Dumbledore stood up so quickly his chair toppled to the floor.
"Where?" he asked.
"The Shacklebolt's house," Mr. Weasley said, wringing his hands.
"We must go there at once," Dumbledore said.
He looked calm, steady, and dangerous. Harry could see why Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort feared.
"Who is to stay with the children?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"I will," Mrs. Weasley said, silently entering, followed by Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.
"We need you, Molly," Mr. Weasley argued.
"Do you have another suggestion? Because if you do, I'd love to hear it," she shot back, crossing her arms.
"Take us," Harry said suddenly, and Ron, Hermione, and Ginny nodded eagerly.
"No," Mrs. Weasley said and scoffed as if Harry's suggestion was the most absurd thing in the world.
"No, really," Harry said, the wheels in his head turning. "If you leave us without guard, it would be the perfect opportunity for Voldemort to strike here."
"No one knows where headquarters is, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said in "nice try" sort of way.
The three adults prepared to Apparate, and Harry suddenly thought of something.
"Kreacher!" he shouted.
Everyone turned to face Harry with questioning eyes.
"He doesn't have to obey Sirius anymore. He could have told the Malfoy's where this place is. Dobby could tell me things about Lucius. I know Dumbledore's the secret-keeper, but what if they found a way to break that," he finished, out of breath.
The adults had a conversation with their eyes above everyone's heads. Harry could tell they were skeptical, but he knew he had placed doubts in their minds.
"Charlie's letter said they were gone," Mr. Weasley said to Mrs. Weasley.
"Whatever course of action we take, it must be quick," Dumbledore said.
"Alright," Mrs. Weasley said, giving up.
She whirled around and faced them.
"But if any one of you goes wandering off, as you tend to do, I swear by Merlin I'll break your wand in half!" she threatened, and they weren't about to argue with her.
Mr. Weasley grabbed a saucer from the cabinet and quickly turned it into a portkey.
"Everyone grab on," Mr. Weasley said. "It will take us in thirty seconds."
Harry touched one finger to the saucer and Grimmauld Place vanished.
Harry fell hard onto the grass. He quickly pushed himself up, took his wand out, and looked around. He was in front of a nicely kept, two-story house. He couldn't tell where they were, but once he glanced at the sky, he stopped caring. There, hovering menacingly above the house was the Dark Mark. It glittered and glowed in the sky as if made of thousands of green stars. The giant skull had a snake protruding from its open mouth and seemed to be suspended in the smoky green haze that emitted from it. Harry suddenly remembered Mr. Weasley's words at the Triwizard Tournament after Harry had seen the Dark Mark for the first time.
"Just picture coming home and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and knowing what you're about to find inside . . . everyone's worst fear . . . "
Harry got chills as he remembered these words and at what they may find in Kingsley's house. Everyone slowly began to walk up to the house. There were several loud popping noises and about a dozen Order members Apparated to their left, including Tonks, Moody, Lupin, Bill, Percy, Mundungus, and other new members Harry had not met.
"Molly," Tonks said, running over to them. "What are the children doing here?"
"We needed all the Order members we could, and we couldn't risk leaving them unattended," Mrs. Weasley told her.
Harry heard a voice call from inside the house and recognized it as Charlie's. They could see him beckoning to them from a from an open front window.
"Dad, they're gone, but the men need to come inside. Let the women guard out front. They don't want to see this," he said, and Harry noticed panic in his voice.
"Men, inside," Moody ordered and thumped off toward the house.
Ron and Harry started foward, but Mr. Weasley's arm shot out in front of them.
"Don't push your luck," Mr. Weasley said. "Stay outside and guard with the women."
Harry and Ron stopped reluctantly, but turned back to face the others. The women had spread out and kept a close watch on the trees that practically surrounded the house. Harry looked around at the witches he had never met before. One witch stood off to his right. She had short brown hair and a rather round face. She had very large hips and wore robes of deep green. She looked very nervous and jumped at every breath of wind. Harry wondered if she might be related to Neville. Another witch standing by Mrs. Weasley was rather pretty. She had waist-length black hair and dark brown eyes. She was tall and slim and looked very young. Harry thought she vaguely resembled someone he knew, but before he could place it, the men came around from the back of the house. Dumbledore's face was grave, and the others looked too stricken to speak. Harry knew what was coming by the look on Mr. Weasley's face.
"They are dead," Mr. Weasley said, wrapping his wife and Ginny in a hug.
"All of them," Tonks said, her voice on the brink of hysteria. "Even the children."
"Yes," Charlie said. "There's nothing more we can do. I got here first and saw the Death Eaters Disapparate. I caught a glimpse of Malfoy and Bellatrix."
With these words, Harry's blood ran cold. He knew Bellatrix was wicked, but what kind of monster killed children? Then Harry suddenly remembered who the evil girl had been in his dream. He even recalled the younger girl calling her Bellatrix. He had never loathed anyone as much as that woman. She had killed Sirius, and Harry wanted to torture her beyond belief.
"I'm going to kill her one day," Harry said to Ron, who was hugging a crying Hermione.
Ron met his eyes, nodded, and pulled Hermione tighter.
Later that night, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Lupin, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat around the long wooden table in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. Dumbledore had stayed behind to talk to the Ministry officials who had arrived, and Ginny had wanted to go to bed. No one spoke much. Mrs. Weasley had whipped up some tea for everyone with her wand, but all the cups sat full on their plates. The fire popped in the fireplace and lit up everyone's pale faces.
"How could this have happened?" Harry thought.
He hadn't known Kingsley that well. He hadn't even known he'd had a wife and two small children, but it still hurt to have him gone. Harry remembered the picture of the old Order Moody had shown him last year. Most of those people had been picked off one by one trying to defeat Voldemort. How many would lose their lives this time?
"What's going to happen?" Hermione asked softly, staring into the fire, gently stroking Crookshanks.
"I don't know, dear," Mrs. Weasley answered. "They will have a memorial service for them, I suppose."
"Why did they pick Kingsley?" Harry asked.
"They probably thought he knew things because he worked in the Ministry," Lupin said.
He sat with his hands on his knees looking completely drained. Harry knew it was not just the Shacklebolts' death that made Lupin look so ragged. The night after the full moon had been just one night ago.
"But dad's in the Ministry and so are other people," Ron said.
"Your father is more protected here," Mrs. Weasley replied. "Besides, last year your father was attacked."
"Please don't remind me," Ron said gruffly.
"Kingsley knew what he was getting into when he joined the Order," Mr. Weasley said, leaning against a shelf in the corner with his arms crossed.
He had known Kingsley the most out of all of them and didn't seem to be taking it well.
"Well, his children sure as bloody hell didn't," Harry said, his voice rising as his anger spilled over. "They didn't join the damned Order."
"We know, Harry," Lupin said, shaking his head. "We know."
"Now do you realize why we don't want you in it," Mrs. Weasley said with sadness in her eyes.
"I just can't believe they struck so quickly after escaping from Azkaban," Lupin said in disbelief.
"Their leader was never one to lay low once he knew he had power," Mr. Weasley said. "He has an agenda and a deadly one at that. This war will not be easy."
"Are wars ever easy?" Harry asked quietly, feeling wise beyond his years.
"Alright, that's enough," Mrs. Weasley said. "We have a busy day ahead of us. You all need your rest before the trip to school tomorrow."
"Who gives a damn about school after a night like this one?" Ron asked Harry as they walked out of the kitchen.
Harry shrugged and shuffled up the stairs. He was too void of emotion to answer. All he could think of was his bed, and how it had never seemed so inviting.