Before the Dawn | George Weasley

60

Thunder cracked in the distance as we waited among the storm clouds. A part of me dared to hope that the Order had somehow figured it out, that they wouldn't try and move Harry to a safehouse tonight.

But it wasn't to be so.

Harry and Bill were the first to appear, riding on the back of a Thestral. Dolohov and Miles took off after them, their wands drawn.

Then I caught sight of Harry with Tonks, and my head swam with confusion. After them came Harry and Arthur, then Harry and Kingsley, then Harry and Remus, then Harry and Moody, and finally Harry and Hagrid, the last Harry tucked into the sidecar of Hagrid's flying motorcycle.

Then, it clicked. Those geniuses, they'd used Polyjuice Potion to conceal the real Harry!

Suddenly, it was like I was back on the Quidditch pitch, people flying around me at high speeds and everyone chasing someone else. I dodged Goyle Sr. just in time to avoid his crashing into me, and caught sight of Selwyn streaking after Harry and Kingsley.

I took off after Harry and Tonks, my wand drawn. I caught a glimpse of Thorfinn Rowle out of the corner of my eye, keeping pace with me. Rowle sent a hex in their direction, barely missing Tonks. Then he and I moved at the same time, two bolts of green light erupting from our wands. Mine got there first, hitting Harry, whoever it was, and nearly knocking them off the broom.

Tonks turned just in time to grab hold of the front of Harry's jacket, pulling his limp body back onto the broom stick. I sent another jinx their way, gritting my teeth as it hit the tail end of the broomstick, and, in a flash, they'd gone, disappearing into the night.

Rowle peeled away with a growl, and I followed him back into the fray. Flashes of light were lighting up the night sky, jinxes and hexes being sent in every direction possible.

I caught sight of Rabastan Lestrange locked in a duel with Kingsley, and flew over to join the fight. I sent a stinging jinx over Harry's head, then flew a bit closer, trapping Harry and Kingsley between Rabastan and myself.

Then, as we closed in, Kingsley cast a spell that sent a ring of fire into the night, and I had to quickly jerk my broom upwards to avoid being burnt to a crisp.

A spell flew over my shoulder, then, grazing the side of my neck, and I looked back to see Remus. He'd been aiming for Rabastan, and I glanced over to see that he'd hit his mark, Rabastan's broom spiraling out of control in front of me.

I pulled back to chase after Remus, flying directly above them. The Harry on the back of Remus's broom stared up me with wide eyes, and somehow, I just knew.

It was George.

I clutched my wand tightly in my hand, firing a curse at Remus that I knew George could deflect; at the same time, George was hit in the side of the head by a blast of crimson light. I looked up to see Snape watching us coldly, wand drawn. When I glanced back down, Remus and George were nowhere to be seen.

"Fight like you mean it," Snape hissed as he passed me by, and I fought the urge to hex him then and there.

My heart pounding in my chest, I peeled back to assist Dolohov chase after Bill, and, presumably, Fleur. I hit their Thestral with a stinging jinx, but it didn't seem so horribly affected.

"Crucio!" I cried, Fleur ducking just in time to avoid my spell. I tried it once more, but she deflected it, clutching at Bill with a terrified expression.

Then Voldemort himself arrived.

I watched with wide eyes, the wind whipping my hair around my face, as the Dark Lord hit Moody square in the chest with a flash of green light; Moody tumbled from his broom, falling into the forest below. The Harry he left behind looked terrified and split off in a different direction than the rest.