Chapter 20

The Wedding


"What do you mean he's locked up in your house?!" Harry exclaimed shocked.

"Well, I had to make sure he doesn't run screaming that someone took his place while we transported you. Where else was I supposed to put him?" I asked. "Besides, now you don't have to waste time looking for him."

"He has been there since yesterday evening?"

"Relax, I left him food and water, even a book for entertainment." I sighed.

"We have to go right now."

"He can't see me; I don't trust him to keep my identity hidden." I shook my head. "Jasper!"

With a swoosh of air, my brother was standing next to us already.

"You want me to take him to Mundungus?" Jasper guessed.

"Promise, you'll protect Harry, no matter what." I looked at him with all seriousness.

"Major's honor!" he saluted and smirked.

"We'll be back in less than an hour, distract Molly," I spoke in the direction of the house.

"Be safe, love." I heard Edward's voice.

"Always am." I giggled and took Harry's and Jasper's hands in mine.

I apparated them to our house and took my wand out of its holster.

"Alohomora," I spoke after pointing the tip of my wand to the door behind which Mundungus was locked up. There was a tiny screak, and it opened. Jasper walked in there with Harry before I closed the door again. I couldn't risk Fletcher getting out of there and apparating.

"What is all that? Is that how you repay me? I was ready to come help rescue you, and you lock me up in a cell with some stale sandwich and a book? What the bloody hell, Potter? Let me go, let me go now, or I…" I heard Mundungus yelling from behind the door.

"Or you what?" Jasper spoke now. I could imagine he used his scary vampire face because Mundungus stopped before he could tell what he would do. "You're not in any position to make threats, buddy. We have some questions."

"When you cleaned out Grimmauld Place of the valuables," Harry began, but Mundungus interrupted him again.

"Sirius never cared about any of the junk…"

"When you stripped this house of all the valuables you could find," Harry began again, "Kreacher saw you taking a bunch of stuff. There was a locket. What did you do with it?"

"Why?" asked Mundungus. "Is it valuable?"

"You've still got it?" Harry ignored his question.

"He's wondering whether he should be asking more money for it," Jasper spoke.

"Maybe I have it, what's in it for you? How valuable is it?"

"We're not here to bargain, if you have it, give it back." Jazz spoke again.

"That's not how I do business."

"You're right, that's the way I do business." My brother spoke again, and I heard sudden movements and noises.

"Jasper, what are you doing?!" Harry screamed concerned.

"Teaching the bastard a little something about manners."

"F-i-n-e." Mundungus groaned like his airway was closed. Oh, Jasper, Jasper. A second later, I heard Fletcher fall on the floor, cough, and inhale the air rapidly.

"Glad we had an agreement." Jasper clapped and continued, "I'll follow you to a place where you keep it, I'll even return your wand when we're done…But…If you even think about apparating without returning the locket, I swear I'll hunt you down and finish what I was doing a few seconds ago."

"I bloody got it." Mundungus groaned irritated, but his shaky voice told everyone how afraid he actually felt.

"The door, sis," Jasper called.

I opened it once again with an Alohomora spell and ran to the kitchen area, hiding myself from Mundungus's eyes.

"His wand is in the cupboard, next to the fireplace," I whispered, knowing only my brother would hear it.

"Play any tricks on me, Fletcher..." Jasper reminded before I heard a pop, signifying their departure.

"Harry?" I asked, coming back to the living room.

"Will Jasper be able to find his way home?" He asked.

"He's over two hundred years old, he'll figure it out." I shook my shoulders.

"That was scary," Harry spoke honestly. "how fast he grabbed him and his whole appearance when he talked."

"Jasper can be very intimidating, especially with all his battle scars, but he's very kind and genuinely nice if you get to know him better."

"Are you…Do people see you like that too?" He asked.

"Some, but Jasper is the most intimidating out of all of us, with his military experience and the ability to project fear into people."

"Yeah, I can see why humans make so many movies about vampires being scary creatures of the night." He chuckled nervously.

"Are you afraid to be here with me?" I asked sheepishly.

"No! No, Isabella, you're one of the people I trust most in this world. I know you'd never hurt me intentionally."

"I'm glad to hear that." I smiled genuinely and we looked at each other for a few seconds. "And please, it's Bella."

"Of course. So…" He started and looked around. "Wow, that's a nice house."

"Thanks! It's all Esme's work though." I looked around. "Want to see my favorite room before we go back to the Burrow?" I asked.

Harry nodded and I led him upstairs to the greenhouse. Harry's eyes took a moment to focus when we went inside a warm humid full-glass room. I saw an unprovoked smile coming onto his face.

"It's like a paradise in here!"

We returned to the Burrow immediately after that and both felt relieved when we saw Jasper already sitting on the couch in the living room. As soon as my brother saw us walk in, he motioned Harry to come upstairs with him.

"Is Edward here?" I asked Esme and Molly, who were once again cooking something in the kitchen.

"Amos took him and the girls to his place, he wanted to invite you two, but understood that you and Harry needed some alone time to talk as well." Esme smiled.

"Okay, are Fred and George here?"

"In the backyard," Molly answered.

I left the house to go outside and saw Emmett, Rose, Alice, Ginny, Ron, and Fred up in the air on brooms. George was sitting on the grass, his head still wrapped in bandages.

"Does it hurt still?" I asked, sitting down next to him.

"Not really, but mom insists I wear that." He pointed to the bandages.

"She's probably right."

"You know, you became so boring since you became a mom yourself, where's the thrill of getting an infection?"

I pushed him lightly on the shoulder and chuckled.

"I was always like that, you just forgot," I spoke.

"I'm glad to see Cedric and you found your ways to each other again." He spoke seriously.

"Me too."

"I'm glad to have you back in our lives too, no matter for how long."

"Probably, forever," I said under my breath, remembering Alice's words from last night.

"What's that?"

"Nothing." I shook my head, lowering it to rest on George's shoulder, and looked to see how the game was turning out.


On the morning of the 31st of August, Harry's Birthday, there was a lot of fuss in the house. To Bill and Fleur's wedding preparations added Harry's birthday party preparation. Madam and Monsieur Delacour, who were now also staying at the Burrow, swore to protect mine and Edward's identities a secret. It was getting very cramped, but Molly didn't want to hear anything about any one of us leaving. Knowing her dislike toward the future in-laws, I was surprised when she politely declined Esme's offer to move them to our house.

When Harry and Ron arrived in the kitchen, they found a pile of presents waiting on the table. One of them was from me, there were a few from my family members as well. We managed to sneak into the Diagon Alley a couple of days ago, under disguise, of course. Bill and Monsieur Delacour were finishing their breakfasts, while Mrs. Weasley stood chatting to them over the frying pan.

"Happy Birthday, Harry!" I walked toward him and hugged him tightly.

"Thanks." He smiled.

"Arthur told me to wish you a happy seventeenth, Harry," said Mrs. Weasley, beaming at him. "He had to leave early for work, but he'll be back for dinner. That's our present on top."

Harry sat down, took the square parcel she had indicated, and unwrapped it. Inside was a watch very like the one Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had given Ron for his seventeenth; it was gold, with stars circling around the race instead of hands.

"It's traditional to give a wizard a watch when he comes of age," said Mrs. Weasley, watching him anxiously from beside the cooker. "I'm afraid that one isn't new like Ron's, it was actually my brother Fabian's, and he wasn't terribly careful with his possessions, it's a bit dented on the back, but…"

The rest of her speech was lost; Harry had got up and hugged her, she patted his cheek clumsily when he released her, then waved her wand in a slightly random way, causing half a pack of bacon to flop out of the frying pan onto the floor.

"Happy birthday, Harry!" said Hermione, hurrying into the kitchen and adding her own present to the top of the pile. "It's not much, but I hope you like it. What did you get him?" she added to Ron, who seemed not to hear her.

"Come on, then, open Hermione's!" said Ron.

She had bought him a new Sneakoscope. The other packages contained an enchanted razor from Bill and Fleur.

"Ah yes, zis will give you ze smoothest shave you will ever 'ave," Monsieur Delacour assured him, "but you must tell it clearly what you want...ozzerwise you might find you 'ave a leetle less hair zan you would like..."

There were also chocolates from the Delacours, and an enormous box of the latest Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes merchandise from Fred and George before Harry started opening gifts from us. Emmett was the only one who refused to get him anything magical, instead of coming to Diagon Alley with us, he went to Muggle London and got Harry a new Gameboy. It was a strange gift, but Harry looked like he liked it a lot.

"My cousin Dudley used to have one of those, he never let me play." Harry chuckled at the gift.

"Emmett, what could you possibly find in the muggle world that he would like," Emmett spoke in a high-pitched voice, trying to copy Alice's, which made everyone laugh.

There were a few pieces of genuinely useful clothing from Esme and Carlisle, a few pieces of clothing that I can never see Harry wearing from Alice, the best shaping tools for brooms from Rosalie and Jasper, a new set of cauldron and crystal phials from Edward and a little box from me.

"It's yours to have if you want it," I spoke when he got to my gift.

He opened it and took out a key.

"It's from my dad's second personal vault, he put everything that he could find in your parents' house in it," I explained with a sad smile. "There are some photo albums from their school years in there too. He wanted to take you there when you turn seventeen, tell you all about your past before sending you to an adult world."

"This means a lot to me, Is...Bella." Harry whispered and hugged me tightly. "I wish we could go there together right now."

"Me too," I whispered back, patting his back.

"Well, you still have Savi and Nessie here at your dispense, they knew your dad pretty well in school." Alice tried to cheer him up. The girls smiled at the mention of their names.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and my family did not linger at the table, as the arrival of Madame Delacour, Fleur, and Gabrielle made the kitchen uncomfortably crowded. "I'll pack these for you," Hermione said brightly, taking Harry's presents out of his arms as the three of them headed back upstairs. "I'm nearly done, I'm just waiting for the rest of your underpants to come out of the wash, Ron…"

I tried not to listen to whatever was going on upstairs, but I couldn't help it. I was used to hearing smooching noises when living under a roof with three other couples, but I didn't expect to hear them here. It was awkward and I felt uncomfortable now because it was Harry making those noises…And little Ginny Weasley. I heard Ron talking to him a little louder than it was needed after, and with his 'big brother' voice too.

Ginny did not seek another one-to-one meeting with Harry for the rest of the day, nor by any look or gesture did she show that they had shared more than a polite conversation in her room. Nevertheless, Charlie's arrival came as a relief to all of us. It provided a distraction, watching Mrs. Weasley force Charlie into a chair, raise her wand threateningly, and announce that he was about to get a proper haircut.

As Harry's birthday dinner would have stretched the Burrow's kitchen to breaking point even before the arrival of the ten of us, Charlie and Hagrid, several tables were placed end to end in the garden. Fred and George bewitched a number of purple lanterns all emblazoned with a large number 17, to hang in midair over the guests. Thanks to Mrs. Weasley's ministrations, George's wound was neat and clean, but I was not yet used to the dark hole in the side of his head, despite the twins' many jokes about it.

Hermione made purple and gold streamers erupt from the end of her wand and drape themselves artistically over the trees and bushes. Alice seemed to be thrilled with all of the magical decorations and I was sure she was going to implement them in my and Edward's second wedding. It was a truly wonderful evening, filled with laughter and joy. I noticed my family was enjoying themselves and getting into conversations with the rest of the guests.

Three o'clock on the following afternoon found all the Cullens, including me, hiding in Ron's and Harry's bedroom. It was sunny outside, and we couldn't trust all these people to keep our secret, so we watched the wedding ceremony from the bedroom window.

"When I get married," I heard Fred say, tugging at the collar of his own robes, "I won't be bothering with any of this nonsense. You can all wear what you like, and I'll put a full Body Bind Curse on Mom until it's all over."

"Ah!" Alice gasped. "He can't do that!"

"Why are you so against that? We might not even be invited." Nessie laughed. Alice and I shared a look.

"She wasn't too bad this morning, considering," said George. "Cried a bit about Percy not being here, but who wants him. Oh blimey, brace yourselves, here they come, look."

Brightly colored figures were appearing, one by one out of nowhere at the distant boundary of the yard. Within minutes a procession had formed, which began to snake its way up through the garden toward the marquee. Exotic flowers and bewitched birds fluttered on the witches' hats, while precious gems glittered from many of the wizards' cravats; a hum of excited chatter grew louder and louder...the excitement of Alice, however, was radiating onto all of us through Jasper, drowning the sound of the bees and other living creatures as the crowd approached the tent.

I found Tonks and Lupin at the front of the queue. She had turned blonde for the occasion.

"Arthur told us you were the one with the curly hair. Sorry about last night," she added

in a whisper as Harry led them up the aisle. "The Ministry's being very anti-werewolf at the moment, and we thought our presence might not do you any favors."

"It's fine, I understand," said Harry, speaking more to Remus than Tonks. Uncle Remus gave him a swift smile, but as they turned away, I saw Remus's face fall again into lines of misery.

Hagrid was causing a certain amount of disruption. Having misunderstood Fred's directions as he had sat himself, not upon the magically enlarged and reinforced seat set aside for him in the back row, but on five sets that now resembled a large pile of golden matchsticks.

While Mr. Weasley repaired the damage and Hagrid shouted apologies to anybody who would listen.

"Xenophilius Lovegood," the man in weird clothes said, extending a hand to Harry, "my daughter and I live just over the hill, so kind of the good Weasleys to invite us. But I think you know my Luna?" he added to Ron.

"Yes," said Ron. "Isn't she with you?"

"She lingered in that charming little garden to say hello to the gnomes, such a glorious infestation! How few wizards realize just how much we can learn from the wise little gnomes...or, to give them their correct name, the Gernumbli gardensi."

"That guy is just as weird as you, Ali!" Emmett laughed loudly, and Alice rolled her eyes.

"Ours do know a lot of excellent swear words," said Ron, "but I think Fred and George taught them those."

I noticed Savi laugh at that comment and raised my eyebrows in shock. My daughter, always so right and polite, was giggling because the Weasley twins taught gnomes swear words. What the hell was wrong with this world?

"...and your hair's much too long, Ronald, for a moment I thought you were Ginevra. Merlin's beard, what is Xenophilius Lovegood wearing? He looks like an omelet. And who are you?" she barked at Harry.

"Oh yeah, Auntie Muriel, this is our cousin Barny." I heard Ron speaking.

"Another Weasley? You breed like gnomes. Isn't Harry Potter here? I was hoping to meet him. I thought he was a friend of yours, Ronald, or have you merely been boasting?"

"No…he couldn't come…."

"Hmm. Made an excuse, did he? Not as gormless as he looks in press photographs, then. I've just been instructing the bride on how best to wear my tiara," she shouted at Harry. "Goblin-made, you know, and been in my family for centuries. She's a good-looking girl, but still French. Well, well, find me a good seat, Ronald, I am a hundred and seven and I ought not to be on my feet too long."

Ron gave Harry a meaningful look as he passed and did not reappear for some time. I completely understood what he was trying to say with that look.

"Nightmare, Muriel is," said Ron, mopping his forehead on his sleeve a few moments later. "She used to come for Christmas every year, then, thank God, she took offense because Fred and George set off a Dungbomb under her chair at diner. Dad always says she'll have written them out of her will... as they care, they're going to end up richer than anyone in the family, the rate they're going... Wow," he added, blinking rather rapidly as Hermione came hurrying toward them. "You look great!"

"Always the tone of surprise," said Hermione, though she smiled. She was wearing a floaty, lilac-colored dress with matching high heels; her hair was sleek and shiny. "Your Great-Aunt Muriel doesn't agree, I just met her upstairs while she was giving Fleur the tiara. She said, 'Oh dear, is this the Muggle-born?' and then, 'Bad posture and skinny ankles.'"

"Don't take it personally, she's rude to everyone," said Ron.

"Talking about Muriel?" inquired George, reemerging from the marquee with Fred. "Yeah, she's just told me my ears are lopsided. Old bat. I wish old Uncle Bilius was still with us, though; he was a right laugh at weddings."

"Wasn't he the one who saw a Grim and died twenty-four hours later?" asked Hermione.

Emmett gave me a look and I sighed.

"Not me, you idiot. It's a sign of death, not an actual being." I rolled my eyes.

"He used to down an entire bottle of firewhisky, then run onto the dance floor, hoist up his robes, and start pulling bunches of flowers out of his…" Fred spoke.

"Yes, he sounds a real charmer," said Hermione, while Harry...And my husband with Emmett roared with laughter.

"Never married, for some reason," said Ron.

"Wonder why?" Rose chuckled in her fist.

"You amaze me," said Hermione.

They were all laughing so much that none of them noticed the latecomer, a dark-haired young man with a large, curved nose and thick black eyebrows until he held out his invitation to Ron and said, with his eyes on Hermione, "You look vunderful."

"Viktor!" Edward, Hermione, and I exclaimed at the same time.

"Fleur invited me," said Krum, eyebrows raised.

Harry, who had no grudge against Krum offered to show him his seat.

"Time to sit down," Fred told Harry, "or we're going to get run over by the bride."

A sense of jittery anticipation had filled the warm tent, the general murmuring broken by occasional spurts of excited laughter. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley strolled up the aisle, smiling and waving at relatives; Mrs. Weasley was wearing a brand-new set of amethyst-colored robes with a matching hat, purple was definitely her color.

A moment later Bill and Charlie stood up at the front of the marquee, both wearing dress robes, with larger white roses in their buttonholes; Fred wolf-whistled, and there was an outbreak of giggling from the veela cousins. Then the crowd fell silent as the music swelled from what seemed to be the golden balloons.

Monsieur Delacour and Fleur came walking up the aisle, Fleur gliding, Monsieur Delacour bouncing and beaming. Fleur was wearing a very simple white dress and seemed to be emitting a strong, silvery glow. Ginny and Gabrielle, both wearing golden dresses, looked even prettier than usual.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls..."

"Yes, my tiara set off the whole thing nicely," said Auntie Muriel in a rather carrying whisper. "But I must say, Ginevra's dress is far too low cut."

Ginny glanced around, grinning, winked at Harry, then quickly faced the front again.

"Do you, William Arthur, take Fleur Isabelle...?"

In the front row, Mrs. Weasley and Madame Delacour were both sobbing quietly into scraps of lace. Trumpet-like sounds from the back of the marquee told everyone that Hagrid had taken out one of his own tablecloth-sized handkerchiefs. Hermione turned around and beamed at Harry; her eyes too were full of tears.

"...then I declare you bonded for life."

The tufty-haired wizard waved his hand high over the heads of Bill and Fleur and a shower of silver stars fell upon them, spiraling around their now entwined figures. As Fred and George led a round of applause, the golden balloons overhead burst. Birds of paradise and tiny golden bells flew and floated out of them, adding their songs and chimes to the din.

"I want a wedding like that," I whispered into Edward's chest.

"Me too, sis," Rose spoke, giving Emmett a look, that could only mean one thing, it will be happening. With the number of weddings they already had, it wasn't a surprise for any of us and the whole family just chuckled when Emmett sighed in his defeat.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" called the tufty-haired wizard. "If you would please stand up!"

They all did so, Auntie Muriel grumbling audibly; he waved his wand again. The scars on which they had been sitting rose gracefully into the air as the canvas walls of the marquee vanished, so that they stood beneath a canopy supported by golden poles, with a glorious view of the sunlit orchard and surrounding countryside. Next, a pool of molten gold spread from the center of the tent to form a gleaming dance floor; the hovering chairs grouped themselves around small, white-clothed tables, which all floated gracefully back to earth around it, and the golden-jacketed hand trooped toward a podium.

"Smooth," said Ron approvingly as the waiters popped up on all sides, some hearing silver trays of pumpkin juice, butterbeer, and firewhisky, others tottering piles of tarts and sandwiches.

The band had begun to play, Bill and Fleur took to the dance floor first, to great applause; after a while, Mr. Weasley led Madame Delacour onto the floor, followed by Mr. Weasley and Fleur's father. Edward offered me his hand and I beamed at it. I noticed that all the couples were moving side-to-side in the cramped room, my girls dancing with each other.

When I looked back at what was happening outside, I saw that Harry, Hermione, and Ron were sitting together and that Viktor had dropped into a vacant seat. With a scowl on his face, he said, "Who is that man in the yellow?"

"That's Xenophilius Lovegood, he's the father of a friend of ours," said Ron. His pugnacious tone indicated that they were not about to laugh at Xenophilius, despite the clear provocation. "Come and dance," he added abruptly to Hermione.

She looked taken aback, but pleased too, and got up. They vanished together into the growing throng on the dance floor.

"Ah, they are together now?" asked Krum, momentarily distracted.

"Er…sort of," said Harry.

"Who are you?" Krum asked.

"Barny Weasley." They shook hands.

"You, Barny…you know this man Lovegood well?"

"No, I only met him today. Why?"

Krum glowered over the top of his drink, watching Xenophilius, who was chatting to several warlocks on the other side of the dance floor.

"Because," said Krum, "If he vus not a guest of Fleur's I vould dud him, here and now, for veering that filthy sign upon his chest."

"Sign?" said Harry, looking over at Xenophilius too.

I noticed all of my family was staring at Xeno Lovegood at this point, trying to figure out what was wrong with the necklace he was wearing. I felt my body shake a little. I killed people because of that sign.

"Why? What's wrong with it?" Harry asked.

"Grindelwald. That is Grindelwald's sign."

"Grindelwald... the Dark wizard Dumbledore defeated?"

"The one whose followers you…" Carlisle started.

"Yes." I finished for him, not wanting my daughters to know about their mom's dark past more than they already did.

"Exactly."

Krum's jaw muscles worked as if he were chewing, then he said, "I recognized it at vunce: Grindelwald carved it into a vall at Durmstrang ver he vos a pupil there. Some idiots copied it onto their books and clothes thinking to shock, make themselves impressive…until those of us who had lost family members to Grindelwald taught them better."

Krum cracked his knuckles menacingly and glowered at Xenophilius. I felt perplexed. It seemed incredibly unlikely that Luna's father was a supporter of the Dark Arts, and nobody else in the tent seemed to have recognized the triangular, finlike shape.

"Well, there's a chance," said Harry, "that Xenophilius doesn't actually know what the symbol means, the Lovegoods are quite... unusual. He could have easily picked it up somewhere and think it's a cross-section of the head of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack or something."

"The cross-section of a vot?"

"Well, I don't know what they are, but apparently he and his daughter go on holiday looking for them..."

"That's her," he said, pointing at Luna, who was still dancing alone, waving her arms around her head like someone attempting to beat off midges.

"Vy is she doing that?" asked Krum.

"Probably trying to get rid of a Wrackspurt," said Harry.

"Huh?" Emmett looked at Edward and me. I shook my shoulders, I had no idea what those were.

"This girl is very nice-looking," Krum said. Krum was pointing at Ginny, who had just joined Luna. "She is also a relative of yours?"

"Yeah," said Harry, suddenly irritated, "and she's seeing someone. Jealous type. Big bloke. You wouldn't want to cross him."

Krum grunted. Emmett and Jasper both burst into laughter.

"Vot," he said, draining his goblet and getting to his feet again, "is the point of being an international Quidditch player if all the good-looking girls are taken?" And he strode off leaving Harry to take a sandwich from a passing waiter and make his way around the edge of the crowded dance floor.

"He plays?" Emmett asked.

"For Bulgaria, he's sort of a celebrity in our world." Edward spoke.

"And you're friends with him?"

"Well, I wouldn't call us friends, but we interacted with him during our 6th year," I explained.

My family, who had never been to a wizarding wedding before, could not judge how Wizarding celebrations differed from Muggle ones, though I was pretty sure they were very surprised that the latter would not involve a wedding cake topped with two model phoenixes that took flight when the cake was cut, or bottles of champagne that floated unsupported through the crowd.

As the evening drew in, and moths began to swoop under the canopy, now lit with floating golden lanterns, the revelry became more and more uncontained. Fred and George had long since disappeared into the darkness, talking with my girls, something that Edward couldn't see anything against…at least for now; Charlie, Hagrid, and a squat wizard in a purple porkpie hat were singing songs in the corner. Harry was wandering through the crowd so as to escape a drunken uncle of Ron's who seemed unsure whether or not Harry was his son. Harry spotted an old wizard sitting alone at a table and made his way toward the man.

I've listened closely to Harry's conversation with the old man, who I recognized to be Elphias Doge, and was shocked to see the turn this conversation took when Auntie Muriel decided to join them as well.

When the two older wizards left, I saw Harry doze off into his thoughts, not paying any attention to what was happening around him.

"I simply can't dance anymore," Hermione panted, taking a seat next to Harry, slipping off one of her shoes and rubbing the sole of her foot. "Ron's gone looking to find more butterbeer. It's a bit odd. I've just seen Viktor storming away from Luna's father, it looked like they'd been arguing…" She dropped her voice, staring at him. "Harry, are you okay?"

Harry did not have any time to answer her, something large and silver came falling through the canopy over the dance floor. Graceful and gleaming, the lynx landed lightly in the middle of the astonished dancers. Heads turned, as those nearest it froze absurdly in mid-dance. Then the Patronus's mouth opened wide, and it spoke in the loud, deep, slow voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt, "The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming."

My eyes turned immediately to the forest area where my daughters disappeared into.


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