Draco: Phoenix Rising

Chapter Eight - Grimmauld Place

Uncle Vernon was bellowing.

"Absolutely not! We will not go hieing off to hide amongst... amongst..." Vernon's words trailed off when he was unable to think of a suitable ending for his sentence, likely recalling the time Harry had blown up his sister, Marge, without even trying--and those ranged before him were a lot more competent.

Harry was enjoying the show. Lupin, Tonks, Hermione, and Mad-Eye Moody had appeared on the Dursleys' doorstep late Sunday afternoon, much to the Dursleys' shock, as Harry had intentionally neglected to mention the meeting.

Harry interrupted Lupin, who was trying to reason with Vernon--a huge waste of time, Harry knew.

"Listen, it's your decision, of course. We will not force you to go. Frankly, I don't care, either way. But should you choose to stay here, I think you should be prepared. Let me tell you a little bit about Lord Voldemort." Lupin and Tonks cringed at the name, but Hermione didn't flinch and Moody was too busy staring out the window searching for threats to react.

Harry told them everything he could recall about Voldemort, beginning with the night his parents were killed. He told them about Quirrell and about the Chamber of Secrets. He touched on Barty Crouch Jr. and the dementors. He spared no detail of Cedric's death and Voldemort's resurrection. He touched on the battle for the Prophecy and described Dumbledore's death, leaving out only the Horcrux search.

Hermione broke in when Harry's voice cracked with emotion.

"The Death Eaters tried to kill my parents two days ago. They are non-magical, like yourselves. Voldemort has control of the dementors. He also has a pack of vicious werewolves to do his bidding." She threw an apologetic glance at Lupin.

Dudley, who had been grudgingly present for the affair due to a bad cold that kept him from roaming the neighborhood causing trouble, paled at the mention of dementors.

"So you see," Hermione concluded, "Voldemort will most likely send someone after you. Anyone even remotely associated with Harry is at risk, and the protection placed upon this house will be gone at the end of this month. As Harry said, you can allow us to protect you, or you can take your chances."

"We should give you some time to discuss it," Lupid said diplomatically. "Harry, we will help you get your things together."

The non-Muggles trooped upstairs to Harry's room, although he had never really unpacked anything after his last return from Hogwarts, except for clothing. Even that was tidily folded upon his bed (which was neatly made, for once) and ready to be stowed in his trunk.

Hermione sat on Harry's bed while Tonks went to Hedwig's cage to give her an owl treat. Lupin paced nervously and Harry perched on the corner of his bed next to Hermione after moving his clothes aside.

"What do you think they'll do?" Hermione asked. "It was difficult enough to convince my parents to move--and they don't go through life pretending the wizarding world doesn't exist!"

Moody was parked at the door and his magical eye was pointing downward.

"They are arguing," he reported, which was obvious, as they could all hear Uncle Vernon hollering, even though he was trying to be quiet about it. "Petunia wants to go--I think she knows enough to be properly scared. Dudley doesn't want to go, but he doesn't want to be left for the dementors, either. Boy's not quite as thick as he looks. Vernon wants to stay, but Petunia wants to know how he plans to protect them. He's blustering, but she got him, there. He says he'll buy a gun, whatever that is. She asks how he plans to use it if one of them pops into their bedroom and points a wand at them. Dudley pipes up that a gun probably wouldn't stop a dementor, anyway."

"What do you know," Harry said, "He really isn't as thick as he looks. That's a switch."

"They've decided to go, but Vernon wants a time limit. Looks like you'd better kill You-Know-Who quick, Harry."

"Great idea," Harry said dryly. "I'll get right on that."

They went back downstairs and it was decided that the Dursleys would drive their car. Hermione would ride with them and guide them to Grimmauld Place. The rest of them would fly.

"We will not be taking a ridiculous, circuitous route, either, Alastor," Lupin said with finality. "We're in far more danger from Severus Snape than from anyone that might follow us. Let's just get there."

They waited for the Dursleys to pack and Harry said nothing when Dudley stowed a small television, portable stereo, and Nintendo system in the car. Surprisingly, Hermione didn't mention the lack of electricity, either. She probably knew it would start another round of protests from both Vernon and Dudley. It was nearly dark when the car finally pulled out of the drive.

Harry looked carefully around his room to ensure he hadn't forgotten anything. He waited to see if he would feel any sadness or remorse, knowing he looked at Number Four, Privet Drive for the last time. Not surprisingly, the only sadness he felt was in the knowledge that sixteen years of accumulated belongings fit easily into a single trunk. If Dudley ever moved out, the Dursleys' would have to hire a moving truck.

Harry sighed and dragged his trunk downstairs. He wished they could just Apparate to Grimmauld Place, but Rufus Scrimgeour would jump at any excuse to accuse Harry of misdeeds, so he had been very careful to use no magic at all. Just a few more days and he'd be able to do whatever he wanted. Lupin could have Apparated Harry, but his trunk was a bit of an issue. It was easier to fly. Frankly, Harry was looking forward to it. The only time he felt really free was when he was on a broom.

They managed to beat the Dursleys to Grimmauld Place, even though Mad-Eye Moody insisted they backtrack a few times, just to be safe. Harry felt a sense of relief when he walked through the door of the old Black residence. There was sadness, of course, when he remembered the times Sirius had yanked the curtains over his mother's portrait, or smiled languidly in greeting, or brooded angrily in the kitchen, but stronger than the sorrow was his strange sense of homecoming. Sirius had willed the house to Harry and most of Harry's memories of his godfather resided here, in this dusty, dark place. The house was suddenly very precious to him and he vowed to someday turn it into the type of home Sirius would have enjoyed. A place devoid of the wicked stigma of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

Harry's reverie was broken by a question from Tonks.

"Where is everyone?"

Kingsley Shacklebolt appeared in the hallway with a lit wand. His dark face was grim.

"What's happened?" Lupin asked. Kingsley shook his head and turned away. They hastily dropped their belongings and hurried after him.

The Weasleys were gathered in the kitchen. Molly was sobbing in Arthur's arms, and tears streamed freely down Ginny's face. Ron looked angry, although his cheeks were wet, also. Bill and Fleur were dry-eyed, although Fleur was curled in Bill's lap and her hand caressed his face as if to comfort him. Harry was stricken. Was it Fred and George? Charlie? Percy?

"The Burrow has been burned to the ground," Arthur said bluntly before Harry's questions were uttered. "Bill stopped by to get something. All that was left was smoldering..." He stopped, unable to continue, and Molly wailed anew. Harry dropped into a chair, stunned. First Hermione's parents, now The Burrow. What next?

"Who... who was it?"

"Greyback's band, most likely," Bill replied. "There were a lot of tracks made by bare feet. And a few sets of boot tracks, so Death Eaters were there, also."

"Thank God no one was home," Molly said and hiccupped. "If Bill had stopped by earlier, he might have been... he might have been..."

"Stop it, Mother," Bill said sharply. "I would have been smart enough to Apparate out of there immediately, so stop dwelling on what might have been. What has been is bad enough."

"I left all my perfume bottles," Ginny whispered. "I didn't want them to get broken."

"My Quidditch figures... and my old chess set... I didn't bring it because there's already one here..." Ron's voice was hoarse.

"Gideon's cedar chest," Molly moaned. "I left it in our room."

Harry felt sick listening to the Weasleys recount their lost items. The family had so little to begin with that every single thing was precious.

Arthur cleared his throat bravely.

"Now, now. We all knew this would be a possibility. We have each other, after all, and that's the most important thing. None of us were so much as scratched."

Molly gasped. "What if they attack Fred and George?"

Lupin and Arthur spoke at the same moment to reassure her.

"They won't blatantly attack in Diagon Alley."

"The Ministry has increased the Guard at all wizarding locations in London."

"I'll be sympathetic to any Death Eaters that try to attack Fred and George," Harry said ruefully, hoping to lighten the mood. "They could stave off an army with some of the items in that shop of theirs."

Even Ron smiled at that. "Remember the fireworks they used on Umbridge?"

"And the swamp," said Ginny quietly. "That was some swamp."

Before they could get going on a good Fred and George reminiscence, the door opened downstairs and the Dursleys got their first look at their new home. Unfortunately, Petunia's shriek of horror and Vernon's answering bellow woke up the portrait of Sirius's mother, and bedlam quickly erupted from there. Thirty minutes later, the portrait was quiet, the Dursleys were sulking in their tiny, dark rooms, and the rest of the Order was speaking quietly in the kitchen.

"Do you think they'll like it here?" Arther asked Harry eagerly. "Did they bring many Muggle items with them? I'd really like to ask them about--"

"Arthur, I forbid you to torment the Muggles," Molly said with a warning glare in her eyes. "It's going to be difficult enough for them in this awful house without you asking them foolish questions, especially as we don't know how long they'll have to be shut up in here..."

"Sixteen years sounds about right to me," Ron muttered to Harry, who nearly choked on his tea and coughed for five minutes while Ron pounded him on the back. The elders started making changes to their plan to scout Malfoy Manor, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione went upstairs. On the way, Ron told Hermione about the destruction of The Burrow. She was properly horrified.

"Oh Ron, I'm so sorry. No wonder everyone seemed so upset!"

They entered the room Ron and Harry always shared. Harry was glad to see at least one Chudley Cannons poster had been spared from The Burrow. Ron had placed it over his bed. It was the only bright spot in the dreary room.

Hermione said, "It's a good thing we brought Harry's relatives here. The Death Eaters are getting serious."

"All the more reason to get out of here and find those bloody Horcruxes," Harry said. "I want to leave for Hogwarts tomorrow."

"What are we going to tell the others?"

"I'll leave them a note."

Hermione clucked disapprovingly. "Harry, they'll be frantic. They're here to protect you."

"I'm tired of being protected! Let them do something worthwhile, like stopping the Death Eaters from burning down people's houses and trying to kill Muggles!"

She rolled her eyes, but seemed to know it was pointless to argue with him when he was in a yelling frame of mind.

"Tell them whatever you want," Harry said adamantly. "But, I'm leaving tomorrow."

"How do you plan to get there?"

"Since I can't Apparate, you mean? Well, with so many wizards around here, I doubt the Ministry will even guess an underage wizard is Apparating..."

"Oh no! You don't dare Apparate without a license, Harry, you'll get into terrible trouble--" Hermione began.

"Really? More trouble than I'm in with a psychopathic, deathless wizard trying to turn me into a pile of ash the instant I step a toe out of my hiding place?"

Ron burst out laughing and Hermione glared.

"It's not funny, Ronald! I'm just trying to keep the Ministry off Harry's back!"

"The Ministry will never be off Harry's back," Ron snorted. "Not as long as the idiots in charge keep acting like Dumbledore was some crackpot out to discredit them."

"See? Even Ron knows."

Hermione flounced to the door. "Fine. I see you two are determined to gang up on me, as usual. I'm going to see Ginny."

"Hermione!" Harry called before she could shut the door on them. She paused and finally turned around to look at him when he didn't reply. Harry grinned at her.

"Are you coming to Hogwarts with us?"

She flushed and he knew she was trying to hold on to her indignation.

"I wouldn't miss it," she said finally.

The door closed.