"You're not going down there alone." Pansy said as she was getting dressed.
"Okay. That doesn't mean you have to come though," Harry replied as he tied his shoes.
"What?"
"I was going to ask Dobby to come, of course."
"Dobby will be very happy to help keep an eye on the great Harry Potter!" the elf said with a gigantic smile on his face. "No nasty wizards will be sneakings up on Dobby's master while Dobby is on the job!"
"See?"
"Yes," Pansy answered. "Dobby, you know I appreciate you, but I am coming with Harry also. That means you'll just have to watch out for the both of us."
"Dobby understands."
"Good. Harry, let me borrow your cloak. Just in case."
"Just in case of what?"
"In case Mad-Eye Moody has some sort of crazy plan that's going to get my boyfriend killed. Duh," she snorted.
"Alright." Harry got his invisibility cloak out and handed it over. "Dobby, why don't you stay invisible too? Pansy is right. Just in case."
The journey down to the Shrieking Shack wasn't too eventful. It took Harry three tries to banish a rock into the knot at the bottom of the Whomping Willow. He probably would have gotten it faster, but it was very dark out due to it being almost midnight.
They arrived with a few minutes to spare.
Moody was already there, which wasn't a surprise to Harry. Sirius was with him, but the other wizard was not someone he recognized.
The blank look on his face was something he was familiar with though.
"Hey, so who's our guest?" Harry asked as he came up out of the tunnel that led into the creaky old house.
"Harry, good to see you could make it," Sirius answered as Moody was holding his wand on the third man. "May I introduce you to Pierce Bulstrode. Death Eater, all around scumbag, and our guest of the honor this evening."
"Okay, so what's this about a plan?"
"Black, if I can trust you to actually keep an eye on this bastard, then I'll go over everything with Harry."
"Why don't you call me by my first name too? You even say Nymphadora to her face, but I'm never Sirius."
"Exactly," Moody snorted. "It gives you too many chances to make awful puns. Now shut up and focus on our prisoner."
"Fine," Sirius huffed.
"I don't know how you put up with him, Harry," Moody continued.
"I guess I just got used to the old dog," he replied with a smile. "Besides, sometimes it's good to have someone you can have a laugh with, you know?"
"Fine, fine. Let's get on with it." Moody stomped over to a chair and took a seat, but he kept his wand in hand, just in case. Harry would have thought him an imposter if he had done otherwise. "I've been doing a lot of reconnaissance work over the last month. It's finally paid off. Bulstrode here is going to a meeting with a bunch of his Death Eater buddies tomorrow night. They've apparently got something big planned, and from what I've heard either Barty Crouch Junior or Riddle himself will be there."
"That's... damn," Harry exhaled. "What are we going to do?"
"Unfortunately, it won't be all of them," Moody added. "Apparently, the ones that were taken out of Azkaban have been kept somewhere secret. Flitwick told me you'd researched the Fidelius charm, right?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Apparently, Riddle has one of his bases under one. He's got that portion of his force getting healthy again. It can take awhile to recover from time around the dementors, especially for the ones that had been there for more than a decade."
"You can say that again," Sirius agreed with a sigh.
"Right. Also, Riddle apparently wasn't too happy about Bellatrix going off to get reacquainted with her family. The Lestrange brothers weren't up for it yet, judging by their performance. Rabastan was no slouch with a wand, but Andromeda took him out fairly easily. Rudolphus didn't escape unwounded either. Riddle doesn't want the rest of the ones he broke out to do anything dangerous until he needs them. So, instead, he seems to have a raid or two planned to see how the others fare when he puts them to a task for the first time in years."
"You got a lot out of Bulstrode, huh?"
"As much as I could," Moody nodded with a wicked grin. "Not that he was feeling too helpful, but..."
"Yeah, sometimes you've got to make someone see your point of view. So, this plan of yours is what exactly? I take it we're going to try to get the drop on them in some way?"
"Damn straight."
"If you're asking me here, does that mean you want me to come along?"
"Normally, I wouldn't ask it of you, lad. But the amount of wands I trust to know what they're doing, to have the resolve to do what's necessary, and who won't flinch if things get messy is a pretty short list."
"You, me, Sirius... who else?"
"Andromeda is more than ready to get some payback," Sirius answered. "We've got Nym too, but-"
"But she's got a part to play that means she won't be there when the shit hits the fan," Moody interjected. "And while I trained the girl, I'm still not quite sure she's ready for what's coming. Not that I don't trust her, but Nymphadora hasn't ever had to kill someone before. With a little luck, I might even be able to keep it that way. I've seen way too many good aurors get burnt out due to the hazards of the job. She's the best one I've seen in years, and I'd like to know that she's still there when this is over."
"Ah, little Nymmie will be so touched that you're looking out for her, Mad-Eye," Sirius teased. "I'm surprised that you came alone though, Harry. I wouldn't have thought Pansy would let you run off like this by yourself."
"Maybe I wouldn't want her to get involved either," Harry shrugged.
"The girl has a good head on her shoulders, but I wouldn't take someone like that out for a mission like this anyway. No offense to you or her, Harry, but she hasn't had her nerves really tested yet. Much better not to do it under such dire circumstances."
"Alastor, I agree completely. I'm still really not liking the odds for whatever this is yet, though."
"Ah, well, I haven't gotten to the good parts yet. Plus, I'm still refining some of it as I go. For starters though, what do you know about bombs?"
"Bombs? Like, we're going to try to blow them up? I thought you were a pureblood."
"I might be one, but I lived through World War II, Harry. I saw what happened to London during the Blitz. Muggles may not know magic, but if there's one thing they do know it's how to create massive amounts of destruction."
"Okay, Alastor, I can see the general idea. Do you have access to a bomb?"
"Not just any bomb, but a relic from that time."
"Are you sure it will still work?" Harry wondered.
"Us old timers still have a few tricks up our sleeves," Moody chuckled. "Don't worry lad, I've got a muggleborn friend who made sure it was still in good working order. Now, what's even better about this device is that it's an incendiary bomb. Years ago, the RAF called it the Superflamer. It's supposed to burn so hot that it can make a brick wall crumble. Only problem will be getting it delivered. My first thought was to have a broom rider drop it, but we'll need to make sure that whoever does that can fly while holding onto the damn thing. It's a heavy son of a bitch."
"Couldn't we shrink it?" Sirius asked. "Cancel the charm when you let it go?"
"It's possible, but I was warned that doing so could mess with the explosion, so I'd rather not chance it."
"I'm good on a broom. I could give it a shot," Harry offered.
"Have you ever flown while carrying something that weighed more than two stone?" Moody asked.
"I've had my girlfriend fly with me before. She weighs a bit more than that, but I didn't have to hold onto her quite the same way I imagine."
"You probably had your arms wrapped tightly around her all the same," Sirius teased.
"No comment."
"However, we run into a different problem if we do that," Moody suggested. "I need four people covering the house from the outside. We put one at each point of the compass and blast any survivors when they come out. If you're in the air, Harry, then we're a witch or wizard short."
"I could fly down-"
"I know you're a more than fair flyer, but those few seconds could be important. Besides, we'd want you to have your wand at the ready the very second the chaos starts. Picking off the stragglers could be every bit as important if we really want to succeed."
"What about him?" Harry asked as he pointed to Bulstrode. "Could we make use of him?"
"I'd rather not take that chance," Moody replied. "I've got him here tonight in case we think of any more questions to ask him. Before the night is through, he'll be obliviated and wake up tomorrow with a hangover. He won't think much of it. I don't want anything to tip off the Death Eaters before we strike."
"Alright."
"You're in then, lad?"
"Of course. This could be a huge step."
"You sure you won't have any problem with this, Harry?" Sirius asked. "We're talking about wiping a whole lot of them out, after all."
"They'd do the same, or worse, to us. Probably a few rounds of torture first. Maybe some rape thrown in. Right?"
"Yes, but-"
"I want to win this war, Sirius. The sooner, the better. Fuck these psychopaths. I don't care what it takes. I've got the stomach to handle getting some blood on my hands. I've done it before anyway."
"I know what you can do," Pansy interrupted, as she pulled the cloak off to reveal herself.
"Damn, girlie, don't scare me like that!" Moody barked as he barely kept himself from firing a spell at her in his shock.
"What are you doing here?" Sirius asked.
"I'm watching out for Harry of course. And it looks like I'm going to help you finish your plan as well."
"I already said I don't want you there, Pansy," Moody shook his head. "You're better than most people your age, but I need someone who has already been battle-tested."
"I wasn't going to suggest myself, actually," she replied with a smirk. "You already have enough people if you just have someone to cover for a minute or so while Harry gets into position."
"That minute could be key though."
"True," Pansy agreed. "Which is why I would only trust this to someone that I believe will do anything to keep Harry alive."
"Are you sure?" Harry looked at her, having a feeling she was about to reveal their secret weapon.
"Do you have any better ideas?"
Harry took a breath as he thought it over before he realized she was right. "Okay, but we should knock Bulstrode out just to be extra safe."
"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked.
"You'll see," Pansy answered. "Do any of you mind if I have the honors?"
"He needs to be in one piece," Moody growled.
"Fine. Stupefy!" Pansy walked over to the man as he dropped to the floor. Before anyone could stop her, she kicked him in the groin as hard as she could. "That's for Millie, you fucking sack of shit."
"I take it he was rough on the girl?" Moody wondered aloud.
"She never really told me much, but I'm sure he deserved it."
"Fair enough."
"So, what's this big secret?" Sirius asked.
"I wouldn't let Harry get involved in something like this without having someone to watch his back," Pansy replied.
"Which is why you came tonight, I get it-"
"No, I just did that because I wanted to see what was going on."
Pansy had that smirk that he loved so much and he nodded at her as she raised an eyebrow at him- he may as well let her do the big reveal.
"Dobby!"
The elf popped in as if called, and Harry smiled even more at that. The little guy could be sneaky as hell when he put his mind to it.
"A house-elf?" Moody asked. "I'm not sure he'd have what it takes. No offense."
"Three years ago, Dobby blasted Lucius Malfoy down the hall when he tried to curse me," Harry said as his little friend blushed with pride. "I trust Dobby with my life. If I ask him to make sure no Death Eaters escape, I know he won't let me down. I'll be flying down to help him anyway, so it will be like we'll have two of us for whatever direction we're facing. Hell, I'd offer to take the front of the house if I know he's watching my back."
"I'll be taking the front," Moody stated, clearly not allowing anyone to question that. "But if you're so sure of you and your partner, then I'll have the two of you take the rear. Sirius and Andromeda can take the sides."
"I'd like to help too," Pansy suggested. "Do you have escapes planned if something goes wrong?"
"Aye. We'll each be taking portkeys if we need a quick exit."
"Where to?"
"Headquarters," Moody grunted.
"I could be waiting there, then," Pansy offered. "You've got a triage set up, in case people get wounded, right? I could be there, and if things are bad enough, I could be ready to send someone on to St. Mungo's. Or I could patch up simple injuries."
"We've got some potions on hand there," Sirius said. "It would be a good idea to have someone on hand to pass them out if need be."
"Fine. You'll both have to sneak out of the castle and get to headquarters by seven o'clock. Will that be a problem?"
"No, we can handle that," Harry said. "We're known for hiding away in our quarters sometimes."
"If anything, people will just gossip that I'm having my wicked way with Harry," Pansy laughed. "You mentioned Tonks earlier though. What is she going to be doing?"
"Well, Nymphadora has a very unique talent, so we're going to make use of it. Her job is to infiltrate the ministry. Specifically, the floo office. She'll look like one of the people that works there and have the meeting place disconnected so that the Death Eater scum won't have an easy escape route."
"Good thinking," Harry nodded. "What about apparition?"
"I know the spells for taking care of that too. Emergency portkeys are more difficult to block, but there's one jinx that should take care of them too. Plus, we don't know if they'll be paranoid enough to have any of them."
"Alright."
"However, we'll need to coordinate our timing carefully. Once I throw the jinxes up, you need to drop that bomb immediately. It is possible to recognize when magical transportation is cut off, and there's bound to be someone with some talent there. Think you can handle that, Harry?"
"Shouldn't be a problem. I might need a little practice at flying while holding onto it. Just to see how that affects my flying, my speed and whatnot."
"We could do that tonight if you can stay up late enough. I'll need to get our guest taken care of, but I could transfigure something to be roughly the same size and shape. You don't happen to have your broom with you too, do you?"
"No, but I'm sure Dobby can go get it," Pansy suggested. The elf looked at both of them for confirmation, but after Harry's nod, he popped away for a moment before returning with the Firebolt in his outstretched hands.
"We've got a plan. Potter, try to only fly over the forest if you can. We don't want anyone to spot you out tonight."
"I think I can handle that."
"Good. Tomorrow night at seven then. Oh, and one final thing," Moody grumbled as his eye spun back around and he pointed his wand at Harry then Sirius. "If by some chance Jugson is there, then he's mine. Knock him out, tie him up, whatever you want. But he's mine."
"Isn't he one of the ones that was in Azkaban?" Pansy asked.
"Yes, which is why I'm not expecting him, but maybe I'll get lucky. If the bastard is there though..."
"It's personal?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"He's the one who..." Moody took a second to clear his throat. "He's the one who killed my niece. Little Lizzie Moody. Such a sweet girl."
Alastor sighed and Harry looked over at Sirius, who was clearly feeling uncomfortable at the older man's reminiscence.
"Heh, you'd have never thought she was related to such a mean old bastard as me. I know some people think that I tried to take the Death Eaters alive and thought I was being merciful. Hah! Nonsense. I wanted the filth like Jugson to feed the dementors for decades. Death would be too quick for scum like that.
"If I'd known that Riddle would break them all out years later, I wouldn't have bothered."
"So this is a chance for you to fix that mistake," Harry suggested.
"Damn straight."
"I'm still a little surprised that we'll be using a bomb though. Wouldn't fiendfyre work pretty much the same?"
"I'm getting old, Potter," Moody chuckled darkly. "It could work roughly the same, but I don't know if I trust myself to be able to control it so that we wouldn't all be burnt alive too. And who the hell is going to win this war if I get you and me killed?"
"Fair enough," Harry grinned. "One last question. You said that Riddle himself might show up. Even if the surprise all goes to plan, I'm not sure we want to try to take him on."
"You've got a point. If the Dark Lord is there, we activate our portkeys and get the hell out of there as soon as the bomb does its work."
"Okay. I guess we've got a plan then."
They were both up very late that night. Between sneaking out of the school, learning about and refining the plan, then having Harry practice flying while holding onto a weight, before finally having to get back to the castle, it was well after midnight by the time they were back in their quarters. Then there was a bit of late night mint tea to try to calm the nerves, talking about everything, and finally trying to get to sleep.
It was no wonder that Pansy woke up the next day still feeling exhausted.
She would have likely rolled over and closed her eyes if her bladder hadn't protested. Clearly, the second cup of tea did not believe that she should stay in bed all day.
Pansy groaned as she climbed back into bed and curled up on Harry's side. Somehow, he was still sleeping. But no matter how comfortable and warm he might have been, she just could not fall back asleep.
After a few minutes of feeling frustrated, she decided to wake him up so at least she'd have some company.
By poking him in the side. Repeatedly.
"Ugh, what?" he groaned.
"It's time for you to get up."
"That's not how you should wake me."
"I wasn't feeling up to something more fun," she answered as he yawned and blinked. "Plus, I'm too wired about everything that we learned and what we have to do later. Fun will just have to wait."
"Fine," Harry said as he forced himself to sit up. "But I'm going to hold you to that."
"I'm sure you will. What are we going to do today?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know, for the next-" she paused to reach for his watch and look at the time, "for the next seven hours or so. I don't know how well I'm going to be able to pretend that everything is normal when I know what's coming up tonight."
"Luna usually helps take our minds off things," Harry replied before yawning again. "We should probably start with breakfast though. I think my stomach woke up before the rest of me did today."
And breakfast was a good idea, as Pansy's stomach took that opportunity to remind her by loudly rumbling. But after the food, all she could think about was that night and Moody's plan.
They joined Luna for the afternoon, heading to the library to work on a few assignments just to have something to do to occupy their time. Hopefully, it could also act as enough of a distraction to keep her from worrying herself to death.
She saw Granger look up at them before quickly turning away as they went past her to find an empty table. Harry had noticeably stiffened and she just knew that it was one more thing that would bother him. Thankfully, there was space on a table that was long enough for the three of them to all sit in a row.
"Luna, sweetie, we need to let Harry sit in the middle today," Pansy said in a low voice as they placed their books and bags down on the table.
"Okay. Why?"
"Did you notice Granger?"
"Yes."
"Well, we had a bit of a... a disagreement with her last night," Pansy finished as Harry slumped down into a chair. "Needless to say, Harry could use a little cheering up."
"I'm good at that," Luna smiled as she sat on his left and threw her arm over his shoulder. "Don't worry Harry, we'll take care of you."
"Thanks Luna," he chuckled quietly. "I don't know what we'd do without you."
"You don't have to worry about that. I'll always be there to make sure you two are having enough fun in your lives."
"I know sweetie," Pansy said from his other side. "Sometimes Harry just needs a reminder from the people who care about him."
"Was it a bad argument then?"
"Yeah, pretty bad," Harry sighed. "I don't think she's going to want to be around me anymore."
"That's her loss then," Luna replied. "I would think Hermione would be smart enough not to do that. She needs you in her life to keep her from being too serious all the time. And we know that too much serious can be a bad thing."
"Yeah, he can be a bit much," Pansy smirked, trying to get a reaction from Harry. "Nothing, not even after the pun?"
"Sorry," he mumbled as he looked downcast.
"Don't worry, Harry. I will always be your friend," Luna said with confidence.
"What if-"
"There is no what if, Harry. I said always, and I mean always."
"But what if... what if I do something that you hate me for?"
"Harry, unless you are planning on raping my father, I'm pretty sure there is nothing I could possibly hate you for."
"I really don't think Xeno's his type," Pansy snorted.
"I hope not," Luna agreed. "That's why that sort of thing would be so off-putting and strange. Plus, I wouldn't want Harry to hurt you by doing something like that."
"What about your dad?" Pansy asked.
"Oh, I don't think his bum would like it either." She leaned in close with a conspiratorial look on her face. "He sometimes says it hurts after he poops. We think the Unspeakables have placed a curse on him because he had exposed their plot to create a dirigible capable of flying to the moon that will be powered by pixie tears. What type of people would be so cruel to make hundreds of pixies cry?"
"Apparently, the type who would also curse your dad in the bum," Pansy giggled.
A stuffy looking Ravenclaw shushed them from a few seats down on the other side of the long table, but Harry had finally started to smile. He leaned over and kissed Luna on the top of the head.
"Never change, Luna."
"Only in good ways, I hope," she responded with a grin.
They somehow made it through an early dinner, although Pansy found she had little in the way of an appetite. Harry looked to not be paying much attention to his food, just trying to keep his focus on Luna as she told him a pretty wild (and amusingly filthy) story about one of the fae folk who slipped into the world of muggles in order to look for a husband. She had ended up becoming a model for a painter and moved to Spain to live with him.
Whether or not it was true that they had children who only grew to the size of a house cat, Harry seemed to be letting her thoroughly distract him.
Pansy wished it was working as well for her. She had been a nervous ball of anxiety the entire day, and it was all she could do to keep herself from screaming.
By the time they made it back to their quarters, they still had almost another hour before they needed to be at Sirius' home.
"Harry, do you want to go shag?"
"I don't think we should," he shook his head sadly. "I need to try to not think about sex for a while. It's going to be a hardship. I just hope we'll be able to celebrate later. With any luck, tonight will be a major victory against Riddle."
"I just- agh!" Pansy threw her bag aside and wrapped her arms around him. "Promise me you'll come back safe and sound tonight. Promise me, Harry, because I'm having trouble trying to keep from losing my mind with worry. I can't... I can't lose you."
"Hey, it'll be alright," he answered while he squeezed her tightly. "I've got way too much planned for our lives together to do something as silly as getting myself killed. Besides, you know Dobby will be there and he'll make sure I come home.
"Isn't that right, Dobby?"
"Of course!" the elf shouted with glee. "Master Harry will be safe while Dobby watches over him. Don't worry, miss Pansy. Dobby knows how to take good care of the great Harry Potter."
"I know you do, Dobby," she sighed. "I have faith in both of you. I'm just worried. You know how much Harry means to me, don't you?"
"Yes!"
"Alright, maybe we should get ready to leave," Harry suggested. "I know we have time, but we may as well get there early just in case Alastor has any last minute additions to things."
"Are we going to actually sneak out?" Pansy looked up at him.
"Hell with that," he snorted. "We're letting our secret weapon out tonight to make sure everything goes well. We may as well take the Dobby express straight there. Let's just make sure we've got everything we need first."
"I know Moody wanted you to bring your mirror that connects to Sirius," she said. "You should grab your cloak too. Just in case."
"Sounds like a plan."
Tonks had been the first one to leave from Grimmauld Place. She had the key job of infiltrating the ministry and making sure the floo connection would be down for the house in question that the Death Eaters were using as a meeting place.
The good news was that it should be fairly simple- being Saturday night meant that only some lowly young clerk might be on duty, if anyone at all. Hopefully, she wouldn't have too much trouble getting them cleared out so that no one would be any wiser before it was too late.
She had a mirror that she wouldn't be using to contact them unless something went wrong.
Sirius had wished her luck before she morphed into a rather fetching blonde and apparated away.
There was one last check for the others. Andromeda, Sirius, Moody, and Harry were taking a single portkey together since Dobby hadn't been there before. Once they arrived, the plan was to split up and approach the property from different directions.
Harry had the bomb secured in a backpack that he would wear as he flew up above the house. Pansy had made sure that Moody had triple checked the safety of the device before she let Harry handle it- there wasn't going to be any point to tonight if he blew himself up.
Just before they had left, Pansy had kissed him good luck.
It might have gone on too long for the adults watching- Sirius had wolf whistled at them- because Moody gruffly demanded they knock it off before they were late. But that didn't matter to her because Pansy needed Harry to focus on the most important part of the night...
Coming back safe.
And now that they were all gone, Pansy had nothing to do but sit and wait. Unfortunately, she didn't have anyone to keep her company other than Kreacher, and the wretched little house-elf was a far cry from Dobby in personality and behavior.
At least he knew how to make tea though. She took a sip and tried to keep herself from going crazy with worry. Pansy tried to think of the things they could do for the rest of the weekend- they had the end of the night and Sunday still to go- and if Harry didn't hurt himself, then they were going to celebrate like crazy.
'No- when he comes home, not if,' she thought to herself.
She clenched her fists, closed her eyes and forced herself to count to ten while taking deep breaths.
Pansy took another sip of tea, hoping that might help. Then, she looked at the clock on the wall. They'd only been gone for two minutes.
With any luck, it should only be half an hour till Harry got back.
But she found it hard to trust luck because it had gone so badly at times. Thankfully, it wasn't Halloween. Pansy would have called the whole thing off then but instead it was the end of January.
As she got up and paced around the room, she heard the patter of rain beginning to fall against the windows. Pansy looked outside and wondered if they were far enough away that the night might be clear...
And more than a hundred miles away, roughly northwest from her, the clouds were thick but there was only a mild drizzle. Harry took it in stride. He'd been in much worse weather before. For that matter, he'd flown in much worse weather.
He was just glad to not have anyone knocking bludgers at him that night.
Dobby had been an even bigger help than Moody had intended because he could quickly scout around the area and pop everyone in the right direction once they landed from the portkey. Harry hadn't been kidding when he'd called him the secret weapon. He smiled when he thought of Alastor nodding appreciatively and telling Dobby good work just before they separated.
"You ready, Potter?" Moody growled from the mirror.
"On my broom and ready to fly, Alastor."
"Alright. We've got five minutes till Tonks should be in position. Unless she gives us the all clear, I'll contact you and send you up. Hold tight for a moment while I double check with the others."
"Aye-aye."
Harry looked over at Dobby as he adjusted the straps of the backpack. Now that he was in position, he turned it around to wear backwards so that he could release it without reaching over his shoulder. The bomb- the Superflamer Alastor had called it- was a lot heavier than any load of school supplies he had carried before. Probably more even than Hermione's constantly bulging school bag.
That thought brought a momentary frown before Harry quashed it. She might not understand, and she might not approve, but tonight would make her future much less likely to end in death or torture.
He took a calming breath and closed his eyes while he thought of Pansy. Once the night was over, he was hopeful that the good luck kiss would be a sign of things to come.
"Are you ready, Dobby?"
"Oh yes, master Harry," the elf replied quietly. It was kind of jarring compared to his usual loud and happy tone, but they were on a secret mission, so Dobby had turned on his sneaky skills. Harry thought that they should watch a heist movie with him some time. He imagined the little guy would love the idea of cat burglars.
"Did you sense any other house-elves in the area? I'd hate for anyone innocent to get caught in tonight's... um, you know."
For some reason it seemed wrong to call it festivities, even though that's what his brain had first meant to say.
"No other house-elves are nearby. Dobby can tell."
"Well, that's a relief then. I'm almost surprised, though. You'd think a bunch of purebloods would have someone on hand to serve them."
"From what Dobby sensed, this isn't a place where anyone lives. It's an old place. Far out of the way. The nasty wizards picked it because they are thinkings they are being sneaky. But master Harry, Dobby, and the great mister Mad-Eye are all much sneakier."
"The great mister Mad-Eye, huh? I didn't know you held Alastor in such high regard." Harry grinned briefly to himself.
"Master Harry and the great mister Mad-Eye are the only wizards taking the Dark Lord serious enough. Dobby knows that things will go much, much worse if wizards just wait for the bad wizards to start up all the killings and other nastier things. Dobby remembers from the last time."
"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Dobby. That's the reason we're doing this tonight. We've got to do something to try to keep people safe. No one else is."
"Dobby knows, sir."
"I know you do. Sometimes, it just helps me to reassure myself as well. Not everyone sees it that way."
"Potter?" Moody called from the mirror. "We've got one minute and counting. Get on your mark."
"I'm good to go," Harry nodded. "No word from Tonks then?"
"No news is good news."
"Are you close enough to see anyone with that eye of yours?"
"Not quite, but I will be soon. They've got a few minor protection spells up that I can see. That's why we aren't any closer to the target. Remember, it will take me twenty seconds to get their magical escape routes shut down. So count to twenty before letting her go."
"I've got it." Harry patted his payload.
"I wouldn't count on anyone else, lad. Ten seconds. Make me proud, Harry."
"I'm off."
He put the mirror back in his pocket and flew straight up into the air. Moody had said that a hundred feet up would be plenty to get above any enchantments they might have on the house, but he made it at least twice that high before he looked down to make sure he was directly over it.
Now the waiting.
Twenty...
He was planning to fly down a bit as he dropped the bomb. Harry figured a little bit of speed building it up could be a good thing. He trusted the firebolt to outrun the explosion, especially with a head start.
Ten...
Almost there. Almost ready to strike a blow against Riddle that should shock him like nothing before. When had anyone dared to launch an attack like this before against his forces? According to Alastor, never.
Five...
Time to go. Harry prepared for his descent and readied to drop the bomb. His hands felt sweaty, and suddenly his nerves all started to fire, but he clenched his teeth and got on with it.
Two...
He could see the building as he drew closer. There was smoke coming from the fireplace. But only a fireplace. Not a floo. Not for that night.
There would be no escape.
One...
He let the bomb go and watched for what couldn't have been more than a second but somehow felt almost infinitely longer. Instinct more than anything else led his broom off into the distance. East from the meeting place full of Death Eaters, what would have been the rear of the building.
Harry looked back for a second and saw that there was a door coming out the back. That meant he might have stragglers to pick off.
If Dobby didn't get them first.
Before any other thoughts could come, the Superflamer did its job.
Harry would always remember the orange flames that flashed just before the enormous blast of sound reached his ears. Within seconds he was reaching Dobby and the position he was meant to take. By the time he turned back around and readied his wand, there was smoke pouring everywhere from the building.
He wondered for a moment if there would be any survivors of that initial explosion.
Dobby was standing next to him, and their eyes were scanning the dark night through the drizzle of rain as they strode towards what was left of the building. The seconds seemed to drip even slower. Was it over already?
But in answer to his thoughts, a figure staggered out the back door, waving its burning arm in a panic.
Harry could see it clearly, lit from behind by the building on fire. He didn't hesitate as he fired off the bone-breaker curse that Moody had made sure Harry knew like the back of his hand.
His aim appeared to be true enough- always go for the torso when you're at a distance, another lecture Harry had absorbed- and the shadowy form flew backwards and onto the ground. Harry kept his eyes on it, but there was no more movement.
They had continued to advance slowly and the distance was halved before another figure emerged. This one looked larger, although Harry couldn't tell if that was true or just because he was so much closer.
Another bone breaker flew from his wand and another figure fell to the ground. This one was still struggling to move, trying to get back to its feet.
Harry cast the bubblehead charm as he got nearer to the smoke.
Ten feet closer, and he could see this one coughing as it crawled on its hands and knees away from the fire. He looked up for a moment, a mask falling onto the ground and out of the dark robes, Harry could see the face of Marcus Flint. The former quidditch captain of Slytherin from his first three years at Hogwarts. He couldn't be more than twenty or so. A new recruit for the Death Eater cause.
He looked up at Harry in confusion.
"Diffindo!"
The cutting curse caught him right in the neck, and suddenly it wasn't only the smoke that Flint was choking on.
Harry took a step back even as he kept his wand pointed at the Death Eater before him, who collapsed after a moment of shock. The sound of his foe gurgling on blood seemed all too loud considering the inferno still raging from the building.
For two whole minutes, Harry stood there waiting for any further sign.
During those two minutes, he watched Marcus Flint die. At first, the Death Eater had grabbed at his throat, trying to stop the blood loss. But the bone breaking curse had no doubt done plenty of damage too, as his struggle grew feebler within seconds.
There was no last gasp of air, no final spell from his wand, which he apparently had dropped. The end of Flint came with only a slight slump as the body went still. The body that was now a corpse, Harry realized.
He watched it all.
Should he have been feeling worse? Something like pity for the life snuffed out in front of him?
Harry wasn't sure what he was feeling, and that bothered him more and more as the wait continued and no other Death Eaters tried to flee.
"Master Harry sir!" Dobby tugged at his arm. "No more nasty wizards are coming, sir. Dobby thinks we should meet with the others."
"Right," he muttered before shaking his head free from his confusion. "Right, good idea, Dobby. Pop me to Moody's position."
A second later, they were at the front of the house. Alastor had been busy though. Harry could see five figures laid out in the grass. None were moving.
"How many came out the rear?" the old man asked, wand still pointed at the flaming wreckage.
"I only saw two," Harry answered. "Both came out pretty quick. No movement after that, and Dobby said he couldn't sense anyone else."
"Good work, son." Alastor patted him on the shoulder and gave him one of those wicked looking grins that Harry had learned to recognize despite the scars. "The others should be here soon."
"Are you alright?" Harry asked, as he noticed Moody holding his left hand against the side of his stomach.
"I'll live."
There was a crack from apparition as Andromeda appeared just to their left, her wand ready to curse anyone in sight. Her expression relaxed as she saw them, and a few seconds later Sirius joined them.
"How many?"
"Only one," Andromeda replied. "It fell over before I even had to fire a curse. I put a couple of piercing hexes through him anyway, to make sure."
"Anyone you recognize?"
"No. He looked to be a bit younger than me, but old enough that he could have joined up the first time."
"How about you, Black?"
"I saw two, but one was trying to practically carry the other as they climbed out a window. I aimed for the one that looked more capable, but he was bent over and-"
Sirius leaned over and wretched for a moment.
After a few seconds he spit and wiped his mouth.
"When he moved, my curse hit him right in the head," he sighed. "It will be hard for anyone to identify him now. As for the other one, he fumbled for his wand and I nailed him with two bone breakers. The second one might have been over kill. He didn't move after that, and no sign of anyone else still moving inside the house either."
"That's at least ten that we got outside. I saw a few more in the wreckage, but we don't want to stick around to count them up. Black, you know the spell to conjure the mark, right?"
"Yes."
"Fire it off right before we go back to headquarters. Everybody ready? Make sure you didn't leave anything behind."
Dobby snapped his fingers and the vomit from Sirius vanished.
"Good thinking," Moody grunted. "We certainly don't want to leave that behind as evidence. Did you lose your lunch when it happened, Black?"
"No," Sirius shook his head. "I was too caught up in the moment, but... Merlin, I don't ever want to see someone's face explode like that again. Fuck, can we get out of here now?"
"The Mark first and then we go."
"Right," Sirius nodded as he aimed his wand at the sky over the whole burning, bloody mess.
"Morsmordre!"
Pansy could feel the knot in her stomach growing worse and worse as the time kept slowly ticking away.
The half hour was up and they should be returning soon were the things that her brain was trying to remind her past the flood of anxiety that she was fighting with. No word from Tonks. No emergency portkeys activated. No need for any of the line of potions she had setting on the nearby desk.
She was still pacing. Occasionally, she would go over to the window and look out at the rain, just as something different to try to focus on rather than her fear of something going wrong.
Pansy remembered that at least Dobby was with Harry, and that did help her feel better for a few seconds. But that brought to mind a different problem. What if Dobby did have to do something to protect Harry?
Because she didn't doubt for a second that the little guy would throw himself in front of a curse to keep the great Harry Potter sir safe.
That would be a terrible loss. Dobby was so many different things for them. Yes, he was a house-elf who could cook them meals, clean, and do everything else to take care of them and wherever they lived. But he was so much more than that. He was also a friend, if a little strange one at that. Considering Luna though, it wasn't like their human friends were too normal either. Dobby was also a bodyguard when they needed protection, like with Harry tonight.
And last but not least, Dobby was also their form of transportation. Apparition lessons were still a year away, and they would be seriously screwed without him to help them get around. Especially if they ever needed to flee in an emergency.
Maybe she could get Harry to talk Sirius into teaching them the skill a year early. He would probably do it.
But then she heard the pop that she knew so well and saw Harry and Dobby standing right in front of her.
She let out a happy little sob as she ran over and threw her arms around him.
"I'm alright," Harry murmured while he squeezed her tight. "I'm alright."
"Thank you," she sighed. "Thank you for coming back to me."
"Always."
"Let's hope," she replied, trying to chuckle. It came out more as a grunt, not quite able to lighten the mood. Pansy turned her head and looked down at their caretaker. "And thank you too, Dobby, for making sure you both came back home, safe and sound."
"Dobby is happy to have been of help!"
"We're okay too," Sirius added as Pansy now realized that the rest of the group had returned as well.
"Nymphadora hasn't returned yet?" her mother wondered.
"Not yet, but we did plan on her being the last one to get back," Pansy said. "I haven't heard from her, so I guess we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed. Did everything go according to plan?"
"It was almost perfect," Moody barked.
"Only almost?"
Before he could answer they heard a commotion from downstairs and Tonks came running in, paying no attention to the shouts coming from Walburga's painting.
"Is everyone alright?" she asked breathlessly, hurrying over to check on her mother.
"We're fine," Andi replied.
"Did we get them?"
"We did," Sirius nodded. "A lot of them too. A dozen or more, probably."
"Holy shit," Tonks gasped.
Her mother chuckled. "Indeed. Tom Riddle won't be pleased at losing half his forces."
"Do we really think it's half?" Sirius asked. "There were several teenagers that had been marked that were found out at Hogwarts just a month ago. It's possible he's got more than that."
"No. According to Bulstrode, Riddle had been more focused on keeping a low profile than trying to recruit new members," Moody answered. "The ones you heard about all came from families that already supported him. Mostly sons and nephews of other members. By his count, they were still less than forty. And that's before losing a few at Hogwarts."
"That's good news," Harry sighed. "We did well. But, what about you, Alastor?"
"What about me?"
"I saw you holding your side. Did you get hit by something?"
Andromeda stepped over and forced him to move his hand out of the way. Blood had soaked through his shirt.
"Were you going to tell us about this, or were you planning on bleeding to death as a way of celebrating?"
"We had to finish the mission first," Moody grumbled.
"Well now that we've done that part, let me see what I can do about this."
"It won't work."
"Why not? I've patched up plenty of wounds before," Andromeda said.
"Because this wasn't a simple cutting curse," Moody admitted.
"Then do we need to get you to St. Mungo's?"
"We can't," Harry said. "That would blow the secrecy, if the country's most famous auror just so happens to get wounded on a night during the biggest of what the ministry is still officially calling 'rogue Death Eater attacks.' We have to keep this between us if at all possible."
"And that could be a problem," Alastor finished. "Because I know this curse, I've seen it before, and I only know of one man that knows how to counter it."
"Who?"
"Dumbledore."
"Crap," Harry said. "We really don't want him asking questions."
"No, laddie, no we don't. Albus is a good man, and good men don't want to do what we had to do."
"What is the curse?" Sirius asked. "My family has been coming up with all sorts of nasty spells for generations. Maybe there's something in the library that could help."
"No," Moody shook his head. "This isn't something old. This is something new- and that's the problem. Remember your old buddy Snape?"
"Snivellus? You're saying this is one of his curses?"
"Yep," Moody growled. "I was not at all pleased when Albus told me about him supposedly turning spy. Right at the end of the war too, and I never heard of any decent intelligence from him that helped our side. Fucking useless, if you ask me. If Albus weren't such a bleeding heart, Snape would have been rotting in Azkaban with the rest of 'em. Where he belonged."
"Amen to that," Harry nodded. "But now we've got a big problem. Is there anything else we can do?"
"The problem with this curse is that even if you close the wound, the darkness in the spell will keep trying to force it open again."
"Damn, that is a nasty one," Tonks whistled.
"Yeah, and Snape came up with it when he was still in school. I know for a fact he taught it to some of his buddies who all just so happened to become Death Eaters as soon as they got out of school."
"Some of them while they were still in school, I'd wager," Sirius suggested. "You don't know how bad it was our last few years at Hogwarts. Every day you'd wake up and look in the paper to see who'd died. Then you'd look over at the Slytherin table and see the smug faces that knew they were winning. Fucking bastards."
"Little Barty Crouch Junior just so happened to be one of those friends of Snape's," Moody continued. "And guess who happened to be lucky enough to make it out the front door?"
"I saw more than enough of Barty at that graveyard," Harry said. "He's completely nuts and completely devoted to the head psycho. We did think he'd show up to give out orders tonight. Please tell me he's one of the bodies you left in front of the building."
"Unfortunately, no. Bastard used one of his comrades as a human shield while he cursed me. There were three of them that came out first, and it was all I could do to get the other two down without taking another hit." Moody sighed and rubbed his face. "Junior got away."
"Which means that Riddle probably knows exactly what happened tonight," Harry added. "Fuck. That's going to make him really angry. I would be surprised if he didn't lash out after this."
"That is a pretty awful thought," Andromeda said. "But we can't worry about that right now. What are we going to do about your injury, Mad-Eye?"
"I... have an idea," he responded slowly. "I don't think any of you are going to like it though."
"Just get on with it before Andi hexes you," Sirius replied.
"We need stronger magic to beat the Dark Arts."
"What type of stronger magic?"
"The really old kind," Moody answered.
"As I recall, you warned me about that type of magic last year," Harry said. "You said that old magic was dangerous and could be unpredictable. So why are we going to turn to that now?"
"Because Albus could be far too much of a hindrance about what needs to be done, Harry. The last thing we need is for him to try to get us arrested for taking out the trash. As much as he might want the Death Eaters stopped, he would never approve of what we did tonight."
"Alright, what is this old magic then?" Harry asked.
"Have you ever heard of a Geas?"
Before he could say no, Pansy and Andromeda both gasped. Harry turned to each of them as they looked shocked. "I guess I'm likely the only one here who hasn't. What is a Geas?"
"It's a very old form of curse," Andromeda replied. "Definitely not the sort of thing that's done anymore- and for good reason. Which of us were you going to try to invoke such an awful thing?"
"It would have to be Harry," Sirius sighed. "He's got the most power, right?"
"Yes," Moody confirmed before turning to look at Harry. "I need your help for this, son."
"What do I do?"
"The process is a little complicated, but basically we're going to set up something sort of like a magical contract. You remember how things went with that goblet last year? The idea is that a Geas works sort of like that."
"But I thought it was a curse-"
"It is," Andromeda interrupted. "You will be cursing Mad-Eye to make him do your bidding. I'm guessing he wants you to force him to survive this wound, with the implication being that your will and magic would be strong enough to override the curse that's still affecting him. Am I right, Moody?"
"That was my thought," he admitted. "Potter is strong enough for it from what I've seen."
"Now tell him the downside," Andromeda said threateningly.
"What downside?" Harry asked.
"Old magic like this can be dangerous and complicated," Moody replied. "You can't just tell me to be healed and have it work. You'll have to bind me to a cause and I'll have to work towards it for the Geas to take effect."
"I never thought I'd hear someone as paranoid as you do something like this, Mad-Eye," Sirius snorted. "I think we may have an imposter, folks."
"I wouldn't do it if it weren't necessary," Moody grumbled. "Besides, you have to realize that I'm going to be very specific about how we word this. The cause will be obvious- I'll be working to defeat Riddle and the Death Eaters. I think Potter and I can agree on that. It should make the magic easier for him."
"Okay, so I just basically call on magic to ask you to do what you'd do anyway?" Harry wondered what made this so dangerous.
"It's more than that," Andromeda shook her head. "Yes, you do have a good common cause, but a Geas requires several things. First, the victim has to willingly accept the curse. That could be a problem, especially today. For centuries, wizards and witches have been taught to never accept a curse. It is ingrained into our natures so deeply that our magic naturally works against exterior magical forces. That's one reason why the Dark Arts are so dangerous- the spells were specifically created to break through our natural magical defenses by any means necessary. Often in gory and disgusting ways."
"That's why Mad-Eye will need you for this, Harry," Sirius added. "He's counting on you being strong enough to pull it off. And for dealing with such a stubborn old bastard, you're going to have to work for it."
"But that's not the end of it, either," Andromeda continued. "While the Geas is active there will be a sort of magical connection between the two of you. You have to agree to a way for Moody to satisfy the conditions of the magic to be released from its curse. When that condition is met, the magic of the Geas is undone, at which point Alastor will be in danger from his wound becoming much worse from the delayed effects. On the other hand, if you release it early, there can be very bad consequences. Maybe for each of you.
"So if you consent to this, there's no going back."
Harry looked over at his mentor who had been watching for a reaction. "What were you thinking of for the terms?"
"Simple enough. I have to keep working to bring down every last Death Eater and the Dark Lord himself. By the time I'm done, the war will be over. At which point, I can either try to get Albus to fix me up or..."
"Or what?" Harry asked.
"Or die in peace. I've been fighting bastards like this for a long time, Harry. You're young, lad. You've still got a lot of living to do. For me, dying sounds like a chance to finally let my guard down. I've been told I could use a vacation," Moody chuckled to himself. "Well, what do you say? Can I count on you, Harry?"
"I'll do it."
"Just like that?" Andromeda shook her head. "You should think this through first, Harry."
"Old magic bound Pansy and I together," Harry said. "I have no regrets about that. If old magic can help Alastor, then I'll trust it."
"Good lad," Moody said as he patted him on the shoulder. "Someone else will have to write up something that we can agree both agree to. I'm not feeling up to holding a quill right now. Then I'll walk you through the incantation. The rest will be up to you."
"Let's do it then."
Other than a strain as the magic took hold and a strange feeling that pulled at him, as if something was physically connecting him to Alastor, Harry was a little surprised at how simple the Geas seemed to be. There were no bright lights or overt displays of the magic.
But it did seem to work, because once the spell was finished, Andromeda was able to easily seal the wound. Pansy handed over a blood replenishing potion, and Moody seemed to be in a good mood as he drank it.
Afterwards, they were all sitting around talking for a few minutes as they drank some tea and tried to relax after everything that had happened. Harry noticed everyone start to speak quietly and when he looked down, he saw that Pansy had drifted off with her head laying in his lap. She had just enough room to stretch out on the couch they were on, and when he looked up, he noticed Andromeda smiling at him.
"Maybe we should move down to the kitchen while she rests," she whispered.
At Harry's nod, they all got up. He slowly moved as Dobby handed him a cushion to slip under her head where his thigh had been. Once he was assured that she was still asleep, Harry crept out of the drawing room and asked Dobby to wait for her so she wouldn't be worried when she woke.
Once he made it down to the kitchen, he saw several glasses on the table and a bottle of firewhisky that Sirius was pouring.
"Want one, Harry?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"I should stop you from being a bad influence, Sirius," Andromeda said before sighing. "After tonight though, I think we could all use it."
"It was a hell of a thing we pulled off," Alastor said as he reached for the first glass. "Whatever happens from here on, I want you all to know that I'm proud of you. We've never had a victory like this."
"And with the Dark Mark floating in the sky, it might even wake a few people up to the idea that this isn't just some 'rogue Death Eaters.' I'd love to see Fudge's face when he hears about this," Sirius guffawed. "I can just imagine it now, 'it's all clearly the random acts of a few bad eggs. Nothing to worry about, nothing to see.' If the sheep don't fucking start screaming after this, then I don't know what will get their heads out of their arses."
"Sadly, I have to agree with my cousin," Andromeda agreed wistfully. "The longer I live, the more cynical I become. I think our government has been so useless for so long that I just can't picture it any other way. I might take Cissy up on her offer."
"What offer?" Harry asked.
"I told you that she and I have been in contact, right?"
"Yes."
"Well, she told me that she took your advice," Andromeda grinned at him. "Something about how you told her she was still young, rich, and beautiful and that the world was her oyster."
Harry blushed a bit. When Tonks started giggling at him, he just might have kicked her shin under the table as he took a sip of firewhisky.
"I was trying to warn her to get out of the country before anyone- namely Riddle- came sniffing around her mansion looking to get the old gang back together. Even without Lucius there anymore, I just didn't trust the other bastards to not try intruding on her. To try to take advantage of her, you know. There are a lot of bad reasons why some men might want to seduce a rich widow."
"You mean other than just for the sex?" Sirius snorted. "That's what I've always liked the most about rich widows."
"Or anyone else, you scoundrel," Andromeda scoffed. "Regardless, I appreciate you warning my sister, Harry. She's doing a lot better now. Last I heard, she'd even had a little dalliance with, of all things, a muggle."
"Aunt Narcissa with a muggle? I don't believe it!" Tonks yelped. "The woman I remember would look down on a muggle like something foul on the bottom of her shoe."
"Yes, that would have been my first thought too," Andromeda grinned. "Apparently, Cissy was enjoying a beach somewhere along the Mediterranean coast. The muggle in question was young and clad in what she called a scandalously small bathing suit. But she approved of his finely-chiseled muscles and something she could clearly see was not small in that bathing suit."
"Good for her," Sirius shouted. "I always thought Cissy would have been a lot more pleasant if someone could shag the bitchiness out of her."
"It does seem to have helped. He's a much younger man too. She told me he was only twenty three. I think she might have developed a taste for younger men."
"I'll bet," Tonks snorted, with a glance over at Harry.
"I hope she's happy then," he said as he tried not to blush again. "Didn't you mention an offer of hers though, Andi?"
"I did. She offered to have me come join her on what she's calling her semi-permanent vacation. Maybe the only good thing about Lucius was that he left her a very wealthy woman. I've... I've been thinking that I could use a break."
"Mum?" Tonks looked worried. "What do you mean?"
"I don't think I can go back to that house," Andromeda said, choking back a sob. She wiped her face and took a large swig of firewhisky. The smoke pouring out of her ears gave her a moment to compose herself.
"Ever since losing Ted, I just can't imagine trying to go back there. It isn't a home. Not anymore. I... I just want to sell the place. And maybe-"
"Maybe a vacation away from the painful memories," Sirius finished. "I can completely understand that. You must realize how much I hate it here," he waved his hand around at the old house he'd grown up in. "If not for Harry, I'd probably cast this whole damn country aside. Fucking ministry did fuck all to help me, despite being the heir to one of their precious old pureblood families. With the girls now in France, I'm tempted to join them. Not that I love the French, or anything but-"
"This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the family full of Veela that I introduced you to?" Harry asked, taking his second sip of firewhisky. It burned nicely, and he could imagine drinking far too much of it before the night was through. "Weren't you supposed to be courting a young woman now? Miss Kathryn Nott, I believe. She's an acquaintance of mine, you know. I'd hate to have to warn her off of my miscreant of a godfather."
"I'll have you know that I can be a complete gentleman," Sirius protested.
"When you're trying to get into the robes of a respectable witch, maybe," Andi laughed as she took another drink. "I don't think you'll ever grow up, Siri."
"I have to! And it's all Harry's fault!"
"How is it my fault?"
"Because I swore to myself that I wouldn't let you become a father before I do. You and Pansy are far too convincingly devoted to one another, and I'm afraid that there will be some little Potters running around before too long. I can't handle the idea that you'll beat me to it."
"Siri, I never took you as the family type," Andi smiled. "What has brought about this lovely character growth?"
"It might have been Harry's fault," he grinned.
"No way. You're not blaming me for this," Harry shook his head. "We might talk about our sex lives sometimes, but I know I've never talked with you about wanting to have kids someday."
"Sirius! He's only fifteen!" Andromeda scolded. "You might have been fine being a filthy little reprobate with James Potter, but Harry is your godson. You are supposed to be a good influence on him, for Merlin's sake."
"Oh please, Andi. The little bugger has more sex than the rest of us combined." Sirius rolled his eyes. "He's more mature at fifteen than I was at twenty, anyway. And if you had been around him and Pansy more, you'd see they're practically a married couple already. Just unfortunately still in the honeymoon stage, so I feel envious whenever I'm around him."
"Harry, I think you and I need to talk," Tonks said with a wicked gleam in her eye. "You should be careful about how you treat your girlfriend. In my role as big sis Tonks, I'm afraid I'm going to have to put a stop to all this."
She raised her hand and it grew to a comically large size. "No more nookie for you, mister Potter."
"Tonks, I killed a lot of people tonight. Don't make me kill someone else who stands between me, the woman I love, and our bedroom."
He chuckled for half a second before it started to sink in just as he was about to take another sip of his firewhisky.
"Crap... I killed a lot of people tonight."
Harry sat the glass down and looked at his hands. Were they shaking? How long had that been going on?
"Son, I'm the one responsible for what happened tonight," Alastor said as he put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It was my plan. It was my bomb. And I was the one who had the front of the house, so I personally cursed as many as the rest of you did. This was my call and that means it's my burden."
"Yeah, but I was the one who dropped the bomb! And I did it without even a hint of doubt. Shouldn't I... What the hell does that say about me? Is... is there something wrong with me?"
"Yes, lad. You've had a rough life, and you've had to grow up and turn into a cynical old bastard like me way too early." Alastor squeezed his shoulder and Harry looked up at him. "But we weren't there to kill innocent civilians. These were Death Eaters. Every single one of them was filth. We're talking about murderers, rapists, scum that would torture you with a smile if their precious Dark Lord told them to. What do you think any one of them would have done to your girl?"
"I'd kill them all over again to protect Pansy. I'd kill as many as I needed to. But... but I... I don't think I feel any regrets about tonight. Shouldn't I?" Harry looked around at all of them. "Shouldn't I feel something like that? I don't want to do whatever it takes only to turn out to be a monster. I want to be able to finish all of this and be able to live the rest of my life. I want to love Pansy and not worry that someday I'll do something to hurt her. If I can kill people-"
"Death Eaters, Harry," Sirius interjected. "Mad-Eye is right. They were the monsters. They would do terrible things to all of us and they wouldn't think twice about it."
"But that's just my damn point!" Harry yelled. "I didn't think twice about it tonight, either. What the hell does that make me, Sirius?"
"It makes you someone that had to take on far too much of a burden because no one else would." Sirius got up and helped Harry to his feet before pulling him into a hug. "It's not your fault, Harry. All of this mess should have been cleaned up years ago by the people who've failed all of us. The useless fucking ministry. Hell, I blame Albus almost as much as anyone of them."
"Really?"
"Why do you think we never mention the Order of the Phoenix? Albus hasn't had that group of his doing anything useful."
"That's why it took this little group of ours," Alastor said. "If I were a better flyer, I would have dropped the bomb myself. I'm sorry, lad, I should have realized that would have been hard on you."
"No, it's... it's not," Harry shook his head. "Not really. I've killed Death Eaters before. I can handle it. I just... I just wish I didn't have to."
"Maybe we should go wake Pansy?" Andromeda suggested. "She could help you cope with what happened."
"No, let her rest."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. She's been worried out of her mind all day long. Last night too. She had the harder part compared to me. I've had to be the one who sat behind and waited, worrying about what happened to her. I can't fucking stand that. I was a complete wreck last year when she was my hostage for the second task of that stupid tournament. That was in a controlled environment, and if I trusted the headmaster more, there shouldn't have been any real danger. But I was still barely able to function- I couldn't really sleep the night before.
"It's in my nature to be active. To do things. To leap without looking, Pansy would say. But that's just how my instincts work. I don't have the time to let my nerves get to me when things get rough because I have to act. Whenever I have nothing to do but be anxious- that's a nightmare for me."
"I get that, Harry," Sirius said. "I've been told I'm too impulsive before. But you're definitely right about feeling worse when you've nothing more to do than sit and worry. When you're out there fighting, that's easier on me too."
"Let's all try to calm down. A couple of drinks will do all our nerves some good," Andromeda suggested.
"Good idea," Tonks said. "I'd like to make a toast."
"A toast?" Sirius asked, reaching for his glass.
"To everyone we've lost. They're why we did this, right? For them, and to hopefully not have too many more victims of the Death Eaters."
"Indeed, lass," Alastor said as he raised his glass.
"To my dad, then," Tonks said with a nod.
"To Ted," Andromeda agreed.
"To James and Lily," Sirius added.
"To Lizzie Moody," Harry said as he looked over at Alastor who nodded in appreciation.
"And to everyone that we're trying to save for the future," Moody added. "A better future and a remembrance of what we've had taken from us."
They all gulped down their drinks and they were all soon belching up smoke.
It made Harry giggle.
He kept giggling and it soon set off the rest of the room as the charmed warmth of the alcohol started to fill them up.
"Harry?"
He was still giggling when Pansy appeared in the doorway.
"What's going on?" she asked. He waved her over and as soon as she was close enough, he grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap.
"Here's my future," Harry mumbled.
"Are you alright?"
"We're all having something to drink," Sirius explained. "After what we saw tonight, we could really use it. Maybe Harry most of all."
"Harry?"
"Future," he grinned before turning to Sirius. "Did I ever tell you that I'm going to marry her someday?"
"You may have mentioned it once or twice," he snorted.
"That's not enough then." Harry shook his head. "I think about it all the time."
"Really?" Pansy asked, smiling as he looked up at her.
"Oh yeah. I can't wait for all this crap to be over. Then I'll put a ring on this-" he fumbled with her hands for a moment, "this finger right here. And then we get to go on a honeymoon. I'm thinking we spend a year traveling all over the world. We've still got all those other countries to shag in, remember?"
"I remember Harry."
"Then someday, a little after that I guess, we'll get a house or something. Pick somewhere nice to live... and." He stopped and started rubbing her tummy with a wistful smile on his face. "You know what I really want to do then?"
"What?" she grinned in response.
"I want to put a baby in here," he said as he continued to rub.
"See!" Sirius exclaimed. "What type of fifteen year old is excited at the idea of becoming a father? There's something wrong with you, Harry. If only your dear godfather hadn't been cruelly kept away from you all those years- then you'd be properly terrified of the idea of little kids."
"Nawww," Harry slowly shook his head back and forth. "I've always wanted a family. A real one, you know."
"I know, Harry," Pansy agreed, putting her hand over his. She was thoroughly enjoying how he rubbed her.
"In fact, I want a big family."
"A big family, huh?"
"Someone help me talk some sense into him," Sirius teased. "You know, Harry, I couldn't stop your father from rushing into starting up a family. Don't make me fail twice."
"Oh shush, Sirius," Andi replied. "This is cute. You were saying, Harry?"
"Yeah, a real big family." He lifted Pansy, a little bit clumsily, but soon enough she was parked on the table top right in front of him as he stood up. Harry continued to rub at her tummy. "In fact, I want to put lots of babies in here."
He leaned in and was clearly ready to start snogging and even more right there in front of everybody. Pansy just smiled as he kissed her.
"Okay, kids," Andi said as she stood up. "I'm happy for you, really I am, but let's not make a show of it. Maybe you should go back to Hogwarts before Harry has any more to drink. Think you can manage that?"
"Dobby will take good care of us," Pansy answered as Harry had burrowed his head into her neck. "He always does. Right Dobby?"
The little elf popped in and nodded his head fervently as he replied, "Yes, miss Pansy!"
"Alright then, mister Dobby," Andi leaned down to look at him. "I'm trusting you to get these two back to school safe and sound. Alright?"
"Yes, miss Andie-romeda. Dobby is good at taking care of his family."
"I'm sure you are."
"Are you ready to go, Harry?" Pansy asked and he nodded sleepily against her.
"Off you go then," Andi said. "And for heaven's sake, use a contraceptive charm. No making babies too soon!"
"Don't worry about that," Pansy chuckled. "I'm not in too big a hurry. Apparently, I've got a year long honeymoon to look forward to. I don't want to be pregnant during any of that, now do I?"
"I hope not," Andi grinned. "But be sure to remind him of what he said tonight. I'd bet the look on his face will be worth remembering."
"I think you're right. Dobby, are you ready to go?"
"Yes miss."
"Pansy?" Sirius stopped her for a second. "Take good care of him, alright? Tonight... tonight was hard on all of us. Make sure Harry knows that you still love him."
"If anything, I love him even more," she replied. "I know how much he's done, and I know that it's mostly been because he wants to protect me. Why do you think I love him so much?"
"I thought maybe it was the tongue thing?" he teased.
"Not so much," she grinned in response as Dobby took hold of her free hand. "He was good at that before he figured out how to cheat anyway. Toodles!"
They disappeared with a pop.
"Oh dammit!" Sirius howled. "I am both proud and jealous that my godson has turned out to be a great lover already. Now do you see what I'm up against? Of course I need to try to settle down before Harry beats me to it."
"I'm still not convinced," Andi said as she narrowed her eyes. "Nymphadora, do you know this young miss Nott that my cousin is interested in?"
"Not well, but I know who she is. Why mum?"
"How old is she?"
"Let's see... probably twenty one?"
"I should have known," Andi turned on Sirius with a scowl. "Chasing after younger women. You'll never grow up, Sirius Black."
"Nymmie didn't mention the best part."
Tonks hit him with a stinging hex, spilling his drink all over his shirt but Sirius just kept grinning.
"I don't want to know, do I?"
"She's really hot," Sirius grinned.
"Hot?" Andi raised an eyebrow, considering reaching for her own wand.
"Smoking hot."
"You are an unrepentant scalawag. A dastardly wretch! A dog of a man!"
He turned into Padfoot and barked as she fired another couple of hexes to chase him from the room. "Go get him, Nymphadora."
"Right, mum!"
As her daughter barreled after her furry cousin, Andromeda let out a sigh.
"That was good of you," Moody said. "Getting the youngsters to take their minds off what was bothering them."
"I've been a mother for a long time. I know how to take care of children."
"And Black is still such a child," Moody snorted.
"Indeed. We might have asked too much of Harry tonight, though."
"I know," Moody nodded as he reached for the bottle to pour himself another drink. "I wouldn't have asked him if I had anyone else I trusted half as much. I wasn't kidding when I said he's too much like me. I think that's why I like Harry so much. You know what he asked me?"
"What?"
"This was during my first term teaching him, mind you. I gave them all a practical lesson on the Imperius curse and how to fight against it. Harry was a natural. He was better than any auror I've ever taught. Almost immediately, he was asking me for extra work, wanting to learn everything he could about how to fight Death Eaters. When his name came out of that damn goblet, he knew that someone was trying to kill him. He was fourteen, and he never flinched."
"He impressed you," Andi said.
"So much that it was scary. He was already as paranoid as I had been after a decade or more on the job. But that wasn't the kicker. After the Imperius lesson, he asked me to put him under the Cruciatus."
"He didn't!" Andi gasped.
"Said he wanted to know what it was like so he could figure out if he could still manage to fight afterwards. The boy wanted to learn how to withstand torture. And people call me mad. Ha!"
"Fucking hell, Alastor," Andi sighed. "The world has asked way too much of him."
"It's asked too much of all of us. Especially tonight. But Harry is a tough lad, and his lass is really good for him. If we can get him through the next couple of years, I think he'll be alright. I think they'll move away somewhere and get to work on making those baby Potters that Black is so scared about. It'll be good for him to have a family. They'll keep him sane."
"Let's hope so. You know what's going to be good for me tonight?" Andi asked.
"What?"
"Helping you finish that bottle, Alastor."
"I'll pour then."