Chapter 46 – Flight of the Phoenix

Lizzie made her way back to Gryffindor Tower after spending some time with the others. Remus explained what was likely to happen to Bill. Hermione and Ron explained what happened in the castle to Lizzie, that the liquid luck kept them alive, and that they felt guilty for not trying to head off Snape.

The common room was packed with people when she walked through the portrait hole. She said nothing as everyone stared and made her way up to her four-poster bed. Hermione sat down next to her and clasped her hand supportively.

Lizzie didn't have it in her to explain what happened in the cave but showed her the locket before succumbing to exhaustion.

The funeral was to be in the early evening the day after the next, but many students were pulled away early. Seamus refused his mother point blank in the entrance hall because he insisted on attending the funeral. Hermione stayed and looked for references to RAB in the library in the meantime but came up short after every attempt.

Lizzie pulled Ron and Hermione away the following morning to explain what happened in the cave and that his horcruxes would all likely be hidden with the strongest protections. Her main priorities were identifying what the last one was and its likely affiliation with one of the Hogwarts founders, along with ideas on where he may have hidden one within the castle. She knew it was a long shot to find one before leaving the school, but she wanted them to make a concerted attempt.

Lizzie spent the day wandering the castle in Riddle's headspace, hoping to hear a whisper or see a vision of anything leading. The Room of Requirement was sealed, and she thought she could easily spend a week looking through the junk in there. It was time she didn't have. Considering the protections he placed around the locket, it didn't seem likely to be in such an obvious location anyway.

Hermione, meanwhile, could not find any reference to an artifact that could have been remotely acquired in the time period he was at the school, and Lizzie resigned herself to believe that maybe they were wrong about Hogwarts after all.

Their next efforts would be getting a location on the church in Albania, then charting a travel course the Gypsy circus would have taken for clues, as well as finding Hepzibah's home, and figuring who RAB was and where to find them or the real locket.

Lizzie had a strange dream the following night that the Hufflepuff cup was in safe in the Chaplain's office at Sacred Heart, and that she needed to drink a bottle of poisoned wine at mass to be allowed to open it. This seemed absurd to her, but she thought a cup like that may have been hidden in mass setting, easily overlooked, and decided to return to Surrey thinking it was faintly possible, though highly unlikely, that she could have hidden it herself. After all, he'd made her do other things she didn't remember, and the course of her life was so familiar to that of his victims, anything seemed possible.

The Order members stayed at the castle in preparation for the funeral. Moody appeared to be planning something that Lizzie felt deliberately kept out of the loop of.

The funeral was like nothing she'd seen before. When they walked down to the lake where it was being held, Charlie pulled her away from the other students to sit at the front with the Order for protection. He didn't want any ministry members spotting her closest friends, just in case. On her way up to the front row, Lizzie came face-to-face with Delores Umbridge who was filing into seats with other ministry officials.

Umbridge glared at her, and Lizzie glared back. From her thoughts Lizzie gathered a considerable amount of fear and it was satisfying enough not to say anything she might later regret. Charlie pulled on Lizzie's hand to break her free from the awkward stall.

Lizzie felt mostly in a daze that wasn't even broken by the centaurs' arrows or the merpeoples' songs. Fauxes soared overhead emitting an enchanting song as the casket sealed around Dumbledore's body. Lizzie clutched her phoenix wand tightly and felt suddenly vulnerable and completely unprotected. However, much danger Dumbledore had put her in, she still always felt a thin veil around her. The castle didn't feel safe anymore. There were many horcruxes still to find. It was all compromised, the bubble had burst, and if she made it out safely, there would be no coming back.

Lizzie quietly explained her intention not to return the following year to Charlie first. He agreed and insisted she come with him to Romania as a base for whatever travels would ensue but was persistent about not missing the wedding. Lizzie then broke the news to Ron and Hermione who went further and insisted they come with her. Lizzie didn't object to the idea. She didn't want any of them targeted for information on her and knew she would need their help if the other horcruxes were hidden even half as intricately as the locket.

Lizzie wandered down to the shore and took a look at the castle over the Black Lake. Moments later she felt arms behind her. Charlie was quite a bit taller than her, but didn't tower like Bill and the twins, his arms were muscular and about as scarred as hers from wrangling his dragons. He had messy red hair and blue eyes. She felt astonishingly safe in his arms. Light was barely starting to fade from the sky when he cast a patronus across the water. It was a Norwegian Ridgeback and massive as it soared across the lake's surface. The energy was enough to bring her a sliver of hope.

Charlie kissed the side of Lizzie's head in as reassuringly a way as possible.

Lizzie returned to the tower, changed, and quickly packed up her things. She kept a rucks sack full of essentials. McGonagall told her to bring her trunk to the headmaster's office and it would be sent to the Burrow. She figured she would leave through the floo network and not risk the train again. When she went down to the Dueling Club room to get her mum's records, she saw they were gone. It was as bad as losing her pictures would have been and the weight of a brick crushed her heart. She thought maybe Snape trashed them. She was here with him that last time she saw them.

Lizzie made her way to the now headmistress's office and wandered around looking at portraits and artifacts. She packed what she could find of the existing and destroyed horcruxes and was confused by how few notes he had on them. It was then she noticed the box of records had been brought up and left at the bottom of a bookshelf near his desk. Lizzie crouched down and looked through them quickly wondering how Dumbledore knew, or why Snape of all people would keep them safe. She quickly packed them away in her trunk to be taken back to Burrow.

It was growing darker, and she could faintly see the train at Hogsmeade station ready itself for passengers from the high window. Lizzie then heard some commotion outside that startled her and the fireplace sealed with a loud crack. She looked around but nobody was there. Lizzie pulled her wand and made her way to the door; it was locked with no response to alohamora. She stepped back and paced while she heard more commotion from the window. Younger students were all filing out in a hurry, but yells and screams could be heard faintly from below.

Moody barged into the office moments later and grabbed her arm in a hurry. "Good, knew they wouldn't know how to get past the gargoyle," he grumbled.

"What's going on?" Lizzie asked nervously.

"We've got to get you out of here, we've been compromised, protections cane down... unsurprisingly...bloody knew this would happen...McGonagall will get your things to the Burrow after," he said in a hurry.

Lizzie quickly followed Moody down to the main corridor. Most students were being rushed down to Hogsmeade to get on the train.

"Where is everyone else?" She yelled at Moody.

"Just go, down to the courtyard!" He roared. "They'll be fine! I got them out before you because everyone knows you wouldn't leave until they were safe. I just need to get Bill," He yelled and headed the other direction to head off a few death eaters.

His diversion bought Lizzie some time as she rushed down the stairwell. Her Dueling Club instruction was paying off, she noticed several of the older students lingering back to fight off the intruders.

"Liz, duck!" She heard from behind her and flattened herself to the ground as a curse soared above her head. She whipped around and saw Seamus, Dean, and Neville stunning a pair of death eaters she didn't recognize.

"What are you still doing here?! Ron and Hermione took off a while ago with Ginny and his brothers," Seamus yelled as they ran toward her.

"Moody told me to get to the courtyard," she panted, and they pushed through a crowd of people desperately trying to exit the castle. When they reached the entry hall, the crowd was turning around frantically at the sight of something in the courtyard.

Lizzie rounded the corner into the courtyard and saw Charlie had landed Norbert in the stone circle. She froze for a moment in awe.

"Blimey," Seamus whispered.

"What are you waiting for?!" Charlie yelled, and Lizzie ran toward the beast with one last look and weak salute back at her classmates. Charlie hoisted her up and wrapped arms around her in front of him as they took off straight into the air.

"Where are the others?!" Lizzie yelled as they were gaining height.

"Already took off. Buckbeak, thestrals, brooms... They're all with someone from the Order. We're rendezvousing at the mountainside and apparating to safe houses. Aurors will clear out the school. The death eaters came back for you, once they realize you're gone, they won't stay... nor will they be stupid enough to follow a dragon," he explained. Lizzie smiled a little and held on tight as they took off. As much as she itched for adventure and gaining traction on the hunt for these horcruxes, she turned her head for a last look at the castle and felt a harsh sting in her chest wondering when or if she would see it again. Everything prior to the flash of green light on the astronomy tower felt like an eternity ago.

There was a part of her that was almost relieved she didn't feel obligated to rely on people she didn't trust. The other part of her knew their actions were part of a bigger game entirely. They were on opposing ends of the chess board the entire time, and she had the unnerving feeling that the other side had far more intel than Dumbledore had ever meant to share with her.

Deathly Hallows is in the works as of April 2022 will start posting soon! Thanks always for reading. Please review and follow/like if you'd like. Always appreciate it. :)