Chapter 38 – Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)
It's getting late have you seen my mates
Ma tell me when the boys get here
It's seven o'clock and I want to rock
Want to get a belly full of beer
My old man's drunker than a barrel full of monkeys
And my old lady she don't care
My sister looks cute in her braces and boots
A handful of grease in her hair
Don't give us none of your aggravation
We had it with your discipline
Saturday night's alright for fighting
Get a little action in
- Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting), The Who
(A cover of an Elton John / Bernie Taupin number)
“EXPECTO PATROIUM!!!”
Harry watched for a moment as the dragon took shape from their wands, then back at Ginny. “You okay?”
Ginny nodded reassuringly; this time, there would be little time to rest. A second glimmering dragon joined theirs, and then a third, surrounding the Melinoe. Together, the ethereal dragons forced the demon backwards, ripping, tearing and breathing gossamer fire. The line of Dementors that had been advancing behind the Melinoe faltered then began to back away as a line of Patroni surged toward them.
“FORWARD!!!” Dumbledore commanded. Slowly, the combined forces of the Aurors and Order moved through the tombstones, forcing their way through the broken line of Dementors towards a knot of Death Eaters clustered near the village church.
A number of fires were burning around the small village. From what Harry could tell, it appeared the objective of the Death Eaters had been to do as much damage as possible; however, as they approached, the two groups began to exchange wand-fire.
He glanced left; Jamie appeared uninjured. Harry changed direction slightly, moving closer to his sister. She shouldn’t be here; damn Praetor anyway. Harry peered through the thickening smoke; thus far there had been no sign of Voldemort. He intentionally tried to avoid reading any of the headstones.
The Melinoe made an attempt to flee, but working together, the three dragon Patroni managed to force it down just outside the village. The Dementors were scattering, chased by silver shapes of light, and the Death Eaters formed a close line and began to retreat.
“There’s at least three inside,” Chris said, looking at some sort of Muggle device as she turned to face Dumbledore. “Maybe more.”
“Tonks!” called Dumbledore. She quickly moved beside him. Harry saw Dumbledore point twice, say something about flanking, Tonks nod, and then turn to her Aurors. Two groups broke off from the main party, one to each side.
“Move forward, slowly!” Dumbledore ordered. The Death Eaters continued to retreat, breaking into two groups, one going to each side of the church. As they moved past the stone building, they suddenly scattered and moved swiftly away from the Aurors and Order members. Buildings, trees and vehicles were set afire or knocked over as they passed.
“They’re Apparating away,” Harry heard one of the Aurors call.
“Make sure none of them are left,” Tonks commanded. “Then do what you can to help.” She then dispatched Ron, Hermione, and Draco to help with the fires; Cassandra accompanied them.
“Albus!” Sirius shouted. “The wards at the manor!”
Dumbledore turned from casting a spout of water from his wand onto a fire. “Will you and Remus investigate? And refrain from any foolhardy actions?”
Looking pointedly toward Harry, who had started toward him, Sirius nodded toward Jamie and silently mouthed, “Stay here!” Then, turning toward Dumbledore, Sirius grinned and said, “Meet you halfway?” He and Lupin headed back across the graveyard at a fast trot. “We’ll be careful,” Lupin called over his shoulder.
“There’s an attack underway in Diagon Alley,” Tonks announced. She called a number of the Aurors and dispatched them to London. Turning toward Dumbledore she remarked, “This is getting ugly fast. We’re already spread thin…”
“Perhaps some of the Order might…” Dumbledore began.
“Wait!” Chris interrupted. “There’s still someone in the church.”
“Death Eaters?” asked Harry, his frustration with Sirius evident in his tone.
“No way to tell from this, boss.” Chris said, nodding at the device she held. “Could be nothing more than a couple of scared locals taking cover.” She started forward. “But I suppose we’d better find out. Cover me.”
Chris moved quickly toward the church, crouching low. She reached the outer wall, and then crept toward the door. She listened carefully for several moments, and hearing nothing, slowly worked the latch. After another pause to listen, she made a motion, and Tonks and two Aurors quickly joined her. After a moment, Chris motioned again, opened the door a crack, and the four slipped quietly inside.
Perhaps a minute later, the door swung wide. “All clear,” Chris announced. “But I think you’ll want a look at this, Albus. And there’s some wrapped gifts for the Ministry.”
Harry, Ginny and Jamie followed Dumbledore and the Flamels into the church. The insides were in shambles. In the nave, pews and everything else appeared to have been tossed into haphazard stacks near the walls. The stone floor in the center of the room had been pulled up, and Harry could see a huge cut stone had been partially pulled from the ground; it was partially blocking some sort of passage.
Three Death Eaters lay nearby, bound and unconscious. Their hoods had been removed; Harry did not recognize two of them, but the third was Lucius Malfoy.
As Harry moved to get a better look at the stone, and perhaps what lay beyond it, he heard Perenelle’s breath catch.
“Clavis Avallonis…Cali… Brian, Mon Dieu, hold! We must secure this area, maintenat, and consider most carefully how we should proceed. It must…”
“Fight… fight for what’s right,” Jamie whispered, suddenly unstable on her feet. “Risin’ up, back on the street…” She had turned ghostly pale and would have fallen to the floor had Dumbledore not caught her.
“They should be removed before they awaken,” Perenelle said softly, her color almost as pale as Jamie’s, pointing to the Death Eaters. “The dust and cobwebs are undisturbed. Fortunately, it would seem that they had not the opportunity to venture past the stone.” She sighed wearily. “We must secure this building, at least for the moment. It would be for the best,” she continued looking at Tonks and the Aurors, “if nothing were said about this. We must ensure Voldemort’s forces do not gain entry here.”
Tonks started to ask a question, but seeing Dumbledore’s expression she stopped and nodded slowly. “I can keep a few people here, but with all hell breaking lose everywhere else, it may not be easy…”
“I shall contact Arthur,” said Dumbledore.
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“I can’t believe this place has been closed up so long,” Sirius said, his eyes focused somewhere far away. “It seems like only yesterday…”
“Are you going to be able to open the effing door or not?” Lupin asked impatiently. “Dumbledore said they were coming here…”
“Yeah, I was here when James sealed it…” Sirius paced back and forth twice, then turned toward the door again. He muttered something as he twirled his wand in blazingly fast pattern. The door shimmered for a moment, and then both wizards heard the lock click.
“I told you it’d just take a second.”
Lupin sighed. “Are you just going to stand there, or are we going in?”
“It’s Harry’s house. Reckon we should wait for him. Should be safe enough; the seal hadn’t been tampered with.”
Lupin nodded. “It’s just… I never thought I’d ever see his place again. It’s… it’s almost like coming home.”
“Yeah,” Sirius said, his voice breaking slightly. “If only…” his voice trailed off as they both remembered the vacations and holidays they had spent here during their Hogwarts years.
Their reverie was broken by the arrival of the rest of the group, other than Nicholas and Chris that had left Hogwarts three hours before. “Welcome to the old home place…” Sirius began, then, seeing Jamie being carried by Chris, demanded, “What the hell happened to Jamie?”
“She fainted, Sirius,” Dumbledore replied calmly. “I do not believe she has suffered any harm.”
“But why…?”“As events have unfolded,” Perenelle answered, “I believe that there are fit and seemly reasons to remain in Godric’s Hollow for the moment. With Harry’s concurrence, this seemed the least bad choice.”
Harry nodded somberly as Sirius motioned him forward. “It’s your pad, kiddo.”
Harry grinned slightly in spite of himself and nodded as he opened the door. “Then come in and be welcome at Potter Manor.”
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“But I’m fine!” Jamie insisted. “I just got a little hot, or… or something.” She had managed to sit up on the large overstuffed sofa, but Molly had prevented her from standing.
“That’s twice, young lady. After the party, I could put it off to too much butterbeer and maybe sneaking a sip or two of firewhiskey…”
”But…” Jamie tried to interrupt.
“Don’t try to but me, Jamie. This needs looking after. We should return to Hogwarts and have Madam Pomfrey…”
“Molly,” Perenelle shook her head slightly. “I must advise against this.”
“But… surely… we’d only be gone a short time, if nothing is really wrong. There’s no telling what she may have been exposed to all those years…”
“There are… other… considerations, Molly. For now, would you allow me to send a little time with Jamie? If there is even a hint this is other than I suspect, we shall dispatch Jamie to the healer, or bring Poppy here. Will that suffice?”
Molly surrendered reluctantly. “I really don’t think… but if you really will… make sure.”
“I shall, Molly. Now, will you give us a few moments?”
Molly nodded as she walked from the room. Both Perenelle and Jamie grinned as they heard her shouting for Harry.
“Hadn’t you better go rescue Harry?” Jamie asked impishly.
“Harry, I think, will escape unscathed, though Hermione and Draco may find themselves taken to task over the condition of their clothing.”
“What happened to them?”
“Fighting fires is often a rather messy business, mon petit chou. But at this moment, I find that I am more interested in what happened to you.”
“I… just fainted. It… it’s no big deal.”
“As Molly observed, it is not the first time.”
“No,” Jamie answered quietly.
“Nor was it the first time after the party.”
There was a long pause before Jamie finally answered, even more softly than before. “No.”
“What is it that you see, Jamie?”
“I just fainted.”
“What were the words you were saying?” Perenelle paused, then added. “Draco said that it sounded like a song. This time, as well, you again talking as you faded.”
“I didn’t… I… I… I don’t know… they… they just come.” Sighing, Jamie held out her hand.
Perenelle withdrew slightly. “No… no, child, at least not yet. We must proceed carefully. Will you first tell me, instead?”
“There’s something I… think, maybe, I have to do, or some place I have to go, or… something.”
“Go on,” Perenelle encouraged.
“There’s a huge crowd of people. They’re all yelling and screaming. It’s deafening. Then the music comes.”
“And then?”“Everything… changes. It’s a different place, though I can still hear the crowd. I’m running, somewhere… trying not to be seen… then it all goes black.”
Perenelle nodded slowly. “When was the first time this happened, child?”
“In Atlanta,” Jamie whispered. “I was still staying with Joe. It wasn’t long after my scar bled.”
“When the die was cast,” Perenelle said softly, then smiled. “I am sorry, Jamie, I was thinking out loud.”
“What… what does all this mean?”
Perenelle sat thoughtfully for a minute before replying, “Would you first tell me your impressions, what you think?”
“Uh… I already said it’s like something I gotta do, or maybe need to do…”
“Do you have any sense that is something to avoid?”
”No. I’m pretty sure about that much, anyway.”
Perenelle nodded. “Are there any other details that you recall?”
“Lights… there were really bright lights… and the voices… I think it was in America… maybe…”
Perenelle nodded encouragingly, her surprise at Jamie’s last statement showing only for a fraction of a second.
“…I don’t think I was alone… but I can’t remember who…”
“And this that you see, it is the same each time?”
Jamie nodded. “Each time… it seems, I don’t know, closer, or something. Can… do you know what it means?”
“At this point, chérie, I can do little more than speculate. From what you have told me thus far, if you are still willing,” Perenelle hesitated, “Would be to share it with me directly.”
Jamie smiled slightly, placed her hand in Perenelle’s, and closed her eyes.
Many minutes passed.
“Grand-mère! Jamie!” Perenelle could hear Harry’s urgent calls as she slowly emerged from rapport with Jamie.
“Fear not, lapin, we are… unharmed.”
Harry did not look reassured. “I called you both several times. I even shook Jamie…”
“I’m fine, Harry,” though Perenelle heard her add, under her breath, “I think.” She was looking at both her and Harry rather strangely.
“Jamie allowed me to attempt to share what she had experienced when she fainted,” Perenelle explained. It required a great deal of effort to keep her voice from faltering. “As you observed, it was indeed a deeply imbedded memory.”
“What…” Jamie began.
“I must consider carefully what you shared, Jamie. I… I do not doubt your observations, or the validity…”
“But… what were those places, the other places?”
Perenelle raised a hand. “Harry, you seem impatient.”
“Sirius was going to show us through the manor, and he wanted Jamie to come, too.”
“I’d like that,” Jamie said. “But…”
“I do need time to consider all that you shared,” said Perenelle. “Perhaps you should go now and explore your family home, and we shall talk further afterwards.”
Jamie nodded reluctantly. “But when we’re done?”
“Then, or soon after, I will offer what discernment I can,” Perenelle said. Then, as Harry turned to lead the way from the room, Perenelle made a shushing motion, and Jamie nodded.
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Perenelle had remained seated; after Jamie and Harry left the room, she leaned back and closed her eyes, lost in thought.
“Clavis Avallonis?” Dumbledore asked quietly. He had entered the room several minutes earlier, standing quietly, watching Perenelle.
“Your Latin is as at least good as mine, Brian,” she replied, her eyes still closed.
“I know the words,” he paused as she opened her eyes, peering intently at home, “but am uncertain of their portent.”
Perenelle nodded, opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow.
“It would seem that the reverse is not true,” Dumbledore continued, looking at Perenelle speculatively.
“There is little of which I am certain.” Perenelle sighed.
“I am troubled by other things as well.”
Perenelle again arched her eyebrow.
“I find that the few times that I recall subject of Avalon ever came up between us, or between Nicholas and I, that the subject was quickly changed.”
Perenelle nodded. “Perhaps… that is so.”
“And… Harry and Ginny. I have come to suspect you have been training them both in the long lost forms of that isle.”
“The Wyvern Way,” Perenelle replied, her eyes suddenly defiant. “I am.”
“But… how?”“Suffice it to say that I am the last remaining practitioner. At least… on this side of the sundering mists.”
“But Harry… is a boy?”
“Yes.” Perenelle looked thoughtful for a moment. “I am… foresworn. Yet… even so, other exceptions have been made.”
“You mean…?”“Indeed. And that child was not even magical… even though at the end, he passed through the mists.”
“What lies beyond that passage?” Dumbledore asked.
“I cannot be certain… while the paths through the mists were closed from both sides, means were left that they might be reopened. I do not find that nearly as disturbing as finding Voldemort’s agents attempting to uncover them.”
“Then… the answer might be there?”
“Part of it.” Perenelle sighed again. “When the paths were closed, the key was in two parts. We will at best find but half there.” She hesitated. “But Jamie… Jamie seems to be being drawn to the other half.”
It was Dumbledore’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “This is related to her fainting?”
“Yes. And from what I know, or can speculate, she – perhaps together with Ginny – may be able to find it.”
“A geas?”Perenelle nodded. “Yes.”
“Then we cannot…”
“Help… or interfere.”
“What have you discerned thus far?”
“Very little of which I am sure. Jamie shared her memories of the visions, but I could discern little definitive from them. Jamie believes they were of America.”
“That could prove difficult… in several ways.”
“Indeed. Particularly if Voldemort is also seeking it.”
“Is there anything that we might do?”
“At least not yet. It is my feeling that events shall now unfold quickly.”
Dumbledore nodded. “I did not understand the meaning of the last word. Resurgan if I recall correctly, is I shall rise again, but Caliburn?”
“Perhaps we did neglect some small aspects of your education, Brian. Caliburn you might know better as… Excalibur.”
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“This was your father’s room,” Sirius said, leading the way through a half-open door. “Mine was the one on the other side…”
“You lived here too?” Jamie asked.
“Yeah, I sort of moved in,” Sirius said. “I didn’t exactly see eye to eye with my parents. Lupin spent a lot of time here, too. James’ parents took us both in, and we pretty much had this wing to ourselves. I don’t think this has been touched since we graduated from Hogwarts.”
Lupin nodded. “James’ books and school things are still there in that corner. That’s where he stacked them when we came back here afterwards…”
“That was when he brought Lily here, to meet your grandparents,” Sirius grinned. “That was a crazy weekend.”
“What happened to my… our grandparents?” Harry asked, turning slightly so that he faced away from the group.
Sirius and Lupin exchanged a look. “They were killed not long after that,” Lupin finally replied. “Here, but on the grounds, not in the house.”
“That’s one of the reasons your Dad wouldn’t stay here… after,” Sirius added.
“What were they like?” Jamie asked for Harry, her hand slipping in to his.
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“Ginny? Is something wrong?”
Ginny felt a touch on her shoulder and turned enough to see Cassandra behind her.
“It’s Harry… he’s upset… and sad.” Cassandra sat beside her as Ginny shrugged. “Sirius is taking him and Jamie through the house. I didn’t go with them; I thought just the two of them should…”
“I understand. It is a great deal to take in all at once. Being here, suddenly and unexpectedly, must be hard on them, especially Harry.”
“The graveyard upset him too. He was more worried about finding his parents’ graves than the Death Eaters. Even though he said he wanted to come here, just in the last day or two.”
Cassandra nodded. “It is one thing to come by choice, and another entirely to be forced by events.”
“Yeah, but… just how much can he take? And I… I feel like I should be doing something. But I don’t know what.”
“Even as you feel his worry, he feels your concern.” Cassandra smiled. “That means more than mere words can express.”
“And then, in the church… what did all that mean? Even Madam Flamel seemed fri… um, worried.”
“I was not there, child.” Cassandra’s manor had changed. She was now staring intently at Ginny. “Perhaps…” she said, holding out her hand. Ginny placed her hand in Cassandra’s and closed her eyes.
“I am not sure,” Cassandra whispered several moments later. “I must speak with Albus and Perenelle. But, in the meantime, will you do something for me?”
“Okay.”“Watch Jamie closely. Regardless of what should occur, ensure that she is not left alone. And try not to involve any of the others, even Harry. Will you do that?”
“But…”“We will talk further, and soon,” Cassandra said as she stood and hurried away.
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