Disclaimer: I own nothing!

A/N: Just a reminder…This fic is rated T, so nothing graphic. Sorry for all of you waiting on some smut…Not in this one!

Maria woke suddenly, knowing something was wrong. She reached behind her where Harry had been just a few short hours before, but the bed was cold. The sun still hadn't made an appearance yet, but a quick glance at the clock by Harry's bed told Maria that it was after five.

Where the hell is Harry?

She sat up and looked around the room. On the bed, the Quidditch jersey Harry wore during every game was lying as if it had been left specifically for her. As she put it on, she spotted a piece of parchment in the dim light. Turning on the lamp by the bed, she sat down to read Harry's familiar handwriting.

Ria,

Merlin, do I hate myself right now! Not for what happened last night…I could never regret that. If, by some terrible act of fate, I do never see you again, at least I had the chance to spend my last night with you in your arms. I hope you know how much I really love you, because I do. Maria, I love you more than I could ever tell you.

Why do I hate myself? Well, if you're reading this, you're awake and wondering where I am. I hope you found my jersey…it's the one piece of clothing I left. I want you to have it. If you go to yours and Hermione's room, you'll find her gone as well. We decided that leaving before anyone awakened would be best. I can't look in your eyes and tell you good-bye…not again. The next time I see you, either this war will be over, or it'll be your birthday. I plan on the former coming true first, but we'll see.

Amy's going to need you today, as will Dean. Amy doesn't know as much as you two do, so explain to her what's going on. Ron, in his constant effort to get out of telling people things, neglected to go into too many details with the poor girl.

Remus should be there to get you by noon. Take care of everyone, especially Tonks and my godson (because that's what she'll have…I'm Harry Potter. You know what a goddaughter would do to my reputation?). She's a special lady, and she's going to need your help in the next few months!

Once again, I LOVE YOU. You need anything, Floo Dumbledore or McGonagall at Hogwarts.

Love,

Harry

Maria began sobbing before she finished the letter, her tears joining the dark spots that were already on the parchment, spots she knew were made by Harry as he sat up in the early morning hours writing this letter, not knowing how he was going to tell her goodbye.

The girl snuck to the bathroom, took a quick shower, and snuck to her bedroom, the one she had been sharing with Hermione. Hermione's bed looked like it hadn't even been slept in, as did hers. Maria dressed for the day, folding Harry's jersey and putting it in her suitcase. She was packed and ready to see her mom, but she knew she had a few hours before Remus would be there to get them.

Before heading to breakfast, she went back to Harry's room and cleaned up all the evidence of their previous night. The dark blue negligee that Harry had loved so much was folded to carry back to her suitcase. She looked at the sheets. Evidence at what Harry had taken from her glared at the girl as she unconsciously blushed. He had been so careful, making sure to take his time with her, even though he was just as inexperienced as she was.

He had shyly pulled out a condom from his wallet. "Not that I've ever needed it. Uncle Vernon gave it to me last summer when I was riding the tube so much, saying he didn't want any more little freaks running around that he would have to take care of." Thankful that he had thought of protection, and ashamed that she hadn't, she had kissed him, glad for his bastard of an uncle for once. For extra protection, he murmured what he told her was a contraceptive charm. "I want kids, but I want to be here to experience everything with you. I won't leave a child fatherless like I was."

Shaking her head, she looked back at the bed, not knowing how she was going to get the obvious stain out of the sheet before Molly saw. Thinking over the inhabitants of the house, she had an idea. Ginny!

She rushed to Ginny's room and crept past Amy's sleeping form. Maria shook Ginny until the redhead looked up at the worried-looking girl. "Maria, what is it? What time is it?"

"Almost seven. Could you come with me? I need your help!"

Ginny eased out of bed, and the two ran up the stairs to Harry's room. Ginny looked around. "Um, why did you bring me here? Where's Harry?"

Shit. Didn't think I'd have to let that cat out of the bag that soon… "They're gone. Harry left a letter for me; they didn't want to have to actually say goodbye to anyone this morning, so they took off in the middle of the night."

"You room with Hermione, Maria, and Harry left you a note. You didn't hear when they left?"

Ginny must have caught Maria's guilty look. "Or did even you room with Hermione last night?"

"Ah, not exactly. I, uh, spent the night with Harry last night, and he snuck out this morning without waking me. The fact that I spent the night with him is actually what I need help with. Do you know…God, this is embarrassing."

"What is it, Maria? Is it something about Harry? What? Mum will be coming up to check on us in a bit if we don't come down to breakfast."

Just out with it, Maria! "Fine! I need help removing a certain…stain…from your mother's sheets, Ginny! Harry and I sort of made a mess, and short of actually doing a load of laundry this morning, I can't do anything to keep your mum from knowing what went on under her roof during her son's wedding reception last night!" Maria stopped to take a breath as Ginny began laughing.

"You're lucky Mum taught us all of these spells from an early age. Let me go get another wand. Can't have the ministry seeing a sixteen-year-old doing under-age magic!" The three minutes Ginny was gone were the longest in Maria's life, or at least that's what they felt like.

When she returned, she pulled the sheets back, muttered something that sounded like scourgify, and suddenly, the sheets were back to their impeccable white hue. Maria, relieved, walked up to Ginny and grabbed her. "Thank you so much!"

Ginny smiled. "Not a problem. Now, let's go wake Amy and Dean and go break the news to the rest of the family about the runaways. Then, afterwards, I want details!"

The family was not happy with the disappearance of Harry, Hermione, and Ron, especially Molly. Of course, Maria, Dean, and Amy were not exactly happy either, but because they had been prepared, especially Maria and Dean, they knew why the three had left when they did. They tried to defend them, but Molly didn't back down easily.

Ginny and Amy cornered Maria in her room, Amy knowing that something was off about Maria. The girl gave in and told all to her two friends, from the moment she and Harry left the reception up until she read his letter that very morning. They sat on Maria's bed together until Dean knocked on the door and asked to speak to Maria alone. Ginny and Amy left the two and closed the door, leaving Dean to sit awkwardly on Hermione's bed.

"So, they're gone."

"Yeah. Did Hermione leave you a note or anything?"

Dean nodded. "I think you and I woke up in the same position, Maria. When we got back last night, Hermione stopped by her room, and you weren't there. We saw you and Harry leave the reception, so we put two and two together. Hermione stayed with me last night."

"Oh. So you woke up…"

"And she was gone. Her note helped, but Merlin, Maria, I still can't comprehend that I won't see her until that bastard is dead. Why does she have to follow Potter and Weasley everywhere? Why is she so…Hermione?"

"Would you love her so much if she wasn't?"

Dean smiled slightly. "Probably not. I probably wouldn't have known her name if she hadn't been around Harry and Ron all of those years. But Maria, she's muggle-born! She's putting herself out there, just daring You-Know…Voldemort to come after her! Not only that, she's Harry's best friend! That puts a target on her back all on its own!" His eyes widened at that last statement. "Maria, I didn't mean it like that."

"Don't worry, Dean. I know what you mean. Harry's in a dangerous position, and I know you think that Hermione doesn't have to be with him. But Dean, she's been with him since first year, as has Ron. This Voldemort character knows that. He would target her anyway. Also, Harry's her family. She knows you're protected, but I think, from my talks with the two of them, she expects Harry to be the one to get into the most trouble. As much as she complains about him having a 'saving people thing,' she's just as bad.

He nodded. "I know. I just have been able to keep my eye on her this whole time, and now, I'm at a loss."

Maria reached over. "I understand completely. But we'll do what we can here, you more than I can, but they need us here. You'll be watching over your family, and that's your job right now. Hermione's powerful, so I think we need to trust those three to take care of each other. They'll have each other's backs."

Dean sighed. "Yeah. Thanks, Maria. I think you have a better grasp on this world than most wizards and witches do."

"I can only hope. Come on, let's go have lunch before Remus comes and takes me away."

"Maria! Remus is here!" Ginny came in the house, pulling a tired-looking Lupin into the house.

Molly ran into entryway, greeting her guest. "Remus! Ginny, did you ask the security question?"

"Of course, Mum. I'm not stupid!" Ginny rolled her eyes.

"No one said you were, dear. Now, Remus, come on in and grab a plate. We were just finishing lunch!"

"No thank you, Molly. I just need to grab the kids and go. I'm kinda in a hurry."

"Is everything okay?"

"Not really, but I need to get Maria out of here." He looked at Ginny. "Tell Amy and Dean to grab their things and come as well."

Molly looked worried. "Are Rachel and the Grangers okay?"

"For now. And your wards are still up and fully functional. I'll send word once I get them settled and safe." When Maria, Amy, and Dean walked in with their bags, Remus motioned with his head. "Come on, guys. We need to go. Something's happened, and Grimmauld Place is no longer safe. We've found you a new place, but we need to go now. Molly, Mad-Eye will be here in a bit to brief all of you. Harry, Hermione, and Ron are already gone?"

Maria nodded. "This morning before everyone woke up."

"Good. Let's go."

Once out of the Weasleys' wards, Lupin grabbed on to all three teenagers, telling them to hold on. Maria felt even sicker than usual as she landed, figuring that squeezing four people through whatever tube they traveled through took up more room than two.

She looked at her surroundings. The four of them were deep in a forest, trees covering their position on each side. Maria glanced at her companions before Remus took off with determination, expecting the teenagers to follow him. Maria, Dean, and Amy followed the werewolf, who seemed to be looking for something.

They all stopped just outside of a wide, open area. Remus passed around a paper to his travel companions, revealing the location of a decently sized house. The older man turned to them and said, "Follow me."

The three nervously followed Remus into the house, none of them having said a word since leaving the Burrow. Maria looked over to Dean and Amy, knowing what they where thinking: where are their families? Amy's should have been fine, but Dean's was already in hiding. What had happened to compromise all three families at once?

The group finally entered the house, Remus uttering a safeword, lunar, as they crossed the threshold. Walking down the hall, the werewolf led them the sitting area, where they found Rachel, the Grangers, Tonks, and Dean's mother sitting around talking.

Tonks leapt up, pointing her wand at the four intruders. "Where was the first place you kissed me?"

Lupin smiled for the first time that day. "You really want me to answer that?"

"Do you really want me to hex your balls off?"

"Not particularly. We first kissed at Hogwarts when Sirius went missing. You were called in as an auror to get the Dementors back to Azkaban, and I was professor. We were already trying to fight our feelings back then…" Lupin smiled at the memory.

"And you bloody idiot, you didn't kiss me again until that attack a year ago. Way to make a girl wait. Anyway, guys, sorry for the change in location. We checked the wards yesterday, and they're still fine at Grimmauld Place, but we received word that Dumbledore is getting worse. That means that if he dies, we don't want to take a chance of Snape becoming a secret keeper for the safehouse. Also, Dumbledore was secret keeper for your hideout, Dean, so we brought you here as well."

Amy looked confused. "What about me? Why couldn't I go home like normal? I thought my family was supposed to be safe since we don't even have wands in our house."

Remus looked apologetic. "But you're knee-deep in this mess now, Amy. They know."

"Know about what?"

"Who have you been snogging the last few weeks?" Tonks looked almost mischievous as she asked the question.

"Shit. Where are Mum and Dad?" She looked around the room for her parents, but Tonks laid a hand on her shoulder.

"They're fine. They needed to tie up and few loose ends before Mad-Eye brings them in. They should be here soon."

"Tonks," Maria asked, "what about school? Amy and I start back in three weeks. Do we just drop our education?"

Rachel answered for her. "Absolutely not. I took care of everything before we left. I did have to leave the hospital, for now anyway, but I enrolled you in a home-schooling program through your school, and they gave me all the books you'll need as well as the resources you'll use to prepare for your exit exams to receive your diploma. The Thomases did the same for Amy."

"Mum, how will we afford this?"

Tonks answered. "Harry took the liberty of putting your name on both his Potter and Black family bank accounts three weeks ago. He fought for you to be taught at home, but we wanted to keep you in school. He told us that in case that became impossible, to use his funds to pay for a way to continue your education outside of school. Harry also said that if the situation became too dangerous for you to go to school, he wanted Rachel to leave work. He's taking care of you, Maria. Don't fight him."

"The bloody idiot. I need a nap." The lack of sleep from the night before and the stress of her current situation were catching up to Maria. Rachel led the girl up to the room she would be sharing with Amy. Maria collapsed on the bed, not noticing her mom grabbing her bag.

"So," Rachel began as unzipped Maria's suitcase, "Harry's birthday gift?"

Maria jerked her head towards her mother. "Oh, God, Mum." She buried her head in her pillow. Damn. "Give a girl a warning before you go through her things!"

"You've never had a problem with me packing and unpacking your suitcase before! Was this some 'I may never see you again, so I'm going to shag the living daylights out of you so you won't forget me' deal? I'd hate to think Harry would fall for that one."

"Mum, be honest with me. Did you and Sirius…you know?"

"Honestly, yes. Once again, honestly? Whenever we had the chance. But Ria, Harry…"

"Loves me just as much, or more, than Sirius loved you! Don't, Mum! I don't doubt yours and Sirius's feelings for one another! But I couldn't let my fiancé leave me and go fight some God-awful villain who, until a couple of months ago, sounded more like a character from a horror film without showing him just how much I loved him. He never pressured me to do anything. Hell, if anything, I was the one pressuring him!

"But Mum, he was so sweet, so gentle. We were 'safe,' if that's a worry for you. He said he wants kids, but he refuses to be an absent father, that he wants to be here every step of the way. This was the first time, I promise. Nothing has happened before; you would have probably known by now if it had. He's been the perfect gentleman you've seen since day one."

Rachel stood there and listened to her daughter rant and rave about her night with Harry Potter. Once she finished, she moved the open suitcase to the floor and sat by Maria. "I just have one question for you."

"Shoot."

"Have your feelings changed towards him today?"

"They're only stronger."

"That's all I need to know. It's just not every day I open my daughter's suitcase and find a blue negligee poking out of it. You planning on keeping it?"

"Harry seemed to like it last night…"

Rachel squeezed her daughter. "Boy, Potter is going to have his hands full with you!"