JENNIFER

For the first time in months, we were aiming to leave the flat at the same time.

"So, we're leaving for the Burrow right after we get home, yes?" I asked, wanting to reaffirm our plans. We were standing in the living room a few feet apart, closer than we had since I moved back in.

"Yeah. Are we helping set up tonight or tomorrow?"

"Both. Most of it is tomorrow, but I told Molly we would help with whatever cleaning or prep work she has to do." I chewed on my cheek, guessing it would be time to leave soon. But I had to tell him, and it had to be today. "And uh, don't forget, today is Harry's birthday. So any set up stuff will probably be after dinner."

"Oh, right." He paused, unsure of the next words he spoke. "I'm… I'm planning on staying at my parent's house. I mean, it's empty," Cedric said, rubbing the back of his neck. "So, um, you're more than welcome... if you want to..."

"Sure." My stomach felt hollow. Did I have enough time? I didn't know how long this would take. I took a step closer, his eyes gazing down into mine. I glanced over his shoulder to the clock in the kitchen. We had two minutes before we absolutely had to Disapperate from the flat or both run the risk of being late.

"Cedric, I..." I couldn't think of what to say. We had talked about this before, but briefly… and there hadn't been an exit date mentioned. No. It would have to wait. Tonight was going to be rough. Instead, I leaned in and kissed his cheek, my lips lingering for a few moments. I felt the warmth of his blush before I pulled away. "Um, have a safe day, okay?"

"Yeah, you—you too," he managed to say through a tight throat. We stepped apart and he opened the door for me. In the alley, it took me a moment to gather my thoughts. I didn't want to splinch myself today. Then I turned on the spot and was sucked through the ether to Diagon Alley.

Work passed at a petty pace. Despite being late July, Hogwarts lists had yet to be sent out and only five customers visited. It left me too much time to think. I kept going over and over in my head what exactly I was going to say to Cedric, how I would break the news. I had waited far too long. This wasn't going to be an easy conversation to digest for either of us, and now I had left only a few hours for it. What the hell was I thinking? And Cedric wasn't the only one I'd have to talk too… but then again, the more people I told, the more likely Death Eaters were to catch up to us.

It wasn't until the last hour of work, when Blotts was starting to close up early, that I even considered I should give him a heads up. But as I stacked parchment, stoppered ink and tidied books, I fought with myself. Of anyone I could tell I was leaving, Blotts would be the easiest to crack. What would I even say?

Hey sorry I can't work anymore, I'm going underground to fight Voldemort.

Oh, I'm just running away from the problems of the Wizarding world, going on holiday in Brazil.

Yeah, I'm eloping with a Frenchman and won't be back for many years.

No, it would be better to say nothing. He would assume the worst. Assume that I had been taken, disappeared, killed. That would be best. When the Death Eaters inevitably came knocking, he could plead ignorance.

I would vanish the same way to everyone else if it wouldn't be devastating and infuriating to them. Plus, Ron had already told his parents he would be helping Harry, which obligated me to say my goodbyes to a small handful of people. Endangering them this way was stupid and reckless, but I had to trust my friends could keep themselves safe.

"See you tomorrow, Potter," Blotts said as I left, and I nodded at him. My voice would betray me. I walked down the alley, a sense of sadness filling me as I looked about. This could be the last time I would ever walk these cobblestones, and Diagon Alley of late was a quite, miserable place. Few shoppers, even fewer shops still open. I wouldn't walk by the Twin's shop, but I knew it wouldn't be open today either. Most of the orders had been by mail anyways, and with George in the state he was in, it would be at least another week before it reopened, if at all. The memories of warm summer days in this place, excitedly shopping for books, potion supplies, and my first wand were what I tried to imagine over this clouded, broken place as I left through the brick wall. I followed the same routine I had been for nearly a year now — nodding to Tom, walking out of the Leaky Cauldron, Apparating to my flat — and it seemed strange to me that this was the last time I would do this.

Leaving early meant I had beaten Cedric home by nearly an hour. I changed out of work robes and into whatever clean clothing I could find, then decided to finish packing both of our things so we could leave as soon as he was back. I had two separate bags going, and the only one finished was the one that held almost all of my possessions. I tugged Cedric's dress robes and the dress Ophilia had picked for me from the closet. My packing was haphazard, especially in the everything bag. Tidiness didn't matter now — content did. As I stashed a final pair of shoes into the carpet bag I heard the front door click and open.

"Jen? You here?"

"Yeah, just finishing packing," I called back, snapping the bags shut and exiting the bedroom. "You?"

"Let me get changed out of my work robes and we can go," he said, smiling briefly before disappearing. I waited on the couch, readjusting my grip on the bags a million times before he was finished changing. Now that he was home, I was back to worrying how I would tell him that tomorrow would be the last time he would get to see me in a long time, if at all. And not just Cedric. I had to figure out how, in the chaos of the wedding, I would tell Ophilia, Sarlanda, and the Twins. "Let's go then." Cedric reappeared, dressed in nice, far more put together Muggle clothing.

"Right." We locked the door behind us and he offered me his arm as we exited the building. "How was your day?"

"Exhausting. I'm nearly through with all my training sessions, but I've been given funds for expansion. I'm going to be hiring two new people, and I've already gotten a dozen applications from Hogwarts grads," he said. "It's just a lot to do. And of course there's been such an uproar since Dumbledore..."

We stopped in the alley behind some trash cans. I wrapped an arm around his waist, looking to his eyes for permission. "You lead. I don't want to splinch us."

He smiled again, more relaxed this time, and pulled me into his arms. "Hang on tight, wouldn't want to loose you on the way there."

The squeezing sensation twisted my stomach, but we landed in the marsh and the nausea passed. We trudged towards the Burrow, still arm in arm.

"What about you? How was the shop today?"

"Dull. We haven't gotten any of the book lists from Hogwarts yet, so we can't really order anything. Blotts has stocked up on the usual though, Standard Book of Spells and the like, but with so many of the positions still empty, we're guessing it may be another two weeks before we see a list from any of the professors." We had to land further away from the Burrow as of late, since the magical fortifications around the home had been intensified. At least the ground was mostly hardened after the rain a few days ago. "Is your shirt new? I haven't seen that one."

"Uh, sort of, I got it… um, a couple months ago." He got it when I wasn't living with him, anyways.

"Oh. It's nice," I responded quickly. "Looks good on you." It felt stupid to talk about such normal things when a war was unraveling around us and I had so much more important things to say, but I couldn't make myself speak them.

He smiled at me. "Thanks."

We passed into the Weasley's yard. Everything was looking cheery and almost tame. I didn't want to know how many hours Mr. Weasley had spent in the garden to make it look as presentable as it did now. I could see the shining eyes of lurking gnomes inside of the hedges. A large tent had been erected in the open space of the garden. There was still decorating to do, but most of the difficult work was done. The sun was starting to set, casting golden light and shadows everywhere, setting the picture into a warm, romantic feeling. Ginny answered the door when I knocked.

"Mum! Jen and Cedric are here!" she called. "I can't wait for this to be over. Mum's been on a warpath," she warned before darting back upstairs, undoubtably to join her brothers in staying out of Mrs. Weasley's way.

"Jennifer! Cedric dear, how are you?" Mrs. Weasley greeted us with a hug each, a rolling pin fussing with dough on the counter behind her.

"Good, and you?" Cedric asked.

"Oh, just busy. This wedding isn't going to happen by itself!" She threw a pointed look at the stairs. "If only I had some children to help me with the work..." She shook her head. "Tomorrow morning will be even madder. Come in, have a cup of tea..."

We had tea before getting to work. I helped Mrs. Weasley finish preparing everything that had to cook tomorrow, including getting the base of the cake finished. We then took to making dinner for tonight, and she made sure I didn't see the cloth-covered cake that had to be for Harry. Cedric busied himself tidying the sitting room and kitchen after us. We could hear the sounds of banging and voices upstairs, but nothing terribly obtrusive.

"How's George doing?" I asked Mrs. Weasley after we had finished covering the last of the rolls so they could rise.

"He's doing fine," she said, though a bit reluctantly. "He says he hasn't hardly noticed a change, other than people can tell him apart from Fred now..." She sniffed. "They work so hard I don't hear from them as often as I'd like."

"I understand. I don't get to see them often either," I offered. "It's been difficult to send messages when we know we're being so closely watched." Mrs. Weasley seemed a bit satisfied with that, and we dropped the subject.

"Would you be a dear and fetch everyone for me? I'll just finish setting the table with Cedric," she said, pulling plates out a cabinet.

"Sure, Mrs. Weasley," I said, sharing a quick glance with Cedric before heading up the stairs.

It took several stops and too long to get everyone downstairs. As usual, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were are the very top of the house in Ron's room. "Oi, you lot," I said, knocking on the door. "Dinner."

"One minute, I'm almost done," Hermione said as I pushed in to the room. She was shoving a couple of books into the mouth of a tiny beaded purse. "Do you have anything you want to add to the bag?"

"Uh, sure but it's downstairs," I said, observing her with the same quiet awe that Harry and Ron seemed to be struck with as well. I had never seen an expansion charm placed so expertly on such a small object. "I've got a whole carpet bag. Will it fit in there?"

"Oh, certainly," Hermione said, blasé, as she peered inside. "I've got almost everything. If Ron would have finished packing sooner, I would have been done yesterday—"

"Oi, you've seen what it's been like here!" Ron exclaimed. "Mum's been mental with all this wedding stuff."

"And you've certainly been so helpful with that." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"What time tomorrow? Evening once the wedding has wound down?" I suggested.

"Yeah, as soon as we can," said Harry. He had a familiar agitated look about him, though it seemed to be more anxious than anything. "I'd rather not keep people in danger any longer than needed."

I nodded. "Agreed. Hermione, Ron, you're…?"

"My parents are covering for me," Ron said, pointing at the bed. "I'm missing my last year due to Spattergroit."

I stood on tiptoes and gingerly looked over to the lump of blankets on the bed. I glimpsed the sickly, slimy skin of the Weasley's ghoul, dressed in Ron's atrocious orange pajamas.

"Ahh. Disgusting."

"Hopefully enough to keep the Death Eaters at bay. Did you hear they're demanding mandatory attendance this year?" I raised my eyebrows in surprise, so he elaborated. "Loads of folks didn't want to send their kids back, with Dumbledore being gone and all. My mum included. But Snape's sent out a letter—"

"Snape?"

"He's Headmaster now," Harry said shortly.

"And he's added some Death Eaters to the staff," Ron said at my horrified expression. "Amycus and Alecto Carrow. He sent out a letter not long ago saying attendance at school would be mandatory this year with some very extreme exemptions."

"And dissenters would be… punished," Hermione said gravely. "Or at least rounded up. That's the implication I understood."

"And you're…?"

"My parents are in Australia. They've different names and no memory of a daughter at all."

"Hermione, that's… I'm sorry."

"It's for the best." She snapped the purse closed, matching her brisk tone. "Dinner, then?"

"Yeah, alright."

I hadn't seen the kitchen so packed for a meal since the morning of the Quidditch World Cup. Despite the dinner table being surrounded by normally jovial, lighthearted people, the conversation failed to be anything close to that. Mrs. Weasley did her best to steer conversations away from Order business and towards the wedding tomorrow. I sat between Ophilia and Harry, absorbing the general atmosphere of anxiety. Where exactly would we go tomorrow? We hadn't been able to plan much without the use of owls. Hermione likely had an idea of a plan, and we had a general mission, but would we even be able to find the rest of the Horcruxes? We didn't even know what all of them were. Most importantly, who was R.A.B. who had taken the real locket?

"Jennifer, you're stewing on something." Ophilia's low voice tickled my ear.

"Wouldn't you be?" I muttered in response.

"I'm better at hiding it though." I snorted. "Talk after?"

"Sure."

Finally, Mrs. Weasley brought out Harry's cake - a beautiful golden creation shaped like a Snitch. I squeezed Harry's hand when he said thanks, knowing how absolutely painful it was to be here celebrating. We were about halfway through finishing our cake when an unexpected knock came on the door. Everyone fell quiet and Mr. Weasley and Bill both stood at the same time, wands drawn. My own hand found my wand in my pocket, body tensed to shove Harry under the table at a moment's notice.

"Oh Minister, we weren't expecting—"

"Understandable, Arthur, but this couldn't wait…"

Scrimgeour was pushing his way into the Burrow, seemingly oblivious to the general atmosphere of the kitchen.

"Ah, I see you seem to be having some sort of… party."

"We certainly are, Minister, and—"

"I need to speak to Mr. Potter, Molly," he said, cutting her off. I gripped Harry's arm. "And to a Miss Hermione Granger and Mr. Ronald Weasley."

Glances were exchanged all around the table. Ron started to get out of his seat, but Hermione looked incredibly hesitant. "Why?" I asked suddenly. "What's this about?"

"Private business, Miss Potter," he snapped. "Arthur, is there somewhere I can speak to them?"

After sharing another look with Mrs. Weasley, he said, "Yes, of course, Minister. The sitting room should be private enough, we were just finishing up anyways."

"Good," Scrimgeour said dismissively and followed Mr. Weasley to the sitting room. There was quiet for a moment before I let go of Harry's arm.

"Go on, you lot," I said. "Make it quick."

The three of them left, and Mr. Weasley came back, pulling a curtain closed behind him. He paused, looking over the room before sighing. "Well, I'm afraid that'll be the end of our festivities tonight. See you lot bright and early." Tired, defeated, he shook his head before beginning to help his wife clear up the dishes.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" I hissed as people started to get up and collect their things.

"I don't know," Mr. Weasley replied quietly, not looking at me while he waved his wand over dishes, starting them cleaning themselves in the sink. "The Minister wouldn't tell me anything."

"Off with you lot," Mrs. Weasley barked at the Twins, Ginny, and Ophilia, and they reluctantly stopped trying to eavesdrop. Ginny began climbing the stairs while the other three left through the side door. The kitchen emptied around us as I helped Mrs. Weasley put away the dishes we wiped dry. I tried to take my time, straining my ears to listen, but we were done before the Minister was finished with whatever he was doing.

"Go on, Jennifer. You've been plenty helpful, and I'm sure you and Cedric need rest before tomorrow," she said, undoubtably sensing that I was trying to dally. "Thank you."

Cedric gave me a curt nod before I said, "Of course. Around eight tomorrow then?"

"That would be wonderful. Guests aren't supposed to arrive until midday, so we'll have some more time in the morning…"

"It's going to be wonderful," I reassured her. "Honestly, this'll be a fantastic wedding."

She smiled and patted my cheek. "Thank you, dear. I certainly hope so."

With one last look at the drawn curtain, Cedric and I gathered our things and set off. We shut and locked the door on our way out, leaving the warmth of the Burrow behind us. Cedric offered his hand to me as we walked towards the village.

"What do you think he wants?" I blurted out when we were not even ten paces from the front door. "I mean, it can't be anything good."

"I haven't a clue," Cedric replied, frowning. "It was weird, even for him."

"He came groveling to Harry around Christmas, asking him to be a face and say everything was going well at the Ministry. Maybe he's just really desperate this time?"

"Yeah, but he wanted to talk to Ron and Hermione too. No offense to them, but they don't have exactly the same sort of public pull that Harry does."

"I guess." We fell silent as I mulled it over, making it all the way to the edge of the village before I finally gave up the thought. I had other things to decide tonight that I actually needed to work out. How I would breech the subject of the manner of my leaving with Cedric? He was going to hate anything I said, but I had to tell him. Was he going to yell? Cry? Or worse, stay silent?

"You alright, Jen?" he asked, guiding me on the path towards his old house.

"Erm, sort of," I responded, flexing my free hand. "It can wait though."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." I checked over our path and surroundings, hoping to signal to him that I didn't want to talk about it in the open.

It was incredibly eerie coming over the hill and not seeing the Diggory house at first. We had to pass about halfway down the hill before we broke past the protective charms to see the dark cottage and now-overgrown garden. I could hardly imagine what Cedric might have felt. I opted to give his hand a squeeze, which he returned, before continuing to the front door. Inside, Cedric drew out his wand and began bringing light into the place. I deposited our bag in his old room, stuffing my personal bag next to the bedside table. I felt a bit stupid for not giving it to Hermione earlier, but there hadn't been much opportunity. Cedric's entire room (well, the whole house really) had a slight layer of dust on it, so I tried a cleaning spell with moderate success before leaving for the sitting room.

I sat down next to Cedric on the rug, the crackling of the fire the only noise to be heard. He seemed meditative, and I didn't want to break him out of it prematurely. After a couple minutes, he sighed.

"It's very weird," he admitted, his gaze shifting from the fire to me. "The house being this quiet. I haven't been here since they left."

"They're still okay though, right?" I asked. "I mean, you haven't said anything—"

"Yeah. They're somewhere in Reading, I think. Not London, anyways. Dad's been coming to work again though, which is just idiotic, but…"

I reached over and took his hand. "I'm sorry. I know it's hard."

His lips twitched into a smile. "Thanks." We were quiet for a while before he spoke again. "That thing that was on your mind… do you want to talk about it now?"

I sighed. "I… well, I don't really want to, but I've run out of time, so…" I ignored his curious look and closed my eyes, still upset that I hadn't figured out this speech yet. "The funeral. Do you remember what we talked about after?"

"Jen, I know you're leaving."

I flinched. "I… I know, we talked about it—"

"You have to find the Horcruxes, I know. But you and Harry have a handle on it, right?"

"We… don't," I admitted. "Harry and I we've… we've just got this locket, the fake one, but then…" I ran my hands through my hair. "Cedric, I have no idea how long we'll be gone." I could feel my throat closing up. This was not the time to act like a sniveling git. "We could be gone for… for months." The more I talked about it out loud, the more real it became. "And I… we can't… we can't even send letters to each other. We won't be able to talk at all. You may have to go into hiding. I don't know."

"Oh." My jaw shuddered as I held in tears. Cedric's voice was hollow, more than enough to break me. "Oh, I… I hadn't thought about that…" I watched him wipe at his face from the corner of my eye. "And when are you…?"

"Tomorrow. Right after the wedding."

"Oh. Right."

I pretended that I didn't see him wipe away more tears as I struggled to keep in my own. I felt completely horrible for doing this to him, wishing I could just go back in time and say it sooner. "I just… I didn't know how to tell you, and the best times kept escaping me. I'm sorry. I should have said something sooner."

"No, I… I should have realized…"

"It's my fault—"

"Kiss me," he said, his eyes red and longing. "Please, just… kiss me."

I reached out to touch his jaw as he moved close to me. Our lips met awkwardly but with such electricity that I haven't felt in months. He pulled me closer as his lips moved against mine, soft and gentle, more heat radiating from him than from the fire next to us. We broke apart, our foreheads resting against each other. His breath was ragged and I chuckled in between sharp breaths. I wiped away the few stray tears still on his cheek.

"What's—what's so funny, am I bad at this now?" he asked, pulling away slightly to look into my eyes.

"No, just… I just thought about how we haven't really—"

"—Since Christmas," he finished. He pulled me into a deep kiss before asking, "You… you leave tomorrow, do you want to…?"

"Yes," I gasped.

"Okay," he murmured in my ear. His soft, sultry voice sent shivers down my spine and an ache through my body that I hadn't felt in ages. I grabbed the front of his shirt as his lips ghosted along the side of my neck, my breath hitching at every brush of stubbly jaw against my skin. I tried to say something back, something sexy, but the words just caught in my throat. I felt him laugh into my collar bone. "Sorry, did you want to say something?"

"I, um—ahhhh—I w-wanted to say something clever—" I was cut off by his hand sliding up the back of my shirt, fingers ghosting up my spine. I shuddered in pleasure, arching towards him involuntarily.

"Guess I'm not that bad at this after all." I gasped out a laugh and he slid my shirt over my head. His hands were soft over my bare skin, fingers tracing along old scars that I had since forgotten about. We kissed again, then he pulled me up and took my hand. I followed without question to his old room. I shut the door out of habit and kissed his lips, his jaw, his neck, urging him with my hands to undress. Heat building, clothing dropping, I pushed him onto the bed.

I didn't want to think anymore, I just wanted to feel good.

And for the first time in months, I finally did for just a short hour before collapsing into a thankfully dreamless sleep.

I decided on weekly updates instead because every other week was way too long.

Anyways, drop me a review if you enjoyed! It's always appreciated.

Best,

Icamane