p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Chapter 6 - The Second Awakening/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Harry Potter, Son of Lord James and Lady Lily Potter, Heir to the Potter fortune and Boy-Who-Lived, strode cheerfully through Potter Manor./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Today was a good time to be alive./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"To celebrate his ninth birthday, the Blacks - Sirius, his wife Mary, and their twin sons had come over. That was yesterday. They had stayed the night and were going back after breakfast./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"All at once, he heard a loud crash downstairs./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Who had knocked something over?/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Then he heard cries and a scream./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Something was not right./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Not right at all./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He sensed, rather than heard, someone sneaking up./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"With the situational awareness his father had drilled into him with the Auror training handbook and similar materials, he guessed that the intruders, whomever they were, were hunting for him. Whether their purpose was nefarious or not, he didn't know. But the screams he heard below would seem to indicate as much./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He hid./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He saw a black hooded figure walk carefully and quietly into the room, searching for signs of life./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"emDon't cast a Homenum Revelio/em, Harry thought./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The assassin cast a Homenum Revelio../p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Harry seized the split second while the assassin was occupied and cast his most powerful spell : the stunner./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"It hit the assassin squarely, instantly knocking him out./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Harry's opinion of the man's abilities immediately lowered./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"As he was sneaking out of the room, he heard a loud voice./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He froze./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived and vanquisher of the Dark Lord, we have captured all of your friends and family. If you do not come to us within fifteen minutes, we will execute them one by one during similar intervals. This will continue until either you come to us, or all of them are dead, at which point we will merely hunt you down and kill you for refusing our offer. If you leave the house by any method, we will know, and we will kill everyone. We await your presence."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"What should he do now?/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Well, first he must figure out where the hostages were being kept. His common sense forced him to realize that if all the hostages were dead, they would have no power over him, but he could not bear to be responsible for the death of his father and friends./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He heard more cries from the center of the house. He quickly crept to the balcony above the main hall and saw them torturing the Twins. He clenched his fists. How could they?/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Everything within him wanted to simply rush down there and give himself up. Yet he restrained his impulse, knowing that it very well might do more harm than good./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Soon, the voice rang out again./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Harry Potter, your fifteen minutes are up. We will now kill the first hostage: one of the Twins."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Harry wanted to cover his eyes and look away, but a kind of horrid fascination took him as the Twin - he couldn't tell which one it was - was slowly and brutally killed./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"As the Twin's broken body lay there, Harry saw the leader lift his wand for the final curse that would end the life of the Twin./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He had not believed that they would kill anyone before. He did now./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""No!"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Harry cried out, throwing himself into view./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Don't kill him!"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""He could not let anyone die on his account, let alone a six-year-old./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Take me!"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He was seized,/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Magically immobilized,/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"And put in a vantage spot./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Now, Harry Potter," the masked leader said evilly, "You get to watch your friends die, knowing that you sacrificed your life in vain, imagining how we will kill you."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The first Twin was finished./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The second Twin was killed in ways too horrible to describe./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Mary Black was disgraced, while Sirius was forced to watch and then she had to watch as they tortured him./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"All the while, Harry was wondering how this could have happened to him. He was tormented in his inmost being by the cruel torture, though it was for others./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Now," the leader said, "for the final act."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"James Potter was tortured worse than anyone else./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Harry's power had been building in anger as he watched./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"As the leader's wand raised for the final killing curse.../p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Harry burst from his bonds./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"A wave of fire erupted from every single one of his body parts, laying waste to the black cloaked and avoiding the innocent. As one sentient, it tore around, wreaking destruction./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The fire went off through Potter Manor, leaving Harry standing there, shaken to the core, surrounded by incinerated corpses and mutilated humans who were barely alive./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"What a day./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"A terrible day./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"span style="font-weight: bold;"Oh, my!/span/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"span style="font-weight: bold;"Please drop me a review!/span/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Harry Potter, Son of Lord James and Lady Lily Potter, Heir to the Potter fortune and Boy-Who-Lived, strode cheerfully through Potter Manor./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Today was a good time to be alive./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"To celebrate his ninth birthday, the Blacks - Sirius, his wife Mary, and their twin sons had come over. That was yesterday. They had stayed the night and were going back after breakfast./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"All at once, he heard a loud crash downstairs./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Who had knocked something over?/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Then he heard cries and a scream./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Something was not right./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Not right at all./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He sensed, rather than heard, someone sneaking up./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"With the situational awareness his father had drilled into him with the Auror training handbook and similar materials, he guessed that the intruders, whomever they were, were hunting for him. Whether their purpose was nefarious or not, he didn't know. But the screams he heard below would seem to indicate as much./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He hid./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He saw a black hooded figure walk carefully and quietly into the room, searching for signs of life./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"emDon't cast a Homenum Revelio/em, Harry thought./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The assassin cast a Homenum Revelio../p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Harry seized the split second while the assassin was occupied and cast his most powerful spell : the stunner./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"It hit the assassin squarely, instantly knocking him out./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Harry's opinion of the man's abilities immediately lowered./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"As he was sneaking out of the room, he heard a loud voice./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He froze./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived and vanquisher of the Dark Lord, we have captured all of your friends and family. If you do not come to us within fifteen minutes, we will execute them one by one during similar intervals. This will continue until either you come to us, or all of them are dead, at which point we will merely hunt you down and kill you for refusing our offer. If you leave the house by any method, we will know, and we will kill everyone. We await your presence."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"What should he do now?/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Well, first he must figure out where the hostages were being kept. His common sense forced him to realize that if all the hostages were dead, they would have no power over him, but he could not bear to be responsible for the death of his father and friends./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He heard more cries from the center of the house. He quickly crept to the balcony above the main hall and saw them torturing the Twins. He clenched his fists. How could they?/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Everything within him wanted to simply rush down there and give himself up. Yet he restrained his impulse, knowing that it very well might do more harm than good./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Soon, the voice rang out again./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Harry Potter, your fifteen minutes are up. We will now kill the first hostage: one of the Twins."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Harry wanted to cover his eyes and look away, but a kind of horrid fascination took him as the Twin - he couldn't tell which one it was - was slowly and brutally killed./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"As the Twin's broken body lay there, Harry saw the leader lift his wand for the final curse that would end the life of the Twin./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He had not believed that they would kill anyone before. He did now./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""No!"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Harry cried out, throwing himself into view./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Don't kill him!"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""He could not let anyone die on his account, let alone a six-year-old./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Take me!"/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"He was seized,/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Magically immobilized,/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"And put in a vantage spot./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Now, Harry Potter," the masked leader said evilly, "You get to watch your friends die, knowing that you sacrificed your life in vain, imagining how we will kill you."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The first Twin was finished./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The second Twin was killed in ways too horrible to describe./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Mary Black was disgraced, while Sirius was forced to watch and then she had to watch as they tortured him./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"All the while, Harry was wondering how this could have happened to him. He was tormented in his inmost being by the cruel torture, though it was for others./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Now," the leader said, "for the final act."/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"James Potter was tortured worse than anyone else./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Harry's power had been building in anger as he watched./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"As the leader's wand raised for the final killing curse.../p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Harry burst from his bonds./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"A wave of fire erupted from every single one of his body parts, laying waste to the black cloaked and avoiding the innocent. As one sentient, it tore around, wreaking destruction./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The fire went off through Potter Manor, leaving Harry standing there, shaken to the core, surrounded by incinerated corpses and mutilated humans who were barely alive./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"What a day./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"A terrible day./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"span style="font-weight: bold;"Oh, my!/span/p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"span style="font-weight: bold;"Please drop me a review!/span/p