*Ginny*

I woke up the morning after the third task to a gentle stroke across the side of my neck. I barely opened my eyes as I processed the feeling. I was met with two emerald eyes starting back.

"Harry, you're awake!" Before he could respond, I rolled over and was pressing against him while covering him with light kisses. I was almost embarrassed to feel a few tears escape my eyes.

All I got in response was an "Oof!"

"Sorry. Little sore?"

"Yes. But worth every bit of it to wake up with you next to me."

I sat up and tossed my pillow at him. "Still cheeky. I could get used to this… but we better get up before someone barges in."

I stood up. Harry tried following, but he stumbled for a minute. I gave him a hand to help steady himself for a moment. "Ok, Gin, dear, I'm ok. I need to get washed up. I'll be in the kitchen in a few."

Sirius met him before he had a chance to try the stairs independently and the old dog made sure his godson wouldn't trip.

I ran into the kitchen where Mum was finishing cooking. I gave her a big hug and smiled. "He's up and he's ok."

"That's wonderful. Your father saw him move just a little late last night, so we had hope. Now how about you get dressed. Dobby brought everyone's trunks in a few hours ago. The Leaving Feast was cancelled and everyone was sent home as quickly as possible. The Hogwarts Express was scheduled to leave just about now."

"Yes, ma'am." I went to the girls' room and put on a green sundress and black leggings. It wasn't quite full-blown summer weather yet. My hair was a ghastly mess and by the time it was under control and I was back downstairs, the headmaster was there standing in the parlor. I guessed breakfast would have to wait.

Harry and Sirius were behind me just a few seconds later, my love's black hair still glistening with dampness. Dumbledore said, "I believe the time has come for a discussion."

Dad said, "I would think so."

Sirius added, "I have a place set up in the first floor, if everyone would follow me." He showed Dumbledore the way and motioned for everyone else to follow.

Harry and I went first, then Ron and Hermione. Dad and Mum and Bill were there as well as Remus, Lupin, Tonks, and another auror named Kingsley Shacklebolt. A very unique group. Minister Bones left early to calm fears she had been killed. Fred and George had insisted on checking on the Burrow and Fleur was back in France. She would be gone at least a couple nights visiting her family and packing before starting her job at Gringotts.

Sirius rounded a corner and we entered a brightly lit room with a large round table in the middle. The walls were adorned with maps of Britain, London, Hogsmeade, and a few other locations. As we all sat down he said, "Welcome to the War Room."

Before he could say anything else, Dumbledore said, "I do appreciate everyone's support, but I'm afraid that the information I have is too delicate for such a large group. If it gets into the wrong hands…"

"Albus," Sirius said, "everyone here has already risked their lives or been marked for death by Voldemort."

"Even so, if you insist on telling, I think everyone taking an unbreakable vow will be necessary, to not share what we discuss and to not give up the information if captured no matter the consequences or method."

Mum said, "We have four children here. They can't do that."

Dumbledore corrected her. "Actually, Molly, they can. Only one participant in a vow and the vow-binder must be strong enough for the magic to hold. And the age of seventeen is much more subjective than most believe except where it pertains to the Trace."

Dad said, "Harry needs to know and he is going to need his friends. Everyone will assume Hermione and my two will know everything anyway, so not telling them isn't sparing anyone from danger. Let them take it so we can begin."

Dumbledore went around the table and after a few minutes finished up with me. Luck number thirteen. "I, Ginevra Molly Weasley, hereby swear on my life and magic to not divulge the conversation we have in this room today."

Finally, Dumbledore began. "This story starts some fifteen years ago. Sybil Trelawney, while interviewing for a position at Hogwarts, gave her first real prophecy." He produced a globe and activated it. I saw the professor speaking in a voice similar to the one she used when sharing the second prophecy.

"Two children could have fulfilled the conditions of this telling. One was the boy about to be born to James and Lily Potter and the other would have been the son of Frank and Alice Longbottom." Neville… "Voldemort only heard half the prophecy, but went on with attacking the Potters. He decided to mark the half-blood as his greatest threat, all the while espousing a doctrine of blood purity. The meaning of the prophecy is quite clear. Harry is the one with the power to end him permanently."

I squeezed his hand, which was getting rather moist. Harry protested, "But I don't… I can't. I'll never be as powerful as him!"

"In some ways, my boy, you are already. The love that you have been given and freely give is a power that has saved you and others more than once already."

"Big deal! Sorry, I don't mean to say anything about how all of you feel about me, especially you, Gin, but I can't believe thinking happy thoughts is going to send magical rainbows that wipe him from the Earth."

Dad said, "Harry, it's not like that. We will all help you. But once you are strong enough, love will be the only way that you do not become a new dark lord. It will save you in the end. Prophecies are often doubled or tripled, folding in in themselves."

He slowly nodded and tried calming down with some breathing exercises Sirius had a taught him. Dumbledore continued. "There's more. Miss Weasley heard a second prophecy a year ago." He then played my memory of the event.

"I puzzled over the meaning of these anchors until I realized I had already seen one. Or what was left of one. I am confident my former student Tom Riddle split his soul with murder and used the resulting damage to store bits of his soul in items he found meaningful or valuable. He turned them into very dark, little known objects called horcruxes."

Everyone sat in silence, barely able to think about all the implications.

Tonks asked, "You already found one of these?"

"I didn't. Ginny did, almost three years ago."

"The diary," I whispered. Merlin, that meant…

"Yes Miss Weasley, you were possessed by the first horcrux, containing a portion of Voldemort's soul. It is amazing that you were so resilient, especially as a first year, to fight it so long."

I should have been devastated by the news, but part of me had known it all the time. Dumbledore said, "Horcruxes are difficult to destroy. Harry was very fortunate to have that basilisk fang."

Hermione said, "So Ginny's prophecy means there are seven horcruxes total, including one accidentally made and one made recently."

"Yes, I believe so Miss Granger."

Sirius said, "I think we have two more. Ginny found a locket belonging to old Tom and Bill found something while searching through the vault previously belonging to my cousin. Something very dark that he couldn't destroy."

My oldest brother carefully placed the locket I had found at Easter on the table. Next to it he placed an ornate cup with the stylized 'H' of Helga Hufflepuff. I could hear whispers from both the locket and the cup. "They are both calling to me."

Mum and Ron both looked terrified. Dumbledore was momentarily speechless. Then he said, "We already know that Miss Weasley has retained some memories from her experience. She must possess an imprint that the other horcruxes recognize. However, it does not seem to have any other effect on her."

Remiss said, "So that's three. We destroy all seven anchors and he's mortal?"

"Yes, I believe so. We don't know what they are. I have glimmers of suspicions that I need to investigate."

Bill said, "I can help. We need to destroy all of them quickly so Harry has a fighting chance."

Dumbledore kept glancing at Harry and then bouncing his eyes back. "Indeed. I also may have a way to more safely destroy these ones and the other three."

I can do maths in my head. "Four," I said.

"Yes, of course."

I paused and saw something in his eyes. Everything came together in one thunderclap. The occasional mood swings. The nightmares. The scar. "You know what the accidental horcrux is."

He nodded.

I could barely bring myself to say the words. "...who it is," I barely whispered and unsuccessfully fought tears.

Dumbledore sighed and then quietly said, "Harry, I didn't want to burden you… I'm afraid that the night Voldemort killed your parents and tried to kill you, he left part of himself behind. It's why you see what he sees in dreams and why you can speak to snakes. Not a proper horcrux, so the strongest magic can affect it — the three-stranded cord. The only triple set of spells from the prophecy that make sense are the Unforgivables. You experienced two of them last night. If you were hit by the killing curse from Voldemort, it would complete both of the prophecies and he would become mortal."

"But what about Harry, poor dear?" Mum asked.

I looked at the burned-out diary with a hole in the middle caused by the basilisk fang. Harry saw it too and must have thought the same thing as me. Dad stood up but before he could reach him, Harry dropped my hand and ran out of the room.

*Arthur*

"I'll go after him," I volunteered. Ginny was about to protest, but I said, "He'll need you too, but let me talk to him first."

I rushed upstairs to the boys' room only to find it empty. I checked every loo in the house and then the room he had slept in last night. I finally thought of one last place and sighed at the thought of what he was feeling. I found him huddled on the floor in the smallest cupboard in the house.

I sat in the hallway next to him and waited a few minutes for him to get the courage to speak.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I just couldn't stay… Ginny deserves better. I'll do it, make sure she has a chance at a proper life. I shouldn't be afraid. I've always been marked. I should have known it. You shouldn't have wasted your time on me."

I put my arm around him and quieted him, just sitting until he had calmed enough to listen. "Harry, you listen to me. Even if you don't make it, none of us will consider caring for you a waste. Love never is. I love you as much as if you were my son. No matter what happens, no matter what you do, that won't change.

"And this will be difficult but not impossible. Dumbledore has been known to be wrong. I can't believe the powers that sent the prophecy would condemn you without any hope. We will find a way. We. You are not alone. I think you have your hands full already. OWLs and keeping my daughter happy should be all you have to worry about."

That eventually got a slight smile out of him. "And you seem to be doing well with both of that. Just don't neglect one for the other."

He grinned and I was immensely glad to not know what was going on in his head at that moment. At least it got him out of his pity. "No, sir… I mean, yes sir."

He dried the tears from his face and I stood up. I reached out a hand and helped him up, then drew him in for a hug. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione appeared soon and joined us. "You ok, mate?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, just a lot to take in. At least I know what I have to do."

Ron said, "What we have to do. We're not going anywhere."

"How about you try to have some fun. It's the first day of summer holiday, after all. We're heading for the Burrow tomorrow. All of you. Sirius will be coming too, help keep an eye on things. I imagine the Ministry is going to be a right mess."

"Sure, Dad," Ginny said.

Hermione added, "Sirius said he had a huge library I wanted to examine!"

Ron groaned.

Harry said, "It has a chessboard if you want to have a go."

"All right."

"Ginny gets to help me though."

"Needing help from a girl? Oww!" he exclaimed as Ginny kicked him in the shins.

She added, "You're just lucky I don't use my wand." Harry and I both chuckled.

"Blimey, Harry. Worst part about you dating Ginny is that I'm outnumbered three to one."

I smiled and head back to the War Room. My wife asked, "How is Harry?"

"I think he'll be ok for now." I looked at Dumbledore, trying not to throttle him.

He got up and said, "I think I should get back to my school if we are finished.

Sirius said, "One thing more… why were you so long in showing up yesterday? Harry was left facing Voldemort on his own."

He sighed and rubbed his spectacles. "Severus had been assigned the task to keep me occupied, by poisoning if necessary. If I had shown up by immediately, his cover would have been blown. I knew Voldemort wanted to inspire fear. He was going to take his time before getting to Harry."

I interrupted. "And Viktor and Cedric?"

"They would have been killed just the same."

He was probably right, but it didn't sit well with me. "Anything else we need to know?"

"It will be in the Prophet tomorrow… Azkaban was broken into as he threatened. No Dementors in sight. I don't believe getting passed them would have been so easy, even for a few Death Eaters. I believe all the Dementors abandoned their relationship with the Ministry in favor of serving Voldemort. They would undoubtedly also have more opportunities to perform the kiss."

"And Bellatrix?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, her and her husband and his brother are among those missing. I am sure we will see their work on the front pages soon. They must not find out about the cup."

"You know how to destroy them?" I asked.

"I have a few ideas. I will see what happens and keep you informed."

A week later at work, I was eating lunch in my office. The atmosphere was very dark. And sparse. Crouch was dead of course, but Ludo was sacked as well when my earlier accusations of his gambling proved to be too true. A third of the aurors resigned once they heard Voldemort's threat, and another handful… well, I tried to not judge too rashly, but based on their families and backgrounds, I wasn't all too sure what side they were on.

Percy dropped by with a sullen face. "I'd rather you hear it from me. I've been moved to handling the post." That was a significant demotion from, well anywhere. "I guess I'm lucky to still have a job. They're right chuffed about Crouch and I'm a handy target. They also are investigating me, if I helped him get the personnel files, which I didn't."

"I'm glad for that. Keep your head down for a few months and I'll let you know if there's any openings." If there was even a ministry by then.

"Thanks," he mumbled. "Time to get busy, I guess. And here's a letter for you from Dumbledore. The rest of the crew said he only uses his phoenix for express items, so I volunteered to hand-carry it."

I opened it up carefully after Percy left. It read simply, "One done. Number two after school starts."

A few days later, the Order was meeting at Grimmauld Place in the evening. It was the first meeting since the Third Task.

Dumbledore gave a brief summary of the latest events to catch up those that weren't present for the Third Task, like Moody and a few others. He had decided to not divulge the exact contents of the prophecies or his interpretation.

"I will say the old adage that knowledge is power is still definitely in effect. Severus reports that Voldemort is trying to break through the security in the Department of Mysteries and learn the contents," he said to finish.

Moody said, "Only the subject of a prophecy is able to take the orb. So unless Harry or Voldy present themselves, it's not going anywhere."

"Even so, I think committing resources to guard the area is important. He may find a way eventually and watching for incursions into the Ministry is also valuable."

"What about my suggestion?" Sirius asked forcefully. He was straining to contain himself.

Dumbledore responded, "Attacking known or suspected Death Eater locations may only cause them to move to places we don't know of. We also must be careful we don't encourage reprisals or cause the public to turn on us. We need to be the light."

"Meanwhile Malfoy just takes his seat on the Wizengamot and opposes anything we do!"

"For now, unfortunately yes. We must remain patient." He paused briefly and then said, "Everyone, please let me know when you are able to take a shift."

Exasperated, Sirius excused himself. I signed up for Tuesday evenings. It would be easy enough to explain my working late regularly. My office had just been expanded to also regulate counterfeit and phony magical items. It sometimes seemed half the shops in Diagon Alley were involved. Meanwhile, many of the rest had closed their doors. The backlog kept getting higher and higher.

Sirius was on the roof, staring into the distance. "Don't worry," he said, "I made sure the charm applied here too. After Azkaban… seeing the sky is something I couldn't give up." He turned and looked at me. "I'd quit the Order if they weren't using my house as their bloody headquarters. All this defence… all we're doing is trying to die slower."

I sighed. "I think he is playing the long game. We need to find the other anchors and get the one out of Harry's head. And keep him alive until he's ready to face him."

"I know. Doesn't mean we shouldn't try to frustrate their plans. Dumbledore wasn't keen on my grabbing the vault but look what we found. He can try to be the light all he wants. I think we go after anyone who is enabling Voldemort."

"All right. Sounds good. If we can make them hesitate at all with their plans, it may save a few lives." I waited a moment and said, "Are you going to be staying at the Burrow still?"

He shook his head. "No, I'll stay here. I've been meaning to get into the library and see if there's anything of use. I'm not sure what Reg knew, but there may be a clue. I'll stop by every few days and check on Harry."

*Ginny*

Luna screeched as she barely stopped my Firebolt before it ploughed her into the side of a hill near my parents' house. "I can tell why you like flying so much," she said. "It's fortunate that the manufacturer was able to add a nargle-repelling charm."

"Well, they don't advertise it, but as you said, there doesn't seem to be any around my broom, so it must be working."

Hermione thankfully held her tongue. She did say, however, "I'd like to keep my feet on the ground, thank you much. I'll have enough to worry about with OWLs this year."

I scrunched my nose. "We only have a few days left of summer hols, let's not talk about school."

Luna mischievously grinned. "We could talk about boys. That's what most of my dorm mates were talking about at end of year. Especially Harry."

I shook my head. "The price I pay as his girlfriend." I was only half-joking.

Luna said, "I thought the price was all those welts on your neck."

I gasped, "Merlin, did the glamour wear off already?"

She nodded very matter-of-factly and then laughed in her otherworldly manner. Hermione couldn't help but smile. "I was debating about saying something."

"It was my birthday yesterday and I felt like… well, nevermind." I waved my wand and reapplied the charm. "Harry gave me a wonderful pair of diamond earrings that were his mum's and then before bed, he said he'd understand if we wanted to break things off after what's been happening."

The nightmares we're occurring at least weekly, not that he needed more reminders of what was in the future.

Hermione gasped. "That idiot."

"Yeah, I figured it was coming sometime but he did fight it for most of the summer at least. Anyway, I laid into him pretty hard, so he needed some reassurance."

Hermione was blushing. "Is that what they call it these days? You were awful late coming to bed."

"Oh, shut it. Nothing much happened. How about you, Luna? Anyone catch your interest?"

"Not really. Most boys are pretty stupid at this age."

Hermione wholeheartedly agreed.

"You know, you could push things along if you want."

Hermione bit her lip. "I'm not sure now's a good time. If things get worse… I'm not going to be allowed at Hogwarts if things get bad. I need to concentrate on schoolwork while I can."

She did have a point unfortunately. Muggleborns were already being threatened. A lot of prejudice was seeping through with each auror that retired or died.

I was jolted out of that thought when Luna said, "Does Harry's glamours last longer than yours?"

"Less, actually, I'm better at charms." Then I groaned. "He's been out fishing with Ron all afternoon."

Hermione actually laughed. "I'm sure Ron will say something…"

"I have no doubt," I said, smirking.

Suddenly, I heard a yell, "Ginny!"

Hermione said, "Speak of the devil."

Luna looked puzzled. "Why would we do that? Seems risky."

"Oh, it's a muggle phrase… nevermind."

The three of us hurried back to the house. Mum and the twins were in the living room, and I was surprised to see Fleur standing there. "Is everything ok?"

"Oui, except for an 'orrible bigot of a landlord." She sat down, exasperated. "He also is a beet of an idiot. Took him this long to realize who I was. But once he did, he told me he only rents flats to humans. All my things were lying outside my door, locks changed. He zaid he'd make an exception if I… well, I hexed heem good and shrunk everything into my bag and left. Beel was still at ze bank, and he said to come here. He showed me a note from Arthur so I could get in."

Harry and Ron crashed in as she finished. Harry fortunately had reapplied the charms to his neck. Hermione summed up the situation so Fleur didn't have to repeat herself. Mum shook her head and out with her hands on her hips. "I'm sorry, dear, but I'm afraid you may find the same treatment elsewhere too. Hagrid, the Magical Creatures professor at Hogwarts, just got a nasty article written about him being half-giant. He was so embarrassed, he tried to resign but Dumbledore wouldn't have it."

"Mum," I asked, "We have my old room free. Could Fleur stay with us, at least until this blows over?"

Fleur looked startled, "I couldn't impose like that, Geeny."

Mum intervened. "Nonsense! It's no problem at all. I couldn't have a young lady wandering around London homeless by herself. Especially not now." She turned to face me and said, "Ginny, dear, please show Fleur to her room."

Fleur surrendered with a smile. As I started walking upstairs, Mum added, "And Ginny, if you or Harry get any more doxy bites, we'll have to move your room. I'm sure the one next to my bedroom will be safe."

I gulped. "Yes, ma'am. I'm sure we won't have any more attacks." At least until we were back in school.

We walked up the stairs and I opened the door to my first bedroom and then led Fleur inside. "You can stay here."

"Zank you…"

"Stop right there!" Hermione yelled from the doorway. She and Luna had her wand pointed at Fleur. "Sorry, but need to be sure. Ginny, ask her something no one else would know."

I racked my brain for a minute, trying to remember anything we had said in private. The only one I could remember really wasn't one of my proudest moments to relive, but it was just the four of us here. "Week after Christmas, I was being short with you."

Fleur nodded. "You finally told me 'arry had said something insensitive, regarding you and me and a few other girls."

"Go on."

"I told you boys, even 'arry are idiots sometimes and the only reason he wasn't even more affected by me was that he was totally committed to you."

I smiled and nodded to Hermione, who put down her wand. "Again, sorry."

Fleur said, "Don't be, you need to be careful. Though polyjuice doesn't work on part-humans."

Hermione said, "I had heard that, but wasn't sure if it applied to you."

"Eet does. 'aving ze Veela charm shows it does."

"Well, that's enough excitement for now," I said. "We'll let you unpack. Supper should be a bit longer still."

She nodded and we let her be. Luna said, "As interesting as this has been, I should be getting back. It's my day to cook supper. See you at Diagon Alley tomorrow?"

"Hope so. Besides Hermione, we haven't gotten our school lists yet. Probably issues with the owls not being able to get to our house." Hermione was rather pleased with herself when a prefect's badge had been included.

Luna gave us both hugs and said, "Don't worry. You both worry too much. Too many nargles."

I smiled and we escorted her to the floo.

Half an hour later, Dad and Bill both came home from work. Bill ate with us a couple times a week or so. He immediately asked, "Did Fleur end up showing?"

"Yes, dear," Mum said. "I insisted she stay with us and put her in Ginny's old room. She's there now."

"Thanks. I'll go check on her."

Dad produced five letters in his hands. "There was quite a stir this afternoon when a phoenix showed up in my office." He called down the twins, who didn't seem too enthusiastic about the deliveries.

Fred and George were given theirs first. They only were taking a couple classes each after how few OWLs they received. Part of me wondered why they bothered to go, but them dropping out would break Mum's heart.

Harry, Ron, and I had all been taking the same set of classes. I ripped open my envelope and scanned through the book list. "Last year of Divination?"

Harry said, "Definitely. I probably won't pass, even if I wanted to continue."

Ron wasn't talking. I looked over and he was holding a shiny badge with the Gryffindor crest and a large "P."

Hermione almost jumped up. "That's great, Ron! I got one as well."

Harry added, "Congratulations!"

Mum said, "I'm so proud of both of you."

Ron was beaming. "Thanks." He paused for a moment and looked at Harry. "Um, I'm surprised that you didn't get this."

"Don't worry about it, mate. I have enough going on. Plus, you two get to try to keep Fred and George toeing the line."

The twins both laughed. Then they stopped when they saw Hermione wasn't. "You aren't really going to take points off us, are you, old bean?" Fred said.

Hermione said, "Not as long as we don't see anything that deserves it. Right, Ron?"

My youngest brother mumbled something incoherent. She glared at him.

George said, "Well, we will make sure you don't SEE anything." Harry looked rather amused by the whole situation. I kept quiet as I planned on my own set of shenanigans with the Boy Who Lived. If Ron caught us snogging, he'd be too red to report us.

Mum put a stop to the conversation. "Boys, Ron's being a prefect isn't a license for you to run rampant and cause mischief. If you are so worried about being bored, maybe you should have worked harder on your OWLs and taken a few classes. Merlin only knows what you plan on doing next year," she sighed. Then as an afterthought, she asked, "Ginny, can you tell Fleur it's time for dinner?"

"Yes, Mum."

I walked up the stairs and saw the door closed. I rapped softly and then opened it. "Fleur, it's time for…"

I stopped talking. Bill was sitting on her bed, Fleur was in his arms and they were snogging! At least as hard as Harry and I had last night, if not more. I tried leaving unnoticed but Bill saw me and jumped up, almost spilling Fleur on the floor.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Ginny, I…" Bill sputtered.

"Got your hands full?" I leaned against the back wall. "Shepherd's pie is ready, unless you'd rather have something… French," I said with a smirk.

With that, I whipped around and walked out the door, making sure to leave it open. "They'll be down in a bit," I announced.

When I rejoined the group downstairs, Harry put his arms around me and asked, "What has you smirking?"

I gave him a quick peck and whispered, "I'll tell you later, luv."

I did find a few minutes alone with him to talk. He wasn't surprised. Apparently Fleur had asked him about Bill a few times and Harry was not so clueless to not guess that she liked him. I didn't tell anyone else, but we didn't keep secrets from each other.

We said goodnight our usual way and then I went to bed, where Hermione was reading a book on ancient Greek culture. It was muggle, but she insisted some of the myths showed that there were elements of the magical world involved.

I put on a tee I had swiped from Harry and then lay next to Hermione. "Anything good in there?"

"A bit. I'm ready for school to start again." She paused for a moment. "Ginny?"

"Yes…?"

"We'll find the last couple anchors. I can tell you've been a little frustrated. And try not to think about the prophecies too much. Far often than not, it makes things worse."

"Thanks. I'll try to remember that." I closed my eyes and slowly went to sleep.