The beast slowly made its way toward Alice and Sophie. It tightened its fingers into a fist, causing the bedroom door to slam shut, leaving neither of the girls with any route to escape.

It grabbed Alice by the arms and lifted her, screaming, off of the ground. She kicked and squirmed and screamed, trying to get out of the beast's stronghold. It stared into her eyes and chuckled before tossing her aside, where she landed next to her unconscious brother.

The beast grabbed Sophie by the arm and ripped her from her seated position on the floor. He pushed her face first into the stone wall, stunning her enough to stop her from screaming, then lifted her and tossed her in the same direction he had thrown Alice. Both girls could feel their bodies begin to bruise and swell, but they forced themselves to keep quiet so as not anger the beast further.

The beast stepped back toward the body of their father and flipped him onto his back. It clawed at their father's chest, breaking through his ribcage and tore out his heart.

Holding the dripping organ in his hand, the beast began to mutter words that neither of the girls could understand. The heart began to glow and pulse in the beast's hands. It tore the heart in two and let it drop to the floor. A small bead of white light continued to float before the beast where he had been holding the heart.

The beast gently clasped its hands around the bead and seemed to emit a small amount of light as well as the light from the father's heart sank into the beast's body.

A loud crackling sound, which seemed to be coming from the beast, filled the room. The beast began to grow even taller and stronger before the girls as they cowered on the floor.

Pressing its large hand against the stone wall of the kitchen, a wave of green light lit up the stones, sealing off all of the entrances to the house. It slowly made its way toward the kitchen door, grabbing the father's ankle and dragging his body into the darkness outside, and slamming the door behind him.

Alice, still somewhat in shock from the terrifying encounter, raced to the bedroom and attempted to open the window. The window crackled with energy and sent her flying backward onto David's bed. She walked slowly back to the sitting room and looked at Sophie with an expression of despair.

"I think he's saving the rest of us for later," she squeaked, racing over to her sister and trying to rouse their brother.

Sophie tenderly touched the side of her face where she had hit the wall and tried not to look at the bloody mess the beast had left on the floor. Unable to hold back, she turned and embraced her sister and let the wave of emotion overtake her.

-o-o-

"George, finish everything on your plate, please. I'll not have my children going hungry!" Molly scolded as she glanced over at the table. She went back to putting the dirty dishes in the sink and clearing off the counter tops as Fred and George exchanged confused glances.

"That's Ron's plate, not mine," George stated. "I've nearly eaten all of mine."

Molly stopped what she was doing and looked back at the untouched plate of food with disbelief. Ron was absently poking at his potatoes with his fork while resting his chin in his free hand.

"Ronnie, honey," Molly said. "What's wrong?" She couldn't remember the last time Ron hadn't eaten a meal. Ron had always had a healthy appetite. She wasn't sure where he put it all; the poor boy was far too skinny for her liking. He was steadily growing upward though and would be as tall as Fred and George in no time.

"It's poisoned," Ron replied, setting his fork down. Molly frowned and placed her hands on her hips.

"It has not been poisoned," Molly growled. "Who told you that? Fred? George?"

Both of the twins shook their heads rapidly, looking up at their mother with shocked expressions. The twins loved causing trouble around the house, but they knew there were limits. No one dared interfere with meal times at the Weasley house.

"It wasn't us," Fred interjected.

"Honest, mum," George added, his eyes wide.

Molly looked back at Ron, who was staring blankly at the table. He pushed his plate a few inches away from himself.

"We're going to die without food," Ron whimpered.

"Ron? What are you talking about?" Molly asked. She removed her hands from her hips and crossed them in front of her.

Ron frowned and glanced around at his siblings before looking up at Molly.

"Huh?" he asked, looking confused.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with that food, young man," Molly stated. "I expect you to finish everything on your plate."

Ron nodded obediently as he pulled his plate closer to him and picked up his fork. Molly turned toward the kitchen sink and set about getting dishes washed up. Ron swallowed a few forkfuls of food without a word, not noticing the confused stares he was receiving from his siblings.

The sound of Ron's fork dropping back against his plate made Molly turn around once again. Ron's eyes were glazed and he was staring straight ahead, just as he had been only moments ago.

"I don't feel good," Ron mumbled.

Molly walked around the kitchen table, placing her hand on Ron's forehead and clicking her tongue as she shook her head. Ron blinked and looked up at his mum, surprised to see her standing next to him.

"You are a bit warm," she said softly. She walked back over to the kitchen cupboard and rummaged through one of the cabinets for a potion to lower Ron's fever. "Ah! Here we are!"

Ron groaned and buried his head in his hands. Both Fred and George chuckled quietly and smiled at one another. Percy shook his head and rolled his eyes at the twins.

"Boys, don't be rude," Molly scolded as she grabbed a teaspoon from the drawer. She walked back around the table and poured the potion into the spoon before handing it to Ron.

Ron sighed and took the spoon from his mother. He stared at the purple liquid and groaned while mentally preparing himself to put it in his mouth.

"Come on now," Molly encouraged. "It's not that bad, I promise."

Ron quickly put the spoon in his mouth and swallowed the potion down with a grimace before handing the spoon back to his mother.

"That's a good boy," Molly smiled. She gently pat Ron's shoulder and moved to put the potion bottle back in the cabinet. She nearly dropped the bottle as Ron retched and pushed himself away from the table.

"Ugh!" Fred grimaced, pushing his chair away from Ron. Bill quickly got out of his own chair and raced over to Ron. He lifted Ron into his arms and carried him over to the kitchen sink, pulling the plug to drain the water as Ron gagged once more.

Charlie pushed a chair over to the sink so Bill could set their brother down. Ron gripped the edge of the sink and panted as the potion Molly had given him tried to force its way back out of his body.

"Thank you, boys," Molly sighed. She gently ran her hand along Ron's back as he spit up the potion. "All better, Ronnie?" Ron nodded and wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

Everyone was startled as George suddenly retched and puked on the floor.

"Oh, George! Not you too." Molly gasped sympathetically, racing over to George to rub his back and waving her wand to clean up the mess.

"Sorry, mum," George whispered. "I feel fine, honest. Hearing Ron puke made me sick is all."

"Disgraceful," Fred muttered, shaking his head in disgust at his twin brother. George glared at his twin as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

"Serves you right, you little fucker," Ron growled maliciously, his blue eyes faintly tinted red.

Molly stood up straight and turned toward Ron threateningly.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley!" she yelled angrily. "Where on Earth did you learn such a thing? I have half a mind to wash that filthy mouth out with soap!" She raised her wand threateningly toward Ron.

"Mum, wait!" Bill exclaimed, stepping in front of Ron protectively. "Look at him. Something's wrong with Ron." He stepped aside so Molly could get a good look at Ron, who was leaning against Charlie and staring off into space.

Molly dropped her wand arm to her side and walked over to her little boy. She cupped Ron's chin in her hand and looked into his eyes, they were back to their normal blue colour, but had a glazed look to them.

"Ron?" Molly asked softly. She pressed the back of her hand against his forehead and cheeks. "Ronnie, honey? Can you hear me, poppet?"

Ron blinked suddenly, his eyes clearing almost immediately. He jumped back, startled to find so many people crowding around him. Charlie quickly grabbed Ron before he could topple off of the chair he was still standing on.

"Let go of me!" Ron cried, squirming away from Charlie, his body trembling within Charlie's grasp.

"It's all right, sweet heart," said Molly, gently taking Ron by the hand. She smiled as he tried to calm himself down, taking deep breaths and looking around the room, trying to piece together the last few minutes missing from his memory.

"Ron? Are you feeling all right?" Percy asked. Ron nodded his response and climbed off of the chair. He looked over at his mum with a puzzled expression before making his way back to his seat at the kitchen table.

"Is it ok if I finish this?" Ron asked softly, pointing to his nearly-untouched plate.

"Of course, dear," Molly replied, not knowing how else to respond to her son's odd behaviour. She looked back at Bill who shrugged and watched Ron devour his food.

-o-o-