A/N: Longer chapter than the others, simply because I'm trying to get this intro finished so I can show my real plans for this story…
The men returned to Salon-de-Provence late in the evening and were greeted by a quiet but still quite aggrieved Molly Weasley, who had moved to one of the parlors and was accompanied by Augusta Longbottom and Hermione.
Molly cut straight to the point with a soft but cold voice, "You came back without him?"
"Mum, please, just listen to what we've learned first," Ron said in as soothing a tone as he could muster.
Molly sat back with arms folded and replied in a steely voice, "I'm listening."
Arthur relayed his conversation verbatim, excluding only the verbal jousting by his sons upon initially entering Kingsley's office. "So you see, Molly? Harry doesn't want to be found. He apparently has it stuck in his head that he's the cause of everyone's pain and suffering. Kingsley suggests that we all write our best letters to him, pleading to him to come join us. If anyone can get him to come back, it's us. Kingsley said he would forward them to Harry with his next batch of secured correspondence."
"Mr. Weasley, you said the portkey landed somewhere near Godric's Hollow, but the Ministry couldn't identify where precisely?"
"That's right, Hermione"
"And he definitely wasn't at his parent's house?"
"According to Kingsley, no, he wasn't."
"So, assuming he went to Godric's Hollow, but didn't go to his parent's house, where else might he have gone to? Who else lives, or lived, there that we know of?" Hermione asked not just to Arthur but to the room in general.
"Well, we know Bathilda Bagshot lives, er, lived there, and the Dumbledores lived there." Ron mentioned contemplatively.
"That snitch guy! You know, the guy who invented it…" Charlie threw out, trying to jog his memory, "Bow-something…"
"Bowman Wright!" George exclaimed.
"That's the guy. Maybe some descendent of his?"
"Godric Gryffindor? And… and… that Ignotus Peverell chap," Ron threw out.
"Ron, those guys died over a thousand years ago. I'm sure that whatever houses they owned would have fallen down by now." George said.
"Maybe not, George. Hogwarts is still standing and Godric Gryffindor helped build it," Percy said.
"Don't the Abbott's have some relatives there?" asked Neville.
"I believe so," replied Augusta. The room became silent with everyone deep in thought.
Finally, Hermione eliminated several possibilities. "Ignotus Peverell was Harry's ancestor, and he also lived hundreds of years ago, like Gryffindor. While I agree with Ron that it's possible that Gryffindor's home could have survived this long, I also agree with George that it's unlikely his home is still there; the same with the Peverell home. Also, while Bowman Wright's descendants may still live in Godric's Hollow, I don't see how Harry could have ever made a connection to any of them. And, while Harry knows Hannah Abbott, it's unlikely he would ever turn to them for shelter. I don't think he would want to run the risk of anyone in the wizarding world finding out where he is.
"That leaves the Bagshot house and Dumbledore's old home. Bagshot's house was nearly destroyed as badly as Harry's parent's home was when we were attacked by Nagini, so I think we could eliminate that place from contention as well."
"So if Harry is in Godric's Hollow, he'd probably be staying in Dumbledore's old house? Does he even know where it is?" asked Charlie.
"Yes and I don't know," answered Hermione, "It's possible he could have discovered its location from someone who knew where Dumbledore lived in his youth."
"Aberforth, perhaps, or Elphias Doge?" Arthur supplied.
"Perhaps, but if he did find out from either Aberforth or Mr. Doge, he didn't do it when we were around," Ron noted.
"But we could ask them, and we could also ask them if they knew of any other abandoned wizard properties in the area," Charlie said.
"Agreed", said Arthur, "but first, let's put our best efforts in writing to Harry."
Each of the Weasleys, as well as Hermione, Neville, and Luna, spent the following day drafting letters to Harry. In addition, Mr. Weasley wrote letters to Aberforth and Elphias, explaining Harry's disappearance and the unusual portkey to the Godric's Hollow area, and asking for information about the Dumbledore home and any other old wizarding properties in the area.
The following day, Arthur took the Weasley letters to the Ministry and Kingsley added them to a parcel of correspondence he'd planned to send to Harry. That evening, upon his return to Salon-de-Provence, Arthur had two letters waiting for him. Everyone was anxious to read the letters, believing they may have been from Aberforth and Elphias – Ron and Hermione had already confirmed that the handwriting wasn't Harry's – but Arthur decided to wait until everyone was gathered around the dining room table before reading them.
Once everyone was fed and watered, Arthur opened the first of the letters. "Ah, this one's from Elphias!" He began to read aloud,
Dearest Arthur,
It was wonderful to hear from you! I'm sorry to hear about Mr. Potter. He must have had a terrible time of it – the war, I mean. What a brave soul – I'm sure Albus is smiling down upon him!
Speaking of Albus, I last happened to be in Godric's Hollow about a year ago, shortly after he passed on. My! Has it been that long already? Anyhow, I did happen to stop by the old Dumbledore home, just to reminisce, mind you. It's still there, but it's in terrible disrepair. I don't think anyone's lived there since Aberforth left to open his pub in Hogsmeade. I've enclosed directions to the place. Oh, and no, I never informed Harry of the location of Albus' childhood home other than to say he once lived in Godric's Hollow.
On that same day I also stopped by the Potter's old home. That too looked in disrepair, with the additional challenge of missing half of its roof from the night You-Know-Who visited them. Unless it's been restored recently, I don't see how someone could stay in that place for very long.
I really don't know much of other wizarding properties in the area. As you know, I never lived there myself. I'm from Derbyshire.
Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Perhaps Aberforth could give you more information.
All My Best to You and Yours,
Elphias
"That doesn't really give us much to go on, does it?" Hermione noted.
"Other than directions to the Dumbledore property, no," replied Arthur, "but I'm guessing that this one is from Aberforth. Here's hoping he has more information.
Hello Arthur,
I hope you and your family are keeping well! Can't say I'm surprised about Potter taking off. Shacklebolt told me about what happened the morning after the war and about that auror getting killed. It probably freaked him out more than a little bit.
I haven't been back to the Godric's Hollow house for many years. Feel free to check it out. Enclosed are directions. There are no wards around it other than some anti-muggle charms, so you shouldn't have any trouble getting into the place, which brings me to this tip: if there are stronger wards around the house, then there's a good chance someone's there. However, it also brings me to this warning: with so many Death Eaters still running around, if wards are up, it could just as likely be one of them hiding out as it is to be Potter. So keep your guard up!
With regard to Potter's family, you may or may not recall that Lily and James didn't return to Godric's Hollow until they went into hiding from Voldemort. Before that, they lived in a townhouse in London. Enclosed are directions to both of their homes as well. My bet would be on the London townhouse – easy for Potter to slip in with the muggles if need be. One more thing about the Potter family, and I don't know whether this will help, but his grandparents lived somewhere in the West Country as well. I think they were in the general area of Godric's Hollow, but I'm not certain and I don't know where. I had no Potter contemporaries growing up, so I was never very close to the family other than knowing James and Lily through the Order.
As far as other wizarding properties in the area, most are either gone now or are uninhabitable. There's still a branch of the Abbott family in the area. Maybe you could contact that Abbott girl from the DA to see if her relatives would be willing to keep an eye out for him.
Good luck with the search and keep in touch.
Aberforth
"And that one doesn't really give us a whole lot more to go on either, does it?" Ron said.
"It does give us a little more. Aside from the caution about the Dumbledore house, we do know that the Potters had a townhouse in London. Aberforth made a good point about Harry being able to hide amongst the muggles in London, so he could very well be there. We also know that his grandparents lived somewhere near Godric's Hollow," said Bill.
"But that's a little too vague, don't you think?" said Ron.
"Maybe not," said Hermione. "I think we can safely eliminate his grandparents' home from being in Godric's Hollow proper. If they lived in the town, which isn't very large, Harry and I were there last Christmas Eve, then I would think that Aberforth would have at least known where they lived, even though he might not have known them personally. So that just leave's the surrounding area."
"Sure," said Percy, "only, if we assume that they lived within ten kilometres of Godric's Hollow that would still mean a search area of…"
"Over three hundred and fourteen square kilometres," sighed Hermione dejectedly.
"So, what's Plan B?" asked Ron
Harry received his second parcel from Kingsley, a much larger parcel than the first. Opening his post Harry found an update regarding the goings-on about the Ministry and the hunt for the remaining Death Eaters. Also enclosed were a copy of the Daily Prophet, several letters, and one small box. Harry scanned through the newspaper and the Ministry update, not really caring about what they contained. The Prophet, of course, had a large picture of him splashed on the cover with the headline 'Potter Still Missing – Presumed Dead?'. Underneath that article was a smaller picture of a crying Ginny holding a little bundle. From Harry's fuzzy, alcohol-soaked memory, it appeared to have been taken at Fred's funeral. Above the second picture was the smaller headline, 'Potter – Weasley Secret Love Child?'
Harry moaned and threw the newspaper into the study's hearth, causing the fire within to flare. Turning to the pile of enclosed letters, he opened the first. It was from Mrs. Weasley.
Dearest Harry,
I know you said you wanted to be left alone, but I really want you to please reconsider. We all miss you terribly – especially Ginny…
Harry didn't bother reading the rest of the letter. He threw it in the fireplace where it shriveled to ashes almost immediately. He now knew what the rest of the letters were going to say. They were pleas for his return – why couldn't they just accept the fact that they are better off without him in their lives?
After taking a deep swig from his friend, Firewhiskey, he opened the second letter. It was from Ron.
Harry,
Why are you running from us, mate? I don't understand…
The fire in the hearth flared again. The third letter he opened was from Hermione,
Dear Harry,
Please, Please, PLEASE come back …
He threw the rest of the letters in the fire without reading them. He opened the little box and found a fortune cookie inside. After cracking the cookie in half and popping a piece inside his mouth, Harry extracted the piece of parchment within. It held very small writing.
Harry!
Come save me! I'm held captive inside a fortune cookie factory!
George
Harry loved it! In his inebriated state, he thought that this little letter was the funniest he had ever read. It was the only letter he bothered to save and he read it repeatedly, laughing maniacally each time, until his friend rendered him unconscious once more.
Six weeks went by without a word from Harry. Numerous rounds of letters were sent to him via Kingsley, but no response was received. Kingsley arrived one evening for dinner at Salon-de-Provence to personally and repeatedly reassure the family that Harry was alive and was in fact receiving their letters. He had to be, reasoned the Minister, because Entusiasta always came back without her post.
Through his discussions with Vidagore, Director General of Gringotts Bank, Kingsley also confirmed that the safe-houses were arranged by Harry through the Goblins, grudgingly, of course. Vidagore had acknowledged that a Gringotts Bank customer allowed the use of the homes and that the customer was a supporter of the resistance. However, the terms of their use forbade the Goblins from disclosing the identity of the customer, and considering how valuable the customer was to the bank, it seemed nothing short of another Goblin war would jar the identity from them.
Ginny fell deeper into her depression, feeling completely rejected by the man she loved for as long as she remembered. Arthur had kept Kingsley informed of the information provided by Aberforth Dumbledore and Elphias Doge, and Kingsley in turn sent aurors to the Dumbledore home, James and Lily's former home in London, and, for good measure, James and Lily's former home in Godric's Hollow a second time. However, all leads turned up empty. With what little additional time availed, the aurors were also conducting a systematic sweep of the area around Godric's Hollow in search of the anecdotal home of Harry's grandparents. They had no better luck with the sweeps.
However, Kingsley reported that the leads provided by Aberforth and Elphias were not completely useless. Two aurors periodically stayed behind in the old Dumbledore home to assist the Abbott relatives in keeping an eye out for Harry, and they were fortunate enough to have a couple of Death Eaters stumble into their grasp. Apparently, Aberforth's idea that some Death Eater would be stupid enough to think that no one would dare suspect them of hiding out in Albus Dumbledore's old home proved true.
The Weasleys had also spent much of the prior six weeks identifying other places to search. The list was lengthy: the Shrieking Shack, the cave in the mountain near Hogsmeade where Sirius, Hagrid, and Gwarp had once hid; the cave where Riddle hid the Horcrux; the old Riddle Manor in Little Hangleton; the shack where the Gaunts lived near Little Hangleton; the Chamber of Secrets in Hogwarts; the Forbidden Forest; Privet Drive and the Little Whinging area; and the Forest of Dean and other locations where Harry, Ron, and Hermione stayed during the Horcrux hunt. Even Spinners End and its surrounds, where Severus Snape and Lilly Potter grew up, were considered, even though Harry had never been there before.
Every location the family and friends could conceive was passed on to Kingsley, who sent a pair of aurors to investigate. Every investigation produced no sign of Harry.
Wherever possible, someone was assigned to keep a lookout on the site. As resources were thin, non-Ministry personnel were often employed: the Abbot relatives in Godric's Hollow; Mrs. Figg around Privet Drive and Little Whinging; the Hogwarts professors around Hogwarts; and Hagrid and the centaurs around Hogsmeade and the Forbidden Forest. For those locations that could not be assigned lookouts, intermittent sweeps by aurors or members of the DA and the Order were undertaken in the hope of finding Harry.
A hot mid-July day greeted the Weasleys at Salon-de-Provence and Charlie was finally able to convince Ginny to take to the air for a game of quidditch with her brothers. The flying would do her good, they thought, and it did seem to help. Ginny's sour doleful mood seemed to have been forgotten as she played two-a-side with Ron as the keeper.
Hermione, Fleur, Molly, and Andromeda, who had just put Teddy down for a nap, sat on the veranda discussing tentative plans for rebuilding the Burrow and the Lupin home. Arthur had reported that the capture of missing Death Eaters was moving along surprisingly well and optimism began to form at the possibility of rebuilding their shattered lives appeared to be within reach.
The heat was beginning to get to Fleur, "I would like a drink!"
"Agreed!" said Hermione and Molly together.
"Forcedyme!" Fleur called. The house elf appeared at once.
"Forcedyme, could you bring uz zome citronade?"
"Mais oui, Maitresse Fleur!" Forcedyme disappeared and reappeared moments later with a tall pitcher of ice-cold lemonade and three glasses. The elf filled each glass, handed one to each of the witches, and disappeared with a 'pop'.
"Oh, it's so nice to have a house elf for a change!" Molly said. Hermione just glared into the distance. "Sorry dear! I know how you feel about house elves, but it is nice not to have to take care of everyone all of the time."
"Umm, no, Molly, that's not it." replied Hermione. She looked deep in thought, with the look she would usually get at Hogwarts before running to the library. She turned toward Fleur and said, "You and Forcedyme spoke French?"
"Oui, what ess eet, Ermione? What'z ze matter?"
Hermione ignored Fleur's question. Several moments later a loud and painful sounding 'Slap!' resounded from Hermione's forehead. "How stupid am I?" Hermione screeched.
"What?" replied Fleur and Molly in unison.
"Kreacher! Your parents, Fleur!"
"What about my parentz?"
"And what do they have to do with Kreacher?" asked Andromeda.
"Oh, no! Sorry! Two trains of thought leaving the platform at the same time. Fleur, your parents have connections within the French Ministry, right?"
"Oui, ze ave many connexionz!"
"And this place, this villa? We're in France, right?"
"Yes… ov courze! Zay may be able to dizcover ou ownz zis place!"
"Exactly! And Kreacher! We never bothered to check with Kreacher to see if he's been in contact with Harry. He's Harry's elf! I would think he'd be able to find him. Kreacher found Mundungus Fletcher when we needed him."
The quidditch game had apparently stopped as Ron's voice called from a short distance above them. The brothers and Ginny were hovering above them.
"Wazzgoinon, Mione?"
Hermione held up her hand to Ron as she called, "Kreacher? Kreacher!"
A few moments later a 'pop' was heard nearby as Kreacher appeared, bowing low. "Mistress Granger, Kreacher is most pleased to see you. And the Weasley family as well! How may Kreacher be of service?" Most were stunned by the elf's pleasantries as only Ron and Hermione had the pleasure of experiencing the new and greatly improved Kreacher.
"Umm, Kreacher, have you heard from Harry lately?"
"No, Kreacher has been at Hogwarts since the battle, as Master Harry had requested so, so long ago." Kreacher replied, sounding distinctly disappointed.
"Well, we are all concerned about Harry as well. No one has seen or heard from him since the battle. We're afraid he may be hurt in some way. Do you think you could find him and make sure he's alright?"
"And if possible, bring him here to us?" added Molly.
"Kreacher will surely do what he can." Kreacher left with a 'pop'.
"That was a brilliant idea, Hermione!" exclaimed George.
"And Fleur is going have her parents check with the French Ministry to see if they can't find out who owns this land."
"That too is brilliant, Hermione!" exclaimed Bill. Turning to Fleur, he asked, "Why didn't we think of that?"
Fleur just shrugged her shoulders and smiled at her husband.
Bill felt a tug at his elbow. He turned to find Charlie beckoning him to a far corner of the veranda. Charlie did not look happy. When the two were out of earshot, Charlie turned on Bill.
"You seem exceptionally helpful with the search," Charlie hissed sarcastically.
Bill put a hand up to Charlie. "What I do I do for Mum and Ginny, not for the Git! Once he's found, if he's found, he will still be having an 'uncomfortable' discussion with me!"
"And me! Don't think I don't have a few choice words for him myself."
"Charlie, far be it from me to prevent you from stating your peace."
"This apperating all the way to the Ministry and back is getting to be exhausting," sighed Mr. Weasley, "I'll be glad once the Burrow is rebuilt." Arthur arrived shortly before sunset and settled into his dinner while everyone else tucked into dessert. "And I have a gift for you three," he said, nodding to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, "and Neville and Luna as well. Hogwarts letters!"
Hermione and Ron looked at Mr. Weasley with questioning looks. "We can go back?" Hermione asked.
"Of course, you're going back," stated Mrs. Weasley flatly, as if the matter were never in question.
Mr. Weasley nodded to the letters each of them now held in his or her hand and said, "Actually, I think Minerva McGonagall is especially hoping you and Ron will return! I think she has a special favour to ask of you."
Opening her letter first, Ginny found her Quidditch Captain's badge and a letter from new Headmistress McGonagall informing her of the departure of the Hogwarts Express on the First of September. Ron was a bit chuffed that Ginny received the Quidditch Captain's badge until he opened his own letter.
"Head Boy? Ronniekins, didn't you learn anything from Fred and me?" exclaimed George. "Ugh! This is going to be the death of me!"
Hermione also received a badge, Head Girl, and her letter was substantially the same as Ron's.
"This is going to be a busy year for us, Ronald!"
"Why's that?"
"Didn't you read your letter? No! You're too busy playing with your badge! Professor McGonagall is asking us to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts this year as well."
"How can we be Head Boy and Girl, and take classes, and study for Newts, and play quidditch, and teach at the same time?" Ron whined.
"What makes you think you're going to make the team, Ron?" asked Ginny audaciously. The gathering was happily surprised by the comment. It was the first genuine cheek Ginny had made since before the war, a sign that her old self was hopefully returning. However, Ron was a bit put out by the comment.
Seeing his reaction, she quickly added, "I'm not saying you're not on the team, but there could be someone out there who's better. As captain, I have to take that into account. Plus, I need someone who has the time to dedicate to the team. You'll apparently be far too busy!" She finished with a wink to Hermione.
"On an unrelated front," Arthur announced, "I've also received word from Kingsley that it now appears safe to start rebuilding the Burrow and the Lovegood and Longbottom homes. Your mother and I have decided to retain much of the original design, but with some improvements and expansions. Thank Merlin for 'The Benefactor' or we'd be knutless for the rest of our lives trying to reconstruct it. Hopefully, we will be back and settled in time for Ginny's birthday. Charlie, after dinner, could you go over to Castellabate to drop off the letters and inform them that it is safe to begin rebuilding?"
"Consider it done," Charlie replied with a nod.
One week later, the clans from Salon-de-Provence, minus Ron and Hemione, who had left to locate her parents in Australia, were gathered on the veranda at Castellabate for Neville's eighteenth birthday celebration. Everyone seemed overjoyed, not only because Neville's birthday provided the families with a reason to celebrate, or because they were doing so in a picturesque setting overlooking olive trees and the Mediterranean Sea, but also because their true homes in Britain were being rebuilt and should be completed within a week. Only one of their number did not seem to share in the enthusiasm. Ginny's decidedly more lighthearted mood of the last week evaporated on this day.
"Hey Ginny, you alright?" asked Neville as he approached her. He had noticed Ginny standing alone on the far side of the veranda. She gazed over the azure sea without really taking in the view. Her attention was obviously elsewhere and her thoughts were not happy ones.
Distractedly, Ginny replied, "Hey Neville, Happy Birthday."
"Thanks Ginny. Er, it might not be any of my business, but what's wrong?"
"I'm sorry. It's just… It's… well, it's just that it's also…" Ginny couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Harry's birthday?" Neville asked, realizing the problem that none of the others seemed to notice.
"I sent him a birthday card. Not through Kingsley, just on my own, through Pigwidgeon. I didn't want him to think I forgot…"
Neville put a comforting arm around her, "I'm sure he'll get it and I'm sure he'll love it. Don't you worry, Ginny. You know Harry. He's just the brooding type. He needs to work things out on his own for awhile. He'll be back before you know it."
"I hope so, Neville, but I'm beginning to have serious doubts about him." With that, Ginny rested her head on Neville's shoulder as he steered her back to the party.
The first week of August saw the families packing the few belongings they had and returning to their newly constructed homes via portkeys. The use of portkeys in the design of the New Burrow and the Longbottom, Lovegood, and Lupin homes was Bill's idea. He was impressed by the strength of the wards encompassing Salon-de-Provence and Castellabate and insisted that the families adopt similar security measures.
Molly resolved that the New Burrow maintain much of its quirky design and style. She believed that it would help the family readjust to the surroundings. Of course, the rooms were more spacious, the furniture was updated, and all manner of house wares were replaced. Even a new version of the special Weasley Family clock, which told not the time but the whereabouts of each member of the family, was acquired at great difficulty from the German manufacturers of the original and hung prominently in the kitchen. In short, the New Burrow was the Old Burrow, only bigger. Even the outbuildings were reconstructed and new chickens were acquired, although much to Arthur's dismay he would have to start his collection of muggle artifacts from scratch.
The following Tuesday was Ginny's seventeenth birthday. The Weasleys had invited all of their fellow refugees from the safe houses as well as most of Dumbledore's Army. Tables were aligned in the side garden for the guests, many of whom arrived by early afternoon to spend as much time as they could with their friends. As a vast majority of the crowd hadn't seen each other since the funerals, their lively conversation centered on their activities during the quickly fading summer.
Ron waited impatiently on the front porch for Hermione to arrive from her parents' home, and upon her arrival they drew into a prolonged snog before jeers, catcalls, and wolf-whistles from side garden interrupted their session. Once the couple joined the crowd, they dominated the discussion with regaling stories of their trip to Australia and the return of Hermione's parents; while the Grangers claimed to understand Hermione's rationale, they were nonetheless quite put out by her use of memory charms on them. Hermione and a disappointed Ron agreed that she should spend the rest of the summer at their home to mend her relationship with them, her best friend's birthday party withstanding.
It was not long after Hermione's arrival that Bill and Fleur appeared on the front porch and entered the Burrow rather than joining the crowd gathered outside. Several noticed their arrival and returned to their conversations. However, their renewed discussions were short-lived. Talk was replaced with susurrus and curious looks at the window of the Burrow's kitchen as squeals and cheers erupted from the few family members and visitors gathered inside. Moments later, Molly burst forth from the New Burrow.
"I'M GOING TO BE A GRANDMOTHER!" Molly shouted to the world.
The afternoon took on a fevered pitch of celebration. Butterbeer and firewhiskey flowed freely, folks danced spontaneously, and George and Lee Jordan shot off a beautiful display of Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs that George and Angelina managed to scrounge up some the basement of his still-defunct shop.
Eventually, the party engorged themselves with another of Molly's famously delicious meals, followed by a rousing chorus of 'Happy Birthday', consumption of cake, and the presentation and opening of Ginny's gifts.
Celebrating resumed thereafter, albeit in a far more subdued manner. The long afternoon and evening of partying was beginning to take its toll. Fleur took this opportunity to make her second announcement. She had heard from her parents about the ownership of the Salon-de-Provence property.
After considerable research, the best information the French Ministry of Magic could develop was that the Salon-de-Provence villa was owned by descendants of an ancient French wizarding family whose surname several centuries ago was 'Gryphondun'. Roughly translated, the surname meant 'the fortress of Gryphon'. However, the French Ministry's records long ago lost track of the family lineage. The Ministry believed that the property ceased to be used as a permanent residence several centuries prior when the family moved out of the country.
"What are the chances that Gryffindor was a relative of the Gryphondun family and that his name somehow became muddled in the translation?" asked Percy to no one in particular.
"I don't recall seeing the 'Gryphondun' family name in any of the wizarding genealogy books I've read," noted Hermione.
"It could be that the name simply died out so long ago that it would never have been included in any of the books," Bill replied.
"Or, eet could be zat zee books are incomplete. I'm zure zee Ministry haz more extenzeeve recordz zan would be found in zee books," concluded Fleur.
Discussion continued to center around the Delacor's curious discovery as guests began drifting off for home. Those remaining gathered around the long table in the side garden of the Burrow where the butterbeer and firewhiskey continued to flow. It was late in the evening when the discussion was interrupted by a loud 'crack' emanating on the front porch. Everyone craned their necks to see who would be arriving at the late hour.
"Kreacher!" Hermione called. "We're over here!" The old house elf disapperated and reappeared next to Hermione. He looked anxious and fearful.
"Kreacher, did you find Harry?"
"Kreacher cannot say," said the elf as he rocked back and forth with his arms wrapped around his torso.
"Well, did you or not?" Hermione demanded.
"Kreacher cannot say," repeated the elf.
"Kreacher, did Harry tell you not to tell us where he is?" asked Ron.
"Kreacher cannot say," repeated the elf, becoming more agitated.
"Kreacher, listen to my next question very carefully, okay?" Ron asked gently. "Did Harry tell you that you were not allowed to tell us how he is?" asked Ron.
"Kreacher cannot…er, yes, Kreacher can say."
After a long exasperating minute of silence Ron asked, "Well, how is he?"
Kreacher began rocking, even more so this time, and gripping himself even tighter. His already large elfin eyes were positively bulging from his head as he stared into the distance and hissed his response. "Master Harry is not well. No, no, no. Not well at all! Terrible nightmares he has! No sleep he gets! Drinks too much firewhiskey! And dangerous! Very Dangerous! Master Harry is powerful! Scary Powerful Magic! All are Terribly Frightened!"
With that, the old elf ran across the garden at top speed and slammed headlong into a large nearby oak tree. "Kreacher has said too much!" he wobbly announced, and with that he apperated away, followed by Ginny launching herself away from the table and her guests and into the Burrow and her room.
Glaring at Ginny's back as she retreated, Bill furiously slammed his fist on the table. "That's just friggin' great! If I ever see the Git again, I'm gonna hex him within an inch of his life!"