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Author: Hank Story: Harry Potter and the Sword of Gryffindor Rating: Teens Setting: AU Status: WIP Reviews: 13 Words: 126,113
A/N: I would like to dedicate this chapter to my faithful pre-beta Nancy. I would also like to thank Magnolia Mama, who has taken over beta duties for Shannon, and Promethean Alchemist for reviewing for Britishisms. This praise was also due for chapter 3, but I forgot to add it before it was posted. I hate it when I do that... CHAPTER 4 -- Protecting the Burrow Ron smiled and squeezed Hermione's hand gently. They were seated on a bench on the back porch, where they had come to relax and enjoy the sunset in relative privacy. Hermione's head rested against Ron's shoulder as she snuggled against him. The sky was going dark and the stars were just beginning to twinkle over their heads when they heard Mrs. Weasley's shout shatter the silence. "How in the world can they pull a wizard away from his family at a time like this?" she yelled, angry enough to split nails. Ron cringed. Hell, they could probably hear her all the way to Hogwarts, he thought. He jumped up, pulling Hermione with him, and they made their way to the kitchen where they could hear his father answering his mother's screams. "What am I supposed to do? Quit my job?" he asked. "If that's what it takes to keep your family safe, then yes, quit." "What are we going to do about eating? How will we pay for school? Ginny still has two more years to go," countered Mr. Weasley. "We won't have to worry about it at all if we're dead, now will we?" Mrs. Weasley snapped. "Listen, Molly, I've already contacted Dumbledore to see if he can arrange to help us," Mr. Weasley said in an attempt to soothe his wife's temper. "How can he help us when everyone else is losing someone to night duty?" "Not everyone is." Mr. Weasley watched as his wife's emotional state went from furious to stunned. "I think they're targeting Ministry personnel they suspect of being Order members." "Mum, Dad, we can help," said Ron, intruding on the long silence after his father stopped talking. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley turned their attention to Ron and Hermione. "Erm," Ron said nervously, "Harry's been training us up in defence against the Dark Arts: me, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, and a couple of dozen others. He's been teaching us everything he knows." "Ron, these are Death Eaters we're talking about," replied his mother. "You're not ready to go up against them." "But we already have," countered Ron. "When Harry went to the Ministry of Magic to rescue Sirius, we went with him. We fought against Death Eaters then." "And look how that turned out!" shouted his mother. "You were lucky you didn't get killed -- the whole lot of you nothing but inexperienced children against Death Eaters." "Mum, we're not children anymore." "And you're not of age either!" "Tell that to the little girl they killed, Mum. At least we'll give as good as we get." Hermione grew nervous as she watched Ron and his mother stare each other down. "Listen, Molly, arguing amongst ourselves isn't going to do any good," said Mr. Weasley. "If Dumbledore can't help us, then I'll quit my job and we'll take our chances." "And what are you going to do about your son?" Mrs. Weasley demanded to know. "I'm going to take him outside and find out how well Harry trained him. If we're attacked, we're going to need every available wand." Mr. Weasley looked at his wife. "Ron's right, sweetheart. Being underage didn't save that little girl. If my son's going to die, I want him to die fighting." Mrs. Weasley looked from her husband to her son, all the time not saying a word. She was too upset to talk. "Come on, you two," Mr. Weasley said gently, beckoning for Ron and Hermione to follow him. He left the kitchen quickly, grateful to be out from under his wife's malevolent glare. He felt the same way she did about the children fighting, only he realised that where He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was concerned, their youth and innocence would never be a protection, not when he took pleasure in destroying entire families, preferably before each other's eyes. Ron followed his father, pulling Hermione along with him, over to the stairs. "Ginny, come down here please," shouted Mr. Weasley up the stairwell. "Coming, Dad." said Ginny. "What's going on?" she asked when she descended the staircase and saw the grim expressions on everyone's faces. "I'll explain outside," her father said as he turned to head out to the back porch. "Come with us please." She followed the three of them outside. Mr. Weasley sighed and sank into one of the rickety chairs on the back porch, then motioned for the rest of them to follow suit. "So what's going on?" asked Ginny, worried by the look on her father's face. "The Ministry is pulling some of us for night duty," he replied, looking gravely into his daughter's face. "We're supposed to guard the homes of senior Ministry officials against any Death Eater attacks. It means that I won't be here if anything should happen in the middle of the night." Ginny looked shocked that the Ministry would consider such a thing. "Surely they wouldn't," she whispered. "Yes, Ginny, they would," replied her father. "I think they're targeting employees suspected of being in the Order. Whether they are trying to punish us or put us into situations where we must choose to quit or be vulnerable to the Death Eaters I don't know." He hesitated. "What I do know is that if I can't arrange for adequate protection for my family, I'm going to quit my job so I can stay with all of you and help keep you safe. Now, Ginny, don't be upset," he added when he saw the tears welling up in her eyes. "Ron told me that Harry has trained the lot of you in advanced defence against the Dark Arts." Ginny nodded, the tears still rimming her eyes. "Well then, let me see what the three of you have learned." He smiled as he saw his daughter grit her teeth and quit crying. "I want you lot to stand over there." He indicated a spot next to a large cascading rose bush about twenty feet away from the porch. He then strode about thirty feet away from Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. "All right, defensive spells only," stated Mr. Weasley. "I'm going to fire a variety of spells and hexes against you all and I want to see how well you can block them." He was a little surprised that they seemed almost amused at the idea. Shaking his head, he began firing a series of hexes at them. He started off slowly at first and was amazed when three sets of Shielding Spells went immediately up, each shield interlocking with the others so that all three of the children were protected at once. The hexes he had fired were deflected easily. He smiled, impressed at their prowess, and began firing a series of curses, jinxes, and hexes as fast as he could, enjoying the challenge that their skills presented him. As Mr. Weasley's method of attack changed, Ron's shield grew larger, freeing up Hermione and Ginny to fire counter-curses and counter-jinxes to block the spells. Seeing that they were able to block everything he could throw at them, Mr. Weasley tried some more unorthodox methods of attack he hadn't practised in years. Since he set ground rules that they could only offer defence, he was unimpeded in his assault and continued to fire at them with every curse, spell, hex, and jinx he could remember. "All right, that's enough," he said twenty minutes later, worn out. He walked over to where Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had dropped to the ground, exhausted by the effort it had taken to block all his attacks. "Well now," said Mr. Weasley, "it seems as though Harry is a rather thoroughgoing instructor." "You haven't seen anything, yet," Hermione said, a determined look on her face. "Wait until we're allowed to fight back." Shocked, Mr. Weasley looked at Ginny, who grinned at him, obviously eager for the opportunity to put Hermione's words into action. "That will have to wait until tomorrow," he said, hoping that he would have some daylight and all his wits about him when he faced the three of them again. He was considering another round of practise, after a sufficient rest of course, when he heard his wife calling out that it was getting dark and they needed to come in. "Come on, let's head inside," said Mr. Weasley, not wanting to make his wife more worried than she already was. The four of them walked back into the house, each feeling a little bit better about things. Mr. Weasley kissed Ginny good night at the foot of the stairs and left Ron and Hermione in the living room. He then went into the kitchen to check up on his wife. "So, how did they do?" asked Mrs. Weasley, who stood next to the sink, her eyes bloodshot from crying. "Harry's done a good job," he replied. "They are well trained in defensive methods." "But are they good enough to go up against Death Eaters?" "I daresay they may be," replied Mr. Weasley, hoping to bolster his wife's courage. "Molly, even if I am here, that's only one more wand against who knows how many Death Eaters. At least with the three of them trained, we stand a much better chance at fending off an attack." Mrs. Weasley nodded through her tears. She knew her husband was right, but she also hated the fact that they were talking about risking their children's lives. "I think we also need to look at convincing Fred and George to come back and live with us for a little while," added Mr. Weasley. "We could use the extra wands, especially if Harry's got them trained as well as the others, and I'd prefer them here if something went wrong. If they were to be attacked up in Diagon Alley, it would be just the two of them." Mrs. Weasley smiled through her tears. "I think the promise of a home cooked meal or two might do the trick. I've a feeling they're going to appreciate their mother's cooking much more now that they've spent some time on their own!" Mr. Weasley smiled back at her. "You always were the smart one, Molly," he said as he got up and wrapped his arms around her and tried to comfort her. "We'll get through this, sweetheart. Don't worry." ***** The next morning, Mrs. Weasley's hands shook as she poured herself yet another cup of tea in what appeared to be a losing effort to remain awake. She hadn't slept a wink last night, haunted by the fear that her younger children might have to fight Death Eaters again. She sighed and tears rimmed her eyes as she remembered the loss of her brothers Fabian and Gideon. The cost of defeating Voldemort had been so high. Part of her didn't want to believe that she was living the nightmare all over again, but Molly Weasley was a realist above all things and refused to bury her head in the sand like so many in the Ministry had tried to do. She cursed Cornelius Fudge and the rest of the Ministry under her breath, angry that they had dared to take away fathers and mothers from their families at such a time, and for what? To protect a lot of doddering old fools? She resolved that if anything happened to any of her family, they would all come back to haunt Cornelius Fudge. "Molly!" Mrs. Weasley strode into the living room, cup of tea still in hand, and saw Mr. Weasley's face outlined in blue flames. She had expected him to Floo home for lunch, so seeing him thus was rather a surprise. "What is it, Arthur?" "Good news, sweetheart," he replied. "Dumbledore contacted Alastor Moody, and he has agreed to stand watch over the Burrow on the nights when I'm on duty." "That is good news," said Mrs. Weasley in relief. "It's a good thing Dumbledore and Moody were quick about this," added Arthur. "I've got my first assignment tonight." He paused at Mrs. Weasley's frown. "I will be able to make dinner, sweetheart," he assured her. "Alastor is to meet me at the Apparition point at five o'clock sharp. You won't mind setting an extra place for dinner, will you?" "For Alastor, not at all," she replied. "I'm glad Dumbledore was able to persuade him to come. I'd rather have him than someone I don't really know." Mrs. Weasley smiled at her husband. "I'll Floo Fred and George this afternoon and see if they can lend a hand as well." "Someone's coming," Mr. Weasley said quietly. "I have to go. I'll see you around five." His face disappeared from the flames. Mrs. Weasley stepped up to the mantel, pinched a handful of sparkling blue powder out of a small pot, and threw it into the fire. "Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes," she called out loudly. In a few moments, George's face appeared in her fireplace. "Hello, Mum," he said. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Mrs. Weasley smiled at her son. She was still mad that the twins had not bothered to finish their schooling, but given the difficulties they had endured under Professor Umbridge she couldn't really fault them. Not that she would ever tell them. She just hoped, like any mother would, that her sons would make out all right. "George, I need to discuss something of a sensitive nature with you and Fred. Are you alone?" "The shop's empty, Mum. It's just us." Mrs. Weasley sighed and started explaining. "The Ministry's pulling your father for night duty." "They are not!" shouted George indignantly. "Yes, they are," replied Mrs. Weasley, sighing once more. "That's despicable," said George. "How can they pull a man away from his family at a time like this?" "My thoughts exactly," said Mrs. Weasley. "That's why your father and I would like to ask you and your brother to move back home until this is over. You can Floo to work in the mornings and Floo back home in the evenings. We really need the extra help to keep watch over the Burrow. We also think you two would be better off here rather than at Diagon Alley. If anything should happen to you there, it would be just the two of you. If you're here, there will be several extra wands to watch your backs." "What's going on?" said another blue-flamed head, identical to the first, as Fred's face joined George's in the fireplace. "Mum's said the Ministry's pulling Dad for night duty," replied George before Mrs. Weasley could say a thing. "Those bastards!" "My sentiments exactly," added George. "Now boys," said Mrs. Weasley, as she attempted to calm them down. "Professor Dumbledore has arranged for Alastor Moody to keep watch with us on nights when your father is pulled to duty." "Old Mad-Eye?" asked Fred. "Mr. Moody to you," Mrs. Weasley said sternly. "This ought to be interesting," George said. "Well, at least this way there will be an extra wand," said Fred. "I just hope he doesn't get waylaid like he did when he was coming to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts," George said. "I'm confident that Alastor will work out just fine," said Mrs. Weasley with a measure of finality in her voice. Fred and George sobered up when they saw the expression on their mother's face. Then they flinched at an apparent noise in their shop. "I'll go check on it," muttered Fred, and his face disappeared from the fireplace. "Alastor will be here for dinner at five," said Mrs. Weasley, wanting to change the subject from the painful past to the familiar present. "Are you two going to be able to make it?" "You know, Mum, you really should have told us earlier," answered George. "We started a production batch just a few minutes ago and it won't be finished until around midnight. If we would have known we were invited for dinner, we would never have started so late." "Tell you what," answered Mrs. Weasley, "I'll stay up until you get home and make sure you have a nice, hot supper waiting for you. How's that sound?" "Sounds wonderful," replied George as he broke into a smile. "Thanks, Mum. Is there anything else you need?" "No. Just come home when you're finished," said Mrs. Weasley. "We'll see you then," answered George just before his face disappeared from the fireplace. Molly smiled as she watched the blue flames dissipate, and then frowned. There's one more thing I need, she thought to herself. She needed Harry at the Burrow. She sighed again and hoped Dumbledore would relent and allow him to come, if only for a week or two. ***** The scenery changed instantaneously from elaborate hallways decked out in gold with shimmering blue ceilings overhead and handsome wood flooring underfoot to the simple, pastoral countryside when Mr. Weasley Apparated from the Ministry of Magic to the Burrow. He smiled with relief that he had escaped from the hectic activities of the Ministry as it prepared for a war with Voldemort to the peace of home. "Hello, Arthur." Mr. Weasley glanced around, surprised at hearing a greeting as soon as he had arrived. "Alastor," he said cheerfully when he saw Moody standing there dressed in shabby robes, an even shabbier heavy travelling cloak, and a bowler hat perched on his head so that it covered his magical eye. "It's good to see you again," he added as he shook the heavily scarred hand his old friend offered. "I'm sorry I'm running a bit late. Someone tried to drag me into a last-minute meeting, but I begged off. Being assigned night duty is proving to be a rather useful excuse. Speaking of which, I want to thank you once again for agreeing to watch over Molly and the children." Moody's face became more grotesque than usual as it attempted to twist itself into the closest thing resembling a smile all the scarring and damage from Death Eater attacks would allow. "It's my pleasure, Arthur," he replied. "At least I'm still good for something in this world." "Alastor, you're good for more than you know," retorted Arthur. "I still say you should take the Defence Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts and pass your knowledge on to the next generation." "I tried to, Arthur, and look what it got me," grumbled Moody. "Ten months in a trunk and I almost end up being the vehicle Voldemort used to kill Harry Potter." "If at first you don't succeed..." Mr. Weasley said, trying to pull Moody out of his funk. "Quit, I say." Arthur eyed Moody warily, knowing better than to force him into a long argument. He knew him well enough to know that Moody would consider what he had said, in spite of whatever arguments had come out of his mouth. "Let's head inside," he said, indicating that Moody should follow him. "Molly's probably got dinner waiting for us by now." "Arthur," began Moody, sounding very serious as he got down to business, "I need to find out what sort of resources and capabilities we have available at our disposal. To begin with, what kind of protection do you have on the Burrow?" Mr. Weasley began a short technical description of the anti-Apparition wards and the protective wards that surrounded the Burrow. "Good -- very good, as a matter of fact," Moody said as he considered the information Arthur had given him. "Now, who's staying at the Burrow, and how are they with a wand?" "Well, there's Molly," began Arthur. "I already know what Molly's capable of," said Moody tersely as he cut Arthur off. "What I need to know is what the children can do." "They seem to be quite good, actually," replied Mr. Weasley. "Ron tells me they had some sort of secret club at Hogwarts where Harry was training them in defence techniques. I ran Ron, Ginny and Hermione through some practise drills last night and they did rather well." "That's good to hear. At least I won't have to start from scratch. What about Fred and George?" "They were in the same club and received the same training from Harry, but I haven't got the chance to run them through any drills yet." "Do you think it's safe to say they're at the same level as the others?" asked Moody. "Yes, either the same or higher, seeing as they had nearly seven years of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts." "Excellent," Moody said as they continued walking toward the Burrow. "You know, it's a damn shame Harry's not here." He looked at Mr. Weasley and saw him frown and nod in agreement. "We could really use the extra wand, especially if Harry's been the one doing the training. That boy could be dead useful." "Molly and I have been pleading with Dumbledore to allow him to come, but he has yet to relent. He seems determined that Harry should spend the entire summer with his aunt and uncle." Moody shook his head as he thought about Harry spending an entire summer with no chance to practise his defence skills. "The boy needs to be training, not hiding out," he grumbled. He slowed down and then paused as they reached the front door, inhaling the aroma of cooking that was in the air. "I take it Molly's cooking tonight?" "Of course," answered Mr. Weasley. "We've set an extra plate for you." "Thank you," replied Moody. "It's been a while since I've had cooking as good as Molly's." "You're always welcome at our table, Alastor. Matter of fact, Molly and I expect you to be a regular now that you're watching the Burrow." "Thanks, Arthur," said Moody once again as Mr. Weasley opened the door for him and he walked into the Burrow. Moody took off his travelling cloak and handed it to Arthur, who hung it on a hook by the door. He removed his hat next, revealing his magical eye, and placed it atop the cloak. Alastor sighed and allowed himself to relax as much as he could as he came into the kitchen. He was with friends once again, and could finally allow his guard to drop as much as he would let it. The next thing he knew, he was being smothered in one of Mrs. Weasley's hugs. "Alastor, it's so good to see you again. Thank you so much for agreeing to watch over us while Arthur is on night duty." "It's the least I can do for friends." "Have a seat," ordered Mrs. Weasley as she released Moody from her hug. "I'll be back in a moment. I've got to round up the children for dinner." She left the kitchen in a rush. Moody could hear her shouts echoing throughout the house as she hunted down her children and ordered them to the dinner table. He sat down in one of the chairs as Arthur took his place at the head of the table. "By the way," Mr. Weasley said as he got back to business, "I forgot to mention that I was due to test the children on offensive spells tonight. We stuck strictly to defensive spells last night." "Don't worry," said Moody in a reassuring voice. "I'll run them through the entire gamut tonight. I want to see for myself what they've learned." "Molly, dear, are Fred and George going to join us?" Mr. Weasley called out to his wife as she rushed back into the kitchen. "Fred and George won't be here for dinner," she answered. "They've got a batch of something they're working on and will be home as soon as they've finished, which Fred said would be sometime around midnight or so." "I'll put them through their paces tomorrow evening," Moody said. "By the way, I heard those two put on a really good show at Hogwarts before they left. Just how many of the rumours flying around are true?" Mr. Weasley swallowed grimly. "I'm afraid they're all true from what Ron and Ginny have told me." Moody laughed. "Well, if it's any consolation, at least the two of them are on our side." Noticing the look Molly gave him, he let the subject drop. Fortunately the entrance of Ron, Hermione, and Ginny provided a new focal point for the conversation. "Hello, Professor...I mean Mr. Moody," said Hermione, still nervous about not calling Moody 'Professor'. "Hello, Hermione." "Hello, Mr. Moody," said Ron nervously as he came up to the table. "Hello, Ron," said Moody. He stared at Ron, mentally evaluating him for a moment. Ron shivered a bit at the look he received from Moody. He sat down and only half-listened as Ginny greeted Moody in turn, and was grateful for the distraction his mother provided as she sent platters heaped with food to the table with a flick of her wand. A magnificent looking platter of sliced ham covered with pineapple and maraschino cherries settled in front of him, causing a smile of anticipation. "Ron, your father tells me that you three were in some sort of secret defence against the Dark Arts club up at Hogwarts," Moody said, getting straight to business as he helped himself to the mashed potatoes that Mrs. Weasley had set before him. "Can you tell me a little bit more about it and what you did?" "Well, it all started with Umbridge refusing to teach any practical Defence Against the Dark Arts stuff. She just wanted us to read some book on theory and wouldn't allow us to actually do the spells," Ron answered as he dropped several slices of ham onto his plate. He squirmed a bit under the stare from Moody's magical eye. "Hermione talked Harry into teaching a group of us everything he knows." Hermione blushed nervously as Moody sent an admiring glance her way. "At first, he didn't want to, but like I said, Hermione talked him into it." Ron held the plate of ham to Hermione, allowing her to take a slice. "We tried to do it openly, but the Ministry of Magic came up with some rule that all student organisations had to be approved by Umbridge, so we decided to use the Room of Requirement and keep everything under wraps. We got about twenty-eight students altogether to join the club. Harry was rather nervous at first, but he really warmed up to being the instructor. Did a brilliant job, too," he added as he took the potatoes from Ginny and proceeded to drop several spoonfuls on his plate before passing them on to Hermione. "What did he cover?" asked Moody as he took the sauce ladle out of the gravy boat he was holding and covered his mashed potatoes in gravy. "We started with the basics -- Expelliarmus, Shielding Spells, hexes, jinxes, counter-jinxes, and whatnot -- and went from there," continued Ron as he handed the platter of ham off to Ginny. "We got into some pretty advanced stuff. Harry even taught us the Patronus Charm. We usually met about once a week for a couple of hours. We pretty much practised all winter and spring until Marietta Edgecomb ratted us out." "I understand that the healers at St. Mungo's are still trying to figure out what you did to that poor girl," Moody said with a laugh. Hermione blushed. She had forgotten all about Marietta during the course of the summer. "Serves her right," Ginny said. Moody looked at Ginny for a moment, caught off-guard by the fieriness of her reply. "I must agree." He remembered how fiery Mrs. Weasley's temper had been when she was Ginny's age. He turned his gaze from Ginny to Mr. Weasley. "You know, Arthur, this is totally amazing." "What is?" asked Mr. Weasley. "The fact that one of the students took it upon himself to teach an illegal class in practical defence against the Dark Arts," replied Moody. "Of course, it's also amazing that he had to do it, but then again, given the idiot in charge at the Ministry, nothing surprises me anymore." Moody shook his head at the craziness of the whole thing. The rest of the dinner passed by in the manner of a polite, yet forceful, interrogation as Moody grilled the three students about everything that Harry had taught them. As they came to the end of dinner, Moody looked sternly at Ron. "I know that you three went with Harry and fought against Death Eaters in the Ministry of Magic," Moody said as he stared Ron down, looking as if he was trying to peer directly into the boy's soul. Ron looked immediately to his mother and swallowed nervously. "Erm, yes, sir," he stammered. "What I need to know is, how did it go?" Moody asked. "I can do a much better job training you if I know what your weak points are." Hermione cleared her throat. "It could have gone better." She related everything she remembered of that fateful night, beginning with the paralysing fear she had felt as they found themselves surrounded by Death Eaters. As she finished up the story as far as she could remember, Moody looked to Ron and Ginny to see if they had anything to add. Ron talked a bit about how he was hit with some sort of laughing spell, and then attacked by the brains. Ginny picked it up from there, telling how she, Luna, and Ron had split off from the others, got away from the Death Eaters, and finally linked up with Harry, Neville, and Hermione once again until she, too, had been taken out of action by a Death Eater's spell. She woke up shortly thereafter, but due to the injury she'd sustained before she and Ron met up with the others she could only watch as Harry raced past her in pursuit of Bellatrix Lestrange. Moody nodded, mulling everything over in his mind. "That's not too bad for a bunch of first-timers," he said. His opinion of the youths seated at the table had risen a great deal. "Most normal people in your shoes would have been dead. You would have, too, if it hadn't have been for the Order showing up, but still, all things considered -- and you should know that the Death Eaters you were up against are some of Voldemort's best -- your performance under fire was not at all bad." Moody nodded absentmindedly as he continued thinking about their performance. "This is good." He looked at Mrs. Weasley and saw the vicious glare she was giving her son and daughter, and decided that perhaps it would be a good thing to remove them from the scene. "Ahem," he said as he loudly cleared his throat, "now that dinner is over, why don't we go outside. I want to run you three through some practical exercises so I can determine for myself where we need to start the training." "That's a good idea," said Mr. Weasley. "But what about pudding?" pleaded Mrs. Weasley. "We can have pudding later, Mum," Ron said, grateful for any excuse to be out of range of his mother's temper. He quickly stood up, pulling Hermione with him, and made for the door. Ginny, who had already guessed what Ron was up to, was not far behind. Mrs. Weasley looked over in Moody's direction with a slightly hurt look on her face. "Don't worry, Molly," said Moody reassuringly. "We'll be back for pudding in an hour or two. I wouldn't miss a piece of your pie for the world." "While you keep the kids busy," said Mr. Weasley jokingly, "I'll help myself to some pie. Perhaps tonight I'll even get seconds." Moody heaved himself up from the table. He could tell by Mrs. Weasley's silence that she was not happy with the situation, and he couldn't blame her. No parent in their right mind would want their teenagers chasing after Death Eaters, but given the situation in the wizarding world at the moment, it couldn't be helped. If they didn't chase the Death Eaters down now, the Death Eaters would come after them later, one by one. Either way, you lose. He walked out of the kitchen slowly, leaving Mr. Weasley to comfort his wife. Not having had children of his own, he wouldn't hazard a guess at what Mrs. Weasley was feeling; he just felt sorry for her and left it at that. He followed Ron, figuring that the youngster would take the fastest way out of the house to wherever it was they could practise, and laughed to himself as he remembered how vicious Mrs. Weasley's temper could be. "It is not a good thing to be cornered by a redhead," he muttered to himself as he went through the back door onto the porch. When his normal eye adjusted to the dimming light, he saw the three teens standing there, waiting for him. He surveyed the garden and saw that it would be good for practise. There was plenty of wide, open space where they could throw spells at each other and not damage anything. "I want you three over there," directed Moody as he pointed to a clear area of the garden close to a cascading rose bush. He walked over to another area where he could be reasonably sure that any spells the kids fired at him would miss the Burrow and impact harmlessly on trees or earth. When he reached his position, he turned and without warning fired a Petrificus Totalus just above their heads. Ron and Ginny reacted well, despite being caught off-guard by the suddenness of the attack, and threw up Shielding Spells to block his incoming magic. Hermione fell first, taken completely by surprise. Ron fell next as he rushed to her aid, leaving Ginny to fend Moody off by herself. At first, she stayed strictly with defensive spells, shields, counter-jinxes and counter-hexes. Then, as she began to get a feel for defending herself, Moody noticed that she was launching hexes at him. Her first attempt just missed, but her second hex completely took out his defensive shield. After that, Moody increased the intensity because whatever hit his Shielding Spell was powerful, and something he had never seen used before. "Not bad," he muttered under his breath. Most students wouldn't have lasted half the time with him that she did. It took him several more minutes to take her down as he pulled out all the stops and began using techniques he would have only used if he were training Auror candidates. A second Petrificus Totalus finally brought her down as Moody's fast wandplay wore her out. He walked forward after seeing her fall, muttering counterspells as he came upon each of the children, allowing them to return to normal. After dealing with Ginny he turned and noticed Hermione's frown. "That wasn't fair," she complained as she stood up and pocketed her wand. "Miss Granger, you must remember, CONSTANT VIGILANCE! Death Eaters will not give you time to prepare. Did the Death Eaters you encountered at the Ministry of Magic give you time to prepare?" "No," Hermione muttered. "Well then, don't expect me to, either," replied Moody, who turned to look at Ron and Ginny. He was glad to see they were not particularly upset over the way things went, although as the youngest children of seven they were probably used to being ambushed. "Ginny, you did very well. As for you, Ron," he said, jabbing his finger at the hapless young Weasley, "what in the name of nine hells did you think you were doing? DO NOT under ANY circumstances EVER leave a fellow Auror who is still standing to go to the aid of a downed Auror; chances are they're already DEAD and you've just left both yourself and your partner more vulnerable! If you had held your ground, there's a good chance you and Ginny would have been able to hold me off much longer. In a fight, that could mean the difference between life and death. You're all damned lucky the Death Eaters needed Harry alive, otherwise you would probably be dead right now. They aren't particularly fond of leaving survivors, you know. As far as our training goes, we will train the same way we fight." He paused for a moment and glanced at Hermione before he started talking again. "There's an expression among American Muggles that is particularly applicable to this situation: 'Shoot first; ask questions later'. Do not waste your breath talking to Death Eaters. That's what got Sirius killed." A disturbed hush descended upon the trio as they took in what Moody said. "Yes, you heard me right. Sirius was a brave man, but he was foolhardy. If he had paid attention to what he was doing, he would still be alive today, which is what I need from all of you. I need you to stay alive. You're not doing your friends and family any good if you get yourselves killed, and one of the best ways to prevent getting yourselves killed is to be more aggressive. Take the Death Eaters out before they take you out. And don't feel bad about doing this, either," he said firmly, eyeing Hermione once more, "because you will be using non-lethal spells, unlike your opponents, which is all the more reason to incapacitate them as quickly as possible. Shall we try it again?" he asked. To his relief, all three of them nodded in agreement, not fazed by the quick work he had made of them. He nodded in appreciation; he admired their stubbornness. After a couple of hours of further practise, Moody decided it was time to knock off the training. He had almost completely worn himself out and he still had to stand night watch on the Burrow until daybreak. As the four of them headed into the house, he smiled. Harry had trained them well. Hermione still needed quite a bit of work, but Ron should be able to help him with that. If she could train with him during the day and work with the group at night, she should make the grade. Ginny and Ron were doing splendidly. Ginny reminded him so much of her mother; he would have to remember to share that with Arthur later. "Ron, I need to speak with you for a moment," Moody said after Ginny had gone into the house. Ron saw Hermione look up at him. "Go on, Hermione. I'll catch you up in the kitchen. Save me a piece of pie, okay?" Hermione nodded in agreement. "Grab a seat," ordered Moody gruffly. He sat down and directed his gaze at Ron. "Ron, I need you to work with Hermione on her duelling. She's far too indecisive; she's got to become more aggressive. I want you to practise with her when I'm not here, and make sure you push her as hard as you can. Throw everything you've got into your attacks." "Mr. Moody, how can I attack Hermione?" replied Ron. "She's my girlfriend, for Merlin's sake." "Do you want to keep her as your girlfriend, or do you want to lose her to a Death Eater attack?" "I guess I see your point." "You have to do this, otherwise Hermione's going to wind up dead. She's uncomfortable making snap decisions; she likes to think too much. She's got to learn to react instinctively and immediately. Duelling must become second nature, otherwise she's going to get killed, or worse, become entertainment for the Death Eaters. Don't get me wrong, Hermione is good. She's very good, but if I were training her to become an Auror, I'd hold her back for an additional training cycle," said Moody. He paused for a moment as he saw the long look on Ron's face and remembered what it was like to be in his shoes. "Ron," he began, his harsh manner softening as he remembered the words his trainer and mentor had spoken to him almost a century ago, "you can always blame anything that goes wrong on me. Matter of fact, make sure you tell her I threatened to hex your arse into next week if you didn't do this. That should solve most of your problems," he added, knowing that this would focus any of Hermione's anger onto him, rather than Ron. He winked at Ron with his good eye and then rose suddenly from the chair, and motioned for Ron to do the same. "Come on, let's go get some of your mother's pie before your brothers get here and eat it all." ***** Later that evening, when she heard the sounds of two people tumbling out of the fireplace, Mrs. Weasley got up from her seat at the kitchen table and went into the parlour. "Evening, Mum," Fred said, trying to brush some of the soot off his clothes. "Hello boys." Mrs. Weasley hugged each of them in turn. "Come on, I've got dinner on the table for you," she said as she led them into the kitchen. "What were you working on tonight that was so important you had to miss dinner?" "Chinese Dragons," replied George. "We would have been home sooner, but this particular firework is a bit touchy to make. If you don't do it just right, it explodes all at once and that can be rather nasty." "It's definitely not one you want to rush," chimed in Fred. Mrs. Weasley shook her head as she went over to the cooker and brought a teakettle to the table where Fred and George had sat down. "Ham," said George. "My favourite! Thanks, Mum." "You're welcome." She filled their mugs full of piping hot tea and sat down. While she watched her sons eat, she wondered once again whether or not Fred and George could ever make a living off their mischief-making. She supposed she ought to be mad at Harry for giving them their start, but she found it impossible to be mad with the poor boy and knew in her heart that Fred and George would find a way to do as they wished no matter what. They were Weasleys through and through and nothing she said was going to change that. The sound of Moody's approach distracted her from her musings. When he appeared in the dim light a few moments later, his eyes immediately lighted on Fred and George. "Just the two gentlemen I needed to see," he said as he hobbled over to the table and sat down, his magical eye never wavering. He was glad to see the twins squirming a bit. "Would you like another cup of tea and some pie, Alastor?" asked Mrs. Weasley as she got up from the table. "Thank you, yes," he answered. "Is there anything else I can get you?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she waved her wand and brought a mug of tea and another piece of pie to settle down in front of Moody. "No, thank you, Molly," replied Alastor. "This is quite enough." "Fred, George, what about you two?" "I'm fine, Mum," replied Fred, his mouth stuffed full of ham. "So am I," said George. "All right. I'm off to bed then," said Molly. "I trust you boys can find the pie on your own," she added, not wanting to miss the opportunity to glare at her offspring one last time before she left. She laughed as guilty smiles broke out on the boys' faces. "I'll take that as a 'yes'," she said, and left the kitchen with a smile on her face. Fred and George turned their attention back to their dinner but at the same time kept a wary eye on Moody, who proceeded to eat his pie slowly. On finishing it, he took a sip of tea before turning his magical eye once again on the twins. "Now that your mum is gone, we can get down to business," he said suddenly, startling them. He smiled at the puzzled looks on their faces. "I've already got your brother and sister in deep trouble with your mum. I'd rather not repeat the mistake," he said as explanation. "Anyway, I've heard about what you two did last year before leaving Hogwarts." Fred choked on a bit of meat. George reacted quickly, striking his brother on the back until he spat out the offending morsel onto the floor. "I must say, I was impressed when I first heard about it," added Moody. "I'll bet Dolores never saw that one coming." He paused and stared hard at the twins, pleased to see surprised smiles beginning to form on their faces. "And that, my dear boys, is precisely what I need from you now. I need you two to devise some sort of defence for the Burrow that nobody will see coming. I don't want the Death Eaters to know what's hit them. Do you think you can do this for me?" The tentative smiles on Fred's and George's faces had grown to full grins as they contemplated what Moody wanted them to do. "I don't see why not," George said. "What sort of defence did you have in mind?" asked Fred. "I'm glad you asked that question," Moody answered as he pointed his wand at a ratty leather satchel in the living room. "Accio satchel," he muttered, and it flew through the air straight into his hands. He opened it and pulled out several tatty books, which he passed to Fred and George. "These will give you some ideas to start with. They are Muggle books covering the use of explosive devices and methods of attack or defence, depending on what form of mayhem one is trying to perpetrate. I especially like this one," he added, as he pulled The Anarchist Cookbook off another book with the title Landmines: Uses and Deployment. He stabbed a scarred finger at the book on landmines. "These little buggers are so nasty most Muggle governments have outlawed them." Fred took the book and flipped through its pages, skimming the contents. A wicked smile came over him as he began to get ideas from the book. "Bloody ingenious, those Muggles are," he muttered. He motioned for George to take a look at one of the devices. "A Bouncing Betty?" George asked. "What's it do?" "Think about it," answered Fred. "It hides underneath the ground, only popping up when you want it to, and then POW! -- it takes everything out." George nodded, impressed. "We could definitely do something along those lines." "So, do you two think you can cook something up for me?" asked Moody. "Oh, yes," answered Fred and George together. "Good. I'll leave those books in your care then," said Moody. "Now, if you boys will excuse me, I have to get back to my watch."
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