius were all openly crying.
Several more minutes went by before Kreacher had calmed down. In that time Sirius realized that he'd treated the elf horribly, the memory Hermione reiterating that he'd done so with her speech. Finally, the elf sat up and Harry asked Kreacher to find Mundungus Fletcher.
"Kreacher, I'd, er, like you to have this. This belonged to Regulus and I'm sure he'd want you to have it as a token of gratitude for what you –" Kreacher collapsing into a puddle of tears and sobbing and Ron's comment ("Overkill, mate.") left James and Lily chuckling. Sirius was baffled.
"That's how you got him to be normal again? By giving him a crappy necklace?" he asked.
"A crappy necklace that belonged to his beloved, dead Master, yes," Harry said with a shrug.
The memory around them changed to a few nights later. They watched as Harry started towards the foyer and heard the door start opening. James and Sirius were relieved to see Remus standing there alive and well.
After Harry was assured of who was in front of him, they all followed the group from the past into the basement.
"I'd have been here three days ago but I needed to shake off the Death Eater tailing me," Remus said as they all sat down.
The kids explained to Remus where they had gone after the wedding and how they came to Grimmauld Place.
"But how did they find you so quickly?" Remus asked.
"Yeah, you kind of glossed over that earlier," James said. "They can't have used the Trace because you were legally an adult at the time. But they showed up so quickly, it couldn't have been an accident," he finished.
"Uh, we'll explain that later," Harry said giving his friends a knowing look.
"Well, Kingsley saved to his warning most of the wedding guests were able to Disapparate before they arrived."
"Were they Death Eaters or Ministry people?" asked Hermione.
Remus went on to explain how the Ministry was essentially under Death Eater control and that, while Voldemort wasn't acting Minister, he was technically the new Minister, just acting through a proxy, one Pius Thicknesse. Then he told them what happened after the wedding ended, how they were all interrogated about Harry's whereabouts for hours, how all the prominent Order member's homes were raided, Dedalus Diggle's home burned down, the Tonkses tortured.
"I don't understand how this could have happened so quickly. Is the Ministry so unstable that it could be overtaken in a matter of a few hours?" Lily asked.
"The Death Eaters had been working at this for years by this point, ever since the end of the Triwizard. Plus, he had a year of anonymity too before it came out he was back. And yes, the Ministry was controlled by racist, bigoted, old men who had ancient views and opinions. When it comes down to it, half of the Ministry probably helped in the takeover. The other half wasn't powerful enough to stop it," said Hermione.
"Or they were trying to stop it subtly from within," Harry said, thinking of a few of the Aurors who had stayed on in their positions.
"Dad stayed on at his job for a while. He had to keep his head down and do what he was told otherwise the Death Eaters would have raided the Burrow and taken my whole family into custody. Even Bill and Fleur for being associated with us," Ron added.
"It's not that the Ministry was weak or unstable, just that it was being run by people who were supporters or at least receptive of the views that Voldemort was spouting. The Ministry itself was already half corrupt when this all happened," Hermione pointed out.
"Not to mention our stellar Ministers of Magic during this time basically doing nothing to prevent the corruption and adding to it in fact," Harry added with a roll of his eyes.
"You'll know sooner or later anyway. That's their pretext for going after you." The older group leaned in to read the headline.
"Wanted For Questioning About the Death of Albus Dumbledore?" Sirius read aloud. "What? They thought you killed Albus? That's bloody absurd!" he cried.
"They knew I didn't do it. They used this headline to help sow doubt in the people's minds about who I 'really' was or might be. There were probably a good sized number of people on the fence about who to side with and this could push them over into Voldemort's camp. Plus, it meant I had to either turn myself in or go on the run. Either way it got me out of Voldemort's scales for a bit," Harry said.
"Muggle-born Register…a survey of so-called "Muggle-borns"…Recent research…magic can only be passed from person to person…so-called Muggle-born is likely to have obtained magical power by theft or force…determined to root out such usurpers of magical power…present themselves for interview by the newly appointed Muggle-born Registration Commission."
"That is…It's…" Lily stormed, at a loss for words. "I did not steal my magic!" she finally shouted.
"We know, dear," James said soothingly.
"It's just so…." Lily stammered trying to find a word.
"Wrong?" supplied Hermione, who shared the angry look on Lily's face.
"Ugh! Wrong doesn't even begin to describe it! It's…It's…repugnant!" Lily raged.
They watched the discussion with Remus for several more minutes. Finally, Remus made his offer to accompany them.
"What about Tonks?"
"What about her?"
"'What about her? '"Lily repeated in a dangerous tone. "What exactly does he mean by that? He just married her! He's supposed to stay with her and not run off to fight bad guys!"
"Tonks is going to have a baby."
"That bloody coward!" Lily exclaimed. Sirius and James shared a glance and either shook their head or rolled their eyes.
"So…do you accept my offer?"
"You bloody well better not have," Lily said with a growl. Harry just chuckled lightly.
"Just to be clear. You want to leave Tonks at her parents' house and come away with us?"
"You're considering it?" Lily shouted glaring at Harry.
"Lily, just watch," James said. Lily quieted down immediately, though the look on her face was still fierce.
"Harry, I'm sure James would have wanted me to stick with you."
"Oh Remus…using your dead friend to guilt Harry?" Lily couldn't help but quip quietly. James had a look on his face that Harry couldn't interpret.
"Well, I'm not. I'm pretty sure my father would have wanted to know why you aren't sticking with your own kid, actually."
Sirius snorted. James had a lopsided smile, but kept his focus on the memory.
"I—I made a grave mistake in marrying Tonks. I did it against my better judgment and I have regretted it very much ever since."
"I see. So you're just going to dump her and the kid and run off with us?"
Remus went on to rant about his mistake and how he'd ruined Tonks' and the baby's lives.
"My kind doesn't usually breed! It will be like me, I am convinced of it!"
"He talks about himself like he's an animal," Lily said. She still looked angry at her old friend, but there was some sympathy shining through now.
"He always treated himself like a second or third class human being. Yes, the Wizarding world is prejudiced against werewolves, but…we could never make him understand that he's an amazing person and he shouldn't let the prejudiced bastards in the Ministry get to him," Sirius said.
"How could any child be ashamed of you?"
"Oh, I don't know Hermione. I'd be pretty ashamed of him."
Sirius sucked in a breath. "Ouch…" he said softly.
"My father died trying to protect my mother and me, and you reckon he'd tell you to abandon your kid to go on an adventure with us?"
James' mouth was puckering and he was staring at his old friend with a dark look. Sirius was nodding along with Harry's speech.
"I think you're feeling a bit of a daredevil. You fancy stepping into Sirius' shoes—"
Sirius stopped nodding and looked at Harry.
"You were a bit of a daredevil…" Harry said weakly. Sirius just shrugged and nodded.
"I'd never have believed this. The man who taught me to fight dementors – a coward." Lily, Sirius, and James all gasped when Remus jumped up and shot a spell at Harry, sending him flying across the room.
"Harry! I can't believe you said that!" Lily exclaimed.
"I can," James said. "It's exactly what I would have said. Idiot needs to be thumped a good one when he's in his 'oh woe is me' self-pitying stage. He needs…needed people to tell him exactly what he was doing and often times in a harsh, borderline cruel way. It's the only way to get it through his incredibly thick skull," he finished. He gave Harry a strong slap on the back and nodded to him. "Good job."
"Did he come back?" Lily asked.
"I didn't see him again until after Teddy was born. When he apologized and asked me to be Teddy's Godfather," Harry said wiping a tear away.
"Parents shouldn't leave their kids unless – unless they've got to."
Lily and James gave their Harry a sad look. He smiled back at them.
"Good thing you two had a good reason…" he said softly with a smirk. They just laughed at him.
The memory faded and reappeared in the same room, just a few moments later. Kreacher had returned with Dung. The group watched as Mundungus arrived via elf-travel. They questioned him, but the dodgy old crook wasn't being cooperative. Suddenly Kreacher ran at him with a frying pan and whacked him upside the head. Harry called off the elf.
"Perhaps just one more, Master Harry, for luck?" replied Kreacher, pan still raised above his wrinkled head.
Sirius suddenly started guffawing loudly. He was laughing so hard he had to sit down. Ron and James joined him shortly.
"That damn elf actually has a sense of humour!" Sirius finally sighed, wiping tears from his eyes.
Several minutes later, the group stood stunned when Dung finally revealed who had the Locket Horcrux.
"Well, you're screwed," said Sirius.
"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Harry said.
Harry glossed over the planning they'd done on how to break in to the Ministry and the scenes that played out every so often from Voldemort's travels. Instead he quickly explained what he'd seen and when. Then, Hermione explained the general idea of their breaking and entering plan. He placed in short clipped memories of how they'd gotten in by grabbing and drugging Mafalda Hopkirk, Reg Cattermole, and Albert Runcorn, and of how the Ministry looked while under the Death Eater control, and how they ended up split up.
"My son and his friends…breaking into the Ministry of Magic…that's run by Voldemort…"James said while nodding slightly, a dazed look on his face. "Yeah, never would have imagined that in a million years."
"You can say that again," Sirius said while staring around at the upper level of the Ministry following Harry as Runcorn. James opened his mouth but before he could repeat himself Sirius quipped, "Rhetorical James. It was Rhetorical." Harry snorted.
They watched as Harry searched Umbridge's office, finding nothing but the folder on Arthur, the book about Albus, Moody's eye (and him taking it), and the poster of Harry.
"You know…you should try and find a copy of that poster somewhere. Have it as a keepsake," Sirius said casually.
"Are you kidding? Why would I want that?" Harry asked incredulously.
"I have a copy of my wanted poster. I keep it as a reminder that I was once the Ministry's most wanted and I survived it. Kingsley got one for me. He could probably find one for you too," Sirius added.
"Muggles will dress up and make fake wanted posters of themselves at carnivals some times. Remember at that Muggle amusement park we went to? They had a booth where you could dress up in costumes and hold fake guns or liquor bottles and make up crimes that you did," Hermione added.
"I remember, but I still don't know why I'd want to keep that. It wasn't exactly a good time in my life. I don't really want to remember it," Harry said darkly. Sirius shrugged, but winked at Hermione.
The next memory that popped up was Harry meeting with Arthur in the lift and giving him the warning.
"I can't wait to see how dad reacts to that," Ron said with a grin. Harry smiled. He'd never told the Weasley patriarch it was him giving him the warning that day.
"I kind of wish I could see your mum's reaction to us breaking into the Ministry…" Harry responded. Ron paled.
"You're the only one mate," the redhead supplied with a gulp.
A few more clips went by and finally they started back in on the more substantial memories. They couldn't see him, but Harry was walking into the courtroom under the invisibility cloak.
"You are Mary Elizabeth Cattermole?" called out Umbridge. Lily had her lip curled up in a snarl.
"Cattermole?" said James looking at Ron, who was pale.
"Married to Reginald Cattermole of the Magical Maintenance Department?"
"I don't know where he is, he was supposed to meet me here!"
The adults glanced at Ron who was pale. He still felt bad for taking Reg's place. They'd found out after the war that the real Reg had been arrested and sentenced to Azkaban for assisting the Muggle-borns who escaped. Mary and the kids successfully escaped England to Ireland and Reg was eventually released from the prison but that didn't stop Ron, Harry, and Hermione from feeling bad. The Cattermoles had sent Harry a letter saying that they were grateful to them because Mary would have never survived Azkaban, whereas Reg was able to withstand it a bit more. That helped a little to ease the pain of knowing they'd condemned a man to prison due to their actions.
"A wand was taken from you upon your arrival at the Ministry today, Mrs. Cattermole…Could you please tell us from which witch or wizard you took that wand?"
"T-took? I didn't t-take it from anybody. I b-bought it when I was eleven years old. It – it – it –chose me," Mary cried. Lily was shaking her head staring at the poor woman.
"How did they let it come to this?" she said sadly.
"No, I don't think so, Mrs. Cattermole. Wands only choose witches and wizards. You are not a witch."
At this statement made by the toadish woman, Lily clenched her fists and let out a growl. Harry had no doubt that if Umbridge had been anywhere but Azkaban, Lily would have tracked her down and beaten her to within an inch of her life at that moment.
They were surprised when Umbridge leaned over and her locket swung forward into view.
Shortly after that they heard Runcorn's voice shout the stunning spell at the fat woman. Within seconds the courtroom was in chaos. They watched in awe as Harry repelled the dementors while Hermione copied the locket.
As the two led the Muggle-borns to the atrium surrounded by the white glow of the Patronus they saw Ron run into the scene.
"Harry, they know there are intruders inside the Ministry, something about a hole in Umbridge's office door, I reckon we've got five minutes if that—"
The group kept moving and finally arrived in the atrium, which was even more chaotic. Harry as Runcorn led them all to the lifts and shouted to stop sealing the Floos.
"This lot need to leave before you seal the exits."
"Are you contradicting me? Would you like me to have your family tree examined, like I had Dirk Cresswell's?"
"Good thinking," James said.
"I would have totally forgotten who I was and that I could do something like that," Sirius said, an impressed look on his face.
"You definitely are good on your feet, Harry," Lily added with a smile.
"Uh oh," James said as they spotted the real Reg Cattermole.
"Yep…" Ron said slowly with pop on the 'P'.
"Seal the exit! SEAL IT!" shouted Yaxley. Almost immediately Ron and Mary disappeared, Harry punched the official he'd just threatened and yelled, "He's been helping Muggle-borns escape, Yaxley!"
"Hah! Good one, Harry!" Sirius joked.
"That looked painful. You're fists were huge!" Lily said.
The next few minutes were extremely hectic. They disappeared into the Floo and arrived in the toilet, Mary and Ron were wrestling, Yaxley arrived, and Hermione grabbed Ron and Harry and Disapparated. But as soon as they arrived, there was a scream and a spell shot off, and they Disapparated again. That was where the memory went dark for several moments.
"Um, what exactly just happened?" James asked.
As soon as the words left his mouth their view cleared and they were in a forest. Lily and Ron both gasped when they saw the younger Ron laying spread eagle on the ground with pasty white skin and covered in blood.
"You were splinched?" Sirius asked with a sick look on his face. Ron reached over and pulled his shirt back to show the spot on his left arm where it looked like someone had scooped out a chunk with an ice cream scoop.
They watched as Hermione and Harry worked together to heal Ron and hide their location with wards. The discussion of where she brought them and why shocked the adults.
"Oh no!" Lily said with a worried look on her face.
"At least you got the Horcrux though," James added.
"I think this is a good place to stop for a moment," Harry said as he ended the play of memories. They all arrived in the Drawing Room of Grimmauld Place and took their places.
"I'll be honest. I imagined that going way worse. I mean, breaking into the bloody Ministry? I can't believe you weren't caught," James said with pride.
"That plan took balls," Sirius added with a grin.
"Sirius, don't be so crass," Lily said rolling her eyes. "I am glad you were able to get the Horcrux, but I can't believe you were able to pull that off either."
Harry chuckled. "You aren't the only ones. I think it took us a week before it really hit us that our plan actually worked, as badly as it ended."
"So did the Death Eaters go into Grimmauld Place?" asked Sirius.
"Yes. According to Kreacher they came and searched the place. It was trashed the first time I came back after the war. They'd broken everything, ripped stuff off the walls, wrote stuff on the walls. I'm pretty sure at one point a group of them showed up with a victim and tortured them here. Kreacher apparently went into hiding somewhere. He wouldn't tell me where," Harry said.
"Did you ever figure out how those Death Eaters found you in the city?" asked Lily.
"Well," Hermione hesitated, glancing at Harry. They shared a silent staring conversation for several seconds before she continued. "We did eventually find out how they'd found us."
"Voldemort put a taboo on his name, so anyone who was brave enough to say the name 'Voldemort' was found almost immediately after saying it. The only people who were willing to say it was those who fought against him," Harry said.
"He had this group of people who weren't actually all Death Eaters, but they went around catching people on the run. They called themselves Snatchers," Ron said with a dark look. "If they brought in Muggle-borns they'd get a reward. If the person was a wanted criminal, they were instructed to bring them straight to the Malfoys instead of the Ministry." Ron and Harry both had dark looks on their faces while Hermione looked pained.
"So they are a fun little twist between a Death Eater and a bounty hunter," Sirius said trying to lighten the mood.
Ron gave an exaggerated nod, but stayed quiet.
"Harry, did you do something with Moody's eye?" Sirius finally asked.
"Yes. I placed it in a hole in a tree in that first forest. I figured if he couldn't have an official burial, at least his eye didn't have to be used by that hag. If I watched the memory enough times, I might be able to go find it again," he replied with a shrug.
"Nah, I think Moody would have been happy with that. Somewhere outside, seems freer than a burial. Plus he wasn't exactly one for sentiment and sappiness like a funeral anyway," Sirius said with a sad smile.
The group fell silent as they thought about Alastor Moody. They thought of his gruff attitude, shouting Constant Vigilance to anyone who would listen, his fake eye, and the stories he told of his younger days as an Auror. The man was gruff, rude, sarcastic, paranoid, and prickly but he was a decent human being and didn't deserve to be locked in a trunk for nine months nor killed and his body dumped somewhere unknown.
A/N: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU To everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter! I did not expect so many reviews after such a long hiatus! I love you all!
Did you all enjoy the prank war? Let me know your favorite parts!
In the last chapter a few people were confused by something I wrote so I want to clarify: The last chapter of Surprise will be chapter 73! So don't worry, I will finish book 7...it'll just take a few chapters.
PTSD is a real disorder. Soldiers and victims of trauma are the people who are usually diagnosed with it. If you are interested, please do some more research into PTSD. I was a little worried about putting this in the chapter and making Harry go see a psychologist but he is one of those characters that I, as a new student of psychology, would be able to do a whole case study on with all the shit he's gone through. I really do think Harry would need to see someone after all that he went through. Let me know what you think of this.