"Something wrong Harry? You look nervous." Sirius commented with a grin. He and Harry were had just arrived at the Greengrass's home and were standing in front of the door waiting for someone to answer their knocks. Harry looked at Sirius and frowned in response to his statement.

"I'm fine, Sirius. And I'd appreciate it if you stopped trying to make me panic about this. It's a calm lunch, nothing to be worried about." Harry replied. Sirius snickered but didn't say anything else. Their wait did last much longer because the door soon opened and revealed Daphne who was smiling brightly at her visitors.

"Harry!" she said excitedly as she rushed forward to hug her boyfriend for the first time in a few weeks.

"Don't mind me, I'll just avert my eyes." Sirius said as he began to look away.

"Good to see you again too, Sirius." Daphne laughed. "Please come in, everyone's waiting." Daphne led her two guests through an impressive hallway lined with portraits of Greengrass's from days past and into a room that felt somehow more relaxed than the other parts of the house Harry had seen. This room was circular with the outer edges lined with large, leather couches. The walls contained not portraits but a huge mural that showed a mountainous landscape. The mural was obviously magic, as Harry could see the trees swaying in the wind and even animals moving about. As interesting as it was, Harry only gazed at it for a moment before focusing on the family in the room that had stood to greet their guests.

In front was young Astoria, who Harry had come to know better since beginning to date Daphne. She waved at Harry as he came in but then tried to straighten up and act formal as perhaps her parents expected her. To Astoria's left was her father, Daniel Greengrass. Harry wasn't sure what he had expected the man to look like but he had to concede that Daphne was correct in one sense, he was intimidating. The man was tall and broad, reminding Harry of what the professional beaters he had seen at the Quidditch World Cup looked like. He had short dark hair that was beginning to gray but that did little to detract from his overall youthful appearance. He was not smiling, but the look in his eyes showed that he was enjoying the tenseness of the situation. His wife, Penelope Greengrass, stood beside him. With her flowing blonde hair and and bright blue eyes Harry thought she looked much like an older version of Daphne. Unlike her husband, she was smiling towards Harry and Sirius.

"Sirius, a pleasure to see you again." Daniel Greengrass said as he stepped forward to shake Sirius' hand. "I was delighted when I heard you weren't actually a raving psychopath."

"Ha! In the eye's of the law I'm perfectly sane." Sirius answered with a grin. "It's a different story to those who know me, of course."

"Indeed." Daniel replied. "Harry, welcome to our home. We've heard a lot about you."

"Thank you, Mr Greengrass." Harry said uncertainly.

"Why don't we all sit down for a bit." Daniel suggested. "We can all get to know each other." Harry and Sirius nodded and they all took their places on the couch. Harry had Sirius on one side and Daphne on the other and felt somewhat comfortable in the situation. Astoria, meanwhile, was having a hard time suppressing her laughter.

"So, Harry, how has your summer been so far?" Daphne's mother asked, trying to start the conversation.

"Oh, well a lot better recently." Harry answered. "I moved in with Sirius. It's great." Penelope Greengrass smiled at his answer but did not ask anything else.

"Well Daniel, I suppose we both know why we're here." Sirius said suddenly, surprising Harry. "I am the boy's godfather and legal guardian after all, so we should be able to handle this quite easily."

"Sirius, what are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"Excellent!" Daniel replied. "I am sure we agree in principle to the major issues, now it's just the details to work out."

"Father, what's going on?" Daphne asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Nothing for you to worry about, dear." Daniel answered. "Mr Black and I were just going to hammer out the details on your marriage contract. We'll be done in time for lunch, I assure you."

"He's right." Sirius agreed. "We aren't going to request anything out of the ordinary after all. The Potters are an old and respected family, plus with your relationship with Harry your father and I thought you'd both be thrilled by the idea."

"Now wait a second!" Harry said loudly. "Daphne and I aren't going to... what I mean is not now obviously... not that we're planning anything! But we're just fifteen! Sirius, do something!" Sirius was able to keep a straight face for about five seconds before he finally burst into laughter which soon spread to the rest of the room, minus Harry and Daphne. Harry looked around in confusion for a moment before realizing the whole thing had been one big prank.

"The look on your faces was priceless!" Sirius laughed. "You did excellent in your part by the way, Daniel."

"I see you still like a good prank, eh Sirius?" Daniel said between chuckles. "Just like I remembered."

"How dare you!" Daphne yelled, although she knew she would have thought it was funny if it had happened to someone else. "That was not a nice prank."

"Oh dear, don't be angry." Penelope said. "You know as well as I do that our family hasn't used a marriage contract in over two hundred years. Why would we ever start that foolish tradition again now?" Daphne's jaw dropped open as she realized that her mother was right and she should have recognized the deception. Still angry regardless, she sat back on the couch and glared at her father and Sirius. Harry held her hand but said nothing, knowing that it would be stupid to get in the way of an angry Daphne.

"I'll get you back for that one Sirius." Harry promised.

"I know you'll try, pup." Sirius replied, still laughing.

"Lunch is ready." Penelope announced. "Let's move the party into the dining room, shall we?" Everyone stood and followed her through the house and into the dining room were an elaborate meal had been laid out. As they ate everyone seemed to grow much more comfortable around each other and soon Harry and Daphne had forgotten about the prank that had been played on them. Harry quickly found that he liked the Greengrass family. They talked and laughed and genuinely loved each other in a way that he had never seen the Dursley's act and Harry realized that it was the way a family should be. His fears about Daphne's parents disliking him were erased they continued to chat during the meal. The Greengrass's, meanwhile, weren't sure what to expect from their daughter's boyfriend. Although they did not trust anything that had been written about him in the press they still hoped that Daphne had chosen a young man worthy of her. Despite their high standards they were pleased with Harry's kindness and the obvious affection he showed towards Daphne. A smile and a nod between the parents let them each know that the other would not object to the relationship.

More than an hour had passed and lunch had long since given way to dessert but the conversation had not died down. Eventually Penelope asked Astoria to help her put everything away leaving only Harry, Daphne, Sirius, and Daniel in the room.

"Daniel, can we speak without worrying of being overheard in this room?" Sirius asked.

"Of course." Daniel assured him. "What's this about?"

"Harry already knows, and I'm sure he'd just tell Daphne if she weren't here for this so I'm just going to come out and say it." Sirius began. "Dumbledore wanted me to offer you membership in the Order of the Phoenix." Daniel sat back in his chair and sighed as if he had somehow expected this.

"Not surprising, I suppose." Daniel said finally. "Tell me Sirius, what do you think of the Order?"

"I'm not quite sure what you mean." Sirius answered. "Everyone in the Order is dedicated to bringing about the destruction of Voldemort."

"It isn't your dedication I question, it's your methods." Daniel commented. "What real action has Dumbledore taken against the Dark Lord since his resurrection? Anything? No, I thought not. I have the same goals as you do Sirius, I just question if following Dumbledore's lead is the best way to accomplish them."

"Oh we have our own problems with Dumbledore, believe me." Harry said. "But still, I don't think he's evil."

"No, neither do I." Daniel replied. "But he doesn't have to be evil to be an arrogant fool whose days of leading the fight against dark wizards should have ended fifty years ago. Forgive me if this is a sensitive subject, but Daphne told me of the prophecy. And I already knew that the Dark Lord had made at least one Horcrux, possibly more. These are important revelations that should prompt action. Dumbledore is still a powerful wizard and if it is your destiny to oppose the Dark Lord then he should be training you in addition to helping you hunt down and destroy every last Horcrux. But what has he done instead? Locked you up with your muggle relatives until your godfather was forced to come rescue you." Harry found he really could not argue with Daniel's logic and nodded in agreement.

"Harry and I plan on destroying what remains of Voldemort's soul this summer. Soon he will be mortal again." Sirius vowed.

"Yes, and what does Dumbledore say of that?" Daniel asked.

"We didn't tell him what we were planning." Harry answered. "But he'd probably want us to leave it to him."

"I concur." Daniel said. "What would be expected of me if I did join the Order of the Phoenix?"

"I'm not quite sure." Sirius answered. "To be honest, we're not doing much right now. We'd need you to help gather information, and fight alongside us when there is need."

"I would be gathering information even if I did not join the Order." Daniel replied. "And is the information gathered by others shared freely? Or does Dumbledore hold it all for himself?"

"Somewhere in the middle, I suppose." Sirius said with a sigh. "Fine, you've convinced me that the Order isn't the most useful group around but what's the alternative? Join the Ministry? Even with Amelia Bones in charge they aren't capable of handling the problem."

"You're right of course." Daniel assured him. "And in another situation I would probably just stay out of the fight altogether. But things are different this time around, neutrality is not an option."

"Is that because of me and Daphne?" Harry asked.

"Partly, but not completely." Daniel answered. "Most of the blame falls on my brother. But besides that the world will suffer irreparable harm if the Dark Lord is not stopped. There must be a force to oppose him, but that force can not be led by Albus Dumbledore."

"Who should lead then? You, Daniel?" Sirius asked skeptically. "No offense but there aren't many people who would choose you over Dumbledore."

"This isn't about prestige or winning recruits!" Daniel insisted. "All we need is a small group of people willing to do what has to be done to end this war, even if that means violating Dumbledore's rules of engagement. I'm not asking you to quit or betray the Order, but you and I both know that the Order of the Phoenix won't stop the Dark Lord this time just like they didn't stop him last time."

"You're wrong." Harry said. "My mother stopped him, and she was in the Order."

"And she did it by using a ritual that demanded she sacrifice her life for you. Do you think Dumbledore ever would have approved that method if he had known?"

"No." Harry answered truthfully. "Probably not. So what now?"

"Now I reluctantly join the Order of the Phoenix." Daniel answered.

"What?" Daphne said, speaking up for the first time in the conversation. "After all that, you're going to join anyway?"

"Besides giving me access to information I might not otherwise have it will solidify my reputation as 'one of the good guys' in their opinion." Daniel explained. "There are people in the Order whose help I would gladly welcome, but in order to convince them of my point of view I must win their trust."

"You make it sound like you're infiltrating the Order." Harry said with a small frown.

"In a way I am, Harry." Daniel answered. "But I promise to be honest with you and Sirius. Hopefully our combined efforts will be enough to stop the Dark Lord." For a few minutes after that the table was silent as each person took the time to think about what they had discussed. Harry's instinct told him that Daniel's opinion on the war was correct, but the idea that such a small group of people could defeat Voldemort and his army still seemed crazy to him.

"Now, on to more serious matters." Daniel said finally. "Just what are your intentions towards my daughter, Mr Potter?"

Harry's head jerked up in surprise at the question but found Daniel and Sirius both smiling back at him trying not to laugh. Harry stammered, trying to think of what to say, but when everyone started laughing he realized they weren't actually expecting an answer. Relieved, he began laughing too. For the rest of the afternoon they did not discuss the war again, but even so it was on each of their minds.

A little while later Harry, Daphne, and Sirius arrived at the apparition point in Diagon Alley where they we supposed to meet Remus and Neville for their day out. As they looked around they saw that Neville was already there and looking through the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies where they were displaying the newest broom from the Nimbus company.

"Neville!" Harry yelled, trying to get the other boys attention. Neville's head shot up and he began looking around but it took him a few moments to find Harry and the others because of the crowds. Neville quickly walked over to the rest of the group.

"Hey guys." Neville said. "You're lucky I waited. I've been dying to get my wand ever since I got here."

"Sorry Neville." Harry replied. "We're just waiting for Moony now." Harry looked back towards the apparition point but didn't see Remus. He did, however, see a pair of Aurors patrolling in front of Gambol and Japes. Neither of their faces looked familiar, but Harry suspected he knew who the female Auror with purple hair was anyway. He wanted to go over and say hello, but they began quickly walking off in the other direction.

"How's your summer been?" Daphne asked.

"Good." Neville answered. "Mostly I've just been getting our greenhouse at home back in order. I don't think my Gran does anything with it while I'm away at Hogwarts and it is always in bad shape when I get there." Daphne nodded politely and then began looking around again. "There!" she said suddenly, pointing away from the apparition point towards another part of the alley. They all looked at where she was pointing and were surprised to see not just Remus but Molly, Fred & George, Ron, and Ginny with him. Remus pointed out Harry and his group to Molly and then made his way over while the Weasley's went inside Slug and Jiggers Apothecary.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone." Remus said as he approached. "When Molly heard I was coming to Diagon Alley she decided she needed to come pick up some supplies. Then the Weasley kids heard about the trip and began begging her to go well... it slowed me down a little."

"No worries, Moony." Sirius replied. "As long as they are OK with Molly I think Mr Longbottom here is eager to get his new wand. To Ollivander's then?"

"Yes!" Neville said excitedly. Harry and Daphne both smiled at their friend's eagerness but understood the reason behind it. Neither of them could imagine ever using a wand other than their own. As the group happily made their way to the wand shop they had no idea that they were being watched, but they were. They would not have recognized the person watching them even if they had known. He was a young Death Eater, one of the first of the new wave of recruits and only a few years out of Hogwarts. Perhaps surprisingly he had not been in Slytherin while there but in Hufflepuff. That fact certainly displeased his family and he was eager to impress them. Perhaps, he thought, this was his chance...

Inside Ollivander's Neville was walking around and inspecting the various wands and other items in the shop. The others, knowing this could be a long process, had decided to sit down while Neville looked for his wand.

"Ah, young Mr Longbottom I presume." said a voice from the shadows. An white haired old man slowly made his way past the huge stacks of wands and approached Neville. "I was expecting you some time ago. What have you been using until now, I wonder?"

"My father's wand, sir." Neville answered, holding out the wand.

"Ah yes, I remember that one well." Ollivander said. "Vine, twelve inches, dragon heartstrings. A fine wand, but perhaps not well suited for you. Come lad, let us go meet your wand." Ollivander ushered Neville back to the stacks of wands and began giving him different ones to try out. Some worked better for him than others, but he had yet to find one that really appealed to him. After over thirty minutes of trying Ollivander handed Neville a wand that looked almost exactly like many of the others he had tried, but somehow he knew this one was different. The moment it touched his hand a comforting warmth seemed to spread up his arm and the wand began to vibrate as if begging to be used.

"Cherry, thirteen inches, unicorn hair." Ollivander announced with a knowing smile. "Go ahead, Mr Longbottom." Neville nodded but his gaze never left the wand he now held in his hand. He gave it a quick swish and a fountain of colorful sparks that crackled like fireworks erupted from the end of the wand. A large grin spread over Neville's face as he brought the wand closer to him so he could inspect it. "I do believe you have found your wand."

"Yeah, this is the one! I know it." Neville said happily. The sound of people applauding finally got him to look up and he saw his friends giving him a standing ovation. Neville blushed and gave a small bow before walking over to them.

"Congratulations Neville, I'm glad you finally got your own wand." Harry said. Daphne nodded in agreement and gave Neville a short hug to show she was happy for him too.

"Thanks. And the best part is I can actually use it this summer." Neville said happily.

"This calls for a bit of celebration." Sirius announced. "Come on, ice cream from Florean Fortesque's on me. Even you, Moony."

"You know I never turn down mint chocolate chip." Remus replied thoughtfully. "Fine, I'm in." Neville quickly paid for his wand and the group headed out of the old shop and back into Diagon Alley. The heavy crowds from earlier in the day had died down a bit, but the street was still full of people. Harry had expected there to be fewer people or perhaps a less festive atmosphere because of the on going war but everyone seemed to be doing their best to avoid thinking about that subject.

After ordering their ice cream the group went to sit on the patio in front of the shop to enjoy the warm day. Harry was enjoying the ability to walk around freely and be with friends after his confinement at the Dursley's. They had been eating and taking for a few minutes when Harry noticed the Weasley's walking towards them, evidently through with their shopping. That is when everything started to go wrong.

The first clue that something was amiss was the rapidly dropping temperature. Most of the people in Diagon Alley stopped walking and began to look around, unsure of what was going on. Harry and his friends knew better and immediately reached for their wands. Only Neville wasn't sure what was happening.

"What is it?" Neville asked as he too pulled out his wand.

"Dementors." Sirius answered with a growl. "Lots of them. Wait until you see them to cast your Patronus charms." Everyone else nodded at his advice.

"Keep your guard up." Remus said. "The Death Eaters use the Dementors as a distraction, and then attack behind them." The Weasley's came running up towards the other group with worry evident on their face. Of them, only Molly had her wand out and seemed to know what was happening.

"Is this what I think it is?" Molly asked nervously. Sirius and Remus nodded in confirmation of her fears and a determined look came over her face. "Kids, I want you to keep your heads down! Turn over that table and get behind it. Keep your shield charms up as strong as you can. MOVE!" None of her children had ever seen her act like this, and it was that fact more than anything that spurred them into action. In seconds all four Weasley children were crouched behind an overturned table watching to see what happened next.

"There!" Daphne yelled, turning her wand to point towards the apparition point they had come through earlier in the day. Over the buildings surrounding the entry way dozens of Dementors were gliding down towards the already frightened witches and wizards. The foul creatures caused a panic in the streets as everyone tried to run from them. No one appeared to be able to cast the Patronus charm, which left everything up to Harry and his group.

"Expecto Patronum!" they all yelled as Harry, Daphne, Sirius, Remus, and Molly cast the Patronus charm. Neville, who had been waiting to get his new wand to learn the charm, instead began casting cheering charms on the others in the hope that it would make their task easier. Sirius' Patronus was, unsurprisingly, a big dog like his animagus form but Remus' Patronus was not a version of his werewolf self but a fierce looking eagle that gracefully swooped towards the Dementors and drove them back.

"Try to surround them!" Harry commanded. "Prongs can hurt them but you have to keep them together!" The others changed their tactics and directed their Patronus' to force the Dementor's towards Harry's Patronus who was maiming and killing Dementors at a shocking speed. Every fifteen seconds or so another Dementor would fall to Harry's overcharged Patronus, but with dozens of Dementors around it didn't seem to be enough. Suddenly two new Patronus' showed up and began helping fight off the Dementors. Harry looked towards where they came from and smiled when he saw Tonks and her fellow Auror with their wands out directing their Patronuses. With their additional help Harry could sense the tide of the battle was turning.

It was then that several loud cracks were heard, a sound Harry knew meant people were apparating in. He desperately hoped they would be on his side, but expected otherwise. They were indeed Death Eaters, a fact confirmed by the long black robes and skull masks. Not all of them were wearing masks, however, and those willing to show their faces Harry recognized as people who were already known to be Death Eaters. There were ten of them altogether and the group included all three Lestranges, Barty Crouch Junior, five masked Death Eaters, and a feral looking man that Harry did not recognize. They began firing curses indiscriminately as soon as they arrived, clearly looking to cause as much panic as possible. The Dementors, however, took their arrival as a signal that their job was done and immediately began to leave the area and their fallen brothers behind.

"Sirius!" Harry yelled, "Do you have a way to contact the rest of the Order?" The Death Eaters apparently had not seen them yet and were still firing at random targets. It was only a matter of time before they started killing people and Harry was having a hard time restraining himself from running into the middle of the battle.

"No." Sirius answered sadly. "We're on our own." Sirius growled as he saw the first Unforgivable of the day cast by one of the masked Death Eaters no more than fifteen feet away from them. It was a Cruciatus curse used on an elderly witch who was now screaming in pain. Sirius could stand no more and in an instant had transformed into his Animagus form and was running towards the unaware Death Eater. Without warning the huge black dog leapt on the man, knocking him down and ending the curse. Padfoot closed his powerful jaws on the man's hand and in the process broke his wand along with several bones. Having defeated his opponent, Sirius transformed out of his Animagus shape and prepared to face a new threat. The screaming Death Eater did not attempt to rejoin the fight, but instead used a portkey to escape. Remus ran to assist his friend, knowing that his attack would not go unnoticed.

"Stay here with the Weasley's!" Harry shouted to Daphne. "I'm going to help them!" Daphne nodded and began looking for a defensible position to fire from near the Weasley's. Neville followed her lead and soon they were both crouched behind a low brick wall that surrounded the patio of the ice cream shop. After a few moments they fell into a pattern where one of them would concentrate on shielding them while the other fired curses at the Death Eaters. It was a wise tactic and before the battle was over they would catch more than one of their enemies unprepared for it.

"Cousin Sirius! So nice to see you again!" a crazed looking Death Eater with long black hair said happily. Harry knew from pictures that she was Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the people responsible for sending Neville's parents to St Mungo's among other heinous crimes. Her greeting came along with a bone shattering curse which Sirius was able to shield against.

"Hello Bella, it looks as though Azkaban was worse for you than me." Sirius answered as he sent a blasting curse back her. She gracefully danced out of its way and began laughing maniacally again before sending a huge ball of fire at Sirius, which luckily for him was stopped with a flame freezing charm from Remus. "Thanks Moony! I knew you'd have my back."

"As always, Padfoot." Remus answered with a grin. Harry was only seconds behind him and soon the three were standing back to back to back, making sure that all angles were covered. Six of the remaining nine Death Eaters had decided that they posed the greatest threat and were focusing on them, while the other three were battling Tonks and the other Auror. Being outnumbered six to three placed them heavily on the defensive, but they were still able to hold their ground. Harry had quickly come to the conclusion that the best use of his opportunities to strike back would be to transfigure and animate different object and command them to attack the Death Eaters. This way they would be able to fight and distract the Death Eaters while he still had his shield up. A bench that had been transfigured into a tiger was able to pounce on Rodolphus Lestrange before his brother Rabastan was able to use a severing charm to slice of its head. In doing so, however, Rabastan lowered his guard and was hit in the leg with a powerful curse from Daphne which snapped his femur in two. He howled in pain but was not willing to let that take him out of the battle.

"Gotcha!" Remus yelled as one of his Reducto curses blasted a masked Death Eater into a brick wall. The man moaned in pain as his body hit the hard surface and evidently decided he had had enough of the battle because he too used a portkey to escape.

"Good one, Moony!" Sirius commented between curses. "Just like old days, isn't it?"

"Confringo!" Remus said. "Almost Padfoot, but Harry isn't Prongs."

"Of course not - Expulso!" Sirius replied. "But remember Hogsmeade, March 1980!"

"Ha! Reducto! I remember, the three of us huddled up just like we are now. We were lucky to survive that one."

"Not lucky, just good!" Sirius laughed. Harry had to shake his head in amazement. In the middle of the battle they were still able to stay calm enough to joke with each other. "Levicorpus!" Sirius' spell hit Bellatrix and she was lifted off the ground and suspended in the air upside down. Sirius sent another curse at her but she was able to dispel the effects and as she painfully crashed to the ground Sirius' follow up spell flew harmlessly over her head.

"Help!" a familiar voice called from the other side of the street. Harry glanced over and saw that Tonks' partner had been knocked out of the fight and she was now facing three Death Eaters by herself. A stunning spell from Neville and Daphne's direction hit a masked Death Eater in the back and knocked him to the ground, unconscious.

"Greyback!" Remus growled as he looked towards the Death Eaters attacking Tonks. Harry remembered the story Sirius had told him of how Remus was turned into a werewolf and guessed that the feral looking Death Eater was in fact Fenrir Greyback. Remus sent one last spell towards Rodolphus Lestrange and then ran to help Tonks. Before he could get there Greyback had disarmed her and was rushing towards her with his mouth wide open as if he were going to try and bite her. He and Remus collided just before Greyback reached Tonks and the two werewolves crashed down to the ground, but they were throwing punches and kicks before they even came to a stop.

Harry and Sirius now had to contend with all three Lestranges but the other two masked Death Eaters had abandoned that fight and were concentrating on Daphne, Neville, and the Weasley's who until then had been able to attack from their covered position without being challenged. They were good enough to keep Neville and Daphne from firing at their fellow Death Eaters, but were also outnumbered as Molly and the twins began to fire spells back at them as well. Ron and Ginny had so far not taken any action except to hide behind the table, but after seeing the others fight Ron was beginning to feel useless and crawled over to where Neville and Daphne were. Neither of them paid Ron much attention and continued to fight against the masked Death Eaters, who were slowly becoming more desperate in their attacks. Suddenly Ron jumped up from behind the wall and shouted "Stupefy!" His poorly aimed stunner missed his target, but his action had left him exposed and one of the Death Eaters pointed his wand towards him and yelled "Avada Kedavra!" The ugly green light of the killing curse sped through the air as Molly screamed in horror. Ron was frozen in shock and fear from the bright light that represented his impending doom.

"Accio chair!" Daphne called, summoning a piece of furniture towards her and into the path of the killing curse. When the spell hit the chair it exploded into a shower of splinters, otherwise ending harmlessly. Ron fell to the ground immediately, shaking with the awareness that he had almost died. He stayed that way while the others continued the fight.

Meanwhile, Barty Crouch Junior had Enneverated the stunned Death Eater which once again put Remus and Tonks at a numerical disadvantage. Remus and Greyback had ended their physical fight at a draw and had transitioned into a magical duel. Here Remus had the advantage but he also had to contend with an extra Death Eater. Tonks had managed to get back to her wand and had her hands full with Crouch and the random spells fired by the masked Death Eater. Remus knew if they didn't do something to change the odds soon they would be in trouble.

"Yes!" Harry yelled in triumph as his piercing curse made its way past Rabastan Lestrange's defenses and struck him in the stomach. The man, who already had a broken leg, grunted apologetically to his brother Rodolphus before portkeying away from the battle. Sirius and Harry were now free to challenge their attackers one on one, Harry versus Rodolphus and Sirius versus Bellatrix. The husband and wife pair were two of Voldemort's most skilled duelers, a fact that had become clear to Harry as the battle progressed. Rodolphus was much better than Crouch, and Harry was having a difficult time landing a decent blow against him. Sirius was not fairing much better against Bellatrix who he had been dueling almost without interruption since the battle began. Her frequent use of the Cruciatus curse had forced him to produce numerous physical barriers to stop it from hitting him or those standing beside him, but it had also made the fight much more difficult.

A loud scream was heard as Tonks was hit with a spell that sent her spinning to the ground with a broken arm. Unfortunately the injured arm had also been the one she held her wand in. She began using her other arm to cast, but it was not nearly as effective. The others, sensing Tonks' weakness, simultaneously sent curses towards her hoping to put her out of the fight for good. Remus jumped in front of her and brought up the strongest shield he could, but it was only able to stop two of the spells. The third hit him in the chest and forced him to his knees. Remus knew from the pain that the spell had broken several of his ribs, but he could not let that stop him. Gathering his strength, Remus fired a blasting curse at the masked Death Eater that knocked him flat on his back and out cold. At the same time, however, Crouch had banished a brick from a broken wall into Tonks' stomach which sent her flying to the ground in pain.

"It doesn't have to be like this, werewolf." Greyback said as he advanced towards Remus. "Join us. When the Dark Lord rules our kind will not be treated as animals or some inferior creature."

"Never!" Remus replied. He then sent a jet of flame towards Greyback, but the older werewolf was able to dive out of its way. Greyback came back up snarling at his attacker and firing a variety of deadly curses. They came at such a high speed Remus was forced to divert all of his attention to Greyback. While that happened, Crouch took the chance to move into a position where he could attack Remus from behind.

Harry was barely aware of anything else going on because of his fight with Rodolphus Lestrange. He had eventually come to realize that while Rodolphus was excellent at dodging and shielding against curses he was also easily distracted which meant Harry could take the advantage with some well timed transfiguration and animation. As he transfigured a pile of rubble into two wolves he saw the uncertainty in Rodolphus' eyes and new he now had the advantage.

Crouch, finally in position, carefully took aim at Remus' back. So far no one had noticed what he was doing, but he knew that could change at any moment. When he saw Remus raise a shield in front of himself to block an incoming attack from Greyback Crouch realized this was his chance and struck. "Inficio!" he yelled as his signature acid spell erupted from his wand and hit the unsuspecting Remus in the back. The surprise attack caused Remus' shield to fail and allowed Greyback's spell to hit him in the chest with full force.

Harry had just managed to bring part of a brick wall down on Rodolphus while his wolves had the man distracted when out of the corner of his eye he saw Remus get hit. Greyback's spell was a strong cutting curse and Harry watched in horror as it tore open the flesh on Remus' chest from his right shoulder to his left hip. He saw, as if in slow motion, blood splatter as the magic ripped into Remus. Remus immediately slumped to his knees and fired off a poorly aimed curse at Greyback which flew harmlessly past him. Remus tried to cast again but his hand was shaking unsteadily due to the pain and blood loss.

"No! Moony!" Harry yelled as he raced towards Remus. As he approached Remus fell on his side to the ground, still alive but in very bad shape.

"Uh oh." Greyback said sarcastically. "Did I kill your puppy?" Harry did say anything in response, but inside him a rage like he had never felt before was taking hold of him. His only coherent thought was to make Greyback pay for what he had done. With a flick of his wand Harry silently conjured a dozen small, silver pellets which began to circle around him as if they were planets in orbit. Greyback laughed at Harry, not believing a teenager could be a threat to him, and sent another cutting curse his way. Harry waved his wand again and an bright yellow shield surrounded him on all sides, very different from a Protego shield which only protected from one direction. Greyback's curse hit this shield and seemed to be absorbed by it. Later, Harry would not remember what spell he had cast. He would only know that he seemed to be commanding the magic to obey his will, and the magic had done so. With another flick of his wrist Harry summoned Greyback's wand to him. It was only then that Greyback realized his mistake. He reached into his pocket for his portkey but could not find it. Evidently it had fallen out at some point during the battle.

"Fine, put me in Azkaban." Greyback snarled. "When I get out, the first thing I'll do is kill you." Harry waved his wand again and Greyback was lifted off the ground with his arms and legs magically held in place. "What do you think you're doing? You won't kill me, golden boy. You don't have it in you!"

"Are you sure about that?" Harry asked. Suddenly one of his silver pellets flew like a bullet and smashed Greyback's knee. He howled in pain as the silver seemed to make his his flesh burn. Then another piece of silver flew at Greyback, hitting him in the shoulder. After this the scene turned into pure chaos. The silver pellets all left Harry and sped towards Greyback. Each one would pierce his body at high speeds and then stop to change course and attack the man again. In mere seconds Greyback's body was covered in holes and his screams of agony had stopped altogether. For a moment his lifeless body hung suspended in the air because of Harry's magic, and all who saw it gasped in shock at the ruined form. Then the spell holding him ended and Greyback's corpse dropped to the ground like a rag doll. Harry stared at it for a second, not really feeling anything, before remembering he also had to deal with Barty Crouch Junior.

Harry turned to face the man whose eyes were still bulging open in surprise from what he had seen. Harry sent a powerful bone breaking curse at him but Crouch was able to dive to the ground and out of the way. Before Harry could send another curse at him Crouch had activated his portkey and escaped.

"Coward!" Harry screamed at the spot where Crouch stood only moments before. He then turned to see how the rest of the battle was going.

"Death Eaters, retreat!" Bellatrix yelled, having seen that they were now outnumbered. She and the others all portkeyed away, even including Rodolphus who had managed to free himself from the rubble that Harry had brought down on him. In the end all of the Death Eaters had managed to escape except for Greyback.

"Moony!" Sirius yelled as he ran over to check on his friend. Harry too rushed over to check on him. When they got there Tonks was crouched next to him sobbing, and it did not take long for Harry to see why. Remus was covered in blood, all of it his own, and Harry knew that there was probably extensive internal damage as well.

"Someone help us!" Harry screamed at the crowds. "We need a healer! Please!" But for a while, no one moved. Finally Molly nodded and ran off to find someone. It was only then that Harry knelt down beside his injured friend.

"You're OK, Moony." Sirius assured him. "We're going to get a Healer, and you'll be fine."

"You're a terrible liar, Padfoot." Remus gasped. He winced, as if the effort to speak had taken a lot out of him.

"I'm sorry , Moony." Harry said as tears began to fall from his eyes. "I should have gotten there faster."

"Not your fault." Remus assured him in a voice that was beginning to get quieter. "Sirius, brother..." Sirius grabbed Remus' hand and held it in his.

"Brother." Sirius replied in agreement.

"Take care of each other." Remus said. "And if anyone asks, tell them my last words were 'Mischief Managed'." Sirius laughed despite at Remus' joke despite the circumstances, and a weak smile formed on Remus' face.

"Damn it, Moony. You aren't supposed to be making me laugh at a time like this." Sirius said. He waited for Remus to say something else, but he didn't. "Moony? Moony? Oh no... oh god no..." In the end there was no last gasp of breath or a sudden lurch, Remus had simply smiled and closed his eyes as the life left his body. As Harry and Sirius cried over their fallen friend Neville, Daphne, and the Weasley's came and formed a circle around them to keep others from seeing their private moment. They too wept at the sight of their former professor.

"It's my fault, Sirius!" Tonks said. "He was your friend, and he died saving me."

"No!" Sirius yelled. "Moony would never forgive me if I let you think that! It's the Death Eaters fault, no one elses." Tonks nodded at his words, but Harry wasn't sure she believed them.

In the background Harry heard yelling and orders being given as the main force of Aurors finally arrived, but it was quickly apparent to them that they were too late. They would be there another hour giving statements and making sure that Remus' body was treated with respect, but all of them wanted nothing more than to leave this place of pain and death. The Order of the Phoenix had suffered its first loss of the new war, but it would not be the last. For now they mourned, but each of them eagerly awaited the day when they avenge Remus Lupin.