A/N: Thank you so much to everybody who reviewed or added this story to their alerts list! It's great to know you're all still interested in reading after part one.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Gwen was woken in the early hours of Wednesday morning by the sound of movement downstairs. At first she thought she might be dreaming, but when she clearly recognised her parents voices and knew they were coming from inside her own house, she dragged herself out of bed and went find out exactly what was happening. As she reached the kitchen doorway she saw her parents standing opposite each other around the table, her mother already dressed for work whereas her father was still in his dressing gown. They appeared to be discussing something with each other urgently.

"Mum? Dad?" Gwen muttered groggily, still half asleep but more than a little curious to find out what was going on.

They both turned to look at her, and despite the fact she was dressed for work Gwen noticed her mother still looked rather tired and dishevelled. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I need to go in to work early. Something's happened."

Gwen was still a little slow in responding, being as she was still partially asleep. Her father, however, was much quicker. "What exactly has happened, Christine?"

"I've told you John, I don't know. Just that it's something urgent involving You-Know-Who."

It suddenly dawned on Gwen that this must be something really important. "What?"

He mother gave her a concerned look. "Try not to worry about it, Gwen, it's best if you two try and get on with your day as normal. I need to get to work, but I'll be in touch as soon as I know what's happening." With that she gave both of them a quick kiss on the cheek and stepped into the fireplace to reach the Ministry.

Gwen turned to look at her father. "Dad? What are we supposed to do now?"

He father gave her a tired sigh. "Like your mother said, we should just try and get on with things as normal. It might be an idea if you went back to bed if you're going to work later."

Gwen shook her head. "I'm not exactly likely to sleep now."

John looked at his daughter with an incredibly tired and weary expression on his face, and Gwen couldn't help but be reminded of her grandfather. It made him seem so old, and she found it disconcerting. She didn't like seeing her father look like that, but then he gave her a warm smile and placed a comforting arm round her shoulders. "No, me neither. Come on," he led her into the living room where they both took a seat on the sofa and waited for the sun to come up.

-oOo-

More explanation as to what had happened came with the morning post. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Is Gone, declared the front page of the Daily Prophet, accompanied by a picture of a wrecked house that the caption said was the Potters' residence at Godric's Hollow. Gwen read the article over her father's shoulder as she tried to concentrate on eating her toast, but she really wasn't hungry. The Potters were dead, but their son had survived? If the curse had backfired, what did that mean for You-Know-Who? Could he actually be dead?

That seemed to be the main topic of discussion at work later as people speculated on what had happened and what had become of He-Who-Must-Not-be-Named. The general consensus was that he must be dead, but there were still some who were sceptical and believed he had managed to survive in one form or another. Gwen wasn't sure what to believe, and despite the fact this news should have been cause for celebration, the whole uncertainty of it meant there was still a strong sense of unease among the wizarding population. Not to mention that it was difficult to celebrate following the brutal murder of a young couple with a one year old son, and Gwen found herself wondering what was going to happen to the boy. Mostly though, she wondered what had happened to his would-be killer.

Semog called everyone on her floor into his office for a meeting about it later. "Look, I don't know what happened," he said in his stern voice, "But neither do you, and it is best we cease speculation on it and try to continue as normal until more information is available. I expect for you to stick to your existing schedules, although you should be prepared for this to have a significant impact on the markets and make sure you respond accordingly." They had all nodded and gone back to their offices, but it was difficult to work with that hanging over their heads. A quick flick through her planner told Gwen she had another meeting with Sander tomorrow, but on this occasion even that wasn't enough to distract her.

When it reached five o' clock, instead of going home Gwen headed upstairs to the seventh floor to meet her father. A man was just leaving his office as she arrived, but as he noticed her in the dorrway he beckoned her into his office. "Gwen, how have things gone today for you?" he asked as she crossed over to him and gave him a hug.

"Alright. What about you? You heard from mum yet?"

He nodded, "She sent me a letter at about three o' clock, but I don't think she had much time to write it – it was very brief. She says they can't find any trace of You-Know-Who, which means it's likely he is still around in some form or another."

Gwen nodded gravely as she waited for him to continue.

"But she says they're still working on trying to get a better picture of what happened. She probably won't be home until very late tonight, although she'd like you to know that your Barty has been very helpful, if that makes you feel any better."

Gwen smiled. It did, but only marginally. "Do I have to go home on my own now?"

He considered it for a moment then shook his head. "No, I don't think anybody would mind if you waited for me to finish in here today."

Feeling relieved she wouldn't have to go home to an empty house in the current circumstances, Gwen took a seat next to her father's desk and waited for the next hour to pass, wondering what was going to happen now.

A/N: Meh. I feel like nothing much has happened this chapter, but I think I just need to fill in how Gwen finds out about what's happened otherwise things aren't going to make sense later on. Lots more interesting stuff next chapter, I promise.