Chapter Twenty: The Noble and Most Destroyed House of Black
Harry nearly panicked as the house continued to shake, cursing whatever was going on. He picked himself up off the floor, and saw from Fawkes that everyone else was doing the same.
“We need to get out of here!” Arthur Weasley shouted frantically, as he helped his wife to her feet and over towards the fireplace.
Harry used a plate in front of him to create a Portkey that would go to Hogwarts.
“Use this, it will be faster!” he shouted back, handing the Portkey to the Weasleys and Hermione, “I’ll use Fawkes after I see what’s going on!”
Before anyone could protest, Harry was gone in a burst of flame, and the Weasleys disappeared shortly after he did.
Harry had Fawkes keep him invisible as they flew outside the House of Black, looking down at a group of Death Eaters, led by none other than Severus Snape. He was throwing powerful curses at the house, and Harry realized what he was doing in an instant; since he had been told where headquarters were by the Secret Keeper, he could see the building. The other Death Eaters couldn’t, but if Snape could do enough damage to the house to bring down the Fidelius Charm, they would be able to rush the old home, and claim whatever secrets the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix would contain. They couldn’t possibly hope to catch anyone there by now, but they would have destroyed the base of operations of their enemies.
Harry was furious; the last time he had faced Snape, he had been woefully inadequate to the task of bringing him to justice. Now, though, he knew he would win any such confrontation, and he was itching to try. Fawkes was silently urging him to be cautious, but Harry was past listening. The Phoenix carried him so that he was behind the Death Eaters, and Harry became visible again as Fawkes flew back up to provide Harry with a better view.
Three Death Eaters had fallen to Stunning spells before the others began to notice, and suddenly they all shouted in triumph as they turned to face him. Harry was momentarily confused by that, until he saw another large group of Death Eaters coming from behind him, and he could make out Draco Malfoy in their midst. It was a trap.
Harry continued to throw curses at the Death Eaters in front of him, pretending he had not noticed those coming from behind. His panoramic view allowed him to watch himself move forward until he was face to face with his old Potions professor.
Snape appeared to be in something of a panic, but continued battling Harry vigorously. Harry was surprised at how well Snape fought, as he withstood Harry’s onslaught and returned a vicious attack of his own. Harry was also surprised that none of the spells he was using seemed to be of a particularly dark nature. He was obviously trying to capture him, not hurt or kill him.
Finally, Harry was forced to deal with those behind him as they got close enough to start casting spells of their own. Harry dodged the first volley, and threw up a shield that stopped the next. He spun away from Snape and began battling the new group. Harry was both gratified and somewhat sympathetic when he saw Malfoy’s terrified face, as the boy watched those around him fall to the ground and the strength of the spells Harry was casting. Harry was forcefully reminded that Malfoy had almost accepted Dumbledore’s mercy, and he also remembered the deal the Dumbledore was trying to make.
Knowing he wasn’t going to be able to hold his own in this battle for long anyway, Harry shouted in rage as he advanced on Malfoy, who tried frantically to get away. Harry caught him with a powerful stunner that broke cleanly through his shield, and waved his wand as if casting a fire spell. Malfoy’s prone form was suddenly engulfed in flame that burned bright and hot for a moment before going out; Malfoy’s body was gone. Some of the other Death Eaters were horrified to see that Harry was willing to blatantly kill someone who was already out of the fight, and Harry turned towards where the largest group of them had last been.
“No mercy for evil!” he told them in a cold voice, using a small amount of magic to make his words ring with menacing power. It was an effect he had learned when he was trying to save Ginny after Wormtail’s attack, and he hoped desperately that it was intimidating enough to give them pause. He could feel spells impacting on his shield, and then suddenly Fawkes was back, and Harry could see again; that short moment of complete blindness had been incredibly unnerving. Using his regained sight, Harry threw one last powerful spell at Grimmauld Place, causing the structure to collapse and setting the ruin on fire; they would find nothing of value in what had once been the Order’s headquarters. Fawkes then landed on Harry’s shoulder, and Harry became invisible as well; he had Fawkes to carry him out of the Death Eater’s line of sight before transporting him away, concealing the bright flash of flames that gave away phoenix travel.
***
As Harry appeared in a flash of flame, Ginny prepared herself to tell him off for staying alone, but he interrupted quickly.
“I have some brief business to take care of. I’ll be right back.”
Ginny sat with her family in shocked annoyance as Harry was gone for several more minutes. At least I know he’s alive, she thought bitterly. Sometimes the new knowledgeable Harry was really hard to deal with.
When Harry did get back, and Ginny got a good look at him, she paled with fear and anger.
“Harry, did you fight the Death Eaters alone? You said you were only going to look, not take them on by yourself! Are you alright?” she asked, hands on her hips.
Mrs. Weasley began ranting along the same lines, while Harry appeared confused, as though he didn’t know what they were talking about. Finally, though, probably due to adrenaline wearing off, Harry appeared to be aware of the many cuts and burns he was sporting, and at least had the good grace to look guilty.
“It was Snape,” he muttered, “I couldn’t just let him get away without doing anything.”
“Did he get away anyway?” Mr. Weasley asked shrewdly.
Harry looked uncomfortable, and nodded.
“So attacking a group of Death Eaters by yourself accomplished nothing. You need to learn how to accept help, Harry. The Order exists to help you defeat Voldemort, and if you don’t let us help, you could end up ruining all of our chances for victory,” Mr. Weasley said, though not unkindly.
His words seemed to hit Harry hard, though, and he said nothing as Mrs. Weasley and Hermione went to work on his wounds. He really wasn’t badly hurt, Ginny could see, but it had startled her to see him like that when she wasn’t expecting him to be fighting.
“What will the Order do now?” Ron wanted to know.
“We’ll need to get the word out to everyone that headquarters is gone,” Mr. Weasley responded, “Fred, George, you two start contacting Order members and letting them know. Best start with Bill and Fleur so they don’t show up there later this evening.”
Mr. Weasley then left to go find and talk to Professor McGonagall while Fred and George dashed to the nearest fireplace to begin making calls.
After several minutes, Harry was as good as new, and stood up, walking over to Ginny. Ginny glared at him for several seconds before hitting him none too gently in the stomach.
“Ginny?” he gasped, as he doubled over slightly.
She then gave him a very tight hug, and whispered in his ear, “If you get into trouble like this again without me, you’re going to get a lot worse than that.”
Harry chuckled slightly as he returned the hug before turning to Mrs. Weasley. “What are we going to do over Christmas now?” he asked.
“After this, I don’t think returning to the Burrow would be wise,” Mrs. Weasley said thoughtfully, “but we already spent most of the summer here at Hogwarts…”
She trailed off, thinking, while the others did the same.
“I could buy a house,” Harry suddenly offered.
***
The next few days were filled with several business transactions with Gringott’s Realty, a subdivision of the main bank. Fawkes carried Harry back and forth between Diagon Alley and Hogwarts, allowing him the luxury of consulting with the Weasleys and Lupin, who knew a good deal more about buying a house than Harry did. The land that the House of Black had occupied was actually fairly valuable, and Gringott’s purchased that from him at a fair price, without much bargaining. It helped, of course, that Harry could now speak the Goblin’s language; they were much more respectful to anyone who would make the effort of learning it.
Harry chose to buy a house from Muggles in London, on the grounds that people would notice a Wizarding home being taken off the market. He found a house in Brixton, bought it, and he and the Weasleys moved in with wands drawn, turning it into a Wizard’s dream home. Mrs. Weasley had protested the whole time, upset that Harry would spend so much money, but finally had a very good time decorating and furnishing a home where money was no object. Harry also performed all of the secrecy charms, making himself the Secret Keeper for the Fidelius Charm; this time the house wouldn’t be the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, but rather a safe haven and refuge for Harry and the people he loved. Harry vowed that no one that he didn’t trust completely would ever know where it was.
By Christmas, the Noble and New House of Potter, as the twins had taken to calling it, was complete. There were enough rooms for everyone, and a wonderfully huge kitchen that Mrs. Weasley was putting to excellent use. Harry sat in the spacious den, in a large overstuffed chair, musing over his excellent fortune. He now had a house that he could call a home, and a wonderful family to share it with.
Ginny interrupted his thoughts by suddenly plopping down in his lap,
“Fawkes must not be around, or you would have seen that coming,” Ginny laughed, as Harry got over his surprise and wrapped his arms around her.
“I sent him on to Grindelwald’s Castle in Germany,” Harry said, “He’s going to scout things out and then let me know if there is anything we should know about in advance.”
“We’ll never be able to know everything in advance, Harry. Sometimes things just happen, and let’s face it… They usually happen to you.”
Harry grimaced in response. “That doesn’t mean I won’t do everything I can to make sure it is safe in advance!”
“No, but you also can’t blame yourself when everything goes wrong and you have to save all of our lives.”
Harry sat quietly for a moment, contemplating the matter, before changing the subject. “It’s Christmas… Do you want your present now?”
“Okay!” Ginny exclaimed delightedly. Presents from Harry were always good.
“It’s a little silly,” Harry said quietly, “but I thought you might like something to wear, as a falcon.”
He handed her a little package, which she opened in some confusion. Inside, she found a set of red leather jesses and a falcon’s hood. She looked up, bewildered that Harry would offer her such a gift, and found him grinning devilishly.
“I thought of having them embossed with the name Cho, but I knew that would have just been suicide.”
Ginny hurled the gift back at Harry, who laughed while pulling out another package. Inside she found a fine set of quills with metal tips and an assortment of inks. She was once again confused, until she noticed that half of the quills were bright red or orange and the other half were a jet black. She looked up at Harry in astonishment.
“Imagine ripping out a handful of hair all at once,” Harry began, but Ginny cut him off by hugging him.
“Thank you, Harry! I can’t believe you did that for me! And you have to thank Fawkes for me as well.”
“The quills from Fawkes are special,” Harry said, “If you hold one of them in your hand and call Fawkes’ name, then he will come for you, no matter what’s going on. You can only use them once though, so use them carefully.”
“Thank you, Harry! Here’s your present from me,” she said shyly, as she pulled out a small package of her own.
Harry felt the package in his hands for a while before opening it. It was small and felt like a box. As he got it open, he found that it was a box with a seam around the middle and hinges on one side. He opened it, and sure enough there was a large man’s ring inside. Harry took the ring from the box and held it for a while, noticing that it was unnaturally but not uncomfortably warm, before lifting his face up in amusement.
“Are you proposing? I thought that was my job!” Harry said, grinning.
Ginny slapped his arm, glad that he couldn’t see the scarlet color of her face.
“No, that is your job, and you’d better wait until we’re out of school, or else. This is so that you can always know if I am safe or not. I was hoping Fawkes would be around when I gave it to you, so that he could show it to you. It has a ruby set in the middle, and it glows if I’m hurt or in danger. If Fawkes isn’t around, or if you are too busy to look, it also grows cold. Hermione helped me make it.”
Harry sat openmouthed for a moment, dumbstruck at Ginny’s thoughtfulness.
“Thank you! That is one of my biggest fears, not knowing whether you are in danger or not. Now I won’t have anywhere near as much to worry about!”
“I don’t know about that, Harry. I’m still going with you, and there’s still going to be danger. This just means it’ll be easier to look out for yourself since you’ll know I’m safe.”
Harry grinned, and pulled her in close for a hug, before they both ran off to join her family for Christmas.
***
The Christmas celebration was quite a grand affair. Many of the members of the Order had been brought to the house, though none but Remus, Tonks, Moody, and McGonagall had been told where it was. Everyone had a great time, and Mrs. Weasley, assisted by Dobby, had outdone herself on the food. Finally, as everyone was settling down afterwards, Fawkes returned and Harry cornered Remus and Tonks, who had retreated to the den, no doubt intending to have some time alone. Harry was sorry to deny them the pleasure but wanted more information, so he sealed the room from intrusion and asked his first question.
“Remus, what can you tell me about the defeat of Grindelwald?”
Remus, still somewhat surprised at the intrusion, looked over at Tonks, who shook her head. Remus looked back and sighed, before answering.
“I’m sure you know that Grindelwald was powerful during the Second World War, and I’m sure you guessed that he was involved with the war itself. Grindelwald wasn’t quite the same as Voldemort and the Death Eaters. He was willing to use Muggles for his own purposes, and promised many of them power and glory, enough that many of them joined his cause. While the Muggles fought their war, the Wizarding World fought its own, and it was horrific. Finally, Dumbledore led several hundred witches and wizards in a battle right at Grindelwald’s castle, which everyone insisted couldn’t be found. Once Grindelwald was dead, his followers surrendered or were captured. The Muggle war ended soon after that.”
“What is Grindelwald’s castle like?” Harry wanted to know, pushing for the details that would really help him.
Remus paused again, looking uncomfortable as he exchanged glances with Tonks.
“Why do you want to know, Harry?” Tonks asked, suspicion in her voice.
“I have my reasons,” Harry answered enigmatically.
“I’m sure he’s alright, Harry,” Remus said slowly, and Harry began to think that something was going on.
“Who?” Harry asked, now suspicious himself.
Tonks slapped Remus on the back of the head and answered for him. “Nobody, Harry. Remus just thought you were asking because you thought someone might be in trouble up there. We all know how you like to save people.”
Harry was not so easily deceived. “I don’t think I would have to be an accomplished Legilimens to know you were lying, Tonks. What’s going on, and don’t try to lie to me.”
Tonks gave Remus an infuriated look, but Remus just shrugged and answered Harry honestly.
“I’m sure you’ve discovered that Grindelwald had a large community of giants working for him, but you probably didn’t know that the giants still live in the area around the castle, where they claim that Grindelwald will return and that they must guard the castle until he does,” Remus explained.
“So Hagrid is there,” Harry stated with quiet certainty. “Why wouldn’t he be okay?”
“We haven’t heard from him for a while, and he should have been back by now. He was supposed to approach the giants like he did the last group, though we were hoping he would have more success than last time since he has Grawp with him.”
“Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?” Harry demanded.
"Harry, the only person who knows everything that the Order is doing is the leader, McGonagall. Remus and I only found out because we are being sent to see if we can find them if they aren’t back in another week,” Tonks explained. “You have to let the Order handle this, Harry, promise me!”
Harry sat quietly for a few moments before replying. “I promise that this won’t change my plans at all.”