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They Must Know

The Chosen One Strikes Back
It was the most awe inspiring scene in the Ministry of Magic in quite some time early yesterday as none other than The Chosen One, Harry Potter, made an entrance none who witnessed it will soon forget. Witnesses report that Mr. Potter apparated into the lobby of the ministry holding onto an unconscious death eater. Mr. Potter turned the unidentified death eater over to aurors who claimed the prisoner within seconds of Mr. Potter’s arrival.

Mr. Potter was escorted upstairs where it is suspected that he met with Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour. By the time Mr. Potter returned to the lobby, it had become jammed with those wanting to get a first hand look at the person some believe to be the chosen savior of the wizarding world. Escorts attempted to create a path for Mr. Potter to walk through, but to everyone’s surprise the normally elusive young man stopped to answer a few questions posed by others and myself.

When asked if he had been the one who captured the death eater, Mr. Potter said, “Yes. I captured this death eater after he tried to attack one of my friends who was helping to put up the shields on all of the Hogwarts students homes.”

Mr. Potter refused to elaborate on the identities of those helping him disperse the shield to the students’ houses, but said that the attack would not stop the effort to protect the students. He went on to confirm that it was an effort not undertaken with the assistance of the Ministry of Magic.

There have been rumors circulating since the death of Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore that Mr. Potter would join many who are not planning to return to Hogwarts this year fearing that it may be too dangerous. It was a question to which Mr. Potter responded by saying, “I had thought about not returning, though not out of fear. I have since changed my mind and do plan on returning to Hogwarts for my final year. I hope that most of the other students will decide to return as well in the end.”

Seeing that the aurors were becoming anxious to lead Mr. Potter from the chaotic scene, I took the chance personally to ask the question that everyone has been dying to know the answer to. I asked if any of the reports about his trip to the ministry when You Know Who was seen there were true. The look on his face made me think that he was considering the question very carefully before he said, “I guess that would depend on what reports you’re referring to. I did come to the ministry on that night along with a handful of brave friends. I won't tell you all of the details that led me to follow such a rash course of action, but it was soon made clear to me that You Know Who (Mr. Potter actually used the real name, but The Prophet will not print it) himself lured me here to remove a prophecy concerning the two of us that was made many years ago. The prophecy was smashed during a battle with death eaters who were attempting to retrieve it for You Know Who (again not what was said).”

When asked if the prophecy had revealed him to be “The Chosen One”, Mr. Potter considered his words carefully again before he said, “I intend to keep hunting death eaters and turning them over to the Ministry until I return to Hogwarts. Some day I will fight You Know Who again. That much has been foretold. I intend to turn his body over to the Ministry after I kill him. If I don’t do it, then no one will. If that makes me the chosen one, then so be it.”

As one might imagine, pandemonium erupted in the lobby as everyone excitedly launched question after question at Mr. Potter. The aurors struggled to keep the crowd from pressing too close as Mr. Potter gave a slight grin and apparated away.

It was several minutes before anyone thought to question how it was that Mr. Potter had managed to apparate into and out of the Ministry of Magic when there are spells recently put into place guarding against just such a thing. Then again, perhaps there is very little “The Chosen One” is not capable of. We can only watch and wait as the days and months stretch out before us.

Perhaps now we will begin to see a ray of hope shining through the darkness that prevails in the land. Perhaps now You Know Who, the master of fear, will finally have some of that fear turned back on him.

Voldemort tossed the copy of The Daily Prophet that he had been reading down to the floor in a rage before making it crumple into a ball and burst into flame. He took a moment to let his emotion melt away as he watched the flames consume the paper. Once he had regained his calm, he called for Bellatrix.

“I am here my Lord and Master,” Bellatrix said as she entered the room and bowed deeply. “How may I be of service to you?”

“I assume you have read the article in the Prophet this morning,” Voldemort said.

“I have, My Lord,” Bellatrix confirmed.

“Which of my death eaters has allowed themselves to be captured this time?” Voldemort asked letting her know that he was not pleased.

“I believe it was Moreland, My Lord,” Bellatrix answered. “He is the only one who did not report in yesterday. He was stationed in Harrogate to watch for those putting up shields.”

“I see,” Voldemort said dangerously. “It would appear that he found some of them. I assume you followed my orders and delivered my instructions to all of the death eaters.”

“I did, My Lord,” Bellatrix responded with her head bowed, keenly aware of how close Voldemort was standing.

“Then why,” Voldemort began as he placed his face close to Bellatrix’s, “were my orders not followed? Why was I not personally informed of their location right away? Why would one of my death eaters, those who have sworn to obey my every command, ignore my wishes?”

“He is young, My Lord,” Bellatrix said.

“You were young once as well,” Voldemort hissed. “I never had that trouble with you. I have never had that trouble before with any of my young death eaters in the past.”

“Some of the younger ones are…” Bellatrix stuttered. “It’s hard to explain, my Lord. They believe as we do, and yet…”

“They do not believe in me as you do,” Voldemort said finishing her thought for her. “It is not the same as it was in the old days. Perhaps I have become too focused of late. I spend all of my time administrating the attacks and little time taking part in them. Even when such attacks achieved my goals, others carried them out. Even my plan to kill Dumbledore was tainted because I was not the one who killed the old man myself. Not to mention the disgrace of having Severus disappear with young Malfoy after the attack. The young death eaters see all of these things as weakness.”

“Snape is a coward not to come to you,” Bellatrix seethed as her hatred of him rose to the surface.

“Or perhaps he believes young Malfoy will be harmed if he does so,” Voldemort said. “He would be right of course. I would make an example of him for not carrying through with his orders. Still, the unbreakable vow Severus made with your sister to protect Draco would not allow him to willingly turn him over to me.”

“But…” Bellatrix began in surprise as she looked up.

“Don’t look so surprised, Bella,” Voldemort said. “I have known about that vow since the night it was taken. Though you have always taken Severus for a traitor, he informed me of the vow on the very night it was made. Still, I will find him eventually and punish him appropriately as he fully expects. For now, I must concentrate on the problem of the young death eaters and their mistaken perceptions of my power. They must know what it means to defy The Dark Lord. Perhaps a little demonstration is in order.”


12
Wrath Unleashed

“Oh no,” Hermione said as she tossed The Daily Prophet down on the table in front of her.

“Is something the matter with your food, dear?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“I wish that was all it was,” Hermione said pushing the paper to Ron. “I knew Harry would do something stupid. We never should have left him alone.”

“You don’t really think he would…” Ron began as he skimmed through the article on the front page.

“Do you really think he won’t if we don’t do something to stop him?” Hermione asked.

“I thought the prophecy was smashed and no one heard what it said,” Mrs. Weasley said as she read over Ron’s shoulder.

“Dumbledore knew what it said,” Ron informed her. “He told Harry right after he got back from the Ministry that night.”

“Oh, poor Harry,” Mrs. Weasley said as a look of grief came over her face as if one of her own children was in danger. “He should have said something. He shouldn’t have to carry that knowledge around by himself.”

“Harry only gave The Prophet the barest of details about what it said though,” Hermione said.

“Do you mean to say that Harry told you lot about it?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“Of course he did,” Ron said. “He didn’t tell us right away though. He waited until last summer to do it.”

“I can’t believe you would keep something like that from me,” Mrs. Weasley said as tears formed in her eyes. “You know how I feel about Harry. If he’s in some kind of danger then your father and I should know about it.”

“When is Harry not in danger?” Ron asked.

“Don’t get cheeky with me Ronald Weasley,” Mrs. Weasley said. “You know what I mean. I’m going over to his house to get him. I’ll drag him back here by force if I have to.”

“I’m going with you,” a tear stained Ginny said from the base of the stairs. “I have to know he’s all right. I’ve been up most of the night worried sick about him.”

“I think it would be better if you stayed here, Ginny,” Mrs. Weasley said knowing the kind of response she would get.

Before Ginny could respond though, there was a knock at the door that startled all of them. Ginny bolted for the door in hopes Harry would be standing on the other side. Mrs. Weasley moved to stop Ginny though to remind her that they would have to identify who it was before they opened the door. Ginny didn’t like it, but submitted to her mother’s wishes anyway.

“Who is it?” Mrs. Weasley asked as she held tightly to her wand.

“It’s Minerva McGonagal, Molly,” McGonagal said from the front step.

“What is your favorite candy?” Mrs. Weasley asked.

“I don’t have time for something as foolish as candy?” McGonagal answered.

Mrs. Weasley opened the door and lowered her wand as she stepped aside to allow McGonagal to enter and said, “It’s good to see you again Minerva.”

“Likewise, Molly,” McGonagal said as she surveyed those present in the room. “I’m sorry to bother you so early, but I was wondering if Mr. Potter is staying with you. I’ve just come from his house, and he wasn’t there.”

“No,” Mrs. Weasley said. “He isn’t here. We were just about to go to his house to find him.”

“Don’t waste your time,” McGonagal said. “As I said before, he isn’t there. I performed a spell to see if he had been there recently, but he apparently didn’t spend the night there. I’ve dispatched the Order to search for him. I was hoping he would have come here.”

“I guess you read the article in The Prophet then,” Mrs. Weasley said.

“It was a foolish thing for Harry to do,” McGonagal said making her disapproval known. “He’ll have every death eater in the country looking for him.”

“What scares us is that he’s likely out there looking for them as well,” Hermione said.

“I believe he feels pressures on him that would seem to require just that,” McGonagal said. “As unnecessary as it is, he seems to be taking that responsibility on his own shoulders.”

“I don’t think Harry sees it as unnecessary,” Ginny said feeling a need spring up in her to defend Harry no matter what.

McGonagal studied the look in Ginny’s eyes momentarily before she said, “Forgive me. Perhaps unnecessary was not the appropriate word to use. I simply meant that no one person can be expected to accomplish such a task single handed.”

“He won’t have to do it alone if I have anything to say about it,” Ginny said as the feeling in her brought the tears back to her eyes.

“I’m sure we will all do our best to lighten that burden on him,” McGonagal said sensing that she was about to witness an emotional outburst. “We will just have to find him first.”

At the Ministry of Magic, spirits were as high as they had been in some time. Everyone was feeling upbeat as they began their day. In the recent days, their successes fighting the forces of The Dark Lord were encouraging. Of course, they all knew that it was at least partially due to the assistance of The Chosen One. There was a sense of peace that had fallen over the place just from the knowledge that Harry was on the job.

It was midmorning and the fireplaces in the lobby of the Ministry of Magic worked as usual to spew forth newcomers and sweep those departing off to other destinations. Little did anyone suspect that the security set up to check all arrivals through would be woefully inadequate on such a fine day.

It was at half past ten that a figure emerged from the floo network dressed in black robes with a hood pulled up to hide the face that the cheerful attitude changed almost instantly. One of the security men noticed the man and called out to him to stop. When he didn’t, four other security men joined the first in drawing their wands. They warned him once again to stop, and he did as requested. They asked him to remove his hood so they could see his face, but instead he turned to face them. When he made no move to remove his hood, they began to ask it again. They never completed their latest request as the man raised his open hand toward them quickly and they were all instantly hit with a force that slammed into their chests. They listened to their own ribs break even before the pain of the crushing blow reached their brains. The four of them dropped instantly gasping for air and writhing in pain as the man turned and continued his walk for the elevator.

The security man behind the desk began to rise as he drew his wand, but a jet of green light hit him in the chest before he could utter a word. Screams rang out from the civilians in the lobby as they caught on to what was happening. It was the mad scramble of the crowd to reach safety that prevented the remaining security men from getting a clear shot at the man. By the time their way was clear, the elevator doors had closed and the elevator was making its way down its shaft.

The elevator had not reached its chosen destination before alarms rang out throughout the Ministry of Magic. The way ahead would get more difficult from then on. Most of the element of surprise the man had counted on in the lobby would be lost on the lower floors. He knew what he faced though, and he was prepared to deal with it.

The elevator clanged to a stop as it hit its destination. Even as it did, he could hear the sound of another elevator descending toward him. It would add another layer to his difficulty soon, but first things first. The elevator doors opened and the hooded man stepped out into the corridor beyond to face seven aurors with their wands pointed at him.

“Stop where you are,” Dawlish ordered as the man complied instantly. “Remove your hood and identify yourself.”

“If you wish,” the man hissed as he raised his hands to his hood and slowly peeled it back.

Even the steel nerved aurors let out an involuntary gasp of shock as their minds rushed to recognize the one man they had wanted to find, and the one man they had feared to find.

“I am Lord Voldemort,” Voldemort announced with authority. “Stand aside and allow me to pass and I will spare your lives.”

“I…I… can’t do that,” Dawlish said as he fought to resist the urge to obey that Voldemort was attempting to place in his mind.

“I didn’t think so,” Voldemort said with a twisted grin as he quickly tossed a vile of potion to the floor in front of the aurors.

The effects were nearly instantaneous as the broken vile emitted a thick cloud of blue smoke that filled the lungs of the aurors and made them slip from consciousness before their bodies ever hit the floor. Voldemort, having taken the antidote prior to his arrival, strolled onwards through the smoke toward his destination.

At the place in the hallway where it junctioned with another, Voldemort shot a flame from his wand that spread around the corner into the other hallway and filled the space from floor to ceiling. The screams of pain were nearly instantaneous as the aurors stationed to be the next line of defense flailed in vain to escape the burning flames that consumed them. Seconds later, the screaming stopped and Voldemort lowered his wand as the flames disappeared. He stepped around the corner to find the charred remains of four aurors lying in the corridor before him as a faint clanging sound reached his ears.

The second elevator had finally reached its destination, and Voldemort knew that aurors would be spilling out of it very soon. In the event that they figured out a way to get past the cloud of poison that still hung in the air there, Voldemort turned and waved his hand, knowing that an invisible barrier had been erected to keep unwanted company out.

As he progressed onwards, Voldemort passed three more junctions and performed the same flame spell as before, but did not encounter any more aurors at those junctions. He had expected to encounter more resistance, but he thought that he must have taken out all of his opposition since none came to challenge him. He rounded one final corner, but did not bother to use the flame spell to clear the passage beyond first. He stopped immediately as he looked to the end of the hallway before him to see one last auror standing in front of the door that was his destination.

“You know you can not stand against me, Nymphadora,” Voldemort said as he prepared for the attack he knew would eventually come. “There will be no one to assist you. Their path has been blocked. Join with me now or stand aside to let me pass.”

“I will stand against you,” Tonks said with determination as she gripped her wand. “I’ll stand against you for as long as I have breath in my body.”

Voldemort chuckled evilly as he said, “Then you are a fool. I will not kill you. Your aunt has already asked me for that honor. Still, I will not let you stand in my way."

“And I won’t let you pass if I can help it,” Tonks said praying that she would be able to hit him with a binding spell before he was able to get his wand up.

Voldemort grinned again as Tonks suddenly raised her wand and quickly cast her binding spell. She wasn’t fast enough though as Voldemort brought his own wand up and conjured a pillow in mid air that received the binding spell and dropped harmlessly to the floor. Tonks was setting up for a powerful cutting spell when her wand was suddenly ripped from her grasp and clattered to the floor in front of her. She bent over to pick it up and took a powerful blow under her chin that bent her head back dangerously as her entire body was thrown back against the door only to slam into it hard before sinking to the floor.

Voldemort walked forward halving the distance between them as Tonks attempted to shake off her pain and recover. Before she could though, a power wrapped around her and pulled her quickly along the floor until she stopped at Voldemort’s feet. The force lifted her up to a semi-kneeling position as Voldemort bent down to look her in the eye.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like to surrender?” Voldemort asked. “I enjoy this sort of thing you know. I really don’t have time to play with you much longer.”

Tonks summoned every bit of strength she had remaining as she swung her hand up and attempted to shove the fingers right into Voldemort’s eyes. He saw it coming though and moved back out of the way so that her effort missed its intended mark.

“A bad choice,” Voldemort said as he raised his wand and sent Tonks flying backwards into the door.

Tonks knew immediately that bones had broken as her body impacted the door hard enough to overcome the magical protection holding it shut and tear it from its hinges to fly into the room. Tonks vision was blurred as she opened one eye and watched as Voldemort walked into the cell room. Try as she might, Tonks couldn’t make her body respond to any calls for movement. If she could have seen the unnatural way her body was twisted as it lay broken and bleeding on the floor, she never would have attempted to move.

“My Lord,” Moreland said as he fought against his chains to kneel as Voldemort entered the room. “I told them nothing. I knew that you would come for me.”

“Did you?” Voldemort asked smoothly.

“I didn’t know that you would come personally,” Moreland said. “I thought you would send the death eaters for me. I am honored to be in your presence.”

“This is something I would never allow my death eaters to do for me,” Voldemort said. “I hand down all punishments to my death eaters.”

“Punishment?” Moreland asked confused.

“You will stand as an example to the other young death eaters who seem to doubt my power and resolve,” Voldemort said. “When I give an order it is to be taken seriously. To prove that, I have personally battled my way through the pitiful Ministry defenses to reach you. Your punishment will make sure that no other death eater ever fails me again.”

“But, Master…” Moreland began.

Even in her clouded immobile state, Tonks understood what was happening as Voldemort performed a spell that literally blasted Moreland apart as blood and bone exploded against the wall behind him. If Tonks had enough consciousness left, she would have been sick, but she just stared numbly as Voldemort walked over to her.

Voldemort bent down close to Tonks’ bloodied face and hissed in a whisper as he said, “Let that be a lesson to all of those who defy Lord Voldemort. No one will escape my wrath if they do not follow me. If you do survive your injuries long enough, be sure to repeat what you have seen and heard to “The Chosen One”. No man, woman, or Potter will ever be able to overcome the power of Lord Voldemort.”

It was at that moment that Tonks’ consciousness finally gave way and everything went black, with her last thought of ‘We’ll see about that’ etched firmly into what was left of her mind.

Voldemort walked quickly back to the place where he had erected the magical barrier to keep unwanted intruders out. He had erected it in such a way that made it possible for him to walk around the corner to look for opposition without being in danger of one of their spells breaching his defensive shield. He had nothing to fear though as he soon discovered the hallway beyond the barrier to be clear.

The cloud of poison was still hanging in the air and obscuring the elevators from view. Voldemort walked closer to the cloud wondering if the aurors had been foolish enough to attempt to walk through it. It didn’t take long before he could hear the mutterings on the other side of the cloud to tell him that some of them had wisely chosen to stay clear. Had they only known that he was standing not twenty feet from them, they would have been able to make an attempt at stopping him. As it was though, they never had a chance.

Voldemort raised his hands together out in front of himself as he concentrated on the area beyond the cloud. When he spread his hands quickly out to either side there were several loud crashes and groans as the aurors were thrown against the walls and pinned there. Voldemort strolled forward into the cloud and emerged on the other side to find the aurors struggling in vain against he spell that held them against the walls and unable to raise their wands to utter a spell.

“You may all consider yourselves lucky,” Voldemort said as he walked to the elevator. “You easily could have suffered a similar fate to your other auror friends who stood against me. I am leaving you alive so you can tell your precious Minister of Magic to stand aside and name me as Minister of Magic or I will continue to rein destruction down on those who stand against me. Today was just a small sample of the pain I will cause to achieve my goals. I will expect to see the abdication in the Prophet within the week.”

The elevator began its climb back toward the lobby level, and Voldemort had to smile to himself. He took pleasure in knowing that even Rufus Scrimgeour would harbor a thought deep within his mind of stepping aside. He knew that it would be buried deep though. Voldemort had resigned himself long ago to the knowledge that he would only rise to power through conquest.

The second the elevator doors opened, a variety of spells designed to subdue flashed out to impact only on the back wall of the elevator. Six security men and three aurors stared astonished as they hesitated to take a breath. They thought for sure that the elevator would contain the man who had broken into the lower levels. It was several seconds later before any of them could lower their wands and walk forward to investigate.

It was during those precious seconds that Voldemort slipped out of the elevator unseen by any of his would be attackers. He waited until he had gotten behind all of them and they were all close enough to the elevator entrance before he raised his wand and performed a spell that picked all of them up and tossed them into the elevator on top of one another. Another wave of Voldemort’s wand closed the doors as he pulled off the invisibility cloak with his other hand. Knowing that it wouldn’t take the men in the elevator long to recover, Voldemort whipped his wand forward and set loose a powerful cutting spell that sliced cleanly through the metal cage that surrounded the top of the elevator. The spell cut through the protective cage and made its way on to the cables suspending the elevator at its current floor.

Seconds later the elevator began to plummet downwards in free fall. Voldemort smiled once again as he heard the distant sound of metal twisting and churning from the impact far down the elevator shaft. Voldemort smiled as he turned and began making his way back toward the floo system to make his visit complete. He was confident that no one would dare oppose him after he had personally carried out the most devastating attack ever to take place in the Ministry.

Voldemort reached the fireplaces and prepared to step into one when he heard a sound behind him and turned to make sure more aurors weren’t trying to stop him. What he saw both surprised him and made rage flare within him. Fifty meters away from him, four of his death eaters lay unconscious on the floor where they had not been moments before. It was the fifth member of the party that interested him the most though.

Harry apparated with his nights quarry into the lobby of the Ministry as he had previously. It only took a split second for Harry to realize that something was seriously wrong. The Ministry, normally bustling with activity at that time of day, was deserted as if it was after hours. A look off to his right told him why.

“Voldemort,” Harry said feeling his anger of the previous day return as he stood to face Voldemort, who had begun to step in Harry’s direction.

“Harry Potter,” Voldemort said in a hiss. “We meet again.”

“I’ve been waiting,” Harry said seriously as he prepared to reach for his wand at any moment.

“Have you?” Voldemort asked. “You won’t have Dumbledore here to defend you this time, Harry.”

“I won’t need him to,” Harry said watching Voldemort closely.

“Ah, yes,” Voldemort grinned. “The Chosen One has some new found confidence. I should have known you’d gone mad when I read that you had actually started to believe what they write about you in The Prophet.”

“Or perhaps I just know what that prophecy you tried to steal said,” Harry pointed out knowing it would get Voldemort’s attention.

“You lie,” Voldemort said.

“I guess you would know all about that,” Harry began, “since you haven’t told the truth in years. Are you still trying to convince yourself that you aren’t a half-blood.”

“Watch what you say, Harry” Voldemort hissed warningly.

“Or what?” Harry asked. “Are you going to kill me? Haven’t you tried to do that enough yet? Obsessions like that aren’t healthy you know.”

“Your luck has finally run out today, Harry,” Voldemort said well aware of the distance his hand would have to travel to reach his wand. “I will kill you once and for all. Then I’ll take my death eaters back with me.”

“If you want them,” Harry said getting ready, “then come and get them.”

An instant later, Voldemort’s wand was in his hand and at the ready as he said, “Avada Kedavra.”

“Sectumsempre,” Harry said as he brought his own wand up in a blur of movement.

As had happened before, a thin golden thread connected the tips of both of their wands. Both of them stared intently into the eyes of the other determined not to be the one to give in.

“I see your reflexes have improved,” Voldemort said as he strained with is vibrating wand.

“Have they?” Harry asked. “Maybe you’re just getting slower.”

“I thought this might happen if we dueled again,” Voldemort said.

“So did I,” Harry said trying to keep the grin off of his face.

It was Harry’s turn to try a surprise attack as he raised his empty hand toward Voldemort and performed a wordless and wandless spell with his left hand while maintaining his grip on his wand with his right. It was a spell that Voldemort was not fully prepared to deal with, so he did not get a shield charm up in time to intercept it. The spell hit him in the abdomen and began to bore it’s way inside. Voldemort’s robes were already straining to absorb the blood before he was able to pass his hand over the wound to stop the spell from digging any further. The damage was done though. Voldemort knew he would have to get back to his potions soon if he hoped to reverse the process.

Voldemort raised his free hand and performed a spell that knocked Harry backwards several meters and caused Harry to break the connection between their wands. Harry hit the ground hard, but forced his body to ignore the pain as he rolled to a crouch as he got ready to defend against another attack. Voldemort was not attacking though as he realized the urgency of his situation, and, somewhat hunched over, he made his way back to the fireplaces.

Harry scrambled to his feet and took aim at Voldemort’s back, but had to duck back down to avoid a barrage of killing curses Voldemort was shooting over his shoulder in Harry’s direction. It was at that moment that Harry heard the arrival of another elevator. He looked behind him to see Rufus Scrimgeour and Kingsley Shaklebolt exit the elevator with six other aurors. He looked back around just in time to see Voldemort step into one of the fireplaces and disappear.

“Good lord, Harry,” Scrimgeour said in surprise as he and the others ran to him. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just making another delivery,” Harry said pointing to the four death eaters still lying on the floor nearby. “I got here just before Voldemort was going to floo out of here.”

“Did you actually duel with You Know Who, Harry?” Kingsley asked.

“I really wish you would all start calling him by his name,” Harry said with a twinge, as he became aware of the broken rib he had suffered in his fall. “He’s as mortal as the rest of us. I did duel with him though. I think I got in a good shot on him. He’ll have to work pretty quickly to repair his injury or he may be out of action for quite some time.”

“He’s sure made a mess of things for us here today,” Scrimgeour said. “He broke through all of our defenses and went down to the detention level. Did he leave with anyone?”

“No,” Harry answered caressing the sore spot in his left side. “I think he was alone. Of course someone may have left just before I got here.”

“I suppose he came to break out that death eater you brought in yesterday,” Scrimgeour said. “We had better get down to the detention level and see what happened. We haven’t had any contact with them since the first elevator full of aurors went down to try to stop him.”

“I’d like to come with you,” Harry said. “I’d like to see for myself if he managed to break out that death eater.”

“Are you sure you’re all right, Harry?” Kingsley asked taking notice of Harry favoring his left side. “You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“It’s nothing that would stop me from going with you,” Harry responded.

“You might as well,” Scrimgeour said as he looked at the newest prisoners Harry had brought in. “If people are hurt down there it would mean a lot to them to have you there.”

“It would mean more to me if they were all able to stay out of harm’s way,” Harry said as they stepped into the elevator. “The fact that Voldemort made it down there and back leads me to believe otherwise though.”

“It may not be a pretty sight, Harry,” Kingsley said. “You may know some of the aurors that were down there. Are you sure you’re up to it?”

“I think I’ll be fine,” Harry said wondering if he really was ready for the horrors that may wait below.

No one else said a word as the elevator crept downward to one of the lower levels and came to a stop. The doors opened and the aurors immediately sprang out to attempt to help their colleagues who were still pinned to the wall by a spell. Harry stayed behind in the elevator opening as the spells were broken one at a time to get the aurors down. Harry could see though that there were bodies lying in the corridor under the gas cloud that was suspended in the air above them.

“No, minister,” one of the aurors said. “He came out alone. He said to tell you to step aside and name him as the new Minister.”

“Not likely,” Scrimgeour said as he studied the cloud in font of him. “Maybe the aurors further in were able to repel his attack somehow.”

“I would think they would have chased him out to this point if they were still in a condition to do so,” Kingsley said. “We aren’t going to know that until we get past this cloud though. I don’t know if we can afford to wait for it to dissipate on its own. It could last for days.”

“We could apparate past it,” Harry said as he stepped from the elevator for the first time.

A quiet fell over the aurors as they looked at Harry and Scrimgeour said, “You can’t apparate on the detention levels, Harry. Otherwise all of the prisoners would escape.”

“Unless of course, Harry wants to tell us how it is that he manages to apparate into the Ministry lobby even though blocks have been put on that as well,” Kingsley pointed out.

“I won’t put Mr. Potter in that kind of danger even if it were possible,” Scrimgeour said.

“It is possible,” Harry said looking at the bodies under the cloud once again.

“I can’t allow it,” Scrimgeour insisted.

“Harry,” Kingsley began, “Tonks was one of the aurors on duty in there. If anything has happened…”

“I’m going in,” Harry said immediately as he stepped forward.

“I said, no,” Scrimgeour said with as much authority as he could muster.

“With all due respect, Minister,” Harry said as he looked at Scrimgeour, “you’ll have a hard time stopping me.”

“Are you sure, Harry?” Kingsley asked. “What you find might be…”

“I would never forgive myself if I didn’t try to help when it was in my power to,” Harry said. “I would like you to go with me though.”

“Of course,” Kingsley said as he stepped to Harry’s side.

“I’d like you to come as well, Minister,” Harry said.

Scrimgeour studied Harry for a moment before stepping to his other side and saying to the other aurors, “I want half of you to wait here for us to come back. The other half get back upstairs and find someone who might be able to get rid of this cloud and evacuate the dead."

“Just hold tight to my arms,” Harry said as Kingsley and Scrimgeour complied.

In an instant the scene before them shifted to an open expanse of hallway. Kingsley and Scrimgeour were momentarily bewildered about what had just happened. They had expected to feel their bodies compress as it did during a side by side apparation. Instead they had felt only the briefest feeling of weightlessness. A look behind them at the cloud confirmed that they had indeed moved further down the corridor.

“Wow, Harry!” Kingsley exclaimed. “That was amazing. You’ll have to teach me to do that sometime.”

“I can’t do that,” Harry said. “You would have to arrest yourself.”

“What?” Scrimgeour asked wondering what law Harry might have just broken.

“Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies, Minister,” Harry said seriously. “Shall we move on?”

Kingsley took the lead, but was suddenly thrown back as he ran into Voldemort’s barrier. Harry helped him up, and the three of them apparated once again past the barrier. The sight that met their eyes crushed some of their hopes that Voldemort may have been repelled. They walked past the charred bodies in silence until they had reached a junction and turned the corner.

“Harry,” Kingsley began, “I think you should stay here.”

“Why?” Harry asked.

“Because there is only one auror not accounted for so far,” Kingsley said as gently as he could.

“If Tonks is injured you’ll need me to get her out of here past the barriers,” Harry explained.

“I think he’s referring to the state the bodies we just passed were in,” Scrimgeour put in. “You may not be ready to be exposed to what he might have done to her.”

“I’ve seen dead people and injured people before, Minister,” Harry said trying to shut out the images that tried to pop to the surface in his mind. “I’ll be fine.”

There was a long silence as the Minister considered Harry’s insistence before Kingsley said, “Well we had better keep moving anyway. Time may not be on our side.”

The three of them threw caution to the wind and set off at a run through the remaining hallways with Kingsley in the lead. Harry ran right into Kingsley’s back as he rounded the last corner. Kingsley had stopped at the sight of what lay before him, and made every attempt to shield Harry from it. He couldn’t do so for long though as Harry fought to glance around the big auror.

Harry’s eyes went wide with horror at his immediate reaction. His first look squared in on the blood splattered on the back wall of the room. A scream of pain came into Harry’s throat, but he was too emotionally stunned to utter a single sound as his mind rushed to make sense of the rest of the scene. The door lay inside the room hanging tenuously from its lower hinge having been smashed in.

It was no more than a few seconds before Harry spotted her, though it seemed an eternity to Harry. Choking down his sorrow that filled him, Harry stepped around Kingsley and ran forward and stepped into the room. It wasn’t until he got inside the room that he noticed the slumped body of the death eater he had captured the day before still in his chains, but with a sizable hole in the center of his chest.

Harry tore his eyes away from the death eater to look at Tonks’ twisted form lying on the floor ahead of him. Harry couldn’t stop the tears as he knelt down at her side. He reached out his hand toward her and brushed a few hairs out of her face. Harry’s heart nearly jumped as his hand glided across her temple and felt something he had not expected.

“She’s alive!” Harry exclaimed to Kingsley and Scrimgeour as they watched from the doorway.

“What?” Scrimgeour and Kingsley asked in surprise.

“She has a pulse,” Harry said not taking his eyes from her as he stroked her cheek. “Come over here. I have to get her to St. Mungo’s. Either you go with me or you have to wait for me to come back for you.”

Scrimgeour and Kingsley both walked over and took hold of Harry’s shoulders as he took hold of Tonks’ hand. In a mater of seconds, all was quiet once again on the detention level. Harry was determined not to lose the last decent part of the Black family line. He was determined not to lose a friend. He was more determined than he had ever been not to lose.

13
Believe Me When I Tell You


Everyone in the kitchen at the Burrow reached for their wands instinctively as the carelessly unlocked door flew open. They all froze as they watched a frantic looking Arthur Weasley burst in panting as if he had run there from work. He immediately took notice of everyone present and considered how what he was about to say might affect them.

“Arthur,” Mrs. Weasley gasped as she began to fear the worst. “What is it? What’s happened?”

“There was an attack at the Ministry,” Mr. Weasley responded as he panted. “You Know Who did it himself. Several of the aurors were killed. The Ministry is in Chaos.”

“Oh my lord!” Mrs. Weasley shrieked. “Percy!”

“He’s fine, Molly,” Mr. Weasley said as he walked over to comfort her knowing his real news would hit her just as hard. “He’s the one who told me.”

“Told you what, Arthur?” McGonagal asked.

“The Minister of Magic sent him a message from St. Mungo’s,” Mr. Weasley said. “Tonks was apparently injured pretty badly in the attack. The healers are working on her now.”

“Oh my,” Mrs. Weasley said as tears came into her eyes quickly.

“There’s more,” Mr. Weasley said as he glanced at his daughter and prepared himself for her reaction.

Ginny saw the look in her father’s eyes as he looked at her, and her heart sank as she asked, “Harry?”

Everyone turned to look at Arthur once again as he hesitated before he said, “Apparently Harry got into a duel with You Know Who just as he was trying to leave the Ministry. Percy didn’t have any details, but he said that Harry was at St. Mungo’s as well. I don’t know how seriously injured he is, but he was injured.”

Tears of pain had already begun to run down Ginny’s cheeks. Hermione rose from her seat as she prepared to comfort Ginny. She never got the chance though as Ginny closed her eyes and disappeared with a small pop.

“Ginny!” Mrs. Weasley screamed.

“She isn’t old enough to apparate yet,” Mr. Weasley said in shock.

“I didn’t even know she could,” Ron said proudly.

“It may have just been a fantastic bit of accidental magic,” McGonagal said as she rose from her chair. “If it was, and she was thinking of Mr. Potter, then there is a high probability that she is now at St. Mungo’s. I believe it would be a good idea for all of us to join her.”

Ginny reappeared with a pop loud enough to attract the attention of the two aurors who rushed into the room with their wands drawn.

“It’s okay,” Harry said quickly from his bed. “I know her. She’s my girlfriend.”

“Harry,” Ginny said as she ignored the aurors and ran to Harry and embraced him tightly. “I was so scared. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Harry responded hugging her back. “It was just a broken rib. The healers have already mended it. They just want me to stay here overnight.”

“Good,” Ginny said as she thought about her first vision of Harry in his bed. “You look terrible.”

“I haven’t gotten much sleep lately,” Harry said with a smile. “It isn’t anything a good night of sleep won’t cure.”

“What about Tonks?” Ginny asked as she sat up on the side of the bed. “Is she going to be okay?”

“I don’t know, Ginny,” Harry answered as he fought to control his memory of what Tonks had looked like when he had found her. “They haven’t been willing to tell me anything about her condition yet.”

“I’ll see if I can find out something for you in a while,” Ginny said.

“Are you planning to apparate into her room as well?” Harry asked with a grin. “When did you learn to apparate anyway? And just how is it that you managed to find me? You weren’t just popping into random rooms hoping to find me I hope.”

“It came as a bit of a shock to me too,” Ginny said. “I was standing in the kitchen at the Burrow as my dad told us about what happened at the Ministry. He said you had been injured. I closed my eyes and thought of you. The next thing I knew I was here.”

“Dumbledore always said love was a strong magic,” Harry said as he enjoyed the slightly queasy feeling he still got when her hand was in contact with his. “I guess we were meant to be.”

“We will be if I have anything to say about it, Mr. Potter,” Ginny said with a blushing grin. “Mark my words.”

“Oh, I intend to, Miss Weasley,” Harry said with a smile. “You can count on that.”

“Kingsley,” Mr. Weasley said as he and the others spotted Kingsley in the waiting area of St. Mungo’s. “Have you seen Ginny here by any chance?”

“Ginny?” Kingsley asked surprised. “I don’t think so. Her red hair would have stood out enough for me to notice if she had been through here. Why?”

“We thought she might have accidentally apparated here after she found out Harry had been injured,” McGonagal explained.

“Not unless she managed to apparate closer to his room,” Kingsley said. “There are two aurors guarding Harry’s door that have orders to hex first and ask questions later. If that had happened I would have heard about it by now.”

A student healer walked out into the waiting room and spotted Kingsley as he walked over and said, “I have a message for you, Mr. Shacklebolt.”

Kingsley took the folded message from the student and grinned as he read it.

“Well?” Mrs. Weasley asked as she clutched onto her husband’s arm.

“Everything is fine,” Kingsley said as he looked up at them. “Apparently your daughter managed to apparate directly into Harry’s room. Harry managed to stop them before they got a chance to hex her. She’s fine. Unless of course you consider the fact that Minister Scrimgeour ordered that no one be allowed to speak with him until he had been questioned. I had better go straighten all of this out.”

“We’ll be going with you,” Hermione put in. “We have a few questions we want answered as well.”

Upon entering Harry’s room, Mrs. Weasley rushed to her daughter and pulled her into a tight hug. Everyone else greeted Harry as Kingsley stood by the door with McGonagal waiting for an opportune time to interrupt.

“You realize that you’ve had all of us worried sick, of course,” Hermione said. “You never should have tried to do that alone.”

“I didn’t want to take the chance that anyone else would get hurt,” Harry responded. “Besides, I have a few new tricks up my sleeve that kept me mostly out of harms way.”

“Well now I know you’ve lost your mind,” Hermione said with a snort. “Dueling with Voldemort isn’t what I would call staying out of harms way.”

“That was an accidental meeting,” Harry pointed out. “I wasn’t looking for a fight at all. It was just bad timing that brought us together this time.”

“Actually, Harry,” Kingsley said as he stepped forward, “the minister would like me to ask you a few questions about that.”

“About what?” Harry asked. “I didn’t have any more to do with Voldemort showing up there than you did.”

“We’re aware of that,” Kingsley responded. “We were more interested in learning exactly how it is that you managed to get there in the first place. If you can break though our security measures then someone else might be able to.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you,” Harry said. “I doubt any other wizard would manage to learn what I have.”

“If you can learn it then someone else can,” Kingsley said. “I take it that the methods you used to learn it were illegal though. When we were on the detention level you told me I would have to arrest myself if I ever learned how to do it. Not every wizard will have that problem.”

“You’ll just have to take my word for it,” Harry said.

“I don’t know that the Minister will accept your word that easily,” Kingsley said, wondering how Harry would respond.

“I don’t know that he has much choice,” Harry replied.

“He has methods at his disposal that would make you tell him,” Kingsley warned.

“It would be political suicide for him to use any of them on me though,” Harry said as his mischievous grin returned. “He wouldn’t last a week if the Daily Prophet ran a story on the front page explaining how the Minister was forcibly extracting information from “The Chosen One”.”

“Even that may only carry you so far, Harry,” Kingsley cautioned. “I don’t think you realize the full potential of what you’ve done. If you can breach the security measures at the Ministry, then there would be little else to stop you from doing so at other high security locations; Azkaban, for instance. Believe me when I tell you that, he may feel he has no other choice but to detain you.”

“Believe me when I tell you that he’ll find that more difficult than he might think,” Harry said in all seriousness.

Voldemort stood over the table in his private chambers where his cauldron boiled and steamed with each new ingredient that was thrown in. He had to fight against his vision, which occasionally slipped out of focus, while he tried to ignore the intense wrenching pain in his abdomen. Sweat dripped from his brow, and only served to add to his frustration as it stung his eyes. It was just as he added the last of the needed ingredients that his equilibrium failed him at last, and he slipped to the floor as he swiped the table with his hand in an attempt to grab onto something that would stop his fall.

Bellatrix was walking in the corridor just outside Voldemort’s chambers when a thunderous sound of breaking glass reached her ears. Knowing better than to barge in on The Dark Lord, she knocked on the heavy wooden door.

“My Lord?” Bellatrix asked through the door when her knock got no reply. “Is everything all right?”

When she still received no response, Bellatrix opened the door slowly as she carefully stuck her head inside. She noticed first the shards of glass strewn about one side of the room. The next thing she saw made her draw her wand instinctively. Her master lay unmoving on the floor behind the table, and she could see that the front of his robes were drenched with blood.

Bellatrix threw the door open and quickly scanned the room for threats as she made her way over to Voldemort and said, “My Lord! What has happened? My Lord, can you hear me?”

Voldemort opened one eye and tried to focus on Bellatrix without success as he struggled to whisper, “Potion… seven ounces… per hour.”

Bellatrix looked to the potion still steaming on the table as Voldemort slipped from consciousness. She wasted no time in what she knew she had to do. She immediately recovered the scales from among all of the broken glass on the floor and placed it back on the table. Trusting that the potion was finished, she carefully measured out precisely seven ounces.

It was nearly four thirty in the morning when Voldemort awoke and opened his eyes as everything around him came into sharp focus. He was laying in his own bedchamber, and in the candlelight he could see Bellatrix sitting in a chair across the room reading a large dusty book.

“You have done well, Bellatrix,” Voldemort said, causing Bellatrix’s head to snap up in surprise.

“My master,” Bellatrix said with a rare smile as she closed the book and walked over to Voldemort and knelt down beside his bed. “I have done no more than I have sworn to do. I deserve no further praise.”

“Yet I would have trusted no other to watch over my recovery,” Voldemort said.

“Is your recovery complete now, my Lord?” Bellatrix asked.

“No,” Voldemort responded. “The potion you have been giving to me must continue to be taken every hour for the next two days. In addition there are other potions that will need to be brewed to further repair the damage. It will fall to you to brew those potions for me.”

“I am at your service, my Lord,” Bellatrix said proudly. “If only I could have been there to prevent this injury in the first place. You should have let me go with you to the Ministry. I would have placed myself between you and the aurors to prevent your injury.”

“The aurors were no match for me,” Voldemort spat in disgust. “I sliced through their defenses as if they were made of smoke. I broke into their most secure area and killed Moreland as I intended. I strode out again with just as much ease.”

Bellatrix could see the fury burning in her master’s eyes, so she hesitated before she said, “But your injury…

“Potter,” Voldemort hissed. “I was nearly into the floo system when I looked behind me and saw that Potter had arrived.”

“But surely he could not have…” Bellatrix began.

“We have all greatly underestimated Harry,” Voldemort said. “Perhaps I more than any other have underestimated him. It was my belief that he had always survived against me out of trickery and timely intervention from others. It was that image of him that I had in my mind when I dueled him at the Ministry. Little did I know that the Harry Potter I was dueling was not the same Harry Potter I had faced before. I have no doubt that I could beat him in a duel the next time we meet, but I displayed a serious lack of judgment in our latest duel. I had in mind to toy with him for a moment before I killed him. I would have been better served if I had adopted his frame of mind though. He stepped into that duel as I would have in my younger days. His only thought was to kill me.”

“I don’t understand how he could have grown so powerful,” Bellatrix said as she tried to process what she was hearing.

“Perhaps Dumbledore’s death galvanized his thinking more than we had anticipated,” Voldemort said. “I have never seen him so focused before. I’m sure it must have been that same focus that led him to learn to use the ancient spell he injured me with. It would have surely killed me then and there if I had not studied the same spell and it’s countercurse when I was a student myself. It just shocked me for a moment that Harry would have been learning spells like it. They can only be found in the restricted section of the library at Hogwarts in the section on the dark arts.”

“Perhaps Potter isn’t the vision of good that everyone believes him to be,” Bellatrix said with a twisted grin.

“I dare say that it was Dumbledore who taught him such a spell,” Voldemort said. “We know from our spies that Harry was meeting with Dumbledore during the last school year for private lessons of some sort. It wouldn’t surprise me if Harry didn’t even know it was dark magic he was learning.”

“Then I doubt he can perform much of it properly, since with most dark spells you have to want to cause harm to someone,” Bellatrix said. “He tried to use an unforgivable curse on me when we fought at the Ministry. He failed miserably.”

“Don’t assume that is still true,” Voldemort warned. “The spell he used against me had as much will behind it as I would have used. It may not just be me it works against either. When he appeared in the lobby before our duel, there were four more death eaters lying unconscious around him.”

“But how?” Bellatrix asked in shock. “How is it possible that he was not only able to find them, but was able to overpower them all as well?”

“I have to assume that Harry has come into possession of some device that enables him to locate death eaters,” Voldemort said as if thinking out loud. “I would also assume that he is only targeting death eaters who are alone. It might be possible for him to surprise a lone death eater long enough to render them unable to respond in time. At least, it seems to be easiest with our more recent additions to our ranks.”

“I am attempting to train them, my Lord,” Bellatrix said as she hung her head in shame.

“I do not question your methods or your determination in such a task, Bellatrix,” Voldemort said as another stabbing pain shot through his abdomen. “I know that I have waited long enough to lighten your burden. Most of my inner circle of death eaters sit even now in Azkaban awaiting the day when they will be free to do my bidding once again. The time of their liberation is near. Once I have fully recovered, we will begin the planning for an attack on Azkaban. Believe me when I tell you, we will not fail.

14
The Visitor


Harry had been back at home for just over twenty-four hours, and he was feeling more and more like a caged animal. Hermione and the entire Weasley clan had accompanied him home from St. Mungo’s after his one night stay there. They were all so worried that he would try to go after more death eaters that Hermione slipped him a sleeping potion at dinner that knocked him out until well into the following day.

Harry had awoken to find Ginny above the covers next to him with her arm draped over his chest. He was so overcome with happiness at that moment that he forgot about his anger with Hermione. He watched her sleep for several minutes before she opened her eyes and noticed he was looking at her.

Harry had bowed willingly to Ginny’s request that he stay in the house with her for the rest of the day. Spending the day with Ginny was as pleasant as it had ever been, but it began to bother him more and more that she would tense up if he so much as looked out a window. If anything, it only made him more determined to stick to his word.

“Have you given much thought to what you want to do after you graduate, Harry?” Ginny asked as she snuggled closer into Harry’s arms as they watched a magical fire dance in the fireplace.

Harry hesitated long enough as he considered her question to make her look up at him before he said, “I used to think about it often enough. I can’t really say that I’ve thought about it recently though. I haven’t really thought about my own future since just before…”

Ginny could see pain suddenly come into Harry’s eyes as she softly said, “Since before Professor Dumbledore died. Oh Harry. I didn’t mean to make you feel like this tonight.”

“It’s all right, Ginny,” Harry said. “I need to feel this way every now and then. If I didn’t I would be no better than Voldemort. He doesn’t feel anything for anyone. I, on the other hand, have very strong feelings for several people.”

“Well I certainly hope I’m included in that list,” Ginny teased.

“You’re at the very top, and you know it,” Harry said giving Ginny a playful jab in the ribs.

“A girl likes to hear it every so often,” Ginny said with a giggle.

“You deserve to hear it every day,” Harry said as he brushed her cheek lightly with the backs of his fingers. “I’ll try to remember to tell you just how much I love you every day.”

“Oh you have no idea how long I waited to hear you say words like that,” Ginny said as Harry kissed the top of her head. “I still can’t believe it sometimes. It’s like a dream come true to be sitting here like this with you.”

“You really do know how to make me think about the future don’t you?” Harry said as he imagined something in his head and Ginny looked up at him questioningly. “Someday I want this to be our house.”

“Are you sure?” Ginny asked. “I can be pretty hard to live with. Just ask one of my brothers.”

“I don’t need to,” Harry said with a grin. “I think I know you pretty well myself. Aside from the occasional bat-bogie hex, you’re wonderful. I’ll suffer through those if I have to.”

“Harry, I…” Ginny began before she was interrupted by a whistling sound from the mirror in the entry indicating that someone was coming up the front walk. “I’ll see who it is.”

“That isn’t what you were going to say,” Harry said as he followed her to the entry. “Come on, out with it.”

“Later,” Ginny said with a smile as she looked at the mirror. “Professor McGonagal is coming.”

“It isn’t like her to call so late unless she has some important news,” Harry said as he was surprised to find that the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. “Ginny, stand back out of the way. Let me get the door.”

“Harry, what’s wrong?” Ginny asked as she noticed Harry reaching for his wand.

“I don’t know,” Harry responded as there was a knock at the door. “Something just doesn’t feel right. Please, stand clear of the door.”

Ginny moved back into the sitt