The Ministry Has Fallen

Chapter 5

Harry bit back the yawn that threatened to escape him – he didn't want to appear bored by the trainees, lest he discourage their efforts. But it had been quite the disruptive night for him. A slight scowl took its place in his expression as he reflected on the previous night's events.

The buzzing in his head awoke him, and for a moment, Harry lay where he was, eyes still closed, breathing slowly as he feigned sleep long enough to establish his surroundings. Knowing the wards had been tripped, he silenced them with a flick of his mind as his ears strained to catch even the slightest whisper of sound.

There!

A soft footstep as the intruder stepped closer to him. His skin prickled uncomfortably as adrenaline coursed through him, and Harry forced himself to remain still. Suddenly, there was the brush of cloth as the intruder raised their arm and began to whisper a spell.

"Avada-"

His body surged with energy as Harry lunged from the bed. His assailant was caught off guard, if the startled intake of air was anything to go by. Harry's arm darted out, catching the intruder in their throat and causing a strange choking sound to ring out in the night. Harry didn't pause as they gasped for breath, spinning around and kicking out their knee and driving them to the ground. With a final blow to the back of their neck, the attacker collapsed into a crumpled heap. Only then did he stop moving, his chest heaving from the sudden exertion.

The flaps to his tent flew open, and Harry whirled around, his wand now in his hand. He lowered it upon spotting Seamus and Wyatt, the two assigned to guard him that night. They in turn lowered their own wands in favor of staring at the unconscious figure on the ground.

"It's alright. I took care of him," Harry said, using one foot to flip back the hood of the mysterious assassin. "It's nobody I recognize. Must be a new recruit. In any case, he may not be of any use to us, but it's still worth seeing if we can get anything out of him. Go ahead and take him to a holding cell."

Wyatt stepped forward dutifully, mumbling an apology, which Harry waved off. Seamus stepped further into the tent as Wyatt bound and levitated the man and left with a brief nod to both.

"Harry, this is why we insisted you have an assigned guard at night," he said pointedly. "And this is why we tried to insist upon having us right outside your tent. We don't do any good if we're two tents down."

"The wards alerted you, didn't they? Trust me to be able to hold them off long enough for backup to arrive," Harry muttered, running a hand tiredly through his already mussed hair.

"You're lucky you woke up. What if you're not fast enough one night? What if they figure out a way to get past without setting off the alarm?"

"Then someone else will take my place as leader, and the rebellion will move on," Harry said, a hard edge to his voice. "There's a reason my survival is not common knowledge and why I go by an alias, and it's not just for my own protection. I know what losing me a second time would do to people; hence why only a few know, but that's the risk I take. I'm no different from any other person out there."

Seamus sighed, choosing to drop the matter once again. "Whatever you say, Harry. I'll let you get back to sleep, then. Guess this was another simple matter for you to solve, hm?" He turned and left without another word, leaving Harry to sigh in frustration as he collapsed back onto his bed.

Another night, another assassination attempt. And they weren't getting any cleverer. Groaning, he rolled onto his side, knowing he wouldn't be getting much more sleep that night but opting to try regardless.