Molly ran outside and stood beside Arthur as he studied the boy.
"Is he a Muggle?" she whispered.
"Looks like it."
"Just tell him he's lost and give him directions to the nearest town." She hoped he wouldn't try and talk to him. The poor boy looked rattled, and being interrogated about his bathroom sink probably wouldn't help matters.
They stared at each other for a long moment. Ron and Ginny came outside and stared, whispering back and forth. Alex swallowed hard and finally found his voice.
"Uh, my name's Alex....Alex Payne," he called. The Weasleys looked at each other in confusion.
"I've got some stuff I need to tell you," he said. "I think it's kind of important."
Once inside the Burrow, Alex couldn't help staring. Everything was exactly as Rowling said it was--no, better. Better because it was all real and he was staring at it. The hands on the wall clock were all pointed in different directions, none at 'Mortal Peril,' but Alex knew that would change soon.
Arthur sat in an armchair and guestured for Alex to sit on the sofa. Molly stood beside her husband and Ron and Ginny hovered near enough to eavesdrop. "So tell me, how did an American Muggle get all the way over here?"
"Well....it's sort of a long story. See, I'm not totally sure I'm a Muggle."
Ron raised an eyebrow. "You'd think that'd be something you'd know."
"Well, yeah, but I'm not sure." He took a deep breath, then explained about Melinda. "She's a writer, right? Well, most fanfic writers never change anything. If they wrote a story about what might happen if Vold--You-Know-Who--started using killer ninja penguins, nothing would happen, right? Well, this Melinda lady wrote herself into the story and joined You-Know-Who and now she's gonna kill everybody."
Arthur blinked. "Okay, back up. Melinda is a writer...who can alter reality."
"Pretty much."
"And she's joined You-Know-Who."
"Yeah. Oh, and I guess she kind of knows the future, too."
"Wait, wait, wait--she knows the future?"
"Sort of. See, this British chick named JK Rowling wrote a bunch of books about you guys and the Second War and stuff--all about what happens to Harry and everybody--and they're really popular in my world, so Melinda has 'em."
"So....there are books...that fortell the future....and You-Know-Who got to them before we did?" He still sounded a bit skeptical, so Alex changed tactics.
"Percy is gone," he said, and Molly looked at him in surprise. "He's letting his job pull him away from all of you guys, which is kind of weird, because when Ginny got possessed by You-Know-Who four years ago, he was the one who worried most."
"How did you know--"
"Arthur, you got bit by that snake and almost died--that's when that clock over there had your hand on 'Mortal Peril'--but Harry saw through the snake's eyes and you got to St. Mungo's in time."
The Weasleys stared at him with a mixture of amazement and fear.
"Like I said, the books tell about the entire Second War--from when Harry first goes to Hogwarts to when the War finally ends two years from now. They talk about everything that's happened so far--and everything that hasn't happened yet."
"What....what does it say about us? Our family?"
"Everything. That's kind of why I'm here." He took a deep breath, knowing no one would like what he had to say next. "Fred dies in the last book, and I know how to stop it."
Once Katie's siblings heard that Harry Potter was in their living room, they immediately came out of hiding and swarmed around him, asking a dozen questions a minute.
"Did you really see Voldemort up close?"
"What does Dudley look like?"
"How come you never ran away?"
"Okay, everybody out!" Fiona shooed them out, promising them time with their favorite characters later, then looked at Harry apologetically. "Sorry. You're really popular, where we come from."
"Yeah. Tell me about it."
"Oh, right. The Ministry." She laughed. "Almost forgot about that."
"So," Katie said, "what are we going to do?"
Snape sighed. "We'll have to return to Britain--and soon."
"Yeah." Nobody liked the idea of returning to a war zone, but there was no other option. Silence reigned for a few minutes while everyone pondered something--returning to Britain, running from Voldemort, the look on Cornelius Fudge's face when he had to admit Sirius was innocent. Fiona was the first to speak.
"I should probably go with you, whenever you go back." She laughed at Katie's startled look. "Don't think I was going to let you run off to England all by yourself, young lady! Especially not with Voldemort running the show."
"He's not running anything yet," Draco said, more to himself than anyone else.
"Are we taking the midgets with us?" Katie said, referring to her siblings.
"Of course. I'm not leaving them here--if that's okay with you, Mr. Dumbledore."
"No, no, bring them along. When Voldemort finds out about your daughter, you'll all need Order protection."
Fiona nodded, then shouted down the hall: "Hey, everyone get packing! We're going to England!"
Cheers followed. Jacob turned to Liesel.
"We'd better get home, too, since it looks like we're going along." He looked at Dumbledore. "When are we leaving?"
"As soon as possible."
Grimmauld Place was searched thoroughly, but after four hours, the closest thing to a clue anyone found was several empty potions bottles and pouches surrounding Draco's school trunk.
"Suicide or murder?"
Lucius shook his head. "Neither. He must have been making a bomb."
"A bomb?"
"A small one. He did it all the time at home." His throat closed as he thought of the silence at home, the silence left when Draco vanished, only to be seen before disappearing again....with Albus Dumbledore. The Dark Lord hadn't said so, but Lucius knew that the next time his son was sighted, he wouldn't be seen long. Not if he valued his life.
He stared at the empty bottles for a long moment before turning away. "There's nothing here."
"But--"
"Let's go," he said curtly and went downstairs. He noticed little of his surroundings; there was nothing to see but plenty to think about. Draco was a traitor and near the top of the Dark Lord's Most Wanted List.
How was he going to tell Narcissa?