I awoke gently to a flock of birds chattering outside the window. I kept my eyes closed, confused, before remembering that I wasn't in the flat, but at the Diggory house.

Cedric and I had slept together for the first time in months last night.

Bill and Fleur's wedding was today.

Judging by the sunlight I saw creeping through the window when I finally blinked fully awake, it was still fairly early in the morning. Cedric wasn't lying next to me, but I could hear water running in the bathroom through the wall. I stretched and started gathering my clothes from last night, stuffing them in my bag and pulling out a fresh outfit. Cedric came back before long, hair still dripping and a towel wrapped around him.

"Good morning," he said, kissing my forehead. "Your turn."

"Thanks," I murmured, bringing clothes with me into the bathroom. I got ready as quick as possible, trying my best with my hair and makeup before throwing on the jeans and shirt I had pulled out. I wasn't sure what exactly Mrs. Weasley had planned for us to help with this morning and didn't want to risk getting my nice dress dirty. Cedric was completely ready to go when I came back, looking stunningly handsome in his dark blue dress robes, his brown hair glossy and face freshly shaved. My heart involuntarily jumped into my throat, and I wanted quite badly to run my fingers through his perfectly combed hair and never let go.

"Almost set?" I managed to ask, ungluing my eyes from him and finishing repacking my bag.

"Yeah, you?"

"I'll change when it's nearly time, but otherwise..." I wasn't really ready. I didn't want to leave him at all. I would have given almost anything to just run away with him. "Uhh, yeah. Ready."

Cedric pulled me into a long hug. I clung to him tight, unwilling to part. "Cedric, I just..." I had to stop. I felt tears trying to come, and I wouldn't allow myself to cry this makeup off.

I heard him sniffle a bit. "I don't want you to go." His voice was thick, and I felt a few tears trickle onto my head where his face was pressed to me.

"Don't you dare cry on me, you'll make me cry and then I'll have to redo my makeup," I chided gently. He laughed a little and pulled away to wipe at his face.

"Alright, fine." He opted to hold my hands instead, looking at me for a long while before saying, "You're going to be fine. You're going to come home. We're going to win."

I nodded. "I'm going to come home." I didn't know how much I believed the words, but I knew that I would try my absolute hardest to come home to him when this was done. "Okay. Let's go to this wedding." He nodded, and we tidied up the house before we left, charming the door locked behind us and walking arm in arm back to the Burrow.

There was already a flurry of activity by the time we arrived, just an hour or so after the sun had fully risen. Mr. Weasley was leading Charlie, Fred, and George in finishing all the decorations outside, people were in and out of the house constantly, and lots of voices could be heard talking over each other. Cedric immediately got pulled into the decorating crew as I snuck upstairs to drop my bag off with Hermione and see about changing. I passed a bedroom where Fleur could be heard getting ready, accompanied by several other voices all speaking French. I finally made it to the top room, where Harry and Ron were exchanging a small bottle of potion.

"What's that?" I asked, shutting the door behind me. "And where's Hermione's bag?"

"Polyjuice Potion, and over there," Harry said, motioning to the beaded bag on the nightstand.

"We reckon it's better if Harry blends in," Ron said as Harry drank the potion. "Got some hair from a boy in the village with red hair. Half my relatives won't blink an eye at him. He's cousin Barry today, and you're Marge, got it?"

"Do you have any potion for me then?" I asked, pulling out my dress and shoes before shoving my bag through the mouth of the beaded bag with great difficulty.

"You've already got red hair, don't you?" Ron said, wrinkling his nose as Harry twitched and his skin warped and shaped into a new form. "You could do some sort of charm to your face I guess, but otherwise I bet most people will just get you and Ginny confused."

I started to argue with him that I looked nothing at all like his sister, but decided against it as I heard Mrs. Weasley's voice from downstairs, obviously stressed over the cooking that still had to be done.

"Well, whatever. See you later, Barry."

I slipped into a tiny bathroom a floor down to change, added my old clothes to the beaded bag, and ran into Hermione on the way down.

"Finally! Did you bring your things this time?"

"All ready to go. I've just got to say some goodbyes before guests get here."

"Ophilia just arrived, then," Hermione said dismissively, brushing past me. "I'm going to keep this bag on me so we can leave the second we are ready."

"Alright," I replied, but she had already disappeared around the bend in the stairs and was pushing into Ron's room. I opted to instead try and find Ophilia and placate Mrs. Weasley if possible.

"Jennifer, thank goodness, I need you to take over the cake, I've got too much going on in here," Mrs. Weasley said. She was already dressed and primped, and had no less than seven cooking tasks going on around her. She was waving her wand in rapid succession, moving different dishes on to different tasks. "I had a bit of an issue with the soup this morning, and it's set everything back."

"No worries," I said, and pulled my wand out from the bodice of my dress before getting to work. I spent a solid half hour working on the cake with delicate precision, glancing up any time someone walked in or out of the kitchen to try and catch Ophilia's eye. I was finishing a section of flowers when I finally saw her, and motioned for her. Her hair had grown significantly to a gentle bob, and had been treated to a softer lavender purple that complimented her silvery blue ensemble.

"I'll be done with this soon, where can I find you when I'm done?" I asked, making sure to point my wand away from anything important lest I accidentally charm something while distracted.

"Outside, I'm finishing up with some lights in the tent. Why?"

"Just want to chat real quick," I said, trying to keep my tone light and casual. She gave me a suspicious look, but nodded and left. As soon as I was done about ten minutes later, I moved the cake out of the way and slipped out while Mrs. Weasley was furiously chopping vegetables. I found Ophilia, Fred, and George all outside the tent, partially shielded by shrubbery, clearly goofing off out of view. I steeled my nerves and approached.

"Oi, you lot, I need to talk to you," I said, and their giggles stifled momentarily before they realized it was just me.

"Jen—oh sorry, Marge, what's up?" Ophilia asked, pulling us all further into the garden, still giggling. "Everything okay?"

I nodded, but before I could really gather the courage to say something, Fred spoke first. "You're leaving with them, aren't you?"

Ophilia's head snapped between looking at Fred, then me, then back again. "Leaving? What?"

"Erm, yes," I said awkwardly. "I just... I wanted to be the one to tell you... well, I'm leaving with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. We're… doing some… stuff that will help the war."

"What stuff?" George asked. From his tone, I could tell he had already tried grilling Ron about it.

"Just... important stuff. Hopefully it'll help us end this." They all seemed a bit unconvinced still. "Look, the less you know, the better. Trust me. I don't... I don't know how long we'll be gone, and I certainly can't send you any messages, so..." I trailed off into a long, tense pause. Fred had his best brave face on, George wouldn't look me in the eye, and Ophilia was trembling. Finally, her small sob broke the silence and she threw her arms around me.

"I don't want to say goodbye, I can't." I hugged her back. "What if something happens to you and we never find out about it?"

I chuckled. "Well, I'd imagine the Death Eaters would publicize if they killed me or Harry, so I don't think you need to worry about that at least."

She squeezed harder. "Don't even joke about that."

Then, Fred's hand was on my shoulder. "You'll be fine. Between the lot of you, you're the best we've got. You'll do whatever it is you need to, and we'll be laughing in Moldyshort's face soon enough."

"You're the best duelist I know," George added. "And honestly, after how you dealt with Lance last time, I wouldn't mess with you if I was a Death Eater."

I laughed again, feeling a little bit more confident as I let go of Ophilia. She wiped at her eyes. "Jennifer, I love you so much. Just please come home."

I nodded. "I'll do my best. I love you too, and you'd better take care of yourselves while I'm gone." I made sure to look each of them in the eye.

George's lips trembled a little, but he replied with, "Love you too."

"Same," Fred said. "We'll keep making trouble as usual, but we won't get caught. Trust me, we're working on some excellent things."

I gave them each a hug for good measure, taking care to stamp down any urge to cry, and said, "We'd best get back to work, your mum will have a fit if we're not ready soon."

We parted back to our respective tasks, and I kept an eye out for Sarlanda. But once guests started arriving in the afternoon, Mrs. Weasley pushed me outside and I helped greet guests while the Weasley boys and Harry sat everyone. As Ron predicted, several older and obscure Weasley relatives greeted me as Ginny, and I was caught too off guard by their sudden and overwhelming sincerity that I stumbled along with it and hoped it wouldn't get too awkward later on. Sarlanda still hadn't arrived by the time Cedric and I were seated by Ron, and I spent the rest of the time fidgeting, anxious for her to arrive or the wedding to start. What if she didn't show up? What would she think if I didn't say goodbye before I went off on this death wish trip? Would she be mad at me? Was she even coming? What—

"Relax," Cedric said, taking my hand and whispering in my ear. "Just... relax. It'll be alright."

"Sarlanda is supposed to come, right?"

"Can't imagine why she wouldn't."

"Yeah, but what if—"

I was cut off by music that swelled from seemingly nowhere, and the chatter around us died quickly as heads snapped back to the entrance of the tent. I spotted Sarlanda in nearly the back row, and breathed a sigh of relief before focusing my attention on Fleur. She had always been incredibly beautiful, but today she was exceptionally radiant in her simple white dress. She seemed to be affecting everyone around her. Watching the procession of her, her father, Ginny, and Fleur's younger sister up to where Bill and Charlie waited was a sort of out-of-body experience. I would have been sure I was floating if Cedric hadn't been gripping my hand. As the grey-haired wizard standing before them started speaking, I tried to take in every detail of this moment. How sweet the air smelled, full of flowers and honey; the songs of birds, gently entwining their music with that which had been bewitched into the space; how Bill and Fleur's eyes never left each other, both smiling; the magic of Fleur's radiance encompassing everyone with flattering light; Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Delacour both quietly crying in the front row, gripping each other tight. The older wizard declared them bonded for life, and a shower of silver stars and colorful flowers fell over Bill and Fleur. I joined in the applause with gusto, and only then did I notice the smattering of tears that had fallen down my face and into my lap.

Cedric urged me to my feet as everyone around us stood up, and with the wave of a wand, the chairs disappeared and were replaced by a dance floor in the center of the tent, with small tables lining the walls. People chattered with excitement as waiters began making the rounds with trays of Butterbeer and champagne. Cedric grabbed two glasses of Butterbeer and we navigated to a table where Viktor Krum sat. He stood up to greet us as soon as he recognized Cedric, the two of them exchanging handshakes.

"Diggory! It has been some time since I have seen your face!"

"You too, Viktor, you look well."

"Vell, not being in school helps with that," he said with a laugh. "And who is your friend?" His attention was turned on me, and I was not fully prepared to have any sense of conversation.

My brain seemed to stall as I sputtered, "Uhh, huh?"

"This is Marge Weasley," Cedric said quickly in an attempt cover up my awkwardness. "She was in my year at Hogwarts."

"Ahh," Krum said, and we shook hands. "I vasn't sure if you vere a Veasley relative or not." He squinted at me, as if trying to solve something. "Are you sure ve haven't met before?"

"Oh, erm, no, I don't think so. I saw you a few times at Hogwarts, during the Tournament, maybe that's it?" I hoped Krum's memory was terribly foggy. I hadn't even interacted with him much that year, but…

Krum looked as if he was about to say something, but his expression changed as he caught sight of something over my shoulder. He frowned deeply, his lip curling a little in disgust. "Do either know who that man is?" he asked curtly, pointing to a man with long, white blonde hair in yellow robes.

"Erm, maybe?" Cedric offered. "Why?"

"The symbol he is vearing," Krum said darkly, "is the sign of a dark vizard."

"Oh, uh…" The man looked familiar, and his expression and demeanor seemed harmless. "I'm sure he's not, but maybe you could ask him about it?" I suggested.

Krum didn't take his eyes off the man, and finished his drink in one swig before setting the glass on the table and stalking through the crowd.

"What was that all about?" I asked Cedric, trying to keep track of Krum in the crowd.

"Dunno. I think that's Mr. Lovegood though, but I haven't seen him in ages. He's probably just wearing something he thinks is a symbol of good luck." Cedric shrugged. "He's a touch mad, but I've never had a bad interaction with him."

"I guess," I said, unsure of what else to say. I didn't even see whatever symbol Krum had gotten so upset over, though now I was incredibly curious. A band started playing from somewhere, and Bill and Fleur took the stage to dance together, drawing all attention for a few minutes. Soon, other couples joined, and just as I had decided that I could steel my nerves enough to dance with Cedric, Sarlanda had slipped her way through the crowd and to our table.

"There you are," I said, pulling her into a tight hug. We stayed there for perhaps longer than we usually would, arms locked around each other, feeling each other breathe and our hearts beat. Affirming that we were both still alive.

"I'm sorry, I got tied up trying to leave work," she said, sitting down with us. Cedric gave me a look, I nodded, and he stepped away to find someone else to talk to for a few moments. "I didn't mean to be this late."

"What happened at work?"

"Just… some difficulties." She grimaced. "Some people looking for me that I'd rather not speak to."

"What like…?" Lance? Death Eaters? Worse?

"No, not like that." She took a drink of champagne, then another. "My mother."

"Your mum? But…?"

"Yeah, I don't know either. But it made trying to get out of the hospital hell."

We were silent for a few moments, watching people around us. The floating sensation that had been engulfing my senses for the past half hour or so was finally starting to fade as familiar panic set in to my stomach. Suddenly, all I could think about was what would happen after the wedding, where we would go, if we would even be successful, and what Voldemort and Lance could each possibly be plotting.

"Sarlanda," I said, my voice more cracked than I had wanted. I took the last drink of my Butterbeer to try and correct that. "Sarlanda, I gotta tell you… I'm leaving."

"Leaving what?"

I couldn't even look at her, only at the floor. "Leaving… society, I guess? I dunno how to put it." I glanced around. Anyone nearby was either deep in conversation or dancing. I looked over at her, gut punched by her scrunched brow and frown. "I'm going off on a mission with Harry to help uncover some stuff to help win the war. I can't get into details…"

"What? What kind of stuff?"

"I can't tell you. The less you know, the be—"

"Don't you trust me?"

"I—yes? Sarlanda, of course I do." Her expression was very set and tense, almost angry. "But I can't tell you. We haven't told anyone what we're doing. It's safer for everyone that way."

"No one? Not even Cedric?"

I took too long to answer and blew any chance I had at coming up with a convincing lie. She scoffed angrily before I replied. "He knows… the gist of it. Sort of. He doesn't know everything, and honestly I regret telling him." When she gave me a sour look, I followed with, "Look, it was just… stuff happened last year that I talked to him about, and now it's led to Harry and I leaving… it's not like I dumped everything on him all at once."

We sat in silence while she finished her drink. "Sorry, I just… I thought I knew everything. I'm used to knowing everything."

"I know."

"When do you think you'll be back?" I shrugged, and she snorted. "Figures. Well, try not to do anything stupid."

"That's a tall order."

We fell silent again, and I kept trying to think of something to say, but nothing seemed good enough. I had clearly hurt her feelings, and I didn't know if anything I could say would repair that.

"Jennifer?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful. I'll do what I can to help, if I hear whispers, but…" She cleared her throat. "You're my best friend. And I love you, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you. So whatever I can do to help you, I will."

"I love you, too. And you're one of my best friends." I had to pause to focus on unclenching my hands. "If I could tell you everything about it, I would. And I'm glad you are willing to help."

"At least I can—"

Sudden quiet in the entire tent jerked us away from our conversation. Something of a shimmery silver smoke was in the center of the room, and from it, Kingsley Shacklebolt's deep voice said, "The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming." Some part of my insides went completely numb. I couldn't process what I had just heard. But then someone in the crowd screamed, and Sarlanda yanked me to my feet as the party erupted into chaos. Her wand was already in her hand, and I struggled to pull mine out of my dress. Some people around us were Disapperating, the enchantments around the house broken. My mind managed to come to sharp focus when I heard Harry yelling my name.

"GO!" Sarlanda yelled, shoving me toward Harry's voice and herself forward through the crowd. Spells were starting to fly over my head, and I ducked down once I saw a few dark hoods though the entrance of the tent.

"Harry!"

"Jen!"

I finally found Harry and Hermione, hands grasped. Harry and I threaded our arms together, locking elbows as I cast a shield charm. "Ron! Ron, where are you?" Hermione cried out, desperately searching the crowd for him. I saw several Order members at the front casting spells, Cedric weaving a charm around himself—Cedric!

"RON!" Hermione yelled as Ron finally broke through the crowd, and before I could cry out to Cedric, the four of us were twisting and spinning. I felt my arm locked at an angle around Harry's, muscles so tight I thought they might freeze that way. Then the spinning stopped and it was considerably quieter. We seemed to be on a street, possibly in London, lined with closed shops and the occasional open pub, drunken revelers walking about in the fading sunlight.

"Where are we?" Ron asked as Hermione started to urge everyone along.

"Tottenham Court, now come on! We need to find a spot for you to change."

"Change? I don't have anything on me—"

"I can't believe I don't have the Cloak on me now, I had it all last year—"

"I've got it all with me, just, come on!"

We followed Hermione down the street, trying to avoid as many Muggles as possible. Several of them laughed at the sight of Ron and Harry in robes. I tried to keep my wand down at my side and hidden in the folds of my skirt fabric, still ready at a moment's notice. Finally, we found a shadowed alley that we were ushered into, and Hermione started digging through the small handbag. She produced a change of Muggle clothing for Ron and the Invisibility Cloak.

"How in the—?"

"I finished packing it this morning," Hermione answered, peering inside. "Damn, it looks like the books have fallen over, and I had them all sorted… anyways, I knew we might need to make a quick get away. Come on Ron, get changed!"

Harry threw the cloak over himself while Hermione and I helped block Ron from view of the street as he shrugged off the robes. "Why here?" I asked Hermione. Ron was hopping on one foot to get a sock on the other.

"Just popped into my head. But we're safer here with Muggles, aren't we?"

"I suppose you're right."

"What about everyone at the wedding?" Harry asked.

"I'm sure they're alright. You're who they're looking for, anyways," Hermione said.

"Yeah, and… half the Order was there," I offered, though I may have been trying to convince myself more than him. "I'm sure they've got it under control."

"Where to now?" Ron asked.

"Let's just… keep moving." We set off again, Harry keeping close to me under the Cloak.

"No one knows what our plans are, right?"

"No," Hermione and I said together. Across the street, a group of men had filed out of a pub and caught sight of us, whistling and hollering.

"So even if they ask people, they won't be able to tell—"

"Hey ladies! How 'bout you ditch ginger and come have a round with us?"

I flipped them off and Hermione cut Ron off, who looked like he was about to explode, by saying, "Look, in here. Let's get off the street," and steered us into an empty all-night cafe. Harry shuffled into a booth first, and I followed, leaving Ron and Hermione across from us, their backs to the windows. Hermione kept checking over her shoulder every few seconds, until the bored looking waitress came over to the booth.

"Three coffees," I said, and she looked briefly between all of us before retreating again to the back of the shop.

"So, where to now?" Ron asked in a hushed voice, leaning forward so he wouldn't be immediately visible from the street. "We can't just wander around London all night."

"Can't be my place," I said. "They may know about it, and I can't compromise Cedric."

"Anyone else you know?" Harry asked, voice slightly muffled by the Cloak.

"No one I'm willing to risk. We have to find somewhere isolated."

"Well, we have to do it soon. I bet Voldemort's already sent people looking for us," Hermione whispered.

"Just give me a minute to think," I said. Try as I might, I couldn't come up with a safe, abandoned space that we could go to and that already had defensive charms on it. Certainly we could make a space like that, but all the charms I wanted, particularly the Fidelius Charm, took way too long to cast and were terribly complicated.

I glanced up as the bell at the door tinkled. Two men walked in and slid into the booth next to us. My stomach immediately clenched, and I nudged Harry with my foot. Every nerve in my body was tight as I tried to place where I might have glimpsed them before.

The waitress brought the coffee over and shuffled off to take the worker's orders. Ron took a sip of his drink and spit it back out into the mug. "Ugh, that's awful."

"We should try and find somewhere we can send a message to the Order," Hermione whispered. "Jen, you can do that, right?"

"Of course," I muttered, trying to look like I was focusing on the street outside. I felt Harry shifting next to me, and I also got my wand ready. I could see the two men shifting around out of the corner of my eye. How the hell had Death Eaters found us so quickly?

"I'll dig something out to pay with and then we can go," Hermione said, ducking down to dig through her bag. I gave Ron a kick under the table just as I saw the two Death Eater's arms move, and four Stunning spells went off at the same time. Ron had managed to duck, shoving Hermione completely under the table, as one of the spells shattered the tiled wall just where his head had been. My spell and Harry's both hit the blonde one in the face, and he slumped over. His dark haired companion aimed another spell at me, still unable to see where Harry was, but I dove out of the booth and rolled on the slightly sticky floor. The waitress screamed and tried to run, but a rebounding spell caught her and she fell over too.

I spun and sprang to my feet, the Death Eater advancing on me, Ron on the ground behind him tangled in black ropes. I finally recognized him, and his face contorted into a sneer.

"Expulso!"

I threw up a Shield Charm as soon as I saw his arm move, and his spell bounced off and hit a table to my left. The force of the impact sent something slamming into the wall, and I saw a bit of Harry slide down as the Cloak slid off of him.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Hermione had righted herself underneath the table we had been sat at, and Dolohov's arms snapped to his body and he fell over with a loud thud. She started to climb out, shaking, bits of broken tile and glass in her hair.

I knelt down by Ron, taking care with my aim. "Diffindo!" Cut free now, Ron also righted himself, until the four of us were standing in the destroyed cafe, breathing hard.

"Dolohov," I said, kicking the paralyzed Death Eater on the floor. "The other one was there on the tower the night Dumbledore died."

"I've seen his poster," Ron said. "Rowle, I think."

"How did they know we were here?" Hermione whispered, her entire body trembling. "What are we even going to do?"

"Lock the door," Harry said, with strange calm. "Ron, the lights."

I waved my wand at the door, thinking the locking charm, as Ron clicked off the lights with the Delluminator. "What now?" Ron asked. "They were gonna kill us."

"Can any of you wipe memories?" Harry asked. "That would probably be best, throw them off the scent for a bit at least."

I shrugged. "Haven't done one myself, but probably can. Don't care if it ruins their memories anyways."

"I can try, too," Hermione said. She took a deep breath to steady herself, and approached Dolohov. "Obliviate." Blue fog seemed to swirl around his head, then his eyes took on a glazed over, almost peaceful look.

"Brilliant," I said, and leaned over Rowle to try. I couldn't perfectly tell if it was the same sort of effect as his eyes were closed, but the fog looked similar. Hermione tended to the waitress as Harry and Ron started repairing the damage around us. I kept watch out the window, but no one nosed by. I could only hear the same group of drunk men harassing some other girl down the street.

"How… how did they find us?" Hermione asked again in a quiet voice. I turned around, trying to make out everyone's expressions in the dark. "You… haven't still got the Trace on you, Harry?"

"Can't have, it breaks at seventeen, that's the law," Ron said.

"Plus, Harry hadn't cast any spells after we got here," I pointed out. "Unless they've figured out a different way to track him."

"We have to get somewhere safe."

"Grimmauld Place." Harry's face, though heavily shadowed, looked completely serious.

"Are you mad?" Hermione hissed. "Snape can get in there!"

"I mean… Dad did say that they put up jinxes against Snape…"

"And I'd love nothing more than to run into him right now."

They all looked at me. I could see Hermione's face the clearest, and she seemed to be pleading with me. I hesitated, but shrugged. "I don't think we have much of a choice. It's probably the safest place for us right now."

Everyone nodded. I unlocked the door as Ron turned the lights back on. We all linked arms, Harry waved his wand and released the Death Eaters and the waitress from their binds, and we all turned on the spot together.

Thanks for reading! Please drop a review if you feel so inclined. It is much appreciated :)