Chapter 2

Holly could feel Charlie Weasley's arms tremble slightly when he helped her up. His eyes were closed tightly and he tried his best to help her into a fluffy yellow dressing gown without touching her. As his hand brushed her chest briefly he pulled it back as if burnt and turned an even deeper shade of red. Holly almost laughed but it took all of her energy not to faint again. Her whole body was in pain and she had a splitting headache. The dressing gown, as soft as it was, rubbed against the bandages Mrs Weasley had put on her cuts and every time she moved it was agony.

"Is it on?" Charlie asked, his voice quiet and gentle.

Holly nodded her head before realising that Charlie's eyes were still shut tightly.

"Yes." She said.

Her throat felt raw. Charlie opened his eyes and regarded her questioningly. Holly remembered him looking like that at some of the creatures Professor Kettleburn used to show them in their care of magical creatures lessons. It was a look filled with curiosity but also respect for the unpredictability of an unknown beast in your vicinity. A wounded beast in her case.

"Right. So mum said to take you to the headquarters as soon as you are awake. I'll have to apparate with you again, I don't think you'll be up to do it by yourself. Plus you don't even know where to go so…"

He smiled and ruffled his hair. Holly did not return his smile. She hated having to depend on others. Charlie cleared his throat and took a couple of steps closer to her. Holly sighed and held on to the arm he offered to her. She used her other hand to hold the dressing gown closed. Before she could ask where they'd be going she felt the air press against her and like she was being squeezed through a tight tube. A moment later she was out in the sunshine. Holly felt fainter than ever and even with holding on to Charlie's arm she sank to the ground. Clearly not expecting her to go down Charlie went down with her. He looked at her with a very worried expression.

"I don't think I can walk. I might faint." Holly managed to get out, her mouth dry and raw.

"That's okay, I can carry you. But you must read this first."

He shoved a small piece of parchment towards her. Holly looked at it but the letters were swimming around before her eyes. She shut them and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again the letters had stopped moving.

"Grimmauld Place Number 12." She read, her voice now barley more than a whisper.

Holly looked up when she heard the two houses in front of her move to the side and a dilapidated town house squeeze itself into existence between them. Charlie set the piece of paper aflame with a quickly muttered "incendio". He cleared his throat again.

"Right. I am going to lift you up now."

Holly just nodded, feeling thoroughly exhausted now. She felt Charlie's hand on her back and on the back of her thighs. He carefully lifted her and walked towards the entrance door of the grimy mansion. The door opened without Charlie having to push down the handle or even knock. Holly could feel his arms tremble slightly when he crossed the threshold with her. The entrance hall was dark and dusty. There were a number of paintings on the walls, most of them empty. Behind an umbrella holder that was shaped like the foot of a troll was a dark curtain that moved ever so slightly.

"Finally!"

Holly saw two people walk towards them. One she recognised straight away as Remus Lupin. Judging by the red hair and the relief in her face, the other must be Molly Weasley, Charlie's mother. Holly thought she had probably seen her before at the platform when she had dropped Charlie off for school. She returned her gaze to Lupin and could not quite fathom why the older wizard looked amused. Holly looked up at Charlie who was, again, a deep shade of red. Holly was too exhausted to think much of it. Mrs Weasley had reached them and put a gentle hand on Holly's forehead.

"You are burning up, petal. We better get you into bed."

She motioned Charlie to follow her up the stairs. Lupin followed them. They entered a small bedroom with a single bed in the corner and no window.

"Put her down here, Charlie."

Again Holly was surprised by his gentleness when Charlie laid her down on the small bed. Mrs Weasley knelt down so her face was right by Holly's.

"Severus has left some strengthening potions for you, Holly." She turned to Charlie. "They are in the kitchen. Bring some water as well."

Charlie nodded and obediently left the room. Holly felt something cool on her forehead. Mrs Weasley had conjured a small bowl with water that smelled of chamomile.

"This will help lower your temperature."

Holly felt her headache subsiding slightly.

"How do you know who I am?"

Talking still hurt but her curiosity won out. Mrs Weasley smiled at her.

"Oh, of course. I remember you from being in Charlie's year. Charlie once told me about…"

She did not finish the sentence as her son had just entered the room again.

"What did I tell you?" Charlie asked worryingly.

Mrs Weasley stood up to relief him of a small bottle with a light green liquid inside and the small glass of water he was carrying.

"Oh just this one time. You came home for Christmas really upset because Professor Kettleburn had been bringing a unicorn to his lesson. And the unicorn wouldn't let anyone touch it except for this 'stuck up cow Holly Burr'."

Mrs Weasley chuckled but Charlie seemed mortified. Holly lifted her head slightly to say something but only a gasp came out when she felt being cut all over again. Lupin, who had been so quiet that Holly had forgotten about him, came up to her bed and waved his wand over her. The pain subsided somewhat. Mrs Weasley had rushed back down to her and was now gently lifting her head to give her some of the strengthening potion.

"Charlie, you best leave again. We will need to change her dressings again. Bill is downstairs talking to Sirius."

With a last worried look at Holly he left again. The potion felt warm in her mouth and when she swallowed the warmth spread throughout her whole body. Lupin turned around when Mrs Weasley opened her dressing gown to change her bandages. Holly did not dare look down, she did not want to know how cut up she was. Just as Mrs Weasley was done and had covered Holly up again, Snape entered the bedroom which started to feel crowded again. He and Mrs Weasley exchanged a quick look and Mrs Weasley muttered something about getting her some clothes and left the room. Lupin did not greet Snape but sat down on a small stool opposite the bed. Snape walked up to her bed and looked down at her with an unreadable expression. Holly knew what was going to come.

"What were you thinking?"

Her former head of house hissed at her. Holly cleared her throat and sat up as best as she could in the small bed. She felt lightheaded for a moment but the strengthening potion had done wonders. Her body was still in pain but it now was more of a pulsating sort of pain that she was able to work through. She lifted the glass of water with a shaking hand to take a sip before answering.

"He was boasting to everyone who would listen that the dark lord had confided his latest plans in him. It was too good of an opportunity to miss." Holly said, her voice still raspy but her throat not hurting nearly half as much as before.

"You almost got yourself found out. And killed. You were lucky I found you just in time." Snape said, his voice throbbing with anger.

"Only because the dark lord must have started giving his followers lessons in occlumency. McNeagan felt almost instantly that I was trying to poke around in his head."

Holly tried to defend herself sheepishly. She knew it had been a bad idea from the moment she had been alone with the older wizard.

"I have told you before that you are a poor legilimens. How did you even get him alone?"

A slight note of worry had crept into Snape's voice. Holly felt herself turn bright red just like Charlie had done so many times today.

"I promised him something." She said almost inaudibly.

Lupin groaned and Snape turned around quickly, clearly having forgotten that the other wizard was in the room with them.

"Holly, you should not feel like this is expected of you. It definitely is not what Dumbledore had in mind when he asked you to gather information." Lupin said, his voice clearly concerned. Snape didn't say anything.

"I know. But before McNeagan hexed me I read in his mind that the dark lord knows about the location of the prophecy. And that Dumbledore is trying to stop him from getting it."

Both Snape and Lupin inhaled sharply at this. Holly could not help but feel at least a little bit smug about their reaction. So she had put herself and her task into danger but it had not been for nothing. Snape's gaze returned to her.

"Very well. Nevertheless you have to be more careful. Especially now that you are staying at the headquarters and will meet more of the order. Who knows how many of his followers the dark lord has been teaching legilimency."

Holly sat up even more straightly.

"What do you mean staying at the headquarters?"

"I mean exactly that. McNeagan has hit you with some sort of exsanguine spell. You will feel the effects of it for at least another two weeks. So you have to stay here until it's worn off."

Holly could not help feeling that Snape felt satisfied with her being stuck here.

"But I can't stay here. People will realise that I have disappeared. Questions about McNeagan will start cropping up and I'll have to be there to answer them."

"There won't be any questions. I have been asking around this morning and McNeagan beliefs that he simply passed out in the gardens. He has no recollection of ever going anywhere with you. And nobody saw you leaving with him. I have told Mr Flint that you had been experimenting with hair dye potions and it'd gone wrong. Your cousin had been more than happy to tell people you'd gone off to visit your grandparents in Italy. He beliefs you to be hiding somewhere until your hairy problem has been solved."

Holly tried to interject but Snape cut her off.

"I am a far more accomplished legilimens than any of the dark lord's followers. Nobody suspects you of anything. I must now leave to talk to Dumbledore. Lupin will look after you."

Without a word of goodbye Snape turned around on his heel and left.

"You should sleep now, Holly. Have some more of the potion and a sip of water."

All the talking had left her exhausted and without complaining she swallowed the rest of the potion as well as the water. She sank back onto the pillow and fell asleep instantly.

Holly woke up to an even darker room and her stomach grumbling. She had not eaten since last night and her healing body needed energy. She sat up slowly surprising herself by not feeling as faint as before and much stronger in general. Say what you will about Snape but his potions were top notch. Holly threw the blanket away and got to her feet. She was still in the yellow dressing gown but Mrs Weasley had laid out a pair of jogging bottoms and a big jumper for her. The jogging bottoms were far too large for her, she had to roll them up twice and tighten the waist band quite a bit before they stopped slipping down her waist. The jumper was maroon and had a big C knitted into the centre. Quite obviously Mrs Weasley had given her some of Charlie's clothes. Holly pulled the jumper over her head and was pleasantly surprised with how soft it was. She found some socks on the floor by the stool and put them on as well. On the small desk Holly saw her wand which Snape would have retrieved from Malfoy manor. Holly grabbed it and spelled her hair into a high ponytail. Even though the exhaustion of putting on her clothes and doing her hair had made her go dizzy for a moment and she doubted her wand would be of much use to her, she put it in her pocket. Slowly she made her way to the door and exited it. The corridor outside her room was dark but she could hear voices downstairs. There was also the enticing smell of something to eat. Holly calmed her grumbling stomach with her hand and walked towards the smell. She arrived at a door that quite clearly led to the kitchen. The voices were even louder and Holly could hear laughter. She hesitated for a moment but her hunger won out and she slowly pushed the door open. The kitchen fell silent when she entered the room. Lupin was sitting at the end of table closest to her with a dark haired handsome wizard next to him. He was smiling at her but the other wizard just frowned. Charlie was sitting at the far end of the table, a slightly older red haired wizard sitting across from him. Holly reckoned that it must be his older brother, Bill. Playing cards were scattered between them. Between them sat a young red haired boy, a pretty red haired girl and a bushy brown haired girl. All three of them looked at her with open mouths. Before Holly could say anything Mrs Weasley rushed up to her.

"Holly, my dear! How are you feeling? You must be starving."

She put her hands on Holly's shoulders and steered her towards where Charlie and Bill were sitting. Holly could feel everyone's eyes following her. Mrs Weasley seemed nonplussed by the silence in the room and gently pushed Holly down on the chair next to Charlie. Charlie did not look at her and nervously shuffled the deck of playing cards. Bill raised an eyebrow but did not say anything. Mrs Weasley had in the meantime returned with a big bowl of soup and put it down in front of Holly.

"Eat up." She said and Holly thought she sounded anxious. Nobody was talking still.

"Mum?" The petite red haired witch tried to catch Mrs Weasley's attention.

"Yes Ginny, my dear?" Mrs Weasley said, still looking at Holly, waiting for her to start eating. Holly obliged happily and picked up her spoon.

"Why is there a girl wearing Charlie's jumper?"

The red haired witch asked. Holly busied herself eating. Charlie turned red again. Bill looked like he was trying not to laugh out loud. Mrs Weasley exchanged a quick look with Lupin.

"Oh. Of course. Erm. Well. This is Holly." Mrs Weasley cleared her throat. "Charlies's girlfriend."

Holly's head shot up and Charlie dropped the deck of playing cards. Mrs Weasley looked at her imploringly. Bill dived down under the table feigning to retrieve the cards whilst snickering. Holly looked down the table at Lupin who nodded ever so slightly. Obviously her identity was not something the adults wanted to be revealed. Now it was Holly's turn to clear her throat. She put her spoon down and turned towards the three teenagers. The red haired witch, Ginny, was frowning at her. The other two just seemed confused.

"Hello." Holly said, pleased to hear that her voice, whilst still quiet, was not hoarse anymore.

Mrs Weasley beamed. "Yes. Charlie's girlfriend. They arrived yesterday. What a nice surprise, isn't it."

Ginny did not look like she thought it was a nice surprise. Holly dared a quick look back at Charlie but he was staring at his mum. She thought he looked mortified. Great.

"Yes. I think introductions are in order. So, Holly, you have met Bill already."

Mrs Weasley pointed at her eldest who had reappeared from under the table. Holly thought he looked way too pleased about the whole situation.

"And this inquisitive young lady is my youngest, Ginny. Then this is Ron, my second youngest and his friend from school, Hermione Granger."

The boy and the brown haired witch both managed a smile and waved at her.

"Remus you have already met this morning as well and this is erm well this is Sirius Black."

The handsome wizard looked at her intensely. It was obvious to Holly that he had been filled in about everything that had happened by Lupin. It was also obvious to her that this must be his house. Holly of course knew who Sirius Black was. Every pureblooded family knew of each other. And the wizarding community thinking that Sirius Black was the dark lord's most loyal follower had long been a source of amusement for the circles she moved in. Holly gave a general wave to everyone she'd been introduced to and returned to eating her soup. She was still starving and did not want it going cold. Mrs Weasley had started handing out mugs and Ginny stood up to help her. Charlie's youngest sister gave Holly hers last and sat down across from her. A teapot levitated around the table and filled up her mug with steaming tea. Holly busied herself with eating her soup to avoid having to look at Ginny who was now staring at her.

"So, how did you meet?" She asked eventually.

"Don't be nosey Ginny." Mrs Weasley called to her from where she was stirring something by the herd.

Holly put her spoon down, her soup finished. "Oh it's okay, Mrs Weasley." Holly said, now looking at Ginny. "I work for an apothecary and last spring they sent me to Romania to collect some dragon related merchandise. Well and Charlie was to be my contact there. He recruited me for the order as well."

Holly hoped that Charlie had indeed still been in Romania last spring as this was the latest bit of information she had on the whereabouts of the second oldest Weasley. Ginny's expression softened and Holly felt relief untie the knot in her stomach. Ginny turned her attention to her older brother.

"You surprise me, Charlie. I always thought you weren't interested in anything that didn't spew fire. And she seems nice." Ginny said the last bit with a pointed look at Bill which Holly couldn't interpret.

She took a sip of her tea whilst considering that Ginny had called her nice after just exchanging a few words with her. Charlie still hadn't said anything and was still blushing. Before Holly could say anything to him, Mrs Weasley appeared again.

"Well, with you, Ron and Hermione here now, we'll have to shuffle everyone around. Let's see. Ron, you'll get the small bedroom on the first floor. We can squeeze another bed in there when Harry arrives next week. The twins are still at Lee Jordan's until tomorrow so Hermione, you and Ginny will sleep in the blue room on the second floor."

Ginny turned around to face her mother. "Mum, it's tiny! How will Holly fit in there with us?"

Holly put down her mug. For a brief moment she had forgotten that she was meant to stay here for another two weeks. And she wouldn't be able to share a room with the other two girls if she was going to start bleeding at random from the exsanguine spell.

Mrs Weasley seemed to think along the same lines as her when she said "Oh don't be silly, Ginny. Holly will be staying with Charlie."