'Am I doing the right thing?'
For probably the tenth time in the past few days, seventeen-year-old Bryt Watkins couldn't help but have that thought crossing her mind. Ever since she had come home from Hogwarts the month before, she had been racked with indecision. It was not about leaving her family behind or helping her friends, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, hunt down Horcruxes to bring down Voldemort. She was set in that path. Nothing was going to turn her away from that. She knew she had to do it.
What was bothering her was her plans to protect her family. Her parents. Her brothers, Mike and Drew.
Bryt stood in her small bedroom, a small vile of golden liquid in her hand. She knew the safest thing was to send her family out of the country. But they didn't have the money for the move. Leaving the country was out of the question.
So instead, they were going to go into hiding with a member of the Order of Phoenix, and friend of the Watkins family, Emily Hughes. The woman was a Muggleborn herself, so she knew she would go into hiding eventually and Bryt felt better knowing they'd have an Auror with them. Despite the fact Emily wouldn't be able to cast any magic around them with Mike and Drew being underage. Of course, if they were ever in a spot where Emily needed to cast magic to defend themselves, the last thing they'd be worrying about was alerting the Ministry to magic being performed around two underage wizards.
Bryt looked over at her closest friend, Hermione Granger, who was sitting on Bryt's bed with a small, beaded purse and Bryt's mini-backpack. The girl had shown up on Bryt's doorstep that morning, her face puffy and red from crying. Apparently, she at least had the money to send her family out of the country. To Australia to be precise. But she hadn't stopped there. Hermione had also altered her parents' memories, changed their identities. And these new identities didn't include knowledge of a daughter. Bryt couldn't imagine doing that. She was sending her parents and brother away, yes, but they would at least still know Bryt existed. She wasn't sure she could take the idea of being just another stranger, a face on the street, in her family's mind. She would never be able to do what Hermione had done.
But Hermione had managed it. And now here she was, a frown on her face as she was working to enchant the two items with some type of undetectable charm that would pretty much make them bottomless pits. They were going to use the small purse while Bryt was going to give her mini-backpack to Emily. They were already planning to give Emily an old tent that Harry and the Weasleys had used during the Quidditch World Cup—Bryt had convinced Mr. Weasley to let her have it to protect her family. After all, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had both become close friends with Bryt's parents. Meanwhile, Bryt and her friends were going to use a smaller, cramped tent that Bryt shared with Hermione, Julio, and Mr. García. It wouldn't leave much room for privacy, but it would do well enough for them.
Bryt looked down at the bottle in her hands again, the source of her indecision. It was a vial of Felix Felicis that Bryt had won the year before in a Potions class, good for twelve hours of luck. Bryt knew what she and her friends were dangerous. They were going to need all the help they could get. But her family were going to need any help they could get as well. Bryt and her friends would be able to use magic. They would all be overage. But Bryt's family and Emily would be one lone witch protecting two Muggles and two underage wizards, none of them able to use magic. Bryt couldn't help but think they'd need this little vial more than she and her friends would.
"You should just give it to them."
Bryt looked back at Hermione, who had looked up from her charmwork. She was still frowning, though considering what she'd been through, Bryt couldn't blame her.
"What if we need it?" Bryt asked, trying to push the thoughts from her mind.
"They'll probably need it more," Hermione said, handing over Bryt's bag she would be lending to her family. Bryt realized it felt a lot heavier than it should. "I went ahead and put the tent in there."
"I think I would feel safer if they had luck on their side," Bryt said with a sigh as she sat down, looking at the rucksack nearby packed with her clothes. She had packed plenty of her cargo pants, tee shirts, sweaters, and jackets. There was no telling how long they'd be gone, what type of clothes they'd need, so Bryt had packed for every occasion. Despite the fact there was no need for it, Bryt had also packed her camera and an empty photo album, plus a couple of blank diaries and self-inking quills. She just didn't feel right without them.
She and Hermione would also be leaving today. Bryt knew this would be the last time she saw her family in a long time. Possible the last time she saw them period. There was no guarantee that Bryt would live through this task, after all. It was a feeling she didn't like, and she knew she should be with them, taking in every moment she could. But she couldn't bring herself to. She was afraid the longer she spent with them, the more likely it was she'd back out, that she'd abandon her friends when they needed her most to stay with her family. She couldn't do that, no matter how much the thought lingered in the back of her mind always.
"Just let them have the potion," Hermione said as she stood up and started shoving the second tent into her small coin bag, "We can manage on our own."
Bryt finally nodded, deciding Hermione was right. They've made it through several scrapes on their own in the past. Her family was two underage wizards and two Muggles, accompanied by a witch who wouldn't be able to use magic. They would need more luck than Bryt and her friends.
"Are you ready to go?" Hermione asked, grabbing her own bag. Bryt swallowed and nodded. This was it. Possibly the last time she was going to see her family.
"I'll meet you outside in a bit," Bryt said and Hermione seemed to understand because she nodded and gathered Crookshanks in her arms as she left. Bryt waited until Hermione had time to get outside before she slung her bag over her shoulder and went into the living room, her mini-backpack in one hand and the cage that held Bryt's barn owl, Joey, in the other.
Bryt felt as if her heart was squeezed tightly, making it hard to breathe, as she looked around her. Her parents were sitting together on the couch, and Bryt just studied them. She got her blonde hair from her mother, though Bryt's was a darker shade, and she had the same shape of her nose and same habit of twisting the bottom of her shirt when she was nervous. Though Amelia Watkins' eyes were a much darker shade of brown. Bryt's light brown eyes came from her father, as did her slightly stocky stature. Though Bryt's shortness didn't come from either—her paternal grandfather, though, was quite short himself.
Bryt turned towards her brothers next. Fourteen years old, and twins as identical in appearance as they were different in personalities. Both had brown hair, like their father, and dark brown eyes like their mother. They both also wore glasses like Mrs. Watkins did.
This was her family. Her parents she looked up to and admired. The father who taught her to ride a bike, who drove away monsters from her closet when she was little. The mother who taught her how to cook, who failed miserably at attempts to get Bryt to wear a dress after she was nine. The brothers Bryt teased and was teased by, the ones she helped at Hogwarts when they had problems.
And this could easily be the last time she ever saw them. What was there to say to that? What could she say to them? Nothing seemed to be appropriate.
"Do you really have to leave, Bryt?" Mrs. Watkins asked, her voice filled with such worry that Bryt thought she was going to buckle right there.
"I...I have to," Bryt managed, "And no, I can't tell you why. But this is what I need to do. What I have to do."
They'd had this conversation several times already, and Bryt always made such weak excuses. This was for the best. She had to do this. She couldn't stay with them. Her friends needed her. They always sounded so feeble to her.
"I have this for you," Bryt put down her bag and looked towards Emily, who had been standing in the corner. She was tall and slim, dark-skinned with a head full of braids, and had become Mrs. Watkins' friend over the past couple of years, "Hermione put some charm on it, it can carry anything. There's a tent in it already. Just in case."
Mike and Drew were frowning, obviously not wanting to think of what 'just in case' meant. Mr. Watkins was staring at Bryt's bag as if he couldn't believe there was a tent in the small thing. Any other time, Bryt would have been amused by her father's obsession with the magical world, but today was not the day.
"And I have something else," Bryt said, holding out the vial to Emily, who took it cautiously, "It's Felix Felicis. Twelve hours' worth."
"Bryt, we can't take this," Emily said, staring at the bottle in wonder.
"I'll feel safer knowing you have it."
Bryt looked back at her family, fiddling with the bottom of her shirt in the same way as her mother was currently.
"Well, this is it," she managed weakly, "I...I have to go now."
Mike and Drew rushed forward and hugged her at the same time. Bryt clung to them in surprise. Drew she expected this from, but not Mike. She just held her brothers, resting her head against their shoulders—three years younger than her, and they were still a head taller.
Soon, Bryt's parents had joined into the hug and Bryt stood there, squeezing her eyes shut and praying that she wouldn't start crying. She couldn't let her family see her crying. She had to show them she was brave. She was confident. She couldn't cry.
It felt like an eternity when her family let go, but Bryt found herself wishing they hadn't. Her father was in front of her, her face cupped in his hands as he smiled at her. That same smile he had as if nothing was going to get him down. The smile Bryt always admired so much from him. She was always so envious of his easy-going nature.
"Emily will protect us," he said with such confidence that Bryt couldn't help but be taken in, to believe he was right, "You go protect your friends. I'm so proud of you, Bryt."
Bryt made herself smile, again fighting back the tears. She was not going to cry. She was not going to let her family see her cry.
Mr. Watkins hugged Bryt yet again, though this one was shorter. Once he let go, Bryt turned and her mother caught her arm and pulled her into a tighter hug than Bryt had ever felt from her. Bryt hugged back, finding herself not wanting to let go. It seemed her mother didn't want to let go, either, as if she thought if she did, Bryt would just vanish on the spot.
The two had their problems the past few years. Mrs. Watkins had once believed that Bryt preferred the magical world to her own family. It had caused a rift between them, and even after Mrs. Watkins knew the truth, knew Bryt wasn't abandoning her family, things had still often been awkward between them. But now, all that was gone. It was just mother and daughter, nothing else mattered. Bryt felt so small, so young in her mother's arms, and protected at the same time. She didn't want to leave.
"I love you, Bryt," Mrs. Watkins whispered in Bryt's ear and Bryt felt that the tears would begin any second. She was still holding them back, but it wouldn't be long before they'd burst through, "Be careful out there and come home. Please come home safe."
"I will," Bryt croaked, her voice shaking slightly. She slowly let go of her mother, not looking at her for fear of breaking down right there, and picked up her bag again and slung it over her shoulder. She knew her mother had to be crying and Bryt couldn't take seeing that. Not when she was fighting back so many tears herself.
Bryt went to the living room door before stopping and looking back into the room. She had to have one last look. It was the last time she'd see her family for a long time. Maybe if she looked quickly, she could keep the tears from coming. She stared at her family, from her brothers who looked so worried, to her father with his brave smile, to her mother who was crying, and then to Emily, who was looking as if she felt she didn't want to intrude.
"Take care of them for me," Bryt said quietly. Emily nodded with a weak grin.
"With my life," she replied.
Bryt gave a small nod, glanced around at her family one last time. She gave them the bravest grin she could manage before she gathered her things, turned away, and walked down the hallway and out the door where Hermione was waiting. Hermione saw Bryt and the look of understanding Bryt gave her in response only seemed to make things worse. Bryt was only leaving her family to send them into hiding. Hermione had erased her parents' memories and sent them out of the country. What Bryt was doing seemed so small in comparison. So Bryt took a deep breath and nodded to Hermione and the two Apparated away.
And not once did she let herself cry.
