Attacked
Not long after revealing to the Weasley children she could summon Potter house elves, Hermione and the others took a break from exploring the steadily improving Grimmauld Place to have lunch. In the dining room, they joined Molly, Sirius, and Remus, the rest of the Order having left for work or other tasks associated with the Order. It was a pleasant affair, with Sirius revealing to an eager Hermione that the children could practice magic without risking the Trace being activated because of the wards around the house.
Molly was naturally furious at Sirius for mentioning that, not wanting to 'encourage rule breaking' in the children, but Sirius was adamant. As he explained to Hermione and the Weasleys, his ancestors had an obsession with Dark Magic and artifacts that pulled them dangerously close to being declared Dark Wizards. This meant that even with all their efforts, the house was still liable to possess hidden dangers that necessitated them being ready and willing to use their wands to protect themselves. While the house was safer now than a month ago, that didn't mean they had gotten everything.
Case in point, the day before, they had discovered a Boggart living in a writing desk. It was promptly expelled from the house, but the fact remains, that the house was likely still dangerous.
In the end, Sirius won out, if only because Grimmauld Place was still his house. Still, Hermione wasn't going to complain, not if it meant she could practice her magic freely and without worry.
After lunch, Hermione quickly retired to her room, ostensibly to unpack, but mainly so she could write a letter to Harry. When she called out for a house elf, she was greeted by one that she never expected. He was wearing a hooded black robe, with the hood pulled up, obscuring his pale features, and when he spoke, it was with a watery voice. In her mind, Hermione immediately thought all he needed was a scythe and he could easily pass for a house elf Grim Reaper.
"You summoned me, Miss Granger?"
"Um, yes. I need you to deliver a letter to Harry for me."
"Easily done." He held out his hand to accept the letter.
"Thank you. Might I know your name?" Hermione asked as she handed him the letter.
"My name is Mortis, Miss Granger. I am the Chief Archivist and Ritual Master for the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter."
"Archivist? Like a librarian?"
"Close, my duties also include maintaining family records along with..." Mortis' voice drifted off as he looked about the room. "Hmm..."
"Mortis? What is it?"
There was a pause, the tension in the air growing stronger with each passing second. Until, finally, Mortis spoke again.
"There is something in this house. Something... wrong."
"Do... you know what it is?" Hermione asked, hopeful that Mortis could identify it.
"... I'm not sure... whatever it is, Death lingers around it. Be very careful, Miss Granger."
And just like that, he disappeared with a pop! And as she sat in her room, Hermione felt a very unnatural chill crawl up her spine. For the first time since setting foot in this house, she truly felt in danger. Whatever Mortis had sensed, she hoped it would soon be found.
Harry was seated at his desk, reading the latest letter he'd received from Daphne. She'd included a letter from her mother, recounting stories of their time at Hogwarts, and Harry was smiling the whole time he read it. Reading about his parents, in a time when they weren't fighting for their lives or in hiding, it was a comforting feeling, to know more about his parents beyond their fight with Voldemort.
He was brought out of his reading by the sudden appearance of another letter on his desk, this time from Hermione. Taking it, he quickly read through it.
Harry,
I hope you're doing OK. This morning, Sirius came to my house and convinced my parents to let him bring me to a house in London (can't write or say the name because of the spell placed on it) that the Order of the Phoenix is using as their headquarters. It seems the Order fears Voldemort is getting ready to make some moves, and I was considered a potential target for the Death Eaters.
Strangely enough, the Death Eaters seem to have their own problems. Everyone bearing the Dark Mark has been suffering some kind of magical attack since the Third Task. The attacks come at random, and nobody seems to know how to predict them. Voldemort is convinced Wormtail fudged up the potion that brought him back, but Snape is convinced that Lily is somehow taking her revenge from beyond the grave.
In any event, the attacks are supposed to be extraordinarily painful, and more than a few Death Eaters have died in accidents caused by the attacks. Not sure how many have died compared to the number of Death Eaters, but Sirius and Remus both expect the number to go up. Here's hoping!
Ron and the other Weasleys are here as well. It seems Dumbledore has instructed them, and me, not to send any letters for fear the owls might get intercepted. Well, since we know a way to get a message without using owls, I've elected to ignore his wishes, and now that Ron knows he can summon the Potter house elves, he'll be sending you some letters soon.
I'm not sure what your letters to Sirius say, but he's excited to finally have you move in with him. I can say with absolute confidence the only thing keeping him from bringing you here sooner is Dumbledore being unusually stubborn on that point. Between you and me, I think Sirius is running out of patience with the Headmaster. And before you ask, I haven't told him what we learned at Gringotts. I'm not sure how he'd take it at this point.
Stay safe, Harry. I don't think I'll be able to visit you for now, but I'll see you when your birthday comes.
Love, Hermione
Now Harry was grinning widely at the news. Sirius was eager for him to move in, Hermione was probably going to be spending the summer with them, and best of all, the Death Eaters were miserable! He wasn't quite sure how the attacks were occurring, but he was hopeful there'd be more to come. Anything to put the hurt on those murderous bastards.
For now, he'd relax and enjoy himself. His birthday was next Saturday, and it was already Monday. Just one more week, and then he can-
Pop!
Harry's thoughts were cut off by the arrival of another house elf. This one was wearing leather armour and had multiple knives strapped to his arms, legs, and body.
"Master Harry, Shiv brought your order."
"Ah, perfect, the extra-strong itching powder."
Madam Bones reviewed the latest report from her special squad of select Aurors. Ever since forming the squad, she'd been careful to ensure no paper trail could be traced back to her or the DMLE. Normally she despised this kind of skullduggery, but when the fate of magical Britain, not to mention the lives of every muggleborn and half-blood in Britain, was at stake, she was willing to make exceptions.
There wasn't much in the report to draw her attention. Whatever attacks the Marked Death Eaters had been suffering seemed to have abated, if at least temporarily. This reprieve seemed to have inspired them to begin replenishing their numbers. Several of the listed names were either sought out by or were actively seeking, the very same Death Eaters who were just days ago screaming in agony from a potent magical attack.
What little she knew of the attacks told her that despite the agony they went through, there was no lasting physical damage. The few autopsies she'd managed to have performed on someone who died mid-attack indicated that no muscle damage was suffered because of the attacks. They were undergoing extreme pain, yes, but nothing was going to last. Once they recovered from the shock of having felt such pain, they could use their arms just as normal again.
Most perplexing.
However, what was most perplexing in the report was the behaviour of the Toad. While confident the horrid woman hadn't realized she was being monitored, Hector, the Auror assigned to her, found it strange that she'd been behaving almost civilized. There were no condescending remarks about a person's blood status, no sneering threats about using her authority, not even a cough out of the wretch.
That made her worried. If the Toad was planning something, then someone would suffer because of it. The only question was who was she after this time? All the Auror could confirm was that she'd recently visited the Records Department when this strange behaviour began.
'What are you after this time, Toad?'
'Just one more week.'
Harry could barely believe it. Only one more week and then he was out of here! It was Saturday, exactly one week before his birthday, and he could finally leave the Dursleys behind for good! Even better, Hermione was still at the Order headquarters, the same house Sirius had been preparing for when he moved in, so he'd be able to spend the rest of the summer with her!
The Weasleys were there too, but that was just a small bonus.
They'd kept in contact, of course. With Gnarl and the other house elves happily carrying messages back and forth, Harry had been kept well appraised of the goings on in magical society. It seemed that whatever had been plaguing the Death Eaters had subsided, and they were getting active in their movements. No deaths, so far, but Voldemort had been keeping busy. His efforts to recruit the giants had failed, but the werewolf packs were more receptive. At least some were, the rest were looking to stay out of it, but feared reprisals from the likes of Fenrir Greyback.
What little Hermoine could tell of him, made it clear the man was a monster. An animal who revelled in the power of the wolf, and made it his mission to spread lycanthropy to as many as he could, he was the one responsible for giving Remus lycanthropy as a child, his favourite tactic.
But that wasn't what bothered him the most. It seemed the Ministry, through Fudge's influence in the Daily Prophet, had been running a smear campaign against him. The articles weren't quite as bad as Hermione feared, given that Rita was effectively under contract with Harry, not to mention terrified she might get outed by him or simply handed over to Andromeda, it hadn't stopped the Prophet from slandering him at every opportunity.
He'd need to talk about that with her. Hopefully Sirius and Andromeda too. Might be a good idea to remind Barnabas Cuffe that the Potter family owns the largest single stake in the Prophet.
Beyond that, there was still the matter of Dumbledore to deal with. After everything he had learned while at Gringotts, Harry wasn't sure anymore if he could trust the Headmaster. It was bad enough that nobody had ever told him the things he needed to know before, but now he knew Dumbledore had actively gone out of his way to keep Harry from learning about his family and inheritance. Why, he still wasn't sure, but it didn't change the facts. Dumbledore had been keeping this from him. Intentionally. That alone raised red flags in his and Hermione's minds.
Needing to clear his mind, Harry had decided to go for a walk after enjoying dinner in his room, a hearty plate of fish and chips provided by the Potter house elves. He definitely needed to learn more about rewarding elves for excellent work, because every meal they'd prepared for him was magnificent. Much better than the scraps the Dursleys had left to him.
Still, he should be heading back soon. He'd already circled the park twice now, and it was starting to get dark. Turning back, he began the trek back to Privet Drive, when the wind suddenly picked up. Looking up in shock, he could see the storm clouds forming as the air grew colder. Rain. After this heatwave, it was long overdue. It figures that it'd start while he was on a walk.
Racing towards the bridge near the Little Whinging Park, Harry took refuge in the underpass just as the rain began to pour down. Shaking his head, he leaned against the wall, watching the rain pour down as it steadily got colder. Before he could question why, another figure came out of the rain: Dudley Dursley.
"Oh, great..."
Dudley looked at Harry as he reached the underpass, sneering at him. "What are you doing here, freak?"
"Trying to stay dry. So, what are you doing here? No, don't tell me, beating up another kid? You and your gang must be real tough guys."
Dudley's sneer became even uglier with anger. "You shut your mouth, freak. You're lucky Mum and Dad say to leave you alone. We'll finally be rid of you in a week."
"Yes, I'll finally be with decent people instead of you lot." Harry turned and began walking towards the other end of the underpass. His cousin was an idiot, and he wasn't worth the breath it took to insult him. Vernon and Petunia had at least got him to leave him alone, otherwise he'd feel much more justified in doing something slightly more drastic than simply putting itching powder into Vernon's work clothes.
But all such thoughts faded as the night grew cold... much colder... and quiet... too quiet. Until he heard the breathing. Long, hoarse, rattling breaths, that he had heard before... on the Hogwarts Express. Spinning around, he flicked his wrist, summoning his wand from its holster, and looked at the end of the underpass they had arrived at.
"Oh no..."
Dudley growled in frustration, wanting badly to hit his cousin, but knowing his parents had laid down the law. Harry leaves them alone, and they leave him alone. Not wanting to hang around where it was getting colder, he walked after him, trying to think of something to say, something to get a reaction. Maybe if he was lucky, Harry'd do something stupid, so Dudley had an excuse to hit him, but before he could, Harry simply froze where he was before spinning around, his wand appearing from nowhere.
"Oh no..."
Confused, Dudley looked behind him, thinking Harry had heard something. When he saw nothing, he turned back to Harry, ready to clobber him for pulling his wand on him. But Harry wasn't focused on him. He saw... something. Turning back, he tried to see what was there, but couldn't see past the rain, when suddenly Harry placed his hand on his shoulder... and it was there. A tall, dark figure, hovering in the underpass entrance. It was wearing tattered robes, black as midnight, and suddenly he could hear it taking deep rattling breaths.
It was like the Grim Reaper himself had arrived.
"Harry, what is that?" Dudley whispered, fearful the... thing would hear him.
"A Dementor. Dudley, when I say 'run', you run to the house. As fast as you can." Harry whispered back, slowly advancing towards the... Dementor.
"RUN, NOW!"
Dudley didn't need any encouragement, turning around and running at full speed towards the end of the tunnel. He could hear Harry's voice call out "Expecto Patronum!" as silver light bathed the underpass walls. He didn't hear anything else, he just focused on running through the cold... so cold... until he felt it... and he saw it.
A glistening, cold grey hand was suddenly on his shoulder, and he was face-to-face with the hood of another Dementor! He wanted to scream to Harry, let him know there was a second one... but he just felt... cold... the air was being sucked into that gaping maw...
He could see his flash before him... he could see everything he had done... he could see...
Why was it so cold...
"NO!"
"Expecto Patronum!"
The spell came automatically to Harry, and he unleashed his Patronus without a second thought. The dragon roared at the Dementor, and lunged forward, seizing it in its jaws as it screeched in pain and fear. The dragon used its claws to tear the Dementor apart, leaving it as a crumpled mass of black rags.
But the cold didn't abate. It continued.
Spinning around, Harry saw, to his utter shock, a second Dementor had caught Dudley, pinning him to the wall of the tunnel.
"NO!"
With a word, the Patronus sensed his intent, and flew with remarkable speed at the Dementor, tearing it to shreds as Dudley collapsed on the ground. Running over, Harry felt his heart racing in his chest. Dudley was a berk and a git, without question, but even he didn't deserve the Dementors Kiss. Kneeling beside him, Harry looked him over, worried it was too late.
"Dudley? Dudley, can you hear me!?"
"...Uh-huh..."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief, hearing Dudley acknowledge him. That relief was short-lived, as it was followed by the sound of a loud 'CRACK' echoing in the night sky. Jumping to his feet, he readied his wand to cast again, when he heard the sound of footsteps running towards him. Narrowing his eyes, he stared at the source of the sound... and blinked in shock at the arrival of Nymphadora Tonks.
"Tonks?!"
"Oh thank Merlin, you're alright!" Tonk's bright red hair changed to its regular pink on its own. Harry would have made a fuss, until he remembered she was a metamorphmagus, and could change her appearance automatically. That still didn't explain one thing...
"What are you doing here???"
"Oh, uh... I'm technically not supposed to tell you, but... I've been watching you." Harry immediately felt unnerved by those words. "Not like that! Look, I'm not supposed to tell you, but do you know about the Order of the Phoenix?"
"Yeah, Sirius mentioned it before. Some kind of anti-Death Eater secret society?"
"Pretty much. With Voldemort's return, Dumbledore thought it prudent you have backup in case they tried anything. I, uh... tried to intervene but tripped on one of the benches while running."
Harry snorted in amusement, remembering how Tonks had somehow tripped over nothing when he last saw her before the Third Task.
"Do you have any chocolate on you? Dudley's alive, but one of the Dementors got too close."
"There were two!? And... yes, hold on..." Tonks reached into her pockets before producing a half-eaten chocolate bar. "I brought along snacks, I didn't think I'd need them for Dementor exposure."
"Better than nothing." Taking the chocolate, Harry knelt next to Dudley, holding the chocolate over his nose and mouth. "Dudley, listen, it's chocolate. Yummy, delicious chocolate. It'll make you feel better."
Slowly, timidly, Dudley began nibbling on the chocolate, and the colour returned to his cheeks. After his first few bites, he blinked and sat up.
"Harry? What happened?"
"A second Dementor almost got you. Here, finish the chocolate. It'll help you feel better." Harry handed Dudley the remaining chocolate, before turning to Tonks. As he did so, he noticed she was scanning both entrances of the underpass.
"Something wrong?"
"That crack we heard earlier was the sound of Apparition, someone just good enough to get from one point to another. Which means someone else saw the Dementors. Possibly the same one who sent them after you."
"Voldemort? Or his Death Eaters?"
"I don't know. I'll have to warn the Order." Turning back to Dudley, she nodded when she noticed he was attempting to stand himself up. "Come on, I'll get us back to Privet Drive." Taking both Harry and Dudley by the arm, Tonks stood between the two of them. "Brace yourselves."
Suddenly, Harry felt like he was being forced through a very tight rubber tube, and fell to his knees as they suddenly arrived at Privet Drive... then he felt his stomach trying to kill him in the aftermath.
"What... was that?" Harry forced out as he fought his stomach's attempt at murdering him.
"Side-Along Apparition. Good thing we were so close, or it'd feel even worse." Harry looked up at Tonks as she swayed on her feet, while Dudley lay on the grass. "Supposed to do it alone or with one passenger. Because of how close we were, figured it'd be better to risk it in one go than two."
Kneeling, she helped Harry and Dudley to their feet and helped them get to the front door of the house. Once they were inside, she disappeared into the night air with a smirk and a wink. Snorting in amusement, Harry closed the door behind him as Dudley leaned against the wall of the entrance. Both of them took deep, heavy breaths, trying to center themselves in the aftermath of the Dementor attack, and a very unpleasant experience with Apparition.
"Can... you... do that?" Dudley asked through heavy breaths, drawing a surprised look from Harry.
"In... a year... or two."
Dudley nodded his head, before slowly beginning to sink to the floor. He was stopped halfway by Harry grabbing him and helping him up.
"Come on, let's get you into the den."
With Harry's help, Dudley was brought into the living room, where Petunia and Vernon were watching the telly. Petunia, who was fanning herself, looked towards the arrival of her beloved son and hated nephew, and went pale in shock at the sight of Harry helping Dudley as he slowly walked into the living room.
"Duddikins!?" Petunia rose from her seat with a yelp of fright, racing towards her son, and all but pushing Harry away from him.
"We're ok, Mum. We're ok." Dudley tried to reassure her but stumbled as he was walking, only barely catching himself from falling. Once they reached the couch, she helped him take a seat, while Harry walked towards the window, peering out the blinds with his wand in hand.
"Get him some chocolate." The words sounded like an order, something neither Vernon nor Petunia were accustomed to hearing from Harry. But before either could tell him off, he turned to them, a look of iron determination on his features. "The chocolate will help him recover. Get him some now."
Petunia didn't need to hear it again, racing into the kitchen to grab some baking chocolate, the only chocolate she knew of in the house, and back to the living room. All the while Vernon was looking at him with a mixture of suspicion and deep confusion. As Petunia gave Dudley the chocolate, Vernon finally barked out his questions.
"What happened out there? What did you do to my son, boy?" Vernon began advancing towards Harry but paused as Harry glared at him.
"I saved his life. We were attacked by Dementors." Petunia gasped when she heard him, drawing a confused look from everyone else in the room, but especially Harry. "You've heard of them?"
"From that horrid boy that Lily was friends with. Some sort of happiness-sucking demon." Vernon went pale at his wife's words, while Harry nodded along.
"Yes, and they can steal your soul with a Kiss. Two of them ambushed us while at the park. I didn't see the second one until it almost Kissed Dudley."
"But, that's all of them, right? None of them are coming after us?" Vernon asked, torn between his desire to remove Harry from his house for bringing his 'freakishness' here, and worried Harry was the best chance of fending them off if they did.
"They're the guards of Azkaban, the magical prison north of Scotland. More importantly, they're supposed to be under the control of the Ministry of Magic. The odds of one, let alone two of them, just finding us are astronomical."
Petunia shuddered as she realized what Harry was saying. Someone sent those things. But she was confused by something. "Why attack Dudley? He's done nothing wrong."
Harry rolled his eyes. Of course, they'd assume he was guilty of something warranting their use. So he used Dumbledore's words from his third year. "Dementors are vicious creatures. They don't distinguish the one they hunt between the one in the way."
"But, it's over now, right?" Dudley had recovered enough to speak, cutting off his parents before they could say anything.
"It should be. The number of people who know I live in Little Whinging is fairly small, so they won't be trying anything anytime soon." Seemingly satisfied with the lack of anything suspicious outside, Harry turned away from the window and prepared to leave the room, when an owl just flew in from nowhere. Taking the letter, he frowned as noticed the Ministry seal.
'What do they want now?' he wondered, breaking the seal and opening the letter. Then he saw red.
"EXPELLED!? Why!? How did-!? No, no, I don't have time for this. GNARL!"
With a pop, the elf appeared in the room, drawing a frightened yelp from Petunia and a startled gasp as Vernon fell backwards into his chair.
"Yes, Sire?"
"The Ministry is on its way. They're planning to snap my wand. I need to leave, but I don't have my things packed."
With a snap of his fingers, Harry's trunk appeared and quickly packed itself as all of his belongings flew from his bedroom. Everything else returned to its normal state, leaving the room as bare as it usually was.
"There we are. Now, where to?"
"I need to go somewhere the Ministry can't reach me. Somewhere safe."
Gnarl grinned as he extended his hand. "I know the perfect place, Master."
The pair disappeared with a pop, leaving a second, flustered owl, outside the house, forcing it to change its course with a huff.
Hermione and the Weasley children listened to the commotion below with great interest. Minutes ago, Nymphadora had returned in a tizzy, telling the Order mid-meeting that Harry and his cousin had been attacked by Dementors! Though none of them could see it, they could hear the sounds of Sirius running to the front door, and practically being tackled by the rest of the Order.
It was tough to make out the individual voices, or even their words, but it sounded like Sirius had to be restrained. When they calmed down enough, she could faintly hear them talking about moving Harry in secret... in a week!?
Hermione wanted to storm down there, and demand they move Harry now! He'd been attacked! By Dementors! In LITTLE WHINGING! If this didn't scream of a murder attempt, then she was President of America!
But slowly, the commotion died down. The blood-wards were still active, so Harry was still safe, while Dumbledore left to deal with the potential fallout from his underage magic use. That forced Hermione to bite her tongue. Technically, Harry was a Lord now, so he didn't have to worry about the laws regarding underage magic. And his cousin knew about magic, so he wasn't risking the Statute of Secrecy.
But the issue of Harry being a Lord would be revealed, and she wasn't sure how they would take that. Dumbledore no doubt wouldn't like it, but it was too late for anyone to do anything about it. Harry at least had that protection, of that she was certain.
Amelia was just about ready to turn in tonight. It'd been a long day, and she was eager to spend at least a few hours with her niece before she had to return to the Ministry. But those plans were derailed when Hector came barging into her office.
"Hector!? What's going on??"
"Madam, it's about the Toad..."
Suddenly Amelia realized this night just got much longer than she'd anticipated.
Harry blinked as he felt himself arrive at Gnarl's chosen destination. And gaped in shock as he looked upon the massive structure before him.
"Welcome home, Sire."
