Harry Potter: Battle of the Fates

Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins

*****#12 Grimmauld Place*****

July 1, 2007

8:00pm

Ron Weasley sat down for breakfast in the newly cleaned Grimmauld Place. Harry had gotten the idea of using it as a headquarters for their search and had had Dobby and Winky work on getting it ready, all for a fee of 30 galleons. Though Harry had tried to give them more, they would have nothing of it.

"So, is anyone talking yet?" Harry asked as he came down for breakfast five minutes later.

"Naw, not really," Ron said as he finished his breakfast. "All we really got out of them were the locations of some other hideouts, although..."

"What, Ron?"

"One of them knew where Dolohov is hiding: it's a little place out in the middle of nowhere called Spinner's End; supposedly, its all Muggle, so how he's hiding so well, I have no clue."

"Who knows? Any of them have an inkling of who R.A.B. is or was?"

"No, but I was thinking...do you know where Dobby put that tapestry of the Black family tree?"

"Hmm... I might know just....Wait a minute, are you thinking R.A.B. is R.A. Black?!"

"It fits, and I'll go one better, didn't Sirius say his brother Regulus was a DE who wanted out because it was getting too deep for him?"

"Yeah, now I remember, hold on a second, Accio Black Genealogy Tapestry!"

The object of their discussion came floating into the room, and Ron quickly consulted it.

"Aha! Regulus Augustus Black!"

"Well, at least we know who he is now. So what should we do first, look for the Horcrux or go after Dolohov?"

"We'll follow you in whatever you do, Harry," Hermione said quietly from the door, having just come in herself. "So the question remains: what do you want to do Harry?"

"I want to go after Dolohov. After all, the less minions Voldemort has at his side at the end, the better it is for us."

"Dolohov it is then."

"Okay," Ron said. "But let's go over to Fred and George's shop, they owled me to say that they have some equipment they created that might be helpful."

*****Little Hangleton, Lair of Lord Voldemort*****

The wizard known for over fifty years as Lord Voldemort sat on a high-backed, black chair, a sick parody of the golden throne-like seat that Dumbledore had sat upon in the Great Hall for years immemorial. As he sat there, he thought on the events of recent times, anger welling up inside him.

"WORMTAIL!" he shouted.

"Y...y...yes, m...my Lord?"

"Has there been any word on the whereabouts of Potter and his cohorts since that old fool Dumbledore's funeral?"

"N...no, my Lord, b...b...but..."

"But what Wormtail? Speak up! What!?"

"Potter and his friends attacked one of our safe houses, a confirmed four dead, three captured."

"WHAT!!!" Eyes blazing, Voldemort's wand found Wormtail. "CRUCIO!!!!"

*****Spinner's End*****

July 3, 2007

9:00 pm

"O.K. guys, are we set?" Harry said over the Wireless Extendable Ears, a new invention of Fred and George's.

"Yeah, Harry."

"Good to go"

"Okay here we go."