Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K Rowling.

Chapter 62: Extraction

-Harry-

The door to the safehouse opened and Mad-Eye walked out, a stretcher levitating behind him with a woman laying on it, unconscious. Whatever coma the one-armed man had put her in was still there, Bellatrix lived, but no one knew what was going on inside her head. If there was anything going on inside.

The safehouse was a white building in Glasgow. It looked just like any other muggle building, but it was the place the Order kept all their prisoners; not that they had many.

"Are you alright, Harry?" Remus asked me. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"I was at Gringotts," I reminded him. "This isn't my first time walking into a battle."

"No, but it is the first time you've planned for a battle, correct?"

I nodded. "It is, but even Mad-Eye said it was a good plan, that must mean something."

Remus frowned. "It should work, but it's just, the plan is so. . ."

"So what?"

"Callous," Remus said. "It's brutal."

"We're not going to a kindergarten," I said. "It is a war, brutality is a must, no?"

-()-

-Daphne-

I should have asked to go with him, I said to myself for the fifteenth time as I paced back and forth inside the room. I stopped myself from biting my nails, again, and started pacing. It felt like I would explode in any second.

My parents could be dead. They could be safe, Potter might walk inside the room in two seconds, or two hours. I had no idea, and not knowing killed me. He might never walk inside the room again, too.

What had I done?

I stopped. I couldn't keep going like this, I had to find Astoria. She deserved to know what was going on. Though I'd never even told her about my pact with Voldemort in the first place, so that was probably going to be a shock for her.

I shook my head as I practically ran towards our common room, it was going to be a long night.

-()-

-Harry-

All fifteen members of the Order arrived in the clearing, one after another. The sun was just about to set beyond the horizon, our breaths condensed in the air as we breathed. Bellatrix was resting, her eyes closed, on the stretcher we had brought with us.

The cold was biting in the air, no one said a word.

"Let's get going," Dumbledore said. "The edge or their protective enchantments should be just a couple of metres."

He walked forwards cautiously, the rest trailing a couple of steps behind. He stopped abruptly and took the wand out of his pocket. He took a deep breath and started to mutter an incantation. A transparent field started shimmering in front of us, I could feel its power thrumming in the air.

"Everyone, be ready," Dumbledore said. "If I can open this, it's not going to stay open for long."

Everyone gathered around. Dumbledore took a deep breath, I looked at his hand. He was killing himself, doing this –quite literally.

I vowed to learn how to do what he was about to do for when the next time came.

Dumbledore jabbed his wand forward, and a green spell struck the field. The headmaster closed his eyes in concentration. "It's open," he said. "Go through."

No one moved for a moment. Then, Mad-Eye stepped through the field without hesitation; the rest followed. I turned around and looked at Dumbledore, he was pale as a sheet. He gave me a nod, and cancelled his spell.

"Let's go," I said. "Tonks, Moody, Podmore, you know what to do, get those statues in position, but–"

"Watch out for guards, we know," Tonks said. She smiled at me. "Good luck, Harry."

I watched them leave. "Remus, Kingsley, Hestia, let's go." I looked out over the rest. "You know what to do. Make sure you're ready when the signal comes."

"We will be," Abigail Walker responded. "They'll get out safe, I promise."

We left them behind, and moved through the trees like shadows, slowly approaching the guards, all senses on high alert for any guards.

Then we spotted the house, through the trees, the dark silhouette stood in the grim light. The sun was just about to pass over the horizon, and leave us all in darkness.

Remus nudged me on the shoulder. He pointed ahead, where one dark figure was standing, obscured in the shadows. I nodded and approached slowly, making sure I was not seen coming towards him. He stood, jawning, on the porch.

I got an idea, but it required precision. "Wait here," I told the others. I looked around. There was a fountain standing a couple of metres away from him.

I frowned. It could work.

I pictured the fountain in my find. "Feriollo," I whispered. A loud splash came from the fountain, making the guard's head snap up. He turned his back to us and approached the fountain slowly, wand in hand.

But I was already on the move. "Lustragio," I whispered, and disappeared. I appeared right behind him. For a moment, I hesitated, thinking about the next move.

Then I decided. "Stupefy;" I muttered, and the guard went limp. My mind itched to mutter a different set of words, but I kept quiet.

Hiding him away proved little problem, we were free to enter the house. I frowned, was that really the only guard?

The door slid open without a sound, the inside dark and still, not a trace of life anywhere.

The house was huge, it could take ages to find them. "Mr. Greengrass! Mrs. Greengrass!" I shouted, hoping they would recognise my voice. Yet there was no reply, the house remained as if it had been abandoned for years.

"We need to hurry," I said. "Hestia, Kingsley, have a look at the upper floor. Me and Remus will search downstairs."

They nodded quietly and climbed the stairs, silent as mice.

Me and Remus moved soundlessly through the house, checking each room with wands raised high. Then we reached the end of the corridor, to a door with plenty of decorations. Remus flung it open revealing the inside, a spell immediately flew towards us, but I had a shield up in time.

"Mr. Greengrass, Mrs. Greengrass," I said. "It's Harry, Harry Potter."

Mr. Greengrass' head appeared from behind a desk they'd vaulted over. "Potter? Why have you broken into my home?"

I walked inside the room, admiring the grandiose tapestry and seemingly endless supply of gold ornaments. "Daphne told me," I said. "She told me about the plan she made with Voldemort."

The two of them winced at the name. "I don't know what you're talking about," Jonathan said. "You'll have to be more specific."

I narrowed my eyes on them. "Daphne was plotting to kill me," I said. "She was working with Voldemort, but she changed her mind, and told me." Her mother appeared from behind a table on the other side of the room, her hair a frazzled mess. "She wanted me to get you out of her, because when Voldemort finds out she told me. . . well, you can imagine what will happen yourselves."

The husband and wife exchanged a look. "Okay," Jonathan said. "But you should have tried to send a message to us about this."

"We didn't want anyone to know we were coming, the Death Eaters might have intercepted a message."

"Unlikely, but it doesn't matter now. What does matter is the fact that I sent two of the people stationed here to–" Mr. Greengrass broke off suddenly. "I sent them to the base," he said. "I'm sorry, but I don't know exactly how far away it is."

That, too, was very convenient. I was certain that Voldemort had anticipated the betrayal, there was going to be trouble. Big trouble.

I nodded at them and gestured for them to leave the room. "There's trouble on the way."

Jonathan nodded. "It's here already, they crossed onto the property about a minute ago."

I flared my nostrils and gestured for them to follow me. "We need to hurry then."

I exchanged a look with Remus, hopefully, the others had put everything into position by now.

"Kingsley, Hestia!" I bellowed. "We've found them, hurry!"

Steps soon bounded down the stairs as the pair came running. "Reinforcements are here," I said seriously. I turned to Jonathan. "Do you know how many?"

He looked at me emotionally. "Thirty two, plus the ones that were already here."

I grimaced, the plan had to work better than I had anticipated. "Let's get going," I said. "We need to be in position."

I turned to the inhabitants of the house. "Oh, and by the way, we've done some refurbishing of your garden, we hope that's okay."

Isabella glared at me. "You haven't just broken in, but you've defiled our ancestral home too?"

"We came to save you," I said. "We need to distract them while you escape. We will hold them up, and Hestia here." I gestured to Hestia. "Will escort you to the edge of your property, from there, she will apparate you to one of the Order's safehouses."

"What then, will we go from being prisoners here to prisoners there?"

I shrugged. "That's undecided as of now, but I can promise you one thing, you will get to see your daughters there. I have a suspicion Voldemort won't be as gracious."

"Take us there," Isabella said. "But we won't accept being jailed inside the house."

"Then don't do anything stupid," I said. I pushed the doors open, the land in front of me was quiet as the night, the moon was casting a bright light on the dark grounds.

Isabella put a hand over her mouth. "What have you done to the fountain?"

And indeed, the fountain I'd used to distract the guard earlier was gone. I smiled widely. It seemed as if the other group had gotten a little creative.

It was time for the dance to begin.

It was time for Bellatrix to play her role.

"Stay close to me, and when I give you the signal, you run like there's a fucking troll behind you, okay?" I said, looking at each parent in turn.

-()-

"Everything ready?" I asked as I approached Mad-Eye.

"Aye. We took down three guards, but it seems awfully quiet here."

"It won't be for long," I said. "Is she in position?"

Moody smiled. "Oh yes, just on the other side of this hedge."

The Greengrass garden was transformed, the hedges had been grown to tower before us, much like the maze in the third task.

"Do we know how many they've left by the gates?" I asked.

"Abigail hasn't returned yet," Moody said gruffly. "But we've counted twenty of them approaching the front door."

I nodded. "Good, let's get in position."

I turned around and looked at Isabella and Jonathan each. "We should be able to distract them for a while, but it could be that you have to fight one or two."

"There's too many of them, how will you be able to distract all of them?"

"Don't worry about that, just trust me, they won't be able to stay away from what we've planned."

The married couple exchanged a look, silently communicating something. "Alright, Mr. Potter, we'll be ready."

"Good, be ready to run."

I followed Moody in climbing on top of the hedges, giving me a broad view of the gardens below. The area was mostly cleared out, with only mounds of dirt remaining where there had once been patches of green grass and vibrant flowers.

There was only one entrance to the whole place, the rest had been sealed off with huge pillars of stone and wood. On the other end of the garden from the entrance stood the chair.

"She still isn't awake?"

"No," Moody said. "You made the right call, we won't lose anything by giving her up." I looked around the hedges, on the top of them, all around the enclosure of the garden, Order members were laying on top, hidden from anyone looking down on them from below.

"Tonks should be going at any moment," I said, my gut twisting a little in worry for what I was about to put the woman through.

"They're coming," Moody whispered, and all around the hedges, I could see people on high alert.

"Podmore better be ready," Moody said. "If he fucks this up, I'll make him eat slugs for a whole goddamn year."

"He won't," I said, dearly hoping I was right.

From the opening in the hedges, a woman came running. It was difficult to make out the details from the distance, but her hair was golden-blonde. Behind her, there was a large group of a dozen Death Eaters.

Moody's unnatural eye was spinning wildly.

"Any more of them on the way?" I wondered.

"A couple of them are left standing by the entrance.

The blonde woman down below pointed towards the chair on the other side of the garden, I could see the Death Eaters freeze as they realised who was sitting in that chair. The group was frozen for a couple of minutes, before they began approaching warily, no doubt, they had realised that it was a trap.

But that didn't change the fact that they had to try to free Bellatrix; they didn't know she was useless.

"Any more on the way?" I asked again.

Moody nodded. "It seems as if you were right, six more are just outside.

I did a head count. "That's what? Eighteen of them inside now?"

"Should we wait for more? Or go for it?" Moody asked. "I'll give Podmore the signal."

The Death Eaters down below had their wands out, the blonde woman had stayed back a little, and started straying towards the edge of the clearing.

"Abigail isn't back yet," I said. "We don't know if the way to the gates is clear." I looked out at the field below. "We can't wait any longer," I said. "Give Podmore the signal."

Moody raised his hand, in full view to everyone laying on top of the hedges around the garden. He waved it twice.

I waited in trepidation. I could feel my heart beating in my chest like a drum, it was completely silent in the night, as if the owls and insects knew what was about to happen.

Then, a great rumbling came from below, shaking the ground beneath us. By the entrance, a huge statue fell against the ground blocking the escape.

"Go! Go! Go!" I shouted to Hestia and the Greengrasses down below.

I got on my feet in haste, along with everyone else. The Death Eaters were scrambling down below. The blonde woman's hair was now pink, and she was running towards the hedge, where Kinglsey had extended a ladder.

Countless lights flew from the top of the hedges down the powerless Death Eaters down below. They tried to shield and run and dodge, but the onslaught came from all sides, and the attackers had the precious high-ground.

They caught onto the plan as Tonks was halfway up the ladder, and they started targeting the woman with everything they could during the onslaught.

Kingsley and a couple of others tried to shield Tonks.

The Death Eaters inside the hedges fell, one after another, powerless to get out of the impregnable box. Soon enough, none of them were left standing.

"Well done," I said to Moody. "Let's get going, the explosion won't distract the others forever."

Just as I had finished speaking, a spell whisked past my shoulder. Five cloaked figures were running towards us from the house, flinging spells at us like they were arrows.

"Let's get going," I said. "Lustragio."

I appeared down on the ground again, and held off the Death Eaters as the rest of the Order climbed down the hedges.

Ten more Death Eaters rounded the corner off the house, forcing me on the defensive. Both Remus, Tonks and Kingsley joined me in holding them off, but the fifteen of them was too much for the few of us.

"They're good," I said. "Let's hold them off to rotate and retreat towards the gates," I said. "The others should join us by the house, if everything goes according to plan."

Slowly but surely, we backed away from the Death Eaters, who were advancing on us slowly. We just needed to hold them off until the people from the other side arrived, then we could take them on and leave.

"Where are the others?" I said as we reached the front door. "They should have gotten here without a scratch."

"Unless there are even more of them," Moody said. "Perhaps Greengrass lied."

I frowned, and blocked a couple of red spells searing towards my head.

"We have to go and check on them," Remus said. "We can't leave them."

"If we stay, we're risking everyone dying," I said.

Remus didn't even glance at me. "We can't leave."

I neatly dodged a spell and began a counter-offensive against the large groups of hooded enemies. It felt like I was fighting against a wall, there were too many to defend against one spell.

We needed to surround them, if we were to stand a chance.

"Kingley! Tonks!" I shouted over the staggering explosions of the battle. "Circle around to their left. The rest, stay in the middle. I'll go right."

Remus sent me a warning glance, something which nearly made him miss a spell soaring towards him.

Tonks and Kingley moved around the group of Death Eaters, forcing the large group to split up to defend against two sides.

Two hooded figures spotted me as I ran to their right flank. The overgrown hedges were right behind me now. If the Death Eaters just moved a couple of metres, I would be cut off from the rest of the group. Yet I had no chance to contemplate these matters, the onslaught of spells were extreme. More spells than I could count flew towards me like a barrage of arrows, each of them laced with death.

I felt absolutely nothing there, I danced around the arrows like they were partners I'd danced with all my life. Twisting and turning, dodging and blocking. It was a rhythm elating beyond description.

A couple of people were lying on the ground now, more hooded figures joined them, without me registering it. Each time someone fell to the ground with a scream, my mind turned to the next target, like a machine.

Then, I struck the last hooded figure in the back, as he was occupied by Tonks and Kinglesy. The silence was almost deafening.

Remus was clutching his side, Tonks had a large gash on her cheek. It seemed like everyone was limping and dragging their feets across the ground; except me.

I scanned the crowd. "Let's get back," I said. "Kingley," I said, noticing that he seemed able to walk properly. "We'll go and look for the other group."

Remus made a gesture to stop us, but I gave him a pointed look. "Go," I said. "We can't get into another fight." I gestured around us, to the other members with blood on their face and torn clothes. "I'll be fine."

He sighed, and shouted for the others. Together, they ran –as fast as they could– down the gravel path, towards the gates. Who, hopefully, would be free to get through.

I swallowed. What if Jonathan and Isabella never made it out?

"Let's go and see where they disappeared to," I said. Kingsley said nothing, a deep frown was etched into his face.

We walked around the garden with the tall bushes, as we edged closer to the other side, where the other group was supposed to have climbed down. We heard shouts and crackles. It sounded as if a war was happening on the other side, like ten thousand bodies were flinging themself at each other with only one intent, to kill and harm.

But when we walked around the corner, there were only a couple of people there. Or rather, there were only a couple of people left. The ground was littered with craters and –I swallowed— severed limbs.

The members of the order were strewn around the field, each of them around one man, Voldemort.

Kingsley and I paused in our step. I almost had to admire the Dark Lord. There were two people left standing, the rest lying on the ground, unmoving, likely dead.

It looked like Voldermort was playing with childrens, his movements were lazy and exasperated.

Then he spotted me, his red eyes narrowing. "Run," I said. "We need to get out of here."

Kingley's glare at the white-faced monster was intense, yet he didn't stay, he sprinted away. The last two order members standing fell to the ground, struck by spells which turned their heads red and then–

I shut my eyes, knowing that I would forever have those images in my mind.

I clenched my fist. "Fiendfyre!" I shouted, sending a huge eagle of fire towards Voldemort. Not wasting a second, I teleported myself towards the gates, as quickly as possible. With each step, I felt my vision grow fainter. As I caught up with Kingsley, I stopped the teleporting and ran beside him. The gates were blown off the hinges, the huge walls on booths ends charred.

I stopped not for a second, but sprinted off the property. Dumbeldore was waiting, his face white as a sheet. "No one else?"

I breathed heavily, my hands on my knees. A huge explosion rocked the place. In the distance, I could see a huge fire consuming the Greengrass home, rising above the house like a serpent.

"No one else," I spat out.

-()-

-Daphne-

"Do you remember that day we travelled to Jamaica?" Astoria said.

My dormitory was empty, me and Astoria were lying next to each other on my bed. Upon telling Astoria what was going on, she had swayed at the spot like a little tree in a storm, about to be uprooted in any second.

"When your sunglasses were stolen by that guy you were sure was in love with you?"

I could feel Astoria's head turn to look at me. "They weren't stolen, I simply allowed him a memento."

"Sure."

"But what I remember from that day is the dinner, you know, that little restaurant which was built on a little pier."

"Wonderful view of the ocean, yeah," I said.

"It was, especially after the sun went down. . . Do you know what my father told me after that dinner?"

It was my turn to look at her. Astoria was staring at the ceiling, her usually immaculately applied makeup smeared.

"He told me that I was going to be betrothed. . . it would be official in just a couple of weeks."

"What!?" I said, almost too stunned to speak for a moment.

"Yes, he gave me a whole speech about my duty to the family and everything, how that betrothal would be how I helped the family."

"I've heard it," I said darkly. "Yet he wasn't as enthused when he told me about it." I shook my head. "Do you know who it was?"

She shook her head. "He just told me after a couple of weeks that it was off." Astoria stood up, started to pace the room again. "I've wondered who it was for years."

I sat in silence. The revelation had come out of the blue. We'd gone to Jamaica just after school had finished, after the triwizard tournament.

Was it possible that father had changed his mind purely because I was being married off, because he didn't want both daughters sold.

"I just want—"

A blue light burst through the wall into the room, the room suddenly felt lighter. It was a patronus, I realised. A stag; a stag which, according to Hogwarts legend, could only belong to one person.

"Greengrass, it's over, come to the entrance hall. . . quietly."

The patronus dissolved into thin air.

Astoria looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"What?"

"You're dating, and you still call each other by your surnames."

I glared at her. "Let's get to the entrance hall."

-()-

The safehouse the Order had procured was a red house out in the countryside, with huge, dead fields surrounding it.

Mad-Eye Moody and a black man I didn't recognise were standing by the entrance grimly, frowning at me and my sister.

"Are they inside?" Potter asked from my left.

Kingley nodded, and the door swung open.

I fidgeted with my fingers, I saw Astoria roll a string of her hair around her fingers. Potter had said that things had gone alright, but he refused to look at me or my sister. He had walked all the way from the entrance hall to the edge of Hogwarts' enchantments like a robot.

He was furious, I could tell. He wanted to burn down an entire city.

So why?

The question died in my mind as I was embraced by my mother. After what felt like hours, mother let go of me and Astoria, revealing herself and father.

Both of them looked like they hadn't slept in months.

"Are you alright?" mother said, inspecting me and Astoria in turn.

"We're fine, mother," Astoria said. "It's you who've. . ." she trailed off.

"The house is gone," father said. "He burned it down, turned it into ashes." he smiled at me tiredly. "You made the right decision, Daphne. I don't think I could've endured another day in my home with all those people about."

"Yes, Daphne, we're so proud of you," mother said, embracing me and my sister again. "But be careful around Potter, he's—"

She looked around, Potter wasn't visible, but that didn't mean he couldn't hear what we were staying.

Father and mother took a step closer. "He's crazy," my father whispered. "Have you seen what he can do?"

I frowned, looking at my parents in turn, their eyes were wide open, like they were about to be pounced upon by a predator.

"I knew he was a good fighter after he made it so far in the tournament," father said. "But I never realised how good he is."

Father breathed out. "He might win, Daphne. He might actually win."

"Isn't that good then? We're on the winning side," I said.

"Voldemort is a monster, Daphne," my father said. "Only a monster can kill a monster."