It took less than a minute for Ministry Officials to arrive, even less for them to put out the fire and asses the damage. There were three of them, tall and cloaked in black, two were already magically getting the bodies out of the damaged car, the other, inspecting the fallen girl. They had seen the Dark Mark, but there was no more danger now that the conjurer was no longer there. Their main priority now was the one who was left alive. They knew that she was underage, and that she had used magic, but her spell was in an attempt to save her loved one's in the car, not the one that brought about the darkest mark any wizard had ever seen.
The bodies were black and charred; there was no way to tell who they were by just looking at them. But the wizards who had gotten them out of the now dripping wet wreckage apparated with them back to the morgue in the basement of the Ministry to run tests. The third wizard who was by far the tallest and best physically equipped for the job, picked up the girl and took her to the one place he knew she'd be safe.
He never had to make sure that her wand stayed with her, for her fist was so tight around it that even with force, she wouldn't let go. He apparated directly into the cluttered mess of a kitchen, not needing to call for help because it was already waiting in the living room, just a few feet away.
"Bill! Oh good heavens Bill what happened?" The red haired woman was hysterical as she flanked over to the taller, younger red headed Ministry wizard.
"Mom you have to take care of Serella, I need to contact Dumbledore immediately." He placed the girl gently on the couch as the woman started fussing over her. Without a second word to his mother, Bill disapparated to go to the only person who would know why this happened.
"Ron! Ronald! Ginny! Get yourselves down here this instant!" She cried, already gathering supplies from the kitchen to help the girl.
She had to call them two more times before the two teenagers appeared at the bottom of the crooked stairs, still half asleep and obviously not happy about being woken up.
"What is it mum?" Asked the boy, still rubbing his eyes open.
"It's Serella, something terrible has happened." She explained, placing the cool dish rag over the girls head to help ease her into waking up, the less jarring the process would be the easier she would be to take care of later.
"What? What happened to her mum?" Ron was now completely awake and at his mothers side, ready and willing to help. Ginny however shuffled her feet back up the stairs and ignored her mothers protests that she would need her help.
"I'm not exactly sure darling. Bill was on duty tonight. Something about underage magic, her grandparents were murdered, but I don't know the details. Just stay with her until she wakes up, I have to go contact your father."
"Where is Bill now?" He asked, taking a seat on the table beside the couch, trying not to think of how the situation could possibly get any worse.
"He went to Dumbledore; something just isn't right about this. Now just watch over her, I'll be back as soon as I can. If you need help call Fred or George, they're staying in the extra room above the shed."
"Ok." He didn't move from his spot and had only one thing on his mind, how was he going to break the news to his best friend. The idea of writing a quick owl did cross his mind, but it would be risking too much. From the way his mother sounded, this was no normal accident or muggle murder. This was something bigger, something far more dangerous, and he wasn't about to risk anything else tonight.
"Serella, what did you go and get yourself into?" He asked the girl, fully aware that she wouldn't be able to answer him back, but it felt better to hear a voice, even if it was just his own.
He waited with her, patiently. Normally his mother would have used the counter curse to awaken the girl, but with her grandparents being dead, maybe it was better to let the curse wear off on its own. After all, it did nothing but send her into a deep sleep. He really hated that he had to be the one that she was probably going to wake up seeing; he never was too good with comforting crying girls. He was bad with words and always seemed to make things worse no matter what he would say.
She wasn't awake by the time that Bill, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley and Dumbledore were all standing in the kitchen after a loud series of cracks.
"Thank you Ronald for watching over her." Said Dumbledore before instructing him to go upstairs and write Harry an owl, explaining that someone would be by to get him sooner than was planned, and to be ready. He didn't need to be told twice before rushing off.
"What do you think happened Dumbledore?" Asked Mr. Weasley, taking a seat along with the rest of the small crowd at the kitchen table.
"Death Eaters is what I believe did this. Although why Jetta and Simon didn't do anything more to protect themselves I don't know. They were two of the best witches and wizards I knew." Despite the situation, the elderly mans voice remained calm, unlike those who he was accompanied with.
"What happened to her sisters?" Asked Mrs. Weasley, hovering over Serella, getting ready to perform the counter curse.
"They're fine; they went out to a few clubs with other friends that they graduated with. I informed them of the news and they're staying away from the house for now." It was Bill that spoke, it was also his job to inform those that this situation affected. "Was she the target? Or was it just Jetta and Simon because they were former Order members? If you ask me, this had to be the work of You-Know-Who."
"But why leave the girl alive Dumbledore, it doesn't make any sense at all. He's never sparred the younger generation in the past, there's got to be a reason she's not dead."
"Author, I believe there is. But right now, all I have are theories, nothing more than that. Molly, I believe it's time you woke her up, she's going to want an explanation." Dumbledore instructed the woman to perform the counter curse and prepared himself for the girls' questions.
Within seconds of Molly mumbling the counter curse Serella's eyes darted open, wand raised and ready to strike.
"Mrs. Weasley? What happened?" She slowly lowered her wand, and was suddenly aware of the headache starting to form. Everything was cloudy in her memory of her last waking hour, it seemed so distant, so dream like.
"My dear, perhaps it's better that you rest up a bit before we talk."
"It's ok Molly, it's better to tell her now than to wait." Said Dumbledore, rising to his feet and coming over to face his student.
"Professor Dumbledore? What happened? Where are my grandparents? Are they ok?"
"Miss Gyles, I'm afraid that I have to inform you that your grandparents are no longer with us." She could feel a lump forming in her throat and tears welling up in her eyes, but he didn't stop his explanation. "We have our suspicions that it was a Death Eater that killed them. Don't worry, your sisters are safe." He said the words as though it was supposed to comfort her in some way, but it did the opposite. She hated that they were alive that the two most loving people in the world were dead. "You're not going to have to face trial for using magic, but you are going to have to stay here with the Weasley's until it's safe to move."
It was the farthest thing from her mind, but it was the only phrase she was going to be able to say with cursing at the Headmaster. "Will I be able to get my stuff so I'm ready for next term?"
"Oh yes child. We'll send someone to go with you to collect your things, and no need to worry about your tutoring either; this isn't going to affect that. Draco still needs a tutor." She had to grind her teeth together as hard as she could to prevent herself from screaming at the man who was forcing her to waste her time with someone who really didn't care about school work.
The only two people in this world that she had ever known as parents were gone. The hole inside her was bigger than it had ever been and it was eating her, pulling her into a dark place that she had never been before. It was an unfamiliar place to her heart, and it was a scary place.
