Suddenly, the silence of the early Christmas morning was violently shattered by a deep, resonant magical gong. It wasn't the sound of an ordinary house alarm, but a powerful, low-frequency Runic Warning Bell—a sound that vibrated more in the chest than the ears, instantly stripping away all traces of holiday merriment.
"Oh my God, are we truly this unlucky? It's too quick!" Anduin knew instantly that the traitor must have been far more embedded, or the Death Eaters far more prepared, than anyone had guessed.
The Order members, however, moved with a terrifying, professional efficiency born of repeated, close-quarters combat. The collective snap of their wands being drawn was instantaneous.
James Potter, the host, took command without a second's pause. His voice was loud, clear, and perfectly controlled. "Execute the Contingency Plan! Lily, Alice, Augusta—deep defense. Protect the children, stay under cover. The rest of us—Sirius, Remus, Peter—we take the perimeter. Frank, send the signal, status report and coordinate beacon now!"
James was still giving crisp orders when the house's exterior defensive field screamed into life. A deafening CRACK-BOOM outside confirmed that the Death Eaters were already engaging the house's outermost protective spells. The attack was immediate and severe.
Frank Longbottom, already moving, didn't hesitate. He thrust his wand forward and, with a complex mental effort, summoned his Patronus. A powerful, silver-white Ferret burst forth from his wand tip.
The creature was astonishingly bright, carrying not just his warmth, but a targeted, coded signal—an Auror-grade messenger Patronus. Frank whispered a tight string of precise coordinates and status updates into the ferret's ear, a testament to his Ministry training.
The ferret shot up, passed silently through the charmed ceiling, and vanished, carrying the desperate message to Dumbledore and the waiting reinforcements.
Anduin, briefly mesmerized by the Patronus's display of advanced magic, was jerked back to the cold reality of the moment. So, a Patronus can be used for urgent tactical communication, he noted internally, storing the knowledge for later—but now was the time for pure action.
The rest of the gentlemen—James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter—were already moving with a shared, reckless urgency, wands held high as they charged towards the sounds of the conflict, throwing open the front door. Anduin saw brilliant, blinding flashes of red, yellow, blue, and sickening green magic reflecting violently in the living room windows. The battle for the house had begun.
Lily Potter, her face now grimly determined, snatched Harry from his crib and swiftly handed the baby to Anduin. "Come with me, all of you!" she commanded, her tone brooking no argument.
Anduin, recognizing this was not a moment for heroics but for strict discipline, tucked the warm, whimpering Harry securely against his chest and followed, his eyes fixed on Lily's every move. Lily led them directly to the basement.
The house's basement was not a dusty cellar, but a well-stocked, prepared storage room. Once inside, Lily immediately rushed to a specific section of the wall—a seemingly ordinary section of rough stone. She struck seven precise bricks with the tip of her wand, murmuring an incantation in an ancient language.
Anduin felt a heavy magical wave radiate from the spot, a profound pulse of energy that spread along the walls, doorframe, and ceiling.
"This is the Runic Safe House," Lily explained, her breath catching slightly as she completed the complicated warding sequence. "It is sealed with three layers of static wards and reinforced with a final Runic Closure Charm. Once activated, it is extraordinarily difficult to open from the outside. Backup is already alerted and incoming. We are safe here. Don't worry."
Anduin, clutching the tiny, oblivious Harry, relaxed marginally. Augusta, however, remained utterly unperturbed, holding Neville in a surprisingly firm, confident grip. "Don't worry, indeed," Augusta said, her voice a low, steady rumble. "We were prepared for this eventuality. We'll ensure these treacherous scoundrels don't survive to see the new year."
The sheer meticulousness of the preparations was staggering. Lily's movements were not hurried but practiced, revealing a deep, shared commitment between her and James to secure their children. Anduin's lingering doubt about the Potters' preparedness vanished.
They stood in the silence of the reinforced chamber, listening to the muffled chaos above. The sounds of clashing spells, powerful concussive blasts, and shouted commands were muted but constant, giving them a chilling sense of the fierce battle raging directly over their heads.
"What do you think the Death Eaters' faces look like right now, realizing they walked straight into an Order ambush?" Augusta asked, her lips curling into a dry, satisfied smile. She appeared entirely comfortable, her stoicism radiating a quiet strength that was infectious.
The silence was their only comfort, but it was abruptly shattered.
A strange, grinding rustling sound echoed from outside the basement wall, quickly followed by a heavy, booming impact. The silence in the safe house evaporated instantly. Every head snapped up, and the women, despite their calm demeanor, instinctively raised their wands.
Bang! Bang! Powerful, concussive spells began raining down on the exterior of the Runic Safe House door. Magical light, a sickening greenish-purple hue, began to ripple across the stone walls and the thick metal door—a visible sign that the powerful protective seal was under direct, sustained, and highly focused attack.
Alice Longbottom's composure finally fractured. Her voice was thin, laced with genuine fear. "What is going on? Did Frank and James fail to stop them? Why haven't the reinforcements arrived yet? How could the Death Eaters possibly have gotten past the perimeter and found our safe point this fast? Did the Dark Lord launch the attack himself?"
Augusta, however, tightened her grip on Neville. "Don't panic, Alice," she commanded, her voice surprisingly steady. "We don't know the status of the battle upstairs. But panic will kill us faster than any spell. We hold."
Lily's expression was serious, her jaw tight, but she nodded calmly. "Augusta is right. We don't know how they found us, but all we can do is trust our preparations and trust each other. We need to be calm, organized, and ready to counter-attack when the door breaches."
Anduin, holding Harry, moved instantly and decisively. He had no time for panic. The speed and precision of the attack on the safe room could only mean one thing: the Death Eaters had either bypassed the main defenses entirely or, far more likely, they had internal knowledge of the safe house's exact location. The traitor's information was deep.
He quickly surveyed the room and the rapidly deteriorating wards on the door. He acted not as a student, but as a field commander.
"Defense is compromised, but the door is the bottleneck," Anduin stated, his voice ringing with clear, cold authority—a perfect counterpoint to the women's rising tension. "We build a physical trench immediately."
With a quick, powerful wave of his wand, he unleashed a complex burst of low-level Transfiguration and Levitation charms. Tables, sturdy wooden crates, and heavy, sealed trunks that lined the walls were ripped from their shelves and instantly slammed into place in a perfect, half-moon arc directly in front of the safe house door.
"Help me reinforce these!" he commanded. "Now!"
The three women, recognizing the pure, instantaneous tactical genius, instinctively obeyed. They slammed their own wands down, reinforcing the barricade with simple Adhesive Charms and low-level Impediment Jinxes. They quickly constructed a semicircular shelter, half the height of a man, using the reinforced furniture as a defensive trench.
Anduin continued, his instructions sharp and precise, tailored to each individual's known strength: "If the Runic Charm fails, my Ironclad Charms won't hold under this concentrated fire. Lily, your protective spellwork is exceptional—you will be our primary defensive shield right behind the barricade."
He pointed to Alice and Augusta, their wands already flickering with focused power. "Alice and Augusta, you are the trained offensive wizards. You will be responsible for the immediate first counter-assault. Use powerful, single-target spells. No wide-area curses."
Finally, he directed their positioning: "Lily and Alice, center. I need maximum coverage. Augusta and I will be slightly behind, holding the children. If a spell penetrates, we must crouch instantly behind the shields to ensure the babies are protected. Speed and accuracy are everything."
The women didn't question his youth; they responded to his competence. Anduin had taken the situation, applied logic, and provided a workable plan that gave them all a clear role and, crucially, a defined expectation.
The shared sense of purpose immediately stabilized their emotions, pulling them from the paralyzing fear of the unknown into the focused concentration of combat preparation.
Once the preparations were complete, Anduin focused his gaze entirely on the flickering protective spell on the entrance. The attack was relentlessly focused on a single point near the ancient locking mechanism.
"The Runic Seal is deteriorating rapidly," Anduin reported, his voice devoid of emotion. "They are concentrating their firepower to breach at that single lock point. When it fails, the door will likely be blown inward."
He outlined the final sequence of events: "If the door is blown inward, I will use a quick-cast Levitation Charm to control the main door panel and try to knock the first attackers off-balance. I'll create a brief, half-second visibility obstruction with the door itself. That is your window."
He looked directly at Lily, Alice, and Augusta. "You must use that moment of enemy disorientation to launch your opening salvo. Swift and decisive. Don't wait for confirmation. Attack first."
The three women nodded, their faces hardened by a resolve far deeper than holiday cheer. Though Anduin was a child, his orders were sound, giving them the highest chance of survival. They were unknowingly obeying a superior tactician.
The defensive seal could take no more. A final, piercing magical shriek erupted as the protective runes exploded, sending a shower of glowing, shattered energy fragments into the room. Simultaneously, a tremendous Concussive Curse slammed into the wooden and iron-bound door.
With a violent KRA-BOOM that deafened them, the door was ripped from its hinges and hurled inward. The force of the explosion sent dust, splinters, and small stones flying. The doorway was instantly filled with a blinding, choking cloud of smoke and debris.
Before the first attackers could charge through the gap, Anduin's wand snapped up. He caught the massive, splintered door panel in mid-air with a perfectly executed Levitation and Fling Charm. The heavy slab spun rapidly, becoming a temporary, whirling shield that smashed violently into the figures waiting in the smoke-filled corridor just beyond the opening.
"Now!" Anduin screamed, clutching Harry tighter and dropping low behind the barricade.
Lily immediately dropped a shimmering, semi-transparent shield of pure protective magic over the trench. Before the shield was fully formed, Alice and Augusta unleashed their furious opening volley.
A precise, powerful Stunning Spell (Alice's signature charm) and a jet of bright purple flame (Augusta's specialized hex) tore through the smoke, directed at the point where Anduin's improvised distraction had just connected. The barrage was designed to incapacitate, injure, and create utter confusion in the narrow corridor.
A sudden, sharp cry of pain echoed from the smoke-filled doorway, confirming the opening strike had landed. The siege on the safe house had begun.