When he woke, the first thing he was keenly aware of was the girl in his arms. A girl, he realised, squinting at the blur next to him, who had red hair and freckles.

It took Harry a moment to remember where he was and what exactly had happened the night before. The morning sun was streaming through the windows, and he began to wonder exactly how long they'd slept. What if Sirius or Regulas came to call him to breakfast? What would they think, or worse, say? The situation, although completely innocent, could quickly be blown out of proportion.

The thought struck him unexpectedly that if he had his way, he'd like to lay like this for hours and hours, just holding Ginny in his arms. Somehow in the course of the night, her head had come to rest on his shoulder and her hair was softly framing her face. She looked so peaceful, as if she hadn't a care in the world. He hated to think of the lines that would return when she woke, and even worse, how he'd been the cause of most of the cares that had caused the lines.

Regretfully, Harry gently slid his shoulder out from under her head and replaced it with a pillow. She shifted a little, but didn't wake.

Harry grabbed his wand and a change of clothes (Sirius must have had the good sense to grab some necessities before the hasty departure from Grimmauld Place) and quietly slipped out of the room.

Sirius was in the kitchen, stirring a mug of dark brown liquid. "Morning," he called. "Want some coffee?"

"No thanks," said Harry, who had never really developed a taste for the stuff. "Is there a shower around here?"

"I think Regulus rigged one up down the hall from your room. His spells weren't the greatest—the pressure really sucks—but it's something, at least. And the temperature's adjustable."

"Is he here?"

"Nope."

Harry turned to leave, but Sirius said, "Is Ginny up?"

"I don't think so," Harry replied quickly. "I haven't seen her. If I were you, I'd let her sleep, though. She's not a morning person, and she's got a temper when she's woken."

"I'll keep that in mind," Sirius said, not looking affronted at all. "She can't be any worse than Lily, though. That woman was a hag in the mornings during our school days."

Harry raised his eyebrows. So that was where Leila had gotten that particular trait from.

"Anyway, I won't keep you from your shower," Sirius said, waving Harry away. "Merlin knows you need one. I can smell you all the way from here."

Harry scowled, but let the comment go. "Knock on Ginny's door for me after you shower, will you?" called Sirius as Harry headed down the hall. "Regulus will be back soon, and we've got loads of stuff to discuss."

Perfect, thought Harry.

The shower felt marvelous; vaguely, he realised it'd been nearly a week since his last one, though he had gotten cleaned up the previous morning with a bowl of water and a towel. The pressure was even worse than Sirius had described it, but the hot water seemed to wash away all the revulsion and filth of Azkaban. How Ginny had survived for two months was beyond him.

After he'd dried himself off and slipped into the clean set of clothes, he dried his hair with a charm and tried to comb it. Not that it did any good. Mrs. Weasley had always fretted and called his hair 'a worthless cause.' Back in his room, he threw the dirty clothes in a pile in the corner, then stopped to study Ginny. He'd never woken up a girl before. How was a bloke supposed to go about it? Say her name? Shake her? Had it been Ron, he'd have pushed him out of bed or pelted him with pillows or simply shouted.

Finally, Harry lightly shook her shoulder. "Ginny. Ginny?"

She didn't stir.

Bloody hell, she was just as heavy a sleeper as her older brother. Scratch that, brothers, plural. Harry knew from personal experience how hard it was to get Ron and especially the twins up for early Quidditch games.

He tried again, saying her name a little louder. "Ginny. Ginny…Ginny…wake up… GINNY!"

At last, she shifted a little. "Go 'way," she muttered, burrowing herself deeper into the blankets.

Harry sighed exasperatedly. "Fine, just stay there and wait till Sirius or Regulus finds you in my bed."

That seemed to work. "Bloody hell," she said, sitting up and looking at him with wide eyes. "How long did I sleep?"

"Long enough," said Harry. "Now get out of here before someone shows up."

She quickly slipped out of the bed and shoved her feet into her slippers. At the door, however, she paused. "Thanks, Harry," she said softly, and he grinned lopsidedly.

"Anytime," he said, meaning it.

By the time Ginny had showered and dressed, Regulus had arrived back with bags of supplies and a Daily Prophet which Sirius once again "accidently" burned before Harry could have a look. Harry and Ginny situated themselves around the fire (even though it was only September, the house was drafty and cold) holding plates of eggs and bacon Harry had fixed. Regulus dipped himself some of the leftovers and joined the circle.

"So," said Sirius. "So."

His one word was loaded with questions no one was willing to ask. What are we going to do now? Stay here holed up in this sad excuse for a mansion forever? Wait until the Ministry looses interest?

"I guess we need a plan."

Across the room, Ginny was watching Sirius with wide eyes. Regulus was staring at the floor, arms crossed over his chest.

Harry wondered whether Sirius was considering leaving the country. Things would definitely be better for all of them in a place where they weren't known as the Ministry's most wanted criminals. They could rent a flat. Sirius and Regulus could get jobs. Harry and Ginny could, perhaps, attend a Wizarding school. But the thought of leaving his newly-discovered family behind was too much.

It was true that their options were limited, but Harry knew he'd never feel right if they just picked up and left Britain to deal with Voldemort on their own. He felt the old familiar burden of responsibility, even though he knew that the Prophecy had never been made here. It wasn't his job to defeat Voldemort, but if he took that belief to the point where he made no effort at all to help, he'd live with the guilt of his actions for the rest of his life.

Regulus cleared his throat. "The most logical plan is to run," he said. "Find a place where we can wait out the war without discovery. We certainly can't stay here forever. The Ministry will guess sooner or later."

Ginny shivered.

Sirius looked reluctant. "It's a good idea," he said, but his heart wasn't in it.

"We can't just do nothing, though," Ginny said in a tiny voice. "We'd all go crazy."

"But we'd be safe."

"Safe is no fun…" Ginny began indignantly.

"But what else are we to do?" Sirius argued.

"I'd have thought it to be obvious," said Harry after a pause. "We've got to find the last Horcruxes ourselves."

There was a long period of silence. Ginny was nodding, though Sirius was shaking his head; Regulus looked thoughtful.

"Think about it," continued Harry quickly. "We could keep to the shadows, but still help the Order in any way we can. We could do their dirty work for them. Horcrux hunting. Secret missions. Two of us are Animagi."

"Three," corrected Sirius.

Harry stared at Ginny. "It's not me," she protested; both of them turned accusing eyes on Regulus.

"He told me to keep it a secret," Regulus defended, pointing at Sirius.

"What form do you take?"

He looked disgruntled. "Snake."

Ginny whistled. "I read somewhere that it's really hard to turn into reptiles," she said, looking impressed.

"Can you talk to other snakes when you're in your form?" asked Harry, curious as to whether he'd be able to communicate with Regulus in Parseltongue."

"Never tried."

"Now you lot absolutely have to teach me how to be an Animagus," said Ginny, folding her arms stubbornly across her chest.

"Can we get back to the subject?" Sirius called, irritated.

The teens meekly nodded. Regulus simply scowled again—something it seemed he was quite good at.

"As for Harry's suggestion," Sirius said, "the answer is absolutely not."

"Why?" Ginny whined.

"I've got to keep you both safe," Harry's godfather said. "Lily and James are certain to kill me already when I see them next for involving their only son in a plan to break you," he pointed at Ginny, "out of Azkaban."

"I'll tell them I came up with it," began Harry, but Sirius silenced him with a wave of a hand.

"And when they kill me, it will be ten times more painful and drawn out if I can't present you," he pointed at Harry, "back to them alive and well," he said, glaring at both teens. "My main priority is to keep you two out of harm's way until things calm down around here."

"Which will be when? Never," Harry said harshly. "Things will never be safe for us until Voldemort is defeated and we can officially prove Ginny's innocence. So it would be in our best interest to see his downfall as soon as possible, correct?"

"Yes, but…"

"I'm sorry if my agenda is a little different than yours," said Harry coldly. "But I don't exactly plan on hiding out for the next fifteen years while the Order takes their time destroying the last Horcruxes and planning a way to get Voldemort. The prophecy in my world says it's got to be me, and alternate universe or not, I'm still going to be the one to do it."

"You can't possibly…"

"You think I'm not capable of defeating the Dark Lord?" Harry challenged. "Perhaps not. But I've got to try. So if you lot want to go hide, fine by me, I'll just pack my stuff and leave now…"

He had risen to his feet.

"Harry…"

"If he leaves, I'm going too," Ginny said stubbornly, jumping to her feet as well.

Sirius looked abashed. "You can't be serious."

Harry glanced over at Ginny. "Let's go pack."

They were halfway to the door before Sirius shouted, "Wait!" Slowly, Harry turned. His godfather's shoulders were slumped in resignation. "Fine," he said. "Fine. We'll look for Horcruxes. We'll help the Order. Just sit back down, for Merlin's sake!"

Ginny grinned widely at Harry and gave him a high-five before they trouped back over to the chairs. Inwardly, Harry wondered how far he and Ginny would have actually gotten, had not Sirius changed his mind.

He realised, a moment later, that Regulus was shaking—literally—in silent laughter. Sirius sent a venomous glare at his brother. "It's not funny!"

"He's exactly like you," Regulus said, coming closer to smiling than Harry'd ever seen. "Exactly like you, stomping out of our house at age fifteen like a bloody prig, refusing to live with a stuck up Pureblood family any more."

There was a long pause before Sirius slumped resignedly back into his chair. "Did not…"

"So," said Harry quickly, settling back into his seat. "Which Horcrux are we going after first?"

They decided to wait for a time before rushing into Muggle London to search the orphanage where Riddle had gone to school. They would need to get a copy of the building plans, as well as a map of the surrounding buildings; they'd also need an adequate cover.

"We can't go trouping in all four of us," said Sirius. "If we were discovered by the Ministry, they'd get all of us. Best to split up."

Harry agreed. They could get more done in groups of two rather than four, though Regulus felt that they had safety in numbers. But he also didn't want Ginny coming along at all.

"Posh!" she exclaimed angrily when he mentioned her staying home. "I'm not staying here!"

"You're underage. And you don't even have a wand!"

"I have two," offered Harry. "She's real good with a wand."

Honestly, he didn't really want Ginny coming either. She wasn't bad—D.A. had taught her the basic spell knowledge and agility needed for a proper duel, but he still didn't want her fighting real Death Eaters or Aurors any time soon. However, he knew that if he didn't stand up for her, he'd have it coming to him later.

A moment later, Harry was trouping off to his room to retrieve McNair's wand; Ginny wanted to try it out. He'd protested that the Ministry would immediately find out, but Sirius had interjected that the Ministry wouldn't detect her magic beneath the specific wards he and Regulus had cast—wards to scramble the magical signatures, so the Ministry wouldn't be able to locate the fugitives merely by their spells.

"Aquamenti," tried Ginny, holding McNair's wand in her hand. Nothing happened. "It doesn't work," she said, looking immensely disappointed.

"That's odd," said Harry, frowning at the black wand. "It worked fine for me in Azkaban…"

"That was because you won the wand from him," explained Sirius.

"Huh?"

"You took the wand from McNair, didn't you?" Sirius said patiently. Harry nodded. "Then you're the master now, ever if it's not your wand."

"Oh." Harry gave the wand a wave, half-heartedly muttering, "Wingardium Leviosa," and the empty chair next to him rose instantly into the air, with almost as much ease as if he'd been using his own wand.

He was hit by a sudden burst of inspiration. "Hey, Gin, try my wand."

She took it skeptically. "I don't think…" But she still gave it a wave, muttering the spell for water again, and she yelped and jumped back as a stream of water gushed from the end of Harry's wand, soaking the floor and the chair and splattering Sirius in the process.

Sirius let out a few carefully chosen swear words and Ginny jumped back in surprise as Harry doubled over in laughter. "Not a word," Sirius warned, a threatening note in his voice.

Harry wisely decided to heed his godfather's command, and instead complimented Ginny on her success. She beamed. "But Harry, I can't take your wand…"

"Nonsense," said Harry, who was really feeling reluctant to part with the Holly wand that had become like an old friend. But Ginny needed protection too, and if McNair's wand wouldn't work for her, he definitely didn't want her defenseless in a fight. "I can use this other wand just as well. Besides, it's only until we can figure out a way to sneak you into Diagon Alley and buy you a new one."

Sirius and Regulus exchanged a glance that Harry interpreted that that wouldn't be happening anytime soon.

"So, it's settled," he said loudly. "We'll split up and use our Animagus forms, and Ginny here can be disillusioned…"

"Still not safe," argued Sirius. "The Ministry allows Aurors to carry around special charms that allow them to see through any spell disguises."

Harry frowned. "Then our Animagus forms shouldn't be safe…"

"I said spells," Sirius reminded him. "Animagi aren't noticed because your animal form isn't acquired by using a spell, and really, it's just another part of you that everyone else is looking at."

"Polyjuice?" said Ginny hopefully.

"No more left," answered Regulus dejectedly.

Harry stared thoughtfully into the fire, trying to think. How could Ginny get around undetected? They couldn't teach her to become an Animagus in such a short amount of time, and Polyjuice took weeks to boil…it wasn't safe to buy some for fear of being recognized…"

"I've got it!" she said, her face breaking into a large smile. "Harry, your cloak!"

"My Invisibility Cloak," Harry echoed, his eyes widening. "Why didn't I think of that before?"

"It's at Grimmauld Place if you brought it with you to my place," said Sirius grimly.

"No, it's even worse than that," said Harry, realization dawning. "My cloak isn't at Grimmauld Place—it's at Hogwarts."

"Class dismissed," called Professor Sprout, and Leila gratefully shrugged off her smock and put away her things, taking her time so when she began her trek back up to the castle, the path would pretty much be deserted.

The last week had been the worst week of her entire life. The Aurors had showed up on Platform 9 ¾ to take her parents in for questioning as she was just boarding the train. The Daily Prophet had been running scandalous headlines all week—"Famous Chaser James Potter's Son a Criminal" and "Sirius Black Aids Godson in Freeing Murderer Ginevra Weasley—Aurors Continue Search" were just a few of the nicer ones. Oddly enough, each new headline comforted her; at least she knew that Harry was safe—he and Sirius had succeeded in getting Ginny out, even if it meant they were on the run now.

She only wished she knew for sure.

It would be easier, of course, if she had someone to talk to. She couldn't tell her parents what she knew—they might be questioned under Veritiserum again. The Weasleys were under high surveliance as well. She knew that although she hadn't been questioned, her mail was being watched, and Aurors would most likely tail her if she left the grounds to see if Harry or Sirius made contact. Similar measures were being taken to insure that Ginny made no contact with her family members.

Even the fact that she wasn't entirely the center of attention didn't help. Try as she might, she hadn't succeeded in cornering Ron Weasley who was avoiding the population in general. She wondered what was going through his head. Anger? Relief? Confusion? It must be horribly conflicting to have your worst enemy rescue your younger sister from Azkaban and then practically disappear off the face of the planet.

She had entered the castle, and was walking slowly down a deserted first floor corridor, lost inthought when suddenly a hand reached out from a dark alcove and latched onto her wrist, pulling her into the shadows. She opened her mouth to scream, but a strong hand clamped over her it, and a rich voice said into her ear, "Did you miss me?"

Instantly, her mouth was freed and she spun around. "Theo!" she exclaimed, launching herself at the tall, dark-haired boy who was grinning widely at her.

A moment later a strong pair of arms were encircling her, pulling her tightly into his chest. She closed her eyes, squeezing back the tears as the emotions of the prior week washed over her accompanied with an overwhelming feeling of relief.

"I'm so glad you're here," she murmured into his shirt, and unbidden, a single tear slid down her cheek.

"I missed you," he said, gently freeing himself and looking down at her. "What? Is the invincible Leila Potter crying?"

"Bad week," she said, smiling weakly as he softly brushed the tear away with his thumb as his hand cradled her face. "God, I missed you too."

"Crazy, isn't it?" Theodore said. "I never thought Potter had it in him. Breaking a Weasley out of Azkaban, of all things!"

Leila looked away. "Harry's different."

Theodore paused. "What kind of different?"

She shook her head. "He hasn't gone over to the Dark side like the rumours say, Theo. He's changed, but he hasn't joined him."

"Leila, he broke a murderer out of Azkaban!"

"Do any of us know for sure that she's innocent?" Leila said, keeping her voice neutral. Her frustration was building though—she wished she could climb on the table in the Great Hall and shout the truth to anyone.

"How much did Harry tell you before he left with your godfather?" asked Theodore, watching her reaction carefully.

"Not much," she said evasively. "Just trust me, OK?"

He nodded, and let the subject go. God, how she appreciated that about him—years of dealing with Slytherins hadn't turned him into a manipulative, insensitive git. "So, how was your summer?"

Theodore's face darkened. "Leila," he said carefully, "there was quite a bit I left out of my letters."

She gulped. "I figured as much," she said quietly, watching him. "What happened?"

He turned slightly to stare at the stone wall. "My father felt that it was time he imparted to me some of his knowledge of…certain Death Eater matters."

"Did…did you take the Mark?" she whispered, not trusting her voice, hoping he hadn't, wondering what she'd do if he had…

He shook his head and rolled up his sleeve on his left arm. "No, I'm still Dark Mark-free," he told her bitterly. "The Dark Lord wouldn't be stupid enough to send a Marked student into Hogwarts, where all the teachers are forever snooping around in everyone's business. But some of the things he showed me—the stories he laughed at…"

"Oh, Theo," she whispered, lightly touching his arm.

He seemed to pull himself together. "Leila, I know that your parents work in some sort of Resistance movement."

"How…"

"You hear things when you live at my house," Theodore said impatiently. "How I heard that isn't important…they aren't in any danger…but Leila, I learned things…things that you need to take to the right people…"

He stopped, his gaze penetrating into her. "If you can get this information to someone who can help, people's lives could be spared."

A week after arriving at the old Potter Manor, Harry was dying to get out.

Ginny was even worse. "I can't spend another day in this prison!" she shouted at Sirius one Saturday morning as she wildly paced about the room. "I'll die if I have to stay here any longer…"

"Fine words from someone who just spent three months in Azkaban," Sirius said dryly.

She flushed red. "I'm serious!"

"I know you are. But for your sanity, and more importantly, mine, I'm going to have to ask you to stop pacing! We're doing everything we can!"

Ginny reluctantly slumped down into the empty chair. "I want to go with you when you go to Hogsmeade."

Their plan was to sneak into the Wizarding town that day, since it was Hogsmeade weekend, in hopes that they could make contact with Leila and have her help them retrieve the cloak from Harry's trunk. When Ginny had learned that she wouldn't be allowed to go, she had pitched a fit paramount to a five-year-old's temper tantrum.

Sirius threw up his hands in surrender. "She's all yours, Harry."

Harry sighed and turned to his red-headed, hot tempered girlfriend who was currently shooting daggers at him with her eyes. "Ginny," he said soothingly. "I know you want to go, but you can't because you can't turn into a shaggy dog or slithering snake or bird like us. The place will be teeming with Aurors just dying to get their hands on you, and I can't be bothered with having to get you out of Azkaban again just when I've finished rescuing you the first time."

Ginny's mouth was open wide enough to trap a small bird. She sputtered nonsensical words as Harry smirked at her. "You…you…you…"

"Ginny, don't be ridiculous," he said. "We're going to Hogsmeade to get the Invisibility Cloak so you can go with us on missions!"

She glared and crossed her arms.

Harry leaned down. "I promise, Ginny, you'll get to go on the very next expedition. And I'll tell you everything, even what your prat of a brother looked like if I happen to see him."

A tiny smile. Harry took it as a proverbial green light. "I'll see you soon, OK?" he said softly.

"Sure," said Ginny, throwing him an impish grin. "Now, don't you go get caught yourself, or I might have to pull your sorry arse out of a holding cell myself."

He and Sirius apparated to the edge of Hogsmeade, where Sirius immediately transformed into a dog. Harry quickly poured the bottle of dye over the dog, turning its fur a bright shade of yellow. Padfoot barked and wagged his tail. "Down boy," laughed Harry. "You'll only look like Old Yeller for a few hours, and then you'll be back to normal. Now go sniff Leila out for me."

The dog bounded off, and Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. An instant later, a quick Specularius spell showed that he was now several inches shorter sporting light brown hair and a pair of wide blue eyes. A transfiguration spell changed his glasses into square frames that made him look like a Ravenclaw nerd, and another moment of concentration and he was a little stocker. Now no one would ever guess who he was.

He surveyed the town, trying to figure out where his sister would go. He didn't even know if she'd actually come to Hogsmeade or not…if not, his hopes of reaching here would be shattered. Getting inside the castle to retrieve the cloak without her assistance would be much more complicated, even with his knowledge of the secret passageways.

Where should he check first?

The answer was simple—the Three Broomsticks.

Carefully, Harry sauntered to the road leading into the busy town, trying to look as normal and carefree as possible. The Aurors, he noticed, were stationed one at each road entrance, and several more at key street corners. At first, as Harry passed one, he thought for sure his tense posture would give him away, but the Auror paid him no notice. He began to relax a little.

The Three Broomsticks was mostly deserted, probably due to the fact that the lunch hour hadn't begun yet. Harry quickly scanned the room. No reddish-black-haired Gryffindor sixth year. He was about to turn and leave when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a tiny figure huddled in one of the back booths.

Harry took a cautious step forward. The girl in the corner booth didn't look up. Her long blonde hair hung in clumps over her shoulders, and she was curled up in the fetal position, her knees pulled tightly against her chest. With a sinking heart, he realised that he recognized her.

"Luna?" He moved a little closer, but she didn't look up. He was beginning to get worried. "Luna!"

Luna's head snapped up, and Harry suddenly felt paralyzed by her eyes. They were still the same colour blue he remembered, but there was an unfathomable, almost frightening depth to them. She looked much older and wiser, as if she had seen and experienced many terrible things in her life.

"You're Harry Potter," she said matter-of-factly, and Harry was surprised to find that gone was the dreamy quality of her voice. It was replaced with a flat, low tone. He had the vague uncomfortable feeling that she had read his mind. How else could she have known it was him? He still looked different…

"How do you know who I am?"

Luna took a moment before answering, and when she spoke, it was in a detached, flat voice as she stared unblinkingly out the window. "I saw you come with Sirius Black, only he was a big, yellow dog."

Harry nearly choked. "Don't say that so loud!" he hissed angrily, and Luna turned back to him, her mouth twisting into a cynical smile.

"Don't worry, Harry, I'm the only person who knows." She stared intensely at him for a few moments, and Harry felt as if he was being scrutinized to his very soul under her gaze. Suddenly her eyes widened, and she exclaimed, "You…maybe you could do something to stop it."

"Excuse me?"

Luna's eyes were riveted on his face as she twisted her hands. "Perhaps you can do something to prevent it. There is…something about you, though I'm not sure what, but maybe you'll be able to stop the inevitable."

"Stop what?"

"The tragedy that's approaching," she said, as if it were an everyday occurrence to talk about coming catastrophes.

"What tragedy?" Harry pressed, completely nonplussed.

Luna tilted her head a little, a bitter smile still pulling at the corners of her mouth. Her next words, however, were burned forever into his mind. She leaned forward, her eyes luminous and wide, and in complete sincerity said quietly, "Everyone's going to die."

Author's Note: So, there's an update. Gosh, it's been almost two months! Sorry about that... I've tried something new in this chapter. The World as We Knew It was written entirely in Harry's perspective, but I can see that I won't be able to do that for this fic. So perhaps there will be more POV's to come in the future. Hope this chapter bumped up the mystery for you all...what is Theodore talking about? And what did Luna see? And by the way, each is referring to a different event. It's not the same. Next chapter--Harry meets Leila in Hogsmeade and discovers a startling revelation.