Harry ended the shield charm with the slightest whisper, shrunk his staff, fitting it back into his holster with a flick of his wrist, and pulled his invisibility cloak tight. The Weasleys had closed in around him and someone clumsily found his shoulder, pushing him down into a crouching position. He shifted so that his knees weren't pressing Nio into his belly and listened hard, trying to figure out what was happening. The only noises were the slight shifting and rustling around him, the floor creaking as weight shifted, and the whisper of shallow breaths. Acrid fear permeated the air and the temperature dropped suddenly as if a door had been opened to Antartica.
Nio shivered against Harry's belly, twisting into a tighter ball, pressing deeper against him. He seemed to sense that something was dangerously wrong.
The room around Harry grew darker, there was no longer the haze of light streaming in from the bank of windows along the kitchen wall. The knot of people around him tightened, and hands were on his back and head, as if reassuring themselves that he was hidden and still there.
He struggled to stand up and they pushed him down. The floor was now radiating a cold… seeping in through his trainers even under the invisibility cloak, it was like the chill of the Center when it had been subjected to the Null zone. Harry furrowed his brows, trying to suss out the clues that would tell him what was going on.
He felt people shift around him as if they were watching something move across the windows to the back door.
The back door banged open and a rattling, rasping noise grew closer. Shouts of encantations burst from the knot of people around him as they moved—expanding and contracting.
He started when he heard Fred and George summoning chocolate frogs and heard the foil wrappers snapping into their hands, but was quickly distracted as explosions rocked the floor and plaster fell from the ceiling. China shattered around him. Harry felt as if he was being sucked into a vacuum; the world around him was blurring in a haze of ringing noises and smoke. He was slipping away, the noises dimming as a scream skewered him. He crumpled on the floor, winching as a sharp shard of pottery cut into his knee. He was struggling to remain conscious.
Something small jumped on his hand and then launched up, hittting him lightly on the mouth. He licked his lips—chocolate—and then tried to grab it, finding bits of plaster and broken crockery instead. The taste of chocolate on his lips, though, sent a jolt through him and he was able to sit up.
Someone slumped against him, jolting him further out of the fog. He shook his head to dispel the miasma that had been engulfing him. Instinctively he'd put his arms out to catch them, and now, realized it was Ginny from her slight build and long hair.
"Ginny?" he whispered, shaking her gently. Her head lolled onto his shoulder. He fell on the floor and gathered her into his arms, pulling her under the invisibility cloak as it seemed as though it was a bit warmer under it than in the kitchen which now was colder than an icebox.
He scooted along the floor, dragging Ginny with him, trying to pull her out of the way of everyone casting spells around them. Occasionally bright lights flashed across his field of vision… piercing the darkness and making him wince.
"Harry?" Ron asked, his voice cracking. "Where are you?"
"Right here," Harry said, and stuck his foot out from under the cloak. Someone tripped over it and he grimaced… both from the pain and resounding crash that followed. "Sorry!"
"Can you help me get Ginny out of the way?" he asked.
"What happened to Ginny?" Hermione asked from his other side and she groped around, trying to find a hold.
"That's me. Ginny's over here," Harry tried to shrug Hermione's hand in the right direction as he struggled to stand up.
Ron's hands explored across Harry's back and then found Ginny's other arm and the three of them pulled her to a corner in the kitchen, near the fireplace and out of the way from the spellcasters.
"What's going on?" Harry asked, his breath hitching.
"Dementors!" Ron said, and the fear in his voice infectious.
"What?"
"A whole bunch of Dementors came into the garden and then tried to get in the house. Mom, Dad, Bill, Percy—" Ron sputtered. "They are just are driving them back, but they aren't going away. Fred and George are throwing dung bombs."
"The Auror? What's she doing?"
"She apparated out of here," Hermione said, disbelief winning out over the disgust in her voice.
"What did the Demons do to Ginny," Harry asked, nudging the limp form in his arms.
"Dementors," Hermione corrected automatically. "They feed off human emotion… memories… people with trauma are more likely to be affected."
"How do we help her?" Ron asked. He had reached over Harry and was gently patting her face. Ginny moaned.
"Er. Chocolate!" Hermione said, jumping up and opening a nearby cabinet door. She coughed and dropped by them again. "Drat the dung bombs. I can't see a thing in here. Why did they think they'd help? Dementors are blind."
"Wait—what?" Harry asked, licking his lips. "Chocolate?"
"Yes, chocolate. Wixen chocolate is the anecdote to a Dementor encounter," she said, reciting as if she was reading out of a textbook. "Ron, where's does your mum keep the chocolate?"
"I'll get it," Ron said, choking out the words.
Bill's voice was growing hoarse as he continued to shout a spell over and over… growing in frustration… but he was now out in the yard. The door slammed as others followed him outside and the open door helped clear the air of smoke, though it brought with it a fetid stench of rotting meat. Harry gagged.
Ron was fumbling around in the pantry, pushing glass bottles against each other; something spilled, scattering across the floor.
"Just catch a chocolate frog!" Harry called out, but it didn't seem as if Ron or Hermione heard him.
"Here it is!" he said as he crunched across the spilled seeds, thudded next to Harry, shoving the block at Harry's chest. It took Harry a moment to untangle himself from his cloak and grab it and then he pushed it back to Ron.
"Unwrap it, would you? I've only one free hand," Harry said.
Hermione grabbed it from the both of them and next he heard her breaking off a chunk. Harry worked on pulling the cloak off of Ginny's head and shifting her so that she was sitting more upright.
Outside it sounded like the battle was moving farther away from the Burrow.
"Ginny, Ginny," Hermione murmured, jiggling her shoulder. "Eat this chocolate. It'll help."
Ginny groaned and then struggled to sit up a bit.
"What happened?" she asked, her voice muzzy.
"Do you remember the Dementors?" Hermione asked.
"Is that what they were? Ugh. They are horrid. Are they gone?" She was starting to sound more alert.
Ron jumped up and ran over to the kitchen door, banging it open.
"A heap of Aurors are appararating in!" he shouted. "Auror Bones is back!"
Harry couldn't repress the shiver that shook through his body at the thought of all the Aurors popping into the Burrow.
Hermione was pulling Ginny up and helping her settle on the long bench at the kitchen table. Harry followed them to the table, adjusting the cloak around his shoulders. Nio worked on making his way up to Harry's neck asking whispering questions about the malodorous beings that were being driven away by the leg-walkers with sticks.
Harry could hear Auror Bones giving stentorian orders as the Weasleys clamored back into the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley had switched gears again and was tending to Ginny, though she reverted to her militaristic style again briefly as she ordered the twins to set the kitchen to rights. They weren't nearly as enthusiastic about casting cleaning spells, but soon the dust was cleared, the furniture restored, and broken dishes knitted themselves back together. Harry felt safe enough to move once the swirling of objects in the room settled down and gingerly found a place at the table next to Ron.
"Harry! Take off the cloak, would you? You scared me," Ron said.
"Nah. I think I'll keep it on a bit longer."
Next, Mrs. Weasley asked the twins to set the kettle on and put out tea. Harry sighed, understanding that it was Mrs. Weasley's way of recovering from the shock of the invasion… but he wasn't sure he wanted tea again just yet.
"Harry, you should have some chocolate, too," Ginny said, pushing the foil-wrapped block against his fingers. "You look really pale."
Harry felt around the block until he found the opening and broke off a piece. As it melted in his mouth, he felt less wobbly.
The Weasleys started sitting down at the table as the boys grudgingly sent the china, scones, lemon curd, and tea to settle along the length in a discordant tinkling. Harry held himself still as soon as he heard the twins levitating the china. He didn't want to accidentally crash into a hot teacup again.
"Oi!" Ron shouted, flinching into Harry. "Fred, you just dribbled hot tea down my neck!"
"So sorry, Ron!" Fred said, not sounding contrite in the least. "Next time help us with the tea!"
"I didn't set the dung bombs off, did I!" Ron groused.
Mr. Weasley had ushered in the Aurors who had, apparently driven off the Dementors. They were talking about it as they tromped into the kitchen and stood, politely refusing the invitation to sit at the table… which had grown longer to accommodate the crowd with an encantation from Mrs. Weasely followed by another chorus of charms from the twins to set out more china and cutlery.
"Where's Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked, sounding alarmed.
"Right here," Harry said, moving the cloak off his head and making those around him erupt in nervous laughter. He smiled with them, imagining that his floating head had to look funny.
Someone stopped behind Harry and put their hand on his shoulder. He drew in a startled breath and turned his ear in their direction.
"Harry, I apologize for that debacle. Could you please cast your navigation charm again? I'm sure that Black has left the area," Auror Bones said with suppressed rage, "but we should verify it."
"Oh, all right," Harry said as he removed his aftí again and twisted around on the bench to stand up. He steadied himself on Ron's shoulder as he shook out his staff and repeated the navigation spell. The room was hushed as everyone strained to hear the message. He increased the volume of his staff so that the voice rang out loud in the room.
It was the same response he'd heard earlier when he tried to navigate to Scabbers… Black was now outside of the range of the spell. Harry's shoulders slumped and several people let out their breaths. Harry took off the cloak, returned it to his staff, and settled next to Ron again while Auror Bones stomped over to one of the Aurors.
"This! This is the result of your actions. Dementors. How could you? Dawlish, you will return immediately to the office and start working on your report, detailing how you managed to single-handedly lose Black for us."
Dawlish managed to sputter a response and then stalked outside, where an apparition noise popped louder than usual.
"Rather than evacuate as we had been doing, we're going to use our collective power to ward this house and set up the Egress. But instead of creating a passage to the Ministry, we will set up a passage to the Center. Do you understand me?" Auror Bones addressed her team. "And I will not tolerate any divergence from my plan. Any."
The Aurors quickly set to work and a number of them went out into the yard. There was a cry of alarm and someone came running back into the house. "Dawlish splinched himself!"
Harry's stomach clenched as others ran out the door, Ron included.
"Fred, George, Ron! Come back inside this instant!" Mrs. Weasley shouted from the door. "Let the Aurors sort it out! You're getting in their way."
Her voice was so sharp that they obeyed and came tromping in, laughing and shoving against each other.
"His arse! He left his arse!" George or Fred was chortleing.
"Language!" Mrs. Weasley corrected.
Harry swayed and reached out for the table, but didn't find it where he thought it would be.
"Harry, are you all right?" Ginny asked, grabbing his outstretched arm and helping him find the tabletop. His knees hit the bench and the stab of pain made them less rubbery.
He sat on the bench clumsily, breathing in gulps of air.
The boys had fallen silent and he was certain their eyes were on him.
"What is it, Harry?" Ron asked quietly.
"Tony was splinched," Harry whispered.
He heard them whispering between them… "armless bloke."
"Don't worry, Harry—the Aurors have already set him to rights. Dawlish is fine," Ron said, with a forced cheerfulness.
"Except he won't be able to sit for a week!" Fred said under his breath.
"Hush. Don't make fun of the poor man. He's already had a right fright of a day," Mrs. Weasley said as she bustled around the table and it took Harry a moment to understand what she was doing… setting warming spells on the tea and scones at different temperatures.
Harry could hear Fred and George whispering conspiratorily in the corner by the hearth and then couldn't hear them anymore… as if they had snuck off.
"Come now, let's have our tea and let the Aurors do their job," Mrs. Weasley said, her voice a bit tight. "Now where did Fred and George get to?"
"I think they are chasing down their chocolate frogs," Ginny supplied.
"They are going to be the death of me!" Mrs. Weasley muttered. "They should be helping with the warding."
Harry felt waves of magic pulsing through the house.
"Mrs. Weasley, excuse me, but why didn't the Aurors do this kind of warding last week when they knew Harry was at the Burrow?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, well. Yes. We didn't tell them straight off because, well, we were worried that… erm. Well, we were worried," Mrs. Weasley said with a nervous trill.
Harry could hear Hermione opening and closing her mouth… as if she was dying to ask more.
"We'll be able to celebrate your birthday after all, Harry!" Ginny said with a little gasp.
"Cake!" Ron sang out and the twins joined him in delight. "There will be cake!"
"Oh, that's right!" Mrs. Weasley said and then muttered a spell that set a spoon scraping the insides of a bowl on the sideboard again. The sound of the dishes washing themselves started soon after and Harry felt the tension stitching his shoulders together ease a bit. The murmur of the Aurors working throughout the house continued as they cast spells and consulted with each other via their disembodied voices, but as the kitchen's noises were restored to their normal activity, Harry's anxiety lessened. He wasn't sure, though, what he felt about celebrating his birthday.
Harry acknowledged to himself that it was kind of nuts that when everything went pear-shaped, a part of him was relieved that he wasn't going to have to celebrate his birthday. He thought of Dudley and how he'd barreled through birthday celebrations with unadulterated glee… his only apprehension being if he was slighted somehow… not enough gifts, Harry spoiling the outing, things not going one-hundred percent his way. Harry shook his head… he'd never be able to feel that way about his birthday.
"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Huh?" Harry was startled from his reverie. "Er, oh. Nothing. Just thinking…"
"Are you worried about Black?"
"Er, no I wasn't thinking about that," Harry sighed, as his thoughts returned to the threat dogging his heels.
"Ron, keep an eye on the cake, would you? I'm going to make sure Arthur hasn't forgotten to ward the washroom… remember when that Erkling got into the vent? It nearly lured Fred away…" her voice echoed a bit through the hallway until Harry couldn't make out what she was saying anymore.
"Ron!" Ginny admonished. "I don't think that's what mum meant when she asked you to mind the cake! You're not dipping that frog into the batter!"
"Oh, Ron. No!" Hermione shouted, horrified. "Take that frog out of the bowl this instant! No! You didn't!"
"What?" Ron said around a full mouth, stepping over and dropping the crockery on the table with a dull thud. "You said to take it out!"
Harry wasn't sure why he found it so funny, but the giggles built up in belly until he was having trouble breathing. He listed sideways as he clutched his aching ribs and bumped shoulders with Ginny. She pushed him back upright with an exasperated groan.
Ron joined in with an explosive guffaw that sent a spray of warm gooey clumps that landed on Harry's face and hair. Ginny must have been hit, too, as she yelled and stood up, making the bench rock beneath Harry.
"Ew!" Hermione screeched, jumping back from the table and upsetting the bench. "Ron, that's absolutely disgusting!"
"Ha! Yeah. Sorry! But Harry thought it was funny!"
"That's no excuse!"
Harry tumbled off the bench on the other side of the table, rolling on the floor and attempting to wipe off his face as he continued to laugh.
From the corner of the kitchen, near the hearth, there was a scraping of stone followed by faint grunts. Harry rolled to his side and started to sit up, holding his ear in the direction of the noises.
"What's that?" he asked, running his hand through his hair and finding wet chunks. He shook his hands to dislodge them and wiped them on his trousers.
When Ron and Hermione stopped shouting at each other, Harry could hear distorted voices coming from behind a wall.
Harry got to his knees and shook out his staff, using it to stand up. He took a few tentative steps toward the scraping sounds.
"Who's back there? Is there a room behind the fireplace? I thought that was an outside wall."
Ginny put a hand on his arm, as if to hold him back, but then started to walk toward the corner of the room. Harry followed her. Hermione and Ron came up behind them and they moved together slowly.
"Is someone coming through the floo?" Harry asked, tilting his head, still trying to discern what was making the noises.
"No, it's next to the hearth… something is moving there," Ron said.
"Oi! Ron! Ginny!" Fred's voice (or was it George?) called sounding as if it were being piped into the room.
"Where are you two?" Ron asked.
"We found a secret room!"
"And someone's been living here!"
[break]
Author's note: Thanks for reading! I've been making a podfic recording on Basilisk Eyes - find it on Spotify or Anchor under Hegemone Fanfiction Podfic or email me at hegemonemilo at gmail dot com for the link.