Harry felt a cool breeze ruffle his hair. He opened his eyes only to immediately shut them again. The light was blinding, seeming to pour from everywhere around him. Am I dead? Harry thought. Squinting through the radiance, he could make out fuzzy shapes in the distance. Suddenly, as clear as day, he saw a flash of a large stone cathedral in a field of green. White flowers blossomed among the long grasses. Just as suddenly, pain shot through his body and he heard himself cry out.

Harry opened his eyes and the light was gone. He was lying on his back in the semi-darkness. He was disoriented and tried to sit up, only to feel unbelievable pain in his head. Where am I? Where is the field? Shifting himself up slowly onto his elbows, Harry screwed his eyes up against the terrible throbbing coming from his head. He opened his eyes and everything came rushing back. He saw the crumbling remains of the tent under which he and Ginny had danced. People were moving around, hazy figures.

Harry no longer felt confused; his mind was clear and filled with panic. Where are Ron and Hermione? And Ginny? Dread and adrenaline coursed through his body and he stood up, a little too quickly. He stumbled immediately and almost fell again, but braced his arms on his knees before walking as fast as he could towards the voices and the people.

The thought had just occurred to him that these people might be his enemies, not his friends, when he heard a familiar voice shout out his name.

"Harry! Oh thank goodness you're alright…we were so worried." It was Hermione, and she pulled him into a quick hug as Ron jogged up to meet them. Ron clapped Harry on the shoulder, relief evident in his eyes. Harry opened his mouth to ask about Ginny, but Ron beat him to it.

"She's fine, Harry" he said, "she got stupefied, but mum brought her 'round no problem. She's resting in the house." Harry's chest seemed to inflate, and he let out a breath he had not been aware he'd been holding. Suddenly he felt lightheaded, and felt himself swaying a bit. Hermione noticed and let out a gasp.

"Harry! Oh, gosh, we need to get you to a healer, there's so much blood…I'll go and find somebody" Harry could only nod as his body began to loose equilibrium. Ron grabbed Harry's arm and helped him to lie down as Hermione scamper away. Harry's scar gave a particularly nasty throb the same time the back of his head did, and blackness crept into his vision. Harry blinked in rapid succession, trying to force the dark away.

"How did they get through the shields?" Harry asked. "The death eaters?" Ron looked a little pale and shook his head.

"Nobody knows. People are saying that since Dumbledore died, nobody has the capability to shield from Voldemort's power." Ron fell silent, staring off into the distance. "He was here…you know…just for a moment…" said Ron quietly.

"Did you see him?" asked Harry, in an equally soft voice.

"Yeah." He paused. "He just showed up for a minute, took a look around, had a laugh, then disapperated." Ron turned to look at Harry now, disgust and confusion written on his face. "Why didn't he…?" Harry didn't need to wait for Ron to finish his sentence.

"If there's one word to describe Voldemort, it's egoistic. He's feeling very full of himself now that Dumbledore's dead. This whole attack on the wedding was just for fun." Harry finished in a hollow voice. He wasn't sure how, but he knew for certain that he was correct in his assumptions. Ron nodded and looked back over the Weasley's lawn, to the smoldering tent.

"That why nobody was killed, wasn't it?" Ron questioned. "Because he just didn't feel like it…" The question drifted into the silence and was lost in the cool night. People were moving towards Harry and Ron now; Hermione in the lead.

"You know we have to go away soon, don't you?" said Harry in quiet urgency; the blackness was creeping into his eyes again, and he was unable to resist. Ron looked back at him.

"Yeah. I know." Then the darkness overtook Harry, and for the second time that night, he lost consciousness.

Harry awoke in his bed in Ron's room. The sun was streaming through the window above him, and he rubbed his eyes wearily. Hermione was walking down the hallway carrying towels, and happened to glance in at him through the open door. Realizing that he was awake, she dropped the towels, and ran over to hug him.

"Harry! We were so afraid! It didn't seem like you'd been hurt badly, but then you passed out again, and were asleep for two days!"

"Two days?" Harry patted Hermione's shoulder, somewhat awkwardly. "How's Ginny?" he asked.

"She's absolutely fine, Harry. You can see her in a few minutes, if you'd like. She's just down helping Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen."

"At least she's alright," Harry whispered, more to himself than to Hermione.

"Yes, everyone is, Harry. George has a broken nose, and Bill got himself a broken finger, but other than that, there were really no major injuries."

"Hermione," Harry began, "I was telling Ron… we need to leave soon, you know." He sighed. "If you're still coming with me, that is. But… Hermione, I don't even know where to go… where to look. I don't know who to trust even, anymore. And Ginny… can we tell her? Should we tell her? I don't want her coming. I don't want you and Ron coming, even. But especially not her. But we can't just disappear and not tell her where we've gone to… can we?"

Hermione sighed and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, that's up to you, not us. You know that Ginny will want to come along if she found out. And if you really love her, like I know you do, you need to decide what will be best for her. Would it truly be better for her to stay here alone, wondering where you went and why you didn't trust her enough to tell her, or would it be better if she came along? I know you're just concerned for safety, but think of her feelings, too." She brushed a strand of hair from her eye. "But, honestly, Harry, this is your destiny. To fight Voldemort, I mean. Ron and I are always there for support, but we've come to realize that we cannot tell you how to go about doing things anymore. Especially in things as serious as this."

"But I don't want to hurt her, Hermione. But I don't want her to get hurt either…" He put his head in his hands. "This is terrible. And this is what Voldemort wants too: to hurt people in more ways than one…"

"Well, Harry, you just can't let him win. No matter what it takes." She took his hand. "Come on, let's go see Ginny and Ron. They were both very worried about you."

Hermione pulled Harry to his feet, and then led him down the hallway and the stairway and into the kitchen. As soon as Ginny saw him, her reaction was nearly identical to Hermione's. She ran up and entwined her arms around his neck. The only difference was that she kissed his cheek. Harry blushed, and tried to cover his embarrassment by hiding his head in her thick red hair, but he was sure that at least Hermione had noticed.

After Ginny let go of his neck, and he removed his hands from her slim waste, Ron walked over and clapped him on the back. By the way Ron looked at him, he was pretty sure his flushed face had not quite disappeared entirely.

Mrs. Weasley offered him some of the soup she was in the process of finishing up, and she placed a large, steaming bowl of some green liquid in front of him. It did, however, smell amazing, so Harry had no qualms about trying it.

Ron settled himself in the chair next to him, and his blue eyes were staring meaningfully at him, as though to say, So what's the plan, mate?