Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Moments in Love	By : Gandalfs-Beard Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 175861 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 14
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All rights belong to Rowling. Nor do I make any money from the story.

Chapter List
- 62
- 63
- 64
Let Sleeping Dragons Lie

Breakfast was a somber affair, despite being provided for by Dobby. After the horrors of the previous day, and the interrupted sleep during the night, Dora and Hermione both insisted on taking a day to recuperate and regroup before continuing their mission.
Despite himself, Harry relented. It was obvious how badly everyone had been shaken by their experience, and if he was being honest with himself, Harry had to admit that he was relieved to be talked into it. Indeed, Harry ended up enjoying the time off much more than he thought he would, as the others decided to take a little walk along the stream and explore the woods a bit, giving Harry and Hermione some alone time together in the tent.
Feeling much better and more relaxed after their exchange of passions, Harry drifted off into a sound sleep. Hermione sat beside him stroking his messy black hair, smiling to see him looking so much more peaceful than when he had woken earlier that morning. It was obvious that Harry had been too worried about everyone else to sleep properly during the night.
For her part, Hermione felt more invigorated. After a few minutes she rose from the mattress and dressed warmly. Her breath clouded in the biting winter air when she stepped out of the tent for a stretch and a change of scenery.
The sound of giggling from behind the tent caught Hermione’s ear. Curious, she trudged around the side of the tent and pushed aside the branches of the bushes at the back to see what was going on. Her eyes widened with surprise when she spotted Parvati and Luna sitting on a blanket on some underbrush untouched by snow with their lips pressed together.
Startled, Luna and Parvati fell apart, both of them blushing furiously and looking rather sheepish.
“It was all her idea,” said Parvati, giggling and pointing at Luna.
“Luna... What? ... But... Ginny...” Hermione gasped, never having taken Luna for someone who would cheat on her girlfriend.
“Is that Hermione?” a small voice asked, emanating from somewhere in the underbrush. Hermione’s eyes spotted something shiny glinting on the ground near Luna and Parvati’s feet.
“I think Hermione thinks I’m cheating on you, Ginny,” said Luna with a mischievous grin as she picked up the mirror.
“But... What’s going on? I don’t understand...” Hermione was now more perplexed than ever.
“Let me talk to her,” said Ginny’s voice.
Luna passed Hermione the mirror, trying hard not to giggle at Hermione’s shocked expression. Bewildered, Hermione peered at the freckled face which didn’t look put out in the least; if anything, Ginny looked like she had been enjoying herself immensely.
“It’s alright Hermione,” said Ginny, grinning. “Luna and Parvati are just practicing...”
“Practicing?”
“Yeah... Parvati’s never snogged a girl before,” Ginny chortled, “so Luna and I reckoned that she should get in some practice...”
“But why on earth would Parvati need to practice...?” Hermione began, before halting abruptly as light dawned on her. “OH!” she gasped, clapping a hand to her mouth as her eyes grew bigger. “Luna told you...”
“...about the whole Coven business,” Ginny interjected, smirking. “Apparently Parvati is the only one without a partner. Luna thought a threesome might do the trick though... Will it?”
“Oh... er... I think so. But... er... what about... er...?”
“Shagging?” suggested Ginny, waggling her eyebrows. “Luna was going to set up the mirror so I could watch them practice that next.”
Hermione glanced at Parvati in surprise. Parvati’s blush deepened and she bit her lip.
“What?” she said, giggling nervously. “It’s not like I have a boyfriend at the moment... or ever really. Terry Boot was just my date to the ball...”
“I know,” said Hermione. “But are you sure...? I mean... for your first time... with a girl?”
Luna and Ginny couldn’t help laughing uproariously. It was so unlike Hermione to speak in less than full sentences.
“Well, I wasn’t sure,” Parvati replied honestly. “But that’s why we’re practicing - to see if I’ll like it. And so far it seems a bit of alright. And I figure diddling each other can’t be that much different from diddling myself...”
“It’s much better,” Luna asserted.
“That’s quite true,” Hermione agreed, a little smile creeping to her lips. “Would... er... would you two... er, three I mean... like the tent?”
“That’s alright,” said Luna. “Harry needs to sleep. I’ve cast a warming charm over this little area and we’re quite well hidden.”
“Alright,” said Hermione. “I’ll leave you three to it then. I’ll keep this to myself for now until you’re all sure about this.”
Hermione let the branches of the bushes fall back into place, hiding Luna and Parvati and mirror-bound Ginny once more. She shook her head in amusement as she made her way back to the tent, thinking that Harry would be both pleased and embarrassed as all get out if everything went as planned. Hermione lay back down next to her sleeping Harry and cuddled him, keeping a curious ear out for any obvious sounds of pleasure.

~o0o~
Despite the continued lack of success over the next few days of searching, Harriet was just happy that the Coven had come across no more Inferi, and that the most recent snowstorm had stopped. Though without the cloud-cover, it was even colder and the bitter wind didn’t help. Everyone was more grateful than ever for the warmth of Hermione’s blue flames after the tent had been set up when dusk fell.
“Well, that’s another half a dozen squares done today,” Harriet sighed. “I suppose that’s something.”
“Yeah, we’re definitely narrowing things down, Harriet,” said Dora. “We should be stumbling across it any day now...”
“Sssh! ... There’s someone out there,” said Hermione. “I can hear voices...”
Harriet and Dora quieted immediately; Daphne quickly turned off the radio as Fleur and Jennifer turned to look at Hermione. Luna and Parvati strained their own ears to listen.
“I hear them too,” whispered Parvati; Luna nodded.
“They sound like they’re right outside,” hissed Harriet.
“We should be alright,” Hermione murmured. “Dora and I double-checked the wards.”
“We’ll wait for them to go by, but then we should check ‘em out,” said Dora quietly. “They’ll have to be setting up camp any minute as it’s already getting dark.
Harriet and Hermione quickly agreed. The voices and footsteps gradually faded, and after a few more minutes had passed Dora cast the transfiguration disguise spells on Hermione - just in case.
“Right then,” said Harriet as the Coven exited the tent into the darkening woods, “Hermione and I will move in closer once we get past our wards - see who we’re dealing with. The rest of you follow but fan out a bit and stay out of sight. If Hermione and I run into trouble, then move in!”
Hermione and Harriet followed what appeared to be two sets of footprints in the snow as they crept stealthily through the trees and the bushes. As they drew nearer to what looked like a clearing ahead, Harriet and Hermione could hear the sounds of voices and the crackling of flames.
“Er... So, nice to meet you... er...” said a nervous voice which sounded very young and very familiar. The voices which responded sounded like they belonged to much older men.
“Dirk Cresswell... you can call me Dirk...”
“And I’m Jason. Mind if we share your fire mate?”
“I suppose...” answered the anxious voice.
“It’s alright mate...” the voice which belonged to Dirk said soothingly. “Me and Jason - we’re on the run too - been out here for days...”
“How’d’you know I was on the run?” the youthful voice asked suspiciously.
“A youngster like you - out ‘ere all alone in the middle o’ winter...?” responded the voice belonging to Jason. “It’s alright though... we’re like you...”
“Really?” muttered the suspicious young voice, “How’s that then?”
“Muggleborn... both of us. Reckon you are too...” replied Dirk. “You are a wizard... right?”
“Er... maybe... I suppose,” the youthful voice replied. “But how do I know you’re not...”
“Snatchers?” Jason laughed mirthlessly. “If we were, you’d be in Ministry hands already and we’d be collectin’ the loot. So why’re you out here all alone then?”
“Didn’t want the Ministry getting their hands on my mum. I dunno if they’d really do anything to her, but I didn’t want to take the chance of going back home after I left Hogwarts,” said the young voice, sounding relieved. “I dunno if I’m muggleborn or halfblood really. My dad left us when I was young. He could’ve been a wizard I suppose. The name’s Dean by the way...”
Harriet and Hermione peered at each other, eyes widening when they realised it was Dean Thomas. Uncertain whether or not to reveal themselves, Harriet decided to remain hidden for the moment and listen a bit longer.
“Blimey... so you’re one of the lot that escaped from Hogwarts then!” said Dirk.
“Smart of you not to hook up with that Potter thug and Dumbledore’s rebellion...” Jason asserted.
“You got that right!” agreed Dirk. “Bloody murdering bastards - if it weren’t for those two, us muggleborn wouldn’t have to register with the Ministry...”
“Bollox!” growled Dean. “There was never any rebellion or murders. The Malfoys were scum... they brought it on themselves. It’s all a bloody lie...”
“That’s not what the Daily Prophet or the Wiz-Vision says...” Dirk’s voice grew as frosty and brittle as the icicles hanging from the branches and limbs of the trees in the forest around them.
“You should read the Quibbler then!” said Dean sharply.
“What?” snorted Jason. “That Conspiracy Theory rag which used to go on about Snorkacks and Nargles? I’ve seen stuff on the telly about Aliens and the Illuminati which is more believable than that tripe...”
“The Minister... she and her supporters are Pureblood fanatics - just like Voldemort was,” Dean responded coldly. “If you two believe the rubbish in the Prophet, then why are you both on the run?”
“Already said, mate...!” snapped Dirk. “We know there’s trouble, but we reckon Dumbledore and Potter are to blame for causin’ it...”
“I’m not your mate!” Dean’s voice hardened. “And I don’t think I want to share my fire with you two anymore... and there’s definitely not enough room for you in my tent.”
“Well, that’s too bad for you kid. We like it here...” said Jason dangerously. “There’s two of us and only one of you, and you can’t be more than fourteen or fifteen. The way I figure it, that makes the fire ours then...”
Harriet and Hermione crept closer as their alarm on Dean’s behalf skyrocketed, both of them with their hearts pounding, wands at the ready as they crouched low.
“Piss off!” snarled Dean. There was a rustling sound, and Harriet knew that everyone around the campfire had their own wands out now.
“Don’t be stupid boy!” muttered Jason.
“You sure you want to do this kid?” warned Dirk.
Dean swallowed in trepidation, breath quickening as he peered at the two much older and much larger muggleborn wizards, kicking himself for allowing his anger at their prattling to get the better of him. He might have been able to take on one of the wizards, but Dean wasn’t sure that he was fast enough to take on the both of them.
Dean’s eyes widened in shock when red arcs of magic jetted from the darkness beyond the foliage, and the two threatening wizards collapsed in a heap on the forest floor, both unconscious.
“What the...?” gasped Dean. “Th...thanks for that, but wh...who are you?” he stammered breathlessly when two very attractive teenage witches entered the clearing, their wands still trained on the fallen wizards.
Despite his anxiety, Dean couldn’t help noticing that one of the girls had gorgeous auburn hair. He felt a pang, hoping that Susan was doing alright at Hogwarts.
“Don’t you recognise me then Dean?” chortled the pretty girl with green eyes and windswept black hair spilling around her shoulders.
Dean’s eyes nearly fell out of his head as the hair shortened into a shaggy moptop and the face became more angular. Dean felt his own face blazing with embarrassment when he realised who he had been ogling.
“H...Harry?” Dean groaned questioningly. “Is that really you?”
“Call me Harriet for now!” Harry winked, turned his features back into a girl’s and grinned, nodding.
“We should talk back at the tent behind the protection and concealment charms. Dean probably still has the Trace on him,” said the auburn haired girl quietly to Harriet. “But these two can stay here, seeing as they like your fire so much!” she concluded, glaring icily at the fallen wizards.
“Hermione?” said Dean, recognising her voice.
“Yeah, it’s Hermione, and she’s right...” murmured Harriet. “Let’s go back to our tent before these two arseholes come to, or Ministry officials show up.”
Harriet changed back into Harry when they returned to the tent to make Dean more comfortable, and Hermione reverted to her normal bushy-haired self. Dean tried his best not to appear hot and bothered when the rest of the young witches all cheerfully gave him warm hugs after he set his broom and rucksack down. Keeping Susan at the forefront of his mind helped a bit, but Dean sobered rapidly when the discussion turned to what had brought everyone out to the wilderness to begin with.
“I’m glad you’re safe Dean,” said Parvati
“Thanks for sticking up for the Quibbler Dean,” beamed Luna.
“Of course I would! I can’t believe any muggleborn would pay any mind to anything else! Of all the rotten luck...” Dean griped. “In the middle of nowhere I had to run into two of the thickest berks...”
“You should stick with us for tonight at least,” said Dora. “It’ll be safer for you behind the concealment and protection charms we’ve got set up! Whoever’s monitoring the Trace back at the Ministry, if they send anyone to check it out tonight, they’ll only find those two idiots when they show up.”
“So, you lot are hiding out here from the Ministry then?” asked Dean. “And what’s up with these muggleborn relocation camps I’ve heard about...? D’you know anything about them?”
“From the information we gathered during the raid on the Ministry, it’s clear they’re more like concentration camps,” Hermione muttered grimly. “As awful as those two out there were, I hated leaving them behind... But it's obvious that we can't trust them.”
“Wait... you lot broke into the Ministry?” Dean gasped. Then Hermione’s implication hit him like a punch in the stomach. “You mean...?” Dean trailed off and gulped, glancing at all of the somber faces of the Unaffiliated.
“If we’re right - these places - they’re more than just relocation camps... more than prisons!” said Harry darkly, his jaw tightening. “They’re much worse...”
Harry blinked, a muscle on his temple twitching. Dean’s blood ran with ice; he shivered - he’d had a very good idea how bad things were with the current administration in the Ministry, but he had struggled to keep his head and not fall into paranoia.
“So Dean... how are you with fighting spells?” asked Harry after a moment passed.
“I... I trained with Fred and George and the Quidditch team a bit before... before we all had to leave Hogwarts,” said Dean hoarsely. “I can do a decent stunner and a basic shield spell - that’s how I got away from some Snatchers last week. I... I stunned one - managed to escape on my broom before anyone else found me. Wh...why?”
“Good... That’s good enough for now,” said Harry, nodding. “We’re not on the run Dean... There may not have been a rebellion against the Ministry before, but there damn well is now! We’re going to find the internment centre they’ve got here in Wales - we’re going to document what they’re doing there, rescue any prisoners we can... and raze the place to the ground!”
“...I just wanted to know that you can handle yourself when things get hot. I’d let you stay and search and fight with us, but the problem is that you’re underage - you still have a Trace on you. The rest of us are all either emancipated or of age... I’ll call my godfather and Lupin in the morning to take you someplace warded and safe before we all leave tomorrow... alright?”
Dean could see the fiery determination in Harry’s eyes - somehow Harry looked far older than his years. Dean found himself wishing that he could help Harry fight the Ministry. Taking a deep breath, Dean smiled and nodded.
“Yeah... sounds good! Thanks Harry!”
“Excellent!” said Harry, relaxing and grinning. “You hungry? We were just about to get some supper when we heard you and those other blokes nearby...”
“Famished!” Dean grinned. “I haven’t eaten properly in days... I stole some food from a muggle shop in a village last week and felt guilty as hell about it... Most of it’s gone now.”
Dean ravenously wolfed down the plentiful meal which Dobby had brought everyone as Harry and the rest of the Coven began to fill him in on what they had been up to since Hogwarts. Dean was thrilled and astonished by the story of the raid on the Ministry to rescue Arthur Weasley. Though Dean supposed he really shouldn’t be too surprised, given the rumours which had been flying around Hogwarts about Harry and his closest friends defeating most of Voldemort’s Monster Army over the summer holidays.
No wonder Dean hadn’t seen much of Harry and Hermione except during meals at the beginning of the school-term - they’d been too busy studying and training, preparing for the moment they knew was coming - really learning how to fight and make the best use of their skills. It was almost scary how grown-up Harry, Hermione and their friends seemed, even Luna who was younger than Dean.
Dean was horrified to hear about the village of the Dead, extremely glad that he hadn’t run into any Inferi himself. Dean’s own story of being on the run after sending his mother a message to go and stay with his aunt seemed to himself like a walk-in-the-park in comparison. His day-to-day attempts to stay out of sight while avoiding the use of magic except to ride his broom under cover of night, his gnawing hunger, and his run-in with the Snatchers, all barely worth a mention.
“Are you joking? Survivin’ this long while barely using any magic...?” gasped Dora.
“And escaping even when you did? That’s bloody brilliant Dean!” exclaimed Harry.
“The Trace... eet is a shame that it is still upon you,” said Fleur. “We would do very well to have you fighting alongside us.”
As Dean settled in his sleeping bag, his trusty broom beside him, he felt full, safe, and warm for the first time in weeks. He glanced over at Harry and the witches snuggling inside their own sleeping bags and under their covers, smirking to himself. He couldn’t help imagining what else they they might be getting up to in the tent together.
But Dean’s fantasies vanished as he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of his titian-haired Susan back in his arms again when Dumbledore and Harry eventually retook Hogwarts.

~o0o~
“So this is where you found Dean then?” said Lupin as he and Sirius examined the clearing and the remains of the campfire, the early morning sun peeking through the trees and a bitter chill in the air.
Harry and Hermione both nodded uncomfortably, peering at the many extra sets of footprints in the snow which indicated that others had been there after they’d left the two muggleborn wizards lying unconscious the night before. Broken branches on bushes surrounding the site also indicated that whomever had been there had searched the area, and they were both glad that the concealing charms had worked so well on their own campsite.
“You did the right thing, you know!” said Sirius reassuringly, seeing the guilty expressions on Harry’s and Hermione’s faces. “Clearly you couldn’t trust a pair of dolts who believe the swill that the Prophet and the Wiz-Vision are peddling. They would’ve likely turned the lot of you in to protect their own hides...”
“In any case, I think those two were long gone before anyone from the Ministry arrived looking for Dean,” Lupin proffered. “There’s no sign of struggle - indicating that they departed quickly when they revived... No doubt when they came to, the fools at least had the sense to realise that the Ministry would be keen on apprehending any students who had escaped Hogwarts when the use of magic in their vicinity was detected.”
“Good... that’s good then!” said Harry, letting out a sigh of relief. “As thick and pushy as they were, I’d hate to think that the Ministry had them.”
Having finished their perusal of the site, Lupin and Sirius followed Harry and Hermione back to their own camp, where they were greeted warmly by the rest of the Coven and Dean Thomas.
“Hi Professor,” said Dean, very happy to finally see a familiar adult who didn't inspire paranoia in him.
“Hello Dean,” smiled Lupin. “I can't say that I've been doing much professoring these days though...”
“Wotcher Sirius... Remus,” greeted Dora with a grin. “So ‘ow’s it going with you lot?”
“Could be better, but we think we’re closing in on the facility we believe is somewhere in Northern England,” replied Sirius. “But the ones we think are in Scotland and Northern Ireland are less certain... We’re still stretched quite thin, as we’re also trying to protect Muggleborn from the Ministry as we come across them - Monsieur Delacour’s people have been instrumental in helping those with families who wish to leave Britain escape the country, and others are staying in hiding or offering to join the fight...”
Fleur beamed proudly to hear that her father's contributions were having beneficial effects.
“Unfortunately those two that young Dean here ran into last night are not the only ones who find it difficult to believe that the Ministry’s ‘Registration Programme’ is more than a means to protect purebloods from ‘Dumbledore’s Insurrection’...” added Lupin with a heavy sigh. “A few are even turning themselves in. And we’re also doing our best to protect muggle and wizard civilians from Inferi attacks. Harry informed us of your own run-in a few days ago.”
The members of the Coven murmured and nodded sadly in response.
“Would you like to stay for breakfast,” asked Luna.
“Afraid not... We’d best be off with Dean and get him to an Order Safehouse as soon as possible,” said Sirius with a shake of his head. “As animagi with our particular set of traits, we’re both very much in demand right now...”
“But don’t hesitate to call us again the moment you need us,” concluded Lupin.

~o0o~
Senior Undersecretary Percy Weasley scowled at the reports crossing his desk as he sipped his second cup of tea. He glanced up when he heard the door to his office open and spied Minister Dolores Umbridge approaching.
“Why so glum Percy?” asked the Minister in her sweetest voice. “Things have been moving forward relatively smoothly since the debacle in the Department of Mysteries. It is to be expected that it will take quite some time to uncover all of the Muggleborn and to remove them from our society... but things are moving apace.”
“There was another hit on the Trace last night for one of the muggleborn who escaped Hogwarts - stunning spells apparently - but by the time Aurors arrived, he was already gone. And besides that, there’s been another round of resignations in the Auror Office,” the Senior Undersecretary muttered crossly. “We lost three more this morning who refused to arrest Muggleborns who resist registration and relocation.”
“Never mind dear,” Dolores smiled comfortingly. “The Snatcher adjuncts to the Unspeakable Office are by and large more than making up for personnel losses in the Auror Office... And it is better that we know who stands with the Ministry and who stands against us. It simply won’t do to have more potential spies for Dumbledore in our midst after all.”
“Oh!” Percy raised his eyebrows and his features brightened. He hadn’t considered that angle. “Right then... I suppose I should go through my files of the resigned and relist them as possible threats to the Ministry then.”
“Splendid Percy!” beamed the Minister. “That will do very nicely indeed.”

~o0o~
The mist drew across the snowbound wooded valley as evening approached on the day following the departure of Dean with Sirius and Lupin. Harriet was getting set to call it a day, but Parvati yanked the earphones from her head when the FM radio of Jennifer’s Walkman began to squawk.
“Ow! That hurt...” muttered Parvati, rubbing her ear. “It’s not supposed to do that is it?”
“Not like that... no,” Jennifer replied; she could hear the ear-piercing squeal without even having to put the headphones on herself. “Let me see then.”
Jennifer frowned when she glanced at her mobile phone. The display on the little LCD screen was flickering, but she couldn’t really be sure if that meant anything.
“I... I think we might be getting close,” said Hermione, her voice betraying her increased anxiety as she looked at the compass in her hand. Everyone turned to Hermione. Harriet swallowed apprehensively as she drew closer to have a look herself. The compass needle was spinning wildly.
“D’you reckon...?” Harriet began.
“Given the interference on the radio and the compass, it could very likely be caused by a magical source.” Hermione answered quietly.
“Right then... we’ll keep heading this direction when we’re ready,” murmured Harriet, nodding at Dora.
As Dora altered Hermione’s appearance, Harriet cast the alarm detecting and disarming charm ahead of the Coven before leading the Coven forward. When Harriet felt the pulsating vibration of the return signal in her wand, she was certain.
Having already decided that she didn’t want to spoil her incognito identity as Harriet, she altered her own features further, giving herself blue eyes and short, straw coloured hair. As they had planned in advance, Dora altered everyone else’s features as well. Harriet had considered making some of them invisible for the operation, but decided against it, not wanting anyone to be lost and left behind inadvertently.
“Stay quiet and low, and look out for guards,” Harriet hissed at the others. “The alarm deactivating spell interacted with something, so there’s definitely some sort of magically protected facility ahead.”
Dora, Fleur, and Hermione crept ahead of the others silently, all of their senses on heightened alert. Harriet felt her heart thudding in her ears as they slipped deeper into the woods, shuffling through the snow.
After about fifteen minutes creeping through the forest, in the misty twilight Harriet could only just make out a clearing ahead with a low shadowed building with no windows set dead in the centre. When Hermione, Fleur and Dora halted and signaled, Harriet gestured at Jennifer, Daphne, Luna, and Parvati to take flanking positions in pairs. According to Hermione’s hand signal, they had detected four guards around what looked more and more like a concrete bunker as they drew nearer.
This was it, thought Hermione as she, Harriet, Fleur, and Dora inched forward wands at the ready. Her heart was pounding so hard, that even though she knew it was silly, Hermione was afraid that the sentinels would hear it.
Dora swallowed nervously - stealth had never been her strong suit. Fleur did her utmost to control her heartrate and breathing; one slipup could give them all away and they would lose the element of surprise.
Harriet nodded at Hermione, Dora, and Fleur, directing each of them to stay low and chose a guard wizard, while Luna and Parvati, and Daphne and Jennifer covered them; all using the increasingly dense shroud of mist as camouflage. Everyone stilled, their hearts in their throats when an owl hooted.
One of guards - all of whom appeared somewhat bored and listless - suddenly sprang to attention.
“What’s that?” he said, sounding more alarmed than a Ministry sentry should have. Dora surmised that he was probably a Snatcher, more used to burglaries, drugs dealing, and street-fighting than guarding a secret installation in a spooky forest at night.
“Relax! It’s just an owl,” chortled one of the other guards. “What sort of wizard are you that doesn’t know an owl when he hears one?”
“Shut it!” snapped the Snatcher. “Not alla us could afford owls when we went to ‘Ogwarts.”
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist mate,” said another sentry. “‘E’s just takin’ the Mickey outta ya. Anyway, don’ worry so much - this is an easy peasy gig. Nobody can even see the installation unless they get inside the wards, and they’ll set off the alarm if they make it past the perimeter...”
Despite her apprehension, Harriet couldn’t help chuckling inwardly. The Snatcher shook his head and snorted.
“Wot, you lot never ‘eard of alarm disarmin’ spells? Guess some o’ us ‘Urchins’ ain’t as dumb as you Ministry lot think we are,” he retorted disdainfully.
“He’s right you two,” said the one guard who had remained silent during the exchange. “Don’t be so bloody cocky! Keep your ears peeled... I don’t care if you do hear an owl. For all you know it could be a signal.”
Harriet sighed. That guard was obviously the one in charge. This could be trickier than Harriet had hoped for, though she had known as well as any that they would up against highly trained wizards - for the most part. The Snatcher and the Shift Supervisor seemed to be on their toes in any case, even if the other two were apparently used to feeling a sense of complacency, assured of their own superiority.
The two who had been so dismissive of the Snatcher fidgeted uncomfortably at their rebuke, and quiet reigned once more in the snowy forest glade. The Coven grew colder as they all waited in the growing fog for what seemed like hours. Finally, the sentries seemed to relax and let their guard down again. Harriet silently signaled to Dora, Hermione, and Fleur; crouching low, using the misty darkness as cover, they crept forward.
The Unspeakables and the Snatcher guarding the exterior of the nondescript, windowless building never knew what hit them. Shadows reached out from the dark swirls of fog and before any of them could react, each sentry collapsed as a stunner from a wand pressed to the back of the head brought them down with little more than a brief, very muted crackling sound.
Luna, Parvati, Daphne and Jennifer stepped out of the shadows when Harriet beckoned the rest of the Coven forth.
“Excellent!” murmured Harriet. “That was brilliant guys!”
“Yeah it was,” said Jennifer as she looked down at the unconscious sentries. “They didn’t even see you guys coming.” Luna, Parvati, and Daphne nodded in agreement.
“Blimey! That was close though,” Dora said quietly, “I was almost sure they were gonna catch us out for a minute there... Anyway, this is convenient - Harriet and I can lead the rest o’ you in lookin’ like these blokes. If anyone’s inside the entrance, we can take ‘em out before they realise anything’s wrong.”
Daphne peered at the small windowless concrete building, which barely looked larger than a bungalow.
“Shouldn’t it be much bigger?” she asked, bewildered. “I thought it was supposed to be a prison camp of some sort.”
“I expect it’s larger on the inside,” Hermione responded.
“It looks a bit like a bunker... I suppose it could be an underground facility,” sighed Harriet, hoping that Hermione was right; the last place she wanted to be was trapped underground.
The Coven dragged the four unconscious guards into the bushes and took their wands. Despite a thorough search, no key was found on any of the wizards. Dora cast a bewitched sleep spell on the wizards to keep them out for the duration of the raid, and a warming charm so they wouldn’t freeze to death. Removing the robes of two of the Unspeakables and pulling them on over their own clothes, Dora and Harriet also took their forms, morphing into the wizards.
“Got your video camera ready Jennifer?” asked Harry-who-now-looked-like-an-Unspeakable in a deeper version of his own voice, sounding much calmer than he felt. He had no idea how the older male wizard was supposed to sound, and just hoped that looking like the man would be enough to get them past any checkpoints.
“Yeah...” said Jennifer, swallowing in trepidation as she showed Harry the small handheld video camera which was operating entirely on magic, “I already got some exterior footage... and of the guards in their Unspeakable robes.”
“Good,” Harry nodded. “Just keep it on from here on out... Alright everyone, try to stick together - focus on finding prisoners and gathering the wands of anyone else we take down, and take anything else that looks like it’ll be useful for evidence - artifacts, documents - just chuck the lot in your bags.”
“I just wanna say somethin’ too, before we go in...” said Dora in her own voice to emphasize that it was really her speaking; it seemed odd to hear her voice coming from a wizard’s mouth. “...I know none of us wants to kill anyone if we don’t ‘ave to - and we won’t if we can help it. But don’t ‘old back once any fighting starts and their Killing Curses start flying. I don’t doubt that ‘oever’s in there wouldn’t bat an eye at murdering or torturin’ every last one of us. So use whatever spells you think are appropriate when the time comes - nobody’ll think any less of you.”
“Dora’s right...” Hermione added firmly, seeing everyone’s anxious faces. “We have a good idea what they’re capable of, considering how many Death Eaters are in their ranks...”
“Yeah... we do!” Harry sighed, “You’re both right! We have to treat this like we’re battling Voldemort and his army all over again...”
“Or the Malfoys...” muttered Daphne, her voice icy and brittle; Fleur nodded in agreement.
Seeing the steely determination in everyone’s eyes, Harry knew they were all ready. The Coven approached the low building in the mist shrouded forest glade once again, unlit wands pointing at the locked entrance.
“Right then!” said Harry, “The lock probably unlocks only with a coded spell, and likely has an anti-alohomora charm on it, but I bet they didn't account for the power of a Coven spell. Everyone all together... alohomora on my mark...”

~o0o~
The Unspeakable sitting at the intake desk twiddled his thumbs in boredom; nobody had been brought in on his shift for several days. He looked up in surprise when he heard the heavy iron door groaning open. He had received no memos of any imminent arrivals, and the magically locked door wasn't supposed to be otherwise unlocked until the shift was over.
“What’re you doin’ in here?” growled the intake wizard when he saw two of the sentries entering. “Your shifts aren’t up for another hour.”
“Yours is though...” muttered one of the sentries, pointing his wand at the intake wizard. “Imperius.”
As he pored over an installation map on the wall, Harry counted his blessings that Hermione had been correct about the internment compound being larger inside than out, rather than an underground facility, and also that Dora was willing and able to perform the Imperius Curse on the intake wizard. Unfortunately, it appeared that their window until potential discovery was limited.
“Alright, we’ve only got an hour at best until the guards change their shift,” Harry muttered as the Coven tentatively entered the long dark corridor past the entrance room. “We’ll have to move quickly...”
“At least all ze offices are in this corridor,” hissed Fleur, “and the administration personnel are all gone for ze day.”
“But there’s still a dozen more guards in the detention blocks,” Dora added quietly. “Not to mention that according to the sentry, my dear Aunt Bellatrix likes to work late on occasion and has a personal office floo. So stay alert...”
“Okay, I hate having to do this,” Harry said through gritted teeth, “but we’ll need to make short work of the offices. Dora... you and Jennifer, and Fleur, and Daphne take the offices on the left - Hermione and I, and Luna, and Parvati - we’ll take the ones on the right. Just empty the desks of all files as quickly as possible, grab any identifying items, and we’ll meet up at the end of the hallway in ten minutes and move on...”

~o0o~
Antonin Dolohov rolled his eyes when he heard Thorfinn Rowle’s stomach rumbling.
“Hungry again already?”
“What?” grunted Rowle, “I’m starved, and we’re the lucky one’s pullin’ a double today...”
“True that,” Dolohov shrugged, grinning. “I suppose I’ve worked up a bit of an appetite myself on that muggle bint in Cell-block C...”
“Heh... talk about a big appetite,” Rowle muttered with an evil looking smirk. “Can’t even keep it in your trousers for barely ten minutes at a time.”
“Gotta get the good ones while they’re still fresh... and before Bellatrix gets her hands on ‘em...” Dolohov retorted. “They’re no good after they’re dead...”
“Hunh... tell that to Bowdler! ... ‘E’d do an Inferi if it wouldn’t bite ‘is willy orf!” Rowle chortled, “ ‘E’s probably in the Chamber right now ‘avin’ ‘is way with the corpses... Anyway, I’m headed to the kitchens - want anything?”
“Yeah, why not!? Bring me back a sandwich.”
“Righto...” Rowle nodded. “And mebbe after we’re done eating, I’ll join you in Cell Block C... she’s a real pretty little bird, that one is.”
Still shaking his head, chuckling about Bowdler’s proclivities, Rowle made his way through the corridors to the kitchens by the staffroom at the end of the main corridor. He rifled through a cupboard looking for the bread before rummaging in the coldbox for some corned beef and cheddar cheese. Laying out four slices of rye-bread, he busied himself making sandwiches for himself and Dolohov.
“Wish we ‘ad us some bleedin’ ‘ouse-elves ‘ere,” Rowle groused to nobody as he spread a thick layer of Colman’s mustard on two slices of bread, and slathered the other two pieces with some chutney.
Sandwiches finally completed and wrapped in wax-paper, Rowle grabbed two bags of crisps and threw them on the plate as well. He kicked open the kitchen door and stepped into the corridor, his eyes widening in surprise.
“‘Oo the bloody ‘ell are you?” Rowle barked at the two startled witches, his wand instantly in his hand.
Fleur and Daphne spun around to face the wizard who had appeared in the dimly lit corridor just after they had finished ransacking the office near the end of the hallway. When the wizard saw their two wands pointing at him, he threw himself back through the door he had exited a moment before, his plate of sandwiches clattering to the ground.
“Avada Kedavra,” shouted the wizard as he dove back through the doorway.
Fleur rolled out of the line of fire; the green bolt of lightning sparked against the wall on the other side of the corridor, only missing her by centimetres. Her heart thudded against the wall of her chest, realising how close she had come to dying. Instinctively Fleur raised her other hand to shoot a Veela fireball, then remembered that they didn’t want to rouse too much attention yet. She motioned to Daphne who nodded in understanding.
Daphne stood on one side of the doorframe, and Fleur on the other, both of their chests heaving rapidly as they peeked to see where the wizard was inside. Another arc of green lightning shot through the opening and they both fell back.
Fleur signaled Daphne again and flung herself flat to the floor in the doorway, silently firing a Reductor Curse at the table the wizard had tipped over to hide behind. The wizard’s third killing spell missed again, as he had been aiming where he thought the witch would be standing.
Daphne was in the doorway the moment the green arc of magic had dissipated, furiously whipping her wand three times through the cloud of disintegrating particulates which had been the upturned table. The wizard’s eyes bulged with shock when his wand arm fell away in a spray of blood, severed at his elbow.
Rowle gasped in short, ragged breaths, his body wracked with pain from the two long gashes across his chest. He couldn’t believe this was happening - this was supposed to be a secure location. What had happened to the alarms? But as bad as his situation appeared, he felt a glimmer of hope when he saw the indecision in the young witch’s eyes. She wasn’t prepared to issue a killing blow.
“DOLO...” he began to yell. Rowle never finished, his last sound a gurgling rattle of breath through the gaping hole the witch opened in his neck with another slash of her wand.
Daphne was still standing, her wand still pointed at the dead wizard, her hand still shaking and feeling rather ill at having killed again for the second time in her young life. Luna and Parvati appeared in the doorway, both looking alarmed. Seeing Daphne’s guilt-stricken features, Luna gave her a hug.
“That one was originally one of Voldemort’s,” hissed Parvati, glaring at the wizard. “He’s one of the ones who captured Harry in the Forbidden Forest when Harry shoved me into the bushes and took a spell for me before they realised I was there too.”
“Th...thanks Luna! I... I’ll be alright now,” Daphne whispered, her trembling diminishing in Luna’s embrace.
Everyone stiffened, wands at the ready when they heard footsteps running in the corridor. They relaxed when a familiar face appeared.
“It’s alright, it’s me...” muttered Dora - who had reverted to her natural form briefly to reassure the others. She changed back into the sentry wizard’s form as she spied the blood and the fallen wizard in the kitchen.
“Blimey, what ‘appened here then?” she asked as Jennifer arrived behind her, followed by Harry and Hermione.
“Fleur and I...” murmured Daphne. “He almost killed her, but... but we got him.”
“Good! That’s Rowle!” said Harry as Jennifer trained her camera on the body. “He was one of the Death Eaters that Voldemort broke out of Azkaban. He and his partner Dolohov evaded capture after the Battle of Hogwarts. He must have been recruited by Minister Umbridge at some point.”
“Someone might be expecting him back very soon,” Hermione said anxiously. “We should probably get a move-on before he’s discovered missing.”
“Yeah...” Harry agreed, “Yeah... we should! You alright then Daphne?”
“I’m okay...” said Daphne, still a bit shakily, giving Harry a wan little smile as she picked up Rowle’s wand and dropped it in her bag.
“Right... the cell-blocks should be this way then. There’s really only one way to go,” said Harry as he led the way. The Coven turned down one passageway, and then another, passing a set of iron double-doors with the insignia of a skull painted in black on the exterior.
“Wait...” whispered Harry, “We should see what’s behind here then...”
Cautiously, Dora and Harry opened the doors as the others stepped back, wands in their ready position. Harry grimaced and the everyone winced at the grinding sound of the iron hinges.
“Why don’t they bloody oil their doors?” Dora muttered crossly.
But the sound was the least of their concerns when the stench hit their noses. The Coven gasped in collective horror at the gruesome contents of the enormous chamber. As if the Inferi in the village hadn’t been bad enough, this was even worse, a ghastly sight out of there worst nightmares. Jennifer stuffed a hand into her mouth to stifle a scream, and tried her utmost to keep her other hand from shaking as she continued filming.
Nearly two hundred bodies in various states of decay were stacked like cordwood in piles near a tridecagram painted in blood on the floor. A heavy oak table nearby was covered in deadly looking metal instruments.
Harry turned green and very nearly threw up when he spied the bodies of little children among the stacks of corpses - many of them mutilated - waiting to be reanimated. Daphne and Parvati both lost the battle to control their stomachs as well, vomiting on the floor, heaving several times.
Hermione turned her tearstreaked face away and flung herself on Harry, sobbing into his chest. Luna burst into heavy sobs for perhaps the first time since the Dementors on the Hogwarts express and fell into Dora’s arms.
“Don’t look sweetie,” Dora murmured, blinking back her own tears and reverting back to her natural form again as she stroked Luna’s hair. “Don't look...” she repeated, unable to tear her own eyes away from the hideous sight.
Tears dripped from Fleur’s pale cheek as she reached for what was clearly an inventory sheet on a clipboard on the table. She placed it into her bag, then she wrapped up the tools of Death and Blood Magic in the piece of canvas they had been lying on and put them in the bag next to the clipboard.
Harry clutched Hermione tightly, and closed his own eyes to steady himself, but the smell burned the afterimage into his brain. Harry knew he would never be able forget this horror as long as he lived. This wasn’t at all unexpected, but seeing it for himself ignited something deep inside him, a fury more intense than the day he’d taken Draco Malfoy’s hand.
A raging inferno began to burn inside Harry. He knew from discussions with Dumbledore, Sirius, and Dora, that the Necromancy was Bellatrix Lestrange’s work. But it was Umbridge who was sponsoring Bellatrix this time.
Umbridge! She was as foul and loathsome as Voldemort had ever been. Worse even! The Venomous Toad hid her sadism behind a veneer of moderation, and justified it all in the name of “Order” and “Security.”
With Voldemort there had been no such pretense to lofty ideals. Tom Riddle had simply been a Psychotic Madman obsessed with blood purity and bent on personal aggrandizement - a powerful Dark Wizard with great ego and no self-control.
Umbridge was cold, calculating... a Merchant of Death, and the very embodiment of Control. In her own way she was as megalomaniacal as Voldemort, and surely as sadistic as Bellatrix, but every murder was just a number in Minister Umbridge’s scheme to “save the wizard world” from ruin by the Undesirables - the “mudbloods” and the “halfbreeds.”
And it was a scheme which she had managed to legitimise to the wizarding public through propaganda and lies.
“I’ll kill her...” Harry muttered through gritted teeth. “If I ever get my hands on Umbridge, I’m going to fucking kill her!”
Harry passed his weeping Hermione to Dora who was also comforting Daphne and Luna now. Fleur had an arm around Jennifer who was still valiantly filming everything. As the rest of the Coven departed from the Chamber of Death, Harry set a number of incendiary and concussive explosive spells, timed to go off in ten minutes, slowly following behind the others. The immolation should hopefully distract the rest of the guards as well as providing some measure of dignity for the Souls of the Dead.

~o0o~
Dolohov was tired of waiting for Rowle, and he was bored.
“Probably stuffing his face already,” he muttered to himself with a sardonic grimace. “Hope he remembers my sandwich.”
Rowle was right about one thing though, a double-shift in this place was tedious unless called upon to assist Bellatrix in her work. Dolohov decided to pay another visit to Cell Block C. Bellatrix didn’t mind if her toys were broken in a bit already, and Rowle knew where to find him whenever he was finished munching.

~o0o~
The members of the Coven were still pale and shaken by the Death Chamber, but had recovered somewhat by the time they had reached the wing of the compound which contained Cell Blocks A and B. They slipped inside a broom closet to take stock of things before carrying out the next phase of the mission.
“The spells should be going off in about a minute,” Harry murmured, “Hopefully it’ll draw most of the guards away. There’s about sixty prisoners currently, and they’re all in this wing according to the sentry at the front desk...”
“...and then we ought to be able to slip out into the Courtyard in the centre of the compound with the prisoners once we’ve released them, and call Lupin and Sirius for backup,” continued Hermione. “They should be able to apparate into the courtyard and bring some portkeys to get the prisoners away once we’ve broken through any shielding spells from the inside...”
Hermione was interrupted by shaking walls and the sound of explosions coming from the Death Chamber. Some supplies fell off a shelf as the broom closet continued to rock, and guards could be heard yelling and running by.
“How many charges did you set Harry?” Luna asked after the sixth shuddering report, as everyone peered at him questioningly in their wand-light.
“Er... about a dozen in the Chamber itself and maybe six more to go off after that in the Corridor,” Harry muttered, feeling slightly embarrassed and guilty. “...I was angry... Hopefully the follow-up explosions will take a few of those sick bastards out...”
“GOOD!” interjected the rest of the Coven in unison, and Harry quieted.
They counted the explosions, and when they heard no more guards running by, they exited the broom closet in haste. The glow of the fiery blaze that Harry had set could be seen at the far end of the corridor as they rounded the corner into the hall which contained the Cell-blocks. Dora and Harry came to a halt.
“What’s going on?” yelled one of the guards who had been left behind to watch the prisoners, seeing what appeared to be two of their own leading a new batch of prisoners to the cells. One of the other guards wasn’t so readily fooled.
“Shut up you idiot!” snarled the guard who was clearly in charge as he whipped out his wand. “That lot ain’t with us... Avada Keda...”
Rage bubbling to the surface, Fleur snapped. The guard never got to complete the incantation to his killing spell. He burst into flames, staggering down the hallway screaming when one of Fleur’s Veela fireballs hit him. The other guards who had been momentarily frozen in bewilderment shifted into gear.
Spells began flying hot and heavy. Multicoloured jets of light and arcs of green lightning burst from the guards’ wands as the Coven retaliated. The crackling of sizzling spells was punctuated by shouts, booms, and loud pops which sounded like gunshots. Sparks and debris rained down and the acrid smell of smoke filled the air as the magic ricocheted from the walls.
Daphne was blasted with a bombarda and slammed against the wall behind her with a sickening crack; she slid down the wall and fell to the floor. Jennifer’s heart leapt into her throat and she almost dropped her video-camera. Briefly distracted by the commotion, Parvati barely missed being sliced in half by a cutting spell which left a deep gash across her shoulder blade.
“I got this. Just keep filmin’...” Dora shouted. Luna covered Dora as she ran to Daphne’s aid, then fired a Reductor at the Unspeakable who had struck Parvati.
Harry could barely see through a furious haze of red, but his instincts guided his hand. When Daphne was hurled against the wall he savagely slashed his wand and the guard who had attacked her collapsed with a shriek, blood gushing from the wound the sectumsempra curse had ripped across his chest.
“She’s alright,” Dora called out to Harry and Jennifer. “She’s still breathing. Those Chinese symbols saved ‘er life.”
Nobody had time to feel relieved as the furious battle continued. Dodging a Killing Curse in the nick of time, Hermione’s head impacted the concrete floor when she fell. Briefly dazed, she scrambled to her feet whipping her wand at the wizard who had nearly killed her, slicing his wand hand clean off in a spray of blood.
One by one, the guards were felled until only one was left. Dora hit him with an Imperius spell.
“OPEN THE CELL DOORS!” she bellowed at the hapless guard.
The Unspeakable had no choice but to obey Dora’s command; he waved a wand and all the cells opened. Dora relieved the wizard of his wand when the task was finished. Jennifer kept her camera trained on the corridor which was filling with more smoke as Hermione, Daphne, Dora, Fleur, and Luna began to direct the terrified and bewildered prisoners to the corridor which led to the courtyard while Harry and Parvati kept their eye on the end of the passage. A number of the freed captives began to babble.
“Wh...who are you?”
“Where are you taking us...?”
“We’re bustin’ you lot outta here... no time to explain!” yelled Dora, “Follow the others... go on, move! Quickly...”
“Not without my daughter!” screamed a hysterical woman. “They took her to Cell Block C...”
“Bloody Hell!” groaned Harry, his face turning ashen. “LUNA! ...” Harry shouted. “Leave the prisoners to the others... stay here with Parvati and keep watch for any guards. Hermione and I are going to Cell Block C...”
Harry darted through the throng of released prisoners, grabbing Hermione’s arm, and they both took off running down the hallway amidst the chaos while the others continued to help the internees escape into the courtyard. Parvati spotted two Unspeakables returning from the blazing inferno in the Death Chamber corridor. Apparently they had managed to avoid the secondary set of explosions.
Parvati glanced apprehensively at Luna. “Er... are you ready?”
“Of course!” said Luna calmly, understanding implicitly what Parvati was asking
They waited until the flummoxed Unspeakables began firing killing curses and dodged them. Before the guards had time to raise shield spells, Parvati and Luna were already returning fire with Reductors. The screams of the disintegrating wizards were lost in the cacophony of the mayhem when another delayed explosive spell went off massively - rocking the entire compound - which Harry must have forgotten that he’d set in his anger.

~o0o~
Dolohov was starting to undress, leering at the weeping shackled girl in the cell when the walls trembled at the sound of the first explosion.
“Fucking Hell? What the blazes...?” he muttered.
The cell shook again as the sounds of explosions continued to echo through the empty passage which contained Cell Blocks C and D. Zipping up his trousers and belting his robe, bemoaning the interruption before he'd even had his chance at a little fun, Dolohov tentatively stepped into the corridor with his wand at the ready. He waited until the explosions had stopped and began to make his way back to Cell Blocks A and B when he heard a babble of shouting voices and the sound of spell fire. One last explosion shook the building and he halted.
Dolohov spied two figures rounding the corner and aimed his wand, but confusion stayed his hand when he saw who it was. The Unspeakable he knew, but the witch was unfamiliar to him. Then the blood drained from his face when the Unspeakable's features melted like wax and turned into someone else’s which were all too familiar.
“POTTER!” Dolohov barked in shock, too surprised to raise a shield spell in time to prevent Harry’s Reductor spell from hitting him in the chest.
“Harry... why did you show yourself like that?” Hermione asked in puzzlement.
“I... er... I’m not entirely sure. It... it was his spell that took me down in the Forbidden Forest!” Harry answered with an odd expression somewhere between fury and bewilderment. “I dunno... I just thought if anyone here should know it was me - it was Dolohov!”
Hermione nodded, accepting Harry’s reply without question as they both jogged towards the open cell-door. Harry came to an abrupt halt when they reached the door and took a deep breath to steady himself, averting his eyes as his already churning gut clenched tightly. He should have expected this. Hermione bit her lip in consternation when she saw how young the girl shackled to the wall appeared to be.
“Relashio,” Hermione incanted. The chains and cuffs fell away from the naked girl’s wrists and ankles as Harry tugged off the Unspeakable robes he was wearing. Harry’s face was a devastating picture of burning rage.
“Put those on the girl and get moving...” Harry growled. “I’ll be right behind you - I’m just going to set some more explosive spells.”
Gasping breathlessly and struggling against tears, Hermione flung the robes over the sobbing girl and carried her to the exit. She wasn’t even as big as Astoria had been when Harry had rescued her from Draco Malfoy. Fleur was waiting just inside the doorway.
“Where’s my mummy?” wailed the girl.
“Outside... Everyone else ees already out!” said Fleur anxiously as she took the girl from Hermione’s arms. “Where ees ‘Arry?”
“He said he’d be right behind me...” Hermione peered down the corridor through the smoke worriedly.
The compound quaked when another huge blast went off and the smoke billowed as more poured in from the direction she had just come. Hermione’s breath caught; trembling, she clapped her hand to her mouth and her tears began to roll down her cheeks when she couldn’t see Harry. Finally Harry emerged from the smoke, all sooty and coughing as he ran towards Hermione.
“THERE... There he is...! HARRY!” she shrieked. “COME ON!”
More immense explosions began to rock the entire building as Harry sprinted down the corridor at full speed, waving and yelling at the Hermione and Fleur to get out, casting more spells behind him. Fleur picked up the girl and hurried down the other passage to the courtyard, but Hermione refused to budge.
“Hermione... Bloody Hell! Get out of here!” Harry shouted again pointing his wand her direction.
Hermione gasped and flattened herself against the wall in sudden understanding. Harry’s spells flew by her, shooting down the corridor to the other end and the ceiling began to collapse from continuing impact of the repeated detonations.
Hermione didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until Harry swept her under one of his arms and barreled down the short passageway to the courtyard firing several more parting shots as he ran. Hermione gaped, staggered by the power of Harry’s concussive and incendiary explosive spells, having expected that it would take the entire Coven to accomplish what he was doing to the Ministry compound.
With his last spell as he burst into the courtyard, Harry unleashed a Firestorm spell into the corridor behind them for good measure. Gasping for breath, sweat dripping from their sooty brows, he and Hermione both clutched each other tightly as they regarded the chaos unfolding around them. The girl whom they had freed was already clinging to her mother, both of them sobbing.
“The mother of the girl you saved told me that she used to work for MI5 as an analyst before uncovering crimes committed the Prime Minister...” said Luna, her silvery eyes boggling.
“There’s other muggles too,” gasped Jennifer, who was still filming everything. “Mostly political activists of different sorts... One of them is the sister of the girl who stayed with us a few days in London...”
Harry was too out of breath - his adrenaline still pumping, his heart still pounding - to respond.
A number of freed prisoners - as frightened as they already were by the collapsing building and the billowing smoke and flames pouring from blown out doorways and gaping holes in the walls - shrieked in terror at the sound of numerous apparition cracks in the courtyard. Harry was more than a bit startled as well and had his wand in hand ready to break into battle once more.
“It’s alright Harry! The anti-apparition wards broke when we used the Shield Penetration spell while you were still inside rescuing the girl,” explained Dora when she saw Harry looking ready to fight again. “We called in the Order. Dumbledore oughta be here any minute...”
“I am indeed,” said a voice which Harry knew very well.
Harry spun around, one arm still tightly clutching Hermione. He was stunned to see Dumbledore in their midst next to Sirius and Lupin. As he and Hermione both glanced around the courtyard, he could see Arthur and Bill Weasley, Madam Bones, Dawlish, Snape, Hagrid, Moody, Shacklebolt, and several others among the arrivals as well.
Some of them were already gathering around portkeys and vanishing with about six rescued detainees at a time, as Dumbledore explained the presence of so many from the Order.
“When Lupin informed me several minutes ago of what was happening here, and mentioned that you had freed numerous prisoners, I knew you would need as many as the Order could spare to remove them all to safety,” said Dumbledore, his long white beard blowing around in the swirling air currents, blue eyes glittering in the flickering orange light of the flames.
“Sir...” gasped Hermione, speaking for Harry who was still too breathless to speak for himself. “We’ve got lots of proof that they were turning people into Inferi and there’s four knocked-out Unspeakables in the bushes in front of the building...”
“We’ve already got them...” said Lupin.
“Sniffed them out the moment we got here,” added Sirius. “By the way... any sign of my dear cousin Bellatrix?”
“I... I don’t think she was here tonight,” Harry replied, finally managing to catch a breath as his heart-rate began to return to something approaching normal.
“Damn!” swore Lupin. “That would have been something! Still... you’ve done splendidly! Is this all your team’s handiwork?” Lupin gestured at the crumbling, burning fortification surrounding them.
“It’s all Harry’s!” said Hermione, a hint of awe in her voice. “His spells were really powerful.”
“I... I’m not exactly sure how, really!” Harry muttered, swallowing anxiously. “I originally set off a few on that side over there... where the Death Chamber was. They were a bit stronger than I even realised apparently... Then I set off another load of spells on the other side just a few minutes ago,” Harry continued with almost a pleading expression “...and... and then I did the last few spells on that side there as we left the building.
“Honestly, I thought it would take all of us... together... t’do that much damage. I... I don’t know if any of the Unspeakables inside escaped or not...” Harry trailed off, his face ashen when it suddenly hit him what he’d done. He wasn’t quite sure how to say that he didn’t mean to kill every last Unspeakable he could find, not even certain that he would have meant it if he had said it.
Albus Dumbledore peered thoughtfully into Harry’s green eyes, which were glittering in the flames just as his own were. Counter-intuitively perhaps, seeing Harry’s fear at what he had unleashed within himself gave Dumbledore a large measure of comfort. Dumbledore glanced at Mrs Potter, who was determinedly staring at her husband.
“You have nothing to feel guilty about Harry!” said Hermione fiercely. “We saved everyone who needed to be saved... and everyone who died brought it on themselves the moment they knowingly took part in the Minister’s EVIL operation!”
Harry bit his lip and returned Hermione’s gaze with a watery one of his own, still uncertain.
“You must listen to your wife Harry,” the real Headmaster of Hogwarts said gently. “She speaks truly... If anything, you continue to show remarkable restraint given the power raging within you. Many would have been utterly consumed by it after witnessing what you have seen... I could not be prouder of the man you have become!
“...And the Minister, I have no doubt now that she shall rue the day that she woke the Dragon within you!”
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Moments in Love