Mrs. Weasley had a frantic look on her face, as she greeted the trio, Brooklyn stumbling just a tad, face wincing with pain, and Hagrid supporting him.

"What had happened?" Gasped Mrs. Weasley. "Where are the others?"

Hagrid frowned. "They had been on us right from the start, we didn't stand a chance."

When Mrs. Weasley had asked about Wyvern, Harry shook his head at her, gesturing to Brooklyn, and she understood, nodding, deciding to leave it be.

Lupin and George were the first to arrive back, but something was wrong, Lupin was supporting George, and the left side of his head was bleeding at a rapid pace. Brooklyn felt worry for George strike him as they all filed inside, Mrs. Weasley lying George down onto the couch. Then Brooklyn saw the damage: George's left ear was blown off, a hole where the ear should have been.

His stomach churned at the sight, feeling his face going green. Brooklyn had never seen such decapitation before. But then Lupin suddenly pinned Harry against the wall, pointing his wand.

Brooklyn's eyes flashed white. "Oi!" He roared furiously, wondering why Lupin was doing this. "Get off him!" But Lupin ignored Brooklyn, staring hard into Harry's eyes.

"What creature sat in the corner the day Harry Potter first visited my office at Hogwarts?!" He demanded. Harry looked scared but answered as honestly as he could. "A Grindylow in a tank, wasn't it?" Lupin gave a small sigh, releasing Harry.

Both Hagrid and Brooklyn glared. "What was that?" Demanded Brooklyn hotly. Lupin looked at them apologetically.

"Sorry, I just needed to ensure that Harry wasn't an Imposter, for they knew he was being moved tonight," Lupin said in a tired voice. Brooklyn nodded then in understanding. "Yeah, but just be a bit less forceful," he huffed.

More sounds from outside, and Lupin went out to make sure they weren't Death Eaters, either, but thankfully it was only Kingsley, Mr. Weasley, Fred, and Hermione. Lupin drew his wand, pointing at Kingsley.

"The last words Albus Dumbledore spoke to the pair of us?" Kingsley said, while Brooklyn watched from afar.

Lupin breathed a bit before answering. "Harry is the best hope we have, trust him." Kingsley then glanced to Harry. "What gave you away?"

"Hedwig, and Wyvern. Hedwig is fine, but Wyvern died protecting us," Harry said, as Brooklyn nodded. "I was then hit with some kind of liquid that took away the disillusion charm."

Kingsley narrowed his eyes. "The Thief's Downfall, they call it. But as long as you're all here, that is what matters."

And to Brooklyn's relief, Ron appeared with Tonks. Hermione ran over to hug her friend, as he changed back to normal. Harry and Brooklyn also both went in for a group hug, glad each other was safe.

Mr. Weasley looked around. "Are we the last back? Where's George?" He asked. Harry and Brooklyn both had despondent looks on their faces, because of George's missing ear. Mr. Weasley paled before running inside to find his son.

Mrs. Weasley stroked George's hair, as he woke. Brooklyn just stared for a time, at the hole, which was Snape's doing, and it made him even more angry at the former Professor and murderer of Dumbledore.

Fred grinned sadly down at his twin. "How are you feeling, George?" George spoke in a hoarse whisper.

"Saint-like, I'm holey. I'm holey Fred. Gettit?" He chuckled. Fred rolled his eyes, while Brooklyn shook his head.

"A whole wide world of ear related humor, and you go for I'm holey, that's pathetic."

"Yeah, at least you can tell us apart now, Mum," George said to Mrs. Weasley who had tears in her eyes.

One more pair arrived, Bill and Fleur. They entered the room, and Brooklyn noticed a sad look on his face.

"Mad-Eye's dead," he informed sadly, and the gargoyle felt his heart be crushed once more after Dumbledore, shaking his head in denial. "No, no, you must be wrong, Bill. He can't be," he said in a choked voice.

But Bill nodded to Brooklyn. "Mundungus took one look at Him and disapparated. Voldemort's curse hit Mad-Eye, he fell off his broom…nothing we could do…" he trailed off.

Brooklyn lowered his head, feeling those familiar hot tears stinging his face, first Wyvern, now Moody. It was just hard to comprehend his two faithful companions dead…

Eventually they pulled out drinks, and drank a toast to the Fallen Warrior, Mad-Eye Moody, a funeral also followed afterward.

Later that evening, in bed, Brooklyn had fitful dreams, echoing voices of dead friends rang in his head.

"Rendezvous at the Burrow!"

"This is beyond anything I imagined…"

Brooklyn grunted, tossing lightly in his bed. At the same time, Harry was having visions of Voldemort torturing Ollivander. With Brooklyn, he kept dreaming of being in a dark confined cell, deprived of light, tortured to madness, then a familiar human man's face with a white beard shorter than Dumbledore's appeared, following with Demona's terrible laugh ringing in his ears, as he shot up sharply, panting heavily.

Harry looked over at him, fear on his face.

"Bad dreams?" Brooklyn mumbled, as Harry nodded. "We can't stay here, Brook. The longer we stay, the stronger they get. You and I have to leave," Harry said. Ron had heard him, opening his eyes.

"Did I just hear you two saying you're going alone?" Brooklyn grinned nervously.

"Uuuhh, maybe?" He said, shrugging, as Ron looked furious.

"Without me and Hermione, that's not happening! Plus you two wouldn't last three days without Hermione!" He blushed. "Don't tell her I said that," he muttered shyly. Brooklyn shook his head. Ron was unbelievable sometimes.

"And you guys wouldn't want to miss out on the wedding? Plus, Brook, your Clan will arrive the afternoon before, to help us set up."

Brooklyn nodded again. He guessed their mission could wait another day, as the three of them eventually went back into bed.

The next few days were all hustle and bustle to get Bill and Fleur's wedding ready, and Brooklyn was glad to see Goliath and the others again, who were more than willing to help.

But what had surprised Brooklyn and his friends was the arrival of Rufous Scrimgeour. Everybody stared in disbelief, as Griff frowned. "What's the Minister of Magic doing here?" He asked Brooklyn who shrugged in reply. The Minister beckoned him and the Golden Trio inside. He glanced back at Goliath, but he nodded, telling him it was okay to go with him.

They sat inside the Burrow, following a little bit of an awkward silence before Brooklyn spoke.

"So...what do you want, Minister?" He asked. Scrimgeour then opened up a wrapped package containing a letter.

"I'm here on behalf of the last will and testament of Albus Percival Wulfiric Brian Dumbledore, for he has some items left for the four of you," he said, much to their surprise.

Scrimgeour pulled out a strange object that looked like a fire lighter. "To Ronald Billius Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, a device of my own making, for when things shall seem most dark, it will show him the light." He handed it to Ron, who tried it out. It took away the light from a nearby lamp, and even puts it back.

"To Hermione Jean Granger, I leave my copy of the Tales of Beedle the Bard, in hopes that she finds it entertaining and instructive."

Hermione looked confused, but accepted the gift. Brooklyn wondered why Dumbledore left her a book like that, which Ron told him was a collection of wizard fairytales.

"And now, to Brooklyn, the Guardian of Hogwarts, I leave my Phoenix, Fawkes, should you ever find yourself in a place you can't escape from and nobody can help you, ask for help, and he will come for you." Scrimegour said, handing Brooklyn a feather from Fawkes, who took it.

"Finally, to Harry James Potter, I leave the Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch Match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the reward of perseverance and skill."

Harry took the walnut sized golden ball, whose wings fluttered feebly. Brooklyn smiled a little at the memory in which Harry didn't catch the Snitch, he almost swallowed it. But he couldn't help but notice a look in the Minister's eyes, as if he expected something to happen to the Snitch.

"Is that all?" Harry asked, but Scrimgeour shook his head.

"No, not quite, Dumbledore had left you a second request, the Sword of Godric Gryffindor."

Brooklyn was surprised, as he looked around for the sword that had helped him fight against Voldemort, but Scrimegour didn't pull it out.

"And? Where is it?" The red gargoyle demanded, narrowing his eyes.

"Unfortunately the sword was not Dumbledore's to give away, as a priceless historical artifact it belongs to—."

"It belongs to my brother! It came to him and me when we needed it the most in the Chamber of Secrets!" Brooklyn said heatedly, grasping the Phoenix feather tightly. Hermione and Ron nodded.

Scrimegour frowned. "The sword may present itself to any worthy Gryffindor, that doesn't make it that Gryffindor's property—." Harry and Brooklyn stood up sharply.

"And what would you know about all that, huh?" Harry snapped.

"Maybe Dumbledore thought it look nice on his wall," Brooklyn added.

"This is not a joke, you two!" growled Scrimgeour. "Was it because Dumbledore believed that only the sword of Godric Gryffindor could defeat the Heir of Slytherin? Did he wish to give you that sword, Potter, because he believed, as do many, that you are the one destined to destroy He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

"Interesting theory," said Harry. "Has anyone ever tried sticking a sword in Voldemort? Maybe the Ministry should put some people onto that, instead of wasting their time stripping down Deluminators or covering up breakouts from Azkaban. So this is what you've been doing, Minister, shut up in your office, trying to break open a Snitch? People are dying – I was nearly one of them, plus my brother was controlled and being drained of his life – Voldemort chased me across three countries, he killed Mad-Eye Moody, but there's no word about any of that from the Ministry, has there? And you still expect us to cooperate with you!"

"You go too far!" shouted Scrimgeour, standing up: Harry jumped to his feet too. Scrimgeour limped toward Harry and jabbed him hard in the chest with the point of his wand; it singed a hole in Harry's T-shirt like a lit cigarette.

Brooklyn's eyes flashed white with outrage that the Minister dared do that! He took the Minister by the collar of his shirt.

"Never do that to my little brother!" He snarled, then thrusting him back, while Ron shouted "Oi!" And pulled out his wand, but Harry shook his head.

"No! D'you want to give him an excuse to arrest us?"

"Remembered you're not at school, have you?" said Scrimgeour, breathing hard into Harry's face. "Remembered that I am not Dumbledore, who forgave your insolence and insubordination? You may wear that scar like a crown, Potter, but it is not up to a seventeen-year-old boy and a gargoyle to tell me how to do my job! It's time you learned some respect!"

Brooklyn's hands clenched again. "From my point of view, you should be the one who earns respect from us!" He spat, just as he heard the footsteps of Mrs. Weasley, Elisa and Goliath, who heard the commotion.

"What's going on?" Goliath said, seeing Brooklyn, Harry, and Scrimegour all having steamed looks at one another. Elisa looked somewhat bewildered at the tension in the room.

Mr and Mrs. Weasley panted. "W-we thought we heard—." Mr. Weasley began.

"—raised voices," Mrs. Weasley finished, while Scrimegour straightened his shirt.

Scrimegour gazed over at Goliath, then to Harry's singed shirt, now regretting his action, making a somewhat hasty apology before leaving.

Goliath placed a hand on Brooklyn's shoulder. "What did he want?" He asked. Brooklyn still felt pretty mad at the Minister but managed to answer.

"He was giving us what Dumbledore left for me and my friends, that's all," he muttered. Goliath nodded in understanding for during the funeral of Dumbledore he had spotted Harry and Brooklyn's previous encounters with him.

Eventually Brooklyn sat around with Harry and the others all looking at and discussing their items, along with doing last minute preparations for tonight. Ron told Brooklyn and Hermione about the Tales of Beedle the Bard including the stories such as:

The Fountain of Fair Fortune

The Tale of the Three Brothers

The Wizard and the Hopping Pot

Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump

Brooklyn had to stifle a laugh at the last title, Babbity Rabbity? For real? Ron looked back and forth between Brooklyn and Hermione with disbelief on his face.

"Seriously? You've never heard of Babbity Rabbity?"

They shook their heads. "The only fairytales we've heard were Snow White and Cinderella—." Brooklyn said, recalling those Disney Movies with a smile.

"What's Cinderella? An illness?"

"No, she's a girl supposed to once be a servant before becoming a princess because of a glass slipper."

"Oh...still don't get it."

The gargoyle facepalmed himself afterwards. Trying to explain things to Ron was hopeless.

But when Brooklyn and Harry looked at the Snitch, there were words engraved:

I open at the close.

"Any idea what that means?" Brooklyn muttered to Harry who shook his head no.

They had dinner and celebrated Harry's birthday with the arrival of Mrs. and Mr. Delacour. Gabrielle gave Brooklyn a hug, happy to see him again, and he introduced her to Goliath, Elisa and Xanatos, a rather pleasant evening.

At last, it was time for the wedding, Brooklyn wore his dress robes he received from Mrs. Weasley from the Yule Ball for this. The rest of his Clan didn't really wear anything formal, but it was alright with Bill and Fleur. Elisa wore a nice dress of her own, an arm around Goliath, while Xanatos was in his usual rich wedding outfit.

The whole ceremony was really nice. Brooklyn himself got a little teary eyed when Bill and Fleur kissed, while Broadway sobbed. The reception that followed had been quite fun, enthusiastic dancing and great food followed.

Viktor Krum even showed for the wedding, greeting Brooklyn with a handshake, and informing him of his next Quidditch match next spring, which he invited him and his friends to attend. The gargoyle and Harry also bumped into Luna and her father, Xenophilius Lovegood, wearing a strange triangular symbol, but he seemed nice enough, and supported Harry and Brooklyn.

When the brothers sat down for a break, they spotted somebody familiar from a newspaper about Dumbledore: Elphias Dodge, who saw them, too.

"You two, you're the famous brothers! Harry Potter and Brooklyn!" Elphias exclaimed excitedly. Brooklyn nodded.

"Yep, that's us, we saw your page on Dumbledore," he commented, still missing the Headmaster inside. Elphias smiled sadly.

"Yeah, deep down, we all still miss Albus, a great man he was. But you should know he had a brother, Aberforth. When Rita pestered me for the interview that day, I called her an interfering trout, so you see the results of it.

Brooklyn and Harry looked at one another in surprise, this was something Dumbledore never told them. "W-we didn't know, he seemed to fail to mention that," Harry said, as his brother nodded. Until a shriek sounded, making them jump.

"Give up your seat, sir! I'm 107 years old!" Brooklyn groaned a little, knowing who this is: Ron's Aunt Muriel, a grouchy old woman who sat down in the stolen chair, eyeing them. Ron had warned them about her.

"Did I hear you mention Rita Skeeter? I love her work, I read her every day, I'm looking forward to her new biography: The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. I shall remember to pre order my copy!"

Brooklyn frowned, that sounded like a terrible book to him, especially if written by her.

Elphias turned a beet red color. "Don't listen to her, you two. It is best to only remember the good things of Dumbledore!"

Muriel smirked viciously. "You should know, somebody talked to her, one who knew the Dumbledore family well: Batilda Bagshot, the great Magical Historian."

"What?" They both exclaimed at once, shocked that Batilda actually knew Dumbledore, but exposed the secrets to Rita.

"Yes, she knew the Dumbledores, and lived at Godric's Hollow with them. The Dumbledores moved there after Albus's father killed those three Muggles. Quite a scandal of a human being, he was! And Albus's sister, Ariana, she was a wretch of a witch, people could call her a Squib!" Muriel cackled, sending a shiver of shock down Brooklyn's spine. Dumbledore's father was a murderer? He shook his head. No, this sounded wrong!

"Ariana was no Squib, and Albus was heartbroken when she died!" Snapped Elphias angrily.

"Believe all you want, boys, but once Rita's book makes the headlines, that old man's secrets will soon be shared with the world, and nothing will stop it!" Muriel sneered after downing her fifth glass of firewhisky. Elphias's face colored even more.

Brooklyn growled at Muriel, he couldn't take anymore. "Just shut the hell up!" He yelled. "Dumbledore was a great man! He wanted to help me when I was lost in this world. Rita is nothing but a lying scheming cow, so shut your mouth about him!" He hissed. Muriel colored as much as Elphias.

"You dare shout at me—!"

An interruption occured at that moment, for a Lynx Patronus flew into the tent, causing everybody to back away, except for Mr. Weasley and Goliath. The Lynx spoke in Kingsley's voice.

"The Ministry has fallen, the Minister of Magic is dead. They are coming...they are coming…"

The Patronus vanished, and immediately Brooklyn's Clan and the London Clan went into defensive positions while a lot of the crowd panicked, most of them being able to Disapparate before Death Eaters crashed into the tent.

Time seemed hazy to Brooklyn, as chaos erupted all about them, and somehow he lost sight of his brother, trying to fend of as many Death Eaters as he could, until a familiar one appeared before him, that wasn't Demona.

"Well, well, I cornered a freak!" She sneered. Brooklyn growled, gripping his wand tightly. "So sad, your brother nowhere in sight. I don't care though, for I shall kill you and deliver you to my beloved Master, and he shall reward me and use your body to lure Potter in!"

He backed away. "That won't happen!" He yelled, readying himself. But all Bellatrix did was laugh, raising her wand.

"Avada K-aaahhh!" Brooklyn blinked, startled as he saw Lexington tackle Bellatrix from the side, the two rolling over one another. Brooklyn took this chance to make a break for it to find Harry, for he knew Lex could handle himself in a fight.

From afar, he saw Goliath fighting a thickset Death Eater, and tried to go help his leader.

"Go, Brooklyn! We can hold them off! Your brother needs you!" Goliath roared, punching the Death Eater in the face.

"But-Goliath!" Cried Brooklyn desperately, not wanting to leave him with Voldemort, but his leader shook his head.

"Just go!" He bellowed. The red gargoyle ended up nodding reluctantly, running over and managing to find his friends.

He took a tight hold of Harry's hand and Hermione Apparated the four of them away from there.