Snape's face was pale, and his black eyes glittered in the light of the lamps that lit the sitting room of Sirius' home in Godric's Hollow. The corners of his mouth dipped in a near-perpetual frown; he was in a horrible mood, Harry knew, but still. Snape was alive. A glass of firewhisky floated out from the kitchen, and Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes. Sirius apparently thought that if he remained hidden, Snape would not know who had given him the drink.
"He is… planning something," Snape said, after taking a long sip from the glass. "He will not tell me what it is."
"You don't think he's found out you didn't write that article, do you?" Ron asked.
"No," Harry and Snape said at the same time.
"I am still alive," Snape continued. "The Dark Lord would not allow me to live if he found out that I lied to him. No… it has nothing to do with the prophecy, though he has grown impatient of being thwarted at every turn."
Harry, whose connection with Voldemort allowed him to feel this quite plainly, grimaced. On the one hand, Voldemort was pleased by the fact that the Wizarding world had turned its back on Harry. On the other, the prophecy was guarded by Ministry of Magic employees. Voldemort alternated between fury and glee these days; it was not exactly comfortable.
"Any thoughts, Harry?" Ginny asked.
"No," Harry said. "Just little twinges, nothing that could tell us what he's planning, damn it. Why doesn't he tell you? Do you think it's because he doesn't really trust you?"
Snape shook his head. "No. The Dark Lord is as pleased with me as he is with Lucius Malfoy. I believe he trusts me as much as he trusts anyone. He is keeping his plans to himself."
"I have a feeling we'll find out whatever it is soon enough," Sirius said grimly.
"Potter," Snape said. "Do you happen to know how many Death Eaters there were in your future?"
"We never knew the exact number," Ginny said. "More than a hundred. Why?"
"Every time I am summoned to his side," Snape said evenly. "There are more and more servants. I am concerned that the ill-will toward Potter is making it easier for the Dark Lord to sway witches and wizards."
"Dumbledore said that might happen," Harry said. "Just keep trying to get their names. Any Ministry workers?"
"Several," Snape said. "Two in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement – they aren't senior members at all; thank Merlin it has not yet come to that. One in the Transportation office. There are more, I am sure."
"Are they Imperiused?" Ginny asked quietly.
"No," Snape said. He withdrew three flasks containing several hairs. "On a different – though related note – I have procured the hair you required from Yaxley, Alecto Carrow, and Amycus Carrow."
"Excellent," Harry said. Their next order of business required a public kidnapping; it was just as well that they would be disguised as real Death Eaters. Ron beamed. It had been his plan, and it was quite a good one. Hermione, Harry thought, will be proud.
"Now, if you will excuse me," Snape said. "I must also speak with Dumbledore this night."
Snape never stayed longer than he had to. Harry wondered if he thought he would not be a welcome guest. It was true that Snape was sour, sarcastic, and more than a little mean. His company was not exactly pleasant… but it was not quite the chore that Harry had expected it to be. He furrowed his brow, and poked at his feelings. What he found there surprised him. He respected Snape, he recognized the other man's bravery, and… he actually enjoyed Snape's company!
Harry was so distracted by this utterly strange turn of events that he barely even noticed Snape depart. How could he possibly enjoy Snape's company? They were allies, not friends! Sure, he generally enjoyed the biting comments – if he didn't take it seriously (and he hadn't once since he had returned to his eleven year old body), they were amusing. And he did get the impression that Snape did not do it to torture him. But what the hell—
"Scar paining you, Potter?" Moody asked gruffly.
"No," Harry said distractedly. "Just thinking about what we're going to do tomorrow now that we've got the necessary ingredients. You do know where to find them, yes?"
"Of course," Moody said.
Harry pulled Ginny up to bed soon after that (despite the fact that it was only eight). Not that they actually made it to a bed for long minutes. After they had finished and had collapsed exhausted onto the bed, Ginny traced little, soothing patterns on his chest with her fingernails.
"What had you looking so odd when Snape left?" Ginny asked. "I know you aren't really worried about tomorrow."
Harry told her. "I just never expected it, Ginny," he finished. "But I suppose it's because he's very different now. And I trust him. But I actually see him as one of us – not just a member of the Order of the Phoenix, but one of us. People I like spending time with, and not only because of Voldemort, and not only to make plans."
Ginny snorted. "You sound so aghast, Harry. I've been seeing this coming for a while."
"You could have warned me," Harry said sourly.
He felt her shrug. "Didn't think you needed it."
"It's weird," Harry said again.
"I know," she said softly. "Everything has changed so much. Snape… my family…" her voice trailed away. Tears fell on his chest, and he pulled her closer, offering wordless comfort. He did not know what had been said before she and Ron had left the Burrow. He had not even read the articles in the Daily Prophet about the Weasleys and their two missing children, suspected to be on the run with Harry Potter. He'd kept away from it. But he knew that whatever had been said had infuriated Ginny and Ron; but, more than that, it had broken their hearts.
Harry clenched his teeth. Ginny drew in a shuddering breath. He turned over onto his side, and pulled her closer to him. He stroked her hair and her back while she cried in earnest. Harry knew quite well what she was going through. When he had been exiled from the Burrow, he had felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. He had understood – he knew that no mother and father could condone what he and Ginny had done. He'd even understood that they had legitimate concerns about his influence on their children.
But holding Ginny while she cried nearly every night, and seeing the contained grief in Ron's eyes… Harry was not so understanding anymore. He suspected that Ginny and Ron had another reason for keeping the details of what had happened to themselves, besides just sparing Harry's feelings. When all was said an done… when the world knew the truth about Voldemort, and Harry's role in his defeat… Ginny and Ron wanted Harry to forgive.
He wondered if that was even possible anymore.
He did not want Ginny to cry herself to sleep again. He tilted her head up and gave her a long, slow kiss. They had perfected this form of making love long ago; he knew exactly what she needed to draw comfort from it. He used every skill at his disposal, and she fell asleep with a smile. So did Harry.
The next morning was spent in busy preparations – mostly on the part of Moody. Harry's, Ron's, and Ginny's role did not require all that much finesse, though Harry was looking forward to it nonetheless. He felt confident. They were taking a risk, but it was worth it. His skills at dueling (and Ginny's and Ron's) were increasing dramatically at the insistence of Moody. He could only beat Moody one time out of three, but he was improving bit by bit.
Moody left the house a little after noon. As Harry knew that it might be a long wait, he forced himself to practice human transfiguration on Ginny and Ron. He didn't think he would ever be particularly good at it like Hermione was. As disguise was essential to all of their plans, however, and it was possible that Polyjuice Potion might fail them one day, he doggedly kept on.
Sirius heckled him for a while ("Harry, what are you meaning to tell Ginny when you give her bigger breasts? Are you giving Ron a little extra, too?"). He left several hours later to attend a meeting at the Ministry between Scrimgeour, Shacklebolt, the Weasleys, and a few others. It was, Harry thought, fortuitous that Sirius would have an iron-clad alibi.
At a little past four, Moody's bear Patronus jumped through the wall and faced Harry. "I've got them. Do your thing."
Ginny immediately strode over to the cauldron of Polyjuice Potion that was kept in the small room off the sitting room. She dipped a cup, and added the hair that Snape had procured from Alecto Carrow. It steamed and turned a sickening shade of red; Harry fought the urge to knock it out of her hands.
Harry took up his own cup, as did Ron. They stood together in a triangle, and toasted each other. "This really was a brilliant plan, Ron," Harry told him.
Ron grinned, not at all modest. Several days after they had taken care of Lockhart, Ron had suggested they discredit (and hopefully send to Azkaban) some of the new Death Eaters that had joined Voldemort, and help protect Ollivander at the same time. Initially, Harry had thought that it would be wise to expose some of the more senior members, such as Lucius Malfoy or Nott, or any of the others that had been present at the graveyard. But Ron had pointed out the major flaw in that.
Not only were they tricking the Ministry into suspecting the Carrows and Yaxley were in league with Harry, but they were tricking Voldemort into thinking his three new Death Eaters had done this on their own initiative. In order to do that, it could not be traced back to Harry… so the older, more dangerous wizards had to be left alone… for now.
Harry could not help but grin. "To rampant stupidity," he said, and tossed the potion back. He grimaced – it tasted the way unwashed body and pond scum smelled – but he didn't retch.
"Yaxley's a nasty blighter," Ron muttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. As soon as they completed their change, Harry grasped their hands, turned on the spot, and took them to Diagon Alley. Despite the fact that he was disguised as a Death Eater, it felt good to be out and about in the sunshine. It was quite crowded; parents and Hogwarts students were bustling from shop to shop, picking up last minute items they needed for the coming term.
Harry kept a close watch for Neville, Hermione, and Luna; he did not truly expect to see them, but he looked anyway. Ron was so busy looking for Hermione that he barely paid attention to anything else, not even when he nearly trampled a pair of rambunctious wizard children.
"Sorry," he muttered in Yaxley's voice.
Harry caught sight of Dean Thomas, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, and Seamus Finnigan standing a little ways away from Florean Fortescue's ice cream shop. They were staring at a poster on the wall and speaking in low, anxious voices. Harry could not quite make out what they were saying… he wanted to know, as it was Harry's own face that looked down at the four of them. Ginny tugged at his arm.
They took their time, making sure that enough people saw them. They had to be clearly identified, so they waited until each of them had been greeted by name before making their way to Ollivander's wand shop. Ginny entered first, while Harry and Ron loitered outside the door. She stuck her head back out a few moments later. "All clear," she said in a low voice.
Ron raised his wand – and the curse that came out of it blew up a section of the alley, and an empty table outside the Fortescue's. The screams were loud and immediate. Ron waved his wand again, and smoke obscured them.
"What the hell—"
"ALERT THE AURORS!"
"Get the kids out of here, Mary, NOW!"
Harry and Ron ducked inside the shop to find Mr. Ollivander already tied up and sitting on the chair. His eyes were wide and terrified. Harry only gave him a cursory look, before turning back to the door and using the Impenetrable Charm. "Did you shield the wands?" Harry asked Ginny.
"Yes," she said. "They'll be protected. Well… most of them."
Harry grimaced. He did not especially like the idea of destroying the man's livelihood, even if it would be several years until Ollivander came back to it. The shelves were stacked with small black boxes that contained wands Ollivander had created with his own two hands. He was protecting the wandmaker as best he could; he only hoped that the old man would be able to see it that way… eventually…
He tapped his throat with his wand, muttering the charm that would make his voice louder for the benefit of those outside listening. Pointing his wand at nothing, he shouted, "YOU TELL ME, OLD MAN! Crucio!" The curse destroyed a section of the shelves, sending boxes tumbling down.
"Crucio!" Ginny shouted, and more wands rained down to the floor.
Ron raised his voice, and said in a trembling voice that sounded remarkably like Ollivander's, "No! No! I don't know!"
"LIES!" Harry roared. "OUR MASTER KNOWS YOU KNOW THE TRUTH!"
"Crucio!" Ron shouted in his own voice.
Harry found himself wishing that the twins were in on this plan; they would have invented several different useful items for them to use to make it look like they were laying waste to the entire shop without actually doing so. Ginny, once she had used her obligatory Unforgivable, immediately began Banishing all the wands she could back to Godric's Hollow.
The screams from outside were growing louder; Harry knew that they did not have much more time.
"TELL US, OLD MAN!" he screamed. "TELL US!"
"Maybe if we destroy his precious wands…" Ron said in an ugly voice.
"Do it," Harry said.
Ron again used his skills at impersonation, "No! Please don't—"
Harry and Ron waited until the last wand was Banished and then, together, they shouted "REDUCTO!" and blew up all the shelves… fine ash rained down on them. Harry used a Smashing Jinx to destroy five of the wands, grimacing with regret as he did so. "Sorry," he said to Ollivander, taking the charm off his voice, "it's got to look real."
Ollivander gaped at him, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. Ginny had Silenced him, but Harry did not think he was capable of saying anything. He looked extremely confused. "I live at 7 Skyview Lane, Godric's Hollow," Harry added in a whisper. "Keep that in mind."
They waited a few minutes longer, generally wreaking havoc and destroying as much of the store as they could. Harry renewed the charm on his voice. "TELL US OR WE KILL YOU! Crucio"—the ancient till exploded—"Crucio! TELL US OR I'LL DRIVE YOU INSANE!"
It was not until determined Aurors cursed the door repeatedly that Harry knew that it was time to go. "You didn't have to die," Harry said. The efforts to get past Harry's Impenetrable Charm redoubled, and Harry knew that the Aurors had heard him. He nodded at Ron, who started cursing everything within reach, loud bangs issuing from his wand that masked the sound of Ginny's Disapparation, and her reappearance moments later.
"Use the Reductor Curse," Ginny said in a cruel voice. "Let's watch him disappear in a bunch of itsy, bitsy pieces…"
"Good thinkin', Alecto," Harry said, mimicking her tone. "We've wasted a bunch of Unforgivables today, haven' we?"
Ron let out a ghastly scream, and then all three shouted "REDUCTO!" at the desk. Ginny used her wand to sweep the ash into a more human looking pile. In the next moment, the Aurors blasted through the Impenetrable Charm. Harry caught sight of the look on Kingsley's face, turned on the spot, and Disapparated with a loud CRACK!
As soon as Ron and Ginny appeared beside him, he let out a loud whoop and grabbed Ginny up into a hug and pounded Ron's back. "That went even better than expected!" he crowed. "I didn't even intend for them to see us…"
"We just barely escaped," Ginny pointed out. But she was grinning at his enthusiasm.
"It's a good thing they can't do Anti-Apparation Jinxes in Diagon Alley," Ron said.
There was a muffled, furtive sound from behind Harry. He'd almost forgotten about Mr. Ollivander, who had been placed on the sofa, surrounded by piles and piles of his own wands. "Keep him bound," Harry told Ginny. "Just for a few minutes longer."
However, Harry used his own wand to end the Silencing Charm. "Look," Harry said. "I'm really sorry about what just happened – I know you must be really confused."
"I am more than a little confused, Harry Potter," Mr. Ollivander said. Harry's eyes widened. How had he known who he was? "I recognized your wand. It is not Amycus Carrow's."
"You're lucky it's Harry and not Carrow," Ron informed him. "Carrow really would have killed you – he's a Death Eater."
"Can we get you anything to drink, Mr. Ollivander?" Ginny asked. "We've got a bit of a story to tell you."
"Will you get me a butterbeer, Ginny?" Harry asked. "I've still got a bad taste in my mouth – Amycus tasted awful." Harry idly began using magic to stack the boxes. They would find a place for them at Grimmauld Place once Dumbledore showed up and gave Ollivander the secret.
"What – is – going – on?" Ollivander found his voice.
Harry took a sip of the butterbeer Ginny had placed in his hand. "I'm protecting you. You're probably not going to believe me – but Voldemort is back. He returned the night I was accused of using the Imperius Curse to suit my own aims as the next Dark Wizard."
"You did use the Imperius Curse," Ginny murmured.
"Yeah," Harry said. "I did. We were taken by a Portkey into a graveyard… I noticed that the headstone said Tom Riddle—"
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's real name," Ollivander whispered.
"Yeah," Harry said. "So I Imperiused Cedric to get him away from there. I did it to protect him… the same reason why I abducted you. When Voldemort returned, he tried to duel me. Our wands didn't work against each other – I assume this is because of what you told me when I first bought the holly-and-phoenix wand? Because they're brothers?"
There was an arrested look on Ollivander's face. "Priori Incantatem…"
"Exactly," Harry nodded. "I imagine Voldemort is curious about it. And I assumed that he would go after you. I can guess what methods he'd use to get it out of you." In fact, Harry did not even have to guess. He'd seen the man tortured through his scar. Repeatedly. He'd also seen the state of Ollivander's body when he, Ron, and Hermione had been locked in the cellar of Malfoy Manor.
"And how did you know—"
"I told him," Dumbledore interrupted Ollivander. He had arrived without Harry noticing it.
"You – Dumbledore – I –" Ollivander stammered. "Is it true? What Potter is saying? But… aren't you trying to search for him? I – what?"
"Harry contacted me immediately after Voldemort returned," Dumbledore said. "I decided to meet him in a safe location… I was going to bring him to the Ministry… but Harry did not threaten to attack; in fact, he had just been attacked. I followed a hunch, and used my Pensieve to view his memories of that night. Harry is not lying. Voldemort has returned."
"But the Ministry—"
"The Ministry would never believe me," Harry informed him. "So we're working quietly. Dumbledore is using the Ministry to help us and hinder Voldemort. He's the one who told us that you might be in danger," Harry lied.
Moody chose that moment to Apparate into the sitting room.
"You're – you're DEAD!" Ollivander yelled.
"Not quite," Moody said grimly. "It's been taken care of, Potter. The Aurors are already swarming, and the Death Eaters fully believe that they were the ones to attack Ollivander," Moody nodded at Ron. "Well done, boy."
Ron beamed.
"And you," Moody growled at Ollivander. "You're just as dead as I am. Only way we could get You-Know-Who's attention off you."
"He – he might find out anyway," Ollivander said. "There are books and articles about wandlore, you know."
"Yeah," Moody said. "But this way he doesn't have to torture you to do it."
Ollivander's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he toppled over, knocking over the stacks of boxes Harry had made.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHP
It was exceedingly dangerous for Harry, Ron, and Ginny to cross the barrier that led to Platform 9 ¾ and get onto the train, but they did it anyway. The Disillusionment Charm and the Revulsion Charm held up very well, however, and they were able to slip under the noses of the grim-eyed Aurors, who were supposed to be on the watch for just this sort of thing.
It felt very odd for Harry to see the students. They were yelling, chatting, hugging their parents, and generally acting as though nothing was wrong. He even saw Cedric – he was snogging Cho Chang goodbye. He searched the crowd until he realized that he was looking for the familiar, bright red hair of the Weasleys. They would be here – the twins still had one more year left, after all. He fixed his eyes straight ahead.
All three leapt up onto the train, and quickly found a quiet spot that was not generally used until about halfway through the journey to Hogwarts: the loo. "Muffliato!" Harry said. "Ron – you have the Marauder's Map, right?"
"Of course," Ron said, pulling it out of his pocket. "I almost switched it with the new one, though. That could've been bad."
"Good thing you caught it," Ginny murmured. "You know… your dad was a very talented wizard, Harry. Sirius told me that he's the one who figured out all the enchantments."
"Like father, like son," Harry quipped and she laughed.
"I wish we could bring Hermione back with us," Ron said morosely. "Doubt she'd go for it, though, even if I asked. 'Ronald Weasley,'" he said with an uncanny imitation of his future wife's voice. "'You know how important education is! Just because you're off in hiding, doesn't mean I should be!'"
"She'll loosen up," Harry pointed out.
"Not this year," Ron said darkly. "Not with the precious OWLs to get through – damn, I'm glad we don't have to live through that again."
The train lurched forward and slowly began to pull away from King's Cross. The sound of stampeding feet faded away, and Harry knew that the students had placed all their belongings away, and had settled into their compartments.
"Let's go find them," Ron said, after the train had left London. They could see rolling hills and pastureland outside the window.
As silently as possible, they made their way down the train, peering into each compartment, looking for Hermione, Neville, and Luna. They found them in the second to last compartment, and Harry breathed a huge sigh of relief when he realized they were alone. From the anxious, fearful looks on their faces, he guessed that they were speaking about him.
"Clear," Ginny murmured. Harry opened the door.
"It's us," he hissed. The reaction was immediate: Hermione screamed and clapped her hand over her mouth, Neville fell off the chair, and Luna dropped her copy of the Quibbler.
"Ron!" Hermione whispered, she cringed toward the window. "Harry – Ginny! Don't you know how dangerous it is for you to be here?"
Harry lifted the Revulsion Charm, and all three of them stopped trying to get as far away from Harry, Ginny, and Ron as possible. "Yeah, we know," Harry said. "But it was worth it. Merlin, we've missed the three of you."
"Muffliato!" Ginny said firmly. "It doesn't hurt to be careful, Harry."
"It's been madness," Neville said fervently. "I've been worried all summer… I'm glad you didn't write, though. The Ministry's been watching us – me and Gran – ever since your trial."
"I heard that she defended me," Harry said, smiling. "And your dad, too, Luna."
"I didn't tell her anything," Neville assured him. "But I told her that I knew you wouldn't have done it if you didn't have a good reason. And that I thought you didn't do it to Krum and Fleur, either. She believed me."
Ginny and Ron exchanged pained looks. Harry knew exactly what they were thinking about (the fact that their parents had done and said whatever it was that had driven them out of the Burrow), so he ignored them. "We've been busy," Harry said. He told them about Lockhart and got a standing ovation. Hermione beamed at Ron when he told her the scheme he'd thought up to discredit Death Eaters, and take Mr. Ollivander away to safety.
"That was brilliant, Ron!" Hermione breathed, her face alight.
"Thank you," Ron said. "Listen – we can't stay much longer, probably only another half an hour. Neville…" he said, pulling out the Marauder's Map and giving it to Neville. "Will you give this to Fred and George? And – here's yours. Don't mix them up; look, I've put a little red X on the old one."
"Right," Neville nodded. "Er – what do you want me to do with it?"
"Just keep safe," Ron shrugged. "We have another one. We'll be spying on Umbridge and the children of known Death Eaters. If you see anything weird, anything at all… contact us."
Neville exchanged looks with Luna. "How are we to do that? My Patronus is barely corporeal; I don't think I can make it talk yet. Hermione can do it, but…"
"Don't worry, Neville," Harry said. He withdrew three mirrors from the pockets of his robes. "These are two-way mirrors. Just say our names – Neville, you're connected to mine; Luna, you're with Ginny; Hermione, you're with Ron – and we'll be able to talk. And watch"—he tapped it with his wand and said "Bitch" and it turned into a galleon—"in case Umbridge comes along, you do that and she won't catch you. Technically, the word 'bitch' is now a spell—"
"Specifically for this purpose," Ginny grinned. "Sirius thought of it."
"And it can be used non-verbally," Harry continued. "Just make sure you keep your wand and the mirror in the same pocket."
"Harry," Neville said seriously, once they had all finished laughing. "You know I'd rather come with you than stay in school? I'm sorry that I… can't. I thought for a moment that you were going to abduct us. But my Gran – she would really worry. And I'm not like you guys… I haven't gone through school yet. If I'm going to help, I need to keep learning."
"My dad told me that I was not to run off with you yet," Luna said.
"You know we want the three of you with us," Ron said. "But we wouldn't have forced you to. Besides, it would just make things more complicated. Especially for the two of you. Hermione's a Muggle-born; Dumbledore could have told the Ministry that her parents were too worried to let her stay in. But that wouldn't have worked for either of you."
Harry glanced out the window. Tall trees flashed by; between them, he could see the hint of a lake. He sighed with regret. They were going to have to leave, and Harry had no idea when he would be able to see them again; being in hiding felt very lonely without them all of a sudden.
"Listen," Harry cleared his throat. "We think we'll be able to meet you in the Room of Requirement sometimes. Not – not all the time… but we will see you."
"You're leaving already?" Luna asked.
"We have to," Harry said. "We can't risk getting off the train in Hogsmeade. Every other person on the street will be an Auror. Moody would have our heads if we took that kind of risk. It was different on the platform."
"Ron," Hermione spoke for the first time in ten minutes. She had been deep in thought, but she now she gazed at Ron with a quiet certainty. "Ron, I want to come with you."
Ron looked as though he'd been hit in the back of the head with a Bludger. "What?" he said blankly. Ginny rolled her eyes, and Harry fought a smile. He could not say that he was completely surprised. He'd known for a while that it had been a long time since Hermione had placed her schoolwork above Ron.
"I'm coming with you," Hermione said firmly.
"But what about your OWLs?" Ron asked.
Instead of replying, Hermione leaned over and kissed him full on the mouth. "Taking down V-V-Voldemort is more important. And so are you."
"I'll get her trunk," Harry volunteered. "We've got to act fast. Disillusion her, Ron."
He threw himself out of the compartment and toward the luggage rack. He walked purposefully, but had to shrink back against the wall when the door to the last compartment opened and the twins walked out.
"We'll just ask them if they know where they are," Fred said.
"Didn't the Ministry tell us that there had apparently been no contact between any of them this summer?" George asked.
"Ron and Ginny knew where he was," Fred pointed out. "Two days after they left the Burrow, they were seen with him. Longbottom, Granger, and Lovegood might know too."
Before they could say another word, Harry pointed his wand at them and froze their bodies. Unlike Petrificus Totallus, however, the twins did not topple over… and they would not know that anyone had used a mild hex against them. Still, he had maybe a minute. He used magic to Summon her trunk; he then shrunk it and put it in his pocket.
"We've got to go," he said urgently, once he had returned. "Now." He opened the window, and felt Ginny's warm hand in his. She was standing on top of the long, padded bench, and she pulled him up with her. The train was going over the bridge now, and the water of the lake far below them glinted in the afternoon sunlight. Ginny shifted, and he knew that she was preparing to jump.
"What are we doing?" Hermione asked anxiously. "Why is the window open?"
"Can't Apparate from the train," Ron said. "We've got to jump – shit, Harry! Tell her where we're going!"
Harry's heart fell to his stomach. Hermione could have been very badly injured if Ron had attempted to Apparate with her to Sirius' house. "7 Skyview Lane, Godric's Hollow," he said in a shaky voice. "Think about that."
"I'll do that when I'm falling to my death," Hermione said. Her voice trembled. "I hate heights."
"Do you trust me?" Ron asked.
Harry did not stay behind for the answer. Ginny had tugged him out the window with her; there was a mad moment of free-falling. He felt her twist in mid-air, and a second later they were in the sitting room, side by side on the couch.
"How'd it go?" Remus asked.
"We—"
There was a loud CRACK! and Ron and Hermione appeared.
"—brought Hermione with us," Ginny finished.
The next few days were very bright for Harry and for the rest of the inhabitants at either the house in Godric's Hollow or Grimmauld Place. Even Mr. Ollivander had apparently accepted the fact that he was not going to be allowed to go back to his shop until Voldemort had been defeated. He had accepted their reasons without too much fuss, especially after he had had a long, private discussion with Dumbledore.
Ron was especially ecstatic; it helped that he knew now that Hermione viewed him as more than a friend. Harry and Ginny had had a laugh about it that first night in bed; no matter how old, how skilled, or how brave Ron was, he could always be reduced to a quivering mass of fear without Hermione there to tell him she loved him.
The stretch of bright days ended without warning.
Harry slept. And while he slept, he dreamed of a home shaped like a rook.
He held the arm of a screaming woman. It was an unfortunate necessity that she could not have simply been killed in her home. But in order for Potter to be blamed unequivocally for these murders – and it would take little effort – he had to play his hand very carefully indeed. These two purebloods had been the only voices that had defended Harry Potter.
And more than that, they were the answer to the laughable warning Potter had given by way of that fool, Gilderoy Lockhart. I will kill your friends, Voldemort thought. And make them think it was you. He laughed, and the old woman screamed and kicked again. Potter had no idea who he was up against. Voldemort was the most powerful wizard alive, and Potter was quickly becoming the most reviled. Snape had seen to that; tonight, Voldemort would insure that no one would ever bring themselves to trust Harry Potter again.
He blasted the door open. An odd old man – Voldemort laughed again, Potter surrounds himself with absurdities and old women… he's hardly a threat – gaped at him. Voldemort pushed the old woman away from him. There were two flashes of green light, and the old man and the older woman fell lifeless to the ground.
Voldemort pulled out the letter he had forced Augusta Longbottom to write using the Imperius Curse. It was sufficiently damning that even when Voldemort chose to reveal his return to the world, the world would always remember that Harry Potter murdered Augusta Longbottom and Xenophilius Lovegood simply because they had attempted to end their support of him.
"Harry! Harry, wake up!" Ginny shouted in his ear.
"No… no… NO!" Harry bellowed. He was tangled in the bedclothes, and his entire body was covered with sweat. The muscles in his face hurt, and his jaw was clenched so tight that it ached. He rolled away from Ginny and vomited over the side of the bed. "They're dead," he said in disbelief. Harry had been forced to watch like a passive spectator. It was not at all like when he had seen Arthur Weasley attacked by a giant snake. He'd had a chance… but there was no doubt that Mrs. Longbottom and Mr. Lovegood were dead. "They're dead, I can't believe it. Ginny, we've got to – got to –"
"Who is dead?" Ginny asked. Her eyes were wide and full of fear. Harry knew that she thought of her parents, her family; but the Weasleys were safe, shielded by their hatred of Harry. They were in more danger of being recruited by Voldemort than being murdered by him. The thought made him retch again.
He touched his fists to his scar, as though if he pressed it hard enough, he could change what had just happen, what he had just seen. "Neville's Gran," Harry said. It hurt his chest to speak. Neville… Luna… "and Luna's dad."