Luna awoke in a daze. She rubbed her eyes, slowly sitting up on disheveled bed. She smiled down at the place on the bed next to her, but then frowned. Michael was not there.
Assuming he was already up and in some other part of the house, she rolled her shoulders a few times, then her head, and finally her ankles, enjoying her usual morning ritual. She jumped to her feet and patted her pockets – her wand was not there. She quickly realized she had no memory of going to bed the previous night apart from collapsing in an unused bedroom with her husband, fully clothed and exhausted.
Her eyes drifted to the nightstand beside the bed and with a sigh of relief she found her wand resting on it. Luna gave it a quick wave to make the bed and then slid it into her pocket. Satisfied she had demonstrated proper manners, she left the bedroom and headed downstairs to see who else was awake.
She tiptoed through a few rooms into the kitchen, looking around for her husband. A soft light came in through the window. Checking her watch, Luna discovered it was a little after seven thirty. Michael wasn't in the kitchen either, though Jeff was.
He was rummaging through the refrigerator, pulling things out and setting them on the table behind him. His back was to her and he didn't hear Luna enter.
"Hello Jeff," she said quietly, not wanting to wake the others. He jumped and spun around, holding a carton of milk in one hand.
"Oh, Luna it's you," he said, shaking his head and setting down his milk. He instead started up the coffee maker. It turned on with a loud grinding noise. "Do you know where Michael is? He's gone, I'm sure you noticed."
"No, I have no idea where he is," Luna replied, more curious than worried. It wasn't like Michael to disappear without at least telling her where he was going, but Luna had total faith in her husband and knew he wouldn't willing get into something over his head. "Jeff?"
"Hmm?" Jeff's eyes were very red.
"How long have you and Sarah been sleeping together?"
Jeff groaned and rubbed his face up and down with his free hand. "You remember that, huh? Well, we were drunk, okay?"
Luna smiled at him, unabashed. "But that wasn't your first time together."
"How do you know that?" Jeff asked, spinning around to look at her. His face betrayed the truth.
"Like you said – you were both very drunk. And under the influence of some other substances. Not that there's anything wrong with that," she said kindly, "if anything she took advantage of you." Jeff gave Luna a very dirty look and shook his head. "But I know you two. Your first time to have sex is a very special moment – you wouldn't want to do it with the room spinning."
Jeff's face had turned slightly red but Luna looked normal as ever. She could have been discussing someone's first day of school.
"Who made you the expert?" Jeff demanded.
"Well I am married," Luna said fairly, with a little shrug.
Jeff just looked at her for a moment. "Since we went home from Hogwarts," he simply said. He gave Luna a shifty smile she returned.
"What the hell?" Sarah muttered, staggering into the kitchen, looking bleary eyed and annoyed. "You couldn't Silence the coffee maker? It woke me up all the way in my room."
"Did someone say Michael's gone?" Harry asked, joining them in the dim kitchen. He was followed by Hermione and Ron, Hermione not looking nearly as perky as usual.
"Yeah, he just disappeared," Jeff said, waving his wand to cause six mugs to appear on the counter next to him. He picked one up and filled it with coffee, taking a large drink despite the burning. "Sorry I woke you."
"Its fine, just give me a cup," Hermione mumbled, massaging her head. Jeff quickly handed her the second mug, and she took a drink even larger than his.
"So…no one saw him leave?" Ron asked the group at large. Everyone shook their heads. "Are we the only people left in the house?"
"I think so," Sarah said. "I didn't see anyone else on my way down."
"Nor did I," Luna added.
"I hope he's all right," Harry said, frowning. He was looking at Luna. "You don't think….?"
"Do I think STRIKE captured him last night?" Luna filled in. "No, I don't. Even if they surprised him, he was sleeping right next to me. I would know."
"Last night your friend…Kevin?" Hermione inquired of Jeff and Sarah, "found out about Michael and Luna. But he's on our side, he even said he would keep them supplied with information if anyone became suspicious of them."
"He did?" Jeff asked. "How did he find out?" Hermione looked at her feet and everyone else suddenly became fixated on random items around the kitchen. Jeff shrugged. "Well Kevin's a good guy – he wouldn't sell you out. If Michael left, he left of his own accord. Maybe I should check my MD. I haven't bothered with it much lately, but who knows…."
Luna nodded seriously at him and he turned on the spot to Apparate away, Luna assuming he had left his disc at home. Sarah stared at the spot he had occupied for a second, but then said, "Well, Ron, without them you'll have to eat more than your usual share. Think you can cover for them?"
"What?" Ron said sharply. He hadn't been paying attention to Sarah; he too was staring at the floor though with a much different expression on his face. Luna wondered precisely how hungover he was.
"I'll help with breakfast," Harry offered. All eyes turned on him in surprise. "What?" he said, a little defensively. "The Dursleys used to make me cook for them – until they started to worry I'd poison them."
"The thought never crossed your mind?" Sarah asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Not really," Harry said indifferently. "They were killing themselves, the way they ate."
Ron and Sarah both laughed at that. Hermione simply shook her head sadly. Luna perched up on a countertop and shut her eyes, attempting to shut her ears as well. Luna never had trouble drifting off into her own little world but at the moment it was Michael's world she was interested in. She searched herself and everything around her, not knowing how she would find him but knowing exactly what she needed to find. This was one of the branches of magic Luna was very disappointed they did not teach at Hogwarts. She supposed it was understandable as it was such a vague form of magic with no set incantation or teaching method.
Finally, her mind touched something. She wasn't sure what it was – not in this darkness – so her brain began to grope at whatever she had found. Outwardly, Luna smiled – this was Michael. She knew his feel. He was alive, that much was obvious. But wherever he was, he wasn't responding to her touch. Luna didn't find this especially strange as he probably had no idea she was trying to reach him, but it piqued her curiosity nonetheless.
She pulled back and opened her eyes, ready to report back to her friends. It seemed Jeff had already beaten her to the punch. The look on his face – which had earlier told her all she needed to know about his sex life – now made her fear for her husband's.
"There's several messages on here – all from Michael," he said slowly. "I haven't listened to them yet. Let's see…."
Jeff drew his wand out and it to the side of the disc. A hologram of Michael from the waist up appeared from the disc, and began to speak to them in a subdued voice. He looked a little anxious and nervous, but wide awake, a complete contrast to the other six, all of whom were just beginning to shake off the sluggishness of alcohol induced sleep.
"So…hi guys," he began, checking his wand as he said it. "I'm sure you've noticed by now that I'm gone. Somebody – Harry, maybe? – has probably suggested STRIKE might've taken me after everyone went to bed last night. Well, you're right and wrong. Somebody did talk…but not about the details. But Kevin did tell me I was immediately recalled to explain why the hell I brought four civilians to the party. I tried to slip out without waking you, Luna, it wasn't a big deal. Anyway…long story short, we're clear, I explained everything away. But…." Here, Michael looked a little embarrassed. "Well, I haven't been answering hails from STRIKE for a while. Turns out they have information on another item of the Seven. I'm going to recover it, but I should be back before any of you wake up. None of you will probably ever see this."
His hand disappeared from view, sheathing his wand as the message ended. Jeff tapped his wand to the stone again.
Michael popped up again, though this time his hair was slightly disheveled, his face was scratched. He looked extremely harried.
"I'm on the job right now," he said, now speaking much more quietly. "Everything's going fine on my end, but I ran into a few Death Eaters. No trouble in and of themselves, but they were saying something about Lacerte…I don't know, I have a bad feeling. Keep your heads up guys."
The hologram bleeped and buzzed, then faded away, the stone slowly dimming. One more message remained. Jeff slowly raised his wand to his MD again.
"I'm done!" Michael said loudly, now plainly injured. Luna couldn't help but gasp. "I got it! But they're definitely coming for you, the Lacerte! I just ran into Owen Stetnas, I only had time to engage him briefly, we broke off pretty quick. I needed past him, but I'm not sure why he disengaged. He might be coming there too, I don't know. I sent a call to Sirius Black for help, everyone else will be too asleep to come. I'll join you shortly, just survive!" Michael paused for a poignant second. "I love you all." And then he was gone.
For a split second the six teens looked at each other in shock, unable to say a thing. Sarah spoke first.
"I know for certain some of the agents here last night put up every ward imaginable – anti-Apparition, Muggle repelling, and standard defensive charms against Dark Wizards. They can't come here."
"Yes they can," Luna said quickly, remembering a conversation she and Michael had had weeks ago after dueling Owen Stetnas. She jumped down from the countertop. "The Death Eaters can't, but these wards won't keep out creatures like the Lacerte. They'll be here any second."
Harry seemed to know she was right and drew his wand to attempt some form of protective magic. It was pointlessly late however, as at that same second there was a rapid succession of loud cracks, the sound resembling machine gun fire. Spells shot through the windows and slammed into the walls, exploding the refrigerator.
Ron yelled out as luck determined he was the first to be hit, a piece of glass slicing his arm. He grabbed it with his empty hand to stanch the bleeding and all six teens crouched low and ran as fast as they could towards the family room. They entered the room and sprinted into the next, hurrying up the stairs. The bottom steps were blasted out from under them, and they ran faster than ever to ascend the stairs.
A loud hiss told them the Lacerte had entered the house. Sarah threw open the a hallway door, and they all hurried through it. Luna, bringing up the rear, yelled "Colloportus!" as she did.
"What do we do?" Hermione screamed. "We don't have anywhere to run!"
"We survive!" Luna replied, her face set and determined, barely any fear evident on it. "Focus on casting as many spells as you can! They can use magic, but even with so many of them, their curses won't be a match for ours!"
The other five nodded and together, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Jeff Allero, Sarah Crystalake, and Luna Jacobs pointed their wands at the door and back slightly away into the spacious loft like room they had entered. They had trapped themselves, but each was confident in each others' ability to fight as long as they were not blindsided.
A few more seconds of terrifying wait shook them, then the door exploded under the force of ten different spells. An endless sea of Lacerte poured in, more than Luna had ever seen or expected. Michael's absence invigorated her however, and she was the first to launch her barrage of spells, tearing into the first wave of dagger waving lizards, while their wand wielding counterparts stayed farther back.
Spells immediately smashed against each other, but time and time again the Lacerte proved inferior to the Wizards and Witches who had pushed themselves so hard and trained so much to become strong enough to not only survive but excel in situations exactly like this. With Luna at the lead, the group set in to defend themselves.
Even the power and weight of the spells issuing from the six wands was not enough to hold the lizard creatures long, and to complicate things several of the Lacerte seemed to be unusually skilled in magical combat; Harry and Hermione were locked in individual duels, leaving the other four to defend themselves against the advancing horde.
Soon, the combat degenerated into close quarters dueling, and each teen frantically fought multiple enemies at once. It would have been overwhelming, but the small space afforded them advantage simply by helping stem the numbers of Lacerte in the battle at one time.
Luna couldn't help but notice in the heat of battle – as she ducked and blasted through a pair of Lacerte – that she was beginning to develop a real instinct for combat. She knew Michael hadn't wanted this, but it was unavoidable. They may have been young – as they proved last night – but they were also soldiers in a war. Their current situation was obvious testament to this. Luna threw her wand in the air, stretched out both palms to propel a gaggle of Lacerte out the second floor window, then caught her wand back in her right hand, keeping her left hand outstretched until a short blade with a sapphire encrusted hilt appeared in it.
She kept her Peach wand in her off hand, while her left handled the Sword of Ravenclaw. She weaved in-between the Lacerte with a grace strangely at odds with the fierceness with which she struck, smiting as many creatures as she could without risking injury to her friends.
The room had been almost completely filled when the battle began, overwhelmed with no less than twenty Lacerte, though now it appeared much emptier, the floor now covered with bodies and a mixture of red and purplish blood.
Almost every Lacerte was unconscious, incapacitated, or dead. Luna, Jeff, Ron, and Sarah had all struck to kill, though sparingly, but Harry and Hermione had avoided use of the Unforgivables for the most part. Only five Lacerte remained, then three as Harry and Hermione struck down the one each faced. Luna spun in an elegant circle, the blade of the Ravenclaw sword nicking the throat of each Lacerte. They fell to the ground with a hissing gasp, and then moved no more.
All six were breathing heavily, but overwhelmed with a foreign feeling of power and victory.
"Do you smell smoke?" Harry panted, clutching his shoulder, where one of the Lacerte's blades had cut him.
"Dammit, the house is on fire!" Jeff yelled. He hurried out of the room and down the stairs, wand at the ready, jumping over bodies. The others followed quickly.
The fire was spreading quickly, and smoke filled the living room and entryway. It was impossible to tell where the fire had started, though it was clear there was no stopping it. Not if, judging by the shouts and yells outside, a battle still raged.
Luna led the way through the front door, onto the front lawn, where a fight was indeed still on. Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Sirius Black, and Michael Jacobs were in the dead middle of a mass of no less than thirty Lacerte, shoulder to shoulder in a tight square fending off the creatures.
Luna, who was still clutching the Sword, ran straight for the crowd, completely forgetting logic in her desperation to join Michael. The other five unleashed a barrage of spells blowing a hole in the tightly packed Lacerte. A few turned just in time to be cut down by Luna; they fell to the ground, lifeless. Luna didn't enjoy this – killing still made her feel guilty after the fact, but concern for her friends and husband drove all else from her mind.
Apart from her father, her five friends and Michael were all she had.
Realizing others had joined the fight; the Lacerte broke from their circle and began to engage each of the ten humans. Both sides broke ranks and the first full scale battle since the Ministry of Magic the previous summer began.
Ten wizards and witches faced off against nearly fifty Lacerte, spells flying everywhere, meeting and exploding, annihilating the silence that should have accompanied the early morning.
Ron tidily exterminated two Lacerte with a small Blasting Curse, then yelled at Hermione to duck as he sent a Stunner at the lizard behind her. She did so, dodging the swing of another's sword, and looked up in time to see the creature fall.
Remus, Tonks, and Sirius fought with all the skill expected of an Order member, Auror, and STRIKE member, though Tonks and Sirius were technically a mix. Behind them, Sarah's house had begun to burn intensely. Flames leapt out of the windows and smoke billowed from the roof.
Jeff took on his wolf form and were dashing in between groups of Lacerte, jumping up and attacking when the opportunity was presented. Sarah aimed her wand at the ground and shouted a curse that exploded the dirt under their clawed feet, leaving nothing but a crater horribly similar to the one outside the Jacobs' home. Harry was a popular target for Lacerte with wands and found himself constantly on the defensive.
Both the occupants of that home weaved together through the Lacerte, the swords of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw bringing an end to a multitude of Lacerte lives. All ten humans were injured in some way: cut, burned, or cursed, except for Michael, who seemed to be completely untouched, and was fighting more fiercely than Luna had ever seen.
Michael drove his blade through a Lacerte but was denied time to extract it as he was immediately set upon by five more. He allowed the mess of lizard and metal to fall as one, the sword digging into the ground and standing in place.
"Stupefy!" was Michael's opening curse, knocking one Lacerte hard on its back. He blocked an incoming curse with a wordless swipe of his wand; the spell ricocheted off into the burning house, exploding within. Completing the motion, Michael swung his arm back across his body with a muttered curse that produced a visible crescent moon of blue magic which spun towards three more Lacerte like a boomerang, slicing them in such a way that Luna actually had to look away. The final lizard had rushed Michael from behind, brandishing a sword. Luna screamed a warning Michael did not require, as he spun just in time to grab the Lacerte's dropping arm with his left hand, delivering a blow with his curled right fist to the monster's stomach, causing it to double over. Michael swiftly kicked the Lacerte's legs out from under it, ripping the sword from its grasp and in the same motion, thrusting it into its scaly torso so it too was impaled, fixed to the ground as if by a stake.
Luna and Michael's eyes met. He smiled at her in a way that suddenly assured her they would survive this. But then Michael was gone, rushing towards the largest Lacerte, the armored leader, Cruxien.
Michael secured his wand again in its holster; retrieving the Sword of Gryffindor from where he had left it on his way to face the giant. The creature, which had been at a distance to the fight, bellowing orders in its own language and gesturing with its sword, took notice of the Wizard rushing it and assumed a dueling stance. Michael wasted no time, aiming a chop at Cruxien's head. He was using both hands to fight Cruxien, whose brute strength in no way made him a slower opponent. Now only about twenty Lacerte remained, and Luna was using just her wand, protecting her husband from a blindside attack from any surviving creatures.
Michael backed Cruxien up the few steps towards the blazing house. He ducked a swing from the broadsword and responded with a quick thrust at his enemy's scaly chest, though it was parried. He was plainly sweating, likely both from the combat and the heat from the fire.
The swords met again, but this time the Lacerte's strength proved too much and Michael's blade flew out of his hand. Not particularly inconvenienced, Michael leapt backwards and drew his wand again, ready to shout a spell to end the Lacerte. That was as far as he got.
Michael never saw the jet of green light that struck him in the side.
Sirius had seen Michael disarmed and attempted to save him by firing a Killing Curse at Cruxien. Magic was not accurate at that distance however, and Michael had been exactly where the curse had been headed, a few feet to the left of its intended target. It was all an accident.
That's how Luna would explain it to herself later. At that moment, nothing crossed her mind. Nothing at all.
Michael was lifted by the force of the spell and thrown away from the Lacerte leader and into the burning building.
There were screams of shook and terror. Luna's was the loudest; her heart broke instantly at the sight of her husband, his eyes glazed, lifeless, landing in the midst of the flames. She screamed like she never had in her life – worse even than when her mother had died.
Cruxien made a loud hiss like roar of triumph, and turned to face the others, parrying several curses. He seemed to want to finish the rest, but decided he had too few troops left, and made to Disapparate.
Finding he couldn't, as Sarah's wards were still in place, he pushed out his chest, throwing his sword aside, and began a wand duel with Harry and Sarah. Jeff and Ron as wolves tore into the remaining Lacerte, every ounce of purple blood spilled in an attempt to ease the pain wracking them. Lupin and Tonks were still fighting too, trying to eliminate the remaining few creatures. Hermione's arm was shaking so much her curses were flying in all directions. They looked shocked and horrorstruck, but they had no idea…they knew nothing of the pain she, Luna, was feeling…
Sirius was simply gone.
Luna remained perfectly still for about a second, mouth still open from her scream, wand hanging limply at her side. It was impossible. It had to be. Luna could believe anything, but the idea of Michael Jacobs, her husband and the one of the most powerful Wizards on earth, dying, was unfathomable. She could not, would not, lose both her mother and lover to Dark magic.
Luna screamed in true agony.
She shot a curse of condensed hatred at Cruxien, who had defeated Sarah, leaving Harry to do all he could to protect her unconscious form. It missed by inches, her hand was shaking too much to fire an accurate spell.
Harry hit the Lacerte with a Gouging Curse, drilling a deep hole in his shoulder. He jumped backwards and avoided Harry's follow up Killing Curse, instead turning and learning he could indeed now Disapparate to Voldemort, with Sarah down. No doubt to relay the good news…that Michael Jacobs was dead….
The remaining Lacerte imitated him, vanishing out of the trajectory of Lupin, Tonks, and Jeff's curses.
Luna immediately sprinted towards the crumbling house to find Michael, so he could make a smart-ass comment and brush the soot out of his dark hair, before planting a loving kiss on her lips.
People yelled her name, shouting pointless warnings to stay away from the fire. None of it made any sense to Luna as she ran past Harry, who tried to grab her arm but missed. Michael was in danger, why shouldn't she try to save him?
"Because you can't," said a tiny voice in her head. "Because Michael's dead and nothing you do will bring him back."
"No!" she cried out loud to herself. "He's not dead! He's not gone!"
She reached the front door through which Michael's body had been flung, but was stopped a few feet short of the threshold.
With a terrible, shiver inducing scream, a last Lacerte jumped through of one of the glass windows on the second floor, hitting the ground in front of Luna with another scream of pain. Its skin was blackened and charred, and it stank of burnt flesh. It's charred hand still clutched to a wand.
Luna's shock was such that even her reflexes were too slow to raise her wand and utter coherent spell before it rushed forward and wrapped its arms around her, lifting her as it spun.
Both Luna and the burned Lacerte vanished on the spot, the spells fired by Harry and Lupin passing through the space they had just occupied.
Harry was crushed; his body ached and smarted, but his heart hurt much worse. He looked desperately at Remus, who was closest to him and had witnessed Luna's capture.
"We can't put out the house!" Lupin yelled hoarsely. "The fire's too big; it's too much for any of us!" Harry quietly disagreed, thinking of two who could most certainly do this, but said nothing. To speak of Michael was too painful to contemplate, especially with Luna's fate so dangerously in the balance.
Tonks came rushing to join them, followed by Jeff, Sarah, Hermione, and Ron. All were limping or clutching injuries. Sirius was still nowhere to be found. Hermione was leaning on Ron, trying to keep her weight off her left leg. Ron's face was scratched and cut; he now had a scar on his chin similar to the one the Michael had worn for a year. Jeff and Sarah seemed too shocked to speak. They were holding each other, drawing resolve not to break down.
Harry couldn't fathom this. Michael…how? Why? Why now, right after Christmas, right after he and Luna had spent their first holiday together. After they had spoken so excitedly to him last night, Luna talking more than Harry had ever seen her, about their new home and their desire for the entire group to come see the house.
"We have to go," Jeff said suddenly. He was breathing extremely quickly and his words came out one by one. "They'll be back, probably with Voldemort and Stetnas with them this time, now that they can Apparate in."
"Come with us," Tonks said quietly. "Michael, he was your friend, wasn't he? I remember him…he was…good. We were Aurors…together. We'll go to Grimmuald Place and figure things out." She reached out a hand to Harry, but he shook it off.
"No, we can't," he said firmly. Something was telling him what he had to do. He had to take charge; he had to save the others. "At least I'm not. We have a job to do, Michael dying doesn't change that. We'll be okay; they don't know where we'd go."
Tonks opened her mouth to argue, but Lupin placed a hand on her to silence her. He was looking at Harry closely, taking in his appearance and manner. He did not look sure he could make him come even if he wanted too, especially not with his other four friends there.
"Do you know where you'll go?" he asked after a while, glancing around to make sure no one else had joined them.
"Yes," Harry said simply. He looked long and hard at Remus, who eventually nodded.
"Be safe, don't do anything foolish. Come to us if you need help – the Order will provide it. And I'm sorry about your friends," he added sadly, gesturing at the burning building in which Michael's body had surely now been reduced to ashes. The thought gave Harry chills.
"We'll find her," Jeff muttered, finally speaking. He was cradling his left arm, which seemed to be broken. "If Michael was still here, that would be the plan. So that's what we're going to do."
There was a murmur of consent. Sarah glanced around fearfully. Voldemort and Owen could arrive at any moment. It was strange. When they had spoken of Voldemort or Stetnas to Michael or Luna, it had usually been in a confident way, or else plotting revenge against them. Ron had even started using the Dark Lord's name recently.
With the Jacobs gone, Voldemort once again seemed terrifying and close, able to strike at any second…they needed to move.
"About Sirius," Harry began, but Sarah cut him off, her voice a mixture of sadness and resentment. Tears had began to flow down her face now. What was the point hiding them?
"It doesn't matter," she said harshly, "Michael's dead. Luna's at the mercy of Owen Stetnas, and we need to leave before Voldemort himself gets here."
"All of you know where we're going?" Harry asked quietly. The five survivors nodded solemnly. "Then let's go." They took a last look at the smoldering house, then all five turned on the spot, vanishing into darkness.
They touched frozen grass and pointed their wands in all directions. All were still in combat mode and wary of any threats. Finding none, Harry led the way up the side walk up to the door. He pointed his wand at the handle and said, "Alohamora". The door swung open immediately.
Hermione seemed as surprised Harry. "This was Michael and Luna's house," she reminded him quietly. "I was sure it would have powerful enchantments on it. What if it's a trap?"
"It's not," Jeff said, his voice unusually gruff. "They didn't have any defensive wards on their house."
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Sarah all stared at him.
"He told me last night, before you all went out to the balcony," Jeff said, shutting his eyes. "He hadn't been able to bring himself to talk to Luna about it. Her mother was tracked here by Dark Wizards – whether or not they worked for Voldemort I don't know – but they found her here. And they killed her. Michael knew they needed to protect the house if they wanted to avoid ending up the same way…but he didn't want to hurt Luna. He was looking for the right way to tell her what needed to be done."
Harry had no idea what to say to this, so he simply turned the knob and gently opened the door, looking around the house as he entered.
The others followed slowly, still impeded by their injuries. They passed through the kitchen, into the living room in silence. Sarah and Hermione collapsed onto the couch, both shaking. Hermione with the effort of holding back tears, Sarah from the force of her sobs.
Harry sat down next to Sarah and put an arm around her, while Ron staggered over to Hermione. It was extremely cramped, but that was what they needed then. Jeff was still in the kitchen, his back to them, trying to hide his face from them, pathetically embarrassed by the tears that rolled down his face.
No one spoke Michael or Luna's names aloud. The horror of it all was too much, they simply couldn't handle it now. Harry had a hard time looking anywhere in the house – it should have been Michael and Luna giving him the tour. Beside him, Sarah took a very deep breath, shut and opened her eyes, and steadied her breathing. She bit her lip and gave Harry a thankful nod, then stood up and walked with all the dignity she could muster to the kitchen.
"What are we going to do?" Hermione finally asked shakily. Her hand was tightly enclosed in Ron's, who hastily wiped his eyes as everyone turned to look at them. "I mean, what can we do?"
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked, his voice still thick with mucus. "We save Luna, and then we finish the Slytherin Seven. We follow the plan."
"But how?" Hermione asked desperately. "Mich-" she broke off in the middle of the word. She took a calming breath and continued. "They were the only ones who could go against Voldemort or Owen Stetnas…what chance do we have?"
"Well I think that's pretty obvious," Ron said, "We go to STRIKE and get their help. You can take us to them, right?" he asked Jeff and Sarah.
Jeff narrowed his eyes at Ron, neither confirming nor denying this. Sarah was too busy to answer; she had carefully taken Jeff's broken arm in her hand and was attempting to mend it. Hermione, however, was not. She dropped Ron's hand.
"What are you talking about?" Hermione snapped. "We can't go to STRIKE, they'll find out about Luna!"
"Which is what we need!" Ron shot back. "Things have changed! We don't have Michael anymore and we don't have Luna! The only way we can save her is with their help!"
"You want to ruin everything Michael did?" Hermione asked sharply. "You're going to insult his memory by doing the exact opposite of what he wanted!"
"I'm going to save his wife!" Ron yelled at her. "Dammit Hermione, what's wrong with you? Don't you think if he was here now, Michael would do everything he could to save her?"
"Yes, he would! Save her from Voldemort and from STRIKE!"
"But we can't!" Ron hurled at her. "You're the smart one, why don't you get it? Without Michael and Luna we can't fight them! If we get wrapped up in a duel with the two of them, we're finished! We'll get stronger, better, but not yet."
"If you plan on going to STRIKE," Hermione said, standing up and trying to compose herself, "you'll have to go without me. Is that the plan?"
"If it has to come to that, it will," Jeff said slowly. "I know it goes against everything Michael believed, but if we can't find any other way to save Luna, we'll have to do it. He valued her life above anything else...including his own."
"Then you won't be doing this with me."
Hermione drew her wand.
"I'll save her myself if I have to, just stay out of my way!"
Ron tried to reach out and take her hand, but she was already turning and had vanished.
Ron stared wide eyed, his hand still outstretched. He blinked a few times, the stood up. For a second Harry thought he too was going to leave, but he began to pace furiously back and forth, fists clenched, trying to work out what had just happened.
"We'll put it to a vote," Jeff said eventually, as Sarah finished her work and clasped her hands in front of her. "If you think we should go to STRIKE right now, raise your hand."
Ron was the only one to raise his hand, though Sarah seemed to hesitate a little before laying hers back in her lap.
"All right, what should we do then?" Ron growled at them. "What's the brilliant plan now?"
"I think we should set a deadline," Harry said quietly. "I think we should give ourselves three days. If we haven't rescued Luna by then, we go to STRIKE and explain everything. Unless we hear something about her, in which case we go immediately."
"I'll second that," Jeff muttered. He raised his hand and the other two copied him. "We should probably put up a Fidelius Charm, as well as all the other enchantments we can think of. I'll do it, and if you'll be Secret-Keeper…."
Harry nodded and rose up the sofa. He accompanied Jeff to the den, which was the center of the house. Sarah stayed in place, staring down at the ground, where her tears were beginning to pool. Ron started to say something to her, but whatever it originally was, it turned into a terrifying, "DAMMIT!" He punched the wall that divided the living room from the hall on the other side, making a small hole with his fist.
Sarah didn't bother to look up.
