-1"Harry!" Ron was trampling over his own feet trying to get out the front door. "I am so glad you are here. You won't believe what happened!"

"What happened?" Harry asked, almost scared to find out that another friend had been injured or worse, killed. Ron took Harry by the arm and directed him the garden. They found a quaint bench by the towering sunflowers to sit and talk.

"They found Draco! He was in Hogsmeade hiding in the Hog's Head upstairs. He said he was under the Imperius Curse when he was with the Death Eaters. The Ministry believed him! They told him that it wasn't his fault and let him register for Hogwarts again!"

Harry looked thunderstruck. His jaw was dropped, and his eyes were as round as his spectacles. "They what? They can't believe him! I was there! He was in his right mind. There was no sign of any curse! How could they do that?" Harry was so upset he barely realized he was screaming. The annoying gnomes were scattering through the tomato plants in fear, and the birds were now flocking to the trees. Harry now regretted his decision to go back to Hogwarts for his seventh year. He was set to go search the world for the missing Horcruxes, but the thought of leaving everyone behind to fend for themselves in the event Voldemort came out of hiding was too much for him to bear. He had to stay here, for nothing else then to protect his friends.

"I don't feel like talking about this anymore, Harry. I'm going to get ready for bed." Ron stood up and headed for the house. Harry sat for a few more moments trying figure out how to get out of going back to Hogwarts. Harry was sure that when he saw Draco, he would kill him. If it wasn't for Draco, Dumbledore would still be alive. If it wasn't for Snape. If it wasn't for Voldemort.

With his temper and mind racing, Harry grudgingly went inside the house. He found all the familiar faces sitting around the large table. Bill and Fleur were finishing their meals so that they could say goodnight. Fred and George had apparently just Apparated into the room seeing as that they still had on their cloaks. Ginny and Hermione were clearing their plates to allow room for the new arrivals.

Mr. Weasley looked up and out the door. "Where's Remus?"

"Full moon. Somehow he had forgotten." Mrs. Weasley replied.

"Well, worse things can happen, I'm sure. Good to see you, Harry!" Mr. Weasley held out a hand to greet Harry. Harry barely grabbed and shook. Mr. Weasley noticed the far away look Harry had in his eyes. "Harry, you alright?"

"Yeah, just thinking. I'm going to bed, now."

"Sleep in in the morning, Harry. You've had a long day." Mrs. Weasley gave him a hug and went to sit at the table.

Harry went to his room. It was still somewhat early. He just needed to be alone for a while. He thought about Rose. She was an animagus, too. Why didn't Remus ever mention her? Why didn't Sirius? He fell asleep, his mind full of unanswered questions.

"So, Rose?" Mr. Weasley started, "Where are you from?"

"Arthur, now really!" Mrs. Weasley furrowed at him.

"No, that's alright, Mrs. Weasley. I don't mind," Rose said politely. Turning back to Mr. Weasley, she continued, "I am from Godric's Hollow." She took a stab at another bite of ham with her fork and placed it on her tongue as if it were a delectable dish of extraordinary culinary arts. She was starving, having not eaten much in the last week. She and Remus got to the Burrow just a few minutes prior by the help of Arthur and Bill. Once they had gotten cleaned up and dressed, they came to breakfast.

"Godric's…but that's where Harry's parents lived." Ron was very astute, but didn't realize that his statement made the room drop a few degrees.

"Yes. I lived a few doors down from James and Lily. They were wonderful people, if I do say so myself." She crammed as much fried potatoes that would go in her mouth on her spoon and indulged herself the pleasure. Ron looked up at her.

"You mean you knew them? You look awfully young. How did you know them? They've been dead for years." Again, Ron wasn't tactful. Harry almost strangled on his pumpkin juice. "I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to sound crude."

"It's alright, Ron. That is a good question. How did you know my parents?" Harry asked, dabbing the dribble of juice from his chin with a napkin.

Rose uneasily rifled through her pockets, never finding her target. She looked up and down the table full of bewildered faces. "I went to school with them for a while before I was transferred, so to speak." Harry sat for a moment and came to the conclusion that Rose knew more about his father and Sirius then Remus wanted to let on.

"You know he died. Don't you? Sirius." Harry asked as he looked at Rose.

"Yes," she said as she wiped a tear off her cheek. She looked up at Remus apprehensively.

An eerie silence ensued. No one felt compelled to mention anything else about Sirius. For some strange reason, they continued conversing as if Rose wasn't even in the room.

"Harry, are you sure about this decision of yours? It will be hard enough trying to find what you need, but without any help, your chances are far worse," Remus said as he pushed his empty plate away.

Harry finished his juice and looked around the room. "Yes, I'm sure."

"And what decision is this, perse?"

All eyes landed on Rose.

"I decided to leave Hogwarts and go look for Horcruxes."

Why he had to announce it like that was beyond anyone. Mrs. Weasley had never been as upset.

"HORCRUXES! LEAVE HOGWARTS! YOU LED ME TO BELIEVE YOU WERE GOING BACK! WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU GO LOOKING FOR TROUBLE! HOW COULD YOU LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND? YOU'LL BE KILLED!"

Rose was softly made her way to the infuriated red head and placed her hand on Molly's shoulder.

A still photograph never exuberated such calm as was in her words. "Molly, dear, have a seat. I believe Harry is not going to go through with this ridiculousness. All will be right. Have a seat, love. Have a drink."

They weren't sure what was more surprising: the fact that someone got Mrs. Weasley calm so fast, or got her to obey their commands. Molly sat down, and filled her glass. Taking a sip and a deep breath, Mrs. Weasley began to smile softly. It was if an Imperius curse placed on her but without the incantation or wand.

Rose turned to Harry. "You will be going back to Hogwarts this term. You will finish school and if Voldemort appears before you graduate, then you will just have to leave and search for them and let us deal with him until you return. In the meantime, it is your duty to learn all you can about how to defeat him, research the Horcruxes, and come up with a strategy. The only place you can do that is at Hogwarts. You will be safe while you find out all you can."

Harry saw the sense in that and acquiesced. "Alright. I'll go back."

Ginny wrapped her arm around his shoulders and gave me a sidelong hug, much to the speculation of Ron sitting across the way.

Statues where people had once stood and sat began to move again. The household stretched and stirred. Rose just sat quietly.

Ginny and Hermione went up their room, whispering to each other while giving Rose looks of disbelief. Ron went outside behind Fred and George to practice Quidditch. Mr. Weasley picked up his paper and withdrew to the study to read. Harry, Remus, Rose, and Mrs. Weasley were left alone in the room as soon as Bill and Fleur took their time giving each other kisses over the table before they tromped off to separate rooms. Remus was sitting there sipping on hot chocolate, and listened to every word, giving an agreeable head nod every so often. Harry was still looking at Rose, also in disbelief. He got up slowly and walked over to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. He followed the path Ron had made, and went outside to practice. To empty his mind of the information he was just given. Rose sat at the table for a moment longer. She looked up at Remus over the edge of her coffee mug.

"Tell me something."

"What?" Remus asked, musing over the newspaper headlines.

"When Harry was growing up, when Sirius was in Azkaban, where were you?"

The question never seemed to come up before. He was certain he had explained, but the day and time eluded him. She gave him an 'on the edge' sort of scowl. "Well?"

"I can't talk about that now," Remus said quietly as he got up from his chair, and proceeded to walk outside.