What If (Drarry)

Prologue

It was going to be another totally average day Harry'd been so used to in the past few years. Well, not that he doesn't appreciate it. After all, there was no more war, no Voldemort. He had a small flat in central London, near Ron and Hermione's place. And he had the work he always dreamed of: right after he'd graduated at Hogwarts, he applied for an Auror course at the Ministry and completed it with the best results one could expect. Soon enough he found himself working in the Ministry's best Auror group.

He couldn't wish for any better, could he?

On this particular sunny summer morning he thought, he couldn't. Everything just seemed to be perfect. He glanced sideways to the window where the Sun's already blinding beams snuck through the thick curtsins' shield into his room, and thought he was so happy and so lucky to have a life like that.

He was glad that he had two friends with whom he could share everything. Yes, Ron and Hermione had always been at his side. And he was so happy for them. The two friends of his, who'd recently married, and who always greeted him in their home.

He was also thankful to the whole Weasley family, who - though not officially - adopted him; and especially Ginny with whom they could still remained friends after they broke up.

He literally had everything he'd ever wanted, and with Voldemort gone, there could be nothing he should worry about.

He got up, silently snuck to the kitchen and poured a large cup of coffee. While he slowly drank the black liquid gleaming in the morning sunlight, he thought about the cases he was to do at work. He had several minor things like arrest a guy selling fake Felix Felicis or catch the burglar who'd stolen a couple of pygmy puffs from Weasley Wizard Wheezes.

But no, he wasn't thinking about these cases. He focused on the last report he'd got yesterdey before leaving his office.

A letter had arrived from Hermione that said: 'They located them. Tomorrow.'
"So the last bunch of Death Eaters - whom the Aurors hadn't been able to find yet - were located. And today we're going to get rid of them, finally" he thought and silently smirked to himself. "It's definitely going to be my best day."

After Harry drunk his coffee, he had a quick shower and dressed up to his usual Auror robes he always wore for actions then Disapparated to the Ministry. Hermione - who'd been nominated for Minister for Magic lately - and some of Harry's best skilled collegues, were already waiting for him.

"There you are." Hermione gave him a warm smile then turned to everybody. "I believe you know we've located the last Death Eaters. Today you have to find them. If our information are correct, they're hiding somewhere norther from here in the woods. We assume they have a place, like a fortress or something like that. A headquarter. We are sure the wards they put on it is hardly breakable. But we got wind of some of them are lurking in the forest... Maybe they're planning something. We don't know. But until they are out of the wards you can get them. Capture them. And then get into their hiding place. I'm sure you can do it."

"So it's true. Finally we can have them."

"Yeah" Hermione said and gave Harry a roll of parchment. "There are some instructions and strategies. But I'm sure you can deal with them."

"Don't worry, Hermione. I'll be back."

"I know. Just take care of yourself."

"I will" Harry promised and departed with the group of Aurors to retrieve into his office.

Before the action they always had a meeting. They went trough the strategy, planned everything until the last moment and then drank a mug of Butterbear.

"Be careful. Meet there in five" Harry said after he'd emptied his mug and Apparated to the spot Hermione had scribbled down to the parchment.
His collegues Apparated right after him.

"It'll be smooth." Harry thought when he spotted a blured figure in the distance. He was standing on the muddy ground of a forest, resembling too much to the Forbidden Forest on the Hogwarts grounds. Harry shivered at the thought. The last time he'd been in that forest, he died. But now he really didn't want to think about it. Instead he looked around.

All of his collegues had arrived, and now they all looked at him expectantly, waiting for a sign to start the action.

Harry nodded. The group of Aurors started to head towards the middle of the forest where they assuemed the Death Eaters' headquarters to be. Harry led the group. They made their way silently until they spotted a man. He was wearing black robes, his dark brown hair long and dirty. He had a mask on his face, hiding it completely from view. However there was no need to see the man's face. It was enough to know, he was a Death Eater.

"NOW!" hexes started to fly from every direction as Harry shouted his demand.

The Death Eater spun around and started to run, ocassionally throwing back a curse at his chasers. When they arrived at a huge clearing, Harry knew it was a trap. They exactly did what the Death Eaters wanted them to do: follow their bait.

There were Death Eaters all around the clearing, wands pointed at them. They were more than Harry expected. Thirty or more of them. Harry tried to think clearly, but his mind cheated on him. He felt guilty for leading a bunch of Aurors into such an impossible situation. And he started to feel numb as memories came into his mind. He, Ron and Hermione on the huge chess board. When Ron let the Knight beat him off... It was his fault. When he advised Cedric to catch the Cup together. It was his fault. When-

"Hello Potter. Came for a visit, didn't you? Well, enjoy the view. More innocent blood. Just for you."

"Huh?" Harry groaned as he tried to get out of his own suffocating thoughts.

"There's something we have to finish. Our Lord will be proud of us-

"Voldemort is dead!" Harry shouted suddenly.

"No, he isn't! Maybe there's something in you that... makes him disappear - that's why he always wanted to get rid of you - but he's not dead. He will return again. And he will be satisfied with his last and loyal followers. He will thank us to kill you."

"Liar! Voldemort is dead. I killed him! I destroyed all the horcruxes-"

But Harry could never finish the sentence because a curse just rushed through the air only a few inches above his right ear.

And the fight started. Curse flew after curse. And severeal Death Eaters decided to run away. Harry spotted one of them running away towards the middle of the clearing and then... just disappearing into nothing.
"The wards!" Harry thought. "Of course! There's the headquarters."

"Roger!" he shouted to the nearest collegue of his. "Get the cloak and run! At twelve o'clock. Just run! As we talked over!"

He could only hope that Roger understood what he'd wanted. But it seemed so, because Harry could see from the corner of his eyes as Roger disappeared under an invisibility cloak. He new it was a huge risk to send him into the headquarters alone. But he had the cloak on him, didn't he? And who else could go with him? The others were still fighting, one of them, Lucy, was seriously injured, or maybe dead and Harry-

Harry just got rid of a Death Eater and considered to run after Rogers when he heard a deafening bang and saw a sudden burst of flames in the middle of the field. The flames grew bigger and bigger and Harry saw the shape of Roger's body inside them.

Everybody came to a halt and watched horrified as the flames suddenly stopped growing and, after a brief moment, disappeared letting Roger's burnt, lifeless body drop on the ground. All the Aurors stood, their wands still aloft, their mouth open to shout a spell, but the words never came. They just stared at Rogers, trying to find an explanation of what had just happened.

The Death Eaters couldn't wish for any better. The Aurors didn't even notice when they got bounded together, and it also seemed to went unnoticed that Harry Potter was grabbed by a masked and hooded figure and dragged through the clearing, disappearing in the middle.