"Squad Six, be advised you have two targets approaching from the northwest," Ron said as he held a finger to his headset and paced around the map area of the DA Cathedral. "It's the same patrol from fifteen minutes ago."
"I'll be done in five minutes," Bill's strained voice came over the headset.
"You said that five minutes ago," Dirk, the hit-wizard who had volunteered to be Bill's backup wand, snarked in an equally stressed voice. He was helping power the complex spell Bill was using to slowly sap the defensive wards.
"Shall I obliviate them again?" Deidre asked.
"Negative," Harry's voice came over the comms. "Neutralize them before they raise any alarm."
There was silence after that as Ron watched the map tersely and Harry finished arranging the rest of his gear.
As soon as the wards fell, he'd be moving in with squads one and two. Squad six, Marcus Theron's squad, was the first to go in and stealthily begin bringing down the wards. They essentially were guarding Bill and making sure he had the chance to do his job.
"Target's down," Claus Dubois reported.
Ron could tell that the Death Eaters were alive but subdued based on the way their dots had stopped moving.
"Truss them up for now but make sure that they don't interfere later."
"They'll be out for at least eight hours," Claus assured him.
"Ward falling in five, four, three, two-" there was a loud noise that sounded like some sort of electrical discharge and a couple of curses from the DA members near the ward line.
"Activate portkeys," Marcus ordered.
A second later, squad six had vacated with two exhausted ward breakers in tow.
"Squad six clear," Marcus reported once his portkey landed in Firewall with all bodies accounted for.
"Squad one and two, move in," Harry ordered before he and the twenty other squad members portkeyed away.
They landed in formation in front of the huge gates of Bulstrode manor.
The first thing they noticed was the strong scent of ozone in the air; a sign of the recently discharged wards.
No more time was wasted getting acclimated as they moved into positions. The two squads split immediately to stand on either side of the tall brick perimeter walls.
On a prearranged signal, three people from each squad cast a battering ram spell that sent the ornate gate flying inwards and announced their arrival.
"You've got five on the grounds moving towards the front gate now," Sally-Anne alerted them on the comms. "They've probably sent for reinforcements already."
"Shields," Harry barked from his place beside Neville who led squad one.
Impressively strong shields rose as Harry conjured multiple large slabs of stone to catch any impending expected Unforgivables.
"Secondary shielders, be ready to direct debris towards incoming spells," Susan Bones ordered her squad from the right.
"Visual contact," Marie Janice called out from her place flanking Neville. "Tear gas in."
"Stun bomb in," Eddie Carmichael called from the other side of the gate.
The tear gas cartridge began dispensing thick quantities of yellowy smoke that the investigating Death Eaters were not prepared for.
The stun bomb entered the middle of the fray yet and when it went off, it created a ball of stunning spell red fire. It seemed to merge with the smoke before combusting with a strong shock wave that attracted the attention of every Death Eater in the manor.
"Bloody hell," Harry gaped as he took in the crater where three Death Eaters used to be.
Their shields had held and protected them from the blast but the other two Death Eaters hadn't been so lucky and had to pick themselves up off of the ground and put out the fires on their robes.
They began shooting spells towards the gate as they retreated to the front doors.
Attracted no doubt by the explosion, spell fire was raining down from the second and third floor windows while spells began coming at them from the now open entry doors of the gothic Bulstrode manor.
"Battering spells," Susan directed her squad. "On my mark — And, fire!"
At the same time, Neville had directed his squad to begin targeting the people on the upper floors of the manor.
Ginny was taking particular pleasure in launching conjured glass shards through the open windows (their glass having been blasted out). On the other side of the gap in the walls, Alice Tolipan was doing the same thing by sending sharp beaked, bloodthirsty birds towards the lower levels.
Susan's group pushed forward slightly, relying on their shields and levitated physical objects to cover them as they dealt massive blows to the front of the occupied manor.
"Ron, report."
"Most of the Death Eaters are focused on you right now," he reported. "Two have left the prison tower but two are still right below the only entry to the cells. I doubt they'll leave that spot until the tower falls around their ears."
"That's not going to happen," Harry said as he thought of the three hostages held inside. "Move onto the next phase."
"Squad seven, move in and find cover on the lower roof tops."
Katie Bell's team, whom had been waiting over the hill well outside of the view of the Bulstrode manor, took to the skies and flew in tight formation around the back of the property and outside of the view of those Death Eaters focused on the front of the property.
They edged lower to the rooftops and broke off into splinter groups, landing on the peaked eaves surrounding the tower at the center of the manor.
From there, they could see the entry windows that the second squad would use to enter the level below the cells and retrieve the Bulstrode family. They'd be able to provide cover fire if need be while Oliver's squad retreated with the family.
"Squad seven in position," Katie Bell reported.
"Squa-" Harry next order was cut off by a long, pitchy scream.
Another, shorter scream joined it a second later and everyone privy to the sound stopped breathing.
"Secondary shield," Susan's voice ordered not a half second later. "Pull back to cover."
"Lavender's been hit, unidentified. EMP activated," Hannah's hurried voice ordered, the short acronym (for emergency medical portkey) being the keyword that activated Lavender Brown's portkey. She was whisked away quickly directly to the infirmary.
"Received," Lanuaria's short voice answered as she confirmed the patient arrived in the wing.
"Providing cover," Neville's brisk, short breathed voice growled as he cast every powerful wide area spell he could towards the front of the manor. "Drawing fire," he declared as he reached into his tactical belt and readied himself.
Neville ran across the open space where the gate used to stand and ran towards Susan's group with their battered shields. He banished the twins tear gas towards the front doors then immediately banished the stun bomb in right behind it.
Then, he ducked and rolled into the middle of Susan's squad and raised his own strong bunker shield to reinforce theirs.
The effects of his banished Weasley twin creations began just after. Like before, the intermingling was spectacular and the resulting explosion seemed to have shook the house and temporarily stunned the Death Eaters raining down spells from the upper levels.
Though they regained their senses soon, it gave the second squad the time it needed to pull back and retake cover on the other side of the tall brick wall.
"Squad seven, move in now," Harry ordered. From the same field Katie's team had been in, Oliver Wood and his squad took to the air and approached the gothic manor.
"Lisa, you're hurt," Hannah noted as she took in the blood pouring out of the girl's right shoulder. "EM-"
"Don't you dare, Abbott," the usually mild mannered bookish Ravenclaw snapped. "I'll activate my own portkey if I need to."
Hannah pointed her almond colored wand sternly at the Ravenclaw. "That's bleeding too much."
Lisa pointed her own wand at the wound and stemmed the flow of blood immediately. Only her wince gave way how much the spell had stung. Hannah rolled her eyes and waved her own wand over the wound with a short chant; even with the spells impacting the other side of the wall they were covering behind, she managed the complex healing spell and the wound began to seal shut.
"It's bound to reopen, you need a potion for something that deep," Hannah warned.
"Doesn't need to hold long," Lisa assured her as she began waving her wand in a sweeping motion with a few complicated twists.
Harry watched with some interest as she formed a complex illusion right then and there and sent what looked like two groups of five DA members running in opposite diagonal directions to low garden walls closer to the front doors.
The Death Eaters on the first floor took the bait and began focusing their fire on the two approaching illusions, none of them noticing that their spells had no effect and simply flew through the illusions.
That left them open right down the middle for Harry who didn't fail to deliver with a handy spell he'd picked up from one of the family grimoires. The concussive battle magic blew through the center of them and threw them across the lawn and further into the entry hall.
"Squad seven, are you in place?"
"Confirm," Oliver shouted over the wind he was experiencing from his place outside of the tower. "Sending tear gas in through the window."
"Do not follow it up with a stun bomb," Harry warned. "They interact; it'll bring down the whole tower."
"Blimey," one of the twins said.
"Didn't know they did that…"
"Repeat; to not mix tear gas with stun bomb."
"Confirmed," Oliver replied tersely.
Oliver vanished the glass in one of the windows and immediately followed it up with two vials of tear gas. Their hoods were appropriately charmed so the vapors would have no effect on the rescuers so overkill seemed like a safe bet.
"Move in," he ordered his squad.
From the other side of the four walled tower, Viktor Krum vanished the glass to another window and flew into the smokey room.
As the one other window in the room was vanished by Roger Davies, smoke began to vent out of the room and they got a clear sight of the two coughing and wheezing Death Eaters guarding the entrance to the cell tower. They were both rather burly but right now the DA had the advantage.
Viktor pulled no quarter as he sent out a dark lashing curse he'd picked up at Durmstrang.
It caught both of the men across the face and further inhibited their ability to see if the tear gas had not been enough.
This did not prevent them from firing off spells, however, and they had to move quickly to disarm the men before they either brought down the tower or clipped one of them out of luck.
It was Sophie Roper who got the drop on them as she flew into the tower from outside and felled them both with the concussion spell Graham Romsey swore by.
"Guards down," Oliver reported. "Hold this room while I secure the prisoners," he gestured for Krum to join him and the two began making their way up the narrow cells.
"Guys," Sally-Anne said urgently with worry in her tone.
"They've got reinforcements incoming — they will outflank you," Ron warned urgently. "Retreat, I repeat, ground squads retreat. Pull back now."
Susan and Neville hesitated only for a second before they activated their squad portkeys; as the leaders, they could trigger all of their squads portkeys and it was their responsibility to do so quickly to get them to safety.
Harry didn't trigger his portkey; he disillusioned himself and pulled out his broom, taking to the sky and the tree line over where he was sure the Death Eaters' reinforcements would appear. After that, he began speaking into his comm.
"Katie, Oliver, you have no ground support. You need to get in and out now before they erect any new anti portkey spells."
"Oh we'll give them something else to think about," the Weasley twins said in scary unison as they broke formation around the tower and flew lower towards the eaves Katie's squad was occupying.
"Think we should test the-"
"Oh you know we should Forge," Gred said grimly, interrupting his brother for once as the Death Eaters portkeyed in with at least twenty more to their number.
It did not appear that the Dark Lord himself was amongst them, however, so they counted their blessings.
"Whatever you're going to do, do it fast," Harry ordered tensely from his place twenty five feet away.
"Got any stun bombs and tear gas?" one of the twins asked Harry.
"A few."
"Lend us a hand then, brother."
Harry's lips twitched upwards slightly at the sentiment before he readied the items in question.
"Launching," one of the twins shouted before there was a sound of something highly pressurized releasing.
Then, there was a dramatic burst of fire and light.
"We've found the Bulstrodes," Oliver said with relief in his tone. "They're mostly unharmed."
There wasn't an answer on the comms as the sounds of the Weasley twins new invention drowned most everything out.
"Hello, loves," Sophie said as she peered into the cell. The pretty sixth year Slytherin had straight, dark hair and a heart-shaped face that made her look soft and appealing. "Come on out with you then."
The hostages in front of them looked quite scared by everything they'd been hearing from outside and were keeping well away from the window and door. A heavier set man was standing in front of his thin wife and waif-like daughter, his frame more than enough to block them from you.
"Who are you?" he asked, looking shocked by their appearance.
"We're saving you but we have very very little time," Sophie answered. "Your daughter said to tell you: argumentum."
The Latin word for evidence — Mr. Bulstrode blinked then nodded in acceptance. That was a code word between himself and his daughter. The proof is the evidence.
Krum pulled their cell apart with a dark spell that no one had time to question as he rushed them out. "Move, now. Move move move."
"K," Oliver said into his comm, using only Katie's initial as he was currently speaking without the benefit of the hoods silencing charm (so he could speak to the Bulstrodes). "We'll be exiting with the Bulstrodes in less than a minute. Your team can retreat to safety."
"Negative," she responded strongly. "We will provide cover on the retreat. Exit the western window and do it quick. The light show is starting to die down."
"Oh no it's not," Harry said as he threw another handful of tear gas and stun bombs into the mix.
"Lord Bulstrode," Oliver said respectfully as the reached the room with the windows again in which two purple clad DA members waited. "Can you fly?"
"I was a beater in my day," he answered, nodding.
"Good," Oliver said as he reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a spare broom that was identical to theirs. "Then get on."
"What about us?" the Lady Bulstrode asked softly while clutching her daughter to her side.
"You will ride with us; you are light enough to fly fast with us," Viktor explained as he mounted his broom and held his arm out to the youngest person in the tower.
The little girl shook her head in fear, eyes wide and clearly traumatized.
"Guys, you need to move," Harry ordered seriously.
"What is name?" Viktor asked the little girl who did not answer.
"Sarah," her mother answered.
"Sarah, you will be my flying friend, yes?" he said. "We go to safety, away from here."
Lady Bulstrode got with the program as she saw the explosions rocketing across one of the beautiful gardens of their manor. She lifted Sarah from under the arms and placed her on the broom in front of Viktor. He cast a clever spell that kept her firmly to his front, cast a disillusionment spell, and then hovered just on the edge of the western window.
"Just stay in the middle with us," Oliver ordered as he mounted his broom behind Viktor and gestured to the Lady Bulstrode. "Let's go."
She climbed onto the room clumsily and gasped when he adjusted her with little regard for politeness. Oliver cast the same sticking spell and disillusionment over her and himself then over her husband. He was on his own broom beside Oliver with the two other purple robed figures just behind them, taking positions by the other two windows. Those two would provide cover if needed from the northern and eastern windows as the hostage group cleared the tower. Then, they would take up the rear.
"K, we're moving out," Oliver said to his support on the rooftops.
"Preparing to cover."
"Go," Oliver ordered.
And with that, Viktor nudged his broom over the edge of the window and nosed it down sharply before leveling out.
The little girl in front of him shrieked and when they leveled out, he reluctantly hit her with a silencing charm. They didn't want to draw attention or give away their position.
Justin Steele met him and flanked his side that was closest to the fighting below. Oliver joined him a second later with the slightly unsteady Lord Bulstrode with him.
"Move out."
"Portkeying out," Harry reported as the twins signaled the end to their assault.
Fred and George returned to their group as Harry disappeared from the angry and panicked group of Death Eaters. They flanked the sides of the rescue team as Sophie and Roger took up the rear and moved below Oliver, Viktor, and the elder Bulstrode.
"Squad, mount, wands at ready," Katie ordered.
She gave her squad perhaps five seconds to do so as the main group began flying away from the tower and towards the hills and trees to a different field from the first one that they'd scoped out earlier.
"Take to the skies and cover low, fast. Wands at the ready," she ordered.
Lady Bulstrode screamed in fright when she'd seen the ten cloaked figures approach their group so quickly and intently.
Oliver had shouted into her ear "They're friendly!" but her heart didn't stop pounding even when she recognized that they were wearing the same cloaks as their rescuers.
How were there so many of them? Still, she was grateful they were there. They stayed below the group to block any fire that they might take but it seemed that they had made it away safely. By the time the Death Eaters thought to look to the skies, they were specks on the horizon and rapidly disappearing.
"We are clear of ward perimeter," Sophie said into the comms as she, the furthest back of the large group in the air, cleared the wards.
"Clear to activate?" Bill's tired but still ready voice asked. There was a beat of silence to allow any one possibly within the wards to answer. When nothing came, Harry spoke.
"Clear."
"Activating offensive wards now," he said.
In the distance behind him, the wards crackled with a sickly yellow light as Millicent's blood within the device activated them. They'd certainly given the remaining Death Eaters something to think about.
"Move ahead," Katie ordered her squad a short distance later as they approached the clear field. "Set a perimeter."
They set down in a circle with their wands drawn. It seemed safe enough so Katie gave Oliver the go ahead to touch down. As soon as they did, Oliver and Katie shared a nod.
"Portkeying out," they said aloud so the Bulstrodes could hear.
A second later, the two team captains activated their group portkeys and the entire group disappeared from the field. The only evidence they left was a portkey trail that the Death Eaters would never be able to follow before it dissipated thanks to a Fidelius.
…
The disorientation that the Bulstrode's felt upon their landing was unlike anything that they'd ever felt before and it only served to add to their panic.
They could not see anything but they could hear voices. They could not even feel the ground under their feet even though it surely must be there. Lady Bulstrode and her young daughter were even more panicked because they could still feel the hooded figures they were stuck to behind them when they swung their arms.
"Calm," the sharp voice of a young woman said. "Please, calm. No one here is going to hurt you."
"Mother, Father," Millicent called loudly.
Her voice stopped their panic long enough for Hermione to get a word in.
"Firewall Castle and Firewall Island are located in the Hebrides of Scotland."
As they all processed those words, even little Sarah (who clung to her mothers legs as soon as she could see), the large hall they were in came into view. It was spectacularly decorated but what was more shocking was the infirmary they could see through the open double doors as well as the sheer number of those purple robe wearing individuals either in that room or in the room around them.
"What is going on here?" her father asked in shock as he dropped the broom he was holding.
Oliver picked it up as if it were an infant and glared lightly at the elder Bulstrode though no one took notice. They preferred not to pay attention to Oliver when he began petting and/or talking to his brooms.
"What is this place? Who are you?" he followed up as he turned and looked at Oliver and Viktor and the woman who had spoken.
"This is Firewall Castle, a Fidelius protected safe house for people who need refuge from this ongoing war. This is the headquarters of our fight against the Dark Lord Voldemort and his followers and we are the Defense Association."
"Wha-" Lady Bulstrode looked at some of the unhooded figures who were walking hurriedly to and fro. "Some of them look like students!"
"Some of us are," Hermione answered bluntly. "Some of us work for the ministry. Some of us are hit-wizards, mercenaries. Some of us are mothers and fathers and all of us want a brighter future and better lives for ourselves and our families."
"This is Harry Potter's group," Millicent told her family bluntly.
"Harry Potter?" his father asked in shock as he looked around. "What?"
"Harry is occupied at the moment," Hermione said as she cast a worried glance towards the hospital wing. "But if you'll follow me, I can answer more of your questions and we can go over the secrecy contracts. Do you require medical attention first?"
Lord Bulstrode looked to his wife and his youngest daughter (who looked to be about eight or nine if very small) whom didn't signal yes so he declined and followed the young woman on the promise of more information. They were scraped and bruised but more interested in answers.
Still, wherever they were was better than being imprisoned in his own home. It was better to find answers than to let distrust and paranoia overwhelm him. These people had gone to all the trouble to rescue them, after all, so they were probably safe.
As Millicent joined his side and he placed a hand on the shoulder of the young woman he had thought he'd never see again, he thought that he'd do just about whatever these people asked if they'd protect his girls.
…
In the hospital wing two hours later in the wee hours of the morning, Harry stood several feet away from the bed of Lavender Brown with a very cold, hard expression on his face.
Inside, his guilt was killing him.
It was his fault this vibrant young woman was laying on this hospital bed looking so very pale and weak. Her mother, Kathleen, and her father, Frederick, were at her bedside within the privacy curtain that silenced any outside noise.
They just clung to her hand and watched her with creased, worried brows. They didn't blame Harry (knowing that this was their daughters choice and supporting the strong young woman) but he felt that they should.
He'd been standing like this for awhile. Susan had joined him for a time, as torn up about this as he was since she was Lavender's squad leader, but she had eventually left for some reason or another.
"She will recover," Lanuaria told him softly as she came to stand at his side. "She only needs rest."
"That curse, it almost killed her."
"Yes," the white-haired healer did not lie. "But that is why you hired me."
"If she hadn't gotten to you in time, she would be dead," he said again, eyes never leaving the face of the girl he'd known since he was eleven. "It stopped her heart, constricted her lungs, and began turning her magic against her."
"You can continue thinking about what could have been or you can think about what is. That she is alive, that she will recover completely; that you saved a family without any loss of life on our side. You are not to blame, Harry. She fights for this cause the same as you and puts her life on the line for it too. She is not doing it for you but because it is the right thing to do," she said seriously. "You have responsibilities right now. If you insist on feeling guilty, do it later. Your people need their rest but they are waiting for you. Go to them, congratulate them, and then get some rest yourself. Healer's orders."
His emerald eyes didn't break from Lavender for a long moment. When they did, he allowed them to slide shut slowly. He practiced his Occlumency techniques quickly and centered himself.
She was right; he needed to get the Bulstrode's fully settled as he was sure they'd want to talk to him and he needed to speak to the DA, to the squads who were probably in ballroom now comparing stories. Lavender was undoubtedly in good hands.
"You're right," he said to the healer when he opened his eyes. She didn't often give out advice but when she offered it, it was normally valuable. Her face didn't bear the signs of her age but she had lived a long life and was all the wiser for it. "Thank you."
"One more thing," she stopped him as he turned to leave. "Ms. Brown will need at least two days to recover, perhaps three, and she shouldn't use magic until then. I need to keep her here under observation. That means the entire weekend, Monday, and probably Tuesday."
"Understood," he nodded shortly while he began thinking on this new problem. "Keep me updated. I want to know when she wakes."
"I will keep her under until Sunday night."
He nodded then turned and made his way to the ballroom, capelet swishing as he did. As expected, he found a multitude of DA members gathered in the hall sharing refreshments and talking amongst themselves. They quieted when he entered and he took a moment to catalog faces; Tonks, Sirius, Remus, and a few others who had bene uninvolved in the mission directly had shown up as well. Ron and Sally-Anne had come over from Hogwarts with Sally Smith and Gareth.
"How's Lavender?" Susan asked quietly.
"She will need to recover for a few days," he answered. "But she will, fully."
"What about class on Monday?" Hermione asked worriedly. "We might be able to say she's sick this weekend and locked in the dorms but that won't work when classes start."
"That is the first thing I wanted to discuss," Harry said. "Tonks?"
"Want me to impersonate her for a few days?"
"Think you can stay under Dumbledore's radar?"
"As long as I stay out of the Great Hall for too long and stay near people who know I'm not Lavender, I can do it," she answered, already using her metamorphic abilities to shift the length of her bubblegum colored hair. "You'll have to convince Madam Bones to approve my time off from work though."
"I needed to brief her on this tomorrow morning any how."
"You mean today," Ron corrected helpfully.
"Bloody hell," Harry groaned. "Yes, today. On that note."
He turned to look at the assembled members of the DA, some of whom looked a little worse for wear.
"Today I saw some of the bravest individuals I have had the privilege of meeting succeed through skill and team work alone. Against all odds and expectations, we have accomplished what we set out to do. Another family is safe from the Dark Lord and another blow has been dealt to his forces."
He smiled tiredly at them all and somewhat forcedly; they could all tell that he was tired, stressed, and affected deeply by Lavender's near death encounter.
"But, we are all tired. Soon, though probably not this weekend, we will meet and review memories of the event. Until then, I encourage you to rest up and make sure you get all of your wounds treated even if they are just scrapes or scratches."
He stepped back and behind Ron, Hermione stepping up next to them as the room began dispersing and people began returning to their rooms, homes, or Hogwarts (for the students). Tonks remained as did Lavender's dorm mates.
"I'm going to go see Lavender," Tonks called to Harry with a wave as she, Marie, Fay, and Parvati began heading towards the hospital wing. "Then to Hogwarts."
"Thank you," he said one more time. "I'll talk to Amelia first thing."
"You look exhausted," Hermione noted.
"I used battle magic tonight."
"From the Potter grimoire?" she asked curiously.
"Yeah," he confirmed. "The concussive one. It took the wind out of me."
"Not as much as it took the wind out of them," Neville said as he stepped up onto the platform at the end of the ballroom. "You alright mate?"
"Exhausted but otherwise fine," he assured him. "Was anyone else hurt?"
"Nothing major," Ron said. "Lisa Turpin's shoulder was the worst — wouldn't let Hannah portkey her out though. It'll take a couple days to heal; she's already back at Hogwarts under strict orders from Healer Silva."
"Good," Harry nodded with satisfaction. "Now where are the Bulstrodes?"
"I explained as much as I could to them loosely then I set them up with one of the suites. Daphne looked them over before she and Millicent headed back to the Slytherin dorms," Hermione answered. "Millicent will be back tomorrow after lunch to talk with you and her family; I figured that would give you time to rest and do whatever else you needed to do."
"You're a lifesaver," Harry said gratefully.
"Now let's get you back to the dorm, mate," Ron said worriedly as he wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder to provide support in case his friend needed it.
"Yeah, let's go," Harry agreed with the only thought on his mind now being a long night of rest and recovery.
…
When Harry emerged from his dorm at nearly ten in the morning that next day, it was only because Ron had tempted him with the promise of a hot shower and a bacon and egg sandwich in the common room. Not having to face the Great Hall was the only thing that got him down the stairs.
He came down to find the common room occupied by a lot of redheads and a couple of other Gryffindor DA members. He noticed an interesting ward when he crossed the threshold into the room.
"Aversion ward?" he queried after he'd passed it and stepped into their privacy bubble.
"A mild one," Tonks answered from her place on the couch next to Fay Dunbar and Hermione. She looked and spoke like Lavender, however, and the reminder of his injured friend had him wincing. "Just to encourage the kiddies to go outside and play or study depending on their inclination."
"I wouldn't mind learning that one," he said as he tried to focus on what was in front of him and immediately ahead; Lanuaria was right when she said that he couldn't waste time on guilt. When Lavender awoke, he'd apologize until he was blue in the face.
"Harry," Ginny nudged him as she was lounging in the chair closest to him. "Hey."
Emerald eyes refocused and landed on the lithe redhead; he could see her DA gauntlets peeking out of her robe and could tell that all of the people around him were combat ready. Just another sign of this war.
"Yeah, sorry," he shook his head.
"What's up?" Ginny asked him with some concern as she swung her legs off of the arm of the chair and righted herself. "You alright?"
"I'm fi-" Harry swallowed the rest of his sentence as the eyes of all of his friends narrowed at him. "I'm worried about," he glanced meaningfully at Tonks who looked, by all appearances, to be Lavender Brown.
"We all are," Fay told him. "But we know she'll be okay. She's literally got the best healer in the nation looking after her every minute."
"Yeah," he agreed. "I know."
"You just still feel guilty," Ginny filled in.
He didn't answer but it was clear that she'd hit the nail on the head based off of the way he crossed his arms and sat back in the chair he'd claimed. Hermione looked ready to jump in and tell him just why he shouldn't feel guilty but she was cut off by Lucy Hurst, the seventh year who'd been sitting quietly by the fire.
"He's not the only one," she said as she looked at the merrily flickering fire.
Everyone looked at her in confusion while silently prodding her to continue.
"I was her shield and I failed," the blonde girl with normal cheery features explained with a long furrow in her brow. "I should have known I needed to cycle out with Michael but I didn't and Lisa and Lavender got hurt because of me."
"Lucy, the one thing we've drilled everyone on is not to rely entirely on shields no matter how much we typically trust them. Lisa dodged like she should have but Lavender got blindsided," Harry spoke up immediately. "Shields break. We know that — it's no one's fault but the Death Eaters who fired those spells."
He held her eyes for a moment before continuing.
"You shouldn't blame yourself. Just like I shouldn't blame myself, I guess," he cracked a weak smile. "Even if I feel like I've dragged you all into this."
The solid smack Harry received upside the head was delivered by the only Weasley woman in the room. The glare Ginny gave him was far too reminiscent of her mother and made her three present brothers cringe in fear.
"When are you going to get it through your head that this isn't your fault? If you had never been born, most of us would probably still be dealing with Death Eaters right now and that's if we weren't all dead. They killed my uncles well before you were born and many other families too," Ginny said as she thought about Gideon and Fabian Prewett.
Harry was momentarily taken aback by the irritation in her tone but realized the truth in the words none the less. Molly's twin brothers had been Order members back in the day and apparently damn good ones too.
"If anything, you've given us the tools to survive," Ginny continued before retaking seat. "Some of us will get hurt. Some of us might die. Every. Single. One of us," she punctuated with a growl. "Knows that. So quit with the hero complex, Potter, and be grateful you've got loyal people by your side instead of questioning it."
"I-" Harry cleared his throat. "Um, you're right."
"That's right I'm right," she huffed with an eye roll. "Don't know why my brothers are always so surprised by that."
The tension lightened from there and conversation continued for awhile on more relaxed topics. Harry also got the promised egg sandwich.
Around eleven thirty, they lowered the aversion and privacy wards then went off to do their own things. Tonks as Lavender would be staying close to one or more of her dorm mates at all times while re-familiarizing herself with Monday and Tuesday's coursework using Lavender's wand.
"Amelia is expecting you before noon in her study at the Manor," Hermione told him quietly while handing him a brown folder. "Here's the completed requests for time off or sick leave depending on what excuse Amelia prefers."
"Thank you," he said gratefully as he slipped them into the ever-expanded pocket of his custom school robes. "I'm gonna get going on that now then meet the Bulstrodes either for or after lunch."
"I'll meet you there with Millicent; Ron will be here to cover for us if needed."
He nodded in agreement and waved to his friends before slipping out of the common room, into the Cathedral, and then, ultimately, out of Hogwarts. From there, Bones Manor was just a floo away.
…
Harry had been seated and served tea in Amelia's study by a house-elf as soon as he'd arrived. The woman herself took a few more minutes to join him but when she did it was with a rather rushed air.
"Hello, Amelia," he greeted familiarly (she'd told him to call her Amelia). "Are you alright?"
"There is not a word for the degree of busy I currently am," she answered as she sat and began serving her tea.
"Then thank you doubly for making time for this meeting."
"After last nights stunt?" she scoffed. "I had to."
"We kept you updated to the best of our ability," he told her with a light frown. "You know we don't act like this without consulting the full group unless we have to. We had a limited time to make things happen and we got everyone we needed on hand. Things went as best as they could have."
"Susan briefed me last night around midnight," Amelia nodded. "I've seen the memory. They did well. Ms. Brown…"
"Will make a full recovery," he said shortly.
"Her injury could have been avoided if you waited to act," Amelia said. "Perhaps the aurors could have been of some assistance as well."
"Lavender is injured because we acted so forthrightly, yes. All the same, an eight year old girl and her parents are alive. Lavender was willing to make that exchange from the moment she agreed to the mission. The same exchange Susan or any one of us would have made," Harry said strongly. "And would the aurors truly have been able to help? We had to tear down the family wards first and by all external appearances, nothing seemed to be wrong. Ministry protocol wouldn't have been forgiving on that if Voldemort's lackeys decided to push the issue after the fact."
Madam Bones' keen eyes locked on the young man before her carefully as she sipped her tea before she nodded at him. "You're right. Which is why I'm congratulating you on a job well done."
Harry blinked then cracked a smile. "Thanks, I guess."
"You should be proud of your people."
"They're our people if anything," Harry shook his head. "But I am proud of them all."
"Remus and Sirius left for Snowdon today," the woman commented. "Did you happen to hear more of their plan?"
"Remus has made the journey up the mountain once or twice — the muggles have some established paths that he and Sirius will take. I believe theirs is called the Watkin Path. They will split off from there for the werewolves warded section of the mountainside. They should touch base before they cross territory lines, probably in about three more hours.
"Let us hope their hike goes well then."
"Let's hope that their reception is warm," Harry said as he fretted about how the other werewolves may react. Still, they needed to try extending this olive branch eventually before they were swayed to the Dark Lord's side.
"Indeed," Amelia checked her watch before taking one more sip of her tea and setting it down. "I've got to get back soon. I wanted to give you this."
She handed him a thick file which he recognized as a copy of an auror case file.
"Everything we've got on the cleanup outside of the Bulstrode estate."
"Outside of?" Harry asked as he stood and began following her to the floo room.
"The estate is completely locked down; full stasis and a secondary ward stone system was triggered by it. Looks like it'd take at least two family members to open it back up if it's anything like the standard familial manors and their lockdowns."
"The offensive wards triggered that?"
"Looks like," she agreed. "They fried a whole lot of Death Eaters too."
"How many?"
"Check the file," she said as she handed him a pot of floo powder. "Based on what I saw in Susan's memories, though, some of them definitely got away."
"Thank you, Amelia," he said as he secured the file and took a handful of powder. "I'll see you soon."
"Surely," she agreed as she grabbed her own handful of powder and he stepped into the fire. It was a disorienting trip as ever but it ended quickly with him walking somewhat smoothly out of the fireplace in Firewall.
"Harry, just in time for lunch," Mr. Robert Fletchley (Justin Finch-Fletchley's father) said when he noticed him. "Care to join me, lad?"
"I'm actually here to see the Bulstrode's, Mr. Fletchley."
"Call me Robert," he said scoldingly, pointing at his clean cut salt-and-pepper hair. "I've got enough grey hair to remind me of my age. Don't need your help too."
"Got it, Robert," Harry laughed.
"Anyhow, think I saw my wife showing the Bulstrodes to the dining hall. Seemed a bit stiff though, those two. Their girl's a shy one."
Harry could only assume the staunch purebloods were surprised to be met by a sociable muggle woman.
"They'll loosen up," he said; they'd have to. "Well, hopefully. I haven't even met them yet."
They walked and chatted for a bit about life on Firewall.
There were a few more adjustments required for their family seeing as he and his wife were muggles and had never been exposed to so much magic at once before. They were enjoying it though, especially connecting to other parents who had faced or were facing similar problems.
Soon enough, they found the dining hall and Robert led Harry over to his wife and the Bulstrode family.
They were seated with their daughter huddled between them but had not yet served themselves, eyes wide and taking in the sheer amount of people and families around them.
"Hello," Harry said softly from behind them as he somewhat unconsciously put up a wandless muffling charm to dull the outside world.
Lord and Lady Bulstrode turned from their chairs with their eyes widening as they realized who was behind them. It was one thing to have a young woman say Harry Potter would be meeting them; it was another to actually see it.
Still, they were purebloods to the bone and collected themselves quickly lest they lose some sort of face.
"Lord and Lady Bulstrode, I am Lord Harry James Potter," he introduced formally while bowing appropriately lowly and respectfully. "It is a pleasure to welcome you to my home and extend the hospitality of my Houses."
"House Bulstrode is honored to accept your hospitalities," Lord Bulstrode responded. Internally, he wondered at the plural; was Harry Potter Lord to more than one House?
"I know you have just gotten settled but perhaps you would care to move to somewhere more secluded?" Harry offered. "That way we can more easily discuss amongst ourselves over lunch?"
"Please, lead the way," Lord Greengrass agreed as he stood and pulled out his wife's chair. Their daughter remained near enough hidden in her mother's skirts.
They exited the dining hall and walked a bit away from it before Harry called for a house-elf.
"Winky?"
The small elf appeared in her hand sewn red dress with a green tree pattern and immediately began walking alongside Harry.
"Yes, Master?"
"Would you please set up lunch in my study for six, please?"
"Yes, Master," she agreed happily as she noticed the new Lord and Lady who had arrived. Impressing Lords and Ladies had been one of her duties as a Crouch elf when they visited the politicians household. "What shall Winky be serving?"
"Anything we serve in the dining hall," Harry answered as he gestured vaguely towards the room; he knew there was some sort of lunch menu that was switched up regularly.
Winky nodded at that and then popped away, probably viewing it as a personal challenge to have it all set up before they reached the study. As it was in the east wing on the third floor, the odds were in her favor.
"You have a lovely home, Lord Potter."
"Please, just call me Harry, Lady Bulstrode," he asked her with as youthful of a smile as he could manage. "I am as old as your other daughter and you are my guests."
"Then you must call me Edith."
"And Ainsley," Lord Bulstrode added after a beat.
As Harry was ahead of them, they didn't see his brow raise. He honestly hadn't expected the Slytherin couple to be so friendly. Perhaps the Bulstrodes were more neutral than they'd thought.
"Of course," he agreed. "And thank you for the compliment to my home. I give all of the credit to either my associates or my elves. I can't keep track about who does what around here."
"There are a surprising amount of others here," Ainsley noted. "Far more than I expected based on our talks with Ms…"
"Granger," Harry filled in. "Hermione — that's who you talked to last night. I apologize for not meeting with you sooner."
"We cannot blame you," he said as he looked to his wife while remembering the light show they'd caught glimpses of. "How is your friend, the one who was injured rescuing us?"
"Lavender is doing as well as she can; she is in a medical coma and is expected to make a full recovery within a few days. Healer Silva will see to that."
"Lanuaria Silva?" Edith asked while blinking in surprise.
"One and the same," he agreed. "You might be surprised by who you find here. A lot of people wanted out of the shadow of Voldemort."
"So this truly is a safe house."
"And a base of operations," he agreed. "In our efforts against Voldemort. You saw some of those efforts last night."
"Forgive any offense, but, how did one so young come to be so well trained?"
"Most of us have been in a study group together for a few years before Voldemort returned and we sought more advanced training. We've all worked very hard with a variety of teachers including our peers and professionals to get to where we are."
"It is most impressive."
"Thank you," Harry accepted graciously as he rounded the corner and led them towards his study at the end.
Much to his surprise, the doors swung open grandly when he neared them to admit himself and his guests. He felt a tingle of house-elf magic and wondered just what Winky was up to. When he entered the study, he had to stop and blink.
All of the dark blue curtains had been drawn open to allow light to flood in from the four tall windows. All of the floor candelabras had been replaced with more ornate silver ones which were all fully lit as was the chandelier overhead. His chaise had been removed and the blue and cream rug had been placed more in the center of the sitting area near the fire. A rectangular table that wasn't too large had been set up over the rug with six upholstered chairs.
To Harry's surprise, Winky had gone the full nine yards in setting up a sapphire blue satin tablecloth and white lace runner with crystal goblets and fine china. The white lilies at the base of two tall, merrily burning candles as the centerpiece was the most elegant touch.
"Well," Harry blinked as he looked around. "Winky outdid herself. Please, have a seat. Millicent and Hermione just arrived via portkey so they should be here soon."
Rather than allow there to be any awkward silence, Harry turned the conversation towards the youngest person in the room.
"Hello there," he greeted the girl who was sitting on the opposite end of the table from him next to the other end chair her father occupied.
Sarah was a rather small girl for her age (it seemed she took after her mother where Millicent took after her father) and had mousy brown hair and shifty brown eyes. Harry recognized the look; it was how he used to look when he'd been suddenly confronted with more social situations than he could handle.
"My names Harry," he introduced again. "If you didn't hear. I don't think you introduced yourself — what's your name?"
She looked to her parents as if to confirm she should answer the question.
"Go on," her mother prodded quietly but not unkindly.
"My name is Sarah," she said in a soft voice.
"It's very nice to meet you, Sarah," he said with a kind smile. "How old are you?"
"I'm eight," she answered after looking to her parents again.
"And what do you like to do?"
"Reading and writing," she answered slowly as if confused as to why this stranger would take any interest in her interests. "I also like horses."
"Have you ever ridden?" Harry asked her.
"Yes," she answered.
"We had a large stable on the estate," Lady Bulstrode added when it became clear Sarah didn't know what else to say. "And a considerable amount of horses."
"What happened to them?" he asked with curiosity.
"The elves moved them to our summer home when we ordered the evacuation of the grounds."
"But you didn't make it out?"
"They came through the floo," he shook his head. "In the family wing none the less. Though I suppose they must have been just outside the ward line too. I still do not know how they turned our wards against us."
"We're interested in knowing how they did it too," Harry answered. "They only turned the defensive wards against you, the ones that kept them out. The offensive wards were still active; that may be why they used the floo. They avoided having to cross them."
"They were lucky."
"It might make you feel better to know they weren't so lucky," the younger man corrected him. "Our curse breaker activated the still intact offensive wards once all of ours were out. Apparently, it dealt them some serious blows."
"Grandfather Barrington would certainly be glad to hear it."
"After they finished discharging, they triggered the manor's lockdown procedure."
Edith and Ainsley looked relieved to hear that; if the manor was in lockdown, it was essentially in stasis. Even if the roof had been blown off, the elements wouldn't damage it any further. They could leave it that way indefinitely and repair it after the war.
"Hermione and Millicent are arriving," Harry said. On cue, there was a soft knock at the door before they opened inwards.
As was custom, he and Ainsley stood and remained standing until both of the girls had sat down after a few quick greetings.
"Is it safe for all of you to be out of Hogwarts?" Edith asked with some worry after she finally let go of her eldest daughter's hand.
"Our dorm mates and friends are covering for us; it's a weekend anyways so students are harder to keep track of," Hermione answered smoothly. "We'll be returning after lunch."
As soon as Hermione said the word lunch, a tinkling bell sounded then small individual soups and salads appeared in front of each of them. Hermione and Harry blinked and shared a look.
"Harry…"
"Yes?"
"Which elf did you ask to serve lunch?"
"Winky," he answered in a tone that implied he knew she thought he'd asked Dobby (he had asked Dobby once and ended up eating his meal off of literal gold plates the elf had apparently retrieved from one of his vaults).
"Oh."
"Is something wrong?" Millicent asked with a raised brow as she looked at the elegantly presented starters.
"Lunch isn't normally served in courses," Harry said with a twitch of his lips. "But I believe Winky may be doing her best to impress our guests. Certainly worked on me," he muttered as he took a small sip of his soup.
Once he had, his guests also began to eat. It was customary in some circles to wait for the host to begin eating to follow suit.
Conversation remained light until the salads disappeared and were replaced with an artfully displayed chicken and cream sauce dish. The goblets were filled with wine or sparkling juice based off of preference and things began to take a turn towards the serious.
"How did you get involved in this?" Ainsley asked while looking between Millicent and Harry.
"The Dark Lord, he sent a letter," Millicent said slightly with only the lightest tremor in her tone to allude to the fear she'd felt previously.
"But with this group?" he asked his daughter.
"That would actually be my doing, sir," Hermione interjected. "I saw Millicent receive the letter and encountered her later in the bathroom worrying over it."
"She also later stole said letter," Millicent muttered. "And cornered me in the library."
"It slid out of your bag at the end of class," Hermione maintained.
"Whatever you say," the Slytherin said contritely but with no real bite.
"Once I knew the nature of the letter," the intelligent young witch continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "I took it to the rest of the DA and brought Millicent to talk to everyone that night."
"That's where our tacticians and ward expert took over."
"How did you get access to our wards?" Ainsley asked with concern.
"My blood."
Before the man could worry, Hermione continued. "A couple of drops were placed on a device which was then able to get a read on your wards and send the information back to us. Because she is the heir and recognized by the wards, we were able to get things like the manors floor plans and the locations of people in the houses."
"I have never heard of such a device."
"It is one that was created by a Russian expert and modified to work with our mapping spells," Harry answered. "They are not common, to say the least."
"Where is this device now?"
"Still at your manor," Harry answered. "Buried underground on the middle of the ward line under it's own set of wards."
"So you still have access to our manor's wards?"
"Yes, in a monitoring capacity only especially considering the lock down," he answered truthfully. "We can remove the device at any time but, assuming you don't take issue with it, we'd like to leave it so we know if anyone pokes around the estate again."
Ainsley shared a look with his wife before nodding his head to show his lack of disagreement. "For now, I do not see a problem with it."
"It looks and sounds as if you are very organized…" Edith noted as she thought about the way the people on brooms had moved during their rescue and the amount of them she'd seen after their arrival at the castle.
"That's because we are," Harry said bluntly. "More than the Ministry, more than Dumbledore, and hopefully more than the Dark Lord."
They were all familiar with Dumbledore's idea of action plans. They were more like reaction plans which were also important but couldn't be ones sole strategy. Amelia had been forced to admit that even though the DA was mostly schoolchildren, they were better prepared than both Dumbledore and the Ministry. They were making action plans and reaction plans then actually putting them into play. They were making a tangible difference.
"But why help us?"
"Any number of reasons. It being the right thing to do with us being the only people willing and able to do it. It saves an innocent family with a young child. It eases the burden on a school mate, even if they aren't someone I know beyond their name," he said while directing a look towards Millicent.
"Every life saved is a win," Hermione said while looking towards Harry then their guests. "That's why we worked so hard getting the Fidelius up on this place and moving in families who needed protection."
"You placed the Fidelius yourselves?" Ainsley asked in shock.
"We had three grounders and Hermione, our secret keeper," Harry confirmed. "It's been standing for near enough two and a half years now and holding very strong."
"All of the wards are strong here," Sarah spoke up for the first time as she looked around.
Harry raised a brow at that and gave the quiet, squib child a curious look. While he didn't care any different what she was, it was interesting that she displayed an aptitude towards feeling magic when she didn't have much of her own.
"Sarah is good at sensing certain things when it comes to wards and enchantments," Edith answered after an unsure glance between her youngest and her husband.
"That's very unique," Hermione praised while giving the young girl a smile.
"But yes, the wards are strong here. That's why we'd ask you to consider staying for the foreseeable future. You saw the dining hall; there's a lot of families who have already done so."
"The manor is locked down," Edith said in a leading tone while looking to her husband.
"And if they could break through our defenses there, they could do it elsewhere," he thought aloud. "If you are extending the invitation, we would accept it."
"Excellent," Harry said earnestly.
"I fear we would never be safe otherwise. I seem to have angered him more than I thought."
"What happened?"
"I recently killed a bill they found highly…favorable while it was still in the planning stages. It would have seen more restrictions placed on underaged muggleborns and halfbloods living in the muggle world over the summer; they would have been required to leave their wands at Hogwarts."
"Leaving them defenseless in the summer months," Harry said while furrowing his brow. He hadn't heard of anything like that; it was good that he apparently would never have to. "How did you get rid of it?"
Ainsley hesitated for a moment before allowing his lips to twitch into a devilish grin. The man was definitely a Slytherin. "I greased more palms than he could and convinced the significant voting blocks that even whispering about introducing such a bill would not be in their favor."
"I must commend you on that," Harry said as he emptied his cup and shook his head. Conversation stalled for a moment and it was clearly time to move onto sunnier topics.
"Why don't we tell you more about living here?" Hermione asked with a bright smile. "My parents and I live here too."
By then, their meals had been finished and their wine glasses had all been emptied. Another tinkling bell chimed and a small dessert course appeared. They chattered their way through it but by the end, Hermione had run out of things to tell them about. Harry was more than ready to be getting back to Hogwarts to drop off the file from Amelia and get caught up on homework.
"Before I go," he said once they'd all stood and made ready to leave. "Winky."
The little elf appeared very quickly and curtsied politely.
"Yes, Master?"
"You did a wonderful job on lunch, firstly," Harry said with a smile.
"Quite," Edith agreed with a nod of her head; she hadn't seen a wizard compliment his elf so freely before but she did believe in credit where it was due.
The little elf looked happy enough to burst but still contained herself.
"Thank you, Madam, Master," she said with twitching ears. "What can Winky be doing for yous?"
"Is there a suite available in the tower with three bedrooms?"
"Yes, Master," Winky agreed. It would be easy to arrange with Xeno's old tower being mostly empty.
"Then would you prepare the suite for them and then show them the way?"
"Yes, sirs, right away," the little elf said before disappearing.
"Do you think your elves managed to save any of your things?"
"Unlikely," Ainsley disagreed. "They would have only saved key items from my study. Though we still have access to our vaults."
"Then would it be remiss to arrange a shopping trip in the next couple of days?"
"If possible, it would be quite appreciated. I'm afraid we will have to replace our wands as well."
"Hermione, could you shoot a message to Adriana Delia and see if she can plan something out? It'll have to be overseas, of course, and somewhere with a credible wand maker."
"Absolutely," Hermione agreed.
Edith's jaw did flat out drop at that. "Adriana Delia?"
"Oh, yes," Harry said with a light chuckle. "You're not the first to have that reaction. It seems Blaise's mum is a bit more famous than I thought."
"Infamous," Ainsley muttered while hiding a shudder. He was glad he was a happily married man — that was the only way to avoid the black widow.
Hermione's lips twitched as she had found the woman quite intimidating too until they'd formed a sort of rapport (caused by Adriana arranging so many excursions in the first place and Hermione running the administrative aspects of many things). If Hermione allowed the woman to intimidate her and run roughshod over her, most of Firewall's planned excursions would be to Cancun or the Bahamas.
Winky reappeared soon after and announced that she was ready to lead the Lord and Lady to their rooms.
"I hope you settle in well," Harry told them. "Also note that your elves are more than welcome here but they may have trouble finding you until you call them. Hermione may be able to help with that but they also have to sign a contract that you will have to sign as well."
"I see your security is absolute," Edith commented; it was rare that anyone thought to hold house-elves to secrecy contracts.
"Thank you," Ainsley said graciously. "For more than just that, Lo- Harry," he corrected. "There is a debt-"
"Let me stop you there," Harry interrupted before he finished his sentence and formally indebted his family to Harry. Life debts were weird and backwards and he didn't want to deal with them more than he had to. "There is no debt between us, now nor ever. There were many more than just me involved anyways. I'm just glad to see you all safe."
Ainsley smiled more warmly than anyone might have expected him to as he held out his hand then shook Harry's firmly.
"You are a very bright young man, Harry," he complimented. "If House Bulstrode can lend any aid, be it political or otherwise, you know where to find us."
Harry smiled back at that as did Hermione — that was very good news especially considering the fact that they'd be entering the political field in a big way here soon with the creature legislation bill Augusta (and many others) had been working so hard on. Lord Bulstrode would be a powerful ally in that regard.
"I'll have Lady Longbottom seek you out," Hermione said, enjoying the way their eyes widened at the mention of the austere woman.
"There may be a couple of bills we would appreciate support on," Harry said as he perked up a little. "You're welcome to say no, of course," he added hurriedly.
"We would be happy to hear you or Lady Longbottom out on any occasion," he said diplomatically.
"That's wonderful," Hermione said, pulling out her journal to make some sort of note.
"I'll be taking my leave then," Harry said as he bowed slightly, nodded to Hermione, and then exited his study to make his way back to Hogwarts.
Hopefully he'd be able to get some studying in before he met up with some of the DA members in the Cathedral later. There was apparently some discussion to be had on the topic of Draco Malfoy.