He tasks me! He tasks me and I shall have him! I'll chase him 'round the moons of Nibia and 'round the Antares Maelstrom and 'round Perdition's flames before I give him up!" -Khan Noonien Singh-


Tonks Home, Reading, 6/23/1996,18:14

The Tonks family were just finishing up dinner and having a lively debate about movies over pudding.

"I'm telling you there is no Star Trek five," Ted said stubbornly.

"But there is a Star Trek six?" Harry asked, having watched the whole series of movies last summer.

"There is," Ted agreed.

"And a Star Trek four?" Tonks pressed.

"Yes, it's a great time travel movie," Ted beamed.

"Then what's in between four and six?" Tonks asked in amusement.

"Utter garbage. It's like Jaws Four or Halloween Three, somebody really dropped the quaffle when they made that one," Ted sighed with an exasperated shake of his head.

"Never seen either of those," Harry shrugged.

"That's for the best, they are both horrible," Tonks snorted.

Before Harry could ask any more, Sirius staggered into the kitchen gasping for breath and smelling of smoke.

"Sirius?" Harry exclaimed as he jumped out of his seat.

"Grimmauld Square is on fire" Sirius croaked out looking to be close to collapsing.

"What?!" Tonks demanded as he guided Sirius into a seat.

"Here, drink this, mate," Ted said as he pulled a potion out of his bag and offered it to Sirius.

"What is it?" Sirius asked croakily as he accepted the vial filled with blue liquid.

"A potion for smoke inhalation, it'll help you breathe better," Ted answered giving Sirius a reassuring smile.

"Thanks," Sirius muttered before he downed the potion in one gulp.

"So the square is on fire?" Tonks demanded looking Sirius in the eye hoping he had heard him wrong.

"Yeah, I went to go meet with Remus and Podmore to pick up their report on Thickenese. I arrived in the alley and it was like... like stepping into hell. There was so much smoke and it was so hot The muggles were there spraying the flames but they were just getting started if I had to guess," Sirius explained his voice sounding better as the potion took effect.

"Who was at headquarters?" Tonks asked with urgency.

"Remus and Dung for sure. Podmore and Emmeline were supposed to be arriving for dinner... oh and Arthur was supposed to drop off some notes he had on the Diagon Alley attack," Sirius listed off.

"Does Albus know?" Tonks demanded as she jumped out of her seat.

"Yeah, I sent him a message when I arrived here," Sirius nodded still looking very shaken.

"Mister Weasley was there?" Harry asked, his face paling at the implications.

"I don't know if he was there or not," Sirius admitted, giving Harry an apologetic look.

Before Harry could ask anything else Tonks' auror badge buzzed loudly and she cursed to herself as she fished the badge out of her pocket.

Harry watched her clench her jaw as she read the short missive before she looked over at him and gave him a meaningful look.

"What is it?" Andi asked as she watched her daughter.

"Bones just called my team in to start processing Grimmauld Square," Tonks said sounding resigned.

"That means they extinguished the fires," Sirius said softly.

Tonks hurried over to the coat rack and threw on her auror robes before clipping her badge onto the left breast of her her robes.

"I'll try to hurry back as soon as I can but if this is as bad as I think it is, I may be there all night," Tonks said looking directly at Harry.

"Just try and be careful," Andi said imploringly.

"I will, Mum," Tonks promised before she turned on her heel and practically ran out the kitchen door.

Harry sat there and watched as Tonks disappeared into the garden the sound of the door slamming shut echoing around the almost silent kitchen.

"I just hope they approach the area from a distance," Sirius muttered looking apprehensive.

"I'm sure they will," Ted said though the worry was evident on his usually cheerful face.


The next few hours flew by in a blur as news continued to arrive and none of it was good.

The Tonks family living room was lit up regularly by patronus messages bringing Sirius news on what the order had learned but after the first few messages, Harry hadn't asked what they said, not sure that he really wanted to know anymore.

Harry couldn't believe that the order's headquarters had really been destroyed. From what they had pieced together, Number Twelve was at the epicentre of the explosion and there were over a dozen dead fromGrimmauld Place and the surrounding homes.

After a few hours of tense silence, Harry excused himself for bed not really sure if he wanted to know the outcome of this attack or not.

Harry got ready for bed in a bit of a daze and climbed under his covers before staring into the darkness unable to fall asleep with so much on his mind.

Harry lay there wondering who all was caught up in the fire. The thought that Ron's dad may have been at headquarters really disturbed him. That wasn't even factoring in the possibility that Remus had most likely been killed.

Sirius hadn't said much after arriving earlier this evening but Harry could tell he was devastated about the very real possibility that Remus had been killed in the fire.

Harry had little doubt that this was an intentional attack but he was boggled as to how Voldemort had managed to pull it off. Grimmauld Place was under the most powerful protective wards Harry knew of and they were thought to be impenetrable (provided the secret keeper wasn't compromised). The fedelius was not like other wards where a wizard could identify them and work out a way to bring them down by the usual means. The fedelius charm actually affected another wizard's perception of the warded area. Without being given the secret, it was impossible for someone to know the area was warded, as far as they could tell, the space didn"t exist! Due to this, there was no way they could go about breaking through those wards like with conventional wards.

Harry was pulled from those thoughts as his door clicked open and he heard someone padding their way into the room. The night was unusually dark so all he could really make out was a silhouette but he recognized Tonks' mumbled voice as she stumbled over one of his trainers.

A second later, the bed dipped as Tonks crawled under the covers and let out a tired sigh.

"How bad was it, Tonks?" Harry asked as he wrapped his arm around her and inhaled her scent as she snuggled into him.

"It was bad," Tonks said in a hollow voice.

"Was it death eaters?" Harry asked though he was already pretty sure that he knew the answer to his own question.

"We don't know for sure but I would bet anything that it was," Tonks sighed.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"Someone detonated an explosive device in the basement of Grimmauld Place," Tonks said, her voice shaking slightly.

"Is Remus..." Harry trailed off unable to finish his question.

"Ye-yeah we're pretty sure he was in the house when it happened," Tonks sniffed.

"Oh no," Harry muttered, already expecting that answer.

"We're pretty sure that Arthur was there too," Tonks said softly before she choked up and had to take a minute to compose herself.

"No!" Harry gasped as he felt tears run out of the corners of his eyes.

"The unspeakables were going over the property when I left. They will be looking over the house to try and figure out what exactly happened," Tonks said looking thoroughly exhausted.

"What took them so long?" Harry demanded, feeling his anger starting to rise.

"They had to wait on Dumbledore to come and take down the fedelius ward before they could enter the rubble," Tonks explained.

"Ron and Ginny are going to be devastated when they find out about this," Harry said in a croaky voice.

"And Molly," Tonks added softly.

"I wonder how they managed to get something like that inside order headquarters," Harry muttered.

"Mad-Eye thinks it was by putting the imperius curse on one of the members who were killed," Tonks sighed.

"So somebody imperiused an order member to destroy the headquarters for them," Harry exclaimed.

"We're not sure. The order is having an emergency meeting tomorrow night. Snape may be able to fill in some of the blanks," Tonks said as she snuggled closer to him.

Harry lay there holding her as he tried to process the news that Ron's dad was dead. The Weasleys were like family to him and had always been there since Ron and his brothers had rescued him from the Dursleys the summer after his first year.

Arthur was a good man and Harry felt his stomach start to twist as hot tears ran down his cheeks. He couldn't believe Mister Weaaley had been caught up in the explosion that had destroyed the order's headquarters. He had known they were at war but he hadn't expected someone he had been so close to fall. Now he felt stupid for being so naive.

Harry didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he was pulled into dreams filled with flashes of green light and high-pitched laughter.

Riddle Manor, Little Hangleton, 6/24/1996, 01:19

Voldemort sat on his throne trying to ignore the burning pain covering every inch of his arm as he waited on Severus to report in on the results of tonight's attack.

He had high hopes that the simple device would have been successful but he wanted to hear this from his spy's mouth before he began celebrating.

As if the mere thought had summoned him, Severus entered the throne room looking just as cold and detached as ever.

"Severus, what have you learned?" Voldemort demanded when Snape came to a stop in front of him and bowed his head respectfully.

"The bomb was a success, five order members were killed and their headquarters was completely destroyed my lord," Snape answered at once.

"Excellent, how is Dumbledore handling the situation?" Voldemort asked as a rare smile played across his thin lips.

"He is still trying to get to the bottom of this. Arthur Weasley was killed in the blast and the order is in a state of chaos at the moment," Snape replied as he looked into Voldemort's eyes to convey the truth in his words.

"Good, I need you to begin preparations for another rejuvenation ritual," Voldemort instructed as pain shot through his arm again.

"It will be done, I have already begun brewing the base potion in anticipation of your request," Severus assured him.

"Well done, Severus. We shall have to wait for the next full moon before we can begin putting our plans into play.

"Of course, my lord," Snape answered with a bow of his head.

"In the meantime, find out all you can about Potter.

"As you wish, my lord," Snape answered dutifully.

"Please send Narcissa to see me," Voldemort commanded as he gestured for Snape to go with his unburned hand.

Voldemort felt very pleased with this news, his death eaters had been failing him at every turn of late so it was refreshing to learn that one of his death eaters had accomplished a task he'd set them.

Voldemort heard Narcissa's high-heeled shoes click-clacking on the floor as she approached her healer's bag swinging from her arm.

"You wish to see me, my lord?" Narcissa asked as soon as their eyes met.

"Yes, I wish for you to apply some more burn salve," Voldemort instructed.

"Of course," Narcissa agreed and went about retrieving a jar of the orange paste.

"Severus brought word back from Dumbledore," Voldemort said as Narcissa came to stand over him with the jar of salve.

"Was the attack successful, my lord?" Narcissa asked sounding hopeful.

"Indeed it was. The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix was completely destroyed," Voldemort said letting out an audible sigh as she worked the cooling salve into the burnt flesh of his arm.

"That's wonderful news, my lord," Narcissa beamed and gave him an adoring look that strongly reminded him of her deceased sister.

"Yes, a handful of blood traitors were killed in the blast," Voldemort continued.

"Was my cousin amongst the dead?" Narcissa questioned.

"No, he was away when the package arrived," Voldemort admitted.

"There is always next time, my lord," Narcissa said looking upset at this revelation.

"Indeed but more attacks will have to wait until my servants have honed their skills," Voldemort agreed.

"You always loved a Halloween attack, my lord," Natcissa mused.

"Indeed, hopefully my death eaters will be ready by then," Voldemort said as he lifted his arm to give Narcissa better access.

"From what I have seen, some of the recruits have the potential for greatness, my lord," Narcissa said.

"Unfortunately some of my older servants are past their prime. Any word on Nagini?" Voldemort asked changing topics to another problem that had been on his mind of late.

He had not seen Nagini since the beginning of May, he was able to reach out through their connection and catch glimpses of what she saw but all he could tell was that she was in a dense forest somewhere. She was also ignoring his attempts to call her back to him and he was at a loss as to why. She could very well be her last horcrux so her survival was paramount to his own but he could not ensure her safety if he did know where she was

'No, my lord the searchers have been coming back empty-handed," Narcissa replied as she finished her task.

"you may leave, please tell Augustus that I wish to speak with him," Voldemort instructed as Narcissa capped the jar of salve.

"At once, my lord," Narcissa bowed before sweeping out of the room.

He would put Rookwood on the task of locating Nagoni out of all of his servants the ex-unspeakable was by far the most Intelligent, of anyone who could locate the magical serpent, he could.

"Why are you avoiding me, Nagini?" Voldemort asked the empty room as he tried once again to communicate with her through their link.

Great Hall, Hogwarts, 6/25/1996, 26:49

Tonks entered the great hall feeling dead on her feet. She had been out well past midnight processing the scene on Grimmauld Square and had to work the morning shift today.

She had been charged with patrolling Diagon Alley which was actually quite depressing, the place seemed almost like a ghost town with half of the shops on the highstreet bordered up including Ollivanders and Fotescue's who had both been kidnapped just after Easter. There were very few shoppers out and about today and the ones who had braved the all travelled in tight nervous groups the adults constantly looking around for danger as they hurried to complete their business and leave. The streets were silent and no one went out of their way to talk to passersby. It was clear a state of fear was gripping the wizarding world if the heart of Magical Britain was anything to go by.

Three of the four house tables had been shoved against the wall and order members were seated at what would usually be the Hufflepuff table that was placed in the very centre of the hall. As Tonls took a seat at the table she wasn't surprised that very little conversation was going on. most of the group looked subdued.

She immediately noticed many empty seats the most notable being Molly and Arthur both of whose absence was noted by others at the table. Bill and Fleur were in attendance but Bill looked to be in a daze and Fleur was looking at him worriedly.

Tonks was pulled from her musings as Sirius sat down across from her bringing with him the distinct scent of firewhiskey.

"You alright?" Tonks asked giving her cousin a concerned look.

"I've been better," Sirius shrugged as he looked over at the empty place where Remus would usually sit and hastily looked away.

Before Tonks could say anything else Albus entered the hall flanked by Minerva and Snape. Strangely Minerva was shooting venomous glares in the headmaster's direction every so often though Albus appeared not to notice.

The three professors took their places at the end of the table closest to the doors and were immediately the focus of every eye in the hall.

Dumbledore looked around the hall for a moment as if choosing his words before he finally spoke his voice sounding uncharacteristically sombre.

"Thank you all for coming despite the tragedy that took place last night."

"We need to know what happened, Albus," Moody said in a growl.

"We are still piecing things together but Severus can shed a bit of light on the matter," Dumbledore said as he glanced over at Snape.

"In simplest terms, the dark lord sent a bomb into Grimmauld Place," Snape said looking troubled.

"How the bloody hell did he do it?!" Bill demanded angrily.

"He charged Narcissa Malfoy with placing the imperius curse on an order member. She was successful in her task and sent an order member into headquarters with the device," Snape answered.

"Narcissa did this?" Sirius gasped looking beyond shocked at this revelation.

"She did, she has become quite merciless of late and seems to have no compunction with killing," Snape said forgoing his usual snarkiness when addressing his old nemesis.

"Who did we lose?" Tonks asked feeling a bit numb that her aunt was responsible for what happened last night.

"Emmeline Vance, Sturgis Podmore, Remus Lupin, Arthur Weasley, and Mundungus Fletcher were all believed to be in the house at the time of the explosion and the subsequent fire but we have yet to recover any remains. I believe that the house elf Kreacher was also killed in the blast as well," Dumbledore answered the last part as an afterthought.

"This on top of the attack on the school just days ago," Minerva muttered giving Albus a withering glare.

"I believe the attack last night was in retaliation for what happened at the castle. That attack was a failure and Voldemort fled gravely injured," Dumbledore said giving Minerva a troubled look.

"This is getting ridiculous," Tonks exclaimed.

"Things are getting much worse than last time," Elphias opined.

"That is because the stakes keep getting raised. The more progress we make against Voldemort, the more desperate he becomes to impose his will on Magical Britain," Dumbledore sighed.

"You're saying this will get worse before it gets better?" Tonks said as she processed what Albus was saying.

"We've been seeing that for the past few months. Voldemort is weaker than he's ever been, he's lost most of his giants and werewolves. His attacks with inferi only yielded moderate success and cost him dearly. That is on top of the heavy losses his human forces have sustained during their altercations with the aurors," Dumbledore explained.

"How many death eaters are there, anyway?" Hestoa Jones asked.

"Between two and three hundred though only the dark lord knows the exact number," Snape replied.

"Plus the dementors," Moody added grimly.

"Zat iz still a lot of soldiers to deal wiz," Fleur muttered.

"How is Molly handling this, William?" Dumbledore asked softly.

"She isn't, Mum hasn't spoken a word since we got the news," Bill shrugged his voice sounding hollow.

"If there is anything your family needs don't hesitate to ask," Dumbledore said genuinely.

"Short of tossing Narcissa Malfoy through the veil, I don't think there is anything you can do," Bill said in the same hollow tone.

"If she's ever caught, that will most likely be her sentence," Kingsley intimated.

"Good," Bill grunted.

"So what is the ministry planning on doing about all of this?" Elphoas questioned.

"Raids on all of the homes of people involved in the recent attacks and tripling security on St Mingo's and Diagon Alley," Kingsley answered.

"So basically waving the flag," Sirius snorted.

"With Pius Thickenese having been compromised, Bones is restructuring all of the DMLE protocols," Kingsley admitted.

"What of Mister Nott?" Dumbledore asked looking over at Snape.

"He has been instructed to remain at Nott Manor," Snape said.

"That little bastard should have been tried for conspiracy," Moody exclaimed.

"He was under duress, I has planned to remove him from the war altogether but the aurors intercepted him before he could leave the country," Dumbledore confessed.

"So the little shit gets people killed and you expect us to let him just flee the country?" Sirius snorted.

"He is still young enough to be saved," Dumbledore implored.

"Tell that to the families of the kids he got killed that night," Tonks exclaimed feeling her ire rising at Dumbledore's platitudes.

"This is getting us nowhere," Dumbledore sighed looking very uncomfortable.

Tonks tuned out the meeting going on around her as she thought about the injustice of Theodore Nott getting off scot-free for helping death eaters enter the castle. Before she knew it people around her were rising to their feet and she turned in time to see Dumbledore sweep out of the hall.

"That did not go well," Sirius muttered as he looked over at her.

"No, it didn't," Tonks agreed as she got up and fell into step with Sirius as he walked towards the doors.

"It looked like they were seconds away from a mutiny," Sirius said.

"Did you see the looks McGonagall was giving him?" Tonks asked after they stepped into the burnt-out entrance hall.

"Yeah, Moody looked pretty hacked off too," Sirius agreed.

They walked in silence through the entrance hall and stepped out onto the barren lawn, the ground crunching with every step they took. It wasn't until they were almost to the gates that Sirius spoke again.

"We're holding a ceremony this Friday for Remus, could you let Harry know?" Sirius asked his features betraying the sadness he felt.

"I'll let him know," Tonks promised.

"Thanks," Sirius said before turning on the spot and disappearing without another word.

Tonks Residence, Reading, 6/28/1996, 15:39

Harry stepped into the backdoor of his home feeling completely wrung out. Today had been Remus' funeral and he was still having trouble believing this was really happening. It was really more of a memorial ceremony as his body had been incinerated in the fire but it was a quiet affair attended by a handful of order members.

Harry entered the sitting room and took a seat, already lamenting the fact that Tonks was on duty today as he could really use a hug from her right about now.

" Are you okay, Harry?" Andi asked as she set her handbag on the sideboard and turned to look at him.

"Yeah but I don't want to go to another funeral ever again," Harry muttered as he unbuttoned his outer robes and hung them up on the coat rack.

"I know what you mean, it was like that in the last war too," Andromeda said, giving him a sympathetic smile.

"How did you deal with it?" Harry asked, looking at her imploringly.

"Remember them as they lived not how they died," Andi said softly as she placed her hand on his shoulder and gently guided him toward the sitting room.

"I keep thinking about Ron and Ginny and how they will be going through the same thing tomorrow," Harry admitted as his eyes started to tear up.

The Weasley funeral was strictly for family according to Tonks and Harry could kind of understand that even if he did feel a bit hurt that he wasn't invited to the ceremony.

In a way, this was convenient as Andromeda had already reserved a portkey for the Dominican Republic months ago and it was scheduled to leave tomorrow at noon. Harry wasn't sure how much he was looking forward to this trip given everything that had happened lately but he supposed it would do him some good to get out of Britain for a few weeks.

"I can't imagine what the Weasley family is going through right now," Andromeda said softly as she pulled him into a hug.

"Neither can I," Harty muttered wrapping his arms around her

"You know what always cheers Ted up?" Andi asked releasing her hold on him and giving him a comforting smile.

"Why do I have a feeling there is something to do with Star Trek involved," Harry said with a watery chuckle as he watched her grab a tape off of the shelf.

"That is usually his solution to everything," Andi giggled as she went to the VCR and pushed the tape in.

Harry couldn't fight the smile as he thought about Ted's borderline obsession with the series.

"I know," Harry smiled as the familiar theme song came on and the opening credits for Star Trek III, the Search for Spock flashed across the screen.

Harry and Andromeda got comfortable on the sofa and tried to watch the movie but Harry couldn't really focus on the film. His mind kept wandering to the Weasleys and his plans for the summer and how worried he was about Tonks being on the frontlines.

'I just hope things get better from here,' Harry thought to himself as he watched the Enterprise explode on the screen.

Chessington World of Adventures, Surrey, 6/30/1996, 08:39

Nagini slithered around the cage the zoo keepers had placed her in. The malidictus felt both eased and furious at her new accommodations. The humans had found her a week ago as she slithered across an open pasture. She had been held for a few days at the Yorkshire Zoo before the keepers from this zoo had come and transported her here.

It would seem that this zoo had a Burmese python that had escaped and they had yet to find another specimen. The keepers seemed most eager to get her in the enclosure.

On the one hand, the enclosure she was in was incredibly comfortable, the temperature was perfect and her scales hadn't been this moist in decades. The keepers kept her fed on lovely white rabbits and had already given her a treatment to soften her scales.

The downsides were that she could not roam free and her enclosure wasn't large enough for her to stretch out fully. She was already getting bored and she had only been here for a couple of days.

Still, this was the first time she had been comfortable in months. She was miserable in that drafty house and Tom was plotting on killing her to save himself.

She would endure this mind-numbing boredom but if one more of those snivelling brats banged on the glass of her tank, she would find a way to make them suffer!

Black Island, 7/1/1996, 10:48

Harry completed his morning run, the light breeze blowing in from the sea feeling quite pleasant as it blew over his sweaty skin.

They had arrived here two days ago and Harry was still adjusting to the serenity of the island. Sirius had come with Tgem but he had kept mostly to himself since they had arrived.

As Harry had expected Tonks had not been able to come. She had just been cleared for active duty and could not very well ask to be given time off to go on an island vacation.

Harry understood why she couldn't be here but it did kill his mood a bit to be here without her.

They would only be here for two weeks and then it was back to the madhouse that was Magical Britain.

Harry began walking back to his bungalow noting that dark clouds were rolling in from the east. Storms were quite common in the afternoon as they had seen yesterday and from the look of the sky, they could expect one later today.

"How was your run?" Andi asked when she noticed him approaching the outdoor table they ate all of their meals at.

"Peaceful," Harry smiled as he took a seat and helped himself to some of the fruit salad set out on the table.

"I know what you mean, the sound of the waves is very calming," Andi smiled.

"I think that is what I love most about this place, no matter where you go you can hear the ocean," Harry admitted.

"The warm weather doesn't hurt either," Andi said before sipping her orange juice.

"Decided to eat without me, eh," Ted called from the path that led up to the bungalows.

"You were sleeping so soundly that I didn't want to wake you," Andi said as Ted took a seat beside her.

"Well I am grateful for that, the hospital never lets me get enough sleep," Ted conceded as he fixed himself a plate of fruit.

"Anyone seen Sirius?" Harry asked.

"Right behind you," a familiar voice chuckled.

"He lives," Ted beamed.

"Yeah, l don't think that I can handle one more hangover," Sirius sighed as he took the seat beside Harry.

"Excellent, after breakfast I'll tell you about this amazing invention called the razor," Andi quipped.

"Point taken," Sirius muttered as he ran his hand over his jaw which was starting to develop a scruffy beard.

"Best tell Harry about it too, the lad's face is getting a bit scruffy as well," Ted chuckled.

"He is, isn't he?" Andi muttered as she inspected Harry's face critically.

"I'll give him a crash course on using a razor," Sirius promised.

"So do you have any plans for today, Harry?" Ted asked.

"Not really," Harry shrugged.

"You can go with me to Port Royal to get supplies if you want," Sirius offered.

"Sure," Harry said after thinking it over for a minute.

"Excellent, there is a small magical district we can check out while we're there," Sirius said sounding excited.

"Sure, I just hope they speak English," Harry said giving Sirius a curious look.

"Most places do. This area has a heavy tourist trade so the merchants speak many languages. Though some of the voodoo shops speak only patois but we won't be going to any of those shops anyway," Sirius assured him.

Harry could feel his own excitement building beside the Dominican Republic airport he had seen much of the other islands in this island chain.

"You two take your time," Andi said a bit too casually causing Ted to snort into his glass of orange juice.

"Just make sure when we come back that we don't see anything we shouldn't," Sirius said giving his cousin a pointed look.

"I have no idea what you're insinuating," Andi sniffed though Harry noticed a slight pink flush rising up her cheeks.