A/N: Many people have asked me how much longer the story is going to go. I hope no one will mind when I say we still have quite a while-possibly as long as 20 chapters. The story is moving along quite quickly at this point, but there is a lot more that needs to be discovered.

Chapter 55
Bill

Cassie looked at Ginny with confusion. "Uh . . . I didn't want his picture looking at me and smiling while I was undressed, obviously. I didn't know if you'd charmed them or what. I changed in the bathroom the first couple of times, but that got old rather quickly." Both Ginny and Hermione laughed and the feeling of nervous dread in Cassie's stomach retreated. "You can't blame me, really, can you?"

"No. I guess I'd be the same way if I wasn't used to them moving and smiling. But, can I put a few of them up again tomorrow?"

"Yeah. As long as they're charmed like the ones at Hogwarts."

"All right. It's a deal, then. I'll just put a few over here on this side of the room so they don't bother you."

"Ginny, I . . ."

"Yeah?" Cassie's stomach clenched. She hated to bring this up again but she wanted to get the matter resolved permanently. So that Ginny knew the truth.

"I knew that you and Harry belonged together when he talked about you long before I ever met you. He loved you then even though he didn't know it himself. That's why I told him we could just be friends. So, even though I know this is hard, please believe me when I tell you that I don't feel that way about Harry any more, and he never felt that way about me. Never. Hermione knows I'm telling the truth."

"She is, Ginny. And that's why I'm worried about this whole -"

"Don't start, Hermione. It is not the same at all, not at all." Cassie cut her off before she could even finish the thought. George was a wizard. Other than that, he and Harry had nothing in common.

"If you say so." Hermione sounded very doubtful but she was willing to drop the subject and after a few minutes, both girls' even breathing told Cassie that they had gone to sleep. She lay staring into the darkness for a few minutes, then reached over to the night stand by her bed where she had moved all her belongings earlier. In the drawer was the Falcons sticker and right now she needed it. She picked it up and cradled it in her hands, hoping desperately for the slight warmth that indicated George was touching his. But when she fell asleep, it was still cold.

She supposed it was the stress of the night before, but Cassie did not wake up at her usual time. In fact, judging by the sunlight flooding the room, it was possible that George had already left work. Cassie hopped up and grabbed her clothes. She needed to shower and comb her hair, not to mention brush her teeth, but she wanted to see him worse than any of that. Still barefoot, she ran into the hall, thinking that if she just made a quick dash into the bathroom to brush her teeth, then if by chance he was still here she could at least kiss him good-bye. When she saw the line at the door, though, she bit her lip. Hermione was there along with Ginny and Harry. Cassie thought it must be Ron currently using the shower and decided that she didn't want to wait for them to all move, so she just ran down one flight of stairs and tried to hear if George and Fred were still in the kitchen. At first she didn't hear anything, then his smiling face popped into the stairwell, looking up at her. "Hey, sleepyhead. I thought I wouldn't get to see you this morning."

"I'm sorry. I didn't wake up and I forgot to set my alarm and . . ." He climbed up the stairs to her landing and wrapped her in his arms. She buried her face against his chest unsure whether to kiss him or not. He kissed the top of her head.

"Don't worry about it. I was up late last night, too. This girl knocked on my door and I was so hopeful it was you, but it wasn't."

"You didn't know it was a girl, though, before you opened it."

"Yes, I did."

"How could you have possibly known that?"

"Because the stairs between our two floors squeak and when it's Ron or Harry, I hear their big clunking footsteps the whole way down to our door. So, I heard the squeaky step and knew someone was coming up from Ginny's room."

"You're pretty smart, aren't you?" she teased him, tightening her hold on him for a minute.

"Maybe not." His voice was more serious than it had been so far.

"You aren't listening to what Hermione said last night, are you?"

"Well, I-"

"George! Come eat!" Mrs. Weasley's voice came up the steps toward them.

He grinned at her. "Come and have breakfast with me." Cassie sighed.

"I need to wait in line for the bathroom. It's popular this morning."

"Get used to it." He lifted her chin and then lightly kissed her lips. Cassie drew back quickly, embarrassed. "Take your baths at night like you were, that always helps make things move faster in the morning." He kissed her again. "I'd better get down there. Hurry, okay?"

Cassie ran back up to the floor and was pleased to see that only Ginny was still waiting. She grabbed her bag out of the bedroom and stood next to her for a few minutes. "How have you been doing your hair without me to help you, Cassie? I mean, George hasn't been drying it or curling it for you, has he?" Cassie laughed.

"No. I once even hinted at it, but he stubbornly refused to bite. I've just braided it or curled it or worn it straight. Since I haven't had to worry about anyone else wondering why it isn't done, it's not that big of a deal." Harry emerged from the bathroom a second later, hair damp with water still clinging to his face. Ginny laughed at him softly.

"I appreciate your hurrying," and she darted into the bathroom. Harry smiled at Cassie.

"How are things going?"

"Okay, I guess. I mean, for me. Everything else seems to be in a bit of a muddle with everyone having to hide from the police and stuff." After a few more moments of awkward conversation, Harry climbed up the steps and Cassie smiled to herself as she heard heavy footsteps that went up for quite a long while. George was right that he could never miss Ron or Harry descending the stairs.

Breakfast was even more chaotic this morning than usual, partly because of the extra bodies, partly because of Arthur reading articles out loud from the Daily Prophet, partly because of Molly fussing over everyone and trying to get them to eat more. Cassie listened with interest to the article Arthur was reading even though everyone else was talking.

Order of the Phoenix Members Pursued. Yesterday, orders were sent to apprehend known and suspected members Albus Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix, a secret organization supposedly existing to fight You-Know-Who. However, with the recent assassination attempt upon Cornelius Fudge by Dumbledore and his werewolf associate, Remus Lupin, Ministry authorities have questioned the real purposes of this organization. For this reason, arrest warrants were issued for Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Hestia Jones, Nymphadora Tonks, Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley, and Bill Weasley. In a surprising move, the Ministry also issued an arrest warrant for Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived (Please see accompanying story on page 3). Potter, who is still a student at Hogwarts, has been known to accompany Dumbledore and other members of the Order of the Phoenix when confronting people they claimed were You-Know-Who's Death Eaters. Attempts were made to arrest Potter yesterday when the Hogwarts Express arrived in London, but Potter apparently was not on the train. Aurors were sent to Hogwarts to take Potter into custody, but he had already left the school grounds. His whereabouts are currently not known." Arthur looked up with a disgusted expression. "Well it goes on from there, but it doesn't say much. This is a real mess."

All too soon for Cassie's liking, George and Fred got ready to leave for work. Cassie knew they had to go, but she was really nervous that they might be arrested. After all, Aurors seemed to be on the hunt for all the other Weasleys. Maybe they would decide that it was just prudent to arrest George and Fred first. George must have been able to sense her concern, because he led her from the kitchen into the living room with a gentle hand on her arm. "What's wrong? You look worried."

"I'm afraid they're going to try to arrest you."

"You don't need to worry. We've got some contingency plans." But despite that, he did actually look concerned, biting on his lip. Cassie didn't think he knew he was doing it.

"Can't you just shut down the shop?" Cassie tried hard not to sound whiney.

"We would if it was just a question of the Galleons. Because, I mean, Fred and I are greedy but we're not stupid." He tried to smile, chucking her softly under the chin. "But . . . realistically, someone needs to be finding out what's going on and it basically has to be us." They both smiled bravely at each other and then they kissed in a sort of frenzied abandon that made her wonder in some rational corner of her mind if he thought it might be the last time. No, she told herself, no. She would not allow herself to think that, not even let that thought cross her brain. She heard a click but ignored it, putting all of her energy and thought into kissing George. He was the one who pulled away and turned toward the door, now open and occupied by someone. Someone who was staring at the two of them in complete surprise. "Hiya, Harry. Did you need something?"

"No, no. I just, well, Fred was ready to go and thought you'd gone back upstairs, but I . . ." His voice trailed off miserably in embarrassment. Cassie smiled warmly at him, trying to tell him silently that he shouldn't be worried about interrupting them.

"I guess you'd better go. Be careful, okay?"

"Always." George went back into the kitchen and a second later, Cassie heard the distinctive pops that told her the twins had left.

"I'm sorry, Cassie. I didn't expect for you . . . I didn't know about the two of you." He finished bravely, meeting her eyes.

"Well, we kind of kept things quiet when I was at school, as we were supposed to be cousins and all. And, honestly, I wasn't sure if he would even really like me once he knew I was a Muggle and everything." Cassie looked at him and smiled. "We better get back in there, I guess. Ginny will miss you." Harry nodded vaguely and they both went into the kitchen. Cassie looked with amazement at the crowd. There were even more people in here than there had been before. Tonks was back, looking quite distressed, and Bill Weasley was there having an argument with Molly.

Cassie moved over to the table and started getting the dishes cleared off. Everyone else seemed to be paying attention to the newspaper or one argument or another and Cassie thought it might help if they had a clear spot to work. Molly absentmindedly started helping her, even though she was still arguing with Bill. It had something to do with Fleur, that much she understood. Ginny and Hermione were talking to Tonks, who was gesticulating wildly and Ron was joining in with Bill. Cassie had absolutely no idea what was going on and didn't say anything until Bill said, "I just wish we could get a hold of the Muggle newspapers today. They're bound to have the story and I really want to know how badly we've been compromised." He looked around and saw Cassie, blinking mildly in surprise and Cassie thought that she probably looked a lot different than when he had first seen her and she smiled brightly at him. "Hi. I could go get some newspapers in the village."

"Are you insane?" everyone in the room yelled at once.

"I'll go," said Ginny and the yelling was repeated. But despite all of the yelling, it was eventually decided that the three young witches would walk to the village and buy several Muggle newspapers: Cassie because she had the Muggle money and she refused to give it to anyone else, which she knew was selfish, but no one argued too hard; Ginny and Hermione to protect her. No one looked very excited about their little trip except for the girls themselves. The weather was miserable, drizzly cold rain soaked through even Cassie's winter robes within the first few feet. She smiled to herself as they trooped down the road, thinking that if she and Molly had looked strange when they had walked a few days ago, the three of them would look positively bizarre. All three of them out in the soaking rain wearing rather odd looking cloaks. She glanced over at the other girls and stopped in exasperation.

"What are you two doing?"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, looking genuinely bewildered.

"I'm wet. You're not. No one would believe in town that I was the only one who got rained on today. Not in this weather." Hermione looked sheepish but Ginny shook her head.

"I'm not taking my charm off- not till we get closer. It'll be too cold." Cassie pursed her lips together.

"And did you even think of offering me one?" The girls looked embarrassed.

"I forgot you couldn't do it yourself." Hermione said, and Cassie wasn't sure whether to be flattered or annoyed. The walk to town was mostly silent because it was too difficult to talk as they concentrated on trying not to let their teeth chatter. Occasionally Cassie would hear groaning from one or the other of them that they shouldn't have walked, but since apparating was not an option for either Ginny or Cassie, no portkey was available, and certainly neither Hermione nor Cassie was going to fly closer to town, walking was the only real possibility. But by the time they got to the village, they were all grateful to be there. The rain had stopped, but it was still very cold, especially now they were all wearing wet cloaks.

They entered the village and walked up the main road. When they got to the store Cassie and Molly had shopped at, Hermione suggested they go in there to buy the newspapers.

"Uh, no. We'd better find another place. That's where Molly and I shopped a few days ago. I think they'll remember me."

"Oh," Ginny blushed. "Was it too horrible?'

"No. She was okay, really. A few funny looks, but nothing too strange. She did make a bit of a fuss over my paper money and was ecstatic over the extension cords, but it wasn't too bad. I just don't want to take a chance that they'll even think of her by seeing me, when her picture is possibly in all the newspapers."

They all agreed and continued on down the street, looking for a likely-looking shop. As they were approaching a tobacco and magazine shop, Cassie noticed three teenage boys staring at them. She felt self-conscious because of the heavy, witch-looking cloaks. However, she soon realized the boys were more interested in the girls under the cloaks than the cloaks themselves. As the girls entered the shop, the three boys followed, staying at a distance, but smiling and winking whenever the girls looked over at them. Ginny glanced over and then giggled. "I think they're flirting with us. Harry was never good at flirting. What about Ron, Hermione?"

Cassie glanced around, hoping no one had heard her. "Shh. Don't mention any names." The boys had obviously not heard Ginny, but were aware she was talking about them and had assumed they were making a good impression. Unfortunately for them, they were not making a good impression with Hermione, who was not as flattered by their attention as Ginny was.

"Cassie's right, Ginny. Besides, I believe you already have a boyfriend." She reached into her cloak pocket and Cassie whispered frantically at her.

"Hermione, don't pull your wand out." Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled out a tissue to wipe her nose.

They made their way to the newspaper racks where, to their dismay, the news that the police were after a group of terrorists was the headline news in several of the papers on the racks. Cassie picked out several, both she and Hermione smirking as she passed up the copy of The Sun. Cassie could see the boys still hanging around nearby and felt uncomfortable. It was a long walk back to the Burrow and they could certainly not be followed. "Let's read the papers here for a few minutes. Maybe they'll lose interest."

The three girls quietly perused the newspapers until Hermione loudly exclaimed, "Oh, bloody hell!" The other two girls looked up in shock and Ginny grinned. "Hermione, you've been hanging around Ron too much. You're starting to talk like him:" Hermione blushed, but just shoved her paper in front of Ginny's face. Ginny quickly scanned the paper and then practically yelled, "Oh, bloody hell! How did they get all of that information about Harry?" Several people turned around and stared at the girls, while the boys laughed. Cassie muttered under her breath, grabbed the newspapers from the other two, pulled them to the counter, paid for the papers and the three quickly exited the shop - followed closely behind by the boys. They had actually made more of a spectacle of themselves by hanging around then they would have otherwise. Fortunately, the boys lost interest as they started down the road, so no hexes or obliviating charms were necessary after all.

They walked much more quickly back to the Burrow than they had before because now they had a reason to get there as soon as possible. The wintry sun was now shining and the walk was much more pleasant, but Cassie knew that the weather was the last thing on her mind and assumed the other two felt the same. Cassie didn't know what the article contained that had gotten both Ginny and Hermione so upset, but it was obvious that whatever it was, it had something to do with Harry.

Back at the Burrow, chaos was still the order of the day. Bill was still there and when the girls put their cloaks away, Harry told them that he had come to stay. "Is that why they were arguing earlier?" Cassie asked, indicating Molly with her hand.

"Sort of. Molly was angry that he didn't come here immediately rather than go to Fleur's. He was almost caught this morning. I can't really tell whether she's angrier that he was at Fleur's all night or that he was almost arrested."

"It's probably equal," Ginny shrugged. "It's not like they were doing anything obscene. She has roommates. He probably just slept on the couch."

"Yeah. Through all the yelling, I could tell that was his argument. But she insisted that for appearance's sake, he should not be sleeping at his fiancee's house."

"Well, it's good to know she's got her priorities in order," Ron said, poking his head into the room. "Never mind that he's was almost arrested. By the way, Cassie, we filled him in on everything about you."

Cassie shook her head. "I bet that was boring."

"Uh, not really. He said his boss was acting strange yesterday. He's trying to find a picture of him."

"His boss?"

"Yeah. Some old wizard - I don't remember his name." Ginny looked strangely at Ron.

"I thought all Bill's bosses were goblins?"

"All but one, I guess. Don't ask me. Come on, let's go downstairs." The older wizards had opened the Muggle newspapers and were reading them in complete silence. Judging by the looks on their faces, Hermione's and Ginny's earlier cussing was well warranted.

Arthur stood up with a concerned look at Harry. "Uh, Harry, my boy, I'm afraid . . ." and he held out the paper. Apparently, because Harry was raised with his Muggle aunt and uncle, finding out information about him was a lot easier for the reporters in the national news service than finding out about the other "terrorists" who had nothing about them anywhere in the usual spots. But Harry had gone to Muggle school, gone to Muggle doctors, and even held down a Muggle job two summers ago. He had a Muggle history, and most of it was splashed over the pages of these newspapers with accompanying photos. Harry read with a solemn expression, upset but hardly hysterical. He laughed at one point when the reporter quoted "prominent businessman Vernon Dursley, who insisted that "The Boy" was a poor relative that they had to take in for pure Christian charity and that they had known he was rotten since the first moment they laid eyes on him. Dudley had also apparently been interviewed, but his statement was so strange that very little of it was quoted although the photograph of him trying to hide behind his bony mother made Harry laugh particularly hard. He said it was because of the fact that he was holding his extremely fat rear end like he was trying to protect it, but Cassie really didn't know why that was so funny. Neighbors were quoted as saying that Harry was a strange boy, always wearing nasty baggy clothing and worn-out shoes, with messy hair and weird pets. Most of them said it was a well-known fact that he was attending St. Brutus' because he was a juvenile delinquent in the making. Someone had tracked down a representative of the actual St. Brutus' who insisted that no Harry Potter currently attended or ever had attended their school, but the reported surmised that the school was just hiding something. What made everyone curse, Cassie surmised, was the fact that there was a very clear picture of Harry with his scar plainly visible. "Bloody Hell!" Ron said when he saw it, and everyone shook their heads as the three young girls broke into laughing fits.

Bill came in during this and motioned to Cassie, who approached him with some trepidation. "My boss kept dropping into my office yesterday. I thought that was odd, but when I said I needed to go somewhere and he refused to let me, I realized he was trying to keep track of me. Fortunately, none of the goblins like him, so one of them brought me the news before it was official so I could get away. He obviously knew I was going to be looked for, and I just thought . . . well, I thought maybe he was there that night."

"Makes sense, I guess. Did you find a picture?" Bill laid a grainy wizard picture on the table in front of her and she bent over to get a closer look. "I can't tell. Could we find a better one?"

"Sorry. But maybe I can enhance it. I'll be back in a few minutes." Cassie was nervous for some reason. She really hated this. Not that she had any sympathy for the people at that meeting but she hated shattering other people's perceptions of other wizards they knew. She remembered the look in Remus' eye when she had mentioned Sootspinner and she didn't ever want to see that look again. She realized this would not be the case here. It was obvious Bill was not having any crisis of conscience. In fact, it sounded like he would almost be relieved to expose him as a creep.
Ten minutes later, Bill got his wish. The picture he brought back was larger, clearer, and brighter and Cassie could recognize the face. She wasn't sure what it was, something about the shape of the nose, but he had definitely been there that night. No question about it at all, and she told Bill so. As she suspected, there was a look of quiet triumph in his eyes. "Caedman Grimwood. If he's involved, that cannot be good. Dad, we need to get a hold of Dumbledore immediately. Grimwood must be helping with the finances of this little operation." Arthur asked Cassie if she was positive about her identification and her brief nod set his face into a grim expression.

"All right. Albus will undoubtedly want to ask you both some questions. Bill, is there anyone you trust at the bank, implicitly, with your life?" Cassie didn't hear his response as they turned away and lowered their voices in the instinctive way those who plot schemes don't have to be told to.

Lunch was a quiet affair; no one was in the mood to talk very much. Professor Dumbledore came the cleanup was ending and Cassie reconfirmed her identification. He also looked over the newspaper articles and then looked at Harry. They went off to have some sort of an impromptu meeting and Cassie spent the afternoon alternating between wrapping Christmas presents and staring at the Weasley clock where George and Fred's hands stayed stubbornly on "Working" even though she was positive that at least a month had passed since they had disapparated that morning.

There was one bright spot in the otherwise rather dreary afternoon. Ginny was the first to notice an owl sitting patiently at the kitchen window. It was a large, well-groomed owl which Arthur, immediately identified as one of the Ministry's owls. He hesitated for a moment, unsure of why it was there, and then opened the window. The owl entered, delivered a very important-looking letter, and then left. The others gathered around as Arthur inspected the creamy parchment.

"It's from Nicholas Nightscall." He tore open the seal and opened the parchment, his eyes quickly scanning the letter. The expression on his face relaxed as he read the letter and, by the end of it, he even had the beginnings of a smile. Molly and the others questioned and coaxed until he read it out for everyone to hear.

Arthur,

I wanted to write you a letter to express my support at this difficult time. I understand you have taken an extended leave of absence and, obviously, understand your decision. This is, of course, all off the record and I would have to deny it if questioned by certain groups. Yesterday was a difficult day for all of us. I realize you and Molly, are friends of Albus Dumbledore. I too consider myself a friend of Dumbledore's and hope he would say the same about me. I personally trust him and believe he is doing what's right for the wizarding world.

You and I have some very important things in common. We are both dedicated to doing what is right for the Ministry and the wizarding world, and our daughters are even roommates at Hogwarts and I know that Saffron thinks a great deal of Ginny. Because of that, I have also argued hard that you can be trusted to anyone that will listen. Unfortunately, there are some within the Ministry who feel differently after that vicious attack on Cornelius. This explains the warrants for yours' and others' arrests yesterday. Again, I was and still am very uncomfortable with the approach and said so repeatedly. Please rest assured that I am working hard to get this horrible wrong corrected and will not stop until it is. I believe everything will work out very soon. In the meantime, I have authorized your extended leave of absence to be a paid leave of absence. This is the least I can do under the circumstances. Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do for you or your family.

Nicholas Nightscall

This news really helped cheer everyone up as it assured them that despite the Ministry's many problems, at least the man in charge was on their side. Cassie just hoped that he was right when he said that it would be over soon.

Cassie helped Molly fix yet another huge meal that night and the table was set now for 11, Bill joining their group for the foreseeable future. Nothing could be done at the bank this weekend but as far as Cassie could tell, some sort of plan was in place for Monday morning that would hopefully allow the newly-discovered conspirator to give away even more of his comrades. Dinner was a startling contrast to lunch because George and Fred kept everyone laughing as they recounted stories of the day. Cassie relaxed as she sat near him and felt his warmth reaching out to her and everyone else in the room. It was a gift, really, to be able to cheer people up to that extent. Hermione may call him a goofball, but Cassie didn't believe it for a moment.

After dinner and dishes, Molly and Arthur, Remus, Tonks, Professor Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall all had a meeting in the living room, which forced the others up to the girls' room for the evening. It had been interesting seeing Professor McGonagall again when she had arrived before they had all retreated.

"Good evening, students. Miss . . . uh, Robinson."

"Hello, Professor." Cassie shifted uncomfortably on the chair and then stood to show her respect.
"I understand that you hoodwinked me."

"I'm afraid so. I had to, you see."

"Yes. And I must say, I would love to hear how you did it. I've rarely seen such clean transfigurations from a 6th year student. When the Headmaster told me you were a Muggle, I refused to believe it, but he assured me that it's true."

"Yes, I am. But I couldn't tell you what I did. It might cause problems for other people, Professor. "

"No, of course not. Perhaps some other time." She went into the living room with the others, shaking her head in amazement.

Ron and Harry brought some games in and George and Fred showed them prototypes of a new line of toys they were developing. It was a fun evening of laughter and joking, working really hard to pretend that there was not an extremely important meeting going on downstairs. After a good round of Exploding Snap, Cassie relaxed on her bed as the others played Gobstones. The rules to that game were absolutely beyond her comprehension, but it was interesting to watch. Ron challenged Harry to a game of chess. Harry reluctantly agreed and pulled out his now extremely worn copy of the chess strategy book Cassie had given him and she smiled in contrast to Ron's scowl. Cassie watched them play for a few minutes as did everyone else. Harry had improved quite a bit and kept referring to the book as he made his moves. She didn't think anything about it when George picked up the book from where Harry had put it down after his last turn. She didn't think anything about it as he flipped through it, studying the pages where it fell open naturally where Harry had damaged the spine. She didn't even think that much about it when he opened the front cover and started reading the inscription. She remembered it well and she smiled as she remembered how nervous she had been as she wrote it.

Dear Harry, This is an inadequate thank you for the telescope but there is not much I could give you that would be an adequate one. And this is also a thank you for being my friend. So, it is inadequate on both counts, but I hope that you will use it often and think of me and remember how much you mean to me. I don't know all your big secrets but I do know some things about you. You are wonderful! I don't think people tell you that often enough. Every time you read this note, though, you'll remember that I know it and maybe someday you can find that out for yourself. Please don't forget me. I know I'll never forget you or the time that we've had together.
Love always,
Cassie

At the time, she had had a horrible crush on him, loved him really. Fortunately, she hadn't confessed how much in the note as by the time he actually read it, her feelings had shifted a little and she was glad that her words were fairly tame. It was only as she studied George's face which was progressively getting redder as he read and re-read the note that she realized something was horribly wrong. He looked up at her and all the soft humor that she was so used to seeing in his expression was absent. "What the hell is this?"