章 361: HPF331-340
Chapter 331
A few days after William's birth, Robert
and his family left the Granger residence,
and Ant moved back. It was also the day
he picked Cele and William up from the
hospital and returned home with them.
Winky kept the three bond-mates
appraised of the movements, and was
very happy to have a baby to look after
added to her duties.
However, Grandmother Elizabeth
requested she be allowed to stay, and told
Robert and his family she had 'important
matters' she wished to discuss with Ant
and Cele. It was no surprise to the
bondmates to learn it was about how
Hermione was a witch.
Throughout the week, Hedwig was
worked hard; but, appeared to have really
enjoyed the work. Harry had once used a
school owl to send a message and found
himself berated with wing flicks, barks and
nips by his beloved familiar for his efforts
of trying to 'spell' her by giving her a break.
That led to his wives laughing at him for
how Hedwig treated him for almost a
whole day. It took quite a few slices of
bacon-goodness for her to finally forgive
him his 'sin'. It was now clear Hedwig
considered herself 'his' mail owl, and
'cheating' on her by using another was not
to be tolerated.
That left him wondering just how the
bloody hell she was going to react if he
had the need of using another owl. He'd
have to find ways to send mail using other
owls when Hedwig wasn't present.
Nevertheless, much owl mail moved
between Hogwarts and Crawley once baby
William was brought back to the Granger
house. As Elizabeth clearly already knew
all about the magical world, it was with
great relief the Grangers were able to
discuss the magical world with her.
Elizabeth Cummings was quite the
formidable woman. And it was clear
where Hermione got her ability to think,
rationalise and deduce from.
Quite a few of the letters that were sent
back and forth dealt with how well
Hermione was doing in her studies,
personal issues relating to the three-way
relationship of the bondmates, what the
bondmates were doing to counter the
threat of Riddle, and a lot of other wide
ranging topics. Elizabeth's questions also
led to the bondmates having to think hard
about how to answer the woman, without
letting slip about the guardian angels.
They just prayed they could keep her in
the dark about that particular secret. They
weren't worried about the time travelling
one, though. That concept was just so
unbelievable they knew they'd never be
asked about it.
Just after the Grangers returned to their
home, the next major attack by the Death
Eaters occurred. It was now just over two
weeks since the attack on Bones Manor,
and the breakout at Azkaban.
The bondmates had been expecting it.
They knew Riddle would need at least that
amount of time to get his recently freed
inner circle members at least fit enough to
go on a raid; even if they weren't at full
fighting trim. He needed to 'make a
statement'.
The three bondmates were all ready to go
but were unable to. They did not learn of
the attacks until the next day in the Daily
Prophet. And the attacks were on the
homes of some muggleborns.
~ # ~
YOU-KNOW-WHO LEADS ATTACKS ON
MUGGLEBORN HOMES
Last night, the homes of two muggleborns
were attacked by what was believed to be
Death Eaters, one after the other, reports
staff reporter Walter Wordsworth.
The first was the home of muggleborns
Pablo and Melanie Martinez shortly after
nightfall. Mr and Mrs Martinez, along with
their two children, Jesus (9) and Gloria (7),
were killed in the attack. Advice from
within the auror corps say that the
Martinezes were tortured before they
were killed by what appears to be the
Killing Curse.
The second attack was also on the home
of a muggleborn family - the Broadbents -
not too long afterwards. Thankfully, there
were no children involved in the second
attack.
~ # ~
After reading the article, Harry slammed it
down onto the table, before then
slamming both fists down on top of it.
"Damn it!" he quietly snarled.
Before his wives could even offer him
comfort, the hated voice of Theo Nott
piped up from the Slytherin table. "Hey,
Potter!" he crowed. "You and your
mudblood are..."
"Mister Nott!" cried out the voice of
Headmistress McGonagall, right over the
top of whatever it was Nott was going to
say next. "Detention! One month with
Mister Filch, starting tonight.
And fifty points from Slytherin for
your disgusting words!"
Watching the short byplay, Harry was
quite chuffed that Nott, the 'new Malfoy
of Slytherin', got his just comeuppance.
'Finally!' he thought. What he didn't know,
nor did it matter, was he wasn't anywhere
near the only one who thought that.
Professor Snape looked like he'd just been
forced to suck on a lemon, but didn't
interfere. Best of all, was the look on
Nott's face. He clearly could not believe he
was so harshly punished. He kept looking
between Professor Snape and
Headmistress McGonagall waiting to see if
his Head of House was going to save him
from his foolishness. Once he realised he
wasn't, his face purpled and developed a
soundless ferocious snarl before turning
back to his breakfast.
"That's a surprise," said Daphne, staring at
the young man with a thoughtful look on
her face.
"Clearly he forgot he's under orders from
the Red-Eyed Wanker to keep his head
down," said Harry.
"It might mean he's close to solving the
problem with the Vanishing Cabinet,"
offered Hermione.
Harry was surprised he wasn't chided by
her for his language. Clearly, his bondmate
was deep in thought not to have picked up
on it. But, eventually, he said, "We'll have
to go and take a look at it tonight."
As soon as they knew Nott was being
entertained by Filch and his never-ending
quest to keep the trophies and awards in
the Trophy Room at a high shine, the
three headed across to the Room of
Requirement and checked over Nott's
work.
After they'd searched all around the
cabinet, and within, Hermione gestured to
it and said to Harry, "Levitate it, please."
Knowing he was the magically strongest of
their group, and that he was the obvious
choice to levitate the cabinet, Harry did
just that, raising it to about five feet off
the ground.
Both his wives then checked the
underside of it to see if the split panel had
been repaired or replaced.
"He's replaced it," said Hermione
immediately. "It's of a different coloured
wood."
Chapter 332
"And there's no wear," added Daphne.
After they'd checked over some more of
the undercarriage of the cabinet, both
girls stepped back.
"You can put it down again, now, Harry,"
said Daphne.
Harry gently lowered it back to the floor,
making sure he put it in exactly the same
spot. "Any idea how much he still has to
go?" he asked.
Both girls looked at one another before
Daphne looked at him and said, "I think
it's basically ready. But, without being able
to test it ourselves, we have no way to
know."
"My guess is, he just needs to re-engrave
some of the worn runes," shrugged
Hermione. "He could have that done in a
night, if he knew that was what he needed
to do."
Nodding, Harry said, "In that case, we
need to talk to the twins to see how many
of the potion rounds they've readied for
us. Insufficient, and we'll have to do
something minor to temporarily sabotage
the cabinet."
With that, the three left the Room and
headed back to their own apartment.
Along the way, Harry almost
unconsciously attempted to send a
patronus message. Its failure shocked him
in that he'd forgotten about the
anti-magic warding scheme now covering
the corridors.
Once in the apartment, he sent the
patronus message asking the twins to join
them; and then pulled out his mirror
asking his godfather to do the same.
Having less distance to travel, combined
with the first message sent, the twins
arrived first.
As they were let in, Harry greeted them.
"Boys! How goes the potions ammo?"
"Ammo?" asked one.
"You mean the paint... poitionball
rounds?" asked the other.
"Sorry," he replied. "Muggle shorthand.
It's short for 'ammunition'... And, yes, the
potionball rounds."
"Done!" replied the first, happily.
"Haven't you noticed?" asked the other,
pointing to the boxes where they were,
once more, stacked along the wall.
Looking over, Harry realised the boxes
were back and restacked. "Err... no," he
admitted a bit sheepishly. "I didn't think to
check."
"Well, we'd not have had them done by
now," said one.
"But Dobby got them done, lickety-split,"
added the other.
At that moment, Sirius arrived. "What's up,
Pup?" he asked as everyone sat down.
"We've just been to check on the
Vanishing Cabinet," answered Daphne.
"And?" asked Sirius.
"Nott appears to have it almost done," she
replied.
"That was faster than we anticipated,"
said Hermione. "We didn't expect him to
have it finished for months yet."
"Is that going to be a problem?" asked
Sirius, straightening up.
"It would have been if the twins, here,
hadn't resolved the problems with getting
their potion into the paintball rounds..."
said Harry.
"Potionball rounds," interrupted both
twins in stereo.
"Sorry," said Harry with a nod to the twins.
"Potionball rounds."
"Really?" asked Sirius, looking at the pair
of them.
"Really," they both smirked back.
"How many have you done?"
"All of them," both twins together replied.
"Stop that!" snapped Hermione.
Both twins unabashedly grinned back.
To get things back on track, Harry said,
"The twins devised a most effective
method of using a purpose-designed rune
stone that allowed very accurate switching
spells to work on ten paintballs at a time.
Once it was a proven concept, they passed
the work over to Dobby to do. He got it
done very fast."
With a slight pop of displaced air, Dobby
popped in and said, "Dobby was happy to
do it. Dobby gots it all done and is happy
to do his bit."
"And Dobby is the most brilliant house elf
ever," said Harry.
With his suspiciously watering eyes
looking back at Harry, the little elf popped
away again without a word.
Sirius gave a bit of snort of amusement
before he asked, "So, we're ready, then?"
"Yes," replied Harry. "We keep an eye on
the map. As soon as one of us notices the
Death Eater team arrive, we use Dobby to
alert everyone else. Then we use
elf-apparation to gather up the guns and
potion balls, and move to a corridor ahead
of them, setting up an ambush."
"Any idea on when they're likely to attack,
yet?" asked Sirius.
"No," replied Harry. "However, I think it's
going to be in the evening after curfew,
some time."
"If Harry's the target, as we suspect, then
they may well come from the Room of
Requirement directly to here," said
Hermione.
"However, though Harry is the likely target,
we can't rule out attacks against other
targets," said Daphne. "Personally, if I was
thinking of a strategic one-off attack on
the castle by a small force, I'd also include
some of the Professors in the attack.
Specifically, Headmistress McGonagall and
Professor Flitwick."
"Makes sense," mused Sirius.
"Immediately after the first attack, that
way, you'd quickly discover how they got
in, and destroy the cabinet; making a
second attack by that means impossible."
"Exactly," said Hermione. "Plus, by
attacking three separate targets, you
divide any chance of a defence being
mounted against them."
Sirius seemed to think for a bit and the
others let him nut it out without
interruption. Finally, he leaned forward
and said, "I think you're right. That being
the case, and as we have plenty of both
the guns and ammunition, I think we
should divide them between here, the
Charms office, and the Headmistress's
office."
"Stockpiles," said Hermione. "Place the
three caches of weapons and ammunition,
not in those precise locations, but under
disillusionment charms in nearby, empty
classrooms."
"Better idea," agreed Sirius with a nod to
Hermione.
"Alright," said Harry. "Let's go over this
and see if we can refine the plan even
further.
Chapter 333
After an evening of planning and refining,
the group broke up and went back to what
they were doing.
For the Potters, it was assignments and
keeping a weather eye on the Map, where
it had become a near permanent fixture
on the coffee table while they were in the
apartment.
Sirius returned to the DADA Professor's
office and the stack of still unmarked
assignments awaiting his red ink. He sat
down at his desk and, with a sigh and
mental shrug of resignation, picked up the
next assignment and tried to decipher the
chicken scrawl known as a third year
Gryffindor's handwriting. Reading along a
bit he muttered, "A dark spell is
considered dark because it's dark? What
sort of cockamamie reasoning is that?"
And the twins returned to their dorm in
Gryffindor to work on their NEWT year
assignments. Their latest was five whole
feet on why Veritaserum was effective,
how it could be overcome, what to an
observer were the signs it was being
overcome, and how to stop it from being
overcome.
The next morning saw yet another
headline of Death Eaters attacking
muggleborn families. This time, one of
them was the family of Hufflepuff Wayne
Hopkins in their year.
Looking over at the Hufflepuff table, the
bondmates could see the rest of the fifth
years of the House gathered around the
boy, physically offering their support, as
the boy sat at the table quietly sobbing.
"Should we... go help?" asked Hermione.
"No," replied Daphne. "His friends have it
covered. We'd only get in the way."
The three returned to their meal and tried
to think of other matters. No matter how
much they wished they could end this now,
they couldn't. They needed some way of
knowing in advance when Riddle would
pop up, and where.
As they left the Hall to head for classes,
they were stopped by an angry Justin
Finch-Fletchley. The boy practically
snarled, "Why haven't you gone and
stopped him, Potter?"
Trying to rein in his own temper, Harry
snapped back, "Why haven't I gone and
stopped whom, Finch-Fletchley?"
"V... Riddle!" the 'Puff shot back.
"What in Merlin's name are you on about,
Finch-Fletchley?" snarled Daphne. "Harry
is not your personal bloody enforcer to be
sent after Riddle just because you seem to
think it's Harry's job! When are you going
to go and stop him, eh? Why
aren't you out there, mowing Death Eaters
down like the scum they are?"
"You have some nerve, Finch-Fletchley,"
growled Hermione, as she grabbed Harry's
elbow and led him to the grand staircase.
The Hufflepuff boy seemed to stand in
shock for a few moments before he
turned to them as they headed for the
stairs and called, "But, you stopped him
last time! It's your job!"
Finally reaching his breaking point, Harry
yanked his arm out of Hermione's grip,
spun on the spot and stormed back to the
boy. He didn't even realise he'd drawn his
wand until he noticed he was jabbing the
boy in the sternum with it. "My job?" he
shouted. "My fucking job? Bullshit! I'm
fifteen years old, you moron!
"And it wasn't me who stopped him last
time; it was my mother! She set in place a
trap for the dark tosser, and managed to
destroy him with it. I've been trying to get
you daft pricks to understand that
for years!" He roared, "Has that finally
sunk into that thick fucking head of yours
yet?"
Harry only paused a moment before
spinning away and storming off back to his
wives. He wasn't even aware of the small
crowd that had gathered while he was
berating the boy.
As the Potters left, Professor Sprout
stepped forward as Finch-Fletchley looked
to be drawing his wand, and said, "Ten
points from Hufflepuff, Mister
Finch-Fletchley; and a night's detention
with me in Greenhouse Four."
"But, Professor..." the boy tried, clearly
upset but resheathing his wand.
"No buts, Mister Finch-Fletchley. You were
out of line," she said. Turning away from
the boy to address the other students who
had yet to move off, she said, "Mister
Potter has spent more than enough time
telling you all, over and over, it
was Lily Potter who bested Riddle
Halloween of eighty one. It is high time
you all accepted that.
"It is not Mister Potter's role to deal with
Riddle and his masked terrorists. That is
the job of the DMLE's aurors and hit
wizards. Mister Potter is only a fifth year
student who has not yet even passed his
OWLs. It is not his place to go haring off
after Tom Riddle, no matter how much
you wish it could be.
"Now, all of you, you have classes to
attend," she said. "I strongly suggest you
be about it."
Very shortly after curfew that night in her
own dorm room, Luna Lovegood suddenly
stopped humming a tune she had in her
head, her quill stopped moving as she
wrote on the parchment before her, and
she seemed to look off into the distance
as if watching something no one else
could see.
Snapping out of it she suddenly, and with
determination, quickly packed her things
away. She had developed the habit of
leaving nothing of hers out in the open in
the past couple of years, due to the
bullying. And made her way down to the
common room and out beyond the eagle
guardian.
A long minute later and she was standing
before the entrance to the 'Potter
Apartment'. "Hello, Professor Whittaker,"
she said. "I most urgently need to speak
with the Potters.'
"Of course, Miss Lovegood," the Professor
replied with a short nod before stepping
aside.
Luna stepped forward, gave a quick knock
on the door, and entered before anyone
even came to answer the knock.
The three bondmates looked up in
surprise.
"Luna?" asked Hermione. "Is something
the matter?"
Firmly, she replied, "Tommy's thugs will
attack Saint Mungo's some time tonight.
You'll need to hurry."
After a few moments of shock, Harry said,
"I'm sending a patronus to Amelia." And
quickly conjured a messenger patronus
with the message 'Death Eater attack on
Saint Mungo's imminent tonight'.
"What about the Order?" asked Hermione,
ready to cast her own patronus.
Harry thought about it and said, "Send
one to Professor McGonagall. I think she
now leads that organisation... but, remind
her to stay out of the way of the aurors...
and follow their directions."
Hermione nodded back and cast her own
messenger patronus. Her doe patronus
leapt out through the wall heading for the
Headmistress's office.
Chapter 334
As it left, Harry asked Luna, "Did you see
anything else, dear Luna? Any idea
of when the attack will take place?"
Still with a firm and focussed countenance,
Luna's lips formed a grim line as she shook
her head. "I just know it will be tonight."
Suddenly her eyes widened a little and she
said, "It'll be after visiting hours, though.
My... vision showed me the lights have
been dimmed and the corridors clear of
visitors when the attack commences."
"Excellent," replied Harry, a little more
relieved. "That helps."
He then sent a second messenger
patronus with the updated information to
Amelia. Hermione's own went out only
moments later.
Harry was just about to start pacing when
he suddenly stopped and looked at Luna
again. "No sign of old snake face being
involved in the attack?"
Watching him, Luna just shook her head in
the negative.
Harry was just about to resume pacing
when he looked back at the slight girl and
said, "Oh, where are my manners? Care
for a seat, dear Luna? I'll organise some
hot cocoa for us."
"Thank you, Harry," she replied, taking the
offered seat.
After Harry called Dobby and ordered the
requisite number of hot beverages, a
messenger patronus of an Asiatic tiger
entered and, in Madam Bones's voice,
said, "Thank you for the tip, Mister Potter.
We're gathering forces to repel, now."
"Nott's up and almost at the Room," said
Daphne, from where she was looking
down at the opened Map while nursing
her hot cocoa.
The other three all watched as Nott,
already on the seventh floor, did his
required pacing before where they knew
the door to the Room would appear. He
paced the three times and disappeared
through the wall.
After a few moments, Hermione suddenly
asked, "You don't think the attack will
come tonight, do you?"
"I believe Luna," retorted Harry, before
Hermione suddenly interrupted.
"No... no... I mean here; attack here, at
the castle," she quickly said.
The three looked at one another before
Harry said, "Keep an eye on the Map. I
have a feeling the attack on Saint Mungo's
may be a... distraction for an attack on the
castle."
He hurried over to the boxes and ensured
the guns and potionball rounds were
ready. Then began to load the hoppers as
quickly as he could.
"A feint?" asked Hermione.
"No," he replied, still loading. "Both
attacks are real. He's just looking to pull
the Order members away from the castle
so he can slip a smaller force in through
the Vanishing Cabinet near unopposed."
"Dobby!" he called still preparing guns.
"Yes, Master Harry?" asked Dobby.
"Initiate the first stage of Plan Invader Tag,
Dobby," he ordered.
Without a word, Dobby popped away.
"It's a pity we didn't get the chance to
split the paintball guns and potion
ammunition across the stockpiling idea,"
he said, not looking up as he worked.
The first part of the plan required Dobby
to go and wake Sirius, before then going
and waking the twins, if any of them were
asleep. Next, he'd return to Sirius, wait for
him to finish getting dressed, and pop him
direct to the apartment to get armed.
Then he'd go and get the twins, if they
weren't already hurrying over from
Gryffindor tower in a route which would
mean they'd miss passing close to the
Room of Requirement.
Dobby brought Sirius over five minutes
later.
"This had better be..." began a
sleep-groggy Sirius, when he was cut off
by Daphne.
"It is," she interrupted. "It has to be. It's
Riddle's usual style. He attacks two
separate targets at the same time, hoping
to draw the aurors... or the Order... to one
while an attack is taking place elsewhere."
Looking to Sirius, Hermione said, "We
have information Death Eaters will be
attacking Saint Mungo's tonight. Probably
some time after visiting hours are over."
Sirius frowned and said, "That was his
usual tactics during the first war, yes.
Where'd you get the information from
that he'd be attacking Saint Mungo's
tonight?"
"We have access to someone who has
some Seer ability," said Harry.
"He means me," said Luna, quite calmly.
A little shocked, Sirius asked, "You're a
Seer, Miss Lovegood?"
"I have... some talent in the field," she
replied.
"But, that's a closely held and appreciated
secret," added Harry. "We don't want to
see Luna become a target for Riddle and
his people, or the Unspeakables."
"Noted," said Sirius, giving a slight bow to
Luna. "I will not divulge knowledge of your
gift to anyone without your permission."
"I know," said Luna, rising to give him a
quick hug.
Stepping back, she said, "Someone needs
to answer the door. The Weasley twins are
here." A moment later, there was quick
triple rap on the door to their apartment.
"She's right," said Daphne, glancing down
at the Map.
Harry immediately rose to let the two in.
With the twins now within the apartment,
Harry instructed them all, "I've already
loaded the guns, plus you also have a
reload canister ready with refills in case
you need them. Everyone grab one of
each.
With eight guns loaded and ready, plus
eight refills dropped into belt pouches,
Harry had returned to sit on the couches
and sip his hot cocoa while Daphne
watched the Map.
"This is the hardest part," muttered
Hermione.
"The waiting?" asked Harry.
"Yeah, the waiting," she replied.
A half hour after Nott entered the Room,
Daphne called, "Here he comes... and so
has Bellatrix Lestrange. This is it. It's
tonight!"
As everyone rose from where they'd been
sitting, Sirius asked, "How many?"
"That's six invaders now," she said.
Almost boring his eyes into the young
woman, he asked, "Who?"
"Now eight. The three Lestranges,
Thorfinn Rowle, Antonin Dolohov, Samuel
Travers, and Amycus and Alecto Carrow,"
she replied. "And... there's Nott, again. So,
it's eight plus Nott."
Chapter 335
Dobby had just popped back.
"Yes, there be eight evil wizards and a
witch," he reported. "Theys trying to be
sneaky-sneaky."
"Have they engaged disillusionment
charms?" asked Sirius.
"No, theys just trying to be quiet," replied
the elf.
"That'll make it easier," said Sirius with no
little amount of satisfaction.
"You can't hope to spread fear if no one
knows you're there," said Daphne.
"Right," said Harry. "Everyone get
yourselves ready while we try to find out
where they're heading." Turning to the elf
he said, "Dobby, I need you to see if you
can get another couple of house elves to
help side-along elf-popping us about the
castle."
"Dobby's already done that, Master
Harry," replied the elf before he snapped
his fingers.
Three other elves popped in, apparently
already ready to side-along elf-apparate
them wherever they needed to go.
As the others were waiting, Harry kept an
eye on the Map and where the Death
Eaters were heading. "They've split!" he
called.
Harry showed them the Map. "The
Lestranges are heading for us, in here, I
think. The other five, plus Nott, are
heading further downstairs. Still no idea of
their target, yet."
"Where's the second group now?" asked
Sirius.
"On the stairs in the grand staircase,"
replied Harry.
"Alright," said Sirius, clearly making the
decision. "Harry, Daphne and Hermione;
you're outside here. You've got the
Lestranges. The rest of us will wait until
we know where we can ambush the rest."
After one last look at the Map confirming
the Lestranges were still heading for the
'Potter Apartment', Harry scooped it up
and handed it to Sirius. "Take the Map
with you, just in case you need to
reposition."
As Sirius nodded back and accepted the
Map, Harry and his wives quickly left
through the door.
The three Potters stepped out past
Professor Whittaker and hurried down the
corridor to the next, where they knew
they'd be well-placed to meet the
Lestranges heading towards them. This
put them also in the corridor that would
have led the three Death Eaters to the
Ravenclaw common room, if that was
their real destination.
They'd just set themselves in their usual
formation - Daphne on the left, Harry in
the middle and Hermione on the right -
when the Lestranges came striding around
the corner at the other end. As expected,
Bellatrix was in her usual leather corset
attire without robes or mask, while her
husband and brother-in-law were wearing
the full garb, mask and all. She was
leading the trio a half pace ahead of the
other two.
As soon as the Lestranges saw the three
Potters, they stopped for a moment
before they stepped more fully into the
corridor. That was right where the three
bondmates wanted them.
"Awww... wook," said Bellatrix with a little
baby type voice. "Just the people we were
looking fwor. Its wee baby Potty wif his
wittle girlfwiends."
"Wives, actually; you crazy bitch," said
Hermione.
Both Harry and Daphne looked back at her
with astonished expressions. "Hermione!"
gasped Daphne. "Language!"
Harry just chuckled while Bellatrix got
angry. "Shut your mouth, you filthy
mudblood," she snarled.
"Awww... did wee baby Bella not wike
dat?" asked Daphne, in her own, mocking
baby voice.
The three bondmates broke into laughter.
Clearly beyond angry, Bellatrix raised her
wand to point at Hermione and
snarl-incanted, "Avada Kedavra!"
While her wand tip glowed killing curse
green, nothing happened, except for the
wand tip winking out.
'Well, that proved that concept,' thought
Harry.
"Nice try, bitch," smirked Daphne.
Lestrange was looking gobsmacked at her
wand as the two brothers glanced at one
another. They raised their own wands and
attempted the same curse.
After both curses failed, Harry smirked
and said, "Our turn."
All three raised their paintball guns and
aimed them at the three Lestranges.
As the three Lestranges stood looking
shocked at how their curses had failed,
and curious at what the three bondmates
were doing, Harry quietly said, "Fire!"
All three opened up and shot potionballs
at the three Lestranges in rapidfire. Harry
was happy to see his first round hit
Bellatrix in the hand as she raised her
wand in reflex to block the potion ball as if
it was a curse. Pity for her the round
shattered when it hit her hand and
sprayed its contents right into her face.
She gave a little scream and scrunched up
her face, shutting her eyes.
Harry didn't know if it was because the
potionball stung her hand, or because
potion got in her eyes. However, he didn't
care, so long as potion contacted her skin.
Knowing she was going to go down in
moments, he switched aim to his right. He
didn't know which of the two brothers his
new target was, but he chose that one
knowing it was Hermione's target and
Daphne was a better aim than her.
However, he need not have bothered.
Hermione had managed to slip a round
past that male Lestrange's raised hand,
while he was attempting to ward off the
incoming rounds, and hit him in the lower
face and jaw.
'Two down,' he thought, swivelling to the
left. However, he was only in time to see
the third Lestrange already falling, joining
the other two crumpling to the floor.
None of the six had so much as moved
from their original positions. Once the first
round was fired, the battle lasted no more
than four seconds.
"Wow!" said Hermione. "That was quick."
"I'd thought they'd at least try and find
cover," said Daphne.
"Too confident in their abilities with a
wand," said Hermione, as the three
walked forward with their guns held at the
ready at the hip.
"Dobby," Harry called, checking to make
sure all three were, indeed, unconscious.
With a pop the little elf arrived. "Yes,
Master Harry?"
Chapter 336
"How're the others?" he asked as Daphne
and Hermione cast Incarcerous Charms on
the three Death Eaters.
"Still fighting, Master Harry," the elf
replied.
With a nod Harry said, "Can you take
these three to the holding room for us,
please?"
"Certainly, Master Harry," replied Dobby.
He then grabbed the first as two other
elves arrived to take all three Lestranges
to their rune-warded abandoned
classroom they'd chosen and readied in
advance.
"Back to the apartment, I think," said
Harry.
"You... don't want to go and see how
Sirius and the others are faring?" asked
Hermione.
With a little shake of his head, as they
began to walk back to their apartment, he
replied, "It'll be over well before we got
there. Best to wait for them in our rooms,
I think."
As they walked, Daphne said, "You want to
go, though; don't you."
He hesitated a moment before he
admitted, "Yeah. Yeah, I do. However, we
need to trust and respect that Sirius, the
twins and Luna can take out five Death
Eaters who are pretty much defenceless,
without us turning up.
Down outside the Charms corridor, the
other team had just walked around the
corner when they spotted the other five
death eaters, plus Nott, trying to
disillusion themselves. They were outside
Professor Flitwick's office
As soon as they were spotted, Sirius
grinned and called, "Well, good evening.
To what do we owe the pleasure?"
As Nott looked back in shock at being
spotted, one of the death eaters snarled
and raised his wand.
With a snarl of "Avada Kedavra!" he
brought his wand down from on high with
a downward slashing jab motion. The
wand tip glowed green for only a moment
before the tip winked out with no curse
cast.
While the team of Sirius, the twins and
Luna readied themselves to jump out of
the way, they realised it wasn't necessary.
Sirius grinned and said, "Oops!"
"It works!" exclaims Luna, quite happily.
"Marvellous!"
"Can we shoot them now?" asked one
twin.
"Please?" said the other; while the death
eaters and Nott looked back,
dumbfounded.
"Fire!" barked Sirius, and the four opened
up.
As the death eaters and Nott attempted to
either fend off, shield from or duck to one
side to avoid the rounds, thinking them
curses, they had nothing to counter with.
Within five seconds of the first potion ball
being fired, all five were down.
"Well, that was almost… anticlimactic,"
said Luna. "Can we wake them up and
have another go?"
Sirius grinned and said, "Sorry, Miss
Lovegood. In a battle of life and death,
never give the opposition an even chance.
Just take them down and make
them stay down; the quicker, the better.
He loved teaching.
The three Potters had only just walked
into their apartment when Dobby
returned.
"Professor Dogwizard and the others have
captured the other evil wizards and we've
taken them to the magic-less room," he
said.
"They're heading back here?" asked Harry.
"Yes, Master Harry," replied the elf.
"Thank you, Dobby," he nodded, relieved.
Once Dobby had popped away again,
taking the empty cocoa mugs with him,
Daphne asked, "When do we contact
Madam Bones about the prisoners we've
captured?"
"Now, I think," replied Harry. He
immediately sent yet another messenger
patronus to Amelia letting her know
they'd captured eight Death Eaters who'd
infiltrated the castle, and would hold them
until she was ready to come and collect
them.
"Now what?" asked Hermione.
"Now we have to do the hardest thing of
all," replied Daphne before Harry could.
"We have to wait."
Five minutes later, Sirius, the twins and
Luna returned.
"Got 'em!" grinned Sirius. "How..."
"We got ours, too," said Harry. "Yours in
the null-magic classroom?"
"Yep," grinned one of the twins.
"We just checked on 'em," said the other.
"The elves put them in chairs..." said the
first.
"And bound them in place," said the
other.
Nodding, Sirius said, "All eight plus Nott
are bound, asleep and tied to chairs with
the hoods over their heads. We also
stripped them of their portkeys and
wands."
With that, Sirius pulled the items from his
pocket, already inside an auror's large
evidence bag, and dropped it onto the
coffee table.
"They're not going anywhere," he grinned.
"Are you sure that potion's going to keep
them asleep?" asked Hermione, clearly a
little worried.
"Definitely," said both twins,
simultaneously.
As all seven were beginning to relax, and
Sirius was regaling the Potters about the
very one-sided battle they had in the
Charms corridor, Amelia's patronus
arrived letting them know she'd be along
with a small team of aurors to collect their
prisoners about an hour later.
"Well, looks like we're up for a while,"
sighed Harry. Turning to Sirius he asked,
"Any idea why the other Death Eaters
were in the Charms corridor?"
With a nod, Sirius replied, "They were
after killing Professor Flitwick as soon as
he stepped out of his office."
With a frown of concentration Hermione
asked, "Why would they think Professor
Flitwick would... Oh!"
"Oh?" asked Daphne.
"They knew word of the attack on Saint
Mungo's would reach the ears of someone
within the Order of the Phoenix,"
explained Hermione. "They were counting
on the Professor leaving his office and
heading for the Headmistress's office to
join up with the rest of the Order, before
heading for Saint Mungo's to help repel
the attackers."
"Correct!" exclaimed Sirius.
"But, hadn't he already left?" asked one of
the twins.
"Yes, but they hadn't counted on the
Order getting word of the attack on Saint
Mungo's before the Death Eaters arrived
outside his classroom," she explained.
"They timed it," nodded Harry. "The attack
wasn't supposed to happen until about
the same time the Death Eaters got in
position."
"Yes," nodded Sirius. "Classic Riddle attack
planning. I've no doubt he planned for the
attack to occur approximately ten minutes
after the last Death Eater went through
the Vanishing Cabinet.
"Then give it five minutes, once the attack
had begun, for word to reach the Order.
And about one minute for Filius to come
running out the door into the corridor."
Chapter 338
"With his mind focussed on getting to the
Headmistress's office, he would have been
caught completely unaware and
flatfooted," said Hermione. "Five of them
would have overcome him in seconds. And
the Light would have lost one of its best
fighters."
As the others all nodded, recognising
Hermione's words as the truth they were,
she sighed. "Now we just need to deal
with the Vanishing Cabinet. With the
attack having taken place, even though it
was unsuccessful in both its objectives,
Riddle won't be suspicious if the one at
Borgin and Burke's no longer works."
Sirius began to grin, before he sat up
straighter and leaned forward. When it
was clear he'd thought of a plan the
others waited for him to speak of it.
"Why destroy it?" he asked. "We've used
it to take eight of his best, of
which five we know were Inner Circle, out
of circulation again.
"Four of them... the three Lestranges and
Dolohov... were recent escapees of
Azkaban. Riddle's going to be spitting
chips when he learns four of the nine he
recently broke out are back behind bars
again."
"Well, I hope that's not where they're
headed," stated Harry quite firmly. "The
Minister of the time was well prepared to
have you immediately Kissed if you were
caught, when it was believed you were a
dangerous escapee from Azkaban. To not
have them immediately Kissed, or
otherwise immediately executed, would
positively reek of unfair justice."
"And that's what we'll tell Bonesy when
she turns up," stated Sirius.
As she'd promised, Amelia arrived a little
over an hour later and sent a patronus
message from the Headmistress's office to
let the Potters know where they could find
her. By then Luna had already left to
attempt to get a good night's sleep.
In return, Harry sent a messenger
patronus back to Amelia to let her know
how she could find the null magic room
where the invading Death Eaters could be
found; and to meet them there. Then the
three walked to the room, down on the
fourth floor along a normally unused
corridor, to wait for her and her aurors.
Harry carried one of the loaded paintball
guns with him.
They'd only been there about a minute
when Amelia; almost a dozen of her
aurors; Professors Flitwick, Snape and
Sinistra; and Headmistress McGonagall, all
approached them from down the Great
Hall end of the corridor.
The three Potters, the twins and Sirius
then led the large body into the
abandoned classroom they'd set up as
their null magic holding area. In a line
before them was the eight Death Eaters -
nine, if you included Nott. They were still
bound to chairs, and all nine were still
unconscious.
Harry then stepped forward and walked
along the line reefing the sleeve on their
right arms up. All nine, including Nott,
quite clearly showed the Dark Mark.
"These eight entered the castle through a
Vanishing Cabinet in a room on the
seventh floor," explained Hermione. "A
Vanishing Cabinet that was repaired by
Theodore Nott, a fifth year in Slytherin
House, over the past few months since the
beginning of the school year. This was
meticulously planned with the intent of
targetting Harry and Professor Flitwick."
With a gesture from Madam Bones, one of
the aurors stepped forward and
attempted to cast the Enervate Charm on
the Death Eater on the closest end of the
line; one of the Lestrange brothers. It had
no effect.
"That won't work for two reasons," said
Harry. "One, they've been potioned with a
modified version of the Draught of the
Living Death; and, two, wanded magic will
not work in this room."
With a frown, Madam Bones asked, "What
do you mean?"
With a gesture into the corners of the
room, Daphne replied, "There is a specific
rune set engraved into the corners of the
room that block cast magic. However, it
doesn't block all other forms of magic
including potions, rune magic, elf magic
and the like."
"As for the potion," added Hermione. She
indicated the Weasley twins, standing
back and grinning. "Harry paid the
Weasley twins to develop a fast acting
variation of Draught of the Living Death
that works on contact with the skin. Once
tagged with it, as he puts it, you go
Sleepy-byes - which is the name of the
potion - until the antidote is
administered."
Madam Bones stared with quite some
intensity at the twins, then Harry. "This
potion... you're willing to share the
recipe?"
"That's up to the twins, Ma'am," replied
Harry. "I paid them to develop it, but
allowed them to keep the rights to the
recipe. It's a proprietary product. However,
I think you'll find they're... eager to market
it, or make premade batches of the potion
for you."
"How long did it take to take effect?"
asked the Headmistress.
"On contact, about one and a half to three
seconds," replied Hermione.
One of the aurors whistled in amazement.
"How did you take them down without
injury to yourselves?" asked Madam
Bones.
"With these," replied Harry, raising the
gun in his hand to show the woman. "It
shoots small balls that break apart on
contact. They contain the potion."
"Show me," she demanded.
Harry immediately aimed the gun at the
wall above the heads of the Death Eaters
and fired three rounds at the wall. All
three rounds, as promised, burst open on
impact leaving three wet splat marks on
the wall in almost a straight line.
He then turned and offered it to the
woman.
When she tentatively accepted it, Harry
demonstrated how it worked and said,
"Try not to hit anyone with it. As well as
dosing them with a dose of the
Sleepy-byes potion, at close range it stings
like a right... bitch; and leaves one hell of a
welt. It can make a stinging hex feel like a
love tap."
"What range does it have?" she asked.
"I wouldn't plan on accuracy, or for the
round to break open on contact, beyond
about thirty yards," he replied. "For
accuracy, the seam on the balls, together
with how they tend to spin coming out of
the barrel, make the balls swerve slightly
in flight. However, put enough rounds
down range and you'll hit more often than
not. Think about making the maximum
range about fifty feet."
Madam Bones gave a single firm nod,
raised the butt of the gun to her shoulder
as Harry had shown her, and fired off a
couple of rounds at the same area of wall
Harry did. Lowering the gun again, she
said, "I see what you mean about the ball
curving through the air. They both turned,
but in different directions."
Handing the gun back to Harry, she
declared, "I want them. Them and the
potion, together with its antidote."
"Who do I need to talk to about these...
gun things?" she asked, with a slight nod
in the direction of the paintball gun.
Chapter 339
"Remus Lupin," replied Hermione. "He's
the one who purchased ours, together
with the ordinary rounds. The twins have
developed a special rune-based device to
allow you to switch out the paint within
the rounds with the potion; plus provide
the potion."
"They'll just need time to make the potion,
and then switch out the paint with the
potion they make," added Harry.
With another nod, she said, "Final
question; if we can't cast magic in this
room, how do we get our prisoners here
to a Floo, so we can get them back to the
DMLE holding cells?"
"Elf magic," smiled Harry. "Just let them
know which Floo you want to use, and
they'll get them there for you." Reaching
into his robes, he withdrew the phial of
antidote from a pocket and handed it to
her.
"The antidote," he smiled.
"Just a few drops in the mouth should do,"
said one of the twins.
"But, they'll be groggy for a few minutes
after you administer it," said the second.
"And have a thumping headache when
they do," added the first.
A few moments later, Harry called Dobby
to organise with the elves to take the
prisoners to the Headmistress's office the
next time he was called. And the party left
the room.
Just after they left the room, Harry turned
to Amelia and said, "Just as a note, I
remind you that there's already precedent
that escapees from Azkaban are
immediately Kissed after recapture. You
may not agree with that... policy... but, it's
there."
"Noted, Mister Potter," she replied.
"Mister Potter!" gasped Professor
McGonagall. "You can't just advocate
killing prisoners.."
Interrupting her, he said, "Alright,
Professor. Which of these fine upstanding
aurors, here, do you want to sacrifice to
guard the prison and be killed when
Riddle goes there to break them back out
again?"
She looked back as if she'd just been
slapped.
"Harry, that was uncalled for," Daphne
reprimanded him.
"But no less true," he shot back.
"Dumbledore's 'No killing' policy
is exactly why Riddle nearly won at the
end of the last war. Magical Britain was
just bloody lucky my mother didn't believe
that and was an exceptionally bright and
clever witch."
"Even so," started Daphne right back. "The
Headmistress didn't deserve..."
The Headmistress interrupted and said,
"It's alright, Missus Greengrass-Potter. As
much as I dislike the notion, he's right."
Ten minutes later, the elves shuttled the
prisoners to Professor McGonagall's office,
and the aurors took them out through the
Floo. The three Potters headed back to
their apartment to get some much
needed sleep. The twins remained
speaking with Madam Bones about
negotiating costs for the potion.
As they walked, Daphne asked, "Do you
think she'll execute them?"
"Yes... and no," said Harry. "I think she'll
milk them for as much information as she
can, in secret. She'll pump them full of
Veritaserum, then push them through
quick trials, then execute them... probably
via the Veil."
"So, we only knocked them out for her to
execute them later," sighed Hermione.
"No, we knocked them out so she can now
question them and get as much
information out of them as
possible before they're then lawfully
executed," said Daphne. "And, whether or
not they're executed is not our decision.
We captured them, and the law will
handle it from here."
"And even if we had killed them, the fact
they came at us with the Killing Curse off
the bat, means we were in a life and death
situation," added Harry. "As far as I'm
concerned, if you come at me with the
intent to kill, I have no problem with
killing you first."
"And that's the attitude
we must maintain," said Daphne firmly.
"It's the only way we're going to get
through this."
Two mornings later, the twins came over
at breakfast once all the mail was
delivered, all excited. One of them was
carrying a letter on Ministry letterhead.
"Madam Bones is buying our potion and a
large 'switch' stone," said one.
"Selling this means we'll have enough
money to open our store!" said the other.
That reminded Harry that the last time
he'd won the Tournament he'd handed his
winnings to the twins. He forgot to do that
this time.
However, having them earn their starting
capital out of their own efforts was better
for them. This way, they wouldn't feel
obliged to set aside some of their profit
for Harry. He didn't need it and he knew
they'd make good use of it.
"Congratulations, mates!" he exclaimed,
happy for them. "I take it this means we'll
see Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes open
for business some time soon after you
graduate?"
"Indeed!" said one.
"We've even got the store we want, in
mind," said the other.
"How soon does Madam Bones want the
potion and antidote?" asked Hermione.
"As soon as possible," said one.
"But, it's not going to take us long to make
it," said the other.
"Do you need any galleons as an advance
to purchase the ingredients?" asked Harry,
always willing to help.
"Thank you, but no," said one.
"Part of the contract has the DMLE
providing us an advance for that purpose,"
said the other.
"She also let us know she's contacted
Professor Lupin for the guns," said the
first.
"And he's providing the instruction to her
aurors..."
"... On how to use them."
"... Plus purchasing extra ammunition..."
"... For training purposes."
"She sounds very keen to get things
happening," said Daphne.
"Oh, she is!" replied one.
"It's a rush order!" added the other.
"Again; congratulations, mates," said
Harry.
"We couldn't have done it without you..."
"... Harrikins."
Chapter 340
"Nonsense," he scoffed. "You, two, have
plenty of innate business talent. You'd
have figured out a way, eventually... after
first making the gi-nor-mous mistake of
trying to make a fast galleon through
gambling."
The twins unrepentantly grinned back.
"Been there..."
"... Done that."
_‗_
—==(oIo)==—
ˇ
Life within Hogwarts settled down again
for a few weeks. The attack on Saint
Mungo's had been repelled, as had the
assassination team attack on Harry and
Professor Flitwick.
The three Potters learned a few days later
from the woman herself that Madam
Bones had only lost a couple of aurors in
the defence of Saint Mungo's. In return
they had managed to kill a half dozen
Death Eaters, and capture about a dozen
more out of an attack of about three
dozen.
She learned that Harry and Filius were the
primary targets that night, which
explained why there were so many inner
circle Death Eaters in the attack on the
school. The attack on Saint Mungo's was
supposed to be loud and noisy, to draw
both the aurors and the Order to the
hospital, as expected.
Four teams were sent in almost ahead of
the main body to kill all muggleborns that
were there. They were assassination
teams. Apparently, those Death Eaters had
on them a list of which muggleborns were
currently at the hospital, including which
beds they were in. Thankfully, they didn't
even manage to move out beyond the
main entrance/welcoming hall, as that
was where Madam Bones set up her
ambush for the attack.
Madam Bones's explanation of why she
didn't let the Potters know of the list was
because her aurors wanted to know who
at the wizarding hospital had gathered
and passed that information off to
Voldemort. The investigation also allowed
her to Veritaserum the staff, and identify
all the Death Eaters that were hiding on
staff, and arrest them. The new Minister,
Ogden, had no qualms about allowing her
to do that.
Of course, the captured and killed were
mainly 'cannon fodder' Death Eaters who
had recently joined and had little skill in
combat with a wand. However, they did
manage to kill one inner circle; Fenrir
Greyback. And they also killed Dolores
Umbridge during the short battle, who
had escaped from Azkaban the night
Riddle freed nine of his inner circle and
others.
Others killed included some of the
Ministry workers who had been 'fired'
from their positions due to their
admitted-under-Veritaserum bigotry and
support of Riddle's 'policies'. However,
most Death Eater attackers immediately
portkeyed or apparated away as soon as
they realised the aurors had been lying in
ambush for them.
Even so, the aurors managed to take down
quite a few of Voldemort's terrorists, and
only lost two of their own doing so.
With the routing of his forces at Saint
Mungo's and the loss of half a dozen of his
inner circle including the capture of the
entire assassination team sent to
Hogwarts, Riddle's losses were bound to
have a deleterious effect on his recruiting
efforts. This was very good news to the
Potters.
"When do the results of the two attacks
get released to the Prophet?" he asked
her.
"This afternoon," she promptly replied.
"You should be able to read about it in
tomorrow morning's edition."
"Good," he firmly stated. "After reading
articles of attacks on muggleborn in their
homes, the wizarding populace needs to
read that his two largest attacks were
summarily and handily repelled."
"Agreed," she replied. "But, I'm sure you
understand there was a need to keep
mum about them both while we plumbed
those we caught, especially the inner
circle members, for whatever information
we could get out of them."
"Of course," he acquiesced. "I'm just glad
you're going to release it now. And not try
and keep it all a secret, like Fudge would
have done."
"I hope you understand I'm not like our
much unloved ex-Minister, Harry," she
said, a little miffed.
"Definitely not," he promptly replied. "I
just have a... wariness... about faith in the
actions of the Ministry. Sorry, but it's a
holdover from our first run through."
"Understood," she said, as she relaxed
again.
As promised, that rather large, important
and quite shocking article did appear as
the lead story in the next morning's Daily
Prophet. Thankfully, the names of those
who took down the assassination team
that came to Hogwarts were deliberately
left out of Amelia's information to
the Prophet's reporter. However, the
reporter did include a section where he
'speculated' the three Potters had some
role to play in the events of that was also
the first time Harry had been reported as
'The Chosen One'.
After the article came out, they were
approached by quite a few people who
asked if they were involved. Their
rehearsed response was, "Just because
Harry is the supposed Boy-Who-Lived,
does not mean he has a hand in every
heroic act that occurs in the school."
Thanks to Daphne's forethought of what
attention the article would bring, they'd
already spoken to Luna, the twins and
Sirius about what their response would be.
And those four were quite happy not to
be included as part of the takedown of the
Death Eaters, either.
"We certainly don't need the attention,"
said one of the twins.
"Well, we do... but, not that sort," said the
other.
"And we'd get a howler from Mum if she
found out we were involved," said the
first.
And both twins made a face and
shuddered, causing the three Potters to
grin back. The howlers of the Weasley
matriarch, though not one had been seen
in over a year, were still part of the
Hogwarts legend.
"I don't mean to pry," said Daphne, a little
tentatively, "But, you're still in touch with
her?"
Both twins snorted in stereo before one
said, "It's more like..."
"... She's still in touch with us."
"She writes us near constantly..."
"But, we only... rarely... contact her."
"Dad says she's still our mother..."
"... Even after what she did... what she
tried to do."
"And we should at least maintain a civil
relationship."
"Leastwise, that's what he says."
"Fair enough," said Harry.
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット