Chapter 554: Death Eaters Are So Useless (Edited)

Harry had been surprised to see Fish and the others, but now...

Not happy at all!

Harry clutched his chest...

My heart ached.

It was suffocating.

"Harry, how have you been?"

After confirming Harry's identity, Lupin reached over to shake hands with him, who looked depressed.

"Fine..." replied Harry weakly.

Lupin greeted him briefly and then introduced him to the members of the vanguard.

After meeting everyone, Lupin said, "Now just wait for the signal to tell us that all is well and we are ready to go." He looked out the kitchen window, "We have about fifteen minutes."

Since they weren't going to leave so soon, curious wizards began to glance at the Dursleys' "novelty" items, and only Moody remained on guard.

As soon as Fish knew there was still time left, he ran into the living room and turned on the television, prompting a group of wizards who had never seen the world to exclaim.

"This is Muggle television, isn't it?". Dark-haired, rosy-cheeked Hestia Jones exclaimed in surprise. "I heard the professor mention it in my Muggle Studies class." She approached Fish, looking interested, "I've never seen it in person before! How does it work?"

"It's very easy! With this you can change the screen. And you can adjust the sound level."

(?`?′?)?

Fish happily grabbed the remote control and showed Hestia how to use the TV, to which Hestia made a fussing sound in coordination.

Elsewhere, Harry tried to ask Lupin about recent events, but Moody prevented him on the grounds that it wasn't safe.

After a few more words, Lupin cautioned, "Anyway, Harry, you'd better go get your things, we'll be on our way as soon as the signal comes."

"I'll give you a hand." Tonks said cheerfully.

Her father was a Muggle, so she knew more about Muggle things, and she wasn't as curious as the others.

But as she followed Harry back into the hall and up the stairs, Tonks kept looking around with interest and curiosity.

"It's too neat," she said, "You know what I mean? It's a little unnatural."

In contrast to Tonks' scruffy father, the decent Dursleys were used to keeping the house clean...although Harry did much of the work.

The fifteen minutes passed quickly, and by the time Harry and Tonks had unpacked and returned to the living room, it was almost time to leave.

"Great," Lupin said as he looked up and saw Tonks and Harry approaching, "We've got about a minute. We should go out into the garden and get ready. Harry, I've left you a letter, tell your aunt and uncle not to worry..."

"They won't worry." Harry got angry and said.

"...Say you're safe..."

"That will only disappoint them."

"...Also say you'll see them again next summer."

"Does it have to be?"

Lupin smiled slightly, but didn't respond.

Fish turned off the television at Professor McGonagall's urging, as did Hestia Jones and Sturgis Podmore, who had just become fans and were discussing the need to install a television in their own homes.

As Professor McGonagall cast the invisibility spell on Fish and Harry, they all cast theirs, and then they all walked through the living room and out the back door onto their Uncle Vernon's beautifully manicured lawn.

"Clear night sky," Moody muttered, his magic eye scanning the sky, "It needs a bit of cloud cover. All right, listen, "he told Harry gruffly, "We'll fly forward in tight formation. Tonks goes in front of you and you stay behind her. Lupin will cover you from below, I'll be behind you, and the others will circle us in the middle."

As the more experienced Auror, Moody methodically arranged the formation and such, but hesitated a bit when it was Fish's turn.

"Well... if you... don't get out of line, Fish, that's fine." In the end, he said nothing more.

But Professor McGonagall was quick to add something to Moody's unspoken request, tapping Fish lightly on the little head and warning him seriously, "When you come back, don't fly around like when you came in, stay close to me, do you hear me?"

"Ow~~~"

?(?`o′?)?

Fish replied with a groan, covering his battered head.

Then Moody said something more sensational, "If we all get killed, you'll be the only one left alive, Harry, and the trailing guards who are ready to take over at any moment. Keep flying east and they'll find you."

"Don't worry, with Fish around, no one will die nya!"

?(?`?′?)?

Fish said with confidence and verve, "Fish is powerful!".

"Get on the broom, that's the first sign!". Just then, Lupin said, pointing to the sky.

High above their heads, a bright red spark burst from the stars. They all mounted their flying brooms and stood by.

"Second signal, let's go!" shouted Lupin, as another spark, this time green, exploded high in the sky.

The group took off and flew off the ground, rising quickly into the air.

"Left, left, there's a Muggle looking up!". Moody, hanging at the back of the group, swiveled his magical eye, watching for movement below and directing the group.

The leader, Tonks, heard his voice and made a sharp turn to the left, followed by Harry and the others.

"We need to fly higher...a quarter mile higher!"

"Head south! There ahead is the city!"

"Head southeast, keep going up, there's a low cloud up ahead, we can fly and hide in it!".

Moody kept shouting instructions according to the terrain conditions, and everyone changed course from time to time following his instructions.

Only when he asked to hide in the clouds did Tonks object, "But not in the clouds!" She exclaimed, exasperated, "We're going to drown, Mad-Eye!"

Fish obediently followed Professor McGonagall, without changing direction, but as they climbed higher and higher, Fish noticed Professor McGonagall trembling beside his.

"Heh, heh!"

?(?`Д′?)?

Fish raised his fists high, and a white glow spread around his, quickly passing over everyone, and instantly warming them.

It was the same spell Fish had used to welcome Beauxbatons and Durmstrang: heat and cold resistance.

"Well done! Fish!"

Moody shouted in praise, then continued with the command, "Louder! Now we won't get cold."

After an hour or so of flying like this, Fish suddenly asked, "Are you lost nya? Doesn't seem like the right time."

Although he had only been drumming during the flight home to Dursley's, Fish had a very good sense of time, and the flight back had definitely taken longer than on other occasions.

And now that he thought about it, they hadn't changed direction much during the day, they'd just flown in a straight line. Only Fish had been chatting and flying a bit, but the general direction hadn't changed.

"I'm just getting rid of a possible Death Eater," Moody said, very serious, "We'd better go back a bit to make sure we're not being followed!"

"Are you mad, Mad-Eye?" shouted Tonks from the front, "If we keep swerving like this, we probably won't make it next week! Besides, we're almost there!".

"It's time to start landing!" came Lupin's voice, "Harry, stay with Tonks!".

As Lupin said that, Moody stopped changing course and joined the group as they lowered their brooms and swooped down.

In a few moments, they all landed in the same square where Fish had first landed and, after tidying themselves up a bit, they picked up their brooms and headed for number 12 Grimmauld Place.

"Where's the bad guy?"

∑(?ΦДΦ?)

Fish, who had just arrived at his destination, was surprised, "I thought enemies were coming to attack Harry..."

"Maybe they didn't bother to come, maybe we missed them, who knows." Moody replied curtly.

"That's thanks to your command, Mad-Eye." Said Tonks, half flattering, half complaining.

"Nya, Fish fell for it!"

Fish, who had wanted to fight, realized why they had been wandering the sky, but he couldn't blame Moody, since their mission was to escort Harry, and it was best that they not be discovered by the enemy.

So Fish could only take out his frustrations on the enemy....

"Those Death Eaters are so useless nya!"

?(?`w′?)?