A/N: Sorry it's so short. I originally had more to this chapter, but I haven't quite finished it and since I'm going on vacation for a couple weeks, I just decided to post what I have.

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine

Chapter 2: Five Years Later

Maggie watched the fat raindrops slide across the windowpane. The morning sun should have been brightening the sky by now, but because of the thick cloudbank it was as dark as night. Gripping her steaming cup, she sighed. No Quidditch today.

"Maggie, dear, how long have you been up?"

Maggie turned and smiled. "Just long enough to make a cup of tea, Mrs. Weasley. The water's still warm, if you'd like some." She stood to pour another cup, but Mrs. Weasley waved her off and went over to the stove.

"Are you nervous?" Mrs. Weasley sat down beside Maggie. For a moment, Maggie was confused. What was there to be nervous about? But then she remembered. Professor Longbottom, who was both the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts and a friend of the Weasleys, had been over the day before with his family and he'd said that the O.W.L. reports were coming today.

Great. Now she was nervous. Her fingers began to tap out a rhythm on the table as she listened to Mrs. Weasley.

"I couldn't sleep because of it- isn't that silly? I'm more anxious for my children's reports than I was for my own." She gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Maggie felt a sudden warmth erase some of her unease. From the caring, albeit tense, look that Mrs. Weasley gave her, it was clear that she included Maggie under the listing of "her children".

After five years, she still couldn't believe the Weasley family. That first year she had accepted the fact that she would be staying at Hogwarts over Christmas because her uncle was unable to get out of work. But the minute Rose had heard, she had told, not asked, Maggie to come home with her.

Maggie had been terrified that the Weasleys would think she was intruding, but from the very moment she walked through the door, they treated her like family. Since that time, because of her uncle's work schedule, she had stayed with the Weasleys for every break, excepting that one week after third year when she had visited her friend Scorpius.

Uncle David had tried many times to pay for Maggie's expenses, but the Weasleys refused to take it. Frustrated, he had settled for bringing all of them gifts every time he visited Maggie.

Maggie still saw him as much as she had when he was taking care of her, considering that he had often come home from work after she had gone to bed and left before she woke up. Though he was still busy, he had lost the harried look he'd often had as a clueless single man in his early twenties trying to take care of his late sister's child.

When she had become a teenager, she figured the entire situation was for the best. If Uncle David was clueless before, he certainly wouldn't know how to handle a teenage girl.

Maggie was interrupted by a sudden squeak from beside her. Mrs. Weasley had gone white, staring out the window. Maggie's head turned; against the dark sky were two darker specks.

The warm tea was now sloshing uncomfortably in Maggie's empty stomach. The school owls drew closer and closer. Mrs. Weasley shook her head and broke out of her trance. Shooting up from the table, she flicked her wand at the window, which swung open, and rushed upstairs.

The two tawny owls swept through the open window and settled on the table, shaking their damp feathers. Drops spattered Maggie as she reached forward with shaking hands to untie the two letters.

"Hermione! Couldn't you just let me sleep a bit longer! It's my day off!" Mr. Weasley's voice echoed down the stairs.

Mrs. Weasley's raised tones could be heard as well, "This is a special moment for Rose and Maggie!"

"Can't this special moment occur at a decent time?"

"Decent time? It is past eight o' clock already! You better be up by the time I get back!"

There was the sound of doors opening and closing. She could still hear Mrs. Weasley's voice, quieter now as she woke her children.

Rose and her younger bother Hugo stumbled into the kitchen and slumped into chairs on either side of Maggie. Rose started to wake up as she noticed the envelopes in Maggie's hand, but Hugo placed his head down on the table and was soon snoring.

"Ronald Weasley! GET OUT OF BED!"

A few minutes later, the couple entered the kitchen, Mr. Weasley looking distinctly grumpy, and Mrs. Weasley with a flushed face.

"Now," said Mrs. Weasley, "Let's see those reports."

Maggie handed Rose hers. Rose ripped it open at once, scanning the parchment intensely. Maggie was much more cautious, unfolding the parchment carefully.

Margaret Jane McGonagall has achieved:

Ancient Runes E

Astronomy E

Care of Magical Creatures A

Charms O

Defense Against the Dark Arts O

Herbology E

History of Magic O

Potions O

Transfiguration O

Maggie let out her breath in a happy sigh. The tiny perfectionist part of her wished that she had managed 'Outstandings' in every subject, but still. She did pretty well.

Mrs. Weasley, who had caught a glimpse of the scores from over Maggie's shoulder, pulled her into a tight hug. "Wonderful job, Maggie."

Rose had a beaming smile as she and Maggie switched reports. Six "Outstandings" and three "Exceeds Expectations". Maggie grinned. She hadn't expected anything less of her best friend.

There was a whooshing sound from the fireplace, and three figures came charging out of the green flames, with Al Potter in the lead. Behind him were Al's younger sister Lily and Lily's best friend Faye Matthews.

Lily and Faye surrounded Hugo, while Al made a beeline for Rose and Maggie, waving his O.W.L. report. "I didn't fail anything!"

Lily and Faye traded a mischievous look over Hugo's head before simultaneously leaning down and shouting, "Hugo!"

The poor boy awoke with a yell and fell right out of his chair. Maggie rushed over to help him scramble up while the two girls stood laughing.

Maggie glared at them, trying to hide her amusement. "Honestly! I don't know why Hugo is still friends with you after all you put him through."

"They're not my friends!" he retorted, but his wide smile contradicted his words. Lily and Faye immediately put on contrite faces.

Exactly the same height, with matching long hair (one red, one blonde) and identical grins, Lily and Faye were truly evil twins. Maggie rolled her eyes and went to rejoin her two best friends.

Within minutes the small kitchen was so full of laughter and excited conversation that no one noticed the owl tapping at the window.

Mrs. Weasley finally spied the owl, but with six teenagers hanging around the table, she couldn't get to the window, and her voice went unheard.

"OI! You lot!" Mr. Weasley bellowed. "SHUT IT!"

The entire room fell silent. The tapping of the owl was now loud and clear.

"Well, that's one way of doing it." Mrs. Weasley muttered.

Mr. Weasley pushed through to the window and brought the owl in out of the rain. As soon as its burden was relieved, the owl fluttered up to the top of a cabinet and let out a weary hoot, obviously not leaving anytime soon.

"Hermione." Mr. Weasley's solemn eyes met his wife's, and then he looked down at the parchment in his hands. Without a word, they turned into the sitting room. The six kids followed quickly, only to have the door shut firmly in their faces and a silencing spell placed on it.

Lily swore under her breath as the flesh-colored Extendable Ear she was attempting to thread under the door refused to go.

"It's Imperturbable." Hugo whispered, his ear pressed to the door in spite of the spell.

Maggie exchanged glances with Rose and Al. What could be so important that the elder Weasleys would seal off the door?

A few moments later, Mrs. Weasley opened the door and Hugo had to jump back or be stepped on. Mrs. Weasley didn't seem to notice, and through the door behind her Maggie could see Mr. Weasley Disapparate.

"What's wrong, Mum?" Rose asked.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing."

"Then where was Dad going?"

"T-that was the ministry. Your father has to go to the office, and I have to go in for a bit as well."

"But it's your day off- Dad's too!" Hugo said. "Why?"

"Oh, it's just some, er, business." A flush worked its way up Mrs. Weasley's neck, bringing her absentminded look back to the present. Al and Maggie exchanged another look. Rose's mum had always been a terrible liar.

Mrs. Weasley turned away from the children's stares and hurried upstairs to change out of her dressing gown.

The tension slowly leaked away and the group dispersed. Lily and Faye sat down at the table and continued their former discussion about which boys were the best dating prospects. Rose headed over to the stove to start breakfast while Al reached out a hand to coax the owl down.

Maggie was going upstairs to write her uncle when Al let out a yell and stumbled backwards, clutching a bloody finger. The ruffled owl stared back haughtily.

Al's head swung around at Hugo's barking laugh. "Oh, yeah? Let's see you do better!" he said furiously.

Hugo raised a single eyebrow and lifted his arm. The owl immediately swooped past and alighted gracefully on the outstretched arm.

Maggie ducked and hurried up the stairs to hide her smile. Al always underestimated his younger cousin simply because he didn't speak much, but Maggie happened to know that after just one year in Care of Magical Creatures, Hugo had a talent with animals not seen since Charlie Weasley.

On her way to the room she and Rose shared, Maggie caught a snatch of conversation coming from the room on her right.

"Ron, what is going on?"

Maggie crept closer. The door was ajar, and she peered through the narrow opening. Mr. Weasley sat on the edge of the bed, looking at something out of Maggie's line of sight. He sighed. "I don't know. It seems unrelated; today's disappearance doesn't even seem to be linked to the other ones. I just…" Another sigh.

Mrs. Weasley, out of sight until now, crossed right in front of the door. Maggie shrank back, but the couple inside didn't notice. The older woman stopped in front of her husband, her brown eyes intense. "What? What are you thinking of?"

When he didn't answer, she rolled her eyes and spoke, "Ron, I'm not going to laugh. Just tell me." She turned away and began to pace.

Mr. Weasley closed his eyes. "Everything that's been happening lately, the disappearances, the vandalism, it reminds me too much of last time. People disappearing…"

Mrs. Weasley froze. "Last time? The war, you mean?" Her voice was strained.

Mr. Weasley shot up and started pacing where his wife left off. "Yeah, and Harry believed me…until today. With today's disappearance, Harry called off my investigation."

"Why? You never told me, who was taken today?"

"Lucius Malfoy." He said it quickly, with his chin jutting out.

For a moment, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stared at each other, Mr. Weasley daring his wife to disagree with him.

"I think you're right."

Mr. Weasley's brows shot up. "You-you do?"

"Why do you sound so surprised? I trust you."

He looked stunned. "Thank you." He whispered.

She chuckled. "You're welcome. On a more serious note, we'd better get down to the office. I'll talk to Harry if you'd like."

Mr. Weasley wrapped his arms around his wife and Maggie backed across the hall. Reaching behind her, she found the doorknob to Rose's room and slipped inside.

In a fog, Maggie slipped between the two beds and sat down heavily at the small writing desk. She pulled an inkpot and parchment towards her, but didn't pick up her quill. All excitement over her O.W.L. scores had trickled away, leaving her mind free to worry over what she'd just heard.

Lucius Malfoy kidnapped. Poor Scorpius. And yeah, poor Lucius as well. Scorpius' grandfather had spent twenty years in Azkaban even after renouncing Voldemort during the last war. He had been released only four years ago.

He had returned home emaciated and shrunken in both body and spirit, only to find that the wizarding world still could not accept him. Though Scorpius wasn't close to his grandfather and believed he deserved his stint in Azkaban, it was still a sore point.

As for what else she had heard, well, she was worried, afraid even. Another war? The Weasleys and the Potters had told her about the last one, and even though she knew they didn't tell her everything, what they did say was bad enough.

Gingerly, Maggie picked up the quill and moved it across the page, writing words that in no way matched the thoughts racing through her brain.

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