Take me Home

Chap. 18 - The Battle

No matter how much Erin tried to force food on him, Harry didn't feel like eating anymore. Ever since he had seen his father leave with the Order, he had completely lost his appetite. It was hard for him to understand how Erin and Severus could remain so calm when somewhere out there all hell was breaking loose. But then again, Erin had just had a baby. She couldn't go anywhere, even if she wanted to. She was worried, but she had to stay calm. Besides, Erin had confidence in the Order. As for Snape, he was just being his usual self. The Potions Master never let his emotions shown; while Harry always had them written on his face.

When Harry made his way back to his room - with Severus glued to him like a watchdog - he felt as if a weight had been placed upon his shoulders. He bid goodbye to Severus after promising him for the tenth time that he wouldn't get crazy and flee. Then he lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

His mind began to drift towards Draco and his whereabouts. He was worried that Draco would be in the battle tonight, which was why his heart was thumping so fast. That was one more reason for him to feel restless and want to break the promise to his father. But he had to stay. His presence wouldn't help anyone; it would only get in the way. If Harry ended up showing his face in battle, then Voldemort would have accomplished his goal. But then again, Harry wasn't so sure that Voldemort wanted him in battle. After all, Harry had only known about it at the last minute, and just because he had suspected something wrong. If Voldemort truly wanted his presence there; wouldn't he make sure that Harry knew about it beforehand? Harry's presence would be a plus, that was for sure. But something was telling Harry that Voldemort wanted something else.

Like Snape had told Harry, not everything was about him. Perhaps Harry wasn't Voldemort's main target this time. In fact, Harry wasn't Voldemort's target at all. Harry was just in Voldemort's way. He was a nuisance. Perhaps Voldemort was only looking for fresh meat to send to his sick Muggle Concentration Camp.

Harry sighed and sat up. Then he headed for the bathroom to take a shower and try to rest. He was close to the door when his head suddenly exploded in pain and a flood of images overtook him. He fell to the floor and let out a scream. He saw Muggles running away from their houses, too scared to keep still as a horde of Death Eaters ran after them. He saw the Order members trying to counterattack and protect the Muggles at the same time, but not succeeding. There were too many Death Eaters, and they were very well-trained and strong. Harry could feel the people's pain and fears. His scar throbbed and bled. He saw Uncle Vernon's house on flames, and Aunt Petunia crying as she grabbed a scared-to-death Dudley.

The Orders members were too unprepared and scared to fight back properly. They seemed to be lost regarding the Muggles, who didn't know who they should trust. Voldemort would accomplish his goal for the night. He would not only have a fresh supply of humans to add to his mix of experiments with zombies, but he would disarm the Order as well and make the wizarding community more terrified of him. And it would be a direct blow on Harry, because the target was Little Whinging.

The lonely figure of Draco appeared in a mist. Draco was quietly watching the Dursley's house burn to ashes, and even though he seemed not to care, Harry could feel his turmoil inside. Draco wasn't immune to other people's sufferings. The blond didn't even want to be there. His heart cried out for Harry reflexively. Pettigrew sneaked behind Draco, his wand ready to strike. Harry shouted for Draco to look out. The blond opened his eyes wide as if he had heard Harry's warning, and then turned around to defend himself. It was then that the images faded away until they vanished completely.

Harry had his hands and knees on the floor, and he remained in that position until he could stop panting and gasping for air. Little Whinging was under attack. Why hadn't they told him? No matter how many bad memories he had of that place, he would never let it be destroyed. A drop of blood fell to the floor and he realised that his scar was still bleeding. He rushed, stumbling to the bathroom to stanch the bleeding. He felt nauseous and threw up the little he had eaten that night in the toilet. When the nausea was gone, he rinsed his mouth out and threw water on his face. His head was spinning, and he was feeling dizzy, but he told himself firmly to get a grip. He couldn't pass out now. He went back to his bedroom and then pondered his options.

There was no one to turn to except Snape, but at that point there wasn't much Snape could do. All of the Order members were in battle. Dumbledore wasn't in Hogwarts to help Harry out. If Harry's vision was true, then the Order was actually losing the battle. Harry couldn't tell if he had seen the present or the future. All he knew was that Draco was in danger, and so were his father, Sirius and all the others. Pettigrew, the rat bastard, was actually trying to kill Draco, Merlin knew why. Harry had to prevent all of those things. He had to warn the Headmaster about it. And he had to save Draco.

He took a deep breath and shouted for his broom and his Invisibility cloak. Then he mounted on his Firebolt and took off without thinking twice about it. He flew through the sky as fast as he could in search for thestrals. They were the only creatures that could show him the way. Harry stopped breathing for a moment as he spotted two black winged-horses with dragonish faces in a clearing in the woods. He dismounted his broom quickly and climbed upon one, hoping that Hagrid wouldn't mind that he was borrowing one of them. A day before, when Hagrid had finally showed him the way to the thestrals, the half-giant had treated those magical creatures as if they were his babies. But Harry needed their help now. Thestrals were known for their superb sense of direction, and Harry would need them to get to Little Whinging as fast as he could. He just hoped that the winged-horse really knew the way to it.

He held firmly to the thestral as it took off, his broom tied to his back. Even though his mind was fully alert to the dangers he would face ahead, he couldn't help feel amazed by the landscape around him. Flying on a thestral was as incredible as flying on a hippogriff. He wrapped his cloak around himself, trying to hide his broom under it as well. Even though thestrals could only be seen by people who had witnessed death - and Harry could bet that most of his enemies had - at least they wouldn't see Harry.

He would be the element of surprise. He would just warn Dumbledore about his vision, or whatever that was, then he would check for himself if Draco, his father and Sirius were ok. And only then would he leave. He didn't know if he would succeed in not being seen, but there was one thing he knew for sure. He would take Draco away with him.

-------------------------------

Draco couldn't believe his bad luck. The night was turning out to be the worst of his life. He thought he would be ready to face anything, but as he watched the chaos around him, he realised how stupid and naive he had been. He didn't know if he should feel glad or angry that the Order of the Phoenix had arrived to fight against them. He deviated from a petrifying spell just a second before it could hit him, and then he hid himself behind a large tree.

He sighed in distress as he watched the battle taking place. Things didn't look good for the Order. They had very good wizards and witches fighting, but most of them seemed terrified and lost. The Death Eaters were crushing most of them. Draco knew the Death Eaters would win this battle. Voldemort's army was more prepared after all, mostly because while the Order cast only defensive spells, the Death Eaters were shooting their most lethal curses. Death Eaters knew no mercy or morals. The Order was too worried about trying to protect the Muggles and themselves, so it was a lot more difficult for them to watch their backs.

His heart beat faster at the sight of two Death Eaters running after an innocent Muggle child, and he heard himself shouting a stunning spell before he could stop himself. The child escaped and both Death Eaters fell to the ground as Draco's spell hit them. Draco sighed in relief, totally forgetting that there could be eyes on him. He turned around and came face to face with Zabini, who was looking at him with a mix of shock and admiration.

"Good shot, Malfoy," Zabini said after regaining his voice.

Draco wrinkled his forehead. "I've never missed a shot, Zabini. But it wasn't such a good idea."

"You just saved that kid's life."

Draco clenched his fists, fighting with his emotions. "I know. But somehow I don't feel any better."

Zabini pulled Draco to the side frantically. "You know this is wrong. This mission is completely pointless."

"It isn't pointless! We're giving Muggles a message," Draco said hesitantly.

"What message? The only message here is that Voldemort is a nutcase! Attacking such a place on Christmas Eve! Muggles everywhere will hear about this. Our community will be in danger. We have to stop them!"

Draco looked at Blaise as if he had gone mental. "Did you hit your head or something? Do you even realise what you're saying? You're going against Voldemort's orders! You're telling me to rebel against him, to betray his cause! You're a traitor!" Draco pointed his wand at Blaise.

"So are you!" Blaise exclaimed, irritated. "You just saved that child! You've hexed two Death Eaters! Who's the bloody traitor here? You don't know this, Draco, but you're being tricked! Fuck, I'm so tired of this! To hell with everything! I can't stand this any longer! If I see another dead person in front of me I'll have a nervous breakdown." Blaise gripped Draco's arms. Draco thought that the usually so cold-blooded Slytherin did indeed seem as if he was about to collapse. "Just wake up already! This isn't you!! Voldemort is toying with you because of Potter!"

Draco was so astonished at the sudden news that he didn't react. He felt a little shaken at the mention of Potter. He didn't know why just the thought of his enemy made him feel that way.

"You and Potter had something, Draco. You were together!"

Draco blinked in shock as the influx of memories from his dream came rushing back to him. He had thought there was something wrong with that dream. It had felt too real to be just an ordinary dream. But he couldn't have had anything with Potter. The idea was unimaginable. Or was it? Draco remembered a time where he had ogled Harry Potter in the past. He did remember that. He opened up his eyes widely as an image of him and Harry crossed his mind. In it, they were running away from zombies in the Dark Forest and entering Hagrid's hut. And then he saw himself kissing Harry. He could feel his own heart beating faster as Harry's lips touched his for the first time, and how thrilled he had felt to have Harry so close to him. Was it real? Draco couldn't trust his memory anymore. There were so many gaps in his mind. His hands trembled a little. He felt suddenly very confused and angry with himself. It was frustrating not to remember his past. "What the fuck are you talking about?" he asked Blaise; after all, the Slytherin seemed to know a lot about that time in his life that he couldn't remember.

"Listen, Draco, this is all a lie! The old you would have never joined Voldemort in the first place! You would have..."

A big explosion interrupted their conversation. They instantly looked around to see what had happened. Draco cursed under his breath as a Muggle house burst into flames. A big man was kneeling on the floor, pleading for mercy, and a horse-faced woman was holding a fat boy tightly. Draco felt a pang in his heart, but he kept his emotions hidden. That battle inside his heart was driving him insane. He wasn't supposed to care, and yet he did. The truth was that he didn't want to be there, killing and torturing people. He liked power, but for the first time he was beginning to understand the price he would have to pay to be so powerful. He wouldn't deny that he liked toying with people. But not like that. Such cruelty wasn't his thing.

He didn't know what he was supposed to do anymore. This vulnerability in his heart was new to him. He didn't even realise it, but the name that escaped from his lips as he watched the house burn was Harry's. Draco's heart was calling out for him, but his mind couldn't understand why he was feeling this way.

"Draco, watch out!" shouted a voice coming from somewhere behind him.

Draco opened his eyes wide as he turned around and saw Pettigrew sneaking behind him with his wand pointed at him. The rat bastard had always wanted a chance to finish him off and Draco had just given him the opportunity. By Pettigrew's victorious look, the blond figured that the rat had seen him saving the child and now was taking delight in it. Now Pettigrew had a reason to kill Draco; after all, Lord Voldemort would never forgive him for letting a Muggle child escape.

"Now, now, Malfoy," Pettigrew said, grinning madly. "I knew that sooner or later you'd show your true face. And you too, Zabini. You're both traitors! I told Lord Voldemort he shouldn't have trusted you two. I was right!"

Draco smirked, and he and Blaise aimed their wands at Pettigrew. "I guess this is it, Zabini. The rat caught us in the act. We're so doomed," Draco sneered.

Blaise suppressed his laughter. "Yeah. We certainly are, Draco. I mean, the powerful and almighty Wormtail is about to take out all of his rage on us. How scary!" Blaise mocked.

Pettigrew's face went red from anger. "Don't think I can't take you both down!"

Draco faced him seriously this time. "I would like to see you try."

There was a short period of silence where everything stood still. Pettigrew looked at Draco, then at Blaise, and then back at Draco. A drop of sweat rolled down his face. He gripped his wand firmly, but that only made it more evident that his hands were shaking. And then Pettigrew felt a pain in his back as a spell hit him from behind. His expression was of total surprise a moment before he hit the ground.

Draco raised an eyebrow and looked at Blaise questioningly. Blaise just shrugged.

"I was about to hit him, Zabini," Draco complained, his Master mode coming back in place. "I don't want you to fight my battles for me!"

"I didn't!" Blaise assured him defensively. "That blast didn't come from me. Didn't you notice? It came from behind Wormtail! Neither of us could have hit him."

Draco looked around. Apart from a few Death Eaters enjoying themselves across the street by torturing the owners of the burned house, there was no one there. Draco kept his wand ready. An invisible enemy was the most dangerous. Blaise gasped beside him and pointed at something hidden in the middle of a Muggle garden. Draco was amazed by the vision of the winged black horse with a skeletal body and dragonish face.

"What are those?" Blaise asked, stupefied.

"Thestrals," Draco answered. He had read about them in books, but he had never seen one. The creature was even more stunning than he had imagined. "Why is it here? We don't use thestrals!"

"He brought me here," said someone in front of Draco. Draco took a step back instinctively and opened up his eyes widely as the invisible person threw away his cloak and stared at him with flaming green eyes. The young man looked at Pettigrew with a snort. "That felt really good. Sweet dreams, stupid rat."

Draco's heart pounded hard in his chest as he came face to face with Harry Potter. His body reacted in an unexpected way. Potter was taller than Draco could remember and definitely more interesting. Draco had never expected to feel so flustered and excited at the mere sight of his enemy. He told himself it was because he had always dreamed of fighting Potter without anyone else to interrupt them. But he knew he was lying to himself. He was excited because of the dream.

"I told you I would come for you," Harry said resolutely as he stared at Draco again.

Draco opened his eyes widely. So Potter did know about the dream. Somehow the bastard had found a way to sneak into Draco's dream. Potter should have also found a way to bewitch Draco so the blond would only think of him. Draco felt his blood boiling at the thought, and he shouted a curse at Harry reflexively, but Harry defended himself easily and disarmed Draco. With Draco's wand in his hands, Harry grinned playfully. "I'm still more powerful than you."

Draco groaned. "Give me back my wand, Potter! Let's battle like gentlemen, shall we? You are not the kind of man that would attack an unarmed person, are you?" Draco sneered.

"Oh, but you don't need your wand, right? You can do wandless magic," Harry pointed out.

Draco felt his blood pressure rising and he hissed, "Alright, Potter. You asked for this!" He began shouting the Cruciatus curse, but as he opened his mouth to speak, he found himself voiceless.

Harry sniggered as Draco shot him a murderous look. "Cool spell, huh? I learned it from Erin. It makes the person voiceless. But don't worry. It won't last too long."

Draco felt like going for Harry's throat. 'You bastard, son of a bitch! When this spell is off, I'll kill you!' Draco thought, fuming.

"See, Draco? You're not the only one who knows wandless magic. And I've just found out recently that I don't even have to say the spell aloud! I just need to think about it and want it to work." Draco frowned and Harry went on, "Yeah, I was stunned myself. But I'm more stunned with the fact that you would actually want to hit me with Cruciatus," Harry said, his eyes glimmering with hurt. Draco's heart ached in reflex. Draco couldn't understand why seeing Harry hurt touched him so much.

"Are you finally going to take him away, Potter?" Blaise asked.

Harry looked at Blaise and nodded. Draco felt outraged. Zabini was a traitor after all. Draco tried to voice his anger, but he was unable to. He clenched his fists and teeth and sighed in frustration.

"Did you find a cure?" Harry asked Blaise.

"No. I'm truly sorry."

Harry sighed. "You can still find it."

Blaise shook his head immediately. "Now that you're here to take Draco, I won't go back to that place."

Draco couldn't believe they were talking about him as if he wasn't there. Unfortunately, he couldn't say anything yet. His voice was still gone. Feeling Draco's agitation, Harry turned to calm him down and explain the situation better, but a tormented shriek interrupted him. He turned around and looked across the street. He opened his eyes widely as he noticed that the house burning was the Dursleys', and that a group of Death Eaters were having fun with his Uncle and his cousin. Dudley and Uncle Vernon were floating in the air upside-down, and Aunt Petunia was screaming for help. Harry felt ashamed to admit that a tiny part of him was overjoyed by the scene. Hadn't he wished to see that house burned and gone forever? Hadn't he prayed for the Dursleys to get some punishment for treating him so horribly for so many years?

But the right thing to do was to put aside his feelings and help them.

"I'll be right back," he told Draco.

He crossed the street quickly, forgetting that he had planned not to be seen, and he pointed his wand at one of the Death Eaters, stunning him with a spell. The others looked at him surprised. Uncle Vernon and his son fell to the ground, completely forgotten.

"It's Potter!" one of the Death Eaters shouted.

"Our Lord will be so pleased if we just bring his head!" said another.

"You can't kill me!" Harry shouted. "If you do, then you'll be killing Voldemort, too."

The Death Eaters looked at each other confusedly and then the tallest of them said, "I don't believe you." The man shot an Unforgivable curse in Harry's direction, but Harry deflected it. Harry looked around, trying to come up with a strategy fast. There were five Death Eaters circling him. Erin had taught him to defend himself when being surrounded by the enemy, but Harry was still a beginner. He didn't know if he could hit them all and escape safely.

Fortunately for him, two Death Eaters behind him were stunned by Blaise. He smiled at the remaining masked men and blasted them with such a powerful attack that the light could be seen a block away.

"Thanks, Zabini," Harry said, panting.

Blaise only stared at him. "What the hell was that? I've only seen such a strong attack performed by very experienced wizards. How did you...?"

"No time to talk now," Harry said as he spotted three more Death Eaters on their way over.

Uncle Vernon came crawling near Harry and grabbed Harry's trousers. "Please, save us!" the big rounded man cried out. "Save our house! Weren't we good to you? We took you in! We gave you a home! Please, save my family!"

Harry looked at him with a mix of disgust and pity. The Death Eaters were so near now. He took a deep breath and then pointed his wand at the Dursleys. Vernon, Petunia and Dudley cried out, thinking that Harry would kill them. But all Harry did was create a shield around them so they would be protected for a while. He had learned that from the Order. As he had flown above Little Whinging, he had seen many shields like that protecting Muggle houses. Unfortunately, the Order hadn't had time to cast defensive spells around them all.

"You're safe now. Unfortunately, I can't do anything about the house..." Harry said, taking Blaise by the arm and running towards Draco.

Draco was still too stunned to react properly. He knew he should have run away, but he was a Malfoy. Malfoys didn't run from battles. Besides, he couldn't take his eyes off Potter. His heart had almost stopped at the sight of Potter being in trouble. The mixed-up emotions were making him very confused and paralysed.

"Zabini, watch Draco for me," Harry asked. "I need to find Dumbledore."

Blaise smirked. "Watching Draco for you is all I've been doing, Potter..."

Harry scowled, but didn't reply. He didn't have time to argue with Zabini. There would be plenty of time for that later. "Just don't let him escape. And please, protect him."

Draco clenched his fists angrily. How dare they talk about him as if he weren't there? He wanted to say that he could take care of himself perfectly fine, after all, he wasn't a damsel in distress, but he was still voiceless. He made a mental note to get back at Potter as soon as his voice was recovered. He gripped Harry's arms firmly, and for a moment all things stood still as their eyes locked. Harry stroked Draco's cheek softly and Draco instantly let go of him.

Draco didn't have time to analyse the meaning behind that tender touch, because Potter cast a shield around him and Blaise and then vanished under his Invisibility cloak and into the night. Draco sighed, almost dejectedly. He couldn't believe he was in such a horrible situation. He couldn't go anywhere, at least not until his voice came back. He also couldn't believe that Potter was protecting him. Why was that happening to him? He didn't know anything about his life anymore. Nothing made sense. Harry Potter should be trying to kill him, not helping him. Draco was supposed to be cursing and jinxing the Boy-Who-Lived pretty badly. But the blond couldn't do it, just like he knew that he wouldn't have finished shouting the Cruciatus curse before. If Potter hadn't cast his spell on Draco, he would have known that.

The question was why. Why did Draco care about Potter? He leaned against the wall of the house where he and Blaise were hidden in and then sighed. He wouldn't try to break free from the shield. He would wait for Potter to return. It seemed as if Potter could be the key to a lot of things that were missing in his memory.

-----------------------

It was chaos. The number of Death Eaters had surpassed the Order's expectations. Their roughness was beyond the Order's control. James looked around, helpless. Sirius was the only one that could help him, but he was nowhere to be found. James was still trying to understand how he had stuck himself in the situation he was in. One Death Eater was holding his arms tightly behind his back and muttering obscenities in his ear. The other two had taken off their silver masks to look and mock at him properly. The three of them were rejoicing in having laid their hands on James Potter. James would be their passport to a higher post, not to mention that Lord Voldemort would be thrilled to have James Potter as a prisoner.

James gulped as he felt a wand poking his chest, and then he stared, with loathe in his eyes, at the man who had turned him in.

"Didn't I tell you, Antonin, that I would give our Lord a very nice gift?" asked a fourth man with the hoarse voice that had melted James' senses not so long ago. The three Death Eaters turned their eyes to the tall, dark figure of Lucius Malfoy.

Antonin Dolohov smiled, pleased. "Malfoy! I'm really surprised to see you here. Our Lord placed a very high price over your head. Did you finally come to your senses and decide to come back to the winning side? I confess I wasn't expecting this. But then again, you are such a devil!"

Lucius sneered. "But of course. Did you really think I would join the Order willingly? Here is my proof that I have been very faithful to our Lord. I brought you James Potter, didn't I? He fell under my trap very easily." Lucius smirked at James, and the brunette felt a pang in his heart.

For Lucius to double-cross him like this had been the last thing James had expected. He had been so happy to see Lucius unharmed in the middle of the chaos. But his happiness had faded away when he'd heard Lucius selling information about the Order to Antonin Dolohov, a well-known Death Eater. James had been stupid enough to confront Lucius. Lucius had been surprised to see James at first, but then his blue eyes had darkened and Lucius had stared at James coldly. James had been so taken aback by that sudden hostility that he had let his guard down. The next thing he knew, Lucius had disarmed him and had ordered Antonin's men to take him prisoner.

James had surrendered without putting up a fight, because he was too overwhelmed by hurt and betrayal to react properly. His heart was shattered. He had trusted Lucius against all of his fears and better judgement. He had given his heart to that heartless man. It was hard to believe that Lucius had betrayed him like that. James refused to believe that this was the same Lucius that had made love to him so tenderly, and had told him so many personal things about himself. He hoped that Lucius was only acting, but he couldn't tell at all. Lucius' face was unreadable and his look was icy and sharp. That was a man to be feared, but James just wanted to spit on Lucius' face and kick him hard on the balls. James hated that cold act. He hated the way Lucius was staring at him, as if James meant nothing to him.

"We should have a little fun with him before handing him to our Lord," suggested the one who was gripping James' wrists behind his back. The spiteful man licked James' left ear, making the others laugh and James shiver from disgust.

"That's something to think about." Dolohov got near James and stroked his face with his gloved hands. James spit on him and was slapped hard on the face. "The little bitch is quite snarky!" Dolohov mocked. "What do you think, Malfoy? Should we enjoy him a little? Or a lot?" More laughing. James held his chin high and sent them a murderous look. He would rather be dead before letting those men touch him.

James' eyes met Lucius, desperately trying to understand what game Lucius was playing at.

"I think," Lucius said, walking towards James and stopping in front of him, "that we could have some fun with him." The back of Lucius' hand touched James' cheek slightly and the brunette shivered, but not from disgust. James hated himself for reacting to Lucius' touch in such a shameful way.

"You can try," James snarled.

"I certainly will," Lucius replied with a sneer.

One of Lucius' hands slid down to stroke James' waist and opened his cloak. James' breath got caught in his throat. Lucius brought James closer and their bodies aligned. The blond ordered the man holding James' wrists to release them. The man looked at Dolohov as if waiting for permission to obey, and when Dolohov nodded his head, he let go of James.

James instantly began to fight against Lucius and tried to break free, but Lucius kept his grip firm.

"Be quiet," Lucius muttered in his ear. James bit Lucius' hand, making the blond shout in pain. "Just stop it and do as I tell you. James..." The last word was whispered in such a way that made James stop trying to pull away. James' body stayed still, waiting for Lucius' next move. The brunette's heart leaped in expectation. He felt something being shoved in one of his pockets and he frowned. "It's a fog bomb," he heard Lucius' whispered voice again and he shivered. "When I release you, just throw it on the ground and scram. Don't struggle. Just trust me. Dolohov is strong. Do not try to attack us. Just scram."

James' confusion only increased. Perhaps Lucius was spying for Voldemort, but had true feelings for James. Or perhaps it was something else altogether. Perhaps Lucius was trying to gain Voldemort's trust again because of Draco. James' heart beat faster as he suddenly realised what this was all about. It was all because of Draco. It had to be. Lucius was just trying to find a way to bring his son back, and James' sudden appearance had almost ruined everything. In order to gain information about Draco, Lucius had to play along with the Death Eaters. Lucius couldn't blow his cover. And if there was something Lucius was very good at, it was pretending, so it shouldn't have been such a shock to see his cold façade. But it was. Lucius had allowed James to know a side of him that no one else did, and the old Lucius Malfoy had confused him.

But now James had finally understood, or so he hoped. He brushed his hand on Lucius' and nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Hit me as hard as you can," Lucius muttered one last time, before letting go of James.

It all happened very fast. James punched Lucius in the face and threw the fog bomb on the ground. A thick mist obscured the Death Eaters' view and allowed James to escape. Although he hated to play the coward, he knew that his presence would be a nuisance. Lucius was playing a role out there. James would have gotten in the way by staying.

He bumped something on the street and almost fell. An invisible entity suddenly grabbed him with what felt like arms, fiercely, and then surprisingly pulled him into a hug. It took James a moment to realise what had just happened as he felt the soft texture of his old cloak and pushed it to the floor to reveal the person underneath.

"Harry!" James hugged his son tightly. He should have known that Harry wouldn't just sit around and wait. Harry was his son after all. "Didn't I tell you to stay out of this?" James asked, sounding very upset.

"You can ground me later," Harry said, pushing his father to the side and hitting a Death Eater that was behind James. The man fell, but another one came running towards them. Harry hit him also. "I think we need to get out of here now." James looked at his son in awe, as if he was seeing him for the first time.

Father and son ran to hide behind the walls of the nearest house.

"Where's your wand?" Harry asked as they waited for their breaths to normalize.

"Somebody took it..." James said bitterly. "Harry, you shouldn't be here!"

"I know, but I was meant to be here. I had this vision. Draco was in danger and so was the Order. I had to warn Dumbledore about it. But I guess I'm too late. I don't know where Dumbledore is. Actually, I can't believe I've found you. I met Draco, though! He's only a few houses away. I want to take off with him, but I need to find Dumbledore first," Harry said hastily. James noticed that Harry seemed very flustered and hyper.

"You should have taken off with Draco. Just tell me what you saw, and I'll tell Dumbledore about it."

"I saw the Order losing pretty badly. I saw Wormtail trying to kill Draco."

James felt his blood boiling. "That rat bastard! Where is he?"

"He's with Draco and Zabini. I stunned him. I should have killed him, but..."

James placed his hands on Harry's shoulders. "Don't say that. You're not a murderer."

"Yeah, but we are losing because of that! The Order doesn't want to kill anyone, unless it's a last resort. But look around! The Death Eaters are winning because they don't care if they kill us!" Harry shouted angrily.

"That's right!" exclaimed someone behind them. "And now I'm going to kill you!"

Harry quickly turned around and deflected the curse that was aimed towards them just a few seconds before it hit them. Harry then blasted the Death Eater with a powerful stunning spell, giving no chance to the other no chance man to defend himself. James was now more astonished than ever.

"Where did you learn to cast that?" James asked, flabbergasted.

Harry just shrugged. "Erin. She used to be an Auror."

"Is she allowed to teach you such advanced magic?"

"Yes," Harry answered uncomfortably.

"This is really serious, Harry! This sort of spell drains a lot of energy from you." James put the back of his hand on Harry's forehead. "For Merlin! You're burning! How many times have you used that spell?"

"I dunno." Harry wavered. "What does it matter? We need to warn Dumbledore. I think..."

A sudden bright light flashed in the sky and conjured a skull. It was the Dark Mark. Harry and James looked at the street and saw the Death Eaters Disapparating one by one. James didn't like that at all. He couldn't understand why they were leaving.

Most of the Order members appeared in the middle of the street and looked at each other inquisitively. James heard the sound of Apparating a few meters away, and dark figures appeared. James paled as the moonlight illuminated them. They weren't human, but a very bad copy of what a human should look like. These creatures had empty bloodshot eyes and decomposing skins. Their mouths hung open in a repulsive way.

"Now what?" James asked himself.

Harry gripped his wand and smirked. "That was what I was afraid of. Zombies..."

"I'll take it from here," said someone popping up by their side.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry shouted, relieved. The presence of the Headmaster seemed to have the same effect on the rest of the Order members.

"Harry! Why am I not surprised to see you here?" Dumbledore looked tired and sombre. "And I see that you look worn-out and flustered. My dear boy, you've used too much energy already. It's time to go, Harry. You came here for Draco, didn't you?"

Harry nodded, but then shook his head. "Actually, I came here because I thought the Order was losing and I wanted to let you know. I had this vision... And I saw Draco in it, too. So I just had to come. I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I was actually expecting you..."

Dumbledore's voice was cut off by the horrifying moaning of the zombies coming closer. He turned to Harry seriously and said, "I can assure you that we are not going to lose. I'll personally take care of all these creatures. But you must go, Harry. Your magical level is dangerously low. I don't want you to take any more chances. You must go back to the castle immediately and go straight to Madam Pomfrey. You've accomplished your mission. Don't worry about us anymore."

"But sir..."

"Let's go, Harry," James said, pulling Harry away and letting others take their place. Harry still tried to struggle, but Dumbledore was right about one thing. Harry's body could barely stand on its own. He had cast too many difficult spells in less than an hour. He was feeling exhausted.

The Order lined up horizontally, and at Dumbledore's command, they began to attack the zombies. Harry wanted to stay and fight too, but James kept dragging him away. Harry only began to move on his own when James reminded him of Draco. Harry then gathered all the strength he had left and ran as fast as he could. There was a chance that the spell he had cast to protect Draco had already been broken, and Draco might not be in Little Whinging anymore. Harry couldn't even think about that. He had finally gotten reunited with Draco. He wouldn't let Draco escape from him.

He forgot about everything else to focus on Draco, even his tiredness. He turned the corner of the house where he had left Draco and Zabini and his heart almost came out of his mouth as he spotted Draco lying on the ground unconscious.

"What happened?" he asked Blaise, pushing the Slytherin aside and taking his place next to Draco. "What did you do to him?" Harry hissed.

"I haven't done anything!" Blaise shouted, upset. "It all happened really fast. That bloody rat summoned this horrible creature... I don't even know what the hell that was! Lucky for us the Thestral protected us. But Wormtail managed to hit Draco with a spell before he took off."

"What?" Harry's face became white as a sheet, immediately thinking he was to blame. He would never forgive himself. He quickly checked for Draco's pulse but couldn't feel anything.

"He didn't hit Draco with the killing curse," Blaise assured him hastily.

Harry took Blaise by the collar and threatened him. "Why the hell didn't you protect him?"

"It was you who took away his ability to speak, Potter! Draco would have defended himself if it wasn't for that!" Blaise counter attacked. Harry punched him with all his might. Blaise was right, but Harry's fury was making him unable to think clearly. It was his fault and his anger vented out - unfortunately for Blaise he was the closest one available.

"Harry! Stop!" James shouted, getting in the middle of the boys. "It's nobody's fault!"

"He was just unlucky, Potter. Wormtail wasn't even aiming at him."

"What exactly happened here?" James asked.

"Wormtail woke up from the stunning spell Potter cast on him and then summoned some odd creature to get me and Draco," Blaise began to explain, watching out for Harry. He didn't want to get punched again. "Potter's shield went off right at that instant, and the creature began to run towards us, but the thestral attacked the creature and Wormtail. The rat bastard tried to take the thestral down, but all he managed to do was get the other creature more pissed off. The creature turned against Wormtail, who cast a very strong stunning spell by reflex. And the spell hit Draco. Like I said, Draco was just unlucky... But I think he's fine. He isn't dead, Potter. He needs a Healer, though."

"Where's Wormtail?" James asked.

"He took off," Blaise said bitterly. "I couldn't do anything to stop him."

"And the creature?"

Blaise pointed at something lying a few meters away from them. "It's dead. The thestral killed it."

The thestral stood proudly beside the creature, but it looked so peaceful that Harry found it hard to imagine that not so long ago this winged-horse had battled some strange creature and won.

James asked for Harry's wand and walked towards the dead creature carefully. He made a face at the sickening vision. He couldn't tell what it was either. From what he could see, the creature had sharp teeth, long and sharp nails and a hairy body that reminded him of a werewolf. But it wasn't a werewolf. The skin was putrid, the globes of its eyes were totally white and his stomach was bleeding profusely. But the thing that astonished James the most was that it moved.

James put a great distance between them as the creature blinked and then stood up. A thread of blood mixed with saliva slid down the creature's chin. Now that it was standing, it seemed a lot scarier, and definitely bigger than James. It did look like a werewolf, but not the regular type. This was another breed. Werewolves were scary, but not that much.

The creature sniffed the air and roared threateningly. Then it ran towards James to attack him, but Harry quickly cast a shield to protect them from the creature's blow. The enraged creature kept trying to break into the shield with his paws. Even though Harry was exhausted and terrified, he managed to focus on keeping the shield up.

James had never felt so useless in his entire life. He should be the one protecting Harry, not the other way around. He could only attack the creature if Harry turned the shield off, but since he didn't know exactly what kind of spell could pull it down, he couldn't risk their safety. He was about to tell Harry to disable the shield and run away with Blaise and Draco when the thestral attacked the creature again.

Harry, Blaise and James watched, with a mix of horror and fascination, the battle between the creatures. James couldn't believe their strength. Although the other creature was very wounded and looked as if it was dead, it kept striking the thestral with all its might.

"Oh, fuck," Blaise muttered.

"What?" Harry asked.

"It's the Dark Lord's new creation. It's a zombie werewolf. How did I not notice before?"

James frowned. He wasn't surprised that Voldemort's sick mind had created such a horrible being. James turned to Blaise and asked, "How do we kill it?"

"That's the trick part," Blaise smiled bitterly. "Like the zombies, this thing is technically dead already. So we can't exactly kill it."

"There must be a spell to stop it!" James exclaimed incredulously. "Zombies can be put down, right?"

"Yes, but we would need a gun," Harry said, remembering Draco's explanation from the time they had been set up and surrounded by zombies. "We have to shoot them in the head with a silver bullet."

"You don't need a silver bullet to shoot ordinary zombies," said someone coming out of the darkness unexpectedly and standing beside them. "But to kill a zombie werewolf... Well, that's another story." The hooded person raised his hand and pointed a golden ivory pistol at the zombie werewolf.

Noticing the smell of new flesh in the air, the creature turned to attack the mysterious person, growling horribly as it made its way towards the hooded man. A shot echoed, and the creature fell to the ground, unmoving. Another shot was heard, this time aimed at the thestral. Harry, James and Blaise opened their eyes wide as they watched the thestral fall.

Harry's shield went off and he collapsed beside Draco, worn-out and shocked. The thestral was dead. Hagrid would never forgive him.

"Show yourself!" James shouted, aiming Harry's wand at the hooded person.

The hood fell off the person's face and James' heart stopped beating.

"Are you going to hit me, Potter?" asked the person with a sneer. "I've just saved your lives in case you haven't noticed. I was expecting a little more appreciation."

"Lucius!" James' mouth hung open. Once again, James didn't know whether he could trust Lucius or not. He wanted to ask why Lucius had killed the thestral as well, but Harry beat him to it.

"You heartless bastard!" Harry shouted with the little energy he had left. Harry's eyes were blood-shoot and tearful. "Why did you have to kill the thestral? He was defending us!"

Lucius put another bullet in his pistol and then he said, "You obviously don't know much about zombies, do you? Well, I know a few things..." Lucius sneered. "After all, my father was responsible for designing them. There's one basic thing about zombies that you should always keep in mind. Once they bite or even scratch someone, the bitten person will soon turn into a zombie." Lucius looked at the zombie werewolf and continued, "Clearly, not only humans can be infected with zombie blood, but other creatures as well. I had to shoot the thestral. I couldn't risk our safety. He could have been infected too. Would you want to face a zombie thestral? I certainly wouldn't."

His explanation made sense to James, but the cold way Lucius explained things made him shiver. James told himself not to think badly of Lucius just because he wasn't used to the blonde's coldness anymore, but it was hard not to. James wanted to punch Lucius again for having no consideration for Harry's suffering and shock. Harry was still a child caught in a war. They couldn't expect him not to breakdown eventually.

"You're really scary, Lucius," James muttered.

For only a second, James was able to see in Lucius' eyes the turmoil his lover was going through. He was relieved to know that Lucius wasn't so immune to their suffering. But that thread of emotion came and went, and Lucius went back to his expressionless face. Lucius just shrugged and walked towards Draco, handing James his pistol on the way.

The pistol felt heavy in James' hands. He had handled Muggle weapons before, but he had never been fond of them. This one was particularly old. It was a 1760 Flintlock Pistol. The Malfoys were well-known for hating everything Muggle, but possessing quite a collection of Muggle items, especially weapons.

Did Lucius expect him to use it? James looked at Lucius, who was now carrying Draco in his arms.

"What are you waiting for?" Lucius asked, frowning. "Let's go."

"Go where?" Harry asked moodily. "You killed our transportation. I still have my broom, but obviously it isn't enough for all of us!"

"My car is parked near here," Lucius said, striding away.

"Wait! What about the Order? Dumbledore and the others don't have guns! How will they kill the zombies?" Harry asked.

Lucius stopped, annoyed. "This isn't my problem. Dumbledore was stupid enough to think that those idiots from the Order could fight this battle. He should be the one to face the consequences."

"Lucius! I can't believe you just said that!" James felt nauseous. Lucius' actions that night were too shocking. James knew he shouldn't expect anything different. He had told himself that many times. But he still hoped that Lucius' aloofness was only a defence created by the horrible circumstances they were facing. He had to believe that or else his relationship with Lucius would be doomed. "Take the kids to Hogwarts. I'll stay and help the others. I'll keep your pistol, if you don't mind. Do you have any more bullets?"

"Dad! If you stay, then I'm staying too!" Harry said immediately.

"No, Harry. You can barely stand! Go with Lucius and take care of Draco."

"But..."

"You must be joking!" Lucius said, his face finally showing a flicker of emotion. Lucius had faced too many fears that night. His cold facade was still up, but in reality he was ready to break down. He had wanted to kill Dolohov and his men for having the audacity to touch James. He wouldn't allow James to stay in that chaos.

James stared at him. "I won't abandon my friends. I have a pistol now."

"You won't have enough bullets to kill them all! Don't be stupid, James!"

"Dumbledore is counting on us."

"Dumbledore is an old fool!"

They heard screams coming from the streets.

"Come with us!" Lucius ordered.

James smiled sadly. "I can't."

Lucius looked positively anxious now. "What's more important to you: the Order or your son?"

That was a low punch. James flinched. Harry was more important, but he couldn't abandon his friends. Sirius was still out there. Harry looked at him with pleading eyes and James felt tempted to go with them. Dumbledore would understand.

They heard an explosion. They had to close their eyes for a moment as an intense blue light surrounded everything and then vanished as quickly as it had appeared. They stared at each other, dumbfounded. James gave the wand back to Harry but told him to wait as he went to check on the situation.

He walked to the middle of the street where Muggle families in their pyjamas stood side by side with wizards and witches. All of them looked as confused as James. Someone touched James' shoulder, making him jump and turn around quickly with the pistol in hand. Sirius raised his arms and smiled feebly at his old friend.

"Hey, mate, be careful with that! Where did you get it by the way? It's beautiful!"

James lowered the pistol and breathed in relief. He was very glad to see Sirius. "It belongs to..." He looked around, not sure if he should say Lucius' name aloud. "It belongs to a friend. What happened here? Where are the zombies?"

"It was Dumbledore," said a wizard beside them with a gloomy expression. "He vanquished the zombies, but he disappeared as well. We don't know where he is..."

At that exact moment there was a loud bang a few meters away and the tall figure of the Headmaster appeared. There was a brief period of silence, followed by shouts of joy. Most of the Order members ran towards Dumbledore, who smiled and greeted them. James and Sirius exchanged a worried look as they saw Dumbledore wavering. The Headmaster had used a great deal of magic and he looked drained, but being the leader that he was, he was holding himself together.

As the Order celebrated their survival, Dumbledore told them that even though Voldemort hadn't succeeded in using the zombies against them, it didn't mean it was over. They still had a lot of work to do, and wounded friends to take care of. He separated a group to stay and try to minimize the damage in Little Whinging. Another team was put together to wipe the Muggles' memories away and make sure that no one else connected these events to the wizarding world. There was indeed a lot of work ahead.

Harry appeared at James' side, took his hand and squeezed it. "Can we go now?"

"Harry!" Sirius exclaimed, hugging his godson tightly. "What did I tell you, James? Didn't I tell you Harry wouldn't just sit around and wait?

James smiled at Sirius and then at Harry. "Yeah, you did tell me. He will be grounded for that."

Harry didn't argue. The thestral's death was still plaguing his mind. It was also because of him that Draco was hurt. The guilt was killing him and he was shattered. He didn't have any energy left. With the corner of his eyes he watched Aunt Petunia poke Uncle Vernon and point at James with a horrified expression. He looked at his father to see if he'd noticed the Dursleys, but James' eyes were somewhere else.

James had spotted Lucius hidden in the shadows. Lucius made a gesture with his head as if calling for James to come with him. Although James' heart was torn between love and hate, his love won his inner battle. Lucius had a lot of explaining to do, and James wouldn't rest until everything that had happened that night was clarified. Lucius wouldn't lay a finger on him until they'd discussed it all. But for now, James would go with him. With a sigh, he turned to Harry and said, "Let's go home, Harry."

The sun was rising when they finally reached Hogwarts.

TBC...