(Y/N)'s POV

"Hey guys. Just about to set off, thought I'd come say hello first, how have you been?" I realised that was a dumb question. "Right...sorry. Usually Dad does the talking but he's off somewhere warm...I think. Is Argentina hot?"

"Well, anyway, uhhh...what's happened?" I thought aloud "Oh, there was a breakout at Azkaban, most of the Death Eaters got out, even him. But don't worry, I've been staying with the Weasleys at the Burrow so I'm safe. I think he might come to the house though, so Winky came with me."

"OH...Tonks got married!" I chuckled, "You'll never guess to who...Professor Lupin! That's so cool isn't it!" "The wedding was great, she looked so pretty in her dress and her hair was all like..."

I used my hands to mimic her hair flapping about. "I wonder if their kids will be really hairy. Or maybe multicoloured? Time will tell I hope." "What else? Winky's doing good, she said to tell you she said hello and thank you,"

"She's been doing really well, she's almost two years sober, I told her we could have a big party when I get back...Oh yeah, I should probably explain that. Don't be mad, but I'm not going to Hogwarts this year. But it's for a really important reason I promise."

"Me, Hermione and the boys are going after those Horcrux things soon. Harry, being Harry, was convinced he'd do it himself, but he's one of the biggest idiots I know, so I can't let him go alone can I?"

"I might not be able to pop round for a while, it might take a while, or so Hermione said, but we've still got time, there's some stuff we have to do first."

"Hermione said she's doing it today, I promised I'd be there for her, so that's where I'm going after this, then we've got to go get Harry before his trace drops, so that's gonna be fun, haven't seen him for a while."

"After that Ron said we had to go to Bill and Fleurs wedding, and then I think we're off. It's gonna be weird not being in Hogwarts and I'm going to have to leave Bones at the Burrow, she'd cause too much trouble otherwise, I'm sure it'll be really strange, but we have to try."

"Listen, I don't know if we're doing the right thing, I don't even know if it will work, but wish me luck" I smiled, remembering something, "Oh, and do me a favour and look after Dad for me."

"It's always nice to talk, miss you both, love you Mum, (B/N)" I pressed a kiss into my fingers and placed it on the cold stone. Leaving it behind, I gave a few final words. "I promise I'll be strong, no matter what."

Walking away from the Graveyard and away from any Muggles, I dissaparated, finding myself on the same doorstep I was almost exactly a year ago, although, this time it was under circumstances that didn't warrant me bringing flowers.

I knocked on the door, somehow even the sound of my knuckles hitting the door sounded melancholy, a small part of me regretting coming at all.

I hadn't brought Winky, nor Bones, it felt rude, this was a private moment, something that she wanted to do but only share with me, and I respected that. I knew how tough this was, not that I could imagine her pain of having to go through with this with both parents.

The second she opened the door, I could tell she had been crying, tears stained her face and her clothes, she flung her arms around me and sobbed openly, a well of emotion she had to keep hidden from them rising to the surface.

We didn't exchange words; we didn't really need to. Or couldn't, would be a better word, we both knew what had to be done, but that didn't make it any easier. Just because something is necessary it doesn't make it any less painful.

But she asked me to be here so I was, and in certain circumstances it's almost all you can do. This was one of them, the only comfort I could offer her was a shoulder to cry on and a hand to hold.

The only promise I could make her was one made to me "It's not forever, just for now" but even those felt hollow and disingenuous.

I didn't offer to do it for her, even though a large part of me wanted to, simply to spare her the pain she would have to feel, but I knew what she needed to do it herself.

It was the same with my father. It had to be me, to make it feel real, to convince myself it was final, that there was no turning back. Not until it was safe again.

The worst part was, she couldn't even explain it to them, she didn't have a way to get through to them and make her actions justified, they were Muggles, they could never see the full scope of what was going on.

Yes, it was a feeling I was familiar with, but I at least had some comfort in the fact that my Father knew something was happening, that a war was brewing, he understood why I did what I had to. But the Grangers, well, they were, for a lack of a better term, oblivious.

I took a slow step inside the door, careful not to make a sound, I wiped a tear from Hermione's eye as I did, only for it to be replaced with another that fell onto my thumb. As I stood in the Granger House I still felt out of place, like I didn't belong in the house as it happened, it was like a private family affair.

Then a voice passed through the halls, it almost startled me. "Hermione? Who was at the door? Tea is ready darling" It was Mrs. Granger, her voice was so sweet and cheerful a new wave if sadness hit me. They didn't deserve this. But it had to be done.

"No one, Coming mum." Said Hermione, the smallest catch in her voice. I was rooted to the spot, I couldn't move, I listened as they just went about their day, turned the telly on and shared a meal in front of it, the only conversation being what was on the news.

They were so normal, so uninteresting it pained me to hear the next word. "Obliviate" said in less then a whisper, the emotion behind it already shining through, the pain in the voice evident.

That was when I was glad I came, it was one of my biggest regrets not asking Hermione come with me to Kings Cross as I wiped my Dads memory, so I was glad I could be here with her, to share some of her pain and at least offer her an ounce of relief.

We walked out of the house hand in hand, still in silence, but with the comfort that at least we had each other. My resolve to protect her had never been stronger, not just because I loved her, but also so I could get her back to her parents when everything was right in the world again.

Harry's POV

I picked up Hedwig's cage, the Firebolt, and my rucksack, gave my unnaturally tidy bedroom one last sweeping look, and then made my way back downstairs to the hall, I deposited the cage, broomstick, and bag near the foot of the stairs.

The light was fading rapidly now, the hall full of shadows in the evening light. It felt most strange to stand here in the silence and know that I was about to leave the house for the last time.

I found myself oddly nostalgic, I took one more look at the cupboard under the stairs, the place this all began. There was a sudden, deafening roar from somewhere nearby. I straightened up with a jerk and smacked the top of my head on the low door frame.

Pausing only to employ a few of Uncle Vernon's choicest swear words, then I staggered back into the kitchen, clutching my head and staring out of the window into the back garden.

The darkness seemed to be rippling, the air itself quivering. Then, one by one, figures began to pop into sight as their Disillusionment Charms lifted.

Dominating the scene was Hagrid, wearing a helmet and goggles and sitting astride an enormous motorbike with a black sidecar attached.

All around him other people were dismounting from brooms and, in two cases, skeletal, black winged horses. Wrenching open the back door, I hurtled into their midst.

The first voice to reach my ears was of course, (Y/N)'s, I tried my best to hide my excitement when I heard him, "So, miss Dudders yet?" he asked, I shrugged. "Lies, we all know you loved him really" I chuckled "S'pose."

There was a general cry of greeting as Hermione flung her arms around me, Ron clapped him on the back, and Hagrid said, "All righ', Harry? Ready fer the off?" "Definitely," I said, beaming around at them all.

"But I wasn't expecting this many of you!" "Change of plan," growled Mad-Eye, who was holding two enormous bags of something and whose magical eye was spinning from darkening sky to house to garden with dizzying rapidity.

"Let's get undercover before we talk you through it." So I led them all back into the kitchen where, laughing and chattering, they settled on chairs, sat themselves upon Aunt Petunia's gleaming work surfaces, or leaned up against her spotless appliances.

I looked them over, Ron, long and lanky; (Y/N) still ducking into the room, perusing the kitchen with great interest; Hermione, her bushy hair tied back in a long plait; Fred and George, grinning identically.

Bill, badly scarred and long-haired; Mr. Weasley, kind-faced, balding, his spectacles a little awry; Mad-Eye, battle-worn, one-legged, his bright blue magical eye whizzing in its socket; Tonks, whose short hair was her favourite shade of bright pink.

Lupin, greyer, more lined; Fleur, slender and beautiful, with her long silvery blonde hair; Kingsley, bald, broad-shouldered; Hagrid, with his wild hair and beard, standing hunchbacked to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling; and Mundungus Fletcher, small, dirty, and hangdog, with his droopy basset hound's eyes and matted hair.

My heart seemed to expand and glow at the sight: I felt incredibly fond of all of them, even Mundungus, whom I had tried to strangle the last time we had met. "Kingsley, I thought you were looking after the Muggle Prime Minister?"

"He can get along without me for one night," said Kingsley. "You're more important." "Harry, guess what?" said Tonks from her perch on top of the washing machine, and she wiggled her left hand at him; a ring glittered there.

"You got married?" I yelped, looking from her to Lupin. "I'm sorry you couldn't be there, Harry, it was very quiet."

"It was awesome, though I'm still mad I wasn't maid of honour" chipped in (Y/N), who was searching the fridge for food. Which unfortunately for him, Dudley had all but cleared out this morning.

"That's brilliant, congrat-" "All right, all right, we'll have time for a cosy catch-up later!" roared Moody over the hubbub, and silence fell in the kitchen. Moody dropped his sacks at his feet and turned to me.

"As Dedalus probably told you, we had to abandon Plan A. Pius Thicknesse has gone over, which gives us a big problem. He's made it an imprisonable offence to connect this house to the Floo Network, place a Portkey here, or Apparate in or out. All done in the name of your protection, to prevent You-Know-Who getting in at you."

"Absolutely pointless, seeing as your mother's charm does that already. What he's really done is to stop you getting out of here safely. "Second problem: You're underage, which means you've still got the Trace on you."

"I don't..." "The Trace, the Trace!" said Mad-Eye impatiently. "I told you Moody, he's like a bowtruckle, just use small words and he'll catch on eventually, with some repetition" said (Y/N), rolling his eyes.

Moody huffed, "The charm that detects magical activity around under-seventeens, the way the Ministry finds out about underage magic! If you, or anyone around you, casts a spell to get you out of here, Thicknesse is going to know about it, and so will the Death Eaters."

"We can't wait for the Trace to break, because the moment you turn seventeen, you'll lose all the protection your mother gave you. In short: Plus, Thicknesse thinks he's got you cornered good and proper." I could not help but agree with Thicknesse wholeheartedly.

"So what are we going to do?" "We're going to use the only means of transport left to us, the only ones the Trace can't detect, because we don't need to cast spells to use them: brooms, thestrals, and Hagrid's motorbike."

The flaws in this plan were already poking though; however, I held my tongue to give Mad-Eye the chance to address them. "Now, your mother's charm will only break under two conditions: when you come of age, or-"

Moody gestured around the pristine kitchen. "you no longer call this place home. You and your aunt and uncle are going your separate ways tonight, in the full understanding that you're never going to live together again, correct?" I nodded.

"So this time, when you leave, there'll be no going back, and the charm will break the moment you get outside its range. We're choosing to break it early, because the alternative is waiting for You-Know-Who to come and seize you the moment you turn seventeen."

"The one thing we've got on our side is that You-Know-Who doesn't know we're moving you tonight. We've leaked a fake trail to the Ministry: They think you're not leaving until the thirtieth."

"However, this is You-Know-Who we're dealing with, so we can't just rely on him getting the date wrong; he's bound to have a couple of Death Eaters patrolling the skies in this general area, just in case."

"So, we've given a dozen different houses every protection we can throw at them. They all look like they could be the place we're going to hide you, they've all got some connection with the Order: my house, the (L/N)'s, Kingsley's place, Molly's Auntie Muriel's...you get the idea."

"Yeah," I nodded, not entirely truthfully, but I could still spot a gaping hole in the plan. "You'll be going to Tonks's parents. Once you're within the boundaries of the protective enchantments we've put on their house, you'll be able to use a Portkey to the Burrow. Any questions?"

"Er — yes," said Harry. "Maybe they won't know which of the secure houses I'm heading for at first, but won't it be sort of obvious once fourteen of us fly off toward Tonks's parents'?" "Ah," said Moody, "I forgot to mention the key point. Fourteen of us won't be flying to Tonks's parents'."

"There will be eight Harry Potters moving through the skies tonight, each of them with a companion, each pair heading for a different safe house." (Y/N) scoffed, "More or less..." he muttered.

From inside his cloak Moody now withdrew a flask of what looked like mud. There was no need for him to say another word; I understood the rest of the plan immediately. "No!" I said loudly, my voice ringing through the kitchen.

"No way!" "I told them you'd take it like this," said Hermione with a hint of complacency. "Ten Sickles! Easy money" said (Y/N), staring greedily at Ron, who sighed. "If you think I'm going to let eight people risk their lives!-" "-because it's the first time for all of us," said Ron, handing over a handful of coins to (Y/N).

"This is different, pretending to be me-" "Well, none of us really fancy it, Harry," said Fred earnestly. "Imagine if something went wrong and we were stuck as specky, scrawny gits forever." I didn't find this very funny.

"You can't do it if I don't cooperate, you need me to give you some hair." "Well, that's that plan scuppered," said George. "Obviously there's no chance at all of us getting a bit of your hair unless you cooperate."

"Yeah, fourteen of us against one bloke who's not allowed to use magic; we've got no chance," said Fred. "Well, let's pack it up guys, it's been fun, who's ready to live under a dark wizards regime? First point of order, everyone start dyeing your clothes black" added (Y/N).

He seemed to enjoy the concept. "Funny," I said blankly "really amusing." He smiled at me, "Cheers." "If it has to come to force, then it will," growled Moody, his magical eye now quivering a little in its socket as he glared at me.

"Everyone here's overage, Potter, and they're all prepared to take the risk." Mundungus shrugged and grimaced; the magical eye swerved sideways to glare at him out of the side of Moody's head.

"Let's have no more arguments. Time's wearing on. I want a few of your hairs, boy, now." "But this is mad, there's no need-" "No need!" snarled Moody.

"With You-Know-Who out there and half the Ministry on his side? Potter, if we're lucky he'll have swallowed the fake bait and he'll be planning to ambush you on the thirtieth, but he'd be mad not to have a Death Eater or two keeping an eye out, it's what I'd do."

"They might not be able to get at you or this house while your mother's charm holds, but it's about to break and they know the rough position of the place. Our only chance is to use decoys. Even You-Know-Who can't split himself into eight."

"Yeah, seven at a stretch" I heard a chuckle from near the fridge and then "Ok, I'm sick of this" suddenly I was pinned by arms wrapping around my torso and lifting my legs from the ground to stop me kicking.

"'Mione, if you would please." Suddenly a hair was being forcefully pulled from my head as Hermione passed it to Moody, rolling her eyes at (Y/N), who released me as soon as he had them.

"Good," said Moody, limping forward as he pulled the stopper out of the flask of potion. "Straight in here, if you please." Hermione dropped the hair into the mudlike liquid.

The moment it made contact with its surface, the potion began to froth and smoke, then, all at once, it turned a clear, bright gold. "Right then, fake Potters line up over here, please," said Moody.

Ron, Hermione, (Y/N), Fred, George, and Fleur lined up in front of Aunt Petunia's gleaming sink. "We're one short," said Lupin. "Here," said Hagrid gruffly, and he lifted Mundungus by the scruff of the neck and dropped him down beside Fleur.

She wrinkled her nose pointedly and moved along to stand between Fred and George instead. "I've toldjer, I'd sooner be a protector," said Mundungus. "Shut it," growled Moody. "As I've already told you, you spineless worm, any Death Eaters we run into will be aiming to capture Potter, not kill him."

"Dumbledore always said You-Know-Who would want to finish Potter in person. It'll be the protectors who have got the most to worry about, the Death Eaters'll want to kill them." "Well, guess I'm real lucky then, I'll drink to that" muttered (Y/N), Moody shot him a look, so he made a zipping motion on his mouth and kept quiet.

(Y/N)'s POV

Moody pulled half a dozen eggcup-sized glasses from inside his cloak, which he handed out, before pouring a little Polyjuice Potion into each one. "Altogether, then . . ." Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Fleur, and Mundungus drank and I followed suit.

I suddenly had the violent urge to turn and retch into Petunia's sparkly clean sink but forced the liquid down regardless. It was sweet, but horribly so, as if all the worst parts of sugar, liquorice, cough medicine and sherbet were mixed together.

It was utterly disgusting, definitely the worst thing I'd ever tasted. I retched again over the Dursley's sink I squeezed my eyes shut in disgust and said "Harry, I'd never thought I'd have to say this, but you taste real weird mate. That was foul."

Suddenly, the strangest sensation I'd ever felt in my life came over me, it was like I was sort of bubbling. Then, my perspective began to shift, becoming much lower to the ground, it was incredibly disorienting.

There was no pain at least, I expected it to feel painful, I can't imagine shrinking pains are much better then growing ones, as I had this thought, my eyesight seemed to worsen, everything becoming a little more blurred.

Looking into a nearby toaster, I saw Harry Potter staring back at me. "This is so trippy" I said, examining my new temporary body. Resisting an urge to make 'comparisons' to fact check what I said to him as we entered the forbidden forest. But just guessing with a rough estimate, I was right and Harry's a liar.

Fred and George turned to each other and said together, "Wow — we're identical!" "I dunno, though, I think I'm still better-looking," said Fred, examining his reflection in the kettle. "Bah," said Fleur, checking herself in the microwave door, "Bill, don't look at me — I'm 'ideous."

"Bloody hell Harry how do you live like this? I feel like a house elf" I said taking some careful steps in my new body. "Quick, someone help me unionise" I chuckled, then comedy gold came to my mind "I've always wanted to do this."

I put on my best Harry voice, "ohhh me scar... it's a stingin' boys...oh no me scar, he's coming, I can feel it in my ba-" "Enough!" shouted Moody as I mimed pain from my forehead and collapsed to my knees dramatically in front of the twins.

"Those whose clothes are a bit roomy, I've got smaller here," said Moody, indicating the first sack, "and vice versa. Don't forget the glasses, there's pairs in the side pocket. And when you're dressed, there's luggage in the other sack."

We all got dressed, I pulled on Harry's clothes as quickly as I could, wanting to get it over with. I heard Ron mutter "I knew Ginny was lying about that tattoo," looking down at his bare chest. "Harry, your eyesight really is awful," said Hermione, as she put on glasses.

I nodded, "Luckily, I do not want to see you in my girlfriend's bra, it would ruin the image in my head." A Harry that I assumed was the owner of that bra told me to shut up. I just hurried to get dressed.

Once dressed, the fake Harrys took rucksacks and owl cages, each containing a stuffed snowy owl, from the second sack. "Good," said Moody, as we dressed, bespectacled, and luggage-laden Harrys faced him.

"The pairs will be as follows: Mundungus will be traveling with me, by broom-" "Why'm I with you?" grunted the Harry nearest the back door. "Because you're the one that needs watching," growled Moody.

Sure enough, his magical eye did not waver from Mundungus as he continued, "Arthur and Fred-" "I'm George," said the twin at whom Moody was pointing. "Can't you even tell us apart when we're Harry?" "Sorry, George-" "I'm only yanking your wand, I'm Fred really-"

"Enough messing around!" snarled Moody. "The other one, George or Fred or whoever you are, you're with Remus. Miss Delacour " "I'm taking Fleur on a thestral," said Bill. "She's not that fond of brooms."

Fleur walked over to stand beside him, giving him a soppy, slavish look that was quite disturbing on Harry's face. "Miss Granger with Kingsley, again by thestral-" Hermione looked reassured as she answered Kingsley's smile.

"Which leaves you and me, Ron!" said Tonks brightly, knocking over a mug tree as she waved at him. "And I get the fun stuff" I smirked. Picking up Harry's Firebolt from near the front door as he looked at me confused. "Don't worry, I won't even scratch the paint" I winked.

Harry looked at me befuddled; I imagine it must be strange to wink at yourself. "That's what you get for pulling the short straw, bad luck mate" said one of the Harry's who I think was Ron. "Wait. You guys drew straws? All I got was 'Boy, you're doing this, no arguing'" I joked.

Truthfully I had chosen this, I wanted to try to keep the others safe, but they didn't need to know that. "I'm the decoy for the decoys" I explained to Harry, "These lot are fake you's, I'm the fake real you" He looked lost, "What?" I shook my head, "Never mind."

"You boy, will be flying above us all, using Potter's broom, hopefully convincing the Death Eater's we're keeping the real one safe and away from the others." I nodded. "Stay away from any fighting if you can, if your seen, bolt, we're trying to be as genuine as possible."

"Act like Potter, keep up the con." "Brilliant plan Moody, put the guy with the crippling fear of falling to his death on the fastest broom on the planet and tell him he needs to stay as high as possible" I chuckled. "What could go wrong?"

"If you're not up for it-" grumbled Moody, "I didn't say that. I'll just keep my eyes closed" I smirked. He scowled at me and I shuffled awkwardly under his gaze, holding out my hand so he can charm it to look like Harry's before I set off on the Firebolt.

"An' you're with me, Harry. That all righ'?" said Hagrid, looking a little anxious. "We'll be on the bike, brooms an' thestrals can't take me weight, see. Not a lot o' room on the seat with me on it, though, so you'll be in the sidecar." "That's great," said Harry, not altogether truthfully.

"We think the Death Eaters will expect you to be on a broom," said Moody. "Snape's had plenty of time to tell them everything about you he's never mentioned before, so if we do run into any Death Eaters, we're betting they'll choose one of the Potters who look at home on a broomstick."

"All right then," he went on, tying up the sack with the fake Potters' clothes in it and leading the way back to the door, "I make it three minutes until we're supposed to leave. No point locking the back door, it won't keep the Death Eaters out when they come looking...Come on..."

"Well, couldn't hurt..." I muttered, he glared at me. "What? Most crime is committed by people you know. Especially nowadays, and some of these neighbours looked shifty"

Before we left, I pulled Hermione aside before she joined Kingsley, "Be safe yeah, if anything goes wrong, which knowing us, it probably will, get out of there if you have to." She nodded. "Ok, I'm leaving it there, I'm not comfortable kissing Harry, so we'll do it later."

"It's a promise" she said. "Love you" she said, I nodded, "Love you too" She walked away and joined Kingsley, which brought me more relief then it should, I wouldn't hear the end of it if I'd told the twins I loved one of them by accident.

I pointed at Kingsley, "Anything happens to her, it's your head Kingsley I'm telling you now" He stayed as calm as ever and nodded, "Of course. She's perfectly safe with me" I nodded firmly, "Better be..." I muttered as I mounted the Firebolt.

Hagrid kicked the motorbike into life: It roared like a dragon, and the sidecar began to vibrate. "Good luck, everyone," shouted Moody. "See you all in about an hour at the Burrow. On the count of three. One . . . two . . . THREE."

There was a great roar from the motorbike, and the brooms were soaring upward too; the long black tail of a thestral flicked past. The firebolt was of course the fastest off the ground and clearly the smoothest ride, I could see Ron anxiously gripping at Tonks' waist from here.

Seeing this made me think perhaps my role in this wasn't too bad, I was in control, not relying on anybody else. I was proven wrong almost as soon as we were in the air and immediately regretted not having a partner.

There was about five seconds of peace before the chaos, I managed to get enough lift to be obscured by the clouds before I was seen just like I had been ordered to, climbing higher than any of the others could.

But just as I broke through the layer of clouds over Privet Drive, I began to see sparks and green streaks fly through the air below me.

It looked like muggle fireworks, a constant spray of colour that lit the sky ablaze and if I didn't know half of the lights were produced in self-defence and the other half with killing intent, I would say it was beautiful in a way.

The air above the clouds was thin. Everything felt damp and cold, my grip on the broom was slick and maintaining it was difficult, every time my hands jolted from the broom my heart went with it.

I weaved in and out of the clouds so I could maintain a view on the battles below, but I couldn't make out who was who or how each fight was going. All I could do was peer through the darkness and hope for the best.

I did get a little antsy watching from the clouds through, every spell I saw was another reason to worry, but I had to look after Harry.

Just as Moody had told me to, I flew above the shape of Hagrid's motorcycle as it flew through the sky, keeping a close eye on them as they broke off from the others using one of Mr. Weasley's contraptions.

I was determined to stay on them, to stay on mission, and I did, I followed them, until I heard a scream from below me and couldn't hold back anymore.

Despite everything, despite my strict orders from Moody that my true priority was to forget the others if I had to and just focus on defending Harry, to the death if it came to it. I just couldn't. I couldn't watch from above and hold myself back from helping my friends.

But it worked in my favour, because anyone who knew him would know, neither would Harry. I darted into the fight, trying to act as Harry would. I flew towards the first person I saw in trouble, in this case it was Bill and Fleur

They were being pursued by four Death Eaters, each of them shooting out unforgivable curses and hexes. So I streaked above them, using the Firebolts speed to my advantage. And from the air above them I rained down spell after spell, trying to maintain my façade throughout.

"Expelliarmus!" I yelled through the howling wind and a wand was sent tumbling to the ground far below. "Petrificus Totalus!" "Stupefy!" I said to the next two and they fell off their own brooms.

Bill managed to send the last one careening off his broom with a well-timed stunner in the chaos. But then disaster struck, as I flew back up into the clouds, I heard the one I disarmed scream "IT'S HIM" at the top of his lungs. Either recognising the spell choice or the broom.

I mean, I know it was all part of the plan, but it still wasn't the best thing to hear that the raving lunatics hell bent on my capture were about to converge. But still I had to help the others, the next pair I saw were Tonks and Ron, Bellatrix Lestrange was locked in a fierce duel with the both of them.

Each spell only missing because of luck or speed. Ron was fighting as well, he was sending out curses and charms at her as she cackled with glee. I would have gone to help but two Death Eaters that were supporting Lestrange peeled off from the pack, clearly aiming at me so I had my own problems to deal with first.

I immediately rose higher into the clouds, dodging past a thestral as I did, they were close behind me, climbing higher with me. So I pointed my wand backwards and tore my eyes away from in front of me.

The second I was in absolute cloud cover, I was safe to use some spells I'm more familiar with, "Reducto!" I said, hitting one of the Death Eaters brooms, it crumbled from beneath him and he started to tumble.

"Depulso!" and like his friend earlier, the second Death Eater was flung away from his broom, his arms wind milling in the air for some sort of grip. I didn't have time to care about them though, I had to help the others.

I searched the chaos, trying to find anyone I could that needed assistance. I couldn't see Moody or Dung anywhere, nor Kingsley and Hermione, I suppose they were already getting ahead of the pack, I hoped.

As my eyes darted around, I finally found the next pair in peril, Lupin and George. They were being pursued by Death Eaters who were slowly gaining ground. One of them I recognised, my crooked nosed slimy haired traitor of an ex-teacher.

Severus Snape, thoughts of revenge filled me, I was determined to get at him, I guess looking like Harry came with its drawbacks, for example, acting like him. I shouted "You coward!" towards him, recalling Harry's stories of their confrontation and hoping this ploy would draw attention to me as planned.

Snape looked at me and scowled. I went to go and attack him to help Lupin and George but suddenly I felt a little heat brush past my head, and in my peripheral vision I saw a small beam of light emanating from behind me, it was dazzling, moving almost in slow motion.

It passed my periphery into my sight, it was on my left side, in front of my face by about half a foot, then, before I could even think about defending, I heard "Confringo!" The tiny spark ignited and with the force of a hand grenade.

I was pushed backwards, my grip finally failing me. A hot burning pain seared my face and the glasses on my face snapped from the impact. I felt my skin being pushed back into my skull as the fire made contact.

I blacked out for I don't know how long, all I knew was as I awoke, I was in free fall, again. I don't know why, maybe it was a trauma response, but that brief second of rest revitalised me and I awoke feeling dead calm.

"Why does this keep happening to me?" My vision was blurred and shaky, my ears were ringing, and the left side of my face was slick with blood, I couldn't even see through it. "Accio Wand!" I shouted and felt the familiar rough texture on the wood in my hand.

Then with more confidence instilled in me by the fact I had my wand I yelled "Accio Firebolt!" In a manoeuvre that would have me singing soprano but would have made Madam Hooch proud, I found the broom placed firmly underneath me again.

As I was regaining my bearings I saw something that made me wonder if that last spell had shaken my brain too much. He was here. I don't think I really knew what fear was until I saw him closing in on me like death incarnate.

He wasn't using a broom, but billowed along in the wind like smoke, like a dense fog of war over the battlefield. Lord Voldemort had arrived.

My first instinct upon seeing him was to bolt backwards the way I came and as far away from him as possible, but that was back towards the battle, so instead I darted off to my left as fast as I could.

So now to make matters worse I was blind as a bat, covered in blood, flying hundreds of feet in the air at hundred and fifty miles an hour all while dodging curses I couldn't see coming being shot at me by one of the most powerful wizards of our age. Brilliant plan Moody, brilliant plan.

After a few seconds of trying to shake him I realised it was pointless, even at this speed, he only had one goal in mind, he thought he was chasing Harry Potter, and he was determined to kill him.

I flew away, away from my friends as they travelled to the safehouses, we were travelling over the countryside before I knew it, I had no idea in what direction or how fast I was going, all I knew that Voldemort wasn't joking around. The only thing he sent after me were Killing Curses or Torture Curses.

We flashed through the sky like lightning, going so fast I couldn't see the earth below me, all I had was my instinct. I split the sky with the speed of the Firebolt and somehow Voldemort stayed on my tail, fuelled by rage and killing intent.

As I twisted and turned to avoid the monster chasing me, I only had one thought in my head, one command that fuelled the broom, "Get him away from the others." I heard a scream of rage that cut through any other thought I could have.

A single word echoing in the wind behind me. "POTTER!" I don't know what possessed me to do what I did next, probably the fact that I couldn't think straight as I rocketed through the sky, but gradually, I began reducing my speed.

It was a stupid idea, but I reasoned that if I slowed a little, I could counterattack, hopefully stalling the Dark Lord even longer. So I got my broom down to a comfortable sped and instead of using speed to dodge his barrage of death I was now more focused on evasion.

I didn't have to beat him, I just had to stop him, contain him somehow. I turned, putting my wand behind me and sent out several stunning spells behind me. It didn't even make him flinch, he either flew straight through them or flew out of their way.

As I regained some balance I used my remaining good eye to fire a few more spells at Voldemort, he sneered at me and glided even closer to me, he was about level with my broom as we traded spells back and forth.

Neither of us seemed to be able to hit the other, and then Snakeface seemed to get frustrated, baring his yellow teeth at me. Guessing what was coming next, I prepped a spell. As I had predicted, Voldemort sent out a huge burst of Killing Curses and roared in victory, assured that I couldn't dodge them all, only one spell could save me.

As green light flashed in front of my eyes it was only stopped by the blazing golden inferno of my charm, which I still couldn't think of a name for. But the impact of the killing curses were nothing to scoff at.

Every one sent me further away from him with what felt like a tonne of force, each one made me feel like my bones were about to splinter. He seemed enraged beyond belief at the appearance of this charm, he stopped in his tracks, just floating there. Seething at me.

Snape had probably told him, he knew I wasn't Harry now, only I knew the counter to the Avada Kedavra well enough to perform it out of the Eight Potters in the air tonight. I couldn't help myself, I laughed at him, just for a second

A shrill little giggle as a release of nerves and shock of my survival, but this pushed him over the edge, he let out an unearthly scream of rage and sent plumes of flame out after me, Fiendfyre.

It took the form of a serpent, writhing through the air towards me, the fire almost hissing at me. I had to swerve violently to avoid being consumed within its jaws. Still, just like it's creator it relentlessly chased after me.

If it wasn't for the speed of the Firebolt, I would have been set ablaze already. It chased me for what had to be another five minutes before I was able to dispel it.

I had to encircle it within itself to contain it for long enough, and even on the fastest broom in the world, that wasn't a cakewalk. By the time I had snuffed out the flame, Voldemort was nowhere to be seen.

The fatigue hit me as soon as the adrenaline wore off, I slumped down on the broom, unable to keep my head up but just strong enough to stay awake. I just had to make it to my portkey, then this could all be over.

Harry's POV

"We're nearly there, Harry, we've nearly made it!" shouted Hagrid. Then the scar on my forehead burned like fire; a Death Eater appeared on either side of the bike, two Killing Curses missed me by millimetres, cast from behind.

That's when I saw him. Voldemort was flying like smoke on the wind, without broomstick or thestral to hold him, his snakelike face gleaming out of the blackness, his white fingers raising his wand again.

Hagrid let out a bellow of fear and steered the motorbike into a vertical dive. Clinging on for dear life, I sent Stunning Spells flying at random into the whirling night.

Green jets of light shot past us again. I had no idea which way was up, which down. My scar was still burning to badly to notice a hooded figure on a broomstick was feet from us, raising its arm.

"NO!" With a shout of fury Hagrid launched himself off the bike at the Death Eater; to my horror, I saw both Hagrid and the Death Eater falling out of sight, their combined weight too much for the broomstick.

I heard Voldemort scream, "Mine!" It was over: I couldn't see or hear where Voldemort was; I glimpsed another Death Eater swooping out of the way and heard, "Avada-"

The pain from my scar forced my eyes shut, my wand acted of its own accord. It started to drag my hand around like some great magnet, then I saw golden fire through half-closed eyelids and heard a crack and a scream of fury.

The remaining Death Eater yelled; Voldemort screamed, "No!" Somehow, my nose was an inch from the dragon-fire button. I punched it with my wand-free hand and the bike shot more flames into the air, hurtling straight toward the ground.

I was going to crash and there was nothing I could do about it. Behind me came another scream, "Your wand, Selwyn, give me your wand!"

I felt Voldemort before I saw him. Looking sideways, I stared into the red eyes, I was sure they would be the last thing I ever saw.

And then Voldemort vanished. I looked down and saw Hagrid spread-eagled on the ground below. So I pulled hard at the handlebars to avoid hitting him, groped for the brake, but with an earsplitting, ground-trembling crash, the bike smashed into a muddy pond.

"Hagrid?" I rose out of the debris of metal and leather; my hands sank into inches of muddy water as I tried to stand. Where had Voldemort gone? I expected him to swoop out of the darkness at any moment.

Something hot and wet was trickling down my chin and forehead. I crawled out of the pond and stumbled toward the great dark mass on the ground that was Hagrid.

"Hagrid? Hagrid, talk to me" But the dark mass did not stir. "Who's there? Is it Potter? Are you Harry Potter?" I didn't recognise the man's voice. Then a woman shouted, "They've crashed, Ted! Crashed in the garden!" my head was swimming.

"Hagrid," I repeated, my knees buckled. The next thing I knew, I was lying on what felt like cushions, with a burning sensation in my ribs and right arm. The scar on my forehead was still throbbing.

"Hagrid?" I opened my eyes and saw that I was lying on a sofa in an unfamiliar, lamplit sitting room. My rucksack lay on the floor a short distance away, wet and muddy. A fair-haired, big-bellied man was watching me anxiously.

"Hagrid's fine, son," said the man, "the wife's seeing to him now. How are you feeling? Anything else broken? I've fixed your ribs, your tooth, and your arm. I'm Ted, by the way, Ted Tonks, Dora's father."

I sat up too quickly: Lights popped in front of my eyes and I felt sick and giddy. "Voldemort-" "Easy, now," said Ted Tonks, placing a hand on my shoulder and pushing me back against the cushions.

"That was a nasty crash you just had. What happened, anyway? Something go wrong with the bike? Arthur Weasley overstretch himself again, him and his Muggle contraptions?" "No," I said as my scar pulsed like an open wound.

"Death Eaters, loads of them, we were chased-" "Death Eaters?" said Ted sharply. "What d'you mean, Death Eaters? I thought they didn't know you were being moved tonight, I thought-" "They knew," I explained to him everything that happened and Voldemort's arrival.

"Well, we know our protective charms hold, then, don't we? They shouldn't be able to get within a hundred yards of the place in any direction." Suddenly I understood why Voldemort had vanished; it had been at the point when the motorbike crossed the barrier of the Order's charms.

I hoped they would continue to work: I was imagined Voldemort, a hundred yards above us as we spoke, looking for a way to penetrate what I visualised as a great transparent bubble.

"Is that what happened to the other guard?" he said sadly, "Other guard?" I asked, still a little shaky, "Yeah, we were told there would be three of you."

"Three!" I said in shock, he nodded, "I wouldn't worry, they're probably just behind schedule." I nodded but I couldn't help but feel dread in my stomach. "Up you get, we can check on Hagrid" he said comfortingly.

"Yeah" I swung my legs off the sofa; I needed to see Hagrid with his own eyes before I could believe that he was alive. I had barely stood up, when a door opened and Hagrid squeezed through it, his face covered in mud and blood, limping a little but miraculously alive.

"Harry!" He embraced me in a bone crushing hug. "Blimey, Harry, how did yeh get out o' that? I thought we were both goners."

"Yeah, me too. I can't believe-" I broke off, having just noticed the woman who had entered the room behind Hagrid.

"You!" I shouted, reaching in my pocket, but it was empty. "Your wand's here, son," said Ted, tapping it on my arm. "It fell right beside you, I picked it up. And that's my wife you're shouting at." "Oh, I'm...I'm sorry."

As she moved forward into the room, Mrs. Tonks's resemblance to her sister Bellatrix became much less pronounced: Her hair was a light, soft brown and her eyes were wider and kinder. Nevertheless, she looked a little haughty after my exclamation.

"What happened to our daughter?" she asked. "Hagrid said you were ambushed; where is Nymphadora?" "I don't know," "We don't know what happened to anyone else."

She and Ted exchanged looks. A mixture of fear and guilt gripped me at the sight of their expressions; if any of the others had died, it was my fault, all my fault.

"The Portkey," I said, remembering all of a sudden. "We've got to get back to the Burrow and find out, then we'll be able to send you word, or, or Tonks will, once she's-"

"Dora'll be okay, 'Dromeda," said Ted. "She knows her stuff, she's been in plenty of tight spots with the Aurors. The Portkey's through here," he added.

"It's supposed to leave in three minutes, if you want to take it." "Yeah, we do," I seized my rucksack, swung it onto my shoulders.

"I-" I looked at Mrs. Tonks, wanting to apologise for the state of fear in which I left her and for which I felt so terribly responsible, but no words occurred to me that did not seem hollow and insincere.

"I'll tell Tonks...Dora, to send word, when she . . . Thanks for patching us up, thanks for everything." I started to follow Ted Tonks along a short hallway and into a bedroom. Hagrid came after us, bending low to avoid hitting his head on the door lintel.

"There you go, son. That's the Portkey." Mr. Tonks was pointing to a small, silver-backed hairbrush lying on the dressing table.

"Thanks," I said gratefully, reaching out to place a finger on it, ready to leave. "Wait a moment," said Hagrid, looking around.

"Harry, where's Hedwig?" "She . . . she got hit," The realisation crashed over me; I felt ashamed of myself as the tears stung my eyes. The owl had been my companion, my one great link with the magical world whenever I had been forced to return to the Dursleys.

Hagrid reached out a great hand and patted me painfully on the shoulder. "Never mind," he said gruffly. "Never mind. She had a great old life-" He was cut off by a loud banging of the front door. "Ted! He's here! Quickly!" shouted Mrs. Tonks with the clattering of feet.

"No time, they can get the next one, Hagrid!" said Ted Tonks warningly, as the hairbrush glowed bright blue, and Hagrid only just got his forefinger to it in time.

As the glowing brightened, the last thing I saw was a Harry Potter, blood pouring down and across his face, his hand clutching the wound and covering his eye.

He was being propped up by Mrs. Tonks. He saw us and for a split second he reached out to grab the portkey, but it was too late.

With a jerk behind the navel as though an invisible hook and line had dragged me forward I was pulled into nothingness, spinning uncontrollably, my finger glued to the Portkey as we hurtled away from Mr. Tonks and an injured Harry Potter who looked at me pleadingly.