The Squib and the Werewolf (book 2)

58. Battle Ready

The following day Buckbeak ended up injuring himself, so Raya and Sirius had to heal him before the rest of the Order arrived for their scheduled meeting later that day.
Dumbledore was due to come that evening, so Raya wasn't in the best of moods, as things always got heated when he showed up.
Moody, Tonks, Kingsley, and Remus were all there as well, but the meeting wouldn't start until Dumbledore arrived.
When the fireplace suddenly erupted into flames, everyone turned to look at it, expecting to see Dumbledore's head there telling them he was on his way. But instead, Snape's head hovered there.

"What do you want Snape?" Demanded Sirius.
"It's Potter" answered Snape.
"Harry! What's happened to him?" Questioned Raya.
"He thinks Sirius is in the Department of Mysteries, as I expect the dark lord has just shown him a vision of Sirius being tortured there" replied Snape.
"But Sirius is here. So, where is Harry?" Asked Raya.
"I don't know. He disappeared into the Forbidden Forest with Dolores Umbridge. I am going to go and look for him now, but someone needs to head to the Ministry incase Potter arrives looking for his godfather. Because if he gets there, he will be walking into a trap. The dark lord is trying to trick Potter into going to the Ministry, so that he can get his hands on the prophecy".

"We must go at once, for Harry is in danger" announced Sirius, as he jumped up out of his chair.
"Hold on, someone needs to stay behind, to tell Dumbledore what has happened. And since you are a wanted criminal, that person should be you, as it will be too dangerous for you to run off to the Ministry" replied Snape.
"I am no coward Snivellus. And I will not stay behind, if Harry is in danger. It is my job to protect my godson" snapped Sirius.
"Then perhaps your wife should stay behind. She is a Squib afterall, so she will be no use in a fight at the Ministry".
Raya frowned, "Watch it Snape. I can still punch your face if you piss me off. And you know as well as anyone, that I am a good fighter".
"She's got a point" mumbled Moody.

"I hate to agree with Snape, but he's got a point" admitted Sirius.
"I am not going to let you all risk your lives, while I hide here, for I am not a coward either" replied Raya.
"Someone needs to tell Dumbledore what has happened" reminded Sirius.
"And that someone should not be me, for we all know how much I hate that man"
"You can't just leave Grimmauld Place unattended, since Sophia is upstairs"
"I'm sure she will be O.K for a few minutes on her own, while we rescue Harry".

"I agree with Sirius and Snape, you should be the one to stay here" informed Remus.
"Why? Because you think I'm weak and cannot defend myself? I have fought death eaters before. I am not some fragile, innocent female, who needs protecting" snapped Raya.
"No. But you are a Squib. And if we are to go into a battle, you will be of no use, because this isn't the kind of fight you can help with" replied Remus.
"Says you. Besides, I can't just wait here for news, when everyone I care about is at the Ministry, fighting for their lives".

"You did your fighting in the first wizarding war, so you've done enough for the cause. Besides, if a fight breaks out at the Ministry, you will not be able to help in this kind of battle. You are good at espionage and tracking death eaters, you cannot help us on a battlefield. You have saved our lives so many times, so for once, please let us take the risk instead of you" begged Remus.
"While we are arguing about this, Potter is walking into a trap" reminded Kingsley.

Raya frowned, when she realised she was outnumbered.
"Fine. I will stay here, and tell Dumbledore what is going on, when he arrives. But once that's done, I will insist that he takes me with him to join you all at the Ministry. I am not going to sit this fight out" informed Raya.
"I guess that is the compromise we are going to have to come to" sighed Sirius.
"Alright. Good luck" said Snape, before retracting his head from the fireplace.

Raya hugged Remus goodbye, before turning to Sirius.
"Be careful" she whispered.
"I will" promised Sirius.
"Bring our boy home safe and sound" replied Raya.
"I will do my best".
Raya kissed Sirius softly, "I love you".
"I love you too" murmered Sirius.
Raya then stepped back as the rest of the group held hands and disapparated out of the kitchen, leaving Raya alone.

****

Raya paced back and forth nervously, waiting for Dumbledore to arrive.
And when he did, she almost jumped for joy.
"Dumbledore, thank Merlin, you're here. There's no time to explain. Harry has gone to the Ministry, because he thinks Voldemort is torturing Sirius there. The Order has gone after him, but I had to stay behind to tell you this information. But now that you know what's going on, we both need to get to the Ministry to help the others" announced Raya.

"Wouldn't it be safer for you to stay here?" Questioned Dumbledore.
"Probably. But I don't care about my own safety. My godson, husband, and brother are in danger, so I am going to go to their aid" answered Raya.
"But ever since I reformed the Order, you have refused to take on any missions, because you want to make sure that someone is left to raise your children. And isn't your daughter alone upstairs? You can't just leave her" replied Dumbledore.
"Don't use my own words against me, old man. I am coming whether you like it or not. Sophia is asleep, so no harm will come to her, while I am away. You only have 5 Order members at the Ministry right now, so you need me to bring up the numbers".

"I cannot promise to protect you when we get to the Ministry" admitted Dumbledore.
"Then it's a good thing that I do not need your protection" informed Raya.
"Since I cannot persuade you to stay, I will take you with me" sighed Dumbledore.
Raya removed one of the knives from her belt, and clutched it tightly in her right hand.
"I'm ready" announced Raya.
Dumbledore took hold of her free hand, and apparated the pair to the Ministry.

Once they arrived, they immediately began running towards the Department of Mysteries. And when they got there, they found themselves in the middle of a full scale battle.
People were fighting all over the large room, and it was hard to know where to look, as there was so much going on.
Kingsley, Remus and Sirius were both fighting death eaters, but Tonks and Moody lay unconscious on the floor.
Harry and several of his friends were scattered around the room, trying to avoid being hit by stray spells.
But Raya was worried, because she couldn't see Jamie anywhere. And she knew that if he thought his father was in danger, he would have insisted on coming with Harry, just like she would have done in his shoes.

Dumbledore flew into the fray and took out each death eater that ran at him, with ease.
Raya headed to Moody and Tonks's bodies, and sighed in relief when she found pulses on both of them.
She then tried to make her way over to Harry, so that she could pull him to safety.
"Raya! What are you doing here?" Questioned Harry loudly, over the battle noises.
"Rescuing you of course. Now come with me, and let's get you out of here" instructed Raya.
"You shouldn't have come. It's too dangerous" replied Harry.
"When are you going to get it into your head that I am just as good at fighting as the rest of the Order?".

Dolohov suddenly appeared and shot a spell straight at them, which Raya deflected with the knife in her hand.
"How did you do that?" Asked Harry.
"My knives are enchanted you dummy. Now come on" answered Raya, as she placed one arm around Harry and began dragging him to the corner of the room.
"This is all my fault" mumbled Harry guiltily, as he looked down at the unconscious bodies of his friends.
"Don't blame yourself Harry, this was not your fault. Just please tell me that you didn't drag Jamie here with you" replied Raya.

"No, he's still at Hogwarts. I only brought Hermione, Ron, Luna, Ginny, and Neville" informed Harry.
"Thank Merlin. That means I only have one son to worry about" sighed Raya.
As Raya looked over her shoulder she saw that Dumbledore had managed to subdue all but one of the death eaters, and was now beginning to tie them up.
This was when she realised that the one death eater still fighting, was Bellatrix, and her opponent was Sirius.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" Taunted Sirius, as he ducked below a jet of red light sent by Bellatrix.
But a minute later, a second jet of light hit him squarely in the chest.
Time seemed to slow, as Raya watched Sirius fall back into the veiled archway in the centre of the room.
Sirius's eyes found hers, and they stared at each other for one last time, before he disappeared from view, forever.

Raya released her grip on Harry, and dropped to her knees, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
She could hear Harry screaming in the centre of the room, as Remus held him tightly.
But Harry's cries had no effect on her.
Raya heard Kingsley fall to the ground as Bellatrix hit him with a spell, but Raya didn't even turn her head to check if he was alive or not.
Sirius was dead, so nothing else mattered anymore.