Chapter 603: Bait and Switch
Chapter 603: Bait and Switch (Seeking Subscriptions, Favorites, and Votes)
At the top of the Spiral Staircase, Liam pushed hard upward, lifting a floorboard. As Liam was climbing up, he saw Harry open the small door, his face filled with shock at the sight of Liam wearing a set of clothes identical to his own. However, the clothes seemed a bit tight on Liam.
"Good evening, Harry", Liam greeted, raising his hand. "Time is tight, so I'll keep it brief. Go down from here; Sirius Black is waiting for you below. He'll tell you what to do next. By the way, leave all your luggage with me. Just take your wand and leave empty-handed."
Harry looked bewildered, turning to glance at Mad-Eye Moody, who was following behind. Mad-Eye Moody nodded seriously and said, "This is part of the plan. Professor Dumbledore knows about it."
"Alright", Harry hesitated, his face showing confusion. But he knew this wasn't a time to delay, so he quickly followed Liam's instructions and squeezed into the small warehouse, then walked into the underground tunnel.
"Take care, everyone. I hope to see you all soon", Harry said earnestly, looking at Liam and the others as he climbed down the stairs, leaving only his head above ground.
"You too", Liam waved, then watched as Harry disappeared down the stairs. He stepped forward and closed the floorboard, restoring everything to its original state.
"Next, it's our turn", Mad-Eye Moody nodded slightly and pulled out a small vial of clear golden liquid. "Drink the Polyjuice Potion. We don't have much time, and we can't let anyone outside notice anything amiss."
Liam took the vial and drank it in one go. This time, it tasted like wine mixed with mustard, and a burning sensation spread through his body. He felt a melting, heating sensation, and his body seemed to shrink. Finally, the strange feelings subsided, and the transformation was complete.
Liam found everything in front of him blurred, so he quickly took out the round glasses from his pocket and put them on. Once he wore the glasses, his vision cleared.
"Ah, much better. That outfit was indeed a bit too tight", Liam said, moving his limbs. He had worn clothes identical to Harry's for convenience, and he had been worried about buttons popping off during the journey.
"Alright, come with me", Mad-Eye Moody pulled Liam out of the small storage room and led him to the kitchen. There, six Harrys were already standing, and Liam wondered who had replaced Hermione today. However, since he was impersonating Harry, he had to suppress his curiosity until everyone was safe.
"Harry, why did you take so long in the bathroom?" one of the Harrys asked. Liam thought it must be Ron. Before he could answer, Mad-Eye Moody spoke up, "You should have given Harry some privacy while he was changing. That's why he went to the back bathroom."
"Sorry, mate", the Harry said, confirming that it was indeed Ron. Mad-Eye Moody then pulled out backpacks and owl cages from a Dimensional Pocket, each containing a preserved snowy owl specimen.
"We don't need to carry so much", Liam stepped forward, surprising Mad-Eye Moody. "I just need Hestia to send a letter to a friend. We can run faster with one less cage."
"Alright, hurry up", Mad-Eye Moody gestured for Liam to write the letter. He realized that the difference between a live owl and an owl specimen might not fool the Death Eaters. Liam wrote the address "Weasley Family, The Burrow" on an empty envelope in Harry's handwriting and gave it to Hestia to deliver.
Watching Hestia become a small dot in the sky, Mad-Eye Moody put away the owl specimens and cages and began the next phase of the plan.
"The groups are as follows: Harry and I will go on a broom. This way, even if the Dark Lord attacks, we can hold out until Dumbledore arrives. Arthur, you take Fred. Remus, you take George."
The two Harrys standing in the middle both nodded, while Mad-Eye Moody looked at the other Harry: "Fleur Delacour—"
"I'll take Fleur on a Thestral", said Bill, whose face was unscarred and still handsome. "She doesn't really like broomsticks." Fleur walked over to stand beside Bill, gazing at him with adoring, tender eyes. Everyone present felt a chill when they saw Fleur, with Harry's face, looking at Bill like that.
"Ron, you and Kingsley will also ride a Thestral", Mad-Eye Moody arranged. "I need to make sure each group has a good chance of escaping. So Ron, you’ll be with Kingsley, who’s the best here after me." Ron nodded happily, clearly pleased with the arrangement.
"Percy, you’ll be with Tonks." Mad-Eye Moody finally mentioned the person Liam didn't know. It was reasonable for Percy to be here; all the adult male Weasleys in Britain were involved in this operation, and Percy, who hadn't fallen out with his family, couldn't be left out. Besides, Percy had been on the front lines fighting Dark Wizards for the past two years, making him well-suited for this kind of mission.
"Great, I’m looking forward to working with you again", Tonks said cheerfully, waving to Percy and accidentally knocking over a cup rack.
"Please do take care of me", Percy said politely, pretending not to notice Tonks's clumsiness.
"Alright, Mundungus, you’re with me", Hagrid grabbed the last Harry, who was trying to slip away unnoticed, his face leering. "You'll sit in the sidecar. If you try to run, I promise to beat you every time I see you."
Mundungus, disguised as Harry, was about to protest, but seeing Hagrid’s basketball-sized fist waving in front of him, he swallowed his words and kept quiet.
"We can all guess that the Death Eaters will assume you're riding a broom", Mad-Eye Moody said to Liam. "But this time, we only need to hold off the Dark Lord for five or six minutes until Professor Dumbledore arrives to support us. So instead of you taking a chance on a mode of transportation you're not good at, it's better for you to use your best Seeker skills to buy us those few minutes."
Liam nodded. He knew Mad-Eye Moody had left out an important point: the real Harry, as everyone believed, was actually Liam. Moody hoped that by working with Liam, they could delay Voldemort and the Death Eaters as much as possible, giving Harry more time to escape.
After gathering everything, Mad-Eye Moody led everyone toward the door, saying, "We leave in three minutes. Don’t lock the back door; it won’t stop the Death Eaters if they come to search. Let’s go—"
Liam quickly followed Mad-Eye Moody's direction to the living room to grab Harry's backpack and Firebolt, then joined everyone in the dark garden. Around him, brooms flew into people's hands. Ron, with Kingsley’s help, was already seated on a large black Thestral, and Bill helped Fleur onto another. Hagrid, wearing goggles, stood by the giant motorcycle, ready to go.
"Sirius Black generously donated this motorcycle to the Phoenix Order. He and Mr. Arthur were busy last night, adding a lot of traps to it", Hagrid said, noticing Liam’s curious gaze on the motorcycle. At that moment, Mundungus tumbled into the sidecar, which was as big as a boat, and then grumbled as he sat up, rubbing his elbow.
"Speaking of traps, Hagrid", Mr. Weasley, holding his broom, said, "we didn’t have time to test them, so we can’t be sure they’re safe. You should only use them as a last resort—"
"Alright, alright", Mad-Eye Moody said, "everyone get ready. When I give the order, we all leave at the same time, or the diversion will fail."
Hearing this, Liam immediately crushed another badge in his pocket, signaling Sirius Black on the Underground Train that the operation was starting.
(End of Chapter)
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