Chapter 19: The War at Home

"In the Land of the Pig, the Butcher is King" by Meat Loaf.

Hermione blinked her bleary eyes several times when she awoke. She rolled over to see Molly was just waking up too. The two of them were the only girls still in the dormitory. Hermione grabbed Garus' watch and checked the time. It was almost noon on New Year's Day. Hermione remembered what had happened the previous night: After the fireworks had finished at about one o'clock in the morning, Regulus had walked her back up to the castle. She'd given him back his cloak and they'd gone to their house dormitories. Hermione looked back over at Molly.

"You have a late night too?" She asked. Molly nodded.

"I was with Arthur until almost two o'clock," Molly said, blushing in a way that implied she and Arthur had done more than just talk. "You?" She asked. Hermione nodded, but offered no details. Instead, she rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom for a quick bath, grabbing her two-way mirror as she went so she could check in with Harry and Ron. She had no intention of mentioning the New Year's party.

"Lily, can we talk?" Hermione asked Lily pointedly, after she'd spoken with the boys and cleaned up for the day. Lily excused herself from their friends in the common room and went back up to her dormitory with Hermione. She sat on the edge of her bed and looked expectantly at Hermione.

"I just spoke with Harry and Ron again," Hermione said. Lily nodded. Hermione paced the room a little restlessly as she continued. "Percy Weasley and his girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater, were attacked, but Snape and Dumbledore were able to save them and take them to the Shrieking Shack, to the rest of the Weasleys." Lily nodded, but she could easily tell something else was on Hermione's mind. Hermione stared at Lily for a moment before she sat down on her own bed and cut to the chase.

"Have you and James used the word 'love' with each other yet?" She asked. Lily blushed and smiled.

"Actually, we did last night, for the first time," Lily said. "We were watching the fireworks and he just said it—'I love you'—and I said it back." Lily's somewhat giddy look was replaced by a frown as she realized why Hermione was asking her such a question. "Problems with Ron?" She asked. Hermione nodded. "Did you two fight again?" Lily prodded. Hermione shook her head. Lily smiled at Hermione knowingly. "Does this have to do with Remus taking a bit of a fancy to you?" Hermione hid her face in her hands.

"Remus and Regulus," Hermione said softly. Lily laughed lightly.

"So Regulus has been flirting with you," she said.

"Lily, he almost kissed me last night!" Hermione said, flustered and blushing a little. "And Remus is such a good friend to me in my time, I can't stand the thought of hurting him! In my time, he loves Tonks and I'm Ron's girlfriend! What am I supposed to do?!"

"Do you love Ron?" Lily asked calmly.

"I don't know," Hermione said, starting to cry, "I think so? I'm not sure he loves me either. I mean, we finally got together, but we haven't—we've never used the word—"

"Love?" Lily asked. Hermione nodded.

"In my time, Remus is over twice my age and Regulus is dead, so it's not like I see a real relationship with either of them as being remotely possible," Hermione said. "What about Ron, though? If I tell him about Remus and Regulus, he'll be crushed and likely furious with me. If I don't tell him, I'll still feel horrible." Hermione buried her tear-stained face in her hands. "I shouldn't even be letting myself get tangled up in this mess at all. "I have a job to do. I can't…"

Lily moved from her bed to Hermione's, sitting next to her and rubbing her back soothingly. "All I can tell you, Hermione, is to get out of your head sometimes and listen to your heart," Lily said. "That's what I had to do. Remus and Regulus or not, you can't make yourself love someone. If you and Ron are meant to be more than friends, you'll know it. If you don't know if you love him now, you might know later. Just don't force it. Do what you have to do here, and when you get back to your time, to Ron, maybe you'll know then." Hermione looked at Lily with watery eyes and nodded.

"Draco, we are not leaving this room until you have told me everything you know about any of the Weasleys that may be of even the slightest help in catching Potter's little blood-traitor girlfriend!" Lucius spat impatiently. He, Pettigrew, and Draco were gathered in one of the larger bedrooms in the manor where the Death Eaters hid.

"I already have, Father," Draco said defensively. "Every relationship any of them had at school, places where the group called Dumbledore's Army met, on the grounds and off, the locations of some of the best customers at the twins' shop. I even told you what their owls look like, in detail!"

"On that subject," Pettigrew added, "I'd also expect Harry and Hermione's pets are with the Weasleys too. Harry's owl, Hedwig, is a brighter bird than any of the Weasleys own owls, and more noticeable, being a snowy owl."

"And your animal archenemy, Granger's cat?" Lucius asked with a mocking smirk.

"Crookshanks," Pettigrew grumbled, glaring at Lucius, "is remarkably like his owner. Lots of hair, meddlesome, and annoyingly clever. The cat's ginger fur is more reflective of the Weasleys, and its face suggests that it might've once been thrown headlong into a brick wall." Draco laughed quietly, but he quickly silenced himself when his father glared at him. Lucius opened his mouth to scold Draco when there was a knock at the bedroom door.

"What is it?" Lucius snapped at the person on the other side of the door.

"Does this cat have a bottlebrush tail and a disturbingly acute talent for distinguishing animagi and werewolves from other humans and animals?" A voice grumbled impassively from behind the locked door. Pettigrew's eyes widened.

"Yes," he answered, quickly unlocking and opening the door for Fenrir Greyback.

"That cat has to be the one non-human target I've ever bothered chasing after," Greyback said disdainfully. "I've run into it a couple times before. The first time was the summer after they had the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts. I was in Bulgaria at the time, with an eye on one of the Durmstrang fifth-year boys. My target happened to be with some of his friends when I was first able to spot him away from school or his home. Incidentally, Viktor Krum was among them. Krum had a girl with him too. I never got a good look at her, but she had a cat with her, just like the one you were describing. In fact, I heard the girl call it 'Crookshanks'."

"Krum invited Granger to visit him in Bulgaria after the tournament," Draco chimed in. "They were dating at the time."

"That cat of hers noticed me standing nearby, and it hissed at me… I got the strangest sense that I could hear its thoughts, for a moment: 'You're the werewolf that bit Lupin.' Then it jumped on top of the boy I was targeting and scratched the hell out of his face. The girl shouted at the cat and grabbed him off the boy, but the cat had already done enough damage to the kid that another one of the boys there took him home. That cat knew what I was, even when I was in my human form, and who I was targeting, and it attacked the kid to keep him away from me."

"You got lucky," Pettigrew said grimly. "That cat tried to kill me. He was helping Sirius try to catch me. He would occasionally run around with Remus too, after he'd transformed. That's probably why he knew you bit Remus."

"You said you ran into the cat more than once, Greyback?" Lucius prodded, searching impatiently for the point of Greyback's story. "And chased it before?"

"About a week after you ran into the Weasley girl and Lupin, after the full moon ended, I changed back into my human form and found myself in the thestrals' grazing clearing in the Dark Forest, outside Hogwarts. Imagine my surprise when I saw the same cat I'd seen in Bulgaria running around with the thestrals." Pettigrew and the two Malfoys were staring at Greyback intensely, knowing the sighting he was describing would have been shortly after the Weasleys went into hiding.

"And when you chased after the cat?" Lucius asked hungrily, "Where did it go?" Greyback grinned wickedly at the Malfoys and Pettigrew.

"The Shrieking Shack," he said.

"Harry, we got a letter from Snape and Dumbledore," Ron said, coming to meet Harry in the kitchen for breakfast. "They said we really need to lay low for a few days, no letters or anything. The other Death Eaters have been acting really weird—really sketchy, like some of them are up to something that they're trying to keep from the others. Until Snape can figure out what's going on, they've told the Order to be extra careful too." Harry nodded a little distractedly. It had been about a week since Hermione had contacted them, but he kept thinking that something dodgy seemed to be happening with her as well, something that she was trying to underplay to him and Ron. The mention of Snape made him think of something she had mentioned.

"I guess writing back to Snape about how Hermione saved his life is out of the question," he said. Ron snorted.

"Guess so," he said.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Lily asked as she walked out of Charms class with Hermione. "You looked like something was really bothering you during class."

"I don't know what it is, honestly," Hermione said, still looking preoccupied and worried. "I just keep feeling like something is really wrong."

"Maybe you need to talk to Harry and Ron again?" Lily asked quietly, as they walked down to the Great Hall. "It's been about ten days, hasn't it?" Hermione nodded distractedly. "Or maybe you're just catching a cold? Molly was really sick this morning. She almost missed Transfiguration, she was so nauseated. Actually, I don't think she was able to keep her breakfast down, poor thing." Hermione nodded.

"I should go ask Madam Pomfrey for some strong Vitaserum, I suppose," Hermione said. "That might help. Let's just go to dinner now."

The moonlight was reflecting off Ginny's slightly damp hair as she stared out the window. She thought nothing of how Crookshanks ran into the room and leapt into her lap. Crookshanks loved the smell of the soap she liked to use in the bath. Crookshanks batted at Ginny's face with his paws, but she just pushed his paws away and stroked his back. He began making angry meowing and hissing noises and Ginny finally took notice.

"Crookshanks, what's wrong?" She asked, "Are you missing Hermione again?" The cat stared at Ginny, then leapt pointedly up onto the windowsill. Ginny stood up and moved closer to the window, her eyes narrowing as she strained to look as far out into the darkness as she could. She saw nothing, but then there was a sudden flash of red light. She dove to the floor and Crookshanks jumped down on top of her as the Stunner shattered the glass. Ginny let out a loud scream Moments later, both of her parents burst into the room. Another jet of red light shot through the broken window and Mrs. Weasley screamed too.

Mr. Weasley dove forward, ducking under the window, and he took Crookshanks' place covering Ginny. "Molly, get the other kids, quickly!" He shouted, "Open the Marauders' path to the school! They've found us!" Mrs. Weasley rushed back out of the room, Crookshanks following her, and she started screaming to her children, Fleur, and Penelope that they were under attack. Mr. Weasley helped Ginny into a crawling position and pushed her forward, continually whispering to her. "It's going to be okay. You'll be okay…"

Ginny and her father ran downstairs, where the rest of her family and Penelope were already waiting. Ginny collided with her mother, sobbing, "Don't let them take me! Don't let them kill me! Please!" Mrs. Weasley was sobbing too. She clutched her daughter tightly in her arms and tried to reassure her.

"We planned all this out, Ginny, remember?" She said, "We know what to do. I already signaled the Order, Dumbledore, Ron, and Harry, with the Protean Charm coins. They'll come and help us. We have to get to Hogwarts now…"

"There's a small chance some of the Death Eaters might've already flown to the Willow, to come through the tunnel and cut us off," Mr. Weasley said to the group, "so those at the back and the front be ready to fight! Ginny, you stay in the middle. Let's go, everyone! Hurry!" Mr. Weasley, Fred, and George jumped down into the tunnel just as another jet of red light smashed another window on the other side of the room. Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Penelope, and Fleur all jumped in next. Bill, Charlie, and Percy brought up the rear.

Their group ran through the low-ceilinged tunnel as fast as they could, their pajamas and bathrobes occasionally snagging on rocks protruding from the walls and tearing. Their owls and Hedwig followed their passage, flying along at the level of their shoulders. Crookshanks was running at the front of the pack, ready to pounce on anyone and anything that blocked their passage. They could all hear more crashes and blasts sounding behind them as the Death Eaters destroyed the Shrieking Shack.

As soon as Bill, Charlie, and Percy had scrambled out from under the Whomping Willow's roots, they immediately unfroze the attacking branches that Crookshanks had halted by pressing the knot on the trunk that Sirius had once shown him. Only Pettigrew could safely freeze the tree again; any other humans that tried to crawl out of the roots would quickly be beaten to a bloody pulp. That issue taken care of, they just had to watch for attackers coming by broom or thestral. Sure enough, out in the distance, a large mass of airborne Death Eaters could be seen flying toward them.

The Weasleys and Penelope all fired Stunners into the mass of oncoming enemies, but stopped when the cluster of Death Eaters was torn through by allies. Harry, Ron, Kingsley, Tonks, Moody, Remus, McGonagall, and a few other Order members all flew into the airborne fray that resembled a very violent quidditch match. In fact, bludgers and beaters' clubs really were involved, carried by Remus and Tonks. The flying wizards and witches shot spells at each other, hit bludgers around, and when all else failed, they physically rammed into each other. All the owls also flew into the fight, pecking at the Death Eaters' hands and faces.

"Everyone, move up to the castle!" Mr. Weasley shouted to his children. "The portraits and ghosts were already signaled to open the entrance and all the corridors! Get inside!" Mr. Weasley grabbed Penelope, standing near him, and pushed her forward, up toward the castle. She, Percy, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Fred, George, and Ginny all ran up the hill to the entrance, moving as fast as their legs would carry them. Charlie, Fred, and George all ran close to Ginny, guarding her from behind. Bill, Percy, and Fleur were able to pull open the enormous doors, and they all dove inside.

Up in the sky, Harry and Ron accelerated out of the battle and shot through the doors, just as Fred and George shut them with a resounding, "Colloportus!" The moment the two boys landed in the middle of the Entrance Hall, Ginny collided with Harry in a fierce hug and Fleur hugged Ron tightly. The moment Ginny released Harry, he took charge where Mr. Weasley left off.

"Everyone upstairs, to Myrtle's bathroom," he said. "We'll go down into the Chamber of Secrets. Only Voldemort himself can reach us down there, and he's not here." No one questioned Harry's idea. Ron led the way upstairs with everyone else coming up behind him. Harry, Ginny, Fleur, and Charlie brought up the rear. The portraits shouted words of encouragement and reassurance to the group as they ran, all their voices mixing with the sounds of the battle out on the grounds. Once everyone was inside Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Harry hissed at the entrance in Parseltongue and it opened. Ron, Fred, and George jumped down the long shaft into the Chamber first. Fleur, Penelope, Bill, and Percy jumped down after them. Harry hissed at the entrance so it would slowly begin to close again. When he, Charlie, and Ginny jumped in, it would close behind them.

Right when they were about to jump, Lucius Malfoy, Pettigrew, and Rabastan Lestrange crashed through the windows of the bathroom on their brooms and shouted, "Impedimenta!" Harry, Ginny, and Charlie were all knocked off their feet and into the wall behind them. Harry and Ginny shot their Patronuses at the Death Eaters reflexively. Behind the temporary shield of white light, Harry dove over to Ginny and pulled her toward the entrance of the Chamber, which was still slowly closing. The panicked shouts of those who had already jumped down into the Chamber could be heard echoing up the long shaft from below.

A jet of red light issued from one of the Death Eaters' wands and collided with the tile floor right in front of Harry and Ginny. The tiles exploded and Harry pushed Ginny out of the way of the debris and covered her body with his as sharp tile pieces rained down on them. Charlie looked over at them, determination shining in his eyes.

"Save my sister, Harry!" He shouted, "The Chamber is almost closed! You two get down there! Protect my family!" Harry's stomach turned, even before he could get a clear view of Charlie, he knew what he was going to do.

"Charlie, no!" He shouted, "Get inside! We can all make it!" Right at that moment, Macnair barreled in through another window and shot a Stunner at Ginny that Harry barely pulled her clear of in time. Charlie charged forward and tackled Macnair. Rolling past the Patronuses, he aimed his wand at Rabastan.

"Avada Kedavra!" Charlie shouted and his curse struck Rabastan just a little below the heart. Rabastan keeled over and sprawled across the floor, dead.

The Chamber was almost closed. Harry pulled Ginny up to it and the two of them swung their legs around, so they were seated on the edge of the shaft with their legs dangling down. When Harry noticed he had a clear shot of Macnair, he uttered his own killing curse, "Avada Kedavra!" Harry's first human kill fell to the floor. There was no more time for fighting; he and Ginny were about to be crushed by the closing Chamber.

"Charlie, let's go!" Harry shouted, but too late. Another Death Eater barreled in, distracting Charlie enough for Pettigrew to get a clear shot.

"Avada Kedavra!" Pettigrew shouted. His curse struck Charlie squarely in the chest.

It was as if everything began moving in slow motion. All of a sudden, everything seemed to go silent, but it wasn't. Harry could see and feel Ginny screaming beside him. He was screaming. He wanted to retaliate against the Death Eaters. He wanted to stay and help Charlie, but he knew there was nothing he could do to help Charlie. Without even registering that he was doing it, he shoved Ginny into the almost closed shaft and leapt in after her. He heard the entrance close, even as they slid down. No one could follow them.

As soon as Harry and Ginny landed amongst the rubble on the floor of the Chamber, Ginny threw herself back at the mouth of the shaft. "CHARLIE!" She screamed up into the dark, vertical tunnel, "CHARLIE!" Tears sprang from Ginny's eyes and splashed down her front as she kept screaming her second-oldest brother's name. "CHARLIE! COME BACK! CHARLIE!" Harry pulled Ginny away from the shaft and hugged her tightly, even as he cried himself.

"He's gone, Ginny!" He choked out, amid Ginny's continued screams, "They killed him, Ginny. He's de—"

"NO!" Ginny shrieked and she crumpled to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Charlie's dead?" Ron whispered. He, Bill, Percy, Fred, and George looked like they'd been struck by lightning. Penelope and Fleur were fighting back tears of their own. Harry faced them reluctantly.

"Just before we were about to jump down here, several Death Eaters crashed their brooms through the windows," Harry spoke as though every word was a knife in his heart. "They kept firing curses close to the entrance while it was closing. Charlie told us to go on without him, so he could cover us. We stayed a little longer, waiting for him. He killed Rabastan Lestrange and I killed Macnair, but…" Harry choked. He couldn't bear to think of what had just happened, much less speak of it, but he did. "Pettigrew killed Charlie."

Ginny let out another scream of sorrow and fury. Harry knelt down on the floor beside her and he held her close. "I'm so sorry, Ginny," he whispered over and over again. "I'm sorry, Ginny… I'm so sorry…"

Harry, Penelope, Fleur, and all the remaining Weasley children remained in a stunned silence for a while. A short time later, another woman's screams of despair could be heard from above them. The screaming and sobbing became more audible after Harry hissed loudly in Parseltongue, opening the entrance again. Someone from above shot long, glowing ropes down the shaft that retracted as soon as the group in the Chamber grabbed them, pulling them out. They already knew what they'd see at the top.

Mrs. Weasley was on her knees beside Charlie, shaking him and screaming his name. She even shot a Riddikulus Charm at him, in case his body was actually a boggart portraying her worst fear, but it was true. It had really happened. Her child was dead. Mr. Weasley was also next to Charlie's body, crying and shaking uncontrollably. All the Order members who had come to fight off the Death Eaters were also in the bathroom, staring at all the Weasleys with teary eyes.

"Charlie's the one who killed Rabastan," Harry said in a strangled voice, speaking to the entire room. "He saved me and Ginny, and he took one of them with him." Harry glanced over at Rabastan's body which Fred and George were hexing furiously. "Pettigrew was the one who killed Charlie, but Charlie killed one of them too. He was incredibly brave…" Harry choked again. He couldn't believe what was happening. He couldn't believe what he was saying.

"Macnair?" Kingsley asked.

"Harry killed him," Ginny whimpered, letting go of Harry and collapsing next to her mother, dropping her head onto Charlie's chest. "We tried to save you," she cried softly.

"Thank you, Harry," Mr. Weasley choked out, looking crestfallen, but deeply grateful. Ron suddenly broke, leaping forward and hugging his father fiercely. He was crying and shaking, and Harry winced at the sight.

"They'll pay for this, Dad," Ron gasped through his ragged breathing. "They'll all pay. Hermione's going to destroy the locket, Harry and I will figure out some way to kill Nagini, and we'll stop them all… We'll kill Voldemort… We'll kill them… They won't get away with this… They'll pay for this…"

Harry turned away from Ron, unable to keep watching his best friend come so unglued. Instead, he looked out the shattered window Charlie's killer, Peter Pettigrew, had come through. Out there, burning bright against the night sky was the Dark Mark, looming over Hogwarts once again.