Three Years Later…
I rolled over on the soft mat I called my bed, yawing as I stretched my arms out and arched my back to wake my aching muscles. I turned to face the curved wall of my little alcove inside our cave. Plastered against the stone were dozens of Daily Prophet articles. On the far left each displayed a different atrocity that resulted from the handy work of the Dark Lord.
I sighed to myself before scooting out of my tiny alcove and into the hall. My alcove was at the very end of a long rectangular extension off the main room. I flicked my wand and watched as candles lining the hall flickered to life. I walked a few feet before arriving at Tonk's alcove. I knocked my fist against the wall at the mouth. A little blue head popped up above his mother's sleeping form.
"Mornin' Teddy, wake your mum up for me," I greeted the little boy. He yawned before nodding in agreement. He climbed onto his mother's chest and planted a slobbery kiss on her cheek.
"Wakie Mummy," he spoke as he bounced on her chest. Tonk's groaned and opened her eyes. She slid her son off her chest before greeting me.
"Meeting in the main room before breakfast," I informed Tonk's before moving on to the next alcove. I didn't make it far before the little boy ran into my backside. I looked down at the little blue haired boy and smiled. "You want to help me tell everyone about the meeting before breakfast?"
"Yeah," Teddy answered and then ran off to the next alcove. I laughed to myself as I heard him yell the poor sole inside awake. I continued informing everyone of the meeting while Teddy followed behind giving everyone a much needed burst of cheer.
I arrived in the main hall a few minutes after everyone else. The large room was close to being filled to the brim with people. We started out on that fateful night with seven people, two years later we were approaching sixty. I never intended to accumulate such a large group, but it was unavoidable.
A couple weeks after Harry's death all contact with muggles were severed and everyone was required to register with the new government. They were issued papers stating their identity, home location, and blood status that they were required to carry on person at all times. Not long after, every registered muggleborn and known blood traitors was rounded up and put into small, run-down, over-crowded villages. These villages were called Villages of Undesirables and were scattered through out the entire country. Anyone caught trying to leave or without papers was captured and enslaved or executed.
One night when Charlie and I were on a food mission in Ottery St. Catchpole, we stumbled upon one of the Village of Undesirables. I looked on in horror at the village of muggleborns and blood traitors. The following night the seven of us went back. We managed to free twenty-seven people before the guards caught on. I stood at the end of the line of people filing out of a hole in the fencing. I smirked at the guards running towards us, fired a spell in their direction and ran for it.
Those twenty-seven people were only the first of the many we started to take in. We freed sixteen more from the Village of Undesirables in St. Catchpole. Then we gained seventeen more by either encountering them on the run in to woods or by saving them from execution.
It wasn't long before my face was plastered everywhere on wanted signs after that. I was wanted, dead or alive, for being an unregistered muggleborn, aiding Harry Potter in the second war, stealing, treason and rebellion.
I passed one of my wanted posters that George taped up on the wall because he found it hilarious as I walked to the front of the group. I climbed on top of a small boulder to catch the attention of the room.
"Good morning everyone," I greeted the crowd. "Some of you may know of this already, but I received news last night that Mould-on-the-Wold has been burned. Nothing is left in the entire town," I paused to wait for the excited whispers to end. "Mould-on-the-Wold was targeted because the Dark Lord believed that we were hiding there. After this and the burning of Tinworth, we can no longer just live and survive in spite of the atrocities that are committed upon us. We can no longer just be a refuge for the hunted, the abused, and the accused," I looked out into the crowd, meeting every frightened, determined, saddened, and angered face. "That is why I propose, we not only continue showing our resistance, but we take down the Dark Lord."
The excited whispered from before roared to life in a rambunctious chatter. I signaled for them to quiet down so I could continue. "Everyone of age that is interested in helping can meet me here after breakfast. If everyone already knows their assignments for the day, you can go eat."
At the promise of food everyone turn around and filed out of the main hall and into the narrow opening at the far left of the circular room. I was beginning to trail behind the crowd when I felt a heavy weight fall onto my shoulders. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a hefty freckled hand resting casually on my slim shoulder. I glanced up to my right. A rare smile grew across my face as I took in one Charlie Weasley.
"So what's with taking down You-Know-Who all of a sudden?" Charlie inquired as we strolled down the corridor to our little 'kitchen'.
"It's been three years Charlie, You-Know-Who is not going to stop. We can't care for many more people," I whispered in response, highly aware of everyone surrounding us. "Our food supply is low as it is and even at the size we are now it is difficult to keep over cover."
"But we can always get more food and move locations," Charlie whispered back.
"I know that, but its very risky. We might as well do this know before You-Know-Who finds us." Charlie let his arm fall from its resting place as we found our place in line for our morning porridge. I took my bowl of lukewarm mush and headed off to my usual spot in the far back of the room to eat.
I plopped down onto the floor and dug into my porridge. Just as I was settling into my spot Charlie once again approached. He sat himself down next to me, crossed his legs, and propped his elbows up on his knees with his own bowl in hand. We sat together in silence, eating our porridge and listening to others chatter on before Charlie once again spoke.
"You know what I wish we had?" he asked not waiting for my response. "Raisins. This damn porridge is so bland, I want raisins in it. That would make it some what edible."
My mouthful of porridge burst out from between my lips and back into the bowl as laughter bubbled up and overflowed out of me. I playfully shoved him for making me spit out my breakfast.
We continued our giggling and light-hearted joking in till the end of breakfast.
After breakfast I pushed my way through the already formed crowd in the main hall. Once I managed to make it to the front I took my place upon the rock platform. I looked across the sea of faces waiting patiently for me to speak.
"Ethan, Matthew, Peter, and Kathryn. I can see you. None of you are seventeen yet, so you must go now," I ordered the four teens in the back.
"No fair! You weren't seventeen yet when you started to fight against You-Know-Who!" Peter shouted back.
"Yes, that's why I am making sure you don't have to. Now go before I forcibly remove you," I ordered again. I watched as the four teens shuffled their feet and grumbled their way out of the main hall. "Now that's taken care of, let me begin. To the best of my knowledge, I am the only one left alive that knows this, other than the Dark Lord himself. There is only one Horxcrux left, and it's the Dark Lord's snake. We need to destroy this snake in order to kill You-Know-Who."
"How are we going to do this? He never goes anywhere without that snake," George shouted from the crowd.
"We'll have to be quick because we'll need to kill the snake and then him only seconds later. It will have to be at the annual slave auction. It's the only time his is out in public and that way we have a few months to prepare, but first we need to get hold of the Sword of Gryffindor. Any ideas on how?"
A smile spread across my face as hands shot up one after another to suggest ideas.