Death Eaters in Daigon Alley - 10

Ginny could see Umbridge shouting at Kingsley Shacklebolt, her face red with fury as she shook her fist in the air. Harry didn't need further prompting. Taking her by the arm, he Apparated them both back to headquarters.

*~*~*

Harry groaned as he slowly drifted back to consciousness. His body felt stiff and achy, and his mind struggled to hold on to the last vestiges of sleep. He blinked several times, attempting to remember where he was. Finally giving up, he reached out and fumbled on the nightstand for his glasses. Finding them at last, he put them on and his room at Grimmauld Place came into focus, He furrowed his brow in concentration, but it was futile; his memory was foggy at best.

He and Ginny had arrived back at headquarters to find Madam Pomfrey treating a wide array of injuries. He'd seen Bill and Fleur, both heavily bandaged but sitting up and talking while Mrs. Weasley fussed over them. Madam Pomfrey had fixed up Harry's arm in no time, but she must have slipped him some kind of sleep potion because the next thing he remembered was waking up here.

Sitting up and throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he stretched and reached for some clothes. He had no idea how much time had passed since his return, but he wanted to find out what had happened after he'd left Diagon Alley, and exactly how many Aurors had been lost. He remembered that Umbridge had been in a fury, and she usually lashed out when she felt cornered. All in all, not a good situation for anybody.

He walked slowly down the stairs, craning his neck from side to side, attempting to work out the kinks. He could smell a delicious aroma wafting up from the kitchen and knew it must be around suppertime. He couldn't have slept for very long.

Pushing open the kitchen door, he found the table crowded with many sober faces. Ginny sat next to her dad, her hand clasped tightly on his arm. Tonks was next to her, looking very pale as she worried her lip with her bottom teeth. Mrs. Weasley muttered under her breath as she continually poured tea for everyone, whether their cups were empty or not.

Hagrid, Moody, Professor McGonagall and the twins were also at the table, but there was no sign of Ron or Hermione.

"Harry!" Ginny said, noticing him standing in the doorway. She jumped up and grasped his arm, leading him to a chair.

"Oh, Harry, dear. How are you?" Mrs. Weasley asked, placing her hand gently on the side of his head. "I thought you'd sleep longer."

"What happened?" Harry asked, unconsciously leaning into her hand.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt's been sacked," Fred replied grimly.

"It's worse than that," Mr. Weasley said. "He and Peter Melanson, the Auror in command of the troop in Diagon Alley have been accused of treason. They're awaiting trial in Azkaban."

"What? Why?" Harry asked, spluttering.

"Because they listened to me and didn't wait for Dawlish to give the orders," Moody said, taking a liberal draught from his flask. "I knew I should've stayed behind and taken the heat instead of him."

"No. You did the right thing, Alastor," Professor McGonagall said wearily. "If you'd stayed, Dolores would've had an excuse to blame the entire thing on the Order immediately. This gives us time to prepare."

"Prepare for what?" Harry asked. "What do you mean? How can she blame the Order for this? Dawlish wasn't even around, and if he was, he certainly should've seen the negotiations weren't working."