My side was wet and sticky with blood, that much I knew as I came back around almost immediately. Kreacher was sobbing beside me and using his magic to tend to my wounds, sealing them shut and trying to rub my arm to keep me warm as Harry yelled out my name, clambering to get to me. Seeing the blood, he ripped off his jacket and put it over me as Dobby also leaned over my face, blinking at me. "Does Miss Mia need more assistance?" My throat had swelled shut of its own accord, so I could only smile at him in response.

I was no longer bleeding, which was a relief, but I was tired and had lost a lot of blood, and the sight of my stained clothes made Fleur scream when she and Bill came racing out of the cottage. Bill didn't even use magic, just scooped me up and carried me into the house where I was soon under the care of Fleur, who treated the remaining injuries and gave me some clean clothes to wear after insisting I let her help me. I was so glad to see her, and once I could be certain that I wouldn't cover her in blood, I hugged her tightly and didn't let go for what felt like an age. Then Bill was there, hugging the both of us, and I felt like I wanted to cry. "What happened? All of you just turning up covered in injuries…I can barely get any sense out of Harry and Ron is refusing to speak, he's with Hermione now. What's going on?"

"Rescue mission." I managed to say eventually, gripping onto them tightly as we stood together. "Harry, Ron and Hermione got caught by snatchers I think, and somehow they ended up in Malfoy Manor, I think to confirm his identity and summon You-Know-Who. Anyway, Harry has a mirror he can use to contact me and asked for help, so I went with my house-elf Kreacher and Dobby. Luna and the others were there, so we got them to you first. It was Ron who suggested it, I hope you don't mind, but we were desperate for somewhere safe and we had to get Hermione and the goblin away from Bellatrix – she was torturing them upstairs – and once the elves came back, we were able to get out, but there was a fight and…well. You know what happened there." I told them weakly, looking at my side as my ribs gave a rather painful twinge. "Bellatrix got me with a knife. A small one, and I was a lion at the time so it didn't hit anything major, but she seemed adamant to cut through to my heart and rip it out or something. She was completely mad."

"You will stay 'ere and rest for as long as you need." Fleur informed me firmly, trying to force me to sit down but I wanted to check on the others first, as well as Wormtail. I needed to know that they were alright and ensure that he was securely locked up and remained unconscious so that he would not find out about us, our location, or try to summon Voldemort through his Dark Mark, though I supposed now that he only had one hand, I didn't need to worry so much about that. Luna and Dean had escaped with the least amount of injuries, and once I had come back out of the room Kreacher had attached himself to my leg sobbing, apologising for not protecting me properly so I assured him that it wasn't his fault, and that I was very pleased with how he and Dobby had rescued everyone. It took a good long while of constant reassurance that I wasn't angry with him for Kreacher to calm down, where he then insisted that he stayed to help me look after the injured.

Dobby was cheerful once again, lingering near Harry and sponging down his face which was covered with sweat and a little blood, though he paused for a moment to give me a bright smile. I then noticed that he was wearing several pairs of socks, layered one over the other, and some of them were ones that I had given him at Christmas. It made me chuckle, and once I'd checked in on everyone, I helped Fleur look after Hermione, who had been cut repeatedly by Bellatrix and the word 'mudblood' had been inscribed into her arm. I healed it, then searched her bag which she had miraculously managed to keep a hold of until I found the essence of dittany and used it to erase any trace of the scar whilst Kreacher brought me warm water and a fresh cloth for me to clean up the blood. "Thank you Kreacher."

"Mistress Mia cares a great deal for the mud…for the muggle-born." He noted, quickly correcting himself before he could use the word that I had often said was abhorrent to me.

"Of course I do, she's a good friend of mine." I said to him, Fleur and I getting Hermione cleaned up before we planned to change her into something more comfortable. "When it comes to people, I always value those who are good and kind, Hermione is both. She's always been nice to you, hasn't she?" Kreacher agreed, though still seemed quite uncertain of how he felt that I, his mistress, should stoop down to such mundane tasks as looking after a muggle-born so I looked at him with consideration. "I know I'm not the type of mistress that you are used to, Kreacher, but this is just the way that I am. At least you can be certain that you will never be mistreated by me, and if you can find it in your heart to at least accept my friends, then I will be well satisfied." This seemed to pacify Kreacher, who then offered to make dinner for everyone and Fleur gladly accepted, and Kreacher was also happy to have a task to do.

Once Hermione was changed into clean pyjamas, she rested for a little while longer with Ron sitting beside her before she started to come around. I passed her door and heard her crying, so I'd started to go in but then noticed that Ron was holding her in his embrace, rocking her gently and peppering kisses into her hair, so I had smiled and let them be. Now I was able to check on Wormtail. I felt guilty for bringing him here to Bill and Fleur's home, but I hadn't really had time to think of a better place to send him. He was still bound and unconscious, Bill having stuffed him into a closet and locked him in for the time being, but he couldn't stay there.

Bill had already sent a message through to the Burrow in order to get everyone out and I also contacted my dad to give him an idea of what had happened, asking him to help Molly, Arthur and Ginny to go into hiding for a bit until we could be certain of what to do next. I also told him that I had Wormtail, and for a long time there hadn't been a reply until the message came through that I needed to hold him whilst they prepared a place to keep him incarcerated. I had Kreacher take him once it was ready, barely able to look at Wormtail who had not opened his eyes a single time all the while he was at the cottage. It was a relief to see him go, Harry and I watching him disappear before we then continued with our tasks at hand.

Harry insisted on talking to Mr Ollivander and the goblin, who I learned to be called Griphook, telling Bill that it was imperative that he got some time alone with them before they were moved. Bill looked at me and I gave a nod, silently telling him that it was important, so he agreed. They tried to get me to tell them more about what was going on, but I refused to divulge anything to do with Harry's mission. "Dumbledore left it to him, it's his job. The only reason he told me was so that I could help them if things got rough, like just now. I'm sorry Bill, I wish I could tell you, but now's not the right time." Harry, Ron and Hermione went upstairs in order to talk to the goblin first whilst I talked with Luna, reassuring her that her dad was safe.

"He's in a place protected with a Fidelius Charm, so no one can get to him. Once you're feeling up to the journey, I'll take you there myself since I'm the Secret Keeper. You'll be together again, and you'll be safe." I promised her as she smiled at me absently, as if completely forgetting the fact that she was half starved and feverish from being locked in a cellar for the past few months.

"That sounds nice. It's good to be out and about again, I was starting to think that no one was coming to find us." She said to me in that light, airy tone of hers as she gazed out the window, and the complete innocence of her words felt like another knife to my ribs.

"I was looking for you, Luna. Honestly, a lot of the Order were. I was worried about you, my house-elf came to tell me you had been taken the moment he realised you didn't go back to school in January. He was even helping me to look. We must have scoured half the country looking for you, I could kick myself for not thinking of the Malfoys holding people for You-Know-Who." She smiled at me again, promising that it was alright and that it was nice to know that I'd tried so hard to find her. Putting a blanket around her, I made her sit down as Kreacher supplied hot buttery rolls whilst the stew was cooking, allowing me to then talk to Dean Thomas to find out what had happened to him. "Honestly you were so good at keeping on the run, that we really couldn't find you or the others either! We were looking all over, your family are worried sick."

"Are they alright? Are they safe?"

"Yes, they're all fine." I assured him, telling him that his mother had been left alone by the Death Eaters and his sisters had been well protected from them also. "We'll try and get you to them as soon as we can, though you might have to wait at Muriel's place for a while until it's safe to let you out into the open."

"That's fine, so long as I know they're alright." He said before grabbing two rolls and stuffing them into his mouth as quickly as he could. By the time dinner was ready, Harry and the others were finished talking to Griphook and Mr Ollivander. The stew, although wonderful and tasty, was eaten more or less in silence as Dobby and Kreacher served us all rather attentively, and every time someone winced or made a motion of being in pain, one of them would pop up and ask if everything was alright. Kreacher even gave Hermione an extra large portion of stew, something I took note of and smiled softly as she also managed a shaky smile to him, though he did not return it. I guess that was just his way of…tolerating her, I suppose. Having grown used to her back in Grimmauld Place, I would hazard a guess that he'd learned that she was one of the better kinds of witches.

In the quiet of the evening, Harry, Ron, Hermione and myself all sat around the fire, everyone else having gone to bed where they told me everything that had happened from the beginning, and all that they had discovered from Griphook and Mr Ollivander. I maintained that they absolutely had to get into that vault, as I felt it a high possibility that there really was a Horcrux in there, and the information about the Elder Wand, one of the Deathly Hallows, intrigued me especially, though Harry asked me quietly whether I thought Dumbledore meant for him to work it out and take the wand for himself.

"No." I decided firmly, shaking my head. "If Dumbledore wanted you to have that wand, he would have left it to you in his will, or given you a stronger clue. No I think he merely wanted you to be aware of it so that you knew what you would be up against once You-Know-Who eventually got it for himself. I expect Dumbledore knew that there was no escaping it, and preferred it not to go to you because of all it represents. The history alone is absolutely abominable, so no. I don't ever want to see such a wand come into your possession, and I know Dumbledore would feel the same." Harry gave me a weak smile and it struck me that this was perhaps exactly what he wanted to hear. Reassurance that he had done the right thing. What a happy accident. "In any case, whether You-Know-Who has the wand or not, it doesn't change anything. Any wand can be disarmed, or taken away, so don't let it's reputation unhinge you. Just think of it as an ordinary wand, and you'll be alright."

"That's all very well and good, but the real question is how are we going to get into Gringotts?" Hermione said, twitching nervously and kept on rubbing her arm where Bellatrix had carved into her skin, though it lay smooth and pink now. "If Griphook doesn't agree to help us, we'll have no chance of getting inside."

"There'll be a way, and we'll find it Hermione. If Griphook doesn't agree, I'll try and find another goblin who'd be more willing. At the very least, they might do it for a price. I'll offer them the entire contents of the Black family vault if I have to. There's plenty of priceless treasures in there, as well as goblin-made ones. They'd be desperate for such a prize." Hermione gasped, telling me that they couldn't possibly expect me to do something like that but I shrugged. "Dad wouldn't mind, and so long as it ends this war sooner, it'll be a small price to pay. I have my own vault as well, and it's full of the profits from Fred and George's shop they insist I take, so I'm by no means poor even without the House Black fortune. We'll find a way, just be careful how you deal with Griphook. If he agrees, he'll want something in return. Feel free to offer him his pick of the treasure in my vault, if it helps." Looking at the time, I decided that the three of them needed to go to bed and try to sleep, so I made them head on upstairs though I stayed by the fire for a while longer.

Dobby had already returned to Hogwarts as I'd asked him to confirm that Voldemort really had broken into Dumbledore's tomb, and when he returned to sadly tell me that the tomb was in ruins and Dumbledore's body had been left to the open air, I asked them both to take me there. "To Hogwarts? Mistress, Kreacher begs you to reconsider."

"It's still early in the morning, barely even sunrise. We have time, though we'll have to be quick. I refuse to leave him there…not like that. Besides, I'll have you two with me, won't I? There's no one I could trust more to get me there and back again safely. Ready?" Kreacher grumbled but took my hand all the same as Dobby took the other before we then left the safety of the cottage, and the elves brought me directly to Hogwarts. It was the only flaw in the protective barriers, elf magic. It appeared no one had learned a thing and still viewed them as insignificant, though this was now to my benefit.

Breathing in the scent of pine and moist earth, I couldn't help but gaze around me at the familiar sights of the castle grounds, the castle itself painted deep black with a lightening sky rising behind it. "I always love returning here." I murmured before then moving quickly to Dumbledore's tomb. "Kreacher, Dobby, stay out of sight. Don't come unless I call for you." They both bowed and disappeared completely, though I could sense that they were still nearby as I continued walking. Before I was even close I could see that the marble stone was cracked and broken, completely desolated in the wake of Voldemort's pilfering. It made me feel a burst of outrage but I kept silent, continuing to move closer until I'd climbed up the dais and was then looking upon Dumbledore's face.

It had been magically preserved, so as I looked at him, it were as if at any moment he was going to sigh heavily and open his eyes. The light breeze of the morning caught the pale wisps of his beard and hair, rustling them slightly and I found myself reaching out to neaten the strands as well as fixing his half-moon spectacles more evenly upon his nose. "What I wouldn't give to talk to you right about now, professor." I murmured quietly to him as I then drew out my wand and waved it over him, making the shroud wrap itself around him once more from where it had been torn off him. "Sleep well."

Fixing the tombstone, I reverted it to how it should be then sank it back into the ground, sealing it shut once more so that Dumbledore could rest peacefully, watching as the tomb sank into the moist earth until I became aware of the sweep of someone's robes. Turning my head sharply I began to raise my wand but upon seeing who it was, the both of us froze instantaneously. Severus Snape was standing there, having come to investigate the stranger who had been standing at Dumbledore's tomb and now, neither of us knew what to do. We both had our wands partially raised, but even as my first reaction was the desire to stun him on the spot, I was then reminded of Dumbledore's advice to me, to trust my instincts.

I had long since decided that Snape wasn't all he appeared to be, and I could more or less confirm my suspicions to be true as despite the fact that I was giving him a clear opening, he didn't attack. He seemed stunned to see me of all people here, and there was even a hint of fear in his face as his eyes darted around before he then resumed a cool manner, fixing a cold glare upon me. "You truly are a fool to have come here, Miss Black. Surely you knew there would be no means of escape for you?" He asked me as I gradually lowered my wand, something that made his brow pull together in confusion. After that he just seemed lost for words, so instead, I merely shrugged.

"Needs must." Glancing up at the castle and silently using my wand to cast a spell to ensure that we were entirely alone with no one else to hear us other than Kreacher and Dobby, I gave Snape a warm and even understanding look to him. "Protect them. As best you can." Then with a flash of light, I blinded him as Kreacher then rushed to me at my quiet order to take me away from there, Dobby also vanishing to return to the kitchens without being spotted and once the light faded away, Snape saw nothing but Dumbledore's tomb, all indications of my presence having ever being there completely eradicated, with nothing but the gentle sigh of the sunrise to accompany him in the waking morn.