*Arthur*

It was just about the close of business the night before the children would be coming home for Christmas holidays. I was nearly blinded as a terrific white light flashed on my desk as Dumbledore's phoenix suddenly appeared in the room. He had a bit of parchment tied to his foot. I untied it gently and the firebird was gone as soon as it had arrived.

I read the contents and sighed inside. Snape said that Voldemort was sending a couple new recruits to probe the defenses around the Hall of Prophecies in the Department of Mysteries. He still wanted to hear the rest of the foretelling that had twined the life of him and Harry so long ago.

Just as important was that we didn't need him to realize how low-staffed the guard in the ministry had become. Any auror that was still active was working double overtime cleaning up Death Eater attacks. They would pop in, send off a few spells, and leave before they could be captured. The actual damage being done far was outweighed by the terror in the magical community was experiencing day in and day out. If they attacked the Ministry, the only chance we had would be Dumbledore arriving before it was too late.

I conjured my patronus and sent a simple message to my wife. "I'm staying late tonight, sorry. I love you and will see you soon."

She responded quickly. "I love you. I'll keep dinner warm."

I sighed and smiled at her thoughtfulness. I cast a warming spell on myself since the downstairs level wasn't occupied at night and so wasn't heated thoroughly.

I cautiously made my way passed the Unspeakable's library and to the Hall of Prophecy, specifically to the prophecies made in the early eighties. I normally wouldn't have been allowed anywhere near here. However, Minister Bones had given me and several others working with Dumbledore a special, quiet dispensation. It still wouldn't be good for me to be seen wandering the halls by most other ministerial employees, so I did my best to avoid others.

This was the thirteenth time that I had taken guard duty here for the Order of the Phoenix. So far, all I had learned was that the halls were quite dull at night. I knew better than to touch or look too closely at anything down here, lest it be dangerous to an unwary soul. I placed some detection wards that Sirius and Bill both taught me at the entrances. Then I spent most of the night walking between them, making sure they were still strong and hadn't been tampered with. So far, not a single sign of anyone around.

Being a department head (albeit for a normally very small department), I had some excuse to being up and around in case I was found out. That excuse would not have passed muster if Molly was here with me — and the minister didn't need any additional headaches. It wouldn't do for the whole Wizengamot to hear about this, considering Lucius was unfortunately still a prominent member. So she stayed at home. Percy had joined me for the first few evenings, but he wasn't that dedicated and it still was a little awkward between us after the debacle that had happened last year with Crouch.

So tonight I was solo.

I had just finished re-checking the ward on the north hallway. I mainly occupied my time with my own thoughts. Tonks had only taken a couple days off for her honeymoon with the demands that were being placed on the aurors. Sirius had promised giving them a much grander trip when all of this was over.

Molly was ecstatic for them, but less so when I told her that Bill had come to me and asked my advice regarding proposing to Fleur. They had only been together since September and Fleur had just finished school, but she wasn't any younger than Molly and I had been.

Bill had never dated anyone seriously enough to let me know, enjoying the ability to come and go for his job. So I hadn't really expected they would be moving that fast. However, by the second week she was staying with us, I could already tell that the conversation we would have in December was coming eventually. True love was a personal commitment, a decision, and if he was ready to make that, why wait years for some sense of proprietary?

Of course, that led me to consider my youngest. She was only fourteen but I had already come to the firm belief that we would be having her wedding shortly after her seventeen birthday. Not unheard of for a pure-blood witch (or even younger with parental permission, though that was rare now), but it wouldn't necessarily have been my plan for her. But then, very little of anyone's life was going to plan.

I was yanked out of my thoughts by the wailing of the alarm ward to the south being triggered. I drew my wand and sent an alert to the rest of the Order.

I started hurrying toward the great hallways that housed the globes of prophecies but then stopped. I heard a lot of spellfire and shattering glass. Then raised voices. Some members of the Order were trying to get in.

I double-checked the wards' statuses and realized there was a new triggered alarm on the other side, near the library. Confused, I rushed towards the new intrusion. Whatever book or scroll they were after, getting it couldn't be good for Harry.

I passed by the room with the Veil. Never had been in it personally, but heard rumours. The Unspeakables kept a tight guard on during the day. I heard books being dropped on the floor and ran towards the noise.

Suddenly, I felt flattened against an invisible wall. I lost my footing and ended up on my back, my head cracking against the stone floor. Dazed, I started to get up and was stopped by a cackling, disturbingly playful laugh. "Typical for a muggle-loving blood traitor from Gryffindor. Run headfirst without a plan straight into a trap."

The voice stepped into clear view. All I could see was a crazed face behind the black robes of a Death Eater. "Bellatrix…"

"That's Ms. Lestrange to you, Weasley!" I had barely stood up before she spoke again. "Crucio!"

The pain was somehow even worse than Voldemort's. My very core was being ripped apart, flesh from joints and marrow.

Then it stopped. Daring to open my eyes, Bellatrix cocked her head to one side and then the other, almost curious. Some people, you can see their soul, their life in their eyes. With her, she had no hint of compassion or care. Only hatred and rage.

I felt something cold brush along my leg. It was Voldemort's snake. The beast was massive, at least my weight, one large coil of muscle. It pressed against me and then slithered behind the feet of Bellatrix.

Bellatrix sighed in mock boredom. "Any other Order members that you expect won't be coming. By the time they realize you're not with those silly globes… I suppose I should relieve you of your wand before you try anything foolish. Expelliarmus!"

I put up my strongest shield and the spell bounced off. I wasn't giving up so easily.

"So you do want to make this enjoyable," she said with a disturbing smile.

I fired a stunner at her which she easily blocked. She returned fire with a cutting curse that I barely avoided. Then I was knocked to the floor by the snake which had tripped me up. Bellatrix laughed and repeated the disarming spell.

My wand flew into her hand and she quickly grabbed it and snapped it in two. "Much better." It was soon followed with a paralyzing curse. Not the normal one I'd learned as a boy, but this one felt like a barbed fence tied around me. Every attempted inch of movement resulted in pain. I soon gave up any idea of struggling.

Then she walked towards me, bent over and pressed her nails against my left wrist. She licked her lips and dug in, breaking through skin while raking back and forth until… "Ah, there it is. Portkey bracelet. Too bad the little present from Sirius wasn't kept a secret." She pressed deep into my skin until I let it go. Bellatrix then stowed it in her robes and licked my blood from her fingers.

The snake let go of my legs and went to her as she released the paralysis curse. "My master wanted Nagini to accompany me. She is very intelligent and follows the Dark Lord's will unswervingly."

I stood back up defiantly. "She's a pet. Just as much as you are."

That stopped her gloating. She looked ready to curse me but then thought differently. "You still have some spirit, Arthur. Something your family might even be proud of. You do know you are going to die tonight. My lord wants the world to see what happens to anyone that helps 'ickle Hawwy."

She hit me with another cruciatus curse, this time much longer than the first. I started seeing blackness in the corners of my eyes and it kept creeping towards the middle. Before I lost all vision, it stopped.

Bellatrix waited for me to regain my senses before continuing. "And I have my own reasons for your punishment. The Dark Lord wants to have the pleasure himself, you should feel honored.

"But after your dealings with our long-fingered friends, I'm afraid you might be having a little accident trying to escape."

Since seeing her, I had been terrified. My greatest fear was Voldemort would find out from my head we were on to his greatest secret. But now it seemed she had a secret she wanted to keep. My voice was cracking and weak from pain, but I managed to say, "What do you want?"

She smiled as she trained her wand on me. "If you amuse me enough, I will grant you a quicker death than my master would. Now… run!"

I took off as best as I could with the little control of my legs I still had. But I soon faced an aisle with no way out. Nagini closes the ground to me and then stopped, staring and hissing while slowly wrapping around my waist.

Finally, Bellatrix reappeared, this time cradling a large book with cracked leather binding and the snake rejoined her. "Too bad you don't have a map of the area, isn't it Arthur? I did have time to find what I was looking for, so it's been a pleasant evening so far. At least for one of us. You have presented some amusement. Any more blood and Nagini will finish the evening, so do be careful. Now I said, run!"

She let the bloody snake catch up to me two more times. Despair had completely taken hold, which was her plan all along, I was sure. "You're not actually trying to escape, are you? There's nothing down this hall except a wall ward you won't be breaking without your wand. One more chance, you poor soul, and then I'm afraid our lovely time together will be at an end."

I knew then I had one more gift I could give my family. I gathered my courage and strength and dashed out towards the Hall of Prophecies. I reached my goal, a door to a dark, quiet room. I flung the door open and approached the whispers calling me from the Veil.

Bellatrix found me before the snake. She unleashed a powerful cutting curse that bit deep into my thigh. That alone was going to be damage enough if the blood flow wasn't stopped. Soon, the snake appeared, slithering slowly through the door.

I hobbled back as far as I safely could go. I braced myself against the side wall. Nagini focused on the scent of my blood, and licked the air.

Suddenly, she sprung. Her teeth ripped into my neck as her body wrapped around mine. I barely had the strength to move, but in excruciating pain I made my way towards the Veil. Then I felt myself stiffen and then blackness consumed me.

*Ginny*

I had gotten to bed late that night. I had to pack a bag for the two weeks of Christmas holidays, since there weren't a lot of clothes that fit me back home. Harry had a few other ideas of how to spend the evening though.

I felt someone shaking my shoulder. Frightened, I shot up and was about to reach for my wand when I realized it was Professor McGonagall. "Miss Weasley, are you awake?" she whispered.

"Yes, ma'am." My eyes adjusted and I saw her face clearly. "What is it?"

"Your father was badly injured and is at St. Mungo's. Get dressed. You can use Professor Dumbledore's floo."

I hurriedly found a trainer and pants to throw on and grabbed my holiday pack. I didn't want to risk waking everyone by lighting the lantern.

As we exited the dormitory, I asked, "What happened?"

"I don't have a lot of details. Your father was at the Ministry late standing watch and he was attacked. He's alive, but it is touch and go. Your mother's with him."

I forced myself to breathe. "Where are Harry and my brothers?"

"Already there. They couldn't get to your room of course so they found the headmaster and he sent for me. Ron said Harry is with Sirius but was vague."

"Ok." The rest of the story would have to wait. The professor opened Dumbledore's office for me. He was also apparently out as well. I quickly took some of the floo powder, clearly shouted, "St. Mungo's!" and stepped into the flames.

The witch at the front desk greeted me. "Uh, can I help you Miss?"

"I'm Arthur Weasley's daughter."

"Of course, I should have known it by the hair. Your family is in room 104, straight down the hall."

I yelled, "Thanks!" as I was already running in that direction. Within a few minutes, I saw a crowd gathered in a bright white hallway, outside a brown door. All my brothers minus Charlie were there, along with Fleur and Sirius. I got closer and saw Harry behind Ron, who was now definitely taller than him.

I slowed down to not plough anyone over. I wrapped my arms around Harry, who weakly smiled. Bill filled me in. "Mum's in there, the healers are still working on him but she insisted. They didn't need all of us though."

I looked at Harry and he looked like he had been through hell. "What happened?"

Sirius quietly said, "Can't talk about it here. We will later."

I nodded. After another half hour of anxious silence, a healer came out with Mum. He said, "I'm Healer Clinton. Mr. Weasley suffered long exposure to several very strong cruciatus curses, some deep cuts and bruises, and puncture wounds that look like a venomous snake bite. He's no longer in any immediate danger, but he will be in much difficulty for awhile. He will be unconscious for several hours. Mrs. Weasley will be staying with him and a mediwitch will be monitoring him constantly for the next free hours."

He paused and then said, "You can spend the night in the waiting room, we have cots and pillows available." When none of us moved, he added, "When he does wake, I'm sure your father will want to see you alert and awake and not sick with worry." We took the hint and Sirius led us away.

We found some chairs in an anteroom and huddled together in a circle. Bill broke the silence. "Can I ask what happened? I'm wakened in the middle of the night by Sirius' patronus and find out Dad's was inches from dying…"

Sirius cast some silencing spells and looked at Harry, but he didn't show any inclination in speaking.

Finally, Ron started to talk. "I guess it started with me. Harry was alternating moaning and yelling and it woke me up. I thought he was having a fit." Ron looked over at Harry, whose face showed he'd gave rather skipped this part. "Sorry, mate. It was scary! Anyways, all four of us in the room were up and we finally got Harry to come to.

"He shot up and said to tell Dumbledore that Dad was in trouble. Then he pressed a stone at his portkey bracelet and and vanished."

Harry softly explained, "I saw Da.. Mr. Weasley being attacked by Bellatrix and Voldemort's snake. I wanted to go find him but I remembered the portkeys so I went to Sirius."

"And it's a good thing you did, lad," Sirius said. "Harry described a library and I knew Arthur had been helping stand watch at the Ministry.

"The building has enchantments preventing direct apparition… human apparition. I told Kreacher I had to help your dad fight Voldemort, and with the charm Arthur had, we were able to know where he was precisely. Kreacher was able to pop me in right behind Bellatrix. Arthur had the snake wrapped around him, mere yards from the Veil, the Unspeakables' portal to the world of the Dead."

I felt a few tears rolling down my cheek. Harry slowly put an arm around me.

Sirius continued. "I cast a paralyzing stunner that hit both him and the snake. But by the time I had my wand trained on my cousin, she sent a few curses my way and escaped."

Fleur said something in French that they didn't teach in French class. Sirius chuckled, "Yes, couldn't have said it better. But I made the best of it. I untangled Arthur and the snake and then tossed it into the Veil."

Fred and George whistled. "So another one gone."

"Yes, didn't have time to celebrate though, with your dad bleeding out and been through the worst Bellatrix could dish out. Kreacher got us here while Dumbledore tried getting the situation in the Hall of Prophecies sorted out. Looks like some wannabe Death Eaters got frustrated and destroyed half the prophecies there. Probably not a pleasant night for them when they give their report… I guess that's everything."

"Wow," was all Bill could say. "We're lucky Dad made it out."

"Definitely," Ron agreed.

Over the next free minutes, our group slowly drifted apart, some getting a drink if water, others trying to find a comfortable place to get some sleep.

I was able to get Harry alone. He has been quiet, even for him. "Talk to me, Harry."

He sighed. "I'm afraid you're going to scare… I can trust you?"

"Always, love. And you know I don't scare easily."

He slowly began. "I was the snake. In my dream. It was as if I was chasing after your dad, trying to bite him. It was horrible."

I took his hand. "You know that wasn't you. You're just seeing things through his eyes, because of that thing."

He nodded. "What if he can try to control me, like the snake? Maybe I should be happy I have it, since I saved Dad, but I just want the damned thing out!"

"I know… I know." I stroked his cheek and brushed away a tear. "We'll get it out somehow."

He nodded and sat there for a bit. Then he said, "I'm sorry, Gin, I'm being terribly selfish. How are you feeling in all this?"

I tried smiling behind all my cares. "I'm still worried about Dad. Just be here with me. You make me feel safe."

I snuggled up against him on the cream-colored sofa we were on and he held me close, gently playing with my hair. "You can close your eyes, Gin. I'll wake you if anything changes."

I smiled and did as he asked. It took a long time before I could calm down but I never felt Harry let go.

The next thing I knew, the sun was waking me up as it poured through the window onto my face. I turned and stretched before realizing my head was nestled in Harry's lap. Suddenly I sat up, causing my eyes to lock with Fleur's who was smiling sweetly at me. Her blond hair shimmered in the light and looked perfect, despite everything.

"Your brotherz are on ze other side of the room. I told Beel I would keep an eye on you two. Your papa, he eez starting to wake up."

"Great!" I reached over and hugged her. "Can I see him?"

"Ze healers don't want to overwhelm him with all of the Weasleyz. Your muzzer will let us know. He's her husband, after all."

I heard a neck crack behind me, letting me know Harry was up. "Good morning, Harry," Fleur said.

"Hey. Did I hear your dad's almost up?"

"Yeah!" I exclaimed. Harry found his glasses and put them on. "Sorry if you slept wrong."

"Still more comfortable then what I got my first twelve years before he saved me. I'm just glad your dad will be ok." I turned around and said good morning in a non-verbal manner. He paused and then was suddenly tripping over his words. "I, err… need to find the loo."

He walked away with two girls laughing at him. "Merlin, I love him so much," I said.

Fleur smiled and then put a finger to her mouth, motioning for me to quiet down. "We are going to wait a few days, probably until after Christmas. Between your dad and ze party for Remus and Tonks… but I want you to know... " She lowered her voice even further. "Beel proposed two days ago. I said yes. Sorry, zis is not a good time."

Wow. "No, that is fine. I'm never going to complain about hearing happy news after do much bad… So we're going to be family?"

"Probably this summer. We haven't set a date or gotten a ring yet."

"Congratulations! Let me welcome you to the family." I paused and then said, "I've never had a sister before."

She smiled. "I would be honoured. You can tell Harry, but please keep the secret for now."

"Of course."

After that, I took my turn at the loo. When I got back, Mum had just appeared. Everyone rushed to greet her and she said, "Goodness! Calm down." She smiled and then added, "He's up and the mediwitch said he can take visitors as long as we don't get him too excited. So everyone use a calm, quiet voice." That was a relative term for us.

We all slowly walked towards Dad's room. The halls were eggshell white and had a few portraits of famous healers. Sometimes they offered advice when the current staff was dealing with a rare, seldom-seen illness.

Dad was lying in bed, propped up by a few pillows. He was still awfully pale, but he at least looked alert. I saw the biggest smile on his face as we walked in. "Good morning kids, Fleur, Sirius."

"'Morning," we all said.

"I don't want anyone to worry about me. I have a few bite wounds that are having difficulty closing, but I'm fine, everything considered."

"How are you feeling, really?" Bill asked.

"Oh, a bit like a… lorey I think they are called, hit me and then ran me over. Twice. But I've got some potions in me so I'll be right as rain soon." His posture betrayed the brave face he had on.

"Gringotts said I could start my holidays early, so I'll be home to help out," Bill said.

"Thanks. I hope to be out by Christmas, but you know how healers can be. All of you watch out for each other and help out Molly. We're still planning on having a reception for Remus and Tonks on Boxing Day." His eyes fluttered a bit and then he said, "I think some of those portions are sleep-inducing, so I should get some rest. You should be able to head home."

We all left. Sirius called over Mum, Dad, Percy, and Bill. Fleur lingered behind with Bill. The rest of us went back the waiting area.

Ron found a pastry that the hospital's elves must have brought and took a bite. He suddenly had a panicked look. "Bloody hell! Hermione's probably wondering where we went!"

I laughed. "Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall probably told her."

Harry said, "We should let her know too though." He whipped out his wand after double-checking for adults. "I've been wanting to try this…" He looked at me deeply, grinned, and conjured his patronus.

Looking at it, he said, "Hermione, we had an emergency but we're all ok. Someone will be by to see about coming over." He flicked his wand and a six-pointed stag galloped off and disappeared. "I didn't want to go into details. I can't control who is around when the message is delivered."

My brothers were all impressed. "That's still past NEWT level!" George said.

The adults reappeared. Sirius said,"I'm sure I just didn't see a stag patronus." Harry grinned as he was winked at him.

Sirius then gathered all of us around. "I didn't want to upset your dad, but I'm not sure how safe our houses are. Bellatrix took his portkey bracelet. We're not sure if that means she or Voldy could try to get through the Fidelius charms or not as he was the Secret-Keeper. Dumbledore's not sure either, not that I'd do anything on his say-so anyway."

Mum was still upset about that than anything else. "What are we to do?" she asked.

Sirius said, "Dobby and Winky spent all night packing up the Burrow while Kreacher and I swept over Grimmauld Place, especially with the Order being headquartered there. Bellatrix has been to Grimmauld Place before so that combined with the bracelet may be enough to get through. Lupin and Tonks should be safe but they don't have the room."

There was quiet as we all tried to think of what to do. Not being able to go home… the Burrow was just a building but all those memories… it was part of the family. It felt like something was missing. I looked around and I knew the rest of the family felt the same.

Finally, Harry said something. "Sirius, I have that country house outside York."

Molly said, "Harry, you don't have to do that."

"I want to. The fields aren't being worked now of course and I can have them lie fallow for the next season."

Sirius smiled. "I've been to the area. James and I visited it once, interviewing new renters. Quiet area, seemed like a big enough house. The last magical family to live there was your dad's grandmother's, so should be safe."

He stopped and then said. "I chucked the last renters out over a year ago. Their lease expired and they had stopped paying rent. Dumbledore didn't know or didn't care to keep an eye on Harry's property. May be a bit musty, but nothing we can't fix."

Mum was still a little worried. Bill said, "Fleur and I can go check it out with Sirius first, Mum. Make sure it's safe."

Bill was staring at Harry, contemplating. "Harry, you should come too. You'll be of age in less than two years and with how powerful you are, the wards may consider you close to emancipated and want to key to you instead of Sirius. They're finicky things and we want them as strong as we can get them."

Harry nodded. I got up to go with him, but Mum said, "You stay here, Ginny." I was going to argue with her, but she had been through enough. Instead, I hugged Harry and gave him a quick kiss, which was more pleasant anyway.

More unpleasantness was to follow though. As soon as they left, Percy let out a scoffing cough. I glared at him. "What?!"

"I'm just glad Mother is finally reeling you in. Harry waltzes in here and acts like he's saving the day when it's his fault Dad was here for starters."

"Harry didn't ask Dad to be pulling all those guard duties, Dumbledore did."

"But he only did them because it had to do with Harry."

I looked to Mum for some help, but she was too shocked to speak. Ron and the twins had inconveniently disappeared. "And if it was, so what?" I yelled as I stood up, inches from him.

"Dad almost got himself killed for that… orphan when he already has enough of a family who needs him. Not that you care."

I bit on my tongue. "What?"

"You want me to spell it out? If Dad has any sense, he'll turn him out instead of letting you sleep in a house he owns. Before his precious daughter turns into a galleon-grubbing slag."

That last word hung in the air. He looked like he wanted it back, but I was too far gone. I reached for my wand as he stepped back and I got off a few mild stinging hexes that he blocked. I cocked my fist and was going to get into something more serious but Mum grabbed my hand.

I fought against her for a moment, but then she said, "Please don't, Ginny. Not here." She looked at my brother with a disappointed face. "Percy, you know none of that is true, you're just angry and worried right now. You need to apologise to your sister." Like that would have fixed things.

Didn't matter. He shook his head. "I'm done with this war Harry's brought us into. Ginny doesn't remember losing anyone. I remember how you were when your brothers died. Dad was almost next. Delores reminded me that we're pure-blood. They'll leave us alone if we keep our noses clean. That's what most of the ministry that's still alive does."

"What about Harry?"

"Better him than all of us. He's a niffler for trouble. I'm not going anywhere near him or anything he thinks he owns," he said glaring at me.

I socked him square in the jaw and then ran to the loo before anything could see me cry.

I must have stayed there longer than I realized. I heard a knocking, not a pounding. The stress of everything has finally gotten to me. I unlocked the door and opened it. "Gin?" I heard a quiet voice.

I grabbed onto Harry like I was never letting go. "Ron told me what happened. The twins are both furious. They were going to go after Percy but your mum finally talked them down… yelled them down, really. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Through all this. I hate this is all happening."

I took a deep breath. "Other people have thought what he said." But he was my brother, which was different. "And said it. You're you and I'm just me." Before he could object, I put my finger to his lips. "And I love you in all of it. Don't think on anything he said."

"I'll try. I love you Gin, for everything you are." He tried to smile. "We should go find everyone else, let them know you're ok. They worry about you more than they let on."

"Not sure I know why," I teased.

"You're a complicated witch… in a good way. I'm really a simple bloke, just with a complicated problem. I am grateful for all the help. I'm sorry your Dad was involved like this."

I squeezed his hand and he took a breath and nodded.

After a minute of walking, I said, "Did everything check out with your house?"

"Oh, yes. Definitely. Looks wonderful if I can say that and not be bragging. I wouldn't mind living there once we're out of school."

He froze and turned red. "Err, I mean…"

I thought we'd save that for another day. "Go on about the house."

"Right, well, it'd be better to just see it. We're not doing the Fidelius charm, Bill thinks it's more trouble than it's worth and it can make us too... complacent? He's putting in several layers of wards that will protect us. Fleur added a few unique charms too."

We found the rest of the family. Sirius said, "All right. Bill recommends to never attach the house to the floo network. So, we will apparate to a spot on the property that Bill opened up. He, Fleur, and I will side-along everyone in turn. I really need to teach you to apparate."

Fred and George spoke up. "We can!"

Bill shook his head. "You've never been there. It's now plotted so you can only find it magically if you know where it is." An interesting protection but effective. I couldn't see a Death Eater using a cab to travel. "Mum, do you want to stay here or come with?"

"Your father insists he's out of the woods so I'll go and take a quick kip for now and come back later." I'm sure she had been up with him all night.

Sirius said, "All right, then. Harry, you first. It's your house, you ought to welcome everyone else there."

"Ok. See you all in a minute."

He took Sirius' hand, winked at me, and then disappeared.