Chapter Thirteen: The Week from Hell (Part Three)

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Thursday

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There was a cup of tea in Harrys hands.

He had no idea from where it had come or how long he'd had it.

But it was there and he only now realized it.

He also had no idea where he was.

Well…he was at Daphnes' aunt's house. But he had no idea where that was.

Their flight was hazy to him.

The Thestrals had taken them away from the coast, leaving the battlefield behind and flying inland.

Harry had expected them to take them back to Hogwarts. But at some point, the animals had veered of south and they had flown parallel to the rising sun for what felt like hours.

Nobody had said anything.

The Thestrals had lowered their altitude over the Black Country and suddenly they had been swarmed by people on brooms.

All four of them had jumped into battle positions but then Victor Greengrass had flown forward, his face falling in shock and disbelieve when he caught sight of them.

Harry had looked over at Daphne who showed him her empty right hand.

They had been taken here, to her aunt Desdemona's house, where she and her husband Ajax had waited anxiously for updates.

They had been taken inside and within an hour their house had transformed into a temporary base of operation with people coming and going all the time.

Harry just felt numb.

Apparently, Daphne's Head of House ring had one more secret function. It was an emergency Portkey that would take her home if activated. She had flown Remus beyond the two-mile-perimeter around Azkaban Port, given him the Portkey and told him to get help, before returning to get Harry and the others.

Her father and uncle, Victor and Elijah, had jumped into action, getting every available family member to come with them.

They had apparated straight to Dead Mans Beach but had only been greeted by death, destruction.

When they couldn't find them on Dead Mans Beach, Elijah and Lucinda, Daphne's other aunt, had mounted the air-search. Remus had told them about the Thestrals.

Some family members had flown towards Hogwarts, some to London, the rest had spread out to cover more ground.

Remus and Alan, Daphne's brother, had gone to Bristol to find the Order and get them involved. But they had yet to return.

At least that's what Victor told them as Ajax tended to their various injuries.

The man was visibly shaken and clasping his daughters' hand tightly.

Harry just nodded mechanically. Outside the sun was steadily climbing in the sky but it was still early.

Sirius, Andy, Tonks and Narcissa were still unaccounted for.

The radio on the mantle-piece suddenly cracked to life, startling everybody in the room.

"Emergency announcement by decree of the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge!" the announcer proclaimed.

"In the early hours of the morning a mass breakout from Azkaban prison took place with a confrontation between Aurors, the prisoners and the people aiding their escape at the Azkaban Port shortly after. It has been confirmed that over a dozen convicted Deatheaters and other criminals have escaped, among them Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband Rodolphus Lestrange and his brother Rabastan, as well as other prominent Deatheaters. Following the mass-outbreak, Minister Cornelius Oswald Fudge has declared a national emergency. The country is on lockdown. Inhabitants of Britain will be prohibited from entering or leaving the country for the foreseeable future, until the escaped Deatheaters have been recaptured and brought back to Azkaban. The public is to be advised that the Dementors have been granted permission to scout the countryside in search of the convicts. Remain inside at all costs, limit your travel to a minimum. If you are found to be harbouring a criminal, you will be arrested and charged with domestic terrorism and aiding in a prison escape. While a few people were apprehended at the scene, their identity and role in this outbreak remain yet unknown. There will be more updates in the coming hours."

There was silence for a long time.

"What a mess." Desdemona whispered.

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this." Hermione muttered. "If they had just listened to us…" she trailed off.

"It was all for naught." Daphne agreed, her voice hoarse.

"Don't think that! You children have done your country a great service tonight. What you did…or tried to do…was incredible. Stupid and reckless but also incredible. And we're just glad you are alright." Ajax said gently, finishing wrapping Hermione's arm in a bandage and helped her settle it in a sling. He moved on to Ron face, where the cut was still bleeding on his cheek.

"He's right. That is all that matters right now. It's a setback, yes but nothing's lost just yet. We'll talk about the future later. Right now, you kids need a shower, fresh clothes something to eat and sleep. You have been up for two days straight and just been through something quite traumatic. Now is not the time to ponder our failings. We'll know more in a few hours." Daphne's father added.

Harry wanted to argue but…Victor was right.

"Why don't you girls go first and I finish up with the boys?" Ajax suggested.

Hesitantly, Daphne and Hermione both looked at Harry. He forced himself to smile and nodded. "Go on, we'll see you in a bit." He muttered.

As the girls retreated, Harry heard Daphne say to Hermione: "You can have some of my clothes. They should fit you just fine."

And then they were gone.

"Right Ron, you are all finished but I have some bad news." Ajax said, finishing smearing some cream on Rons' cut face and sealing in with a spell.

"What?" Ron asked dully.

"The spell that hit you…it was a dark spell and the cut might scar. It probably won't be too bad because its rather shallow but still…the possibility remains."

Ron shared a look with Harry and he saw the fear and pain in his best friend eyes. He squeezed his hand to offer support but he wasn't sure he could say something.

The healer turned to him then.

"Harry, dear, there is blood on your ear. May I have a closer look?" Ajax asked.

Harry nodded and the healer waved his wand a few times.

"You busted your eardrums. Twice. But I think they already healed themselves. They should be fine in a few days by themselves but if you have problems hearing, go see a healer."

Harry nodded absentmindedly. "There were a lot of explosions." He explained.

Ajax nodded. "Let's have a look at your leg then, shall we?"

"My leg?" Harry asked confused.

"There's a lot of blood on your pants." Ajax explained gently.

"I don't think it's mine." Harry muttered.

"I'd just like to be sure." Daphne's uncle explained.

Harry rolled up the leg of his pants to his knee and was surprised when he saw a cut running down from his knee to the middle of his calf.

"Oh… I didn't even know that was there." He said honestly.

"Probably the shock and the adrenalin. You'll be fine dear." Desdemona assured him.

"It's not to bad." Ajax added, waving his wand and the cut closed up almost completely, leaving just a red line.

"That should fade in a few days. I cleaned it but infections are fickle things. I'll whip up some potions for all of you, just to be sure."

"You boys go shower as well. I think I have some clothes from our sons somewhere here. I'll leave them out the guest rooms for you to change in, yes?" Desdemona offered. "Come back down when you're done, I'll have some food fixed for you by then."

All three of them were smiling calmly and their voices were soft and gentle.

But it was a façade.

Harry could see the emotions beyond.

Fear, anger, distress, pain and so much more.

He nodded and following Ron, they left the room.

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He let the hot water thunder down his back, standing just very still under the shower, arms braced against the wall to support him.

Ron was in the shower next to him but just as silent.

"I'm sorry Ron." He said.

Rons' shower turned off.

"It's not your fault Harry. Besides, girls dig scars."

"I didn't even ask if you wanted to come. I just brought you along."

Suddenly the shower curtain of his stall was torn aside and there stood Ron, wet, naked and angry.

"If you say you are sorry one more time, I will personally kick you in the balls. I had a choice. I made it. It's done. Yes, its not great right now and no, I'm not happy with how things turned out but that was my call just as much as it was yours. So shut up."

Harry, who didn't even care that he was naked as well, shook his head.

"Everybody around me gets hurt, no matter what I do."

"Yeah, well, even if that were true: if we couldn't handle that, we couldn't have stood by you for so long. Now stop moping around and let's think of what we have to do to make this right."

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There was a commotion downstairs just as Harry pulled a too large robe over his head. Forgoing socks and shoes he ran downstairs, just in time to see Tonks shout: "Don't shoot! She's with us!" as she and Narcissa dragged an injured Andy into the living room, setting her down on the sofa.

Ajax rushed to Andromedas' side, already running diagnostic spells. Tonks nodded briefly at Harry when she saw him before running to her mothers' side. There was a lot of blood.

Narcissa stayed where she was, surrounded by several Greengrass family members who all had their wands trained at her.

"Victor, Tonks is right. She helped us. She told me about the escape, she fought alongside us and saved my life a few times." Harry called out, hurrying to Narcissas side.

Turning to Narcissa he asked: "Where is Sirius?"

"Safe for now. He's relatively fine but you won't like what's going on." She explained shortly.

"Why, what happened?"

Narcissa opened her mouth but just then the radio came to life once more and the same announcer all but shouted.

"This just in, breaking news! One of the men identified during the Azkaban break out this morning was none other than Sirius Black!"

Harrys eyes widened.

"Black was seen flying the scene along with escaped prisoners and was apprehended by Aurors but fought and managed to get away with the help of a yet unidentified individual. Minister Fudge issued a statement that there is no doubt in his mind that Black is the mastermind behind the entire escape, as he himself escaped from Azkaban two years before! The Minister as has ordered the arrest of Lord Black. Anyone aware of his whereabouts or found to have been in contact with him, will be prosecuted to full extend of the law! Any information that will help in the arrest of this criminal will be handsomely rewarded."

The radio turned off again and Harry stared at Narcissa.

"He used his emergency portkey to get away. I too have one and used it to get my sister and my niece out." She explained.

Tonks nodded. "Mum would be dead and I would've been arrested if it wasn't for her." She confirmed before looking at her aunt. "Thank you."

Narcissa inclined her head in a small nod.

"Do you know where the emergency portkey might have taken him?" Harry asked.

"Best bet is Grimmauld Place. But I can't be sure." Narcissa suggested.

She tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear and Harry saw she was shaking.

"You should sit down. Are you injured?"

"Your concern is touching but I think I'll manage just fine."

"Did anyone recognize you?"

She shook her head. "No. But I can't go back to my hideouts, now that the country is swarming with Aurors and escaped convicts and dementors."

She admitted.

Harry turned to Victor. "I know it's a lot to ask…" he began but Victor raised a hand to stop him.

"It's fine Harry. Lady Malfoy, consider yourself a temporary guest in my family's home."

"Thank you Lord Greengrass. It is very much appreciated. And you might as well call me Lady Black. I don't think I'll be a Malfoy for much longer."

She threw a pointed glance at Harry.

"Of course, Lady Black. Follow me, I'll show you where you can shower and change." Desdemona offered smoothly and let her away.

Daphne and Hermione entered the room and as soon as Daphne saw Andromeda, she jumped straight into healer modus, joining her uncles' side.

"What happened to her?" Hermione whispered.

"Her sister." Tonks said bitterly. "Bellatrix Lestrange."

Harry winced.

You should have sunk the ship when you had the chance, now it's your fault Andy might die, the voice whispered in his mind.

Harry ignored it.

There was no time for guilt, not when there was a second commotion coming from entrance way and a second later Elijah and Alan crashed into the room.

"Oh my god, you are all alright!" Elijah breathed when he saw them. "We just heard you had been found so we called off the search. Thank Merlin you are safe!" he continued, pulling each of them into a hug.

Alan was more restrained but he clasped Harry shoulder firmly and said: "Remus is with your godfather. But they have already left your safe-house. The order is smuggling them out of the country as we speak. He's injured but he should pull through. I arranged form him to stay with our French cousins."

Harry sagged in relieve. "Thank you, Alan. You have no idea what that means to me."

"Don't mention it." The older boy said, before walking over to his sister.

Next to him, Ron scoffed angrily. "Let's hope the Order doesn't mess this up as well."

Harry agreed. "Has anyone heard from Dumbledore?" he asked.

Nobody responded.

"That's not important. We have to get back to Hogwarts." Hermione whispered into the silence of the room.

"What? How can you be thinking about school right now?" Ron snapped.

"Think about it, Ron" she snapped back "There is a Ministry official at Hogwarts, who hates Harry and everything he stands for and everybody who stands with him. What do you think she'll do when she finds that he is missing the morning of a mass-prison escape where his godfather is now the prime suspect? They will use it as an excuse to arrest him or detain him or whatever! We have to go back. Soon. Classes start at nine-twenty. It is now six thirty. We if we leave now, we can be there in time for the first class without anyone knowing we were gone."

"She is right." Tonks said, getting up form where she had knelt by her mothers' side. "The Thestrals are outside, you can make it."

Harry didn't want to. He was hurt and tiered and all he wanted was to see Sirius.

But they were right.

"I agree" he muttered "There's nothing we can do right now anyway. Let's not give them anymore to use against us."

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The flight back to Hogwarts was so much different than their hastily departure a few hours ago.

The sun was rising, warming their faces, the skies were clear and no harsh winds that beat around them.

They made good progress and by the time the castle came into view it wasn't even eight o'clock.

Daphne steered her Thestral towards the Dungeons while Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed higher towards Gryffindor Tower. The Thestral hovered before the boy's dormitory and Harry pushed the window open.

Nobody was inside but there were noises coming form the bathroom.

Quick, one by one, they slid inside, with Hermione rushing off to her own dorm.

Harry and Ron managed to pull their robes over their normal clothes just in time for Seamus and Neville to come out of the bathroom.

"Where were you two?" Seamus asked suspiciously.

"What's it to you?" Ron asked coolly.

"What happened to your face?" Neville asked.

Ron looked at Harry. Harry blinked.

Ron explained: "I…cut myself shaving. Harry took me to the hospital wing because it was bleeding quite badly. That's why we weren't here."

"And now we have to go. See you in class." Harry muttered, grabbing his and Rons' bag before rushing outside.

Hermione was waiting for them on the stair landing. She had taken of the sling and the long sleeves of her robe hid her bandaged arm. She was pale and there were dark circles under her eyes and her hair was just hastily pulled up in a bun.

Together they descended into the common room, where all talking stopped when the other Gryffindors saw them.

Nervously, Fred approached them.

"You guys…did you hear?" he asked carefully, an issue of the Daily Prophet pressed against his chest.

"No, what?" Harry asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

In return, Fred handed him the Prophet.

In bold letters the headline screamed: "SIRISU BLACK – THE MASTERMIND BEHIND THE AZKABAN ESCAPE?".

Harry took a deep breath.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice thin.

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You could feel that something big had happened when they entered the Great Hall.

There were only whispered conversations and almost all students were hidden behind copies of the Daily Prophet.

The conversations ceased slightly when they entered to hall.

Harrys gaze fell on the teacher table.

Dumbledore was present, as were McGonagall, Flitwick and Snape.

They were all sitting rather stiffly and had their eyes trained on the three of them, though McGonagall visibly relaxed when she saw them.

Harry ignored then, even though he would have liked nothing more than to scream at Dumbledore. But the flash of pink coming their way was…enough to make him postpone it.

They sat down, ignoring Umbridge's approach.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger. How good of you to join us. You are rather late. Where have you been?" she asked, not at all subtle.

Harry looked around. "We're by far not the last people here Professor. Its barely a quarter past eight. I see a lot of empty seats. In fact, half of Gryffindor house is still asleep I would bet." He said innocently.

She huffed slightly. "Then what happened to Mr. Weasleys face?"

"I cut myself shaving." Ron said between bites of his toast.

Umbridge glared at them for a few more moments before turning on her heel and walking away.

Harry let out a relieved breath.

He turned back to his breakfast but saw Daphne looking at him from across the room. She too had changed in her school uniform but he she didn't look nearly as composed as she usually did with her hair just in a simple ponytail.

He held her gaze and she smiled thinly.

They had made it.

Now they only had to make it through the day.

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It was during dinner time that everything went to hell.

All day there had been broadcasts about the development of the prison break. It was worse than anticipated.

Almost all the prisoners that had made it to the beach had escaped.

Three bodies had been found, all escapees, and two more had been apprehended in a nearby muggle village.

But all of the really bad criminals were gone.

One ship had been sunk, the entire beach was a mess and the prison itself had a gaping hole in its side.

And dementors were roaming the countryside.

But the thing that happened that made the day truly dark happened when Harry reached for the soup ladle for some mushroom soup.

A tingling in his hand made him stop halfway there.

It was a magical tingling and then his hand started to glow bright and a hum settled over the Great Hall, as the lights around them dimmed and the light on his hand grew. And then the light dimmed and something heavy settled on his finger.

A ring.

A silver casing that housed a ruby formed like skull with three black ravens circling said stone.

It was heavy and big and awkward.

The glowing stopped but the ring stayed.

There was absolute silence.

Students as well as teachers stared.

Surprisingly, it was Neville who found his voice first.

"All hail the new Head of the House of Black. All hail the new Lord Black. All hail Harry James Potter. Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. Long may he live."

It must have been more of an automatic than a genuine reaction but most of the purebloods and half-bloods murmured: "Hail." In response to Nevilles' announcement.

Harry stared at the ring and then at Ron and Hermione.

"How? Does that mean…does that mean Sirius…is dead?" he whispered fearfully.

"No Mr. Potter. He is not dead." Harry jumped.

Dumbledore had come out of nowhere.

"But rather he has been exiled by the Minister of Magic. As such his has no titles and no standing in this country anymore. And the mantle of leadership is automatically passed on to the heir. Might I suggest we retreat so we can discuss these happenings in a quieter surrounding?"

Dumbledores hand on his shoulder clenched slightly.

Harry nodded and got up, as did Ron and Hermione.

"There's no need for your friends to accompany us. Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger, why don't you turn in for the night."

Hermione shook her head. "No thank you headmaster. We are Harrys friends and advisors. Where he goes, we go."

Ron nodded, crossing his arms before his chest.

With the cut on his face and his furrowed brow, he looked taller and older than he was.

"Lead the way, headmaster." He said.

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Thanks for reading,

love Kate

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AN:

Hey, first of all, thanks for the positive feedback. I really appreciate it guys and it feels good to be positing again.

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One comment I would like to address because for me it's one of those big moral dilemmas of life.

Someone wrote, and I'm paraphrasing here, that he/she/they didn't like how I portrayed Harrys refusal to sink the ship and not murder bad people as the high ground, when in reality in a war you have to kill bad guys and that does not make you evil. They said they almost found it offensive since a family member of theirs serves in the army.

My personal point of view is that I think that in a combat situation, where stakes are high and where survival is the highest priority, killing your enemy is a given and does not make you an evil person. I too believe that combat is a justified reason to kill someone if your own life is at stake. Or maybe the life of a friend or a loved one.

Killing for a cause, no matter how noble or how right you think you are, I find more difficult. As they say, The Villain is the hero of his own story. You can justify your killings if you think you are doing it for the right reasons and that also doesn't make you evil. But I think wars throughout history have shown that it's never this black and white. It's pretty black and white in 'Harry Potter'. There is little ambiguity, there is no sympathizing with your enemy. The Deatheaters are the enemy and they deserve to die for what they do. (Except Snape for some people but that is a different Ted Talk). But like I say, this hardly reflects reality.

I also know this is thin ice I'm walking on. We all have our positions on war and killing. I'm not going to go any deeper into my own believes and I would appreciate if we were not coming back to those, because they are far more complex and I could probably write a book to try and explain what I think about all this.

But now as to why I wrote something different in the story.

I think that sometimes, when we read the books, see the movies or read fanfictions like mine, we forget that Harry is fifteen in 'The Order of the Phoenix'. That he is only seventeen when he defeats Voldemort in 'The Deathly Hollows'.

He's fifteen.

I know he's been through shit; I know he's not your normal fifteen-year-old. I put him through tough shit in my own stories. I get that. And I get why many think that makes a difference and separates him from others his age.

But good god, he is fifteen.

I remember when I was fifteen…I couldn't have killed someone at fifteen except maybe accidentally or in self-defence. And even then….

Harry is fifteen and has been put through more traumatic things than a hundred people combined in their lifetimes.

Maybe some people become stronger and more resilient by going through these things. Maybe that even gives them the ability to kill in a combat situation like Harry was facing at the beach. And I don't think that makes them evil. It wouldn't make Harry evil.

But that is not always the case.

Sometimes trauma breaks you.

Sometimes it makes you cautious. Or in other cases more reckless.

In other words…it's different from person to person.

And in my story my version of Harry…he is not able to do it. Or maybe is his able but he doesn't want to do it. Not because people who kill are inherently evil. Not because he thinks he had the moral high ground and is above people who kill.

But because Harry knows how precious life is. And how easily it can be taken. And he knows he has a different role to play in this war.

He will not get around killing someone. He will have, indirectly at least, killed people already. He has done it at the beach.

There is no moral high ground in not killing here.

But I do think Harry is a fifteen-year-old boy who might have decided he will fight in this war to do what is right and to end Voldemort. But there is a lot he doesn't know yet and a lot he has yet to learn. And killing might be one of these things. And that he won't be able to go through a war without killing someone.

I think that is something every soldier has to learn first. And even then, that won't make killing easier.

I hope this makes a few things a bit clearer.

Love,

Kate