Harry took Hermione by the hand and drew her ear close to his lips, Ron stood next to him, eyeing his fiance with worried eyes as he shoved his hands in his jean pockets.
"Hermione, I had a dream, I need to talk to you in private." Harry whispered.
"Harry, not now! It's almost christmas lunch!" Hermione whispered back, glancing at Ron with anxious eyes.
"Hermione, I think we should all talk." Ron muttered to her.
"Talk about what," sang a voice from Hermione's feet, they all looked down and saw Luna's eyes shining up at them.
"Shh, Luna!" Harry hissed.
"What's wrong Harry?" she asked again.
"Luna, please just shut-" began Ron but Draco was beginning to hear.
"Don't tell her what to do." Draco defended and the despretness of the situation began to weigh down on Harry.
"Please be quiet!" Harry hissed back, clocking a look to Sirius who laughed at one of Lupin's jokes.
"They were talking about a dream," Luna said slowly a faint smile spread across her candy cotton colored lips. Draco looked up at them and cocked an eyebrow, Harry knew that if he didn't clue the pair in Draco would yell out that Harry had dream to the whole room.
"Yeah, I had a dream," Harry admitted under his breath.
"What was it about," Luna whispered with wide eyes, Harry looked back up to Hermione who glared at him with her bossy eyes.
"Not. Here." Harry spat as quietly as he could.
"Then where, Harry," Hermione shot back.
"Upstairs, my bedroom," Harry whispered.
"Hey, mate! She's engaged!" joked Ron in a whisper.
"Ok," Hermione nodded, ignoring Ron. She bent down and placed her hand on Ginny's head, Ginny looked up and Hemrione put her finger to her mouth. "Follow us," she mouthed then turned to leave the room. Harry followed and nudged Rory with his foot then beckoned her to follow him and the rest out of the room.
"We'll be right back dad!" Rory yelled over her shoulder.
"Yes ok," Sirius said back, not really taking notice that all seven hogwarts students, Jess as well, were now slinking from the room. They wound up the stairs to the boys bedroom, pushing open the door Harry held it open as he watched Luna float in, followed by Draco, Ron, Rory, Hermione then Jess. Harry closed the door quietly after them all then turned and faced the group.
"Ok, we need to strategise," Harry began, moving in and standing against the walll that faced the whole room.
"Why were you only going to strategise with Ron and Hermione?" Luna asked. She sat cross legged next to the door, she wore grey three quarter jeans and loose fitting long sleeved light blue shirt that had a tight white singlet on top of it. Her long blond hair platted into two pigtails that hung near her hips. In her hands she carried a small purple octangal cube, it was a gift from Rory that shook everytime trouble was near.
"Yeah, Potter." Draco spat. "Don't you trust us?" He wore black suit pants and a white dress shirt with a blue pantern going down the chest parallel with the butons, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his blue and silver tie loosened. His silver hair had been slicked back out of his steel grey eyes that now surveyed Harry with malice as he stood against the wall inbetween Luna and his bed.
"No, of course not!" Harry began to defend himself, but Hermione jumped to his aid rather unnesecarily.
"More of.. a force of habbit, really!" she explained, she put her curly hair up in a high ponytail. Hermione wore stovepipe dark blue jeans and a pair of warming ug boots. For a shirt she wore a white singlet topped with a cotton long sleeved green sweter and ontop of that she wore a blue zip up hoodie, she sat cross legged on Ron's bed with Rory.
"So explain what this dream was about," Ron prompted. Ron was wearing his standard grey and green shirt and blue jeans combo as he stood next to Harry.
"I had a dream that he was planning on attacking my friends, I think he was referring to Hogwarts." Harry started to explain. "We need to devise a base of action, how to get there, how to defend ourselves."
"Hold up," Rory began holding up her hand. She wore a white blouse and a black vest with large shiny brass buttons that clung to her torso. She wore loose wide legged jeans and white pumps and her brown hair was put up in a messy bun. "Who is this 'he' you keep referring to?"
"Who else?" Harry snapped at his sister. "Voldemort."
"Oh god!" Hermione sighed as Luna, Draco and Ron cringed at the name. "Not him again! Harry you know his dreams are complete rubbish! They're only put in your head so you do the wrong thing!"
"It didn't seem intentional," Harry defended, he was wearing a grey plain shirt with a black sweater with blue jeans.
"What, Voldemort spelling out his exact plan to destroy all yoru friends doesn't seem a little planned?" Hermione snapped back.
"But if it wasn't planned we need to get there as soon as possible, everyone we know is in danger!" Ginny said, standing at Harry's side to defend him. She had on a full coffee brown skirt down to her knees and light brown stockings. Her shirt was a deep brown and knitted to the centre was a green christmas tree, and on top of that she wore a yellow knitted sweater. Her red hair was out and loose.
"I think Hermione has a point..." Jess muttered from where he sat on his bed. Jess wore a black shirt that had been scruntched up to his elbows over a red shirt that had the words Taking Back Sunday across it, and wore blue stove pipe jeans.
"Oh do you, now?" Harry began to argue, Jess yelled to defend himself and then everyone joined in on the shouting match. Ginny was defending Harry's thoughts and ideas and Ron was defending Hermione's point of view, somehow Rory and Draco got into a fight as well from opposite sides of the room. The only one who wasn't arguing was Luna, she sat on the floor looking around at everyone with the same faint smile she always had but that suddenly faded. Harry glanced at her in the momentary silence between him and Jess to see that she was holding up her new christams present, watching it vibrate.
"Everyone," she began, turning around and croutching in front of the keyhole.
Harry turned away from Jess and looked over at Luna. "Not my fault..." Drac began to yell but when he realised the fight was over, he too began to stare at Luna as she pressed her ear to the keyhole.
"What is it Luna?" Hermione asked in her usual bossy tone.
"Someone's on the other side of the door." Luna whispered, motioning with her hand that everyone else should be very quiet too.
"Probably my mum," Ron whispered with half a smile. "She's a nosy gal..."
"Does your mother wear a death eater mask, Ron?" Luna asked, glancing at Ron. "Didn't think so." Harry was just admiring her momentary sharp tongue when her blue eyes settled on him. "Anyway, its a man – and he's talking to another person... Harry, I think you should look."
Harry gave a quick nod and squated next to Luna, he put his eye to the keyhole and peered out into the hallway and sure enough there were two death eaters, conversing outside his door.
"In here," the first man said, Harry recognised the voice as Yaxley's. "Should I-"
"Yes!" snapped the man Harry knew as Snape. His insides boiled at the thought of that wretched man standing less then a meter away in his own home. His hand slowly reached for his wand as he thought of the best curse to blast the death eaters with... Snape continued to talk. "And quickly Yaxley! You know we only have a certain amount of time before they realise!"
"Yes, yes," Yaxley nodded and Harry watched as the man's wand was pointed stright at the keyhole – straight at his eye! Harry watched in horror as the man opened his mouth to say a curse. Harry whipped out his own wand to blast the door open but it was too late. "Stucklockus." said Yaxley and a yellow light spilt from his wand and into the keyhole.
Harry tripped over Luna as he backed away from the door. He turned to the whole room and put his finger hard against his mouth. Everyone leant in towards him as he stood stock still, straining hard to hear any voices.
"Come on!" Snape shouted and suddenly the stairway was filled with the sound of trampling feet.
"Harry," Hermione whispered, Harry saw the anxious tears welling in her eyes. "What's up?"
"Yaxley and Snape just put one of those irreversible lock charms on the door and I now think that the house is currently being raided by death eaters." Harry explained, pacing back and forth in the little room he had.
"What do we do?" Draco said, his eyes glaring up at Harry.
From below they heard screams and blasts as the death eaters no doubt took the rest of the people downstairs by suprise and Ginny turned and grasped to Harry's jacket, pulling him in close to her. Hermione let out a squeal and ran into Ron's arms as he listened with a horrified expression. Rory looked up at Harry with wide blue eyes and clung to tight Jess's hand in the next bed. Draco ran to the door and began to pull at the handle vigorously but nothing happened – not like Harry expected it too.
"Harry, we have to go!" Ron shouted but Harry didn't want to leave. Sirius was down there fighting off those deatheaters and Harry had to help, in anyway he could. Harry just had to! He couldn't let the happy family he tried so hard to have just slip away from him.
"I can't, my father..." Harry stopped speaking once he saw the anguish in Ginny's eyes as her grip tightened. "Ron, your parents..."
"I know, I know, mate." Ron nodded but he motioned to Hermione who grasped onto him. "She can't fight this one, and I have to stick with her."
"I can't loose dad... not the moment I get the chance to be happy!" Harry yelled as his eyes surveyed the room for anyone who agreed with him.
"You said it yourself – that's the way this war goes!" Ron shouted back, Rory nodded at Ron then turned to Harry.
"The chance of happiness isn't gone until we're all dead! That is guaranteed to happen if we stay here!" she yelled.
"Harry please!" Hermione begged as tears ran down her face. "We don't have time to be heroic!"
"Where do we go?" Harry asked the room, they all gave a short sigh of relief before realising they didn't actualy have a clue.
"Stars Hollow!" Jess suddenly yelled.
"And stay with who? Luke, Sookie?" Rory laughed. "And even if we find somewhere, how do you propse we practice magic in someone else's-"
"Your old house." said Jess, this tripped Rory up she stared at him blankly for what seemed like hours as the battle waged on downstairs.
"Well, what do you say?" Ginny snapped, letting go of Harry momentarily to wipe the tears from her eyes.
"Um, yeah – so far as I know its still left to me..." Rory muttered. "But is it really safe to apparate?"
"We can't fly, we can't use the flu network because the fireplace is down there..." Hermione began, the mention of the battle only seemed to make the shouts even louder. "The ministry as far as I know hasn't fallen, I think it'll be safe."
"Ok, then – off we go to Stars Hollow, Connecticut." Rory said with a shrug. They all pointed there wands in the air and muttered the apparating spell. But Harry...
Harry waited a few seconds more just to give his father a chance to run galiantly through the door and come with him. But no father came in the seconds that strecthed on to hours, only the noise of the fight that was dying down... Harry looked around the empty room and let out a long sigh before raising his own wand in the air to apparate out, he grabbed a small bag of galleons he had under his matress. Harry fianlly apparated to USA.
Harry suddenly popped up on a snowy lawn, it was night time and the stars over head twinkled down at him. Harry stood in front of a small two story cottage that sat on a quiet street filled with other picturesque cotages. The driveway up to the house had been shoveled clear of the snow. Everyone else had arrived there as well and now shivered in the knee high snow.
"This is where you and your mom lived?" Ginny asked through her chattering teeth. Harry grabbed his fiance's arm and drew her into him, wrapping his arms around her shivering body.
"Yeah..." Rory muttered as she stared up at it. "Come on – we better get inside and start the heating, I'm freezing!"
They all wrapped what little layers they had on closer to their bodies as they waded through the snow. Rory used the unlocking spell to her front door and pushed it open. All seven of them walked into the empty house and Harry smelt the strong fragrance of lilac that seemed strangely familiar to him.
"It still smells like her," Rory muttered sadly. She turned around and flicked on the lights.
In front of Harry unfolded a small foyer where coats still hung on the racks where his mother had left them, and off to his right was small yellow kitchen and to his left a living room.
"I'll go turn the heat on," Rory said as she walked off. Everyone else leaked out of the foyer after they took off their dripping wet shoes. Harry didn't follow them – instead he stayed and gazed at the small table that stood in the foyer, it had one framed photo standing on it. Harry picked it up and smiled down at the photo. Rory had a bright pink tiara and feather boa wrapped around her neck, she smiled with her mother as they held up a 'happy 16th birthday' cake between them where Rory's face had been painted in icing.
"Harry," called Ginny. "Is everything ok?"
Harry put down the photo and walked into the kicthen where they all stood, Hermione sat at the table, her head lying on the table as she closed her eyes. Ginny smiled at him from her spot next to the fridge and Harry smiled back at her.
Rory came running down the stairs and gave them the thumbs up.
"Heats on, it'll take about 5 minutes to heat the house up." Rory explained with a smile.
"We were just discussing our game plan." replied Draco.
"Ok, well to answer my first question anyway, there is no food in this house. If we were going to eat then we should order in." Rory said as she walked over to the phone. "Its 9, I'm sure Luke'll bring us something."
"Luke?" Luna asked.
"My uncle," replied Jess. "He could also bring some extra sleeping bags."
"While you guys do that I can do some protection spells around the house," Hermione said, drawing out her wand form her sweater pocket.
"Sounds good." Rory replied.
"This is all a bit daunting," Ginny muttered. "I mean we went from a family christmas to living on our own... survivng off of nothing."
"Not nothing," Harry said, he drew the satchel of money he had grabbed at the last minute and spilled its contents on to the counter.
"That'll fetch a lot here, gold's worth a bundle!" Rory said as she eyed it, but then she brought out a hundred dollar muggle american bill. "But for take out and immediate expences I brought this."
"Good thinking, sis," Harry complemented and Rory smiled over at him.
"Ok," Hermione said, getting up from the table, everyone had gone silent. "I'll get going on those spells."
"I'll order food," Rory said as she brought out a bunch of fast food menus. "Help me choose Harry."
Suddenly everyone had their own task to perform and they scurried from the kitchen like mice. It was in that brief and shining moment Harry knew that they could handle it, that they would be ok if they just kept their heads about them.
"Do you think this is going to be permanent?" Rory asked. "You know – staying here?"
"Until we figure out what's the best thing to do..." Harry replied. "Hermione does a mean protection spell when the occasion arrises."
"Good," Rory said, smiling down at the menus spread in front of them. "This is a perfect place for us right now, everyone is one big family in this town, they'll help us."
"I hope so, with out the order and no fast way to get Dumbledore's army, We'll need all the help we can get." Harry said with a sad smile.
"Why don't you try and not focus on that for awile..." advised Rory with a shrug. "Just for tonight be a guy who just got engaged, or be my brother... be anyone but Voldemort's advisary – Just for tonight."
"That'll be hard," Harry replied.
"If you don't learn now – how do you expect to let go later, when you only have to be yourself?" Rory asked.
Harry didn't reply because Hemrione came back into the room, stashing her wand in her pocket and closed the kicthen door behind her. She smiled at the two of them before leaving the kitchen to sit with Ron on the living room couch. Jess walked in and grabbed a menu of couple menus for himself and began to look down the list. Luna and Draco set to enlarging the bedrooms and trying their best at performing duplicating spells on the beds.
Harry watched in a daze as everyone set to work like busy bees and wondered how they could have so much faith in him, how they had so much faith that the good side would win, when really the good side was 7 magical teenagers and the bad side was a whole army of death eaters...
An hour later they all sat in the living room, the couch had been pushed up against the window and Luna had set up a picnic blanket on the ground where they all ate different foods from various take out places – Rory couldn't make up her mind on what she was in the mood for eating so practically ordered everything. Luna inspected each different type of noodles before swallowing it down. Draco stared awestruck at the tv as Jess flicked through the channels.
Luke had arrived and it was he who had provided the three extra sleeping bags, though now they weren't really needed because Luna and Draco had succeeded in duplicating the beds for everyone. Luke, of course, didn't stick around. Once he saw all eight of them sitting on the living room floor all looking rather ruffled and exhausted, he knew better then to ask questions that very night at 10pm.
Every time Harry glanced out the window he would see that a few people had stopped outside the house and were gossiping in hushed tones on the sidewalk.
"Ignore them," Rory said to him. "They just missed me."
Harry sat with his back against the couch, Ginny sat next to him, hand feeding him popcorn and m'n'ms. Ron was sitting with Hermione close to the tv screen as he oggled the buttons and muttering 'my father would just wet himself!' and Hermione would laugh softly and continue to watch tv. Rory kept sighing deeply and looking around the living room with a happy smile, glancing to Jess who winked at her. And for once Harry got a glimpse of Luna and Draco together. Luna had her head in Draco's lap as she lay down, Draco let his hands brush her long hair, twirling the platninum starnds around his finger then letting them fall again. Luna occasioanlly fed him different foods she liked and he would thank her by kissing her temple softly.
And that night Harry fell asleep in the same room as Draco, Ron and Jess. Hermione, Rory, Luna and Ginny slept in Rory's room downstairs. But Harry's dreams were not pleasant, and he woke in a cold sweat. He kept worrying about his dad and all the other Order members. He wondered who had survived and where they had run to. And that led him to a sickening thought – what if he never saw them again...
He pushed the thought from his mind, right now he would focus on the people around him, the ones who he could help, later after the war – then he would worry about the others. But right now he had his small group with him, and he needed them as much as they needed him...
(A/N) How do you like it? Its coming to a close! Dum de dum dum, not yet of course, but its coming!
In the next chapter Hermione realises just what she has to do...