A/N: At last, the chapter made it into posting, more than a week later than I'd planned. Unfortunately, my father had emergency heart surgery a couple of weeks ago and my life turned into chaos between running to the hospital every few hours and juggling younger siblings. He's thankfully recovering well now and so is my inspiration. I cannot believe how long the chapter turned out - almost split it into two but then decided against it. So, I hope you like it.
30 March 1998
Mia had slept for exactly one hour by the time she was woken up by a strange sensation of light hitting her on the face. She groaned. It couldn't be morning already, could it? Her head felt too heavy for it to be morning.
She tried to ignore it for about ten seconds before realizing that it would be just impossible for her to succeed. When she opened her eyes, her head still resting sideways on her pillow, she realized she was right: it wasn't sunlight hitting her on the face – sun didn't rise at four in the morning, as her alarm clock indicated it was at the moment, and it certainly didn't shine with such a silvery hue as the one illuminating the room.
Was she by any chance in the middle of a vivid dream or something? Mia vaguely thought as she shifted on the bed in order to sit up. As soon as she was done rubbing her eyes, she was sure she was. Because, standing in front of her, was a Patronus. And not just any Patronus. A doe-shaped Patronus.
"Lily?" she whispered, even though she knew it was impossible. It had to be. Lily had been dead for more than a decade and a half and Patronuses didn't just travel from the afterlife. But still it was so… familiar. Lily was the only person she knew to have that shape for a Patronus. So, who else could it be?
Mia got up slowly, pushing the covers away, and tried to approach the spectral animal. When she was a mere foot away from it, it spoke in a voice she couldn't recognize, as it was so clearly riddled with all sorts of voice-disguising charms. She couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman speaking. But those were mere afterthoughts, of course, as the content of the message caught her full, undivided attention.
"They're coming for you and your daughter as soon as you leave the castle. Take her and run once you get the chance."
Later she'd ask herself how long she stood there, even after the Patronus faded, staring at where it used to be and taking in the words – the one thing she knew was that after they registered in her mind, there was panic. Pure, blood-chilling panic.
They were coming for them: for her, for Izzy. Merlin knew what for – nothing good for sure. And she needed to do something to stop it. But what? Go upstairs, take her daughter and run for the gates? That wouldn't work – the gates wouldn't open to her and she couldn't apparate from inside. There was just no way out and still Mia desperately needed there to be one – the 'how', however, was something she simply couldn't think of at the moment. Not while she was panicking.
She tried to calm herself down but seemed unsuccessful after minutes attempting to do so – it seemed she wasn't getting anywhere. So, in a short moment of clarity, she decided what she had to do – she needed to go to someone else.
First she hurried to get the two-way mirror – Sirius was and would always be, by default, her first choice of 'someone else'. Nevertheless, after a couple of attempts at contacting him and only getting reflections of darkness through the mirror, she recalled with unbelievable frustration he really wasn't an option that night – he helping Remus through the full-moon, which meant he must have left the mirror behind at home. While, under normal circumstances, she would have immediately branded that attempt unsuccessful and moved on, the panic made her waste precious time yelling at the mirror, as if it would miraculously make him materialize back home or get someone to help her even though there was no way the mirror could get loud enough to make anyone as much as stir in their sleep.
Though the yelling certainly hadn't led to the result she'd been illogically hoping for, it did allow her to release just enough tension to give her another moment of clarity – she needed to go to McGonagall. The older woman would know what to do or, if anything, would manage to talk her back into some sanity.
Grabbing her cloak from a hook by the door, she stormed out of her quarters into the freezing hallways. Even though she could see the puffs of her own breath on the air and knew days weren't even nearly cold enough to make that happen on their own, she didn't bother to connect that fact with Dementors hovering all over, looking to feed on unauthorized people out of their quarters. Thankfully, the Transfiguration master's quarters weren't that far away from Mia's, leading her to reach them quite quickly.
It took several seconds after Mia started to knock for the lock to click and the door to open, revealing a rather tired and confused-looking McGonagall on the other side. "Mia? What happened? Are you alright?" the woman said.
"For now. Something's happening today, Minerva," Mia told her. "They…"
"No," McGonagall interrupted her. "Come on in. It's safer to talk inside."
Mia did so as the older woman poked her head out of the room to check the corridor and then closed the door behind her. Once alone inside, she gestured for Mia to take a seat on one of the chairs in front of her desk, which she gladly did as she was practically dead on her feet.
"Tell me," she said.
Mia nodded. "I got a message a few minutes ago in my room. I don't know who it was from. It said… it said they were coming for us. Izzy and I. That they were taking us as soon as we left the castle, so we should run."
"I assume that by 'they' you mean Death Eaters," the older woman said.
"It didn't say but I thought as much," Mia told her.
McGonagall offered an agreeing nod. "Alright. Did it say anything else? Do you have the message on you? We might be able to find a trace of who sent it on the parch…"
Mia shook her head before she could finish. "It was a Patronus. I was sleeping and it woke me up… believe it or not, at first I thought it might be Lily. It was a doe – Lily's was always a doe, remember? But I know Lily's gone," she added once McGonagall started giving her an odd look. "I know it couldn't be her and I know what this sounds like – that I was dreaming or… imagining it. But I wasn't! I swear I wasn't – I was as awake as I am right now and I remember every word it. They're coming for me and Izzy – that's what it said. You have to believe me!"
"I do," McGonagall told her truthfully – and if part of her wasn't fully convinced, it at least believed Mia believed it. "I do, Mia. But you have to admit it sounds very… odd. And very rash, even for Death Eaters. Don't see this as me trying to disregard this… warning you received but Death Eaters are known for their twisted minds. This could easily be a sick game the Carrows, Snape or one of the other two decided to play with you."
"They've been here for a long time, Minerva – why would have it taken them so long to start playing this kind of game? Besides, the Patronus reflects the person's mind somehow – we've never seen any of theirs but I doubt they would have anything as tame and as graceful as a doe for a Patronus. They're sick, cold-blooded people – if anything, I would picture them as vultures or reptiles of some sort."
McGonagall nodded – she did have a point. "Alright. But we still need to think, Mia. Is there any reason why they would have decided to take you and Isabelle all of a sudden?"
"I don't know… because it's convenient, because we because Sirius and most of the Order won't be here when we head to the train, because they can, because…" Once realization hit her, she went quiet. Of course, she thought. It made every bit of sense. "Payback," she said out loud. "They want payback for what Sirius did."
"Sirius?" McGonagall asked in surprise. "What did he do?"
"He helped Harry," Mia said before taking a breath and making an effort to explain. "Harry was captured by Snatchers earlier tonight."
"What?!" the other woman said in alarm, shooting to her feet.
"He's okay now – Harry had a way to contact us in case of emergency, which he did. It told us he was in the Malfoy Manor, which, as you may imagine, is somewhere very warded – so warded that Sirius couldn't get in. So, he sent Kreacher instead. He did get Harry out and they tell me he's somewhere safe now. The thing is, Kreacher has been serving the Blacks for a very long time, even before Sirius was born…"
"And Narcissa Malfoy is a Black," McGonagall gathered, receiving a nod from Mia. "She could've recognized the elf."
"And, if she did, she would have known Sirius was behind it," Mia told her. "They have to be taking us as payback."
"And as bait," the other woman added. "Think of it – do you have any doubt Potter would come running for you and Isabelle if he thought there was a chance you might be taken?"
At that, Mia got up and started to pace around the room – she hadn't thought of that but it was true. Harry would come for them – no matter how much they'd told him not to, no matter how dangerous it was. That was exactly the kind of thing he'd do. "What do I do, Minerva? I have no way out of here now – not until I'm out of the gates and then it may be too late."
"Have you tried warning Sirius? So he could get the Order to help?" the woman asked.
Mia nodded. "I can't get through to him – it's full moon."
"He went to help Remus even after this whole matter with Harry?"
"He almost didn't go," she said, deep down – as fond as she was of Remus – wishing he hadn't, in retrospect. "But none of us really had much of a prospect of getting any sleep tonight, even after Kreacher sorted it o…" She paused for a second. "Wait, I could have Kreacher pass…"
"No, don't!" McGonagall said quickly, before she could finish forming the idea and unconsciously have him summoned.
Mia raised her eyebrows, confused. "Why not?"
The older woman sighed. "It may be nothing but personally, if my home was, so to speak, burgled, the first thing I'd do was to put stronger locks on the door, so to speak" the older woman told her, confusing Mia further. "Death Eaters were tricked by a house-elf tonight, Mia – if there's a time when they'd take precautions against them, it would be now. And while no wards can definitely keep a house-elf out of somewhere his master orders him to go to, there are very dark ways around that rule. They're rarely used since having house-elves is becoming an increasingly uncommon practice in Britain but they do exist. For instance, you should never, ever try to send an elf directly into a Gringotts vault."
"Why? What would happen if I did?"
"Well, nowadays you'd, first of all, be unable to utter the order, then you and the house-elf would be magically immobilized and you'd be arrested, regardless of being in a warded room or not. A few decades ago, though, I'm afraid you wouldn't live to tell the tale – it took a lot of pressure from the ministry and even Albus himself for the practice to change. It was quite problematic, especially when unknowing people tried to do it with their own vaults in order to skip lines at the bank and ended up dying horribly for it."
"Merlin," Mia mumbled. "You mean they can turn house-elves into a sort of taboo? Like the word?"
"When it comes to infiltrating certain places, yes, in a way. The point is that the few ways there are to stop house-elves can be potentially devastating – we shouldn't risk it so soon after Sirius has used the same method, even if it was somewhere else. I'll try and think of another way to get the message outside – in the meanwhile, I think it's best that you get Isabelle here. No one will check if students are in bed at this hour and I'm sure you'll be less anxious if you have her down here with you."
Mia nodded. "And the Dementors wandering around?"
"Well, Patronuses were created for something, weren't they?" she said, reaching for her wand and casting the spell in question, making a cat-shaped silvery form appear out of nowhere. "And besides, it's not as if Dementors can speak to tell Snape how much we upset we've made them with our late-night stroll," McGonagall argued.
With no need for more arguing, the two were soon on their way to the Gryffindor tower. Being upset led Mia to fail a couple of attempts at casting her own Patronus, as she couldn't seem to focus on a happy memory without her mind shifting to the threat hovering on her head every few seconds. She finally managed to get the silvery fog to turn into a dog once McGonagall prompted her to think of easier times by remarking how ironic it was that now they had to be the ones sneaking out in the middle of the night when she'd handed more punishments than she could remember to Sirius and his friends for that very same reason.
They walked with Mia's Patronus in front of them and McGonagall's behind – the system seemed to work, as the few distant shadows of Dementors they spotted on the way quickly vanished when faced with the Patronuses.
No one other than the Dementors seemed to be patrolling the aisles – the Carrows did it at night sometimes but Mia imagined that at that moment they must be having the best sleep of their lives, dreaming up about all the ways they could 'take care' of her and Izzy in the morning. The thought alone disgusted her.
"Happy thoughts, Mia. Happy thoughts," she suddenly heard McGonagall saying, as if she could read her mind. Except she didn't need to: in order know what sort of thoughts Mia was thinking she only needed to look at her Patronus, which threatening to fade away. "Think of good things," the woman simply said. "Think of all the time you'll spend in my office in a few years once that boy of yours makes it into the school and starts wreaking havoc like his father used to… well, still does, really."
As much as she was sure in the future (if there was one) she would find such a case anything but funny, Mia couldn't help feeling a wave of warmth at that. Because it was a future. A normal future with her family. And it was certainly enough, even though it was not a memory, really, to get her Patronus to grow steady again.
They reached the tower a few minutes later and McGonagall chose to stay down in the Common Room waiting and watching out for anyone that might show up while Mia went up to her daughter's dorm in order to wake her up.
She didn't bother to turn the lights on inside the room, as she could remember every step inside it by heart – she'd lost count of the times she'd moved around it in the dark back when she was the student because Elizabeth would curse the existence of anyone who dared turning on the lights when she was sleeping. Moving with instinctive silence, even though Izzy and Ginny were the only girls in the room, Mia made her way closer to her daughter's bed – which, she vaguely noted, just happened to be the one that had belonged to Lily back in the day.
"Izzy," she whispered softly, trying to wake the girl as she stroke her hair. "Honey, woke up."
Izzy groaned in sleep and tried to ignore her by turning her back on her.
"Come on, love," Mia insisted. "You need to wake up. It's important."
She groaned again but, that time, she did turn back and open her eyes, which looked hazy and unfocused. "It's the middle of the night, Mum. What are you doing here?"
"We need to go," Mia told her. "Do you have all your things packed up for today?"
"Yes. But go where? And why? It's before dawn."
"Downstairs," she replied simply. "And I'll tell you why when we get there. Just trust me."
Either she meant to try to do so or not, Mia did notice her daughter shooting her best inquisitive look. "Is it Dad? Is he okay?"
"Your father is fine," Mia assured her. "Nobody is hurt right now – I just need you to come with me."
Izzy's eyes narrowed further. "Wait a second," she said. "What's Alex's favourite food?"
Mia raised her eyebrows for a second before realizing what her daughter was doing – she was checking to see if it was really her. Mia couldn't blame her, really – she must be sounding extremely odd. "Cookies," she responded.
"And what does Mary like to do the most during meal-times?"
"Throw food at your father."
"And what can't Lulu live without?"
Mia sighed. "Her beloved Muggle microwave."
At the third answer, Izzy seemed convinced enough that was her mother. "Alright."
"Wazz goinon?" came a slurring voice from the nearest bed. The two of them turned to find a sleepy Ginny eyeing them confusedly while sitting up on bed.
"I don't know. Mum says we have to go," Izzy responded as she got up.
"Go where?"
Mia didn't respond, immediately as she was too busy thinking. It was only in that moment that it occurred to her that, after them, Ginny would be the next great bait for the Death Eaters to use against Harry, even if they believed she wasn't dating him anymore. She was a Weasley and Harry was close to the Weasleys. He'd risk his life for them, as he already had numerous times before. And Mia knew that if anything were to happen to Ginny because she was too busy saving herself and her daughter, leaving the redhead behind, she'd never forgive herself. So, she knew what she had to do.
"Just downstairs," she told her daughter's best friend. "And you're coming too, Ginny. Do you have everything packed? We need to hurry – the closer we are to sunrise, the bigger odds we may run into someone on the way down."
"But what's going on?" Ginny asked as she climbed out of bed.
"I'll explain when we get there," Mia promised. "Now hurry up, girls."
They did and not ten minutes later, they were back in the Common Room, school trunks in a tow. McGonagall, who sat by the fireplace silently, got up and approached them immediately. She raised her eyebrows at Mia for a moment upon noticing Ginny's presence as well but decided against mentioning it out loud – Mia took that as acceptance from her part.
"Are all your things packed in there?" the older teacher asked the two girls, gesturing to their trunks. They nodded back in response. "Good. Now, ladies, if you'd allow me," she said, gesturing for them to take a step back from the trunks before reaching for her wand and, with a flick of her hand, turning the bulky luggage into the size of a wallet. The older woman then made another gesture with the wand, summoning both tiny trunks from the floor and handing them to the girls. "Far handier to carry this way, aren't they?" She then turned to Mia. "It wouldn't be a bad idea if you did the same once you head to the train. That way it won't have to leave your belongings behind if you have to dump them during the escape."
"Escape?!" Izzy asked, alarmed.
"We'll explain in a little while, honey," Mia promised, turning to McGonagall before her daughter could even try to insist. "Don't you think people will notice if they see us heading home without luggage?"
McGonagall looked thoughtful for a second. "You have a point. I suppose I can try and get you all a few unclaimed trunks from lost and found to serve as decoys. I imagine there are plenty – you wouldn't believe the amount of things students leave behind every school-year."
The way back down seemed far much easier and less stressful than the way up, Mia thought. She imagined it might related, at least in her part, to the relief of having her daughter on sight – and surely, the two extra patronuses that had joined the previous two did a much better job keeping Dementors away.
Once inside Mia's quarters – McGonagall barely had the chance to close the door –, the girls were quick to yet again demand an explanation, which, that time, they didn't deny them. It didn't take very long for Mia to explain the whole thing, being only interrupted for short interludes of Izzy or Ginny asking incessant questions about Harry's capture and subsequent rescue.
"But I just don't get one thing," Ginny mumbled once Mia was done. "If they're trying to get back to Sirius, why would they take me? Not to say that it's okay to take you instead or anything – it just doesn't seem to make much sense."
Mia had been dreading that question – she had, conveniently, allowed Ginny to believe her name had also been mentioned in the patronus message, mostly because she could picture the girl wanting to remain in Hogwarts unless she was opposed to a direct threat. Mia hated lying – or at the very least misleading – to her but, honestly, she would rather lie and make sure Ginny was safe than tell the truth and potentially have to leave her to fend for herself. Ginny was family: her daughter's best friend, her son's girlfriend. She'd be damned if it wasn't her job to look after her too.
Before she could offer the girl any answer, though, McGonagall jumped in. "Well, I'd say you'd make some excellent bait for Potter as well, wouldn't you agree, Miss Weasley?
"Bait? But everyone th…" Ginny paused for a second. "I mean, we've split up."
McGonagall eyes. "Miss Weasley, even if I try to pretend to believe that charade, there's a precedent that shows that even when you're not romantically connected, Potter would risk his life for you."
Ginny looked confused for a second before realization dawned on her. "You mean the chamber," she concluded. "But that was different – I was eleven then."
"He'd come running to save you even if you were a hundred," Izzy said, receiving a glare from her friend. "What? It's the truth! Or are we not talking about the same Harry Potter?"
"I'm afraid Miss Black is right," McGonagall said. "That boy would go around the world twice for a friend or family."
"Well, he won't have to this time," Mia said, putting on a brave face for the younger girls. "We know they're coming and we'll be ready for them."
"Is Dad helping? The Order?" Izzy asked.
"I haven't been able to get through to them yet – your father is with Remus now. He doesn't have the mirror on him. But we'll find another way," Mia assured her even though she felt a bit doubtful. Owls were too dangerous and would never reach them in time. The floo was cut. And a Patronus would never make it through the school's ward barrier.
Ginny and Izzy looked at each other, simultaneously thinking of the same thing.
"Actually," Izzy said. "I don't think you'll need to."
"What do you mean?" Mia asked.
"We may have a way to reach the Order – well, the twins, really. But they can sound the alarm bells for us," Ginny told them. "We'll just be passing on a message, though. We'll have to hope they find it in time, which they only will if they check… well, you could call it the 'recipient'. Getting through by the mirror would be much more effective."
Mia nodded. "I can try again in the morning but I'm not sure if I'll be able to reach Sirius."
"Well, it doesn't hurt to use their way as well, does it? It is safe, isn't it, ladies?" McGonagall asked.
"About as safe as it is to write stuff down," Izzy remarked.
"Then I suppose that does it, doesn't it?" the older woman said. "How does it work?"
Ginny reached into her pocket for her reduced trunk and used her free hand to scratch her head. "Well, I suppose we should start by getting this back to a regular size."
It was a miserable, grey and sunless day – that was the first thing Mia noticed once she stepped out of the castle with McGonagall later in the day. It seemed appropriate, given the tension attached to the whole occasion, which seemed to grow by the second. As if breakfast in the Great Hall with a target on her and her daughter's head hadn't been tense enough, Mia thought – McGonagall had argued they couldn't miss it, though, as their absences were bound to be noticed by the Death Eaters in the Great Hall if they really were after them. They couldn't risk the Death Eaters knowing they'd been warned – subverting the surprise element of the potential capture was really their only trump at the moment since, aside from Izzy and Ginny's attempt at contacting the twins through the papyrus, they had been unable to get through to the Order to organize some sort of set up.
So, for that very same reason of keeping appearances, she'd been forced (with much protest) to keep her distance from Izzy and Ginny on their way to the school gates and instead join her fellow staff members a few yards ahead of the students, as she usually would. She made a point of looking back every few minutes, though, trying to spot her daughter and Ginny in the midst of the crowd.
"I'm sure it will all work out," McGonagall told her once they stopped near the gates, pretending to be taking care of their farewells, since Mia was set on not leaving until she was sure the girls were right behind her. "Just keep it simple like we planned."
Mia nodded, reciting the plan back to herself in her mind. She'd get the girls and apparate away as soon as the three of them stepped foot outside. Without flourish, without warning. They'd never see it coming. Clean and easy. Somewhat too easy… "Do you know when sometimes you feel like a plan appears too simple and easy to work?" she said.
The older woman shook her head. "Nonsense, Mia. You'll have luck on your side today."
She would, Mia knew. Quite literally, she thought as she slipped her hand into her pocket and felt the little vial her daughter had all but forced her to take. Where Izzy had gotten herself Felix Felicis was just beyond her but, as much as she had protested that Izzy and Ginny should split it among themselves, the girls had been firm that she'd share it too, to the point of promising they'd throw the third that was meant for her down the toilet if she didn't take it. She'd given in, eventually, and taken the little extra vial they'd poured her third into. They couldn't, however, take it until they were just about to step out: there was a very small amount of potion – it might last for half an hour at the most and every minute outside the gates would count.
"In any case," McGonagall continued as she reached into her pocket in order to get something out. "You might want to take this with you," she said, slipping the item in question into Mia's hand. "For afterwards."
When the younger woman peaked down into her hand, she found herself looking at what seemed to be some sort of parchment leaflet publicizing a pie-shop in Glasgow. She couldn't help shooting McGonagall a confused look.
"That has the same charm I used on that message I sent you over the Summer," McGonagall explained. "The real message is on the back – it won't show until Sirius touches it, just in case it gets intercepted."
"What is it?"
"Instructions. To cast the Fidelius Charm," the older woman explained. "I had Filius writing them down before breakfast."
"Minerva…"
"You know you need to do it," McGonagall told her. "The charm will make you the safest you can possibly be while on the run. Follow the instructions religiously. And choose a good secret-keeper – someone you could trust your children's lives with. Alright?"
Mia nodded. "Thank you. For everything."
"There's no need for…"
"Professors," an unwelcome voice said, making both of them turn to see Alecto Carrow approaching with her brother on a tow, as she pulled a terrified first-year Gryffindor behind her by the arm, in a rather awkward way.
"Professors," McGonagall replied in the same manner, making her disgust of them wearing such a title known by her tone. "How can we help you?"
"This one," Amycus said as his sister all but shoved the little girl further – she looked positively terrified with glassy eyes and a pale tone on her skin, "needs your assistance, McGonagall."
"It's Professor McGonagall to you," the older woman replied. "What seems to be the problem, Miss Fitch?"
"I… I can't find my friend. Sarah," the girl said, her voice trembling.
"Sarah Hooper?" Mia asked, receiving a nod in return. "What happened? Maybe she just went back to the tower in order to get something."
The girl shook her head. "I went looking for her there already. We were in the loo and then I came out to wait and then I… I don't know. She just wasn't there when I checked and I looked everywhere."
Something in the girl's narrative had both Mia and McGonagall immediately eyeing Alecto and Amycus with suspicion.
"What? Don't look at us – we're helping the girl," Amycus said almost mockingly.
"Yes, you have such golden hearts," the older woman said sarcastically.
The two of them just smiled in a rather disturbing way.
"Professor, please! We need to find her or she'll miss the train," the girl said, worriedly.
McGonagall pursed her lips. The girl was right to be anxious, of course, but something about that whole thing just stunk badly. Very, very badly. She turned to Mia for a second and saw the suspicion on her face as well.
"You should go handle this, Minerva," she said, nevertheless. Regardless of any suspicions she might have on the Carrows' intentions, a child's whereabouts were unknown – and if they were behind her vanishing, Merlin knew what they might have done to the poor girl. They just couldn't ignore it.
"Maybe both of us should," McGonagall suggested.
"So soon before the train's to leave?" Alecto said sceptically. "I hope you don't forget that teachers are no longer allowed the leave the castle unless they're to take the train home. No exceptions. It'd be a pity if Professor Black were to miss it, though Easter in Hogwarts might be awfully interesting."
Mia pursed her lips – even though she was most certainly not planning on taking the train, she certainly needed to leave the grounds to get the girls and flee. She couldn't let them go outside on their own. She glanced over at the crowd of students out of instinct and, after a moment looking, quickly found Izzy standing with Ginny still quite a distance away from leaving the gates.
McGonagall seemed to realize as well that making Mia come along wasn't really an option – she supposed her only hope then would be to turn her plan around altogether. "I don't suppose you'd like to give a hand finding the girl, would you?" she asked the Carrows instead. At least if they were with her, they were away from Mia.
They looked at her like she was insane. "Wasn't bringing the brat to you enough? We're not babysitters," Amycus told her.
"And, she's in your house," Alecto remarked. "Therefore, your problem."
It seemed there was no other choice – McGonagall had to help the girl, Mia had to stay behind and the Carrows didn't seem intent on leaving her alone. "I'm sure it'll be okay," Mia told her friend. "Finding the girl, I mean," she added to cover herself. "It's probably just a misunderstanding. Luck is set to be on our side for once, after all." She hoped the little mention of the Felix would soothe her colleague's mind – she just needed to find a moment to take it and then everything would be fine.
"Hopefully," McGonagall said, shooting Mia a look of apology. "Come along, Miss Fitch," she urged the girl before turning to walk away with her by her side.
As soon as she found herself alone with the Carrows, Mia didn't wait a second before starting thinking up an excuse to get away from them. "Well, I suppose this matter is handled. If you don't mind…?"
"What? Going anywhere?" Alecto asked in a mock-hurt tone.
"As, a matter of fact, yes. Like you've pointed out before, there's a train to catch and some of the students seem to be struggling with their luggage. Believe it or not, a teacher's services can extend beyond lecturing and intimidating."
"How thoughtful of you," Amycus said dryly. "But I'm afraid they'll have to manage on their own. We need a word before the train leaves."
"I have nothing to say to you," Mia told them bluntly, praying she could get away just long enough to drink the potion that would, hopefully, put the plan back on track. "Nothing you'd like to hear, at least."
Amycus let out a spiteful laugh. "Well, then you'll just have to listen," he stated firmly.
She could see they weren't going to leave her alone until they had what they wanted. She could only hope that what they wanted for the moment was just to annoy her. "Fine! Then say it now and be done with it," Mia said in an exasperated tone.
"We were actually hoping to take it outside," Alecto said. "Too many students here." She might as well have been referring to trolls, so much was the disgust she in her tone when she uttered the word 'students'. "It's a private matter, you see?"
So, there it was, Mia thought. Any doubt she had at the moment that the anonymous warning might be fake vanished at that moment – they wanted her outside and away from the crowd in order to take her. "Well, I wasn't born yesterday and we both know I don't trust you, so you'll have to understand why I'm not planning to go anywhere outside those gates with you," she told them boldly.
"Oh, but you are going," Amycus told her, his tone taking a nastier turn. "Because if you aren't, we are going to have Mulciber and Jugson get your precious little daughter and, well, let's just say you wouldn't like it if they did."
"Same applies if you cause a scene," Alecto added.
Mia felt as if they'd just sent a knife through her heart at the mention of her daughter – she knew Izzy was a target as well but, Merlin, did the direct threat make it all so much more petrifying… She pursed her lips together, unsure of what to say for a second. At that moment, she just wished she'd taken the damn potion already, regardless of how long it would last – that ought to have made her lucky enough to escape that situation. "What assures me that you won't do that anyway even if I join you?" she managed to ask after a while.
Amycus raised his eyebrows for a second before shrugging carelessly. "Fair enough. Let's up the stakes, then: there's a friend of ours who likes to play with her food. And the more interesting she finds it, the more she plays. I'd personally say she'd find a meal consisting of her blood-traitor cousin's little girl very interesting."
The knife twisted and dug deeper until she felt nearly out of breath. They didn't even need to utter the name for her to be sure they were talking of Bellatrix. And she knew they weren't lying about how excited that twisted woman would feel at having Izzy at her mercy. But still, she forced herself to remain firm, even though she could feel herself crumbling. "Once again, why should I believe you won't do so anyway?"
Alecto shrugged. "Bella may be a friend but her hit list is starting to put ours to shame. We'd rather not give her more fuel to burn if we don't have to."
"And, honestly, Black, even if you don't believe our motives, are you that willing to gamble your baby girl's future? Bad mummy, Black. Bad mummy."
She eyed the area where she'd last seen her daughter but at that point it was too crowded for her to discern anyone in the middle. She couldn't take it anymore – they were right. She wasn't willing to gamble Izzy's future. She knew her daughter had some Felix too but she knew better than to trust it blindly when the consequences of it not leading to the expected results could be so horrible. She had to go with the Carrows and she had to hope that Izzy and Ginny would find a way to run without her or, hopefully, with the Order's help if the twins had read the message the girls had left for them on the papyrus. If they didn't manage to run, she had to at least hope she wouldn't be the person responsible for Izzy being handed to Bellatrix Lestrange on a silver platter.
"You two disgust me," she said, knowing she was defeated.
Amycus chuckled. "Honestly, Black, we take that as a compliment from people like you."
"But tnough, flattery now," Alecto declared. "Do we need to do this the hard way?" she asked Mia.
Mia didn't answer. She just started walking to the gates, turning her back on them – she didn't need to look back to know they were following her. And, once she reached the student-filled area by the gates, the Carrows were no longer just following her – Alecto effectively moved to walk by her side, grabbing her arm in a rather abrupt way as if she expected her to try and disappear in the middle of the crowd, which, now that Mia thought of it, might have been a decent idea. Maybe then she would have managed to get the Felix without them seeing and drink it.
"Mum?!" she heard Izzy's alarmed voice calling all of a sudden. She turned to the direction her voice had come from and spotted Izzy by Ginny's side on the line leading up to the gates, looking at her being walked out of the school by the Carrows with absolute horror on her face.
"I'm just heading out to help Professors Carrow with something, honey," she lied for the sake of appearance, which, to her own relief, she saw Izzy didn't buy. And, since the girl seemed to be in a rather perceptive mood, she tried to pass another message along. "Don't bother waiting for me to come back to head your way, okay?"
"But…"
"I'll see you later, love," she said, hoping that would be the case and, if it indeed was, that it would under positive circumstances.
She didn't have a choice other than walking away towards the gates since Alecto was making her impatience known by grasping her arm so tightly, she might just be cutting off her circulation. Before she was able to step foot outside, though, Alecto yanked her arm back, making her stop.
"What?" Mia shouted in a frustrated tone. "I thought you wanted me out."
"We do," Amycus confirmed. "But you'll have to hand over the wand first."
Mia eyed them both with wide eyes – it seemed they were past the point of hiding their real plans.
"What? Did you think we'd just let you walk out with your wand so you could apparate away on us?" Alecto inquired with a snort.
"I would never run and leave my daughter behind," she hissed.
"Regardless," the other woman said, leaving her hand open in front of her so she could deposit the wand on it. "You don't want to be difficult, Black. You really don't. Or else, well, you can apply our earlier threat to this new situation. Hand it over and get on with it."
With her lips pursed in an attempt to fight back an urge to punch the woman right on the face, Mia did what she was told. For Izzy's sake, she told herself. Just for that.
"Don't worry, Black," Alecto said with a snicker as Amycus barked at a number of students to make way so they could step out through the gates. "You'll have the wand back once we let you go."
"Don't insult me," Mia told the woman, eyeing her with disgust. "We both know you're not letting me go back."
Alecto raised her eyebrows. "Well, you're not as stupid as we pegged you," she simply observed in response.
And, just like that, there was her absolute confirmation. Not that she'd had many doubts at that point, anyway, Mia had to admit. Discretely, when they were already out of school grounds, she brushed her hand against the outside of her pocket in order to feel the little vial of potion inside and make sure it was still there – she didn't dare try to get her hand inside to get it. Amycus was walking behind her at the moment and Merlin knew he might spot the move and catch her in the act. "You don't need to take her too," she couldn't help saying. "Izzy, I mean. Whatever it is you're trying to accomplish, I'm sure you'll achieve it if you take just me. She hasn't done anything. She's just…"
"Listen to that, Amycus. Pleading. So pathetic," Alecto mocked as they made her walk to the woods surrounding the path that led to Hogsmeade station.
Amycus chuckled from behind them, soon rushing to walk by Alecto's side. "Pathetic and useless," he added. "Put one thing in your head, Black. When we're given orders by our master, we get it done. Period."
"And do you?" Mia asked, hoping one last time the warning was somewhat wrong. "Have the orders to take her, I mean?"
The man's lips curled. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see."
Mia's heart sunk – he might as well have said 'yes'. And, at that moment, Mia knew that her daughter's safety depended on her alone: McGonagall was nowhere in sight, the Order showed no signs of making it in time and, the farther they walked away from the Death Eater-covered path, the least hope she had that a good Samaritan might show up. At that point, her only chance of escaping the Carrows before them deciding they were par enough to apparate her wherever they wanted to take her was the Felix – she needed all the luck she could get if she had any hope of overpowering them without a wand and make it back to the gates in order to run with the girls. So, very slowly in order not call any attention to her movements by her part, she started trying to reach inside her pocket.
"Am I at least allowed to ask where you're taking me?" she asked, for the sake of keeping them distracted as she tried to do her thing.
"You can ask all you want – doesn't mean we'll tell you," Amycus told her. "For now you could just say we're 'keeping it discreet'," he said with disgust.
"Snape's idea," Alecto added, as if she was defending their reputation from being somehow tainted by the notion that they would ever worry about discretion. "He seems to think we need to do this quietly to avoid uprising."
"Bloody coward, that's what he is," Amycus said. "Those little brats should see it all – that way they'd know what was waiting for them if they don't submit to the Dark Lord. They'll have it all coming."
"Like that little girl you made disappear before? Sarah? Did she have it coming?" Mia asked, eyeing them with accusation at the same time she managed to use two fingers to slowly fish the vial out of her pocket and hold it inside her closed fist. She nearly dropped it, though, when Alecto burst into unexpected laughter.
"Please, the brat?" she asked. "She's not even missing! She wasn't going home in the first place – it was her friend we messed with. Little Miss Fitch, isn't it? It's amazing how easily those kids get… confused – just a wave of a wand and she was running for McGonagall."
Mia narrowed her eyes. It took much more than a simple Confundus charm to get anyone's mind to spin such an elaborate tale about a friend going missing – she had no doubt in her mind the Imperius Curse had to be involved. "I thought Snape didn't allow Unforgivables to be used on students," she said. "Not even by you."
Alecto rolled her eyes. "Don't think we don't know he only does that to annoy us. The Dark Lord only lets him get away with it because he offed Dumbledore. But who's going to tell Snape now? You?"
"Minerva will realize that girl is cursed sooner or later," Mia said, formulating the plan to drink the Felix in her mind: get the cap off the vial, fake a cough and drink the liquid once she turned her face away from them.
"Even if she does, what will Snape do? Fire us?" Amycus pointed out.
Mia didn't respond, making them snort once she looked away in disgust – they seemed to be reeling on her decency. That didn't bother, her, though, as it distracted them enough from paying attention to what she was doing for her to start putting the plan into practice.
Just as soon as it began, though, it crashed and burned: keeping her arm down by her side, she used her thumb to pry the glass cap out of the vial… however, instead of falling silently on the grassy ground under her feet, it just happened to fall onto a rock, bursting instantly into pieces. And, just like that, two wands were pointed at her face.
"What was that?!" Amycus shouted as his sister kneelt to examine the broken pieces of glass.
"What is that?" Alecto asked once, upon looking up just a little, she found Mia grasping the little uncapped vial in her hand. Before Mia could even try to hide it, the Death Eater used her wand to paralyze her arm, forcing her rigid hand to open so she could get the vial. "Look," she told her brother as she approached him. "It's some sort of potion."
"A potion?" Amycus asked, eyeing the vial with suspicion before turning to Mia and glaring, still pointing his wand at her. "What is this for?" he hissed.
Mia didn't respond him. There was no way she was going to let him know he was currently holding luck in his hand – Merlin knew what horrid things might happen if it turned out to be a lucky day for one of the Carrows.
"Answer him!" Alecto yelled.
She still didn't.
"So that's how you want to play it, Black?" Amycus asked, an odd glint suddenly showing up on his eyes, as if he was actually… excited. Mia knew that couldn't be good but she still didn't give in. "Alright – then don't come saying that we didn't give you a chance." The hold on his wand became firmer and a sadistic little smile covered his face. All of a sudden, before he started to say the word, Mia already knew what it was going to be. "Cru…"
Before he could finish uttering the curse, Amycus was tumbling forward, unconscious after a burst of red seemed to hit him on the back.
Alecto reacted immediately, motioning to turn to where the spell had come from, intent on attacking – before she could even spot her opponent, though, another flash of red knocked her out cold, causing her to fall down on the floor, dropping the little uncapped vial of Felix Felicis.
Relieved, Mia didn't even care that the precious potion was currently wasting down on the ground. "Thank Merlin," she said, motioning to turn. "I thought you guys would never co…"
She went speechless all of a sudden when she found herself facing her saviour, standing at a distance behind where the Carrows had been. She'd been expecting Sirius, Kingsley, Gabe or anyone else from the Order. She really had. And yet it was none of them, she thought with disbelief – it was about the last person she would have expected to be saved by those days.
"Snape?" she whispered.
The headmaster didn't respond. He simply walked closer to the Carrows' unconscious bodies, reaching down in order to retrieve their wands, as well as the one sticking out of Alecto's pocket. "I believe this belongs to you," he told her, handing the last wand back to her.
She took it silently, still staring at him. "What…?"
"They're already here, by the way," he stated, his voice with its usual bland tone. "The Order – I believe you were expecting them. They're headed this way as we speak. Not fast enough, though."
She didn't understand it. Any of it. Why was he talking to her like that? Why had he just saved her? Why? "It was you, wasn't it?" she asked suddenly, as something clicked in her mind. "It was you who sent the warning."
He didn't say anything immediately, instead putting the Carrow's wands away inside his robes, pledging to later burn them to a crisp, mostly for the sake of witnessing their humiliation over losing their wands to what they'd believe would be an unarmed woman (after he was done messing with their memory, that was).
"But why would…?" She didn't finish the question, though, as, upon recalling the way said message reached her, it all unravelled. "The doe. Your patronus is a doe."
"Yes."
"Like Lily's," she added.
"Yes again," he repeated.
"But then…" She paused again, unsure of how to process it all. "Merlin, Severus, all this time and now… what are you doing? Why are you with them?!"
"Would I be helping you if I were with them, Amelia?" he replied.
"So you're with us, then?"
"I'm with her," he stated firmly. "But I'm afraid this discussion won't be leading anywhere."
"Not leading anywhere? This changes everything, Severus!"
Snape sighed. "It doesn't. Because you won't be remembering any of this."
"Wha…"
She never saw the stunner coming since he cast it wordlessly, just as the cushioning charm he used before she could hit the ground.
He wished it could have gone another way, potentially ending that exhausting string of deception he'd had to put up – Merlin knew he could use a rest – but the plan he'd carefully crafted with Dumbledore was far from over. And for it to flow as it should, he had to keep his true allegiance hidden, which meant making sure Amelia Black wouldn't recall that particular event.
He was careful placing the memory charm, making sure it didn't erase more than a few hours. He knew he didn't have much time to clean up after himself, though. Upon seeing the Order arrive, well secluded as he kept an eye on things, he'd left a few clues behind to make sure they would have found their way to the Carrows, which, he hoped, they must be following at that moment. He'd hoped not to have to intervene himself but matters had gotten far too complicated for him to leave them to chance.
So, quickly, as he started hearing voices at a distance – voices he certainly didn't recognize from his Death Eater acquaintances – he moved closer to Alecto and Amycus's unconscious bodies, forcing himself to touch each of them so he could bring them along once he apparated away from there – as much as, personally, he wouldn't have lost any sleep over leaving them to die or be captured, explaining how such a thing had happened to the Dark Lord would be a bother. He supposed he had to stick with their disgrace for the moment.
He didn't go too far, though, wanting to make sure those idiots at the Order did what they were supposed to. Apparating to the specific spot behind some bushes he'd been hiding in before, Snape watched the whole scene unfold. Shacklebolt was the first to show up, followed by Amelia's father, McKinnon, and, later, her mother. He was surprised for a moment that Black wasn't with them but then recalled his daughter was in risk too – he must be helping her instead.
Voices were inaudible there as, unlike the Carrows, the Order seemed to know the importance of being quiet. A point in their favour. Still, Snape could imagine they might be wondering about what had led to Amelia Black being alone, unharmed and unconscious in the middle of the woods.
They didn't waste too much time wondering, though, as McKinnon soon lifted his daughter off the floor and apparated away with Amelia's mother. Shacklebolt stayed, though, likely to oversee the rest of the operations.
Snape didn't pay much attention to it, though, as he needed to set things up so his little covert work wouldn't lead to exposure
He quickly placed the Carrows back where he'd knocked them out after making sure they wouldn't remember a fourth person attacking them – he was sure someone would eventually stumble upon them though, deep down, he wished that wouldn't happen for a while so they could rot, as they deserve. And, with that thought in his mind, he was off to the gates.
His part was almost done, he told himself. For the moment, at least. All he needed to do then was keeping an eye on things… provided the Order didn't screw it up saving the girl, that was.
And then that bloody day would be over. Just yet another one in a long line of exhausting ones.
"They took her. They just… took her."
Ginny sighed upon hearing her best friend saying the same thing for what had to be the hundredth time since they'd seen Mia walking off with the Carrows.
The two of them still stood on the line by the gates, waiting for their turn to leave the castle – every time it moved, Ginny actually had to push her friend forwards because she seemed to be too lost on staring at general area behind the iron fence surrounding the school where they'd last spotted Mia before she'd disappeared into the woods.
Ginny didn't like it – she didn't like it at all. Not just that Mia had been taken, likely for more than a chat, but also that her friend seemed so… absorbed by it. Of course, she had a right to be horrified by her mother's potential kidnapping but, Merlin, Ginny could just see her going and doing something incredibly… rash. Something Ginny had no doubt she'd join one way or another. And, really, with all the Death Eaters looming outside, they were both doomed because of it… unless some liquid-aid interfered on their behalf, at least.
"Hey, whatever dumb thing you're planning to do, save it for after the Felix, okay?" Ginny whispered to her friend, unceremoniously reaching into the pocket of Izzy's cloak and shoving the little bottle into her hands. "And do it quickly because it's almost our turn to go out."
Izzy eyed her, then the bottle, slightly confused at first. The confusion lasted a mere second, though, as she soon uncapped the bottle and took a gulp – a single gulp, she reminded herself, in order to leave Ginny her share. When she handed it back to Ginny, there was still half of the liquid inside, which the redhead drunk without hesitation, putting the bottle away in her own pocket.
The feeling didn't come immediately – that voice instructed them on what to do. That one would take a few more minutes to make itself heard. Ginny could only hope it would howl loud enough at Izzy so that she'd have no choice but to listen to it.
"You're planning to go after her, aren't you?" she asked her friend.
"Wouldn't you if it was your mother?" she replied.
Ginny sighed. What use was there lying about that one? "Yes. If I knew I was the only one who could help her, I would."
Izzy was silent for a moment. "They mustn't have read the message," she mumbled.
The redhead didn't need her to specify to know she meant the twins and the message the two of them had sent through the papyrus. "It was always a long shot they would. Not everyone is as obsessive checking the papyrus as you are."
Izzy didn't respond to that. "It's up to us, then."
Ginny nodded. "One thing, though: in case you haven't noticed, there are a bunch of Death Eaters outside. And, personally, I'd say you'll need all the luck you can get to get through all of them."
"I've already taken the potion."
"It's not just about taking it," Ginny replied. "You need to listen to it. Being overconfident enough not to listen to it can lead to pretty disastrous results. Look, the potion is supposed to make you lucky and, at the end of the day, if you lose your mother because of it, you've been anything but lucky. Just keep that in mind, okay?" she said, just as the two of them found themselves facing Filch, who seemed to be coordinating the students' exit from the castle.
"Names?" he mumbled monotonously, as if he'd never seen them before in his life.
The girls didn't bother pointing out that he already knew their names, just giving them to him, hoping that would get them off the grounds faster.
There was another large group of students outside, as no one seemed to be allowed to take the horseless carriages until everyone was out, for some reason. Izzy and Ginny didn't mind – as far as they were concerned, the more confusion in place, the more easily they could disappear without people noticing.
"Is it telling you anything yet?" Ginny asked her friend, referring to the Felix's inner voice.
Izzy shook her head. "We can't waste much more time," she said.
"Just give it another…" she stopped talking all of a sudden as, while examining their surroundings, she suddenly found herself facing something rather curious at a distance, half-covered by some bushes. Her lips curled just a little as she pulled her friend's sleeve. "Take a look at what's behind those bushes on my left. By the trees."
Izzy gave her a puzzled look before complying. Her eyes turned to the area Ginny had indicated but, at first, she didn't see anything particularly exciting. It was just some bushes with a dog in… She paused. It was some bushes with a dog in them. A big black dog that might just be taken as 'The Grim'. Only it wasn't 'The Grim'. "It's my dad," she whispered to her friend.
"I guess they did get the message," Ginny said, her lips curling. "And I doubt it's only your dad they brought along."
"The whole order, do you think?"
"Some of it, at least," Ginny said.
Izzy turned back to her father's animagus form, who was still watching her from the bushes. If he was there with the Order, they needed to help her mother. Did they even know she'd been taken? She had absolutely no idea. So, just to try and signal him, she nodded sideways towards the area where she'd last seen her mother being taken, hoping her father would get that she meant for him to check something out in that direction. In response, the dog just nodded, not moving an inch.
"What is that supposed to mean?" she mumbled.
"What?" Ginny asked.
"I just gestured to where they took my mum so Dad would go help her," she said. "But he just nodded."
"Maybe he already knows," her friend pointed out.
"Then why isn't he helping her?!" Izzy whispered furiously.
"Because they have it under control?" Ginny suggested. "That might be what he's trying to tell you."
"Or maybe he's saying I should go after her," Izzy replied.
Ginny looked at her like she was mad. "I'm sorry – I was under the impression we were talking about your Dad, who tried to get you to stay home because he thought coming to Hogwarts alone would be too dangerous for you. Do you actually think he'd signal you to run through a mob of Death Eaters to try and save your mother while he sits around in dog form?"
Now that Ginny said it, Izzy's suggestion ceased making sense in her own head. "Okay, then maybe it's not it. But why isn't he helping Mum?"
"I don't know. They must have a plan or something," Ginny told her. "Like I said, Fred and George wouldn't have sent him here alone. At the very least, they would've come along themselves. They could've split tasks or something."
"Fine, but if we don't know the plan, how are we supposed to know what they want us to do?" Izzy asked, rubbing her temples as she felt an odd echo in her mind. Was it the Felix? She didn't recall it feeling so… distant last time. Then again, she'd taken a different dosage then.
Ginny looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'm not sure. I guess ultimately, they want us out of here. Do you feel it now, though? The Felix?"
"I dunno. Maybe," she said, concentrating on the echo. "What do you feel?"
"Just a whisper. It's getting clearer, though."
Izzy felt it too. The whisper, growing louder and louder but less and less echo-y. "It's telling me to get ready. Get ready to…"
"To run," Ginny whispered. "But not yet. And I'm not sure where."
"Exactly," Izzy replied. "So, what now? We just… wait for something? Ready, set, go?"
Ginny shrugged. "I guess. What else can we do?"
So, they did. They waited… and waited. Longer than they'd expected – certainly longer than a minute. And how frustrating was it, Izzy thought, waiting for something that they didn't know what was? It was like she was frozen on a moment that would never pass.
Her father remained where she'd first spotted him – immobile. The crowd that had been surrounding them, though, was starting to vanish as the students being carted off to the train, carriage by carriage. She had a feeling the Death Eaters would have saved them for last – her and Ginny, that was. They'd have wanted them away from everyone to take them.
Go now! The voice told her all of a sudden, much clearer than before, just as the sound of an exploding charm hitting a tree at a distance reached her ears – some sort of distraction set up by the Order, she'd later realize.
She wasn't sure where she was going at first – she wasn't really thinking as she ran, just following instinct, which, in turn, followed the Felix's guidance. It was only several seconds later, when she looked sideways and then back, that she found herself running alone. Ginny was nowhere to be seen. The voice in her mind told her not to waste time worrying, though. Part of her knew that, just like her Felix-voice had taken her that direction, Ginny's must have taken her another – in theory, the Felix would always take them through the path with the best results. In theory.
And, not long after, stopping where she stood, Izzy realized she'd gone exactly the opposite way her mother had been taken. Keep going. She doesn't need you, the voice told her, but she remained frozen. Part of her wanted to go back – needed to go back. It was her mother. Felix or no Felix, she needed to help her. She needed to… Run. Run now! The voice all but screamed in her mind. But she still she resisted. She resisted until the very moment the voice desperately spoke again. Move or you're done!
And, that time, something in the tone made her comply. So, she moved, though not forward – just a step to her right… and narrowly missed some sort of purple spell that exploded once it hit a tree.
The voice wasn't kidding, she thought as she resumed running. They were following her – the Death Eaters, no doubt. And, just like that, she lost all hope of going back. Go back and it's over. And not in a good way, the voice told her. That time, she listened. She believed it.
Soon, the voice told her to run faster – she did and quickly heard shouting behind her as more spells started to fly her way, some escaping her by mere millimetres. She didn't dare looking back from then on – she just ran, following the voice in her head.
Her heart pumped, her legs hurt, her skin felt cold even though she knew she must be sweating. At some point, she lost track of how long or how far she'd ran – she just hoped the Felix wouldn't fade before she was… well, as close to safe as she could get. Honestly, she had no idea where it was taking her – it just told her to keep going straight ahead.
When the Felix gave her an order other than 'keep going on a straight line', right around the time she found herself reaching a hillside, it already hurt to breathe. A step to the left and then straight ahead, it said. She followed the order, imagining that would lead to a gentler path down the hillside… and instead found herself tripping on a rock and rolling down it.
She just kept rolling and rolling, unable to brace herself due to the blinding pain caused by having fallen straight on her left arm. It got worse with every turn down the hill, right up until she hit the bottom, nearly out of breath. Merlin, it felt like someone had tried to rip it apart, she allowed herself to think for a moment before Felix, mixed with a boatload of adrenaline reminded her that she needed to get back on her feet or she was doomed.
She'd only managed to get on her knees to try and push herself up when she saw a shadow on the floor from someone over herself. Before she could react, though, she felt herself screaming as two hands grabbed her by the shoulders. No, that couldn't be it, she thought. It couldn't just end like that after all that running, all that… effort. The Felix couldn't just let her down like that: she wanted to go home, she wanted her mother to be okay, she wanted… she wanted everything to be normal. So, she fought back as hard as she could and, Merlin, did it hurt. Her arm felt like it weighed a thousand pounds and like it was falling apart with every move she threw her assailant's way.
At some point, her vision got blurry and she felt herself nearly falling down. Oddly enough, the assailant supported her so she wouldn't – only then did she hear the voice above her own screaming, which seemed to have ceased them. She recognized it immediately.
"…calm down. It's me, Isabelle. It's me."
Yes, it was him. "George," she mumbled incoherently before managing to turn and see him looking down at her with more than a little concern. He was there. He'd come for her. Thank Merlin.
"It's me," he repeated. "Are you okay? I saw you falling… Did you get hurt? Stupid question – of course you did. Where…?"
"I… my arm," she mumbled.
His eyes shifted to it for a second but then he had to look away as they heard the Death Eaters' footsteps and voices coming their way. He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her impossibly close. "Hold on, Isabelle," he whispered to her. "Don't let go."
She nodded faintly, closing her eyes and resting her head against his chest, hearing the sounds of the Death Eaters approaching. It felt like a nightmare – a bad one. Except in nightmares she never really felt pain while, at the moment, her arm hurt like nothing else before…
And then it just got worse – she felt the strange, awfully uncomfortable pull of apparition. Merlin, it was usually bad but going through it with an injured arm just made it worse. She didn't dare opening her eyes as she was nauseous enough on her own and simply pulled herself closer against George, who held her back silently.
She felt her feet hitting solid ground seconds later but still didn't allow herself to open her eyes.
"It's okay," George whispered against the top of her head. "You're safe."
She opened her eyes and saw he was telling the truth. They were all of a sudden standing in the Burrow's familiar, yet unusually empty, kitchen.
Taking a breath of relief, she suddenly felt incredibly awkward over standing so close to George and took a step back at the same time he walked over to a window in order to open up the closed drapes.
"We should take a look at that arm," she heard George telling her softly as he made his way back to her.
Izzy didn't reply. She just looked around awkwardly, not sure of what to do or what to say. Not because of where she was or really who she was with – because of where she'd been. Or what she'd been in the middle of. Five minutes ago, she'd been running for her life – now she was in the Burrow for the first time in months, her legs heavy from all the running and her left arm sending waves of pain through her whole upper body as she cradled it. "They took her, didn't they?" she asked all of a sudden.
"Who?"
"My Mum."
He didn't reply immediatly. "Maybe not."
"They had her. I saw it. I… I should have ignored the feeling," she said, regret all over her voice. "I should have gone after her."
"No, you shouldn't," he told her. "We were already after her. Kingsley, Gabe, Lulu… They wouldn't have let her be taken."
"Then why aren't they back yet?!"
"Maybe they are back and we just don't know it," he replied. "We had to plan everything really fast. I guess we were so focused on how to get you all out of harm's way that we failed to set up a general meeting place for after we did. This was the first safe place I could think of – Merlin knows there's a ton of other places they could have gone to instead. I'm sure they're all fine, Is…"
"How can you possibly be?" she asked, her tone bordering on anger. "We were running, there were Death Eaters everywhere, the Carrows had my mother… it was chaos! They can be hurt, they can have been taken…"
"They can be just fine," he said firmly. "Look, we can't think they're not okay. Not by default. None of us out there was exactly inexperienced when it comes to defending ourselves, your Mum included. We had a plan, we had the surprise element and we had the skills to put up one hell of a fight."
"You were outnumbered," she replied.
"Not by much," he told her. "Really – we managed to gather a few people from the Order after I got your message and warned your Dad. By the time your mother came out, we were already splitting into groups and spreading out around the path and, like I told you, there were plenty of people heading to the area they took her to. It wasn't that bad, really."
She wanted so badly to be as certain as he was. She felt like part of her was dying with every second that passed without news. "Are you sure?" she asked faintly.
Well, no, he wasn't that sure he thought. They'd been really about a dozen short of being in equal ground, although the surprise element had been on their side. But she didn't need to know that – what she really needed was to calm down and get that arm checked and that was what he was going to make sure happened. "Positive," he lied. "Now, you need to sit down before you fall over because you look pale as a sheet."
She had to take his word for it since there weren't really any mirrors in sight for her to check her own alleged paleness. She didn't fight, him once he put one arm around her back and walked her over to one of the table's chairs, half because she really was tired, half because of that effect he seemed to have on her whenever he was close…
"Alright," he said once she was sitting. "Wait here for a second. I have to go outside send Patronuses to the others telling them you're with me just in case they're still looking for us, okay?"
"Okay," she agreed. She didn't bother asking why he needed to go outside to do it. Later she'd wonder if it was because the charm might work better if it didn't require the Patronus to go through walls or something or because he'd needed a moment to settle himself. She was inclined to go with the second – Merlin knew how many deep breaths she had to take once she saw herself alone in order to keep herself composed.
She waited for about a couple of minutes before she started feeling uncomfortably hot – it was only then she noticed the fireplace was lit, as it had been since they'd arrived. It seemed very unlike Molly to leave a fire up in an empty house, even though fireplaces in the Wizarding Worls usually had spells to keep the flames from spreading away from them. Soon enough, though, Izzy concluded that the woman must have left in such a hurry to help them that keeping a tidy kitchen, as she always did, had certainly been the last thing in her mind: the dirty dishes on the counters and half a pan of cold eggs on the table were enough proof of that.
Leaving observation aside, Izzy stood from her chair, still cradling her injured her and tried to figure out how to get out of her cloak. As if she hadn't already figured out that wasn't going to be an easy task, the pain on her left arm certainly warned her of that once she ceased using the other one to cradle it. Merlin, it seemed to weigh a ton all of a sudden, once it was left unsupported.
"Didn't I tell you to sit down?" she heard George saying behind her just as he slipped back into the house through the back door.
"I was sitting down," she replied, going back to cradling the arm. "I just need to get out of this cloak."
"Well, let me give you hand with that," he offered once he moved to stand just in front of her. "I've got good news." His lips couldn't help curling just a little once he saw her face immediately lighting up. "I got a Patronus from Fred even before I could send mine. He says he's with Mum and Dad and that they've got Ginny."
"And my Mum? The others?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Still haven't heard from them. But they should say something once they receive mine. Don't worry yourself out yet."
She sighed. "Better said than done", she mumbled. "But if your parents are okay and so are Ginny and Fred, why aren't they home yet? Where did they go?"
George shrugged. "I dunno. They're probably taking care of something. We avoid mentioning locations in the messages in case someone overhears them. Someone's bound to pop by here at some point, though – it's a pretty obvious place to start looking."
He did have a point there, Izzy thought. She really couldn't deny it.
"How did you get to me?" she suddenly wondered. "I must have run for like a mile – how did you keep up for so long with the Death Eaters on a tow?"
"I didn't," he replied. "I lost you about a hundred yards in. Your Dad managed to keep up and go after them but I just couldn't, so I had to take a chance – I apparated a few hundreds of yards ahead on the direction you were heading, hoping you wouldn't start zigzagging or something and catch up with me instead. I really had no idea if I was going to find you that way…"
"And still you did," she mumbled. It must've been the Felix, she thought. It must have been guiding her there, straight to the place George had apparated on. For the first time that day, she really did feel lucky.
George nodded. "I was a bit ahead of where you were but I heard you coming. Then, there you were, at the top of the hill right before you fell. It was bloody close, Isabelle. Too bloody close. I thought you'd broken your neck on that fall."
"Just my arm," she mumbled, though the word 'just' seemed quite out of context, given the pain she felt.
"Right. Well, how bad does it feel, anyway?" he asked, changing the subject.
She attempted to pass it off with a shrug but the shoulder movement alone made her wince.
"That bad, then," he mumbled.
"It wasn't so bad before," she commented.
"I bet it wasn't," he mumbled, rather unconvinced. "Well, we need to try and move it as little as possible. It might be broken. Can you move the hand?"
She flexed her fingers with some difficulty. "I suppose. It feels weird, though."
"That's probably normal," he assured her. "You'll have to let go of the arm, though, so I can slip the good one out of the sleeve."
She nodded and did so, allowing him stand behind her as he slowly tried to pull the cloak out of her good arm without shifting the cloth around too much, mindful of the injured one. "I've never broken anything before," she mumbled, trying to ignore the pain.
"Lucky you," George told her with a light chuckle. "Let's just say Fred and I together probably broke more bones between us than the rest of the Weasley clan together."
She tried not to smile at that – it seemed like such an inappropriate thing to do when she should be – and, to be fair, was – in angst over her family's safety. But she couldn't help it, really. It was hard to keep her mind from trying to picture all the different ways those two had discovered to break bones. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Hey! We were beaters. Believe it or not, we weren't born with flawless aim," he replied, moving to stand opposite her, halfway through freeing her from the cloak. "This is probably going to sting a little. The arm must be swollen. This sleeve will be hard to pull."
"Just do it," she replied.
He nodded for a moment before touching her good arm and lifting it until her hand was resting on his shoulder. When she gave him a questioning look, he spoke. "Grasp my shoulder if it hurts too much. I kind of need both hands for this…"
She nodded in return and braced herself for pain. She couldn't say it didn't come after all – it did. But it certainly wasn't as bad as she'd expected it to be. He was incredibly tender with his touch, carefully pulling on the sleeve while at the same time using his other arm to keep hers secured. She found herself grasping his shoulder once or twice but was certain she'd hardly leave him with a bruise.
When he finally managed to take the cloak off, he threw it onto a nearby chair without a thought, his full attention on her arm, and they sat down and he started folding up the thankfully loose-fitting sleeve of her jumper. They found her forearm badly bruised and considerably swollen, as George had predicted.
"Yep, it's definitely broken," he told her.
Izzy groaned. "Merlin," she mumbled.
"Yeah – bummer. On the other hand, coming out of a kidnap attempt with just a broken arm seems like a good bargain, if you asked me."
She sighed. "I have your Christmas present to thank for that, I suppose."
That time, he met her eyes, his lips curling s little. "You used the Felix. I told you it would come handy."
She nodded. "It did. You saw how all those spells missed me by just a little. And I shared it with Ginny too… and Mum."
"Why are you losing your mind with worry over here, then?"
"I didn't see her taking it. There was little of it – we couldn't take it too early and waste the effect."
"She had it nevertheless – your mother's a smart lady, Isabelle. She would have taken it."
Izzy sighed. "It's still not fool-proof, though. I did get a broken arm."
"Yeah, but you've still got a head on your shoulders. I'm not sure if you noticed but taking that fall was basically the only thing that kept you away from what I'm pretty sure was a nasty severing curse. Because I did and, trust me, that makes a broken arm look like a paper-cut."
She gulped. He didn't look like he was kidding. At all.
Before any of them could say anything else, though, the silvery form of a lynx erupted through the room, stopping just a couple of feet away from then before it spoke.
"Mission accomplished with no losses," Kingsley's voice sounded through the spectrum in a heavy, commanding and straight-to-the-point tone – likely the one he used all the time as head-auror. "Mia and the girls are safe and sound. For those still in the field, retreat somewhere safe. Those already out, stay under the radar until we have more information. If you're injured, contact us for help. Thank you for your help today. It was absolutely invaluable." And, with the message passed along, instead of fading away, as message-patronuses usually did, that one just turned around and seemed to travel somewhere else to keep spreading the message.
As soon as it was gone, Izzy finally allowed herself to breathe in relief.
"I told you they were alright," George stated. "Give it a few minutes and your Mum will be right here, fussing all over you."
Her lips curled just a little. "I know."
"And you know what this means," he prompted.
She raised her eyebrows at him. "What?"
He grinned. "That, once again, I'm right. As always."
She rolled her eyes. "Weren't you in the middle of something right before that Patronus showed up?" she asked. "Something about broken arms and paper cuts.
"Right. Both things I can fix, by the way," he said, reaching back for his wand as he gave in to her attempt at changing the subject. "Just give me a moment to think back to the charm Lockhart taught us…"
"Lockhart?!" she asked in alarm before noticing how hard he was biting his lip to keep himself from snorting. She glared, promptly trying to kick him and missing by an inch. "Don't mock me. I'm hurt!"
"Come on, Isabelle – as if we've have ever learned anything from that useless idiot other than how to get ourselves stuck in a loony bin," he told her. "Don't worry, I know a decent spell for this. If we had to go to Mum every time we smashed a few bones, she'd have never let me or Fred move out." He noticed the nervous look on Izzy's face and sighed. "Listen, we can wait a little longer for your parents to show up and let your mother fix it but…"
Izzy shook her head. "No, don't bother. The sooner it's fixed, the better," she told him, determined. "I trust you."
George's lips curled a little. "Okay," he mumbled. "Take a deep breath because this is by no means a pleasant thing to feel. Especially if it's broken as badly as I think it is…"
"Just do it," she told him. He'd told her basically the same about removing the sleeve and it hadn't hurt half as much as she'd…
Before she even noticed George whispering the charm, a blinding pain took over her arm, about three or four times worse than the one she'd felt when it had been broken in the first place. Her body spontaneously crumbled forward on the chair from the shock of the pain and she cursed heavily under her breath.
The sudden ache left as quickly as it went, though it left a pronounced echo behind, but she still found herself taking deep breaths as she leaned on her forehead with her eyes closed. "Merlin," she mumbled.
"It's okay," she heard George's voice saying surprisingly closely. "The worst part is over. It will hurt for a few days but not nearly as much."
It was only when she opened her eyes again that she registered why his voice sounded so close – somehow during the intense explosion of pain, her forehead had ended up leaning against his shoulder. And, against all instinct, instead of pulling back just as soon as she realized it, Izzy didn't. Instead, she actually held closer, wrapping her good arm around his neck, feeling he was the one thing keeping her together as everything came crashing down on her like a train.
It was ridiculous, she thought for a second. She knew she was alright, she knew everyone had made it okay… and yet her mind all of a sudden simply couldn't let go of what had happened. They'd tried to take her and her mother that day, like they'd taken Luna all those months before. Why? To kill them? To hurt them? To hurt the people close to them? They'd failed, she knew, but she felt the one defeated: she couldn't go back to Hogwarts, she knew her family was about to become a bunch of fugitives, she knew they wouldn't be able to come out of hiding for who knew how long… It felt like the world was crumbling under her feet and it was too much – just too much. Why couldn't her life be normal? Why couldn't it be simple?
Before she knew it, she heard herself sniffing and felt the tears tickling her face. Crap, she thought. She was crying. She was crying on George's shoulder.
If that bothered him somehow, though, he didn't show it. In fact, he did the opposite: he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She doubted he was able to read her mind but she could tell from the tone of his voice that he was comforting her about far more than an aching arm. His hand tentatively touched her hair, stroking it in a comforting manner as he mumbled that it was going to be okay. Whatever he meant by that, she believed it when he said it, even if just for a little moment. Even as her sobs gradually ceased, she didn't let go – he made her feel safe and at home and, at that moment, she didn't want that feeling to stop. She didn't want to let go. Ever, preferably.
She soon realized that wasn't really an option as, seconds later, she found him pulling back just a little, though the hand that had been rubbing her back until a few seconds before moved to cup her cheek. She averted her eyes from him, keeping her face down. She knew it didn't make sense – he'd probably heard more about her feelings during the past few months than anyone else and yet there she was, not wanting him to see her looking weak.
He seemed to agree with the lack of sense of her actions as he soon tenderly lifted her face until she was looking him in the eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked in a mere whisper.
She found herself speechless for a few seconds – something in the blue of his eyes ruled her quite unable to answer… or maybe just far too distracted. She imagined her mind was still a bit drunk on the feeling of him holding her so close.
"Isabelle," he insisted, a look of concern on his face.
She gulped, making herself snap out of it, and nodded. "I'm fine," she replied.
But still he didn't let go of her face. "No," he mumbled. "You really aren't." But he didn't say more than that. Instead, he just kept looking at her, as if he was waiting for something.
She found herself holding her breath for a moment and knew what was going to happen before it actually did. And she did nothing to stop it – not when his hand shifted to her neck and his arm circled her back, not when he leaned forward, not when his lips touched hers for the second time in her life. She wanted it. She wanted it so badly…
It was soft at first, as if he expected her to break into pieces again at any moment, but quickly it grew fiercer. Like they were trying to prove something that neither of them was sure what was… It was nearly impossible to compare that kiss to the one they'd shared at the platform all those months before – it felt so much more intense and so much more… them. Not that the other one hadn't been amazing as well – she just didn't know it back then. That her 'crush' was so much more than that. But now she did – now she did and she never wanted it to stop
At some point, they had to break the kiss, having apparently forgotten how to breathe in such an occasion. They didn't look at each other, then. They just stood there, breathing hard and thinking a thousand thoughts a minute.
"Isabelle, I…" he started.
But, suddenly, Izzy didn't want to hear it. She knew he was going apologize or call the kiss stupid like last time… and, Merlin, she really didn't want him to. So, she took the bold step that time… she kissed him again.
It seemed to catch him by surprise but he didn't push her away in any case… If possible, the kiss grew even bolder than before. Hands other than the one attached to her still aching arm didn't seem to stay on one place. They moved in deliciously intense motions and, Merlin, she knew if she ever had to kiss someone else, it'd feel like nothing in comparison. Then again, she thought… she hoped she might never have to.
She felt hot and cold at the same time, breathless and full of air… the pain in her arm was a mere itch in her mind. In reality, it probably wasn't but she didn't care – it'd take far more than a recovering broken arm to get her to care about anything but that kiss at the moment. The kiss and what came after – Merlin, that part was terrifying. Because that was it, wasn't it? She was putting herself out there and clearly so was he. That was the moment it could all change.
Once their lips broke apart again, none of them really spoke. They just sat there, foreheads touching while they caught their breaths at the same time they tried to figure out what to do next.
Before any of them could utter a word, though, the house's door burst open and they instinctively pulled as apart as they could possibly be while still sitting next to each other.
"Oh, crap," Fred mumbled from the door, once he noticed the looks on their faces and got a slight image (it was mostly wishful thinking) of what they'd been up to.
"Damn it, Fred!" George hissed at his twin.
"Sorry, I wasn't really expecting to… no, scratch that," Fred stated. "Actually I'm not sorry. Wanna know why? Because Mum, Dad and Sirius are right on my heel, so you should actually be thanking me for being the first through the door."
"Freddie, are they there?" they heard Molly asking from outside.
"See? Just saved your hide. You're welcome, by the way," he told his brother before poking his head back out and answering his mother.
And just like that, the perfect moment was ruined, Izzy thought with some disappointment. When she glanced over at George, she could see he was thinking the same. He reached for the hand of her good arm and gave it a little tug. "Next time we're alone?" he asked her with a grin.
She couldn't help smiling at the prospect and at the fact that George was all but assuring her there'd be a follow up to that kiss. "Next time," she promised right before Molly burst into the room, starting her motherly fussing on either of them almost immediately.
"Dad," she said as soon as she saw him stepping into the room and making his way to her, immediately scooping her into a bone-crushing hug, which couldn't have come at a worst time. "Ouch, ouch," she mumbled. "Injured arm."
He immediately let go of her. "What?" he asked, eyeing her in alarm. "Where? How?"
"I fell down," she said, showing him her left arm. "It was broken but George fixed it. Still hurts, though." She glanced over at George, who stood leaning against the counter, and he shot her a little smile, which he hid seconds later behind a cough once he saw her father looking over as well.
"I don't think I can thank you enough for getting her out of there," Sirius told George.
"Oh, it was nothing," he mumbled awkwardly, desperately trying to find an excuse to avert looking at him. "Team effort. I need to…" he didn't finish, pointing at the nearest door before heading out, Fred quickly following after him, looking he might just burst into laughter at any second.
"So, where's Ginny?" Izzy asked just after the twins made their exit.
"We took her to Molly's Aunt Muriel's house," Arthur told her. "I think it's safer if we stay there for a while now."
Oh, Ginny was going to hate that, Izzy immediately thought.
"Honestly, it was dreadful today but it may have just been for the best," Molly said. "Merlin knows what tragedy might have happened to you girls if you'd stayed in that school much longer."
That didn't make Izzy feel much better. They might be out but their friends were still in, now fighting without them. She felt a little bad they hadn't taken the time to say goodbye to Neville, at least. They'd mostly avoided him that morning, in fact – he knew them well enough to have noticed something wrong with their demeanour if he was around them too long. No doubt he would have wanted to help but she and Ginny had decided not to involve the DA in their escape soon after being given the news – they couldn't risk the Death Eaters suspecting their friends had helped and leave them to pay the consequences of them escaping.
"I suppose we should head home now," Sirius soon said, checking his watch.
"Oh, of course – Mia's bound to be anxious to see her," Molly stated. "Let me just get the boys to say goodbye." She headed to the door, shouting the twin's names shortly after leaving the room, and returned a few seconds later with her sons in a tow.
Fred's goodbye was rather short, based around a friendly pat on the back and wink, after which he headed over to her father, in order to shake his hand and start some conversation – she had a feeling he was trying to distract him, as well as his parents, from her and George. If that was the case, she was thankful.
"So…" George mumbled. "Until next time, I guess."
She smiled. "I look forward to it." And so, after making sure Fred had everyone's full attention – he was good, she vaguely noted, having even strategically made sure they conveniently had their backs turned to them, so he was the only one who had any chance of what went on in their general area – she moved closer to George and kissed him… just on the cheek, though. Her father was still in the room, after all. "And thanks for saving my life," she added. "Again."
He grinned. "Always at your service, Isabelle."
She re-joined her father by everyone else's side, having to make an effort to hide her smile. "Ready, Izzybel?" he asked her.
She nodded. "Let's go."
They managed to slip out of the house after a few minutes of convincing Molly it was not necessary for anyone to walk them to the edge of the house-wards radius, since complicated blood-binding wards wouldn't let Sirius apparate from within them.
"So, Mum really is okay?" Izzy asked her father as the two of them walked along the Burrow's yard.
Sirius nodded. "Yeah, she's mostly fine," he said.
Izzy stopped walking, prompting Sirius to do the same. "Mostly?"
"She's a bit… confused."
"Confused?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as she resumed walking. "What do you mean by that?"
"She doesn't seem to remember much since last night," he told her. "Well, anything, really."
"What?!"
"You heard me," Sirius said. "She doesn't seem to have hit her head or anything, though – Kingsley brought Elizabeth over and she checked. She just… doesn't remember. Which is not that bad, I guess – Merlin knows I wouldn't particularly hate not remembering this morning."
"Do you think it was a memory charm?" she inquired.
Sirius shrugged. "It seems to fit but it just doesn't make sense, does it? Everything indicates they were planning to kidnap both of you, so why on Earth would they just erase a few hours from your mother's head and let her be?" Especially, he thought, given she'd been found quite vulnerably passed out on the ground.
Izzy shrugged. "I've no idea but, for once, I'm happy that's all they did."
Her father sighed. "Yeah. Me too," he agreed. "We're here. You know the drill, right?" he asked, just as they crossed the wards' barrier.
She nodded, lacing her right arm with his, while at the same time using it to secure the previously broken one. The apparition didn't feel as bad on it as it had last time, but it wasn't exactly pleasant either – safe to say she was glad once she found herself standing on the front step of 12 Grimmauld Place.
Sirius opened the door for her, quickly urging her in so he could close it behind them – he might know the front porch was already covered by the wards but only inside the house did he feel safe enough to let his guard down.
"I hope you know that we can't let you go back to school after this," he said softly as he they stood in the entrance hall.
Izzy nodded. "I know," she mumbled.
"And you know that we have to stay underground too, right?" he said.
She nodded again. "We don't have to move, though, do we?" she asked. "This place is a fortress with all the wards – we can hardly find anywhere safer, can we?"
Sirius shook his head. "No, you're right. We're staying – if the current wards aren't enough, the Fidelius Charm we'll be adding is bound to do the trick."
"Wait, a Fidelius Charm?!"
"It was only a matter of time, Izzybel," he told her. "We could use the extra layer of protection."
"I'm not questioning that, but does it mean we have to keep everyone out?" she asked, a bit frantic. All of a sudden, the 'next time' she and George had promised to each other was threatening to move a long way down the road… "The Weasleys, for instance, are trustworthy – we can let them in on the secret, can't we?"
"We could, but I think that's going to be a little bit hard," he stated.
"How hard?"
"They're going under a Fidelius Charm too, love," he said. "By the time we set the charm here, odds are we won't even remember where they are."
A/N2: In my defence, they did kiss... a lot. Feedback is welcome. Review!