Winona Apparated into Harry's bedroom, and the popping sound she'd made caused Harry to jump violently where he was sat at his desk, scribbling something onto a piece of spare parchment.
"Winona!" he cried at the sight of her.
She hushed him, glancing to the doorway. There were no footsteps on the landing outside, no sign that anyone had heard her entrance. Satisfied, she flicked her wand at the door with a muttered, "Muffliato," and then dropped heavily onto her cousin's bed.
"Blimey," she sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "What a night."
"What's going on?" Harry demanded instantly, pushing away from his desk to stand over her, emerald eyes like storm clouds. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now. She understood, but still, his hostility made her frown. "I'm being tailed by Mundungus Fletcher? Mrs Figg knows you? How? What's the plan? Why haven't I been getting any answers – from anyone?!"
"Shh," she hushed him again. "A Muffliato Charm only covers so much noise, y'know?"
"Winona."
She sat up and held up her hands as if in surrender. "I need to tell you now, I can't tell you everything."
"Why the hell not?" Harry snapped.
"Calm down," she said, more stern than ever before. Harry seemed to finally realise he was being unfairly harsh and his shoulders drooped as he sighed. "Come here," she ordered him, and very reluctantly he took a heavy seat on the edge of his bed beside her.
She gripped his chin, tilting his head to the side. There was significant swelling around his eye and cheekbone from where Dudley had hit him. Tutting quietly, Winona lifted her wand, took a moment to concentrate, then said, "Episkey."
Harry winced, more from the surprise than any pain, and lifted a hand to gingerly prod at the bruising.
"I'm no medi-witch," she said lightly. "But that should help with the pain."
Harry kept prodding it, his wince beginning to fade along with the purple of the bruising. "Yeah," he murmured weakly. "Thanks."
There was a minute of silence that felt heavy with the unsaid, and pain tugged at Winona's heart. She didn't want to hurt Harry, didn't want him to be kept in the dark. Everything she'd done – from her Unbreakable Vow with Dumbledore to putting herself in danger to come here – it was all for him. But she didn't know how to tell him that, how to explain she was doing everything she possibly could to make this easier on him.
"I'm sorry for all this, Harry," she whispered.
"Why haven't I heard a scrap of news?" he whispered back, head hung in defeat. The fight was gone, replaced only by weariness. Somehow, that was worse. "Not a word from Ron or Hermione, or from you."
"I've written you plenty," she argued.
"Telling me how you're planning to murder some House-Elf named Kreacher isn't exactly news, Winnie," he told her dully.
"I know," she said, because she really did. "I'm sorry."
"What can you tell me?"
"That you're getting out of here," she said, hushed even though she knew her Muffliato Charm would keep the Dursleys from overhearing. "Very soon."
The exhaustion in her cousin seemed to dissipate, replaced by eagerness. "Tonight?"
"Maybe," she told him. "It just depends when the Dursleys leave."
"Leave?"
"Well, they've gotta go out at some point, haven't they?" she asked. "We'll be ready when they do."
But that wasn't enough for Harry, who by this point was so starved of information that he was desperate for anything at all that might make his murky world just that little bit clearer. "Who's we?"
She opened her mouth to answer, then shut it again. She wasn't quite sure how to answer that one around the Vow she'd made the Dumbledore – better to be safe than dead. But she couldn't say nothing. Harry deserved to know something.
"The good guys," she told him as a compromise.
It still wasn't enough. "But who are the good guys?!"
"Harry," she said, urgent and serious. She gripped his shoulders, forcing him to face her. "You need to trust me. Everything I'm doing, I'm doing to help you."
"But why can't you tell me anything?!" he cried, nearly at his wits' end.
"It's complicated," she told him. Harry did not look impressed. "I want to tell you everything, but there are things stopping me. Dangerous things, Harry. Once we get back to Headquarters, then you'll know more. But I can't tell you now, and certainly not here. And I'm sorry, but that's just going to have to be enough for you."
Harry fell silent, considering her words. He was angry and lost and frustrated, and it killed her to see him so hopeless. But Winona couldn't risk her life just to ease his frustration; if she was taken out of the equation, who would argue on his behalf? He had friends – Hermione, Ron, the rest of the Weasleys, and of course Sirius – but she didn't trust anyone to take care of him but her. They weren't willing to stand up to Dumbledore in the way she was. They didn't have the power she had, or know the things she did.
It had to be her.
There was the heavy thumps of footsteps coming up the stairs, and then the locks on the outside of Harry's door began to click. Harry cast her a look of panic, but she just smiled calmly and began to twirl her wand around her body like she were threading a rope, casting the Disillusionment Charm with a surprising amount of success.
"What're you-?" Harry tried to ask, but she hurriedly shushed him just as the door burst open and Vernon stomped into the room. Harry glanced at his uncle, then back at his cousin, only to find she'd somehow blended in so well with the corner of his room that she was nearly impossible to see if you didn't first know where to look.
"Whatever you and that cousin of yours have done to Dudley," Vernon spat, oblivious to the witch hidden in the corner, "it's making him frightfully ill. We're taking him to the hospital."
"He'll be fine once you give him some chocolate," Harry told him.
"Chocolate?" Vernon echoed furiously. "Do you think me a fool?!"
"Yes, but that's beside the point," sniped Harry. "Chocolate really will help."
"I think I'll put my faith in the doctors over the codswallop of a deranged boy."
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself."
"You're not to leave your room while we're gone. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Uncle Vernon."
Vernon sneered at him one final time before waddling from the room. He slammed the door after him, then took the time to triple-lock the door from the outside once again. Winona waited until his thunderous footsteps had faded away before tapping herself with her wand, becoming visible once more.
"What was that?" Harry asked quickly.
"Disillusionment Charm," she told him, sticking her wand into the knot in her hair and then fishing around in her pocket for the mirror Sirius had lent her for tonight. "Not quite invisibility, but works wonders against the most stupid of Muggles."
"What're you doing?" asked Harry as she pulled free the mirror. The front door down on the floor below slammed, and a moment later the sound of the Dursleys' car starting up in the driveway met their ears.
"Letting our people know we're good to go," she told him, holding up the mirror, staring into it. There was nobody on the other side, but she knew it wouldn't stay empty for long.
"How?"
"Well, I can't very well use your electric fireplace to send word, can I?" she said. "And an owl would take far too long."
Abruptly there was a face in the other side of the mirror. "Winnie?" her dad asked, grey eyes glinting hopefully.
"They're gone," she told him. "Not sure for how long, so you best get on with it."
And that was that. They ended with a nod, and then Winona slipped the mirror back into her pocket.
She turned back to Harry, who looked stunned by that barest glimpse of his godfather. "You'll be seeing him tonight," she promised Harry. "You'll be seeing them all."
"Where?" She smiled sadly and Harry huffed, frustrated. "Right. Of course. You can't tell me that, either."
"I have my-"
"Reasons," he finished knowingly, sounding so defeated that Winona's heart hurt. "I know."
"Won't be long now," she promised him.
He frowned. "Until what?"
Winona heard a series of distant but distinct pops, then there was a loud crash from the kitchen below. Harry gasped, sitting up straight and reaching for his wand.
"It's okay," Winona hurried to assure him. "It's just the others."
That didn't relax him any. "Who?"
They could hear voices floating up the staircase now, and Harry was on his feet, wand clutched at his side, ready to use it at a moment's notice.
The locks on his door clicked loudly, and the door swung open to reveal nobody on the other side. "Wait here," Winona ordered Harry, gripping her own wand tight and walking through the doorway. Harry didn't listen, close on her heels as she made her way to the railing that overlooked the entryway. Winona rolled her eyes. "Lumos," she muttered, lighting up the hall.
A good number of the Order were stood on the level below, looking up at the pair of them expectantly. But Winona needed to be sure. Her shrewd eyes turned to Moody and her lit wand followed.
"Who fetched me from King's Cross Station in June?" she demanded.
Moody's one good eye narrowed, but he answered anyway. "Myself, Tonks, and Lupin," he said, voice as low and gravelly as always. "You were awfully quiet for someone I'd been told never shuts up."
Winona lowered her wand. "Fair point."
"Good to see you're taking precautions," Lupin added.
"Well, I figure since I was given the allowance to be here at all, the least I can do in return is be careful."
"Winnie?" asked Harry, peering over the railing beside her, eyeing the group of witches and wizards on the floor below. "What's going on? What's Professor Moody doing here?"
Moody made a scoffing noise that was more of a growl. "I don't know so much about 'Professor'," he said sourly, "never got round to much teaching, did I? Get down here, the both of you. We want to see you properly."
Winona took a step towards the stairs, but Harry didn't move. "Harry, it's all right," she assured him quietly. "They're all with Dumbledore. They're our escort out of his hellhole."
In the glow of her wand light, Harry frowned.
"I know it's weird trusting another guy wearing Moody's face," Winona began. Moody grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, and by the way Tonks snorted with amusement, it hadn't been anything kind. "But I swear, you can trust them," she continued as if he hadn't interrupted. "'Sides, as if our favourite Professor would ever lead us astray."
Winona nodded down to the group below, and Harry's eyes widened as he took in the individual faces in the group, rather than just a great crowd. "Professor Lupin?" he asked disbelievingly.
"Hello again, Harry," said Remus who, although he looked shabby and drawn from the full moon only a few nights previous, was thrilled to see Harry again, smiling up at him kindly. Tonks was stood beside him, violet hair glinting in Winona's wand light.
"Oooh, he looks just like I thought he would," she said brightly. "Wotcher, Harry!"
"Yeah, I see what you mean, Remus," said Kingsley from the back of the group. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Winona bumped fists with Tonks in hello. "He looks exactly like James."
"Except the eyes," said Doge from his place behind Kingsley. "Lily's eyes."
Moody had had enough of the chatter. "Are you quite sure it's him, Lupin?" he growled. "It'd be a nice lookout if we bring back some Death Eater impersonating him. We ought to ask him a security question, too."
"Harry, what form does your Patronus take?" Remus asked patiently.
"A stag," said Harry nervously.
"That's him, Mad-Eye. Although, I'd say Winona's presence is evidence enough."
Harry reached the ground floor beside Winona, stowing his wand in the back pocket of his jeans. But Moody – as always – had something to say about that. "Don't put your wand there, boy!" the crotchety old blighter squawked. "What if it ignited? Better wizards than you have lost buttocks, you know!"
"Who d'you know who's lost a buttock?" Tonks wondered, understandably interested.
Mad-Eyes magical eye whizzed around to fix her an irritable glare. "Never you mind, you just keep your wand out of your back pocket! Elementary wand-safety, nobody bothers about it anymore…"
Moody stumped off towards the kitchen, apparently needing a moment alone – or more likely feeling the urge to secure the perimeter a third time. Winona rolled her eyes, ignoring Moody's shout that he'd seen her do it.
Lupin shook Harry's hand, asking how he was. Her cousin said he was fine, but even a blind man wouldn't have believed him. He lifted a hand to self-consciously smooth down his perpetually-messy hair, and Winona smiled fondly.
"I don't understand," said Harry, looking around at them all in confusion. "You've planned this? You've come to get me?"
Moody thumped his way back into the room. "We were going to wait a few days, make sure things had cooled off," he explained grumpily, jerking the end of his walking stick in Winona's direction. "But Little-Miss-Visions here insisted it couldn't wait."
Harry turned to her. "The sooner you're out of this hellhole, the better," she told him with a shrug. It wasn't strictly necessary that they got him tonight as opposed to a few days from now, but Winona knew how much Harry loathed it here. She knew how desperate he was to see the others; so she might have made a bit of a big deal about moving the date up a bit. But that was neither here nor there.
Seeing the truth of it in her eyes, some of Harry's iciness towards her thawed. He attempted a smile that wasn't quite genuine, but certainly headed in the right direction. Winona reached out, gripping his hand and quickly squeezing.
"So we're leaving?" he asked, looking to the others eagerly. "Now?"
"We're just waiting for the all-clear," said Remus.
"Where are we going? The Burrow?"
"Not The Burrow, no," Remus shook his head, motioning Harry towards the kitchen. "Too risky. We've set up Headquarters somewhere un-detectable. It's taken awhile…"
Tonks wound her arm around Winona's, grinning at her as she led the way into the kitchen after the others. Winona listened as Remus introduced her cousin to the other members of the Order.
"A surprising number of people volunteered to come and get you," Remus added, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. Harry stared at the group of strangers uncomprehendingly.
"Yeah, well, the more the better," said Moody. "We're your guard, Potter."
"We're just waiting for the signal to tell us it's safe to set off," said Remus, glancing out of the kitchen window. "We've got about fifteen minutes."
"Very clean, aren't they, these Muggles?" said Tonks, curious and conversational. "My dad's Muggle-born and he's a right old slob. I suppose it varies, just as it does with wizards?"
"'Course," said Winona. "The Dursleys are at the far end of the spectrum. I think they're kind of anal."
Harry didn't have the patience for chatter any more than Moody did. "Look," he said, staring expectantly at Remus, "what's going on? I haven't heard anything from anyone, what's Vol–?"
The Order members hissed at the name, and even Remus flinched, eyes going tight. "Shut up," Moody snarled, and Harry blinked in surprise.
"What?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"We're not discussing anything here, it's too risky," Moody told him sternly. "Damn it," he added angrily when his magical eye wouldn't cooperate, "it keeps getting stuck – ever since that scum wore it-"
He took out the eye with an awful squelching noise, and Winona grimaced. "Mad-Eye, you do know that's disgusting, don't you?" Tonks said mildly. Moody didn't deign to respond.
"Get me a glass of water, would you, Harry?"
Her cousin did as he was asked, and they watched as Moody dropped the magical eye into the water. It whizzed about, staring at each of them in turn. Winona smirked at the thought of the Dursleys ever finding out what the glass had been used for – they'd want to throw it into a fire the first chance they got.
"How're we getting – er – wherever we're going?" Harry wondered, unable to stand all the unanswered questions still hovering in the air.
"Brooms," Lupin told him, and Winona smiled at the interest in Harry's eyes. "Only way. You're too young to Apparate, they'll be watching the Floo Network, and it's more than our life's worth to set up an unauthorised Portkey."
"Winona said you're a good flier," said Kingsley.
"He is," Winona nodded, turning to smile proudly at her cousin. "The best."
Harry didn't quite smile back, but he didn't scowl either, so she was counting it as progress. "You'd better go and get packed, Harry, we want to be ready to go when the signal comes."
"I'll give you a hand," Winona offered.
"No, you won't, Miss Black," said Moody sternly. "You're staying put."
"Moody," Winona whined, aware she sounded like a child, and wholly uncaring. It had been a very long night.
Moody's only response was to jab a finger at the chair opposite him at the Dursleys' kitchen table. Huffing dramatically, Winona dropped into the seat.
"No worries, I'll come and help you," said Tonks, the grin she shot at Harry like the shining lights of a Christmas tree, and just as warm. Harry nodded and led the way back up the stairs to collect his things.
Sullen, Winona turned to Moody, whose attention was still on the eye he had set bobbing in the glass of water Harry had fetched for him. She waited for him to speak, getting the feeling he was only drawing it out to be a pain. Finally, he fished out his creepy eye, shoved it back into its socket with a horrible popping sound, and turned his attention back to her.
"Report," he said, as though she were one of his Aurors.
She opened her mouth to tell him she wasn't a soldier to be ordered about, but paused. Wasn't she just, essentially, exactly that? Maybe she wasn't usually on the frontlines like he and the others of the guard there tonight, but wasn't she a soldier just the same? What was it Dumbledore had said? They were all just pawns in this game of cosmic chess?
So, despite feeling a little bitter, she obeyed. "Happened just as I knew it would, although I was nearly late for the whole thing – never have been great with exact times. S'not like I can tell the time of day from the position of the sun, y'know?"
"Winona," said Moody flatly, unimpressed by the insignificant chatter.
Her expression hardened into a glare, but she did as she was told. "I got there just in time. Wasn't much help against the Dementors, but Harry was brilliant. Dudley was a bit of a mess, but I s'pose the poor sod'll be right in a few days. Mrs Figg arrived – oh! Did Dumbledore mention that Mundungus fucked off to go make an 'important business deal'?" she sneered, air quotes and all.
"Language, Winona," said Remus, and although it sounded like a reprimand, when Winona met his eyes she found amusement in their depths. He was leant over the counter, having at some point produced a self-inking quill from his pocket, along with a piece of parchment. Winona wasn't sure what he was doing, but couldn't be stuffed asking.
She batted away his comment, her attention on Moody. "Did I, or did I not, warn you about that slimy little rat?" she demanded hotly. "I've been telling you for days to take him off rotation, and look what happens!"
"To be fair," began Kingsley, forever the diplomat, "you never warned us that this, exactly, would happen."
"Oh, right, of course," she muttered back, a tad sharper than she meant to be. She'd always liked Kingsley, he was a good wizard. "I see now how it must have confused you. Next time I'll make all my drawings into children's pop-up books, so you'll be able to understand." Nobody looked amused by her snide comments, but she wasn't fishing for laughs. "When I give you a warning – even offhandedly – it needs to be followed. Otherwise what in the name of Merlin's saggy left nut am I actually here for?"
Moody didn't reply – maybe because he sensed Winona was beyond the point of civil conversation – so Remus bit the bullet instead. "Not to worry, Winnie. We won't be putting so much faith in Mundungus again any time soon."
Somewhat placated, Winona leaned back in her chair with a huff. Seeing some of her stubborn fight drain away, Moody stepped back into the fray. "Were you being watched? Did you see any signs of Ministry interference?"
"I didn't see anything – but I had the strangest feeling we were being watched," she told him, reaching down to pick at a hangnail. "Could've just been the Dementors, but I'm not sure. The whole thing happened very quickly."
They were silent, considering. The others in the hastily-assembled guard were wandering about the Dursleys' kitchen, inspecting the Muggle cooking equipment with confusion and amusement. Hestia in particular seemed to find the Muggle potato-peeler downright hilarious. It wasn't quite enough to get Winona to smile, but it thawed her icy innards just a bit.
Then Remus stepped forwards, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You weren't hurt?" he asked kindly. "How do you feel?"
And for Remus, she could at least attempt a smile. "I'm fine, Professor," she teased. "I even ate the chocolate and everything."
Remus smiled, patting her shoulder warmly before pulling back and returning to the letter he was composing for the Dursleys.
"Anything else of note to report?" Moody demanded briskly.
"No," Winona told him. "But I saw everything. I'm the perfect witness."
"Has anyone brought up the obvious?" Kingsley spoke up from where he was stood beside Podmore at the microwave. "What if the Wizengamot wants to administer Miss Black with Veritaserum?"
The thought hadn't occurred to Winona, and she frowned. While she wasn't worried about the results of the trial being altered by that in any way – the thought was a daunting one. There were things in her head that nobody else was allowed to know. Not yet, anyway. It could the events set in place. And while those events weren't particularly of the happy-variety, at least she knew what was coming; and could keep it from coming to pass.
"Dumbledore would have thought of that," said Moody certainly. "But wouldn't use Veritaserum for a trial over the use of underage magic. It's an extreme – used only in the most heinous of crimes."
They hadn't used Veritaserum in her father's case – and that certainly had been the most heinous of crimes. She glanced instinctively to Remus, meeting his eyes. An understanding passed between them, their minds both going to the same place. The shared a frown, turning as one back to their separate tasks.
"Dumbledore wants you there at that hearing, Winona," Moody continued, seemingly not noticing their silent moment, although Winona doubted he was actually so oblivious. "The word of a Seer holds power, more so than you know."
It was nothing Winona hadn't heard before, and she slouched in her chair, tapping an uneven rhythm against the wooden tabletop as the room was claimed by quiet. Eventually Harry and Tonks reappeared, Harry's trunk hovering after them.
"Excellent," said Lupin, looking up as they entered and sealing the letter to the Dursleys with a flick of his wrist. "We've got about a minute, I think. We should probably get out into the garden so we're ready. Harry, I've left a letter telling your aunt and uncle not to worry–"
"They won't," said Harry dully.
"–that you're safe–"
"That'll just depress them."
"–and you'll see them next summer."
"Do I have to?" Harry nearly whined, and in an instant Winona saw a hint of herself in her cousin. They may not have looked very similar, but their mannerisms sometimes aligned, and she had to wonder whether anyone else had ever noticed it before.
"Come here, boy," grunted Moody gruffly. "I need to Disillusion you."
Firebolt strung over one shoulder, Harry turned to Winona. "Like you did, in my room?"
"The very same," she nodded. "Your cloak won't stay on while you're flying."
Without a word Moody tapped Harry hard on the top of the head. He shivered against the sensation but didn't complain. Winona watched as the colour in his skin and clothes faded, replaced by the tiled texture of the kitchen unit behind him.
"Come on," said Moody briskly, unlocking the back door with his wand.
They'd lined their brooms up in a small alcove, hidden from sight. When Winona stepped out onto the grass, Remus handed her a broom. She didn't have her own, so when she looked down at it, she recognised it to be Fred's.
While not anywhere near a Firebolt, his old Comet was still the most expensive thing he owned – even if it was a hand-me-down from Charlie. She didn't imagine he'd parted with it easily, and wondered what they'd said to convince him to hand it over. The thought that he'd done it for her – while hardly surprising – was still enough to make her grin properly for the first time that night.
Tonks caught sight of the stupid expression and snorted. "Oh, to be in love," she chimed playfully.
Winona's vision flickered, and she gasped, drawing the attention of Moody, who was stood nearby ranting about how they weren't to break ranks. "Winona," he said, voice as hard and uncompromising as steel – his version of concern.
Winona shook her head to clear it, then reached up to rub at her eyes for good measure. "Thought a vision was coming on," she admitted, because she was too tired to lie. "But it's fine. It's gone."
Moody didn't look pleased, but he could say nothing as there was a shower of red sparks in the night sky above them. Remus looked to Winona warily. "Can you fly?"
She nodded.
"Are you sure?"
"That's the second signal," hissed Moody as there was another burst of sparks above, this time in a deep green. "Let's go!"
And whether or not Winona was fine to fly, she suddenly had no choice. Gripping the handle of Fred's broom, she took a deep breath of balmy night air and kicked off from the ground.
While Winona wasn't a Quidditch player in any setting other than a lazy summer's day at the Burrow, she loved to fly; especially at night. There was something about climbing up into the sky that felt magical in a way not even real magic could achieve. Flying upwards, she tilted her head back and stared up at the sky. She felt like she could almost reach up and scoop out a handful of the stars.
Her moment of peace was broken, however, when Moody's rasping voice shouted, "Hard left, hard left, there's a Muggle looking up!"
Winona reluctantly turned her attention back to the task at hand, finding that the formation had drifted to the left. She hurried to follow – Moody would curse her hair off if she fell behind, even by accident.
"We need more height… Give it another quarter of a mile!" he shouted from where he was positioned. Winona cast a look back at him, but his attention wasn't on her; Remus was flying close to her side, however, and his was. She suddenly got the feeling Sirius had asked him to keep an extra eye on her. She couldn't find it in herself to be anything other than warmed.
Winona glanced at the rest of their guard. Her and Harry were in the centre of the formation, the others acting as literal shields for them, should anything go wrong. But Winona hadn't seen anything bad happening, and she doubted she'd have missed it if she had.
Looking to Harry, she found him grinning widely in something that might have been a laugh, but she couldn't hear it over the whistling of the wind. She could imagine how awful it had been for him, stuck at the Dursleys' without barely a scrap of news. Winona's heart had ached for him every day she'd been at Grimmauld Place, but it hurt the most now, seeing him revel in the simple freedom of being on a broomstick.
"Bearing south!" shouted Mad-Eye. "Town ahead!"
Winona did as she was told. Despite the heat of the summer night, the air this high up was icy, slapping against her face and ripping her hair from its braid. Her fingers had grown numb against the handle of Fred's broom, but she couldn't let go to flex them, and just hoped her grip was tight enough.
"Bear southeast and keep climbing, there's some low cloud ahead we can lose ourselves in!"
"We're not going through clouds!" shouted Tonks over the howling wind. "We'll get soaked, Mad-Eye!"
Thankfully Moody seemed to take pity, and he altered their course so they went around the clouds, instead of through them. The flew on and on, for so long Winona felt like she'd all but transfigured into a block of living ice. Her arms were aching, and so was her spine from the hunched position she was in. The broom she sat on trembled every time there was a particularly nasty gust of wind, and she could only pray to Merlin that it wasn't going to give out under the pressure and send her crashing down to earth.
Winona wanted to shout to Moody – beg him to let them land and risk Apparating with Harry despite the risks – but just as she'd given up fighting the urge, Moody spoke up. "Turning southwest!" he yelled, barely audible over the roaring wind. "We want to avoid the motorway!"
Winona groaned, and she was joined by Harry, Tonks, and Hestia, all of whom were more than ready for this excursion to be over.
"We ought to double back for a bit, just to make sure we're not being followed!"
Winona would rather break every bone in her body twice than double back again, but thankfully Tonks spoke up before she had the chance to gain any more of Moody's bottomless ire.
"ARE YOU MAD, MAD-EYE?" she screamed from where she was positioned up the front. "We're all frozen to our brooms! If we keep going off-course we're not going to get there until next week! Besides, we're nearly there now!"
Glancing through stinging eyes to Mad-Eye, Winona saw him open his mouth to argue, but Remus interjected. "Time to start the descent!" he called, using what Winona fondly referred to as his professor-voice. It was the only time he managed to sound authoritative, and made her yearn for simpler times. "Follow Tonks, you two!"
With a cry of relief that was swallowed by the altitude, Winona followed Tonks' decent down towards the ground. The lights of the city grew closer and closer, and by the time they were low enough to see proper streets, Winona recognised the familiar front of Grimmauld Place.
They landed in the small square that sat opposite her family's house. Well, Tonks and Harry landed, Winona just sort of collapsed onto the grass. She was so frozen, it was as if the joints in her knees had frozen in place, and she groaned as she laid shivering in the dirt, staring up at the starry night sky, heedless of the witches and wizards coming down all around her like graceful birds.
"Oh, get up," growled Moody as he landed. "Don't be so dramatic."
"Says the wizard who made us circle around the city – three times! Paranoid bastard," she added in a snide mutter. Moody ignored her with the ease of someone who'd been called that a thousand times before and had long since ceased to care.
A hand appeared in her vision, and she took it, letting Harry pull her up to her feet. Now standing, she swayed into her cousin, trying to keep from shivering too much.
"Alive?" she asked him quietly.
"Far as I can tell," he replied, his earlier frostiness disappeared now that he was away from his aunt and uncle's house and back with his own people – just metres away from his real family. "Cold?"
"That a trick question?" she murmured scathingly as she trembled from head to toe.
Harry smiled wryly, then turned to look at the street they'd landed in. "Where are we?" he asked, much louder than was wise.
Remus shushed him gently. "In a minute," he promised, and Harry could only nod obediently.
"Got it," muttered Moody, and Winona turned to see him holding out Dumbledore's deluminator. Clicking it, he extinguished all the street lamps in Grimmauld Place until the only light sources were the glow in the house windows and the moon shining up above. "Borrowed it from Dumbledore," Moody explained to a confused looking Harry. "That'll take care of any Muggles looking out of the window, see? Now come on, quick."
Moody gripped Harry's arm, beginning to drag him in the direction of number 12. Rolling her eyes at his predictably brusque manner, Winona gripped her wand tight in one hand and Fred's broom in the other, following after them cautiously. She doubted they were going to get attacked in the street, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
They reached number 12, but of course Harry couldn't see it. To fix this, Moody thrust a piece of parchment towards Harry's Disillusioned hand and held his lit wand close to it, so he could read what it said. "Read quickly and memorise," he ordered her cousin briskly.
Harry did as he was told, but not without confusion twisting on his face. "What's the Order of the–?"
"Not here, boy!" snarled Moody, snatching the parchment from Harry's hand and setting it alight with a snap of his fingers to destroy the evidence. "Wait till we're inside!"
Harry was still utterly flummoxed. He stared at the row of houses, noticing the missing number 12. "But where's–?"
"Think about what you've just memorised," Remus said quietly. Confused, but knowing by now when not to bother wasting time with questions, Harry did as he was told. Winona could already see number 12, but she watched Harry's shock as he saw its unveiling for the first time. She understood what it was like to be constantly stunned by the wonders of magic. Again, she felt a connection between them – they had so much more in common than just their blood.
"Come on, hurry," growled Moody when Harry just stood there uselessly, jabbing him in the spine and forcing him forwards.
Remus opened the door for them, and although over the last month this house had been more a prison than anything else, Winona still felt an inexplicable relief to be back. Maybe because she knew this was the safest possible place for her to be. Or maybe because of who she knew to be waiting inside.
"Get in quick, Harry," Remus whispered, "but don't go far inside and don't touch anything."
Harry slid inside obediently, then Winona was urged inside after him by a hand on her shoulder. By the size of it, she knew it to be Kingsley's. Rolling her eyes, she followed Harry into Grimmauld Place.
Once he'd returned the lights to their respective street lamps, Moody limped in after them and shut the door tightly. With a tap on Harry's head, he lifted the Disillusionment Charm he'd cast over her cousin.
"Now stay still, everyone, while I give us a bit of light in here," Moody hissed in his usual way. Winona could hear the murmuring of voices from behind the door that led down into the kitchen/meeting room. Clearly they hadn't concerned themselves with waiting for the guard to return before starting the meeting.
The lights came on in the hall, and she glanced at Harry to find him frowning deeply at the inside of the house. She looked to the hallway, taking in its gloominess and gothic touches, and suddenly saw it through new eyes. She'd gotten so used to it all over the last month, she'd stopped noticing that it looked like the inside of a Victorian funeral parlour.
Just as Winona set Fred's broom against the wall with the rest of the guard's idle broomsticks, there were hurried footsteps on the stairs, and then Mrs Weasley was emerging from the door leading to the kitchen. She smiled widely at the sight of Harry, shuffling forwards and bringing him into a tight embrace. Winona could sense her relief at the sight of him; and she could relate.
"Oh, Harry, it's lovely to see you!" she whispered, then held him away from her so she could assess him critically. "You're looking peaky; you need feeding up, but you'll have to wait a bit for dinner, I'm afraid…"
She turned to Winona then, brow furrowed as she seemed to hesitate, then quickly brought her into a hug too. Winona's arms were trapped against her chest, but she did her best to hug Mrs Weasley back anyway.
"You're all right, dear?" she asked, pulling away to assess Winona too. "Everything go okay?"
"We're in one piece," was Winona's response, and Mrs Weasley gave a sad smile. "He's here, then?"
"He's just arrived," she told her, then looked up the rest of the guard, "the meeting's started."
The guard all made noises of interest and began to file past them, heading through the ominous-looking doorway that led to the kitchen. Winona stayed where she was, watching as Harry made to follow after Moody and Remus. But Mrs Weasley gripped his arm, keeping him from moving.
"No, Harry, the meeting's only for members of the Order," she told him, stern but not unkind. "Ron and Hermione are upstairs, you can wait with them until the meeting's over, then we'll have dinner. And keep your voice down in the hall."
Harry blinked. "Why?"
"I don't want anything to wake up."
That only made him more confused. "What d'you–?"
"I'll explain later, I've got to hurry, I'm supposed to be at the meeting – and so are you, Winona," Mrs Weasley tutted. "He'll want your recount of the night. Best not keep him waiting."
Winona agreed – she might not have been afraid of Dumbledore, but he certainly demanded a certain degree of respect. The kind she couldn't help but bend to.
She turned to Harry. "When you see the twins, let them know I'm back safe?"
But Harry was frowning. "You're not coming with me?"
"I've got to get to the meeting," she said apologetically.
"What meeting?" he demanded, beginning to grow frustrated. Winona knew how maddening it must all have been, but her gag order was unbreakable. She could only smile at him apologetically.
"You'll know soon enough," she told him. "I promise."
Then she wrapped an arm around his shoulders – somehow broader than they had been a month ago – and gave him a quick side-hug before reluctantly hurrying down the hall and descending into the darkness below.
The meeting was a madhouse – but it always was before Dumbledore put his foot down and brought the room to order. This many witches and wizards, holed up in a dank room together; there was bound to be a bit of chaos.
To her dismay, Snape was the first to see her, and his lip curled back in a sneer at the sight of her. She returned it, just barely keeping from making a rude gesture in his direction. Luckily, she was distracted by a call of her name, and her attention went to Sirius, who was sat at the table with an open chair beside him, on the left of Dumbledore who sat silent and still at the head of the table.
"How was it? Are you okay? How's Harry?" Sirius asked impatiently the moment she was sat in her seat.
"He's frustrated," she told him as he threaded an arm around her shoulders and hugged her quickly – just as she had with Harry. The comparison nearly made her smile.
"Well, that's to be expected," Sirius murmured calmly, but the crease in his brow was impossible to mask. "And you're all right?"
"Fine," she assured him. "I'll be glad for today to be over, though. How long d'you think this meeting'll take?"
"As long as necessary, Winona," said Dumbledore, voice low and commanding as always. She looked up at him, trying not to scowl. He smiled as if oblivious to her irritation.
Mrs Weasley reappeared, shutting the door after her with a resounding click and then casting a quick Imperturbable Charm on it for good measure. The twins had been caught using their Extendable Ears to eavesdrop on Order meetings more than once over the last few weeks, so now they had to take extra precautions.
Dumbledore took this as his cue to begin the meeting. All he had to do was lift his hands and instantly the room fell silent, commanded by little more than a gesture. Winona often wondered how he did that; commanded a room without so much as a word. It was its own brand of magic; known to the masses as respect.
The meeting began with Snape's weekly report – because his was the most important on the docket – and Winona listened with a pit in her stomach as he spoke about the Death Eater circles he was connected with and how Lucius Malfoy in particular was boasting more than usual about his contacts at the Ministry – something that didn't at all bode well for the outcome of Harry's trial.
Winona noticed Mundungus wasn't there, and wondered if maybe Dumbledore had kicked him out altogether. She doubted he had, but a girl could dream.
Moody spoke up next, reporting on their long trip from Little Whinging, but with little to report on the matter, it was over rather quickly. Dumbledore turned to Winona. Again, he had to say nothing; they all just knew what he wanted. It made Winona want to scream.
Still, despite the urge, she held it in and did as she wasn't told.
She recounted the story from the moment she arrived at Little Whinging, all the way up to the guard arriving to bring them safely home. Dumbledore listened without a word. He didn't even nod along; he just sat there, his icy, inscrutable eyes focused on her. She wanted to scowl again, but managed to keep her expression blank, if only by sheer force of will.
"Kingsley brought up a good point at the Muggles' house," said Remus once she was done and Dumbledore had nodded sagely. "What if the Wizengamot wants to confirm her recount by use of Veritaserum?"
Dumbledore waved a hand as if batting away a fly. "It's a non-issue."
There was a grumble of dissent throughout the gathered Order Members, and to Winona's surprise, it was Bill who spoke up from where he was stood in the far corner of the room. "Won't they want to administer it anyway? Even if it is just a simple underage magic offence? I can't imagine they'd let the opportunity to have that kind of unfettered access to Winnie's mind slip away."
"I've considered it," said Dumbledore without batting an eye. "It's under control."
Winona didn't like the sound of that, but she said nothing, slumping in her seat and pressing a hand over her stomach when it began to grumble. If they didn't get this over with soon, she was going to scream. She had to eat; she had to see her friends.
They moved onto other topics then. Hestia spoke about a small gathering similar to the Order that was rising up in Romania, and immediately a debate broke out about whether or not to induct them into the Order officially or not.
Bored, Winona slumped deeper into her chair, legs outstretched under the table, and shut her eyes, trying to tune out all the disagreeing voices in the room.
"How is he, really?" Sirius asked, little more than a whisper, but she still heard him.
Winona opened one eye, glancing at her dad before she answered. "He's a wreck," she confessed. "But wouldn't you be, too?"
Sirius looked pained by the simple truth of it. "I hate the way this has to be handled."
Winona sighed. "Me too."
Dumbledore called the meeting to order once more and everybody fell immediately silent. "We'll have Charlie Weasley look into this new order in Romania, but until then, nobody is to take any further action."
The group mumbled various assents. Just as Winona thought the meeting was finally coming to a close and they could get on with dinner – Snape had to open his stupid, ugly mouth.
"Does it not concern anyone that perhaps the Potter boy being here is too high of a risk?"
Nobody spoke a moment, considering his words. "A risk?" Sirius broke the quiet, ire hardening in the laugh lines of his face. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"This connection the Dark Lord has with his mind; does it not put these lovely Headquarters at risk of being discovered?" he sneered, nose crinkled like he smelt something bad. "Having the boy so close to the Order puts all our secrets at threat."
The Order began to mutter amongst themselves, some agreeing fervently, while others were glaring at Snape for so much as saying a word against Harry. Some of these people saw her cousin as something of a messiah – and she knew that if Harry ever found that out, he'd chug a bottle of bleach just so he wouldn't have to think about it.
It was rather hilarious to her, actually, how they revered him. Yes, he had a destiny, and yes, he was powerful. But he was also the kid who never properly combed his hair, and was barely passing his classes at school. She'd seen him asleep on the couch in the common room, drool leaking from his mouth, glasses askew on his face. She'd seen him straight after a Quidditch match, sweaty and dirty, a giddy grin on his face and his eyes wild with happiness.
Yes, he was the saviour of the wizarding world. But he was also just Harry. He was just her cousin. He was just a kid.
Dumbledore lifted his hands for at least the fifth time in the single meeting, and the room fell as obediently silent as the students in the Great Hall would at a feast.
"As far as we can tell, Voldemort is as of yet unaware of the connection he holds with Harry," he said, slow and steady, ignoring the way the entire room flinched at the careless use of You-Know-Who's name. "We don't need to worry about a breach in our security – particularly if nothing which happens inside these meetings ever reaches his ears," he added with a stern glance at Winona.
She bristled, offended by the insinuation, but had to admit it wasn't completely off the mark. She was glad, in a weird, twisted way, that she'd made the Unbreakable Vow with Dumbledore. Without it, there would be absolutely nothing stopping her from opening her mouth and spilling every dark secret the Order had to Harry, just because she thought he deserved to know.
But she couldn't – they had to play this smart, and that meant keeping certain people from knowing certain things; at least until the time was right.
"I won't tolerate any more skepticism of Harry's place here," said Dumbledore, voice low but also like thunder; impossible to ignore. It was the first thing he'd said in a long while that Winona didn't resent him for. "Sirius and Winona are his family," he continued, softening her further. "This is where he will stay, and he is to be treated with the utmost trust and respect."
The Order all mumbled vague agreements in response, and on that note the meeting was adjourned. Nobody really hung around once Dumbledore left, for which Winona was grateful. She didn't feel like spending time avoiding the minefield that was conversation with all the members of the Order.
If they treated Harry like their messiah, then Winona was their oracle. Sometimes they even asked her for advice on their personal relationships, and whether or not to invest in an upcoming business venture. That was always uncomfortable, and she'd rather avoid it at all costs.
"I'll go fetch the children for dinner, shall I?" Mrs Weasley said once only the house's residents and Tonks remained, the others all beginning to slowly file up the stairs and out the front door. She disappeared up to the next floor and Winona relaxed, turning to look at Sirius, who looked just as relieved for it all to be over.
"I'll make sure the others got out okay," said Remus.
"I'll join you," added Tonks. Remus looked momentarily surprised, but the surprise faded into a strange bashfulness that made his cheeks seem to go pink as he led the way upstairs.
Winona's vision flickered, and she gasped. The vision she'd so easily forced back from her mind earlier that night had resurfaced, and this time it wasn't to be ignored.
By now Sirius was familiar enough with her visions to know what to do, and she didn't have to say a word for a piece of scrap parchment and a self-inking quill were plopped onto the kitchen table in front of her.
She thanked him – or she thought she did, it was a little hard to hear herself over the rushing in her ears – and allowed the current of time to drag her under. By her usual standards, it wasn't a particularly violent vision. It lasted only a few minutes, of which she barely felt passing.
Coming out of it, Winona breathed deeply and rubbed at her eyes, which were always a little bit sore after a vision. Looking down at her haphazard sketch, she was surprised to find it to be a rendering of Remus and Tonks stood together, his arms wrapped around her, while in her arms was a tiny little bundle that was unmistakeably a baby.
Winona's eyes went wide, and she made a strange yelping sound that brought Sirius' attention back to her. "All right, Pup?" he asked, leaning over her to try and get a look at her prediction. "Draw anything important?"
"No," she said quickly, pressing the piece of spare parchment to her chest, hiding the sketch from view. "It's – er – personal."
Sirius arched an eyebrow so perfectly, it was like he'd taken a class. "Personal?" he asked skeptically. "Personal to you?"
"Um, not exactly."
"Then why can't I see it?"
She hesitated. "I'm invoking my right to silence."
Sirius gave a bark of a laugh. "What?"
"As a Seer, my privacy must be absolute-" she began in an important sort of voice.
Sirius cut her off with a roll of his eyes. "Yeah, yeah," he huffed. "You'd tell me if it was bad though, right?"
She considered the question – it really depended on what the bad thing was. She'd drawn earlier that Sirius was going to die in a large room with a stone arch in the centre, but she hadn't told him that. She hadn't told anyone – not even Fred. She got the feeling that, if she wanted to be able to stop it, it was something she'd have to keep close to her chest.
"It isn't bad," she said rather than answer – a cop-out if there ever was one. She pulled the parchment back just enough to get another glance at her drawing. "It's actually rather good."
Sirius eyed her, considering, but before he could reply there came a great crash from the floor above, followed almost immediately by the awakening of her lovely grandmother.
"FILTH! SCUM! DIRTY HALF-BREEDS! HOW DARE YOU BEFOUL THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS-?"
"Not again," groaned Sirius, already up and out of his chair, taking the stairs two at a time. With him distracted, Winona quickly folded her sketch into a little square, then shoved it into the pocket of her jeans where it wasn't likely to be found by anyone accidentally.
She knew they'd be back in a minute, so she went over to the drawer that had a Permanent Cooling Charm cast over it (so as to mirror the Muggles' electric refrigerators), and pulled out a bottle of butterbeer. Mrs Weasley wouldn't approve, but Winona didn't particularly care for anyone's approval by this point.
Mr Weasley and Bill were still in the room, talking quietly at the far end of the table. Winona let them talk, taking a seat at the table again and staring into the roaring fire as she sipped her drink, wishing distantly that she knew where Mrs Weasley had hidden the firewhisky after that night Sirius got so drunk he tried to coax Buckbeak into the drawing room.
Finally the others all began to flood back into the room, with Harry and Mrs Weasley at the front of the brood.
"Harry!" said Mr Weasley, bright and endearingly genuine. "Good to see you!"
Bill hurried to roll up the pieces of parchment strewn across the table. He glanced at Winona, silently asking for help, but she just took a defiant sip of butterbeer and stayed exactly where she was. She might not have been able to tell Harry any of the Orders secrets, but it wasn't her fault if he accidentally saw mission reports or the blueprints to Malfoy Manor, now, was it?
"Journey all right, Harry?" Bill asked as he sent Winona a sour look that only made her smirk. "Mad-Eye didn't make you come via Greenland, then?"
"He tried," said Tonks, striding into the room and helping Bill with the hasty clean up.
"This sort of thing ought to be cleared away promptly at the end of meetings," Mrs Weasley snapped when she caught Harry peering eagerly at the plans still laid out on the table. She began to unload all the dinner plates for their meal, and Winona took another deep swig of butterbeer.
"Sit down, Harry," said Sirius as he too, entered the room. "You've met Mundungus, haven't you?"
Mundungus Fletcher – who Winona had been trying very hard to ignore – jerked awake with an unbecoming snort.
"Some'n say m'name?" Mundungus mumbled sleepily. "I agree with Sirius…"
"The meeting's over, Dung," said Sirius with a companionable roll of his eyes at Winona as they all sat down around the table. "Harry's arrived."
"Eh?" grunted Mundungus, peering at Harry through his disgusting, matted hair. "Blimey, so 'e 'as. Yeah … you all right, 'arry?"
Harry looked surprised at the unexpected appearance. "Yeah," he said, insincere.
"He's fine," added Winona, voice like ice as she narrowed poisonous eyes at an awkward-looking Mundungus. "No thanks to you."
"Still on that, are we?" Mundungus murmured sourly as he fetched a grimy black pipe from the inside of his shabby robes. He began to smoke it with little regard for the kids in the room, or the meal they were about to eat. He caught sight of Winona's glare, and some of the sour indignation faded. "Owe you an apology," Mundungus began reluctantly.
"For the last time, Mundungus," snapped Mrs Weasley before the rat bastard could finish what was sure to be a very lacklustre apology, "will you please not smoke that thing in the kitchen, especially not when we're about to eat!"
"Ah. Right. Sorry, Molly."
The cloud of smoke vanished but the putrid smell of the green smoke remained, and Winona wrinkled her nose at him in disgust.
"And if you want dinner before midnight, I'll need a hand,'" Mrs Weasley said to the room. The others groaned and stood from their seats, but when Harry began to move, Mrs Weasley waved him back down. "No, you can stay where you are, Harry dear, you've had a long journey – you as well, Winona. You just have a rest."
Winona got the feeling this was Mrs Weasley's way of trying to apologise for the tension between them, and she found she couldn't deny her the opportunity. "Thanks, Mrs Weasley, but I'm fine. I'd like to help."
Mrs Weasley smiled, just a little bit tentative, and nodded for her to fetch enough goblets for them all from the pantry. She made her way over, nearly there when a pair of arms wrapped around her middle and yanked her into an alcove off the side of the kitchen. Winona tried not to yelp, especially when she realised who it was.
Fred was grinning down at her, relief in his cornflower eyes. "This was your special mission?" he asked, pressing her against the wall. Chills broke out across her skin, but they were definitely the good kind. "Fighting off a couple of dementors with Harry?"
"I like to live on the edge," she told him playfully, sliding her hands up the length of his chest until she could link her fingers behind his neck. "Thanks for lending me your broom."
"Lupin was the one who asked, and for a moment there I thought he wanted it for himself," he admitted. "Of course, once he mentioned your name, I was much more likely to give it up."
She hummed, swaying into him because she was helpless not to. "So selfless."
"That's what they call me," he said, distracted as his eyes strayed to her lips. "Selfless Fred."
"That's a terrible nickname."
"You got a better one?"
"Shut up and kiss me."
And so he did.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed; I know a lot of you were hoping for the trial in this one, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little while.
Also, I wanted to let you know that I'm going to be taking a few weeks break from posting. I want to focus on getting ahead in my writing of both this story and others, plus I have some personal things to deal with. This isn't a hiatus or anything; I have chapters in the wings and I plan on being back very soon, but for now, don't be surprised if I go a few weeks without updating.
If this is the first story of mine you've read, and you like my writing style, I'd encourage you to go check out one of my other stories, Heart of the Storm, particularly if you're a fan of OC Doctor Who fic. It's a monster of a piece, one I'm immensely proud of, and it should keep you busy while I'm away (plus I'm working very hard at the sequel at the moment, so you won't have to wait too long for more…).
Leave a review and let me know your thoughts on this one – we're officially at 1000 reviews, too, by the way! So thank you all, you're amazing. And if you have any questions about anything, how long I'll be gone, upcoming works, beta opportunities, etc., then shoot me a private message. I'll be happy to chat about it! xx