Chapter 3
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all that it entails belong to JK Rowling, except for Miss Leila Mae Potter.
… … … … …
Leila slowly stalked behind Charlie to the front door. She kept looking over her shoulder to make sure that Voldemort wasn't behind them. She knew that he wasn't, but she couldn't help but look. By this time, everyone was hopefully back at the Burrow and her precious necklace was probably destroyed by the Death Eaters. Leila's heart slightly ached at the thought of her mother's possession in the hands of Death Eaters; but she couldn't do anything about it now. Charlie knocked on the door. Leila could hear footsteps fast approaching the locked door.
"Who's there?" an old man wheezed from behind the door.
"It is I Charles Septimus Weasley, usually known as Charlie, with Leila Potter." Charlie answered.
"Is that so, Charles Weasley? What was offered for dinner after the first Order meeting we both attended together?" the old man asked.
"My Mum made steak and kidney pie that evening." Charlie replied.
"Very well then." the old man said.
Leila could hear the locks being undone and the door swung open to reveal an elderly man with white hair dressed in many layers of traditional wizarding robes. The old man looked at Leila with a quizzical eye and then smiled.
"Good to meet you Miss Potter. The name is Elphias Doge. And might you permit an old man to say what I'm sure you've heard countless times? You look so much like your beautiful mother." the man said holding his hand out.
Leila simply nodded and shook the man's hand. Elphias ushered them into his home. Once the three of them were inside, he quickly locked his doors again. Leila adjusted the strap on her bag for something to do until Dodge led them into his kitchen. He pulled out a chair for Leila to sit. So she sat down as Charlie moved to grab the tray, which held a teapot and cups. Charlie carried it over to the table. Doge placed a cup in front of Leila and poured her some tea. Leila took the cup, blew on it slowly, and took a sip.
"You're late. I expected you sooner." Doge muttered.
"The Death Eaters were onto us from the start." Charlie said reaching for a cup of tea.
"That's impossible." Doge responded.
"The second we took to the air they were waiting for us." Charlie said.
"I hate to even mutter the only reasonable explanation. So what about the others?" Doge asked.
"Dunno. We were separated from everyone once we met the Death Eaters. We'll find out if everyone made it back safely when we get back to the Burrow." Charlie said.
"Well, your Portkey—" Doge began.
"Great, that's just great. We get attacked by Death Eaters, Voldemort follows us, and now our bloody Portkey is gone! Can this night get any worse?" Leila said.
"You didn't let me finish, much like your father. I knew him during our time together with the original Order, as well as your mother. But, as I was about to say earlier: your Portkey should be ready to leave in about ten minute's time." Doge said.
Leila blushed at her hot-headedness and moved to stand. She looked down her leg to find a small pool of blood beneath it. Leila cursed under her breath and Elphias Doge took notice to Leila's injury.
"Looks like you were hit; but not to worry I have a slight knack for healing. I was always getting into scrapes in my youth believe it or not. But I do believe you've had plenty of scrapes yourself." He smiled.
"I suppose so." Leila muttered.
Doge propped Leila's leg onto another chair and bent over to look at the gash in her leg. The legs of her jeans were covered in blood, but were torn where she had been hit. Doge pointed his wand at her leg and it slowly mended. The wound was no longer gushing blood, but a few drops still escaped. Leila removed her leg from the chair and stood up. She limped over to a picture hanging on Doge's wall to get a better look at it. She was surprised by what she saw: it was a picture of Elphias Doge with Albus Dumbledore. The knot in Leila's stomach tightened as Elphias walked to where she stood.
"Albus and I go back a long time." Doge said.
"You're the man who wrote about him for the Prophet, aren't you?" Leila asked.
"I see you've read it." Doge said lightly.
"No, I just saw your name and picture on the front page. I don't trust anything in that paper these days." Leila said.
"Good for you, but that's the reason I wrote it. So at least the truth could be heard before Rita Skeeter's nasty writings find their way into homes of the Wizarding community. People need something good to hold onto." Doge said.
"It doesn't matter how many good things are said. People are quicker to believe one bad thing over hundreds of good things. One bad thing puts doubts in people's minds and ensnares common sense." Leila sighed.
"I take it you know from experience?" Doge asked.
"Something like that." Leila muttered.
"Then you should know that Albus cared a great deal about you and your brother. He spoke quite fondly about you both. Don't let the bad win over that." Doge said.
"As much as I hate to break this up, I do believe that our Portkey is about ready to head for the Burrow: with or without us." Charlie said.
"Right you are, Charles. Let us head outside, shall we?" Doge said.
Doge unlocked the back door and led Leila and Charlie out into his garden, which took up most of his backyard. Leila eyed Doge's hand, which firmly grasped an old watering can. He whistled as he led them to a grassy patch in his yard, where he set the watering can down. Charlie, who still had Leila's second bag swung around his shoulder and her Firebolt in one hand, knelt down to the grass and motioned for Leila do to so as well. Leila nodded and knelt on the grass that was already wet with dew. She quickly placed her hand on the watering can not wanting to take any chances, while Charlie and Doge chuckled at her.
"Give everyone my best and I'll see you all at the wedding." Doge smiled.
Charlie nodded and placed his hand on the watering can only seconds before it began to glow a bright blue. Leila felt a jerk in her navel area and she was dragged through nothing. Moments later she landed to the grass with a thud, still clutching the watering can, while Charlie gracefully floated through the air. Leila accepted Remus' hand to help her up, but he kept a tight grip on her wrist, never breaking eye contact. Leila tried to shake his hand off, but he tightened his grip. She noticed that Kingsley and Tonks' wands were also pointed at her.
"What the hell are you doing, Remus?" Leila hissed.
"On your first visit to my office, who also visited?" Remus asked.
"That's an unfair question; there's more than one answer." Leila scoffed.
"Answer it!" Remus hissed.
"Madam Pomfrey told you to get some rest and later Snape came with a potion, which I now assume was Wolfsbane." Leila said.
"I had to make sure." Remus said.
Remus released Leila's wrist and Kingsley and Tonks lowered their wands. Leila realized she was still holding the watering can, so she dropped it. She then rubbed at her wrist as her brother jogged to her and hugged her. Leila leaned her face against his shoulder as he hugged her. She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. She didn't even want to imagine how much worse things could get; but she was glad that for right now Harry was safe.
"Is everyone back?" Leila asked.
"No. Fred, Mr. Weasley, Moody, and Mundungus still are out there." Harry said.
Hermione and Ron walked over to the Potter twins, their hands almost touching. They both wrapped their arms around Harry and Leila. The four teenagers stood there holding each, not saying a word yet understanding what wasn't being said. It was a nonverbal conversation that they would go through this together. They released from the group hug and stood there looking at each other. A few tears slipped down Leila's cheek, and Hermione wiped them away with her sleeve. Leila attempted a smile, which Hermione returned. Fred and Mr. Weasley appeared in the yard. Fred, who liked like his normal self, removed his glasses. He spotted Leila and ran to her. Fred picked her up and rested his forehead on hers, gazing into her eyes. Leila blushed at his intense gaze, causing Fred to grin.
"Can I kiss you now?" Fred whispered.
Leila couldn't formulate the words. She attempted to speak, but the words never came. So instead she simply nodded and locked eyes with him. Fred cocked his head and slowly pressed his lips against Leila's. Leila placed one hand on his cheek while the other snaked through his ginger hair as she kissed him back. The kiss was sweet and for a moment it seemed to numb the pain of her heartache. Fred went to kiss Leila again when Mr. Weasley cleared his throat. Leila pulled her face away from Fred's. Both of them were blushing at this point.
"On the note of that happy reunion, are we the last back?" Mr. Weasley asked.
Remus and Harry looked at each other as if there was something they weren't saying.
"Where's George?" Mr. Weasley asked.
Fred gently set Leila back onto the ground as he searched the yard for George. Leila too scanned for him. He wasn't outside and he had been with Remus. Harry didn't list him as still being gone when she had asked earlier. Had something happened to him? Leila looked to the house to find Ginny watching from behind the curtains. Mr. Weasley moved to make a run for the house, but Kingsley stepped in front of his path with his wand pointed.
"I'll prove who I am, Kingsley, after I've seen my son, now back off if you know what's good for you!" Mr. Weasley shouted.
Fred, Charlie, Mr. Weasley, and Ron ran for the house, while Leila looked at her brother and Remus. Both of whom looked very serious.
"Where's George?" Leila asked.
"He's inside; he was hit with some Dark magic." Remus answered.
"Why didn't you say anything before? You let me.—" Leila began.
Leila frustratingly ran her fingers through her tangled hair. She felt terrible. She had been too selfish to even bother to notice that George wasn't there. Tears again formed in her eyes as she turned to run to the Burrow, but the injury to her leg caused her to collapse after a few paces. Leila grabbed at her leg, where fresh blood was just beginning to soak through her jeans. Her leg began to throb as Remus came to her side.
"You're injured." Remus said.
"Doge tried to heal it earlier; but we didn't have much time." Leila said through gritted teeth.
"We should get you into the house." Remus said.
"Where do you think I was going?" Leila muttered.
Remus ignored Leila's sarcastic comment and lifted Leila to her feet. Harry moved to Leila's right side and wrapped her arm around his neck, while Remus did the same on her left. They walked into the house and found the Weasleys huddled around the couch. Harry and Remus helped Leila onto the armchair and propped her leg on the table. Remus moved to Molly's cupboards, rummaging for something to heal Leila's leg. Leila watched as Fred kneeled before his injured twin solemnly. She could see his facial expression and he seemed at a loss for words. Fred moved George's hair out of his face. Leila felt uncomfortable watching such a personal moment, but she couldn't exactly get up and leave. George stirred slightly.
"How do you feel, Georgie?" Fred asked.
"Saintlike." George murmerd.
"Come again?" Fred asked.
"Saintlike," George repeated opening his eyes looking at Fred "You see…I'm holy. Holey,Fred, geddit?"
"Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humor before you, you go for holey? That's just pathetic." Fred said shaking his head.
"I reckon I'm still the better looking one. Besides, now you'll be able to tell us apart, Mum." George smiled.
Mrs. Weasley burst into a fresh batch of tears at George's humor. Remus had finally made it back with a bottle of dittany and was rolling-up Leila's pant leg. Leila squinted her eyes in pain, but when she opened them she made eye contact with George.
"Leila, are you all right?" George asked.
"Sure." Leila hissed as Remus dropped some dittany onto her leg.
"This will probably be bothersome for a few days, its Dark magic. But at worst there may be minimal scarring." Remus said.
"Lovely." Leila muttered.
"And Harry—you are Harry right?" George asked.
"Yeah, I am." Harry said.
"You all right then too?" George asked.
"I'm not injured." Harry said.
"Well, at least we got you both back okay, even if Leila's injured." George said.
"I'm sure Leila's better than okay thanks to Fred." Ron said jokingly.
"Ron!" Leila and Fred hissed simultaneously.
Leila threw the throw pillow nearest to her at Ron. George looked momentarily confused and then grinned. He raised his arm slowly to pat Fred on the back and winked.
"Subtle as always Ron." George smiled.
"I'm killing him at the earliest convenience." Leila muttered.
"Now, now, there's no need for that. I'm just glad…" George trailed off.
Bill walked through the door with his arm wrapped around Fleur. Mrs. Weasley ran to hug the last of her children to arrive at the Burrow. Bill hugged his mother and then scanned the entire group.
"Mad-Eye's dead." Bill said solemnly.
Remus dropped the dittany bottle he had in his hand to the floor, and it shattered. Everyone's attention was on Bill who's arm was wrapped around Fleur whom was nestling close to him. Mrs. Weasley's hand covered her mouth and Charlie moved closer to his mother.
"Dung got one look at Voldemort and Disapparated." Bill continued.
Tonks drew back from the crowd and cried silently into her handkerchief. Remus stood up to comfort his wife, stepping over crushed glass. Leila felt numb. Moody was the best Auror and now he was dead. If Moody could die, what did it mean for the rest of them? Leila watched as Bill walk over to the sideboard and pulled out a bottle of firewhiskey and some glasses. With his wand he sent glasses to everyone in the room.
"Mad-Eye." Bill said raising his glass.
"Mad-Eye." They all echoed and drank.
Leila had never tried firewhisky before. The drink seared her throat and she blinked rapidly trying to adjust to the feeling but instead began to cough. Fred turned back to her and offered a smile.
"So Mundungus Disapparated?" Remus asked coldly.
"I know what you're thinking, and I wondered that too. They seemed to be expecting us, didn't they? But Mundungus couldn't have betrayed us." Bill said.
"The Death Eaters seemed confused once we took to the air. They weren't expecting doppelgangers." Leila said.
"Exactly why it couldn't have been Mundungus. He suggested that bit of skullduggery. I think Dung panicked, simple as that." Bill said.
"You-Know-Who acted exactly as Mad-Eye expected him to. Figured the real Harry to be with the toughest most skilled Aurors. He chased Mad-Eye first and then switched to Kingsley." Tonks sniffed.
"Yes, and zat eez all very good but still eet does not explain 'ow zey kney we were moving zem tonight, does eet? Somebody must 'ave been careless. Somebody let slip ze date to an outsider. It is ze only explanation for zem knowing ze date but not ze 'ole plan." Fleur snapped.
Fleur looked directly at Leila. Leila narrowed her eyes at Fleur. Fleur was insinuating that Leila let the plan slip to Draco Malfoy. She hadn't even been in contact with the boy since that awful night on the Astronomy Tower!
"I don't like what you're insinuating. First you insult me and now this?" Leila hissed.
"Zee owl, eet explains eet." Fleur said.
"No." Harry said loudly.
"No?" Fleur questioned.
"I've been watching Leila's mail all summer. She's only received letters from Fred. We can't point fingers at each other. If somebody let something slip I know that they didn't mean to do it. We've got to trust each other. I trust all of you; I don't think that anyone in this room would ever sell me or Leila to Voldemort." Harry said.
Leila agreed whole-heartedly with what Harry had just voiced. She trusted everyone in the room, including Fleur whom she wasn't too fond with at the moment. No one said anything, but Harry reached for his glass again and took another drink. Leila had no desire to drown her sorrows and pains in the firewhisky. Instead, she set her glass, still containing firewhisky on the table beside her.
"Well said." Fred said suddenly.
"Yeah, 'ear, 'ear." George said, trying to contain a grin.
Leila watched as a quizzical look covered Harry's face. He was watching Remus, whom also had an odd expression on his face. She could feel the tension between the two.
"You think I'm a fool?" Harry demanded.
"No, I think you're like James, who would have regarded it as the height of dishonor to mistrust his friends." Remus answered.
She moved to stand up, but Mrs. Weasley forced her back down in the chair and shooed the conversation into another room. The only people remaining in the living room were Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, and Leila. Leila tried once again to stand, but this time Fred moved over and held his hand out to keep her back. Leila swatted at his hand.
"You try that again and I'll sit on you." Fred said in a mock-threatening tone.
"I need to know what they're talking about." Leila said.
"You know that Harry, Ron, and Hermione will fill you in later." Fred said.
"It's not the same." Leila muttered.
"Leila, please?" Fred asked sweetly.
She crossed her arms across her chest and sank back into the armchair. Fred ruffled her hair and then placed a kiss on the top of her head. Leila blushed as George kept an eye on them, chuckling lightly as Mrs. Weasley bandaged his head. Fred sat on the arm of the armchair and wrapped his arm around Leila. Leila's insides were turning rapidly. Neither her head nor her heart was in agreement with the situation, but she decided to silence the war within her momentarily and lean into Fred's embrace; she could feel safe for just a moment. She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. Fred rubbed his hand up and down her arm, which sent shivers up her spine. Leila opened her eyes to find George grinning and Mrs. Weasley gently smiling.
"About bloody time." George muttered.
"Shut up, George." Leila said rolling her eyes.
Fred only continued to grin at her as Mrs. Weasley left the room. Fatigue suddenly overtook Leila. She didn't realize how exhausting the day had been until everything had finally caught up to her at that moment. She rested her head on Fred's shoulder and the next thing she knew, Ron was shaking her awake. She opened one eye and peeked at him, but quickly closed it, choosing to ignore him at this god-forsaken hour. Ron was persistent and continued to shake Leila.
"Bugger off, Ron." Leila muttered.
"Leila, Harry…" Ron whispered.
"What about him?" Leila mumbled.
"He just left." Ron said.
"Left for where?" Leila yawned.
"I don't bloody well know, but he took his rucksack and headed out the door." Ron said.
"Well, go after him then. I'm in no fit state to be running. Just distract him and I'll catch-up to the both of you." Leila said.
Ron nodded and quickly ran to the door. Leila groaned and carefully removed Fred's arm from around her, trying her best not to wake him. She then stood up and hobbled out the door to find Harry and Ron. Luckily, they had stopped only a short distance from the house, though it still seemed too far for Leila's leg, which still hurt. Leila cursed as she tripped over a rock and both Harry and Ron turned to watch her. Ron walked back to her and draped her arm around his shoulder. Harry took this as his chance to try and get away.
"Harry James Potter, if you make me hobble any farther I swear that I'm going to kill you before Voldemort even has the chance to." Leila hissed.
Harry stopped and exhaled deeply. He turned around to face Ron and Leila who were now mere feet from him and shook his head. Harry refused to make eye-contact with his sister. Leila released her arm from around Ron and limped over to her brother. She placed her hands on his arms and tried to make him look at her.
"Harry." Leila sighed.
"You don't understand." Harry muttered.
"I don't understand? How do I not understand; I've been by you through every step of this." Leila said.
"It's not you they're dying for!" Harry hissed.
"You think that Mad-Eye died for you? You think that George and I took curses for you?" Leila asked.
"This is bigger than that mate. It's always been bigger than that." Ron added.
Harry tore his eyes away from Ron and Leila and looked to the sky. Leila too looked upward at the expanse of the heavens. For once, it was an almost cloudless night and the stars shone brightly. Leila looked back to her brother, who looked as if he had something he wanted to say.
"What?" Leila asked.
"Come with me. Both of you." Harry said.
"And leave Hermione? Are you mad? We wouldn't last two days without her!" Ron exclaimed.
"So the truth finally comes out." Leila smirked.
"Don't you dare tell her I said that; either of you." Ron said looking straight at Leila.
"What I do about that information isn't any of your concern; but back to the issue at hand. Harry, leaving now is nowhere near a feasible option." Leila said.
"And why's that?" Harry said rolling his eyes.
"Well, we still have the wedding for one." Ron said.
"I don't care about a wedding, I'm sorry, no matter whose it may be." Harry said.
"I wasn't talking about the wedding. I was talking about the Trace." Leila said.
"What is with you and the bloody Trace?" Harry questioned.
"If you even use so much as a simple lumos before you turn seventeen, they'll find you. I'm sorry if I'd rather have my brother alive than dead. My bad." Leila said crossly.
Ron exhaled loudly and Harry slightly narrowed his eyes at his sister. He shook her hands off his arms, which caused Leila to shake her head. He could be so stubborn some times, but then again, so could she. Leila moved to touch her brother again, but he quickly stepped back.
"Harry, let's just go back to the house and sleep on this." Leila suggested.
"Leila's right, Harry." Ron agreed.
"Sleep on this? I can't sleep on this! I'm wasting time! I have to start finding these Horcruxes. They're our only chance to beat him, and the longer we stay here the stronger he gets." Harry argued.
"Tonight's not the night mate." Ron said shaking his head.
Ron reached down to grab Harry's bag and turned around. He looked back once to nod at a disappointed Harry and a thankful Leila. Leila returned the nod, while Harry balled his hands into fists. Ron walked away leaving the Potter twins alone. Leila looked to her brother. His jaw was set.
"Harry, I normally don't enjoy telling you that I'm right and you're wrong; but I know that you know that we're right." Leila said.
"You sure didn't have a problem with it when it came to Malfoy." Harry said hotly.
"That's not fair." Leila hissed.
"You're right. I'm sorry, it's just that…never mind." Harry sighed.
"You can trust me, Harry. I whole-heartedly agreed with that little speech you made tonight. I may not have been happy about the reading my letters part, but nonetheless, I agree." Leila said.
"I just had to make sure. I've seen you moping over Malfoy all summer, Leila." Harry said.
"Well, as you already know, I've been writing Fred. I'm fine." Leila said.
"Fred's a good guy Leila. Don't hurt him." Harry said.
"For once you agree in my choice of a guy, odd. But I have no intention of hurting Fred." Leila said.
"I understand that. But I also know that you have a photo album, a Quidditch jersey, and a ring that belong to Malfoy." Harry said.
"How do you know that?" Leila snipped.
"Because you look at them when you think I'm asleep. I hardly ever fall asleep before you. I stay awake to make sure that you're all right. I still don't like the fact that you loved a guy like Malfoy, but it doesn't mean that I think you deserve your broken heart." Harry said.
"I lost the ring." Leila said, her voice quivering.
"How?" Harry asked.
"During the chase it fell out of my bag. It was attached to Mum's necklace; it fell and Bellatrix now has it. I lost Mum's necklace." Leila cried softly.
Harry wrapped his arms around his sister and let her cry into his shirt. Leila hadn't broken down in front of him all summer. She kept things bottled-up inside her, until no one was around. Harry knew the crying wasn't only about the necklace, but about the whole situation in general. Heck, if he could get away with it, he might even cry like Leila. But he had to remain strong for his sister. It was funny how the tables had turned from only a year ago. Leila released her brother from the hug and rubbed at her eyes with her sleeves.
"I feel like all I do these days is cry." Leila muttered.
"It just shows you care." Harry shrugged.
"Sounds like some sage advice of Dumbledore's." Leila joked.
"Yeah…" Harry said absently.
"Did I say something wrong?" Leila asked.
"No, it's nothing. Let's go back to the house before someone starts to worry." Harry said.
"I'll have you know that I came out here to get you back to the house. So really, it was my idea. Besides, Ron's the only one awake; I don't think he's worried about us." Leila commented.
"No, but Fred could be." Harry smirked.
Leila playfully smacked her brother as they walked slowly back to the house. Harry opened the door for Leila and she walked in. She watched as Harry made his way to the stairs, his destination: Ron's room. Leila looked at Fred, who looked peaceful asleep on the chair. In the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of one of her bags, the one that held Draco's belongings. She took one step toward the bag when Fred startled her by patting the chair in the spot she had occupied earlier.
"Come 'ere." He said drowsily.
Leila smiled and walked over to the chair. Fred moved over to make more room for her, so he sat down beside him. Her thoughts instantly returned to the bag as Fred wrapped his arm around her. She tried to convince herself that Draco was in her past and that one day he'd be nothing more than a bad dream. She snuggled closer to Fred, but her thoughts were still plagued by Draco. She remembered all the times they had been close like this during those hidden moments.
"This is nice." Fred mumbled.
"Yeah." Leila whispered.
Guilt surged through Leila. She shifted uncomfortably, but Fred pulled her closer to him. Her heart skipped a beat being so close to him. Fred kissed the top of Leila's head and rested his head on top of hers. Leila was surprised by how safe she felt. She snuggled in closer and drifted off to sleep. Her last thoughts were focused on the fact that she would always have a place in her heart for Draco, but for the moment, she was willing to stop pining for Draco and give what she could of her heart to Fred.