The landing was harder than any of them had anticipated. Though to be fair, it was an impossible, and mildly illegal, international portkey for eight so they shouldn't have expected it to be the smoothest ride ever.
They all landed in a painful pile with groans and curses. Elbows and knees dug into very uncomfortable places as sixteen arms and legs attempted to detangle themselves. It was a mess and took several moments for the mismatched family to disengage themselves and climb to their feet.
Looking around they found themselves in a clearing overlooking what seemed to be an old rock quarry.
"Well that was without a doubt the worst portkey experience of my life." Draco said as he brushed the dirt from his pants.
"Well at least-" began Fred as he too worked to rid himself of dirt.
"We didn't leave any limbs behind." finished a rumpled George.
"True." said Neville with a nod.
"Let's get the tent set up for tonight and we can discuss what happened inside." Harry said, not comfortable talking much outside the safety of their tent.
It was a matter of moments before their tent was set up, the wards activated, and the eight of them were converging on the dining room table.
"So now that we're safe, can we get a little bit more information on what happened?" asked Hermione.
"Yeah, that was sudden." agreed Blaise.
"The muggle world took notice of what we were doing quicker than anticipated." Luna began with a frown. She hadn't seen this and she didn't like when she didn't see complications. "They normally don't have a very high level of cooperation between cities. And as we raided all over England, they began to realize it was a widespread, national operation. At least they normally wouldn't have, I'm not sure how they did exactly. They had no evidence because we were so careful. However the Prime Minister, as well as the Queen, are aware of magic. The Prime Minister was suspicious because of the lack of evidence, not a single frame of security footage survived, not a print, nothing. The technology was fried but the entry was not forced since we unlocked the doors. The Prime Minister mentioned it to the Minister of Magic today in their monthly meeting."
"Oh no." murmured Neville.
"Exactly." Luna agreed with a nod. "The insane shopping sprees we had done almost two weeks ago were still fresh in his mind as the Prophet had an article this morning about how no one had heard from any of us since then. Kingsley normally would have handled it himself discretely because he knows us. However he wasn't the only one in the meeting and his hand was forced."
"Of course it was." interjected George.
"Because that's our luck." commented Fred.
"The Head Auror was there as well as Madam Bones. He didn't have any other choice but to authorize the raid. But he knew if it was us that I would see what was heading our way and get us out so he demanded they do things by the book so that no one could claim they'd employed underhanded tactics so that the case could be thrown out. That paperwork took an hour and by the time it was completed we were long gone." finished Luna.
"I know Kingsley is our friend but why would he purposely stall for us? When it gets out he'll be sacked." Neville pointed out.
"Because of the letter and portkey Harry sent." Hermione said with a tone that said she had figured it out. "He knows something big and bad is coming and that it isn't something we can fight against. He trusts us to know that it's not just another war to win. He trusts that there's a damn good reason we would be committing theft on such a massive scale and while the former Auror in him cringes at aiding the escape, the war veteran in him trusts his fellow soldiers and his General." she finished, looking at Harry as she said the last.
The man in question nodded. That would be his guess as well.
"With this new information, we must alter the order we were planning on working our way through this country." He said, waving his wand and summoning butterbeers and premade sandwiches for them all. "We still need the supplies. That's not in question. This is never going to end and most of it will go to waste otherwise. Luna, how long do we have before things kick off?"
"Three weeks." She said with a thoughtful look on her face.
"Alright. We have three weeks and an entire country to get done. Or at least as much of it as we can get done." Harry said before taking a sip of his drink. "I know we're more comfortable staying together but we need to split up, into no fewer than two, no more than three. Cover more ground in a night."
Settling back into his chair, he rolled his shoulders and let out a groan as his neck popped pleasantly. "We're currently outside of Atlanta, Georgia. This is where Luna said we needed to be, the coordinates she gave me to use for the portkey. We leave the tent here and go back and forth. Start in Atlanta and work our way out in all directions. Make law enforcement think we've left the area."
"We need to do more than just stores." interjected Luna. "Places like cattle and chicken farms. Come the end, those animals will be torn apart by the dead. Not only could we save them from pain and death, we'll need them for meat and dairy in the future."
"We need to hit places like granaries too." Neville added. "I want to get barrels and put the bottomless and stasis charms on them and fill them with all the grain we can find, any type."
"Alright." Harry said with a nod. "Those two need to be the last though, it would be far more conspicuous than shops. The last several days, possibly a week, before the end we'll focus on those."
"The American magical Alleys will have to wait as well." Blaise pointed out. "The British Ministry will have warned other countries that we disappeared and they'll be on the lookout for any of us to turn up anywhere. They'll especially expect the likes of Draco or myself to show up in the magical world since as far as they know we've never set foot in the muggle world and wouldn't even under pain of death."
"This is true." agreed Hermione with a frown.
"We wait until the end. We know the Alleys will be abandoned completely. Luna says this will hit so fast that while there will be a little looting in the panic, we all know that wizards have wards against that. And, as much as I hate to say this, there are precious few people other than myself that are powerful enough to aparate through the few wards strong enough to still be standing. Most wards, unless they're built into the foundation or, as with this tent, woven into the material at time of creation with wardstones and runes, don't survive the caster's death."
"True." agreed several of the others.
"We also need to gather all of the medical supplies we can. Of the Muggle variety. I know we will clear the magical hospital later. But things like muggle medicine and bandages need to be cleared as well. More than just the over the counter stuff we've picked up when raiding stores." Hermione said.
Nods were given though there were a couple of confused looks.
"None of us-" "Can take-" "Muggle medicine." "Magic doesn't" "Mix well." "So aside from bandages-" "And maybe tools or something-" "Why would we need it?" Fred and George asked in their usual way.
"Because we will not always be a family of eight." answered Luna, her bright eyes glazed as if she was seeing beyond the room they were currently in. "Our family will grow, lose, and grow again. Time is required, pain and blood and effort, but the waiting is the thing. And in the end there will be a larger, happier, family."
"Well that's promising." stated Blaise dryly, though they all knew he actually meant it.
The words of pain and blood were a bit daunting but neither were things any of them were unaccustomed to. Truly, they'd all known pain and blood and loss. It wouldn't be the first time and it certainly wouldn't be the last.
"Alright. We need a plan. It's only two in the morning here and technically we would have time tonight to get a bit done but I don't want to go in blind. Mione, you and Blaise go into Muggle Atlanta now, find phone books, maps, and atlases. All that you can, both local, state, and country."
Turning his gaze on Neville he continued issuing orders. "Neville, you and Luna handle the plants and creatures. We'll be here for a while without moving the tent, unless something comes up, so settle them in."
Looking at the twins he smirked. "Boys, go do recon of the city. Be back by sunrise." Oh, he knew this would be potentially bad but he trusted the twins to be smart and not get caught as well as be back on time.
"Draco, help me sort out everything from tonight's haul." he finished his orders and stood to move out before stopping to add one more thing. "We sleep at 7AM. We need to get back to acclimating to taking watch. Be ready for that today."
Groans went up all around but no one put up any real fuss. They all knew it was necessary and a one hour watch wasn't nearly as bad as the days without sleep they'd grown used to in the war.
Harry paused in the doorway, turning to face the twins remembering what he'd done earlier that day. "Oh and boys, I also sent off letters and portkeys to Lee and the team." He said. Both Weasley twins gave a sigh of relief and nod.
They hadn't been nearly as close to Lee Jordan the last few years, the war had taken its toll on everyone, but they still cared about their old best friend. They wanted to give him a chance, even if their last conversation hadn't been all that pleasant. "Thanks, Harry."
"Should have told Oliver we have a full set of professional balls, that'd guarantee he came." joked Neville who, even though he hadn't been on the team, vividly remembered the rants the Champion Gryffindor Keeper would go on in the common room and his obsession with Quidditch.
"I did." Harry told him with a laugh as he finally left the dining room, startling a laugh out of the others.
And so the time passed quickly, too quickly for the group's comfort. Every night they spent the whole night popping back and forth all over the country clearing out shops in teams of two. The teams were broken up by who worked best together; Fred and George, Blaise and Draco, Neville and Hermione, Harry and Luna.
Every night they would do all they could, take as much as they possibly could, which was aided by time differences across the country. They realized quickly their plan of drawing them away from Atlanta was a moot point. They wouldn't be caught, their tent was warded so very tightly, including a modified fidelus and unplottable charms, that there was no way American Aurors would find them. And even then, they only had to evade them for three weeks, it was child's play for the eight of them who'd spent their childhoods at war.
So they stole. Slept. Trained.
Harry continued working with them during the day on their physicality, stamina, endurance, and hand to hand combat. He'd gotten bored during the intervening years since the war and decided to try various forms of martial arts to keep himself busy since he absolutely refused to be what the Wizarding World wanted him to be. He'd walked to his death for those sheep, he didn't owe them a damn thing.
So he trained his people to the best of his ability. Harshly, pushing them to and beyond their limits in an effort to make sure that if anything came at them it wouldn't be his people that went down.
They were lucky. The years of running in the case of he and Hermione, Quidditch in the case of him and the twins and the Slytherins, gardening in the case of Neville, and tending to creatures and going on hunts to discover new ones for Luna, meant that they were a little ahead of most magicals where physical fitness is concerned.
It wasn't all that hard for them to fall into a routine of train, scavenge, sleep. They were all progressing decently in their hand to hand which pleased them, and Harry. They were well stocked and if the worst happened and the end came sooner than expected they had enough to survive until they could clear out stores regardless of the walking dead.
It wasn't until just over a week after they'd arrived in America that something changed. An unexpected arrival had the wards blaring and pulling all of them from their beds, short of Hermione who'd been down in the library, wands drawn and ready to fire.
"Whoa! It's just us!" came a very familiar voice as nonverbal spellfire filled the den.
"Hold!" yelled Harry, blinking down at the three figures crouched in front of the fireplace where he'd stationed the beacon on the mantle.
"Bill?" George and Fred asked at the same time, shock evident in their voices. "Fleur?"
"Yeah." the eldest Weasley brother said, pushing himself up onto his feet, pulling his wife up and bending down to pull their ten-year-old daughter to her feet as well.
"Blaise, wards." Harry said, though he didn't lower his wand. "When was the second time I met you?" the green-eyed Gryffindor asked cautiously.
"The third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Mum and I came to support you as your family and we spent the day with you before you went into the maze." came the prompt answer to the security question from Bill.
With a satisfied nod he turned the same cautious treatment on Fleur. "What did you call me in the room the night the champions were chosen?"
"A little boy." the veela said, her accent thicker than it had been in years with stress.
Finally, Harry relaxed and slid his wand into the holster strapped to his wrist. "Sorry about that." He said, slightly sheepishly. "Old habits."
"Give us a heart attack, why don't you." Draco exclaimed in his dramatic way to break the tension.
"Sorry." Bill said, holding Victore closer to his side protectively, even though he knew no one here would hurt her. "It's just been a long…. Bad day." He said, weariness in every line of his frame.
"Sit." Hermione said, her mother hen tendencies kicking in now that all security questions had been asked and passed. "You look dead on your feet. What happened?"
Bill and Fleur let the brunette usher them into a settee, their daughter climbing into her father's lap, uncaring of her age and just needing comfort.
"It's started in Britain." Bill said, the horrors of what he'd seen written across his face. "The muggle village near our cottage was… it was awful. I went down to get something from the shops and it was in a panic. I heard someone screaming and turned down the alley to see… they were…" he broke off, unable to quite put into words the sight of three people ripping apart and eating another human being as they screamed.
"When we first got your letter we were cautious." explained Fleur, taking over for her husband. "We were wary that anything that bad would actually happen. Worse than the war. We… we didn't want to believe it." She paused, shaking her head. "But we know you Harry. We know you don't lie. If you say it is so then it is so." She looked up at Bill for a moment before pushing on. "And so just to be safe we packed. Everything we couldn't bear to leave behind and all of the supplies we could get our hands on. Had everything shrunken in a handbag my mama gifted me for Christmas. Just… just to be safe." Shaking her head she had to take a deep breath. "Victore was reading and I was working on dinner while Bill went to town. He came back in a state and said we had to go. And so we came."
"We knew…" Bill said, finally pulling himself together. "We knew that you wouldn't make something like that up but we were hoping you were wrong. But deep down we knew. So… so we were ready."
"We're glad you're here." the twins said in unison.
"Very glad." Harry agreed with a nod.
"Thank you for sending us that portkey." said the eldest Weasley gratefully.
"Of course." Harry said with a nod. "I sent one to Charlie and Percy too, hopefully they get out before things get too bad."
Bill knew without asking his parents and two youngest siblings had not been sent a portkey. And honestly, as painful as it was to think of them dying because Harry refused to try saving them, he couldn't blame him. After the hell they'd put him through, if it was Bill he wouldn't either. So he said the only thing he could. "Thank you."
"You said you were working on dinner when this went down…" trailing off Harry cast a tempus and found it to be one in the afternoon. Not too bad. Six hours. "We weren't up yet, but it's close enough to be getting up. We can cook up something. Then you guys can get some rest while we go about our regularly scheduled day."
"Harry, medical and armoury in our hall?" Luna asked, standing up and heading towards the door leading to the hall in question.
"Sounds good." He said with a nod before meeting Bill and Fleur's curious looks. "She's setting up rooms for you. We'd been using those two extra rooms as a storage for all things medical and an armory."
"We can get our own tent Harry, don't worry about us." Bill began to protest but Harry was already shaking his head.
"Not happening." Harry said firmly. "This tent is warded to the heavens and not even the combined efforts of Merlin and Morgana could find or break into it. We have the room, it isn't a problem. I want to keep all of our people together, in one tent, and under the same wards if possible."
The eldest in the room was obviously about to protest before George cut in quietly. "Blood wards, Bill."
This sent a jolt through the cursebreaker and had him looking at Harry with wide eyes. Those were highly illegal.
Seeing the look, Harry shrugged. "The wizarding world won't be around to prosecute me in two weeks even if they were to find out, which they won't. And I wanted my people as safe as possible and I wasn't too picky about how that safety came about."
Bill wanted to protest but he understood. Looking down at his daughter, he couldn't deny that he didn't care what kind of magic had been used, as long as she was safe that was all that mattered. "Alright." he finally conceded.
"It's not like it's the worst thing we're doing." joked Neville, standing and heading into the kitchen to work on dinner.
"Do I even want to know?" Bill asked in resignation.
"Probably-" "-Not." said the twins as they followed Neville, clapping their brother on the back as they went.
"Come on, let's get in there." Hermione said, reaching out and offering a hand to Victore who'd been silent during the whole conversation. "We have butterbeer." Hermione offered, getting a smile and a nod from the little girl as they ducked into the dining room.
The rest, including their newest additions, trooped into the dining room after, gathering around the table in their customary places. Bill, Fleur, and Victore took seats at the end, across from Fred and George.
It wasn't long before Neville had finished a quick pasta dish and was levitating to the table along with plates and glasses for water, which Harry had insisted they drink with each meal.
"Bill, Fleur, and Victore, you guys get some rest, it's been a hard day for you. We'll work on fixing your sleeping pattern later." Harry said, falling into his usual habit of giving out the days' orders over breakfast. "You all have your lists. You know where to hit tonight after training. We have another two weeks left of this and then it flips."
"That's going to be bloody awful." groaned Blaise as he dug into his own breakfast.
"Definitely. But we've managed to get more done than we expected so we're well ahead and well supplied. I want to try to finish the lists in the next few days so we can spend the whole next week working on warehouses and hospitals. The last week will be the farms and livestock." Harry said, proud of how hard his people had worked.
"What is it you guys are doing exactly?" asked Fleur.
"Do you really want to know?" asked Harry, quirking an eyebrow in question.
"Oui." She said with a nod.
"We're rounding up supplies." said Harry simply.
"That must be draining coffers. Did you clean out your accounts before you left England?" Bill asked.
"Who said anything about it coming out of our coffers?" asked George, with a teasing wink, trying to lighten the mood a little.
"You mean…" Bill broke off, blinking. "The papers were right for once? You went on a theft binge before bolting from the country."
"Binge is an odd word for it but it works I suppose." Draco said with a shrug.
"Seriously?" asked the eldest Weasley incredulously.
"Bill." Luna called out, getting his attention. "The supplies we took would have been abandoned anyway. I looked. I made sure nothing we were doing would cause undue harm, aside from monetary which at the end of the world matters to no one." She began to explain. "By the time people will start clamoring for supplies and realizing just how bad it is, it will be too late. Britain won't even get to the point where people think of survival. It…. in two week's time will be completely gone. Which is when hell will break loose here. We're doing what we have to do for our family to survive. More than the next month or year but long term. So that when the time is right and the circumstances and people align and we are able to settle into our new home, we will be able to survive for good."
It didn't make Bill, nor Fleur, feel all that much better about the situation, but they understood. They understood that when it came to survival, you and your family were all that mattered. They'd all learned that harsh lesson ten years ago.
Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Bill nodded before answering. "Then let me help." he said, getting a nod from Fleur. "The more hands the faster the work gets done, right?"
"You sure?" asked Harry, eyeing Bill as if he could see right through the man.
"I'm sure. You, all of you, are my family in one way or another. And if you're doing this for the family's survival then I want to help my family." Bill answered. Which seemed to be the right answer as Harry nodded and broke eye contact.
"We go in pairs, never travel alone. So since we're an even number you'll have to tag along with a pair or we'll have to rotate you and the others." Harry said, thinking.
"I would go too but I don't want Victore alone." Fleur said, looking at her daughter with concern.
"I'll be fine here in the tent, mama." the little girl said, speaking for the first time.
"Non. I'm sorry but I cannot leave you alone in this new world and I cannot trust you will stay inside the tent and not leave it." Fleur said, knowing good and well that her daughter was a curious little creature.
"It's fine Fleur. I would rather have someone here with her anyway." Harry said, shaking his head. "And there is plenty you can handle from here while we're out there to help us. If you don't mind that is?" he asked, not wanting to assume.
"I'd be happy to help." Fleur said with a nod. "What can I do?"
"We have single and multi-compartment bottomless trunks that we store everything in. You would be taking a lot off of our hands if you'd sort the night's haul and put it all where it goes while we're sleeping during the day. We can start leaving the trunks themselves here and each take a regular, frozen, and chilled bag. When we come back in the mornings, we leave them with you. We sleep and you clear them out and put everything where it goes and prep the bags again for the next night." he explained. "One less thing for us to worry about doing between sleep and scavenging. Plus with you up while we're sleeping, one of us wouldn't have to stay up on watch. We could all sleep straight through with you on watch and get started. Whoever stays back when we rotate will keep watch while you and Victore sleep at night. Still helping the family but in a way you can keep little Miss Curious with you." he finished with a playful wink at the little girl.
"I can handle that." She said with a nod. "I'll take over meals too since I'll be here. Have it ready for you when you get up."
"You don't have to do that, we tend to take turns." Neville said before smirking. "Well except for Mione." he teased, ducking the stinging hex she sent his way to everyone's amusement.
"Non. I'll handle it." Fleur said with a shake of her head, amusement still clear on her face. "You all have the harder work to handle. One less thing for you to worry about is best, oui?"
"If you're sure." Harry said, receiving a nod in return. "Alright then. After breakfast everyone outside for training. Bill, Fleur, even Victore, you all are included in that. We train from the time we wake up to sun down. Hand to hand, running and dodging. Now that we have weapons, we train with those as well. Guns, knives, and bows."
"Alright." Bill said, his wife nodding beside him.
To others it might seem odd for a man ten years his senior to defer to Harry but years of war and following the younger man made it second nature. Bill and Fleur had almost instantly slipped back into that mindset of following Harry's orders and listening when he spoke, as they had in the last years of the war.
The food was finished off, dishes cleaned, and training got under way in quick succession. Bill and Fleur weren't that bad, especially the former. His years in tombs and her years playing quidditch lent to being physically fit, even now.
Time continued to crawl forward and three days later another arrival surprised them, though luckily this time they were in just about to start training and no one was woken suddenly.
No one was more surprised than the Weasleys present to see another of their own on his knees panting in front of the fireplace.
"Percy?" Bill asked, though he didn't move forward, every wand in the room still trained on his younger brother.
"Bill?" the newest addition asked, looking up finally and taking in everyone around him. After the war he wasn't overly surprised to see the reception.
"What was the last thing I said to you at the Battle?" asked Harry, knowing that only the two of them had been there for that conversation and he had never told another the actual details.
Percy tensed and then relaxed, a small smile creeping on his face. "That brothers fight. That even though I acted like a git I turned up when it really mattered. And that even though I was a git, I was still your brother in all but blood."
And to everyone's surprise, Harry was the first one to move forward and pull the middle Weasley into a hug. Few, maybe only Luna, Hermione, and Draco, knew that Harry and Percy had not only made peace and reparations after the war but had actually grown quite close. "I'm glad you're here." Harry said softly, pulling back from the older man.
As he stepped back, the twins swarmed and wrapped Percy in a hug between them. "Perfect-" "Percy-" "Is back!" they said in their usual back and forth before combining in the end.
"Are you hungry?" asked Draco. "We just finished eating but there's still left overs."
"Starving actually." Percy said, leaning against his younger brothers.
"Let's get you fed. Blaise, the wards?" Harry said, heading into the kitchen as the others herded the new arrival into the dining room. Except for Blaise who, as their Runes expert, reset the wards and alarms.
It wasn't more than a couple of moments before a plate of the amazing breakfast casserole Fleur had made that morning was placed in front of Percy along with a glass of milk. Taking his own seat at the table, Harry flicked his wand and summoned butterbeer for everyone.
"Where are we?" asked Percy once he'd scarfed down about half of his meal and slowed down to a more reasonable pace.
"A tent." the twins deadpanned in unison causing Percy to roll his eyes in fond exasperation.
"We're set up in an old rock quarry outside of Atlanta, Georgia in the southeast United States." explained Harry. "We'll be here for a while, a few months at least. It really depends on a lot of factors."
"We will meet up with others here. Some we need, some will be part of our family." explained Luna, though she didn't elaborate on how exactly they would be part of the family. "Fair warning, they'll be muggles."
That made the newer members blink. She hadn't explained that much to Bill and Fleur when they arrived.
"So Percy, what made you use the portkey?" asked George curiously.
"I was at work and reports started pouring in that Diagon Alley had fallen and was swarming with those things. They're like inferi but they aren't inferi. Fire does nothing." Percy said with a shudder. "I had the portkey with me around my neck hidden under my robes. I had taken to carrying all of my belongings shrunken in a bag in my pocket since I received that letter just in case I did need to escape quickly. And then… Then someone inside the ministry turned." He paused, trying to collect himself. "It was chaos. People were screaming. It was a stampede. They activated the anti-apparition wards to prevent anyone infected from escaping. I managed to get to the muggle exit and sneaked out. As soon as I was outside I didn't stop or think, I just activated the portkey."
"We'll need to move the storage trunks out of that room. Clear it out for Percy, I want to leave the Library as is for now." Harry said before taking a drink from his own bottle. "However, if more people are going to show up, more of our people I mean, taking the portkeys I sent out, we're going to run out of rooms."
"I'm glad you guys are here, we just weren't expecting anyone to actually use the portkeys. Either because of disbelief, lack of time, or they just forgot about them." explained Hermione.
"We have other tents but I want everyone under these impenetrable wards. Mione, could you and Blaise work on the other tents? Adding the same bloodwards and the… darker wards this tent has? Make them match this one so we're sure they're safe. It's why I wanted us all in one tent. But if we can recreate these wards, I'll feel better about splitting into more tents."
"It shouldn't be a problem. They're actually pretty basic wards. It'll just take time." Hermione said with Blaise nodding along.
"Okay let's get that done today. I want them ready to go for when and if any others show up." Harry said, leaning back into his seat. "That instead of training today, then we can rearrange. The Zabini tent first as I doubt it needs as much work done."
"Just the Fidelis. It has all the others, Purebloods are a paranoid bunch." the last Zabini said with a snort. "Also it has six rooms, a kitchen, dining room, and living room. We all eat together here so we can change the kitchen and dining rooms into two more bedrooms."
"That works. Does anyone want to move over there or is everyone happy to stay here?" Harry asked.
"Fleur, Victore and I can move over there. Maybe Percy with us?" Bill offered.
"If that's what you want." Harry agreed with a nod.
"We'll move over too." Fred said after sharing a look with George.
"Alright. All the Weasleys in that one and if Charlie uses his portkey he can share with you as well." Harry agreed. "I would like to set up something similar to the vanishing cabinets in the tents, that way we can go between them without having to go outside, for security purposes."
"I know the spellwork on those damn cabinets very well. I can handle that. It'll take me a few days out of training though." Draco said, knowing that scavenging was the single most important thing they were doing and that came before training, though luckily he was one of the more advanced so it wouldn't be a great loss for him.
"That works." Harry agreed with a nod. "Now with Percy here, we can reshuffle a little. Fleur, are you still good with going out with us if Percy stays with Victore, or Percy? That is if Percy is good with taking over your job."
"What do I need to do." Percy said with a nod of agreement. He had no idea what he was agreeing to but he trusted Harry, he'd learned from his mistakes of not trusting him in the past.
"We're spending our nights collecting supplies. Going store to store after closing time and completely emptying them with magic. We're gathering enough to survive permanently, not just for a little bit. We sleep in the mornings and train in hand to hand and with weapons in the afternoon. Fleur is on a different schedule. She's up while we're sleeping. We drop off our collection bags, we each have a regular, frozen, and chilled bottomless bag on us. She takes them, empties them and sorts the haul into the allotted trunk, and preps the bags for the next round."
"Oh, that's perfectly fine." Percy said with a smile and a nod. Sorting and organizing was something he excelled at so he was happy to do it. He'd much rather be responsible for that than actually doing the theft. He would if he had to but he was happy with the division of labor. "I can also make an inventory and keep track of everything we have and what we may need more of."
"That would be amazing!" said Hermione happily. "The trunks are great and sorted out but they're basically all in a jumble. If you could wrangle some order into them that would be a huge help. We just haven't had the time to devote to that."
"That's sorted. Let's get these tents handled." Harry said, standing and leaving the table, tossing his bottle in the bin as he went.
The rest of the day until sunset was spent charming, enchanting, and warding all of the other magical and a few of the muggle tents they had in their possession. They weren't sure how many would take advantage of the portkeys but they were hoping it was more than just those that were here now.
It was just at sundown when they helped the Weasleys all move over into the Zabini tent which was erected as close to the main tent as possible.
This tent was set up slightly different. The front flap led into the den with two doors on the right side, one for the kitchen and another for the dining room. To the left was an open arch way that led to a hall with six doors, similar to the other tent. There was another door on the wall across from the flap that led to a large bathroom that put several of them in mind of the prefects' bathroom.
"My mother fancied herself a mermaid on occasion." Blaise said dryly, pulling snorts of amusement from the others.
Rooms were quickly claimed by the Weasleys as everything was sorted out for them.
Harry let out a shrill whistle to call everyone to him. Once he was looking at all of his people he nodded. "I had a thought. We are hoping more join us but I'm not going to hold my breath. It… it hurts too much to be wrong." He said, looking down for a moment before returning his gaze to his friends. "So on that note, instead of turning the kitchen and dining room into bedrooms I have an idea."
"It's a good one." Luna said dreamily.
"Thanks." Harry said with a smirk. "We will need runes and wards more than ever. For that, having a dedicated enchanting and warding workshop can only be to the good. As Bill is a Wardmaster as well as a cursebreaker, he, along with our other wardmaster Blaise, need a space. We can set one of those rooms up as a warding and enchanting workshop."
"That's a good idea. It'll give us a place to work from, a place to make and store wardstones for when we settle permanently." Bill said, Blaise nodding his agreement.
"Exactly, and we just didn't have the space for that in the other tent." Harry said before explaining his other idea. "As for the other room, I know joke products aren't the top on most people's survival list but during the war, we in this room learned how useful they could be and could actually be the difference between living and dying. Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder saved my arse more than once. So on that note, the other should be a workshop for Fred and George." Here he held a hand up before the twins could start hooting and hollering. "The two of you are geniuses and can find the most unexpected ways to get out of a tough situation. So channel that more into things to help us survive."
"Yes Our Fearless Leader!" the two pranksters chorused, much to the amusement of the others.
"Yeah, I'm gonna regret that." Harry muttered.
"Oh most definitely." agreed Draco quietly, who was standing closest to him at that moment.
Letting out another shrill whistle. "We head out in ten minutes!" called out Harry. "Percy and Victore. Head to bed. With the wards we won't necessarily need a watch set, we're just trying to get in the habit of it for later but right now supplies are more important. You'll be safe to go to sleep, nothing can get inside these wards."
He got nods all around and everyone filed out of the new tent and into the main tent to grab their bags.
Three nights later, they were just getting in from a night of scavenging when they were met with a wary Percy and an exhausted and more than a little ruffled Viktor Krum.
The same process from the last three arrivals was adhered to. Security questions, then food, then explanations. Viktor's story was much the same as Percy's. He'd trusted Harry enough to have his things shrunken on him and the portkey around his neck, but was hopeful it wouldn't be needed. Sadly, like Percy, it had been needed.
The Bulgarian was shown to a room in the left hall, first door on the left across from Blaise, and they all left their bags with Percy and crashed for the night.
Once everyone was up for the day, things were explained more thoroughly to the newcomer and he was more than happy to help with the heists.
That night was the start of warehouses, hospitals, and factories. They had cleared stores and now they were going directly to the source.
Hermine, Bill, and surprisingly Percy were the ones that went to the city and used computers to compile a massive list of their new targets.
They split up into teams of two, Harry and Hermione, Luna and Neville, Fred and George, Draco and Blaise, Bill and Fleur (unfortunately taking Victore with them), Dean and Seamus, Percy and Viktor, and hit every warehouse they could.
And so began the trips that were both easier and harder. Easier because there was a smaller variety in what they were taking from one place, however the sheer quantity was overwhelming at times. More than once each of them questioned just how close to the limits they were pushing the "bottomless' part of their bottomless bags.
Their goals were varied and they took pains to ensure they went after the most important things. They hit processing plants and cleared out food, both perishable and non, and adding it on a massive scale to their stores. Even bottled and tanked water were shrunk and stored in a bag.
They hit textile mills and took all of the cloth and clothing they could find. It was, again, made clear that the time of buying clothes was over and they would need everything. Even down to the last button or needle, to make their own in the future. Luckily Fleur's mother had been a designer and she'd grown up learning about fashion and how to make clothing so she was in charge of that when the time came that it was needed.
Even things like gasoline, oil, car parts, and tools for said automotive repairs that Luna swore up and down they would need. None of them knew anything about cars, not even how to drive one. The closest was Hermione and her knowledge was basic at best, and not even for driving in this country. But their Seer was absolutely adamant that it was a requirement and so it was done.
Parts, tools, and various equipment, even something that looked like it was meant to lift up part of the car, was shrunken down and added to an unused trunk. Things like oil, petrol, and other various fluids that were stored in the shops and warehouses were added to the trunk and put under stasis charms to prevent any of them going off.
Medical supply warehouses and factories were a big necessity. They weren't sure exactly what all they were taking since none of them were skilled in muggle medicine but they were sure it would come in handy at some point. Some items were easy to understand the need for, things like bandages, gloves, and the like were a given. They also had stockpiles of various muggle medicines, some that required cold storage. Everything from vitamins to asthma medicine to narcotics were stowed away.
The hardest thing to wrap their minds around was blood. One of the medical supply facilities that they hit ended up being a blood bank. This was a hard sell for the magicals. It went against all that they were and all that they knew to part with their blood. Blood was a powerful thing and no witch or wizard would willingly give theirs up. It took Hermione explaining that muggles didn't have replenishing potions to help with blood loss and they had to use transfusions. Several of the purebloods called this barbaric but they had to admit no matter the barbarism it was the only solution for some circumstances.
With that in mind, Luna made a point to tell them all that taking the blood wasn't an option. It was a necessity. That some of their new family members were muggles and it would be good to have this in case of emergencies.
This sparked a debate. The first time since everything all started that anyone questioned or contradicted their blonde Seer. They couldn't fathom why on earth that they couldn't just give any muggles with them wouldn't be given a potion to counter any possible blood-loss. It was then that Luna explained that it was better safe than sorry. That when the time came to build their home that being able to cater to both magical and muggle healing would be for the best. And that no matter how distasteful the magicals thought blood transfusions were, it was a very important part of muggle healing.
This quieted those against storing the blood. A new seven compartment trunk was utilized to store and sort the blood by type, something only Hermione understood. The apparatuses that were needed for such were also taken.
This foray brought two new needs to light as well. The first was the realization that, to Hermione's horror, they hadn't taken nearly enough muggle books. The second was that they needed building supplies for when it was time for their final home.
Both of these issues were easily solved and an entire night, the next night in fact, was set aside for Hermione and Viktor to go clean out several libraries and bookstores. A focus was put on technical, medical, survival, and educational books.
That same night, several others were pulled from the warehouse and factory work to target building supply warehouses specifically. Lumber, metal, concrete, gravel, tools, scaffolding, piping. Everything possible was taken from stores, warehouses, and supply yards for building.
It was decided that this would continue for the rest of the week allotted for this type of scavenging. Harry, Luna, Draco, Bill, Viktor, and Neville handled the building supplies. Fred, George, Blaise, Hermione, Fleur handled the other warehouses.
The next arrivals were Dean Thomas and Seamus Finegan. It was a surprise that they were the ones who popped in next two days after Viktor but they were warmly welcomed. As with all the others, the same procedures were followed, though the answers were hilarious.
"What did you say to me the last time I saw you?" Harry asked Seamus.
"That I wish you'd figured out you were gay sooner because I'd have given you a ride." said a furiously blushing Irishman as the others cracked up with laughter and Dean, his current boyfriend sent him a stink eye for several long moments before shrugging and agreeing.
"Dean, what did I say to you during the cleanup when I caught you leaving Seamus in the dungeons?" asked Fred.
The dark-skinned Gryffindor blushed furiously. "That we needed to remember silencing charms because you could hear that Irish screamer in the Astronomy tower."
Bill and Fleur were thoroughly appreciative of the fact that the two had popped up as Viktor had, first thing in the morning as they were all coming back, so that Victore was still sleeping and didn't hear that conversation.
Explanations were given out over a meal, though the table had to be extended and chairs duplicated. The two new arrivals had been together trying to survive in Ireland near Seamus's family home when it was overrun.
They'd apparated to the roof with their belongings to get a moment to breathe and plan their next move when the portkey necklace Harry had sent had slipped out of Dean's collar to hang as he bent forward with his hands rested on his knees. Both had completely forgotten about the portkeys. They'd received them, slipped them on because they knew better than to completely discount Harry, and then completely forgot about them until Dean's came into view when they needed an escape.
They had immediately said their goodbyes just in case and activated their individual portkeys.
They slotted right in and were given the room next to Viktor and across from Hermione in the left hall. They worked well with everyone and were assigned to the team with Fleur to handle warehouses.
Five days later they were gearing up to start clearing farms, granaries, and livestock. It would be the longest, hardest, most tedious work and they were all dreading it. No matter how necessary they knew it was.
For this they decided to go as a big group and go farm to farm. They weren't hitting the small, family farms first. Those would come after the fall. No, first they were hitting the large farms that supplied the meat processing plants where their animals are bred en masse. The hope was to handle as many of those as they could and get a large stock built up that they could, with luck, breed themselves. Multiple farms meant they could breed them easily without the risk of inbreeding causing issues.
It took the fourteen of them working in tandem to clear four farms in one night. Part of that was the time it took them to figure out it would be easier to shrink and levitate the animals into the trunk. It had the downside of making them very grumpy but it got the job done a lot faster than anything else. It took them a further hour to realize if they shot them with a sleeping spell first it would make the whole process a hell of a lot easier.
While everyone else was handling the animals, cows for this round which Luna had had the forethought to mark with a large blot on their flank in bright yellow (apparently she would work her way through colors, one for each farm until a better system was found), Neville had taken barrels and was clearing out the animal feed and marking it accordingly. Hermione, in all of her wisdom, grabbed everything she could find in the barns and outbuildings. All of the hay that was baled was added to a trunk with the other supplies.
Four farms the first night, five the second, and by the fourth night, they got up to seven farms in a night once they got the hang of things.
They had a massive herd of cattle that took up one entire biome trunk. Another trunk was dedicated to the smaller animals which were kept in separate pens, pigs, goats, and sheep. They even had a whole host of chickens from one of the breeding farms they hit that were kept in their own trunk.
Another stroke of genius was that Neville and Luna layered specialized charms and spells into all of the trunks to handle the waste of all the animals. It would be magically banished into a receptacle to function as a fertilizer compactor. A similar setup was added to the kitchen to act as a compost bin. These would then be used to fertilize the crops and herbs. Similar spells had already been placed on the trunk for magical creatures and had worked well. Though the waste was sorted, magical and muggle creatures' dirt were kep separate because magical creatures' waste had other properties that were sometimes used in potions.
On another whim, Luna pointed out that an apiary would be good for the crop and herbology trunks to help with pollination. So it was with a ton of grumbling and lots of curses that three hives were placed into each trunk at the far side away from the entrance. Both bees and butterflies were carefully, and in the case of the bees painfully, transported into their new homes.
Each trunk was spelled with enchantments to keep all of the various animals and creatures contained. Not even the honey bees, butterflies, or owls were able to get out unless spelled and carried out. The spell required to leave the trunk was put in place after one of the nifflers got loose and it was a bad day in the tent.
Once everything was said and done, they had enough supplies to run a small, self-sustaining town for years to come. Much to the relief of Harry and Luna, the masterminds behind this whole adventure.
They would not be recovering from this. This was the extinction event. But they were determined to fight and live and thrive even at the end of the world.
The last night before they were told to expect the first of their company, Luna dragged them all across the country, thinking this sort of theft would be less noticeable for when it was time to integrate with muggles.
They all blindly apparated, Luna first as she knew where she was going, with the others following her. Those with marks could aparate directly to her location and they side-along apparated the others with them.
Harry had the thought that he really needed to redo the marks and add the others to them. He wanted to wait a few days and make sure they wouldn't have any more arrivals first though. Or maybe he would set Hermione to finding a way to add on instead of having to recast completely.
As they landed, they realized they were surrounded by several car dealerships. "Luna?" asked Neville curiously.
"We need them." She said simply. "We need a… that." She said pointing to a large, state of the art RV parked in front of a dealership. "Two of those and trailers to pull behind them. And at least two cars, large enough to fit us without Expansion charms. We'll be with muggles soon and they won't be allowed to see magic. Not at first."
They all looked between them, silently asking if any of them actually knew how to drive. The only one with even the most rudimentary knowledge was Hermione, it was silently discovered.
"I guess we'll be learning fast then." muttered Draco with a small grimace.
"This is why you made us take all of that petrol and parts, isn't it?" asked Blaise as they walked toward the biggest RV on the lot.
"Yes." Luna admitted with a nod. "Our tents are good, better than these things, honestly. But questions will be asked and they will be needed in the future."
"Alright." he replied simply.
"What are these things called anyway?" asked Neville.
"An RV, I think." answered Hermione.
"Accio keys for RV# 126." called out Harry after checking the number on the windshield tag. Once they were in hand he shrunk the RV down and dug around in the bag of small pouches, not bottomless, Luna had insisted they bring. He tucked the keys and matching shrunken RV into one of the pouches and dropped it in his main bag.
They worked for a couple of hours, picking out another RV, very similar to the first, two closed pull-behind trailers, two three bench vans, and even decided at the last minute to grab a large cube van. Each vehicle was tucked into it's own pouch with it's key, just as the first RV had been.
Once those were packed away, they went through and summoned all of the gas out of the cars on the lots and cleared the insides of the dealerships of any petrol, oil, parts, tools, basically anything that looked remotely necessary or helpful for vehicle maintenance.
"How in Merlin's name are we supposed to handle upkeep for these?" asked Draco as they were finishing up their last few cars as the sun started to rise, letting them know it was time to leave.
"The first of our new family members will be mechanically inclined." called out Luna in explanation. "Time to go! Now or we'll be caught."
And with that, fourteen cracks rent the air, sounding like the rapid gunfire of an automatic weapon.
As soon as they were back in their tent Luna had Harry unshrink the first RV outside so they could work on enchanting it.
"Blaise, Bill, with me and Luna." Harry called out. "The rest of you get everything sorted. Mione, I need you working on altering the marks to add the others so we don't have to recast the whole bloody thing. Draco, the cabinets need to be finished sooner rather than later."
Seeing everyone so tired, he felt bad but knew it was needed. "I know everyone is tired but we have to flip our sleep schedule. Best way to do that is power through. Victore is little so if she needs a nap, that's fine. But we have to get this last little enchanting done before other people start popping up around here."
"It's fine, we knew this was coming." Neville said with a yawn. The others were giving yawns of their own but agreeing.
"Thanks for understanding. Neville, Fred, George, Seamus, Dean, Percy, Viktor, once you're done sorting the haul out, can you guys go ahead and handle the biome trunks for the day?"
"Sure." was the general consensus.
With that, Harry took off outside to unshrink the first RV and get to work.
Between the six of them working on it they managed to get it done in a couple of hours. They warded the thing to the gills, just like the tents.
Runes were put on the water tanks to be self-replenishing. Runes went on the taps to heat the water without need for power. Another rune went on the septic tank to banish waste. Runes for the fridge and freezer to run without power with freezing and cooling charms placed on the inside just to be safe.
Every window throughout the whole bus was charmed impervius and with special light filtering charms to prevent sunburns that herbologists used on their greenhouses.
The bed in the bedroom was altered so that when the mattress was lifted there was a large panel accessible only to those keyed into the wards. Once access it was granted, it opened into a massive storage area. When they were on the road and couldn't set up the tent, this would serve as their storage room so they could access all of the various storage trunks.
Once everyone was done with their individual jobs, short of Draco and Hermione who were deep in research, they all, under Percy's direction who was in charge of their supplies, worked together to redo the emergency kits they had started and make new ones for their new additions.
Included in each kit was a tent, sleeping bag, lantern, two blankets, two pillows, a months' worth of food, two canteens, a fire starter (not that they needed them but they were to answer any questions from muggles), three changes of clothes, an extra wand holster with wand included, two extra guns, five extra boxes of ammo, four knifes, a bow and quiver of arrows, a kit of the Twins' products, their brooms (for those that had them at the moment), an emergency potions supply, and an emergency medical kit of bandages and salves that were explainable to muggles.
These kits were contained within a bottomless bag which was then shrunken and slid into an undetectable inside pocket on each of their rucksacks. Harry was ever so grateful that when they'd cleared the shops in England he'd grabbed plenty more, just in case others showed up and they were needed. Inside the main area of the rucksack was left a gun, box of ammo, knife, and a canteen. This left plenty of space for scavenging if muggles were around.
This was it. They were prepped. Ready. They had scavenged as much as they could until the world fell. Then it would start all over in the magical districts. Luckily, Harry had had the forethought to send Bill to the goblins in the local shopping district in Atlanta for a list of magical Alleys and their coordinates for apparition.
As sad as it was to put thought to it, now they were only waiting. Waiting on the fall so they could do this all over again. Waiting on things to get bad enough for people to flee the city. Waiting for the people they were supposed to be here for to show up.
It was now a waiting game and none of them were overly fond of that. The only two that worked over the next day or so were Hermione and Draco. The latter finished his project first and set up the cabinets in both tents. He'd even, in his research, figured out a way to link them like a network, to work sort of like a cross between the vanishing cabinets and the floo. You just had to tap your wand on the door before you stepped inside and say which tent you wanted to go to and that was where you went. He had a third installed in the RV. It was hidden in the bedroom and under a massive amount of notice-me-not and muggle repelling charms. That one even required a registered magical signature to even open the door.
That night as they were all settling down at the table to eat their hamburgers, something Dean had cooked for the wizards to try, the wards and alarms were once more set off by someone portkeying into their tent.
As one they dropped their food and rushed into the living room to find a sight that was heart wrenching to them all, though it definitely hit some harder than others.
Kneeling in front of the fire was a crying Katie Bell holding a blood-soaked and rapidly bleeding out Angelina Johnson. Alicia Spinnet knelt on Angelina's other side helping to support her. Both kneeling girls were covered in just as much blood as the one they were holding. The onlookers couldn't tell if it was theirs or Angelina's.
"Draco." Harry called out as he dropped to his knees next to Katie. "What happened?" He asked, putting his own hands on the gaping wound on his former teammate's abdomen. It looked like she'd been ripped open.
Draco was quick to suppon his potions kit to him and join the group on the floor, kneeling next to Alicia. Fred and George both dropped down, one at her head and the other at her feet in case she needed to be restrained for healing. They'd had to restrain Harry enough to know it was possible.
"W-we were over-overrun." stuttered out Katie, who was usually so stalwart and unflinching. "We've been running for days. Trying… trying to get to Ho-Hogwars. We, we hoped the w-wards would still be standing."
"We stopped one town over from Hogsmead." whimpered Alicia, shifting to give Draco room as he started casting spells to see the extent of the damage without making Harry move his hands. The blonde was not optimistic.
"We, we set wards!" Katie cried, unable to withhold her tears as their friend gave a pained scream. "But we were betrayed."
"Who?!" demanded Fred and George in unison. George and Angelina might have broken up five years ago but they'd remained friends.
"Lee Jordan." Alicia answered, tears streaming down her own face.
"What?!" It was Harry who demanded an answer this time.
"He… we ran into him th-three days ago. He was scared and stuck with us." Alicia explained as Katie worked to try and comfort Angelina. "We woke up to hear glass shattering. We looked around and he'd taken everything and smashed the wardstone. Left a note saying he was sorry but he needed the stuff more."
That sent snarls of anger through the room. Several of them knew Lee and had trusted him. He'd been the twins best friend since first year. They'd grown apart during and after the war but they'd never have pegged him for this.
"I sent him a bloody portkey too." Harry growled, his fury radiating from him. Looking up, he locked eyes with each one of his people. "He shows up here and gets a bullet to the brain. No fucking questions asked." He snarled. "Am I understood?"
He was met with no resistance. Not even the twins dared contradict Harry. He was serious. Deadly so. They knew Lee had signed his own death warrant with that cowardly act. It wasn't just that he took their supplies and left them. He purposely smashed the wardstone, knowing they would be overrun without the wards.
"How did this much damage happen?" Draco interjected as he continued casting more spells, summoning the dittany and essence of murtlap. Once both were in his hands, he nudged Harry out of the way and started applying both, not caring about the itching after.
Angelina had lost so much blood that there was little chance she would survive. Even as he poured a blood-replenishment down her throat, he knew it was probably useless but he couldn't do nothing. He had to try. And even if her blood supply came back up and the wound closed properly, if this was walker inflicted, she wasn't walking away either way.
"One of those inferi things." Alicia said and a wave of grief ran through the room. They knew. They all knew now, not just Draco.
Harry looked up to meet the blonde's eyes and he shook his head subtly. Harry closed his eyes in pain.
"One bit her and I killed it. Shoved it off her but it's mouth was still clamped on her skin and it… it took it with it." Katie said with a sob. "I didn't mean to! I was just trying to get it off her!"
Hermione knelt down next to the sobbing girl and hugged her. "It isn't your fault, Katie." she said quietly.
Draco once again checked over the wound, which had closed mostly. But he could already feel the life leaving the girl in front of him. "There's nothing more I can do. I'm so sorry." he said quietly.
"No!" cried Alicia, leaning forward and pulling her now unconscious friend to her, holding her close as she sobbed.
"I'm so sorry. She was too badly injured. There are some things even magic can't fix. And… and she's been bitten." Draco explained quietly. "There is no surviving a bite. Even if she hadn't lost so much blood the fever would have spread over the next twenty-four hours. But she's lost too much for a blood replenisher to work and with the fever that's already setting in, she's not strong enough to make it more than a couple more hours."
"What can we do?" Katie cried from within Hermione's arms.
"Nothing." Draco said sadly, shaking his head. "She… she won't regain consciousness before she goes. She's too far gone." He looked at Harry for how best to explain the next part.
"She's in pain." Harry said softly, his own pain and grief written on his face clear for all to see. "And it won't stop until she dies and then she'll turn into one of them."
"We can't let that happen." snarled Alicia. "We… we can't let her turn. Can't… let her be one of those. Even for a second."
"I'll take care of it." Harry rasped out with a nod.
"No, Harry. I will." Bill said, shaking his head. "You knew her. Were friends with her. This shouldn't be you. It shouldn't be one more thing on your shoulders. I'll take care of her and make sure she doesn't turn."
Harry wanted to protest that he had to do this. Had to be strong for them but seeing the look in Bill's face that he wasn't backing down and knowing that he really wasn't sure he had it in him to do this at this moment he nodded.
"Okay." Harry agreed. "Then we burn her and mourn her properly." Harry finished.
Bill stepped forward and gently moved George from his spot at Angelina's head to take his place, the younger simply scooting closer to Alicia.
"We need to do it now, while she's unconscious before she suffers anymore." Fred said thickly through tears. This got nods all around though no one said anything.
Bill pulled the hunting knife from the sheath strapped to his thigh and took a deep breath. "Don't watch." He said softly. Luna moved forward and pulled Alicia into her arms as she sobbed, Hermione pulling Katie's face into her shoulder to hide the scene from her. Fred moved from Angelina's feet to pull George into his arms and pull his gaze away so he didn't see anything.
Draco cast a quick spell and Katie relaxed completely, unresponsive. She was in a magically induced coma, one intended to be a healing coma similar to a stasis charm, she wouldn't wake up and wouldn't feel a thing.
The eldest Weasley nodded his thanks when Draco indicated for him to proceed. He positioned his knife at the soft part of the skull just behind Angelina's ear and pushed as quickly and as gently as possible, severing the brain stem instantly. He was careful as he pulled the knife out and handed it behind him to whoever was closest, Blaise, to take and clean.
"It's done." He whispered. Harry and Draco had not looked away. They had given the former chaser the respect they could and bore witness to her last second of life.
"Seamus, can you build the pyre. Viktor, help him. Fred, take care of George and get him back on his feet. Hermione, Luna, take the girls and get them cleaned up and in new clothes. Fleur, find something nice for Angelina. Draco and I will clean her up and get her ready. Neville, flowers for her please. The rest of you, help with the pyre." Harry called out the orders softly, just loud enough to be heard over Katie and Alicia sobbing.
Everyone gave their ascent and headed about their tasks as Harry and Draco began the first of the many funeral preparations to come. "I'll kill that rat bastard if he shows up here." Harry said through gritted teeth as he levitated Angelina into the main bathroom off the den to clean her up. One was gay, the other a trained healer, neither was concerned with the propriety or gender norms of removing clothing and bathing her in that moment. All either was focused on was the task and making sure it was carried out with the care and respect that she deserved.
Once Angelina had been carefully cleaned and redressed in a pretty red silk dress Fleur had brought into the bathroom, they carefully tied a matching scarf around her head to hide the knife wound, which had been bandaged. She looked peaceful, like she was just sleeping.
Harry sent Draco out to check the progress of the pyre and once the blonde returned to say it was ready, he carefully levitated his former teammate and moved her out of the bathroom and out of the tent. The pyre had been set up a short distance away in a clearing just a couple of moments walk into the trees.
Angelina was gently, reverently, placed onto the pyre, Fleur stepping forward to check the scarf and make sure neither Ktie or Alicia saw the wound. Neville and Luna were next to step forward. Luna tucking a small bouquet into the still girl's hands. Neville carefully draped a garland of flowers around the top edge of the pyre surrounding her. Sprigs of aloe for grief, angelica for inspiration, arborvitae for unchanging friendship. Black-eye susan for justice to say that they would get justice for her. Pink camellias that signified their longing for her. Pink carnation to say they would never forget her. Red chrysanthemums to say they love her. Edelweiss for her courage and the devotion she always showed to anything she set her mind to. Ferns and gladiolas for her humility and their remembrance of her respectively. Marigold for their despair at losing her. Willow for their sadness and yarrow for their everlasting love of her.
As Neville stepped back, Hermione and Luna entered the clearing supporting a physically, mentally, and emotionally drained Alicia and Katie. They both carried dark crimson roses, a sign of mourning. Both former chasers stepped up to the pyre and carefully laid their own additions, gathered for them by Luna while they showered, on top of Angelina, one on her legs, one on her lower stomach.
Backing away, the girls allowed themselves to be supported completely. Hermione and Percy holding up Katie. Luna and Dean holding up Alicia. The twins stood nearby, George leaning heavily on Fred.
Surprisingly, it was Seamus that started humming lowly, a tune that everyone recognized from several funerals following the FInal Battle. The Irishman began to sing, and slowly others began to join in until all seventeen of them were singing, even little Victore who was leaning against her mother.
Of all the money that e'er I had
I spent it in good company
And all the harm I've ever done
Alas, it was to none but me
And all I've done for want of wit
To memory now I can't recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be to you all
So fill to me the parting glass
And drink a health whate'er befalls
Then gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
Of all the comrades that e'er I had
They're sorry for my going away
And all the sweethearts that e'er I had
They'd wish me one more day to stay
But since it fell into my lot
That I should rise and you should not
I'll gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
Fill to me the parting glass
And drink a health whate'er befalls
Then gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
La ra la ra la la
La lala lala la la
La ra lala la la
La la la lala la la
But since it fell into my lot
That I should rise and you should not
I'll gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
So fill to me the parting glass
And drink a health whate'er befalls
Then gently rise and softly call
Good night and joy be to you all
Good night and joy be to you all
As the last notes tapered off into silence, Harry flicked his wand and fire sprung up around the base of the pyre. It was quick to completely engulf the wood, flowers and Angelina. They all watched, standing vigil as their friend burned until nothing was left but a pile of ashes on the ground. With another wave of his wand, Harry lifted the ashes into the air in what looked almost like a small whirlwind. As the breeze and ashes swirled, the particles condensed rapidly until all of the ashes had rejoined into something new.
Hovering there in front of them, where the pyre holding their friend once stood, was a beautiful crystal lotus flower with hints of red and gold running throughout it.
"We place this on the mantel in the den." Harry said quietly, stepping forward and gently plucking it out of the air. Tapping it lightly, he cast an impervious charm on it, along with several others to protect it from any damage. "We keep her with us and remember her always. And each of us that passes will become the same." he trailed off, looking down at the flower.
"Thank you Harry." came the whispered voice of Katie. She was thankful for what he'd done, making Angelina's ashes into something beautiful they could keep as a memento to her instead of scattering them to the wind.
He gave her a nod and slowly they all began to make their way back to the tent. Once settled around the dining room table, once again, needing chairs conjured, they passed around bottles of butterbeer and firewhiskey.
"Before we settle into a traditional wake and all get plastered," Harry called out, getting everyone's attention. "Alicia, Katie, There are two rooms left in this tent if you'd like them, or we have another couple of magical tents with several rooms. We're trying to keep to as few tents as possible. The other tent is the official Weasley tent. Would you like to take the two rooms here permanently, go ahead and start a new tent now, or wait and see if and when we get others from home and move into another then possibly?"
"We only ask now instead of letting you sleep on it because we're expecting muggles in the area tomorrow and need to get sorted either way tonight." Luna explained.
"There's also the RV you could sleep in, it's very comfortable." Offered Harry. "And if you want to share a room, that's fine too, whatever you want."
"I don't know about Alicia but I'd prefer one of the rooms in here with you. I… I don't want to sleep without others around any time soon." Katie said with a shudder.
"I agree." Alicia said, learning against Katie's shoulder. "In here will be fine. If and when we get others we can shuffle around if needs be but I would feel safer with more people closer at hand."
"Alright, that'll be fine. You two will be in the last two rooms in our hall, the one on the right. Last two doors on either side. You two can decide who gets which, they're basically identical." Harry said with a nod.
After that the night dissolved into a true celebration of their lost friend. They took turns telling stories about Angelina, laughing over her antics and mourning her. It was at around two in the morning when everyone finally dragged themselves into bed.
They hadn't expected to have their first death go hand in hand with any of their people from home arriving. Even Luna hadn't seen that coming. They were all drained and in varying levels of grief. They truly hoped that the next arrival, if one ever came, wouldn't be as heartbreaking.
And several of their number were of two minds on one of the portkeys. Hoping Lee never showed his face but at the same time hoping that he did so they could put him down. And Lee would get no crystal lotus for his cowardice. His ashes would be spread to the wind and forgotten.