Dreams of Home Chapter 75 (Patreon)

(A/N) Reader discretion advised due to strong violence.Chapter 75The gathering at Potter Manor had lightened Harry’s soul in ways he had not previously imagined. Sitting around the dinner table with his grandparents, friends, and family, he felt a fleeting sense of contentment spread through him. No one discussed the war, and conversations remained light throughout the evening. Harry wasn’t sure who he was supposed to be grateful towards, but someone had clearly mentioned not to bring up his past birthdays, which helped keep his mood light.The Marauders were in high spirits and discussing the finishing touches of their Auror applications. Frank and Alice talked of wedding plans that would take place in the fall, and Andi provided updates on her situation with Ted. It seemed the two would marry in the next few months, before she began showing, and Arcturus was satisfied with the outcome, despite the less-than-desirable situation.Arcturus had, of course, been in attendance, but his mood was not as light as the others. Throughout the night, he exchanged whispers with Charlus and Dorea, and each time Harry observed it, he knew they were discussing what would happen tomorrow after the Wizengamot meeting. Harry tried not to let it get in his head, but he knew what would come next, and despite the good spirits around the table that evening, he could never fully immerse himself in the atmosphere. Nevertheless, he was grateful for what his friends and family had done for him.The highlight of the evening was returning to his bed, having had a few shots of firewhiskey with his friends, and finding a letter with a familiar, neat scrawl scratched across the back. He had torn open the letter so fast, his mind could barely comprehend that Elaina had been in his room, and somehow delivered this letter:Harry,First and foremost, Happy Birthday. I wish more than anything I could have spent it with you. I need you to know that the sun will shine upon us again. Please don’t lose faith in me.It won’t be like this isn’t forever,ElainaPS. I swiped this book from my grandfather's library. I don’t think he will miss it.The note sat upon a leather-bound back titled, High Impact Spells, with no author accredited to it. Opening the book, he realized it was completely handwritten, but his mind didn’t wander the pages of the tome that appeared as old as anything that could be found in Potter Manor. Instead, it stared at the familiar penmanship of his girlfriend. It had only been a few days/weeks(?) but one of them needs to be there since he lost her, but it felt like it had been months.Clenching the letter in his hands, he felt a sense of anger and heartbreak pass through him. He could hardly believe she had been so close, and he had missed her. He was usually so in tune with magical presences, but somehow she had eluded him. Perhaps she had learned to mask her presence. He knew Dumbledore could. Or perhaps he was just so distracted that he was unable to focus enough to pinpoint her. Regardless she was gone, and there was still no way of locating her.The teen had done everything he could not to rip the letter in frustration, and instead, he had tossed and turned in his bed all night thinking of what was to come, and what his wayward girlfriend may have been up to.August 1st was usually a day that was never noteworthy in Harry’s mind. Growing up the Dusleys never had treated him to a birthday, and the day after was usually just a time of moping for the young, neglected boy. This year was different, though. Harry had been far more anxious about this operation against the Malfoys The Wizengamot meeting would happen at its usual time in the afternoon, where afterward Arcturus would abduct Lucius Malfoy, and their first strike against Voldemort’s financial power in this time would be made. They would also be removing a major figurehead in the Dark Lord's political games. It was a move Harry knew was necessary, yet still his stomach turned thinking of what would come of any innocent bystanders in Malfoy Manor.Hardening his heart Harry dressed for battle as he paced in the family room of Potter Manor. He was waiting for a message from Arcturus or Charlus with Dorea, and if anyone in the Potter’s ancestral home knew something was amiss, none said a word. Harry had hardly stomached breakfast that morning, but Charlus and Dorea acted as if everything was fine. Iris had attempted to gauge Harry in conversation, but the young man had claimed he wasn’t feeling well from the firewhiskey, which prompted a frown from James, but understanding from his grandmother.James knew how much Harry could drink, and they had purposefully not gotten tossed the night before. The former head boy knew something was up, but didn’t press Harry at breakfast. The suspicion only grew from there when he chose to sit out training that morning, but still, the teen held his tongue. Harry knew James wanted to question him, but he was hardly up to the task of fielding questions.Afternoon turned to evening, and Harry continued to wait for a sign from Arcturus and Charlus. It was to his surprise that the fireplace roared to life in the family room, showing the two lords of the Wizengamot looking grim. Harry stood to his feet at their arrival, “What’s happened?”Arcturus grunted, “Malfoy and his Death Eater pals blocked the Aurors right to lethal force today. The media is treating him like some hero, and he is peacocking around. There was no getting to him tonight.”Growling in frustration, Harry shook his head, “We can't wait around for another month doing nothing.”Charlus looked tired and shrugged, “There is nothing we can do, Harry. Malfoy is untouchable right now.”Frowning Harry thought hard about his options. There were always other Death Eaters they could target, but Malfoy offered such a tempting target, so much of Voldemort's acumen could be knocked down in a single stroke. There had to be a way to get into the Manor. Thinking on the resources he had available, a grim thought crossed through his mind, and his heart seemed to quicken as he voiced his thoughts, “We have one other option.”“What’s that?” Arcturus asked with a frown frozen on his features.“I go in alone under the cloak. Get to Lucius. Force him to lower the wards. Whatever it takes.” Harry said gravely.“Just like that?” Charlus scoffed.“Just like that.” Harry agreed.“If Lucius didn’t lower the wards, there is a good chance Abraxus would rip you apart with them.” Arcturus countered, “I am not familiar with the Malfoy family's ward scheme, but you can bet it's the best money can buy. They wouldn’t be friendly.”“I’d make every second count.” Harry said blankly, “If we go tonight, we may even catch him coming back from celebrations. Any advantage we can get we should take. The cloak will get me through the wards. I will make Lucius lower them, and you two could come in and create the anti-apparition wards while I torch the place. By the time they realize what was happening, it would be too late.”“It’s too dangerous. The risk doesn’t weigh the reward.” Charlus said through gritted teeth, clearly unhappy with the direction of the conversation.“We can’t wait another month or longer to get a shot at the Malfoy’s. The clock is ticking, and already they have dealt us a huge blow. Take the Malfoy support off that bill today, and the Aurors would be able to combat these bastards with lethal force.” Harry said with a clenched fist.The two men stared warily at Harry, and he swallowed hard, “Charlus, you could appeal the bill right? In the next Wizengamot session?”“I could.” Charlus said after a long moment.Clapping his hands together, Harry shrugged, “The way I see it, we take out Malfoy, you appeal the bill, then next time, the Aurors might just have what they need. In the meantime, we could eliminate another influential vote if necessary.”His eyes went back and forth from each war vet reiterating, “Whatever it takes.”“This is reckless, even for you, Harry.” Charlus growled out.Not in the mood for the man’s games, and feeling his temper from the day before threatening to spill over, he stepped to where he was nearly nose to nose with the man saying, “Either help me, or get out of my way.”Charlus said nothing and after staring the man down, Harry stepped away shaking his head, “I will be leaving at midnight. Are you with me, or not?”Charlus looked to his longtime friend, and Harry followed his eyes to his godfather who had a dour expression on his countenance. Arcturus then removed a cigar from his robe pocket, and snapped his fingers, causing small embers to appear on the end, “He’s your boy, Charlus. I know you won’t leave the lad to operate alone. What’s it going to be?”Sighing, the man shook his head, “Dorea might kill us.”Scoffing, Arcturus grunted out, “We might as well hang ourselves here in the doorway if we leave him to operate alone. She loves the lad as if he were her son. I suspect she will want to follow as well.”In acceptance of his oldest friend's words, Charlus nodded towards his son, “We will be ready.”“We go at midnight.” Harry said, departing the room and leaving silence behind him..o.Harry knew what he was doing was foolish. The plan was foolish, desperate, and risky. The teen wasn’t sure why he was so determined to do it, but he had to act against The Dark Lord. He had to make him pay for what he had attempted to do to his family in Cokeworth. The audacity of the man to attack them on his birthday only sent hot rage through his chest. He wanted to make the man regret crossing him, and killing Malfoy would be a way to do it.Walking up to the gate under his cloak of invisibility, Harry felt his heart rate begin to rise in anticipation of what was to come. Getting through the ward line wouldn’t be an issue with the cloak. He knew from experience that the Deathly Hallow passed down through his family was capable of getting through any magical barrier, but still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that one day it would fail.The gate that led to the front of the property was tall and made of iron with large spikes at the top. The gate was surrounded by tall hedges that would stop him from taking any conventional means of crossing onto the grounds and he pondered what he would do. Any misstep or tug at the wards that went wrong would notify Lucius or Abraxas that there was an intruder. This was not a mistake he could afford to make. Under his cloak, Harry waved his wand in front of his body, casting the disillusionment charm around himself. When he was satisfied with the charm work, he stepped directly in front of one of the hedges and steeled his nerves as he prepared to trust in his spellwork. With one hand, he gripped the cloak tightly and with the other he pointed his wand into the air murmuring the words, “Ascendio.”With a jolt, Harry flew through the air, just over the hedges. When he began to come down, the cloak began to slip off him as suspected, and with quick wand movements, he cast cushioning charms on the grass below him, and hit the ground in a roll. The cloak had flown off him after he crossed the wards, putting his disillusionment charm to the test, and as soon as he bounced off the pillow-like ground, he scraped backward desperately in an attempt to cover himself once again. The disillusionment charm wasn’t bad in a pinch, but under the cover of night in the territory of an enemy that would do everything in their power to kill him, Harry would rather be completely invisible. The teen also didn’t want to risk the possibility of another layer of wards sprouting up at any point in the property. Just because it was unlikely, didn’t mean he would chance the operation.The cloak of invisibility was once more draped over his body as he surveyed the massive manor before his eyes. Malfoy Manor would always be a terrible place in his memories. He would never forget the day Bellatrix had tortured Hermione here, and the day he had lost Luna. Any mercy or doubt in his mind died as he remembered the killing curse that struck Luna down. Lucius Malfoy would pay for the death of his friend. One way or another.Walking in through the front door didn’t sound like the ideal plan in this scenario, so Harry surveyed the perimeter of the house as he slowly moved through the dark, careful not to uncover himself from his cloak. It took several minutes for Harry to cross the grounds and find a side door he believed he could open with ease. A flick of his wand unlocked the door, and it creaked open much louder than he would’ve preferred. As he crossed into the Manor, Harry did not recognize where he was, and his eyes searched for something familiar. With a gentle wave of his hand, the door clicked behind him, and suddenly a pop was heard, and Harry’s eyes widened at the sight of a small house elf.“Who's there? Dobby heard an intruder.” The high voice croaked out.Harry’s heart raced at the sight of his old friend. He could hardly believe that he had forgotten the little elf and he choked at the sight of his wide tennis ball searching the area, “Dobby knows someone is there. Dobby will protect his family.”With a snap of his fingers, a frying pan lifted from a corner of the kitchen he stood in, and Harry swallowed hard. If he stunned the little elf, Dobby would certainly perish when theyburnedt the manor to the ground. If he revealed himself and attempted to negotiate, there was a chance he would blow and the Malfoy’s would know he was there. Everything would be for nothing.His mind swirled with questions and fears of what should be done, but after a few moments of Dobby searching the room with his eyes the elf shook his head, “Master, struck Dobby so hard he is hearing sounds.”Remembering how the Malfoy’s treated his old friend before Harry freed him sent a course of fury through his stomach. There had to be a way to free Dobby and burn the house down. His mind searched for possibilities as he crossed through the house. The decision would have to be made on the fly. Perhaps when the house was in flames, he could reveal himself, stun the elf, and help him escape with his life.“Homenum revalio.” Harry whispered and a blue pulse left his wand, scanning the home, and showing him the outline of half a dozen people in the manor. Pinpointing and determining who was who in the home would be a task he had not thought of.It appeared there were three couples in the house, and he may only get one chance to enter a room and find Lucius. Each step of the way indicated a new problem he had not foreseen and he shook his head at the hair brained plan he had concocted. First, Dobby was on high alert, and now he wasn’t sure which member of the family was which. If he stumbled into the room of Abraxus Malfoy first the gig would be up. If he began firing spells, even in a tactical manner to execute the other two members of the house, Dobby could sense him. The house elf was proving to be quite problematic, but he could not bring himself to do what his mind was screaming at him to do. Stun the elf. He will be fine. He will escape.The humane part of him, however wondered, what if he didn’t? Would he kill an elf that risked everything in his time to save his life on multiple occasions. An elf that rescued him in one of his darkest hours. He owed the elf more than that. If any member of the house lived to tell the tale of an intruder, however, the gig could be up, and the other Death Eaters would bolster their defenses.Swearing under his breath, Harry moved to the part of the manor where he had seen one of the couples with his revealing spell. Abraxas may not be the head of the family anymore, but it was unlikely he would give up the master wing of the home, which Harry believed sat at the top of the house. This left a coin toss decision on which room he would enter. He was not even aware of who was in the other room. Guests? Friends? Other members of the Malfoy family he was unaware of?Shifting uncomfortably at another unknown factor, Harry approached the door he was closest to. Soft moans could be heard through the door, one clearly masculine and one clearly feminine. Through the noise, Harry was unsure if the sounds were coming from Lucius Malfoy or not, but at least he knew for certain he would have to act quickly when he entered the room. There would be no second guessing. If he was wrong he would have to hurry to the other side of the house, and attack the other couple, while also suppressing Dobby in a way that wouldn’t kill the little elf.Taking a breath, Harry decided to investigate further and walked across the hallway, to the stairwell, that would take him up a level. Upon arrival to the next level, the middle level of the house, Harry moved to the other room he suspected Lucius to be in. As he approached the door he heard a woman sobbing. Wishing more than anything he had an extendable ear, he pushed himself closer to the door. A few moments passed when another female voice spoke in a tone he could barely hear, “Quiet girl. Before they hear you. The Malfoys don’t like criers and will kill you if you are unfit for their desires.”The other girl sobbed back, “They will kill us either way. It doesn’t matter.”“That would upset Mr. Rowle. He won’t kill us. Besides, Mr. Rowle already paid us. He wouldn’t pay dead women. Just do your job, and we may get through this.” The woman said with doubt, clearly evident in her voice.Harry’s eyes widened at the conversation he overheard. Another problem to the puzzle. Innocents. Were they really innocent though? Harry asked himself. The oldest line of work in the business was hardly a role model to society.They don’t deserve to die though. Harry argued with himself, feeling the weight of his upcoming decision. First Dobby, and then the decision with the girls. How was he supposed to do this? Possibly kill innocents in the crossfires of his ultimate goal?You’re too weak to win this war. A female voice that sounded like Elaina said in his head. Tightening the grip on his wand Harry swallowed and turned around walking back to the first bedroom he had come across. He knew Lucius Malfoy was in there. He was so sure. He could burst in and make the man pay. Hurt him. Get the wards lowered. Maybe he could save the two girls, and Dobby, but he wouldn’t jeopardize the war. He couldn’t. The Malfoys had to die tonight.Storming into the room Harry quickly took the cloak off and in a swift motion fired a stunning hex at the nude woman that was on top of the long blonde-haired man and froze Lucius with a quick slash and non-verbal incantation of petrificus totalus.Gently closing the door behind him and waving his wand in a Z pattern to ward the room to be silent, Harry grinned at the naked man before him, “Hello Lucius. I don’t think we have met before. I am Harry Potter. I am sure your Lord has told you all about me.”With a nod towards the tattoo on his arm, Lucius' eyes seemed to alight with fury. Harry merely strolled across the room shaking his head and making short tutting sounds to mock the man, “I always knew you would be a disappointment in the bedroom. I knew your son after all. Pathetic excuse for a wizard. You see Lucy, I am afraid for you it is true…I am from the future. A future where you killed…a really good friend of mine. I never got to avenge her in my world. Lucky for me I get a second chance.”Surging forward Harry grabbed the man by his long blonde hair roughly and slammed his fist into his face several times, breaking his nose, and certainly dislocating part of his jaw. When he was done he ripped the man out of the bed and tossed his bare body on the bedroom floor, “Incarcerous!”Ropes shot out of his wand and tied the man up, and Harry twisted his wand aggressively causing the rope to become barbed wire. Another wave of his wand and the man was no longer stiff as a board. Instead, he writhed against the barbed wire, causing his face to scrunch up in pain. The man moaned and groaned in agony, before saying, “I’ll kill you, Potter!”“Funny!” Harry chuckled, “I was just thinking the same about you.”Harry conjured a knife, twirled it in his hand and slammed it into the upper leg of Lucius making the man scream in pain. Blood poured from the wound Harry inflicted, and Lucius fell over to his side unable to stop the pain. Harry pointed his wand at the man, and said coldly, “You see Lucius. My friend Luna was an innocent girl. Not even of age. I never got to find out how you treated her as a prisoner, but by the haunted look in her eyes, I am almost glad I never found out. Now she wouldn’t want me to torture you, that just wasn’t in her nature. It wasn’t in mine either, until you and your friends made me this way, but still…I am willing to give you a chance. Lower the wards.”“Piss off.” The man spat angrily.Harry looked at the saliva that landed on his boots, and he shrugged, “Honestly I was hoping you wouldn’t cave too fast.”With a flick of his wand, another knife was conjured and Harry slammed into the inner thigh of his opposite leg. Now the man vomited from the pain as he screamed himself hoarse. Harry didn’t stop there with a mighty blow. Harry swiped the man with his fist three times before grabbing him by the hair again, “I don’t think you understand the position you're in Lucius. I have become a decent healer thanks to my mum. I could bring you back from the brink of death and do this all over again. Make no mistake, you will meet death tonight. The question is… do you want to meet him in five minutes? Or five hours?”Lucius gurgled the blood, and Harry cleaned him up with a few casual casts of scourgify. Grabbing the man’s cheeks, Harry asked, “What will it be?”For the first time since Harry met Lucius Malfoy, he saw fear in the man’s eyes, yet still, they both knew it was only a matter of time before one of the house elves or Abraxas found out what was going on. Resolve appeared in the man’s eyes and Harry grabbed the man by the hair again, allowing Lucius to spit blood in his face, “Fuck you. You won’t break me”Harry conjured a towel slowly and wiped the blood off his face, before shoving the rag in the man’s mouth taking his wand about an inch from the man’s eyes he said, “I don’t like that defiant look in your eye, Lucy. You say I won’t break you. I disagree.”.o.Arcturus and Charlus began to shuffle impatiently, knowing that Harry was taking longer than they expected. The Potter Lord gruffed out, “Harry wasn’t ready for this. We should never have let him do this. Abraxas or someone in the house will be onto him in moments.”Arcturus just stared at the house with a cold expression on his face, “Don’t underestimate the boy, Charlus. I have the feeling we are about to discover exactly what the boy is made of.”“You think he can break Lucius?” Charlus asked.“A month ago, no. That girl was becoming his lifeline, though. His lifeline to his humanity. He was already a ruthless bastard on the battlefield, just like his old man…but now we are about to unleash a monster on the Death Eaters. One that will win at any cost.” Arcturus said with a grim tone, “We may not like what we see when we go in their Charlus. Every time I have doubted the boy he has come out on top. I doubt he is going to let me down now.”“All of this has turned out to be a disaster. First Elaina goes to that bastard, and now my son is going dark.” Charlus said tiredly, “When did we lose control of all this?”Arcturus shook his head and turned to face his friend, “The boy isn’t going to become some Dark Lord, Charlus. Do you remember what we were like when we first arrived on the continent? We killed everything that moved for months. We would be poor excuses for wizards if we judged the boy now. Not after everything he lost to these wretches.”Charlus pondered his long-time friend's words carefully. It was hard to remember those days clearly now. After all these years, he hardly thought much about his time on the continent. Of course, with the resurgence of the Dark Lord his mind drifted back to those days more than he would like, but he knew Arcturus was right. They had done horrible things for the sake of their world. Watching a boy who he considered his son to have to go through those things was just harder than he wanted to admit.Taking a deep breath, Charlus knew he had to be stronger for his son. This war presented all new challenges that he had spent his whole life fearing. The war had come to his backyard. His son was fighting in it. Everything he had fought for on the continent seemed in vain as his stomach turned with every second his son was fighting behind enemy lines with no backup coming until his part was successful. He closed his eyes and his fist clenched tightly as he prayed for the first time in decades. He begged any higher power above that would listen to give him a chance to get to his son.A blast that rocked the ground around him made his eyes snap open and he looked to the house where flames were erupting out of the west wing. Arcturus grunted out, “The boy did it. The wards are down.”Charlus didn’t waste another second as his wand set to work to bring up a new set of wards to trap all of the occupants inside. He was betting Abraxas would go to investigate the disturbance instead of fleeing, and by the time he discovered what happened, it would be too late. If the man was smart enough to flee then he would never discover the identity of his attackers. Harry had done the hard part, and his wand whipped around in circles knowing that he and Arcturus would do theirs.As soon as the wards were complete, Arcturus nodded to his friend, “That should do it. Let’s go.Without hesitation, he turned into his apparition to the front doors. With a flick of his wand, the doors went flying off their hinges, and he stormed inside his wand at the ready. When he entered he heard Arcturus roar out, “Fiendfyre!”The man was an expert with the cursed flames and he watched as the flames began to attack the east side of the manor. Charlus raced upstairs and made it up two flights, his heart racing, as he whirled around the corner and saw something that made his heart skip.Harry was covered in blood and held a small elf in his arms. Charlus ran towards him at full speed, and before he could even ask the first question, Harry shoved the elf into his arms, “This little guy is more important to me than anything else. Please don’t ask right now. Get him out of here. There are two women upstairs I need to attempt to save, and I will make sure Abraxas doesn’t escape. He can’t use the wards so he stands no chance against me now.”Charlus was incredibly conflicted by the request, “We were supposed to take Abraxas together.”“Send Arcturus to me. The elf is paramount. We are already victorious here. No matter what happens, the cursed fire will take the last of Malfoy's life. Get Dobby out of here.” Harry demanded.Charlus swallowed hard. He had never had to take orders on a battlefield. This was Harry’s fight though, and he had to trust his judgment. Taking the little elf in his arms he looked at his son with a stern look, “No messing around. Abraxas has never wronged you. Kill him and escape.”The area behind them collapsed causing a massive explosion of fire to hurl towards them. With a flick of Harry’s wand however he pushed the flames back, and yelled out, “Go Charlus!”With that the boy spun on his heel and took off in the opposite direction. Charlus for his part turned and blasted his way through the next room and enlarged his shrunken broom before mounting it and taking off, hoping Harry and Arcturus would escape quickly..o.Harry tore his way through the house, and dismantled pieces of falling wreckage before they could create barriers that would stand in his way. When he made it to the room that the two women were in he let out a grateful sigh of relief. The door had been blasted apart, undoubtedly by the witches that were inside. His greatest fear was that they would be muggles, that they would be incapable of escaping, but it appeared that their lives were in their own hands now.Storming his way back to the staircase, he damn near his lost head by a purple curse that Arcturus sent his way. Harry shouted out, “It’s me!”The older man growled, “Where the hell have you been? Taking a stroll? Where is Charlus?”“Dad is doing me a favor. Abraxas will be our responsibility.” Harry responded by taking the lead up the staircase to the highest floor of the house.“We are going to have a hell of a time escaping this.” Arcturus shouted behind him.“I will tear apart the wards on my way out. You should be able to follow behind easily.” Harry countered.The man offered a sarcastic bellowing laugh, “You think you can just tear through our wards boy?”Grinning at the man now, he shrugged, “Watch me! Now let’s gut this bastard, and get the hell out of here.”Harry was grateful the man didn’t question his look. The teen knew he must look maniacal, covered in the blood of the now-deceased Lucius Malfoy. That however didn’t stop his godfather, as the two took the top floor quickly and were forced to separate as a green curse came sailing down the hallway.“Black! You bastard. Why are you here?” A voice roared out at the end of the hall.Harry was taking cover behind a nearby wall, while Arcturus just continued to stride forward, “You know damn well why. Your master tried to kill me, and now I am simply returning the favor.”Abraxas attempted to curse his godfather, but the old war vet slapped the curse to the side and returned fire with a familiar purple curse that Harry recognized from the Black family grimoire. Wasting no further opportunities, Harry seized the opportunity to besiege the Malfoy Lord with a variety of curses from his godfather's family magic. Together the two picked apart Abraxas Malfoy who fought desperately for his life, but was no match for the two together.When Harry hit the man’s wand arm with the rotting curse, the oldest Malfoy screamed in pain as his wand disintegrated. Harry surged forward and ripped the man’s robe back that covered his left arm and confirmed what he already knew, Abaraxus was a marked death eater, “This symbol is the reason we came. Your son suffered a horrible death before I came for you. You doomed your line to extinction. Any final words?”“Fu-”Before the man could even finish his expletive, Harry had slashed the man’s throat with a flick of his wrist, “No one cares to hear your final words Malfoy. Goodbye.”With a kick to the chest, the man stretched for his throat in his death throes, and Harry turned to face his godfather, “Our work here is done. Ready?”Arcturus watched the man before them take his final breaths and nodded after another moment. The flames around the house were becoming worse and worse and the floors were becoming unstable as a section of the house began to cave in. Nodding towards his godson, Harry closed his eyes for a moment, grunted in pain, and then disapparated away.