Elodie sat staring at a spot on the bed, her shoulders shaking and lip quivering as she tried not to completely break down. Heartbroken, shocked, and emotionally scarred (probably physically scarred, but she hadn't had the nerve to check yet), she replayed the night in her mind.
Hirman was dead, and Tom... Voldemort had raped her. Things couldn't get any worse. It was killing her that she still had no idea where Edward was, or where James was, and she had a gut feeling that she wouldn't ever be seeing them again.
She sniffled loudly, covering her face with her hand as she sobbed, tears falling from her eyes in large droplets, too heavy to simply roll down her cheek.
"Pssst!"

She ceased her wailing, wiping under her eyes and glancing nervously around the room. She'd heard something... But from where?
"Elodie? At the window!"

She whipped around and spotted none other then Gill Griss clutching the window pane awkwardly, his wand in his hand. Her eyes widened and she tried to rush forward to the slowly opening window, but she found herself restrained to the bedpost. He shook his head, "Just relax... I'm sure he's set wards around the house, so the moment I step through the window, they'll go off."
"Gill," she cried, her resistance breaking down and allowing more tears to rage out, "Gill, he killed Hirman! And... And he was disguised as Edward-"
"I know, I know, shh," he hushed softly, "Speak quietly... He could be right outside the door, for all we know."
She nodded and tried to control herself, "What's going on?"

"We've been tracking you since the day you left," he explained, shifting his weight on the wood, "And we tracked you to here. Hirman and I decided Edward was too emotionally unstable, respectively... He has lost his wife, so we made the choice to send someone in his place. We stunned him, and sent him back through the Floo network... I'm sure he regained consciousness ... Maybe an hour ago. I left him a note warning him not to come, or he'd never see you again."
That was true... Edward did act on his emotions quite a bit, while he was usually making the correct choice, he wore his heart on his sleeve.

Elodie squirmed on the bed, trying to pull her wrist through the tight piece of rope. She had tried once before, but it had only caused her to tear up her skin, and even with the rope slightly tainted with blood, it was useless to pull.
"I'm going to break the rope from here," Gill whispered, "Move down the bed, and as soon as it snaps, run to me... We'll jump, and I'll apparate us home in the air. Understood?"
Elodie moved as far down the bed as she could and shut her eyes, yelping when the spell seared her skin as it raced by, luckily snapping the rope on the first try.
Then came the sirens. Loud, whirring sirens echoed through the house, and as Elodie hastily rolled off the bed, a bright flash of light whizzed by her left shoulder, knocking her off her balance and slamming into the wall beside the window. Her eyes darted back just in time to move out of the way as Voldemort sent another stunning spell at her.

"Elodie!" Gill screamed over the sirens, "Let's go!"
He held out his hand, and the moment she touched it, she felt the apparition coming into effect, leaving Voldemort's loud bedroom chambers in a swirling, dizzy mess.
When she reopened her eyes, she was standing in her kitchen, still clad in her slightly torn dress, messy hair, and tied wrist, but she was home. As quick as she could, she leapt onto Gill, giving him the largest hug she could muster, and planted a kiss on his cheek, "I owe you my life."
He sighed and stepped away, shaking his head, "You owe me nothing. A friend need not thank a friend for a kind deed, unless that friend did not deserve it."
She grinned slightly, "How poetic."

"A direct quote from a good friend of mine... Albus Dumbledore," he chuckled, and her eyes sparkled at the mere name, "He'll be happy to know you're safe."
Once he had bid her goodnight, he left with a loud 'pop', which was accompanied by the sound of a door shutting.
When she strained to listen, she picked out the low tones of her husband, and the tired voice of her son. Her body shook with happiness, and she nearly broke down and wept right then and there.
"Edward!" she shouted, moving out of the kitchen as quickly as she could, "James!"
As she flung herself around the corner, Edward nearly dropped James as he carried him inside, his expression in complete shock. James wiggled loose and launched himself at Elodie, "Mummy!!"
She scooped him up and held him close, his face buried in her hair, his small arms clutched around her neck. She wasn't sure if he was crying, or trying not to cry, but she could hear voiceless sobs next to her ear, and she rubbed his back soothingly, whispering words of comfort, "Mummy's here... She's not going anywhere, ever again."

Edward stood, rooted in his spot for several moments, then hurried over to her, pulling her chin up and crashing his lips down into hers, his arms circling both her body and James into a large, family hug. Tears tumbled down her cheeks and she eagerly responded to his desperate kiss. Suddenly, she broke away, then set James down, "James, sweetie, go get ready for bed, and Mummy will be up to tuck you in in a few minutes."
He nodded and scampered up the nearby stairs, using his hands to propel himself up, then out of sight.
"Oh, Gods I've missed you," Edward whispered, pulling her in close and pressing his lips anywhere he could, "I thought... When Gill said if I tried to find you... I thought I'd lost you when he told me to stay away."

"He thought you'd do something stupid like getting yourself killed," she whimpered, clutching his cloak tightly, and rubbing her face on the smooth material, "Hirman was killed..."
She slowly looked up and noticed the tears pooling in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall, "I shouldn't have let him help. When he asked, I should have said no."
"Edward..." she sniffed, running her hands up his chest and around his neck, "I love you so, so much... My memory... He..."
"I know," he murmured into her hair, soothingly swaying her back and forth, "I understand."
"He... He..." she almost couldn't bring herself to say it, "Before Gill came... He raped me, Edward."
A tear slipped out, but he hastily brushed it away, almost as if he was trying to not let her see him weak, "I won't ever let anything happen to you... Ever again."
"You-"
"I swear it," he continued urgently, holding her tightly against him, "I swear I'll never let him hurt you again."

"Mummy?" James called from the top stair, "I'm finished."
"I'm coming, love," Elodie replied, pulling away from Edward and clutching his warm hand desperately, "I think I could use some help tucking in our boy."
He smiled and the pair climbed up the staircase together, and she found herself walking a familiar route to James's room. The walls were lined with tiny, press on Snitches, and there were toys everywhere, something she had always yelled at him about. But now... It didn't matter.
"Into bed you go, young man," she chuckled, pulling back the blue comforter as James hopped on, straightening our for her to tuck him in.
"Where were you?"
Elodie glanced up at Edward and she sighed, pulling the covers up to his shoulders, "Mummy was with a bad man."
"Did he hurt you?"

Elodie's bottom lip trembled and she nodded, "Yes... But everything is fine now. Mummy is safe."
Edward placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him, smiling.
This was love. Love was not ripping each other's clothes off, desperate for a shag every moment. Love was the silent times, the troubled times, and the wonderful times. Love was when you share a true connection with someone, and know nothing, nothing, can break it.
"I love you."

*-

Edward was only coming into the office for a few things. He wanted to make sure Gill had filed a report on Voldemort's whereabouts, and that his entire team was scouring the area to find the murdering bastard.
Once he had been assured that was being taken care of, he was told there was someone here to see him.

When he stepped out of the elevator and into the atrium, his eyes fell upon Septimus Weasley, Hirman's elder brother. They had met a few times, but Septimus was always out of the country on some sort of duty that the Minister assigned him.
There was a small boy standing beside him, maybe a little older then James. He was thin, like his father, with a shaggy mop of red hair.

Definitely a Weasley.

"Is it true?" Septimus asked swiftly when Edward got close enough, "They haven't been able to find the body?"
Edward let out a long sigh and shook his head, his eyes weary from the past several weeks events, "I'm sorry to tell you... No, no luck yet. We will find it though."
The ragged man ran a hand through his hair, then noticed Edward studying his boy, "Oh... My youngest, Arthur. He just turned ten."

"Nice to meet you, Arthur," Edward said cheerfully, shaking the young man's hand. It must have been difficult for the boy to be happy, considering his uncle had just been killed, but he forced a smile and eagerly shook Edward's hand, "Same to you, Mr. Potter."
Edward ruffled his red hair and turned back to Septimus, looking the man dead in the eye, "Hirman was my best friend... My wife and son loved him as a member of our family, and I will not rest until I find his body."

*-

Let her get away, Tom, let her get away?!

Yes, yes he had.

Why, Tom, why?!

He was finished with her, for now.

He swirled the brandy about in his glass, studying his new home. Of course, the moment Elodie escaped with that ... man, Voldemort had his things magically transported to his next location in Wales. Let them search Dover and the coast all they wanted; he'd be nowhere near.

Of course, he was not pleased that Elodie had gotten away so easily, but he was sure it made her feel good to think she outsmarted him.
Fine, let her and her dearest Potter have their moments of glory. Voldemort knew they wouldn't last forever.
He pressed the cool glass against his forehead and stared aimlessly out the window into the rain, wondering when he would see her again. He knew he would, it would take more of a cunning plan to get her next time around.
Not that it mattered... The lose of his wife for a second time may just kill Edward.
Though Voldemort couldn't be too hopeful.
Oh yes... An interesting future lay ahead for the Potters...
And Voldemort was determined to make sure it involved him.