Death Eaters in Daigon Alley - 5

"Where're Harry and Ginny going?" George asked, covering Bill as he moved closer to a group of Death Eaters.

"Dunno," Ron shrugged. He really wasn't all that concerned about it. He knew Harry would protect Ginny with his life, and he could get out of just about anything. He'd proved that many times in the past. Ron suddenly felt guilty for the way he'd treated Harry that morning. Ron knew that Harry would give his life for any one of the Weasleys – even Percy. He should've known that.

Suddenly, the Aurors finally started to do what they'd arrived to do and began casting spells back at the attacking Death Eaters.

"'s about time," Fred said, shaking his head in disgust. "The Aurors finally quit yakking and have decided to join the fight." He ducked as a red beam of light zoomed alarmingly close to his ear.

"Bugger!" Ron shouted as the ground shook beneath his feet. Raising his eyes, he could see a massive green skull forming in the sky with a hideous green snake slowly oozing out its mouth.

"That spell came from the rooftop," George said uneasily.

Ron swallowed resolutely. "Harry can take care of himself, and he'll take care of Ginny, too."

They continued moving forward until they joined a group of Aurors huddled together.

"Wotcher, Ron," a familiar voice said.

"Tonks!" Ron said, startled.

"Bloody mess, innit?" Tonks said, tossing her head. "Umbridge is a daft idiot. We must have lost close to twenty Aurors before Kingsley got Melanson to agree to stuff her orders."

"Have they got control of the bank?" Ron asked.

"Nah. They'll never get inside. The Goblins have their own kind of protection. This is a form of intimidation. People will panic when they hear about it. It's Voldemort's way of showing everyone exactly who's in charge," Tonks said, shaking her head.

Ron aimed his wand, firing repeatedly at the Death Eaters, who were now pulling back and taking cover.

"Some of them got past us, so some of the shops further down could still be in trouble," Tonks said. "We'll have to worry about that later. Right now, we've got to try and get to the top steps of Gringotts. The Death Eaters calling the shots are holed up there."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Fred asked incredulously. "There's no cover."

"That's why they chose it," Ron snapped. "It's good strategy."

Ron watched as Bill attempted to get closer, his ravaged face covered in soot and grime. Suddenly, something bright and enormous illuminated the sky overhead, moving toward Gringotts.

"What was that?" George asked, but there wasn't time to contemplate as the Death Eaters began attacking with renewed intensity. The fighting was fierce, and Ron struggled to focus on the battle at hand and not on what might have happened to Hermione.

From the corner of his eye, Ron saw a large, masked Death Eater emerge from an adjacent building. He watched curiously as the man barked something at his cohorts standing nearby. The other Death Eaters began moving away from the building while the one who'd emerged and aimed his wand directly at the door.

"What the–" Bill never finished his sentence.

"Morsmordre," the man cried.

"Bloody hell, he fired that inside the building," Fred shouted.

"Fleur!" Bill shouted, suddenly moving out from behind his cover and running towards his wife, who was standing directly across from the building.

Fleur turned, her beautiful face contorted in concentration. Her eyes widened in surprise seeing Bill barreling towards her before the world began to shake.