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Harry Potter and the Prophesized Six | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:Albus Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, James Potter, Lily Potter, Neville Longbottom, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley, Severus Snape, Sirius Black Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance Warnings: Extreme Language, Sexual Situations Rating: R Reviews: 668 Summary: This is the sequel to my previous story, Harry Potter and the Twists of Fate, starting off a few hours after the last chapter. Harry and his friends are now aware of the part they will play in the coming war. Can their friendship and love hold them together or will they allow jealousy and uncertainty to pull them apart, allowing Voldemort to win? Hitcount: Story Total: 328116; Chapter Total: 5992 Author's Notes: Hi, all. Here's the next one, a bit earlier than usual. I was really inspired to write this one quickly. I hope you guys like it because it's got action, romance and a bit of drama. Please don't forget to review. |
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Chapter 36: On the road to Hogwarts Harry flew out of the fireplace of the Grangers’ house feet first and crashed into the sofa, ending up in a heap on the floor. Just once I’d like to land on my feet when I take the Floo. If the Death Eaters were here already, I bet they’d die of laughter. He could feel Ginny’s amusement and her attempt to keep from laughing so she wouldn’t inhale any soot. “Oh, shut it, Gin,” he told her over their bond. “Sorry, Harry. I just can’t help it.” She controlled herself with an effort and came out of the fireplace without a problem. By then, Harry was by the window beside the door, peering outside from behind the curtains. “I don’t see anyone yet,” he told Ginny through their mental link. “They’re probably Disillusioned,” Ginny replied, “After all, this is a Muggle area. They don’t want to alert anyone yet. Those robes and masks are bound to make anyone suspicious.” One after another, Rose, Hermione, Neville, Ron and Maggie came out of the fireplace. They did their best to clean the soot from their faces without magic. They didn’t want to alert any nearby Death Eaters yet. They had left Daisy, Andrew and Daniel, who were still asleep in the care of Blinky and the other house elves. Hermione took a look at the clock. It was just a couple of minutes to eleven. It was still quiet outside. Harry had sent a patronus message to Dumbledore before leaving Potter Manor but it didn’t appear the Headmaster and anyone else in the Order would arrive in time. “All right,” Harry whispered, “Everyone take cover.” They scattered and hid behind the various pieces of furniture in the room. Harry and Ginny hid behind the stairs. Then they heard the sound of breaking glass. “What the bloody hell was that?” Ron asked in a whisper, “The windows are still intact.” “The wards!” Hermione said, “They’ve collapsed the wards!” “Everyone, get down!” Harry shouted. The door then exploded off its hinges and flew across the room to land against the fireplace. Luckily, none of the seven teens were hit by the flying door. Five cloaked and masked figures came in through the door, one by one. When all five of them where in the room, Harry yelled “Now!” “Stupefy!” Seven spells lashed out at the figures. Two went down to stunners, one fell to the floor in a full body bind and one lost his wand. One managed to duck the two stunners headed at him. “Diffindo!” the remaining armed Death Eater cast at the sofa, ripping a hole in it. Since he had been at the back of the group, he managed to duck behind the ruined doorway. Meanwhile the one who had been disarmed pulled out another wand. “Reducto!” he cried. His spell blasted one of the armchairs, exposing Rose. “Avada…” “Stupefy!” Harry cried at the same time that Neville shouted, “Expelliarmus!” The spells both hit the Death Eater, disarming and stunning him before he could cast the Killing Curse. They heard the sound of footsteps and saw the last Death Eater running off. Harry ran outside before anyone could stop him. “Harry! Wait!” Ginny’s voice sounded in his mind. Harry paid her no heed as he ran after the fleeing Death Eater. Reaching the end of the block, the Death Eater turned on the spot and disappeared with the familiar crack of Disapparition. Harry went back to the Granger’s house to find Ginny outside the house looking at him with fury. He winced as he felt her anger at him through their bond. Ginny came up to him and punched him on the arm. “You prat, how could you run off like that? What if there had been more waiting out there?” “Sorry, Gin. I didn’t want him to get away. He might bring more of his friends here.” “All the more reason for us to stay together, you prat,” she said then her face softened and she embraced him tightly. “You brave, impetuous git, what would I have done if something happened to you?” Harry returned her embrace for a few seconds then said, “Come on, let’s get back inside.” They reentered the house to find that Ron and Neville had conjured ropes around the stunned Death Eaters. Rose and Maggie were huddled at the foot of the stairs looking up. Hermione was nowhere in sight. “Where’s Hermione?” Harry asked the others. “She went upstairs to fetch her parents,” Rose said. Hermione returned a few minutes later with her parents in tow, both wearing bath robes. “Oh my goodness!” Mrs. Granger said, surveying the scene in her living room. “T-they really came to…to k-kill us?” “Yes, mum,” Hermione said, hugging her tightly, “It’s a good thing we came in time.” “How did you know to come tonight, honey?” Mr. Granger asked. “It’s a bit of a long story, Dad,” Hermione said, “I think we should do that somewhere else. One of them got away. We don’t know if he’ll come back with more Death Eaters.” “A good idea, Miss Granger,” Dumbledore said from the doorway. “Professor!” the seven teens said almost simultaneously. Dumbledore surveyed the four trussed up Death Eaters for a few seconds. He looked at the assembled teens with a twinkle in his eyes, “Did I not say that you might soon have some action? Of course, I didn’t think it would be here. Very well done, all of you,” he said pride evident in his tone. He turned to Harry, “That was very wise of you to send me the Patronus message, Harry. Your father has called for some Aurors to deal with these miscreants. They will be here in a few minutes. I think it best if they thought I was the one who dealt with them. We must keep your skills a secret for a while longer.” “All right, Professor,” Harry said, “What about Hermione’s family? It won’t be safe here now that the wards are gone.” “Indeed, you are correct, Harry,” Dumbledore said. He turned to Hermione, “Miss Granger, you and your parents had better pack some things for a lengthy stay elsewhere. Potter Manor would be an ideal location for now. After all, Daniel is already there, is he not?” “Of course, sir,” Hermione said. She talked to her parents in low tones for a few moments. Mr. Granger turned to Dumbledore, “Sir, what about our practice?” Dumbledore sighed, “I’m afraid it will be impossible for you to work without risking your lives.” “I see,” Mr. Granger said, “Very well, our lives are worth more than this house or our surgery. I guess we can always rebuild once the crisis is over.” The three Grangers headed upstairs to pack. Ron elected to stay behind to help them. Harry led the others back to Potter Manor where they found Lily, Alice and Molly waiting for them in the living room. “Ginny!” Molly cried as she rushed forward to embrace her daughter, “What were you thinking going out like that?” “Sorry, mum,” Ginny said, “But if we hadn’t, Hermione’s parents would have been killed.” Molly sighed, “At least none of you are hurt. Where’s Ron?” “He stayed behind to help Hermione and her parents pack some things, Molly,” Harry said. He turned to his mother who was embracing Rose. Alice was doing the same to Neville and Maggie. “Mum, we have to prepare a couple of the rooms. Professor Dumbledore wants the Grangers to stay here for a while. The Death Eaters might come looking for them again and their house no longer is protected by wards.” “Oh, of course, Harry,” Lily said. “Blinky!” she called out. The house elf popped in and received instructions to prepare two of the other bedrooms on the second floor for the Grangers’ use and to put an extra bed in Daisy and Andrew’s room for Daniel. Hermione and her parents soon arrived with Ron. Just as Harry was helping them with the Granger’s bags, his scar exploded in pain, causing him to drop to his knees clutching his head. “Harry!” “Harry!” In a flash, Ginny and Lily were at his side, followed by the others. “What happened?” Rose asked. “V-Voldemort’s very angry,” Harry said shakily, “H-he must have planned this attack on Hermione’s home.” “How is it you’re feeling his anger?” his mother asked, “You’ve been Occluding your mind.” “H-haven’t d-done it today,” Harry answered, “Usually do it before going to bed.” He was now lying on the floor on his side. His forehead was on fire and the rest of his head felt like someone was hammering inside it. Ginny carefully picked his head up and put it in her lap then started to massage his forehead. The pain eased up substantially. “Is that better, love?” she asked. “Y-yeah, loads better,” he replied, “Do you feel it?” He was worried that Ginny would feel the pain through their bond. Ginny smiled down at him, “No, Harry. I just knew your scar was hurting. Go to sleep, love. I’m here.” Harry yawned, “Okay, Gin. Love you.” Then he closed his eyes. ******* “Love you, too.” Ginny answered Harry through their mind link, even if she knew he was already falling asleep and couldn’t hear her. She turned to Lily and said, “He’s gone to sleep. His scar doesn’t hurt as much now.” Lily laid her hands on Ginny’s which were still on Harry’s forehead. “Thank you. I’m glad you can ease it. Do you think we can move him? I don’t want him to sleep on the floor.” “I think so,” Ginny said, “As long as I’m with him, he won’t wake up or feel much of the pain.” Lily nodded then took out her wand. She levitated Harry and Ginny kept one hand on Harry’s forehead while stroking his hair with the other. They carefully maneuvered Harry up to his room and laid him on the bed. Ginny lay down beside him, taking hold of one of his hands. She looked up as her mother entered the room, looking disapprovingly at her. “Ginevra, what are you doing lying down in that bed?” Molly asked with a mixture of surprise and shock on her face. Ginny sighed inwardly before answering her mother, “I’m helping my soulmate, Mum.” “You are not going to sleep in the same bed as a boy, not at your age,” her mother said. Ginny could see she was struggling to keep her voice down. “Yes, I am,” Ginny answered back, “He needs me, Mum. Even Occlumency can’t keep it away for long. Only I can keep the pain away, especially now that Tom is so strong. Please, Mum. We’re soulmates and are bonded for life. We’ll be sleeping together soon enough. At least, he can’t do anything while he’s like this. Please let me do this. I love him so much and it hurts me that he has to go through this and so much more.” Molly’s face softened. She sat down on the bed beside her and embraced her from behind. “You’re right. I guess I’m not ready to see you grow up, to leave your childhood behind. But I know you haven’t been a child since Harry rescued you when you were eleven. Take care of him.” “Thanks, Mum,” Ginny said, turning around and embracing her. Then she felt Harry stir beside her. Turning back, she saw his face was showing signs of pain. She quickly grasped one of his hands and caressed his hair with the other. “I’m here, Harry. Relax.” He sighed and settled down, his features attaining a look of peace. She heard the door opening. She looked up to see her mother leaving. Molly turned around for a moment, “By the way, Ginny, since you’re no longer a child, I guess I can be honest with you. It seems that Hermione left something out two years ago when she told us about the soul bond. It appears that acquiring the soul bond is practically considered a marriage ceremony. So I see no reason to stop you from helping your husband. Just remember that I don’t want any grandchildren from the two of you for several years yet.” She closed the door, ignoring the stunned look on her daughter’s face. Ginny lay there for a moment, thinking about what her mother had just told her. Harry and I are considered married? She grinned as she thought about what it meant for them. Surely Harry would have no more objections to more intimate activities once she told him that. Feeling content for the moment, she placed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, more than ready for sleep. ******* Lily put Mr. and Mrs. Granger in one of the larger bedrooms beside the master bedroom. Since Harry’s room was no longer suitable for Neville and Ron, they were moved into one of the other bedrooms. Hermione, Maggie and Rose went back to Rose’s bedroom to get some sleep. However, Rose found herself unable to sleep. She was grateful for getting the vision that allowed them to save Hermione’s parents but at the same time, she was bothered why she had not seen the attack or its aftermath during her Astral walking the day before. In order to prevent succeeding days of tiredness, she had been asked by her father to use her Astral walking ability every three or four days and looking forward in time three or more days in advance. She couldn’t understand how she had missed it. She knew that if she hadn’t had the vision, they would have awakened in the morning to news that Hermione’s parents were dead or, worse, tortured to insanity. Rose wondered if she had missed any other attacks. She hoped not. Her father would surely have told her if they had failed to stop an attack. Or would he? What if he wanted to spare her the anguish of knowing she had failed to stop an attack because she had not recognized it? It would be just like him. She shuddered at that thought. She could never live with that kind of knowledge and her father knew that. She’d have to make sure she never missed an attack and if it meant doing her astral walking everyday, so be it. If she saw an attack, she’d say that she had a vision. There was no need for her dad and the rest of her family to worry. ******* The next day, the teens were allowed to sleep in. Dumbledore allowed them to relax for the last two days of their summer break. The seven teens had a late breakfast. Lily and James had already gone to work. Daisy, Andrew and Daniel were in the playroom with Hermione’s parents. After eating, they transformed into their animagus forms with Harry and Ginny using their mundane forms for now. The seven Animagi then played together in the trees, getting more used to the animal forms. Hermione, Rose and Maggie were getting used to flying in their forms. Hermione, surprisingly, had the easiest time learning to fly which astounded the others, considering how she was adverse to any form of flying, both Magical and Muggle. “I guess I’m more comfortable doing it on my own,” Hermione said, “rather than using any kind of artificial device like a broom or airplane.” After lunch, a three-on-a-side Quidditch was started with Harry and Ron as keepers and team captains, Ginny and Maggie as Harry’s chasers and Rose and Neville as Ron’s chasers while Hermione, her parents and the three toddlers watched. The older Grangers were impressed with the way the six teens flew. The three youngest kids clapped their hands and laughed as they watched the older kids. The game ended after three hours with a tie. The six teens landed and were greeted by Blinky with a tray holding six glasses and a pitcher of cool pumpkin juice which they accepted gratefully. After ten minutes of resting, Harry sat down beside Andrew. “Hey, Drew,” Harry said to his little brother, “Want to fly around a bit?” Andrew grinned and reached for Harry’s broom which his older brother was still holding. “Fly!” he cried. Harry laughed, “All right, little guy.” He mounted the broom then lifted Andrew up to sit in front of him. “Is that safe for a two year old, Harry?” Mr. Granger asked. Daniel was seated on his lap but looked with interest at his friend on the broom. “Oh yes, sir,” Harry answered, “I won’t go very high and plan to just circle the garden slowly. He and Daisy are used to flying, practically love it. They actually have a small broom each just their size that they got for their second birthday from my mum and dad. Those only go a couple of feet off the ground and just hover around.” He pushed off gently and hovered just a few feet above the ground, flying casually around while keeping a tight grip around Andrew’s waist. Looking around, he saw that Rose had done the same thing with Daisy. He smiled as he saw the delight on the faces of both his sisters. He’d surely miss the toddlers when they went back to Hogwarts in two days. He was just glad they would be safe in Potter Manor. The next day, Potter Manor was again the site of a birthday party, this time for Rose. The Weasleys, the Blacks, Tonks and Remus joined the Potters to celebrate Rose’s 15th birth anniversary. Rose had a grand time made even better by Ti giving a mumbled apology to the rest of the New Marauders for his behavior in the past week. After a fantastic lunch, all eight of them had a fun time in their animagus forms, just chasing each other. Later that night, Rose was sitting on her bed reaching for her magical core. Around her neck was Neville’s gift, a gold pendant of a falcon in a steep dive, a tribute to her animagus form. Her trunk was already packed for the trip to King’s Cross. Once she found her magical core, she pushed herself upward at incredible speed. A few seconds later, her astral body was hovering over her home. She moved time forward to the next day then started flying around. After an indeterminable amount of time, she saw that she was in the Scottish countryside. Her eyes spotted something in the distance like flashes of multicolored lights. Ever since she had successfully completed her animagus transformations, her eyesight had improved vastly, probably a side effect of having a falcon form. Going closer to the disturbance, she gasped. She quickly reversed time and returned to her body. She needed to tell her dad. ******* On the first day of September, Platform nine and three-quarters at King’s Cross Station was in its usual state of chaos as students hurried to catch the Hogwarts Express and parents said hurried goodbyes. There were several Aurors in place again, watching the crowds carefully. Daisy and Andrew had tears in their eyes as they said goodbye to Harry and Rose. Harry kissed his younger brother and sister, willing his tears not to fall where the little ones could see them. He didn’t want them to feel like they wouldn’t see him again when the possibility existed, especially with what he knew was going to happen when they got to Hogwarts. “Be careful,” Lily said as she embraced him before kissing him on the cheek. Harry wanted to hold her longer but didn’t want anyone to be suspicious. He broke away and boarded the train. He glanced back and saw Rose kiss their siblings and mother before following him aboard, her eyes red-rimmed. Harry and his friends managed to snag a compartment for themselves in the middle of the train. They were a bit surprised to see Ti join them. Harry was glad for the distraction. Ti flushed as he seemed to notice their surprise. He shrugged, “Draco wanted to join his classmates and I didn’t want to spend another trip with them.” Rose smiled and gave him a quick hug. “Well, we’re glad you could join us,” she told him. Her sentiments were echoed by everyone, even a reluctant Ron. Rose then noticed something. “Hey Ti, you’re not wearing the pendant Draco gave you for your last birthday. Where is it?” “The chain broke this morning just as I was putting it on,” Ti said, “It seemed too fragile to fix magically so Sam said she’d get chain replaced and owl it to me tomorrow. That’s another reason I didn’t want to sit with Draco. He seemed a bit disappointed I wasn’t wearing it.” “Well, that’s too bad for him,” Rose said, “It’s not your fault that happened. So how was it spending time with him?” Ti shrugged, “It was okay. We talked a bit, mostly about Quidditch. It seems he’s the captain of the Slytherin team this year” “Oh, is he?” Ron asked, “That’s interesting.” The redhead looked thoughtful for a moment. “Hey, did he tell you about his plans for their team?” “Ron!” Hermione said, “You can’t ask Ti that. Making him tell you about any plans Draco told him in confidence would be like cheating.” “Why should it?” Ron asked, “Ti’s a Gryffindor and will probably be on our team. We have to get any advantage we can get over Slytherin. We’ll need it with the way they cheat during a game.” “That’s exactly my point,” Hermione said, “If they cheat, that’s their problem. We shouldn’t stoop to their level.” The others tuned them out and started talking amongst themselves. They soon felt the train beginning to move. Harry looked out and waved one last time to his mother and younger siblings then settled down on the seat. Ginny sat beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. Her tension and worry echoed his own. They knew what awaited them. An hour later, they were rolling through the English countryside. Ron and Hermione had finally stopped rowing but they were now giving each other the silent treatment. Harry rolled his eyes at them then decided it was time to talk to the others. He drew his wand and cast Silencing and Imperturbable charms on the door of their compartment. The others noticed his actions and gave him a questioning look. Harry turned to them and sighed, “There’s something we need to talk about. Rose had another vision last night. In it, she saw…..” Hours later, they were at Hogsmeade Station disembarking from the train. They quickly moved to catch two of the first carriages. As Harry, Ginny, Rose and Neville got into one, they saw that there were two other carriages ahead of theirs, both being boarded by what appeared to be seventh year students from their size though they were unfamiliar to any of them. Ron, Hermione, Ti and Maggie got into the next carriage. A few minutes later, Harry’s carriage started moving. Harry closed the carriage’s curtains then drew his wand. His other three companions did the same. All four of them then cast Disillusioning charms on themselves. Then they waited, feeling tense and nervous. Ginny reached for his hand and grasped it tightly. About five minutes later, Harry carefully drew the curtains back to take a look ahead. The first carriage was nearing the front gate of the Hogwarts grounds. “Any minute now,” Rose whispered her voice rife with tension. Suddenly, several red beams of light hit the first carriage and the ground under it, producing explosions that threw it about thirty feet into the air before crashing down to the ground in a pile of debris. The thestral pulling that carriage lay on its side, either dead or unconscious. A second group of spells hit the second carriage, causing the same thing to happen though the thestral pulling that one had managed to break free of its harness and fly off. Strangely enough, both carriages appeared to be empty. “Go!” Harry shouted as he threw open the door on the left side of the still moving carriage. He then threw himself forward toward the ground and rolled forward into a prone position, his wand out and aimed at the trees. He felt Ginny hit the ground beside him a moment later. He hoped Rose and Neville were doing the same on the other side. Making a quick glance of the road behind them, he saw the other students were quickly jumping out of the carriages and taking cover in the side of the road. During the prefect meeting on the train earlier, Harry and Hermione had warned the Head Boy who was a Ravenclaw named John Edwards, the Head Girl who was a Gryffindor dorm mate of Katie Bell named Tina Rivers, and the other prefects of the planned Death Eater ambush. They also told them of the plan his dad and Sirius had come up with to defeat the ambush. Several spells came out of the trees, striking the just abandoned carriages and drawing Harry back to the present. Harry saw one of those spells lash out from some trees twenty feet ahead of them and strike their carriage which had pulled a few feet ahead, ripping up one side of the carriage. Harry aimed his wand at the area he had seen the spell come from and shouted, “Reducto!” His spell hit the ground and caused an explosion which was followed immediately by two screams. Two cloaked bodies appeared among the shredded vegetation. Silver masks lay askew on their faces. “Stupefy!” Ginny shouted as a third Death Eater appeared among the trees. Her target was thrown back into the trees and disappeared. She then rolled sideways as two spells hit the ground where she had been. Furious that his bond mate was being targeted, Harry aimed for the area where those spells had come from and yelled, “Reducto!” Another explosion erupted when his spell hit the ground and another body appeared in the debris. Harry rolled after Ginny and reached for her hand. He could sense her even if she was Disillusioned because of their bond. “You okay, love?” he asked her. “I’m fine, Harry,” she answered back with a bit of an exasperated tone, “Those spells didn’t even touch me.” “Okay, okay,” he told her, “Just wanted to be sure.” “Come on, Harry,” Ginny said, “We’d better get under cover.” They got up in a crouch and moved forward at a run toward the trees. Reaching them, they took cover behind one. He looked back down the road again. Several students were now firing spells back at the trees, Ron and Hermione among them. He couldn’t see any sign of Rose, Neville, Ti or Maggie. He hoped they were all right. On the other side, he was surprised to see Dumbledore, Flitwick, and McGonagall battling more Death Eaters. He knew they were supposed to stay in the castle to guard the first years when they arrived from their trip across the lake. Harry saw movement among the bushes to their left. Together, he and Ginny shouted, “Reducto!” as they pointed their wands toward the movement. A much larger explosion than earlier was produced, followed by several screams. Three more Death Eaters materialized on the ground. Harry and Ginny were shocked by the size of the explosion then noticed that they were still holding hands. Great, we must have shared magic, greater power to our spells. We might have killed those Death Eaters. “Don’t let it bother you, Harry,” Ginny said, “They deserved it, trying to attack kids.” “I know, Gin,” Harry said, “But they’re still people.” “It doesn’t matter, Harry,” Ginny said, “What matters are that they won’t hurt anyone anymore.” Harry just remained silent and returned to scanning the area. He saw more movement to their left and pulled Ginny down just as three red beams hit the tree above them. Debris from the tree showered them. Harry took a peek around the tree’s trunk. Two Death Eaters were crouched in the bushes about ten feet from them, pointing their wands in their direction. He ducked back behind the tree just as a blue spell hit the tree where his head had been. “Harry! Be careful!” Ginny’s voice resonated in his head. He winced at the volume of her mental voice but didn’t reply. He threw himself flat on the ground and aimed his wand at one of the Death Eaters. Suddenly, red spells hit both Death Eaters and they crumpled to the ground. Harry didn’t relax but kept his wand at the ready as he saw more movement there. To his surprise, Draco Malfoy appeared out of the bushes with a smirk on his face. For a second, Harry thought he was helping the Death Eaters then Ti, Maggie, Rose and Neville came into view behind Malfoy. “Hey, Potter,” the Slytherin said in a low tone, “Looks like we saved your hide.” Harry scowled as he replied, “I was just about to take one of them down, Malfoy.” “Yeah, right,” Malfoy replied, skepticism evident on his face. “You’re just sore I took you out at the dueling tournament,” Harry said. It was Draco’s turn to scowl, “Don’t remind me, Potter, how about a rematch right now?” “Can we do this later?” Neville asked, “There may be more Death Eaters about.” Harry nodded, “Sorry, Nev. Let’s head over there.” He motioned toward the right. The seven students slowly moved forward at a crouch. Suddenly, they heard a twig snap in front of them followed by a low curse. They tensed and got ready as they continued to slowly walk forward. Then Harry caught sight of a cloaked figure crouching behind a tree. Just as he was about to cast a spell, he saw the figure’s face and robes, he saw it was Tonks in an Auror uniform. Relief surged through him when he saw three more Aurors beside their friend. The female Auror moved forward slowly. “Hey, Harry, fancy meeting you guys here. We met some undesirable elements over there and took care of them. Have you seen anymore?” “We got about nine of them between us,” Harry said. “Twelve,” Rose corrected him, “We got three of them before we met up with you.” ”All right,” Harry said, “We got an even dozen.” “Good work,” Tonks said, “Sirius is on the other side with more of us.” She turned to Rose and lowered her voice, “It’s a good thing we got this warning. It would have been bad if they actually succeeded in this ambush.” “Don’t I know it,” Harry said. They headed back to the road where he saw that the students were now sitting by the side of the road. Aurors were moving among them, checking for injuries. Harry caught sight of Sirius who also spotted him and was now hurrying towards their little group. Sirius first hugged Ti then asked, “Are you guys all right?” as he looked them over. “We’re fine, Sirius,” Ti said, “We managed to get the drop on the Death Eaters.” “So we did,” Sirius said, grinning for a moment before sobering, “We were lucky. If we hadn’t gotten Rose’s warning, they would have hurt a lot of you.” He then noticed that Draco was with the group. “Well, well, Draco. It seems your masked friends failed old snake-face today.” Draco scowled, “They’re not my friends. I’ll have you know, cousin Sirius that I helped get some of them, even saved Potter and his girlfriend.” Sirius raised an eyebrow and gave Harry a questioning look. Harry shrugged, “I wouldn’t go so far as say that he saved Ginny and me but he was with Rose, Neville, Ti and Maggie earlier when they stunned two Death Eaters who were about to duel with us. I saw five stunners hit them so I guess he did help.” Sirius looked at Draco for a moment before saying, “Good for you, Draco.” Harry and the others noticed the proud look on Ti’s face. “Hang on for a minute,” Sirius told them, “I need to do what a team leader’s got to do.” He walked off to a group of Aurors gathering the captured Death Eaters leaving them with Tonks. “Now what?” Harry asked. “Now, you wait while we make sure it’s safe to proceed to the castle,” Tonks said. “Go on and join your other friends.” Harry and the others walked over to where Ron and Hermione were, talking with the Dumbledore and the other professors. “Well done, everyone,” Dumbledore said, “I knew you could handle the situation with just a little help from us and the Aurors.” “Thanks, Professor,” Harry said, “It’s a good thing they were the ones caught by surprise and not us.” “Yes, it was,” Dumbledore said, “I see there are no major injuries. Poppy would be pleased no one needs to stay overnight in the Hospital Wing, especially you, Harry.” Harry blushed, “Yeah, me too, Professor.” “Well, we need to get back to the castle,” Dumbledore said, “Hagrid managed to get the first years up to the castle safely. I’m sure you’ll be in good hands with the Aurors for the rest of the way.” The students said goodbye to the professors for the meantime. As the older wizards and witches walked off, Ron noticed that Draco was with Harry and the others. “Hey, what’s he doing with you guys?” Ron asked looking at Draco. “Lay off him, Ron,” Rose said, “He helped us fight the Death Eaters, stunned two of them himself.” “Is that true?” Hermione asked. “Of course it is,” Ti said, “We all saw it. He’s on our side now.” Hermione smiled and extended her hand towards Draco, “That’s good to hear, Draco,” Draco looked at her hand for a moment before taking it and shaking hands with Hermione, “Thanks, Granger…uh…Hermione.” Then he bent down and kissed the back of her hand, drawing a gasp of surprise and a blush from Hermione. Ron glared at Draco as the Slytherin gave him a bow and walked away. “Are you all right, Hermione?” Ron asked, “He didn’t hurt you, did he?” “Don’t be ridiculous, Ron,” Hermione said primly, “He was just being gallant.” Before Ron could give any response to that, Tonks came up to them “Anyone seriously hurt, Hermione?” Tonks asked, “We can send them straight to the Hospital Wing.” “Nothing serious, Tonks,” Hermione replied, “Just a few bruises from jumping off the carriages. No one was hit by a curse or hex.” “Good,” Tonks said. She then cast a Sonorus charm on her throat. “All right, everyone. I’m Auror Tonks. It’s safe now for you to head for the castle. We’ve taken all the captured Death Eaters back to the Ministry. I and some of my colleagues will stay to escort you the rest of the way.” The students formed a long line flanked by the Aurors as they trudged up the road to the gates and beyond to the castle. Harry and the other New Marauders headed the line, their eyes still alert to any danger. When they reached the steps of the castle, they stood aside and let the other students in, only following once the last had gone in. The castle doors closed behind them with a loud thud. |
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