A/N: Oh…God. I'm sorry guys, I really am. I have no excuses for what took me so long to get this chapter out other than I honestly didn't have enough time to write. So, in an attempt to try to console people I have not cut this chapter in half, and have released probably the longest chapter I've written for this story. I hope you enjoy it! Please do not throw rotten fruit in my direction…
My borders for whatever rhymes or reasons do not seem to want to cooperate with me today… please bear with me. I apologize if it's hard to read…I replaced it three times, each with a different border. None worked. Sorry guys…
Disclaimer: Gee, they really like to rub it in my face that I don't own this stuff.
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Harry felt his face slam into grass. He took a deep breath and tried to regain his breath. He rose angrily from the ground and stared around. They were back at the Burrow-except things were wrong. Angelina rose shakily and looked around. "When…was there a hole in the middle of the house?" she asked to the rest of them.
Alicia looked at the house and gasped. The Burrow had been torn apart by magic. There were holes in the house, and burns in the ground that were obviously made by magic. "What happened here?" she whispered to no one in particular.
No one answered her, for they already knew. There had been a battle that had taken place here. Angelina crouched down close to the ground and prodded the burn marks gently. "We need to get out of here," she whispered to the night. Crickets chirped, stars twinkled overhead, and somewhere a bird sang. All of these small, comforting details made the night seem safer than what it really was.
"Where's the Invisibility Cloak when you need it?" Harry quietly asked no one in particular. Angelina might have overheard him, for she looked at him strangely, but she said nothing to him about it. George turned his head to the side and slowly coughed. He pushed himself up into a sitting position.
"What the hell happened?" he asked, as his eyes caught what had happened to his house. Katie shrugged helplessly.
"We don't know," she said weakly. "We figure that there must have been a fight or something. We need to get out of here," she said with renewed urgency in her voice. "They might be around us right now. We have to get out of here!" she finished up with a hysterical edge in her voice. Alicia quickly clapped her hand over Katie's mouth.
"Katie, shut up!" Angelina hissed at the younger girl. "IF they are still here, then they probably just heard you go insane and they're looking for us right now!"
"What are we going to do?" Harry quietly asked. "We have two unconscious people, and George still can't move very well…" It actually slightly surprised Harry that George couldn't move after being hit with the Crutacius Curse. It wasn't even the full force of the Curse, and he still was shaky on his feet.
George glared at Harry, almost as if he could read the thoughts that were going through Harry's mind. "Screw you Potter," George growled, shoving himself up in one huge push. "I'm fine." He turned around and winked at Alicia. "Besides, you girls have to have one man to protect you, right?"
This statement, instead of making everyone snicker, made them even more depressed. Angelina looked down at the unconscious Fred and Oliver. There was a thin trickle of blood coming out of Fred's mouth. Her stomach turned over until it felt like it had exited her abdomen altogether. Oliver looked even worse than Fred. Large bruises covered his entire face, and his breathing was abnormal and strained, almost as if he was hiding several broken ribs. Angelina did not doubt that their escape had hurt him even worse than he was already.
"I suppose the safest place is in the house," Alicia said, sizing up the house with trepidation. "Come on. Harry, help me with Oliver, would you?" she asked, grunting as she put her hands under Oliver's arms and lifted his body up off the ground. Harry took Oliver's leg and quickly walked into the Burrow through a particularly large hole in the wall.
"George, where's a safe place?" Angelina asked once they were in the house. George looked around, sizing up the house.
"Come on," he said, taking the lead. Harry noted the slight limp in George's gait as he walked away. He remembered the look of fierce pride that had been on the man's face when Harry had insulted him. Angelina and Katie came after George with Fred and then he and Alicia came bearing Oliver. George led them to a small pantry.
"It might be crowded, but it's safe," George said, gesturing around. Alicia looked around and had to agree. This was probably the best place that George could have led them to. It was in the back of the house, small, secluded, and it was a place that no one would ever think to look. Angelina quickly closed the door and performed a simple Locking Charm on it. Alicia motioned her away.
"Here, let me," she whispered, concentrating hard. Her brow furrowed and she bit her lip tightly as she concentrated on conjuring up the most complex Locking Charm that she could think of. A jet of electric blue light shot out of her wand and towards the door. When it hit the doorknob it coated it, and then spread over the entire door, making it glow a soft blue that reflected all of their faces.
"There," she said, wiping off the light sweat that had broken out over her forehead. Angelina looked at her in astonishment.
"Where did you learn that?" she asked. Katie nodded wordlessly.
"I mean, I was in the same Charms class with you, and I don't ever remember seeing that," George said, speaking up from the back of the room. "Where did you manage to learn that?"
"Well…" Alicia blushed. "I was interested in Charms, so I went and asked Flitwick for a bit more work last year. I figured that with Him being back, I should learn as much of this stuff as I could."
"Alicia, do you have Divination skills or something?" Katie demanded. "Because what you just did was bloody brilliant!"
Alicia flushed with pleasure, but said nothing else. She turned to Fred and Oliver. "I think what we should do now is look over them and try to figure out what's wrong with them." all of their faces dropped as they pondered the task which Alicia had just given them.
"Well…" Angelina looked over Oliver and Fred before moving closer to Fred. She did not want to look over Oliver. She was terrified of what might be lurking underneath his robes, what hidden horrors that he had to show them. They all seemed to have the same idea. Alicia bit her lip and went slightly green.
"Well…I suppose that I'll go on and look at Oliver, Katie you come with me," she ordered the younger girl. Katie looked horrified and sickened, but she followed the quiet girl's lead. "Angelina, you take Harry and George, and go look over Fred." Both groups turned to their assigned boy.
Angelina's hand hovered over the clasp of Fred's cloak. She could not stop herself from turning this into a twisted sexual experience. She turned to George who sighed and quickly took off Fred's cloak. He continued undressing his twin until there was nothing left but a thin white T-shirt. Angelina bit her lip and shook her head. She still could not recognize the curse.
Harry touched Fred's face gently and then gasped softly. George and Angelina turned to him. "I think I know this curse," Harry said quietly. "I saw it used last year…" That was all that he had to say. Everyone knew where he would have seen it last year.
"Do you remember a counter-curse for it at all?" Angelina asked eagerly. Harry bit his lip and looked down at the floor while shaking his head slowly.
"It was used on Hermione last year," he said. "I was taken to Dumbledore's office after the battle and I didn't see how they cured it. But I do know that it's not fatal." Angelina and George both sighed in relief. Angelina conjured up a bowl of cool water and a towel. She sat beside Fred and started to sponge off his forehead. George sat by Fred's right side and watched over him, occasionally biting his lip as he looked out through the small pantry.
Meanwhile, Alicia and Katie were concentrating on Oliver. Katie glanced at Alicia as she started to unbutton Oliver's robes. The quiet older girl was concentrated on the problem at hand, her eyebrows knitted together as she removed the robes. "Alicia?" Katie asked quietly. Alicia started and then turned to Katie.
"Yes?" she asked softly.
"Have you ever thought of what you wanted to do after Hogwarts?" Katie asked again. Alicia waited for a moment before answering.
"I don't suppose that I gave it as much thought last year as I should have. Of course, playing Quidditch would be brilliant, but I somehow don't see it happening. I don't know. I was just going to take the summer off before looking for a job. Why do you ask?"
"I was just thinking," Katie said quietly, hiding her face as she took Oliver's robes from Alicia. "I was thinking that you should think about being an Auror or a Healer."
"Thank you," Alicia said, ducking her head so that Katie wouldn't see her blush. "Now come on. We have to do this right, or else we're going to end up causing more harm than good." Alicia held her wand over Oliver's body. "Lumos," she whispered quietly. A faint light came out of her wand, illuminating Oliver's body.
As soon as the light hit him, Katie thought that she was going to be sick. There were bruises and blood all over Oliver's arms. Alicia winced as her eyes surveyed the damage. It doesn't matter how good I am at Charms, I'm never going to be able to heal this, Alicia realized.
Katie felt another presence beside her. She turned to see Harry kneeling beside her. "You all right?" she asked quietly. Harry slowly nodded as he watched Alicia remove Oliver's shirt. Harry bit his lip as he felt the guilt again. Oliver had gone through this for him. It was because of him that Katie was breathing deeply, trying not to vomit. It was because of him that the horrible carnage existed on Oliver's torso.
Cuts, deep and shallow littered his chest. There were so many bruises that it became impossible to distinguish them apart. As Alicia put her hand on his side she detected a bulge that could only be a broken rib. She had her doubts about other bones in Oliver's body. And as she touched his bare skin, she could feel that it was devoid of any warmth. The time spent in the cold might have been even more harmful than all of the time spent with Voldemort.
Alicia searched her memory for the spell to mend broken bones. She could not remember it, and she cursed herself and her poor memory. She looked around for the other people who would be able to perform magic. "Angelina, George," she called softly. Angelina and George came over to her, carefully managing to avoid looking at Oliver. "I need a spell," Alicia said softly, and then proceeded to explain just what she needed.
Angelina looked as blank as Alicia did, but recognition quickly slid over George's face. "It's this one right here," he said quietly. He took out his wand and pointed it at Oliver. He whispered quietly under his breath. Oliver's breath hitched in his chest for a moment and then the bulge disappeared from his side and Oliver's breathing became easier.
"How did you know that?" Katie asked incredulously. It appeared that everyone had hidden talents-George with his healing and Alicia with her Locking Charms, and who knew what else.
"Fred taught me," George said, sparing a glance back at his unconscious twin. "We learned right before we started making all of our stuff. He said that since we were likely to get several broken bones from making the stuff, it was a good idea to know how to fix them ourselves so that we wouldn't call attention to ourselves in the hospital wing." Angelina nodded sagely.
"What now?" Katie asked Alicia. "It's obvious that no one else is here. Where did they go? And how are we supposed to get there ourselves? And what do we do…what do we do with Oliver?" Katie asked, gesturing at her former Captain.
"Get all of the robes and clothes that we're not going to use," Alicia commanded. Angelina looked at her in astonishment. She had never known that Alicia possessed the capacity for ordering others about. It seemed that you could never expect what a person would do in an emergency. "We need to get them around Oliver so that the hypothermia doesn't sit in all the way."
Angelina made sure that Fred was covered properly before bringing over the excess robes. The five children piled them around the unconscious Oliver and then Angelina performed a Heating Charm to provide even more warmth. "And now we wait for morning," Alicia said quietly, wrapping her arms tightly around herself and tucking herself into a corner.
Outside, on the doorstep of the Burrow, the phoenix feather fluttered, but remained on the doorstep, a reminder of where they were supposed to be.
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"Hermione?" Ron asked quietly. She had disappeared after a hasty supper and he had been unable to find her. He was beginning to be quite worried. The house was really not that large and there were not that many places that an underage witch could hide. Well, no places that an underage witch could hide safely. Ron felt the rise of apprehension and began to search more frantically. It occurred to him that there was one place that he had not yet thought to look: Sirius's old room. Ron walked up the stairs and knocked on the door.
"Hermione?" Ron asked. He knocked again, more urgently, but there was still no answer. Ron sighed and gently pushed the door open. He peered in and saw the angry face of Buckbeak. Ron gulped and stepped into the room fully. He made full eye contact with the hippogriff and then bowed. It was only half a second before he heard the responding bow of Buckbeak. Ron walked up to the hippogriff but was confused when it merely lay back down again. Normally it would have walked towards him, intent upon discovering the dead ferrets that Ron had hidden inside his jacket.
Ron looked past the hippogriff's large wings to see a sleeping Hermione on the floor. When Buckbeak lay back down she sighed and rested her head on the hippogriff's side. Ron stared at the sleeping girl, loath to wake her from the peaceful slumber that she was having. If she could find peace and comfort, then let her have it. Would that they were all that lucky.
Ron started to walk out but a soft yawn called him back. Hermione stretched and rubbed her neck when she discovered a crick in it. "Ron?" she asked, trying to stifle another yawn with her hand. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you," he answered her truthfully. "Mum was worried about you," he said, not-so-truthfully. He thought that he saw a flicker of disappointment in Hermione's eyes, but that must have been his imagination.
Hermione stood up and stretched. "What time is it?" she asked, trying to smother yet another yawn. Ron began to feel slightly guilty for waking her up.
"It's a little after eleven," he told her truthfully. Hermione bit her lip nervously.
"They should have been back by now," she said, her voice taking on a shriller note than it usually had. "Something's wrong." Ron slowly nodded and bit his lip. "I just wish there was something that we could do," Hermione said, nervously chewing on the end of her fingernail.
Ron looked at her, knowing what she was meaning to say. Ever since first year, he and Hermione had been with Harry as he faced Voldemort. Even if they weren't with him at the very end, they had always helped him to get to where he was. And for the first time, they were not there fighting alongside Harry. It felt different, and Ron was not sure that he liked the way it felt. He had always been Harry's sidekick, from first year on. He had hated it, hated all of the attention Harry received just for having a bloody scar on his face-yet when he wasn't the sidekick, when he wasn't by Harry's side…that feeling was worse than all of the jealousy put together.
"Me too," Ron said, nodding slowly. "Me too." Hermione sniffed, her eyes bright with tears unshed. Ron's eyes widened. He did not know what to do with a crying girl. He had never known what to do when Ginny cried, and now that it was Hermione, it was even more uncomfortable. He somehow knew that Hermione would not cry, but she still looked dangerously close to crying.
On some instinct, he reached over and wrapped his arms around her in an awkward hug. He could feel her tense beneath his arms and he quickly took them away from her and stepped away five paces. He coughed uncomfortably. "Anyway," he said, scuffing the floor with his toe. "Mum wanted you to come down and spend some time with us. And besides…" he looked around at Sirius's old room which still bore traces of his presence, "it can't be very cheerful staying up here."
Hermione nodded. "I'll come down in a minute," she whispered, still looking shocked at what had just occurred between them. Ron stepped out of the room and immediately hit his head with the back of his hand.
"Stupid," he hissed before walking down the stairs.
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Percy bit his lip nervously. He could not dispel the feeling that something was very wrong. He had been experiencing this feeling ever since he had seen Angelina earlier in the day. Somehow he knew-something was wrong with the world. He shook his head and knocked gently on the door.
A frazzled Cornelius Fudge opened the door. "Oh, Mr. Weasley, there you are," he said, opening the door wider and inviting him in. Percy entered, still feeling the slight awe that he felt whenever he was in the room. Here he was, in the Minister of Magic's office, and he was treated like he belonged there-like he was an equal. It was still mind-boggling to him.
"I was just wondering if you needed anything," Percy said respectfully. Fudge thought for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. Things had been difficult for him. Having to admit that he was wrong had been a huge blow to him-both to his pride and to his political life. Having to admit that Voldemort had actually returned was possibly the hardest thing that he had ever had to do in his life. There were reports of Death Eaters and Dementors attacking, and there was nothing that he could do to stop it.
"I can't think of anything," Fudge finally said. "You might want to stop by the Auror's offices though. I think that Tonks and Shacklebolt both left earlier in the day. Something about the Oliver Wood case-a new lead or some other thing." Fudge went back to rearranging papers on his desk.
Percy muttered a goodbye and gently closed the door behind him. The second it was closed he leaned up against it, his breath beginning to come in short spurts. They had found Oliver? They knew where he was? Percy began to walk down the halls to where the Aurors had their domain.
Percy kept his eyes on the ground as he walked. When he looked up, his eyes were greeted with something that he did not expect. He saw a person with long flowing red hair walking away from him. His eyes might have been deceiving him, but he was almost certain that it was Penelope Clearwater that was in the Ministry.
"What?" Percy whispered to himself. "Why is she here? I wasn't aware that she had any interests in the Ministry at all." A rare urge took hold of Percy-an urge to break the rules and follow her. He sometimes got these urges, and while he was able to ignore them for the most part, there were some, like this one, that were just too powerful to ignore. He remembered watching the twins as they were growing up and started to follow the advice that they had given for following other people: maintain the proper distance, short enough so that you don't lose sight of them, but long enough so that they don't see your shadow. Use quiet steps, putting most of your weight on the balls of your feet. Breathe quietly and through your nose. It was sad how much of this he remembered, and it made him wilt with shame to think that he was actually taking the twins' advice on something.
Penelope stopped at a door. Percy quickly ducked back into a doorway as she looked around to make sure that no one was lurking within sight. She knocked gently on the door and it swiftly opened. Percy bit his lip to stop from gasping. "Madam Pomfrey?" he whispered in astonishment. This scenario just seemed to be getting stranger and stranger.
Madam Pomfrey greeted Penelope and quickly brought her inside. Percy was unable to quell his curiosity once more. He quickly glanced around to make sure that no one was near or watching him and crept closer towards the door. He put his ear to the door, but someone must have performed a charm on it, for he could not hear anything coming from inside the room. Percy sighed in frustration and then jumped backwards in shock as he saw the doorknob turning. He somehow managed to hide himself in another doorway before Penelope walked out of the room. She glanced around quickly, not seeing him, and walked down the hallway. Percy lurked in the shadows until she came back, bearing several bandages.
He waited until her hand was on the doorknob until she spoke. "Fancy seeing you here Penny," he said quietly. She gasped, jumped, and turned around, her hand over her heart.
"Percy," she panted, looking at him reproachfully. "What are you doing here?"
"Funny," he said, glaring at her. "I could ask the same of you. If I recall correctly, you need proper verification to be in this part of the Ministry. I know that if I were to check you for verification, I would find none."
"So what are you going to do?" Penelope hissed, her temper breaking out. "Run and tattle to Fudge? Throw me in Azkaban for months? I won't stay there. The Dementors are leaving, you know that don't you? More of them leave every day, and the Ministry can't keep them there. Put me in Azkaban? That's a week old sentence…if I don't die first that is."
Percy shrank back under her harsh tongue lashing. When she was finished, she looked at him with regret in her eyes. If it had been another time, if he had not been so horrible to her last year, she would have apologized, but it was too late. The words were out, and she was not going to apologize for them. "It's all right," Percy quietly whispered to her. "It's no more than what I deserve."
"You can say that again," Penelope muttered.
"It's no more than I deserve," Percy repeated dutifully. He was rewarded by a short smile and chuckle from Penelope before her face became serious once more.
"I need to go," she said quietly, trying to step past him to the room. Percy grabbed her forearm and held her in one place.
"Penelope…what's happening?" he asked her quietly. Penelope shook her head and tried to hide her face from Percy. "Penelope…come on love," he cajoled her gently. "Tell me what's wrong."
"Percy, stop it," she whispered to him, sounding close to tears. "Stop acting like we're still a couple. And stop delaying me from what I need to do."
"Penelope…what is this about?" Percy asked. A sudden surge of inspiration came to him. The missing Aurors, Penelope's presence in the Ministry, Angelina's visit…they had to be connected somehow. "Is this about Oliver?" he asked her quietly. Her face paled, and Percy felt that familiar surge of intellectual superiority that he had always felt at Hogwarts when he had discovered the solution before any of his classmates.
"I can't say, please let me through," Penelope whispered quietly.
"Penny, I already know," Percy whispered. "Hermione owled me and told me everything that was happening with Oliver. I just want to know how you got mixed up in this."
"All right," Penelope said. "But it's a long story, and I don't want to talk about it right now. There's someone that needs my help."
A shot of horror went to Percy's heart. "It's not…Oliver is it?" he asked. Penelope shook her head and finally made it past him to the door. Percy followed her. He was prepared for seeing some unusual sight. He was not prepared for what he saw.
Professor Snape was lying on a white hospital bed in the middle of a deserted room. Madam Pomfrey was bustling around him, waving her wand about. She glanced up as she heard the door open and then she froze. "Mr. Weasley," she finally said. Penelope laid down her burden and looked between them.
"It's all right," she said quietly. "He knows about Oliver. Well…a little bit anyway. We can trust him." She glanced at Percy as if to say 'Don't you dare prove me wrong.'
"If you say," Madam Pomfrey said skeptically. "Well Mr. Weasley, if you're going to stay here then you can do some work. Hold these." Without waiting for a response, she shoved several wads of bandages into his hands. Percy watched the two women as they moved around the unconscious Professor. Madam Pomfrey pointed her wand at the various cuts and bruises and muttered under her breath. Percy watched in amazement as the blemishes on the skin disappeared. The only clue that they were ever there was a faint white line where the cuts had been.
Madam Pomfrey pointed her wand at various places on Snape's body. White light shot out of her wand and through Snape. When she had finally finished, the Potions Professor was breathing much easier than he had been just a few minutes ago. "Well, that's the worst of it out of the way," Madam Pomfrey said briskly. "Nothing much more to do now than just sit here and wait. Penelope dear, you can go back to work if you wish. I'm sorry to have pulled you out of it."
Penelope shook her head. "No, I'll just stay here," she said faintly. Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Very well then," she said. "I'll just send an owl off to…I'll send an owl off and let everyone know that everything's all right." She left the room.
Percy gave another guilty squirm. He had not missed her suspicious look at him, right before she changed what she was going to say. Penelope sat down on the floor, her eyes wandering about the room.
"Penelope, what is going on?" Percy asked helplessly. He was feeling so confused. He thought that Penelope's presence had something to do with Oliver, but what would explain Snape being in the Ministry of Magic, especially with all of these wounds? And why was Penelope helping Madam Pomfrey to heal Snape? There were a thousand questions, all going around his head at the same time.
"I can't tell you that," Penelope whispered back. Percy looked at her in confusion. Penelope sighed and rubbed her temples. "Honestly Percy, you forfeited your right to know anything about You-Know-Who when you disowned your family. You forfeited the right to know anything about me."
"Penny, can't we put that past us?" Percy whispered desperately.
"Don't…call me that," she whispered, an expression of pain going across her face. Penny was his pet name for her, the name that only he called her. Percy opened his mouth again, but Penelope cut him off before he could say anything. "Don't. Just…don't."
The two sat by themselves, holding vigil over Snape until Madam Pomfrey got back into the room. "Well, everyone's informed," she said with a heavy look. "Apparently there's some bad news though…everyone else is back, but not the younger group. They said something about someone getting hit…" she looked at Percy and gestured Penelope over closer to her. The two women whispered. Percy looked like he was interested in Snape's breathing patterns while moving closer all the time. He got close enough to catch small snippets of their conversation.
He caught the words "Ambush" "Attack" and "Wounded". He listened closer, biting his lip in concentration. He gasped softly when he heard the word "Oliver". It was very frustrating only being able to hear small words and not the entire thing. Then he heard something which made his heart freeze. He heard the word "Fred".
"What about Fred?" he bellowed, rushing forward to stand between Madam Pomfrey and Penelope. Madam Pomfrey looked shocked, but at the same time, pleased, as if she had been expecting this.
"Apparently he was attacked by some kind of Dark curse," she said informatively. "He and the other children went away by Portkey before anyone could properly assess his injuries however. No one knows where they are, only that they should have come back by now."
Percy's face paled, making his freckles stand out even more than usual. "I need…I need to…I have to go," he stammered, running out of the room. Penelope ran after him and watched him sprint down the hallway.
"Where is he going?" she asked Madam Pomfrey. "What is he doing?"
Madam Pomfrey smiled after him gently. "He's doing what any good big brother would do," she answered simply, moving back to Snape. "So he's still sleeping soundly is he?"
It occurred to Percy as he was running out of the Ministry that he had even neglected to tell Fudge where he was going.
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The seven people inside the small pantry did not see the dawn rise, but they could feel it. Everyone seemed to become brighter, more alert, and more ready to move. "So where do we go?" Alicia asked quietly.
"I think we could go to…to the Order's place," George said after a fierce look from Harry. "Oh wait…you girls can't get in, you don't have the proper clearance." He grimaced as he thought over this. "Well, I suppose that we could take you there and then wait while Dumbledore clears you…" His face went deep into concentration.
"We'll figure it out when we get there, can we just go?" Angelina asked anxiously. Being shut up in the small room had made her nervous.
Harry had his hand on the doorknob when he heard it: footsteps were coming towards the door. He shrank back, automatically bringing out his wand. A voice in the back of his head was reminding him of all the Underage Wizarding Laws he had broken, but he figured that if it was a choice between receiving another hearing or getting killed he would gladly take the hearing.
"Is someone coming?" Alicia whispered. Harry nodded quickly and Angelina and Alicia took the front line. Harry noticed that the tall Black girl was slightly trembling on her feet, either from nervousness or from sheer exhaustion. This did not send a great deal of confidence to his heart.
"Get ready," Angelina whispered as she watched the doorknob. There was a muffled cry as the person trying to open it was shocked by whatever charm Alicia had put on the door. Harry could hear the person saying the Alohamora Charm to no avail. Many Unlocking Charms were said in succession with no success at all. Harry could hear the tone of voice becoming very annoyed.
There was finally a Charm that seemed to work. Deep purple light spread over the door, coating the blue. When the purple faded, it took the blue with it and the door stood empty once more. This time the doorknob turned quickly and with ease.
The door was not even open before Angelina was moving. She shoved the door open with her shoulder, sprinting through the small opening. Her elbow was immediately in the intruder's stomach, with her wand at his throat. She ran forward until she pinned him against the wall. It might have been Harry's imagination, but he fancied that he saw a small bit off ceiling fall down when Angelina and the intruder collided with the wall.
Harry's first doubts appeared when he heard the intruder give a very un-Death Eater-like shriek. They grew when he saw the lack of a black cloak which seemed to be required of all Death Eaters and were cemented when he saw the vivid red hair. "Angelina, stop it!" he yelled, running forward and pulling her arm away. Angelina resisted him, but jumped away when she realized who it was.
George burst out of the room, but stopped dead when he looked upon the face of the intruder. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?" he spat at his older brother.
Percy bit his lip and looked down at the ground. This was the first time he had seen either of the twins since he had walked out last summer. He should have expected this reaction; he should have been ready for it. He would have expected it from the twins more than anyone else. Perhaps Ginny would have given it to him as well. It saddened him as he realized that he didn't know what Ginny would do. He had missed so much of his youngest sibling's years growing up.
"I heard something about Fred being hurt," he muttered. "I…I had to see you, I had to know that you were all right. I went to Dad's office, but Perkins said that he had left earlier without a word. The Burrow was the first place that I thought of…" Percy shook his head. "I Apparated here, and I saw the house…there were these bloody big holes in the side of the house, and no one was here…I didn't know what had happened, I didn't know where you were, I thought you were dead, and all I could think of was that if you died, you would have died without me ever seeing you again…without me apologizing…"
Percy suddenly lunged forward and wrapped George in a tight hug. George stiffened, but after a few seconds awkwardly patted Percy on the back. Percy squeezed George tighter until he was choking. "Percy…" George gasped out. "I…can't…breathe…" Percy quickly let go of George, letting the former Beater regain his breath in deep, rasping pants.
Percy seemed to recover some of his natural dignity and straightened his horn-rimmed glasses. "Well," he coughed, scratching his nose, "where's Fred?"
"He's in the pantry," Alicia said, giving Percy a wary glance. Percy's eyes flicked over the children gathered at the small place. He then followed Alicia into the pantry.
Percy squinted when he first entered, trying to make his eyes adjust to the sudden loss of light. When his eyes did adjust he looked around. The first thing he saw was his other twin brother lying on the ground, his face horribly pale. Percy gasped and ran over to Fred. He did not shake him, as he thought that might be a rather bad idea. "Fred!" Percy yelled.
"We think he got hit by a Dark Curse, but we don't know which one," Angelina said unhelpfully. "It's not like what we've seen before."
"I don't remember this one either," Percy said, worry evident in his voice.
"Harry promises us that it's not fatal," Angelina said, biting her lip anxiously. "But he also says that it might be more powerful than the one that Hermione got hit with last year, since it probably had spoken words along with the wand movement. The only thing we know is that we have to get them out of here."
"Them?" Percy whispered to himself. He turned around, and his stomach seemed to flip over three times. A pale light shone on Oliver's waxy face. His mouth hung slightly open, and his eyes were shut, the dark lashes looking unnatural against the pale skin. It seemed strange to Percy that the former Quidditch captain, who had always been so active, was now incapable of moving.
Angelina's face grew dark as she noticed where Percy was looking. "We need to get them both out of here," she said softly. "If we don't…we may lose Oliver," she whispered, trying to keep her composure. "WE don't know where to take them. We were supposed to come back here, but no one was here when we got here."
"I found this on the front stoop," Percy said, taking something out of his robe pocket. He held it out to Angelina. "I don't know what this means, but hopefully it'll help." Angelina took it and examined it closely. Her face lit up in joy and she burst out into the crowded hallway.
"This is a phoenix feather!" she said gleefully. "Do you know what this means?"
"No," George said matter-of-factly. "What does it mean?"
Angelina seemed to deflate. It became apparent that none of them knew the particular significance of the phoenix feather. "It obviously means that the Order's been in touch with us, but what exactly are they trying to tell us?" Katie wondered.
Harry thought for a moment, his brain slowly working around a solution. "Well…if the Order's not here anymore…and they left this for us to find…wouldn't it make sense that they were trying to tell us that they'd moved their location?" Everyone turned and looked at Harry in surprise. "And there's only one other place that I know of that would be big enough to house as many people as what the Order needs." Harry shared a significant look with George, the only other person present who knew what Harry was talking about. Angelina, Alicia, Katie, and Percy looked lost.
"Come on," George said gruffly. He seized Fred under the arms and hoisted his unconscious body up. Without waiting for permission, Percy moved forward and grabbed Fred's legs. He glared at anyone who might disagree with his right to help his younger brother.
"All right," Katie grunted as she helped Angelina with Oliver. They managed to make it out of the room and into the main drawing room with their burdens.
"All right, someone's going to have to make a Portkey," George said, setting Fred down gently. Everyone looked around and then looked back at him.
"George, you're going to have to make it," Alicia said gently. "You and Harry are the only ones that know where we're going, and Harry's not allowed to use magic."
"Well, I already have," Harry said gloomily. Everyone looked at him in shock. "During the battle, I used a lot of Charms. So I might as well make the Portkey, but I have no idea how." All heads turned to George again.
George felt himself break out into a cold sweat. Everyone was looking at him, depending upon him to get them there. He contemplated Apparating and never going back, but then he looked down at Fred. Fred needed this. If he didn't come through, then Fred could die.
George took a deep breath and tried to concentrate, blocking out all of the negative voices inside his head. He and Fred had always been the troublemakers, the ones who never concentrated on schoolwork. And even out of the two of them, Fred had always been the one to master the spells before him. If there was a difficult spell Fred would have it under control before George would. George shook his head slightly, took a deep breath, and then opened his eyes.
He concentrated hard on the square outside of the Order Headquarters. "Portus!" he shouted loudly. A jet of golden light hit the object that he was aiming at, a medium vase on one of the tables that was still standing. The vase was coated in gold light and then it returned to its normal shade. George lowered his wand. He had no right to be breathing this heavily, especially when others his age could set up a Portkey without any trouble at all.
Alicia smiled happily. "Good job George," she said sincerely. "That was a nice bit of wand work there." George ducked his head to hide his flush of pleasure at the compliment from one of the smartest witches in his year. "OK, everyone grab hold!" Alicia took hold of the Portkey herself, still holding a tight grip on Oliver's wrist. She felt a tug behind her navel and hoped that George's spell work was as good as what she hoped it would be.
She felt herself speeding through the air and then landing. She staggered, but still managed to keep her balance. Harry and Katie were not so lucky, and plowed straight into the hard cobblestone ground. Alicia winced in shared pain as they gathered themselves back up. "All right, what are we supposed to be looking for?" Angelina asked, looking around the square.
"Wait here," Harry ordered, walking forward. George went with him, sparing a glance back at Fred. Harry took a deep breath and walked forward towards the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. The last time that he had been here Sirius was here…could he stay here knowing that Sirius had been here? Would he be able to handle the repercussions of his actions?
Harry looked at the door, and without waiting for an opportunity to talk himself out of his actions, he walked forward into the Headquarters. George followed closely after. Harry quietly shut the door behind him. The house seemed unnaturally quiet. Surely there had to be someone here? What if they had guessed wrong and no one was here?
His doubts were proved to be wrong as he heard a gasp from behind him. "HARRY!" he heard Hermione cry out. The next thing he knew, Hermione had flung herself at him and was tightly squeezing his neck. Ron came running up behind her. Though he did not throw himself at Harry, there was a look on his face that suggested that he sorely wanted to. He settled for embracing George instead. He then stepped away and looked around. "Where's the others then?" he asked, with a small amount of trepidation in his voice.
"They're outside," George said. "Remember, we have the girls, and they can't get in unless Dumbledore tells them where this place is. Speaking of, where is Dumbledore?"
"Right here," a voice said. Dumbledore emerged from the kitchen. He was followed by Remus. Lupin seemed to deflate as he saw Harry. "It's good to see that you've returned. Now, as I understand, we need to include several more people on the list for those who know where the Headquarters are located?"
"Yes sir," Harry said quickly. "I know that you can trust all of them. They just need to know where it is." Dumbledore nodded and took out a small piece of paper. In loopy handwriting that Harry recognized he quickly wrote the location of the Headquarters.
"Give this to them," Dumbledore said, handing the paper to Harry. "Give this to all of them," he said with more significance to George. George gazed open-mouthed at Dumbledore before managing to nod. How does he know? George wondered to himself. How in the world does he always manage to know these kinds of things?
Harry and George walked out again. In their absence, someone had conjured two stretchers, and had levitated Fred and Oliver onto them. All heads turned towards them when they came outside. "Where'd you come from?" Katie asked bemusedly.
"Never mind that," George said roughly. "Here. Just look at that." He handed the piece of paper around, until everyone had seen it. "Do you have it memorized?" when everyone nodded he took out his wand and quickly burned it. "All right, just concentrate on what you just read and the Charm should take effect." He turned around and looked at the Headquarters. Others turned around and looked with him. He heard several soft gasps behind him as they all saw the large house disappear.
Alicia flicked her wand and the stretchers went floating forward. George opened the door and stood aside as the stretchers went inside. Everyone went inside, those who were new to the house looking around them in astonishment. Harry was looking around in remembrance. Almost every small thing reminded him of Sirius…he had stood there, he had talked about that, and it was there that he had exterminated a doxy…
"Harry? Fred? George?" Mrs. Weasley's anxious voice could be heard coming down the stairs. She saw George and Harry and sprinted down the stairs, wrapping them both in a tight hug. "Oh, I thought you two were dead…but where's Fred?" she asked anxiously, her face going back to blatant worry once more. She looked down at the stretchers and then let out a stricken gasp. "Oh Fred," she whispered softly, her hand going to cup her son's cheek.
Mr. Weasley came right behind his wife. He looked sadly at the face of his son, and then looked around. His eyes noted Oliver's limp body, as did Dumbledore's. He was looking around once more when he caught sight of another head of red hair. He squinted and then stiffened as he realized just who that hair belonged to. Mrs. Weasley tore herself away from Fred to see what her husband was staring so intently at. She gasped softly when she saw Percy standing alone by the door, sadly staring at his parents.
"Sorry," he finally whispered. Mr. Weasley drew his wife close to him, as if he wanted to protect her from Percy. "I just heard about the twins…and decided that I would go and help them. I'll go now," he said, turning around and putting his hand on the doorknob. Mrs. Weasley finally found her voice.
"Percy!" she cried out, her voice sounding strangled. Percy turned to look at his mother. Ginny appeared from behind her parents and peered out at him. Mrs. Weasley moved forward and awkwardly seized her son about the neck. Percy stiffened and then accepted his mother's embrace. When they broke apart Percy took a step back.
"I'll see you later," he whispered as he walked out of the house. Ron stared darkly after his brother.
"I'll bet he will," he snarled. "WE let him into the house. I wouldn't be surprised if he brings half a dozen Ministry Employees straight in here." To everyone's surprise, it was George who shushed his younger brother.
"I don't think so Ronniekins," he said, staring at the door. "Somehow I think that the Bighead Boy can actually feel guilt for his actions." He seemed to come to himself and then looked down at the two stretchers. "Where are we going to put these two?"
"Well we already set up a bed for Oliver," Hermione said. "We weren't expecting anyone else, but we can set up another bed fairly quickly." She went upstairs, and Ron and Harry followed her. She walked into an abandoned room which had a bed in the middle of it. She quickly pulled up another bed and started fixing the sheets.
"What happened with Percy?" she asked, seeing the ugly look on Ron's face. Harry sat down on the empty bed and shrugged.
"I don't know," he said truthfully. "He was there this morning…seemed dead worried about Fred and George to tell you the truth. He wouldn't leave Fred's side once he found out what had happened to him. Seemed rather worried about Oliver as well. Perhaps he's regretting his choice."
"He made his bed, he can sleep in it," Ron said, making a violent gesture with his hands. "He had all last year to see how wrong he was, and he didn't. As far as I'm concerned, I can ignore him better than he ignored us last year." Hermione gave a look to Harry as if to say "It's pointless". Harry took the hint and gave up.
As soon as Hermione had finished making the second bed, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came in. they were followed by Oliver and Fred, and then Alicia who was levitating the stretchers into the room. She stopped them and let the Weasley parents take the two boys off and lay them flat onto the bed.
"We'll call Madam Pomfrey in here at once," Mrs. Weasley said, anxiously fluttering around. "She'll know what to do with these curses…she'll know what to do…" she walked out of the room, anxiously muttering to herself and wringing her hands together. Mr. Weasley gave the children a sympathetic look and followed her out.
Harry looked sadly at the two unconscious figures on the bed. "Poor Mrs. Weasley," he said. Ron stared at Fred, obviously disturbed. Harry was thinking of Mrs. Weasley's boggart last year, and how it had taken the shape of a dead Fred and George. Part of her worst fears had to be taking place right now with one of her sons unconscious from a Dark Curse. The mention of the curse brought something that Harry had been wondering about to the center of his mind.
"Hermione, I know this is a stupid question, but do you have any remembrance of what happened last year in the Department of Mysteries? You know, when you were hit with that curse?" Hermione shook her head sadly.
"I'm sorry Harry," she said softly. "I don't remember anything except being hit with it and then waking up in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey will come though, and she's never failed to sort anyone out."
Katie, Angelina, Alicia, and Ginny came into the room. They were quickly followed by Bill, Charlie, Remus, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Mr. Weasley conjured chairs as it became apparent that all of them were going to sit vigil by the bedsides. When Madam Pomfrey arrived information was volunteered, as much as could be remembered. She puttered around, casting charms over both of the bodies.
When George demanded to know what was taking so long, she responded with her normal snappy tone. "It takes some time to discover exactly what the problem is with these curses Mr. Weasley! And when I do not know what has happened to Mr. Wood it might take even more time! Now please be silent and allow me to work!" George sank back into his seat, effectively silenced.
Only Angelina noticed when Katie got up from her seat. She followed the younger girl until Katie reached the door. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked, leaning up against the wall. Katie jumped and then turned around.
"I can't stay there any longer," she said quietly. "It just feels like a tomb or a hospital room or something. It's suffocating me. I just need to take a walk and get some fresh air." Angelina bit her lip tightly.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea," she said with some hesitation. "I'm sure that at least one Death Eater caught a glimpse of your face when we were fighting. If they recognized you when you were walking around London who's to say that they wouldn't cast a curse at you?"
"Angelina, I can take care of myself," Katie said patiently. "I have an aunt that lives in London remember? I know all of the back alleys. If I see something suspicious I'll duck into one of those, all right?" Her pleading look was finally enough to convince Angelina.
"Be careful!" Angelina yelled after Katie. "If you see anything suspicious run straight back here! They can't find us so don't worry about it!" Katie waved and Angelina closed the door. "I probably did the wrong thing," she whispered to herself.
Katie set off at a slow jog once she was free of the Headquarters. She had no idea where she was going, but she knew that she was getting as far away from that place as she could. She had always hated hospital rooms, and this was no exception. Though it might be officially called a bedroom, the place where they were keeping Oliver and Fred was a hospital room.
Oliver and Fred…two of her friends had already fallen victim to the curses of Death Eaters…three if you counted Cedric Diggory. How many more would fall? How many members of the Order would be lying dead now that Voldemort was back? Katie shook her head and started to jog faster. It had not been until she had made the Quidditch team in her second year that she had liked running. Oliver had instilled that habit in her, he had said that it would make her a better Chaser…and she had to face it, if he told her that lighting her hair on fire would make her a better Chaser she would have done it.
Katie suddenly came to a doorstep. She looked up at where her feet had taken her and was astonished to see an old Muggle church rising above her. It was one of the old Gothic churches, with tall spirals and steeples. It seemed out of place in this corner of London. Something about the church intrigued Katie, and she decided to push open the door and go inside.
The atmosphere inside was just as closed off as the ones in Grimmauld Place, yet it was a comforting stillness. There was no one else in the sanctuary, which meant that Katie was allowed to wander at will. She looked around the dark church; just to be sure that no one was hiding in the shadows. When she had ascertained that she was indeed alone, she walked up to the prayer table. There was a candle that was not lit lying flat on the table. Katie took another lit candle and put the wicks together. Her candle flared up with a sudden light and Katie set it on the table. She knelt down and hoped that she hadn't forgotten how to do this.
Though she was a half-blood, her mother's mother was a pure Muggle. She was an Irish Catholic who prayed her rosary every day and who would die before denying the infallibility of the Pope. When Katie was just a little girl she had taken her and taught her the proper prayers that an Irish Catholic needed to know. Katie had committed these to memory, but when her Hogwarts letters came her prayers somehow got left between Charms and Transfiguration and were somehow forgotten. But now she had great need of them again. Katie clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.
"Our father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name," she whispered softly. "By Kingdom come, thy will be done" Please, please, please let him be all right, please let Oliver be all right "On Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and lead us not into temptation" Please let him be all right, don't let him die, please let him wake up "But forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us" How can you forgive a Death Eater? How could I ever forgive anyone who hurt Oliver? "For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, for now and forever. Amen." Katie finished the prayer and collapsed into tears, the candles burning brightly above her.
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It felt as if he was lying in some sort of thick liquid. He halfway wondered whether he had been sucked into a pile of bubotuber pus, and then decided that if he had been his skin would have been on fire by now. But it was difficult to move his hands, his feet, or any part of his body for that matter. A prickle of alarm sounded at the back of his mind as he tried to move some part of his body. Nothing would move.
He started to fight harder against his unseen and unfelt bonds. Harder, harder, harder…until they broke.
Alicia had fallen asleep in her chair in Oliver and Fred's room. Madam Pomfrey had assured them that Fred was going to be fine. She said that he had been hit with a rather nasty curse, but it was not fatal. It would require bed rest and he would be unable to run the shop for several weeks while recovering, but there would be no lasting effects. There had been many exclamations of joy at this statement. Mrs. Weasley had promptly gone downstairs to go and cook something.
Madam Pomfrey had not been so optimistic on Oliver. Her only comment had been that she would wait and see. Alicia was the only person that had stayed in the room. Everyone else did not feel like waiting around for who knew how long for an event that may or may not happen. Even Madam Pomfrey had left with the onset of night. She had determined that she could do nothing more. By now the night had gathered around them, leaving the room dark with almost zero visibility. Alicia shook her head angrily at herself and grabbed her wand tightly.
She was supposed to be here for Oliver, not falling asleep! What kind of friend was she that fell asleep while sitting vigil at a bedside? She could not help being angry with herself, though she knew that part of her sleepiness was not exactly her fault. She had not slept at all the previous night in the pantry. Alicia idly wondered where George, Harry, Katie, and Angelina were before she heard a low moan.
Her wand was immediately raised. Her eyes scanned the dark room, looking for a sign of anything suspicious. "This is stupid," she hissed to herself. "Lumos!" A faint light emitted from her wand, enabling her to see at least a little better than what she had been. She looked around the room and saw no one. "Who's there?" Alicia asked, her voice quavering somewhat. If she was going to have an attacker she would much rather see them.
The moan came again. Alicia found out from where it was coming and turned that way. Her heart skipped several beats when she realized that it was coming from the bed. She moved towards it, hardly daring to hope. Her hand stretched out to touch the soft brown hair. A soft breath was breathed out upon her hand. The head moved to the side, and the eyelids slowly fluttered.
They halfway opened and stared bemusedly around. Alicia let out a breath and then realized that she hadn't properly breathed in over two minutes. "Oliver?" she whispered in a voice that was almost breaking. He looked up in the direction of her voice and smiled faintly.
"Hello Alicia," he said in his wonderful, lilting Scottish brogue. "Fancy seeing you here."
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Ah, and Oliver's awake. Suddenly the world's all shiny again.
After I finished writing it I actually realized that I could leave the story off right here with a short epilogue. So just tell me what you think about it and I'll decide what to do from there. Sorry about the different perspectives, but I had to get Percy in there somewhere. If I do continue this, he and Penelope will be increasing in their importance. Anyway. Tell me what you think: to continue or not to continue, that is the question!
Alasse