Disclaimer: I do not own anything of this story. Harry Potter and all of the notable characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
Magnolia Crescent
Chapter Twenty-Three
The Death Eaters
"Time to break this up. Remus, you stick with the kids. Arthur and I will get the people moving. Harry, watch my back," Sirius ordered, pulling out his wand.
"Wait, you're taking Harry with you? That's stupidly dangerous," Remus pointed out, taking a step forward.
"Yeah, and sending him out into the woods with all this going on is just as brilliant. Harry can handle himself. We spent all summer teaching him," Sirius retorted.
"He's not James, he's just a boy," Remus started.
"I know he isn't, but he's safer with me and Arthur than he is running around, lost in the dark. Besides, he has more experience with the dark arts than most full grown wizards. He'll be behind me the entire time," Sirius said. Remus opened his mouth to protest but nothing came out. Sirius nodded, racing forward into the line of Death Eaters.
"Expelliarmus!" he shouted, blasting the lead Death Eater and knocking the man's wand to the ground. This drew everyone's attention to Sirius.
"Frontal attack, brilliant idea!" shouted Arthur, flicking his wand. All manner of objects floated into the air.
"Everyone, find some cover! Harry, follow me!" Sirius shouted. A few wizards stopped running when they heard Harry's name.
"Stupefy!" Harry shouted, knocking back a Death Eater. Sirius gave him a small nod of approval. Harry kept his head down as the two of them moved around a tent. The Death Eater's ranks suddenly started to disperse.
"They get even the slightest amount of opposition and they start running like cowards. With their Dark Lord, they are about as trusting as teenagers and a school yard prank," Sirius murmured, more to himself than anything.
"Avada – " one started.
"Stupefy!" Harry shouted, knocking the Death Eater to the ground before he could finish. The ranks quickly broke off as the hooded figures dove to the side. A green spell went flying by as Sirius knocked Harry to the side.
"How in the world did you talk me into this?" Arthur shouted, ducking behind a barrel just as a good chunk of it got blown off. Harry regained his footing and shot off another stunning spell. Sirius waved his wand, sending a shock wave. The sound of breaking objects and shouts started to spring back to life. Sirius appeared to have a deranged grin on his face as he stood up. A Death Eater shot a spell at him only for it to be deflected by the shield he had just conjured in front of him. Harry leaped up, setting off a few more spells, his lips giving voice to the incantations. The spells missed but he spotted a few more lights in the distance.
The black cloaked figures seemed to notice what was going on as a few suddenly disappeared in a haze of smoke, fleeing from the area.
"Apparation," Arthur cursed. The last few vanished, seeing no one there to watch their back.
"Run, you little cowards!" Sirius shouted at the top of his lungs. "Arthur, start rounding these bodies up. If an innocent man can stand it, these lot should be right at home in Azkaban," Sirius commented, looking down at one of the Death Eater's unconscious bodies.
The Weasley father popped up, glancing over at a Muggle family floating in the night sky. "We might want to start getting them down. The Ministry is going to have a panic attack from all of this. An international incident; the paperwork for all this is going to be mountainous. Good thing that's not my department," he sighed, more to himself.
"The Aurors should be here soon, Arthur. You think you can handle them? Since Harry and I aren't part of the Ministry, this could get us in a spot of trouble," Sirius explained.
"Sure, more glory for me, I guess. Better get moving," he replied, looking down at the three men bound on the ground. Harry picked up his feet, racing after Sirius. He glanced back to see Arthur waving over a small group of wizards.
Sirius held his wand up, dimly lighting the ground. "Come on, this way," Sirius directed, moving into a small clearing.
"Serves you right," Malfoy sneered. Leo was pressing his fingers into the dark grass, desperately looking for something. Leo ignored him, instead moving around frantically, trying to find his wand.
"Leo, it's gone. You're not going to find it," Hermione said in a quiet voice.
"What did I miss?" Sirius asked, walking into the clearing. Harry glanced over, noticing a house elf not too far behind the group.
"Leo can't find his wand. It's gone missing," Hermione said. Malfoy chuckled at his fellow Slytherin's distress. Leo stood up, clearly upset over his missing wand but still kept his mouth shut all the same. "And, um, a house elf, Winky. She showed up here as well. Thankfully, we managed to keep everyone together."
Sirius nodded. "Good thing, we don't need to go looking around for the twins and the girl," he replied, looking at them.
"And here I thought this was a good night with the bet we had won," Fred commented. George just shrugged.
"There are more important things than money," Ginny reminded.
"Yeah, like someone with shining armor."
"And black hair."
"And maybe a nice pair of glasses to hide some-" they started to call back. Ginny turned almost as red as her hair.
"Shut up!" she shouted at their teasing. Sirius chuckled, eliciting an elbow to the shoulder from Remus.
"We are not out of the woods yet. Let's get moving; we should try to find the Aurors and get as much distance between this place and us," Remus ordered. Everyone gave him a solemn nod.
"Good idea, Remus. Will the blonde over there be joining us?" Sirius asked, looking over at Malfoy.
"I'll be fine without you lot," he said with a smug smile. It slowly shifted into a glare on his rat-like face. "Especially with someone like him around," he added, looking at Lupin before quickly turning tail and running off. Remus took a step to chase him down only for Sirius to put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"If anyone is safe in these woods by themselves, it's him. Let's get moving," Sirius reminded. Remus stopped with a sigh, taking a deep breath and starting to walk with the rest back to the tent.
"Well then, let's get moving," Remus said as they made their way back. Harry glanced around the group, wand still in his hand. The group moved slowly, both the adults and the twins keeping a close eye on their surroundings. Harry glanced into the woods, noticing a lone figure. He tapped Hermione on the shoulder and managed to get the rest of the group's attention.
The figure pulled something out of his pocket that had a blue glow at one end. He hastily shoved it back into his pocket, pulling out a wand instead.
"MORSMORDRE!" he shouted, pointing the wand at the sky. Suddenly, the sky glowed green and a massive skull appeared with an equally as massive snake crawling through and wrapping around it.
"Sirius," Harry pointed out as Sirius turned around to see the snake. Harry watched as Sirius's face turned angry and he took out his wand, pointing it at the man. Everyone followed suit right before the figure vanished into the bushes. The group threw spells in his direction but to no avail.
"What's going on? What is that?" Harry asked, noticing the amount of fear everyone was showing. He watched as the snake twisted and knotted itself around the skull. Hermione suddenly pulled him back; Ginny seemed to shrink behind his shadow.
"That's his symbol, his mark," Hermione whispered.
"Voldemort's?" he asked, looking at Hermione with confusion. Leo nodded silently right as twenty wizards apparated in a circle around them. Each had their wands drawn and aimed at the group.
"Stupefy!" twenty voices cried out. Sirius and Remus dropped to the ground, spinning their wands and creating a small shield, deflecting a few spells in the process. Harry brought up his own shield as a few spells bounced away from him.
"Hold your fire!" Remus shouted. "We have kids here!" he ordered as the wands began to lower.
"Barty Crouch, Minister Fudge," Sirius greeted as the man and a few other wizards joined the group. "Have either of you seen Mr. Weasley?" he asked, a massive grin on his face.
"Is my dad okay?" Ginny asked in a panic, pushing past Harry. Barty glared at her for the interruption as she quickly moved behind Harry once more. She grabbed onto his sleeve, looking at him for protection; Harry steeled himself as he looked back at the men.
"Mr. Weasley apprehended three of the rioters and will be recognized as a hero. However, we have more pressing matters to attend to – like you being a Death Eater," he replied, pointing his wand straight at Sirius.
"Honestly, this again? You just can't let anything go, can you?!" Sirius shouted, lowering his wand.
"We caught you at the scene of the crime. And the Dark Mark!" Crouch said, glaring at Sirius. Harry couldn't help but notice a few other witches and wizards still had their wands leveled at him.
"That mark came from over there! We were shooting at the figure before you so rudely interrupted us," Sirius retorted, pointing at where the lone figure had been. "And if you really need proof, check my wand!" Sirius said in a huff, turning his wand over in his hand and offering it to Barty.
"Fine!" Barty snapped, snatching the wand from Sirius. "The rest of you, check out the woods. See if anything he says lines up!" Barty shouted. A few of the wizards moved out. Harry recognized one as Amos Diggory, Cedric's father. "Prior Incantato!" he said. The wand let loose a blue smoke but nothing else. He handed the wand back as Mr. Diggory appeared next to them.
"I found something, but um, it's not human," he muttered, stepping aside to reveal a stunned house-elf.
"But Sirius, we saw a human," Remus commented in a hushed tone. Sirius nodded, frowning slightly as he held up his wand. A massive red dot appeared above the skull. Soon red fire appeared, allowing a massive phoenix to erupt in the sky. Harry blinked, looking back at his godfather.
"Nothing quite as fun as messing with the enemies flag, so to speak," Sirius said, a satisfied smirk on his face. Barty glared at him. Not even a second later, Arthur rushed in as well, looking a bit dirty but all in one piece.
"Dad!" Ginny shouted, moving out from behind Harry to give her father a quick hug. "Glad you're okay."
"You didn't tell them I was okay?" Mr. Weasley asked, looking at Sirius and Harry.
"Barty said something that worried her. Must have slipped my mind," Sirius admitted lamely.
"Hey, that's my wand!" Leo shouted, turning their attention back to the house-elf situation behind them.
"Your wand, so you cast the Dark Mark?" Mr. Diggory accused, glaring at Leo.
"Impossible, he was with us the whole time," Remus said quickly, coming to his defense. "It went missing not even five minutes ago. It could have gotten lost in all the panic," he commented. Leo gave him a curt nod, thankful for the defense.
"Once a teacher, always a teacher," Sirius commented, looking up at the sky and admiring his handiwork.
"So, you found the wand and conjured the Dark Mark?" Mr. Diggory accused, looking at Winky, the house-elf.
"I is not doing magic, sir!" she squeaked.
"Can I have my wand back?" Leo demanded, not too thrilled to see his keepsake being waved around by some random stranger.
"One moment, boy. We have a few tests to do first," Barty snapped, his face lined with wrinkles gained from years of life.
Leo huffed, crossing his arms as the adults continued to mutter and accuse the poor creature. Sirius stepped in, snatching the wand up.
"No, listen up. It was a full-sized human that cast the spell. Picking on this poor creature is pointless," he said. Barty moved forwards, almost pressing his face into Sirius's. "Shut up and get out of my way. That's twice you've accused me with no evidence. Don't make it a third," he threatened in a low voice, shoving the man. He walked away, nodding for the rest to follow.
"Sorry about that," Remus said, walking past Barty as the rest of the teens quickly moved past the group of wizards. Sirius shook his head as he trudged forward.
"Was that really necessary?" Arthur asked, looking at Sirius. Harry glanced back, feeling pity for the house-elf. He heard some wailing sound from the group of wizards.
"Did you see that? Not one second, one implication and they throw away evidence and start pointing fingers. Not one of them doesn't think I'm not a Death Eater. I think my anger is just a tiny bit justified!" Sirius shouted. Harry flinched as Arthur quickly shut up, glancing back at the firebird in the sky.
"Sirius, it's going to take time. Old fears are hard to get over," Remus reminded. Sirius simply grunted.
"Thanks, Mr. Black. I didn't think I was going to get my wand back," Leo said. Sirius looked back at the Slytherin.
"No problem, kid," he replied, a small smile on his face. Harry and the rest of the group remained silent as they returned to the tent.
"But I still don't understand. Why was Mr. Crouch so worked up about that sign?" Harry asked almost as soon as the flap swung shut. Hermione glanced over at him, a little confused. Harry flinched back from the look she was giving him.
"Yeah, Dad. I have never seen so many people in such a massive panic," Ron mentioned.
"Well, it's his symbol," Arthur said, seeming a bit shaken up as well.
"It's the symbol Voldemort used during the war. If you saw it, it often meant someone was dead – sometimes whole families," Sirius interrupted, seeing as Arthur clearly didn't want to talk about it. Ron hissed at the mention of his name but Sirius failed to notice.
"I don't understand the point of all this. Why attack Muggles?" Harry asked, confused.
"It's their idea of fun," Leo interjected, his expression dark. "It is the fun of bullies and other weak individuals," he said, moving towards the door. "I am going to bed."
"Yeah, I guess it is," Remus admitted, watching Leo walk outside. "It wasn't uncommon for the Death Eaters to randomly attack Muggles whenever they wanted to. Wouldn't surprise me if the reason it happened tonight was because of a few too many shots of fire whiskey," Remus mused.
"Such a pity. I was really hoping to see Lucius in the morning but I have a feeling he will be nursing a hangover by then," Sirius replied, clapping his hands together.
"I think everyone should get to bed as well. Maybe head home in the morning; God knows this is going to be a lot of fun tomorrow," Arthur replied.
Harry felt a yawn grow in his throat as he walked off, motioning for Ron to follow him. They had just walked out when Hermione actually raced after them. When she caught up, she looked at Harry and slapped him.
"What was that for?" he asked, stunned as he rubbed his face.
"Don't ever go running off like that again. I was worried sick about you," she replied, turning on her heel and walking back to the tent. Harry looked to Ron, who simply shrugged. Harry rubbed his face, his mind going back to his nightmare and the Dark Mark in the sky. He recalled the possibilities but with Sirius taking on the new teaching position, he felt a bit more at ease.
"Whatever he has planned, it won't work anymore with Sirius around," he told himself, not sure if he believed it or if it was just a simple comfort.
Here it is, the next chapter. You're welcome! I hope you enjoy it, and please keep those reviews coming!
~LE