Chapter 7

Meanwhile, two floors above, Ginny, Luna, and Neville were making rapid progress with their predicament. The same trick they had used with Neville, they now applied to "Lucius," who was soon confirmed to be Ron; then they confronted the three "Death Eaters" whom they had defeated earlier in the morning. The three men, being in actuality Snachers with no real allegiance to Voldemort, and being at the wrong end of their opponents' wands, had readily confessed everything as soon as they heard the Aurors outside, helped along by Neville's promise to testify in their favor as soon as he got his identity restored.

So with this helpful information, the four friends now knew that Harry and Hermione must be somewhere in the manor.

Rushing down the stairs, Neville found the final two unidentified Death Eaters at breakfast. The sight of food made them realize they had neglected to eat in all the hubbub of the morning, but there was no time for it now.

"Dolohov, Wormtail! We need to get out of here. Come on!" Neville called out in Bellatrix's voice, motioning to the two figures whom he hoped (but could not be sure) were Harry and Hermione. Acting in character, they rushed to follow him up the stairs, where they were promptly hit with a stunner to the back each, then an Incarcerous, by the disillusioned Ron and Luna.

A brief bit of rejoicing followed once all six of the Dumbledore's Army members had confirmed their identities. Ginny's Tempus showed they had five minutes to find a way out of their predicament. Once aware of the situation, Harry had a solution immediately.

"I saw Professor McGonagall use a Patronus charm to send messages to other Order members right before the battle," he remembered. He turned to his familiar silver stag Patronus, who looked up at him expectantly, recognizing him even in Wormtail's body and voice. "Prongs, I need you to send a message to… hmm…" Harry trailed off as he realized that most of the Order survivors were probably participating in the siege right outside, and that Voldemort was probably there in his body, and if he saw Prongs deliver the message to any Order member they would all be in grave danger.

Harry turned to his friends. "The whole Order is probably out there waiting for us, we need to warn them about the Death Eaters in our bodies. But they're probably there too, and if my warning gets delivered in front of Voldemort, we're fucked."

Four minutes left.

"If only Dobby had made it," mused Ron in the ironic voice of Malfoy, "we could get him to get us all out like last time…"

"House elves," Dolohov's gruff voice was strangely devoid of foreign accent, and Harry had to remind himself it was Hermione speaking, "Harry, call Kreacher! See if he can whisper to the Order members for us. Maybe we can get Voldemort by surprise!" Dolohov's voice had never sounded so excited, not during the last five decades when Dolohov had owned it.

Three and a half minutes left.

"Kreacher!"

Pop.

"How can I serve Mas…"

Kreacher suddenly stopped, realizing he had just appeared in the middle of a circle of Death Eaters. But as a house elf, he recognized his master's magic, regardless of physical appearance.

"…Master?" Kreacher stared at the Peter Pettigrew-version of his Master Harry, complete with silver hand, then at the surrounding Death Eaters whom he recognized – Dolohov, both Lestranges, Malfoy, then the Dark Lord himself – something seemed different about them, but he wasn't sure what.

"Kreacher, it's me, Harry. I need your help. Outside, right now, Voldemort and his people have stolen our bodies, and tricked our Order friends into coming to arrest us. I need you to stay invisible and find everyone in the Order who's outside, and whisper them a message for me…"

Outside Malfoy Manor, among a group of Aurors, Kingsley Shacklebolt stood ready, waiting for (what he thought were) the Death Eaters to hopefully come out and surrender peacefully. Nearby, "Harry Potter" (or so everyone thought) looked anxious for some action, fidgeting with the end of his wand in his pocket. And the truth was, "Harry" couldn't wait to go inside and claim the credit for killing "Voldemort" – whom only he knew was in fact the Golden Boy himself, trapped in the body of the condemned Dark Lord next to his friends. Voldemort was finally going to achieve the fame and glory he had always wanted, and it would be by making the whole world think he, as "Harry," had killed himself, of all people! Looking forward to a lifetime of being the Chosen One, which he could hopefully leverage to gain the ultimate power he wanted, Voldemort could barely contain his excitement. He would live "Harry Potter"'s life better than Potter himself could ever have done. He would use this new identity to its full potential, and through manipulation rather than force, rule the world as he had sought for decades.

Kingsley whipped around when he heard a voice suddenly whisper into his ear – there was no one there.

"Master Shacklebolt, quiet," hissed the voice. "I bring you message from Master Harry Potter. Don't look at him," the voice seemed to anticipate Kingsley's head turning to look at "Harry" and with a small shake Kingsley restrained himself, "Don't draw attention. Stay calm and do not let anyone see you react to what I am about to tell you." Kingsley subtly moved a hand up to his shoulder to try to feel for any invisible presence, but his hand passed through thin air.

Kreacher was, in fact, weightlessly standing on Kingsley's shoulder, and simply sidestepped over the sweep of Kingsley's hand, while continuing to speak the message Harry had ordered him to give. "The Dark Lord used a secret spell to steal Harry Potter's body. The Dark Lord, and his Death Eaters, inside that manor, are actually Harry and his friends, trapped in our enemies' bodies. Harry asks you to secretly lift the wards to allow his escape, then you will have time to organize with the rest of the Order to catch the Dark Lord by surprise."

Two minutes left.

Through Wormtail's eyes, Harry watched anxiously from a window on the third floor of the former Malfoy house, as Kingsley walked a few feet from his spot facing the front door, over to where Professor Filius Flitwick had his wand raised in the air, checking the anti-Apparation wards he had cast over the Malfoy Manor grounds just eight minutes ago to make sure they were still up. Kingsley knelt down to whisper to Flitwick, they conferred for a few moments then Kingsley returned to his position, leaving behind a subtle notice-me-not charm on Flitwick's wand.

One minute left.

"Okay, see if we can Apparate," Harry said, turning back to the group.

Ten seconds left. Nine… Eight… Seven…

Kingsley watched his timer run out, then yelled out to the assembled Order. "Go, go!" The designated assault group – Kingsley, "Harry," Bill, Charlie, Fleur, Horace Slughorn, Sturgis Podmore, and Dedalus Diggle – charged towards the enormous front door, firing Reductos and Killing Curses to blast through any possible disillusioned traps or ambushers along the path. There were none, and the undefended front door – with wards already disabled – imploded under the impact of the curses, falling to the floor of the entryway in a massive cloud of dust. Several other Order members trailed behind, ready to either enter the house to aid the first wave in the attack or stop the trapped Death Eaters from escaping out the windows.

Three tense hours went by as the Order searched the entire mansion, forcing open every door one by one, checking for traps and hostile spells every inch of the way. Three bound and disarmed Snatchers were arrested and portkeyed off to the Ministry in their ropes. No one else was found in the house.