Part 3 - Winter

Chapter 27 – The Scenic Route

Horcrux? Or not?

Harry stared down at the chain of office and ran his finger over the emerald S that twisted into a decorative snake. It was Slytherin's family crest, even Hermione agreed, but Harry couldn't be sure it was anything more than that.

"I've never seen it before," Ez had said when Harry handed it to her. She was still in bed, the healer having ordered strict bed rest for forty-eight hours as well as a series of potions to help strengthen her blood and protect the baby. Charlie was manic about following the healer's instructions to the letter, and as far as Harry could tell, Ez was all right with his fussing; which meant that either she still wasn't feeling herself, or there was some hidden part of her that enjoyed the attention. Harry worried that it was the former.

Strict bed rest kept her from taking the Portkey Percy arranged for them to ride back to England. Percy went on his own to tell the rest of the family that everyone was safe. Harry knew he wanted to get back to his wife, and he understood that desire. He missed Ginny terribly.

"Why don't we just destroy it," Ron suggested. "Either way then, no worries."

"It's an artifact!" Hermione insisted. "You don't just go around destroying bits of history on the off chance that they're a Horcrux!"

"It's Slytherin!" Ron objected.

"Slytherin is still a part of Hogwarts! Honestly, Ron, they're not all like Malfoy."

"Name one who isn't," Ron challenged.

Hermione's lips went thin, and she turned to Harry. "What do you think?"

"I think…I don't know." His arm still ached, and his head throbbed, and even after a full night of rest Harry still felt tired. The floor wasn't as comfortable as it had been when he lived in the cupboard under the stair.

"Do you need some more garlic?" Hermione asked.

"Enough with the garlic!" Ron snapped. "He's wearing enough garlic to make my eyes burn!" It was true. Harry smelled like a bowl of spaghetti.

"The healer said that garlic, both applied and ingested, would help his recovery. Vampire bites can be serious, even when they don't hit an artery."

"I know! But bathing him in garlic won't give him his strength back any faster. Just leave the bloke alone. Stop pestering-"

"I am not pestering!"

Harry got up from the table, and shuffled over to the couch. He dropped down next to Charlie, who was leafing through a copy of what looked like the Romanian version of Witch Weekly. Ron and Hermione continued to bicker, oblivious of Harry's retreat.

"Eh, Harry?" Charlie said quietly. "How's the arm."

"Good." He didn't really want to talk about it.

"Why don't you go lie down with Mere," Charlie suggested.

Harry smirked. "You won't mind if I share a bed with your Bondmate?"

Charlie laughed a little, and then sobered. "It's funny, but you might be the only bloke I wouldn't mind. She trusts you, and that's saying something. I can count on one hand the number of people in this world that she trusts - and I'm not always on that list." He smirked as he added, "Besides, I'm in her head. You make a move, Potter, and I know about it."

"How can you stand it? Her being in there all the time? When I was Bonded with Ginny, any stray thought I had could set her off. I wasn't even aware of what I was thinking half the time until she started shouting at me. Doesn't Ez rankle when you think about other girls?"

"Well, I don't often think about other girls," Charlie said, and then he chuckled again. "No, no, seriously though, she's used to it. It caused a lot of problems at the beginning. Mere can be insanely jealous. And we were both very young. She was just seventeen. It took her a long time to understand that what we shared was more important to me than any other girl. She hadn't had a lot of experience with being loved at that point. Santiago was the only real stable relationship she'd ever known, and even he shipped her off to England to help Dumbledore."

"Did you know Santiago?"

"Some. Not well. He visited two times while we lived here. He was still her Secret Keeper then. Nice wizard. But the thing I liked most about him was how he treated Mere. He called her mi dulce. My sweet. When he looked at her, he saw what I see. Not many people would call Mere 'sweet' and mean it."

"Well, not many people could get away with it," Harry quipped.

"How dare you suggest that I don't care about Harry!" Hermione practically shouted, her voice rising into its upper register.

"I said you were being careless! Stop twisting my words!"

"You're insufferable!"

"Me? What about you? Nag, nag all the time, but you don't want to do anything useful!"

"So, now I'm useless?"

"I didn't say that!"

Hermione jumped up and grabbed her cloak from the peg by the door. "I can't stand you when you're like this!" she shouted over her shoulder as she stormed out into the snowy evening.

"When I'm like this?" Ron chortled. "That's rich!" When the door slammed he shoved himself back from the table and hit his fist on it. "Bloody…" He didn't finish the thought. His face was red, and he looked as if he wanted to punch something that wasn't furniture. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," Harry said quickly, not wanting to be drawn into Ron's anger. He wasn't really up to a fight. It was best to leave Ron to cool off when he got like that.

"Been a while?" Charlie asked his little brother with an easy smile.

"It's been a whole bloody fortnight!" Ron wailed. "She's driving me mental!"

"Well, go after her," Charlie urged. "We won't look."

"Can't," Ron said with a discouraged sigh. "She won't here. She says it's too creepy, too cold, too crowded, too uncomfortable. She'll snog, but that just gets me all worked up. She's trying to kill me, I tell you!"

"Looks to me like she's suffering just as much."

"It doesn't feeeeeeel right," Ron mimicked. "I'll tell you what doesn't feel right – sleeping next to each other on a hard floor like we're bleeding brother and sister! We had a close call in that spire! What's the first thing you want to do after a close call?"

"Shag like centaurs!" Charlie said with gusto.

"Thank you!" Ron called from across the room, his hands up in vindication. "But her? No, for her it doesn't feel right!"

Harry dropped his head back against the couch. He didn't want to hear this. "You're not pressuring her, are you?" Harry asked, despite himself.

Ron's eyes narrowed on him. "No. What kind of a berk do you take me for? If she doesn't want to, she doesn't want to. But it doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. And if you ask me, she's not any happier than I am. I mean, she just took my head off over nothing, didn't she? Bloody girl!"

"I thought you liked to row with her," Harry griped. "All those brains aimed right at you, or some nonsense."

"Well, I like to do other stuff now a hell of a lot more." Ron played with the chain, and flipped over the medallion. "So, are we going to destroy this thing, or what? I'm in the mood to blow something up."

"Give it a go," Harry said. With a groan he forced himself up off the couch. "I'm going to lie down."

"Er…Harry, before you go…" Charlie seemed hesitant, but then he seemed to reach a decision. "Harry, I'm taking Mere back to England. She should be able to travel the day after tomorrow, and I intend to get her as far from her family as I can, not that I've learned that particular lesson. I would like for the three of you to come with us."

Harry glanced over at Ron, who was watching and listening, and fiddling with the chain. He gave Harry a shrug.

"What if it's not the real Horcrux? Voldemort specifically said locket. I know he did. I don't think I can leave until I know for sure."

"No, Harry, you don't understand. We missed Percy's Portkey, and there's no way I or Mere, or you for that matter, can get one from the government here. Not without Lazarius knowing. I have to get her out through Muggle transport – specifically a train. It'll take us most of a week to get back to England, and…I'm asking you to come with us."

"Backup fire-power?" Ron asked, his interest peaked. "You expect trouble?"

"I can't Shield and attack at the same time," Charlie said. "I need help."

But if he left the Horcrux behind…

"Look," Charlie said, "this mess is all my fault. I never should've come here. I lost my mind, and I dragged all of you in with me. And Mere. And my son – I almost got them killed. I have to do better. I have to protect her. I have to make all of this right."

"But…you said that even if you take her back to England she won't be safe. None of you will be safe. You told Percy the Wizmeres would come after your whole family. After Ron and Ginny-"

"Yeah. They will. But there I can defend them. I hope to, at least. There I have Tonks and Lupin, and Bill and Dad – the whole Order. You saw how the fight at the castle went, Harry-"

"Wasn't it what you expected?"

Charlie's expression went grim, and his brows lowered transforming his face into something angry, deadly. "Yeah. But now…I've felt my son move. I felt him, Harry. He's…alive. He's counting on me to protect him until he's old enough to protect himself. I have to get him out of here. I have to protect Mere. The rest will have to wait."

"You can't protect me, Charlie. We've talked about this." She stood in the door, looking better than she had just a few hours ago. Color was back in her cheeks, and her eyes looked less bruised. The hair on the right side of her head stood straight up from where she laid on it.

But Charlie ignored her. His eyes pleaded with Harry. "I have no right to ask this of you, I know. I'm not your Secret Keeper. You've made no formal oath–"

"And this was why," Ez interrupted. "Fuck, Charlie, you know this is exactly why Dumbledore didn't want him in the Order! He knew that we would ask things of Harry that he can't do. His loyalty can't be to us. It's not fair to burden him with our problems. He has enough fucking problems of his own. If he needs to find this Horcrux thing–"

"I'll help you," Harry told Charlie. He looked over his shoulder to Ron. "Right? We go back to England with them?"

"If you say so," Ron agreed. "I don't know how we'd get back in the spire now, anyway. Like you said before, their guard is most certainly up. If they know what they have, they've probably moved it by now. I would."

"Harry, think about this," Ez cautioned.

A small BANG from the table behind him made Harry jump. With the cracked chain of office in one hand, and his wand in the other, Ron glumly quipped, "Well, I reckon that wouldn't have happened if it were a Horcrux."

Hermione rushed it, wand drawn. She took in Ron, the smoking remains of the chain, and rolled her eyes. "Lovely," she griped. Then she realized Ez was standing in the bedroom door. "What is it? What's happened? Why are you out of bed?"

"We're going home," Harry told her. He hadn't realized how much he wanted home until he said it aloud. Ginny filled his thoughts the rest of the night.


When they left the cottage, and said their good-byes to Magda and Tibor, Tibor gave them red Muggle Romanian passports with false names and still photographs that reflected the disguises they'd all adopted for the trip. A potion had been made to turn Ron's hair to mousy brown, and Magda trimmed it as short as Harry had ever seen it. Ron hated it of course, and complained when Harry's dyed and cut hair sprang back to its original state within an hour. Hermione's hair was straightened and dyed a blonde that Ron said was close to Luna's shade, and though Harry thought it looked closer to Lavender's, he was smart enough not to say so. Charlie's hair was turned black, and he wore a thick, bushy beard. He choked when Ez appeared from the bathroom with her now short hair colored a bright, bubblegum pink.

"That's not funny," he grumbled.

"It's a little funny," she insisted with a wicked smile. In her deep blue Bucharest University sweatshirt and jeans, her eyes a bright blue, and barely any make-up, Ez looked startlingly like Tonks.

"Her hair wasn't pink until after we left school."

"Come here, my wild man, and kiss me."

Harry's newest disguise was a knit hat that covered his hair and forehead, and mutton chop sideburns that grew in a bushy red when Magda hexed him with them. They all had a good laugh over it, but Harry wondered how he was going to get rid of them once they got back to England.

The bus ride to the train station was long and bumpy. A few of the Muggles looked at them curiously, as they were obviously traveling together and looked more like tourists than locals, but no one tried to speak to them, and the Muggles quickly lost interest.

It was the same at the train station, and boarding the train, as well. Not even the conductor bothered to get a good look at them as they produced the tickets Tibor supplied. They chose seats close to each other, Hermione and Ron across from Harry, who traveled backwards, and Charlie and Ez together across the narrow aisle. Charlie kept his head up, looking for any warning signs, but once the train lurched forward and it was clear that no threat would show itself, he relaxed a bit.

Hours passed. Harry alternately watched the passing scenery and flipped through a book Hermione produced from her bag. He was glad the Muggles weren't really watching because the amount of things she pulled out that bag was scary. Ron dozed, with his head lodged between the back of the seat and the metal train wall. Harry was about to nod off himself when Hermione gently kicked his ankle.

"Wha'?"

She made a shushing gesture and then nodded over at Charlie and Ez. They leaned against each other, and lightly held hands while their fingers played languidly together. Eyes closed, they gave soft, simultaneous laughs. Hermione grinned. Harry knew she thought it terribly romantic because she threw a small glance at Ron, who was softly snoring, and sighed.

"I expect you'll be happy to get home to Ginny," Hermione said in a hushed voice, turning back to Harry.

"She's at Hogwarts by now."

"Oh…are we not going to Hogwarts then?" Was that longing in her voice? Or just surprise?

"I…I don't know. We need a plan to hunt the Horcruxes, and to fight Voldemort. I know, Hermione, I know, but when we're at Hogwarts other things tend to get in the way. Like studies."

"Like Ginny?"

"Like Ginny," he agreed. Merlin, he missed her. He wondered what she'd think of everything that happened to them in Romania. He worried about what she'd say when she saw the healing scars on his arm and shoulder. He worried that she'd refuse to let him leave again.

"I have questions, though," Harry told her. "And I do think I need to go back to Hogwarts for the answers."

McGonagall was there at Hogwarts. And Lupin. They both knew his parents. And, maybe they'd know where he could find Hagrid, too. If Hagrid had been the one to take him to the Dursleys, then maybe he'd been the one to take him out of the ruins of his parents' house, as well. Maybe he'd seen something, noticed something that could be useful.

"I need to find Slughorn, too, I think. Or, someone who knows about Horcruxes. We need to know how to destroy them."

"You destroyed one already."

"That was luck, I think. Look at what happened to Dumbledore when he destroyed the ring. I don't want that happening to us."

Hermione nodded. She pulled out a fresh bit of parchment from her bag, and a quill. Harry glanced around to see if any of the Muggles noticed the eagle feather. None of them seemed to.

"Perhaps Slughorn will have an idea of likely Horcruxes, as well," Hermione suggested.

"Yeah. Good. Write that down."

The quill scratched.


They spent hours that first day brainstorming like that; things they needed and needed to know and people who could teach them, and places they could visit that might shed clues to unraveling the secrets of the Horcruxes and Voldemort's weaknesses. Supper was bread and cheese they'd packed at the cottage, and hot tea bought from the trolley. Hermione managed to produce a couple of sausages, too, which earned her a kiss on the cheek and a kind word from Ron. Harry was happy to see her blush at the praise.

At the Hungarian border a Muggle customs officer demanded they produce their papers again. Harry's small red passport now read Magyar Köztársaság, and inside his name was changed to Szabo Janos. Their documents were stamped without incident, though, and without any of them having to utter a word.

"Magda put a Diversion Jinx on us," Charlie explained. "Whenever a Muggle looks at us, they instantly think of something else they'd rather be doing."

That first night they slept in their seats, Hermione pillowed in Ron's lap with his jacket draped over her while he was slumped over her shoulder. Charlie slept in the corner of his seat with Ez curled up against him, her arms loosely draped around his middle. Both couples looked so completely…in love. It was the only way Harry could think to describe them. And suddenly he missed Ginny that much more.

Odd man out once again, Harry kept guard as well as he could with the gentle rock of the train luring him into sleep.

"Avada Kedavra!" The green flash lit up the stone room, and the thrill of pleasure that coursed through him continued to hum in his veins as he surveyed the remains. They smoldered. Odd. And wonderful. He'd never seen a vampire die before.

"My lord," called a bold, heavily accented voice. "The locket is not here. I explained-"

"But you had it."

"I did, my lord. It came into my possession almost by accident. One of my…associates was traveling abroad. He discovered a pathetic creature selling stolen wares out of Hogsmeade. He brought the locket to me, thinking only that it was a Salazar Slytherin heirloom, and nothing more."

"And where is it now?"

"Gringotts, my lord. In London."

Yesssssss… A safer place could not be found. "Then my treasure sits among the most treasured objects in the world."

"I thought it fitting, my lord. And after the cowardly attempt by my blood-traitor granddaughter, I see now that I was correct in protecting your…treasure. Shall I fetch it for you? Do you wish it returned?"

"Leave it where it lies, Lazarius. But, as it is under your protection now, I shall hold you personally responsible should it be stolen again."

"Yes, my lord…"

The train whistle woke Harry, and he bolted up in his seat, chest heaving, and sweat drenching his face and neck.

"Bloody hell, Harry! You all right?"

"Yeah," he said, though he glanced around just to be sure. The train rocked along, and white countryside blurred past. Hermione blinked expectantly at him. Ez pursed her lips.

"Again?" she asked.

"He didn't know I was there."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah…" Harry told them briefly about the Horcrux now safely locked in Gringotts under Lazar Wizmere's name, before a second bolt of agony slammed through his forehead. He grabbed his skull and lurched forward. Hands were on him, trying to push him down into his seat, but he couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything except for the blood in his ears and his own muffled scream.

Avada Kedavra!

"Harry!"

"I'm…all right." He gulped in air and tried to force the nausea back. Voldemort was furious, and the killing only lightened his mood a little. "Wormtail is dead. He was wrong about the where the locket was. And…he didn't catch me. He didn't know I was there. It cost him his life."

"Just a migraine," he heard Hermione say to some passer-by.

He was given a small cup of water, and two white tablets. "Aspirin? Really?" he asked Hermione.

She shrugged. "It can't hurt, right? And you do look as though your head still hurts."

"But who…?"

"That Muggle woman over there."

"Do we trust random Muggles, now?" Ron asked, appalled.

"No," Ez said, and she took both the pills and the cup away.

Hermione knelt in front of Harry. "Does he know we've left Romania?"

"No…no, I don't think so."

"Better now?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, thanks."


In Vienna they switched trains, and this time got two compartments in a sleeper car. After supper that night, Harry excused himself to go to the loo and Ron announced that he would go with him. When Harry raised a questioning brow at him, Ron shoved him out the door.

"I was trying to be subtle," Ron whispered as they made their way down the car.

"By holding my hand in the toilet?"

"I want to talk to you. In case you haven't noticed, there's been no privacy."

"It hasn't slipped my attention."

"Well, we'd like a little."

When Harry glanced over his shoulder at his friend, Ron gave him a pleading look. "Come on. For an hour or two? Couldn't you kip with Charlie and Ez. Just give us a little…all right, just an hour. Half an hour? Twenty minutes? I could do well with ten, myself, but Hermione needs a good twenty-"

"All right, all right! Just stop talking! I don't want to think about it!"

"You're a good mate!" Ron called, already running back to the compartment.

"Yeah, yeah."

Once he finished in the loo, Harry made his way back to Charlie and Ez's compartment. He knocked, and then knocked again.

"Go away!" Charlie called.

"Stop that! It could be important."

There was a pause before Charlie called again. "Is it important? Who's out there?"

"It's Harry. But it's not important."

He reckoned there was a dining car somewhere on the train, and he could spend the night there, though it would be a lot less awkward, though, if he had some Muggle money. He was halfway down the car when he heard Hermione scream. Before he knew what he was doing, he had his wand out and was running back to the compartment. The door was locked. Harry pounded his fist against it.

"Hermione!"

"Go away, Harry!"

"No! Are you mad?" came Ron's voice just after hers. "We need him! We have to get that thing off you!"

The door swung open to reveal Ron standing in nothing but his white briefs, with his wand gripped tightly in his hand, and Hermione slipping a dressing gown on over bare shoulders.

"What's happened?" Harry asked. "Are you all right?"

But Hermione wasn't interested in answering Harry's questions. She glared at Ron as she tied the sash around her middle. "What did you do?"

"Nothing! I swear! It was the Charm!"

"But, you can't undo the Charm, Ron!" she wailed.

"I know!"

"So, how do you expect Harry to – oh, bloody hell!" Hermione threw up her hands in frustration.

Ron, at her exclamation, shivered a little. A little smile lifted one side of his mouth. "Say that again," he murmured.

"Oh, for magic's – not now, Ron!" She turned to Harry. "Do you know how to undo the Charm?"

"I don't…what do you mean?"

"Then get out!" Hermione snapped.

"Wait!" Ron cried. He grabbed Harry's arm before he could leave. "Hermione, show him."

"I will not!"

"We need his help!"

"How can he possibly-"

"How did he defeat the dementors? How did he win the Tri-wizard tournament? How did he survive an attack by a rabid vampire? I don't know how he does what he does!"

Hermione closed her eyes while her inner debate raged. "Close the door, Harry." Once they were locked in, Hermione lifted one side of her dressing gown to her waist. Bare knee, bare thigh…

"Er -" Harry raised his hand to stop her until he saw the leather knickers and brass rivets. "What the hell?" He met Hermione's eyes. She was frightened.

"It won't come off," she whimpered.

"What do you mean?"

She gave frustrated growl. "I mean it doesn't come off! There's no opening! It's too tight, and the leather's too thick to cut with a Severing Spell unless want to I take my legs off, too!"

"How's she going to use the loo?" Ron asked sheepishly.

"The loo?" Hermione wailed. "I can't even sit down! There's no give! You've cursed me!"

There was a knock at the door. "Hey, in there. Everything OK, eh?" Ez's not terribly concerned voice filtered through the wood and glass. "Did someone scream? Hermione, open the door."

Ron lifted his wand to open the door, and Hermione grabbed his wrist to stop him. They argued silently for a moment.

"Ez might be able to help," Harry said. "More than me, anyway."

Leaning closer, Ron whispered, "Come on, Hermione, you can't stay this way forever."

"Forever! Don't be ridiculous! We'll think of something, won't we? Harry?"

Harry hadn't a clue as to how to get her out of that contraption.

"Hermione," Ron pressed. "It's Ez. She already knows."

Hermione narrowed her eyes, and let his wrist go. When the door flew open Ez stood with her arms crossed over Charlie's miss-buttoned shirt, and a hand pressed to her temple. "Look, even with the Diversion Jinx Magda gave us, the Muggles are going to notice screaming. They noticed Harry's little episode, didn't they? So what is it? Why all the Screaming? You're killing me, you realize that, don't you?"

Eyes down, and face distraught, Hermione lifted the edges of her dressing gown again to give Ez a view of the problem.

"What? Is that…?" Ez began to laugh. "So that's what you meant. Ha! You Weasleys…you used the Charm, didn't you?"

Charlie poked his head in, already smiling. He must've felt Ez's mirth. "So, what is it?"

"Your brother's conjured a chastity belt!"

"A what?" Hermione cried. "Ron!"

"No!" Ron insisted. "It was the Charm!"

Charlie whooped. "The Charm? I told you it doesn't work the way you think it's going to! When I cast it on Mere, she grew a-"

Ez whipped her wand at him, and his tongue locked to the roof of his mouth with a strangled, "Gwufph."

"But…we didn't have any Potion," Ron whined. "What were we supposed to do?"

"You don't have any Potion?" Harry echoed.

"Have you seen any cauldrons bubbling away?" Hermione snapped at him. "We haven't had any Potion since we left the Burrow!"

Ez rolled her eyes. "It's called 'oral sex,' Ron. And I know you know what I'm talking about."

Ron went beet red. "I just…we…that is…"

"Stop laughing, Charlie." Hermione tightened the dressing gown's belt. Harry had to fight to fight not to join Charlie in the moment's absurdity. Ez didn't bother trying to keep a straight face.

"Can you help?" Harry asked, as Ron was at a loss, and Hermione was beginning to tear up. He knew from their point of view the situation wasn't quite the laugh it was from his.

"There's nothing to be done," Ez said.

Hermione face dropped. "What?"

"Look," said Charlie, pulling himself together. His face was every bit as red as his brother's. "It's only a three hour spell. It's not like you'd have to stay that way forever."

"Three hours!" Hermione cried. "But…but…" She looked helplessly down at herself. "Three hours?"

"I'm sure Ron can come up with something to do in those three hours to make it up to you," Ez teased. "To make it all worth your while."

"Don't even think it!" Hermione snapped as Ron's previously crest-fallen expression became one of anticipation. "You're not touching me!"

"Oh, don't be too hard on him," Ez schooled. "It could've been much worse. The Charm could've transported Ron to Siberia, or locked you in a metal cage, or made you both impotent; really, any number of things to insure no conception. With this, at least, you can still have a good snog."

"Yeah," Charlie agreed with a chuckle. "A good snog, and really, three hours will fly by."

Harry glanced at them. They sounded as if she was speaking from experience. "Charlie said you grew a what?"

"Never you mind," Ez snapped.

Again a smirk screwed up Charlie face, and when he opened his mouth she jinxed him again.

"Did it change you into a bloke?" Ron ventured, with a little more excitement that Harry would've expected. When Ez didn't respond, Harry knew Ron had guessed correctly. With a smirk that threatened more, Ron glanced at his brother. "Really? Completely? Or did she just grow a-"

"Don't you say a word!" Ez warned with a threatening move of her wand. Charlie closed his mouth and obeyed.

"Ugh," Hermione said. "That must've been awful."

Charlie raised his brows. Perhaps not all that awful. Harry shuddered - Ez as a bloke. It wasn't such a stretch really, she wasn't the girliest of witches to begin with. But had they gone ahead, then? With her…changed? Charlie's expression was disconcerting.

"All right. Enough of this shit. Harry, you bunk with us tonight."

"Oi!" Charlie protested.

"Yes, yes, you've already had your fun."

"But you-"

"We're Bonded, you ape. You come, I come."

"But we always-"

"I'm not in the mood anymore," Ez practically growled. The look she gave him would've withered a hippogriff.

Charlie froze, probably contemplating just how much trouble he was in. "Right, then. Harry, you're in with us." And then he quietly added as they were leaving the compartment, "Please, whatever you do, don't leave me alone with her."


Harry was startled out of a dreamless sleep, and held his wand out as he groped for his glasses. He was shoving them on his face, listening to the sounds of Charlie and Ez each struggling to come awake and arm themselves, when the loud thud on the roof of the car came again. It hadn't been a dream. Someone was up there. In the dark, the window shattering and the dark mass of robes and glass flying in at them shot Harry's heart into his throat, and he shouted, "Expelliarmus!" before he even know what he was firing at. Or who.

The figure was thrown back against the side of the train by the sheer power behind the spell, but Harry only heard a muffled, "Huh," and not the reassuring sound of a wand clattering to the train's floor.

"Lumos!" Charlie called, and a ball of light flew from the tip of his wand. Ez cast a Binding Jinx , and then Harry realized it was Claudau who had flown through their window. He looked as if he'd seen a fight.

"Bloody hell," Charlie gasped. "Mere, release him." The rush of air pouring in from the broken window whipped the vampire's hair, obscuring much of his face, but not the deep, ragged gashes on his neck, arms and chest. He looked shredded, and had he a beating heart in his chest, Harry was sure he would've been covered in blood.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Ez demanded. "Are you following us?"

"Mere!" Charlie barked. He turned to Claudau. "What's happened? Who did this?"

He looked up into Charlie's eyes with such sadness that, for a moment, Harry let his wand drop. "You already know, my friend. Why must you ask difficult questions?"

Charlie set his jaw. Without looking up, he aimed his wand and called, "Repairo!" The broken glass flew back together and seamlessly sealed itself.

"Mere, lower your wand. Let him go."

"If he's followed us, then so have they!"

Charlie's glare pinned her, and Harry felt her jump beside him. "Fine," she snapped. Claudau slumped to the floor. "But don't try anything, blood sucker, or I'll…" She didn't finish the sentence, but she did shift her glare to Charlie once more.

"What happened?" Charlie asked Claudau, his voice lower now, and gentle.

The vampire opened his eyes and stared past Charlie, unseeing. "I have been forsaken."

"Because you got us out of the spire."

"Because I helped the blood traitors escape," he said miserably. He met Charlie's eyes. "I am you."

"I told you you wouldn't like it."

His red eyes looked dark as he gazed at Charlie's white, scarred neck, and then his mouth. "And I told you I'd give the world for you. And now I have." His laugh was mirthless. "Charliz…" Claudau shook his head, and the gashes on the vampire's face and neck looked even deeper. "Charliz… Imoroaică… the Drăculeşti…they know you fled. They know…" He gestured at Ez, and her hand went protectively to her middle. "The Drăculeşti, he will not let you live this time. Even your father is crying for your death."

"They can try," Charlie said, sincere in his bravado. "They haven't managed it yet."

The vampire closed his eyes. "They do not know where you are, so they will attack your family. They will start with the youngest, the weakest, the least protected. They are now, as we speak, hunting your sister-"

"What?" Harry's heart lurched in his chest. "Ginny!"

"Did he send you here to threaten us?" Ez demanded. Her wand was still aimed at the vampire.

"Oh, no, fierce but foolish Ézmâreldi, he did not - Charliz, can you not call off your dog?"

"I'll show you dog!" Ez flipped her wrist and bees flew out from the tip of her wand.

Charlie was able to counter the curse with a wave of his wand. "Mere! Stop! What the blood hell's wrong with you?"

"Wrong with me? He's come for you, Charlie! You know it, too! I see it in your head, so don't deny it! And yeah, I know what happened between the two of you-"

"Mere, it's not-"

"Oh, it is! It's exactly what I think it is, so don't lie to me!"

"Who bloody cares?" Harry shrieked. "We have to save Ginny!" He bolted from the room and pounded on the next door over. "Ron! Hermione! Open up! Ron!"

A sleepy head poked out as the door cracked open. "What is it, mate?"

"Hogwarts, quick! Ginny is in danger! They're going after her!"

"Who?" This came from an unseen, half-awake Hermione behind him.

"Lazar! That vampire thing! They're going after Ginny! We have to get to Hogwarts!"

Ron spun around, and rushed for his trousers. The door swung open, and Hermione was naked grabbing for clothes. Harry turned. "I can't wait. Meet me at Hogwarts." Before Hermione could get her full protest out, Harry felt the squeezing of Disapparation.

It was a couple of moments of disorientation before Harry realized that he'd managed to Apparate beside Honeydukes. Even in winter the smell of sugar was thick and reassuring in the air. It was dark and cold, and Harry kicked a trail through the snow to the front door. Three tries to unlock he door got him no where, and unwilling to spend any more time being polite, Harry dug his heel into the ground and slammed the door with a Severing Jinx. It exploded.

Magical alarms wailed, "Intruder!" as Harry jumped over the debris and into the back room. Down the stairs he threw open the trap door with a flick of his wand, and then cast "Lumos." The tunnel was just as he remembered. He ran.

Once the door on the Hogwarts' end came into sight, a web of magic flew at him. It wrapped around him as tight as ropes. Harry tried to cut himself free, but the netting cancelled out all the hexes and jinxes that he could think up.

"Throw down your wand!" An Auror stood in the door, wand aimed. "I said throw it down!"

"Proudfoot! It's me! It's Harry Potter!"

"Throw your wand down!" the Auror ordered again.

"We don't have time for-"

"I said throw it down, or I'll hex you and take it by force!"

With a frustrated huff Harry dropped his wand. Proud foot approached him carefully. "Hurry," Harry barked. "Check my wand. It's me!"

Proudfoot, with his long dark hair pulled back in a plait, bent over and retrieved Harry's wand, and scanned it with his own.

"The castle is about to be under attack," Harry quickly told him. "Ginny Weasley is the target!"

Proudfoot eyed Harry, and then released him from the magical web. "Who?"

"There isn't time! I need my wand!"

Proudfoot handed it over as he asked, "Why are you sneaking in through this-?"

"Because we don't have any bloody time! I need to get to Ginny fast, and your checkpoints take too long!" He pushed past Proudfoot, who continued to protest.

"Wait a minute, now Potter-"

"Raise the alarm!" Harry ordered over his shoulder. "And tell Tonks that it's Wizmere. With any luck she'll know what to do."

"Tonks? You mean Professor Tonks?"

"Whatever! She's spent some time in Romania! Don't argue! Just do it! And Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger will be here soon! Get them through as fast as you can! We'll need them!"

Harry sprinted up the stairs, and then down the corridors to Gryffindor Tower. At that time of night, with any luck, Ginny would be asleep in the Head Girl's room. And if not, he'd wake the whole bloody castle to find her. At least the attack hadn't come yet. He'd made it in time. Hadn't he? Surely they wouldn't have been able to sneak in, grab Ginny, and get out again without the Aurors knowing. Surely…

"That's not the password," said the Fat Lady, apologetically.

"You can't be serious!" Harry shouted. "Please, you've got to let me in!"

"No, no, none of that! You know perfectly well that no one passes through without the password!" She seemed very proud to be protecting her post so well.

"Of course I do! And you know perfectly well that I'm Harry Potter, and I'm a Gryffindor!"

"Rules are rules!"

"But I'm here on a rescue mission! Ginny Weasley is going to be kidnapped if I don't reach her in time!"

"Oh, no! Not Ginny Weasley!" the Fat Lady feigned distress. "Take it up with the Headmistress!"

"Bloody hell!" Harry spun around in frustration, and then stormed down the stairs just as McGonagall, in her plaid flannel nightgown, was hurrying up with Proudfoot and another Auror flanking her. "What's the new password?"

"Punctilious!"

Harry bolted back up to the Fat Lady. "Punctilious!"

"Nice to have you back, young master Potter!" The portrait swung open.

Harry didn't wait for the others to catch up. He dashed up the dormitory stairs, and then took the Head Girl's stair. He threw the door open, and waved his wand at the lamps that burst into flames with a roar. Ginny sat up in bed, terrified. She grabbed for her wand.

"It's me!" Harry called out before she could hex him. "Gin! It's me!"

She froze. And then her face melted into a watery smile. "Harry – Merlin, Harry, I thought for a moment that you were-"

He dove for her, and she held out her arms to collect him. He kissed her mouth, her neck, and held her so close she squeaked. "You're squeezing."

He mumbled an apology, pressed his forehead to her shoulder. "I love you."

"Harry, what is it? What's happened? Where's Ron? Harry?" She pulled away from him. "Harry, where's Ron and Hermione?"

"They're all right," he assured. "They're coming. But I couldn't wait. We're going to be attacked. It's a long story, but you're not safe. Get dressed."

"Mister Potter!" Professor McGonagall stood in the door, aghast at the tableau she'd walked in on. "Get out of that bed at once!"

Ginny was already climbing toward her trunk. Harry hurried out the door to let Ginny put her clothes on.

"Did you talk to Tonks?" Harry asked Padfoot out on the landing.

The Auror nodded. "She said she'd take care of everything, and to stay with the Headmistress. What's going on, Potter? What are we in for? Who's attacking? You said Wizmere."

Professor McGonagall's eyes went wide. "But surely you don't mean Professor Wizmere!"

Before Harry could respond the door opened, and Ginny stood there, face puffy from sleep and hair tangled, in a jumper and jeans. Merlin, he'd missed her. Her smile was radiant. "You're with me," he told her. "Whatever happens, don't leave my side."

Her eyes lit up as if he'd given her a present.

"Hogwarts is perfectly safe," McGonagall assured. "No one can possibly get in without-"

"I did," Harry said quickly. "And Lazarius Wizmere won't worry about a handful of Aurors."

"Lazarius – Mr. Potter, you don't mean to tell me that this castle is about to be attacked by Lazar Wizmere."

"That's exactly what I mean to tell you!"

"Impossible!" Padfoot insisted. "He's been dead for thirty years!"

"Who told you that? The Ministry? The same Ministry who denied Voldemort's return?"

Padfoot flinched. Professor McGonagall did too, a bit.

"Harry, what do we do? How will they attack?" Ginny's face was alight with excitement. He wished she wasn't enjoying this quite so much. "We should call the DA."

"What? No! Ginny, this is real!"

"I know that! But, Harry, we're good. We're really good. It's not like it was when we went to the Department of Mysteries. Now we really know what we're doing. Tonks is an amazing teacher!"

"Enough of that," Professor McGonagall said sharply. "Students will not fight in an attack on this school!" She gave Harry a hard look. "Lazarius Wizmere?"

"He's Ez's-"

"I know who he is, Potter. You're certain he's alive? That's he going to attack this school?"

He glanced at Ginny. "I'm certain." He wouldn't say more in front of her. He didn't want Ginny to carry the burden of an attack on the school. "Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger should be here any moment. They'll tell you Wizmere's alive."

"I need to contact the Ministry," Padfoot said, and he scurried away, leaving only the one Auror with Professor McGonagall. She eyed him, clearly irritated that he hadn't run off with his friend. Not that it would matter. The Ministry was compromised, and Padfoot's report wouldn't make a bit of difference. Harry knew help from that direction would not come in time. "Where's Tonks?" he said almost to himself as he grabbed Ginny's arm. "Come on."

Her hand slipped into his as they ran down the stairs. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know. Ron and Hermione should be here – we need them. Ron will come up with a strategy, and Hermione can help organize." The common room was starting to fill with bleary-eyed students. Harry and Ginny sprinted through, and then down the stairs outside. They met Tonks, Lupin, and several Aurors on the Grand Stair.

"Wotcher, Harry."

"Harry! What's going on?" Lupin was in a tattered dressing gown over pajamas, and Tonks wore her robes. "Where the devil did you come from?"

"It's Wizmere?" Tonks asked, and when Harry nodded she shoved his shoulder. "Get away! In Scotland? No way. Where's Ez?"

"Not here. She can't Disapparate, you know, and I had to get here as soon as I could."

"Charlie's still with her, then?"

"Yeah. Of course."

Tonks looked relieved. "Thank bloody Merlin for that!" She turned to Lupin. "I have to go. They're going to need me."

"No, we'll respond as if the attack on Hogwarts is genuine," Lupin counseled.

"Of course it's genuine!" Harry insisted.

"The Wizmere's won't come here," Tonks said. "Charlie and Ez are going to need backup."

"Obviously they believed that Hogwarts was in trouble, if they sent Harry here." Both Lupin and Tonks looked expectantly at Harry.

"Well, er…not really, no, they didn't exactly send me. But Claudau said-"

"Claudau! Claudau? The vampire? Bloody hell, Harry! He's one of them!"

"No, he rescued Charlie and Ez from the spire–"

"He's a vampire!"

"He's a friend of Charlie's," Harry said, but Tonks wasn't buying it. "You think the attack on Ginny was a decoy? To get Ez and Charlie alone?"

"On Ginny?" Lupin gasped.

Tonks threw up her hands. "It worked, didn't it? Use your loaf, Harry! How would any wizard, even one as powerful as Lazar Wizmere take on the entire Hogwarts castle without the rest of the world finding out?"

"Well…he has friends," Harry said, not even believing his explanation as he said it. "Merlin, you're right. We've got to get back to them."

"No," Lupin said with finality. "Harry, you need to stay put. Tonks is right. It's safe here, even if there's an attack coming." Harry wasn't certain about that – but he wasn't so sure about any of it anymore. Had he left Charlie and Ez undefended? Wasn't that why Charlie had asked him to travel with him in the first place?

"I have to go," Tonks said to Lupin, desperation in her eyes.

"No," Lupin whispered, and Harry knew then that Lupin wouldn't be able to keep her.

"He's my Secret Keeper. I have to go. I gave an oath-"

"We all gave an oath," Lupin told her.

She searched his eyes. "It's Charlie. I have to help."

"What if you can't?"

"I have to try."

Lupin grabbed her by the arms and kissed her passionately. She whimpered, and opened her mouth to him. Harry turned away just as Ernie came bounding down the stairs.

"Harry!" he called, with Luna behind him. "They say we're under attack! How can we help?"

Ginny tugged Harry's arm. "See? We want to help!"

"You can get back to your House, is what you can do!" Tonks barked. She turned back to Lupin. "I'll send word as soon as I can."

"I'll come with you," he said.

"Don't do this. Stay with Harry. If I'm wrong-"

"Please be wrong," he implored.

"I'll send word," she promised one last time, and then hurried away.

"Where's she going?" Ernie asked.

"Never mind," Lupin said, still distracted by the now empty corridor she'd run down. "Get back to your common rooms."

"But, we want to help," Luna said happily.

"No. Not this time," Lupin told her. "If Harry's right, this attack will be terrifically dangerous. This wizard, he's not a normal Death Eater."

"Yeah, well, we're not exactly normal students, are we?" Ginny said with a cocky smirk. Harry had never loved her so much as in that moment.

"Harry!" The familiar voice flooded him with relief. Harry turned to see Hermione and Ron running down the corridor toward him, followed by three Aurors Harry recognized from the night Charlie had been brought in hurt. They should've been the outside defense, which meant-

"Who's guarding the gate?" Harry demanded.

Professor McGonagall caught up to them. She was a little out of breath, and there was color in her thin cheeks. "All right, back to your common rooms, the lot of you. And no complaints, Miss Granger. I won't stand for it. If this school is going to be under attack I will have my students safely tucked away."

"But if we can help-" Harry began.

"Then I will fetch you," the Headmistress said. "Until that time, I want you in your Tower. And you, Miss Lovegood, back in Ravenclaw – oh, and Mr. Macmillian. Mr. Lupin, you would be so good as to collect Professor Tonks? And the rest of you…"

"She's gone." The devastation in those two words didn't just stop Professor McGonagall in her tracks. It froze them all.

"Professor?" McGonagall questioned, a new tenderness in her voice.

Lupin met her gaze. "Tonks. She went to help Charlie. She believed the threat on Hogwarts was a diversion, and Charlie and Ez are the real target."

McGonagall turned to Harry. "Mr. Potter?" she asked expectantly.

"I…" He swallowed. He'd made a terrible mistake. "The attack wasn't going to be on Hogwarts. It was Ginny who was in danger, not the school."

"Me?" Ginny gasped.

"There isn't time to explain now, but…I've got to get back to the train. I think maybe Tonks is right."

"And, if she's wrong?" McGonagall pressed.

"Then tell them when they arrive that Ginny Weasley is no longer at Hogwarts."

"And if they do not believe me?"

Harry shook his head. "Then brace for Dark wizards and vampires. And don't expect rescue from the Ministry. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Vampires?" Ernie anxiously repeated.

Harry grabbed Ginny's hand, and started down the steps. Ron and Hermione followed close behind.

"Professor Lupin!" McGonagall called.

"I'm sorry, Headmistress," he said, on Harry's heels. "I'm sorry…I have to go."

From the school gates, winded from running, the five of them Disapparated - Ron first, and then Ginny with Harry, and Lupin with Hermione. It took a moment for Harry to get his bearings once they Apparated back in the train. It wasn't what he'd expected. The car was dark, and at an odd angle. It wasn't moving. Acrid smoke thickened the cold, wet air. It wasn't a broken window this time, but half of the wall in the compartment was gone. Harry heard Hermione and Ron running through the car, checking other compartments, looking for survivors.

Lupin walked forward and touched the charred edge of the hole. "They've already come and gone."

Ginny touched Harry's shoulder. "If there are no bodies they might have gotten away."

"The Muggles are dead," Ron reported. His voice and expression was grim. Hermione's eyes were full of tears, but she didn't let them fall.

"He got them," Lupin said staring out at the night. The countryside was dark, still.

"The Muggle authorities will be here soon to investigate," Hermione reminded them. "We can't stay."

Harry looked around, hoping for some sign that Charlie and Ez and Tonks had made it out; that they were on foot…or anything.

Ron pulled their luggage down from the rack near the door. "They may want it later," he said quietly.

There was nothing to do but go back to Hogwarts.