Chapter 4: A Sucessful and Failed Raid

The mood of Diagon Alley was peaceful. Wizards and Witches wandered lazily from shop to shop, their purses emptying as time went by. Children laughed playfully as they checked out the new broomsticks, The Starfall, a sleek broom that rivalled the speeds of the Firebolt. Six Auror's patrolled the Alley, delighted to be on what was considered the easiest patrol.

The mood would have lasted until sunset if five dark-robed hooded figures hadn't stalked from the Leaky Cauldron. In the lead was a tiny figure, which had to jog to keep up with the fast paces of his colleagues. The group stormed forward, wands gripped in their hands by their sides, passing witches and wizards, who scurried out of their way. Children stopped laughing and hid as the group went past and suddenly everybody knew something bad was about to happen.

As the dark-hooded group strode forward, the Auror's finally took notice that something was happening. The closest of them raised their wand, his eyes narrowed in suspicion as he regarded the group. He opened his mouth to say something, when it all began.

" Deletrius!" Melanie barked roughly, her wand swinging up, and the disintegrating charm burst from her wand, smooth coils of pulsing dark magic slicing through the Auror, who gave a shriek of pain as his arm literally vaporised, hand and wand disintegrating along with it. He collapsed to the ground in a sobbing heap as the group fanned out and the screaming began. Witches and Wizards picked up their children and darted into shops or ducked behind stands.

"The Order of Phoenix!" One of the other Auror's shouted loudly, swinging his wand widely and sending a stream of thunderous flames towards the group. Heat seared through the air as two of the Order members ducked, rolling underneath the flames and springing up on either side of the Auror.

" Rallentando!" Kylie whispered to the right of the Auror, flicking her wand sharply.

" Ampeto!" Douglas muttered to the left of the Auror.

The Auror jerked his wand away from the blazing inferno, which died down immediately, and tried in vain to shield from the powerful curses. But as the globe of silver-rimmed magic sprung around him, Kylie's curse struck his shield and it shattered in a wave of magical shards, which evaporated in a shower of silver sparks.

Douglas's blasting curse struck him in the chest and he was blasted off his feet. His robes were ripped to shreds underneath the powerful onslaught of magic and he flew back in the air, landing on the ground several metres away, oozing blood from a large charred wound on his chest.

" Antere!" Another of the Auror's called out and Douglas gave a cry of pain as something struck him across the face. His vision blurred as he went down under the invisible blow, falling on his side.

" Refgra! " Kylie called out, anger sharp in her voice and her green eyes glinting in rage. The Auror swished his wand and the bone-twisting curse was deflected away, striking a nearby window, which shattered underneath the power of the dark curse. The Auror jumped forward, a dragonhide boot lancing forward, and he kicked Douglas across the face, sending him sprawling to the ground as he turned to duel Kylie.

" Batoak!" He snapped, a sneer on his dignified face and an elaborate thrust with his wand.

" Astempe!" Kylie returned angrily, and a sphere of bronze coloured magic formed around her, which trembled under a powerful invisible blow. Kylie squealed as she was knocked aside by the blow and fell to the ground.

" Reducto!" She screamed out as she landed, her wand aimed in the general direction of the Auror. A flash of red magic burst from her wand and as the Auror went to shield himself, the words on his lips; it ripped through his left leg in a shower of bone and blood. The Auror screamed out as his legs have way and he fell to the ground, withering and groaning in pain. Kylie stood up and with a flourish of her wand; the Auror's face was smashed open under a powerful invisible blow, not dissimilar to the one that had knocked Douglas over. He groggily spat out a loose tooth, blood dripping from his mouth and nose, and blearily looked up, only to meet the sight of a boot slamming down on his head and the angry face of Kylie.

"Douglas!" Kylie called after she had dealt with the Auror, dropping to her knees as a powerful curse rocketed above, searing the air with a deadly heat and exploding in a ball of flames on the ground. She turned to face the new threat only to see Melanie leap forward, her wand swinging gracefully around to combat the other Auror, who met her wand with his. Sparks flew from the top as they fought, sliding forward and backwards like two fencers, their wands their swords, as they parried curses, beams and rays of lights bouncing aside and striking the cobbled-alley, tearing up stones and dirt. Finally, Melanie landed in a silver curse, which sliced into the man's chest. He collapsed in a spray of crimson blood, gurgling madly, before a crimson stunning curse sent him slumping to the ground.

"Can you hear me? Douglas? Douglas O'Connor?" Kylie asked frantically as she waved her wand over his body, incantations spilling from her lips. As golden light seeped from her wand and into the bloody gash on his head, Douglas groaned and his eyes fluttered open.

"You're alright!" Kylie said with relief and hugged him impulsively.

Nearby, Flitwick had dealt with one Auror, stringing him up like a trussed canary and was flicking and brandishing his wand furiously as he duelled with a skilled Auror. Sparks flew through the air as they battled and the Auror retreated beneath the onslaught of Flitwick¸ his eyes glittering furiously.

" Cru…" He began only to snarl out loud as his half-cast curse was parried away. He took another step back, flicking his wand sharply as he did so and a nearby wizard's hat, which had probably been dropped by a fleeing civilian, transfigured into a snarling dog with yellow gleaming eyes, gleaming white teeth and a frothy mouth. It barked angrily as it leapt forward, its face twisted into an animalistic snarl, while the Auror smirked in triumph and with a complicated fluid movement of his wand, sent a rapid barrage of thin slither-like glowing blue shards of magic towards Flitwick, much like a muggle-machine gun.

Flitwick stepped back and twirled on his feet, apparating away with a small crack. He reappeared somewhere down the street and raised his wand, an intense look of determination on his face as the Auror swung his wand around. An amber coloured shield popped into existence around him and the glowing shards of magic disappeared as they struck the shield.

" Weremando!" Flitwick returned, his squeaky voice ringing through the air. The very air around the tip of his wand caught on fire and steam arose from the ground around Flitwick. His wand vibrated madly, searing heat rushing through it until a roaring cascade of molten rock burst from his wand with a loud blazing roar. The ground beneath the splash of lava cracked and blackened and the snarling dog was struck in mid-leap, howling in agony as the lava seared through it. It's fur caught alight and it withered in pain as the lava burrowed right through it, transfiguring back into a wizards hat that promptly caught fire. The stream of lava shot for the Auror, who backed away with wide eyes and prepared to apparate. As he went to do so, something large and firm snapped down on him.

He turned in horror to see Duncan standing ten metres away with a bloody cut on his head and his wand out. The Auror whipped his wand around and prepared to cast a curse when the lava struck him. Immediately he screamed in pain as his robes and hair caught fire. His skin bubbled and churned and his legs gave way as he fell to the ground in spasms, his eyes rolling to the back of his skull as the lava scorched through him. His screams began to die as his brain overloaded on the intense heat and pain he was feeling until he made no noise at all.

Duncan turned away, disgusted at the sight of the Auror being slowly burnt to death and turned to survey the battle. It had been finished within thirty seconds and several mangled Auror bodies lay on the ground, one dead and several critically injured.

"Melanie, get the wands!" Flitwick ordered as he cast a wary look down the Alley. "Duncan, watch her back! Kylie, Douglas, you take the Apothecary!"

Duncan followed Melanie down Diagon Alley, running after her as she sprinted towards the wand shop. It had once belonged to Ollivander, a Wandmaker who had disappeared decades ago. Since then a new Wandmaker had replaced him and as Melanie burst through the door, the Wandmaker, a very tall and thin white haired man wearing a large pair of spectacle, flinched. His customers, a shabby-robed wizard and his wide-eyed son, flattened themselves against the wall.

"You!" Melanie barked out angrily, her billowy blue eyes narrowing as she sighted the Wandmaker. She pulled out a scroll of parchment and threw it towards the Wandmaker, who caught it automatically. She levelled his wand at him and watched as he squirmed underneath his gaze. "I want you to find the most compatible matches with those magical signatures… and I want it done in two minutes! If you don't…" She trailed off.

The Wandmaker nodded hastily and fumbled for his wand, his fingers shaking so badly that he was barely able to hold it straight. He muttered a spell and the first name of the list glowed in a blue-green light, casting a beautiful low over the darkened shop. In the deep recesses of the shops, something else glowed in the same colour and the Wandmaker frowned and waved his wand. A thin box came flying from the large shelves of wands and floated above the scroll. It too glowed with the same colour as the name and the Wandmaker levitated it around and onto the bench.

That's one," Melanie said coldly. "There are still more on the list."

The Wandmaker nodded hastily and got back to work, while Duncan glanced at the shivering boy and the terrified wizard against the wall.

"You'll be alright," He said reassuringly.

The boy flinched and pressed himself into his father's robes. The father swallowed nervously but tried to look brave.

"Whatever business you have here is none of our concern!" The father said, his words coming out in a rush. "We don't want anything to do with your war! It's none of our business!"

"None of your business?" Melanie asked, her beautiful features showing scorn. "You prefer living under the tyrannical rule of Lord Voldemort?"

The father flinched at the name while the boy uttered a single cry of panic and wavered in his stance. "Look, I'm a half-blood! I'm just trying to live my life peacefully! As long as I stay out of trouble, the Ministry doesn't bother my son or me! If they even suspected that I was part of the resistance, I would disappear! Permanently!"

"So, you'll live under a reign of terror out of cowardice," Melanie said in disgust, and the man flushed with anger.

"I have a good life!" He snapped. "My job pays me enough to live off, my son is starting Hogwarts, and I am seeing a rather attractive woman! I don't care who runs the Ministry, as long as they stay out of my life and out of my son's life! The Dark Lord lets half-bloods live as long as they swear to obey him and I don't plan on disobeying him ever!"

Melanie sighed and raised her wand. "Stupefy!" She intoned and the man slumped to the ground to the sounds of his son's screams for help. Another spell saw the boy fall to the ground, stunned and unconscious to the world. She sighed and glanced at Duncan, a bitter smile on her face.

"This is why Lord Voldemort is winning, because people are too afraid to stand up for themselves!" She said and glanced over at the Wandmaker, who had just placed a seventh wand box on the counter. "You better hurry up because your time is running out!"

Two minutes later, the Raiders met up in the middle of Diagon Alley. Duncan and Melanie nodded in confirmation to Flitwick; they had the wands, while Kylie Reilly and Douglas O'Connor were busy shrinking boxes and stuffing them in their robes. The alley was completely silent except for the pattering footsteps of a small child as he finally gathered the courage to sprint from behind an overturned ice cream stand and duck into an alley. Flitwick stood among the general destruction of the alley, his wand tracing fiery runes through the air as he held up a temporary anti-apparition ward, waiting for Kylie and Douglas to return.

"We got them," Douglas said, grinning mischievously as he and Kylie ran forward.

"I think Weasley's going to be happy with her new ingredients," Kylie said, flicking her plaits over her shoulder.

Flitwick beamed at the group, who preened under his gaze, until a shudder ran through the dwarfed wizard and the fiery runes shimmered as the temporary wards came under attack from somewhere else. Another shudder ran through him as the Floo barriers were bought down.

"The floo barriers are down!" Flitwick said and lowered his wand. The fiery runes, no longer powered by their caster, flickered and withered away under the powerful attacks they were facing. "Melanie, cast the mark! Everybody else, to Azkaban!"

" Eternus flamma!" Melanie bellowed loudly, letting everybody hear her voice as she raised her wand above her head. As three of her teammates apparated away, a scorching light burst from her wand and something white-hot and fiery flew forward, towards the clear blue sky. A gigantic phoenix made of dark red and orange flames arose, riding on a sea of sparkling blue magic. It hung over the alley as a symbol of defiance, its posture angry and prideful and its eyes burning bright green.

"Very nice work," Flitwick complimented, just as the door of the Leaky Cauldron burst open. A squad of Auror's surged through the doors, led by three black-robed white masked Death Eaters, spectres of evil that seemed to loom forward. Flitwick grabbed Melanie by the arm and raised his wand. He gathered his magic and unleashed it into one last charm before he disapprated with Melanie. His voice echoed in the alley moments after he left, the only warning to what was about to happen.

"Sir?" Davis managed to gasp out when they had gotten away from the rancid smell of Troll innards. "I was just wondering… um… why didn't you just use a Killing Curse?"

"Several reasons Davis," Harry replied, eyeing the first floor windows of the house. He caught a flash of something blue and levelled his wand, flicking it sharply. The window exploded violently, glass and wooden shards showering the inside of the house. He continued talking as he eyed the house carefully, waiting for his companions. "Firstly, the Killing Curse is rather common. It doesn't inspire fear as well as a mangled corpse. It also takes a fair amount of magic to cast it and we still haven't made our way inside the house yet. There's no use tiring out yet," Harry answered, glancing back at Davis who shivered under the brutal but logical reasoning. "Secondly, we want the people inside the house to escape and to make their escape seem genuine."

A dying roar from the other side of the house echoed in the surrounding forest as Joseph finished with his troll, propelling the mangled beast back into the forest with a powerful banishing charm. He nodded towards Harry and limped over to him, his right hand clasping a wand and his left hand a cane.

"Where are Bowden and Jordan, sir?" He asked Harry in a gruff voice.

Harry opened his mouth to respond before closing it and smiling in amusement as he stared over Joseph's shoulder. The two women were being carried on the shoulders of their trolls, both trolls having a blank look it its beady dark eyes. They troll's lumbered up and Harry eyed them with a small grin as the two women were gently lowered from the shoulders and placed on the ground.

"Imperius Curse?" He asked.

"We could use a few more security Trolls," Jordan answered, the voluptuous woman seemingly pleased with herself. "Besides, we can use them to smash down the house."

"Do you think they've got away yet?" Bowden asked, strands of grey hair flying into her eyes in the gentle breeze. She breathed in deeply and smiled softly with half-closed eyes. "We should keep this house Commander, it would make a wonderful holiday home."

that emerged from his wand was average and best and Harry just spun around on his heel, bringing his black cloak up, and the beam of red light struck the cloak and was sucked up into the rough material, which shimmered as it absorbed the magic.

" Expelliarmus!" The boy yelled again, and Harry flicked his wand calmly, deflecting the hex with ease.

" Expelliarmus!" Harry said, not taking the effort to hide his movements. The boy attempted a shield charm but his movements were jerky and wrong and the magic cluttered around him, never forming, until his wand was ripped from his hand and flew into Harry's hand. The boy paled and took a step back, shielding the small girl from Harry and raising his fists bravely.

"Don't come any closer!" He shouted in a shaky yet confident voice.

"What's your name, kid?" Harry asked in an amused voice while he surveyed the surroundings. He was in a large room that obviously belonged to the children in front of him. There were no Auror's or Death Eater's hidden around to spring out on him and after a few discreet detection spells, Harry confirmed that the kids were alone.

"What's yours?" The kid snapped back, fear and determination waging war in his eyes.

"Harry Potter."

Determination lost and fear prevailed.

"N-No way!" The boy stuttered but he inspected the man in front of him closely. He was wearing dark robes, complete with a dragonhide breastplate, and a dark flowing cloak that twirled and fluttered without the aid of the wind. Emerald green eyes peered from a hooded face, dark hair obscuring the man's forehead, but he could faintly see the famous lightning bolt scar.

"Yes way," Harry answered sarcastically. "Now, what are you doing here?"

"T-This is where we live!" The girl burst out, before uttering a squeak and hiding behind her brother again."

"Really?" Harry asked, genuinely surprised. "I thought that this was a Ministry safe house."

"It was until last week, then my father bought it to live in." The boy answered reluctantly, staring at Harry with fear and hatred. He eyed Harry's wand carefully. "Are you here to kill us?"

Harry frowned, completely ignoring the last statement. "Well, this is what happens when you use two-year-old intelligence." Naturally, the intelligence was much more recent than that but Harry found that disinformation was always a good path, especially since he knew that these kids would get questioned by the Auror's.

The boy and girl were watching his now, but he ignored their stares as he glanced around the house.

"I suppose that you go to Hogwarts?" He asked the boy, who was feeling relieved that the terrible Harry Potter hadn't killed him yet.

"I'm in Gryffindor," The boy said, spitting the last name with disgust.

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing," Harry said, frowning slightly.

"Blood-traitors and mudbloods come from Gryffindor…" The boy began but gasped for breath as Harry flicked his wand and something hard struck him in the stomach, driving all of the breath from his lungs.

"Don't swear," Harry lectured, before he turned to the girl. "What's your name?"

"A-Amelia," She answered, stuttering slightly under the gaze of the well-known traitor and terrorist.

"Does Amelia have a last name?" Harry asked.

"Zabini," Amelia answered softly.

"Zabini?" Harry wondered out loud. "Any relation to Blaise Zabini?"

"He's our Father," the teenage boy growled out in anger, recovering from the blow Harry had given him.

"Really? I went to school with him, you know," Harry said pleasantly.

"I don't care what a blood traitor like you did!" The boy snarled, staring at Harry with hate in his eyes. "Go back to your mudbloods and leave us…"

Harry sharply flicked his wand again and the boy crumpled to the ground as something struck him across the face, a blinding white-hot force that left him stumbling to the ground.

"I think I'll talk to your sister, boy," Harry said, his calm voice never breaking. "She's more polite and much nicer than you are,"

Despite herself, the little girl blushed as Harry smiled at her.

"I apologise for any damage we may have done to your house Amelia," He said amiably. "Purely a mistake on my part, I'm sure."

"Um… that's okay," Amelia mumbled, frowning in confusion at the wizard in front of her. The tales and myths of a psychotic traitor who fought with an animalistic savagery didn't quite match with the wizard in front of her.

"Just out of curiosity, did you like any of the security trolls outside?" Harry asked.

"They stank," Amelia muttered.

"Good," Harry said. "I suggest that you don't go outside until your father gets home. Better off, use the floo and call the Auror's. They'll fix everything up for you."

"We haven't got Floo yet," Amelia said hesitantly. "Father disapparates to work everyday and leaves us alone,"

"Then you should wait for him to get home." Harry said. He turned around as if to leave and disapprated with a small crack, leaving Amelia alone with her dazed brother.

Harry reappeared back outside and instantly uttered a strong curse word, an annoyed scowl on his face.

"What's wrong boss?" Jordan asked, her eyes never leaving the tree line but the worry clear in her voice, while the rest of the team glanced curiously towards Harry.

"The house was sold by the Ministry a week ago. It's a private residence now," Harry answered, frowning in displeasure. "This isn't what I had planned."

"Do we still move to the secondary target?" Robert called from across the clearing.

"No, return to Azkaban," Harry ordered. "If we attack that warehouse now, we'll get the entire Auror department bearing down on us. The house doesn't have floo, so it could be hours before anybody returns and draws the Auror's away."

His team nodded and apparated away from the clearing with small pops, leaving two Trolls who suddenly were free of the Imperius Curse to blink groggily before setting their sights on Harry. One of them growled menacingly and took a thundering step forward, raising its club as it prepared to squash Harry. Harry raised his wand carelessly with a small frown still on his face but noticed a small face peeking from the top window and hesitated, before changing his choice in curses.

" Avada Kedavra!"

" Avada Kedavra!"

Two green flashes later, the Trolls toppled to the ground, their eyes vacant and unseeing but still whole and unbloody. Harry stared at them for a second before raising his arm and giving Amelia a small wave. The head quickly disappeared as Harry raised his wand, before wavering. He appeared to ponder something, then shrugged and continued.

" Eternus flamma!"

A blinding beam burst from his wand and something fiery flew upwards. A gigantic phoenix made of dark red and orange flames arose above the forest, cast on a sea of blue sparkling magic. It hung over the house, its piercing green eyes staring unblinkingly towards the distant horizon as Harry disapprated away.

Attack on Diagon Alley!

By special correspondent Maria Skeeter

Department of Media Affairs

The Wizarding World was left reeling toady after a devastating attack on Diagon Alley left five Aurors dead and one Death Eater dead and over a dozen more wounded. This attack is for sure the worst attack carried out by the Order of Phoenix in three years, matched only by the terrible Westminster murders, where eight high-ranking Death Eater's were murdered in cold-blood. This attack has left the public stunned by the brutal savagery of the Order of Phoenix and many have called for immediate action against the insurrectionary group.

Notorious Filius Flitwick, former Professor at Hogwarts and a known terrorist led the attack today with four companions, using powerful dark magic to take down the Auror's stationed at Diagon Alley before raiding both the Wandmaker's store and the Apothecary and stealing over a thousand galleons is rare ingredients and wands. When reinforcements arrived, led by distinguished Death Eater Terrance Higgins, Flitwick cast a powerful curse that killed three Auror's and fatally wounded Higgins. It left eight Aurors wounded and caused over five hundred galleons of damage. Afterwards, Flitwick cast the dreaded Phoenix mark, a fiery apparition that is associated with death and destruction. Filius Flitwick is also a known member of the radical group, The Order of Phoenix.

The Order of Phoenix is led by Harry Potter; a radical insurgent that was once a key Auror within the previous corrupt and inefficient Ministry. Harry Potter was once famous for his survival of the Killing Curse and the traitorous deeds performed against our rightful Lord. Once a collaborator in the company of the insane Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter is considered to be a powerful renegade wizard who has no regard for the good of the magical world. Known to sympathises and associate with Mudbloods and Muggles, Harry Potter seeks to bring about the complete destruction of the noble ways and the systematic obliteration of the Houses of the ancient families. The Order of Phoenix are pawns in his personal vendetta against the Dark Lord and both it and Harry Potter should be eliminated immediately

However, the destruction of the rebel group is easier said than done. It is a well-known fact that the Headquarters of the Order of Phoenix is situated on the island of Azkaban, a former Ministry prison that was invaded in the last stages of the war. The island frequently changes location, leaving a drawn out siege impossible. The chances of a successful attack by loyal forces would result in hundreds of casualties in our Auror ranks and leave the Ministry vulnerable to attack…

Harry Potter attacks Zabini Family

At the same time as the attack on Diagon Alley, Harry Potter led a devastating raid on the newly purchased Zabini cottage. Blaise Zabini, Head of the Department of Magical Games, was away at the time but his two young children were home. The security trolls present were slaughtered needlessly and Harry Potter himself broke in the house and assaulted Damac Zabini, Gryffindor aged 16, and Amelia Zabini, Ravenclaw aged 12, before fleeing like a coward as loyal Auror's appeared to apprehend him. This attack is only the recent of a long list of crimes that Harry Potter has committed and….