Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

The morning after the chamber incident, Arthur and Molly Weasley strode into the hospital wing, worry and weariness alike etched all over their faces. Once they had been told what had happened Arthur was ready to commit murder. "That scheming bastard!" Arthur seethed as Molly tearfully comforted their daughter.

Edward watched them carefully. He could see that there was something more underneath the surface but refrained from commenting on it. They'd come to him when they were ready. So, when Arthur walked into his office hours later, Edward was a little surprised as he had expected it to take a bit longer than that. The man that was his friend looked tired with bags under his eyes and a sag in his posture. "When is the last time you've slept Arthur?"

"Not since this business with Greyback started."

"It shows. How's Molly?"

"The same as me unfortunately. She's not so much worried about us. The Summer Holidays are fast approaching and she doesn't want that beast anywhere near the children."

"Understandable. You could board with Sirius or myself. Both of our homes are under a fidelius among other powerful protection charms and wards. I doubt Greyback could get to you there."

"Perhaps we'll take you up on that offer. Thank you." Arthur said sincerely.

"It's what friends are for mate." Edward returned. He knew Arthur would never accept; he was too proud for that. Edward summoned a bottle of scotch from his cabinet and 2 glasses and poured them each a serving. "So, what can I do for you?"

Arthur nursed his glass for a moment before taking a long drink, draining his glass in one go. "I always preferred muggle whiskey to Ogden's." He sat his glass down and filled it again. He then looked pensive for a moment. "I suppose I just need you to promise me that you'll make sure our will is carried out if something happens."

Edward blanched before regaining his composure. "I see. Better safe than sorry I suppose." He drained his own glass before refilling. "I suppose your will has specific instructions." Arthur nodded. "I see. Well, hopefully we won't have to cross that bridge."

"Hopefully not." Arthur didn't look too hopeful though, which had Edward worried as the man left his office to make his way home, Edward couldn't help the sense of foreboding that came over him. He hoped that he wouldn't regret listening to Arthur.

Arthur never took him up on the offer to move in and as the end of the school year approached, Edward couldn't help but feel as if something was going to go terribly wrong soon. He'd been by the Burrow multiple times but Arthur and Molly would both insist that they were fine and that they'd deal with it. The Ministry had posted a few aurors around the area to keep an eye on things but Edward knew that wouldn't be enough.

The end of the term finally arrived and Edward had a bad feeling about it that began from the moment he had woken up and had steadfastly remained all morning. After the children had all boarded the Hogwart's Express and the train was well on its way, Edward pulled out his mirror to call James. He still had a lot to do before he could leave himself. "Would you mind checking on the Weasley's for me mate?" He asked when James appeared in the mirror.

"Sure. I was planning on it anyway." James answered with a smile before the mirror went blank. With a sigh, Edward went back to work, trying desperately to get done before he headed for home.

On the train, Harry, Cassie, and Draco sat in a compartment with Ron, Neville, Hermione, and Ginny. Harry had his arm around Ginny's shoulders as she slept, still exhausted from everything. "Madam Pomfrey says that she'll be back to normal soon." Hermione spoke up.

"Is there a normal after you've been possessed by Voldemort?" Harry asked with a raised brow as Hermione flinched at the name along with Ron.

"I only meant that there weren't any side effects."

"No physical side affects you mean?" Cassie asked. "Because I promise you that there will be mental side effects."

"I suppose I put my foot in my mouth a bit there." Hermione sighed.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure she's not the only one that will be experiencing mental side effects." Draco stated.

Hermione shook her head. "It was like I was asleep. I spoke to everyone else and it was the same. They were asleep the whole time so, aside from a few nightmares perhaps, we'll be fine." Draco nodded, satisfied with her answer.

As the train pulled into the station, Harry shook Ginny awake as everyone gathered up their things. Ginny looked abashed. "Sorry Harry, I didn't mean to use you as a pillow."

Harry simply grinned. "Don't worry, I didn't mind."

As they all disembarked, Harry noticed his mum on the platform, a slightly weary look on her face. "Something is wrong." Emma stated as she came up next to her brother.

"You see it too?" Harry asked.

Emma nodded. "She looks tired right now. Something has happened and the adults are all keeping it from us."

Harry snorted. "Keeping things from us is what adults do best."

"That is the very truth. Where are the Weasleys?"

Harry frowned at the observation. Where were the Weasleys? Being late to drop off was one thing, but Molly was never late to pick up her children. "I bet it has something to do with why Mum is so tired looking. I have a very bad feeling about this." Emma nodded grimly.

Draco nodded with a frown. "There's my mum Harry. Keep me posted yeah?" Harry nodded as Draco said goodbyes to everyone, taking slightly longer with Hermione than with everyone else which caused Cassie and Emma to look at each other, amused. Hermione waved bye to everyone as she made her way to her parents as well.

"Alright everyone gather round. There has been a change in plans so the Weasleys are coming with us." Lily plastered a fake smile on her face as she pulled a length of rope out. "Here's our portkey." The Weasleys looked confused but, after a shrug from Harry, gripped the rope. "Alright here we go in 3, 2, 1…" At the tug on their navels, the Portkey whisked them away to Potter Manor.

Hogwarts…

Edward was cleaning and tidying his office for the last time. Many Professors chose to live at the castle full time but others, such as himself, preferred the comfort and security of his own home. With a satisfied smile, he closed and locked his office door and, with a wave of his wand, warded his office to intruders and began the walk towards Hogsmeade to apparate to his home. He didn't get far before his communication mirror buzzed urgently. Frowning, he pulled it out and answered, seeing James's worried face in the mirror. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"There has been an attack Edward….at the Burrow."

Edward's stomach plummeted as he bolted back to his office floo and flooed to the Burrow. The scene that greeted him was horrific. There were aurors everywhere picking up whatever evidence they could find. There was blood all over the place as he made his way to James and Sirius, who's solemn expressions gave him no good news. "I'm sorry mate, Arthur didn't make it." Edward closed his eyes as grief washed over him briefly before he shoved it down and focused on his anger. "And Molly?"

"She was found in her room. Aside from a few scratches, physically she's fine. But it is going to take her some time to recover. Arthur held him off long enough for help but it was too late for him. Unfortunately, the bastard Greyback got away but it looks like Arthur took a bit of a chunk out of him." Edward nodded numbly as he looked at the carnage. One of his dearest friends lay dead while his traumatized wife sobbed in the background. Edwards eyes flashed red as he grit his teeth and clenched his fists. Greyback will pay. Suddenly, a young man ran to them. "Auror Black! Arthur Weasley is alive! They were examining him when his heart started back up!"

"How long ago did this happen?" Sirius demanded.

"Roughly 20 minutes my Lord. We had to be sure that it wasn't a fluke. He's alive and the healers are working on him at St. Mungos as we speak!"

"How long was he dead?" Edward asked grimly.

"10 to 15 minutes at the most." The young man answered.

Edward nodded. "It will be a tough road to recovery for him but if they can keep him alive then Arthur will be fine physically." The mental aspects were a little more difficult to discern though. You never knew what to expect after being gone for that long, your brain needed oxygen and being deprived of it for 15 minutes was not good.

"Well that's a bit of a relief." Sirius stated though Edward could see that he was no less upset. Sirius was a realist and he knew the implications of this. Greyback wouldn't stop. "We'll need to post guards at Hogwarts. I already know that the Minister is overreacting as we speak but some good aurors should help. He'll most likely go after the children next."

"Most likely." Edward hoped that was the case. "I'll kill him when he does." Sirius could only nod at the venom in his friend's voice. James frowned as the Minister approached them. "Try not to kill him Edward."

Edward nodded slightly. "No promises mate." James felt his mouth twitch an involuntary smile before his face was set back to grim lines.

"Potter! What the hell happened!?" James sighed and relayed to him everything that he had just relayed to Edward. The minister began to wring his hands. "Oh, this is no good! No good at all! You say he's alive? That's good! I shouldn't have listened to him though. I should have place more guards here. Arthur always downplays danger to himself. The man doesn't like to inconvenience anyone." The minister had a scowl on his face. "I want a force of aurors at Hogwarts at all times. Potter, I expect Amelia will put you in charge along with Black and Lupin. We can't risk that monster getting anywhere near the children!"

Edward was more than a little shocked at the Minister's fervor about this. Fudge had a history of downplaying things. He liked to pretend that nothing was wrong and typically only cared about the impact something would have to his political career. To see him acting as if he actually cared about what happened to the Weasleys shocked Edward. It didn't even look like he was pretending either, it seemed genuine. After the distraught minister had left, Edward whirled on James. "Since when does he care so much?"

James shrugged. "I'm honestly not sure. Aside from Malfoy, I don't know of anyone else that the Minister actually feels concern for." It was an odd reaction for the Minister to have. Nonetheless, Edward knew that Molly and Arthur would be out of commission for a while which meant that someone needed to watch the children. This meant that the Will would be reviewed. Edward frowned. Why had Arthur asked him to make sure that their Will was carried out? What was he worried about?

The question would soon be answered as they made their way to the Ministry to discuss that very thing. On their way to the Inheritance office, Edward spotted Malfoy who motioned for him. Frowning, Edward quickly made his way to where Lucius was standing. "What do you want?"

"There are forces at work here. I do not know exactly who helped Greyback escape, though I have my suspicions. What I can tell you is that Nott will make a play for the girl. The reason should be obvious and under the old laws, he has a chance."

"Not according to the Will, he doesn't."

"Maybe not, but regardless of that be careful. To have withstood the Dark Lord's power for nearly a year speaks of the power that lies within her and there are plenty who would use that. Theodore tells me that his father has designs on the girl, to what purpose, as I said, I do not know though I can guess."

"He wants her either for his son or for himself." Edward spoke matter of factly.

"Yes, though I think more for himself as Theodore is a bit of a disappointment to him."

Edward shuddered. "That's disgusting." Lucius nodded his agreement. "Why are you helping me now?"

"That cursed diary forced me to do its will and in doing so, it put that poor girl and others, not to mention my own son, in danger. This is my repentance for that." So, Edward had been right about a strong compulsion charm.

"I see. Well, thank you for the information. I shall make good use of it. Tell me though, are you behind the Minister's sudden concern for Arthur?"

Lucius snorted. "Oddly enough, no. Arthur has actually made steps to ingratiate himself recently. I advised him privately of Nott's interest so this may have been the result of that."

Edward frowned. "So, you had this conversation with Arthur? I suppose you also explained about the dairy as well?" Lucius nodded. "I see, well then, I'd better get on. But thank you Lucius, I will make good use of this intel." With a nod, Lucius strode away, having done his part. Edward made his way to the office with apologies of tardiness. He looked over to see none other than Lord Nott himself standing off to the side. As the Will was being read as to what would happen to the children, he could see Nott's irritation begin to show. Arthur had covered his tracks well. "Due to her health, Muriel Prewett is unable to take on the underage children. As such, Arthur and Molly Weasley have declared that they should live with Lord James Potter, followed by Lord Sirius Black. Should anything happen to either of them that keeps them from doing this duty, then it falls to Mister Edward Riddle." Edward wasn't at all surprised though he could see that James was. Sirius was grim faced. No doubt thinking about the children and what they were going to say to them.

"They don't have any real claim to the children though do they, not by blood at least." Everyone turned to Lord Nott who had a slightly desperate gleam in his eyes.

"The Will gives them that claim." Fudge stated firmly, determined to honor Arthur's request.

"They do have a claim by blood actually." Edward stated.

"Arthur is actually a distant cousin of mine." Sirius stated.

James nodded. "Which means he's distantly related to me as well. We are related through the Black family. You, however, do not have this claim." James stated with a raised brow, daring Nott to challenge him on it. Nott said nothing more, merely gritting his teeth in frustration.

The rest of the meeting went off without any issues though it was evident that it would not be the last they would hear from Lord Nott. He gave them all dark looks as he stalked out of the office. The minister frowned at his back but shrugged and turned back towards James. "I wish you all the best of luck. I understand that it will not be easy, especially now that you'll have to explain all of this. I do not envy you there, not at all."

James looked weary. "We'll do our best minister. I'll speak with Amelia soon about forming a team to watch Hogwarts."

The minister screwed his face up. "I was thinking of stationing a bunch of Dementors there but Lucius advised against it. He said that there was no guarantee that they'd be of any help and there was always the possibility that they could harm one of the children. I saw sense then and that's when he advised that you put a team together. It is a much better solution I believe."

Edward could see the tick forming on James's forehead and knew that he was trying not to hit the minister. Why on earth would anyone think dementors to be a good idea? Sirius had a look of sheer bewilderment on his face. Edward put on his best face. "I agree minister. It is an excellent idea. Besides that, perhaps they can convince some of the outgoing students to join the auror corp. They could certainly use the numbers."

Fudge's face brightened at that. "Indeed, they could, especially if Azkaban is not as secure as we all believe it to be."

After that, they all left before his friends could say anything that they would regret. They ran into Remus on the way to the floo. "Dementors? Why on earth would he think that to be a good idea? Especially around all of those children?" Remus exclaimed.

"Merlin knows what he was thinking. I'm glad Lucius talked him out of it. Though I can't for the life of me explain his turn around." Sirius stated thoughtfully.

"I actually may be able to shed a little light on that. Not here though. Let's get back and we'll talk more in depth."

Potter Manor, 2 hours previous…

The port key brought them all to the living area of Potter Manor. Harry landed with a thud and was just able to keep his balance. Many of the others, however, had not fared so well. Lily quickly took out a piece of parchment and handed it to the closest Weasley. "Read this, quickly. Pass it on to the next." It read, Potter Manor is located in Caithness, Scotland. Suddenly, each person blinked after they read the parchment, as if a fog were lifting from the room and they could finally see. Harry knew this to be because of the Fidelius charm that kept the manor safe. Though plenty of people knew about its existence, only close friends of the Potters knew exactly where it was and how to get there.

Lily escorted them all into various seats and chairs around the room. Ginny did her best to stay close to Harry, which did not go unnoticed by any of the other females in the room. Lily figured that, because Harry had a hand in saving her from the Chamber, that she just felt most comfortable around him. She also figured that they had probably talked about the Chamber and Ginny probably felt it was easier to talk to Harry about it than anyone else. She smiled though at the way Harry seemed to just accept it without a thought. He can be very kind. Although I think that he probably likes her a little as well. Hmm. I wonder what wedding colors would look good…she shook herself, setting herself for the task at hand. "Ok so I know you are all wondering what in blazes is going on." This is going to be difficult. "There was an attack early this morning. Fenrir Greyback escaped from prison a while ago, along with Peter Pettigrew. We do not know if Pettigrew was involved here, but Greyback attacked your parents." She held up a hand at the loud shouts coming from the twins and Ron. Ginny and Percy looked to be in shock. "Your oldest brothers have been notified but I do not know anything more than that. This is probably one of the safest homes in existence so that is why you are here. I do not expect you all to go about your merry way, so I will order tea and perhaps a snack while we wait." After giving the Potter elf, Tippy, the orders, she sat back and fielded questions from the boys. She noticed Ginny was pale faced and clutching Harry's hand desperately.

They waited for what seemed to be ages before the floo lit up and the men returned, tired and weary. James held up a hand at the questions that were shouted almost as soon as he stepped out of the fireplace. "They're alive. It was a close thing and they will be at St. Mungos for a while, but they are alive."

"If Greyback was a danger, then why weren't there any aurors posted?" Ron demanded.

"We had a squad there at all times. We tried to do more but your father refused. And that isn't me blaming your father but he didn't want to take more away from the department than was necessary. He and I had more than one row about it." James answered bitterly.

"The fact is that now we have to focus on keeping you all safe. We have reason to believe that you all could be potential targets for Greyback." Sirius advised. "Greyback is an animal."

Remus agreed. "He'll want to finish it. We've also installed aurors at St Mungos to watch your parents to make sure he doesn't try anything there. Once it gets back that he failed, he'll be furious."

They seemed to accept it grudgingly and after a quick meal, Lily began to herd the children to their individual rooms for bed. "I know you all must be tired." Harry rolled his eyes but smiled as he made his way to his room. He whispered something to Ginny who nodded in some relief. Lily placed her in a room that was relatively close to Harry's. She shot down any idea that Sirius and Cassie were leaving that night and put her in the room that was hers when they stayed over. After the children were all in bed, they sat in the sitting room where Edward advised them of what Lucius had told him at the Ministry.

"Why on earth would Lord Nott want to do that to a child?" Lily asked, bewildered.

Edward shook his head. "I think his intention was to get a hold of her and then to force a marriage as soon as he was legally able."

Lily frowned. "And what, pray tell, is the legal age?"

With a sigh, Edward answered. "The legal age for marriage is 14."

Lily was gob smacked. "T-that's…that's horrible."

Sirius nodded solemnly. "As soon as she turned 14, she would have been rushed off and forced into a very binding marriage to Nott. From what I hear, Nott isn't picky about age when it comes to his women."

James nodded. "From what I hear, he frequents sex houses that specialize in young girls. Ginny would have been no different to him. In his mind, women are all the same and are only good for one thing, breeding."

Remus clenched his jaw. "He is a disgusting human being who thinks himself above everyone else. He's a bigot and a rapist."

Edward snorted. "That describes most of your old purebloods nowadays, present company excluded, of course."

Lily shivered. "That poor girl. Hell, our own daughter falls into that category." She was wide eyed now. "What if something happened to James and I, they'd make a play for her too."

"Nothing will happen to you two. And even if such a thing happened, we would protect her." Remus reassured as Sirius and Edward nodded in agreement.

Hours later, Ginny bolted upright, a scream catching in her throat. She could still feel Riddle's hands on her, touching her within her mind as he forced her to kill. The tears rolled down her cheeks. She clutched at her sides as the nightmare played through her mind. She had killed Harry in her mind. The basilisk had killed him. She'd been having nightmares since the entire ordeal had ended. She could only imagine poor Nissa, the basilisk that had been under Riddle's control for so long. Harry had freed her as well. Speaking of Harry, Ginny slowly got out of bed and made her way to Harry's room. She slowly opened the door to find Harry asleep. He had told her that if she needed to talk about her nightmares, then he was always available. She hoped that he had meant at 2 in the morning as well. She walked to his bed. "H-Harry?" He groaned a little and she was afraid that he'd be upset.

"Gin? What's wrong?" He blearily rubbed his eyes and put his glasses on.

"I-I had a nightmare." His face softened and he patted the space next to him. Her relief was palpable. And so, he listened as she talked, and comforted her. Eventually, she fell back to sleep, a more peaceful sleep, with Harry holding her.

Whooooooo boy that was a long break wasn't it? I definitely did not mean for it to take this long lol. I am so sorry that it took me this long! I ran into writer's block and between that, going for my Bachelor's in business management, and raising my almost three year old daughter has been time consuming. I can not promise quick updates, but hopefully it won't be this long to the next chapter. Thank you for your patience! Please leave a review!