Bryt and Hermione spent the next couple of weeks enjoying time with Mike and Drew and visited often by Julio, Emily, and Sofí when they weren't working—since Sofí had miraculously managed to get the job at Madam Malkin's. The days of watching movies or playing board games seemed to bring a normal feeling, bringing Bryt back to days in Charleston before she had learned she was a witch. If it weren't for the fact some subjects ended up turning to news in the wizarding world often, Bryt could sometimes forget about the war brewing around them, pretend life was as normal as it could be for a sixteen-year-old Muggleborn.
Honoring her parents' terms with grounding, Bryt didn't get to visit Ron and Harry again until nearly three weeks later when Mrs. Watkins permitted her to go for Harry's birthday. Mr. Watkins was working and Mrs. Watkins seemed to be coming down with a summer cold, so Bryt and Hermione were going on their own with Julio and Sofí—Mike and Drew had decided they wanted to stay home as well.
Since it was just the four of them going, Bryt and Hermione were able to sleep in and arrived by side-along Apparating with Sofí and Julio to the Burrow. When they came inside, Sofí was the first to speak, greeting Ron and Harry like old friends—much to Ron's annoyance. Sofí turned to greet Mrs. Weasley and Bill next as Bryt hugged Ron and Harry. Even Fleur, to her credit, took Sofí's hand when offered and greeted her kindly. Though Fleur's face showed she obviously didn't approve of Sofí's appearance, she had the decency to keep it to herself, probably used to how Tonks dressed all the time.
Bryt spent the morning playing two-on-two with Harry, Ron, and Ginny—Bryt and Ron on a team, Harry and Ginny on the other—while Hermione, Julio, and Sofí watched. Well, more like Hermione and Julio talked with each other while Sofí kept complaining about how boring Quidditch was and how Quodpot was a better game until Ron finally threw the apple they were using at Sofí in annoyance.
"Now, now, be nice!" Sofí teased, tossing the apple from hand to hand.
"Well, if you'd shut up, Ron wouldn't throw things at you," Bryt called back down, "C'mon, toss the apple back up."
"No, yeh'll jus' throw it at me again," Sofí said with a laugh, hiding the apple behind her back.
"C'mon, now you're just being childish," Ginny said.
"Yep," Sofí said, grinning.
Bryt rolled her eyes, about to pull out her wand to use a Summoning Charm to get the apple back when the door to the kitchen opened and Mrs. Weasley poked her head out.
"Lunch is ready," she called.
The attempt to get the apple from Sofí was immediately forgotten as the four landed, ready to eat. As Julio and Hermione got up from where they were sitting on the ground, Sofí tossed the apple to a nearby bush where a garden gnome snatched it up instantly.
Lunch went by cheerfully as Sofí talked about her job at Madam Malkin's—Fleur warmed up to Sofí considerably when the French witch learned Sofí worked in a robe shop. As the meal went on, Bryt was glad to see that Ron seemed to finally be warming up to Sofí himself, probably finally getting used to Sofí's eccentric nature after three years—of course, Ron had only begun spending extended amount of time around Sofí the summer before at Grimmauld Place.
Halfway through eating their cake, however, the mood changed as Remus Lupin, the man who taught Defense Against the Dark Arts in Bryt's third year—and her personal favorite teacher—arrived, looking grim.
"There have been another couple of dementor attacks," Lupin said as he sat down and Mrs. Weasley gave him a slice of cake, "And they've found Igor Karkaroff's body in a shack up north. The Dark Mark had been set over it—well, frankly, I'm surprised he stayed alive for even a year after deserting the Death Eaters; Sirius's brother, Regulus, only managed a few days as far as I can remember."
Bryt had suddenly lost her appetite for her cake and put down her fork, frowning. Bryt hadn't exactly liked Karkaroff, but she didn't want to see him dead. Sofí looked confused as to who Karkaroff was. In truth, Bryt couldn't remember if she ever mentioned the Durmstrang headmaster in her letters to Sofí two years earlier when the Triwizard Tournament took place at Hogwarts. If she did, it wouldn't surprise her if Sofí just didn't remember.
"Yes, well," Mrs. Weasley said, "Perhaps we should talk about something diff—"
"Did you hear about Florean Fortescue, Remus?" Bill cut in.
"The ice cream shop guy?" Sofí asked, frowning, "I noticed his shop's been closed the past few days."
"He used to give me free ice creams," Harry said, "What happened to him?"
"Dragged off, by the look of his place."
"Shame, he was a nice guy," Sofí said gloomily in a rare moment of seriousness.
"Talking of Diagon Alley," Mr. Weasley spoke up, "Looks like Ollivander's gone, too."
"The wandmaker?" Ginny asked as Bryt stared in disbelief.
"That's the one," Mr. Weasley said, "Shop's empty. No sign of a struggle. No one knows whether he left voluntarily or was kidnapped."
"But wands—what'll people do for wands?"
"They'll make do with others," Lupin said, "But Ollivander was the best, and if the other side has got him it's not so good for us."
Bryt frowned, staring at her half-eaten cake. She could easily remember getting her wand from Ollivander years ago. It was the shop where everyone got their wands. It didn't seem right for him not to be there. It was like waking up one morning to discover a favorite restaurant was closed. People could eat out elsewhere, but it just wasn't the same.
There wasn't much talk after that and Bryt, Hermione, Julio, and Sofí had to leave shortly after with promises to come visit again when they could. Luckily, the next morning brought up the best excuse for that as their school supply lists came in the mail. Through letters with Ron, they made plans to meet up and do their shopping together the following Saturday. Mrs. Watkins was wary about the plan since she was still feeling sick and Mr. Watkins would be working. They finally convinced Mrs. Watkins, though, after Emily proposed going with them and Bryt said that Julio would be off work so he'd be coming along as well. Mrs. Watkins was also calmed by the fact that Emily said they were meeting up with the Weasleys and they were sure to have guards since Harry was with them. All the extra security that would be around Bryt, Mike, and Drew was the last thing needed to convince Mrs. Watkins to let them go.
Bryt realized this would be the first time she went school shopping with her brothers—she had been in Charleston before their first year and her mother had got her supplies for her and Bryt had been at Grimmauld Place before their second. Bryt still didn't like the fact that she hadn't been there for Mike and Drew's first trip to Diagon Alley, but at least she would be going with them this time.
"How different do you think Diagon Alley will be?" Hermione asked the night before their trip as they finished getting ready for bed.
"Sofí says the place seems to be getting run-down," Bryt said, "And you can't go anywhere without seeing notice posters from the Ministry of Magic or dealing with people trying to con you into buying worthless items they claim can protect against curses."
Hermione got a disgusted look on her face.
"I can't believe this. They're preying on people's fears. It's disgusting."
"They're bastards," Bryt agreed, flopping back on her bed and turning to stare at her barn owl, Joey, in his cage on her dresser, "At least Sofí was nice enough to do a money exchange for us yesterday. She said it takes hours to get through Gringotts lately because of the security."
Bryt heard creaking springs and knew Hermione had sat down on her cot in the corner of the room. Bryt sat up herself, turning to her friend.
"That will save us a lot of time tomorrow," Hermione said.
"Thankfully," Bryt said, "I have a feeling tomorrow we're going to end up spending as little time as possible at Diagon Alley."
"I doubt anyone is going to spend more time than they have to away from home," Hermione said.
"I know," Bryt said with a sigh, "Ron was saying Mrs. Weasley was close to keeping him and Ginny from going back to Hogwarts. Terry said his mom was close to keeping him home, too, in his last letter."
"I bet there's quite a few students won't be returning," Hermione said, frowning, "I can't blame parents for wanting to keep their children home. They're frightened."
"But Hogwarts is the safest place they can be," Bryt said.
"And it's proven in the past it's not impenetrable."
Bryt frowned. Hermione had a point. After all, there had been two people who have managed to successfully break into Hogwarts in the past: Sirius Black, though transforming into a dog and sneaking past dementors in their third year, and Barty Crouch Jr., who used Polyjuice Potion it impersonate Mad-Eye for nearly an entire school year before he was discovered.
"But I'm sure they'll have better security this year," Bryt reasoned, "I mean, especially with the fact Harry'll be there."
"The castle is still a large place," Hermione said, "They can't secure everything."
Again, Bryt knew Hermione was right. No matter how secure people say Hogwarts is, there was still the chance someone could get through. Bryt wasn't going to say anything like that to her mother, though. Mrs. Watkins was worrying enough as it was about her family's safety. As far as Mrs. Watkins was concerned—and luckily, Emily was more than happy to comply—Hogwarts was a fortress, the safest place in the world. Anything to make Mrs. Watkins feel more at ease about being away from Bryt, Mike, and Drew for several months like they were at school.
'I hate lying to Mom, but it's to help keep her at ease,' Bryt thought, though it didn't do anything to subdue the guilt. Bryt had the feeling it was going to be a long year at school.