Chapter 128
And so, it begins
As Lily, Hermione, Ginny, Fleur, Lavender, Ron, Draco, and Pansy landed in a garden, Lily held her wand and looked around, frantic about the events that had just occurred. She kept turning around until Ginny grabbed hold of her.
"Lily, it's okay, we're safe, they didn't follow us," Ginny said, holding onto Lily's shoulders.
"What… how… what the hell happened?" Lily asked.
"The way the ministry works is that there is a core of magic at the heart, every country has their own core, and it gives the Ministry extra powers and control. If You-Know-Who has managed to take over it, then they've got full control of the ministry," Hermione explained, as she brushed dry dirt off her dress. "I created Portkeys to get us to this place, it's one of the safe houses," she added.
"They can't follow us, can they?" Draco asked.
"No, we took all the portkeys, I made sure of it, which means no one knows where we are," Hermione replied.
"Uncle Sirius? Uncle Remus? Will they be okay?" Lily asked.
"I think they're both going to be pissed off, so they should be safe. If anything, those Death Eaters are going to be dead by now," Hermione said, as she led the group to the cottage they were at. It was dark inside, and Hermione cast a spell to grant them entry.
"That absolute bastard," Ron growled angrily, as he turned on the lights to the house. "Where are we?"
"In a forest in Scotland, there's muggle repelling charms, dark wizard repellents, and shield charms. Mr. Crouch called this one Echo. I've got everything we need; I've been packing everything in my bag, and kept it on me at all times, including spare muggle clothes," Hermione explained, showing her bag and pulling out a variety of items, including clothing.
"Thanks, Hermione. Let's all get changed, and meet back here in a couple of minutes," Lily suggested. As she went up the stairs, Lily took a deep breath, wanting to contact Sirius, but not wanting to put him in danger. What was happening back at the Burrow? Were they all going to be okay? How had everything just happened? Nothing was making sense to Lily, but she tried to put everything out of her mind as she got changed into the blouse and jeans that Hermione had packed, before checking her watch. It was only three in the afternoon, which meant they had time to take stock of everything and rest before dinner. Thankfully, she had eaten at the wedding, or at least nibbled on some of the hors d'oeuvres before the attack had begun.
As she made her way back down to the kitchen, she saw Draco, Hermione, Ginny, and Lavender already there, with Lavender serving up soft drinks.
"Juice, Lily?" Lavender asked. Lily nodded, so Lavender handed her a glass of pineapple juice. Lily smiled as she sat down, just as Ron, Fleur, and Pansy entered the kitchen, each accepting a drink.
"Alright, so since we're here, it's safe to say we should get started in the hunt," Ginny said. Lily nodded.
"Hopefully, we'll hear from the others soon. They knew of this house, right?" Lily asked, looking at Hermione, who nodded. "First thing we need to do is get some information on what's going on."
"What about Dobby and Kreacher?" Draco suggested. Lily nodded, moments before both House Elves appeared in the kitchen.
"Miss Lily needed us?" Kreacher asked, bowing.
"Kreacher, Dobby, do either of you know what happened at the Burrow?" Lily asked. Both their eyes went wide, which suggested to Lily that they didn't. "Alright, well, let's take a few moments to rest before we do anything. Hermione, bloody quick thinking with the port keys."
"And impressive as well. It's difficult enough at our age to create one, let alone four," Draco praised. Hermione blushed.
"I've been practising, so we could have an emergency exit from any situation," Hermione admitted, as Lily drank more of her drink.
"Good thing too," Ron said, before letting out a soft burp after downing his drink. Everyone chuckled as Lavender slapped the back of his head.
"So uncouth, Ronald," Lavender teased.
"You've been spending way too much time around Hermione," Ron grumbled, though he was smirking as he said it.
"Which is probably a good thing; you could do with learning a few manners," Ginny teased, prompting a round of laughter from everyone.
"Today, we know we're safe, so let's not think about going on our hunt. We should stay here and wait for someone to contact us," Lavender said.
"Which zey will do. We know Kingsley was taken by Molly," Fleur agreed.
"And no way will old Mouldy Shorts get the better of Uncle Sirius," Lily smiled softly. "So yeah, resting is probably a good idea. We could be here for a while. How many rooms does this place have?"
"Five," Hermione replied. "There's a basement apartment, two bedrooms on the first floor, and two on the second. Again, undetectable extension charms make this place bigger on the inside."
"Sounds like the Tardis," Lily chuckled, with Ginny and Hermione laughing softly with her. The others looked dumbfounded. "Doctor Who, it's a sci fi tv show, it started in the sixties, but went on for years, and they even made a movie last year," Lily clarified. "The Doctor is an alien who travels in a ship called the Tardis, which is bigger on the inside. Much bigger, since the outside looks like a muggle police phone box."
"Sounds interesting. I really was missing out on a lot of entertainment when I thought muggles as pathetic," Draco said.
"Wait until you read their comics. Lily has a massive collection at her home, Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Star Wars… she's what the muggles call a geek," Ginny said.
"Some of them were expensive, but worth it," Lily smiled. "I was thinking of getting some models and starting a collection."
"When this war's over, we'll work on that together," Ginny smiled.
"Something to look forward to," Lily grinned.
"Who knows how to cook?" Ron asked. Everyone looked at him. "What? I'm being practical?"
"Dobby and Kreacher will handle cooking and cleaning, Master Ron," Dobby assured him.
"It would be a pleasure to cook for Miss Lily and her friends," Kreacher added.
"Thank you, both of you. I'm glad you're both okay," Lily said, before hugging both of them gently.
"Kreacher will never leave Miss Lily's side, the Dark Lord will fail, and Miss Lily will win," Kreacher said, his voice confident.
"House Elf confidence, who can argue with that?" Draco grinned. "I trust Sirius, Remus, and even Minister Scrimgeour was there. Everyone's going to be okay, I know it."
Watching Lily disappear, Sirius smirked, before changing into Padfoot, racing at a Death Eater, and biting his neck viciously, hearing the man scream. He released him, letting the Death Eater fall to the ground, before leaping at another, his claws extended and slashing the face of the man, who Sirius recognised as Avery.
As Sirius returned to human form, one Death Eater was thrown across the tent, with a growl of anger coming from Hagrid, who then backhanded another, just as Olympe Maxime kicked a Death Eater, hard, sending them flying through a hole in the side of the tent.
"Attaboy, Hagrid," Sirius complimented. "Both of you, give 'em hell."
"Gladly," Hagrid smirked, before grabbing a Death Eater, and throwing him headfirst into the ground. Sirius heard a crack and saw the man's neck snap.
"That definitely counts. Remind me never to piss you off, Hagrid," Sirius said, before firing at another Death Eater, whilst watching Fred and George disapparate with several of the guests.
"Most of the guests are gone," Scrimgeour noted.
"Good. Let's make sure everyone is gone, then we should leave to," Sirius said. Scrimgeour nodded, sending a killing curse at a Death Eater. "Where the hell is that bastard getting all the Death Eaters from?"
"I have a harrowing theory, but we'll discuss that later," Scrimgeour said, as Olympe and Hagrid vanished. As the three men left the tent, they saw the last of the guests leaving, but ducked as there was an explosion behind them. They turned, seeing the Burrow now on fire, with debris everywhere, and part of the building collapsing. "Molly's going to kill Voldemort herself," he said.
"Let's make sure she has a chance. We need to get to safety," Sirius said. "Omega," he added. All three men nodded, and disapparated, just as a loud scream of anger filled the air.
Sirius appeared first, with Scrimgeour and Remus less than a second later, in an alley between houses and a park. "The second I see that slimy bastard, I'm ripping his throat out," Sirius growled angrily, as the three of them looked around. "Where are we again?"
"Small area in Preston, up north," Remus replied. "A muggle area, so Vol…"
"Stop!" Scrimgeour demanded. "Kingsley said there was a Taboo on his name. He must have fought hard to get that information."
"Damn, we almost led them here," Remus said bitterly, as the three men walked to a maisonette nearby. "We need to send a warning to everyone."
"Agreed," Sirius said. "Soon as we get inside, Rufus, can you send the warning?"
"Gladly," Scrimgeour said, his grizzled face full of anger. "Pius… I may never get to see my friend as a friend again."
"It's what he does," Remus said, as they entered the safe house. Sitting down on a sofa, Remus summoned a bottle of Fire whiskey, and three glasses, pouring them each a drink, whilst Scrimgeour sent of a warning to everyone, moments before Mad-Eye walked through the door.
"Got a spare one for me, Remus?" Mad-Eye asked, as Sirius, Scrimgeour, and Remus aimed their wands at him. "Sirius, the last thing Dumbledore said to the two of us was that Lily was our best hope, and we needed to ensure she completed her mission."
With that, all three men lowered their wands, with a sigh of relief as Remus summoned a fourth glass.
"How did you find us, Alastor?" Scrimgeour asked.
"Didn't. I picked this place myself randomly, so pure luck happened," Mad-Eye replied, accepting his drink. "Potter?"
"No idea which house they went to, but we saw them vanish. Hermione created four Portkeys, which they took," Sirius replied.
"Damn, that's impressive. I've already told her that once we've killed You-Know-Who, I'm gonna take her on as my apprentice," Mad-Eye chuckled.
"Noted," Scrimgeour replied, smiling as he took a glass of whiskey. "I just sent out a warning to people, his name is Taboo."
"Bastard managed to get to the core. Of course he'd do that. Only people who uses his name are those who aren't scared of him," Mad-Eye replied.
"We need to make a plan. Now he's in control, he'll start sending out propaganda, probably make it seem like everything's okay. He won't want a riot," Remus said.
"Agreed, but we need to be careful. How'd he get that many supporters?" Mad-Eye asked.
"I suspect something which is… well, frankly, dangerous, but I doubt he'd care," Scrimgeour said. "There's an old spell which could be used to temporarily put magic into muggles, and I think some of the attackers were Inferi."
"Wait, can that be done, putting magic into muggles?" Sirius asked.
"With great power, and if you don't care if the muggles survive, yes," Scrimgeour said. "It's an old spell, known only to the highest ministry officials. Pius knew it, which means that You-Know-Who knew it."
"I'm sorry about your friend, but we might be able to get him back if we can find who put the Imperius on him," Remus said. Scrimgeour smiled softly.
"I hope so. Pius is a good man, which, I suspect, is why I'm still alive. He made sure I was gone, so they could get access to the Core, but You-Know-Who could easily have killed me. I think that Pius managed to convince him I wasn't a threat," Scrimgeour said.
"Probably, which bodes well for us," Mad-Eye agreed. "Right now, we need to rest, and gather our forces. We've just lost a big fight, and we need to be careful before we make our next move."
"I want to check all the safe houses, and find Lily," Sirius said. "I need her to know we're okay, and I need to see that she's okay. Next, we need to find Angeline."
"No need," Angeline's voice came from the doorway, as she stood there, smiling, a cut on her cheek, and clearly tired. Remus and Sirius ran to her, embracing her. "My mother got me out practically as soon as the attack began. I did get hit with a piece of debris, but I'm fine."
"Thank Merlin for that," Sirius said. "The babies?"
"Just fine," Angeline replied, nodding. "I do need to rest though. Mother wanted me to stay put at Delta, but I refused. I needed to find you. I started at Alpha; the Weasley twins are there with Charlie, Tonks, Bill, Sophie, and the Delacour family. Then I figured you'd come here, since you told me if anything happened, this would be your first stop."
"I'm glad you remembered, love," Sirius smiled. "Go, get some sleep. I'll get some food prepared for you."
"No, you need to go and find Lily. Alastor and Rufus can keep me safe, the two of you should start checking the safe houses, and make sure everyone's okay," Angeline said.
"And warn them about the taboo, just in case my message didn't get through," Scrimgeour added.
"You sure?" Remus asked, looking at Angeline.
"I'm sure. Get going; I want you both back here tonight," Angeline said, smiling at them. Sirius nodded, before he and Remus kissed her, then left the house.
"Well, we have a plan, at least," Lily said, as she bit into a sandwich. Kreacher and Dobby had put together a small platter of sandwiches and pasties for the group, as well as multiple drinks, whilst everyone had chosen their rooms.
"It's the best we can do. We know there's going to be a lot of Death Eaters on the lookout for us," Lily said. "So, we give it a week, let them tire themselves out. They won't find us here."
"I doubt anyone will," Ron said, smiling. His smile faded, however, as a soft alarm began to ring. "That's the Sneakoscope, someone's just apparated nearby."
"Wands ready," Lily said, standing up and drawing her wand, a motion copied by the others as the back door opened. Lily let out a grin and released her wand back into the holster as she saw who came through the door.
"Uncle Sirius! Uncle Remus!" Lily exclaimed, racing and embracing the two of them in a hug.
"Thank Merlin you're okay," Sirius said, kissing her forehead. "We started checking the others in order but had to make sure everyone else was okay as well."
"Did we lose anyone?" Hermione asked anxiously.
"No. Kingsley is gonna be okay, but his warning saved us all," Remus replied. "Also, don't use You-Know-Who's name, there's a taboo on it."
"We know. Kingsley said it, and I asked Hermione what it was," Lily replied, as if that answered everything. Naturally, Hermione had known what a Taboo was.
"Looks like you've settled in," Sirius said, as he and Remus sat down after Dobby made two new chairs appear.
"Needed to get ourselves calm after that battle," Lily said, smiling softly. "Hermione really was incredible."
"That's true. Hermione, when this war's over, Mad-Eye wants you to work with him as his apprentice, and believe me, he doesn't take on just anyone," Sirius said, smirking. Hermione blushed at the compliment.
"What's your plan, then?" Remus asked, changing the subject.
"We're letting the Death Eaters get tired, so we'll be here for a couple of weeks, maybe a month, until they let their guard down, which we figure they will before too long," Lily said. "Whilst we're here, we're going to be using the Internet a lot, researching the muggle news as well as finding what we can on Riddle."
"Good plan. You found the supplies and the money?" Sirius asked.
"We did, you really left ten grand here?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, it'll be a while before you can get to a bank," Sirius pointed out. "In the meantime, make sure if you go out, you change your form."
"I will, and we've got Polyjuice potion and hairs from multiple muggles, provided by Mr. Crouch, so we'll all have disguises," Lily assured them.
"Good. Ron, Ginny, I do need to warn you though, before we left, the Death Eaters… practically destroyed your house," Sirius said softly. Ron growled angrily.
"Of course they did, the pathetic bastards," Ron said bitterly. "They're just lucky we're all safe."
"What about the Ghoul that used to live in the attic?" Ron asked.
"We moved him before the wedding; we suspected there could be a time that the house would be targeted," Ginny answered. "He's with our Cousin."
"Well, we'll be coming by tomorrow as well," Sirius said. "We need to keep an eye on Angeline as well."
"It's okay, Uncle Sirius, we're not alone here, we have each other. I know you want to be here, but we're not going anywhere for a while, and I'll alert you if there's trouble," Lily promised.
"Make sure you do," Sirius insisted. "All of you, be careful, and don't do anything without alerting us."
"We got this," Draco said. "We'll keep Lily safe. You need to keep your unborn kids safe."
"He's right. You know where we are now, so you can be here whenever. Trust me, we're okay, especially now we know everyone else got out okay," Lily said. Sirius smiled, and as Lily embraced him and Remus once more, she knew that they would always worry, but she was just glad that they were safe. She didn't know how she'd react if either of them was killed. Now, she just hoped they were able to find a way to stop Voldemort, before he took over the rest of the world.