A/N: I want to first apologize for how long this is. And then I want to thank everything who is reading/following/ has messaged me. It makes my day, for real.

I also didn't think about how confusing my time jumps could be, so here's a timeline of events. I'm basing my idea of when the students are let off from the Harry Potter wiki, which says all students return home the third week of June. I then picked a day and used a calendar from 1977 to make sure everything fell right.

Thursday June 16th the Hogwarts Express Arrives back in London, all students return home.

Friday July 1st Ava turns sixteen and Sophie's wand gets broken.

Wednesday August 10th Sophie turns seventeen

Saturday August 13th the orphanage gets attacked while Sophie and Ava are out

Sorry this chapter. I wasn't sure how it was going to go, and then neither Ava nor Sophie wanted to talk much about what happened. Good news is next chapter is Hogwarts!

A final and very important note for this chapter is that it gets pretty graphic pretty early. I didn't intend this, but Ava kind of took over. It seems a lot worse than it probably is because this is in Ava's point of view, and this is her first real taste of the war. Still, it iswar. I don't feel like anything is horribly bad, but if you get to where you don't want to read about the death they are running into they just know it's incredibly traumatic for them and jump down to the first divide. Anything you missed that was important will catch you up there. Now that this incredibly long Author's Note is over, continue on with the story!


"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance"

-Alan Watts

I'm not sure how long we stood there, Sophie desperately clinging to me as sobs overtook her. I just held her, forcing emotions down until I was allowed to break as well. One of us had to be strong, and in this instant it was me. It felt like forever when reason kicked in and I suddenly tensed. They could still be here, and if that was the case I needed to get Sophie quiet and keep us safe. We were far enough away that if they were still around they wouldn't have heard us, but only if they were still inside. Survival instincts began to take over.

"Sophie, love, I need you to stop crying." I made soft shushing noises as I crouched down beside her. She looked at me with blotchy eyes, as she unsuccessfully tried to stop and communicate at the same time. "They could still be here, we're going to have to go check."

That hadn't been the plan. The plan was that we were supposed to be quiet and hide until it was safe, but yet I felt the words tumble from my lips before I had time to process it. Sophie managed to quiet her sobs, but tears still fell down her cheeks. There was a fear in her eyes, but she nodded in agreement as we both rose to our feet and got our wands ready. Logic and reason shouted at me that the building was on fire and that the idea of facing death eaters was maddening, but I shoved it down into the pit of numb I'd developed. It was stupid of us, but it felt incredibly right. We were the only witches in the place, everyone else was a muggle. They didn't deserve this, and they had no way of knowing that horrors such as these didn't just reside in their nightmares. If we could manage to get anyone out it would be worth it. Steeling ourselves we snuck from the tree and clung to whatever shadows we could find. Thankfully it was a cloudy day, but the fact still stood we had a few hours before it was actually dark. These guys were incredibly brave to do this during the day, or incredibly stupid. I was seriously hoping for the latter as we managed to make it into the back door. Nothing prepared me for the site that greeted me, and I tried to double back and stop Sophie from coming in but it was too late.

We both just stared at the bodies. The backdoor led us straight into the sitting room, where most of the children would have been. All I could see where the eyes that stared up at me, fear and confusion laced in them all. There were small children, ages as young as five at least, to adults who were watching them. I didn't know death had an immediate smell, nor did I know dark magic did. I could smell them, though, permeating through the air in a toxic combination that had me afraid to breath. Maybe they weren't really there and I was imaging the smell, but to me it was here. My stomach lurched and I gagged. It was the first motion either of us had done since we'd gotten inside. Sophie mumbled before she were bent over, retching up the contents of her stomach. The only comfort I could offer her was to hold her hair back as I struggled not to join her. Whatever we'd been expecting it hadn't been this, and I wasn't sure we were going to be much help if every room we came upon was the same. It was in this moment that I realized how bad of an idea this truly was, but before I could voice my fear Sophie gathered herself and stood fully. She looked at me and I nodded slowly. We would continue, then.

Every room we went to was the same, and despite whatever walls I had built throughout the years I found tears streaming down my eyes. Nothing could have prepared us for these horrors, and I felt an immense sadness despite all my attempts not to. No one deserved to die like this, no one. We made it to the stairs connecting the third story when a new smell hit us again. The smell of burning wood mixed with flesh. Fear stabbed at my heart and Sophie and I stared at each other wide eyed. We both fought the urge to get sick as we realized the position we were in and how bad of an idea this was. The building was on fire, and while it was only the top stories we had to wonder how long it would be before it collapsed on us. We'd gotten incredibly lucky so far, but luck could run out. My head felt fuzzy from the smoke that was coming down, and I wasn't prepared anymore. Where was that Gryffindor courage I'd been showing off just a few minutes earlier? It was slowly being swallowed by fear of all that was around us.

"We need to get out of here, now." My voice shook, and I could feel my fingers trembling. Sophie was unnaturally pale and she nodded. We turned to go back the way we'd come from when we heard the sound of footsteps coming from the direction we needed to go. I froze, fear paralyzing me in that moment. Sophie held out her wand, but her hand shook violently and I wasn't sure that either of us would be able to successfully cast a spell right now. The footsteps got louder and I forced my hand to move and to hold my wand out and waited. We expected to see a masked figure, and instead were met with an equally cautious wizard with a face we could see. I didn't really pay attention to what he looked like, only that I could see his face. If we could see him, then he wasn't a death eater. He seemed to realize we weren't, either, and lowered his wand. Letting out some curse he shouted back at somebody.

"I found a couple of kids. The rest of the building is on fire and everything is clear. I'm going to get them out of here." An auror, then. I hoped, at least. At this point I didn't care so long as we didn't have to be in charge anymore. He grabbed both of our arms and we were gone with a loud crack.


I never did catch that auror's name. It didn't really matter, in the long run. We'd been dropped off at 's and I guess he told the nurse at the reception desk what had happened. Originally she ushered us up to the fourth floor for spell damage to make sure neither Sophie or I were suffering any. Neither one of us could speak properly to explain that we hadn't actually been there at first, but after the healer examined us and gave us the all clear a couple hours later we finally found our voices. It was strange, the healers seemed as unsure what to do as we were. In the end they let us stay on the fifth floor, where the visitors stayed, and told us in a couple of days they would send a special kind of healer to make sure that we were okay mentally. I'd been worried that since Sophie was technically of age they wouldn't be as nice to her, but apparently going through what we went through earned us some sympathy votes.

The strangest thing was that neither Sophie or I had really spoken at all. Not to the healers, and not to each other. It was a little scary, but I couldn't find it in myself to speak to break the spell. We were still in a sense of shock. I didn't know about her, but I knew I hadn't really been paying attention to this person rising up. Voldemort, they said his name was. I people talked about it at school and we had seen students in the past year or so go missing, but it hadn't affected us directly yet. It hadn't hit anyone we knew, and while we knew we weren't purebloods and therefore we were at risk; it had never hit us. Now it had hit home, literally and figuratively. Finally after two days of us going through the motions of living, Sophie broke. We'd been sitting in the cafeteria, wearing the same clothes from that day as I picked at my cup of pudding and she picked at her fruit. Sophie jerked her head up suddenly, her eyes piercing into mine. I was a little afraid of what would come out of her mouth, and ended up staring like a deer when she finally blurted something out.

"We can't live like this." I blinked, and apparently that wasn't the proper answer. "We aren't living, we're walking around like zombies. We are also wearing the same clothes for the third day in a row. We need to do something."

"We can we do?" I hated being a pessimist. Unfortunately, optimism wasn't always my strong point and for the most part I was a realist. I fell in the wing of the other extremes sometimes, and while I often acted optimistic and cocky I was generally internally a true realist. I didn't have it in me right now to fake it for her. "We have no other clothes, everything we had is piles of ash. I don't know what to do."

"I can access my parents funds…" Sophie stated, her voice softer as it was clear she didn't want to think of why our things were in ashes. Truthfully I didn't either, but I couldn't stop. The images kept plowing through my mind and I was having trouble sleeping at night because of it. I wasn't the only one, judging by how tired the blonde across from me looked. If I looked half as tired as her then I knew between us we made up half of a decent looking human being.

"You can't do that, both literally and figuratively. Besides, you know you're going to need what you have to replace your own supplies." I rubbed my arms as I tried to think of what to do. The muggle government was still in charge of Sophie's inheritance, what little it was, because her parents had been muggles. She still only got stipends despite the fact in the wizarding world she was of age. It was why we didn't rush to move her out on her birthday. Her parents hadn't been rich, but their funds and their life insurance had been enough to put her through school so far, and we knew she would have some left over at the end. It would work now to replace her stuff, but I knew Sophie. She would try and replace mine, too, and if she did that she wouldn't have enough money for what she needed. I couldn't let her do that.

"But you can't just go around with one set of clothes, either. And what about your books? We have to do something…"Sophie had her back to the door, and so she didn't see the person approaching like I did. The man was old, although how old I wasn't sure. Albus Dumbledore was like that, seeming both an all-knowing ancient man and a regular aged elder. His long white beard was a bit of a trademark as was his equally long white hair. He was wearing black robes, and I tried to figure to figure out why our headmaster was here.

"How right you are Miss Devoise. I believe, in this instance, I may be of assistance." Dumbledore's voice broke over the small silence that had spilled between us. At the sound Sophie jumped and jerked around, eyes wide, and I couldn't help the smile that broke across my face. The motion hurt, but felt good all at the same time.

"S-sir? Professor Dumbledore? I, uh, you, er, what? I mean…" Sophie flushed, not normally one to be stuck on words. "Why are you here, sir? Oh! Not like that I just mean, that was rather rude of me."

"Brilliant Sophie. I would suggest the whole closing your mouth bit might actually work better for you." I teased lightly and she shot me a glare, before Dumbledore cleared his throat. We both gave him our attention again.

"I am here, because I was informed two of my students homes had been destroyed in an attack by death eaters and here you are." I think we both looked confused, because he smiled a bit and continued. "Hogwarts is not home to as many orphans as you would think. Most stay with a relative, or end up in a wizarding orphanage rather than a muggle one. It then would make more sense that given light of the situation I would be informed."

That made sense, I realized. I hadn't ever thought about it, but there weren't a lot of muggle orphans that went to Hogwarts. I suddenly felt very lucky, although there was still the bit about the fact we were broke. I opened my mouth, but this man seemed to already have anticipated what I would ask. Talk about a confusing mixture of brilliant and terrifying.

"For the remainder of the summer it had decided it would be in your best interest to stay here. As I understand they have sent for a healer to come and speak with you both about what happened, to which I offer my deepest apologies." I averted my eyes to the ground, my gut twisted uncomfortably. "In the mean time I have seen to it to personally retrieve funds from both of your parents' accounts, and in the case of Miss Devoise I have already taken care of the exchange. All that is left is for you both to go to Diagon alley and get new things. I am to understand everything was lost in the attack, and as such I made sure to retrieve extra so you could both get things that you need." Dumbledore gave us a knowing smile, but a frown had etched onto my face. Had he said both of our parents'?

"Sir-" I started, but Dumbledore cut me off before I could ask.

"I think, perhaps, you two have had enough of an eventful summer. I will offer my assistance, if either of you feel it is needed, to accompany you Diagon alley. But as I understand it one of you have very recently turned of age, and I offer you instead the chance to go alone. The choice is yours."

"We can make it." Sophie's voice cut clear. "I mean, we'll be fine by ourselves, sir."

Dumbledore nodded, pulling out two small bags from his robes and placing them in front of each of us. He bid us farewell, and left with some of his odd words of wisdom. I wasn't paying much attention as my brain swam with thoughts. He had said parents. Plural. I had never known where the money for my supplies came from, but had just assumed it came from a help organization much like the muggle one for children who couldn't afford things. It never occurred to me that Dumbledore might know who my parents were. Of course, the man probably knew everything, but still. I had never thought about it. I wasn't sure I wanted to now, either. I wasn't one of those children who desperately wanted some link to their past, to know who they were. Why would I? Doing that gave you the chance to be hurt, and to learn that perhaps your parents were dead they just didn't want you. I didn't want to know either way. Yet here I was, forced with the fact that apparently at least one parent was dead and had left me their funds. My head swam, and as Sophie stood up and offered me a hand so we could leave I shoved the thoughts away. Too much, I decided. It was all too much and I would deal with it later. With that last thought we were gone with a loud crack.


I don't think either of us had really wanted to be back in Diagon Alley so soon given what had happened. I didn't, and by the rapid pace Sophie made us keep I don't think she wanted to, either. We went back to the whole not talking thing, but I think it was more the environment than us stuck back in the funk. We took care of what we needed, first getting a new trunk, books, robes, and finally getting any must have supplies for classes. Sophie brought our things back and soon we found ourselves in muggle London, buying all new wardrobes. At first I was worried I wouldn't have enough, but after opening the purse full of funds Dumbledore had left I had been surprised. We'd switched the remainder to muggle money before we'd come to this side, and we'd probably been gone for a couple of hours. It was nice, and a bit freeing. Both of us were able to just forget and act like nothing had happened. We were in some shop, I hadn't caught the name but Sophie had seen some skirt in the window and had dragged us in. The prices were relatively inexpensive, so I couldn't complain. She was off trying on a pile of clothes, but I hadn't found much I would really wear here. As I was looking through the jewelry section I noticed a lone charm bracelet and smiled to myself as I picked it up. I recognized these charms, right now to the ruby red slippers. The wizard of Oz was something Sophie had practically forced under my nose the second she was done with it and had hastily snatched it back when I'd given it an okay review. She'd tutted and told me I was crazy, and I'd laughed and told her it was why we got along. The memory brought with it a warm of happy times, and I found myself taking the bracelet to the counter and paying for it. We all needed a reminder sometimes, right? I shoved it into my pocket before Sophie saw, and after she'd paid for her things we left and returned to our temporary home.

That night as we lay in the beds we were allowed to use, I looked over at Sophie. She seemed to be having as much trouble sleeping as I was, so I felt I was as good a time as any. "Hey, Sophie, you awake?"

"If I wasn't, I would be now. What?" Her voice was annoyed, but I had a feeling it had less to do with me. I got up from my bed and padded over to my new trunk, opening it and picking out the charm bracelet.

"Close your eyes!" Sophie let out an annoyed sound at my words, but I could see her smile as she did what I asked. I walked over and placed the bracelet into her hand. As her eyes opened, she gave it a look over. The smile widened as she began laughing, and I frowned in confusion. "If you don't like it it's fine, but you don't have to laugh at me!"

"No, no! Wait." She got up from her bed, going over to her trunk and pulling something out. She gave me a stern look before mimicking. "Close your eyes."

I did as she said, standing there with my eyes closed. I felt something cold and metal in my hand, and opened my eyes to look down. I couldn't help but laugh, either, as I stared down at a Bertie bots charm bracelet. "Did we really?"

Sophie nodded and we let out a series of giggles. Once we'd finally gotten a hold of ourselves, Sophie sat back down on her bed and patted the spot beside her.

"I was thinking about charming it somehow. So that I'd know if you were in danger. I just wasn't sure what to link it to." I looked at my best friend, and I realized why neither of us had been talking to each other these past two days. "I know a spell, found it in one of the books they have here. You just have to charm two objects. If one of the two objects is held by a person in distress, the other will glow and vice versa. I just… It's probably a silly idea…"

I picked up my bracelet, holding it up by a red colored bean. I realized, as she spoke, that we were both scared of losing each other. Over the years we'd developed a friendship that went past what most people had. She was my sister, in all but blood. The fear still there was the fear of what could have happened. "I think this one should do, don't you?"

She smiled at me, then. Looking at her bracelet she held up the ruby slippers. "And this would make an interesting companion piece."

She took out her wand, and said a spell. The two pieces glowed for a moment before returning to normal. I slipped on my bracelet to see her doing the same, and I felt very much like I did when she first entered the orphanage. "Alright, move over."

"Excuse me?" Sophie rose a brow at me, and I bumped her with my shoulder.

"I said move over. We're are going to rock this ten year old style where we share a bed and pretend it's a sleep over and that we're both not scared for our lives." I stated, and Sophie made a face.

"Ava, darling, I love you, but not like that." I pinched her and she let out a squeal.

"Oh shut up you cow, and scoot over. That isn't what I meant and you know it." In the end we'd there had been quite a bit of attacking each other with pillows before eventually we'd both ended up laying down in the bed. Sophie had enlarged it so there was actually room. Even though our backs were to each other and we weren't close each to touch, it was like her being there just made me sure she wasn't going to be ripped away. She was my family, my only family. Just as my eyes started to drift shut I heard Sophie speak up.

"Hey Ava?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you for coming with me. If you had died, I don't…" She let out a sniffle and I felt my own eyes tear up.

"It's okay. I'm okay. We're okay. Get some sleep, Sophie." We both slept soundly that night, for the first time in a while.