Harry felt very sheepish after his ordeal. He knew Hermione wasn't thrilled with him and Ron seemed content to follow her lead. Even Ginny, as worried as she'd been, acted like she was upset though to her credit she didn't show it as readily as the other two. Knowing this, Harry decided to change the direction of things a bit.
He stood against the counter with his back to the sink. Hermione was at the dining table with some books open in front of her, making notes every now and then as she read along. The room was silent except for the scratching of her quill on the parchment. Harry cleared his throat and asked, "So did we ever decide about the Burrow?"
Hermione looked up at him in equal parts frustration and exasperation. She rolled her eyes as she shook her head and replied, "No, Harry, we were a bit preoccupied."
Feeling guilty though he was, Harry pushed on with his thought.
"So why don't we do it? You know, go check out the Burrow and get the lay of the land?"
Hermione's eyes narrowed shrewdly, but she answered his question. "Ron and I talked a bit about that, actually. Ginny and I will go, and if you're okay with it we'll use your invisibility cloak when we do."
"I thought we already decided that you'd use my cloak," Harry said, "why wouldn't I be okay with you doing so?"
Hermione sighed and returned to her books, "No reason, really. I just wanted to double check."
At this point, Ginny entered the kitchen, looking like she felt much better after her bath. Her long, red hair darker due to still being wet and freshly brushed out. Hermione looked up at her and smiled. "You okay to go check out the Burrow with me?"
Glancing first at Harry, Ginny smiled and replied, "Sure, when did you want to go?"
Looking at the clock on the wall, Hermione's face frowned slightly in thought. "It will be dark in a few hours. Maybe we should go just before then? Or would you rather go in the morning?"
"Would we see much in the dark?" Ginny asked.
Hermione looked thoughtful for a few moments. Her face tightened while she concentrated. Harry noticed that her usually bushy hair looked a bit frazzled. Her face belied a certain degree of weariness that made him realize he'd not done her, nor anyone else for that matter any favors in taking his little foray trying to see inside Voldemort's mind. I definitely won't be doing that again, he thought. At least not on purpose. It's not worth what it does to my friends. Hermione looked for all the world like she, too, could use a hot bath and a good night's sleep. He decided to interrupt at this point.
"Hermione," he began, "The Burrow can wait until the morning, can't it? Maybe you and Ginny could go then and do some planning for it tonight?"
Both girls looked at Harry and he was sure they were trying to figure him out. Hermione smiled after a moment and then looked back at Ginny. "You're both right," she said. "The Burrow will be there in the morning, and we'll be able to see more if we wait until daylight."
Stifling a grin, Ginny looked at Harry and raised one eyebrow. "So why are you so keen on us waiting? Hoping to talk us out of going, are you?"
Her grin became even more pronounced at the sudden look on Harry's face. He tentatively returned the smile as Hermione rolled her eyes which gave him the distinct notion that she wasn't quite ready to forgive him yet. Hoping to smooth things over, he said, "No. I reckon you'll be fine. Then we can reach out to someone and try and get an idea as to the state of things."
"I hope it isn't as bad as my dad made it sound," Ginny said fearfully.
Her eyes moved from Harry to stare out the dining room window. He didn't have the heart to tell her what he was thinking. That it wasn't just bad, but probably worse than they'd been told. Bill, Remus, and her own father had made it clear enough that things weren't going very well. Hermione must have been thinking along the same lines because she said, "Ginny, it's very likely to be that bad and even worse."
"What's this?" Ron asked entering the room. He looked like he'd just woke up. Hermione smiled tentatively at him and took a few minutes to catch him up. His face became deadly serious when he turned to his only sister and added, "Hermione's right. Remember all the stories Mum and Dad told us about what it was like before? And they had Dumbledore then. With him gone, it's probably going to be worse. A lot worse. Bloody hell." Ron sighed as he sat down.
Everyone watched him as he sank heavily into his seat next to Hermione at the table.
"How are we going to do this, Harry?"
"How are we going to do what, Ron?" he asked.
"Well, we've got bloody You-Know-Who out there and no Dumbledore to stop him. He's got his Death Eaters everywhere trying to find us. Remember that diner in London? Or Grimmauld Place? Now there's two of them camped outside."
"WHAT?" Harry, Hermione, and Ginny said together.
"Yeah, I saw them just now before I came in here." Ron said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "They're not even bothering to try and hide."
Harry had a very Aunt Petunia-ish thought, wondering what the neighbors thought of the presence of the very strange people on their street, then decided it didn't matter. The fact they were here too was unsettling.
"Is it the same ones Hermione cursed?" Ginny asked, abruptly pulling Harry from his thoughts.
"I don't know," Ron replied, "but I don't like the fact they're out there."
"Neither do I, Ron." Hermione replied. "Only I'm not exactly sure what we can do about it."
"I don't know that there's anything we can do, except watch them." Harry replied. "I reckon if they knew we were here, they'd have come blasting in here a long time ago."
Hermione nodded her agreement, but everyone still looked troubled. It was Ginny who asked the next question, "So how do we work things tomorrow? Do we still go to the Burrow?"
Hermione was about to answer when Harry spoke first. His smile was mischievous as he said, "There's no reason why you can't. The Death Eaters are on the street out front. You can apparate from the back garden. They might hear you, but they won't be able to see you."
Ron grinned, "Brilliant!"
Even Ginny smiled, though hers lacked the enthusiasm of her brother's. Harry wondered about this, but Hermione's next statement interrupted his thoughts.
"It's a sure bet the Death Eaters will know someone has apparated in our out of the neighborhood."
"Harry and I can watch them," Ron answered, "If they disappear after you leave, we'll send a patronus to let you know."
"What do you think, Ginny?" Hermione asked, turning to her. Ginny's grin was all the assent anyone needed, but she replied anyway. "I think it's worth a go. Then, if no one is there, we can use the fake galleon to send a message to the DA and see if anyone responds."
"Hold on," Harry said, suddenly thoughtful. "Don't those coins just give the date and time? How will we communicate the place?"
Hermione gave Harry a maddening look. One that he felt she thought he should already know the answer to his question. He waited for her to respond.
"It's simple, Harry." She began with a smile, "I'll just add a quick note as to the place on our coin, and the others will get the same message. It's just a simple tweak to the charm, really."
"A simple tweak she says." Ron sounded half frustrated, half impressed, "As if any of the rest of us would have figured that out."
Hermione blushed at the unexpected praise. Ginny and Harry turned their heads, sharing knowing grins which neither Ron nor Hermione were aware of. "So tomorrow then," Ron said, "How did you want to do it?"
"I think we should go in the morning," Hermione replied, "we'll leave about mid-morning and get the lay of the land."
"How long do you expect to be gone?" Harry asked.
"I'm not sure; why do you ask?"
"Well, Hermione, I was thinking in terms of a back up plan. Like if you're not back here within, say three hours? Then Ron and I would know that something's happened and to come and help."
Ginny looked over at Harry, then Hermione and Ron. "It couldn't hurt to have a plan, you know, just in case?"
"Harry's right." Hermione started packing away her quill, parchment, and books. She continued speaking as she worked, her voice slightly muffled from under her hair. "And three hours is plenty of time to look things over and see if your home is being watched."
"It's too bad you're not animaguses," Ron said.
"Why is that, Ron?" Ginny asked, looking surprised by the direction of his thoughts.
"Because if there are any of You-Know-Who's blokes about, they won't be looking for a cat or a dog. Just people." Ron replied.
"Ron, you're brilliant!" Hermione exclaimed, coming up from her bag under the dining room table.
"Me? What do you mean?" Ron's look of surprise was almost comical.
"Of course!" Harry exclaimed, "why didn't we think of it sooner?"
"Think of what?" Ginny asked.
"If you're both able to go as animals, you'd be able to get a better look at everything. The Death Eaters, if there are any there, would never think to be on the lookout for something not human. Even if they did see you, they'd probably just let you pass except for maybe a kick. Hermione, do you think you could transfigure yourself and Ginny into something? Birds cats maybe?"
"I could transfigure us, but that's not the problem. Once transfigured, we couldn't apparate. At least not that I know of."
"Did Sirius ever apparate while disguised as a dog?" Ginny asked.
"I don't know." Harry replied.
"Sirius would have been different in any case," Hermione said. "He was an animagus."
"Well, we've used Polyjuice potion to change forms before, and I remember that we can't use it to change into animals," Ron was trying hard not to grin at this memory. An effort made all the easier by the deadly look Hermione leveled at him, so he rushed to continue on, "but is there a potion you could use to turn yourselves into animals of some kind?"
"I'm sure there is, Ron, the problem is it would likely take some time to prepare which we don't have if we're going tomorrow to check things out." Hermione answered.
"Maybe that's something we should put on our list for later then." Harry said.
"That's definitely an idea." Hermione pulled out her quill and parchment and jotted the idea down.
Ginny sat quietly, looking around the room at the other three. Ron took notice and said, "What's gotten into you?"
Looking suddenly unsure of herself, she answered, "You three."
"What do you mean, Ginny?" Hermione asked, not unkindly.
Running her hand through her still damp hair, she replied, "I never really stopped to notice before. You three are just…different when you're planning and plotting together."
"What are you getting at?" Ron asked, but it was Hermione who replied.
"Ginny, we've been planning and plotting together since first year. I take it you're feeling a bit left out?"
Harry watched the two girls and caught Ron's eye. It looked like this new thing with Ginny was new to him too.
"Kind of, yeah." Ginny answered.
"I'm sure anyone would be. It's okay you know. You're here, and you're not going anywhere. I'm sure you'll feel more like you're a part of things soon enough." Hermione smiled.
They spent the rest of the evening talking about their plans and ideas for the next day. When they went off to bed after a final cup of hot chocolate, it was with a sense of anticipation for the next day.
When morning dawned, Harry's eyes opened and he looked around his room. It was with a sense of unease that he got up and dressed quietly. He couldn't hear any snoring from the room Ron used, and knew his friend was also awake and figured Hermione and Ginny probably were too.
He picked up his dad's old invisibility cloak and headed downstairs. Entering the kitchen, he found Hermione and Ginny sitting at the table, cups of hot steaming tea in their hands. It was just as Harry was sitting down to join them that Ron came downstairs and took the last open chair. He looked sidelong at Hermione, then said,
"You know, it just occurred to me, we could have Kreacher or Dobby check the Burrow out for us."
Hermione's face colored and she opened her mouth to respond when Harry jumped in.
"No, we can't. Sure, they'd be able to tell us if anyone was there, but there's other things that we'd know to look for that they might not. No, if anyone is to go, it has to be one of us."
"Still thinking we can't do it, Ron?" Ginny asked hotly. Her face was white but her ears were crimson. Hermione looked like she felt the same way.
Ron backpedaled and answered, "No! That's not it at all. I just worry about what would happen to you if you got caught. Mum and Dad would be frantic, and I don't think they'd take it well if anything were to happen to you. I know I wouldn't."
His comment served to mollify the two girls, and neither of them replied. Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "I suppose then we should get this over with. Then we can be done worrying and hopefully plan our next steps."
Stepping forward with the invisibility cloak in his hands, Harry held it out to them and asked, "Do you reckon you know how you're going to go about this?"
Hermione took the cloak and ran it through her hands, taking a moment to think about her answer. Ginny watched her the entire time, looking rather apprehensive. Harry understood why. Things were happening, and now faced with the reality of it all, she wasn't sure what to expect.
"I think," Hermione began slowly, "we should apparate a ways away from The Burrow, then we can make our way in. That way if there's anyone nearby, they won't be alerted to our presence."
"There's the road into Ottery St. Catchpole," Ron answered. At the questioning look of the girls he added, "Cars are always going back and forth along the road. One of them almost always bangs as it passes. If there's any Death Eaters nearby, they'd likely think that's what they heard."
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all turned to look at Ron in amazement. Harry was the first to close his mouth and grin.
"Of course! That could work!"
Ron's self satisfied grin became more pronounced as the girls added their agreement.
The group stepped outside the back door and into the garden, well away from any prying eyes that might be in the street out to the front. Harry led the way to a spot out of sight of the neighbors' windows and turned to look at the others.
"Right," said Hermione,"give us three hours. If we're not back by then, that's your signal that something happened."
"And we'll come to help." Ron replied nervously.
Harry checked the pocket watch Mrs. Weasley gave him for his 17th birthday, and noted the time. He saw the tender look in Ginny's eyes as she watched, then the color flush in her cheeks when she caught him looking at her. She stepped forward and gave Harry a kiss.
"Don't worry, Harry. Hermione and I will be fine."
"I'm sure you will." He replied.
Hermione looked like she wanted to say something to Ron, but he seemed to have other ideas.
"You two better be off, The sooner you go, the sooner you'll be back."
Hermione's eyes looked crestfallen, but she stood resolute as she offered Ginny her arm. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be." Ginny said. She winked at Harry who smiled back.
Hermione threw the Invisibility Cloak over the top of them and a moment later a loud POP! Announced their departure.
"Do you think they'll be alright, Harry?" Ron asked nervously.
"I don't know, but I hope so."
Ginny decided the moment they appeared in the field next to the road at the base of the drive to their house that she really hated apparition. Even though she'd done it before, the effects of it still proved unnerving for her and it took her a moment to get her bearings once they'd arrived. Hermione smiled at her in understanding, and together they made sure the invisibility cloak still covered them.
Looking around, they noticed the still morning was interrupted by the sounds of birds, frantically taking flight across the sky. A calico cat stared in their direction, tail switching back and forth before it cleaned it's paws and moved into the reeds by the side of the road. A breeze played in the leaves of a copse of trees just off the road, and it was in there Hermione led her.
"Alright there, Ginny?" Her voice was warm and kind.
"Never better," she replied. "What do we do now?"
"Which way to The Burrow?" Hermione asked.
Ginny glanced again at the road and instantly knew where she was. The large boulder that marked the turn off the main road was just up the way, easily within sight. It looked rather like a troll hunched over, looking at something in it's hands. She smiled at the memory of Charlie taking her out for a walk one spring morning, telling her if she wasn't good, it would come to life and get her. A pang of sadness overcame Ginny for a moment and she swallowed hard. She missed her brothers. Charlie with his easygoing manner and affinity for animals. Percy, even though he could be pompous and self aggrandizing, had also always been kind to her, if not her brothers. She shook her head and pointed, then realizing Hermione couldn't see her arm, instead said, "There's a rock over there, just up the way, see?"
"Yes, I see it." Hermione replied.
"That's the turn to the road home. It's just this way."
"Wait," Hermione said, her voice belying her nervousness, "Let's take a moment to see if anyone comes looking for the source of that sound."
"Hermione, except for that damn cat, no one's going to come running."
"Probably not, but it never hurts to be sure."
Rolling her eyes, and secretly thankful Hermione couldn't see her doing it, Ginny sighed in acquiescence. It wouldn't hurt to placate her friend, and besides, they might discover something.
After waiting patiently for what felt like several minutes, Ginny sighed. Except for the breeze in the thicket of trees, there was no sign of anyone coming to investigate anything. The cat was long gone. Not even the birds could be persuaded to take notice of them. Peering down the road again, she asked, "Has it been long enough?"
"I suppose it has." Hermione replied. "Carefully now, we don't want to catch this on something and give ourselves away."
"Yeah, heaven forbid some squirrel see us. It might alert the Death Eaters." Ginny grumbled.
"There's no need to be snide." Hermione grumbled in defense.
"I'm sorry, I'm just tense." Ginny said, realizing how true the statement was.
It would be the first time she'd seen her home since the wedding, and that was weeks ago now. What would it look like?
"Of course, I understand." Hermione sounded contrite. Ginny smiled, thankful it was she and not Ron with her just now. Hermione at least would understand her feelings. Ron would just be, well, Ron about it all.
"Let's get this over with then, shall we?" Hermione asked kindly.
"Let's." Ginny replied.
Carefully, the two young women made their way along the old road that lead from the town of Ottery St. Catchpole to The Burrow. It was slow going because every so often Hermione would stop to look around to make sure they weren't being followed or otherwise had given themselves away. Privately, Ginny thought that waiting until morning was a good idea. At the rate they were going, it would be another hour at least until they got home. It was usually not longer than a twenty minute walk on a good day.
The birds began chirping their songs in the trees, and a disturbance in the brush and reeds next to the road suggested that maybe the cat they'd seen earlier was back to hunting for its breakfast. A breeze kicked up, which also made it slower going because they had to keep a good hold on the cloak to prevent it from blowing off them and revealing their presence. Ginny was thankful that the road home wasn't more traveled than it was. They only had to move aside twice due to traffic, and once due to a fox that scurried past them, stopping to look their way ever so briefly on the way.
Soon, they came up over the rise and Ginny inhaled sharply. She dropped the cloak and her hands rose to her mouth in horrified surprise. She knew well enough her home had been burned by the Death Eaters, but seeing it first hand was another thing completely.
"I know." Hermione said.
Ginny felt her friend's hand on her back. It wasn't much comfort. Her home, or what was left of it, was nothing but a burned out wreck. It didn't look like there was much left. There was blackened grass in the garden, and the barn and shed still stood, but were scorched almost unrecognizably. The house, however, was mostly blackened cinders. A few posts, one broken wall and the chimney were all that was left.
"It's okay if you don't want to go on." Hermione's voice was a hoarse croak. She was feeling the loss, too.
"No, I need to see this." Ginny answered.
Together, the girls removed the invisibility cloak and Hermione carefully folded it and put it away in her bag. They then joined hands and approached what was left of Ginny's home.
There were footprints in the ashes. It looked like someone had come poking around before, but they had no idea when. It was hard to look at it all, so Ginny focused on small points. She found her mother's old Wizarding Wireless radio set. The clock with the family on it was a broken mess, but some of the cups and sauces were still intact.
"What's this?" Hermione asked.
Ginny turned and looked. Hermione was standing up, holding a necklace out for Ginny to see. She knew right away it didn't belong to anyone in her family, because she'd have recognized it right away if it did.
"I've seen this before," Hermione said slowly, "but I don't remember where."
It was a triangle with a circle inside it, halved by a line through the middle running from the top down. The pendant was gold, and it was on a golden chain. Ginny, too, remembered seeing it somewhere but just where also escaped her.
"I don't know whose it is. No one in my family has anything like that." Ginny said.
"No, I don't think it belongs to anyone in your family, but that doesn't explain what it's doing here." Hermione replied.
"Where did you find it?" Ginny asked, looking around.
"It was tangled in the grass, just there."
Hermione pointed to the ground where she found the necklace. Ginny got down on her knees and searched around more carefully. She combed through the ashes, grass, and soil with her fingers, but only came away with dirty hands.
"It must've belonged to one of the wedding guests." Ginny said.
"But who? There were a lot of guests at the wedding."
"Death Eaters, too." Ginny replied.
"Yes, but I don't think this is something that would've belonged to any of them. Not unless it has something to do with You-Know-Who, and I have the funniest feeling it doesn't."
Hermione's face was thoughtful as she stood there looking around. They stood there for another moment before Ginny sighed. "I suppose we better get to checking the rest of this place out."
They worked in silence. While they had ascertained almost immediately that they were safe and unnoticed, they still went over everything. No stone, log, or piece of rubble was left unturned. After an hour passed, Ginny had put together a small pile of things she'd found and collected. It was all that was left of her home, and some of the things like her mother's jewelry box, some pictures, a few spell books, and a handful of other items were things she was sure her mother would want. Hermione didn't say anything as she rummaged around. This left Ginny to her thoughts.
What would her parents do? What could they do? She knew Harry would let them stay at Grimmauld Place however long they wanted, but she was sure for her parents the stay would only be temporary. Would they rebuild? Could they even try? She asked Hermione who smiled and answered.
"Yes, they can rebuild if they want. It would even probably be faster with magic than if muggles were to come along and do it. But it wouldn't be the same."
"I know," Ginny said slowly, her voice rich with emotion.
"It was a terrible thing they did." Hermione said, looking at her friend.
Ginny returned the look and wiped at her eyes, trying to control the emotions being back brought up. It was difficult but she managed. "I know."
"Do you think your parents will want to rebuild?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know. Probably, but who's to say?"
"Well, one thing's for sure." Hermione said, stooping down to pick up one of the pictures from Ginny's pile. She carefully brushed it off then bent down to pick up another.
"What's that?" Ginny said, watching her.
"There's no Death Eaters here, which means we're safe to call a meeting. Assuming you're okay with coming back?"
Ginny's resolution firmed up and she knelt down and began gathering up items too. "You bet I am. Those Death Eaters are going to rue the day they destroyed my home. I'm going to make sure of it."