Apologies for my time away from this story. I won't bore you with unnecessary details. Suffice it to say, I'm back at it, with an intent to finish this. I just might be a bit slow in the doing. Thank you for your patience.

Voldemort stood staring into the flames of a roaring fire, alone in the room as he'd ordered. Another report from the watchers in Surry, near Potter's home on Privet Drive. First the two Death Eaters stationed there had gone wandering off, then their replacements couldn't find the home. A home which there had been no trouble locating previously, even if only for the maddening magic that protected Potter while he lived within until he came of age.

Potter himself had somehow reopened the link between their minds, then escaped the trap he'd caught him in. He knew about the Horcruxes. The meaning behind them may not be clear to the boy, but he knew of their existence and that alone made them much more important to protect. He knew he'd have to find a new home for them, and sooner rather than later would be preferable. For now, however, there were a few things that needed to be attended to.

Nagini's soft hiss alerted Voldemort to the presence of another within the firelit gloom of the drawing room of Malfoy Manor. His anger at being disturbed only temporarily held at bay, knowing that whomever it was who dared interrupt him must have a good reason for doing so. Their life would be forfeit if the matter was of some trivial inconsequence.

"Yes, what is it?" Voldemort hissed, never turning from the fire.

"My Lord," It was Yaxley who spoke. The deep gravely voice held a timbre of fear. Voldemort turned his head slightly towards the man, angling his ear to better hear him.

"It's from the guards in Surrey. They've reported in, stating it sounds like there's been an apparition take place. They do not know whether it was Potter, a member of the Order, or someone else. They also report there was nothing they could see to tell them any more." Yaxley said.

"Why does this matter?" Voldemort asked, turning now to face Yaxley with his wand in his hand.

Yaxley's eyes flicked down to the wand then back into the red, reptilian eyes of Voldemort before he replied, "Doesn't Potter have an invisibility cloak?"

"What of it? Potter's house has been placed under the Fidelius Charm. We cannot see nor hear anyone inside to know if it is Potter or one of his friends in the order who lives there now. It could be anyone from the order coming or going. Tell me, Yaxley, that you have come to me with more than this?" Voldemort hissed.

The Death Eater swallowed hard but continued on.

"M-my Lord, one of the snatchers we employ, one Felix Catus, is an animagus. A c-cat. H-he has just reported from Ottery St. C-catchpole the sounds of an apparition near the home of some members of The Order. Sounds, m-my Lord, but no sighting."

Instantly, Voldemort turned his full gaze upon Yaxley. "Why was I not told of this sooner?"

"The s-s-snatcher only reported in just now." Yaxley looked like he wanted to take a step back, but held his ground. A slow smile spread across Voldemort's reptilian features.

"You've done well, Yaxley. Find Greyback and have him gather some of his friends. They are to go to the home of Potter's friends and there they will remain until called for."

"You think Potter will return, My Lord?" Yaxley's voice betrayed his disbelief.

"He will return. There is no reason for him to have come to the home of his friends hidden beneath his cloak unless he was scouting the location for future use. I want him captured when he returns and brought before me."

"What of his friends?" Yaxley asked as he turned to leave.

"They may be given the option to join us, or die with Potter." Voldemort turned back to the fire.

"It will be as you say, My Lord." Yaxley said. He shut the drawing room door behind him as he left. Voldemort continued staring into the embers of the fire, his hand absently touching the top of Nagini's head.

"Soon now, my friend. You will feast upon Potter's corpse and no one will dare think to oppose us." He smiled into the flames.

Harry and Ron were sitting at the dining room table, each nursing a glass of pumpkin juice but neither one saying much. Worry crossed their faces, something that started the moment the two girls left for The Burrow.

Ron's eyes stared hard out the window, watching for any sign of their return. Harry's gaze fell upon the picture of the Dursleys on the dining room wall. He absently wondered how they were faring, then his thoughts turned back to Ginny and Hermione.

They hadn't been gone an hour yet. It wasn't time to worry, but worry is exactly what he did. Harry felt that he couldn't help it. Both of the young women were capable witches, but he wondered how they'd do against the Death Eaters. Then he realized that they'd already proven themselves back in fifth year. Both Ginny and Hermione had done reasonably well when the Death Eaters confronted them in the Ministry. It wasn't much, but he felt like maybe they'd have some small chance if Voldemort's people were to find them.

Ron sighed, "How long has it been?"

Even though he'd just looked, Harry checked the clock again. "Only an hour."

"Is that all? It feels like longer." Ron was morose.

"I don't like it either, but they've gotten out of scrapes before, remember? They'll be fine." Harry said with a confidence he wasn't entirely sure he felt.

"I know, but I don't like not knowing." Ron replied.

Harry couldn't blame him for being worried. Ginny was his sister, and everyone knew how he felt about Hermione, even if Ron himself didn't admit it. He tried half heartedly to get Ron's mind off things. "Want to play a game of Wizard's Chess?"

"Nah, thanks." Ron said, turning to face his friend, "If anything happens to Ginny, Mum's going to lose it."

"I know, but I'm not sure what to do about it." Harry replied.

"We never should have let them go." Ron went on.

"Are you mental? You saw how defensive they became when they thought we felt they couldn't handle themselves. It just made them more determined."

Ron looked back out the window in defeat, "Better them being upset than dead."

Both of them looked as glum and forlorn as they felt. Harry's hair was even more untidy, if such a thing was even possible. His clothes were rumpled and looked like he'd slept in them. Harry thought that Aunt Petunia would be having a fit over his state of dress, let alone the fact that there were three other magical people currently living in her house. Harry smiled in spite of himself.

"Ron, they'll be fine. They have the invisibility cloak. They've both been in tough scrapes before, I'm sure they'll be okay." Harry said.

"We need to do something." Ron ran his fingers through his bright red hair and looked outside again towards the spot in the back garden where they'd disapparated from. It was as if he was hoping they'd appear there any moment. Harry supposed he couldn't blame him.

"What can we do? I don't want to face Ginny or Hermione if they see us come looking for them. I'd rather go up against a dragon again." Harry answered.

Ron half smiled at the memory. "You're right. I just hate feeling like there's nothing we can do."

"I know, mate. But right now there's not much for it but wait."

Ron sighed in answer but didn't say any more. Harry knew how he felt. Just for something to do, he got up and made a pot of tea. He and Ron were just sitting down to a cup when a loud 'POP' came from the back garden. In their rush to investigate, the tea pot and two cups were left on the dining table. The two young men ran outside with wands in hand. The came across the girls just as Hermione removed the cloak. Neither looked happy though there was nothing obvious to state why.

"What is it?" Ron's voice was fearful.

"Nothing happened, Ron." Ginny sighed, tipping some items into his arms.

Ron caught them by reflex, then realized what he held. His face fell and Harry suddenly understood why the girls weren't happy upon their return. It was Hermione who spoke next. The small collection of pictures and other items from the Burrow reeked of smoke.

"We're perfectly fine to hold a meeting at The Burrow." She said, tone matter of fact while she handed Harry back his father's cloak. "But the question is, do we really want to? It wasn't easy going back."

She headed back into the house and reached for the pot of tea. Harry nodded at her questioning look and waited while Hermione poured a cup for Ginny and herself. He realized what she was talking about soon enough. Ginny's face looked like she'd cried, and Ron didn't look that far from it.

Harry grabbed two more tea cups from the cupboard and they all sat down at the table to talk. Hermione watched Ginny for a moment before turning back to Harry. She withdrew something from her robes and handed it to him. "Have you ever seen this before?"

Right away, Harry realized it was familiar to him. This was definitely something he'd seen before, and he felt like he should have recognized it. "I've seen it, or something very much like it. I don't remember where though."

"That's my problem too. I just know I've seen this symbol before but can't remember where." Her look of frustration was easy enough to understand. Hermione didn't like being stumped at something. She looked exasperated and her bushy hair was in even more disarray. Harry noticed that both girls had an odor of smoke about them.

"W-was it really bad?" Ron asked.

For a moment, Harry thought he'd meant the symbol he held. The triangle, with a circle inside it and each divided by a vertical line down the middle, was nagging at his memory. But Ron wasn't looking at the symbol on the necklace. He was staring at the items Ginny had brought back with her.

"It was horrible." Ginny said, voice devoid of emotion. "There's nothing left."

"I wonder what Mum and Dad will do." Ron replied.

"I don't know, Ron." Ginny said standing up. "If no one minds, I think I'm going to go take a nap."

No one said anything, so she left the room. She squeezed Harry's shoulder on her way past, and he put his hand on hers. Hermione smiled and then looked at Ron. Tentatively, she reached out and took his hand. Harry smiled when he didn't pull it away. Instead, he gripped her hand gently back.

Thinking now might be a good time to leave the two alone, Harry excused himself from the room and followed Ginny upstairs. He entered her room to find her lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her hands idly twisting themselves. He wasn't sure whether to bother her or not when she spoke.

"You can come in."

She spoke so softly, Harry almost missed it. He entered and sat down on the edge of her bed. "You okay?"

She gave a humorless snort, then replied, "Not really, no."

"I'm sorry." He replied, feeling very inadequate.

"There's nothing to do about it. You didn't burn down my home."
"It's because of me it happened." Harry replied.

Her eyes were sharp and piercing as they turned to him. "No, it's not."

"It is." Harry went on. "If you hadn't come with me, then…"
"Then nothing. Even if you and I weren't together. Even if you and Ron weren't best mates, it still would have happened. That or something like it. We're blood traitors, remember? That's all the excuse they'd need."

"What makes you so sure? They were at your home looking for me."

"My dad has never followed the ministry's example. Not really. He's never completely bought into their rubbish about a lot of things. That's why he's never gotten further ahead in the ministry than he has." Ginny turned now and propped her head up on one hand. "But this isn't about you, Harry."

"Then what's it about?"

"It's about the fact that when it's all said and done, Ron, me, and my family won't have a home to return to." Ginny's voice was calm but her face was full of emotion. "I don't know what Mum and Dad will do. Percy and Charlie are gone. Bill has married Fleur and they have their home. All that's left is Fred, George, Ron, and me, and we're all nearly grown."

"Do you think they'll want to rebuild?" Harry asked.

"I don't know." Ginny answered.
"Well they can stay at Grimmauld Place if they want. I'm not using it. I'm not even sure I really want it, honestly."

"Then where would you go? You're seventeen and of age."

"Well I know I wasn't planning on staying here." Harry gestured at the room around him and Ginny nodded.

"So you'll be needing a place to stay then."

"I don't know. I reckon so, but that's a long way off. I have to finish this…this, first."

Ginny's look made Harry very uncomfortable. Her face drained of color except her ears and her neck, which turned crimson. "No, Harry, we have to finish this first. It isn't just you. Ron and I have as much right to end this as you do."

Harry knew he'd put his foot in it, and regretted it instantly. Ginny was upset enough without him making it worse. He went to apologize, but she held up her hand. So he sat in silence, looking around his aunt and uncle's room. It was silent in the house, and when that silence became unbearable, he nodded and sighed.

"You're right. We all have a stake in this, not just me."

Ginny didn't say anything, but her color slowly started returning to normal. He smiled at her and she got up and changed position so she was sitting next to him on the bed. She then wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. "So, what do we do now?" She asked.

"We call a meeting at The Burrow, for anyone who wants to come. We get the lay of the land and see what we need to do to get the next horcrux."

"You can destroy that one." Ginny said, her voice a whisper. "I don't think I could destroy another one of..of those things. One was hard enough."

The next day dawned bright and clear. When Harry woke, he peeked outside the window of his room to see the Death Eaters still camped outside, looking bored and completely out of place in the muggle neighborhood. Harry wondered absently why they didn't use the Imperius Curse to just move into the house across the street, then decided for as odd as it was they were out there, at least he and the others knew they were there and what they were doing. He just wished he knew more.

Descending the stairs to the kitchen in the hopes of making breakfast, he came upon Hermione emptying out her beaded bag with the undetectable extension charm on it. The kitchen table was full of things like books, clothes, food supplies, potions kits, quills, ink, and stacks of old parchment, neatly rolled and bound with string.

"What's this?" Harry asked, picking up one roll, staring down at the rest.

Hermione, who was busy going through the bag, trying to make sure she got everything looked up. "What's that? Oh, hi Harry." She said before returning to her bag. "That's from the stuff that Lupin and Bill sent us. I think it's some of his old notes."

Harry carefully removed the string and unrolled the parchment. It was thick and heavy, and the roll ended up containing several long sheets. He started rolling them back up when his eyes fell on something. It was his dad's name.

A sudden chill went down Harry's spine and he went back to make sure they were in order, then he sat down to read, the idea of breakfast completely forgotten. He buried himself in the papers, reading them all through one by one. His dad's name was mentioned several times, but he wasn't the only one. Sirius and Peter Pettigrew were mentioned too. That's when the significance of what he was reading dawned on him.

"Hermione," Harry breathed, hardly daring to believe what he was reading.

She looked up at him, bewildered at his tone. "What is it, Harry?"

Harry skimmed the papers again, making mental notes of everything. It was like his dad had given him a gift from beyond the grave. A sudden chill ran again down his spine and with shaking hands he set down the papers. His chest heaved up and down as he worked to concentrate enough to speak.

"I-it's my dad."

Hermione's face betrayed her growing concern. She looked at Harry, white as a sheet now, then back at the parchment he'd set on the table.

"What do you mean, Harry?"

"The p-p-papers. It's their old n-notes." He replied.

"What do you mean their old notes? Harry, what's going on?"

Harry took a few deep breaths. He swallowed hard a few times, regaining control of himself. Then, slowly and deliberately, he gently placed his hand on the parchment. It almost felt as if he was touching his dad from across the years. "Hermione, these are the notes that my dad, Remus, Sirius, and Wormtail made when they were figuring out how to become Animaguses. It's all here."

Hermione's face was almost comical. She went from concern to surprise quickly and her eyes moved from Harry's face to the stack of parchment under his hand. Gently, she took it and he was quiet while she read it through. Being patient while she read was nearly impossible. Harry felt jubilant and wanted to run screaming through the house, even though the sight of him doing such a thing would have woken Ginny and Ron and probably upset Hermione in the process.

"You're right! Everything is here, but it's extremely complicated." She said, frowning. It's a lot more complicated than I thought it could be. Again, she read through the parchment, eyes moving quickly across the page. Harry noticed her breathing was different.

"What is it?" He asked, feeling the tension come off Hermione in waves.

"We have everything here we would need to do it!" She said, unable to contain her excitement.

"Everything?" Harry asked, hardly daring to believe it.

What would this mean? Could they all become animagi? Harry thought of the few stories he knew of where Sirius, his father, even wormtail had all made good use of the powers they obtained.

"What's this?" said Ginny, coming into the kitchen. She kissed Harry lightly in passing as she made her way to the fridge and got something to eat.

He watched her, noticing that she seemed a lot less despondent than the day before. Maybe she's put it all aside for now. Or maybe she realized that there wasn't much she could do just yet and decided to wait. Whatever it was, Harry was thankful for her more pleasant mood. She pulled the milk and some boiled eggs out of the icebox and sat down to eat. Hermione was watching her too, and from the way her face was screwed up, Harry knew she wasn't as convinced as he was. However, she answered Ginny anyway.

"We found the notes Remus took when he, Sirius, Wormtail, and Harry's father figured out how to become animaguses."

"Wicked!" Ginny exclaimed, "how do we go about it?"

"Well," Hermione hesitated, glancing at Harry.

"Don't just sit there, Hermione. What will it take to become an animagus?" Ginny's voice sounded forceful and inpatient. Not like her at all, and Harry realized why Hermione looked the way she did. Ginny was still upset, and he was getting an inkling that maybe she might be becoming a bit more reckless as well.

"I-it's not something we can just do overnight." Hermione stalled.

"What's not something we can just do overnight?" Ron asked, coming into the kitchen.

He, too, ventured straight for the fridge and grabbed out some leftover sausages from dinner the night before. Unlike his sister, who looked wide awake and whose eyes glinted as if she'd found a new sense of purpose, Ron looked like he barely slept all night. His bright red hair stood out in contrast to his pale skin. Dark circles under his eyes gave evidence as to his lack of sleep. He took his sausages to the table, and smiled in thanks at Hermione who thoughtfully cleared a place for him next to her. She tentatively returned his smile, which disappeared at Ginny's impatient sigh.

"We found the notes and stuff my dad used when they were figuring out how to become animaguses." Harry explained.

"Bloody hell!" Ron replied, "So is that it? You figured out how to become animagi, and that's great. But what about the trip to meet everyone back at my hou, er, where my house was?"

Hermione looked relieved at the direction Ron took the conversation. Ginny, who now looked annoyed, crossed her arms and waited. Harry took a seat next to her and put his hand on her knee. Her expression softened a bit and she smiled at him, though barely. Her hand came to rest on top of his.

"We need to talk about that," Hermione replied, now gathering everything up and putting it all neatly back into her bag with the undetectable extension charm. Everyone noticed that she left the rolls of parchment containing the notes alone.

"We need to go after the Horcruxes." Harry said, "but before we can do that, we need a better idea of what it's like out there. The fact that there's two Death Eaters camped outside, watching the house makes me think it must be pretty bad. Even the muggles aren't harassing them."

"And we need to know exactly how bad it is," Hermione added.

"Why's that?" Ginny asked, "It doesn't change the fact we still have the Horcruxes to destroy."

"No, it doesn't." Harry answered.

"But it must be very bad indeed if the Death Eaters are out there, and we don't know who we have that we can call on for help." Hermione said.

Ginny shrugged, but didn't say anything. Hermione went on, pulling the symbol on the golden chain from under her robes, "Then there's this. We don't know what it means, but I know I've seen it somewhere before and I think it's important."

"So 'ess caw a eeding den" Ron said around a mouthful of sausage. Both Ginny and Hermione looked repulsed. He swallowed and went on. "Maybe we can see if anyone knows about that symbol. Luna might."

Harry slapped his forehead and turned towards his best mate, "That's it!"

Ron looked alarmed and asked, "What's it?"

"That's where I saw the symbol! Luna's dad was wearing it around his neck." Harry beamed, looking pleased with himself. Everyone but Hermione smiled.

"What is it?" Ron asked her.

"I'm sure that's where this came from, but it's not where I remember seeing this symbol before"

Frustration creased her features. She ran her fingers through her hair and stood up to make tea.

"Is it one of your books? Like ancient runes, maybe?" Ginny asked.

Hermione shook her head then glanced back at the bag she'd just put everything away in. It was almost as if she expected the answer to her questions to jump out of it. "No, it's not a rune that I've ever seen."

"Then what is it?" Ron said, spearing the last of his sausages with his fork.

"That's just it, I don't know."
"Can it wait, Hermione?" Harry asked. "Let's call the meeting, and go from there."
"Good idea," Ron added.

"Okay, when do we want to do it?" Ginny asked, leaning forward and putting her elbows on the table.

The group delved into the discussion of when to call a meeting for. In the end, the decided to set it a week from the current date so as to give everyone a chance to prepare for it, Hermione reasoned. "It's the week of the first Hogsmeade weekend." She said.

"That's assuming they still have one. They might not." Ron replied.
"So what will we do then? Do we still have a meeting?" Ginny asked.
"I don't see why not," Harry answered, "if someone wants to come bad enough, then they'll find a way to show up."

Harry's right, of course." Hermione said. "Those that want to come bad enough will find a way to make it happen."

Ginny looked sidelong at Harry. "Yeah, I imagine at least a few will want to see 'The Chosen One' again."

She smiled at his sudden discomfort. Ron rolled his eyes, but it was Hermione who added, "You're probably right. If things really are that bad, then the chance of seeing Harry again might give them hope."

She took out her fake galleon and began a series of complicated waves of her wand over it. She then smiled and tapped the tip of it on the coin. It glowed dimly for a moment, then she sighed. "Well, it's done."

"What is?" Ron asked, looking very confused.

"Honestly, Ron, how could you be so thick?" Ginny rolled her eyes, "She just sent a message to the others from the D.A."

"You mean?" Ron asked, but Hermione was already nodding.

"Yes, Ronald, I've done it. The others who still have their coins should just now be getting their messages: Burrow. Saturday. 5 p.m."

"So what do we do now?" Ron asked.

It was Harry who answered, his eyes now back on the stack of parchment in front of him. "Now, we wait."