The night of the 27th I arrived at the Burrow with Remus and Sirius. Daphne and Blaise had remained home, not wanting to be in the way. The three of us made our way into the living room where everyone seemed to be congregating. I approached Moody when I caught sight of Mundungus, looking as sketchy as ever.

"Are you certain you want Mundungus to be your only backup? I could always swap places with him…" Look, it wasn't that I wanted to get on a broom with Moody, or that I wanted to jump into a possible ambush, but Fletcher was a skeevy Son of a Walrus… that was insulting to the walrus. I'm a Slytherin, we live for ourselves, we're ambitious to a fault most times, but that didn't mean that we didn't want to help people. I wanted to help tonight and I was never one to sit around and wait for results. Plus, I liked Moody and really didn't trust Fletcher.

"Don't you worry about it. Besides, you need to stay here in case someone gets injured." I nodded, despite the fact that I wasn't the best at healing spells, and moved to sit between the twins. They were sitting close together on the couch, whispering things back and forth. I recognized the fear on their faces in almost equal measure to the determination that they would yield like a sword to for the night. I wished they would wear it as a shield instead.

"Hey." I whispered, "Come back alive and in one piece."

"We'll do our best." I didn't like how serious that sounded.

Moody stood to begin the meeting with the arrival of Kingsley. The sooner the better. The darker it was the better chances of not being seen, the lighter it was the better it was for their enemies to go unnoticed. It was a very small window; and a paradox.

"First things first, we will be apparateing to the Dursley's backyard. Harry is there alone now, the muggles left an hour ago so let's make this quick. We will go in, Hermione will collect the hair for the polyjuice, half of you will take the potion and then dress in identical clothing. Those of you that will be changing are: Hermione, Ronald, Fred, George, Mundungus, and Fleur. The rest of you will be escorts."

"Who is going with who, and who is taking Harry?" Arthur asked. I could see his eyes dart between his sons in apprehension.

"I was getting to that. Arthur, you will be going with Fred on broomstick. Remus, with George, also on broomstick. Sirius, with Ronald on broomstick. Mundungus and I will be on broomstick. Kingsley, with Hermione on thestral. Bill, you and Fleur will go on thestral. Charlie, you will be taking Harry on Sirius' flying motorcycle. I will give you each a destination to go to in order to meet your portkey. They are timed appropriately with not much wiggle room. Be on time. Let's head out." Moody grabbed Mundungus by his shoulder and pushed him out the door. Everyone stood and gave a quick hug to their loved ones. The twins each gave me one, followed by Sirius.

"Take care of him." I whispered to Remus when he came for his hug. I didn't specify which him. I meant all three of them. Remus only really had control over George though.

"I'll do my best to bring him back alive. I can't promise anything else when we don't know what might happen." I nodded and he finally ran to catch up with the others. Molly and Tonks were looking at me with understanding, a first for Molly. We sat at the kitchen table in silence while we waited for them to return. Sometimes I really hated being a young woman.

When the first sound came from outside, alerting us to the first arrival, we all jumped to our feet. Harry and Charlie came through the door, unharmed but with some blood left behind on their clothing. It seemed someone else had healed them where they had met their portkey. Harry looked devastated and Ginny walked over to comfort him. I was worried as to why, had someone gotten hurt?

"We were ambushed. They knew we were moving him. At least thirty Death Eaters were waiting, Voldy included." I stared at Charlie as he spoke, he hadn't mentioned seeing anyone go down.

"Hedwig was killed." Harry muttered.

"Thank god." I whispered, normally nobody would hear this, but the silence was against me. Ginny glared while Harry just looked even more devastated. Tonks was still understanding it seemed, and so was Charlie. A yell for help outside brought us all to attention. Molly and Charlie rushed out to help, but Tonks and I were frozen. That had been Remus's voice.

Remus or George. Who was hurt? Remus or George? Remus or George? Remus or George? Remus or George? Come on, who was it? Were they alive? Would they recover? Remus or George? Please let them both be alive…

Molly ran into the house, Remus and Charlie supporting a heavily bleeding George behind her. My breath caught as I stared at the scene before me. For the first time, I was frozen. Harry and Ginny were staring on as well, Harry in guilt and Ginny in worry. I was beyond worry. They brought him into the living room and I wanted to follow but Remus reappeared and stopped me before I even took a step.

I was almost grateful because I wasn't certain I could muster the courage to see or help him.

"You can't be in there right now. Molly is helping him, you won't be any help at the moment. You need to wait for the others and help when you can." I nodded and sank back into the chair I hadn't moved away from. "Tonks, can you go help Molly and Charlie?" She nodded and went to help. Remus sat next to me and placed a supporting hand on my shoulder.

"What…" My voice cracked, I couldn't get my question out. Remus understood at least.

"A dark spell hit him. I think it was Snape, but I can't be sure. It's only his ear, but there was a lot of blood."

"Snape would've aimed for the neck and he wouldn't have missed."

"That's why I can't be sure. I know what I saw, but I also know Snape's fighting."

"So, he missed, that is possible." Harry pointed out, anger in his voice. Remus nodded, but seemed unconvinced. He looked at me and I knew what he was thinking. Snape wouldn't aim for something he knew he couldn't hit; he would aim for something he knew he could. There were other ways to kill someone than a sliced neck, the thigh worked just as well; so did the torso, the largest target.

"You need to keep Fred away until Molly is done." Remus told me, I blanched. Fred was going to flip out.

"That… may be quite difficult." He nodded. More movement came from outside and Remus went to meet them, and ask security questions. Hermione appeared moments later to inform us that Kingsley had to get back to work, but they were both uninjured. I nodded and she sat near me.

"Remus told me what happened. Do you want me to look in and see if I can get you an update?" I nodded again. She went without another question. When she returned was the same time Fred and Arthur came barreling into the room. She blocked the door and I stood to take Fred's hand. He looked wild and needed to see his twin, I needed to as well.

"He's alive and in stable condition. Mrs. Weasley said she couldn't save his ear because of the dark nature of the spell. She's just bandaging it. Five minutes."

"I'm not waiting five minutes." Fred stated, letting go of my hand and rushing into the room. Everyone let him.

I followed, needing to see him for myself. He was extremely pale and covered in blood, but he was breathing. Fred sat on the floor by his side and stared at him, willing him to open his eyes. Ronald and Sirius arrived soon after, very late, having missed their portkey. There were still two more teams left to arrive, but nobody had been declared dead, yet. That changed with the arrival of Bill and Fleur.

"Moody's dead." They were simple words, but they had an impact on the room. I had expected as much when I heard he was taking Mundungus for back-up. I didn't pay attention to the explanation as I saw a twitch in George's hand.

I walked closer, nobody stopped me. Fred was staring at his twin again. When George reached a hand up to feel where the pain was coming from, Fred whispered the explanation. George said nothing for a few moments, but allowed his eyes to open slightly.

"I'm saint-like." I, and everyone else, was very confused.

"What's wrong with him? Is his mind affected?" Fred asked, looking at his mother, who was obviously sad and confused.

"Saint-like. You see… I'm holy. Holey, Fred, geddit?" I closed my eyes and took in a huge breath to refrain from hitting the man. Molly looked even sadder now, but a small smile crossed her lips.

"Pathetic. Pathetic! With a whole wide world of ear related humor before you, you go for holey?" Fred had tears on his face and amusement in his voice. I had what the twins called my 'pissy face' on.

"That's what you have to say!" I yelled at them. Everyone looked my way in surprise. I never yelled. "Not only was that a terrible joke, even if the timing were better that was still terrible and you can't deny it, but you… you!" I didn't know what I was going to say.

"What did you say? I can't hear you." George muttered, a small smile crossing his lips. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Can everyone please leave?" Fred asked, looking at me in understanding. Though I sensed a laugh under the surface. To be honest the joke had helped. If only the situation wasn't so serious. Molly had resisted for a moment, but Arthur led her from the room. When it was only the three of us, Fred walked over and dragged me closer to his brother.

"I scared you. I know, and I'm sorry. But I did come back in one piece! Sort of…" I rolled my eyes.

"You, are impossible."

"So…" Fred muttered a few moments of silence later. "Come ear often?" That did it, Georges groans fueled my laughter and I laughed harder than I had in weeks.

"That was terrible, and you were saying my joke was pathetic." George said, seeming to be more coherent now.

"Your joke was pathetic, mine was awesome. Though I do think your second one was well done."

"Why thank you. So I get the feeling we're staying ear tonight?" George asked, looking at Fred.

"Like Mum would let us leave. I don't think you're in any condition to leave anyway." George began to nod, but ended up winceing.

"We should get you up to your room, changed, and cleaned up." I said, "And if your Mum tries to make me leave I will not be held responsible for what I end up doing."

"Neither will we be." The twins chimed in unison. I stood and went to the kitchen to let everyone know they could roam freely again. Despite our plan, none of us moved quite yet. Everyone filtered back into the room and sat around to spend time with George before bed.

"I'm just so glad you are okay! I don't know what I would do if you were seariously injured." Fred stated to his twins delight and everyone elses dismay. We had been sitting together for 10 minutes and there have been ear puns in every other sentence the twins made.

"Fred! George! For Heavens sake, stop with the jokes! George you could have been killed tonight!" Molly yelled. The room was silent for almost a minute before George spoke up.

"Sorry Mum. I know you find it tearible, but it's just so easy…" Groans sounded around the room, but I was trying to hold my laughter. He had to be running out if that was what he came up with.

"Stop with the ear puns!" Charlie whispered in exasperation. His head was in his hands and he looked exhausted.

"Why? Is it earitating?" George, my lovely George, was going to die soon. Probably by Charlie's hand.

"You're going to be hearing them all night, so buckle up." Fred stated with a grin.

"You are both so… earresponsible." I muttered, earning a round of cheers from my best friends.

"More like earresistable!" They chimed with large smiles. I gave them each the high-fives they were asking for and tried not to laugh at the betrayed looks I was receiving. It took five more puns before everyone started to leave for the kitchen or their own homes.

Fred was helping George sit up as I said goodbye to Remus, Tonks, and Sirius. After they flooed away I noticed that Fred was having trouble with his twin and went into the kitchen.

"Will someone go help Fred get George up the stairs and get cleaned up and changed?" Bill and Charlie both stood and walked past me to help their brothers. I thanked them as they passed by me.

"Is he okay?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, he's fine. They both made some more ear jokes, I told them they were idiots, we came to an agreement of sorts. I'm going to stay here with them tonight." I explained, looking behind me when I heard them begin to trek up the stairs.

"Absolutely not! The three of you are an item, you cannot stay in their room tonight!"

"Yes, because a fresh wound, the amputation of George's ear, and the terror of knowing everyone I love could've died less than 24 hours ago really sets the mood. I think it's safe to say that nothing will happen." Bill and Charlie entered the room once more. they retook their seats and smiled at me.

"The twins are on the second floor, we left their door open for you. You can head up, they had us push their beds together and are awaiting your presence."

"Thank you…" I looked down just as I reached the door and noticed a problem. I wasn't wearing clothing that would be suitable for sleeping.

"The twins have that covered too," Charlie said, noticing where I was looking. I nodded and went up the stairs, stopping at the open door and seeing George laying in the bed, half asleep. Fred was standing at the chest of drawers, but turned when he felt my eyes on him.

"Here you go, Lils." He held out a pair of boxers and a large jersey shirt. I accepted them and he motioned to a small nook that had a curtain. I went behind and changed into the clothing. When I emerged, I looked at George instead. He had his eyes open and was staring at me. He had a blank mask on his face.

"How are you really feeling George?" He only shrugged. I glanced at Fred, who nodded, and climbed into the bed next to George, ending up in the middle. I was on the opposite side of his injury, just to be safe. Fred left the room to go to the bathroom and get ready for bed himself.

"It's okay to not be okay." I whispered as I grabbed his arm and pulled it around my shoulders. He looked at me, his bandaged head gleaming in the light coming from the lit candles in the room.

"Does it… is it…"

"It doesn't change anything and it isn't hideous. It doesn't make me care for you any less, and I honestly couldn't care less that it happened. What I do care about, is how you are dealing with this. Are you still the same man I met all those years ago when you told me you knew my secret? The same one that's been by my side for the past six years. If anything, this will help me out. I won't need a moment to figure out which one of you is which." He remained silent for a few moments, not quite looking at me.

"I'm not okay. It hurts and I don't know how to deal with it. It looks really bad. It will be an adjustment, but so long as you promise to stay, I think I can adjust… does it really not bother you?"

"Of course it bothers me. You lost an ear because of a mans petty plans and another's, probably, poor aim. The fact that it was you makes me want to kill Snape, just because I know you're hurting. However, it doesn't bother me in the way you were referring to." George leaned forward and gave me a quick kiss on the forehead, tightening his arm and pulling me closer. I snuggled into his chest and slipped my arms around his waist.

Fred entered the room and slipped in behind me, slipping his arms around my waist, resting one hand on my arm as a connection to his twin. We fell asleep like that, curled around each other with me sandwiched between them both.

I had been going back and forth from the Burrow, the shop, and Grimmauld for the past two days.

George was still laid up in bed at his mother's demand, so I was helping Fred at the shop, making products mostly. While we weren't as busy as we had been, we still got a fair amount of customers and orders. The products that helped people blend in and could be helpful to escape were still selling quickly. Mail orders were common.

When the two of us got back to the Burrow on the 30th, we were met by absolute silence and two older, blonde people neither of us recognized. Both of us froze for a moment, but Molly entered the room with a forced smile.

"Hello you two, glad you are back. Dinner will be in the garden tonight, why don't you go sit with George, he's been rather lonely today." Fred and I turned to go up to the twins room when she spoke again, "Oh, no dears. George is sitting in the orchard at the moment." We looked at each other in shock, George hadn't wanted to leave his room since his ear. He was embarrassed by it.

Sure enough, George was sitting by the orchard, waiting for us it seemed. He was dressed, his head bandaged, and carrying one of the books I'd given them for their birthday.

"Thank Merlin! Fleur's parents got here at 11 and Mum has gone mental trying to impress them. Plus, their comments… I had to get out of there but this was as far as Mum would let me." I smiled and sat down next to him, Fred sitting on his other side.

"That bad, huh?" Fred asked. I watched the twins interact, remaining silent. It likely wouldn't be long before everything really went to shit and I wouldn't be in contact with them for periods of time. All three of us were on the front lines, prime targets for the Death Eaters. It was entirely possible we didn't make it out of this war alive.

"Hey, Lily! Can we talk to you about something?" Hermione asked as she, Ronald, and Harry approached.

"Depends on what."

"Just come and listen." Ronald ordered, I sent a none-too-friendly look at him and turned back to the twins.

"Please? It's really important." Harry pleaded, with a sigh I stood and followed them to the make-shift quidditch pitch. They began talking as soon as we were seated, not bothering with any safety measures.

Harry talked about horcruxes, explaining what they knew about them, which was not much, and how it was their job to go after Voldemort's. He also said that one was destroyed and one had been found and Harry and Dumbledore had collected a fake. Hermione and Ronald took over the explanation, informing me of their plans for the search starting after the wedding.

"So, what do you think? Good idea, right?" Harry asked, a slight sarcastic twinge to his voice. He was not pleased about having to live in a tent and abandoned buildings for months then.

"Whatever floats your Titanic." Ronald got a confused look on his face, and Harry and Hermione adopted puzzled looks.

"The Titanic sank." Hermione pointed out with a frown.

"Yeah, just like your IQ did when you came up with that idea." Harry rolled his eyes.

"And do you have a better one? Because we are open to suggestions."

"As a matter of fact, I don't. What I do have is a brain. First off, what are you planning to do about food? There are three of you, an unknown factor of how much energy you will be spending daily, how much you can fit in your bag, how long your money for more food will last, and that's just off the top of my head. You have Sirius and I. We wouldn't mind giving you some money for food, but keep in mind you won't be eating as much as you have been. I can give you a list of muggle foods that are high in calories and nutrients so you don't get malnourished. I'll tell Sirius and we will get a muggle account set up for you that will go into use in a week or two.

"Warmth? Thick clothing and warming charms won't be enough. You're planning on living in a tent and buildings without heat for the winter. I can assure you, you haven't planned for that. None of you own the clothing necessary for that, nor will you be able to get any before you leave, in two days. Do you know how to build a fire? That's going to be important. How about bringing extra blankets, sweaters, and clothing that can be layered.

"You have shelter covered I guess… though I think you could do better. Maps? Did you pack any of those? You might want to, since none of you even know what direction to go to get to the Ministry form Hogwarts.

"Finally, protection. You asked me to talk in private, brought me over here, and didn't place any privacy charms. Learn some, the most powerful ones you can because I can assure you, they will be looking for you. Silence, disillusion, and tracking charms need to become your friends, forget defensive, learn some offensive. Healing books, I have a few you can bring. Potions, we have plenty at Grimmauld. Go there before you disappear."

"You seem to have thought this through almost as much as we have." Hermione commented.

"I've been at it longer too. Harry, you really need to learn where to ask questions. I've known you were looking into horcruxes since you first asked Slughorn. After I found out what they were and how hard they were to destroy? I figured Voldy would have back-ups, and that Dumbledore would send you, not to mention you would feel obligated to do it without help. I've been planning."

"You know how to destroy them?" Hermione asked, hopeful. I face palmed and nearly began to cry.

"You are so under prepared…"

"There was nothing in Hogwarts library, nor in Dumbledore's office. How did you find out?"

"I asked the twins. They found some information in books and then we all had a research session in the library at Grimmauld. You know, just because Hogwarts has a big library doesn't mean it is the most expansive. Anything dark was removed years ago, family libraries are your best bet for info. I have the main points written down for you at home. I didn't think you needed to know how to make them, nor would you want to." I shivered in disgust, remembering what I'd been trying to forget. "But, how to destroy and detect them? That's all there. It won't tell you where they are, but it will let you know if an object is a horcrux or not. I'll bring it with me for the wedding."

"Lily!" I turned when I heard my voice to see the twins standing at the other edge of the pitch.

"I need to go, revamp your plan." I stood and left the three stunned individuals. I would probably get questions from Hermione tomorrow at Harry's party.

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.